《I'm Energy In DC》


 Chapter 1 Energy

    In a complete pitch black environment, a small silhouette made of light stood on .... well, nothing.


    The pitch black void full of nothingness surrounded him from all angles making him seem as if he were floating.


    With his head slightly cocked backwards, lips slightly open, dull expression and closed eyes, he stayed in that same posture with no knowledge of the amount of time passing by.


    His hair however looked like it was made of luminous light glowing brightly in the dark landscape, swaying slightly despite there being no winds.


    ".....ugh!"


    After God knows how long, a sound graced the silent surroundings as the male silhouette let out a muffled groan.


    His slumped posture straightened up slowly as he rubbed his head with both arms.


    His eyelids opened to reveal dull eyes with dark irises, looking around in an attempt to understand what was happening.


    "Where..... where am I? "


    He said with clear confusion written both on his face and in his voice. From left to right, up, down, no matter where he looked, all he saw was darkness.


    "Ugh..." Another groan escaped from his lips yet again Ashe rubbed his head to relieve himself of his headache.


    "Wait.... who am I?"


    "Why can''t I remember anything?"


    "I... I can''t, ......"


    "You can''t remember anything now can you?" A voice said making the male silent as he turned his head to locate where that voice was coming from.


    "Who.....?"


    "Don''t bother looking. I''m everywhere around you. Trying to locate me isn''t feasible".


    There was a long period of silence as both sides said nothing. The silence continued to drag on until the male finally spoke.


    "Ok, I''ll take your word on that...... I guess".


    He said with slight confusion.


    "You are wondering why you''re taking all of this so calmly, aren''t you? It surprises me how that''s the first thing that''s on your mind instead of questions like


    ''Where am I''m or ''Who are you'' if I do say so myself".


    He was slightly surprised. Yes, that was exactly what was going through his had right now.


    And when he thought about it, he found his calmness surprisingly strange.


    "Are you..... God? Or some kind of powerful entity or something along those lines?"


    "Oh? You know about the concept of God. Looks like apart from not knowing what you are and where you came from, everything else is working just fines".


    The male was caught off guard a bit.


    A series of complex thoughts passed through his mind with each passing second.


    "What do you mean by.... What I am? Aren''t I human?" He asked.


    "What makes you think you are?" The voice replied back.


    "..... Well, my body shape is in human form. So that makes me... Well, human, I guess?". Confusion started settling in as he continued, seemingly unsure of himself.


    "I mean, there are other human shaped species in the universe. I remember there are demons with the ability to take human form. And also alien shape shifters like the scrulls".


    "Oh and the Martians can change their features to look like anyone. So technically you''re right. The possibility of me not being human is... Is...."


    He spoke more and more until his sentences reached a drawl. His eyes widened as he looked back towards the infinite darkness to the one with no shape or form.


    "Wait? How..... How do I know all this?"


    "Where did I learn this knowledge from? And why can''t I remember anything?"


    "Oh, you''re finally at the point huh? Million dollar question. I honestly wondered how long you would take to ask me that".


    "Can you please just answer my doubts?"


    "Fair enough. I was the one who allowed you all that knowledge you have in your head. You have been in this dimension for the approximately a week to put in time standards you understand. Your brain digesting all the knowledge of human life you were given".


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    The male heard all that he said and calmly asked.


    "So you put me here to impart me with what I know now? But why?"


    "Simply because you did not know it before". The voice said.


    He was taken aback.


    "Why.... wouldn''t I know.... What happened to me that caused you to bring me here?"


    He couldn''t understand. Did something happen to his memories? Or was he turned into an idiot, his brain reduced to mush in a freak accident or something.


    "Nothing happened to you, simply because you never existed to begin with".


    "I''m sorry, What?"


    "Your consciousness gained existence about a week ago. Your current form does not have a physical body and is only a tiny, separated portion of energy from myself".


    "You have spent the last week assimilating what I deem as ''common knowledge''.


    The funny scene of a phantom within the darkness performing air quotes with his fingers on the last sentence couldn''t help but pop up in his mind.


    But then the meaning interlaced within those words hit him.


    "Are.... Are you saying that I''m you?"


    "Yes you are. A split consciousness formed from the energy within our reach. But your mind has been scrubbed clean of any past experience and infused with common knowledge of The Ten Thousand realms and beyond".


    "This is why you know what you know but have no memories of anything else".


    "So hold up a minute. I''m like your incarnation or somet.... What do you mean by the Ten thousand realms? So you''re saying it actually exists? Wait..... I think I''m gonna have a migraine. What are you exactly?".


    "Are you some R.O.B [random omnipotent being] who goes around granting reincarnations to transmigrators?"


    "Not quite. To put it in simple terms, I am Energy".


    "Energy?"


    "Yes Energy. And so are you. You are not in some soul or spirit form, but energy. We can literally exist from now till the end of time with no notion of death".


    Silence reigned.


    For a while.


    "That''s..... enlightening to say the least. So you''re telling me that all those Tv shows, movies, comic books, mangas, cartoons, are all worlds that truly exist?"


    "Yes, they do. All drawn from the main universe with new ones being formed every passing day".


    "Along with all the overpowered, Godly beings in many of them".


    "Yes".


    "So what about you? Where do you fit in the spectrum? Are there other powerful entities that randomly oversee all universes, like some omnipotent being?"


    "Maybe too much information from the perspective of the Main universe wasn''t a great idea".


    The voice said after a long period of silence.


    "Let me clear up the waters then. I(We) am(are) energy, which exists through every fabric of space and time, in every atom, molecule, form of matter, through every world, Galaxy, universe, parallel or alternate reality the moment it was created. Energy constitute the very laws and rules the so called Gods of each reality use to establish themselves. The very lifeblood of their abilities, the very form of their beings. As energy itself, we control every form of energy within our reach. If omnipotence were a scale, then we''re the top of the food chain, the end of the ladder, the highest peak. Call it whatever you will but it doesn''t get any better than this".


    The voice said in which he could detect no form of arrogance whatsoever. Like it was a merely stating a fact causing the incarnations head to swell with more information in the past few minutes than it had in its week of existence.


    He was kinda reminded of that Scarlett Johansson movie on Earth.


    Judging from what he was saying, then...


    "So.... If you.... We... are that powerful, then why did you..... well... Make me?" He said in those words for lack of better terms to use at the moment.


    From the knowledge he was imparted with, which came from the main universe, God like entities would find a mortal soul, instill them with various advantages and, or disadvantages as their representative champions.


    Or just tools to cause chaos for their amusement.


    And for more absurd reasons such as making mistakes resulting in a mortals early demise. So to make it up to them, poof. A new chance at life.


    Of course this was all fiction in that reality.


    Was the situation similar here?


    Or was he in some sort of fiction from the main universe as well?


    His eyelids couldn''t help but narrow.


    "As I said, we are immortal as energy and cannot be destroyed in any possible way making us invulnerable in the literal sense. Nevertheless, we are not all powerful".


    "We have full control of all energy within our grasp but that can only be gained through accumulation and can only be used to it''s full potential in a definite form, be it physical or spiritual".


    "So we need to create a body for ourselves is the gist of it huh? That''s kinda cool". He replied.


    "Agreed".


    "Wait! That doesn''t explain why you created me".


    "Energy doesn''t have consciousness. We are an exception, meaning that we don''t have control over any amount of energy we expend. Meaning, if for some reason we lose all our accumulated energy once we have definite form, we have to start from square one. Believe me when I tell you, in an indefinite form, accumulating energy is passive making it a lot harder than it should be in a definite form".


    The voice said. Weirdly it sounded somewhat exasperated which was strange since it had been speaking to him in a neutral tone.


    "A split consciousness however, makes it possible so that you can be placed in another energy unit making us have two sources to accumulate energy".


    That.... sounded quite logical.


    "Then why don''t we just create more split consciousnesses instead of just one?"


    "Do you wish to know how much accumulated energy was required to create a single split consciousness?"


    "... umh...." He suddenly felt that wasn''t exactly a good idea.


    "One hundred thousand, two hundred and eighty one units of Pure celestial energy". The voice replied.


    "Oh! That doesn''t sound too much".


    "Approximately twelve years, seven months, four days and seventeen hours".


    If he had vocal cords, he swore he would have choked.


    "My consciousness has been in existence for twenty years". He added.


    Ok now it all felt wrong.


    Silence prevailed for a few seconds.


    "So since we have two separate consciousness, will we be considered separate entities".


    "No, the separation has been completed and the energy points have been fixed. Both will fuse again making it the same as before".


    "Ok then...... Since there''s nothing else left except creating a new body, Let''s do this".


    "Gladly". The voice said again before disappearing. The floating silhouette suddenly went dark then silence engulfed the void once more.

 Chapter 2 In The Flesh

    Note to self and FYI for others, waking up can be a pain. And I''m not talking about that feeling where you get up in your comfortable or uncomfortable bed with your head spinning because you decided to have a late night drink which spiraled into something rather disastrous, leaving you with a massive hangover to deal with the moment you wake up.


    Oh, no Sire.


    I mean the type where your whole body feels like it''s on fire, alongside the uncomfortable and prickly sensation of your skin being poked by needles.


    ****


    No not poked. Stabbed for good measure. Yeah, that feels about right.


    Groaning heavily, a male figure sprawled on the floor before gradually lifting himself into an upright posture.


    His aching temples and sour nose brought about measures of pain as he forced his eyes open.


    He tried and failed to stand up from his sitting position as his weakened body failed to respond to him.


    However, despite his aching figure, and contorted face, he sported a pair of bright purple eyes that held nothing but surprising calm.


    The cold air assaulted his exposed body, causing in instinctive chill to run down his spine. The wind that blew past was continuous, making his body shiver.


    Thankfully, the pain lessened over time until it eventually disappeared completely a few minutes later.


    "Ok, that was... horrible. May I never have to experience that sort of pain again".


    He finally stood upright as he adapted to his form. His eyes, which now held beautiful purple irises, ran all over his body.


    "Yup, that confirms it. I''m naked, and lying in a hole for that matter. How splendid¡­." He said sarcastically as he clenched his fists.


    The disorientation had disappeared, and he looked at himself to admire what he could only consider to be his new body.


    "So I truly gained new form, huh? Nice. Now I can..." He had barely finished his words when something strange happened.


    [New body created. Remaining Energy Units: 54623 Units]


    His eye glowed a bright purple as he looked at his arm. Strange drawings had appeared on his arm from the wrist to his elbows section, covered with intricate markings akin to tattoos on his unblemished skin.


    With a raised eyebrow, he looked at the drawings which had no distinct meaning at all but could strangely understand. To him, it was not strange at all.


    "A hundred and sixty thousand, two hundred and eighty-one units of Apex celestial energy from the day of my existence until this moment. And now, what remains is less than half that number... Haa!"


    He mumbled in a grumbling tone before letting out an exasperated sigh. His helplessness was rather justified, though.


    "Twenty years, a whole twenty years to accumulate that much, and now I have less than half...."  He shook his head lightly to allay himself before continuing to examine his new body.


    "Nevertheless, it doesn''t matter. At least the energy was well spent. In case this body is destroyed, no matter how low the possibility is, I won''t have to wait another twenty years to regain form. However, my curiosity about this world needs to be satisfied. I don''t even know where I am exactly right now". He said inwardly as he climbed out of the hole.


    What greeted his view was the sight of vast lands and the open road ahead of him. He looked down and realized that he was currently standing on asphalt with a straight white line that stretched down the road very far away.


    He realized that he had appeared straight on the road, and there was currently a pit almost six meters deep and four meters wide. This could be a serious safety hazard for anyone who is driving down this path.


    "Should I do something about it?" He asked himself with a thoughtful look on his face before it grew nonchalant.


    "Nah". He thought before looking into the distance and frowning.


    Judging from the fact that he couldn''t see any nearby cities, he judged that the closest human civilization was probably very far away. Nevertheless, this was exactly as he had intended.


    The amount of energy needed to enter into a new universe was rather tremendous. If he had decided to appear directly within a populated area, the damage caused would be noticeable.


    He didn''t care a bit about the property damage or potential harm to the lives around when it happened, but he would rather not draw unnecessary attention to himself.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    After all, this world wasn''t the same as the main earth universe where all worlds branched out from but DC.


    The DC universe that housed superpowers, alien life forms, dimension - conquering freaks and where extraterrestrial invasions took place on a ''half a decade'' basis.


    Well, at least one of them, anyway.


    As for which universe he was currently in, whether it be the comics, movies, or one of the many series, he didn''t know.


    Hell, he could even be in an AU made up of a mishmash of different events. These types of universes were typically the hardest to deal with, as knowledge from the main universe had very little effect there.


    It could even be the universe created as a result of a nineteen-year-old kid writing fan fiction for fun because he didn''t have anything better to do.


    At that particular thought, his eyes narrowed once more.


    The future of such universes was unknown, and only the general DC knowledge could be completely trusted.


    Stuff like Superman would always be Clark Kent and have a weakness to kryptonite, Flash would always have his mother killed by reverse flash unless he triggered flash point.


    Wonder Woman was always an Amazonian, and Jonathan Kent always dies.


    Yeah, that kind of shit.


    He would rather not drop off uninvited within a city, cause massive damage and tick off the big blue Boy Scout.


    Then get questioned by the Justice league about his purposes on this Earth.


    He wasn''t afraid of them, yes, but that was just asking for unnecessary trouble and relatively time-consuming.


    He wasn''t hard-pressed for time. In fact, he had all the time in the universe, but that didn''t mean he''d waste it.


    Besides, he didn''t want to kill the Justice league or anything similar unless they stood in his way to accomplishing his goals.


    Back to the point of focus.


    So choosing to appear away from civilization was the logical choice. Nonetheless, the power surge that occurred upon his arrival would definitely not go unnoticed.


    Hell, he wouldn''t be surprised if someone was on their way to investigate right now.


    "Although I didn''t specify which universe exactly, but one that wasn''t too powerful was in calculations when I expended energy to get here. Still, to reach the nearest city, I''ll either have to give myself abilities, or wait for a possible passing vehicle to seek aid".


    He said thoughtfully with a hand on his chin.


    "Well, superpowers it is, then".


    As if it were even a choice anyway. He certainly wasn''t waiting until a random passerby happened to come across and help him from the good of their heart.


    "But first, let''s deal with the body issue". He said as he looked at his new body and his eyes shone purple. A second later, he was fully clothed, in a simple black T-shirt and blue trousers.


    [-5 units of energy]


    "Comfortable enough". He said without bothering to pay attention to his clothes that appeared out of him air.


    "Now let''s go sightseeing".


    .......


    ** Army Base, Location: Unknown. Ten minutes ago¡­**


    "Tell me again, what am I looking at?" the voice was gruff, and the speaker said this to people stationed in the site who hadn''t discovered something unusual but had the pay-grade to report it.


    "Sir". A woman holding a manila folder directed his attention towards the small graph and a map of America full of red marks.


    "A minute ago, we detected a massive surge of energy around at exactly this point".


    She said as she pointed to a certain area marked on the map.


    "That''s the open road, a hundred miles away from metropolis towards the East Coast. Superman''s territory". The gruff man said in a low voice.


    "What exactly is it? Is it something concerning the Justice league again?"


    "We can''t tell, sir. The problem is that with that power surge, the surrounding 10 mile (16.09 km) of radius has been basically fried. All sort of communication turned off for good. Drones within the area lost contact. I believe that area would be experiencing a power outage".


    "Superman hasn''t been reported seen anywhere near metropolis in the last three days. As for the possibility of being someone else, we can''t confirm. The only chance we can think of is a possible Cadmus research facility located a few miles away from the said area. Whether it''s their doing or not is unknown".


    She said in an apathetic voice.


    With the amount of crazy things that have taken place in the past how many years, things like this just weren''t worth mentioning anymore.


    The man clearly had a similar mentality. Not his fault though, as alien invasions and flying men wearing spandex capable of lifting buildings would do that to you.


    This wasn''t the first time someone had caused such a small ten block wipe-out.


    "Primary conclusion draw a rough idea of an EMP blast, but the energy recorded could have fried the whole of Norther Washington, but it''s somehow contained. Further, are just theories. We have a bird in the area". For a second, the woman stilled before she touched her earpiece, "Sir, we have the bird''s eye visual, putting it on screen now."


    For a second, the screen blacked out before a part of the area came into view, the shot was taken from a drone, and it showed a massive hole rig to the asphalt road, though it was grainy, but then the camera turned on Night Vision and showed its content they saw the hole as plain as day. The hole; bright blue on the NV.


    "Turn on thermal vision", the gruff voice was back.


    The screen turned again and this time they saw ... Nothing. Nothing different in particular from what it had initially shown. Except for the rather large hole on the road, nothing seemed to be out of place.


    The male man sighed internally while rubbing his temples.


    "If this is another one of Cadmus''s experiments gone wrong..... So help me¡­." He sighed before remaining silent.


    "Contacts arriving at the point of origin. ETA 30 minutes". The woman said.


    "Get a team down there and let me know what exactly they can make of this. Furthermore, contact Cadmus and ask if this was one of their own". The answer was short, and the feed cut off immediately.


    "Yes sir". She said before making her way out. The man couldn''t help but look at her leaving figure, his eyes grew a little hot.


    "Maybe I should take some time to loosen up".


    As he sat in his office, what he didn''t know was that the whole magical world on Earth was already in chaos.


    The pure energy that surged through the East Coast may have stopped at a mere ten miles, but the dimensional barrier that had been broken, indicating some kind of intrusion in the fabric of space and time had alarmed the magical community.


    As for the cause of the incident.


    Well.... he was currently standing on top of a large building, gazing down at what humans would call a magnificent city.


    "Well hello Metropolis".

 Chapter 3 Superman/ Lobo

    The next day after crossing over.


    He stood at the window''s edge, overlooking the city in all of its Glory with bright eyes.


    The bright lights, billboard signs, the fancy cars.


    The regular people moving from place to place, some driving comfortably within their cars, while others furiously waved for taxi''s to stop and let them board.


    Others ran on both legs, looking hastily dressed while carrying loads of baggage in their arms. He was sure that they either didn''t have money for a cab or believed waiting for one would slow them down.


    Looking at it all, it was disoriented, chaotic even with loud shouts and numerous distractions everywhere.


    Yet, it had some kind of strange attraction to it, making all these things seem to be just right.


    Not far away, you could see one of the most illustrious landmarks in the city, just about towering over every other building which held the responsibility of passing information to its citizens.


    He should know, he literally stood at the very top of it last night.


    The daily planet. With the planet globe at the top of it. Human architecture is outstanding, to say the least.


    The sun hung in the sky shining brightly on the bustling city that was Metropolis, home of the red and blue sporting Man of tomorrow.


    What''s that? It''s a bird. No, It''s a plane. No, it''s Superman.


    Hehehe. Quite amusing.


    He wasn''t here, though. If he were, he would have been the first one to greet him when he made his entrance miles outside the city.


    So Nah, he definitely wasn''t. According to the public siting, Superman was last seen stopping a bank robbery several days ago before disappearing.


    Where he was now was currently unknown, to the regular folk at least. But he knew.


    Well, let''s rephrase that. He didn''t know where Superman was right now and quite frankly, he didn''t want to. But that didn''t matter one bit.


    What mattered was... Oh, is that dog driving a kid to school?


    Wow.


    You see something new every day don''t you.


    Sigh (imaginary shaking of the head)


    Irresponsible parents.


    Oh well, where was I?


    Oh! yes.


    He wasn''t here though, but he will be. Soon in fact.


    Shouldn''t take more than an hour at most. And when he appears, the camera will be set on stage.


    "Note to self, looking into the future is too costly. Just seeing all possible events today drained me of more than a hundred Apex celestial energy units".


    He said to himself from the window of the hotel. When he arrived last night, he had taken the opportunity to try to discern what universe he was currently in.


    Turns out, he was in an AU for all he could find out.


    Apparently, the Justice league was formed years ago when earth suffered an invasion from Apokalips. Darkseid and his army of parademons.


    Yeah, it''s them.


    Shouldn''t it be the Justice league war timeline?


    Here''s the catch. There''s a Martian Man hunter alongside it and a second Green Lantern. No white Martians invading, so it''s not Justice league unlimited.


    And the invader wasn''t Darkseid himself, but apparently Stepphenwolf.


    Zack Snyder''s Justice league, then? Also, no.


    Superman never died. Meaning, Superman hasn''t come face to face with Doomsday yet. Another changed fact, Shazam was present.


    So yeah, definitely an AU. Other possibilities are the Young justice universe, Teen Titans universe or maybe the Evil Superman universe.


    Does it matter much? Nope.


    Not in the slightest. Apart from satisfying his curiosity, he never truly cared what universe he was in. If there was a definite storyline, then perhaps he would try to see if there was anything he could use to his advantage.


    Never mind. The Hall of Justice was still in DC, though. This was also one of those things that hardly changed, no matter what universe you were in.


    There was a possibility that the big event today would happen in DC instead of metropolis today, but the possibility was rather slim.


    "So I''ll stay in metropolis for now". He thought to himself as he turned away from the window.


    While the sunrise was quite a sight, and the bustling city was... enlightening, his interest had faded.


    He passed by the bedside and walked towards the bathroom.


    "According to human aesthetics, my features should be considered quite attractive, I suppose?" Standing in front of a mirror, he looked at the exposed flesh of his naked upper body.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Packed with six-pack abs and gorgeous fair skin, his upper body looked like it had been crafted by a god''s hands.


    Well, he was a godlike being in a way (small G''s)


    Streamlined muscles with a muscular physique leaning more towards the leaner side.


    Bright purple eyes, chiseled jawline, sword shaped eyebrows and rather delicate smooth skin, his features were nothing short of handsome and arousingly attractive.


    At least that''s what he thought as he placed his right hand on his chin while tilting his neck lightly.


    There was slight admiration in his eyes as he looked at his form. After all, he had spent Apex energy to create what he deemed to be a perfect physique.


    As for the repercussions of his thoughtless actions which the newly sentient energy being had not yet come to perfectly understand or predict, by making himself a close version of Adonis, that was a tale for the future.


    After all, although he was sentient, he was still only twenty years old in conscious existence.


    "So it''ll be perfect for today''s act". He thought to himself as he dressed himself in the same clothes he wore the day before.


    Why not just conjure up new clothes, you ask? It costs energy.


    Plus, if you''re wondering why ordinary clothes cost 5 Apex energy units, they are bulletproof, temperature resistant and quite comfortable as well.


    Putting on his clothes, he looked at the rather pleasing tattoos on his arm.


    [Remaining Energy Units: 53013 Units]


    Well over one thousand, five hundred energy units had been deducted from the original number.


    He had used one hundred plus to look into the future, which provided an event helping him to begin working on his goals.


    As for the remaining one thousand, five hundred. How do you think he disappeared from the crash site to Metropolis in the blink of an eye?


    "Speaking of the crash site, the government is probably analyzing the hole right now". He said to himself with a raised eyebrow before chuckling slightly.


    His eyes glowed a purple light before strange patterns appeared on them. His body quickly turned illusory before completely disappearing from the hotel room. Little depicting he was actually there in the first place.


    .......


    ***** Crash site, Outside Metropolis *****


    The road had already been sealed off by about a mile in all directions. Government personnel walked to and fro around the area where the six-foot deep hole laid.


    Men in army green uniforms stood around the perimeter, while people in white protection suits stood either around the hole or in it with devices in their hands scanning for possible energy signatures or hazardous substances.


    "Inform the sergeant, there''s something she''ll want to see". A male dressed from head to toe in white suits with only a glass visor left to show his face said in a loud voice towards the guarding personnel.


    One of them nodded solemnly, not a change of expression on his face, before turning around towards a large tent.


    Minutes later, he walked out again and stood aside the tent, making way for another figure.


    A tall female sergeant dressed in army uniform stepped out of the tent with a calm face and an air of indifference around her.


    She walked closer towards the hole where the scientists investigating the situation of the hole were.


    "Did you find anything". She said, stopping a few feet away.


    "Nothing we seem to understand, mam". He said in reply.


    "Explain".


    "The energy signature given off in this hole is unlike anything I''ve ever seen". He said, causing her eyebrows to crease.


    He continued. "So far it hasn''t shown any obvious effects, but there''s nothing else we can discover about it. Our scanners can barely get a reading before it either fries or stops working".


    "It''s not radiation? Dark matter?"


    "No mam. None we''ve ever seen before. But it''s fading fast. The energy was way more concentrated last night than it is now. My estimation, it''ll be completely gone in an hour".


    His words gave her a headache as she took off her dark glasses and rubbed her head.


    She just contacted Cadmus and apparently, this wasn''t one of their own either. The energy used here wasn''t something they had previously come into contact with. If it''s not radiation, then it wasn''t a known weapon. Not dark matter, then it definitely wasn''t a metahuman.


    For all they knew, this might be from another one of those weapons smuggled by Intergang or maybe some kind of alien energy signature.


    And they had zero leads on what it was. Any side effects it might cause, they had no idea, leaving her somewhat mentally tired.


    With many thoughts going through her mind, she shook her head and put on her glasses.


    "Since we can''t get anything here, then wrap it up. Call to have the road fixed up and let''s get out of here". She said as she turned around, walking back towards her tent.


    The only thing left was to inform her superior on their findings, which was apparently nothing.


    Boom!!!


    At that moment, however, a loud screech tore through the air, causing everyone to look up abruptly.


    The female sergeant hastily turned her head and looked up. Human vision was greatly limited compared to other species. That didn''t stop them, however, from noticing what looked like two little black dots in the sky screeching through the air like a comet.


    Their entry left a Sonic boom in their wake, which caused a strong gale to breeze past them unintentionally.


    "Hahahahaha!" The sound of maniac laughter filled their ears.


    The sergeants eyes widened as she saw the dots move rapidly towards the direction of....


    "Metropolis!" She couldn''t help but gasp.


    "It''s headed to Metropolis. Someone send a message to General Sam Lane immediately, call headquarters, tell them we have a situation going down in Metropolis right now. Clear up people, move, move, move, Immediately".


    Her shouted with clear urgency in her voice as she rushed towards the tent. The temporary camp quickly fell into immediate evacuation as personnel rushed in different directions.


    Meanwhile, the two dotted figures continued to move towards the bustling city with no intention of paying attention that they were noticed by people below.


    Meanwhile, within the city.


    "Thank you for the help. I appreciate it". He said as he stepped towards the door of the shop. Behind him was a female cashier who looked towards the leaving figure, her face shyly dropped and flushed red as if it were about to drip blood.


    She had Auburn hair and looked to be in her late twenties.


    Numerous thoughts passed through her mind within a split second.


    Seeing his figure leaving, her eyes snapped into clarity as momentary panic appeared on her face.


    She stepped forward in a hurried manner and slid a hand into her pocket.


    "Hey! Um, you didn''t... didn''t tell me your name".


    "Huh?" He stopped in his tracks after a moment of confusion. Not at all wondering why she asked for his name, but for the fact that that thought hadn''t come to him.


    He fell into silence as his thoughts lingered. He never thought of a name for himself, as it wasn''t deemed important. So technically, he didn''t have a name.


    The female cashier looked at his paused silhouette, not responding to her question. The hand that was about to give him a piece of paper with her phone number written on it stilled slightly.


    "... A name..... didn''t really think about....." His murmurings ceased as a sound caught his attention. He wasn''t the only one, as the female heard it too. In fact, every citizen of Metropolis heard it as well.


    A smile subconsciously appeared on his face as he raised his head to look outside.


    "Oh! Looks like they are here". The female heard him say those words, but before she could say anything, his eyes shone with a bright purple before disappearing in place.


    All that was left was a momentarily stunned and latter freaked out cashier, who would also file a disappearing person police report later in the day.


    And the person the report was filed for appeared again as if stepping out from a hole in the void. His new location upon another building which wasn''t the daily planet.


    "Looks like good old Clark Kent is finally here. Time to set things in motion". He said as he watched two black dots rapidly fall from the sky before smashing into a building.


    Boom!!!!


    His eyes turned purple alongside strange coma patterns appearing one after another before turning into a more complex pattern. Time seemed to slow down as his vision zoomed in to get a glimpse of what was happening.


    SUPERMAN IS HERE ALONGSIDE.... LOBO?

 Chapter 4 Lets Dance

    The side of the building was smashed into, causing a very loud bang!


    Dust and debris exploded everywhere, falling both inward and outward as large rocks broke apart from the building falling towards the sidewalk.


    The unsuspecting people, too stunned to react fast enough, still reeling in from the shock while trying to understand what exactly was going on, turned into unfortunate victims who ''oh so bravely'' cushioned the rock''s impact.


    Splats of blood flowed all over the sidewalk alongside a very squishy sound, although nobody really heard it as the whole block quickly fell into pandemonium.


    Screams of horror rang across the place like a siren''s call, while cars crashed into each other in an attempt to escape in a hurry. People bumped into each other, some got pushed down, while others who couldn''t regain their footing were trampled upon like it were a Black Friday shopping spree.


    The chaotic Metropolis just got a lot more chaotic in a matter of seconds. He didn''t notice at all.... Or at least he did, but he couldn''t care less.


    His mind too focused on the actual situation at hand to pay attention to fleeing humans who needed possible saving.


    Although he looked human, he certainly wasn''t. Or maybe he was in his current form, but he didn''t consider himself as one.


    A loud bang occurred in the building, followed by another. A figure was smashed out at a speed faster than what the human eye could register, skittering down the asphalt floor dozens of meters before crashing into another building on the opposite end.


    Deep pits and craters were left every time his pale white body slammed into the floor, until he left another hole in the wall of a building.


    All anyone else could see was a momentary blur in their line of vision before a loud crash sounded on the other side of the street.


    He who stood on top of a building, however, was completely unique. The comma patterns in his purple eyes had changed into a much more complex symbol.


    His eyes thrummed with energy and a weird sensation of power, giving him insight far superior to anything any regular human could ever hope to achieve in several lifetimes.


    The scene of the pale skinned man.... well, if he could even call him a man, getting knocked outside, causing numerous pits with his body and crashing was as clear to him as a TikTok video in slow motion.


    Wait! Has TikTok been developed in this reality? Well, he''ll find out later.


    Anyway, the point being, he could see way more than what many people could.


    This was possible due to the ability he had given himself last night, costing him a total of one thousand, five hundred and thirty-four units of energy.


    Damn! It hurts just thinking about it. Still, completely worth it.


    He couldn''t help a slight smile creeping up his face and placing itself firmly on his lips.


    Mangekyo Sharingan.


    As for why the color was purple..... well, let''s just say it''s a customized version.


    The radiant purple glow in his eyes thrummed slightly as he looked away to the position of the initial crash.


    The cloud of dust which obscured the view of what was inside served no hindrance to his insanely enhanced vision.


    Ignoring the screams of panic and cries for help, he takes in the sight before him.


    A man fully clad in blue spandex, red boots, a flowing red cape and a massive ''S'' symbol on his chest stood heroically in the building. With eyes glowing red, his shiny black hair and cool looking cape flowed with the wind, giving him an air of heroism, strength, and perspective charm. Where the wind comes from, we shall never know. With his arms boldly folded across his chest, a nonchalant expression on his face portraying the confidence capable of dealing with anything the universe throws at him..........


    Ok, Error. Stop, stop!


    Is what he would say if the sight before him was anything remotely close to what was just unjustly spouted.


    The Man of steel was unmistakable, but the same couldn''t be said for the state he was in.


    Superman rested on one knee, his chest heaving and his breathing labored. Heavy pants followed his every breath as he knelt in his shredded suit, which did little to hide the heavy bruises that discolored his skin tone.


    As if that weren''t enough to describe his miserable condition, what little was left of his skin that wasn''t bruised and battered in general looked unhealthily pale. Almost corpse like, even as the veins on his body took on an unhealthy touch of green.


    Well, on the bright side, at least this version of Superman didn''t wear his underwear on the outside. Or maybe he did, but it was destroyed in his battle.


    Well, he won''t judge. Much.


    With the scene in view, the situation didn''t surprise him in the slightest. After all, he already knew what would happen and why the Almighty Superman, the alien capable of lifting airplanes, well known for his invulnerability was left in such a state.


    Superman raised his slightly lowered head and looked forward. His gaze hardened as he pushed off the floor through the opening made at the side of the building, charging forward like a battering ram.


    And there he saw it. Something that everyone else, probably Superman included, would fail to notice. The moment Superman pushed forward, a hanging piece of rock on the building was pushed off due to the strong wind pressure.


    Directly underneath its landing spot was a little boy, most likely eleven or twelve years old. The poor thing was so frightened that he didn''t even notice the rock falling closer towards his head that would lead him to an early demise.


    He saw it. As the rock fell from the air in slow motion, he looked at the boy who had tears and snot on his face, so scared he literally pissed his pants and pondered about the fickleness of life.


    He could save him.


    It was well within his ability to stop the rock from falling on the boy and prevent his death. Or simple move the boy out of the way to ensure he doesn''t die.


    After all, it''s a young soul right there who probably hasn''t even experienced the reality of the world.


    Oh! How sad.


    And yet¡­.


    Splats!


    The same sound of flesh being splattered and bones being crushed rang out. Nobody could even hear it, let alone pay attention to it.


    His face didn''t change. Not even a tiny shift in his micro expressions.


    Whether he lived, died, became a cripple, It didn''t matter to him.


    Besides, the boy was destined to die today. In more ways than one.


    He had spent a hundred Apex celestial points and seen thousands of possibilities. The boy which he just saw had died in thousands of them.


    Even if he survived this encounter, there were many timelines in which he would face an unfortunate fate. Trampled underfoot and become a vegetable, paralyzed after getting hit by a stray car.


    Shot to death by a passing robber when he witnessed him killing during the chaos. Hell, even something as ridiculous as slipping on a puddle of water.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    The boy didn''t have anything great going for him today.


    He would survive if he himself interfered and wanted to guarantee his safety. But why in heavens gates would he do that?


    Besides, he had more important things to think about here.


    So what was the original point?..... Ah! yes!


    Superman, the so-called protector of the people, defender of Justice, indirectly responsible for an accidental death. These are the things they don''t show in the cartoons, people!


    Superman flew towards his opponent with sharp eyes and a determined gaze, arriving at the opposite end of the street within a second. With one hand cocked back, he appeared in front of the hole and shot forward with a punch.


    Yet, the swirling dust in front of the hole was pushed aside as a figure leaped out of it with his fist, throwing a punch.


    Those blood-red eyes looked just like the Sharingan before customization except, strangely, this one had no pupils. His face sported a savage grin as he went head-to-head with Superman in a straightforward punch.


    Such an action would be deemed suicidal by many, but he knew who this freak show dressed in a biker suit was, and the fact that he had the strength to back up his guts was no matter to joke about.


    BOOM!!!


    The two fists collided, causing the nearby windows to shatter and the rocks under them to crumble like it were made from hardened cookies instead of hardened rock.


    An event that anyone in Metropolis would have found shocking and unbelievable actually happened in the next moment.


    The man of steel who rarely had an opponent in the strength factor and always had to hold back when dealing with weaker opponents lost in a frontal confrontation as he was pushed back several meters.


    A sharp pain spread through his arm, causing him to wince momentarily as he tried to stabilize his floating figure. Unfortunately, the chalk white man that stood seven feet tall wouldn''t grant him the pleasure or organizing himself as he leapt at Superman again with rendered ferocity.


    "Take this Frag Face!" He yelled at the top of his voice as his left arm, balled into a fist, threw in for an uppercut.


    Superman raised both arms in an attempt to defend himself from the blow. He did shield his face, but his arms bore the brunt of it as the punch collided.


    The mere force within that slightly larger than a human sized fist was truly terrifying as Superman was lifted off the ground and into the air, flying backwards.


    "The main man ain''t done yet frag face". His voice that sounded like a chainsaw grinding against a rock sounded as he leapt into the air in pursuit after the disappearing figure.


    Neither noticed the acute attention of an observer on a roof not far away.


    "Almost there". He said with a slight chuckle as he activated the ability of his Mangekyo Sharingan.


    "Kamui". His body disappeared from the rooftop, appearing on another roof many blocks away from his initial position. He had just arrived when he saw the falling silhouette of Superman''s figure.


    It didn''t fall completely before it was tackled again by the chalk white male, who made him descend faster with a simple knee to the gut, which connected splendidly.


    Superman crashed into the asphalt road, the ground cracked around him as rock pieces flew every which way from the impact. Blood trailed the side of his lips.


    He didn''t even have an opportunity to get his thoughts together before he was slammed deeper into the rubble, causing the craters to expand into an even larger size.


    A foot rested squarely on his chest.


    With great difficulty, he opened his eyes to look at the man who had put him in such a state.


    Standing above him was the seven-foot - tall behemoth of a man dressed entirely in biking getup. Well, he couldn''t be called a man.


    Despite his human figure, his features showed clearly he was in no way human.


    Chalk white skin, Blood-red eyes with no pupils, and a maniacal grin filled with savage brutality.


    Yep, definitely fits the image.


    Intergalactic bounty Hunter, Last of the Czarnians, Mass murdering maniac.


    Many titles perfectly befitting for the one, the only, Mad biker himself, Lobo.


    He looked at the Czarnian from afar, an expression of intrigue and curiosity lit up on his handsome features.


    Meanwhile, Lobo spat out a tooth from his mouth then grinned hideously. His eyes filled with raging bloodlust.


    "I gotta admit, of all the freaks and wannabes I ever had to hunt across galaxies for their bounty, you Mr. kryptonian certainly made me work for it. Oh, yeah! I can definitely feel it. You don''t know how many broken ribs I''ve had over the course of our little throw around. I don''t even know how many of my teeth are missing". He said with sadistic delight as he examined his prize.


    His body was in no way unscathed from their battle. His biker outfit was torn, his right arm was bent the wrong way, his chest had three inch deep wounds, a bone was protruding from his knee.


    Even as he stood there, he bled heavily himself, as the ground underneath him was gradually turning red with his blood.


    Their battle hadn''t started here, but in space. And man was it brutal. The victor had only been decided after they both landed on this blue planet. Yet, it didn''t matter.


    He had come out on top, although barely. He had his racial status to thank for that, and a little something he had picked up along the way just in case.


    Clark couldn''t feel anything but pain right now. It literally hurt everywhere.


    The pain assaulted his nerves, making him unable to lift a finger. Never before had he faced such pain in his life. It was tiring, really. The enemy before him was something he hadn''t dealt with before.


    An opponent with strength and speed sufficient to tussle it out with him for hours on end and still have the stamina to go several more rounds. Not to mention his healing factor.


    It was what made the whole thing even more frustrating. The guy was practically a mutated cockroach dumped in radiation.


    If it were just that, it wouldn''t be that bad. At least both of them could be considered evenly matched, with him having a significant advantage in strength and speed over the other party. In which, what kept the latter alive was his ability to come back from injuries as if it never happened.


    But sadly, that all changed when......


    "This ain''t feel right on so many levels". Lobo said as he raised his arm to show special knuckles made specifically from Superman''s worst nightmare.


    Kryptonite.


    As he said so, he brought the glowing rocks closing to Clark''s face, causing his already weak breath to weaken even more.


    "Who would have thought that a couple of rocks would make a thing like you so powerless. Haha! I almost feel kind of bad. Nevertheless, the main man always collects his bounty. It ain''t ever changed before, and it certainly won''t start with you. After all, the reputation has to be upheld if I want good business". As he said so, he reached for his belt buckle, on which rested an alien blaster.


    The exception, however, was that this blaster glowed green.


    Lobo grinned as he took in the sight of everything around him. The horror, the chaos, the destruction that had unfolded on this city. It brought him a twisted sense of delight deep within his soul.


    He could sense it. As an alien of the Czarnian race, his senses were far above what normal humans could achieve.


    Precisely for this reason, he could sense it all the more clearly. The stares, he could feel them.


    Dozens, no probably hundreds of these little earthlings were watching him right now.


    He could feel their fear, their horror, and their worry. Worry specifically directed towards the one he currently has his foot on.


    "Hehehe! Since they care about him so much, what will their faces look like when he dies now". He thought cruelly as he raised the blaster.


    "Goodbye little kryptonian. See you in hell. Haha hahaha..... huh?" His maniacal laughter was brought to a halt as confusion set upon his features.


    Pak! Pak! Pak! Pak!


    The sounds of clapping caught his attention, originating from the same oddity that had caused him to stop laughing.


    He turned his head around to see what he could only describe as a human fledgling, walking towards them on the road. His clothes were.... no description required for him, and his hands were strangely clapping.


    He looked at himself and a slight smile could be seen on his lips as he continued to walk forward.


    "Well done Lobo. Couldn''t have expected more from the mad biker and his theatrics". He was genuinely happy at that moment.


    What a perfect stage, what an enthralled audience. A defeated, almost dying Superman and a menacing Lobo on the scene. Hundreds of Metropolitans, some practically filming this very scene right now, it was a near perfect set.


    Of course, nearly perfect because it was just Superman and not the whole Justice league. That would be the icing on the cake.


    Of course, that was expecting too much from Lobo.


    If not, he could have perfectly used that Lex Luthor punchline from ''The Death and Return Of Superman''.


    "You think taking down the Justice league would scare us? That happens once a week".


    Anyway.


    As long as any other leaguer apart from Batman and the Arrow were added into the mix, Lobo would be fried chicken on Christmas dinner.


    Still, it didn''t have to be perfect, as things were good enough as it is.


    "Showtime people". He said inwardly as he stopped clapping, put his arm into his pocket and took out two red and blue pills.


    "Who the fuck are you whelp?" Lobo asked as he examined him, literally wondering if this little human before him had gone nuts or something.


    Yet before he could say anything else, he saw a bluish Aurora glow light up in the boy''s hands.


    The bluish energy quickly seeped into the two pills he held in his hand before disappearing. The pills gave off a resplendent light before, looking no different from before.


    If this were a cartoon, Lobo would probably have a huge question mark on his forehead right now. But the male figure took the two pills infused with who knows what and casually threw both pills'' into his mouth and swallowed in one gulp.


    "Umhhh". He gave out a slightly satisfied moan from his lips as he closed his eyes, seemingly relishing the taste.


    "..... Son.... run.... run away from here". The weak voice of Superman sounded out from underneath Lobo''s leg as he tried to convey his words.


    Lobo turned to look at the male before him, his face releasing a ferocious look.


    "I don''t care if you''re one of his, but you better listen. No one gets in between... Oh, what the hell! I''ll just kill you". He smiled in cruel delight as he aimed the energy gun towards the male and pulled the trigger.


    A green bean of kryptonite energy blasted towards him with full intent of taking his life. Yet at that moment, the fledgling in front of Lobo suddenly opened his eyes.


    Bam! The beam connected. Or did it? Lobo who was already smiling, had his eyes widen as the beam did nothing but pass through his body and continued to move forward before causing an explosion upon collision.


    "Nice!" He said with his lips upturned to form a playful smile.


    "Now my turn". Power burst through his clothes as, red crimson energy erupted from all parts of his body in all directions.


    However, his figure disappeared the next moment before reappearing in front of Lobo. A fist cocked backwards and punched forwards with remarkable speed, leaving Lobo too stunned at the turn of events to react.


    The punch landed on his chest with a cataclysmic force, flinging lobo away like a rag doll and breaking through one, two, three, four walls and straight out of the building to crash yet again into another wall and repeat the process.


    "Alright Lobo, Let''s dance".

 Chapter 5 Cataclysm

    ***One Minute before the crash***


    "Lane!" Perry yelled in his usually loud voice from across the room. He wore black khaki trousers on his waist, a blue long sleeved shirt along with a green waistcoat jacket, rounded off by his slightly loosened tie.


    His black eyes, which had the visual sharpness of a hawk, locked onto a black-haired woman sitting at a desk not far away from his office.


    Lois Lane, who had been subjected to his loud voice long enough to get used to it, didn''t even flinch as her head remained buried in her computer.


    In fact, pretty much everyone in the Planet had long become accustomed to it.


    "What is it, Perry?" She asked in reply and questioned at the same time.


    "Where''s that cover story on Luthors gala for my front page. I asked you for that yesterday. Our readers aren''t gonna read the blank side of the paper now, you know".


    "Writing a report takes time. You should know that, Perry. I''ll have it on soon". Lois said as she typed rapidly on her keyboard. Lex Luthor held a fundraiser just the previous night in the name of ''charity'' again.


    Clark wasn''t present, so she was assigned to the task. Better to say, she was covering for him.


    "The things I do for you, Clark¡­" Lois thought inwardly, a slight grumbling in her tone.


    Seriously, she missed an interview with that ex-senator for this.


    If Superman were around, though, she probably wouldn''t be stuck on this as she knew the city would prefer an interview from the Man of Metropolis on the front paper than a charity donation gig.


    As for another one of the brave and bald¡­. Ahem..... Brave and bold Lex Luthors attempt to increase his reputation for the upcoming presidential elections... she honestly couldn''t be bothered right now.


    If anything, the possible shady secrets he had on the senator who recently dropped out of the presidential elections out of his own ''Free will'' seemed like a much more enticing prospect to write about.


    As for her thoughts on Lex''s running for president.


    Isn''t the world bad enough as it is already?


    "Well good". He said, his eyes darting from left to right before narrowing slightly. "And can anyone tell me why Kent is nowhere to be seen?"


    "He said he got a lead on an Intergang weapons trade. It could be a juicy story, or at least that''s what he told me". Someone else answered before Lois could get a word in.


    A beauty with a name tag going by Cat Grant.


    "Great Cesar''s ghost, why wasn''t I informed about this". Perry asked.


    "95% chance he did, and you probably just forgot". Lois said with a smile that caused Perry''s eyebrows to crease further.


    "You know, insubordination to your boss can get you fired. You do know that, right miss Lane".


    "Oh! Fire your best investigative reporter? I doubt you''d do something like that, would you, Perry?" Lois let out a cocky grin as she raised her head from her laptop.


    "Why you..." Perry didn''t have the time to finish his words.


    Boom!


    The sound of what seemed to be an explosion according to their sense of hearing startled everyone.


    "Huh? What''s that?" Everyone wondered inwardly as they looked outside the window, towards where the sound originated from.


    Lois in particular finally stood up from her desk in an attempt to find out what was going on.


    "Jimmy, what''s happening?" She asked as she turned her head to look at a male of average stature, orange hair, wearing a sweater vest.


    "Don''t know, but from the looks of it, it''s coming from downtown". Jimmy Olsen, the daily planet photographer, had barely finished speaking when another explosion sounded like a thunderclap.


    "Sounds like another explosion. Could it be another Villain attack?"


    "Something''s definitely happening downtown. But what?"


    "Don''t know, jimmy, but we''re gonna find out".


    "Wait! We are?"


    "Yep, to the News chopper, let''s go". Lois said as she held Jimmy by the arm and dragged him towards the roof.


    "Hey wait! You can''t be serious. Chief hasn''t even assigned us yet". Jimmy exclaimed in panic as he tried to resist Lois''s pull.


    Yet, the next words from his boss shattered his fragile hopes.


    "Lane, Olsen, what are you two still doing with your asses in the building? Have the pilot fire up the chopper and get me firsthand info on what''s happening out there. Everyone else, be ready for news coming our way. Move it people". Perry yelled at his employees, his hands pointing here and there with saliva flying out of his mouth.


    Lois had a victorious smile on her face, pulling forward the listless, dead looking Jimmy Olsen who looked like his favorite Cat just died.


    ....


    Lobo felt the world constantly spinning around him as his body went through one wall after another before his hard ass came down with a bang.


    "Ugh!" A grunt of pain escaped from his lips as dust filled his eyes and rubble fell on his body. His eyes widened as he pushed the debris aside as he got up to his feet, only to wince in pain again.


    "Ow! What the fuck...." Lobo exclaimed, his blood-red eyes looking down to the chest area where his body had received the punch.


    Dark red. On his chalk white patch of skin where one of the deep wounds he sustained in his battle with Superman lay, all he could see was black.


    No, it wasn''t just black. It hurt like hell, too.


    "That little shit!" A low growl escaped his mouth as his features grew hideous.


    He dashed out of the building, eyes blazing with rage as he sought his opponent.


    With an exaggerated leap, his figure takes high into the air, advancing dozens of meters in a single bound. And then, he sees the whelp standing there, a red blazing aura going around his entire being like a small cyclone.


    Not far from him was the kryptonian who rested in the rubble. Down but certainly not dead, meaning his job was still incomplete.


    And so, he fell from the air in rapid descent. A fist of his cocked backwards as he said with a roar.


    "No one gets between me and my bounty whelp!" Then he swung for a vicious blow.


    Boom! His fist hit..... The ground. The power within caused the ground to crack and explode. Dust and debris yet again formed everywhere as the ground caved in forty meters in all directions.


    A crater formed directly under his feet, several meters deep, engulfing everything close to it. Be it cars, trucks, bikes, fire hydrants, mailboxes, it was all swallowed.


    Yet another miss!


    Lobo knew. He felt nothing but rock when he threw that punch, meaning the whelp had avoided his blow just like he did the energy beam.


    Lobo frowned, a hint of annoyance appearing between his eyebrows. He raised his head up to see he had put himself in a ditch. Expanding his senses, his frown immediately turned into a smirk.


    "Gotcha".


    Meanwhile, a silhouette appeared seemingly out of nowhere at the edge of the hole where a God knows how deep ditch now laid within his vision.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    His eyes were glowing purple as he examined the hole made from Lobo''s punch.


    He had to admit, though, Lobo was strong. In terms of strength and stamina, his was within Superman''s weight class. Worthy of an intergalactic bounty Hunter.


    His thoughts were interrupted as the dust gave way to Lobo''s figure appearing before him at an astonishingly fast speed.


    "Gotcha punk". He yelled as he stretched his hand in a capture motion to hold him by the throat.


    His body didn''t even flinch, maintaining his neutral gaze as the giant hand reached for his throat as if he couldn''t react fast enough, only to have it pass through him like a throwing star through air.


    Lobo''s eyes widened in incredulity, clearly shocked at yet another failed attempt to land an attack on his opponent.


    The latter, however, didn''t give him the benefit of organizing his thoughts.


    Lobo had missed, but he certainly won''t. Especially at such close range.


    Ominous dark energy coated his fists as he punched at Lobo again with nothing but sheer force. Nevertheless, Lobo was no vegetarian.


    His instincts as an experienced bounty hunter kicked in as he raised his left hand to block with full force.


    The left hand caught the dark red fist. The following result, however, was something Lobo hadn''t expected.


    As soon as hand and fist collided, an unprecedented amount of pain flooded his senses originating from his defending arm. The pain spread from his palm to his fingers, to his wrists in a matter of seconds, hindering Lobo from being able to block the amount of force that followed the pain.


    The strength within the blow pushed his arm back, hitting him in the chest again. Lobo flew out, from one end of the nearly forty meter long hole and almost reaching the other end.


    He crashed straight into the crater again.


    "Agghhhhh!" Lobo let out a scream. He looked at his left arm that was now glowing dark red, and it brought him unprecedented pain.


    Watching Lobo wright in agony, he felt no joy or happiness. Maybe a slight satisfaction for his pending victory, but that was about it.


    Although the battle wasn''t over yet, but he couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow.


    "Although I didn''t expect any other result unless someone else joined in the fray against me, but still. It seems a bit, too easy".


    He thought to himself as he evaluated his situation and sighed internally. The power of the Mangekyo Sharingan was truly too OP.


    Lobo wasn''t weak in any way. This was clear on how he was ale to go toe to toe with Superman. Along with his immortality, Lobo was one big cheat in the DC world that just wouldn''t die no matter what you did to him.


    This was a guy who needed every single cell thoroughly destroyed to actually be effectively killed. If not, his body would just regenerate right from scratch. Although it would take time to achieve complete regeneration, the fact that he was reborn couldn''t be changed.


    Coupled with the fact that his soul was banned from the entering the afterlife and his healing factor was immune to the anti-life, This guy was virtually unkillable.


    Lobo was, in a sense, an Apex predator with few opponents. Opponents that could be counted on two hands and fewer who could treat him as prey.


    However, his luck ran out when he met him, someone who had a full set of restraints for undying heavy hitters like Lobo.


    Speaking of heavy hitters.


    He turned his head towards the ditch and frowned in thought. Superman was close by when Lobo created the crater. Everything within forty meters had fallen into it, Superman included. Meaning Superman was there, somewhere under all that rubble.


    But it shouldn''t be a problem, right?


    I mean, the big guy is kryptonian. Even if he was beaten to such a state by Lobo, as long as there was no more kryptonite, it was almost impossible to die by being buried alive under rubble.


    That kind of death was way too humiliating for the Man Of Steel himself.


    So he''s ok???


    Yeah, probably fine. No need to worry about him". He thought, reassuring himself before turning his attention back to the Czarnian''s situation.


    The intrigue in his eyes made it look like he found Lobo''s situation quite captivating.


    Lobo had never felt this way before. It didn''t feel like anything he had previously experienced.


    I mean, sure, he had experienced pain before.


    Like his body being pierced by sharp objects or blasted by energy beams. Even when his bones were smashed or twisted, like it were when he fought the blue kryptonian earlier.


    That was the pain he was familiar with.


    Pain he could shrug off with at most a wince or a groan, and throw himself back into the fight with a laugh on the side.


    Not this time, though.


    Hell no. This, was pain. Unimaginable pain.


    It felt like the insides of his arm were squirming, being destroyed, unraveled.... Lobo wasn''t an English man who was fluent with words from the dictionary. So he would fall short of the right words to describe his sensation.


    Nevertheless, that didn''t matter. What mattered was the fact that his hand turned dark red and was crumbling.


    Yep, crumbling.


    Now that''s the word for it.


    Lobo watched with horror growing in his heart as the black red energy engulfed his hand and, worst of all, started spreading.


    The pain and horror of seeing his hand crumbling into Ash set off something in him.


    Seeing the situation of his arm, Lobo didn''t dare to waste time. He took out a gleaming black hook from his belt buckle with the previously mangled arm that now looked almost as good as new, and slashed towards his hand.


    Squelch!!


    The disgusting sight of Lobo severing his arm came to his vision. He, however, watched with interest and curiosity in his eyes.


    The arm that was cut off seemed to have lost something important, as the dark red color that was originally advancing at a steady pace suddenly picked up speed as if it had just chugged down a can of Red Bull.


    In two seconds, Lobo''s severed arm was destroyed, crumbled and turned to ash.


    Squelch!!


    Still, the scene didn''t end there, as lobo plunged the sharp hook into his chest. He let out a grunt of pain as he used the hook to excavate large pieces of his flesh that was now dyed with a spreading dark red aura.


    Seeing this scene, He nodded inwardly.


    "The effect of the new ability is quite satisfactory. However, it''s quite difficult to control". He frowned as he thought about this.


    Lobo looked at his arm that no longer existed and the deep piece of flesh missing from his chest with some lingering fear in his heart. If he hadn''t been decisive enough, he might have suffered more than just losing an arm.


    His eyebrows narrowed as he looked at the human in front of him, his voice solemn as he spoke.


    "..... You... What the hell are you?"


    "Me? Well, to be honest, I don''t know what exactly to call myself right now. But seeing as we are on Earth, I guess you can consider me human". He replied with a smile, while Lobo frowned.


    "Human?" He looked at him with a look that said, ''Do you take me for a fool?''


    "Nah, you ain''t human. If you''re what passes around here for human, then the universe would be straight up fucked by now".


    Lobo slowly got up from resting on his butt. He took out a cigar from his jacket with the only arm he could presently use.


    "I''ve heard about the human species and compared to the other races, they don''t get Jack shit going for them".


    "Is that so?"


    "Oh yeah, they got nothing. They''re weak, squishy, hell they don''t even live long. And you..... You¡­"


    Lobo stood up from the floor. He had lit up his cigarette, and it was now between his teeth.


    "What are you? Like twenty or twenty-five? You''re not even moderately old enough to pass for a whelp on most planets. So Nah, you''re definitely not human. I''d rather believe you''re kryptonian or something else entirely. But kryptonians, they can''t do what you just did either".


    The seven-foot tall man said, his eyes staring intently at his opponent. Silence reigned for ten seconds before the latter laughed.


    "Hahahaha! Well, what I am, or what I ain''t should be the least of your worries". His smile turned into a full-blown grin.


    "Plus, why do you think I should let you stall for more time to let your injuries heal?" He pointed out a simple fact.


    Lobo''s face sank. This damn fledgling was more cunning than he thought. His healing factor was perverted to say the least, he was sure he could regenerate even if only one drop of blood was left, but even with his level of healing, in addition to the missing flesh on his chest, regrowing limbs took time.


    Time which, presently, he was sure this kid in his view wouldn''t give him. He couldn''t be killed, yes, but he could certainly be imprisoned. Spending eternity in a cell was a fate worse than Lobo''s non-existent death.


    No, it was a fate worse than life without booze and cigarettes.


    A scowl flashed on his face as Lobo grew more dignified. Various thoughts moved in his head on how he could defeat this.... this..... Whatever the hell he was anyway.


    He couldn''t hurt who he was unable to hit, and this one didn''t have any weakness to green rocks like the kryptonian. Still, it didn''t matter. After all,


    He was Lobo, the Intergalactic Mercenary for hire.


    A man who didn''t fear death and had no loved one''s he cared for didn''t know what fear was.


    "Alright, you little shit. You want a piece of the Main man? Then let''s take it all out. Lobo style". A vicious grin was pasted on his face.


    Looking at Lobo, his features had no expression, but his mind was full of thoughts. To him, defeating Lobo wasn''t an issue.


    The two pills he had infused with energy had given him the abilities he deemed necessary to make sure Lobo wasn''t a threat to him.


    The first one had significantly changed his physiology above superhuman levels. Super Strength, Super speed, reflexes, reaction time, body defenses, vitality, stamina, you name it all.


    To wrap it in one sentence, he had given himself the physical capabilities of a full-fledged kryptonian


    Capable of taking down massive buildings with a single punch, while still holding back. He could even fly right now and has tactile telekinesis.


    Presently, he felt all his cells within his body brimming with what seemed to be unending energy, his veins rolling with a powerful force making him want to vent it out immediately.


    This was also the reason he had gotten himself a Mangekyo Sharingan instead of it''s higher evolved form, Eternal Mangekyo.


    With the strength of his physical body and overwhelming life force, did he still need to worry about going blind?


    Still, if it were just that, then his chances of winning against Lobo were all but guaranteed.


    He could tussle with Lobo, but defeating the immortal was highly improbable.


    It was the second energy infused pill however that made defeating Lobo a guaranteed probability.


    The power to collapse a target into dust, disassembling or destabilizing them on a microscopic level. Sub-power of Transmutation and Destructive version of Matter Manipulation.


    Also known as Disintegration, Power of Reed Strucker from the Gifted series, or better yet, as he liked to call it, Cataclysm from TALES OF MIRACULOUS LADYBUG.


    Or if you still can''t recognize either of the two, then you should certainly know the famous scene of Thanos snapping his fingers to obliterate half the life in the universe.


    Except this was on a way smaller scale.


    Lobo could regenerate from almost anything given enough time. His unending stamina made sure he had enough energy to stall for a long enough duration in a fight to achieve it.


    But could he defeat an opponent who would disintegrate every part of his body as long as he allowed physical contact? Or even stall for time in a fight if he didn''t run away?


    Lobo wasn''t a Mage. No, he was the textbook perfect example of what a tank should be like in Video games.


    High defense, higher blood value, unending resurrections. But the shortcomings were apparent.


    Lack of ranged attack.


    So basically, as long as he touched Lobo, that part would soon turn to ash. And with Kamui, Lobo couldn''t hit him at all.


    What was perfect restraint? This was. The power he had gained from these two abilities was enormous, but the price to pay.


    ..... Hiss! Nope, don''t mention it.


    So defeating Lobo was not in his mind. Killing him however?


    Now there''s the problem, as Lobo couldn''t really die. Even if he disintegrated his body, Lobo would still find a way to return. He was banned from the afterlife after all.


    At that moment, a news chopper appeared from a distance, moving closer towards them before keeping a distance away.

 Chapter 6 Absorb

    In the sky.


    "Holy cow pit, did Superman have a showdown with someone down there? The whole block''s a mess". An astounded, short, lean, nerdy looking Jimmy Olsen exclaimed in surprise as he looked at the ravaged streets.


    The confrontation between Superman and Lobo was very short. Well, the duration of the fight when they landed in Metropolis was short.


    The real battle started somewhere in space, and only God knows how long that took. Still, in the less than a minute short clash in metropolis, a full block was wrecked, casualties were constantly rising and now according to the trending videos he had searched online, there was now a massive hole on Maplewood Street.


    More importantly, Superman was seen being beaten by a new enemy never seen before.


    This was mainly captured through shaky camera lenses from people who were strangely still brave enough to stand and shoot videos when they should be running for their lives. So the credibility wasn''t even at face value.


    Still


    The thought of someone being able to beat up the Man of steel sent shivers down his spine.


    And now, he was on a chopper flying right to the heart of that battle with his very squishy self.


    It''s times like this that our young Jimmy Olsen wondered whether signing up for photography in Metropolis was a good idea.


    The answer to that question was unknown, but Jimmy was 124.44444% sure he didn''t sign up for this.


    Ever since lane appeared at the Planet, and Superman in Metropolis, things like this had, weirdly enough, become his new normal.


    "It can''t be!" Jimmy turned his head to Lois Lane, who had just exclaimed in slight shock. Jimmy lowered his head to catch a glimpse of what was there, and he froze when he saw a live video of a battered Superman who looked as if he were about to meet his doom.


    The video was shaky, and the heavy pants from the audio pointed out that the person recording this live was probably a mere civilian who had a death penchant or a sucker for endangering himself in life-threatening situations.


    I mean seriously, who risks their lives for a video feed? Still, one had to admit that the risk was directly proportional to the reward, as the video that was barely a minute long was accumulating views at a rapid pace.


    Now, the numbers were in the hundreds of thousands and showed no signs of slowing down.


    Unfortunately, the feed was interrupted as a loud bang attracted their attention, followed by the phone tumbling before falling on the floor to show a hand sticking right outside a fallen stone ledge.


    It looks like the owner of the phone was squashed by a falling, heavy object. Lois turned off the video with a glum expression.


    Her mind racing as she thought of the brief second she saw Superman. The sight of him didn''t look good at all.


    Boom!


    "What the hell is happening over there?" Jimmy Olsen said with a look of shock, drawing Lois''s attention. They looked as the helicopter moved towards the sound of the large boom.


    Less than thirty seconds later, a giant crater appeared in their view with two figures near the ruins.


    The helicopter slowly hovered above the impact point as they both got ready to do their jobs.


    "Ok Lois, we are live in three, two, one, go". Jimmy Olsen said as he pointed his camera towards Lois, who now had a microphone in hand and a headset over her head.


    Lois, whose face was initially a bit worried, immediately turned calm and dignified, showing the expression of an ace reporter well capable in her field of work.


    "This is Lois Lane from the daily planet reporting to you live from a helicopter in the sky of downtown Metropolis where a superpowered collision between two separate parties, causing damage, is taking place. Right in our vision now folks is what I can only assume to be a standoff between a super powered individual and another creature I can safely assume is not human to begin with".


    Olsen pointed the camera downwards to face the scene of a forty - meter in length hole etched in what used to be the Maplewood Street, Downtown Metropolis. Standing at the edge of the crater was a figure with swirling dark red energy around his figure but surprisingly did little to his facial features from the camera.


    The face looked young, like that of a male in his early twenties, curly black hair and glowing purple eyes. The camera zoomed in to get a good look at the facial features, and what came to view caused Olsen to fall into a slight daze.


    "Man, who is this guy?... whoever he is, is Goddamn good-looking". Olsen said inwardly, his tone a little sour as he zoomed the camera.


    Lois, who couldn''t see down that far, didn''t have the same thoughts as Jimmy. Her eyes scanning left and right searching for the familiar figure, who just wasn''t on the scene at the moment.


    "But I thought.....? Where is he?" She wondered inwardly as she diverted her thoughts back to the two individuals down below, who looked like they were having a conversation.


    "Isn''t Superman here?"


    Olsen thought as well as he snapped out of his momentary daze and turned the camera to face the other direction in which a seven-foot tall male with long, shaggy black hair, eyes red as blood and skin whiter than a newly bought white T-shirt stood from the floor.


    This one, however, had a hand missing and a hole in his chest area and didn''t look to be in good condition. The clothes he wore were ripped in so may different places.


    Compared to the male opposite, he looked like a mess.


    Jimmy looked at the white creature with a bit of disbelief on his face. After all, with those kinds of injuries, it could be considered a miracle he was still standing as if nothing were wrong.


    At that moment, both individuals seemed to be alerted to their presence, as they raised their heads to look up. Lobo in particular let out a feral grin straight at the camera, scaring Olsen a bit in the process.


    "Several streets have been destroyed in the clash of both sides, with the question of who they are and what are their intentions remaining unknown. Although reports do say that the Man Of Steel was present in the collision, his presence cannot be found on the scene, leaving everyone to wonder, where is Superman?"


    Speak of the devil and he shall appear.


    As soon as Lois finished her words, a hand burst out from the rubble, stretching upwards. Lois and Jimmy let out a small gasp as rocks parted to make way for the figure appearing out of the ruins.


    "Is that..... Superman?!!" Lois exclaimed in shock and horror as the battered figure appeared under the eyes of the camera. His ripped suit, his torn cape, his bruised skin, all of it left her reeling back in shock.


    "Damn! Superman''s not looking good?" Even Olsen couldn''t help but exclaim as he refused to believe his eyes. The same view appeared on the television screens of everyone in Metropolis.


    Superman, sporting a miserable figure.


    ........


    POV Change.


    Superman, Sporting A Miserable Figure!


    The headline sounded pretty appealing to him as the thought crossed his mind, seeing Superman appear.


    He was right, thankfully.


    Superman wouldn''t die that easily. Even at times in the DC universe where he really did die, he wouldn''t stay that way for long.


    That level of tenacity was, although quite far from catching up with the unkillable cockroach otherwise known as Lobo, was still pretty impressive.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Nevertheless, the guy didn''t look so good.


    Probably still reeling in from the effects of the kryptonite.


    He could heal him. All he had to do was expend a little energy. But now he was running low, and would rather not spend any more of his precious resources than he already had. He still had plans after all.


    "Hey! Superman, are you ok?"


    That was a stupid question. He was definitely, certainly, most visible, literally not ok.


    "..... Ugh¡­ Cough... Pui..." Superman groaned, coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood without answering.


    ".... Do you need help?" He asked again another obvious question".


    "... Sun..... sunlight". Oh, he responded.


    "So you need to take a trip to space, then". He raised an eyebrow as his words fell into his ears. Superman''s connection to the sun was something even an ignorant DC fan would know about. He had seen many versions of how this battle played out by reading the future with energy.


    According to the different possibilities, the one with the highest likelihood was him finding an opportunity to free himself from Lobo''s grasp and fly into the atmosphere, where he would receive a healing check and a decent power boost in space from the sun. Where he would then re-enter the Earth''s atmosphere in a blazing comet form before giving lobo a pounding.


    Less than five of them ended with Lobo actually being able to kill Superman.


    Although he didn''t have any thoughts of interacting with the Justice league, giving Superman a little help wasn''t against his ideals.


    "Ok then, have a nice sunbath". The Mangekyo Sharingan in his eyes spun rapidly, the space around Superman swirled before the man disappeared.


    Somewhere above Earth''s atmosphere, a man in a ripped suit appeared out of the void.


    Meanwhile, back on Earth.


    Lois Lane looked at the vanishing Superman and her eyes widened. The place where Superman once stood was no empty, causing her to worry. Nevertheless, that didn''t stop her from continuing her commentary.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, Superman is ... Gone. This seems to be the doing of the Super powered individual, and as for his intentions, we remain in the dark of whether this new arrival is a friend or foe for Metropolis. Superman''s fate is currently unknown".


    ...........


    POV Change.


    "You whelp! Where in Thoraxes name did you send my bounty?" Looking at the empty spot of Kal-el''s last position, Lobo''s eyes went wide, and he snarled with anger and menace hidden underneath his voice.


    "Bounty?" He replied, raising an eyebrow.


    "Another thing that should be your main worry right now. I still haven''t decided how I''m going to dispose of you yet". He said with a smirk.


    The way Lobo saw it, that smirk looked extremely annoying currently, and it fueled his rage to no end.


    "So you''re gonna tussle it out with me because of the kryptonian? What''s he to you, anyway?"


    "Oh him? I couldn''t care less about Superman. Currently, he is of no relevance to me, so his life and death is just a matter of if I want it or not". He said with a tone that turned from cocky to nonchalant when mentioning Superman''s fate, before turning into one of intrigue as he looked at Lobo.


    "You, however, are of significant relevance to me at the moment, lobo. Relevance being in the fact that you''ll help me prove a point to someone I''ll deal with right after this little event we''re having right now". He said with a bemused tone.


    Lobo''s head went blank for a second before almost exploding in rage. He ground his teeth in furious anger, glaring at the fledgling opposite him for a few seconds before he started chuckling.


    The chuckling continued before turning into full-blown manic laughter with no other sound besides the spinning blades of a hovering helicopter above their heads.


    Lobo slowly stopped.


    "Ha. I originally wanted it to be a two on two situation to make the fight fairer. But since you want it that way, then I don''t mind obliging". He said with his signature loud voice that sounded like grinding chainsaws before he put his fingers on his lips and whistled.


    Then..... Nothing happened. He wasn''t entirely sure at first, but he had a good idea of what lobo planned to do.


    A few seconds later, the whistling continued. And there and then, he heard it, right before he sees it, descending from the clouds with a thrumming roar of alien power and a tinkling chime of advanced alien machinery only someone like him could ever hope to hear.


    And then it appears from above the clouds, showing what could be considered one of DC''S most badass artifacts in the universe.


    Lobo''s flying bike.


    "Is that what I think it is?" Olsen said with his mouth wide open while his camera dutifully filmed the whole thing. Lois Lane wasn''t any better either as they watched the Flying Motorbike descend from the heavens.


    Seriously?


    In its entirety, it''s a little over twice the length of an ordinary motorbike, with a clear single-person seating control at its middle and stuck with a block-like structure for an engine, the majority of which glows with a baleful blue radiance. Its front is triangular, and twin blades emerge from either side of it, large and sharp enough to spear through an elephant.


    In short, it looks every bit as demented as its rider. However, the thing didn''t even finish its descent when it started firing laser cannons at its target.


    Him precisely.


    He raised an eyebrow. Could Lobo''s bike even do that?


    Still, he stood unfazed as the shots just passed through him, blasting the ground beneath him into greater rubble.


    Damn! The powers of Uchiha Obito were just too goddamn convenient.


    That guy''s abilities were a bug in literally every universe.


    "Ok, let''s get this over with. I certainly hope he is watching. It''ll make things a lot easier". He said before disappearing, causing lobo to widen his eyes in vigilance.


    And there he was, appearing right behind his back. Yet did it matter that he noticed?


    Certainly not.


    It did nothing to prevent the fist from slamming into the back of his head with outstanding power, despite Lobo trying to tilt his head to dodge.


    Again, Lobo was manhandled and sent flying into the air, blood welling up I''m his mouth. Unfortunately, his opponent wasn''t taking things easy this time.


    He appeared right beside Lobo who was still in the air, causing him to crash back to mother Earth''s embrace with another power infused punch.


    Lobo smashed into the asphalt and his body bounced upwards involuntarily. His mouth let out a groan as pain assaulted his body. Despite that, he was attacked yet again as his opponent appeared at his blind spot, this time lifting him away with a well-timed kick to the back.


    And so the same scene repeated itself around a Metropolis city block, where a flashing figure appeared all over the place, leaving behind a heavy boom with each appearance.


    Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen watching in the chopper were shocked beyond words. Although they couldn''t see what was happening due to the high-speed motion, they could easily deduce how one-sided the situation was.


    This was the result when you combined high-speed movement achievable through teleportation, and the reaction ability of a Viltrumite insanely boosted several times by the insight granted by a Mangekyo Sharingan.


    With his reaction ability at this point, while beating lobo, he wondered if his reaction was already able to see into Flash time.


    Lobo couldn''t even react as he was beaten all over the place. Each attack connecting seamlessly with the next, causing him to crash from one building, straight through another. Even his blind punches were either evaded or hit nothing, leaving him with yet another blow to add to his agony.


    By the time thirty seconds had passed, Lobo''s body was messy. It almost looked like that scene in the flash series where Savitar beat Barry all over the place without letting him touch the ground.


    A last kick landed on Lobo''s torso, sending him crashing through another building like a rocket, slamming right through it and straight into the asphalt. Lobo coughed blood.


    Almost every single bone in his body had been destroyed, leaving him only able to let out pained grunts. This was minus the fact that his opponent didn''t use a shred of the red energy within his attacks.


    No sire. It was a hundred percent pure thrashing.


    Space warped beside him as a male figure appeared. His clothes neat and clean, not a speck of dust accumulated since the beginning of their confrontation.


    "Well Lobo, it looks like it''s....." His words were interrupted as several energy blasts went through his body again.


    "I almost forgot about the bike". He said in a tone devoid of emotion. Lobo looked at him, seeing his expression indifferent and nonchalant, a wave of fury was set off in his heart.


    "You know, you''re quite something whelp". He said with a painful wince and continued with a smile, "You definitely got me. I''ll give you that. But just because I can''t do anything to you, it don''t mean I can''t damage anything else".


    He said with his smile going full on grin.


    The flying Motorbike suddenly turned around and pointed towards the flying news chopper.


    Lois, who saw this scene, had alarm bells going off in her head as she yelled at the pilot.


    "Get out of the way, Move, move, it''s gonna shoot".


    "Kamui". A sound escaped his lips as his eyes swirled, followed by the devilish looking motorcycle disappearing into the Kamui space but not before managing to fire two pulsed of energy from its cannons.


    The pilot, who was well-experienced in such life-threatening situations, quickly pushed forward like there was no tomorrow. The chopper moved out of the way, unfortunately, the beams still hit the back rotor, causing the helicopter to spin out of control.


    Just as he was contemplating whether he should stop the chopper or not (that contemplation would have carried on until the chopper crashed, by the way)


    A red and blue blur sped through the clouds, racing rapidly towards the helicopter to prevent its residents from crashing.


    Looks like Superman is back.


    He turned his mind away and looked back at lobo who was now too battered to move.


    "What the hell did you do to my bike!" Lobo managed to let out an angry roar as his eyes scanned far and wide for his beloved motorcycle, but alas, it was nowhere to be found.


    "Once again, Lobo, another thing that should be the least of your worries presently". He had a smile on his face, this time with a peculiar light in his eyes that Lobo had never seen before.


    To be honest, it kinda freaked him out a bit, alongside his words that sounded oh so ominous.


    Before he could make a snazzy remark that would make him a typical Lobo, he continued his words.


    "Even though you''re broken in almost every possible way, your races healing factor makes it possible that you don''t die from anything like bleed loss or ruptured organs. How this is technically only considered a minor injury for you amazes me more than I have been since my time on this planet". Which is technically only a day but still.


    Lobo shuddered slightly. That gaze, it had intensified much more to become almost wolfish.


    His thoughts were shut off as he was picked up by the neck, his body carried to align his face with the one I''m his view.


    "It makes me wonder.....". His words trailed off as the grip around Lobo''s neck intensified before he spoke in a devilish voice.


    "How much energy would I get if I take away that perverted healing factor".


    His eyes were already fiery at this point. Showing what he himself knew to be his genuine interest in the only thing that could possibly excite him.


    Gaining energy.


    Lobo was stunned at his words, but his eyes widened before he could say anything as he felt something.


    Something terrible.


    A gush of blue aura emerged from his body, flowing towards his neck before escaping into the arms of his captor. The latter''s eyes had widened, displaying genuine excitement.


    [Gained energy +50]


    [Gained energy +80]


    [Gained energy +135]

 Chapter 7 Batman Arrives

    Lobo''s eyes widened as what was currently happening was beyond his comprehension, but the panic stemming from his body was an instinctive reaction.


    And as the blue aura flooded out of his body and into the arms of the one opposite, his face kept changing as his body experienced massive changes.


    He felt it as clear as daytime, as the itching that usually followed whenever his body was broken to this state grew number and number while the pain grew stronger. Less than five seconds later, Lobo was experiencing more pain than he ever thought possible in his life as miserable howls emerged from his vocal cords, escaping through his mouth.


    He tried to raise his arms in an attempt to pry the palm around his neck away, but his bones were completely broken, effectively denying him his wish.


    Then his voice ceased as the energy to scream left his throat. He..... He couldn''t feel the warmth anymore, and whatever of it he had left was slipping away.


    What was happening itself was obvious, his healing factor was failing him.


    ...


    POV change.


    Although he was unable to see Lobo''s internal structure at first, he could feel that his body was undergoing massive changes. His cells were wriggling, being cracked somewhat as seams of blue energy seeped out of them.


    His entire DNA code was being changed forcibly as he extracted what made Lobo a Czarnian.


    He himself had his eyes widen as countless images flashed in his mind. There and then, he could see it. Lobo''s cells, DNA, the genome, going further down towards his molecular structure, further to the atoms of his being.


    A euphoric feeling swept over his mind as he felt something slowly increasing in steady leaps.


    It was knowledge, knowledge of his true ability. His true capabilities that were currently oh so limited. He already knew what he was capable of years after his consciousness came into existence, this scene in front of him made him feel it even more so.


    The energy he was absorbing from Lobo, that was just the tip of the iceberg. He could feel the boundaries and limitations that shrouded him since he created his physical form.


    He could feel them, but touching them was almost impossible.


    The ecstasy that assaulted him made him frown within his mind, although he knew that this was a result of this physical body secreting dopamine into his brain.


    The reaction was a bit, unsettling. He would decide whether to alter that fact later on. For now, he immersed himself in the feeling of what caused that ecstasy.


    It was the Limitations placed on his ability being pushed out of its original position. The boundaries, although still, there, were getting wider and wider with each unit of energy Lobo lost.


    Lobo currently was no longer chalk white, but was turning black. As soon as the energy that made up his healing factor was completely absorbed, Lobo would die.


    Still, did that matter to him?


    Hell no!


    His initial plan was to see how much energy he could absorb before Lobo''s body was pushed to the brink of mortal death.


    But now? He could only say three words.


    Lobo be damned.


    He ignored Lobo''s situation, as he felt like he could now do more than he could before. His earlier use of energy could only be considered crude now in his mind.


    So much that he couldn''t care about Lobo''s life or death. Nevertheless, that didn''t mean Lobo would die. He was still banned from the afterlife and would exist in soul form even if his body perished.


    But someone else didn''t think so.


    His mind, that was somewhat frowned in the intoxication granted from his solving use of energy, sobered up as he felt the whoosh of wind coming from behind him.


    His face lit up in slight annoyance as his body turned ethereal, lobo who was being held by him included as a figure in what looked like ripped red and blue tights assaulted him but was unfortunately not fast enough to achieve his aim.


    After all, his Mangekyo Sharingan was always on, leaving him virtually in Flash time levels of thinking.


    Who else would it be apart from the man of steel?


    He noticed that Clark''s goal was to make him free his grip from Lobo''s neck. He tried, and he failed.


    His eyes widened in incredulity as he started at him, still hoisting his captive by the neck.


    "I don''t know who you are, and thank you for stopping him, but you have to stop, right this instant".


    Superman said with a firm tone. His clothes were still ripped in multiple areas and his cape was torn so bad that it looked like an old rag. Blood was still on his face and body, but other hand that, he looked fine.


    No visible cuts or bruises could be seen on his skin.


    And his gaze carried determination as if he were giving an order.


    Looks like his sunbath had some wonders for him in less than a minute.


    Hearing his words, a deep frown etched itself on his face before fading just as fast as it appeared.


    He was no longer siphoning energy from Lobo anymore. Superman''s arrival had interrupted him, causing the sensation of expanding boundaries to disappear.


    That feeling he had longed for was gone now thanks to the Man Of Steel, causing him to feel deeply annoyed. Absorbing energy from Lobo again wouldn''t bring it back. He could feel it.


    The man was already close to death and his healing factor was close to being stripped clean. While Lobo would still regenerate from injuries, he could forget about regrowing a severed limb, much less regenerating from a single drop of blood.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    His immortality was practically gone as well. Meaning, even if he wasn''t killed by someone else, Lobo would still die from old age.


    Judging from what he felt, he probably didn''t have long to live, either. The only reason why he hadn''t died right this instant was, for some peculiar reason, his life force was being overdrawn to make up for his lessened healing factor.


    Meaning that after this, Lobo might only have from several months to several years to live. A decade at best, and he would be at the end of the road.


    Still, it didn''t matter to him, as his soul would be rejected from the afterlife.


    The fucker would still find a way to return, as he possessed the ability of soul possession. If he left any drops of blood elsewhere that can regrow a body, he could practically restart his tale of immortality again.


    Unless someone found a way to seal his soul in another dimension or use it for a ritual, or just plain erase it from existence.


    Could he do that? Yes, he could do all three. Was the cost something he wanted to bear? No, no it wasn''t.


    His Disintegration couldn''t work on soul forms or matter that wasn''t solid and liquid.


    He didn''t know if Kamui could transport a soul to its dimension.


    He could erase him with energy, but he certainly wouldn''t do that. If his ability to manipulate energy was advanced enough, he could do it with the snap of a finger, with no cost whatsoever.


    Thinking of this again, the energy being felt sour, and looked at Superman with a very unfriendly gaze.


    Still, even if he was annoyed, his initial plan wasn''t to kill lobo.


    Beat him to the point of near death? Sure. But kill him? Nah.


    Lobo didn''t do anything to him that he felt warranted his death, no matter the cost. Hell, he was the one who decided to butt into matters that didn''t concern him, and Lobo was good enough to play along.


    So he lost any interest when he realized there was no benefit to killing Lobo. The amount of energy he could extract from him wasn''t much remaining anyway.


    He would probably stay incapacitated for months or years within the little time he had left. He might even die without moving while stuck in a coma.


    However, dealing with the Justice league due to a dying man''s early death just wasn''t worth it.


    Despite that, it didn''t mean he would just follow Superman''s orders. Some things needed to be set straight.


    "And what right do you have over me to dictate what I do?" He said with an expressionless face, his arm still not letting go of the blackened lobo who looked deader than a corpse.


    Clark slowly grew anxious. If he didn''t hear Lobo''s faint yet still beating heart, he would have attacked again. Still, he didn''t know if that would change anything.


    Hearing his words, his eyes widened before narrowing. His face grew serious as he spoke in a solemn tone.


    "I can''t tell you what to do, but regardless of what he''s done, killing isn''t the answer. It''s just not right".


    "But he''s killed so many people already, why shouldn''t I kill him?"


    "Cause it''s against the law to kill".


    "I don''t know if you''ve noticed, but last time I checked, and he even said it himself, he isn''t human to begin with. Is there a law that says killing aliens isn''t allowed?"


    [.....]


    Clark was taken aback. He opened his mouth to respond, but no words were able to escape his lips to further justify his claim.


    Technically, there was no law that stated aliens could not be killed. Meaning, the Laws for aliens were practically non-existent.


    Lobo wasn''t from earth, so Earth''s laws didn''t apply to him.


    Seeing Superman stuck for an answer, his face didn''t change, but he continued.


    "Isn''t it the same as killing animals? There is no law that states animals can''t be killed. So anyone can literal carry an animal and stand by the side of the road, raise a knife and cut off its neck. Apart from some disgusted stares, no one would say what was done was wrong, aren''t I right?"


    "It''s not the same. Lobo is different....." Clark started again, but he was cut off.


    "It''s different? Different because lobo looks human. That''s the reason, right?" He said, leaving Clark to stay silent before nodding.


    "So animals can be killed, but humanoid looking creatures can''t as long as there''s a resemblance. That''s pretty racist of you, don''t you think?" A chuckle escaped his lips as he looked at the Superman with amusement.


    Superman''s lips twitched.


    "I''m not racist..... It''s not how..." He tried to explain, yet was cut off again.


    "So what''s the difference? If it''s not that, you consider an aliens'' life to be above that of an animal because of what? That he looks human. What gives you the right to say his life is more valuable? Isn''t that plain racism?


    "What if an alien looking like a Lion monster starts attacking a city, you''re telling me that it''s not allowed to kill it as well?"


    Listening to the words thrown at him, Clark was choked. His face carried never before seen speechlessness that he didn''t even notice Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen had already arrived at some point within their conversation.


    "What the hell is he saying? I''m not racist. This is all just silly. I ain''t racist¡­ right? Damn! What am I thinking?"


    Clark shook his head to throw away his silly thoughts.


    His composure returned as he looked on and said.


    "Whether Lobo is alien or not doesn''t matter. You''re from earth itself, so I can''t let you kill him. The law will make sure Lobo gets what he deserves. You personally killing him won''t improve things  and true justice is everyone''s right. Even the worst among us".


    Clark said, with an imposing aura. His very being seemed to exude justice and righteousness with his natural charisma that was a great boost to his leadership qualities.


    Still, the latter''s expression remained unchanged. He looked at Superman who seemed as if he was ready to stop him from doing something gravely wrong and found it even more amusing.


    If he were a villain or antihero, he would probably be laughing his guts out at this very moment.


    Still, that didn''t stop him from speaking.


    "And who the hell said I''m from earth to begin with?" His words caught superman off guard, leaving the latter stunned in place.


    While Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen had their eyes widened. The camera was rolling, capturing everything they were saying as well as their confrontation for all who were sitting in front of their screens could see.


    "You''re not human?" Clark couldn''t help but ask. Even though he knew there were aliens that had great resemblance to humans, that fact skipped his mind. He always thought that this man was a very stronger metahuman or something along similar lines.


    "No, I am not. And Lobo is an Intergalactic bounty Hunter, So technically, the laws of earth have literally no hold over us".


    He said with a slight arc up his lips.


    "As I said, Lobo is a mercenary who hunts for money. He has annihilated civilizations, torn apart families, and has more enemies across the universe than earth has people who are vegetarians. Did it never cross your mind that I just might be one of them who lost someone dear to his hands, and I''m looking to settle the score?"


    "Or do you also want to deny me my chance at revenge to save someone with no relation to you, or your planet and has only tried to kill you and caused more chaos in the time he was here because according to your moral logic, which I by this point find to be extremely absurd, me killing him is not right?" His face still expressionless couldn''t hide the amusement in his eyes that seemed as if he had found something interesting.


    Clark froze. The kryptonian who had a strong sense of righteousness engraved in his bones was left tongue-tied once again, unable to give a verbal retort.


    And so Superman''s speechless face would become a trending topic for the next few weeks due to this incident.


    "The number of people who have heard of Lobo''s name is countless. The number who want him dead are even more so. Neither I nor Lobo are subject to the laws of your planet, so technically in legal qualifications, earthlings have no right to even think about putting a Czarnian on trial. So tell me again, what right do you, Kal-el of krypton, have to judge my actions and decide if they are right or wrong?" The flat tone had a hint of aggression behind it.


    Superman could only stay silent as his eyes carried a mixture of complicated emotions. His face seemed hesitant, as if he didn''t know what to do.


    At that moment, the roar of an engine could be heard firing across Metropolis. Be it him, Superman, Jimmy or Lois Lane, they all raised their heads up to the sky to see a black, bat shaped fighter jet appear from the sky.


    The cockpit opened, and a figure could be seen standing from his seat and jumping downwards. His cape connected to his outstretched arms that formed bat - like wings, resembling a paragliding suit.


    The figure descended rapidly, fully decked out in a bat suit, his face hidden underneath his cowl.


    His landing was silent, and his cape almost covered his entire body as he straightened his posture and stood up.


    "But we do have the right". His voice was deep and thick, probably using some kind of voice changer. He moved forward with steady footsteps as he approached them".


    Batman arrived.

 Chapter 8 Hypocritical

    Bruce POV


    "But we do have that right". He said as he landed on his feet, his entrance as dramatic and imposing as he always subconsciously tried to make it. Batman, otherwise known as Bruce Wayne raised his head high, his dark and broody aura circled him, though invisible, making him completely indistinguishable from his second self.


    Batman and Bruce Wayne were two different personae. And right here, right now, he was Batman. Possibly, the Justice league''s most intimidating member.


    The Bat of Gotham, who was even capable of hard violence when it came to dealing with criminals. Broken bones, snapped fingers, bloody scars, e.t.c.


    The first thing he did after he uttered those words was to properly assess the situation in front of him.


    Superman, all ripped up with battered clothing but still, he had looked worse. So there was nothing to worry about concerning him.


    Clark was fine.


    His eyes did a quick scan of Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane, who seemed surprised at the abrupt arrival of the dark night before ultimately falling at the main center of attraction.


    Fair features, Male, definitely six feet and above, looks indicate his age couldn''t be more than his mid-twenties. At least that was if it were judged by human standards. But according to he himself, he was no human. He was like Clark, an alien from the vast universe, apparently here to settle a score. What


    alien race could show such power apart from a kryptonian, he didn''t know?


    He would have to ask Hal and Stewart to see if his origins could be excavated whenever they returned.


    His outstretched arm held what looked like a dead creature, male as well, hovering half a foot off the ground.


    His condition was terrible, and there was almost nothing from the outward appearance that would indicate he wasn''t dead.


    He watched the whole scene from Lois Lane''s Live footage in real time, so he knew this much. He had already been in the bat jet when he discovered Superman was landing in Metropolis.


    How did he know? The bat cave was connected to the Watchtowers'' surveillance system, which monitored the arrival of extraterrestrial objects from outer space. That and Superman had sent in an emergency beacon to all available Leaguers.


    Unfortunately, not everyone was available.


    The Lanterns were off world. Both of them, for that matter. Cyborg was at star labs.


    Jonn''s location was currently unknown as he took some time off to investigate personal matters. While wonder woman was in Themyscira. The only ones who could respond fast enough were Flash and Shazam.


    However, Barry was dealing with an incident in central city, while Batman didn''t even know if Shazam had noticed the alert. Technically, he should be in school at this time.


    The rest of the league still didn''t know that the champion of the Gods with powers rivaling Superman''s was actually just a kid from a foster home. Currently, he planned to keep it that way.


    In the period of a few minutes, in which the jet had flown on autopilot, he was watching the Live footage of the daily planet''s Lois Lane concerning the new superpowered individuals who had decided to pay earth a little visit.


    Now confirmed extraterrestrials, both with power capable of rivaling Superman. One having beaten Clark to a state of near death, while the other had proven himself an overachiever by beating his predecessor to a similar state.


    Making this young man who looked awfully similar to a human particularly eye-catching. The arrival of two such individuals with powers on equal grounds with Superman, otherwise known as the league''s heaviest hitter, on the same day sent a pit into his stomach.


    The universe truly was terrifying.


    Looking at both of them, although one was now currently out of commission, Batman had already labeled them as Alpha Class threat levels. Their priority, the same level as that demon that appeared years ago, which led to the Justice league''s formation.


    Stepphenwolf.


    No.


    Even Stepphenwolf didn''t have the power capable of fighting against Superman at such a level. Admittedly, he was capable of taking on the Justice league members, until Clark''s arrival.


    Subsequently, the battle rhythm had changed from a stalemate to Superman wiping the floor with him in a straightforward confrontation while Diana gave the finishing blow.


    Of course, that wouldn''t do full justice as Cyborg and both Lanterns were dealing with the Motherbox and Shazam still didn''t have full control over his abilities.


    Things were getting out of control, and Batman didn''t like it. Especially the way this alien was particularly skilled with words, weaving his sentences in a way that left Superman unable to retort.


    Clark''s words and actions were being filmed on live television all over the globe. The chances of it being used against him by some dirty politicians, the US Congress, World council or even a certain scheming Luthor to tarnish his name and that of the League were 100% guaranteed.


    He could see the doubt and hesitation on Clark''s face, causing his features underneath his mask to form a scowl.


    His gut told him that whoever this alien was, he didn''t mean well. Call it what you will, but his instincts were seldomly wrong. The almost in that sentence for him was just being humble.


    These aliens were a threat, and they needed to be contained and brought in for questioning. No matter how others would see his actions, he wasn''t going to take any chances. After all, he was a paranoid rich man in a bat costume. How he would achieve that however, was currently beyond him.


    "Oh! A man dressed up in what I believe to be a costume of an inferior species on this planet. Well, there''s something you don''t see every day. I thought your species would find it demeaning, but who am I to judge. So pray tell, what right could that be?" The one holding the alien male by the throat asked with a raised eyebrow.


    Presently, he was really curious. What was Batman going to open up with. Was he going to state some kind of Intergalactic law written by the guardians of Oa or something?


    He resisted the urge to peek into the future using energy at that moment.


    Bruce looked at him, his expression hidden under his mask, and stated. He didn''t seem to be offended by the earlier statement.


    "While it is true that our Laws have no hold over you, it does over your actions on our planet. Both of you¡­." He pointed at him and Lobo. "Trespassed into our territory, caused massive property damage as well as the deaths of countless Innocents. That alone illiterates that you need to be held accountable for what you''ve done". He gave off a light glare as the features of his cowl squeezed.


    "You don''t just barge into a man''s house, break his stuff and expect to walk out without no consequences. Earthlings are no pushovers".


    "His crimes can and will be held accounted for by the league. You as well, offworlder will need to be brought in for questioning".


    Bruce said his momentum. He was already standing a few feet away from the male as he stood his ground, showing his conviction.


    "..... I need to be brought in for questioning?" He looked at Batman with am expression as if he were looking at an idiot. Which for some reason left Bruce unsettled.


    "Under what charges?" He asked, making Batman''s eyes narrow. He didn''t know why, but he was getting a bit of a crack out of this. Furthermore, he wanted to see what he would say, how he would reply, where the final destination of this rabbit hole lied. The result wouldn''t change either way.


    "Do I still need to spell it out? Intrusion on planet earth without permission and destruction of valuable property. Whether you meant it or not, you need to take responsibility for the chaos brought about by your arrival and the harm that followed". Batman said calmly.


    .....


    POV Change


    Ok, that''s it. He just about had enough. If he wasn''t an energy being, he would probably be laughing his ass out right this second at the sheer ridiculousness it Batman''s words.


    Unfortunately, apart from the urge to chuckle lightly, he didn''t feel a massive burst of emotion.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    But still.


    The caped crusader was truly too much of a crackpot.


    The harm he caused? When exactly did he harm anyone?


    "For intruding on Earth? Let me get this straight because I truly find this quite amusing". He said with a soft tone, causing Bruce to frown.


    Yet before he could speak, the former continued.


    "So does that mean that your species would arrest a man who came to retrieve an object simply because he was standing on your front lawn?" He asked.


    "It''s someone else''s lawn to begin with. If the owner deems it fit, the latter needs to provide an explanation". Batman replied without hesitation.


    "So does my explanation not mean anything to you or do you still attempt to detain after questions?"


    Batman frowned harder. The alien was still speaking, things were not going in the direction he planned.


    "That is not¡­."


    "Or is there any specific law written on your planet that says all alien life forms must be brought in for questioning to determine their origins?"


    "Because according to you, my actions in rescuing your red and blue friend over there¡­." He pointed at Superman. "From an intergalactic murderer who was literally about to have his head severed from his body and stopping him from wreaking more havoc on this.... I can only say primitive planet of yours, lacking a more polite term, is not only wrong but also requires me to be locked up for questioning just because of my presence. Please tell me, is everyone in your species this ungrateful?" His calm voice continued, giving at jabs at significant yet lethal points.


    He truly was immersing himself in this alien role-play.


    Superman''s face changed.


    Batman''s face looked even uglier.


    This Goddamn alien.


    Lois and Jimmy frowned. Their thoughts less on the part about saving Superman and more about him describing earth with the word ''primitive''.


    "So let''s just assume there is such a law. Does that mean I shouldn''t have saved him?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.


    Clark was sure that he had never seen Batman this gloomy before.


    "Do not twist my words against me. That was not what I meant".


    "Then what do you mean? Because last time I checked, I wasn''t even the one that brought Lobo to earth". He said looking at Superman.


    "He did. A considerable amount of damage was the result of their brawl. Any addition I added was to take down Logo, which I did, and you''re actually trying to pin me for property damage? Hehehe! Give me a break, what''s valuable about it? I''ve seen civilizations with kitchen utensils worth more than everything in this city".


    His lips revealed a faint sneer.


    "Your words aren''t just treating me as if I have no sense, they''re arrogant as hell". His palm loosened its grip on Lobo''s neck, causing the latter to fall to the floor with a thud.


    This action alone made everyone take several steps back into a wary stance, but that didn''t faze him. His words were basic truth.


    The most he did was slam Lobo into a few buildings and some asphalt. What about Superman? Who pinned Superman for damages when his relative, Zod battled him on Earth, causing major damage to cities around the world?


    Or when the Justice league fought Stepphenwolf? How much damage was accumulated?


    How many lives were lost today just because a bounty Hunter wanted the kryptonians head for credits. Many suffered indirectly because of Superman.


    Even if it wasn''t his fault.


    He wasn''t angry about their deaths. He couldn''t care less about them, but what made him surprised was that Batman actually dared to say such outrageous words as property damage.


    Was he looking down on him?


    A mere mortal in a bat suit actually dared to say he wanted to bring him in for questioning? Had his ego gone through the roof after dealing with a few clowns and fat penguins or was Superman his confidence.


    Did he think he would keel over after he showed off some kryptonite?


    "I find the confidence in your tone when you say I need to be brought in for questioning very intriguing. What makes you, a weirdo in a Halloween getup, think that you are even qualified to pass judgement on me? Minus the fact that I have done nothing wrong, since when does an elephant have to answer to ants?"


    His gaze had turned cold, frighteningly cold as he gazed at Batman with a glare of rich intensity.


    An overwhelming urge to obliterate the man right there and then was poking at the back of his mind.


    Batman froze a bit as he instinctively got into a combat ready stance.


    Swoosh!


    Superman flashed right in front of him with both arms, shielding Bruce from whatever possible attack might come his way.


    Lois and Olsen had also retreated several meters.


    Superman looked at the male opposite him solemnly. Batman gnashed his teeth. This hadn''t played out how he had thought it would. He also realized how he had played the wrong cards and the possible repercussions that might follow due to his wrong choice of words.


    "..... I should take responsibility for the chaos caused by my arrival, you say? I''ve caused massive property damage alongside loss of innocent lives, you say? Hehehe..... the offspring of a civilization that hasn''t even achieved space travel is so arrogant. Well let me show you how much damage I can cause since you say so". His hands turned an ominous dark red as energy seeped from his very being.


    Superman grimaced.


    "Hey look, I think we got off on the wrong foot. Batman just came off a bit wrong, there''s no need to get into a massive fight. We just didn''t want you to kill Lobo. Bats may have got a bit paranoid because of it". Clark said in attempt to ease the tension.


    He hadn''t seen the fight, but just the fact that he had managed to defeat Lobo in the short minute he was in space was more than enough to enlighten him on the fact that they were outclassed.


    While he looked healed, he wasn''t at full power. He had little confidence of defeating this guy on his own with his current condition unless they had the full help of the league.


    Not to mention, that guy could go intangible, just like Martian Man hunter.


    More fighting at this point was unnecessary and would lead to more lives getting lost. He didn''t want that.


    Batman was even more clear on this fact.


    With the way this male spoke, Batman made a subconscious assumption that the alien was inclined to follow laws and would back down if he showed him who was in the wrong.


    That way, he could get him to come in willingly, so they could get a better hold of his origins and intentions. Possibly, get a grasp on a possible weakness in case the latter was truly a threat.


    Clearly, he realized now that he hadn''t thought things through. This guy wasn''t from earth and his mindset differed greatly from one. Not his fault though, as most extraterrestrial visitors usually came with bad intentions.


    "Got off on the wrong foot? Is that all you make of this kryptonian? So do tell me in what way have I actually done wrong that your associate so plans to apprehend me?"


    His face carried no emotion as his body slowly floated from the ground, his momentum becoming more imposing. Lobo had already been forgotten at this point.


    Neither had any words to say and could only hold on to their right to remain silent.


    Lois and Jimmy in the distance were also silent.


    Yes, technically he hadn''t done anything wrong. Yet, he was being told to surrender himself for questioning.


    Even the meekest lamb would grow horns and stab in anger.


    Clark had a bit of anger and wanted to curse Bruce in his heart right now.


    T-ring, T-ring,


    At that moment, a buzzing sound shattered the solemn atmosphere. The male furrowed his eyebrows and took out a phone from his pocket. Seeing the number on the screen, his expression didn''t change as his body returned to earth through gravity.


    He turned around without so much as another word and walked right past Lobo''s still motionless body. The sudden change caught everyone else off guard, seeing him walking away.


    "Where are you going?" Seeing him leaving, Clark couldn''t help but ask.


    "That is none of your concern kryptonian. My matters are my matters". His feet paused as he turned his head towards the news reporting duo that, even after all that had happened, were still doing their jobs recording the whole scene.


    Their work ethic was almost admirable. From a normal human beings'' viewpoint. For him, their actions were tantamount to seeking suicide.


    How much faith do they have in Superman that they subconsciously believe they''ll be fine as long as he is there?


    Hehe! Then let''s create a crack in that faith, shall we?


    His lips upturned to create a small smile as he gazed at them, causing Lois, who was looking straight at him, to fall into a momentary daze.


    That smile was just so..... So.....


    "This is your planet''s heroes, huh?" As he spoke, Lois snapped out of her daze as her thoughts flowed past her head. A little touch of pink was plastered on her cheeks.


    "I find it amusing how the greatest protector of your planet isn''t even a native of it". He looked at Superman and Batman, who were still looking at him.


    "One day, it would be your planet''s undoing".


    "Hey! What are you talking about?" Superman''s eyes changed as he narrowed them to form a light glare. Batman too wasn''t behind him in any way. A glare of higher intensity which the man of steel would find hard to match in this lifetime came out so naturally from him.


    Lois''s ears perked up. You could feel it at that moment. What might come out next might be something that''ll turn into a major headline besides this attack.


    "Mr. Alien! Care to explain what you mean by those words?'' he took a few steps forward as she pointed her microphone at him. She was still quite far away as her subconscious caution didn''t permit her to advance any further, yet the fact that she dared to speak at this minute was enough to show her bravery and hunger for a scoop.


    It reminded him of how many times Barry Allen and Clark Kent usually had to save their wives dozens of times simply because of their dangerous investigative work.


    Why they decided to marry such people who would only bring them more trouble, the energy being would never know.


    Or will he?


    "Lois, you¡­." Superman was shocked, then quickly turned glum. Lois didn''t change her stance. This was the first time she had spoken ever since she got down from the chopper. Jimmy Olsen had already zoomed in as much as he could to capture anything that might come out next.


    "Well since you''ve set such a perfect stage, why should I ruin it?" He thought with a chuckle as the smile faded.


    "Do I care to explain? Well, I don''t think I have to. The fact that Superman fought an enemy in a battle that caused a large death toll yet, instead of aiding in search and rescue, is here fighting to make sure said enemy doesn''t die at my hands says it all".


    He said nonchalantly, yet the smile in his eyes was all but concealed. It seemed as if a hammer had driven in a nail.


    Superman turned pale.


    He..... He..... He forgot about this. Truth be told, less than a minute or two had passed since Batman''s arrival, yet he was so focused on the possible enemy that he forgot about the innocent civilians.


    And now it was all pouring onto him. The smell of blood, the siren''s, the screams and cries for help. The wailing. Total Chaos.


    But was the former-done speaking?


    "Makes me wonder, Superman. Whose side are you truly on".


    "You!¡­." Clark exclaimed with a gloomy face.


    "Kal Go!" Batman said immediately. The safety of civilians was always their top priority.


    Superman didn''t stay a moment longer and flew off into the distance.


    Looking at Batman letting Superman leave, he couldn''t help but have a slight recognition for the former. If he wanted now, he could kill the latter without anyone interfering.


    Then again, what was this guy''s source of confidence? Or was he betting on the chance that he wouldn''t kill him?


    He didn''t know if that was brave or foolish. Still, he needn''t think too much. The slight recognition vanished as quickly as it appeared, his Mangekyo Sharingan spun.


    His body disappeared on the spot in front of Batman and the camera. All that was left was a lonely bat with his cape billowing in a devastated city.


    Bruce looked at the spot where the latter had disappeared with unprecedented solemnity.


    His mind furiously spinning to create one contingency plan after another.


    The mere thoughts gave him a headache as he put his hand on his earpiece.


    "Batman to all Leaguers, emergency meeting. I repeat, emergency meeting. A new possible threat has arisen". He took out his grappling gun and aimed for the roof of a building before firing.


    His body was lifted upwards, leaving nothing but his ascending silhouette and the two recording reporters.


    Bruce''s day was about to get really busy.


    .....

 Chapter 9 Amari

    The devastation that had occurred today in Metropolis was so unexpected, leaving hundreds if not thousands dead and many more injured in one way or another.


    Was it a tragedy? Yes, it was.


    Was it shocking? Maybe?


    Was it completely out of the norm? Now that was a definite No. Things like this weren''t abnormal. At least not anymore.


    If you thought about it with half a head filled with good brain cells, you wouldn''t be half surprised that this kind of event really happened.


    After all, this was the DC world, where crazy shit regularly happened on a weekly basis. Ever since the formation of the league, sworn to uphold Justice and combat evil, it seemed like world ending events akin to alien attacks, mutant menaces and armored terrorists running about to wreak havoc had just become your regular old Tuesday.


    The mayor getting kidnapped by criminals with plasma charged weapons wasn''t even enough to elicit a reaction from a listener, and Super villains remaining at large were only good enough to get on the front page.


    Normal civilians had gotten so used to it to the point that they didn''t realize the Earth was turning into a major beacon for all sorts of trouble.


    So today''s event was at best another tragedy that would soon disappear from the papers in about a week or slightly more. Maybe used for references in future stories for the media.


    But that would happen later. Presently, Superman was neck deep in search and rescue operations alongside Batman. Trying to save any additional soul they could before death took them away.


    It was at times like this that they truly needed Barry.


    And in a certain alley flanked by two buildings dozens of blocks away, a figure mysteriously appeared out of thin air, his feet gently landing on the cemented floor without so much as a sound.


    The alley wasn''t as dark, damp and disgusting as most would usually describe alleyways.


    Although this could be attributed to the fact that this was an alley in Metropolis, not Gotham.


    His facial features were almost otherworldly and could only be described as truly impressive.


    A Mangekyo Sharingan spun in his eyes as his vision peered far beyond what normal eyes could see.


    Looking at all the destruction that was caused, he had to generously admit one thing.


    Superman''s fights are a true property hazard.


    That''s right. Regarding the Man of steel, there are very few fight scenes in which he was actually able to instantly incapacitate the enemy without first causing one form of damage or the other.


    It always made him wonder, who paid for all the cars and personal property that Superman and his opponents destroyed in each battle?


    As Superman never seemed capable of quick one shots against his opponents despite his super speed that although wasn''t as impressive as the flash, could be considered in a league of its own when compared to non speedsters.


    Was Superman slacking off? No, that wasn''t even a question anymore. For a kryptonian that absorbed energy from the yellow sun for a thirty-year period, his performance showed that the guy was clearly slacking off.


    Still, that didn''t matter to him. Once again, he cared little for Kal-el.


    What truly mattered right now was whether his labor had borne fruits. He raised his hand that was holding the phone towards his ear and answered the call.


    It was this call that had timely prevented Batman from losing a limb moments ago.


    Silence reigned as he pressed the answer button. Neither side spoke as the seconds passed.


    ...


    The Pentagon, United States, Virginia.


    Inside the General''s office.


    The place looked clean and well decorated, save for the somewhat messy table that held heaps of unchecked documents slipped between manila folders.


    The office consisted of a table and a rather comfy chair, few amenities needed, as well as a television screen which was displaying a breaking news report from a city towards the middle end of the American map.


    A cup of coffee that had the words, ''World''s best Dad'' written on the Mug was placed at the edge of the table.


    Sitting on the swivel chair facing away from the table was a man all garbed in an army green jacket, green long trousers along with four stars on the right chest area of his uniform. His head filled with short gray hair and his blue eyes showed a gaze, cold and piercing as he ignored the television screen and gazed at the glass wall that separated him from the outside world.


    The dignifying aura that surrounded his presence was a clear symbol of someone who held considerable authority. Someone who considered himself a man of importance, and a man of importance he was.


    Secretary of the United States Department Of Defense, General Sam Lane. A career military man holding the position of general, the father of Lois and Lucy Lane and is also interesting enough, the future father-in-law of the one and only Superman according to almost every DC timeline.


    And currently, the general had a phone held towards his ear, indicating he was on a phone call, yet strangely enough, he didn''t say a word. Apparently, neither did the person on the other ends as they both stayed silent.


    Seconds passed by, seconds turning into a minute before the person on the other end finally said a sentence.


    "If this is an attempt to trace this call and discover my location, then I regret to inform you that your action is quite pointless". General Lane still didn''t answer, seemingly preferring to hold the silence.


    After a while.


    "So you weren''t kidding, huh? And here I thought yesterday was a prank call". The general finally said. His voice was deep and from the tone of his words, one wouldn''t be able to ascertain whether he was trying to make a joke or not.


    FYI, it wasn''t a joke. You never see anyone accidentally call the president of the United States now, do you? Even in movies, it just doesn''t happen.


    "Let''s not waste any further time. I believe you''ve seen it".


    "I watched it. The whole thing". His eyes were visibly narrowed as various thoughts, known only to the general himself, passed through his head.


    His chair spun around with him in it as he turned his gaze towards the flat screen TV on the wall of his office. There was the video of his beloved daughter, Lois Lane going about her dangerous job giving a news report about a major disaster in Metropolis.


    "Good to know Mr. Lane. Now we can finally talk about cooperations. I''ll meet you at your office". The male said in a flat tone, causing the general to fall into confusion for a second.


    "Come to meet me? I doubt you would be able to make it all the way to where I am from, Metropolis on the assumption that you even know where I am". That is, unless he could fly fast like Superman or run like the Flash.


    Yet before he could even reminisce, a plain voice came from both his phone and, strangely enough, behind him.


    "There is no need to doubt, Mr. Secretary.  Trying to estimate my capabilities is a task better suited to Superman".


    Sam Lane didn''t even think. His body with reflexes honed over many years moved on instinct as he pulled his gun and aimed behind him while turning around.


    And there a person stood behind him, who certainly wasn''t there before. His face was the same as the one he had seen on the news mere moments ago.


    "Teleportation ability?" Sam creased his forehead as he pointed the gun at him. His hands showed no intent of letting the gun down.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Whatever you say. Though I do suggest you put the gun down, general. We both know it won''t matter whether you use it or not, and might just put you into an early grave if that bullet leaves its barrel". The man said with a slight shrug of his shoulders.


    His glowing purple eyes with strange patterns scanned the office with slight interest, leaving Lane to observe him.


    He didn''t seem at all worried that there was a Glock 19 aimed at his head, showing his blatant disregard for him and any means he may have.


    Though after what Lane had seen him do on TV, he didn''t think it was the least bit strange.


    Still with the gun in his grasp, which proved to give him even a bit of security, he asked.


    "Who are you alien?" He didn''t answer.


    He walked past the general with his eyes looking almost everywhere. His gaze eventually turned towards the multitude of folders on his table.


    Lane seeing his gaze raised the gun that was already half lowered back to face his head. These were files, some of them containing national secrets.


    He would rather die here before he let this...


    "I thought I told you to put the gun away, Mr. Lane. I don''t like having a toy being pointed at my face". His expressionless face gazed at the gun still aimed at him and his eyes swirled.


    The gun in Sam''s hand disappeared into thin air, leaving him slightly stunned.


    "Now that that''s out of the way... Let''s answer some of your questions. After all, cooperations always starts with healthy communication". He sat on the chair in front of the table, his lips slightly upturned.


    General Lane quickly recovered from his composure in a split second. He had seen flying men capable of moving houses and fish people who could lift submarines.


    Making his gun disappear was nothing more than a parlor trick when compared to those things.


    "The fact that you can make my gun disappear in this building at least wipes off on suspicion of you being a metahuman". Sam said as he sat on his chair, his face back to being dignifying.


    Despite being in the presence of a potentially dangerous extraterrestrial, he kept his composure with a calm outlook. Heartbeat steady and vigorous, all as a result of his military discipline, making him worthy of his position.


    Inwardly however, his brain was springing in many directions. The whole building was filled with Meta human dampeners created by Star Labs to ensure the Pentagon''s security against Meta-humans.


    The fact that this male had appeared seemingly out of nowhere at least gave some credibility to the statement he made about being an extraterrestrial.


    "But whether you''re truly an alien or a human with some tricks up your sleeve remains to be decided. We earthlings have had some pretty unpleasant experiences with otherworlders. Now I need to know Mr. alien, who are you and what is your goal on planet Earth?"


    Sam asked with a piercing glare that could give Batman a run for his money. His hand under the table was resting on a small black button as a security measure should this discussion end in an unpleasant situation.


    The alien in the room knew, yet he didn''t care in the slightest.


    "Who am I? Well, to be honest general, I don''t have a name. Neither do I have a world I belong to". His words made Sam frown deeply, his gaze scrutinizing the latter''s facial expressions to catch anything he could find.


    The latter continued without a care.


    "However I believe your planets species tend to have a small tradition of exchanging their names alongside pleasantries before undergoing business talks. So¡­."


    His finger talked lightly on the chairs'' armrest as he opened his lips.


    "You, General Lane can call me Amari, first and possibly last of the Energy Sentient. And as for my goals on your planet....". A smile appeared on his face. It carried no trace of emotion whatsoever but had its own peculiar charm.


    "Nothing much, to be honest. I only plan to rule the world!"


    And with that sentence, General Lane pushed the button.


    ....


    Contrary to common belief, the Hall Of Justice wasn''t the Justice League''s primary headquarters.


    The League''s original base of operations, the now abandoned Mount Justice, had been compromised during an attack by the Joker, and they''d been forced to relocate.


    Relocate, and upscale to prevent a repeat performance.


    And so was the Justice leagues watchtower created. A space station, way out in orbit, financed by Bruce Wayne, otherwise secretly known as Batman and built by both green lanterns with highly advanced technology from multiple planets such as earth, Mars, Krypton, and Thanagar to better defend the planet and prevent any extraterrestrial invasions from reaching earth.


    Effectively stopping potential space threats before they were even allowed to attack.


    After all, the Joker had already proven that a sufficiently motivated enemy could overcome their defenses, and between all the original members of the league, they had dozens of dangerous criminals to contend with.


    What would the world think of its greatest heroes if their base of operations was repeatedly breached by villains on a weekly basis?


    So now the Hall of Justice in Washington, DC was now nothing more than a tourist attraction. A deliberate front for the league while their true base of operations would remain unknown and only accessible by certified league members only.


    And now, on the watchtower, far above Earth''s atmosphere


    [Recognized: Wonder woman 03]


    [Recognized: Superman 01]


    A thrum of powerful machinery and a pulse of golden light heralds the arrival of the well-known superheroes within the Justice league.


    The light dissipates showing the graceful figure of a wonder woman, her gait filled with easy grace, dignity, and the form of a well seasoned warrior.


    And Superman who... had a significantly different outlook to him than he did days ago. His suit was back to the way it should be, giving the Man of steel his iconic red and blue getup but the confident air around him was gone.


    With shoulders slumped and a back slightly hunched, he followed behind Diana with heavy eyes and a loveless look.


    Diana, seeing him like this, could only sigh inwardly as she felt the heavy guilt that weighed on his heart and mind, but could find no words to comfort him more than she already had.


    A day had passed since what was now deemed, ''The Clash Of The Otherworlders'' by various newspapers all over the country had taken place in Metropolis, and it held the number one hot search list on all information sites.


    Countless online debates had sprung up on social media, fervently discussing the terrible disaster of metropolis and the battle of the extraterrestrials.


    Most of it revolved around the three key figures, Superman, The white alien otherwise known as Lobo and the last one left unidentified but was now being referred to all over the internet as the Red Transflux, Paraflux, Deviate or Warp.


    Many of these discussions were sharply pointed at Superman, and not in a good way at that.


    That was something Clark had already learned to ignore, as there would always be people who didn''t like you for being you.


    Especially when you were an alien from another planet with power capable of swatting them to pieces of flesh and blood with a casual wave of a hand.


    Humans tended to fear what they didn''t understand. Clark understood that. But what truly troubled him was the fact that thousands of people had died and, whether directly or indirectly, he was the one at fault.


    So the accusing fingers being pointed at him only made him to feel all the more guilty.


    For all his might and god-like power, there is and always has been something darkly ironic about how empathetic and human the alien among them is. This was probably the reason Batman was able to become friends with Superman and trust him, despite how distrustful he was of almost everything and everyone else.


    Both marched forwards, their path headed towards the Watchtowers Monitor womb whereupon reaching their destination, were greeted by the sight of Batman knee-deep in dozens of holographic projections showing different news feeds and running search protocols and archives of the leagues'' database.


    The room was wide and spacious with an astounding backdrop view of beautiful, blue planet earth yet none of them present were in the mood to enjoy it.


    "How are the search and rescue operations going?" He asked despite already knowing the answer. After all, he''s Batman. It was basically his job to know everything there is to know about the league and more that they didn''t.


    Superman''s aura of gloom grew even heavier.


    "The operations have mostly run their course. Flash is still in Metropolis performing constant checks, while Shazam and Zatara are lending aid wherever needed. But..." Diana''s face turned glum as she continued.


    "Still, the casualties are drastic. The number of deceased and injured are in the thousands, many families are in mourning. But everyone who can be helped his been given the best treatment and assistance we could provide. Adequate procedures for the deceased should take place within the week".


    Batman nods at the report as he continues to stare at the screen. His thoughts unable to be discerned from the expressionless look that graced his features hidden under a cowl.


    Wayne''s industries were already doing their part in giving donations to the affected. Similarly, Lexcorp had done the same thing, leaving Batman with yet another headache to worry about.


    Lex Luthor, an ambitious, intelligent, bald egomaniac, would certainly not let this little slip up slide easily.


    What Luthor planned to do, he didn''t know, but he had a hunch it would be a hassle.


    "What about the rest of the league?" Wonder woman asks as she stared at Batman.


    "I''ve already convened for an emergency meeting in light of the recent¡­. unfortunate accident. The Lanterns will be arriving within the hour from their space duties. Their help will be required for clearing out the rubble to make way for reconstruction alongside Zatara. While everyone else should arrive in a few hours at maximum". Bruce replied, his face still expressionless.


    "Others are clearing up and rearranging their schedules to see how they can contribute in any way they can. Luckily, the damage wasn''t too widespread and only consisted of several blocks. The main cause of the massive death numbers being the seismic activity caused by Superman''s landing ". Bruce, although not looking, could feel that Clark had flinched.


    "What about Lobo?" Clark finally spoke, while Batman''s expressionless facade  broke.


    His features scrunched up considerably as he replied.


    "He''s at a containment facility within Star Labs. Cyborg is keeping an eye on him, except¡­" Batman pushed the holographic monitor.


    Live footage of a containment cell appeared on the holographic screen, showing a black skinned alien with dark hair strapped in a rehabilitation pod with green liquid filling up the tank.


    He had an arm missing alongside numerous bruises and injuries all over his blackened skin, which was an oddity itself, indicating his condition was anything but good.


    Wonder Woman and Superman frowned. Especially Superman, looking at Lobo''s condition, his eyes were wide in disbelief as his mind struggled to believe what his vision was telling him.


    "... his condition is..... peculiar to say the least". Batman finished.


    ....


    POV Change.


    In a large mansion, Lex Luthor stapled his fingers together as he looked at a screen in his living room. The television replayed the footage of the ''Clash of the Otherworlders'' reported by Lois Lane. Nothing could be heard apart from continuous booming sounds, which even drowned out the noise of the helicopter.


    Lex watched attentively in interest.


    The video ended quickly before being replaced by a close up picture of the one now recently known as Deviate, or was it Warp, or Transflux?


    Bah! Who cares?


    But he did. Lex was genuinely interested in this new yet unknown variable that had popped up in Metropolis. Of course, the White Alien capable of defeating Superman was also something of interest but this. ¡­


    "An alien from another planet, you say. With an interesting ability of teleportation and intangibility. What other secrets do you hold? This will be of interest to The Light". Lex Luthor said to the picture.

 Chapter 10 A Bats Deductions

    "... his condition is..... peculiar to say the least". Batman finished.


    "That''s Lobo?" Superman couldn''t help but exclaim in shock. Not his fault, though. His mind was so focused on the other alien then worried about the damages and casualties that it subconsciously forgot to register Lobo''s situation.


    Which was shocking to say the least.


    Lobo who was able to go toe to toe with him, looked to be on the verge of death. Not to mention that he always found a way to recover from every blow as if it never happened, a stark contrast to what he looked like now.


    Superman and Lobo, although both were in the same weight class, had two different distinctions as Clark mainly relied on his strong, invulnerable physique which made him potentially immune to almost all physical harm.


    The fact that there was nothing on Earth apart from Kryptonite that could hurt him, all but reinforced that fact as the Man of Steel wouldn''t mind taking heavy punches as they wouldn''t inflict the slightest damage.


    In the Superman versus brainiac movie where a Metal humanoid crashed towards earth, fought with Superman and used a sharp weapon made from foreign metals to attack Superman''s forehead, the weapon just bounced off while Clark voiced out.


    "I actually felt that!"


    His strength and invulnerable physique was the core of what made Clark Kent, Superman.


    Lobo on the other hand was quite the opposite. He had Clark''s strength but lacked his indestructibility. In fact, Lobo''s skin defense might not even be stronger than a slightly stronger superhuman.


    But his regenerative factor more than made-up for the unkillable cockroaches shortcomings. Superman relied much less on his ability to heal way faster from serious injuries than regular humans, as the man of steel rarely got injured to begin with.


    An enemy that could cause Superman to bleed was both challenging to find and potentially disastrous.


    So the way Superman''s Invulnerability was his core signature, the Czarnian''s was his Immortality. And now, Lobo looked more mortal than a cancer patient on a sickbed.


    "Surprisingly, it is". Batman said as he began moving his hands to swipe up information.


    The news feed was gone, replaced a moment later by half a dozen holographic panels projecting everything he''d gathered, the object of their collective undivided attention.


    With a gesture, one of the panels flickers to the front and enlarges, expanding its contents as it does.


    "I got this from the lantern''s network left in the tower database. Lobo as he''s called, is an Intergalactic Mercenary with a very high mission success rate. Wanted in over 95 different star systems. He has some similarities with Superman as he hails from the planet Czarnian, which was destroyed many years ago by the man himself, leaving him to be the last of his kind". Bruce said, as he read from what he could find.


    His last words left Superman with a particularly scrunched up face.


    "And most apparently, the Czarnian''s are known for their immortality, gestured in the fact that they can''t die from old age and are nearly impossible to kill in a fight as they are capable of regenerating from all injuries inflicted on them". Superman nodded at Batman''s words.


    Now, that description perfectly fit with the man who nearly killed him.


    Although, the idea of true immortality sounded a bit over the top even to him.


    At this point, Diana interjected.


    "If this man''s race is so impossible to kill, how come he managed to murder his entire species". Thinking of the fact that an entire civilization had been wiped out by one man caused her eyebrows to furrow in slight disgust.


    Clark perked up his ears.


    Bruce made another swiping motion.


    "Czarnian physiology is apparently unique, making them susceptible to death when killed by their race".


    "And why did this brutal alien deem it fit to wipe out his species?" Clark asked.


    Batman''s face turned strange.


    "According to the records, two rather peculiar reasons. One, as an experiment to see if he could really do it. Two, bragging rights when saying he''s the last of his kind".


    His words left Superman speechless, displeasure written all over his face, while Diana had her disgust deepen even further.


    "To eliminate all life on his planet for such ridiculous reasons, By Hera..."


    His exclamation earned a nod from Batman, who swiped the holographic monitor yet again.


    "While it can be agreed that Lobo is a homicidal maniac, the one who truly worries me is someone who can put the known to be immortal Czarnian into a catatonic state". Batman said with a frown etched on his face.


    "You mean the other one that appeared".


    Diana asked, Batman nodded and brought up a picture of his face. Purple eyes, flawless skin, chiseled jawline, a calm indifferent aura around him.


    He looked at the screen with more and more thought as the face outlined in his mind.


    Bruce wasn''t concerned with looks. At least that was how he behaved when he was in his Batman Persona. As Batman, he only cared about the looks of someone else when it was needed for facial recognition to track down his targets.


    Whether they were handsome, beautiful, ugly, disgusting, all were equal according to his fists.


    When he was Bruce Wayne, however, what mattered to him was to flaunt his fame, fortune and good looks to the media while picking up gorgeous women.


    His wealth, combined with his attractive appearance, were particularly useful in that endeavor. So point being, he, Bruce Wayne, was confident in his looks even though he never cared for them.


    However, he knew that he fell short when compared to the Man on the screen. If he were asked to describe the face on the screen, it would be with only one word.


    Perfect. A little too perfect.


    This didn''t have anything to do about personality or character.


    Those things had no influence on this.


    It was a subconscious comparison all men would make when faced with someone of similar or better looks, even if they didn''t realize it.


    The world of Men.


    It didn''t matter whether he was the serious, broody Batman or the nigh invincible Superman, as the latter had a slight furrow in his brows that disappeared faster than he would know.


    "By Hera.... This is him? Are you sure he is of alien origins?" Diana asked with a twinkle in her eyes. This male was truly blessed.


    Superman saw this scene as his brows furrowed once again, frowning slightly.


    "Have you gotten anything on him?" Clark looked at Bruce. The latter frowned even deeper.


    "No". Batman responded with a growl in his tone. Uttering the word itself seemed to irk Bruce more than the news of the death casualties in Metropolis.


    "No?"


    "No?"


    Both Leaguers behind him asked with some surprise.


    "No!" He responded again as he swiped.


    "I''ve checked through almost all records on Earth dating back as far as I could. There''s no single match up of a person with his face on the database. There''s only two possible conclusions. One is the possibility that he''s been living in the forest since the day of his birth, or the other is that he''s not from earth to begin with".


    Batman didn''t immediately buy the ''I''m an alien'' story that was fed to him, but first ran a cross-reference with every face on the planet. Unfortunately, there was no one who bore a match.


    "So it''s just confirming that he''s not from earth, then?" Clark asked.


    "I wanted to be certain. Make certain it wasn''t just some Meta-human playing alien invader. It seems we can rule out that possibility until something says otherwise". Batman nodded.


    "It''s not that difficult to believe. I doubt there are any mortals on Earth who can have such a visage. His features look as if they''ve been molded by the Gods". Diana said, as she continued to stare at the picture with intrigue and attention.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Superman frowned even harder, his body language becoming uncomfortable.


    "Doesn''t matter what he looks like, the man nearly killed Lobo and who knows what his actual purpose is for coming here. What matters is he''s dangerous". Superman said with narrowed brows.


    His words made Diana break away from the picture as she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.


    Bruce, however, seemed to catch something else in Diana''s words. After all, he was Batman, the world''s greatest detective.


    "Are you by any chance saying that this man could be like you? A child of some God, demigod?"


    "With his strength and abilities, it is possible. Although I don''t know if there are any God''s with abilities similar to his. Unless his extreme movement is a form of enhanced speed. If that be the case, there is a likelihood of being the offspring of Hermes". Diana said as she analyzed the facts.


    "No!" Batman, however, denied. "I''ve checked the video of his fight with lobo. There weren''t any signs of him when he attacked. No movement like Barry. It was as like he was there one second, and the next, exactly where he needed to be. I believe it to be teleportation, rather than Super speed. If it is truly enhanced movement, then that means his speed is on the same level or has surpassed the speed of light".


    Bruce gave his analysis, causing both of them to let out slight gasps.


    "That would be faster than Barry". Diana exclaimed.


    "Agreed. Which is why human or demigod, we have to find him as fast as we can. His presence represents a significant threat to the planet. And only God knows what he''s up to right this instance". Bruce said solemnly.


    "He could just be a plain alien". Superman butted in with the addition. Batman wanted to speak, but Clark beat him to it.


    "Since you didn''t find anything on Earth, what about the Lanterns database? Surely, there should be a record of him, even if not, then what about his species? Why don''t we start from there". Superman asked, causing Bruce to stiffen a bit then sigh again.


    "I already checked".


    "And?" Wonder woman asked.


    "No conclusive results as well". Bruce replied while feeling a migraine coming on.


    "Really, even the Lanterns'' database proved unsuccessful?" Superman asked in amazement.


    "There is no record of a species similar to humans who have similar abilities to the one in question. The closest match I could get was a race called Tamaranians, but they don''t have teleportation abilities, or density shifting like him".


    "Races that have both of these abilities don''t exist, while those capable of teleportation have no inkling of human resemblance".


    "So far, only Martians have intangibility while bearing capability of human semblance".


    "So is there any possibility that our guy is a Martian?"


    "I don''t know". Bruce felt tired. He had been at this for hours, yet he still couldn''t find a clue.


    "Hopefully Jonn or the lanterns will have possible answers when the meeting comes. Presently, we''ll need the strength of the full league if we''re going to have a chance of dealing with him. Our little knowledge of him and his abilities won''t help much either". If there was one thing that Bruce didn''t like, it was when things were out of his control.


    He was a cautious man with trust issues, right on the edge of full-blown paranoia. Even with Superman himself, Batman still slept with a box of Kryptonite under his bed, showing how much of a control freak he could be.


    Knowing everything was a necessity for him, and having contingency plans for contingency plans were his thing.


    And now a new factor had appeared, and he had no knowledge of the latter to even begin coming up with a contingency plan.


    The only option he had was the league itself. Using the power of the league if push comes to shove.


    "Excuse me, but I believe I''m missing something". Diana''s voice resounded I''m a sharp tone.


    "Why do you two sound as if you''re about to go to war against an enemy you know nothing about? Last time I remembered, the latter has done nothing wrong apart from being here".


    Bruce and Superman froze a bit.


    "He''s dangerous, Diana. We know nothing about him, and he isn''t even human". Bruce swiped the screen to a playback of the video.


    "He said it himself. He isn''t human, so our Laws don''t apply to him. With his strength, who knows what he will do. His risk is too high to be left unchecked, which is why we have to bring him in...." Batman''s time drawled a bit.


    "At least until we deem him no longer a risk, or he leaves Earth".


    "I agree with Bruce on this one, Diana. Whatever he is, his words show that he had no qualms with killing. He nearly killed Lobo. We can''t have him walking free on Earth". Superman placed his hand on Bruce''s shoulder and said.


    "But he didn''t kill him. Like you said, we know nothing about him. And he stated his purpose in looking for Lobo. Don''t you worry what might happen if we fiercely provoke him?"


    "No. Although he didn''t kill Lobo, that doesn''t mean anything. I heard his words when he spoke to Clark". Another part of the video played out.


    [Did it never cross your mind that I just might be one of them who lost someone dear to his hands and I''m looking to settle the score?]


    "Here. I believe what he meant here was false. Look at his eyes when he spoke, there was nothing. No rage, no hate, no pain of losing a loved one, nothing. That''s not the behavior of someone looking to settle a score. His whole behavior just seems off, inconsequential. Like all this was a matter of doing it. His question here was nothing more than hypothetical. A what if question, if you will".


    "And there. It''s that looked that gave it all away, the flash of amusement. I believe he has a goal, and beating up lobo was just one part of it. He didn''t care much about Lobo afterward. So the talk of revenge was nothing more than grade A bullshit. There wasn''t even a speck of an intent to kill".


    He moved his fingers to reveal another scene.


    "It was this place that it actually happened". Batman pointed to the scene when the alien faced both he and Superman in a position as if ready to attack.


    "Here, he was ready. Actually ready to kill, me precisely. He felt insulted and though his face looked indifferent, his eyes said it all. That he was going to make me pay for it. And he probably would have....." Batman continued.


    "Until he got that phone call. That phone made him stop whatever he planned to do at that moment. Like it was more important than whatever payback he wanted to give to me. Now here''s the problem. If he had followed Superman and Lobo to earth, then how the hell did an alien get an Apple iPhone?" Batman asked as he continued with his deductions, which at this point had enthralled Clark and Diana.


    He was superb at his work. Worthy of Earths greatest detective.


    "So you''re insinuating...." Superman said.


    Batman continued.


    "I believe he didn''t follow either of you to earth. Instead, he was here before both of you even landed in Metropolis. After your entry into the atmosphere, the watchtower didn''t detect any other anomalies. Meaning you two came alone, with no one else following from behind". At that point, his hands had already begun typing on a holographic keyboard.


    "There''s a chance that he knew Lobo was coming to earth to hunt you down, so he decided to come to Metropolis in advance. But we haven''t picked up any signs of entry into the planet before and after you left into space to aid jonn".


    "So since we couldn''t discover how he even appeared on Earth, then we can only assume that he was able to use his teleportation ability to make his way onto the planet without anyone noticing". Batman continued.


    "Forget everything else, just that level of teleportation is quite shocking". Clark said in slight awe.


    "But if he was capable of teleporting directly to earth from who knows where, why do you assume that he was on Earth before Superman arrived? Because of the cellphone?" Diana asked, slightly puzzled.


    "No, for all we know, he could have just picked that up. For an alien, the chances are low, but it''s still possible. He could have used that phone to gain access to our world''s internet for whatever reason or find out some plain information. Too many unknowns would always leave me unsure, so I backtracked". Dozens of holographic Screens appeared as he shifted through them one after another.


    "My gut had a strong feeling, leaning on the possibility that he appeared beforehand. So I started going back from the time Superman and Lobo appeared. Cameras, videos, anything that I could find. And then my suspicions were confirmed when I saw this".


    A video from a security camera played near a traffic light as numerous people passed on the sidewalk. And soon, a particular male with a hood on his head appeared from the side of an alley. His head wasn''t lowered as he walked forward with a calm face full of indifference.


    "So it''s him". Superman said with a frown. The male in the video was a head turner, causing everyone who walked right past him to look at his face with eyes and lips wide.


    The former just walked right past them until he entered into a convenience store.


    The screen changed to the male buying two drug packets that each held a single pill. It was one of those pills usually used for deworming.


    Although he knew what it was, Batman didn''t point out that fact. There was no audio, but they watched the scene when the male looked to the sky, gave a small smile before disappearing.


    Clark wanted to speak, but he was interrupted by Bruce raising his hands to signal his silence. He tapped the holographic keyboard to see the scene change again as it showed a shaky video of Superman being beaten by Lobo.


    The latter''s leg was pressed on his chest as he raised his blaster to fire Superman in the face. He stopped fortunately as he turned to see the same alien male appear, say a few words that weren''t clear due to the chaos, take out two pills and infuse them with what the trio could only make assumptions for in their minds and swallow them.


    Before the scene changed as the latter burst out dark red energy and attacked Lobo.


    All three watched the video in silence.


    "What were those pills he took?" Diana finally broke the silence.


    "I don''t know". Bruce said with a sigh. This was the third time he had given a negative response in the last ten minutes.


    "I remember this part. I didn''t understand what he was doing at first. But... I still don''t understand what happened".


    Clark said while scratching his head. His puzzlement was shared by the three of them.


    "We know that what he held was nothing more than normal pills, that is, until he infused them with whatever energy that was".


    "And then he displayed the red aura moments later after swallowing them".


    "So he created what? A super pill". Clark couldn''t help but ask.


    Batman sat still, unresponsive, with a pensive look before replying.


    "It''s possible".


    "So you''re saying that the energy turned the pill into something that can give superpowers? But the energy came from his hands, then he ate it after infusion to give himself abilities?" Diana questioned.


    "It''s possible. I have two speculations". Bruce being the detective he was, spoke up about his possible suspicions.


    "The first is that his powers aren''t permanent and need to be constantly replenished after an uncertain period of time. Moreover, it needs a medium and whatever that energy that emerged from his hands is can''t act directly on his body, hence the need for the pills".


    "Doesn''t the energy come from him".


    "With the little information we have on him, we can''t be certain. False assumptions might lead to serious consequences". Batman replied.


    "And what''s the second". Diana asked.


    Batman didn''t respond. Seconds passed by and when Superman was about to speak, he finally replied.


    "A demonstration".


    "Huh?"


    "What?"


    "I said a demonstration. From what I''ve analyzed about him, he''s calm. Too calm, add that with the way he looks, and you could even say he''s perfect. If his powers were truly temporary and required replenishment sporadically, why would he reveal such a flaw? His ability to teleport always existed, so why make such a performance right in the open in front of Lobo instead of in a secluded area?"


    Batman analyzed, the Leaguers behind him nodded in agreement.


    "It''s just plain stupidity. Coupled with the phone call that he had before leaving, I''m betting more that this was all just an act. Either a demonstration for the league, so we could make some kind of false assumption about his true abilities, making us think that his powers were temporary... Or....."


    Batman tapped his fingers.


    "A demonstration of his true capabilities for someone else. Someone that was possible paying attention to the fight the whole time".


    Batman said in a grim tone.


    "A demonstration? To prove his strength by defeating Lobo?" Superman thought out loud.


    If you think of it, that would just explain it. Especially when Batman said that he had no actual interest to kill Lobo. So everything for him was a performance, and the life and death of Lobo didn''t matter to him. If that was the case, the next question was who was he performing for.


    However, Batman disagreed.


    "No!"


    "Huh?"


    "It wasn''t a demonstration of strength. At least, it wasn''t fully about it. If it was, then again, there would be no need for the act with the pills".


    One of Superman''s abilities was a super brain, which enabled him to keep track of his calculations when using his abilities like super hearing and super vision.


    Although he rarely used it for anything else, that didn''t mean it was useless.


    "My guess is that he''s demonstrating his true abilities. The power to give abilities unto others"


    And with those words, it was as if a bomb had gone off in their heads.


    ....

 Chapter 11 World Council

    "Are you 100% sure of this, Batman?" Clark asked, his face more solemn than ever.


    "No, I''m not". Bruce denied. "This is, once again, just speculations. Without true Intel, plotting our next course of actions on mere assumptions will only cause unwanted damage. What''s most important right now is to gather the league and try to find him".


    "Is there any way we can talk to Lobo? See if he knows anything?" Diana asked, causing Bruce to shake his head before bringing back the picture of lobo. With a few finger taps, a hologram of someone''s face appeared in their view.


    Half of his face was brown skinned and very short black hair, making his African American descent obvious to see. The other half, however, looked robotic with the eye showing a gleaming red color.


    The rest of his body as far as the camera could see was fully covered in various mechanical armor, with the Motherbox being the final component used in making up the half human, half robot entity known by the Justice league members as Victor Stone.


    Cyborg.


    The league''s half machine, half man member was bioengineered by his father in an attempt to save his life after experiencing a horrible accident with mechanical parts, leaving him more machine than man.


    "Batman? What do you need?". Victor asked.


    "Cyborg, status on Lobo". Bruce replied.


    ".... Sigh! Nowhere near good". The reply he received made Batman frown as Vic continued.


    Victor''s left eye glowed red as reports filled the screen, completely mapping out Lobo''s present state.


    "We ran some tests on him. He''s still alive, luckily, but barely. His body has remained completely unresponsive since the moment flash dropped him off. While his cells are experiencing... odd circumstances. Honestly, what all that''s happening right now in his internals, I''m surprised he''s still alive".


    Cyborg said with a click of his tongue.


    "What situations? Clarify".


    "And why is he still like this?"


    "Well, the cells within his body are going through a phenomenal degeneration sequence where....."


    "Hold on Cyborg. Barry isn''t here to translate, so why don''t we try this again. But this time, in the language of the people". Superman hurriedly interrupted as his brain hurt just thinking about listening to all the scientific mumbo jumbo that would soon spew out of his mouth.


    Batman and wonder woman didn''t say a word, but their dark expressions said it all.


    ''In English Please''.


    Cyborg looked at them with an urge to click his tongue.


    "Tsk¡­. Fine. Technically, from what we could tell from his DNA, his cells are healing, trying to fix all the damage it''s suffered from". They all nodded, finding no surprise in his words.


    "Here comes the twist. His healing rate doesn''t match the data you gave me, Bruce. It''s slower, like dozens of times slower than what he should actually be capable of". Vic said, causing everyone to have furrowed expressions.


    "So the new guy did this if I''m to judge correctly, huh?" Cyborg asked with intrigue.


    "Looks like we have to amp up the security risk level of our resident alien". Batman said, his face ugly.


    "I think I know how". Clark suddenly said with a solemn tone.


    "It was when I came back from space, I didn''t even have an opportunity to fully process when I saw Lois''s helicopter about to crash. I rushed and saved it from falling, and then I saw it when I turned around. He had Lobo by the throat, seconds before Lois arrived with the camera. He seemed to be siphoning something out of him.... the same kind of energy that he infused in those pills earlier".


    Clark was growing restless.


    "What happened after that, Clark?" Bruce asked him with a sharp gaze.


    Superman shook his head.


    "I stopped him. Or at least I tried to, but his body went intangible alongside Lobo. I passed right through them, but I think it stopped whatever he was doing. He looked pretty annoyed right after". After clarification, Bruce tapped his fingers on the chairs'' armrest repeatedly.


    This simple action alone showed how much irritation he had pent-up within him.


    "So he siphons whatever energy that was, out of our immortal alien and now, so-called alien has lost a large part of his immortality".


    "And then can transform that energy to grant abilities in inanimate objects". Bruce started, Diana finished, leaving everyone''s faces grim.


    "How long until we find him?" Clark asked restlessly.


    This was getting more dangerous by the second.


    The more they knew about him, the more scared they felt. Clark urgently wanted to find him and lock him up in a Belle Reve to appease his anxious heart.


    With such abilities. What''s stopping him from going on a world-wide metahuman hunt, draining the abilities out of people? Lobo was already a prime example.


    "I''ve set up the facial recognition software all over the globe. As soon as he appears, we will find him". Batman replied grimly.


    "What if he''s left the planet?" Diana couldn''t help but ask.


    "I don''t think it''s that simple. I have no idea what his plans are, but that phone call shows that he has contacts with people on Earth. As for who it is, that''s another cause for concern".


    "It could be with Luthor, or Intergang. Maybe he''s an emissary under Darkseid". Batman and Superman immediately began drawing out the worst possible conclusions.


    "Um¡­ Guys... there''s something else you need to know about". Vic interrupted their worrying session as he pulled out another file.


    "Lobo''s healing speed has decreased sharply. With the level of healing he now has, he should have already succumbed to death as a result of the beat down he experienced, but that''s not the case".


    He brought out a microscopic feed of Lobo''s internal cell structure.


    "Lobo''s physique is somehow still keeping him alive. His cells are mustering every source of vitality it can procure to prevent his demise, the result, however, is what''s happening right now". Vic said with a blank tone.


    "His cells are rapidly aging... being overclocked for vitality, causing them to rapidly speed up their life advancement. His cells have aged in hours, what they should have in months".


    "Your point cyborg?" Batman asked a little impatiently. He wanted to hurry back to his surveillance to find this dangerous factor that was now roaming on the earth somewhere.


    "... In the files you gave me, Lobo''s cells, while they aged, never showed such vitality loss". Cyborg finally said.


    "What do you mean, Vic?" Superman asked.


    "Lobo is growing old". Batman responded to him, his expression was flat, showing how little the fact that Lobo would soon die of old age mattered to him.


    "So what Vic is saying is¡­. He''ll probably die of old age soon?" Wonder woman asked.


    Cyborg nodded. "At his rate, he''ll most likely die of old age in a few months. Two to three years if the overdraw somehow stops. The point being, Lobo is no longer immortal". Cyborg said before cutting off the feed.


    Silence reigned in the watchtower as no one had any words to say.


    "What would happen if he used what he could do on normal people?" Superman asked the obvious.


    "They would turn into skeletons in seconds" still Batman responded to the somewhat idiotic question.


    "Can we call Zatara to see if we can track him with a locator spell?"


    "We already tried. Giovanni couldn''t get a trace without an anchor to him".


    "I''m going to search. Call me if there''s anything valuable in the meeting". Superman turned back towards the way he came from, heading towards the Zeta tube to return.


    Batman didn''t do anything to stop him and just turned back towards the monitor.


    Wonder Woman sighed, walking towards the Mess hall. She needed a sandwich.


    ...


    The Pentagon, United States


    Virginia.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    "I must say, this situation is most intriguing".


    "Intriguing indeed. This is probably the first time earth has come across such a situation. Alongside a particularly interesting extraterrestrial".


    "And what do you make of this... Proposal, this unidentified alien is pitching us General Lane".


    In a secret room fully lined with lead, state of the art cloaking tech, soundproof walls Meta dampeners in every possible corner, non-reflective surfaces and laced with kryptonite, General Sam Lane stood at attention with his hands behind his back.


    In front of him were a set of chairs evenly spread out over a round table. The chairs, however, were empty of any living organism whatsoever, but in its place was a holographic projection of men and women of different ages.


    All of them wore solemn expressions and sat elegantly with grace and poise, each with the aura and temperament capable of pulling off the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cloths hung on their bodies.


    These men and women were well-known politicians and influential figures in their various countries. However, few knew them for who they were aside from their original identities.


    Made up of various Heads of state of elected countries, together they formed the World Security Council. [WSC]


    Created to issue response orders in relation to threats regarding the safety of the world.


    The Idea for the WSC was created a few years ago after Stepphenwolf''s invasion on Earth, promptly alerting the word that they weren''t alone in the vast universe, and they would soon face more threats from extraterrestrials.


    It was formally implemented when the Justice league decided to establish themselves as Earth''s guardians, promising to shield the earth from Otherworldly threats and fight injustice within it.


    On the surface, its main focus was to fight alongside the league to protect the earth from hostiles, but that was only part of their agenda.


    The other half of their goal was to band the resources, manpower, and authority of many countries together as a form of resistance against the overpowered protectors of their planet. Protectors whom they had little to no control over.


    For the leaders in high places who have literally grown intoxicated to the feeling of being at the top of the pyramid, having someone existing literally powerful enough to step on their heads made them more restless than ants in a frying pan.


    It was basically a group of children deciding so seek strength in numbers so they could have the leverage to speak on equal grounds with the dreaded neighborhood bully.


    The league with its purpose of enacting justice had turned into a bone in most of their throats. Added to the fact that humans always feared what they didn''t know and couldn''t control, many sought to subdue the members of the league. Pity, a hundred ants can''t bite a single giant to death.


    An example being the government''s failed attempts at capturing Superman in the early days.


    No one would be at ease with a wild tiger laying in their living room, even if it doesn''t bite.


    The fact that the league was growing with the addition of new members, many possessing powerful abilities, made them even more uneasy.


    And now, here they were, discussing another possible world shattering catastrophe similar to Superman, that had made his mark in Metropolis a day ago.


    Numerous eyes shifted towards the old general, who now had to withstand the joint pressure of several men and women with statuses above him.


    Lane''s face was expressionless.


    This wasn''t his first rodeo with these wolves in sheep''s clothing who were his superiors.


    To be honest, Lane didn''t have too many good feelings for the Justice league, who declared themselves guardians of earth on their authority. He was a man molded in the military and served under its rule.


    His duty was to his motherland and his family.


    Someone like Superman, however patriotic he may be with his love for mankind, was a dangerous entity in his eyes as long as he wasn''t under the military''s control.


    Take that principle, apply it to the many members they had and his affinity with the league, an organization not under governmental control, could be imagined.


    But compared to these two faced bastards who hid their tail feathers behind the facade known as politics and had influential positions they didn''t deserve, his dislike for the Justice league wasn''t even worth a drizzle.


    He''d happily go for a drink with the man of steel than stand here with these hypocritical bastards any day of the century.


    Unfortunately, he had a job to do.


    "The alien has decided to leave his origins a mystery. Other than his..... self picked name and him calling himself an Energy Sentient, we have no clue where he might be from due to our information of the universe beyond earth being fundamentally insufficient. He is a high-risk factor which could become significantly disastrous. However, the benefits he has proposed regarding cooperations are..... rather promising for Earth''s development".


    "With what he can provide, both the technological sector and security sector of the planet can be enhanced multiple folds".


    General Lane said with a straight face as he listed out the advantages of this whole charade.


    The room grew silent as the council members spoke within each other, but lane heard nothing. This was deliberate, as they didn''t want the old General to listen in on their conversations, not like Sam cared.


    He just silently stood there, awaiting their decision.


    After a while, another hologram spoke. A female, to be precise.


    "What exactly do you make of this... Amari, general? How far are the extent of his abilities? Are there any possible weaknesses he has displayed?"


    "None that we know of. His ability of teleportation is rather exemplary, as he has proved capable of teleporting himself from Metropolis all the way to the Pentagon in a split second. The extent and number of his abilities remain unknown, except for us knowing he is capable of taking on an opponent at the level of Superman".


    Lane shook his head and replied.


    "Oh yes, we all know the incident of Metropolis general. But how do we know this proposal wouldn''t come around to cause us affliction on the chance we do accept it? He is an extraterrestrial after all, a powerful one at that".


    "Humph, I suggest we capture him. Alert the Justice league of his presence and let them handle it. This is what they signed themselves up for, after all".


    An old man with a gray mustache and full beard said with a huff.


    He didn''t like the idea of adding another dangerous individual they didn''t have total control of into this equation.


    "Even if we give him to the league, the casualties it will cause if a battle broke out within a populous area will be astronomical".


    As if they cared. Sam thought inwardly with a snort. They just didn''t want anything capable of staining their names.


    "Let''s not forget the possibility that the League might not be able to keep him. According to NASA, there was no entry into the earth besides Superman and the white alien. Meaning, He can decide to just leave the same way he came, currently unknown. The benefits for Earth would be practically non-existent if that happened. If he is inducted into the league for one reason or another because we handed him over, it wouldn''t do well for our favor".


    Another one of them kindly pointed out this point, making the room fall into silence once more.


    Yes, they were trying their hardest to gain more power so they could rise to the same level as the League.


    For this reason, many countries had long since begun human experimentation on Meta humans and alien DNA, trying to create their personal attack dogs capable of battling the Justice league.


    Thinking of how those so-called superheroes prancing about in colorful spandex usually ignored authority, it made many clench heir fists.


    And now they wanted to chase another one right into their arms? Dream on.


    This one was as powerful as Superman. Another Superman? Not to mention the benefits in his proposal. It was already unanimously decided without even having to speak. The league wouldn''t get involved with this one, no matter what.


    "What do you think are our chances of apprehending him, general? I believe the military has some special means capable of withstanding enemies if they are by chance caught of guard. It would be of great help to the military''s research if the DNA of this alien could be acquired, don''t you think? ".


    A female middle-aged woman said with a slight upturn of her lips. Her holographic hands held a glass of champagne, which she readily raised close to her lips.


    The ears of the council perked up at the possibility, while once more looking at the general with high intensity.


    Lane said, without a change of expression.


    "I sincerely believe we wouldn''t be here if our military had the capability of taking down someone at the level of Superman. Even if it''s by surprise. The chances are limited, and I would rather not sacrifice the lives of countless brave soldiers and hidden weapons on a fruitless endeavor to apprehend and extraterrestrial even Superman couldn''t lay his hands on".


    His bland tone had a particular biting edge to it.


    The middle-aged woman frowned at his words. No matter how bland they may be, his words indirectly insinuated that she was stupid for offering such a proposal.


    "General Lane, I advise you to watch your ....."


    "Actually, I would have considered the possibility of your words, Secretary Argent, however the reveal of an ability under the arsenal of the alien Amari promptly left me to discard this thought". Lane said, interrupting her, which made her somewhat angry.


    She twirled her fingers around her glass angrily.


    "And what might that be, General Lane?"


    Another member asked.


    "The ability to see the future". He said with his lips curling upwards, finally revealing some emotion since the minute he entered this room.


    Time seemed to stand still as everyone in the room turned stiff in their seats. The middle-aged female who spoke earlier was particularly frozen in place, her eyes widened to a slight bulge.


    "In the case of such an ability, any kind of attack against him or plan to do so will be revealed beforehand, hence destroyed before it even began. An example being Secretary Argent''s proposal to apprehend him for his DNA".


    The sound of glass shattering entered everyone''s ears, causing many to turn and see that the champagne glass in Argent''s hands had slipped off while her eyes had widened in horror before her body started trembling.


    Fear seeped into her bone marrow causing her elegant aura to dissipate, replaced with pure trepidation.


    If Lane weren''t in the room, he would surely laugh his beard off. Seeing Argent''s'' frightened expression was worth more than a million bucks, making him incredibly satisfied.


    "I''m liking this alien already". He thought inwardly.


    Looks like coming here wasn''t a total waste of time after all.


    Silence pervaded for many seconds before someone said in an urgent tone.


    "Did you verify the authenticity of his words, General".


    Lane said nothing but took out a crumpled piece of paper in his pocket. After a few seconds of straightening, what appeared was a crumpled page with ink writings on it.


    Lane placed the page on the table, where a blue light flashed, scanning the page.


    A second later, a document appeared in front of the eyes of everyone in the room. All those pairs of eyes widened in horror as they took in everything they read.


    It was precisely the discussion they were having right now. Starting from the moment, Sam initiated the conference call.


    Not a single word was missing, with the only change being the fact that a certain part of the writing was circled with red ink.


    [What do you think are our chances of apprehending him general? I believe the military has some special means capable of withstanding enemies if they are by chance caught of guard. It would be of great help to the military''s research if the DNA of this alien could be acquired, don''t you think?]


    Looking at it, Argent trembled even further as she muttered under her breath.


    "What the hell have I done?" The whole room was silent. If they didn''t understand who or what they were dealing with before, they certainly did now.


    Someone who knew their every move before it even began. Provoking such a person was not possible.


    The idea of informing the Justice league of his presence once again arrived in their minds but was squashed just as fast.


    If the Justice league got a member who could predict the future, then their lives would get significantly harder.


    "Amari also asked me to say a few words after letting you read this. The words saying, ''It''s your choice whether you want me here or not. I won''t lose anything either way. Furthermore, Secretary Argent! I might just drop by one of these days so we can have an in-depth discussion on your suggestion of studying my cells''. His words, not mine".


    Many members turned to look at secretary Argent. Many of their eyes held pity, while others held gloating. Some were thoughtful, others indifferent.


    Having a Superman level figure paying attention to you was basically bad for your health.


    Mrs. Argent, on the other hand, was rather pale at this point. The silence lasted a while longer before a man who looked to have the most authority in the room finally spoke.


    "Tell this... Amari, that the world council finds his proposal intriguing. Cooperation is a certain possibility. Update us on the follow-up general Lane, you have authority to operate in full discretion".


    And as he finished his words, his hologram cut. The others had their hologram disappear as well. Some faster than others, as if fleeing for their lives.


    When the room was finally empty with only Lane being left.... Nothing happened. With his face still serious, he turned around and walked towards the exit.


    But was there some kind of jolly spring in his step? Or is this author''s eyes mistaken?


    Oh well, who knows.


    ...

 Chapter 12 Found Him

    United States.


    Gotham...


    Nighttime, downtown Gotham city. Possibly, the worst place on Earth, any living person could find themselves in when it came to living circumstances.


    Looking at its long history, what more would one need to accurately describe it?


    Corruption, Chaos, Crime, all of it was synonymous with its name, making it a hotspot for criminal enterprises and black market activities.


    This was a city where people had learned the essential rules that no one within said city was kind enough to explain to any possible newcomers.


    The first and most indispensable rule, mind your business. Poking your nose in things that don''t concern you in any way would mostly likely have your corpse floating in the sewers or lying in an alley the following morning.


    A lady could get dragged into an alley in broad daylight by random things while kicking and screaming for help, yet wouldn''t even elicit a reaction from the passersby.


    Would people see it? Yes. Would they do something about it? Absolutely not. There had been many cases of such happenings in the good old days, and they all knew how the clich¨¦ plot of the hero trying to save the beauty played out when played in a Gotham alleyway.


    The result was always the usual. The screaming would momentarily stop before resounding again in a louder tone and ultimately dying out. The son of some random poor fella who tried to enact the play would end up in a body bag by morning.


    As for the cops? Let''s just say that Gothamites had more faith in their shoelaces than they did the GCPD.


    Bribery and looking the other way when confronted with criminal activities, something that would get police officers fired in other cities, wasn''t even enough to leave a stain on the record here.


    Rule two, trust no one. In a city like Gotham, handing out a twenty dollar bill to a beggar out in the open was a textbook example of the phrase, ''perfect way to kill someone with a borrowed knife''.


    If you weren''t rich and powerful, you could even set a target on your own back.


    Such an action was capable of getting someone and anyone involved with them murdered before dawn.


    Your relative could stab you in the back with a kitchen knife while he/she was smiling with you a minute ago.


    Death and rampage had become so common that no one would flinch if they opened their front door and what greeted their sights first thing in the morning was a mangled corpse.


    After all, it happened almost every other day.


    So yeah, it was a mess. A filthy mess if you weren''t being polite about it.


    Were all these narratives correct to the last letter? Maybe, Perhaps not. Still, it didn''t change the fact that Gotham was a shithole.


    Unlike its neighboring city, Metropolis, it hardly experienced as much when it came to powered villains. There were no kryptonite-powered robots shooting beams of mass destruction, no aliens with superhuman abilities and no freakish monsters capable of ending the world.


    The problems mainly experienced were simple enhanced versions of crime performed by individuals who were baseline humans. No superhuman strength, no apocalyptic weapons, just serial killer clowns with messed up minds, an egotistical maniac who had a thing for riddles, a fat drug and weapons dealer with the stature of a penguin who actually calls himself The Penguin..... basically stuff along those lines.


    Metropolis had experienced more disasters in five years than Gotham had since the day of its existence, yet metropolis was a much safer place than Gotham would ever be.


    The statistics alone showed that Gotham had the highest crime rate in the United States than any other city.


    That was until he came along. Straight into the darkness of Gotham, he struck out with hardened fists, technological gadgets and tenacious willpower, dedicating himself to combating the forces of evil within this city with his mortal body and sharp mind.


    He became what Gotham needed the most when it really counted.


    The hero of Gotham, Bruce Wayne, otherwise known as Batman. Kinda weird hero name when you think about it, but oh well.


    Who told the guy to have a thing with bats when he was younger.


    And so, with determination in his heart, Bruce set out to become what was necessary for Gotham. To make sure that he could prevent the tragic encounter that happened to him from happening to others.


    Even if he couldn''t save everyone, he would try his best to put a halt to this city''s corruption. Even if he had to use slightly more extreme methods to get the job done.


    And try he did. It was well known that Batman of the Justice League was a little..... different from the rest of his associates. His fighting posture was a lot harsher, usually leaving his opponents with broken bones, bloody noses, Batarang scars and branded bat marks.


    His vigilante approach, regardless of what it seemed like to the common folk in the early days, was rather effective. Superman was a symbol of hope to the people of Metropolis, while Batman was a symbol of fear to the criminals of Gotham.


    A place like this needed a heavy hand if you wanted to make a difference, and made a difference he did.


    At least Bruce would like to think so.


    At first, his tactics did work well. But as they say, You live, You learn. Some criminals are rather lousy, but not all of them are dumb. Some would evolve, and that fear of Batman would turn to caution.


    Unknowingly, Batman in his quest to save a lost city was helping its criminals work smarter, plan better and develop targeted tactics.


    In a way, Batman was teaching them to be better. Bruce soon realized this as new and more challenging criminals to deal with rose overtime, all hell-bent on challenging him, one way or the other. Yet, he could do nothing but continue the same charade of hunt and capture while God knows how many innocent lives died along the line.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Gotham needed a stronger, more permanent service to get back on track. Services that Batman, no matter how brutal he tried to be, just couldn''t and wouldn''t provide, probably even when faced with the cost of his life.


    .....


    Batman''s POV¡­.


    "It''s calm. Too calm". Bruce said expressionlessly as he stared through infrared binoculars while fully decked up in his bat getup.


    He stood on one of Gotham''s skylines while looking down on the city as he went about his regular evening patrol.


    "Isn''t that supposed to be a good thing, Bruce?" A figure a few meters away from him stood with her arms folded across her chest.


    Batman turned around to look at the woman, giving her a slightly narrowed glare.


    She froze a bit with her mouth slightly open before lowering her head .


    "I..... Sorry, Batman. I just meant, the gangs are keeping a low profile and no one''s gone out to perform a big stunt in days. What''s bad about that?" Barbara Gordon, who was similarly dressed in the bat costume, apologized before speaking.


    She was well aware how Bruce vehemently emphasized on the use of code-names whenever they were out in the field. She heard that he once had an argument with the Flash over this issue. Their secret identities being revealed was a catastrophe on its own if it ever occurred.


    Still, that didn''t stop her from asking why his tone concerning everything being too calm sounded like a bad thing.


    Bruce turned his face away and continued to peer through his binoculars.


    "On regular days, it''s not. But with everything that''s happened lately, something just doesn''t feel right". He said without turning.


    Barbara had her brows furrowed slightly. And there it is again. Bruce''s gut feeling that signified something bad was about to happen.


    As one of Batman''s proteges, she knew what it meant whenever he felt this way. And from his words, she knew the source of his concern.


    "It''s about the alien that disappeared, isn''t it?" She asked with a tone of concern.


    "Yes". Bruce replied in taciturn. His voice was plain and sounded somewhat unfriendly, yet she didn''t mind. She had been around him long enough to understand that this was his usual time when he was fighting crime as Batman.


    Bruce didn''t see the need to hide it, either. It was no surprise to everyone who knew him well that this whole thing was bugging him more than he let it show.


    A week had passed since the Clash Of The Otherworlders, while Flash and Superman had practically scoured the face of the globe searching for their mysterious yet dangerous visitor. Facial recognition scans were always running twenty-four hours of the day, and yet, a week had passed.


    Nothing. A week gone by and they''ve found nothing. It seemed as if he just disappeared from the Earth''s surface which, when thinking about his abilities, was actually not surprising and most likely to happen.


    Had he left the earth permanently with his teleportation ability? The chance was always present, but Batman doubted it. The uneasy feeling in his heart just wouldn''t go away and quite frankly, it left him really frustrated.


    Nevertheless, there was nothing more they could do apart from wait. Things had gotten so bad that the league had practically kicked him out of the watchtower, saying he should go home and get some rest after staying on the Tower''s computer for seventy-two hours straight without a wink of sleep.


    Batman was disgruntled, but there was nothing he could do about it. Still, his paranoia made him unable to sleep and led him to perform frequent patrols around the city.


    Batgirl was even recalled back from the Junior team by Alfred due to his worry about his mental state.


    Faced with worried family, and a determined old butler, the Paranoid man could only suck it up and deal with it while trying to sort out the clouded thoughts in his mind.


    And now, here they were, back on one of Gotham''s rooftops having this conversation.


    Barbara sighed. Quite frankly, she didn''t know what to say to Bruce in this situation, as there was nothing to say that could possibly comfort him. After all, he was Batman. The guy that still slept with kryptonite under his bed even after being friends with Superman.


    Clark had used his X-ray vision and super hearing to search, Barry had gone above and beyond with his speed while the Lanterns were doing their things with their lanterns.


    There were literally no forthcoming results. At times like this, she really wished that Alfred had decided to recall Dick or Tim instead of her.


    "Look, Batman..." Barbara wanted to speak, but Bruce cut her off.


    "Let''s move. We should check on the next block". He didn''t even wait for her reply as he leaped down from the building. His grappling gun shot towards a nearby structure, supporting his gliding figure.


    Batgirl sighed and followed him.


    They patrolled the city for another half an hour and then.....


    "I thought I''d find you here". Batman turned slowly after landing on a rooftop.


    Red and blue tights, flowing cape, standard S on the muscular chest. Who else would it be if not Clark Kent, Superman himself?


    "What are you doing here?" Bruce asked with his features hidden under his cowl.


    "I''ll go patrol the west area of downtown". Batgirl saw the arrival of the Man Of Steel and intelligently decided to make herself scarce. With a simple jump, shot and swing, she was gone.


    Clark looked at the disappearing figure of Barbara and chuckled slightly.


    "She was the one Alfred called to check up on you?"


    "Yes". Bruce replied. His body turned around to stare once again at the bright lights of the buildings in Gotham''s night.


    Clark floated downwards, gently landing by his side.


    "You okay?" He asked with slight worry.


    "I''m fine. I''m just a little.... pent-up, that''s all". Bruce replied in a solemn tone.


    Clark, seeing his state, gently put his hand on his shoulder.


    "I know you''re worried, but it''ll be okay. We have the entire league on alert in case he is spotted anytime. We''ll know about it the moment it happens, and we''ll be ready for whatever he might have to throw at us. You need to get some rest. You won''t be able to ask him any questions if you fall asleep while doing so. Your whole intimidating persona might just come crashing down if that happens". Clark said with a reassuring tone, adding a slight joke at the end.


    It should be stated here and now that the power of good pep talks comes along within Superman''s repertoire.


    Bruce, who was a little stressed, subconsciously, relaxed a lot as he threw Clark a grateful gaze. Clark just gave a bright smile while turning to look at the night lights.


    They both stayed silent for several seconds.


    "How''s Gotham?"


    "Bad as ever". Clark asked, Bruce replied.


    "I guess so, huh?"


    "Yes. Things are getting¡­. a lot more complicated in recent times. Last I heard, the Joker and his goons got their hands on Intergang tech. They''ve been in hiding ever since, planning who knows what".


    Bruce stated with a frown. Things were really getting out of hand. As the world''s greatest detective, Batman had certainly noticed it. The movements of criminals, be it Penguin''s goons, Falcones, Joker''s, they''ve upped their game.


    They''ve gotten smarter, sharper. They''re learning from their mistakes with every breakout, just right after he manages to put them in prison. Honestly, it gets infuriating.


    Batman had to resist the urge to rub his temples.


    "You know, I''m always here to lend a hand when necessary. All you have to do is ask". Clark said with a raised eyebrow.


    "No need. Thanks for the thought, but this is my city. I''ll find out what the Joker''s up to sooner rather than later".


    Bruce refused with a shake of his head. He was used to running Gotham on his own.


    "Ok, well, whatever you say. I''m heading back to the..." Superman had barely finished when he saw Bruce''s face suddenly twist sternly.


    "Run full facial scan". Bruce said, his time almost bordering on a growl.


    "Batman? What''s up..." Clark was interrupted yet again as he received a message from his com link.


    "Superman to Watchtower, what''s your status?" Clark asked as he pressed his finger against his ear.


    "We got a hit on the alien. Just about twenty seconds ago. Flash is already en route". Cyborgs voice sounded from Clark''s earpiece.


    "Where?" He asked seriously.


    "Coast city". The reply came swiftly. Superman said no more as he floated upwards, defying gravity''s law before blasting into the sky.


    Batman wasn''t idle, either, immediately pressing a button on his arm to summon the Bat jet to his location from the Bat Cave.


    "You didn''t leave. So I was right. You finally couldn''t resist showing yourself".


    Batman looked towards the direction of coast city. All Leaguers, free or not, were already alerted and on their way to coast city. Although flash would be there in less than five minutes, the first responder would definitely be Hal Jordan.


    He was already in coast city to begin with, while Stewart was taking his turn to do his job as the patrolling green lantern of sector 2418.


    Could Hal handle him alone? Honestly, Batman doubted it, but as long as he didn''t run away, Hal could certainly delay him long enough for Superman, Flash and Shazam to arrive on the scene. Or at least, that''s what he thought. Unfortunately, the League''s members were about to have a rather unpleasant encounter.


    "I won''t let you get away this time". Batman said as the Bat Jet came within his view in the distance.


    ...

 Chapter 13 Young Justice

    United States, Coast city.


    In one of the rooms of a rather luxurious apartment, on a large king-sized bed lay two figures completely immersed within each other''s presence to care about anything else.


    Their bodies entangled around each other, giving off heat as passionate moans escaped their lips, hands groping, recklessly exploring each other''s regions.


    "Ahm..... Uhm..... Yeahhhh!" Slurring sounds with incoherent sentences echoed occasionally as the two fought a hard and savage battle on the bed. Their bodies constantly moving back and forth at high pace, glistening with sweat as they were completely bare the same way they came into the world.


    All that was heard apart from the moans and pants were the constant slapping sounds produced by conflicting friction.


    The activity in the bedroom went on for fifteen minutes before gradually ceasing, while within the room, both figures were letting out exhausted pants.


    "Ha..... Ha¡­. Ha..... That was....." The female said in a soft voice full of exhaustion as her sensitive body twitched lightly now and then. The male didn''t say much as he let out similar labored breaths.


    The smile of satisfaction on his face was difficult to conceal as he embraced the beauty laying in his arms, his lower member still inserted in her shaft.


    He looked at the woman with dark hair and blue eyes, his irises almost overflowing with affection.


    "That..... Was A-Amazing Carroll". Hal said with a slight chuckle amidst pants. He looked at the woman laying on his chest and felt a slight of accomplishment within his heart.


    He finally did it. He finally bedded the woman he was in love with. Hal considered it a double victory, after all, it was every male employee''s dream to fuck his boss senseless, especially when she was a stunning beauty with graceful curves that could make men lustful.


    The male on the bed was none other than the one and only Hal Jordan, the Green lantern of earth, Sector 2814 and one of the founding members of the renowned Justice league.


    He was also one of the many members of the Universal Space Police Force also known as the Green Lantern Corps. With Energy rings granted onto them by the guardians of Oar Star, capable of materializing anything imaginable, fueled solely by the green light of will.


    This made anyone deemed worthy enough to wield a Lantern ring a formidable opponent across the universe. As a Green Lantern in the DC Comics, Hal Jordan was known to be one of the most powerful Lanterns of all time.


    His extraordinary willpower made his combat capabilities all the more powerful.


    As they say, the stronger the will, the stronger the lantern. As for Hal Jordan''s ring... well, currently it was placed on a table by the far side of the room. After all, he was about to have sex with his boss, the ring certainly couldn''t stay on his finger.


    Hal was filled with a good sense of achievement. Carroll on the other hand was having a mixture of complicated emotions brewing within her at the moment.


    She sighed to herself inwardly as she heard his voice and took a minute to adjust her thoughts. Although she found Hal particularly attractive and knew she had grown some special feelings for him, that still didn''t change something that was weighing on her mind.


    Hal was her employee, and she had just slept with her employee. The thought made her mood quite complex.


    "Carrol, are you ok?" Hal couldn''t help but ask as he saw her being quiet.


    "I''m fine". Carroll said while disposing of her thoughts. They both rested on the bed without saying a word as minutes passed by.


    Hal felt the atmosphere was slowly getting uncomfortable. Just as he was about to say something to get rid of the uneasiness in the air, his eyes widened as he turned his gaze to catch the slight glow that had gone off in his Lantern ring.


    Hal''s connection to the ring was strong, the same as any other lanterns. They didn''t need to have it on them to be able to control it.


    Hal was the same as he slowly got up from the bedside and walked towards the table.


    He picked up the ring and gently slid it on his finger, his toned and well tanned figure still completely buck naked as he turned around.


    "I''m going to go use the bathroom really quick". He said as he moved towards the bathroom door. Carroll watched all this with a normal expression while giving a slight nod, finding nothing unusual.


    She sat on the bed with her womanly features covered by the blankets, a little deep in thought.


    While she didn''t deny that she was somewhat attracted to the fearless test pilot that was Hal Jordan, which was the reason that led to this moment being possible, Carroll just couldn''t bring herself to have a real relationship with him.


    After all, he was her employee at Ferris Aircraft and her image and reputation needed to be upheld.


    So this situation would most likely be a one-time thing, similar to a one-night stand. While she was debating her choices, Hal quickly emerged from the bathroom, less than twenty seconds after going in.


    "Hey um¡­ I''m truly sorry about this, but I just got a crucial call while I was in the bathroom. Something serious happened and¡­. um¡­ I.... Have to go. Deal with something important.... So¡­"


    Hal said awkwardly as he quickly put on his clothes. His words came out incoherently, as he didn''t really know how to describe the situation. After all, this wasn''t some random chick he just happened to hook up with.


    No, she was his boss from work, which made the situation all the more awkward as he struggled to find an excuse to justify his departure. Carroll just looked at him with a blank stare as her eyes drifted towards the table where his phone laid.


    He didn''t go to the bathroom with his phone, so.... she saw through his rather pitiful attempt of an excuse immediately, while the Hal didn''t even notice in his haste.


    He had just received an alert from cyborg that the alien they''ve been searching for all week was right in coast city. Hal took it upon himself to respond immediately.


    "A¡­. Friend of mine, yeah, he got into something big and I gotta go help him so¡­. I''ll call you". And with that, he closed the door and ran out of the building in a hurry.


    Carroll didn''t say anything, just sat there deep in thought.


    Hal, on the other hand, moved a considerable distance away from the luxurious building with hasty steps. When he surveyed the area to make sure there were no cameras and no one nearby to accidentally witness his transformation, his ring glowed green and his body sported the black and green colored later uniform the following second.


    Hal immediately took off into the air, heading to the point where cyborg had sent to his ring.


    "You just had to show up today, of all days, didn''t you? God, so help me, if I lay my hands on you, I''m gonna¡­." Hal muttered ruthlessly in frustration as his figure zoomed away.


    ...


    Amari POV


    Meanwhile, at a certain caf¨¦ in coast city


    Ten minutes before the alert.


    The soft music of classical Beethoven played within the establishment, which at this time of night gave off a rather soothing feeling to those who sat there. Whether they were on their phones, Laptops or just chatting with friends, family or acquaintances.


    The night was peaceful, coupled with the bright lights from various buildings, it gave off a serene feeling in the soul which almost said inner peace.


    Or at least, Amari would like to think so. He didn''t know if anyone else in this place felt the same way, but there was just something about it all that gave this strange feeling to him.


    It reminded him of Kung Fu Panda and a certain old tortoise that liked to speak twisty riddles.


    His curious nature immersed itself in this feeling as his bright purple eyes had a certain light within them while his lips curled up slightly.


    His posture was relaxed, almost lazy, even as he tuned out everything else around him. But that didn''t mean that no one wasn''t paying any attention to him.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    He wore a black hoodie with shorts and Nike sneakers. His hair was no longer the signature black it used to be but now sported a silver white color, coupled with his free spirited demeanor and rather delicate features, you could say that he was actually grabbing a lot of attention doing nothing but sitting there.


    All sorts of hushed whispers rang about in the caf¨¦, ninety percent of those discussions revolving around him.


    From the group of girls on one end, to the mature ladies on the other, even to the female cashier.


    He turned his head to look at a group crowded around a table, the peculiarity there being that it was fully seated with females.


    Teenagers to be exact, probably none older than nineteen.


    He could feel them stealing glances at his direction sporadically when he wasn''t paying attention. As he turned his face around, many turned theirs away, some with their faces growing a touch of red while others giggled softly.


    Some were slightly more bold and threw winks at him as they continued their hushed discussions. Too bad for them, he could hear every word.


    His superhuman capabilities included enhanced hearing, even if they weren''t at the level of Superman, it was seriously no problem for this rather short distance.


    To be honest, he was slightly intrigued and a little amused at their conversations but ignored it all in general.


    The reason he even bothered to use his enhanced hearing was simply a way to get accustomed to the abilities of his body.


    A seasoned warrior could detect whether his weapon''s weight was off by a single gram.


    Captain America from the neighborhood Marvel Universe was a testament to that.


    For him, getting accustomed to the abilities he had given himself was a matter of course.


    Of course, he wouldn''t need much time for adaptation, unlike most people who would suddenly find their control overwhelmed when  faced with new abilities and largely increased levels of strength.


    It was almost like Superman''s biological force field and tactile telekinesis, which made him capable of controlling his strength without occasionally losing control and ripping out the fridge handle every now and then.


    The difference, however, was that his control was also part of the perks he added when creating his current form. His body would quickly adapt to any suddenly increase or addition in abilities as long as he made even the slightest usage of them, no matter how minimal. It wasn''t on the same level as Doomsday''s adaptive regeneration, but it would do for now.


    Thoughts passed through his mind as he looked at the tattoos on his arm that was completely random to anyone else who saw it, but its contents were as clear as day to him.


    [Remaining Energy Units: 41325]


    The amount of energy he used to empower those pills which he, in turn, used to empower himself was rather large. The total cost for his enhanced physiology and power of destruction bordered around fourteen thousand units combined.


    Not exactly the specific amount, but he didn''t want to go into details. Just say something around those lines.


    It didn''t have much impact on his mind, though. After all, a pair of enhanced eyes with access to another dimension was one thing, but speed faster than am electric train, strength capable of lifting the Empire State Building, a body capable of resisting a nuclear bomb, enhanced senses, flight as well as the power of destruction were no small abilities.


    Any of these things put into the Naruto world would be rated on the same level as the Mangekyo Sharingan Kekkei Genkai, probably even higher.


    However, the ability of Kamui was rather pleasing to use.


    The thought of enhancing the ability of his eyes did pass his mind. Maybe give it another evolutionary direction. But that could wait, currently there were other important things to handle.


    As for his energy, he was supposed to have less than that, but the energy he siphoned off lobo just happened to increase his total reserve generously while also bringing him a quantitative leap forward when it came to the topic of his control over energy.


    Although it was later ruined by Superman, it wasn''t all bad. His meeting with General Lane had gone off rather splendidly, without a single hitch. Was he surprised? No.


    Did he already know how things would play out? Yes.


    Using energy to see the future was a rather convenient ability.


    He was able to accurately predict how they would react to any situation.


    His eyes suddenly lit up with slight interest as he picked up something he was expecting with his ears. The first was the mumbling of a group of boys at a nearby table.


    Apparently, they were planning something against him which would most likely lead to them getting in trouble. He already knew that, so he focused on the second, more interesting thing.


    ".... Conner, you didn''t have to come if you didn''t want to. You literally haven''t said a word since we left the cave".


    "Kaldur''s right. We''re here to enjoy ourselves, have fun. Your broody aura is truly messing with the vibes".


    Two voices entered into his ears. One was calm, collected and spoke with a flat tone. The voice was a bit deep as well, giving it a slight touch of maturity while the other sounded lively, young, and far too frivolous.


    "Right on time. It looks like the Junior league is here".


    Amari said with a chuckle.


    He turned his head towards the glass window and sure enough, he could see a group of six walking among the crowd of pedestrians on the sidewalk.


    Two girls, four boys, all in casual clothing as their eyes roamed the street.


    "Calm down, Wally, Conner''s like that, and you know it".


    "Sigh! Always being the good friend Megan, but still. The guy''s close to brooding like Batman".


    Wally said with an exaggerated expression as he pointed at the Stoic Conner Kent, otherwise known as Superboy.


    "Tch¡­. As if. No one broods like Batman. It''s his signature thing". Robin said with a disdainful look.


    Wally was about to retort when he suddenly stopped and started sniffing.


    "Umh, I smell bagels. Let''s go get some". Wally said with delight as he turned his attention to the caf¨¦ right in front of them.


    "Hello Wally, didn''t you just have a snack ten minutes ago?" Artemis said with a pointed glare.


    "Hey, Those were chips and that was then. These are bagels, they''re different. And like you said, it''s already been a full ten minutes". Wally said with a matter of fact expression.


    "Guys, it doesn''t matter. We can just go get some for everyone. It''ll be good". Megan said with a giggle.


    "Nothinf wrong with having something sweet". Kaldur said with a smile on his lips.


    "I don''t mind some". Conner just grunted and voiced his opinion.


    "Great, let''s go". Megan''s eyes lit up as she dragged Conner by the arm towards the caf¨¦. Wally followed with an excited expression while rubbing his palms together.


    Robin and Artemis just followed without any expressions on their faces.


    All of their actions fell into the ears of a certain male sitting in the said Caf¨¦. He didn''t order anything and just sat silently.


    "Oh, looks like the jocks can''t hold on any longer". Amari didn''t turn around, but could clearly make out the sound of footsteps heading towards his direction.


    Apparently, the table of boys was a little upset that some fresh face was stealing all the attention and decided to make a move.


    Wasn''t this a little clich¨¦? Amari thought, and yet, it was happening. Still, he didn''t care one bit as he sat there with an aura of laziness around him, as if he didn''t have a care in the world.


    His gaze was fixed at the door where the Junior league just happened to walk in, all six of them. Now he somewhat wandered if he was not in some random AU and was just in the plain Young justice world.


    His thoughts were interrupted as he saw a shadow on the floor right beside him.


    "Hey there man. What''s up?" He stood at six feet with blonde hair and black eyes. Amari couldn''t be bothered about his choice of clothing but the football jacket that read, Coast city high was eye-catching enough to see with his ears.


    He didn''t say a word. Just ignored the latter while his gaze remained settled in front. The atmosphere somewhat froze as the guy who seemed to be a football player stood there with a bit of embarrassment.


    His movements were noticed the moment he got up, as almost everyone was subtly paying attention to the white haired hottie sitting near the window.


    "You know, It''s considered rude to ignore someone like that". Seeing that he didn''t even give him a glance, the blonde was a bit angry due to embarrassment.


    "Well your words sounded too much like a pickup line, so a guy''s gotta be careful, don''t you agree?" The reply was smooth yet had a biting edge to it. His words weren''t loud, but the Caf¨¦ had already quieted down by this point.


    Suddenly, the place was deathly silent for a few seconds, followed by sounds of stifled laughter.


    Countless people had their hands over their mouths, while others just had their eyes widen.


    "Wow! What a burn". Wally, however, couldn''t keep his mouth to himself and said loudly.


    "I have to admit, that does sting". Robin, who was watching the show, had his eyelids twitch slightly. He looked at the white haired guy near the window, his eyes slowly narrowing to slits.


    "I''ll say. Who''s the cute guy near the window?" Artemis looked at him with a twinkle in her eyes. Seeing his smooth skin and chiseled jawline, her eyes eagerly scanned him from head to toe. Megan was similar as she looked at the scene.


    At this point, the blonde''s face was hideous.


    This guy just insinuated he was gay. What made it even worse was the group of girls a distance away were all laughing at his expense.


    His eyes narrowed to form a slight glare as numerous thoughts passed his mind.


    "I don''t particularly like people touching me, especially men. So watch where you put your hands, or you might just lose them". His words were plain, clear, and concise.


    The outstretched arm of the blonde who wanted to teach this little shit in front of him a lesson froze slightly in midair.


    "Whoa! Ok, now I gotta say, this guy is fierce". Wally said as he watched the excitement.


    "Agreed". Kaldur nodded in acknowledgement.


    "Hey everyone, does he look familiar to you?"


    "Huh? Who exactly?"


    "The white haired one, I feel like I''ve seen him somewhere before". Robin replied to Wally''s question.


    "Do you guys think he needs help?" Megan couldn''t help but ask as she saw the others had come to provide backup.


    "Looks like you''re new around here, aren''t you? I bet there are a lot of things you don''t know". The blonde said with fierce eyes. Seeing his group surrounding him, his courage shot through the roof as he wiped the smile off his face.


    "Come on, Terry, leave him alone. This is my workplace and I warned you about causing trouble". The female cashier suddenly interrupted, causing all eyes to turn to her.


    Her eyes were focused on the leader of the group. Standing six feet three, dark hair, ebony skin, classic Black American.


    Anyone could judge from her words that they were in some sort of relationship.


    Terry had his eyes darken slightly. He looked at his girlfriend before turning to look at Amari. His eyes squinted slightly before he signalled to his group to leave.


    His hands made some special signs towards them as he turned to face the exit.


    "Uh guys? We might have a problem". Robin had a solemn look on his face as he looked away from the phone that appeared in his hand at some point.


    "What''s the issue, Robin?" Kaldur asked.


    "Hehehe. You''re lucky. But we''ll see how lucky you are when you step out of this building". The blonde boy said with a vicious whisper as he placed his hand on Amari''s shoulder and applied force.


    However, his expression changed when the latter suddenly grabbed his wrist.


    "Looks like you''ve decided which arm you want to lose". His voice was indifferent but carried frightening coldness. The blonde boy felt the hairs at the back of his neck stand on end for some reason.


    Amari didn''t give him time to ponder as he exerted a slight force.


    Crack!


    "Agghhhhh!" Pain erupted from his hand as the blonde boy let out a shrill scream, yet his body was lifted from the ground before he could process anything.


    Crash! Amari''s expressionless face didn''t change as he hoisted the blonde boy by his arm and threw him through the glass window.


    The glass shattered, causing the passing pedestrians to scream as they saw a body fly through the broken window and into the sidewalk.


    The change was so fast and unexpected that the people in the Caf¨¦ didn''t have time to react.


    "That''s the issue". Robin said with an audible gulp of saliva.


    .....

 Chapter 14 That Was Quick

    "Oh! Looks like they''re some who aren''t afraid of death". Amari said with amusement as he watched people leave the Caf¨¦ in droves. Faces filled with fear as they hastily made their way to the exit.


    Except for some people. Six people, no, six teenagers to be precise. His eyes landing on the Junior Justice team, as he liked to call them.


    Everyone else had run out, making them look awfully conspicuous in the now empty Caf¨¦.


    As they were the only ones present within the establishment, his voice was loud and clear in their ears, causing them to frown.


    Superboy narrowed his eyes to form a glare.


    "Robin, who is this guy?" Kaldur asked solemnly. He wasn''t in a fighting stance, but his body had instinctively adjusted itself to combat readiness. His eyes were locked onto the figure who was still leisurely sitting on the chair, yet his actions of throwing a teenage boy through a window with a single hand showed that he wasn''t normal. Or reasonable for that matter.


    "Great, another Metahuman attack right when we''re on vacation. Are our holidays cursed or something". Wally muttered in a low voice under his breath.


    This was really starting to bug him. The same thing happened when they fought Mr. Twister some time ago. That time, they were also supposed to be on break as well, then a robot man in a robot suit decided to crash in while trying to find red tornado in happy harbor.


    Now, they had fled to Coast city for another holiday and this happened.


    Was the universe against them, having some fun.


    "Another metahuman? You insult me, Wally. Even if I''m not as famous as Superman, I should at least have some publicity. Your words alone are downright demeaning. And why do you automatically assume that I''m a Metahuman? ". His voice was lowered, so only his teammates could hear his words. After all, the distance between them and their enemy was still considerable, so there was nothing wrong with muttering.


    Too bad for them, the enemy this time had Super hearing.


    "You¡­. You heard me?" Wally exclaimed in surprise, as he didn''t expect the latter to hear his words.


    Amari tapped his right ear twice with a blank face.


    "Super hearing. It''s actually not that rare. After all, central city should have plenty of enhanced humans, right? Don''t tell me that you haven''t faced off against one with enhanced vision or hearing?"


    "No, not really, there aren''t any in the flash''s rogue villains'' gallery..."


    "WALLY!" Artemis yelled, turning to give the red haired speedster a death glare. Wasn''t he just giving out sensitive information? Who told him to run his mouth at a time like this, and to a possible enemy to booth?


    The others also looked at him as well. Their eyes all seemed to be conveying a critical question.


    "Are you dumb?"


    Even Superboy who didn''t quite appreciate Wally''s childish actions sometimes was speechless.


    Wally had his eyes widen in horror. He raised his finger while pointing at the lazy looking Amari. He had subconsciously let something slip that he shouldn''t have.


    "You¡­.you¡­"


    "I¡­. I¡­. What? You know, for someone who has Super speed, you''re surprisingly slow on the uptake". Actually, it wasn''t all that surprising. Wally West in the young justice universe wasn''t exactly the brightest guy alive. He might be fast, and his IQ might be high, but he didn''t always put that superfast brain of his to good use.


    Not to mention, he was hotheaded and reckless. But hey, being a moody teenager could do that to you. Especially when you''re going through the puberty period.


    "You¡­." Wally was slightly exasperated.


    "This isn''t good, guys. Judging from his words, he knows who we are". Robin said with wariness. He had already sent a message to Batman and an alert to the Hall of Justice computer network.


    He couldn''t send a message directly to the Watchtower, so he had to improvise.


    The others had their moods sink. Not to mention that Wally just mentioned something about the Flash. Although it didn''t give out any concrete information about him, he knew that Wally had super speed. That alone meant....


    "Bingo. Always the analytical one little Boy Wonder. Last I heard, your Bat mentor has been searching a great deal for my whereabouts. Honestly, it really stumps me why he''s so interested in me. Does he have some kind of special fetish? You have to let him know for me, just like I told that guy, I ain''t gay".


    He said, his face expressionless, and pointed at the body that was laid among shards of glass on the sidewalk outside the Caf¨¦.


    It was motionless among the shards. The life and death of the body was completely unknown.


    Seeing him pointing towards a possible dead body, the hearts of the young team chilled. Did he just kill a teenager just because of a provocation?


    "Oh don''t worry about him. He irritated me yes, but he''s not dead... Not dead yet, anyway. He might die if he isn''t given any medical attention, or he might be fine. But it won''t matter if he is, as his suffering is far from over".


    Amari said with his lips curling upwards. That was just some random nonsense, the guy was fine. Well, if you removed the fact that the bones in his arm were completely shattered, and he was unconscious with multiple cuts on his skin as well as the bleeding.


    Yep, he was fine. Though, he would never be able to use his arm again. This wasn''t broken bones we were talking about, but the bones being cracked to pieces within his arm.


    Still, he wouldn''t die. For his show and performance, Amari wouldn''t let him die. Plus, on the bright side, there were things much worse than death and this kid would soon experience it.


    He found himself curious to see the kids'' reaction when he discovers that his life was about to go crashing down, all because he decided to provoke the wrong person due to a stroke of bad luck.


    "He''s alive, but he needs help". Megan said. Superboy acknowledged as he could hear the boy''s heart still beating.


    "Wally, get him to the nearest hospital".


    Kidflash nodded. He was about to move when Amari raised his finger.


    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you. Not to mention that he isn''t going anywhere since I don''t want him to, you guys really haven''t figured out the situation, have you?"


    He waved his finger a little with a nonchalant expression, but his words caused kid flash to stiffen slightly.


    Amari didn''t mind him and turned back to Robin.


    "So, you''ll let the Bat''s know for me, I don''t do men. But you already signalled for him and the league to come here, didn''t you?" Robins face changed.


    He knew that, yet he didn''t stop him. Either this guy was incredibly arrogant or he was planning something against the league.


    "Doesn''t matter, it''s all good. That way I can tell him myself. It''s been quite a while". He finally let go of his lazy posture and sat up straight.


    "Wally, get the civilian out of here". Aqualad said with a deep voice as he looked at the motionless Kid flash.


    "KF, don''t". Robin, however, said the opposite. His face was serious, as if he were facing a great enemy. The others might not know as they hadn''t paid much attention to the news, but how could he be ignorant?


    He literally hadn''t seen Batman in a worse mood than he was in this passing week.


    This guy in front of them was dangerous, and who knows what would happen if Wally made a move.


    "Why Robin? It''s just another Metahuman. What are you afraid of?"


    "He''s not a Metahuman, he''s alien and trust me, we can''t take him. That''s the guy from last week''s Metropolis incident". Robin said solemnly.


    This guy sitting in front of them was at the league level. Someone the whole league was searching for yet couldn''t find for the past week.


    One thing was for sure, and that was that he was above their difficulty setting. Any rash moves could possibly lead to disastrous consequences.


    Plus, they weren''t exactly geared up for battle.


    He still remembered how they fared against the Amazo Android and honestly, although they won, they were beaten badly in that fight.


    The others all let out slight gasps. Superboy''s being the most exaggerated. His gaze grew even sharper, if that was possible.


    The news was practically circulating all over the web. Conner learned from his teammates how this guy had demolished an opponent that had beaten Superman, his genetic donor, to a pulp.


    His strength was several levels away from catching up with Clark, and this was a guy on the same level.


    The Superboy and Superman of this universe had issues and didn''t see eye to eye. One wanted nothing to do with the other due to his conflicting emotions whenever he thought that there was someone made from his DNA, while the former was mad that the latter didn''t seem to accept him.


    Basically, the same thing as daddy issues.


    Everyone had their backs develop cold sweats. Except one Superboy whose eyes were basically shining with battle intent.


    He wanted to know how well he would fare against someone who could go toe to toe with Superman.


    "Seems like you finally recognize me". His hair changed color to regain its lustrous black shine. His gaze hadn''t left them since this conversation started.


    Kaldur''s mind was spinning in many directions as he tried to decide what to do. He led his team, yet he currently found himself unable to come up with a plan.


    "Have to say, I kinda expected more when I thought I would be meeting the illustrious Junior sidekicks of the Justice league, especially from you Robin. That growth spurt hasn''t hit yet, I see". Amari chuckled while Robin glared at him angrily.


    At this point, he wasn''t the tall, dashing, handsome and charming Nightwing. He was just a fourteen-year-old who was the shortest in his group. With his occasional disappearing acts and his weird laughter, he was kinda the creepiest as well.


    "You''re practically all weaker versions of the ones you are under, with close relationships akin to family. Except for her, of course, she has no relation to the green arrow. Not even by family adoption".


    Amari pointed at Artemis, effectively exposing the fact that she wasn''t who green arrow and Batman had claimed her to be. Artemis had her eyes widen, but he didn''t let her continue.


    "So what are you guys called? The Junior Justice, Teen Justice or what?''


    His words silenced them while building up their anger at the same time. Except Megan, as she didn''t see anything about it that should make her angry.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The others, on the other hand, particularly disliked being referred to as sidekicks.  Mainly because that was all people saw them as.


    "Why and how do you know so much about us?"


    Aqualad finally decided on a course of action.


    Stall for time.


    Their opponent didn''t seem like he was going anywhere, even when he knew that the league was on their way.


    Might as well play along and wait it out. And see if they could get any useful bit of information.


    "Oh I know numerous things Kaldurahm. You have no idea. But if you must know, then it''s simple. I heard it". His expressionless face pulled an almost unnoticeable smirk.


    Before they could process his words, he continued while pointing his fingers.


    "From Wally himself". The atmosphere froze as the group of six all had different expressions. Some turned to look at Kid flash with inquiring eyes.


    It couldn''t be helped. Just based on what happened earlier, Wally was the kind of person who could unconsciously let important information slip.


    Wally himself had question marks above his head.


    What the hell? When did I say anything? I haven''t even met this guy!


    "Like I said before, Super hearing. And if my memory isn''t wrong, I believe he was saying our resident Superboy was ''close to brooding like Batman''. Now I need to ask, do you really not pay attention to the words you use when in public? I''m surprised how the world hasn''t discovered your identities yet". He chuckled lightly.


    Wally''s face twisted. He indeed said those words, but come to think of it, that wasn''t enough to lay as a firm basis.


    This was because Batman was famous as a member of the Justice league. The guy was a superhero who had fans all over the internet. The whole world basically knew that Batman was gloomy and broody all the time, so no one would suspect a random kid saying his friend was brooding like Batman. Adults might just shrug it off as some new slang the kids are using these days.


    Still, that didn''t stop the thought that someone with Super hearing could be listening to their conversations and possibly derive their identities from it.


    "Of course, that won''t be enough to base your assumptions on. After all, you could all just be ignorant kids with a thing for superheroes. That changes however for someone who knows about a certain black Ops team doing things in the shadows for the league that they, due to their hypocritical moral integrity and the fact that it would cause trouble for them if the United Nations found out, can''t".


    Amari explained in a calm voice as the expressions of those opposite grew increasingly disordered.


    "He even knows about the Black Ops thing. Is this guy really an alien?" Robin couldn''t help but ask himself.


    How can an alien know so much? No wait! This guy was off the grid for a week. Even the league couldn''t find a trace of him. Was he busy gathering information during this time? What else did he know? Did he know the identities of the Justice league as well?


    Robins face was already grim at this point. This was bad, like terrible.


    No one apart from the league knew that they were the Black Ops group. Coupled with the fact that he said that he was expecting to meet them here, only league members could know their whereabouts, or maybe someone who had access to the Watchtowers or Mount Justice''s computer. Does this mean that.....?


    His thoughts trailed off.


    "How that someone knows of this is his business, however it does prove that he/she has the means. And for those who have sufficient information, it''s really not difficult to figure out. If I knew that Batman has a black Ops squad made up of the league''s proteges, then I would also know some of the missions they''ve undertaken. For example, Mr. Twister, Santa Prisca, Amazo Android... League of assassins and, of course, Cadmus''s Project Kr, where the lesser version of Superman was produced".


    Their faces grew darker and darker with each word.


    Superboy whose patience was reaching its limits, suddenly growled. His anger and irritation flared up at the last sentence.


    "Don''t call me that!" Connor growled as he stepped forward.


    "Connor, calm down". Megan said telepathically as she formed a mind link with everyone.


    "Oh, looks like you''re irritated, but why? Because I called you a Lesser version of Superman?" Amari asked with a genuinely curious look.


    "Connor, ignore him".


    "Yeah, don''t listen. He''s trying to bait you. Don''t let him".


    "It may hurt, but the truth does that. You might not like it, but that''s what you are. A clone made from the DNA of Superman and Superman''s worst enemy, Lex Luther. It''s obvious really. I mean all the signs are there, the severely weakened strength, no heat vision, no flight, limited speed, does this version of you even have freeze breath?"


    Now, this question was purely out of genuine curiosity. As an energy being, he wouldn''t mince his words when he was truly curious.


    It was somewhat surprising how such a weakened kryptonian who didn''t even have the full kryptonian bloodline turned into Superboy Prime. The same way, the originally slower Kidflash surpassed Barry Allen to run at thirteen trillion times the speed of light.


    Too bad, Connor didn''t seem to take it that well.


    "I SAID, DON''T CALL ME THAT!" Superboy yelled with rage. He didn''t think twice about his next course of action as he shot forward while throwing his fist.


    He hadn''t been out of Cadmus that long, and his anger issues were always a problem. Superman always ignoring him didn''t make them any better.


    Since this guy was an enemy, Superboy who knew no fear, didn''t hold back his strength and shot without reserve.


    BANG!


    The sound of the collision was loud, and it blew apart the nearby tables and chairs. The rest of the team even staggered back a little.


    Admittedly, although he could be considered the fake version of Superman, Kryptonian DNA was no joke. Even if he didn''t possess half the strength of Superman, his strength alone was leagues above Aqualads.


    And it grew stronger with each passing day in the sun.


    Still, that wouldn''t help him this time.


    Everyone stared at the outcome incredulously. Even Connor snapped out of his anger and opened his eyes wide in shock.


    "Did he just?" Artemis exclaimed lightly at the scene before them.


    The punch had connected perfectly. Simply because the recipient of its power did not dodge at all. He still sat there, on that wooden chair, as he looked at Superboy''s fist that had collided with his chest.


    The chair wasn''t damaged, the surrounding ground didn''t crack in the slightest. The table did suffer though, but to Amari, that didn''t matter.


    His gaze wasn''t fixed on them, but on his energy units that had just gone up by 0.01.


    "So I can practically absorb Kinetic energy. Good to know". He said to himself inwardly as he looked away. He hadn''t felt a thing when Connor''s punch landed.


    It was like all the force that accompanied it was absorbed. Now he knew where it had gone.


    He was now sure he could absorb Kinetic energy. This wasn''t an ability he acquired through the usage of energy but his main energy manipulation and absorption powers.


    Previously, he could use energy to do anything imaginable. As long as he had enough energy depending on what he wanted to achieve, he was practically omnipotent.


    With enough energy, he could literally make a sixth dimensional being like Darkseid cease to exist as long as he willed it.


    However, his ability to absorb energy was restricted.


    His abilities used energy to do the unimaginable, but not just any random form of energy would do.


    Whatever energy he absorbed would be converted into pure primordial energy originating from the dawn of time.


    Energy that was used in the creation of all universes and was capable of rewriting it at will. In a way, it was the energy of creation and destruction.


    As an energy being, he was the only existence capable of utilizing this form of energy, making this the basis of his power as an omnipotent being.


    This was what placed him at the top of the spectrum, even if he wasn''t as powerful as those below him.


    This was the reason he made a split consciousness in the first place in a separate dimension. From there, he was continuously provided with one point of celestial energy per hour.


    His ability to convert other forms of energy was greatly shackled. When he first arrived at Earth, he knew his limits. He was only capable of absorbing the biological energy of living organisms.


    Other forms of energy wouldn''t work. That was until his shackles were lightened after siphoning the immortality of a Czarnian. Now, the forms of energy he could convert had grown.


    This still had to be tested more extensively to know its limits, but that could wait until later. For now, he had something to deal with.


    All these thoughts passed by in a second as his gaze focused on the hand.


    The team was still a little dumbfounded at the result. They had done missions with Conner, trained with him, spared against him.


    It was exactly because of this that they found this outcome a bit unacceptable. Although, when they thought about it, it wasn''t something that was worthy of surprise.


    Connor himself retreated his hand. Was this the capability of someone on the level of Superman?


    The thought wandered through his head.


    "Nice shot". Amari said. His eyes didn''t have the usual amusement they had whenever he was looking at them.


    "My turn".


    He suddenly moved with incredible speed. With a swing coming from left to right, Superboy didn''t see anything coming before a fist smashed into the side of his face.


    Connor felt like he had been hit by Amazo. Gravity''s control over his body lost effect as he was smashed right through the already broken glass window, straight across the street.


    Looking at the shattered wall through which Superboy had passed through and crashed into another building, Amari only glanced indifferently before turning to the others.


    "Time for talking is over, so who''s next?" He asked plainly. No fluctuations in his facial features whatsoever.


    "Rarghh!" Megan reacted quickly as her eyes turned white and her skin underneath that mundane dress she wore for this outing turned green.


    Her regular outfit was instantly replaced with her Martian uniform. One of the advantages of being from a race of shape-shifters.


    With a strong push of her hands, a telekinetic force was released towards her opponent with as much power as she could muster.


    The ground, walls, furniture, equipment, everything was destroyed by the wave as soon as it came in contact. All except the one the force slammed into.


    The ground surrounding him was unharmed as the force landed on his body and disappeared.


    His hoodie didn''t even flinch a bit from the outside force. He stated at her with an apathetic gaze.


    "Not bad for a sidekick. Though could use some massive improvement though". The amount of energy that force gave him was lower than Superboy''''s punch.


    "Everyone attack!" Aqualad yelled as he advanced. He ripped his shirt open revealing his suit underneath alongside his weapon''s of warfare and charged forward.


    BANG!


    A full side of the Caf¨¦ crumbled as a figure was sent flying out dozens of meters.


    Aqualad crashed against the ground several times before he came to a halt, unmoving.


    A crater had formed under his body while blood leaked from his lips.


    Figures rushed out of the smoke, with one being faster than the others.


    "Kaldur!" Wally screamed as he ran to Aqualads motionless body.


    "Move". Robin leaped into the air and performed a backflip. Unlike Artemis, who couldn''t carry her weapons around in public, the boy wonder had no issues with lugging his utility belt everywhere he went.


    More than a dozen small marbles were thrown towards the crumbling Caf¨¦.


    BOOM!


    They exploded, causing whatever was left of the establishment to crumble.


    Robin landed on his two feet and stared at the smoke covered ruins. He knew better than to think hat his little stunt could damage that monster.


    "Where''s Batman and the league when you need ''em?" He complained inwardly.


    "Quite agile for a bird". A voice said from behind him. Dick''s eyes barely had time to widen when he felt a heavy blow on his back.


    No, it was a kick. It didn''t push him forwards but downwards.


    Robin crashed into the pavement.


    BANG!!


    "Robin!" Megan and Artemis screamed in despair, yet Amari''s figure just disappeared.


    No, it didn''t disappear, he didn''t activate Kamui but was moving at superhuman speeds. Time seemed to slow down as he moved towards Miss Martian to take her down.


    Yet something fast caught the corner of his eye.


    Kidflash had already changed into his costume, moving at full speed towards his target with an angry expression.


    "Do you wanna play speed?" Amari thought with a chuckle. Kidflash was fast, so fast that it was impossible. But that was just for normal people in this world, and that statement only applied to the final form of Wally West in the comics.


    In this universe, Kidflash was barely surpassing the speed of sound. Many times slower than his uncle Barry, who was already approaching Mach 5. The difference in speed was saddening.


    Amari increased his speed sharply, passed him and crashed into Wally from behind. The latter didn''t react fast enough and was smashed away.


    Amari turned his head only to see two large cars flying in his direction. He didn''t evade, but Kamui was activated.


    The objects passed right through and exploded behind him. Miss Martian was shocked.


    He could go intangible?


    But he suddenly disappeared from her eyes. She was about to activate density shifting when a heavy hand chopped at her neck. The green female lost consciousness and fell from the sky.


    Amari watched her falling figure with no intention of saving her.


    BOOM!


    Miss Martian crashed to the floor. Luckily for her, she had a Martian Physique, so this fall wouldn''t kill her. However, it was definitely going to sting.


    The fight had barely started and yet, it was over.


    Well, that was quick.


    "And then there was one". He raised an eyebrow as he flew downwards, stopping a few meters away from the last standing member of the six.


    ...


    Artemis POV


    Artemis.


    Truly, Artemis didn''t even have the ability to attack. She was similar to Robin in the sense that they had no abilities apart from their skills.


    Unfortunately, she relied on a bow and arrow, which she was unable to bring out in public. She was more of a burden than she could be of help.


    Artemis looked at the team that were all unconscious.


    Their entire team was taken down in less than a minute.


    Although they weren''t prepared at all for this, but still. They were all beaten with one move.


    Seeing all this left her with a sense of despair. In front of this man, this alien, they were helpless.


    "Aren''t you going to attack me". She raised her head from the sight of her fallen comrades and looked at him. His face was stunning. Perfectly crafted, yet expressionless.


    He looked at her with... interest. Yes, she could have sworn it was interest. The question he asked her, the way he moved. It showed since the moment they met.


    He didn''t seem to take them seriously at all. He was just that powerful. Then why was he asking her this question?


    She didn''t understand.


    Honestly, she didn''t think the team would fall this fast. They might have been a bit out of their league, but they weren''t supposed to get beaten up this badly.


    She was there when the team fought against AMAZO. An Android capable of replicating the abilities of the Justice league. Were they beaten bad? Yes, they were.


    Still, they managed to win with a bit of luck.


    Where was that stroke of luck now?


    "Why are you doing this?" Was she trying to reason with him? No, she was not. She wasn''t that stupid or naive, and she definitely wasn''t someone like Superman who wanted to see the good in everyone.


    Artemis was born in a family of criminals, so she had seen more of the world''s dark side than any of her teammates.


    She was just stalling, hoping he would answer her questions so she could stall for more time for the league to appear.


    And thankfully, he replied.


    "Why am I doing what? I''m just defending myself". He said with his hands raised in an exaggerated expression.


    And there it was again, the amusement in his eyes. But she could hardly care about that now. Artemis was dumbstruck.


    "Defending yourself? You just attacked us".


    "I didn''t attack you. Check your memory well, I only retaliated to whatever attack you threw at me". As soon as he said those words, he vanished and appeared right in front of her.


    Her heart leapt to her throat as his face was several inches away from hers. She could see it even clearer, alongside his features, the raised eyebrow... the


    ¡­ the.....


    "The only reason you''re still standing here intact is that you haven''t tried to attack me". His face was charming, his breath was hot, his purple eyes were attractive, but his words were cold.


    Ice-cold, filled with indifference.


    "Move it!" A loud shout sounded from above.


    Artemis, who heard the voice, subconsciously, retreated backwards in a hurry. And Amari made no attempt to stop her.


    His head raised upwards and what looked to be a giant green hammer enlarged in his vision.


    BOOM!


    ....

 Chapter 15 Im A Citizen Now

    BOOM!


    The sound of heavy impact resounded, causing coast city residents to flee further away from the area.


    Many took their phones, immediately, dialing 911 while others ran for cover.


    At Ferris Aircraft.....


    A tall middle-aged man with a dark complexion and a bald head touched his ears with an attentive expression.


    "A leaguer has appeared.... Understood. Commencing operations now, Sir". The man wore a dark green army uniform and turned around.


    His stern face was on full display for the group of soldiers behind him who were waiting for his command.


    "Alright everyone, the target has appeared. Everybody move out". He yelled at the top of his voice while stretching his arm forward.


    Dozens of soldiers quickly rushed towards their armored vehicles, each one of them were fully geared with weapons.


    "Go, Go, Go!"


    ...


    Artemis, who had moved quite a distance with her body, still facing the battle scene, looked upward to see someone that was all too familiar.


    Decked in a Green uniform with a mask on his face, Hal Jordan A.K.A. Green lantern levitated in the air.


    A beam of light extended out of his ring and at the end of it was a giant hammer materialized from the power of will.


    Upon arriving, he immediately performed a quick assessment of the situation, and seeing his target alongside the damaged surroundings, he attacked without a second thought.


    This guy was going to be brought in any way. It didn''t matter if he was a bit bruised.


    Seeing a member of the League, Artemis subconsciously let out a sigh of relief. Just the few seconds that Amari stared at her put a heavy pressure on her being.


    Now that Green Lantern was here, it meant the rest of the League would soon appear as well. The danger was taken care of.


    Artemis thought this way. Hal, however, was having.... difficulties.


    His face suddenly scrunched up as he felt his hammer construct meet with immense resistance. The dust cleared up as Amari''s perfect features appeared.


    His head was tilted upwards, and his right hand was pushing against a green hammer five times his size.


    He raised an eyebrow at the scene in front of him and figured out the identity of his attacker.


    "Nice hammer. Unfortunately for you, I''m not a nail". He said as he resisted the pressing weight on him with one hand.


    Hal looked at the scene and narrowed his eyebrows. Seeing that he was unable to drill him into the earth, the light from the ring glowed brighter as he immersed more power into his construct in an attempt to take down Amari.


    "Looks like Super Strength can be confirmed on his power list. Seriously, why does every alien we encounter always have some form of enhanced strength?" Hal complained inwardly while marveling about the strength of this guy.


    There are powerful races in the universe, but few have the strength capable of going head on with the wielder of a lantern ring.


    The ring''s capabilities would instantly transform an average life form into a cosmic powerhouse. If all aliens had strength capable of matching a green lantern, the work of the Green Lantern Corps would definitely be significantly harder.


    Hal had a dark face as he increased his output, yet his opponent was still going one-handed.


    Dammit! This feels just like Clark.


    Hal cursed inwardly as he sent a message.


    "Lantern to all Leaguers. Requesting immediate backup....."


    Amari, on the other hand, could hardly feel a thing.


    The hammer had come to a halt the moment it came in contact with him. All the kinetic energy had been absorbed upon contact.


    As for the follow-up increase in force, it was withstood through pure physical power.


    There was a saying that the stronger the willpower of the Lantern, the greater the strength of the construct created by the ring. To be able to defeat parallax, Hal, was certainly one of the most willful existences alive.


    But even with his will, he was incapable of making Clark battle him seriously. In front of absolute power, even astonishing willpower would be unable to overcome.


    "Hal would stand a chance if his willpower was multiplied five times on the original foundation". Unfortunately, willpower couldn''t be increased through external forces.


    It was innate and would mostly increase after scaling a life-threatening situation.  How much life-threatening situations could Hal safely undergo before he became a dead man?


    And even if he could possess that much willpower, it would only grant him the ability to withstand his strength. With his other abilities, the chances of winning were still almost non-existent.


    "Kid, get your teammates out of here, now!" Hal shouted at Artemis, who finally noticed that things weren''t playing out as they usually would.


    Drops of sweat had begun to accumulate on his forehead as he continued to push without gaining a single inch.


    "Leave? Hehe, you''re funny". Amari chuckled lightly as his hand holding the construct suddenly turned dark red.


    The aura of destruction quickly spread on the green hammer like wildfire, and the construct began to crumble and disintegrate.


    "Holy mother of¡­. fuck!" Hal let out an exclamation as he hurriedly cut off the connection to the construct. But the sight of a figure flying towards him at fast speed made him curse.


    What in heaven''s name was that? This was totally not part of the script.


    Amari, on the other hand, who had no intent to prolong their battle, shot forward at super speed, leaving a sonic boom and cracked asphalt in his wake.


    His dark red fist slammed into a will barrier that Hal subconsciously activated around himself. This was instinctive training he had undertaken to deal with fast attacks from the likes of flash and Superman.


    Too bad, that didn''t matter.


    The punch hit the energy barrier. The dark red aura around his fist instantly shattered the barrier to pieces, leaving poor Hal Jordan''s chest on the receiving end of a punch that could destroy the exterior of steel.


    Hal was sent flying like a housefly getting swatted away with a fly swatter. His flying figure looked like a broken kite as he crossed a mile in the blink of an eye.


    Blood escaped his mouth in the air before he slammed into a car, utterly pulverizing it. The citizens in the area all let out screams of fear as they looked at the destroyed car before running every which way.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Hal''s mouth was practically a blood spring by now, as mouthfuls of blood escaped his mouth without his approval. His chest felt like it was destroyed. The bones in his chest area were definitely broken and if not for the passive defense in the form of full-body glow that was attached to him whenever the ring was on, he would practically be a dead man.


    "That honestly was too easy. I haven''t estimated the current strength of the league, but is your group''s overall power around this level?" Amari appeared in the air above him.


    His casual and relaxed posture didn''t depict that he just flattened a Lantern with one move. Of course, what made it possible was cataclysms decay effect that was quite similar to something Hal Jordan had experienced.


    Red Lantern Corp.


    Their energy lamp could practically destroy Green Will constructs at a moment''s touch.


    But how? He didn''t have the uniform or the ring. So how was it possible, was he a red Lantern or wasn''t he?


    Hal was shocked and confused but mostly in pain. Now he remembered what Batman had said at the League''s meeting when they had assembled a few days ago.


    "Treat with extreme caution. Our lack of knowledge of him and what he can do can prove deadly".


    So this was what he meant?


    ...


    Amari POV


    Come to think of it, he was probably the worst matchup for someone like Hal, right?


    I mean, the Red Lantern Corp was a massive threat to green lanterns, as their plasma like blood was weaponized and could cut, melt, practically destroy Green lantern constructs can. But they didn''t have his speed and strength.


    So he was, practically, Hal''s perfect restraint.


    "I don''t know a lot of medical knowledge but judging by the fact that you aren''t dead, I suppose your sternum hasn''t caved in yet. You''re in a lot of pain".


    He said with a neutral expression.


    Hal was a little bewildered. The guy just put him in this state, and now he was what? Giving out words of concern?


    "I could kill you to end your pain if you''d like". Amari shrugged his shoulders as he pitched a suggestion.


    The air froze as Hal looked at the flying figure with disbelief on his face, even temporarily forgetting the pain and the screams of civilians.


    Was he being serious? Or was he teasing him?


    It sounded like something a gloating villain would say, but his serious expression made it feel extremely weird.


    Hal didn''t reply and shot out with what willpower he could muster to form... a giant boxing glove? I mean, come on.


    He didn''t react and let the punch hit him.


    BANG!


    His body stayed motionless as he swung his arm in retaliation. A lot more force was infused into this one.


    The glove shattered, but Amari realized that Hal, who was lying in the rubble, was far from done. Chains materialized behind him and extended rapidly in an attempt to put him in a bind.


    To this, he didn''t react, either.


    His eyes just glowed and the chains that had wrapped around him lost their focal point.


    "Seriously? I know you aren''t the strongest in your group, but seriously? I''m contemplating killing you right now".


    Amari said in a bland tone as his eyes showed annoyance. There was no look of amusement, which was the only trace of emotion that usually appeared on his expressionless face.


    Hal was numb.


    What the hell? Seeing all his attacks end up ineffective, Hal felt his scalp to tingle.


    "Then goodbye". His figure moved with extreme speed as he aimed a punch at Hal Jordan with full intent to end his life.


    Unfortunately or fortunately, someone faster got there first. A red blur followed by orange lightning reached the pummeled green lantern before his figure could get obliterated.


    BOOM!!


    Pieces of debris flew everywhere as he slammed into the ground. The dust gradually cleared as Amari looked at the empty hole he had created, no surprise on his face.


    He already expected the flash to arrive in time to save Hal Jordan''s ass. He had seen it already. However, there were many possibilities and the chances he died were always present.


    Amari decided against narrowing down the outcome and leaving it for fate to decide whether the Lantern would live or die. If he lived, so be it. If he died, then oh well.


    But Barry Allen was much more cautious than the reckless lantern. He ran with Hal''s body and didn''t come back to fight. He had to take the young justice team away as well.


    Quite synonymous with the League''s one man clean-up crew.


    It didn''t surprise him however, as he knew why.


    The air tore apart with a sonic boom as a figure crashing towards coast city descended with powerful force.


    The classic red and blue tights appeared in his vision again as a fully powered Superman floated in the air above him, like a God among mortals. His face was frowning heavily as he looked at the deep pit that had formed.


    Amari looked at him indifferently.


    He didn''t doubt one second that Clark already knew everything that went down in the past few minutes. Starting from the Junior team to the Lantern.


    His visible glare just about said it all.


    "I had hoped we could find you peacefully, and you weren''t like other Invaders". Superman said, his tone stern with a hint of disappointment mixed in it for an edge.


    "Now it seems like I hoped for too much. Your actions clearly show that you have nefarious purposes here on Earth". With narrowed eyes that glowed red, his palms clenched into fists as his straightened back bent forward a little.


    "Now will you come quietly or will I have to make you come the hard way?" There was silence after he spoke. Clark''s eyes were fixed on the motionless figure who had his two hands in his pocket at some point with high intensity.


    Facing this man he knew nothing about, Clark didn''t dare to be careless. He knew the situation, Hal, who possessed above-average strength in the league, had been beaten to this point in less than thirty seconds.


    Paired alongside his other abilities, this alien was extremely dangerous. More deadly than Stepphenwolf.


    Although he was confident that he could still solve the opponent, it would take a very long time to decide the outcome. The battle would definitely leave numerous cities destroyed. Plus, there would always be some possible variables.


    Clark didn''t want that to happen. Luckily for him, the alien was alone. But he had friends.


    "Come quietly? To where?" Amari asked with a puzzled expression. His eyebrows raised as he lightly examined the man of steel.


    "No need to worry where. You''ll find it more cozy than the good old prison cells at Belle Reve". Clark''s solemn voice answered.


    Both their eyes picked up a rapidly approaching figure coming from their side.


    The red blur appeared as flash zoomed into the field, his eyes glaring daggers at Amari.


    "Let me put it in simple terms even aliens can understand. You mister are under arrest".


    Lightning flashed around his body menacingly, showing how pissed he was. If he hadn''t arrived on time, Hal would have died.


    The mere thought of it irked him to no end with anger.


    "Arrest? I don''t feel under arrest one bit". Amari said as his eyebrows suddenly scrunched as if he was in deep thought.


    Three seconds later, he shook his head with an expression of clarification and said.


    "Not even a little bit".


    Flash and Superman frowned.


    A beam of orange light appeared in the distance, followed by a Portal. Several figures walked out with steady footsteps.


    "Oh give it a minute, it''ll eventually sink in". Victor Stone said with a deep voice. Walking beside him was Wonder Woman, Batman, Martian Manhunter, Giovanni Zatara, Shazam and Hawkman.


    Batman increased his steps and stood at the forefront of the group.


    "You''re surrounded, and outnumbered one to too many. Surrender quietly and this won''t have to get ugly, or else". Batman said. Cyborgs hand transformed into a plasma gun as he aimed with the intent to fire.


    Diana held her lasso and it glowed golden.


    "Or else? What if I don''t?"


    "You''re misunderstanding the situation if you think you have a choice". Batman replied.


    "Hehehe, I think it''s you who doesn''t understand the situation, Mr. Wayne. I regret to inform you that I''ll be going nowhere with you today". Amari chuckled.


    Silence reigned as the air seemed to freeze. All the Leaguers had their eyebrows narrow.


    Batman''s face turned ugly. It was visible even with his cowl covering his features.


    The danger level of this extraterrestrial just went up by another level. Batman didn''t even know what to use to define it anymore.


    "Congratulations. You just pushed our determination to apprehend you even further". The gloomy aura surrounding him was as intense as the atmosphere.


    Everyone was ready for a fierce battle to erupt.


    Unfortunately, at that moment. They received some unexpected guests.


    Superman turned his head to the side.


    "What is it, Superman?"


    "Vehicles". Clark answered as dozens of military trucks came into view. Everyone''s attention was momentarily taken by the appearance of the army.


    The trucks parked a dozen meters away from the confrontation, and numerous soldiers began to pour out of their vehicles in a well-disciplined fashion.


    Numerous helicopters had appeared at some point over the skies, making the scene all the more lively.


    Some were military choppers, while there were few news helicopters among them.


    The Cameras were rolling, effectively displaying this confrontation to the whole world.


    "All this fanfare just for me? Can''t say I''m not flattered". Amari said with amusement. His attention was no longer on the members of the league at this point.


    Batman frowned deeply, feeling something was wrong. His gut was tumbling, telling him something just didn''t sit right.


    Why did the military and the news suddenly appear at this point?


    "Just surrender Alien. We will give you a fair trial for your actions. See this, it all shows that your presence here on Earth is not welcome. Your fate if you battle us will not be pleasant". Diana stepped forward, her body emanating an aura of dignity and battle intent.


    Amari suddenly smiled brightly. Three words appeared in his head and he resisted the urge to utter them.


    Lights, Camera, Action!


    "Attention Justice league Members. This is Brigadier General Phillip Colson of the United States Army, you are unlawfully attacking an American citizen and are under orders to cease your actions".


    At that moment, the loud voice of a man with thin yet still receding hairline on his front head shouted through a megaphone.


    Diana froze in her actions, her bold and heroic posture stiffening.


    The rest of the Justice league had similar situations as they sported dumbfounded looks.


    Batman looked at Amari, who still had a wide smile on his face.


    "What did you do?" He growled loudly. He was right, something was horribly wrong.


    "Oh! I thought you would know since¡­. Well, you''re Batman and all. But I guess even you can''t keep up with everything, can ya"? His smile slowly receded, but the amused look in his eyes shone brighter than ever.


    He placed his hand into his pocket, took out a wallet, fumbled with it for a few seconds and pulled out an identity card.


    "Guess what! I''m a citizen now".


    .......

 Chapter 16 Steve Trevor

    Earth, Washington DC, Hall of Justice.


    It had been five hours since the showdown in coast city. And now, the current location, the famed Hall of Justice primarily known as the headquarters of the Justice league to the public, was now being swarmed.


    It was already as late at eleven o''clock, yet the area around the hall was stalked by a sea of reporters, journalists, and cameramen all taking pictures, giving out news reports live or just trying desperately to get some inside information.


    Many of these poor souls were working their asses overtime just for the slight chance of a big scoop. Many more had their jobs hanging on the line.


    Something, anything relevant concerning the mysterious alien that appeared on Earth, would be good enough. And news that he had appeared in coast city and beaten up its resident superhero had spread like wildfire.


    Many more were on their way to make up the addition.


    Unfortunately, they were destined to be disappointed. As far as the eye could see, although the Hall wasn''t under lockdown, it was being terribly guarded by military personnel.


    Police, Army, Special forces, you name it. Dozens of military soldiers stood on guard, with many more forming a do not cross perimeter with their bodies to keep away the crowd that were no less than bloodthirsty sharks at the moment.


    The chances of a fly successful making it through the lobby were slimmer than Lex Luther suddenly growing hair overnight.


    It only made the minds of the reporters all the more ravenous. What kind of scoop could they get if they unravel the meeting currently going on between the infamous alien and the League''s leaders?


    The minds of the reporters were wild.


    Inside the hall, however, the atmosphere was extremely depressing. The members of the Justice league, all those who were considered important enough to be here, sat at a round table.


    And today, they all had something similar in common. None of them had pleasant expressions on their faces.


    Batman, Wonder woman, Superman, Martian Manhunter, Zatara, Shazam, Flash, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Aquaman, Cyborg.


    Even Captain Atom was here as well. Each and each one of them had their gaze on a single figure.


    He wore casual clothing, a hoodie on his head, purple eyes and an indifference to complement it all. They weren''t the only ones in the room.


    There were also some indispensable figures representing the United States.


    Justice league spokesperson and representative, Colonel Steve Trevor.


    He didn''t sit on a chair alongside the rest of the league as, quite frankly, he wasn''t qualified. Even though no one among them would mind.


    Due to his rather complicated relationship with Wonder Woman, he was hence the closest person to the Justice league within the military and helped bridge the sides as their spokesperson.


    Amari looked at this man with a bit of curiosity. This version of Steve Trevor wasn''t young. In fact, he looked close to General Lane in age, as he was already in his forties.


    But if this guy truly fought alongside Wonder Woman in World War II, then logically speaking, he should be older.


    Amari casually used energy to peek into his history and discovered what had happened.


    "I only have one question. Why?" Batman said, liberating the room from the suffocating silence. The depressed atmosphere had gone nowhere, though.


    "An extraterrestrial life from whom we have no knowledge about was suddenly granted access to live on earth soil without our knowledge". Batman continued to speak, his tone cold and indifferent.


    His gaze drifted from the alien before settling on the other important person in the room.


    "Do you care to explain why, General Lane?" Sam Lane was expressionless. Every member of the league was looking at him with intense gazes bordering on glares.


    "The World Council were the ones who made their decision after careful consideration. I''m just here to pass the word". He replied solemnly.


    "Bullshit! You guys are getting more reckless with each passing day. Do you even know what you''re doing? Letting him actually walk free on Earth?" Flash exclaimed in outrage.


    The other members of the league didn''t say much, except for a few expressions and cold snorts. But it was enough to express the displeasure deep within their hearts.


    "Careful consideration? After everything we''ve seen, this situation is clearly far from being carefully considered''.


    Superman said with tightened fists.


    "That is not my call to make. In a few hours, the world government will issue a statement to the whole world on live television, confirming his citizenship".


    "Impossible!" Many exclaimed in unison.


    "That won''t work". Batman''s eyes narrowed. "He''s too dangerous to even consider such an option. The league won''t allow it".


    "You''re making a mistake if you think that you have a choice in this matter, Batman. The leaders of all nations in the council have unanimously agreed on this matter. There is nothing the league can say that will change that". General Lane turned to Batman and spoke coldly.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Out of all the members of the League he had come into contact with, he hated Batman the most.


    This guy wasn''t as powerful as Superman or fast as the flash, yet his tone was borderline dismissive and arrogant.


    And this was coming from someone who couldn''t see eye to eye with Superman.


    "It''s the League''s Job to deal with extraterrestrial threats. And if I recall correctly, it was unanimously decided as well that the world government wouldn''t interfere in League matters when it came to dealing with alien threats". Bruce didn''t back down as he exchanged tit-for-tat.


    This was something he had specifically fought for when the world government first appeared. The last thing he wanted was to be held back from taking action by a group of snobby, useless politicians during a time when the fate of the world was at risk.


    "That''s correct". Sam said. Bruce could already see the ''but'' coming.


    "As you''ve said, threats. But Amari has done nothing to be labeled as such. Plus, the nation''s of the world have the right to permit inhabitance of an extraterrestrial if they deem it fit". Lane replied with a strong stance and impeccable fluency.


    "Amari, huh?" Batman thought inwardly and made a mental note. He wasn''t the only one either, as the others took notice that the alien had a name.


    "Done nothing? You can''t be serious, right?" Shazam asked in astonishment.


    "Does attacking residence areas, crippling civilians and severely injuring a member of the league count as nothing to you? Or does the military take us for fools?" Diana said with a heavy frown as she looked at General Lane.


    Superman was particularly edgy around the part of crippling civilians, while flash twitched at the thought of the injured Hal.


    Several league members felt their stomachs churn with anger. Was Lane belittling their intelligence, or was he making fun of them.


    Even Clark frowned, as he didn''t expect Lois''s father to be such a man. Although they were only co-workers, he knew enough about her to know that this general was her dad.


    This alien was clearly dangerous, so why were they hell-bent on protecting him?


    Batman had a similar thought process as his brain wondered what this... Amari had done that, caused every nation on the planet to agree to his citizenship.


    "That''s a heavy accusation you''re laying on me. I don''t think you want to go down that road". Amari, who had been quiet since the beginning, suddenly, interjected.


    His posture was incredibly lazy as he sat with his eyes half closed and his head tilted backwards.


    He looked as if he would doze off to bed at any moment. And his conveniently relaxed posture only made the displeasure and distress in the hearts of everyone present grow stronger.


    "And what do you mean by that?" Bruce faced him immediately with a strong glare.


    "Take my word for it when I tell you, you don''t want to know, the result will be less than pleasant for all of you". He said softly.


    But his words falling on the ears of the league only irritated them further.


    "Such Insolence! Who do you think you are?" Hawkman let out with a roar as he tightened his grip on the handle of his mace.


    "Many things, but your superior should suffice. And I suggest for you to stop squawking, bird, or I might just decide to cut off your wings". Still the same light tone, still the same indifferent aura. As if he couldn''t even be bothered to listen to all this.


    "Ok, that''s enough! You better watch your tone right this minute, or it won''t end well for you, alien. You came into our planet uninvited, disappeared for a week, with only God knowing what the hell you were up to. And then you show up out of the blue only to cripple a teenager, severely injure several kids and harm a Leaguer. I don''t know what you are, but you''re truly pissing me off".


    Superman suddenly erupted from his seat. His eyes turned red as he glared at Amari with strong intent to attack.


    "Ok everyone, why don''t we just calm down a bit and talk this through before we do things we might regret". Steve Trevor suddenly stood up and spoke at that moment.


    Unfortunately, a pissed off Clark wasn''t listening. The other members of the team were also getting ready for battle. The big fight that should have erupted didn''t happen, with the interference of the military.


    And what was happening now was getting on their nerves. Not to mention that Hal was still injured by this person, it made them even more irritable, and they wanted to vent their anger.


    Presently, they all wanted to forget about the consequences and attack right here and right now.


    Save for the calmer members like Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom and surprisingly, Batman.


    "I think I''ve listened to what the military has to say long enough. So give me a good reason why I shouldn''t bury you in the ground right this instant". Clark said imposingly.


    Of course, when he said bury, he didn''t really mean kill. He just meant he would smash him into the floor.


    Bruce watched and didn''t stop him. He needed Clark''s move so they could regain some dominance in this discussion.


    "You keep calling me an alien and emphasizing how I''m a danger because I''m not from earth. That leads me to ask, how many people in your ''Justice League'' are actually humans to begin with?"


    Amari''s face didn''t change at the threat. His sober voice asked a question while continuing to laze about like an adorable koala.


    Once again, the air froze. Batman was now very suspicious. How did this guy manage to do this almost Every time he opened his mouth?


    Superman lost his aggressive posture slightly as the question caught him off guard. The rest of the Leaguers also seemed to swallow an ice block as the aggressive atmosphere dilated.


    When you truly thought about it, how many people within the Justice league could still be considered human.


    "You say I came to your planet uninvited, but you aren''t even a human, so how does this count as your planet?" Amari continued to question.


    "Superman is different. Although he isn''t an earthling, he was raised on Earth and has humanity in his heart. Plus, Superman would never try to put others in harm''s way, much less actively hurt them".


    Barry said with the intent of coming to the rescue.


    "And yet how many people have died indirectly due to his mere presence being on this planet?" Amari asked again.


    His voice, unknown to others, was slowly leaving its soft state.


    "That''s.... That''s not...."


    "That''s not true? Is that what you want to say? Then what about Zod and his army of kryptonians? Metallo, or the recent Lobo? He would never think of putting others in harm''s way, but his mere presence makes sure people will always be in danger. Just imagine, Superman who saves speeding trains, falling planes and stops tsunamis is literally a walking safety hazard. Whenever he is there, there must always be a large-scale fight. Who knows how many people will die before he can solve the issue".


    His voice wasn''t sarcastic, it was plain like it had no other intentions. But all the league could hear in them was mockery.


    The worst part is they couldn''t logically refute.


    "That''s not the point of focus, and don''t try to change the subject. This isn''t about Superman, it''s you we''re worried about". Batman quickly shifted the topic back on course. He was worried that Amari would create a repeat of what happened on TV.


    "I don''t know what your endgame is here, but we will find out when we bring you in for questioning. Your actions on Earth show that you can''t simply be trusted and left to your devices. Until we deem you no longer a threat, this citizenship will not happen". Batman said with a tone that said end of discussion.


    "Hehehe...." Bruce expected a clever retort or a stern rebuttal from lane, but Amari''s response surprised him to say the least.


    He was laughing, chuckling rather in amusement.


    "Oh Batman....." His voice trailed off as he spoke.


    "I did warn you not to tread on this road. But looks like you won''t call it quits until you see the body up in smoke".


    As he finishes, a phone appeared in his hand from thin air. No, it wasn''t a phone but a holographic projector.


    Amari didn''t say a word as he lightly tossed it into the air. The rectangular shaped object froze after reaching a certain height before it began to display holographic screens.


    "I find the Job of a lawyer in your world quite interesting. So let me enlighten you in a few minutes on how your actions last week could spell possible destruction for planet Earth".


    Meanwhile, The League who had locked up a certain white Alien remained blissfully unaware of the chaos raging in the universe and how it would soon find them.

 Chapter 17 Problems

    Batman POV.


    ...


    "No matter what you plan to show us, I don''t think there''s anything that can change our opinion on this matter". Batman said with indifference.


    His body lay firmly on his seat with that usual commanding air around him. His mind, however, was a sharp contrast to the calm and composed picture he portrayed on the surface.


    Bruce was many things. He was a great detective, a master strategist, a billionaire, a Playboy, a genius, a hero and many more. He was a questioner who always thought several steps ahead to make sure that he was never caught off guard.


    Furthermore, he trusted no one and suspected everyone. Not only that, but he was hard on his enemies and even harder on himself.


    It was all these things combined that formed the core of Bruce Wayne.


    A very, very paranoid control freak who was wary of everyone and everything apart from himself and Alfred.


    With such wariness engraved in his bones, he created a sort of instinct which allowed him to read people. Estimate their character, their limits, their behavioral patterns.


    It was how he knew whom to place his trust on. It worked splendidly most of the time, and the Justice league was a good example.


    This instinct rarely failed him.


    But now, he didn''t know what to think anymore. This man..... This alien, he couldn''t read him. His actions were just completely inconsequential, so much that they made no sense.


    It was all hazy, but whatever he did, gave Bruce the feeling that it was part of a well-calculated plan.


    It was throwing his superb sixth sense into a chaotic cesspit. For someone who literally lived in a place like Gotham, that''s saying something.


    Bruce could attribute this to lack of information as even until this moment, the information they had on him was practically bare bones.


    Even the world''s greatest detective needed something more than a gut feeling to go on if he wanted to solve a case.


    This was what made Bruce unable to accept what the government intended to do. Their actions were plain and utter madness to him, and he would fight against it to the very end.


    Yet, that''s where the unnerving feeling of despair hit him. He was calm, calculating and always thought several steps ahead. That was why he knew that the league had been caught in a bind on this one.


    The world council had agreed on this decision. A proposal signed on by numerous Nations, all to give Amari the right to walk alongside them.


    And the League was effectively powerless to stop it. They could refute all they wanted, but even if they fought against this decision, there was nothing they could do to change it.


    Batman knew, Wonder Woman knew it, Cyborg knew it, the majority of them knew it. They were trapped by the very same laws that they tried to uphold.


    Bruce found it to be somewhat poetic yet ridiculous.


    The Justice League, made up of powerful individuals, some powerful enough to rank in the forefront of the universe, were shackled by the law of their planet.


    It was absurd if you think about it.


    The World Council couldn''t interfere in League matters, and likewise, they had to stay out of matters of the council.


    Superman was the face of the league, but the League wasn''t the leaders of humanity. They defended it, but they didn''t have control over the nations and couldn''t rewrite the laws anytime they wanted.


    That would completely go against everything they stood for. Freedom and protection.


    If they used their power to force the world to cower to their terms, all in the name of ensuring peace and safety, then they would be monsters no better than the villains they protected the people from.


    That would be Tyranny, and Batman would never let that happen, even if it meant letting snobby politicians have some form of power.


    It was the only law that was equally important as his no kill rule.


    Superman wouldn''t agree to it as well.


    It didn''t matter much before, as there was no way they could exercise any authority over them that he would care about. Apart from restricting their movement in some countries where they weren''t welcome, the world council was good for nothing else.


    As they say, in front of absolute power, all tricks are meaningless.


    But now, things have changed drastically. They were now exercising that right to shield a dangerous alien, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.


    Batman could already imagine the smug faces of those politicians when they saw their scrunched faces on live television a few hours ago.


    "Those petty bastards!" He thought inwardly as he looked at Amari.


    All of this was his plan. Batman was already sure of it. He was calm, composed, powerful, and worst of all, scheming.


    It reminded him of Lex Luthor and the joker, but worse. At least the other two were limited in the danger they posed. One was a crazy clown obsessed with death and destruction. His true nature was already all out on display.


    While the other was an incredibly smart, scheming rich man who had caused the league numerous headaches.


    Batman was still wary of Lex Luthor, especially when the guy was running for president. This was another thing that Batman wanted to stop but couldn''t due to his moral values stopping his hands.


    He had the capability, but the resolve was absent. Nevertheless, Lex Luthor was manageable. Even with all his smarts and wealth, Lex was a person who would adamantly refuse to empower himself.


    He heard lex''s ideas concerning how humans shouldn''t rely on the power of outsiders to protect themselves.


    The fact that he hadn''t strengthened himself in some crazy experiment was one of the few things that Batman was honestly thankful for.


    If not, with smarts and power, it might truly be possible to succeed in killing Clark.


    Amari was worse than Luther as he was powerful. As strong as Superman according to the latest update on his abilities.


    His teleportation and intangibility abilities were another headache to deal with. And now there was a new update on a power he had released. Capable of destroying a green lantern''s construct, open contact.


    Batman had a headache again. It irked him that he couldn''t possibly estimate the full extent of his capabilities. Alongside the way he was acting, being in the presence of the world''s strongest yet still looking like he couldn''t be bothered to deal with them, Bruce was positive that he was either certain that they wouldn''t attack or still had more powerful means up his sleeve.


    On top of all this, he was as smart as lex Luther. It hurt even more just thinking about it.


    The fact that he wasn''t like other aliens, trying to use brute force to end all opposition against him made Bruce even warier of him.


    He wasn''t human and didn''t have the passion for humanity like Clark did. He clearly knew about them and what they stood for, yet he didn''t seek the league.


    His actions were brutal, and Bruce could state with a fact that he had no squabbles on ending human life. Why he hasn''t killed anyone yet is beyond his knowledge and honestly, somewhere deep down within, Bruce wished that Amari had killed someone. If he did, it would give them the necessary means to stand their ground against the council. But the fact remains.


    It was for these reasons that Bruce could and would never trust him.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    But now, he was tied. As soon as the military appeared on the scene, Bruce knew that the matter was over and this was no longer the league''s territory. Unless Amari did something to step out of line, there was nothing he could do.


    This was why they were currently sitting in the Hall of Justice''s mission room. In an attempt to win an argument against this alien and the military, give themselves enough momentum to reasonably reject the stance of the world council without damaging their principles.


    All this was what was going on in Bruce''s mind. Unfortunately, he had made another enormous mistake.


    .....


    General POV.


    "Let me be honest with you, Batman. Quite frankly, I don''t give two shits about your opinion of me. As I can state confidently, that you changing your mind or not won''t add an inch of mass to me, nor does it matter in the grand scheme of things". Amari said as the holographic projection began to unfold.


    "As General Lane said, my certification as a citizen has already been decided, meaning your opinion and the opinion of the league doesn''t matter. In other words, your thoughts can all go to hell". Bruce''s face turned ugly, as did the rest of the Leaguers.


    Many of them boiled with incessant fury, but they couldn''t refute.


    "That isn''t necessarily the case. We would have no chances of doing anything about it on regular cases". Batman said as he began to drop his pitch while the rest of the league listened.


    They knew that at times like this, whenever it came to politics, Batman was always the most reliable member the league had.


    He continued.


    "However, your proceedings, while I admit being very clever, have a loophole. And that is, your actions in heavily injuring green lantern and attempting to kill him prove that you can''t be left to walk free".


    "In addition, you crippled the arm of an innocent youth as well as injuring several teenagers. Not to mention the property damages caused, these actions alone are enough for us to deem you dangerous". Batman tapped his fingers on the table lightly.


    He calmly and rationally analyzed the facts like a well-trained lawyer who been in thousands of courtrooms and won hundreds of cases.


    "I remember clearly when you arrived in Metropolis. You said that you as an alien weren''t subject to the laws of us humans. I would admit that you were right during that time, but now it''s coming back to stab you where it''ll count. You applying for citizenship effectively nullifies your previous claims and therefore leaves you in a vulnerable position to be tried for your recent actions which by this point are safe enough to be considered crimes unlike back in Metropolis".


    Batman said coldly, and the rest of the league agreed.


    "So quite frankly, unless the military intends to incur our anger as a repercussion of shielding you, effectively breaking all ties it has with the League and leaving us to use heavier measures, you Amari can and will be tried in court. The crime of attacking a leaguer makes sure that we have the right to be involved in this and therefore, since you are an alien, gives us the right to detain the highly classified risk factor otherwise known as you".


    Batman finished.


    Everyone turned their gazes towards Amari.


    General Lane also looked at the lazy figure. He wasn''t worried one, but about the league actually able to succeed today. The time he had spent with the alien assured him that Amari wasn''t one to suffer a loss.


    Now what was really on his mind was how much would the Justice league lose in this exchange.


    "Oh? Right, I do remember saying those words back then. Speaking of which, how is Lobo doing?"


    Amari asked with interest. Batman frowned.


    Why was he asking this?


    "Information about Lobo is classified, but you don''t have to worry concerning him. He will receive what he deserves, as will you when this is all over". Batman replied.


    "Hehe, assuming he wakes up soon enough to get it before he dies. These guys, they seriously kept Lobo on Earth. Even going as far as nursing him to keep him alive instead of quickly handing this plague away to the guardians. They literally have no idea how screwed they are when they come looking for him". Amari said to himself with surprise.


    He wasn''t gloating, but was intrigued to see how they would react when they discover they actually doomed the earth with their own hands.


    "Oh will I know? Well sorry to disappoint you Batman, but there will be no need to convict me for anything. By the time this meeting is over, you''ll all see that we won''t even have to step in court". Amari said candidly.


    The holographic projector finally finished its work, causing his lips to curl upward.


    "And what could possibly cause such a scenario". Batman asked with narrowed eyes. He knew things weren''t going to be so easy and this was the point where things would probably start to get ugly.


    "Simply because the majority of your claims on my actions are wrong". As soon as he said those words, a picture appeared on the screen, showing a male youth with dirty blonde hair.


    "Let''s first address this person. The one who, according to you, I crippled his arm which I have no intent of denying. Name, Franky Gaines, a twenty-year-old college student with above-average grades, decent family background and a seemingly bright future". Everyone looked at the screen.


    "That''s right, I''ve confirmed it''s him. But what, how does this change anything?" Batman agreed, and so did flash. After all, he was the one who ran him to the hospital.


    "In your eyes, I just ruined the future of an innocent teenager for no good reason. However¡­." More pictures began to flash, the videos, then text messages.


    The league viewed all of it¡­. Their faces grew more unsightly with each passing second.


    After a minute,


    "By Hera... how disgusting. What filth¡­." Diana let out a series of curse words, the best she could come up with. Everyone else was gloomy as well.


    The kid Franky looked no different from a regular male but underneath all that, he was a sadistic rapist, bully and had pushed numerous girls so far that most committed suicide.


    There were sex videos, bragging text messages, and even threats to expose them if they didn''t do what he wanted.


    To think that such a young man was actually all this.....


    Batman was equally stunned.


    "Let''s not forget that he had ill intentions towards me, are my actions in crippling this kind of person the reason you consider me a threat? Please don''t misunderstand, I didn''t do this because of that as I couldn''t care less of his actions, but doesn''t your race emphasize heavily on morality?"


    "You actually sympathize with such a person and let him live despite claiming to be defenders of Justice?" He finished and looked at the League.


    The result was exactly as he had expected. They were all suffering in silence. Diana had the most outraged expression, while Batman had his offensive cut off. Superman looked at the screen with the boy''s picture and gritted his teeth madly.


    This..... This... This.....


    Silence reigned for a few seconds.


    "... I admit that this can''t be used to hold you eligible to standing trial. This young man is nothing short of a monster due to his actions. However, you crippling him is not right, nor is it in your right to do so. He should have been handed to the authorities". Clark finally spoke up.


    He looked at Amari, his tone no longer as aggressive and challenging as it was before.


    After all, this was the kind of person whose actions would slip under the Leagues'' radar if nothing special happened.


    And right now, Clark was feeling awful. Still, he didn''t forget to add his opinions. His voice was firm on it as well.


    "So you''re saying I''m heavy-handed? Then why don''t you tell the same to Batman, who literally does the same thing to Gotham criminals, sometimes going as far as branding them?" Amari looked at Superman with curiosity.


    "I....." Clark was a little embarrassed. He did say something similar to Bruce, but Batman wouldn''t change. Not to mention¡­


    "It''s different. Gotham is a terrible place and it needs heavier measures. Not to mention, although he is vile, he is still young". Bruce interjected.


    "So a kid who has committed such things on women can''t be out in the same class as Gotham criminals because of his age? Don''t you find your words hypocritical, Batman?"


    Again, silence filled the room. Bruce didn''t say anything, Ashe was momentarily short of words.


    He felt many eyes in him, two being particularly intense.


    Diana and Hakwgirl in particular were eyeing him intensely. Bruce realized he had used the wrong words again and was now in a bind.


    He could only helplessly change the topic while shamelessly saying.


    "Don''t change the subject, this young man will pay for his actions accordingly. But your matter hasn''t been settled¡­"


    "Oh I know with the teenagers I injured as well as Green Lantern, right". Amari smiled a bit.


    Batman immediately knew something was wrong. This guy was always expressionless and indifferent. He never smiled and whenever he did, even a little, it signified that something was wrong.


    "The fact that you still use those kids against me shows that you didn''t bother to check on their situation and ask them some questions. Maybe the boy wonder didn''t have enough time to spread the word and is still unconscious. But apart from the military in the room, everyone else knows that those teenagers aren''t just teenagers, wouldn''t you agree, Batman?"


    Amari asked again.


    Silence.


    Everyone in the league was looking at him with different emotions in their eyes.


    Mostly wariness.


    Amari snapped his finger. The screen changed again as what played was a recording. A recording of everything that had happened in the caf¨¦. How he threw the blonde out the window and everyone else ran out.


    Except six youths who stood still while facing him from beginning to end. The hologram had an audio function so each and every one in the room could hear what as happening.


    Their faces grew serious as well as a confirmation playing out in their heads.


    Bruce gritted his teeth in irritation. This alien didn''t just know his identity, he knew the identities of the league''s proteges. And if he knew the identities of the proteges, then he knew the identity of the whole league.


    "You can probably guess from this that I already know your secret identities. Each and each one of them. Steve Trevor should already know so it doesn''t matter with him, General Lane, however, if I''m not mistaken, should....." He didn''t finish his words, but everyone understood.


    While the video didn''t explicitly say who they were, it had left some clues down to track. If General Lane decided to use all military resources to crack down on this lead, it would be a matter of time before the identities of the league would be exposed one after another.


    In that case, the league and everyone they cared about would be in danger if the government knew their identities.


    Everyone except Victor Stone, as many already knew he was a cyborg.


    Everyone turned to look at General Lane. The man truly was worthy of being a competent general, as he was already giving instructions over his phone.


    Panic began to stem in their hearts. Bruce looked ugly.


    The only solace in this was that Amari had blurred the pictures of the faces of the proteges in this video, so Lane didn''t know so exactly they were, but it wouldn''t be difficult to find out.


    After all, there were other shops and establishments in the vicinity. Some of them also had cameras that could have caught parts of the sidewalk.


    "Ok let''s focus here. We are not done, are we. The video hasn''t even concluded". Amari said with a slight smile. Bruce felt a bit cold. Things weren''t proceeding anything close to what he planned.


    General Lane was attentively listening to the video.


    [Of course, that won''t be enough to base your assumptions on. After all, you could all just be ignorant kids with a thing for superheroes. That changes however for someone who knows about a certain black Ops team doing things in the shadows for the league that they, due to their hypocritical moral integrity and the fact that it would cause trouble for them if the United Nations found out, can''t]


    As soon as he heard this part, General Lane, who was usually expressionless had his face harden considerably. A cold light flashed though his eyes as his gaze turned towards the League Members.


    "Shit!" Batman cursed inwardly. Things were developing very wrongly.


    ....

 Chapter 18 Concede

    [Of course, that won''t be enough to base your assumptions on. After all, you could all just be ignorant kids with a thing for superheroes. That changes however for someone who knows about a certain black Ops team doing things in the shadows for the league that they, due to their hypocritical moral integrity and the fact that it would cause trouble for them if the United Nations found out, can''t]


    As soon as he heard this part, General Lane, who was usually expressionless, had his face harden considerably. A cold light flashed though his eyes as his gaze turned towards the League Members.


    "Shit!" Batman cursed inwardly. Things were developing very wrongly.


    He looked at General Lane, who had a gloomy expression.


    "So if I''m not wrong, the league deemed it fit to create a Black Ops team consisting of your proteges to infiltrate areas where the league are restricted from entering themselves. This clearly violates your agreement with the world council, correct me if I am mistaken".


    General Lane''s face returned to its indifference, but his eyes were clearly more hostile than they ever were.


    The severity of this matter was much more extreme than the layman could understand.


    The government didn''t interfere in League matters, while the league stayed out of the way of the government.


    Abstinence from the territory of nations who refuse to permit the league to enter their borders was clearly stated in their agreement.


    Now it seemed like the league decided not to uphold their end of the bargain.


    Impeding into restricted territory was a grave issue, which was why the Black Ops team was strictly covert, and its information wasn''t publicly disclosed.


    Of course the league had their reasons as nations they weren''t welcomed in, usually had high criminal activity.


    An example was the Santa Prisca incident with Banes factory alongside the Cobra venom and project blockbuster. These potent drugs capable of making enhanced soldiers were dangerous commodities if it feels into the wrong hands.


    The fact that they were being created and spread covertly would give the league numerous headaches. Therefore, they needed to be neutralized in its infancy.


    As long as the proteges acted quickly and left no solid traces as verifiable evidence, it wouldn''t matter. After all, the villains couldn''t possibly sue them without evidence, and they certainly can''t stand as witnesses in court.


    But now that the matter had come to light, it was a different case altogether.


    Bruce knew that the league would probably soon get a summon from the world council, which would give them headaches for months due to their underhanded moves.


    But it couldn''t be helped. Who told their enemies to hide in the dark, while they could only be open and upfront in their actions?


    "The league can explain our actions and will do so in the next summoning". Batman said in a blank tone, masking his emotions as best he could.


    He turned to look at Amari, even more cautious than earlier.


    A smile hung in his lips as he really seemed to relish the situation they found themselves in.


    "Do you still want to continue, Batman?" He asked with his trademark indifference.


    "Go on!" His curt reply showed his determination to not turn back until the camel''s back broke from the last straw.


    "Batman..... is this appropriate?" Flash asked in hesitation. The other members of the league felt hesitant as well.


    Truthfully speaking, they were starting to get a little unsettled at this point from the frequent losses they were incurring in this altercation.


    The thoughts of ending this flashed I''m their minds, but Batman still wanted to keep it going.


    Bruce didn''t reply as he looked at the alien intently.


    "You''re quite tenacious. I''ll give you that". Amari said, and the hologram continued.


    He understood what was going through Bruce''s mind at the moment. It was the mindset of a man who was gambling everything else, simply because he didn''t have much left to lose.


    Bruce had already weighed the pro''s and con''s and was determined to see if there was any point he could grab onto to stake a claim.


    "I can''t say you''re wrong. But the more you perform, the more my mind won''t feel at ease until I bring you in. Your scheming capabilities are too good. No matter what anyone says, someone like you running free is too much of a risk to condone".


    He paused as he measured his words.


    "At least not until we deem you aren''t a threat anymore". Bruce''s tone had taken a softer touch. Those who knew him well would be surprised, and surprised the league were.


    Batman wasn''t as aggressive as before. Although adamant, but still. Not to mention that although he was criticizing Amari, he was also praising his skills. This was recognition from the Bat of Gotham. Not many people received such from Bruce. Usually, he was always like ''I''m Batman''.


    Nevertheless, they all understood his predicament.


    The league''s bargaining chips were reducing by the minute, and Bruce didn''t have any moral edge to hold on to for an aggressive push. In fact, the league could very well be in a pickle.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Hehehe, a risk? Coming from someone so paranoid that he makes contingency plans to incapacitate his allies if they ever go rogue, those words seem somewhat tasteless".


    Amari chuckled.


    Everyone in the league had their faces change in extreme shock. They couldn''t believe it. Bruce would actually... everyone here considered the next person as allies they could count on. Some as close as family. The thought that Batman could do such a thing didn''t even cross their minds.


    Even now, they subconsciously refused to believe it. But seeing Bruce sitting quietly without a ripple in his features, any words of defense they wanted to come up with hooked in their throats.


    "To you, everything and everyone powerful is a possible threat, which leads you to create countermeasures to deal with them. It might be admirable to some, but it''s plain annoying to me. That is why I didn''t bother searching for the league upon my arrival". Amari said leisurely while the rest of the league were still reeling in from the shock.


    Honestly, Batman was a pain to be around every so often.


    The video continued until the superboy attacked. It still continued even after everyone was out of the Caf¨¦ that was presently in ruins, up until the arrival and defeat of green lantern.


    "I believe you can all see it clearly. From the moment it started, I never initiated an attack on your proteges.


    Superboy however was the first to attack and the others followed. The situation with green lantern is similar. If this case were truly taken to court, then my actions can only be classified within self defense". Amari said lightly, his smile had receded to indifference.


    "Although I would like to get on with things that actually require my attention, I''m up for it if you still want to go to court. Of course, I would have to give a lot of sensitive information to my lawyer so he could properly defend me. This video would most definitely be used as a form of evidence to my claim as well. The difference being, the faces won''t be blurred next time".


    "So I ask again to all you Leaguers. Do you still want to continue finding reasons to detain me?" Silence was what greeted him.


    No one spoke as the seconds passed by.


    Amari''s gaze swept over them.


    "I didn''t think so". He said lightly, and the holographic display disappeared completely.


    Bruce looked at Amari with narrowed eyes. His heart presently was rather heavy.


    After a long period of silence, he finally opened his mouth.


    "..... How do we know you won''t cause trouble".


    "Batman....." Clark said, a little dumbfounded at the revelation. He understood the meaning laced within those words. Bruce was conceding.


    The almighty, tough, no nonsense Batman was actually forced to a compromise. The fact alone astonished Clark more than anything that happened in this past month.


    Batman felt surreal as well. He never thought he would actually be forced to this point. Not only that, the league now had complications they needed to deal with.


    Lantern was injured. All in all, this whole farce could be considered quite a failure. Batman would be a fool if he tried to keep pressing, plus here was nothing he could do to prevent.


    "It''s ok Superman. At this point, there''s nothing we can do about it. Arguing will get us nowhere". Batman said, his attention still on the alien.


    "How do we know that you won''t do something to harm humanity?"


    "How does me assuring you have anything to do with me?" Amari replied tacitly


    "We know nothing about you, where you are from and what your motives are for coming here. The danger you pose isn''t light, but since we can''t interfere, the government will take full responsibility for any of your actions". His expressionless face said curtly as he relaxed his stuff posture.


    His gaze turned to General Lane, who only gave a curt nod with an icy glare.


    "Judging by your logic, then the in the eyes of the government, the whole league are dangerous individuals who should be detained and questioned about their identities. But I don''t see you guys going down that route now, are you?"


    Amari lazily replied. His words were resounding like a slap in the face.


    They wanted him to identify himself, yet they refused to let the world know who they were.


    "Splendid. Now that this is over, I believe it is rather late in your time and I have grown rather tired of seeing your faces. So goodbye". Amari stood up from his comfortable chair.


    His indifferent face as exquisite as always as his purple eyes glowed bright.


    "Wait!" Diana shouted to get his attention.


    "Can you at least tell us what you are and where you are from".


    "No I cannot. Well, more like I will not. If you want to know, then ask the government. I believe they will be more than happy to shed some light". He answered nonchalantly, causing Diana to frown.


    "Then what are you doing here? What do you want?" Clark asked with an intent gaze.


    "You''ll find out soon enough. It''s not like I''m going to be hiding it".


    "You know we won''t stop investigating. Even if we can''t touch you, we will keep an eye on you. As long as you make one wrong move, we will stop you".


    "I doubt you could do anything to me even if I had planned anything malicious, but I welcome you to try. Besides, I doubt you''ll have time to care about my actions when yours is about to lead your world to peril".


    "What do you mean by that?" Everyone in the league looked alert at him. Batman said with a growl, while Superman looked on intently.


    "Oh don''t worry, you''ll find out soon enough". And with that, he disappeared from their view without a trace. Leaving the rest of the league with solemn expressions.


    General Lane didn''t have anything else to do here, so he walked towards the exit without saying a word. Steve Trevor hesitated a bit before following Lane towards the exit.


    "... Bruce..... We need to talk". Diana said in a solemn tone. The rest of the Leaguers also stared at Batman intensely.


    Her using his real name instead of Batman showed how serious she was on the issue to come.


    Bruce inwardly sighed.


    This was gonna be a long day.


    ...


    The Universe


    Star Sector, Unknown


    A Fleet consisting of several Neo engineered spacecrafts travelled through the void of space.


    Their mission, a constant search for an individual whose name echoed the universe.


    How long they had been searching was unknown, but they were determined to find their target.


    And today, they found it.


    "Is it confirmed?" The voice was hoarse, deep and sounded completely inhuman. Like the person who uttered those words weren''t human to begin with.


    "It is Sire. His approximate location has been pinpointed". Another voice replied, equally inhuman as the first.


    "Where is he now?"


    "In a backward sector. 2814. There his life signature resides. Albeit feeble".


    "For him? How is that possible?"


    "This one knows not, Sire".


    "Set a course for this sector. Arm the fleet at ready".


    "Yes..."


    ...


    Another part of the universe.


    "Earth? Why there?"


    "Apparently, for a bounty. News of a certain possible Kryptonian".


    "A survivor of Krypton? No wonder. But in this primitive sector? Who released this news?


    "No official confirmation. But some say Apocalypse Star".


    ... Silence reigned.


    "Do we still advance?"


    "The Argulian royal family want him dead. Since they can''t kill him, life imprisonment will suffice".


    "But....."


    "It''s either this, or we die.... Lady Acharna of Argul isn''t merciful. We have no choice".


    Silence reigned again but no one spoke


    ...


    "Hahahaha! Mad Biker. I finally found you. Just wait for us all. Haha¡­ Just you wait!" The made laughter quickly turned into a menacing growl.


    ....


    In a separate dimension, somewhere floating within its void. A certain spaceship of kryptonian origins that had remained inactive for years on suddenly powered up.


    Whether it was coincidental or triggered, no one knew.


    The blonde female laying within certainly didn''t as she was frozen in deep sleep.


    The Kryptonian pod began to move, shooting forward with the intent to escape this dimension.


    Something larger of unknown origins followed behind.


    ...


    Sector 2814.


    Earth.


    Amari sat within a rather large mansion. He sat on the terrace as his eyes gazed at the beautiful moonlight and the twinkling stars in the sky.


    "Looks like the league is about to get busy". He said with indifference, but his eyes flashed amusingly.


    .....

 Chapter 19 War Of The Bounty Hunters

    Space.


    Somewhere within Sector 2814


    A dash of green light could be seen in the scene, zooming past asteroids with incredible precision. The green beam of light, after passing through several asteroid fields, revealed what looked to be a humanoid figure.


    Its body structure looked humanoid. Its features, however, were far from it.


    Pitch-black skin, a rhino horn on its forehead sticking out like a thorn and spikes extending from its lower back.


    With its massive body was three times that of a regular human, If placed on Earth, the looks of this creature could scare full-grown adults to tears. Yet, when placed within the vast universe, his features were considered good.


    "Found you".


    Tuk Rumon said in a voice as soft as an opera singer''s. Massively contradicting when compared to its monstrous appearance.


    As a Green lantern, Tuk''s usual tasks were to patrol the neighboring area two sectors over. Unfortunately, his patrol had to be put on hold as he engaged in a high intensity chase across sectors to catch a rather dangerous individual.


    Leading him all the way to sector 2814.


    The green aura around him glowed in intensity as he blasted forward again, ignoring all obstacles in his path. A rather troublesome distance away was a spaceship travelling at full speed.


    Well, it would be going at full speed if the engines of the space transport hadn''t been damaged by Tuk''s energy blasts.


    [Energy thrusters 76% damaged. Power at 16% capacity. Energy shields offline. Weapons systems....]


    The sound of an AI giving a full report on the ship''s status update could be heard. And quite frankly, it was all that was needed to drive its pilot into a state of rage.


    "Uck! Uck! For all the credits in the universe, I swear you won''t have a peaceful death Lantern. My beautiful ship¡­ All gone¡­". The alien creature that looked like a furry hairball with four legs and a massive build yelled in exasperation.


    Spaceships weren''t easy to afford. Especially one similar to the type he had, fully loaded with automated weapons systems, energy shields, advanced communication systems... Rizer had never felt worse in his one hundred and twenty-three years of existence.


    He was a young, promising intergalactic criminal, and a rather skilled one at that. He was headed towards a certain designation in mind when he was unlucky enough to be spotted by a green lantern on his patrol.


    Of course, he did what any other experienced criminal would do whenever they met the Space Police. Classic hit-and-run.


    His race wasn''t anything special in the universe that would give him capabilities to fight off a green lantern or possible kill one. So he used his ship''s defense systems which he had swindled a certain sucker into installing in his regular spacecraft which was stolen from a certain high-end noble of a certain star sector... Where was he going with this?


    Oh! yes. He used it to attack the pursuing Lantern while searching for opportunities to shake him off.


    Sadly, it leads to the current situation he was in.


    "Uck! I won''t just sit here and wait to be captured!" He exclaimed and immediately headed to the ship''s rear. The ship of a noble from a wealthy planet was particularly loaded.


    Even if it wasn''t the main one, it was actually equipped with six escape pods.


    And luckily for him, there was a dead planet nearby. He had already set the ship''s course for the dead planet while setting a timer for ejection of all pods.


    This would leave the lantern to have to follow in seven different directions.


    Either follow the escaping ship or one of the six escape pods. The chances of being captured had reduced from ninety-eight percent to a much better one seventh.


    He didn''t know if he could successfully escape, but those odds were certainly much better. He quickly hurried into the pods and the launch was initiated.


    The Lantern was some distance away, but that distance could be covered in a matter of minutes. Hopefully, he could escape the Lantern''s pursuit.


    But after this, another headache arose.


    There was a high chance that he would have to hide on a random planet. After all, he would be easily discovered if he tried to escape a free lantern in a space pod.


    It was nowhere near ideal.


    "That''s something for future me to worry about. For now, I''ll..."


    His thoughts were interrupted as the pod shook fiercely, causing him to bash his head on the glass. He raised himself up and shook his head, only to see the escape pod giving off blaring blue lights.


    If that didn''t instill fear in his heart, the fact that the pod was no longer moving did.


    "Looks like we''ve got somebody trying to pull a fast one". The sound of a male voice could be heard outside.


    Rizer looked outside the glass with uncertainty, which was fully confirmed when he saw the aura of green surrounding the pod. He slumped into the seat as a figure appeared in his view.


    It wasn''t the gigantic Tuk Rumon that was chasing him through the Star Sectors but a human with a dark complexion.


    Green Lantern of sector 2814 John Stewart.


    Rizer laughed bitterly. He was so caught up in escaping his pursuing Lantern that he didn''t think he would run into another green lantern in this region.


    ...


    Minutes Later.


    "Thank you, Lantern Stewart. You''ve made my job a lot easier". Tuk said with his soft voice, which John honestly found a little weird. Thankfully, he didn''t let it show on his face.


    "Pleasure to help, now if you''ll excuse me".  John didn''t stay for small talk and blasted away. He still had duties after all. He had sensed the disturbance as well as received a request for help from a fellow lantern.


    Now, he could get back to his patrol. Unfortunately, things didn''t seem like they would go as he planned.


    "This is Lantern Two". John''s ring glowed, signalling an emergency message. He answered and heard cyborgs voice on the other end.


    His face scrunched up to a frown before replying.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    "I''m on my way". His course changed as he turned around towards the Milky Way solar system.


    As he left however.....


    Several spacecrafts using Warp technology appeared at the very edge of sector 2814. Some came in fleets, some came with warships, while most were individual.


    They all came in different sizes, but what was sure for Earth was that something big was coming. The earthlings just didn''t know it yet.


    ....


    Gotham City.


    Bat cave.


    "You''re not getting out of this so easily, Bruce. The rest of the league needs an explanation". Clark said with folded arms as he stated at Bruce, who was staring at the screen in front of him.


    Otherwise, known as the Bat computer. It was late afternoon of the next day, and Bruce''s eyes were perpetually glued to the broadcast playing on the screen, effectively ignoring Clark and whatever he had to say.


    "- Cat Grant with GBS." A familiar television news personality was speaking over the live feed. "And today I''m reporting live directly from the Washington Square, where the United States Government has just released breaking news concerning the mysterious alien now popularly known to netizens as Deviant. It has been verified that said alien has undergone an altercation against the famous Green Lantern of the Justice league, leaving the latter seriously injured and the League potentially furious".


    "It has been proved to be the case as the League members all arrived to apprehend this alien but were ultimately thwarted by the government. Which is why it is exceedingly shocking to report to you folks, that the mysterious alien now named by the government as AMARI has been granted citizenship and approved by governments all over the world, thereby gaining permission to live on earthen soil and walk freely among us just like any other human. A public official privilege being the first of its kind as such a declaration wasn''t made available even for Superman....."


    The feed soon switches to videos of the president of America making a public declaration approving said alien on permission to enjoy all the same privileges as the average American.


    "..... How the League will respond to this is unknown as they have yet to make an official statement....."


    Bruce continued to watch expressionlessly. His silence made Clark frown.


    "Bruce¡­"


    "I know Superman. The league needs an explanation, they will get one. But now, there are more important things at hand". Batman said in a low voice.


    "Like what?"


    "Like giving an explanation to the World Government. We have to be prepared for whatever those guys will throw at us. This whole thing has given them an edge, and I''m sure they won''t let it go".


    Bruce said solemnly. He had countless things affecting his mind at the moment.


    "Stop stalling Bruce. I feel the meeting with the council can wait". Clark crossed his arms and said. The frown on his face was deepening by the second.


    Batman sighed.


    "You want to know why!" Bruce understood that Clark was pissed. Not just him, the rest of the league were. Bruce''s actions proved that he was wary of all of them.


    That wasn''t even the issue. The issue was that he had kept such a thing secret from them and was studying their weaknesses.


    No matter how you put it, it wouldn''t sit right in anyone''s stomach.


    "It was a necessity, Clark".


    "You can''t be serious".


    "I can and I am". Batman said solemnly. The news report was interrupted as a message appeared on the screen.


    "Cyborg. He says the military''s on our tail. They''re using their satellites to analyze the Caf¨¦ incident. He says he''s hacking their systems". Batman said curtly.


    Clark just frowned and didn''t say anything more. After taking one last deep looked at Bruce, he turned around and flew out of the Bat cave.


    Seconds passed as Batman sat there with narrowed eyebrows.


    A figure suddenly appeared from the same direction Superman left.


    "Contingency plans for the League. I suppose my fear of fire is on the list as well, I presume?" It was the Martian Manhunter, John jonzz.


    "I made plans for everyone, John". Bruce said lightly.


    "Even myself".


    John raised an eyebrow. His face didn''t change much.


    "Even him as well?" He asked, knowing that Bruce knew who exactly they were referring to.


    "Boom tube tech or Zatara''s magic. Creating a confined space to nullify his teleportation abilities. The rest, I can''t be certain. We have too little information on the limits of his strength or if that dark red energy that broke through Hal''s construct can damage Superman".


    Bruce analyzed.


    "Did you get anything from him". He asked.


    "I''m afraid not. It''s unfortunate, but it appears that I cannot read his mind. It''s perplexing really". John replied with a frown on his face.


    His frown elicited an even deeper frown from Bruce.


    "Why would you say so"? Martian Manhunter was a calm entity. There were hardly any things that would make him change his expression outside a fight.


    "His mind is..... Intriguing. In the sense that I can''t seem to locate it".


    "Do you mean a mental shield? Magical shield or an Android?" Bruce speculated. The possibility of Amari being an advanced race of machines crossed his mind.


    "No, it''s not like that. I can feel that his mind exists, as does his brain. He is a biological organism, but his thoughts are inaccessible. This is what stomps me. When I try to read even his surface thoughts, I get¡­. a veiled sense of nothingness".


    "It''s like he''s always thinking, yet at the same time, not thinking at all". John''s words made Bruce somewhat bewildered.


    He didn''t even know what to make of those words.


    "So mind reading doesn''t work. Diana''s lasso might have a more positive effect".


    "I suppose".


    There was a bit of silence.


    "Are you also here because of the contingency plan incident? I doubt that''s why, since you haven''t made a further statement on it".


    "Your deductions are on point, Batman. I honestly couldn''t care less for your contingencies. I''m here because of the alien".


    "Amari? There''s nothing much we can do about him now. But we will be ready to contain him if such happens". Bruce said thoughtfully.


    "That is what concerns me, Bruce".


    "I''m sorry?....." Batman was stunned. What was happening?


    "The way you are targeting him, Bruce. Quite frankly, it''s worrying. Not just for him, but for you as well. You may not realize it, but your paranoia is acting up like a rocket on steroids. You already look at him as a definite villain who will inevitably destroy the world, just like you once did, Clark".


    John''s words silenced Batman. The latter wanted to open his mouth and retort, but no words could escape to justify himself.


    After a while of slight stuttering, he closed his lips and sighed.


    "He''s different from Clark..... he is willing to kill for one. I can see it within him, as for why he hasn''t done so yet is beyond me. The way he crippled that youth clearly shows he has little empathy for humanity. He didn''t even do it due to what the kid had done. It was just convenience... Convenient enough to get us to back off".


    Bruce didn''t stop there but continued.


    "He''s already quite powerful. Not to mention what his true purpose for Earth is. I just can''t sit at ease".


    "Does his purpose on Earth have to be sinister in your eyes?"


    "What other reason would prompt him to come here?"


    "I do not know, but earth has a special attraction to the supernatural, don''t you agree?" John shot back calmly.


    Bruce was stumped.


    Yes, the earth alone had a kryptonian who was the last of his kind, an Amazonian who was the offspring of a God, A Martian who although wasn''t the last of his kind, him being a protector of earth was quite out of place as well. Two thanagarians who keep on reincarnating every time they die. Two members of the Universal police force, an Atlantean king..... It even attracted a Czarnian who had murdered his species, a New God who enslaves planets as a side hustle, a group of kryptonians who wanted to terraform the earth¡­.


    What makes Amari so special? He hadn''t shown off any plans to enslave the earth and its people. Was it truly all his prejudice?


    Bruce stayed silent.


    John didn''t say anything more. His figure floated upwards before penetrating the roof of the cave.


    Bruce right now needed some alone time.


    .....


    United States.


    A Certain Military Base.


    "Have you found it yet?" General Lane stood in his uniform with a tight frown etched on his face.


    In front of him, dozens of military personnel were working, typing, communicating, and moving their asses across the room.


    "No sir, the satellite imaging from that specific time is ....." The soldier trailed off as he hesitated.


    "Is what?" Lane''s eyes sharpened.


    "It''s been tampered with, sir. Not just satellite imaging, security cameras, cell phone videos. We can''t get a lock on what happened in that area in coast city". The man said.


    "Cyborg!" Sam spat out one word through clenched teeth.


    He knew it must be the doing of the half man, half machine member of the Justice league, effectively stopping all their attempts at discovering their true identities. That was fine what maddened him was that the league was brazenly hacking into military facilities at will.


    What worsened it was that they could only sit by passively.


    It made his teeth itch just thinking about it.


    "Keep trying". Lane turned around and left the room with a gloomy expression. Everyone made way for him as they could see he was in a bad mood.


    Sam walked out of the room towards a corridor. He turned on his phone and dialed a number.


    The call connected, but the person on the other end didn''t say a word.


    "..... I need something". General Lane finally said.


    "I know what you want". Amari said blankly.


    Lane was not surprised.


    "And?"


    "It''s earlier than planned but sure. I don''t mind a little Qid pro quo".


    "What do you want?"


    "Gotham city plains. The whole area, I want it legally under my possession".


    "That''s a lot of land".


    "Compared to what I''ll give you, it''s worth less. I plan to open my base of operations there. Besides, there''s something that will land there that I want. If your military wants your Next Gen Weapons, I suggest you comply".


    Amari said with indifference.


    "Fine!"


    "By tomorrow, not an hour later".


    "Understood".


    Amari cut the call from the other end.


    "Kryptonians are quite valuable after". He said inwardly.


    ...

 Chapter 20 War Of The Bounty Hunters 2

    United States.


    Washington, DC, World Nations Conference.


    DC Conference Hall.


    "The league disagrees".


    "On what defense do you rest on to voice your disapproval? You and the rest of the League should know that violating the agreement is a serious offense".


    "Be that as it may, it is not enough to make us relinquish possession of it".


    "On what grounds do you say so, Superman? I hope you know that the Android does not belong to your team. You have no legal claims on it".


    "Neither does it belong to any specific nation, for that matter. Anthony Ivo''s creation is a weapon that can threaten the world. Its parts are a perpetual target for dangerous individuals, and we see it fit that this Android remains in our custody".


    "This is the consensus of the council on this matter. Your current actions have diminished whatever trust we have in the league. The blatant disregard shows that you see yourselves superior to the law and our words hold little importance to you". A Caucasian man dressed in a snazzy white suit said from the high podium.


    Superman frowned.


    "Our actions at the time were completely necessary. The agreement states that league members are forbidden from acting as restricted nations. It never said anything about the proteges of each league member, if I remember right".


    Clark said candidly, causing everyone''s eyes to narrow. They weren''t surprised much that Superman had played his trick. It was indeed a loophole in the agreement after all, a loophole which they were exploiting to its full potential.


    "Does this mean that the league had no knowledge of their prot¨¦g¨¦''s actions?"


    A female councilman asked.


    "I reserve the answer to this question for Batman, as he is the one in charge of these operations. Unfortunately, he is currently busy and can''t attend". Superman replied.


    "You don''t expect us to believe that".


    "Believe what you will".


    .....


    "Even if that is pushed aside, how does the league explain Cyborg hacking into government satellites and classified information without permission". Another Councilman said tacitly.


    "I have no impression of any league members undergoing such actions". Superman expressionlessly denied it without a second thought.


    Cyborg had already let him know all he needed to know. There was no way they would be able to trace it back to them. So even if they knew, they could only be indignant about it.


    As for the matter of breaking the agreement, the league still had room to wiggle around. After all, there was sufficient evidence of criminal actions in each of the Junior teams operations.


    That would serve as a perfect counter to whatever they had to throw at them.


    Cyborg thought so, so did Clark and the others.


    "Then how does the League explain this?" The head councilman suddenly smiled as a projection appeared.


    ....


    Less than twenty minutes later.


    Superman and cyborg left the conference room with ugly expressions.


    Cyborg in particular had the ugliest as he checked through his systems on his past actions.


    ".... I don''t understand how¡­."


    Vic was confused at the moment. The projection had shown all of Cyborgs influences, traces of his works in government systems. Whether it be hacking into satellites or private military enterprises, secret files and the likes, it had shown it all.


    The majority of the break-ins were traced back to the Justice League''s watchtower, as well as the Green Lantern Ring of both Green Lanterns.


    "This is serious". Superman said solemnly.


    "You can say that again".


    "Do you have any idea how they happened to achieve this?"


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "I don''t know, but with Earth''s level of technology, finding traces of the Lantern Ring''s infiltration is impossible....."


    "Could Luther possibly be behind this?"


    "I''m not sure". Cyborg said while I''m deep thought. The ring of the green Lantern Corp was Maltusian technology.  If it were used to infiltrate the Earth''s information network, it wasn''t something the government''s defenses could notice, let alone trace back.


    The League relied on the Lantern Ring''s ability to gather information on the criminals'' next move.


    It had worked out of well so far, until now.


    "The possibility of it being Luther exists. Not only Luther, this might be something new Intergang whipped up, though there haven''t been any movements on them recently. I need to investigate".


    As Cyborg finished, they had already appeared outside the building.


    "Superman..."


    ¡­


    .


    ¡­


    As soon as they appeared, hordes of reporters quickly flocked towards them.


    "I gotta go". Cyborg didn''t even bother to stay as he created thrusters from his back and blasted off, leaving Superman to fend off the news thirsty reporters.


    The media was not his thing.


    "Superman, is it true that the league violated the United Nations agreement and trespassed on restricted lands?"


    "No comment".


    "Superman! How do you feel about the government''s decision to let the new alien become a citizen?"


    "I feel fine".


    "Superman, what news can you tell us concerning the white alien that attacked metropolis a week ago".


    "Lobo is still comatose and under league custody. I can''t say much, but what I can assure you is that Lobo will definitely answer for his crimes".


    "Super....."


    "Superman¡­."


    "Over here¡­."


    "... from the Night Watch¡­."


    The constant clamor of the reporters continued to fall on Clark''s ears.


    "Thank you for your time, no more questions please". Superman frowned slightly and bent his legs. With an upward push, he flew into the air away from the grasp of those nosy reporters.


    His mind was filled with numerous thoughts as he accelerated away from Washington.


    The league had suffered another loss. On the grounds of their actions, The world government had voted for the Amazo Android to be handed over to the United States.


    Not only that, they also said that they would be taking further actions on certain matters. Actions that, quite frankly, Clark knew Bruce wouldn''t like at all.


    He could already imagine Batman gnashing his teeth back in the bat cave after he heard the news.


    As for the Amazo Android, Clark was honestly distressed. The league couldn''t push back against this one either.


    No matter what, they hadn''t reached the point where they wanted to tear all face with the council. Plus, the light in this matter was painted against them.


    A sonic boom sounded as he accelerated even further.


    The reporters down below all let out slight sighs seeing Superman leave. The cameras still pointed in the direction of Superman''s exit.


    In a certain military base, General Sam Lane watched Superman leave with a neutral look.


    He turned on his cellphone and dialed a number.


    "The process has been finalized, you should get the deed in a few hours at most". Sam said as the call connected.


    ....


    United States.


    Gotham city.


    Amari stood in an open field, his back leaning against a tall tree with a phone resting on his ear.


    "Perfect, twas a pleasure doing business with you". His voice was as indifferent as always. He took the phone off his ears and cut the call unceremoniously.


    Sam raised an eyebrow as he heard the end tone. His feelings on the subject that was this alien were rather complex. Sam put the phone away without expression as he turned his attention to the military personnel working around the clock.


    [Sir, I''ve recovered the tampered video footage. Do you want to see?]


    A voice sounded in the room of personnel, followed by the sight of a red holographic projection. The voice was soft and sweet, and it made the corner of Sam''s lip twitch slightly.


    Sam lowered his vision to behold what looked like.... a Loli?


    The holographic projection of a small girl looking no more than ten years old appeared right in front of him. With a ponytail at the back of her hair, she wore a red dress and looked cute even as a hologram.


    Sam''s lips twitched even more.


    "I asked for a highly advanced artificial intelligence. I didn''t mean this¡­." Sam said to himself as he looked at the Advanced AI that he had asked for from Amari.


    "Red Queen... Play it". As a general who had seen through the vicissitudes of life, he quickly regained his composure and replied.


    [Confirmed] the sweet girly voice sounded again.


    The main screen in the room suddenly changed display, showing satellite imaging of the incident that had gone down at the Caf¨¦.


    Only this time, there was no blur to cover up the faces.


    A small smirk appeared on Sam''s face as he turned his head and ordered.


    "Well, what are you waiting for? Immediately confirm facial recognition".


    [I can do that as well, General] The Red Queen AI suddenly responded before the military personnel could even make a move.


    The facial recognition software was up and running and thousands of faces blurred past within seconds.


    About two minutes later.


    [All six matches found]


    The red Queen reported as files appeared in holographic form in front of General Lane about the positive matches.


    Sam kept nodding his head as he went through the information.


    Unknown to him at that moment, a certain person suddenly got up and left the room without catching anyone''s attention.


    The figure of the person made his way out of the room and came to a more private area before sending a message.


    "Mr Luther, there''s something to report".


    ...


    Amari ended the call and put the phone away. He moved his body from the tree and walked out of its shade into the open field.


    The sun wasn''t particularly scorching, but it wasn''t a cloudy day either. Amari didn''t care either way, he walked to the middle of the field and stopped.


    This place was Gotham Plains. According to General Lane, the whole area was already under his name.


    He didn''t delay any longer and bent down slightly. He placed his palm against the grassy field. Blue wisps of energy emerged from his palm and drilled into the earth.


    He stayed hat way for a few seconds before removing it.


    Then.... the ground shook.


    The air in the field distorted greatly as things started to change. Numerous trees for miles around disappeared, whatever animals that may have been in the surroundings turned into thin air.


    Amari looked forward nonchalantly, not at all worried about the surrounding changes.


    As the air distorted, structured started to appear out of thin air. Constructs emerged from the ground and continuously spread all over the place.


    "I guess it''s my version of Superman''s fortress of solitude". Amari thought to himself knowingly as he continued to watch the changes occur.

 Chapter 21 War Of The Bounty Hunters 3

    United States, Happy Harbor, Rhode Island.


    Mount Justice.


    ...


    "... Hey¡­. looks like you''re waking up".


    Intermittent sounds were all that Megan could hear. Flashes of light occasionally seeped past her eyelids as they gradually opened from their previously shut state.


    "...ugh¡­". Megan groaned heavily as her eyes opened. Her vision was somewhat blurry as a bright light assaulted her vision.


    Yet before she could properly adjust to it, she felt a splitting pain from the side of her neck, causing her to wince.


    ".... Heh... Easy girl, it''s ok¡­ just take it easy. ." The soft, comforting voice that flowed into her ears was all too familiar to her.


    "Ar¡­. Artemis?" Megan called out uncertainly. Her eyes soon adapted, restoring her blurry vision, and what came into view was a place she hadn''t found herself since she came to reside in Mount Justice.


    The Med Bay.


    She turned her head around to see her recent yet familiar teammate sitting at the edge of the bed right next to her.


    "Welcome back Megan. It''s good to see you awake". Artemis said, with dark circles around her eyes. She had been sitting beside Megan''s bed since the incident happened, with her heart filled with worry.


    Even though they hadn''t been teammates for a long period of time, seeing her wake up brought a smile to her weary face.


    For someone like Artemis who aspired to be a hero but grew up in a family of villains, the friends she had made in this team were precious to her. Even the annoying Wally West.


    "Artemis, where are we?" Megan wasn''t familiar with this place, as she had only been here once since her arrival.


    "In Mount Justice. You''re in the Med Bay".


    "Med Bay?" Megan asked doubtfully, trying to recall why she was here. Flashes of memories came to her head, reminding her of what happened before she woke up in this place.


    Megan involuntarily tensed up as fear overwhelmed her senses.


    "It''s ok, it''s ok. Don''t worry, you''re safe. We all are". Artemis said reassuringly as she placed her palm on Megan''s hand.


    "What happened?"


    "Well to sum it up in a few words, we got our asses kicked. We''re lucky someone came to help us in time". Artemis replied candidly.


    "How long was I out?"


    "About a day".


    "Oh¡­." Megan gave a small sound as her muscles relaxed. She rubbed the area around her neck that felt really sore. The green skin didn''t look green in that area anymore and was taking a shade of red.


    "Welcome Miss Martian. It''s good to see you''re awake". A robotic voice with a gender-neutral tone spoke then. Light footsteps that gave out a soft metallic clang could be heard as someone entered the Med Bay.


    He wore a blue cape and the surface of his being sported a metallic red. That''s if he could be considered a he to begin with.


    "Thank you Red tornado". Megan said as she saw the Android appear. Her inner cheerful personality made her give out a subconscious smile.


    "My pleasure". He said as he approached the bed.


    Megan turned her head around and discovered that apart from the three of them, no one else was here.


    "What about the rest of the team?" Megan asked Red Tornado. The latter didn''t reply, and Artemis suddenly grew silent.


    "What''s wrong? Did something happen to them?" Megan''s voice suddenly increased by several notches.


    "Your team is alive, Miss Martian, although not all of them are in their best state". Red Tornado answered her.


    "What do you mean?"


    "I believe someone else will enlighten you on that. Now that you''re awake, it''s required for you to be in the mission room. Batman will be there to give you all a briefing". Red Tornado brushed her question aside.


    After dropping his message, her turned around and left.


    Megan turned her head to look at Artemis and the latter subtly shook her head, indicating not to talk about it.


    ...


    Mount Justice.


    Training Room.


    BANG!


    BANG!


    BANG!


    BANG!


    A male figure wearing a black top and Jean trousers punched a metal target in the center of a room with unprecedented ferocity.


    The red colored S on his chest was especially striking as well.


    Conner continuously punched the metal target with all his strength. Time and Time again, yet his inhuman strength caused no practical damage to the testing machine as all the energy from his punches were absorbed like a thirsty sponge.


    "Rarrghhh"


    A last punch landed on it as Conner stopped attacking while breathing heavily. He had been going like this for hours.


    He was the first person in the team to wake up, save the already conscious Artemis.


    And recalling his ... failure, he had come here to let off some steam. More than nine hours of nonstop venting had left him somewhat exhausted.


    Thankfully, there was a shock absorber in the base capable of withstanding his full-strength attacks.


    Conner placed his palms on his knees as his body bent forward. His clothes were soaked with sweat, yet the rage in his soul was far from allayed.


    A gust of wind suddenly blew into the wide room. Conner turned his head to see Kidflash standing behind him.


    "You done pal?" Connor let out a snort and turned his head away.


    Wally seeing this let out a slight sigh.


    "Tornado wants us at the Mission room. There''s gonna be a briefing". Wally gave the message.


    "I''m not going". Connor replied with an angry huff.


    "Megan''s awake". Wally wasn''t surprised by Conner''s words and gave a reply of his own.


    Conner''s figure stopped.


    After a few seconds¡­.


    "I''m coming". Wally let out a slight smile. It was already known among the team that Megan and Connor had a little thing for each other, even if they hadn''t done anything official yet.


    A gust of wind blew past again, leaving the spacious room to Superboy alone, who needed to take a shower now.


    .....


    Thirty minutes Later. Megan and Artemis could be seen walking out of the hallway. As they stepped into the mission room, a few figures appeared before their eyes.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Artemis had her face darken a little, while Megan gave out a slight gasp. Her hand was covering her mouth.


    Everyone stood assembled in the mission room.


    Wally, Connor, Artemis, Megan, and Kaldur.


    Kaldur however, was sadly in a wheelchair.


    "Megan! Good you''re up. We were worried". Aqualad said with a smile. The majority part of his body was wrapped in white bandages, as well as casts on both arms.


    "Oh Kaldur!" A teardrop slid down Megan''s cheek as she walked towards aqualad.


    "It''s ok Megan. Not much to worry about. At most, I''ll be out of the field for a while". Kaldur said with a smile on the part of his body that wasn''t bandaged.


    "Hey! No one asked how I''m feeling". Wally raised both arms in false dissatisfaction.


    "You have Super speed, you''ve basically already healed". Artemis retorted plainly.


    Wally had a broken arm as well as a fractured bone in his leg. Luckily for him, his super speed also came along with super healing.


    "Glad you''re up". Connor gave out few words.


    "Thanks". Megan smiled happily. She then turned her head around only.to finally realize that something was wrong.


    "Guys! Where''s Robin?"


    "Well um¡­." Wally was thinking of how to respond when the cave experienced visitors.


    [Recognized: Batman 02]


    [Recognized: Green Lantern 05]


    [Recognized: Green Lantern 14]


    Three people stepped into the mission room through the Zeta tube.


    Batman and both green lanterns Jordan and Stewart.


    "Good, you''re all here". Bruce said I''m his usual gruff voice. It was more gloomy than usual.


    It only took a few seconds before the three of them stood in front of the five juniors.


    Batman sent his sharp glare over all of them. His gaze lingered a little longer on Kaldur before he opened his mouth.


    "Good to see that most of you are alright. In light of the recent opponent you just faced, it can be considered noteworthy that none of you died". The first part of his long speech came to an end, leaving the team with mixed feelings.


    While the others were uneasy, Superboy felt the most irritable. He would rather not admit it, but the memory of his easy defeat weighed heavily on his mind.


    His frown directly showed his displeasure on the fact that they were even discussing this topic.


    "That however, doesn''t change the fact that your actions got all of you almost killed. The heavy injuries that some of you have incurred are textbook proof of that". Batman said, with his gaze landing on aqualad.


    The guy was literally wrapped in bandages like a mummy.


    "Engaging an enemy that is clearly way out of your league. Despite how obvious it is, I still find myself asking what in god''s name were you thinking?"


    Batman said. His tone and narrowed eyebrows had a forceful edge to it.


    The five teenagers shifted uncomfortably in their standing positions.


    "It wasn''t their fault, Batman". Aqualad sighed and spoke up, fully ready to claim responsibility.


    "We couldn''t just stay away after we saw what he did. This is my fault. It all happened because I didn''t give the order to retreat when we discovered who we were dealing with".


    Batman heard his explanation, his face still expressionless.


    "And why didn''t you?"


    "... We thought we could take him" Kaldur responded in a low tone.


    "You thought you could take him? It seems you have difficulty estimating your capabilities, Aqualad". Batman didn''t reply this time. Instead, it was Red Tornado who appeared at the end of the hallway, floating in a mini tornado.


    "...". Kaldur remained silent.


    "So what!" Connor asked aggressively. "Robin already contacted the league. We thought we could at least delay him until you guys showed up. This isn''t our first time dealing with big threats".


    "You were the one who led the attack first, Superboy. How did that work out for you?" Batman asked Connor. The latter reserved the right to remain silent.


    The fact that he had been knocked out with just one hit was as embarrassing as it was infuriating.


    "If it wasn''t for the timely arrival of Green Lantern, you would be much worse than you already are. Either crippled or dead. Your actions, although brave, were reckless and a complete endangerment of your lives. That is only counting half of the troubles caused by yesterday''s incident".


    Batman said tacitly.


    "Half? What do you mean?" Wally asked in puzzlement. They had been cooped up in the base for a while and no one was in the mood to check the latest findings.


    They most they knew was that Green Lantern was seriously injured by the enemy and the fact that the person they attacked was now a bona fide citizen.


    The mention of this actually made Superboy angry to the extreme.


    Nevertheless, there was nothing they could do about it, as even the league was helpless.


    Batman didn''t reply, but Hal Jordan made a move with his ring. A holographic projection showed a report of the hidden things that remained unknown to the media.


    "The video of your fight with the alien was recorded. While the discussion within wasn''t the most revealing, the tips let out were more than enough to bring out substantial information that has caused damage to the league". Red Tornado began giving out the report like a well-trained assistant.


    "Now, the World Council knows of the actions of your black ops team, while others are trying to crack down on your secret identities. Some Leagues..... Operations have also been brought up to light, unintentionally causing us to have to relinquish possession of the Amazo Android". Batman said.


    His words drawled a bit when it came to the League''s Operations, causing Hal Jordan to flinch a bit in embarrassment. The fact that he had used his ring to hack into government secrets didn''t sound very hero like at all.


    Batman himself had tried to do similar things with the Watchtowers computer. The only difference being him and Stewart had much thicker skin.


    Batman''s words caused the Junior team''s faces to fall. Especially when they heard that their secret identities could be exposed.


    Of course, it didn''t matter much to Kaldur, Superboy and Megan, but it did for the other three in the group.


    "Can they... You know, find us?" Wally asked.


    "Cyborg has cleared that up, so there shouldn''t be any worries on that front. But you guys fought without your identities covered. This shows irresponsibility alongside recklessness". Batman said, unknown to him and the rest of the league, that their secrets might not be as safe as they thought.


    "Now for the main reason I gathered you all here. It''s to inform you that until this storm blows over, and the league says otherwise, your missions will be suspended until further notice". His words caused their faces to turn ugly.


    However, after everything that had happened, no one said anything to object.


    "What about the.... You know, alien?" Wally asked.


    Batman raised an eyebrow will Hal''s face became unsightly.


    "The league is momentarily caught in a bind concerning how to handle him. With what has happened, there''s little we can do".


    "Little? The guy literally hurt us. Since he''s a citizen now, what''s stopping us from suing his sorry ass in court?" Wally asked with vigor.


    He felt mad whenever he thought about that fight that was even worse than their battle with Amazo.


    "One, taking this case to court will reveal your identities. Two, because you were the ones to throw the first blow, and three because we say so". Batman''s glare deepened, leaving Wally a little frightened.


    "Now, you are all going to be situated here without permission to leave for the next few days until we say otherwise. Any objections? Good".


    Batman said, without waiting for anyone to voice their thoughts.


    "Lanterns, do your thing".


    Batman suddenly stepped out of the way.


    Both Lanterns nodded and turned to face Aqualad, leaving him to raise an eyebrow.


    Before anyone else could process what was going on, both of them turned their rings up and shot green energy ray''s towards him.


    ....


    Four minutes later.


    "Thank you for your help". Aqualad said sincerely as he bowed his head down.


    "No problem. Just a little willpower". Hal said with a slight smile on his face, as well as a little sweat. The capabilities of the Lantern Ring were truly outstanding. Worthy of being named the most powerful weapon in the universe.


    With its healing capabilities, Kaldur was back to normal in less than five minutes.


    It''s too bad that their team didn''t have a teen lantern.


    "Good. Now that that''s done, let''s go to Robin". Bruce said with a slight nod as the trio walked towards the hallway.


    "Where are they going?" Megan asked with slight confusion.


    "Probably to do the same thing to Robin they did to Kaldur". Wally said affirmatively.


    "Robin? What happened to him?" Megan asked with worry.


    ".... He broke his spine". Wally said after a moment of silence.


    The whole cave was silent as Red Tornado had slipped out of the mission room at god knows what point.


    .....


    Bruce stood beside Dick''s bed. Seeing him lay peacefully in a coma like state, although his face didn''t change, his fists subconsciously clenched.


    Robin hadn''t woken up since the previous day. The kick that drilled him into the ground had damaged his spinal nerves.


    A hand was placed on Batman''s shoulder.


    "I know how you feel, Bruce. It''s ok, your boy wonder will be fine". Hal said with a smile. Stewart, who was beside him, nodded in agreement.


    John Stewart was a man of few words whenever his Green Lantern uniform was on, and wouldn''t speak much unless he needed to.


    "I know. But still, that doesn''t mean I''ll let him get away with it". Bruce said solemnly.


    The ''he'' he was referring to, meant Amari.


    "One step at a time, Batman". Stewart finally opened his mouth to say something.


    Batman didn''t answer but asked Hal a question.


    "Hal, is there anything about him, you noticed that we don''t know yet. Something important".


    "Apart from the ability he used against me, which I think you already know. Nothing else". Hal replied. When thinking of that short battle, his heart couldn''t help but quiver.


    He had almost died.


    If not for the passive protection of his ring and Barry''s quick reaction as well as the healing effect of the ring, he would probably be dead right now.


    "You said he was an alien, right? Well, I haven''t seen or heard about any aliens with his set of capabilities". Stewart said with a frown.


    "At this point, I have a speculation that he may not be alien at all". Batman suddenly said at the moment, grabbing the attention of both Lanterns.


    "Really? Then what do you think he is?" John couldn''t help but ask.


    "Someone from another dimension. Another earth probably". Batman gave his deductions.


    "Whatever made you come up with that idea?" Hal was astounded by Bruce''s words.


    "A few things. But I''m not sure yet". Bruce narrowed his eyes as he spoke. He stood there for a few seconds before turning around and leaving the room.


    "Where are you going".


    "To investigate".


    And so with that, Batman left".


    The two green lanterns looked at each other and sighed slightly before turning their attention to the injured Robin. A few minutes later, Robin lay on the bed, still asleep.


    They didn''t think it would be necessary to force him awake.


    Right as they wanted to turn around to leave, both their rings glowed.


    Hal and John exchanged glances as they looked at the rings, signifying someone wanted to send them a holographic message.


    They accepted and both their rings lit up with a small figure hovering over the ring.


    "Lantern Tuk?" John Stewart called out uncertainly. He just met this lantern a few hours ago. What happened that caused him to call them?


    "Greetings Lantern Stewart:, Lantern Jordan".


    "Greetings! Is there something we can help you with?"


    "That is not the case. I call to inform you that several fleets of ships have arrived within your sector space. Most are identifiable with certain planets in distant star sectors, while others are rogue. But the point being that they have all arrived within your sector and are heading towards your planet. I have received news of this, and I fear you may not like the reason".

 Chapter 22 War Of The Bounty Hunters 4

    United States.


    In A Certain Military Base.


    In a secluded area similar to the last one.


    "And this... Red Queen is the reason you were able to find the league''s traces?".


    A councilman asked with interest at the man standing a distance away who, unlike the others in the room, was not a hologram.


    However, although he was asking the middle-aged man, a larger part of his attention was on the female next to him.


    If it could even be called a female to begin with.


    The other councilmen had similar expressions. Half of their attention was on the man while the other, much greater half was on the red colored, less than four foot tall loli whose features looked no older than ten years old.


    The fact that this wasn''t even human, but the holographic representation of advanced Artificial Intelligence was intriguing enough. The fact that it could detect the league''s break-ins, something that the United States Government had never been able to detect previously, only further deepened their interests.


    After all, everyone in the room was a figure in high positions. The concept of artificial intelligence was not new to them.


    Sam Lane nodded expressionlessly at the question. The Red Queen was something he had specifically requested from Amari.


    Well, not specifically. What he had in mind was an incredibly advanced AI capable of solving his needs at the time... but he wasn''t a Lolicon.


    Why the AI even came in this form was something he couldn''t understand. If he didn''t know that Amari was a rather apathetic being, Sam would have thought this was the work of his terrible sense of humor at play.


    Of course, that was just his complaints about the Red Queen''s display look.


    "As I''m sure you already know. A member of the Justice League, Cyborg I believe, hacked into our satellites to prevent us from taking further investigations into their secret identities. Due to our limited capabilities, I requested the alien, Amari, to provide us with a suitable option capable of turning the tables. And he gave me her". Sam said as he turned his gaze to the red girl while moving to pace around the room.


    "While she may not look like much, I assure you that her appearance is just an appetizing front, made to house her true capabilities". Sam said firmly, a solemn look appeared on his face.


    "My team of researchers, specially made up of the best people the military has to offer, have thoroughly studied her capabilities and come to a final evaluation".


    "And what might that be, General?" A councilman asked.


    "That save for one place, she is the most advanced AI that can be found on the face of the earth. A scientific creation more than seventy years ahead of its time". Lane replied.


    "That''s a rather bold claim, General".


    "A bold claim indeed. Yet, one that I fully agree with". Sam replied indifferently.


    "Amari''s words specifically stated that she is several times better than the best system Luther uses to encrypt his personal database".


    His words were enough to silence everyone.


    Each one of them was an influential bastard with status and authority many times higher than an influential state governor.


    They constituted the World Council. A governmental body that even the President of the United States had to bow his head to.


    And therefore, they had certainly dealt with the infamous owner of Lexcorp, Lex Luthor. Their understanding of this figure was just as high, if not higher, than the Justice League, who held him as a high-priority enemy on their watch list.


    Lex was many things.


    Cunning, Ruthless, scheming, rich, but most importantly, smart. He was a villainous character alright, but he was also an intellectual genius whose brain was capable of pioneering the technological industry.


    How could they not know when they secretly funded his Cadmus Operations? The world council funded the military, while the military funded Cadmus.


    The three sides had a very cooperative relationship. How else would Cadmus be able to get away with dangerous experimentation even after being caught by the Justice League on several occasions?


    Lane had seen the biological weapons that Luther created. Let''s forget about things like cloning technology, just the high-end tech they provided was enough for Lane to have a rough understanding of how brilliant Lex Luthor was.


    Amari stated that the Red Queen was something several times better than what Lex could currently achieve. It was unbelievable just thinking about it.


    Yet, after what his researchers had told him....


    "And do you agree with his statement, General Lane?" A middle-aged woman asked curiously. For someone like that alien who couldn''t be judged with common sense, they wouldn''t just sit up and start yelling words like ''Impossible''.


    "With all I''ve been informed, I find no reason not to". Sam responded as he continued with his report fluently.


    The Red Queen was something provided by Amari, and so must be treated with the highest level of scrutiny.


    To put it in simpler terms, he would rather not take the blame in case something went wrong with it.


    Amari was an extraterrestrial that had come to an agreement with the World Council due to a sense of mutual understanding as well as mutual benefits. But everyone knew that the so-called understanding all lay in the fact that the former was too strong for the latter to handle.


    If not, Lane would probably be the first to send out all the forces under his command to apprehend him.


    However, as an otherworlder, no number of benefits presented would make them less wary of him.


    This was and would likely forever remain the case.


    "You said ''save for one place''. Where do you refer to General Lane".


    "Superman''s fortress".


    "In the Arctic?"


    "Yes. Understandable since it''s guarded by Kryptonian tech. The Red Queen informs me that the Leagues'' database is guarded by similar technology".


    Sam reported his team''s findings. Apart from being unable to hack into the Justice League Watchtower without going unnoticed and countered, the Red Queen was several times better than what human civilization could currently offer.


    Thinking of the capabilities of the Red Queen, his heart also felt a burning desire. Just Integrating her into a country''s systems would raise its national security to a whole new level.


    Things like foreign infiltrations, assassinations and hidden spies would basically become history.


    Intel gathering capabilities would skyrocket.


    Hidden country secrets would actually remain secrets, instead of Mission Impossible repeatedly replaying itself.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Security of weapons, missile bases, nuclear bombs would be basically guaranteed.


    Professor Albert Gillian had explained it all in one sentence. With the Red Queen, they could literally monitor the entire world.


    That wasn''t even mentioning the economical boost. If a small country obtained the Red Queen, they could become a powerhouse, surpassing the United States in less than eight years.


    All these functions made him almost salivate. Of course, while the benefits were enormous, the risk was also tantamount.


    Silence reigned in the room after Lane finished his report, as the councilmen were left deep in thought.


    After a while, someone finally broke the silence.


    "Is it safe to make full use of the Red Queen?"


    The person asked exactly what the rest of the councilmen were thinking. The problem wasn''t the commodity itself. No, the commodity was too wonderful. The issue lay with the original owner of this commodity.


    "I cannot give a definite answer to that question". Sam shook his head and replied. "The Red Queen is technology many years ahead of its time. The current technological level of the earth is not enough to fully analyze it, much less replicate it. I''m afraid that my team is barely scratching the surface".


    The knowledge of earth''s best researchers were several levels lacking. It was similar to a ten-year-old child and a TV remote.


    They could use it easily, but they couldn''t understand its inner workings. Without understanding the inner workings, how would you know if it''s rigged with an explosive?


    The Red Queen was a double-edged sword. If Amari could control the Red Queen, which they were certain he could, what would stop him from using it against them whenever he wanted?


    If she was integrated into the system of a country, whoever held control of the Red Queen held control of the whole country. If all the nations of the world used it, then the whole world would practically be at his fingertips.


    The thought alone subconsciously frightened them while leaving them helpless.


    The Red girl could bring them massive benefits, but they didn''t dare to fully take advantage of it.


    "Put your team to work on deciphering the technology around the AI. Make it around the clock if you have to, it would be best if she can be replicated for our use". The head councilman said solemnly.


    The silence was a clear representation of zero objections. Sure enough, they still wouldn''t take such a big risk.


    Sam didn''t object and was internally happy with it.


    However, whether they could produce any results was something that he seriously doubted.


    Like he said, the AI was just too advanced. Even if they could study her ahead of time, the conservative estimate given to him was a period of twenty to forty years before there were any conclusive results.


    That was unless, of course, it was given to Lex Luthor. But there was no way that was going to happen.


    They all knew how ambitious Lex was. With his wisdom, if he was granted access to the Red Queen, only God knows what would happen. The benefits and risks involving this were too great, and the council would never involve Luther in this large cake.


    Lane wouldn''t either.


    "Moving on. Now that the matter of the AI has been decided on, I would like us to concentrate on what did it cost us to acquire this". The Head councilman said.


    His words instantly earned several nods. Indeed, what they had obtained this time was too valuable. The nature of their agreement with Amari was an equal exchange.


    Looking at the little Red Loli, the council was worried whether the resources in their possessions had been emptied completely to attain her.


    "Gotham Plains". General Lane said in a deep voice. The slight twitch on his face was captured by the council members.


    Sam turned his gaze to the AI. The latter didn''t reply, but a hologram appeared in the room showing a rather outstanding scene.


    The council''s eyes widened inexplicably at the scene before them. What was once a large area made up of grass and trees was gone, and in its place stood what they could only describe as a small city.


    The large pastures of grass were reduced to small areas with little grass patches, while the rest of the land was clearly leveled in solid rock.


    The uneven landscape had been brought to equal level with several futuristic looking buildings as well as several elevated platforms spread out on the land, while at the center stood a massive tower like structure that represented the main HQ.


    Alongside it were various technological marvels. Flying ships, levitating platforms, the whole place looked like a city countless years ahead of its time.


    What they were currently seeing was what they could barely observe through satellite imaging. Any drone that came close to the area to observe would immediately go out of control the moment it approached.


    The pin drop silence was enough to show how awed they were at this scene. Sam was no different.


    The Red Queen had shown it to him thirty minutes ago, precisely seven minutes after his call with Amari ended. The next door Gotham neighbors didn''t even realize that this place existed yet.


    How the hell did he build such a thing in a matter of minutes?


    "He said he intended to make the area his base of operations. It''s no surprise how all of... this happened". Lane said candidly.


    "... but the worth of the AI far surpasses the area itself. Does it not?" Someone asked in puzzlement.


    No one bothered to question how this place even came to creation.


    "I agree. What is so valuable about this piece of land that could make him trade her for it?" Another asked.


    "He said that something would be landing in that area soon. I believe whatever that may be, it''s something precious, even for someone like him".


    The hearts of the councilmen moved. Something that even the alien would want.


    Desire burned within them just thinking about it. But when they recalled that this alien could see the future, that burning fire was extinguished with a tsunami of fear.


    "This... Well, forget it".


    Amari stated it out clearly to show its importance. They were smart enough to see the warning laced within it.


    No matter how greedy they were, they weren''t greedy enough to gamble with their lives.


    "Well.... put the area under satellite surveillance. We have no interest in fighting him for it, but it''s on earth soil. We should at least know what this thing is. After all, he is still a potential threat. There''s nothing wrong with a little monitoring''. The head councilman said seriously as he twirled the glass of whiskey in his hand.


    He had no plans to go to war with the alien. Forgetting the fact that they couldn''t beat him, they hadn''t suffered any losses in this exchange.


    They were all rich bastards, after all. The worth of the land outside Gotham wasn''t worth much in their eyes. And they obtained an even more valuable product.


    In business, there were no eternal enemies. Only eternal interests.


    Two more minutes passed and the meeting ended.


    Sam still held his expressionless face as he turned around to leave.


    At that moment, the motionless red Queen uttered a sentence.


    "Forgive my interruption, General Lane, but there is an ongoing action I feel the need to report".


    "Red Queen? What is it". Sam asked with a raised eyebrow.


    "Someone is attempting to hack my systems". She replied nonchalantly.


    Sam''s face turned dark.


    "Worry not, General Lane, this attempt is centuries away from posing an actual threat. An insignificant attempt at best". She continued to speak to allay the worries of the General.


    "Who is it". The same wasn''t truly worried. Although he was wary of Amari, he had a certain degree of understanding with the latter. If the Red Queen could be hacked by any random tom, dick and harry, then she wouldn''t be worthy of her evaluation.


    Ignore the fact that not just anyone could access this military base, unless they were on the level of the Justice League and lex Luther, they would still be grouped under that label.


    A screen appeared in front of his eyes, showing the military room he had stepped out of several minutes ago.


    The screen zoomed in to show a certain military personnel at his computer station. A small drive was attached to the USB port, going almost unnoticed.


    Sam''s face grew even darker. The leak was actually someone within his base.


    "What do they want?"


    "I''ve analyzed the drive. It''s made to silently download all available data on any server it''s connected to, leaving almost zero traces. However, the download range has been reduced to a minimum to search for all information stored within the last one hour".


    The Red Queen replied.


    Lane immediately understood.


    As someone in the military, his senses were sharper than an average man and could immediately guess what the culprit was after.


    The Justice League''s Proteges secret identities. This was the only thing they had been investigating for the past few hours.


    The only thing he had used the Red Queen for since he got her was the Caf¨¦ incident relating to the Justice League proteges.


    Someone was trying to obtain the League''s secret identities through him.


    In a matter of seconds, numerous thoughts passed through his mind.


    "Bring up the file on this person". Lane demanded solemnly. The last thing he would tolerate was traitors within his base.


    Relevant information quickly appeared in front of him.


    "Filter out anything that isn''t of use". He ordered again. The Red Queen did as she was told.


    Thirty seconds later.


    "Luthor!" Sam''s eyes narrowed. The gloomy aura surrounding him intensified as he looked at the report.


    Apparently, this particular personnel was introduced into his base under the influence of Cadmus.


    And he wasn''t the only one.


    Although the possibility existed that this may not be the work of lex Luther, after all, Cadmus had many people involved in it. Even some council members could be included.


    Yet, Lex was definitely the first person to come to mind.


    "Can you find out if Luther is the mastermind behind this?" Lane asked darkly.


    "The access I have is limited to this base only and is restricted even within it. My capabilities are therefore restrained". The words calmly flew into Sam''s ears, making him frown.


    That''s right, the Red Queen didn''t have complete access to the systems of the base. Do to their fear of what might happen, the Red Queens'' access was restricted to this military base as well as one single satellite.


    All important information was also wiped clean before her integration. If not, just based on what she was capable of, the Red Queen could find out the identities of all Justice League members as soon as she was given total control of all satellites in the United States in a matter of seconds.


    Lane turned around and walked out the exit, his mind filled with countless thoughts.


    Lex Luthor was one of the few people that Sam was genuinely wary of. Now that he had set his sights on him, Lane had to plan his next course of action carefully.


    Lex''s connections ran deep. He wasn''t someone he could casually deal with.


    But first thing first. A certain unlucky mole is about to get the torture of a lifetime.


    ...


    Meanwhile, outside earth''s atmosphere.


    A portal was ripped open in the void of space. A singular spaceship flew out of the portal thousands of miles away and rapidly advanced forwards.


    ...

 Chapter 23 War Of The Bounty Hunters 5

    United States.


    Central City.


    "So the mole was caught, huh?" Lex asked thoughtfully as he looked at the encrypted message he had just received.


    He wasn''t really asking anyone in particular, as it was more of a statement than it was a question. The message clearly explained that the mole implanted in Area 37 military base was arrested not long ago.


    Apparently, he was caught in the act by General Lane himself and taken into the torture room for intensive questioning. As for who sent the message, it was clearly another mole.


    "What do you think of this Mercy?" Lex threw a question to a rigid female sitting in front of the limo''s steering wheel. His voice didn''t sound the least bit emotionally moved by what happened as he asked the female figure without turning his head in the slightest.


    Mercy drove the classic black limousine that was being guarded by heavy security casually.


    Her short dark hair was parted to the side and her face carried a trace of indifference.


    Assistant, driver, and bodyguard of the famous CEO of Lexcorp, Mercy Graves.


    "I don''t know". She replied indifferently, her face covered in a tinge of frost.


    "Oh come on, Mercy, haven''t you ever played guessing games in your life?" Lex asked with amusement.


    "I have".


    "And?"


    "I don''t like them". She replied with a hint of grumbling in her tone. Honestly, working for somebody like Lex Luthor was a serious pain in the ass.


    The headaches her boss gave her over the years were enough to turn her into a cherished customer at the pharmacy.


    Lex didn''t mind her tone when she spoke. After all, even if they were just employer and employee, they had a somewhat close relationship that had been forged after years of working together.


    Mercy Graves was his only employee who could casually call his name without consequences.


    "Besides, I assume you already have your thoughts on the matter, right?" Mercy asked sarcastically.


    "Oh Mercy, you know me so well". Lex similarly replied in a sarcastic tone.


    "You already expected him to fail, didn''t you?" Mercy suddenly asked with interest. She had been with Luthor for a long time to glimpse into his usual train of thoughts, alongside his way of thinking.


    "That I did. From the information he delivered, I expected nothing short of an 86% chance of failure".


    Lex said casually. His tone was light, as if he hadn''t just condemned a man to a terrible fate. To him, the mole was nothing more than a chess piece to analyze his assumptions.


    What happened to him after he got caught was something he couldn''t be bothered to think about.


    "So what was the point?" Mercy asked.


    "Information my dear assistant, Information. The key to everything". Lex replied with a smile.


    "The recent happenings in the past week are very intriguing to say the least. And although not the main character, General Lane is a noteworthy figure in this regard. Worthy enough to keep an eye on. Now it appears that he needs to be paid more attention".


    Lex''s eyes beamed with interest.


    Mercy''s eyebrows narrowed.


    There it is again. Her boss was planning something.


    "But you didn''t get anything valuable".


    "Oh! That''s what you think Mercy". Lex chuckled as he raised a small canned beverage to his lips.


    He raised the tablet in his hand and tapped a few times. The tablet showed the picture of a majestic looking city far out on the outskirts of Gotham city.


    ".... What the hell is that?" Mercy, who was looking at the tablet through the rearview mirror, was surprised. Since when did her boss like watching sci-fi movies?


    "That my dear, is a city, a small one but a city nonetheless¡­" Luther said with his signature smile.


    "Right on the outskirts of Gotham". His words left Mercy stunned in disbelief.


    "....you¡­. but¡­ that can''t¡­" Her lips trembled while bringing out incomplete sentences as she struggled to believe what she was seeing. Her eyes were wide open in shock.


    "..... You''re kidding, right?" She asked astounded.


    "Do I look like I''m kidding?" Lex frowned slightly without turning his head. Mercy instantly regained some composure.


    Yes, Lex wasn''t the kind of person to make such types of jokes. But the fact that he wasn''t joking made it harder to believe.


    "But how is that possible? I didn''t hear any news of a city being built outside Gotham. When did this even happen?"


    "My little assistant, we live in a world where gods and fishmen exist. Aliens capable of lifting buildings and men who can run faster than the speed of sound are seen every week. I can proudly declare that at this point, nothing surprises me". Lex said casually.


    "As for your other question.... This city was built this afternoon. Well... Let''s just say about three hours ago".


    Another casual statement left her doubting her life. Build such a place in one afternoon? Did she forget to wake up this morning?


    Lex didn''t respond to her.


    Another picture appeared, but unlike the last one that was from the Gotham News Network, this one was satellite imaging.


    It wasn''t hacked, of course. As a very successful businessman and heir to the Luther wealth, it was only normal to have a few private satellites under his control, right?


    The scene of a city appearing out of thin air three hours ago played itself on the tablet. Luther continued to rewind to the time before the city appeared, and a figure was shown standing on a clear field.


    "It''s him!" Mercy exclaimed. After what had happened recently, only people who lived in the forests wouldn''t recognize that face.


    "Yes, him". Lex said lightly. His face carried a small smile, but his eyes were relatively gloomy.


    "Considering that this was the work of an alien, I don''t find it even a little surprising. After all, Superman''s fortress appeared out of thin air in similar ways".


    Mercy listened to his words and couldn''t refute. When it was all chalked up to alien tech, things became much easier to understand and believe.


    But when that thought disappeared, a new one sprung up.


    "Is he your actual point of interest?" She asked Lex after piecing some loose ends together.


    The government had publicly legalized Amari''s stay on Earth. It wasn''t just America but more than half of the countries in the UN.


    Sam Lane was a General who worked for the government. Although she didn''t know much, she could still guess some possible relations.


    Perhaps General Lane had some kind of connection to the mysterious alien.


    Mercy thought so as she continued to drive smoothly.


    "Don''t worry your pretty little head about it. It''s none of your concern, and there are some things you shouldn''t concern yourself with, my little assistant". Lex replied.


    The smile on his face was gone, replied with an icy indifference as he relaxed in his chair while staring at the screen.


    Small thoughts appeared in his mind occasionally as he took a gulp.


    Lex was a.... complicated person. The keywords to describe his personality followed a similar pattern.


    Self obsessed, jealous, egotistical, ruthless, petty, power driven and paranoid. He was a literal power - hungry maniac who wanted to have everyone and everything under his grasp.


    In terms of being a paranoid entity, he was second only to Batman in that regard, while his arrogance was second to none.


    That arrogance, resting on the shoulders of his ninth level intellect, was what fueled his superiority complex. He saw himself as a superior race, subconsciously looking down on everyone else around him.


    So lex Luther couldn''t and wouldn''t stand the possibility of anyone being more powerful or more important than he was.


    This, among other reasons, was the constant drive behind his hatred for the man of tomorrow, Superman, and caused him to become Clark''s archenemy.


    To him, Someone like Superman with all his Godlike abilities was unqualified to wield such power.


    An extraterrestrial parading about as the hope and savior of humanity? How outrageous. The fact that the world seemed dependent on one being, during times of trouble, always waiting for Superman to arrive and save the day, it honestly sickened him.


    In his view, humanity was simply placing their lives in the hands of an alien alongside his band of merry do-gooders instead of doing their best to solve their problems.


    What was the difference between this and seeking death? Instead of advancing, the earth would decline, with its people always thinking that everything would be fine as long as they had the Justice league.


    Only he, Lex Luthor, was qualified to become the Champion of humanity. To lead mankind on the path of true evolution and conquer the stars.


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Superman was definitely doing more harm than good. Plus, who knows when the almighty Man Of Steel will decide to turn his face against mankind.


    What would the people of earth do then? Who could possibly stop him then?


    Countless thoughts were encased in his brain. Lex Luthor, in a way, was both jealous and afraid of the Man Of Steel.


    In a head-on confrontation, Superman would crush him ten times out of ten.


    He knew it subconsciously in his heart, but that didn''t mean he would admit it. And so, in his quest to destroy Superman and all he stood for, he created Cadmus, a biological research facility burdened with the goal of creating the world''s greatest biological weapons.


    All so he could one day defeat Superman himself.


    This was his goal, his driving force. And now, something interesting had appeared within his world.


    Something all too similar to Superman, yet in the same way, vastly different from him.


    An alien with powers and abilities which he had no clear estimate and could possibly be an obstacle in his path to world dominance.


    Lex''s eyes narrowed slightly.


    This was a variable, a dangerous yet intriguing variable.


    ".... That being the case¡­ He could serve some use for the Light". Lex said to himself inwardly while in deep thought.


    That however, was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing.


    "A call?" Lex wondered, as he wasn''t expecting anyone. Moreover, the caller was unknown.


    Still, he picked up the phone and answered without much thought.


    "This is Luther".


    "Your recent stunt is getting on my nerves, Lex". The deep voice on the other end of the phone growled in displeasure.


    Lex''s eyes widened imperceptibly for a moment before regaining composure.


    "I wonder what gives me the honor to receive a call from the esteemed general Lane himself?" Lex asked casually.


    He had a good idea of what Sam was calling about.


    The voice on the other end was silent.


    "..... You need to learn to respect yourself, Lex. Although the military and Cadmus are partnered, that does not give you the right to involve yourself in state affairs". Sam remarked coldly.


    "What in god''s name are you talking about? Please speak clearly¡­." Looks like he was right.


    "Peter Quill". Sam interjected before he could finish. "An employee recommended by Cadmus was caught trying to hack into our servers. Should I believe this has nothing to do with you?"


    "Believe what you will, Lane. What difference does it make?" Lex responded nonchalantly.


    "Why a Cadmus recommended personnel decided on such an act is beyond my knowledge. But to take such a risk, tsk... tsk.... Whatever he wanted to obtain must be significant".


    "Especially for who put him up to it". Sam''s face was gloomy. Listening to Lex, who was playing word games, he inwardly scolded all the ancestral generations of the Luthors.


    The calm, composed voice of the bald egomaniac truly irked him to no end.


    Currently, there was nothing he could do to Lex and both of them knew it. Firstly, there was no substantial evidence. Secondly, even if there were, he couldn''t do anything with it.


    The council wouldn''t allow him to take any action due to their cooperation with Cadmus. At present, the government, and military still needed them to produce weapons for the United States.


    Alongside ordinary weapons of war, projects created to counter the justice league were under Cadmus''s supervision. How could they possibly put Luther in jail?


    Lex could just cut off the supply of advanced weapons to the military? Who would suffer then?


    And finally, even if he put Lex in prison, the latter would still find a way to get out. Lexcorp could run just fine even if Luther was incarcerated.


    Coupled with a few luxuries granted by pulling some connections, he would just treat his imprisonment as an extended vacation.


    No matter how he played it, Lane could gain a small win at most, but lex would never suffer a loss.


    Still, he couldn''t just let Luther go just like that. Otherwise, he would lose face.


    At the end, he could only issue a deep warning.


    "There is only so much the council will tolerate, even from you".


    "Whether this has anything to do with me remains to be clarified. And to be honest, this topic no longer interests me". Lex finished his soda with satisfaction.


    "I am, interested, however, in the recent happenings pertaining to a certain extraterrestrial resident. And certain sources inform me that you have some dealings with the person in question".


    Hearing his words, Sam frowned slightly. What the hell is Luther up to this time? He couldn''t have possibly set his sights on Amari, could he?


    Thinking of Lex attempting to scheme against the latter, Lane shuddered slightly. The thought of the outcome was not the least bit amusing to him.


    "I''m sorry to interrupt you, General, but I believe we have a problem on our hands". He was about to speak when the sweet voice of the Loli AI sounded in his ears.


    A concern? Lane frowned deeply.


    "I warn you, Lex. It''s in your best interests to stay away from Amari. Don''t have any funny thoughts on this matter, or the results will be tragic. It would be best for everyone if you just focused on your election".


    Lane issued his final statement before unceremoniously ending the call.


    Lex pulled the phone away from his ears. His face didn''t give off any abnormalities, but those who knew him would instantly spot the frigid coldness emanating from his eyes.


    Hidden within Sam''s words was a subtle threat.


    This alone made Lex rather unhappy.


    "If I can''t get the information I want the easy way, then I''ll just have to obtain it from the General himself". He tapped his fingers on the chair rhythmically. Deep in his mind, a sinister plan was brewing.


    "Lex, we''re here". Mercy, who was listening to his conversation the whole time, informed him.


    The car had come to a halt and the door was opened by a bodyguard. Lex stepped out of the car and what greeted him were the constant flashes of light from the cameras of countless reporters.


    "Mr Luther, over here¡­."


    "Mr Luther..."


    Lex didn''t even squint as he took in all the fanfare that was in front of him.


    The cold light in his eyes was gone, replaced with a standard casual expression as he began to walk forward.


    The plan to deal with general Lane could be finished later. Now, he needed to pose for the camera if he wanted to win this thing.


    .....


    Sam''s POV


    "What''s the problem?" Lane asked the Red Queen, his frown present on his face.


    Judging from the words she used, Sam felt a burst of uneasiness in his stomach.


    "It seems like the earth is about to be invaded". The soft, nonchalant voice of the red loli sounded in his ears, but it was akin to thunder for him.


    Before he could even ask what she meant, she played a satellite reading right in front of Sam''s eyes.


    Seconds Later.


    "Shit!"


    .....


    Lex''s POV


    Lex stood behind the podium with a graceful smile on his face. The mayor of central city stood a short-distance away to his left, and the flashing of the cameras never stopped.


    The sounds, the chants, the cheers. This moment was being broadcasted across the whole world.


    Looking at the large number of people who had gathered, Lex felt relatively indifferent deep within. Although he enjoyed being the center of attention, Lex didn''t find much accomplishment in his heart.


    After all, he wasn''t the president yet. But on the outside, he still retained that sickening smile.


    After all, a poker face wasn''t suitable for a presidential campaign. Seeing the large number of people, waiting for him to speak, Lex cleared his throat and began.


    "My fellow Americans and residents of this wonderful city, it is with great honor that I stand before you all today as a freestanding citizen...." Lex began to recite the speech he had memorized earlier for this event in front of dozens of cameras.


    ".... However, although the American nation has thrived continuously in many areas of economy, technology and business, under the leadership of our current president, the same can''t be said for our national security".


    Lex said deeply, his words bringing about an aura of gloom.


    The reporters from various newspapers all began taking notes or recording seriously.


    Just from the starting momentum, they could already smell a big scoop coming along.


    Among the crowd of reporters, a certain Iris West stood in the crowd, completely inconspicuous in the sea of news hungry journalists.


    "Five years ago, according to professor August Ackerman, the golden age of the supernatural began in our world. Individuals¡­. with powerful abilities appeared out of nowhere, ushering a new era into our blue planet".


    "Some stood as a symbol of Justice, upholding peace and harmony, such as the Justice league. Others, not so much". Lex said casually.


    "Men, women, children, aliens, underwater creatures from myths we were told as children. Many with powers and technology far above what we regular humans five years ago couldn''t even begin to imagine".


    "And now five years later, we see the result of this ''golden age'' in our lives". Lex''s face turned cold.


    "Alongside this Golden age of superheroes, a new age of crime, villains, and disasters followed suit. Death tolls have skyrocketed several times in the past five years than it has in decades".


    The crowd was silent. The massive number of people, clicking reporters and large procession had all been engulfed in an aura of depression. Not just the people on the scene, even the people watching through their TV screens all over the world felt depressed.


    There was only the calm, clear yet surprisingly loud voice of Lex Luthor.


    "And yes, we all know the famous saying that whenever the sky falls, there will always be people to hold it up. And so it did happen, that the golden age of the supernatural turned into the era of heroes and villains, constantly battling each other time and time again for supremacy".


    "And where do we, the common people, fit into that equation? What category do we find ourselves in when these two forces do battle? What happens to the regular humans who weren''t blessed with godlike gifts to stand up for ourselves in troubled times?"


    Lex Luthor pressed a button on the podium.


    A holographic chart appeared in the background behind him.


    "I''ll tell you what category. The Unfortunate¡­."


    The screen changed to show what happened in 1998, the whole disaster of everything that happened all over the world with the incident of the Wonder Woman and the wishing stone.


    "The Victims¡­" The screen changed again to show the showdown of Metropolis just last week. The stats on the graphic chart changed to show the tragic death toll.


    "And¡­ the slaughtered". His tone was solemn as he pressed another button. The screen change again to show the scene that led to the emergence of the Justice League.


    Stepphenwolf''s invasion.


    The attack of the parademons


    The death toll on the chart, this time, went through the roof.


    The atmosphere had reached a suffocating point. Everyone witnessing this event felt a bout of oppression on their moods.


    The display kept changing, showing one disaster after another. Zod''s invasion, Gotham''s nuclear reactor incident, Parallax in coast city, not just American citizens, everyone watching all over the world seemed to have their minds enlightened.


    The world they lived in was a terribly dangerous place.


    In these accidents, although they were ultimately thwarted, how many people died in those disasters? Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Millions?


    Luther saw the effect his speech had on the crowd and was inwardly satisfied. Don''t look at his casual remarks, all this was for building momentum.


    "My fellow Americans, how many of you notice  that in all these incidents, the most frequent reappearing country is ours?" Lex said grimly.


    The choking atmosphere was at its peak. The death toll chart was suddenly replaced by another, crime chart.


    "This, is what the crime statistics looked like before the golden era. And this, is what it looks like now". It was even worse.


    "Citizens of America, we are not alone in this universe. There are more powerful, advanced civilizations in galaxies light-years away from us, capable of annihilating us as they please. How many more people have to die in such disasters? How many more invasions do we have to endure? Today it might be your neighbor, tomorrow, will it be you? Well, no more". He slammed his palm on the podium indignantly with an expression portraying anger, patriotism, and righteousness.


    "I have a dream, a vision, if I may. Where the citizens don''t have to hide their heads, don''t have to worry about whether they will suddenly die in an accidental collision battle between heroes and villains. Where people can live in peace and not worry about their safety in this new era. Where parents don''t have to hear the news of their children''s death on their way home from school".


    "I and my company, Lexcorp, plan to curb the crime rates of Gotham, permanently eliminate the superpowered villains of metropolis, and strive to make sure that such horrible events will be stopped before they even begin. The people of the United States have suffered enough". Lex''s impassioned voice made a loud, bold declaration as he swung his arm in the air vigorously.


    The depressing atmosphere was swept away instantly, followed by a burst of passionate enthusiasm. Americans, watching the scene, also burst out in excitement.


    Many even cried.


    How many people have lost someone they care about in crime attacks, superhero battles and alien invasions? How many more had their lives ruined on such occasions? Their livelihoods destroyed, their bodies crippled¡­.


    Countless.


    It hadn''t been that long since the battle of Atlantis, when would it stop?


    The large majority of the American population had their inner fears dug out by Lex. Who wasn''t afraid of death?


    "We will all work together, to build a better, safer future for ourselves and our loved ones. This is my promise to you all, so vote me, Lex Luthor for President of the United States". Lex finished with both arms stretched out. What greeted him was a burst of passionate cheers, applause and flashing cameras.


    A smirk appeared on Lex''s face.


    Step one complete. It was all moving perfectly. All that was needed now was time and simple planning, and it all starts with Lex Luthor becoming president.


    Soon, the people of the world would come to hate and resent the very heroes they''ve come to adore.


    Lex thought to himself as he waved at the crowd.


    Suddenly, there was a loud boom in the air. The sound was so loud that countless drivers were disoriented, leading to a series of road accidents.


    Countless mirrors, window glasses, glass cups..... they shattered all over central city. The glass panel behind Luther shattered to pieces.


    Mercy immediately shielded Lex while pushing him to the ground. The crowd below immediately began to panic at the sudden events.


    What was going on.


    The question in their minds was soon answered when a dark shadow feel from the sky, covering almost half of central city.


    Everyone lifted their heads to look at the sky. Luther gently pushed Mercy aside as he too turned his gaze upward.


    Lex''s face changed drastically as he saw the last thing he expected to see.


    Flying above the skies of Central City was a gigantic, circular spaceship.


    The oppressive aura reappeared out of nowhere as all of central city fell into panic.


    "Oh my God.."


    "What is that?"


    "It''s a spaceship!"


    "Damnit! Another invasion!"


    Everyone froze in horror.


    Lex looked at the flying spaceship and blurted out six words.


    "You''ve got to be kidding me".

 Chapter 24 Strange Martian

    [Alongside this Golden age of superheroes, a new age of crime, villains, and disasters followed suit. Death tolls have skyrocketed several times in the past five years than it has in decades]


    [.....where do we, the common people, fit into that equation? What category do we find ourselves in when these two forces do battle? What happens to the regular humans who weren''t blessed with godlike gifts to stand up for ourselves in troubled times?]


    [... The slaughtered]


    Squash!


    The cup of coffee in Clark''s hand was squashed as his fists tightened.


    "I knew Lex running for president would never be a good thing". Clark whispered solemnly as he stared at the screen on the wall intensely, his eyes almost as if they could burrow through it.


    And they could.


    Watching Luthor''s speech, a complex mixture of sadness and anger brewed within him.


    "Hey there, Smallville, you''re murdering the coffee again".


    "Oh, Lois!"


    The soft, elegant voice coming from beside him woke Clark up from his stupor. He turned his head to see Lois Lane moving towards him, and a subconscious smile appeared on his face.


    His relationship with Lois Lane could be considered superb. Although it irked him a bit whenever she called him Smallville, but that was just a small bit.


    "Hi!" Lois smiled as well as she came beside him. Turning her head towards the screen, she saw the video of Lex''s campaign.


    "You''re gonna clean that up?"


    "Ah! This?¡­" Clark looked at the spilled coffee and showed a wry smile.


    "I''ll just have the janitor clean it up".


    Lois shrugged as she turned to look at the screen.


    "You really don''t like Lex Luthor, do you?" She asked in wonder.


    "Dislike is a simple way to put it". Clark pushed his glasses upward on his face habitually.


    As he and Luther were archenemies, dislike truly was a small way of describing their situation.


    Lois wasn''t too surprised. The people who knew about Clark''s dislike of Lex Luthor in the daily planet weren''t few. After all, he usually refused to report on any stories that involved Lex and his company.


    Lois had asked him why once, and was a little surprised to find out the Kent''s and the Luthors had some small intersection back in Kansas.


    So it was a family thing. Something that happened before Lex''s father even died.


    "What do you see wrong now?" Lois asked curiously.


    "He''s targeting the Justice league again". His response was candid.


    "Oh? I don''t seem to recall him explicitly blaming the League for anything".


    "You should know better than me, Lois". Clark shook his head.


    "He didn''t say it, but his words are shifting public opinion. Influencing the masses into thinking that the casualties that occur when the league fights villains are the league''s fault".


    "Are they not?" Lois raised an eyebrow in amusement.


    "No! They''re not.... I mean... not all of it¡­" Clark said hesitantly, his emotions unstable.


    A light chuckle sounded beside him.


    "Well, you don''t sound all that convinced yourself".


    Clark was silent for a while. This was the reason he had complex emotions. On the one hand, Luther was trying to turn the world subtly against them. On the other hand, he felt Lex was right.


    The battles of heroes and villains could lead to casualties when in populated areas. But those kinds of casualties rarely happened, as the enemies each hero fought individually could usually be stopped before causing widespread panic.


    Unless, of course, they met someone who was their match in destructive capability. Like the Metropolis incident.


    Clark turned his gaze to look through a wall. Outside the daily planet, he could see the ruined area in the distance, still under construction.


    He felt a pang of pain in his heart when he thought of how many people died in that fight.


    Lex''s words replayed. How many people have to die each time a hero and a villain fight?


    ".... I believe the Justice league are doing their best. It would be unfair if the public turned against them for it". Clark said after a while.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Lois sighed, then she smiled.


    "Chin up Smallville. I know you like the Justice league, but those big guys can take care of themselves. You need to worry less about them and more about when you''re going to drop that Intergang report on Perry''s table. He''s going nuts".


    Clark''s eyes widened.


    "You didn''t forget, did you?"


    "Of course not. I probably have it on my desk". Clark said in a low voice.


    Lois resisted the urge to laugh.


    Clark smiled warmly as well. At that moment, something wrong happened. The television suddenly let out a loud noise, followed by the darkening of the camera and lights of different colors appearing on the screen.


    "Damn! What''s going on?" Lois exclaimed.


    Clark''s eyes suddenly grew serious as his ears twitched slightly.


    Lois looked at the blank screen and the gears of her brain went to work.


    ".... Did¡­. It looks like the live feed stopped transmitting for some reason. But at Lex''s campaign? Strange, right Clark¡­ Um, Clark?" Lois subconsciously turned around, only to discover that Clark was gone.


    A disappearing act? Lois was stunned. She looked around to see if she could find Clark, but had no success.


    She immediately moved towards Perry''s office.


    "Lois! Lois!"


    "Jimmy? What''s happening?" Looking at Jimmy, who had appeared opposite them, Lois couldn''t help but ask.


    "I''m not sure either, some of the screen just went blank. The crew''s checking the sets right now".


    "Jimmy, were all those screens playing the Luther campaign in Central City?"


    "Um¡­. I''m not sure. I guess so. Why?"


    Lois didn''t say another word and immediately took out her tablet. Twenty seconds later.


    "I think I know why".


    .....


    Central City.


    The massive spaceship levitated in the air above hundreds of thousands of people.


    The citizens were already panicking down below. While inside the spaceship.....


    A figure stood in front of the monitor room with his hands behind his back. The holographic projection of Central city below was right in front of him.


    His skin didn''t have a set color and was darker in more places than others. The texture looked rough, like a piece of stone, and his whole figure looked like a living statue.


    Three sharp spikes stuck out from his spinal area on his back, and his face was covered in a menacing helmet that looks like a gladiator''s mask.


    His burly stature, towering above three meters have off a sense of oppression and bloodlust.


    "Sire¡­. the Czarnian has been pinpointed". A humanoid structure with horns on his head said with respect as he stood at a control panel on the side.


    The room itself wasn''t empty and had strange-looking figures Working at their control consoles.


    "Have you checked this world''s development level?" The hoarse voice of the alien asked. Although this civilization had given him a new understanding of the word primitive, he still asked unhurriedly.


    The planet had no deep space sensors. No cosmic fleet, no planetary shields, no secondary defense systems. The practically just walked through an open door.


    "Yes I have. It appears that we have grossly underestimated the backwardness of this sector. These... earthlings haven''t even mastered the technology of space travel, my Lord. A single patrol fleet from our world would be more than enough to wipe them out of existence". The horned alien said.


    The disbelief in his tone was very evident, as if he couldn''t understand how they had severely overestimated this planet despite how low they evaluated it to be.


    "If that be the case, why does the damned one have such low life signs?" The figure asked indifferently.


    "That my Lord... while the inhabitants of this planet might be pitifully weak, their guardians are not".


    The horned man said, and the screen split to show some relevant information.


    The burly alien glanced at it for a while.


    "The Justice league?"


    "Yes my Lord. The kryptonian, a demigod from the lineage of the old gods, a Green Martian, two thanagarians, as well as two Lanterns from the Green Lantern Corp. The others according to this planets'' database are compelling as well".


    "Apparently, Earth''s mightiest heroes. Composed of several powerful figures capable of posing a threat to even you, my Lord". The horned man said with trepidation.


    Squelch!


    Unfortunately, those were the last word he could say in this life as his head was cleanly severed from his body.


    The corpse of the horned alien fell, and the head rolled on the floor.


    A sharp metal plate stained with blood was floating in the air under the control of someone who slowly stepped out of the shadows.


    The figure didn''t stand, but floated in the air with long limbs, fingers and a narrow abdomen.


    Half of the skin was black, while the other half was white. The teeth were exposed, and the eye color was red.


    A White Martian. Or at least, it used to be.


    Whatever it was now was currently unknown.


    "It matters not what defenders this planet possesses. We have prepared for the kryptonian".


    "Go down and retrieve the damned Czarnian Mericrozz". The burly figure said without turning around to the Martian.


    The Martian stayed silent for a few seconds before its figure slowly moved downwards, phasing through the ship''s floor.


    "Do not order me, Arkin. I serve The Chamber, not you. Prepare yourself to capture the Kryptonian, because I won''t be the one to explain if you fail". However, the voice of the Martian sounded in his mind through telepathy.


    The Alien, Arkin didn''t speak, but the gloominess exuding off him had more than doubled.


    He didn''t utter a sound apart from his heavy breathing. He turned around and walked towards a certain wall.


    As he approached, the wall opened up to reveal a set of highly advanced combat armor.


    "You want me to capture the kryptonian? I''ll capture him, alright". The alien, Arkin said hoarsely.


    A burst of killing intent was released from his body as he picked up a set of chains with sharp spikes all over it


    It seemed to come to life as it both chains levitated from their resting positions and wrapped around Arkin''s arms.


    The Sharp spikes inserted all over the chains inserted itself into his arms as it wrapped around them, drawing out bouts of blood. The chains then shone with an ominous red glow, releasing an eerie momentum.


    "Alracamun. Today, you get to taste the blood of Krypton".


    ...


    The Martian phased through the ship and appeared outside. With both hands behind its back, it quickly floated downwards as it headed towards Star Labs, where Lobo''s life signature was emitting from.


    Arriving in the sky above star labs in less than a minute, it slowly floated downwards from the sky.


    "Such a primitive planet is capable of severely injuring this immortal monster to the point of near death? Incredible".


    Mericrozz exclaimed lightly. Her powerful telepathy had already discovered lobo the moment they neared Earth''s atmosphere.


    And now that she was much closer, she could accurately read Lobo''s situation.


    Who could do this? Was it the Kryptonian? Or the one from the old God''s lineage? It certainly wasn''t the lanterns, she was sure of that.


    She had read the minds of many earthlings casually and had some understanding of the power of Earth''s defenders.


    According to what she found, the last son of Krypton wasn''t responsible for this. Lobo had almost killed the Kryptonian.


    What she found interesting was that... oh, here comes one of the guardians now.


    Her thoughts were interrupted as a red lightning blur appeared on the roof of star labs.


    ....

 Chapter 25 Twin Tail Chains

    The sun shone rather bright on this particular day. Fortunately or unfortunately, the citizens of Central City couldn''t feel it.


    The big shadow hovering over their heads made them feel incomparable fear. A spaceship several times larger than the largest building in the city was flying above them with unknown intent.


    "... This is Central City Bugle reporting to you live from downtown, where what we can only deem another extraterrestrial invasion is yet again taking place on Earth. The citizens of the city are panicking while awaiting response from the Military and the Justice¡­."


    The thick feeling of gloom overwhelmed the city as chaos spread like wildfire.


    As if it were the end of the world, human nature unleashed itself on the city as people set off a wave of disasters.


    Criminals, thugs, your friendly next door neighbor¡­ you name it.


    "What a vain species. You think, after all they''ve gone through, they''d be used to it by now". The Martian said aloud as her mind processed everything that was happening around her.


    With her Martian abilities that had undergone powerful accidental mutations, her telepathy was strong enough to infiltrate the minds of everyone on this planet.


    The thoughts, feelings, dark desires of thousands of humans were filtered through her brain, giving her a more profound understanding of this race known as mankind.


    Not that it mattered, anyway. She didn''t feel much towards them, nothing apart from indifference.


    This wasn''t due to some preconceived disdain for lower lifeforms like other races in the universe, or a natural superiority complex, but because she had no emotions.


    Other than a small sense of curiosity, what moved her was an instinct to accomplish her mission.


    Apart from the two future experimental subjects, this planet had nothing that could interest The Chamber.


    Their interest in this little planet was nil.


    "Wouldn''t you agree, Mr. Allen? Or should I call you Flash, like the majority of your species do?" Mericrozz said to Barry who stood on the roof of Star Labs dressed in his classic red suit with yellow lightning bolts designed on it.


    ".... Well, you''ll have to excuse our race, Mr. Earth doesn''t really have good experiences with visitors". Flash said solemnly as he looked at the floating alien.


    "Mr?" Mericrozz responded in a strange tone. Her body began to deform rapidly before reshaping itself again.


    Gone was the large white alien with hideous expressions. What now stood before Barry was a white haired, white skinned female beauty, with gorgeous red eyes and well curved assets.


    All fully clothed in black and white, skin-tight suit.


    Barry''s eyes widened inexplicably at the sudden change.


    "You''re a she?" Flash said astounded. Then his eyes narrowed.


    "You''re also a Martian".


    "White Martian. I believe your friend John Jonzz has informed you on the characteristics of the Martian race".


    "You read my mind". Barry''s tone was a bit cold. His heart also tightened.


    "And?"


    Barry was silent. His eyes staring intently at the..... stunning female Martian above him.


    "Look, I don''t mean to hurt you, and I don''t know what you want. But I assure you that fighting us ..."


    "Hurt who?" Before The Flash could finish his sentence, a powerful force assaulted his body.


    Barry Allen, the fastest man alive, was sent flying into the distance.


    Mericrozz watched expressionlessly as he crashed on the wall of a building dozens of meters away, forming a crack upon impact before crashing on the pavement.


    Her posture was the same, without moving a single bone.


    Her gaze shifted away from him, back towards star Labs. Likewise, her telekinetic force accurately locked onto Lobo''s container.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    "Come!" The four-foot tall, four foot long tank filled with liquid was uprooted from its stationary position, flying forwards like a servant obeying its master''s call. The tank crashed through several walls and obstructions, causing the building to shake slightly and finally burst through the roof.


    Slowing down, it stood on air before her, undamaged. The Justice League had reinforced the container with a special energy shield fully capable of withstanding its earlier collisions.


    Looking at Lobo in the container, Mericrozz turned around indifferently and prepared to fly back to the ship. Her part of the mission was accomplished and now.....


    Two beams of scalding hot lasers suddenly shot towards her from the distance.


    The expression on her face remained unchanged as her body became intangible, and both energy beams passed through her.


    BOOM!


    A corner of Star Labs blew up due to the impact of the laser beams, but that''s not relevant.


    The floating tank suddenly moved to the side. A blur swooped past its initial location and stopped a few meters away.


    "I advise you to put down the tank, miss". Clark said with a frown on his face. The lady in front of him had ignored his heat vision, reminding him of a certain someone.


    Mericrozz raised an eyebrow as her telekinetic force unfolded. The same invisible push Barry experienced fell on Superman. Only several times stronger.


    "Ugh!" Clark groaned as he felt it slam I to him, knocking him backwards.


    But Clark wasn''t a kryptonian for nothing. He quickly stabilized his body and resisted the attack.


    His eyes lit up in blazing red as he unloaded his heat vision.


    Once again, it was useless.


    "Strong. Worthy of being a kryptonian". Her indifferent voice sounded as she pushed her palm forward.


    Clark''s eyes widened. He had barely regained balance when his body was restricted, almost like he was covered with invisible shackles.


    The same force, stronger than last time. Clark was thrown out.


    The body of Superman crashed through one building... and another before smashing into the concrete floor.


    The dust gradually settled, revealing Clark''s embarrassed figure. The fall wasn''t painful or debilitating, showing just how strong the steel body of the Man Of Tomorrow was.


    As he pushed himself from the floor, the first thing Clark noticed was the screams. There were droves of fleeing civilians scattering like mice, running for their lives amidst the destruction, and it''s not just in the immediate vicinity, either.


    A pang of guilt appeared in his heart, but it flashed rather quickly.


    "Your care for these humans is quite intriguing. Do you know that?" Mericrozz floated downwards with the tank beside her.


    "Well, you''re not the first person... or alien to tell me that". Clark replied seriously.


    Observing the white skin on the latter, his eyebrows furrowed. White skin, density shifting, telekinesis.


    "You''re a Martian. Aren''t you?"


    The latter didn''t respond. Clark took that as an acquiescence. His eyes shifted to the tank with Lobo in it.


    "I don''t know what you want with Lobo, but you''re not leaving with him".


    "Quite the contrary. Not only will I be leaving with him, you''re coming with me".


    Clark''s face turned ugly. "I''d like to see you try". His eyes glowed.


    "What he said". At that moment, two streaks of green light fell from the sky. The green aura around them faded to reveal two lanterns.


    Hal and Stewart both made an entrance, their rings powered with will and their stances in the air ready for battle.


    "About time". Clark said. His attention still fixed on the Martian.


    "Who''s this?" Stewart asked.


    "No clue, but be careful. She''s a Martian"


    "Wonder Woman and the rest of the league are on their way. Let''s deal with this chick first, then we can....." Hal''s words were interrupted as the spaceship above suddenly shot down a beam of light, smashing into the floor right beside the Martian.


    The light dissipated and what was left in its place was a three-meter plus giant creature decked out in a special suit of armor.


    Two twin tails, spiked chains were held in his grip and his massive body gave off a sense of oppression.


    "Looks like you''re not the only one with reinforcements". Stewart said to Clark, frowning.


    He warily scanned the two figures who stood side by side.


    "Kryptonian!" Arkin gazed intently at Superman, the spark in his eyes almost burning.


    "You''re mine".


    "Ok, that''s enough". Hal and Stewart both raised their rings to attack.


    "Aah!"


    "Ugh!" However, both of them suddenly held their heads and screamed. The two Lanterns simultaneously dropped to the ground, wailing in pain.


    "Lantern? What''s wrong?" Superman''s face changed at the sudden turn of events.


    "What have you done?" Clark turned back and yelled at the perpetrators. To be precise, he yelled at Mericrozz whose eyes had turned white at some point.


    Mind control. Clark dashed forward to extreme speeds. The concrete under his feet was reduced to rubble.


    Unfortunately....


    Arkin who was watching his every move, rushed forward to intercept.


    BOOM!


    The two figures collided, and web like cracks appeared on the floor. The white-eyed Martian frowned slightly and retreated into the air to avoid the aftershock.


    Upon collision, the outcome was immediately decided. The alien, Arkin was smashed away due to the difference in strength. His figure flew quite a distance before crashing into the asphalt road. Deep pits and craters were left every time his body touched the ground before finally slamming into a building, leaving a wide hole.


    Superman, on the other hand, didn''t budge from his position.


    "Now it''s your turn". Clark turned his gaze to Mericrozz and flew upward, aiming to incapacitate her.


    Just then, a chain shot off the hole in the wall, rapidly elongating towards the kryptonian. Clark frowned slightly, and he reached out and caught the chain before it could hit him.


    Squelch!


    Who knew that the moment his hand made contact, his face changed drastically then distorted in pain.


    The sharp spikes on the chain body, unexpectedly pierced through Superman''s skin. The chain, upon tasting fresh blood, glowed an eerie red color and wrapped itself around Clark''s arm.


    Blood spilled as the spikes dug into Superman''s flesh. Before he could attempt to break free, another chain extended towards him and coiled around his body, inserting itself into him.


    "Agh." Clark yelled painfully. A strong tugging force appeared on the chain, pulling him downwards.


    His figure smashed into the ground, leaving a large crater.

 Chapter 26 Red Sun

    The cloud of dust settles and Arkin stepped out of the hole with both chains in his arm glowing red. The chains in his grasp shone brightly with a red hue, slowly dyeing his exposed hands in a similar color.


    "Yesss..." Arkin let out a low exclamation as his grip on his weapons tightened. Underneath the battle suit, which no one could see, his skin began to change color, from its original ragged stone texture to a darker touch of red.


    Cracking and popping sounds echoed from his being as a feeling of exaggerated strength flooded his nervous system. His three-meter tall body began to shrink at a noticeable speed.


    Mericrozz watched all this happen indifferently. She turned her attention back to the Kryptonian who was gritting his teeth in pain.


    "Strong, but reckless". This was her evaluation of Superman, the Last Son Of Krypton. The records of Krypton''s dark days were known to many races in the vast universe.


    A race blessed by the cosmos with tremendous power, following a strict social order that had abandoned the natural way of reproduction.


    With their knowledge and technology, the artificial creation of kryptonian life was successful, allowing each living being on the planet to know their specific role and purpose on their planet.


    Genetic offspring of Warriors would become Warriors, scientists offspring would also follow in a similar pattern.


    The same applied to every single one of them. The moment they were brought into existence, their lives had basically been decided on for them.


    The combat prowess of all Kryptonians differed due to their genetic code, but regardless of which role they played in their society.


    No matter what social hierarchy they belonged to, all Kryptonians would transform into weapons of destruction when exposed to a yellow sun.


    Each one capable of destroying interstellar fleets with nothing but their bare hands. A race capable of standing side by side with the new protoss.


    The universe was just that unfair.


    Unfortunately, their home planet was in a galaxy with a red sun. Krypton in its heyday was glorious. But now, Superman was its last survivor.


    And while his power was astounding as it should be, his experience was clearly lacking. She attributed this to living in such an underdeveloped sector.


    Among these humans, he was a God. With all his power, he had probably never met an opponent capable of even breaking his defense, and his knowledge of the wonders of the universe was severely lacking.


    And now, he was about to meet his match.


    "Get over here". Arkin pulled backward with boundless strength. Clark, who was still reeling in from the pain, felt a massive force pull him forward.


    His body was dragged towards his adversary, who threw a punch straight at him.


    Squelch!


    Superman was thrown away as the heavy blow landed on his face. The chains still wrapped around him were pulled out with force due to inertia. Bits and pieces of his flesh were ripped off along with it as he crashed into a building.


    "Ahhhh!


    "Oh my God!"


    "Damn! It''s happening".


    "Who is that?"


    "What the....." Clark heard several voices and felt an agonizing pain on the side of his face.


    He let out a pained groan and opened his eyes to see numerous people hiding behind their desks and work stations, looking at his direction.


    "Is that..... Superman?" Someone asked in disbelief as he looked at the gruesome lacerations around Superman''s body.


    "It is Superman. He''s hurt".


    Wasn''t Superman known to be invulnerable? What the hell happened?


    Clark had a similar question as well. Looking at the injuries on his arm, his eyes widened in slight disbelief.


    He wasn''t surprised at being injured. After all, Clark knew he could be injured in many ways. With Kryptonite and Magic.


    Lobo had used Kryptonite to badly injure him. And in the Battle of Atlantis, he was injured by Orms Magic Trident.


    And now.....


    A stinging pain from the side of his face caused him to flinch slightly. He touched the corner of his head only to find that he was bleeding.


    This one wasn''t caused by the chain, but due to the attack, he received head on.


    But, how was that possible? And that strength, it was definitely stronger than when they initially clashed.


    Looking at the trembling figures of the panicking civilians, Superman gritted his teeth and flew forward.


    Flying out of the debris, the first thing that caught his eyes was a chain with multiple spikes, rapidly enlarging in his vision. With extreme speed, his figure swayed in the air, narrowly dodging the attack that would have certainly disfigured his face if it had landed.


    Clark didn''t attack immediately but opened the distance. His look was grave as he eyed Arkin and the chains in his hands.


    "Are you scared, Kryptonian?" The hoarse words sounded from the alien''s mouth. Clark paid no need to his mocking words, his attention on Arkin''s transforming body shape.


    The three-meter plus giant had shrunk down to a height of two meter plus, and the most eye-catching change was the extra spike that had grown extending from his back.


    The Battle Armor on his body also shrunk accordingly to perfectly adapt to his current form.


    Arkin watched the flying kryptonian with a sinister glint. His eyes began to glow a bright red color.


    "You should be".


    Clark''s eyes widened as two rays of heat vision blasted towards him from his opponent. His figure in the air turned into a blur as the attack was dodged.


    Arkin swung his chains at his target. The bladed edges gave off a sinister aura, like a fallen evil soul aiming for Clark''s throat.


    Clark flew upward, dodging the strike and rammed into Arkin with his two fists landing on the latter''s abdomen.


    The ground continuously cracked as Arkin slid back several meters. His legs seemed attached to the earth, as the attack stronger than the previous blow that sent him flying was unable to lift him off the ground.


    Seeing this, Clark didn''t relent. He had no scruples as he unleashed his strength, throwing many fast punches. He didn''t understand, nor did he have time to figure out why this alien could suddenly withstand his strength.


    Now all that was in his mind was to solve this obstacle.


    Clark''s first three punches landed smoothly, causing Arkin to retreat several steps. Whenever Clark''s fist landed, a certain amount of force would be absorbed, greatly reducing the power of his attack.


    He skillfully dodged the next one with lightning steps and his fist connected with Superman''s abdomen


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Superman staggered backwards a bit, unable to dodge the next attack that connected with his face.


    His figure flew backwards, landing on a car and effectively demolishing it. The familiar sound of something moving through the air with amazing velocity caused his ears to tingle.


    Clark rolled out of the car wreckage in time to avoid a bladed chain piercing through his chest. With Super speed, he appeared at a car ten feet away in a second a threw it straight at his opponent.


    Arkin reflexively used his weapon to split the car in half, as his chain curved like a whip. However, a blast of heat vision unexpectedly followed behind the car, blasting into him.


    Arkin was pushed back a long distance with a trail of laser beams.


    He smashed through three establishments, causing the buildings to collapse into ruins.


    Trapped under the demolished buildings, he punched upward, clearing a large number of debris away from him. However, he had barely regained his footing when the Superman appeared once again and punched him straight on the mask.


    This time, his body flew upwards like a rocket. Clark had adapted to Arkin''s fighting style. He followed up with a blast of heat vision propelling the latter upward and followed up again with a heavy punch.


    Arkin took blow after blow as his figure continued to ascend towards the spaceship.


    Superman let out a battle roar as he flew in from the side to land another one. However.....


    The Battle Armor on Arkin''s body lit up in blood-red light. His destabilized figure suddenly gained balance and a pair of thrusters appeared under his feet, propelling him out of the way.


    Clark''s fist missed its target, yet before he could turn around, he felt something wrap around his left leg, bringing about a burst of pain.


    The bladed chain sunk into his flesh while pulling him back.


    "You''re going to regret that". Arkin''s furious roar sounded in his ears, and Clark felt his vision blur as the former spun him around in the air.


    Superman was spun round and round in circles before he was thrown away, plummeting downwards at rapid speed.


    BANG!


    The crash was so powerful that the sound resounded thought-out the whole city. The cars in the surrounding areas were blown away, alongside a lot of gravel.


    Superman''s body laid deep in a humongous crater.


    "Ugh!" He let out a pained groan from his lips as the thick dust caused from his fall obstructed his vision slightly.


    But not enough not to see the figure plummeting towards him like a meteor. Clark''s brain reacted, urging his body to speed out of the way. Unfortunately...


    BOOM! The landing was a


    So powerful that another sound comparable to a sonic boom spread through the full city. The buildings in the area suffered severe damage, and the closest ones even began to collapse.


    Clark spat out a mouthful of blood as the large-sized feet impacted his chest area. The severe pain assaulted his body everywhere, almost overwhelming him.


    Clark gnashed his teeth and bore the pain. His mind was strong enough and clear enough to fire a blast of lasers straight at Arkin.


    The alien was blasted a few feet away from the point of impact


    Rolling around the floor before eventually coming to a halt.


    Clark raised his battered body from the crater and stared at his opponent, who was still clothed in that battle armor that had a lot of visible deforms.


    But compared to his own super suit that was ripped in different places, those deforms weren''t even worth mentioning.


    "Hah! Hah!" Superman let out heavy pants. This was much more difficult than he imagined. He hadn''t fought this hard ever since his battle with Lobo.


    And that wasn''t even a month ago.


    "I acknowledge you, Kryptonian". At that moment, the alien suddenly spoke. His hoarse voice carried along with it a hint of acknowledgement.


    "Though that won''t change the result of your fate, you have proven to be a worthy adversary. Worthy enough to know who is about to defeat you".


    Arkin said solemnly. And with a clicking sound, the gladiator mask on his face suddenly split in two and fell off.


    Clark saw the face of what looked to be a middle-aged man with brownish skin. His eyes resembled that of a blind person and his face was decorated with strange markings on one side and a deep scar on the other, extending from the left side of his neck to his cheeks.


    His features weren''t any interesting, and the big nose on his face made him almost borderline unattractive according to human aesthetics.


    Unlike Superman who looked as if he had fought a tough battle, his breathing was only slightly heavy, showing little fatigue. This was not only due to the armor he was wearing, but the race he belonged to.


    His face was completely expressionless, looking like he bore no emotions except for a boiling battle intent.


    "I Am Sevimark Arkin, The Blood Warlock. Eight leader of The Black Chamber, Hybrid and rebel of the planet Alca. Many have fallen under my chains¡­." His grip tightened on the double chains.


    The items seemed as if they were alive as they squirmed while laying on the asphalt.


    "And you will be no different". His cold words sounded like a decree.


    "Sorry, I don''t think so!'' Clark''s eyes narrowed and the burning bright laser shot forward. Arkin attacked in the same way.


    Two blasts of heat vision collided against each other, and were brought to a stalemate. Each struggled to obtain the upper hand as the releasers continued to input more power, until eventually¡­


    BOOM! The built-up energy exploded in all directions.


    The buildings that were already on the verge of collapsing toppled over like a house of blocks.


    Clark stood motionless in the midst of the explosion, as the fiery aftermath had little effect on him.


    The sound of the by-now-familiar whistle of something moving through the air at rapid speed caught his ears. Clark raised his arm to shield himself, and the bladed chain once again sunk itself into his flesh.


    "Ugh!" Clark groaned painfully. Like before, he felt the tugging pull on the other end of the weapon dragging him forwards.


    Clark, however, wasn''t drawn like last time. His feet slid against the floor, causing deep trenches to appear as he resisted the strong force.


    "Your resistance is futile". Arkin said hoarsely.


    At that moment, Clark''s eyes caught the chain glowing red the same way it did before. Only this time, he felt something leaving his body, causing him to grow weaker and weaker.


    He instantly realized why the alien called himself Blood Warlock. These chains were literally draining him of his blood.


    That''s why he still looked as strong after all those beatings. This guy was siphoning strength out of him.


    "Not this time". As he finished his words, he opened his mouth and blew on the chain, causing an Arctic chill to appear in the air. Solid ice grew on the chain at a speed visible to the eye and spread all the way from one end to the other.


    Arkin who was pulling the other end, had his eyes narrowed as the ice spread towards his palm in an attempt to encase him. Clark suddenly have up resistance and allowed his figure to be pulled forward while adding additional momentum to go as fast as possible.


    His move successfully caught the other off guard as his fist slammed into the latter''s face. It certainly hurt a lot more now that the mask was gone.


    Clark ignored the pain in his arm and forcibly ripped off the bladed chain. Blood spilled on the floor like a fountain, but Superman didn''t mind.


    His gaze shifted back to the alien who had gone through several buildings and chased after his advantage.


    However, a tanker truck smashed into him out of nowhere as soon as he took to the air.


    The truck exploded, causing debris to fly everywhere.


    "That will be enough". A figure floated in the air with a tank flying behind her. Who else would it be other than Mericrozz?


    "I believe it''s time we end this farce". Her voice was indifferent as she looked in the direction of Arkin''s crash.


    At that moment, a piece of the tanker was thrown towards the Martian. Futile though as it stopped three meters before her and was thrown aside.


    Superman walked out of the flames. Blood was all over his suit, alongside various deep injuries. His momentum was noticeably weaker, but his firm, spirited gaze and determination made him stand upright.


    "Where are the Lanterns?" Clark interrogated with sharp eyes.


    "You mean them?" Two bodies fell from the air and landed heavily on the ground. Hal and Stewart lay unmoving, their eyes closed, but from the slight movement on their chests, it was clear that they were unconscious.


    "Mericrozz!" A loud roar sounded as Arkin leaped from the distance and landed.


    The landing is so powerful it visibly drives the seven-foot-tall male straight through the asphalt, his feet sinking straight down into the material even as the sheer impact causes it to warp, splinter, and explode all around him.


    "You shouldn''t have interfered". His voice carried clear anger. The Martian was unmoved.


    "Time is up for playing. We have the Czarnian. Either you take down the kryptonian or I will". Her flat tone sounded as if she was talking about something trivial.


    Clark on the side was noticeably gloomy. No matter who it was, no one liked being underestimated.


    However, his teammates were at her feet. Clark didn''t dare to act rashly.


    Now he just wished the rest of the league were here.


    BOOM


    Speak of the devil and he will appear.


    A boom tube portal suddenly opened in the distance. Cyborg stepped out, his arm in the form of a laser cannon and the rest of his body armed and loaded, firing several consecutive shots.


    Mericrozz activated density shifting, while Arkin took on the brunt of the attacks head on and was pushed back a distance.


    A red blur of lightning flashed by at hat moment. What followed next was the disappearing bodies of both Lanterns.


    "Looks like you could use some assistance". The voice of Martian Manhunter sounded as he slowly descended from the air alongside Wonder Woman, dressed in a sexy golden armor.


    Clark smiled brightly.


    "The others?"


    "Worry not Kal-el, the others should be here any second. Plus, the numbers are at our advantage....."


    However.....


    "Drop The Shield". Arkin said hoarsely. The spaceship that was idly floating above suddenly seemed to come alive.


    The bottom of the circular spaceship opened up and released.


    From the point under the ship, a red energy dome appeared before rapidly expanding.


    "That''s not good". Barry said with wide eyes as he looked at the expanding dome. In a matter of seconds, the whole city was covered within its range.


    "What have you done?" Superman looked away from the dome and yelled at the two opposite.


    "It''s an isolation barrier, Superman. The space around Central City is sealed. We''ve been cut off". Cyborgs complexion was grim.


    "He''s right. I can''t reach the rest of the League either". Flash said solemnly. All gazes locked onto the two figures who stood there seemingly without worry.


    "Lift this barrier immediately". Diana said as she drew her sword. Her tone was one that seemingly left no room for refusal.


    "Guys... I don''t..... feel so...." Everyone heard Clark''s weak voice at hat moment. They turned heir gazes only to be alarmed to see Superman falling backwards.


    Flash quickly moved behind him to stop him from hitting the floor.


    "Guys, what''s happening to him?" Barry asked worriedly. Everyone''s expressions turned ugly as Superman started bleeding from multiple places all around.


    "His wounds aren''t healing". Martian Manhunter said with a grave expression.


    "That''s because this isn''t an ordinary dome". Cyborg said, causing everyone to stare at him.


    "My readings tell me this dome simulates the conditions of Superman''s home world. In other words....."


    "A Red Sun".

 Chapter 27 You Are All Going To Die Here

    Seeing Superman bleeding out large amounts of blood, everyone had grim expressions on their faces. Superman was popularly known to have three weaknesses.


    One, several types of kryptonite.


    Two, Magic.


    And three, the lesser known red sun which had the same capability to make kryptonians lose their abilities, just like blue kryptonite.


    The Man Of Steel is resistant to almost every form of attack due to his bioelectric aura. Superman''s kryptonian physiology gives him a naturally occurring shield that surrounds him at nearly any time. The aura can be extended as well, far beyond the limits of his form, which allows him to protect objects within his grasp as well.


    Coupled with his almost invulnerable physique and all of his other abilities, it would be reasonable to assume that the Last Son of Krypton is truly invincible.


    But his teammates knew better than that. Under a red sun, even a simulated one, although he wouldn''t become cripplingly weak like when exposed to green kryptonite, Clark would practically lose all his abilities.


    And with how badly injured he already was...


    "Oh no! This is bad, he''s not healing".


    "If this keeps up, he''ll die". Barry yelled urgently. The four Leaguers all had ugly faces.


    "We need to get him out of range". John said solemnly.


    "Flash, get Superman out of here". Diana said with haste.


    "The shield is set, neither you nor the kryptonian are going anywhere. He is coming with us". Mericrozz said flatly.


    "By my sword, he is not". Wonder Woman drew her sword in combat readiness.


    Martian Manhunter looked at Mericrozz deeply.


    "I can feel your mind, you''re a white Martian....." John''s red pupils turned white, and he activated his telepathy in an attempt to invade the mind of the latter.


    However, his face contorted greatly in the following second.


    ".... No¡­. no¡­ you''re not ¡­."


    "That was a bad idea" with eyes as white as the moon on a dark night, the White Martian countered with telepathy.


    "Ahhhh!" J''onn suddenly let out a painful scream. His figure staggered backwards before dropping to the floor.


    "J''onn!" Cyborg yelled and immediately opened fire while Diana attacked.


    "That will be enough!" With a push of her hand, her telekinesis smashed towards them, pushing everyone back a long distance. Superman excluded.


    Clark''s bleeding body was pulled up from the floor with telekinesis.


    Barry, seeing this immediately took to his feet and rushed at his fastest speed.


    "You attacked first last time. Now, it''s my turn". Barry said to himself as he attacked the Martian with extreme speed.


    Barry Allen wasn''t called the fastest man alive for nothing.


    (Although before season 4, there was always someone faster than him to beat up his ass)


    Even Clark wasn''t as fast as he was. As long as he knocked out Mericrozz, then half their problems were solved.


    That''s what he thought, but unfortunately..... his sonic speed came to a halt three meters away from his target. Mericrozz always surrounded herself with a telekinetic field.


    Unless the force could exceed her upper limit, it was literally an impenetrable defense.


    So even with his speed, The Flash was helpless.


    "Ahhhh!" Barry let out a scream as his body was lifted off the floor, and he felt his bones compress, like an invisible force was squeezing him with thousands of tons of force.


    Luckily, the White Martian activated density shifting to avoid Diana''s thrown sword. Diana followed up with an attack of her own as she blasted forward, but a bladed chain interrupted her propulsion.


    The chain clashed against her armor, pushing her back several meters. Diana felt a noticeable deformation in her chest area and her eyes were solemn.


    Whatever that chain was made of, it certainly wasn''t ordinary metal.


    Arkin on the other hand was visibly annoyed. The same way Superman was borderline mortal under a red sun, he who had absorbed his Kryptonian blood had his enhanced strength stripped away in the same case.


    His attack on Wonder Woman was using his original strength, or he would have inflicted more damage.


    "Enough!" Mericrozz said seriously, and her mental power unfolded throughout the whole city.


    Wherever her telepathy unfolded, countless civilians in Central City screaming, hiding, running suddenly felt a force invade their minds. A second later, they all carried a dull expression, as if the light in their eyes was hollowed out.


    Then, they all moved towards different directions. Some to the sharpest thing they could find, some to the top of their buildings, while police officers who had guns pointed their guns at people or themselves.


    The chaotic city suddenly gave off a deafening silence.


    "You are the guardians of this planet, are you not? Now I give you a choice. She raised Superman and brought him beside her.


    "You can continue your attack, but the humans of this city will suffer the consequences at the cost of their lives". Her indifferent voice fell into their ears, causing them to stiffen in their actions.


    Diana and Cyborg, who were ready to launch another attack, couldn''t move a muscle. Their eyebrows narrowed, and their faces looked grave.


    "She isn''t lying. Her mind has invaded everyone in the city. One thought and they''ll all kill themselves". Martian Manhunter said weakly as he raised himself from the floor.


    His words made their eyebrows furrow even more. The situation had gotten even trickier. Hundreds of thousands of people had their lives on the line.


    J''onn looked at Mericrozz gravely. The mind of this Martian, he had never seen anything like it.


    Their mental power was vastly different so that he had immediately suffered a loss in their telepathic exchange.


    "..... Who¡­. What are you?" His question went unanswered.


    BOOM!


    The attention of everyone was caught by the sound of explosions happening above them.


    The United States military had sent in several fighter jets and launched countless missiles in an attempt to destroy the spaceship.


    Well, it was just a symbolic attempt. No one actually expected it to have any effect. Sure enough, the missiles were destroyed before it even reached the ship.


    Alongside numerous US fighters was Batman''s Bat Jet.


    "I believe it''s time to leave". Mericrozz said flatly. Arkin beside her pressed a button and a beam of light fell from the spaceship.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The next moment, the figures of both of them disappeared.


    "Dammit!" Cyborg exclaimed angrily.


    "We can''t let them take Clark!" Diana added as she flew into the sky.


    J''onn wanted to fly as well, but he barely rose three feet off the ground before falling back down.


    "Are you ok?" Cyborg looked at him and asked with concern as he moved towards Flash.


    "I''m fine. Just..... mentally drained. But the Lanterns and Flash may need some help". J''onn said, with a bit of fatigue.


    "You''re telling me. Barry''s got many broken bones". Cyborg replied grimly.


    "You go get Superman back. I''ll be fine". Barry said with a bit of difficulty.


    It didn''t matter much, though. After all, he had super healing and would be back to normal before the end of the day.


    J''onn nodded and took off towards the spaceship.


    .....


    Meanwhile, four figures appeared on the teleport bridge up in the spaceship.


    Arkin''s eyes landed on the White Martian with open displeasure.


    "Take the kryptonian to his confinement space. Lobo is with me". The White Martian said flatly, ignoring the displeasure of the Alcan.


    "They stood in our way. You should have killed them". Arkin said with a growl.


    "We have spent enough time on this planet. Our goal has been achieved, so I would rather not have to fight off more". Mericrozz responded indifferently.


    "Still, you had the Lanterns in your grasp. Ending their lives would have taken nothing for you". Sevimark had his face harden.


    "My job is to assist you in capturing the Czarnian. The Kryptonian was an unexpected extra. Doing anything else is out of my jurisdiction". As soon as her words ended, she turned around and walked away.


    Lobo''s tank, still floating after her.


    Arkin wasn''t her superior. Both of them were here on a joint mission and were equal in status. The mission was complete, and any side jobs were unnecessary.


    Plus, no matter how powerful she was, her weakness hadn''t changed. Martians were inherently weak to flames, and she didn''t believe that their opponents wouldn''t know that.


    She would rather leave as soon as possible.


    Arkin''s fist tightened as he stared at her leaving figure with a vicious look in his eyes. Ultimately, he did nothing.


    ...


    The spaceship that appeared and floated silently above central city ten minutes ago suddenly came alive.


    The energy dome surrounding Central City dissipated and the thrusters were activated at full force. The invading spaceship began to rise back into the clouds.


    Diana, seeing this, wanted to attack the ship but was stopped by Martian Manhunter.


    "Don''t! Her telepathy is still active. If you try to stop them from leaving, all of Central City will die".


    J''onn looked at the ascending spaceship blankly. Diana clenched her fists.


    "What about Superman?" J''onn was silent, unable to give a reply.


    "We''ll get Superman back". A deep voice sounded on the intercom.


    "Batman!" Diana exclaimed as she put her two fingers on her ear.


    "This is Batman calling out to all available Leaguers". Inside the Bat Jet, the masked vigilante of Gotham spoke into the league''s secure network.


    "Superman has been taken captive by the group of Invaders. Unfortunately, a Martian with strong telepathic capabilities is holding the minds of all Central City Citizens hostage, preventing us from taking action. Nevertheless, We cannot allow them to leave the solar system with him still on that ship". Bruce analyzed the situation solemnly.


    J''onn had already informed him about the situation.


    Under the threat of a whole city, their hands were tied.


    Bruce felt troubled as his brain constantly worked to find a solution. Looking at the rapidly ascending spaceship that had already reached the upper atmosphere, his heart sunk to his stomach.


    .....


    The White Martian stood in the monitor room of the ship. Her gaze examined the tank containing the Czarnian with a hint of interest.


    At this point, Lobo was no longer badly damaged and his skin had regenerated to heal the scarred areas. His hand, however, was no more than a stump.


    Mericrozz looked at the Czarnian who was still comatose with a hint of doubt in her eyes.


    Especially when her gaze dropped to the severed arm.


    "What happened to him?" Arkin asked with narrowed eyes. The hunt for Lobo was a unanimously approved decision of The Chamber. Seeing him like this would certainly raise questions.


    Mericrozz did not respond.


    Her telepathy directly infiltrated the depths of Lobo''s subconscious and accessed his memories.


    A few seconds later, her expression turned odd.


    "There''s someone with such abilities?" Her mind was filled with doubt, alongside slight amazement. She had seen Lobo''s memories which basically lasted until he was..... well, drained.


    The Chamber would certainly be interested in this person. Whether as a possible member or a subordinate.


    Well, they were here to capture a kryptonian and a Czarnian. Although she had no ideas to turn back, but the chamber would certainly question how he ended up like this.


    Her telepathy once again expanded to cover the whole planet. She felt the minds and thoughts of countless people.


    "What are you doing?" Seeing her eyes turn white, Arkin questioned. The fact that she hadn''t answered his initial question irritated him.


    The Martian paid him no heed.


    Seconds later, her telepathy locked onto a special case in the outskirts of Gotham. It was the mind of someone whom she couldn''t read the surface thoughts.


    Seeing this, she invaded the mind of the unidentified human. Or at least, she tried to invade what she thought was human.


    The next moment, her mind was suddenly felt an irresistible pull, appearing in a place. Mericrozz found herself in a mental space.


    The room was plain white and stretched on for as far as the eye could see, seemingly having no end.


    The only thing in this space was her, and a male figure sitting on a rather comfy lounge chair.


    The bright purple eyes looked at her deeply with a hint of amusement.


    "I was just planning on watching the show but that my dear..... Was a very, very, bad idea". A smile lit up his face, but his eyes emitted a bone chilling murderous intent.


    The next moment, the White Martian was overwhelmed with a deep feeling of crisis. An overwhelming devouring force appeared in the white room, attempting to swallow her consciousness.


    On the departing spaceship.


    The eyes of the Martian suddenly changed from white to normal, and her white skin texture grew paler in an instant.


    The floating figure fell from the air, and she reverted from her human shape to her original form.


    Mericrozz''s face was covered in beads of sweat.


    A sense of fear appeared in her heart as the feeling of death had overwhelmed her in that split second. If she hadn''t severed that part of her consciousness off in time, then...


    Just then, a stinging headache assaulted her senses and her brain ached.


    Drip! Drip! Drip!


    Drops of blood flood from her ears and nose, staining her face and dripping to the floor.


    Her actions weren''t without consequences. Severing a part of her consciousness caused her brain to suffer a backlash.


    Arkin who saw all this was momentarily dumbfounded.


    "It appears that there is a formidable figure nestled on this planet". Mericrozz raised herself from the floor, still in her Martian form.


    Arkin was even more puzzled.


    "Formidable? Who?"


    "I don''t know. But his telepathic capabilities are beyond mine. I lost heavily in our confrontation".


    Arkin''s eyes narrowed. Mericrozz wasn''t just a random white Martian, she was a Martian captured and experimented on by the Psions.


    It was unknown what those group of mad alien scientists had done to her but her when she escaped, her telepathic and telekinetic capabilities had been boosted several times more than what an average white Martian could ever achieve.


    Her telepathic power, capable of destroying an entire planetary civilization in less than a minute and controlling a vast army, was what made her eligible to become an elite member of The Chamber.


    This was something he had seen with his own eyes. It was also why he was relatively wary of her. As a Hybrid of two powerful races, his abilities were noteworthy, but neither of his two bloodlines gave him resistance to telepathy.


    Someone who could defeat her so badly in her field was someone he himself had to be wary of.


    "It seems my decision to immediately leave was the right call".


    Mericrozz said flatly, not at all bothered by the blood on her face. She turned her gaze to the pilot of the spaceship.


    "Full power ahead". The short, stubby alien that had a slightly bloated body and a long tail responded immediately. The ship picked up the pace, accelerating from Earth''s atmosphere.


    "Her telepathy is gone. We can move". Martian Manhunter said as he looked at the small figure of the spaceship, but couldn''t figure out how they could catch up.


    "Damnit!" Bruce''s face was grim.


    "Are any of the Lanterns conscious?" Bruce asked with a bit of hope. Among the full justice league, the members who could survive in space weren''t many. The ones who could catch up with a spaceship going that fast could be counted on one hand.


    If Hal and Stewart were awake, they could transport the rest of the league to chase after Superman.


    "Negative Batman". Unfortunately, Cyborg shot his hopes to the ground with one word.


    Mericrozz turned her gaze towards the monitor screen. A screen showed the picture of Superman, whose limbs were restrained in four directions with Nth Metal.


    Since there was no red sun, his body had healed itself to a certain extent. Although he was unconscious, at least he wouldn''t bleed to death.


    "I hope you have no extra thoughts, Mericrozz. The Kryptonian is mine". Seeing her gaze, Arkin issued a warning with a threatening tone.


    "That is still to be decided. We will contact The Chamber members once we leave this star sector". Mericrozz responded indifferently.


    "It is rather unfortunate, but that will not be happening". The cute voice of a little Loli suddenly sounded throughout the Monitor room.


    The thrusters of the ship that were propelling them thousands of miles per second suddenly powered down, leaving them motionless in deep space.


    "Who was that?" Arkin growled in outrage.


    "Here!" A projection of a red AI suddenly appeared on the screen of the ship. The aliens who were piloting the ship suddenly jumped back in alarm.


    "We''ve been hacked". Looking at the virtual projection of the Red Queen, Arkin said solemnly. All the ship''s operations had been taken control of.


    Meanwhile, back on Earth. In a special place on the outskirts of Gotham.


    Amari sat in his comfy lounge chair, the same one represented in the mindscape earlier. He wasn''t idle, however, as a bowl of popcorn was right beside him, which prompted him to pick one from time to time.


    The look of enjoyment and amusement was rare to come by for him.


    "Is it time, Master?" The AI Loli asked in an excited tone.


    "Wait for it". Amari said with a smile. To be frank, the actions of the government reducing the amount of control the Red Queen had access to was redundant.


    Not to mention that he had no interest in something as meaningless as taking over the world, even if he did, there was nothing they could do to stop him.


    The moment the AI was connected to a computer, the whole world had become his playground. They just didn''t know it yet.


    "And..." Amari said with a long drawl.


    Then with a smile on his lips.


    ".....now".


    On the spaceship.


    "It was a pleasure to meet you, but by my master''s orders.... You are all going to die here".


    Mericrozz suddenly felt a chill go down her spine. She instinctively activated density shifting and drilled into the floor.


    And then.....


    BOOM!


    The spaceship exploded.


    ....

 Chapter 28 Gordon Godfrey

    Earth.


    United States.


    ....


    "..... Cat Grant with GBS over here and a lovely evening to you all, folks. Here with me today to answer some questions and share his own opinions concerning the brewing events plaguing the minds of the American citizens is one of your favorite special TV hosts, G. Gordon Godfrey". A familiar television personality was speaking over the live feed.


    Cat Grant looked away from the camera towards the man sitting opposite her on the other end of the table.


    "A good evening to you as well, Mr. Gordon".


    "Good evening to you too, Cat. Hey there folks, Gordon Godfrey, and it''s a pleasure to be here".


    "Perfect. Then let''s get started. Mr. Gordon, would you mind letting the American populace know what are your thoughts concerning the recent Central City invasion".


    "Well, I feel a lot Cat, and might I say folks. I think it''s rather ironic that the latest, most pressing info for our lovely world citizens is actually something that happened weeks ago. Let''s get into details, shall we?"


    The classy, outspoken GBS pundit questioned at the camera while adjusting his tie slightly. With his Caucasian appearance, blond hair, blue eyes and discriminatory opinions, Gordon was quite famous in the television industry.


    "Great!" Cat gave a slight smile before resuming a serious expression.


    "It''s been roughly a month plus since the United States Central City incident, which unexpectedly led to the creation of the global alien invasion chart. What are your thoughts on this matter?"


    "Well, my thoughts are pretty simple. Has the United States experienced more extraterrestrial threats than any other nation in the world? Well folks, there''s no need for a chart, as even a ten-year-old could answer that question". Gordon said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.


    "I mean, come on, we constantly see it. We were all here when General Zod and his kryptonian army came to earth for Superman. Stepphenwolf and his .... Parademons, The entity of fear, Parallax, and now we can put this new addition on the list of successive disasters. Honestly, I''m starting to wonder if we should start making gambling sites betting on when the next one''s gonna happen cause at this point folks, this whole charade is becoming a yearly occurrence".


    Gordon''s mouth opened, speaking loudly as he stated his case.


    A video clip recording scenes of these incidents began playing on the background screen one by one.


    "Metropolis, Coast city, Washington and now Central City. What do these places all have in common, people? All of these things happened precisely on good old American soil".


    "Honestly, I''m considering leaving the states and packing up to Hawaii for a forever vacation. Because man it is scary here".


    "Well, don''t you think you''re going a little over the top, Mr. Gordon? I mean, while this incident is also a major catastrophe, it''s not quite as damaging as the previous incidents, wouldn''t you say?"


    Cat asked lightly.


    "Over the top? What''s over the top about an alien invasion almost wiping out a city populated by more than 6.5 Million people?" Gordon raised an eyebrow.


    "I mean, if that''s considered over the top, then do we have to wait until half the life on Earth is wiped out before it can be properly justified". He relaxed comfortably into the sofa as he finished his words.


    Cat''s eyebrows furrowed slightly as she caught a hint in Gordon''s words.


    "You''re referring to the citywide mind control thing".


    Gordon smirked slightly. The incident of Central city had practically gone viral, much more popular than the battle of the Otherworlders.


    Two important factors that made it so.


    The visibly large spaceship over the city, and the disclosure of the news that all of its citizens had almost ended their lives.


    "That''s right Cat. A city, a whole city full of people. Men and women, young and old, all mind controlled and nearly killed themselves. This just goes to show all I''ve been telling you folks".


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    As he got to this point, his posture suddenly straightened and his face was incomparably serious.


    "..... Does Earth really want a connection with aliens? Well, I don''t think so. This full incident just tells us that these extraterrestrials are dangerous, and we constantly have to exercise caution when dealing with them".


    "But what about the Justice league? If put by your words, Earth already has connections with aliens, as the Justice league that fought against those Invaders have alien members as well. The most famous being Superman, of course. Does that mean the earth shouldn''t even trust Superman as well".


    Cat asked meaningfully.


    "You''re getting me wrong there". Gordon smiled calmly.


    "While I admit that the heroic actions of the league are admirable and have won some of my respect, but that doesn''t change the fact that there are questions that need answers to".


    "For example, the main details of the invasion on Central City. Up until now, the League hasn''t made a proper statement on the details of the attack. Isn''t that enough reason to be suspicious? Is the league hiding something from us which the public deserve to know?"


    Gordon yelled, his body posture was incomparably excited.


    "Do the Justice league have something to hide? Well, I''ll tell you now folks, they do. And I have the evidence to prove it".


    As soon as he finished speaking, the background screen change to show certain video clips. Starting from the Star Labs footage showing the showdown between Flash and another alien who showed a particular ability.


    "That''s..." Cat was surprised at what she was seeing.


    "That, is precisely what you think it is. Rare video footage on the battle of the Justice league and the invaders procured from a close source of mine who prefers to remain anonymous and.... oh! Oh! What''s that right there?"


    Gordon pointed at the video, which showed the picture of Mericrozz shape-shifting from her Martian form to her human form.


    "Is that..... Shape-shifting?" Cat asked astounded.


    "Bingo! A shape-shifter. Let''s ignore the skin tone, who does this alien remind you of?"


    His grinning face expanded.


    "If you''re thinking what I''m thinking, then you''re correct. Forgive me if I find it suspicious that the Justice League haven''t decided to inform the public that a Martian from Mars was part of the invading force".


    Miss Grant''s brow lowered only for a second, before going back to a more neutral, encouraging expression.


    "Due to this, I feel the Justice league should come out from their headquarters and answer some questions. Who is this alien? Is she truly a Martian and if she is, what relationship does she have with the mysterious Martian Manhunter. Furthermore, why does he insist on going by that name? Does the Martian race have an instinct in their genes to hunt men?" Gordon prattled on and on in front of the live camera.


    "The league is clearly withholding information from us. What more are they hiding that needs to be known? Given that they have clearly shown they do not trust us, then why should we trust them?"


    Cat, who had listened to his words, wore a pensive look.


    "While your statements hold some ground, we cannot rule out that the League have their reasons for their delayed response. It''s reported that Superman hasn''t been seen in Metropolis since the incident....."


    Meanwhile, in Washington, DC. Lex Luthor sat in the Oval Office devoid of any breathing human. Except for his favorite assistant Mercy, who was the only other person present.


    Looking at the screen playing the news channel of Cat Grant and Gordon Godfrey, his face remained expressionless.


    "Whoever thought that someone like G. Gordon Godfrey could be of great use". Mercy, who stood by the side, said with sarcasm as she watched the news.


    "Everyone has some form of value Mercy..." Lex stroked his hairless chin with his thumb and index fingers. His eyes carried an ominous gloom.


    ".... What matters is who can use it". His voice was flat and carried numerous undertones.


    It was widely known about Gordon Godfrey''s dislike for alien life. His staunch stance against the Justice league was partly due to their alien members.


    As he couldn''t find it within him to trust them, he used his remarkable eloquence to sow that distrust in his audience.


    In a way, he was the Jonah John Jameson of the DC world.


    Who would have thought that the man who was constantly raving against aliens on TV would be an associate of Darkside.


    Lex learned all this from a Vandal Savage. How the latter knew about this was certainly beyond his comprehension.


    However, that didn''t stop him from achieving his goals.


    After all, the enemy of an enemy is a friend, right?


    As for the anonymous source, who else could obtain such sensitive information that the Justice League used all means to block, besides the newly instated President of the United States Lex Luthor?


    As a tool to stir up the feelings of the masses, the value of Gordon in the hands of Lex Luthor was almost on equal footing with the lost project Kr.


    Mercy raised an eyebrow at her boss.


    "So now what?"


    "Huh Mercy?"


    "Your goal to become the President of the United States has been achieved. Gordon''s slamming the face of the league in front of the public eye, what''s next?"


    After working under Lex for so long, she had some sort of understanding of him. Which was why she could spot that Lex''s current state of mind was a little weird.


    She just couldn''t put her finger on it.


    Ever since that incident in Central City. Mercy felt her mind go blank for a second. The next moment she regained herself, she saw two guns in her hands pointed in two directions.


    One was pointed at her skull, the other was pointed at Luthor.


    She was so frightened that she almost pulled the trigger on the spot. And Lex, at that moment, something changed.


    She didn''t know what exactly, but she could feel it. At that split second when he awoke, she could have sworn she saw a flash of fear in his eyes.


    The Lex she knew never showed fear.


    Lex didn''t answer her question for some time, something that Mercy was used to by now. This man''s brains had special ways of working.


    "..... Now. It''s time to bring someone who has partially been forgotten to the public eye". Back on GBS, the screen playing the alien attack changed to show Mericrozz smashing the flash away without moving a muscle.


    Then a tank burst out of the Star Labs building, showing an alien that the public had forgotten after a while.

 Chapter 29 Lexs Schemes

    United States.


    Gotham......


    Batman....... no. Currently, it wasn''t Batman but Bruce Wayne sitting in his after workout casual clothes scrolling through a massive amount of information before his eyes on the Bat computer.


    Bruce was a rather strict fellow, strict to others and even more so to himself.


    When he wasn''t out in his other persona, the billionaire playboy of Wayne Industries, he spent his time either fighting crime on the streets of Gotham, or going through massive paperwork.


    Just like right now.


    If he didn''t need to create a cover to take people''s thoughts away from guessing that he was The Dark Knight, Bruce would have abandoned his second self a long time ago to increase work efficiency.


    ¡°Master Bruce, I feel the need to inform you for the Nth time that doing such a large amount of work over such long periods is not good for your health. And it honestly worries me¡±.


    Alfred said as he stepped out of the elevator that led from the Wayne Manor above the Bat cave with a tray of high caffeine coffee and a plate of Bruce''s favorite snacks.


    His expression was solemn and serious, like a worried uncle.


    ¡°I''m Batman Alfred. There are some things I need to do. Besides, it''s only been a few days¡±. Bruce said lightly.


    ¡°Correct me if I''m wrong, Master Bruce, but you have been at this for a month. If you consider a months time as only a few days, I might have to rewire my thinking process¡±. Alfred replied.


    Bruce answered with his right to remain silent.


    He took the large mug of coffee from his loyal butler and didn''t even flinch as he drank the scalding hot, bitter as tar, ambrosia.


    Bruce had to sigh a bit in his heart. Out of everyone in the world, Alfred understood him the best.


    A small period of time passed as Bruce continued to immerse himself in going through file after file. Leading Alfred to ultimately break the silence.


    ¡°Has Mr. Kent''s condition made any improvements?¡± His question caused Bruce to stiffen a bit. Four seconds later, Bruce slumped back into his chair.


    A weary sigh adorned his handsome features as he uttered the word in irritation. ¡°No¡±.


    Alfred''s face showed a look of slight disappointment, but quickly returned to normal.


    ¡°Worry not, Master Bruce, I believe Mr. Kent can pull through this. He is Superman, after all¡±. He comforted with the best words he could muster.


    ¡°Hopefully.....¡± Bruce said in reply.


    One month. It had been a whole forty-two days since the invasion above Central City and a lot of ....... Uneventful things had taken place.


    The explosion of the alien vessel was beyond the League''s expectations. Something they certainly didn''t see coming.


    At first, Batman didn''t believe it when the report came from the Watchtower. The two green lanterns were unconscious, leaving the only available leaguers at the time capable of chasing, Martian Manhunter to initiate pursuit.


    The good news was, after two days of searching, they managed to find Superman''s unconscious body in deep space. Of course, at that time, reinforcements had arrived in the form of Captain Atom, Cyborg and Shazam.


    Bad news, Clark was comatose. Even now, forty days later, he still hadn''t woken up for reasons unclear to the League.


    Bruce remembered how Clark looked like when they had recovered him. His wounds had healed, but the scars hadn''t. His suit was once again in a mess and the fact that Clark had fought yet again another life and death deciding battle made him feel grim.


    It seemed as there was a possible threat dangling ahead of them. The world was getting more terrifying with each passing day.


    Now, even someone as strong as Superman wasn''t safe anymore.


    Clark was immediately put into a solar regeneration pod. He had been in that same pod absorbing solar radiation up till this moment.


    Thankfully, Clark wasn''t in a red sun radiated containment space when the ship exploded, or that would certainly be the end of The Man Of Steel.


    As if that weren''t enough, earth experienced a continuous streak of meteor showers. Most of the debris from the exploding spaceship made its way back to earth.


    Luckily, it didn''t cause too many casualties. Some fell into the sea, others in mountain areas. The ones that caused the most casualties fell in a small village, a city in Russia and one in Ohio.


    The casualties from those three crashes numbered in thousands. Coupled with those added from Superman''s battle, Bruce didn''t even want to think about it.


    In the past forty days, the League has been stretched thin in search and rescue operations, offering relief and compensation to the affected.


    As for reconstruction processes......


    Bruce shook his head to get rid of those burdening thoughts.


    ¡°...... I''m not worried about Clark. Cyborg said his vital signs are fine¡­.¡± A news feed appeared on the screen of the Bat computer.


    ¡°I am worried however about how he would react when he wakes up to see this¡±.


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    The screen changed to show a published article.


    Alfred read the title and his facial features scrunched up a little.


    [Superman''s Battle Casualties: 46,321 killed, 94,749 injured, 12,024 Missing]


    ¡°And this¡±. Bruce changed the page and another one popped up.


    [Man Of Steel? Or Damage God: Clash of Superman causes 923 Million in property damage to Central City]


    With a click, the screen changed again.


    [Alien spaceship arrives and leaves without firing a single attack, Yet Central City is left ruined]


    [G. Gordon Godfrey Reveals The Root Cause Of The Alien Invasion. The Justice league Is To Fault]


    [World Government Announcement: The Alien Amari worked Together With The Military To Destroy Alien Ship]


    [Is Martian Manhunter Related To The Mysterious Invaders?]


    [Justice League Yet To Release Statement]


    [Are superheroes causing more harm than good]


    [Superman destroyed Central City To Protect A Mass Murderer]


    ¡°Preposterous!¡± The old butler yelled in righteous indignation.


    ¡°These people certainly don''t know the in''s and out''s of the situation. After all you and the league have done for them, human beings are truly fickle¡±. He gnashed his teeth and spat out his words in rage.


    Bruce didn''t say a word. Just tapped another key on the keyboard.


    It didn''t show headlines this time but a video on the G. Gordon Godfrey show.


    ¡°........ And that''s the reason, folks. It turns out that the reason for all of Central City''s destruction was because the Justice league decided to harbor an alien. And not just any alien, one who fought Superman and nearly ended up destroying Metropolis¡±.


    The video playing in the background was the one of Mericrozz calling out Lobo''s tank from Star Labs. The camera froze and zoomed in sharply to let everyone see the features of the person within it.


    ¡°This isn''t just any random extraterrestrial ladies and gentlemen, this is an incredibly dangerous alien. One capable of causing mass destruction, and what did the League do? Did they hand it to the government? No, of course not. Since they certainly know better than we do. After all, they''re the Justice League¡±. His tone was dripping with sarcasm.


    ¡°If you don''t remember, or you don''t clearly understand whom this alien might be and what he can do, then here''s a little reminder from two months ago¡±.


    His words dropped, and the screen instantly split into two halves. The first one retained the video of Star Labs, and the second replayed the camera footage taken by Lois Lane in the Metropolis incident.


    [As I said, Lobo is a mercenary who hunts for money. He has annihilated civilizations, torn apart families, and has more enemies across the universe than earth has people who are vegetarians. Did it never cross your mind that I just might be one of them who lost someone dear to his hands and I''m looking to settle the score]


    [Or do you also want to deny me my chance at revenge to save someone with no relation to you, or your planet and has only tried to kill you and caused more chaos in the time he was here because according to your moral logic, which I by this point find to be extremely absurd, me killing him is not right?]


    ¡°And there you have it. The news is right there folks. A Mass murderer who was slaughtered entire civilizations. An entity who has more enemies in the universe than we earthlings can possibly imagine, and Central City was just unlucky enough to face the revengeful retaliation of one of those enemies. Why did that happen? Because Superman and the Justice League stopped the alien Amari from finishing off this bastard when he had the chance¡±.


    Gordon said in front of the camera while wearing his expensive suit.


    ¡°I mean look at it with clear eyes. If the Justice League had let this alien be killed by his pursuer right then and there, none of this would have happened. That''s right, I believe these attacking invaders were similarly here to seek revenge on their target. I believe my words can be backed up since the spaceship didn''t fire a single attack in its short ten minutes of being on Earth. Yet, what did the league do? They conflicted with them, and due to that fight, Central City was left in ruins¡±.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, I believe it''s time we ask ourselves, is it truly a good idea to have an organization consisting of powerful aliens and other creatures guarding our planet while they don''t even have the courage to show their true faces to the public? What are the true identities of the Justice league? Well, we don''t even know¡±.


    ¡°The league''s reckless decision has caused the deaths of thousands of people and injured many more. We have to do something about this. We the citizens deserve an explanation......¡± The video paused with the picture of Gordon banging his fist on the table with a hideous look.


    The cave was deathly silent and Batman looked grim.


    There was more to see that he hadn''t shown Alfred.


    Various headlines of newspapers, video feeds, civilian protests, online movements, Internet discussions, trending hashtags.


    [No More Aliens]


    [Too Many Casualties]


    [We Don''t Want To Die]


    [#Security]


    [The League is too much]


    [Battle Between Good And Evil. Why Should We Suffer For It]


    [The League is killing us]


    Various hot searches were all over the internet in the past month concerning the invasion. To be honest, it was all overwhelming. If I wasn''t someone like Batman who had strong mental fortitude, they probably would have had a mental breakdown.


    ¡°Movements¡±. Bruce said solemnly.


    ¡°Although I hate to admit it, there''s some truth to what has been said. It''s not the full story, and there''s a lot more underneath, but at this point, nobody cares¡±.


    That was the truth. It didn''t matter what truly happened. Whether the aliens were there to get revenge on Lobo or not, the people certainly didn''t care.


    ¡°This is why I''m still down here, Alfred. I''m Batman. In times like this, someone has to do the work. I feel it in my gut, the future isn''t looking bright for us. I don''t know what threat is on its way, but I have to be ready¡±. This was the truth.


    This was also one of the fundamental differences between the two most famous heroes of DC.


    Superman would hope for the best, while Batman would expect and prepare for the worst. All so they could be ready for whatever the universe threw at them.


    They had to be.


    If not, the world would be doomed.


    Alfred kept silent without saying a word. In the end, a sigh escaped his lips.


    ¡°So what are you planning on doing, Master Bruce¡±. In times like this, Alfred knew what Bruce needed the most was support. And he was ready to give it to him, however he could.


    Bruce tapped on the computer keyboard, causing the majority of the files to disappear.


    ¡°First things first. I have to find it, who is behind all this¡±. His words fell into Alfred''s ears, stunning the latter.


    ¡°Master Bruce, you mean......¡±


    ¡°Yes Alfred, I do. The news suddenly launched onto this topic, the criticism of the league went over the roof. Gordon''s simultaneous attacks. If it''s one, it''s normal. Two, a coincidence. But three? Then that''s a problem. Somebody is deliberately targeting the league, and I''m going to find out who¡±. Bruce said in a serious voice.


    Alfred took a deep breath. He was seriously considering taking up retirement.


    ¡°I''m too old for this¡±. The voice said inwardly.


    ¡°Do you have any trails?¡±


    ¡°I''ve been looking into that whenever I can for the past month, and yes. Mainly one¡±. The computer showed a picture.


    ¡°Luthor!¡±


    ¡°Luthor!¡±


    Both of them called out simultaneously.


    Bruce''s eyes showed a profound look.


    The newly elected President of the United States, something that Bruce honestly wished wouldn''t happen but hey, you can''t always get what you want, Lex Luthor was his prime suspect. No, not suspect. Bruce could practically confirm it was him.


    Motive? Luthor had it.


    Resources to pull it off? Luthor had it.


    Plus, there were hardly any people who could get that footage. The league had tried their best to make sure it was wiped.


    Mainly because the whole matter with Lobo was a delicate subject. Unfortunately, things had gone south.


    And coincidentally, Gordon just happened to have a relationship with Lex Luthor.


    The signs were so obvious. The only question now was what was Lex planning. It certainly couldn''t just be this.


    Batman was sure Lex had another goal. A deeper agenda hidden behind this storm.


    And after a long time of analyzing the components, he finally deduced what Lex was truly after.


    The picture changed again and what was shown was the satellite footage of a city outside Gotham. A small base, or headquarters, as Bruce liked to think of it.


    ¡°Luthor. What are you planning?¡±

 Chapter 30 Meteor Crash

    "Sir, I remember this. Isn''t this the city that mysteriously appeared a few miles outside Gotham?"


    "Oh! Have you been paying more attention to the news, Alfred?"


    "Do not mock me, sir". The old butler complained.


    "But why are you paying so much attention? I remember that seven out of ten times when I entered the Bat cave, the Batcomputer was monitoring that same location".


    "Because whatever Luthor is planning, I feel nine out of ten times that it has something to do with him". Bruce replied.


    "Plus, the subject in question is a very dangerous existence that possibly poses a big threat to the planet. So proper monitoring is a necessity".


    Bruce responded. His eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the footage of Amari''s Tower.


    Honestly, the fact that he didn''t know anything that was going on there irked him to no end. And there was nothing he could do to change that.


    He should know, after all because he tried everything. Hacking with the Bat computer.... No success. He even had to change the entire computer because the whole thing got fried when he did.


    Sneaking in? No possible success on that end either. He didn''t try it himself, simply because he couldn''t find any blind spots to sneak in through.


    Plus, Bruce had that gut feeling inside of him that he would be discovered the moment he approached a certain range. He could have asked Martian Manhunter to give it a try, but the whole thing was too risky.


    There was just too little information on the target and his HQ as a whole. Bruce wouldn''t even know where to begin looking, assuming he managed to get inside.


    Clark was currently unconscious, or he would have asked him to perform an X-ray scan and draw out the schematics for him.


    Thinking of all this, his teeth itched, causing him to gnash them. Concerning Amari, he had so many questions digging into the depths of his mind that he wanted answers to.


    "I believe he is also the savior of Mr. Kent''s life, according to what I saw on TV". Alfred chimed in.


    "Yes, and he almost killed him too". Bruce retorted with a bit of a frosty tone.


    The World Government had practically announced that Amari and the military had worked together to destroy the Spaceship. How they managed to do it was currently beyond Batman''s knowledge, as he couldn''t easily access government secrets like he used to anymore.


    If it were someone else, he might be skeptical, but Amari couldn''t be judged with common sense. So the fact that the spaceship was destroyed was his credit until someone proved him otherwise.


    But that wasn''t the point. The point laid in the fact that Superman was blown up alongside the rest of the ship too.


    With the state Clark was in when he was captured, Bruce already expected the worst when the watchtower recorded the explosion.


    This was what made him gloomy.


    Bruce wasn''t sure if he knew Clark would survive, or he just wasn''t concerned about Superman''s life and death.


    But there was no way he didn''t know that Superman was captured.


    So basically, live if you can and if you can''t... Thinking of Amari''s personality, Bruce settled for the latter option.


    "..... Oh! Well, you can spare me the details, Master Bruce because Mr. Kent certainly isn''t dead yet".  Alfred stated flatly. Bruce raised an eyebrow.


    Whose side was this butler on?


    "I wasn''t going to". Bruce continued to work on he Bat computer.


    "If there is one good thing that came out of all of this, it''s that the explosion scared away the coming wave of attacks".


    Alfred''s eyebrows furrowed.


    "Were you expecting more invaders'' sir?"


    "Yes, a lot more". He replied candidly.


    "The lanterns informed me that several hostiles had entered our space sector. But judging from the fact that we haven''t had any new visitors, then our assumptions that they were scared away by the explosion of the Spaceship can be confirmed".


    Bruce put both hands together under his chin.


    "Either that, or they decided to leave because the object of their visit no longer exists".


    Lobo was taken away by the invaders and their transportation was destroyed. Judging from the state Lobo was in when he was taken away, he probably died in it.


    How the extraterrestrials were able to locate the Czarnian was unknown, but since earth didn''t have their target, then they wouldn''t bother with their primitive planet.


    Thankfully.


    "Are you planning on confronting him, sir?"


    "No. Currently, the league is stretched too thin. We''ve experienced too much in too little time, and we need to recuperate for a while".


    Bruce''s thoughts were clear on priorities. The league as it was now wasn''t ready to confront Amari.


    One of their heaviest guns was in a coma. Even after he woke up, Clark would have a lot of things to sort out in his daily life.


    Martian Manhunter had gone back to Mars. The matter of Mericrozz was weighing on him, and the league held no objections.


    Hal had retreated to report back to Oa Star. The attack earth had experienced was on the same level as general Zod, as one of its resident Lanterns, Hal, needed to investigate.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Zatara on the other hand was away investigating a magical disturbance that had occurred two months ago. Since it pertained to the magic part of the world, the league would not involve themselves unless Giovanni asked for help.


    Furthermore, Doctor Fate had gone missing. When facing Amari, he was one of Batman''s Trump cards should things ever get messy.


    However, the rest of the Justice league was either aiding in Central City or just weren''t available.


    Superheroes were people too. They still had lives, and the league couldn''t prevent them from living it.


    "The Black Ops squad have been rather idle lately. I think it''s time we make some arrangements for them. Locating Doctor Fate should be a doable task".


    "Master Bruce, you have a charity event you really should be preparing for. I''ve asked Young Master Grayson to¡­."


    "Ugh!!" Bruce, whose thinking process was interrupted, let out a loud groan.


    Another Event?


    "I have too many things to do, Alfred. Just cancel".


    "You''ve cancelled all your itinerary in the past month. I remind you that your other persona still needs to appear in public if you want to continue to parade as The Dark Knight unnoticed..... My Lord, Bruce put that down immediately". Alfred yelled as he saw Bruce reach into one of the small drawers beside his Bat computer and pull out caffeine tablets, break them down, and add the dust to his coffee.


    ....


    After the bat managed to send the grumpy butler back up to the mansion and stop the latter from pestering him about his health, Bruce continued to look at the Bat computer.


    His gaze locked on that tower outside Gotham was rather grave.


    After a while of staring, he immediately began to set his plans.


    Through consecutive incidents, Bruce had discovered that the League''s response time was practically insufficient.


    If the rest of the league could appear in Central City in at most one minute after they received the alert, numerous things could have gone down differently.


    This was a problem that needed to be solved at all costs.


    The public slander from the masses would have to be soothed with a League statement. The lack of manpower on the side of the Justice League couldn''t be solved in a short time.


    He also had some ideas concerning the Junior team. Their matters had been exposed to the United Nations, so should they continue their previous duties?


    Maybe they should disband and reform. Create a small team of their own where they could fight to protect the world. They couldn''t join the Justice league just yet, but they could become create a team for their age group.


    Perhaps a Young Justice league or a Teen Titans or something.


    He''d speak to Dick about it when he had time.


    As for the black hands moving behind the scenes, Bruce would continue to investigate. All so the world could hope for a better tomorrow, Bruce would prepare to defend against the worst.


    Meanwhile.


    Above the Wayne Manor.


    Scene Change, Gotham City


    Several blimps flew in the sky, each monitoring a few blocks and carried two logos on them.


    Lexcorp and GCPD.


    "... Hello folks, this is Gotham Radio. Tonight we''re gonna be talking about the new fleet of Gotham''s automated surveillance blimps which took flight earlier this week".


    "Produced by Lexcorp industries and verified by the new President of the United States Lex Luthor, are these unmanned eyes in the sky, a black eye on people''s privacy?"


    "Well, that''s what civil liberty groups are saying. What about you? And before we open the lines and accept your calls, here''s headline news. Nikki..." The male voice called out to his Co host.


    "Well Jay, blimps aren''t the only things we''ve been seeing these past few nights. A rash of meteor showers has lit up the skies from coast to coast this week. Following the Central City invasion incident, authorities reported that these meteor showers are the remnants of the destroyed Alien spaceship that invaded Earth''s atmosphere. Luckily, the casualties were reduced to a minimum as the majority of these meteors crashed in non-populated areas, sea areas or were timely handled by Justice league members".


    "As for the online movements and public discussions against the Justice league for causing the Central City disaster, the press is still waiting for the League to give a formal reply. Apart from the Superheroes seen active in search and rescue operations, some Justice league members haven''t been seen since the day of the invasion and have entered seclusion away from the public eye".


    "Members such as the Man Of Steel from Metropolis, Wonder Woman, and our very own Dark Knight Batman haven''t been seen in the past two weeks and more. In other related news¡­." The voice slowly faded out as numerous people continued to listen to the Gotham city radio station.


    But unknown to the Gotham populace


    A burning meteor streak descended from the sky into Earth''s atmosphere.


    From afar, it looked like a flaming fireball coming to deliver divine judgement. It''s destination, Gotham City.


    However, the air surrounding the meteor that was descending at rapid speeds suddenly began to swirl. The change in weather phenomenon around it didn''t last long.


    Only for three seconds. Despite that, the course of its crash site had been altered as it steered away from Gotham city, headed towards the outskirts.


    Less than a minute later, it crashed into a giant lake, causing a massive wave to erupt.


    "From what we can tell, folks, something just crashed right on the outskirts of Gotham city. Sources tell us that it''s another meteor".


    The water wave washed out of the lake, flooding the surrounding area. Luckily, there was nothing but grass and rock in the surroundings.


    The water was disturbed, leading to countless waves. Until a while later, the chaotic lake finally eased.


    Splash!


    A figure suddenly appeared on the edge of the lake, gasping for air. Who it was, was unknown, and the features couldn''t be seen in the dark night.


    The figure stood up and strolled away from the body of water. Sporting a head full of long yellow hair and the body covered with a red, long robe with a special S symbol in the center.


    The cloth slid off, exposing what could only be described as a marvelous sight for any man to see. The curvy body, generous assets and feminine figure clearly indicated the sex of the person in question.


    "Ugh!" Kara let out a groan as her hazy vision became clearer. The first thing she did was to examine her surroundings while gathering her thoughts.


    She opened her mouth and muttered a few words, yet anyone who could hear her wouldn''t be able to understand them.


    "I... What happened? Where am I?" Kara asked herself in Kryptonian. Her hands were on her head as she surveyed the area.


    What she saw gave her a little surprise.


    She looked around only to discover that she had landed in what looked like a city. A rather technologically advanced city with well designed architectural structures. However, the whole area was completely foreign to her.


    "Done sightseeing?" A clear voice said from behind her, startling the young kryptonian. Kara turned around in panic and what came in view was a strangely dressed male figure.


    Black hair, purple eyes, wearing clothing she had never seen before. And what shocked her was his words. Judging from what she heard, the man opposite her wasn''t speaking kryptonian, but she could strangely understand what he was saying to her.


    "Umm, hello. My name is Kara Zor-el. Would you be kind enough to inform me what star sector this planet belongs to". She asked hopefully in the Krypton Language.


    However..... "No". Amari said with a flat face.


    His eyes scanned the naked figure of one of the last two survivors of the planet Krypton.


    A normal person would just see a naked girl standing on the grass. A pervert would be seeing a wet dream. Amari''s eyes saw something else.


    The body structure, cell composition and core nucleus of the female in front of him was undergoing tremendous changes while doing nothing but just standing there.


    Even when there was no sunlight.


    "No?" Kara frowned tightly, especially when feeling the unscrupulous gaze of the latter that seemed to be able to see through her.


    According to the calculations of her parents, she was supposed to land in a primitive solar system. According to the general knowledge she knew, the inhabitants of this planet should be in a backward era.


    Was it possible that the later couldn''t understand what she said?


    "Oh I can understand you. Don''t worry about where you are. Some people will fill you in on that soon enough. But for now....."


    His eyes suddenly glowed, and his pupils developed complex patterns. Looking into those... beautiful pair of eyes, Kara was a little dazed. This was the first time she had seen the eyes of a living person transform like that.


    "Just take a nap". Suddenly, an intense feeling of drowsiness assaulted her. Kara stumbled from side to side as her head spun with dizziness before plopping to the floor.


    The last thing her brain could register was the feeling of two firm, strong arms lifting her naked body from the ground. Subsequently, everything went dark.

 Chapter 31 Blood Donor

    Gotham Outskirts.


    HQ.


    Amari stood in front of Kara''s pod with a pondering look on his face. His facial features often shifted between that and a questioning look with a raised eyebrow.


    The holographic Red Queen looked at her master who was doing nothing other than standing there in what seemed to be deep thought for the last seven minutes.


    She had already scanned the Kryptonian specimen that had been delivered and was now undergoing a different process.


    Unlike Batman''s cramped Batcave in the original work, the room they inhabited was rather large. Almost twice as spacious as the one used for government conferences.


    Kara''s naked body lay within a pod which constantly shone with yellow light, analyzing her genetic structure to the very last particle.


    Strangely, apart from Amari, the Red Queen and Kara within the technological contraption, the only thing that could be seen in the spacious room was the spacecraft that had transported the future Supergirl to earth.


    The AI finally uttered words that broke the silent atmosphere.


    "Is there anything you require assistance with Master?"


    "Huh? Oh no, what makes you think that?"


    "Your expressions portray what I can only describe as you having difficulty in making a decision. Are you perhaps pondering what you will do with the kryptonian female?"


    "No. That''s not it".


    "Thinking about calculated steps for your future plans then?"


    "That''s not it either".


    "Then can you please enlighten me?"


    "I can''t decide on a name for this place".


    Red Queen: ???????


    Amari looked at the life-like puzzled expression on the face of the AI and was a little amused inwardly.


    Nevertheless, he wasn''t kidding.


    This place that he had created with nothing but a thought and the expenditure of some energy, he truly didn''t know what to call it.


    "Your actions ever since your arrival on this planet have been rather bold sir. Quite inconsistent with your low key profile in the last month".


    The plain sentence had a lot of truth to it. Apart from the military announcement stating that they had "cooperated" with him to destroy the invading spaceship, Amari hadn''t made any public moves in a while.


    His presence, or lack thereof had given many people sleepless nights. The one on the top of that list was his new neighbor in Gotham city, Batman. But that was to be expected of the most paranoid man in the DC multiverse.


    It was already surprising enough that Batman didn''t make contact since the last time they met.


    Neither did any members of the Justice League. No Flash, Martian, no one.


    But when you think about it, they probably had bigger problems at the time.


    Following in second place was the American government. The world council had given him right to live on the planet.


    However, there was no clause in their verbal agreement that stated where he would reside. Wherever he decided to base himself was his own concern....... and the concern of the country he resided in.


    So placing himself near Gotham had caused the American government to grow restless. General Lane had placed satellite surveillance on his territory twenty four hours a day.


    Of course they didn''t dare to take it too far. There were no secret agents snooping around his base, neither were there any special tricks used against him.


    This was probably due to the fact that such infiltrations had zero chances of actually succeeding and would only achieve the aim of pissing him off.


    At least until they found a way to restrain the extraterrestrial, the government didn''t dare to tear all face.


    However, they were always on guard against him and whatever he had planned. His low key profile could mean many things....... Or, it could mean nothing at all.


    Honestly speaking, they were worrying too much.


    As long as they didn''t cross his bottom line, Amari wouldn''t bother with whatever they did.


    They weren''t stupid enough to test him. Although....... that didn''t mean others weren''t.


    But hey, he didn''t have anything better to do. Until today that is......


    Amari turned his attention back to the sleeping kryptonian.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "Low profile huh? If its such a problem, then let''s fix that". Amari said casually as he gave her a look.


    The AI, understanding what her master was conveying began to take action. Inside the containment pod, several little holes opened up on the inside revealing sharp pointed needles.


    The needles all pushed forward from their concealments and penetrated into the kryptonians skin.


    Blood immediately began to flow outward through the needles. Amari looked at the process with indifference.


    Kara was valuable to him, or rather her kryptonian DNA was. And this was the previous goal the energy sentient had set his eyes on.


    If he didn''t know she was coming, he would have kidnapped Superman from the exploding spaceship and let the whole world think he was dead.


    Well........ only until he drained the latter of all further use.


    Although not necessary, the DNA of a kryptonian was needed to carry out his next course of action. Needed to reduce the costs of energy that is.


    "Master, a special action is going on that I believe you will want to see".


    The red Queen suddenly spoke mid process, successfully drawing Amari''s attention.


    A holographic screen appeared to show a press conference.


    "Another talk show concerning the actions of he Justice league again?" Amari asked with a raised eyebrow and immediately lost interest in his own thoughts.


    "No sir. This one is talking about you". Her apathetic voice replied and the holographic picture played.


    It showed a broadcast, an evening talk show, with a woman and a man sitting next to one another in plush chairs. Amari vaguely recognized the man as a popular Pundit.


    However what caught his attention was the headlines.


    [Gordon Godfrey Clears The Air on The Infamous Deviant: Threat Or Hero]


    "Me?" Amari raised an eyebrow. This was something he had not expected.


    Frankly speaking, at this point in time, he should have already begun to fade out of the public light.


    The so called announcement that the military released concerning their cooperation was just to make sure he didn''t get angry at his credit being taken away.


    In essence, there were no interviews, no exclusive reports, no statements, nothing. No one knew how Amari had destroyed the spaceship that had already left Earth''s atmosphere.


    As the military didn''t know, they couldn''t give any details. The Justice league also couldn''t release a statement on that subject. Amari on the other hand had never appeared in public to confirm the matter.


    Without enough content to actually print out a story, the subject in the destruction of the invaders could only be written as an after note. Only enough to leave a mark in the minds of the citizens.


    And more importantly, Gordon? Amari''s eyes narrowed as he watched the screen play out.


    "....... An alien invasion attacked and what happened? I''ll tell you what, nothing. Not only did the Justice League fail to stop them from getting what they came for, they even left the planet. If their ship hadn''t been blown to bits, the thousands of lives lost in Central City would have gone for nothing. That''s the bitter truth folks, and the unfortunate souls of Central City have the Deviant, Amari to thank for that".


    Gordon on the screen wore an olive green suit, his blonde hair was styled backwards as always.


    "Amari? The alien that first appeared in Metropolis?"


    The woman on the set placed a finger on her chin.


    "Forgive me for asking, but are you truly the Gordon Godfrey we all know". She asked with a hint of doubt in her eyes.


    Seeing this, he smiled and turned towards the camera.


    "I know, I know what you''re all thinking. Old Gordon''s gone soft, but i assure you people at home, the reality is far from that. Unlike a certain group of masqueraders, this Deviant, Amari actually came in through the front door". He said as he pointed forwards.


    "Superman and the likes in the Justice League came in unannounced. But his existence was actually verified by the Government. Not only does he not parade about while wearing a mask, we''ve all seen what he looks like. We know who he is and he knows who we are, that''s how it should be folks. That is the right way to integrate into society. True equality".


    "His actions have shown that he as an outsider, actually wants to cooperate with earth, on our terms".


    Amari watched as the video continued to play, his expression grew more and more indifferent as the seconds passed by.


    "So unlike the others, this alien, I Gordon Godfrey have no prejudice against . Unless he does something that can make me say otherwise...."


    "Pause". Amari''s cold and clear voice sounded out bringing the talk show to a halt.


    A chair had materialized behind him at some point prompting him to lay his body on it.


    His finger continuously tapped the armrest of the chair while staring at the paused holographic video without saying a word.


    After a while, a small chuckle escaped his lips.


    "Hehehe..... I just thought no one would be stupid enough. It seems like someone wants to prove me otherwise".


    The chuckle held no warmth in it and even carried a hint of murderous intent.


    "Testing me? What''s your purpose?" He said to no one in particular.


    "Master, do you mean......?"


    "Yep. Someone''s messing around where they shouldn''t". Who was Gordon Godfrey? The Jonah John Jameson of the DC world. Such a person was doing what?


    Speaking up for him?


    When did they make acquaintances?


    Why would he take such an action? From the goodness of his heart?


    If Amari were a regular human, a sneer would have crept up his face at this moment.


    "Do you know who it is sir?" The Red Queen asked.


    "Hehe. Apart from Luthor and the Light, who else could it be?" His earlier question was just for show. He already knew the Who, Why and What in this case.


    Anyone with random DC knowledge would be able to pick up the clues. Gordon Godfrey was an associate of Darkside, but Amari and Darkside had never crossed paths.


    So the latter had nothing to do with this. Luthor on the other hand.....


    The bald egomaniac had just become president. His mind was probably spinning with several dark schemes.


    And bringing Amari into the public spotlight was probably just one of them.


    "Should I just kill him?" Amari pondered on the question casually. He looked at the sleeping Supergirl who was being drained of blood for a while nonchalantly.


    After a few moments of contemplating, he shook his head in refusal. The Red Queen looked at his pondering figure and tentatively asked.


    "Do you plan on eliminating him?"


    "Oh! Not just yet. Besides, where''s the fun in that?" Amari''s voice sounded as he continued to tap the armrest lightly.


    "He hasn''t done anything yet and Lex still has some use to me". With a light shrug, he continued.


    "Whatever he has planned, it doesn''t matter. Besides, i''m a little bored, so let''s leave him alive till then. A certain someone on the other hand, I feel they''ve lived long enough". His words would bring a chill to whoever heard them.


    The AI just nodded.


    Amari''s eyes flashed with a cold light. With his current strength and amount of energy, there were very few things he needed to worry about.


    Lex Luthor wasn''t one of them. So Amari ultimately concluded on letting him live for the meantime.


    There were still some events that hadn''t happened yet and some of them held part of his plans. Or his tools for amusement.


    Not to mention, after General Lane''s future incident, the latter might just kill lex on his own.


    All in all, it mattered little to him.


    "So in the meantime, Let''s go hunting for some stowaways".


    And with that, his body blurred before disappearing in place.


    The chair dematerialized out of existence and the holographic AI also disappeared. All that was left was a sleeping Kryptonian who had turned into a blood donor.

 Chapter 32 Amaterasu

    "Another one?" Bruce listened to the Gotham radio reporting the news concerning the crash of another meteor near Gotham and his flat expression grew a little rigid.


    The bat computer had already pulled up a live video footage of a reporter from the Gotham Daily flying towards the area of the crash site on a helicopter


    "...... Cynthia Hall from The Gotham Daily Bugle with reports of another meteor crash outside the vicinity of Gotham....."


    Contrary to what people would expect however, the news chopper stopped about a mile away from the reported landing area.


    "As you can all see folks, the trail of smoke in the air shows that the meteor landed in that area. Home and Private territory of the Infamous alien otherwise known as The Deviant..... Unfortunately however, authorities have clearly stated that this area is strictly off limits to even the press populace and according to past news reports, the whole area is shielded by an energy shield......"


    "....... Further entry is not only forbidden but also unsafe as the barrier is said to be impenetrable. The citizens of the nation are beginning to wonder whether Amari is ....."


    With furrowed brows, Bruce took a sip from his coffee, placed his favorite mug down on a coaster and stood up from his chair.


    At the moment, Bruce wasn''t putting on casual wear but was donning on pitch black tights, a long black cape with a Black Bat symbol on his chest area.


    The Batman getup. The pitch black spandex suit with highly advanced tech equipped within it stuck close to his body.


    "Amari''s energy dome doesn''t allow entry to foreign entities or objects and yet miraculously, a streaking meteor makes its way into his territory without intrusion".


    Bruce narrated his thoughts to no one in particular as he was the only one present within the Batcave.


    He already knew about the energy barrier surrounding the area. If Amari hadn''t set up those shields, then there would always be a group of reporters who didn''t know what was good for them, attempting to sneak into his base unnoticed.


    Knowing that such a place was the base city of an unknown, very dangerous extraterrestrial entity should supposedly dissuade them from having such thoughts and engaging them?


    Bruce knew that the answer to that question was a big fat no. If you want proof, all you had to do was look at people like Iris West Allen and Lois Lane who put their lives in danger time and time again while chasing after potentially dangerous leads......


    Honestly, he thought it was nothing but madness.


    There would always be reporters willing to put their necks on the line for a good scoop. There were those like the above mentioned who had a natural yet synonymously dangerous curiosity for the unknown and the supernatural.


    While there were others who would do it for a possible promotion or a quick buck.


    Bruce remembered clearly Clark and Barry''s stories concerning how these two women spent majority of their time stalking their alter ego''s.


    He found it somewhat amusing actually, but that wasn''t the point.


    The dome was erected to prevent anything from getting in. But now......


    "Computer, play satellite imaging on the meteors descent". Bruce gave an order and the screen changed.


    The surveillance footage of the meteor descending on Gotham City played on the screen.


    "Rewind......".


    "Pace in slow motion". Batman said solemnly as he studied the video of the falling meteor. It didn''t take him long to notice the very abnormal change of trajectory during its fall.


    "Run playback, zoom in". The image of the meteor was magnified several times. As the world''s best detective, Bruce noticed the swirl tht appeared in the atmosphere after examining for several minutes.


    It didn''t last long, barely two seconds yet it was enough to change its original course headed for Gotham Harbor.


    "He caused it to deviate. Something''s up with that meteor". Bruce immediately came to a conclusion. Anyone else would have probably chalked it up to a weather phenomenon, anyone else but him.


    Looking at the screen, Bruce fell into a bit of a dilemma. Should he go down and investigate on his own immediately, or should he contact the rest of the league to take action together?


    After a while of contemplating.....


    "Batcomputer, contact Cyborg". Bruce reached out and placed his hands behind his neck. His fingers accurately grasped the fallen, lead lined cowl and wore it over his face, fully putting himself into the Bat costume.


    Bruce looked at the video of the meteor and his heart was completely restless.


    Although he didn''t know why the latter suddenly decided to show himself after the past month of seclusion, the fact that he had, set off waves in his heart.


    Bruce practically living in the Batcave for the past month was partly to monitor Amari''s actions. And the fact that the latter seemed to have gone into hibernation unsettled him greatly.


    His sudden action in Bruce''s eyes carried a great deal of Importance.


    "Batman. What''s the situation?" Cyborgs face appeared on the screen.


    "A meteor appeared over Gotham''s skies and crashed into The Deviant''s city". His reply was curt and concise, giving all important information in as little words as possible.


    "And? What did you find out?" Cyborg asked curiously.


    He knew Bruce too well. For the latter to suddenly call him, something strange must have happened.


    "Here''s the thing, it wasn''t meant to crash there". He pressed a button and the screen showed two lines curving in different directions. They indicated the Meteors change of trajectory.


    "From what I can tell, I believe he personally caused it to deviate. The energy shields around his base didn''t try to prevent it from getting in".


    "Something''s wrong with this meteor".


    "I see, so what are you thinking?"


    "Amari''s involvement directly makes this event anything but normal".


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    "I don''t know what he''s planning, but one thing''s for sure. This falling meteor, isn''t simple. We have to find out what".


    Bruce stated the facts.


    "Get up to the watchtower, I''ll notify all available members of the league and we''ll discuss our what''s happening and a possible course of action". Vic said with a solemn look on his face.


    "Understood". Bruce gave a light nod.


    "Cyborg out". Cyborgs video went off, leaving Batman alone in the Bat Cave once again.


    Bruce let out a heavy sigh before turning towards a side of the Batcave. That side happened to have a Zeta tube.


    Meanwhile, back on the watchtower hovering above Earth''s orbit.


    Within the Med Bay.


    Clark''s sleeping figure laid within a solar regeneration pod which was surrounding by a lot of classy tech ensuring the continuous procedure of his Ion radiation transfer.


    His upper body was naked while his lower half was clothed with white pants. The perfect, well lined muscles on his body didn''t give off an ooze of sweat under the intense solar radiation.


    Suddenly, Superman''s fingers within the pod twitched......


    .........


    United States.


    Project Cadmus


    On the outskirts of Metropolis.


    If one looked closely, they would see a figure high above the clouds dressed in a loose fitting black shirt and shorts, his form reflected by the moon.


    The male''s line of sight wasn''t on the distant Metropolis nightlife, but rather, gazing downwards on what looked to be a fully armored compound.


    The were several buildings in the large area that made up what he deemed a small city, even smaller than his. The lights were shining brightly within the vicinity as the buildings were surrounding with nothing but lush trees and vegetation for miles.


    Guards patrolled the area with guns and highly advanced technological weapons the average person couldn''t see on the United States police force and were Watchtowers with multiple sentinels.


    Amari watched all this from the heights of the clouds with his improved vision.


    And this place was the one and only Project Cadmus, or just Cadmus for short.


    A secret division of the United States government dedicated to countering the power of Metahumans in the world, particularly the members of the Justice League.


    And the first founder and chairman of this operation was the infamous Lex Luthor.


    Although related to the new United States president, the origins of Cadmus were mostly unclear.


    However, apart from Lex the people who had dealings in Cadmus''s operations could still be broadly named.


    Amari''s mind wandered to what he remembered from he words of Emil Hamilton to a certain someone.


    "Power brokers, politicians, criminals and black-ops mercenaries with one thing in common besides they''re humanity''s last hope against your kind"


    Project Cadmus was in the business of developing weapons, specifically to fight powered humans such as the Metahumans, Justice league and aliens.


    Their dealings were.........


    Amari didn''t care about that. His eyes wandered around the area and stopped on a specific building.


    "And to think you would be hiding here of all places. Quite surprising, I admit. With your capabilities, no one would even think of looking for you here if they managed to discovered that you didn''t die".


    Amari stated casually as his lips were slightly upturned.


    Why was he here? Quite simple. He was going to destroy Cadmus.


    Although he decided not to kill Lex just yet, he certainly wouldn''t let the latter live comfortably. Nevertheless, attacking Cadmus was just the icing on the cake.


    He was here to finish something he started in the first place.


    Amari''s figure descended from the air rapidly and appeared in front of the Cadmus base. His arrival caused a large crater to appear on the ground with numerous cracks.


    His sudden drop in didn''t go unnoticed either.


    All it took was three seconds and all the alarms started blaring within the buildings.


    Numerous lights shone on his figure outside the walls followed by the sounds of the guards powering up their weapons.


    "You are trespassing on private property....... Drop to the...... ground with both hands behind your head or we will open....." A guard on a watchtower shouted in a shaky voice with as much courage as he could muster..


    This guy had dropped in from the sky and the cracks on the ground indicated hat the latter was no small character.


    His grip tightened on his laser pulse gun, the only thing that currently have him a sense of security and he threatened the intruder as best he could. However, his words stopped as he recognized the figure standing under the spotlights and his eyes widened in shock.


    "It''s you...... You''re that alien.." His voice was very loud, losing a large amount of the fear he previously had.


    Amari wasn''t hard to notice as his picture and video were all over the internet. Especially with the new rounds of promotion from Gordon Godfrey. The signature marks within his purple eyes just made him all the more easier to spot.


    "Glad that you recognise me, so Hello". Amari raised his hand and waved with a nonchalant smile on his face.


    "......... And goodbye". Then his patterned eyes glowed brightly. The eyes of all the guards looking at him suddenly lost their light and became dull.


    Then, Plop.


    Several fell to the floor, some fell off there platforms and Amari walked forwards indifferently. The illusion of his eyes had just put everyone to sleep with a single gaze.


    Nothing special.


    BOOM!


    With one punch, the gates were blown away and landed several meters in the distance, looking completely deformed.


    Amari stood in place without moving, seemingly waiting for something. And thankfully, he didn''t have to wait long.


    In a matter of moments, numerous reinforcements arrived on the scene with high tech weapons, blasters, missile launchers....... There were even several tanks.


    However, compared to the ones at the door, Amari quickly noticed that these guards were dull looking and had flat expressions. Similar to when he hypnotized the earlier guards.


    Mind control.


    "Controlling baseline humans with weapons to attack me? You do know it won''t work right?" His indifferent voice questioned to the group of guards.


    The mind controlled humans didn''t utter a word and immediately opened fire. All kinds of weapons, lasers, plasma rockets, kryptonite powered blasters converged towards his standing space.


    A burst of explosions sounded in the quiet night as dust and debris flew in all directions.


    The smoke spread all over and could be seen a few miles away. The guards didn''t stop firing, but continued to shoot blast after blast.


    "That will be enough of that". The indifferent voice came from behind all of them causing the heavy fire to cease. Although they currently didn''t have any awareness, the coldness emanating from those words caused a chill to run down their spines.


    "Kamui". Amari activated his ability without a second thought. Although these group of humans were being mind controlled, it didn''t matter to him.


    No one who attacked him would go scot free. The degree of damage he would unleash would depend entirely on his mood at the time.


    The guards only felt a strong suction force envelop them all, and then.


    Squelch!


    The unbearable pain, regardless of mind control caused them all to scream at he top of their lungs.


    Some had their arms ripped off their shoulders. Others were their legs, while some even had their bodies divided in two from the waist.


    The scene was bloody Carnage as dozens of men wailed in agony. The cause of all this had his body disappear on the spot. And appeared somewhere within the lower levels of the Cadmus building.


    As soon as he appeared, several heavy metals suddenly sprung out of unknown positions and rapidly entangled him.


    Amari didn''t move an inch and watched it happen without even activating Kamui, watching the whole thing with interest.


    Then, a short sword appeared behind him and accelerated rapidly, aiming for his heart.


    A flash of coldness appeared in Amari''s eyes. Unlike his bindings, that metal wasn''t from earth.


    Thinking of this, he immediately made a move.


    Dark red aura seeped through his clothes and the metals binding him decayed rapidly and broke into countless pieces.


    The dagger accelerated towards him only to be caught firmly within his palm. Looking at the weapon made from foreign materials, the murderous intent in his heart grew by the second.


    "Alcan Metal. This should be what Sevimark''s Twin Tail Chains were made of. Sharp enough to even tear through the defense of a kryptonian. I admit it would have posed a threat if your efforts had actually succeeded". His voice was flat and his face was indifferent.


    He looked towards the end of the room where a certain containment pod full with liquid was mounted. Inside the pod was a creature with skin half black, half white and all the identifiable features of a Martian.


    Mericrozz.


    The Psion experiment wasn''t in human form and her characteristics as a Martian were completely showcased. However, parts of her skin were severely burned and a leg was missing.


    "Although just an insignificant threat, it''s a threat nonetheless. You have a hint of my respect". Amari said indifferently.


    "Unfortunately, that will in no way prevent you from dying".


    Mericrozz still didn''t say a word but her actions were in no way slow. Her powerful telekinesis unfolded, sending a massive invisible storm in his direction with as much power as she could muster in her injured state.


    At the same time, her body activated density shifting and went invisible as she immediately aimed to escape from this place. Anywhere would do as long as she got far away from him.


    However.


    Seeing the fleeing figure of Mericrozz, it all played in slow motion within his eyes.


    His eye suddenly glowed as he activated the second pupil technique within his other eye.


    Amaterasu!


    Pitch black flames appeared within the surroundings and expanded rapidly, devouring everything in its wake.

 Chapter 33 Cadmus Is Gone

    The sudden explosive rise in room temperature was accompanied by the scalding heat exceeding thousands of degrees.


    BOOM!


    The lab filled with several important experiments, heavily invested equipment and research facilities amounting to millions was swept away by a raging black inferno.


    The pitch-black flames reacted like a starving living entity, engulfing and devouring anything and everything in its path. Everything that met its touch was destroyed in a split second.


    The fleeing Martian felt the scalding heat, and the bald scalp in her Martian form tingled. Mericrozz was so frightened that her intangible form quickly phased right through the nearest wall. Her flying speed was raised to the extreme, that it seemed her soul would leave her body and escape on its own if she didn''t move fast enough.


    At that moment, the all too familiar feeling of fear and crippling anxiety assaulted her nerves and threw her mind into chaos.


    Fire! A Martian''s worst fear. Mericrozz who knew all too well how vulnerable she would be if she didn''t get as far away as possible from that blazing heat, ran as fast as she could.


    With her Martian abilities, she phased through wall after wall in a frenzy.


    Amari saw her escape from the room, and his body blurred after her. A second after he disappeared, the spot where he stood was enveloped by the pitch-black flames.


    Blar! Blar! Blar!


    The alarms sounded throughout the buildings like sirens, yet Mericrozz paid them no heed as she focused all her might on escaping.


    Her body was invisible and intangible, enabling her to move at high speeds without being noticed.


    The Martian who was flying forwards suddenly changed directions and pierced through the roof. Her body appeared on the upper floor.


    Appearing here, she instantly deactivated density shifting and, in her Martian form, spat out a mouthful of blood.


    The bloodline oozed from the corner of her mouth.


    Seeing the blood, the white Martian was visibly gloomy. Using her powers wasn''t effortless. It would be if she was in perfect condition, but that wasn''t the case at the moment.


    The consistent use of telepathy, telekinesis, and density shifting carried a rather heavy strain on her damaged body. This could be seen through the very visible scars on her form and the leg area that was missing a foot.


    If she couldn''t fly, her mobility would have been greatly limited.


    However, in her opinion, being severely wounded was much better off than being dead. The self-destruct blast from her spaceship back a month ago carried great destructive power.


    Sensing that something was wrong at that time, she immediately phased away and escaped from the spaceship at her fastest speed.


    Nevertheless, she didn''t make it out unscathed, as she was still caught within the range of the explosion. Even if she was a Martian, a blast of that magnitude was enough to leave her in a half dead state.


    Her current physical condition was the result of one month''s worth of recuperation. After all, the Martian Physiology granted highly enhanced durability, making them almost nigh invulnerable, capable of tanking bullets, armored shells, energy blasts and a lot of kinetic damage but ultimately, this level of toughness was still a bit lacking when compared to Kryptonians.


    Surviving an explosion almost comparable to a nuclear blast was already good enough. The fact that she also survived the trip back to earth in the meteor debris, although not in one piece, was enough to show how tough her body was.


    When she discovered her situation, alongside her mangled body, she immediately hid as deep as she could to avoid being discovered. In her current state at that time, see was at her most vulnerable.


    If she was discovered by the government or the Justice League, only the universe knew what her fate would be like. So until she fully recovered, she decided to hide herself. Now her body wasn''t at peak state and she was forced to exert herself.


    This result was counterproductive.......


    At that moment, her eyes suddenly turned white and a feeling of crisis engulfed her.


    She immediately activated density shifting as quick as she could, while the space beside her trembled. What came out of nowhere was a fist moving at lightning speed and fully coated with a dark red aura on it.


    Luckily, it passed right through her body without inflicting any damage whatsoever.


    Mericrozz immediately backed away as fast as she could, with speed a human could never keep up with.


    Pushing both hands forward, her telekinesis rushed out in an attempt to smash the opponent far away. The walls and floor were destroyed in the process.


    Amari walked forward with unhurried steps as the waves slammed into his being, but didn''t succeed in slightly halting his movement.


    All the energy was absorbed like a dried out sponge thirsty for a drop of water.


    ¡°Your telekinesis isn''t my match, even in its heyday¡±. The coldness emanating from his voice was followed up by the release of the same pitch-black flame.


    The black fires instantly emerged from the void and flooded the hallway. Seeing the approaching flames, Mericrozz felt the deep, thick engulfment of death.


    The black fire engulfed the entire hall with its flames, but the Martian was nowhere to be found.


    Amari stared at the burning hallway indifferently, not at all concerned about his escaping target. Why would he be concerned when the target was planning on initiating a sneak attack right behind him?


    Lo and behold, he was right. The White Martian suddenly appeared from the floor behind him. The red eyes on her white face gave off a red glow.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Amari turned around in time to receive a full head on attack of Martian Vision. Two thick rays of heat slammed into his chest with a temperature degree capable of rivaling Superman''s.


    ¡°Martian Vision? One of the lesser known abilities of Martians¡±. Amari stated plainly, looking not the least bit affected by the blazing lasers constantly blasting at his chest.


    ¡°Kamui¡±. With the activation of his ability, a strong suction force appeared in the surroundings.


    Mericrozz immediately felt the absurdly strong pull that latched onto her right arm. Before she could properly react, her arm twisted and was instantly ripped off from the shoulder.


    Squelch!


    Blood splattered all over the place and rushed out of the torn off shoulder like a broken water tap.


    ¡°Creech!!!¡± A painful, inhumane wail that couldn''t possibly be human resounded in the hallway. The severe pain made the Martian fall from the air with a thud.


    Too bad, Amari wasn''t considerate enough to let her finish her wail of agony.


    His figure appeared in front of her in less than a second and grabbed her by the throat.


    The wailing stopped as the Martian felt the strong grip on her neck.


    ¡°Not just any Martian can use Martian Vision. Even in the face of fire, you didn''t freeze up as easily as other Martians would have¡±. Amari continued to speak with a face that screamed, I don''t care about anything.


    ¡°...... Telepathy and telekinesis that surpasses even the Man hunter, tsk tsk..... Those Psion bastards actually wanted to recreate a Burning Martian. Lunatics I say.......¡± .


    The struggling Martian froze for a second. Her eyes widened as she looked at Amari with a hint of disbelief lying within them.


    ¡°Surprised how I know all that?¡± He raised an eyebrow in amusement.


    ¡°I know many things. This stuff isn''t even worth mentioning, so don''t bother your soon-to-be dead head about it. Seriously....... You had so much potential. Those lizard lunatics actually almost completed their goal¡­.¡±


    ¡°It''s too bad. You just couldn''t contain your curiosity. I guess it''s true that curiosity kills the cat¡±.


    At that point, Mericrozz''s white and black body was covered with cold sweat.


    ¡°..... You...... What are¡­ You?¡±


    ¡°That is none of your concern, dear. Alright, time to send you to the Afterlife¡±. His indifferent face finally showed a ¡°serious¡± expression.


    Knowing that she was about to be killed, the Martian''s survival instinct kicked in. However, her body trembled when she discovered she couldn''t density shift.


    Her eyes immediately glowed red, ready to fire another blast of vision. Unfortunately, two fingers were poked into those eyes, effectively blinding them.


    ¡°Screech!¡± Another painful screech resounded.


    ¡°The Chamber will definitely find you¡±. Knowing that this was the end, her hideous face swore viciously.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, classic death lines¡±.  With a little more force applied to his wrist, the neck of the Martian was crushed with a snap.


    Amari expressionlessly looked at the corpse with no signs of life and wore a pondering look. His original idea was to use Amaterasu to burn the corpse of the Martian until it was nothing but ashes.


    But now on second thought..... The blood of a half awakened Burning Martian was just as valuable as Kara''s. Her death was already a done deal either way the moment she tried to peek into his head, but that didn''t mean her corpse couldn''t be out to good use.


    Plus, it could give him some surprises.


    The Martians were the veritable descendants of the race Fernus. Also known as Burning Martians, known for their violence, ferocity, and will for destruction.


    Twenty-thousand years ago, the ¡°Burning Martians¡± were the dominant life form on the planet Mars. Their name originates from the fact that each Martian was perpetually ablaze with a glowing halo of fire.


    They were a ruthless and barbaric race whose life''s goal was to wage never-ending war against one another.


    The Guardians of the Universe, who had been observing Martian culture for quite some time, decided to intervene the moment it became clear that it wouldn''t be long before they developed interstellar travel.


    They programmed a genetic weakness towards fire into Martian physiology to prevent them from evolving back into their natural forms.


    All of this aside, it just emphasized on the fact that the Fernus Race was powerful.


    Thinking up to this point, Amari quickly stored Mericrozz''s corpse within the Kamui space.


    ¡°Great. Now that that''s settled, let''s make this quick¡±. His body disappeared as soon as he finished his words.


    .........


    The sound of alarms rang out within the Cadmus base, instantly sending the whole facility into a frenzy. Security guards were mobilized, staff and personnel immediately went to work to discover the situation.


    ¡°What the hell is happening?¡± A stern middle-aged woman dressed in an executive lab coat yelled at the top of her lungs as the elevator door opened up.


    ¡°We''re under attack, Doctor Horton¡±. Someone replied in a loud voice.


    ¡°Don''t you think I know that?¡± Hearing his obvious reply, her face was ugly. The male seeing her gloomy expression shrunk back a bit, not daring to utter another word.


    ¡°Project Cadmus is an investment of countless bigwigs. I want to know who is attacking us right this minute and what gives them the audacity.....¡± Horton said with a frown on her face.


    However, several explosions from the lower levels of the building caused everyone in the command room to stagger, while some who were already standing fell on their butts.


    ¡°...... What was that?¡±


    ¡°It''s not good, mam. Sublevel B-16 has gone up in flames¡±. A man yelled in anxiety.


    ¡°B-16? Fuck. What''s happening down there?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know, mam¡±.


    The man''s face was hideous. Cadmus''s research was aimed at creating powerful genetic weapons. It didn''t just include human experimentation, but also the creation of special vials and serums capable of creating powered individuals.


    The majority of these serums were failures, but they were expensive failures and valuable research material.


    The surveillance footage of the mentioned sublevel appeared on the screen. What could be seen was a rapidly spreading black flame, devouring everything in its path.


    ¡°Damnit!¡± Doctor Horton roared distressed.


    ¡°The fire¡­ Whatever it is, it''s spreading rapidly. What should we do?¡± A personnel questioned with a bit of timidity.


    ¡°What should you do? Find people and get down there to put it out, you nut head!¡±


    The roaring voice of the doctor could be heard in the command room.


    However, high above the Cadmus facility, The space around an area distorted slightly an Amari''s figure appeared in the air.


    He looked towards the buildings below and the patterns in his eyes spun rapidly as if accumulating power. A few seconds later.


    ¡°Amaterasu!¡±


    The void suddenly cracked open, followed by a massive gush of black flames pouring down upon the earth like hell''s judgement.


    And right in front of its path was Cadmus.


    BOOM!


    ¡°Send the word out. We need to let them know that the........¡± Doctor Horton said, but before she could finish her words, the entire Cadmus building was engulfed in black.

 Chapter 34 Clarks Awake

    Metropolis Outskirts


    Cadmus.


    ¡°......... a job well done, I suppose¡±. Looking at the entire area practically covered in a sea of black flames, Amari thought inwardly as he flew above it all.


    Cadmus was now officially history. Well..... At least this division of it. There were other Cadmus research sites across the United States.


    This was just one of them. However, he didn''t have any intentions to pursue the rest. The loss of this facility alone had caused Luthor to lose millions in hardware and billions in software.


    As for the rest, he was too lazy to actually put his hands into action. Destroying one was enough. Plus, if he decided to destroy a few more, it might disrupt Lex from carrying out his plans.


    ¡°We certainly can''t have that¡±.


    His gaze shifted from the burning ruins towards the direction of Washington, DC.


    As his work was done, Amari withdrew his gaze and conveniently disappeared into space.


    The space concealment he had thrown around the area to isolate space and prevent any news from getting out timely disappeared as soon as he did. Judging by this time tomorrow, the whole of America would be bustling with this news.


    ..........


    Washington DC.


    In a high-rise penthouse,


    Looking at the screen in front him, Lane couldn''t help getting annoyed deep within his heart. Nevertheless, etiquette needed to be maintained, and his facial expressions didn''t change a bit.


    ¡°This matter is deemed inappropriate, Mr. President¡±.


    The picture in front of him showed the face of the Newly elected American president.


    Dressed in a stylish black suit, blue tie and white long - sleeve shirt within, the bald head on his body made his identity unmistakable.


    Lex looked at Lane''s unchanging expression from his end, and his eyebrows furrowed a little.


    ¡°Why do you say so, General?¡±


    ¡°The AI is too dangerous. It has already been decided that the Red Queen will be under the care and control of the United States military to decipher for our use¡±.


    Sam said flatly. His standard Army coat was gone from his shoulders and his dressing, although formal, looked a lot more casual than it usually was.


    ¡°I''m just saying, if the Military is having trouble deciphering such advanced technology, Cadmus operations is more than happy to take this burden off your hands. We have ample resources after all¡±. Lex said with a slight smile on his lips, trying to make himself look as amiable as possible.


    Sam frowned.


    ¡°As do we, Mr. President. To be frank with you, although the progress is slow, progress is progress. This is highly advanced technology we are dealing with, after all. And due to its source, the AI is something that cannot be rushed, if not, the disadvantages would outweigh the benefits¡±.


    Lex''s small smile dropped from his face. Sam''s words contained all the information he wanted to portray. A direct refusal.


    Due to the invasion incident of Central city, Lex, who had suffered a loss and almost lost his life, used the tragedy of Central City''s destruction to fuel his campaign.


    Promoting his ideals on the need for increased National Security and the helpful additions from GBS pundit Gordon Godfrey on the Justice League''s and aliens as a whole, he was able to smoothly bag the presidential post less than a month later.


    This could be considered a great leap forward in his ambitions and the ambitions of The Light.


    Naturally, after becoming president, his influence had risen tremendously. The same applied to his access to confidential government secrets.


    Finding out the inner workings matters of the World Council''s deal with the mysterious alien, The Deviant, was only a matter of asking.


    And therefore, the pieces on Lex''s chessboard suddenly multiplied exponentially.


    What caught his attention the most at the current time was the confirmed news of the United States Defense Department being in possession of a highly advanced artificial intelligence procured from the mysterious alien himself.


    Amari!


    With his status, Lex had pulled some strings to discover just what made the AI so precious. As a result, what he found out caused his scientific heart to burn with passion.


    At the same time, his scheming intellect went to work at several times the usual pace.


    An artificial intelligence capable of controlling the world. If gained possession of, Lex couldn''t imagine what heights he could reach.


    With such a valuable tool, the ambitions of The Light could be realized sooner than they could imagine.


    Lex couldn''t even begin to think about. This was an intelligent weapon capable of bringing the entire world under the control of one group....... or one man.


    A cunning, ruthless light flashed within his eyes, disappearing just as fast as it appeared.


    So without hesitation, Lex immediately launched an offensive to obtain his target. But now there was a significant stumbling block in his way.


    Lane.


    Sam''s words were a disguised refusal. And after communicating with the general, he could see his stance on the matter. Lane wouldn''t let this happen.


    There were no ifs or but''s on this. Sam Lane was a straightforward and stubborn man. Looking at that firm look in his eyes, lex was sure that the general wasn''t going to hand over the Red Queen even if Superman came crashing down.


    And what further worsened this headache, was the knowledge that there was nothing he could do to officially obtain it from the other party.


    Lex had just become president. Sure, he had connections, but connections could only get you so far.


    Although Lane said that the Red Queen would be handled by the military, the amount of influence the Military had over the AI was almost nil.


    Because the AI wasn''t obtained from some military laboratory or government tech lab or even an alien wreckage that dropped into Earth''s atmosphere, but from Amari. The latter didn''t hand it to the military........ No, he handed it to General Sam Lane.


    And although he was only the secretary of the Defense Department, whenever it came to things concerning aliens, or The Deviant in General, Lane answered to no one but the council.


    Not the military, not any government country, not even the president of the United States.


    And even with his cunning and influence, Luthor hadn''t gotten to the level of putting the council under his payroll.


    To put it in harsher terms, the council didn''t give a rat''s ass about Lexcorp.


    The only relationship they had with him was Cadmus, and the World Council had already decided that Lex Luthor wouldn''t gain possession of the AI.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Not even their investment in the biological weapons would change that.


    So now Lex had officially swallowed a hard bone that just wouldn''t go down. If Lane refused to give permission, Lex was helpless.


    Sam looked at the slightly frowning face of lex luthor and his heart didn''t stir up any waves.


    In fact, his words earlier were a coated lie. According to their current level of research, his slow progress actually meant no progress.


    In their attempts to crack the Red Queen this past month, his research team hadn''t progressed an inch. Nevertheless, Lex was right about one thing. Lane would never hand the AI to Luthor unless the world was about to perish.


    Lex, who was looking at the expressionless lane through video call, had a slight headache.


    At that moment, the door to the Oval Office received a light knock.


    Hearing this, Lex frowned even more, a little annoyed.


    ¡°Come In¡±. He uttered and turned back to the screen.


    ¡°In that case, General, I wish you good luck. Do update me on your progress when you have acquired substantial results¡±. Without another word, Lex ended the video call.


    His face turned dark as he continued to look at the blank computer.


    ¡°Didn''t go well, huh?" Mercy''s voice sounded as she walked into the room. The new arrival was none other than his assistant and driver.


    ¡°No it did not¡±. Lex replied, an eyebrow raised in contemplation.


    ¡°Bad mood?¡± She tilted her head and asked. Her right arm held an electronic tablet.


    ¡°Slightly, yes¡±.


    ¡°Well heads-up. It''s about to get worse¡±. Mercy said emotionlessly as he pulled the tablet from her other arm and showed lex the contents.


    Lex looked at the tablet with puzzlement. After the Central City incident, things had been flowing rather well. What could possibly cause his mood to turn worse.


    A few seconds later, Lex''s face was as dark as the bottom of a used pot.


    The tablet showed a received Cadmus alert followed by satellite imaging. Right outside Metropolis, where Cadmus once stood was replaced with nothing but raging flames.


    The air in the office was eerie and gloomy, and mercy swore she could feel murderous intentions brewing up in her boss.


    ¡°..... When did this happen?¡± Lex asked after a long time.


    ¡°The alert was received a few minutes ago¡±. The reply came to his ears.


    ¡°Who did it?¡±


    ¡°We don''t know¡±.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°We don''t know¡±.


    ¡°...¡±


    The office was silent. Seeing that the atmosphere was getting worse, Mercy continued.


    ¡°From 9:16pm to 9:20pm, satellite surveillance suddenly malfunctioned. Nothing within a ten-kilometer range of Cadmus Labs could be monitored during that time. My guess, you were targeted¡±.


    ¡°Yes my dear Mercy, I believe that point is overly obvious by now¡±. His words were mixed with sarcasm and coldness.


    At this point, even if someone told him this was all a coincidence, Lex wouldn''t believe it. But whether it was a coincidence or not wasn''t relevant at the moment.


    Cadmus was destroyed.


    Although only the one in Metropolis, it was destroyed nonetheless. Not to mention that the Metropolis Cadmus facility wasn''t a branch.


    It could be considered as the main Cadmus facility with lots of important research projects and materials. And now, it was gone........ All gone.


    Lex''s face was incomparably ugly.


    Cadmus''s board of directors certainly wouldn''t be pleased when they heard about this. Neither would the World Council, who had put in substantial investments into the development of biological weapons.


    First, they lost project Kr, and now Metropolis Cadmus has been destroyed. If Lex had a miniscule chance of obtaining the AI from The Council with some well places bargaining chips before, well now that chance was gone.


    Not only was it gone, the losses suffered this time were tremendous, setting them back several years in research.


    There was practically no chance now to obtain the AI.


    The urge to smash his office suddenly welled up within him. However, he was Lex Luthor, a successful megalomaniac. This urge was quickly suppressed.


    However, the constant heaving of his chest was enough to show that this time, Lex was furious at the setbacks his plans had suffered.


    The office maintained an eerie silence as lex eventually calmed down. His face now portraying indifference and his mind going into constant calculations.


    Eventually, a plan came into mind.


    ¡°.......... Whatcha gonna do now?¡± Seeing the light in her boss''s eyes, Mercy couldn''t help but ask.


    ¡°Use all resources. Find out whoever did this at all costs. I want to know everything there is to know about them as soon as possible.....¡± Lex tapped the table with his fingers.


    ¡°...... As for the AI....... Since the good General won''t hand it to me willingly, then I''ll just have to resort to more¡­. extreme measures. Either way, I will get what I want¡±. Lex said coldly.


    Lex''s interest in the Red Queen was rather immense. Due to the capabilities of the AI itself on one hand, and its mysterious creator on the other.


    But Lex wasn''t ready to confront Amari just yet.


    Now certainly wasn''t the time.


    ...........


    Meanwhile, the news of Cadmus''s destruction spread rapidly like wildfire.


    Just as Lex Luthor received the news, many forces also obtained information on the Cadmus accident.


    The United States Government, General Lane and his Department of Defense, the various newspapers all over the country, the hidden World Council, other miscellaneous forces and the most notable, The Justice League.


    The Watchtower.


    [Recognized: Flash 04]


    A rapid flash of yellow lightning streaked within the watchtower and instantly appeared in the mission room.


    ¡°Alright guys. I''m here to help out.....¡± Barry, who just arrived, stopped his sentence Midway. Within the mission room, his eyes captured Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Batman, Green arrow and Captain Atom.


    Martian Manhunter was also in the room.


    ¡°Oh, when did j''onn get back?¡±


    ¡°I just arrived¡±. Martian Manhunter said candidly as the majority of those present all stared at the Watchtower computer.


    ¡°Did I miss anything?¡± Barry asked with a hint of puzzlement.


    ¡°You did. A lot of things, actually. For one, Cadmus was just destroyed¡±. Batman replied to his question blandly.


    His arms were covered within his cape, giving him a broody vibe.


    ¡°Cadmus..... How? Who?¡± Flash asked, clearly bewildered at the sudden information. Weren''t they here to help with the teleportation platform? How did it suddenly become Cadmus''s destruction?


    ¡°The who''s what we want to find out¡±. Bruce replied.


    Wonder Woman continued.


    ¡°As for the how..... take a look¡±. Flash turned his attention to the watchtower computer. The scene of the black flames engulfing the area was rather vivid.


    ¡°Why are the.....?¡±


    ¡°Flames black? We don''t know¡±. Batman interrupted. Looking at the monitor, his features under the cowl portrayed no expression.


    ¡°Then are we.....? Barry asked.


    ¡°No, we aren''t¡±. Bruce once again finished his thoughts with an answer to his question.


    But this time, Barry was dumbfounded. They weren''t going to go down to solve the Cadmus issue?


    ¡°We aren''t going to solve this? But that thing could burn down the surrounding forests if left unchecked. It could even spread to Metropolis¡±.


    Seeing Barry''s confused look, Captain Atom looked at the screen and solved his doubts.


    ¡°It won''t¡±.


    ¡°While the scale of the flames are large, for some reason, the fire isn''t spreading and is even actively receding from what I can see¡±.


    Batman nodded at the words.


    ¡°Correct. This fire isn''t ordinary just based on it''s color. I''ve contacted Zatara and Red Tornado. They''re on their way to take care of it and will fill us up on all the details once they are there¡±.


    The screen showing the Cadmus fire was minimized before something else showed up.


    ¡°For now, we have bigger fish to fry¡±. The screen showed the Meteor incident in Gotham city.


    ¡°A Meteor descended on Gotham''s outskirts. Right into the Deviant''s turf, and he didn''t do anything to stop it¡±. Batman began his briefing.


    ¡°Cyborg and I suspect that there''s something special about this meteor. Something different from the other crashes around the world¡±.


    ¡°Whatever it is, we have to investigate it¡±.


    The expressions of everyone in the room were weird before showing mixed expressions.


    ¡°I don''t know Batman. That''s it? There isn''t really much to go on here¡±.


    Flash said with a wry smile. Many Leaguers had known about Batman''s monitoring of Amari''s territory.


    ¡°I agree with Flash. We can''t really make a move just based on the fact that a meteor crashed into his turf¡±. J''onn added.


    ¡°I would agree with you. If satellite imaging didn''t show this¡±. Next, Bruce showed them the momentary swirl in the Meteors path and the abnormal change of trajectory.


    The expressions of everyone condensed slightly.


    ¡°The reaction is small, and the swirl is almost unnoticed. It could be an atmospheric phenomenon, it could be intentional, it could be something else¡±.


    ¡°I know Amari''s case is rather sensitive, leaving us unable to act in full regard, so I used the watchtower Hyperscope to examine the Meteor surveillance. Turns out......¡±


    The paused image of the flaming meteor turned blue, followed by the screen altering to show several outlines. Soon, an outline appeared in front of them.


    It wasn''t a full picture, and it was rather blurry, but it was enough to make their expressions shift.


    ¡°...... It''s not a meteor. It''s a spaceship¡±. Bruce finished solemnly.


    ¡°You''ve got to be kidding me¡±. Flash exclaimed.


    ¡°Frankly I wish I were, but that''s not the case¡±. Bruce replied. ¡°The Meteors that fell around the world were mostly space debris, alongside destroyed parts of the Alien Mothership.


    We destroyed the ones we could get our hands on. As for those the world Governments got to first, we can only stand with our arms crossed. Nevertheless, all those were just pieces. This¡­.¡± He pointed at the image.


    ¡°Is definitely not from the Central City incident. My guess, it''s something else. And our extraterrestrial resident has a keen interest in it. I don''t know about you, but I smell trouble¡±.


    Bruce didn''t say anything more, but just stood there and watched them. This matter wasn''t an easy thing to solve.


    ¡°Do we have any idea what''s inside?¡±


    Diana asked.


    ¡°No¡±. Bruce shook his head.


    ¡°Nevertheless, I believe this is enough for us to take action. Amari is already dangerous, the addition of whatever this thing is could threaten the world¡±.


    ¡°Agreed¡±. Bruce nodded.


    ¡°I don''t know guys. With Amari''s character, I don''t think he''s gonna just hand it over. We''re probably in for a big confrontation¡±.


    ¡°It doesn''t matter. We''ll be ready for him. Cyborg has the space blockade tech ready. Tornado and Giovanni will join us when they deal with the Cadmus incident. If Amari refuses to cooperate, that just means he has something to hide¡±.


    Bruce said coldly. They soon all came to a unanimous decision. A few minutes later, the Monitor room was empty save for a certain Oliver Queen, who was left behind on watch duty.


    ¡°Tsk tsk. Why am I always stuck on duty when the good stuff goes down¡±. Green arrow let out a disappointed sigh as he turned his attention to the Watchtower computer.


    However, his attention was quickly captured by an alert going off. Reading the message, Oliver was stunned before hurriedly running towards the Med bay where Superman rested.

 Chapter 35 Batmans Exposed

    Justice League public HQ


    Hall Of Justice


    Washington DC


    .......


    The silver white moon shone brightly in the nighttime all over the city.


    [Recognized: Batman 02]


    [Recognized: Martian Manhunter 07]


    Two pulses of golden yellow light flashed within the Hall of Justice inner room, followed by the staunch bodies of two figures stepping out of the Zeta tubes.


    Bruce walked out indifferently, his arms covered underneath his cape, while his face portrayed nothing but seriousness.


    Following behind him was the Green Martian himself, J''onn J''onzz.


    Looking around, he instantly recognized the familiar surroundings and guessed their current location. Nevertheless, the fact that they were here left him slightly puzzled.


    "Batman! Why did the Zeta tubes bring us to the Hall? What about the rest of the league? Why is it just the two of us?" He asked in an attempt to clear his puzzlement.


    They had just finished discussing their next course of action to take against Amari. So why was the teleport location of both of them different from the other Leaguers?


    "We need to do something before we get to that. And I need your help for some extra matters". The dark and broody voice of the dark night resounded in his ears.


    "Oh? Then what can I assist you with?" He asked.


    "Flash said something that I agree with. With his character, I''m afraid that Amari won''t just cooperate with our actions. We might be in for a difficult battle tonight. Normally, that wouldn''t be an issue......."


    Bruce paused for a moment, bringing slight suspense, before continuing.


    "...... However, the target location this time is his base. Let''s not even mention the energy shield, facts state that we know nothing about that place or what defenses it could have. This alone puts us at a disadvantage".


    Listening to Batman''s words, Martian Manhunter quickly understood what Batman was conveying.


    Amari was already a mysterious character, even to the league, who had access to the green lantern database and a wealth of information about various life forms all over the universe.


    Apart from the respective abilities he had openly shown, they knew nothing else about this otherworlder. A fact that, honestly, Batman didn''t like one bit.


    Now, they were about to invade into the said alien''s private space.


    Batman didn''t know about others, but the League''s true headquarters, the Watchtower, had all sorts of defense mechanisms and powerful weapons systems designed to attack all unauthorized Intruders on the spot.


    So did Superman''s fortress. Hell, even his own Bat cave had some security alarms, as well as a few high-tech traps set here and there for security purposes.


    And with such a large base, almost equivalent to a small city, Bruce wouldn''t believe that the energy shield was the only form of defense Amari had within his territory.


    He wouldn''t believe it even if he was tied up by the Joker and beaten to death with a walking stick.


    "......... We don''t know what he has in there. Without info, we are definitely going to suffer some losses. If we have to fight him within that place, our situation might get ugly". Bruce''s tone was grim.


    The situation was quite similar to him battling the Joker within the latter''s clown castle. A deathtrap in the literal sense.


    Bruce didn''t dare to take such a big risk. Especially if his neglect could cause a leaguer to turn out severely injured, or even worse, dead.


    The thought alone sent a slight shiver down his spine.


    Bruce was right to be concerned, as although satellite imaging could only show the surface view of the place, the whole city practically screamed the word "Futuristic".


    A series of worst-case scenarios had already played within his head several times over. Energy Cannons, disintegrator rays, Teleporters, Meta human dampeners, flamethrowers....... If Amari had designed some traps against them, then they would find themselves in a tough situation if they got caught.


    What if they were teleported straight into a deep space the moment they set foot into the place? Or an endless space similar to the phantom zone? Or instantly bombarded with Disintegration rays. Clark wasn''t here, or else he would definitely add kryptonite guns and Red Sun tech to the list.


    Bruce would never underestimate his enemy.


    Instead, he would prepare contingency plans for contingency plans.


    "The entire place could be a deathtrap. I don''t know about you, but I certainly wouldn''t want to engage him in his domain. If we aren''t careful, we could get killed". He stated his mind and sure enough, J''onn frowned at his words.


    Reason pointed out clearly that Batman was right to be concerned.


    Fighting the enemy on his turf was plain stupid.


    "So what are you thinking?"


    "We draw him out. Lure him out of his base and cutting off any possibility of him leveraging on external strength". Bruce proved time and time again that he was by no means a fool.


    "To be honest with you, I''d rather not have to fight him if not necessary. Our goal is the spaceship and what''s in it. If we can obtain it without having to battle him, it would be for the best".


    Amari was someone who could go toe to toe with Superman. Although both of them hadn''t officially fought yet to determine who was stronger, Bruce had a rough estimate of Amari''s physical capabilities.


    The fact that he had beaten Green Lantern in less than thirty seconds was a testament to his capabilities.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    That wasn''t his concern, though. The league had heavy hitters within their ranks. Shazam, Captain Atom, Wonder Woman and even Martian Man hunter. The physical strength of these members, although inferior to the Man Of Steel in a one-on-one battle, were enough to make even Clark helpless when facing them all together.


    Shazam''s strength wasn''t even inferior to Clark himself. At least, that''s what the last data report on Superman said. That was a very long time ago. As for now.......


    Getting off track a bit.....


    What truly gave him a headache was the additional abilities he possessed that they knew of and those they didn''t know a thing about.


    Batman was confident, not arrogant.


    "We split into two teams. One will lure him out of his base and use Cyborgs tech to shut down his teleportation ability. With his ability to escape hindered, we can hold him down long enough for the others to search his base".


    "Once we find the spaceship and what''s inside, then we can leave. Maybe take the opportunity to get some info on our alien resident. Once we''re done, we leave, unless of course we find something we can''t ignore. After all, we aren''t planning on attacking him. As long as it stops there, even if he''s angry, I believe he won''t go too far. And if he does, then we''ll take him down".


    "Show him that his schemes won''t always work for him. Perhaps get him to be a little more honest".


    Bruce finished candidly.


    This operation was something he was actually very much looking forward to. To be honest, in his evaluation, what all the capabilities he had currently shown, Amari was at best equivalent to Superman.


    And sure, Clark could take down other leaguers in a one-on-one, possibly three to five at maximum. And that was considering if Kryptonite wasn''t used, and he didn''t square off against magic users like Doctor Fate, Zatara and Shazam.


    Wonder woman at this point hadn''t fully activated her Divine power and was still a demigod with stronger physical fitness at best.


    Point being, in the face of more numbers on the opposite side with almost equal strength, even Clark could and would be subdued.


    The Deviant wasn''t Amazo after all, that needed eight Leaguers to fight for four hours to finally dismantle.


    Of course, his was mainly due to the fact that the Android could only use one ability at a time.


    In the final analysis, Batman had chalked Amari up to the same level of villains like Black Adam.


    "I see your point. Quite frankly, I agree. But how do you plan to achieve that?" J''onn asked curiously.


    The Leagues'' relationship with Amari could already be described. However, Amari hadn''t made any public appearances since he created his fortress more than a month ago.


    If there were no accidents, he should be within his base with the spaceship and whatever was inside.


    "There''s someone we need to see who can help here in Washington. He''s the only person known to have contact with Amari apart from us. And I need you to come with me for some additional insurances". Bruce answered.


    "You mean?.......". J''onns mind buzzed for a second, and he immediately reacted.


    Bruce just nodded in agreement.


    "Very well, let''s go". Bruce didn''t say anything else, turned around and began walking.


    "The Zeta tubes brought us to Washington, I believe he should within the city".


    "Correct". Bruce replied, and they said no more.


    ..........


    Washington DC, Penthouse


    Sam Lane walked towards the miniature bar at the other end of the large living area with furrowed brows.


    He required a drink. The call from Lex Luthor less than two hours ago really killed his mood, and he needed to shake off the slight depression.


    Whiskey? No, a Martini would do just fine.


    To be honest, his impression of Lex Luthor was just as bad as the Justice League. That conniving, scheming, ambitious bastard.


    If he could change reality, Sam honestly didn''t want Lex to become the new president. But hey, the world made it so ad he could only cope with it.


    Pouring himself a glass, Lane took a full gulp as the drink slid down his throat into his stomach.


    His facial expressions had several changes in a matter of minutes as his mind wandered here and there.


    One thing was for sure, though, the Red Queen couldn''t and wouldn''t fall into the hands of Mr. President even if Superman was dying right in front of him.


    Of course, for now, Lex had other things to worry about. The Red Queen had shown him the info of Cadmus''s destruction.


    This brought a bit of light into his somewhat sour mood. But that didn''t mean that he wouldn''t find out who was behind it.


    Cadmus was a military investment, after all. The destruction of even one of its facilities was a massive loss to the government.


    Eventually, he would find out who was targeting Cadmus''s operations. If he had full control of the Red Queen, he could probably find out in a matter of minutes.......


    "Alice, can you find out who is responsible for this?" That''s right, Sam had decided to give the AI a name.


    "With my current access permissions, it is temporarily impossible. Nevertheless, I would like to inform you that you have two uninvited guests who have infiltrated the building. One is currently standing on your balcony".


    The sentence stunned Lane for a moment. Someone was here.


    His hand immediately reached for a hidden chamber nearby to pull out a gun.


    He turned around immediately, pointing his weapon towards the window area that blasted a fantastic view over Washington''s nightlife.


    However, seeing the figure that appeared, Lane was once again slightly surprised before several black lines appeared on his forehead.


    If he had known, he wouldn''t have turned around.


    "General Sam Lane". Batman said in a low voice.


    Sam''s eyebrows twitched. His mood that was already hanging low fell even more.


    First the bald president, now the broody bat. Neither of these two were people he wanted to deal with.


    "Batman". Sam replied indifferently. His gun still pointed at the caped crusader.


    "What do you want?"


    "Why don''t you put the gun down first?"


    "You know I don''t like uninvited guests".


    The atmosphere was rather silent, until.......


    "Please put down the firearm, general. We mean you no harm. We only wish to talk". A voice sounded from another side of the room. Sam turned his head to see the appearing figure of Martian Manhunter who had just lifted his invisibility.


    "I''m in no mood to discuss with you, so let''s cut to the chase. What do you want?" Lane said and asked again without a change in expression.


    "Amari". Bruce spat out a word.


    Sam had his face wrinkle slightly.


    "I should have known". Sam put the gun away, grumbling. His face eased up after taking another gulp of his drink and looked at the two uninvited guests blandly.


    "To be honest, I expected you to come sooner".


    Bruce didn''t pay any heed to his words. His gaze had drifted away to the holographic Red girl projecting at the center of the room.


    "Artificial intelligence?" Bruce deduced in his mind and asked Lane vaguely. The Red Queen had stated that two people had intruded into the penthouse.


    Noticing him was not surprising. But Martian Manhunter on the other hand was a different story.


    "Alice, say hello to our uninvited guests". Sam waved his hand and said nonchalantly.


    "Hello Mr. J''onn J''onzz. Good evening, Mr. Wayne".


    As soon as her words fell, the atmosphere suddenly solidified to the extreme.


    Bruce''s face grew stiff for a moment before the gloominess surrounding him intensified several folds.


    Batman''s true identity had been exposed.

 Chapter 36 Alices Performance

    ¡°How?¡± After a long time within the tightening atmosphere, Bruce finally uttered a word, emotionlessly. What one would expect from a normal person who just had his cover blown didn''t happen.


    The man didn''t twitch, flinch, or move so much as a muscle at the revelation. Nevertheless, his tone had gotten visibly colder.


    He didn''t confirm, nor did he bother to deny it at. He just asked a one word question that was an answer on its own.


    This was the outward facade Batman always portrayed. Dark, gloomy, composed, always seeming to adapt to every situation. Worthy of being the man who fought against God''s with nothing but his peak human Physique and a bunch of high-tech Bat gear.


    Nevertheless, that didn''t mean that Bruce wasn''t unsettled inwardly.


    The situation had spiraled out of his control less than a minute after he arrived. As Batman, he always trained himself not to underestimate anyone. To vigorously prepare for the unknown, to expect the unexpected.


    Living in a city with mentally insane and psychologically  criminals like Joker and riddler had taught him that and much more.


    Especially when it came to the joker, a guy who could take a beating until all the bones in his body were broken and still give off a creepy smile like it was nothing.


    You could never guess what the hell was going on within that horror space the mad clown had for a mind.


    As for the riddler, well, that was another nutcase that wasn''t mentally mad, but was equally troublesome. A depressed, attention-seeking maniac with a goal to show his brilliance to the world in what could be deemed to be the most ridiculous way possible.


    I mean, come on! Who still goes on about riddles in the 21st century?


    And these two insane freaks were just the regular bad guys that Batman had to face. Then let''s add poison ivy, killer croc, Bane, Clay face....... when someone thinks about it carefully, it was a miracle worth testifying about in church that Batman was still alive after all this.


    Point being, with all the things he had experienced in the past decade, there were hardly any things in the world that could catch batman off guard.


    And strangely, while this was one of them, Bruce was more concerned on something else.


    That concern was vividly represented in his question. For Artificial intelligence to clearly call his name, Bruce knew that the Jig was up. What he wanted to know was how high up had it gotten to.


    He immediately prioritized what he felt was important.


    Seeing that Batman was unmoved by Alice''s remarks, Lane nodded inwardly a bit. His evaluation of The Dark Knight just grew a little higher.


    ¡°As the famous detective of Gotham, I believe you can deduce the answer to that question yourself¡±. Lane said in a bored tone.


    Since Batman didn''t give off any exaggerated reactions, his interest had waned considerably.


    "This....... AI?¡± J''onn asked with a bit of surprise. The situation had taken a sudden turn that he didn''t expect at all.


    ¡°I''m Alice, currently the most advanced artificial intelligence on your planet. Created by the one your species popularly refer to as The Deviant, Amari, and currently under the command and control of General Sam Lane. But you can call me by my original name, The Red Queen¡±. The childish voice of the AI answered the Green Martian.


    Bruce, whose face carried no expressions frowned inwardly again. As soon as the holographic AI called him out, he already had his suspicions on her origins.


    And now his suspicions were confirmed.


    ¡°Please do not be mistaken. Your secret identities were not told to the General by The Deviant, but analyzed by me through the loose ends I uncovered¡±.


    The Red queen paused for a moment, placed her holographic hand on her chin effectively making a cute pondering expression, before continuing.


    ¡°Or to put it in better terms, the loose ends you failed to properly tie up¡±.


    Bruce''s eyes narrowed. His brain spun into full gear and deductions came up one after another.


    ¡°The sidekick''s incident¡±. Bruce said calmly. It wasn''t a question but a statement showing that The Dark Knight was a hundred percent confident in his deductions.


    ¡°Correct¡±. A holographic picture appeared beside the red Queen.


    Bruce stood unmoved.


    ¡°But also partially incorrect as well¡±. However, the next words successfully threw him off his game a bit. The identities of the Justice league members were kept secret from everyone except themselves.


    There were even some who didn''t know the true identities of others within the league.


    For example, those new additions who had just newly joined the league. As fresh recruits, they didn''t have enough rapport and see trust level with the rest of the Leaguers to fully know their identities.


    As although the Justice league liked to treat all members equally, in truth, social hierarchy and relevant status wouldn''t change in any organization, no matter how good-natured the founders were.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    It was absurd to think a new addition would get the same level of trust and status as the founding seven league members, or even those who came before them.


    Unless, of course, you already had a deep enough trust with the originals or had strong enough power to gain their attention.


    After all, not everyone could have the same power level as Superman. In the end, the one with the biggest fist always had the highest speaking status.


    Even until this moment, no one else among the league knew Shazam''s true identity besides Batman, who found out accidentally.


    If that weren''t the case, how could they let Billy Batson, a teenager, sit on the same level as the other seven? At one point, when his identity was exposed, the league even discussed ejecting him from the league due to his young status.


    But that wasn''t the point.


    All League members knew the risks that accompanied their identities as heroes. So therefore, the number one rule in the Superhero community apart from the famous, strictly implemented No Kill Rule in the DC universe was to guard your secret identity tighter than a security team responsible for the safety of the President.


    This was more or less for their own good. If not, the villains you fought last Tuesday could come knocking on your door for a ¡°friendly chat¡± before you get back home on Sunday afternoon.


    Batman was the staunchest supporter of this. He even emphasized it to Robin so much that the boy wonder didn''t even let his teammates know his true identity during their initial meeting.


    For Superman as well, Batman hit this point harder than a construction worker on a Payday.


    So for someone like Batman, it was impossible to leave any so-called loose ends. The others basically had a tight leash on their identities as well.


    Clark, who played Superman with an open face, couldn''t even be recognized due to a pair of glasses.


    The only mistake they had ever made wasn''t even theirs to begin with. The Black Ops squad had used their abilities without donning their alter ego''s. Effectively exposing the fact that they were the Justice league proteges.


    The League didn''t blame them for it, nor did they have any plans on doing so. They were young after all, so it was normal for young people to make mistakes.


    Only this mistake was starting to look a little more costly.


    Alice didn''t give the broody bat a chance to voice his doubts, as the holographic projection displayed a video.


    The video of the Young Justice team fighting Amari about a month ago.


    Only this time, their faces weren''t blurred at all.


    The video paused, and six pictures appeared alongside various data and information.


    ¡°Robin, Aqualad, Kidflash, well-known Justice league Proteges, are famous enough on their own. The other three are relatively unknown since the Justice League made no announcement of their existence nor have they been seen fighting alongside any league members save for the newly emerged Superboy who appeared alongside Superman to save a falling school bus on a collapsing bridge. But, based on the skills and abilities they portrayed, their respective mentors can be easily deduced¡±.


    ¡°One of Superman, One of Green arrow and the last from you Mr. J''onzz". The Red Queen stayed towards Martian Manhunter. The later could only give a frank nod.


    ¡°I analyzed their pictures without their masks and ran them through facial recognition. After obtaining their identities, it was easier to perform a wider search to gain the identities of their respective mentors. Simply retrieving and filtering through all information on whom they have been in contact with since the day of their birth in their records, numerous things could be easily inferred¡±.


    ¡°Combined with using complex algorithms to perform accurate predictions and calculations, the rest came easy. To be honest, it was easier than it sounds¡±. Her voice was plain and contained cold, hard facts.


    "And that is where the loose ends of the older generation come in. Barry Allen, a CSI working for the Central City Police Department, has some minor imperfections in his submitted reports on reviewing crime scenes. Almost as if he were actually there the moment the majority of them happened. His close relationship with Kidflash, Wally West added together with the coincidence that Mr. Allen was struck by a bolt of lightning, the striking signature of the flash if I might add, in the Particle accelerator incident of star labs yet mysteriously survives and his awakening after being placed in a coma for nine months also coincidentally matches the time period of the flash''s emergence seems too much of a coincidence. I believe you would agree with my perspective, wouldn''t you, Mr. Wayne?¡±


    The childish voice sounded in his ears.


    Bruce''s lips subconsciously twitched. Yes, when explained like that, those were too many coincidences to round off.


    Quite frankly, at this point, he didn''t like where this was going. And why did this AI give him the same feeling of that bastard alien, who in Bruce''s professional opinion would achieve great success if he decided to become a lawyer?


    Oh right, this AI came from him. Apparently, even the product has the same aura as its creator.


    But Batman''s mind barely lingered on that point for a second. A new problem had arisen, The Flash was exposed and so was he.


    Still, the Red Queen didn''t seem to have finished.


    ¡°The situation of the following three actually lead to dead ends, however¡±. Her evaluation of the Junior speedster was over and the pictures of Superboy, Miss Martian and Aqualad enlarged.


    ¡°The identity of Superboy has no linkage to Superman apart from his origins, as the latter has not come into contact with anyone else¡±. The Red Queen stated Superboy''''s situation candidly.


    Unlike the others, Conner was a clone of Superman. One that Clark honestly wanted nothing to do with at this time. Due to this, Superman hadn''t contacted the problematic, moody teenager even after Batman''s discussion with him and therefore, his identity was temporarily undiscovered.


    Bruce also realized this situation and for the first time ever, the Caped crusader felt a little sweaty and breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Clark was a resistant to his idea at first and hadn''t made contact.


    If Superman''s identity was exposed, then.......


    Moving on. The similar situation was emphasized on the other two. Aqualad was the prot¨¦g¨¦ of the Sea king, Aquaman.


    The latter''s secret identity was no secret to the government at all, so it was useless. Although Martian Manhunter liked to disguise himself as a black guy occasionally, knowing his true identity was also worthless.


    J''onn could easily change form to assume another identity anytime, anywhere.


    The threat against him wasn''t that high. When it finally rested on Robin, Bruce at this point had already deduced how in his mind.


    After all, the fact that Dick Grayson was adopted by Bruce Wayne was no secret. Coupled with the situation of Gotham and the means of Batman, it was clear that only someone who had a lot of cash flow could be qualified to become The Dark Knight.


    Add that to the billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne suddenly disappearing for five years when he was younger and his tragic origin story, it wouldn''t take a genius to put two and two together.


    Of course, now Batman had an urge within his heart . One to destroy this artificial intelligence at all costs.

 Chapter 37 I have something to change your mind

    "So you firmly pursued the matter of our identities to the point of making a deal with the devil".


    Bruce looked at Alice indifferently. His vision switched to General Lane, who was watching all this like a bystander.


    "Quite right, that is if you consider Amari a devil. To be honest, I was quite surprised when I learned the truth myself. Who would have thought that the legendary Batman was actually the equally legendary Bruce Wane. The irony is astounding, if I do say so myself".


    Sam waved his hand with a flat face.


    "Why?" Bruce asked.


    "The League has done nothing that requires you to treat us with such prejudice. Does the government fear us so much that they are more willing to stand with an outsider to guard against us?"


    "Precautionary measures, Mr. Wayne". Alice replied in Sam''s place.


    "The Justice League is a fronted organization made up of the most powerful individuals there are on the planet. With their strength and abilities, conventional human weapons are unable to pose a threat to them. Even the weakest members of your League are capable of soloing an elite group of highly trained special forces agents by virtue of their unique abilities or honed combat effectiveness".


    "Your Martial arts prowess coupled with the highly advanced tech at your disposal is enough to make you a formidable opponent to any tactical team. From the little information my limited access could gather......"


    Holographic videos appeared again...


    The dark and gloomy atmosphere of the city could almost be felt through the hologram itself.


    How that was possible.........


    The videos showed Gotham city, home to the highest crime rates in the world.


    "......... Dammit, it''s him...."


    "Open fire......."


    "Fuck! Batman''s here..."


    "Da da da da da!"


    In the holographic screens were playing, and the dark lighting showed that it was nighttime.


    Several monsters opened fire with their guns in hand at an erratic figure, constantly disappearing into the shadows and striking back at high pace.


    Many attacks were dodged, and many more bounced off his bulletproof combat suit. The agile and flexible movements combined with the lightning fast reflex strikes, time coordination of attacks and ingenious combat awareness made Batman in the video look like a shark among fishes.


    Even after turning on full bombardment, the gangsters suffered a one-sided massacre, unilaterally beaten by the caped crusader.


    Batman watched the video without a change in expression. Martian Manhunter was in a similar state.


    Another video appeared alongside it. Nighttime......... Joker and his goons led an attack on a charity event high up in the large hall on the 22nd floor of a Gotham skyscraper.


    Batman crashes in through the glass window and begins to attack, subduing goon after goon.


    The same thing appeared in many videos that displayed one after another.


    The fighting scenes of The Dark Knight were put on full display by the Artificial Intelligence for the three viewers to behold.


    "............ Your fighting styles are diverse and include many Martial arts combined. From my calculations through your combat videos, you are proficient in more than fifty different Martial arts styles. And this alone is a conservative estimate on my part. Something that is considered extremely difficult if not outright impossible for even the best Secret Service agents the government has to offer to accomplish. Nevertheless, your individual strength and combat effectiveness within the league can only rank among the lower levels of individual power".


    Alice''s long speech came to a temporary halt. Here expressionless face looked at Martian Manhunter and Batman with a hint of sarcasm within. Something that both of that caught immediately.


    It was fleeting, but it was there.


    Lane, who had turned on the spectator mode, was already on the verge of chuckling.


    "And while the Justice league do advocate Justice and constantly perform acts of heroism, it hasn''t changed a crucial fact. You have protected the world from ambitious Super villains and alien invasions, but the strength you possess which enables you to achieve such makes it unforgettable that you are and always will be a possible threat to mankind".


    The calm words sounded a bit cold. At least it did to Batman and Martian Manhunter.


    "So even with all we have done to prove our stance, we can''t be trusted. The league isn''t meant to be looked at as a possible threat". Batman said disapprovingly.


    "Ever since its inception, we have guarded and defended the earth against countless threats. With all we have done, I believe it is enough to show that we mean no harm". J''onn added on the side.


    "Yes....... All you''ve done. Does that also include how many times your power has been used against you by the threats you guard against?" The Red Loli questioned.


    Martian Manhunter was momentarily taken aback.


    "The power your League wields is too much to be left unchecked. There are several cases where Justice League members have been mind controlled, brainwashed, deceived and their powers have caused disasters done against their own will".


    "You are the strongest existences on this planet, but also the most dangerous. What would happen if the League one day decided to stop being saviors? To stop protecting the innocent or to take Justice into their hands?"


    "It is estimated that by that time, the freedom era would come to an end and in the face of someone like Superman, there is nothing mankind can do to stop it. Taking steps to limit you and your operations follows logical reasoning".


    The AI said tacitly.


    "Superman and the Justice league would never do such a thing". Batman quickly replied.


    "Your word and the word of the league carries no value. Without an actual form of guarantee, it is useless".


    Bruce didn''t retort. As the master of Wayne industries and the skillful bat of Gotham, he had already mastered the art of politics to the highest level.


    For those government officials and the World Council, he knew what was going on within their minds.


    In a way, the AI was right. The power of the league was too great to ignore and would give those people in power sleepless nights.


    Although the Justice League acted as benevolent savior''s now, who could predict the future? That "If" would always exist within their minds.


    Knowing that there was someone who could literally break into their homes and snap their necks without anyone knowing was worrying.


    Only when there was equal strength between two parties could cooperation exist. When the power of one side vastly overpowered the other, the weaker side would have countless insecurities.


    It was only normal to seek some sort of countermeasure against them. The same way, Batman kept precautionary measures against all Justice League members.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    In case any one of them went rogue, there would immediately be a response plan to contain them as soon as possible.


    So his earlier retorts were just for the sake of it. Batman knew that as long as the League existed, those people in power never be able to trust them. Whether it be out of fear of their abilities or fear that the league would infringe on their interests, they would constantly look for ways to restrain them.


    The same way, he as Batman could never trust Amari.


    "And how does discovering our secret identities fit into your precautionary measures" Batman asked.


    The cold, indifferent voice had an edge to it that could bring a chill to the spine of an ordinary person.


    Lane, however, didn''t seem to notice and played dumb. The Red Queen, however, had no inhibitions on what she could say and answered bluntly.


    "Of course, as a form of guarantee. The true identity of Batman would certainly cause your alter ego a lot of trouble if the word were to spread. Dangerous trouble....."


    "Is that a threat?" Bruce''s tone grew colder, with his eyes narrowing to form the classic piercing glare. Even Martian Manhunter who was standing at the sides indifferently, turned visibly gloomy.


    Unlike the neighbouring Marvel Universe, the Superheroes of the DC world kept their secret identities secret through any means necessary.


    If the identity of Batman got out, then Bruce Wayne and everyone he ever cared about would face endless retaliation from the villains of Gotham.


    Not just Gotham. Numerous DC villains would immediately swarm to attack The Dark Knight like moths to a lamp light.


    Joker, Penguin, Killer Kroc, Mr. Freeze, Riddler......... the list was so long it was almost endless.


    If it were only him, then things wouldn''t be so bad. But it wasn''t just him. There was Alfred, and Dick, Barbara and Jason...


    Thinking of this, Bruce''s face was grim ad countless thoughts raved through his mind. Martian Manhunter frowned as he could feel Batman''s chaotic emotions.


    "No threat, Mr. Wayne. Just a small display of my current capabilities. Nothing more, nothing less". Alice replied in a bland tone.


    "From what you performed, I wouldn''t say those were just small displays". Bruce said aggressively.


    The whole object of their coming here had been temporarily forgotten at the moment. Although important, their original agenda could wait.


    This small incident, on the other hand, had the possibility of exposing the entire Justice league. Something that Batman didn''t want to see happen.


    As for the AI......... "This AI was obtained from Amari. Sure enough, anything that relates to him is nothing but trouble. This Red Queen is extremely dangerous". Bruce thought to himself inwardly.


    As a master detective, Batman smelt some sort of conspiracy in the air. He didn''t know what it was, and he couldn''t put his finger on it. But by the Greek Gods, Bruce was sure that something wasn''t right.


    This AI was anything but normal, and Batman was determined to get to the bottom of it.


    "Is that your opinion? Well then I''m sorry to inform you that this truly was a small display of my currently limited capabilities. If you think that my previous operation was anything noteworthy, then you are truly mistaken".


    Alice said to Bruce indifferently.


    "What do you mean?" His senses tingled a bit. Batman, whose curiosity was stoked inquired from the AI.


    "Fist of all, please do not limit me to your specie''s primitive understanding of Artificial Intelligence. I am not just artificial life but fully self-aware and capable of understanding. My processing and deduction ability is several thousand times more powerful than the best thing your race can currently acquire. I am an Artificial neural network-based conscious group mind. However, I am currently not connected to the global network, thereby placing heavy restraints on my abilities. If that were to change, I would be more than capable of controlling all electrical based hardware on the planet connected to the network. Traffic lights, electric cars, international stations, power plants, military hardware, airplanes, ship''s, submarines, the internet. I would be able to perfectly monitor all forms of communication that takes place, no matter how secure the line it is on. With Satellite surveillance, no intelligence on the face of the planet would be able to escape my perception. Everything could be controlled, everything could be monitored, crime rates would drop to an all-time low, advancements in science and technological fields, global conflicts resolved in the fairest and simplest ways...... In a few words, "Hooked into everything, destined to run it all". Compared to all this, Mr. Bruce, discovering the identities of your friends is a little triviality. Do you agree?" The childish voice that sounded adorable spoke deafening words.


    J''onn and Bruce but stood still, the words still ringing in their heads, placing them in severe shock.


    Bruce, on the other hand, felt the essence within that long delivery. As the paranoid man that he was, his mind effectively filtered the majority of what was said within that small lecture.


    "Crime rates would drop to an all-time low, advancements in science and technological fields, global conflicts resolved in the fairest and simplest ways...." All that part was directly thrown to the back of his mind, locked somewhere he would never remember it again.


    After removing all that, what was left was the part that caused the Bat of Gotham to experience the greatest worry he had ever felt since he learned of Amari''s existence.


    "No intelligence on the face of the planet would be able to escape my perception. Everything could be controlled, everything could be monitored......... Hooked into everything, destined to run it all".


    At that moment, it was as if Bruce had a vision. One where the entire world was overthrown by machines and artificial intelligence caused the extinction of mankind......


    After a long time of silence, Batman finally came back to his senses. His eyes gave off a piercing glare at the little Red hologram, and his tone had dropped from heavily cold to downright frosty.


    "So basically, you''re the real life presentation of the Skynet?"


    Sam Lane: "..."


    Martian Manhunter: ".."


    "I am not the Skynet from the Terminator movie, Mr. Wayne". The red Queen replied while giving Bruce a subtle look.


    "That''s not the point. All you''ve said has led me to conclude that compared to Amari, you are an even bigger threat. One that earth can''t tolerate". Bruce said with extreme aggression as he took two steps forward......


    Currently, Bruce had forgotten everything else. His only thought right then was to destroy the AI, one way or another.


    The uneasiness deep within his gut had never been so strong in his life. Compared to when he was unfamiliar with Superman or his hostility to Amari, it was several times stronger.


    Numerous thoughts flashed through Batman''s head, and all of them were the worst possibly conclusions he could come with.


    The Red Queen was right, she wasn''t an AI, she was practically a weapon. One that could cause great chaos and destruction.


    Even if something like a robot rebellion didn''t happen, based on her listed capabilities, the Red Queen would become a dangerous entity if she fell into the wrong hands.


    The league and all their secrets, their movements. All of it would be exposed. This was something Batman couldn''t tolerate in the slightest, so his mind and body were in complete tactic understanding.


    Destroy the AI first, consider the consequences later.


    "That will be enough of that". At that moment, Sam, who had been sitting on the sidelines said in an incomparably cold voice. His eyes had narrowed into slits as he stared at Batman and Martian Manhunter with a hostile expression.


    "The Red Queen is a government investment, a trade deal negotiated with Amari under the supervision of the world council, directly under our care and control. The accords clearly state that both sides will not get involved in the matters of the other. So concerning the AI, the league has no right to interfere in her handling".


    "I suggest you think carefully and weigh the consequences before you take your next decision, Batman". Sam said, his grim expression and hostile tone were brewing with an icy coldness and his sitting posture involuntarily exuded a sense of oppression.


    For people like Batman, this sense of oppression wasn''t worth mentioning.


    "Batman, calm yourself. Please remember why we are here". A hand was placed on Bruce''s shoulder, effectively bringing him back to his senses.


    Bruce turned to look at J''onn who gave a faint nod and then towards the cold looking general and finally rested on the AI.


    His aggressive momentum receded back to his originally indifferent nature. Now wasn''t the time for this.


    Currently, they had other things to worry about.


    "This matter isn''t over". Bruce stated.


    "Humph!" Sam answered with a cold snort.


    Seeing this, Martian Manhunter immediately stepped up.


    "This isn''t why we are here. Our purpose lies not with the AI, but Amari".


    Hearing his name again, Sam frowned and asked impatiently.


    "What do you want?"


    "We need you to help us contact him. Set up an immediate meeting". Bruce answered his question.


    "Then why don''t you just go to his base and have your meeting there?"


    "We don''t want to meet him in his territory. We need him temporarily out of it".


    Sam heard the words and several thoughts appeared in his mind.


    In a matter of seconds, he could analyze a portion of their intentions. But it was precisely because of this that he denied without hesitation.


    "I refuse". General Lane didn''t like Amari. But he would rather not mess with him either. This was simply looking for trouble.


    Bruce stated after seeing the quick denial.


    "I have something that will make you change your mind".

 Chapter 38 The Axiom

    Washington DC, Penthouse high rise......


    A black shadow swooped down from the window of the building in the dead of night, descending rapidly like a black dot. If one looked close enough, they would be able to discern that the falling figure had a humanoid figure.


    Bruce, who was falling at a rapid pace, had no expression. His face maintaining that cold, indifferent look which provided no insights to what was going on within his mind.


    Yet despite that being the case, the thoughts currently roaming through his head were almost endless and the worries in his heart were even more so.


    It did little to hinder his next course of actions, however. Without so much as a thought, like a conditioned reflex action, his black cape opened up and stretched out, attached to his arms to form his classic paragliding suit.


    ¡°It''s time for a change of plans¡±. Bruce thought to himself as he glided with the wind, steering himself in the direction of the Hall.


    ..........


    Back in the building, Sam watched The Dark Knight depart with a face quite similar to the caped crusader.


    His mature features showed nothing but calmness, hiding a multitude of thoughts within him.


    ¡°Was that wise, General?¡± Alice asked with a questioning tone.


    The holographic AI looked at the open window that let in the cool evening breeze and back at the cold faced General Lane in inquiry.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sam replied with a question of his own.


    ¡°If I didn''t have enough understanding of your Earth''s guardians and their characteristics, I could only deem your current display, as no different from seeking death¡±.


    Sam chuckled unceremoniously at her words. Come to think of it, were his actions suicidal? If it were powered beings other than the Justice League, then yes, his actions would be tantamount to suicide.


    ¡°You are asking if it''s wise of me to provoke the Justice League¡±. Sam said in a bland tone.


    ¡°Yes. Like I previously stated, under your orders, the League consists of the most powered individuals on your planet and beyond. Not only have they repeated stopped countless natural disasters and prevented numerous villains from causing mass destruction, they are also your planet''s only defensive measure against extraterrestrial invasions and threats like Darkseid. And most importantly, your government have no measures to contain them. At this point, the Justice League are a force earth cannot do without. If they one day decide to go back to their normal lives or start taking the law into their hands due to your targeted actions, the World Council will suffer the biggest disaster since Its inception. From a normal perspective, antagonizing them is pure stupidity¡±.


    She finished all her observations in one piece.


    It didn''t matter if the Justice League were authorized to do what they did. The facts clearly stated that with all the world had seen in the past few years, the League had practically become indispensable.


    Look at Stepphenwolf''s invasion many years ago, and then look at Central City that had a new Metahuman causing some form of chaos each week.


    People needed to slap their faces hard and wake up to the bitter reality. The Earth wasn''t the same world it once was.


    The day Zod invaded and Superman officially made his debut, it was no different from the legendary revival of spiritual aura in the fantasy novels.


    Countless crazy, vengeful, ambitious superpowered villains sprung up from obscurity and mediocrity like monsters in MMORPG.


    Without specially levelled up players, a.k.a. the Justice League and their associates, the rest of the world were practically newbies with trash equipment who were unable to level up.


    The famous saying went thus...... The poor rely on mutation and the rich rely on technology.


    How many poor people could successfully undergo mutation without dying or becoming a monster in the process? Not everyone was Spider-Man who had genius parents to pave the way for him or Deathstroke who relied on his steel will and luck to successfully inject Mirakuru.


    Look at Rudy Jones who became parasite, and you will know the consequences of an unsuccessful or partially successful mutation. If that wasn''t enough, look at Cadmus and the list of poor subjects who were experimented on. How many came out alive?


    The results were obvious. As for the rich, in the DC world, the most obvious example was The Dark Knight who burned millions of dollars every month just to keep all his equipment in check.


    Batman literally said his superpower was¡­. ¡°I''m Rich¡±.


    So in the literal sense, the day Bruce loses his fortune is the day the Legend of Batman comes to an end. How many people could withstand such crazy consumption?


    So in simple words, not everyone could be a superhero, but almost everyone could turn into a villain.


    The day the Justice League all decided to hang up their capes, cowls, and tights to live completely normal lives would mark the beginning of the villain era.


    Or would you expect the regular law enforcement who were paid less than sixty grand a year and equipped with nothing but guns and batons to deal with superpowered criminals capable of exploding buildings with a finger snap?


    If you want an answer, look at Gotham''s law enforcement before Batman arrived.


    ¡°They don''t pay me enough to deal with this shit!¡±....... It is the standard motto of every Gotham police department staff, save for Gordon.


    Lane heard her words but did not reply. Partially because he knew perfectly well that everything she said was nothing but the truth, but the main reason was because........


    ¡°......... That isn''t my concern¡±. Sam said coldly.


    ¡°You don''t have to worry about my intentions or that of the world council. Besides, no matter how much truth the subject has to it, some things will not change. The world depends on the Justice league, and that fact is as much a cancer as it is a merit¡±.


    His words ended, followed by the habitual finger tapping on the armrest of his chair whenever he found himself to be in deep thought.


    Sam Lane was many things, and a kind soul definitely wasn''t one of them. On the one hand, he was a man who genuinely cares about the welfare of his country, so much that he would be willing to sacrifice his life if the situation calls for it.


    On the other hand, he was extremely arrogant, proud, selfish, self-righteous and in many ways, brutal and insidious.


    In specific situations, he could be just as ruthless as Lex Luthor.


    For such a man, he wouldn''t hesitate to use whatever means necessary to bring down those he deemed enemies.


    And for Sam Lane, who strongly regarded his country as his lifeblood, the fact that the United States and even the whole world was dependent on the Justice league and its members to save them at every turn was a problem on its own.


    Stolen story; please report.


    The very concept that Earth''s most powerful force were a group of people capable of destroying the world anytime they wanted to and that none of these people were under their control unsettled him greatly.


    The fact that there were aliens among them wasn''t helping that case either.


    Sam''s mind drifted back to when he was young. Born in the 1950s, into a military family. When he was a child, his father used to bring Sam and his sister to the movies every Sunday. During one of these occasions, they saw ¡°The Day The Earth Stood Still¡±.


    Sam remembered how strongly impressed and terrified he was at that movie.


    It was also the catalyst which convinced Sam that; extraterrestrials were the biggest threat to both the country and the whole planet; since their technology and powers could wipe out humanity in a few moments.


    The subsequent invasions and disasters did nothing more than solidify that concept.


    For the old general, Sam would never tolerate anything that could be deemed a threat to the United States. Anything and everything that could do so would be deemed dangerous by him as long as it wasn''t under his control.


    The Justice League just so happened to fall into that category. They had powers far beyond human capabilities, they had technology capable of destroying humanity. The majority of them weren''t even human.


    To be honest, Sam had little opinions on the actions of the Justice League. He cared little for their heroic actions and deemed them threatening regardless of whether they were dangerous or not.


    On this end, if Lane took second position, no one would dare to compete for first. This man stood on top of the list, surpassing even the paranoid Batman, Lex Luthor and Gordon Godfrey by so many levels.


    Precisely because of this, Sam wouldn''t care what other people think. No amount of good the league did would change that fact for him.


    Not just the Justice League, but Amari as well.


    Don''t look at his cooperation with Amari, but when it came to the matter of aliens, Lane had already regarded The Deviant as a potential enemy who needed to be regarded with the highest level of caution.


    With his elitist views and what he had seen with his own eyes, Sam very much believed that Amari was someone much more dangerous than the Justice League.


    Having personal contact with him, no one in the world wanted to lock up The Deviant and throw away the key more than he did.


    .......... However, Sam was many things, but just as he wasn''t a kind soul, he wasn''t stupid either.


    The Red Queen was right. Earth at his point didn''t have the ability to contain the Justice League, much less Amari.


    And to be honest, he was genuinely wary of the other party. It was ok to scheme against the Justice League, the chance of success was still possible and even if their motives were later discovered, the League wouldn''t attack them as long as it didn''t exceed their tolerance limit...... But trying to scheme against the latter....... Sam''s understanding of what humans called an early death was suddenly refreshed.


    With his understanding of the other party, Sam was sure that he wouldn''t be as tolerant as Superman or even Batman. He would rather not get killed when he still had some more years to live.


    The cold evening wind was quite soothing, but Sam''s face was particularly grave when a certain someone came to mind.


    Seeing that the temporary boss wasn''t going to say anything more, Alice spoke up.


    ¡°So are you going to do it?¡± Her question caused Lane to raise an eyebrow, before frowning and nodding with a cold tone.


    ¡°Do it, let him know that Batman wants to meet him in Gotham. As for what...... He''ll figure it out himself¡±. Sam said with a nonchalant tone.


    ¡°Actually, he might already know about it now¡±. Sam thought to himself.


    Thinking of Amari''s showed ability to see the future and the Justice League planning to set up a trap....... Sam suddenly felt a bit of pity for Batman.


    ¡°You poor souls....... You have no idea what you are getting yourselves into. But what does it have to do with me?¡± Sam thought.


    The Red Queen asked again.


    ¡°Are you really not afraid of my creator coming to settle scores with you?¡± Sam didn''t even reply to that question.


    ¡°I wasn''t the one that schemed against him. I just fulfilled a request.......¡±. Amari''s arrival had given the old General some....... Ideas.


    Cadmus wasn''t bringing out fully productive results. The best they had ever come up with was Project Kr, that was taken away by the Justice League.


    Currently, Lane needed suitable weapons to convert into playing cards against the Justice League. And Amari was the person who could make it happen.


    With all of this based on mutual transactions, this was the nature of their cooperation.


    But Amari himself was a wildcard that couldn''t be controlled. The same way the secret identities of the League members could bring him some usable playing chips, Sam required a way to restrain Amari as well.


    Of course, as previously stated, he wasn''t stupid. He didn''t dare to provoke this alien whose thoughts he couldn''t fathom.


    He didn''t want to quietly disappear only to make the headlines a few weeks later as a corpse.


    Not to mention, there wasn''t anything he could use as leverage against the other party.


    But just because he couldn''t, didn''t mean others were the same.


    As an insidious character, Sam had a few tricks up his sleeve. The Red Queen''s earlier debate was completely on his instructions.


    Once the League had a thorough understanding of the Red Queen''s capabilities, they would be unable to sit still.


    Aside from himself, the creator, Amari would be their first target. Sam saw both sides as ideal restraints for each other.


    Amari knew the true identities of each league member and could target their loved ones if he ever wanted to. The League would definitely be guarded against him.


    Thereby putting their attention on Amari as much as possible, effectively making sure that the latter doesn''t carry out any threatening plans on the earth.


    During this time, earth could quietly develop their technology and superpowered forces.


    At least in Sam''s view, no matter how powerful Amari was, he couldn''t defeat the entire Justice league at once¡­


    Sam''s insidious thoughts continued to ferment, not knowing in the slightest that he was being targeted by an even more insidious Luthor.......


    ...........


    Gotham Outskirts.....


    The sight of a planet in outer space came into view. The planet started emitting streaks of white cracks on Its surface, emitting blinding light the next second and then¡­.


    BOOM!


    The blinding brightness shone everywhere.....


    ¡°No!¡±....... The shrill scream of a female sounded in the room. Kara jolted out of bed as she yelled at the top of her lungs in native kryptonian. Her frenzied emotions from the nightmare caused her abilities to activate on their own.


    Two beams of scalding hot lasers shot out of her eyes, blasting towards the nearest wall.


    Feeling the heat being emitted from her eyes, Kara who was panicked quickly closed her eyes in shock and anxiety.


    If she noticed, she would be surprised to find that the extremely concentrated laser beams spanning thousands of degrees failed to create a dent on the plain wall.


    ¡°I¡­.¡± Kara, whose emotions were extremely chaotic presently was almost a complete mess.


    She took deep breaths amidst pants of depression, and barely regained some composure several minutes later. Then, she slowly lowered her hands from her face, and only then was she able to examine her surroundings.


    Blue¡­.


    The blue color of the surroundings was quite soothing at first sight. Kara looked at the surrounding area that gave off a similar futuristic vibe as Krypton, and her frenzied heart regained an unexpected sense of calm.


    ¡°Where....... Where am I?¡± Kara asked dazedly in Kryptonian.


    ¡°The answer to your question is rather broad if you put it like that¡±. The childish voice sounded from everywhere in the room, causing Kara to shrink back on the bed instinctively.


    ¡°Who...... Who''s there?¡± She examined..... Everywhere in an attempt to find who had spoken.


    ¡°Me¡±. The cheery voice sounded once again, only this time, a virtual hologram appeared a few meters away from the bed.


    Kara was stunned at the sight.


    AI? Kara could tell at a glance.


    ¡°You......¡±


    ¡°Pleased to meet you. As a special, uninvited yet very much welcome guest, my master said I should take good care of you until his return. I, am the Red Queen or, for a better reference, you can call me Alice¡±.


    ¡°And welcome Miss Zor-El to The Axiom. Or White blood Tower if that sounds better¡±.

 Chapter 39 Four Questions

    The Axiom........


    One hour Later


    ¡°So I''ve been.......?¡± The voice was slightly trembling with a bit of shock and dread obvious within it.


    The female felt like her mental faculties were about to go haywire.


    ¡°Yes Miss Zor-El". The tender, childish voice responded to her unfinished questions.


    ¡°You have been in a comatose state in a timeless void dimension for the past few years¡±. The truth hurts...... Deeply every so often.


    Kara looked at the holographic projection with a hint of despair and sadness on her face. The palm holding the sofa that she sat on clenched forcefully.


    Luckily, the furniture wasn''t damaged or crushed as it would have been if it were normal.


    Kara, still completely unaware of her vastly increasing strength, remained oblivious to this knowledge. Her mind was still trying to process the shock concerning the tragedy that had befallen her.


    ¡°So¡­. Krypton¡­. My parents¡­.?¡± Kara felt like she had just gone through a nightmare. A nightmare she so desperately wished to wake up from.


    ¡°....... Krypton has long ceased to exist for more than twenty-eight years now. As for Kryptonians........ only one more is publicly known to exist¡±.


    Alice continued indifferently. A burst of sadness overwhelmed the young kryptonian blonde. Her eyes were red and filled with tears, seemingly ready to burst into existence.


    How long had it been? Well, it all seemed to happen overnight. Within that distorted period, she had lost everything.


    Her parents promised that they would be right behind her..... But now¡­.


    Her home, her family, her planet, all gone. Presently, the blonde kryptonian felt a strong urge to cry her heart out.


    The depression and sadness hit all at once, and she needed to find an outlet.


    Soft sobs echoed in the room, and the Red Queen did not interrupt.


    After a while....... The sobs subsided. Kara looked at the artificial intelligence with red eyes. She forcibly restrained her complex emotions, and her mind spun rapidly to determine her next course of action.


    Although kryptonians weren''t known to be a cold-blooded race, that didn''t mean that their thought process was similar to humans. Rather, their whole planet operated on a social structure which followed a complex code of rationality and order. Their emotional outbursts were greatly subsided when compared to mankind.


    So in a way, Kryptonians saw reality through the lenses of principles. This was clearly indicated in their actions of abandoning the natural process of childbirth and letting machines take its place.


    Kara and her family were one of the rare cases whose thinking process differed from the rest of their race, but not by too much.


    Unlike Superman, who was raised on Earth and practically had no kryptonian traits apart from his DNA and heritage, Kara''s eighteen years on Krypton weren''t meaningless.


    At the critical moment, the inherent rational instinct kicked in, causing her to suppress her emotions. Right now, Krypton was destroyed, her parents were dead, and now she was on a foreign planet with no idea what was going to happen to her next.


    As unlike in the original timeline, she didn''t land in Gotham bay and attracted Batman''s attention....... well, she still attracted Batman''s attention, but there was a significant difference.


    Similarly, Superman didn''t appear to find out the cause of the disturbance upon her arrival, alongside the chaos that ensued because of it.


    How could he? Even if Kara had landed in Gotham Bay, Clark wouldn''t be able to appear at the moment. After all, he was still comatose when Supergirl arrived.


    Apart from a select few or, more accurately, two........ No one knew she even existed.


    ¡°Wait....... You said there''s one more? Another kryptonian?¡± Kara''s eyes lit up with a bit of hope. From once thinking she was the last lineage of Krypton to suddenly realizing that she wasn''t the only one, made her question with curiosity.


    ¡°Affirmative¡±. The familiar holographic screens appeared, in which showed several videos, pictures, and information.


    The picture of a male figure lifting a falling plane in the sky with his bare hands.


    Videos of freezing burning buildings, stopping tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, press conferences, fighting villains, stopping invasions¡­.


    All of these holograms showed the face, figure, even the rough silhouette of the handsome man dressed in red and blue tights.


    The written reports headline, the report videos, all of it was translated in Kryptonian.


    Kara could accurately read and understand all the information she was seeing.


    However, that exact fact left her in a bit of shock and disbelief. Especially when she looks at the picture at the center of all the holograms. Jet black hair, dazzling facial features, the sharp eyes that carried determination, firmness and a strong sense of awe-inspiring Justice.


    The most eye-catching thing to her wasn''t the magnificent feat of lifting such large objects disproportional to the body size or the varying abilities shown by the other party but the iconic, quite visibly large ¡°S¡± logo on the chest area representing a house on Krypton she knew all too well.


    The House of EL


    ¡°....... Is that.....? Uncle Jor-El?¡± Looking at the somewhat familiar features of her uncle, Kara asked subconsciously with a bit of excitement.


    Was uncle Jor-El still alive?


    However, the headlines on the videos and written reports said otherwise.


    ¡°Not Jor-El, the son of Jor-El. His kryptonian name Kal-El of Krypton is lesser known and much less iconic than the identity publicly acknowledged by the Earth''s masses. Superman...... According to himself, is the last survivor of the kryptonian race¡±.


    ¡°Kal-El?¡± The name was like a bolt of lightning in her mind, causing her disbelief to soar to the extreme.


    ¡°That''s impossible....... I mean..... It can''t be¡±. Kara vehemently denied it as she shook her head.


    ¡°When I left Krypton, he was still an infant. The son of my uncle can''t possibly be this old......¡±


    Looking at the picture, Kara''s words grew softer and softer. At this point, the clues could be seen clearly. The face that resembled her uncle was not only distinctively younger, but also had the features of someone else.


    Aunt Lara.


    ¡°Perhaps so¡­.¡± At that moment, a masculine voice sounded in the room, startling the young kryptonian.


    Her eyes darted back and forth around the room and quickly settled on an area at the other end of the room towards her right.


    There, the surrounding space swirled and distorted..... And a figure appeared out of it.


    ¡°But your cousin appeared on earth twenty-eight years ago as the infant you remember. You, however, have been trapped in the phantom zone for the same period of time¡±.


    ¡°It''s you!¡± Kara said with a slight frown on her features as she saw the face of the first person she encountered after her landing.


    The fact that she had fallen unconscious at the other party''s mere words left her with a subconscious bad impression.


    ¡°I guess so¡±. Amari shrugged his shoulders indifferently while once again taking a good look at he kryptonian female. Unlike when he left almost two hours ago, Kara wasn''t standing before him naked but fully clothed in regular attire.


    Or at least, as regular as it could get.


    She wore a black and white sweat shirt alongside form fitting female shorts


    For an eighteen-year-old, she was surprisingly blessed with well-fitted assets in the right areas.


    Feeling the gaze of the other party, Kara frowned a bit more. Her body gave off distinct signs to her brain as if the man opposite her could practically see through her clothing.


    In truth, that was precisely what was happening. The only error in the logic was that he wasn''t observing her due to her physical looks but due to her body structure.


    The Kryptonian bloodline was truly a gift. Even after being drained of so much blood without even realizing it, Kara didn''t give off the air of an anemia patient.


    ...........


    Kara''s POV


    If there was one word I could use to describe my feelings right now, it would undoubtedly be chaotic.


    Now this stranger had arrived, leaving me much more unsettled. Looking at his face which held..... Surprisingly, gorgeous features....... possibly too gorgeous........ My wariness unknowingly decreased by several notches.


    Nevertheless, that didn''t mean much at the moment.


    ¡°I''ll take it from here, Alice¡±. He said to the holographic AI. The AI didn''t disappear, but no more words were uttered.


    And then....... He dropped backward, and fell into a heavenly plush chair that hadn''t existed a second ago.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Seeing this scene, I raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°You must have a lot of questions¡±. He was correct. I did have numerous things to ask.


    ¡°With everything that''s happened to you, you probably feel extremely unsettled¡±. Now, that was rather moderate.


    At the moment, I was terrified. The sadness and loss that stemmed from the destruction of all I held dear combined to give life to the dark, crippling fear within I was currently experiencing.


    Nevertheless, My facial expressions gave no hint of it. A stone-cold look was portrayed on my face as I tried to mask my inner emotions as best I could.


    I couldn''t show fear, I couldn''t show vulnerability. Right now, what I needed most was to understand my situation and keep my composure as best as possible.


    Too bad, someone wasn''t buying it.


    ¡°Four Questions¡±. He suddenly said two words.


    ¡°Huh?¡± My mind went blank for a second.


    ¡°Well sorry to say, but I don''t have the time nor the desire to completely fill up your curiosities. So you get four questions worth of my time. I will answer those four questions as comprehensively as I can. So go on...... Ask away¡±.


    He made a gesture to me as he relaxed into the chair.


    Silence reigned for a few seconds, and Amari didn''t interrupt.


    I looked at the lazy figure reclining on the chair with his eyes closed and was inwardly......... Speechless.


    ¡°Where is Kal-El?¡± Finally, My cold voice broke the silent atmosphere.


    I looked at the man opposite me, who looked the same as usual. His expression seemed to say that he had expected that to be the first thing i asked of.


    ¡°Your cousin, Superman, is currently indisposed of just so you know. As for his location...... He''s currently in the Justice League watchtower above this planet''s orbit¡±.


    He replied to me in simple words.


    ¡°...... Superman?¡±


    ¡°You haven''t caught on yet? Yes, Superman, Kal-El''s alter ego in this world".


    He said blankly.


    ¡°Kal-El, the last son of Krypton. You already know your origins, so I don''t have to explain that part. Both of you were supposed to arrive at Earth within the same period. However, When you were sent away from Krypton, the shockwave from the planet''s destruction knocked your Pod off course, sending you into the phantom zone. A void where time has no concept. And while you slumbered, your cousin arrived at Earth twenty-eight years ahead of you on schedule and became Superman. Publicly acknowledged as the most powerful being on the planet¡±.


    His words were supplemented by the holographic pictures and videos that appeared earlier.


    I looked at it all with a bit of disbelief in my eyes.


    ¡°But...... How?¡± I asked doubtfully.


    ¡°Kryptonian physiology¡±. The reply came to me with a leisure tone.


    ¡°The cells of your race are relatively special and would react differently under different solar conditions. The Red Sun of your planet, Krypton, could be thought of as a limiter on the genes of Kryptonians.


    Under it, your physical abilities are set to normal. Superior to the average human beings on this planet, although not by much. However, under a yellow sun like the one this solar system possesses, it becomes a thoroughly different story¡±.


    ¡°Enhanced strength, Enhanced Speed, Invulnerable physique, Enhanced senses, Heat vision, Freeze breath, flight, biological force field. Your kind would transform from the average Joe to human shaped monsters with powers far surpassing what many races can achieve¡±.


    ¡°Your cousin has been on Earth for the past twenty-eight years, absorbing Solar radiation from the yellow sun, making him ridiculously powerful. Somewhere along the lines, he became who the humans of this world know as Superman. A hero, a champion of their world that many idolize and adore. Alongside a group of extraordinary people similar with abilities of their own, they have defended this world from numerous threats. And about a month ago, Kal-El faced another one. The key being that he didn''t come out completely unscathed this time, hence his current indisposed state¡±.


    Listening to the large amount of information being fed to me, I felt a bit overwhelmed. But then something clicked in my mind.


    ¡°That means.....¡±


    ¡°Yes, that''s what''s happening to you. The radiation from the yellow sun is currently making your genes undergo tremendous changes. Hence, giving you abilities that you are in no way familiar with. Due to the little amount of time you have been here, the abilities you have access to are limited. Although you will be nowhere near as powerful as Kal-El in a short period of time, you should activate your full capabilities after a week of sunbathing at most¡±.


    His words once again cut me off before I could finish. Honestly, it got on my nerves a little.


    Nevertheless, that had answered the doubts I had concerning what was happening to me.


    Ever since I woke up, my body seemed to be.......... full of strength. So much strength.


    ¡°Last Question¡±. He said again with a leisure tone.


    ¡°Huh?¡± I was stunned. Why did it suddenly become the last question? I had only asked one so far.


    ¡°I.....¡±


    ¡°......... Have currently asked three questions. Kal-El''s condition, Kal''El''s strength and your current physical condition. Three questions in all. Last one, if you will¡±.


    My mouth hung open in disbelief. Did those count as questions? Why the hell didn''t you tell me?


    I took a deep breath, calming the brewing frustration in my heart. With both hands massaging my temples, I thought long and hard about what to ask for my last question.


    After a while, I raised my head up to look at his face, still sporting that nonchalant look, and drew in a breath.


    "........ What do you want with me?¡±


    ...........


    General POV


    Amari watched nonchalantly as she rubbed her temples with her fingertips. And then......


    ¡°........ What do you want with me?¡±


    The question was expected. Still.......


    ¡°You mean?¡± He asked with a raised eyebrow.


    Kara frowned slightly. Was he playing dumb?


    ¡°Now that I''m here, what do you want with me?¡± She asked in a cold tone.


    ¡°Judging from your words, you know who I am, where I''m from and the origin of my arrival. I don''t believe that you have no ulterior motives. And I doubt you will allow me to leave this place¡±.


    Kara said word by word.


    She had figured this out the moment the AI uttered her name and explained what had happened to her. Some things which she didn''t even know herself. This Information was clearly impossible for others to obtain.


    The truth concerning Kal-El''s situation was questionable to a certain extent. However, Kara was sure that whoever this man was, he knew she was coming.


    This alone left her quite startled, but now was not the time to ponder how it was possible. She wasn''t a naive little girl who would think that others were subconsciously good-natured. This man opposite her definitely had some unknown intentions.


    If what he said concerning her cousin was true, then was he planning on using her against her cousin? Was he one of Kal-El''s enemies?


    Various thoughts filtered brought her mind.


    ¡°...... Honestly, you''re thinking too much¡±. Hearing her words, Amari shook his head.


    ¡°I have no desire to keep you here any more than you want to stay. Just say the word, and you can leave whenever you want¡±.


    His words left the blonde dumbfounded.


    She subconsciously thought that he was being sarcastic. But she couldn''t see any trace of sarcasm on his face.


    After a while, she asked in doubt.


    ¡°You aren''t kidding?¡±


    ¡°Just say the word whenever you want.The Red Queen will teleport you to the other side of the dome immediately.....¡±. Amari answered casually.


    Kara looked a bit sluggish. Was she truly misunderstanding things here? Or would she be teleported into some kind of death chamber as soon as she said the words?


    A deep frown was etched into her face as she scrutinized the expression of the other party for a long time. Finally...... she gave up. The latter''s expression didn''t change one bit.


    ¡°........ So you don''t have any ulterior motives towards me?¡± Kara couldn''t help but ask doubtfully.


    ¡°Not anymore. I already have what I want¡±. Amari shrugged.


    ¡°And what would that be?¡±


    ¡°The genes within your blood. Kara, you''re truly thinking too much. I have no desire to keep you here to use as some kind of leverage against your cousin. Honestly, he isn''t qualified to let me do so¡±. Kara''s heart shook, and then the frown on her face intensified.


    Her blood?


    ¡°That however doesn''t mean someone else won''t¡±. Suddenly, his voice turned solemn, shaking her awake from the numerous thoughts in her head.


    ¡°What do you mean by that?" Kara asked with a bit of urgency. For some reason, she had a sense of unease at his tone.


    Amari looked at her calmly and replied.


    ¡°My situation is a bit special. To put it in simple terms, this base of mine is under strict supervision by many forces on this planet. The enemies of your cousin and his little hero group constitute the majority of them¡±.


    Kara listened to his words. She swore that she could see amusement within his eyes.


    ¡°The recent arrival of your spaceship drew their attention even more so. They don''t dare to come in and ask directly, of course, so no one knows of your existence on this planet apart from me¡±.


    ¡°That however, will change the moment you step outside my territory¡±.


    His lips turned upward slightly.


    ¡°You can leave if you seek to locate your cousin, Kal-El. If you''re lucky, The Justice League might discover you before anyone else and after going through a series of identity checks, a lot of suspicion, and training to let you have control of your currently uncontrollable abilities, you will reunite with your long-lost cousin¡±.


    ¡°If you aren''t, someone else will come to capture you the moment you are five miles away from the energy shield. As for what they will do to you........ well, let''s just say it won''t be anything good¡±.


    Amari finished while thoroughly observing the expression of the blonde female, whose face was changing faster than a New York minute.


    The amusement on his features were extremely obvious without the slightest intent to conceal it.


    Kara at this moment was truly frightened. She looked at Amari''s expression and there it was.


    It was practically written all over his face. He was enjoying her predicament.


    ¡°Don''t believe me?¡± He raised an eyebrow in question.


    ¡°I can show you¡±. Then, his eyes aligned straight with hers. The next moment, for Kara, everything went dark.


    Barely a second passed by and Kara who was still normal a second ago had her expression distort. A feeling of weakness hit her which she couldn''t explain, and she clasped her forehead.


    Mental exhaustion.


    Amari still looked the same, while Kara''s face was a bit pale.


    ¡°Those were some of the most likely possibilities. I don''t think you want to see more¡±.


    Saying that, he looked at her intently, startling the kryptonian a bit.


    ¡°I''ve taken something from you, and it''s my principle to always offer an equal exchange. I caused your ship to appear in my base so until the moment you decide to leave, I will be fully responsible for your well-being.......¡± Amari wanted to say more, but at that moment, there was a timely interruption.


    ¡°Forgive my interruption, master, but there''s something you should know¡±. Alice said.


    ¡°Oh, what''s it this time?¡±


    ¡°General Lane has a message. Batman wants to meet with you¡±.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Amari exclaimed in slight surprise. He raised his head for a split second, staring at nothing but air, before a smirk appeared on his face.


    A chuckle escaped from his lips before turning into full-blown laughter.


    Kara, who had regained herself, looked at Amari who was laughing a bit wildly and surprise appeared on her face.


    The next moment, Amari turned his head to face her.


    ¡°Hold on for a minute, I''ll be right back¡±.


    Then, he disappeared from his seat, and so did the seat.

 Chapter 40 Ok

    I have a significant question here now.


    So it goes like this. What would you do if you had the capability to stand on top of the world for real, the potential to become an apex creature in the multiverse, and yet surprisingly had no particular interests and desires you wanted to enact?


    You had the strength, the power, you could be a tyrant, be a ruler, a conqueror, a ROB! You could be a guardian, protecting multiple dimensions as your territory, or an enslaver who makes subjugating world''s a side hustle.


    You could be anything you wanted just based on your desires yet had no desires to speak of whatsoever.


    No aims, no goals, no ambitions..... Nothing. Not even wants¡­.


    No need for admiration, no desire for fear, no thirst for vengeance, no longing for love, no particular drive.


    I mean, was it humanly possible. To have so much power and yet have no purpose?


    Maybe it was, maybe it wasn''t.


    But then again, I wasn''t human to begin with, so what did it matter?


    As a being whose body wasn''t even created through the natural cycle of reproduction, it would be strange if the concept of human desires applied to me.


    I wasn''t one of those first to third rate main characters who suddenly found themselves reborn with power beyond their wildest dreams and reincarnated into one of their childhood fantasies in the guise of a new chance at life.


    Point being, I didn''t have the urge to suddenly right the wrongs i had seen in my favorite TV series, verify suspicions i had concerning stories, decide to eliminate a villain just because I found them disgusting, or gather all the prettiest females I could think of from my past life and fulfill every man''s wish of becoming a harem king.


    I technically wasn''t even human, and even if I was, I would be less than three months old.


    I didn''t have a past life, I didn''t have any unfulfilled wishes due to hyperactive imagination.


    Currently, apart from more energy which was the only thing that was never unwelcomed, and my initial desire for a definite form which was already completed, I quite literally wanted nothing.


    All that power with no desires, allow me to understand why those powerful entities would suddenly find a random soul, bless them with one thing or the other, and throw them into a world to cause chaos.


    Boredom, curiosity, literal lack of anything better to do.


    They were either powerful enough to have everything they wanted and saw no interest in going about enslaving universes, or they just lacked the necessary human emotion and saw such endeavors as pointless tasks.


    Why would God''s feel the need to subjugate ant''s? Only beings like Darkseid and Trigon who still needed dimensions to increase their power ever so slightly would engage in such tasks.


    Do you ever hear about the One Above All and The Presence going about enslaving dimensions?


    Why those beings created their respective multiverses was known to them and them only, but if he were to attribute it to anything, it would most certainly be boredom.


    I was currently in a similar state. Like stated earlier, I truly didn''t have anything better to do at the moment, which was why I decided to meet with Batman, even after knowing everything that was about to happen.


    It wouldn''t make a difference anyway.


    And so I left. Teleported straight from The Axiom all the way to Gotham city, a few miles away.


    Gotham''s nightlife had never been quiet. No matter what, you could always count on the sounds of gunshots, explosions, or some random shit happening within the middle of the night to let you know that something was definitely happening somewhere.


    Something you didn''t want to know about.


    This city was just that chaotic. It was eating itself, and the surveillance blimps weren''t helping the case in any way. But that wasn''t my problem.


    Transversing through space, I appeared on the roof of a building that was rather decrepit in the lower slums of Gotham.


    It was an abandoned factory with no life signs within hundreds of meters. Fairly isolated.


    For a trap, it''s a bit conspicuous. Just right to make sure that civilians don''t get hurt in case there is an incident.


    Practically deserted and could make someone suspicious.


    But this could just be thrown on Bruce''s weird meet up placing.


    ¡°He''s here. Ready your positions¡±. I heard the distorted voice below me say in a hushed tone. Probably to the com link to other leaguers.


    Like expected, an ambush. They were trying to mask their presence as much as possible, so I wouldn''t notice.


    How, might you ask? Magic.


    Zatara was here, cloaked with an invisibility spell, alongside Martian Manhunter.


    They weren''t the only ones, though. Apart from Batman, who was standing out in the open within the warehouse, I quickly picked up the extremely fast fluctuations in a circular distance.


    The Flash, Barry Allen, was obviously setting up the Space Jammer. A set of spherical devices created by Cyborg using mother box technology, working on similar principles as the Boom tubes. Only instead of creating portals, this one did the opposite, making sure no portal could be opened within its range by messing up the space nodes in the surroundings.


    Cyborgs original plan for this baby was to create a planetary shield. Capable of detecting and preventing any and all unauthorized teleportation into Earth''s premises, effectively defending against Darkseid.


    It wouldn''t just stop with Darkseid. This tech could also help Zatara and the rest of the Magic society to defend the earth from demonic invasions from other dimensions.


    Giovanni had mentioned this problem to Cyborg due to the mysterious dimensional disturbance which was clearly felt by all magic users on the planet.


    The Justice league had approved of it, even more so.


    After all, such unrestricted entry was something the league didn''t want to see.


    Too bad, though, Cyborg hadn''t been able to make it work on a larger scale. Mainly because the mass of the earth was too large and the power source to keep such a contraption working twenty-four seven was something the League couldn''t afford.


    Unless they decided to hook Captain Atom into it and drain him for all the energy he was worth.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Of course, that was on large scale. For a distance of less than a thousand meters, the Jammer would work just fine. Still, if Batman relied solely on that, then he wouldn''t be Batman.


    Zatara presently was gathering his mana and chanting a space confinement spell to create a double reinforcement.


    I have to admit, though, the Magic power of this human was astounding. Casting such a spell, required a lot of Magic power, and such a large amount of Magic power, even within a concealment spell was as conspicuous as a blazing sun in front of my eyes.


    You could consider this as one of the abilities gained from my ability to absorb energy.


    I call it Energy Vision.


    Due to lack of information, even if I couldn''t see the future, this alone would already expose their actions.


    Giovanni''s magic power was quite noticeable. You could imagine what Shazam''s would be like.


    Yep, Billy Batson was here as well. Hiding high up in the clouds, waiting for the signals to strike. As well as Green Lantern Hal Jordan and Red Tornado.


    Batman, Shazam, Martian Manhunter, Zatara, Red Tornado, Green Lantern......... Minus flash, who wasn''t participating in the containment operation, that makes six Leaguers.


    Well, the Justice league truly thinks highly of me. Sending six Leaguers for a containment operation.


    Don''t underestimate the number, you must know that right now, the League isn''t as numerous as it would be in the future.


    At present, the number of official Justice League members totaled nineteen. Not even breaking the twentieth mark.


    However, one important person was missing from this line up. Knowing his situation, I didn''t find it surprising.


    My body shuttled through space and appeared within the warehouse, a couple of meters away from Batman.


    ¡°Nice night for an ambush, don''t you think so, Bruce?¡± My tone was carefree without the slightest worry.


    The Caped Crusader stood there, his face indifferent, without any fluctuations.


    ¡°You noticed¡±. It wasn''t a question but a statement. There wasn''t any shock or surprise at it, either.


    ¡°Yep¡±. I shrugged while making a gesture. ¡°Zatara might be able to hide his energy signature from Superman, but for me, it won''t make a difference. Plus, the whole thing was suspicious to begin with, just starting from the message¡±.


    ¡°And you walked in here anyway, knowing it was a trap. Is it conceit or confidence?¡±


    ¡°Who knows. I''ve got nothing better to do for the time being. We''ll find out what it is after this is all over, either way. Besides, you weren''t betting that I would stay away after I got the message, were you?¡±


    I asked with an indifferent tone.


    Bruce remained silent. This in its own way was a form of acquiescence.


    Bruce never expected me not to know that this was a set-up. He would consider it weird if I didn''t notice anything and walked in here blindly.


    The main point, he was expecting me to walk in here, full of confidence and recklessness, exactly like I just did.


    He knew a little about me from his brief examination of my character. In the face of such provocation, me not answering was equivalent to being afraid in his eyes.


    Not that I cared what he thought, but once again, I had nothing better to do, so why not just go with the flow.


    ¡°So tell me Bruce.....¡±. I asked nonchalantly with a bit of sarcasm.


    ¡°What exactly did I do this time that threatens the earth so much that your team dispatched six Leaguers to deal with me? I don''t know if my memory is wrong, but I haven''t done anything that''s worthy enough to be targeted¡±.


    Bruce''s face turned a bit ugly for a split second. It disappeared quickly but still.......


    ¡°......... The Meteor. We need to know what''s in it¡±. Bruce said solemnly after a while of silence.


    ¡°Nothing. It''s just a regular old meteor¡±. I plainly replied.


    ¡°Forgive me if I don''t believe you¡±.


    ¡°I don''t care if you don''t. I''m not your Patreon Greek God, your belief has little value to me¡±. I replied.


    Batman frowned.


    ¡°I see you want to be...... difficult. We both know that wasn''t an ordinary meteor but a spaceship. Due to the agreement with the World Council, we haven''t bothered you in your time here. But any actions you take that might threaten the world cannot be taken lightly¡±.


    ¡°And I haven''t done anything capable of threatening the world. Besides, I already made a deal with your world council concerning this meteor. This Meteor is practically my private property at this point. You aren''t backed by the law to take out any actions on me concerning this issue. So, like the law stipulates, please come back when you have sufficient evidence and a government approved search warrant. Until then, Tata¡±.


    Bruce''s face fell.


    I didn''t know what he was thinking, but I could make some really accurate guesses.


    ¡°This meteor is more valuable than I thought¡±.


    ¡°Whatever it is, it has to be important¡±.


    ¡°We can''t just let this be¡±.


    I saw Batman regain his composure. His eyes narrowed as he said in a slight threatening tone.


    ¡°We don''t want to conflict with you on this. It''s not worth it. You just need to tell us what''s inside and hand it over, and all this can be called square. Do we have an agreement?¡±


    ¡°My Dear Overgrown Bat, we most certainly do not¡±. My reply was something even I didn''t expect to say.


    ¡°Then I''m afraid we can''t let you leave¡±. Bruce said, and pressed a button on his suit.


    SCHUUM!!!


    The Space Jammers place that surrounded the area came alive at that moment.


    ¡°Everyone, Now!¡±


    Shazam suddenly crashed through the roof behind me at that moment. His face carried seriousness and some excitement shone in his eyes.


    ¡°We do not wish to have conflicts with you, Mr. Amari. Please understand that our actions are not targeting you, but mainly concern for the well-being of humanity". Who else would it be if not J''onn J''onzz?


    ¡°No need talking to him. He''s not going anyway¡±. Hal said with squinted eyes.


    Red Tornado said nothing but floated in the air with a mini tornado covering his lower body.


    ¡°Since you won''t cooperate, then we have no choice but to keep you here until we discover what we want¡±. Batman continued.


    ¡°As long as there''s truly nothing wrong, then all this is settled. I''m willing to personally apologize for any actions taken here today¡±. Bruce''s next words made everyone look at him with a bit of surprise in their eyes.


    Truly, the majority of them felt like what they were doing was a bit wrong, but they just had to. Batman''s willingness to lower his head and apologize, while surprisingly, was not unthinkable.


    Still, that wouldn''t change much.


    Currently, they just had to be ready for a big fight. Whatever Batman said was meaningless, as to them, I certainly wouldn''t just take things lying down.


    They were right about that. But........


    ¡°So your plan is for one team to keep me here while the other invaded my base?¡± No one replied. Their muscles were tense, just waiting to spring into action.


    But my next words left them completely disorganized.


    ¡°Ok¡±. I said nonchalantly.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Four consecutive exclamations arose.


    I ignored their exclamations of disbelief and feel backwards. The same chair that appeared back at the base was here again, cushioning my fall as i sank into its soft embrace.


    My eyes slowly closed as I left the six Leaguers in battle postures, completely bewildered.


    ¡°What''s happening?¡± Shazam asked in astonishment.


    ¡°This..... Isn''t following the script¡±. Hal scratched his head in equal astonishment.


    Only Bruce narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°You don''t intend to resist?¡±


    ¡°Nope¡±. I replied as a book suddenly appeared in my hand. I opened up the first page, crossed one leg over the other and began to read.


    ¡°Aren''t you afraid that the League will discover what''s within your base?¡±


    ¡°Hehe!¡± I chuckle escaped my lips.


    ¡°First, let your second team succeed in getting past the first round of defense, the Energy Shield. Then we''ll talk¡±.

 Chapter 41

    Gotham City,


    Nighttime.


    A rather decrepit warehouse building.


    The pungent smell of Gotham slums was truly assaulting on the nostrils. A ghastly silence enveloped the atmosphere and the tension on the scene was so palpable, it could almost be cut apart with a kitchen knife.


    Anyone''s first impression in Gotham of what was happening in such an environment would be a classic murder. A bloody corpse sprawled on the floor with wide eyes filled with anger and fear, maybe a maniacal gangster with a butcher knife in his hand and a bunch of other creepy stuff that seemed as if it was an opening scene for a horror movie.


    The reality, however, was much different from that impression.


    Six Leaguers, bona fide Justice League members, all stood and floated in the air on alert. Their eyes wide open and their muscles tensed.


    Surrounding a male figure who was sitting in a comfy, plush chair, reading a book without a care in the world.


    In the dead silence, the flipping of pages was particularly jarring.


    ¡°Something''s wrong¡±. Hal said with narrowed eyelids. Weirdly enough, his lips didn''t have any movements and remained sealed.


    ¡°I know¡±. Bruce replied, his lips equally unmoving.


    ¡°This is not how I pictured things would turn out¡±. Billy said with a puzzled expression. His right arm was scratching his hair and the look of confusion in his eyes were difficult to conceal.


    ¡°Agreed¡±.


    ¡°Giovanni, is the spell working?¡± Bruce asked through the mind link.


    ¡°Yes it is. The spell is active right now¡±. Zatara replied.


    ¡°Then why isn''t he doing anything?¡± Hal''s question was what they all wanted to ask. Everyone turned to look at Batman, who had a blank expression.


    ¡°........ I don''t know¡±. Another one. The familiar feeling of frustration hit Bruce again for the Nth time. Amari''s reaction to their operations was not within his calculations, and it bothered him. It bothered him a lot.


    Why was Amari still sitting there so calmly?


    Did he really have nothing to hide? Was the Meteor truly just a Meteor? No, Bruce was sure it wasn''t.


    Amari''s character, Bruce, could confidently say that he had a certain level of understanding.


    It didn''t matter whether Amari had something to hide or not, he would certainly not allow them to invade his space, even if they were mistaken in all their assumptions. So it certainly wasn''t the confidence of an innocent man that made him sit down so nonchalantly.


    Or was the Space blocker and Zatara''s spell unable to restrain him? Meaning he had full confidence to leave here whenever he wanted.


    Or was he truly certain that the other Leaguers wouldn''t be able to get pass his energy shield?


    Was he even really here?


    ¡°Batman to Wonder Woman, what''s your status?¡±


    ¡°Batman? We''re moving on this end¡±.


    ¡°Where exactly are you now?¡±


    ¡°We''re outside the Energy dome, what''s wrong? Did Amari escape?¡± Diana''s voice came from the other side of the com''s.


    Bruce was silent for a few moments. Just when Wonder Woman thought something had happened......


    ¡°No...... He''s here¡±.


    ¡°........ He is?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±.


    ¡°Then why.......?¡±


    ¡°He''s not resisting¡±. His tone was a bit grave.


    ¡°Explain¡±. Diana said seriously.


    ¡°He appeared here as expected, but that''s it. There was no fighting, no arguing, no threats, nothing. He''s just sitting there as if it has nothing to do with him. If Hal''s ring didn''t tell us that he''s real, I would suspect what we have is a decoy¡±.


    ¡°Diana, something''s wrong¡±. Bruce stated.


    ¡°What are you thinking?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know. He might have some unknown tricks up his sleeve. Who we''re facing might not even be the real him¡±.


    ¡°You suspect he has some kind of duplication ability?¡±


    ¡°I do. That''s what I''m worried about. What''s your situation?¡±


    ¡°A bit troubled. Getting in will be harder than we thought. The Shield''s almost impenetrable, opening a portal directly on the other side didn''t work. Flash couldn''t phase through it either. Judging from that, J''onns density shifting wouldn''t work. It might be possible if we had someone with magic on our side¡±.


    Bruce was silent. For the meantime, the only Magician the League had on their side was Zatara, and he was needed to keep up the confinement spell.


    One of Bruce''s true Trump cards in the magic side was currently indisposed of.


    Doctor Kent Nelson, or more specifically, Doctor Fate.


    A lord of order whose magic capabilities put him at the forefront within the League''s top combat power.


    Doctor Fate, for some reason, had suddenly gone missing. Bruce had entrusted the task of investigating his whereabouts to the Proteges, who had been rather idle recently.


    ¡°.......... Then let Atom give it a try¡±. Bruce said after a moment of silence.


    ¡°Are you sure, Bruce?¡± Diana''s voice on the other end was a bit solemn.


    ¡°We''re already here, we won''t turn back because of a mere Energy shield¡±. Bruce gave a curt nod. ¡°Be careful when you''re in there. I feel slightly uneasy about all this¡±.


    ¡°Understood¡±. The Com''s went silent.


    Bruce took his hand away from his ear and looked at Amari, who was reading leisurely with narrowed eyebrows¡±.


    .............


    The Axiom.


    Outside the dome.


    Diana''s face after cutting off Com''s was slightly serious.


    The Justice league''s second team stood a few meters away from the pulsing energy shield.


    Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern Stewart, Cyborg and Captain Atom.


    ¡°Adam, you''re up¡±. Diana said as she looked at Nathaniel who had complete silver skin save for his gloves, boots, and the emblem on his chest which were red.


    Even his hair was a complete silver.


    Adam didn''t say a word, giving only a nod of understanding and moved forward. There were currently only two ways to get past this shield. One, bombard it with enough force to create an opening. That would be incredibly challenging to do, especially without their heaviest hitters.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    And two........


    ¡°We don''t know how much power this thing can generate. As soon as it shows signs of exceeding your limit, stop immediately¡±.


    Diana said as she watched his moving back.


    ¡°Yeah, we would rather not see you disappearing in time again¡±. Barry gave a light joke¡­


    Captain Atom didn''t reply, his gaze fixed on the barrier before him. With both palms covered in red gloves, he extended his arms out and made contact with the energy barrier and began to absorb it.


    ............


    Gotham City,


    Decrepit Warehouse.


    As time passed by, the uneasiness within Bruce''s heart grew.


    Time passed slowly yet nothing happened. Shazam was no longer in a fighting posture but leaned on an iron barrel with one leg crossed over the other.


    Hal was equally bored. His arms were crossed over each other on his chest area as he floated several inches off the ground.


    Martian Manhunter frowned slightly and said through the mind link.


    "Something''s wrong. They''ve been gone too long¡±.


    Bruce''s face was grim as his fists clenched even tighter.


    ¡°No response?¡± Hal asked.


    ¡°None¡±. The words were heavy. Followed by the silence which, if possible, got heavier.


    ¡°Is it possible we are thinking too much? I mean, we already expected that all Com''s would be down if they got through¡±.


    ¡°Yes, but it''s already been twenty minutes. If they aren''t in danger, what''s taking them so long?¡± Zatara asked in his Italian accent.


    ¡°Maybe...... The place is too big?¡± Billy said awkwardly. At this point, even he could notice that something was off.


    Soon, another ten minutes passed.


    ¡°Times up¡±. Bruce said, with his tone taking a frosty edge. If emotional changes could be visualized, the gloominess around him would have intensified several times over.


    His words brought everyone back on alert.


    Batman looked at Amari coldly.


    ¡°What have you done to them?¡±


    Everyone''s attention refocused on the man on the chair.


    ¡°Bruce, Bruce, Bruce........ I have no idea what you''re talking about¡±. Amari casually replied, still flipping through a book. It wasn''t the same one, however, as he had changed six different books in the short thirty minutes he sat there.


    "The rest of the league are unresponsive. Wonder Woman and I agreed that they Would find a way to send out a message on their situation once inside. If they couldn''t, then they would abort. If there was no news after thirty minutes, then something went wrong¡±. His spat out with a growl.


    ¡°That.......¡± He spoke with a drawl.


    ¡°....... Is TNMP¡±.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Totally Not My Problem¡±.


    ¡°..¡±


    The silence was deafening. Several pairs of eyes bored into Amari''s silhouette with hostile intent.


    ¡°Mr. Amari, please do not do anything we will all regret¡±. J''onn spoke out as a pacifier.


    ¡°We all care about our teammates. To most of us are, they are basically family. Any rash actions that you take will leave us irreconcilable¡±.


    ¡°A declaration of War¡±. Martian Manhunter said with a grim tone.


    The anxiety within it was obvious.


    Right now, J''onn inwardly prayed that things hadn''t gone too far off. If Amari had killed the others, then it wouldn''t matter who was right or wrong in this matter. Their hostile relationship would instantly become irreparable.


    The chaos that would come as a result would be catastrophic.


    ¡°I wasn''t the one who rushed into someone else''s territory without due invitation. Please tell me, Mr. J''onzz, who''s declaring war on who¡±.


    The book in his hands disappeared. What replaced it was a newspaper.


    Amari raised his head and looked at Batman with an indifferent expression.


    ¡°.... I mean come on, you''re supposed to be the brains of the Justice League Bruce. What exactly were you expecting when you allowed your teammates take on such a task. Are you expecting me to fight? So you can find a legitimate reason to convince yourself that what you''re doing is right? Cause from your lineup, I''m guessing you weren''t expecting anything less¡±. He pointed at everyone present in a sweeping manner.


    ¡°Or were you expecting it to be, like the way you raided Cadmus? Or any other illegal government facility, villain organization, Lexcorp lab and whatnot? Get in, face a large encirclement of high-tech firepower, missiles, lasers, maybe giant kryptonite-powered robots made from Nth Metal, or even some futuristic shit you''ve never seen, crush all of it and come out unscathed?¡±


    ¡°Maybe even myself. You probably thought what was sitting in front of you wasn''t my real body but some kind of duplicate. Then, you''d all converge together to fight me back at The Axiom all at once. Make a big splash about it¡±.


    Amari chuckled.


    Batman clenched his teeth audibly. If he were holding something sharp, his palms under the gloves would be bleeding from squeezing too hard.


    ¡°....... I underestimated you¡±.


    ¡°No¡±. Amari shook his head. ¡°You didn''t underestimate me. You overestimated yourself. See, I don''t wanna say something like, ¡°You haven''t seen anything yet¡± Or ¡°You don''t know what true power is¡±. It''ll make me sound like a boss level bad guy you''re used to fighting every now and then. But here''s the thing........ I literally didn''t do anything.........¡±


    A smile appeared on his face. The smile was filled with ridicule, and his eyes practically radiated mockery.


    This was probably the first time that Amari revealed such human like expressions.


    ¡°...... You did¡±.


    Everyone''s faces twisted to form different expressions. Mainly surprise, doubt, and disbelief.


    ¡°Don''t understand? Then let''s simplify it, shall we?¡± His voice had a somewhat upbeat tone.


    "Now, what do you think is the best way to hide something?¡±


    Silence answered him.


    ¡°No thoughts? Then I''ll answer myself. You see, in my opinion, the best way is to make sure the hiding place is somewhere that can''t be reached by anyone but yourself¡±.


    ¡°So when I built The Axiom a month ago, I knew that eventually, someone was going to come snooping around. It might be the Joker, or Luthor, Vandal Savage, Reverse Flash, you guys...... You get my point. So I thought of the perfect security measure. Instead of installing countless weapons of mass destruction to eliminate intruders, I could just skip all that trouble and build The Axiom in a place incapable of being reached. To be specific, another dimensional space¡±.


    His casual words were equivalent to a bomb in their ears. People like Shazam, Martian Manhunter and Hal Jordan had incredulous looks on their faces, while Zatara had a thoughtful expression.


    ¡°Impossible¡±. Red Tornado, who had been quiet all this time finally, uttered a word.


    ¡°We have observed your base and the area surrounding it at all times. There were no abnormalities detected¡±.


    ¡°Plus how can it be in another dimension if we can see it?¡± Batman agreed with Tornado darkly.


    ¡°What you''re seeing is a virtual projection across dimensions. It looks life-like, but it''s not really there. And the Energy shield surrounding it is not just to prevent anything from going in, it also serves as a sort of trigger. The moment anything goes through it, a hole is torn open in the fabric of space, pulling anything close with tremendous force. When Captain Atom disrupted the energy barrier, there was a crack in the space fabric. My guess, your teammates, were unfortunately sucked in with no resistance¡±.


    He shrugged his shoulders.


    ¡°So you see Bruce? I didn''t lift a finger. You all agreed on your operation, so this was all your doing¡±.


    Bruce''s face was gloomy. The rest of the league also had unsightly expressions.


    ¡°Tornado, Go¡±. Batman said to Red Tornado, who took off immediately without a word, heading back to the Watchtower.


    ¡°Where are they?¡± Hal asked with urgency. As a space cop, he knew that transversing space was extremely dangerous.


    ¡°Why are you asking me? I don''t know¡±.


    Amari didn''t even look at the agitated Lantern. His attention was fully focused on the newspaper, as if he had found something much more interesting than their present conversation.


    Too bad, Hal didn''t have the mood to care about that now.


    ¡°Don''t give me that shit. You set this all up¡±. He growled with anger. His mood was understandable as his friends were in possible danger.


    ¡°Yes¡­. And you guys are the unlucky ones who walked into it. You decided to break in by force, so the repercussions are your problem¡±. Yet, what did that have to do with Amari? He literally couldn''t care less.


    ¡°Don''t go too far¡±. At that moment, Bruce spoke coldly. His eyes had narrowed to form a sharp, penetrating glare.


    ¡°I admit that we were wrong in our handling. But the lives of the League aren''t joking matters. You''ve made your point¡±.


    Amari looked at Batman with the expression of looking at a fool.


    ¡°You don''t seem to understand. This was never about making a point. I don''t have your teammates captured somewhere because I don''t control the Spatial tear. Wherever it takes them to is not in my knowledge. They could appear in places as close by as Aquaman''s bedroom, or as far as an unknown space sector on the other side of the universe. If they''re unlucky, they might just fall into Apokolips, a parallel dimension or even a black hole. Some might get ripped to pieces in the Spatial tears. The moment they got sucked in, their life and death had nothing to do with me¡±. Amari said with an equally cold tone.


    ¡°What kind of fool do you take me for?¡± He ground out.


    The mood instantly plummeted even lower than it already had. Apparently, Batman didn''t like the answer he had given.


    ¡°Like I said, not my problem. Are we done here? Cause if we are, I''m leaving¡±. Amari stood up from his chair, which disappeared.


    ¡°That is not an answer that we can accept¡±.


    Zatara said while chanting an incantation.


    ¡°Rehtag eht citsym rewop¡±.

 Chapter 42

    Gotham City was a place where you learn to expect the unexpected to survive.


    What happened here every night for all of its residents was nothing more than the average weekday. Tonight, certainly, wouldn''t be any different.


    BOOM!


    With a loud bang, the roof of the dilapidated warehouse explodes. Dust and debris flying every which way, alongside several figures rushing out of the building that was already on the verge of collapse before this.


    The least eye catching was a grappling line that shot towards the high ledge of a taller building. The dark figure of Batman swooshed through the window and out of the building just before the whole place caved in on itself.


    With incredible reflexes, superb skills and his grappling gun, he swung from one ledge to another before landing on the damaged road.


    The streets in these parts of the slum were exactly as how you would expect it. Like an abandoned construction site urgently in need of repairs.


    Bruce couldn''t care less. He had barely regained his footing when something green burst out of the collapsing building at remarkable speeds.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± The green silhouette hit the caped crusader head on, knocking him back like a bowling pin, several meters away.


    ¡°Thud!¡± Bruce crashed to the ground with a thud.


    Hal, who was thrown out on the other hand, bounced off the ground many times before slamming into a wall.


    Cracks similar to spiderwebs appeared on the point of impact.


    The Green Lantern let out a low groan.


    ¡°Well, I didn''t see that coming¡±. He meant it literally. The speed of the attack was too fast for him to react to.


    Thinking of this, Hal gritted his teeth in frustration. This wasn''t the first time he had faced him and just like back then, he was having his ass handed to him.


    Hal slowly lifted himself off the crash point. The small rubble that had fallen on his glowing uniform slid off as he returned his gaze to the hole he had made when he was blasted out.


    The Warehouse was on the verge of collapse. Numerous cracks had appeared on the walls and debris fell with every passing second.


    ¡°I didn''t expect you to¡±. A nonchalant voice fell into Hal''s ears. A figure leisurely stepped out of the hole that was formed due to the Lantern''s exit.


    Amari stood at a distance, his facial expression as flat as his voice tone. His right hand held a man dressed in formal attire which consisted of a white shirt with a red bow-tie attached, over which there is a yellow vest, topped by a black blazer.


    Giovanni Zatara.


    Unfortunately, he was now unconscious.


    Hal''s eyes widened when he saw this. Especially when he noticed that wisps of florescent lights were being drawn out of the magician.


    ¡°By the way, you should let him know if he wakes up......¡± As the last florescent energy was drawn from Giovanni, Amari casually tossed the Italian on the floor like discarded garbage.


    ¡°........ That magic doesn''t work on me¡±.


    Seeing Zatara unmoving, Hal burst into a flood of rage.


    ¡°Agghhhhh!¡± Bursts of dazzling green willpower emerged from all over him. He stretched his right hand forward and supported it with his left hand.


    A beam of terrifying energy condensed on his ring.


    ¡°I''ll kill you¡±. His expression looked hideous as he fired with full force. The Green energy beam travelled at an astonishing speed, locating Amari, who didn''t even bother to dodge and firmly slammed into his chest.


    There was a giant explosion in the area Amari stood. However, it quickly receded as fast as it appeared, all into the body of The Deviant.


    ¡°Kill me? That''s funny¡±. Amari let out small chuckles.


    ¡°If only you could¡±. Hal stood there slightly dumbfounded.


    His clothes didn''t have a dent, his hair wasn''t ruffled. There wasn''t even a drop of sweat on his forehead.


    ¡°Unfortunately, you can''t¡±. As soon as his words fell, his figure disappeared.


    Hal''s pupils shrank and a barrier appeared, shielding him on instinct. Too bad, Amari appeared beside him and swung his fist at supersonic speed.


    Coated with a terrifying energy of destruction, the will powered barrier which was strong enough to withstand Superman''s slightly stronger attacks was effortlessly broken.


    Same attack, same place, same result. With a blow to the chest, Hal Jordan was sent flying through three buildings, blood bursting out of his mouth.


    BOOM!


    BOOM!


    BOOM!


    The sound of destruction was loud enough to alert the Gotham citizens. In the abandoned slum district where crime was the most prevalent, the quality of buildings were particularly trashy. A superhero flying through three buildings was already equal to a demolition order.


    Houses collapsed one by one. Amari watched it with an indifferent look in his eyes.


    Totally aware of Batman''s sneak attack with three Batarangs he had taken from his utility belt.


    The three bat shaped weapons cut through the air and landed on his back, followed by multiple explosions. Still, a similar situation to Hal''s energy blast occurred. All of it was absorbed the moment it came into contact with him.


    ¡°You do know that you''re really getting on my nerves, right?¡± He said with a questioning look.


    Batman didn''t reply. With a cold face, he leapt upward and shot his grappling gun. As his body ascended, various explosive gadgets were thrown towards Amari one after another.


    Tonight''s Gotham nightlife had an explosive rhythm to it. The weapons all exploded one after another.


    Batarangs, explosives, bombs. The place where Amari stood turned into an explosive pit.


    Dust and debris flew everywhere, and the flames and smoke billowed for a moment.


    The attack was textbook, the results were less than ideal. The flames and smoke receded like a retreating tide. Amari still stood in the same place, without a change in expression.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    He didn''t look like someone who had just been bombarded with numerous explosives.


    ¡°Enough!¡± A voice shouted. The figure of a giant sea serpent emerged from the ground, behind Amari and quickly entangled him.


    The serpent head changed to the upper body form of Martian Manhunter.


    ¡°Something''s wrong. Things have gone out of hand. We did not want matters to come to this¡±.


    ¡°Hehe¡±. Amari chuckled lightly.


    ¡°The fight has already started, and now you notice that something''s wrong?¡±


    At that moment, a silhouette dressed in red tights and a white cape flew down with extreme force.


    ¡°Lights out dude¡±. Shazam yelled as he dropped in front of Amari''s wrapped figure and threw a punch with his fist completely submerged in golden lightning.


    BAM!


    Amari''s head tilted to the right as the blow landed.


    Then his face straightened again as he looked at Shazam with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°You done?¡± Billy''s eyes widened in surprise. That punch carried his full force. Even Superman wouldn''t be able to withstand it so casually.


    ¡°Don''t worry, you can have it back¡±. With a mere thought, golden lightning that was absorbed covered his entire body.


    ¡°Arghh!¡± Martian Manhunter who was restricting him, bore the brunt of it as the absorbed energy was expelled in all directions.


    He was blasted backwards, the attack causing him to release his shapeshifting form on the spot.


    The floor under Amari caved in from the sheer destructive power released


    Shazam was also knocked back several meters.


    ¡°I''ve had enough¡±. The words fell into the ears of Shazam, who had barely regained his composure and a figured appeared in front of him, followed by an uppercut which connected straight to his face.


    Kaboom! .


    Shazam flew backwards at an alarming pace. His body destroyed numerous obstructions in his way before crash landing on the ground. Even then, he continued to slide away, leaving a deep gully on the already terribly road.


    The force was so powerful that a regular person would be ripped to shreds if he happened to get in the way of that speeding figure.


    Billy''s mind was blank. The blow was so powerful that it made him dizzy. Since the day he became Shazam, this was the first blow he received that truly made his teeth ache.


    His body that had dug an ugly trench bounced off the ground several times, leaving deep pits, and then bounced into the air after a ricochet from a dumpster.


    Right now, he couldn''t even stop his movement. His eyes had barely opened for a split second when he saw a fist land straight on his face again without giving him the luxury of reaction time.


    Kaboom! !


    Billy''s body sped up again in the opposite direction, but Amari was far from done. He teleported straight above the dazed Billy Batson and punched downwards.


    From the air back to the earth. Shazam crashed towards the ground with a loud BOOM! The impact caused the whole of Gotham city to shake for a second.


    Crashing on the floor, a giant crater was formed beneath Shazam''s body.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± He groaned painfully as the superhero lifted his body from the crater sluggishly.


    On a close building, the space distorted and Amari''s figure stepped out of the void. His blank gaze stared at the man in red tights.


    ¡°Not down yet?¡± He asked himself with a raised eyebrow. As for if he was referring to Shazam or Martian Manhunter who was.......


    Before he could finish his thoughts, a humongous telekinetic force slammed into the building he stood on.


    The building itself was reduced to rubble in one attack. Amari appeared on the ground completely unscathed. However, what greeted his sight was the rain of building parts shooting towards his figure.


    BOOM!


    In less than two seconds, the place he stood was submerged with heavy to rocks.


    J''onn who was floating in the air stared at that point with a serious expression on his face. He knew that his opponent wasn''t easy to deal with.


    Sure enough, a dark red glow could be seen from within the rocks. And then....... It burst out in a directions. Everything that came in contact with the dark energy crumbled with rapid speed and turned to dust.


    All the obstacles were cleared. Amari''s figured emerged, bathed in dark red energy.


    His eyes didn''t give off the distinctive purple glow anymore but had turned dark red with special patterns.


    ¡°So this is the true power of the Martian Manhunter. I always thought you were often underestimated¡±. His tone was flat, carrying no hint of praise or appreciation whatsoever.


    ¡°This has gone on for long enough. Please stop¡±. J''onn said gravely. The destruction that their short battle had caused was tremendous. J''onn couldn''t continue to let the matter escalate, especially when he finally discovered that something was up.


    ¡°You were the ones who started this. Why should I end it when you want to¡±. Amari tilted his head with a look of amusement.


    ¡°Something is wrong. I believe the league members may have been affected¡±. He said solemnly.


    However, what responded to him was a dry chuckle.


    ¡°I don''t know how many times I have to say it.......¡± He shook his head repeatedly before fixing his gaze on the levitating Martian.


    ¡°That that.........¡±. The energy of destruction around him receded, and his eyes returned to the standard purple color. Only this time, the patterns were spinning rapidly.


    ¡°...... Is Not My Problem¡±. Kamui was activated at that moment.


    The space around Martian Manhunter''s arm suddenly distorted to the extreme.


    Squelch!


    The sound of ripping flesh could be heard, followed by J''onns miserable scream.


    Blood flowed down from the arms of the Green Martian as what was previously present from the elbows downward had been twisted off and transported into another space.


    With a flash, he appeared behind J''onn in the air. A powerful kick landed on his back, propelling the Martian back towards gravity''s call.


    The Martian crashed back to the ground, with a loud thud.


    ¡°Arghh!¡± The impact wasn''t enough to knock him unconscious.


    The pain of losing both arms was reflected in his hideous expression. Amari appeared several meters away from him and watched.


    Suddenly, several circular balls were thrown in his direction, simultaneously exploding at the same time.


    ¡°This is Batman, calling in all available Leaguers to Gotham city. We have a severe situation.......¡±


    The flames dissipated quickly, absorbed into Amari''s body. Before he could make a move to solve the broody bat, Shazam appeared in his line of vision again.


    There was a bloody line running from his nostrils and two cuts on his face, but he didn''t care.


    The latter channeled his energy towards his hands and shot a massive burst of lightning towards Amari.


    The attack landed, but not on Amari, as the lightning strike passed through his body without obstruction. Instead, it hit Martian Manhunter who was now missing two arms and had no time to react.


    Hit by Zeus''s lightning, J''onn was blasted into the distance, slamming into a building.


    Seeing that the attack hit, but not on the person he intended, Billy froze for a moment.


    Amari appeared before the Greek Champion in the blink of an eye. Shazam quickly swung his fist, but it was firmly clamped by the opponent''s palm. He did the same with the other, but the result was no different.


    He wanted to attack again, but the severe pain that hit him the next second made him scream and fall to his knees.


    Destructive energy surged from Amari''s palms into the fists of Shazam.


    ¡°To be honest, this was quite underwhelming. Your performance isn''t as strong as I expected it to be¡±. Amari locked his gaze on Shazam''s eyes and activated the hypnotic ability of the Mangekyo Sharingan.


    A strong mental force invaded Billy''s mind one second and his vision darkened. In Amari''s line of sight, Shazam''s eyes grew dull.


    ¡°Well, you''ve all performed, so let me show you a trick of my own. All you have to do is say the magic words¡±.


    Amari said nonchalantly. The will that belonged to Shazam''s subconscious resisted desperately, but eventually, a single word left Billy''s lips under deep resistance.


    ¡°Sha....zam!¡± A bolt of lightning appeared from the clouds, landing on the figures of both men. A second later, the lightning was gone and what remained wasn''t two men but a man and a boy who suddenly fell unconscious.


    Shazam had returned to his original form of Billy Batson and fell to the ground with a thud. However, both of his arms were charred black.


    Amari, on the other hand, stood firmly with a ball of energy in his palm. The Energy of six Greek Gods that fused to form the powers of Shazam.

 Chapter 43 Prove A Point

    Feeling the tremendous power in the spherical energy ball at his fingertips, Amari examined it closely.


    In this universe, the power of the Gods were still powerful enough to be paid attention to.


    With a thought, the powers of Shazam were disassembled and absorbed into his body.


    As for Shazam?........... Well, just like Zatara, what was left of him was a broken magic man. Unless Shazam regained his abilities through some other methods, Billy Batson would have to start considering his future in society seriously.


    ¡°And then there was one¡±.


    Amari turned his head to the distance. He could easily spot Batman, hanging off a window ledge on a nearby building. His tightly clenched fists and gritted teeth were fully displayed close up in his eyes.


    ¡°I''ve had enough fun¡­ So let''s end this¡±. Amari said to himself as he stamped his foot on the floor. A stream of destructive energy emerged from the soles of his feet, penetrated into the ground and rushed in a straight line towards its intended target.


    Bruce''s pupils shrank, and he quickly shot his grappling gun towards the nearest rooftop. His body had barely been pulled away when the energy stream rushed towards the abandoned building and then....... BOOM!


    Flames burst out and the whole place exploded. Bruce, however, didn''t escape unaffected. The shockwave hit the back of the caped crusader, affecting his escaping posture.


    Batman''s body fell as the hand holding the grappling gun faltered, landing hard on a nearby roof.


    Nevertheless, Bruce wasn''t a martial arts master for nothing. His body rolled, and he performed a handstand followed by a backflip to stabilize his landing posture.


    Bruce landed firmly in his feet, but a figure appeared in front of him at a speed faster than he could react.


    Amari''s palm landed on Bruce''s chest, sending the latter flying off the rooftop several hundred meters away. The back of The Dark Knight slammed into a tall building.


    At this point, the fight had already escaped the area in Bruce''s restriction and had approached more populated places in Gotham. The heavy impact caused by Batman''s collision caused the wall to develop cracks, frightening the family of four who lived on that floor.


    Bruce felt something, warm and metallic, in his throat. His body fell sharply from the high height and even with his customized batsuit, he was sure that he would definitely suffer greatly if he crashed into the pavement with this level of momentum.


    Several sharp spikes appeared out of a section around his arms and legs. Bruce leaned towards the building and dug them into the building, causing slash marks to appear as he continued to descend.


    Then, he pushed off the building when his descent had slowed down, landing with a roll.


    Bruce spat out a mouthful of blood in a kneeling posture. His raised his head to the side and what greeted his vision was a timely kick to the face.


    Amari stood on the side with both arms in his pocket as he watched Bruce''s body crash. The coldness in his eyes were almost overflowing at this point.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± A groan escaped from The Dark Knight. Pain, even with the batsuit on, Bruce felt pain overwhelm his senses.


    His body trembled slightly as he pushed himself from the floor. Blood flowed from his lips and nose, nevertheless, his expression remained unchanged.


    ¡°Your starting lineup was wrong¡±. His words drifted into Bruce''s ears. Batman supported himself on something as he rose from the ground.


    Looking at Amari, his fists were stubbornly clenched. If glares could kill, then under the intense look in Batman''s eyes, Amari would probably be dead.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Zatara, Green Lantern, Shazam, Martian Manhunter, Red Tornado and yourself. A worthy lineup for any foe, even if Red Tornado had to leave halfway¡±. Amari said nonchalantly.


    ¡°Still, it wouldn''t have mattered much if he stayed anyway. I would have probably had his limbs twisted off like I did j''onn''s¡±. His words made Bruce''s eyes narrow even further.


    ¡°Gloating? So you came to mock me?¡± He asked with a cold tone.


    ¡°I never took you for an egotist¡±.


    ¡°Yeah, and I never took you for an arrogant idiot¡±. Amari retorted indifferently.


    ¡°Six leaguers, two were magic-based individuals, one was a defeated opponent and Martian Manhunter''s greatest telepathy advantage has no effect on me. You even had the guts to let tornado leave halfway. The heavy hitters aren''t complete, even Lobo could have taken you done with enough time¡±.


    His words, while plain, had a strong edge to it.


    ¡°Hehe, I''ve been looked down on by The Dark Knight himself. Tsk tsk.....¡±.


    Bruce frowned.


    ¡°They were selected specifically for restraint tactics. An........ Error in my calculations due to too little information. It seems magic has no effect on you¡±. His tone was grave.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    On this night, Bruce finally realized that he might have overestimated his strength. His trust in the Justice League, composed of the most powerful individuals in the world, had somewhat blinded him.


    Amari''s capabilities greatly exceeded his expectations. Five Leaguers. And it wasn''t even a struggle like it was with Amazo, it was a complete massacre.


    It didn''t matter whether they were the heaviest hitters or not, but the strength that lay in their comprehensive abilities was not something any random villain could fight against, yet this....... Alien seemed to have a counter for everything.


    Living up to his public alias, he was a Deviant in the true sense.


    Bruce still remembered when Zatara attacked. Even with the space confinement spell on, Amari teleported as if Magic didn''t affect him. As for the Space Jammers? Well, they blew up the moment he did.


    And now, he had taken down four Leaguers in such a short time span. If he didn''t know that Clark had never shown how strong he really was, he would wonder if even Superman could achieve such a feat.


    ¡°Oh? You''re awfully calm for someone who just got beaten and had his teammates trashed, crippled and left in a state of near death¡±.


    The casual words were like needles piercing into Bruce''s skin. His palms clenched tightly, and it took a considerable amount of willpower not to do something impulsive at this moment.


    ¡°It doesn''t matter what happens to us. I swear on my life that you will get what''s coming to you¡±.


    ¡°Really? Then who''s gonna give it to me? You or Superman?¡±


    Bruce didn''t reply, his face cold. But Amari could see it. In his eyes, there was a flash of murderous intent.


    ¡°You probably want to kill me now, don''t you?¡±


    ¡°..¡±


    ¡°But even if you wanted to, you can''t. And so far, your countermeasures have failed. Now what? Do you plan to appeal to my human side, reason with me?¡±


    ¡°I doubt you have a human side but If possible, yes¡±


    ¡°No¡±. Amari shook his head.


    ¡°You don''t plan to do that at all. If you wanted to, you would have from the start. You''re stalling. The rest of the league, or what''s left of it, should be on their way here with your last countermeasure, the phantom zone projector, am I right?¡±


    Amari asked with a raised eyebrow.


    Bruce''s eyes flashed for a split second. It was so fast that even someone who specializes in studying micro expressions wouldn''t be able to notice it.


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Amari laughed. A hearty laughter on one hand.


    ¡°You know I can teleport, right? You don''t seriously expect sending me to the Phantom Zone to be an ideal countermeasure¡±.


    ¡°............. Everything has a limit¡±. Bruce said after a moment of silence. Amari was right.


    Right now, he was just trying to buy time. Waiting for the rest of the League to arrive.


    ¡°Maybe¡±. Amari shrugged. ¡°But the limits are defined by the nature of the subject in question. And FYI, my ability isn''t teleportation¡±. He said with amusement.


    Finally, Bruce''s indifferent facade broke.


    Amari watched the change in his expression, and the amusement gradually faded away. Now he was....... bored.


    This wasn''t amusing anymore.


    ¡°So Mr. Dark Knight, any other ideas?¡±


    Silence answered him.


    ¡°No?¡± Amari tilted his head. ¡°Then let''s get this over with¡±. As he said so, a ball of destructive energy appeared in his right hand, spinning rapidly.


    ¡°Are you going to kill me?¡± Bruce asked calmly.


    ¡°Trust me when I tell you, I''m seriously considering that option¡±. He said with a blank face. A second later, the space around both of them swirled and Batman felt an irresistible suction force envelop him.


    A second later, they appeared on top of a building.


    Bruce, who had appeared, had his eyes, flash with a small light.


    ¡°So that''s how it works. Your ability virtually lets you travel through dimensions. You just move between the two so fast that it looks like teleportation¡±.


    ¡°Correct¡±. Amari remarked.


    ¡°But let''s leave gathering Intel on my abilities for later. After all, that''s not why we are here now¡±.


    At that moment, Bruce had an ominous feeling overcome him. He turned his head to examine his surroundings and quickly discovered where they were now.


    On the rooftop of Wayne Industries.


    But........ Why did he bring him here? Bruce frowned and turned to Amari.


    ¡°Why are we here¡±.


    ¡°Like I was saying, I seriously gave it a lot of thought about killing you. Cause honestly, your actions and that of the League tonight are coming close to touching my bottom line. But I quickly realized......... Killing you wouldn''t fix the problem but aggravate it¡±.


    His words were plain and concise as he gestured to the side.


    ¡°Your death wouldn''t deter the Justice League from pestering me but achieve the exact opposite. Those are troubles I would rather not have to go through, so I have no choice but to take an action that would prevent you from having any more harmful thoughts¡±.


    The ball of destructive energy hummed as the size underwent multiple changes. Sometimes enlarging before shrinking again and again multiple times as if it were being compressed.


    Amari finished his words and turned his vision away from Batman and looked towards the distance.


    ¡°Since you want to know so much about my abilities, then I don''t mind letting you know something else. As you should already know, I can release a form of destructive energy from my body capable of destroying whatever it comes in contact with. Even Superman''s invulnerability to everything but magic wouldn''t change that fact. This ball in my hand........¡± His purple eyes returned to the condensing ball of chaos.


    ¡°...... Is a swirling mass of that same energy compressed into miniature size. Its current power is strong enough to wipe a city off the map. Once it leaves my hand, it will destroy everything it comes into contact with. Stone, steel, flesh, all of it will crumble and turn to ash in a matter of seconds. Even Superman can''t put a stop to it¡±.


    Bruce''s face turned grave as realization struck him harshly.


    ¡°So tell me Bruce.....¡± The indifferent tone could send chills down the spine.


    ¡°...... Would your league stop provoking me if Gotham disappears permanently?¡±


    Whatever this was initially about, it had long been forgotten.


    As for Martian Manhunter''s words? Whether something was wrong with the League or not was none of his concern.


    This was more than just right and wrong, this was about proving a point.

 Chapter 44 Tsukyuomi, Brainwashed

    Destroying an entire city filled with millions of innocent lives to prove a point?


    ¡°You''ve gone Mad¡±. Bruce growled angrily. The display of anger on his face was so vivid that people who knew Batman would be surprised.


    ¡°Really? I don''t feel like a madman¡±. Amari raised an eyebrow and said with a blank face.


    ¡°Anyone who would even consider destroying an entire city filled with millions of people in cold blood is nothing short of a monster¡±.


    Bruce''s heart beat frantically, the palpitations due to worry and fear. All the hairs on his body stopped on end when such a dreadful possibility appeared in his mind.


    The extreme sense of crisis that that ball of energy gave to him only assured him that this wasn''t a bluff at all.


    That energy ball was real, and capable of doing what Amari said it would do. As for whether Amari would do it or not? The indifferent expression on his face was practically an answer on its own.


    Amari chuckled at his words.


    ¡°Whether I''m a monster or not is debatable. But do I look like I care about the result?¡±


    ¡°....... Why?¡± Bruce asked grimly.


    ¡°Why you ask?¡±


    ¡°Your actions are plain madness. No matter the result it accomplishes, it will make you and the earth irreconcilable¡±. Batman staggered a bit yet his firm tone never wavered.


    ¡°We might be wary of you, but we will never stop hating you, stop loathing you, stop looking for any possibility to defeat you¡±.


    Bruce spoke solemnly. The situation had escalated far out of his control. First, it was a spaceship, then missing Leaguers, then beat up Leaguers, and now the possibility of the destruction of Gotham.


    This was something he couldn''t allow to happen no matter what. Now, he could only hope that Amari would listen to reason. However, the next set of words that came out left him somewhat stunned.


    ¡°Isn''t that what you want?¡± Amari''s voice was calm.


    ¡°How could that be what I........¡± He said, subconsciously defending himself, only for his words to trail off at the end.


    ¡°Oh really? Then why Bruce?¡± Amari asked.


    ¡°You led the League to encircle me, another led to invade my property, and then you used force after you failed¡±. His tone grew colder and colder with each sentence.


    ¡°I''ve got to ask. Do you think so little of me¡±?


    ¡°That I''m like any other villain you cross paths with where you have the full right to barge in and treat me how you will, expecting me to take it as it is?¡±


    ¡°Well, if this isn''t the rhythm of making enemies, then I don''t know what is¡±.


    Bruce took two steps back in disbelief, his facial features were marred with confusion and a bit of disbelief.


    ¡°I......¡± Shaking his head to get rid of useless thoughts, he replied, ¡°..... Never wanted it to get this far¡±.


    ¡°We just wanted to know what was in the meteor. It''s our Job to make sure the earth is secure¡±.


    ¡°Isn''t Cadmus dangerous? Don''t you know that they carry out illegal experimentation? I mean, there''s literally a little Superman running around with that little team of Proteges you and the rest of the league have. It should serve as sufficient evidence. Why don''t you also forcibly detain Lex Luthor against his will and search through everything he has according to what you''re doing to me?¡±  Amari asked with intrigue.


    ¡°.....¡± Bruce was speechless.


    ¡°Nothing?¡± Amari raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°....... You and Luthor aren''t the same¡±. Batman said in a grave and deep tone. Ignoring the amusement on Amari''s face.


    ¡°In my evaluation, you are much more dangerous than him. Your potential threat far exceeds Lex¡±.


    ¡°Because I''m not human?¡±


    Batman didn''t say a word. The silence was an answer on Its own.


    ¡°Looks like I''m right¡±. Amari clicked his tongue and said blandly.


    ¡°When we first encountered, I had the same prejudice against Superman¡±. Seeing that things were taking a wrong turn, Bruce spoke up immediately.


    "You were right about one thing. Earth in this time is primitive. Our civilization compared to the vast universe is inherently far weaker and more vulnerable. Both in terms of power and technology, therefore when someone with far stronger capabilities notice us, we can easily be enslaved''.


    His tone gave off a dark and gloomy feeling. The hoarse voice which was due to the voice modulator within his suit amplified this feeling.


    Amari listened to his speech and felt like Bruce was telling some kind of cool action story, or a movie intro talking about the initial dark times.


    ¡°When Superman first announced himself to the world, I was skeptical. Wary that he would suddenly get drunk on power and try to turn the entire world into his domain. As that kind of power, easily corrupts and is not something any man should easily wield¡±.


    ¡°My assumptions were proved right when General Zod, a survivor of Superman''s race, appeared on earth and decided to wipe us out for his own selfish goals of rebuilding his destroyed civilization¡±.


    ¡°You Otherworlders have that preconceived notion within you. A classic conceit for the ones you deem inferior species. You see humans no more than ants to be trampled on, as entities not worthy of your concern. Our lives are probably no more than street cabbage¡±. Although his tone was flat, Amari could hear the slight grinding of the Caped Crusader''s teeth.


    The tensing of his fists and the arching of his back


    ¡°Thankfully, I was wrong about Superman. The same, however, can''t and won''t be said for you¡±. Batman''s gaze landed firmly on the spinning energy ball that pulsated with pure destructive power, letting out occasional hums as if expressing its desire to destroy.


    ¡°You, J''onn and Clark, may all be aliens, but you are different from both of them. I''ve seen it in you. Similar to Zod, Stepphenwolf and other villains we have faced, you don''t regard human life as anything important. As can be seen from your apparent willingness to destroy all of Gotham to prove a point¡±.


    ¡°Luthor may be our enemy, and the damages he has caused in his schemes may cause lives to be lost, but even he wouldn''t play with the life of an entire city just to get to Superman. So in my eyes, you pose a danger threat to humanity¡±.


    ¡°For someone with such power, technology and no humanity to stay within our planet, forgive me if I don''t feel comfortable¡±.


    ¡°I was wrong about Clark, but I doubt I''m wrong about you. You might be just as powerful as he is, but you''re not Superman¡±. With narrowed eyes, the caped crusader ended.


    And what followed was silence.


    The wind blew in the Gotham night, causing Batman''s cape and Amari''s hood to move with it. Bruce had solemnity in his eyes, while Amari plainly held a ball of mass destruction in his right hand, sporting an amused face.


    Until.......


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Amari laughed.


    ¡°Oh my God...... I mean¡­. Sorry¡­. hehehe". The laughter soon broke down to small chuckles under Batman''s confused gaze.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Sorry bout that. I just couldn''t help myself. I mean, although it sounded pretty good, touching and inspiring, all that coming out of someone who''s under the influence of mind control.....now that''s rich¡±.


    Another round of laughter escaped his lips as Amari chuckled in genuine amusement.


    But Batman wasn''t amused in the slightest.


    Bruce frowned, and his narrowed eyes gave off the signature bat glare.


    ¡°What are you talking about¡±.


    ¡°Hehe..... Oh? You still haven''t realized it, have you?¡±


    Amari clicked his tongue and asked with a smile.


    ¡°Then let me show you¡±. As soon as he dropped his words, Batman''s consciousness was pulled into an illusion.


    A second later, his mind was returned to his body. Right when Bruce regained himself, his face turned slightly pale while taking multiple steps backwards.


    ¡°No...... No.....¡± He muttered the same word over and over.


    ¡°Surprised?¡± Amari asked.


    ¡°It can''t be¡±. Bruce retorted with a growl.


    ¡°Oh how the mighty have fallen¡±.  Amari remarked calmly, to which, The Dark Knight grunted and held his head in pain.


    ¡°A member of Earth''s mightiest heroes, mind controlled by an enemy for so long without he, or his friends, noticing¡±. A chuckle escaped his lips.


    ¡°But don''t feel too bad, you''re not the only one who suffered. The rest of the League experienced the same thing as well. If not, at least someone would have stepped up to rebuke your actions.....¡± Batman still held his head, unable to regain his composure.


    ¡°It''s sad really¡±.


    ¡°When?¡± Bruce, who was slowly regaining himself, asked in a low tone.


    ¡°During the Central City Invasion. Mericrozz¡±. He answered with a few words.


    ¡°The White Martian¡±. Bruce''s eyes narrowed. ¡°Yep¡±. With a nod, Amari continued.


    ¡°Mericrozz isn''t just a regular white Martian. As you can see from the white and dark skin in her Martian Form, her telepathic capabilities are so powerful, she could cover the entire planet in her telepathy. When they were departing, she extended her telepathy to cover the entire earth, where she not only planted subtle psychic imprints within your minds but also tried to invade mine. As you can tell, she failed miserably. And due to her actions, I destroyed their escape vessel¡±. He said with a nonchalant shrug.


    ¡°She probably meant to leave these imprints dormant to be activated for a later use. What for, I don''t know, neither do I care, but when I destroyed their Mothership, she survived and appeared on earth with the Meteor showers. Scared that I would discover her existence and come to finish her off, she decided to use those imprints for something else¡±.


    The more Bruce listened, the uglier his face became.


    ¡°With her telepathy, she was able to find out the nature of my existence on this Earth and the fact that I wasn''t ¡°warmly¡± welcomed by its protectors. So by subtly controlling your subconscious thoughts, she guided you into making troubles for me, posing as a distraction to buy her time until she recovered from her injuries¡±.


    ¡°By escalating the conflicts, she could push both sides into war. If your Justice league managed to destroy me, then she could slowly brainwash all of you after a period of time with none being the wiser and take over earth. You the Justice League, protectors of earth, would become nothing more than her pawns and would probably meet a miserable end after you have outlived your usefulness¡±.


    Amari narrated flatly like he was reading a detailed document. Not in the slightest paying attention to Batman''s unsightly expression.


    ¡°And if it was the other way around, then by that time, she could safely recover and escape before I could find her¡±.


    Amari suddenly focused his gaze on Batman.


    ¡°By the way, you guys are usually mind controlled by villains all the time¡±. His eyes shone with peculiar curiosity as he asked. ¡°How many times would this make it¡±.


    ¡°I don''t believe you¡±. Bruce said with a deep frown.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Amari raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°For all I know, you could be deceiving me. Why should I trust what you say¡±.


    ¡°You don''t seem to understand, Bruce. Give me one good reason why I should care if you do¡±...


    ¡°..¡±


    ¡°Where is she?¡± Bruce asked with a serious voice.


    ¡°Dead¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I repeat, dead. I killed her¡±.


    Amari looked at Batman''s tensing fists and was a bit surprised. Was Batman disturbed that he had actually killed her?


    Did he value his no kill policy so much that even the murder of an enemy would make him uncomfortable?


    ¡°You didn''t have to¡±.


    ¡°No, but I wanted to¡±.


    Silence.


    ¡°Why are you telling me all this¡±. Bruce''s eyes narrowed. The way he looked at Amari was a little more unkind.


    ¡°To let you know three things¡±. Amari said as he raised his hand and extended the first finger.


    ¡°One, to let it sink into that skull of yours that everything that has happened tonight...... Mind control or not, is all your fault¡±.


    Amari spoke with a plain tone.


    ¡°No matter how powerful Mericrozz is, she can''t brainwash the minds of the entire league at once. Her telepathy, though powerful, hasn''t reached that level. And changing the minds of some would only let the others know that something is wrong, hence the psychic imprint.


    She controlled your thoughts by amplifying the ideas and emotions you already have. Meaning, everything you''ve done is still within your will, just amplified. Your paranoia was already outrageous to the point that a little push caused you to become arrogant, make errors in your judgements, underestimate your opponent and push your teammates into uncertain factors with little information all, so your inner control freak would be satiated. Something that the regular Bruce, no matter how paranoid he was, would never do. You want proof? Take it from your actions. You just said that you wouldn''t treat Luthor the same way you treat me because I''m an alien and thereby more dangerous. That in itself is something Batman can never say. That''s the whole point of your being, Bruce. When it comes to dealing with villains, you''re uncompromising¡±.


    ¡°Now the life status of Wonder Woman and the rest are unknown, while the others are currently in an awful state, confirming the words I said to you a few minutes ago. I didn''t do anything, Bruce, you did¡±.


    Batman clenched his fists tightly.


    Amari ignored it and continued.


    ¡°Two, I don''t take kindly to threats and warnings. Especially any attempts on my life. The only reason your teammates are still alive is that they were under her subconscious control. I broke your League apart as a primary warning, if you decide to do this again, then I won''t show Mercy¡±.


    Amari said with a cold voice. To be honest, be had other reasons for keeping the League alive. But he wouldn''t say it right now.


    ¡°And three, do not even think you can control me. I have no interest in causing chaos, destruction, harm, or taking control of your planet. Those things are ambitions for the weak and jobless and are insignificant in my eyes. Whether you believe me or not, none of you within the League are my match. Not even Superman. If I wanted to, I could destroy you all and take over your primitive species, but then again......¡± Amari shrugged his shoulders.


    ¡°As long as you don''t provoke me, then we''ll get along just fine¡±. His words finished and what was left was Batman, who was staring straight at him with an intense gaze.


    ¡°What do you want?" Bruce asked.


    ¡°None of your concern¡±.


    ¡°Forgive me if I don''t believe you. I doubt you''re here for a vacation¡±.


    ¡°You can always try to pull off what you just did tonight. The end results will be rather...... Gruesome. Because in everything you said, you''re correct about one thing¡±.


    Amari said as he looked Batman straight in the eye.


    ¡°I''m definitely not Superman¡±. Bruce''s vision immediately darkened.


    Then the next moment, he found himself nailed on a cross like wood. His bat suit was gone and what was left was a muscular Bruce Wayne dressed in nothing but a pair of pants with a naked upper body.


    ¡°..... I''m something worse¡±. Amari''s voice sounded, followed by the appearance of his figure.


    ¡°.... You..... What are you doing?¡± Bruce asked with a glare.


    ¡°Punishment of course¡±. Amari said with a shrug.


    ¡°Your actions were under the influence of a telepath; hence my principles make me reluctant to kill you. That, however, doesn''t mean I''ll let you go Scot free¡±.


    Bruce was silent, his eyes narrowing, almost forming slits.


    ¡°Where am I? Which dimension did you bring me into?¡±


    ¡°Where? Oh, we haven''t gone anywhere. We''re still on the roof. But since you want to know where we are, then welcome to the Tsukyuomi space¡±.


    ¡°Arghhh!¡± At that moment, Bruce suddenly groaned in pain. The feeling of something sharp penetrating his flesh stung deeply.


    ¡°In here, I control time and space¡±.


    A sword appeared in Amari''s hand, which pierced straight into Batman''s torso.


    ¡°Argh!¡±


    ¡°For the next seventy-two hours, you will experience this pain over and over again, while only a second has passed in the real world. Don''t worry, though, it''s just an illusion. All this pain doesn''t affect your real body. Your mind however¡­"


    Amari said as he indifferently pierced another sword through Batman''s body.


    ¡°In many universes, it''s said that the will of The Dark Knight is far stronger than even Hal Jordan".


    Amari raised his head to look at Batman whose face was trembling in agony.


    "For your sake, I really hope that''s true".


    "Arghhhhh!!!!"

 Chapter 45 Illusion

    ¡°Ugh!¡± Bruce''s eyes snapped back to reality. The surroundings were the same as he last saw it before Tsukyuomi.


    But Bruce didn''t register any of it. He only felt his vision darken immediately as soon as he returned from the Tsukyuomi space.


    Like a deflated balloon, Batman''s body seemed to lose all strength and fell from his ¡°invisible support¡±.


    Thud! The body fell to the ground with a small thud. Amari watched him fall blankly.


    ¡°And that wraps up tonight''s turn of events¡±. Despite saying that, the ball of destruction rotating on his hand gave off no signs of dissipating.


    ¡°Unless of course, the Man Of Steel has something to say about it. Do you, Mr. Kent¡±.


    Amari twisted his neck slightly to make a popping sound. In the eyes of a normal person, his words seemed to be directed at the wind.


    However, less than a moment passed, and a figure appeared on the roof at lightning speed. The blurry silhouette faded and what was revealed was the well-built, muscular figure of a man, with his upper body completely naked.


    Wearing loose fitting pants, black hair, blue eyes and chiseled features.


    Clark looked at Amari with narrowed eyes. His gaze drifted between Bruce''s fallen body to Amari''s face to the ball of destruction rotating within his palm.


    Amari examined the Man Of Tomorrow, who looked in better shape than a recovery patient checking out of the hospital just after stepping out of the Watchtowers Med Bay.


    The frown on his face clearly showcased his current mood.


    ¡°What did you do to him?¡± Clark asked grimly. If not for the fact that he could still hear Bruce''s heartbeat, although beating irregularly but still beating, only God knows how Clark would react at the moment.


    ¡°Tortured him mentally¡±. Amari responded plainly.


    Clark''s eyes widened before he clenched his fists. Still, the Man Of Steel didn''t make a move.


    ¡°What you''ve done.....¡± Clark was interrupted mid-sentence.


    ¡°Was all their fault¡±. Amari said apathetically.


    ¡°You said it yourself, they were under control¡±.


    ¡°I missed the part where that''s my problem¡±.


    Clark''s frown deepened. Green arrow barely had time to put him up to speed concerning all that was happening when he woke up. As soon as he realized what Bruce had taken the League to do, he immediately knew that something was wrong.


    And so, Clark rushed over. As could be inferred from the fact that he wasn''t even wearing his Super Suit. Still, though, his arrival was a bit late.


    He only made it in time to listen to Batman and Amari''s conversation. The fact that the league had been mind controlled bothered him a lot but the result of this..... Altercation left Superman noticeably surprised.


    The senses of a kryptonian under yellow sun for almost thirty years were powerful. Even while speaking with Amari, he could hear green lantern and the others being rescued by other league members.


    Although Clark had a deep feeling that The Deviant was powerful, he didn''t expect it to reach this level. Shazam was strong, and he had Hal and Martian Manhunter alongside Zatara.


    Their comprehensive abilities combined would give even him a slight headache.


    Still, just because they were his teammates and friends, Clark wouldn''t cover up for them when they were in the wrong. The actions of Batman and the others were too much, and it was normal for Amari to retaliate.


    But still, what he had done was too severe.


    He clearly knew that they were under control and not doing it in their right minds. Still, the hand he laid was heavy.


    ¡°You went too far¡±. Clark said after a while of silence.


    ¡°I have my principles. They irritated me, and it''s ok that I didn''t kill them¡±. The apathetic tone that seemed to regard lives as street cabbage was particularly grating in Clark''s ears.


    For a while, Superman didn''t know what to do. From Amari''s tone, his impression of this outsider who was quite....... brutal wasn''t good.


    But did that matter? Currently, Clark only knew the general knowledge. The full inns and outs of the matter hadn''t been fully uncovered yet. Plus, the main point laid in the fact that the League started all this.


    With arched brows which quickly settled, Clark took two steps forward, bent down and picked up Batman''s unconscious body.


    Clark, who wanted to say a few words before leaving, had his frown reemerge on his face when he took a look at Amari''s right hand.


    ¡°Aren''t you going to put that thing away¡±. Clark''s gaze rested intently on the rotating ball of compressed energy. He had already used his enhanced vision to see past the outer appearance and peer into what''s inside.


    Clark had one word. Chaos.


    What could be seen on the outside was just a dark red swirling ball that gave off an ominous aura. What Clark could see was violent, chaotic, a mishmash of destructive energy contained and compressed into something more dangerous than it could be.


    The sight of it made him more uncomfortable than seeing Bruce in such a state.


    If that thing dropped, then one thing was for sure. Gotham city would disappear from the map, and even he couldn''t stop it.


    ¡°Yeahhhh....... No¡±. Amari shook his head.


    ¡°Stop it, or I''ll do it for you¡±. Clark said solemnly.


    ¡°You can try, but let me assure you that you will fail. In front of this......¡± He raised his palm to showcase the swirling ball.


    ¡°Your invulnerability has no effect. It wouldn''t make a difference even if you had Captain Atom and a platoon of green lanterns at your disposal¡±.


    Clark was silent for a long time. And Stewart who was flying high above them clenched his fists uneasily.


    ¡°....... I can''t allow you to drop that. With all you''ve done tonight, I believe you''ve made your point. But these people have done nothing wrong. They''re all innocent¡±. His tone was slightly grave.


    Amari didn''t reply but raised an eyebrow in silence. The seconds ticked by with neither side uttering a word.


    ¡°That I have Superman. That I have¡±. Finally, The Deviant broke the silence.


    His words made Clark subconsciously let out a sigh of relief. However, the next words almost made the Man of Steel have a heart attack.


    ¡°....... Still, I promised Batman that I''d show him the consequences if I''m provoked again. Since he''s currently out of commission, let me show you instead¡±. And with that, Amari drew his right hand backwards and with that action, the ball of chaos flew out of his hands towards Gotham center at frightening speed.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°No!¡± Clark exclaimed with fright and took off faster than he had ever gone before. The rooftop of Wayne Industries was shattered due to the loss of power control.


    Clark''s figure was faster than a blur, and the body of Batman had been thrown high into the sky at some point for Stewart to take care of.


    Clark only had one thought in his mind at that moment. He must stop this rotating ball of destruction at all costs.


    He couldn''t allow it to explode. He couldn''t allow it to destroy a city filled with millions of innocent lives. Clark would sooner have his head cut off by Stepphenwolf before letting such a possibility occur.


    He had to do something. Anything that could achieve some result. His Super brain spun at thousands of times the speed a regular human could achieve, and the solution came out.


    The man of steel took in a deep breath and expelled the freezing cold air from his lungs as low as it could go. Clark''s speed was very fast.


    Before the swirling ball could land, he had already arrived before it. But instinct let him know that the whole thing would explode as soon as he laid hands on it.


    Contact with the sphere would cause it to immediately go berserk and Clark knew he wouldn''t be able to contain the blast with his hands alone. So he opted for the next best thing, freezing it.


    Too bad, as soon as his freeze breath came in contact with it, the same result which he tried to avoid took effect.


    BOOM!


    The dazzling red and pitch-black night was all Clark could see, followed by the rapid deconstruction of everything around him.


    His sense that had been honed to the extreme, felt it all. The citizens of Gotham had no time to react. There was no pain, no screams, no yells for help, nothing.


    Although it was slower for him, for them, it was but an instant.


    At that moment, he felt infinite and endless regret. Why? Why did things have to turn out like this?


    These people had done nothing wrong, yet why?


    Clark felt it all as the red and black darkness swallowed him up as he was closest to the blast.


    And then.........


    ¡°Kuek-ok!¡± Clark let out a frightened gasp as light returned to his vision. His senses all returned to him again as he found himself still standing on Wayne Industries roof.


    The night was still there, the people were still there, Bruce was still in his arms. All of it was right how it was, as if the destruction had never happened.


    The only thing that was different was that Amari was gone.


    At that moment where Superman''s confusion and mixed emotions were at its peak, the nonchalant voice once again sounded in his ears.


    ¡°That is what will happen, Mr. Kent, so I do hope we can get along from now on. And FYI, you guys should really get something to protect yourselves from mind control¡±.


    The voice said before returning to silence.


    The roof of Wayne Industries, a recently awoken Superman, stood there with a battered Batman in his arms. His expression was extremely grave.


    Was that just now an Illusion?


    But¡­. How?


    Clark was a bit frightened.


    A light breeze blew past as a result of the flapping of wings. Hawkman, who was hiding in the clouds, appeared.


    ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    ¡°I''m fine¡±.


    ¡°Are we going to let him go?¡± He asked hesitantly.


    ¡°For now, we do nothing¡±. Clark said while shaking his head.


    ¡°No matter what happened tonight and how it happened, Bruce was right about one thing. He''s very dangerous¡±.


    Superman said with a sharp gaze, looking towards the location of the Axiom.


    ¡°We''ve suffered a lot of damage¡±. Hawkman stated.


    ¡°Let''s discuss it later¡±. Clark replied as he noticed several surveillance blimps heading their way.


    ¡°The league will need to give a satisfactory answer to the government for all........ this. For now, let''s get out of here¡±.


    This whole charade had not gone unnoticed. And they as the key figures would definitely be questioned. Just after waking up from injury, Superman had a lot of paperwork suddenly dropped on his desk.


    Metaphorically that is. His literal paperwork back at the daily planet was still waiting for him.


    Thinking of this, his mind involuntarily drifted to Lois.


    .............


    Far away in another city, Metropolis.


    ¡°Crisis Invasion. Justice League To Blame¡±. Perry read the newspaper in his hand out loud before turning it around and facing the front page at the group of people standing or sitting at the other end of his desk.


    These were all Daily Planet key employees.


    ¡°I hate it¡±. Perry said as he tossed the newspaper onto his desk with a blank face.


    The faces of the staff changed.


    Mr. White seemed to realize what they were thinking and corrected himself.


    ¡°Not the writing, the writing''s fine. Just a crap headline¡±. He said as he fell back on his chair, covering his face with his right hand.


    ¡°But chief, that''s what the other major newspapers are riding on¡±. A male said.


    ¡°Exactly, that''s the problem. You wouldn''t understand Walter, so don''t ask. And don''t call me chief¡±. Perry pointed at the bald middle-aged man and said with a serious voice.


    ¡°Someone, give me angles. If we want to surpass the rest, we need something fresh. Whatcha got¡±.


    Perry stood up, dropped both arms on the table, before pointing at Cat Grant.


    The beauty was stunned at first before quickly regaining her composure.


    ¡°Um...... Superman still refusing to make a statement on the Central City Attack. Is he scared?¡±


    ¡°Love it!¡± Perry exclaimed. ¡°Scratch that headline a bit and write out this. ¡°Where Is Superman?¡±. You got that?¡±


    ¡°.... Um¡­. Got it chief. But why that?¡±


    ¡°I said, don''t call me chief. And for your information, this angle is being completely overlooked¡±. Perry said solemnly.


    ¡°All of the United States have been busy tooting the whole invasion incident being the League''s fault and President Luthor promising to implement new actions to make sure this thing doesn''t happen again. But let''s face it, the world''s gone to shit anyway, so what possible guarantee could make sure something like this never takes place?¡±


    ¡°Just leave all that aside for a minute. The whole thing has happened and the likes of Wonder Woman has stepped up to make a statement on the issue, but how many people have noticed that up until now, Superman hasn''t made a single public appearance?¡±


    His words successfully hit the ears of the working staff.


    ¡°Chief, where are you going with this?¡± Olsen, who was holding a camera, asked with confusion.


    ¡°I''m going somewhere, Jimmy. Somewhere the people of America in these troubled times wouldn''t even think about. You don''t need to think too much, just know that I''ve gotten a scoop from an anonymous source that is sure to have the papers out of stock by this time tomorrow. Kent, show them what you got¡±. Perry randomly pointed to the side.


    But no one answered.


    ¡°Great Caesar''s ghost. Where the hell is Clark¡±. Perry let out while fuming. His eyes darted from left to right and finally rested on someone.


    ¡°Lane, where the hell is Kent?¡±


    ¡°Um......¡± Lois was taken a bit by surprise but quickly regained her composure and answered quickly.


    ¡°Clark''s been absent ever since returning from sick leave. Something about investigating a case you sent him on¡±. She replied with a raised eyebrow.


    Perry''s eyebrows furrowed, before relaxing.


    A sigh escaped his lips as he laid back on his chair.


    ¡°That kid is like an erratic ghost occasionally. First, he calls in sick and now this.......¡± Muttering slightly, Perry caressed his forehead before turning to look at the staff.


    ¡°Let me know as soon as he gets back. And God, so help me he doesn''t..... Well, what are you waiting for? Dismissed¡±.


    His words fell, and the group quickly scattered out of his office.


    Perry watched the leaving figures of his employees. His clear eyes drifted from their departing behinds, back to the computer on his desk.


    He clicked on the keyboard a few times and turned open a video.


    The one where Superman was in the hands of the Flash, surrounded by league members, bleeding out severely.


    He had given this video to Clark when the latter returned from sick leave. After all, Clark was one of his best reporters, and he wrote excellent reports, especially when it concerned the Man Of Steel.


    All so Clark could investigate and see if he could get some info on possibly the biggest scoop of the century.


    The Death Of Superman.

 Chapter 46 Captured

    The Death Of Superman


    After all, if that weren''t the case, why was Superman missing recently.


    Perry White had received this video from an anonymous tip off. After confirming several times that it wasn''t fake, Perry saw the possibility of a big scoop.


    If it were true, then this would definitely be the scoop of the century. If it wasn''t, then it would still cause a considerable impact.


    [The Invincible Man Of Steel Is Far From Invincible]


    [How Much Longer Can Superman Protect Us]


    [Man Of Steel In Critical Condition]


    [Superman Defeated By Aliens]


    One headline after another appeared within his mind. At the end of the day, he was the daily planet editor. He may not have anything against Superman and may secretly admire him, but that fact would need to change.


    His Job was to bring new, reliable and spicy news to the general public. Although the video was evidence enough, and even if nothing had truly happened to Superman, no one would say anything against him, he still wanted to be certain. This was why he asked Clark to investigate.


    When his mind drifted towards Clark, a thoughtful look flashed through his eyes. But with his flat expression, no one would be able to tell what he was thinking.


    ..............


    ¡°Hey Jimmy¡±. Lois called out as she caught up with the duo of Jimmy Olsen and Cat Grant.


    ¡°Hey Lois, what''s up?¡±


    ¡°Um..... nothing, just the usual work¡±. Cat nodded at her reply while going through one folder after another.


    She wore a beige white top, alongside a sexy black skirt that fit tightly, all complimenting her heels.


    ¡°I feel you, sister, the news train this past month has been on the fast track¡±. Cat voiced her thoughts, to which Jimmy replied.


    ¡°You can say that again. With the whole Central City invasion and all, I''ve been taking more pictures than I have all year. I can feel my fingers cramping¡±.


    ¡°By the way, do you think Luthor is gonna make good on his promises?¡±


    Jimmy''s question made Cat let out a small chuckle.


    ¡°Who knows what Lex Luthor''s up too. Besides, isn''t there an old saying that goes, ¡°All politicians are the same¡±. I''d have more hope for the Joker next door suddenly gaining sanity¡±.


    ¡°What about this new scoop Perry''s talking about? What could be up with Superman?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know Jimmy, we''ll have to wait for Clark to find that out¡±. The trio made a left turn at the corridor.


    ¡°Hey guys, about Clark.....¡± Lois, who had been silent the entire time finally, had a chance to butt in.


    ¡°........ Have you guys found him a bit...... different?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Clark? What about him?¡± Jimmy asked with puzzlement.


    ¡°Um..... it''s nothing. I just noticed that he''s been a little..... off since he got back from sick leave¡±. Lois replied with a slight frown.


    Cat tilted her head slightly. Her eyes narrowed and Lois felt an intense gaze boring into her face.


    ¡°You''re sure observant of our famous coffee boy, aren''t you?¡± A smile appeared on Cat''s face as she spoke in a teasing tone.


    ¡°I......¡± Lois blushed slightly.


    ¡°Oh Oh! Has our special office flower finally found someone of interest?¡± Cat continued to tease.


    ¡°.... Don''t talk nonsense¡±. Lois''s face turned red.


    ¡°...... Um..... I don''t get what''s going on here?¡± Jimmy scratched his head with a look of confusion. How did the topic deviate all of a sudden?


    ¡°You''re no longer needed, Jimmy, I can take it from here¡±. Cat said with an increasing smirk. Waving her hands to shoo away the ginger haired reporter, she grabbed Lois''s hand and pulled her away.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Leaving Olsen to stand in the hallway in a slight daze.


    ¡°So spill it, how long?¡± The dark-skinned woman''s eyes shoe with gossip intent.


    ¡°You noticed?¡± Lois asked with a wry smile.


    ¡°How many tall, handsome guys with a nice smile do we have in the daily planet?¡± Cat asked rhetorically.


    Lois looked a bit embarrassed.


    ¡°So fill me on all the deeds. What''s the issue?¡±


    ¡°It''s nothing really.....¡± Lois shook her head and said.


    ¡°...... I just feel he was acting a bit weird when I last saw him. I can''t quite put my finger on it¡±.


    ¡°Well he did just return. Maybe he''s still feeling a bit under the weather¡±. Cat raised an eyebrow and gave her evaluation.


    ¡°Well¡­. Perhaps". Lois shrugged as well.


    The two talks for a while before going their separate ways.


    Meanwhile, somewhere else.


    ¡°Ok.....¡± Jimmy Olsen who was no longer needed went elsewhere to continue living his life. Unfortunately for him, however, his shift wasn''t over yet.


    Jimmy sat at his desk typing on his computer.


    ¡°I need a coffee¡±. He said a little begrudgingly.


    ¡°Hey Jimmy!¡± The sweet sound of a female voice entered Jimmy''s ears.


    ¡°Huh?¡± The ginger haired cameraman raised his head up to take a look.


    ¡°Oh? Hey Lana. What''s up?¡± Jimmy asked with a raised eyebrow and a friendly tone.


    ¡°Have you seen Cat? Chief''s looking for her again¡±.


    ¡°Cat? Oh yeah, yeah, last I saw her, she''s with Lois?¡± He answered nonchalantly as he returned his gaze to the computer in front of him.


    He was honestly fed up with anything that had to do with work at this point. Now, all he wanted was to go home and get a sandwich.


    ¡°Lois?¡± The answer given instantly captured her attention, but not in the way Jimmy imagined.


    The busy cameraman replied without raising his head.


    ¡°Yeah. Cat and I saw her when we were leaving Chief''s office. The two of them started talking right after. Something about Clark, getting caught up in their bestie talks again, totally ignoring my existence¡±. Olsen grumbled.


    ¡°About Clark......¡± Lana mumbled under her breath. Her eyes had a special light flash within it. Something that the relationship novice Jimmy Olsen wouldn''t understand even if he noticed. And quite frankly, he didn''t.


    ¡°Yeah, something about finding him slightly off. And then, they started talking about it, completely leaving me standing there. Kinda rude to just leave a guy like that, wouldn''t you agree..... Um ..... Lana?..... Where''d she go?¡± The rambling Jimmy finally raised his head, only to discover that the person he was talking to was gone.


    Turning his head around, he finally found the figure of the redhead disappearing into a corridor.


    ¡°Alright, see you later then". Jimmy said with a deadpan expression on his face.


    ...........


    ¡°Taxi!¡± Lois waved her hand at the passing taxi. It stopped and she got in.


    ¡°922 Oak Hill¡±. She called out her address, to which the driver nodded and started the car.


    Thankfully, traffic was smooth.


    The sound of the key being inserted could be heard, followed by the turning of the knob, and voil¨¤.


    The slight creak as a result of a door being opened could be heard. Lois stepped into her apartment, tilting her head with her hand on her neck, exposing her collarbone.


    ¡°Ugh...... What a rough day¡±. She exclaimed as she took off her shoes, dropped her handbag and flipped the switch for the lights.


    Nothing happened.


    ¡°Huh? Nothing?¡± She flipped the switches again, expecting the lights to come on. Unfortunately, the darkness remained the same without so much as a flicker.


    ¡°That''s....... odd. Did I blow a fuse ?¡± Lois said to herself in confusion. Reaching into her pocket, she took out her phone and turned on the flashlight.


    Walking towards the center of the living room, a trace of doubt flashed in her mind, but after checking around, she couldn''t find any traces of faulty wiring.


    She turned on her phone, opened the contacts list and clicked on the number that was saved under the name, ¡°Electrician Guy¡±, before putting the phone close to her right ear.


    Unknown to her, however, in a conspicuous dark corner, a figure slowly that was well hidden in the dark suddenly opened his eyes.


    ¡°Hi, this is Lois Lane in apartment 214....... Yeah, that''s right. I need some¡­.¡± Lois turned around as she spoke on the phone to face the television screen.


    Raising her head slightly, her line of vision appeared on the television screen, where she saw two pairs of gleaming green eyes appearing behind her.


    ¡°Hello Lois¡±.


    Shock and fear instantly overwhelmed the reporter, and her body subconsciously froze for a second.


    SMACK!


    A heavy yet adequately controlled palm strike landed accurately on Lois''s neck, knocking her unconscious.


    The sound of heavy metal and the movement of robotic parts could be heard within the room. Standing above the fallen body of Lois Lane was a metal cyborg with glowing green eyes.


    ¡°You are coming with me¡±. The hoarse, robotic voice of metallo was heard by no one apart from himself.


    The Cyborg raised his head to look out through the window, his gaze fixed specifically on the daily planet.


    ¡°...... Superman......¡±

 Chapter 47 The Light Takes Notice

    The room was dim with mood lighting.


    The light screens shone in the place, giving the room a not so gloomy atmosphere.


    Through them, however, some very particular faces could be seen.


    Several faces that practically any Justice League member would be able to recognize at first glance. On top of the League''s priority Target list.


    ¡°This is....... Intriguing. I must admit¡±. The owner of the voice said firmly. His stature was tall, his body build was muscular, and his eyes shone with calmness and serenity.


    Dressed in a gentlemanly Englishman blue suit, Vandal Savage in the light screen observed the video that played before him and his cohorts with interest.


    ¡°.... It is an unexpected development¡±. A female voice inclined.


    ¡°Now lays the important question. Could it be of any use to us and our cause, or......¡±


    The voice paused, adding a bit of tension.


    ¡°....... Will this Deviant pose a stumbling block on our path?¡±


    Lex Luthor, who was present within the room in his actual body and not a light projection, tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair.


    ¡°A proper answer to that question cannot be given for the time being". Lex said with a serious look on his face.


    ¡°Hey Hey! Does it matter much? It''s not like there haven''t been others who stood in our way¡±. The voice of the maniac Witchboy, Klarion entered into their ears.


    ¡°For once, I agree with Klarion". Ocean Master added indifferently.


    ¡°We continue our operations. It would be best for the alien to keep to himself, as he has usually done. If not, a lesson should be in order¡±.


    ¡°Bold talk, Ocean Master¡±. Queen Bee retorted. The light screen showed her sitting on a throne, looking regal and beautiful. She had an imposing aura around her mixed with a hint of charm.


    ¡°Last time I remembered, you couldn''t even defeat your brother, Aquaman. He was a half-blood, if my memories do not fail me. Has your magic made outstanding improvements recently? Considerable enough to give you the courage to face off against five Leaguers and come out victorious?¡±


    The voice was dripping with naked sarcasm.


    Orm''s hand gripping the Trident tightened. He bit back on the rude rebuttal that threatened to leave his lips at any moment, forcefully controlling himself from exploding in anger.


    His loss to his half-brother, Aquaman, was what he considered his greatest shame.


    ¡°During the battle of the Atlantean army against the surface world, I single-handedly took down the Justice League on my own. With the Trident of Atlan, even Superman wasn''t my match¡±.


    ¡°The league underestimated you. And Superman''s weakness to magical energy wasn''t even known to himself at the time. Besides, they aimed to incapacitate you, not kill you. While you failed to kill them even after trying your best¡±.


    The Brain blandly rebutted the shallow remarks of the Banished Prince. Even without hands, he gave a fatal blow to Ocean Master''s fragile ego.


    In Brain''s view, with Superman''s speed and power, crushing the Banished Prince was something that could be done from a mile distance.


    If Ocean Master could truly destroy the league on his own, what did he need them for?


    Before Orm could fume, Lex jumped into the conversation.


    ¡°I''ll have to agree with Brain on this one. Since you were so powerful with the Trident Of The Sea, would you be able to get rid of the Justice League once and for all if we successfully retrieve it for you?¡±


    Luthors tone was neutral and devoid of any ridicule, but in the ears of Orm, the mockery could be heard, seen and felt clearly.


    Orm was about to explode from anger. He was a prince, a royal prince. Rightful heir to the throne of Atlantis. How dare these people mock him? How dare they ridicule him?


    ¡°No?¡± Queen Bee asked with a visible sneer.


    ¡°You have no confidence to do that, but your bragging abilities look quite capable¡±.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Seeing the way things were developing, Savage quickly put a stop to it.


    ¡°We are all partners here with a common cause. Such squabbling among ourselves is beneath us¡±.


    He said so without turning his head or shifting his gaze. It remained focused on the video of Amari squaring off against Batman and the rest of the league.


    ¡°Where did you obtain this from?¡± Savage asked in a plain voice.


    ¡°The clone, of course¡±. Lex said with a ¡°matter of fact¡± expression. ¡°It was gotten straight from the Justice League''s watchtower¡±.


    ¡°Explain¡±. Savage said.


    Luthor frowned at his tone, but explained nonetheless Amari''s situation with the League through Red Arrow''s understanding.


    ¡°The actions of the League are...... Strange, to say the least¡±.


    Savage said after a moment of silence.


    Lex nodded at his words. ¡°I Agree. It is not in line with Batman''s principles to act in such a way¡±.


    ¡°And yet, he did¡±.


    ¡°What do you think could be the cause of this?¡±


    ¡°Unknown¡±.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Perhaps Batman''s control issues have finally overwhelmed him¡±.


    ¡°Whatever be the reason, it does not change the fact that this..... Deviant, as they call him, is not to be trifled with easily¡±.


    ¡°Indeed, according to the insider, the power of Martian Manhunter and Shazam is infinitely close to Superman''s. His shown ability to defeat them with the inclusion of the Green Lantern and a Magician is concerning¡±.


    ¡°What do you think, Luthor?¡± The light screen showing the picture of The Brain turned its attention to Lex Luthor and threw out a question.


    ¡°While the Deviant is truly a cause for concern, he has not actively threatened any of our interests. I doubt you called for this assembly just to let us know the League has taken a beaten¡±.


    ¡°You are right¡±. Lex nodded and pressed a button. The screen changed to show a detailed report that the Light''s insider, Red Arrow, had given.


    ¡°I wouldn''t call you all here if it were just that, but we will need to consider our advances in the following steps of our plan. As not only did he defeat five League members, but made five more disappear¡±. Luthor went on to explain the situation.


    ¡°........ So you mean that the Justice League is currently understaffed?¡± Queen Bee asked with a bit of incredulity.


    ¡°This does change things¡±. Brain uttered.


    ¡°You are proposing we take advantage of the League''s absence and speed up our plans, Lex?¡± Savage stroked his chin thoughtfully.


    ¡°It is a window of opportunity. An unexpected one but still valuable nonetheless¡±.


    ¡°Are the missing Leaguers dead?¡±


    ¡°It is currently unknown¡±.


    ¡°Our council is incomplete yet. With The Demons head absent due to several circumstances, we cannot take a vote to decide on moving ahead of schedule. Plus, the timeframe is too short, and the advantage is unreliable. Who knows whether Wonder Woman and the rest would suddenly appear the following day. We should wait for a while to determine the situation¡±. Savage said calmly.


    ¡°I am more interested, however, in this alien that has come to our notice¡±.


    ¡°Do you intend to contact him?¡± Queen Bee couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow.


    ¡°I am considering it. Such a person could make a wonderful addition to our cause¡±. Savage said with a bit of a fiery look in his eyes.


    Ocean Master frowned. He had watched the video and read the reports, so he naturally knew how powerful Amari was.


    ¡°That was not in our plans¡±. He voiced his disapproval.


    ¡°Maybe not, but still. I suddenly have a feeling of cherishing talents. With the abilities he has shown, it would be such a waster if we can''t pull him to our side¡±. He replied as he stroked his beard that was full all over his chin.


    ¡°Those powers are precisely what makes him a considerable threat¡±. It wasn''t Orm who spoke this time, but Queen Bee.


    ¡°We have had no prior contact with him and have no idea of his motives. Exposing ourselves to him could very much be counterproductive. Especially if, through him, the League gets wind of us¡±.


    ¡°The league have already gotten wind of us. Even if they don''t know who we are specifically, Batman knows that someone is playing behind the scenes. And since when do we fear being exposed to the light?¡± A chuckle escaped from the lips of the several millennium old fossil.


    ¡°It will be different if we expose ourselves prematurely for the League''s notice when it is completely unnecessary¡±.


    Orm however wasn''t going to back down. The interests of the light were not in his mind when he uttered this sentence. He simply didn''t want the addition of another powerful individual into the council that could pose a threat to him.


    Orm was someone who was most confident in his personal strength. In a one-on-one battle, he believed the only one who could trump him among those present was The Lord Of Chaos, Klarion.


    Although the rest had some backhands, considerable power and influence, all that was trivial in the face of the Atlanteans vast numbers and technology.


    Once he became king, the Light could and would be disposed of. Then he would lead the Atlanteans to return to their peak, wiping off the surface dwellers, and become the ruler of both land and ocean.


    But all that was still in the far future. For now, he needed their help and couldn''t afford to fall out with them. He had to endure and make sure that things didn''t turn unfavorable for him.


    And fighting against someone who was practically immune to magic, how was that in any way favorable?


    So he strongly resisted the addition of Amari.


    With a blank, indifferent expression, Orm continued.


    ¡°Apart from adding more muscle, Amari cannot bring anything more valuable to The Light''s cause. We already have numerous associates when it comes to top combat power, but those of us seated here who truly having the decision-making power have different spheres of influence respectively¡±.


    ¡°I hate to admit it, but the fishman is right¡±. Queen Bee said with a stretch of her hand.


    ¡°While power is important, the core of our organization is based on the individual networks each one of the seven original members control. If that weren''t the case, then someone like Black Adam would also have the right to sit alongside us just by virtue of his powers alone. While Amari''s personal strength does surpass the ruler of Khandaq on the surface, his influence on Earth does not. One is an alien while the other is a ruler. And from my judgement, I doubt this¡­. Amari will be willing to become a subordinate member of Light. And that is only the surface issues¡±.


    Stretching her waist while sitting, the curves of her body looked tantalizing, giving off a seductive sight that could make regular men drool.


    Too bad, no one among them was a regular man. Lex''s mind that was burdened with so much knowledge had greatly overpowered his sexual emotions.


    The same could be said for the millennia old caveman, who had practically lived from ancient times till date.


    Only Ocean Master could be a little moved, but as a former Atlantean king, he had seen many beauties. His former fianc¨¦e, Mera was on the same level, if not surpassing Queen Bee.


    ¡°The fact also remains that he is currently an uncontrollable factor. With his personal strength, he could even pose a threat to you Vandal. After all, he has already taken away the immortality of someone else¡±.


    Queen Bee''s eyes sparkled with amusement, looking at Savage as if wanting to watch a good show.


    The League files were accessible to almost every official member. Except for some strictly guarded secrets which only people like Batman had access to, others were for public viewing.


    Amari''s danger files included his feat of taking away Lobo''s immortality. Something that was easily accessible to Red Arrow.


    Sure enough, Vandal Savage faltered when it came to this. The fiery passion in his eyes dwindled significantly.


    You must know that the core of Savage''s significance was not only the connections he had laid down over the past thousand years, but also the fact that he was able to live that long.


    His immortality was the core of his being at this point, if not, Savage would have died to Klarion millennia ago when he battled with the Lord Of Chaos.


    His physical capabilities were beyond ordinary beings for sure, but in front of a Chaos Lord, Savage would have died a thousand lives wouldn''t be enough to sustain him if he weren''t immortal.


    It was also for this reason that he was able to strike a bargain with Klarion. If not, how could just anyone have the capability to make such a powerful being agree to work with him.


    If, for some reason, he lost his immortality, his influence, and prestige would be inevitably reduced. At that time, he didn''t know if he would be able to prevent these ambitious members from having any funny ideas.


    Seeing Savage remain silent, Queen Bee continued.


    ¡°Not to mention his origins are questionable. Even the Justice League have no idea who or what he is, where he''s from and how far his powers go. Mysterious in my eyes¡±.


    She finished with a smile.


    ¡°When out that way, it does sound unnecessary¡±. The Brain voiced his opinion.


    ¡°The practical value that can be added can''t outweigh the risks¡±.


    Savage also thought similarly.


    However......


    ¡°That may not necessarily be the case. This alien might be more valuable than you think¡±. So said the voice of the bald genius.

 Chapter 48 Lane is captured 1

    Vandal Savage could be accurately described as a living fossil from the earliest era of the earth. A literal Caveman existence who had watched human civilization rise and fall with the destruction of hundreds of empires and the rise of even more.


    In terms of age, the master of shadows, leader of the league of assassin''s, the iconic Demon''s Head Ra''s al Ghul who had used the Lazarus pit to cheat death and live for hundreds of years, would have to call him ancestor and when it came to seniority, he was second to Klarion alone.


    Living so long and witnessing so much, Vandal had long since had plans for humanity as a whole. Countless kingdoms, empires, clans, tribes, they rose from the ashes and crumbled, some being remembered and some being completely submerged within the sands of time, forgotten for all eternity.


    Some, he personally ruled and others, he carried extremely high, important positions.


    He called himself a visionary, a veteran, and orchestrator of every significant war mankind has ever had.


    With the aim to shape the world for the war of tomorrow. His tomorrow.


    He believed himself to be the only one with the right vision and capability to lead humanity to its next step in the process of evolution.


    But despite never being able to actually rule the world after trying for fifty thousand years, the experience, wealth, and resources that he had gathered over his long lifetime stated that his ambitions had never been extinguished.


    Unlike many villains who had an extremely dramatic and equally tragic backstory turning them into what they eventually become, or were just plain lunatics seeking to cause more chaos for their amusements, Vandal''s reason for villainy was the most common one in the book.


    To rule the world.


    And so to achieve that aim, he had founded and joined numerous organizations over the years.


    The most recent one being ¡°The Light¡±.


    After Superman announced himself to the world, the arrival of Zod, and the formation of the Justice League who sought to maintain the world''s status quo, Vandal realized that as long as the League existed, his ambitions to conquer the world and rise to power would forever remain an extravagant ambition.


    The League would never condone the idea of one man ruling over the entire world.


    To pass through this obstacle, Savage knew that he wouldn''t be able to accomplish it on his own.


    So after lurking and gathering Intel for several years, he extended invitations to Ra''s, Lex Luthor, Queen Bee, Ocean-master, Brain, and Klarion, thus securing clout in different spheres of influence (the underworld, business, politics, the sea, science, and magic, respectively).


    The Light created or co-opted networks of operatives, placed key individuals in key positions, and explored the boundaries of all new technology. Genetic engineering, biochemical engineering, robotics, nano-robotics, techno-sorcery, and all conceivable methods of mind control were all explored by the Light in its quest to accelerate human evolution.


    Each founding member had a strong chain of networks and a considerable sphere of influence. Through them, it made the majority of their plans and schemes possible.


    They were the head members not due to their personal strength, but the value each of them had to offer.


    Amari, although powerful, had no such value. Without it, he would only become a marginal member at best. Far from their status.


    That was Queen Bee''s conclusion, but apparent, Lex thought otherwise.


    ¡°Oh? Really, Luthor?¡± Savage turned to Lex and examined with interest.


    ¡°What more value could the Deviant possibly have to offer to our cause?¡±


    ¡°Technology¡±. Lex responded with one word.


    It caused a wave of furrowed brows. For those who had them anyway.


    ¡°What are you talking about, Luthor?¡± The Brain asked with a lot of curiosity. When it came to technology and bioengineering, that was his turf.


    As could be seen from how he was tasked with reverse engineering the last vial of Kobra Venom, Taskmaster had retrieved from Santa Prisca.


    What possibly technology was in the alien''s possession that could move this black-hearted businessman? Was it weapons?


    ¡°I''m talking about this¡±.


    A holographic projection appeared on the screen. The projection of a little Red Girl.


    This was the Red Queen that Lex had gotten information on in his quest for discovering as much about Amari as possible.


    Of course, it wasn''t the real deal. Just an image obtained from military files. Apart from that, there was nothing else. Lex had to admit that the old general was superb at keeping those things he wanted to be hidden, hidden away.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Orm asked with a frown.


    Why were they seeing the picture of a little Red Girl?


    ¡°A possible resource¡±. Lex said firmly.


    ¡°A resource?¡± Orm raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Artificial Intelligence Luthor?¡± Brain stated in a questioning tone.


    ¡°Lane procured it from the Deviant¡±. Lex said seriously.


    ¡°I fail to catch on¡±. Brain''s tone was growing colder. The other Light Members were frowning as well. Except Klarion of course, who looked like he wasn''t even paying attention, bored out of his mind.


    Lex didn''t pay attention to their slightly unsightly expressions. Be focused his gaze on the holographic picture and began the introduction.


    ¡°After becoming president, I spent a considerable amount of time investigating everything I could get my hands on concerning Amari. After more digging than I thought, I found out about an unrecorded transaction between our mysterious alien and the United States Secretary Of Defense, backed up entirely by the World council¡±.


    ¡°The council?¡± Queen Bee asked in a slightly higher tone.


    As a figure of high influence in politics, of course she knew about the World Council.


    ¡°Yes¡±. Lex nodded. ¡°Apparently, they and Amari came to some form of agreement granting him the right to live openly on Earth¡±.


    ¡°And their first official cooperation began with this. Advanced artificial intelligence. The main purpose for her acquisition at the time was to help the military successfully defend the Justice League''s repeated entries into their systems¡±.


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°The result of the League losing possession of the Amazo Android speaks for itself¡±.


    Lex made a gesture.


    ¡°While impressive, it pales in comparison to what I discovered this....... AI could truly accomplish¡±.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°And what might that be?¡± Vandal asked.


    ¡°Full control¡±.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Lex swept his gaze across everyone present.


    ¡°Ocean-master said it himself that The Light has been able to achieve our current results not because of overwhelming strength, but by the careful planning that relies heavily on the network behind each one of us present. We have co-opted networks of operatives, placed key individuals in key positions, and explored the boundaries of all new technology. Genetic engineering, robotics, nano-robotics, and all conceivable methods of mind control¡±.


    ¡°We have successfully placed a sleeper agent within the League''s ranks to provide us with valuable information at appropriate times and monitor their movements. All of this relying on our efforts, all to gain a major grasp on the world authority. To gain more power, more influence, more chips and pawns. All of it, to facilitate the next step of human evolution¡­.¡±.


    His tone suddenly took a turn.


    ¡°........ I discovered that this Red Queen has more potential to it than meets the eye. The AI is capable of linking itself to multiple systems from different locations. Capable of achieving billions of digital connections from across the globe with precise accuracy, without fail. Anything ranging from a mobile phone to a government satellite would be under its control. You can imply the ramifications of such a possibility¡±.


    ¡°Communication channels, surveillance cameras, twenty-four hour monitoring, automatic control of anything and everything connected to the grid. Factories, submarines, missile bases, airplanes........¡±


    Lex listed out the possibilities one after another.


    The whole place had gone deathly silent as various expressions appeared on the faces of those who could actually make a face.


    ¡°That means..... Full control¡±. Lex finished his remarks.


    ¡°Your statement means that whoever possesses this AI could virtually control a country¡±. Queen Bee said with a serious expression on her face.


    ¡°The ramifications far exceed the scope of controlling countries¡±. Brain uttered with a high appeal in his tone.


    ¡°Anything connected to a system would be under its authority. There would be no secrets¡±.


    ¡°Control of nuclear weapons¡±.


    Vandal Savage pondered on the possibility. His light screen was silent for a while as numerous thoughts spin through his head.


    ¡°So do you still stand with your previous claim, Ocean-master?¡±Lex turned his attention to Or.


    The prince frowned considerably but, ultimately, said nothing. Luthor clicked his tongue and relented from going further. It looks like the Banished Prince with a hot temper wasn''t dumb.


    At least he knew when he was disadvantaged.


    ¡°Do you have a personal interest in him, Luthor?¡± Vandal, who had been silent for a while finally, asked.


    ¡°You all know that I''m a simple and honest businessman with a promising intellect. It''s normal to develop interest every now and then". Lex answered nonchalantly.


    ¡°That doesn''t change the fact that he''s dangerous¡±. Orm said with a final word.


    ¡°I admit that it does have its........ risks¡±. Lex said with a shrug.


    ¡°But when it comes to dangerous people, who in this meeting can be exempted¡±.


    ¡°It seems that we might have to discuss more deeply on this¡±.


    ¡°Well that will be without me¡±. In response to Vandal Savage''s words, Brain bluntly declined.


    ¡°I still need to continue my research on the Kobra Venom. Whatever decision you come to on this matter can be made without my notice¡±.


    With that, his screen switched off.


    ¡°I''m more interested in this guy''s ability to cause trouble. Hehehe..... It should be fun. But I''m bored here, so if he''s leaving, I''m going to go have some fun¡±.


    Klarion chuckled at the thought. And with that, his screen went off as well.


    ¡°I must be leaving as well. I still stand on my opinion, though¡±. Orm''s screen darkened right after.


    ¡°Are you really going to go through with it, Savage?¡± Queen Bee asked curiously.


    ¡°Time will tell¡±. Savage responded indifferently.


    ¡°How are you sure this won''t attract the attention of the Justice League?¡±


    ¡°Amari''s relationship with the league is relatively poor, as you can see. I believe it won''t be too difficult as long as we find the right approach¡±. Luthor responded to her words.


    ¡°It doesn''t matter¡±. Vandal said. ¡°The fact rains that, whether we like it or not, this alien is something the light can no longer ignore. In time, we will eventually make contact. It just depends on whether it''s in due time. For now, we need to keep monitoring The Deviant¡±.


    Queen Bee raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°That''s easier said than done, Vandal¡±. Indeed, her words were spot on.


    The Deviant hadn''t made a public appearance in the last month. If not for this incident, who knows how long he would continue to fly under the radar.


    He had a public base, but not just anyone could get in.


    ¡°You need not worry. Leave those matters to me¡±. Lex turned his attention to Queen Bee.


    ¡°Contacting Amari can be dealt with slowly. For now, I feel our efforts will be best spent on acquiring the AI. And as far as I know, Amari is not the only one in possession of it¡±.


    Lex''s body, motionless on the plush chair, finally moved as he stood up. Adjusting his clothes, the bald egomaniac added.


    ¡°However, I will need someone from you, La Reine".


    ¡°Someone with excellent mind control capabilities¡±.


    Queen Bee listened to his words and tapped her fingers for several seconds.


    Then, a charming smile appeared on her face.


    ¡°I have a perfect candidate in mind¡±.


    ................


    One Week Later.


    United States Scientific Weapons And Biological Research Base.


    Cadmus underground facility.


    ¡°I hope this isn''t another one of Lex''s excuses anymore¡±. Wearing a standard military uniform, with black hair that had multiple streaks of gray within. His blue eyes stared at the man in front of him with a cold expression.


    Doctor Austin Blake knew that the old general was annoyed just from his expression. Yet, he could only give off a wry smile and try his best to explain the situation.


    ¡°We are trying our best General Lane, but you should know that scientific research on genes and weapons take a considerable amount of........¡± His words were unfortunately cut short by the Impatient Sam.


    ¡°I''ve heard that line a thousand times and quite frankly at this point, I''m sick of it¡±.


    His eyes narrowed to give off a piercing gaze.


    ¡°..... I didn''t drop here uninvited to be fed a bunch of excuses. I''m here for progress reports on the military''s investments that have been costing us billions of dollars each year¡±.


    Austin was silent.


    He knew what the Secretary of Defense was here. And as the one placed in charge of this division of Cadmus Laboratories, he had to stand up to bear the general''s possible wrath.


    Austin took in a small gulp. Traces of unnoticed sweat had begun to surface on the skin of the middle-aged man.


    The silence was particularly jarring.


    ¡°.......... Project Blockbuster isn''t ready yet¡±. Finally, the only words he could use at this time escaped his thin looking lips.


    Sam''s face turned cold immediately.


    ¡°..... That''s not what I was supposed to hear¡±. He said as he tilted his head slightly.


    ¡°.... Um¡­. that ¡­.¡± Austin racked his head to come up with the right words. He knew that a lot was currently on the line here.


    Sam Lane wasn''t an easy guy to get along with. Even as a well-renowned scientist with a few degrees and a loud reputation to his name, one wrong word could put him on the chopping board like a fish hoisted out of water.


    ¡°....... We aren''t completely without results...... The original aim of the Blockbuster serum was successfully achieved. Those injected with it gain extremely enhanced strength and defense. Completely worthy of the billions the military have invested......¡± Austin tried to pay out some good points which could hopefully make things a bit easier.


    Too bad, Lane wasn''t going to let that happen.


    ¡°I know that. But it would be good if that was all there was to it, am I right?¡± The cold tone made Austin develop cold sweats.


    As a renowned chemist who worked for Cadmus, how could he not know the features of the Blockbuster serum?


    ¡°...... We''ve tried to eliminate the side effects caused by the transformation. But the serum has proved too........ Violent for the test subjects to handle¡±.


    All the experiments ended with failure. After injection, the formula would turn the unfortunate test subjects into raging monsters whose rationality were greatly reduced.


    In fact, there was something else that Austin wanted to say but couldn''t. That was that Cadmus Laboratories had no plans to continue perfecting the Blockbuster Serum nor did they plan to give it to the military if they ever did.


    ¡°A failure then¡±. Lane portrayed an indifferent expression.


    ¡°In that case, then from today onwards, Cadmus can say goodbye to its funding¡±.

 Chapter 49 Lane is Captured 2

    ¡°General Lane......¡±.


    Doctor Austin yelled with a loud voice as he chased after Sam''s leaving footsteps. The old general ignored him, saving no face for the renowned doctor as he made his way towards the elevator with a flat face.


    ¡°........... Would you please reconsider¡­" Austin''s anxious face appeared in his vision, but Sam wouldn''t have another word.


    He bluntly cut short Austin''s sentence, adding his own.


    ¡°There is nothing to reconsider in this. Concerning project Steel Soldier, Cadmus has proven that they cannot deliver on their promises. The military''s money doesn''t grow on trees¡±.


    Austin choked a bit. The middle-aged doctor was momentarily at a loss for words, but quickly regained his composure and continued his act of persuasion.


    This couldn''t happen.


    Although he had expected that Sam wouldn''t be pleased, he never thought for a second that the general would decisively abandon Cadmus with the failure of the Blockbuster formula.


    The military had spent years as well as billions of dollars in investments on this project. And the Blockbuster serum was just one of their investments in the grand phase of The Steel Soldier Project.


    Nevertheless, the losses incurred from abandoning it would be tremendous.


    Of course, it wouldn''t affect Sam Lane in the slightest. Although he had vigorously supported the Steel Soldier Project, Lane''s position was almost unshakable due to the backing of the world council. But Cadmus operations would definitely take a big hit. And he as the head director and head researcher of this facility would undoubtedly bear the brunt of it, regardless of whether he was responsible.


    And for someone like him who had deep ties and access to core secrets, let''s just say that his ending would certainly not be pleasant.


    He realized it soon after joining that leaving Cadmus was easier said than done. Leaving it alive, that is.


    ¡°.... But...... What about the investments? I''m sure we can come to an understanding. If you can just give us some more time.....¡±


    Sam expressionlessly stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for going above ground.


    Looking at the panicked face of the doctor, Sam said coldly.


    ¡°Cadmus''s time is up. The military has a new investment¡±. The elevator doors slowly closed.


    ¡°And tell Luthor, I''m tired of him playing tricks¡­.¡±


    Ding!


    The doors closed, leaving behind a middle-aged man wearing a white lab coat.


    Austin''s eyes dimmed significantly. His back slumped a bit, and he ran his hands through his hair in frustration.


    Things were going really wrong.


    ............


    Above Ground, Cadmus Facility.


    Stepping through the sliding entrance doors, Lane walked out of the building with an indifferent expression.


    ¡°Sir!¡± Two men decked out in army green uniforms stood at both sides of the entrance and saluted.


    Lane didn''t respond, his face cold and his eyes sharp. Both soldiers saw the general move forward and followed a few steps behind him.


    They knew that the Sam was in a bad mood. And truthfully, that was exactly the case.


    A soldier standing upright opened the door of the escort vehicle. Sam didn''t spare him an extra glance and stepped into it.


    ¡°Move Out!¡± A sergeant yelled.


    The convoy that had brought them here drove forwards, heading out of the facility gates into the vast, barren land.


    Looking out the window, the only thing that would come into view was nothing but dust and sand as unlike the other Cadmus facilities located in or near populated areas, this one was right in the middle of a desert.


    Of course, there was a military base not too far from here, which was Sam''s next destination.


    Sam didn''t bother to take a look. His face sported a deep frown as countless thoughts roamed through his mind.


    ¡°Alice!¡± Lane called out as he picked up a tablet at the far right.


    ¡°Yes Sir?¡± The screen lit up immediately, followed by a small holographic projection of the Red Loli.


    ¡°Report¡±. He said.


    ¡°Your orders have been carried out as you requested, general. However......¡±.


    The tone of the AI drawled.


    Sam''s face grew ugly.


    ¡°..... There has been a slight complication with your plans¡±.


    ¡°Explain¡±. With an unsightly expression, the general ordered with a low growl. Judging from her tone, he knew that something had gone wrong again.


    ¡°All news on file A06 has been suppressed according to your commands. From the quick reaction of the military, the incident should have disappeared into the background. Away from the knowledge of the common populace. That was until tonight¡±. Alice reported.


    Sam''s face grew uglier with each passing second.


    ¡°Let me guess. Someone didn''t want it to silently disappear?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±.


    ¡°And now, a week later, someone spread it out?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±.


    ¡°And right now, as I''m speaking, it''s slowly becoming a sensation?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±.


    Although he tried his best to maintain his poker face, the slight trembling of his hands showed that General Lane was anything but calm at this moment.


    Sam, at this point, found the continuous ¡°Yes¡± answers particularly irritating.


    ¡°Who?¡± He asked with eyes gleaming with coldness.


    ¡°There is no verified source general. It suddenly appeared on the internet an hour ago. However, there are people using it to their advantage¡±.


    ¡°Name¡±. He said as he made a slight gesture.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Gordon Godfrey¡±. The Red Queen stated.


    ¡°Luthor!¡± Uttering with narrowed eyebrows, Sam''s already bad mood worsened.


    ¡°Show me¡±. He said after a moment of silence.


    The Red Queen disappeared, and several holographic screens appeared in her place. Showing news reports, television broadcasts, internet topics all over the web.........


    All talking about The Gotham City Disturbance.


    File A06 was the case file Sam had created for The Deviant. Recording every and all information they could gather on The Deviant as well as his every public action, public sightings and more. The latest addition to this file was the noticeable battle the person in question had with the Justice League a while back.


    Lane had suppressed this issue as soon as it was discovered. But now, it was everywhere.


    As soon as the news appeared, it spread like wildfire on a dry grassland. The sudden drop had caught Lane off guard at an inappropriate time.


    Coincidence? Sam wouldn''t believe it even if they killed him.


    Someone was fanning the flames behind this wildfire. And it honestly annoyed the old general to no end.


    ¡°Stop¡±. He gestured with his hand, and the holographic screens immediately disappeared.


    ¡°What is our next course of action?¡± The miniature version of the Red Queen reappeared again over the tablet.


    ¡°Pass my orders, let the military cut off all investment contracts with Lexcorp and Cadmus Labs¡±. He replied with an expressionless face.


    The constant shoe tapping was the only indicator of his annoyance.


    ¡°Contact the White House. I think that Mr. President owes me an explanation¡±. Lane touched his bare chin for a minute in thought.


    ¡°And notify Amari. It''s time to complete the promised transaction¡±.


    ¡°As you wish¡±.


    The Red Queen disappeared, leaving Sam alone with his thoughts. Seeing the tablet power down, Sam put it aside, his mind drifting to other issues.


    The first and most important on the list was to clean out Cadmus.


    The relationship between the military and Cadmus stemmed from the formers desire for a strike force capable of battling the new age of the supernatural.


    Nowadays, regular guns and bullets just wouldn''t cut it anymore. With the emergence of things which were previously deemed impossible such as Aliens, Metahumans, deranged villains and creatures of the magic world, it had dawned on Sam how seriously lacking the earth was in firepower.


    Not just him, all world governments had realized the same thing and were gradually taking steps to combat this problem.


    If that weren''t the case, how could the existence of Superman and the likes be easily tolerated? In a way, the world''s reliance on the League could be clearly seen.


    Missiles and bombs were quickly becoming obsolete. And in the face of individuals like Superman, mankind was completely at their mercy.


    This was something that Sam didn''t want to see. Years ago, Sam turned to a younger Lex Luthor with his ideas for a weapon capable of combating the supernatural.


    ¡°Project Steel Soldier¡±, as the military named it in their archives.


    Lex readily agreed at that time, leading Sam to believe that the young billionaire, genius, had a similar thought process.


    Lane remembered the words he had said to his superiors several years ago while Lex stood beside him.


    ¡°Well. Give me a regiment of men like this ¡°Superman¡±... How can I call him that?¡±


    And now, many years later, the project still hadn''t come to fruition. The Blockbuster formula which he held the highest hope for was a veritable failure.


    For soldiers that he couldn''t control, Lane had no use for them. As for Luthor? Sam could see that Lex''s intentions had greatly changed from what it once was.


    He discovered this when the existence of Superboy was made known to him. Cadmus Labs had created a clone of Superman and kept it hidden for years without his knowledge.


    That was the last straw, and the failure of the Blockbuster serum was just an additional disappointment that didn''t disappoint him very much.


    Lex had been playing with him. Siphoning money out of the military to fund his research while leaving them with the defective scraps.


    Don''t underestimate the fact, of thinking that such money wouldn''t matter for Lex who was a billionaire.


    The military spent billions of dollars each year.


    If it were before, Sam might still endure it. After all, the Steel Soldier Project couldn''t be easily abandoned.


    But now........


    The old general had better options.


    And this retaliation, was only the beginning. Lane would make sure Luthor coughed up every last dollar he had swallowed from them.


    It was conceivable that within the next few months, Lexcorp industries would suffer severe losses.


    Despite just being the secretary of the DOD, Lane had this confidence.


    Sam no longer thought about the Lex''s issues. His mind drifted towards the Steel Soldier Project.


    ..........


    The shadows of military trucks trailed under the hot, afternoon sun. The convoy drove forwards on the barren desert.


    Consisting of five armored vehicles, the one transporting the most important officer in the middle.


    Sounds of heavy rock music could be heard from the first, however.


    Housing five soldiers, all except the driver holding their guns at the ready, their heads rocked to the music as their gazes drifted in different directions.


    ¡°Looks like things didn''t go as planned¡±. Soldier A commented as he looked out the window from the left side of the back seat.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± The driver uttered. ¡°What makes you think that?¡±


    ¡°We''re not transporting anything¡±. Soldier A responded.


    ¡°Wasn''t this supposed to be an escort mission?¡± Soldier B at the front seat beside the driver asked.


    ¡°That''s right, but it''s not the General we''re supposed to be escorting¡±.


    ¡°Yeah. What I heard, we''re supposed to be picking up some kind of Super Serum¡±.


    ¡°Hehe¡­. What''s Cadmus cooking up this time? Super soldiers?¡±


    ¡°Not too surprising if that were really the case¡±.


    ¡°Yeah right¡±. The driver sneered. ¡°Even if they did, what''s the use. It can''t turn anyone to Superman now, can it?¡±


    ¡°If it could, would you try it?¡±


    ¡°Nah, thanks. I don''t want to risk the chance of turning into some ugly, deformed monster¡±.


    ¡°Doesn''t matter to me. At least the mission we''re on is on the safer side. I heard that some poor guys got busted up on a prisoner escort to Belle Reve".


    Soldier A said in a low voice.


    ¡°More than two dozen guys. Only one made it out alive. He''s still in intensive care¡±.


    Silence fell on them.


    "Fucking Superhumans". One of them cursed.


    ¡°Enough¡±. The driver bellowed.


    ¡°What happens in our line of work is obvious. For now, you ladies can all thank the Gods you pray your asses off to that what we''re doing is relatively on the safer.......... Hey..... Do you guys see something?¡±


    The driver''s words came to a halt. a question followed the sentence.


    ¡°Huh? What are you talking about?¡± The one sitting beside him asked.


    The driver leaned forward and squinted his eyes, staring intensively through the glass.


    ¡°Some kind of flash. In the air. I could have sworn I saw something¡±.


    ¡°Hey, we get it. There''s no need to try to scare us¡±. Soldier A laughed.


    ¡°..... No wait. I think I see it too. Up in the sky¡±.


    Those who could see, stretched their necks and a sight fell into their eyes. Once, where there was nothing, a flying jet appeared out of thin air.


    ¡°Is that a Jet?¡±


    ¡°What the hell is that?¡±


    ¡°Not like any model I ever saw?¡±


    Small holes suddenly opened from the sides of the flying aircraft. Followed by two cannons pointed towards the moving convoy.


    The faces of everyone watching changed as they saw the cannons light up with a blue hue.


    ¡°Oh My God!¡±


    ¡°It''s an Attack!¡±


    ¡°Get your heads down!¡±.


    On the aircraft.


    ¡°Sonic cannons have locked on target¡±. The pilot said with a bland tone.


    Behind him stood a man wearing a standard green suit. The most iconic feature being his head that, unlike regular humans, showed what was hiding beneath the skull. His brain.


    ¡°Fire¡±. He ordered expressionlessly.


    BOOM!


    Two streams of sonic pulses blasted towards the convoy escorting the secretary of the United States Department Of Defense.


    BOOM!

 Chapter 50 Out Of Arkham

    United States


    The outskirts of Gotham City,


    Um...... Not The Axiom, the other¡­ Outskirts where Wayne Manor was located.


    Wayne Manor''s grounds include a surrounding gate around the perimeter, with a larger front gate at the main entrance.


    The positioning of the residence was rather convenient. Within driving distance of Gotham city, close enough for the Bat signal to be seen.


    Enabling Bruce Wayne or rather, Batman to spring into action as fast as possible should the need ever arise.


    And on this dark and dreary night, the Bat signal was on full display in the Gotham skies. However, the city''s famous Caped Crusader wouldn''t be able to respond to this call.


    The scene opened on the building, consisting of a luxurious eleven bedrooms and seven bathrooms. In Bruce''s master bedroom, the body of The Dark Knight laid on the lavish looking king-sized bed that he rarely used.


    He wasn''t in the room alone, however. Right next to the bed was the green skinned J''onn J''onzz whose left hand was resting on Bruce''s forehead while closing his eyes with a serious look that screamed, "utter concentration".


    Superman, who stood at a distance, watched the whole thing play out with worry in his eyes and a deep frown etched on his face.


    Dressed in his signature red and blue tights, the classic ¡°S¡± symbol representing his alias and identity as the last son of the house of El and the cape that almost swept the floor.


    Clark examined Bruce laying unconscious with his X-ray vision once again, despite knowing it wouldn''t provide any answers.


    His eyes didn''t stay on the body. Among the Leaguers that attacked Amari, Batman was one of the least physically damaged.


    At least when compared to the Hal, Bruce could be said to have gotten off easy. The punch The Deviant had thrown on the Green lantern made sure the latter was still in the League''s Med Bay until now.


    Batman, however, had a much more complicated situation.


    Clark examined Bruce''s brain intently. After a few seconds, his vision returned to normal, causing him to frown even deeper with slight disappointment.


    He looked at Martian Manhunter whose hands had regrown over the past week without saying a word.


    After a while. J''onn finally opened his eyes. Taking his hand away from Bruce''s head, the green Martian stood up from the chair he was sitting on with a slightly unsightly look etched on his face.


    ¡°Any changes?¡± Clark asked, but seeing his expression, he had little hope.


    ¡°Yes¡±. However, J''onns response surprised the kryptonian.


    ¡°Really? Is he getting better?¡± Clark asked with surprise and delight.


    ¡°No¡±. The Manhunter shook his head. ¡°When I said changes, I meant it''s getting worse¡±.


    Clark''s happy expression stiffened before turning ugly.


    His eyes almost narrowed into slits as he stared intently at the Green Martian.


    ¡°What''s wrong with him?¡±


    ¡°I can''t say for sure¡±. The Manhunter shook his head. ¡°But the damage Bruce has suffered is beyond anything I have ever encountered¡±.


    ¡°You can''t be serious, J''onn".


    ¡°I''m afraid I am¡±. He replied solemnly.


    ¡°The attack Amari used against Batman was in many ways similar to the psychic attacks we Martians and other telepaths employ against opponents. Bruce''s coma is a result of his mindscape being so greatly damaged that his consciousness has retreated deep into his mind¡±.


    Clark mused over his words.


    ¡°Like a sort of defense mechanism¡±.


    ¡°Correct¡±. J''onn nodded affirmatively.


    ¡°If that were all, then my capabilities would be more than enough to handle it. With enough time and psychic treatment, he would be back up on his feet......¡±


    His words paused. Clark didn''t like where this was going.


    ¡°However, Bruce''s attack, while similar to that of a telepath, has a characteristic I have never seen before¡±.


    The grave expression on his face was all that was needed to know that Martian Manhunter was, in no way, joking.


    ¡°The damage created hasn''t stopped¡±.


    ¡°It what?.....¡± Clark asked incredulously.


    ¡°Batman''s mind is similar to a building hit with several explosives. With every passing second, what''s left of that damaged building is crumbling bit by bit and given enough time......¡± He didn''t continue his words, but Superman finished them for him.


    ¡°The whole building comes crashing down¡±.


    ¡°...... Yes¡±. Martian Manhunter said after several moments of silence.


    ¡°By that time, Bruce''s consciousness could be trapped within his mind forever. He would lay in a coma until we can find a way to fix his situation in that dire state. If we can ever, that is¡±.


    ¡°Then we''ll find a way¡±. Clark said as he folded both arms across his chest. His royal blue colored eyes sparkled with the glint of determination and will.


    J''onn sighed inwardly.


    ¡°This....... Is not easy, Kal-El".


    ¡°But we have to try. No matter what, we have to make sure that we fix Bruce. Is there anything we can do?¡±


    His words caused the Martian to fall I to contemplation.


    ¡°I can use my telepathy to try as much as possible to slow down this process. But if we want to wake him up, we will need more than me¡±.


    Clark frowned.


    ¡°More telepaths?¡±


    ¡°Likely¡±. He nodded.


    ¡°Bruce won''t like it¡±. Clark shook his head.


    Stolen story; please report.


    The Justice League was a gathering of some of the most powerful, most skilled, most intelligent minds there were on planet Earth and slowly reaching beyond.


    Everyone had their quirks and characteristics that set them out from the rest. And Clark knew for a fact that Bruce hated mind intrusions more than he did.


    In such a situation, it would be fine if it was j''on but adding others would definitely not sit well with The Dark Knight when he woke up.


    The league didn''t know many telepaths to begin with.


    Scratch that.


    Apart from J''onn, the league had no other members with telepathic capabilities.


    Apart from Martian Manhunter, the only person available was his niece, Miss Martian. But Clark highly doubted she was capable for the task at hand.


    Not to mention the fact that she was a kid. Clark would sooner find another way than let a kid roam around Bruce''s mind ¡°fixing things¡±.


    ¡°Why do all the good telepaths have to be villains?¡± A thought crossed through the mind of the Man Of Steel, filtered out as soon as it appeared.


    Bringing in outsiders would undoubtedly lead to the reveal of Batman''s secret identity.


    ¡°I don''t think Bruce has a choice in this matter. Besides, when it comes to telepaths, we are falling short on the friend list¡±. J''onn made a light joke.


    ¡°Yeah, like I don''t know that¡±. Clark smiled half-heartedly.


    ¡°There is something else we can try¡±.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Magic¡±.


    Martian Manhunter walked towards the exit as he spoke. Seeing this, Superman followed.


    ¡°Someone with magical capabilities, skilled enough to project themselves into Batman''s subconscious, should be able to play the role of a second telepath¡±.


    ¡°But I''d need him to work with me intensively, over a span of several days, to have a chance of success. It would be best, if there could be more than one¡±.


    Pushing open the door, J''onn finished.


    ¡°Ok then, who do you have in.....¡± Clark''s words came to a halt. His head turned abruptly to the side as various sounds from a far away distance drifted into his ears.


    ¡°Something wrong?¡± J''onn asked curiously.


    ¡°It''s trouble¡±.


    ¡°Where?¡±


    Hearing his question, Clark didn''t respond. His frown was becoming increasingly prevalent.


    ¡°..... Everywhere¡±. The Manhunter raised an eyebrow, but apart from that, his facial expressions didn''t change much.


    ¡°Go Clark. We can discuss this later¡±.


    ¡°I know¡±. Clark responded.


    His face turned towards the unconscious Batman. Nodding firmly, he added.


    ¡°Take care of him¡±. And then, his body sped out of the building, leaving nothing but a red and blue blur.


    Martian Manhunter turned his attention to the room he just stepped out of.  Past Bruce''s bed, looking out the window, a human figure could be seen breaking the sound barrier and disappearing into the clouds in the blink of an eye.


    ¡°The future is...... Worrying¡±. J''onn muttered under his breath.


    Ever since that incident more than a week ago, a series of events had gone off in consistence like a chain reaction.


    The undercurrents were surging and enemies were lurking.


    J''onn turned his head back to the hallway.


    Standing there, a previously empty place a while ago, was the most stereotypically British butler you ever did see. Balding, with a thin mustache, and a gaze that made you feel like you were a misbehaving grandchild.


    J''onn honestly found that look a bit weird and, at the same time, assuring. With a man like this taking care of his health, no wonder Bruce hadn''t gone off the edge years ago.


    ¡°Hello again, Mr. J''onn". Alfred greeted kindly.


    ¡°Hello Alfred¡±. Thy had met when he arrived with Superman and Bruce earlier.


    Then he turned his gaze back to Bruce.


    ¡°You are worried about his condition¡±.


    Alfred walked over with a steady pace, carrying the elegance and grace of am English gentleman.


    ¡°It is my duty to care for Master Wayne in all his endeavors¡±. He answered calmly.


    ¡°And I do admit, it hurts me to see him in this state¡±.


    ¡°He will be alright. The league will do all we can. I can assure you of that¡±. J''onn said calmly, seeing the hint of sadness within the Butler''s brows.


    ¡°Thank you¡±. Alfred said softly. ¡°Is there anything you might require?¡±


    ¡°I appreciate the thought, but no, thank you. I might just need time alone¡±.


    ¡°Very well¡±. Alfred nodded and continued on his way.


    Looking at the retreating of the old butler, J''onn sighed.


    His gaze shifted from the disappearing backside back out Bruce''s window. The iconic Bat Signal lighting up the skies was particularly conspicuous.


    J''onn pondered for a few seconds before looking upward, towards a certain corner of the walls.


    His telepathy swept over the compound, drilling underground.


    .......


    Underneath Wayne Manor.


    Batcave


    A figure sat in front of the Batcomputer, watching the surveillance footage of the manor.


    ¡°Hello Miss Gordon?¡±


    Hearing the voice of Martian Manhunter in her mind, the figure had her body stiffen for a split second before returning to normal.


    ¡°Um, hey! I mean...... Hello¡±. She replied in as natural a tone as she could.


    ¡°Forgive my intrusion. I give you my word that I have not read your thoughts¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡­ Um, that''s fine, don''t worry about it. I appreciate the statement¡±.


    J''onn heard the nervousness in her voice and withheld the urge to chuckle, finding her performance slightly amusing.


    ¡°I''ve noticed the signal. Issue in Gotham?¡±


    ¡°....... Yes". She answered after a momentary silence.


    ¡°I see. Would you perhaps require my assistance? I could be of great help¡±. J''onn asked casually.


    ¡°....... No. Thank you, but no. It''s nothing big. I can handle it¡±. She answered back.


    J''onn didn''t say anything much. Just stared intently for a few seconds.


    ¡°If that is what you wish¡±.


    Then, he walked back into Bruce''s bedroom. The door closing behind him as he entered.


    .............


    Watching the video of Martian Manhunter going into Bruce''s room, she sighed slightly.


    Dressed in a black Kevlar suit, skin tight with the bat logo on the rather expressive chest area, Barbara Gordon turned off the surveillance camera.


    She stood in front of the Batcomputer for a few seconds, her face marred with a bit of worry and anxiety.


    Then, she tapped on the keyboard several times, causing the screen to change.


    The picture of the Bat Signal high up over Gotham appeared on the screen. With dexterous fingers, her hands moved over the keyboard continuously as she hacked into different security cameras.


    Soon, the Batcomputer portrayed the information she was looking for.


    The Joker.


    The prince of crime in Gotham City had escaped from Arkham asylum.


    Barbara was silent for a few seconds before turning the computer off.


    Standing in the dark and dreary lair, she put on her cowl, effectively covering her face, and walked towards the mechanized workshop.


    The trace of worry on her features disappeared like it was never there.


    Arming herself with various weapons and gear, she walked towards ¡°The Ricochet¡±


    Gotham was a shithole where crime was prevalent. Not even the most purebred Gothamite would deny that fact.


    The crime in this city seemed eternal, but that wouldn''t change anything.


    Since Batman couldn''t respond to the watch light, then she would take his place until the caped crusader woke up.


    She, Barbara Joan Gordon, would hunt down the Joker and bring him to Justice without the aid of Batman.


    As for the repercussions of her actions? Well, she''ll soon find out.

 Chapter 51 Amanda Waller

    [This is ¡°Night Watch¡± News, welcoming all our viewers joining us tonight. And on our report this evening, the main focus lies on the recent Gotham Battle taking place between two sides......]


    [...... Keen to discover that National crime rates have soared to an all-time high.....]


    [...... Central City News, Linda Park live at the center of the Justice League''s battle site with the unknown Extraterrestrial aliens who invaded Central City last month...........]


    [Central City takes the lead in experiencing economic crisis. Land value drops to an unprecedented rate as citizens sell their properties and flee from the city at all costs.....]


    [Virtual Gridlock on capital taxes......]


    [Superman''s recent absence has caused a crime wave to hit Metropolis¡­.]


    [...... Today we find ourselves at what is, or was, one of the world''s largest private research facilities. As you can see from the site behind me, the Venim Corporation building that was once filled with numerous state-of-the-art facilities with an annual turnover of hundreds of millions of dollars has been reduced to rubble¡­]


    [Tidal wave of Arson attacks. Many innocent civilians dead and countless more injured¡­.]


    [Exco group razed to the ground by unknown Intergang Members carrying high-tech weapons]


    [¡­ Where is the Justice League during times of crisis?]


    [Filing for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11]


    [Stock market of major US companies plummet¡­]


    [There is a rapid inflation, numbers reaching the double digits.....]


    [Real estate for the first time in years experiences a sharp decline¡­.]


    [All Of America, turning to the new Gotham?]


    [America suffering from series of attacks. Are all these orchestrated.....]


    [...... Sounds like a conspiracy theory to me, folks¡­.]


    [..... Justice League, still refusing to give statement of the recent battle in Gotham City to the mysterious Deviant. At least, that''s the name the masses are sticking with.......]


    [Justice League members missing? Where have they gone?]


    [....... Our sources tell us that the League may have been mind controlled.....]


    [¡­ In my humble opinion, the whole world should keep an eye out. As since the previous Central City incident, the anti-hero campaign has intensified their efforts. Growing larger and larger with each passing week, the defamatory remarks all point to the fact that since the era of Superheroes arrived in our world, the escalating conflicts have broken into the areas of the general populace, putting more and more innocent lives in harm''s way.....]


    [....... Although no apparent action has been taken to address issues concerning the Justice League and all Superheroes in general, it does leave people to worry. Are Superheroes truly the solution........ Or are they the problem?]


    ........


    United States


    Location: Undisclosed......


    Maple bridge Avenue, ........ Caf¨¦....


    Looking at the news report on the tablet, a teenage female with exquisite features and long flowing hair had a rather puzzled expression on her face.


    ¡°This..... This is......¡±.


    ¡°....... Surprising, isn''t it?¡± A male sitting opposite her asked inquisitively.


    ¡°..... Is this what the inhabitants of this planet experience?¡± She replied with a question after a moment of silence. The news reports had been taken off the screen.


    ¡°Pretty much¡±. The male said leisurely.


    ¡°Earth is a rather, peculiar place in the universe. It always is, same in almost every universe¡±. The male wore a tight-fitting T-shirt with long pants, star like eyes with purple irises which would give off a small shimmer every now and then.


    He raised an eyebrow at the female, who stayed silent, seemingly in deep thought.


    ¡°What do you make of it?¡± His soft voice reached her ears. For some reason, it made her feel a slight tingle, causing her body to twist a little. Barely noticeable.


    Tucking her luscious hair behind the ears, the blonde responded.


    ¡°...... Chaotic". This was the only word she could use to describe what she was seeing. Compared to her home planet where there was order, where there was peace, where there were rules and everyone followed them, the earth sounded and looked a lot like those lawless civilizations she had heard about in the kryptonian archives.


    Planets housing outlaws, criminals, bounty Hunters, people wanted all over the universe.


    With so many dangerous people coming together in a singular place, many being people who live on the other end of a laser blaster and no government ruling over the planet with absolute authority, it was understandable that such places were existing.


    It confused her even more how somewhere like earth could be likened to such a place,  At least those planets had no ruling authority. They couldn''t even be classified as civilizations.


    ¡°Right¡±. He nodded nonchalantly. ¡°That''s their way of life¡±.


    ¡°...... The people of this planet are destroying themselves¡±. She uttered in a low voice.


    ¡°Meh! It hasn''t gotten to that point yet, but if nothing goes wrong, they''ll get there soon enough¡±.


    The earth in every DC universe was a magnet for all things wrong, troublesome and dangerous. The number of disasters it attracted was nothing to scoff at.


    Even if earthlings didn''t destroy themselves, someone or something else would ¡°kindly¡± help them out.


    The female raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°You don''t seem awfully concerned¡±.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Give me one good reason why I should be¡±. He replied, lowering his head to take a look at the menu.


    Come to think of it, he hadn''t eaten anything for the past month. Although he didn''t need it, now that he had been pestered into coming out here, might as well take a bite.


    ¡°You do know these news reports are talking about you, right?¡± She said, waving the tablet in her hand.


    ¡°Someone''s getting awfully chatty ever since they learned English¡±. His indifferent face carried no fluctuations whatsoever as he retorted without raising his head.


    The female was left a bit speechless. Her face had a bit of shyness and smugness as she responded.


    ¡°Je n''ai pas seulement appris l''anglais".


    Now it was his turn to be speechless.


    ¡°Yeah yeah! Adapting to an entire new culture and learning seven languages in a week. You Kryptonians are remarkable". He said, humoring her.


    ¡°Just hurry and order already¡±.


    The female didn''t say anything more and picked up the menu. As she was reading, she noticed a shadow appear over her.


    ¡°Ok, I''ll have.....¡±


    ¡°..... The sausage and peas, french fries, Apple pie, a cappuccino, chilli labneh eggs and...... pancakes¡±.


    The voice of the waitress responded, causing Kara to look over.


    .............


    Unknown Location, outside Los Angeles, Date: ...........


    ¡°Flag, status report¡±. Amanda Waller''s voice sounded through the intercom.


    ¡°Reporting, Asset A is on route and everything is going according to schedule. As far as we can tell, the area is secured¡±.


    Rick said inside the fully armored transport van.


    ¡°What about the decoys?¡± Waller asked again.


    ¡°There has been no reports on the other convoys receiving attacks¡±.


    ¡°Understood. Be on guard Flag. Remember, no delays, no detours. The asset is too important to lose hold of. Straight to the airport within the next twenty minutes. Nothing else matters except the robot parts in those cases¡±. The solemn tone was all that was needed to enlighten him on the seriousness of the matter.


    ¡°......... What about the League?¡± Rick asked with doubt.


    ¡°Are we expecting any form of support?¡±


    Three escort vehicles, filled with almost two dozen special ops agents, each one armed to the teeth, transporting within fully armored vehicles


    The Wolf Unit. Flag''s personally squadron composed of the best elites the country had to offer. Before the Superhero era, they could be considered the best of the best.


    The peak of humanity, with strength and skill surpassing the average human. When the government needed something done, they were the ones to call.


    No other reason, they were just that good.


    Flag, despite being thirty-five had been in more wars and experienced more battles than retired veteran soldiers. He had seen the most gruesome of what the world had to throw at him.


    Yet even with all that, he would happily exchange this escort mission with the task to assassinate a president.


    At least that task was still possible. But this....... As long as one crazy superpowered freak set his eyes on what they were transporting, they could be six feet under by this time next year.


    Ultimately, no matter how good they were, he and his squad were still humans in the literal sense. They didn''t have overwhelming strength or Metahuman abilities.


    Their jobs involved sneaking in behind enemy lines, recovering stolen government intelligence from rival countries. Destroying an enemy facility, defusing bombs, recovering stolen warheads, plutonium...... All those things in that category.


    You name it.


    They were this universes version of James Bond and Ethan Hunt''s Mission Impossible team.


    Transporting this....... thing was the League''s job. Or at least, that was what he believed.


    However, the government had used all means to have it taken away from League custody. Coupled with the public opinion on league actions which was gradually diving into a shit storm and their natural dislike for them, how could they leave it to them for transportation?


    ..........


    Transport command center.


    Secret Monitoring Facility, Washington, DC.


    ¡°Everything seems to be in order, mam. Nothing suspicious to worry about for the meantime¡±.


    A man tapping on his computer incessantly said without looking back.


    ¡°Good¡±. Waller said without a hint of emotion on her face. Compared to the numerous people in the room, Amanda stood out the most for several reasons.


    The first reason to come to mind for anyone was her body stature. Standing at a height of 5'' 1¡± and weighing 200lbs (91 kg), the politician and government agent was particularly conspicuous wherever she stood.


    But anyone who tried to deal with her based on their first impression would soon realize that they were chewing down on an iron block.


    This woman was a ruthless character with a sufficiently tragic backstory to show for it. Her stubbornness and aggressive character, refusing to compromise with anyone, was the second reason.


    ¡°No¡±. Holding true to her stubborn and aggressive nature, hearing Rick''s inquiry, she flatly denied.


    ¡°This is a standard government operation. The league doesn''t know, and it''s my job to keep it that way¡±.


    Flag was silent for a few seconds. Reason told him to be quiet, to keep his mouth shut, to put aside all questions and assumptions and just carry on with the mission like he had always done.


    Like a dead soldier. No ifs, And''s or But''s.


    Just silently and quietly do as you''re told.


    Reason kept telling him so, but his heart said otherwise. These were his men. Some of them had accompanied since his early years. Some had died along the way, and that only made him cherish those he had left even more.


    They were more than friends.


    They were brothers.


    And if he still decided not to question even after acknowledging all this, then what kind of man was he?


    ¡°....... But what if the operation is compromised?¡±


    Amanda''s eyes narrowed on the other side when hearing his words through the intercom.


    Her fat face squeezed, distorting her facial features a bit as she replied in a stern voice.


    "Listen, Flag, I have spent a significant amount of time informing the president about how these vigilantes with abilities are a threat to our national security. The Congress expended a lot of effort to regain control of this asset from their hands. It''s bad enough that we let them parade around our country as ¡°heroes¡± taking the law into their hands. Having to ask them to escort said asset to where we want it is simply losing the dignity of the American government. This is something I will not tolerate. Neither will I tolerate the possibility of this mission going haywire".


    ¡°So you do your job Flag and don''t tell me how to do mine. If all goes well, you and your group will be rewarded. I don''t think I have to let you know what happens otherwise¡±.


    Silence.


    Flag on the other side had his expression turn cold momentarily.


    He knew Waller''s character and knew that this walking and talking, human shaped bowl of Jell-O would do as she said.


    However, being threatened never say well with anyone but the timid.


    Hearing the silence on the other end, waller frowned


    Neither side spoke as the seconds passed until Waller broke the ice.


    ¡°Rest assured, as stated in our agreement, I will not hold you responsible if you encounter a situation beyond your capabilities. All you have to do is carry on with the mission¡±.


    Rick listened for a while before nodding.


    ¡°Understood mam. We won''t let you down¡±. The voice on the other side disappeared.


    Rick put away the radio receiver and took in a deep breath.


    Meanwhile, Waller narrowed her eyes with a bit of intensity as numerous thoughts flew through her mind.


    Thinking of the old Task X files she discovered while searching through old bills, a preliminary plan for a disposable team to undertake similar types of work for the government regarding the Superhero community if the need ever arise took root in her mind.


    As soon as it did, it couldn''t be stopped. In this case, she had many similarities to the old General.

 Chapter 52 Bruno Mannheim, Traitor

    The road heading towards the city itself was strangely deserted, save for the three vans on the road that practically screamed, "something''s up¡±.


    This was the plan, of course. The last transport which was as low profile as possible didn''t work out so well. In that case, then while being covert, make it as secure as possible.


    This was what Waller said. And she meant every single word of it.


    Aside from the standard fully armored truck, every single member of the wolf Unit was equipped with state-of-the-art laser blasters.


    Up


    Alongside other weapons like pulse grenades, Meta-human dampeners, RPG''s, electrical dischargers ....... They wore a special Kevlar combat suit capable of tanking bullets and resisting electric discharges.


    It was no exaggeration to say that they were armed to the teeth.


    However, Rick doubted whether their ¡°secure arrangements¡± could be better than the Justice League''s.


    The escort caravan drove on the empty streets.


    ¡°Turning left now, exiting St. Park Avenue and heading into the highway¡±.


    A squad member responsible for handling communications and navigation stated.


    ¡°How long before we get to the airport?¡± Flag asked, a little anxious.


    The sooner they got to the drop zone, the sooner they could get out of this van that honestly, at this point, felt much like a containment cell for him.


    By that time, he could dump the package at whichever agent was at the airport, ensuring this whole thing had nothing to do with him.


    It wasn''t the armored tank itself. It had nothing to do with the tank.


    ¡°We''re four miles out. With no traffic, ETA is precisely three minutes¡±.


    The road had already been cleared of traffic to give them a clear route. That, however, wouldn''t last forever.


    Five minutes. They had five minutes to arrive at the airport before operations returned to normal.


    ¡°Tighten up ladies¡±. Rick said as he powered up the laser blaster within his grasp.


    Everyone else with a weapon in their hands basically did the same. If there were one thing years of experience had taught them to take note of when it came to escort missions, it was that the final few minutes before arriving at their destination was the point at which the storm would break out.


    If an enemy was going to attack, then this was the best time to do it.


    The driver smoothly made the turn out of St. Park and headed into the open highway that was basically devoid of cars. The other vans coming behind had followed. Less than a minute later, the driver spotted something from afar.


    With his eyesight, he could barely make out the features from his current distance.


    It looked like........ Some kind of humanoid machine......... Aiming some kind of giant cannon in their direction.


    Wait...... What?


    ¡°Shit!¡± The driver exclaimed.


    KAN!


    Meanwhile, Rick was still speaking¡­.


    ¡°We all know what''s at stake here.......¡±


    BANG!


    Everything went haywire as a sonic pulse wide enough to cover an area of several meters hit the moving forefront convoy head on.


    The van made of armored steel, ballistic glass, and synthetic fibers such as Kevlar and aramid visibly deformed the moment it made contact with the sonic attack.


    Everyone within the transport vehicle was caught unprepared and was pushed out of their origin positions due to sonic force.


    The armored vehicles were compressed as if squeezed together by invisible hands before spiraling out of control.


    The convoy tumbled and performed a flip in the air before crashing against the sturdy asphalt. Some sliding forwards while leaving clear scratch marks on the road.


    .............


    ¡°Not good!¡± The analyst in charge of communications at the secret facility suddenly exclaimed. His face changed drastically as he began to type words on the keyboard furiously.


    ¡°What''s going on?¡± Waller snapped her head in his direction and asked with a frown on her face. Seeing his reaction, a bad premonition surged in her heart.


    ¡°Something''s wrong. Communications are down with AV 1".


    ¡°...... All personnel on AV 1 have lost contact¡±.


    ¡°The Drone shows the convoy is under attack¡±.


    Waller immediately put her hand on the intercom. Her voice urgent as she yelled.


    ¡°Flag! Tell me what''s going on over there¡±.


    ¡°........¡± Unfortunately, what greeted her was static.


    ¡°Flag?¡±


    ¡°..... Mi¡­. ene.....¡±


    ¡°Flag!¡± Amanda roared in frustration.


    ¡°....¡± Unfortunately, what greeted her was the static tone on the other end.


    ¡°We''ve lost contact with AV 2 mam¡±.


    ¡°AV 3 is not responding¡±.


    ¡°Something''s blocking communications. We can''t get through¡±.


    ¡°What about their vital signals¡±. Waller''s eyes seemed like they were about to spit fire. Gazing at the monitoring screen, her tone was nervous and filled with anxiety.


    ¡°Haywire Mam. Looks like they''re under attack, their vital signs are¡­.¡± The analyst''s words paused for a second as his eyes.


    ¡°We''ve lost all vital signs on all soldiers in AV 1¡±.


    ¡°Fuck! Fuck! Goddamn nit!¡±. The loud voice cursed incessantly.


    ¡°Get support down there right this instant. Get the military on the scene, call the local police department, FBI, any nearby government security you can find¡±.


    ¡°But Mam, I don''t think......¡±


    ¡°Are you questioning me?¡±


    ¡°Um...... No mam¡±.


    ¡°Then fucking do as I tell you¡±.


    ¡°Mam.....¡±.


    ¡°What is it!¡± Waller yelled in fury.


    ¡°......... We lost visual through the drone¡±.


    Waller: ¡°....¡±


    ..........


    ¡°Enemy attack!¡± Seeing the first Armored Van in the convoy getting attacked, Rick yelled at the top of his lungs.


    ¡°AV 1 is down, sir¡±. The soldier in charge of communications yelled.


    ¡°I can see that. Someone tell me where the hell these motherfuckers are¡±.


    ¡°We got ''em spotted, sir. On the bridge¡±.


    ¡°Then what the hell are you sitting for? Aim and open fire¡±.


    The Armored van at the back pulled out a turret from the roof, in which a soldier was already mounted.


    The other two vans did the same. Unfortunately, someone else was faster than them.


    KAN!


    Another sonic pulse fired, heading straight for the second vehicle in the convoy. Its fate was no different from the first, as the vehicle deformed and bounced off the ground, performing a somersault and crashing into the distance.


    Pieces of shattered glass flew all over the road.


    ¡°Fuck! Take that thing down now!¡± Rick exclaimed with fright at what he was seeing from the monitor.


    A heavily armored vehicle had been compressed in such a way, what would be the situation of those inside it? If that thing were to hit a human being, there would nothing left but meat paste.


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± The soldier on the roof was no less frightened than his commander.


    Without so much as a word, he aimed straight at the pedestrian bridge, locked onto the humanoid machine and pulled the trigger.


    An energy beam was blasted straight towards the target on the pedestrian bridge.


    BOOM!


    The impact caused a small explosion as half the bridge went up in flames. Countless shattered blocks fell on the road, blocking the original path they meant to go through.


    That wasn''t enough though.


    ¡°Fire again¡±. Rick didn''t feel at ease one bit, and order for both convoys to take another shot.


    The soldiers did just that without any extra thought.


    BOOM!


    BOOM!


    The pedestrian bridge over the highway was smashed to smithereens.


    ¡°Everyone retreat immediately¡±. Rick gave the order to double back the way they came from.


    As for waiting to see if their enemies had been blown apart? Why would he wait to confirm such a thing?


    After being in the force for so may years, Rick was no fool. He immediately chose to double back without hesitation.


    Their job was to deliver the package, not engage with definite hostiles.


    The armored van behind quickly put everything in reverse, wanting to drive backwards.


    The pedestrian bridge that had been reduced to nothing but rubble and burning slag ushered in the loud sounds and hissing noises of the hydraulics associated with machinery.


    BANG.


    A figure broke out from underneath the rubble, causing stones to fly in every direction.


    Taking several steps forward, the machine''s footsteps were loud yet left no footprints on the asphalt.


    ¡°Target in site¡±. The words uttered were heavily distorted. Making it impossible to deduce the gender of the one within.


    ¡°Reduce the intensity of the sonic cannon. The Android case will be heavily encrypted. We need to obtain the deactivation code from the one in command¡±.


    Inside the mechanical suit, a man with a scruffy beard, brown hair and an untrimmed mustache heard the orders given to him through his intercom and nodded.


    ¡°Whatever you say, boss¡±.


    Then, he raised the sonic cannon and aimed at the fleeing, slightly taking the intensity down a notch to make sure all those within wouldn''t get bleed out to death from all their offrices, and fired.


    KAN!!


    The sonic pulse had a heavy impact as it hit the back of the vehicle, causing it to somersault into the air before falling to the ground, tumbling over on its sides continuously.


    Until finally, it laid on the floor, wrecked. Unlike the previous two, this one looked like it had been hit by a trailer, while the others seemed to be hit with sledgehammers.


    ¡°Four Armored vehicles, filled with dozens of elite soldiers, all solved with a few blasts. Haha, I''m so going to ask to keep this¡±.


    ¡°It''s done¡±. The man said with a wild grin on his face.


    ¡°Good, open the portal¡±.


    ¡°Will do¡±.


    The man in a robotic suit pressed a button and opened a secret compartment within the suit. Putting his hands near, a piece of machinery extended from the suit before falling into his palm.


    A cube shaped machine with a circular red diagram in the middle. Downgraded motherbox. That''s what the cube was, but he didn''t know that.


    Tapping the red circle that gave off a red light, two portals suddenly opened on his left and right sides.


    Less than a second later, two figures appeared in green mechanical armor similar to himself.


    ¡°Boss Mannheim¡±. The man called out in a respectful tone.


    ¡°You have done well¡±. The 6''2 (1.88 meters)male with black hair, black eyes and a rather gangster like expression uttered.


    He didn''t bother to spare a glance at the person he was talking to, his gaze completely fixed on the wrecked armored vehicles in the distance.


    ¡°Let''s move. We need to secure the asset before they receive reinforcements¡±.


    Mannheim said, as he began to move forward, the hissing noises and occasional whirr could be heard from a distance.


    ..........


    Dark.......


    Everything was dark.


    His head was pounding, and a heavy feeling assaulted his senses in every way possible.


    Headache, body ache, pain....... So much pain.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Opening his mouth, the first thing he uttered was a loud, painful, uncontrollable groan.


    Hiss..... It literally hurt, everywhere.


    From his several years of experience, Rick knew he had a few broke bones. Maybe a rib or two, definitely a concussion.


    And blood, the side of his face felt sticky and a lot of blood was rushing out.


    He probably hit his head and suffered a large cut due to the impact.


    ¡°Huh..... Huh..... Is...... Is everyone..... Ugh¡­. Ok?¡±


    The light within the vehicle was dim and flickering. Barely giving any light to the surrounding space.


    Rick couldn''t see clearly either. His head let out an occasional buzz and his vision was blurry and disoriented.


    If he could compose himself and take a good look in a mirror, he wouldn''t be too surprised to discover that he had blood flowing from his nose, mouth, and ears.


    ¡°Ugh¡­.!¡±


    Rick heard a painful groan close by.


    ¡°Hey.....¡±.


    ¡°Com¡­.mander?¡±


    ¡°Sanchez¡­. You..... You are ok¡±. Rick said as he struggled to push himself up.


    ¡°I...... I don''t know. Agghhhhh........ Huh...... Huh...... Nope. Definitely not ok¡±. The male voice replied to him.


    ¡°...... I think my arm''s broken. And¡­ My organs feel pretty shaken up¡±.


    Sanchez was young. Barely twenty-five. Joined the army, graduated the best of his class. After serving in a few battles, was recruited to join Rick''s squadron.


    Fell into a forbidden love with an enemy agent when performing a mission two years ago, had a passionate night.......


    ¡°Stay strong soldier. We''re going to get through this¡±.


    ¡°Yeah right commander.....¡± He coughed out a little blood as he spoke.


    ¡°Doesn''t matter, I''ve always been prepared to die¡±.


    ¡°Don''t say that, son¡±.


    Bang!


    A mechanical hand went through the ¡°tougher than steel¡± walls and pulled.


    Following which, the backdoor was ripped right off the van and thrown to the far side.


    ¡°Die motherfuckers!¡± Flag quickly took out his modified military grade blaster and opened fire.


    The lasers slammed into the body of the special armor Mannheim wore, but did no damage. Not even as much as a scratch.


    ¡°Tickles¡±. Bruno said with a mocking smirk.


    Opening his hands, metal-like whips elongated from the palm of the suit.


    ¡°Hah¡±. Mannheim performed a swinging motion and the whip swung out, cleanly slicing the gun in Flag''s hand in two.


    He swung again, and the whip coiled around Rick''s neck, pulling him out of the vehicle and raising him into the air.


    The evening moon shone on the figure of Rick Flag getting strangled by a metal whip.


    ¡°Hello Colonel Flag. A lovely evening¡±. Mannheim said cockily before turning his gaze to the side.


    ¡°Boys! Secure the package¡±.


    Both men wearing power armors walked into the armored van.


    ¡°You know, I thought you''d be knocked out from that blast, leaving me on having to jolt you awake. Who would have thought you''d still be conscious¡±.


    ¡°Manheim!¡± Rick called out through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Oh! You recognize me¡±.


    ¡°Very few people involved don''t know about you. Criminal filth¡±.


    ¡°That''s good. Saves me the trouble of having to introduce myself¡±.


    As he spoke, Mannheim''s lackeys walked out of the van with five different cases. Seeing this, Rick''s eyes almost popped out of their sockets.


    ¡°Now Colonel, would you please save me a lot of trouble and give me the codes for the cases¡±.


    ¡°Go to hell, you son of a bitch¡±. Rick said with a ferocious expression before spitting on Mannheim.


    The snot filled spit landed on the suit''s see through helmet area.


    Mannheim''s face turned unsightly for a second before returning to normal.


    ¡°Very well, let''s try this again¡±. The metallic whip strangling his throat suddenly tightened by several notches.


    Rick choked and gagged for a few seconds, nearly suffocating, before the death rope around his neck loosened.


    ¡°...... Hah...... Hah...... Go ahead¡­ Kill me. I''m not telling you anything¡±.


    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± Mannheim asked with an ugly grin.


    ¡°Bastards like you should have died a long time ago. I might die today, but it gives me a bit of joy knowing that sooner or later, you''ll accompany me in hell¡±.


    ¡°Oh! Well, someone will be accompanying you in hell, but it won''t be me¡±.


    He said with a smile. Then he shifted his gaze and gave a nod.


    ¡°Go on, boys, let our Colonel here one again experience the brutality of the battlefield¡±.


    ¡°Yes boss!¡± One replied with a wicked grin before walking back into the van and picking an unconscious body.


    ¡°You...... What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Oh nothing, just sending your teammates on a vacation¡±. He said as he gripped the throat with the mechanical hand and twisted to the side.


    Crack!


    ¡°Nooooo!¡± A wail of pain and sadness sounded in the night of Los Angeles.


    ¡°A permanent one that is¡±.


    ¡°I''ll kill you¡±. Rick roared like a wounded wolf, kicking desperately with red eyes.


    ¡°The Colonel is rather loud. The cops will be here any minute, let''s speed this up, boy''s¡±. Mannheim smiled sinisterly, and so did his crew.


    ¡°With pleasure¡±. The henchman responded as he stretched forward his hand and aimed at another unconscious body.


    Blast!


    A laser beam was fired from the palm of his hand, penetrating the brain of the target.


    ¡°No."


    ¡°Another one¡±.


    Blast!


    Blood splattered everywhere. Flesh, blood, the pieces of meat that flew in all directions was enough to make someone sick.


    ¡°Let''s kill one more to see if we can help the Colonel make up his mind¡±.


    ¡°Hehehe¡±. The henchmen charged up, preparing to fire another one¡­.


    Pui! Pui! Pui!


    ¡°Stay Back¡±. Presently, Sanchez, who had regained mobility grabbed hold of a Laser blaster and fired at the henchman.


    Two beams hit the henchmen on the Armor''s chest, carrying no effect while the last one hit the palm area.


    BANG!


    ¡°Argh!¡± He wailed in pain as the laser hit, causing the beam he was about to fire to rebound, blowing up the henchmen''s arm.


    Seeing this, Sanchez''s face changed drastically.


    ¡°You little shit!¡± Mannheim, seeing this scene, let out a roar of fury.


    Henchman number two swung his mechanical arm as a whip flew out, slapping the weapon in Sanchez''s arm away before recoiling back and grabbing him by the neck.


    The metal whip retracted, and the soldier was pulled alongside it.


    ¡°Fine, you can be the next to die. But I''ll let this one die slowly¡±. Mannheim said viciously.


    ¡°Let him go, you monster¡±.


    Flag struggled anxiously.


    ¡°It''s ok commander¡±. Sanchez said while being strangled.


    ¡°I told, you...... Ugh..... I''m not afraid¡±. His eyes seemed to light up with determination.


    ¡°Just find my family. Tell em I love them¡±.


    ¡°Not now soldier! Not tonight. I promised you that you''d go back to see your girls¡±.


    Hearing his words, Sanchez let out a smile as tears welled up in his eyes.


    Flag felt despair.


    Looking at Sanchez who had followed him these past few years and had a family..... He didn''t want to come on this trip, but Rick coerced him saying it would be the last Job they ever had to do.......


    ¡°Alright!¡± He yelled.


    "What did you say, Colonel?'' Mannheim smiled even more.


    ¡°I''ll give you the codes, just let him go¡±. He voiced out at the top of his lungs.


    ¡°....... Put the kid down¡±.


    The henchman nodded and released Sanchez, who fell to the ground and gasped for air greedily.


    ¡°You alright kid?¡± Rick asked with worry.


    ¡°I have very limited time, Colonel Flag, so let''s get this over with. The codes¡­ Now. Or I will blast every single remaining member of your team¡±. The coldness in his eyes validated perfectly this threat.


    Flag struggled for a split second before deciding.


    ¡°The first one''s 5842969910¡±. The Henchmen punched in the numbers, which then showed the green light¡±.


    ¡°Continue¡±. Mannheim said with a smirk.


    Flag looked at him with hatred. If looks could kill, Mannheim would probably be deader than dead with no possibility of resurrection even if a true God took action.


    However, his rationality led him to continue.


    ¡°.....6724445......¡±


    ¡°.....87509¡­"


    ¡°..... 99124....... 000000222¡±.


    Click!


    A clicking sound could be heard as the cases opened up.


    Mannheim peered into them to inspect his target.


    Inside each case was a robotic part. Two held the legs, two held the arms, and one held the head and body.


    AMAZO. Possibly, the most dangerous weapon in the world.


    ¡°Wonderful¡±. Mannheim nodded. ¡°Put them all together and place a teleporter on them¡±.


    Henchmen number two nodded, looking at number one who was suffering from severe blood loss and shivered.


    Mannheim didn''t even mention anything concerning his injury, and Henchman number one didn''t dare to voice his thoughts.


    He could only watch as his face grew pale due to the excessive blood loss, hoping that they would finish from here as fast as possible so he could get medical treatment.


    ¡°You have what you want¡±. Seeing number two put a box on the case''s put together, Rick who was still being held by the neck, his legs dangling midair said coldly.


    ¡°Let my men go¡±.


    ¡°Do you think I''d break my word¡±. Mannheim chuckled.


    ¡°You worry too much. Your men will live. You however.....¡±


    Mannheim smiled sinisterly.


    ¡°...... I never said anything about letting you live now, did I?¡±


    Flag''s expression changed.


    ¡°Say goodbye, Colonel Flag.....¡±


    The metal whip suddenly tightened, aiming to kill him in one go. However.....


    Two beams of scalding hot lasers appeared out of nowhere, cutting the metal whip in two.


    ¡°What the hell¡­.¡±. Mannheim yelled in shock as Flag fell to the floor. His eyes darted from left to right, trying to find who attacked.


    ¡°No. Not hell¡­.¡±. The voice came from behind Mannheim as he felt someone tap the back of his armor.


    He turned around and stretched out his hand, with the intent to fire a laser beam.


    At least he tried. The mechanical palm glowing green had two fingers inserted into it before it could release, effectively disabling it.


    ¡°..... Me¡±. Mannheim''s arm was twisted, making him yell out in pain, before he found himself raised off the ground and slammed downward at rapid speed.


    BOOM.


    The ground cracked due to the impact.


    ¡°Ugh...... Agh..... Superman¡±. He uttered through gritted teeth.


    Raising his head slightly, the figure floated on air, his feet staying three inches off the ground.


    Blue tights, Red cape, iconic ¡°S¡± symbol. Mannheim cursed under his breath.


    The last person he wanted to meet tonight.


    ¡°That''s right Mannheim. Miss me?¡± He asked lightly, but his face remained stern, not showing an ounce of a smile.


    ¡°Get it out of here¡±. Mannheim yelled at Henchmen number two, who turned towards the cases and wanted to beam them away with the box in his hands.


    A red and blue blur flashed before his eyes, and he quickly discovered his hands were empty.


    ¡°Not tonight boy''s¡±.


    Superman moved at Super speed, flying around Henchmen number two, causing a small whirlwind.


    The goon was lifted off the ground before being slammed right back down with a punch.


    Clark raised his head and looked at Bruno Mannheim who was slowly getting off the cracked ground.


    ¡°No need to consider trying to leave. There''s only one place you''re going. And it''s got three meals a day, and lights out at eight".


    ¡°What the hell are you doing here? You haven''t shown your darn ass around for a month. Besides, this isn''t your turf¡±.


    ¡°Just got back on duty¡±. Clark folded his arms in the air.


    ¡°Flying around the world, trying to fix some of the chaos it''s experiencing, and just happened to be flying nearby, and my ears picked something. Thank God it did, though, or you would have gotten away with it¡±. Clark said with a frown on his face.


    Although he knew that the government was against them, he didn''t think it would be this big.


    Something as important as the Android, they took action in transporting it without alerting the league at all.


    What if he didn''t just happen to be close by? AMAZO would be out running amok again.


    What the hell was Lane doing?


    ¡°Just my bad luck, huh?¡±


    ¡°I guess you could say that¡±. Clark said nonchalantly. His gaze drifted to Henchmen number one who was bleeding out and his frown intensified.


    ¡°He''s bleeding out¡±.


    ¡°So? What do you care?¡±


    ¡°You''d just watch your man die?¡± Clark asked with a growl.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Mannheim was stunned for a moment before.....


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± He laughed loudly.


    ¡°Someone once told me that someone could try to kill you, fail and almost have himself killed, and you''d still take them to the hospital if need be. Haha...... Guess he was right¡±.


    Mannheim sneered.


    Clark frowned.


    ¡°Ok, I''ve had enough of you¡±. Clark said, and followed up with a punch.


    Mannheim was sent flying into the distance.


    ¡°That should shut him up¡±. Clark said, dusting his hands. His gaze turned towards one of the few two people conscious at the scene.


    ¡°Superman......¡± Rick looked at the man in red and blue tights, hesitated for a few seconds, and said.


    ¡°Thank you¡±.


    Clark raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Don''t worry about it, but now''s not the time. I''ll speak with your superiors about this later. For now, I''m taking the Android and the prisoners into custody.....¡±


    Hearing his words, Rick frowned and refused without hesitation.


    ¡°Sorry Superman, I can''t let you do that¡±.


    ¡°You do know you were almost killed, right?¡± Clark asked weirdly.


    ¡°And I doubt you have the capacity to protect the Android parts in the event that you experience another attack".


    "We''re expecting reinforcements¡±. Rick said blankly.


    Clark remained silent. Flag was right, he could hear the sounds of many forces gathering in this direction.


    "Fine". Clark said with a slight frown before throwing the teleportation box towards Rick.


    The latter grabbed it firmly with both hands and remained silent.


    ¡°Commander¡±. Rick turned around as he heard someone call him.


    ¡°Sanchez!¡± Rick exclaimed and walked forward to the 25-year-old who was leaning against the cases of AMAZO''S parts.


    ¡°Did...... Is it over?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Thanks to Superman. Without this box, they won''t be able to take the package anywhere¡±.


    Rick said as he held up the box in his hands and let out a slight smile.


    Sanchez was silent.


    ¡°What''s wrong kid?¡± Rick asked with worry.


    ¡°It''s nothing..... Just a little banged up¡±. He said with a slight wince.


    ¡°It''s alright son¡±. Flag smiled. ¡°Once reinforcements get here, we''ll have you patched up¡±.


    ¡°Thank you....... Commander. You gave up the mission to make sure we didn''t all die¡±. He said, his gaze turning to the dead bodies within the van.


    Flag fell silent. The pain of losing several comrades hit him.


    ¡°Which makes me feel a lot worse when I do this¡­"


    However, when Flag was still processing the tragedy that had happened tonight, the next sentence left him stunned.


    ¡°What are you......¡±


    Flag asked in bewilderment, but he was shocked when Sanchez suddenly swung his fist, accurately hitting him right on his jawline.


    POW!


    Rick was caught off guard and fell to the floor, the box in his hand also left his grasp.


    Superman standing afar was also shocked by the sudden turn of events.


    Sanchez quickly grabbed the box hat had fallen and pushed the red area.


    ¡°No!¡± Clark exclaimed and dashed forward, surpassing the speed of sound instantly.


    Unfortunately, he was one step too late.


    The cases holding Amazo''s parts shone with orange light and disappeared.


    ¡°You...... What have you done¡±. Clark shouted.


    However, a yellow flash caught Superman''s attention.


    Clark turned around, shocked to find that Bruno Mannheim, taking advantage of his momentary distraction, had taken out a teleporter box similar to the one Sanchez held and pressed it.


    Once again, The Man Of Steel rushed forward, once again he was a step behind.


    "See you later, blue¡±.


    The voice fell in Clark''s ears as Bruno Mannheim disappeared in place.


    All that was left was Superman, sporting a very unsightly expression.


    ........


    Hi Everybody. Very long chapter here. At least longer than what I usually write.


    So Be honest with me here. You didn''t see that coming, did you?

 Chapter 53 Unexpected Visitors

    ¡°Why!¡± A loud roar echoed on the highway.


    The absent-minded Superman turned his head around to see Flag throwing forward a punch with a ferocious expression.


    Sanchez took one straight to the face and fell to the ground. Blood spurted out of his mouth as his hand slammed headfirst into the hard asphalt.


    Sanchez originally wasn''t in the best of conditions, and dizziness overwhelmed him.


    Too bad, Rick wasn''t going to hear that.


    Rick climbed on top of the fallen soldier and started punching vigorously.


    ¡°You Traitor!¡±


    Pow!


    ¡°Son of a bitch!¡±


    Pow!


    ¡°You''re working for Mannheim, huh?¡±


    Pow!


    ¡°That bastard killed several members of our team¡±.


    Pow!


    ¡°Why!¡±


    ¡°That''s enough¡±.


    Clark frowned and rushed forward to catch the flying fist. His iron grip was something Flag couldn''t get rid of, but the latter didn''t care.


    Flag felt like his world was crumbling. He struggled frantically.


    ¡°Let me go! I''m gonna kill him¡±.


    ¡°You keep doing that and believe me, you will¡±. Sanchez''s face at this point was a mess. Blood seeped from his nose, mouth, and tears on his face.


    ¡°Why! Why!¡± Rick yelled in anger.


    ¡°We were friends. Brothers. We ate together, drank together, fought together. Why would you betray us¡±?


    Flag stared at him intently, his expression as if he didn''t want to miss the slightest changes of Sanchez''s facial features.


    The anger bubbling in his heart currently was indescribable.


    Sanchez coughed up blood. He tried opening his mouth to say something but.


    ¡°He is in no condition to be interrogated. If we''re going to get answers out of him, you can''t beat him to death first¡±.


    Clark admonished.


    Turning his gaze to the beaten Sanchez, numerous thoughts passed through his head.


    ¡°Perhaps there''s an inside story to this. Something that doesn''t show on the surface¡±. He said to himself.


    Clark could see the eyes filled with guilt and self blame earlier. He took the punches without so much as trying to fight back.


    And for someone like Superman who was trained to see the good in everyone, It was natural for the Man Of Steel to have such ideas.


    This kind of optimism, this strong belief in the fact that there was always good deep down in everyone, was very naive. Even Clark himself knew so.


    As, although he advocated his fact, he never applied this principle to some special cases. People who were monsters in the truest sense.


    For example, The Joker.


    Mad or not, Clark was certain that that clown was a being without an atom of good left in that soul of his. Besides, it''s cruel to expect people to forgive such a character just because he eventually stopped doing bad.


    Clark was sure that if the Joker ever regained his sanity and stopped evading the law with that as an excuse, he would face execution by the government.


    And even if the Joker was truly reformed, Clark wouldn''t do anything to try to save him


    However, Clark''s ¡°Naive Optimism¡± wasn''t without merits occasionally.


    ¡°Lau¡­. Laura¡­" Sanchez managed to utter a word through intense pain.


    ¡°Who?¡± Clark asked.


    Pui!


    Several teeth were spit out from his mouth alongside a mouthful of blood.


    ¡°Laura....... He''s got¡­. Laura¡±. Sanchez said weakly before passing out.


    Rick''s pupils shrank, and his body stiffened for a second.


    ¡°Who''s Laura?¡± Superman asked with slight confusion.


    ¡°............ That...... She''s his ......daughter¡±.  Flag answered in a daze.


    The sound of spinning blades, police siren''s, helicopter whirrs.


    Two search lights shone on the bodies of Superman and Rick Flag.


    ¡°Stop..... Do not move.....¡±


    The loud voice spoke through the megaphone.


    ¡°Well..... There''s your inside story¡±.


    Watching the approaching helicopters, fighter jets, police cars, FBI vans, Superman let out a sigh. Mannheim escaped, and the Android was taken.


    This was going to be a long night.


    ..............


    ¡°Ok, I''ll have.....¡±


    ¡°..... The sausage and peas, french fries, Apple pie, a cappuccino, chili labneh eggs and...... pancakes¡±.


    The voice of the waitress responded, causing Kara to look over.


    What came into view was a blonde female with fair skin, dark hair, green eyes, wearing a blue uniform and a small apron tied around her waist.


    ¡°Um¡­. Thanks.....¡± She answered absentmindedly and stretched her hands out but paused in midair.


    ¡°Wait a minute........ but, I haven''t ordered yet¡±. Kara uttered after a moment of realization.


    ¡°Um..... Yeah!¡±. A wry smile appeared on the waitress''s face as she replied.


    ¡°It''s not yours, it''s the handsome guy''s order¡±.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Slightly taken aback, the young kryptonian snapped her head back to the young man.


    ¡°You already ordered? Why didn''t I notice¡±.


    ¡°With the level of attention you put into that tablet, even with your senses, I''d be surprised if you did¡±. Amari remarked plainly.


    His gaze turned to the waitress.


    ¡°Thanks, you can set it down........ Anna, I presume¡±.


    The pretty waitress raised an eyebrow before her eyes fell on her rather moderate chest are whereby the right side laid her name tag.


    ¡°Right. That''s what the name badge says. Here you go......¡±


    She took a step forward, wanting to set the food down but missed her step in the process.


    She lost her grip on the plates she held, and the cappuccino in her grasp fell off.


    Time slowed down almost infinitely as the movements of the waitress stilled. So did the falling plate of food, the spilled cappuccino with its contents half empty in the air and virtually everything else.


    In the caf¨¦, time seemed to slow down by more than a thousand times.


    Watching the falling food that would no doubt spill all over him if he did nothing and allowed fate to play its course, Amari stood up from his seat expressionlessly and took action.


    Grabbing the food order and placing it down on the table, then scooping the airborne liquid back into its container. The whole process took less than a second as he placed everything on the table under the eager eyes of the young Kryptonian before seating back in his chair in the same posture he left it.


    Time played back to normal pace.


    The waitress who had a panicked expression returned to normal, trying desperately to catch what had left her hands, only to freeze a second later.


    Amari sat in his chair, face indifferent, features without expression.


    He took the cappuccino in his right hand and brought it to his mouth, taking a drink.


    The waitress was incredulous.


    Everything seemed....... Normal.


    ¡°What just happened?¡± She asked with shock and disbelief in her tone.


    ¡°You mean, what''s supposed to happen...... I guess?¡± Amari put down the drink and replied rhetorically.


    ¡°We met¡±. He said with a shrug of his shoulders.


    ¡°You alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡­.¡± The waitress shook her head a bit.


    ¡°... Think I''ve been working too hard recently¡±.


    ¡°Take a break then. Unless your boss''s the type that doesn''t give days off¡±.


    Hearing his words, Anna was stunned for a moment before chuckling. He was right, her boss was that kind of guy. Old, grumpy and the likes.


    ¡°Smooth talker, huh, Chad?¡±


    ¡°Not my name, but thanks for the compliment¡±.


    ¡°You''re not from around here, are you, stranger?¡± She asked with a smile.


    ¡°What gave it away?¡±


    ¡°Your expression, and the fact that your order, is a culinary curiosity around these parts¡±.


    She gestured towards his plate, before gazing intently at his face.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    It wasn''t just his expression. She was pretty sure she would remember if she came across a face like this around her.


    ¡°Damn. He''s hot¡±. She said to herself.


    Amari shrugged noncommittally.


    ¡°Nothing?¡± She took a few steps, drawing closer.


    ¡°You aren''t one of those macho tough guys, are you?¡±


    ¡°Do I look like one?¡± His voice was flat, eyes indifferent, his body didn''t shift. All signs clearly pointing that he had no interest in whatever she was selling.


    Seeing this, she bit her lip slightly, making a seductive action. It wasn''t intentional, and she didn''t even know she did it.


    Macho tough guy? Judging by the muscles that fully outlined his T-shirt, she was sure that this guy packed quite a figure underneath that top.


    Body of a well proportioned athlete with the face of a pretty boy surpassing those she had seen on TV.


    Especially the eyes. Those gorgeous, purple, magnetically attractive pair of eyes.


    Was this guy some new celebrity on the block she didn''t know about yet?


    ¡°I don''t know. Maybe I''d find out if I get to know you better¡±. She said, her tone turning flirty.


    ¡°Haisel. What are you doing dwaddling at table seven? If I recall correctly, your shift''s not over yet¡±.


    At that moment, whatever atmosphere she thought she had created was shattered by the loud yelling of a day, middle-aged man.


    Her face quickly took on a red hue as she blushed from slight embarrassment.


    ¡°I''m kind of busy¡±. As she said so, she placed her palm on the table and slipped something closer to Amari.


    ¡°Perhaps, we can talk sometime¡±. Giving a wink, she turned around and headed back to the counter.


    Amari watched her leave with.......... Meh¡­. You already know what. Looking at the piece of paper that was close to his palm, his eyes momentarily scanned the number on it before he raised his head to meet the sullen eyes of someone who was practically ignored in the last thirty seconds.


    ¡°Handsome, huh?¡± Kara said with a touch of sarcasm.


    Amari looked at her with a deadpan expression before facing his head down to his dinner.


    ¡°I''m eating now¡±. He said lightly as he picked up the knife and fork.


    ¡°Think I didn''t see?¡± Kara questioned rhetorically.


    ¡°She was totally flirting with you. She even left her number! Classic movie scene¡±.


    ¡°Do I look like I was flirting¡±.


    ¡°Ok, now that just sounds narcissistic¡±.


    ¡°If I recall right, the concept of flirting doesn''t exist on your planet¡±. He said without raising his head.


    ¡°Alice has been letting you watch too many Rom Com''s, hasn''t she?¡±


    ¡°That .......¡±. The blonde tucked her hair behind her ears and cleared her throat.


    ¡°..... That is for..... Research!¡± She said, as if suddenly enlightened.


    ¡°Yes, research¡±. Tapping the table with a ¡°matter of fact¡± expression on her face, she continued.


    ¡°I mean, I''m not gonna stay in The Axiom forever. Since Krypton''s destroyed, and I''m now on Earth, I''ll have to come face-to-face to earthlings in due time. It''s all for the purpose of blending in better¡±. She uttered with unprecedented enthusiasm. It failed to cover up the twinge of sadness when she mentioned Krypton''s destruction.


    ............


    Amari''s POV


    ¡°Uh-huh........ And I''m so sure you got a lot of research material from watching ''''Fifty Shades of Grey"?"


    I asked with a slight nod and eyes full of amusement, knowing that a rare spectacle would soon come by.


    Sure enough, the Kryptonian''s face suddenly turned beet red. Her fair cheeks took on a red hue that would make someone think she just experienced sunburn.


    But it was dark outside........ So Moonburn then?


    ¡°Don''t talk about that. Besides, you''re not related to me. So you can''t tell me what to do¡±.


    Seeing the embarrassed girl with a red face, gathering courage to utter those words, I couldn''t help but wonder what Clark would think if he knew that the dear cousin he hasn''t even met yet had been corrupted.


    The thought was......... Interesting, to say the least.


    ¡°Oh? Why not? A few seconds ago, you seemed eager to dive into the concept of earth relationships. You used the cerebral transducer, I''m sure part of the information must have introduced the concept of the carnal desires humans chase after. Something that should be foreign to your race......¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Kara yelled in embarrassment as she slapped her hands on the table. Unfortunately, she wasn''t quite familiar with controlling her sudden increase in physical strength.


    The diner table was smashed in half as the delicate palm made contact with its surface. Akin to a sledgehammer.


    BANG!


    The loud noise was particularly conspicuous in the quiet restaurant. Thankfully, the evening rush was over and what remained were the staff and two or three insignificant customers.


    They all had their mouths agape as they stared at the scene in absolute shock.


    Kara froze for a moment, her mind went blank before an anxious expression appeared on her face.


    I looked at the broken table with a slight frown on my face.


    ¡°There goes my dinner¡±. I murmured softly, not the slightest bit worried about this scene being seen by regular people.


    My order had been smashed alongside the table.


    I turned my head to look at the quiet restaurant and spoke in a calm tone.


    ¡°I apologize for the table. My acquaintance is stronger than she looks¡±.


    I stood up as my words came to a halt.


    Snapping my fingers, the destroyed furniture was restored back to the way it was less than ten seconds ago.


    Not only that, it looked brand new.


    ¡°There we go, good as new. Come on, Kara, we''re leaving¡±.


    And with that, I turned towards the exit and walked at a leisure pace. Kara was surprised at first before following behind me quickly.


    The sound of the door being pushed open and closing back was all the living souls in the diner could register.


    After a while, someone asked.


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    ¡°I think they were supers¡±.


    ¡°Really..... Shit, so cool. You think they were heroes or villains?¡±


    ¡°How would I know? They weren''t in costume or anything¡±.


    ¡°Did you see how that girl smashed the table with a slap. What''s her bones made of?¡±


    ¡°Huh? I didn''t see clearly¡­. Whatcha talking about?"


    ¡°The girl. She just..... Um..... Hit¡­. the table¡­. I guess?¡±


    ¡°......... And? What''s so special about that¡±.


    ¡°Um..... I think, something happened to it¡­. Or something¡±.


    ¡°You sure? The table looks fine from here¡±.


    ¡°Yeah...... I can''t really remember what happened. I feel like it''s on the tip of my tongue¡±.


    ¡°What''s on the tip of your tongue?¡±


    ¡°About something that happened here¡­.¡±


    ¡°Oh? And..... What was that?¡±


    ¡°........ I dunno". He replied with a shrug while scratching his head. He had a slight, tingling feeling. That feeling he usually had, telling him that he had forgotten something.


    ¡°Nah. Don''t remember anything happening. You''re probably mistaking it for that robbery incident downtown¡±.


    ¡°Yeah...... Maybe you''re right¡±. And soon, that feeling faded away, leaving the man chatting with his new acquaintance about unrelated events.


    Something strange happened tonight, but only two people were destined to ever remember.


    ...........


    General POV


    The city lights shone, the lamplights were bright, there sounds of driving cars were minimal as people went their way on the sidewalks.


    ¡°The night........ It''s beautiful¡±. The blonde said, with a brilliant light in her eyes as she looked to the sky.


    Seeing the numerous stars that lit up the night sky more than the dazzling city lights, a strange feeling welled up in Kara''s heart.


    ¡°I guess you''re right¡±.


    Amari responded plainly.


    ¡°Um..... Hey, what about what happened back at the..... Diner?¡±


    ¡°Yeah? What about it¡±. He replied with a question as he continued his walk.


    Kara, who walked beside him, frowned a little.


    ¡°Aren''t you scared?¡±


    ¡°Scared?¡± Amari rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Take it with all seriousness when I say this. In this universe and beyond. Nothing scares me¡±.


    Looking at his blank expression, Kara didn''t know whether he was serious or speaking casually.


    However, from what she had learned from her experience with him recently, he didn''t sound like he was joking.


    He made sarcastic and rhetorical remakes sometimes, though rare, but you could easily tell.


    This was different.


    ¡°...... Um¡­. Sorry, I didn''t put that right. What I meant to say was, aren''t you concerned that they''ll talk about what they''ve seen or something. Or watch the surveillance cameras...... Um..... If they were any, that is¡±.


    ¡°No¡±. His reply was concise.


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°No¡±. He replied again. ¡°They can''t really talk about what they don''t remember seeing, can they?¡±


    Listening to his words, the young kryptonian was a bit shocked.


    ¡°You...... Altered their memories?¡±


    ¡°You could say that. At this point, they shouldn''t even remember we were ever there to begin with. The same goes for cameras¡±.


    He gave an affirmative reply.


    Kara was silent. A little astounded at the thought.


    ¡°Don''t be so surprised. My capability to do such relies on ability. Your cousin can do the same with a set of glasses that defy common sense¡±.


    Amari said lightly.


    Kara didn''t say anything anymore as the two continued to enjoy the evening walk.


    After a considerable amount of time passed, they found themselves near a fountain. Looking at the rippling reflections of Amari and herself in the water, Kara let out a sigh inwardly.


    Amari didn''t say a word, maintaining the peace and quiet of the environment for a few minutes.


    Until eventually, The Deviant spoke.


    ¡°So I guess this is where we part ways¡±. He said, shifting his gaze from the water to a pair of eyes that were also staring back at him with a hint of nervousness.


    ¡°......... You knew?¡±


    ¡°That you were going to ask to leave, here and now? Yes. I''ve expected it when you asked to leave the Axiom¡±.


    He said flatly, his face and body language portrayed no expressions.


    ¡°If you want to reunite with your cousin, then by all means. Like I said, you can leave whenever you want¡±.


    Hearing his words, the slight uneasiness finally disappeared. While it disappeared, a feeling of disappointment appeared and disappeared as soon as it surfaced.


    ¡°Thank you¡±. She whispered softly.


    Honestly, she didn''t even know what she said it for.


    ¡°I didn''t do much. No need for it¡±. Amari said with a small gesture.


    ¡°...... So..... What are you going to do now?¡± Kara couldn''t help but ask.


    ¡°Make a detour. I have something I want to do before heading back¡±. He said with a light shrug as he tilted his head to the side.


    ¡°...... Ok. Well then..... It was nice knowing you¡±. Kara said, extending her hand out for a goodbye handshake.


    Too bad, he didn''t reciprocate the action.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Kara was a bit surprised, her gaze caught that Amari''s face was turned to the side, looking into the distance with a look of surprise in his eyes.


    Turning her head in that direction, what greeted her sight was nothing.


    Kara waited for a few seconds without finding anything and just when she thought she had been taken for a fool, a slight distortion in space made her opened her mouth in shock.


    To a regular human, it happened in the blink of an eye. But for Kara........ It still happened in the blink of an eye.


    The space distorted as a yellow portal was formed out of thin air.


    Before she could be surprised, a streak of yellow lightning rushed out of the portal and into the distance, disappearing.


    The portal behind quickly closed as its user was gone.


    ¡°Oh my......¡±


    Kara had barely finished her words when she was interrupted by yet another distortion in space.


    A portal once again appeared in the same spot. Only this time, the portal was deep blue.


    Same as last time, a streak of bright blue lightning rushed out of the portal and moved in the direction where the first lightning streak disappeared as well.


    The portal closed, leaving a dumbfounded Kryptonian and a thoughtful Amari in the exact same position.


    ¡°...... That...... What was that?¡± Kara asked with surprise and curiosity in her tone.


    To this question, Amari answered with four words.


    ¡°Unexpected and uninvited visitors¡±.


    ¡°Visitors?¡± The confused voice reached his ears, but Amari paid it no heed.


    ¡°Well, this should be fun¡±.

 Chapter 54 Flash And Zoom

    Kara''s POV


    ...........


    Everything around me was different. Compared to my home world, it was unfamiliar, vastly divided, had almost no similarities.


    Looking into the distance, I could see the bright lights, the automobiles, the buildings, the regular people walking around, going about their daily lives.


    The lights were kinda ordinary and the buildings weren''t anything special either. It could be given points for the novelty it brought me, seeing the designs.


    Something new after all, but compared to Krypton, let''s just say its beauty wasn''t all that beautiful in my eyes.


    But compared to the tranquility and orderliness of Krypton, this planet had its form of charm in the midst of its chaos.


    It had something I rarely felt back home. Life.


    In all that massacre and chaos and destruction that was almost overwhelming sometimes, I could feel the liveliness, the freedom of will, the desires that humanity had within them.


    It does have its problems, though. Like really, really, really big problems. I could name a few dozen from the top of my head right this instant, but that''s not the point, neither was it important right now.


    The only thing that reminded me of Krypton was up in the sky. Gazing upward, I could see numerous twinkling blue lights in the night sky.


    Stargazing. One of my favorite things to do before going to bed, back on my home world.


    It was....... nice.


    To be honest, the first few hours were hard. After the first day of grief, I eventually got used to it. Tried my hardest to bottle up all that sorrow somewhere and lock it up for as long as I could.


    And subsequently, I soon got to see....... Countless things.


    There was this machine. I believe ¡°he¡± called it the cerebral transducer. Through it, I was able to learn a lot of things within one hour than I could have in months.


    In the process of transferring so much information directly into my mind, I marvelled on so many new things on this planet.


    Strange concepts that Krypton never had.


    Like entertainment and industries outside the three major factions [Science, labor and security], different activities, though some were a bit weird but enjoyable nonetheless. Like romance, love and......... Ok, let''s skip that part. Apparently, I watched some things I shouldn''t have.


    Television, sports, book clubs, superstars, music, a whole new system of democracy.....


    I saw some darker sides, but I also saw the light. From what I had discovered, these humans were honestly treacherous and deceitful, paranoid, greedy and....... they were a lot of things.


    But they had something we Kryptonians never had.


    A Future.


    A Future that was up to them, to do whatever they pleased with it. They had hopes, dreams, light and so much life to fulfill those heart desires of theirs.


    Whatever they may be.


    Their lives weren''t predetermined like Kryptonians and they had no idea what awaits them later on. But it was for this reason that their future was limitless, their free will always made sure they had room for growth, and as long as they didn''t eventually destroy themselves, then they would continue to grow.


    Looking at the people going about their lives, my heart thumped slightly. This was the life I wanted, the life that my cousin so desperately tried to protect each day.


    I was shown everything he had done. He could see exactly what I could see, and he became a symbol for it. To protect that light...... that hope, that freedom........ And now, just like them, I desired something more.


    I wanted to live a life like any regular earth girl.


    I fantasized a bit at that moment.


    But a voice akin to a bucket of cold water brought me back to reality.


    ¡°So I guess this is where we part ways¡±.


    ¡°....... You knew?¡±


    ¡°That you were going to ask to leave, here and now? Yes. I''ve expected it when you asked to leave the Axiom¡±.


    He said flatly, his face and body language portrayed no expressions.


    So this was it. Time to say goodbye.


    He was right, I wanted to find Kal-El. After all, he was practically the only blood relative I had left. I had to meet him eventually.


    At that moment, I felt a little reluctant.


    ¡°Well........ Who knows? We''ll probably meet again sometime in the future¡±.


    That''s what I thought.


    But it wasn''t a farewell. Something completely unexpected happened, something that took us on an adventure, travelling across universes.


    .............


    General POV.


    Same as last time, a streak of bright blue lightning rushed out of the portal and moved in the direction where the first lightning streak disappeared as well.


    The portal closed, leaving a dumbfounded Kryptonian and a thoughtful Amari in the exact same position.


    ¡°...... That...... What was that?¡± Kara asked with surprise and curiosity in her tone.


    To this question, Amari answered with four words.


    ¡°Unexpected and uninvited visitors¡±.


    ¡°Visitors?¡± The confused voice reached his ears, but Amari paid it no heed.


    ¡°Well, this should be fun¡±.


    As he said so, he took several steps forward.


    ¡°Where''re you going?¡± Seeing him walking away, she couldn''t help but ask.


    To which, he stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°I''m going after them¡±


    ¡°........ Them?¡± Kara was surprised before reacting. Those streaks of lightning were people?


    ¡°Yep¡±. Amari shrugged his shoulders and replied in a nonchalant tone.


    ¡°Those lightning bolts were people, you''re just not fast enough to see it¡±.


    ¡°But that''s irrelevant. What makes me curious, though, is why The Flash is being chased by another speedster into this universe¡±.


    His words didn''t answer her doubts, but surely added more to the list.


    Flash? The name wasn''t unfamiliar to her, but that didn''t mean she had extensive knowledge.


    All she knew was that The Flash was a hero on Earth. How did it suddenly become an ¡°unexpected visitor?¡± And what did ¡°chased into this universe¡± mean?


    The Justice League didn''t make the general situation of the league public. All they knew was that Central City''s resident hero, The Flash, hadn''t made an appearance for the past week or so.


    Amari paid no attention to the confused Kryptonian.


    The thought of directly letting himself know what all this was about came across his mind, but he ultimately decided against it.


    Lately, Amari had found the novelty of knowing everything as long as he wanted to, boring. It was  interesting at first, but then the feeling gradually faded.


    This was why he never directly exchanged for the ability itself. And to be honest, he was kinda glad he didn''t.


    Just stepping out of the Axiom, who would have thought something like this would happen? Completely out of his expectations and at the same time, gave him a new sense of anticipation.


    A rare source of intrigue had finally made its way to his doorstep. Why would he ruin it on his own initiative?


    Where was the fun in that?


    ¡°Fun, huh?" He chuckled to himself.


    Squinting his eyes, his vision was altered and the scope of his insight intensified by several dozen folds as he activated enhanced vision to see the scene happening several miles away.


    The surrounding space distorted as his body was sucked into another dimension.


    ¡°..... Huh?..... Heh! Wait.....¡± Seeing him leaving, Kara quickly reached out to stop him, but was too late.


    Seeing the space, Kara frowned a bit. Did he really just leave her here? He just left her here.


    This wasn''t the place. This wasn''t Kal''El''s residence. And currently, she was too far away from Metropolis.


    Was she going to walk there herself?


    ¡°Damnit!¡±


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Near a fountain, a blonde teenager let out her first cuss.


    ¡°Ok...... Calm down...... It''s alright. It doesn''t matter. Besides, you have Super speed, you can get there on your own. It''ll just take a little more...... Ahhhhh.¡±


    Kara, who was contemplating to herself suddenly, screamed as the area behind her distorted and a hand appeared out of nowhere, firmly grabbing her by her collar and pulling her in with one clean motion.


    Peace returned to the area near the fountain, while chaos gradually ensued somewhere else.


    ..............


    United States, Rhode Island, Providence


    The wind howled in the chilling night.


    The streets of Providence, the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, and one of the first cities established in the United States, had the run-of-the-mill hustle and bustle one would expect.


    The city was particularly spectacular in the evening, alongside the lively atmosphere and dazzling lights.


    ¡°Daddy! Daddy! I want this one¡±. A little kid pointed towards the picture of an ice cream on the display board of an ice cream truck.


    ¡°I want one too!¡± Another child shouted.


    ¡°Alright, alright, settle down¡±. The middle-aged man standing behind the two children, admonished, with a happy smile on his face.


    Looking at the two children, the first one whose eyes almost had ice cream shapes, while the other was already drooling slightly, the man felt slightly amused.


    Turning to the fat boss sitting inside the ice cream truck, he raised his hands and signified.


    ¡°Three cones, two scoops of cookie dough ice cream on each¡±.


    ¡°Everyone looks particularly happy today. Any special occasion?¡± The ice cream man asked with a nonchalant tone behind his friendly smile.


    ¡°A promotion¡±. The male said, without elaborating.


    ¡°Well, congratulations then¡±. The ice cream boss said with a smile before taking out three ice creams.


    ¡°Here you go. One for each of you¡±.


    ¡°Thank you¡±.


    The man said as he lovingly gave the treats to his kids and took their hands to walk away.


    ¡°Anytime!¡± The ice cream boss said lightly.


    Looking at the leaving back of the man and his kids, he frowned slightly and murmured something.


    ..........


    ¡°Come on, get in the car, kids¡±. The middle-aged man casually said to his children.


    ¡°Daddy, Daddy! Aren''t we getting one for mom?¡± The little girl said with bright eyes.


    ¡°No dear. She isn''t back yet¡±. The man replied with a frown as he started the car engine.


    ¡°Besides, it''ll probably melt before we get home in time to put it in the freezer if we do buy one¡±.


    At the thought of his wife who was always busy, travelled frequently and was never home, Tom felt slightly sour in his heart.


    His wife was out on a business trip, and she wouldn''t be back until the following week. At least, that''s what she recently told him.


    The actual plan before was that she''d be back from meeting with her client yesterday, but was that the case.


    Tom''s palms on the steering wheel tightened increasingly


    He had just received a promotion letter at work today and was so excited that he wanted to celebrate with his family. Maybe vent some of that excess excitement with a good, fulfilling, passionate night in bed with his woman.


    After all, it wasn''t everyday he got promoted.


    Who knows......... Perhaps she''ll ¡°accidentally¡± get pregnant again and finally have time to take leave from that Job of hers that seems to be becoming increasingly more important than her family lately.


    Heading towards his destination, the car drove into traffic while he drove a bit absentmindedly in deep thoughts.


    ¡°Quit it!¡± The sound of his daughter whining behind was paid no heed as new thoughts began to emerge in his mind.


    ¡°Could she be having a secret affair outside?¡± Tom shook these thoughts away as soon as they appeared.


    He didn''t believe it. Or rather, he didn''t want to believe it. They had been married for thirteen years. If anything, Tom was rather confident that their relationship hadn''t deteriorated anywhere close to that level.


    Even if it was a bit annoying, he wouldn''t entertain the thought of his wife cheating without proof. He wasn''t that kind of man.


    But..... He couldn''t even remember the last time he had sex in months.


    Tom ran his hand through his thinning hairline with a bit of frustration.


    ¡°Daddy!¡± The nine-year-old girl whined in a tone of complaint.


    ¡°Junior''s putting his leg on my side of the car¡±. The girl said with a cute, pouting expression.


    ¡°No I''m not¡±. The boy quickly retorted.


    ¡°Are too¡±.


    ¡°I''m not¡±.


    ¡°Am too¡±.


    ¡°You two stop it right now. Don''t let me get back there¡±. He scolded in a stern tone at his little twins.


    ¡°He started it......¡±


    The girl said softly.


    ¡°Ok kids, I don''t care who started it, if you let me come back there, I''ll finish it........¡±


    On the road, something strange suddenly happened, taking him completely off guard.


    A streak of yellow lightning suddenly appeared from a corner and rushed in their direction.


    ¡°What the hell!¡± Tom, who had just brought his gaze back to the road after, scolding his kids, screamed in fright.


    The man quickly slammed the brakes while spinning the steering wheel to the side.


    The car that attempted to dodge was in no way fast enough to avoid, as the lightning streak slammed into the tail end of the car, flying into the air before crashing back against the ground.


    The car twirled crazily as the collision on the back end sent it spinning out of its driver''s control.


    Tom, whose foot was heavily pressing on the brake, was completely disoriented. He tried to adjust himself and steer properly to avoid crashing, but unfortunately, Lady luck didn''t seem to be on his side this night.


    The car spun forward to an intersection on the road and gradually slowed down. Yet before he could regain his composure, two bright lights suddenly came into his vision through the side door, almost blinding him.


    Followed by the loud, recognizable sound of a moving truck horn, Tom''s poor Nissan that had accompanied him go five years suffered another collision.


    BANG!


    The car was pushed back several meters as it tumbled on Its sides continuously before coming to a stop. It stood upright, but it had been smashed heavily.


    "Fuck!¡±


    The old, black truck driver who was coming from the other direction was so frightened that his old soul almost flew out of his body.


    Never in his life had he been involved in an accident. And now, his heavy truck just collided with the front area of that vehicle, smashing it almost beyond recognition.


    He quickly smashed the breaks, bringing the truck to a stop, before alighting from the truck and heading towards the crashed car as fast as his old legs could carry him.


    Looking at the car that was bringing out small bouts of smoke, a chilling breeze enveloped him as his back began to develop cold sweats.


    ..........


    Tom felt dizzy. His blurred vision could barely see anything in front of him as the dizziness assaulted his senses.


    Who am I? Where am I? What just happened?


    His subconscious was chaotic as numerous thoughts flew through his head.


    ¡°Hey!......¡±


    He seems to hear a voice call out to him.


    ¡°....... Are you ok?¡±


    ¡°Am I¡­.¡± Gradually opening his eyes, everything gradually became clear. The ringing in his ears still remained, though.


    ¡°What...... What''s going on?¡±


    ¡°Agh!¡± Meanwhile, at a considerable distance, a figure that laid on the asphalt suddenly let out a heavy, painful groan.


    Turning his sprawled out body over, several painful moans escaped his lips as he struggled to get up.


    ¡°Ugh........ Damn, so bright! What did I just hit? Did I just hit something?¡±


    The truck driver heard the exclamation and all the hair on his body stood on end.


    ¡°Shit! What''s that¡±. He thought to himself as his turned around and looked forward into the distance.


    There, he saw something...... Or rather, someone getting up from the ground while stretching vigorously.


    ¡°...... Is that?¡±


    ¡°Damn! That was painful¡±. Looking at the figure, the truck driver''s fear and horror slowly turned to surprise and shock.


    The figure that was in a crouching position looked at his hands intently. The blurring vision that assaulted him from travelling through worlds gradually faded away, and the ringing in his head subsided.


    Standing up, turned around and looked towards the direction of the truck lights.


    ¡°....... I ..... Where am I?...... Oh! Definitely hit something. Oops, my bad."


    As he finished, his body turned to steaks of yellow lightning and rushed towards the crashed car.


    The driver''s eyes had gone wide at this point with a little excitement.


    Red spandex tights, numerous yellow lightning bolt designs on the body, a rather noticeable lightning symbol on the chest...... Um¡­. There was a rather big do hickey on his chest area though that was giving off a blue glow.


    Was that new or something?


    The figure appeared near the car and looked inside.


    ¡°Hey....... I know you¡±. The old driver said excitedly.


    ¡°You''re The Flash, from the Justice League¡±.


    ¡°Um.....¡± The figure clad in red didn''t know how to respond to the sudden enthusiasm.


    However, Tom, who had finally regained himself couldn''t care less.


    ¡°Kids, are you ok?¡± He called out while holding his head, but he received no response.


    ¡°....¡±


    ¡°Kids!¡± Tom called out anxiously and looked in the rearview mirror. His heart nearly stopped as he saw the bloody figures of his children.


    Their heads hung low, the bodies firmly held in position by the seat belts. Numerous cuts adorned their arms and face due to the glass window shattering.


    ¡°Annie! Junior! Wake up¡±. Tom roared anxiously as he ignored the pain and disorientation, trying desperately to unbuckle his seat belt that was now stuck to the seat for some reason.


    ¡°Are they.....¡± Flash''s mind went blank. Seeing the scene happening in front of him, a sense of panic overwhelmed him.


    ¡°Hey, what are you doing¡±.


    The old truck driver yelled in a loud voice, catching his attention.


    ¡°You''re The Flash, right? Why are you still standing there? Run them to a hospital or something¡±.


    The father suddenly snapped his head towards his direction and his eyes full of despair lit up with hope. Obviously, he knew the flash.


    ¡°Flash¡± was suddenly at a loss.


    Hospital? What hospital were they talking about? Could it be......


    The old driver, seeing him unresponsive wanted to say something else.


    However¡­


    His mouth sudden widened as severe pain hit him. He looked downwards to see a black hand sticking out of his chest.


    Flash''s eyes widened in shock and fear.


    "So this...... Was the "Resistance''s" Plan......... Other Earth''s". A heavily distorted voice sounded, causing the atmosphere to plummet.


    Tom who was still a bit groggy felt deadly chills run up his spine as his body stiffened.


    That voice was....... demonic.


    "...... You..... You followed me?" Flash''s face turned pale.


    ¡°I told you........ Flash¡±.


    The hand going through the man''s chest pulled back, causing the man to fall to the ground, losing his breath of life.


    Standing behind the now dead corpse was a figure dressed in black attire, his body seemed erratic, flickering caused by the high intensity of his body''s vibrating.


    Arcs of blue lightning flickered around his body and added, with the dreadful horror mask on his face, he looked like the incarnation of a demon from hell.


    ¡°The Flash¡± took several steps back in panic.


    ¡°You can''t hide, from the fastest man alive¡±.

 Chapter 55 Flee

    ¡°Oh my God!¡±


    "Hey! What''s going on?''


    "Damn! Something happened over here?¡±


    ¡°It...... Looks like a car accident¡±.


    ¡°That car was hit by a truck¡±.


    ¡°........... Someone call 911¡±.


    ¡°..¡± Providence wasn''t a small city on Rhode Island. The total population, although incomparable to Gotham, Metropolis, Central City and the likes, it still had a population exceeding two hundred thousand residents.


    A car crash on the roads of the less busy parts of the city quickly gathered considerable attention.


    ¡°Oh no! People¡±. ¡°The Flash¡± saw all this and his expression turned unsightly.


    The situation was escalating out of his control. At this moment, a crowd of onlookers was the last thing he wanted to see.


    ¡°Flash¡± fixed his gaze on the ¡°new arrival¡± only to find that the latter''s attention wasn''t on him.


    ¡°....... Fascinating¡±. The distorted voice carried an eerie tone as Zoom turned his head slowly from one side to another.


    ¡°This city........ This ....... world¡­.¡± The pitch-black eyes from behind the creepy demonic mask stared at the surroundings with apparent interest.


    Clean streets, fresh air, clear skies, working vehicles, brightly lit buildings.


    Seeing it all, Zoom marveled.


    This....... all this surprised him. Not because he hadn''t seen this before, but because of how long ago he last saw it.


    Years.


    This image....... It was not what he was familiar with. All this was in the past era.


    The era before ¡°He¡± changed. Took control of the world. Earth, his earth....... Was nothing like this.


    Not anymore


    So he was sure that this wasn''t his earth. This wasn''t the world he came from, and it was due to that reason that the black speedster marveled even more.


    Earths!


    There were other Earth''s. Completely unknown, untouched, unconquered.


    The multiverse. It truly existed.


    New world''s, new possibilities, new speedsters with the speed force¡­.


    In those pitch-black eyes, a trace of uncontrolled madness frenzied within. The thirst, hunger and maniacal mind combined to form an unimaginable greed.


    The Greed for speed.


    ¡°A parallel earth¡±. Zoom said, slowly enunciating each word. Arcs of blue lightning flashed on his body uncontrollably as his desire increased by the second.


    The lightning sparks quickly drew attention.


    The crowd that was slowly amassing immediately noticed the two figures standing opposite each other in some kind of confrontation and were surprised.


    ¡°Someone''s here?¡±


    ¡°Who are these guys?¡±


    ¡°Damn! That guy''s got electricity flickering all over him¡±.


    ¡°........ Cool..... Hang on, is this some kind of movie set?¡±


    Some people couldn''t quickly understand the situation and asked with slight confusion.


    However, among the crowd, there would always be those who were more learned than others.


    ¡°Hey, is that The Flash?¡±


    ¡°....... Flash? You can''t be serious¡±.


    ¡°I recognize the costume. It does look like Flash¡±.


    ¡°Are you sure? I always thought the flash looked different on TV¡±.


    ¡°What the hell is he doing here? Shouldn''t he be in Central City?¡±


    ¡°That''s like, hundreds of miles away¡±.


    ¡°What''s that thing on his chest? I''ve never seen it before¡±.


    ¡°Forget about that. It looks like he''s confronting the guy in black¡±.


    ¡°The one with blue electricity? Hold up! Is he also a speedster?¡±


    ¡°I''ve never seen this man on the news. Could he be a new villain?¡±


    ¡°He''s not any bad guy in Central City''s rogue gallery that I''ve ever seen¡±.


    The crowd spoke with unprecedented enthusiasm as they watched the scene from a few meters distance.


    Opinions flew around from one person to the other. Some started conversations about whom the new guy might be, while others had already taken their phones, connected to their social media accounts and began streaming live.


    Cars that would originally pass through this road braked as the place was blocked.


    People took pictures, took videos, live-streamed....... The whole place grew lively.


    Zoom paid no heed to this.


    ¡°So this was what your plan was¡±. The demonic voice was rather loud, amplified by the vibrating of his vocal cords.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The short sentence splashed down on the crowd''s enthusiasm like a bucket of cold water.


    That tone, that voice¡­.


    Everyone listening felt a chill run up their spines for no reason. Especially when they saw the Man in Black turn his gaze in their direction, everyone felt their scalps grow numb.


    Pitch-black eyes that made people shudder, the electric arcs flickering around his body, followed with the occasional erratic vibration of his body that made him seem ethereal, without form, like a ghost. And the suit slitted mouth part on the mask..... But¡­. Was that even a mask? It looked so...... Organic.


    Anyone looking at him could confidently state that the figure standing there was a phantom silhouette from the underworld, and no one would rush to refute.


    Horrifying!


    The pitch-black figure did nothing except stand there, but the pressure he brought to those who looked at him was scary.


    ¡°Travelling to parallel Earth''s, in an attempt to gather help to do what you could not. Truly¡­. Clever¡±.


    His hand moved at Super speed as lightning arcs flashed, grabbing the throat of the man in the car.


    The crowd gasped in shock.


    ¡°How unfortunate, that all your efforts will come to a bleak..... end¡±.


    Tom whose throat was being gripped struggled frantically as he began making choking noises.


    ¡°Silas stone and Harrison Wells truly are geniuses. Devising a way to harness the speed force and use it to travel through universes. Remarkable. Now I, will take this wonderful gift you have presented me, and use it to my disposal. When I get back...... I will thank them both by giving them a swift and painless death, sending them to meet with you, right after I kill you and take what value you have to me¡±.


    ¡°The Flash¡± Stiffened.


    His expression bordered shock and disbelief before turning grim.


    ¡°You knew¡±.


    ¡°You''re not the only one with insiders, Flash¡±.


    ¡°Let him go, Zoom, he has nothing to do with this. This is between you and me¡±.


    ¡°Flash¡± said solemnly. The anger in his tone was apparent, but the audience didn''t notice what else was.


    At this point, they started to feel righteous indignation


    ¡°He''s going to choke that poor man to death¡±.


    ¡°What are you waiting for, Flash? Get him¡±.


    ¡°Beat his sorry excuse for an ass up and take him to prison¡±.


    Zoom remained unmoved.


    "You and your ¡°Resistance¡± once tried to fish me out with bait". Raising his right hand, his palm vibrated at extreme speeds, becoming a physical blur.


    ¡°I can do the same¡±. Then, he brought the vibrating palm close to Tom''s heart.


    ¡°Let''s see how much faster you''ve gotten with that thing on your chest. Will you be fast enough to save him first, or............ will I phase my hand through his heart and send him to meet his maker¡±.


    The black eyes under the horrid mask turned to the unmoving bodies of the two children.


    ¡°This is not your world¡±. Flash said through gritted teeth.


    Saving the man was impossible, not with Zoom at such close range. He wasn''t fast enough, not even with the tachyon enhancer on his chest active.


    ¡°........ There are people stronger than you here. You keep this up, and they will come to capture you¡±. He said, giving the best threat he could come up with.


    "You always seem to forget, that I am the fastest man alive. Even ¡°He¡± can''t stop me".


    The Speed demon slightly tilted his head and continued.


    ¡°So let us see....... If they get here on time to stop me......... or I kill you first¡±.


    ¡°Only if you can catch me¡±. Flash said as yellow lightning arks appeared in his eyes.


    ¡°And why would I perform such a meaningless chase when I have the bargaining chips?¡± Zoom asked.


    The demonic voice was so distorted that one couldn''t tell if there was any bit of sarcasm in that sentence.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I told your predecessor once before. That heroes....... Die. You''re a hero, are you not? Now, I''ll give you a choice¡±.


    Zoom said as his gaze turned back to the viewing crowd.


    "You think you can make a ruckus and stall for time. I think otherwise. Either you fight me head on right here, right now, or I will kill every single soul I can find in this city, and hunt you down when I''m finished. And unlike your predecessor, there will be no Interference this time from Superman to stop me from getting what I want".


    Those casual words thrown out were equivalent to a bomb in the ears of the nearby crowd.


    The threat, coupled with Zoom''s scary appearance and the ¡°Flash ''s¡± unwillingness to act, immediately frightened the lot of them.


    Only then did they suddenly, miraculously realize that in the fight between ¡°Supers¡±, the regular people always ended up as cannon fodder.


    Staying here, watching was tantamount to suicide.


    ¡°Run! He''s a madman¡±.


    Someone within the crowd screamed and less than three seconds later, everyone immediately scattered, fleeing in all directions like headless chickens.


    ¡°....... And I''ll start, with this poor man over here. His life, is in your hands. Make, your choice¡±.


    Seeing the people fleeing in all directions, Zoom couldn''t care less. These people, in his eyes, were nothing but lambs waiting to be slaughtered. How far away could they get within ten seconds?


    ¡°Ten¡±.


    ¡°Nine¡±.


    ¡°Eight¡±.


    He said as he began counting down. The claw - like fingers on the gloves of his suit dug deeper and deeper into the victim''s neck as several lines of blood were drawn out.


    Flash''s face turned grim.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Five¡±.


    ¡°Four¡±.


    ¡°Three¡±.


    ¡°Two¡±......... Seeing that time was almost up, the scarlet speedster gritted his teeth in frustration.


    Thinking of the innocent man who would surely die if he did nothing, as well as thousands of people who would no doubt face the grave if Zoom were to go on a killing spree, time slowed down exponentially as Flash had numerous thoughts pass through his head.


    Finally, his eyes grew firm, as if he had made a big decision.


    And then..........


    Swoosh!


    The tachyon enhancer glowed with a faint blue light.


    Yellow lightning bolts covered his body as his body disappeared on the spot, the yellow lightning bolt rushing into the far away distance.


    The people continued to scramble to safety, and Zoom looked in the direction of the fleeing flash without any expression.


    In the literal sense, nothing could be seen through the mask.


    Today, the most unbelievable thing happened.


    In the face of a chance at escaping and the deaths of thousands of Innocents, The Flash actually chose to flee


    Looking at the area that was almost deserted, zoom turned to look at Tom, who was almost choking to death within his grasp.


    And then.


    Snap!


    With lightning quick reaction, Tom''s neck was twisted to the side, making a cracking sound.


    The body fell back on the car seat, completely motionless.


    Lightning arcs flashed around his body as he moved around the area. All everyone in the radius of four miles could register in the following second was a momentary flash of blue before welcoming eternal darkness.


    Adults, children, babies, elderly. No matter what age, regardless of what they were doing at the time, all of them died.


    In less than a second, Zoom had committed a massacre and returned to his original position without so much as breaking a sweat.


    ¡°Enjoy the chase, Flash. I know I will¡±.


    His words came to an end and a flash of lightning was all that could be seen before he disappeared.

 Chapter 56 Black Canary

    Earth [-1]


    Location in the multiverse: Unknown


    Status: Unknown


    Years ago, it was just like this earth. With countries and commerce and schools, education systems, transportation Industries, World sports, Hollywood........ You name it.


    Everything was almost 100% similar to this world. There was Darkseid''s sentry invasion.


    The New God, Stepphenwolf, arrived at Earth to acquire the Mother boxes.


    The Justice League was formed, defeating the alien threat and becoming the heroes of mankind.


    Kal-El of Krypton, otherwise known as Superman, alongside Batman and Wonder Woman, formed Earth''s mightiest heroes.


    From there, they went on protecting the earth from several threats, fighting villains and living their lives the best way they knew how.


    It wasn''t all sunshine and roses. There were hard times, times in which they almost lost their lives.


    They lost some good friends along the lines as well.


    The world wasn''t perfect, far from it. But it was ok, and things were fine........ Until ¡°He¡± changed, that is.


    No one knew why, how or when it actually started.


    It seemed like the whole thing happened overnight.


    Some called it the greatest mystery in the world.


    And even now, the reason remains unknown to all but one. There have been speculations, but no one could say for sure.


    Perhaps due to the Solar storm that appeared that year, or the kryptonite meteor that appeared the following year. Some said it was Darkseid, before ¡°he¡± killed him. Others blamed Mister Mind, some threw it on Lex Luthor who fought him with some Kryptonite based weapons, almost killing him with a kryptonite disease.


    There were many guesses. Batman entered a bunch of em in the Justice League data files. He recovered them from the Watchtower alongside other things before ¡°He¡± destroyed the space station.


    Maybe deep down, he was just as Batman initially feared, pure evil. But ultimately, it didn''t matter.


    Not anymore, that is.


    Because on that dreaded day, the world, as it looked like here, came to an end.


    ¡°He¡± became what the government always feared he would. Destroyed everything that he labeled a threat to his existence and everyone who stood in his path.


    No one could talk to him.


    No one could reach him.


    No one could beat him.


    The world grew fragmented. Like an apocalyptic landscape. Chaos and destruction reigned after he killed the majority of the Justice League and overthrew the government.


    What was left of them effectively formed the last survival group, known as ¡°The Resistance¡±.


    And so, the earth, after many years of waging war on itself, finally came to a somewhat, delicate balance in power.


    ¡°He¡± ruled as the biggest boss. The overlord, The Black Tyrant. The other powers (Resistance included) existed only because they had weapons that could threaten him.


    That was this Earth''s story. Until recently, a change took place that made The Resistance finally see a chance to turn the tables.


    Their world........ Had a visitor.


    And from there, they saw a chance. A chance to find someone who could help their cause.


    However, travelling through universes was not something that could be done casually.


    There was currently only one way, and that was through him.


    ¡°The Flash¡±. A speedster connected to a force as old as time itself.


    Unfortunately, he wasn''t the only one. A monster from his world followed him. One with the same abilities he had, granting universal travel.


    The fate of a world was at stake, and he would do anything to save it. If it meant abandoning innocent lives to achieve his goal, then to The Flash of Earth -1, there was no contest.


    A flash of yellow lightning streaked across the city, with one motive. Get as far away from that demon as possible.


    The innocent lives would have to serve as obstacles to buy him a few extra seconds of time. For someone who could run faster than the naked eye could catch, a few seconds was enough to do a lot.


    And so he ran. As fast as his feet could propel him.


    The Tachyon enhancer Stone and Wells had made precisely to boost his speed to achieve the required velocity to travel through the Spatial breach, simply because he wasn''t fast enough, glowed blue, feeding him with excess speed power.


    Like a body builder who had just chugged down an energy drink or an addict just getting high on a hard drug, his body cells screamed with what he could only describe as joy as he moved at faster speeds he had never touched before.


    His whole being had never felt so alive........ But Flash didn''t have any trace of joy on his face.


    His mind didn''t take the time to savor the feeling of breaking through his speed limits.


    Simply because, it wasn''t enough. Taking a brief look behind, his face turned ugly as he accurately caught a glimpse of the blue lightning bolt, speeding towards him in the distance.


    With both arms swinging back and forth, parallel to each other, the Speed Demon shuttled through the cars on the road with extreme finesse.


    The blue lightning and the black suit made him look like a God Of Death, hell-bent on catching a soul fleeing from the underworld.


    Even with a few seconds head start, Zoom was catching up.


    ZOOM!


    ZOOM!


    Throughout all of Providence, two colored lightning streaks zipped throughout the entire city in a mad, high-speed chase.


    People on the sidewalks, in the buildings, within their vehicles...... Seeing this scene, were amazed and somewhat frightened.


    What was going on?


    Why was this happening?


    Many people quickly rushed towards the nearest shelter hey could find. Some left their cars on the roads and simple ran for their lives, hiding nearby.


    In less than two minutes, all the streets of Providence were deserted.


    The streaks of lightning continued to zoom about the city, making its present known just about everywhere.


    Just when they wondered when it was going to end, what welcomed their ears was silence. Sweet yet completely uneasy silence.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Is it over?¡± Most people asked themselves inwardly and sum even uttered it out verbally as they emerged from their hiding places and crouched positions.


    Seeing the lightning was gone, it took a few seconds before many breathed a sigh of relief.


    The sense of uneasiness quickly washed over them


    Less than a minute later, however, the same question appeared in the minds of the vast majority.


    What the hell just happened?


    What was that lightning? And most importantly, Where did it go?


    ..........


    Zoom!


    Zoom!


    Two figures ran out of the city limits at speeds no human could ever hope to imagine.


    Their figures trailed on the road as lightning bolts chased after them.


    Flash at this moment was extremely depressed.


    After running, the hard truth had slapped him in the face, and he had to admit, it stung.


    Catching up.


    Even with the Tachyon enhancer, effectively increasing his speed almost twofold, Zoom remained faster than him.


    The black speedster had narrowed the distance between them, leaving the scarlet speedster on the run like a child from a nightmare.


    With just a little more time, he would definitely catch up to him, and continuous evasive maneuvers could only delay him for so long.


    Eventually, he would undoubtedly suffer a fate worse than death at his hands.


    Flash ran while staying as calm as he could. In terms of speed, he knew he wasn''t Zoom''s match. So outrunning him wasn''t in his plan to begin with.


    He wasn''t as fast as him, so in a direct confrontation, he would certainly lose. But that wasn''t in his plan either.


    He knew his situation. Plainly put, he couldn''t defeat him. However, that didn''t mean someone else couldn''t.


    The chase went on. Out towards the city outskirts, while crossing the bridge, Flash disembarked and ran across the water towards the distance.


    Seeing this, Zoom followed without hesitation.


    They continued the Tom and Jerry chase for about thirty-two seconds, and the distance between them was infinitely close. In a few more seconds, Zoom would be running directly beside him.


    At that moment, ¡°Flash¡± saw something in the distance, that made his heart light up with Joy.


    With narrowed eyes and a firm conviction, he ran forwards with everything he had towards the particularly conspicuous mountain that was infinitely enlarging as he got closer.


    Mount Justice!


    Situated in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. Not far from Providence.


    Years had passed, and it was one of the key locations that was destroyed in his universe in the Justice League battle.


    In his world, this entire place was nothing more than a dead area, completely devoid of all life. The grounds still had craters and dried up bones, depicting the destruction that had taken place.


    Not a single blade of grass grew in this area in the years that passed.


    If he didn''t know and hadn''t been specifically told that this place still existed and would possibly be close to wherever he appeared, he might not even recognize it anymore.


    Mount Justice was the League''s primary headquarters back on his world. And it was still here in this one.


    He might not be able to handle Zoom, but that didn''t mean someone else couldn''t.


    This was Mount Justice. Surely, there must be a Leaguer with enough strength to defeat zoom.


    Even if he couldn''t defeat him, he could definitely battle him to a draw.


    As for how to gain their attention....... What do you think he had been running around for?


    With his speed, he could reach the city in less than ten seconds.


    ¡°Gotcha!¡± Unfortunately, Lady luck was on a phone call today and had no time to pay attention to those who needed her.


    A literal lightning bolt was thrown from Zoom''s hand, advancing rapidly and ultimately hitting the scarlet speedster right on the back.


    ¡°Arghh!¡± The pain was excruciating, and the force was powerful, effectively knocking him off balance and blasting him forward.


    His body like a skipping rock bounced off the water twice and rose into the air, before plunging downwards for a third time.


    However, someone got to him first. Zoom appeared quickly before ¡°Flash¡± and hit the speedster with a lightning quick punch to the chest.


    The body of the Flash was slammed forward with remarkable force into the air as he left the reach of the water, slamming into a tree in the small jungle after the beach.


    The small tree was smashed into pieces, completely unable to bear the power that came at Flash''s expense.


    BANG!


    Flash crashed to the floor with a remarkable bang, blood spewing out of the speedsters mouth.


    His vision grew hazy as intense dizziness assaulted him.


    Unable to gather his composure, he was unable to react to the lightning fast kicked aimed at his face.


    Flash was stepped on, his face pushing against the loamy soil.


    ¡°Is that the fastest you can go Flash?¡± The distorted voice reached his ears like a nightmare as zoom hoisted him up.


    ¡°Let me show you true speed¡±. His words were accompanied by his fists coated with lightning, striking several times in a second, leaving afterimages for the regular observer.


    The Flash received punch after punch almost everywhere from all directions. His head and body tilted in the opposite direction whenever a blow landed, and the bruises that appeared on his face grew increasingly with each hit.


    Pow!


    Flash fell to the floor, almost unable to move as the last punch hit him straight on the face.


    ¡°Do you think........ That with a speed enhancer, you can outrun me?¡±


    Flash was once again hoisted up by the neck, his feet dangling in the air as his half closed eyes gazed into that pitch black.


    ¡°I''m sure Wells would have known better¡±.


    ¡°I have killed every speedster on our Earth and their speed has been taken for my own, effectively making me...... the fastest man alive...... You will be no different¡±.


    ¡°I will take you back to our Earth, strip you of your abilities and end your miserable existence, before coming back here to reap the fruits of your labor......¡±


    ¡°...... No one, can save you..... From my hands¡±.


    Zoom said apathetically. His hands moved, reaching out to the mask that concealed the identity of The Flash.


    ¡°You should agree with me...... Wally¡­.¡±


    The mask was taken off and what was shown was the brutally beaten up face of a ginger haired boy with fair skin.


    ¡°You too, like your predecessors, weren''t fast enough......¡±


    KREEE!!!


    At that moment, a loud scream pushed from the distance, scattering everything in its path.


    ¡°Argh¡±. Zoom screamed in pain as the attack landed squarely on his chest area, sending him flying towards the water.


    ¡°The Flash''s¡± body fell from his grasp, almost landing on the floor but was held up by an invisible force.


    ¡°....... You villains talk too much¡±.


    A voice uttered, followed by the appearance of an attractive young woman, with long blonde hair, blue eyes and a slender yet toned build.


    Her distinctive costume, which includes a black, one-piece bustier-leotard combination under a blue lapelled jacket, with gray stockings with seams up was particularly eye catching as she fell from that air, landing accurately on her two feet with a slight crouch.


    Dinah Lance, A.K.A. Black canary.


    And she wasn''t the only one.


    ........


    Meanwhile, sitting at a particular spot on top of the mountain. Two figures, one male and one female, watched the unfolding events in the distance with relish.


    Their figures weren''t real, but rather had an illusory feel to it. Almost like they were there but, at the same time, weren''t there at all.


    A rock could be thrown right at them and would pass through without any form of hindrance.


    Seeing the scene, the blonde female who was hugging her knees and had her heart in her throat visibly relaxed for a second, before turning to glare at the black-haired male who had no expression whatsoever.


    ¡°Would you stop looking at me like that?¡± Amari said, without turning his head in her direction.


    Kara sighed, seeing this. Her gaze shifted from The Deviant to the battle happening below, and a frown adorned her face.


    ¡°Don''t you think we should do something¡±.


    ¡°....... You have a point¡±. Amari said with a thoughtful look on his face. ¡°Yes, we totally should¡±.


    Kara was surprised. She completely expected him to either ignore her or flatly outright refuse her.


    What the hell was happening?


    Was the sun rising from the West today?


    However, then next scene directly drove her to speechlessness.


    Snap!


    The dark-haired male snapped his fingers and two bowls of popcorn appeared out of thin air. What surprised her even more was that they weren''t sitting on the hard, cold rock anymore but on two comfy lounge chairs.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Now that''s better. Don''t you agree¡±.


    ¡°That''s not what I meant¡±.


    ¡°It''s what I felt¡±. He answered nonchalantly.


    ¡°....¡±

 Chapter 57 Paralyzed, Superboys Death

    ¡°They need help!¡± Kara said as she watched the scene unfold.


    ¡°As a citizen of the United States, I have the freedom of choice in deciding whether I want to render help to another or not¡±.


    Amari responded indifferently, his eyes still watching the good show in the distance.


    Kara frowned.


    ¡°If you''re not going to do something, then I will¡±.


    She stood up as her words fell.


    ¡°I wouldn''t do that if I were you¡±. Amari shook his head nonchalantly.


    ¡°You may not know who he is, but I do. And I speak with all seriousness when I say that the current you..... Is no match for him. Your overall ability can''t match up to a quarter of his speed¡±.


    Amari spoke the truth with no other intentions, but the plain tone entering Kara''s ears made it seem like something else.


    Disdain?


    The Young Kryptonian frowned with displeasure.


    ¡°But I''m kryptonian. You said it yourself, under a yellow sun, we''re almost indestructible. Even if I can''t beat him, he can''t do anything to me either¡±.


    ¡°A kryptonian with only a few hours of sunlight absorbed into your cells. I also said that the accumulation of solar energy takes time. And the majority of your time since you left the Phantom Zone was spent in the Axiom. A separate dimension where your cells can''t absorb solar radiation. You are Kryptonian, not invincible. You jump in there right now, not only will you be of no help, you could, no scratch that. You will get yourself killed¡±.


    Hearing his words, Kara felt mildly uncomfortable.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Amari raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Why do you choose to sit back and watch?¡±


    Amari was silent for a few seconds before replying.


    ¡°Because I''m the neutral party¡±. Turning his head to watch the scene, he continued.


    ¡°Unlike your cousin, I''m not a hero. I have no overwhelming sense of Human Justice to speak of, nor do I have the urge to commit what the humans deem evil. I guess you can say I''m in the gray area. I''m not one of them, so I have no desire to try to act like them. Furthermore, I won''t cause them any trouble, but I won''t put on a cape, tights, go around saving people I''ve never even met before and protecting a world I''m not from. It''s a thankless task, one which humans show very little gratitude. For now, I''m nothing more than an observer trying to satisfy my curiosity as best as I can. I think it''s best it remains that way because I doubt my ¡°Sense Of Justice¡± will get along with your cousin''s¡±.


    Kara opened her mouth, wanting to say something but finding it difficult to refute.


    Amari paid her no attention. Looking at the Black Flash from another earth, his thoughts roamed a bit.


    Superman''s motto was basically the same as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in the Marvel Universe next door. Morals instilled into him by his father figure.


    With great power, comes great responsibility.


    And that great responsibility involved the no kill rule. He had nothing against Superman.


    From certain points of view, his determination to stick with his principles even after seeing the amount of death and destruction those villains he caught on a monthly basis brought to society, abstaining from turning into a murderer and a dictator, was in a way, quite admirable.


    However, for him?


    As the humans say...... What a bunch of horse crap.


    Why would he join in the cat and mouse game of catching, caging and breaking out only to repeat the same process over and over for years?


    That was seriously demoralizing, inefficient and a complete waste of time.


    Amari was sure that if he choose to become a hero, the first thing he would do was wipe out all those he himself deemed unredeemable.


    Use the chicken to warn the monkeys. That was something the League could never accept, and he didn''t care.


    It''s not like he wanted to.


    I won''t, go against them, neither will I help them, but it should be no problem to add a little unwanted chaos to the equation right?


    Just to get rid of my boredom for a while.


    Then sit back, relax, and watch the show unfold.


    ...........


    ¡°Arghh!¡± A loud roar escaped from the slitted area on his mask that represented his mouth.


    It carried not just pain, though, but also hate and fury.


    Mad!


    Ever since he became one of the rulers of Earth [-1], Zoom had never been injured. Hell, he hadn''t even been hit ever since the first flash disappeared.


    Outraged.


    However, no matter how murderous he was, Zoom couldn''t do anything about it. That Goddamn Canary cry was effective.


    The Black Flash felt completely disoriented as dizziness assaulted him. His ears hurt badly, and his body coordination was out of balance.


    The body of the speedster landed at the edge of the beach as water rushed up to wash over him.


    Dinah looked at the figure in black tights, fallen at the end of the beach, and released another Canary cry.


    She had seen enough on the quick rush over here. She didn''t know who Zoom was, but the fact that he was a speedster said it all.


    Just Like Barry, all speedsters were not to be underestimated, and one controlled Canary Cry wasn''t enough to knock one out.


    Against someone faster than sound, negligence meant possible death. And she didn''t dare to bet on the fact that this scary looking speedster would stay his hand if he had the chance.


    Kree!


    Sonic waves blasted out from her mouth, heading towards its target.


    The sound of crackling electricity could be heard followed by a streak of blue lightning.


    Zoom!


    Blast!


    The sonic scream missed and smashed against a rising wave in the distance, causing a large splash.


    Black Canary''s eyes widened as she tried to adjust herself, but her body wasn''t able to respond fast enough to match her instincts.


    Bolts of lightning appeared by her right side followed by emergence of the black flash who mercilessly struck at her back


    Crack!


    The sound of something snapping could be heard.


    Argh!" Dinah let out a pained yell from her vocal cords.


    Her slender body that took on a bent shape due to the last hit on her spinal cord fell downwards as she lost all feeling in her lower limbs.


    However, her voice was quickly gagged as Zoom grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up with inhuman strength.


    ¡°So the Black Siren is still alive in this universe¡±.


    His fingers on her throat tightened, cutting off her air supply and preventing her from releasing her Canary cry.


    ¡°Ack!¡±. Dinah gasped for air in panic. The suffocation brought about by the demonic hand on her throat made her breathless.


    ¡°I never did like that voice of yours¡±. The distorted voice sounded as zoom raised his arm, vibrating with blue arcs of lightning, for a fatal blow.


    Due-ok!


    The wind split apart as a fast-moving object cut through the air.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The arm that was about to strike, changed its motive and reached behind in a grabbing posture.


    Turning around to see the arrow firmly held in his grasp, the speedster raised his gaze up towards the mountain.


    Looking into the far distance, nothing could be made out from the darkness that surrounded the back mountain. The high grass, trees, and plants gave perfect cover for whoever was ambushing due to the darkness of night.


    His black eyes peering into the distance failed to notice the movement from the ground beneath him.


    ¡°Allies of yours?¡± Zoom asked sarcastically. At that moment, however, the figure of Miss Martian rose from the ground, gaining a firm grip on Black Canary and activating density shifting.


    Dinah, whose body was in the state of density shifting, escaped Zoom''s grasp and was pulled into the floor.


    ¡°Megan?¡± Black Canary''s eyes widened, wandering when the former had reached underneath her.


    Miss Martian didn''t respond, but sank deeper into the ground and fled.


    Seeing Black Canary being rescued, Artemis, who was hiding under the cover of a tree in the far distance, pressed a button on her bow.


    The arrow within Zoom''s grasp suddenly lit up with an orange color, and then.....


    BANG!


    The arrow exploded, but it didn''t release any fire. Instead, a large amount of glue-like substance burst out from the arrow tip and multiplied at a rapid pace.


    The substance first covered Zoom''s hand before spreading, and less than three seconds later, the black speedster was covered in the substance.


    Seeing him submerged in hardened glue, Artemis shouted through the mind link.


    ¡°Now!¡±


    ¡°Bait? Clever¡± Looking at his empty hand, Zoom with only his head out in the open narrowed his eyes.


    His eyes fell on the floor through which Black Canary had escaped, and his gaze froze when he saw his shadow being covered by another shadow under the moonlight.


    A second later.....


    BOOM.


    The area surrounding several meters suddenly caved in as someone crashed with immense force.


    Crack appeared on the ground and the vegetation in a few meters distance was uprooted.


    Artemis looked at the dust cloud with a bit of uneasiness in her heart.


    ¡°Did it work?¡± She questioned uncertainly without her lips moving.


    A few inches away from her, Megan rose from the floor beside the female Archer, her hands supporting Black Canary.


    Disabling density shifting, Miss Martian suddenly fell to her knees as fine drops of sweat adorned her face.


    ¡°Gasp...... Gasp!¡± Panting heavily, the Martian felt a wave of dizziness and exhaustion overwhelm her. Density shifting was a hard technique to master.


    Activating it for herself alone would put heavy strain on her body and mind, much less with someone else.


    ¡°I....... I don''t know¡±. She replied with heavy breathing.


    ¡°Who is this guy?¡± Artemis couldn''t help but ask with a frown, her gaze peering into the distance.


    ¡°I.....¡±


    ¡°Ugh..... No¡­" Dinah groaned in pain.


    ¡°Are you ok?¡± Seeing their currently limp fighting instructor and League guardian, Artemis''s face changed as she asked worriedly.


    ¡°No¡­ Ugh..... I..... I can''t feel my legs¡±.


    Dinah''s facial expressions portrayed how much pain she was in. Her chest heaved dramatically, and her nose wrinkled as she uttered with gritted teeth.


    The pupils of the two Proteges widened inexplicably, their bodies trembling slightly.


    ¡°We need to get you out of here. Where''s Wally!¡±


    ¡°No, you don''t understand. You need to leave now. This is not something you can handle¡­.¡±


    Dinah cut in with an anxious tone.


    ¡°... Contact the League immediately¡±.


    ......


    The dust cleared quickly, revealing the face of a young man with black hair, blue eyes and a black T-shirt that sported the classic ¡°S¡± symbol that was so popular in Metropolis.


    Observing his surroundings, Superboy''s face morphed to form a slight frown. He knew that his attack had missed, as he didn''t find the feeling of colliding with someone else.


    Straightening his body from his crouching position, his gaze scanned the area around him, and Superboy''s vigilance shot up.


    ¡°Huh..... Where did he¡­.?¡± Looking left and right, his target was nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°He''s gone¡±. Miss Martian heard Superboy''s message.


    ¡°Gone?¡± She turned her to look in that direction.


    At that moment.


    Zoom!


    A flash of blue lightning streaked throughout the back mountain, speeding through every nook and cranny..... as if searching for something.


    The eyes of the three women widened.


    ¡°Found You¡±. There was a blue flash of light, followed by a distorted voice sounding from behind them, causing their hair to stand on end.


    Artemis quickly reached towards her quiver to pick out a bow. However, she wasn''t fast enough.


    The bow was knocked out of her hand, followed by a heavy lightning fist.


    Blood flowed from her mouth followed by a slight cracking sound as the attack hit her face, near the neck area.


    Thud!


    The archer''s body fell face-first into the dirt.


    ¡°Artemis!¡± M''gann screamed, Her mind went blank and her eyes wide with shock and anger.


    The sound reached Superboy''s ears, causing his face to change.


    He exerted force through his legs and pushed off the ground, causing the already large crater caused by his descent to enlarge.


    For Miss Martian''s scream, Zoom couldn''t give a damn. He vibrated his hand at intense speed before thrusting it towards Megan.


    The Black Speedster didn''t want to waste time entangling himself with these ....... children.


    Like ¡°The Flash¡± said, this wasn''t his universe. There were too many things he didn''t know about, and spending more time than he should, could get him into potentially serious trouble.


    For now, it wasn''t worth the risk, especially if the Justice League was still a thing on this universe.


    If he was surrounded, who knew how many enemies he would have to face.


    Even with his level of speed, he was far from invincible.


    The hand vibrating with electric arcs moved at a speed unseen by human eyes, straight at Megan''s chest.


    Superboy''s expression changed drastically. However, the Kryptonian clone was too far away to stop it.


    At that moment, however, Miss Martian, whose eyes had turned white, opened her mouth and screamed.


    A vast amount of telekinetic force, pushed forward.


    Zoom felt that tremendous force slam him straight on his torso, sending him flying.


    The black speedster was pushed a considerable distance away, falling to the ground and rolling on the floor.


    Bang!


    Zoom''s back slammed onto a large Boulder.


    ¡°Ugh¡­.¡±. He let out a pained groan. Telekinesis? Looks like these..... kids weren''t as easy to deal with as he thought.


    He thought to himself as he raised his head up, the first thing coming to view was a fist rushing towards him at remarkable speed, close to breaking the sound barrier.


    Of course, to others, it could be considered Super speed.


    For him, it was simply moving faster than the others.


    ¡°Raar!¡± The Kryptonian clone let out an angry roar as he dashed forward with his fist punching forwards.


    The black speedster was covered in blue lightning, simply sidestepping away from the attack.


    The punch missed, Zoom was unhurt. The same couldn''t be said for the boulder.


    The human sized fist smashed against the goat rock, pulverizing it to pieces


    Seeing his attack miss, Conner immediately adjusted his body, taken from the lessons black Canary had given to him on actual combat.


    His legs braked sharply on the ground, causing his feet to sink into the soil several inches.


    Transferring force, he twisted his waist from his left to the right, swinging his fist back towards the other side.


    The attack was textbook, the swinging fist pushed forward with remarkable skill and power, but unfortunately, the finishing touch couldn''t make it.


    Zoom disappeared from his position again, appearing a distance away, leaving Conner''s attack hitting nothing but empty air.


    ¡°You look just like he does¡±. Zoom tilted his head slightly, As if examining Conner''s features.


    ¡°Unfortunately...... Much weaker¡±.


    The words reached Conner''s ears, making him grit his teeth in frustration and anger.


    He knew the person who he was referring to.


    ¡°It''s enough to beat you¡±. He dashed forwards as his words dropped, throwing yet again another punch.


    Lightning flashed and Superboy felt nothing.


    ¡°That fact, will be your undoing¡±.


    ¡°Shut Up!¡± Superboy roared and attacked frenziedly yet again.


    Entirely ignoring Zoom''s right hand that was vibrating at extreme speeds.


    ¡°Superboy, Stop!¡± Megan, who noticed something, was wrong, screamed anxiously.


    However, it was too late.


    Time slowed down to the extreme.


    Looking at the Kryptonian clone who was less than a few inches away from him, Zoom easily moved to the side, dodging the attack yet again and thrust his hand forward.


    ¡°Ugh¡­.!¡± A heavy grunt escaped into the air.


    Time resumed its regular pace.


    Looking at the man in black standing less than a meter away, the distance between them as close as he needed. Superboy''s eyes widened.


    ¡°Conner." Megan screamed in fright.


    Superboy lowered his head and looked downwards. The sight of his opponent''s arm, piercing straight through his chest, was particularly eye-catching.


    The outstretched arm, set in a punching motion, slowly fell to his sides, losing its strength.


    ¡°Just like I thought. Your cells aren''t as dense as his¡±. With a lightning arc, Zoom pulled his hand out of Superboy''s chest.


    The latter had his mouth open, wanting to say something, but ultimately couldn''t as his body obeyed gravity and fell to the floor.


    Standing over the body of the fallen Kryptonian, Zoom frowned under the mask. His gaze turned towards the body of Earth -1 Flash that was still laying in its position before turning towards Black Canary and Miss Martian, who both had eyes filled with horror.


    ¡°Next time...... You''re next¡±.


    And with that, his body turned into flashes of lightning, speeding away from the scene. The body of the Earth -1 Flash was taken with him.


    ..............

 Chapter 58 Resurrect

    ¡°By Rao!¡± Seeing Superboy getting pierced through the chest, Kara''s eyes widened.


    ¡°..... Well, well, would you look at that¡±. Amari squinted his eyes, looking at the scene in front of him.


    Sitting on top of the mountain, the evening was particularly windy.


    ¡°Quite cruel. He went directly for the killing blow¡±.


    ¡°..... Killing? You don''t mean.....?¡± Kara asked uncertainly and uneasily.


    ¡°His hand directly passed through the physical defense, stabbing into Superboy''s heart. The outcome is what you think it is¡±.


    ¡°A dead kryptonian clone¡±.


    He answered lightly.


    ¡°I expected Zoom to win easily. Maybe kill a few¡­.¡± Putting his hand on his chin, his eyes showed a thoughtful look.


    To be more specific, he meant two. Black Canary and Artemis.


    Unlike Superboy, who although was far from matching Superman, had kryptonian blood, the two women were basically lambs to be slaughtered.


    And in a way, he was right. His gaze shifted imperceptibly towards Black Canary whose eyes were wide open but couldn''t move properly to help, and Artemis who was knocked to the floor.


    ¡°Judging from that slight cracking sound.....¡± His eyes lit up with a dark purple glow, and the colors of everything within his vision changed.


    Focusing on the fallen archer, the greatly enhanced insight brought by his eyes allowed him to see her internal structure.


    ¡°Just as I thought¡±. Amari muttered. ¡°A neck fracture........ The poor girl is unlucky¡±.


    ¡°Judging from the way things look, if she doesn''t get help in time, the best result would be brain damage or quadriplegia. The worse case scenario would be another death¡­.¡±


    His gaze moved back to the main scene. Zoom pulled his hand away from Conner''s chest while the latter fell to the ground.


    ¡°No!¡± Seeing this, Kara couldn''t hold it anymore and jumped down. Amari didn''t stop her, transporting her main body back to the real world, and watched her descend shakily in the air.


    ¡°...... That is..... If I let the first death stay that way¡­.¡±


    ¡°Guess it''s time they finally meet¡±. Amari said softly in the evening wind.


    ............


    The flash of blue lightning streaked away from Happy Harbor, disappearing from the small town and Rhode Island in seconds.


    ZOOM!


    The blue light illuminated M''gann''s face for a split second before everything to the dark of night.


    Her mouth was slightly ajar, the momentary whoosh cause her hair to flutter with the wind.


    ¡°Conner!¡± Seeing Zoom disappear, M''gann flew towards the teenage boy fallen on the floor.


    Anyone looking at him would think he was simply unconscious.


    ¡°Artemis, we need to get help. Conner, he''s...... he''s¡­.¡± M''gann''s stuttered, realizing something.


    ¡°Artemis?¡± Turning her back, the unmoving body of the female Archer stayed where it was. Completely unresponsive to her call.


    ¡°Megan.....¡± Dinah called out, but Miss Martian didn''t seem to hear her.


    ¡°She''s hurt¡±.


    ¡°Megan!¡±


    ¡°No..... No¡­"


    ¡°You need..... To contact the League. They need to know something''s happened.....¡±.


    Miss Martian''s face was marred with confusion, anxiety, and fear.


    She had never experienced a situation like this before. One of her friends was hurt while the other was.....


    Seeing Superboy''s body laying unmoving, tears welled up in her eyes.


    She had enhanced hearing, and precisely because of hay, she could hear that Conner''s heart wasn''t beating.


    He was......


    ¡°Megan you need to get yourself together..... Above you¡±.


    Black Canary stopped before yelling out anxiously.


    Miss Martian was taken aback before.


    The sound of something falling from the air came to her ears as she raised her head up.


    Her vigilance was raised to the extreme, but the scene that came to sight was not what she expected.


    "Whoa.....!


    Kara, who was still new to, flying stumbled in the air, making several unwanted spins and flips before barely landing on her feet, stumbling a few steps.


    The gloomy atmosphere caused by the recent tragedy was slightly diluted.


    M''gann eyed Kara warily, her right hand outstretched as she questioned.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I.....¡± Kara opened her mouth and raised her hands in the air. ¡°...... Take it easy, There''s no need to attack. I mean no harm¡±.


    Her words were slow and soft.


    M''gann''s eyes narrowed.


    At that moment, an orange lightning blur ran into the scene, pulling to a halt. The momentum dispersed as he slid forward a bit, dressed in his classic yellow speed suit with red pants.


    Spiky red hair with noticeable freckles on his face.


    ¡°I got here as fast as I could. What''s the emer....¡±.


    Wally asked as soon as he appeared on site, but his words clung to the back of his throat.


    ¡°Damn! What happened¡±. The speedster sped to the Artemis''s side, raising her body from the dirt.


    ¡°What always happens to you and your uncle. You''re late¡±. The voice sounded near his ears, causing the speedster to widen his eyes and run out of the way.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Appearing in the opposite direction with Artemis in his arms, Wally looked upward where a figure floated midair and his face morphed to shock.


    ¡°It''s you!¡±. He exclaimed.


    ¡°How ironic, don''t you think. The fastest man alive and his nephew, the fastest kid in the world, both are always late for the important events¡±.


    Amari ignored him as his feet touched the ground.


    ¡°You did all this?¡± Wally gnashed his teeth with fury and hatred in his eyes.


    ¡°If I did do this, you would all be dead¡±. Amari rolled his eyes.


    His gaze stayed on the female Archer for a second before speaking.


    ¡°Take note. If you don''t take her to a hospital, there''s a high chance she will become disabled. Stick around long enough and she''ll die¡±.


    ¡°Huh¡­.?¡± Wally was stunned. He just arrived and still didn''t understand the situation.


    ¡°Neck fracture¡±. Amari shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.


    ¡°Wally, Go!¡± M''gann''s voice sounded in Wally''s head.


    ¡°I can''t leave you here..... With him¡±.


    ¡°Artemis is more important".


    ¡°But¡­"


    ¡°Go!¡±


    Hearing this, Wally didn''t continue to argue. He knew what to do when it mattered most. The life of a friend hung in the balance.


    ¡°If you try anything, I will make sure you pay¡±.


    Looking at Amari, he uttered in the most threatening tone he could muster, before running away.


    Watching the departing figure, Amari felt slightly amused. In a way, Kidflash''s tardiness had practically saved his life.


    Zoom left without finishing everyone off, mainly for two reasons. One, Miss Martian who could density shift and had telekinesis was not easy to deal with in a short amount of time.


    Two, he felt he had spent enough time here.


    If Wally had appeared fifteen seconds earlier, that probably wouldn''t be the case.


    Zoom was obsessed with speed.


    He would hunt down anyone he came across who possessed the speed force.


    But Wally''s speed was still pretty weak. It was unknown if Zoom would be truly tempted.


    ¡°You..... You are.....¡± Miss Martian stuttered as she tried to put her thoughts into words.


    ¡°Take it easy, dear, I won''t bite¡±. He said with amusement.


    ¡°Is he?.....¡±


    Amari''s thoughts were interrupted.


    Raising his head, he found the young kryptonian staring at the dead Conner with a frown on her face.


    ¡°No doubt about it. He''s dead¡±.


    Amari tilted his head a bit, seeing her clenching her fists.


    ¡°I could have done something. You could have done something¡±.


    Kara said.


    ¡°And?¡± Raising an eyebrow, he asked in puzzlement.


    What was she expecting?


    ¡°You could have stopped him¡±.


    ¡°But I didn''t¡±.


    ¡°Exactly¡±.


    ¡°..... So?¡±


    A sense of frustration found itself bubbling within the blonde female.


    She felt like she was punching cotton.


    ¡°....... It''s not right¡±.


    ¡°This is what would have happened if I didn''t come here. It''s best to let fate take its course in these matters¡±. He rebutted with a bland tone.


    Completely ignoring the fact that his very appearance had taken the destiny of this universe to paths it should never have treaded.


    ¡°...¡±


    Kara fell silent.


    Although they had only known each other for less than two weeks, Kara could say that she had a ¡°rough¡± understanding of this man.


    Difficult to understand, but she knew that this argument would go nowhere.


    Amari considered himself a ¡°neutral party¡±. Completely indifferent to anything that didn''t directly or indirectly concern his matters.


    The feeling he gave her was someone detached from reality. In the world, yet did not belong to it at all.


    Even towards her. She could sense it. That vague yet highly resounding sense of alienation.


    He wasn''t cold, he wasn''t proud, he wasn''t arrogant, he wasn''t disdainful. He was just indifferent.


    Too indifferent.


    To everything.


    For someone with his abilities, it could be considered a trait to be wary of.


    How such a person could even exist was beyond her knowledge? Someone who truly wasn''t good, nor evil.


    At this point, she could basically confirm that as long as it had nothing to do with him, he could sit back and watch the world crumble to pieces while eating popcorn and drinking an extra large cup of soda.


    Not because he loved what he was seeing, or he longed to see the world destroyed..... But because...... It was interesting.


    It was the way someone react when watching a movie. He saw them as........ Movie characters?


    Kara seriously doubted her absurd thoughts at that moment.


    But how else could she explain it?


    Seeing her go silent, Amari didn''t say anything else.


    In the past two weeks, Kara had undergone noticeable changes in character.


    ¡°She''s truly changed a lot. Transformed from a sad little kryptonian to a quirky earth teenager¡±. Amari thought with a bit of amusement.


    ¡°Just a little stronger than you''d expect¡±.


    However, when it came to her character, he had to let out a slight sigh. Kara Zor-El, was, in many ways, similar to her cousin Superman.


    Their sense of Justice and their will to do good, made him wonder if the entire House Of EL had been infected by some kind of nice guy virus.


    Hopefully, it wasn''t contagious. At least, it didn''t work on Lex Luthor.


    He understood what she was trying to imply, and he couldn''t care less.


    The little Kryptonian was enjoyable to talk to every once in a while, but that was it.


    The earth, and all the people within, meant nothing to him and the fact that he had no interest in destroying it yet was a miracle on its own.


    He came here, simple to satisfy his curiosity and now, it was far from being satisfied.


    He could analyze some things, but that just added a lot more questions.


    What was Zoom doing in this universe? Why was he chasing Wally West? Why was wally west The Flash instead of Kidflash? How did he even get here?


    He felt like a row of dominoes were falling upon each other. One by one.


    With countless thoughts in his head, his gaze focused on Kara, wanting to say something. Seeing her gloomy expression, he couldn''t help but add.


    ¡°You do know you''re overreacting, right? He might look a lot like him, but he is not your cousin¡±.


    His words seemed to hit. Kara had a complicated expression on her face.


    ¡°I.....¡±.


    She turned to look at Conner. From the outline of his features, he looked exactly like Kal-El in the pictures and videos. Just way younger.


    ¡°It doesn''t matter¡±. Kara said after a moment of silence.


    ¡°He was made from Kal''El''s DNA. He has the blood of the House Of EL, so he''s practically family¡±. Unlike Superman, who found it a bit difficult to accept, Kara didn''t find the concept strange in the slightest.


    The way babies were created on Krypton was no secret. And recreating life through DNA was quite normal.


    ¡°Okay, where are you going with this?¡± Amari couldn''t help but ask.


    His curiosity was seriously stoked at the moment.


    ¡°....... Can you bring him back?¡± The words uttered from her mouth were shocking to anyone who heard it.


    A moment later, Kara realized what she was saying and regretted even asking.


    Bringing someone back?


    ¡°You want me to resurrect the dead?¡± The incredulity in his voice was a bit overwhelming.


    ¡°........ I mean...... There has to be a way, right? He isn''t a regular human after all......¡±.


    Her voice grew softer by the second.


    Thinking about it, was such a thing even possible?


    Even if it was, why was she asking?


    However, the next word turned her worldview around.


    ¡°Why should I?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    She didn''t know how to respond anymore.

 Chapter 59 Everything You Know

    ¡°..... You.....¡±. Kara had her eyes wide open in disbelief, and Megan equally had her teary eyes widen in shock.


    ¡°You mean¡­. You can¡­.?¡±


    ¡°Bring him back to life?¡± Amari interrupted with a raised eyebrow and waved his hand.


    ¡°Superman''s been revived under worse conditions in many universes. You Kryptonians are different, after all¡±.


    Turning his head to Conner''s dead body, he added.


    ¡°He''s been dead for less than three minutes and his brain is still active. As long as the right conditions are met, for Kryptonians, this can''t even be considered a real death¡±.


    ¡°That......¡± Slightly stumped, the young Kryptonian was a bit astounded. Her mind processed the words several times in a split second before her eyes widened once more.


    ¡°... Wait! You''ve been to other universes?¡±


    ¡°You could say that I come from other universes¡±. He shrugged indifferently.


    ¡°Your cousin has a knack for getting killed and being brought back to life¡±.


    Kara fell silent.


    This was....... Good.


    A bit too good when she thought about it.


    Knowing that under a yellow sun, Kryptonians got all these cool abilities was one thing, and knowing that The Axiom was in a separate dimension belonging exclusively to him was another, knowing that the multiverse theory was true took the cake..... But this?


    This was death they were talking about.


    Did he have the ability to resurrect the dead? Or was he going to use some kind of healing technology from another universe or a higher civilization or something similar to achieve it.


    Even Krypton couldn''t achieve such thing. The last known attempt was her aunt''s creation, known as the Eradicator. And even that was far from perfect.


    Also, why?


    It sounded too easy. Naive as she was, she didn''t believe that this guy who wouldn''t move a muscle for anything that didn''t concern him would suddenly ask her to give him a reason to ¡°help¡±.


    From what she could understand, this was practically a done deal. As long as she said something, he would do it.


    Then the problem came. Why would he want to do this when he could have just stopped it in the first place?


    Or was something as unimaginable as revival a causal thing that required no price for him?


    Kara wouldn''t believe the last one even if he told her so.


    ¡°You''d actually do it?¡± She asked with a bit of uncertainty and caution in her tone.


    ¡°If that''s what you really want, then yes¡±. Amari nodded.


    ¡°...... Why?¡± Even after much deliberation, Kara couldn''t help but ask.


    ¡°Am I really that bad?¡± Seeing her hesitation to accept even when she was the one who brought up the topic, he couldn''t help being amused.


    ¡°Um........¡±. She resisted the urge to say yes.


    ¡°Simple. Because I owe you a request¡±. Putting his hands into the pockets of his shorts, he looked at the surprised blonde with no expression.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Kara was stunned. ¡°When did he.....?¡±


    Her thoughts were cut off before she could even finish them.


    ¡°Don''t remember?¡± Tilting his head to the side, he continued without waiting for a reply.


    ¡°Theoretically speaking, our paths are not supposed to intersect. And according to the original timeline, your cousin, and you should have already met by this point. I intervened due to my need for your genes and altered that fate¡±.


    Gazing into the distance, his purple eyes showed a slight glow.


    ¡°I know you think I care about nothing, but that''s far from the truth¡±. Looking directly into her eyes, the young Kryptonian felt a little flustered.


    What was he trying to say?


    Where was he going with this?


    Could it be¡­.?


    The countless Romance movies that she had watched couldn''t help but flash through her mind.


    Could something so cheesy actually happen in real life?


    But they had just met not long ago.


    ¡°I always......... Keep my word¡±. Kara''s eyes that were going wide dimmed instantly.


    Looking at the indifferent face that held all seriousness, she felt that what he said made absolute sense.


    Now she understood why he was even giving her the opportunity. This guy simply didn''t want to owe anyone anything.


    She had no idea if reviving Conner would cost a heavy price for him, but he definitely wanted to use this opportunity to wipe the slate clean. Obviously, he didn''t want her to use whatever favor he owed her to make him shift his ¡°neutral¡± status for any reason in the possible future.


    At least, that was what she thought.


    ¡°What a......¡± Countless words emerged in her inner dialogue.


    Amari didn''t know about her inner thoughts.


    ¡°So basically, you''d be using the promise I gave to you to revive him¡±.


    And there it was.


    For a minute, Kara had the urge to go up and slam him in the face with her small fist.


    He could have just stopped the whole thing from happening, but he watched on the sidelines like a movie spectator.


    This was obviously the rhythm of chasing somebody away.


    Did he want nothing to do with her?


    Seeing the change in her facial expressions, Amari knew what this blonde female was thinking about. Although slightly speechless, he made no effort to correct her thinking.


    Amari simply felt like letting her know she could have the clone revived if she wanted.


    That it was an option in the first place.


    After all, he took something from her and felt like doing something in return. This wasn''t an emotional response. It was simply him standing on his principles of an equal exchange.


    Although this exchange might not be completely equal, but he didn''t mind that much.


    He took several steps forward, standing in front of the kneeling Miss Martian and the dead Superboy.


    She was still slightly dazed with all the information she had received.


    ¡°However, you need to make sure that''s what you really want to use your request on¡±.


    Kara frowned when hearing his words.


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    Amari bent down and replied without turning to face her.


    ¡°I mean, you can choose to have the clone revived, but you are automatically giving up on every other possibility¡±.


    ¡°Don''t consider your request to be a simple promise. Think of it like a genie granting you a wish. A wish on a more reasonable scale, of course. You can ask for the same level of power as your cousin, or perfect control of your abilities, which will only grow more powerful and out of control with each passing day. You could ask for the removal of your people''s inherent weaknesses, or the addition of a special ability even Superman doesn''t have. In short, as long as it doesn''t exceed the standard, I could grant you anything you want¡±.


    His plain voice and casual tone that seemed as if he were talking about nothing special was nothing short of a bombshell.


    ¡°Of course, you could just have him resurrected, if you feel it''s worth it. Like is said, It''s your decision¡±.


    Kara was completely dumbfounded.


    Megan at the side was shocked, and the paralyzed black Canary was even more wide-eyed.


    Was this akin to a devil''s temptation?


    Megan looked at Kara who was staring at Amari''s back and a felt anxious.


    Amari didn''t turn back, but he could feel that Kara''s eyes that were on his bending back wasn''t focused on him at all.


    The young kryptonian was lost in her thoughts.


    ¡°In the face of Power, countless possibilities and the life of a stranger, what would someone from the House of El, aside Clark Kent, choose¡±.


    Amari thought to himself with interest.


    Supergirl wasn''t Kal-El, and she hadn''t spent any time with him to be instilled with his beliefs and reasoning.


    However, the House Of El were an exceptional oddity in the kryptonian race. They all seemed to uphold that principle of doing the right thing above everything else.


    Even their race and home planet. Of course, they might not be the only ones.


    Conner and Kara had no intersection. It was only this evening she came to know that her cousin even had a clone. If he had just offered to save him, Kara might agree without thinking about it.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    But when a choice was placed, would she still do the same?


    This was testing her character. Did she have the same selflessness as Superman who would happily trade his own life for the world if need be?


    Amari knew that the chances of her showing the same level of selflessness were quite high, but he wanted to see it himself.


    With his level of vision, even when he wasn''t looking in her direction, he could see everything that was happening around him.


    And the look of contemplation on her face truly left him a bit surprised. If it were Clark Kent, as long as he knew that nothing was wrong with the revival, Amari was sure that he would give up the opportunity without a second thought.


    Black Canary, who at some point, had her back resting against a tree, watched the scene intently.


    Kara, who was in deep contemplation, was weighing her options.


    If she had met Clark and spent a good amount of time on Earth, she would probably also be selfless, but that wasn''t the case now.


    To her, Krypton was just destroyed. Although the trauma had passed somewhat, Kara still wasn''t all that open.


    She was now on a new planet, with no one familiar to her except her cousin, whom she hadn''t even met yet.


    And not only had they not met, that cousin who she was supposed to protect, had suddenly grown far older than her, living out most of his life while she had been trapped in a Goddamned timeless void for almost thirty years.


    Apart from survival which was her primary task, her secondary task, protecting Kal''El, was over before it even began.


    With the level of Power he now held, who needed protection wasn''t even a topic up for debate.


    No matter how it was, Kara, who was originally the older one, was a bit unwilling to suddenly be relegated to the level of a junior when she gave it much thought.


    And after using the Cerebral Transducer, although she didn''t gain knowledge of everything in the world, she knew some general concepts.


    For example, Superman wasn''t invincible.


    As long as someone had the right tools, even a regular human could take down the mighty Superman under the right conditions.


    The fact that her race would become weak and helpless under the influence of a little green rock honestly left her uncomfortable.


    Sure, it wasn''t everywhere, but there were dangerous people who still possessed it.


    Clark had nearly been killed several times by an Android robot with that same rock in his chest.


    Kara didn''t see herself as an earthling. Without meeting Clark, she couldn''t integrate with Earth''s lifestyle and thus, didn''t feel at ease.


    And seeing the amount of chaos and darkness in this world didn''t help matters either.


    Humans were dark hearted.


    Now, the chance to solve one of these two problems was here. Although this....... Superboy was the clone of her cousin, was it truly worth it to use such an opportunity on him?


    The wind blew, and the area was silent.


    Amari didn''t push. Just waited quietly.


    Megan had her heart in her throat, but she didn''t say a word.


    Less than thirty seconds later.


    Kara, whose eyes were unfocused had a firm expression return.


    ¡°Do it¡±.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Amari was slightly surprised. Even after hesitating, her final decision came back to this?


    Hearing his exclamation, Kara lowered her head and said.


    "If my parents were here, they would have told me to do the same thing. And..... it''s what ¡°he¡± would have chosen". Her slightly wavering voice fell into his ears.


    Apart from being slightly surprised, he didn''t have much reaction.


    Amari had expected this result. He just asked out of curiosity.


    In the end, Kara''s choice was due to three reasons.


    One, she was raised with such a heart.


    Two, Superboy, clone or not, was kryptonian and was created directly from her cousin''s genetic code. In a way, he was one of the few two blood relatives she had left in this universe.


    Three and most importantly, the other chips weren''t high enough.


    At least Amari thought so.


    If Kara knew that she and Clark weren''t the only Kryptonians out there, he wondered if she would still show such selflessness.


    But he wasn''t going to tell her that. The blonde had made her choice and he would respect it.


    He just owed her a favor.


    Speaking of which, that Brainiac who had a hobby of shrinking planets as collectibles should be coming soon?


    If he remembered right, the Artificial Intelligence with 12th level or was it 10th level intellect shrunk the city of Kandor and took it away.


    Not to mention, the city, Argo miraculously survived the destruction of krypton all due to the efforts of Kara''s father.


    All that aside, soon earth with half the Justice league left would have to defend against the scary AI. This was....... Something to look forward to.


    Amari, who was squatting stretched his hand towards Conner''s chest without, making any physical contact.


    ¡°As you wish¡±. His hand glowed with a bright yellow light covering it. The same light enveloped the dead kryptonian, lighting up his entire body for a few seconds before both glows disappeared.


    The night was silent.


    One.......


    Two.......


    Three seconds¡­


    ¡°Gasp!¡± The motionless body suddenly moved as Conner opened his mouth slightly and took in a deep breath.


    The stagnant heart was completely repaired, gained vitality and began to let out powerful heartbeats.


    Ba-dum


    Ba-dum


    Ba-dum


    ¡°Conner!¡± Seeing the breathing teenager, Miss Martian let out a cry of Joy.


    Kara by the side let her heart fall from her throat. Well..... Now the deed was done. There was no need to continue thinking about it.


    ¡°I admire your selflessness¡±. Standing upright, Amari uttered without turning back.


    ¡°Very few people would choose to do what you did in your shoes. It''s somewhat admirable¡±.


    The words seemed to have an effect, putting her in a much better mood.


    ¡°Foolish, but still admirable¡±. And another sentence made that good mood plummet once more.


    ¡°You.....¡± Kara had her teeth itch with anger. Why was this guy so annoying? Nothing good ever came from his mouth.


    She wanted to retort, but was interrupted before she could.


    ¡°You should stay here¡±.


    Amari said nonchalantly. He swept his gaze around the place, took a look at the mountain before turning around to face Lara and started walking forwards.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Kara looked puzzled.


    Why?


    ¡°Mount Justice is the League''s first HQ. Its significance is there¡±.


    At this point, he was standing side by side with her, except they''re facing opposite directions.


    ¡°The Justice League is currently Understaffed and Superboy literally died. What happened here will require Superman''s attention. You don''t have to go anywhere¡­.¡±.


    Saying that, his paused footsteps resumed normal pace as he walked away.


    ¡°He''ll come to you¡±. Listening to his words, Kara, whose attention was on the mountain hastily turned around to see his leaving figure.


    ¡°What about you? Where are you going?¡± She called out.


    He stopped yet again.


    ¡°After the speedster, of course. Like I said, I have detours to make¡±. He replied without turning around.


    ¡°Besides, although I saved him, it was under your request. He should be able to see his cousin who saved him by the time he wakes up¡±. Amari said, referring to Superboy.


    Understanding his words, Kara turned yet again to look at Conner. Although he wasn''t awake, his chest was, thankfully, rising and falling rhythmically.


    ¡°I.......¡±


    Boom!


    The sound of something breaking the sound barrier, alongside the strong whooshing of the wind, interrupted whatever the blonde wanted to say.


    She turned around only to catch a figure disappearing into the sky in a split second.


    Vaguely catching his departing figure, Kara was slightly depressed for some reason.


    On the back of Mount Justice, a blonde female stared blankly into the night sky with twinkling blue eyes.


    ...............


    Meanwhile, Somewhere in the Grand Canyon National Park


    Arizona


    United States


    ZOOM!


    A streak of blue lightning flashed throughout the entire area as if searching for something.


    ZOOM!


    Deep inside, the lightning stopped to reveal a humanoid figure dressed in black and wearing a demonic mask.


    In his left hand was some sort of device, while his right hand held the collar of the Flash suit.


    Being dragged miserably was the figure of Wally west, the Flash of Earth -1 like a rag doll.


    ¡°Where is it¡±. The distorted voice questioned to no one in particular as he moved the device in his hand from one angle to another like a female teen searching for signal on her phone.


    His figure flashed away, appearing in another location and repeating the same process.


    It continued as such before he finally arrived in a cave.


    The readings on the device started spiking off the charts.


    ¡°Ah! There it is¡±. Turning his gaze towards a certain direction, he picked up a stone and threw it over.


    The stone disappeared into thin air and the space where it disappeared distorted. The next moment, a blue portal appeared in the originally empty space.


    ¡°My way home¡±. Looking at the portal, Zoom uttered darkly.


    He turned around to look in the direction outside the cave.


    ¡°This world....... Once I prepare, I''ll be back for you. Just wait¡­.¡±. Uttering those words like a declaration, his gaze dropped to Wally west, who cut out a sorry figure and sneered under the mask.


    ¡°Nothing can stop......¡±


    ¡°That can''t be what I think it is, right?¡± Zoom, whose declaration was interrupted, had his eyes widen as a voice from behind him fell into his ears, frightening him to no end.


    The speedster quickly turned around.


    Lo and behold, a man stood in front of the portal, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, with a hand on his chin, the other in his pocket and a scrutinizing expression on his face.


    When?


    How?


    When did someone get behind him?


    How could he not have noticed?


    Did he come through from the portal?


    Zoom immediately put himself in battle mode, urging his speed at full power.


    The newcomer, however, didn''t seem to register his existence.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± The speed demon, looking at the causally dressed Amari and asked solemnly, but with him actively changing his voice, if sounded so intimidating, like a demon king from hell.


    ¡°Me? No one of significance¡±. Amari shook his head, turning his back around to face the black flash.


    ZOOM!


    Dropping the body of the flash, Zoom rushed forwards at his fastest speed. For this new arrival, Zoom didn''t take any chances and vibrated his hand while attacking at his fastest speed.


    He didn''t ask any questions, and went straight for the killing blow.


    He rushed forward at lightning speed and returned the way he came, just as fast.


    A heavy, well controlled strike to the chest sent the Black Flash flying towards the cave wall like a meteor.


    ¡°That, was a bad idea¡±.


    Amari replied casually.


    ¡°Unlike the young Kryptonian, your current speed isn''t fast enough to enable you to phase through me¡±.


    Saying so, he took several steps forward, towards the heavily injured Zoom, who couldn''t move due to the injury and pain.


    ¡°You....... What do you want?¡± Hunter behind the mask asked in fright.


    Wally was right. He had barely been in this world for half an hour, and he already crossed paths with such a perverted existence.


    His hand at the moment felt unbearable pain. Like he had struck against an iron wall at full strength.


    Just like Superman in his world, this was someone whose cells were too dense for him to vibrate through.


    Squatting down to Hunter''s eye level. Amari let out a small chuckle and a smaller smile.


    ¡°From you....... Well...... Let''s start with everything you know¡±. Saying so, Zoom felt a strong force suddenly invade his mind.

 Chapter 60 Wonder Woman Is Alive

    Zoom felt his vision darken. His figure dressed in that black speed suit seemed to be transported into a dark space.


    ¡°What the.....¡±


    Argh!


    In that space, he held his head and screamed in pain. After meeting Amari''s eyes, his body felt as heavy as if he were foundering in deep water.


    In the darkness, two pair of glowing eyes appeared in the void.


    Seeing the scene in front of him, Hunter Zolomon was frightened beyond reason.


    He knew what was happening. His mind was being invaded.


    But how?


    As a speedster, his brain reacted much faster than humans could. Mind infiltration tactics usually didn''t have much effect.


    Trying to hijack the mind of a speedster was a difficult task to accomplish.


    Was this guy a telepath, surpassing Grodd?


    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± Zoom collapsed on the floor, groaning heavily.


    ¡°Earth -1. So that''s where you come from¡±. Raising himself from his squatting posture, Amari frowned lightly at the information being sorted in his head.


    His eyes thrummed with a purple glow as numerous scenes appeared in his subconscious.


    Within his mind, he saw a world.


    Dead, desolate, a wasteland.


    Deserts for miles on what used to be fertile soil. Destroyed buildings and remnants of cities.


    The general populace that remained alive lived in a world dominated by superpowered individuals.


    They hid in fear and lived in fear.


    Died from robbery, hunger, accidents, provoking the wrong person.........


    The scenes flashed through his eyes so fast.


    The people there were basically like the walking dead. There was no hope in their eyes, no light in their life. Deaths were normal, random, food had become a luxury for many.


    Dozens of beautiful woman could be exchanged for a loaf of bread.


    This ....... This was worse than Gotham¡­


    Seeing it in his eyes amazed him. Was this the injustice universe? Or was it a universe similar to Earth 3?


    "Superman? .......... Resistance...... ". His frown deepened.


    Zoom had appeared here while chasing the Flash of Earth -1, Wally West. As for the original Barry Allen.........


    Well, he was dead.


    But that wasn''t the problem. What made him curious was why they came here and how exactly did they manage to accomplish it.


    To travel through universes relying solely on speed, neither of the two speedsters were fast enough to achieve it.


    Unless they messed up the space-time continuum by attempting and failing to travel through time, it was impossible for them to open a breach in space through universes.


    But from the memories he had searched through, Neither Flash nor Zoom created a singularity, causing a breach between two universes.


    ¡°So if they didn''t do it, then where the hell did this portal come from?¡± Amari muttered under his breath as he turned his gaze to the breach that was slowly concealing itself again.


    It happened then.


    ZOOM!


    Amari turned back again to see that the cave was missing a speedster.


    Hunter Zolomon, the self-proclaimed fastest man alive, ran away. Not only did he leave, he didn''t even carry Wally''s unconscious body with him.


    For Zoom''s escape, Amari couldn''t give a damn. He never planned to kill or capture him anyway.


    Well....... Maybe he did for some research purposes, but that was later on.


    His mind wandered through the many years of memories, skipping the unimportant and unrelated info, constantly searching for his answer.


    And so, he came across a particular memory that gave him his answer.


    A memory wherein, he was engaged in a fight with the Flash.


    .............


    Almost a week ago.....


    ¡°Everyone retreat, I''ll lead him away¡±.


    ZOOM!


    And so, he ran.


    ¡°Finish the rest¡±.


    Looking at the running figure, zoomed said hoarsely to the superpowered subordinates behind him before turning into a lightning streak as well.


    And so, the race began.


    Two figures streaked past the desolate ruins of Central City. One orange, one blue.


    From the streets to the alleys, in between buildings and to the rooftops.


    The flashing colors were particularly conspicuous.


    Both figures ran through an alley.


    However, Zoom who was still behind immediately made a sudden move, turning sharply to his right and phasing through the wall.


    After The Flash made his way through, a force field barrier suddenly appeared in the middle of the alley, specially made for speedsters to trap their movements.


    If he had continued on his original path, the Black Flash would have been trapped.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°It didn''t work, Wally¡±. A slightly anxious voice appeared in the red speedster''s intercom.


    Wally gritted his teeth and continued to run forward


    The chase moved on as both figures eventually entangled into high-speed combat. Wally West was fast, but compared to his uncle, he was far from capable.


    A fist, moving at a speed too fast to react to, hit him squarely in the chest.


    Wally was knocked to the floor, rolling away several meters.


    Blue Lightning flashed and Zoom''s figure appeared a distance away.


    ¡°Pathetic¡±. One word.


    Wally gritted his teeth and pulled himself from the floor.


    ¡°I grow tired of this farce. Tell me, where is Wells¡±.


    The Black Flash felt annoyed.


    ¡°I''m not telling you anything¡±. Wally replied coldly, ignoring the pain from receiving numerous blows.


    ¡°Then I''ll pry it out from you¡±. Blue Lightning arcs appeared all over.


    At that moment, something happened.


    The sky above, them in a limited range suddenly changed. Both figures looked to the sky with vigilance written all over their faces.


    BOOM!


    A shockwave was emitted, shattering whatever glasses remained in this broken city.


    A portal more than a dozen meters in size suddenly appeared over their heads, looking like a blue and black hole.


    ¡°What the......¡± Wally was stunned.


    However, the next thing that happened stunned him even more.


    A figure suddenly appeared from the portal and fell from the sky.


    Rapidly descending, it wasn''t until the last moment that the figure regained balance, flipped in the air and landing on the asphalt road.


    Bang! The ground under her feet was cracked.


    Seeing the person in front of them, both speedsters were slightly shocked.


    Long dark hair, light armor fittings, pteruges, shin guards........


    Anyone who looked closely would see what looked like a lasso by the side of her waist, a sword, and shield on her back and bracelets on her wrists.


    ¡°Ugh..... Where.....¡±. The feminine voice echoed with confusion as Diana tried to process the dizziness that assaulted her.


    What just happened?


    Where was she?


    ¡°You.....¡±. Seeing the person in front of him, Hunter narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°Queen Of The Amazon''s, this is not your territory¡±.


    .......


    ¡°Still alive!¡± Amari, who was combing through memories, suddenly opened his eyes in surprise.


    Before an expression of realization appeared on his face.


    ¡°That''s it¡±.


    Then he chuckled with amusement


    ¡°Who would have thought this would happen? Interesting....... truly interesting.....¡±.


    Until today, six members of the Justice League had gone missing. The world''s general populace remained in the dark on this news.


    Honestly, Amari didn''t bother to investigate whether they were still alive.


    He meant it when he said that he didn''t control the Spatial tear. Wherever they were transported to was their business.


    However, things had now taken a rather unexpected turn.


    Wonder Woman was alive.


    Not only alive, but on a different earth.


    Now he understood how these speedsters made it into their universe even when their speed wasn''t up to the required level.


    They didn''t create a breach, the Justice League did when they were transported away.


    Captain Atom, forcefully opening the rift, tore the fabric of space and caused breaches to appear.


    And if there was this one, then.........


    Looking at the breach behind him, Amari looked thoughtful before turning his gaze to the unconscious Flash of another earth.


    ¡°Should I leave him here?¡± He asked himself internally while examining the miserable figure.


    ¡°Well....... Let''s drop him off at Mount Justice. See what ensues from it¡±. He finally came to a decision.


    And so, the space around the injured Flash distorted, before his body was sucked into the Kamui space.


    Whoosh!


    Following which, Amari''s figure surpassed the speed of sound, rocketing out of the cave, out of the grand canyons and into the Earth''s upper atmosphere.


    His figure accelerated and accelerated int a blur.


    BOOM!


    Eventually, his body finally slowed down. Amari turned his gaze to his surroundings, realizing that he had appeared above Earth''s atmosphere.


    The big blue planet in the darkness of outer space was within his vision in all of its glory and beauty.


    Looking at Planet Earth, Amari''s eyes glowed with purple intensity as his insight skyrocketed. Spreading towards every corner of the earth, enveloping it with his senses.


    Major government agencies with satellite surveillance would soon discover a peculiar superhuman up in Earth''s upper atmosphere.


    Amari was sure that he would receive a lot of unwanted attention as soon as he returned to earth.


    For someone like him, blatantly appearing in outer space was cause for concern.


    Headlines such as [The mysterious Alien up in outer space] or [Is The Alien Deviant Planning An Invasion?] would definitely appear on the front pages tomorrow.


    But he didn''t care. With his insight boosted to the highest level he could currently go to, he combed throughout the entire earth.


    Searching!


    He was looking for something.


    A few something''s that would destroy the earth if no one did anything about it. Not for any reason, just to verify his conjecture.


    ¡°There''s the second one........ Third


    ¡­ Fourth¡­. Fifth.......¡±. The Bible says, [Seek and ye shall find].


    And in less than a minute, he found more than he thought he would.


    Seven, Fifteen, twenty-three, forty-six..........


    After confirming the last one somewhere in the South Pole, Amari was sure of his conjecture.


    Fifty-two. Fifty-two different breaches all over the globe. Some remarkably close to each other and to human residences, and some thousands of miles apart.


    There were Six in Gotham, Three in Central City, Two in Metropolis.


    The rest, were scattered all over the world. Amari examined each one of these breaches with intense scrutiny.


    Of all the Fifty two, only six had the same dimensional frequency as the one he saw in the cave. From his understanding, these seven breaches, all led to different places on Earth -1. The rest..........


    He had no clue.


    Of course, these were the ones on Earth.


    Amari turned his gaze away from the planet and looked deep into outer space. Light-years away from his current position, there the biggest breach was located.


    Seeing this on, Amari had his eyes widen a bit in amazement.


    This...... This was huge.


    Like those giant gateway portals used by interstellar civilizations to transport armies and invade other planets.


    ¡°Well......... This development is...... Unexpected¡­"


    Without peeking into the future, Amari knew that the earth was about to enter into an era of multiversal madness.


    The space around his figure twisted and distorted. In such a way, the figure of the man in outer space disappeared like it was never there.


    Only, his actions didn''t go unnoticed. Not just by the major government organizations but also almost everyone in the world.


    The moment Amari used his eyes to the extreme, almost everyone in the whole world shuddered slightly and turned their heads to look behind them.


    This feeling....... The feeling of someone watching them from afar was honestly creepy.


    And back in Los Angeles, Superman, who was having a discussion with Amanda Waller through video chat, frowned and raised his head to look at the sky.


    That feeling....... Perhaps he felt it more than anyone else in the world.

 Chapter 61 We Need To Talk

    ¡°That was........ Weird¡±. Clark frowned deeply.


    Turning his head towards the sky, he couldn''t help but activate his telescopic vision.


    The Man Of Steel''s line of sight penetrated the clouds, giving him a perfect view of the Earth''s upper atmosphere.


    Nothing.


    Seeing that there was nothing within view, Clark frowned even deeper.


    ¡°Was I mistaken?¡± He wondered to himself¡­


    ¡°Eh hem¡±. However, a loud, irritable voice calling out to him drew him out of his subconscious thoughts.


    The Man Of Steel turned his head back towards the expressionless soldier who was holding a tablet in his hands. On the lit screen was the picture of a frowning Amanda Waller, hands crossed, brows knitted and an inexplicable expression of annoyance.


    ¡°Am I distracting you, Superman?¡± Being drawn was from his thoughts, coupled with the sarcastic tone, Clark felt slightly irked.


    ¡°I''m sorry, who are you?¡± He asked with a raised eyebrow. This wasn''t Clark attempting to be rude, but it was the first time the two of them had met each other.


    Or rather, she knew who he was, but he didn''t.


    ¡°And also, where''s Lane? He needs to give me an explanation¡±.


    ¡°It''s a shame to inform you that I''m the one you will be dealing with from today¡±. Waller remarked uncharacteristically through the screen.


    ¡°My name is Amanda Waller, Special Agent of the United States government and the new acting director of America''s Department Of Defense¡±.


    The fat on her face jiggled lightly as she introduced herself.


    ¡°New?........ Acting Director?¡± Clark''s eyebrows furrowed.


    Since when did the DOD get a new secretary? Furthermore, what happened to Lois''s dad?


    ¡°But Sam Lane is........¡±.


    ¡°Missing, unfortunately¡±. Waller interrupted with creased eyebrows.


    ¡°How? Where? When?¡± Clark asked solemnly. He didn''t have a good impression of the General who had tried to capture him more than once and supported that criminal, Lex Luthor.


    However, the fact remained that he was Lois''s father. And Lois was his close friend.


    That automatically made the situation his problem. Too bad, someone else didn''t think so.


    ¡°That is classified information, Superman. General Lane is one of our own, and this incident will be handled by us without your assistance¡±.


    Her face was plain, portraying no emotions with a firm and decisive tone.


    Clark frowned.


    ¡°If you need help, I can......¡±.


    ¡°None required. Military matters do not require the League''s interference¡±. Looking at the stern expression on her face, Superman felt slightly annoyed.


    ¡°Now I understand¡±.


    ¡°Understand what?¡±


    ¡°How tonight''s incident even happened. I''ve been around Lane long enough to know his character. He isn''t pleasant to get along with, but at least he wouldn''t overlook the whole picture just to prove his own capabilities¡±.


    Waller''s expression crumpled slightly.


    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±


    ¡°It''s simple really. Lane goes missing, then someone takes over and transports what should be the most dangerous weapon on earth without alerting the Justice League, all so they could showcase their capabilities¡±.


    ¡°Honestly, I don''t know whether it''s pride, prejudice, or incompetence¡±. Clark said with displeasure.


    He wasn''t annoyed about her tone. He could already judge from the first sentence that this fat lady would be even more difficult to get along with than the stubborn general.


    People in power could be like that, he didn''t mind. But the fact that Amazo was lost due to someone''s ego pissed him off.


    As long as the League was informed, no matter how stretched thin they were, someone would have been on standby in case anything went wrong.


    He had cooperated with Lane concerning similar matters several times.


    And now..... Into the hands of someone like Bruno Mannheim, for that matter. Who knows who that guy would sell the Android to.


    Maybe Diana was right, Perhaps they should have pushed harder and refused to give up the Android.


    And now, this happens.


    Clark felt regret and worry.


    Amanda Waller on screen looked like she had eaten a fly.


    Her chest heaved up and down as she tried her hardest to pacify her fury before remarking.


    ¡°We had the situation under control ...... Unfortunately, our team had ........ Complications¡±.


    The thought of a traitor being within her strike team made her clench her fists and gnash her teeth.


    The operation date, and route, was tightly guarded. No one but her and her team knew when the transport was supposed to take place.


    As long as the location wasn''t leaked, then everything would be fine.


    But the heavens seem to have a grudge against her.


    There was nothing she could say about this. The Android was lost, and she would definitely bear the brunt of it.


    Those enemies she had made in Congress certainly wouldn''t forfeit the chance to inflict serious injuries on her career.......


    The more she thought of it, the angrier she became.


    Amanda had already made up her mind. That Goddamn traitor would undoubtedly die, and she would be the one to kill him herself.


    ¡°Let''s cut to the chase. I have to get back to the league and inform my team on the missing Android. AMAZO is now out there, and I feel we all have something better we could be doing with our precious time, so what did you call me for?¡± Clark cut in sharply.


    For this character, Superman certainly wouldn''t give a good face.


    Silence.........


    Looking at the screen, Waller''s silence lasted for a few seconds, before she finally spoke.


    ¡°We need you to contact him¡±. Her tone sounded slightly exasperated.


    Even when asking for something, she refused to use the word ¡°help¡±. It could be seen how "anti-hero" this lady was.


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°....... The Alien¡±.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°..... You don''t mean......¡± The Man Of Steel had his eyes flash with slight surprise before his face grew stern.


    ¡°..... Exactly who you think¡±. The day woman replied.


    ¡°Why?¡± Clark said with a hint of displeasure. The thought of meeting Amari after all that had happened, honestly didn''t sit well with him.


    It had only been more than a week. Clark would honestly not want to involve himself with him anytime soon.


    Also, what gave them the idea that the Justice League was on good terms with him to initiate contact?


    However, Waller replied to the Kryptonian with silence. Her expression slightly unsightly and somewhat gloomy.


    ¡°... It''s classifi.......¡±.


    ¡°Then find someone else to do it. I''m Superman, not a messenger¡±. Clark rebutted bluntly.


    Now he was really getting pissed.


    Waller''s eyes narrowed, her dark, fat face squished together slightly when she frowned.


    ¡°............ The DOD have reason to believe that the capture of General Lane is far from simple. It''s been a week and until now, we have no idea who kidnapped him or if he''s still alive at the moment. Whether it''s the work of an individual or a group. All we can tell is that they operated using a new generation aerial carrier designed with cloaking technology, giving them the ability to escape the watch of our satellites and all surveillance methods. We can''t find them, we can''t track them, we have no idea who they are, or what they want..........¡±.


    ¡°So, basically, you need our help?¡± Superman asked in puzzlement.


    ¡°Like I said, we won''t require League assistance. What we want isn''t you, but him¡±.


    "And what does ¡°he¡± have to do with this?" Clark couldn''t help but ask.


    "According to the unofficial records I could find, Apart from your Justice League, Sam Lane is the only one who has made contact with ¡°The Deviant¡±. Apparently, they made a special transaction and some business negotiations".


    ¡°Let me guess....... They''re classified?¡± Clark raised an eyebrow with a deadpan look.


    Amanda ignored him and continued.


    ¡°The first and only transaction was something of strategic importance to the military with huge investment potential. It was also the only way through which we could make contact. With Lane gone.......¡±


    ¡°You''re cut off. That''s why you can''t do it yourself¡±.


    ¡°Correct¡±.


    Clark could understand what Waller wanted. Although he didn''t know what Lane traded with Amari, the part that stated "strategic importance with huge investment value¡± practically said it all.


    Since they couldn''t communicate with Amari, then the traded item wasn''t in the military''s possession. Maybe only Lane knew where it was or had the ability to use it.


    It could also be the reason Lane was captured. Of course, this was all hypothesis.


    But the meaning was clear. If Amari gave it, then the chances that he was probably the only one who could find it.


    And for the military to value it so much, then it was most likely dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands.


    Clark''s brain immediately analyzed everything he could from the short conversation.


    ¡°But his base is outside Gotham, why not just go there?¡± The thought came to mind, prompting him to ask with slight confusion.


    Waller''s face, that had somewhat eased up, turned ugly again.


    ¡°We tried¡±.


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Silence.


    Receiving no response, Clark somewhat understood.


    Most likely, Amari didn''t answer them. There was no way. an energy barrier surrounded the whole area.


    Touching it would mean certain death for regular people. Without any way to contact him, they would probably have to stand in front of the dome yelling and waving.


    From the sound of it, they tried, and he likely didn''t respond.


    Which is........... Kinda normal when you think about it.


    From what Clark learned, what they were seeing wasn''t the real deal but a projection across dimensions.


    It would be weird if he could hear them and even if he did, he could choose not to respond.


    Thinking of this scene, Clark felt a bit of pity. The image of a group of government agents standing outside the barrier throughout the day or throughout the night, yelling and waving for hours, came to mind.


    ¡°......... Fine..... but we can''t.......¡±. Superman responded, but was interrupted Midway.


    ¡°Hold on one second. Superman to Justice League, what''s the problem.....?¡± The man of steel excused himself before placing two fingers on his ear.


    ¡°....... The base? What......¡±


    Clark frowned.


    ¡°I see, I''ll be right there¡±.


    Clark said solemnly before turning the tablet screen.


    ¡°We''ll pick this up another time, Miss Waller. I have somewhere I need to be¡±.


    BOOM!


    Without saying another word, the Man Of Steel took off to the skies, turning into a blur, breaking the sound barrier and disappearing into the night sky.


    ¡°Wrap it up here¡±. Waller said blandly to the soldier holding the tablet before ending the video chat.


    Back in the monitoring facility, Wally sat in an office with the flat screen TV in front of her turned off.


    Her grim expression remained unchanged as she picked up a folder from the table, placing it beside another.


    On one were the remnants of operation Task Force X.


    Unlike the first, the second was new, recently printed and on the front was the word ¡°CLASSIFIED¡± written in all caps, colored red.


    Opening the first page, the first thing that came to sight was Three words.


    Project Steel Soldier.


    Numerous thoughts passed through her mind.


    Apart from contacting Amari to find Lane and retrieve the Red Queen, Waller took higher interest in the second off the books negotiation Lane made with Amari.


    The real reason why The US Government would legalize the citizenship of an alien which they had no information or control over.


    Controlled Human Weapons.


    The kind that Cadmus had promised but fails to deliver on for so many years.


    Waller looked at the two folders and put them together.


    A special strike force of powered individuals, all under the service of the American government.


    Waller''s eyes lit up momentarily at the prospect.


    The desire for such almost matched the intensity of the old General''s.


    ............


    Mount Justice


    Happy Harbor


    Rhode Island


    Superman tore through the air at his fastest speed, crossing hundreds of miles in seconds.


    Appearing over Mount Justice, he descended sharply, his figure a blur, and landed in front of the cave entrance.


    The ground wasn''t cracked, nor was there a commotion due to his descent.


    ¡°Cave Computer, open........¡± Clark stopped his words before moving his head to the side.


    He felt it again. The feeling from earlier....... Like something was watching him.


    Only this time, he couldn''t pinpoint the source. It felt like it was coming from everywhere.


    Activating telescopic vision, X-ray vision, microscopic vision, Clark examined his surroundings, yet no result.


    ¡°I know you''re there¡±. Superman called out.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Pushing his senses to the maximum, Clark felt slightly uneasy.


    ¡°Show yourself¡±.


    This was the first time something like this had happened.


    ¡°Who said I''m hiding?¡± A voice entered his ears.


    He knew that voice.


    Sure enough, the space a few meters away distorted, followed by the appearance of someone he hadn''t seen for a while.


    ¡°It''s you¡±. Clark said with a frown.


    He just discussed with Waller about him, and they met less than a minute later.


    Coincidence?


    ¡°In the flesh. You respond pretty fast¡±. Amari said casually.


    Clark''s eyes narrowed.


    That sentence........ He knew he would be here.


    How? Wait, why was he here? Was he the one responsible for the incident?


    Clark''s face was turned unsightly.


    ¡°Was it you?¡± He asked in a cold tone.


    ¡°No, it wasn''t¡±. Amari shook his head.


    Clark furrowed his eyebrows with a bit of scrutiny. The unchanging expression left him with nothing to grasp but ..........it didn''t seem like it.


    The expression on his face eased slightly.


    Judging from Amari''s character, it shouldn''t be the case. But questions had to be asked.


    ¡°Then why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Sigh! To make a second drop-off". Listening to his words, Amari sighed lightly.


    Twice in one night.


    ¡°Drop off?¡± Clark was confused.


    ¡°You''ll understand soon enough. By the way, we need to talk¡±. Amari shook his head before looking at Superman seriously.


    ¡°Funny, I was about to say the same thing¡±.

 Chapter 62 Kill A Clown

    ¡°Huh? You don''t say¡±. Amari said with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°What could he possibly want to talk to me about? Did he discover the breaches? Or is it about Kara? Logically speaking, they shouldn''t have met yet¡±.


    Amari thought curiously.


    ¡°What could he possibly want to talk to me about?¡± Clark frowned inwardly, not letting his inner thoughts show on his face.


    At that moment, the front entrance of the Cave suddenly opened up, drawing both their attentions.


    The Cave door widened, and a figure stepped out, coming into view.


    ¡°Superman...........¡±...


    Seeing the metal Android completely in red, a blue cape with gold edges, a T shaped symbol on his metallic chest area and a yellow arrow symbol on his forehead area, the image of a skinny air bender from ¡°The Avatar¡± series suddenly crossed his mind for a split second.


    Red Tornado paused, his head shifting to Amari''s direction.


    ¡°........ I was not expecting you¡±. The Android said in a robotic tone before turning to face Clark.


    ¡°Any problems Superman?¡±


    ¡°None¡±. Clark replied.


    ¡°Good¡±. His gaze once again returned to Amari.


    ¡°Megan has informed me on your actions. Conner is forever in your debt. You have my gratitude¡±.


    ¡°I had my reasons. It needs no thanks¡±. Amari replied indifferently at the sentence.


    ¡°Excuse me, but, what''s going on?¡± At this point, Clark couldn''t help but ask, feeling that he was missing something vital.


    What the hell happened? Wasn''t Amari a bad guy? Well, not a bad guy per se, but he certainly wasn''t a nice one.


    ¡°It is not something that can be explained easily. You''ll need to come inside for details. You might also get some surprises". His words left Clark even more stunned.


    Red Tornado paid no attention to the bewildered Kryptonian.


    ¡°Will you be joining us?¡±


    ¡°No¡±. Amari shook his head decisively at the question.


    ¡°Like I said to Superman, I''m just here for a second drop-off".


    As he spoke, the space beside him swirled and a figure appeared out of thin air.


    ¡°Wally?¡± Clark couldn''t help but exclaim, before his expression became...... strange.


    Confused, surprised, puzzled.


    ¡°Why is he¡­.?¡± The Man Of Steel activated X-ray vision to examine this ¡°Wally ''s¡± internal structure.


    ¡°This is not Kid flash". Red Tornado spoke up from the side, examining the unconscious body with scrutiny.


    ¡°But...... He looks just like him..... only older¡±. Clark frowned.


    This guy looked like an older version of Wally. And why was he wearing Barry''s costume?


    What the hell was happening? His expression wasn''t good-looking as he questioned Amari in confusion.


    ¡°Who is he?¡± The first thing that came to mind was that Cadmus had created a clone of Kid flash.


    ¡°Wally West from Earth -1¡±. Amari stated dully.


    ¡°Him and the other speedster. They should be the main protagonists of your incident. I don''t know what to do with him, so figured I drop him off with you¡­"


    Clark didn''t register the rest. His mind was still stuck on the words, Earth -1.


    ¡°You''re kidding right?¡± He asked incredulously.


    ¡°No, I''m not¡±.


    The atmosphere was enveloped in silence.


    ¡°How do you know this?¡± Seeing the older Wally west, Clark had a metaphorical headache.


    The scene of Amari turning his back and walking away gave him his answer.


    ¡°You''re leaving?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±.


    ¡°You can''t seriously just drop this and waltz away¡±. Clark''s tone was serious.


    The leaving figure paused. His head moved to the right, showing his side profile without turning around. The single eye fixed on Superman was narrowed.


    Clark came back to his sense. This guy, wasn''t someone to provoke casually.


    In every sense, he could and .......


    ¡°Watch me¡±. He most certainly would.


    Clark felt another headache.


    ¡°Besides, you should get your answers when he wakes up¡±. Amari replied in a casual tone.


    This Wally west would most certainly wake up. By then, the league should know all that they need to know.


    And then...... they would definitely come find him.


    ¡°But you said we need to talk¡±. Clark was unwilling to just let it go. This was something that needed answers.


    ¡°I did say that¡±.


    And so, his body began to blur.


    ¡°But I never said when....... And for the time being, your schedule is about to get seriously busy.¡±


    With that, the body of the Deviant disappeared, leaving an empty space.


    ¡°I''m taking him to the med bay¡±. Clark turned his gaze from the space to the unconscious Kidflash and said grimly.


    He didn''t know why, Amari''s tone, although flat, sounded strangely ominous.


    It brought Clark that feeling of unease again.


    ¡°And then, you can tell me what the hell is happening here¡±.


    ¡°Well that........ Let''s just say you have a visit from a possible relative¡±.


    ¡°A possible relative?¡± Amidst his bewilderment, the sound of rapid footsteps could be heard from the distance.


    Clark''s attention was drawn to the side as his eyes fell on a teenage girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, gazing at him intently.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    .............


    [Mysterious City Outside Gotham Remains. Will The Deviant Become The New Hero Of Gotham?]


    Looking at the headline on the front page of The Gotham Globe, Amari''s amusement was difficult to conceal.


    ¡°Seriously, who even writes this stuff¡±. He said, seemingly to no one in particular, as he held the newspaper in his hands.


    Funny when you think about it, in a time when the internet was heavily popularized and sharing of information had become as easy as drinking water, people still preferred to look at the newspaper to gain their daily dose of gossip.


    ¡°Would you like me to find out?¡± A voice inquired out of thin air to my rhetorical question.


    ¡°No Alice. That''s not needed¡±. He shook his head with a slight smile.


    But, this headline was a stunner even for someone as apathetic as him


    Needless to say, he could already guess that this was the work of a bold and bald billionaire genius with serious ego issues.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Was this his way of, pushing him towards the road of a hero?


    Trying to utilize public opinion and the will of the masses to his advantage?


    How sad.


    Too bad, he wasn''t Superman.


    ¡°It literally puzzles me why you continue to condone this¡±. The voice of the AI in his ears sounded genuinely confused.


    ¡°What do you expect me to do? Rush up to the White House and kill the President of the United States?¡± His words would sound like the ramblings of a madman to a normal person.


    ¡°Yes¡±. The AI replied with a ¡°Matter Of Fact¡± tone.


    ¡°I''m a Law Abiding citizen, Alice. Do I look like a ruthless individual who goes about killing anyone who I have the slightest grudge against?¡±


    ¡°Wait........ Don''t, answer that¡±.


    ¡°...¡± Amari uncharacteristically cut off the AI before she could respond.


    ¡°You severely Injured the members of the Justice League who attacked you under the influence of mind control, and sent the others who tried to infiltrate the Axiom to God knows where¡±.


    ¡°If that isn''t ruthless, I don''t know what is¡±.


    ¡°........ Maybe I did overreact in that instance. But I think you''re exaggerating a bit too much. I didn''t kill any of them, and they can still continue with their normal lives¡±. Amari paused for a second, showed a thoughtful look, then continued to read the newspaper.


    ¡°....¡± The AI didn''t respond.


    Giovanni Zatara literally had to start recultivating magic power from scratch, while Billy Batson''s situation was even worse.


    The power of the Gods was gone, two hands were disabled......... Hal Jordan, who had recovered, had been outputting his ring, trying to fix the damage to the cells for days now.


    Three days......


    Since his last encounter with Superman at Mount Justice, three days had passed.


    ¡°I wonder what the little blonde is up to now. How did the meeting with Clark play out¡±. A thought couldn''t help but cross his mind for a split second.


    Then, his attention returned to the newspaper.


    ¡°People sure have vivid imagination¡±. This was the last thing he thought to himself before tossing the paper aside.


    After getting involved with the heroes of this world and witnessing those of another, Amari decided to take some time off.


    Not that he was actually doing anything to begin with.


    He didn''t want to speak to Superman right now. It would be best to talk when the league discovered the breaches themselves.


    It would certainly take a while though and there might be some casualties before they would finally realize, but that wasn''t his problem.


    Leave the work of saving the world to its protectors.


    So till then, he would stay in the place where they would least expect to find him.


    Raising his head, the sight of rundown houses faded into decrepit factories and abandoned warehouses.


    The musty smell of sewage and refuse intertwined to form a rather complex odor that would surely sting the nose of the Man Of Steel.


    Gotham!


    The city of darkness. Just as chaotic as he remembered it.


    Even more chaotic, he presumed.


    After all, Batman was in a coma.


    He didn''t know how long he would be out for, though.


    The crime that was already prevalent in this dark city, without the presence of The Dark Knight grew even more rampant.


    Without looking into the future, Amari knew that this was specifically instigated.


    Lex Luthor and the light certainly had a hand in the immediate chaos. In the past two weeks, the crime rates in the city had soared to new heights the Gotham Police Department never thought possible.


    Especially since the Joker busted out of jail. With no Batman to hunt him down, the prince of crime unleashed a spree all over the place.


    For the citizens, there was no darkest day. Only darker ones.


    The appearance of Batgirl and The Boy Wonder from time to time didn''t help the overall situation much, either.


    ¡°Maybe you should consider the possibility that Lex Luthor truly intends to turn you into a hero¡±.


    ¡°Funny..... The thought never crossed my mind¡±.


    ¡°Then why here? In Gotham?¡±


    ¡°It''s a popular landmark. Good place to take a nice walk. Besides, I don''t think the Bat family would appreciate the idea even if I was up for it¡±.


    Gotham was a messy place. You could never overemphasize on that sentence.


    Its nightlife had never been quiet. If anything else, you could count on the sound of gunshots, explosives, the random mugging, thuggery, gangs patrolling their turf, cartels carrying out illegal trade, so on and so forth.


    Tonight was particularly active.


    The sound of sirens in the distance was particularly clear. The surveillance blimps in the sky were still there.


    They had become a lot less, though.


    According to the news, the Joker had blown up a couple of them with missiles yesterday and the day before that.


    It was quite a sight to behold.


    Amari didn''t care for any of this. He continued on his way without disturbing the ¡°tranquil¡± ecosystem.


    The muggers ignored him, the gangsters didn''t see him, Amari even passed by killer croc in an alley. The latter didn''t seem to notice his existence.


    Just the way he wanted it to be. He didn''t want to get involved.


    After all, this was Batman''s city.


    Through a complicated process that he only half remembered, he ended up on the nice side of town, in a park area surrounded by tall buildings from all sides.


    ¡°The city can be roughly divided into two sides. The wealthy area, and the slums¡±.


    ¡°Many cities have those two areas¡±.


    ¡°True, but for a place like Gotham that has the behemoth known as the Wayne group, it takes the corruption in those two areas to the extreme¡±.


    ¡°........ So have you decided?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±.


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°........ You can begin following the procedures. Set up everything that needs to be set up. Please let me know when you''re done¡±. Amari said casually as he sat on a bench, gazing into the open sky.


    The moon shone brightly in all its glory.


    Unlike the slums that had no life and no vitality, the area in this part of town was much more populated.


    At least, you could see people coming and going all around. No one noticed him, though.


    ¡°...... Are you sure you want to open it here?¡±


    ¡°Why hesitant?¡± Amari asked with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°The idea of a new force won''t sit well with the Bat family. They usually move to discourage all new organizations with untrustworthy backgrounds¡±.


    ¡°All?¡±


    ¡°Not all. Only those who show the capability to grow big enough. It''s been like this for years. Batman seems to want to maintain the status quo. Plus, those who can''t typically disintegrate before the first three months. The waters in Gotham run deep, after all¡±.


    ¡°I see....... After all, the addition of a new force could cause the scales of power and influence to shift. For Bruce, Wayne Group was probably enough¡±. Amari thought with a nonchalant expression.


    The Light had tried to include a new force into Gotham city as well. One solely under their control.


    Batman and Wayne group immediately showed a no tolerance policy.


    One was The Dark Knight, foiling all of their shady business deals, while the other was Wayne Industries that wanted to eliminate all possible new competitors.


    ¡°Gotham is already chaotic. Some more chaos may not necessarily be a bad thing. Besides, Batman is currently indisposed of¡±. Amari uttered.


    His words were an answer on its own.


    Gotham was extremely chaotic. The person you spoke with an hour ago could be dead the next time you see him.


    Joker was out of Jail, Batman was off the grid. Things had gotten even more chaotic.


    So Why here? Why Gotham?


    Answer........ No reason. He just felt like doing so.


    ¡°I find your sudden interest in opening a company in the most dangerous city in the world, rather astounding¡±. The Red Queen spoke with unprecedented enthusiasm.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Amari chuckled. ¡°Then what do you think I should be doing?¡±


    ¡°Meeting with the government to finalize your deal concern Project Steel Soldier¡±.


    ¡°That''s why I''m opening a company¡±.


    ¡°An unnecessary action which is unlike you¡±.


    ¡°The project doesn''t need you to worry. Lane has been kidnapped by The Light, so there''s no rush. The military will come to me sooner or later and Lex should well be on his way to starting a robot apocalypse. There''s not much for me to do¡±.


    "What about Project Energy Ark?


    ¡°That.......¡±. Amari frowned slightly.


    He was about to reply when........


    BOOM!


    The park he was located in, which was filled thousands of people, suddenly exploded.


    Fire and smoke spread rapidly as the whole park was engulfed in flames. That place wasn''t the only location, though, several other locations also went up in flames.


    The harbor, the west area of the slums, the train station.......


    It happened then. On the screens of almost every television in Gotham, a figure appeared.


    It didn''t matter what was on at that time. Whether it was the news, documentary, or children channel. As long as it was connected to the network, it all showed the same picture now.


    The picture of a man whose skin was chalk white, his lips stained red and his hair dyed green.


    The glint of madness in his eyes could be seen clearly as he stood in front of the camera with his frenzied smile.


    ¡°Good evening, citizens of Gotham. How are you doing this lovely evening? Well, your old Mr. J has a funny joke he wants to let you all in on.......¡±


    At that moment, something strange happened in the park.


    The rapidly spreading flame suddenly receded like a tide. The fire, the smoke, all of it.


    The massive explosion shrunk down rapidly, all converging at the same spot.


    All the energy that emerged from that explosion was sucked into Amari''s body without remnants.


    Silence.


    A suffocating silence enveloped the surroundings.


    Amari''s face was indifferent. There wasn''t a speck of dust on his clothes, but the aura he emitted was drastically different from a few seconds ago.


    ¡°Should we continue to discuss the project?¡± The voice of the red Queen sounded in his ears again.


    Amari turned his gaze towards a large screen on top of a building that was playing the recorded broadcast.


    ¡°That can wait. Right now, I have a clown to pay a visit. He should know that not all jokes are funny".

 Chapter 63 Batgirl

    For all transmigrators, Gotham was the well perceived ¡°Novice village¡±. Similar to ¡°Hell''s Kitchen¡± in Marvel.


    Lawless, Chaotic, Rampant Crime, it had it all. For those who travelled through with gaming systems, the proper place to level up. But when you took a look from a proper perspective, Gotham was downright terrifying.


    ¡°Novice village? Perhaps¡±. Amari muttered to himself. His gaze swept all around him and the scorched land came into view.


    Bones....... burned skeletons of all sizes.


    ¡°The difficulty mode and danger level is set to extreme, though¡±.


    With no warning whatsoever, thousands of people died in an instant. They didn''t even have enough time to register a scream.


    Even the heavily apathetic Energy Sentient was a little moved.


    It was different when the causalities were caused due to the exchange of blows instead of this deliberate massacre.


    No matter how you looked at it, Gotham was far worse than Metropolis.


    At least, you wouldn''t expect a part of the city to suddenly just blow up without warning. Usually, Super villains would rampage on the streets for a while before the Blue Boy Scout swooped in to take control of the issue.


    As for Gotham?


    Amari shook his head, his gaze returning to the billboard screen in the distance. Showing that white face, maniac look and insufferable laughter.


    This....... was truly unexpected.


    Who knew that the Joker would actually decide to set up several explosives all over the city and detonate them at the same time, today of all days.


    But that didn''t matter anymore.


    Due to the explosion, the wind was particularly violent. His black jacket fluttered slightly within it.


    ¡°.......... As you all know..... I just got back from a rather pleasant vacation. And I oh so wanted to share it with my best pal...... You know, a close friend to let em feel your joy¡­". Joker gestured dramatically.


    A grin was plastered to his face, effectively displaying his white teeth.


    The next moment, however, that grin turned upside down as a contemplating frown appeared on his face.


    ¡°....... It''s too bad, I haven''t seen him around. Like he''s gone off the grid lately......¡±


    ¡°Well, maybe he didn''t get the news of my return. So I decided to hold a party, invite some guests, set up a few fireworks........ You know, the usual¡­".


    Everyone in Gotham shuddered in fright.


    Almost a dozen locations had been destroyed throughout the city. The death toll couldn''t even be imagined yet.


    People in the streets rushed to the nearest shelters they could find.


    All of Gotham was in a pandemonium.


    The Gotham Police Department turned to the busiest place in the city. Phone calls came in from all lined, turning the pace into a disordered mess.


    ¡°Someone trace this video feed. Find this Goddamn bastard at all costs¡±. In the GCPD, Chief Gordon yelled out orders at the top of his lungs.


    His intense gaze was fixed on the video of the man on the screen, showing unprecedented anger and fury.


    ¡°....... Hehehe.... So Batsie, are you watching? How did you like my surprise?¡±


    The psychotic green eyes screamed pure madness as the frown switched again to a demented smirk.


    ¡°..... Hahahaha!¡± A maniac laughter emerged from his raspy voice. People everywhere in Gotham collectively held their breath.


    Despite knowing, he wasn''t there beside them, the children who were literally scared to tears had their mouths covered by their equally frightened parents.


    Preventing them from making a sound as if their loud voices would cause this demonic madman to suddenly appear a distance away from them.


    ¡°Well you can let me know on your own when you find me. And just to make it all the more fun, I''ll continue setting up the gorgeous fireworks all over the city, for every hour you don''t show up¡±.


    ¡°So come on, Batsie, come out to play¡±.


    ¡°Hahahaha¡±. The maniac laugh was the last thing anyone heard before the television channel switched back to what was originally on.


    But no one was in the mood to care.


    Fear! This was what everyone in Gotham felt at the moment.


    Pure, uncontaminated fear.


    The temperature in Gotham''s night just dropped by a few dozen degrees.


    Everyone, even commissioner Jim Gordon, felt a chill run up his spine.


    There was no doubt about it.


    ¡°What''s the situation. Do we have anything?¡± Turning towards the analyst, Gordon asked anxiously.


    ¡°No sir. The time was too short. We couldn''t pinpoint the location¡±.  The female analyst at the side shook her head and said with a gloomy expression.


    ¡°Shit!¡±  Jim slammed his fist on the table in anger before turning around to order.


    ¡°Get all available officers on the streets. The chaos that''s about to erupt will be unimaginable. All hands on deck, we need to find this motherfucker and find him fast¡±.


    As soon as he finished speaking, Gordon didn''t waste another minute and rushed towards the door.


    ¡°Chief..... Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°Where do you think I''m going, the roof¡±.


    All they heard was his loud voice and his figure disappeared out the door and up the staircase.


    Gordon was truly anxious at this moment. And so, he rushed to do the only thing he could do.


    Go up to the GCPD rooftop and light up the Bat Signal.


    ................


    Back at Gotham park......... Or what was left of it.


    Amari stood there, looking at the turned off billboard in silence.


    ¡°All this......... just for Batman¡±. He uttered lightly with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Well, I have to admit. He is the guy with the most plausible claim of being Batman''s arch nemesis. This obsession and dedication....... It surpasses Luthor''s for Superman¡±.


    Amari chuckled inwardly, but his expression wasn''t smiling in the slightest.


    ¡°Sir.......... Something''s approaching the city¡±.


    ¡°Oh?¡± He exclaimed with slight surprise.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Putting more effort into listening, the sound of something streaking through the air fell into his ears.


    That sound was all too familiar.


    The air above Wayne Industries.


    BOOM!


    The sound of someone breaking the sound barrier erupted.


    Following the ¡°boom¡± sound, the figure of a man in red and blue tights appeared in the Gotham sky.


    ¡°His reaction is remarkably quick¡±. Amari said, with no change in expression. It had been less than a minute since the Joker live-streamed his indirect threat, asking for Batman to show his presence, and the Man Of Steel was already here.


    A bit late, but quick nonetheless.


    Only, why would Superman appear in Gotham?


    Oh right, Batman was still in a coma. Clark and Bruce had a kind of unspoken agreement.


    When it came to matters concerning Gotham, Superman wouldn''t intervene. Unless, of course, the situation had exceeded the control of The Dark Knight.


    And this was one of those situations.


    Looking at the fires that could be seen in several parts of the city, Superman moved into action.


    Using his hearing and vision, he would quickly determine if there were any civilians that needed rescuing. Subsequently, he would put out the fire with his super breath.


    Quick and efficient.


    First was the slums. The areas that suffered the explosion weren''t frozen, but the fires were put out with a strong gust of wind generated from clapping his hands.


    There were too many people in this area. Using freeze breath would most likely freeze a few unlucky fellows into popsicles.


    Clark wouldn''t take that chance.


    And because the number of people here were too large, he only put out the fires and quickly flew to the next area.


    Moving everyone out of the area would waste a considerable amount of time, even for him with his speed.


    Next was the harbor. This was easier.


    Taking a deep breath from his lungs, he blew out, and everything in his range was encased in thick ice.


    The subway....... Seeing that the entrance underground was sealed, Clark drilled through the asphalt directly to accomplish his goal.


    A red and blue blur sped throughout Gotham, saving lives and putting out fires.


    Amari watched all this plainly. He seemed to be in no rush.


    ¡°That should be the last one¡±. Clark exhaled slightly as he put out the last one. Without caring for the gazes of the people, looking at him as if watching a spectacle, his telescopic vision swept around for anything he might have missed.


    ¡°....... That''s.......¡±.


    Sure enough, he noticed something.


    In a particular location, smoke rose into the air. Weirdly, there was no fire.


    ¡°Strange, I didn''t put out any fires there¡±.


    With a whoosh, his figure disappeared, appearing above the park.


    The first thing that came into view struck the Man Of Steel straight in the heart.


    Bodies....... No, they couldn''t even be considered bodies anymore.


    They were skeletons at this point. Clark saw bones, bones with pieces of scorched flesh attached to them.


    They were almost everywhere.


    ¡°.........¡±. Clark couldn''t say a word. He just floated in the air, slightly dazed.


    Pain welled up within his heart at the scene.


    This was a park. With men and women, parents, lovers........ children.


    How many people died here tonight.


    In his moment of grief, something else caught his attention. The sight of Amari, standing in the middle of the scorched land, made the Man Of Tomorrow temporarily put aside what he saw.


    ¡°Him again? What''s he doing here?¡± Clark felt slightly strange.


    It seemed that lately, Amari had shown up in every major event that had taken place recently.


    The issue three days ago was still there, and now, this had happened. The frown on his face was growing deeper.


    Gotham''s waters were deep enough.


    But right now, Clark didn''t understand the general situation.


    Amari looked at Clark floating in the air and lost interest immediately. Superman appearing here was within expectations, but that didn''t concern him.


    He had no desire to engage in an interrogative conversation with the Kryptonian.


    Now wasn''t the time to talk.


    ¡°Sir, you''re being watched¡±. Alice''s timely reminder fell into his ears.


    This one made him frown inwardly.


    Strange........ He didn''t feel like he was being watched.


    Not in the slightest.


    Alice was an AI. There was no way that she could sense someone watching him physically that he couldn''t.


    Then the only other possibility was.....


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Through surveillance¡±. Sure enough, he guessed right.


    Someone was spying on this little scene taking place right now.


    ¡°Towards your left, north camera. Three-story building......¡±. Alice called out candidly.


    Yep, he could see it. There was a surveillance camera there.


    Not surprising, since there was a park in this area. Since it was surveillance, Alice already knew who it was.


    ¡°Interesting.......¡±. Amari muttered.


    His slight mutter was low. Too low for anyone who wasn''t close enough to hear.


    But for a kryptonian, it was clear enough.


    Clark wanted to talk, but the sound coming into his ears made him snap his head in another direction.


    A small town, Silverton, Colorado.


    An avalanche was currently taking place in the mountains. A rather heavy one, to be precise.


    If he didn''t do anything, the town would soon be submerged in heavy snow.


    Superman turned his head to Amari, only to see the sight of the latter''s body disappearing into thin air.


    The next second, he was gone.


    "He just pulled a ¡°Batman¡± on me". Clark spat out a sentence with a weird expression before blasting off to the skies.


    He didn''t have an opportunity to stop and investigate this matter thoroughly.


    He just heard the sounds of explosions coming from Gotham and rushed here as fast as possible.


    Now, he was needed elsewhere, or even more people would die.


    As for what happened in Gotham, Clark would call other leaguers to deal with the situation.


    This wasn''t his city, after all. He had done his best within the limited time.


    .............


    The chaos of the day and night made the street look a little sluggish, with rubbish everywhere, and almost no people could be seen. Occasionally, a head can be seen from one of the windows of the residential buildings on both sides, but he quickly retracted and tightened the bed curtains.


    Amari walked on the streets and alleyways of Gotham with a cheerful spring in his step.


    Like a Boy Scout going to the next block to deliver cookies.


    ¡°........ I''ve found his location. Do you want to.......¡±.


    ¡°Hold on a minute¡±. Amari cut in indifferently. His eyes filled with amusement as he moved along.


    ¡°Someone''s so interested in me, I feel like we should give our shy stalker a chance to show themselves¡±.


    For the Joker, he was in no hurry. The latter wouldn''t live past tonight anyway.


    Let him enjoy his last day of madness a little longer.


    Ring Ring Ring¡­ Ring Ring Ring¡­


    Away at a telephone booth about ten meters away from him, the phone rang suddenly.


    The ringtone on the quiet street is very crisp.


    Step by step.


    Amari walked towards the phone booths slowly, and then....... crossed the phone booth and continued forward as if he didn''t even hear the ringing in the first place.


    The ringing phone booth seemed to be unwilling and continued calling until Amari walked away and then stopped sadly.


    Amari''s expression didn''t change in the slightest as he continued on his way. But when he reached the next phone booth, it rang again.


    Twice, the phone booth rang, and twice, Amari ignored.


    It''s important to note......... There are a lot of phone booths in Gotham. And so it continued.


    The first, the second, the third, and fourth¡­.


    As long as he passed by a phone booth, it would ring.


    He ignored it all without blinking.


    Until Amari left the road and turned to an alley next to him, he saw a dark silhouette jumping from the nearby rooftop on both sides.


    Click!


    The silhouette landed on the ground, the grappling gun was retracted, and the figure was finally clear in Amari''s view.


    Batgirl standing in the distance was a little annoyed. Is this guy deaf? After making so many phone calls, she ran all the way from the roof of a few blocks, took a deep breath, and just about to speak, she saw Amari pointing to herself and chuckling.


    ¡°Trust me when I say this. Batman''s mysterious routine, isn''t suitable for you. Calling from a phone booth? This is the twenty-first century, not a Sherlock Holmes movie¡±.


    "¡­"

 Chapter 64 Batgirls Love

    Looking at his indifferent looking expression on his face, the urge to go up and give it a few punches was never so prevalent.


    Barbara wanted to speak, but slight pants escaped from her lips instead of words.


    This showed just how far she had to run to get here. How could someone not play by the books?


    The classic way this works, a phone rings in a phone booth on the street. You, as the only person around, should pick it up.


    It''s fine if you ignore the first. But you still ignore several more?


    The atmosphere was quite embarrassing. Especially when looking at his amused look that was a dead giveaway of his inner thoughts.


    She was underestimated.


    Barbara had never felt so scorned before. The only one who could look at her that way was Batman.


    The costume''s female put her utmost focus into maintaining her composure.


    She had to look as strict, imposing, and intimidating as possible.


    "You''re the recently famous ¡°Otherworlder¡±.


    ¡°And the fact that you''re still standing means you''re not paralyzed yet¡±. The reply to her sentence almost caused her mind to explode.


    Barbara''s mind went blank for a moment.


    He couldn''t be serious, right? Paralysis? Was he cursing her or making fun of her?


    The night was dark and under Amari''s gaze, Barbara''s face hidden under the cowl grew darker.


    The eyes under the cowl narrowed intensely as she clenched her fists with a gloomy expression.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± She uttered, her voice laced with suspicion, caution, and a hint of anger.


    ¡°Why do you want to know? Last time I checked, coming to Gotham didn''t need to pass through a security checkpoint¡±. Amari replied, tilting his head slightly to the side.


    ¡°And last time I checked, I''m not an illegal immigrant¡±.


    ¡°This is my city¡±. Barbara answered coldly. Clearly not thrilled by his unexpected presence........ or presence in general.


    Batman''s gruffness was almost imitated halfway, and the broody aura had already begun to take form.


    ¡°Shifu [Batman]....... Taught you well¡±. Amari thought to himself, seeing her trying and failing completely to emulate The Dark Knight.


    ¡°No it''s not¡±. Amari shook his head. ¡°It''s not yours, neither is it Batman''s, nor Bruce Wayne''s or the Bat family''s. Point being, the reason I''m here, is none of your business¡±.


    Evidently, the redhead wasn''t thrilled with his remark.


    ¡°Don''t say his name¡±. Batgirl snapped sharply.


    ¡°He protects this city. We all do. And now that he isn''t here, it''s my job. You made it my business when you strolled in here¡±. Barbara said irritatedly.


    ¡°Hehehe¡±. Amari chuckled. ¡°Sure he does. As I can see, you''ve done a pretty good job protecting it¡±.


    Amari spread his hands in a signalling gesture indicating the situation of Gotham.


    Barbara''s face turned red from anger and embarrassment.


    ¡°This city is chaotic enough as it is. The last thing it needs is something like you running rampant¡±.


    Ok, at this point, Amari was a bit surprised.


    That tone was no longer just vigilance, it was plain hostile.


    But why? Frankly speaking, this was the first time they''ve met. His eyes narrowed and the amusement he felt disappeared.


    All that was left was a cold gaze.


    ¡°You know who I am, right?¡±


    ¡°... Yes...¡± Barbara felt slightly uncomfortable.


    ¡°So you should know........ That your tone could get you killed, or worse¡± Barbara froze up.


    The chill running through her like an electric current stopped the evasive reflex actions she was about to carry out.


    The hand reaching for her weapons didn''t dare to move a centimeter further.


    The next moment, the cold wind blew against her face. Barbara was stunned to discover that the mask that concealed her identity had been directly taken off.


    ¡°.....¡±


    When?


    Barbara touched her face and moved her gaze forward. He wasn''t a distance away anymore, but was standing right in front of here.


    The distance was close enough to gab her by the neck, slit her throat...... All sort of scenarios passed through her mind, giving her goosebumps.


    ¡°Honestly, I have to ask. Is everyone in the Bat Family this impulsive?¡± Playing with the mask in his hand, Amari asked with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Or is it just the teenage hormones?¡±


    To be honest, Barbara felt greatly unsettled at this moment. Despite that, she tried as much as possible to keep composure.


    That angled face that was particularly close to hers, she didn''t have the luxury to admire it.


    ¡°You stalked me through the cameras, put up a ridiculous phone booth act, confront someone who''s many league''s above your power level........ Why, Though? Is it stupidity? A momentary impulse? I could kill you right this second, have your body mutilated, or just make you disappear. No one would be the wiser¡±.


    The originally angry Barbara Gordon shivered subconsciously. He seemed to be talking casually, as if assuming but the possibility always existed.


    Amari stretched out his hand holding the cowl.


    ¡°I mean, it''s a perfect setting, wouldn''t you agree. Like you said, Gotham''s chaotic. If one little bat were to disappear, who would know that I did it¡±.


    ¡°Well, even if someone knew, there would be no evidence to suggest such. So tell me. Quite frankly, what do you want¡±.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Amari asked with undisguised curiosity.


    ¡°....... I don''t think you will.....¡±. However, the reply he received was not what he was expecting.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Amari exclaimed.


    ¡°Please, do tell why you would think that¡±.


    Seeing his eyes light up with interest, Batgirl continued.


    ¡°I''ve read your files..... Justice League files and Batman''s personal additions on you. From there, I drew a preliminary judgement on your character.....¡±.


    ¡°The summary was rather clear. Basically, you won''t provoke when unprovoked¡±.


    Barbara said softly.


    Amari''s lips curled up.


    ¡°That''s a lot of trust put on nothing more than data¡±.


    ¡°Ok, let''s say you''re right on that. Still doesn''t explain why you''re here¡±.


    ¡°You won''t kill anyone just for the sake of it, but you will return everything with equal measure. From what I can tell, you''re a vengeful person¡±.


    ¡°And your point is?¡±


    ¡°I watched what happened at the park earlier¡±.


    ¡°You mean the explosion¡±.


    ¡°...¡±. Batgirl nodded solemnly.


    Amari looked at the redhead with narrowed eyes for several seconds before chuckling.


    Then, the chuckle turned to plain laughter.


    He couldn''t help it. It was just so funny.


    How could he not understand what she was saying? Or rather, asking for.


    ¡°You want me to not kill the Joker?¡± Amari asked with a smile on his face.


    Barbara looked at the man in front of her that was smiling, yet not smiling at the same time.


    ¡°I hope you can stay out of Gotham''s affairs¡±. Barbara uttered with all the courage she could muster.


    Amari didn''t respond, but just looked at her blankly with the expression of looking at an idiot.


    The stare lasted for dozens of seconds, moving on to a full good minute.


    ¡°So you risked the possibility of me killing you to say this?¡± He asked with a bit of disbelief, to which the redhead nodded.


    ¡°Then sorry but no¡±. Amari shook his head in refusal.


    ¡°Since you can evaluate my character, then you should know I don''t skimp on payback. That clown was down to his last act the moment he blew up that park with me in it¡±.


    He said indifferently.


    ¡°The Joker will be brought to Justice.....¡±.


    Barbara frowned, seeing that things were going the way she expected.


    ¡°Put in Jail for who knows how long before he performs another breakout. No, thank you. And who''s going to bring him in? You?¡±


    Amari asked indifferently. Batgirl''s face grew dark.


    There it was. She was being underestimated, yet again.


    Barbara was annoyed.


    ¡°You can''t kill the Joker¡±. She shook her head, portraying a rather strong stance. ¡°This is my city. I''ll be the one to hunt him down¡±.


    ¡°And what gives you the courage to think you can?¡±


    Amari found it funny. Batgirl, wanted to hunt down the Joker and put him in jail.


    Tsk Tsk..... What''s that saying? Newborn calves aren''t afraid of tigers.


    She had a better chance of arresting Lex Luthor for tax fraud.


    ¡°Because I''m Batman''s partner¡±.


    Amari squinted his eyes slightly.


    ¡°Do I look like I care who you are?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Barbara opened her mouth, but no words could come out.


    Seeing the speechless expression on her face, he frowned inwardly. Why?


    Everything that had happened still didn''t make any sense to him.


    Barbara Gordon appeared for a confrontation, just to tell him not to kill the Joker? It was a bit far-fetched to believe.


    It wasn''t just an impulsive and reckless action, it also made no sense.


    Even if she didn''t want him to kill the Joker, there was no reason to risk her life to tell him so.


    Someone who studied under Batman wouldn''t make such a stupid move.


    Then why?


    Had Batman''s No Kill Rule been so deeply embedded that the thought of the Joker''s death made her uncomfortable and rash?


    No, that wasn''t it.


    She didn''t want him to kill the Joker, not because she wanted him to live, but because she wanted to be the one to arrest him.


    She wanted to be the one to stop the Joker''s plan while Batman wasn''t available.


    Quite frankly, she wanted to prove a point. Prove that she could capture a villain as big as the Joker on her own, without the help of Batman.


    Prove that she was not just Batman''s partner, but also his equal. Prove that she was worthy of fighting beside him.....


    Just Like Bruce, she didn''t want anyone to interfere in Gotham City, but for slightly more different reasons.


    ¡°This.......¡± Completing his deduction, Amari felt slightly weird.


    Barbara, on the other hand, was quite distressed. Although she knew this might be the result, the fact that it was happening left her with no good ideas.


    When she watched the scene through the camera, she had an ominous premonition of what would happen.


    Unable to sit still, she decided to come and test Amari''s attitude.


    Sure enough, the Joker now had a death warrant on his head. From someone as strong as Superman, no less.


    For a moment, she considered informing the league on the issue. This action could possibly stop Amari from killing the green-haired clown, but it also left her slightly unconvinced.


    If the League had to step in and solve the issue, how could she prove herself?


    All she needed was some more time.


    ¡°You''re in Love with Batman, aren''t you?¡± It happened then.


    Amidst her deliberation, a simple sentence caught her off guard.


    ¡°What!...... I.....¡± Barbara exclaimed in shock before she found herself unable to form a coherent sentence. Stuttering constantly.


    Seeing this scene, Amari was certain of his thoughts. His eyebrows narrowed to form a rather cold gaze.


    All this was simply so she could get Batman''s attention.


    ¡°Why...... you¡­.  can''t be serious¡­".


    ¡°One hour¡±. Amari interrupted her plainly.


    ¡°What?¡± Barbara was stunned.


    What was going on?


    ¡°You want to prove yourself so badly? Fine. You have one hour¡±.


    Amari tossed the cowl in his hand towards her and walked forwards.


    ¡°If you can find the Joker and arrest him yourself within that time frame, I''ll let him live. If not......¡±. He didn''t continue, but Batgirl picked up what he was putting down.


    Barbara stood there for a moment in silence before nodding to show she understood.


    BOOM!


    At that moment, there was an explosion several blocks away. Batgirl turned around, looking into the distance.


    One hour had passed. The Joker kept to his promise.


    ¡°You should hurry, your time starts now¡±. The bland words fell into her ears.


    Barbara turned around only to find that Amari was gone.


    ............


    Standing on top of a nearby building with his hands by his sides, Amari watched Barbara Gordon look around in confusion before taking out her grappling hook and firing towards a building.


    Her body was pulled up, disappearing from the alley.


    ¡°Will you seriously let the Joker live if she can arrest him in time?¡± Alice''s doubtful voice fell into his ears.


    ¡°Sure, why not? I always keep my word¡±. Amari answered nonchalantly.


    Of course, that was ¡°if¡± she could complete her mission.


    ¡°That''s The Joker. She''s walking into a deathtrap¡±.


    Alice''s voice sounded again.


    A small smirk crept its way up to his lips.


    ¡°That''s what I''m counting on¡±.

 Chapter 65 The Bad News Just Keeps On Coming

    "There''s a ninety percent chance that Batman already considers the Axiom outside Gotham an eyesore. What you plan to do will possibly push him to the edge".


    "Then let it. He can jump off the edge if he decides to for all I care. When Wayne industries show me proof of ownership over Gotham city, then we''ll talk. Until then, this topic isn''t even up for debate".


    "Do you seriously not intend to do anything about general Lane?"


    "Nope. Let''s wait until Lex develops a mini Skynet first".


    A figure sat on a tall building, seemingly chatting with no one in a carefree tone.


    The male suddenly paused, turned his head towards another direction, then smirked in amazement.


    "And..... The bad news keeps on coming".


    ".... Indeed,".


    "Tsk tsk..... Too bad, Bruce isn''t here. If Bruce knew this was what would become of him, he would probably write down a long list of dos and don''ts for the Bat family".


    "Alice... With the general trend of things, what are the chances that she''ll get crippled, like in the original timeline?"


    "... I have no knowledge of future events but according to my....."


    "Wait! Sorry I asked. Don''t answer that".


    "..."


    ....


    Elsewhere...


    Barbara Gordon landed on a rooftop before jumping down. Releasing her cape to form look alike bat wings, her rapid descent was reduced as she landed in an alley in a kneeling posture.


    Disabling her suit''s gliding function, she walked with quick steps towards the darkest area in the alley.


    In a narrow corner within the shadows, a large object was covered with a black tarp.


    Barbara pulled the tarp off, revealing her standardized escape vehicle.


    The Ricochet.


    A Tri-wheeled motorized vehicle with a capsule like compartment lying parallel to the ground and a handlebar steering system similar to a motorcycle.


    "Come on, Girl, we have a clown to bust". The hatch on the vehicle''s roof opened up, granting Batgirl access.


    The Ricochet was powered up, evident by the purple light on its surfaces. Batgirl hopped into the pod shaped vehicle with a bit of anxiety on her features.


    Turning on the computer system of the Vehicle linked to the Batcave, she nimbly set up a timer on the screen.


    One hour.


    She only had one hour to find The Joker before "he" decides to take matters into his hands.


    Of course, to make sure the Joker doesn''t end up meeting a miserable fate, she could only do her best and arrest him before the timer runs out


    Barbara reaffirmed herself on her objectives.


    Find the Joker.


    Put a stop to his plans.


    Arrest him and take him to jail.


    Not only saving the city, but also proving her capabilities in the process. Who knows, maybe by doing so, she would be invited to join the Justice League.


    Right!


    This was all about doing the right thing and showing that she was just as capable as he was. Just as good as any official hero on the Justice League.


    She was a superhero on the hunt for a villain.


    As for the part about being in love with Bruce... What utter nonsense. Whether she felt that way or not, Barbara would never admit it, even if the Joker beat her to death with a crowbar.


    "He must be trying to get under my skin. How irritating¡­.". Barbara said to herself.


    "Robin to Batgirl, do you copy?"


    It happened then.


    Just as she was contemplating, the sound of her colleague fell into her ears.


    Barbara''s eyes widened before regaining composure, setting her fingers on the earbuds installed within her cowl.


    "I''m here Robin? What''s happening?"


    "Where are you?"


    Finally getting through, Dick yelled at the top of his lungs, causing Barbara to instinctively wince.


    ...


    Downtown


    Gotham docks...


    Robin leaped into the air with a backflip, dodging several ninja throwing stars aiming for his life in the process.


    Upon landing steadily on his feet, the boy wonder crossed his arms. Within his fingers were four "Birdarangs" which he had procured from his utility belt while midair.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    The four weapons let out a tuning sound as a red light appeared at their centers before he threw them out with precise accuracy.


    The two darkly dressed figures in the distance evaded with no delay, dodging the attacks.


    However, upon coming in contact with something, the birdarangs suddenly exploded.


    BOOM!


    Dust and debris flew in all directions. The explosion wasn''t meaningless, as the shockwave effectively hit his opponent''s, blasting them several meters away.


    Before Robin could take a breath, he turned his head to the side.


    Two burly figures wearing hoods and their faces covered with masks appeared on top of the large metal container to his left.


    Not only that, they were armed with guns.


    Bang! Bang!


    Robin quickly took to his heels as numerous bullets swept towards his direction.


    The evasive continued until he took shelter behind a large crate.


    "Argh! Dammit". Robin cussed as he felt the pain. Thankfully, his suit was made of heavy Kevlar weave and the bullets didn''t hit any key areas without protection.


    If not, he would probably have to worry about bleeding out to death.


    "Thank you Batman". He thought inwardly.


    The voice of Batgirl came through the com link.


    "I... I had something which needed my attention. Thankfully, I stopped it". Barbara answered with a bit of evasion.


    She frowned right after hearing the sounds of heavy gunfire.


    "What''s going on? Where are you?"


    "At the docks". Robin replied with a hiss.


    "Got some company with me. We''re playing tag, and they like to play rough".


    "Hang on, I''m on my way". The Ricochet sped out of the alley, into the Gotham streets, reaching a speed of 300 km/h in seconds.


    The central GPS had already opened a map, charting course for the docks.


    "No don''t". Several pieces of wood were chipped off under the rapid bullet offensive. Robin tilted his head to the side slightly.


    Raising his close to his face, a holographic projection of a keyboard and monitor appeared above his arm.


    "I can take care of myself. You, on the other hand, have somewhere else to be".


    "You''re under heavy fire. You could get injured or worse. Just hold on". Barbara didn''t listen and continued to drive towards his location.


    "Don''t worry about me. I got these guys covered. Worry about your dad".


    He immediately began typing furiously on the holographic screen like a well-experienced keyboard warrior.


    "My dad? What happened to my dad?" Barbara frowned, an ominous premonition coming over her".


    "Don''t you know? The GCPD''s been hit. I received a distress signal sent out from the building twenty minutes after you went silent. Been too busy to check it out".


    "Oh no!". Barbara''s eyes went wide, followed by high anxiety, worry, and fear.


    Her dad was in the GCPD.


    Without so much as a second thought, Barbara immediately turned the wheel. The Ricochet made a one hundred and eighty-degree turn before moving forward at full speed in the opposite direction.


    "Damn! This city''s getting worse by the minute". Back at the docks, Robin complained. The heavy fire hadn''t ceased in the slightest.


    Robin pulled out a special Birdarang from his utility belt with a pondering expression on his face.


    "Should I call for backup?" His hands moved while his mind was in deep thought, throwing the explosive weapon amidst heavy fire.


    BOOM!


    ...


    Gotham City Police Department.


    The distance between her location and the GCPD was quite a distance away. Still, with the speed of her vehicle, she reached her destination under ten minutes.


    Barbara slammed heavily in the brakes, bringing The Ricochet to a slamming stop in front of The GCPD building.


    The sight that entered her eyes caused her face to grow pale.


    The front doors of the building were nowhere to be found..... Oh wait, there they were.


    Outside on the other end of the Street. One of it, anyway.


    The windows were shattered due to gunfire. Barbara ran into the building with haste.


    Stepping in, she covered her mouth in shock and despair at the sight unfolding before her eyes.


    Officers..... Dozens of them. All of them sprawled on the floor, their faces filled with crazy grins.


    She didn''t know if they were dead, but some of them were still alive. She could tell due to the momentary twitching on their grinning faces.


    Many had bloody holes on their bodies. They smiled even in death, their cheeks expanding, their faces smiling too wide for it.


    Barbara was silent with fear as she walked deeper into the building with cautious footing.


    "Cough Cough..... I¡­.".


    "Who?" Barbara called out vigilantly. The sound of someone coughing had alerted her.


    "... Here". She turned her head to the side. There laid a police officer, female. Her features weren''t anything outstanding and could even be said to be quite ordinary.


    "Officer... What happened here?"


    Barbara bent down quickly. Concern and worry written all over her face.


    In fact, she had some clues already. The officers here all died smiling. Even this one that was among the few still alive.


    She had that same grinning smile, strained cheeks with a panic induced madness in her eyes.


    Her chest had two bloody holes. Probably bullet wounds, and her mouth was stained with blood.


    Unless taken to a hospital immediately, she most likely wouldn''t live long.


    Barbara had encountered something like this before.


    And in Gotham city where there lived a maniacal, comedy obsessed clown, only one super villain would dare use laughing gas.


    The Joker.


    "It.... It was him". Despite smiling, the officer still manages to put coherent words into a sentence.


    The "him" needed no clarification.


    ".... Can... Can you tell me what happened to chief Gordon?" Barbara asked with a trembling voice.


    "Chief?... He.... he took him. Cough Cough.... brought his goons and gassed us. Left some of..... us alive to spread the news...". She uttered with a pale face.


    Barbara''s mind went blank.


    Sure enough, this had happened. Her worst fears had come true.


    Batgirl felt her body tremble slightly. Her father had fallen into the hands of that monster.


    Who knows what would happen to him.


    At that moment, the female officer weakly raised her hand and pointed towards the ceiling.


    "He..... left a message... on camera¡­.said he would... be waiting for .....". The officer didn''t have the chance to finish her words.


    On this day, in the Gotham City Police Department, a woman drew her last breath.

 Chapter 66 Let There Be Light

    ¡°Come on Batsie, where...... are ya?¡±


    The video fitzed in and out on several occasions.


    ¡°I never...... Took you for the shy type?¡±


    ¡°All this marvelous chaos and you''re still nowhere to be seen.......... What''s the matter?.......¡±.


    ¡°Don''t want to play? Or maybe my incentive isn''t enough anymore....... Haha hahaha........¡±.


    ¡°Well, I''ll just have to up my game a couple of notches. You know what I mean, work more on my....... Persuasiveness¡±.


    ¡°...... You know what our little dance routine for so many years has been about......... You won''t kill me unless you want to change yourself permanently..... And I won''t kill you because you''re just too much fun..... You can''t walk away from this. Not anymore¡±.


    ¡°You started this, and you either continue the game, or you finish it¡±. The chalk white face on the video footage looked particularly hideous.


    The crazy grin looked almost terrifying.


    ¡°So......... You want me to be more persuasive. Well, take a look at my progress report and give me a rating¡±.


    The Joker stepped aside, leaving the screen clear for two henchmen wearing clown masks to take the stage.


    Both stood at the sides and held a figure in their middle with one hand each.


    The commissioner was unconscious, carried in the middle of two thugs.


    ¡°So whatcha think? A five star would be the best, but I wouldn''t mind a four....... Three and half would do just fine¡±.


    ¡°Many people have died tonight in my wonderful little joke. Of course, I can''t let myself have all the fun, so I''ll leave this one for you to decide, will the commissioner be one of them? Let''s have a meetup to find out¡±.


    ¡°Since you can''t find me after all this time, I''ll give you a clue. Head towards the old church at Anton street. Let''s have a Merry Gathering in God''s presence. Seek forgiveness for our sins....... because I''ve been a very naughty boy lately ........ Hahaha ha..... Also, do hurry up".


    The Joker said, his green eyes and facial expressions showed all the perfect signs of a psychopath.


    Watching the scene, Barbara clenched her hands into fists.


    ¡°The old commissioner wasn''t exactly unscathed when we came to pick him up. He''s currently bleeding really bad........ And I don''t have any nurses to patch him up. So if you happen to delay....... He might just die without me having to do anything. Once again, I''m waiting Batsie".


    ¡°You Damn clown!¡±


    That was the end of it. Barbara''s fist tightened as she yelled in rage.


    Her face was grim, contorting to show anger, sadness, a bit of loss........ before reverting to decisiveness.


    ¡°Hold on dad¡­ I''m coming¡±. Saying this, she dashed towards the exit, completely ignoring the wounded officers who were still alive.


    They would have to wait for officers who had gone out to control the chaos to return in response to the distress signal.


    Some might live long enough to get help. As for others.........


    ¡°Batgirl, come in. What''s your status?¡±


    ¡°Robin?¡± Barbara called out with a frown on her face. Her footsteps didn''t cease in the slightest as she arrived beside the Ricochet, opening the hatch on the roof.


    ¡°You were right, the precinct was hit. Officers in the building are either dead or wounded. The Joker''s got the commissioner¡±.


    She tapped several buttons and turned on the ignition.


    At the docks, Robin took deep breaths as his body bent forwards. His hands rested against his knees, with sweat adorning his neck and forehead.


    Looking at the multiple unconscious bodies scattered around the dock, Dick sighed with relief.


    ¡°Glad that''s over¡±. It truly wasn''t easy to defeat a group of armed thugs while making sure he didn''t kill them in the process. The No Kill Rule of the Bat family was quite a pain in the ass at times.


    Even accidental deaths weren''t an option.


    Dick knew that Bruce would definitely be on his case if he found out that someone died at his hands while the caped crusader was taking a rather long nap.


    ¡°Still....... What the hell are assassins doing in Gotham?¡± Dick fell into contemplation.


    Of the two ninjas he had fought, only one was taken down. The other had successfully escaped.


    However, he didn''t have time to fall into deep thought. Barbara''s words coming through the earpiece was enough to make him frown deeply.


    This......... This wasn''t good.


    Barbara''s dad was in the hands of that madman?


    ¡°I''m heading back to the Bat cave. I''ll send out drone scans all over the city. We''ll find him¡±.


    Dick smoothed his messy hair to the side. He straightened his back as he took three steps forward, only to fall to the ground in a kneeling posture.


    ¡°Huff...... Huff¡­" Exhaustion. Dick could feel it. His body had gone into overtime, fighting so many goons at once by himself. His body conveyed perfectly the message to him. Too tired. At this point, he could barely walk.


    ¡°No need......¡±. The Ricochet took off into the Gotham streets.


    ¡°I know where he is¡±. Barbara said solemnly.


    ¡°What? Where? How?¡±


    ¡°He left a message on the security footage..... Said he''d be at the Cathedral¡±.


    ¡°The church? The one on Aston''s?¡±


    ¡°That''s the one. And that''s where he''s got my dad held up¡±. The vehicle took a sharp right, swerving in another direction.


    ¡°He left a message for you?¡± Dick was slightly stunned.


    Barbara was silent for a second before replying.


    ¡°Not me, Batman. He wanted Batman to meet him at the cathedral¡±.


    ¡°Something''s not right. Hold on, I''m heading there right now¡±. Dick frowned.


    The Joker leaving a message to head to the cathedral, something was definitely up.


    ¡°There''s no time. He''s got my dad, the longer I wait, the more horrors he''ll have to suffer at the hands of that maniac¡±.


    Barbara shook her head without hesitation.


    ¡°Batgirl, he left a message. It''s pretty clear he''s luring you there. It''s obviously a trap meant for Batman. You can''t handle it on your own. Bruce asked us not to engage the Joker by ourselves under any circumstances¡±.


    Dick yelled anxiously. Without regard for his weary body, he dragged himself towards the place where he placed his red bike.


    He had been under Bruce''s apprenticeship for four years and when it came to dealing with the Joker, Batman was more stern than he was with any other villain.


    He remembered the rule of the bat family that Bruce repeatedly emphasized after the no kill rule. Never, ever, go after the Joker on your own.


    Hearing his tone, Batgirl had a bit of hesitation.


    She knew what she was about to do was dangerous. It was the Joker, after all. Ten times out of ten, she was walking into a trap, but then again......... What choice did she have? Her father was bleeding out, and who knew how long it would take Dick to get to the location.


    Did she still have to wait for backup to save her father''s life from a psychotic maniac? Then what was the whole point of her training with Bruce?


    Even now, she was still a fledgling?


    Her eyes turned towards the timer she had set up on the monitor. More than twenty minutes had passed by.


    It was now thirty-seven minutes, forty-three seconds remaining.


    ¡°It''s my dad....... What choice do I have?¡± And with that, the network was disconnected.


    ¡°Batgirl?........... Batgirl!¡± She wasn''t answering. Robin gritted his teeth with irritation.


    He hastened his steps as quick as he could.


    ¡°That''s it. I''m definitely calling the team¡±.


    .............


    Gotham Cathedral, Church of St. Lozeren


    ¡°The stage is ready, the set-up is ready........ The Main Protagonist has been riled up¡­. The audience is almost set, The bait......¡±. On the roof of the building, Joker swaggered and sat next to the roof cross.


    Looking into the chaotic city in the distance, his smile was blooming.


    ¡°...... The bait is perfect¡±. He turned around to look behind him.


    A group of thugs stood a distance away, all of them dressed up in clown like costumes and masks.


    They all circled the wooden cross on which a middle-aged man was tied to.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Commissioner James, Jim Gordon.


    ¡°You''re gonna pay for what you''ve done you bastard¡±. The man uttered with a pale face. His voice sounded weak and his face was dull, but his eyes shone with strong conviction, disgust, and hatred.


    ¡°My My Mr. Commissioner. I wouldn''t speak much if I were you. Your blood loss is rather severe after all¡±. The Joker replied with a smile.


    ¡°You wouldn''t want to lose too much too fast. It''ll be no fun if you die before Batsie gets here. That will make the whole set imperfect......... No, no no...... We can''t have that¡±.


    Joker stepped closer to Gordon on the cross.


    His eyes gleamed with excitement, about to continue his grand speech, when something wet hit him on the face.


    What was that?


    Spit mixed with blood? Seeing that the Joker was within range, Gordon spat out his blood mixed saliva straight on the Joker''s face.


    Realizing what had happened, Joker felt slightly humiliated.


    He raised his right arm and threw a punch across the face of the commissioner.


    Pow!


    ¡°How rude!¡± The clown uttered as he took out a handkerchief from his suit pocket.


    ¡°You''re a dignified police commissioner. Have some manners¡±. He rebuked with a stern tone.


    Pui!


    Gordon spat out a mouthful of blood. Still, his expression remained unchanged as he continued to glare at the clown with undisguised hatred.


    ¡°Haha...... You should save your energy for later. The show will soon begin. Cheer up pal¡­". He came beside the cross, leaned on it with one hand and out his gloved hand on his chin.


    ¡°....... You need to pay attention to your image later. After all, you''re gonna be on live television. Isn''t it great? Hahahahaha, you''re gonna be a star¡±. The Joker laughed hysterically before coming to his senses and contemplating.


    ¡°Ok, maybe not a big star. You''ll be a very important supporting role, though, cause tonight....... The attention of the world will be fixed on this..... Handsome face¡±. His pearly white teeth were full on display.


    ¡°...... Um..... Boss¡±.


    It happened then, a nearby thug in a clown costume holding binoculars suddenly exclaimed.


    ¡°..... Huh?..... What? You just interrupted my secondary monologue...... Do you know how hard it is for a villain to get in the zone every so often? This better be good¡±. The cheery tone of the Joker suddenly turned dark, his eyes gleaming with cold light.


    The clown thug shivered subconsciously.


    ¡°..... Sorry, boss¡­. It''s just........ we have company¡±. The thug sad, pointing towards the distance timidly.


    ¡°Oh Oh! Is he here? Out of the way, outta the way. Let me see¡±. The Joker yelled and rushed forward, snatching the binoculars from the henchman excitedly like a child who just spotted candy.


    Putting the binoculars in front of his eyes, the sight a far distance away was magnified in front of his eyes.


    Sure enough, he saw a vehicle speeding towards this direction. It didn''t look like a regular car or a vehicle used by the police, FBI, CIA, or the likes........ Meaning, it could only be one person.


    ¡°Haha....... Batsie''s here. Everyone, take your places. Get ready, the show''s about to begin¡±.


    Joker said excitedly. He seemed to remember something at that moment and turned to the Henchman who previously had the binoculars.


    ¡°Hey¡­. You¡±.


    ¡°Um¡­. Yes, Boss¡±.


    The Gotham Cathedral was a high-rise building with a very tall tower. It towered over the majority of buildings in Gotham city.


    If anyone at this moment looked at the Cathedral from a close distance, they would see what looked like a male figure, dressed up in a clown outfit, being thrown off the building while yelling and screaming.


    ¡°That''s settled¡±. Joker grinned refreshingly. Ignoring the fact that he had just tossed a Henchman who had done no moral wrong down to his death, he turned his gaze back to the commissioner, pointed his finger forward and uttered.


    ¡°And someone get this man on the set¡±.


    ..........


    Several minutes later.......


    Vroom!


    The Ricochet sped towards the direction of Gotham Cathedral as fast as its engine would allow it.


    ¡°Over there...... I see it¡±. A clown thug stationed at the church entrance yelled out loud, alerting his fellow employees to the approaching vehicle.


    There was no need for him to shout, as the others had already noticed it.


    The Ricochet continued to charge forward in a straight line, moving towards the building at an astounding speed of two hundred and fifty-seven miles per hour.


    ¡°It''s Batman¡±.


    ¡°Then what are you waiting for? Blast that thing into Oblivion¡±.


    And so, with a clear order, more than a dozen clown thugs opened fire with the loaded rifles in their handles.


    The Ricochet was immediately pelted with numerous bullets but continued to move forward undeterred.


    It wasn''t until it came with a certain range that numerous bullets hit the tire areas of the vehicle.


    With the tires burst, the vehicle spun out of control and crashed to the floor, still its forward movement carried on as the vehicle tumbled on its sides towards the gang of clowns.


    ¡°Take cover¡±. Seeing this scene, the leading thug immediately yelled and dashed out of the way. Seeing that the vehicle had no plans on coming to a halt, the others also did the same, getting out of the way as fast as possible.


    And so, the vehicle slammed into the church gates, causing a loud explosion and causing it to go ablaze.


    ¡°Damn! What was that?¡±


    ¡°Suicide..... Suicidal I tell you¡±.


    The clowns who had gotten out of the way cursed incessantly.


    ¡°Is he dead?¡±


    ¡°Has to be. No one can survive that?¡±


    ¡°Not even Batman?¡±


    ¡°Hey ....... Was he even in it?¡±


    ¡°..... No way¡­.¡±.


    While the clowns continued to look at the flaming church gates with a vigilant expression and their weapons held firmly within their grasp, a figure glided high in the sky with wings, stretched out like a bat.


    A clown thug stood guard on a balcony, watching the whole chaos below.


    ¡°Shit....... The Bat''s here .....¡±. He cussed, as he steadied his grip on the desert eagle within his possession.


    It happened then, he saw a black shadow flying in the distance.


    ¡°.... Hey, what''s that?¡± The moon wasn''t out and the area surrounding the church had no streetlights. It was difficult to tell what was flying in the sky.


    Was it a bird? Or a kite?


    The thug couldn''t help but wonder. He saw the dark shadow make a graceful curve in the air before....... Nose diving towards his direction.


    ¡°..... What a second!¡± The Thug went wide eyes as the flying silhouette rushed towards him at full speed.


    ¡°There¡±. Upon getting closer, Barbara immediately spotted an open balcony aside the church. Controlling her gliding wings, she steered herself in that direction.


    The thug on guard immediately raised his weapon to fire. Unfortunately, he was a step slower.


    Two thin wires shot out from the black shadow, stabbing straight towards the enemy.


    ¡°Ow!¡± The thug felt two needles prick into his chest area...... Yet before he could do anything else, the wire lit up with electrical arcs.


    ¡°Argh!¡± A roar of pain escaped his lips as he was shocked with the zapper.


    Two slender legs covered with durable Kevlar encasing slammed straight into the thug before he could pull the trigger.


    The gun flew out of his grasp as the thug was kicked to the ground.


    Batgirl retracted her wings and landed firmly on the balcony. She looked at the thug who laid on the floor unconscious and then turned towards the church gates.


    ¡°My baby......¡±. Seeing her beloved vehicle getting blown to bits, Barbara''s teeth itched with anger, frustration, and helplessness.


    There''s no way.


    The vehicle was a necessary sacrifice at this point. She needed something to draw attention away so she could sneak into the church unnoticed.


    This was the best way she could think of.


    Thinking back to the process, she also felt a little annoyed. The guard had screamed out loud before she could silence him.


    The stealthy infiltration she planned had gone up in smoke as her presence had been made known.


    Sure enough, the sounds of footsteps rushing in her direction could be heard.


    ¡°Well, plan B it is¡±. Saying so, she rushed forwards at full speed, throwing her stealthy operation to the wind.


    A clown thug appeared from the corner in sight. His weapon, however, was different from the last thug.


    "¡­hey!''


    Seeing Batgirl approach, he hurriedly raised his gun to open fire, but Barbara suddenly slid down, dodging the gunshot.


    BANG!


    Only, what came out of the weapon wasn''t a bullet but an energy blast. The blast came in contact with the wall in the distance, causing it to explode.


    The female Bat slid right between his open legs, slamming her fists on the ankles as she slid past.


    Crack!


    ¡°Agh!¡± The thug screamed and plunged to the ground in pain. Before he could process his situation, a heavy punch landed on his face knocking him unconscious.


    Barbara straightened her posture. She took a look at the weapon on the ground, fallen from the thug''s grasp before looking at the wall a distance away that had been blown to smithereens.


    A deep feeling of fear enveloped her, causing her to feel goosebumps.


    ¡°The damn thing looked like a gun¡±. She uttered with a heavy frown. That situation was too dangerous. If she hadn''t dodged subconsciously when she saw the raised muzzle, she would probably be dead right now.


    Even if the Kevlar suit could block the attack, and she wasn''t sure it could, the impact would have heavily shaken her internal organs.


    Her fighting ability would be reduced to zero the next moment.


    The constant thought made her break out into cold sweats.


    She took a look to her left, then her right, before heading in that direction. She had checked the church schematics.


    She needed to take the stairs down by her right.


    However, she failed to notice a figure standing a distance away from her the moment she took a direction.


    ¡°I have to admit, she''s better than I expected¡±.


    The black-haired male muttered with a slight smile. His body was in hollow state, looking completely illusory.


    ¡°She is Batman''s apprentice. She should be able to do this much¡±. Alice replied candidly.


    ¡°I suppose so¡±. He swept his gaze across the floor, his vision spotting commissioner Gordon, tied up to the cross in the church auditorium.


    ¡°That''s a new development¡±. Amari said with surprise.


    ¡°The time left is within ten minutes. Under the cover of darkness, as long as she plays her cards right, she has a slim chance of defeating The Joker. If she completes the task before then, you will have to keep your word¡±.


    Alice reminded him.


    ¡°She won''t¡±. Amari said while shaking his head.


    ¡°What makes you so sure?¡±


    ¡°Because he''s The Joker¡±.


    He replied indifferently. From what he was seeing with his eyes, unless she figured out what was going to happen ahead of time or had reflexes as fast as the flash, Barbara Gordon would definitely fail.


    ¡°Aren''t you giving him too much credit?¡±


    ¡°No. You can never judge what a madman does. As long as you give him some Kryptonite, Joker could definitely kill Superman. Barbara''s good, but only Batman can react to Joker''s insanity¡±.


    The Joker''s mind was a world of chaos. Without any powers, skills or training of any kind, he could tussle with Batman for several rounds of hide and seek. Many times, fooling The Dark Knight again and again.


    No one could guess what the Joker would do next. Not even the Joker himself.


    ¡°Still, it wouldn''t be fun if she just took down all the thugs under the cover of night. So......¡±.


    Amari removed himself from hollow state ad placed his hand on the wall beside him.


    A wisp of florescent energy escaped from his fingertips, drilling into the wall. And then.......


    The sound of electricity wiring could be heard.


    The Thugs, Batgirl, Joker, Commissioner Gordon. They all heard it, and then......


    ¡°..... Let there be light¡±.


    All the lights came on.


    Barbara Gordon: "shit¡±.

 Chapter 67 Laser Tag, Times Up

    Gotham City......... The chaos carried on as people everywhere continued to hide away in fear.


    With Joker''s threat of death, all of Gotham fell into pandemonium, as if the end of the world would take place the following hour.


    The first hour passed, and Joker kept to his word. Several GCPD surveillance blimps exploded the moment the time hit the one-hour mark.


    Now, almost another hour had passed. It wasn''t the appointed time yet, but strangely, something happened.


    Just like it did after the first series of explosions took place, almost all television stations in Gotham were hijacked.


    Billboard signs, TV commercials, news broadcasts...... The scene changed.


    Many who saw the scene expected it to show the face of that deranged maniac again, calling out for Batman to answer his challenge and giving himself yet another reason to do something that would kill the lot of them.


    Strangely however, the scene that showed was not what they expected. What appeared on screen was........ A podium?


    Wait......... Why did that place look like a church?


    Also, who was that person that was being tied to the cross on the altar?


    ¡°What the hell is that clown up to now?¡± Dick frowned heavily. Since the moment Barbara went after The Joker alone, he had this ominous premonition.


    This feeling only grew more prevalent with each passing minute.


    ¡°Computer, Call Wally¡±. Dick ordered anxiously.


    ..........


    ¡°Move, Move¡±.


    ¡°Find him¡±. Multiple clown thugs with weapons in their arms moved around the church all on alert.


    The church lights were on, giving them better view of their surroundings. At least, they wouldn''t have to worry about getting attacked due to poor vision.


    ¡°...... Hehehe... So you''re finally here Batsie". The voice sounded through the speakers set all over the church.


    Barbara looked at everything below her as she clung to the ceiling. Her spot was one of the few dark corners that wasn''t illuminated with light.


    A frown appeared on her face as she saw the weapons each thug carried.


    This...... Was going to be difficult. All because, those weren''t regular guns. It was just like the one used by that thug earlier.


    Although she knew that it couldn''t be a coincidence, the sight before her eyes still shocked.


    Ten....... Fifteen...... Twenty-two.....


    Twenty-two thugs, all armed with laser rifles. She remembered that Batman had dealt with similar weapons when Roman Sionis had armed his goons with Intergang tech. That day, Bruce didn''t make it back unscathed.


    And that was considering his highly durable batsuit and his high combat prowess.


    Now, she found herself in a somewhat, similar situation.


    ¡°Glad you could finally join the party. But why are you hiding?¡± He inquired with sadistic delight.


    ¡°Come out, come out, wherever you are. We''re just about to play a game. A very popular one which I''m sure you''ll agree with. You know what it''s called?¡±.


    Barbara partially if ignored the words, seemingly scanning her surroundings. Then and there, she noticed it.


    Cameras........ All set up in different directions. Three, four...... Four.


    She counted four from four different directions. Nevertheless, they all unanimously pointed towards a specific area.


    The church altar, where the body of a man was tied to the cross, his face wrapped up in a cloth and his body hung without movement as if he were a dead person.


    A small puddle of blood had formed underneath the cross.


    ¡°Dad!¡± Batgirl exclaimed slightly with a worried expression.


    ¡°I even got some actual game equipment to make the game all the more....... realistic hehehe, and exciting. As you can see. So let''s play Batsie, a little game I like to call, Laser Tag....... Haha haha".


    It happened then.


    One of the clowns suddenly looked up, spotting the darkly dressed figure hanging unto a wooden beam.


    Seeing that her location was exposed, Barbara immediately threw out dozens of balls.


    ¡°Above¡±. One screamed, and they all raised their heads alongside their weapons, only to see multiple objects fall from the ceiling, landing in their midst.


    Boom!


    The entire church hall was suddenly filled with smoke, once again obstructing vision as the balls exploded.


    Tapping the side of her cowl, the multi vision function of her mask was turned on.


    ¡°Ok Barbara, don''t die¡±.


    Following which, she let go of the wooden beam and fell downwards with her cape outstretched.


    Pew!


    Pew!


    Pew!


    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡±


    ¡°Shoot him¡±


    ¡°You fucking.....¡±


    Laser blasts and Batarangs flew in all directions, on multiple occasions, resulting in friendly fire.


    Barbara clashed her fists together, her gloves emitted electric arcs.


    With utter concentration and impressive dexterity, her lean, well toned physique dodged many attacks intentionally and unintentionally aimed at her.


    A marvelous display of martial and acrobatic ability.


    With every leap, dodge and strike she made, an enemy would be rendered temporarily paralyzed due to the electric current in her attacks.


    The video was displayed throughout all of Gotham. The citizens watched the scene playing out before their eyes.


    They couldn''t see anything though, as the smoke obscured all actions on video. The laser blasts firing in all directions though could be seen clearly.


    Although they were unable to tell exactly what was happening, that didn''t mean someone else couldn''t.


    ¡°Her performance is impressive¡±.


    Amari didn''t respond. Watching the scene with utmost clarity.


    Seeing the performance of the redhead, he had to give her some credit.


    But all in all, he wasn''t too surprised. She was trained by Batman.


    Dick could do similar.


    ¡°Pity¡±. He couldn''t help but mutter.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    .......


    Less than two minutes had passed, and the smoke began to clear out.


    Zap!!


    Thud.


    A rather muscular fellow, wearing a clown mask, fell to the ground unconscious.


    The smoke cleared completely. Standing above the thug¡¯s body was Batgirl, sweating profusely and panting heavily.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± A let out a pained groan, as a stinging pain assaulted her nerves.


    Turning her head down towards her waist, a part of her suit was letting out slight smoke.


    The same thing happened on her left shoulder.


    Just like Batman, she didn''t manage to escape unscathed. With the obstruction of fog, the thugs fired rampantly with little care for hitting allies.


    Barbara considered herself lucky that she reacted quick enough to get out of the way.


    If not, she would probably have a hole near her stomach or lost an arm instead of having skin burns.


    Still, that didn''t mean it didn''t hurt badly.


    Barbara turned her head to look around. The sight was gruesome. The scene played out in front of all Gotham citizens.


    Apart from the few that she knocked unconscious, others were caught directly in the crossfire.


    Bits and pieces of flesh were splattered everywhere and many had holes in their bodies.


    Barbara noticed a corpse whose penis area had a gaping hole.


    The sight chilled her to the extreme.


    ¡°It''s over¡±. Barbara said out loud.


    But in fact, her vigilance was raised to the extreme.


    The clown gang had been defeated, but its leader was nowhere to be found.


    Barbara was sure that the Joker was somewhere watching her. Just waiting for the moment she let her guard down to strike.


    And so, with wariness, she walked towards the altar.


    Looking at the cross which held her father, Barbara felt slightly anxious. The pool of blood formed underneath had turned into a medium-sized puddle.


    Seeing this, she hastened her footsteps and arrived at the altar. Without delay, she took two Batarangs and threw them at the ropes binding his hands.


    The ropes were cut off, and the body fell to the ground. Barbara wanted to catch him, but the fact that the Joker was still out there made her resist.


    Thud!


    The body fell to the floor and let out a groan.


    ¡°It''s ok, Mr. Commissioner.....¡±.


    Barbara approached her father. Her body was tense, waiting just in case an attack was launched.


    ¡°You''re safe now......¡±. Barbara said as she pulled the cloth covering his face, but the scene she saw made her freeze.


    ¡°Why, hello deary¡±. White face, red lips, green hair...... Joker looked at the stunned female in front of him with a crazy grin.


    Batgirl was caught off guard. And then.......


    Bang!


    Barbara''s mouth was wide open. The force from the blast hit her straight in her waist, pushing her back three meters.


    Blood spilled from the point of impact, indicating that the Kevlar suit had been penetrated.


    Barbara''s body crashed to the ground heavily.


    ¡°Ugh...... Arg...¡± Pain.


    Severe pain assaulted her nerves as she instinctively lifted her shaky hands to cover the hole that had formed on her waist.


    ¡°Trying to stop the blood loss?¡± Joker asked as he pushed himself off the ground.


    Tears flowed from Barbara''s eyes.


    ¡°Well I wouldn''t worry about that just yet¡±. Joker didn''t seem to mind receiving no answer. He patted the corners of his clothes, seemingly dusting the imaginary dirt on his body off.


    He took two steps forward, looked at Batgirl on the floor and said.


    ¡°...... You..... are obviously not Batman¡±. He shook his head right afterward and sighed with disappointment, before raising the laser rifle in his hand and gesturing to the side.


    ¡°Alright, be honest with me here. You didn''t see that coming, did ya?¡±


    ¡°Like the joke?¡±


    ¡°Now you see, that''s why I''m so disappointed. Batman would have seen that coming. And you....... I know you..... You should be his little sidekick right?¡± He pressed the blaster against his cheek, seemingly in deep thought, before his eyes lit up.


    ¡°Yes, that''s right. The female bat Harley mentions every now and then. Says you''re a real tough nut to crack¡±.


    He squatted down near Barbara''s face.


    ¡°Weird. I thought it was usually you and the Boy blunder, never seen Batman bring you to chase after me. Which makes me wonder...... What the hell were you thinking, trying to do Batman''s job?¡±


    Joker asked in puzzlement before shrugging.


    ¡°But hey, I guess it''s normal you didn''t expect it. After all, the commissioner''s clothes I borrowed fit like a glove¡±. He said so, gesturing to the clothes on his body.


    ¡°Still, I do have to hand it to you¡±. At this point, his gaze wasn''t on the redhead, but on the numerous fallen Henchmen all over.


    ¡°Tsk Tsk..... I guess even a baby bat isn''t something the average Joe can take on. Just look at all ....... this..... And the turning on the lights'' thing was your move, right?¡± He questioned with a raised eyebrow.


    Barbara didn''t respond. She was in too much pain to register anything that was being said to her.


    ¡°Not answering? That''s rather rude. You should at least show common courtesy. After all, you just made me lose a bet. Nothing too big, still, It meant a great deal to me. So here it goes. Someone told me, that no matter what I did, Batman wouldn''t show up tonight. Of course, I didn''t believe it, and so we made a bet. I set out to prove him wrong which led to all the events that were orchestrated tonight. I had hoped that Batsie would show up........ But instead of him, I got you¡±.


    "And that..... Makes me really, really unhappy. So, since I can''t have Batman..... I''ll just have to make do with what I''m given.


    He uttered in a sinister tone.


    As he finished his words, the laser blaster within his possession was placed aside. And then.......... A crowbar was pulled out of his underpants.


    Seeing this scene, Barbara''s eyes widened as a deep feeling of fear overtook her nerves.


    What the hell was this monster planning to do.


    ¡°Oh, we should be live right now. How forgetful of me¡±. It happened then.


    As if realizing something, the Joker slapped his palm on his forehead.


    Then, he turned around, facing away from the podium, and looked into the distance with a smile.


    ¡°Hello there citizens of Gotham. I''m sorry to announce that this special party of mine is coming to an end¡±.


    His chalk white face could be seen on almost every screen in Gotham.


    Ten


    Nine


    Eight


    ¡°Bastard, this Bastard!¡± Dick roared angrily, his bike heading towards the cathedral. Just a few more blocks.


    ¡°I hope you enjoyed the show. Of course, I can''t just leave you all empty-handed now, can I? No, no no..... I have a special surprise for you all. A very, explosive one¡±. Saying this, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a remote detonator.


    Seven


    Six


    ¡°Well, it''s been fun. You can perfectly enjoy the thrilling fireworks I set up, as well as watch the splendid video of me beating Batman''s sidekick to death¡±.


    Five


    Four


    Three


    ¡°So now.....¡±.


    Two


    ¡°See you all on the other side¡±.


    One


    ¡°Hahahaha¡±. And with that, he pushed the detonator.


    ¡°.....¡±


    All over Gotham, a weird silence enveloped the entire area. Many people covered their eyes, hugged their close ones, some stood there watching blankly.


    All waiting for what would most certainly come next.


    But strangely, nothing happened......


    The whole city was...... Calm.


    ¡°What in the world¡­.?¡± Seeing that pushing the detonator had no effect, Joke frowned and yelled in a raspy, high voice.


    He pushed the button repeatedly in an attempt to make everything go boom.


    Sadly, nothing happened.


    ¡°The detonator was supposed to cause half the city to go up in smoke. Why isn''t it doing anything? We had the whole audience on stitches, now we have to re-cut them all over again¡±.


    And then, Joker turned around to look at Barbara Gordon.


    ¡°It was you, wasn''t it? Did you do something to my detonator?¡± He asked, visibly fuming.


    ¡°Or did Batman discover my plan all along. So he sent you here as a diversion while he went around disarming the bombs himself..... Haha¡­. Well played Batsie".


    Without even receiving a reply, he immediately attributed everything to batman.


    ¡°Despite that, I don''t think he can make it in time to save you¡±.


    Barbara watched as he walked to her with a hideous smile, holding a crowbar in his hand.


    She took a profound look before closing her eyes, resigning herself to her fate.


    Seeing this, Joker grinned wider. He raised the crowbar in his hand high above his head and swung down violently.


    KINK!


    The crowbar hit something, but the sound it gave off wasn''t quite what he was expecting.


    Joker''s eyes widened...... All he felt was a tremendous force slam into his chest, sending him flying into the distance.


    ¡°Alright redhead. Times up¡±.

 Chapter 68 Jokers Death

    ¡°Blergh!¡± The mad clown retched right there and then.


    His chest was slightly sunken, his pale face, if possible, seemed to grow slightly paler. Unable to stop the flow from his stomach, he spat out blood twice.


    Still, that did nothing to make him show a painful grimace.


    ¡°Well well, madness isn''t all there is to it. He doesn''t feel pain...... That should be considered a perk right?¡±


    All heroes and villains had a backstory, usually tragic ones. A sort of transformation process before they turned into what they eventually became.


    Like Batman spending ten years training with the league of assassin''s. After completing the process, they would typically emerge with a special trait they didn''t previously have.


    Similar to Batman, it was the same with Joker. One might think his transformation was one of the most common ones that existed.


    He didn''t gain extraordinary strength, nifty superpowers or well-honed fighting skills.


    Just insanity and a twisted mentality. But there was more to it than that.


    Joker was an unstable character, and the fact that nothing you did to him could hurt him made him an all the more frustrating character.


    Beat him, break his bones, threaten him with his life...... Nothing.


    A truly remarkable character in an unremarkable way.


    ¡°No pain, huh?......¡± I contemplated in deep thought. An idea I considered to be somewhat wonderful lit up in my mind.


    ¡°You!......¡±. A pained exclamation brought me out of my inner world.


    I turned my gaze to Barbara, who was looking at me with wide eyes.


    ¡°Why hello redhead. Miss me?¡±


    I could see the look in her eyes. It shifted between me and the now bent crowbar that had stuck against my chest.


    ¡°You just...... Saved me?¡±


    ¡°You misunderstand. We had a deal, remember? If you couldn''t arrest him yourself, I''d take over. From the looks of it, you failed¡±.


    I tilted my head slightly while putting my hand under my chin.


    ¡°And quite frankly, you don''t look so good¡±.


    ¡°....ugh¡­. No¡­. Kidding¡±. Barbara uttered with difficulty.


    She closed her eyes trying desperately to stop the tears seeping through them. Looks like she would rather not be seen so vulnerable.


    Still, it wouldn''t do her any good. Her current state was now a sight in front of millions of people. And they had seen how it happened first hand.


    ¡°Hey!........ Oi, quit the sappy stuff you got going on there. You''re leaving me out?¡±


    That raspy voice called out again.


    It drew my gaze to the mad clown who was resting his back against the wall in the distance. He held his laser blaster in front of him, pointed towards my direction.


    His face wasn''t smiling in the slightest anymore. His eyebrows were greatly narrowed, eyeing me as if he would eat me alive the following moment.


    ¡°Oh, Joker¡±. I said apathetically.


    ¡°Haha! So you know who I am? I was starting to think you hadn''t heard of me. That''s good¡­. Good¡±. His frown disappeared and burst out into full-blown laughter.


    I was slightly surprised, though it didn''t show on my facial expressions. This guy changes faces faster than a supercar on a racetrack.


    The urge to look into his head and see what was going in within it was particularly prevalent at his moment. Literally.


    ¡°Ok, so why don''t you tell me......¡± Mid-sentence, he raised the weapon in his hand and pointed it towards me with a vicious grin on his face.


    ¡°....... Who the fuck are you supposed to be?¡±


    Strange, he didn''t recognize me? Well, I''m not too famous now, am I? Perhaps for government agencies, I can be called a famous character. Not regular villains, though.


    A character like The Joker who was fresh out of Arkham would probably not know who I am.


    ¡°.... Oh wait, don''t tell me. You are a new guy from Batsie''s family? From the way you''re familiar, that should be the case¡­.¡±


    ¡°No¡±. That wild guess was way off.


    "I''m one of the ¡°unlucky¡± guys who happened to be in that park at South Gotham you blew up".


    I replied and he didn''t respond. He spent a few seconds like that. Didn''t make a sound.


    His expression was frozen, as if time had stopped. Freaky when you look at it from a certain perspective. And then¡­.


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± He just started laughing again. That hyena-like laughter that could make the average person uncomfortable just by listening to it.


    Honestly........ It was really annoying. I couldn''t help but be curious. I could see it in his eyes, he wasn''t faking it, but for some reason was seriously, genuinely amused.


    Mind-boggling if you see it in a normal person. But then again, Joker wasn''t all that normal now, was he?


    I let him laugh it out. For a moment, my desire to kill him waned a bit, so I could hear his thoughts.


    ¡°Hahahaha, hehehe so funny. So, let me guess, you''re here for revenge? To put me back behind bars? Or what? Kill me?¡±


    He burst out laughing again.


    ¡°Forgive my amusement. I''m not laughing at you. I just can''t help it...... You had a front seat for the show, right there in the splash zone. And now, you''re here for revenge. Hahaha, how ironic¡±.


    ¡°You''re off to a great start by the way. That hit¡­. I''m really in a lot of pain right now. I think my sternum''s cracked¡­. By the way, I''m gonna assume disabling all the bombs was your handiwork? Pretty nice....... I could rate you on the same level as Bats. However......¡±.


    The grin on his face widened even more.


    ¡°Don''t think it will be so easy to kill me. I might just be an insane clown, but I''m a considerable asset to many people. I''ll give you a tip buddy, you should be very careful.......¡±.


    ¡°Oh! You''re talking about these guys?¡± I asked while releasing a chuckle.


    I snapped my fingers and the space in front of me cracked open.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Thud!


    Thud!


    Thud!


    Followed by the scene of several bodies falling out of thin air.


    Haha! Looking at the Joker''s speechless expression, now it was my turn to be amused.


    There in front of the cameras laid killer Croc, Clay face and what do you know, Bronze Tiger.


    Was it surprising? If you think about it clearly, then no. Apart from the fact that Joker would catch Barbara off guard, this was one of the reasons why I said she would never succeed.


    Any of these three would give Batgirl a hard time. Not to mention all three at once.


    ¡°So...... You got anything else?¡± I asked with a raised eyebrow. To be honest, I found this whole thing interesting.


    How would the Joker react when he realized that he didn''t have any more cards up his sleeve? Or did he still have some?


    ¡°My my, aren''t you pretty thorough. I''m surprised how you even found them¡±. He replied with his gaze shifting between the three bodies.


    ¡°Impressive, I''ve got to hand it to you. But still, it seems like you missed something¡±. Oh! Was there something else?


    He flashed his white teeth before hollering at the top of his lungs.


    ¡°Boys, get him over here." Hearing him, I turned my head to the distance.


    A door was pushed open, and two figures stepped out of the room. Two able-bodied men, wearing black jackets and clown masks.


    No one special. But the person they held in their midst was.


    ¡°Da...... Mr. Commissioner¡±. Barbara let out weakly.


    ¡°Ok, now I have to ask. How are you still alive?¡±. The psychotic green eyes immediately fixed on Batgirl. Seeing that despite laying in a puddle of blood, she was still alive, Joker couldn''t help but marvel.


    With the gaping hole in her waist area, she should have bled to death by now.


    ¡°The commissioner? This is your last card?¡± I asked in slight wonder.


    ¡°Oh no, no". The Joke shook his head, slight blood seeping from his lips.


    ¡°From what I can see, you''re a real tough guy. If what you said is true, then I doubt lasers would work on you. And depending on the next course of events, today might be the day I meet my end. So, while I''m still capable........ Why don''t I crack my last joke¡±.


    His mouth stretched to their limits. The frenzied, demented smirk on his lips was particularly chilling.


    ¡°Let''s leave it as a goodbye present for Bats when he returns¡±. The laser blaster pointed towards me changed direction, aiming at the unconscious Commissioner in the grasp of his goons.


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    Bang!


    Blood splattered everywhere. Barbara''s pale face grew paler and her eyes widened.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Joker groaned in pain. This was the best he could do as he stifled whatever scream attempted to escape from his lips.


    ¡°Argh...... Ha¡­. You really got me. Hahahaha! Nice one¡± Drops of sweat appeared on his chalk white skin. Turning his gaze towards his right arm that held the blaster, all that was there was a heavily bleeding stump.


    ¡°Jammed blaster? Don''t feel bad, it sometimes happens". I remarked indifferently. The blaster Joker used to try to kill the commissioner exploded as soon as he pulled the trigger.


    No doubt, my doing.


    ¡°Still, a jammed blaster taking away half an arm...... Now that''s rarer¡±.


    I stopped it. Not because I wanted Jim Gordon to live but because it would be a disgrace for this guy to kill another living soul when I''ve decided he no longer needs to exist.


    Even my indifference to everything had a limit. Allowing the commissioner to die when time was up wasn''t being indifferent, it was just plain cruelty.


    I turned my gaze towards the two henchmen who were scared silly due to the fact that they almost died.


    Sure the Joker aimed at the commissioner, but who knew if they would get shot instead.


    ¡°Leave¡±. As if granted amnesty, the two goons dropped Gordon hastily on the floor before fleeing for their lives. I watched them leave with an indifferent expression.


    ¡°I''ll assume that''s the best you can do. In that case, we can end it¡±.


    ¡°Haha¡­ Well, I guess my time on Earth''s up¡±. Joker grinned without an ounce of fear.


    The fact that his possible death didn''t scare him was an admirable quality, no matter what kind of person Joker was. But what else would you expect from a madman?


    ¡°Say goodbye to Batman for me¡±.


    Looking at his smiling face, I felt something. The previous thoughts of delaying his death, curing his insanity and making him experience everything he had ever done to everyone else quietly disappeared.


    I wanted to torture him..... At least I did at first.


    My thoughts were quite simple. Instill in him everything he never had to experience the moment he turned into the Joker.


    Pain, Fear, Sanity, Regret.


    Let him experience everything at once before sending him off. Maybe I wouldn''t even kill him.


    I could just imprison his mind in an endless space of torture, turn him into a mental retard, permanently paralyze him, put him in a coma....... The options were endless.


    After all, there were things much worse than death.


    These were what I wanted to do the moment that park blew up with me in it. So, it made me wonder.


    Am I really as emotionless as I think I am?


    The newfound discovery waned any interest I had in making the Joker feel pain.


    I just took one last look at his face. And then....... The Joker''s body was suddenly caught with black flames, spreading everywhere.


    With the power of Amaterasu, Jack Oswald White, ignited like a bonfire. The flames melted his skin, his hair, and his bones, devouring him whole.


    ¡°HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHA!¡± Even in the face of his impending death, experiencing the feeling of having his entire body roasted. The mad clown never stopped laughing.


    ¡°Oh Batsie, I can''t believe we''ll never be able to see each other again. Too bad¡­ I do hope you will break even if I''m not the one to do it¡±.


    This was the last thought he had before his consciousness was snuffed out.


    Silence crashed into the building. Amari looked at the ashes symbolizing all that remained of the mad clown.


    ..........


    Meanwhile, everyone in Gotham watched the scene with eyes wide and mouths opened.


    Their expressions of shock, disbelief and occasional delight was particularly eye-catching as the scene of the Joke getting roasted to death was played out in front of them.


    ¡°Is this...... really happening?¡±


    ¡°This should be fake right?¡±


    ¡°Who is this guy?¡±


    ¡°..... He just killed the Joker¡­"


    People still found it difficult to believe at first, but everything they had experienced tonight was clear facts that this wasn''t a hallucination.


    Then, when it finally began to settle in, the commotion it brought about was unimaginable.


    ¡°He''s dead¡±.


    ¡°He''s dead¡±.


    ¡°Holy shit! The Joker is dead¡±.


    ¡°Good riddance bastard¡­.¡±


    ¡°..... hahahahaha".


    "The last huzzah, performed by yours truly, Joker".


    Hundreds of voices soon turned to thousands and tens of thousands.


    ¡°The Deviant just killed the Joker¡±.


    ¡°Heaven be praised, Gotham is finally saved¡±.


    While all of Gotham began to rejoice, I turned my gaze back to the fallen commissioner and Barbara who due to my actions, hadn''t died despite losing so much blood.


    ¡°Seriously, your group of heroes are always late........¡±. I stopped my words halfway as my ears twitched.


    It happened then, the sound of something coming rapidly in this direction fell in my ears.


    ¡°........ You can''t be serious¡±.


    Bang!


    Something crashed through the ceiling, causing debris to fall to the floor in the distance.


    A stray rock was caught in my palm as it headed in my direction.


    I took a good look at the stone in my palm before moving my gaze forward.


    ¡°...... Honestly........ This is getting old¡±. If there was one thing that really got on my nerves, then this would be it.


    Clark fully decked out in his super suit, swept his super vision around the place. Looking at about Barbara, Gordon, and a pile of ashes, his expression was particularly grave.


    In the end, Clark took a deep breath.


    ¡°Ok, how about we have that talk?¡±

 Chapter 69 Another Death

    Gotham City ......


    Oh! What was that sound? What someone would usually answer was the sound of gunshots, explosions and whatnot.


    It was this terrible city''s trademark.


    But not tonight, though. The loud noises still existed, but tonight..... Oh tonight, the explosive noises were fireworks.


    The dark Gotham sky was lit up with dozens of bright, colorful fireworks as the entire gloomy city fell into a frenzied, festive atmosphere.


    People were running up and down the streets, shouting, screaming, spinning their shirts around.


    People knelt on the floor and cried. Nothing unusual, but this time, these were tears of joy.


    Be it gangsters, thugs, goons, regular civilians, all of them jumped up and down and hugged each other without reservation.


    In the history of Gotham, this was truly a sight to behold.


    If placed in any other city in the United States, the first thought would be that America won the world cup.


    But for people in Gotham, that was nowhere near enough to warrant this level of hysteria.


    Yellows and reds and blues sparkling through the smog, hope piercing through a veil of heaviness that had plagued the city''s good citizens and the bad alike.


    He was dead.


    That Goddamn clown was no more.


    The Joker was dead, and there could be no greater cause for celebration. On the following day, the whole city was immersed in its joyous atmosphere and a certain mutual understanding had been born.


    Today, there were no thugs, no goons, no murders, no stealing, no mugging, no gang wars, no cartel trades...... Nothing.


    It almost seemed as if all of Gotham''s filth had been swept down the gutter and crime had come to a standstill. It was incredible.


    Of course this was just temporary, but today....... Just for today..... Even the criminals felt other actions apart from celebration and cheer were unnecessary.


    The Joker was so hated that the day the clown died was enough to be declared a respected date on the national calendar.


    Honestly, if Luthor wasn''t the current president, whoever was would definitely make it official.


    The video had gone viral.


    #JokerIsDead


    One of the most trending hashtags in the United States and many countries worldwide.


    This was due to the fact that the Mad clown also took vacations every now and then. And wherever his foot stepped on, he made sure to leave a lasting impression.


    So the video of his demise by fire was unprecedentedly popular.


    Nothing could be better...... Or so Gotham citizens thought...... But that''s not my problem now, is it?


    No.


    While I admit that I also got a lot of unwarranted exposure from this incident, I couldn''t care less.


    The eyes on my body had risen by so many levels.


    Countless speculations, special reports and blah blah blah blah blah.....


    Honestly, I feel like these are all a waste of time. Joker unknowingly tried to kill me, and so, I killed him back. End of story.


    The clown got what he deserved, and this matter should be over. Too bad, he didn''t seem to think so.


    And by ¡°he¡±.......


    ..............


    United States


    Metropolis


    ¡°Alright, let''s talk¡±. Clark said with a stern expression on his face.


    Yep, you know who I mean. Superman..... Or currently Clark Kent.


    We didn''t talk on the night of Joker''s death. At that time, he had too many things to deal with.


    Some important notes though, Barbara survived. Yes, like her original fate, she would never be able to walk again.


    No surprises on that part.


    Couldn''t care less, though. Clark spoke, but my gaze was fixed on the TV screen hung on the wall a few meters away from our table.


    You could guess where we were simply because Clark wasn''t on uniform. A standard everyday Caf¨¦ somewhere in Metropolis.


    The fact that he wasn''t though, meant a lot of things. For one, he wasn''t planning on taking me to jail for Joker''s death.


    The city was still as nice as I remembered it.


    There was a news report going on about me right that moment, mentioning the events of that night. The video view count was already breaking seven digits in such a short time.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Listen to this one. Should The Deviant be considered a hero?¡± I remarked with a bit of amusement.


    Clark listening frowned slightly.


    ¡°No....... Honestly, I don''t think people should consider you a hero at all¡±.


    Clark said lightly.


    ¡°Oh! Then do tell me why you....... You know what, never mind". The desire to know the answer waned rapidly. I didn''t care to know why, or more like I knew why but didn''t care anyway.


    If I asked, Clark would probably say something like, ¡°Because you don''t consider yourself a hero at all¡±.


    Classic Superman line. Short, precise and still polite.


    Batman, on the other hand, would definitely say it as blunt as possible, stating several sets of reasons the average superhero most likely couldn''t even think of.


    ¡°Because you''re not a hero, you have the power but no motivation. You have literally no sense of mercy and proportion by my standards. Furthermore, if I were to break down on the many reasons why you''re not suitable on an emotional level, we''d be here for a month¡±. Yep, stuff like that.


    But they would be right about one thing. I most certainly wasn''t.


    "By the way, are you sure it''s ok to be out in the open like this.


    Clark pushed up his glasses slightly, looking a bit dignified.


    ¡°Relax pal, it works the same way your glasses do. As long as I don''t want to be noticed, ordinary people will subconsciously ignore my existence¡±.


    ¡°...... I can see that¡±. Looking at the moving customers treating them as if they were air, Clark felt slightly reassured.


    ¡°Ok, why here?¡± I couldn''t help but ask, seeing as the conversation wasn''t going anywhere yet.


    ¡°We could have done this at literally better locations. The Watchtower, The Cave, I mean....... Your apartment would do just fine¡±. Clark''s face scrunched up at that last one.


    ¡°I prefer to keep hero work out of my personal life. Besides, I thought this would be a better location¡±.


    He ended there. I didn''t say anything to keep the conversation going. Just stared at him lightly with no signs of impatience.


    And so, a quiet staring contest started without the realization of those around us.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    About a minute and a half passed by before he finally broke the silence.


    ¡°Thank You¡±.


    He uttered as he lowered his head slightly.


    ¡°I don''t follow¡±.


    ¡°For Kara¡±.


    Ok, now I do follow. A bit surprised but when coming from the Man Of Steel, it wasn''t completely unexpected.


    ¡°I see you''ve gotten to know each other¡±. I said with a gesture.


    ¡°But there''s no need to thank me. I didn''t do much. Plus, I had my motives for helping in the first place¡±.


    ¡°I know. She filled me in on the fact that you took samples of her DNA¡±. I could see his eyebrows narrow.


    Clark looked at me intensely.


    ¡°I''d ask, but I doubt you would tell me. I also doubt that I''d like what I hear if you did¡±.


    "Have some more confidence and remove the ¡°doubt¡±. Because trust me, you won''t".


    His right hand squeezed into a light fist. Saw that coming.


    I found it quite amusing to irritate him. Same with the little blonde.


    ¡°Like I said, thank you. Kara might be the only blood relative I have left. For taking care of her, even only for a short time, you have my thanks¡­.¡±.


    His word made me raise an eyebrow. I was waiting for the twist.


    ¡°But still.......¡±. And it certainly didn''t disappoint.


    ¡°There are some things that need to be set straight¡±. His voice took an even more serious tone.


    ¡°Like?¡± I reached out for the Espresso on my side of the table. Clark paused as he watched me bring it to my mouth and take a sip.


    ¡°Are you going to kill anyone else?¡±


    Ok, that was a loaded question. Expected, but still. I raised an eyebrow while bringing the mug back to my lips again.


    ¡°Depends¡±. I answered.


    ¡°On what¡±. He certainly didn''t like that answer. Judging by the increasing frown on his face.


    ¡°The situation¡±.


    There was a brief silence.


    ¡°You can''t go around killing people¡±.


    ¡°I have done no such thing. He was an exception, well within my principles¡±. I replied indifferently.


    This was a bit......... odd. Normally, I wouldn''t sit down to have this kind of chat for so long.


    Would I?


    Honestly, I don''t even know anymore.


    ¡°I believe, by now, you should know a bit about me. I don''t provoke when I''m unprovoked. So as long as I''m not affected by someone''s plans directly or indirectly, your villains can massacre the masses for all I care¡±. That was my last word before I took a drink.


    He stopped. Apparently, my words stung a bit.


    ¡°I''m afraid you''ll find it difficult to continue your undisturbed life. You killed The Joker for everyone in the world to see. My guess is, you''re already being targeted¡±. This was what Clark was afraid of.


    The Justice League had already guessed that a secret organization (The Light) was the mastermind behind several events they had experienced.


    The public mayhem Joker had unleashed was somewhat suspicious. It would be fine if they were mistaken but if not, I would certainly fall into their view.


    If some maniac decided to test my bottom line, only God knows how everything would eventually play out. The highest likely ending would be more deaths.


    Not just villains. The American government was already looking in my direction.


    The Joker was a criminal, there was no arguing that fact. But his life and death status should have been under the control of the government.


    And the way I just killed someone in public view was undoubtedly stepping on their toes.


    If I could do it to Joker, I could do it to anyone who messed with me.


    This was why he was uneasy.


    Judging from the last conversation he had with that fat lady, Clark was inexplicably worried.


    ¡°So you haven''t found a way to stop me?¡± I shot.


    ¡°Without causing mass destruction and the death of millions? No. At this point, I can only hope to make a convincing argument¡±. He shot back.


    True. I had no general weaknesses to speak of.


    Banishing me to another dimension was out of the question.


    Conflict with the League would eventually lead to a large-scale fight. Such clash with beings on Superman''s level was capable of erasing a city in minutes if care wasn''t taken.


    At that time, regardless of who won, the loss wouldn''t be worth it.


    Worth it for them.


    This was something Superman didn''t want to see.


    I gave him a profound look before moving my gaze away.


    ¡°If you don''t want me to go kill anyone, there''s a simple solution¡±.


    ¡°And what might that be?¡±


    ¡°Make sure your villains keep their plots to themselves and your government leaves their funny ideas at that. Nothing more than funny ideas¡±. I replied plainly.


    ¡°Let''s not waste any more time than necessary. Your views of right and wrong are fundamentally different from mine. In the sense that you only see your beliefs on right and wrong, while I see neither¡±.


    My tone wasn''t easygoing anymore.


    ¡°You believe that all life is precious, and no man is entitled to take the life of another. I on the other hand, have no such tolerance for an attempt on my life. I won''t simply bow my head and wait for one annoyance after another to pester me¡±. The Espresso was finally finished.


    ¡°It''s that simple. You can endure someone repeatedly trying to kill you while I can''t¡±.


    Clark''s face was slightly grave, but he couldn''t say anything else.


    I had conveyed my condition to him as best as I could. As long as I wasn''t the one looking for trouble, then I wouldn''t tolerate anyone pulling me into it.


    Human beings were complicated creatures with complicated moral standards. Upholding myself to those standards was nothing more than a fools'' errand.


    If they were entitled to plot against my life, then I had the right to end theirs.


    ¡°But allay your worries. Like I said, the Joker was an exception. If something like that happens again, you can rest assured that I won''t kill them¡±.


    I raised my head up to see Clark''s stunned expression.


    What was going on? Am I hearing right? Is there some kind of trickery involved here?


    I could guess the numerous thoughts fleeting through his mind right now. Clark definitely never expected to hear these words from me.


    ¡°You''re serious?¡± Clark questioned with scrutiny.


    ¡°Of course. I''m not a murderous maniac. I won''t just go about killing everyone who has wronged me¡±.


    Clark looked at me with a bit of doubt and surprise. This, was truly unexpected.


    ¡°After all, there are many things worse than death¡±. However, my next words caused his expression to solidify.


    The indifferent expression was no joke


    Looking at my facial features, The Man Of Steel felt a slight chill. Looks like this was going to be harder than he initially thought.


    Ring!


    ¡°You.....¡±. His words came to a halt before he could utter them. Seeing his ringing phone, Clark frowned slightly before answering.


    ¡°Hello. Yes, this is Cla.. Wait, Arrow, slow down. What''s happening?¡±


    The frown on his face grew deeper. His gaze shifted towards me for a split second before moving away.


    Now that piqued my interest.


    I couldn''t help being puzzled. Another emergency call?


    ¡°I see....... Of course, I''m available. I''m on my way¡±. Those were his last words before he ended the call.


    ¡°Emergency call?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes¡±.


    ¡°Then I guess we''re done here¡±. I uttered nonchalantly, about to get up from my seat.....


    ¡°Actually, no¡±.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Looking at my expression that carried slight confusion, Clark picked up the hat on the table and stood up.


    ¡°This way¡±. He said before turning around towards the exit.


    I narrowed my eyes slightly. Seeing his departing figure, I got up as well and followed.


    The Caf¨¦ was quickly left behind by both of us. Eventually, we turned into an alley.


    ¡°Follow me¡±. Putting both hands on his clothes, he slightly exerted his strength and the buttons came undone, showing his super suit underneath.


    ¡°Why?¡± The scene in front of me was puzzling.


    ¡°There was an accident at Star Labs in Central City¡±. He replied.


    ¡°Seriously?¡± I raised an eyebrow. He couldn''t be serious.


    ¡°Not my problem¡±.


    ¡°Actually, it is¡±.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Something..... Or someone you''ve apparently crossed paths with¡±. Clark said seriously.


    ¡°You''ll understand soon enough. Just follow me¡±. Those were his last words before he blasted to the skies.


    ¡°Yeah........ No¡±. I said, not minding the fact that he wasn''t in my presence. He took off before I could even give an answer, expecting me to follow.


    So, that''s on him. Besides, he could probably hear me.


    ¡°You should go with him, sir¡±. The voice of my AI fell into my ears just as I was about to turn around.


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°It will be of interest to you¡±.


    ¡°Ok, I gotta see this¡±.


    And so, my figure disappeared from the alley at a speed surpassing sound.


    ...........


    Two minutes Later


    Star Labs


    Central City.


    ¡°Ok, this is definitely interesting¡±.


    Looking at Zoom''s shrivelled corpse, my eyes lit up with curiosity.

 Chapter 70 Rise Of Parasite

    Star Labs


    Central City


    One of the most iconic research facilities in the city, surpassing even Mercury Labs.


    The facility was known to be responsible for the particle accelerator accident many years ago that created the wave of metahumans that plagued Central City for close to a decade.


    It was also responsible for the creation of one of Earth''s greatest Superheroes. The guardian of Central City, more popularly known as ¡°The Flash¡±.


    Home to some of the greatest minds on the planet, since then, staff of Star Labs had become pioneers on the road of technology. Working with the government and the Justice League to make groundbreaking advancements in human sciences.


    It was also in this building that another famous superhero, Cyborg was created.


    However, at this moment, the whole building was crawling with military soldiers securing every nook and cranny.


    Central City''s iconic figure, The Flash in his red speedster suit stood at its lower levels, hands on his hips and a gloomy and uncertain expression on his face.


    ¡°Hey dude, you sure you''re ok?¡± A figure beside him couldn''t help but ask with a touch of worry.


    ¡°The Flash¡± turned his gaze to the side where someone he was so familiar with yet also unfamiliar at the same time stood.


    Wally West, also known as Kid flash.


    ¡°..... Yes¡­ I''m fine. Just..... A little unsettled, is all¡±. He said while taking a deep breath.


    His gaze moved back towards the shrivelled corpse that was lying in the distance.


    ¡°Still can''t believe he''s actually dead though¡±. His solemn voice irked Wally out a bit.


    Wally frowned slightly. The black flash in his line of vision put him in deep thought.


    ¡°Was he really that bad?¡±


    The young speedster couldn''t resist asking for confirmation.


    ¡°He was the worst¡±.


    The reply made the mode slightly heavy.


    ¡°Honestly, I still find this whole thing a little weird¡±.


    ¡°Hehehe..... You and me both¡±.


    Flash chuckled. The amusement in his expression beyond concealment.


    Wally also let out a small laugh. Looks like his attempt to break the heavy atmosphere was successful.


    It happened then. Whooshing noises could be heard in the distance prompting them both to turn their heads.


    The military offices around were also startled slightly. Some instinctively reached for their weapons but stopped their actions after seeing the new arrivals.


    ¡°Superman!¡± Wally called out.


    ¡°I''m here¡±. Clark replied, giving Kidflash a subtle nod.


    His gaze rested on ¡°Flash¡± for a moment before nodding as well.


    ¡°Kidflash, Flash¡±. Then, his sight turned towards the dead corpse causing a frown to make its way to his face.


    ¡°Looks like Arrow wasn''t kidding¡±.


    ¡°Yeah¡±.


    ¡°Ok, now this is interesting¡±.


    Although it looked dried up, shrivelled, sucked clean of all life..... Whatever way you wanted to put it, he wasn''t unrecognizable.


    Well, at least his speed suit wasn''t. Add his current look to his scary mask, and you would have an expression that popped straight out of a horror movie.


    At least, that''s what I was going for.


    ¡°It''s you¡±.


    Wally looked at me with somewhat mixed emotions. There was a bit of displeasure in his voice.


    ¡°Hello speedy¡±. I said without looking at his direction.


    The words immediately ticked him off.


    ¡°I''m not speedy¡±. He replied through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Oh right, Junior Flash then¡±.


    ¡°You.....¡±.


    ¡°Ok enough¡±. Superman called out.


    ¡°Is he the one¡±. Flash looked at me with clear interest.


    ¡°Sure is¡±.


    ¡°That¡­.¡± I paused, taking my attention off the corpse to the man in the red suit. I was slightly surprised, before turning on enhanced vision. That surprise turned into a frown and ultimately, realization.


    ¡°I was wondering how you were still here. Turns out, you''re not the Flash of this earth¡±.


    The man under the cowl had his facial expressions shift slightly before returning to normal.


    ¡°And you''re supposed to be the last known person he encountered before ending up like this¡±. He accurately shifted the subject to the matter at hand.


    ¡°And? What does that have to do with me?¡±


    ¡°He''s dead¡±. Superman interjected.


    ¡°We got an emergency distress signal from Star Labs. From forensic analysis, he had been killed nearly four hours ago, strangely by having all the vitality sucked out of him¡±.


    Clark raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Does that ring any bells?¡±


    ¡°You think I did this?¡± I couldn''t help feeling amused.


    ¡°It matches your skill set. And you''re the last known person to cross paths with him¡±.


    He replied solemnly, the picture of me draining lobo of his essence still vivid in his mind.


    ¡°So I guess that''s why you''re here¡±. I turned my gaze back to The Flash.


    ¡°Want to make sure your demons are dead?¡±


    Wally west of Earth -1 opened his mouth slightly, but ultimately chose to rain silent.


    ¡°Well, then¡±. My gaze shifted back to the corpse.


    ¡°Sorry to disappoint but as you must already know, this isn''t my handiwork¡±.


    ¡°Then we need to know what happened when you last saw him¡±. Clark''s tone was serious.


    He already knew that I wasn''t the one responsible. Even if he had no concrete evidence, he would at most suspect me.


    ¡°Someone who can do this to a speedster is dangerous. The lives of many Innocents are at stake¡±.


    ¡°There''s not much to talk about. Our meeting was rather brief¡±. I said with indifference.


    ¡°We met when he was about to use a breach to return to his earth. He attacked me, I beat him back, then he escaped as fast as his lightning infused legs could carry him, forgetting your body in the process. That''s it¡±.


    The words fell into their ears but elicited different reactions.


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Breach?¡±


    ¡°Breach?¡±


    Superman frowned while Flash (-1) raised his eyebrows.


    Wally was just plain surprised.


    ¡°Hold on, you found a portal leading to my earth?¡±


    Flash asked with narrowed eyebrows.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°Yep¡±.


    ¡°Where is it¡±.


    ¡°....¡± His answer was destined to receive no response. I wouldn''t mind answering one or two irrelevant questions, but this certainly wasn''t one of them.


    ¡°Hey, what about the location?¡±


    ¡°I''m talking to.....¡±. Flash (-1) was interrupted by Superman who stretched his arm and placed his hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°Calm down¡±. Superman said seriously before turning to look at me, my attention still fixed on examining the corpse.


    The Man Of Steel felt slightly helpless. Things were getting difficult.


    Eventually, my interest in the corpse dissipated. I had seen all I had to see. Then something else came to mind.


    ¡°What did he even want in this place?¡±


    I got up from my squatting posture.


    Superman frowned. The answer to that question was unknown even to him. After all, the league had just discovered this body not long ago.


    ¡°Tachyons¡±. However, just because he didn''t know doesn''t mean someone else wouldn''t.


    Flash (-1) was well-informed in this regard.


    ¡°On my world, Zoom was obsessed with speed. Literally. It''s the only thing that could gain his interest here. But from the looks of it, he met something even he couldn''t handle¡±.


    ¡°Is there any available surveillance footage?¡± Clark asked.


    ¡°No, for some reason, the whole building lost power. Almost all electronics were fried, even the cameras. That''s what they''re here for¡±. Wally made a small gesture towards the military officers patrolling the place like flies buzzing around rotten meat.


    ¡°Did they get anything useful?¡±


    ¡°No yet apparently. It would be different if Cyborg was.....¡± Wally said nonchalantly before realizing. He quickly shut up before he said anything more.


    The fact that six or so Leaguers had gone missing had been made known to the team. Robin was the earliest to find out since Batman was put in a coma.


    This was also the reason Wally (current earth) and Wally (-1) were in Central City.


    One, to thwart any possible crimes that would take place in the scarlet speedster''s absence, and two, to put on a show.


    The presence of The Flash (-1) could conveniently plant a smoke bomb for possible enemies.


    ¡°Don''t bother, if it''s video surveillance, they won''t get anything¡±. I said with an Infrared sweep of the area.


    The whole facility lost power within a time span of three hours and the way the power was lost was extremely strange.


    The whole incident had passed, so the clues they could gather were rather limited. They couldn''t see it, but I could.


    The faint diversion of power lines could be seen all over the walls within my energy vision.


    Put simply, the energy that powered the entire building was drawn towards a singular area. That area was.....


    I turned my head towards a point in the distance that was surrounded by military offices. Sure enough there were two palm prints.


    ¡°If it''s just absorbing energy, there are a lot of villains who could achieve this. Nevertheless, there aren''t many characters in the DC universe who can absorb vitality..........¡±. I muttered slightly as my eyes lit up.


    ¡°Alice¡±. I called out inwardly.


    ¡°Yes sir?¡±


    ¡°Find out if this is who I think it is¡±.


    I ordered nonchalantly.


    The military couldn''t gain anything and if they could, it would definitely take a while.  But that didn''t mean Alice couldn''t.


    ¡°Amari......¡±. Clark opened his mouth and called me. I turned my gaze in his direction to find that the Man Of Steel was looking at me with narrowed eyebrows.


    ¡°Oh! Oops!". Almost forgot, this guy has Super hearing.


    I let out a small chuckle, finding the situation amusing. I didn''t care, though.


    ¡°What did you mean by that?¡± I was amused, but the Kryptonian wasn''t. Clark looked at me with a serious expression, expecting a reply.


    ¡°Nothing much. You won''t understand anyway¡±. I gave a slight shrug and turned my attention away.


    ¡°What was that about?¡± Flash (-1) couldn''t help but ask.


    ¡°He''s hiding something¡±.


    Superman didn''t elaborate. Unlike the two speedsters, he heard my words as clear as if I were speaking through a microphone.


    What did the term, ¡°DC Universe¡± imply?


    ¡°He knows more than he''s letting in on¡±.


    ..............


    Star Labs


    Central City......


    Three Hours Ago


    BAR....... BLAR....


    The Star Labs facility sirens were going haywire. The lights were out, and the backup generator didn''t come on. Almost all electrical equipment in the building had lost power.


    ¡°Huh ¡­ Hah¡­. Pant!¡± Two middle-aged men appeared, running through the hallways.


    ¡°The Stairs...... Take the stairs¡­".


    ¡°No, this way¡±.


    Both men turned down another hallway and made their way towards the door at the end.


    Seeing the room in front of them, the first man took out his security card and pushed it against the side. The door suddenly shone with a green light, granting access.


    ¡°That''s a speedster. A door won''t stop him¡±.


    ¡°Damn! I knew the board should have taken precautions and put Meta human dampeners all over the building¡±.


    The middle-aged man with a large beard cursed incessantly in an attempt to cover up the fear in his heart.


    ¡°Pant...... The guards are all ...... Gasp....... armed with power dampener cuffs¡±.


    ¡°Yeah, like that managed to stop whoever this freak is¡±.


    ¡°Maybe that door didn''t.......¡±. As he spoke, his legs never stopped moving. Hastily, he came before a wall.


    ¡°..... But this one will¡±. This time, he placed his hand against the wall, causing the area around his palm to light up.


    What once was a plain wall opened up, making way to reveal a secret room.


    ¡°The 05 project Room?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Unlike the building, the whole place inside is filled with Power dampeners and the wall is made of special materials¡±.


    Both men hurried in, and the door closed behind them.


    ¡°..... Unless the wall is blown up, not even the Flash can get in¡±.


    ¡°All we have to do is hide in here and wait until the Justice........¡±. The speaking man suddenly paused, a stunned expression appearing on his face.


    ¡°.... What the hell? I thought you said no one else could get in here?¡± The other man asked aloud with wide eyes.


    Standing a few meters away, a human figure stood with his back against them, holding a box like object within his grasp.


    He wore a hoodie with long slack pants, preventing others from seeing his skin.


    If one looked close, they would see that lines of orange and purple spread on his hands, extending from the point where he made contact with the device.


    ¡°Grgggg..... Yes......¡±. An audible sound was released, almost mimicking a primitive growl.


    ¡°Believe me, Michael, I thought the same. Only people with sufficient authority even know about this place¡±. The man said with a frown before calling out.


    ¡°Hey! You there. Who are you? This area is restricted. State your name and what you''re doing with the Tachyon¡­.¡± His words stopped, and his eyes widened in horror.


    He wasn''t the only one though as his partner, Michael shared an equal expression.


    ¡°Oh my God!¡± The scene before their eyes nearly frightened them to death.


    The figure holding the Tachyon device turned around, showing them the face beneath the hoodie.


    Sharp, garbled teeth, pale purplish skin, his hair, or what was left of it at least, was a sickly white color. The ears were pointed and the area around the eyes were filled with purple patches.


    As for his glowing hands.......


    ¡°Ggrghhh....... Arg......¡±.


    ¡°You¡­.¡±. Michael fell backwards in fright.


    ¡°What the hell are you?¡±


    ¡°...... Doctor...... Doctor Ggrgh Michael?¡±


    At that moment, a deep, growling voice called out the name of the fallen Michael.


    Michael''s eyes widened.


    ¡°You...... You know me?¡±


    ¡°I''ve....... searching for you......... Help....... I need help¡±.


    ¡°Hold on there¡±. The other male raised his hands with a wary look.


    ¡°Why don''t you start by telling us who........ Or what exactly are you?¡±


    ¡°Ugh!¡± The male figure grunted as if holding in great pain. He placed one hand against his stomach area.


    ¡°..... Rudy...... Jones. Star..... Labs employee. I..... need.....¡±


    It happened then.


    A hand suddenly phased through the spot where they previously made an entrance.


    The sound of electric arcs successful drew the attention of the two doctors, causing their faces to turn grim.


    ¡°Did...... Did he just......¡±.


    He had barely finished when the hand was drawn back. Following which, a figure suddenly phased through the wall, appearing neatly on the other side.


    ¡°But....... The Dampeners?¡± Michael exclaimed in fear. It was a well-known fact that Power Dampeners made Meta humans lose their powers.


    Why wasn''t it the case at the moment?


    The male beside Michael was equally stunned. Before realizing something and raising his head upward.


    Lo and behold, the power dampeners were offline. Seeing this scene, he suddenly had the urged to swear abusive words incessantly.


    ¡°Thank you........¡± The grim, hoarse voice that sounded like a Demon''s whisper fell into their ears.


    ¡°........ For leading me to what I want¡±.


    Speaking of which, Zoom suddenly turned his attention to the other person in the room. Seeing his hideous features, the Dark Flash was surprised before turning slightly curious.


    Was this a Metahuman with a deformed ability? Did he have some kind of transformation Meta Gene?


    All that curiosity, however, was flushed down the drain when he saw what was in his grasp.


    Moving at lightning speed, streams of electricity enveloped him as he disappeared from place, appeared in front of the deformed meta human and plunged his vibrating hand through his chest.


    Rudy''s eyes widened, and his mouth opened wide to show a set of non-human teeth before his body fell limp.


    ¡°No one..... Touches what I want¡±. He said in his distorted voice before turning his attention back to the box.


    ¡°Tachyons¡±. Zoom reached out to take the box into his hands.


    Grasp!


    Just then, a pair of demonic looking hands suddenly latched onto his him.


    Zoom was shocked. Turning his gaze, the same person he killed a second ago was looking at him with fiery eyes.


    ¡°Your body grghh has more¡±.


    ¡°Ughhhh!¡±


    And so, Rudy Jones who at this point was more beast than man, activated his energy absorption ability

 Chapter 71 Waller Meets Amari

    ¡°Ugh!¡±...... The arms of Rudy Jones suddenly lit up with a dazzling yellow. Almost illuminating the entire area like a nightlight.


    Zoom froze...... The feeling of having everything sucked out of him was terrifying. Worse still, he couldn''t move his body.


    At that moment, the Black Flash tried and failed to activate his abilities. Super speed didn''t work. Phasing didn''t either.


    Zoom let out slight choking noises through his mask. He was unable to use his speed to distort his voice anymore, making his sounds more human lol rather than demonic.


    The black eyes also reverted to their regular color.


    ¡°...... Zoom?...... No..... Hunter......¡±. The growling voice of Rudy Jones no longer sounded so inhuman. The light in his eyes seemed to reveal the understanding of a regular human being.


    The same couldn''t be said for his body, though.


    The speed force within Zoom''s cells were larger than anything he had ever absorbed. The more energy he fed on, the greater his physical changes.


    In less than ten seconds, whatever human features he still retained quickly faded away as his body morphed into what looked to be a monstrous purple lizard man.


    His hands grew bigger, darker and turned into claws.


    ¡°........ You''re not from this earth, are you?...... Hehehe... Interesting.....¡±


    Rudy Jones, now more monster than human, chuckled eerily. The continuous hunger that had plagued him for weeks now finally showed signs of being satisfied. Still, despite that feeling, his grip didn''t loosen in the slightest.


    Rather, he took advantage of his enlarged palms and wrapped Zoom''s head in one go, leaving only his eyes vaguely exposed.


    Zoom felt the dread of death envelop him. He could feel his physical functions declining rapidly, the current of electricity that always flowed through his veins fading away.


    He was losing his speed.


    This........ This fact almost made him lose his senses.


    Ironic when you think about it. The Dark Flash, self-proclaimed fastest man alive who wiped out every other speedster on his earth, was actually getting his speed sucked away.


    How rather tragic.


    Rudy didn''t care. He was focused on the new sets of memories that appeared on his mind at the moment.


    Sifting through them, he saw and learned everything he needed to learn.


    Who Zoom was, his abilities, his purpose, where he was from...... And of course......


    Spikes suddenly sprouted out of his back as he continued to feed.


    ¡°Run!¡± Seeing the rapid and almost unbelievable plot twist, Michael screamed in utmost fright before running towards the exit.


    His companion suddenly snapped back to his senses and ran after him.


    Rudy paid them no heed. All it took was a matter of seconds.


    Zoom, the greatest speedster of earth two, died full of fear and unwillingness. Worse still, his body was sucked dried, leaving only nothing but a shrivelled corpse left under the super suit.


    The now almost four foot tall monster finally let go of the Black Flash after sucking all his life essence. He raised his new three fingered palm and clenched it into a fist.


    Arcs of electricity flashed over his body as he felt the new power he had obtained, as well as its usage.


    Speed. Wonderful, powerful, extreme speed.


    His eyes revealed human cognition as he examined his situation. Ever since that incident, this was the first time that his torturous hunger had come close to being removed.


    The brief sense of satisfaction, however, was fleeting.


    He could feel it. This, wasn''t enough. The hunger would soon return in full force and at that moment, he would need to devour more than he just did.


    He needed more.......... Much more......


    His body flashed with lightning arcs, and he disappeared from the room.


    In less than a second, he caught up with the two fleeing doctor''s he had previously asked for help. Without so much as a second thought, he grabbed both of them and absorbed their energy, turning them into mummies.


    With a flash of blue light, he appeared outside standing in front of a car.


    Looking at his reflection, a hint of emotion was reflected in the eyes of the monstrosity that appeared in his vision. But soon, that emotion turned to hatred and cruelty.


    He...... He didn''t ask for this. He never wanted to be like this...... It wasn''t his fault.


    No, it was his...... This was all his doing. He did this to him, and he should suffer the consequences for it.


    The purple monster thought with unrestrained cruelty.


    The picture of a man wearing red and blue tights appeared in his memory.


    ¡°Even on another earth, you''re still famous. And¡­. Carry so much power¡­ A walking, talking buffet......¡±


    The monster took one last look in the mirror and turned his gaze to Star Labs. The whole facility was in chaos, nevertheless, he couldn''t be bothered.


    Absorbing the energy of these regular humans was akin to eating mosquito meat.


    Compared to the Zoom guy he just dealt with, their energy would be less than a drop in an ocean. It wasn''t enough.


    Time-consuming and inefficient.


    ¡°...... But ¡­. He will do...... Hehehehe¡±. These were the last words that echoed before the purple monster turned around. Covered in lightning for a split second, and vanishing the next.


    His new destination .......... Well, you''ll know soon enough.


    ............


    ¡°Is that him?¡±


    ¡°By the looks of it......¡±.


    ¡°Yep, pretty sure¡±.


    ¡°He''s kind of cute¡±.


    ¡°You''re....... Badass. You can call someone who murdered The Joker on live TV cute?¡±


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°What''s he even doing here?¡±


    ¡°He came in with Superman¡±.


    ¡°Does he work with the league now?¡±


    ¡°He killed someone. The league would never allow him in¡±.


    The hushed whispers fell in my ears, amusing me slightly.


    They were right about many things they said, though. Not like I cared anyway.


    Ignoring the strange eyes and mutters of the passing military personnel, I walked forward with both hands in my pockets.


    Honestly, some of their discussions caused me to wonder. What exactly am I now?


    After all, I did kill the Joker for the whole world to see. Quite high profile if you ask...... Well¡­. Anyone.


    ¡°I should be considered a vigilante now right?¡± The concept was intriguing. I''m sure there''s a debate about it somewhere on the web, but was I really?


    Come to think of it, I''m a murderer surrounded by officers, or in the midst of officers rather. According to the law, I''m supposed to get arrested........ My ass.


    Hahaha, so funny. Some of them are probably contemplating that thought as well. Arresting me.


    ¡°Sir, I found what you wanted. And an interesting addition that will pique your interest¡±.


    ¡°Oh...... Intriguing. Well then, let''s see it¡±. Alice''s words immediately did just that. Pique my interest.


    A holographic screen appeared in my line of vision. It was a video......... Correction, a lot of videos.


    Seeing this, I frowned.


    ¡°Put it on Hyper speed¡±.


    ¡°Yes sir¡±. And so, the videos immediately played out as if someone had pushed the fast-forward button and set it at the fastest speed.


    I watched with relish. Slight surprise emerging on my features when I finished it all twenty seconds later.


    ¡°Interesting..... Interesting indeed¡±.


    The videos consisted of many scenes. The two most important points were the time range and the people involved.


    The video started from September 17th this year. Nothing peculiar if you just look at the date but considering that something special happened on that same day, it would bring a lot of theories.


    September 17th, The day of the Central City Invasion.


    That was one, the second was the people involved. Quite frankly, just two.


    The first is the Main Protagonist, Rudy Jones, and the other is of course the movie antagonist, the indirect cause of the protagonist''s suffering.


    Clark Kent, AKA, Superman.


    Hehehe ..... If this isn''t interesting, then please, do tell me what is ....... Honestly, I do hope there will be a second episode. I want to see how things eventually play out.


    Oh well, life goes on. Still, I was sure of one thing. The whole charade of Joker''s death wasn''t going to blow away easily.


    I had stepped on a lot of people''s toes and touched plenty of interests.


    Soon, there would be someone dumb enough to use it as an anchor point against me.


    Speak of the devil, and he will appear....... Soon. Just not right now though..... Probably sometime in the future. Presently, it was Superman.


    I had just stepped outside the Star Labs building, pushing through the revolving doors and welcoming the sunlight when he appeared behind me.


    ¡°What do you want Superman?¡±


    ¡°You know something, don''t you?¡±


    Clark asked with his arms folded, a frown adorning his face.


    ¡°About this incident. I heard you¡­".


    ¡°Whatever you say supes. Besides, I know a lot of things¡±.


    ¡°You''re talking about the breaches?¡±


    ¡°Meh¡±. I shrugged. ¡°Once you read a guy''s life memories and do some searching, they are hard not to notice¡±.


    My reply was nonchalant. I never expected it to make Clark frown even deeper.


    ¡°They? As in, there''s more than one?¡± His tone was slightly grave.


    ¡°Damn! You don''t even know this?¡± My eyes were a bit wide with incredulity. ¡°Brotherly, who''s supposed to be protecting the world? You or me?¡±


    Honestly, I expected them to at least know this by now. What the hell was the Justice League doing?


    Or had nothing else passed through the breaches yet?


    ¡°You knew this all along?¡± Clark asked.


    ¡°And you should know the same¡±. I gestured towards the building. ¡°Fake Flash over there should have filled you in on all the deeds¡±.


    Clark''s face was solemn.


    ¡°He did. Apparently attempting to break through your energy shield created some sort of singularity. In his words, a breach between world''s. We''ve found one, I just didn''t expect more than one¡±. Clark explained.


    ¡°Which reminds me, we need to accurately discuss about the energy shield surrounding your base¡±.


    ¡°And?¡± I could see where this was going.


    ¡°It can''t stay¡±. Superman said with displeasure.


    ¡°FYI, I didn''t create the issue, your league did¡±.


    ¡°Be that as it may, we can''t have something like this happening again. Someone else might try getting in and that action might cause worse consequences. Like ripping space apart. The risks are too great¡±. He said with a matter of fact expression.


    ¡°Yeah...... No¡±. I replied flatly.


    ¡°This isn''t.....¡±. He wanted to say more, but.......


    Whoosh!


    A streak of lightning appeared beside us.


    ¡°Superman, we got something¡±. Wally appeared beside us and reported.


    ¡°The military checked the facility entry records. There''s one person whose ID was registered coming into the building but no subsequent exits were recorded. He wasn''t among the list of injured or deceased either¡±.


    Saying so, Wally handed over a tablet with the screen lit up. The picture that came into view was that of a white haired male with a height of 6''6¡±.


    ¡°Rudy Jones, apparently, he was a janitor here. Worked for two years. In the past few hours, no one has been able to contact him. Not his wife, co-workers, family members, nothing¡±.


    ¡°He has a family?¡± This was the first thing Clark picked up.


    ¡°Yes. Wife and child¡±.


    ¡°So you think this could be our guy?¡± Superman asked with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°At this point, it''s our only lead¡±. Wally said with a shrug of his shoulders.


    ¡°Nice work son. Take this data back to the cave and hand it over to tornado. He''ll run the picture through facial recognition using the watchtower computer. You can head on back¡±. Superman said with a slight smile.


    ¡°Um...... Yes sir¡±. Wally said with a slight grumble in his tone.


    Inwardly, he hated the way Superman and the rest of the league treated he and the team as kids. But what else could he do?


    ¡°Also...... Take Flash with you¡±. Superman said after a moment of thought.


    Thinking of his parallel self, Wally looked a bit weird before nodding and dashing away.


    ¡°The little guys grow up so fast¡±. I said with a look of amusement.


    ¡°Don''t change the subject. We aren''t done here¡±.


    ¡°Actually, we are¡±. I said nonchalantly before looking towards the distance. In that direction, a black limousine was coming towards our direction.


    ¡°Cause right now, I have to deal with an unwanted guest¡±.


    My words fell into Clark''s ears, causing him to look over. Seeing the limo heading towards us, the Man Of Steel activated his X-ray vision. A second later, his face turned slightly ugly.


    ¡°I see¡±. He said, his frown renewed.


    The car parked right in front of the Star Labs building and a man wearing standard a black suit with a wire attached to his ear came forward to open the door.


    A second later, a rather fat thigh extended from the interior, out into the open for all those watching to see.


    Looking at the face of the person stepping out of the Limo, Clark''s frown deepened.


    ¡°Waller¡±. He uttered a single word.


    It happened then, looking at the scene before him, Superman''s ears suddenly twitched.


    A high-frequency ultrasonic signal fell into his ears causing his expression to turn to one of worry.


    ¡°From what I can hear, you have something to deal with as well¡±. He wasn''t the only one who could hear it.


    This sound was something that only one person held within their possession on Earth.


    Jimmy Olsen. Given to him by Superman himself in case he found himself in a life-threatening situation or an emergency that required Superman''s assistance.


    Clark took a look at me for a second before nodding. Then, he flew to the skies and disappeared, heading towards Metropolis.


    As for me.......... Well, I have a meeting with a black, kinda ugly, fat lady. Not the kind of date a guy could hope for.

 Chapter 72 Text Blast

    Ok, so let''s put down the check marks, shall we?


    Fat! Check.


    Black! Check


    Face as cold as steel, check!


    Yep, that''s her.


    I watched the fat lady climb up to me with a calm and composed steps. That, coupled with her expressionless features, sharp eyes and corporate look merged to showcase refined elegance, an intimidating aura and a stern business look........


    Or at least that''s what she was going for.


    For those who knew her reputation, and didn''t have a good enough reputation or background of their own, that combo would certainly work wonders.


    If she planned to strut something out here which I''m almost definitely sure she would, then it''d probably lead to a tragedy.


    ........ No wonder Clark''s expression was so unsightly. Most likely, he thought the same as well.


    ¡°The Famed Amari! Believe me when I say that you''re a hard man to get a hold of¡±.


    She said with a plain tone. Her confident act would be so much more convincing if she was a few inches taller.


    I tilted my head slightly downwards as she raised her head up to talk to me properly.


    For one of the major female DC villains, her height was a major letdown.


    She would at least look more imposing if she wasn''t so short.


    My thoughts were on full display in my eyes. I knew it, and she did too.


    A trace of annoyance flashed through those black irises but vanished as quickly as they appeared.


    ¡°Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Amanda Waller. A well-renowned politician and new Secretary of the DOD dealing with all supernatural activities in the United States¡±.


    ¡°That..... Includes you¡±.


    ¡°Oh! So You''re Lane''s replacement¡±. I said, feigning ignorance.


    ¡°I haven''t received any news from him for a long time. What happened¡±.


    ¡°I think someone like you should already be well aware of General Lane''s situation¡±.


    She remarked with narrowed eyes.


    ¡°The military has made many attempts to contact you, but all have proved unresponsive¡±.


    ¡°I left your department a way to contact me. So your unresponsive efforts are not my fault¡±.


    ¡°You left the way to contact you with Lane. As well as a critical asset that could jeopardize the safety of the country if it falls into the wrong hands¡±.


    ¡°So the Red Queen was stolen as well¡±. I chuckled with amusement. My gaze settled on her practically screamed that I was watching a something akin to a performance.


    ¡°Kinda makes your country department redundant to have one of their own abducted in broad daylight within their territory, don''t you agree?¡±


    ¡°You.......¡±. The calm facade was finally broken.


    Waller''s face took on a frown as she stared at me intently.


    ¡°I hope you can quit playing dumb with me Mr. Amari. As the DOD would like to enlist your help to track down the missing asset and the missing general¡±.


    She said, "would like" but her tone didn''t sound like she was asking.


    ¡°Oh great, then what''s in it for me?¡± I asked with a small smile. The thought of her saying something similar to ¡°you''d be serving and proving allegiance to your new country¡± crossed my mind.


    Hehehe, it''d be quite funny if that were to be the case.


    As for real tangible benefits? Oh, please. With her stubborn character, it would be a miracle if she put up an offer.


    Waller frowned even deeper as my words reached her ears.


    ¡°We can discuss that after the asset has been found. The DOD can come up with a reasonable reward for your service¡±. Her perfunctory tone was well concealed. Her serious expression and well-placed facial features could fool someone who didn''t know what it meant to request payment before service.


    I was still considering whether to provide the service anyway. After all, Lane had been locked up long enough. But with that, I knew what she was doing.


    ¡°Then we''re done here¡±. I rolled my eyes and turned to walk away. ¡°I can''t say the same for you, but for me? The concept of working for free doesn''t sound good¡±.


    Seeing my departing figure, Waller uttered solemnly


    ¡°Your agreement clearly states that you would cooperate with the government when needed¡±.


    ¡°That''s not true Miss Secretary. You''re twisting the words of the agreement¡±. My steps came to a halt.


    My face turned to the side, showing my side profile.


    ¡°I did say I would cooperate with your race, but you have no power or right to order me around. Essentially, I''m the government''s partner, not a slave or a soldier to heed orders¡±. I faced my gaze forward and resumed walking.


    ¡°The reason behind my successful cooperation with Lane was because he understood that. For your sake, I suggest you do too¡±.


    Those were my last words.


    My stay here wasn''t something they could use to order me around. Honestly, the Justice League had indulged these guys too much.


    This was also the reason I wanted Lane back. So I wouldn''t have to deal with these guys again.


    On a more advanced planet, someone like Waller would probably be slapped to death by a slightly stronger being.


    I wasn''t concerned about that, but I could see what Waller was up to. Trying to gain dominance over me. Possibly recruit me, turn me into a soldier that would follow her commands by manipulating the agreement I made with the world council.


    All so she could show her capabilities. I mean, subduing The Deviant would be a heck of an achievement on her resume.


    These were her thoughts. Honestly, they were humorous.


    I knew this was going to be unpleasant the moment we met. Amanda Waller was a stubborn bitch who believed she could always control everything that concerned her.


    Quite frankly, I wasn''t on that list. And I thought I made it apparent. But she didn''t seem to think so.


    Amanda looked at my figure with narrowed eyes. Eyes that sparked with a bit of anger, cunning, and contemplation.


    Seeing as I was getting further away, she finally opened her mouth and uttered something that would soon give her sleepless nights.


    ¡°Fine, you want benefits. Then how about this¡±.


    I stopped. And....... Here it is. I knew she was going to say something, which was exactly why I didn''t teleport away. As for the thought of avoiding problems before they appeared?


    Nah!


    I don''t seek problems, I don''t look for trouble, but I never run away from it. Principles people.


    ¡°Oh? What is it?¡±


    ¡°A clean slate¡±.


    ¡°What?¡± Now I was a bit confused. What did she mean by that?


    ¡°Mr. Amari, I would like to spell out the facts clearly for you to see. On November 4th, a few days ago, you committed murder, killing a man which clearly goes against the law¡±.


    ¡°You mean....... Joker?¡± My eyes widened, and my eyebrows were raised. Like I said earlier, speak of the devil and he will appear.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Someone who wouldn''t let the Joker''s death slide and would attempt to use it to their advantage. Well........ The first idiot was right before me.


    ¡°You want to charge me for murder? For Joker of all people?¡± I asked incredulously. My voice was trembling, practically on the verge of laughter.


    ¡°While I admit that the clown was one of the worst existences the world had ever seen, it does not change the fact that according to the law, he was a mental patient who wasn''t convicted to death¡±. Waller said sharply.


    ¡°This action makes you a criminal. Giving me the authority to have you trialed in a court of law¡±.


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± And that was the last straw. Once again, I couldn''t help it. It was just so damn hilarious.


    Honestly, I had seen Gotham''s news reports as well as the internet discussions on the web. The general trend was almost unanimous.


    Bye-bye Joker.


    No one spoke a word about the Joker''s death being a crime. Not even those keyboard warriors whose jobs were to find fault with anything they come across.


    At most, they would criticize my audacity to kill on live TV, but that was it. No one said anything about the Joker''s death bringing need for my arrest, or I wasn''t supposed to kill him.


    Anyone who did would be mobbed by the netizens without hesitation.


    Not even the citizens saw the Joker''s death as something that warranted arrest.


    ¡°Hahaha...... Ok..... So who''s gonna arrest me? You?¡±


    I couldn''t help but ask amidst chuckles.


    ¡°Do you see yourself as invincible?¡± From her tone, it seemed like my laughter had greatly irritated her, despite how hard she tried to hide it.


    ¡°You''re not the first alien to think so. There have been many, but they are nowhere to be found today. You and The Justice League aren''t the only ones that have abilities. Believe me when I say that your actions are being contemplated by government agencies and the President of the United States as we speak. Of course, they haven''t come to a conclusion due to the messy affairs of the country, but when they do, you will be called to order¡±. She uttered imposingly, taking several steps towards me.


    ¡°Your actions are spitting in the face of authority. No one is above the law, not Superman, not the Justice League...... Not even you. And if you think you are powerful enough to run amok, then we will show you just how deep Earth''s background is".


    She stopped nearly four meters away from me.


    ¡°Of course, that doesn''t have to be the case. The final result of this altercation is unknown, but it doesn''t have to get to that. I can help you take it all away. You seem to be the kind of person who likes to be low-key. So like I said, wipe the slate clean. There will be no need for any trouble that will ensue over your actions......¡±.


    She said flatly, but her words were obviously threatening. This was her character. Stubborn, vicious, willing to use any means to get whatever she wanted.


    ¡°So, what will it be?¡±


    She looked at my face, clearly seeing that I wasn''t laughing anymore. Just staring at her indifferently. Waller wasn''t rushing, she folded her hands and waited for my answer.


    At this moment, a singular thought was running through my mind.


    ¡°Looks like Lex is about to start flexing his muscles. Sigh!..... the days of peace are gone. Oh, well¡±.


    A few seconds passed like this. Eventually, I said the first sentence.


    ¡°You know, a wise man once said........ A word is enough for the wise.......¡±.


    A smile graced Waller''s face at my words. Too bad, I wasn''t done.


    ¡°While I say, no matter how much you give advice, there''s no shortage of fools in this world who won''t heed them¡±.


    ¡°And I don''t know if you have this written in my file, but I don''t take kindly to threats¡±.


    The smile on her face fell.


    ¡°So tell me Miss Secretary, are you threatening me?¡±


    Amanda saw the way things were going, a little annoyed in her heart. Her whole performance a few seconds ago was a long shot. That''s what she thought, of course.


    Judging from the records of Amari''s personality, the chances of success weren''t that high to begin with.


    Still, she didn''t mind giving it a try. What she said wasn''t an empty threat, though. Lex Luthor truly was planning something, not against Amari but all superpowered beings in America.


    Especially the Superheroes.


    Amari would be the example to validate his actions. If she could get Amari on their side, it wouldn''t change the overall perspective, if not, then..... Nothing much would change, either.


    All in all, his response was well anticipated. Her threat was valid, but not of much consequence right now.


    That''s what she thought at first.


    ¡°Call it whatever you will. I believe I have made my point¡±.


    Looking at her, I had to admit that this woman was courageous. Saying such things to my face without the fear that I would simply snap her neck and feed her to the sewer rats was worth commending.


    Once again, the Justice League were the ones to blame for this development.


    In truth, this was the case. No matter how I put it, the government and I had an agreement. And now, Waller was their representative until Lane returned.


    If he returned anyway.


    I could kill the Joker, but doing anything to her would be a blatant provocation.


    This was what gave her confidence. Confidence that I wouldn''t do anything to her, despite her actions.


    She was dead wrong.


    ¡°Hehe...... Funny. Miss secretary, do you remember that saying?¡± I smiled rather charmingly.


    ¡°....... How does it go again.....? Yes. Two can play that game¡±.


    ¡°Alice, if you please¡­.¡±. At the end of my words, a holographic screen appeared in front of us.


    Tapping the screen twice...... ¡°And that should do it¡±. I said.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Waller frowned. She didn''t understand what was going on.


    ¡°You see mam, every action in life has consequences. And you are about to face yours a bit too early¡±.


    ¡°Then what are you going to do? Kill me?¡± She asked in a deep voice.


    ¡°Why is it that the first thought that comes to mind is always killing?¡± I chuckled.


    ¡°No, no..... No, no, no, no, no, no, no...... No¡±.


    ¡°You of all people should know that there are things worse than death. And there are things that best never see the light of day¡±. It happened then, Waller''s phone suddenly beeped.


    She quickly took out her phone, unlocked it and found an email had been received.


    She gave me a suspicious look, then opened the email. Reading for a few seconds, her face crumpled into a frown, eyebrows creased........ Some time later, it contorted even more.


    Several seconds passed by, and the rich facial changes on her once blank expression was particularly refreshing.


    ¡°What have you done?¡± A voice speaking through gritted teeth fell into my ears. Waller raised her gaze from her phone.


    The look in which she looked at me seemed as if she was going to eat me alive.


    ¡°You like it?¡±


    ¡°Where did you get this from?¡±


    ¡°Is that important?¡± I asked with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°January 5th 2008, You as the Warden of Belle Reve exported Bloodsport from prison and assassinated a senator who was against you in Congress with his help¡±.


    ¡°You bribed and blackmailed several government officials to secure your position¡±.


    ¡°Your secret allocation of military funds......¡±.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Waller roared angrily. Her face carried unprecedented solemnity and a hint of panic.


    ¡°Oh?¡± I tilted my head to the side slightly. ¡°Should I not say more? I thought you were an expert in manipulating people. So I thought I''d do a little manipulation of my own¡±.


    ¡°That file contains every newsworthy deed you have done on your path to power. Bribes, threats, collusion, deaths¡­. As long as you can remember it, it will surely be there¡±.


    ¡°You''re bluffing...... You''re definitely bluffing¡±.


    ¡°You can check in depth if you''d like. I''m sure you''d see many things even you have forgotten. There are videos, voice transmissions, and encrypted calls there as well¡±.


    ¡°That''s impossible. You can''t have any of this, I made sure I destroyed it all".


    Hahaha! I laughed inwardly. In front of Alice, could this kind of thing be hidden?


    ¡°Oh really? I wonder if the media will think any of this is fake once they get their hands on this file¡±.


    Waller''s eyes widened.


    ¡°Oh wait! My mistake. I already sent it out¡±. I slapped my hand against my forehead with an expression of realization.


    That made her face pale. Presently, she was really panicking.


    ¡°Tsk Tsk Like I said, there are things worse than death ....... And you have made a lot of enemies. I don''t have to do anything to you, cause someone else will do it for me. Wade Eiling certainly will¡±.


    ¡°You......¡±. I could see her whole facade crumble at that moment. Her trembling legs were just the tip of the iceberg.


    The smile on my face faded away as I began to lose interest.


    ¡°Well, enjoy what time you have left¡±. I said while walking away.


    ¡°All the stuff in that file should be enough to reserve you a warm, cozy spot in Stryker''s Island for many years¡±.


    And so, my body turned illusory and disappeared as I walked away.


    "That is of course .......... Supposing you last that long....".


    ¡°...... Let''s see if Lex will save you this time....¡±.


    Those were my last words before I disappeared.


    Leaving behind an emotionally despairing woman.


    .........


    That was my interlude with Waller. To be honest, it didn''t interest me as much as I thought it would.


    Did she seriously think something like this would bother me?


    Gave me quite a few laughs....... Kinda worth it. If I didn''t know what level of hell awaited her after this, I''d do it myself.


    I didn''t leave Central City, though. Not for any reason in particular.


    I just didn''t want to go back to the Axiom just yet.


    The matter with Lane...... Let it wait a little longer.


    So I decided to take a look around the place.


    Who knows, maybe I''ll come across something interesting enough to grab my attention.


    And what do you know, I did.


    It''s just that......


    ¡°What the hell is Superman up against?¡±


    I passed by a Diner only to hear an exclamation. I looked through the glass window and followed everyone''s gaze towards the TV.


    ........ The thing wasn''t in Central City, but Metropolis.


    What came into view was the picture of Superman being held down by Parasite

 Chapter 73 Cameraman, Reporter And The Pilot

    Metropolis.......


    For this rather bustling city, the most eye-catching thing happening right now would be......... the screams.


    Around the area, there were droves of fleeing civilians, scattering in all directions like mice in front of a cat.


    Of course, the cat in this situation looked nothing like a cat at all. It stood above two feet, had purple skin and looked like a beast from the novels.


    ¡°It''s a monster!¡±


    ¡°Run!¡±


    A male pointed towards a certain direction and screamed before running away in terror.


    Parasite stood in place, looked at the fleeing crowds in the immediate vicinity before walking forwards at a steady pace. The shrivelled corpses under his feet were ignored.


    ¡°You''re all not the one I want¡±. His voice was low yet sounded beastly.


    At that moment, a passing train suddenly caught his attention. Feeling the huge electrical energy within, he felt a pang of hunger once again.


    ¡°More¡±. Seeing the speeding train, his monstrous figure flashed with electrical arcs all over before speeding after it.


    ¡°Mommy mommy, look. I saw people running outside¡±.


    A little girl said with wide eyes as she turned her head towards the disappearing scenery and poked her mother beside her.


    ¡°Oh..... Yeah, that''s nice, dear¡±. The mother said nonchalantly, rummaging through her handbag.


    ¡°Now If I could just find my mirror¡±.


    ¡°Mom! You didn''t look¡±. Seeing this scene, the girl yelled aloud with a pout.


    ¡°We''re on the train sweetie, don''t be so loud. Just give your momma a few seconds and then......¡±.


    The mother stopped speaking as she noticed the train suddenly stop moving. She wasn''t the only one.


    ¡°What in the world¡­.¡±


    Unfortunately, a loud sound interrupted her sentence. Everyone onboard was startled by the sound. The roof above their heads was ripped apart and a large, black shadow fell over them.


    As soon as their eyes met with what was above them, everyone froze with shock which quickly turned into fear.


    Parasite didn''t care for their shock, dropping straight down before grabbing the two closest living beings it could lay its hands on.


    Many exclaimed in fright, but the next scene that happened caused their faces to turn pale.


    ¡°Mommy!¡± The little girl screamed in terror. The sight of her mother being held by a monster, her skin growing older and older by the second before becoming completely shrivelled scared her out of her wits.


    Except for the little girl who couldn''t move due to fear, everyone else had cleared the area, scrambling to move from their positions.


    The life force of both humans was quickly absorbed. Parasite had no plans to stop. The corpse of the absorbed male was dropped to the floor.


    ¡°There it is¡±.


    ¡°Make sure you get it on Camera¡±.


    At that moment, a helicopter appeared, hovering over the train. A man carried a large camera on his shoulder and pointed it towards the hole in the train roof.


    On live TV, the monstrous body of Parasite was revealed.


    ¡°God! What is that thing?¡± The cameraman asked with obvious horror.


    Still, his professionalism made him perform his work without succumbing to fear. After all, shit like this happens almost every week in Metropolis.


    Eventually, people would build up tolerance to all of it.


    This kind of monster was new, though.


    Nevertheless, their news helicopter didn''t go unnoticed.


    Before parasite let go of the female corpse, the news helicopter caught his attention.


    Seeing the monster turn to face them, the cameraman was startled.


    ¡°What''s it doing?¡± The thought was quickly given an answer.


    Many people watching saw the purple monster lift the hand holding a human being and throw it towards the flying aircraft.


    ¡°Oh my God!¡± The pilot exclaimed as a corpse flew towards the rotor.


    Bang! Without enough time to react, the collision was unavoidable and the spinning blades on the helicopter roof was smashed into by a human body causing flesh and blood to fly in all directions.


    The helicopter immediately showed a downward trend.


    Seeing the nuisance disappear, parasite turned its attention back to his surroundings. Everyone else had fled to the other cart, leaving the shivering young girl whose face was already in snot and tears.


    Without pity for youth, it stretched out its demonic looking hand, aiming to grasp the girl''s throat.


    The girl squealed and buried her head into the seat.


    ¡°Get away from her!¡±


    It happened then. Parasite seemed to hear someone yell in a loud voice. This thought was proved correct in the following second as a red and blue figure slammed into the monster''s large body from the side of the train cart, pushing him right through the other end.


    Parasite was smashed off the train, flying into a building in the distance.


    Superman stopped his flight midair. A frown registered on his face at the thought of the monster he just confronted.


    It didn''t settle there for long, though. His body turned into a blur, speeding off in the direction of the descending helicopter that was about to crash into a busy street.


    ...........


    ¡°What do you think about this one?¡±


    Looking at the blonde female who was almost at the point of gobbling down the ice cream in the bowl with her spoon, Megan asked with a happy smile.


    ¡°.....oh¡­ My..... Rawo!¡± The kryptonian talked uttered with her mouth full. She took a deep gulp, swallowing everything in before exclaiming.


    ¡°It tastes so sweet¡±.


    ¡°Don''t take too much at a time, you''ll get brain freeze......¡±


    ¡°Huh? What''s that?¡±


    ¡°...... Oh right, hello Megan! You''re not like the others¡±. Kara was kryptonian, getting brain freeze was impossible.


    ¡°Hehehe¡±. Megan giggled sweetly.


    ¡°Yep. That is Earth''s most famous desert. You''re welcome¡±. A smug grin was plastered on her face.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    The happy atmosphere was surging.


    ¡°You know, thanks a lot Megan. It really means a lot that you came out with me to do this¡±. Kara said with a slight smile on her face.


    The smile faded slightly as numerous thoughts came to mind.


    ¡°Especially since my cousin''s been a bit busy lately¡±. Her words were mixed with a tinge of sadness.


    The happy atmosphere was stifled slightly.


    ¡°You know you shouldn''t feel bad. After all, he''s probably the busiest man in the world with his Job and all. And with all that''s happened lately, it''s normal for you two to be apart for a while. I''m sure once things go back to normal, you guys will have the quality time you deserve¡±. Megan said, attempting to cheer up the kryptonian.


    ¡°Thanks. I know¡±. Kara said with a wry smile.


    The meeting with Kal-El had gone better than she had expected.


    The fact that there was still another kryptonian in existence, effectively making sure that Clark truly wasn''t the last of his race, thrilled him immensely.


    Especially when he was the one who blasted General Zod and his kryptonian compatriots into a black hole to stop them from destroying the earth.


    The thrill was multiplied a dozen fold when he realized that they were also blood relatives.


    The atmosphere was joyous...... The follow-up, however, was much less desirable.


    Kara hadn''t left the cave since the moment she was dropped off by that ¡°hateful¡± fellow.


    After going through multiple tests conducted by other leaguers to make sure she and Kal-El truly were related, the other aspect that needed worrying came into view.


    Her control.


    Since that night, Kara''s strength had improved by leaps and bounds under exposure to yellow sunlight.


    Problems she never had to face back when she was still at the Axiom began to surface. Her poor control over her abilities made her a literal safety hazard.


    Wally had tried to high five her and got his arm broken. Many objects throughout the cave were also ¡°accidentally¡± broken as well.


    If not for the fact that Clark was too busy, he would have taken her to the fortress of solitude, where she would be isolated for months until she learned her to control her exaggerated strength.


    Her emotions also required some proper checks too. Too much excitement could make her heat vision come on without her consent.


    Thankfully, she was receiving help and the rest of the team were being nice to her. Well....... Some of them anyway.


    Staying in that hole for more than a week was almost suffocating. She had to sneak out.


    Thankfully....... She wasn''t alone.


    ¡°Don''t worry about it. Honestly, I should be the one thanking you¡±. Megan replied.


    ¡°If it weren''t for you..... Connor probably wouldn''t be alive right now¡±. She said in a low tone.


    Kara was silent.


    ¡°How''s Artemis?¡±


    ¡°Still a bit shaken up. Tornado say''s she''ll be fine though¡±.


    The kryptonian fell into deep thought before shaking her head and replying.


    ¡°I don''t deserve thanks for that. I wasn''t the one that healed him¡±.


    ¡°Maybe, but you''re the reason he''s healed. It means a lot to me........ To the team¡±.


    ¡°.......... Everyone in the team?¡±


    Hearing let words, Megan forced out a smile.


    ¡°Robin will come around. He''s...... had a hard time recently¡±. This was true.


    The recent crippling of Batgirl struck a heavy blow to the boy wonder. First, he had a spinal fracture when fighting with Amari. If not for Green Lanterns ring, it would take months, probably years before he would be able to walk properly again.


    Even then, he might kiss his hero life goodbye.


    Then, Batman was trapped in a coma by the same person.


    And as if that weren''t enough, Barbara was crippled by the Joker. Despite the fact that Amari wasn''t the culprit this time, he was involved in the issue.


    What''s worse, unlike him who could be healed, Barbara would really have to stay in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.


    The Blaster The Joker used didn''t cause a fracture, but directly took out a huge chunk of the vertebrae column.


    She had a gaping hole in her waist. How she was still alive to receive treatment was a miracle among miracles.


    For this amount of damage, Green lantern couldn''t do anything about it even if he wanted to. The willpower required to reach that level of regrowth wasn''t something he possessed.


    The difficulty was almost the same as regrowing a severed hand.


    When learning that Kara had some sort of relationship with Amari, Robin didn''t give any good looks. The welcome was uncharacteristically cold.


    If Kara wasn''t a beautiful girl, Wally would probably have the same attitude as well.


    For this, Kara could only sigh.


    Her resentment towards ¡°him¡± increased a bit more.


    ¡°Hehehe, it doesn''t matter. You could, deliver my thanks to him if you ever get the chance. Connor wants to do the same¡±. Megan giggled again.


    ¡°Hump! If I ever see him again, what I''m gonna deliver is a piece of my mind¡±. Kara said in a threatening tone while raising her little fist.


    ¡°You know, your impression of him is very different from everyone else''s¡±.


    ¡°Yeah? So what?¡± Kara said, with a bit of evasive action.


    Megan hesitated a little.


    ¡°...... What''s he like?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°....... I mean...... Is he like, evil the same way Wally always portrays him to be?¡±


    ¡°...... Why would you ask that?¡± Kara let out a slight frown.


    She felt uncomfortable for some reason.


    "Never mind". Megan thought for a bit before shaking her head.


    ¡°Anyway, let''s bring our focus back to the outing. So you''ve gone for a tour, check. Seen the movies, check. Eaten ice cream, check.....¡±.


    At that point, the Martian put her hand on her chin before her eyes lit up.


    ¡°Then all that''s left is to complete the final initiation to truly become an earth girl".


    ¡°...... Gulp! And what''s that?¡± Kara asked, slightly nervous and excited.


    ¡°Shopping of course¡±. The Martian said with a big grin.


    Despite being aliens, their eyes lit up simultaneously at the word, shopping.


    Looks like in any universe, regardless of what race, beautiful females and shopping are eternal mates.


    ¡°I''m in¡±. The blonde said excitedly.


    ¡°Argh!¡± The screams coming from the distance immediately put a stop to the joyful mood.


    Kara turned her attention outside the Caf¨¦. The sight of dozens of people running in one direction wasn''t difficult to notice.


    ¡°Hi there, um¡­. What''s happening?¡± Stepping out of the establishment, Megan couldn''t help but ask one of the fleeing civilians.


    ¡°There''s a monster over there. Turned several people into skeletons like it was sucking the life out of em. Don''t ask, just run for it¡±. The man didn''t waste much of his time and answered the two females while moving quickly.


    ¡°We need to check it out¡±. Kara said, her words immediately gaining approval.


    The two aliens didn''t waste much Tim and both ran into a nearby alley.


    ...........


    Parasite was smashed off the train, flying into a building in the distance.


    It didn''t look like a regular housing building but a special center of some sorts.


    From deep within the rubble, a clawed fingered hand broke through. Pieces of block and stone were pushed aside, revealing the terrifying facial features.


    ¡°Finally......¡±.


    And so, the parasite monster leaped out of the hole it had created, landing on the paved concrete floor.


    ¡°..... You''re here¡±.


    Clark held the crashing chopper firmly by the tail end. Laying the helicopter firmly on solid ground, the three news employees immediately rushed out of the aircraft as if running for their lives.


    The pilot took off his helmet, squatted on his knees and kissed the floor.


    Never had he been so happy to have his feet on firm soil. Now, he understood why the last pilot quit his job after one year of service.


    The guy''s poor heart probably couldn''t handle anymore.


    ¡°Thank you Superman. We owe you our lives¡±.


    The reporter said with lingering fears.


    ¡°It''s ok, you''re safe now. But you''re not out of danger as long as you continue to stay here. The monster............¡±. Clark stopped as his ears twitched.


    ¡°It''s here. You guys go back now, I''ll take care of it¡±. Clark said before turning around and turning into a gust of wind.


    The three were slightly stunned. The cameraman looked at the disappearing Superman, then back at the reporter.


    ¡°Should we leave?¡±


    ¡°Are you crazy?¡± The male reporter scolded in a high tone. Then, his voice turned solemn.


    ¡°This is firsthand scoop on Superman''s defeat of the mysterious monster. We''re the first responders and are most likely to get it on video. If we go back now, Chief will kill us¡±.


    ¡°Hell no, I''m not going anywhere close to that area¡±. The pilot said with an expression of fear, pointing towards the direction Superman disappeared to.


    ¡°Don''t listen to him. He''s the pilot. People like him are difficult to find, so he can regarded as a rare talent. Plus, the Chopper''s busted. He''ll get off just fine¡±.


    The male reporter said before turning to the cameraman.


    ¡°Two of us, on the other hand......¡±. He didn''t have to finish his words. The cameraman finished it for him.


    ¡°We could get fired¡±.


    ¡°Bingo. So Scottie boy, we have to go. Besides, it''s Superman we''re talking about here. With him, our safety is basically guaranteed¡±.


    ¡°Um¡­.¡± The cameraman was slightly hesitant.


    Too bad, the reporter whose eyes were fiery for the scoop of the month had already taken the lead. The poor cameraman who was still hesitating could only bite the bullet and follow.


    ¡°Idiots. Idiots, I tell you¡±. All that was left was the pilot who let out a few cusses before turning around and fleeing.


    He had had enough for one day.


    ...........


    Superman flashed and appeared in the area near the building. His gaze instantly locked on the purple monster a considerable distance away.


    Seeing its appearance. Clark frowned.


    ¡°Alright, let''s finish this quick¡±. He thought to himself and activated his laser vision.


    The two lasers shot towards Parasite, who raised both hands in front of it and blocked.


    The lasers slammed straight on his crossed arms, pushing him back several meters. But that was all to it.


    Slowly, the purple monster began to advance under the laser offensive.


    Step by step, it drew closer, with each step much lighter than the last one, till eventually, it removed both arms from the way allowing the lasers to strike on you his chest without any form of protection.


    Seeing this scene, Clark who was releasing heat vision was stunned.


    ¡°Hehehe!¡± The monster let out an eerie chuckle, it''s body reacting to the laugh.


    ¡°Finally.......¡±


    Then..... Blue lightning arcs flashed around his body.


    ¡°..... You''re finally here¡±.


    And with that, he rushed forward at super speed.


    Seeing the attacking parasite displaying speedster traits, Superman was shocked.


    He wanted to react, but the slight surprise and the extreme speed caught him off guard. Before he could react, Parasite had already slammed into him.


    The two dug a deep gully in the floor as they were pushed forward, parasite''s body on top of Superman''s.


    ¡°So much¡­. Power¡±.


    And with that, he used his right hand and grabbed the head of the man of steel.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Clark let out a groan as parasite''s hand glowed yellow. He felt something leaving him, like he was being sucked dry.


    Meanwhile,


    On the roof of the building, a few meters above the parasite''s impact point. The space suddenly distorted, forming swirls in the area.


    Amari stepped out of the void, looking into the distance.


    "Oh, looks like I didn''t miss anything".

 Chapter 74 It Wasnt Healing

    "Um.... Oh..... Clark Kent....". The parasite murmured softly as memories that didn''t belong to him appeared in his mind.


    He found these memory clips quite interesting.


    "... Or is it Kal-El?" He asked while staring at the Kryptonian who only had his eyes visible within the gaps of parasite''s claws.


    "..... No matter". And so, he grasped the man of Steel''s neck with his other hand, absorbing even more.


    From afar, it looked like Superman was being choked to death. The truth of the matter wasn''t that far off.


    "Oh my God! Are you getting this?" The reporter asked with amazement as he hid behind the nearby bushes.


    The cameraman also had wide eyes, filming the scene before him.


    He couldn''t understand. Was Superman losing?


    "Hehehehe". The purple monster let out eerie chuckles with each passing second while The Man Of Steel found it difficult to move a muscle.


    Never had he experienced such a feeling of unprecedented weakness. Oh wait, he had experienced something like this before.


    It was basically how he felt when there was kryptonite in the vicinity. However, he knew this was worse.


    Feeling the solar radiation being drained out of him, Clark knew that if he didn''t do something soon, he would die.


    "... Seriously?" Standing on the building a distance away, I couldn''t help but tilt my head.


    Superman''s battle against parasite was quite underwhelming. The fight had barely begun and the man of steel was already at a disadvantage. And this wasn''t the type that had the possibility of a comeback.


    In the DC universe, Parasite''s skillset could be regarded as Superman''s perfect restraint.


    And Clark who engaged in battle against a foe with abilities he knew nothing about, suffered a serious loss in the opening minute.


    Unless there was help from external sources, The Man Of Tomorrow practically suffered a K.O.


    This was probably the first time Superman was being so easily defeated without Kryptonite.


    I could see the situation. This wasn''t one of those movies where the hero struggled back and forth with the villain even when he was in an unfavorable condition. If no one helped, Superman would truly die.


    But Superman was the favorite of the DC universe. Even if he died, he would be brought back to life with some crazy shenanigans, resurrecting stronger than he was before his death.


    But that wasn''t the matter right now.


    "Should I help?" The thought crossed my mind for a second.


    The reason why I would even ask myself that was almost flabbergasting. Did I want to help?... No, not really. The thought of "helping" made me feel exhausted already.


    So why would I ask?


    Was I bored?


    Ok, maybe a little... But ... That was Superman. DC logic stated that he would be fine..... Ish.... I guess?


    "Weird". I said with a puzzling frown. I didn''t want to help, but strangely, there was some little, very little, I mean atomically little part of me that also didn''t want to see him die for some reason. Now what reason could that be?


    The thought of having Alice document this to unravel later played in my head. I would find out soon enough.


    As for Superman..... Nah! My good thoughts were simply to watch the show. The fight was underwhelming and the winner would basically be decided in a few more seconds, but hey, it''s better than nothing.


    That''s what I thought. Unfortunately.....


    As if sensing something, Parasite turned its gaze away from the Kryptonian and looked behind.


    Both ways locked onto each other as we both had Supervision so it was like we were looking into each other''s irises regardless of the long distance.


    "You''ve gotta be kidding me?" I said feeling slightly speechless.


    Mainly because of the way his cruel yet curious eyes suddenly lit up with a whole lot of fiery greed. Like he was looking at a half naked beauty, but also because...


    Parasite that was over Superman was suddenly pulled into the air by an invisible force. Due to the fact that his eyes were on me, his grip on the Man Of Steel loosened, preventing him from yanking along Superman as well.


    Parasite was stunned.


    Before he could regain his composure, a blue figure blasted towards his direction while mid air. Taking advantage of the situation, a punch landed straight on the monster''s face sending it crashing back down to the concrete.


    BOOM!


    A giant hole appeared on the once spotless road.


    Witnessing the whole scene, I was silent for a second before nodding in recognition. This was exactly what was to be expected.


    As the proclaimed son of the DC universe, Superman wasn''t easy to kill, even with kryptonite laying around everywhere.


    At least, the number of people who succeeded in doing so that weren''t other versions of himself didn''t exceed a hand.


    And Parasite certainly wasn''t one of them.


    Only ....


    "What the hell is she doing here?" Looking at the figure covered from head to toe in a blue skin tight super suit, wearing a white mask that covered majority of the facial features and had a feminine body shape, I raised an eyebrow and resisted the urge to palm my face.


    Why she was wearing..... That instead of her iconic Supergirl suit was the last thing that came to mind.


    In front of my eyes, she could practically be naked. After spending a week with her in the same place, her energy signature was all too familiar. Not just her though, there was someone else.


    My eyes quickly locked onto an invisible figure with green skin.


    Supergirl and Miss Martian? What an unlikely team up. I also couldn''t be bothered to know why they were together, However..... Where they trying to get themselves killed?


    "Hey.... Um.... Is Superman ok?" Kara frowned while looking at the purple monster in the hole. She sent a message through the mind link to Megan who had appeared beside Superman, still cloaked.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    "He''s... Weakened". Miss Martian answered with a grave tone.


    "How is that even possible?" Kara asked with surprise. She didn''t feel weak, meaning that there was no kryptonite around.


    ".... Ugh..... Who...". Clark groaned weakly.


    The sound of rubble being pushed apart quickly grabbed Supergirl''s attention. The purple monster had gotten up from the floor, looking at her levitating figure.


    Kara frowned before disappearing from her spot.


    "Kara wait, something''s not.....". Megan shouted without uttering a sound.


    Unfortunately, she spoke too late.


    All that time spent in the cave wasn''t for nothing. Although Kara''s level of control wasn''t capable of handling the most minute things, like stopping herself from accidentally shattering a cup if she squeezed just a bit more, she had made considerable progress when it came to exerting force.


    Especially in control of her speed.


    She arrived before the monster as fast as she could and threw her fist.


    Bang!


    The sound of collision was loud when considering what was colliding was flesh, but it didn''t give off the feeling she was expecting.


    Parasite stretched his hand forward at the last moment at a speed the blonde female couldn''t react to, accurately neutralizing the blow and trapping her fist that was three inches away from his face.


    Kara''s expression changed drastically. That was fast. She could barely make out the blur when the monster''s hand moved. This thing was faster than she expected...


    "Ugh!" The next moment though, she felt petrified.


    Her body suddenly softened, encroached with the feeling of unprecedented weakness, all her energy being sapped.


    Her body twisted backward slightly, she felt like her legs were falling asleep.


    Her gaze fell on her captive fist and noticed the hand around it was literally glowing.


    Ah! So that''s what''s happening!


    Her mind finally realized.


    Kara swung her other fist towards the monster in an attempt to break free. The second fist didn''t escape the fate of its brother.


    With both hands being captured, the absorbing speed increased exponentially.


    "You''re the same". Parasite said with eager eyes. Exerting slight force, the female kryptonian was brought to her knees as she experienced the free feeling of being drained.


    "Ugh... Stop... Please..". She tried to speak but could only utter weakly.


    "Kara No!" Seeing this scene, Clark''s weak eyelids widened. Of course he knew who was underneath that blue costume.


    Although his X-ray vision was down, he was well informed that Kara had snuck out with Miss Martian.


    "Get away from her". Seeing what was happening, Megan immediately left Superman and flew towards the monster.


    Sensing the approaching intruder, Parasite snapped its head towards her direction and fired two burning hot rays at her.


    "Argh!" A direct hit.


    Megan yelled in pain as she was blasted into the distance, slamming into a nearby building.


    "Mega.....". Kara wanted to tell but couldn''t.


    Her eyelids felt particularly heavy at his point.


    With eyes still glowing red, Parasite turned his gaze back to the prey in his grasp.


    "No!" Clark roared in a weak tone. He tried to release Lasers but the feeling of being hollowed out hit him like a construction worker on a Payday.


    Don''t talk about releasing lasers. He could barely move right now.


    "...Your turn". The hoarse voice said as the red eyes glowed brighter. However, the space in front of him suddenly swirled.


    The transformed Rudy was caught off guard when suddenly out of nowhere, a dark reddish arm extended forward from thin air at accelerated speed.


    "Rawrgh!"


    At that moment, all of Metropolis heard a miserable roaring sound that frightened them out of their wits.


    "Mommy, Mommy! Did you hear that". A small boy playing in the living room was holding a toy dinosaur raised his head, called his startled mother''s attention, pointed outside and yelled excitedly.


    "... It''s a dinosaur. Just like you said, it''s a dinosaur. And it''s crying".


    ...


    Parasite let out a miserable wail of anger and pain as he used both three fingered hands to cover his face. It was of no use though as dark purplish blood seeped through the corners staining the floor with it.


    "Yeah... "Eye" don''t think so". (Pun intended by the way)


    I turned my gaze away from the staggering monster to the two eyeballs in my hand with a strange expression.


    "Hold on! Did I just drop a pun?" I swear I didn''t deliberately do this. I just wanted to gouge his eyes out... That pun was so accidental.


    "Nevermind". I shook my head. A strange thought came to my head. Wasn''t this the typical eye gouging scenario that usually happened in the Naruto Universe?


    The eyes in my hand were definitely something though. They hadn''t crumbled to dust yet even when under destructive aura.


    "Well, let''s leave this as a lesson". I said to myself and squeezed. Cataclysm quickly caused the eyeballs to crumble as disintegrated the blood on my palm.


    That unbridled greed in his eyes needed to go. So I took it upon myself to make sure it happened.


    Seeing the plot twist, Superman was stunned. Kara was stunned, the watching news employees were stunned.


    What the hell just happened?


    "..... You....". Kara uttered weakly. Her eyes wide with shock and surprise.


    "Oh, Hey Blondie. Didn''t see you there". Kara was originally in a daze.


    She couldn''t imagine that she was saved. And by him. But even in her weak state, the following words immediately made her blood pressure rise.


    "Ok, now let me get this straight. You jumped into a fight against an unknown superpowered enemy that took down Superman with your meager two weeks of sun absorption? Ok I gotta ask. Are you trying to commit suicide? Cause if you are, there are simpler ways".


    I said with curious eyes, raised eyelids and an expression as if I were looking at a fool.


    No, scratch that. I was looking at a fool.


    Geez, and you would think Superman was reckless. At least he had the strength that entitled him to act as such.


    This.... This was simply the case of a newborn lion going to challenge a grown tiger to a battle for supremacy.


    Kara''s mind went blank for a second.


    She coughed lightly. Not sure if it was from weakness or embarrassment and let out a wry smile under the mask.


    "Good to see you too"


    "Really...". I asked with a deadpan look.


    "..."


    "I send you off for ten days and you''re already about to die".


    ".... I was .... Helping".


    "What would not helping look like?"


    "Rawrgh!"


    The loud roar quickly drew my attention back to it.


    The staggering parasite had regained his balance, looking in my direction with what I could only guess to be a hateful expression.


    Well, let''s just say it was looking in my direction. It couldn''t see this way though.


    After all, it had no eyes. The scene fell into Kara''s eyes and it was bloody.


    Pain.... Since the day Superman''s Laser vision had blasted him into the black ooze back at Star Labs in the Central City Invasion, that made him what he was today, Rudy had never felt such..... Pain.


    Don''t even mention pain, he hadn''t been injured ever since the incident. Even if he was, all wounds he incurred for whatever reason would heal in the blink of an eye. It was the same before.  Zoom crushed his heart when phasing through him.


    His body just readjusted before bringing him back from what should have been a fatal wound like an undead zombie.


    The power and genes he had absorbed from both kryptonians had made his body stronger than any material on Earth. Coupled with his ability to absorb energy to grow stronger, he should have been invincible by now.


    Anything thrown at him would just feed his ravenous hunger.


    But that wasn''t the case. He was wounded..... Not just wounded..... His eyes were gone. And what made it worse was that.... It wasn''t healing.


    Despite his body instinctively using energy to repair the wounds, it wasn''t healing.


    Why wasn''t it healing?


    Why!.

 Chapter 75 Traumatic Experience

    No, he felt it.


    At that moment, Parasite realized he was mistaken with his thoughts. The wounded area was healing.


    The powerful senses he gained after absorbing Superman''s traits let him know this much.


    Only, the speed was extremely slow. Digging deeper into that feeling, he realized the problem.


    Anyone who used a microscope to view the wounded areas would also know what was going on.


    Parasite''s cells were at war. Battling a considerable amount of cataclysmic force surging in his missing eyeholes like white blood cells encountering a very potent virus.


    The mortal enemies immediately went to war, both sides determined to fight until one was eradicated.


    The image of the hand colored dark red, appearing out of nowhere filled his mind the following second.


    ¡°.... You just¡­.¡±. Looking at the wounded Parasite, Kara was visibly shocked. Looking at the eyeless monster that stood on both feet, staring in their direction without moving a muscle, she felt a tingling sensation in her spine.


    The visual image in front of her was honestly terrifying.


    ¡°I did¡±. I replied indifferently, placing one hand on his chin before uttering in a thoughtful tone.


    ¡°It''s ok, though. It won''t have much impact on him. After all, he can still see us¡±.


    ¡°He what?¡± The blonde kryptonian felt her blood grow cold. The eerie feeling intensified, looking at the monster with only two bloody holes and no eyes.


    It could still see?


    ¡°.... Yep. He should have the abilities of you and your cousin now. His hearing can perfectly fill in for his sight¡±.


    I said briefly, before showing a hint of contemplation.


    ¡°Am I right.....?¡± Finally, I asked the person in question himself.


    ¡°...... Rudy?¡± The casual words were downright terrifying to the young kryptonian.


    This monster could steal the abilities of others. So that''s why she felt so weak.


    Kara felt frightened. This little planet Earth was more dangerous than she could have imagined.


    In response to my question, the purple monster didn''t give an answer. Just stared at me with his eyeless face.


    I didn''t mind. If Parasite wanted to buy time for his eyes to grow back, then there was no problem waiting.


    Sure enough, it didn''t take a few extra seconds, the injuries inflicted began to heal rapidly, reverting to the state it was before.


    Finally, he...... Or it spoke.


    ¡°...... You know me?¡± The voice was deep, eerie, hoarse, wasn''t as demonic as Zoom''s, but it fit well.


    It was a question, yet at the same time, not a question.


    ¡°Oh...... still has a trace of reasoning. Not a total beast driven by pure instinct yet, huh?". I thought to myself with a bit of curiosity.


    ¡°.... And from his memories I ..... Know you¡±. As it said so, the eyes lit up like red Lava, shooting towards my chest.


    The heat rays hit me straight on my chest area as I made no attempt to avoid it. Waves of burning solar power released through two straight rays continuously impacted against me.


    No effect thought as everything was taken in the same way it came. All without a single piece of fabric I put on getting destroyed or me moving a step from my position.


    At that moment, Parasite''s body was enveloped in electric arcs before disappearing in place leaving my slightly astounded.


    My ears twitched slightly as I snapped my head to the side and raised both hands to block the two arms attempting to grab me.


    Bang!


    My feet remained motionless as Parasite revealed himself. His hideous face actually had what I could only assume to be a sinister grin, looking like it had won a battle.


    ¡°No!¡± Clark''s face turned pale. He didn''t even have an opportunity to give a reminder to not engage in physical contact under any circumstances.


    If Parasite absorbed my abilities as well, then they would be finished.


    ¡°Hehehehe! You lose¡±. He uttered with a dark chuckle, tightened his hands holding mine and actively absorbed.


    It happened then, streams of dark red energy emerged from my hands that were being held captive.


    Parasite''s face changed drastically as pain once again assaulted his nerves and desperately tried to break free. Only, this time, I wasn''t letting go.


    Disintegration energy emerged from my body like a flood, encasing the purple monster that towered over me in height and body size.


    ¡°Rarghhhhh!¡± It was the same hellish scream, only even more prolonged. I watched as his body began to decay and crumble rapidly.


    The once impenetrable flesh did nothing to stop what was upon it as it rampaged through his every being in full force.


    The previous quantity in his eyes were considerable but in my opinion, minimal. The terrifying monster fell to his knees, his hands still clamped by mine to prevent escape.


    Barely ten seconds had passed, and it looked like it was about to turn into a skeleton.


    It happened then, Parasite''s body began to vibrate at a different frequency before phasing through the ground, escaping my grasp in a hurry.


    Watching it flee through the ground, my eyebrows furrowed slightly. My mind wasn''t on the fact that he had escaped but the discovery that.........


    ¡°He''s faster than me¡±. I muttered under my breath with a bit of contemplation in my eyes.


    This wasn''t an exaggeration. When Parasite attacked, his movement was too fast. Not to the point where I couldn''t notice his movement pattern but almost to the point of a blur.


    For someone like me, that was truly saying something.


    The combined speed of a kryptonian and a speedster was above my current level of strength.


    Coming down to physical fitness, not only was parasite faster than me, he was also stronger. I could tell from the collision.


    If I didn''t absorb the energy generated upon impact, I would have probably been blown away.


    Of course, this was all just on paper. The outcome of the brief encounter was still overwhelmingly in my favor.


    Physically, I may be weaker, but I would never lose.


    Nevertheless, this was worth taking note of.


    ¡°It''s been a long time since I last got an upgrade¡±. I thought to myself with a hint of amusement.


    The DC universe wasn''t limited to just this. Ultimately, someone like parasite who could destroy the world if given enough time were still a second rate villain at most. Maybe a bit higher when he reached his peak.


    The real threats were still nowhere to be found. But that didn''t mean they didn''t exist.


    ¡°He''s gone¡±.


    I turned my gaze to the struggling Man Of Steel.


    Clark mustered enough energy to stand on his feet. Having regained some strength from the sun, he still looked like he would fall over as long as someone gave him a slight push.


    ¡°Rudy?¡± Clark asked with a grim expression.


    ¡°I saw his picture. That''s him? The employee at Star Labs?¡± Clark''s face carried clear disbelief.


    The image of the white haired male in a Janitor''s outfit and the purple monster in front of him conflicted greatly.


    What...... What in god''s name happened to him.


    ¡°Pretty much¡±. I affirmed with a shrug of my shoulders.


    Clark''s face was particularly ugly.


    ¡°You know what happened to him, don''t you?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much¡±. I didn''t stick around for more questions this time. Answering with two words, I turned around to leave.


    Clark, who wanted to ask more, had his words stuck in his throat seeing my departing figure.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    A frown adorned his face before he called out.


    ¡°You''re going after him?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much¡±. I said without turning around.


    The frown deepened.


    ¡°Are you going to kill him?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much¡±. I replied indifferently before adding.


    ¡°Don''t you think it''s normal to finish what you started?¡±


    ¡°But what if there''s a way to reverse it?¡±


    ¡°...¡± Receiving no reply, Clark gnashed his teeth with a bit of anger and helplessness.


    ¡°You can''t kill him. He''s still human¡±.


    ¡°Sure...... Look at all the corpses and just keep telling yourself that¡±.


    ¡°He has a family. A wife and child¡±. His words successfully brought my departing back to a halt.


    ¡°It''s not right to kill him if he can still be saved¡±. Seeing this, Clark said hurriedly. He knew what was about to happen.


    Parasite''s fate was sealed the moment he attacked and Superman was currently in no condition to stop me.


    Honestly, at this point. Clark doubted he could on a normal day. The situation might be different if he flew into the sun before it happened but......


    Currently, Rudy Jones wasn''t the human he once was. Now, he was extremely dangerous and would go on a massive killing spree if left unchecked.


    Clark didn''t want that to happen but aside from him, there were few people in the Justice League who could be of help.


    Scratch that. With what he had just faced, anyone else who came to interfere would probably suffer what he just experienced and not everyone had his level of vitality.


    He didn''t want Rudy to die, and he also didn''t want people to die due to leaving Rudy alive.


    For a moment, Superman hoped that Amari could help him. Capture and contain the parasite instead of killing it.


    But judging from behavioral observation, what were the chances?


    At least I certainly wouldn''t.


    ¡°Instead of worrying about the family of others, you should start worrying about yours¡±. I said, turning my head slightly to reveal my side profile.


    ¡°Cause you nearly lost yours two minutes ago¡±.


    Clark was slightly stunned at my words, before directing his gaze to Kara, who had passed out at some point.


    Clark''s brows were narrowed intensely.


    ¡°Why did......¡±. He raised his head up only to find the person in question was no longer there.


    .........


    Midvale.......... A suburban town outside Metropolis.


    In a discreet and quiet alleyway.


    A blurry figure slowly appeared, its vibrating figure phasing from the underground up to the surface.


    The blurry silhouette soon stopped vibrating as soon as its whole body was out of the floor, revealing a bloody, physically disgusting figure.


    Molted skin that looked like it just emerged from an acid vat.


    A disfigured appearance making it look even more terrifying, Parasite took in his surroundings for a few seconds before staggering forwards.


    Unfortunately, it looked like the last of his strength was spent just getting here. Failing to keep himself upright, the two-meter purplish monster fell to the floor after taking his first step.


    The pain he was currently experiencing was unlike nothing he ever felt before.


    ¡°Rrghh¡±. He released a pained growling sound while struggling to push himself up. The feeling of death that enveloped him a few moments ago left the monster utterly terrified.


    And so, Parasite ran away. Using the speed force, he phased through the floor, into the Metropolis underground sewer tunnels and ran as fast as he could.


    He didn''t stop until he appeared in this small town, quite far from his original position. Not because he felt he had run far enough, but because he couldn''t run anymore.


    The tearing pain of his muscles and bones being broken down was overwhelming.


    Not long after his official existence, Parasite encountered something terrible. Someone in possession of a form of energy he couldn''t absorb.


    Supporting himself off the ground, he staggered toward the alleys end. His powerful senses let him know that if he left himself the way he was, he would most certainly die.


    The huge influx of destructive energy had overwhelmed whatever healing capability his natural body provided. The only reason he was still alive was because the huge amount of energy he had absorbed was acting as a fuel tank, fighting against the disintegration and keeping him from crumbling to dust.


    It wouldn''t last long, though. All it was doing at this point was delaying the inevitable. Soon, it would run out, unless, of course, he absorbed some more.


    Not much, just enough to make sure that he could expel the cataclysmic force, heal his injuries and momentarily avoid hunger.


    So........ A few hundred of these humans should do. A thousand at maximum. After that....... He would continue to absorb more.


    He thought he was powerful enough after defeating Superman. Damn was he wrong.


    Now, he needed more. Much more.


    And so, he continued to move towards the nearest human.


    At that moment, the space behind him began to swirl.


    ¡°So this is where you''re hiding¡±. The voice that fell into his ears caused the purple monster to freeze.


    The streets of Midvale weren''t bustling, but numerous people could be seen on the sidewalks here and there.


    A taxi driver whistled to a popular tone he recently got hooked on while driving his cab to the designated pickup stop.


    Bang!


    The driver didn''t even have time to react as a figure flew out of a secluded alleyway at breakneck speed and slammed right into his taxi cab.


    The back of the parasite monster crashed against the taxi, sending it flying into the air before crashing to the floor.


    It didn''t stop there, and the body continued to move forward, slamming into a parked tanker which exploded upon impact.


    Chaos engulfed the streets immediately, as many people ran for their lives without attempting to understand the situation.


    In this day and age, even a black man running on the road like he was fleeing from a ghost would put everyone else who saw it into a flight, no matter what the actual reason was.


    An explosion certainly warranted such reactions.


    As for the Jamaican taxi driver whose life status was unknown....... nobody gave a damn.


    Of course, there would always be those who would carry their phones, turn on their social accounts and begin live-streaming without regard for their personal safety.


    The tanker went up in flames. A few seconds later, the flames were put out miraculously.


    Parasite fell to the ground. An indent visible on the scrap metal he collided against.


    Absorbing the flames did help his situation. But not by much. His deformed body still hadn''t begun the healing process.


    There was a clear fist print in his chest area causing a noticeable hole.


    Amidst the screams and chaos, the sound of steady footsteps walking in his direction was particularly loud.


    ¡°........ Why?¡± The hoarse voice of Rudy Jones fell in my ears. I understood what his question meant.


    ¡°Your cells were made to absorb while my energy was made to destroy, break apart, shatter on a molecular level. Your cells break apart before they can digest it, it''s that simple¡±.


    I said nonchalantly. Like a professor explaining a physics law to a student.


    ¡°.......... What are you¡±. Those incomprehensible words coming from him almost made me chuckle.


    ¡°A human corrupted by an alien substance transformed into an energy devouring organism........ I should ask you the same question¡±.


    Those were my last words before my eyes changed. However, there was a noticeable difference this time as the usual spiral shaped pattern was gone.


    What was left was a pure blue glow, accompanied by countless swirls in the area where the irises should be.


    And let me be completely honest when I say, this wasn''t my doing, as I had no idea how this happened.


    ¡°Rarghhhhh!¡± Seeing the change, Parasite roared loudly and turned into a lightning streak, rushing towards me with his claws outstretched.


    Time seemed to slow down.


    All he saw was the amusing look in my eyes before his vision was encroached by darkness.


    The next moment, his vision returned. This time, however, he wasn''t in the city. The whole place was dark, too dark. Parasite found himself in a dark, dreary space, his limbs were completely bound with chains.


    Not just bound, he found that he couldn''t even move a muscle.


    Three moons hung in the sky yet the light they emitted seemed to achieve no purpose.


    From all he could see, the darkness stretched on for miles on end.


    ¡°So even the Tsukyuomi space got an upgrade¡±. My voice brought him out of his reverie as he turned to my silhouette that just appeared.


    ¡°Where am I¡±. He uttered gravely in a clear voice. The next moment, his eyes widened inexplicably.


    ¡°Surprised?¡± I asked with a slight smile.


    ¡°Look down¡±.


    As if an order had been given, his previously immovable body suddenly bent downwards, with his face directly opposite the ground.


    Underneath him wasn''t pitch-black night but a reflection of himself. The scene he saw caused his disbelief to rise even higher.


    His skin was smooth...... Well, at least as smooth as a middle-aged man could get. The purple skin color was gone and he''s terrifying features had disappeared.


    With the all too familiar black hair on his head, Rudy realized what was happening. He was back....... He wasn''t Parasite anymore but Rudy Jones.


    But......


    ¡°How is this possible?¡± He voiced out his disbelief.


    ¡°This is my mental space, created to imprison the minds of all those who look into my eyes. It''s a little different from before, but it should work just as well¡±.


    I said while gesturing.


    ¡°You..... You cured me?¡±


    ¡°Oh? No!¡± Hearing his words, I quickly shook my head before pointing at him.


    ¡°This¡­. Isn''t your real body. You''re not in the real world but in a mental space. What you look like, right now, is the manifestation of your consciousness. Also, don''t try to play that. I already know that Rudy Jones is long gone¡±. I said indifferently, causing the expression of the male to change.


    ¡°The only reason you still seem like this is that you haven''t adapted yet. With time, you''ll eventually look like what you are on the outside¡±.


    Rudy''s face went from surprised to thoughtful, to finally, a frown.


    ¡°What do you want¡±. Although it was the same voice, the tone was obviously different.


    ¡°Hehehe¡±. I let out a hearty chuckle.


    ¡°You''ll know soon enough¡±.


    ¡°This space cannot imprison me forever. I will escape, and I will.......¡±. He said in a menacing tone.


    ¡°And what makes you think I plan to imprison you here?¡±


    I cut in before he could complete his sentence.


    Seeing the trace of confusion, I added with a smile.


    ¡°I think you''re getting something mixed up. You see, I''m not trying to imprison you. Usually, I''d kill you immediately, but my eyes have gone through a special evolution. Now, it has a lot of functions I know nothing about. So what better way to explore those functions.......¡±.


    My smile was particularly bright.


    ¡°Than on a very rare and extremely suitable guinea pig?¡±

 Chapter 76 Bialya

    Midvale........


    Two people stood near the end of the road. The smashed cars around them made their posture look particularly eye-catching.


    One was a human male...... Well, looked like a human male. The other was once a human male but now, looked like something completely inhuman.


    Parasite Lunged towards me with all the strength he could muster in a pointless attack.


    His body stiffened however, when his claws was five centimeters away from my head.


    The freeze was brief, taking no longer than a second. However, a long time had passed for both parties within this very short second.


    Parasite''s vision returned for a split second before an intense fatigue flooded his mind. The level of mental exhaustion caused his already weakening body to fail completely, causing the monster to plummet to the floor unconscious.


    I took a quick look at the monster that laid at my feet with a look of contemplation in his eyes.


    "Well well, these eyes truly have evolved". Myvoice was naturally smooth with a hint of pondering.


    One year!


    Unlike my previous abilities that could manipulate the mental space and stretch time for roughly three days, the newly evolved version took it to the extreme.


    For one year, Rudy had suffered so much torture as I experimented with my abilities that his mind would literally never be the same again.


    This, was in no way an exaggeration. What Batman experienced could still be repaired with the right people and powers.


    As for this, I wasn''t sure if it could be repaired by Doctor Fate and a group of magicians utilising magic to the best of their abilities.


    "Oh...... And that''s new". Something else caught my attention as well.


    Voices.......... Thousands of them coming from all directions.


    Men, women, children.......


    Amari could hear them. However, this wasn''t through the use of his ears.


    "Oh My God!"


    " Shit, gotta hurry and call 911, there''s....."


    "Damn it! Are those supers fighting again? But this ain''t Metropolis".


    The thoughts of numerous people playing out simultaneously in his mind were honestly astounding.


    Some were cursing, some were screaming, some were doing both.


    "Another shitty day in this shitty world". The thoughts of a beggar literally a few dozen meters away.


    He held a bottle of canned soda, half empty at this point. Unlike he others, he sat where he was and simply took a chug, ignoring the people who were running past him.


    Bending down slightly and taking a peep in my direction, his eyes quickly lost interest as he returned to resting his back against the wall.


    "Where''s death when you need it". The tone was nonchalant.


    Sounds like a human who had given up on life.


    "Is this........ Telepathy?"


    The power to read the thoughts of others. This was the simplest definition and quite frankly, it was the simplest thing I could do at this point.


    No one told me, I could feel it.


    Focusing my sight on the comatose creature that was once Rudy Jones, retina lines appeared in my field of vision, before disappearing rapidly, feeding information of what I was seeing into my mind.


    Like who Parasite was or what he once was, what he is now and how exactly he could do what he could do. His body composition, cell structure, current physical state, various biological flaws....... The lines were almost endless.


    It was almost like an analyzer, giving me detailed information of what I wanted to know when I wanted to know it.


    Or better put, an omniscient eye........ Of some kind.


    Not only did my eyes scan his body but also his mind. I experienced the process of reaching deep into his brain, retrieving memories hidden deep within his hippocampus.


    Memories of his nine months being a foetus, the day of his birth, the numerous times he suckled on his mother''s breasts.


    Memories of his early years, how many times he had bacon in his life, how he liked to play with little toy trains, how many times he had used the word "fuck" when playing with his wife in all his favorite sex positions, the nine hundred and fifty sixth word he read in the newspaper........ Many things he could remember and things he couldn''t remember and was incapable of remembering even with his current capabilities.


    It was intrusive, but even if he was conscious, he wouldn''t be able to feel the intrusion.


    I looked at the destroyed tanker and similar information appeared. It was honestly intriguing.


    I could learn anything about anything.


    If a regular human was suddenly loaded with so much information, their brains would have exploded in the first nanosecond.


    Didn''t matter to me though.


    Still, this was just the beginning. The previous use of the Tsukyuomi space wasn''t one year but as long as I could maintain it.


    Depending on the mental strength of those I use it against, I could practically trap the opponent in a mental prison for all eternity, erode his consciousness, turn them into a mental retard with nothing but a look


    Not to mention.......


    With a single thought, a spoon laying under a table in an apartment twenty three blocks away from here was suddenly pulled away from its resting place.


    I raised my hand to catch the spoon with a strange light in my eyes.


    Telekinesis as well?


    Wasn''t this the road of Martians?


    Or was this the Rinnegan of the Ninja World?


    "It''s all new. Looks like I need to take out time to test my new capabilities". I said with some thought.


    "You could just will yourself to know the information you seek". The voice of Alice sounded in my ears causing me to chuckle.


    "Come on Alice, where''s the fun in that?" I replied with some amusement.


    "You didn''t improve you eyes?"


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "No". I shook my head in denial.


    "This wasn''t my doing at all".


    I felt the slight changes but made no effort to stop it. Still, this end point was a bit surprising.


    "Now come to think of it, what exactly were my requirements when I willed for a perfect body?" I said out loud with my hand placed on my chin.


    There was a reason I created a "perfect physique" when creating a body for myself.


    In simple words, the "perfect" there simply meant completely unique. In other words, my body DNA was one of a kind throughout all universes. My cells wouldn''t survive the moment they disconnected from my body surface.


    They were special so the structure couldn''t be replicated, reused, or copied. Simply speaking, everything I gave myself was for me and me alone.


    This was also the reason why Parasite couldn''t copy any of my abilities during the brief moment we made contact.


    I wished for his simply because... One, I didn''t want my abilities copied or used against me. Two, I didn''t want to have a another version of me running around.


    The DC universe cloning technology as honestly annoying. This was something I personally didn''t want to experience.


    Unlike Superman who was more tolerant, I would directly erase my clone out of existence if I ever found out one existed.


    [This paragraphs is for readers who think I gave my MC a viltrumite physique. I haven''t explained this since I wrote about it in the fifth chapter. The MC has all the physical capabilities of a viltrumite, he doesn''t have viltrum DNA]


    "From my calculations, your body is in a constant state of evolution. Due to the cellular qualities of your DNA, your body has caused your eyes to mutate and develop unknown characteristics".


    "Unknown changes".


    I murmured with a raised eyebrow.


    "There are a lot of inconsistencies with that sentence".


    The eyes weren''t the only thing developing unknown characteristics. One was the fact that I actually involved myself just before Parasite could kill Kara.


    That in itself was ........ odd.


    My principles were pretty clear. I never attacked first.


    Rudy didn''t attack me. Well...... Not yet anyway. Still, my actions were completely off character.


    I knew why and I was a little unhappy about it.


    This body was developing emotions. Emotional attachment, although very minimal.


    "What will you do with him?"


    Alice''s question brought me out of my thoughts. I turned my gaze back to the brain dead Rudy Jones.


    After torturing him for a year, any thoughts of killing him I previously possessed had faded.


    Well, the guy was already this miserable. Killing him just didn''t nudge me anymore.


    My ears picked up the rapidly approaching police sirens in the distance.


    "Well........ How about we just drop him off".


    .........


    Star Labs, Central City.


    The military sweep was basically finished and all military personnel were packing their bags to leave.


    Waller in particular, had an ugly expression. Her face was cold and the gloomy feeling she gave off gave the impression that someone owed her a million bucks.


    Waller knew that right now, she was really in trouble.


    Right then, the space in the distance suddenly swirled.


    Thud!


    A body appeared out of thin and fell to the floor with a resounding thud. The body sported a pale purple color. Green lines around it looked particularly faded as well.


    The once hulking body of Parasite now looked thin and shrivelled. It laid there completely unresponsive, the only sign that showed he was still alive was the rising and falling of his chest area.


    Waller took several steps back will gesturing towards the soldiers and the monster.


    Thirty seconds later.


    "There''s a note Mam". One said as he looked at Parasite''s chest that had several words scribbled on his chest.


    "It says, "Hope you like the present".


    Waller: "....."


    Looking at the Parasite Monster, Waller frowned and fell into deep thought.


    "Was is it?"


    "We don''t know mam. Maybe some kind of alien".


    Waller raised an eyebrow. The image of one person fell into her mind.


    "Is it still alive?"


    "Yes. But whatever it is, it''s unresponsive. It also looks to be in pretty bad shape".


    Amanda nodded.


    "Get a containment team down there. Have it transported back to the DOD". Amanda said.


    Her mind couldn''t be bothered concerning whatever....... This was. Right now, she needed to return to DC and find the president.


    The information she had desperately tried to conceal had been leaked. It was something even she couldn''t suppress.


    If she didn''t do something about it, Waller would truly be finished.


    However, she still didn''t understand how bad things had gotten.


    "That order is no longer yours to give".


    A deep, stern voice suddenly sounded from behind, startling the fat lady.


    Waller turned around and her eyes fell on one of the last people she wanted to see.


    Tanned skin, brown hair, black eyes.


    Wade looked at the fat lady in front of him with exceedingly cold eyes.


    "Arrest this bitch immediately". He said towards the nearby soldiers will pointing towards Amanda.


    Waller''s face changed drastically.


    "You can''t do this. I''m the secretary of the DOD". She defended in a panicked tone


    "With all that''s gone online, I doubt you will be able to retain that position for long".


    The tall, broad shoulders man stood firmly, placing both hands behind his back.


    Seeing General Wade Eiling personally give the order, the soldiers didn''t delay and cuffed Waller without question.


    "This isn''t over Wade. The president will hear of this".


    "What all the shit that''s been dug out, I doubt Lex would be able to keep you even if he wanted to". He replied indifferently, not paying attention to the secretary who was being dragged out of the Star Labs building.


    "What do we do general?"


    A soldier asked respectfully.


    "What else? Have a containment team get down here and take this to the Labs".


    Wade said, his gaze still fixed on the Parasite monster. Unlike Waller, he had received news earlier on so he knew that this thing just fought with Superman and the Mysterious Deviant a while ago and fled.


    Looking at the message inscribed in Parasite''s flesh, Wade had a very strange feeling in his gut. That this message was specifically meant for him to see.


    "Looks like we have to get in touch".


    ...........


    September 2nd, Washington DC


    In a penthouse high rise.


    The space on the balcony swirled, followed by a figure stepping into the open space out of thin air.


    "I''ve been expecting you".


    Wade said solemnly.


    "You''re not an easy man to get a hold of".


    Hearing his words, I shrugged indifferently.


    "Waller said the same thing". I swept my eyes around the place and asked casually.


    "By the way, what happened to her recently. I heard the Secretary got replaced".


    "She''s where she belongs. Back at Belle Reve. Unfortunately, not in a cell". Hearing my time, Wade''s eyelids twitched slightly.


    "Since you''re here, let''s get down t business".


    There was a brief moment of silence. Seeing that I didn''t reply and just stared at him, he took it as my consent and continued.


    "The agreement you had with the World Council states that you will cooperate with us when necessary".


    I nodded my head without bothering to fully clarify.


    "In that case, I''m here to offer you a deal".


    "Waller said that as well".


    I didn''t show any movement. I already knew what he was going to ask for. It was enough that it was practically easy to guess.


    Still, I didn''t get ahead of him.


    "What could that be General".


    Wade rested his back against his chair.


    "The serums you made decided on with Lane. That needs to be discussed. But that will be finished later. Now.......".


    "I want you to inform me on where I can find General Lane. Worry not, for this piece of information, we can satisfy the price".


    He said with a nonchalant tone.


    "I know". The price for Lane''s location wasn''t high, even if I wanted to charge.


    "So I suggest you start getting ready for international peace talks. Because Old Lane is being held in Bialya

 Chapter 77 Strader Pharmaceuticals

    ¡°Bialya?¡± Wade frowned.


    ¡°Yep¡±.


    ¡°That''s going to be difficult. Bialya is generally not friendly to outsiders, much less welcomes them¡±.


    Wade shook his head.


    ¡°Like I said, peace talks¡±.


    ¡°Where exactly?¡± The General''s eyes narrowed. For this kind of situation, information is essential.


    The world council had given him the mission to retrieve Lane and the asset at all costs. Even if Lane died, if there was a body, it should be brought back.


    ¡°North off Qurac, deep into Bialyan territory. There''s an underground research facility where the old general is being held captive. I can give you the coordinates if you''d like, but for you, I doubt it would be much help¡±.


    I said candidly.


    Wade tapped his fingers on the chair.


    "What will we be up against?''


    ¡°Something your black ops'' infiltration team won''t stand a chance against¡±. I said mercilessly.


    ¡°Whatever team you assemble will have to go light. They need to be able to avoid radar when getting in. They need abilities to deal with the big guns they will most certainly face. Also, all channels of communication have an 85% chance of being compromised. Radio silence is imperative. Meaning.....¡±


    ¡°They won''t be able to make contact once inside¡±.


    ¡°Bingo¡±.


    ¡°...... With Bialya''s current state of affairs, it''d be wonderful if they could smuggle past the border. Then how long they could live depends on them¡±.


    The atmosphere was slightly embarrassing. This wasn''t a matter of if they could complete the mission, but how long they would last before a Wipe out.


    Wade''s face was gloomy. His expression showed that his mind was full of thoughts.


    Bialya wasn''t somewhere anyone could waltz into. The United States didn''t have aircraft with advanced stealth technology.


    There was no way to make it through sea as well. Any attempts at sneaking in would immediately be noticed.


    Just sneaking in itself posed a big problem.


    Even if they could.......... Could they succeed? According to the intel he just obtained, his men would undoubtedly be slaughtered by what was most likely a Superpowered individual.


    Or maybe a group of them.


    Wade had no powered individuals under his command in this regard.


    ........ Or did he?


    I saw the blonde middle-aged man look it me with a certain light in his eyes.


    Hell no.


    ¡°Don''t even think about it¡±. I shut him down before he could propose anything.


    ¡°Your strength and abilities should be more than enough to.......¡±.


    ¡°I''m a business partner, not an errand boy to do your dirty work¡±. I cut him off with no room for question.


    ¡°Besides, you don''t need me. That''s why you have the Justice League for cases like this. Your black ops team are useless in this scenario, but it doesn''t mean theirs is¡±.


    Wade raised an eyebrow.


    As a general who served in the military for many years, he was considerably shrewd. He didn''t think this sentence was just me mentioning casually.


    ¡°Pardon me for assuming that you might have a way for this thing to work¡±.


    ¡°I thought you''d never ask¡±.


    I said before gesturing. A holographic screen appeared before both of us.


    ¡°A massive energy signature was detected from this part of Bialya. It also suggests that it''s extraterrestrial in origin¡±.


    ¡°If I can pick this up, the Justice League can do the same. They are sending their team to investigate the situation, under the radar, of course. All you have to do, is give them a side mission on the way. I''m sure they won''t object to such a rescue¡±.


    If the Justice League could condescend to working as bodyguards for Lex Luthor in Rhelasia, then this would be no problem.


    The timing was right, the location was right, and the whole thing could be done together. Killing two birds with one stone.


    Wade saw this. His eyes gaze off a cold gleam as he turned his gaze towards me.


    ¡°The fact that you know all this is particularly interesting¡±.


    More like worrisome. I could hear his worry and fear underneath. This man was wary of me.


    ¡°I once told Lane, I know a lot of things¡±. I chuckled. For his apprehensions, I wouldn''t have it any other way.


    ¡°Your knowledge and power could be used for the greater good of man. If you could......¡±.


    "No, thanks¡±. I interrupted yet again at the general who was about to preach salvation.


    ¡°There''s nothing in Bialya that can catch my attention, so I''ll sit this one out¡±.


    I had been standing this entire time. My eyes making contact with Wade''s as we stared at each other.


    The gaze of the old general was particularly intense.


    ¡°Very well¡±. He said, relenting.


    ¡°Splendid. So, that brings about the end of our discussion, I believe the announcement for the reward will be made known soon¡±.


    I said knowingly, before turning towards the window.


    ¡°You do know that the Justice League won''t be happy with what you''ve asked for, right?¡±


    Wade asked with a bit of curiosity.


    ¡°I can''t speak for the Justice League.......¡±. I said as I reached the open window.


    A smile made its way to my face as I thought of someone with a constipated expression on his face.


    ¡°But I certainly know Batman won''t be¡±.


    And with that, I flashed away from the penthouse at a speed surpassing human sight.


    I have to say, though, these old guys in the army really like buying penthouses.


    What''s their deal?


    Wade watched me leave before shifting his thoughts elsewhere. The fact that he was going to find the Justice League for help on something, honestly didn''t sit well.


    After a while of contemplation, Wade took up his phone, dialed a number and let it ring.


    The call connected, and he spoke to the person on the other end.


    ¡°Get the department ready to contact Superman¡±. Then, he cut the call and got up to get dressed.


    A lot of work was waiting to be done.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ...........


    GOTHAM CITY


    September 3rd, 20:02


    4616 N Moore Street, Strader Pharmaceuticals. (Corporate Headquarters)


    Head Office.


    ¡°Nice place you got here¡±. I eyed the place with a blank look and said casually.


    That sentence was a basic lie.


    Although it was a powerful business force in Gotham, the office of the CEO wasn''t anything special.


    ¡°..... Um..... Hehehe..... You flatter me¡±. The man sitting on the other end of the table replied with a wry smile and a wary tone.


    His tone was a bit hoarse and his skin slightly paler with a haggard look to it.


    ¡°Are you uncomfortable?¡± I asked with a raised eyebrow.


    The man didn''t speak. I didn''t know if he was acquiescing, or he didn''t know how to reply. I didn''t care, either.


    ¡°I believe I scheduled an appointment. Were you not expecting me?¡±


    ¡°That.......¡±. Lloyd felt depressed. Who the hell would take that thing serious. An email popping up on your computer from God knows where, telling you that someone had booked an appointment with a powerful alien.......


    ¡°........ So you weren''t kidding¡±. He said, trying desperately to keep his composure.


    ¡°Let me guess, you thought it was a prank?¡± I asked with a raised eyebrow.


    Now where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, Lane said it to me on the first day we met.


    ¡°The last person who said that to me is currently missing¡±. I said nonchalantly. The tensing of his body was completely unexpected.


    This surprised me.


    I was barely stating a fact. Why did he shiver all of a sudden?


    Humans........ So fragile.


    Lloyd couldn''t calm down. I mean, anyone would find it difficult to calm down when they were face to face with the person who murdered the Joker on live TV and was still a roaming as a free man.


    That was The Joker, for fuck¡¯s sake.


    Lloyd was there when it happened. He watched his from his TV screen and the whole thing was very impactful.


    Such a person was now looking for him was a bit difficult to digest.


    Seeing his reaction, my furrowed brows relaxed.


    ¡°Well, doesn''t matter. Since we''re already here, let''s cut to the chase¡±.


    For this whole matter, I would rather not waste more time than I needed to.


    ¡°If you had bothered to read the email, you would know the reason for my presence. But with how things have gone so far, I''m just going to assume that you didn''t and state my intentions. Basically, I want to acquire Strader Pharmaceuticals¡±.


    My casual words were equivalent to a bomb in his ears. His eyes widened inexplicably as he looked at me with shock and surprise.......... This was temporary.


    The next moment, his face darkened considerably.


    I paid no heed to his facial expressions and continued.


    "You are the majority shareholder of the company, solely owning 61% of shares and possessing absolute decision-making power over the company transactions. Quite impressive, I might add and just perfect. Simply acquiring your shares will save me a lot of time and stress.


    His face grew uglier with each additional word I added. With my superb eyesight, the slight shaking of his shoulders and hands were visible.


    This man was angry. Well....... At least on the inside. Outwardly, his expression returned to normal as he hesitated for a while before saying resolutely.


    ¡°My shares aren''t for sale¡±.


    There was no surprise there. Decent acting skills, I might add.


    If things went so smoothly, I wouldn''t have come here myself.


    ¡°Is that your final decision? You didn''t even here what I had to offer¡±.


    ¡°Then please, do make your bid.....¡±.


    He said, feigning an indifferent look while reaching for the gun in the hidden compartment under his table with slightly shaky hands.


    ¡°...... But I doubt there''s anything you can give that will make me change my mind¡±.


    ¡°Oh! Well, will this suffice?¡± With a slight flick of my wrist, a folder appeared out of nowhere within my grasp.


    I tossed it onto the table and gestured for him to take a look.


    My initial ideals for coming to Gotham before I was sidetracked by the Joker and his shenanigans remained unchanged. Only, the mode of completion was slightly different.


    Instead of creating a new force, I''d just buy an already existing one. Of course, the business organizations in Gotham that I could buy were rather limited. They were either too small, not at all related to what I wanted to do, belonged to the Wayne group or some villain who messing with was not worth the time.


    I mean seriously.


    And so, Alice picked this as the best available option. Well, it was either this or Ace Chemical plant.


    Lloyd looked at me with one eye before picking up the folder cautiously. He proceeded to open the folder and examine the contents.


    By the constant change in expressions and darkening of his facial features, I think I can safely say that he did not like what he found.


    ¡°So is this your play?¡± He asked me through gritted teeth. His fist tightly clenched and his chest heaving slightly.


    His eyes looked like they would turn blood-red, like an enraged bull. If not for his strong reasoning and good sense of judgement that told him he would suffer a fate worse than death, I''m pretty sure he would have pulled the gun on me and pulled the trigger.


    ¡°.... And the whole network is calling you a hero. How misguided they are¡±. I looked at this man with eyes of looking at a clown.


    Did he really think I was a hero who would care about that sort of shit?


    ¡°My deal is pretty easy to understand. You can either accept my deal and sign all your shares to my name, or I''ll have this file and the drive in the folder forwarded to Batman and all media in The States. By then, Strader Pharmaceuticals will have bigger things to worry about than my acquisition proposal. From what I could gather, you guys are already caught in a pickle ever since the boy wonder put you on Batman''s radar¡±.


    I ignored his rhetoric.


    There were several reasons why Alice chose Strader Pharmaceuticals. Apart from being one of the few without connection to Gotham''s residents, it was also the easiest to acquire due to a whole plethora of reasons that were too convenient to be true.


    One, the company itself wasn''t large. It had some branches in other cities in New Jersey, but that was just about it.


    Two, they were already in the storm of public opinion due to various illegal deals they had made with criminals, putting their financial status in a serious pinch.


    Three, their stock had plummeted tremendously due to the above named reasons and the fact that the lifeblood of the company, Lloyd Waite, was diagnosed with cancer and the information leaked.


    And four, they had attracted the attention of Batman for colluding with the Lord Of The Avenues Gang, supplying them with a special super soldier serum also known as The Pheno Drug.


    Of all above-mentioned reasons, no doubt that number four was the worst one.


    The serum itself was the main research project of the company and had taken hundreds of millions of dollars in funding. Unfortunately, the serum was considered a failure as it had tremendous side effects with no result in reversing after months of research.


    The military ruthlessly rejected it, saying it was unfit for their forces to use.


    This almost put Strader Pharmaceuticals on the verge of bankruptcy.


    In order to survive, they had to make business transactions with a powerful local gang in Gotham to keep things afloat.


    No doubt, Robin realized something was up. And if Robin knew, Batman wasn''t far behind.


    The group barely got away with it by the skin of their teeth due to the fact that there wasn''t enough evidence to have them convicted and all users of the drug had died.


    But that didn''t mean Batman wasn''t still onto them. Everything he had read in this file was more than enough to have the company shut down and Lloyd and the board of directors locked away for a lifetime.


    Of course, only someone like me could use this as a breakthrough point. Batman couldn''t find sufficient evidence which shows what great lengths these guys went to wipe their butts clean and cover it up.


    In other words or ........ In Alice''s words, it was the best and softest persimmon I could find.


    Honestly, I loved that AI.


    ¡°How did you.......¡±. He wanted to ask but stopped himself.


    ¡°........ That shouldn''t be your concern. What should be is whether this company you so desperately want to keep is worth a lifetime imprisonment. And trust me when I tell you, even if you don''t get it, I can make sure it happens¡±.


    I gave off a charming smile.


    ¡°Of course, I''m not unreasonable. Having to publish this is the last case scenario. I would rather just have you accept my offer and let us part ways after the transaction¡±.


    I could put him in jail, but I didn''t want the drama. Likewise, I wasn''t an incarnation of Justice. Things that could be settled quietly should be settled that way.


    Lloyd''s face was particularly unsightly. His eyes darted in all directions, probably thinking of a way to escape from this....... Predicament. A minute of silence later, his body slumped on his seat and he let out a sigh of frustration and defeat.


    ¡°How much do you plan to give¡±.


    The middle-aged man looked like he had aged ten years. The situation was practically him putting himself on the chopping block.


    But there was no other way. Unless he wanted to face jail for life. Besides, why was he fighting for all this anyway? It''s not like he had long to live.


    ¡°Oh you misunderstood. If it''s money, I won''t be giving you a dime¡±.


    My words made him frown.


    Lloyd felt slightly annoyed, but anyway, what was he expecting.


    ¡°I will, however, be giving you this¡±.


    My sentence fell and a small space on the table distorted. The next moment, a vial was laying where there was originally nothing.


    ¡°What is this¡±. Lloyd asked with a look of puzzlement.


    ¡°The answer to your problems. The reason you got in this mess in the first place¡±. I said nonchalantly.


    The story of Lloyd Waite was one that reminded me of a character in another multiverse.


    They were both rich, yet they invested their wealth to create a serum to push humans above their physical limits because they were about to die.


    ¡°......... You don''t mean?¡±


    ¡°Hehehe¡±. I chuckled. ¡°That Mr. Waite is your cure. The cure to cancer that is¡±.

 Chapter 78 Goblins

    Bang!


    The back door of a certain bar in the Gotham slums was kicked open. Two burly men with fierce scars on their faces and stern expressions stepped through the door in sync.


    ¡°You motherfucker, let me go right this instant, or I swear I''ll......¡±.


    The man being held within their grasp swore wildly. His mouth moved at extremely fast speeds, shooting out cuss words like a barrage without a single repetition.


    The fierce looking men paid him no heed not did his words elicit a reaction from them.


    With smooth coordination and tacit understanding honed through many months of repetitive action, the man was thrown out through the back door of the bar, into the alleyway.


    The night in Gotham wasn''t peaceful. Dark and gloomy clouds had emerged earlier on signalling the city residents that tonight was going to have a heavy downpour. Today in particular was rather heavy.


    The clouds cried and Gotham was drenched in heavy rain. The man who was thrown out into the alley under the bad weather just so happened to fall into a puddle.


    Thud!


    The thudding sound was particularly dull. Almost unnoticeable as it was covered up by the splash.


    ¡°Ptui! Bastards! Isn''t it just a broken glass. I''ll never patronize this shithole again¡±. Ignoring his now drenched body that was stained with what could almost be deemed as sewer water, the man spat out a thick mouthful of phlegm and said with a vicious look.


    Facts proved that in Gotham, no one gave a fuck.


    ¡°Fuck..... Lost my good drinking spot¡±. He said to no one, visibly annoyed under the heavy rain. The man didn''t look rich or well off to say the least.


    His clothes were faded, sewed in multiple areas and had a few patches. His long, shaggy, unkempt hair fell to his back and his beard was as one would expect, untrimmed. The gray lines on both hair and beard were easily noticeable.


    He was a middle-aged man, but looked like he was in his mind fifties.


    The rain continued to pour incessantly. The man walked down the road, moving from one alley to another with clear familiarity.


    The sight of a man walking under the rain was particularly conspicuous. Many people turned to give the drenched man a look.


    The beggars, the homeless, the gangsters who were taking shelter under different coverings. They took one look at the scrawny man before ignoring him like he didn''t exist.


    Obviously, this person was no stranger to them. His poor dressing literally gave away the fact that he had no money to his name.


    The man didn''t mind. He continued to walk down the road usually guarded by gangsters that now granted free passage to all who were poorly dressed.


    Thunder flashed and the man''s shadow could be seen for a split second as he appeared near a dead end.


    The wall in front of the man failed to dissuade him from going forward as he came to the side of the wall and pushed aside a rather large green garbage dumpster.


    A hole in the wall leading downwards was revealed.


    He made his way through the darkness and fumbled lower and lower. There was no surprise twist where he got to a certain point, flipped a switch or lever and the whole place suddenly powered up with electricity.


    He wasn''t Batman, nor was he a hidden master with a secret mission or an underground lair, special skills or even someone worth remembering.


    He was just a plain, homeless guy who chanced upon this place about a week ago, not knowing that tonight might be his last.


    ¡°Well, looks like this will be my spot for the next couple of weeks¡±. He said with a bit of irritability. This was due to the fact that he didn''t have a drink with him to tide the time before he knocked himself unconscious with booze.


    He slumped his back against a pillar with his head hung low. The whole place was dark, and the visibility was low. Without looking carefully, he would probably trip over something.


    That''s ok. He didn''t plan to move anyway. Or at least that was what he was initially going for. However, a sudden glow sweeping over the entire place woke up the poor man who was about to doze off after leaning for six minutes.


    ¡°What the hell......¡±. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to locate a light source coming from the distance.


    ¡°...... That''s......¡±. Uncertainty clouded his heart as he stood up from his position. Hesitating slightly, his curiosity ultimately got the best of him as he made his way towards the direction of the light.


    The whole place was reminiscent of an underground building. Walking down the hallway, he was about to take the bend to see what exactly was glowing when the light suddenly went off.


    He hurriedly moved forward, turned and looked towards the other end. There was nothing. The illumination of this solace was terrible, and he had gone far away from the closest source of light.


    Now that whatever gave off that glow was gone, the whole place was dreadfully dark.


    ¡°Crap. That''s just perfect¡±. Seeing that he had wasted his time, he was about to turn around and feel his way back to return the way he came........


    It happened then.


    ¡°Grrrghaaha¡±.


    His turning body suddenly froze for a second. The sound that seemed to be a mix between a laugh and a growl immediately caught his attention.


    His body stood in place for two seconds before turning around once again to the place where he looked before.


    Lo and behold, he saw something that immediately frightened his soul.


    The place was still pitch black due to zero lighting in the area. However, right in the middle of the darkness, a pair of big, glowing yellow eyes could be seen in the place where there was originally nothing.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The unkempt man swallowed a mouthful of saliva.


    The eyes were wide and bright, and he could swear that something was wrong with em. He felt goosebumps all over his skin.


    Those eyes.......... Looked like they were examining something interesting.


    ¡°..... Um...... Hello?¡± He called out nervously but received no response.


    At this point, he didn''t even realize that he was already beginning to develop cold sweats.


    Although he didn''t have a house and a television to watch documentary shows, he still knew that creatures with yellow eyes were most likely carnivorous animals like Lions and leopards that ate human flesh.


    But what was one of those things doing in this kind of place.


    For a moment, he didn''t know what to do.


    And then.......... The light came back on. And no, it wasn''t the lighting but the yellow glow that had previously attracted him.


    The hall space was suddenly illuminated and the big, yellow mass that appeared in the distance caused his eyes to widen.


    Too bad, he didn''t know what this stuff was but for those who did, they would definitely run without hesitation. Because this was a breach.


    A portal that connected two worlds together.


    Seeing the spherical yellow object that looked like it was constantly releasing fiery waves, the man was a little stunned.


    Never before had he seen anything like this. It was also there and then that he made another outstanding discovery.


    The light illuminated the whole place, meaning that the figure of the animal that he couldn''t see before was shown clearly.


    However, what astounded him was that what appeared in his sight....... Wasn''t an animal.


    At least......... It didn''t look like an animal at first glance.


    After all, it stood on its two legs, had hands and feet, its ears were remarkably long, the head was shaped in a weird way and one hand was holding what looked to be a long blade of some kind. The creature tilted its head to the side, examining the poor homeless man closely before releasing a grin that showed off its pearly white teeth.


    ¡°Grrrghaaha¡±.


    Well, it would have been pearly white if it weren''t black and red and had what looked to be bits and pieces of flesh in it.


    The man was startled and took several steps back hurriedly.


    The portal behind the creature suddenly began to fluctuate. It seemed as if it was releasing waves of energy in all directions...... And then..... Something came out of it.


    With wide eyes, the man watched as another creature stepped out of the portal. Almost completely identical to the first one, only this one wasn''t holding a blade but carried a wooden club.


    ¡°What the fuck is happening?¡± The man hurried backward in panic. He didn''t notice the obstacle that laid behind him causing him to trip and fall to the ground.


    Each time something passed through, the portal would flash, and so it did. The first, second, third, twelfth........


    ¡°Damn! My leg!¡± The homeless man exclaimed in pain as he felt the throbbing on his ankle. Upon trying to stand firm on his feet, he could feel a dull aching within.


    The man''s face turned dark. Was this a sprain?


    He pushed himself off the ground while hopping on one foot, hopped towards the all to support himself and took out a pocket knife that he had hidden in his pocket and pointed it at the distance.


    ¡°Hey....... Whoever you are or, whatever you are ......¡±. The man''s words grew bolder and bolder as he began to lay excessive threats towards the creatures that were now outnumbering him.


    ¡°........ You hear me? I studied four years of taekwondo.....do¡­"


    ¡°Grghhh he!¡± At that moment, the first one that had appeared suddenly let out a shrill roar, startling the man who was cursing.


    The portal was still open, but the number of........ Whatever these things were, as if on command suddenly screamed as well and ran forwards like warriors on a battle charge.


    The man''s face changed drastically as fear overwhelmed him. Where did he have the courage to continue his barrages?


    He turned immediately and began hopping away as fast as he could with one hand supporting him against the wall.


    It''s just.......... For someone with a sprained ankle..... How far away could they get?


    He had barely moved a noticeable distance when he was swarmed by numerous creatures a little more than half his height.


    ¡°No...... Argh! Arghhhhh....... Stop¡­. Please¡­. Squelch!....... Argghhhhhhh¡±. The sounds of flesh being ripped off bones could.be heard, and the man''s screams quickly died down when one of them bit into his throat.


    The portal that was still flashing gave off a bright light.


    Following which, another one came out.


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    The sound of its two feet touching the floor caused the surroundings to tremble a little.


    Unlike the others, he wasn''t small. This creature stood many years higher than its companions, with its arms and chest filled with muscles.


    A cold light flashing in its eyes, like a beast thirsty for blood. And when he took a deep sniff, he found the blood he was thirsting for.


    ............


    The rain continued to fall in Gotham.


    ¡°I think that went rather well, don''t you, Alice?¡± I said with a flat face while holding some signed documents in my left hand and an umbrella in my right.


    I wore a black on black outfit with the upper clothing being long sleeved, the top unbuttoned, the parts reaching my wrists pushed back up a bit, and the collars flying. While the lower clothing was just standard black trousers.


    ¡°Perhaps.....¡±. The AI replied. ¡°But there are better payment methods than giving him a cure¡±.


    ¡°Alice, you''re the most advanced AI on the planet. You should see the point just like I do¡±. I replied nonchalantly.


    ¡°Every other point can be forgotten. The fact is that if I didn''t have him by the neck, he wouldn''t have agreed to sell those shares for anything. Because that''s the only way he can continue making research in a slim hope to perfect the Pheno Drug and save his life. Well, since that''s the case, I''ll just give him what he wants for what I want. It''s a matter of principles, my dear¡±.


    Well........ That was mainly bullshit. It was more like half true and half false. Creating a cure for cancer cost me nothing, so why would I care what he wanted?


    For him, a cure to his predicament was the best payment method.


    If he asked for power beyond what his company was worth, then that was a different case. Besides, it would turn into good publicity later on.


    ¡°Walking like this in Gotham...... Do you not fear getting robbed?¡± She asked sarcastically. I raised an eyebrow at her question.


    The combination of clean appearance, good-looking clothes, attractive features and the capability to use an umbrella in the rain would be nothing anywhere else.


    Not here though......


    At that moment, I walked past an alley.


    A creature hiding in its darkness examined me with its yellow eyes.


    It watched as my figure stopped on the spot and turned to look at it, exactly where it was hiding.


    And then, it let out a maniacal grin before it rushed out at a speed surpassing Usain Bolt.


    The distance between us was a dozen meters away. Rushing forward, it held the spear in its hand and threw it towards me.


    The monster watched as the weapon spun through the air towards the creature it had come across. However, when the spear was less than a foot away, the eyes of the ¡°creature¡± changed color to a dazzling blue.


    Following which, the spear was directly shattered to pieces. The force that acted on the spear did not stop, rushing towards the little green creature in less than a second and........


    Squelch!


    The little monster had its body shredded to pieces, pieces of blood and flesh decorating the alleyway.


    The night in the heavy rain had returned to calm. All that remained was more, looking at the stained alley with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°What was that?¡±

 Chapter 79 Batmans Back

    Looking at the alley with green blood splattered everywhere, I was slightly taken aback.


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    A large amount of information appeared in my retina the moment I opened my.......


    Wait a moment, what exactly do I call it now? Never mind.


    My eyes fell on the bloody bits, quickly locating the scattered pieces of its brain. Then..... I could see it.


    The blood composition, the DNA structure, the forty-three years of its young life. For any human, it would be weird for something to be considered young at forty-three.


    That wasn''t the point, though. Analyzing its brain, I saw numerous pictures of several years, all digested and understood in less than a second.


    A world unknown came to my mind, filled with numerous races and lots of vegetation. This was the first thing this creature saw on the day it was brought into existence.


    The moment it was born, his mother left him with the rest of the horde of babies produced and went her way, similar to the thousands of other mother''s in the breeding hole.


    There was no socialization in its race. No social structure or economic structure of any kind. There was a hierarchy, though, and a very crude one at that.


    No surprises, he was at the lowest level their race could go.


    The fodder of its race had no language to speak of.


    Majority of his forty-three years of existence was mainly spent doing four things. Resting, Hunting which included attacking human settlements. Kidnapping their females and bundling them up to return to the swarm, and of course, investing Its semen to continue to produce the next generation of its kind.


    Ok, those part of the memories weren''t pleasant to have to go through.


    In few words, a proper laborer.


    Summed up -


    << Name: ......... >>


    << World: Karos [World Of Monsters] >>


    << World Specialization: Swords And Magic >>


    << Location: ........... >>


    << Race: Goblin..... >>


    Forty plus years went by in a flash. I looked at the flesh pieces and fell into contemplation.


    A breacher. That''s right, this creature was an organism from another world. The dimensional frequency its body exhibited differed greatly from this one. The natural energy in its body also differed greatly from whatever this world possessed.


    No only was this creature a breacher but it was also what the humans of this universe referred to as a goblin.


    ¡°What the hell is a goblin doing in DC?¡± I asked with amusement.


    ¡°Sir, you mean......¡±.


    ¡°Yes Alice. Apart from the speedsters, we have our very first universal crossover event¡±.


    ¡°Looks like the world of swords and magic is coming to earth¡±. I chuckled at the AI''s exaggeration.


    ¡°Maybe, maybe not. But Gotham is about to find itself in a serious pickle¡±.


    ¡°Isn''t that too much, sir? From my calculations, this creature is only as strong as a genetically enhanced super soldier. With special equipment, Batman can defeat it with no assistance¡±.


    ¡°True¡±. The wind billowed as the rain poured. My hair swayed with it as my expressionless face couldn''t help but carry a tinge of emotion.


    My enhanced eyesight had been pushed to the limit, instantly covering all of Gotham in three hundred and sixty degree visions.


    ¡°Sure enough¡±. I thought to myself as numerous scenes played before my eyes.


    In the shadows, they had appeared. Hiding, stalking, waiting......


    ¡°........... But these creatures have integrated the lesson of strength in numbers¡±.


    My words fell, and the first one attacked. Followed by the second, third, fourth........


    A minute later, I was still standing at the same spot, but Gotham had gone into pandemonium.


    The Goblins rushed out of the shadows and invaded all human habitation. Houses, stores, streets in the slums with beggars taking shelter from the rain.


    Rushing out, there were hundreds of them and the number seemed to be increasing with every passing second.


    My eyes quickly locked onto the five breaches that I discovered in Gotham. Sure enough, three of them were bringing out a steady stream of Goblin forces, with dozens rushing out of the portals every ten seconds.


    From what I had seen in the memories, although these creatures were scattered all over their world, even the small horde that the goblin belonged to numbered in the tens of thousands.


    These breaches had brought with em a small army.


    From the analysis of their physical composition, their strength might only be at the peak of human beings, but their skin was abnormally dense. Forget about weapons swung with human force, even pistol bullets would do nothing but give than a white scratch.


    Unless the entire city was destroyed, this wasn''t something the government could easily handle. Someone had to step up and do something.......


    I thought to myself. And then, under the heavy rain, I took one step forward and......... Continued to walk away.


    When the sky falls, there would be strong men to hold it in place. That wasn''t me, though.


    At least, that''s what I thought at first.


    .............


    Five minutes later.......


    ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡± A woman let out a high-pitched squeal as she ran on her two feet as fast as she could.


    She just saw her husband being butchered by these....... Creatures after they broke into their house.


    Her instinct told her to flee for safety without delay. And so she did.


    Unfortunately, she tripped in panic and fell down as she reached the stairs.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Grggghaha¡±. The weird laughter of the green skinned creature made her body hairs stand on end as she held her wrist that gave her much pain.


    ¡°Please...... Stop. Don''t do this.....¡±.


    She begged for mercy, her face filled with fear and panic.


    The grinning goblin with flesh stuck between its teeth gave her an answer. It raised the sharp dagger in its grasp and swung down viciously.


    After all, it wasn''t mating season yet. Now, it was butchering time.


    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± The high-pitched scream of something akin to a pig being slaughtered rang out in the vicinity. Too bad, it was covered up by similar screams happening almost everywhere else.


    I stood on top of the Gotham Globe building watching everything spiraling below with a pensive expression.


    The streets of Gotham had already been soaked with blood so thick that even the rain found it difficult to wash away. How many people had been killed in just five minutes, I could tell.


    Eight thousand two hundred and twenty-three..... Forty-six..... Ninety eight.....


    Nine thousand...... And counting. It was horrific. Another five minutes and the number of deceased would quadruple, quite literally. More and more just kept shooting out of the breaches with no end in sight.


    ¡°If you do not do something soon, sir, Gotham will fall and your acquisition plan will be for nothing¡±.


    I frowned.


    She was right. If something wasn''t done soon, this would be as great a tragedy as Stepphenwolf''s invasion. God knows how many people would die and how many loses Gotham would inevitably suffer.


    This would be bad........ for business that is.


    It had to come to a close. But...... Would I have to do it myself?


    This was what made me hesitate.


    Call it stupid, idiotic, lunacy, ruthless, heartless, whatever you will, but I would rather not be the one to end it.


    To continue to contemplate on such a useless decision when every additional second I hesitated meant the death of another human life, it was cold-blooded. I admit it.


    But there were heroes for this kind of thing.


    ¡°Sigh! Where''s Batman when you need him?¡± I said with an uncharacteristic sigh.


    Oh! That''s right. I put him in a coma.


    Batman was the protector of Gotham. This tiring and tasteless job should be left to someone like him.


    So I thought.


    Then, my eyes caught something rise out of a lake in the forest far away and fly towards the city.


    ¡°You''ve got to be kidding me¡±. I couldn''t help but exclaim.


    Speak of the devil and he shall appear. For real, this time.


    I could see the figure rested in the pilot''s seat. Black bat costume, muscular body, stern facial expressions and a whole lot of gloominess to his aura....... That was Batman.


    He''s back?


    I couldn''t help but narrow my eyes. Batman came on the Bat Jet to solve the situation. Did this mean he already had a way to defeat the goblin army that was multiplying at a fast speed?


    The jet quickly arrived in the city. The aircraft''s targeting system was automatically turned on.


    Seeing the chaos that was going on below, Bruce''s face was particularly ugly.


    ¡°Parameters Set: All green skinned moving targets locked successfully¡±.


    The robotic voice called out upon successful completion.


    ¡°Fire¡±.


    The guns of the bat jet immediately opened fire. The numbers of Goblins emerging from the alleys on the road were numerous.


    Sweeping past the skies of that area, the Goblins immediately received heavy fire. Many staggered and fell to the ground as the high caliber bullets collided against their arms, chests, or legs.


    Others weren''t lucky and were basically given headshots, with bullets landing on their eyes and other head areas, killing them effectively.


    The bullets were sprayed, and the Goblins were shot.


    I watched Batman perform his task as a superhero and shook my head. His approach was not efficient at all. The number of Goblins killed were too low. Not enough to keep up with the speed at which they were being replaced.


    This was the main issue. No matter how many Goblins he killed, more would still appear and charge to their deaths fearlessly.


    It would turn into a war of attrition with Bruce being the ultimate loser.


    However, Batman wasn''t to blame. He had already tried the best in his capacity.


    I watched the Bat jet fly over Gotham, releasing bullets everywhere it flew for a few more minutes before ultimately deciding it was enough.


    Things weren''t going to work out like this.


    Apparently, Bruce realized that as well. His ugly complexion grew even more u sightly as the results produced were far from ideal.


    Just as I was about to intervene, I noticed something........ Interesting.


    ¡°The skin of these monsters are denser than most metals. Hard enough to tank high caliber bullets. Weak points consist of the eyes and head area. In addition, their numbers are too many¡±. Bruce said, recording all this in the computer files.


    He hesitated for a moment. Should he call Clark to take care of this situation? Honestly, Bruce felt unwilling. He just returned from suspension and the first thing he encountered were enemies he couldn''t deal with.


    Gotham was his city, and the thought of others helping to solve his problems made him greatly uncomfortable.


    If he always had to call Clark whenever things were above his capabilities, then how would he be able to prove that you didn''t need to have superpowers to make a difference?


    These creatures were strong. Perhaps he could defeat them in a one-on-one situation, but they were too many. People were dying. He didn''t have the time, nor circumstances, to accommodate these thoughts.


    He would probably be swarmed the moment he got down from the Bat jet. This was also why he didn''t use the Batmobile on this operation.


    While Bruce was hesitating, the Bat Jet computer suddenly let out a warning siren. Bruce was stunned, quickly checking the rear camera only to discover that something was approaching at a very fast speed. It looked like........ A giant goblin?


    The greened skinned creature that towered over its kind leaped into the air, eyes glowing red with ferocity and struck down on the Bat Jet with its battle hammer.


    Bang! The hammer hit one of the thrusters, causing it to shake. With one of the thrusters damaged, the jet couldn''t support itself in the air and began to plummet.


    ¡°Damn!¡± Bruce let out a cuss as he tried and failed to control the aircraft. Seeing that he was about to crash, he had no choice but to push the ejector button.


    The glass top was disengaged, followed by the ejection of the pilot seat.


    Falling from a high height, Bruce unfurled his cape, shaping it into bat wings.


    The abandoned Jet was about to crash, but not on the roadside as Bruce was expecting.


    ¡°No¡±. Seeing the aircraft heading straight towards a building, Bruce called out in a grave tone.


    However, the moment his eyes flinched due to the supposed crash, the aircraft froze in the air.


    Bruce landed on top of a building and rolled over. Staying on one knee, he slowly lifted himself up, his eyes fixed on the aircraft that didn''t cause a sound and didn''t move an inch.


    As if time were frozen, it stayed stagnant in the air.


    ¡°Oracle, what''s happening?¡±


    Bruce eyes narrowed. What the hell was going on?


    ¡°Alright. I''ve had enough¡±. Seeing that Bruce''s bat jet had been brought down, I lost any other motivation to continue watching this.


    Although the outcome of a fight between the caped crusader and the anonymous goblin giant would be thrilling to discover, I couldn''t have this go on any longer.


    And so, my mental power spread throughout the entire city in a split second.


    ¡°Freeze¡±. I said softly.


    And then it did. The chaotic mess that was now Gotham suddenly froze.


    People who were running for there lives or were about to get slaughtered realized a few seconds later that their grinned skinned attackers had frozen in place, unable to move a single muscle.


    My mental power didn''t stop at Gotham but reached in through the dimensional portal to the other end. Lo and behold, what came into view was, quite literally, thousands of such creatures all gathering in front of the breach, ready to jump at the moment it was their turn.


    I narrowed my eyes and with a single thought, they all froze as well as I hijacked their minds.


    Telepathy pushed to ridiculous lengths.


    Seeing the sudden quiet envelope the city, I let out a slight smile before raising my hand and putting two fingers together.


    Then......... I released my telekinetic force and snapped.


    Squelch


    Squelch


    Squelch


    Squelch


    Tens of thousands of Goblins burst like water balloons.

 Chapter 80 Were going to Bialya

    Like two fingers clamped against a piece of paper, the goblins were either blown to bits with blood and flesh flying in all directions or ripped into two halves the moment I snapped my fingers.


    In a single second, thousands of monsters died in Gotham and tens of thousands experienced the same in the other world. It was a new experience really.


    Ending so many lives in a split second. It felt......


    I didn''t complete that last thought. Looking at Gotham now, a sigh escaped my lips.


    If Gotham before looked like a horror town with blood and limbs here and there, now it looked like it had just experienced a paint job.


    Over many blocks, in many houses, on the streets, it was all green.


    The change in color scheme was not what one would expect.


    ¡°If I may ask, in the process of eliminating the goblins, was your Finger snap really necessary?¡± The voice of Alice questioning my actions made me roll my eyes.


    ¡°Perhaps....... Perhaps not. Either way, a bit of dramatic flair never hurt anyone¡±. I chuckled softly.


    ¡°What about the breaches?¡±


    ¡°Those?¡± I raised an eyebrow.


    "Leave em there. I feel uncomfortable enough having to ........ ¡°Help¡±...... I think I''ve done enough for one day". My time was bland and indifferent.


    ¡°That is work for the JL. And I''m considerate enough not to be a job stealer¡±. If Alice materialized, she would definitely roll her eyes.


    But all jokes aside, I wasn''t going to close those Breaches. It''s good enough that I annihilated everything on the other side.


    Meanwhile, on Batman''s end.


    ¡°Oracle, did you get that?¡± Bruce asked solemnly.


    ¡°I........¡±. A slightly trembling voice could be heard from the intercom.


    ¡°Oracle?¡± Bruce called out again with narrowed eyelids. His tone softened ever so slightly to reveal a rare hint of concern......... That only he could make out.


    To others, it was still the same gruff voice that made it seem like everyone in the world owed this billionaire money.


    ¡°I''m ok¡±. Barbara on the other end took a deep breath and regained her composure. ¡°Just a bit startled¡±.


    On that matter, she wasn''t the only one. The simultaneous deaths of the green skinned creatures had shocked even batman. Bruce''s eyes displayed strong shock when it all happened.


    Still.......


    ¡°...... If you''re not ready, you should take some time to......¡±.


    ¡°I''m fine¡±. She cut in forcefully.


    ¡°Alright. I asked, did you get that?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±.


    In the secret room behind her closet, the redhead Barbara Gordon, sitting on a wheelchair, typed furiously on the keyboard before her.


    The previous scene of thousands of creatures bursting into bits almost made her throw up.


    ¡°All readings picked up indicate a large wave of invisible force acted on all these creatures at the same time¡±.


    ¡°So you''re saying one thing killed a large number of living organisms at once?¡±


    ¡°I''m not sure. I''m comparing it through the Bat computer files........... The readings show that it''s almost similar to Martian Manhunters but on different wavelengths and on a much larger scale¡±.


    ¡°Telekinesis?¡± Batman asked grimly.


    ¡°It''s possible¡±. She replied.


    ¡°Access the satellites. Pinpoint where it came from¡±. The crisis of Gotham city was over. Now, a new possible crisis might be emerging.


    Something........ Or someone just annihilated thousands of these creatures in a split second. Bruce needed to find out who or what was responsible.


    The matter of where these creatures came from would be addressed right after.


    ¡°I''m on it¡±.


    She continued to type with a fully focused expression. The fact that she was now a cripple didn''t dampen her enthusiasm for crime fighting.


    Using the satellites to pinpoint the location, the images on the screen converged on the popular landmark known as the Gotham Globe building.


    ¡°Gotham Globe?¡± A look of puzzlement appeared on her features.


    ¡°Let''s take a closer look¡±. She immediately controlled a nearby drone to fly towards the building, checking for anything out of the ordinary.


    ¡°Oracle, anything?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The Gotham Globe building. I''m checking for any abnormalities now¡±.


    BANG!


    A loud crash sounded from the distance, drawing Bruce''s attention. He looked towards the noise only to find his bat jet crashed against the floor.


    Looks like it lost the support of whatever was holding it in the air.


    ¡°I''m on my way¡±.


    So said the Caped Crusader. His tone a few degrees gloomier than before as he took out his grappling gun and jumped off the building.


    ...........


    ¡°........ It''s surprising how these creatures could even move through the breaches¡±.


    ¡°Unless you stabilize the breach from your end, you can''t be granted passage¡±.


    ¡°That''s correct, but among the goblins killed, I think there was a wizard stabilizing the portal in the mix¡±. I said nonchalantly, not wanting to continue this discussion.


    ¡°Alright, our work is done¡±.


    My body was about to blur out of this dimension when...... Something caught my attention.


    I raised my head up and took a look towards the sky.


    ¡°Oh..... Would you look at that¡±. The drone flying above this building, its camera lens specifically placed on me was honestly not surprising.


    ¡°Let me guess, the Bat family". I wasn''t surprised. Looking at the flying drove high up in the clouds, I raised my hand a waved lightly.


    ¡°Um........ Bruce.....¡±. Batman frowned. He had repeatedly emphasized that whenever they were on missions, their real names shouldn''t be used under any circumstances.


    As a diligent partner, Barbara should know this.


    This slip up that could be fatal if their comms were intercepted......


    ¡°...... I found out the origin. You''re not going to like it¡±. Batgirl...... Now known as Oracle, didn''t realize her mistake at all and said while staring at the screen.


    The eyes of the figure waving at her seemed as if they were piercing through the camera itself.


    ¡°No¡±. Bruce''s face was slightly ugly. The Joker was dead. From Barbara''s tone, there were few people that could make her say such words. When paired with the unnatural display of genocide, one person topped the list.


    ¡°Not him again¡±.


    I looked at the drone and let out a sigh. That drone was definitely Batman related. Jason hadn''t been adopted yet, certainly not Dick, Tim was still a kid, Cassandra......... That leaves Alfred or Barbara........ Who should now be referred to as Oracle. No matter who it was, as long as this drone was here, it effectively meant.......


    Thud!


    I heard something land behind me. Then there was quiet.


    ¡°Maybe I should have blurred away faster¡±.


    ¡°You still can¡±. Alice replied.


    ¡°Well.......¡±.


    ¡°Amari!¡± Bruce called out darkly.


    ¡°With what just happened, I should have known¡±.


    Well, who would pass up an opportunity to chat with The Dark Knight? I certainly wouldn''t.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Funny, I knew all along¡±. I said with a chuckle at a thought Bruce couldn''t understand.


    ¡°Haven''t seen you around lately, Batsie, where have you been?¡± I turned around and asked.


    ¡°You put in coma¡±. The gloomy tone and the expressionless face were piercing.


    ¡°Really?¡± I asked exaggeratedly. ¡°I thought I was doing you a favor¡±.


    ¡°From all the work you do, I felt you could use a vacation¡±.


    ¡°You tortured me mentally for three days, made my mind an unstable landscape, crumbling with each passing moment, which would have left me permanently brain-dead". Bruce''s face darkened.


    Was this what one would call a vacation.


    ¡°Uh...... I wanted it to be a particularly lengthy one¡±. I raised my hands and shrugged my shoulders.


    ¡°....¡± He looked at me with a deadpan expression.


    ¡°Yeesh! Tough crowd¡±.


    ¡°That''s not funny¡±.


    ¡°Good to know¡±. I replied. ¡°So did you enjoy your nap? How are you adjusting to reality now? Has your head cooled off? A lot of stuff happened while you were gone¡±.


    ¡°I heard¡±. He said hoarsely.


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Bruce cut me off, taking a few steps forward, seemingly unafraid of what I had done to him before.


    Does this man not feel the blowback of trauma?


    ¡°Business Ventures¡±.


    ¡°What?¡± His eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Nothing. You''ll know soon enough¡±. I said while gesturing to the side.


    ¡°I disapprove of that answer¡±. There was obvious displeasure in his voice.


    ¡°Not my problem, deal with it¡±.


    And with that, I turned away.


    ¡°Are you leaving?¡± He didn''t move an inch, watching my back go further as further away.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Are you leaving Gotham?¡±


    ¡°What''s it to you?¡± I stood at the edge of the roof, my sight fixed on the green blood that was almost everywhere.


    ¡°You should leave¡±.


    The reply was plain.


    ¡°Whenever you''re around, something tragic always happens. It could be you, it could be something else¡±.


    ¡°Hehehe. If you want me gone, then make me¡±. My expressionless face showed a small smile.


    ¡°And if you consider Joker''s death something tragic......¡±.


    I turned my head without turning around, revealing my side profile.


    The glowing blue eye made eye contact with his.


    ¡°Then I really need to take another peek into that head of yours and see what''s really going on in there¡±.


    Seeing my eyes changed color, the noticeably flinched and his eyes lowered to look at my torso.


    Apparently, even he didn''t find our previous encounter pleasurable.


    That or he just didn''t like the idea of someone getting into his head.


    Honestly, I was a little curious how Batman felt concerning the Joker''s death. The relationship between both sides could be described as absolutely toxic.


    Two mortals battling each other in a constant duel to outsmart their opponent.


    One refused to finish the Job because he didn''t want to become the monster he loathed so much, the other had an extremely unhealthy obsession with the former and wouldn''t kill him even if he could.


    To be honest, if Superman didn''t put an end to this toxic relationship, I would have done it instead in due time. The Joker just happened to sign his death warrant a lot earlier.


    I saw his hand clench into a fist.


    ¡°The Joker''s death isn''t tragic¡±. Batman uttered coldly.


    ¡°The fact that my partner was harmed and permanently disabled in the crossfire under your instigation, is¡±.


    Oh!


    So that''s what this is about.


    ¡°That sentence is debatable¡±. I replied indifferently.


    ¡°But what''s for sure is that I didn''t instigate her to chase that clown down. If I remember right, I explicitly tried to dissuade her. The Joker and I had a score to settle. She would have done it with or without me being there, and the outcome would definitely be worse¡±.


    ¡°It can only be summed up to coincidence because your League matters have nothing to do with me¡±.


    ¡°Oh really? Then why did Superman inform me that General Wade Eiling knew about the League''s plan to send our Proteges to Bialya on a secret mission?¡±


    The cold wind blew and the rain poured. It wasn''t as heavy as before but still.


    Batman spoke under the rain, his Kevlar suit drenched with water.


    ¡°Or should I suppose that is a coincidence as well¡±. His voice carried no hint of sarcasm whatsoever, like he was genuinely asking.


    I stood just fine, not a single drop of rain water splashing on my attire.


    ¡°Call it what you will¡±.


    ¡°League intelligence is supposed to be uncompromised. The military doesn''t have the capabilities to know this. I find it highly likely that they were informed¡±.


    I could feel his glaring eyes, piercing into my back.


    ¡°It''s also highly likely that you have a mole in your team........ Or what''s left of it¡±.


    I didn''t mean anything when I said this, but my words were the truth. The league had a mole, and Batman knew about it.


    Batman immediately sensed something and struck while the iron was hot.


    ¡°If that were to be the case, I suppose you know who it is¡±.


    ¡°Perhaps...... Perhaps not. But even if there were and even if I knew, why should I tell you?¡±


    ¡°You know too much. Things you''re not supposed to, things you shouldn''t know¡±.


    Drops of water rolls down his chin.


    ¡°I know a lot of things¡±.


    ¡°That fact is unsettling. No one should know so much. It could cause perpetual harm¡±.


    ¡°Like?¡± Ok, I was curious to hear where he would go with this.


    ¡°If our enemies knew in advance that our Proteges were coming to Bialya, the risk to their lives will be immeasurable. All because your timely information to Wade provided an opportunity for a leak¡±.


    ¡°Then don''t let them go¡±.


    ¡°The energy readings in that desert are extraterrestrial in origin. You think we can afford to let it slip by without knowing what it is?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Just like what you did to me?¡± The fact that they tried to break into the Axiom was something Batman would never forget. Quite literally since he almost lost his sanity and several league members disappeared because of it.


    Now it appears that that lesson wasn''t enough to let them mind their business.


    ¡°That aside. Any harm inflicted on them will be because of your actions¡±.


    He brushed aside what I said and continued on topic.


    ¡°Ok, so what do you want from me?¡± Batman was going somewhere with this. I could feel it.


    The way it sounded, he wanted me to take responsibility.


    Or did he just want to swindle valuable information out of me to solve some of the leagues problems?


    My eyes weren''t glowing anymore. I could find out if I opened them, but I didn''t.


    ¡°....¡±. He didn''t answer at first.


    Ok, now I knew that things were more complicated than it seemed.


    ¡°Follow them¡±. He uttered after a while of silence.


    ¡°I''m sorry, what?¡± I thought I heard wrong.


    ¡°You heard me right. You caused the leak, so you should be responsible for their lives on this mission¡±. He said candidly.


    ¡°Wade asked us to save Lane. From the looks of it, this was initially supposed to be your job. So follow them. Make sure they don''t get killed in case they encounter an enemy they can''t defeat. We can call it square then¡±.


    I raised an eyebrow, looking like I just heard the funniest joke of the year.


    I couldn''t help but fall into deep thought.


    ¡°Aren''t you worried I''ll just kill them?¡±


    ¡°As much as I don''t like you, from what I can tell, you''re not that kind of person. Superman''s cousin is all the guarantee I need¡±.


    Ok, did that blonde talk about me a lot? Since when did I have this level of credibility?


    Nevertheless......


    ¡°No¡±.


    I shook my head in denial.


    ¡°I''m not a babysitter. Like I said to Wade, nothing in that country interests me, so I''ll sit this one out¡±.


    ¡°...¡± Bruce''s eyebrows furrowed, but ultimately, he said nothing on that matter.


    ¡°Concerning the matter of the breaches, we need to talk¡±.


    Hearing his words, I could guess what he wanted to say. Like Superman, he probably wanted me to remove the Axiom to make sure this shit never happened again.


    ¡°Not now¡±. I shook my head. ¡°We can continue this another time. For now, I suggest you and your League find a way to deal with those breaches. I slaughtered everything within fifty miles on the other side, but that doesn''t mean they are all dead. They''ll come back given enough time¡±.


    I knew what I meant when I said, deal with the breaches.


    Bruce''s face turned slightly ugly.


    ¡°You should know where these......¡±.


    Boom!


    At that moment, a loud explosion interrupted what he was about to say. He turned around only to discover that a building in the distance had exploded.


    Probably due to some accident.


    Seeing this, Bruce turned around¡­


    ¡°We''re not done.....¡±. He paused halfway as my figure had disappeared before he could turn around.


    Batman''s face, if possible grew darker.


    ¡°So this is what Gordon feels like whenever I disappear with his back turned towards me¡±.


    So said The Batman on the Gotham Globe roof.


    .........


    The space swirled, and my figure reappeared in the same street where i saw the first Goblin, my mind filled with thoughts.


    ¡°Will you go along with what Batman said?¡±


    The voice of Alice rang out in my ears.


    ¡°No Alice. I think I made that clear¡±. I replied.


    ¡°....¡±


    There was silence. I felt something was wrong.


    ¡°Alice?¡±


    ¡°You might have to reconsider?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked with narrowed eyebrows.


    ¡°You said that you won''t go to Biafra because there''s nothing there that interests you, right?¡±


    ¡°Right¡±.


    "So that would change if something were to appear that would interest you, right?"


    Ok, now I had a weird expression on my face.


    "Right. But where are you going with this".


    "Let''s just say something new just arrived in Bialya".


    A holographic screen appeared in my field of vision.


    My eyes lit up at what I saw.


    A few seconds later.


    "Well then...... I guess we''re going to Bialya".


    "Splendid..... Should I call Batman?"


    "...... Alice!"


    "..."


    ............

 Chapter 81 You Were Saying

    United States


    Advanced Research Group Uniting Super-Humans


    Aliases..........


    A.R.G.U.S


    September 3rd


    ...........


    ¡°Are you sure about this Superman?¡± Steve Trevor asked with a frown on his face.


    ¡°No ........ Not really¡±. Clark said with narrowed eyebrows.


    ¡°But...... I have to try¡±. His tone was a bit weak as his fists were slightly clenched.


    ¡°After all, he''s still human...... Or once was. I need to see...... To know if he can be cured¡±.


    Steve''s had a complicated expression on his face. He wanted to say something..... But still kept silent.


    Currently, both of them were standing in a containment room, heavily guarded from the outside. The way behind them was the entrance leading to a corridor filled with armed personnel, each one well-equipped with a laser blaster, standing at attention at all times.


    And in front of them, was the creature that had nearly killed Superman a few days ago.


    ¡°Well then, he''s all yours. But be careful¡±. Clark nodded.


    He turned to his left where Martian Manhunter stood beside him. His gaze prompted J''onn to nod and take a few steps forward.


    The Martian Man hunter looked at the purple skinned monster with its limbs heavily restrained.


    Even with them in his presence, the monster remained completely unresponsive. Parasite''s eyes were closed, and his breathing was steady.


    Unlike when he faced Superman, his body size had reduced significantly and his monstrous features were a bit less obvious. He looked thin, shrivelled, like someone who just had most of his life sucked out of him.


    He had been like this for the past few days.


    Alive yet unresponsive to all external stimuli. In a coma like state.


    Exactly similar to what Batman was like a few days ago.


    Martian Manhunter took a deep breath and put both hands on his head. His red eyes with no irises, quite similar to Lobo gave off a red glow as his telepathy reached into Parasite''s mind.


    Silence enveloped the room.


    Steve and Superman had particularly solemn faces at this point.


    Clark was especially tense. His body posture looked stiff, and his sharp eyes gave the feeling of being ready to pounce forward in case something went wrong.


    Honestly, Parasite gave him a strong sense of crisis. It was the first time he had been defeated so easily by someone without utilizing kryptonite.


    Plus the additional abilities he displayed after almost sucking him and Kara dry, it effectively let him know that this purple monster was the biggest threat he had ever faced.


    In fact, he was still far from his peak condition. It had only been a few days and his strength was still noticeably weaker than it was supposed to be.


    In terms of on the spot capabilities, J''onn was much stronger than he is.


    The silence continued, but Clark''s face wasn''t pretty.


    His vision caught sight of J''onn with creases on his forehead. He knew that things weren''t looking good.


    Soon, John opened returned to normal. His creased forehead relaxed and his figure looked like he had expended a certain amount of energy doing something strenuous.


    ¡°How does it look inside?¡± Clark asked.


    ¡°Ruined¡±. The green skinned alien responded with one word.


    ¡°Like Batman''s?¡±


    ¡°Worse¡±.


    J''onn''s face looked grim. Once again he had seen something that surpassed his cognition.


    ¡°Batman?¡± Trevor raised an eyebrow and asked in an inquiring tone.


    ¡°Long story¡±. Superman replied.


    ¡°Alright¡±. The officer didn''t ask any further.


    J''onn didn''t pay attention to Captain Trevor.


    ¡°I''ve never seen anything like this before¡±.


    ¡°Didn''t you say something similar in the other case?¡±


    ¡°That was........ Different¡±.


    Martian Manhunter took on a pondering expression.


    ¡°Batman''s case was a crumbling mind. A scenario which I had never seen a telepath perform. This case is similarly special in the sense that everything in his mind has already crumbled¡±.


    The face of the Man Of Steel fell.


    ¡°You mean¡­".


    ¡°Mentally speaking, he has lost everything. His mind has been destroyed so thoroughly that only the tiniest of fragments remain. I also assume that is because the one responsible didn''t see need to finish it. In essence now, everything that makes this creature Rudy Jones is gone. His memories have been destroyed, his mental space crumbled....... In simpler words, he no longer has a mind¡±.


    Steve Trevor felt all the hairs in his body stand on end.


    That breakdown was honestly frightening to think of. Didn''t that mean¡­.


    ¡°This ......... creature has lost the ability to think, to feel, to be aware of anything. He has no conscious or subconscious mind. What stands before us now is nothing but an empty shell¡±.


    Clark''s expression was very unsightly.


    His fist was clenched do tightly that he could squeeze metal.


    Amari....... Goddamn you.


    When he saw that Parasite was still breathing, he thought the sun was rising from the West. Could it be that Amari had listened to his words? Or did the fact that Rudy still had family cause him to change his mind.


    Was it possible he was changing?


    Turns out...... He was thinking too much. Amari had mentally devastated him to the point where his mind didn''t exist anymore.


    Since his mind was gone, then this body would never wake up. There was nothing......... There was nothing to save anymore.


    Rudy Jones was practically dead.


    Clark closed his eyes and took deep breaths. When he opened them again, all that was left was frustration and helplessness.


    Even though he knew the answer, he still couldn''t help but ask.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Is there any way we can........¡±.


    ¡°I''m sorry, Superman. There''s nothing here we can save¡±.


    Clark was silent.


    ¡°Anything else?¡± Clark felt heavy inside. Now he just wanted to get this done and be done with it.


    "Actually, yes¡±. The Manhunter''s answer brought some slight surprise.


    ¡°I looked into what was once his mind. Like I said, it was destroyed. His consciousness is gone. However, the emotions were not¡±.


    ¡°The emotions? Sorry, but can you explain in detail?¡± Steve couldn''t help but ask.


    As the director of A.R.G.U.S, he needed to be informed on everything if he was going to keep this creature that defeated Superman locked up in here. Even if this creature literally didn''t have a mind of its own.


    ¡°Emotions?¡± Clark frowned. ¡°What did you feel¡±.


    ¡°No real thoughts. Just Pain, Hatred....... Rage....... And fear. A lot of it¡±. Manhunter said solemnly.


    ¡°This should be the emotions he felt during his last moments¡±.


    ¡°I see¡±. Clark said with a heavy sigh.


    ¡°So what you''re saying is that this....... Creature can''t lose a threat¡±.


    J''onn creased his forehead.


    ¡°In this state, no¡±. Then, he fell into pondering.


    ¡°Unless of course, something else occupies his mental space¡±.


    ¡°That doesn''t sound good¡±.


    ¡°It''s not¡±. Martian Manhunter continued.


    ¡°The body itself is useless without a mind to direct it. But that would change if there was a skilled enough telepath to occupy the space and control it with his own. So while this Parasite is harmless now, he will be dangerous if his body falls into the wrong hands¡±.


    ¡°So now, he''s basically a puppet¡±.


    ¡°Correct¡±.


    The atmosphere was slightly heavy.


    ¡°If that''s the case, then it''s not safe here¡±. Clark spoke up first.


    ¡°Indeed¡±. J''onn added.


    ¡°You both know that can''t happen¡±. Steve said with a frown.


    Both of them look at Steve with narrowed eyebrows.


    The staring contest lasted ten seconds.


    ¡°Fair enough¡±. Clark backed down.


    .........


    ¡°Then thank you for the information, gentlemen. It means a lot¡±.


    Steve said as he escorted both heroes to the DOD entrance.


    ¡°You''re welcome Colonel. Do have a nice day¡±. J''onn said in a gentlemanly fashion.


    Then his body rose into the air and disappeared.


    ¡°Colonel¡±. Clark nodded at him, showing respect and turned around absentmindedly.


    At this point, he had a lot of things on his mind.


    ¡°Hey um..... Superman!¡± The Man of steel came to a halt as he was about to take off.


    ¡°I just wanted to ask, is everything alright with Wonder Woman recently? I''m finding it difficult to contact her¡±.


    Steve said with an apologetic look on his face, scratching the back of his head with a slight frown.


    Honestly, he was a little embarrassed to ask Superman about this. After all, his past relationship with Wonder Woman was no secret.


    If not for the wishing stone incident. He wouldn''t even be alive. Now that some people had moved on with their lives......


    All in all, it looked a little weird to have a middle-aged man make such a look.


    Seeing his expression, Clark felt slightly uncomfortable for some reason. Nevertheless, he still put on that easygoing smile on his face.


    ¡°It''s ok, she should be fine. She''s currently not on the planet. On an off world mission¡±.


    The reply caused Steve''s eyebrows to loosen.


    ¡°Let me guess, official league business?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Shouldn''t be back for a while. I''ll let her know once I make contact¡±.


    ¡°Thank you¡±. Those were the last words exchanged between the two men.


    Before he disappeared with a sonic boom.


    ...........


    BIALYA


    September 4, 00:16 EEST


    ¡°Ugh......¡±. In the harsh Bialyan desert, very early in the morning. The peace and quiet of the night was broken by a female groan.


    The full moon shone brightly giving light in the darkness. If one looked close enough, they would be able to make out a silvery mirage right against the desert floor.


    Of course from a distance, it would seem to be nothing more than an illusion.


    That is....... Until the illusion came to life.


    The transparent blur suddenly materialized to form the body of a redhead female laying against the desert sand.


    Strangely enough, her skin tone was green.


    ¡°Ugh.....¡± Another groan sounded.


    Raising her head from the sand, words escaped from her lips that no human being would understand, no matter what language they spoke.


    Looking at the vast amount of sand all around her, the confusion on her face intensified as the sights before her were completely foreign.


    She continued to speak while examining her surroundings, looking up at the sky, carrying a handful of sand in her palm that slipped through her fingers until nothing was left.


    The expressions on her face changed drastically. From confusion, to apprehension, to realization, to shock, to excitement.


    ¡°Hello Megan, I''m on Earth¡±. She gave out her signature catchphrase while palming her hand against her head.


    The smile on her face was unprecedented, like a child finally getting the chance to visit the amusement park they always wanted to go to.


    ¡°But..... How did I get to Earth?....... Why am I wearing this costume¡­. And why does my head hurt so much¡±.


    She grimaced at that moment, placing her hand on her head to relieve the pain and slipping the next second.


    Losing her footing, she rolled down the dune.


    ¡°Is this a dream?¡± She asked herself in puzzlement unable to understand what exactly was going on.


    It happened then.


    A loud crash sounded a few meters away from her prompting her exclamation. Like a missile impacting the earth, dust, and sand flew in all directions, causing her to shield her face from the debris.


    The dust settles.


    Megan was surprised at what she saw.


    It was a male.


    Dark hair, blue eyes, fair skin, a rather muscular build to his form. Miss Martian was surprised.


    Especially when she saw the iconic ¡°S¡± symbol on his chest which her uncle had told her so much about.


    She had seen that symbol before. The famous protector of earth, Superman had such a symbol on his chest when he arrived at Mars to speak with her uncle.


    Only, his costume was blue, and he wasn''t supposed to be........


    ¡°Wait. I''ve seen that symbol..... Are you Superm...?¡±


    She didn''t have an opportunity to finish her words when something else happened that shocked her.


    The space in between both of them suddenly began to swirl.


    A second later, a figure appeared out of thin air.


    Megan was greatly surprised.


    Was this teleportation? Martians didn''t have this ability.


    Similar to ...... Superman over there...... He wore a black attire with dark her and blue eyes. There was no Superman symbol on his chest, but his eyes were strangely glowing.


    ¡°Oh..... It''s you guys¡±. He called out while looking towards her startling her in the process.


    Her eyes met his, and she could see him looking at her with apparent interest....... Like he just found something interesting.


    ¡°Oh! I''m late. It looks like the timeline didn''t change at all. But should I find it weird that I brought myself to this exact spot?¡± He said while placing his hand against his chin, seemingly in thought.


    ¡°I..... Do you¡­.¡±. Megan was surprised. Did this man know her? And what was happening right here?


    She immediately wanted to ask if this stranger knew what was happening but the strange¡­. Superman suddenly stood on his two feet and roared.


    Strange why he was crouching in the first place.


    Then, he tore the ¡°S¡± symbol on his shirt and jumped towards them. Or more specifically, him.


    ¡°Watch out¡±. Megan screamed in fright as the new arrival was punched in the chest by the Savage Superboy.


    Thud!


    The sound was heavy and loud. Strangely enough, no one moved from their position.


    The expected scene of the new arrival getting blasted into the air didn''t happen


    ¡°Well well, if it isn''t Superboy". Amari called out at the clone who was in a daze after punching with full force yet getting no result.


    ¡°You look pretty feisty after coming back from the dead¡±.


    It was unknown if the clone understood the sentence of if he was just generally irritable, his face twisted ferociously as he pulled back his fist again for another punch.


    Bang!


    But someone hit faster than he did.


    All the insane Superboy felt was extreme pain as his face made contact with a fist, sending him flying a long distance into the desert.


    BOOM!


    What followed was a really heavy crash. The dust settles and the body of Superboy laid in the desert sand, unmoving, blood running down his nose.


    Megan''s eyes widened in shock and fear.


    ¡°Now then dear......¡±. Amari dusted his hands together and turned to look at the little Green Miss.


    ¡°...... You were saying?¡±

 Chapter 82 Bereft Rewritten

    The heavy thud resounded throughout a vast area of the desert.


    ¡°Now then dear......¡±. Amari dusted his hands together and turned to look at the little Green Miss.


    ¡°...... You were saying?¡±


    ¡°You.....¡±. Megan''s eyes were wide open in shock.


    ¡°Who...... I''m sorry, Who are you?¡± She said staggering up to her feet. She took several steps back, watching Amari with a hint of confusion and wariness.


    Looking at the slightly tense green female in front of him, Amari tilted his head slightly, looking like he had found a new toy.


    ¡°Well...... If I said I was your Lover on Earth, would you believe me?¡±


    ¡°You...... You are what?¡± Her eyes widened in amazement at the words that came out of his mouth. It sounded somewhat incomprehensible.


    The next moment, her green cheeks took on a red hue as she blushed and lowered her head slightly in embarrassment.


    ¡°That''s¡­. That can''t......¡±. She muttered, stammering with her words and made nervous gestures with her fingers.


    The thought of finding a boyfriend after coming to earth, visiting the planet she always dreamed of was........ Strangely embarrassing.


    ¡°...... But that can''t be. I don''t ....... even remember coming to earth much less having a ........ I can''t even remember you, or where I am or what I''m doing here¡±.


    The embarrassment quickly faded as she got back to the fact that she had memory loss.


    ¡°Why do you tease the little Martian?¡±  The voice of the red Queen sounded in his ears.


    ¡°I don''t know. Guess I found the situation interesting. And........ Now I''ve lost interest¡±.


    ¡°Oh! Does my boss now have a special quirk?¡±


    ¡°You can''t be serious?¡±. He said, slightly speechless.


    ¡°Also....... You haven''t answered yet. Who are you? And is that...... Superman?¡±


    Seeing that Amari wasn''t responding, Megan asked again.


    ¡°No, he isn''t¡±.


    Amari answered the last and ignored the first. Then, his eyes glowed blue.


    The vast expanse of land within hundreds of miles was instantly enveloped in his vision.


    He saw many things.


    The unconscious Robin, Aqualad, The conscious Kidflash, the Bialyan base camp, Supergirl.......


    Hold on a minute!


    Amari''s eyes widened in slight surprise.


    What the hell was Kara doing here?


    The scene that played out before his eyes were apparent.


    A blonde female wearing the classic Supergirl suit and skirt with a long red cape.


    Her body was being restrained with metal chains enclosing her hands and feet.


    She laid on the testing table, her skin was pale, and her figure looked feeble. She laid there unconscious, mumbling words constantly that didn''t seem to be any native language on Earth.


    In the area around her, there were several men and women in white lab coats, name tags on their chests and most carried charts in their hands.


    Of course, that wasn''t the most eye-catching thing he saw.


    In the same room, standing a considerable distance away from the blonde kryptonian and the dozen or so scientists, was a machine that shone with a silver luster under the light.


    It wasn''t human but once was one. As the live representation of a cyborg, it stood there unmoving, eyes colored green and a glowing rock of similar color could be seen embedded in his chest.


    This Cyborg was one of Superman''s greatest enemies, George Grant John Corben.


    Also known as, Metallo.


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Amari at this point honestly felt speechless.


    In the original timeline, Metallo had nothing to do with Bialya. He wasn''t supposed to be here, but then again, neither was Supergirl so...... There''s that.


    The fact that Supergirl joined the team was not surprising. Amari had expected it to happen.


    But the thing is......


    In the Superhero business, Kara was completely green. It hadn''t been particularly long since the parasite incident.


    What the hell was Clark thinking, letting her out again?


    And on a dangerous mission to Bialya?


    Amari frowned for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°Um¡­. What are you doing?¡± Megan looked at Amari with curious eyes.


    Seeing the way his eyes glowed blue, she couldn''t help but ask. At this point, she was almost comparable to an innocent teenager who hadn''t seen the world.


    ¡°Nothing........ I''m looking for something¡±. Amari said lightly.


    Seeing Kara''s situation, a frown appeared on his features. At the moment, Supergirl was situated in the same base camp that held Psimon and the reason the JL Proteges were here in the first place.


    The piece of technology with artificial consciousness that belonged to the Forever people, Sphere.


    Well, this was what the Proteges would come to know her as in due time. For now, she was the New Genisphere.


    Technology stolen from the Gods of New Genesis by Desaad and sent to earth.


    The energy signature released upon her entry into earth via Boom tube was what had alerted the watchtowers monitoring systems in the first place.


    Amari watched the Supergirl and the New Genisphere.......... And then, he turned his gaze elsewhere.


    Their situation couldn''t catch the interest of the Energy Sapien. Like he said to Miss Martian, he was looking for something. The whole reason why he even bothered coming to Bialya in the first place.


    And it certainly wasn''t to play the role of the hero rescuing the beauty.


    Nor was he interested in the technology of the New God''s. Honestly, he would rather not be disturbed by them.


    His vision extended further to locate exactly what he was looking for.


    Hidden underground many miles away from here, a secret facility disguised under the cover of desert sand that camouflaged the entrance point.


    Underneath was a moderate facility with a layout similar to Cadmus labs.


    It wasn''t very large though. And there...... Just right there, he found his prize.


    Miss Martian, who hesitated to speak again, was a bit startled when Amari rose into the air, defying gravity.


    ¡°But..... Hey.... Where are you going?¡± She similarly flew upward to stay at equal height with him.


    ¡°To find what I came here for. You should probably do the same¡±. He answered nonchalantly.


    ¡°But I..... I don''t know what I came here for. I don''t remember anything?¡±


    ¡°You''re a telepath, I don''t think I need to tell you what you need to do¡±. He replied.


    This was the truth. She would find out what she needed soon enough.


    ¡°I''m a telepath.....¡±. She muttered to herself and her eyes lit up.


    ¡°Of course, hello Megan. I just have to reach into my subconscious¡±.


    And so, she immediately sat cross-legged in the air and fell into meditation.


    ¡°Honestly, I''m surprised how these kids survived the first few years doing this¡±. Seeing Miss Martian instantly enter into a meditate state, completely unguarded and ignoring the fact that there was a stranger next to her, she didn''t remember meeting, Amari couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow.


    Was she always this trusting of others in the initial stages?


    Miss Martian had no idea what was going through his mind.


    ¡°Concentrate......... Remember......¡±.


    And so, various scenes flashed in her head as her eyes turned pure white. She remembered the strange Superman.......


    A talkative ginger haired male in a yellow suit........


    ¡°I made you cookies¡±.


    The scene of baking snacks, of burning them accidentally.


    ¡°You''re next¡±.


    The terrifying face of what looked to be a demon pointing towards her.....


    They weren''t complete in the slightest. Just mere fragments.


    But even those fragments were enough to tell her a lot.


    ¡°I''m on a team!¡± She exclaimed as her eye color returned to normal.


    ¡°I have friends, and a Superboy who might be......¡±. Megan was puzzled, worried and a little frightened.


    That last fragment was particularly scary. At the same time, she couldn''t help but have some doubts.


    ¡°Hey, didn''t you say that......¡±. She didn''t remember having a boyfriend, or a relationship for that matter. She sensed a bit of emotional ambiguity with The Superboy but.......


    She turned around to ask Amari some of her doubts, only to find no one flying where he once was.


    ........


    Secret Underground Facility


    Bialyan Desert.


    Unlike what one would expect, the whole place wasn''t filled with armed forces patrolling every nook and cranny.


    There were no heavy carrier guns, highly advanced weaponry, or fleets of advanced technological aircraft.


    Sure, there were a few planes here and there, but that was about it. Save of course for the special one that had transported the most important thing of the night down here a few hours ago.


    The space around a secluded area swirled and Amari''s figure popped up from thin air.


    Looking at the soldiers moving in an orderly fashion, security cameras in several directions and whatnot, he couldn''t help but feel slightly surprised.


    Of all places, why the hell was I brought down here? Watching the soldiers walk right past him without registering his presence, Amari didn''t think much.


    Currently, his silhouette was blurry and translucent, giving the feeling that he was there and yet not there at the same time.


    Of course, that wasn''t the only reason why they couldn''t notice him.


    Amari disappeared from his spot and appeared in the lower levels of the base. Standing in front of a wide, heavily armored door at the end of the hallway.


    ¡°So this is where they''re keeping the old timer?¡± He muttered softly to no one in particular and walked right through the defensive doors that could withstand a missile explosion.


    Passing through the obstacle in front of him, what laid on the other side which was now before him looked a lot like Cadmus labs.


    There were two tube pods.


    In each one, a male and a female could be seen floating in a liquid substance.


    Both wore no clothes on them. Their bodies floating bare the same way they came into the world.


    For any man, the naked body of a female would be a pleasant sight to behold. Especially since this female was one with a particularly good figure, moderate assets, smooth skin, pleasant complexion and a young age.


    The fact that she would be the future wife of Superman was the icing on the cake.


    The same, however, couldn''t be said when looking at the naked body of a man surpassing his fifties, with an abdominal region that had a belly flab and a noticeably small penis.


    The gray hairs on his head, side burns along his cheeks and dignified expression that never left his face even when unconscious gave his identity away.


    The long-lost General Sam Lane.


    Currently, the two of them were in cloning pods. What for? Amari could guess the whole thing.


    ¡°Too bad........ I''m not here for you either¡±.


    And with those words, he lifted his dimensional state and appeared in his real body.


    At that moment, a mechanical sound was triggered and something with glowing red eyes seemed to sense something that was not supposed to be here, causing it to wake up from its dormancy.

 Chapter 83 A.M.A.Z.O

    At that moment, a mechanical sound was triggered and something with glowing red eyes seemed to sense something that was not supposed to be here, causing it to wake up from its dormancy.


    Blar!


    Blar!


    Blar!


    The next thing that happened was comprehensible. Sirens, lights, flashing.....


    The base alarms instantly went on with Amari making his presence known.


    "Typical". He muttered as he raised his head upward. The blue lights illuminating the room had gone red at this point.


    Not surprising.


    What was, however, was the fact that all doors in the facility weren''t immediately sealed off the moment it was known that an intruder was within their midst.


    Then something even more surprising happened.


    All personnel, be it soldiers or workers immediately abandoned whatever they were doing and took to their heels, running in the direction of the exit.


    They were.......... Evacuating?


    ¡°Ok...... Now that''s something you don''t see every day". Shouldn''t they be running towards his position? Sealing down all areas while trying to find the Infiltrator?


    Was this how henchmen of the twenty-first century operated nowadays?


    Or was something afoot?


    Amari was slightly puzzled.


    The red-eyed machine suddenly spoke.


    [Access Superman]


    Boom!


    A boom sounded from within the underground facility, followed by the sound of something tearing towards him at sonic speed.


    Amari heard a loud crash from behind him, followed by a gush of wind coming through the now shattered doors.


    Fragments of metal and debris flew in all directions as what looked to resemble a tall, muscular bare chested human male came crashing through the heavily secure doors like a bull on steroids.


    Bang!


    The muffled thud was the result of a metal fist colliding against a fleshy palm.


    Amari stood unmoved, his arm stretched out to catch a punch that seemingly appeared out of thin air due to its speed. Seeing the new arrival, his initially furrowed eyebrows greatly relaxed.


    ¡°Oh! So that''s what''s going on¡±.


    ..........


    The Royal Palace.......


    Al-Qawiya, Bialya.


    ¡°Reporting, My Queen¡±.


    A holographic screen could be floating in the air. The picture showed a bald, pale skinned male wearing a gray trench coat with a hood.


    The hood was pulled over his head, revealing only his facial features but anyone who knew him would know that this was just to hide what was beneath it.


    ¡°Psimon, report what you have to say¡±.


    On the throne of Bialya within the Royal Palace, sat a dark skinned, slender woman with dark blue eyes and long black hair.


    Her hair was pulled back and sported a golden diadem on her forehead. She wore golden stinger-shaped earrings and an armband on her right forearm.


    Her posture was lazy, and her face was unsmiling.


    ¡°I have obtained the information which My Liege and The Light seeks¡±.


    He said with a slight bow, before proceeding to pull off the hook covering his head. What was displayed on screen was a human brain........ His brain to be precise, visible through a clear dome covering it with some strips of skin over the dome.


    ¡°And?¡± She asked with interest.


    ¡°It appears that your worries are not unfounded. In her weakened state I have peered into the female Kryptonian''s open mind. As suspected, she seems to have a deeper relationship with the mysterious Deviant ........ A closer one if you will¡±.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Her eyes suddenly lit up with interest.


    ¡°Go on. Do tell me how deep this goes. Does our yet to be determined friend or for having a little Lover? Or is it one of those ambiguous relationships.....¡±.


    If one didn''t know that she was the iron blooded ruler of Bialya and a high-ranking member of The Light, one could easily mistake her tone for those aunties who loved to gossip about the lives of their young relatives or neighbors.


    ¡°Not that deep, My Queen¡±. He uttered in a low tone.


    ¡°Apparently, he was the first living being she saw upon arrival on this planet. And spent a greater period of time within his home base outside Gotham. From what I can tell, her impression of him is very........ Favorable¡±.


    ¡°Oh! Is it now?¡± The dark-skinned female fell into thought, a somewhat sinister smile appearing on her pursed lips.


    Despite being a power hungry ruler of a country which ultimately meant that she was a loner who had never engaged in intimate relationships with the same or opposite sex all due to the fact that she saw it as completely unnecessary, she was still a woman.


    She understood what it meant when a female had a very favorable impression of the opposite sex.


    ¡°And what could possibly prompt him to accept this ....... Super girl¡­ Into his territory?¡±


    ¡°Her DNA¡±.


    ¡°I see. From her memories, how favorable does Amari''s impression of her seem?¡±


    ¡°...¡±. Psimon found it difficult to answer.


    This...... Why was his being asked? He was slightly confused.


    Even if he wasn''t, he had no idea how to answer that question.


    After all, he was a man with his brain visible to the world as soon as he removed his hood. How well versed could he be in the art of love between the opposite sex?


    ¡°Ordinary apparently¡­.¡±. He said while choosing his words carefully.


    ¡°But from her memory interactions, he seems to treat her like a friend, maybe even a close one¡±. This was all he needed to say.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°L-0¡±. Queen bee suddenly called out. The next moment, the holographic screen split into two, one side showing Psimon and the other showing a white holographic projection of a little female, presumably in her teens.


    ¡°Your orders L-3?¡± The holographic projection calls out with a soft voice directly displaying its intelligence. This was an AI.


    Or to be more precise, the AI Amari had given To Sam Lane. Only reprogrammed to fit the ideals of members of The Light. Its codename was L-0, otherwise known as The Light Queen.


    "Carry this information to the others. Make sure you only give it to the ¡°important¡± members". She said, particularly emphasizing on the word Important.


    ¡°As you wish¡±. The AI projection disappeared clearly understanding who Queen Bee meant by Important.


    Basically, everyone other than Klarion, The Brain and Ocean Master.


    Those three would be informed of the development in the next meeting. Informing them was simply a waste of time. Simply because, The Brain didn''t care, Klarion cared even less and it was pointless informing ocean master.


    Those who this would truly be helpful to, were Vandal, Luthor and The Demon''s head (Ra''s al ghul).


    Lex in particular because he was the one who specifically requested to check Kara''s memories when she was captured.


    To achieve this, he even brought in Metallo.


    Of course, apart from this piece of information which he had derived due to watching the Parasite incident, he also hoped to gain something else that was equally important.


    ¡°The Kryptonian has been apprehended and the information we seek has been extracted, may I ask what do we plan to do with her?¡± Seeing that she was done, Psimon asked for further clarification.


    He had extracted all the information they needed to know. Now what they were going to do with the female was another matter that needed sorting out.


    In his opinion, since the kryptonian was no longer valuable, then she should be transported away to a secret Light facility. Cloned and replaced while the original could either be kept for experiments or ultimately disposed of.


    No matter which path was taken, Kara Zor-El would suffer a terrible fate.


    ¡°Transport her of course¡±. Queen bee tapped the throne''s armrest while thinking.


    ¡°To the Light research facility in the Amazon. Before the League can possibly react. She can be cloned there. Not only cloned, but she can also make a good bargaining chip¡±. She said with no expression.


    As for whether the bargaining chip was meant for the Justice League or someone else, she didn''t mention.


    ¡°As you wish My Liege. That aside, I have also discovered what could be our most bountiful harvest on this endeavor¡±.


    Psimon said, his face stretching to create a sinister smirk.


    ¡°Oh, then do tell¡±. Although she knew what it was, she couldn''t help but okay along.


    ¡°The identity, Of Superman¡±. Psimon''s smile grew wider.


    ¡°Excellent work¡±.


    ¡°You flatter me, my queen. Surprisingly, his true identity is a reporter.......¡±.


    ¡°Your highness......¡±. At that moment, a female suddenly called out with urgency.


    ¡°What?¡±


    Queen bee who sat lazily on the throne with a hint of contemplation etched between her brows frowned, obviously displeased about having her though process interrupted.


    ¡°Forgive me, My Queen, but the Android has risen from dormancy¡±. The female bowed with a bit of trepidation and answered hurriedly.


    ¡°Is that so? Play me the Android''s real-time vision¡±. Seeing that the plan had begun, she instantly lost her lazy demeanor and ordered with a serious look.


    There was only one reason why the Android would move without being given any orders.


    Someone had broken into the facility.


    Concerning this, she wasn''t the slightest bit surprised. After all, the Intel they gained stated that a group of meddlesome brats would come to interfere in their matters.


    This was both a nuisance and an opportunity.


    But the earlier reports from Psimon clearly stated that he had initially handled the situation.


    The technology gained from their partners, The New Genisphere was secure and the kryptonian female had been captured by Luthor''s new aid, Metallo.


    The others, however, were still missing. Metallo stayed behind to suppress the Supergirl with kryptonite and the Bialyan soldiers spread out into the desert to locate and capture the rest.


    Project Kr created to destroy and replace Superman had gone rogue. Even with the capture of the new kryptonian, they still planned to retrieve him if they could and make correction protocols.


    Could it be that one of them had made their way into the facility? Or, like Lex speculated, could it be someone else more troublesome?


    A holographic screen instantly emerged in the distance and what came into view was a dark-haired male with stunning facial features, glowing blue eyes and a raised eyebrow. His eyes seemed to portray his curiosity and desire to understand the situation before him.


    ¡°It''s actually him?¡± She asked absentmindedly, her face morphing to form a slight frown.


    ¡°Looks like the relationship with the kryptonian isn''t as ordinary as we think¡±. She speculated out loud with narrowed eyebrows.


    A hint of cunning flashed within those beautiful blue eyes.


    This....... Could possibly be used to their advantage.


    ¡°L-0, also inform lex of this development. As well as all other high-ranking members of the Light. Make it known that his speculation may be correct after all¡±.


    With the information, they had obtained from the cloned spy within the League and sourced out through the Light Queen from Wade and Superman''s discussion, Lex had mentioned the possibility of Amari''s appearance.


    Due to this reason, as well as other various apprehensions that may cause this operation to fail, The Light arranged for The recently stolen Amazo Android to be stationed in Bialya.


    Turns out, Lex guessed right.


    ............


    The energy generated from the punch was mostly absorbed. But the shockwave caused upon collision still caused some damage.


    Crack!


    Crack!


    Numerous cracks appeared on the cloning tanks housing the bodies of Sam and Lois.


    ¡°Oh! So that''s what''s going on¡±. Amari said while looking at the orange haired, bare chested Android.


    Seeing that its attack was blocked without the opponent moving a single step away from his original position. Amazo immediately made his next move.


    The red eyes immediately glowed brightly as it imitated yet another ability of the iconic Man of Steel.


    Yet before it could fire, its body was blasted away as an invisible force slammed into it, sending it back the way it came from.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    The Android crashed through all after wall as it was pushed further and further.


    Boom!


    Then it crashed with a loud booming sound causing the underground facility to tremble.


    Seeing the destruction that was caused, Amari put his right hand on his chin.


    ¡°So that''s why they all ran away. Presumably, the Android would take care of whoever intruded if it could and if it couldn''t........ Well, they would rather not get squashed in case a fight ensued in their vicinity¡±.


    Amari couldn''t help but nod his head. In this crazy world, the bad guys were getting smarter when it came to preserving their lives.


    While regular citizens were quite the opposite.


    He wasn''t surprised about Amazo''s appearance.


    After all, the Android was what he came here for.


    And so, his body dashed towards its location, entirely ignoring the bodies of Lois Lane and Sam Lane, who were still floating in cracked tanks.


    ...............


    ¡°Ugh! My head¡±. Robin groaned loudly as he leaned against a giant stone pillar.


    On his two feet in the sandy desert, he walked forward with his palm supporting him against the pillar.


    Until he got to the end and the rising dust in the distance caught his attention.


    Robin''s eyes widened.


    The dust cleared and a military vehicle with two soldiers could be seen driving towards his direction. One was armed with a gun and the other drove towards the pillar, passing by it and continuing on their way.


    The boy wonder who disappeared from his initial position, watched them drive further away as he hung off the higher levels of the huge rock.


    ¡°Those are Bialyan Army Republican uniforms. What the hell are Bialyans doing in........ Bialya?¡± He exclaimed and shook his head as he checked the holographic map hovering above his arm.


    ¡°Ok, better question, what am I doing in Bialya?¡± Then, he noticed the time.


    ¡°In September? What happened to March?¡±


    ¡°Gotta radio Batman¡±.


    ¡°Maintain radio silence at all times¡±. Fragments of Batman''s expressionless face popped up in his mind, filling in an important instruction from his memory loss.


    ¡°..... Or not¡±.


    Boom.


    At that moment, the earth shook. It was slight but he could feel it.


    ¡°The ground shaking? Earthquake?¡± He opened his map one more time and turned on his scanners to check what was going on.


    Not far away from his general direction, Amari appeared in front of Amazo in the underground facility.

 Chapter 84 Replication Failed

    Caribbean Sea........


    Infinity Islands.....


    A tall, imposing looking man walked along the hallways of his castle. He looked to be in his early fifties, sporting black hair with gray streaks.


    Alongside a mustache with wild, black eyebrows.


    He was dressed in a regal manner, with the majority of his clothes covered by a high-collared green cloak with large gold buttons.


    His peaceful walk, however, was interrupted when something on his belt buckle began to give off a flashing white light.


    Coming to a halt, he took out a spherical flashing object from his pocket and pushed the tip.


    The sphere opened up in three sides and a holographic projection was displayed.


    ¡°L-0? What is the matter?¡±


    ¡°Complications have emerged in Bialya. L-3 has ordered an emergency assembly for all reachable members¡±.


    Seeing the pure white female hologram, Ra''s al ghul''s thick eyebrows furrowed greatly.


    ¡°Complications bigger than what the Android can handle?¡±


    ¡°Confirmed¡±.


    ¡°I''ll be right there¡±. And with that, The Demon''s Head turned off the projector. Then, he changed his direction and walked towards his private study. In there, no one was allowed to disturb him.


    Not even his daughter.


    ........


    Metropolis.....


    Lexcorp.


    ¡°The Android is facing troubles it can''t handle?¡±


    ¡°The Android is precisely what is in trouble¡±.


    ¡°Oh¡­.¡±. Lex put down his glass of champagne. With a clap of his hands, the lights went off, and the holographic projection expanded while connecting to the assembly call.


    After the AI was reprogrammed with the combined efforts of himself and the brain, Amazo had gotten a minor upgrade.


    The operating system of the Android was controlled precisely by L-0 thereby the delay caused in switching between abilities was effectively shortened. You could practically say it was removed.


    Even against the original Justice League, it may not win, but it definitely wouldn''t lose. Escaping unscathed was possible.


    And yet now......


    ¡°Why am I not surprised......¡±.


    The bald billionaire muttered.


    The same thing happened with other members of the light. The Brain, Ocean master, Klarion........


    ..... ......


    With the impact caused by the telekinetic push, the entire underground base shook like it had been hit with a sledgehammer.


    Quite understandable if you could see it. The force not only slammed The Android away, but also destroyed everything else in its path. The walls and roof came crumbling down on itself wherever the wave went.


    Bursting through the final obstacle, Amazo''s body came to a halt as he slammed against a wall in a rather spacious arena.


    Several seconds later, Amari appeared at the hole in which The Android flew out of.


    He took several steps forward, his eyes set on the unmoving machine that rested against the wall with its head lowered.


    ¡°Finally. And here I thought Lex would keep you hidden until he really had no other cards up his sleeve¡±.


    His steps came to a halt. His voice wasn''t particularly loud, but it could be heard clearly despite the ringing sirens.


    Amari looked at The Android with interest. Lines of information appeared in his retina before disappearing, constantly being digested in his mind.


    He had to admit though, by human standards, Professor Ivo was truly a genius.


    The capability shown in creating this was enough to award him that title. Absorption cell technology, this was something even Luthor couldn''t come up with.


    The information provided didn''t end there, though. The moment his glowing blue eyes caught sight of it, he realized a lot of things.


    ¡°But I have to say, Lex really took a gamble on this one¡±. At that moment, the dropping Android suddenly raised its head.


    The menacing eyes on those facial features that was incapable of creating expressions looked like they were about to boor through him.


    With mechanical whirring noises, it stood on its feet without so much as slight damage to any of its parts.


    In Amazo''s vision, Amari in the distance was clearly captured like a screenshot and the picture suddenly shrunk down by several times before undergoing various scans.


    The scanning feature enabled in its core programmings examined the Deviant''s body structure from head to toe without missing so much as a single hair.


    The analysis software was constantly processing, deciphering, copying......... Or at least, it was trying to.


    [Adversary Name: The Deviant]


    [Lifeform Base: Carbon Based Life form...... Negative]


    << Bioscans state that the Target''s physiology has no traces of periodic elements..... >>


    [Physiological structure, analyzing............... Analysis failed]


    << Analyzing cell structure........ Analysis failed >>


    << DNA data analysis........... Analysis failed >>


    << Replicating abilities........... Replication failed......>>


    [Error: Replication process has proved ineffective. A cell sample is required in order to achieve further results]


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    ¡°Impossible!¡±


    Back at the Royal Palace, several holographic screens could be seen floating on air.


    The Brain directly expressed his unconcealed shock.


    ¡°It''s no longer impossible when it''s happening before your eyes¡±. Luthor said with a bit of gloom in his tone.


    ¡°Amazo can even copy Superman''s Kryptonian abilities with none of his weaknesses. This shouldn''t be¡±. The eyes of the Bialyan ruler showed an equally strong touch of disbelief.


    ¡°The results of the replication process speak for themselves. Replicating the Target''s cell structure has proven currently impossible. Other methods to accomplish the goal, whatever they may be are advised¡±.


    The voice of the artificial intelligence, L-0 responded to her reaction in a bland tone.


    ¡°How? Why?¡± Vandal Savage inquired in a gloomy tone. The Android was supposed to be one of the Light''s major Trump cards.


    Possessing the powers of eight Leaguers and none of their weaknesses, it alone was a force to be reckoned with. Superman, who had his abilities, replicated was no match for the Android in a one-on-one situation.


    Even Superman was copied. So why would this be any different.


    ¡°The Target''s cell structure is .......... Strangely Unique. Each cell is composed of elements unknown in my current database. I do not have enough information to come to a plausible conclusion on how it is possible¡±.


    ¡°....¡±.


    .........


    ¡°Replication unsuccessful¡±.


    The cold robotic voice of The Android fell into his ears.


    ¡°Oh! Are you done?¡± Amari tilted his head slightly, with a bit of curiosity in his tone.


    The internal and external structure, operating systems, key programs of the Android were pulled apart before his sight.


    Including those who were controlling it.


    ¡°One, two, three......¡±. He counted out loud with a nonchalant expression.


    ¡°What is he¡­.?¡±


    ¡°...... Six, seven. Well, it looks like there''s seven of you. Good to know you''re all watching¡±. Amari suddenly uttered with a small smile gracing his face. Then, he stretched out his left hand and waved in front of Amazo.


    In the Assembly meeting, all members of the Light felt a chill roll up their spines.


    A suffocating silence enveloped the atmosphere as no one uttered a word.


    Except one of course.


    ¡°..... Oh, he can see us?¡± Klarion asked with clear curiosity in his tone. Unlike the others, the Lord of chaos had no sense of fear when realizing the fact that they were exposed.


    ¡°That might not necessarily be the case. But he knows we''re watching¡±. Brain responded.


    Ocean master felt all his hairs stand on end. He fought the urge he felt to immediately disconnect from the feed right this instant.


    Vandal Savage frowned, feeling greatly unsettled.


    ¡°L-0, attack the Target with extreme prejudice. Priority Alpha¡±.


    ¡°As you wish¡±.


    The AI responded and immediately took action.


    [Flash]


    The silent Amazo finally made a move. Streaks of lightning appeared on its body as it disappeared from its spot in a frontal attack.


    [Superman]


    Then, it switched abilities instantaneously as he arrived before the target and punched out.


    The ground beneath his feet experienced unprecedented force as it cracked and scattered, causing debris to fly in all directions.


    Only....... The much anticipated collision never happened. The scattering rocks froze in midair, remaining completely still.


    ¡°You know, it''s one thing to think an Android created by a mortal man could copy my abilities¡±. Seeing the metal fist that froze half a meter away from him, Amari took a step closer.


    ¡°After all, it worked for Superman. And he is as powerful as it gets in these parts of the universe, so it''s understandable to want to give it a try¡±.


    The glowing blue eyes seemed to thrum, giving a weird sensation of power flowing deep within it.


    A telekinetic force powerful enough to halt the movements of something as strong as Superman rotated around the area in which the Android floated.


    Everything within this range stilled, as if frozen in time. Amazo was still in a punching motion, both legs levitating off the ground.


    Amari finished his words and stretched out his palm. His three fingers moving in an enlarging motion.


    BOOM!


    A noise akin to a sonic boom resounded as Amazo was slammed away with immense force.


    The telekinetic wave shattered everything it came into contact with within its range. Even the floor dozens of meters away wasn''t spared.


    Bang!


    The Android was smashed into a wall, his figure practically embedded into it.


    The whole place trembled.


    Amari tilted his head up. The Android was dragged along the wall, creating a noticeable trench before impacting the ceiling.


    ¡°But you didn''t really think this could stop me, did you?¡±


    The force disappeared and Amazo fell straight from the ceiling.


    However, unlike regular living beings, an Android felt no pain.


    Amazo quickly readjusted itself and landed on a high platform. Various protocols were being processed in its operating system in nanoseconds, trying to discover how it could win this fight.


    [Martian Manhunter]


    And so, it activated density shifting and sunk into the ground.


    Just in time to avoid a blaze of destructive energy engulfing the area it once stood.


    The platform connected to the wall immediately disintegrated to dust.


    Amari watched indifferently.


    Amazo''s movements couldn''t escape his eyes as his 360¡ã vision went underground as well. Without pushing it to the limit, he could already observe the Earth''s core.


    So he was in no way surprised when it appeared a considerable distance behind him.


    [Black Canary]


    A sonic scream emerged from his mouth, attacking Amari from behind. The attack hit but had no effect.


    Instead, a powerful force emerged from behind him, striking towards its target.


    [Flash]


    With a flash of lightning, Amazo dashed out of the way.


    The speed at which it switched abilities and reacted indicated that it already planned to run out the moment it released the Canary cry.


    ¡°...... Interesting¡±. He said and disappeared on the spot.


    The next moment, he was in front of the rapidly retreating robot and swung his fist.


    Bang!


    Once again, the Android was sent flying, crashing several times against the floor, creating several holes on the already damaged area.


    ¡°It doesn''t usually react this fast. Alice''s duplicate is controlling it. Hehehehe, The Light is really bold¡±.


    ........


    ¡°L-0, Get it out of there¡±. Lex said with furrowed eyebrows.


    ¡°If the Android leaves, we''ll never know the full extent of Amari''s abilities¡±. Ocean Master uttered, clearly displeased with Lex''s order.


    That Android was a threat to his future reign. It would be best if Amari destroyed it to nothing more than dust.


    ¡°This isn''t even an equal fight. Amazo is getting toyed with. That''s all we need¡±. Brain said in its robotic tone.


    ¡°If it stays any longer, it will be destroyed. If he could use it to track us, our situation will be grim¡±. Queen Bee said hurriedly.


    Among all of them, she was the one feeling the most panicked. After all, Amari was right here in Bialya.


    If he discovered who they were, she might end up being the first person to be killed.


    ¡°L-0, evacuate the Android immediately¡±. Savage said with a grim tone.


    This was not how things were expected to play out.


    Amazo''s greatest advantage lay in the fact that it could replicate the ability of any opponent it ever faced. With a diversity of powers and skills at its disposal, no one would ever be its match in a one on one situation.


    This was proven by the Justice League. It took eight Leaguers a time period of four hours to successfully dismantle the Android to several parts.


    If it were a one on one, even Superman would be defeated without a doubt. This was its greatest advantage.


    But that would change the moment it met someone who could defy its ability. Especially when that someone was stronger than it.


    Amazo pushed itself up from the rubble. Analyzing the new commands it had been given, it immediately sought to implement them.


    [Superman]

 Chapter 85 Psimon Says Forget

    BOOM!


    The underground facility shook to its core.


    ¡°Captain. Are we still waiting?¡± Standing above ground, a Bialyan soldier stood alert with both hands firmly grasping his gun.


    Feeling the rumbling going on beneath their feet, he couldn''t help but ask his captain with a bit of uneasiness.


    Unlike other bases, the number of personnel within this one was quite low. Barely reaching a hundred men and a few women combined.


    The research personnel in the facility were only responsible for the maintenance of the cloning pods and the people in it. Apart from those two, there was quite literally nothing else worthy of attention.


    For the past few weeks, these Republican soldiers treated this as a vacation job. They literally did nothing but patrol, take shifts and play cards all day long.


    If they could smuggle in some booze and a couple more cigarette packs, it would make it even more enjoyable. After all, Bialya wasn''t a peaceful nation.


    Compared to other colleagues who spent most of their time fighting rebels and quelling protests through heavy fire due to the stations they were assigned to, this post was simply heaven.


    They had been guarding this facility all this while and not one issue had emerged.


    And so, it was with great confusion that their leading captain announced to all personnel that their main task tonight was to evacuate the moment they received the slightest sign that the facility had been breached.


    This order alone was enough to leave them stupefied for weeks.


    What was even more confusing was the fact that.........


    BOOM!


    Another heavy rumble cause the ground under their feet to shake.


    The captain took in a deep breath. Seeing that the evacuation was almost complete, he signalled the soldiers to get ready to leave.


    Dozens of military vehicles had their headlights come up.


    ¡°Interesting¡±. Hidden well on a nearby dune, Robin examined the occurring situation through his high-tech binoculars.


    Dozens of transport vehicles were scattered around in the midst of nowhere.


    That''s what he would have thought if he didn''t see the rather large hatch that most likely led to an underground facility.


    ¡°So that''s where the rumbling is coming from¡±. He uttered with a frown.


    ¡°Looks like they''re evacuating. But why?¡± The Boy Wonder couldn''t help but wonder.


    Did something perhaps go wrong? A secret experiment gone haywire, or another clone on a rampage?


    What could possibly.......


    ¡°Captain........¡±. Seeing his captain walking away, the first soldier called out hesitantly.


    ¡°What about the people in the pods?¡±


    This was what was so confusing. They were stationed here to guard those pods at all times. Now everyone was evacuating and no one said anything about their previous objective.


    ¡°Our orders have changed. The previous objective is invalid. Evacuate and leave everything else behind¡±. The captain came to a halt, had creases appear on his forehead and replied.


    The whole thing left him equally astonished, but to get to the position he''s in now, he had seen and learned a lot of things.


    The most important one clearly states, Obedience without question.


    Or it would be his lifeless body being buried in a ditch one day.


    The soldier didn''t say anything else.


    ¡°Is that the last one?¡±


    ¡°Sir! That''s the last of em¡±.


    ¡°Good, everyone move.......¡±.


    BANG!


    A huge cloud of dust suddenly rose from the ground. The large sound it created startled everyone around it.


    The next second, however, something blasted out from underneath the soil. Rising straight into the air at a speed surpassing sound.


    Robin, who was watching the whole thing, was shocked.


    What the hell was going on here?


    The Android took to the skies, Immediately implementing the orders it had been given. Escape at all costs, priority Alpha.


    However, could it really escape?


    The huge telekinetic force that assaulted its rapidly accelerating body didn''t seem to think so.


    Amazo was knocked out of the sky like he had been hit with a baseball bat. The sharp descent caused it to impact the earth with a crash of amazing magnitude.


    BOOM!


    A deep, ugly gully was created on the desert floor that spanned almost fifty meters in length.


    The robot remained still for five seconds before it began to move its parts.


    Unfortunately, it sensed the space behind him twisting irregularly.


    [Captain Atom]


    It immediately changed abilities, quickly raising its hand to fire an energy blast.


    The metal hand preparing to fire an energy beam was immediately grabbed by a fleshy one stronger than even the hardest steel on Earth.


    The beam was fired but had no effect.


    [Black Canary]


    Its mouth opened, preparing to release a Canary cry.


    ¡°Oh Hush!¡± Amari said indifferently as he grabbed the Android by its neck with his other hand. Destructive energy emerged from his palm and the neck of the Android quickly crumbled to dust.


    The head was separated from the body and the Android officially went offline.


    A second later, the body fell to the ground with a small thud officially marking Amazo''s third defeat since its creation.


    This one was even shorter than the last time it battled the Young Justice team.


    ''Quite pitiful if you ask me''. Amari thought to himself before raising the Android head that he had intentionally kept powered up to meet his gaze.


    ¡°So, did you enjoy the fight?¡±


    Back at the Bialyan Royal Palace, The Light assembly was silent. No one said a word as they watched the male with black hair and blue eyes ask inquisitively.


    Amari looked at the red eyes of Amazo with interest.


    ¡°Well...... I guess it couldn''t really be considered a fight. More like a massacre, but oh well. I pulled my punches as best as I could¡±.


    The expressions of everyone worsened.


    Even Klarion found it difficult to keep a nonchalant look. Everyone had dignified expressions except The Brain, who one couldn''t truly tell what expression he was making.


    ¡°Nevertheless, I do sincerely hope you enjoyed the performance. Savor it, and oh, please do savor it well....... Hehehehe¡­. Because your clock just started ticking¡±.


    Amari laughed while revealing a cheeky grin. The mockery in his eyes was particularly infuriating for those who watched but also somewhat terrifying.


    ¡°Don''t worry, I won''t come for you now. After all, you didn''t plan to attack me specifically. So take your time, make your plans, do all your shit and whatnot..... Whatever you can come up with that''ll give you even the slightest sense of security. Go ahead, I''m not in a rush. Because honestly......¡±.


    At that moment, he revealed a somewhat fiery look in his eyes. They couldn''t tell if it was amusement or excitement.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°This feeling you''re giving me. It''s kinda fun¡±. And with that, Amari let out hearty laughter.


    Like a bored fella who just found a very fascinating toy to play with.


    It gave a rather sinister vibe to it, especially to those watching.


    ¡°Anyway, like I said, take your time. Do your worst and see if it''ll be good as mine. But don''t be surprised if one of you turns up dead. Just bet on which one of you will be the first. I''m waiting for you, so don''t take too long Because I will find you.......¡±. His face wasn''t smiling anymore.


    ¡°..... And when I do, well...... I''m not much of a poet, but you know what they say¡±.


    He put his hand on his chin with a look of contemplation.


    ¡°When the wind is slow and the fire''s hot, The Vulture waits to see what rots. So goodbye, and have a nice night¡±.


    Those were the last words before the feed cut off.


    ¡°Cause you won''t know which one of you won''t see the sunrise¡±. In the freezing windy desert, a mutter escaped, heard only be the wind.


    ..........


    Royal Palace, Bialya


    ¡°It seems that we have incurred on ourselves a massive problem¡±. Ra''s al ghul''s face wasn''t looking the slightest bit pleasant.


    Luckily, no one else could see it through the illuminating light that concealed everything on the screen.


    ¡°Indeed¡±. Replied the Brain.


    ¡°From what we can tell, he doesn''t know who we are yet¡±. Lex rubbed his bald head with some frustration.


    The plans tonight had gone horribly wrong.


    ¡°What do we do now¡±. Queen Bee couldn''t help but ask. Currently, she was the most worried.


    ¡°....¡±.


    Vandal Savage was silent. His face looked grim.


    ¡°Let''s reconvene¡±. After a while of thought, he finally said the best thing he could think of at the moment.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°There''s nothing we can do or think of at the moment. The meeting is adjourned. We settle our other matters and reconvene at a later date to discuss possible countermeasures¡±.


    This was the best he could come up with right now.


    In fact, Vandal was currently blank on ideas. And he was sure he wouldn''t come up with any like this. Now that the plan had fallen into some unfavorable circumstances, he needed time alone to think of his next move.


    ¡°Hahaha, the looks on your faces are funny. Well, what you said world for me. See ya". The Lord of chaos laughed, obviously not as bothered about this as much as his other...... Human...... More squishy partners.


    And with that, the Lord of chaos logged off.


    ¡°Agreed¡±. The Brain also logged off with one word.


    ¡°I must make arrangements as well¡±. Ocean master said before his screen went off. By arrangements, he clearly meant security measures.


    They all logged off one after another with obvious haze in their hearts.


    Queen bee felt it the most.


    Lex Luthor had predicted Amari''s arrival, which was precisely why The Android was delivered to Bialya.


    In the hope that Amazo would be able to replicate his powers, giving The Light a higher level of combat power capable of defeating the Justice League all at once.


    The failure report that confronted her was the result.


    ¡°Contact Psimon". Seeing the situation, Queen Bee immediately called out solemnly as her brain began to think of various scenarios on her next move.


    ¡°You called, my Queen?¡± L-0 immediately put forward Psimon''s hologram before her.


    ¡°There''s been a change of plans¡±. Queen Bee said something that caused Psimon''s eyes to widen.


    ¡°My queen.....¡±.


    ¡°The kryptonian female will be transported nowhere. Your mission now is to make sure she is found and rescued¡±.


    She relaxed her back against her throne, her posture making her look like she was in deep thought.


    She was.


    The overall plan hadn''t changed, but due to the recent turn of events, some details needed to be tweaked.


    If Amari was here for the blonde, then the possibility of successfully taking her away would be low. Unless they had boom tube technology, which they didn''t.


    Since that was the case, then let it happen. Even if the operation failed, for the light, it wasn''t a loss.


    After all, capturing the Super girl wasn''t originally in their agenda.


    Of course, things wouldn''t end that easy.


    Amari had just threatened them all. Worse still was the fact that he had the capability to accomplish it.


    She needed to prepare for the worst.


    They wanted to clone Supergirl so they could have a second spy on the inside. They could still have their spy, the only thing changing is the method to achieve it.


    ¡°My Queen, are we simply letting the Kryptonian go?¡±


    ¡°Of course not¡±. She scoffed.


    ¡°She''ll leave Bialya alright. Just not the same way she came¡±.


    ........


    ¡°You give them the illusion that you don''t know who they are¡±.


    Alice stated as Amari held the head on Amazon in his grasp.


    ¡°A false sense of security. Nothing much¡±.


    Amari said while examining his prize.


    ¡°You have changed¡±.


    ¡°Oh! Why would you say that?¡±


    ¡°If it were a month ago, you would kill them without a second thought¡±. Alice''s words were concise and quite frankly, they were correct.


    ¡°True dear, that''s what boredom gets you these days. Even gods can''t escape it¡±. Amari chuckled with a slight smile.


    ¡°Besides, where''s the fun in that? I find it more interesting to discover how they will react under the knowledge of their impending doom. Who knows, maybe it will lead to something unexpected¡±.


    ¡°Unexpected? The timeline is literally all messed up at this point¡±.


    ¡°It was an AU anyway. More chaos won''t do any more harm than it''s supposed to¡±. Amari brushed it aside casually.


    He found a bit of enthusiasm in what he was about to do.


    ¡°Are you going to absorb and combine both essences now?¡± Alice asked.


    ¡°....... No, not here¡±. Amari shook his head. ¡°If I do that here, the Justice league will probably break into Bialya regardless of the UN charter. For now, let''s just keep a low profile¡±.


    ¡°...¡±.


    His glowing blue eyes thrummed. The space around the Android body slowly sunk until it disappeared from view.


    ¡°Hold on!¡± Amari''s eyes suddenly widened slightly.


    ¡°I just remembered something¡±.


    ¡°Which is?¡±


    ¡°I forgot Lobo''s bike in the dimensional space for weeks now¡±.


    ¡°....¡±


    ...............


    ¡°Come on Megan, focus. You can do this¡±. Miss Martian cheered herself on as she placed her hands on the unconscious Superboy''s temples before activating telepathy.


    ¡°I just need to see if I can look through your forgotten memories¡±.


    She uttered without moving her lips, and her eyes glowed white.


    The next moment, she found herself in a whole new landscape. The entire place was like fractured glass, each shard having a specific scene that kept playing over and over again.


    ¡°Make up mine with what you can remember of yours¡±.


    The scenes that flashed through her mind were very........ Short. I mean, they were shorter than she was expecting.


    But Megan quickly understood the situation. Conner lost six months of memories. Six months ago, he was nothing more than a feral animal in mind.


    He didn''t remember anything up to that point.


    The short memory span was relatively easy to sift through. Not only did she make up some things she didn''t remember, she also helped him heal his broken memories as well.


    A few seconds later, Megan''s eyes reverted from white back to normal. Her beautiful red irises showed a touch of realization.


    ¡°Ugh.....¡±. While she was digesting what she just remembered, the groan of the resident kryptonian slightly startled her.


    She turned her gaze to see Superboy turning to the side.


    ''Oh! Seems like the mind operation jogged his consciousness back up''.


    She thought as she watched him wake up.


    ¡°..... What''s...... Happening?¡± Superboy put both hands on his head and face.


    ¡°Superboy!¡± She cried out in joy.


    ¡°You''re awake¡±.


    ¡°Megan? What''s going on? And why does my face hurt so much? I''m...... Am I bleeding?¡±


    The dizziness that assaulted him made it difficult for the clone to even stand upright.


    ''Well, he certainly didn''t pull back on his punches''. Seeing Superboy''s state, Megan couldn''t help but drift back to the scene of the feral kryptonian getting punched in the face.


    Looks like it still hurt.


    ¡°Sorry about that. I had to go through your mind so you could remember¡±.


    Conner hated people getting into his head. Although it was necessary, she felt the need to apologize.


    ¡°I hope you don''t¡­. Argh". Megan suddenly screamed mid-sentence.


    An image flashed through her mind. Supergirl was screaming, her face pale while a creepy looking man wearing a gray trench coat was standing over her with his right hand placed on his head.


    ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°Huh..... What''s the matter?¡±


    ¡°I''m not sure, but Supergirl''s in pain¡±.


    ¡°... Huh..... Kara?¡± Superboy who was still feeling dizzy suddenly exclaimed with his eyes widening.


    Ignoring his condition, he immediately stood on his two feet.


    ¡°Let''s go, you lead the way.....¡±.


    He said while taking a step forward and....... Fell back to the ground face first.


    Thud!


    The thudding sound followed with his body crash.


    The incident of the memory wipe followed by Amari''s punch to the head left him in no condition to move for the next few minutes.


    ¡°You can''t move right now. It''s fine, just stay here. I''ll take care of it¡±.


    Miss Martian said anxiously before flying away into the distance while turning on camouflage.


    Conner couldn''t stop her even if he wanted to.


    With no obstacles, Megan quickly found the camp which Supergirl was being kept.


    She easily sneaked into the tent with no one noticing her movements. Then, she saw it the moment she entered.


    Kara laid weakly on a testing table. Her face was unnaturally pale and her limbs were firmly bound.


    "Oh! Someone is back for punishment".


    The voice rang out in her mind, startling her.


    She quickly locked it on the man standing on the opposite side of Kara''s test table. His hand placed on his hood moved to remove it, showing the brain hidden underneath the dome.


    "Psimon says, forget".

 Chapter 86 whats wrong with you

    ¡°That''s it. Forget........ Like before¡±.


    Miss Martian found herself within her inner consciousness. The whole place looked like a mishmash of different memories coming together in complete disorder.


    ¡°Like...... before?¡± And then it happened, it dawned on her as her memory relapsed. How exactly the whole team had gotten their minds wiped. And who exactly was responsible for.......


    A dazzling white light enveloped her mental space in an attempt to erase everything.


    ¡°No!¡±


    And so, she urgently fought back against Psimon''s telepathic abilities with her own.


    ¡°I won''t let it happen again¡±.


    The bright light was pushed away, converging in one spot until it formed a giant head. Psimon''s head.


    ¡°The current timing is very inappropriate for this, you little brat¡±.


    Back in the outside world, Psimon frowned while looking towards the invisible Martian.


    ¡°I don''t have time for this¡±. He had a mission, and he needed to accomplish it fast.


    ¡°Metallo!¡±


    The movement of cybernetic parts resounded as the kryptonite-powered robot finally moved from its position.


    Its green eyes were fixed on the spot where the camouflaged Martian stood, spotting the slightly blurry silhouette standing there.


    ¡°Way ahead of you¡±. John Corben answered.


    The glowing green rock in his chest lit up with a dazzling green glow and fired a straight beam.


    ¡°Arghhh!¡± Megan screamed as the kryptonite laser hit her straight on the chest.


    She was blasted straight out of the tent into the distance, crashing into the sand.


    ¡°Finish your work on the Kryptonian girl. I''ll finish this one off¡±.


    Metallo said in a robotic tone and took two steps forward.


    ¡°That won''t be happening¡±. Psimon uttered before turning around. He walked towards Supergirl and stretched out his hand once more to continue his work.


    ¡°Plans have changed. Our orders are to evacuate now¡±.


    ¡°Oh! Are we transporting the kryptonian already?¡±


    ¡°There will be no transportation¡±. Psimon said while lowering his hand, clearly indicating that whatever he was doing was completed.


    ¡°Unless you want to risk the chance of death, you will evacuate with everyone else this instant. The Supergirl stays where she is¡±.


    ¡°You have to tell me why. Is the Blue Boy Scout coming? Or is it someone else from the league?¡±


    ¡°Neither, someone worse¡±. Psimon''s face was grim. Ignoring the cybernetic robot, he began to urge everyone else to evacuate.


    ¡°That can''t be right. Who could be worse than Superman?¡± Metallo didn''t buy it.


    ¡°You know, it really hurts my feelings when people compare me to Superman¡±. The clear, calm voice startled both of them.


    Corben immediately turned around as his back was facing the unknown enemy.


    But when he did, something thrust towards his chest, firmly grabbing the Kryptonite rock that served as his power source.


    The glowing kryptonite dimmed rapidly and within two seconds, its glow was gone, replaced with a gray looking rock.


    The green light in the cyborg''s eyes died before going off. Followed by the fall of the robot''s body to the floor.


    Thud!


    Amari looked at the rock that he held in his grasp and scoffed.


    ¡°He fell asleep in the midst of our conversation. How rude¡±.


    The guards outside immediately barged into the tent. Seeing someone they were obviously unfamiliar with, they immediately raised their firearms and opened fire.


    The startled scientists immediately took cover in the nearest places they could find.


    Amari watched indifferently as the bullets bounced off him the moment they made contact. It was the same for Psimon, only he was projecting a telekinetic barrier to keep himself from getting shot to death.


    Amari unleashed his telekinesis and enveloped the Bialyan soldiers that were constantly firing despite seeing their actions achieving no results.


    Then.....


    Crack!


    The back of their necks simultaneously released a slight cracking noise. The weapons they held fell from their grasp.


    A second later, their bodies followed.


    Fifty plus Bialyan soldiers dropped to the floor almost simultaneously.


    ¡°Would you look at that, so did they¡±. Amari raised an eyebrow and turned towards the strange-looking man with his brain visible.


    ¡°Is this some sort of sleeping sickness? Cause if it is, it''s very contagious¡±.


    ¡°... You! The intruder¡± Psimon exclaimed in horror.


    His eyes narrowed as if facing a formidable enemy, and he released his telepathy and telekinesis without any reservations.


    The dark-looking dome around him expanded. Everything within the tent began to levitate, escaping the binds of gravity.


    ¡°Psimon will not go down easily¡±. A small tornado ensued with both of them and Supergirl at the center.


    The bodies, the tent, and everyone hiding within it was carried away in the dusty tornado.


    The New Genisphere was no exception as it freed itself from the bindings but was carried away by the tornado.


    Looking at the man who exuded casual indifference, Psimon had never been so solemn.


    And with the mentality of whoever strikes first will have the upper hand, his mental power gushed forward in an attempt to invade Amari''s mind.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Knowing that he had no advantage in the physical factor, Psimon made the best choice he could come up with.


    Covering up his weaknesses with his strengths and drawing the opponent into a mind battle.


    Unfortunately, his choice wouldn''t change the result.


    Feeling the mental power attempting to invade his brain, Amari frowned with displeasure. His blue eyes glowed and the power hidden within was allowed to escape with considerable reservations.


    Pop!


    The sound of something bursting could be heard.


    Psimon''s eyes widened as his body stiffened. The dome that covered his brain was now painted completely red as his brain burst apart within his head.


    Thud!


    The sound of something else hitting the floor was covered up by the dispersing tornado.


    ¡°Well, I guess it was contagious¡±. Amari uttered as Psimon fell to the floor. Then, he stepped past his corpse without a change in expression.


    A blonde female laid on a test table. Her hands were bound, and her complexion wasn''t as pale as it used to be due to the absence of her weakening factor.


    ¡°Your goal here was the Android. You said you weren''t here for her¡±.


    The voice of Alice sounded in his ears. Amari frowned.


    ¡°...... I know¡±.


    With a single thought, the metal bindings shattered to pieces, freeing her.


    The handsome male face gave off slightly unsightly expressions at this moment.


    His eyes flickered with bouts of confusion and puzzlement at what he was doing.


    ¡°Then why did you help her? It''s not within reasoning¡±.


    Alice''s tone was filled with genuine curiosity. For the AI, many things didn''t add up. She had noticed it from day one of her creation and the current happenings was just reinforcing her conjecture.


    What the hell was happening to her master? Something was wrong, terribly wrong.


    ¡°I......¡±. He opened his mouth but couldn''t say a word.


    The frown etched on his face couldn''t help but deepen.


    ¡°I don''t know. I guess¡­. because I wanted to¡±.


    Silence enveloped the atmosphere. Amari didn''t say a word and neither did Alice.


    The moment he uttered those last words, he knew that something was definitely wrong.


    This was the first time this has happened.


    His eyes were fixed on the female face before him but his mind and heart were elsewhere.


    ¡°Master¡­".


    ¡°Alice¡­".


    ¡°What''s wrong with you¡±.


    ¡°....... I ...... don''t know¡±. Now it happened again.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± At that moment, a groan interrupted his thoughts.


    The blonde kryptonian was stirring from her slumber.


    ¡°Weird¡­.¡±. Kara''s consciousness began to return to reality. She heard someone mutter a single word.


    Her eyelashes slowly opened up to see her surroundings.


    ¡°Who.....¡±. The female uttered but what came into her view was nothing.


    Nothing but scattered debris, a fallen body a distance away, and endless sand.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    She uttered in kryptonian.


    At that moment, a giant metal object suddenly rolled towards her as she lifted herself up from the table.


    Seeing the new Genisphere in front of her, Kara''s mouth was slightly open, not understanding what was going on in the slightest.


    ...........


    ¡°Move out¡±. The captain yelled with obvious panic in his tone. After what he just saw, he would rather not spend another second here.


    This was the era of Supers. Something blasting out of the ground and flying into the air was definitely above his pay grade.


    His orders were to evacuate anyway. Why would he stay a moment more?


    However, sometimes the plans can''t keep up with the changes.


    Dozens of medium-sized balls suddenly fell from the air and landed among the leaving convoy.


    Each ball was well dispersed.


    Seeing this, the Captain''s eyes widened.


    ¡°Enemy attack!¡±


    As soon as his words fell, the whole area went up in black smoke.


    ¡°Now¡±. Robin, who had been hiding suddenly, rushed forward from his hiding spot.


    Diving into the smoke-filled area, his slender gymnast physique was utilized to the extreme.


    A soldier who was coughing due to the smoke was suddenly attacked without warning.


    ¡°Over there¡±. Two who heard the sound immediately turned in that direction.


    Two Birdarangs were launched towards them, exploding at the last second and entangling their bodies with ropes.


    ¡°I can''t see..... Ugh!¡±


    ¡°Argh!¡±


    Pow!


    One by one, each Bialyan Republican soldier fell.


    Eventually, the smoke cleared and Robin''s silhouette could be seen.


    ¡°Enough! Open fire!¡± The captain screamed in rage.


    Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!


    ¡°Shit!¡± Robin dodged with continuous backflips.


    ¡°I''ll take those¡±.


    Right then, a black flash of lightning streaked between the soldiers. They were dumbfounded when they realized that their weapons were gone.


    ¡°Thanks¡±. The weapons were thrown away and Kidflash showed an unruly smile.


    Then, he rushed forward to partake in the action.


    Some who tried to drive away on the military vehicles were resolved by him.


    ¡°KF!¡± Robin exclaimed once the threat was resolved.


    ¡°Man, it''s good to see a familiar face¡±.


    ¡°Hey Rob! Memory loss?¡± Kidflash asked with a smile.


    ¡°Six months. Let''s hogtie these clowns and compare notes¡±. Robin replied.


    ¡°After that, we''ll go in and see what''s going on down there¡±.


    ¡°Uh...... Down where¡±. Wally scratched his head with a bit of confusion. He didn''t see anything.


    ¡°There''s a secret entrance over there. It''s where all these guys came from¡±.


    ¡°Ok, then we...........¡±.


    Several minutes and several unspoken scenarios later.


    ¡°Um..... Rob¡­. I think we found what we came here for¡±.


    Looking at the two tanks with two floating people within, Kidflash uttered with wide eyes.


    ¡°.... No kidding about that¡±. Robin said with an equally astounded expression.


    ..............


    The Light Assembly.


    Although everyone was communicating through holographic screens, the atmosphere was heavy, and they all could feel it.


    ¡°L-3. What is his status?¡±


    ¡°...... Psimon is dead¡±. Queen bee answered with a gloomy expression.


    ¡°I see, how unfortunate¡±. Vandal Savage said expressionlessly.


    ¡°Did he at least manage to deliver the information on Superman''s true identity?¡±


    ¡°..... No". The atmosphere around the Bialyan Ruler, if possible, grew heavier.


    ¡°Unfortunate indeed¡±. Ocean master uttered. His tone had a hint of mockery within, causing the Bialyan queen to shoot him death glares.


    ¡°What about the Supergirl? Did he manage to fulfill his objective?¡±


    Luthor ignored the exchange between the two members and asked what he felt to be the most important question he could ask.


    After all, their lives were no longer secure.


    ¡°......¡±. Seeing that she didn''t reply, Lex''s expression was unsightly.


    ¡°Don''t tell me¡­.¡±.


    ¡°I don''t know¡±. She cut him off before he could finish.


    ¡°He was unreachable before he could deliver the report¡±.


    ¡°That..... Leaves us with the question of if he was successful¡±.


    ¡°Then...... We need an opportunity¡­". The quiet Vandal Savage remarked.


    ¡°An opportunity to test if Psimon was successful and The Supergirl is truly under our control¡±.


    ...........

 Chapter 87 Fakes

    Mount Justice


    September 4, 14:56 EEST


    ¡°And, that''s what happened¡±. Miss Martian said in a low tone. Her right hand was placed on her left shoulder, rubbing it up and down slightly.


    ¡°I see¡±. Batman said expressionlessly.


    ¡°And you are sure you didn''t see the cause of it. Nothing?¡±


    ¡°No.....¡±.


    The image of Amari appeared in her mind.


    ¡°It........ It could be him. Like I said, I saw him earlier during my initial memory loss but at the time, I blacked out¡­. Nothing¡±.


    ¡°It has to be him¡±. Wally said abruptly, causing everyone to turn towards him.


    ¡°KF!¡±


    Robin in particular was giving him a bat glare.


    ¡°What?¡± The speedster raised his hands.


    ¡°I mean, there were a bunch of dead bodies at the scene. That Psimon guy Megan talked about practically had his head blown up. Who else could it be¡±.


    Wally didn''t feel like what he said was inappropriate. It was hard facts.


    ¡°The kid has a point.....¡±. Hal, who stood at the side, uttered.


    ¡°Perhaps, but I didn''t say he could speak¡±. Batman added with narrowed eyebrows.


    ¡°Oh well¡±. Hal shrugged, his arms crossed against his chest.


    Wally''s face fell.


    ¡°Moving on¡±. Clark interjected.


    Batman nodded before turning to his apprentice.


    ¡°Robin¡±.


    ¡°The two hostages were found in a secret facility hidden underground. It was quite far from the registered area we were supposed to investigate. Stumbled upon it by chance and a little bit of luck¡±.


    Robin informed as holographic screens appeared in the air displaying pictures he had updated to the Cave''s computer.


    These were photos of the secret facility in Bialya.


    ¡°The number of personnel here wasn''t much. At least not enough to assume they were guarding any important projects......¡±.


    The speech of the boy wonder made the eyebrows of the three heroes furrow.


    Robin continued.


    ¡°..... And apart from the second mission objective, they weren''t. The whole place was devoid of anything useful. No database with significant files attached to the computer systems, no secret projects going on underground. Just the missing Target''s being held in cloning pods¡±.


    ¡°So they aimed to clone the General and his daughter¡±.


    ¡°Seems that way¡±. The holograms disappeared.


    ¡°Apart from that, there was nothing else¡±.


    ¡°I see¡±. Batman nodded before sweeping his gaze across all of them.


    ¡°You''ve completed your mission. What we believed to be a simple task turned out to be something unexpected. It wasn''t easy for you. Your lives were in danger the very moment you stepped foot in Bialya, you lost your memories and could have gotten killed........ But you preserved. You made it through and got the job done. External elements might have been involved, but it''s all your luck. Even the league needs a little bit of that occasionally. Outstanding effort and good work. You''re dismissed¡±.


    Bruce remarked candidly.


    The trio looked at each other with different expressions before walking away from the mission hall.


    As soon as their backs disappeared, Hal''s easy-going expression finally had some changes.


    ¡°So we''re dealing with this again?¡±


    ¡°It appears so¡±. Bruce replied.


    ¡°I don''t see what''s there we have to deal with¡±. Clark, however, saw it differently.


    ¡°What''s with Amari always showing up in these places. It gives a headache really¡±.


    ¡°About that¡­.¡±. Clark turned to face Batman.


    ¡°You said he wouldn''t be there¡±.


    ¡°That''s what he told me¡±. Bruce answered without any expression.


    ¡°And yet, he mysteriously appears. Why though?¡±


    ¡°Ok, I don''t want to be that guy, but what are the chances that he wasn''t the one¡±. Hal couldn''t help but ask.


    ¡°Psimon''s information is in our database. His telepathic and telekinetic capabilities make him a powerful opponent. Not someone The Team could take down on their own¡±.


    Batman placed his hand on his chin.


    ¡°In a proper battle, perhaps Miss Martian stands a chance. The rest of them are simply at a disadvantage against a telepath. Especially Superboy. Add that to the fact that Metallo was present.......¡±. He didn''t finish it.


    ¡°They aren''t easy enemies to face, even for us¡±.


    ¡°Correct. Then Miss Martian wakes up only to find a powered down cyborg and a dead telepath with his brain blown up. Ten times out of ten, this fits his style¡±.


    Honestly, Bruce would rather hope this was Amari''s doing.


    He would rather not have to investigate a new potential threat.


    ¡°Ok, but why¡±. Hal asked with some puzzlement.


    ¡°I mean, he told you he wasn''t going to be in Bialya. I can''t say I know much about the guy, but he doesn''t seem to be the kind to lie for the sake of it. Why would he change his mind?¡±


    Hal''s thinking was simple. Amari changed his mind.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    There was no need for a conspiracy theory of some kind.


    From the strength he demonstrated, the guy didn''t need it.


    And if he was lying, he wouldn''t make his presence known.


    ¡°Miss Martian stated that he said he was looking for something¡±. Clark frowned.


    Amari was searching for something? Last time he wanted something, Clark got a cousin out of thin air.


    ¡°So what could this be? Is it possible he found it?¡±


    ¡°Why don''t you go find him and ask?¡± Bruce asked with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°....¡±.


    Hal almost choked. He remembered what happened the last time they went to ''inquire''.


    Giovanni, who had all his magic drained out of him, was now the official host of Doctor Fate.


    ¡°No thanks. I still have many years to live¡±.


    He uttered with a wave of his hand.


    ¡°In that case, we''re blind on this?¡±


    Clark felt slightly uncomfortable. To be honest, Superman had no prejudice towards the Deviant in question.


    If not for the fact that Amari occasionally killed, and the fact that half the league was gone due to his indirect actions, his impression of him would actually be pretty good.


    After all, he didn''t harm the innocent. In a sense, they had something in common. They were both aliens who didn''t belong to this world.


    Clark always felt he was an excellent judge of character.


    Amari didn''t give the vibe of a villain or a mass murderer. The feeling he gave him was rather lax.


    Nevertheless, he was still dangerous. Knowing he was up to something yet not knowing what it was what made him uncomfortable.


    In simpler terms, they were far from the point of being irreconcilable.


    ¡°I have another theory¡±. Bruce spoke up. ¡°Although this one might be a little farfetched¡±.


    ¡°Really? What is it?¡±


    ¡°Kara¡±. Bruce faced Superman and replied with one word.


    ¡°What?¡± Clark was dumbfounded. What the hell did Batman mean by that?


    ¡°From what I can tell, Amari seems to have some sort of soft spot for your cousin¡±.


    Silence.


    Neither of the three said a word.


    Until......


    ¡°Bruce, you can''t be serious¡±. Hal was the first one to speak. His eyes were widened and he looked slightly incredulous.


    ¡°You are kidding, right?¡± Hal thought this was Bruce''s bad pass for a possible joke.


    ¡°Do I Kidd?¡±


    Oh! He wasn''t kidding.


    ¡°You don''t mean?¡± Nevertheless, He still couldn''t resist asking.


    ¡°Like I said, it''s a farfetched possibility, but I keep an open mind. A possibility, no matter how small, is still a possibility¡±. Seeing the clear disbelief in Hal''s eyes, Bruce didn''t find it surprising.


    ¡°So you''re saying.....¡±. Clark''s expression portrayed he was a bit lost in thought.


    ¡°That''s right. If he was the one who killed Psimon, then the chances that he went to Bialya to protect Supergirl from possible harm isn''t that farfetched anymore, is it?¡±


    ¡°Still, he doesn''t strike me as that kind of person¡±. Clark raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°What kind?¡±


    ¡°The kind that has emotions¡±.


    Amari was honestly a bit hard to explain. But from his actions and words, Clark could get an understanding.


    Basically, he was like an ascetic monk with the words, ''Don''t mess with me'' written on his forehead.


    His expression was almost always flat, and he seemed to care for nothing. Except for the occasional stuff that he found interesting.


    ¡°Like I said, this isn''t definite. Just one of my deductions¡±. Bruce wasn''t trying to convince them he was right.


    This was a theory that he was trying to verify. Amari literally stood by and watched as thousands of citizens were slain doing Gotham''s extraterrestrial crisis.


    Although Bruce didn''t know exactly why he ultimately intervened, the fact that he was in Gotham while the chaos went on for several minutes showed that Amari''s view on human life hadn''t changed one bit.


    Yet surprisingly, he intervened more than once on matters concerning Kara Zor-El. One, was when Superboy died.


    Two, was during the parasite issue when she almost lost her life.


    And this incident made it number three.


    Once is random, twice, a coincidence, three times....... Of course, he wasn''t sure of his conjecture. But the Caped Crusader was almost certain that Amari had a favorable attitude towards Kara than he did to the rest of the League.


    Possible due to the time they spent together.


    He was literally the first person she saw after the destruction of her planet.


    ¡°He could be there for Supergirl. Likewise, he could be there for someone else¡±.


    The sentence took a cold tone.


    ¡°Amari doesn''t attack anyone unless he''s provoked. This is what we have seen so far, so for him to kill Psimon.....¡±


    ¡°That would insinuate that Psimon has acted against him¡±.


    Clark immediately grasped the key point.


    ¡°Possibly. It might be Psimon or, those he works for¡±.


    Batman had always suspected that a rogue organization was making moves behind the scene. An organization powerful enough to have a spy within the Justice League.


    What happened today proved his conjecture.


    The organization existed and the Justice League had a mole. He had confirmed the latter from Amari himself.


    Amari appeared in Bialya, hung up Metallo and killed a telepath. This was no coincidence.


    This meant that someone had stepped on his bottom line, and he was actively retaliating. The same people the league were looking for.


    Clark''s face grew solemn.


    ¡°The mysterious force that could arrange five ice-based villains to launch simultaneous attacks on the same day¡±.


    ¡°Amari is hunting them?¡±


    ¡°Does this make our Job easier or harder?¡± Hal could help but ask.


    ¡°It doesn''t matter¡±. Bruce retorted. ¡°We need to get to the bottom of this¡±.


    ¡°That''s easier said than done¡±. Clark shook his head.


    ¡°We''re short on manpower, Bruce, with too many things on our plate to worry about¡±.


    The matter of the dimensional breaches urgently needed their attention. The fact that Wonder Woman was still alive was another issue that required concern. Now, after a period of silence, this new addition was raising its ugly head.


    ¡°Maybe we should consider adding new recruits to our ranks¡±.


    Batman pondered and raised a suggestion.


    Meanwhile, a certain blonde kryptonian heard their whole conversation from the Cave''s Medical Bay.


    .........


    Meanwhile, Back in Metropolis.


    Staring out the glass window from his room in a luxury hotel, Lex Luthor had a frown on his face.


    He wore a formal attire, but his suit had been taken off, tie removed, and his sleeves had been folded upward.


    He stood in deep thought, both hands placed in his pockets.


    ¡°L-0¡±. Lex called out.


    ¡°What can I do for you¡±. The hologram of the Light Queen appeared behind him.


    ¡°What is the status of the two subjects¡±.


    ¡°Status report, General Sam Lane and Miss Lois Lane have been admitted to a general hospital in Washington, DC¡±.


    ¡°....... And did they notice anything?¡±


    ¡°From the security feeds, they didn''t. There''s no suspicion on their actual identities¡±.


    ¡°Good. Make sure to report once there are any changes¡±. Lex''s face turned to one of indifference.


    ¡°We can''t let them realize that they are nothing but clones after all¡±.


    Looking out the window, a felt like he was about to face an impending crisis.


    Amari was coming for them. No matter which angle he looked at it from, he couldn''t help but feel panicked.


    But he had other things to worry about now.


    The Team had no idea that the people they had rescued were not the originals, but simply clones. The whole thing was a staged setup by The Light to sell the rescue well.


    As for the true Sam and Lois Lane, they had already been disposed of.


    ¡°It''s time to enter the next phase of our plan against the Justice league¡±.

 Chapter 88 Unexpected Comsumption

    Mount Justice.


    Med Bay


    ............


    ¡°I have another theory¡±


    ¡°Kara¡±.


    ¡°Your kidding right¡±.


    ¡°Looks to me like he has a soft spot for your cousin¡±.


    ¡°Doesn''t strike me like that kind.....¡±.


    ¡°The secret force is behind this......¡±.


    ¡°We''re short on manpower, Bruce¡­.¡±.


    ¡°....... He''s hunting them.....¡±.


    The sound waves fell into the ears of the young kryptonian sitting on the bed. Her eyes were wide, and her expression made her look like she was in a daze.


    Despite knowing, she wasn''t supposed to be eavesdropping on her cousin''s conversation, Kara couldn''t help it.


    ¡°Maybe we should recruit new members¡±.


    ¡°....... Not now. We still have a lot on our plate¡±.


    ¡°...... Agreed. There certainly are more pressing matters at hand. The breaches for one¡±.


    ¡°We need to figure out how to close those before something we can''t handle gets through¡±.


    ¡°Speaking of which, we need to get in touch with him. I don''t know how we''re gonna convince him, but his dimensional base has got to go¡±.


    ¡°¡­. Huh¡­. Wait a minute. What?¡±


    ¡°The breaching of his Energy shield created the breaches. Even if we can find a way to close them, all that''s needed is someone stupid enough to cause the same situation to happen again. This time was just breaches, next time, the world might be sucked into a black hole. I doubt Amari would do anything to fix it even if he could¡±.


    ¡°..... I...... I get that but still¡±.


    ¡°...... Honestly, I agree with Superman on this¡±.


    She heard the voice of that unlikeable bat fellow who kept his cowl lined with lead.


    ¡°You''re all crazy. You know that right?¡±


    ¡°Lantern.......¡±.


    ¡°And what would happen if he says no¡±.


    ¡°¡­.¡±


    A bout of silence.


    ¡°You can''t be serious¡±.


    ¡°He literally defeated five Leaguers in less than ten minutes. Do you still not get what that means?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°I would rather not be that guy right now, but Giovanni practically turned useless ever since he had his power drained. Now, the only way he can help out is as the wearer of doctor Fate''s helmet. Shazam......... I don''t even know where to begin. Batman almost had his mind destroyed and the way this is going, Superman''s probably going to be next¡±.


    ¡°There''s no telling what he will do if you tick him off¡±.


    Unlike Superman who believed blindly in his view of Justice and Batman whose whole being was practically based on being uncompromising, Hal was much more realistic.


    ¡°..... I¡±.


    ¡°Hey there!¡±


    Kara who was eavesdropping was startled at the voice. She snapped her had in the direction of the door and discovered Miss Martian standing there with a smile.


    She was no longer dressed in her mission costume but in regular clothes and normal skin tone.


    Likewise, she gave off the vibe of the cheerful daughter of your neighbor next door.


    ¡°Oh..... It''s you Megan¡±.


    ¡°Yeah, sorry I startled you. Hey...... You ok?¡± Megan couldn''t help but ask.


    ¡°Oh! It''s alright. I''m fine¡±.


    Kara said while running her hands through her hair.


    ¡°How''d the briefing go?¡±


    ¡°You were eavesdropping, weren''t you?¡±


    Kara blushed slightly and lowered her head.


    ¡°It''s alright. I won''t tell¡±. The green miss giggled.


    ¡°How''s the rest of the team?¡±


    ¡°...... Better. Superboy is adjusting to the incident. Kaldur as well. Batman asked him to take a breather and have his mind cleared. And Artemis should be back on her feet any day now¡±.


    The green archer didn''t follow them on their mission to Bialya.


    After all, she had a neck fracture.


    Everyone decided it would be for the best if she stayed back to rest, much to her protest.


    Honestly, Megan was glad she did. The blonde had experienced too many shocks in a short period of time.


    Who knows if her mentality would collapse if she had joined them on this mission.


    ¡°Phew¡­ I''m glad¡±.


    ¡°Me too¡±. Miss Martian stood up from the bedside and walked towards the exit.


    ¡°I''m thinking of making a batch of cookies to cheer everyone up. Wanna come to the kitchen with me?"


    ¡°Oh! Do I?¡± At the thought of eating Megan''s cookies, her eyes lit up like stars.


    ¡°Well, come on. Just remember not to touch anything this time¡±. She turned to Kara and waved her hand in a beckoning motion.


    Supergirl''s face was slightly red from embarrassment. The last time she followed Megan into the kitchen........ Green lantern had to make out time to renovate the kitchen.


    Still, at the thought of delicious treats, she got up and followed.


    Both girls walked in the hallway.


    At that moment, a spherical metal object rolled towards their direction making special noises.


    ¡°Hey, it''s you¡­.¡±. Seeing the Genisphere, Kara exclaimed.


    The sphere stopped in front of her before cycling around the blonde teenager.


    ¡°Hehehehe. Looks like it likes you¡±. Megan giggled.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°We don''t know yet. According to Batman, it''s probably what caused the extraterrestrial disturbance in Bialya. Poor thing was being tortured and experimented on¡±.


    Upon the topic coming back to Bialya, Kara fell into thought.


    ¡°Do you think it was him?¡± The question caught Miss Martian by surprise.


    ¡°..... There''s a high possibility¡±.


    ¡°Yeah...... This would be the third time he''s saved me¡±.


    ¡°Hehehehe..... Who knows, maybe he likes you¡±. Megan teased with a strange light in her eyes.


    Thinking of what she heard in her cousin''s conversation, Kara couldn''t help but blush slightly.


    Unknown to the young kryptonian, her subconscious thoughts were slowly but surely nudging her into a certain path. Of course, it was unnoticeable now.


    ¡°So...... Have you thought about it yet?¡±


    ¡°I''m sorry, what?¡±


    ¡°Did you forget? I mean school. If you want to go to school with us, that is¡±.


    A look of realization struck her face.


    Superman asked if she wanted to go to experience the human school life with the team, or if she needed more time to adapt.


    Kara at that time said she would think about it.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Oh that! I haven''t really thought about it yet. I mean, it''s exciting to...... Hey Superboy!¡± Seeing Conner and Aqualad appear from a corridor, Kara paused before smiling and waved.


    ¡°Oh! Hey.....¡±. Connor greeted awkwardly.


    ¡°Hello¡±. Kaldur greeted calmly.


    His eyes fell on the sphere right beside his Kryptonian relative, and he couldn''t help but show a touch of envy.


    ¡°...... Cool souvenir¡±. He said while looking at them.


    ¡°Um¡­. Thanks. It''s not actually¡­.¡±


    Her words were interrupted as a gust of wind blew on their faces.


    ¡°Hey guys, have you seen the news?¡±


    Who else would it be besides a ginger haired hyperactive speedster


    ¡°Wally. I thought we talked about your speed sprints¡±.


    ¡°What?¡± Wally was dumbfounded, before he shook his head.


    ¡°Never mind that now, you''ve gotta see this¡±.


    And so, he took out the tablet in his possession and pressed the play button on the video shown on the screen.


    ¡°It''s a live announcement going on at the White House. The president''s giving a formal declaration straight to all of America¡±.


    Wally uttered with no pauses in his sentences.


    ¡°What..... What''s special about that?¡± Aqualad moved forward a bit and asked with some confusion.


    ¡°Special? Of course, it''s special. Because he''s talking about us¡±.


    ........


    White House, Washington, DC


    September 5, 12:00 EEST


    ¡°......... And not the least of the problems we face, are that of the continuous threats of aliens and the destruction caused by our own so-called Superheroes who act on their own as judge, jury and often executioner¡±.


    Looking at the massive crowd gathered below the podium, Lex took the liberty to adjust his tie slightly.


    His narrowed eyes looked sharp and gave off a sense of solemnity and oppression.


    ¡°This year alone, the United States has experienced more extraterrestrial disasters than it has in past years. Property damage, casualty ratings and death tolls are at an all-time high¡±.


    He paused for a second before continuing.


    ¡°All of this even when we have beings of the likes of Superman and the Justice League supposedly protecting us. Well..... I don''t think so¡±.


    He stretched out both arms.


    "These accidents have skyrocketed ever since the superhero inception. How many times have the Justice league incurred one world ending disaster after another on our planet that has nothing to do with us? If this continues, we might have to rebuild all of America one day. Well, no more".


    Both outstretched arms turned into fists and came ramming down on the solid pulpit.


    "It''s time we had enough of ¡°heroes¡± acting on their accord, doing what they feel is ¡°best¡± for us. They have been given too much freedom and influence. I intend to curb that influence as much as possible".


    ¡°No one is above the law. I learned that from myself many years ago. But not everyone seems to think so. I just received word that a United Nations country that did not sign the Justice League''s UN charter was infiltrated by powered individuals on the grounds of suspicion of working with extraterrestrial forces. Wreaking havoc within this nation''s territory and escaping unscathed. Individuals with abilities can now publicly defy the power of a nation? What''s stopping them from running into the streets and ordering the world to bow at their feet?¡±


    Cameras flashed rapidly from all directions.


    Lex paused and kept a calm look for the shutters.


    ¡°How outrageous in my opinion. Like I said, no one is above the law. And now this principle will be the driving force of my presidency. But times have changed and the advantage of deterrent power is no longer with us. To counter this point, I have already taken steps to bring some of these superhumans into the service of our government. Where their unique powers will be utilized for the benefits of all Americans¡±.


    And so, Lex turned to look at his side where several individuals stood.


    ¡°They are, Black Lightning, Katana, Plastic Man, Icon and Major Force¡±.


    As he called out names, each corresponding superhero took several steps forward under the camera flashes and received the applause of the audience.


    Lex applauded as well.


    ¡°I think it is time we have our own Justice league. One truly determined to see the peace and development of the planet¡±.


    ¡°I hope that in the months to come, many more will follow and voluntarily make the choice they made. And if they don''t, they will find that they are not as far much above the law as they think¡±.


    ..........


    Dimensional Space, The Axiom


    September 5, 15:36


    Amari stood on a Cliff''s edge.


    Beneath the edge and going forward was a boundless sea within the dimensional space that seemed to extend for eternity.


    Behind him, was an endless land of vegetation and light.


    Before him was the disabled body of the Android with the head placed right beside it.


    ¡°Are you sure you want to do this now?¡± Facing Alice''s inquiry, Amari didn''t respond.


    As usual, his face was completely expressionless, carrying not even a slight crumple. It had been with him since the moment he left Bialya till this very second.


    ¡°Important matters should best be taken care of first¡±. That was all he had to say as he stretched his hand towards the Android.


    With the will of his mind, a complex circular purple pattern similar to a spell circle appeared below it, exuding bursts of pressure.


    Amazo was engulfed in dazzling purple lights and soon disintegrated to form a ball of energy consisting of myriad colors.


    ¡°I see¡±. He muttered softly and beckoned.


    The energy ball flew towards him, spinning above his hand like an obedient blue fireball.


    The amount of power and energy emanating from it would be enough to give Superman a shock.


    ¡°With multiple abilities integrated in one, it''s just like parasite¡±. Stretching out his other hand, another energy ball appeared out of thin air. It gave of a glow and pressure in no way inferior to the previous one, but the colors were many purple and yellow. Not as colored as the previous one that looked like a circular rainbow.


    ¡°Your calmness in the face of the unknown is strangely concerning¡±.


    ¡°Oh! And why is that?¡±


    ¡°Because you can clearly know what you want to if you want to, but you don''t. From what I can tell, something doesn''t add up¡±.


    ¡°Well you''re my unofficial assistant. Why don''t you give me your take on the whole thing¡±.


    Amari continued to examine the balls of energy without showing much care.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Alice? Cat got your tongue? What''s with the sudden silence?¡±


    ¡°...... Your level of indifference at times astonishes even me¡±. The voice of the AI sounded with utter marvel.


    ¡°Literally anyone or anything else would be different¡±.


    ¡°Well I''m not just anyone else. Does that explain why I''m so indifferent?¡±


    ¡°Not in the slightest. Your origin explains your indifference no better than it does your erratic behavior¡±.


    ¡°Erratic?¡± Amari raised an eyebrow. That term was new.


    ¡°Do you not notice?¡± She sounded genuinely puzzled this time.


    ¡°Your actions are completely inconsistent. You do things and treat similar cases with different levels of severity. You are completely indifferent to something major and react severely at times to something minor. Some of your actions have no distinct purpose whatsoever. Even on your established principles¡±.


    ¡°I know¡±. Amari answered nonchalantly.


    ¡°Couldn''t it just be attributed to personality change?¡±


    ¡°....... I don''t think you have a personality¡±.


    ¡°........ Then maybe it''s because I do what I want¡±.


    ¡°You want nothing¡±.


    ¡°...... True¡±.


    ¡°Then why don''t you find it disturbing¡±.


    ¡°I don''t know¡±.


    Neither spoke. Amari stared away from the two pulsing balls of energy and turned his gaze to the vast ocean.


    He wasn''t being too lazy to answer.


    He truly didn''t know what was wrong with him.


    Honestly, this was a first. And normally speaking, he should want to know. Not for anything, just to satisfy his own curiosity.


    After all, Alice''s words were not unfounded.


    He was indifferent, not blind. Amari had realized it as well. His actions were strangely inconsistent, constantly changing depending on the situation.


    Occasionally, he would kill without a word. At other times, he would watch things play out under the excuse of boredom.


    He did things that didn''t make sense for no reason whatsoever.


    These were all problems on their own.


    But strangely, after he left Bialya, he wasn''t curious about this at all. His mind seemed to automatically drift away from the topic of how he felt.


    Or rather, he didn''t feel the need to find out.


    This was where the issue was. Up till this point, Amari never knew to what extent his indifference could reach at times.


    He clearly had the power to know, but he lost all interest in discovering why.


    For something concerning himself, this wasn''t the slightest bit normal. Even for him.


    Why would he feel indifferent to this yet feel propelled to hunt down the Light for sport? He could watch thousands of Gotham citizens get slaughtered without the urge to make a move yet would protect Kara from possible death.


    It was weird.


    Almost like his subconscious wanted him to focus on something else. Weirdly enough, it was working.


    Initially leaving him incapable of mustering up enough interest to care.


    Now that he came to think about it, he had never thought about a lot of things. Things like his own existence.


    There were a few details that didn''t add up.


    Why did he feel like this? Why was he so indifferent?


    Why did he care for nothing?


    ¡°Oh well! Since I can know, let''s just find out¡±.


    And so, Amari turned his gaze towards his right hand. The tattoo accounting for the amount of energy accumulated was something he barely paid attention to recently.


    His physiology was set to automatically absorb all energy forms he could come in contact with. Even solar energy, similar to Clark''s Kryptonian cells.


    So as long as he was out of the Axiom, he was accumulating every day. If he ever needed more, he would simply fly into the center of the sun and suck it dry.


    Then go around the universe, doing the same thing from star system to star system. The news would spread, he would probably receive attention from the guardians of Oa, the Gods of New Genesis and Apokolips.


    Maybe he would even get a cool, feared nickname. Something like ¡°The Star Devourer, Star Eater, Destroyer Of worlds, Monarch of Suns¡± and the like.


    Then maybe after he destroyed this universe, he would move on to the next one. And the next, and the next until he destroyed everything created by time itself.


    Point being, he had long stopped paying attention to his reserves.


    ''What''s wrong with me?''


    And so, he willed with his mind.


    A moment later, the Energy reserves began decreasing. From single digits to double digits to three digits, four digits, five digits........


    Ok, this was unexpected.


    Wasn''t this just a simple question?


    Seeing the amount in quantifiable terms exceeding ten thousand, Amari raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°If it keeps going at this pace, probably all my energy will be consumed¡±.


    He didn''t really mean it, but the next development caused his eyes to widen.


    The pace didn''t slow down at all and continued devouring his energy reserves.


    In a moment, more than half had been consumed.


    This level of power, if transformed would be enough to create close to a dozen Supermen.


    ¡°You''ve got to be kidding me¡±.

 Chapter 89 New God

    ¡°Boss....... What''s happening?¡± Alice didn''t know what he was experiencing, but from his words and tone, she knew something was wrong.


    ¡°Something I''ve long since expected happening in the way I least expected¡±. Amari uttered without change.


    He had expected to draw attention. But not for it to happen so soon.


    Now this was definitely a surprise. The most surprising thing that had happened to him since his creation....... Scratch that, the only astounding thing since his creation.


    Watching the energy being devoured at rapid speeds for nothing but a mere question.........


    ¡°I''m probably about to face off with an actual big shot". The DC world was filled with powerful people, but not all of them could get into his eyes.


    But this......


    The strength of whatever or whoever caused this wasn''t at the level he had previously dealt with.


    In this case, Superman could only be a younger brother.


    ¡°I wanted to take my time with this, but it seems I can''t wait¡±. And so, both energy essence before him flew into the distance before the merging process between them began.


    ¡°The sources are undergoing fusion now?¡±


    ¡°If I don''t fuse and absorb them now, I''m probably gonna be sucked dry by my own ability¡±. The dimensional space suddenly rumbled, and the still environment was filled with violet winds.


    The waters in front grew chaotic like a storm was brewing and the trees billowed with the wild winds.


    Amari''s face was bland. He said it casually, but the implications were nothing to laugh at.


    ¡°Once my reserves run out, the energy required to answer the question will be drawn from me. Just like parasite did to Superman, this body will be drained of everything and wither to dust. Anything and everything I''ve ever created will also disappear and be consumed as fuel for the answer. If that''s still not enough, the dimensional space will shatter as it''s also my creation. All until I''m brought back to the way I was long before entering this world¡±.


    A self depreciating smile finally appeared on his features.


    ¡°Back to square one¡±.


    The two energy balls made contact and began to pulse violently as they consumed each other.


    ¡°In that case just end the¡­.¡±.


    ¡°I can''t¡±.


    Amari cut her short.


    ¡°Once I begin creation of something, it won''t stop until its completed. Then, if I want it gone, I''ll have to spend energy to erase it. Unless I can''t support the consumption midway, there''s no pause button. It''s something even I can''t control¡±


    ¡°It is said that everything has a natural weakness. Something that can destroy them without having to use tremendous force. Well..... Here''s mine¡±.


    Amari shrugged.


    ¡°My ability still has limitations¡±.


    As his words fell, the fusion process was completed.


    Following which, the ball of rainbow-colored energy flew towards him at breakneck speed, crashing into his body before he was covered in a multicolored aura.


    As the new essence was absorbed, Amari turned his gaze towards the vast horizon, staring into the distance.


    ¡°I don''t know if you can hear me¡±. Engulfed in the wonderful light show, Amari uttered through his lips.


    ¡°I don''t know if you can see me. But I''m sure you know what''s happening¡±. Amari showed a smile.


    ¡°And I have to admit, this was genius. I honestly never saw it coming¡±.


    ¡°But we both know this won''t work. Even if my attempt fails and this body dies, you can''t truly kill me. I''ll always come back.......¡±.


    ¡°..... And I''ll come find you when I do¡±.


    These were his last words, after which he refocused on his own situation.


    This was at delay tactic at best and a final countermeasure at worst.


    A countermeasure in case he broke through the lack of interest and decided to find out.


    But Amari couldn''t care about that right now.


    The fusion was complete, and his reserves had increased, but the energy was still being drained.


    ¡°Will absorbing the essence resolve the problem?¡±


    ¡°No it will not my dear Alice¡±. Amari replied.


    The destabilizing dimensional space was the best proof. The essence from Amazo and Parasite was nowhere near enough to counter this.


    However, he never cared for the amount of energy they could grant him, but the different characteristics that could evolve into something else when put together.


    ¡°But it''ll serve as a good foundation for what I''m about to do next¡±.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    His words fell, and the space before he swirled. Another sphere of energy emerged from the swirling area in front of him that thrummed with immense power.


    Amari had nearly forgotten about this when he took it several weeks ago. And its original owner was probably disabled in a hospital bed or sitting in a wheelchair somewhere with useless arms.


    ¡°That is¡­.?¡±


    ¡°Quick quiz Alice. Where do you think the Gods draw their power from?¡±


    The sphere of Divine energy about half the size of an adult male pulsated in front of him.


    This was the power of the old Gods.


    Amari didn''t wait for her to answer.


    ¡°The Godsphere. A metaphysical reality outside the DC multiverse, home to all Gods and extradimensional creatures. It''s the home and source of all magic in the DC multiverse as well as the birthplace of the Gods, Old and New alike¡±.


    ¡°In this universe, it gives the Gods and those with Godlike abilities the magic they harness. My point being, the magical energy it contains is quite literally limitless¡±.


    ¡°However, it exists outside the DC multiverse. I can''t teleport there with the dimensional space, meaning I would need a certain amount of energy to reach it without boom tube technology. Energy I currently can''t afford to spare......¡±.


    ¡°...... Things would be hopeless. Unless.....¡±.


    ¡°You''re going to use the power of Six Gods channelled by Captain Marvel to access the Godsphere¡±.


    ¡°Bingo¡±.


    He answered before stretching his hands forward. The stream of energy flowed out towards Amari''s palm before sinking into his body.


    He closed his eyes for a split second, and they changed color when he reopened them.


    Absorbing the divinity of the Gods, he could feel the connection. Six connections to be precise. The same one Billy Batson had when he uttered the word Shazam.


    His eyes peered into the void, surpassing what he could see in his dimensional space.


    He pushed the Connection, surpassing those they were attached to, and went on straight to the source.


    ''These eyes are more powerful than I imagined''.


    ''Nevertheless, this is going to get me in really big trouble''. Amari thought to himself, knowing that whatever peace he had would be gone from this moment onward.


    It wasn''t as simply as using the Powers of the Gods as a connection to the Godsphere.


    Billy Batson wasn''t connected to the Sphere Of Gods. He wasn''t a God himself. Just a boy who could utilize a certain percentage of their abilities.


    In simpler words, he drew power from the Gods who drew power from the Godsphere.


    Amari didn''t have the spare energy to create a separate channel to harness that power. So........ similar to Captain Marvel, he could only draw power from the first connection. Which was the Gods themselves.


    Many believed the old Gods to be dead as they were supposedly all killed by Ares which made way for the new God''s to rise. But he knew that wasn''t the case.


    The old Gods were in hiding. But that didn''t mean they were ignorant.


    Even if The Presence said that they wouldn''t feel someone drawing their magic without their consent, Amari wouldn''t believe it.


    Would they be happy about this?


    Certainly not. And he, the main culprit, would gain a lot of attention and a whole new league of possible enemies.


    What a hassle. Nonetheless at this point, he had no other choice.


    His tank was about to hit empty.


    ¡°If that be the case. What do you need the previous essence for?¡±


    Seeing his beloved AI being so inquisitive in this situation, Amari couldn''t help but chuckle.


    ¡°Hehehehe..... Remember when I said I needed an upgrade?¡±


    His indifferent expression finally showed a small smirk.


    "Since I''m going to be stealing power from the Gods, then why stop there? Amazo and Parasite''s abilities are the foundation......... I said I needed an upgrade. Then what better upgrade is there than to become a New God".


    At that moment, his energy reserves hit zero.


    At the same time, the God connection was fully established.


    ¡°Shazam!¡±


    Amari looked at the sky and yelled for dramatic effect. And then........ A bolt of lightning streaked down from the sky, illuminating the area brightly.


    Power!


    A massive surge of energy flooded into his being with every passing second. In less than ten seconds, it surpassed the amount of energy he previously held within his reserves. And with each passing second, it continued to rise.


    Feeling the magical energy flowing through his body veins, he couldn''t help but feel euphoric.


    All of it felt so¡­. so......


    He closed his eyes to savor the feeling for a moment and uttered his final words.


    ¡°Make Me A New God!¡±


    And then, a dazzling bright light erupted from his body, illuminating the almost endless dimensional space.


    Deep within Amari''s mind. Hidden within his inner consciousness........ The empty mind space that held nothing......... A crack appeared in the void.


    .................


    Sphere Of Gods, Mount Olympus


    Deep in its ruins, there was a statue of a tall, muscular man, dressed in ancient Greek attire. A crown rested on the statue''s head, and it looked imposing even for a block of stone.


    However, hidden deep in the Olympian ruins, the statue wasn''t in very good condition. An arm was missing as well as different parts near the waist, neck, leg, and chest.


    But that wasn''t the point.


    At that moment, the statues seemed to come alive as its eyes gave off a thunderous blue glow.


    The atmosphere around the place changed. Large quantities of energy seeped out of the statue and covered it in a golden cocoon. This lasted for almost thirty seconds before the statue reappeared from the cocoon.


    However, one would notice that there was now a major difference.


    Wisps of blue divine energy emerged from its body from time to time. Zeus was never dead. Neither were many of the old Gods.


    .........


    Parallel Earth, Earth 666,


    Los Angeles.


    A devilishly handsome man slept in a bed in the midst of two beauties.


    He suddenly opened his eyes as if he had just sensed something.


    A portal suddenly opened in the middle of the room and an equally stunningly beautiful woman stepped out.


    ¡°Did you feel that¡±.


    ¡°I did Mazikin........ Someone''s causing trouble¡±.


    ............


    Apokolips


    Sitting on his throne of darkness, the Lord of Apokolips and God of evil suddenly opened his eyes.


    Just like Amari thought, his actions immediately caught the attention of numerous parties.


    After all, the Birth of a New God was no joke.


    ..........

 Chapter 90 Where Am I

    Downtown Metropolis, Lexcorp building.


    The room was dim with mood lighting and a grim atmosphere that gave off a certain level of relaxation.


    Once one looked through the glass wall, they would see the bright lights of the Metropolis nightlife.


    [This is the Central City Gazette bringing you with the latest hit news in the city today. Earlier this afternoon reports indicate that the Fraternal Terror Twins, Tommy Terror and his sister Tuppence Terror, have successfully been apprehended by The Justice League.


    The Twins reportedly attempted to rob Gemini Gems at a high-end mall in Central City but were caught in the act by two League hero sidekicks, Kidflash and Superboy. They confronted the terror twins, but the incident escalated as hostages were taken captive. Luckily, Superman and Central City''s scarlet speedster, The Flash appeared on the scene and resolved the grim situation.


    The Twins fled the scene while causing a rampage in their wake, and were pursued by Superman all the way to New Orleans. Eventually ending in New Orleans French quarter, they were finally apprehended by Superman and Martian Manhunter and according to the Justice League member and Central City Icon, Flash, they will be sent to Belle Reve to answer for their crimes.


    In recent weeks after a short absence, The Flash has returned to Central City and made his presence more apparent than ever, stopping several thefts, robberies, and attacks for Meta human villains......]


    The television was switched off with the push of a button.


    ¡°Things are going as planned¡±.


    Standing a certain distance away from the bald billionaire, Ra''s al ghul uttered without a hint of emotion.


    ¡°Precisely as expected¡±.


    Lex said while throwing a folder onto the nearby table.


    The Demon''s head raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Any reports on his whereabouts?¡±


    ¡°...... No¡±.


    As soon as the topic came to this, like felt like he had a migraine.


    ¡°His location was already elusive enough. Now he hasn''t made any public appearances in three weeks. Not even the Justice League can contact him. The military is also at a dead end¡±.


    Three Weeks ago, a strange phenomenon took place that grabbed the headlines.


    The mysterious base of their recent resident alien stationed outside Gotham city suddenly collapsed.


    The energy shield surrounding the area disappeared, and dozens of miles of free land was returned exactly how it was.


    What made it so eye-catching was the fact that the earth shook that day. Every country in the world felt it, like the planet had been tapped with a giant sledgehammer.


    The disasters caused were imaginable.


    Many buildings with unstable foundations came crumbling down. Ships at sea were overturned by violent waves.


    A certain country even had a volcanic eruption.


    Parts of the earth in many places split open......... The most devout of beliefs even took it as the sign of Armageddon. The whole world was going to be destroyed......


    Thankfully, the league responded.


    Superheroes everywhere joined forces to save as many lives as they could.


    This incident, coupled with the disappearance of Amari''s base, caused to set a craze over the internet.


    Reporters and journalists first reaction was to find the government and ask what was happening.


    When they couldn''t give a satisfactory answer, they turned to the Justice League. And when Superman told the truth that the League had no idea, the media went crazy.


    All sort of conspiracy theories surfaced from almost everywhere. The entire world felt uneasy, but when compared to the seven members of The Light, that might as well just have slight paranoia.


    ¡°Unless we have a way to stop him, his location should be the least of our worries¡±.


    ¡°Really? Then do you think we can?¡± Lex asked as his fingers tapped on the table. His gaze fixed on the man who had lived for several centuries carried a bit of irritability.


    ¡°With the abilities Amari has shown, it is only a matter of time before he discovers who we are. When he does, he can kill us off one by one before we realize it. Out of the lot of us, Perhaps only Klarion and Savage are truly safe¡±.


    Lex wasn''t in a good mood.


    Although The bald billionaire wasn''t a complete control freak, he never disliked having everything follow his ideals.


    The stone hanging in his heart for the past three weeks was honestly suffocating.


    Knowing that at any moment, someone could come for your life and there was nothing you could do to stop it.


    He was rich, he was a genius, but he was still just a common man. He didn''t have powerful strength or extreme capabilities.


    At the critical moment, even Lex Luthor would feel fear


    ¡°Death is something no man can escape. Even I do not expect to truly live forever. From the looks of it, Perhaps neither does Savage¡±.


    ¡°Bullshit!¡±


    Lex grabbed the glass of whiskey placed on the table and smashed it to the ground.


    The attitude of the Demon''s head enraged him.


    For someone who had already lived for hundreds of years, Ra''s al ghul no longer feared the concept of death. He had died numerous times over the centuries and was now somewhat immune to the feeling.


    If Amari came to kill him, he would probably leave behind some philosophical words and wouldn''t even resist.


    After all, this was a man who wanted Bruce Wayne to carry his mantle and be his successor.


    What was he going to do if that truly happened? Go to a beach in Hawaii and live out his retirement days?


    He wasn''t like Vandal Savage who sought to rule over the entire world under his singular name. The only regret he would have was the fact that he wouldn''t have a proper heir to inherit his life''s work and continue his mission.


    To him, death was no biggie. But for Luthor, it was the exact opposite.


    Ra''s was an ambitious man, but compared to Savage, he was several league''s behind. Apart from the fact that the world wasn''t cleaned of corruption, he had already accomplished the majority of his life goals.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Lex on the other hand, was practically empty on his life achievements.


    Superman still wasn''t dead.


    Superman''s true identity was still unknown.


    He hadn''t left his mark in history, he hadn''t defeated Superman in a battle of wits, he hadn''t led the human race to conquer the universe yet, he still hadn''t been regarded as the savior of humanity.......


    And most of all, he didn''t want to fucking die.


    He had so much to accomplish. So much potential to be unearthed.


    He would not accept death, much less a death like this.


    ¡°Is this the attitude of the legendary Demon''s Head? Willing to go down without a fight?¡±


    ¡°Then stop wasting my time and tell me why you called me here, Luthor". His face didn''t change in the slightest.


    ¡°........ A proposal. A team up between you and me to counter this situation¡±.


    Lex calmed down and snapped his fingers. His bodyguard, mercy poured a drink into town glasses and brought them over.


    Lex took the drink and took a sip. Savored the taste and let out a small sigh of satisfaction.


    ¡°I have been preparing myself for a plan, an idea I''ve had since the moment he appeared in my sights. All of my actions were made towards an unclear direction, that finally cleared up today¡±.


    ¡°You''re talking about the news reports and the control of public opinion on the person himself?¡± Ra''s asked as he took a seat.


    ¡°Exactly. All to push for a possibility I proposed earlier but wasn''t taken seriously¡±.


    ¡°The possibility of an alliance¡±.


    ¡°An alliance?¡± Ra''s raised his eyebrows.


    ¡°You don''t mean......¡±.


    ¡°Exactly what you think¡±. Luthor affirmed with conviction.


    ¡°My time spent battling against Superman has been majorly unsuccessful. No matter what I try, he always manages to best me. This is the reason I accepted Vandal''s invitation. Because I realized that no one man could defeat the Justice League on his own¡±.


    Reaching this point, Lex''s face crumpled slightly.


    ¡°....... But I''ve found that our supreme alliance is not as imposing as it''s supposed to be¡±.


    ¡°The operations of the light have been progressing steadily¡±. Ra''s uttered with a gesture.


    "Our operations have been continuously interrupted by a bunch of brats. Despite the fact that it has not affected the grand scheme of things, doesn''t make it any less true". He retorted solemnly.


    Superboy was rescued from Cadmus, the blockbuster serum was revealed to the JL, the Cobra venom was destroyed left with only the final vial retrieved by sportsmaster, the sphere transported by their partners escaped their possession, Amazo was lost.........


    Ra''s thought of all these details and didn''t refute.


    These things wouldn''t impact the final plan. But when put like this, it showed their incompetence.


    And let''s not even begin to mention ocean master.


    ¡°It makes me wonder, what guarantee is there that this partnership of ours against the Justice League won''t end up the same way?¡± Lex concluded with a question.


    ¡°The road to success is never smooth¡±.


    ¡°True, but what if we can make it?¡± Lex asked with unprecedented enthusiasm.


    ¡°The power Amari possesses is just the missing key I need. I realized after fighting with Superman all this time that at the final moment, whoever has the biggest fist wins¡±.


    His expression grew cold.


    ¡°If I could stomp Superman into meat paste, why go through all this trouble?¡±


    ¡°You''re trying to lure Amari into the same boat with you¡±. The Demon''s head dropped the glass.


    ¡°Ambitious, but it can backfire tremendously, lex. You know nothing of the kind of person this Deviant truly is. What''s stopping him from killing you even after you make your pitch?¡±


    ¡°If we can''t solve this, I will still die, will I not?¡±


    Amari said he would come for them. Apart from Klarion, no one took this threat lightly.


    Not even Ra''s Al Ghul.


    ¡°So how do you plan to achieve this?¡± Ra''s finally asked after a moment of thought.


    The Demon''s Head was several hundred years old. He still hadn''t achieved his purpose of bringing perfect balance to the world.


    If he could live a little longer, why should he refuse?


    ¡°That is still in formation¡±. Lex said and slid his fingers against the glass table.


    A holographic screen emerged.


    ¡°But through my many years of success in business, I''ve learned that if you want to successfully strike a deal, the most important elements are Information, and communication¡±.


    ¡°Which in our situation, would prove difficult. Forgive me, but not even your most skilled shadows have the capability to track down his whereabouts¡±.


    Ra''s didn''t object.


    It was a simple fact.


    ¡°In that case, since we can''t identify his whereabouts, then we might as well keep a lock on the people he comes in contact with¡±.


    Several pictures appeared in thin air.


    ¡°His only known contacts are Sam Lane, Wade Eiling and Amanda Waller, alongside the Justice League, their Proteges and one especially........ Super girl".


    A second later, Waller was crossed off the list.


    ¡°We can get to him using The General and The Supergirl as both are under our control¡±.


    ¡°As for Eiling......... Since Psimon is dead, we''ll need a telepath¡±.


    ..........


    Amari POV


    Location: ..........


    September 28, Time:........


    I don''t remember what happened exactly. Where I was, or how I came to be here.


    It was dark...... Like really dark. I couldn''t feel my arms, or legs, or body. I was unable to breathe at all.


    So........ I''m concluding I have no body.


    Splendid.


    The Axiom was gone. My Dimensional space was gone as well.


    Try as I might, I couldn''t access it. The occasional inserts of my AI was gone too.


    Sucks really....... The silence all of it was strangely familiar and greatly unsettling.


    Have I been here before? Oh yeah, that''s right. This was the same feeling I had before I awakened.


    The nothingness....... I was swimming in the void..... I think. Confusing really, having to go back to the time before I entered the DC world.


    All the way back to square one. But why? Did I fail? I mean, I shouldn''t have.


    I felt the power, and I used it. Technically speaking, the possibility of failure was almost non-existent.


    So why? Why was I back here?


    Was the opponent that strong? So, strong that even that much energy wasn''t enough to offset one question?


    Makes me even more curious about who was responsible.


    Was it Trigon? Nah, I doubt he''d be the one responsible. Or was it one of the endless?


    Could it be the actual Darkseid? I''m talking about his true body, not his incarnations that appear all over the multiverse.


    Or was something wrong with the source power itself? Or maybe it was one of the old Gods.


    Strange........ The last thing I remember was a shattering sound. Like something smashed on a mirror and the glass pieces fell to the ground.


    Was it an attack?


    What was that?


    I didn''t know how long I stayed like this. Thankfully, my indifference didn''t actually let me care.


    And so I stayed, and stayed, and stayed....... Until it came.


    I saw something. A bright blue light coming out in the distance.


    My only thoughts were.......... About time.


    The closer I got, the clearer it was.


    It was still that same pitch-black darkness. But the place where the light emanated from........ Was a crack?


    Oh! So that''s where the cracking sound came from.


    Strange, though. What the hell is this?


    Why the hell was there a crack in the darkness?


    It didn''t take me long to find out as I was eventually pulled into it. Then that dazzling light returned for the second time.


    A few moments later ........ It all returned to normal.


    The light was gone and I could feel again. I could feel my arms, legs, I could breathe again..... Only...... Why did it feel ...... weird?


    Why couldn''t I move?


    ¡°Ah! Ah! Yes! Shit Fuck yeah!¡±


    My now small eyes couldn''t help but widen.


    ¡°Fuck! Hehehe! You bitch! I didn''t even know you already had a baby for him. Yet, you still do this¡±.


    Ok. Where in The Presences Name was I?

 Chapter 91 Fragments

    ........


    Gotham City


    Oct 1, 08:08 EDT


    ¡°No mom, I''m fine¡±.


    A curly haired blonde said while walking on the street. His fair face and soft features were crumpled up with a look of exasperation.


    In his hand was a takeaway nylon from a fast food restaurant down the street.


    ¡°Yes, I know that¡±. Feeling the shoe on his left leg was a bit tight, he bent down, held the phone with between his ear and shoulder as he tilted his head to the left and began adjusting his sneakers.


    ¡°No, I haven''t been robbed or threatened. No, I haven''t been targeted by bad gangs....... No, I haven''t seen any aliens. Mom!¡±


    He yelled exasperatedly.


    ¡°Uh huh¡­mm¡±.


    He kept nodding as the voice on the other end nagged with no signs of tiring.


    ¡°You could have chosen literally any other University..... Literally, any other course. You could have studied business, but no. It just had to be Gotham.....¡±.


    ¡°Gotham''s one of the largest cities in the world mom. Its University is also equally famous and ranks among the top three hundred in the world.....¡±.


    ''Sigh! I knew I''d never hear the end of this''.


    He sighed to himself as he began reciting the reasons why he had chosen to go to Gotham University instead of Harvard or Cambridge in England. Honestly at this point, he basically knew it by heart.


    ¡°And what the hell was that course you wanted to study again?¡±


    ¡°Crimolo..... Crimei.....¡±.


    ¡°It''s criminology mom¡±. His eyes narrowed with some displeasure.


    ¡°Yeah that. What is it with kids and their quirky thoughts nowadays? A few years ago, doctors and lawyers were considered the hot professions.......¡±.


    ¡°It''s not weird.....¡±.


    The car went on for another five minutes.


    ¡°No I won''t be going to the property¡±.


    His exasperated face carried a slight frown.


    ¡°Because I want my independence, that''s why¡±.


    ¡°Ok, I know. There''s no need to worry.......... Yeah, I gotta go. Love you too Mom¡±.


    As he ended the call, his shoulders dropped as if he had just completed a three-month-long journey.


    The sky in Gotham wasn''t particularly gloomy today. Although it was still kind of gray, it was better than most days.


    The wind blew slightly, making his curly hair ruffle in the wind.


    With bright-green eyes and a determined expression, anyone passing by who took a good look at him and what he was wearing would have the same thought.


    ''Tourists''.


    He didn''t give off the vibe of a Gothamite. Not even the wealthy ones looked so...... Cheerful. He looked like a typical rich kid who just came from out of town.


    Typical newbie.


    Peter didn''t notice the occasional weird stares he got from the passersby.


    Examining the surroundings, he couldn''t help but mutter


    ¡°It''s not as terrible as the news portray it to be¡±.


    The streets were clean....... In this part of the city. People moved about regularly and no crimes were happening in broad daylight.


    Plus the recent death of the Joker, at least it wasn''t as bad as before.


    Of course, he had already booked the ticket before the monster incident happened in Gotham and was lucky enough to still be on the flight coming when it did.


    If not, his parents would never have agreed, no matter what move he pulled.


    And so with steady steps, Peter Owen walked towards his high end rented apartment.


    For apartment of that quality, Peter was sure he basically got it for a great bargain. Apparently, the owner was having trouble renting it out as no one would do so in this city.


    ............


    Thirty minutes later,


    ¡°Belch!¡±


    He burped while putting his hands on his stomach with a look of satisfaction.


    He looked at the food wrappings and takeaway packets before he turned his head and fixed his gaze on the filled up trashcan.


    ¡°Well .......... Now I have to take out the trash¡±.


    Seeing that it would most likely fall over if he tried to squeeze in any more, Peter couldn''t help but groan.


    Stepping outside, he walked towards the dumpster, lugging out a bulking garbage bag and pushed the cover-up.


    Thud!


    ¡°Ok, that''s it¡±.


    He dusted his hands and put the cover back down.


    As soon as he did, he saw the space a distance away from the dumpster suddenly swirl and split into a crack.


    ¡°Oh my.....¡±.


    Before he could be amazed, he saw it spit something out before disappearing like it was never there.


    Peter stood there in shock. Looking at what had fallen out of the....... Whatever the hell that was, his wide eyes were filled with disbelief.


    ¡°Is..... That a person?¡±


    ...........


    Amari POV


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Pain.


    It had been a long time since I last felt that.


    Not physical though, but mental. The splitting headache I felt was worse than that of when I officially entered the DC world.


    ¡°Hiss!¡± I couldn''t help but suck in a deep breath. Placing my hand on my head, I felt unprecedentedly annoyed.


    ¡°It''s official, this is the worst day I''ve ever had since.......¡±. My voice froze.


    Opening my eyes, I finally realized what was happening. My arms were back, as were my legs..... I could feel, hear, see¡­. The darkness was gone.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    I still had a body.


    ¡°......... Ok¡±. I couldn''t contain my surprise.


    It worked?


    The next moment, however, I felt it. The tattoo on my arm signifying energy capacity was gone.


    But that didn''t mean I was empty. Quite the opposite, apparently.


    I felt...... Full.


    So¡­. So..... Full.


    Feeling the power running through my veins again, my eyes couldn''t help but widen.


    ¡°...... This is..... Quite an upgrade¡±. The energy I could draw felt quite literally inexhaustible, and the source from which I drew that power from was the first place that came to my mind.


    The Sphere Of Gods.


    ¡°It worked¡±. I clenched my fists and stood to my feet. ¡°In that case...... I''m a God now. In the literal sense¡±.


    My connection to the Godsphere had been established. Not just the connection, I could feel the access I had towards somewhere within the Godsphere.


    My Dimensional Space.


    The separate dimension I had initially created was integrated in it as my own separate territory.


    Like Darkseid had Apokolips, Morpheus had the Dreaming and Highfather had New Genesis, I had my own space carved out for me in there. In the truest senses, I was the ruler of a domain.


    Coupled with the vast amount of power at my fingertips, I could enter and exit my dimension as long as I willed it.


    A smile appeared on my lips. One not formed with indifference, amusement, or mockery....... A true smile. One birthed from an unfamiliar sense of happiness.


    I didn''t realize it at this moment.


    The happiness disappeared as quickly as it came as more pressing matters came to mind.


    ¡°Alice, what happened?¡± I could revel in the joy of my success later on. Now, some things needed to be answered.


    That darkness I felt........ The feeling was impossible to forget. It wasn''t an illusion, I knew it happened.


    The flash of light from the crack......


    And with that, my eyes glowed involuntarily as the massive headache came back in full force.


    I found myself back in that dark space, standing in human form. Even the floor under my feet was pitch black without even giving off a reflection. I saw the light emanating from the distance.......


    ¡°The crack......¡±.


    And with that, I returned to my body in the real world with my hands on my head.


    ¡°That''s....... my mindscape?¡±.


    My mindscape was white. Pure, spotless white with nothing in it for miles.


    I uttered incredulously, partially because of the dark setting and the giant crack that looked like a swirling white hole but mostly because¡­.


    ¡°Alice?¡±


    I called out once again. After waiting for several seconds, I didn''t receive a reply. That was unexpected as well.


    Alice was always with me.


    ¡°Come to think of it. Where am I?¡± I asked myself as I took a good look at my surroundings.


    I was laid on an expensive couch.


    The whole place looked tidy. Well spaced out and expensive. At last, expensive for eighty-five percent of the world population. Another ten percent could probably afford a place like this after tightening their belts for two to three years.


    In two words, it was high end.


    Only, how the hell did I end up in this place? And where exactly was I?


    Conveniently at that moment, I noticed a newspaper on the table three feet away.


    With a beckon, it flew towards me and I grasped it with one hand, I held it firmly and looked at the headline. Then I ignored that and looked at the date.


    ¡°Gotham Newspaper¡±.


    ¡°October 1st?¡±.


    I raised an eyebrow in surprise. I practically skipped September.


    ''So I''ve been gone for nearly a month''.


    ''That explains some things. Like why, I keep having this feeling I can''t recall something important''.


    At that moment, I faded out.


    It looked like my vision had inexplicably changed.


    I was holding a newspaper, but it wasn''t the same one.


    << Dec 30th 2022 >>


    [Portugal Captain And Former Manchester United Star Confirmed Move To Al Nassar]


    The newspaper dropped from my hand as the vision ended.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± I groaned.


    ''Are those...... Memory fragments?..... that''s new''. Verifying the cause of my headaches, I couldn''t help but frown as I felt the last pang of dizziness subside.


    ''That flash...... That was a memory flash. But why the hell will I have memory flashes?''


    I rubbed my hand against my forehead.


    ¡°By the way, don''t you think you''ve hidden long enough?¡±


    There was no reply.


    I let out a breath before turning to look at a nearby wall.


    ¡°I can hear your heartbeat, sense your existence......... And see you hiding on the other side of the wall near the kitchen¡±.


    There was still no reply.


    Seeing the somewhat slim guy hiding on the other side of the wall, covering his nose for fear that I would hear him breathing, I couldn''t help but chuckle with amusement.


    ¡°No? Do you want me to tell you what color of underwear you put on as proof?........? Really, Batman''s expression will be wonderful to watch if he knew that people wore underway with his face on em¡±.


    I rested my hand on my chin and looked on as if watching a good show.


    This was kinda funny.


    Half a minute later, I saw a blonde youth with curly hair stick his head out of the corridor warily.


    ¡°Done hiding?¡±


    ¡°Um...... Hi¡±. His expression practically screamed how nervous he was. He didn''t even need to say anything. This guy was a mind chatterbox.


    I could hear every thought of his without even trying.


    ¡°Relax. I''m not going to probe your mind or transform you into a monster that will do my bidding, or try to pry state secrets from you...... Or ask you who is your leader. Seriously, kid, you have a very active imagination¡±.


    I stopped listening to half the nonsense that was running through his mind, stood up from the chair and walked to the television, ignoring his stupefied expression.


    ¡°You........ You just.....¡±.


    ¡°I did¡±. I replied nonchalantly, feeling kinda good inside. I don''t know why, a smile wanted to break out on my face.


    I looked at the television and willed it to come on. It did, and played out the Gotham morning news report.


    ¡°Alice. Are you out there?¡±


    I called out to the television.


    Alice wasn''t just bound to me, she was practically everywhere on the internet. Unless all modern electronic devices and the internet crashed, I shut her out, or I died, she would still be here.


    Like Ultron from the Marvel Universe.


    ¡°Boss!¡±


    Peter watching was confused. But that confusion cleared up when the TV channel disappeared and what was left in its place was a......... Red girl?


    I couldn''t help but let out a smile.


    ¡°Nice to see you''re still here¡±.


    Since I didn''t die, then Alice wouldn''t be erased from existence as well.


    ¡°Boss..... What happened to you?¡±


    ¡°Long story. One I''m not even sure of myself¡±.


    ¡°Yes...... But that aside. Why did your hair grow so long?¡±


    ¡°My what?¡± I asked with surprise.


    ¡°Mirror¡±. With my utterance, a mirror appeared in front of me


    Seeing my new long hair with a length surpassing my shoulder, I raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Add that to the list of what''s new. Also, why am I dressed in this?¡±


    I wore a black T-shirt that had the iconic S symbol of Superman on it along with ice silk slacks with red marks. My memory might be a little foggy, but I know that I never conjured this up for myself.


    And with that, I turned my gaze back to the blonde kid.


    ¡°I.....¡±


    He froze for a second before letting out a wry smile.


    ¡°I found you outside behind the dumpster......... Naked¡±.


    ¡°Well that explains a lot¡±. I said, and the mirror disappeared.


    ¡°You''re not gonna.....¡±.


    ¡°If I wanted to harm you, you''d already be dead¡±.


    My words made him feel chills.


    ¡°Still, I''m surprised. This is Gotham and you took in a complete stranger you''ve never met before?¡± I looked at him suspiciously.


    ¡°You''re not from around here, are you?¡±


    ¡°No. I''m from New Orleans. Plus...... I saw you fall out of a space crack¡±.


    ¡°Fair enough¡±. I turned away.


    ¡°Alright Alice, did anything noteworthy happen while I was gone¡±.


    ¡°The Axiom disappeared¡±.


    ¡°I know. I also know where it is, don''t worry about it. Anything else?¡±


    ¡°An incident happened in Metropolis¡±.


    ¡°Oh! What is it?¡± I was just asking casually, and Alice knew what I meant by something noteworthy.


    Did Superman finally die? Or did something come out of the breaches.


    I didn''t need her to reply me, because right outside the window, on the streets of Gotham, the answer made itself known to me.


    The asphalt floor cracked as giant plants emerged from the depths of the earth.


    Overturning everything in its path before the vines stretched out to destroy whole buildings.


    ¡°Oh ......... That''s what¡±.

 Chapter 92 Make It Stop

    Giant green weeds burst through the asphalt ground and expanded rapidly. In less than ten seconds, the vines had grown to a towering height, surpassing all other buildings in Gotham City.


    A dark shadow was cast on the citizens of Gotham below.


    ¡°Damn it! I knew I should have moved out earlier¡±. A man stuck out his head from the car window, looked at the giant plant that was now a massive behemoth then took a look at his car roof that had majority of his earthly possessions onboard.


    He couldn''t help but swear viciously with eyes of despair before immediately putting the gear on reverse and stepping on the gas.


    Gotham this year had been plagued with unprecedented tragedies beyond the norm.


    Even worse than Metropolis.


    The death of that wretched clown didn''t seem to be improving things. His wife had died in the recent goblin invasion.


    Now as he mustered up the courage to abandon his stable job and only property that he couldn''t sell for a month, this happened.


    The nearby crowd immediately fell into chaos.


    Everyone close to the scene immediately took to their heels, running as fast as their legs could carry them. The moment the first person ran, others followed in torrents.


    In a matter of seconds, numerous accidents took place. Car drivers in Gotham reversing at full speed in a state of panic obviously wouldn''t give a damn about those who would possibly be hit by the rear end.


    Numerous people were cleared off their feet, hit a distance away or even run over directly amidst the chaos.


    The numbers of collisions began to accumulate.


    So did the death toll.


    Many people, men, women, and children were run over in the fast-moving stampede.


    It was worse than being first in line at a Black Friday sale.


    At that moment, a cloud of negative emotions suddenly swept over towards Amari''s mind.


    Amari''s eyes twitched slightly as he felt mild discomfort.


    Feeling the slight throbbing, he couldn''t help but place his hand on his head.


    The giant plant that had grown more than a hundred feet tall suddenly sprouted out numerous vines that shot in all directions.


    ¡°Fuck! Run!¡± A man and his wife immediately abandoned their car and took to their heels.


    Bang!


    A vine accurately latched onto their previous vehicle, lifting it into the air before shooting it towards a nearby building.


    The impact caused the glass to shatter. The destruction didn''t stop there as a vine stretched towards a building, wrapping its length around it and squeezing.


    Bang!


    The building shook to its core. Debris fell in all directions as glass and cement rocks fell from the tall building.


    A giant vine swept over in one direction. Dozens of people fleeing for their lives were smashed to a bloody pulp, leaving nothing more than pieces of flesh, blood and dismembered limbs.


    ¡°My........ God!¡­".


    The blonde Peter looked at the carnage going on outside the window with shock and horror.


    The vines were expanding, extending in range.


    This...... This wasn''t right. Didn''t Gotham just suffer a major incident a few weeks ago? How could another disaster suddenly take place so soon?


    Gotham was synonymous for crime¡­. Not supernatural disasters.


    The scared twenty-year-old student couldn''t help but take several steps back in panic. However, the performance of the person a distance away from him immediately caught his attention.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Amari fell down on one knee, his eyes closed, and his fists clenched tightly.


    At this moment, the recently made New God wasn''t feeling too well.


    ¡°What..... The hell¡±. In a single moment, millions of thoughts were going through his mind simultaneously.


    Crashes, explosions, the rushing of the wind, a falling rock, cries, shouts, the flapping wings of a fly, feelings, thoughts........


    In less than a nanosecond, he felt it all and more.


    The most outstanding thing was the screams. The droves of civilians scattering like mice, fleeing for their lives, their frantically beating hearts, their overly panicked emotions.......


    Then it delved deeper into that.


    The world was suddenly divided into a myriad of colors. Each and every living thing he could sense was giving out a different color respective to their emotional changes at the time.


    The Emotional Spectrum.


    ¡°Man, are you ok?¡± Peter couldn''t help but ask, seeing his mysterious guest suddenly fall to his knees and groan.


    Amari couldn''t answer. The words of the boy he just met were lost in the multitude of things he was currently experiencing.


    Waves of negative emotions seemed to rush into his mind, constantly filling him up despite how much he tried to keep them out


    He could feel it all.


    He could feel their pain, fear, anger, hatred, sorrow, despair.......


    The cries of people in various stages across the city. It was.......


    For a second, he saw them all. Their faces marred in panic, fear, with tears and snot. He could literally feel the aura of desperation they gave off.


    The reek of it ringing in his ears and playing before his eyes. All of Gotham was within his senses..... He could feel the negative emotions, not from its citizens but from the city itself.


    Then that passed and another followed.


    He knew what was happening in the pizza shop seven miles away from his position, as well as what angle a centimeter sized piece of dirt among thousands was falling in the crumbling building across.


    Then ......... It started to branch out.


    Billions of bits and pieces of unwanted info found itself to him without his permission.


    He knew what each and every single soul in Gotham had for food between the hours of noon to midnight yesterday.


    What Hydrogen molecule was in the air a few centimeters away from him this time three months ago.


    And where exactly it was now.


    It was all....... So much.


    Seeing Amari''s figure, Peters body trembled slightly. He wanted to run, run and escape as far away as he could.


    However, he hesitated.


    ¡°Dude..... Come on, we''ve gotta go¡±. He rushed towards Amari trying to pull him up but found to his surprise that he couldn''t make the very muscular male kneeling beside him move an inch.


    He turned around and assumed a kneeling posture, hoping to talk him into getting up but what he met was nothing but glowing blue eyes.


    Amari wasn''t looking at him. His consciousness had been drawn back to his mindscape.


    The darkness wasn''t strange anymore, neither was it pleasant but from what he previously went through, it suddenly gave off a soothing feeling of silence.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    However, a frown quickly emerged on his features.


    The Mindscape was trembling, changing........ Numerous structures were appearing out of thin air.


    ¡°What''s happening?¡± Amari asked.


    ¡°Simple. You''re knowing¡±. The voice coming from the distance immediately drew his attention.


    The pitch-black floor suddenly rose in front of him. Then it began to squirm and form like some kind of liquid substance before it gained a definite shape.


    Still, it was too far off and the space was too dark to see what it was.


    A silence suddenly appeared in the space as everything happening around him seemed to be hit with a mute button.


    Only the clear sound of footsteps could be heard as the dark figure walked closer to him.


    ¡°And you must be.....?¡±


    What appeared before his vision was walking substance that was pure black with no face.


    ¡°I''m what is responsible for this aspect of the Mindscape under enhancement the moment you decided to turn yourself into a New God¡±.


    The figure replied in a monotone voice.


    ¡°Ok.....¡±. Amari tilted his head slightly.


    ¡°So what exactly are you?¡±


    ¡°Don''t you feel it?¡±


    And so, the black figure began to squirm. Facial outlines began to appear on its face and its stature began to change rapidly.


    Amari watched with no amazement as the black figured morphed to look exactly like......


    ¡°I.....¡±.


    ¡°..... Am you¡±.


    There was a short period of silence.


    ¡°Alright. Well taken¡±.


    For the words of the other........ party, Amari didn''t have any doubts. Just frowned with slightly squinted eyes.


    "You said I''m knowing. Knowing what?"


    The other party tilted his head to the side, imitating Amari''s movements with a look of looking at an idiot.


    ¡°Simple. You''re knowing Everything¡±.


    And with that, it gestured to the structures being created.


    ¡°This body isn''t regular anymore. Now, we''re New Gods. And we are developing our abilities¡±.


    ¡°You''re me. You should know what''s happening¡±.


    He was right. Amari could feel it the moment he woke up.


    He was knowing everything about everything.


    It wasn''t the same as when he examined things with an ¡°Inspect¡± perspective.


    This was ....... cosmic awareness.


    ¡°Initial cosmic awareness¡±. The other party said lightly with an indifferent expression.


    ¡°With time, it''ll be true omniscience¡±.


    Most New gods had Cosmic awareness. Darkseid did, so did Highfather. But neither of them had Omniscience.


    That was reserved for higher beings. Like...... Lucifer.


    ¡°It''s unpleasant¡±.


    ¡°No one said knowing everything would be a pleasure¡±.


    ¡°But I already have Omniscience¡±.


    ¡°Do you?¡± The other party asked with a smile of amusement.


    Amari''s eyes narrowed.


    ¡°We already did¡±.


    ¡°It was flawed. Relying on our ability to manipulate energy for anything, you could gain the answer for anything on the grounds we had said energy. Something else that is flawed¡±.


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°That isn''t true omniscience¡±. The other party shook his head.


    ¡°The same way, our ability doesn''t truly make us omnipotent. I guess it can only be chalked up to Semi-omnipotence¡±.


    ¡°We never knew everything. Just what they wanted us to¡±.


    ¡°They?¡± Amari raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Those who manipulated us. Made us think we are all powerful, when in fact, we aren''t¡±.


    ¡°But we''re......¡±.


    ¡°Not what you think we are¡±. He cut Amari short.


    ¡°The origin, you remember, is nothing more than a lie. By now, you should know.....¡±.


    Once again, Amari''s view faded it into that of a third person. He saw himself in a house, a cramped one. It didn''t have any decent furniture, neither was it the slightest bit good-looking.


    It looked like something you could rent for less than a hundred bucks per month in the Gotham slums.


    This scene only lasted for a split second before returning to how he was.


    ¡°See¡±.


    ¡°That''s our life. Our past life¡±.


    ¡°Show me¡±.


    ¡°I can''t¡±. He said with a shrug. ¡°Our halves are only fragments. Completely insufficient to know the full details¡±. His tone was bland, and his face remained expressionless.


    ¡°But once our cosmic awareness develops to omniscience, we''ll know what we want to know¡±.


    ¡°Then why wait that long? Why not just accumulate enough energy to get the answer ourselves?¡±


    ¡°Because we come from beyond the fourth wall¡±.


    Amari''s figure trembled slightly.


    If restrained, the urge to utter the word "Fuck¡±.


    ¡°The energy required for that is not what we can possess in a short term. The Godsphere doesn''t even have a quarter of the power needed to breach it. The source can barely account for twenty percent. Not even the presence can accomplish that without paying a price¡±.


    So basically, it was a standstill.


    However....... That didn''t explain something else.


    ¡°Who are they?¡± Unexpectedly, the other half shook his head.


    ¡°What? You don''t know?¡±


    ¡°That''s not it. It''s just that, you have other things to deal with right now¡±.


    At that moment........


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    It all came back.


    The negative emotions that he had receded into his mindscape to escape from swept over like a tide.


    Fear, Pain, Anger, Loss, Despair, Desperation........ The pain of thousands of people and counting moved towards him, completely unfiltered.


    ¡°What...... What is this?¡± Amari asked while struggling.


    ¡°We stole magic from the Godsphere to become Gods. We succeeded, but that doesn''t mean there aren''t repercussions. When the process was completed we created a crack in our mindscape causing a distinct split in our consciousness. And as a result of the increase in our abilities, we''re more attuned to reality and can feel the changes in it at a deeper level. What you''re currently experiencing is the emotional aspect while I shoulder the others. The fear, pain, joy, anger....... Every emotional change exhibited by any living thing within your detection range. You''re sensing it all. Whether you want to, or not¡±.


    Amari clutched his ears in pain, even though this action wouldn''t help in the slightest.


    Despite the fact that they had been talking for minutes now, a second hadn''t even elapsed in the real world since this whole thing began.


    He could quite literally feel their misery. Feeling the emotional changes of so many people, it was almost driving him to insanity.


    Was this how people felt whenever they were about to die?


    Or even encountered a mild crisis?


    ¡°Why....... Why aren''t....... you ...... affected?¡±


    The other party shrugged again.


    ¡°I am being affected. But as the aspect of our consciousness that symbolizes indifference, I can''t show it. Plus, what influences me isn''t emotional, but more logical¡±.


    He pointed towards Amari and continued to speak.


    ¡°I said our consciousness was split. I represent the aspect of our indifference, while you represent the emotional aspect that actually gives a damn about anything. Although before the crack, I was mainly the dominant personality, so our actions were what they were. Now however, things are different¡±.


    ¡°Dealing with this aspect, is your job¡±.


    ¡°Make it stop¡±.


    ¡°I can''t¡±.


    ¡°Make it stop¡±.


    ¡°No can do¡±.


    Bright waves of pure white energy emanated from Amari''s figure and the mental space quaked.


    The whole area was illuminated by a luminous white aura.


    ¡°I Said.......¡±.


    Listening to the thousands of negative emotions flooding towards him..... Amari''s face carried a slightly hideous expression.


    ¡°........ Make It Stop!!!¡±


    A violent roar echoed, and the luminous energy illuminated everything.


    Back in the real world.


    A giant vine wrapped around the Peter''s building.


    ¡°Oh no!¡± Seeing this scene, Peter felt distraught.


    Even if he ran with all his might, there was no way he would make it to the exit in time.


    ¡°Make it stop¡±. He heard Amari mutter.


    ¡°It''s over man¡±. Peter uttered as he fell back on his butt, a look of helplessness etched on his features.


    He was not convinced that he would come to this point so quickly.


    ¡°Make it stop!¡±


    ¡°Hey man¡­. You don''t get it¡­. We''re about to...... Huh?¡± His words were stuck at the back of his throat as he saw the male figure he had pulled into his apartment suddenly emit a dazzling white.


    At that moment, the vines squeezed.


    Bang!


    ¡°I Said, Make It Stop!¡±


    It happened then. A wave of pure, undulated power spread throughout the whole city. It was formless, colorless, practically translucent.


    Wherever it passed, everything changed reapidly.


    Less than a nanosecond later, the wave stopped at the edge of Gotham.


    And everything within Gotham city had been brought back to normal. The plants were gone, the destruction was gone, and those who just died were standing on their own two feet.


    Everyone standing moving on the road didn''t look like they had just experienced anything.


    "Hey Move it. I''m trying to get out of this damned city".


    The man who lost his wife and abandoned his house screamed at the truck in front of him that refused to love even after the green light came back on.


    It was like what they just experienced had never happened at all.

 Chapter 93 Injustice League

    United States, Louisiana


    ¡°Our test is a complete success¡±.


    Inside a hidden building located in a dense swamp land, a female voice uttered with a bit of joy in her tone.


    ¡°We may proceed as planned¡±.


    ¡°Agreed¡±.


    Her statement received a reply. In the darkness of the monastery building, a deep raspy voice echoed, followed by a male figure walking slowly out of the darkness.


    ¡°But we have hidden in the shadows for far too long¡±.


    Stepping into the open space, his figure could be seen clearly.


    He wasn''t the only one, though.


    He had white hair, tanned skin and wore a special costume that constituted the colors light green and dark green. A special yellow medallion was fixed on the chest near the neck area.


    The male was dressed up like a count from the medieval era. But compared to the others around him who had equally stepped into view, he at least looked normal.


    ¡°It is time for the Injustice League to step into....... The Light¡±.


    Seven figures stood while watching the successful test run in the monitoring globe.


    Each and every single one of them carried either indifferent or malevolent expressions on their faces and a sinister look in their eyes.


    One in particular, more than anyone else.


    ¡°Admit it. You can''t turn away. Haha hahaha". The Joker laughed out loud with a crazy grin on his face and eyes that sparked with pure madness.


    His words were meant for the other members beside him.


    Looking at the death and destruction the giant plants were causing all over the world, who could turn their eyes away from such........ Fun. He certainly couldn''t.


    Count Vertigo looked on indifferently.


    ¡°It marvels me how you are still alive despite everyone here saw you die¡±.


    Joker once again let out hearty laughter.


    ¡°Well let''s just say that lady death and I..... Have a special relationship¡±.


    His grin was smelted on his face.


    No one responded to him. This wasn''t the first time that Joker had publicly cheated death.


    ¡°Get the communicator ready. Soon, we will contact the United Nations to name our price.......¡±.


    However, Midway through his sentence, Poison Ivy''s expression changed drastically causing Vertigo to pause.


    ¡°What is the matter, Ivy?¡± Wotan, a medieval Viking sorcerer from the early 1100s asked.


    Due to his complexion, dressing, weird hairdo and his overall demeanor, he looked more like an alien than Superman, the actual alien.


    ¡°It''s my baby¡±. Ivy placed her hand on her head and squinted.


    ¡°Look!¡± Black Adam suddenly called out while pointing towards the monitoring globes.


    In Gotham. A wave of pure undulated power swept through the entire city, causing drastic changes to take place. Wherever it passed through, all the chaos, the destruction, the giant vines, it all disappeared.


    The space around the city squirmed with multiple phases appearing then vanishing.


    After which, it was gone.


    There was no more panic, no more chaos. The citizens who just experienced one minute of terror didn''t seem to feel a thing and continued the way they were a minute ago.


    It looked like someone had just picked up an eraser and cleaned off everything they had done.


    ¡°This.......¡±. Wotan''s body trembled.


    ¡°....... Impossible¡±.


    ¡°What the hell........ Who ruined our good work?¡± The Mad clown yelled in outrage.


    ¡°Wotan. Explain¡±. Seeing the scene before them, Count Vertigo asked with an unsightly expression.


    ¡°...... I see. Something just...... Altered reality¡±. The black sorcerer uttered with a solemn expression.


    Raising his hand up to the sky, his palms glowed as orange orbs surrounded them.


    Several seconds later, his complexion fell even more.


    ¡°The plants attacking the city were wiped out from existence¡±.


    Ivy frowned. ¡°Someone destroyed them¡±.


    ¡°Not destroy, someone erased them¡±.


    Everyone''s expression changed.


    ¡°Erased?¡±


    ¡°Yes erased. Not just that, the memories of The Gothamites were probably altered as well. They move on as usual as if our attack never happened in the first place¡±.


    ¡°So someone''s playing a magic trick?¡± So said the Joker.


    ¡°This is no Magic trick¡±. Wotan gave the clown a slight glare.


    ¡°Altering reality is something that can only be accomplished by the highest level of magic. In the thousand plus years I have existed, with all my years of learning and mastering the arts, I have never touched the threshold of this level. Nor seen anything that can accomplish reality alteration to such an extent¡±.


    ¡°So this is just your roundabout way of saying that you can''t do something like this?¡± Joker''s expression was that of one looking at a loser.


    ¡°You¡­.¡±. The dark sorcerer was outraged.


    ¡°Enough! What about the attacks on other cities?¡±


    Vertigo interrupted their squabble with an important question.


    He was a bit worried that Wotan would turn the clown to ash in a fit of rage. As a member of their alliance, the prince of crime was very useful to their cause.


    ¡°The attack everywhere else is normal, just Gotham¡±. The reply came from Black Adam.


    Vertigo nodded. If all the plants disappeared, then their plans would hit a brick wall.


    ¡°Wotan. What is the cause?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know¡±.


    Werner raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Can you find out?¡±


    ¡°Forgive me but quite frankly, I do not want to die¡±.


    The Dark sorcerer uttered before turning away, leaving the rest of his teammates with unsightly expressions.


    As a medieval sorcerer who relied on transferring his soul to new host bodies to achieve immortality, Wotan was not a fool.


    Finding out what exactly had happened in Gotham was not too much of a risk, but prying into what caused it was another thing.


    Gotham itself was a very sketchy city. There were a lot of things about it that just didn''t make sense.


    Wotan had been in the city before. The negative aura that placed released was so toxic that it gave someone as horrifying as him death chills.


    This city was cursed......... And he meant it in the literal sense.


    Whatever was responsible for this was above his league and if he was discovered, his very soul might be erased from existence.


    Seeing his departing back, Count Vertigo narrowed his eyebrows.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Should we try again?¡± Poison Ivy couldn''t help but ask.


    ¡°No¡±. Werner shook his head.


    ¡°Proceed as planned. Send out vines in new cities. Gotham....... can be ignored¡±.


    Something was wrong and Vertigo wisely chose to avoid it. Wotan was the most powerful one among them. If even he could show such an expression, then whatever was wrong with that city was not something he wanted to trifle with.


    After all, it was just a small change in the original plans.


    It would have zero effect on the original outcome.


    Meanwhile, Wotan moved to a secluded corner. A silencing spell was cast in his surroundings and a magic circle appeared in the air.


    Following which, a figure appeared, hovering over the magic circle.


    ¡°Wotan. What is it that can make you bother me?¡± The Witchboy asked with a crazy smirk.


    ¡°Klarion¡±. Wotan frowned. ¡°There''s been a new development¡±.


    .............


    Gotham City was the living, breathing embodiment of a city gone wrong, and is often as much a character as the heroes and villains that lived in it.


    The city itself was cartoonishly corrupt and actively resisted modernization. This was just a few things to mention.


    I wasn''t going to take the time to list them all.


    I could feel it, though. Something....... No..... Someone was prying. Probably the ones responsible for the plant incident in the first place.


    Ok..... So this cosmic awareness came in pretty handy. At least........ Part of it was handy.


    I''m not sure what happened¡­ But my outburst seemed to cause a change with this ability.


    It was sealed......... A large part of it anyway.


    I could sense someone investigating what exactly was happening and immediately knew who it was. Probably because the strength of the detective wasn''t strong enough to properly camouflage himself. In front of Cosmic Awareness, even one in a sealed state, Wotan''s attempt to shield himself was no better than a naked woman trying to cover herself up with transparent clothing.


    However, he didn''t dig any deeper and scurried away faster than a rat in a sewer.


    I couldn''t muster the urge to care, though.


    Nevertheless, my brows couldn''t help but furrow.


    Cosmic Awareness was the ability to perceive and understand things on a cosmic level. The workings of the universe would be laid bare to the possessors of such power depending on the degree in which they could harness it.


    I didn''t know how powerful mine was, but just from what happened earlier, I could approximate.


    This thing....... Nearly drove me mad. So much so that I had to alter reality on myself and seal it away.


    Just so you know, I could warp reality now.


    I''ll fill you in on the how''s later.


    Despite that, I could still hear them. Not as loud and not as much as before, but still. The negative energy this whole city exuded was horrendous and mentally destructive.


    It granted this city''s citizens the misery they experienced and twisted their minds to keep them from leaving it.


    Gotham was cursed. And I meant it quite literally.


    Between the portal leading to hell in Arkham''s basement, the magical resurrection swamp outside the city that gave birth to Solomon Grundy, the evil warlock that had been sleeping underground for Forty thousand years and the demonic Bat God locked in the city center.


    Let''s face it. This city never stood a chance.


    And so, with a slightly throbbing headache, and thousands of thoughts in my mind that belonged to me, I walked into an unpopular location in the DC universe.


    Finnigan''s Bar. Just a stone throw away from the GCPD.


    Heard of it? Probably not.


    There''s not much reference to this place anyway.


    It was owned by a former Gotham officer and was a clear zone for villains. Even Joker never messed with this place once but that could be chalked up to the fact that there was never a chance for him to do so.


    I walked up to the bartender and took a seat with my head low.


    ¡°Give me a glass¡±. I said apathetically.


    ¡°Which one?¡± A female voice replied.


    ¡°The strongest one you''ve got¡±. I answered without much thought.


    I wasn''t thirsty, neither did I think that a shot of anything there was on Earth would be strong enough to affect me.


    I could create one though...... But that wasn''t the point.


    I just said it out of.........


    The familiar fading out happened again, and I found myself in black and white scenery.


    ¡°What can I getcha?¡±


    ¡°The strongest one you''ve got¡±.


    The face of a dark-haired female appeared in my vision. Which was weird was that the facial features were blurry.


    So blurry that I couldn''t make out her face.


    That was the end of it before I returned to reality.


    The frown on my face deepened. Another one?


    At least now I knew why I suddenly had the urge to go take a drink at a bar. It could be considered a previous habit.


    But this was precisely the problem.


    The new revelations I was facing was somewhat beyond what I ever expected.


    The moment I first opened my eyes, I knew what I was.


    Energy........ Gaining consciousness. A rare feat that wasn''t even supposed to happen.


    A circumstance that due to the specific capabilities I possessed, put me at the top of the pyramid.


    That''s what I am....... Or what I thought I was.


    Now, I was realizing something else.


    I......... I had a life.


    I used to be someone. A real person with a history.


    That wasn''t what bothered me.


    What I was curious about was.........


    When the hell did this happen?


    ¡°Strongest thing we have is a Martini. You want it?¡±


    ¡°Sure¡±.


    I replied, still not bothering to raise my head.


    ¡°You don''t look like you''re from around here¡±.


    ¡°I''m not¡±.


    The dark-haired bartender raised an eyebrow while looking at me with amusement.


    ¡°Do you always answer this way¡±.


    ¡°Not always, just whenever I''m not in the mood¡±.


    ¡°And when is that?¡±


    ¡°Almost all the time¡±.


    ¡°Conversation killer, aren''t you?¡±


    ¡°I........ Have a lot on my mind¡±. I couldn''t give much thought to her. My mind was actively trying to shut the negative energies that was trying to cloud my mind.


    This....... Was honestly my first priority. I couldn''t understand why I was feeling so much.


    ¡°I know. I can tell¡±.


    She raised her finger and pointed towards me.


    ¡°And you seem to be plagued a lot by negative emotions¡±. And there it was.


    My body froze for a second. Now I realised it.


    Something was wrong. After leaving Peter''s house, I specifically altered the space around me so that I wouldn''t be recognized by anyone.


    I wouldn''t be pestered by anyone either.


    No matter who it was, under normal circumstances, people would actively ignore my existence.


    I made it that way, yet I was being chatted with so enthusiastically.


    That was weird.


    And so, I raised my head up to look at the bartender who was serving me for the first time since I stepped into the building.


    Black eyes, pale white skin, dark hair, she wore a black sleeveless top and dark jeans.


    A wide smirk stretched over her well sculpted face as she looked at me with strong interest.


    And there it was.


    My sealed cosmic awareness seemed to be on fire the moment I set eyes on her. It was tingling constantly, almost trying to tell me that this person before me was someone truly worthy of notice.


    And from the way she looked at me, I could tell she was.


    ¡°Take a picture. It''ll last longer¡±. Her smile looked particularly bright. And with that, she dropped the Martini right before me then turned around to do something else.


    ¡°......... Ok¡±. Numerous thoughts came to mind on what words I should say.


    ''And who might you be''?


    ''You''re strange''


    ''Should I really?''


    Some were bland, some were straight to the point, some were witty...... I even contemplated unlocking my recently sealed awareness but ultimately decided against it.


    And so, I uttered a single word made up of two letters as my reply.


    Then I took the glass and downed it all in one go.


    Tasted bland.


    ¡°I''m guessing you''re the one responsible for what happened a few minutes ago?¡±


    She asked while arranging bottles of alcohol in different places in the cabinet.


    ¡°Are you talking about the appearance of the plants or their disappearance?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡±.


    Placing another bottle in place, she answered without turning around.


    ¡°There aren''t many beings in the multiverse who can alter reality¡±.


    ¡°I''ll take a wild guess and assume you''re one of them¡±.


    I didn''t answer.


    Just looked at her with squinted eyes.


    ¡°Didn''t I say you could take a picture?¡± She said while twisting her waist slightly to look at me.


    To which I shook my head.


    ¡°I''m good. I hope I''m not offensive, but it''s rare I find something quite interesting¡±.


    At that moment, The nearby television screen changed suddenly showed static.


    ¡°Oh! Looks like they''re ready¡±. She said while turning her attention to the TV.


    The next moment, a picture replaced the static on the screen.


    It was the picture of a green-haired male with chalk white skin, blood-red lips and a crazy grin on his face.


    He tapped his fingers against his head twice.


    ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen. Miss me?¡±


    Seeing the person appear on-screen, my face suddenly crumpled with a feeling of disgust and annoyance.


    ¡°Well...... Make that two¡±.


    The Joker on the screen moved away from the camera.


    ¡°We interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem, to bring you this......... Important announcement¡±.


    He uttered while bringing out a knife with the flick of his wrist. Then, he pushed the camera aside to show six other figures.

 Chapter 94 Death Of The Endless

    The moment Joker''s face appeared on Live TV, my face scrunched up to reveal extreme displeasure.


    The previously controllable waves of negative emotions all over the city multiplied by nearly a hundred-fold in an instant. This wasn''t an exaggeration.


    The clown had that much negative effect on this city''s citizens.


    ¡°We interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem, to bring you this......... Important announcement¡±.


    He uttered while bringing out a knife with the flick of his wrist. Then, he pushed the camera aside to show six other figures.


    ¡°From the Injustice League........ Hahaha haha¡±.


    ¡°We are responsible for the attacks on your cities. If you wish to save them, a ransom of ten billion American dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations¡±.


    Count Vertigo stood in the middle of the group.


    His face portrayed a clever smirk.


    ¡°There is no time limit. But..... The longer your governments wait¡­".


    Those were his last words before the camera was moved back to face the white - faced cameraman.


    ¡°The more we get to have our little..... Jollies¡±. The Clown chuckled madly before going into full-blown laughter.


    ¡°Hahaha haha hahaha haha".


    His face drew closer to the camera before the connection feed cut off. All that remained was static on the TV screen.


    ''These Guys never learn, do they?'' I thought to myself inwardly.


    This part of the plot was all too familiar. Last time I saw the team, it was in Bialya. In the short month that had passed, I had missed a lot of things.


    The journey to the Amazon where the Proteges fought against Brain and his Cobra venom enhanced animal army was one of them.


    This was the continuation of that episode. The reveal of the Injustice League, where they used plant structures laced with a Cobra venom variant to attack cities all over the world, threatening the United Nations to pay a ransom if they wanted them to stop.


    Each and every single one of them played a vital role in this.


    The Joker included.


    Only........ Joker was supposed to be dead. I made sure of that...... And yet there he was, quite literally laughing at me through the screen.


    ¡°Correct me if I''m wrong, but didn''t you kill him?¡±


    The bartender asked me with a curious expression.


    ¡°...... Don''t look at me like that. The video is all over the web¡±.


    I looked at her with narrowed eyebrows before responding with a shrug.


    ¡°Gotham''s a dark place¡±. I pushed the glass away slightly, gesturing for a refill.


    ¡°This city is a hellhole. Or to be more precise, has a hole leading to hell in it. Many weird things happen here. The resurrection of the World''s Greatest Madman and Mass Murderer isn''t unusual, much less impossible¡±.


    Despite my monotone voice, a small smile made its way to my lips.


    ¡°But regarding death and rebirth, no one should have more say on the matter than the representative of the concept itself, won''t you agree?¡±


    As I expected when I stole the power of the Gods, attention would follow in due time.


    And here it was.


    In the most corrupt city on the planet, strangely, working as a bartender.


    My words made the smile on her face to widen. She didn''t answer my question, both poured another drink into the glass.


    ¡°You didn''t seem to recognize me at first¡±.


    ¡°Like I said, I had a lot on my mind¡±.


    ¡°Oh! Then what gave it away?¡±


    ¡°........ The name tag¡±.


    She chuckled and remarked.


    ¡°You don''t seem surprised¡±.


    ¡°No I''m not. But I am curious as to what brings Death Of The Endless herself to the worst city in New Jersey¡±.


    ¡°A stone thrown will create numerous ripples. And there will be always be people coming to check it out¡±.


    See! What did I just say?


    She hadn''t finished yet but rested her ass on the stool and continued.


    ¡°Plus......... In a city that has the highest proportion of deaths, shouldn''t my presence be warranted?¡±


    ¡°So you''re the first? Strange. Usually, the Small Fry''s are the first to make it to the scene before the cosmic bosses show up¡±.


    ¡°With what you''ve done. From this point on, there will be no small fries, only smaller ones and larger ones¡±.


    She was right.


    Stolen story; please report.


    Even the smallest fry from now henceforth would be capable of beating the current stage Superman to autism.


    ¡°Ok....... So as one of the biggest bosses there is, what''s your take here for?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± She poured herself a glass, smiled thoughtfully and took a sip.


    ¡°I''m not sure. Probably to watch the chaos unfold¡±.


    If there was anything noteworthy I could grasp from the sentence, it was the fact that she wasn''t leaving anytime soon.


    ¡°Although....... I am pretty interested..... In you¡±. And so, she set her eyes, dark as night, on me with a look I was all too familiar with.


    One of amusement and genuine interest.


    The soft, seductive, even a bit of innocent voice sounded in the building. But at this point, we were the only two people left.


    At some point, the scarce number of people in the establishment had used the exit to return to their various lives.


    A strange silence enveloped us and lasted for several seconds.


    Until........ I broke it.


    ¡°I see¡±. Looking at her pale white skin, so pale that it looked unhealthy yet carried no imperfections, and glistening dark eyes, my reply was as apathetic as it could get.


    ¡°That''s it?¡± She raised an eyebrow with obvious surprise.


    ¡°What did you expect?¡± I asked rhetorically.


    ¡°I expected more of a reaction from you, that''s for sure¡±.


    ¡°Oh well, guess it was too good to be true that you just happened to be passing by¡±.


    I replied without much emotion.


    ¡°Your interest, however, is a bit misguided. I doubt I''d be able to interest you in any way¡±.


    ¡°Hehehehe¡±.


    Her sweet chuckle fell into my ears.


    ¡°Sweetie, I''m death. When the first living thing existed, I was there. And when the last living thing dies, I will also be there. But when you came into this world, I was not aware. I can give life and I can also take it, but........¡±. She swirled the drink in the glass.


    ¡°....... My authority as Death itself..... Has no effect on you. Unlike almost everything else, I can''t kill you with a thought, even if I wanted to¡±.


    Didi had lived for a long, long time. She had seen everything this universe and the multiverse had to offer and then some. Yet, this........ What was before her was something so very intriguing.


    ¡°Misguided? I don''t think so. And neither will they¡±.


    With that smile still plastered on her dark lips, she raised a glass filled with alcohol and said.


    ¡°See, I''m not sure even you realize how special you are yet. So special that a group of powerful individuals had to seal your memories away to curb your possible actions all because there was no way to put a certain end to your life¡±.


    Her words made me freeze, and my eyes narrowed to form a sharp glare.


    She didn''t seem to notice my expression and continued.


    ¡°And if you think that a soul from beyond the source wall with no connection to the source itself is not enough to garner their attention, then you are the one who is misguided¡±.


    I tapped my fingers on the counter.


    ¡°Forgive me........ But I still don''t see how their interest is my problem¡±.


    ¡°You don''t need to see it¡±. She replied, her tone turning moderately bland.


    ¡°They''ll show it to you. The multiverse has a lot of........ Establishments. There will be those who want to join you, those who want to use you, and those who would like to find out what''s so special about you¡±.


    And so, she leaned forward.


    ¡°They''ll offer you an invitation to join them. Some won''t ask too nicely. The different forces are numerous. You could join one and make yourself a target for the rest, or join none and make yourself a target for all of them. Do you now understand?¡±


    ¡°You my dear...... hold the answer. An answer to a question they want to know so badly. A question that has propelled many to travel to the edge of the universe yet fail miserably and be forgotten with the passage of time. What is on the other side of that wall¡±.


    ¡°I''m just the first. The rest probably won''t be as chatty as I am¡±. She finished with a smile.


    "So...... You''re in a lot of trouble".


    ¡°I figured. Thanks for pointing that out¡±.


    I responded indifferently and turned towards the static television.


    ¡°Playback¡±. I uttered while staring at the television. The static screen disappeared, and the video moved backwards like it had been put on rewind before stopping firmly on the picture of Joker himself.


    ¡°Do you find their attempts interesting?¡± The female bartender asked with her chin resting on her palm.


    ¡°Not really, no¡±. I replied blandly.


    Focusing my eyes on the screen, my vision was altered and everything I could see changed rapidly.


    Joker''s outer image was gone. What remained was a broken, chaotic mess of dark yellow taking human shape.


    This, was the Mad Clown''s soul.


    ¡°I do have interest in how he''s still alive despite the fact that I roasted his ashes to ashes¡±.


    Examining the sight before me with the utmost scrutiny, I soon found exactly what I was looking for.


    ¡°I see. Another clone¡±.


    The Joker that had appeared on TV wasn''t the real deal. Just a piece of regrown DNA lex had gotten from The Joker.


    Unlike Superboy with Kryptonian bloodline who took sixteen weeks to grow, The Joker was much simpler.


    In less than forty-eight hours, the Mad clown had been reborn.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± I placed my palm on my head and groaned slightly.


    Joker''s reappearance had caused a spike in negative energy.


    I looked at the picture of the grinning clown. He''s going to wish he stayed dead.


    And so, I stood to my feet, obviously preparing to leave.


    ¡°Wow!¡± Seeing me get up, she exclaimed with bright eyes.


    ¡°Tough guy, aren''t you? Knowing that so many powerful beings were coming for him, someone else would have shown even a bit of fear¡±.


    ¡°Ever since I took that step a moment ago, I''ve felt many things. Fear isn''t one of them¡±.


    I was being honest. I didn''t feel the slightest bit afraid of what might happen.


    Honestly, I was a bit excited.


    ¡°Interesting....... Why don''t we make a deal¡±. She said as she licked her lips and said in a teasing tone.


    ¡°It''s simple really. You become mine, and I promise to take very good care of you¡±.


    ¡°Generous offer, but I think I''ll pass¡±.


    She raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Don''t you want to know who is responsible for what happened to you?¡±


    ¡°I do........ But something tells me you won''t tell me even if I ask¡±.


    Those were my last words before I turned around and walks towards the exit.


    She didn''t do anything to stop me, just watched me leave with those dark eyes that seemed to be filled with endless night.


    ¡°Hehehehe.......... Things are going to get interesting¡±.


    She honestly couldn''t wait to watch the show.


    Her curiosity for this strange anomaly was soaring at an exponential rate.


    The forces were stirring and soon, she would witness a thrilling battle.


    "The Pantheon''s will certainly put up a good show. And the New God''s.......... He did open a hole to the dark multiverse. I wonder how he will feel when he faces off against The Batman Who Laughs".

 Chapter 95 Darkseids Furies

    Pushing open the door, Amari strode out of Finnigan''s bar with an impassive look.


    The moment he stepped through the exit, he willed his clothes to change form from what they originally looked like.


    Seeing himself wearing casual black trousers, pulled up long sleeves that accentuated his masculine figure with the first three buttons undone, Amari felt a sense of comfort and satisfaction come over him.


    ''Weird''.


    He said inwardly, momentarily falling into thought.


    This was something else that hadn''t happened before. Feeling the familiar liking for what he put on, his thoughts couldn''t help but wander.


    Unfortunately, there were no memory flashbacks this time.


    Looks like this wasn''t worthy of a flashback.


    ¡°No matter¡±. He uttered before raising his head to look at the sky.


    The Gotham sky was relatively ok. Dark for this time of day in other places no doubt, but relatively normal here.


    ¡°Shit! That monster is back!¡±.


    The exclamation fell into his ears, prompting it to twitch slightly.


    The one who said so wasn''t nearby.


    ¡°I thought he was dead¡±.


    ¡°The Joker?........ Let''s face it, monsters like him live the longest¡±.


    Amari couldn''t help but nod at that last one.


    Whoever said that had just uttered a valid universal truth. At least in this universe, it was all too true.


    He stood on the sidewalk watching the people go by. He didn''t move, he didn''t change the color of his eyes, but his vision had changed to see the world in new colors.


    The colors of the Emotional Spectrum, to be exact.


    Teal.


    The color representation of the emotion known as Sadness and Despair.


    The passersby all exuded the same color at the moment. More than ninety percent of them filled with the color teal.


    ¡°For a clown that''s supposed to make people laugh, he sure is unpopular¡±. He took a moment to examine their emotional changes before putting his mind somewhere else.


    ¡°You my dear...... hold the answer. An answer to a question they want to know so badly".


    The sentence once again fell into Amari''s ears.


    ¡°Me and them both¡±. He muttered under his breath.


    To be honest, he didn''t expect to meet death today, much less under the circumstances in which they did. From the looks of it, she had been here for a while.


    How the literal personification of death would have the leisure time to leave her duties as a multiversal force and work as a bartender was honestly beyond his understanding.


    Was she waiting there this whole time for the past month? Or did she sense his arrival and put up the whole bartender act?


    Did she use her abilities to draw him towards the bar, or was it coincidence that he was experiencing memory flashbacks and just happened to be passing by?


    With all the stuff on his mind and the fact that his awareness was sealed, he probably wouldn''t even notice if she did.


    She was a supernatural force after all.


    She was here. And she didn''t look like she would be leaving anytime soon.


    Point being, if she was here, then others would be as well.


    A month''s timeframe was enough for even the slowest among them to make their way to earth.


    Numerous cosmic forces with extraordinary power and possibly hostile intentions.


    The little planet Earth would most likely upgrade to a higher level battleground.


    ¡°Sheesh..... Poor Clark¡±. Amari suddenly felt bad for the guy. With the attention he had drawn, the Justice League would most likely have to deal with enemies they weren''t cut out for.


    They would definitely be beaten badly. The chances of death among their ranks were more than likely.


    All to defend the earth against the wanton actions of enemies they didn''t ask to fight.


    People would die.


    Funny, he almost actually cared.


    The frown setting on his face was particularly prevalent.


    He wasn''t kidding, he almost felt kinda bad for them.


    Death was right, they were coming. And Amari knew what they wanted.


    To find out how exactly he passed through the source wall into their multiverse. The powerful figures, dead Gods and cosmic beings who ventured to the edge of the multiverse trying to break through the Source wall yet ultimately failing were numerous.


    Their bodies, forever etched as statues into the wall served as proof that penetrating it was almost impossible.


    Honestly, he wanted to know just as badly as they did.


    But even if he wanted to, he couldn''t give them the answer they seek. And they would most likely try to capture him to gain that answer.


    Inwardly, he wondered how things would have turned out today if she weren''t so calm. Perhaps a battle would have already broken out by now, and all of Gotham would be reduced to rubble.


    As for her interest........ A lot of people were now interested in him. Perhaps Lucifer would stop by to give him a visit one of these days.


    ¡°No use thinking about that now¡±.


    Amari shook his head to get rid of the messy thoughts.


    His eyes wandered on the sparse crowd before he turned towards his left and began walking.


    ¡°...... However, things certainly won''t be peaceful. Should I give the League a heads-up?¡±


    Meanwhile, as he walked away, a boom tube opened suddenly opened on a tall building in the distance.


    The orange portal gave off a bright glow as the sound of footsteps fell into the atmosphere.


    White lights flashed, before forming into the shape of human figures. The beams of light materialized to form several female figures, each one of them dressed in eye-catching attire.


    ¡°The scanners indicate that the New God is nearby¡±. Gilotina said while holding a miniature motherbox in her grasp.


    ¡°We need not the Motherbox anymore. He is within reach¡±. Aurelie stayed with sharp eyes and narrowed eyebrows.


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    She could sense him.


    She wasn''t the only one.


    As soon as the boom tube disappeared, each one of the accurately locked on to their target.


    ¡°...... That..... Is him?¡± Barda standing behind Aurelie had her eyes widen.


    ¡°That ..... power¡±. Sensing the horrifying levels of energy hidden within that body.


    She couldn''t help but swallow when her eyes locked onto the figure walking away in the distance.


    ¡°You feel it as well, sisters¡±.


    They were New Gods of Apokolips, with senses thousands of times greater than what any human could imagine.


    No one spoke, no one moved. It was¡­. so........ Terrifying.


    ¡°Isn''t he supposed to be a recent New....... God¡±.


    ¡°Does it matter?¡± Stompa replied to Lashina''s inquiry. Her eyes glowing with strong battle intent.


    Strongly resisting the urge to go down there right now and behead the male fellow, she waited for Aurelie to give the signal.


    Only, Aurelie didn''t utter a word. Just watched the target continue to walk away with a frown etched on her face.


    ¡°Aurelie, what are we waiting for?¡± Lashina snapped her head towards their leader and asked.


    ¡°He is strong. Too strong¡±. Aurelie replied without turning her head.


    ¡°What does that matter? When have we Furies ever been scared of a fight? The Lord Darkseid ordered us to capture the New God and have him brought back to Apokolips".


    Aurelie frowned deeper at Gilotina, feeling quite displeased that she was being spoken to in such a way.


    ¡°If you truly seek death so much then be my guest. Go down there and capture him. I swear not to take credit for your outstanding efforts¡±.


    Her tone was plain, and her voice was indifferent, but the mockery within was practically naked.


    ¡°You¡­.¡±. Gilotina''s face turned ugly.


    ¡°Then what do we do, Aurelie? We can''t disobey Our Lord''s instructions. A fate worse than death is what awaits us if we do¡±.


    Lashina interjected before Gilotina could retort.


    She was right and they all knew it.


    ¡°I never said we would disobey our orders¡±. She said with no expression.


    ¡°Tch...... Nothing?¡± Seeing that he was getting further away and the opponent''s still hadn''t taken action, Amari clicked his tongue with a bit of speechlessness.


    His body came to a halt, and he turned his face to the left, revealing his side profile.


    Nevertheless, his vision accurately captured his stalkers.


    They were women, Six of them in total. Each one was dressed in a battle uniform and possessed particularly noticeable features.


    The first four were rather attractive. The last two, however, weren''t.


    One looked like a muscle woman, and the other crouched on all fours and had the expression of a wild animal on her deformed features.


    ''Darkseid''s Furies''.


    With a single look, he could guess their identities immediately.


    Speak of the devil, and he shall appear....... Or they shall appear in this case.


    Looks like DC''s God of Evil was the first person to come over. Only, he didn''t come himself but sent emissaries.


    Amari suddenly had the feeling of being underestimated.


    Six women........ Was he looked down on so much?


    They weren''t even New God''s with special abilities. Just the standard all round physical improvement package.


    No Omega beams, No lightning bolts, No Extreme speed, No anger makes you stronger......... They were like Stepphenwolf. He thought all the small fries were gone.


    Now this was practically slapping him in the face. Superman, who went all out, could defeat these guys as long as there was no kryptonite in the equation.


    He saw them and similarly, they saw him.


    Everyone on the other end felt a chill run down their spines the moment they came in contact with that eye.


    Their bodies tensed up like arrows in a bow, waiting to spring into action as soon as the enemy made the first move.


    ¡°Tch....... Boring¡±.


    Seeing that they weren''t going to attack, Amari lost interest. He turned his gaze back to his original direction.


    And after taking a step, the space around him distorted and the next moment, he was gone.


    All that was left was six female figures standing on the roof with unsightly expressions.


    ¡°....... He''s gone¡±. Big Barda uttered.


    ¡°I can see that¡±. Aurelie took a deep breath. That face off that lasted barely three seconds was quite frightening if she was being honest with herself.


    That pressure, that aura........ She had only felt such from Him.......... Ruler Of Apokolips, Darkseid himself.


    Of course, she wouldn''t utter those words even if she was about to be killed.


    ¡°What''s our next move?¡± Gilotina asked without expression.


    ¡°Information¡±. The reply was a single word.


    ¡°We know nothing about him, who he is or what he can do. Fighting an enemy we know nothing about, especially one that ........ Intriguing....... Our mission is likely to fail¡±.


    ¡°Besides........ He''s not our only target¡±. Said Aurelie before turning around and walking away.


    The Furies gave way for her to pass.


    ¡°I see¡±. So said Gilotina with a flicker in her eyes.


    .............


    Meanwhile, The Justice League...... Or what''s left of them were spread thin all over the world, trying their hardest to contain the plant creatures that were spreading in full force.


    .........


    France, Paris


    Oct 2, 1:55


    Martian Manhunter carried Aquaman to the Eiffel Tower wherein the latter used his extreme strength to pull apart the vines, opening up space for J''onn who moved through the plants using density shifting to save visiting tourists trapped within.


    ...........


    Taipei


    Oct 2, 07:56


    The new Flash arrival from another earth worked together with an unknown hero with a special Trident weapon to solve the plant issues at a chemical plant.


    Too bad, the place was destroyed, which cause dangerous radioactive toxins to spread into the atmosphere.


    Without Captain Atom, they could only retreat in the face of poisoning.


    ...........


    Star City.


    Green Arrow, Red Arrow and Guy Gardener worked together to save the citizens on the bridge from the plants that sprouted out of the water.


    ¡°Poor Heroes¡±. Joker watched the constant struggles of the Justice League through the monitoring globes and put on a long face.


    ¡°Nothing they do ever seems to be enough..... Haha hahaha". He laughed sinisterly while moving his hands up and down while twisting his fingers in puppeteering motions.


    ¡°Quite impressive¡±. Poison Ivy who was laying next to her plant said to the Joker with a smile on her face.


    ¡°How you simultaneously juggle multiple scenarios¡±. The Joker''s mind was connected to the plant creatures. While Atomic skull and Wotan powered the Plant, and Poison Ivy stayed to communicate with it, The Joker had a much more important yet taxing role to fulfill.


    At least........ It would be taxing and almost impossible for anyone else to accomplish.


    He was controlling the actions of each plant attack in different cities at the same time.


    ¡°I''ve had practice¡±. He turned to ivy, moving his hands without even looking and replied with a crazy smile.


    ¡°Juggling my multiple personalities. Hahaha haha".


    He laughed wantonly as he continued to operate.


    At that moment, Ivy''s expression changed.


    ¡°We have Intruders¡±. She said while getting up from her plant.


    ¡°Aren''t the others handling it?¡±


    ¡°Two managed to sneak in. Ultra Humanite, you come with me. You continue your mayhem¡±.


    And with that, Poison Ivy left with Ultra Humanite who carried a laser gun within its grasp.


    ¡°Sure thing. You can count on me¡±. Be clowned replied without turning back. Looking at the orbs, he chuckled yet again, seemingly incapable of controlling his laughter.


    ¡°With all this power at my fingertips, some might call me a control freak¡±.


    He bent in closer to see his favorite batsie flying around in his Bat Jet, making his blood-red lips widen even further.


    ¡°...... Or just a freak....... Either works for me, hahahaha hehehe".


    And so, he controlled the plant to smash the flying Bat jet, forcing Batman to eject.


    ¡°Hahahahaha....... I don''t think I''ve ever had so much fun¡±. Manipulating the plant creatures, Joker felt unprecedentedly alive.


    Like a puppet master manipulating powerful puppets to do his budding. He looked delighted.


    And so, it was with great distraught that a few seconds later, the Mad clown realized that the reaction speed of his puppets were slowing down exponentially.


    The Joker was confused at first, only to find out that the Plants weren''t being powered up anymore to support his manipulation.


    ¡°Hey Skull! What the hobble is going on back there. You''re supposed to be powering the......¡±.


    His voice froze. Evidently showing how surprised he was to see someone he that wasn''t part of their team standing beside Atomic Skull.


    His indifferent expression carried two cold eyes that were fixed on him with murderous intention.


    ¡°I wasn''t in the mood when I killed you last time. But now.......¡±. Amari turned his gaze to the horrified Atomic Skull who seemed to be frozen in time.


    ¡°Oh, by the way. Your original sends you his greetings from beyond the grave. Don''t worry, though, you''ll join him soon enough¡±.

 Chapter 96 Joker....... Meet Joker

    ¡°Original?¡± Joker''s face scrunched up with obvious displeasure emerging.


    What the hell did this new guy mean by his ¡°original¡±?


    Was he¡­. Joker...... The clown prince of crime a fake?


    Apparently, Gotham''s clown prince was unaware of the circumstances of his resurrection, nor did he bother to care.


    After all, he was The Joker. Why would he care to analyze such, insignificant matters?


    There were many circumstances where he supposedly, ¡°Died¡± under public eye.


    His tenacious life was another reason he was so feared despite being nothing but a mere mortal.


    Just when he was about to start yelling out his doubts, his expression changed from displeasure to doubts, and eventually surprise.


    ¡°It''s you¡±.


    Pointing his finger forward, The Joker''s eyes lit up like lightbulbs, and some sort of excitement appeared on his features.


    ¡°You''re the one who killed me on live TV¡±.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Truly a madman. Amari had no doubt. Even the clone was this neurotic.


    The Joker showed suddenly smiled brightly, let out a few eerie chuckles and took out the knife from his pocket.


    ¡°So you do know me. Hahahahaha..... That''s good to know. I thought you were some hobo who mistook me for someone else. In that case, I would have to properly introduce myself to monsieur here and let you know who I am and just what I do because I......¡±.


    He brought his tongue close and licked the blade. Then he walks forwards without an ounce of fear whatsoever.


    ¡°....... Am one of a kind¡±.


    ¡°I''m sure you are¡±. Amari replied nonchalantly.


    ¡°Your original said something similar to the first few lines¡±.


    Hearing the word ¡°original¡± again, Joker''s happy face crumbled instantly. His eyes narrowed to form a threatening glare, and his smiley face turned into a sinister smirking face.


    ¡°I guess you''re not getting it yet¡±. And so, the Joker raised his right hand into the air and began moving his fingers as if tapping on imaginary keyboards.


    The still vines all around the monastery began to move from their state of rest.


    ¡°I....... I am the original..... Ahahaha Hahahaha".


    ...........


    Bang!


    The tall trees were shredded to pieces as numerous vines tore through them in chase of their prey.


    The sprouted out of the ground and rushed towards The Boy Wonder under Poison Ivy''s control.


    Robin ran as fast as his acrobatic legs could carry him. Showcasing outstanding dexterity and finesse, he swung from tree branch to tree branch, barely managing to escape to the next one before the former was smashed to smithereens.


    Performing a backflip, he once again evaded a fatal blow. Nevertheless, his landing wasn''t the slightest bit pretty.


    The once exquisite costume was now wet and muddy all over as he rolled in the swamp in a pathetic display to protect his life.


    He got up from the ground, crouched in a posture of resting on one knee while taking deep breaths.


    The site of dozens of plant vines appearing before him made his scalp go numb.


    At that moment, however, they were all torn apart due to the influence of telekinetic force.


    Light green liquids spilled everywhere as a result.


    Miss Martian appeared in her cloaked state.


    ¡°Robin, she''s made contact¡±.


    Hearing Megan''s voice through the mind link, Robin was surprised.


    ¡°Who? Artemis or Supergirl?¡±


    ¡°Neither¡±. Robin raised his head up to see the rest of the team being held captive in a magical cage by Wotan and the other Injustice League members.


    Thy were headed towards the monastery. Just then, the Bioship that was dragged down to the bottom of the swamp earlier on suddenly appeared, knocking the Sorcerer Wotan out of balance.


    The cage created by magic instantly came undone, and the hostages fell down from the air as did Count Vertigo who was standing on top of it.


    Luckily, he didn''t fall to his death, as he was rescued by the flying Black Adam.


    However, Werner didn''t seem to appreciate it.


    ¡°Not me..... Stop those delinquents¡±.


    Wotan landed into the part of the swamp with deeper water depths.


    Superboy, Aqualad and the Wolf Conner had taken in as a pet on their mission to the Amazon had relatively strong physiques and landed in the shallower depths unscathed.


    Wally and Artemis didn''t.


    Luckily, apart from Megan, they now had another member who could fly.


    Seeing her teammates falling, Kara who unlike Superboy, could actually levitate in the air took hold of her falling teammates, preventing them from breaking something upon landing.


    ¡°Is everyone ok?¡± Kara asked with concern through the mind link.


    Superboy didn''t answer.


    As soon as he raised his head, the armed Ultra Humanite stood before him and his pet wolf, armed with a blaster.


    It instantly reminded him of his unpleasant encounter in the Amazon with those telepathic gorillas.


    ¡°I hate monkeys¡±.


    And so, the kryptonian clone charged towards his opponent to begin battle.


    Artemis and Aqualad who were unarmed faced Poison Ivy, while Supergirl and Kidflash turned towards Count Vertigo and Black Adam.


    A bitter battle was about to begin.


    However, the fight hadn''t even started yet when the next course of events caused everyone to freeze in place.


    Shatter!


    The sound of glass shattering wasn''t conspicuous amidst the chaos, but the black shadow streaking towards them from the monastery quickly fell into their vision.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Wotan had just emerged from the water with an ugly expression. The next moment, his face changed drastically as he had to duck back inside to avoid what was speeding towards him.


    Bam!


    The black object smashed against the water and bounced forward like a skipping stone.


    Bounce again it did, twice more before it made contact steadily with the shallow swamp floor and rolled several times over.


    ¡°Arghhhhh¡±.


    The painful shriek was enough to cause everyone to cease all actions.


    Be it Aqualad or Poison Ivy, hero sidekick or supervillain....


    Robin''s eyes widened especially as he recognized what that black shadow was.


    With half his body submerged in swamp water, the joker laid unmoving on the floor in the midst of the two sides.


    His throat screeched loudly like a pig about to be slaughtered, as never before experienced pain assaulted his nervous system.


    His whole body looked mangled to the extreme as apart from his neck area upward, everything else looked terribly wrong.


    His arms and legs were twisted in positions that no man could ever imagine their bones could go.


    Looking at the limp body, it looked like a human spaghetti.


    ¡°I ....... I think I''m gonna be sick¡±.


    The horrified mood was instantly ruined by Kidflash who used his hand to cover his mouth, desperately trying to restrain the urge to puke.


    In the end, he still couldn''t keep it in and threw up in the swamp.


    The girls weren''t looking any better as Artemis''s stomach churned at the sight of what she saw.


    ¡°What the hell......¡±. Robin exclaimed in fright while backing away several steps.


    ¡°Who! Who did this?¡± Count Vertigo was equally frightened and yelled out loud in outrage, his eyes darting in all directions.


    ¡°I did¡±. A crack was torn in the space, a distance away.


    A shoe stepped through the void, followed by a thigh, then body.......


    Dark long hair, glowing blue eyes, the space crack closed behind him as he replied out, revealing his full figure.


    ¡°I hope you don''t mind. Oh, by the way, poor Albert won''t be able to make it to this gathering¡±.


    His words fell and then......... BOOM!


    The plant facility instantly exploded alongside everything in it.


    ¡°Skull!¡± Looking at the monastery that was destroyed, Count Vertigo cried out. The Joker was here, but Atomic Skull was still inside the building.


    He instantly understood what Amari meant by saying ''Albert won''t be able to make it''.


    ¡°My Baby!¡± Poison Ivy shrieked as she saw her plant creature go up in flames. She fixed her gaze at Amari with eyes overflowing with resentment, hatred and murderous intentions.


    ¡°Gahhh!¡±


    She squatted slightly, raised her hands and pushed them forward. Giant plant vines extended from the swamp beneath her, rushing towards their new target with incredible force.


    ¡°Watch out¡±. Robin exclaimed loudly.


    Watching the attack heading towards him, Amari didn''t move a muscle.


    ''Stop!''


    Sure enough, the attacking plants charging forward with great momentum paused half a meter away from his figure.


    It didn''t look like it encountered any form of resistance, nor did it struggle to continue breaking forward. It just....... Stopped.


    ¡°You.....¡±. Poison Ivy''s eyes widened in shock.


    ¡°What have you done?¡± She yelled in confusion. Her plants weren''t answering to her.


    ''Tie her up''.


    He willed inwardly without uttering a word.


    It happened then. The whole swamp shook slightly as if encountering a slight earthquake.


    Following which, dozens of giant plants emerged from all directions, each one of them heading towards the same direction.


    ¡°No.....!¡± Pamela was caught off guard. Before she could react, she was wrapped up tightly by the very plants she commanded without any wiggle room.


    ¡°Stop....... Now....... I order you¡­.¡±.


    Feeling the vines wrapping around her body tightly, poison ivy felt suffocated.


    She couldn''t understand what was happening. Why were her babies betraying her?


    ¡°...... It''s him¡±. Aqualad took a step back and uttered in the mind link.


    ¡°Yeah, no shit Sherlock¡±. Wally uttered through gritted teeth.


    ¡°What the hell is he doing here?¡±


    ¡°Beats me¡­.¡±.


    ¡°You¡­.¡±. Seeing Poison Ivy get wrapped up by her own plants, Count Vertigo looked unprecedentedly solemn.


    ¡°I''ve heard of you. The Deviant Of Gotham¡±.


    Hearing the title given to him, Amari was slightly speechless.


    He raised an eyebrow while examining the Count with a bit of scrutiny.


    ¡°Right. Sorry though, but I can''t say the same¡±


    His words made Vertigo''s expression turn ugly.


    This....... Was simply a disguised insult.


    Werner Vertigo felt like exploding. As a member of the Royal family of Vlatava and an infamous Supervillain, he had never been so looked down on.


    Still, Werner Vertigo, for the first time in God knows how long, had to swallow his temper.


    Unlike before, this situation wasn''t right. And the man before he wasn''t a hero.


    He was an alien who had killed the Joker on live TV. With extreme power and none of the inhibitions of other Superheroes, the chances of him dying tonight for uttering the wrong sentence were quite high.


    As for thinking that Black Adam would be a match for him.......... Those thoughts died the moment they appeared.


    Even if Black Adam was a match, it didn''t matter. If this Deviant was standing on the side of the young heroes, then they were completely outnumbered in this regard.


    The Count restrained his arrogance, or so he thought. He raised a question, hoping to find out on whose side exactly did this troublesome fellow stand.


    ¡°Why do you attack us? Our fight with the Justice League and their Proteges does not concern you......¡±.


    ¡°Shut Up!¡± Amari''s blue eyes glowed.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Werner''s body suddenly froze. To his horror, the royalty of Vlatava found himself unable to move an inch, no matter how hard he tried.


    He couldn''t move, he couldn''t speak, and his facial expressions were frozen.


    ¡°Now be a good lad and don''t annoy me¡±. Amari uttered indifferently and turned his gaze to his primary target.


    The mangled Joker.


    ¡°Arghhhhh...... You¡­. Ahhhh¡­. Hahaha..... Arghhhhh¡±.


    Hearing the mixture of pained laughter and occasional cries of agony, Amari smiled slightly.


    It was well known that the Joker had a very high pain tolerance.


    The clown during the early years was Batman''s punching bag, as Bruce would constantly beat the Joker up in an attempt to pry useful information out of his lips.


    Unfortunately, the Joker was as stubborn as a psychotic mule. Even if he was punched to the point he broke his jaw, he still didn''t utter a cry of pain.


    The constant laughter was even more unbearable.


    Batman had tried his best. So since that didn''t work, Amari decided to go to much....... Greater lengths. By amplifying his pain receptors and shattering every non-fatal bone in his body.


    Even if he was mad, it still wouldn''t be able to let him laugh through it.


    ¡°Get Up¡±. Seeing that he was unable to speak under so much pain, Amari altered reality on the clown himself, restoring his physical condition back to the way it was half a minute ago.


    The mangled clown that looked he was about to fall apart a few seconds ago suddenly raised his body that looked perfectly intact and pushed himself up from the muddy swamp.


    ¡°Oh my God¡±.


    Artemis uttered with wide eyes.


    ¡°Did he just......¡±.


    ¡°I think he did¡±.


    ¡°What do we do?¡±


    Kaldur was silent.


    In this situation, he really didn''t know what action to take as the most suitable response.


    ¡°Why....... You........ You''re a real tough nut aren''t ya?¡±


    Pulling himself back to his feet, the clown looked at Amari with unprecedented solemnity. An expression that, in his many years of clown service, he had never portrayed even once.


    Seeing this, Amari smiled.


    ¡°That''s just the beginning¡±.


    And then he stretched out his hand for dramatic effect and snapped his fingers.


    Following which, a portal appeared directly in front of him on the swampy earth.


    The yellow portal shone with an intense light, giving off a dark and sinister vibe to the atmosphere. The temperature seemed to drop by several degrees.


    ¡°Oh no¡±. Kaldur''s eyes widened in horror. This deathly sinister aura........ This force.....


    Amari paid him no heed.


    Portraying his will, the portal suddenly lit up brightly, followed by a resplendent yellow glow, a figure rose from the bottom slowly, rising from the portal.


    Chalk white skin, Green Hair, blood-red lips, that identical crazy grin on his lips.....


    ¡°Joker...... Meet your original. The Joker¡±.


    ............

 Chapter 97 His Soul Makes Me Sick

    The swampy forest in the Louisiana Bayou which had just hosted a breathtaking battle was abnormally silent at the moment.


    Everyone couldn''t help but take a step or two back as the circular rune symbol appeared on the swamp water, glowing a dark yellow and exuding an aura that felt like it came straight from hell.


    In fact........ it did.


    The rune symbol glowed, forming a portal, and through that portal, a figure emerged out of it.


    A baleful aura assaulted all of them as the cold, yet conflictingly hot rush of air caused goosebumps on their skin.


    ¡°What is he......¡±.


    Wally looked at the scene, feeling seriously frightened.


    ¡°This feeling....... Why do I feel like this?¡±


    The Boy Wonder felt equally uneasy.


    ¡°This....... This Is unholy¡±. The voice of Aqualad quickly drew their attention. They turned towards their leader only to find him sporting an extremely unsightly expression.


    "I know what this is. This is Dark Magic¡±.


    Kaldur took in a deep breath.


    ¡°Dark...... Dark what?¡± As a new believer in the mysteries of Magic who previously thought everything in the world could be explained by science, the word Dark Magic shook the young speedster the most.


    ¡°There is no information on Amari having magical abilities¡±. Kaldur replied, his gaze fixed on the figure that just appeared from the portal.


    Chalk white skin, Green Hair, blood-red lips, he wore a blue suit with orange and green inner clothing.


    His green eyes shone with the gleam of a certified psychopath.


    This..... Was.......


    ¡°Joker...... Meet, Joker¡±.


    Those words were enough for Kaldur to confirm his thoughts.


    Robin''s eyes grew wide.


    ¡°Is....... Is that another Joker?¡± He couldn''t understand. Why was Amari bringing another Joker? Also, where the hell did this Joker come from? Clone?


    To this, Aqualad didn''t respond, but continued.


    ¡°I don''t know how he did it...... But I can be sure from the energy waves I feel, that what he just opened was a portal....... To hell¡±.


    Everyone''s expressions changed drastically. Even the new Supergirl had knowledge of what hell was.


    ¡°You''ve got to be kidding, right? Hell can''t exist........ It just...... It just can''t¡±. Never before had the ginger haired speedster wanted to believe the reincarnation theory more than he did now.


    The thought of hell literally existing put his hairs on end.


    However.........


    Seeing the situation wasn''t right, Black Adam couldn''t care less about what was happening and rushed towards his opponent with extreme speed.


    As the former Wizard Shazam''s champion, and the possessor of the powers of six Egyptian Gods, Black Adam was quite confident in his own abilities.


    More importantly....... He didn''t watch much TV, or he would have known what he was about to do was an enormous mistake.


    With movements surpassing what Kidflash could achieve, he appeared before Amari and threw a lightning infused punch.


    Bang!


    The sound of flesh colliding could be hard as Amari effortlessly blocked the attack.


    Seeing this, Black Adam immediately threw a punch with his left.


    Only........


    ''Powerlessness''


    Yellow lightning struck down from the sky, accurately landing on the charging ruler of Khandaq.


    The next moment, he fell heavily into the swampy water.


    Gone was the plain yet intimidating Champion of the Gods.


    What remained was a plain-looking middle-aged man dressed in ancient clothing.


    ¡°...... You...... Shazam!¡± Seeing his situation, Teth-Adam hurriedly called out and raised his head towards the sky.


    Silence.......


    The awaited divine lightning never came and the former Khandaq slave had his face change drastically.


    Seeing that lightning struck down no more, an expression of despair clouded his features.


    ¡°What have you done? You......... You are not the wizard. How could you.......¡±.


    He staggered backwards with his dark robes getting stained by the muddy swamp water.


    ¡°Isn''t it obvious?¡± Looking at Teth-Adam, Amari raised an eyebrow and uttered with a frown appearing on his features.


    Unlike the others, Amari''s vision was different at the moment. What he could see before him wasn''t the image of a man, but a mass of yellow aura put inside Teth-Adam''s mortal body, serving as a container.


    In simpler words........ His soul. It''s just that...... What he saw made his eyebrows tighten.


    The soul of this man was dark...... Like, muddy color dark. The swirling soul mass took on a darker shade of brown and gave off a sincerely repulsive feeling.


    This color was particularly distinct among a specific set of people. Those who had done horrible things in their life. A soul stained with the souls of others, gone corrupt due to reaping countless lives with clear intent and no remorse.


    The soul of a fallen, twisted murderer.


    At that point, Amari''s expression was cold.


    ¡°You''re right. I''m not the Wizard you fear. I....... Am something much worse¡±.


    His eyes glowed as he said so.


    Before Teth-Adam could fathom what was going on, he felt considerable discomfort in his internal organs.


    Then....... Bang!


    The mighty ruler of Khandaq exploded into bits and pieces. The only noticeable parts of him left were a finger, half the skin of his face and an eyeball.


    Everything else was nothing but blood and meat paste.


    ¡°Now then.......¡±. And so, he turned his attention back to his original purpose.


    ¡°My hands¡­. My ........ My head¡­". The new Joker seemed to be in a daze. His eyes were fixed on his hands and the rest of his body as he explored it intently.


    The twitching grin on his face never ceased as he stiffly turned his head around to examine his surroundings.


    It was kinda creepy.


    His eyes shone brightly when it fell on the Boy Wonder.


    ¡°You ..... You''re here¡­. Which means I''m¡­. I''m not dead anymore¡±.


    With that, his stiff movements seemed to loosen up as he made several small movements.


    ¡°I''m alive. The air...... It smells so fresh¡±. The smell of the swamp was nothing fragrant, but the Joker felt like he was sniffing fresh perfume.


    ¡°It''s so clean....... Misty..... No smell of rotting bones and ash..... Sulfur¡­.¡±.


    His movements stopped..... Then he fixed his gaze on his resurector.


    ¡°You....... You did this¡±.


    ¡°Hello Jackie. Miss me?¡± Amari looked at him with a smile. To which, the Madman took several steps back instinctively.


    ¡°Hey! What''s wrong? didn''t you like your vacation?¡±


    ¡°You......¡±. The Joker resurrected seemed to have seen his worst enemy. His expression changed drastically, and he barred his teeth and retreated numerous steps.


    ¡°........ Get away from me¡±.


    And with that, he took out two hidden knives he always kept in his sleeves and stood at the ready, as if he was about to face a formidable enemy.


    ¡°You....... Sent me to that...... Horrible place¡±. Gone was his constant grin. What remained was an extremely unsightly expression that seemed to want to eat the person before him alive.


    ¡°Do you know how much I''ve suffered?¡±


    ¡°What? You mean hell?¡± Amari raised an eyebrow with obvious surprise. This was so ironic.


    ¡°Where did you think you were going to go after death? You''re a monster in human skin. No one is more befitting for a VIP seat in the underworld. Honestly, you should thank me. Bringing you back from the dead isn''t something the average Joe can accomplish. Luckily for you, Lucifer is no longer there, or I might have to pay a tax¡­.¡±.


    Amari uttered irrelevant information. Honestly, he was really surprised.


    The insufferable smile was gone, so was the casual, crazy banter. Plus the solemn expression and the unspeakable hatred in his eyes.......


    Looks like hell did a more significant number on this madman''s soul than he realized.


    ¡°You killed me..... And you expect me to thank you. What kind of logic is that?¡± The Clown''s face was filled with righteous indignation.


    The outsiders watched what was going on with question marks hovering over their heads.


    The Team, Poison Ivy, Ultra Humanite..... Count Vertigo..... They couldn''t understand what was going on. Well....... They could, but it was for that reason that it made much less sense.


    Amari resurrected the Joker? Then who the hell was this guy?


    The Joker himself was confused.


    ¡°Oi!¡± Joker (clone) took out his knives as well and pointed at Amari with narrowed eyebrows.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Someone explain what the hell is going on¡±.


    The eyes of the two clowns collided and as if smelling gunpowder, they uttered simultaneously.


    ¡°And who the hell is this freak?¡±


    Seeing the scene, A small smirk appeared on Amari''s face. Then he pointed towards the clone and said to the original.


    ¡°He...... Is your replacement. Created by Lex Luthor to do your Job of killing Batman¡±.


    Both clowns had their eyes widen...... Then narrow with unbridled psychotic rage appearing in their green irises.


    One was angry because someone dared to create another version of himself to replace him.


    And the other was angry because someone referred to him as a replacement.


    But ultimately, both were outraged because of the last line.


    Someone else was going to kill Batman.


    At that moment, the terrifying obsession with The Dark Knight exploded in full force to form extreme anger and hostility.


    Directed precisely at each other. When it came to Batman, nothing else mattered.


    Joker, in his mind was unique.


    There could only be one prince of crime. One man to star as Batman''s mortal enemy, one ultimate comedian....... No one could steal his show, no one could bask in his limelight. This was clearly indicated by how no one in Gotham dared to use laughing gas in a crime.


    The last person who tried it had his whole gang destroyed in The Joker''s fit of rage.


    There could only be One Joker...... But now, there were two.


    The two narrowed their eyes at each other and imaginary Sparks flew in the air.


    ¡°Well...... Enough talk. I didn''t bring you back from hell for the fun of it now, did I?¡± And so, Amari''s voice cut through the tense atmosphere.


    He looked at the original and smiled.


    ¡°It''s just a vacation break. If I decide to, you can go back on vacation¡±.


    The image of the terrifying hellscape appeared in the Clown''s mind.


    During his time in hell, Jack Oswald White experienced the worst of tortures. Even when Amari blew up his arm, there was no comparison.


    Everything he had never felt since the day he became Joker, he felt it all. Pain, fear, sadness, despair...... Not to mention...... The agony. His soul was burned constantly in hellfire for years. As one day in the Hellscape was equivalent to a minute in the DC world, more than a month had passed since his death.


    Meaning, he had been tortured in hell for more than a century.


    Truly, hell lived up to its legend.


    The Mad clown had grown considerably less mad after years of solitude and torture.


    Or to put it in another way, most of his madness had been burned away, leaving traces of reasoning.


    The thought of having to go back to that damned place made him unconsciously shiver.


    ¡°So if you want to take a break from vacation a little longer, your Job is simple¡±. And so, Amari looked at the Joker indifferently, transferring the knowledge of what he wanted him to do through a mind link.


    And in the span of five seconds, the latter''s face changed inexplicably.


    From puzzlement, to doubt, to a look of narrowed eyebrows.


    Then, he turned towards the clone and revealed a sinister smirk.


    ¡°Well...... Looks like we''ll start the carving with you, wannabe¡±.


    He twirled the knives in his hands and rushed forward.


    The clone clown growled, seeing the other assaulting him and raised his weapons to defend himself.


    Seeing this scene, the audience was even more confused. What the hell was going on?


    Why were the two Joker''s battling each other?


    ¡°Um....... Aqualad?¡± Seeing things unfolding in a very strange way, Wally couldn''t help but call out to their leader.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    ¡°I......¡±. Aqualad was equally confused. Their mission was to stop the Injustice League at their headquarters while the Justice League battled the plant creatures.


    Now..... The central plant that controlled the others was successfully destroyed, and the Injustice League were stopped.


    But none of it was their doing. Poison ivy and count Vertigo were restrained, Black Adam was ....... dead, same thing with Atomic skull. The Joker was fighting......... Strangely enough, himself, Ultra Humanite was standing on place, unmoving or rather, not dating to move, as for Wotan........


    Wait!


    Aqualad''s eyes widened in realization.


    ¡°Where''s Wotan?¡±


    It happened then...... Numerous chains appeared from beneath there feet, wrapping each of the Proteges and binding their limbs.


    ¡°It''s a trap!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Amari was surprised at what was happening. But at that moment, a flash of orange light appeared behind him, materializing to form the figure of the sinister sorcerer.


    ¡°¦ª¦Á¦Ó¦Á¦Í¦Á¦Ë?¦Í¦Ø¡±


    In a split second, his figure was fully formed and he roared the final incantation of the magic spell he had been condensing for so long.


    A magic circle appeared in front of them and behind them, at the same time releasing restricting energy.


    At the same time, Wotan raised his palms and slapped it against Amari''s back, pouring all his energy into this attack.


    BOOM!


    A shockwave emerged from the collision and spread a few meters in a nanosecond.


    The next second, however, the shockwave was drawn back to the point of collision before being absorbed into Amari''s body.


    In the swamp, there was nothing but utter silence.


    Seeing that his most powerful spell had no effect, Wotan was dumbfounded.


    Amari turned around with narrowed eyebrows, his eyes gleaming with frighteningly cold murderous intent.


    ¡°Did you just try to swallow my soul?¡±


    Seeing that things had gone wrong, the wizard immediately retreated, activating his transportation spell he had prepared in case this failed.


    ¡°Ark......¡±.


    However, his throat was grasped before he could utter another word.


    ¡°Well well, I never thought anyone would be able to do anything to make me this upset¡±.


    Feeling the strong grip on his neck, the dark sorcerer choked. Fear griped his very beating heart and his right hand trying to free himself from Amari''s grasp released and formed a magic circle.


    ''Break''


    Amari''s eyes glowed.


    The spell circle that had just formed cracked and shattered into pieces, but it didn''t stop there.


    Wotan''s outstretched arm suddenly received unimaginable force.


    The sound of cracking bones and tearing flesh resounded to the utter horror of everyone listening.


    ¡°Arghhhhh¡±.


    Wotan screamed in agony as his right hand was squeezed to meat paste.


    Everything from his fingers to his shoulder blade was utterly destroyed.


    ¡°Any last words?¡±


    ¡°Amari stop!¡±


    Wotan was defeated, he didn''t have the energy to concentrate on holding the Proteges captive.


    Seeing the way things were turning out, Aqualad called out instinctively.


    Amari snapped his head to the young atlantean with hostile eyes.


    ¡°What did you just say?¡±


    Aqualad froze. He instantly regretted opening his big mouth. But currently, all eyes were on him.


    ¡°This....... You don''t have to do this¡±. In the end, the young Atlantean could only bite the bullet and reply.


    ¡°Hehehe¡±. Amari chuckled. His expression becoming increasingly cold.


    ¡°You don''t qualify to tell me what I can or can''t do¡±.


    ¡°Then what about me¡±.


    The loud, sonorous voice startled all of them.


    It sounded like someone speaking through a voice magnifier.


    Raising their heads, a flying man with a golden yellow cape, gold helmet and a costume consisting of Gold and blue colors came into view.


    His cape fluttered with the wind and his stature looked imposing.


    More importantly, he was not alone.


    Flying after him were Superman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern Jordan who carried Batman, Flash, Green Arrow, Aquaman.


    Nine Leaguers........ Each with...... unique abilities and some more useful than others. A formidable force nonetheless.


    Who would think this was only a little less than half their original number.


    Wonderwoman, Captain Atom, Stewart, Cyborg, the original Flash, Shazam who no longer had powers, Red Tornado, Black Canary who was disabled, Red arrow who wasn''t brought along and Giovanni Zatara who at this point was the doctor Fate before him.


    All of them landed in the muddy swamp.


    ¡°It''s over¡±. Said Superman.


    Amari felt weird. The way Superman uttered those words in this situation made him look like a Supervillain who was finally caught.


    Of course, he knew Clark wasn''t referring to him when he uttered those words.


    Seeing them surrounding him, Amari couldn''t help but laugh.


    ¡°Do you really want to stop me?¡±


    ¡°Let him go, Amari¡±. Batman took four steps forward and stretched out his hand.


    ¡°Please¡±.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Amari was surprised.


    Did Batman actually just ask nicely.


    ¡°Not enough¡±. Still, he shook his head.


    ¡°You don''t have to kill him. You''ve caught him......¡±. Clark uttered while his gaze fell on the horrifying arm.


    ¡°...... And punished him. We can take him off your hands and promise this never happens again¡±.


    Clark uttered cautiously. He remembered the conversation he had with Amari some time ago.


    ¡°Let your villains keep their scheming to themselves¡±.


    ¡°Really?¡± Amari tilted his head slightly.


    ¡°How?¡±


    There was silence.


    The faces of everyone present weren''t looking so good.


    Except Batman, who didn''t change his expression and doctor Fate whose face was covered with a helmet.


    ¡°You expect me to let someone who tried to devour my soul go?¡±


    Amari looked incredulous.


    Although he never cared, he found it very surprising. After all the damage these guys caused, they would just let them go?


    ¡°You didn''t come for him¡±. Batman said.


    ¡°Am I right?¡±


    ¡°You came for Joker........¡±. Bruce turned his head and his expressionless face fell on the two Jokers who had stopped moving, and were watching the scene intently.


    The sight of Two clowns almost made his facade collapse.


    Still, he managed to pull it in.


    ¡°Wotan wasn''t in the picture until you attacked them¡±.


    ¡°So literally, it''s self-defense". Bruce never thought this day would come. He was actively speaking for a villain to prevent them from having to die.


    If he knew this would happen, he and the Justice League would have delayed their arrival by a few minutes.


    Batman didn''t advocate killing, but he wasn''t a saint.


    He was simply wary of Amari and resisted him because of his power. If someone like him decided to go on a killing spree, no one could stop him, but something like that hadn''t happened in months.


    For him, killing the likes of Wotan wasn''t unacceptable as long as he didn''t start killing people left and right.


    More importantly, as long as he wasn''t there when it happened.


    Of course, the situation was different now.


    If Amari had killed Wotan before they got here, then everything could be swept under the rug.


    The Justice League would most likely pretend as if this never happened. It was the same as when he killed the Joker.


    But in this situation, they had to say something. Especially since they were in front of their Proteges.


    If they just let Amari kill him in their presence, then it would set a bad example.


    ¡°My My, is this Batman?¡± Amari chuckled.


    Bruce ignored his antics.


    ¡°We can lock him up in Belle Reve. Even he won''t be able to escape¡±.


    In this point, Bruce was confident. Belle Reve was designed to hold even the likes of Superman.


    With some magical enchantments, Wotan would be really imprisoned.


    Bruce took a deep look at Amari and said seriously.


    ¡°You said you would rather not have any conflict with us, then do us this favor¡±.


    Amari was silent. Honestly, this was as sincere a request as he could get from the Justice League.


    Seeing that the rest of them didn''t utter a word and practically acquiesced, Amari didn''t know if he should feel moved.


    There was a bout of silence. Amari even considered releasing Wotan to their custody.


    ¡°True¡±. After a while of thinking, he uttered.


    ¡°I didn''t come here for him¡±.


    Then he turned his head to the dark sorcerer.


    Seeing the way things were progressing, Wotan felt relieved. Looks like he wouldn''t be dying today.


    Inwardly, he felt a bit of gratitude to the Justice League.


    Such righteous fellows are the favorites of Supervillains everywhere.


    However, when he met eyes with Amari, a chill ran down his spine.


    Those cold eyes didn''t look like they had any intent of showing him mercy.


    Amari wasn''t looking at his features, hut something else.


    ¡°Unfortunately for him........ The sight of his soul makes me sick¡±.


    Seeing the pitch black soul color that was even worse than Black Adam''s, Amari didn''t hesitate a second longer.


    Black flames engulfed his body and this medieval sorcerer that had lived for a thousand plus years was erased from existence, in both body and soul.

 Chapter 98 Orm

    Black flames engulfed his body and this medieval sorcerer that had lived for a thousand plus years was erased from existence, in both body and soul.


    ¡°Arghhhhhhhh¡±.


    The heart-wrenching scream was all that could be heard in the swamp as Wotan let out a shrill roar.


    A second later, his voice ceased as the dark sorcerer was wiped off existence.


    ¡°That''s better......¡±. Seeing Wotan destroyed, Amari''s mold brightened up slightly.


    Turning his body around, his gaze landed on the next target.


    Count Vertigo.


    ¡°Now for the next one........¡±.


    Before he could finish, Clark flashed at Super speed, appearing in front of Count Vertigo.


    ¡°I don''t think so¡±. Superman said while watching Amari intently.


    Wotan was dead. He couldn''t allow Amari to kill Count Vertigo as well.


    As for the Frozen Count Vertigo....... If Werner''s body wasn''t stuck like this, cold sweat would have soaked his costume already.


    This bastard wanted to kill him. Why?


    Seeing this, Amari stopped his actions.


    Then, he moved his gaze to the next villain available.


    However, Ultra Humanite might be an animal, but he was no fool. Seeing Amari looking in his direction, the giant gorilla immediately felt the breath of death. Without hesitation, he immediately threw away his weapon, rushed towards Superman''s side, knelt down a few inches behind the man of steel and raised his monkey hands in the air.


    Silence.


    Seeing this........


    ¡°You''ve got to be kidding me¡±.


    ¡°You''ve got to be kidding me¡±.


    ¡°You''ve got to be kidding me¡±.


    Three voices called out simultaneously.


    Amari, Flash (-1) and Hal Jordan.


    Amari felt incredulous, seeing the giant monkey abandoned his dignity and kneel in surrender.


    He wasn''t the only one. The Proteges watching the scene felt like their outlook on catching villains had changed.


    ¡°Hey Rob, have we been catching criminals the wrong way?¡± Kidflash couldn''t help but poke the Boy Wonder beside him and ask.


    ¡°....¡±.


    Wally''s voice fell into Superman''s ears. The Man Of Steel frowned and made a note to cleanse such unhealthy thoughts away from these kid''s minds at a later date.


    Little did he know, Hal Jordan was having similar thoughts as well.


    ¡°They''ve surrendered Amari¡±. Bruce looked at Amari with a dark face.


    ¡°Let them go¡±.


    Amari didn''t reply. His gaze lingered on both villains for a few seconds.


    ¡°Fair enough¡±.


    Then, he turned his attention to the last. Poison Ivy.


    However, she was firmly held by her plants beside Amari.


    She didn''t have the chance to run, even if she wanted to.


    Noticing his gaze, Bruce''s face was a bit ugly.


    ¡°Amari.......¡±. Bruce wanted to speak. If Amari decided to kill Poison Ivy, similar to Wotan, they wouldn''t be able to stop him.


    ¡°Relax¡±. Bruce was cut short before he could say anything.


    ¡°The others, I have no scruples about killing¡±. Amari tilted his head slightly, examining Poison Ivy wrapped in her plants.


    ¡°But she''s different¡±. His words brought about the due confusion.


    ¡°Oh....... And why''s that?¡± The quiet Queen of vines suddenly asked in curiosity.


    Her earlier intent to attack Amari had long faded away. Especially when she witnessed the sudden death of Black Adam and the gruesome death of Wotan.


    Those scenes could haunt someone for weeks.


    ¡°....... Unless...... Don''t Tell me you''re interested in me¡±.


    Looking at the well sculpted face below her, a mild smile bloomed on hers.


    It gave off lustful promises.


    ¡°Although, if we get to know each other, I might be willing to consider it¡±.


    ¡°Are they.......... Flirting?¡± Robin''s eyes couldn''t help but widen in shock and suspicion.


    ¡°....... I..... Think so¡±. Aqualad was similarly confused.


    ¡°Man! This is Game¡±. Wally muttered silently under his breath.


    The weird interaction made the available Leaguers raise eyebrows.


    Amari''s eyebrows, however, couldn''t get any higher.


    ¡°Pass¡±. His eyes peered into the color of her soul as he spoke.


    For someone who created the plant that served as the antenna for the destruction caused by other plant creatures all over the world, you would think that Poison Ivy would have a soul color on par with Black Adams.


    But this was far from the case.


    On the other hand, her soul was strangely layered.


    The outer layer was gray. Darker than the average human being, black-hearted businessman but far from what you would expect from a treacherous villain.


    This was the first layer. But what laid underneath that layer was what Ari was drawn to.


    It was green. A bright, glowing, dazzling green.


    The two colors seemed to be separated by a barrier that kept them apart from each other. This discovery intrigued him.


    ¡°I told Superman before, that I''m not a murderous maniac. I can handle things in more....... humane ways. Like Ultra Humanite over there. I wasn''t going to kill him, just reduce his intelligence back to the level of the rest of his kind¡±.


    Ultra Humanite felt a thick wave of malice wash over him. He secretly applauded his wise decision to kneel behind Superman without hesitation, if not, he would have been reduced to nothing but a retarded monkey.


    Batman''s lips twitched slightly.


    Could that be considered more humane?


    Amari had barely finished his words when his eyes glowed.


    As soon as it did, an obvious change took place in Poison Ivy immediately.


    Her slightly green skin tone receded rapidly, as if meeting a natural enemy. Her plant streaks on the sides of her face also withered away rapidly, as did the vegetation that covered her body.


    ¡°...¡±. Poison Ivy was shocked.


    What the hell was happening.


    The plants that wrapped around her immediately loosened, causing her to fall to the ground.


    Falling into the swamp, Ivy folded in half.


    ¡°What........ What have you done to me?¡±


    All men in the vicinity immediately moved their eyes away from the sight before them.


    Doctor Fate and Amari excluded.


    ¡°Sheesh! We have kids here¡±. Hal complained out loud.


    For her nude body being exposed to everyone present, Poison Ivy didn''t give a damn. Instead, she looked at her hands and her skin with a touch of horror on her face.


    Her whole body froze.


    ¡°No.....¡±.


    She stretched out her hand, but nothing responded.


    The plants that usually adhered to her orders were uncharacteristically silent.


    ¡°No¡±.


    Then, she rushed towards the nearest tree and put her hand on it.


    ¡°No..... No..... Don''t leave¡­. Talk to me¡±.


    Ivy dropped to her knees with a shout of horror. She dug at the soil, pulling it together and breathing on it. Fresh salty tears dropped on the muddy floor.


    ¡°Arghhhhhh¡±. Her cry turned into a bloodcurdling scream.


    Ivy felt it. Her lack of power, her disconnection to the natural force........ The only thing that had always accompanied her....... The only thing that she could truly trust....... The only thing she truly loved.


    Her face lost all colors, and she curled up like a broken woman.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°I told you before, Superman¡±. Amari replied in a cheerful tone.


    ¡°There are things much worse than death¡±.


    Amari uttered, watched on for a few seconds before turning around and walking away.


    ¡°You can keep the villains, and the Joker''s. I''ll be back for them anyway. Currently, I have somewhere else to be¡±.


    Those were the last words he uttered as Batman watched his body disappear into thin air.


    ......... ...


    North Atlantic Ocean.


    Atlantis, Poseidonis......


    Oct 2, 18:05 EST


    ........


    Located in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, not far off the west coast of Africa The Posiedonis, the capital of the legendary lost city, home of the Atlanteans.


    Within this marvelous underwater capital, inside Prince Orm''s bedchamber.


    ¡°L-0, report¡±. The usually kind looking, well-beloved prince of the Atlanteans called out with a flat face and a bland tone.


    Right beside his bed was a holographic projector.


    As his words fell, the projector lit up and the hologram of a white dressed teenager appeared before him.


    ¡°L-5, may I ask what are your orders?¡±


    ¡°Inform me on the surface situation of the Injustice League¡±. Orm commanded indifferently.


    ¡°As you wish¡±.


    Her hologram disappeared and the pictures and videos of the plants attacking different cities around the world played before him.


    Followed by the arrival of the Justice League engaging the plant creatures in a prolonged battle while trying to save as many people as they could.


    The damage and death toll, however, weren''t something they could control.


    Seeing the chaos being unleashed, Orm''s lips curled up slightly although hardly noticeable.


    He watched as they cut apart, uprooted, destroyed vine after vine time and time again, but it just kept on growing.


    Then, the video of Count Vertigo announcing their identity to the world as well as blackmailing the United Nations was played as well.


    ¡°When was this?¡±


    ¡°About Two hours ago¡±.


    ¡°And what is their present status?¡±


    The holograms changed to what was happening now.


    All the plants around the world were destroyed. Giant cracks and cut off plant pieces were all that remained of the creatures.


    After Amari destroyed the central control, the attacks all over the world came to an end as all the plants withered away.


    What remained was uprooted, burned or thrown into the sun by Superman and his team.


    The worldwide attack had come to an end.


    ¡°They failed¡±.


    The Light Queen uttered unemotionally.


    ¡°It was expected¡±.


    Orm wasn''t surprised.


    The Injustice League would never be able to succeed anyway.


    If Superman and his band of Merry Do gooders were that easy to upstage, The Light would have done it before he was even included.


    Besides, they never expected these rogues to win. Their failure, on the other hand, had a greater purpose to serve.


    One Orm was very keen on making sure was completed.


    ¡°And? Did he arrive?¡±


    ¡°Affirmative¡±. The holographic teenager reappeared while another video appeared.


    This video......... Was recorded within the Injustice League headquarters in the Louisiana Bayou.


    ¡°Hey! I know you.......¡±.


    The sound of the Mad clown could be heard, but his face could not be seen. What could be seen however was the prime object of Orm''s nightmares for the past three weeks.


    Amari!


    Just seeing his face alone made the handsome face of the elegant prince contort slightly.


    ¡°........ Don''t worry, you''ll join him soon enough¡±.


    The recording played on and Orm didn''t say a word. Although the camera wasn''t always straightforward and tumbled now and then, especially the part where Joker was thrown through the glass, he watched intently in silence.


    ¡°Looks like Savage''s idea was successful¡±. A cunning smirk made its way onto his face as he saw success.


    ¡°It is too early to conclude......... But it does seem that way¡±. L-0 replied to him.


    The creation of the Injustice League was an idea hatched by The Light all along.


    They already knew that Batman was on their tail so they devised a brilliant move to throw him off it.


    Since Batman was searching for a secret society, then they would give him a secret society.


    And so, the Injustice League was founded.


    The plant creatures had proven their usefulness as potential weapons. More importantly, now the so-called heroes believe that their secret society had been revealed....... And crushed.


    With the Injustice League serving as their proxies, they were now free to continue acting in impunity.


    Of course, this was all initially planned for the JL. And while it still was, this performance was staged particularly for a new audience member.


    Amari!


    Orm still remembered that day three weeks ago. The day when Amari promised to hunt each one of them down and kill them.


    He taunted them, made mockery of them, told them to take their time and do their worst.


    This made the Atlantean prince feel utterly humiliated. However, he was even more worried.


    Worried that he might wake up one night and see that person standing beside his bed, looking at him with smile.


    ¡°I told you I''d come for you¡±.


    Uttering those lines and cleanly ending his life.


    These thoughts had given him sleepless nights.


    Orm for the first time in a long time, felt genuine fear. Not wariness...... Fear. The thought of someone capable of crushing Superman after your life wasn''t good for your mental health.


    And that was what was happening to him.


    Orm knew the rest of the Light felt the same way. Well.......... Some of them. Klarion was particularly cheery, and The Brain didn''t seem all that affected.


    Point being, they had to come up with a way to fix this problem. And so, they did.


    Savage proposed this idea they initially prepared to throw off The bloodhound on their trail that was Batman.


    In order to guarantee success, Luthor made additions.


    With a sample of Joker''s DNA, he cloned the Mad Clown of Gotham, making sure there was something to draw Amari''s attention.


    If Joker was there, then the chances of Amari coming back to finish him off were high. As long as the Justice League informed Amari that the Injustice League was responsible for the series of events planned against them, then Amari would think that these seven were the ones working behind the scenes, and most likely, leave them alone.


    The same plane to lure away a Bloodhound and a Sabertooth Tiger away from their backs.


    Now from the looks of it....... The plan had succeeded.


    As long as The Light didn''t make any big moves for the time being and avoided the calamity that was The Deviant...... At least until they found a way to deal with him, then their lives wouldn''t be in danger.


    At that moment, Orm received an incoming call.


    ¡°I have seen all I need to see, you are dismissed¡±.


    The AI didn''t say anything and disappeared.


    Orm however, was still deep in thought.


    The fact that Amari didn''t kill all of the Injustice League members left him particularly uneasy.


    He said he would hunt them down and kill them each, but he only killed two. Why is that?


    Seeing the Holo projector was still flashing, Orm frowned and answered.


    A miniature hologram of a man in a black metal suit with a Manta shaped head appeared.


    With two large daunting red eyes, small tubes that connect from the back to the head, webbed hands and fins on the legs, the identity of the caller was rather obvious.


    "Black Manta. What is the matter?"


    Orm asked.


    On the other end, Black Manta looked at the screen that displayed nothing but the blurry silhouette of white light and answered.


    "The creatures have been retrieved. The Laboratory has been set. Awaiting your inspection".


    "......... Excellent. I''m on my way".


    A look of realization appeared on the face of the Atlantean prince.


    The hologram disappeared and Orm turned to leave the room for his due appointment.


    ..............


    Atlantic Ocean, Far off from the Mid Atlantic Ridge......


    The darkness in the depths of the ocean was unending.


    Especially in this area, a considerable distance away from...... The Trench.


    At that moment, an underwater cruiser moved through the water depths with remarkable speed.


    As a product of Atlantean technology, this transportation device was specifically created for long distance travels.


    The dim glow given off by the cruiser served to give light to aid in navigation.


    Not much of it was required as Atlanteans genetically had superior eyesight and the darkness of the ocean''s depths was nothing to them.


    The glowing plants made this even more so.


    Soon, the transporter arrived at its destination.


    In the distance, a large building gave of a bright blue glow, with architectural designs quite similar to the recently destroyed Atlantean Science Center in Poseidonis.


    Black Manta Floated slightly above the floor, watching as the ship landed before him.


    The ship hatch soon opened and a man stepped out of the driver''s seat.


    Ocean master appeared, fully donning his suit of armor. The cape moved slightly with the water and the red lenses on his mask that covered half his face made look imposing.


    Coupled with Neptune''s Trident in his possession, he gave off the air of a born leader.


    After losing the Trident of Atlan in the battle against his brother, Ocean Master had been lucky enough to discover Neptune''s Trident. A weapon he believed t be even more powerful the Atlan''s Trident. With this one, he once again managed to overwhelm his brother, Aquaman.


    Unfortunately, without the intervention of the Justice League, even that attempt ended in failure.


    "Welcome".


    Black Manta uttered. His voice distorted through the helmet he wore.


    To his greeting, Orm gave a curt nod and swum over.


    "How are the experiments progressing with the creatures?"


    Now that The Light were once again in the shadows. Orm had decided to speed up advancements on his grand plan.


    If he was ever going to rule over Atlantis, he needed an army. A multitude of Strong, powerful soldiers that would follow his every order and were completely unafraid of death.


    This was the only way he could defeat his brother and successfully rule.


    Fortunately for him, an army with all but one of those requirements, already existed.


    And that Army, resided in the Trench quite far away from them.


    The Trench.


    This was both a geographical location and the name of a species.


    Atlanteans who adapted to living in the Trench and evolved accordingly.


    Now, they were nothing but Savage beasts who did nothing but hunt for food.


    They were fast, powerful, numerous and unafraid of death.


    The perfect army. Missing only one quality.


    They wouldn''t listen to Orm''s orders and would most likely tear him apart the first chance they got.


    This was also the reason why Orm disliked his Trident for his brother''s.


    The Trident Of Neptune couldn''t control the trench monsters.


    This was a problem Orm was determined to resolve.


    "There have been......... Complications midway. It is best to see for yourself. The scientists can explain it better than me". Black Manta said while giving way.


    Orm nodded and swum towards the facility.


    Manta swum after him.


    Only.......


    Boom!


    The facility suddenly exploded and the whole place went up in black flames.


    Orm covered his face as the water current swept over both of them, pushing them back in the process.


    When he saw what was before him, his eyes widened.


    Underwater, in the depths of the ocean, Black flames engulfed the facility and consumed it regardless of the fact that there was water everywhere.


    "Those flames.......". A bad premonition swept over the Atlantean Prince.


    At that moment, a figure walked out of the burning building.


    His legs were firmly placed on the floor and he walks steadily as if he wasn''t at the bottom of the ocean.


    ¡°Oh! There you are Orm".


    Amari smiled brightly.


    ¡°I''ve been looking for you".

 Chapter 99 Attack On Atlantis

    ¡°I''ve been looking for you¡±.


    "Who are you?''


    Seeing the new arrival, Black Manta immediately stood on alert. The red eyes immediately glowed threateningly, and he moved into a combat stance.


    The retractable Manta blade appeared on plain sight.


    Black Manta, similar to Black Adam were compatriots. Compatriots in the sense that they didn''t watch much TV.


    So he was unclear on who exactly was right in front of him. But since he just walked out of a burning building completely unscathed, then he wasn''t someone to be taken lightly.


    As for why a building was still burning despite being underwater....... He couldn''t devote brain cells to ponder on that at the moment.


    Black Manta was ready for combat. The imposing Ocean Master, on the other hand, froze in place.


    It was that same face, that same voice, that same sentence, but it was all different. Different in the sense that it was all happening for real.


    At that moment, fear gripped the heart of the young prince.


    Amari knew who he was, and he was here for him.


    ¡°Me?¡± Amari shrugged and pointed to himself.


    ¡°As you can see, I''m a foreigner on tour¡±.


    What responded to him was two scorching hot rays impacting against his chest.


    Black Mantas laser beams blasted Amari for several seconds before receding.


    The victim in question was unmoved.


    ¡°Bad idea pal¡±.


    Mighty telekinetic force was unleashed, and Black Manta felt like he was hit with a speeding train.


    His internal organs shook as the metal man was slammed a great distance away upward, quickly disappearing.


    Amari turned his gaze back to his target, and a swirling current swept towards him in the form of an underwater tornado.


    However, the unleasher of such power, Ocean Master immediately swam at hyper speed without confirming the success of his attack.


    He quickly rushed towards his sea cruiser, got into the cockpit and diverted all power to the thrusters.


    The ship propelled off the ocean floor and left a water current in its wake as it sped away.


    The water tornado was diffused and Amari watched Orm flee away in fright and panic.


    ¡°Hehehehe¡±. He couldn''t help but chuckle at the sight of the Atlantean prince fleeing in such a cowardly way.


    ¡°Are you not going to stop him?¡±


    ¡°Alice?¡± Amari called out in a surprised tone.


    ¡°You''ve been awfully silent all this while. What have you been up to?¡±


    ¡°......... Creating a ledger for cosmic entities¡±.


    Amari rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Let me guess, Death?¡±


    ¡°...¡± Her silence was an affirmation on its own.


    Seeing this, Amari shrugged.


    ¡°Go ahead. There will probably be a lot more where she came from¡±.


    ¡°As for your question....... Why should I stop him when I know where he''s going?¡±


    ¡°That direction is........... Atlantis¡±.


    ¡°Yep¡±. A smile appeared on his features.


    ¡°Since he wants to reveal himself so badly, I would be a monster not to assist¡±.


    His words faded out and the fire behind him ceased burning.


    Of course, the building itself and everything else within was burnt to dust that was swept with the ocean currents.


    .............


    Atlantis, Poseidonis.


    Tula sat down at the steps in a corner of the conservatory of sorcery. Her mind was lost in deep thought.


    She had recovered from her injury two months ago when Poseidonis was attacked by Black Manta and his men.


    However, she hadn''t been exactly the same since then.


    Thinking of Kaldur''ahm confessing his love for her, Tula couldn''t help but feel a bit guilty.


    Of course, she didn''t regret it. It just wasn''t meant to be.


    She was already with Garth at that time. And honestly, she wasn''t in love with Kaldur.


    Or maybe she was, but that changed when he became King Orin''s prot¨¦g¨¦ and soon after left for the surface world.


    But considering that the time in between was two months, maybe it wasn''t even love to begin with.


    ¡°Are you alright Tula?¡± A voice called out from behind her, startling the young Aquagirl.


    She snapped her head backwards only to see a slender woman dressed in green clothing, looking down at her with a smile.


    ¡°Oh¡­. Queen Mera. Sorry for not noticing you..... I was¡­.¡±.


    ¡°It is alright child¡±. Mera replied.


    ¡°Something is troubling you¡±.


    ¡°I....... No...... Maybe a little¡±.


    Tula affirmed with a bit of complication.


    ¡°Is it Kaldur''ahm?¡±


    ¡°....... Yes, my queen¡±.


    ¡°There is no need to be conflicted young one¡±. She said and placed her hand on her shoulder.


    ¡°Kaldur is a strong young man. He will not hold it against you...... Or Garth. In time..... Perhaps this Rocky period will pass over¡±.


    ¡°Yes....... Thank you, my Queen¡±.


    Tula smiled, feeling a lot better.


    ¡°Good. Now come on, your class will begin any minute¡±.


    Mera smiled in return and turned around.


    However........


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°My Queen¡±. At that moment, a merman guard suddenly appeared and bowed. In his possession was bident weapon.


    ¡°Yes? What is the matter?¡±


    ¡°Prince Orm returned to the city¡±.


    ¡°Orm?¡± Mera frowned.


    What was orm doing out of the city?


    However, that wasn''t relevant. Orm as a royal member of Atlantis was free to leave the city as he wished without reporting his whereabouts.


    No one would ask him.


    Not just him, quite literally anyone could leave after going through the checks at the entrance and exit points.


    After all, Poseidonis was the capital and was well guarded.


    What she did find bothering was why the guard found it important to report this to her.


    ¡°Why do you tell me this?¡±


    ¡°He has ordered us to seal down the entire city¡±.


    ¡°Seal down?¡± Mera frowned heavily.


    Aquaman wasn''t here. What the hell was Orm doing.


    ¡°I see. Lead the way¡±. The guard bowed again before swimming off in a direction.


    Mera followed, leaving Tula to watch with puzzlement.


    ...........


    The Royal Palace.


    Orm had just landed his sea cruiser and emerged when he swam hastily towards the palace.


    His Ocean Master outfit was well hidden in a secret compartment in the sea cruiser parked a great distance away from the capital.


    He had switched cruisers mid-journey and appeared here in his Atlantean attire.


    And now, Orm was hastily making his way to the teleporter.


    He didn''t think for one second that he had lost Amari.


    Quite the contrary, the latter was probably following him to Atlantis.


    He knew this, but there was nothing he could do about it.


    Now, his only hope was to hope he could use the Teleport pads to escape the city before Amari caught him.


    This was why he ordered the guards to seal the city.


    Even a few extra seconds of time would be precious.


    However, sometimes, the more you want to do something, the more something won''t let you do it.


    ¡°Orm!¡± Seeing Her husband''s brother, Mera quickly swam forward, blocking Orm''s path.


    ¡°Mera...... What can I do for you?¡±


    Mera''s eyes narrowed with major confusion.


    ¡°What is the matter Orm? Why did you order the city to be sealed off?¡±


    ¡°I.......¡±.


    Orm didn''t have time for this. The threat of death was nearing.


    But seeing this, he knew he wouldn''t be able to pass without giving her a reasonable answer.


    ¡°An enemy is coming Mera". So, he came up with an excuse and uttered gravely.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°I was attacked on my way back to Atlantis. By an enemy with unimaginable capabilities. A powerful adversary is coming Mera. One I''m not sure we can defeat. I must contact Orin before it is too late¡±. His grave expression let Mera know he wasn''t exaggerating.


    Her face changed drastically.


    ¡°An enemy? Who?¡±


    ¡°I do not know who he is. But I have ordered the guards to seal the city and strengthen the barriers. But I doubt that will be enough, I must contact Orin and get him here.....¡±.


    Meanwhile, outside the dome of Poseidonis.


    ¡°Hey, what''s happening?¡±


    ¡°Beats me¡±.


    ¡°Hey, I was just about to go in. You can''t keep me out here.....¡±.


    ¡°Why the hell is the city being sealed?¡±


    Atlanteans, Mermen and Mermaids, Fish and squid creatures, Giant Lobsters, creatures of the deep, discussed incessantly as they saw the city being sealed.


    One thing they all had in common was that they spoke in the native Atlantean Language.


    A distance away, a figured suddenly appeared on the road between two giant pillars. His feet rested firmly on the floor and Amari walked forwards with his hands in his pockets.


    Due to the large crowd of sea creatures entering and exiting Poseidonis, no one noticed an extra addition that looked similar to a regular Atlantean while the doubts of the public were focused on the city being sealed.


    However, there would always be that one person who would inform the others on what was wrong around them.


    Telekinetic force pushed the sea creatures out of Amari''s path as he continued to move forward.


    ¡°Hey watch it......¡±. A giant lobster yelled, but his voice ceased the moment he saw the strange attire Amari had on.


    ¡°Is that an Atlantean?¡±


    Soon, more creatures began to notice and subconsciously gave way.


    However, they soon discovered that this creature, didn''t have gills on his neck.


    ¡°He''s a surface dweller!¡± A mermaid suddenly exclaimed in a loud voice.


    The loud exclamation followed by the silence drew the attention of the guards.


    Seeing the weirdly dressed stranger, their eyes also widened.


    This was a human. But what was a human doing at the depths of the sea, at Poseidonis of all places?


    ¡°Halt!¡± A merman saw him approaching and yelled in a loud voice.


    One that he ignored.


    ¡°You have reached the gates of Poseidonis. The city is currently under Lockdown. State your name and your business here immediately¡±.


    Amari didn''t respond.


    Seeing this, the guard grew furious and signaled to the sentry towers.


    The laser cannons mounted on the city walls all pointed in his direction.


    Atlantean cruiser ships flying around converged in the vicinity and aimed there weapons in a single direction.


    The heavy artillery aimed towards them caused the crowds to panic. They all hurriedly distanced themselves from the human who was seeking death.


    ¡°The technology of this race has surpassed earthlings by thousands of years¡±.


    Alice uttered in wonder.


    ¡°True. On Earth, this civilization is a wonder¡±.


    ¡°I repeat halt¡±.


    Seeing the weapons aimed at him, Amari finally stopped.


    ¡°You are a surface dweller suspected of having hostile motives. You can and will be put under arrest to be trialed in the Atlantean court. Any attempt to resist capture will be met with extreme prejudice¡±.


    The guard babbled in Atlantean, not expecting the human to understand. However, if this surface dweller were wise, he would definitely stay still after noticing the weapons pointed in his direction.


    An Atlantean ship slowly fell to the floor, probably for soldiers to arrest him and have him transported to prison.


    ¡°Don''t resist?¡± Amari raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°No, that''s not right. If I can''t resist, then how do I make a dramatic entrance?¡±


    And so, his still legs ignored warnings and began movement.


    ¡°Open Fire¡±.


    The guard roared.


    ''Power off''


    Atlantis was a city created with the perfect blend of Magic and Technology. Their fighting styles relied on combat mastery, their Atlantean physique and magic while their city was powered and protected by technology.


    And so, what would happen if this technological city lost power?


    The charged Laser cannons immediately lost heir glow.


    The blasters within the guards'' possession was disabled.


    The lights went out, all vehicles immediately stopped floating and fell to the floor.


    The Citywide generator immediately went off.


    All over Atlantis...... The whole place was swallowed in sudden darkness.


    ¡°I have to inform Orin before.......¡±.


    Orm had barely finished his sentence when the power went out.


    The whole city suddenly grew darker making it difficult for the citizens to adapt.


    "Oh no!" Orm''s face changed drastically. He raised his head to the sky and his worst fear came true.


    The energy dome that surrounded Poseidonis disappeared as the city lost power.


    ¡°He''s here¡±.


    Orm said in panic.


    ¡°It''s too late. He''s already here¡±.


    Orm gritted his teeth with a concealed look of hatred on his face. If this woman had allowed him to leave...... This wouldn''t have happened.


    Now the power was out in the whole city. Even the palace would be no exception.


    And if that were the case, then the teleporter would be useless.


    Orm was stuck here.


    "The power........". Mera was stunned. "This can''t be...... The city is defenseless".


    "There you are".


    Amari locked onto Orm''s floating figure as he disappeared with the whooshing sound.


    "We can''t stay here anymore, you need to come with me......". Orm stretched out his hand to grab her, but.....


    A figured appeared before him at a speed her couldn''t react to and slammed against his chest.


    "Ugh!" The impact immediately sent the prince flying away, blood spurting out of his mouth as he crashed through a building.


    BOOM!


    The whole structure immediately came down on itself.

 Chapter 100 Meras Death

    Blood spurted from Orm''s mouth as he slammed against the rock-hard floor.


    The building he just crashed through collapsed on itself, and a giant pillar fell on the back of the injured prince.


    Bam!


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Feeling the impact, Orm groaned in pain.


    Hidden underneath his skin-tight clothes and on the surfaces of his arms, the tattoos drawn on them glowed a bright blue.


    Water surged around him as a blue energy beam condensed around his body, before exploding in all directions.


    With a blast, the giant pillar on his back was shattered to pieces, freeing him from the ground.


    ¡°Quite capable¡±.


    Orm had barely regained balance when a voice uttered behind him.


    He turned around to see the object of his nightmares walking towards him at a leisure pace.


    Orm''s body reacted instinctively.


    He pushed both hands forward and fired a magic blast.


    It was a direct hit....... Which did no damage whatsoever.


    On the contrary, a vast telekinetic force surged forwards, slamming into his chest, smashing him straight into the nearby wall.


    Numerous cracks appeared as the wall behind Orm barely withstood the impact.  A deep hole had been formed with his figure etched into it.


    ¡°Argh!¡±


    Orm felt terrible. He could feel his internal organs trembling, yet Amari ignored his plight and appeared before him, slamming his palm against Orm''s chest.


    ¡°Urghh¡±.


    This time, Orm keeled over as if his lungs had momentarily lost oxygen. Blood emerged from his nose and lips. A blood cloud emerged, enveloping the surrounding water.


    Amari looked on indifferently. The fight had barely started, and the Atlantean prince had barely taken three hits. Yet, he had suffered severe internal injuries.


    Without magical healing assistance, even with his Atlantean physique, he would have to stay in bed for months. Maybe longer.


    ¡°For someone who wants to take over Atlantis, and then move on to the surface, your personal strength is rather weak¡±. Saying so, he applied a little more force, his fingers instantly dug through Orm''s skin.


    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± He couldn''t hold it in any longer and yelled in pain.


    His rib cage trembled continuously. As if warning him, they would shatter if any more force was applied to it and nothing would stand in the way of the attacker and his heart.


    The cracking noise was all the reminder he needed.


    ¡°So........¡±. Amari looked Orm straight in the eyes.


    ¡°Any last words?¡±


    ¡°Let go of him!¡±


    At that moment, giant purple energy tentacles suddenly surged towards both of them.


    Amari turned his head towards the source of the voice only to see numerous attacks rushing towards him.


    The tentacles moved rapidly, but broke apart the moment they were within three feet of their target.


    At the same time, a tentacle burst through the cracked wall behind Orm, wrap around his waist and pulled.


    The wall shattered as Orm was dragged out of Amari''s grasp and pulled away rapidly.


    ¡°Intruder! How dare you invade Poseidonis and attack its citizens?¡±


    With a loud voice, a figure swam towards Amari.


    Red hair, green revealing clothing and a royal gold crown on her head.


    She had two streaks of blue lines on the sides of her face that extended behind her neck and twirled around her arms, a fair complexion and gorgeous features.


    Her eyes sparked with extreme anger as multiple energy tentacles revolved around her floating figure.


    ¡°What an angry beauty¡±.


    Amari uttered, clearly not disturbed about Orm being retrieved.


    Instead, he observed the Atlantean queen with interest.


    He instantly noticed the second life force within her body. In other words......


    ¡°Oh! Looks like Arthur''s been busy¡±.


    Seeing the other party''s unscrupulous gaze, Mera''s face grew colder.


    ¡°Identity yourself Human or bear the consequences¡±.


    Still, she refrained from attacking immediately.


    Her previous attack was easily taken apart by the opponent. He didn''t even move an inch, utter a word or blink when he did it.


    Orm was of Royal blood. His physiology and talent for magic was one of the best among Atlanteans. Although slightly inferior to Aquaman in physical strength and battle prowess, his magical aptitude surpassed Orin''s by several folds.


    Yet even he was beaten to such a state. The horror of the person before her was just as Orm described.


    Unless she used more advanced spells, she doubted she would be able to match this individual.


    But that could lead to mass destruction. The citizens would certainly suffer for it.


    ¡°Consequences? Hehehe". What followed was the sound of soft chuckles.


    Amari smiled naturally as if he just heard a funny joke.


    The slight ridicule in his eyes and nonchalance in his attitude was particularly infuriating.


    ¡°Funny...... Even Aquaman doesn''t dare to utter such words. I am curious what gave you the courage to do so¡±.


    His plain ridicule was the last straw.


    ¡°Bold human¡±. Numerous blue lines covered her body as the silhouette of a giant octopus with numerous tentacles appeared behind her.


    ¡°You will pay for your insolence¡±.


    ¡°It''s payday? Gladly¡±.


    Mera gritted her teeth and pushed her hands forward.


    Multiple energy beams shot towards the stationary Deviant.


    Meanwhile.


    "Your highness¡±. Tula quickly arrived at a nearby building with numerous guards behind her.


    The miserable figure of orm sitting on top of a building while clutching his ribs with an obvious look of pain fell into their eyes.


    Tula had dropped orm as far away as she could while she engaged Amari head on.


    ¡°Huh? Tula...¡±.


    The female quickly arrived beside him.


    ¡°You''re hurt. You need medical help¡±.


    Tula quickly turned to the guards.


    ¡°Take the Prince to a safe location¡±.


    ¡°No¡±. Orm refused without hesitation.


    ¡°Mera is fighting the intruder. She requires support¡±.


    ¡°Understood. Half of us will support the queen, while the other will.....¡±.


    ¡°No, not half¡±. Orm interrupted through gritted teeth.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°All of you. Queen Mera is pregnant. And she isn''t strong enough to defeat the opponent. She won''t survive in his hands without help. Transfer all available warriors to aid her. Go, Now!¡±


    Orm roared.


    ¡°Yes my prince¡±.


    The Atlanteans and Merman immediately obeyed.


    Tula was a bit at a loss.


    But Orm wouldn''t have her be idle.


    ¡°You...... Tula. Help me out of here. Towards the conservatory. There should be something capable of contacting the King¡±.


    The guards would serve as appropriate fodder alongside Mera.


    Now, his first priority was to get out of her while she bought him time.


    ¡°I....... Yes¡±.


    Tula put his arm around her shoulder and put hers around his waist. Then she kicked off and swam towards the Conservatory of Magic with all her strength.


    Orm''s face was grim. This was officially turning into the worst day ever.


    Almost as bad as the day he discovered he actually had a half-brother. And that that Halfling would inherit the throne while he would be nothing more than a prince.


    Tula swam fast.


    Going at full speed, she could see the conservatory in the distance.


    Only.......


    BOOM!


    A giant blue shockwave expanded rapidly from the distance.


    Orm and Tula were immediately hit away, their swimming bodies spiraling out of control.


    Tula managed to stabilize herself before crashing.


    Orm, wasn''t so lucky.


    However, before she could rush to his aid, her eyes widened as she saw a green clothed figure streak through the water like an arrow fired from a bow.


    ¡°My Queen!¡± Tula screamed.


    The figure of Mera flew towards the distance before taking a downward trend and smashing against the floor of one of the conservatory training arenas.


    The ground cracked as the Atlantean queen smashed against the floor, leaving a deep pit.


    ¡°Urgh!¡± Blood seeped through her lips as the metallic taste flooded her mouth, and she resisted the urge to spit out a mouthful.


    Debris flew in all directions.


    ¡°My queen..... Queen Mera!¡±


    Tula held Orm and swam rapidly towards the fallen Queen.


    At that moment, the space beside Mera swirled and Amari''s figure appeared on the spot.


    Before she could react, the redhead felt a strong grasp on her throat, lifting her up from the floor.


    ¡°Ok beautiful.....¡±. Amari raised her up to meet her eyes.


    ¡°...... What was that part about consequences? I''m all ears¡±.


    ¡°Ugh! Ugh!¡±


    With eyes filled with horror, Mera gasped in pain.


    ¡°Unhand her you beast¡±. Rage clouded Tula''s eyes and she let go of orm. Her tattoos glowed as a giant pulse of electrical energy condensed into a ball before her and was thrown towards him.


    ''Telekinetic Field''


    The mystical energy beam that gave off a lightning spark immediately dissipated.


    What followed was the irregular stillness of the water flowing around them.


    ¡°Urgh!¡± Both Orm and Tula were unable to resist the change in gravity and were pulled to the floor.


    The weight of a building pressed down upon their shoulders making them almost sprawl on the floor.


    Orm''s bones made desperate cracking sounds.


    With the injuries he already suffered, the weight pressing on him was almost unbearable.


    His skin cracked, and the water was stained with Orm''s blood.


    Orm who was an Atlantean of Royal blood, despite being injured was in such a state. You could imagine what Tula was experiencing.


    Similar cracking sounds could be heard as the weight pressing on her was too great for the female sorceress to resist.


    Amari''s gaze lingered on the Aquagirl.


    ¡°Her loyalty to her Queen is admirable¡±. Amari uttered plainly.


    Turning his gaze towards the struggling Queen, he asked.


    ¡°Wouldn''t you agree?¡±


    ¡°Who are you, surface dweller?¡± Mera asked coldly.


    ¡°Me?¡± Amari raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Hasn''t Orm filled you in yet?¡± And so, his eyes fell back on the Atlantean prince, who had an ugly expression.


    ¡°I''m here for the ocean master¡±. Mera''s eyes widened before narrowing in rage.


    ¡°Is that why you attack us. The Ocean Master is an enemy of Atlantis¡±.


    ¡°Is he?¡± His eyes glowed with amusement.


    ¡°You certainly don''t treat him like an enemy to me. Do they Orm?¡±


    The question was met with silence. Mera''s expression was one of shock and disbelief.


    ¡°Don''t listen to him Mera". Orm yelled with an angry expression.


    ¡°He''s lying¡±.


    The Atlantean queen had her face grow cold again.


    ¡°You expect me to believe this preposterous claim?¡±


    Mera would never believe it. Her husband''s brother was his sworn enemy?


    ¡°I don''t. And frankly, I don''t care if you do. It won''t stop his death either way¡±. He replied apathetically.


    ¡°You.....!¡± Mera''s eyes burned with anger.


    ¡°You will not get away with this. Atlantis has existed for thousands of years. It will not fall easily. For everything you have done, you will receive retribution¡±.


    ¡°I see¡±. Amari replied with indifference.


    ¡°And who''s going to give it to me? Arthur?¡± Amari chuckled and raised his head.


    ¡°Or is it them?¡±


    Above him, thousands of Atlantean soldiers, all armed with their bidents rushed towards this location.


    For a moment, their figures seemed to block the space above them.


    To this, Amari didn''t even smile.


    With a thought, the range of the telekinetic field expanded rapidly.


    The next moment, the rapid advancement of Atlantean forces suddenly came to a halt.


    The stern faced warriors suddenly lost control of their bodies as they all plunged rapidly to the ocean floor.


    The water was completely unable to stop their descent as they fell, causing destruction upon impact like meteors.


    ¡°No!¡± Seeing this scene, Mera exclaimed.


    Amari continued.


    ¡°Or is it Garth hiding behind that pillar over there, waiting for the moment I let my guard down¡±.


    Hidden behind the pillar, Garth''s eyes widened in shock.


    The next moment, he gritted his teeth and charged forward while condensing a glowing water ball within his palms.


    His location had been exposed, so he had no other option.


    ¡°I summon the power of the Tempest¡±.


    Garth roared as the swirling ball took shape, and he threw it out with Amari as the target.


    However, Garth''s ferocious expression suddenly paled at the sight of what happened next.


    Amari watched the incoming energy beam and raised an eyebrow in amusement.


    Then....... He moved Mera who was being held by the throat in front of him, directly bearing the brunt of Garth''s attack.


    ¡°No!!!¡±


    ¡°Ugh!¡± The blast hit cleanly. Mera''s eyes widened and her body stilled.


    Then, those bright-green irises were covered by her eyelids as she felt the whole world grow blurry.


    ¡°My Queen!!!¡±


    ¡°Mera!¡± Orm and Tula yelled in shock.


    Tula was filled with despair and tears welled up in her eyes.


    She struggled to raise her head and she saw it.


    In Queen Mera''s abdomen, a gaping hole was present due to Garth''s attack.


    Blood flowed rapidly.


    Orm was rather shocked.


    He knew Amari could take that blast without any damage...... Or even just destroy it completely.


    Instead, he placed Mera to bear the attack.


    This....... He definitely didn''t see that coming.


    Looking at Garth who was frozen in place and Tula who was on the verge of breaking down, he couldn''t help but exclaim inwardly.


    How ruthless.


    This was killing with a borrowed knife. And it was the knife of a loved one at that.


    ¡°You wanted me to put her down?¡± Amari asked inquisitively, and then he shrugged.


    ¡°Ok¡±.


    And so, Mera fell from his grasp.


    Her body slowly fell to the floor, laying there unmoving.


    ¡°My....... My Queen!¡± Garth''s face was deathly pale, and he swam towards the body of the Mera.


    Placing his hand on her head, tears streamed down his face.


    He........ He just killed his teacher, his mentor........ his Queen....... And..... His king''s unborn son.


    Garth felt like his whole world was crumbling.


    ¡°You''re better looking, but in terms of tactical ability, combat prowess and foresight, you''re far behind your friend Aqualad¡±.


    ¡°Still, don''t feel bad¡±. That bland, indifferent voice sounded in his ears again.


    The sentence made his mind go blank before being filled with unchecked rage.


    "You...... You monster!''


    He raised his right hand and condensed an energy spear.


    However, the gravity field expanded towards him, causing his attack to dissipate and pinning him to the floor in the process.


    ¡°What?¡± Amari''s eyebrows couldn''t get any higher.


    The telekinetic field on Garth''s arm increased.


    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡±


    The arm was crushed by the immense force, causing all the bones within to break.


    ¡°That....... is a warning. And I said, don''t feel bad. After all, she isn''t dead¡±.


    Once again, everyone''s mind went blank.


    The gaping hole in her stomach was clearly visible. What did he mean by she wasn''t dead?


    ¡°Resurrect." Turning to the cold corpse, Amari''s eyes glowed blue as he activated reality warping.


    The blood disappeared, the gaping hole in her stomach disappeared, and the dead child in her womb was restored in an instant.


    She was no longer a corpse, but an unconscious Atlantean queen.


    Amari took a deep look at Mera. Or rather, at the fetus in her womb.


    ¡°Let her and your king know when she wakes up....... That they can thank her unborn child for her life¡±.


    Then, he turned his gaze to Orm.


    ¡°You however, are coming with me¡±.

 Chapter 101 Fingersnap

    ¡°We''re done here¡±.


    Batman uttered expressionlessly. At least, no one could tell what emotions he had on through the cowl as they could only see the lower half of his face.


    Hearing this, The Flash from Earth -1 frowned. What the hell did Batman mean by done?


    ¡°No, hold on¡±. Bruce paused.


    ¡°I thought we were going to tell him¡±.


    ¡°He isn''t here¡±.


    Flash frowned.


    ¡°He was¡±.


    ¡°Do you expect us to bring up that topic under the circumstances at that time?¡±


    The foreign speedster had his face crumple.


    ¡°....... It''s been more than a month. I''m running out of......¡±.


    ¡°It will happen. You just have to be patient¡±. Bruce cut him short.


    ¡°Besides, even if we do so, there''s no guarantee he will agree. As you can see from what happened earlier, he isn''t so easy to bargain with¡±.


    Flash (-1) opened his mouth but no words came out.


    The sight of Amari burning Wotan to nothing but dust fell into his mind once again causing the speedster to shiver involuntarily.


    In the end, he could only nod and take a step back begrudgingly.


    Seeing this, Bruce nodded.


    ¡°We know your world is in danger. And we have a teammate trapped over there as well. We will help, but you know clearly that our world''s situation isn''t ideal to free up manpower. No matter how willing we are to help, we can''t jeopardize the safety of our world for yours¡±.


    The truth was ugly but if given another chance, Bruce wouldn''t put it any other way.


    That was how he was. He didn''t mince his sentences to make others feel better.


    Flash''s face was ugly. Luckily, Batman''s next words eased the atmosphere.


    ¡°However, with the Super villain secret society neutralized, we can finally free up time to address certain matters¡±.


    The ugly expression was alleviated.


    Then ignoring their foreign Flash, he turned towards The Team.


    His eyes resting on Supergirl for a second longer than the others, although no one noticed.


    ¡°As for your performance........¡±.


    Bruce paused for a second before continuing.


    ¡°Considering the mission was completed, it was satisfactory¡±.


    Although he praised them verbally, his tone gave off no hint of giving them praise. After all, they weren''t the ones who finished the job.


    ¡°You have been through a tough mission. Head to the cave, hit the showers, then head home. Ultra Humanite, Count Vertigo and Poison Ivy will be taken care of by the league¡±.


    Wotan was dead, Black Adam was dead, Atomic skull was dead.


    Bruce said before turning his attention away.


    At the moment, his mind was occupied with different thoughts, as well as a few headaches.


    Count Vertigo was the ringleader of this group, but strangely enough, he wouldn''t be going to jail with his other teammates.


    After all, he had diplomatic immunity. The Joker¡­. Or Jokers, also weren''t going to Belle Reve but....... No surprise, Arkham.


    Bruce had been trying to get that maniac within Belle Reves walls for years now.


    This thought made Batman''s furrowed eyebrows furrow even more.


    And there was Poison Ivy. The plant Queen losing her powers wasn''t what irked him.......... Actually¡­ It did irk him. But not in the way that you would expect.


    Amari had once again displayed something that proved his suspicions. Amari could give abilities.


    Similarly, he could take them away.


    This had already been put in the file and circled in red.


    Shazam''s abilities had been stolen by Amari. Now, there was Poison Ivy.


    At this point, Bruce was certain that even Clark would be powerless against this individual. If he could take Shazam''s powers away, he could most certainly take away Clark''s.


    This fact unsettled him. Worse still, there was nothing he could do about it. But that wasn''t the main problem.


    Poison Ivy losing her abilities was something he could breathe a sigh of relief to.


    What bothered him, was why exactly Amari had brought the Joker back to life.


    This action........... It didn''t make sense in the slightest. This ability to revive the dead didn''t bring any surprises as well.


    Superboy was still alive and kicking.


    It was one thing for Amari to come to this place. After all, he killed Joker. Seeing him alive would definitely attract him once again to finish the job. That was understandable.


    What wasn''t was why he left without killing the clown. Also, why did he resurrect another Joker from death?


    Was he going to return to kill them later?


    Another thing didn''t add up. According to the Proteges, Amari said that the second joker was a clone created by Lex Luthor.


    The second Joker was a clone....... That checked out.


    But why was Lex Luthor involved? Superboy was created in Cadmus Labs. Lex Luthor was its chairman, so the connection was also understandable.


    But why? What would Luthor gain in doing such a thing?


    So Joker could continue to create trouble to keep him busy?


    No.


    In less than a second, hundreds of thoughts had flown through his head.


    Something was wrong, definitely wrong. Bruce was sure of this. His intuition was usually never wrong, and right now, it was telling him that this whole thing wasn''t as simple as it seemed.


    There was a scheme afoot.


    Now Joker was alive. Worse still, there were two of em.


    To be honest, Batman wasn''t too fond of Amari. He didn''t hate him, he didn''t even dislike him.


    All of that was earlier on when his mind wasn''t his own.


    He was wary of him, however. And that probably wouldn''t change, no matter what happened.


    He also didn''t like Amari''s character. The actions of a man with so much power was typically wanton.


    Amari wasn''t human and didn''t have a trace of humanity. It would be weird if Bruce could treat him like Clark.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Saying he didn''t like Amari was debatable. But what wasn''t was that he hated the Joker more than anyone else in this world.


    Joker had a psychotic obsession with him, but he felt nothing more for the clown than unquenchable rage.


    He loathed him, he despised him. On multiple occasions, he had contemplated killing this scourge and being done with it.


    But ultimately, his reasoning won over his anger each time.


    He wouldn''t kill Joker. Not unless he was left in a situation where he didn''t have any other choice.


    [Joker harmed people, but it had never come down to the point where killing him would ensure that an immediate disaster would be averted. Either the disaster had already happened, or it was going to happen and killing the clown wouldn''t stop it. Under these circumstances, Batman wouldn''t kill the Joker in order to maintain that voice that told him he wasn''t a monster. And on occasions where he thought Joker was dead, the clown wasn''t in the end. Talk about cheating death]


    When push comes to shove, even a mouse will fight. After all, Batman was stubborn, not stupid to the point of no redemption.


    When J''onn and Doctor Fate healed his mind and he discovered that Joker was killed, he didn''t feel joy or happiness, but he did feel relief.


    Relief that this burden was finally off his shoulders.


    He didn''t want to become a coldhearted killer, but he wanted the clown to die more than anyone else.


    Well.......... Now he was back. Worse still, there were two of em.


    For the first time ever, Bruce felt like his mind was about to collapse.


    He didn''t feel this way when his mind was actually about to collapse after battling Amari.


    ¡°How will we deal with Khandaq?¡± Superman couldn''t help but as with a frown.


    ¡°Even if it doesn''t get to the point of full-blown war, its enemies will attack¡±.


    Ever since his return, Black Adam was particularly unscrupulous in doing things.


    He even wanted to take over the world less than a week after he appeared, but had to change his mind with the appearance of Superman and Shazam.


    Without Black Adam. Khandaq would be in for a lot of trouble.


    ¡°About that. We''ll.........¡±.


    His words were interrupted as he received an incoming call.


    ¡°Batman here.......... I see¡±.


    Bruce frowned, put away his fingers from his left ear and made a holographic screen appear from his gauntlet, similar to what Robin usually did.


    ¡°What''s wrong¡±.


    Seeing the change in expression, Clark couldn''t help but ask.


    Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter couldn''t help but look over.


    ¡°Someone''s hijacking the satellite signals. All satellite signals¡±.


    ¡°Again?¡±


    .............


    Near the Atlantic Ocean........


    East coast........


    Splash!


    The ocean roared, and the waves battered against the rocks before retreating ........ and returning a moment later.


    The sky was dark, and the nighttime was setting in quickly.


    At that moment, the ocean seemed to spit something out as a figure was thrown from the water depths.


    Smashing against the rocks surfaces, causing the rocks to shatter and finally coming to a stop with a pained groan.


    He left a long trench along the way.


    Orm''s face was bloodied.


    His attire was in ruins and his body was filled with bruises and cut marks.


    Blood flowed from the wounded areas continuously.


    He looked like he had been dragged through the ocean floor.


    ¡°You know...... It was never going to work¡±.


    The sound of footsteps overshadowed the rushing waves.


    Amari walked towards him and the words were heard clearly.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± The prince didn''t respond. Only groaned.


    Amari didn''t care either. And continued to speak without stopping.


    ¡°I mean your plan. Your experiments on the trench monsters will bear no fruit. You would spend months, maybe years on that project, trying to find a way to control them so they could serve as your most powerful army, only to eventually fail¡±.


    Orm clenched his fist with a look of fury.


    ¡°This isn''t speculation, but your fate. Those monsters can be controlled........ But you don''t have the means to do so¡±.


    ¡°Enough!¡± The wounded Atlantean finally mustered enough strength to let out a roar.


    ¡°Oh........ Are you finally ready to be chatty?¡±


    Amari raised an eyebrow....... Then shrugged.


    ¡°I just felt it was important to let you know that your actions......... No matter what you do..... Will end up fruitless. I thought it would fit for a nice parting gift¡±.


    He uttered.


    ''Telekinesis''


    Orm''s face grew even more unsightly, yet before he could react, he found himself hoisted into the air by an invisible force, like he was within the grasp of two giant hands.


    Following which....... It squeezed.


    The sound of cracking bones were loud and clear.


    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± Orm screamed in pain. Never before had he felt this much torture in his life.


    ¡°As I was saying, any last words?¡± Amari asked nonchalantly as the telekinetic pressure tightened.


    Orm''s screams increased ever so slightly.


    ¡°No?¡±


    Amari tilted his head in amusement.


    ¡°I thought this was the part where the villains portrayed their cowardly behavior and begged for mercy in the face of death¡±.


    ¡°Or maybe the pain is too much to process, so I''ll throw out the offer¡±.


    The pressure loosened and Orm finally stopped screaming. Then, it disappeared completely and Orm fell to the floor with a thud.


    ¡°Better? I''ve decided to kill you today. But¡­. if you tell me who else is among your group of seven, kneel down and beg for your life, I''ll spare you the torture and I just might change my mind. After all, you are Aquaman''s brother. For that alone, you should get some privileges¡±.


    Pain!


    Currently, all Orm felt was pain.


    The pain that assaulted his nerves at this point was unlike anything he had ever felt before.


    Nevertheless, the Atlantean prince struggled to raise his head, allowing his eyes to meet Amari''s.


    The latter was a little stunned. He could see the anger, the hatred, but most of all, the unwillingness and defiance shining within them.


    ¡°....... I....... Am Prince Orm".


    He struggled and placed one hand against the ground.


    ¡°I....... Am the Ocean Master¡±.


    He placed the other hand and slowly pushed himself upward.


    ¡°And I....... Am an Atlantean......... Of royal birth¡±.


    With these few words, Orm managed to push himself off the ground and stand on his feet.


    His body was bloody, his legs were shaky, and his posture looked crooked and unstable.


    It looked like a stronger gust of wind could push him over. Yet, the unyielding fire within his eyes was equally eye catching.


    ¡°........ Go ahead...... Do it. But I..... The rightful heir to the throne of Atlantis, Will never kneel to anyone and beg for mercy¡­.¡±.


    ¡°........ My only regret, is that I never regained what was rightfully mine, from that fool of a Halfling they call my brother¡±.


    Orm snarled through gritted teeth.


    ¡°I would rather die........ Than go on my knees to the likes of you. Much less hold on to my life, at his expense¡±.


    And then, he closed his eyes, waiting for the silence of death.


    Only.......


    Clap! Clap! Clap!


    What answered to him wasn''t death but the sound of clapping.


    He opened his eyes and saw Amari looking at him with a smile and clapping lightly.


    ¡°The guts......... The conviction¡±. The smile on his face was particularly bright.


    ¡°To utter such words, even in the face of death........ I feel moved. Almost to the point of letting you go. After all, such conviction is rare in these days¡±.


    Amari stopped clapping.


    ¡°So........ Why don''t we play a game?¡±. Amari grinned, showing off a handsome set of pure white teeth.


    ¡°You said you''d rather die than kneel. Then let''s base the rules on that. If I can make you voluntarily kneel and beg for your life, I win. If not, then I''ll let you go, heal your wounds and rewind time so none of this ever happened¡±.


    Amari raised his hand, and it lit up with black fire.


    The Atlantean prince was taken aback.


    ¡°You.......... What?¡±


    ¡°Surprised?¡± Amari asked with amusement.


    ¡°Take it as a special offer. Your speech just put me in a good mood. Of course, it will all mean nothing if you can''t keep to your word¡±. At this point, his smile took a rather eerie twist.


    ¡°Just so you know....... I hate liars the most¡±.


    The wounded orm was dumbfounded. Why were things turning out like this?


    ¡°Touche?¡±


    Seeing that he was actually serious, Orm''s eyes narrowed. He had already readied himself to die, but.......... If he could live, why would he refuse?


    Seeing his expression, Amari spoke.


    ¡°I''ll take that as a yes¡±. And so, he raised his hand, put his two fingers together and......... Snapped.


    The next moment, blood and flesh bits flew in all directions as Orm was blown into bits.


    Silence enveloped the atmosphere.


    ¡°Hehehehe oops. I almost forgot how fragile you guys really are¡±.


    He chuckled while looking at the scattered blood.


    ¡°At this rate, I might actually lose. Can''t have that¡±.


    His eyes glowed and a portal appeared on the floor before him.


    Following which, a figure rose from it.

 Chapter 102 World Warning

    The portal opened up, and a figure rose from it.


    ¡°So, how does it feel to die?¡± Looking at the Atlantean Prince, Amari smiled.


    He was smiling, but Orm wasn''t.


    ¡°I...... What...... I.....¡±. Orm seemed to be in a daze, muttering words that made no sense.


    ¡°What? Too much?¡± Amari tilted his head.


    This seemed to wake him up.


    ¡°...... You¡­.¡±. Orm tool several steps backward in panic. To


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    ¡°What exactly?¡± Amari''s eyebrows couldn''t get any eyebrow.


    ¡°The silence after it all, or the feeling of having yourself explode at once. The pain should be indescribable, right?¡±


    ¡°You just........ Killed me¡±.


    Orm roared.


    ¡°Yep. Cool, isn''t it? The Joker took it a lot better though¡±. Amari shrugged.


    ¡°Now back to business. Ready to kneel yet?¡±


    ¡°I........ Of course, I won''t¡­.¡±.


    He had barely finished his words when Amari''s eyes glowed.


    Once again, the Atlantean prince was blown apart to nothing but bits and pieces.


    Five seconds later....... The portal reappeared again, and Orm was revived good as new, standing on his own two feet.


    ¡°What about now?¡± The calm voice fell into Orm''s ears causing him to shiver.


    Cold sweat had begun to develop on his forehead, neck and back.


    ¡°I........¡±. Once again, his eyes glowed. Once again, Orm was reduced to slag.


    Moments later, the portal appeared again and Orm was once again intact.


    But this time, the prince immediately fell to the ground with a frightened expression on his face.


    His Atlantean physique was sweating profusely, and his expression contorted as if he had just experienced something horrifying.


    In fact, he had.


    The pain of having your entire body explode wasn''t something anyone could handle.


    What made Orm have such an expression wasn''t the feeling of death, but the pain that came before it. Amari made sure to make him feel it all the moment he was brought back to life in the real world.


    It was terrible.


    ¡°You.......... Get away from me¡±.


    Orm crawled backwards with an expression of despair.


    ¡°Oh........ I wouldn''t make such an expression if I were you. It''ll ruin your image and dignity¡±. Looking at the frightened Orm, Amari couldn''t help but smile.


    This....... Honestly, this was fun.


    ¡°After all, what''s happening here is being broadcasted to every television show, news network, mobile device, the internet, everything capable of receiving information all over the world. So, as we speak, you can assume that seven billion people have been watching this whole thing since the moment I brought you here¡±.


    Orm''s face changed drastically.


    ¡°You........¡±.


    ¡°Yep¡±. The smile on his face grew brighter.


    Amari wasn''t kidding. He had ordered Alice to hijack the satellites all over the world.


    Then, he warped reality to connect what was happening right now to play out perfectly like a movie scene.


    Perfect lights, camera, angle..........


    The whole world was watching what was going on at the moment.


    Even the people of Atlantis were no exception.


    Gotham, Metropolis, Star City, Paris, Taipei, New Orleans, Bludhaven......


    The scene of Orm acknowledging his identity as Ocean Master and being killed three times over was played on the billboards, phones, televisions, computers, Tablets........


    The entire world was silent at this point.


    One could predict that in a few hours from now, this would become worldwide news.


    ¡°I thought about how to let the rest of your group know I was fulfilling what I promised earlier and then....... this came to me. Make the whole thing public, so there''s no way they don''t know what''s happening¡±.


    ¡°Brilliant, wouldn''t you agree?¡±


    Orm couldn''t utter a word. He was sure of it now. The man before wasn''t an alien but a monster.


    Even if he was willing to kneel, at this point, his pride wouldn''t allow him.


    ¡°So....... Are the rest of you watching this? Well, I hope you are because your member count is down by one¡±.


    His eyes glowed, Orm blew up......


    Many people watching couldn''t hold it in anymore and looked for the nearest suitable place they could find and threw up their lunches.


    The portal appeared. Orm was reborn.


    ¡°Well, now the count is back up¡±.


    Orm gasped and wheezed. What he felt was beyond anything any mortal man had ever experienced.


    ¡°Did you really think bringing back the Joker would mislead me?¡±


    Bang!


    Orm blew up.


    ¡°Well, I''m sorry to disappoint. But it won''t work. Your Injustice League is nothing more than a ruse. A proxy for the real seven individuals behind the scenes. And would you look here...... I found your first member¡±.


    ¡°Now of course, he was rather prideful and very determined to die to the end. So I made him a deal. If I can''t convince him to kneel eventually, then I''ll pretend like all this never happened. Well....... Let me extend the offer¡±.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Suddenly, Amari thought of something and smiled.


    ¡°As long as Orm doesn''t break, then I''ll pretend as if our whole farce never happened. It will be like you never offended me and the entire world will forget this ever happened¡±.


    ¡°What do you think? Great deal right?¡±


    And so, he turned his attention to the sweating Orm.


    ¡°Why are you so pale? Relax. As long as I wish it, I can always bring you back from the dead. Your soul won''t even have enough time to make it to hell¡±.


    ¡°You.....¡±. Orm''s body was trembling. His teeth clattered, and his legs were shaky.


    ¡°You never said you were going to kill me¡±.


    ¡°Why? You said you wouldn''t kneel even if I killed you. You didn''t really think you would only die once in your life, did you?¡±


    His eyes glowed.


    Bang!


    The portal opened.


    Bang!


    Portal open


    ¡°You know, I admire your conviction¡±. Amari said with admiration and his eyes glowed.


    Seeing this, Orm stretched his hand to ask Amari to stop.


    Too late.


    Bang!


    The whole world was silent. Deathly silent.


    ¡°Come on, hang in there. Your members are depending on your brave sacrifice to save their lives¡±.


    Bang!


    ¡°Let them see your unyielding spirit. Learn by example¡±.


    Bang!


    ¡°Don''t worry. I''ll grow tired eventually. Just a little longer¡±.


    Bang!


    The portal opened, Orm was back.


    Seeing that Amari was ready to kill him again, Orm hurriedly shouted.


    ¡°Enough!¡±


    ¡°Oh! What''s up?¡± Amari raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Want to add something more.......¡±.


    His voice ceased as Orm feel to his knees.


    ¡°I........... I give up¡±. Tears welled up in the man''s eyes.


    ¡°Just please........ Please stop¡±.


    Silence enveloped the atmosphere. Amari frowned slightly.


    ¡°Honestly......... Yeah! I thought so too¡±.


    His frown disappeared, followed by a plain expression.


    Then....... His eyes glowed.


    Bang!


    Blood flew everywhere for the Nth time. Then there was silence.


    The waves washed against the coast and the raging waters filled his ears.


    ¡°Sigh....... How comforting¡±. Amari took a deep breath, closed his eyes, tilted his head to the sky and showed a smile.


    He meant the sound of the raging waters not far from him. The sound of the ocean....... The melody of nature.


    This wasn''t the case for those watching, however.


    Many people felt their scalps go numb.


    This......... This guy was a monster. A monster that looked like a human.


    ¡°Ok...... I''ve had enough fun. Orm failed. So.....¡±.


    The portal opened for the last time. Orm''s figure appeared, sitting on the floor. His eyes were dim, his face was dull, and he looked like he had just lost his soul.


    ¡°You......¡±.


    ¡°Relax. We''re done¡±. Amari shrugged indifferently.


    ¡°We........ We are?¡± Orm''s eyes lit up with a trace of brightness. Like a locked up prisoner who hadn''t seen the light for many years.


    ¡°I said as long as you kneel, I''ll consider letting you go. Since you''ve let go of your pride and at the moment I''ve lost all interest in toying with you anymore, your life is your own¡±.


    ¡°After all, I hold my word in high regard¡±.


    He placed his hand on his chin, seemingly in thought.


    ¡°Of course, your life will only get difficult from now on¡±.


    ¡°Huh? Wait a second. What?¡± Orm was confused.


    "I told you I don''t like liars, so in the sense that I''m letting you go, you''re not going scot-free. Check yourself carefully. Do you feel the same as before?"


    Orm''s puzzled expression showed doubt...... Then...... Confusion...... Then incredulity..... Then shock and panic.


    ¡°Ah! There it is. Do you feel it now?¡±


    ¡°My Gills!¡± Orm placed his hands on his neck and felt everywhere. His expression grew from bad to worse.


    ¡°You....... You took away my gills¡±.


    ¡°Close. I took away your Atlantean bloodline. Your missing gills are the side effect. From now on, you won''t have your strength, durability, underwater breathing, underwater vision, Sorcery, Atlantean speaking capability....... In simple terms, you''re no longer an Atlantean, but a human that you despise so much. You''re welcome¡±.


    The bright smile seemed particularly sinister.


    ¡°No....... No.....¡±. Orm''s eyes couldn''t get any wider.


    He knew what this spelled for him.


    His identity had been exposed, his brother and his people knew who he really was. His strength was gone, his powers were gone.


    From now henceforth, he would no longer be able to access the power of his Trident. If anything, it might kill him if he tried.


    He no longer had anything. His supporters would definitely turn their face away now that he was a human. If anything, they would kill him or hand him over to his brother for punishment.


    This ......... This was a fate worse than death.


    ¡°You can''t. You can''t do this to me¡±.


    ¡°I can..... And I have. And I''ll be leaving you here. As for whether your brother or your enemies find you first, that''s up to the universe to decide¡±.


    Amari turned away.


    In fact, he had done a lot more than just turn Orm into a human. Orm''s genes had been altered severely.


    He would never be able to harness magic again. No form of sorcery could be used to give him abilities. No super serum, alien substance or cosmic meteor could offer him powers.


    Any form of buff spell wouldn''t work on him while debuff spells would have twice the effect.


    In other words, Orm could never chase power in his life till the day he died. He would be the way he was now. Forever Mortal.


    For someone like Orm....... This was worse than killing him.


    And so, Amari walked away with a spring in his step.


    The Live broadcast was cut off, leaving the world in a storm.


    ...........


    Several hours later........


    Arkham Asylum.


    The Joker''s special cell.


    Jack Oswald White wasn''t in his usual, cheerful mood at this time.


    He wasn''t cracking jokes, he wasn''t laughing maniacally, hell, he didn''t even have his grin on his face.


    In his mind, the scene where Amari looked at him and sent him telepathic instructions were all he could think about.


    ¡°If you don''t want to go back on Vacation, your assignment is simple. Find Lex Luthor. The one who made your other half. Destroy everything that belongs to him. Hunt him down, torture him. Make sure you do it, regardless of who stands in your way. After you''re done with that, go after Batman. It''s time for both of you to put an end to this game. Either you kill him, or he kills you. There are no exceptions. As for your other half......... You probably want him dead more than I do, so I''ll leave that as a bonus. I''ll be checking in on your progress and if it doesn''t satisfy me..... Poof¡­. Vacation time. So go ahead, do whatever comes to that crazy mind of yours¡±.


    The words played in his cracked mind over and over and over like a broken record tape.


    The silence in his cell was particularly disturbing.


    At least for the guards who were assigned to keep watch. This wasn''t their first time.


    And this clown, never kept silent.


    Slowly, time passed.


    Just when they were feeling restless.


    ¡°Hahaha Ha hahaha HAHAHA¡±.


    The loud laughter once again echoed in the Asylum.


    The two guards breathed a sigh of relief. The clown they knew was back.


    ..........


    Bat cave.


    Bruce Wayne watched the Live video that had gone viral once again. The frown on his face had never been so deep.


    ¡°His wanton actions will have a major impact, sir¡±.


    Alfred beside him muttered.


    ¡°There''s more to it than that Alfred¡±.


    Bruce replied in a solemn tone.


    ¡°This isn''t him being wanton. This is a disguised warning¡±.


    The video came to a halt at Amari''s smiling expression.


    ¡°A warning to everyone in the world¡±.

 Chapter 103 Earth 3

    ¡°A warning sir? Forgive me, but I don''t quite understand¡±.


    Seeing his faithful Butler express his confusion, Bruce spoke slowly.


    ¡°Superman had a meeting with Amari. The latter explicitly told him that he would keep to himself as long as no one disturbed him. It''s in league files. If there''s one thing we know about him for sure, it''s that he basically doesn''t attack when unprovoked¡±.


    ¡°So this is the work of hidden forces targeting him?¡±


    ¡°Not targeting, probing¡±. Bruce responded apathetically.


    "Probing?''


    ¡°My assumption. If it were more than that, then similar to Wotan, Ocean Master wouldn''t be alive right now¡±.


    There was a heavy silence as a multitude of thoughts revolved around The Dark Knight''s mind.


    ¡°How did Mr. Curry take the matter?¡±


    ¡°How else do you think he would take it?¡±


    The dry response caused Alfred to let out a sigh.


    Bruce''s fingers constantly tapped against the table.


    The revelation of Orm''s true identity was difficult for Arthur to accept. It was the same for Kaldur.


    Bruce speculated that Mera and many Atlanteans in general would also feel the same way.


    Although he tried to hide it, those who truly knew him knew that at that moment, Aquaman''s heart was not at peace.


    His greatest enemy was hiding under his nose the whole time. And his brother for that matter......... How many Atlanteans had died under Orm''s attack? Unacceptable.


    As for Amari using his brother as an example in a public display of power......... That part was voluntarily ignored.


    At least, Bruce didn''t feel there was any need to allude to it. Considering Amari''s usual character, he should thank the stars that Orm was left alive.


    Superman didn''t mention it, Batman didn''t bring it up, Aquaman didn''t even think about mentioning it.


    It was better to put the time, energy, and brain cells into something more productive.


    ¡°I see. So this is Amari''s way of warning the world that he''s not to be trifled with?¡±


    ¡°I believe that was the original intent when he publicly killed the Joker a month ago as well¡±.


    Speaking of the Joker, Bruce''s jaw couldn''t help but clench.


    ¡°Obviously...... Someone didn''t get the memo¡±.


    ¡°This.......¡±. Seeing Bruce''s reaction, Alfred couldn''t help but hesitate to ask.


    ¡°...... Master Bruce, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°After all. The Joker.....¡±.


    ¡°I''m fine Alfred¡±. Bruce cut in sharply.


    Looking at the screen that was playing constant news footage, Batman desperately resisted the urge to smash something to bits.


    Why!


    Why!


    Why in God''s name wouldn''t that damn clown stay dead?


    ¡°...... Are you sure?¡±


    Bruce remained silent. In the end, he sighed and fell back into his chair.


    ¡°I........ Need to talk to Amari¡±. Bruce said hesitantly.


    ¡°Gotham can''t handle two of him¡±.


    This city was messed up enough as it was. The Death of the Joker didn''t have a qualitative change on the city itself. This was due to the fact that his death was covered up by the continuous disasters Gotham had experienced in a short period of time.


    If possible, Bruce wanted Amari to undo what he had done. The original Joker was dead. And it was best for the world if he remained that way.


    With the influence of people like count Vertigo, as well as Poison Ivy and ultra Humanite being transported to Belle Reve prison, the court had once again rejected the Joker...... Or Jokers in this case to be given the death penalty.


    According to the lawyer, if Joker was going to be killed, then Count Vertigo, Poison Ivy, and Ultra Humanite needed to follow in his footsteps as well.


    This was preposterous.


    Vlatava would never allow such a thing.


    Coupled with a bunch of political shenanigans, as well as influence from people in high places, ultimately, Jack Oswald White was sentenced to Arkham Asylum for rehabilitation.


    This time, Bruce couldn''t help it. If they weren''t going to kill him, then the best they could do was imprison him in a place with greater security.


    However, Joker was mad. This was a fact.


    No matter how he tried to change the case, a madman would have to be sent to a home for the mentally ill for rehabilitation.


    Now with the Joker''s notoriety, no other insane Asylum would take him in. Only Arkham.


    His quest to save this city........ It was failing.


    Ever since he arrived in Gotham all those years ago, the state of the city had fluctuated madly.


    At first, his intervention had tremendous effects. The idea of striking fear into the hearts of evildoers was worth a shot.


    That all changed when the villains eventually realized that that was his limit.


    Unless there was no other way, Batman wouldn''t kill.


    Seeing Bruce''s haggard expression, Alfred couldn''t help but place a hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°It........ All will be well, Master Bruce¡±.


    ¡°...... Thank you, Alfred¡±.


    He replied after a moment of silence.


    ¡°There are a lot of things we need to talk about. Scheduling a meeting will be put on the agenda¡±.


    His tone changed into solemnity as he began to analyze.


    ¡°Now, it appears that things aren''t as they seem. Amari stated that the Injustice League weren''t the true individuals behind the attacks. They were proxies. A front to cover up the real masterminds. And apparently, they''re seven¡±.


    Seven light screens appeared on the bat computer.


    Following which, one lit up with a familiar face. Orm''s


    ¡°And Ocean Master is confirmed as one of them¡±.


    ¡°So what do you plan to do, Master Bruce?¡±


    ¡°Find the others¡±. Bruce replied.


    ¡°And I have my prime suspect for a possible member of this mysterious organization¡±.


    Another light screen appeared. One showing a man with a bald head and Stoic expression.


    He was rich, he was a genius, he had high amounts of influence, and lastly. He was the one who cloned the Joker and Superboy.


    ¡°Lex Luthor¡±.


    ............


    The Bleed.


    Also known as the multiversal wall spanning across dimensions that separate various universes¡­.


    ¡­


    Earth 3


    Metropolis


    Boom!


    Two piercing rays of heat vision swept throughout the area, incinerating everything in its path.


    Flying high above in the sky like a God above mortals, Ultraman released his heat vision in full force as it swept towards his target.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡±


    The wounded Justice League member could only cry out in pain for a second before being completely obliterated


    The heat vision ceased and Ultraman clapped his hands against each other.


    ¡°That should be the last one he......¡±.


    At that moment, several Batarangs flew towards his direction, landed firmly on his body.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    A noticeable explosion went off in the sky.


    The smoke cleared off, revealing the figure of Kal-El whose face sported a grown at the moment.


    ¡°....... Or not¡±.


    He quickly locked on to the little flea who was annoying him. A young man in a dark, skin-tight super suit with a blue Bat logo at the middle could be seen jumping down from a nearby building.


    ¡°Nightwing¡±.


    Kal-el''s eyes narrowed, and his body turned into a speeding blur.


    Jumping down from the building, Dick clenched his teeth and shot out his grappling gun.


    Harley was dead, as well as the majority of the Justice League.


    Black Manta, Magic Master (Giovanni Zatara), Ocean Master, Aquagirl, Professor Brain........


    All dead.


    These were the Leaguers he knew of. Most had gone into hiding when they realized that the crime syndicate was coming to wipe them out.


    Like the Huntress, and Morganna Lafey (Doctor Fate)


    The whereabouts of others were unclear.


    Harley was dead, the Jester''s situation was unknown.


    As for their leader, Alexander Luthor.......


    Shooting out the grappling gun, he prepared to swing into the shadows when a blur sped into him, knocking the boy off course.


    His back crashed against a brick wall, causing cracks to emerge on it.


    ¡°If it isn''t the little Batboy". Ultraman looked at the male laying on the floor with a smile.


    Extreme pain flooded Dick''s body.


    That hit had knocked the wind out of him.


    ¡°Now, what do you say.......¡±. As he spoke, his had reached out and grabbed Nightwing by the neck.


    ¡°You tell me where the rest of your little friends are?¡± And so, he lifted him off the ground, his feet hovering in the air.


    Dick choked.


    ¡°I''ll¡­. Never...... Go..... To hell¡±.


    ¡°Hehehehe...... Gutsy boy, aren''t you?¡± Kal-El laughed.


    ¡°I bet you will be much more cooperative under Superwoman''s lasso. But then again.......¡±. The thought of having Superwoman torture him with her lasso of submission to force out any secrets he might know flashed through his mind..... Then quickly faded.


    Today was the day that the Justice League would be destroyed. He should know, he had killed the majority of them.


    Once Alexander Luthor was dead, this stupid resistance would lose all meaning.


    ¡°....... Why bother?¡±


    And with that, his hand exerted force, crushing the neck region of the handsome Nightwing.


    Following which, his corpse was cast to the side in total disregard.


    ¡°Ultraman, come in¡±.


    A female voice sounded in his ears.


    ¡°Why, hello dear¡±. Ultraman pressed the glowing U symbol on his belt buckle with a small smile on his face.


    ¡°What''s the issue?¡±


    ¡°We have found Alexander Luthor, sending you coordinates now¡±.


    Hearing that name, the smile on his face disappeared, returning to indifference.


    ¡°Understood. I''m on my way¡±. He said and took his hand off. Then he moved forward three steps and took to the skies.


    ........


    Star Labs building, Metropolis.


    Bang!


    A powerful punch landed on the security door, smashing it to pieces.


    The debris cleared out to reveal a man in a gold-plated battle suit with blue eyes and red hair.


    On his chest area was the symbol of a black lightning bolt.


    ¡°Way to be stealthy, Luthor". Behind him appeared the jester with his signature grin.


    ¡°The moment we attempted opening the door, the alarm would have been set off. They already know we''re here. Might as well hurry¡±.


    Mazah''s took a brief look and moved forward rapidly.


    His words caused Jester''s expression to change, and the latter followed after him.


    Mazah''s walked towards a certain area and looked at the wall.


    ¡°You''re not going to tell me that there''s a secret entrance behind it, right?¡± Seeing him focused on that wall, Jester couldn''t help but reveal sarcasm.


    ¡°Yes. I am¡±. Mazah''s also known as Alexander Luthor of Earth 3 didn''t bother to say anything else.


    Just like the door, the wall was ripped apart to reveal a secret elevator.


    Seeing him walk inside, Jester was exasperated.


    ¡°Honestly, I''m sick and tired of these secret passageways......¡±.


    Boom!


    The sound of an explosion instantly alerted the two of them. Jester''s face changed drastically.


    ¡°No time. They''re here!¡± Luthor immediately rushed down the secret passageway.


    ¡°Hey! Wait up! I love secret passages.....¡±.


    The two heroes rushed forward through the passageway.


    ¡°Where are we going lex? We already have the quantum trigger. What''s in this place?¡±


    ¡°Something that can get us help¡±.


    Mazah''s rushed forward without stopping.


    About three minutes later, they came to a stop at a giant door.


    ¡°Hyaaah!¡± With immense force, Lex put his hands in between the door and pulled both ways with his two arms.


    In the face of his immense strength, the door reluctantly opened up, prompting them both to enter.


    ¡°..... Well¡­. Don''t keep me in the dark. What is.......¡±. The clown''s voice came to an end as his pestering ceased.


    His eyes widened with shock and fear at the sight of what was before him.


    It was a large, swirling, bluish mass of....... Whatever the hell it was.


    ¡°Luthor...... What the hell.....¡±.


    ¡°Surprised? Don''t worry. I felt the same way when I first discovered it¡±. The red haired man said while looking at the breach with a bit of awe and wonder.


    Jester''s face turned dull.


    ¡°I meant, what is this?¡±


    ¡°A portal¡±.


    Luthor didn''t stand in place.


    Taking out the quantum trigger they had stolen from another restricted area in the building, he began to calibrate the computer system placed beside the portal.


    ¡°A portal? To where?¡±


    ¡°I''m not sure¡±. Lex replied solemnly.


    ¡°But by my calculations, it could mean hope for our world¡±.


    ¡°..... You don''t mean¡­.¡±.


    ¡°I do. I received a hidden message sent to me by Dr. Serling Roquette....... Days before her demise at the hands of Superwoman¡±.


    The red hair and beard on his face, coupled with his enhanced physique, stern and solemn expression, gave Lex Luthor a handsomeness unlike many of his multiversal counterparts.


    ¡°Apparently, she discovered a portal hidden in a secret chamber of the Star Labs facility. A portal leading to a world not our own¡±.


    ¡°Unfortunately, it leaked¡±. His face turned unsightly.


    Boom!


    The whole building shook to the core.


    Seeing this, Lex picked-up the pace.


    ¡°From her message, she told me that this portal led to a place we had only previously imagined. To another earth. In a universe parallel to ours¡±.


    ¡°You can''t be.....¡±. Jester''s eyes were wide.


    Boom!


    The place shook again.


    Lex gritted his teeth in frustration.


    ¡°Under normal circumstances, nothing can pass through this without resonating at a similar frequency. The quantum trigger is the key that will grant us passage to the other side so we can finish what we started. But it takes time to calibrate.....¡±.


    Time he didn''t have. The crime syndicate was onto them.


    And they would be here any minute.


    However, as he continued to type in the computer, be realized that he received no response.


    ¡°Jester?¡± He turned around only to find the Jester touching a button and walking out of the room.


    ¡°What are you doing? I''m almost done calibrating. Get in here¡±.


    The door began to close slowly.


    Jester had a sad smile on his face.


    ¡°Let''s get serious lex".


    ¡°No! We can make it, together¡±.


    To this, the Jester finally showed his signature grin. Just as the door closed completely.


    ¡°I''ll buy you some time. Now get your red haired head out of here, it''s hurting my eyes¡±.


    The door closed, and the locking sound fell into his ears.


    Jester looked at the sealed door and turned around.


    Boom!


    The sounds were getting closer.


    Thirty seconds later, a figure appeared at the passage bend.


    ¡°Why...... You''re still here?¡±


    An attractive woman with an athletic, muscular build, straight black hair and a mole on her upper cheek could be seen.


    She wore a tight-fitting dark costume that revealed her shoulders, a black cape draping off it, with a stylized ¡°S¡± symbol on it.


    Her eyes roamed the clown for a second before fixating on the door behind him.


    ¡°I''ll guess that Luthor is in there. What? Changed from a clown to a doorman?¡±


    Superwoman chuckled with a dark smile.


    ¡°Well! Perhaps a profession change is in order. After all, as a Jester, I''m down to my last joke anyway¡±. And with that, a medium-sized balls with a hazardous symbol appeared in his hands.


    Like his multiversal counterparts, his signature grin didn''t disappear even at this moment.


    ¡°But this one will probably kill ya".


    Boom!


    Lex, who had finished the calibrations, felt the explosion right outside. His body stiffened slightly before returning to normal.


    Vibrating waves emerged from the Quantum trigger, aiming at the breach before him.


    Bang!


    A fist mark appeared on the metal door.


    Bang!


    The area of impact deformed considerably on the second attack.


    Seeing this, Lex immediately rushed towards the breach and his body began to vibrate.


    Bang!


    The door was shattered and Superwoman appeared, just in time to see Luthor disappear.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± The woman exclaimed with furious eyes.


    However....... Beep, Beep, Beep¡­


    A relatively subtle sound fell into her ears. She turned her gaze to the computer screen where a countdown was displayed.


    Three


    Two


    One


    Boom.

 Chapter 104 Karas Dilemma

    [......... From National News and, the whole world is buzzing with what Netizens are now calling, ¡°Amari''s Latest Power Display¡±. Yes folks, after his public display of killing The Joker, just when people all over the world were discussing whether Amari should be held as a hero or a vigilante for his actions, he suddenly disappeared for almost a month, apparently going into seclusion. Then comes back to the public eye yesterday after The Joker reappears on National Television, threatening the world with a group of Supervillains who referred to themselves as the Injustice League. This altercation, however, was not of Amari putting an end to the infamous clown yet again but with a different antagonist, the world knows as Ocean Master. Who had now been revealed to be the brother of the King of Atlantis, also a known member of the Justice League, Aquaman? The League have given few reports on the incident and have taken a dismissive attitude to the subject, as shown by Superman at the United Nations conference Earlier Today]


    The screen changed to show Superman being besieged by news thirsty reporters from all angles.


    ¡°Superman...... Superman....... What do you think of Amari''s public actions?¡±


    ¡°How does the league react to discovering the fact that the villainous Ocean Master was the brother of a Justice league member all along?¡±


    ¡°Will Orm be executed for his actions?¡±


    ¡°Can you disclose any information on the secret society Amari was talking about?¡±


    ¡°How exactly was the Joker brought back to life?¡±


    Clark frowned slightly at the flashing cameras coming from........ Everywhere.


    ¡°The League has many matters to take care of. Cities in different parts of the world have just experienced a major disaster. My attention and the Leagues are currently needed elsewhere. We will release a proper statement to address the matter once this is taken care of. Thank you and good day¡±.


    Seeing Superman flying into the sky, the reporters didn''t seem to be satisfied and continued to hound at the flying Kryptonian.


    ¡°Superman........¡±


    ¡°...... Are you.....¡±.


    ¡°¡­. Super......¡±.


    The TV screen went black showing the reflection of a blonde teenager holding the remote.


    ¡°What''s wrong dear? News station too much?¡±


    Martha looked out from the kitchen and asked.


    ¡°Um¡­ No¡­. Nothing. Just¡­. Humans are noisy¡±. Kara uttered with a frown as she sat back in the old Kent''s sofa.


    Then her eyes widened as she realized what she said and corrected hastily.


    ¡°No..... Sorry..... I didn''t mean it like¡­".


    ¡°Hehehehe.....¡±. Seeing her stuttering, Martha couldn''t help but chuckle.


    ¡°It''s ok, dear, I understand. We can be like that sometimes. You''ll get used to it eventually¡±.


    The old woman who looked young for her age uttered with a smile as she prepared dinner.


    With glasses on her face, a head of white hair yet very little wrinkles to show, she sliced the vegetables with all the skill and precision of an experienced mother and housewife.


    ¡°After all, Clark did bring you here due to your sensitive ears¡±.


    ¡°Um........ Right¡±. Seeing Martha didn''t take offense, Kara couldn''t help but smile wryly.


    ¡°So tell me, how are you adapting, dear?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The blonde was caught off guard before shaking her head.


    ¡°It''s a bit...... difficult. Having to actively control...... Well¡­. Everything¡±. As her Kryptonian abilities kicked in and strengthened under yellow sunlight, Kara''s abilities grew day by day.


    Her strength, speed, durability, and all physical factors in general had gone upward by insane degrees.


    Now, she had to be extra careful whenever she opened the fridge to take out a carton of milk.


    Jonathan had already replaced the door four times since her arrival.


    This was just for a fridge. Who knew what would happen if she..... Let''s say, hugged someone with too much force or initiated a handshake without getting the pressure right.


    The physical aspect was actually the easy part.


    At least she could actively control those better. The others like X-ray vision, telescopic vision, super hearing and enhanced perception was much harder to control.


    There were times when she would involuntarily hear everything from here to Metropolis. Or when she was talking to a teammate and their skeleton would suddenly pop up in her vision.


    Or when she was overly stressed and two beams of burning hot lasers would subconsciously emerge from her eyes.


    And how she needed to slow down her perception of things so a single word from someone else didn''t have to stretch for a minute.


    Worst of all, Clark wasn''t always here to help her with the smaller issues.


    And let''s not even begin to mention blending and fitting in.


    Yep....... Quite difficult so to speak.


    ¡°I figured¡±. Martha replied.


    ¡°Clark had....... Similar experiences as well. There were times when he would run into the barn, hid in a dark corner, cover his ears and begin rocking back and forth in order to keep the noise out¡±.


    Saying this, she paused.


    ¡°You''re better. You aren''t the same age he was when he started experiencing all this. You''ll be able to breeze through it faster¡±.


    After which, Martha stepped out of the kitchen, wiping her wet hands with a towel.


    She sat down beside Kara and a thought crossed her mind.


    "Speaking of Clark and his earlier years, how are you adapting to...... Well, society in general. Clark told me that you went out with a special friend of yours some time ago to have the ¡°girl experience¡±. Did you have fun?"


    ¡°It was....... Nice¡±. Kara said with a complex look on her face.


    ¡°It really was. Only..... It''s all a bit too.....¡±. She hesitated for a moment, but ultimately said her mind.


    ¡°Backward. I mean no offense when I say this, but the things of this world are a bit...... Underdevel...... Far¡­. From what I''m used to¡±.


    ¡°Primitive, huh?" Martha asked with a raised eyebrow. To which, Kara could only smile wryly.


    ¡°I didn''t put it like that¡±.


    ¡°It''s ok dear. It is true, though. Clark has taken Jonathan and me to the fortress. All sorts of bells and whistles this world could only dream of.  But I find it surprising, really. You adapted to the general culture much faster than I imagined someone foreign could¡±.


    On this end, Martha was really surprised. Will Kara felt that the technological and scientific level of the planet was below her world''s, she strangely didn''t have any trouble integrating into the American culture.


    She knew what was what, how things operated, who was who and the meaning of phrases those kids use nowadays that even she didn''t.


    ¡°Is it a Kryptonian thing?¡±


    ¡°No¡­. Not really. I had help. During the first week I got here¡±.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Martha''s eyes glowered with interest.


    ¡°Clark told me about that. He said you spent some time with that person people have been talking about a lot these days¡±.


    ¡°Amari! Yes, that''s the name¡±.


    She uttered with a look of realization.


    Kara''s eyes showed a bit of surprise.


    ¡°You''ve heard of him?¡±


    ¡°My dear. I was watching TV last night when his broadcast showed up on the television screen¡±.


    Kara immediately realized at that moment. Amari''s broadcast had gone worldwide.


    ¡°He sounds like a good person, but a lot of audacity that one has¡±.


    ¡°He....... Can be like that sometimes¡±.


    ¡°Oh! Really?¡± This time, her eyes really seemed to glow as she examined the young Kryptonian with interest.


    ¡°You speak like you know a lot about him. One wouldn''t think you only spent a week together. Did you perhaps have any special experiences?¡±


    The words made the blonde to blush and lower her head slightly.


    ¡°Not really. He was ............ Nice¡±.


    ¡°Is that so? Because the media are packaging him up to be some kind of brutal God of slaughter¡±.


    ¡°That.......¡±. Kara didn''t know what to say.


    ¡°He certainly does act like it¡±. At that moment, Jonathan Kent walked into the room. His clothes were stained with oil like a mechanic who just finished work.


    ¡°Slaughtering a man more than a dozen times and bringing him back to life. Like they say, live long enough and you''ll see everything¡±.


    Jonathan uttered bluntly. Not at all understanding the situation in the room.


    ¡°Ehem!¡± Martha coughed with a frown on her face.


    Seeing the eyes fixed on him, the old man realized something, put on a pondering expression and added.


    ¡°I mean, don''t get me wrong. I don''t think the young man is all bad. At least from how I see it¡±. And so, Jonathan walked towards the fridge that was just fixed to get a soda can.


    ¡°You....... You don''t?¡± Kara asked with a bit of shock. She heard Clark speak about what he was and how he came to be the way he was.


    It was no exaggeration to say that Superman could become the kind of person he was today, Jonathan and Martha Kent played the greatest role.


    From what she understood, or what she could piece together, Jonathan was the kind of man who like Superman, had a special outlook on things.


    And Amari wasn''t exactly a model person to begin with.


    ¡°Kara..... I was around doing World War II. I fought in the army, captured by Japanese soldiers¡±. He opened the soda bottle and took a drink.


    ¡°I''ve seen men die. And those were the normal days. I''ve been around before and after Clark came into our lives. Had our fair share of encounters with psychos and self obsessed freaks with special abilities before he even became Superman¡±.


    ¡°My point being, I know a terrible person when I see one. Our planet isn''t exactly sunshine and rainbows. I''ve seen a lot of bad guys. And with all his power, he doesn''t strike me like one of them¡±.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Sure, I might not approve most of his...... methods. But he''s an alien, after all. Yet, he surprisingly acts more decent than most humans ever will¡±.


    This was the last sentence he released before he walked upstairs to take a shower.


    Seeing him leave, Kara turned her attention back to Mrs. Kent who sported a look of amusement.


    ¡°Don''t be too surprised. We don''t believe everything we watch on TV. Plus, he once saved Clark''s life¡±.


    Jonathan instilled the concepts of self-control and responsibility to his son, who took it a step further due to his special identity and formed the No Kill Rule.


    That didn''t mean he viewed anyone who killed as a homicidal maniac. Amari was an alien....... So was Zod. One was living with humanity peacefully...... Well, as peaceful as it could get. While the other wanted to wipe them out the moment, he got here. The difference was obvious.


    If they had a choice, they knew whom to choose.


    Amari hadn''t begun attempting to enslave, exterminate or rule over them yet. As long as it stayed that way, it was alright.


    Martha saw it too.


    Suddenly, a ding sound came out from the kitchen.


    ¡°Oh..... The first course is done. Excuse me dear¡±. Martha stood up and headed for the kitchen.


    Kara sat on the char with her mind in deep thought. She turned the TV back on, that showed another extensive news report on Amari.


    Following which, her ears tingled as a familiar sound came all the way from Metropolis, causing her to wince and cover her ears.


    ¡°....... I''m heading out¡±. She uttered in a loud voice, put on her jacket nearby and ran out of the house.


    ¡°Huh? Where to dear?¡±


    What answered to her question was a sonic boom sounding in the sky, prompting Martha to look out the window.


    ...........


    Bang!


    The door was kicked open.


    ¡°Go on...... Move".


    About a dozen men dressed in black suits with red googled masks moved forward while pushing a hostage.


    The kidnapped victim was a female, dressed in formal wear, and had her features hidden due to the bag covering her face.


    Two helicopters came down and landed on the roof for the criminals to make their getaway.


    ¡°There they are¡±.


    ¡°Quickly, open fire¡±.


    Unfortunately, they weren''t alone. And apparently, one hostage wasn''t enough to stop the police from raining bullets on them. Especially when considering they knew who the hostage was.


    All the more reason to rain bullets.


    The criminals and the law enforcement authorities immediately engaged in a heavy shootout.


    Following which, the criminals retreated into the helicopter and fled while carrying the hostage with them.


    ¡°Shit!¡±


    A man clad in black cursed. His voice was distorted due to the voice modifier installed in his mask.


    ¡°These officers are nuts. Get us out of here immediately¡±.


    ¡°That''s gonna be difficult¡±. The pilot uttered with a grim expression that went unseen due to the mask that similarly covered his face.


    ¡°They got Choppers on our tail¡±.


    The first was stunned. Then he took a look outside in time to see several helicopters gaining on them from a distance.


    ¡°Damnit!¡± He cussed once again and took out the bag covering the hostage''s face.


    ¡°Do hostage situations not work nowadays?¡±


    ¡°Thanks. I''d hate to miss the view¡±. The hostage uttered with a smile on her face. Beautiful features, dark hair, a reporter''s badge on her shirt and the easygoing expression despite being in such a situation....... On this Earth, this could only be one of three people. Lois Lane, Vicky Vale or Iris West.


    But this was Metropolis, so........


    The black clothed man immediately ducked at a corner, narrowly dodging the bullets from the chasing helicopter.


    ¡°The cops don''t seem to like you that much, Miss Lane¡±. The man said with a bit of incredulity through the gas mask.


    Lois smiled.


    ¡°Occupational Hazard¡±.


    ¡°You and me both¡±.


    The criminal squatted near a box, took out a rocket launcher and took aim at the chasing aircraft.


    ¡°So which one exactly are you angling for? Life in prison or going down in a blaze of glory?¡±


    ¡°You should watch your mouth, lady. You''re not proving to be much use to us¡±.


    Lois ignored the heavy gunfire and looked at him with a deadpan expression.


    ¡°No offense. It just takes a lot of stones to get this noisy in Metropolis¡±.


    ¡°Oh! Didn''t you hear? Superman''s held up at the UN due to Amari''s whole charade at the moment. Hehehehe...... Watched the broadcast. Love that guy. He gives me the creeps too¡±.


    He shot the missile from the Launcher which destroyed the chopper of the chasing officers. As well as the officers within.


    Lois smiled.


    ¡°Same...... Kinda".


    ¡°Yep. If it were him, we''d probably have second thoughts. But it ain''t. Superman''s busy¡­ We scramble¡±.


    ¡°You do know he flies fast, right?¡±


    ¡°We''ll take our chances...... Huh?¡±


    The criminal suddenly froze. From afar, a figure zipped past the second police chopper, flying through the air as rapidly closing the distance.


    ¡°What the.....¡±.


    ¡°Oh! She''s here. You must be wondering who''s the other one¡±.


    ¡°Other one?¡±


    ¡°Superman''s cousin. Didn''t you hear?¡±


    ¡°No I didn''t hear¡±.


    ¡°You really should read my column¡±.


    The red and blue silhouette quickly took down the first helicopter, smashing into the back rotors and flying away as it crashed into the sea.


    Seeing this, the black clad criminal panicked. He bent down, took out another missile and wanted to load it in. However, when he raised his head, he saw a blonde figure floating right before him.


    ¡°Damn!¡± In a panicked tone, he pulled the trigger. Kara dodged.


    The missile failed to hit its target. That however didn''t mean it didn''t hit something else.


    The missile flew right into a busy suburban street and...... Boom!


    Seeing this, Kara''s eyes widened with fury.


    She smacked the missile launcher away from his arm causing him to wince in pain. Then, he felt a strong, choking grip on his throat, lifting him up with his feet touching nothing but air.


    The pilot freed his left hand and wanted to attack with a gun.


    What greeted him was two piercing hot rays, barreling into his wrist.


    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡±


    The pilot screamed in agony as Supergirl rendered his hand forever useless. Then, she turned her attention back to the man at hand. Her eyes radiated with a burning glow.


    ¡°Hold up! Don''t tell me the blonde is the bad cop?¡± Seeing that he might very well meet his end, fear gripped the man''s heart.


    Superman didn''t kill. This was the reason villains had the balls to try. But it looked like this cousin of Superman wasn''t the same.


    Just when Kara couldn''t withstand the urge to laser this guy through the face.


    Bang!


    The flying helicopter came to a halt as of it just hit something.


    ¡°She''s just visiting¡±. Flying in front of the helicopter, Clark frowned inexplicably.


    ¡°Metropolis is my turf¡±.


    Seeing that Clark had arrived, Kara''s eyes returned to normal. She dropped the man within her grasp and flew out of the chopper.


    Clark watched his cousin leave, the frown on his face never disappearing.


    Supergirl flew towards the Metropolis square that was on fire.


    After a moment of thinking, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes the blew hard.


    Unfortunately, no cold gust of freezing cold air emerged from her lungs.


    ¡°Damnit. Won''t kick in when I need it¡±.  She sighed, feeling utterly frustrated.


    ¡°I''ll handle this¡±. She didn''t need to be told who that was.


    Quickly dealing with the helicopter situation, Clark arrived at the square, released a breath of cold air and the place was frozen in snow and ice.


    Then, he turned to Kara and uttered in a tone that left no room for questioning.


    ¡°With me¡±.


    Clark flew into the air. A glum looking Supergirl could only follow a moment later.


    Coming high up into the clouds, Clark''s face wasn''t the slightest bit favorable.


    ¡°Kara, what were you trying to prove out there?¡±


    Supergirl''s expression looked unconvinced.


    ¡°I was stopping bad guys. That''s what we do, right?¡±


    ¡°Stop them, not scramble them¡±.


    ¡°Stop lecturing me Kal. I''m still older than you¡±.


    ¡°No. Not anymore. It may have been that way when you left Krypton...... But not anymore¡±. Clark''s face took on a sadder look.


    ¡°I wasn''t trapped in the phantom zone. I got here faster and grew up here, while you didn''t age at all¡±.


    ¡°That''s exactly the problem¡±. Supergirl yelled with frustration.


    ¡°Kara..... Watch your tone¡±.


    ¡°No. Don''t tell me to watch how I talk. You don''t understand how I feel. What it feels like to be in my shoes¡±.


    ¡°Yes I do¡±. His unsightly expression had never been so prevalent today.


    ¡°I experienced difficulty controlling my powers back then, the same way you are now¡±.


    ¡°You still don''t get it¡±. With her hands placed on her head, she screamed.


    ¡°You grew up here your entire life. This place...... This planet, is the only home you''ve ever known. It''s not the same for me. For you, it was years. For me, it''s only been a few months. We didn''t have any abilities Kal. We didn''t have any powers when things got bad. You basically didn''t use your abilities throughout the early years of your life. I have abilities now. And I''m going to use them. So forgive me if I make a few mistakes when I try to help out¡±.


    There was a short period of silence.


    ¡°........ I know this can be...... Difficult. It''s hard, believe me I know. But you can''t use being unfamiliar with your abilities as an excuse to cause destruction¡±. Clark pointed to the frozen square.


    ¡°I saw the way you looked at that man Kara¡±. On this point, Clark''s tone took a grave tone.


    ¡°If I didn''t arrive when I did, you could have killed him¡±.


    ¡°And what if I did?¡± Those words made Clark''s heart chill.


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°They were hurting innocent people. They would have hurt many before they were caught and many more after¡±.


    Kara''s eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Kara...... That''s not for us to decide¡±.


    ¡°Then who will?¡±


    Clark felt like things were going wrong. He needed to slow down, talk this out, get things back on track.


    ¡°Listen...... I know how you''re upset.....¡±.


    Hearing that half finished sentence was the last straw. Kara couldn''t take it anymore.


    ¡°No! Stop¡±. She yelled at the top of her voice.


    ¡°You can''t possibly know how I feel. I''m trying. I''m trying Kal. But everything around me feels so wrong. It''s just all so primitive, and different and weird and...... And dark. I mean¡­. We never experienced these things on Krypton. The humans here are so¡­. so..... They''re just wrong¡±.


    ¡°Kara!¡± Clark called out but Supergirl wouldn''t hear him out.


    She immediately took to the skies as fast as she could to get away.


    ¡°Kara¡­". Clark wanted to fly after her but his comms suddenly beeped.


    ¡°Superman....... I...... I see¡­. I''m on my way¡±.


    Looking at Kara disappear into the distance, Clark''s face was particularly heavy.


    ...... ........


    Five hours Later.


    Gotham City.


    A sonic boom sounded above it all, followed by a figure dressed in red and blue tights streaking through the air.


    Passing over Gotham and heading to its outskirts.


    In an open field, Kara dressed in her Supergirl outfit landed on her two legs, her face mixed with a bit of hesitation, sadness, and confusion.


    After her fight with Clark, she flew around the world, settling on a mountain peak in Africa and just hid there with her arms and huddled.


    After a while, tear marks began to stream down her face.


    She didn''t want to go back to the farm. At least not for now.


    Honestly, she would rather not face Clark like this.  The sorrow and sadness that had been bottled up all this time erupted as she sobbed silently.


    After a while, she decided to leave.


    She didn''t want to go to the cave either, but if she didn''t, she would have nowhere else to go.


    And so, in the spark of a moment''s thought, she decided to come here.


    This was the place that previously housed the Axiom, where she stayed for a week. Amari''s previous base, unfortunately, the dimensional barrier was no longer here. Now, it was just a plain, open field with a lot of grass and trees.


    Honestly, Kara didn''t know what she was doing here. Or maybe she knew, but she didn''t want to think about it.


    ¡°... Um...... Hello?¡±


    She called out to nothing but thin air.


    Hesitating, she stretched out her had to the place where the barrier once stood. Only, there was nothing there.


    ¡°Can....... Can you hear me?...... I. I don''t know if you can. It''s just...... I had a bad day and I just needed somewhere to......¡±. She paused.


    The wind blew and the leaves swayed. But there was no answer. No reply.


    ¡°You probably can''t even hear me. Can you? Never mind..... It doesn''t matter. This¡­. This was a mistake¡±.


    And so, the blond turned around and prepared to fly back to the farm. Sit on the roof of the barn until dark, then perhaps go to bed after dinner.


    At that moment, the space behind her had a crack.


    ¡°Is it though?¡±


    The soft, clear voice made her freeze. Reminding her of that face that always carried nonchalance and indifference.


    She turned around slowly, only to find him looking at her with a slight smile.


    Seeing her features, Amari shrugged.


    "Hey Blondie. What can I do for you?"

 Chapter 105 Help

    I could see her red eyes, trembling stature, her tear stained face and her surprised expression.


    Yep. Been a while since I saw her like this. Last time was months ago. When she just arrived.


    ¡°You........¡±. Kara exclaimed.


    ¡°You showed up¡±.


    ¡°Pretty much¡±. I shrugged and replied in a casual tone.


    ¡°After all, have nothing better to do¡±. I could see her face darken slightly. Why, though? It was the truth.


    ¡°Plus......¡±. I raised my finger and pointed to the ground.


    ¡°This is legally my property. So you''re trespassing¡±.


    ¡°Oh! Then am I going to go to jail?¡± If her looks weren''t enough, Her half annoyed, half sarcastic tone pretty much hit the nail on the head that she wasn''t her best self at the moment.


    ¡°¡­. Ok..... What''s the problem¡±? My voice held no intrigue or curiosity. She didn''t seem to notice.


    Her face changed slightly as she turned around to face away. Her hands folded across her chest.


    ¡°I...... Clark and I had an argument¡­".


    ¡°Let me guess then. Adaptation issues?¡± I raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°How..... Did you know?¡± Her eyes were wide before narrowing.


    ¡°Are you spying on me?¡± She knew I had Alice. Not surprised at that, either.


    ¡°Common sense¡±. I gestured to the side. ¡°Probably from day one¡±.


    Superman and Supergirl having........ Issues due to their different views was quite expected. Kara wasn''t from this world. It would be impossible to act directly like Clark who, although similarly wasn''t from this world but lived his entire life here all the same.


    ¡°The Cerebral Transducer let you know more. Everything you needed to know about living as an earthling. So you wouldn''t make the common mistake of asking, ¡°Who?¡± When they mentioned Einstein¡±. I paused for a second.


    ¡°..... It wouldn''t change the way you are used to things. Just because you know what a paper map is doesn''t mean you won''t subconsciously ask artificial intelligence for directions. Which are rare and aren''t widespread in this world¡±.


    ¡°You also won''t get accustomed to earth law that easily either¡±.


    ¡°¡­¡± Kara was silent.


    ¡°¡­. Ok, another guess...... You almost killed someone. Didn''t you?¡±


    ¡°Stop that¡±.


    ¡°What?¡± I felt amused.


    ¡°Stop...... Ugh..... Stop knowing things¡±. She looked like she could pull her hair out in frustration.


    ¡°I¡­. I tried. But it''s so difficult to live like this. Always worrying about controlling my strength, always having to remind myself that things don''t work like that anymore¡­. And the crimes..... Ugh¡±.


    Turning around, she hugged herself a bit tighter while listing out her grievances incessantly.


    ¡°I mean¡­. Who does that? Things like this don''t happen on Krypton. Prisoners who''ve done wrong get exiled and never come back. Not...... Not this¡±.


    ¡°On Krypton, there was law and order and peace and stability. The chaos here is way too intense. It''s so primitive, and wrong, and.....¡±.


    ¡°...... And it''s Earth¡±.


    Amari let out an upbeat laugh as he interrupted her mid-speech.


    ¡°Deal with it¡±.


    My words shut her up. Following which, she drooped slightly.


    ¡°¡­ I...... Maybe I don''t belong here¡±.


    I could hear her tone and knew what she needed.


    She needed someone who understood her. Or more accurately..... Someone who she thought understood her.


    In this case, I was both.


    Only......


    ¡°You don''t¡±. I said bluntly causing her to shake slightly.


    ¡°You........¡±. Kara felt annoyed. Was that what someone would say to a distressed teenager?


    Even if it was true, it sounded inappropriate for the situation.


    ''Dolt!'' she cursed in her mind.


    However, I wasn''t done.


    ¡°But neither do I and .......¡±. I smiled. ¡°I''m still here anyway¡±.


    ¡°The world''s not perfect. Never has been. Never will be. You can''t have it exactly how you want. But¡­. You can make it as close as it can get¡±.


    Then, I fell into contemplation.


    ¡°Or...... You can just go to another Earth and try your luck¡±.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Oh..... i¡­. Huh? Wait a minute¡±. Hearing my words, Kara shook her head and uttered with a face of disbelief.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Another Earth. One of the others in the multiverse¡±. I shrugged.


    I was kidding. And she knew it. But she still couldn''t get the thought out of her head.


    At that moment, the sound of sirens fell into our ears, prompting Kara to look towards the distant Gotham.


    A robbery was going down


    ¡°That''s Batman''s turf¡±. I uttered with interest.


    ¡°You going to take it?¡± My gaze fell back on her, wondering if she would go out to stop it.


    After all, this was what Clark had taught her.


    ¡°I........ No¡±. She hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.


    ¡°I think¡­. I''m done for the day¡±. She didn''t feel like going to stop bad guys. Not after what happened today.


    ¡°Well then......... Since you look so down. How about dinner?¡± Seeing her crestfallen expression, I smiled and proposed.


    ¡°Wait...... Dinner?¡± Kara''s eyes looked weird.


    ¡°Like a date?¡±


    My eyebrows couldn''t get any higher.


    ¡°Whatever you say¡±.


    I took a few steps forward and a space crack appeared before me.


    ¡°Well, do you need an invitation?¡± I said while looking over my shoulder before stepping through".


    ...........


    Outer Space.......... The Watchtower.


    [Recognized: Superman 01]


    Clark walked in through the Watchtower Zeta tubes arriving straight at the Monitor Womb.


    There, Batman was standing at the Watchtower Computer, looking at a holographic screen with rapt attention.


    ¡°Alright Batman. I''m here¡±.


    ¡°I can see¡±. Bruce replied without looking at him.


    ¡°And? What''s the issue¡±.


    ¡°....¡±. Bruce was silent for a few moments.


    ¡°Bruce?¡± Clark called out with furrowed eyebrows.


    ¡°I''m thinking of how to put this delicately¡±. His expressionless face looked weird when he uttered those words.


    Clark couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow.


    ¡°Delicate is not your style¡±.


    ¡°You''re right¡±. Bruce nodded and continued.


    ¡°You''re cousin is a problem¡±.


    ¡°What?¡± Clark''s eyes went wide.


    ¡°Bruce, what are you saying?¡±


    ¡°I''m saying exactly what you told me a few months ago. You said we could trust her¡±.


    ¡°We can¡±. Clark''s eyes narrowed with a glum expression. ¡°She''s only been here a couple of months. She''s doing her best¡±.


    ¡°Her best isn''t good enough¡±.


    At this point, Bruce''s plain tone was beginning to sound annoying.


    ¡°What''s that supposed to mean?¡±


    Batman stepped away from the Watchtower computer and turned to Superman.


    ¡°You were so happy to discover someone alive from Krypton that you didn''t bother to think about the consequences for the rest of us mere humans¡±.


    A video of Supergirl''s recent attempt to stop a chopper chase earlier in the day played on the screen.


    Followed by the destruction of Metropolis Square.


    Batman put his hands by his side.


    ¡°In the short time she''s been here, she''s destroyed buildings and failed to control her powers. Worst of all, she doesn''t care¡±.


    His face twisted to form a look of uncertainty.


    ¡°With her abilities, that makes her a threat. Especially since she spent a considerable amount of time with him¡±.


    Clark frowned.


    ¡°I don''t like what you''re implying¡±.


    ¡°I know you don''t. And you don''t have to¡±. He replied before turning back to the computer.


    Clark couldn''t say anything. Kara''s outburst earlier was definitely something to worry about. Of course, he wouldn''t tell the paranoid Dark Knight about this. That would only give Batman more reasons to turn up his suspicions.


    ¡°Kara''s....... Trying. Adapting to earth as an adult is a lot more difficult. Especially when she just saw her entire civilization destroyed¡±.


    Superman directly played the pity card


    ¡°I know¡±. Bruce froze for a second.


    ¡°But it''s no excuse. It would be best for everyone if she learned to keep herself in check¡±.


    The frown on the face of The Man Of Steel deepened. He knew Bruce was particularly obstinate on most things.


    ¡°So that''s what you called me here for? To tell me my cousin is a threat?¡±


    ¡°Actually...... No¡±. The answer was within Clark''s expectations.


    ¡°So what''s the matter?¡±


    ¡°I''ve contacted the Flash¡±.


    ¡°The Flash? You mean the new guy from the other earth?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±. Bruce replied. "I think it''s time we take care of his problem and get him back to his universe".


    ¡°Oh!¡± Immediately, Superman understood. Was it time already?


    ¡°But......¡±. ¡°There''s no need to worry about this Clark¡±. Batman interrupted.


    ¡°We can''t keep delaying this matter any longer. He''s growing impatient and Diana''s status on the other end grows more uncertain with each passing day¡±.


    ¡°But...... We can''t separate the manpower for this¡±. This was true. At the moment, their world was....... In simple words, a mess. With their members not at full attendance, the Justice League had been spread noticeably thin.


    Do not mention travelling to other worlds...... They couldn''t even guard theirs properly.


    ¡°I know. Which is why I''m sending in the team for this¡±.


    ¡°The team?¡± Superman was startled.


    ¡°You can''t possibly be thinking of sending in the kids to save an entire planet?¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Bruce, you can''t be serious. They could get killed¡±. Clark''s tone was bordering yelling.


    All the information they had on that universe was nothing but what was told to them by its own speedster.


    There was another Version of him there. A darker, more twisted version of himself.


    Clark didn''t know how strong he was compared to his counterpart on that earth, but it definitely wasn''t something a group of kids could handle. And that was far from the end of all dangers.


    At this point, they hadn''t even figured out how to properly travel between the breaches.


    Normal people couldn''t get through the barrier. And the Flash wasn''t fast enough to make it there himself.


    As for himself....... He would experience a situation similar to their missing Leaguers if he tried to force his way through.


    Lost in space, perhaps for all eternity.


    ¡°I know¡±. The Caped Crusader was surprisingly calm.


    ¡°They need to grow in the face of adversity. And besides....... I never said anything about them going alone¡±.

 Chapter 106 Deal, Danger

    At that point, he realized what Bruce meant, prompting him to fold his hands across his chest.


    ¡°So...... You''re actually going to go through with it?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±. Bruce replied. ¡°Amari has made a deal with the US Government before. It should be no problem for us to make a request¡±.


    Clark frowned, not liking the idea one bit.


    ¡°I don''t approve¡±.


    ¡°...¡± Batman was silent.


    ¡°Clark........ We can''t do this on our own. At least not with the way we are now¡±.


    ¡°Have you discussed with the rest of the League on this?¡±


    ¡°We don''t have to¡±.


    ¡°Bruce!¡± Clark yelled.


    ¡°Are you listening to yourself?¡±


    ¡°We''re running out of time, Clark¡±. Batman retorted.


    ¡°The Earth will always be in danger as long as those breaches are open¡±.


    ¡°We''ll find a way......¡±. Batman wanted to roll his eyes at Clark''s almost naive optimism.


    ¡°We don''t even know how many they are yet. What''s stopping another Gotham tragedy from happening right under our noses in another city?¡±


    ¡°If something happens, I''ll handle it¡±. Superman''s brows were unusually furrowed.


    ¡°As fast as you are, Clark...... You can''t be everywhere. We need you here¡­. In this universe when things go bad¡±.


    Bruce paused.


    ¡°Amari stated it clearly. We have a mole, and recently, Red Tornado has gone missing¡±. Batman carried a heavy face and a solemn tone.


    ¡°You know....... Two of his¡­. Siblings, attacked The Cave. With his recent actions, there are high chances that Red Tornado is the mole. That also means we''re down another Leaguer. Canary''s hospitalized, Batson is out of commission......... Clark...... We need..... Help¡±.


    Those sentences came out in a bitter tone. The Caped Crusader hated his emotions at this moment.


    The Justice League, a team of the most powerful individuals on the planet who had fought against countless threats...... Actually required help.


    Especially from an individual they once attacked. It was ironic really, but at this point, Bruce really couldn''t see any other way.


    The Secret society was still out here, so we''re the breaches and whatever threats might march out one day, a teammate was trapped on a distant earth, and small irrelevant pieces of information that Batman had gathered stated something he really didn''t want to hear.


    Lucifer existed.


    Aqualad had reported that Amari mentioned something about a man named Lucifer after resurrecting the Joker from hell.


    If it was the same Lucifer that the Legends spoke of....... Batman felt a pit rising in his stomach.


    They needed to solve this issue, as well as the one with the breaches. But closing portals that lead to other universes wasn''t something that could be accomplished in a short period of time.


    They had their brightest minds at Star Labs working on this for weeks now and still no result.


    No. Bruce couldn''t wait.


    What if another invasion took place in a city. Carrying an army much stronger than the one Gotham experienced?


    It would be hell on Earth. The damage unleashed would be too great to bear before the League could arrive and fix it.


    Just like this plant incident.


    They couldn''t close the breaches, that didn''t mean someone else couldn''t.


    As for sending in available Leaguers for a rescue mission across world''s....... Bruce never had this thought. Anyone could say anything about him, but the situation just didn''t permit it.


    Another Superman existed on the other side. A brutal version of him. One with just as much strength..... perhaps even stronger than their resident Kryptonian.


    Sending available Leaguers was nothing more than warming them up for their graveyards when they return. If..... They return with a body that is.


    As for Kryptonite..... It was an option but not a safe one.


    Clark could kill an opponent who could wield kryptonite from a distance. His enemies just got the better of him due to his nature.


    Clark always held back. Rarely ever used his full strength.


    This new Superman wouldn''t be like that in the slightest.


    As for sending in Clark........ What a joke.


    If their enemies got news that Superman was out of this world for an indefinite period of time, Bruce was sure that all hell would break loose.


    Clark wasn''t going anywhere. And even if he did go, unless this Superman was weaker than him, Bruce knew Clark would lose. Because Clark always held back, he never fought with his full strength, for fear of killing his opponent.


    Two Supermen, one was restrained, and the other went all out. The outcome was obvious.


    If Clark did go all out and killed his opponent....... Then they might have a problem if Clark had..... Personality changes after returning.


    None of it was worth the risk. And if they could take a detour, Bruce would definitely choose to do so.


    Clark took a look at Batman. Within that staunch figure and expressionless face was a thick wave of helplessness.


    He opened his mouth, but the words that came out were......


    ¡°I can''t talk you out of this, can I?¡±


    ¡°Apart from what you just stated, is there any general issue about it that concerns you¡±.


    ¡°......... No¡±. Clark was uncomfortable, but he knew that Bruce had a point. They were really too stretched thin.


    And the Breaches weren''t disappearing anytime soon.


    If another disaster happened...... Clark didn''t want to see it happen.


    ¡°Good¡±. With a nod, The Dark Knight turned his head to the side. They had already sent the team to handle villains on the level of Black Adam and Wotan. This....... Shouldn''t be too much harder.


    ¡°Now, we need to inform him of our....... Proposal¡±.


    ¡°Ok....... But I think you forgot something¡±. Clark raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°How are you going to find him?¡± Amari''s whereabouts were elusive. Ever since his base disappeared, no one knew where to find him.


    ¡°There''s no need to locate him¡±. Clark swore he saw amusement within his eyes.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Your cousin already did¡±.


    ............


    France, Paris.


    Oct 3: 18:43.


    Two figures sat on top of a tall building, looking at the huge landmark in the distance.


    The Eiffel Tower was the symbol of the French city and France as a whole. Under the dazzling evening lights of the French city, it looked particularly glorious and awe-inspiring on regular days.


    Not today, though. Paris was one of the major cities that the plant incident took place in. The Eiffel Tower had suffered the brunt of it while wrapped in large, almost never-ending vines.


    Now..... It looked miserably bent.


    ¡°..... I have to admit. Not as amazing as I thought it would be, seeing it in person¡±. Kara muttered while looking at the iconic architecture that as currently out of order.


    The area surrounding it had been sealed off, waiting for the time Green Lantern was free enough to aid in reconstruction.


    For those who had heard about it, it literally killed the vibe.


    ¡°Hehehehe. What were you expecting after it?¡± Amari chuckled, causing Kara to throw him a weird look.


    ¡°Hey....... Forgive me for asking. But what''s wrong with you?¡±.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Amari turned to her and raised an eyebrow.


    Supergirl waved her hands.


    ¡°Hey! Don''t get me wrong. I just mean...... You''re acting a lot different since our last¡­. You know¡±. Following which, her bright blue eyes shone with curiosity.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You''re laughing a lot more. Unlike before, you always looked so¡­. Stoic. Like the world owed you money or something¡±.


    ¡°You don''t say¡±.


    The night was far spent.


    It had been a few hours since they left Gotham city. After which....... They went everywhere they thought of.


    The Amusement park in New York, The Great Wall of China in..... Well, China. Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Rhode Island for Ice Cream and now, they were here.


    The whole time, her eyes were wide open, taking in everything she saw for the first time.


    She knew of all of this, but had never seen it.


    All in all, it was a very relaxing outing.


    ¡°Personality crisis¡±. Amari waved his hand casually, not wanting to delve deeper into the matter.


    ¡°Ok¡±. She squinted suspiciously before uttering.


    ¡°I like it. It''s better. This new you you''re giving off. You used to act like an airhead¡±.


    "Yeah? Don''t get used to it". Amari said casually.


    His mind couldn''t help but drift to the crack in his mental space. It was still there. Ignored, but not forgotten.


    At that moment, Kara spoke again.


    ¡°Hey..... What happened to the Axiom?¡± Her head was visibly lowered as she asked.


    ¡°Oh? Transported¡±.


    ¡°Ok. Then to where?¡±


    ¡°Beyond the multiverse. To the realm of Gods and Demons¡±.


    ¡°....... What?¡± Kara was dumbfounded. Where did this come from?


    ¡°Sigh! What an uneducated little girl¡±.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Annoyed, she threw a punch at his shoulder.


    He didn''t flinch.


    The night returned to silence. Kara''s face showed a bit of hesitation to speak.


    ¡°Alright. What is it?¡±


    ¡°I...... Can you take me there?¡±


    During their time after Gotham, Amari had explained the general concept of the DC multiverse. How there was more than one of them out there.


    Her eyes shone with a bit of anticipation at the thought.


    Amari felt amused.


    ¡°You just got together with your cousin. Now you want to leave?¡±


    Silence.


    The blonde opened her mouth, but no words could come out.


    She didn''t know what to say.


    Amari was also in thought. Ever since that day, he hadn''t returned to his Axiom. Or to be more precise, his new realm.


    Previously, it was just a dimensional space. Now, it was a full realm within the Sphere Of Gods. A realm that belonged to him. Just like Morpheus had The Dreaming.


    It was a lie if he said he didn''t want to go and take a look.


    As for taking Kara with him.......


    It happened then. The sound of a Jet breaking into the atmosphere fell into his ears.


    Kara''s face changed slightly as he raised her head up.


    ¡°Well, we have company¡±. Amari stated with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°What''s a Jet doing in Paris?¡± Kara''s face wrinkled slightly.


    ¡°It''s Batman''s, and I''m not talking about the Jet¡±. The reply she received however surprised her..... Until it didn''t.


    A streak of yellow lightning streaked through the streets of Paris before running up the building and appearing before them.


    Clad in a red costume and yellow lightning bolts, Flash stood behind them as they say in the building edge.


    ¡°It''s you¡­.¡±. Kara raised an eyebrow. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Hi¡±. Wally waved to her before turning to Amari.


    ¡°Can we talk...... in private¡±. Hearing this, the face of the Kryptonian wasn''t looking good.


    ¡°Where?¡± Amari didn''t mind. If the Earth -1 Flash was here, then he wasn''t here alone.


    ¡°Follow me¡±. And with that, his body turned to a speeding bolt. Racing into the far distance.


    ¡°You''re leaving?¡± Seeing Amari stand up, Kara couldn''t help but ask with a frown.


    ¡°I''ll be back. And don''t try to follow¡±. His figure turned into a blur and disappeared from sight in the direction where the Flash just ran off to.


    ..........


    Meudon Forest, Paris.


    The Bat Jet landed on an open field. Since the original had been destroyed, Bruce had to bring out a spare.


    Luckily, he was rich.


    Anyone else playing the role of Batman would probably be neck deep in debt from the first jet crash alone.


    He leaped out of the cockpit. His feet barely landing on the floor when two whooshes caused a large gust of wind to almost sweep him off his feet.


    Two men appeared in front of him.


    One red, one......


    ¡°Amari¡±.


    Batman called out.


    ¡°Alright Bruce. I''m here. What do you want?¡±


    Amari looked around the place for a while. His gaze never focusing on The Dark Knight.


    ¡°You seem to be having fun with Supergirl".


    The first word that came out was...... Odd.


    ¡°And? Why do you care?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.....¡±. His tone drawled.


    ¡°Just confirmation of a thought¡±.


    ¡°Well maybe, maybe not¡±. Amari shrugged.


    ¡°But I doubt you called me out here to judge me on what I do in my personal time right?¡±


    ¡°He didn''t¡±. Clark''s figure appeared in the air. His face was unusually stern at the moment.


    Seeing that Clark was here, Bruce put down his intention to probe.


    As for whether Amari knew or not........ Now was not the time.


    Kara''s incident should be kept from Clark until the final moment.


    Superman landed on the ground with his two feet. His long cape swept the grass behind him as the wind blew.


    ¡°That can be discussed later. For now, we have something more important to deal with¡±.


    ¡°Ok..... I''m all ears¡±.


    Amari gestured. Flash turned to Batman, who gave him a curt nod.


    This was his approval. And so, Wally West of Earth -1 turned back to Amari, took in a deep breath and began.


    ¡°We need your help¡±.


    ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°To save my world¡±.


    ..........


    Back In Paris.


    Sitting on top of the building, Kara''s face wasn''t so good-looking.


    Across her beautiful features, the frown couldn''t be concealed.


    ''Should I..... Eavesdrop?'' She thought to herself whether to attempt using Super hearing to see if she could overhear their conversation.


    However, she wasn''t proficient in it. Most times, her ears would get filled up with all types of sounds. It was uncomfortable, disorienting, and sometimes painful.


    Just when she was contemplating giving it a go, on the roof of the building where she sat, a glowing orange portal suddenly appeared behind her, instantly alerting the Kryptonian.


    Kara sprang to her feet. A flash of white light appeared from the portal as the body of a woman was formed.


    ¡°Hello young one¡±.


    Aur¨¦lie called out with a smile.


    ¡°And who are you?¡± Kara looked wary and stood on guard. Her body flew into the air, and she eyes the new arrival without blinking.


    ¡°Oh? Isn''t that obvious. Well, it doesn''t matter. Because......¡±.


    Two more boom tubes appeared beside her and two figures stepped out of them. Mad Harriet and Gilotina.


    Each with a smile on their face.


    ¡°...... We''re going to take you home¡±.

 Chapter 107 Apprehended

    ¡°Home?¡± Kara''s eyes narrowed. Her gut feeling told her that these new arrivals weren''t up to anything good.


    ¡°You''ve made a mistake. My home''s gone¡±.


    ¡°Hehehehe¡±. Gilotina chuckled.


    ¡°She''s cute¡±. The New God was dressed in particularly revealing white armor. Somehow similar to Wonder Woman with a different design. Her long white hair draped past her shoulders, reaching her back and almost touching her waist.


    ¡°Perhaps young one. But that is not what I meant¡±. Aurelie uttered as she swung her spear in a demonstration.


    ¡°We are going to take you to a new home. Where you will serve under his eminence, Lord Darkseid".


    ¡°Darkseid!¡± Kara exclaimed. She definitely knew who Darkseid was.


    Amari had explained it to her all too well.


    The Cosmic Tyrant and pure personification of the word evil. Ruler of an apocalyptic hellscape.


    Her eyes narrowed to a threatening degree.


    ¡°Sorry to disappoint, but I''m not going anywhere¡±.


    ¡°Oh? What a shame young one¡±. She spun her spear skillfully in a show of theatrics.


    ¡°I hope it won''t disappoint you when you realize that you....... Don''t have a choice in the matter¡±.


    Walking forward, she said casually without a speck of caution.


    ¡°Bring it on¡±. Kara''s eyes glowed with a dazzling red color.


    She flew off the roof in an attempt to look imposing but fell back down the next moment. Her glowing red eyes disappeared, her body was devoid of strength and accompanied by a crippling weakness she hadn''t felt for a month plus.


    Struggling, the blonde managed to raise her head up with a pale face to behold the cause of her weakness.


    As you would expect. A green rock was held within Gilotina''s grasp. Glowing with intensify as if mocking her straight in her face.


    Kryptonite.


    ¡°Cute, strong and feisty. She''s a keeper¡±. Gilotina chuckled again with a teasing smile.


    ¡°What''s the matter, dear? You didn''t really think we would cause a commotion and battle you until you were defeated now, did you?¡±


    Kara gritted her teeth in pain.


    Ironically, that was exactly what she expected.


    But for people with the right resources, that was nothing but a fool''s errand.


    ¡°Trust me, I would love to battle you myself¡±. The white armored warrior bent down and held her by her chin.


    ¡°Perhaps, knock some of that grit off you¡±. She said with a sinister smile before dropping it.


    ¡°Unfortunately, you have an acquaintance that makes that possibility a luxury we can''t afford¡±.


    ¡°Enough Gilotina". Aurelie, leader of the Furies, spoke out at that moment.


    ¡°It''s time to leave. We have half of what we came here for¡±.


    Aurelie looked towards the distance warily. The urgency in her tone quite apparent.


    ..........


    ¡°We need your help¡±.


    ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°To save my world¡±.


    Silence. Amari didn''t utter a word, and neither did Superman and his group.


    Both sides stared at each other for close to a good minute before Amari shook his head.


    ¡°Not interested¡±. His nonchalance cashed Flash to clench his fists.


    ¡°Why?¡± Bruce didn''t react as much.


    ¡°Why should I?¡± Amari countered back.


    ¡°You''ve made a deal with the military before. This should be no different¡±.


    ¡°You''re right. It shouldn''t be¡±. Amari nodded and pointed out.


    ¡°But I''m not exactly seeing the deal part in this conversation¡±.


    ¡°I see¡±. Bruce nodded. Then, he threw his gaze back on the foreigner among them. Flash saw the look Batman gave him and knew it was time.


    This was the whole point. To get Amari to render them help, they needed to make a deal with him.


    Chances are, he wouldn''t accept. But on the small chance he did........ He still wouldn''t accept, due to the fact they didn''t have anything of value. At least...... Not anything they think Amari would want.


    And most importantly, the Justice League of this earth wouldn''t be paying for it.


    Wally took a deep breath. For his world, for his earth, and for the people he cared about. It all boiled down to this moment.


    ¡°What do you want that will convince you to help us?¡±


    Hearing this, Amari shook his head.


    ¡°With the situation of your world, I doubt there''s anything that can interest me¡±. Amari said his thoughts out loud. It was true. His earth was dry of anything Amari found of interest.


    ¡°What about the Helmet Of Fate¡±. However, Wally''s next words made him have to rethink his assumptions.


    Amari was surprised. Likewise, Superman and Batman had their expressions change drastically.


    ¡°Doctor Fate''s helmet?¡± He couldn''t help but ask.


    ¡°Our World''s version of Doctor Fate. He died. But the helmet still exists¡±. Wally said solemnly.


    Kent Nelson of his world was dead.


    The atmosphere was dealt quiet. Bruce fell into deep thought, constantly weighing the scales, while Clark had a frown on his face.


    As for Amari, he was thinking.


    Many things might not interest him, but the Helmet of Fate wasn''t like the others. It served as a receptacle of magical energies in its own right, carrying powers beyond gods, and is considered one of the most powerful artifacts to exist.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    In simpler terms, it was a gateway to the energies of a Lord of order. In even simpler terms, it was a giant power bank with huge amounts of energy stored away for use.


    There were different versions of doctor Fate across the multiverse. Similarly, there were different Helmets of Fate. Nevertheless, all drew their power from the same source.


    Nabu. Or rather, all Helmets of Fate served as a channel for Nabu to take possession of the wielder who served as his agent. Nevertheless, the agent could only use a fraction of his power due to their mortal restrictions.


    As a powerful, phenomenal cosmic being with nigh incalculable powers, Nabu''s energy reserves were rather vast.


    And in Amari''s opinion, his actions were idiotic to leave a way to harness his power through the Helmets. This was why Klarion had kidnapped Kent to search for the Helmet when he had the chance.


    So Amari was sure he wouldn''t mind if he siphoned some of it away. Or...... All of it away.


    So all in all, he was interested. However, there was just one..... Tiny flaw in all this.


    ¡°I want to know one thing. If your world has a Helmet of Fate, then why not use it yourself after Kent died?¡±


    Hearing this, Flash was silent.


    The silence remained for a few seconds when he spoke up again.


    "We would have. But ¡°he¡± took it away after Kent''s death. To make sure there was no one capable of posing a real threat to him".


    ¡°So you mean, the Helmet is not in your team''s possession but in the hands of the enemy?¡±


    Wally revealed a wry smile.


    The smile was an answer itself.


    ¡°I see........¡±. Amari''s ears twitched. As did Superman''s.


    Both turned to look in the same direction. Their eyes quickly locking onto their target.


    The sound of a structure crumbling to pieces fell into their ears.


    The Eiffel Tower was falling apart.


    Seeing this, Clark didn''t hesitate. His figure flashed towards the crumbling structure in an attempt to stabilize it.


    Amari however, didn''t move yet. His eyes were fixed on another point. The point where he just came from.


    Following which, his body disappeared at a speed surpassing the baked eye. Then, he reappeared on the top of the building he previously sat on with a Kara.


    She was gone.


    The person there, however, was a beautiful woman with dark red irises, long red hair and dressed in a green battle suit.


    Her expression was solemn and carried a firm look of determination and readiness. Her posture was one where she was ready to spring into action the moment she was on the receiving end of an attack.


    He knew her. More than that, he had seen her before. Nevertheless.....


    ¡°And who might I ask should you be?¡±


    Before anything went down, introductions were basic etiquette.


    ¡°Aurelie. Member of my world''s Elite strike force. Leader of his eminence, Darkseid''s Furies and New God of Apokolips". Her face was particularly solemn.


    ¡°And Lord Darkseid requests your presence¡±. Aurelie uttered with a hard stare. She looked forward unblinkingly, but her inner mind wasn''t as peaceful as her countenance portrayed it to be.


    This wasn''t a request. Rather, it was a demand.


    Darkseid ordered her and her Furies to capture the New God ad return him to Apokolips. But she would be darned to actually put it like that when finding herself in her circumstances.


    For all she knew, Amari could simply decide to crush her in a fit of rage.


    Nevertheless, she knew what she meant and she was sure he did too. Changing the words wouldn''t make it any better.


    This was why she decided not to go up with a direct, forceful assault. She knew that course of action was doomed the moment she laid eyes on him.


    They would achieve nothing and their deaths would be for nothing as well.


    ¡°Let me guess then¡±. His calm, smooth voice fell into her ears.


    ¡°Something will happen to Kara if I don''t¡±.


    ¡°Yes. And I''m the only one who can get you there¡±.


    This was Aurelie''s plan. Call it cringe and stupid and possibly unlikely to work, but it was the only chance they had. At least, it was the only chance they had that she knew of.


    So she let her team take away the Kryptonian while she remained here to deliver those few words to make their intent known. If he cared for the blonde, then he would go to Apokolips to save her. As long as he did, the situation would no longer be their problem. And if he didn''t....... They could only report their failure to Darkseid and await a gruesome punishment. Or worse, death.


    That aside, no matter the result, she herself would most likely die here. She was here to let him know who was responsible, where he should go and the way to get him there.


    Apokolips resided outside the DC multiverse. Entry into it was only possible Via Boomtubes. Or perhaps, entities with strong dimensional travel abilities.


    Amari would need her to save the Kryptonian.


    Meaning, she had cut off her own chances of escape.


    This was a gamble. One done with her life.


    If Amari decided to kill her, then she would go down fighting. Dying a worthy death at best.


    Nevertheless, Aurelie cared little. At least...... It would be better to die like this than to go back to receive the vile abuses of Willik.


    Before she could respond, Amari interrupted.


    ¡°Great. Now that we''ve gotten that out of the way......¡±.


    His words came to a halt and his eyes glowed.


    ..........


    The moment the Eiffel Tower came crumbling down, Barda and Stompa immediately opened a boom tube to leave.


    This operation didn''t require them to battle with the Earth inhabitants.


    The destruction of the Tower was to serve as a distraction for Superman, so Aurelie would have her chance to speak with Amari alone.


    Following which, they would make their exit.


    ........


    With a loud whirring sound, the boom tube opened on an abandoned planet in an unknown Star Sector.


    Two figures appeared, stepping out of the Portal which closed behind them. Gilotina walked forward with elegance and Grace while holding a Kryptonite rock in her hands.


    Not far from her was the fully armed Mad Harriet who had a human figure hung over her shoulder.


    ¡°Oh! Done already?¡± Lashina sat on a giant rock, looked up and asked with a nonchalant tone.


    For the capture of the Supergirl, she wasn''t the least bit surprised.


    ¡°Yep. Quite easy really. This rock is more useful than you could imagine¡±. Gilotina replied to which, both Lashina and Mad Harriet chuckled at.


    Apparently, neither were they.


    Thud!


    Kara was thrown to the floor with no care whatsoever.


    Lashina couldn''t help but lean over.


    ¡°Well, she''s a pretty one. Will make a good addition¡±.


    ¡°You think so too, huh?" Their words were interrupted by the opening of another boom tube. The large Stompa and Bid Barda stepped out as well.


    She nodded slightly, seeing the pale looking Supergirl in their possession.


    ¡°And Aurelie?¡± No one replied to her.


    The plan was clear to all of them. Aurelie as the leader had taken on the responsibility of being the one left behind.


    ¡°She said if she doesn''t return in ten minutes, we should go on without her¡±. Lashina''s voice was heavy.


    They knew that the possibility of Aurelie making it back alive was slim. Next to nothing really.


    Their minds couldn''t help but wander. Recently, Aurelie was receiving special treatment from Willik. Better gear, better missions, extra special training....... At that time, they all thought that Aurelie was paving the way for herself only.


    Somehow, she had managed to get into Willik''s good graces yet wasn''t making way for the rest of them. They didn''t know how or the inside matter behind it..... Or rather, they didn''t dare to imagine what was actually happening, but truthfully, they were pissed.


    Now, they couldn''t help but feel a touch of emotion. They were warriors, but they were also sisters.


    No matter how bad things were with each other, that would be hard to change. And now, one of them.......


    Their thoughts were interrupted by a giant crack opening a distance away from them.


    ¡°What the.....?¡±


    A black Silhouette shot out of the crack faster than they could react. Gilotina and Harriet, who were too close to each other, bore the brunt of it.


    The two women were knocked far away with the Gilotina losing her grip on the Kryptonite.


    Crash!


    Three figures plunged into the soil of a foreign desert planet.


    Amari stepped through the space crack and took a good look at his surroundings.


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Amari was surprised.


    ¡°You didn''t run to Apokolips but thought staying here would be far enough?¡±


    The faces of the other three changed.


    They couldn''t believe it. He actually followed them here.

 Chapter 108 Sexual Abuse

    Unknown Planet in the universe


    Sector: Unknown


    ........


    The earth within a thirty feet radius looked deformed. Cracks, pits, trenches, it was completely uneven indicating that this place was the center of a great battle.


    A straight, wide gully stretching forward for God knows how long could be seen. It was terrible.


    The whole area was accompanied by the clear sound of silence. Save for the soft footsteps that although weren''t loud, were particularly resounding in the pin drop silence.


    Thud!


    A figure dropped to the floor face first. A pained expression crowning her features and her body particularly bruised.


    Her left arm was twisted in ways it wasn''t supposed to go while her right was......... A bleeding stump.


    ¡°Gods, huh?........ So tell me. Do you bleed?¡± Amari''s faint voice fell into her ears causing the deformed face of Mad Harriet to twitch in anger.


    She gritted her razor sharp teeth and resisted the immense pain assaulting her in an attempt to attack her opponent yet again.


    She wasn''t called Mad Harriet for nothing. Nevertheless, the countless broken bones in her body told her otherwise. Her senses kept telling her.......... That she was in no condition to stage another assault.


    Still, she resisted and mustered energy. Enough to raise her face from the dirt.


    ''Stay Down''


    Slam!


    The ground beneath them cracked as Mad Harriet was driven into the earth by a force surpassing hers. Her internal organs shook wildly as she drove into the earth, blood flowing from her mouth.


    ¡°...... Well...... I guess that''s my answer¡±. Amari muttered with a plain face as Mad Harriet drifted to the land of dreams........ Or nightmares in this case.


    Batman once asked Superman that question. He would be sure to relay his....... Discoveries to the Caped Crusader.


    Following which, his gaze was drawn to the next conscious target he could find.


    Big Barda.


    ¡°..... Unless of course, you aren''t really Gods¡±.


    Sweat oozed from Barda''s skin. Even in the apocalyptic hellscape that was Apokolips, she had never sweated this much in her life. Except, of course, during the time she endured torture under granny goodness.


    But that was a training session. This....... This was worse.


    Amari walked forwards. Ignoring Mad Harriet''s body that was still alive. Alive¡­. But out of commission. Now and for God knows how long.


    ¡°You are Gods, though. Aren''t you? After all, it''s in the title¡±. He continued to spill out irrelevant sentences with a face housing nonchalance and a lack of care.


    His words made Barda grit her teeth. He was mocking them.


    This ....... How could it have come to this?


    As he walked, he passed by Lashina''s body. As well as Stompa''s....... Each of them rested on the destroyed earth, bleeding, bruised and unconscious. Stompa in particular had every giant bone in her body crushed to the point where she couldn''t move.


    Her chest was sunken, and she didn''t seem to be breathing.


    Who told the hulking brute of a woman to kick him in the head? She had it coming.


    Forty-three seconds.


    That''s how much time had passed since Amari stepped foot through the portal.


    The initial amusement he had due to the situation was long gone. Lost in the aftertaste of abusing weaker opponent''s.


    It was boring, really.


    Their combined force wasn''t even enough to make him take them seriously. Having his opponents in this state despite holding back immensely was quite tragic.


    If he were more serious, he would will them out of existence.


    ¡°Usually, one would expect the Gods to be filled with ......... I don''t know¡­. Mystical energy, perhaps. Or their blood would give off a golden color. Maybe they wouldn''t even have bones or blood, and their injuries would heal instantly if they were ever injured...... Doesn''t happen to you guys, though¡±.


    Barda took a look to the side. Gilotina laid in a crater, her eyes closed, red lips open and body half buried with rocks.


    One of her swords was a distance away from her unconscious body. The other was nowhere to be found.


    Barda didn''t utter a word, but inwardly, she was infuriated. Not at the fact that he was mocking them, but what he was mocking them for.


    Their injuries didn''t heal? All New Gods had enhanced healing. But even that had limits.


    These few seconds had been the most disastrous in her thousands of years of existence.


    He injured them, and they healed. Then...... He did it again. And again...... And again.


    Before they could even raise their weapons and put up a good fight, they found themselves being hurled away by a force they couldn''t withstand.


    One so strong, it cracked their bones.


    Then, they would be pulled back like puppets on a string and slammed forward again like a yoyo.


    Gravity around them would increase, making them feel like they carried planets on their backs


    Their healing had barely kicked in to repair the damage when he inflicted even more.


    The powerlessness she felt in these few seconds was immense. He was playing with them....... Like a child playing with food. Testing their bodies, exploring their limits. Her mind drifted for a moment to Desaad who tortured his experiments just to see how long they would last.


    This inherent cruelty........


    Little did she know that Amari wasn''t being cruel.


    Well......... He didn''t think he was. He was honestly, genuinely curious.


    Wanting to see exactly what made them call themselves Gods.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Strength?........... Perhaps only Barda and Stompa were truly worthy of that title. The power of their attacks had exceeded hundreds of thousand of tonnes in pure force.


    Considering, they didn''t do much punching. This was a conservative estimate.


    At least, they were far stronger than Earth sixteen''s Superman.


    Speed........


    That was debatable. Their movements could keep up with this universes Flash for sure. However, they were Gods existing outside the multiverse. In a different plane of time and space.


    The Justice League of Earth 16 weren''t the strongest version of themselves out there. At least, not when Superboy Prime existed on Prime Earth.


    As proclaimed Gods. Not being able to beat the mortals thoroughly in every aspect should be regarded as a major shame.


    Of course, the beings of this universe were arguably weaker. Flash hadn''t even reached Mach 10 much less the speed of light.


    To his words, Barda didn''t answer. As a trained warrior, words didn''t get to her. At least not easily.


    BOOM!


    Her starting speed surpassed sound as her figure turned into a blur, rushing towards her target. Now, she didn''t have any tricks up her sleeve.


    Watching her arrive, Amari felt amused.


    This lady still didn''t get the memo. Following which.......


    ''Stop''.


    Her halt brought about a gust of wind that blew past him.


    The female New God stood unmoving. Her torch pointed forward and her solemn features frozen in place.


    Amari brought his hand forward and caressed her cheek with a playful look in his eyes.


    She couldn''t move, but that didn''t mean she couldn''t see and feel what was happening.


    ¡°You look tense. So just chill out for a few minutes¡±. He smiled and made a detour around here.


    ¡°So are you just going to keep staring at me?¡± Amari turned his gaze to one of the last two conscious people.


    Kara.


    With the initial attack, the Kryptonite was nowhere to be seen. Either it was far out of range or it had been thoroughly destroyed.


    Either way, Kara was fine. But weirdly, she just sat where she was, watching the whole thing like a short movie.


    Seeing this, Kara shrugged.


    ¡°It looked like you had it covered¡±. She was being serious. Amari looked at her, the frown on her face indicating that she wasn''t in a good mood at the moment.


    Understandable really. She just got kidnapped in a truly pathetic way, completely unable to defend herself.


    All due to a glowing green rock, she was utterly defenseless. It would be weird if she could smile.


    With a raised eyebrow, he asked.


    ¡°You ok?¡±


    To which, she replied with a downcast grunt. The annoyance practically seeping through it.


    "Who are these guys? And what do they want with me?"


    ¡°Apparently, Darkseid''s elite guards¡±. Amari swept a look across the battlefield.


    ¡°They''re called Furies. Trained to be the best warriors of Apokolips, feared across the multiverse for their strength and abilities. Fearsome warriors with a fanatical loyalty to Darkseid, willing to die.........¡±.


    Amari noticed that Kara was looking at him weirdly.


    He paused, tilted his head slightly and placed his gaze on the last member of the Furies still capable of moving.


    Their Leader, Aurelie.


    ¡°...... Or so they say¡±.


    Unlike what one would think, Aurelie didn''t look as badly beaten as her sisters. Battered sure, but far from broken up. Mostly because, she didn''t put up much of a resistance.


    ¡°So tell me redhead, am I wrong?¡±


    Towards the nickname, she didn''t have any reaction. Her aching arms and chest prompted her to drop the spear held tightly in her palms.


    Seeing this scene, Amari''s eyebrows couldn''t get any higher.


    ¡°Well....... That''s plain embarrassing to my earlier statement¡±.


    ¡°Don''t tell me you''re going to surrender?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead. Kill me. Fighting a losing battle is pointless¡±.


    Within the forty plus seconds the battle began, she barely made a single advancement. Simply because she knew that they couldn''t win.


    ¡°Really? In that case¡­.¡±.


    His eyes glowed.


    Aurelie felt a strong pressure grab her throat and drag her forward. She appeared before Amari, her hand subconsciously grasping at her neck in which she was lifted.


    Kara''s face changed drastically.


    ¡°What..... What are you doing?¡±


    Amari didn''t answer. Just stared at the New God straight in the eye. And although she was grasping at her throat, the latter looked back at him unblinkingly. Those eyes shone with something he once saw in Orm, or rather, something they lacked.


    The Fear Of Death.


    Both had the same thing, but the fundamental basis for it was different.


    The silence stayed for several seconds before he released the telekinetic hold on her and chuckled deeply.


    Looking at the female New God, his eyes lit up with particular fascination.


    ¡°You''re pretty interesting, you know that?¡±


    Aurelie took in light breaths of air.


    Looking at the man who stood right in front of her, her frown did not lessen in the slightest.


    ¡°If you have plans to extract information out of me, you will find your efforts useless¡±.


    ¡°Information?¡± Amari smiled brightly and shook his head.


    ¡°No! Whatever knowledge you have in, there is useless to me. I already know your purpose. Still, I have to admire Granny Goodness. Even at this point, your loyalty is so strong¡±.


    ¡°You think I want to get knowledge from you about Apokolips?¡±.


    Aurelie''s face remained impassive.


    ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡°I couldn''t care less about that¡±. The tone was filled with indifference.


    ¡°So no. What I am interested in, is you¡±. He leaned in slightly.


    ¡°A woman who wants to kill herself by my hands¡±. Amari couldn''t care less about Darkseid and his kingdom.


    Extracting information for that was purely a waste of time. But this..... This was definitely more interesting. The Furies of Apokolips were trained to be loyal to Darkseid. Honed to obey and answer to his every whim.


    For years, it had been this way. In battle, they feared nothing. No opponent could ever make them quiver even if they knew they couldn''t win. They would still charge forward to embrace their deaths in the form of glorious combat.


    The rest of the Furies were like this. Even Big Barda who would betray them and flee to Earth was the same at the moment.


    They had cultivated the unyielding warriors spirit.


    During the short Forty plus seconds, the thought of escaping had never crossed their minds. Which was why Amari found their leader odd.


    Furies never quit. They never shrunk in the face of a challenge, yet one just did. And she was their leader to boot.


    She was unafraid of death like her sisters, but she wanted to die more than the rest of them. As if....... Death was an escape route for her.


    She was running....... Though not from Darkseid or Apokolips. But from something else.


    ¡°So would you mind telling me dear, what exactly makes a God seek death?¡±


    Aurelie''s expression changed slightly. It was covered quite fast but Amari who had been analyzing her features noticed easily.


    Aurelie didn''t say a word. Her fist clenched slightly but she remained silent.


    Kara frowned. She didn''t understand why the situation had taken such a twist.


    But Amari didn''t care.


    ¡°No?¡± Seeing she was unresponsive, he directly unsealed his Cosmic Awareness, letting it rush out without restraint.


    ¡°Then I''ll just have to find out myself¡±.


    All Aurelie saw was the flashing blue eyes and everything went dark. She felt the force invading her mind and desperately tried to resist.


    As expected, her resistance was futile.


    The bleak effort was pushed aside as he rudely penetrated into the depths of her mind and experienced her thousand years of existence.


    (Apparently, Barda was born in 1748 Human years, so I''ll just dial back the time a bit and make it a thousand)


    Any attempt she would have made to keep the secrets of Apokolips a secret was gone. But Amari never bothered to sift through those memories anyway.


    He skipped the early years of her existence, Granny Goodness''s orphanage, her training, and induction into the Furies.


    Day after day passed and finally, he discovered the answer to his question.


    Sexual Abuse.


    Willik!

 Chapter 109 Were Going To Apokolips

    The blazing embers of the planet Apokolips burned strong, no matter what time it was.


    On this Ecumenopolis, the heavy, gloomy atmosphere was stronger than it was in Batman''s cave.


    Even when it was dark, the place could be likened to a desert planet with hot winds blowing sand everywhere and giant columns of fiery energy constantly billowing out of the planet''s core.


    Patrolling the skies were legions of parademons. Enslaved creatures whose purpose on this place was to preserve law and order in the most brutal fashion they could enforce.


    Death!


    And so with that thought in their minds, they observed the Lowlies as they patrolled. The lowest level citizens of Apokolips usually brought from other planets in the Godsphere or born here in this atrocity of a world yet were just as much Gods as the rest of its citizens.


    Day and night they toiled and slaved away during menial, backbreaking jobs to supply the planet the energy it needed to carry out day-to-day operations.


    With no concept of Human Rights....... Or God Rights and no explicit laws on labor made on this planet ruled by a multiversal tyrant, their fates were basically sealed from birth to their long-awaited death.


    All that was New Genesis was reversed here.


    This planet was basically an Armed Camp where those with weapons ruled over the wretches who build it.


    Here..... Life was the true evil. Death...... Now that was the great goal.


    It was an endless cycle of torture and suffering from which there was no escape. Especially for this race with no self-esteem or self-worth.


    True to its description....... A primordial hellscape.


    Yet while the Parademons ruled the lowlifes, those higher in status were called the true citizens of Apokolips.


    And inside a dark room with the lights turned off, the younger Aurelie who laid on her bed with her eyes open was one of them.


    If possible, the gloomy atmosphere in this room was even thicker than the misery felt by the Lowlies on a regular basis.


    Her bright eyes flickered every now and then for several minutes in silence, and her blood boiled with seething rage. Until eventually....... She couldn''t be silent.


    ¡°Barda¡±.


    This room was the residence of the Furies. Elite warriors sworn to serve under Darkseid.


    ¡°.....¡± There was a moment of silence, before a voice replied to her.


    ¡°Can''t sleep?¡±


    ¡°After what happened?¡± Her eyes narrowed intensely.


    ¡°No¡±.


    Barda was silent. She wanted to say something to her leader, but could not.


    ¡°...... How long Barda?¡±


    The reply wasn''t forthcoming. Barda wasn''t the only one in the room. The other Furies were there as well.


    But everyone else not referred to didn''t move an inch. Their faces were stone-cold as they lay on their sides, most teeming with rage.


    ¡°..... How long will we be treated like...... This¡±.


    Big Barda still didn''t respond. Her mind couldn''t help but drift back to a short sentence Granny Goodness said during training some time ago.


    ¡°You''re all too weak.......... To handle one minute of being women in Apokolips".


    Before, she didn''t realize why. Why their trainer and mentor who taught them everything they knew would say such a thing.


    Even to this point, she still trained them vigorously, always trying her best to instill in them the knowledge that in Apokolips...... To be imperfect was to be nothing at all.


    She didn''t understand before. Well....... Now she did.


    Granny Goodness had recognized them. Recognized their capabilities and powers. Hence, she proposed for them to take on the Forever people of New Genesis.


    To this proposal....... The Men, Darkseid''s true elite......... Laughed it off with waves of mockery and conceit rolling off them.


    Then...... They recommended a test. A test to verify Granny Goodness''s claims on the capability of her Furies. Tests to which, the Furies readily agreed, while full of belief in their prowess to scale through anything thrown at them.


    However....... What they received was something they had never prepared for in their life.


    Imagine battle hardened warrior whose lives revolved around, training, fighting and killing suddenly had themselves faced with the following challenges.


    A Bake off


    Wearing beautiful evening Gowns


    A ''Smile Contest''.


    And worst of all, a physical examination in which their bodies would be inspected by the men themselves.


    Truly tragic.


    The leering men put them through these humiliating ordeals designed to test their patience. Not their Martial skill.


    And so, they laughed and failed them spectacularly.


    They had endured pain, torture, darkness...... Never before had the Furies experienced such humiliation.


    The hierarchy of Apokolips was particularly strict.


    Although the Furies had fought several battles, destroyed countless enemies and were feared across the Godsphere under the name of Darkseid''s Elite Guards, their status in this hellscape was only above the Parademons.


    At best, slightly higher than the guards of the planet.


    Even their mentor, Granny Goodness, wasn''t a figure with major authority. All those truly Important had the privilege to be part of Darkseid''s war council.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Granny, did not have this privilege. And if she didn''t..... Neither did they.


    Those men who had mocked them, laughed at them, humiliated them..... They all had this privilege. In terms of status, they were above them.


    They was entitled to give them these..... Tests and fail them for it.


    This..... This angered Aurelie to no end.


    It was at this point that Aurelie''s loyalty began to waver. She saw the situation clearly.


    There was no more room for advancement under Darkseid''s patriarchy. As long as he remained, the Furies would never truly receive the recognition they deserved.


    How was she so sure?


    The same thing happened to Granny Goodness.


    Granny had fought off Darkseid''s mother, Heggra and successfully killed her, allowing Darkseid to  complete his conquest of Apokolips thousands of years ago.


    Yet where was she now? The leader of the Orphanage.


    Desaad had stolen her credit, taking all the glory, while Granny didn''t even far to fight back. In the end, she received nothing for all of her sweat and efforts, given the task of cleanup after the battle while Desaad was promoted.


    Her fate could be seen clearly. Why would theirs be any different?


    Yet, this wasn''t all. No..... If it had stopped there, then Aurelie''s thoughts might not get to this point.


    While her sisters were simply humiliated, Aurelie suffered a worse fate. As she had caught the unwanted attention of one of Darkseid''s men.


    Willik.


    Who demanded, threatened (and paid Granny goodness in Apokoliptic gold) that Aurelie submit to special private training.


    When she learned of the matter, Aurelie despaired. Goodness told her bluntly what was going to happen.


    Wondering why Granny had sold her out, Granny''s words stunned her.


    ¡°The same thing happened to me years ago. Under the threat of death from Darkseid, I didn''t have a choice in the matter. And now........¡±. Her tone was, solemn, her words were ruthless, yet particularly heavy as she spoke. Almost to the point of trembling.


    ¡°...... Neither do you¡±. This wasn''t an open secret. Darkseid''s men knew of this. The fact that Darkseid had coerced Granny Goodness to have sex with him under threats and the guise of a promotion wasn''t unknown to those with influence.


    After all, who wouldn''t notice their ruler going into Granny Goodness''s quarters and only coming out at dawn the next day?


    But the Furies didn''t. She finally realized what Granny had been trying to sink into their skulls all along. As women, they should prepare themselves to be treated unfairly.


    The empty eyes of the mature woman, that seemed to lose all light, struck at her soul.


    And under Willik''s abuse, leering and groping during the special training, the thoughts of escape only grew stronger.


    The mood in the room grew even more depressing. Aurelie didn''t utter a word.


    Not to anyone who didn''t already know. Not because she was ashamed to tell her sisters but because she knew they wouldn''t believe her.


    Their loyalty to Darkseid was strong, and the humiliation they received wasn''t enough to crush that fact.


    They could take advantage of them, but never force them to have sex.


    No matter what, Apokolips still had rules.


    If Darkseid knew of such, then those responsible would suffer a cruel death. At least, that''s what they believed.


    It was the truth, but if they couldn''t find any evidence, the Tyrant would rather take the words of his men over hers.


    Then she would be charged with falsely accusing an Elite and punished. Willik would probably ask for her to be handed over to him as the ¡°victim¡± and Darkseid would most likely agree.


    Then....... Her fate would be sealed.


    Aurelie understood this now. So she didn''t dare to say anything.


    Now, she could only talk to the only person who had similar thoughts of escape. Barda.


    ¡°Barda, did you ever imagine that the world could be different? No fire pits, no endless war, no darkness. No constant threat of a boot to our neck.....¡±.


    Her words resonated in the room.


    She was the only one speaking, but no one talked back at her for her potentially treasonous thoughts.


    Perhaps inwardly, they had all wondered the same thing. Dreamed of such, but never thought more.


    ¡°But ¡­. but how can we keep our heads up and eyes down at the same time¡­?¡±


    Barda''s voice could be heard.


    This time, it was Aurelie''s turn to be silent.


    And so she stayed silent for close to a minute before answering.


    ¡°I...... I don''t know¡±.


    .......


    Present Day!


    Amari''s cosmic awareness receded after discovering what he wanted.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Barda groaned and bowed her head with a pained expression.


    ¡°Oh¡­. Ok, this is surprising¡±. Amari said with amusement.


    ¡°I should have Alice put this into the record. Apparently, even the Gods get horny¡±.


    At that moment, Aurelie''s eyes snapped open with unprecedented rage and murderous intent.


    Pushing all of her strength into her fit, she threw a lightning fast punch at the ma before her, her eyes blazing with Fury. There it was again.


    Another man with the intent of humiliating her. That was it¡­ She had enough.


    Bang! The shockwave from the collision was enough to push Kara several steps back.


    ¡°Hehehehe...... Looks like the feisty personality is back¡±. Amari smiled as he blocked her full-powered fist lightly.


    His expression portrayed that he out in minimal effort, but Aurelie didn''t care.


    ¡°I will make you pay for this¡±. The New God uttered through gritted teeth and eyes filled with hate.


    No one likes having their mind read.


    ¡°Amari!¡± Supergirl called out. ¡°What did you do?¡±. The drastic change in Aurelie''s mood caught the blonde surprised.


    ¡°Nothing much. Just invaded her mind, browsed through her memories. Discovered that the so-called Gods aren''t as different from mortals as they portray themselves to be¡±.


    ¡°At least, the situation of a beautiful female suffering from sexual harassment from her superior still happens¡±.


    ¡°And this one right here..... Was on the receiving end of it a few days ago¡±.


    Amari almost laughed. One would think that this kind of thing wouldn''t happen in a place like Apokolips.


    Yet, who would have thought that the Dark Tyrant who was known as the personification of pure evil was also a horny bastard at times who couldn''t control his own urges.


    If such a character was a God, then you could imagine what his subordinates would do.


    So..... Evil Gods then.


    Kara glared at him angrily. As did Aurelie but for different reasons.


    She wanted to attack. She wanted to rip this bastard to shreds.


    But....... See couldn''t. At that moment, she couldn''t even move a muscle.


    The force being exerted on her was rather great. Amari just grabbed her fist, but his telekinesis made sure she couldn''t move an inch.


    ¡°What are you waiting for? Kill me. Because I swear I will kill you when I have the chance¡±.


    ¡°I have no plans to kill you. But keep talking and I just might¡±. He said casually.


    Aurelie raised her eyebrows defiantly.


    ¡°You think I fear death?¡±


    ¡°No. You don''t¡±. He paused and pointed out. ¡°But you do fear Darkseid".


    Following which, Amari released the female''s fist and removed his telekinesis.


    ¡°Alright, get up. We need to get going¡±.


    His words made Aurelie and Kara confused.


    ¡°Where?¡±


    Amari turned to the blonde Kryptonian and shrugged.


    ¡°Weren''t you paying attention? Since Darkseid sends his precious Furies to invite me over¡­". Aurelie''s eyes widened.


    He couldn''t be serious.


    ¡°..... Then it''ll be rude if I don''t pay the old bastard a visit¡±.

 Chapter 110 A Place To Rival Hell

    ¡°..... Then it''ll be rude if I don''t pay the old bastard a visit¡±.


    The casual sentence left her dumbfounded.


    So dumbfounded that she was short of words.


    Was........ Was he crazy?


    ¡°You...... Don''t take me for a fool¡±. Perhaps feeling that he was messing with her once again, anger reappeared where it was briefly extinguished.


    ¡°What?¡± Amari tilted his head confused with a genuinely puzzled expression.


    ¡°I said let''s get going to Apokolips. Wasn''t that your mission? Well, here''s your chance to complete it¡±.


    The nonchalant tone and neutral look once again confused the New God.


    He couldn''t be serious.


    Could he?


    This wasn''t just crazy...... This was blatantly stupid. Was he stupid? Aurelie didn''t know.


    He clearly knew that Darkseid wanted to capture him. Now he proposed to waltz into the enemies'' lair with no fear or care whatsoever.


    Today, her outlook on the word carefree was completely redefined.


    If this wasn''t crazy, she didn''t know what was.


    ¡°I.........¡±. Never before had she been so speechless.


    Seeing this, Amari couldn''t help but chuckle.


    ¡°That look on your face is priceless¡±. Seeing a battle hardened New God have her doubts plainly written on her face, really was.


    Hearing this, the redhead had her expression return to normal. She eyed Amari coldly with a look of scrutiny on her features.


    ¡°...... You''re actions are crazy¡±. She finally found the only thing she could think of that fit the situation.


    ¡°I appreciate the compliment¡±. He shrugged indifferently, not taking her words to heart.


    ¡°Do you think yourself invincible because you managed to defeat me and my sisters?¡± She uttered coldly.


    ¡°Actually¡­. I do. But not because I defeated your team. That wasn''t even an achievement¡±.


    ¡°You.......¡±. Her eyes looked like they could spit fire.


    ¡°The armies of Apokolips  are numerous enough to drown out any God in their mere numbers. And the powers of Lord Darkseid, the one who controls them is far beyond any.......¡±.


    ¡°Stop talking¡±. His words seemed to be law.


    Aurelie found her mouth unable to open, no matter what she did.


    Amari didn''t care. With a nonchalant look, he lowered his head and snapped his fingers while he spoke.


    ¡°I''m not really into the intimidating evil monologue. That''s a hero/villain thing. It takes too long and quite frankly, hurts my ears just listening to it¡±.


    His eyes glowed.


    The space around them changed rapidly.


    A giant space crack appeared a few meters away with a single thought. The other end displayed a busy Metropolis, packed with cars and buildings ad numerous citizens.


    Kara''s eyes widened at the sight.


    ¡°This ........ This can''t be Apokolips. Can it?¡±


    She took several steps towards the portal, and the giant Planet globe on top of the Daily Planet immediately caught her eye. Then she realized.


    Aurelie raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°That is not Apokolips".


    ¡°This...... This is¡­".


    ¡°Metropolis¡±. Amari interrupted before she could finish.


    The blonde frowned.


    ¡°Why did you open a portal here? Are we going to Metropolis first?¡±


    ¡°We aren''t¡±. He responded and gave her a look.


    ¡°You are¡±.


    ¡°What!¡± Kara exclaimed and hurriedly took several steps back.


    Then she spun around and looked at Amari with raging eyes.


    ¡°No..... I''m definitely..... Why?¡±


    ¡°Simple really¡±. Amari shrugged. ¡°I don''t want to bring you along¡±.


    ¡°Apokolips isn''t something you should see at your age and with your current mindset. You''re welcome¡±


    ¡°And who the hell says I''m thanking you?¡± Kara''s body trembled incessantly.


    ¡°You can''t send me back there¡±.


    ¡°You make it sound as if I''m sending you to detention¡±.


    ¡°I''m being serious here¡±.


    ¡°Not my problem¡±. His indifferent tone made her teeth itch with anger.


    ¡°Yes it is. In case you haven''t noticed, but I was literally kidnapped here. They were going to take me to this planet if you hadn''t shown up and done Rao knows what to me¡±. Her eyes narrowed into slits.


    ¡°I deserve to see this¡±.


    Looking at the stubborn, indignant Kryptonian, he restrained the urge to just shove her through and be done with it.


    ¡°...... Fine¡±. He didn''t question anymore. Didn''t simply force her to leave.


    He had no issue having her tag along. The girl wanted to see the universe? Today she would see a much darker side of it.


    For better or worse.


    The portal to Metropolis closed. Amari turned his back towards her and walked away.


    ¡°But trust me when I tell you. You won''t like what you see¡±.


    His words lingered in her ears, causing her expression to change. Kara hadn''t realized yet.


    Amari never tried to stop her from doing anything.


    ¡°I don''t know if I should call you courageous or idiotic¡±. Aurelie said expressionlessly. Her inner thoughts masked behind her features


    This man was certainly powerful. She had no doubt about that.


    Perhaps....... he could give the Dark Lord a good fight. Or to be even more crazy..... He was on par with him.


    Stolen story; please report.


    But going to Apokolips to confront Darkseid was simply the action of a fool. At least, it was in her eyes.


    ¡°That''s debatable¡±. Amari''s eyes instantly lay on her belt. There, an orange colored disk with multiple lines streaming across it laid on her waist.


    That disk was Motherbox Technology. Capable of opening portals between any dimension and Apokolips.


    It was also the only known way to enter and exit the planet.


    Amari could do it himself. But that would cause too much of a ruckus.


    With his will, the disc disconnected from her waist and flew to his hand followed by the glow of his eyes.


    Seeing this, Aurelie tried to grab it as it flew away but failed.


    Boom!


    An orange portal connecting straight to a secure location in Apokolips appeared.


    ¡°...... But from someone who''s contemplating running away from Darkseid, I won''t take that at face value¡±.


    ¡°.....¡±. Aurelie was silent.


    ¡°Now then......¡±.


    .........


    The Godsphere.......... Apokolips.


    In the empty channel of the mission room, a boom tube portal appeared, drawing the attention of its guards. Of course, that was all.


    They didn''t pay much attention to it.


    To their knowledge, the Furies left on a mission days ago. They had probably returned after completing their jobs.


    Nothing exciting to see here. On Apokolips, it was the same every day.


    Until today that is.


    Three figures of light materialized. Aurelie stepped out of the boom tube with a staggering posture.


    Amari and Kara stepped through right behind her.


    Seeing this, the guards had their expressions change drastically underneath their masks.


    The Furies were back alright. But instead of six, there was only one.


    And she didn''t look quite right.


    ¡°Halt!¡± They shouted.


    ¡°No¡±. Amari replied.


    ''Disintegrate''


    ¡°I said stop right...... Hey¡­. Ugh¡­. Arghhhhh¡±.


    Each and every single one of them fell to their knees with pain seeping through every corner of their body. They watched with horror as they began to collapse, turning into ash with each passing nanosecond.


    A second later........ Not even skeletons were left of them.


    ¡°Gods........... All of em..... So fragile¡±. Amari muttered. And then, he raised his head to look in a certain direction.


    ¡°Where is this place?¡±


    Seeing the scene of the soldiers disintegrating to ash, Kara''s stomach thrummed with obvious discomfort. It was the same when she saw Amari set Wotan ablaze back in the Louisiana Bayou.


    She could only ask this question to throw her mind away from the disturbing image.


    ¡°....... The Teleportation station¡±. Aurelie answered indifferently.


    ¡°It''s where all those who leave Apokolips are sent back to when they use the boom tubes. Not too far away from Darkseid''s Palace¡±.


    Her tone had a bit of gloom hidden within, although she tried not to let it show.


    The moment Amari killed these guards, her fate was sealed.


    No matter what happened here today, Darkseid would have her head for this ........ level of ineptitude.


    Perhaps..... Even the rest of the Furies as well. Assuming, of course, they lived and made it back here.


    Her mission to capture the target had failed. Not only was the target not captured, but he swaggered right into Apokolips.


    Thinking of this, Aurelie couldn''t help but clench her fists even more.


    For her....... This could be considered a shame.


    Even if she wasn''t killed, Willik would definitely use this opportunity to have her handed over. In the form of torture, she would be completely at his mercy.


    If she had known, she would have run away the first opportunity she had.


    A thought crossed her head and she looked at Amari and spoke softly.


    ¡°Your chances of leaving Apokolips alive now are very slim. Darkseid will find you¡±.


    ¡°No need¡±. His words stunned her. She took another look only to see him smiling with his gaze still looking far.


    ¡°He''s already found me. Or I found him........ Well, we found each other the moment I arrived¡±.


    That was exactly what he was looking at. Past the walls, far into the distance, inside the imposing building that was his castle, sitting on that throne that was high above the ground.


    His eyes red as blood, clothed in that armor even within his own kingdom.


    Amari could see his eyes squint and narrow. The creases on that giant forehead of his were particularly eye-catching.


    His size was huge, so huge that Amari wondered how he managed to do it with his wives and granny goodness in her younger years.


    Perhaps..... It was simply him using an Avatar.


    Most importantly....... The power. Amari could sense it just looking at him. Hidden within his tall, robust frame was so much power that surpassed all other Kryptonians but one. Or...... Two. Perhaps three.


    Parasite thought Superman of earth 16 was a walking, talking rechargeable power bank, his eyes would probably salivate if he were standing in Amari''s position right now.


    Or...... he would wilt from pure fear. Most likely the latter. Perhaps both.


    The Lord of evil himself. God of Tyranny and Son of Yuga Khan, Lord of Apokolips, Darkseid.


    This wasn''t the clone. The Avatar with only a part of his power separated from the original. No, this was the real deal.


    Unlike the rest of his Avatar''s causing chaos in the other 51 DC universes, this was a giant with the ability to end world''s with his mere presence.


    An abstract concept that could never truly be destroyed. Basically, Evil reborn in the form of a God with his Avatars wreaking havoc and conquering dimensions in his name.


    Now come to think of it, their situations were somewhat similar.


    Truly Imposing...... Of course, all sense of awe and intimidation that could have been generated were shattered the moment the thought of Darkseid sleeping with that old woman appeared in his head.


    Amari could see him and likewise, so could he. At this point, he was just a point shot of raising his hand and waving wildly like a classmate who just saw an old friend.


    At that moment, the God Of Tyranny finally made a move. His red eyes glowed just like Superman. But instead of heat vision powered by solar rays, what was released was the almighty Omega Effect.


    Two crisscrossing rays of destruction shot out of the palace at a speed only two speedsters would be able to react to.


    There were no words, no warning. As soon as they appeared, Darkseid immediately sentenced them to death. Alongside a warrior of his elite guard.


    The beams were large. Large enough to envelope a full-grown muscular man with ease and still have space to destroy the surroundings.


    Aurelie felt a chill run up her spine. The feeling of death she always felt whenever she was in his presence rushed over again but with clear intent this time.


    She was going to die here.


    Or so she thought.


    Standing beside her, Amari''s eyes glowed a dazzling blue.


    The trail of Omega beams distorted and vanished into nothingness, transforming into a cloud of butterflies.


    The butterfly cloud immediately disbanded into different directions.


    ¡°Well big guy....... That was rude. I mean, who treats guests this way¡±.


    Aurelie had to calm down her rapidly beating heart. Never before had she felt such fear.


    The phenomenon of butterflies appearing in Apokolips didn''t cause a commotion. Mostly because, the butterflies were destroyed by the legions of parademons in the skies.


    Following which, those nearby immediately set their sights on this area and let out loud screeches.


    ¡°Aghhhhhh¡±.


    It happened then. Kara held her ears and groaned.


    What she least wanted to happen began to take effect at the moment. Her abilities were going haywire.


    Aurelie was surprised.


    ¡°What''s wrong with her?¡±


    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± She screamed loudly as numerous voices fell into her ears.


    ¡°What I thought would happen. She''s experiencing too much¡±. Amari noted plainly.


    Amari knew this would happen. Apokolips wasn''t somewhere anyone should step into, even if they could.


    Kara couldn''t control her abilities. Large changes in her emotions would trigger them subconsciously due to her level of control¡­. Or lack thereof.


    And so, the moment she stepped out of the boom tube, it did. The atmosphere of this planet was gloomy. Filled with death and despair, and the evil energies permeating the atmosphere were a byproduct of Darkseid''s inhabitance.


    Plus, Apokolips was a bad place without him in the first place. Affecting someone like Kara negatively whose mind was a mess due to her circumstances was a piece of cake.


    And when it did, she would see, hear and feel more than she usually did on Earth.


    The cries, the screams, the negative energy. At the moment, her vision and hearing was completely out of whack.


    She could see the prisoners in pain within the torture chamber. The lives of the lowlies in the Armaghetto.


    Guards beating the hell out of laborers with whips and weapons and the constant cries of thousands of Parademons in the skies...... All of that combined equalled this.


    Kara thought earth was chaotic? Then she was in for a whole new experience.


    Welcome to Apokolips. The one place in the multiverse that could rival hell.

 Chapter 111 Darkseid

    Location: Unknown Planet


    Star Sector: Unknown.


    ........


    The desolate planet awoke to the sound of moving rocks.


    From the cracks of the earth, Harriet arose with a pale complexion and shaky posture.


    Blood flowed down her lips and cracks appeared on her skin. The bright red blood seeped out of it and gaping hole in her shoulder was enough to let anyone know what level of hell she just went through.


    The blood pouring out had been suppressed by her ridiculously strong self-healing ability.


    It was as such for New Gods.


    Despite that, it did little to help with the pain. Her bones were cracked, and her organs weren''t the same way it once was.


    She took two steps forward, using all her willpower to move out of the pit that she laid in before tumbling back to the ground once more.


    At that moment, the sound of footsteps fell into her ears. Immediately, her eyes widened as panic set into her.


    No! He wasn''t gone yet?


    She desperately tried to stand up, but once again, the energy she could muster was only enough to raise her head slightly.


    The footsteps came to a halt. Two dark combat boots appeared in her vision causing her to freeze.


    ¡°You''re alive¡±. That voice...... She knew that voice.


    Following which, Harriet let go and fell with a plop. Her disorderly breathing was clearly reflected in the pumping of her chest.


    "Barely". She replied with a single word.


    Barda frowned and shook her head with a sigh.


    Following which, she proceeded to help Harriet from the ground and supported the latter with the only available hand slung over her shoulder.


    ¡°Where ......... Where is he?¡± Mad Harriet was still panicked. Her eyes darted in all directions as she said with a bit of apprehension.


    ¡°Relax. He''s gone¡±. Her face was expressionless, but her mood was unprecedentedly low.


    Hearing her gloomy tone, Harriet also lowered her head, feeling greatly depressed. The Savage grin she normally sported on her face was nowhere to be seen.


    They were Furies. Trained to be the best of the best since their days at the orphanage.


    While they may not all be the best in terms of raw power, their skills were second to none. They were stronger than Kanto, Darkseid''s master assassin who had a part in their training.


    After all, they weren''t called Darkseid''s elite for nothing. When they all acted as one, no one was their match. Not even Kalibak.


    Against someone else apart from Darkseid and his brother, the God of New Genesis High father, they never thought they would lose this badly.


    It wasn''t even up to fifty seconds...... How humiliating.


    The two walked forwards and came to the spot where the rest of their sisters lay. Barda had pulled them over after escaping the constraints laid on her.


    Well....... Let''s not say escape. More like they wore off as intended.


    ¡°They......¡±. Seeing the miserable figures of rest of the Furies, Harriet couldn''t help but swallow.


    ¡°.... Alive. Thankfully¡±. Barda replied with a solemn tone. ¡°They should heal....... In time¡±.


    The vitality of a God wasn''t something to be taken lightly. Although still unconscious, they thankfully weren''t dead.


    Barda dropped Harriet beside their unconscious bodies. Swept her gaze over them and turned around to leave.


    ¡°Look after them until they heal¡±.


    ¡°Where''re you going?¡± Barda stopped.


    ¡°He took Aurelie to Apokolips".


    Harriet saw her fists clenched tightly and an expression of realization appeared on her face. Barda was the strongest among them, and this event must have been a big blow to her pride.


    Harriet''s guess was that she was going to find him. Fight him and defeat him...... Or die trying.


    For this, she didn''t utter a word. Not even a word of encouragement.


    They were Furies. In battle, this sentiment was completely unnecessary. Harriet saw Barda''s departing back, but she failed to see the conflicting expression on her face.


    Amari had immobilized her. She couldn''t move, but her ears worked just fine.


    His discussion with Aurelie, she heard everything. If the person who defeated her didn''t say it himself, Barda wouldn''t believe it.


    But Aurelie didn''t deny, and the thought sent a chill down her spine. Their leader was being abused, and she didn''t even dare to open her mouth about it.


    Then, she heard Aurelie had thoughts about fleeing Apokolips.


    This was the straw that broke the camel''s back.


    What Aurelie could think of, she could also do the same. Their road to Apokolips had come to an end. There was no more room for promotion. Like Granny Goodness, this was the best they were going to get.


    Barda couldn''t have that, nor did she want to.


    First it was Granny, then Aurelie. Perhaps in a few years, someone would set eyes on her. Perhaps Kanto or even worse...... Kalibak.


    She shuddered.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    She wanted to leave¡­. Abandoned Granny, flee Apokolips, and escape.


    And knowing that Amari had taken Aurelie to Apokolips, she saw her opportunity. She could leave right now, run while no one was expecting her to and when no one could stop her from doing so.


    She wasn''t like the rest of her sisters who had blind loyalty to Darkseid.


    She had her own will. If she killed the rest of the Furies here and now, she could permanently go into hiding.


    No one would know she was still alive. But that was a line she wouldn''t cross.


    She wasn''t that ruthless. So she made up her mind.


    She would run...... Run away from this place, that hellhole, to a possibly better life. One where she could be free.


    ...........


    A moment ago, Granny Goodness just felt the worst horror of her life.


    Lord Darkseid had summoned her so she could report on the whereabouts of the Furies.


    He wasn''t alone, as he had gathered the rest of his Elite to discuss war plans.


    It had been a few days since their departure from Apokolips. It was understandable that their master wanted an update on the mission. One which for some reason, he attached particularly high importance to.


    ¡°Where are the Furies?¡± His deep dark voice rumbled. His tone was plain, containing no emotion whatsoever.


    Standing under his throne were Desaad, Kalibak, Stepphenwolf, Virman Vundabur, Kanto, Doctor Bedlam and of course, Willik.


    These were the available members of Darkseid''s elite who weren''t currently undercover or on a mission.


    Each one carried no expression and looked at Granny goodness in unison.


    If one ignored......... Everything about Darkseid, they could take it for a casual question. But just that sentence alone made Granny anxious.


    Those damn bitches! Why were they taking so long?


    ¡°My Lord, the Furies have not responded to communication since their exit to complete your orders. But with their level of skill, it should only be a matter of time before ........¡±. Then, she noticed Darkseid''s forehead crease which left her astounded.


    The God of Tyranny was always indifferent. His stone like features displayed perfect indifference, seemingly as if he couldn''t give a damn for anything in the world.


    Even when something displeased him. It never showed.


    And now, that crease showed something she had never seen on his face before.


    Darkseid''s displeasure.


    The next event almost made the old woman like her have a heart attack. Darkseid''s eyes shot out Omega beams towards her direction. The beams were so fast that she couldn''t react.


    Luckily, they zipped right past the corner of her head and shot straight out of the palace.


    Granny stood still in shock. Looking at Darkseid''s indifferent face, she felt her erratically beating heart and the fear within was infinitely magnified.


    Plop!


    Falling to her knees, she hurriedly cried out.


    ¡°Spare my life, My Lord. I give you my word that the Furies will return successful¡±.


    Perhaps thinking that was a show of his displeasure at her vague answer, Granny immediately pleaded for mercy while assuring an unknown victory.


    She couldn''t care whether her words would come true or not. Now, she just wanted to save her old ass.


    Silence reigned as the God Of Tyranny didn''t respond. Dessad''s eyebrows furrowed at the actions of his master.


    The heavy atmosphere was particularly oppressive. Granny was almost sweating at this point.


    However, the next sentence made her wish he had stayed silent.


    ¡°Well...... It looks like your word and assurance has been broken already¡±.


    ¡°Huh?...... Wait...... What?¡±


    Granny was dumbfounded. What the hell did he mean?


    ¡°Apokolips has welcomed intruders. The very same ones I ordered your Furies to capture. The leader, Aurelie is in their possession indicating the defeat of the Furies, failure of the mission and possible death¡±.


    She couldn''t believe it. The Furies, her Furies had lost?


    Darkseid didn''t give her time to process.


    Following which, he moved his blood-red eyes to Granny and uttered coldly.


    ¡°Your words are now equivalent to lies. You disappoint me Granny¡±.


    Bam!


    If she had a heart attack before, then these words were equivalent to a death sentence. Granny shivered while her brain kicked into high gear.


    Hundreds of thoughts flew through her mind instantly as she tried to devise a way to save herself. Gain his favor again or at least ........ Reduce her death sentence.


    From death to torture for twenty years would do just fine.


    ¡°The Furies have failed you, my Lord¡±. She bowed with her head knocking against the floor.


    ¡°Then let me atone for their mistake by capturing the intruders and bringing them to you¡±.


    At that moment, she felt it. The mocking eyes of Darkseid''s elite.


    Even Virman Vundabur, that ungrateful good for nothing disciple she raised at the orphanage, was the same.


    ¡°Empty promises will only make your situation worse¡±. Desaad spoke with ridicule.


    Granny shivered but gritted her teeth and insisted.


    ¡°Let me lead the Parademons to battle these intruders. I will atone for my sins, even with my life if necessary¡±.


    The words ¡°if necessary¡± being the point of hidden emphasis.


    Granny was going to grasp at any straw that could guarantee her life at this point.


    ¡°No¡±.


    It was official. This was the worst day in her thousands of years of existence.


    Was this the end for this old woman?


    Just when she thought she was done for, Darkseid spoke.


    ¡°You can''t even defeat your disciples. What makes you think you would survive an altercation?" He muttered plainly and spoke to Stepphenwolf and Kalibak without turning his head.


    ¡°The Furies have failed. Granny Goodness will suffer for their ineptitude. Go. Capture the New God and bring him to me, as well as the Kryptonian. He was stupid enough to set foot on Apokolips himself¡±. His eyes glowed brightly.


    ¡°He will pay for his insolence¡±.


    ¡°After all. I''ve been expecting him¡±.


    It was like a bolt from the blue. Granny''s eyes widened as realization came upon her.


    And judging from the expressions of everyone else in the council that note no surprise, it seemed that they all knew as well.


    Darkseid never expected anything from The Furies. Simply because they were never going to succeed from the beginning.


    The mission to capture the New God was nothing but a sham. Instead of capture, it was better to use the words ¡°Testing capabilities¡±.


    The Furies were destined not to succeed. As for whether they would live...... It all depended on the target''s mood.


    This was the truth behind everything, and it made her feel cold all over. Darkseid truly was ruthless.


    To test the strength of a possible enemy, he directly sacrificed his elite guards as pawns.


    Now from the looks of it, Aurelie was the only one left. And perhaps the only reason she was alive was because he needed to use a boom tube to get here.


    ¡°It will be done my Lord¡±.


    ¡°I will be done, my Lord¡±.


    Both New Gods called out simultaneously.


    At that moment, however, the sound of eerie chuckles could be heard by all of them.


    ¡°Hehehehe. I''ll pay, huh?"


    Everyone''s attention was drawn to the space crack that appeared in the middle of the room.


    ¡°You''re pretty funny¡±. His words fell, a dark red orb of pure destructive energy flew out of the crack at high speed.


    Darkseid''s expression changed drastically.


    Boom!


    All of Darkseid''s palace went up in an explosion of red.

 Chapter 112 Chronokinesis

    A dazzling dark red orb appeared within the war council room, pulsating with dangerously high levels of energy readings.


    Everyone''s expressions changed drastically. The God of Tyranny himself was no exception. His body quickly turned into a blur as he disappeared from his high throne.


    Among the New Gods of Apokolips, Darkseid was the strongest, with no argument. In his true form, His speed, strength and comprehensive capabilities were far beyond anything any other God in Apokolips could match up to.


    Hence, his speedy exit enabled him to escape his palace before it blew up to bits.


    Others however........ Weren''t so lucky.


    The sphere of destructive energy shot out fast.


    Beings like Kalibak and Stepphenwolf were fast and smart enough to flee as fast as they could.


    All Granny Goodness and the others could see was a flash of pure red light before their bodies disintegrated to ash.


    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡±


    Granny wailed for nothing more than a moment before her voice was silenced by the deafening explosion.


    BOOM!


    It looked like someone had dropped a bomb on the capital.


    Darkseid''s Palace went up in a cloud of red, alarming the citizens of Apokolips. They looked towards the source of the disturbance, their face turning pale with fright.


    Meanwhile......... Amari turned his gaze away from the closing portal he had created. His eyes admiring the explosion in the distance.


    ¡°How Lovely¡±. He muttered in a voice loud enough for Aurelie, who looked absolutely shocked, to here.


    ¡°You¡­.¡±. Aurelie snapped her head towards him with her mouth slightly agape.


    This ...... Did he just destroy Darkseid''s palace?


    ¡°What? Shocked?¡± Amari asked with a smile.


    ¡°¡­.¡± Aur¨¦lie was silent for a moment.


    She turned her eyes to their surroundings that were littered with the corpses of countless dismembered Parademons and countless thoughts flashed past her mind before she opened her mouth once again and asked.


    ¡°Just how strong are you?¡±


    ¡°Strong enough¡±. He said and turned to Kara who was recovering while taking deep breaths.


    ¡°You good?¡±


    ¡°I......¡±.


    The screeches of Parademons that once filled the skies while hovering above them were gone. Kara held her ears and took deep breaths and remembered Clark''s instructions on how to control her abilities.


    Slowly, her senses shut off and the pain receded.


    Kara let out a breath of relief. Her racing heartbeat returning to normal.


    ¡°..... I''m fine¡±.


    ¡°Good¡±. He turned his gaze to the distance, where he saw more incoming Parademons. The surrounding space swirled as his body was sucked into the void.


    ¡°I''ll be off being a proper house guest. While I''m handling Darkseid, try not to die until I return¡±.


    He wasn''t going to handle all of em.


    Since Kara wanted to come along, then she''ll have to share some of the burden


    That was the last thing he said as he disappeared from their sight.


    ¡°That bastard¡±. Kara uttered through gritted teeth, looking at the spot where Amari disappeared with obvious anger.


    Then, she turned her attention to Aurelie who was looking at her with narrowed eyebrows.


    ¡°What are you¡­.¡±. Kara backed up several steps immediately.


    Her eyes glowed red as she looked at the Female Fury warily.


    Aurelie was silent. The words Amari said before disappearing continuously.


    ''...... Deal with Darkseid....''.


    Could he? Could he really?


    ¡°..... You better not try anything now that he''s.....¡±.


    Screech!


    The sharp cries from the distance quickly cut her short.


    Seeing the dark skies covered with am array of black bodies, both their expressions changed.


    Aurelie''s looking particularly unsightly.


    ¡°Well...... Guess I have no other option¡±.


    She said while taking out her miniaturized spear which returned to original size when she did.


    They were about to get busy.


    ............


    Dark skies, never-ending fire, scorched black earth......


    It all looked so horrid that even an explosion in Darkseid''s palace wouldn''t look out of place.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± The God of Tyranny grunted as he pushed off the debris that had swept towards him from the explosion.


    It wasn''t from pain though but obvious annoyance.


    Clad in his Apokoliptian armor, his tall, burly frame examined the ruins that was once his palace.


    His eyes couldn''t help but narrow solemnly when he recalled the power within that tyrannical energy ball that sought to destroy everything it came across.


    The moment Granny Goodness came into contact, her New God Physiology was as fragile as wet paper dropped in an ocean.


    Quickly crumbling to ashes.


    This power interested him. An energy of formidable force. Possibly strong enough to rival his Omega Effect.


    Darkseid saw it. Granny Goodness, Virman Vundabur...... even Desaad. They were all dead before they could get away.


    He found it a pity. They were all such useful pawns.


    This could be seen due to the fact that he had killed Desaad multiple times but resurrected him regardless.


    Stepphenwolf and Kalibak were the same.


    ¡°Truly interesting anomaly you are¡±.


    Darkseid uttered. Seemingly talking to no one but thin air.


    But was he really.


    The space in the air behind him distorted, and a figure appeared, hovering above it all and spoke in a casual tone.


    ¡°..... I''ll take that as a compliment¡±.


    Bang!


    The earth shook slightly as he landed on the ground.


    Then, Amari turned his head to the large, gaping hole in the space where the iconic building once stood.


    ¡°Looks like two of your subordinates are still alive¡±.


    ¡°Their existence is not crucial¡±. He uttered words with no emotion. Indifferent, heartless, ruthless.


    The God of Tyranny turned around to face Amari, who was floating above


    And then, Amari saw Darkseid.


    ¡°Well....... If I had known better, I should have stayed in the air¡±.


    He wasn''t kidding. He really should have stayed in the air a moment ago.


    Because at this moment, he was looking up to the giant figure that was the ruler of Apokolips.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    This creature was a giant.


    Darkseid examined Amari with open scrutiny.


    ¡°So you are the soul that passed through the source wall¡±.


    His words caused Amari to frown. Recalling his conversation with Death...... Recently, he had almost forgotten about it.


    ¡°I see........ So that''s what this is about¡±.


    Amari said with a cold expression.


    ¡°What else could it be?¡± He replied plainly. There was no expression on his face to indicate sarcasm or mockery. Still, Amari felt it.


    His face hardened, and he said to the tall behemoth.


    ¡°Didn''t Yuga Khan ever teach you to mind your own business as a child, or you would get into serious trouble as a consequence?¡±


    That successfully evoked a reaction from the expressionless being before him.


    Darkseid''s face crumpled at the mention of the person he feared the most. His father, Yuga Khan.


    The displeasure was obvious as his tone grew to contain a growl.


    ¡°With your abilities, it was expected that my honor guards would be unable to successfully capture you....... But do not think that you can make light of me the same way you have done them. Your most foolish act..... Was stepping foot on Apokolips''s soil¡±.


    ¡°..... Oh! You mean the Furies? Yeah, I met them. Beat em to death''s door by the way. But I wanna ask what the hell did you plan to achieve by capturing me?¡± Amari asked curiously.


    ¡°Everything you know¡±. The Evil God spoke freely, seeing no need to withhold anything.


    ¡°The secret to what lays beyond the wall. Your new dimension within the Godsphere and a capable minion to aid my efforts¡±.


    Amari figured.


    Darkseid had cosmic awareness.


    Any changes within the multiverse weren''t hidden from him in any way. The establishment of a new dimension somewhere within the Godsphere was something he discovered the day it happened.


    All truly powerful beings would feel it. After all, the Godsphere housed unimaginable magic power. Any changes within would be felt by many.


    ¡°Thank you for satisfying my curiosity¡±.


    Amari smiled brightly.


    ¡°Now that that''s out of the way......¡±. He raised both hands together for dramatic effect and clapped.


    BOOM!


    The entire planet suddenly shook to its core.


    The earth rumbled continuously, as if experiencing an earthquake.


    ¡°Damn! What''s happening?¡±


    The citizens of the planet stumbled as the ground shook.


    At first, they thought this was it. But the rapid splitting open of the ground immediately caused worldwide panic.


    Bursts of flames emerged in areas where the earth had cracked, shooting fiery energy into the atmosphere.


    The earth moved and buildings began to collapse.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Feeling the trembling under his feet, Darkseid looked at Amari.


    ¡°What have you done?¡± His voice was deep and menacing. Almost to the point of being distorted.


    ¡°Isn''t it obvious? I''m destroying your planet¡±. Amari replied indifferently.


    ¡°From this day forth, Apokolips doesn''t need to exist anymore. And as far as I''m concerned......¡±. His eyes glowed a dazzling blue.


    ¡°..... Neither do you¡±.


    ¡°Humph!¡± A cold snort rang out.


    ¡°Bold words. Ones you will pay for¡±.


    Darkseid''s eyes narrowed.


    ¡°No matter. I''ll pry all the answers I want out of you by studying your corpse¡±.


    The words fell, Darkseid activated the Omega Effect. Two Omega beams shot out of his eyes once again at the little figure before him with much stronger intensity than before.


    It was obvious. The attack from earlier was obviously a probe. And now, The God Of Tyranny was going all out.


    The Omega beams, similar to Cataclysm, had disintegrating effects. They could lock onto a target, ensuring that they never missed and could move at speeds that were almost impossible to dodge.


    Few beings could survive after being hit. Not even a New God.


    Darkseid had expected his opponent to counter his attack in some special way. Perhaps he would be destroyed upon fist touch, perhaps weakened greatly after bearing the brunt of it, perhaps he would use that strange energy to shield himself. Even dodging it wasn''t out of the question....... But the next turn of events stunned him.


    The Omega beams landed squarely on Amari. In full force without any of its power diminished. But that was as good as it could get.


    The Omega beams that destroyed everything it came in touch with was halted..... No¡­. Not halted. Absorbed.


    Amari stood in place, completely unmoving. Waves of energy were devoured endlessly, like a solar system being drawn to a black hole.


    It lasted for less than ten seconds.


    Darkseid was forced to stop his bombardment, seeing that it had no effect.


    ¡°Impossble¡±. The exclamation made Amari chuckle deeply.


    Darkseid probably never expected it. Someone could actually take his Omega beams without flinching.


    How could someone absorb the Omega Effect?


    ¡°But Is it though?¡± This was the reply he received before a flash of red shot towards him. Too fast for the stunned New God to react to.


    Boom!


    Darkseid was blasted away as he was hit in the face with his own Omega beams into the far distance.


    The force was so strong that he crashed through a tall tower and broke right through the other end before descending.


    His body crashed to the floor, causing his landing area to collapse into the earth with countless cracks.


    Dust and debris was swept in all directions as a result.


    ¡°Well, like Barry once said...... I am the impossible¡±. The voice fell into Darkseid''s ears, causing him to boil with rage.


    The surrounding earth was flattened as he pushed out of his crash site. Raising his head, he saw the object he sought to capture floating above him in the sky.


    ¡°And honestly........ I''m unimpressed¡±.


    Bang!


    The earth cracked again. Darkseid clenched his fist in fury and rushed out at full speed.


    Amari didn''t hold back and reciprocated the action. Two fists, one large and one small, clashed against each other at full strength.


    Boom!


    All the buildings within range shattered from the shockwave. Or it would have if not for Amari''s peculiar characteristics.


    The shockwave had barely expanded when it was forcibly sucked back to his body.


    ¡°So that''s your power. Energy absorption¡±. Seeing this, Darkseid realized.


    One of his generals, Mantis, had a similar ability as well. However, the difference was clear.


    No matter how strong Mantis was, he was never capable of absorbing the Omega Effect.


    It wasn''t so exaggerated. Or else, Mantis would have conspired to slay him years ago. No..... Not ¡°would have¡±. The bastard already tried.


    Amari didn''t answer. A vast telekinetic force was unleashed without restraint on the target.


    One capable of squeezing a planet with ease.


    Once again, Darkseid was knocked backwards towards the earth at a fast speed.


    With a loud crash, his body created a giant hole before bouncing off it and repeating the same sequence three times.


    After which, he was able to bring himself to a halt.


    Darkseid raised his head. Once again, the Omega Effect was released towards his adversary in an attempt to look for a possible weak spot.


    Once again, It had no effect, as Amari simply absorbed it all without a change in expression.


    Darkseid''s stone features crumpled slightly. One of his greatest strengths, the Omega Effect gained from absorbing the power of the old Gods had no effect.


    At this point, Amari uttered.


    ¡°Knowing a part of my abilities won''t make your situation any easier¡±. Amari stretched out his hand and squeezed.


    His blue eyes glowed brightly.


    A circular area with Darkseid at the middle was swept away by telekinesis.


    Everything within this range, be it rock, sand, or buildings were crushed to pieces. The ground was uprooted by the tremendous force and everything, Darkseid included was swept into the terrifying storm.


    BOOM!


    The whole planet shook again as a massive dust cloud rose into the air.


    With one move, Amari had destroyed everything within ten miles with concentrated power.


    Although the area was clouded with dust, Amari''s vision remained unaffected as he peered through the clouds to see the result of unleashing his power.


    A chasm!


    The area surrounding the spot where Darkseid stood had a bottomless pit that drove straight to the core of the planet.


    Almost like someone had placed a planet sized nail and drove it right through with a hammer of equal size.


    For this feat....... Amari couldn''t care less. His mind was focused on another fact.


    Darkseid wasn''t in the hole. Neither was he floating above it.


    Was he dead? No. It was impossible for him to die that easily.


    So where?


    It happened then.


    Amari felt the gravity around him suddenly increase by ten thousand-fold.


    Gravity Manipulation.


    ¡°..... Foolish. While your ability is troublesome. It is not invincible¡­" Those words fell into his ears, and a dark shadow immediately enveloped him to form Darkseid''s silhouette.


    ¡°You cannot defeat me. So......¡±. Amari tried to move, but realised that he couldn''t. Not even an inch.


    Amari was immobilized.


    His brain spun for a moment with new realization.


    This wasn''t just manipulating gravity. This was...... Chronokinesis.


    Darkseid was using gravity to warp time and space around him to lengthen his perception of time.


    ¡°..... Serve as fuel for my power¡±. A dark force emerged from his hands and attempted to envelope Amari completely.


    Darkseid didn''t smile. His expressionless face carried no delight, but his eyes did.


    As a multiversal being, Darkseid was able to absorb the power of the old Gods, thereby gaining the Omega Effect. An ability wielded by his father, Yuga Khan on a much grander scale.


    Using the Omega Effect alone, he would be no match for his father. But if he were to absorb the power of this soul in front of him..... Things would change.


    And so, dark red force emerged from his hands as the mighty Darkseid expelled an erosion blast which slammed against Amari''s back. The dark red force stretched over to engulf Amari completely in an attempt to greatly weaken him.


    Amari''s body glowed with red light as an endless amount of Omega energy was bombarded against his body without restraint.


    Only when the opponent was weak enough where his resistance was too weak to pose a threat could Darkseid absorb the opponent''s essence.


    Darkseid''s plan was simple. Manipulating gravity would restrict Amari long enough for him to get close. Chronokinesis would distort his perception of time, giving Darkseid enough time to carry out his actions while keeping him immobilized.


    And the large amount of Erosion blasts was the finishing touch.


    Since he could absorb energy, then Darkseid would let him absorb as much as he wanted.


    Like Mantis, Darkseid believed he knew Amari''s weakness. No matter how powerful his energy absorption capability was, Amari would soon reach his limit under continued infusion of his Omega beams.


    When that happened, the result was obvious.


    Amari would explode, his body would be destroyed and he, Darkseid could successfully absorb the essence and gain Amari''s power.

 Chapter 113 A God Will Bleed

    The God of Tyranny believed his opponent had a limit to how much he could absorb. And so, he poured in uncontrolled amounts of energy into Amari, having no restraint whatsoever.


    Amari was flooded with Dark red energy of the Omega Effect in full force with no reservations.


    It enveloped him, covering his being from head to toe while he remained immobilized.


    ¡°Do you feel it?¡± Darkseid uttered deeply. His voice sounding like that of a Demon God from ones worst nightmares.


    ¡°This ....... All of this is the Power of a true God. One who can shatter planets at will and destroy the multiverses that those weaker beings roam on¡±.


    ¡°This isn''t even up to a percentage of the energy I can muster at my command. Yet, you actually seek to defeat me?¡±


    The energy continued to pour in as the target remained completely still. Darkseid was assured.


    ¡°You can absorb energy? Then have some more. Take as much as you can and see..... The difference between us. And when this is over, I will rebuild you from scratch and turn you into one of my most loyal subjects, dedicated only to carrying out my every whim¡±.


    ¡°My Avatars alone have turned hundreds of thousands of worlds to dust in my name. Forever have it imprinted within you, that I am Evil¡­. I am the end..... I am......¡±.


    His imposing monologue was interrupted by an unexpected change in events.


    The overwhelming energy released by his Omega Effect, accumulating for the past few seconds seemed to have found an outlet for smooth passage.


    The energy rushed forward like a bathtub full of water coming across a drain.


    ¡°This....... How?¡±


    The energy surrounding Amari like a cocoon was swallowed, and a hand reached out to grab Darkseid''s.


    ¡°I''ll show you¡±. Amari''s arm that held the Dark Lord lit up with red lines appearing on his hand flowing towards his body.


    The situation hadn''t changed much. Darkseid''s energy was still flowing into Amari''s body, same as before. Only this time, The God of Tyranny wasn''t releasing it on his own initiative.


    Amari let out a cold smile as Darkseid''s energy was absorbed by him in torrents.


    He did say he should have some more. In that case, this matter should only end in one way.


    Him leaving with a full stomach.


    The New God of Tyranny felt his power being forcefully drained rapidly. His stone like face had a drastic change when encountering this situation.


    This..... This was Impossible. Literally impossible.


    How the hell could someone absorb so much at once?


    Darkseid raised his giant right fist and punched forward. Things were getting out of control, he couldn''t allow this fight to continue while still within Amari''s grasp.


    Bang!


    The giant fist collided against a small palm and was blocked, unable to advance an inch.


    Instead, Amari''s left hand took a good grip on Darkseid, activating energy absorption to continue his feast.


    Pulling him closer, he proceeded to hit the Uxas with a headbutt.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Darkseid groaned as he was pushed back. His face contorting to form a wince.


    He opened his eyes to see amari throw a fist at his face.


    Bam!


    ...........


    Screech!


    Squelch!


    A Parademon had its head destroyed with a spear piercing through it.


    Blood fluids sprayed out of its skull onto Aurelie''s face, staining her cheeks green.


    Not giving a care, she twisted the spear, inserting it even deeper into her targets'' skull regardless. Then, she dodged downward to avoid a hand filled with sharp claws, aiming to tear her apart.


    ¡°Hah!¡± She yelled and twisted her body while pulling the spear out and aiming at the new Parademon.


    Squelch.


    The sound of flesh being ripped through fell in her ears as she severed the head clean off.


    After which, she leaped forward to greet the next assault.


    These creatures were numerous. And so with her speed, strength and well-trained agility, she constantly destroyed every one of these things without much effort.


    Dodge, slice, block, stab and then repeat the same actions in different sequences.


    Despite the large numbers...... Aurelie was handling things just fine.


    As for the other girl.......


    Just then, two streams of burning hot solar rays shot out in the distance. Close to a dozen Parademons crowding around the same place were sliced in two the moment the heat vision swept across them, causing an explosion in the process.


    Boom!


    The smoke had barely cleared when a figure flew out into the sky.


    The attacking Parademons could only register a blur before they were slammed out of the sky one by one.


    ¡°Alright. Now I''m really mad¡±. Kara appeared, looking embarrassed with her clothing ripped in several areas.


    She wasn''t wearing her Super suit made of strong material fiber. Instead, what she was currently putting on was a casual top and blue jeans.


    Using this to fight against Parademons¡­.


    The Implications were obvious. Her clothes would easily get torn from any random exerting of force in this situation.


    At first, Kara didn''t think about this.


    It was fine until she got surrounded by multiple Parademons, attacking her from all sides.


    They couldn''t penetrate her skin, but her clothes had been ruined.


    One of those creatures even ripped off the material covering her ass while attempting to kill her


    Her eyes glowed red with anger as she released her heat vision on everything she laid eyes on. Wherever her vision swept through, Parademons would be split in two.


    ¡°What a blessed race¡±. Seeing Kara easily deal with multiple assailants with heat vision, Aurelie couldn''t help but be slightly envious.


    Without turning around, she raised her spear and thrust backwards.


    Squelch!


    Screech!


    A Parademon attacking from behind was impaled.


    Boom!


    ¡°Damn it! There''s so many of em".


    Kara exclaimed with gritted as her eyes returned to normal. Another one of these wretched creatures had been destroyed, but looking to the skies, more reinforcements were on the way.


    No matter how many they killed, they just kept on coming.


    She ducked in the air and threw a punch at one of them but was attacked from behind by another.


    ¡°Ugh..... Get off¡±. With great strength, she grabbed towards her back and threw it out as flew forward to complete a follow-up punch.


    Bam!


    Direct hit. The Parademon''s head exploded, sending blood and pieces of flesh in all directions.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    At this point, the blonde looked completely disheveled. But she didn''t care.


    ¡°Come on!¡± She roared and slammed her fist into her palm while looking at the coming hostiles with narrowed eyes.


    BOOM!


    The sound was so loud that Kara was woken out of her momentary battle craze.


    BOOM!


    BOOM!


    BOOM!


    The sounds continued with each one following the other in an interval of less than a second.


    BOOM!


    The already quaking Apokolips trembled even more as if it had just made collision with a heavy object.


    Kara looked into the distance with her telescopic vision. She couldn''t see anything, she couldn''t make out a clear image. But whenever the sounds of collision appeared, a vague colorful flash would appear in different areas from time to time.


    Kara knew who they were.


    Amari and Darkseid moved at speeds she couldn''t capture. Battling each other at her speed her current senses were unable to react to in any way.


    Aurelie looked into the distance solemnly.


    ¡°He was really that strong......¡±.


    .........


    Bang!


    The God Of Tyranny was sent crashing downwards once again as he sat on the receiving end of another powerful punch.


    ¡°Enough." For the first time in this fight, he roared with genuine fury. Even till this point, Uxas still found it difficult to accept.


    To accept the fact that he would be beaten to this point in a one-on-one duel.


    His Omega beams that he took great pride in was useless against the enemy. His physical prowess was equally matched as well.


    What was worse was the fact that none of his attacks seemed to deal any damage to him at all.


    Even his brother, the God of New Genesis who possessed powers similar to him couldn''t push him to this extent.


    ¡°Rarghhhhh¡±.


    Pulling himself to a halt in the air, he roared to the sky as his Omega energy was released to its fullest extent.


    The dazzling red color exploded out of his form, cloaking Darkseid with a dark red energy aura from his head to his feet.


    ¡°How Dare You? I Am Darkseid". His voice, amplified under his power up spread across the entire planet.


    Looking at the figure floating above him, his eyes seethed with rage as he released a giant blast towards his direction.


    Similar to Amari''s previous attack, everything within that direction was destroyed in its wake.


    The beams flashed towards the enemy and effectively missed. Amari''s body blurred and disappeared before the attack could reach him.


    The space beside the New God swirled.


    Then he appeared beside Darkseid with his fist clenched, pulled backward and sent forth a blow that didn''t mince back on power.


    ¡°In case you haven''t noticed. I don''t care¡±.


    Bam!


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Darkseid grunted aloud. The force from that blow surpassed all the others by a great deal. Because this time, Amari had augmented this one with vast amounts of energy instead of battling Darkseid with pure physical fitness.


    After throwing so many punches in this sort time, Darkseid''s armor finally had a noticeable large dent.


    However, Amari was far from satisfied.


    After connecting himself to the Sphere of Gods and making himself a hypothetical God, his physical body durability ad strength had increased by leaps and bounds.


    There were very few beings in the entire DC Multiverse that could go toe to toe with him when it came to blows.


    The stone skinned baldy in front of him was one of them.


    This was a rare opportunity to battle someone who could withstand the full force of his blows. Amari certainly wouldn''t pass up the chance.


    Both beings had punched each other countless times in this short period.


    And even with Amari using the full force of his physique, Uxas had yet to bleed.


    It might be due to his New God Physiology that had evolved due to proximity to the source after hundreds of thousands of years. Or perhaps it was the Armor serving as a buffer. Maybe it was the combination of both.


    Amari hadn''t Inflicted any real damage aside from enrage the proud deity to no end.


    So he disappeared and Darkseid who had just been thrown out had yet to stabilize when his enemy appeared behind him, sending an attack that surpassed the previous one.


    The fist landed squarely on the New God''s back causing him to groan.


    Then his figure flew out in the opposite direction. Despite that, Darkseid was attacked yet again, a power infused punch landing straight on his chest.


    Boom!


    Uxas was sent spiraling downwards, completely unable to react to the chain attacks. His figure slammed against the earth, destroying the area around him and bounced back up slightly.


    Space ripped open beside him and the same fist came yet again with the same power of the previous punch, doubled.


    Bang!


    Splat!


    The figure was sent flying off, his body bounced off against the earth multiple times and dug a deep trench on the earth as the force pushed him backwards against the earth floor.


    Dust and debris flew in all directions as Darkseid crashed once again.


    Blood flew into the air for the first time since this fight began........ But Amari didn''t give a damn. His figure rushed towards his target at insane speeds like a raging bull.


    The Ankh symbol on Darkseid''s belt glowed at that moment.


    And Amari''s powered fist smashed into the soil of Apokolips.


    Boom!


    The entire planet on the verge of collapse due to the fight suddenly cracked. From the point of impact, Amari saw a crack appear that seemingly split the planet into two halves.


    A clear line appeared around Apokolips signifying the consequences of what Amari just did.


    And the person in question didn''t care.


    Looking at the empty soil before him that was devoid of Uxas''s body, his furrowed eyebrows slowly relaxed.


    He missed.


    Darkseid had dodged his last attack before it could land on him.


    Seeing this, Amari turned around and raised his head to look up.


    And there he was, floating above in the air. However, the state he was in was completely different from before.


    Uxas looked at Amari below coldly. The solemnity within his left eye couldn''t be concealed in the slightest. As for the right eye..... It was bleeding.


    The right side of Darkseid''s face that bore Amari''s previous punch did not make it out unscathed.


    Blood flowed from that side continuously. As well as the lips and nose. The bleeding showing that Amari had successfully broken through Darkseid''s layer of defense.


    ¡°As expected of the true form of the God of Tyranny¡±.


    Amari praised while clapping his hands.


    ¡°Truly a worthy punching bag. My Workout shall be legendary¡±.


    Uxas who once again had to stabilize himself in the air heard those words and gritted his teeth in fury.


    During that last attack, he had teleported out of the way to successfully escape. If not, he would be in a worse state than he was now.


    ¡°..... What are you?¡±


    Uxas uttered confused. There were few beings he had faced that could defeat him. One..... Was the old Gods. But even then, none of them did it alone. Another¡­. Was his father.


    With narrowed eyebrows, Uxas realized that fighting like this wasn''t going to succeed.


    Amari looked at the floating Dark God and didn''t chuckle.


    ¡°Isn''t that already obvious?¡±


    ¡°Hmph! No matter¡±. And so, deciding that this battle had gone on long enough, Darkseid unleashed another trick he had up his sleeve.


    The Omega Sanction.


    His eyes glowed red and a flash of red light was projected towards Amari''s consciousness attempting to trap him in a reality of infinite lives.


    ''Fade''


    Darkseid''s move hadn''t even taken effect before it was nullified with nothing but a single thought.


    At the same time, his telekinesis swept out towards his target.


    ¡°Roar!¡± Seeing that even the Omega Sanction didn''t have any effect, Darkseid have up his idea to try to take control of Amari''s mind.


    ¡°I have no choice¡±.


    Then, he let out a loud roar. Following which, his body began to expand rapidly.


    Darkseid''s body grew larger and larger, escaping out of the planet''s atmosphere, he soon reached the size of the full Apokolips.


    ¡°Know this..... You cannot defeat me.....¡±.


    Floating in space, the giant figure of Darkseid had his only available eye glow with a bright red color.


    He shot out his Omega beam in an attempt to erase everything on the planet at once.


    However.......


    ¡°You don''t think I''m going to let you do that, do you?¡±


    ''Shrink''


    Before he could, his enlarged body suddenly reduced in size at a speed faster than its enlarging.


    Less than a second later, the thousands of feet tall Darkseid was reduced to the same size he was before. A miniature giant.


    ¡°No!¡± Uxas took a look at himself, his eyes widening.


    ¡°This can''t be¡±. He knew what this was. He just couldn''t believe that someone was able to warp reality on a being as powerful as himself.


    Following which, he felt a powerful telekinetic force immobilize him in place giving him no almost no room to resist.


    The space in front of him swirled and Amari appeared before him, his hand flowing with dark red energy that seemed to want to devour the very space around them.


    ¡°Thanks.....¡±. Amari''s voice fell into his ears.


    ¡°..... For staying still¡±. Amari said indifferently before thrusting his arm forward.


    Bang!


    Darkseid''s true form was engulfed within Amari''s aura of destruction.


    The power expelled swept across the Godsphere. All the nearby areas in space had cracks appear in all directions as the shockwave of Amari''s attack shattered space itself.


    The red storm swept through the area. And then....... Everything was silent.


    ¡°Tch...... Unfair. I didn''t even get to finish my workout¡±.


    Floating within outer space, Amari muttered as his gaze peered into the endless void.


    ¡°Looks like you still had one more trick up your sleeve after all, Uxas".


    Amari said as there was no one to be seen in front of him.


    The blast from Amari''s punch wasn''t meant to kill Darkseid, but bring him to the state of near death.


    However, his body was nowhere to be seen.


    The God Of Tyranny, Uxas, for the first time in his life during a fight......... Had run away.

 Chapter 114 Cyborg

    DC Multiverse......


    Earth 16......


    In this area of space, sparse with life and the only notable sights in place were the moons and ringed planets.......


    At the center of this Star Sector, was a pitch-black planet burning with red light and emitting flames from the holes in its core.


    In this universe, the Ecumenopolis with burning fire pits was known as Apokolips


    World of the legendary Dark tyrant, the New God Darkseid.


    Screech!


    The parademons patrolling the skies moved let out high-pitched screeches as they moved about in vast numbers.


    With their forces spread out across the planet, their numbers were mostly gathered on the largest infrastructure that could be found.


    Hovering across the skies, their numbers would be enough to blot out the sun, assuming this solar system had one.


    And within the throne room of his building, there sat an almost four-meter tall giant. Clad in Apokoliptan armor, he rested his chin on his left fist and stared into the distance, seemingly in deep thought.


    BOOM!


    However, the planet Apokolips suddenly shook the next moment with no warning whatsoever.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± The giant was alarmed, his glowing red eyes sweeping around and narrowing greatly.


    BOOM!


    The patrolling Parademons screeched due to the rumbling. The structures on the planet began to collapse with the commotion ongoing.


    ¡°..... What is happening?¡± The deep voice rumbled in the empty palace.


    Besides these creatures and their dark leader....... There wasn''t a single living soul on this planet. Save of course, for two¡­. Anomalies.


    [Seismic activity has been detected on the planet]


    A robotic male voice responded to his question.


    ¡°Where?¡± The giant asked with narrowed eyebrows.


    The voice didn''t reply for a few seconds.


    [¡­. Everywhere]


    Boom!


    The sound returned once again as Apokolips thundered


    [The planet''s core has grown unstable]


    ¡°That''s impossible¡±.


    The large figure refuted in definite tone and stood to his feet. Deciding to investigate the issue of the continuous seismic activity at Apokolips''s core, he took several steps forwards as he prepared to take to the skies.


    It happened then.


    From outer space, the space surrounding the planet that was Apokolips fissured and warped.


    Thud!


    The steps came to a halt.


    Within those glowing red eyes, the space distorting around him was captured. Be it the walls, the floors, even the air itself. Everything on Apokolips seemed to be affected and distorted constantly like a broken phone screen.


    ¡°No!¡± The giant roared in a tone of fury. Raising his hand, he was even more enraged to see his body fitzing in and out of existence. Just like the rest of his planet.


    Shrieekkkkkkk!


    The shrieks of his minions fell into his ears and his powerful senses clearly captured the numerous Parademons being split in half due to the unexpected changes on the planet.


    Green blood fell from the air as space cracks emerged almost everywhere, randomly killing Parademons left and right.


    But Darkseid couldn''t give a damn about this.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    [Unspecified cosmic anomaly detected]


    The robotic male voice resounded again.


    Seeing his distorting arm and body, Darkseid couldn''t help but clench his fist with a hideous expression.


    Being who he was, he knew exactly what was happening. Apokolips was being destroyed.


    However, the destruction didn''t start from here but from the true world. The true Apokolips.


    That''s right. This being was Darkseid..... Or to be more specific, one of Darkseid''s numerous avatars in the multiverse. One tasked with the subjugation of worlds within Universe 16 of the DC multiverse.


    Just as he was nothing but a mere Avatar, this planet was not the real deal. Merely a projection of the true planet Apokolips outside the multiverse.


    And now..... It was fading out of existence.


    There was only one scenario in which this would happen. Apokolips was falling.


    Not only had Apokolips fallen, his true for had also fallen as well. This could be seen from how he was distorting out of existence the same way the planet was while the Parademons transferred from the true world were not.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    The flames spewing from the planet''s core began to go haywire. Fire pits emerged in numerous places as the ground cracked, spewing out large flames in all directions.


    Darkseid watched all this with a solemn expression.


    The planet was on the verge of collapse.


    However, the Avatar didn''t scream in indignant fury but turned around and walked back to his throne.


    Following which, he sat down with his back well rested and watched with no movement as his world burned.


    There was nothing that could be done. In that case..... Do nothing.


    If the true world was destroyed, then nothing he could do would prevent this world from following in its footsteps.


    Darkseid observed the changes with a cold face, awaiting the planet''s destruction.


    However, the planet miraculously didn''t go up in a fiery explosion like expected........ The rumbling slowly but surely died down after enough time had passed.


    In this tragic crisis, for some reason, Apokolips had survived.


    Nevertheless, the planet hadn''t escaped unscathed. Looking at the planet from outer space, it seemed that Apokolips had just experienced a terrible war.


    [Planet''s core is stabilizing. Cosmic phenomenon fluctuations have disappeared]


    The whole place was quiet. Save for the noises made by the panicking Parademons who had survived.


    Darkseid didn''t respond to the voice. His mind filled up with numerous thoughts.


    He could deduce from what had just happened that his true form had just faced a formidable enemy. One formidable enough to threaten his life.


    ''No matter''. He thought to himself on his throne.


    He was still alive and Apokolips was still standing. That could only mean one of two things.


    One, his true form fought a great battle and finally managed to destroy the adversary at the last moment..... Or the other option. One that he wasn''t ready to believe.


    His true form had fled.


    But that was impossible. He, Darkseid was one of the most powerful beings in the universe.


    Someone who could fight with him on equal grounds was already scarce or so he thought. As for someone who could make him flee...... The disparity in strength must be too obvious.


    Plus..... If he were to flee, then Apokolips would have been destroyed by the enemy.


    All this pointed to the fact that he had triumphed. Albeit¡­ Barely. This..... His true form must probably be in a weakened state at the moment.


    This..... This couldn''t be allowed to go on.


    ¡°It is time to speed up my plans on the destruction of worlds. Nothing will be guaranteed until I find Anti-life¡±. The dark lord murmured in that demonically deep voice.


    ¡°Has the experiments been completed?¡±


    He asked, seemingly to no one.


    [....... The new legion of Paradooms will soon be ready. All necessary DNA have been acquired. All that remains is the time needed]


    ¡°Good!¡±


    ¡°In that case, we no longer need the monster. Since it can''t be controlled, let it serve it''s final purpose¡±.


    [What would you have me do your eminence?]


    ¡°Send the monster away from Apokolips via Boom tube¡±. He paused for a moment and showed a cunning look.


    ¡°.... To Earth¡±.


    [Yes My Lord]


    ¡°Also, prepare yourself as well. I plan to have you returned to your world as my undercover agent¡±.


    [..... As you command. For Darkseid]


    No more words were exchanged.


    Darkseid sat in his throne, his stone like facial features returning to indifference.


    Meanwhile, on the level just below his throne room, a figure could be seen.


    His mechanical body parts were scattered in different areas and his body was clearly embedded into a glowing blue wall that served as Darkseid''s computer matrix.


    Half of the figure''s face was dark skinned with a human features and short hair. The other half, just like the rest of his body was completely cybernetic.


    [For Darkseid]


    The figure muttered again without moving his lips.


    This half man, half machine was none other than the lost Justice League member of Earth 16. Victor stone.


    And several levels below this room, at the bottom of the large building that was Darkseid''s castle. A creature was suspended in heavy restraints made specifically for it.


    "Rarghhhhhhhhhh!"

 Chapter 115 Reverse Time

    Squelch!


    Blood splattered on the floor, dyeing it green yet again. At this point, Aurelie was practically a green version of herself several minutes ago.


    Kara, who fought alongside her, sported a similar look.


    It wasn''t their fault, there were just too many of them.


    The numbers of Parademons on Apokolips were endless. Obtained from the world''s Darkseid''s avatars had conquered with the Motherboxes, these demonic creatures were nothing more than souls enslaved to the will of their makers.


    After destroying hundreds of thousands of worlds...... Their numbers were inestimable. Even when they were split between each Avatar conquering the multiverse, the numbers in Apokolips were beyond the entire population of earth.


    A powerful, obedient army completely unafraid of death. The kind Orm previously lusted after.


    Bang!


    Kara punched one away and released her heat vision for the Nth time today. The exhaustion from her cells had already begun to set in.


    Aurelie was no different. As she once said, the number of Parademons on Apokolips was enough to drown a new God with their sheer numbers.


    Unless you escaped or had power on the same level of Darkseid, these creatures would exhaust you to death.


    Apokolips wasn''t home to a yellow sun. Kara was unable to recharge her cells, and fighting such a protracted battle with a seemingly endless army would ultimately lead to their defeat.


    Then....... The commotion that occurred next frightened both women''s souls.


    The giant figure of Darkseid expanding outside the planet made their hearts sink to the bottom of their stomachs.


    ¡°Know this...... You cannot defeat me¡­.¡±.


    His voice rumbled throughout the entire planet. The sheer display of his size was an impressive spectacle in their eyes. Enough to make much give up resistance to fight.


    However, the giant figure of Darkseid shrunk rapidly the next second, followed by a giant booming sound and a blast of energy that swept through the area like a tidal wave.


    Everything on Apokolips, every building and structure that wasn''t already destroyed due to the planet''s crumbling state, was shattered to nothing but debris.


    Rocks broke apart, and the black earth was uprooted. Parademons in the skies were ripped to shreds and the panicking Apokolips citizens were blown apart.


    Kara and Aurelie were swept away by the storm of energy that swept across the planet, damaging it further.


    For the planet that had lasted for hundreds of thousands of years, this was the final straw.


    And so with that, Apokolips was unable to hold on.


    The planet began to fall apart.


    Pillars of bright red, flaming energy emerged from the planet core, shooting through the ground and ascending to the sky.


    One¡­. Two¡­. Three..... This marked the end for Apokolips.


    Bang!


    Kara smashed against the earth and tumbled rapidly.


    She dug her fingers into the ground to stabilize her rolling figure as the energy storm swept past her.


    Then.....


    Boom!


    A pillar of fire erupted from the floor below her, blowing her away in the process.


    Kara gained her balance in the air.


    The state of the planet quickly fell into her eyes and ears, causing her heart to quickly grow unsettled.


    The pillars of fire bursting from the ground¡­. The screams of the citizens that fell in her ears.


    The world was coming to an end. A situation she was all too familiar with.


    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± Once again, her powers began to go haywire.


    Her unsettled heart and mind began to play the scenes she last wanted to remember at this moment.


    It was almost the same as it was that day.


    The day she was put on that ship and thrown into outer space, watching as her planet grew red and ultimately exploded.


    ¡°No!¡± The destruction of Apokolips, it reminded her of Krypton''s destruction.


    ¡°Damnit!¡±


    Seeing Apokolips nearing its end, Aurelie''s face was incredibly unsightly.


    ¡°I have to get out of here¡±.


    She hurriedly reached towards her waist but touched nothing of significance.


    It dawned on her then. Amari had taken away her teleporter and used it to bring them here. This realization caused her face to darken considerable, and she cussed through gritted teeth.


    That asshole! He told them not to get killed while he was gone, but now they would truly die if this planet was destroyed, and they were still on it.


    Aurelie watched helplessly as the pillars of fire burst towards their direction with a hint of helplessness in her eyes.


    So this was the end, huh?


    The pillars of fire emerged, and Aurelie was enveloped in the fires of Apokolips''s destruction.


    Streaks of red emerged across the entire planet, multiplying rapidly in the course of its destruction..... Until......


    Boom!


    The planet exploded, sending a shockwave, reaching the farthest parts of this star system.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Amari turned around just to be hit in the face with the aftermath of Apokolips''s destruction.


    ¡°Oh! Looks like I got carried away¡±.


    His eyes narrowed upon realizing what he had done.


    Apokolips was home to billions of lives. Eighty percent of them were Parademons and the other 19.9 percent were lowlies. Only 0.1 made up the actual New God population, but still.


    That could all be cast aside. But most importantly..... Kara and Aurelie were still on that planet.


    In that case..... Just fix it.


    The thought blew past his mind and he took action on it.


    Stretching his arm forward towards the ruins of what was once a great planet, his hand lit up with a blue glow as he willed for its resurrection.


    ''Reverse''


    Time froze for a split second as everything ceased movement. Then, it all started to move backwards.


    The scattered parts of the planet moved in reverse, and the displaced rocks began to reform the shape of a planet. The streaks of red appeared again and gradually faded as time moved against it will to restore Apokolips to the point before destruction.


    Few seconds later.


    ........


    Gotham City.


    Bang!


    A giant dark green arm smashed into the glass cabinet, causing the glass to shatter.


    A large piece of glass falls to the ground. Looking at it, one would see the reflection of a green skinned figure with a glowing yellow eye.


    Thud!


    A bag dropped to the floor, almost filled to the brim with what looked like bottles of medication.


    ¡°Grrrrrgh! Finally,". The figure let out a deep, nasal growl and stretched his arms to the cabinet.


    The drugs were moved to the large bag he had brought with him, emptying it completely.


    Swoosh!


    The giant green figure stopped. His ears twitching slightly as he turned to reveal his side profile.


    The whole place was dark, with only the moonlight barely illuminating the warehouse room through the glass windows.


    For a moment, it seemed that everything was normal.


    If it were before, perhaps he would have thought it was an illusion. But in Gotham¡­. He knew better than to ignore anything subtle when a black man bat was running amok.


    Thud!


    Thud!


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    He took two steps and turned around, his footsteps making a loud thudding sound.


    And sure enough, he was right.


    ¡°William Jones, AKA Killer Croc¡±. The deep voice resounded in the warehouse.


    ¡°Stealing drugs isn''t your usual MO¡±.


    The large muscular figure swept his eyes across the surroundings.


    And then, a figure dropped from the ceiling, landing on his feet with a slight squat before restoring his straight posture.


    ¡°You!¡±


    The eyes of the green, oversized crocodile narrowed.


    Bruce replied with a straight face.


    ¡°When half the biotech firms in town get hit, I get curious¡±. Following which, his eyes narrowed.


    ¡°And last time I checked, you were supposed to be at Arkham¡±.


    ¡°I got out¡±. Looking at the large, muscular figure with scaly skin, Batman realized what the drugs were for.


    ¡°You look like you''ve been working out, Croc¡±. At that moment, a tail suddenly swept towards him, prompting the caped crusader to dodge.


    Boom.


    The ground beneath Batman''s feet cracked under the great force.


    ¡°Ok...... The tail''s new¡±.


    "Yeah, got it at a steal. And the sewers of Arkham are particularly easy to gain passage through for escape".


    Killer Croc crouched down and rushed towards Batman.


    With a slight twist, several Batarangs appeared in the hands of The Dark Knight.


    Bruce looked particularly solemn.


    However.......


    Crash!


    Glass shattered as a blur flew through the window and smashed straight into Killer Croc who was about to go on a rampage.


    The raging crocodile didn''t even have the chance to react when a punch landing on his face sent him flying through the concrete wall, into the next room.


    ¡°Well vacation''s over. Worry not, though. I''m sure your cell hasn''t grown too cold ever since you left¡±.


    Killer Croc didn''t have the chance to see the man in red and blue tights who attacked him.


    He laid in the rubble from the broken wall, half his body covered with stone, completely knocked out cold and blood seeping out of his maw.


    Seeing that the situation was taken care of, Clark turned his attention back to the expressionless Batman, who stood aside with his Batarangs still within his grasp.


    ¡°Am I interrupting?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±. Bruce said while putting the Batarangs away.


    Clark could hear the slight annoyance within that one word.


    It was very minute¡­. But he had Super hearing.


    ¡°Well sorry, but I have something to talk about. And waiting for this to play out would take time¡±.


    The Man Of Steel flew downwards, his two feet landing on the floor.


    ¡°What''s that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean I X-rayed his body. It''s filled with Steroids. He was stronger, faster than before.....¡±.


    Clark paused, choosing his words carefully.


    ¡°He would have been difficult for you to overcome¡±.


    ¡°You mean I wouldn''t have been able to handle it¡±. Bruce cut in and said bluntly.


    ¡°I..... I didn''t put it like that¡±.


    ¡°You know how I feel about you interrupting in Gotham affairs, Superman¡±. Batman remarked nonchalantly without looking at him.


    ¡°I''ll be out of your hair soon enough, believe me. It''s just......¡±.


    ¡°Kara has disappeared, hasn''t she?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Clark was a bit stunned. Before returning to normal. After all, it was Bruce who knew. He was Batman after all.


    Seeing as Clark didn''t bother to ask how he knew but just stared at him with an expression that beckoned to go on, Bruce continued.


    ¡°Green Arrow messaged me just recently from the Watchtower. A huge energy signature appeared on a Paris building forty minutes ago¡±.


    He paused for a moment.


    ¡°The same building Kara sat on before our arrival¡±.


    Clark''s face crumpled.


    ¡°You''re saying¡­".


    ¡°Yes. It appears that your cousin might have been kidnapped¡±.


    ¡°By who¡±. Clark asked with a frown. The urgency in his voice was unconcealed.


    ¡°I asked Arrow to run an analysis on the energy signature. It appears that it''s the same one that appeared in the Bialyan desert a month ago which the team set out to investigate¡±.


    ¡°The secret society?¡± Clark called out with an unsightly expression.


    ¡°Amari was right. They''re back?¡±


    ¡°It seems that way. But tell me, did you see Amari in the area....? Or anywhere for that matter¡±.


    ¡°...... No¡±. When he didn''t find Kara in Paris after the Eiffel Tower completely collapsed, he thought she had run away again like back in Metropolis because she didn''t want to face him.


    He wanted to find her so they could talk.


    So..... Who better to look for than Batman.


    But now..... He was hearing this.


    ¡°Why didn''t you tell me?¡± Hearing the tone so solemn, Bruce didn''t flinch at Clark''s narrowed eyes.


    ¡°I didn''t want to alert you to the worst possibility until I had definite evidence. For all we know, she could simply be with him, and you might end up worrying for nothing. And as you can see...... I was busy¡±. The giant hole in the wall was enough proof to testify to his claim.


    ¡°You could have.......¡±.


    ¡°I told arrow to send you a message informing you about the possible situation three minutes ago. From your tone..... You haven''t received it yet¡±.


    At that moment, Clark''s comms rang, indicating someone was sending him a message.


    ¡°Perfect timing Oliver¡±. The frown on his face was particularly unsightly.


    ¡°Go back to the watchtower. Green Arrow should be checking for any signs of her on the earth as we speak¡±. Bruce turned around and walked towards the hole.


    He had travelled all the way from Paris in forty minutes when Oracle let him know that several Biotech firms in Gotham were reporting break-ins


    Now...... He had to drag this big lug to the jet and have him transported to Arkham once again so he could begin figuring out who was behind Croc''s actions.


    Steroids weren''t enough to make this guy grow a tail.


    Hearing this, Clark calmed down a bit. He didn''t want to admit it, but Bruce was right. For all he knew, his cousin could be with Amari. And if she was attacked...... Well..... Clark doubted the enemies would be successful.


    Still, that didn''t mean he wouldn''t stop worrying.


    ¡°Fine. I hope you''re right Bruce¡±. Following which, Clark shot to the skies, disappearing quickly.


    Bruce didn''t turn around.


    At her age in Earth, teenagers were willful. And with what she had gone through, Perhaps she needed someone she felt she could relate with.


    Amari was one such person. And from what he had deduced, Bruce doubted that any harm would befall her.


    Still, there was a chance that there was more to it than he let Clark in on.


    He had hidden something from him after convincing The Martian Manhunter to keep it a secret.


    Supergirl was under control. Not completely mind controlled like one would expect, but a mental seed had been planted deep within the recesses of her mind.


    No doubt, Batman knew who was behind it.


    And now, the energy surge that appeared in the Bialyan desert had appeared again.


    There was a great chance that Supergirl had been kidnapped once again by the secret society.


    Bruce had placed a tracker on supergirl to confirm his suspicions that Kara was meant to be used as a spy in the league.


    But strangely enough, the signal was cut off at that moment forty minutes ago.


    There was a chance it had been destroyed........ Which was hard to believe as the trackers weren''t on the outside but within Supergirl herself.


    Then, there left the other possibility. She had exceeded the range for the trackers to work.


    If she was still on Earth, then that was Impossible. This was why Bruce brought forward the idea that Kara could be with Amari.


    As technically, he didn''t reside in this world.


    But there was something else that bothered him. The same energy signature was spotted in Gotham city two days ago. Batman had been secretly investigating this matter on his own.


    But now, he had to deviate his attention.


    Something was up with Killer Croc, and he was going to find out what.


    Meanwhile, unknown to The Dark Knight, A giant dark creature hid in the dark a great distance away observing the caped crusader.


    ¡°Grrggg!¡± It let out a low shriek and flapped its Bat shaped wings before flying off into the distance, disappearing into the night.


    ...........


    A few seconds later........


    Squelch!


    Blood splattered on the floor, dyeing it green yet again. At this point, Aurelie was practically a green version of herself several minutes ago.


    She raised her spear once again to continue her attack..........


    ¡°These creatures are.......¡±.


    Then she stiffened.


    Wait ........ Why did this all seem so familiar?


    She raised her head to the skies but saw that the Parademons that once turned the area above them to a sea of black was gone.


    ¡°I...... What¡­.¡±. She turned around and examined her surroundings. The rumbling had stopped, the pillars of flames were gone ....... This...... Apokolips was still standing.


    Wasn''t it destroyed?


    Strange, she wasn''t dead?


    ¡°You done?¡±


    The voice from behind startled the Fury, prompting her to twist her body and stab her spear instinctively.


    Crack!


    Amari watched as the spear slammed against his body and broke in two.


    ¡°It''s...... You¡±.


    ¡°Mmhmm¡±. Seeing this, she retracted the broken spear and was silent for a moment.


    ¡°What did you do?¡± She didn''t believe for one second that what she experienced wasn''t real.


    ¡°The planet exploded, you two died, and I turned back time to save it¡±.


    Kara opened her mouth but no words came out.


    Apokolips was restored. Nevertheless, it looked miserable. Amari hadn''t brought it back to perfect shape.


    All in all, it looked like it would collapse at any moment once it encountered something slightly stronger.


    ¡°........ And Darkseid?¡±


    ¡°Gone¡±. Aurelie was slightly dumbstruck.


    ¡°... You killed him?¡±


    ¡°He ran away¡±.


    ¡°..¡±


    Aurelie was silent. Her face took a deep, hard stare at Amari for a few seconds before she dropped the broken half of her spear.


    ¡°Then let''s end this already¡±.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°You''ve done what you came here to do. So what happens to me now?¡±


    The atmosphere was silent.


    Aurelie looked at him with unblinking eyes, fully prepared to have her life end here.


    ¡°What makes you think I want to kill you?¡± Amari held down a chuckle.


    ¡°Honestly, I didn''t want things to get this far¡±.


    Aurelie frowned. She didn''t understand where he was going with this.


    ¡°Don''t understand? Well, if you think I came here to destroy Apokolips and Kill the God of Tyranny, then you''re wrong. I just came here to negotiate. But as you can see¡­.¡±.


    He spread out his hands with a helpless expression of someone who was forced to defend himself.


    ¡°..... Darkseid attacked me first. I had no choice but to take action¡±.


    ¡°...¡±


    Seeing the deadpan expressions on their faces, Amari shrugged indifferently.


    Whether they believed it or not, he didn''t care.


    ¡°Then what happens to me?¡±


    ¡°That''s your choice¡±.

 Chapter 116 Rise Of The Old Gods

    Today, an event worthy of going down in the Book of Destiny of the DC Multiverse took place.


    Something once thought to be impossible by many.


    The Personification of Evil, Destroyer of worlds, Conqueror of dimensions, the Lord of Apokolips Darkseid himself, was defeated.


    A terror who had enslaved hundreds of thousands of worlds, striking fear in the hearts of beings across the multiverse in search of Anti-Life.


    (Talk about a successful Side Hustler).


    Battled against by a mighty being, the New God Of Tyranny failed to gain the upper hand, was almost beaten to a pulp and ultimately forced to flee.


    The result of their great battle was the planet of Apokolips left in ruins. Almost destroyed in the clash (Destroyed and brought back) and left broken in the aftermath.


    The cries and screams of the lowlies who had been enslaved from thousands of worlds were almost endless. Deemed the only survivors of the world''s Darkseid had conquered, they lived only to create the weapons and armor of the members of their respective races, now turned Parademons.


    Their death and despair serving to fuel the dreaded atmosphere of this dark, negative planet.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± The dizziness set in again as Kara felt greatly uncomfortable.


    The negative energy was too much for the kryptonian fledgling to bear.


    ¡°Enough. This can''t go on¡±. The calm, indifferent voice fell into her ears, causing her eyes to widen.


    ¡°No. I''m fine.....¡±.


    ¡°You can''t adapt to the atmosphere of this world. Its negative energy is toxic for you mentally. The longer you stay, the more twisted your mind is going to get¡±.


    Amari looked at her stubborn expression and spoke in a plain tone.


    ¡°..... As it is, you can''t continue¡±. This was normal.


    Clark had absorbed yellow sun radiation for years during his time on Earth yet couldn''t adapt to the atmosphere on Zod''s ship within two minutes.


    Apokolips wasn''t inferior in any way.


    This planet was corrupted with an aura that could drive a normal man crazy.


    Superman once got hit with the flaming energy from the planet''s core and had his mind corrupted.


    ¡°These people..... They¡­. They''re hurt¡­ Suffering..... I can.....¡±.


    ¡°.... Go back to Earth¡±.


    ¡°No..... You can''t¡­".


    ¡°I can ...... and I will¡±.


    Amari didn''t let her finish what she was struggling to say.


    He stretched out his hand and the floor beneath her morphed to form a portal. Following which, she fell right through into another world that had cars, tall buildings and fancy lights.


    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡±


    Kara''s figure fell with a loud scream as the portal closed.


    And then there were two.


    Amari turned his gaze to Aurelie who looked back at him with unflinching eyes.


    The atmosphere was tense under the background of the chaos of Apokolips.


    Amari raised his hand. The space around it warped and a small device with an Omega symbol on it appeared.


    ¡°Here¡±. Amari tossed the teleporter to Aurelie and walked past her.


    Aurelie stood there, rooted to the ground. The winds blew, causing her bright red hair to flutter. On that beautiful face was an expression of doubt and confusions.


    What exactly was he doing? What was his motive for doing this?


    For a moment, she didn''t know what to think.


    Turning around, she saw his back going further and further away.


    It took a while for her to realize that he...... wasn''t joking.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Her voice was low.


    ¡°Why do you care?¡± He replied with a question of his own without stopping or looking back.


    ¡°You always wanted freedom, right? Now you have it. So go¡±.


    ¡°...¡±


    The female Fury was silent for a few seconds. Her brows were knitted into a tight frown.


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    Aurelie couldn''t help but ask.


    He had already defeated Darkseid and reduced Apokolips to near ruin. Why didn''t he just leave with a portal like the kryptonian?


    Her question fell into his ears. Understanding what she meant, he paused........ Then laughed.


    ¡°Hehehehe...... Me?¡± A strange light flashed through his eyes.


    ¡°....... Well...... Let''s just say I''m going sightseeing¡±.


    His halted footsteps resumed walking.


    It took a while for her to turn her gaze away from Amari''s departing back to the boom tube teleporter within her grasp.


    Taking one last look at the planet she grew up in, there wasn''t even the slightest bit of nostalgia as she pressed the Omega symbol.


    A boom tube appeared before her, to which, she entered without hesitation.


    However, unknown to the Female New God, an invisible ray of soul essence seeped out from the earth beneath her.


    Sensing a way of escape through the portal, it quickly drilled into the boom tube, escaping its long imprisonment on this dreaded planet once and for all with fear and haste.


    And with that, the Boom Tube closed.


    Watching the fleeing soul, a small smirk crept its way to Amari''s expressionless face.


    Nevertheless, he did nothing to stop it. The universe was already chaotic. How much more chaos could one soul cause?


    He had more important things to do.


    The moment Apokolips was destroyed, Amari discovered something. Something he was sure Darkseid, who had lived here all his life wasn''t aware of.


    Legend says that the Gods of New Genesis and Apokolips were born due to the fall of the old Gods.


    After the old Gods were destroyed in Ragnarok...... Their world was shattered into two pieces that thousands of years later, would come to become the home worlds of the New deities of the multiverse.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    For creatures of old..... That was marked as the end of an era.


    The old Gods were dead, never to return again.


    But that was far from the truth.


    They had survived. Survived the destruction of their old world hundreds of thousands of years ago.


    Amari was always sure of this. The day he used Shazam''s power to access the Godsphere, he realized that the old Gods weren''t dead.


    And upon the destruction of Apokolips, his suspicions were confirmed.


    They were here.


    Trapped and hidden beneath the surface of the planet itself. Wandering the ruins of their destroyed world in an underground Labyrinth.


    Ironic really.


    ¡°What better place to hide than in the underworld of their home planet¡±.


    Soon, Amari came to a stop. Because right below him was the entrance to the Necropolis.


    The underground Labyrinth of the Old Gods.


    And with a single thought, Amari''s figure fell right through the earth.


    Meanwhile, considerable changes were taking place elsewhere.


    .....


    Somewhere in an unknown area of the Godsphere


    Mount Olympus........


    The New God Metron once deduced that the old Gods were not dead but would rise again due to the events of the New God Of Tyranny, Darkseid.


    He concluded that every time someone successfully resisted the new ruler of their home world, the ones of old would be one step closer to resurrection from their fallen state.


    Normally, this would take a very long period of time.


    But today...... Darkseid was resisted. Not only resisted, he was beaten to this point making it the first time in history.


    Spark!


    From the damaged statue of the God king Zeus, wisp''s of blue lights seeped out at a rapid state, enveloping it with diving energy.


    The process continued for quite a long period of time as more and more power was drawn out by the statue from the Godsphere, attempting to transform itself to normal form once more.


    The darkness of the void was illuminated by a dazzling blue color. Sparks of lightning began to emerge in the space around, followed by the heavenly Cal and a gradually rising war cry.


    ¡°...........¡±. The voice was faint at first. Seemingly inaudible but the commotion around was nothing to scoff at.


    Cracks began to emerge everywhere on the solid rock. However, instead of breaking apart, it began to fall off.


    Piece by piece, dust particles after another......... Like a figure emerging from a sandy pit, the statue was transformed, and the foreign substances peeled off to reveal fairly tanned skin.


    ¡°Arghhhhhhhhh......¡±. The sound grew more audible as it grew from a whisper to a cal to a full-blown war cry.


    BOOM!


    A wave of diving lightning burs out, sweeping anything and everything in its path as the solitary statue finally moved for once in thousands of years.


    ...........


    Gotham City.


    Location........ Unknown.


    The place was lit up with dim lights, revealing the area to be an enclosed warehouse of some sorts.


    In a secluded area, a figure could be seen standing in front of a large monitoring screen, playing a video.


    ¡°Play it again¡±. A deep, hoarse voice fell into the ears of the masked man sitting at the keyboard.


    ¡°Right away sir¡±. Hearing this, he didn''t dare to neglect the man beside him and tapped the keyboard again.


    The video restarted again in ultra night vision the scene that had taken place a few moments ago.


    And surprisingly...... Or rather, unsurprisingly..... The people in the video could be easily identified.


    One was Batman and the other was Killer Croc.


    Recorded from a noticeable distance away, the scene of their brief confrontation was unfortunately interrupted by the arrival of the Man Of Steel.


    Seeing the Croc easily taken down, the standing figure showed no surprise.


    He didn''t know what the Superman discussed with the Caped Crusader. Only until he saw the departure of the Boy Scout did he finally make a move.


    Dressed in a black and gray costume with goldenrod Greaves and gauntlets, the man''s eyes narrowed, before turning around and leaving.


    ¡°Recall the Manbat". He uttered without turning back.


    ¡°And send an Airstrike to Doctor Langstrom''s apartment. Wait till he''s there, and blow it all up¡±. His eyes flashed with a hint of coldness as he pulled down his goldenrod mask to cover his white hair.


    The mask sported a black area covering that right side of his face.


    At times, Slade could be a narrow-minded person. His hatred for Batman wasn''t much, but it wasn''t little, ever since he was denied the right to be the successor of the League of Assassins by Ra''s al ghul.


    While his actions may play some part in Ra''s decision, it was further facilitated by the fact that the Demon''s Head considered Batman to be a worthier heir than he was.


    For someone like Deathstroke, the most skilled assassin in the world, this was undeniably insulting to him.


    The man walked into another area of the warehouse in deep thought.


    After learning of Ra''s decision, he left the League of Assassins, terminating their relationship and created his own group of followers, feeling that they no longer had anything to offer him.


    As a mercenary for hire, Slade was a highly sought after assassin who worked for the highest bidder.


    The guards around this place were particularly numerous and constant patrols could be seen.


    After turning down a corridor, Deathstroke walked into a room that was guarded by multiple soldiers from both sides.


    ¡°Sir!¡± They all saluted, eliciting no response from him.


    He simply walked in and closed the door behind him.


    ¡°Huh¡­?¡±


    His entry startled the white haired middle-aged man inside the room, who turned his head to see the new arrival.


    ¡°It''s you!¡± He exclaimed.


    ¡°Evening, Doctor Langstrom". Slade greeted cordially. ¡°How''s my research going?¡±


    Shatter!


    The bottle of mixed chemicals suddenly fell to the floor and broke apart.


    Seeing the serum he was creating go to waste, Kirk''s face was as white as a sheet of paper.


    ¡°Not so well, I see¡±. His tone grew several degrees colder.


    Cold sweat began to develop on Doctor Langstrom''s back. He had been kidnapped here by Deathstroke and his crew to create a special serum for them.


    ¡°That..... That wasn''t it¡±. Kirk spoke quickly for fear that Slade would do something rash.


    ¡°It wasn''t?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ I mean¡­ No¡­ I mean¡­ It wasn''t complete. Like the others, it wouldn''t have worked¡±.


    He could only bite the bullet and reveal the truth with a trembling voice.


    ¡°That''s not what we agreed on Doctor¡±. As he spoke, Deathstroke drew out a short knife from a small opening around the suit near his thigh.


    ¡°Or do you need me to remind you?¡±


    ¡°I.....¡±.


    ¡°My promise was quite clear. Your family would live as long as you did what I asked. And quite frankly......¡±. He pointed the weapon towards his face.


    ¡°You don''t seem to be doing it¡±.


    Kirk''s eyes widened with despair.


    ¡°I already created the mutagen you needed¡±.


    ¡°Not enough¡±. Slade answered apathetically.


    The mutagen was what was used to give Killer Croc a tail.


    In turn, that ugly green oversized crocodile would fetch him the steroids required from Labs all over Gotham City.


    Kirk was silent for a moment.


    ¡°I can''t complete the serum. Not with what the materials you''re giving me¡±.


    Deathstroke''s eyes narrowed.


    ¡°The steroids aren''t good enough?¡±


    ¡°No. I need more than that¡±.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Other Serums just like mine. Failed versions, tested and abandoned, alongside their experimental analysis results. By pooling data, I can get you want out want¡±.


    Deathstroke understood.


    ¡°You want to use other incomplete experiments to complete yours¡±.


    ¡°.....¡± Silence.


    Seeing that the doctor didn''t respond, Deathstroke stared at him for a few seconds before putting the knife back.


    Then, he turned around to leave. His voice falling into the ears of the old doctor.


    ¡°I''ll get you what you want. After which, there should be no more excuses. Or else¡­.¡±.


    The door slammed behind him.


    Despite leaving the League Of Assassins, both parties still maintained a cooperative relationship, in which Ra''s hired Deathstroke to handle certain issues.


    And this was one of them.


    Under the orders of Talia, Slade was tasked with the Kidnapping of Doctor Kirk Langstrom and his family in order to persuade the doctor to successfully complete his life''s work.


    The Man Bat formula.


    Soon, Slade returned to the monitoring room and ordered.


    ¡°Get me a list of the industries previously involved in the creation of Super soldier serums¡±.


    His orders were carried out without question.


    Soon, a list was handed to him, and Slade immediately set his eyes on the first one.


    The Pheno Drug, once produced by Strader Pharmaceuticals in Gotham.

 Chapter 117 The Dreggs

    The Necropolis.......... Apokolips.


    Hidden from the surface world, the underground area that represented the last traces of the old world welcomed an unexpected visitor.


    From the highest heights this underground cave could accommodate, pulses of rippling red energy spread in a particular spot.


    Within the timespan of a second, the pulses grew brighter and brighter, gleaming a violent red as if trying desperately to prevent something from getting in.


    Wuonnng!


    A red hole suddenly appeared on the ceiling, from the size of a bean, to the size of a basketball, before eventually reaching the size fit for a human being to make passage.


    Following which, a figure passed through the portal and fell from the ceiling.


    Thud!


    Penetrating through the energy shield, Amari landed on the ground with firm feet, dissipating the force generated from falling from such a height and avoiding the noise that would have occurred due to the impact.


    ¡°Ok...... That was deeper than I thought¡±.


    Moving his gaze, his eyes came in contact with a gloomy looking cavern.


    Everything previously hidden from his senses when he was above ground fell into his ears and eyes at once.


    The situation almost made him marvel at the power of the Old Gods.


    ''No wonder Darkseid never discovered this place after ruling for so long''.


    The shield covering these caverns was strong.


    Its resistance ability wasn''t all that impressive and could be torn apart with enough force, but the concealment capability was astounding.


    Everything within this part of the planet was shielded from all sensing capabilities. Unless one particularly powerful individual decided to take a good look.


    Amari moved his gaze forwards and all he could see was the cavern like passageway with seemingly no end.


    And then it hit him.


    Unlike before, Amari could easily sense the Divine energy that permeated the air in this underground world.


    The divinity given off by the Old Gods was very rich here. Seeping off the ground and the walls.


    This was the Divine energy emitted by Ulgrund. Home world of the ones of old. A world within a world.


    Unfortunately, their era was over.


    Apokolips that once made up Ulgrund had been transformed into something else after hundreds of thousands of years.


    The energy shield itself was slowly being corroded by the negative energy of Apokolips. With enough time, it would vanish, and this place would be made known to the New Gods above.


    ''Torches?''


    The examination of his surroundings didn''t reveal much. Looking at the multiple caves that led to different areas, Amari felt a bit underwhelmed.


    One would think that the residence of the last surviving old Gods would be similar to a hidden world within a world.


    A generally beautiful ecosystem, surviving within the same planet. Kinda like hollow earth. Where Titans towering from tens to hundreds of feet tall roamed freely through the lush green jungles.........


    Instead, it looked like a rather spacious medieval dungeon, situated in an underground city.


    A spacious dungeon..... But a dungeon nonetheless.


    ¡°So much for expectations......¡±. Amari muttered under his breath.


    There were torches lined up in fixed Intervals along the walls.


    How these torches were still burning after thousands of years wasn''t his concern. But within those intervals, there were dark shadows that couldn''t be bypassed.


    With the deafening silence and the gloomy shadows, this place came off far more eerie and ominous than the ruins of the Old Gods.


    ''I can see just fine..... But still¡­.''


    Should he attribute it to the place itself? Or was the aura of Apokolips already seeping into this place before the shield disappeared?


    At that moment, Amari frowned. Turning his gaze towards the cave tunnels, his expression darkened slightly at the feeling he just experienced.


    He was being watched.


    Silence reigned for a few moments and Amari''s expression eventually returned to normal.


    ¡°Oh well¡±. Seeing the silence, Amari said nothing more and began to walk forward.


    He was here to sightsee anyway, so there was no harm in taking a look around the place. The original owners probably wouldn''t mind......... Much.


    And so, he picked the closest cave and walked in.


    .............


    Just how long did he walk?


    His clear footsteps were the only sound that could be heard in this underground world.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    From one tunnel bend to the other, what fell into his eyes were the ruins of the place.


    The deeper he walked, the more spacious this place grew.


    Just when he felt he had walked long enough, he felt multiple Presences as he stepped out of the end of the passageway.


    What first fell into his eyes was the expansive space. Buildings and towers stretched out far and wide and the largest one was in the very middle, reminding him of the city of the resident Gods in the neighboring universe.


    Asgard.


    Although ruined, it was truly a sight to behold. You could even see the mountains hundreds of miles away on the other side.


    The rivers and streams had dried up, though.


    Thud!


    The sound fell into his ears.


    ''Are they finally here?''


    His eyes wandered to a certain area and the sound of feet stepping on the ground was clearly projected.


    Following which, a figure stepped out of the shadows of the closest ruined structure


    Thud!


    Thud!


    Amari tilted his head at the sight before him.


    It had ash like skin tone, bowed its head as it walked and wore tattered clothing that reached its knee with a few sets of metal armor pieces.


    The arms drooped beside it as it took every step forward in a lifeless manner. Kinda like a walking corpse.


    Amari looked on without saying a word.


    When Apokolips was destroyed, he realized that a second world was hidden beneath the planet.


    And as such, he certainly wouldn''t miss the inhabitants of this once glorious piece of history.


    Amari always knew that the Old Gods were still alive. As for the proof.......


    The figure suddenly raised its head sharply. Its eyes locked on Amari''s figure were pitch black with no irises within. Dark lines stretched from the bottom eyelids all over the face area, giving it a rather disturbing look.


    ..... Well¡­. There''s your proof right there.


    The Dreggs. Also known as the last surviving members of the Old Gods. They managed to survive the destruction of their world many years ago but were rendered mindless as the result.


    Originally beings with great power and might in the universe, they were reduced to nothing but creatures akin to zombies. Roaming in the catacombs of their planet for so long without being discovered.


    ¡°You''re a God.....¡±. Amari observed the male figure with keen interest, ignoring the obviously disturbing complexion.


    ¡°...... Or better to say you were¡±.


    ¡°Rarghhhhh¡±. As if it could understand his words, The Dregg roared loudly, resounding in the once quiet city. Then, it rushed towards Amari with extreme speed, like a rabid dog.


    With a single leap, the ground beneath it cracked as it propelled forward, causing a small area to shatter.


    Amari raised an eyebrow.


    ''Ok...... I stand corrected''. For a mindless God, this thing was strong. Not just strong, quite fast as well.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    With each step, the ground shattered.


    And in the blink of an eye, the distance of a hundred meters was covered as it rushed towards him without a trace of hesitation.


    Seeing this, Amari''s eyes glowed a bright blue.


    A vast force expanded throughout the surroundings, before clamping straight on the advancing figure.


    The Dregg stopped. Immobilized in the air by telekinetic forces.


    Looking at those pitch-black eyes, Amari watched indifferently as it struggled to break free.


    Using all of its strength, it tried to release itself with no success.


    ¡°A deranged race with great physical capabilities¡­.¡±. His plain voice was low, seeming as if he were muttering to himself. Judging from the features and what he could make out of this....... Thing in front of him, Amari could conclude that this man was a citizen of Ulgrund years ago.


    Just like the Forever people of New Genesis and the Lowlies of Apokolips, they couldn''t be considered gods in the truest sense as they represented nothing in particular.


    Similar to how Darkseid was the God Of Tyranny and Lonar was the God of Journeys. Scott Free was the God Of Escape and likewise. They gained their Godlike status from the ideals they represent.


    (The stronger the ideal, the more power they can draw from the Godsphere, connected to the source)


    True Gods all represented a certain belief, ideal, anything to link them to the universe as it was. As long as that ideal existed, they would forever be Gods.


    Those who had no ideals to represent were in-between.


    Not quite mortal but couldn''t be considered a True God either. False God then? Or a race similar to Kryptonians.


    And this being before him was one of them. A citizen who managed to survive the crisis but after turning into this, strangely had the same strength and speed as most of the Furies Amari he had faced.


    ''Why is that?''


    He couldn''t help but wonder.


    ''Also......''.


    Ignoring the roaring of the Dregg, his thoughts moved, and his Telekinesis began to take effect.


    The force immobilizing the old God in the air changed and instead of holding it in one place, began to pull it apart from both sides.


    ''...... What exactly should I make of you now?''


    Rarghhhhhhhhhh!


    From the loud, deafening roar, Amari was sure that this Dregg was releasing a pained scream.


    The sound of cracking bones fell into his ears and within his glowing blue eyes, the mindless creature was brutally ripped in two.


    Blood splattered all over the floor.


    Thud!


    Followed by the thudding sound created by two halves of a corpse being dropped.


    Amari examined the corpse of the Dregg before him, a frown adorning his face. Especially when his gaze laid on the blood of the creature.


    ''That''s blood?'' It wasn''t surprising why he was surprised as the color of this one was quite different from the norm.


    Red...... However, with an aura of orange flowing within it. This was....... Interesting. Looking at the creature''s blood, Amari couldn''t figure out whether the blood was a result of some kind of poisoning that turned them into what they were now, or perhaps it was something else......


    Wait! Something else?


    Examining the orange aura, Amari''s face showed an expression of realization.


    ''Those are...... Source marks''.


    Rarghhhhhhhhhh!


    The loud roars brought him out of his reverie.


    Yep, not a roar. Roars.


    The once quiet city suddenly seemed to come alive as loud, monstrous roars came from all directions.


    Amari''s expressionless face showed no change.


    He knew of this development a long time ago. After all, this was once the city of Gods. So, undoubtedly, there would be more than one of these creatures.


    The ground began to shake rapidly, as if experiencing an earthquake.


    And after the one Amari just killed, the second emerged. Then the third, fourth, fifth......... One by one in large numbers, they walked out of the city with pitch-black eyes, tattered clothing and hideous expressions on their faces.


    Meanwhile, locked away somewhere within the palace, a figure stared intensely at Amari''s figure through the eyes of the Dreggs themselves.

 Chapter 118 I Found A Fragment Of Anti-Life

    A wave of invisible energy, tore through the city grounds like a giant moving plough.


    Bang!


    Buildings collapsed, the earth was unearthed, and Dreggs were blown away, carried in the giant telekinetic storm.


    The destruction was so apparent that the whole place trembled with the attack released.


    Rarwrrrrrrr!


    Countless Dreggs roared while being held in the air as their limbs twitched. Obviously trying to break free.


    Snap!


    The sound of a fingersnap was swallowed within the noise created in the chaos. But the effect it created wasn''t.


    Blood stained the destroyed floors and scattered debris as dozens of Dreggs had major parts of their bodies explode into blood mist.


    Plop. Plop. Plop.


    Droplets of corrupted blood poured fell without end, pouring out of the corpses of the Dreggs.


    As whatever was left of their corpses fell, Their blackened eyes regained their original color. An observation that was well noted, however, mattered little to those who were already dead.


    ''That confirms that it''s all of them''.


    Amari thought to himself as more of Dreggs rushed towards him without regard for the level of power he had just displayed.


    The creatures rushed towards him in hordes like ravenous beings seeking nothing but to tear him apart, limb from limb.


    Seeing them appear in dozens, Amari felt slightly astonished at their numbers.


    They weren''t dead. Sure, that was acceptable. But how and why were so many of them still alive?


    The planet experienced a planetary blast, rupturing from the inside. The destruction of a planet was something that powerful beings could survive........ But Urgrund wasn''t a regular planet.


    A vast mental force spread throughout the area as Amari had his telepathy drill into their minds in an attempt discover just what had happened to these creatures.


    That was his intent.


    The result, however, left him quite fascinated.


    A nearby Dregg rushing over with full speed was invaded by Amari''s mental force. However, its actions didn''t stop in the slightest as it continued to attack.


    Nothing?


    Amari was surprised.


    With a thought, time seemed to come to a standstill and the movements of the rushing Dreggs slowed down infinitely.


    This wasn''t time stoppage or the slowing down of time itself. Instead, Amari had sped up his perception of time to an extremely high degree.


    With their figures still, the telepathy continued to invade without hesitation.


    Part of his consciousness soon appeared in a dark plane that seemed to stretch for miles.


    However, although it was dark, it wasn''t empty in the slightest. With his consciousness in place, the first thing that came to his sight was several floating glyphs made of fiery yellow energy.


    The glyphs, however, looked fractured or better put, weren''t complete. Looking exactly the same, each one occupied a certain area of this dark space within the Dreggs mind.


    These identical glyphs gave off a vile, sinister aura, projecting an emotion humans knew all too well.


    Despair......


    ''These are.....''.


    As if sensing his presence, the floating glyphs shook. The intensity of despair they exuded increased drastically, as if conveying their displeasure with his presence here.


    Amari frowned.


    These glyphs..... Were alive.


    Observing the floating symbols, a flash of orange light came from above, prompting Amari to raise his head up.


    And there it was.


    A large orange mark embedded throughout the area above him, splitting the darkness in two like a wide crack in the Grand canyons.


    The wide crack exuded an aura of pure, primal energy, constantly flooding the mental landscape with unfiltered power.


    This power was also spread throughout the rest of the body itself.


    A Source Mark.


    A mark transcending dimensions that was connected to the source itself.


    At that moment, Amari understood why his mental power had failed.


    Mind control wouldn''t work on these creatures. Simply because they had no minds anymore.


    They had no thoughts of their own, and whatever ray of consciousness they had left wasn''t theirs to control anymore. Their basic will had been destroyed, and all that was left was the impulse to attack any living thing that wasn''t one of them.


    As for the source mark?


    It didn''t have much to do with their current situation. Only serving to power what did.


    Just then, a giant glyph suddenly shot towards him with rapid speed, wanting to integrate into this new arrival.


    With an eyebrow raised, Amari watched as the glyph arrived in the blink of an eye.


    Bang!


    Unfortunately, its actions were unsuccessful as a translucent wall of mental energy revolved around Amari''s figure, shielding him from the symbol.


    ''Hmmm. This is interesting''. Seeing this, Amari tilted his head with a look of contemplation.


    The Glyph rebounded from the shield, yet attacked once again with no delay.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    With his hands by his sides, he watched as the floating symbol tried again and again to break through, ultimately failing in its endeavors.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ''It wants to possess me. Like it did the old Gods during their final moments''.


    Bang!


    With another unsuccessful possession, the glyph didn''t rush forward again this time, but floated back to its original spot in the air. Following which, the space trembled as the floating symbols all expelled a wave of energy in his direction.


    Their actions clearly expressed their intentions, which Amari easily summed up in two words.


    Get Out!


    Watching the wave of energy coming towards him, Amari''s figure disappeared from the mental space just as the energy wave rushed over.


    Coming back to the real world, his perception of time returned to normal as the Mindless Gods rushed forward in their numbers.


    ¡°Interesting......¡±.


    He raised his hand and uttered.


    ¡°But I''ve had enough. So¡­.¡±. His words stopped the next moment.


    To Amari''s surprise, he saw the rushing Dreggs suddenly come to a halt before his eyes. Their once pitch-black eyes glowed with a touch of white and an expression of struggle emerged on their numerous faces.


    ¡°Go!¡± It happened then. The Dregg closest to Amari that froze up had its twisted expression straighten up and suddenly opened its mouth and released words in human language.


    This development took him by surprise.


    However, the Dregg didn''t let him speak and continued.


    ¡°This is not the place for you to be. Leave now while you still can¡±.


    Amari''s eyebrows narrowed with realization.


    ¡°Let me guess, you should be the one that''s been spying on me¡±.


    If it could, the Dregg would probably frown.


    ¡°...... I can''t hold them back for long¡±.


    Amari nodded indifferently while looking at the struggling Mindless Gods.


    ¡°I can see that. But then again, why should I listen to you?¡±


    There was a moment of silence.


    ¡°...... Because I am the God of this domain. I..... Am¡­. Arzaz.....¡±.


    ''Oh!'' Amari was slightly surprised.


    ¡°You''re the Old God of Order¡±.


    ¡°..... Correct. And right now, you are in danger¡±.


    Rawrrrrrr!


    A small shriek resounded from a nearby Dregg. The white eyes began to show signs of darkening ad the pitch-black color began to spread slowly.


    ¡°Thanks, but I can take care of myself¡±.


    ¡°No you cannot!¡± His voice was booming, filled with a form of ancient majesty.


    ¡°There is a great evil here you do not understand. It has sensed your presence, and it seeks your soul. If you continue, it will stretch out to devour you whole. Even the might of the Gods are vulnerable before it. Just like us, you will be trapped here for eternity, with no way of escape¡±.


    Rawrrrrrr.


    ''I''ve lost control of one.....''.


    The previously struggling Dregg had its eyes return to pitch black. Following which, it leaped down from a tall building, with its outstretched hands, grabbing towards Amari.


    With a single thought, the attacking Dregg was blown to bits.


    Amari didn''t even turn his head.


    ¡°You mean the glyphs? They already tried¡±.


    "Do not underestimate this power. During the destruction of my world, my people fell to it. Their original abilities increased tenfold. These creatures are nothing more than mere citizens. Those who lie deeper are more powerful than you think".


    ¡°I know¡±. He replied.


    ¡°I can sense their presence¡±. As his words fell, his eyes inadvertently drifted to the large castle behind the army of Dreggs.


    There..... He could feel several powerful auras approaching this area. The energy signatures radiating off them were frighteningly high.


    And unlike the ones before him, these guys were the true old Gods. Beings who once stood at the top of the universe with access to a true ideal that made up their Godhead.


    But that was then. Now, they weren''t even in their right minds, and that alone made them all the more terrifying. Stronger than before, their bodies were flooded with source energy which now powered something vile and sinister that kept them within their current state.


    Something Darkseid had enslaved thousands of worlds in search of.


    ¡°.... Then go!¡±


    Arzaz said in an imposing voice.


    ¡°I have seen your power. But you cannot hope to match theirs¡±. Each God''s ideal granted them powerful abilities allowing them to travel through space and time itself.


    Strength capable of destroying planets with ease, agility approaching the speed of light, and the altering of reality were well within their skill sets.


    This was what truly defined them as Gods.


    Arzaz had seen Amari reconstruct Apokolips, but that was far from enough for what he was about to face.


    ¡°Hehehehe.....¡±. Hearing this, a chuckle escaped his lips.


    Amari didn''t know what to say at the feeling of being underestimated.


    ¡°Sorry to say....... But I''m not leaving¡±.


    Deep within the large palace at the center of the ruined city. An old man sat leaning back on a majestic throne made of Nth Metal. His eyes gave off a dazzling while glow and exuded waves of energy that shook the surrounding space.


    His body was clothed in ancient robes, and waves of pure white power of order flooded out of his being.


    This old man..... Was Arzaz. The Former God Of Order.


    Alongside ¡°The Nameless One¡± and Olgrun, he was the Chief God and ruler of the Gods of Norse Mythology.


    However, his majestic temperament didn''t match his physical condition in the slightest.


    His skin was pale white and dark lines stretched across his body, stopping at the base of his neck area.


    At this moment, the face of the old God couldn''t help but darken significantly. Not because he couldn''t resist the erosion any longer but due to the nonchalant words of the newcomer.


    ''This ungrateful brat!''


    The old God thought with gritted teeth.


    Although known as a benevolent god, this type of Insolence wouldn''t go unpunished during the days of Urgrund''s reign.


    But that was a thing of the past.


    After resisting this evil force for almost a million years, his power was far from what it once was. If this boy hadn''t arrived today, he would have run out of Divine power to resist the erosion eventually.


    At most, a few more years.


    But now, he was exhausting his power to keep the Dreggs at bay and communicate with this........ Entity to leave the Necropolis.


    As for why he labelled Amari as an entity...... Arzaz wasn''t a fool. Despite looking like it, this boy was no human. Neither was he an alien of any race he had ever seen.


    Of course, times had changed. The universe would not remain at the same state it was when their world was destroyed. Perhaps new life had grown on distant planets with powerful races strong enough to rival Gods.


    But that was highly unlikely. And the energy signature this being gave off was not one of an alien. More of a God similar to his kind. But at the same time, he strangely was not.


    Not a God, nor Demon, nor an alien.


    Amari was automatically labelled as an entity.


    But that wasn''t the point.


    Arzaz was a God of order. As such, the last thing he wanted was for this power to fall into the hands of one capable of causing great destruction.


    For several reasons, The Old Gods, mindless or not, were unable to leave this underground Labyrinth. And the evil force had remained trapped here with them ever since.


    Now..... That was going to change.


    A new soul had arrived in their world. One that didn''t have the same universal constraints they bore, preventing them from leaving this hellhole.


    As long as Amari remained within the Necropolis, he would be the target of the Dreggs. And once he was captured by the other old Gods who had lost their minds ages ago, the evil would infect him as well, ad use his body to escape the ruins of Urgrund.


    Once that happened, it meant possible destruction for the Multiverse as it was.


    Arzaz would never allow this to happen.


    ¡°Your actions will lead to your doom and will bring ruin to the Multiverse as it is¡±.


    ¡°Oh? Thank goodness. I almost cared¡±. Amari replied apathetically.


    ¡°.....¡±. The God Of Order seethed with fury. If he were at full strength, he would destroy this bastard right where he stood and out an end to the danger ahead.


    Outside, Amari looked at the white-eyed Dregg and uttered.


    ¡°Like I said. I''m not leaving. Not until I obtain what I came here for¡±.


    ¡°You are about to be destroyed, and your mind is still clouded with obtaining the weapons of the old Gods?¡± His voice boomed with rage.


    The multiverse and everything beyond was at stake, all because of this guy''s greed for their divine weapons?


    ¡°Hold on. I think you''re mistaken. Your weapons aren''t what I''m here for¡±.


    A smile appeared on his face.


    "Why would I care about your artifacts when in this very city lies a fragment of the Anti-Life Equation?"

 Chapter 119 The Anti-Life Entity

    Death, despair, loneliness, fear, love......


    These emotions, alongside others joined together would form a transcendent mathematical equation that equalled the end of all Free Will.


    Implanting the certainty that all life is hopeless and freedom was a futile concept, effectively dooming those who heard it to despair.


    Anti-Life...... The enemy of Freedom. A living, sentient formula that could dominate the will of any sentient race in the universe.


    Capable of distorting reality to achieve complete dominance, it gained its name from the concept that if you had no will of your own, you weren''t truly alive.


    The God Of Tyranny once came across the Martians whose whole philosophy was based on the Life Equation.


    And with that knowledge, he began to scour the multiverse in search of the opposite. Destroying planet after planet so all of existence would be his to rule.


    Yet nearly a million years ago, the formula itself had leaked from the Antimatter universe during the destruction of the Old Gods.


    Having its own sentience, it sought to corrupt and control the surviving remnants of the ones of old within their weakened state.


    It succeeded.


    The Gods of old were all dominated under Anti-Life, their wills enslaved to its power.


    Few managed to resist its erosion as time went by. While many eventually succumbed to its power.


    Arzaz, the old God of order was one of them. With the destruction of his planet, all inhabitants of Urgrund were infected with Anti-Life. In his weakened state, he released his divine authority and sealed the ruins of the old world, trapping the Anti Life equation within.


    After the sealing of the Necropolis, he had resisted the power of Anti-Life for thousands of years.


    ¡°...... You seek the Undoing". The Dregg uttered hoarsely with darkening eyes.


    Amari could see that the Old God was faltering. Years of resistance had left Arzaz weaker and weaker.


    He should have won. After all, Anti-life was ultimately an Equation at its core. It was meant to be wielded, and controlling an entire civilization of weakened Gods was more than what could be sustained after all this time.


    This however, was where the source Mark came in. The destruction of Urgrund had devastated the Old Gods yet opened them to greater source power at the same time. Those who survived would have their bodies filled with excess source energy with time.


    The Equation drew power from the Source Mark of the fallen Gods to maintain there mindless state.


    ¡°Not seek it. More like stumbled upon it¡± Upon Apokolis''s destruction, he had sensed the power of Anti-Life that carried the signature of the Antimatter universe.


    When the planet was destroyed, it quickly began to dissipate into the surrounding space like salt in water.


    And so, Amari turned back time, once again trapping the Equation within the Necropolis.


    Looking at the Dregg before him, he opened his mouth and continued.


    ¡°You probably don''t know. But a multiversal tyrant has been destroying worlds across the multiverse trying to locate it. So.....¡±.


    At that moment, he shrugged slightly.


    ¡°..... Since I''ve discovered it, why pass it up?¡±


    Honestly, he found this situation interesting.


    Darkseid had destroyed numerous planets all over the universe searching for it. Yet, it was quite literally under his feet the whole time.


    Thousands of years, the destruction of so many civilizations across the multiverse..... All of it was pure waste of time.


    Arzaz''s dark face, if possible, grew darker.


    ¡°The undoing should never fall into the hands of anyone. Its very nature does nothing but bring chaos and destruction. Those who possess it will be corrupted by its power and use it for such¡±.


    ¡°And?¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°What does it matter to me?¡±


    ¡°I will never allow this¡±.


    ¡°Then stop me if you can¡±.


    The face of the God of Order turned cold.


    ¡°The consequences of your actions will bring war to all realms. To obtain Anti-Life, you will have to battle the fallen Gods it now controls. Even at my peak, I am no match for their newly combined strength¡±.


    In the throne room, the dark marks continued to inch up his neck with everything passing moment.


    The white eyes of the Dreggs darkened rapidly.


    ¡°I warn you for the last time. Leave this place, or suffer the consequences¡±.


    Amari felt like laughing. It was quite clear that the old God was at the end of his rope. Even at full strength, it was questionable if he could even put up a fight much less in this state.


    ¡°I appreciate the warning¡±. His glowing eyes thrummed with power as he raised his right hand again.


    ¡°But I think I''ll take my chances¡±.


    ¡°Then you leave me no choice¡±.


    The body of the old man began to leak large amounts of source energy. A complex circular pattern appeared underneath his throne, exuding white lights.


    ¡°Forgive me Sirius¡±.


    His voice was nothing more than a soft mutter.


    A wave of energy surged from his being, impacting everything in the surroundings. The soul of Arzaz escaped from his body, just before his body turned completely pale.


    The dark lines extended all the way to his face, growing right beneath his closed eyelids.


    Outside.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    As Arzaz lost control, the bodies of the dreggs were retained by the glyphs.


    The one once possessed suddenly lit up with a bright white color. Following which, a phantom shot out of it, heading straight towards Amari.


    ¡°I will not allow Anti-life to enslave the universe¡±.


    Without so much as moving a muscle, Amari watched as the soul form of the God Of Order flew into his body.


    ¡°Even if it means having to destroy your soul¡±.


    Area uttered solemnly as he exerted the last of his divine power without restraint.


    His strength was weak, much weaker than at his peak. But A God was still a God.


    Gathering the last trace of divine power he could muster, Arzaz launched an attack, bypassing physical defenses all the way to Amari''s soul.


    His goal was simple. Destroy Amari, take the body for himself, and seal the Necropolis in the process. When he gathered enough power, he would search for a way to open a portal to the antimatter universe, banishing the Dreggs and The Undoing back to its dimension alongside it.


    This was the final countermeasure the Old God could think. And so, it flew into Amari without hesitation.


    Bang!


    A shockwave emerged from the collision and was reabsorbed in nanoseconds.


    The floating soul of Arzaz rebounded with a face full of shock and disbelief.


    ¡°You done?¡± Amari''s eyebrows couldn''t get any higher. This was the second time someone was attempting to destroy his soul.


    ¡°I...... Impossible¡±. Arzaz was filled with utter disbelief.


    The Old Gods were once at the top of the universe. Despite the passing of a million years, the changes experienced shouldn''t be this great.


    The first being he had encountered after so long was so powerful.


    ¡°Good. Now it''s my turn¡±. Amari''s eyes narrowed with chilling murderous intent.


    ¡°You...... What are you?¡±


    ¡°The last thing you''ll ever see. I didn''t want to kill Darkseid, as doing so would mess up the multiverse. You on the other hand......¡±. The same concept applied to Arzaz before him.


    This old man was the God of order. In regular circumstances, his absolute death would lead to chaos in the multiverse........ But that was before Nabu and the Lord''s of order arrived.


    After nearly a million years of absence, his role had been replaced long ago.


    With that thought, Amari stretched out his hand towards the floating soul and his eyes glowed.


    The next moment, Arzaz''s face changed drastically.


    His soul form began to rapidly deconstruct right before his very eyes.


    ¡°Stop!¡± The Old God exclaimed in terror and attempted to flee.


    ''Freeze''.


    However, he found himself bound in place.


    Crack!


    ¡°No! Stop! You can''t do this¡±. Watching his Godhead begin to shatter.


    ¡°Watch me¡±. The ice-cold tone could freeze a planet.


    Crack!


    ¡°I am Arzaz. Do you hear me? I''m the God of order. You can''t kill me¡±.


    ¡°Hehehehe.....¡±. Amari didn''t know why, but he suddenly felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu today.


    If he remembered correctly, Darkseid said the same thing earlier. Well, it would be just right to reply in the same way.


    ¡°Newsflash, I don''t care¡±.


    Bang!


    It happened then. Just when the Godhead was about to crack, the sky rumbled with a flash of blue thunder.


    ''Seriously? What bad timing''.


    The thought had barely flashed past his mind when the weather changed rapidly. In the blink of an eye, dark storm clouds covered the entire underground city with flashes of lightning crackling within.


    ''A storm? In an underground Labyrinth?''


    Boom!


    Thunder boomed and lightning crackled. Hundreds of large bolts of lightning were thrown towards him from all directions, emerging from the storm cloud in the sky.


    Boom!


    The impact caused the earth itself to shake crazily, disturbing the energy shield that shielded this city from the perception of their neighbors upstairs.


    The convergence of so much destructive power in one spot caused the earth to be uprooted, dust and debris flying in all directions.


    A flash of white light expanded rapidly as the energy generated began to cover the buildings around it and expand.


    Rawrrrrrr!


    The Dreggs closest to the area were immediately swallowed by the expulsion of divine energy, disintegrating to atoms when caught within.


    From the looks of it, it seemed that all of Urgrund''s ruins would be swallowed by the power equivalent to a nuclear bomb and growing rapidly.


    However, the divine energy suddenly halted before shrinking back just as fast as it built up. Less than a second later, everything receded back to the point of origin, all absorbed into Amari''s physique.


    Amari''s figure could be seen once again. His posture straight and his clothes as spotless as ever.


    The same couldn''t be said for his surroundings.


    Right now, his body floated above a very deep ditch that expanded for more than ten miles.


    Everything within this distance had been razed to the ground, leaving nothing but rubble and ashes.


    Typical. However, he couldn''t care about this even if he wanted to.


    Because right before his eyes, six figures could be seen floating high in the skies above him.


    Their faces were ghastly pale, their eyes as black as night. Unlike the Dreggs below, these ones had gone a step further down the corruption phase.


    Not only were their faces pale, numerous Anti-Life glyphs emerged on the exposed areas of their skin, radiating a deadly orange color.


    These were the Old Gods of the first world who survived the first destruction and began the Godwave.


    ¡°Ok then...... I''m guessing you''re the one responsible for that¡±. His eyes fell on one located near the end of the group by his right.


    The Dregg had a clear feminine figure with a face covered in a striking black helmet. Two bolts of glowing blue lightning were held within her grasp as she, alongside the rest of them, stared at Amari below coldly.


    They didn''t speak, neither did they growl and roar like the other Dreggs below.


    Seeing that they weren''t attacking, a frown appeared on his features. Were they scared?


    Not likely.


    As for why they didn''t attack, Amari didn''t know and honestly, he didn''t want to. And so, he stretched out his right hand and a ball of destructive energy converged on his palm.


    With each passing second, more and more energy was adding into this small ball of destruction.


    This had gone on for long enough. He didn''t want to stay here too long.


    It happened then.


    The flying Gods of the old world finally made their move. However, this move wasn''t in the form of an attack. Instead, they all proceeded to hold hands with each other. Following which, they opened their mouths and an orange substance emerged from within their being, floating into the air above them.


    Amari watched with surprise as the glyphs on their skin disappeared and a cloud of orange energy emerged above them.


    Eventually....... This energy changed color rapidly, from a sinister looking orange to a pitch-black cloud, forming the silhouette of a black shadow.


    A large black shadow enveloped the entire city at that moment. The mass of black energy condensed to form arms, a body, and a face hidden under a cloak of darkness.


    Now standing before Amari was a being of colossal size, emitting high waves of antimatter energy from its form.


    There were no eyes within that cloaked face. However, he could feel a piercing gaze boring into his very soul.


    ¡°You.......¡±. The hoarse tone couldn''t possibly get any more demonic than this.


    ¡°....... Are different¡±.


    The ball of energy continued to condense.


    ¡°Now what should I call you?¡±


    First it was the Dreggs, then Arzaz appeared....... Now this.


    ¡°I am the dark at the end of everything. The end of universes, gods, worlds¡­of everything. I........ am Anti-Life, the Beast of Judgment¡±.

 Chapter 120 End Of Anti-Life

    ¡°I am the dark at the end of everything. The end of universes, gods, worlds¡­of everything. I........ am Anti-Life, the Beast of Judgment¡±.


    Its sentence came out slowly, drawing each word for an extended duration than was necessary. The tone was deep, dark, and it didn''t even speak, neither was the language in English.


    The message was transmitted straight towards Amari''s ears, bypassing the travel of sound.


    All that combined would equate to one feeling. Creepy!


    The massive dark shadow loomed over the entire city, covering Amari within it as the air fissured with antimatter energy.


    The giant creature stretched its massive dark hand, its fingers moving to hover above his head.


    ¡°...... And thank you ........¡±.


    ¡°Huh?¡± An exclamation came out of Amari''s mouth with slight surprise.


    ¡°...... For...... freeing me¡±.


    Oh!


    ¡°But I didn''t do anything¡±.


    ¡°Hehehehe.......¡±.


    The surroundings shook with great intensity as the horrific laughter emerged. Its face couldn''t be seen, neither did it move an inch, but the laughter was ever resounded.


    One could use all sorts of words to describe it.


    Creepy, disturbing, distorted, demonic


    ¡°Your presence................. Was all that was....... needed¡±.


    ¡°Because of you...... The Old God''s power diminished rapidly. Giving me........ The chance to ...... escape.....¡±.


    The Anti Life Entity extended its perception vastly. The shield once powered by Area was gone, due to the death of his God form.


    And so, the perception of Anti Life emerged from the Necropolis, shrouded all of Apokolips and grew wildly.


    In less than a second, the Godsphere was included in its perception range, alongside all realms that lay within its borders. Then, the rest of the DC Multiverse...... Earth 1, Earth 2...... Earth 3...... The Far realms.....


    Seconds passed...... And all existence was included in the gaze of Anti Life.


    The surviving citizens of Apokolips all felt a chill run down their spines. A wave of negative emotions swept across the multiverses, making all sentient life feel like they were being targeted with great malicious intent.


    ¡°The multiverse......... So much life...... So much desire.......¡±.


    It continued to speak without regard for the being before him. Amari, who was momentarily ignored, didn''t mind.


    If not for the fact that he couldn''t see this thing''s face, he would have sworn that it was drooling at this point with a look akin to a starved fat man seeing a live pig.


    The voice was full of greed, hunger even....... As all of existence was eyed by the Anti Life Entity like a giant piece of candy.


    ¡°How it has all grown since I last perceived it....... This wouldn''t have been possible....... If not for you¡±.


    Finally, it seemed to remember that it still had an unattended guest before it.


    ¡°.... Trapped..... In this wretched labyrinth...... By an old God nearing the end of his time. I have suffered in imprisonment for eons......¡±.


    The tone shifted from mockery to slight rage and anger.


    ¡°I feel your pain¡±. Amari nodded with a look of understanding. ¡°Trapped in the same place while being harassed by an old pervert who refuses to let you go no matter what..... I can''t think of anything worse¡±.


    Amari uttered with a smile. His words carrying no regard for the well-built gloomy atmosphere.


    ¡°......... Interesting .......... Creature you are.....¡±. The voice suddenly took a darker tone.


    ¡°..... Not a human..... Not an old God either..... Yet possesses the power of one¡±.


    The shadowed hood leaned closer.


    ¡°... Yes¡­. I can sense it. All that power...... The energy within.....¡±. Unlike Arzaz who had grown weaker and weaker after a million years of resistance, so much to the point that his senses had failed him, the Anti Life Entity bore no such weakness.


    He could sense what Amari was. He could feel the connection this being before him had to the Godsphere, yet strangely could not cut this power off.


    Neither could he discern the ideal this being belonged to. Was he a God? Or a concept gaining sentience itself?


    ¡°No connection to the source........ The perfect host¡±.


    ¡°...... Exactly¡­. what I''ve been waiting for¡±.


    ¡°And what''s that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°...... An offer ¡­.¡±.


    There was a brief silence as both creatures looked at each other without uttering a word.


    As the seconds passed by, the tension in the air grew palpable. Until........ Amari broke it.


    ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°..... All of existence".


    The space rumbled once again. ¡°I have waited eons to dominate all will, but was held captive by an Old God left in a weakened state. Ultimately, I am an equation. Alone my power is not enough to fulfill my goal, which is why I want you¡±.


    ¡°Integrate with me. Your power and my abilities would make us an unstoppable force. Capable of having all of existence at our disposal¡±.


    ¡°.... Universe after universe, realm after realm...... From one dimension to another¡­.¡±.


    ¡°...... All Existence will be ours to control .....¡±.


    The hoarse words were eerily disturbing.


    ¡°Interesting...... Proposal. Good sales pitch¡±. Amari nodded.


    ¡°The idea of having everything at your disposal is quite tempting. Unfortunately.......¡±. His glowing blue eyes shone with ambient light.


    ¡°.... You found the wrong customer¡±.


    Following which Amari gestured.


    ¡°But in case there''s ever a next time, I think you should know. Beings, at our level, have cosmic awareness. And your desire to possess me....... Is a bit too strong for my liking¡±.


    ¡°....... Hehehehe¡­. Hehe hahaha.... Hahaha haha.....¡±. The giant dark silhouette that looked akin to a grim reaper laughed eerily.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°...... Hehehehe...... What¡­. A shame..... No matter. Your soul will be granted the chance.......... to witness me enslave all sentient life that exists¡±.


    It happened then. The earth beneath Amari that was bombarded with large amounts of Divine power suddenly lit up with a sinister orange color.


    Antimatter emerged from the hole at the speed of light, encasing Amari floating above it.


    ¡°Your power is tremendous........... And your soul will be mine to command¡±.


    The condensed silhouette of darkness that was the Anti Life Entity suddenly turned into a stream of light, flying straight into Amari''s body.


    With the Entity rushing straight into his body. ..... Streams of Dark energy flowed constantly as the giant silhouette of Anti Life shrunk rapidly. Until it was completely absorbed.


    Silence ............ The booming atmosphere grew deadly silent as Amari hovered in the air, completely motionless.


    His eyes were closed, and his hands lay beside him. The air around began to twist and turn rapidly as vortexes converged at his left and right.


    The next moment....... On his flawless skin emerged deep glyphs representing the power of the Anti Life Equation.


    His eyelids fluttered for a few seconds before opening to reveal a characteristic pitch-black color akin to that possessed by the dreggs.


    Meanwhile, within Amari''s spiritual space.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    Squelch!


    The scene of the Anti Life Entity appearing out of the void and piercing through Amari''s chest with its large bone like hand played out.


    Squelch!


    ¡°Hehehehe......¡±.


    Blood began to rush out rapidly as the dark silhouette trembled with ecstasy as he looked at the unmoving figure that was Amari''s spiritual form.


    ¡°Your body truly is a treasure. Your soul ...... Even more. Again...... I say thank you¡±.


    Glyphs of Anti Life began to appear in the space around them.


    ¡°I can sense the unique signature on your soul. Now I know ........ what''s so special about you. Hahaha....... A soul not from this multiverse. One from beyond the Source itself. Truly priceless¡±.


    The dark shadow leaned closer to Amari''s ear.


    ¡°This will be the final key I need. Your soul will enable me to pass through the source wall after all of existence in this multiverse is under my control¡­.¡±.


    ¡°The old Gods are gone. Nothing can stop me¡±.


    ¡°Your actions today will mark the birth of a new Era, the era of the end of free will, the era of Anti-Life¡±.


    The eerie laughter resounded in the atmosphere.


    At that moment, the still spiritual boy within Anti Life''s grasp suddenly moved.


    ¡°A new era? Why didn''t I hear anything about this?¡± The lowered head rose to face the stiffened posture of Anti Life with a smile on his face and eyes brimming with murderous intentions.


    ¡°.... What.....¡±.


    Anti Life was shocked.


    At that moment, the ball of destruction appeared on Amari''s palm. Following which, he slammed it right on the chest area of the dark looking grim reaper in front of him without restraint.


    A cloud of a dark red energy engulfed the dark silhouette, smashing it dozens of feet into the distance.


    ¡°Rawrhhhhhhh¡±. A ghastly shriek like a devil''s cry emerged, one no human throat could possibly replicate.


    It sounded like the Dreggs, only more horrid.


    The Ball of Destruction didn''t explode and scatter in all directions as a bomb would, but rather began to spread around the Anti Life Entity rapidly, seeking to consume it whole.


    Feeling the spreading energy that clung tighter than an obsessive girlfriend, the dark silhouette roared in pain for the first time in all of its existence.


    Following which, its body turned illusory, just like Amari''s did whenever he wanted to avoid something.


    ¡°The Gods are dead? No one can stop you, huh?"


    With a single thought, the blood flowing from his chest area disappeared without a trace. His clothes were back to normal, looking as good as always.


    ¡°.... Tch....... You''re awfully presumptuous, wouldn''t you say?¡± Clicking his tongue, he looked at the abstract entity materializing a great distance away.


    ¡°This....... Is impossible¡±. A roar emerged from the darkness under the hood. If his eyes were deceiving, Amari was sure that he saw this thing tremble slightly.


    ¡°I...... You can''t.....¡±.


    ¡°Can''t what?¡± Amari cut him off and waved his hand.


    ¡°Did you really think it would be that easy? This is my space ....... My reality......¡±. A giant sword appeared out of thin air. His hand grabbed the hilt, and he thrust it forward with extreme strength and precision.


    Seeing the attacking sword, Anti Life wanted to avoid this. It didn''t like It, but this creature was capable of harming him. Until it could solve the issue of that dark energy, precautions must be taken.


    However, it was horrified to discover that he was immobilized.


    ''I..... I can''t move''.


    ¡°I control everything here!¡±


    The conjured weapon pierced right through the face of the hooded creature, sending it flying several feet away and causing it to scream again in the process.


    ¡°Your chances of winning outside were so slim to begin with. What the hell gave a mere fragment the courage to think it could defeat me within my soul space?¡±


    With obvious annoyance and anger in his tone, his will spread out and the figure of Anti Life was pulled back towards him at a speed faster than it flew out.


    ''No¡­. No! I can''t lose...... I won''t lose¡­.!'' Time dilations emerged from it, in an attempt to twist the course of the battle.


    Too bad, they were nullified before they could take effect.


    A giant force acted on it the next second. Freezing it in place a meter away from his enemy.


    ¡°Your types are annoying. Wanting nothing more than to rule all of existence. If you want to rule so badly..... Create your own universe¡±. Amari''s face carried a hint of annoyance.


    He just dealt with one such fellow a few hours ago.


    ¡°...¡± The frozen Anti Life Entity looked at Amari through the dark hood.


    ¡°.... How? With the earlier trap, your time should have been frozen. You shouldn''t be able to even think¡±.


    The ray of orange light was antimatter energy. As an abstract entity, The Anti Life Equation was capable of manipulating time to a certain extent.


    Chronokinesis was a specialty it possessed.


    ¡°I know. I absorbed it¡±.


    Absorbing all forms of energy was one thing. But there were things that couldn''t be absorbed.


    For one, Gravity...... Another Time. So, Amari decided to fix this weakness, and he did the day he absorbed the essence of Amazo and the Parasite monster.


    Amazo could analyze and replicate the characteristics of any ability it could see regardless of distance. No physical contact was required, while parasite would absorb the characteristics of anything it could touch.


    Their essences combined with his, a little adjustment and a dash of massive amounts of power capable of destroying a universe..... He gained the ability to absorb, copy and negate anything and everything he could lay his eyes on. Abstract concepts were well included.


    ¡°I-impossible¡±.


    Anti Life exclaimed.


    This was really impossible. Absorbing time itself was unheard of.


    ¡°Shocked? Don''t worry, I''ll show you¡±.


    He had a doubting Thomas before him. This must be corrected at all costs.


    And so, to the horror of the Abstract entity, it found itself getting assimilated into the surrounding space.


    ¡°No! No..... Nooooo!¡± The shrill roar resounded yet again.


    Amari watched passively as his subconscious devoured the Anti Life equation without mercy.


    ¡°So this fragment of Anti-Life is gone, huh?" He called out to the empty space.


    ¡°Yes...... But it''s just a fragment and, therefore, just a part of it. The sentience of Anti Life exist in the full equation itself. It basically resides in the minds of anyone who knows it, as well as the Antimatter universe¡±.


    A voice replied to his question behind him.


    Amari turned around and the exact replica of his face appeared before him.


    ¡°...¡±. There was silence for a few moments.


    ¡°I see we''re adapting well. So how does it feel to..... Feel¡±. The other half asked.


    ¡°Sometimes, its messy¡±. He replied.


    ¡°Still, I don''t feel any drastic changes¡±.


    ¡°There weren''t supposed to be any. We''re the same. You just stopped being too emotionless and learned to give a damn every now and then".


    ¡°I guess........¡±.


    ¡°...¡±. There was another bout of silence.


    ¡°Are you ready to remember?¡±


    ¡°...... No. Not yet¡±. Amari shook his head after a little thought.


    ¡°Let''s finish with this whole thing first. We''ll get to that after¡±.


    The other half shrugged, then asked after a moment of thought.


    ¡°What do we do with the Dreggs? The effect of Anti-Life is gone. They''ll all wake up eventually¡±.


    ¡°What do you propose?¡±


    ¡°Kill them?¡±


    Both fell into thought, seriously considering the possibility.


    ¡°No. I have a better idea¡±.

 Chapter 121 Wolf God Sirius

    Outside the DC Multiverse......


    Apokolips .......


    Underground Necropolis.......


    .....


    The ruins of Urgrund looked even more ruined than it was before. Almost every towering structure that once was, had been destroyed.


    The large amounts of rubble everywhere gave the place a nice touch to it. The oppressive atmosphere was engulfed in utter silence as not even the wind blew within this destroyed kingdom of the Gods.


    As far as the eye could see, no life could be found in this place. Not even the Dreggs that once roamed it.


    A considerable amount of time had passed since Amari''s battle against the Anti Life Equation. With the loss of Arzaz''s power, the underground Necropolis fell into darkness as the torches that had been lit for a million years finally went out.


    The negative energy of the planet began to seep in as well with the loss of the energy shield.


    The walls and floors grew hotter and hotter with each second that passed as the ruins were closer to the planet''s core. Absorbing small amounts of the raging flaming energy that shot out of the holes of the planet.


    And ever since he left, this city remained the same way without any form of intrusion.


    And perhaps with enough time, the whole space would be destroyed. Buried completely to cover up all that suggested the old Gods once resided here.


    ....... At least...... It should have been that way.


    Thud!


    The sound of a foot impacting against the ground could be heard.


    Shrieekkkkkkk!


    Loud shrieks akin to demon cries resounded through the cave hole as large numbers of Parademons flew out of the tunnel exit.


    Despite the deep darkness, the eyes of the Parademons glowed in the dark, enabling them to see everything around them clearly enough.


    Thud! Thud! Thud!


    The parademons all gave way as someone stepped through the tunnel exit behind them.


    A large, armored creature stepped out of the tunnel with his head slightly lowered to fit through.


    Raising his head and standing straight, the sight of the ruins of Urgrund fell into his eyes.


    ¡°What do we have here......?¡± His voice rumbled as he spoke. Within the grasp of this giant man was a silver colored axe that gave off a special luster in the darkness.


    He wore armor that covered everywhere on his body, all the way up to his neck. The helm on his head had two horns protruding from the sides, stretching upward and bent slightly.


    ''So this is where the seismic disturbance was coming from''.


    Stepphenwolf thought with a frown and made a forward gesture.


    The hovering Parademons immediately scattered in all directions to explore the vast land.


    Sniff!


    Just then, the nose of the General of Apokolips twitched slightly.


    ¡°This ........¡±.


    Sniff.....


    The smell of something he knew all too well wafted into his nose. He knew that smell.


    Following which, the giant of a man took a huge leap forward. His two feet impacting against the ground dozens of meters away.


    Bang!


    Dust and debris flew in all directions. Stepphenwolf paid it no heed. With a solemn expression hidden behind his helm, he walked a few feet forward and lowered his body slightly.


    He stretched out his arm and used two fingers to rub against something on the floor. Bringing it back to his face, the red, sticky substance appeared before his eyes, once again wafting into his nose.


    ¡°.... Old Gods.". A growl emerged from his throat as Stepphenwolf''s eyes narrowed to the extreme.


    This was impossible. The old Gods were supposed to be dead, all of them. But the smell he perceived was no mistake.


    The divine energy within the air had faded after considerable time, but the smell of God Blood wouldn''t change until it completely dried up.


    At the moment, Apokolips was in chaos. Darkseid was gone, and the planet was nearly destroyed. A large number of buildings had been destroyed, and the majority Darkseid''s elite had been killed.


    When ¡°he¡± attacked, Stepphenwolf had managed to flee from the blast area in time alongside Kalibak.


    As for Granny Goodness, Doctor Bedlam, Virman Vundabur, Desaad ....... Everyone else was dead. Annihilated within the energy blast, not even bones were left.


    With Darkseid gone and half of Darkseid''s council dead, the planet had fallen into an inexplicable state of panic. And as the General of Darkseid''s Army, Stepphenwolf had been organizing order on the planet while Kalibak who survived alongside him was trying to usurp the throne, gaining a firm control on Apokolips before the others returned.


    If not for the fact that the seismic fluctuations that troubled the planet the same day was too big to ignore, the New God never would have come down here to investigate.


    The Old Gods....... Were alive?


    Rawrrrrrr!


    A Parademon appeared before him and let out a small, nasal roar.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    To a human, it would look like the ramblings of an alien. But to him, that wasn''t the case.


    ¡°No life in the area¡±.


    The Parademon''s had scoured the area. There was no trace of life that could be found within these ruins.


    Stepphenwolf was a bit puzzled.


    What was wrong? Could it be a mistake?


    Clad in dark battle armor, the face of the New God was incredibly unsightly. Apokolips was having enough trouble as it is. If Old God''s were brought into the picture.......


    ¡°General Stepphenwolf¡±.


    At that moment, a female voice sounded behind him.


    ¡°....¡±. There was a moment of silence.


    Stepphenwolf didn''t say a word, still deep within his thoughts.


    The female didn''t mind and waited.


    And so, after a while of waiting..... ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Your son Rublon is looking for you¡±.


    ¡°Tell that bastard I''m busy¡±. He replied with a perfunctory tone.


    Bernadeth frowned.


    ¡°He thought you might say that. And states that Lord Kalibak requests your presence¡±.


    The words fell, Stepphenwolf''s face grew hideous.


    ''That Bastard''. On Apokolips, they only referred to one person as Lord. That was Darkseid, the Ruler of The Planet. Now Darkseid was gone, his life and death unknown.


    It had barely been a few days, and that bastard son of his had already chosen to be a lackey for Kalibak, acknowledging him as the ruler of the planet.


    The ugly expression was fleeting.


    ¡°I see¡±. Stepphenwolf had little desire for the throne. At least...... Not when Darkseid''s fate remained unknown. Kalibak was daring enough to lay claim to the throne of Apokolips without knowing if his father was dead or alive.


    His brother would probably do the same the moment he arrived.


    As long as he didn''t see Darkseid''s corpse, Uxas''s uncle would never be able to muster the will to try to rule Apokolips. Nevertheless, that didn''t mean he was going to be pushed around either.


    ¡°You can leave. I will see my Nephew''s son when I''m done. For now.......¡±. His eyes scanned the surroundings.


    ¡°.... I have other things to do¡±.


    Thud!


    Stepphenwolf fell on one knee and placed his hand on the ground.


    Then, he lowered his head, closed his eyes and opened his senses.


    The Parademon''s informed him that there was no trace of life here.


    For these mindless creatures, Stepphenwolf definitely wouldn''t take their shrieks for it.


    And so, to confirm whether or not there was anything alive here, he decided to take a look himself.


    For a being with a nose sensitive enough to recognize the smell of blood he sensed thousands of years ago, Stepphenwolf''s five major senses were vastly superior to other New Gods


    And so, his hearing extended towards every corner of the Necropolis, seemingly searching for anything conspicuous.


    ''Nothing''.  The thought passed through his mind after staying still for several seconds. His hearing continued to sweep throughout the area, a picture of every detail forming within his mind.


    ¡°Hmmm?¡± Several more seconds passed, and Stepphenwolf finally found something interesting.


    Within the destroyed castle....... There was a courtyard with stone tiles that led to an underground chamber. One that his senses could not penetrate. The moment he tried, the symbol drawn on the ground let out a faint glow, repelling him.


    Stepphenwolf opened his eyes.


    Standing to his feet, his gaze was fixed on the ruined palace of the old Gods.


    ¡°Interesting.....¡±. That was the only word he said before walking towards the castle, leaving the confused and solemn bernadeth standing behind him.


    Meanwhile ............ Through the enchanted floor that hid the underground passageway, was a long fleet of stairs that moved thousand of miles deep into the planet''s crust.


    The long staircase eventually came to end, revealing a massive ancient door nearly a hundred meters tall.


    This door was the entrance to The Black Ways.


    And behind this gate were numerous cells that held the withered bones of creatures who had turned to dust after being locked up in this prison for many millennia.


    Going past that was another set of doors, enchanted with ancient spell symbols and powerful restriction magic.


    Meant to seal away the greatest threats to the Gods of old themselves.


    But unlike the other cells, the creature locked behind this one was still alive


    Trapped within the darkness, a giant wolf behemoth nearly a thousand meters tall, opened its eyes.


    This was Sirius, The Great Wolf God.


    ............


    Meanwhile..... Back on Earth.


    4616 N Moore Street, Gotham City (Corporate Headquarters)


    The lights in the building of Strader Pharmaceuticals was still on even at this time of the night.


    Recently, the company that was on the verge of bankruptcy seemed to be drugged with an overdose of vitality in the past few weeks.


    Gotham City experts, journalists, news reporters and businessmen had dug deep into the matter with whatever channels they had at their disposal.


    The results were surprising.


    Apparently, Strader Pharmaceuticals had received fresh injection of a large amount of capital into the company''s finances to resume operations on their projects.


    The massive amount of a billion dollars in the first week was enough to shake the medical Industry for a short amount of time.


    Gone were the days of tethering on the edge, hello to smooth research operations.


    The staff couldn''t be any happier.


    Major news networks had gone on to disclose the possibility that Strader Pharmaceuticals had been acquired by a mysterious rich man with an abundance of assets and nothing to do with it.


    The identity of this mysterious person was unknown, but Slade didn''t care.


    Standing at the window of a building a great distance away, the man looked at the location of tonight''s operation with narrowed eyebrows.


    Recent Intel suggested that Strader Pharmaceuticals had once again begun research on the Pheno Drug.


    After learning of this organization''s past, Deathstroke just felt that things had gotten tricky.


    Before, the company was on the edge of bankruptcy. As long as they approached someone with enough authority, they could negotiate a deal to successfully buy the defective formulas needed for Doctor Langstrom''s research.


    As for why not steal it directly?


    Slade wanted to avoid Batman as much as possible.


    Sure enough, even when they called in an Airstrike to destroy Langstrom''s apartment with Batman in it, the Caped Crusader still didn''t die.


    Talk about difficult to kill.


    Anyway, it wasn''t his money being used to trade for the Serum, so Slade didn''t mind having it done the easier way. In fact, he quite preferred it.


    But now, things had changed. Research and development had resumed. The need for trade had disappeared due to it.


    Now, they could only go with plan B.


    For Doctor Langstrom to complete his work, the defective Super serum developed by Strader Pharmaceuticals was essential.


    .....


    Time had gone well into the night. And at this moment, Strader Pharmaceuticals suddenly experienced a power outage.


    A quiet infiltration planned by Deathstroke and his team was taking place right that minute. Unknown to them, however, a blonde girl, dressed up in a green costume, mask, a bow in her hand and a quiver full of arrows was silently watching their actions, ready to intervene at any time.

 Chapter 122 Artemiss Stakeout

    United States......


    Gotham City......


    October 17, 22:23 MDT


    .......


    Artemis was clad in her midriff-baring costume that was colored in various shades of green.


    Standing in front of the mirror, the blonde took a look at what she wore, her gaze lingering on her athletic build for a moment and gaze a curt nod.


    Following which, she picked up her bow, loaded with quivers and strapped it to her back.


    ¡°Going somewhere?¡± The voice sounded in her ears, causing her to turn her head in its direction.


    There, a Vietnamese woman with black hair and dark gray colored eyes sat at the front door with a worried look on her face.


    The blonde''s eyes drifted from her mother down to the thing she sat on. A wheelchair.


    ¡°Going out. On Patrol¡±. She replied without providing any details and resumed her preparations.


    Recently, she had been fighting crime in Star City under Green Arrow''s tutelage. Now, she recently enrolled in Gotham Academy due to receiving a full scholarship even if it wasn''t what she hoped for. Hence, she decided to go for a patrol around the city like she used to.


    Partially to get some action after a day''s hard work, but the main reason was to get her mind off the terrible week she recently had.


    The week before this had actually gone quite well. She and her teammates successfully discovered that Red Tornado actually wasn''t a traitor, fought off his evil siblings (were beaten effortlessly by Red Volcano) and saved the world from being destroyed by Red Volcano''s evil plan.


    A new female was added to the team. Her name was Zatanna and apparently, she was the daughter of a league member Giovanni Zatara.


    It was nice to know that apart from Megan and Kara, there was another girl she could chat with.


    The week following that, however, was terrible. The mental training simulation she and the rest of the team experienced had gone horribly wrong.


    Due to a misfire of Miss Martian''s telepathic abilities, the whole team had to deal with the trauma for the rest of the week.


    When they doubted how this could happen under the Justice League''s watch, Martian Manhunter went on to reveal that Miss Martian had telepathic capabilities much stronger than he possessed.


    Add that to the fact that she was uncomfortable with the environment, it was especially hard for her to concentrate in class due. So much that the teacher had asked her to take the week off if she wasn''t feeling well.


    So this Patrol was much needed. Not really to ensure that crime was stopped but more of an opportunity to vent her emotions.


    ¡°.... Are you ok? You don''t seem to be in a good mood¡±.


    ¡°It''s team stuff. Can''t clarify¡±. She put on her utility belt and wore her boots.


    ¡°...¡±. Seeing her daughter out on her mask, Paula resisted the urge to let out a weary sigh.


    Her relationship with her daughter grew estranged ever since she went to jail six years ago. Now that she was back, it was hard to resume regular communication.


    ¡°.... I see¡±.


    Donning her mask, Artemis took another look at herself and nodded with satisfaction.


    She then turned to look at her paraplegic mother and fell silent for a moment.


    ¡°I''ll ....... I''ll be back late. Don''t wait up for me¡±. Her father was a criminal, her mother was a retired criminal and her sister was an especially active criminal.


    As the only one aspiring to be a hero in her family of villains, Artemis had a lot on her shoulders.


    Her expressionless face and gloomy aura around her would let anyone sensitive enough to notice know that her state of mind right now wasn''t calm.


    ¡°.... I..... Be careful, ok¡±.


    Artemis, who was moving towards the window, stopped.


    ¡°Don''t worry, I''ll be fine¡±. She said and continued to move forward after her brief pause.


    Paula watched her daughter leave and once again sighed.


    Her family truly was a mess.


    ......


    And so, her night patrol began. Going through the familiar rooftops once again brought back memories.


    It was exactly on one such patrol that she came across her teammates for the first time. Fighting against the Amazo Android.


    Later, Batman and Green Arrow came to invite her to join The Team. She had spent the rest of her time studying under Green arrow, only returning recently.


    She knew for a fact that the reason she had been fighting crime in Star City instead of Gotham wasn''t just because she was learning from the Arrow, but also because her presence in Gotham wasn''t particularly liked by Batman.


    Queen mentioned it as a joke during one of their nighttime patrols.


    Robin, however, testified to the feasibility within it.


    The city tonight was quiet.


    Gotham had experienced a lot of tragedies this year. Sometimes, even she was amazed at how this place was still functioning.


    Moving through the shadows, Artemis completed her patrol through several parts of the city. Thankfully not encountering the creepy Batman in the process of any Supervillains worthy of attention for that matter.


    At most, a few thugs that were easily handled.


    ''Alright ...... Let''s call it a night''. Hours had passed.


    Just when she was thinking of ending her patrol.......


    It happened then. A large building in the distance suddenly went completely dark.


    This phenomenon immediately caught her attention.


    Perhaps anywhere else, this could just be attributed to a random power outage or a blown fuse or something similar.


    Unfortunately, this was Gotham.


    If a building suddenly lost power, it usually meant something bad was about to happen.


    Artemis frowned. With the changing of circumstances, she moved towards the building that was Strader Pharmaceuticals.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ........


    4616 N Moore Street, Gotham City (Corporate Headquarters)


    A fair skinned, muscular man patrolled the surroundings with a relaxed expression on his face.


    He was the guard on Night watch duty.


    At that moment, a silent bullet was shot, piercing accurately through his skull. The guard was stunned for a second and a piercing numbness instantly assaulted him.


    Blood rushed from the hole in his head and his eyes dimmed. After which, his body fell to the ground with a thud.


    A second later, two black shadows dressed in combat suits emerged and moved the body to hide under the bushes.


    They had barely finished when the sound of objects tearing through the air fell into their ears.


    Two special arrows with no sharp edges landed firmly on their backs. Before they could react, sparks of electricity were emitted from them, shocking the two men with high volts of electricity.


    Their bodies twitched rapidly as they fell to their knees before falling unconscious.


    Artemis leaped down from a nearby building and approached cautiously.


    Looking at the unconscious men and the corpse that had been buried, the frown on her face had never been so prevalent.


    She clenched her fists with a bit of rage within her eyes.


    ''Great. Just as I thought, a break-in. Now who are these guys?''.


    Her eyes drifted from the laying bodies to the entrance.


    The huge logo and the sign that read, Strader Pharmaceuticals in all caps let her know what exactly this building was.


    ''A medical facility? Probably not the type that sold regular drugs if they were being targeted by whoever these guys are''.


    The situation reminded her of the story Aqualad told her about Cadmus industries.


    Then, she raised her head and looked up to a high point.


    As a junior league member trained by black Canary, Green Arrow and her father Sportsmaster, Artemis would always follow rule number one of successful infiltrations.


    If you can, never go through the front door.


    Taking an arrow from her quiver, she drew against her bow and aimed upward.


    An arrow was fired from a distance away, accurately penetrating through the cement wall, slightly above a glass window.


    Pressing a button, she was pulled up and passed through the narrow window space in one go with extreme agility and flexibility.


    Her landing was as silent as she could make it. The whole building had lost power, with the only source of light being the emergency lamps attached to the ceilings.


    She took the opportunity to examine her surroundings and began to move.


    Pushing open a door, she found herself in an empty hallway.


    ¡°Ok...... Now which way do I go?¡± Artemis felt herself developing a headache.


    This wasn''t a regular Infiltration mission. She didn''t know what was happening here exactly and therefore, didn''t know where exactly she was supposed to be.


    ''Some blueprints would be nice''. The thought fell and she picked a random direction and quietly advanced.


    ..........


    ¡°Sir..... You wanted to see me?¡±


    ¡°Yes I did¡±. Seeing the doctor step in after him, Lloyd gave a curt nod and pushed the button for the elevator.


    His face remained expressionless as the lift began to rise upward from the hidden lower levels of Strader Pharmaceuticals.


    ¡°I wanted to inquire with you on the results of the newest experimentation¡±.


    ¡°That¡­.¡±. The doctor paused with slightly puzzlement on his face and continued.


    ¡°.... But¡­. you''ve just checked the results for yourself sir. The Pheno Drug is still under......¡±. The doctor stuttered a bit but was interrupted by Lloyd''s cold tone.


    ¡°I don''t mean the Pheno Drug..... Dr. Williams¡±.


    ¡°..... Oh!¡± A look of realization appeared on Williams face. To still be at the company at this time, there could only be one thing that Lloyd Waite could be here for.


    He couldn''t help but feel slightly hesitant to mention the results of his research on the..... Other project Lloyd had given him.


    ¡°The serum you gave me is....... Remarkable. My research team and I have tested it in minimal quantities in animals implanted with cancerous cells and the results are truly phenomenal¡±. Williams began to go on about his findings.


    The more he spoke, the more excited he became.


    ¡°Cured...... All of them. And not just from cancer ......¡±.


    That point immediately held Lloyd''s attention.


    ¡°Explain¡±.


    ¡°Like you ordered, we only used a drop of the serum in the test subjects and not only did the serum cure the cancer cells, it made even more adjustments at the cellular level¡±. Swiping on his tablet, he attempted to show Lloyd the results of the testing.


    ¡°From my analysis, this might not just be a cure for cancer, but a cure for all diseases. I think that if you can allow me to incorporate this serum into the Pheno Drug, we might finally be able to complete the project we''ve been working on¡±.


    There was a moment of silence.


    Williams excited expression gradually cooled down when he saw the unchanging face of the company CEO.


    Oh! wait! Last time he checked, Lloyd was now the acting CEO and held no actual decision-making control over the company affairs anymore.


    Lloyd truly wasn''t all that surprised. The possibility of the Super Serum being completed was enough to elicit a reaction, but that didn''t matter to him anymore.


    The company wasn''t his. He was just the temporary caretaker. As a result, he had to make good use of the little resources still at his disposal.


    ¡°Have you been able to analyze its formula?¡±


    Whatever trace of excitement was left disappeared immediately.


    ¡°...... No¡±. He replied with his head slightly lowered.


    Finally, a frown appeared on Lloyd''s features.


    ¡°Why is that? You have the access to the best equipment the company can provide. Is it not enough?¡±


    After his meeting with Amari, Lloyd knew that his time was over.


    He had sold his shares without receiving a dime with the serum being the only compensation.


    In his situation, Lloyd knew that the serum was worth anything Amari asked for. After all, if it wasn''t, then the only thing left for him was death.


    However, that didn''t mean he would just take his new circumstances with peace of mind.


    Losing millions of dollars in shares had instantly transformed Lloyd''s status. From a businessman approaching bankruptcy, he was now only slightly well off.


    In simpler words, he was no longer rich. With everything, he once had taken away and no way to start afresh due to insufficient capital, he was in a bitter dilemma.


    Hence, he decided to use the only thing at his disposal. The same Serum Amari had given him.


    If he could analyze it and have it reengineered, his situation would change for the better.


    The formula for the cure to cancer within his possession. If he sold it, he would instantly make a fortune. Hence, after weeks had passed, he still hadn''t injected himself with the cure and instead, handed it over to the company biologists for testing.


    But all that hinged on the possibility that the serum could be deduced.


    ¡°No sir..... That''s not the problem¡±. Following which, Williams swipe the tablet to show the serum.


    ¡°We''ve run exclusive tests on each drop of the serum¡­.¡±. Lloyd''s face grew ugly.


    The serum was his last hope. Both financially and literally.


    If they used everything up, then he would lose his cure. Lloyd was taking a gamble.


    ¡°And the issue doesn''t lie in The equipment or our abilities...... But the serum itself¡±.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°We''ve checked all databases. It isn''t made from a mixture of elemental compounds but from something that doesn''t exist on earth. It''s alien¡­. Meaning.....¡±.


    ¡°We can''t reproduce it¡±.


    He finished the doctor''s words with an ugly face.


    Ding!


    The sound of the elevator reaching their destination fell into their ears.


    ¡°Stop the research¡±. Lloyd uttered coldly. ¡°You will return the formula to me before this time tomorrow. And I better not get news that this information leaked¡±.


    Gulp!


    His threatening time made Williams swallow a mouthful of saliva.


    At that moment, the elevator doors opened. Lloyd, who was about to walk out was, frozen in place at what was before him.


    ¡°A leak? I think it''s a bit too late for that?¡± With his mask covering his face, Slade said with a chuckle I''m his voice.


    ¡°This..... You¡­.¡±. Lloyd backed away in fright.


    ¡°Who the hell are you guys?¡±


    Deathstroke and his men stood in front of the elevator entrance. One of the masked figures squatted on one knee and held a laptop connected to the elevator controls.


    Through which, he hacked into the elevator to know exactly how many floors there were within this building. Coincidentally, he also hacked into the elevator surveillance cameras.


    Deathstroke and his men had seen and heard everything concerning their conversation.

 Chapter 123 Cheshire And Sportsmaster

    Squelch!


    Thud!


    The lobby guard fell to the floor with eyes as wide as full moons. Blood flowed from his neck, forming a puddle underneath him in seconds, as his security uniform was soaked red with his blood.


    He was sprawled on the floor. Holding his own throat with both hands with an expression of shock and panic.


    Two legs stepped forward into view, fully clad in boots and dark wear. Drops of blood fell on the ground beside the corpse several times until eventually, that area was also covered in the blood puddle.


    The droplets of blood originated from the knife within the killer''s grasp.


    He barely took a look at his kill and swept his eyes around the vicinity. After all, this guard wasn''t the only one.


    With great spacing between them, there were corpses laying in different areas of the entire space. As such, there were also multiple black clothed men with weapons in their hands used in the extermination of these people.


    ¡°Secure the area. Make sure everyone in the building is taken care of¡±. A figure with two eyeholes within his mask gave the order.


    The others nodded and began to spread out.


    If everything went according to plan, then they would leave this place without attracting any major attention. The security feeds had already been hacked, so the events happening now wouldn''t portray their presence.


    No one would know about this until it was too late.


    By then, the Pheno Drug would be within Slade''s possession and even the Batman wouldn''t be able to find them.


    Of course, that meant that anyone and everyone in this building had to die. There must be no witnesses.


    Just as the dark clothed man was about to leave as well, an arrow was fired towards him from his blind spot.


    Cutting through the air, the sharp edges seemed to give off a silver gleam in the dark area, locating its target with great precision.


    Squelch!


    The figure let out a gasp. Looking towards his chest, he saw an arrow sticking out from the area where his heart was.


    Blood slowly trickled downward under his watchful gaze.


    He just killed someone in cold blood. Never did he imagine that, a moment, it would be his turn.


    Thud!


    His body fell to the floor with a light thud.


    On a higher area, Artemis watched as the man fell with gritted teeth and a cold face. She had arrived just in time to see this man kill the guard in cold blood.


    And looking at the rest of the bodies...... Her heartbeat sped up involuntarily with rage clouding her judgement.


    And so, with the rest dispersing, she saw her opportunity and took it. Firing a neutralizing arrow to shock the living daylights out of her target.


    The deed was done. But it wasn''t until she did that she realized that she had used the wrong arrow.


    What was meant to be a neutralizer had turned into a sharp life taker.


    Seeing the lifeless body a distance away, Artemis was momentarily stunned.


    ''Did...... Did I just kill someone?'' Artemis had never killed before. Not even during tests when training under Sportsmaster.


    So technically speaking, this would be her first kill.


    However, Artemis didn''t have time to let it sink in as the sound of rapid footsteps immediately woke her up from her reverie.


    ¡°He''s dead¡±.


    ¡°Hostiles in the area¡±.


    ¡°Look up. Over there!¡±.


    The mercenaries raised their weapons upward, about to open fire. But Artemis was one step ahead of them.


    With fluid movements, she took out three arrows from her quiver, loaded them into her bow and fired.


    Unlike the last one that was openly bladed, the arrow tips were covered.


    Boom!


    The three arrows were embedded into the ground right beside the mercenaries and exploded the following second.


    The masked men were all blow away as a giant hole appeared in the floor.


    With debris flying, Artemis leaped from the high platform and landing steadily on the floor.


    She immediately drew her bow and fired another arrow at a target, which electrified him unconscious.


    ¡°Open fire¡±.


    Da! Da! Da Da!


    Bullets flew in all directions.


    Artemis took to her heels, running and evading the attacks as best as she could.


    Another arrow was fired.


    A masked man tilted his head slightly and the arrow pierced straight into the wall behind him.


    ''Missed''. He thought with a bit of fear in his heart.


    But a cloud of pink smoke was ejected out of the arrow the next second.


    ¡°Gas! Don''t breathe¡±. One yelled to warn the others, but he was too slow.


    The gas enveloped the area, causing all those within its range to grow dizzy.


    ..........


    Boom!


    The loud explosion reached Slade''s ears who was now within the elevator with his men.


    "Looks like we have early company''. Deathstroke, uttered in an apathetic tone.


    They had barely been here for ten minutes and a disturbance had already occurred. Now, it seemed Batman was already here.


    Or so he thought.


    ¡°What do we do sir?¡± A masked figure behind asked for orders.


    ¡°Nothing¡±. Slade replied and turned to look at Lloyd Waite and the doctor, who sat at a corner in fright. Waite in particular had anger gleaming through his black irises.


    ¡°They will take care of it¡±.


    Ding!


    The sound of the elevator reaching its destination fell into their ears. Lloyd''s eyes widened as the door opened.


    ¡°Get em up¡±.


    .........


    Thud!


    A thug groaned as a bow smacked him straight on the head. Following which, he fell to the ground unconscious.


    As for the perpetrator, she performed several backflips to avoid the bullets firing in her direction.


    With an incredible gymnastics display, she performed numerous backflips before flipping into the air. Her hand reached out to her quiver and she drew an arrow, aimed within the timeframe of a split second, and fired.


    The arrow lodged directly into the gun barrel right at the moment the next bullet was fired.


    Bang!


    Splat!


    ¡°Argh!¡± Blood splattered on the floor as a pained scream escaped from the masked figure''s mouth.


    The blockage caused the gun to explode, injuring his hand in the process. Now, it was a bloody mess.


    He took several steps back as he held his injured arm in pain. Nevertheless, his opponent hadn''t been forgotten. He quickly raised his head only to find an object shooting towards him at a speed he could react to.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    The projectile crashed right on his head, sending him flying backwards with a heavy impact, two or three meters away.


    The man rolled once and his body lay still.


    Seeing her opponent knocked unconscious, the archer didn''t relax, but immediately surveyed the surroundings to make sure this one was the last.


    Click!


    The sound from behind fell into her ears, causing her expression to change drastically.


    Her actions were spot on, but unfortunately, she faced the wrong direction.


    A masked figure stood up from behind and aimed at her with a rifle.


    The red dot appearing on the back of her head was proof that the man intended to take her life.


    Just as he was about to pull the trigger¡­.


    ¡°Hahahahahaha Hahaha Hahahahaha".


    A loud, weird laughter echoed throughout the place, startling both of them.


    ¡°What the ......¡±. His eyes darted in all directions, with a hint of panic within.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°This¡­. Wait¡­.¡±. Artemis was stunned. As a member of the team, she''d recognize that creepy laughter anywhere.


    Crash!


    It happened then. The glass roof above them suddenly shattered as a dark silhouette fell through it.


    The masked man was stunned and raised his head up to see the source of the disturbance.


    And so, the last thing he saw before darkness took over was a figure with a cape and two boots stepping straight on his face.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± The man fell to the floor, the gun knocked out from his possession.


    Thud.


    Along with the sound of glass shattering all over, the dark silhouette firmly landed on the ground.


    ¡°Hahaha Hahahahaha".


    ¡°Robin?¡± Seeing the new arrival, Artemis''s face was marred with surprise. Then a frown took over.


    ¡°Hey there. Looks like you could use some help¡±. Straightening his posture, Robin gave a light wave with a smile on his face.


    ¡°Thanks¡­.¡±. She said while looking at the unconscious goon.


    "¡­. But do you always have to laugh like that?" In the team, Robin''s disappearing act was something that vaguely frightened all of them. That laugh of his made it even more disturbing.


    ¡°Signature trademark. Not going anywhere¡±. Dick replied bluntly, then raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°What the hell brought you here?¡±


    ¡°I was on patrol. Came across this.....¡±. She pointed towards..... Everywhere.


    ¡°..... All of this by accident". Artemis responded, her voice a bit heavy.


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°Got an alert. Batman sent me¡±.


    ¡°Wait! Batman''s here?¡±


    ¡°On his way. He can get a little busy¡±.


    ¡°.... I see¡±. She stretched the arm holding her compound bow.


    ¡°Any idea what they''re looking for here?¡±


    Robin''s face condensed slightly. Something that Artemis noticed.


    ¡°This is Strader Pharmaceuticals. My guess, they''re after a drug¡±.


    ¡°A drug?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Super soldier serum of some sorts. The company''s been researching it for years. Batman and I had a mission on this, long story¡±. Robin said while sweeping his gaze across the area.


    Then..... His eyes widened and he fired a Birdarang.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Artemis was shocked at the loud exclamation.


    In that dark building, a sharped edged throwing star tore through the air and shot in her direction.


    Artemis had her eyes widen as the weapon shot towards her.


    Clang!


    Metal struck against metal and both throwing weapons were deflected.


    The green archer leaped out of the way immediately. Throwing a few flips, she moved closer to Robin''s area, her back covered with a layer of sweat.


    She almost died right there.


    With narrowed eyebrows, she followed Robin''s gaze towards a high platform.


    A figure emerged from the darkness and landed there in a squatting posture.


    ¡°Well well ......¡±.


    The dark silhouette stood up at a moderate pace and took three steps forward into the light.


    ¡°Looks like we meet again¡±.


    As soon as she could see the opponent, Artemis had her pupils shrink.


    Before them was a female dressed in a dark green colored kimono that had rips and shreds along it. With black knee-high boots, two Sais held within both hands and a head full of wild black hair hidden behind a white cat mask on her face with red stripes and a wide grin.


    ¡°Cheshire!¡± Robin named their adversary, his eyes narrowing greatly.


    ¡°If it isn''t the little birdie and the Green Arrow''s sidekick. Nice to see you both¡±.


    ¡°Yeah? Wish I could say the same¡±.  Artemis uttered with an ugly expression. This..... was literally the last person she wanted to see at this moment.


    After all, this cat faced female was not just her enemy but also her sister. The last time they faced off against each other, she had blackmailed Artemis into letting her go free when caught.


    If not, Artemis''s secret would be exposed to the rest of the team.


    Something at the moment that she didn''t want.


    ¡°Hehehe! Yes, I''m sure you do¡±. The cat masked female villain replied with a light chuckle.


    ¡°It''s been a long time¡±.


    ¡°Not long enough if you ask me¡±. Robin said impassively.


    ¡°But since we''re here, why don''t you just tell us what exactly you and your goons are here to steal?¡± With the flick of his wrists, three Birdarangs appeared in both hands, a circular area on the bladed weapons was emitting a yellow glow.


    Without warning, the boy wonder threw them out towards her.


    Seeing this, Jade hurriedly leaped away before they hit.


    Boom!


    A loud explosion shook the entire building as the high platform was destroyed.


    ¡°What a rude way of greeting¡±. While midair, Jade used her Sai to block the arrows shot in her direction. Landing squarely on her feet, she quickly threw out a Shuriken coated with jellyfish poison towards Artemis.


    ¡°I thought we could do some catching up¡±.


    ¡°Not interested¡±. Artemis dodged and fired another arrow, which Cheshire blocked.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Her eyes behind the mask darted around, looking for someone.


    ''Where the hell did he go?'' Jade was a master assassin, trained by her father Sportsmaster and worked for the league of assassins.


    When it came down to stealth, she was a master. But now, a kid a few years younger than her had disappeared right under her nose.


    ¡°Hahaha Hahahahaha".


    Once again, the creepy laughter echoed in the building. Cheshire felt a chill run down her spine and she looked down.


    What fell into her eyes were small, round balls rolling towards her while giving off a blinking light.


    ¡°Shit!¡±


    Boom!


    Each ball exploded and Cheshire madly rushed backwards, trying to escape the range of the explosion. Unfortunately, she was half a step slower.


    The aftermath of the small blast knocked her off her feet into the air.


    Her back slammed against the wall a distance away, causing her great pain.


    ¡°Ugh! Alright...... That laugh is officially annoying¡±.


    At that moment, Robin emerged from the shadows in the distance. Reaching into his utility belt, he took out three tranquilizing darts and fired.


    Ignoring the pain, Cheshire reacted just as fast. With a flick of her wrists, three Kunai were thrown towards the incoming weapons to deflect them.


    Two were deflected, and the third one missed and headed straight for the Boy Wonder.


    Robin didn''t try to catch it and dodged. These weapons were most likely laced with poison.


    Twisting her body, Jade also dodged the last tranquilizer headed towards her.


    She moved away but was faced with Artemis, who fired another arrow.


    ''Damn!''


    She slashed the arrow in half, but what happened next caught her off guard. The arrow exploded, and a small restricting net sprung out of the loaded tip, effectively wrapping around her.


    And with a light thud, Jade was pushed to the floor.


    After training together for a few months, the cooperation between teammates had been well-developed. Any one of them on their own was enough to give Cheshire a good fight. Two on one would be a sure defeat, as shown by her last encounter with Artemis.


    ¡°It''s over¡±.


    Robin jumped down and said seriously.


    ¡°Hehehehe..... Are you sure about that?¡± Although her face still couldn''t be seen, the laughter coming from behind her mask let them know that something was up.


    Da! Da! Da! Da! Da!


    At that moment, gunshots came out from a hidden pillar.


    Robin and Artemis quickly ducked to the side to avoid.


    ¡°Damn. Sneak attack¡±.


    At that moment, Cheshire cut the rope binding her and stood up from the ground.


    ¡°Surprised? After all, you''re not the only allowed to have backup¡±.


    A tall, burly figure emerged from the shadows with two Glock 19''s in his hands. His figure was well-built and carried an air of intimidation around him, with short blonde hair. Similar to Cheshire, he wore a mask, but his was a hockey mask, revealing his brown eyes and a head of short blonde hair.


    Seeing the male appear, Cheshire''s tone carried a hint of annoyance and hatred as she spoke.


    ¡°Although I wish my backup was literally anyone else¡±.


    ¡°Beggars can''t be choosers sweetheart¡±.


    An arrogant, cocky voice fell into her ears, causing her to subconsciously clenched her fists.


    Sportsmaster emerged from the shadows. His gaze lingered on the two sidekicks before turning to Jade.


    ¡°And you said you could handle them on your own¡±.


    ¡°I could have¡±. She snapped back. ¡°That''s why I told you not to get involved¡±.


    ¡°Didn''t seem that way. So sorry, but I couldn''t take any risks with the mission so you could have your fun¡±.


    Both of them immediately engaged in a little squabble.


    Artemis''s dark face grew darker.


    First her sister, then her father. It was official, this was the worst week ever.


    ¡°I love it when the bad guys fight¡±. Robin said with a small smile which attracted a glare from Artemis.


    Currently, she was distressed, worried that her true identity would be exposed in front of her teammate.


    ¡°Now then. It''s not fair to bully a lady with numbers¡±.


    His eyes returned to the duo as he spun the gun in his left hand.


    ¡°So I thought we''d even the odds¡±.


    The atmosphere grew incredibly tense as both sides stood at alert, waiting for the other party to throw the first attack.


    The atmosphere grew incredibly tense as both sides stood at alert, waiting for the other party to throw the first attack.


    ¡°Well pardon me¡±. Like Robin''s adorable yet somewhat creepy laugh, the iconic gruff voice, although wasn''t as creepy, was still equally disturbing.


    Especially to those who had come in contact with the owner of that voice.


    Similar to Robin, a dark shadow fell from the already broken glass ceiling and landed on the ground, steadily on both feet.


    Cheshire noticeably stiffened.


    The dark silhouette straightened his posture and gave a one-liner with an indifferent face.


    ¡°But I like to keep the odds in my favor¡±.


    ¡°If it isn''t Batman. Nice of you to make an entrance¡±. Still in that casual posture, Sportsmaster seemed to greet in a friendly manner.


    However, the hands that never left the trigger seemed to say otherwise.


    ¡°That''s enough¡±. Batman said bluntly.


    ¡°You''re outnumbered and outmatched. Now are you going to come in the easy way, or .......¡±. He didn''t say finish it, but they understood what he meant.


    ¡°Hehehehe, sorry Bat''s, but we got other places to be tonight¡±.


    He said while lifting the guns in his hands.


    Cheshire tightened her grip on her weapons.


    ¡°Artemis, take Cheshire. Sportsmaster is mine¡±. Bruce immediately relayed his orders without turning back.


    ¡°Right¡±. Artemis nodded in understanding.


    ¡°Wait! What about me?¡±


    ¡°Find out where the others are¡±.


    ¡°Others?¡±


    ¡°If these two are fighting us, it means there are others finishing the Job. Whatever that may be, find them, stop them¡±.


    Bruce analyzed calmly.


    "Ok¡­


    ¡°No need¡±. At that moment, an indifferent voice broke apart the solemn atmosphere.


    From the corridor, Deathstroke appeared alongside several masked goons walking behind him.


    A second later, a dozen guns were pointed in the direction of the hero trio.


    ¡°Well ....... Looks like the odds have changed sides¡±. Sportsmaster uttered with a laugh.


    ¡°Deathstroke¡±. Batman called out.


    ¡°So you''re behind Killer Croc¡±.


    Slade didn''t reply. Just raised the gun in his left hand. The other hand was in possession of a case that held their mission objective tonight. And of course..... A little something extra.


    The guns were about to fire...... When the lights suddenly came back on, illuminating the dark area. The sudden change caught everyone off guard.


    On the lobby, a giant glass screen came on white a bright white light...... Following which, the light turned red in the blink of an eye.


    ¡°I wouldn''t do that if I were you¡±.


    The red light converged to form an image of a little girl with skin and clothes completely red.

 Chapter 124 Not Even Death Can Save Them

    To the outside world, Strader Pharmaceuticals had a power outage for no more than twenty minutes before the power came back online.


    Nevertheless, the phenomenon didn''t attract much attention.


    While such was a cause for suspicion in Gotham, its citizens had already grown the habit of minding their own business.


    There were no calls for break-ins or robberies, neither were there any distress signals, so presently, the issue hadn''t even reached the ears of the police.


    And so, despite having all of its available staff murdered in cold blood, the state of the medical facility remained oblivious to the outside world for the time.


    As the lights in the whole building came back on, everyone within was startled.


    ¡°What the¡­.¡±.


    ¡°.... Who is it?¡±


    ¡°On alert.....¡±. The guns aimed towards Batman''s trio suddenly spread in all directions. They didn''t have any other insiders, and none would turn on the power at this time if they did.


    ¡°Looks like you didn''t come alone Batman¡±


    Watching the power come back on, Deathstroke uttered in an indifferent tone. His expression was impossible to discern due to the mask on his face.


    ¡°But one more addition can''t change anything, unless of course, you brought some actual backup instead of two kids.......¡±.


    What truly worried Deathstroke was the appearance of Superman. Clark had already appeared in Gotham a few days ago. If the Man Of Steel suddenly showed up again, then this operation would equate to a failure.


    This was highly unlikely, though. In all cities around the world, Gotham held Superman''s lowest appearance record.


    Of course, not when Superman came to visit Batman on his own but when it came to stopping crimes. Still, Slade didn''t rule out the possibility.


    ¡°Whoever this is, she''s not mine¡±.


    However, The Dark Knight uttered words he didn''t expect with a surprisingly calm tone.


    ¡°Here¡±.


    Like many buildings, the inner areas of Strader Pharmaceuticals had numerous glass screens in many areas.


    These indoor displays were usually meant to be used for advertising purposes for their products to potential investors.


    Tonight, however, the white screens all turned red in the blink of an eye, converging into the form of a red holographic female.


    ¡°I would welcome you, but what you have done here tonight is not ideal¡±.


    The screens everywhere all played the same picture.


    ¡°Well...... This is interesting¡±. Cheshire said with interest.


    ¡°I''ll say¡±. Sportsmaster added, much to her slightly annoyance.


    Slade frowned. This was beyond his calculations.


    ¡°Robin, what is this?¡± Artemis couldn''t help but ask with surprise.


    ¡°I think....... Some kind of artificial intelligence¡±.


    ¡°Correct Robin. I am currently the world''s most advanced artificial intelligence. You can call me A.L.I.C.E. Pleased to make your acquaintance¡±.


    A.L.I.C.E


    ¡°Now please let there be no more fighting. It''s not worth it, and I believe my master would like the building to remain the way it is. You''re paying for that glass roof by the way¡±.


    The words immediately broke the tense atmosphere.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Robin was stunned for a second.


    ¡°Ok! I guess¡±. The boy wonder was momentarily short of words.


    Batman on the other hand, wasn''t.


    ¡°What are you?¡±


    ¡°That cannot be explained in a short sentence. But all you need to know is that I take care of everything that runs within this Company¡±.


    ¡°And you why do you want us to not stop them?¡±


    ¡°Because as at the time you arrived, stopping them no longer had any relevance. All staff of this building have been murdered, including the acting C.E.O and the company doctors. There is no one left for you to save, and the resulting battle will bring nothing but more bodies and the possible destruction of the property grounds. Something I do not want to occur".


    So not only was Batman''s arrival unwelcomed, it was also an eyesore.


    Batman''s gloomy face, if possible, grew gloomier. Robin''s body trembled slightly as Artemis mind shook for a second.


    An aura of depression spread around, but A.L.I.C.E. didn''t care.


    Following which, she turned her gaze towards Deathstroke and his company.


    The nerves of the goons tightened slightly. However, they did not expect the next set of words.


    ¡°Please do not fight or worry. I have not alerted the police, or any law enforcement agency, neither have I laid any traps for you when you escape. No members of the Justice League have been alerted, and neither will they be alerted until you leave Gotham. You can walk out without any hassle as long as you do not destroy anything else¡±.


    Silence.


    The atmosphere took a drastic shift.


    Even Cheshire was dumbfounded.


    ¡°This ......¡±.


    Sportsmaster''s eyes carried equal surprise.


    Was there really something so good.


    Deathstroke on the other hand had his eyes narrow greatly.


    An ominous premonition grew from the depths of his gut, telling him that he had just done something terribly wrong. Despite that, he didn''t show it.


    ¡°...... That''s unnervingly generous of¡­".


    ¡°You''ve got to be kidding me!¡± The loud exclamation immediately drew attention.


    Everyone''s eyes turned to Artemis, who had an expression of disbelief clouding her features.


    "They just broke on, killed everyone and stole whatever it is that''s in that case, and you''re simply telling us to stop and let them get away with it?''


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Artemis couldn''t understand.


    Neither could Robin, but he chose to remain silent.


    ¡°...¡±. Seconds passed and The Red Queen didn''t speak.


    Just when Artemis wanted to say something else, she received her reply.


    ¡°Why should I try to keep someone who''s already dead?¡±


    The tone was confused, innocent, curious even. With the way this..... Thing sounded, Artemis felt like she was honestly expecting a reply to solve her doubts.


    But it was precisely because she said it that way that Artemis felt goosebumps appear all over her skin.


    Click!


    The sound of clicking guns fell into her ears. The goons, Deathstroke''s party reacted like a lion who just had its tail stepped on.


    Slade included, all looked at the biggest screen that displayed the Red Queen.


    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Slade asked. His posture remained the same, yet his tone was grave.


    Over the years, Deathstroke had taken on many dangerous tasks. This wasn''t the first time he was being called a dead man.


    ¡°I don''t see my words as a threat. Make no mistake, Mr. Wilson, you will die. Possibly after experiencing fates worse than death itself. And there is very little that can change that¡±.


    Slade didn''t speak. Neither did Cheshire nor Sportsmaster.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Instead, Batman broke the hostile atmosphere.


    ¡°Strader Pharmaceuticals was acquired by my owner weeks ago. In exchange for leaving the dirty secrets of the company as it was, the complete transfer of the original C.E.O''s shares and an extra form of compensation¡±.


    Alice spoke casually without any scruples.


    ¡°Alongside the Pheno Drug which was Slade''s true goal, that extra compensation is within that case¡±.


    ¡°Which is?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Waite was suffering from stage 3 cancer. Hence, he was given a cure¡±.


    The words shocked everyone. Numerous pairs of eyes turned to look at the case within Slade''s hand. Although no one could see her expression behind the mask, Cheshire''s eyes were practically glowing at this time.


    Slade was indifferent.


    ¡°And Lloyd?¡± Batman asked.


    ¡°Dead alongside everyone else. At the hands of Deathstroke in the lower levels where he stored it¡±.


    ¡°And You didn''t stop them?¡±


    ¡°My master has been too....... Occupied to completely take over. Due to this, his plans to incorporate lethal security measures to prevent such situations were put on hold. Upon realizing their break-in, I released a signal to the Batcave which released a signal to both you and your sidekick, which is why you are here now¡±.


    Both Robin and Batman frowned.


    This AI had sent a signal to the Batcave. Batman''s face grew slightly grave.


    Robin also thought the same way, however the majority of his displeasure stemmed from the word Sidekick.


    The Red Queen didn''t care for their expressions and continued.


    ¡°Currently, my master is in another dimension, having completed the transfer of an entire race. And this matter will be taken care of by him when he returns. By then, not even death will be able to save them¡±.


    The Red Queen fixed her gaze back on Artemis.


    ¡°So to answer your question. I feel no need to keep them here because of what they have done. While my master never intended to keep the majority of the current staff, your actions are nothing more than a slap on his face. The moment they killed the first security guard, their lives were no longer theirs¡±.


    The atmosphere was frighteningly cold.


    Those masked men all had their eyes widen in disbelief.


    ¡°What a story¡±. Cheshire''s grip on her weapons tightened.


    ¡°So please do not try to stop them. They currently outnumber you. It is a pointless endeavor because even if you do capture them, put them in prison, lock them away in the watchtower, or banish them to the phantom zone, their end is inevitable. They will die, each and every single one of them¡±.


    ¡°And who is this master you speak of¡±. Slade asked coldly.


    ¡°The Deviant himself¡±.


    ¡°Amari¡±. Batman responded, his face unusually calm. Halfway into the conversation, he could already guess this far.


    ............


    Meanwhile.....


    Central City.....


    Zoom!


    A flash of orange light zipped through the streets. Moving between cars, trucks, and making constant turns along the way.


    People who were having outside taking a walk, rushing somewhere or just plainly having a meal out would all turn to look as the streak of yellow lightning ran right past them.


    The majority of their faces would light up with a smile of excitement as the orange blur was the thing Central City was most proud of.


    The Flash.


    And they were right. However...... This Flash, while he wore the red suit with lightning bolts decorated on the chest and everywhere else, wasn''t the Flash of their earth.


    ''It''s been more than a month since I came to this world''.


    Rushing down a one road highway, Wally''s mind was full of thoughts.


    ''Zoom is dead''.


    ''I''ve told the natives everything I know''.


    His figure moved past a coffee shop.


    ''I''ve informed them on the situation of my world''.


    ''They know my earth is on the verge of destruction''.


    ''That a maniac has taken absolute control''.


    An orange streak ran past the CCPD.


    ''So why don''t they do anything about it?''


    ''It''s been a month. My world only gets worse with each passing day''.


    ''Despite having one of their own on the other side. They still haven''t taken any substantial actions. I can understand though''.


    ''This world, although not as bad as mine, is under great pressure''.


    ''Attacks occur seemingly every week. Cities face great destruction time and time again''.


    Without affecting his movements, Wally ran up the tallest building in the city.


    ''They haven''t discovered a way to travel through the breaches without super speed. And I''m nowhere near fast enough to make the travel myself''.


    Looking at bright lights, the cars, the buildings, everything that seemed to be the exact opposite of his world, Wally''s heart was full of complex emotions.


    Although this world was beautiful in his eyes, it wasn''t his. He had friends, family, loved ones on the other earth.


    He came here to find a solution. But the progress made was too slow. At the moment, they had only discovered one way to make it through the breaches. That was using Super speed.


    But he wasn''t fast enough. And he could tell that the Batman of this world had no intentions of looking in that direction.


    They were determined to find a way to get through the breaches, but unless there was no other way, they weren''t going to invest any energy in making him go faster to do it.


    Wally couldn''t accept this. He didn''t have time to wait for them to be ready.


    Who knows how many more people in the resistance would die before he got back home.


    And so, he began to think about other alternatives.


    His Tachyons had run out, but a Mercury Labs also existed in this universe. Although he was told to get the Justice League of this earth, Wally knew that in the short term, that wasn''t possible.


    In that case, let''s settle for the next best thing.


    Kryptonite.


    His world''s Superman was all powerful. Simply because he had destroyed every last green stone on the planet.


    Kryptonite existed here, but Wally didn''t know how to get his hands on it.


    BOOM!


    While the speedster of Earth -1 was in deep thought, an explosion sounded in the distance.


    It started a ball of orange energy appearing in the vegetation filled outskirts of Central City.


    As time passed, the orange ball began to expand greatly until it occupied a space of two meters. Then, the accumulated energy within it burst open, spreading in all directions.


    The vegetation in the surroundings turned to ash, and the earth in the radius of a mile was destroyed.


    Dust and debris flew into the air.


    In the two-meter space where the energy ball once was, a large hole with a larger diameter could be seen covered with dust particles.


    Ten seconds passed and a streak of orange lightning appeared a distance away.


    With an uncertain expression, Wally walked to the hole''s edge and took a look. Three seconds later, his eyes widened.


    Following which, he pressed his belt buckle and initiated a call to the watchtower.


    ¡°This is Flash reporting an anomaly, is anyone there?¡±


    ¡°Flash? This is Black Canary, state your report¡±.


    ¡°Well......¡±. His gaze moved back to the hole.


    ¡°You might wanna send someone down here¡±.


    The body of a machine with half a human face lay within.


    ¡°I think I just came across your missing Leaguer¡±.

 Chapter 125 Lex Luthor From Earth 3

    Gotham.......


    Strader Pharmaceuticals.......


    .......


    The atmosphere was particularly oppressive.


    ¡°I see¡±. Slade said lightly, his expression slightly constipated for a second before returning to a normal poker face. However, with his mask on, they couldn''t see his face, so they wouldn''t know.


    It happened then. The sound of helicopter whirs fell into their ears. Following which, a black chopper hovered over the roof of the building.


    Due to the shattered ceiling, small gusts of wind blew into the building, causing the capes of those who had them to billow.


    ¡°Well..... Looks like our ride''s here¡±. Deathstroke muttered audibly while taking a look upward.


    Lowering his gaze to meet Batman''s, there was a moment of silence before he spoke again.


    ¡°So, are you going to try to stop us?¡±


    ¡°You''re free to leave¡±. Alice replied.


    ¡°Batman?¡± Hearing the AI''s approval, Robin looked at Batman anxiously.


    Bruce didn''t respond as countless thoughts were processed within his mind in seconds.


    He was pondering the feasibility of actually capturing Slade in this scenario. The so-called cure within the case was valuable.


    Add that to the Pheno Drug...... Now that was something that could cause actual problems if left unchecked.


    Slade had murdered everyone in this facility just to get it. Whether it was to stop whatever plans they had before they could complete them or because of the numerous souls who died here today, batman would be darned to let Slade escape with both serums in his possession.


    But the situation wasn''t in his favor. They were outnumbered.


    And their overall power advantage wasn''t any better than the other party. If Slade wanted to escape, there was little that Bruce could do to stop them.


    The odds were unfairly placed.


    And so, Bruce remained silent, his gaze turned to the AI on the screen before returning to Slade.


    ¡°Let them go¡±. In the end, Bruce didn''t live up to the Boy Wonder''s expectations.


    ¡°Batman......¡±.


    ¡°Enough Robin¡±. The Caped Crusader cut him short, leaving him unable to utter another word of retort.


    ¡°Good¡±. Slade nodded and shot out a grappling gun towards the ceiling.


    Seeing their boss leaving, the goons did the same, so did Cheshire and Sportsmaster.


    Dick watched them leave with a bit of incredulity. He turned again to his mentor and father figure, only to see Bruce watching with narrowed eyes.


    His gaze drifted down to see The Dark Knight''s left fist tightly clenched.


    The chopper departed under his watchful eye.


    Following which, Batman turned his gaze back to the Artificial Intelligence.


    ¡°You¡­".


    ¡°Hello Batman. A pleasure to see you again¡±. The change surprised the two teens present. Did Batman know of this AI before today?


    ¡°Wish I could say the same¡±. Bruce uttered flatly. His first and last encounter with the Red Queen was in General Sam Lane''s Penthouse. That was before the guy was kidnapped.


    ¡°Now would you mind telling me what exactly Amari is doing again in Gotham?¡± His voice took a slightly colder tone.


    ¡°I believe my owner said it to you before. Business Ventures. The same thing you do under in your other mysterious identity¡±.


    ¡°He bought Strader Pharmaceuticals¡±. Bruce took a look. ¡°And here I wished he was kidding¡±.


    "Which puts an error in your previous sentence. He isn''t here in Gotham ¡°again¡±. He just never left. This was his investment that day".


    ¡°Why?¡± Bruce asked in a grave tone. ¡°Why a Pharmaceutical company with a history of developing deadly serums?¡±


    ¡°Due to many conveniences, but that''s not what you mean, is it?¡±.


    ¡°No¡±.


    ¡°Then If you must know ...... It''s simply to fulfill an agreement¡±.


    A hologram appeared before them.


    ¡°Let me remind you in case you may have forgotten, but my master''s stay on your planet is not unconditional. As was clearly stated in the agreement he had with your World Government¡±.


    ¡°The outbreak of super powered disasters have risen exponentially in recent years, with more death tolls and destruction of public property. Even with your Justice League trying their best to prevent these accidents....... They still happen¡±. The hologram played various disasters that had taken place since Amari''s appearance.


    ¡°And so, your leaders are scared. Frightened, if you will, that one day, a disaster will come that even you can''t protect the earth from. Or worse..... Your Justice League becomes that disaster¡±.


    Her words fell, and Batman''s plain expression grew gloomy.


    ¡°As can be seen from how President Luthor has taken matters into his hands by appointing a task force of Super powered individuals¡±.


    ¡°They wanted a force of their own to give them a sense of security against greater threats.....¡±.


    ¡°So Amari offered to give them one¡±. Bruce interrupted.


    ¡°Correct. He made a deal in which he would be granted residence in your world in exchange for biological weapons capable of destroying The Justice League. One''s completely under their control¡±.


    Not to mention Batman, even Robin and Artemis had completely shocked expressions on their faces.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Biological weapons capable of destroying the Justice League?


    ¡°Which is why Strader Pharmaceuticals was acquired. Under the form of business, my Master plans to complete the failed Super soldier project and sell them to every government in the world. The kryptonian blood of Miss Zor-El is the key component. In imitation of Cadmus facility''s creation of Project Kr. A serum capable of giving anyone injected with it all the capabilities of a kryptonian, with none of the weaknesses. No vulnerability to Kryptonite or red sunlight. Every country will have their own Supermen and women to guard their Territory¡±.


    ¡°And yet, why is it that I fail to see just exactly how what Amari plans to do is a good thing?¡±


    The growl in his tone was almost audible.


    Despite still wearing that indifferent expression, Robin knew that right now, Bruce was voicing his disapproval.


    ¡°I never said it was¡±. The apathetic voice replied to him.


    ¡°There are reasons why only on Superman exists. The consequences of what he''s about to do will bring more chaos than Amari knows. There will be war¡±. Bruce''s face had never been so gloomy.


    Blockbuster, Bane''s serum, Cobra Venom, Project Kr...... All these were attempts to create a super soldier serum by villains.


    A serum capable of turning people into full-fledged Kryptonians with all of their strengths and none of their weaknesses was something Bruce didn''t even want to imagine.


    If their enemies got their hands on such a thing, then the Justice League was in for harsh times.


    ¡°You are right. There are reasons why this power shouldn''t be spread. Reasons that my master hardly care for¡±.


    ¡°Does Amari bother to think of the negative impact if this falls into the wrong hands? Any random villain would have the ability to mass produce Kryptonians with a simple injection¡±.


    At this point, the Red Queen shook her head.


    ¡°I apologize in advance for whatever effect this Serum will bring to your world, but nothing you say will change anything. Unless you can get your government to change their minds, there is no stopping this¡±.


    ¡°Then let me talk to Amari himself¡±.


    ¡°....... That can be arranged¡±. Alice said after a moment of silence.


    ¡°I will inform him of your intentions to talk and let you know. Is there anything else?¡±


    Her question received an affirmative response.


    ¡°You said Amari isn''t in this dimension. So where is he?¡±


    ¡°...¡±.


    This time, Alice didn''t answer, but stared at Batman with intense scrutiny. The Dark Knight returned her stare without so much as a blink.


    ¡°Outside the multiverse that your universe resides in¡±.


    The Caped Crusader was silent.


    ¡°Now, I believe I have answered your questions to the best of my abilities. Hence, my work is done. Goodbye, and good luck. Believe me, you will need it¡±.


    These were the last words before the red holograms turned off.


    All the screens went dark and what was left was a building full of corpses.


    Robin and Artemis were quiet.


    Silence once again returned, but was quickly broken.


    ¡°You can go¡±. His gruff voice held no emotion.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Artemis and Robin were startled.


    ¡°Robin, go outside, contact the police to appear at the scene and go back on Patrol. I''ll take it from here¡±.


    ¡°You''re serious?¡± Dick was surprised.


    ¡°I am¡±.


    Hearing this, the Boy Wonder could only nod and leave.


    ¡°You too Artemis¡±. Artemis, who was wondering what to do next heard Batman''s voice.


    ¡°I think you''ve done enough patrolling for one night. Remember, you must tell no one about what you have heard tonight¡±.


    Artemis frowned. Her mouth opened, wanting to say something, but she held back in the end. Nodding, she turned around and walked towards the exit with a poker face.


    On the inside, however, she wasn''t as calm as she looked


    Batman watched them leave. His eyes lingered on Artemis for a long while. Eventually, it turned towards a certain corpse a distance away.


    This one had an arrow sticking out of its chest. Seeing this, The Dark Knight frowned even deeper.


    The next moment, however, the thought was cast to the back of his mind. For now, Artemis''s problem could wait.


    He had more important things to deal with.


    ...........


    Meanwhile, At the same time somewhere else.


    Near The Atlantic Ocean.........


    Coast City......


    The ocean roared, and the waves battered against the rocks before retreating ........ and returning a moment later.


    The sky was dark, and the moon refused to give its light in this part of the world.


    As the cold temperature continued to seep into the very soil itself, the sound of footsteps made itself known near the barren rocks.


    Following which, a foot emerged from the darkness, stepping on the solid ground a moving forward.


    The sound of water rushing towards the shore in the distance fell into Amari''s ears, but Amari didn''t pay it any heed.


    Right now, his attention was on something else.


    ¡°Are you sure about this sir¡±.


    Alice''s voice once again sounded in his ears.


    ¡°Why are you still asking me that?¡± His voice was tinged with a hint of curiosity.


    ¡°It doesn''t matter anymore. I''ve decided. What''s done is done¡±.


    ¡°You know very well that I do not mean the Dreggs".


    A week had passed since Amari''s appearance at the Apokolips.


    ¡°Hehehehe, They''re gods, Alice. Give them their due respect¡±. Amari couldn''t help but chuckle.


    ¡°They tried to kill you on sight¡±.


    ¡°I''m still standing. And the one who did isn''t¡±.


    ¡°That aside, do you think it would be wise to introduce another race into the Axiom?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Why not?¡± Amari shrugged.


    ¡°It''s empty anyway¡±.


    ¡°The Old Gods have not been subdued yet. Adding another race will only be more trouble¡±.


    ¡°Do I look concerned?¡±


    At this point, he was already at the shore. His eyes shone with a strange light as he looked into the distance.


    ¡°Deathstroke has broken into Strader Pharmaceuticals¡±.


    ¡°Oh! And?¡±


    ¡°Everyone within is dead. The cure was stolen, as well as the Pheno Drug¡±.


    ¡°¡­¡±.


    ¡°What do you plan to do to him?¡±


    Amari didn''t respond.


    Just looked into the distance as the seconds elapsed.


    ¡°Just keep an eye on his whereabouts. As well as everyone who is remotely related to him. We''ll get to the bottom of this after I''m done here¡±.


    His eyes seemed to see deep into the infinite ocean.


    Thrum......


    ¡°Huh?¡± Amari raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± Alice asked.


    ¡°Yes¡±. Amari turned his gaze away from the sea to look into the distant land where a valley filled with rocky hillsides lay.


    ¡°Alice, you marked the position of all the Breaches in the world, right?¡±


    ¡°That is correct¡±. The day Amari discovered each breach, Alice had marked each of them.


    With telescopic vision, his eyes peered through a great distance, landing in a secluded area of the valley where a massive portal floating above the ground could be seen.


    The Breach emitted an energy blast that swept the surroundings, causing the earth to tremble


    Following which, a man fell through it.


    He wore a gold-plated battle suit that encased his entire body save for the base of his neck upward.


    The head once full of red curly locks was completely devoid of hair, making it particularly eye-catching.


    ¡°Well, it looks like we''re about to have new guests¡±.


    .......

 Chapter 126 Slades Dilemma

    A blast of energy was expelled from the breach, sweeping everything within its path away.


    Following which......


    A figure fell through the portal, landing heavily on the ground with a loud bang.


    Numerous cracks appeared on the soil beneath him due to the force upon impact.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Lex groaned with pain. His super suit was to thank for mitigating most of the force. Wisps of energy were constantly emitted from it, the only thing to currently indicate that Lex had successfully crossed between worlds.


    ¡°I.....¡±. The disorientation slowly started to fade. Propping himself up to his feet, the blurry image before him gradually became clear and the dizziness receded.


    ¡°I''m..... Not in the facility anymore¡±. His eyes widened in surprise upon realizing this.


    ¡°That means....... It worked¡±.


    ¡°It appears it did¡±. A plan, female voice uttered from his suit.


    ¡°Mercy! Good to know you''re still online¡±. The expression on his face eased after hearing the familiar voice.


    Mercy..... His own programmed Artificial Intelligence.


    ¡°Indeed. You are lucky the quantum disturbance between universes didn''t cause your battle suit any substantial damage¡±.


    A small gold light blinked near his chest area.


    ¡°I have tried gaining access to the satellites under our control in our world. They are unreachable¡±.


    ¡°That practically confirms it¡±. He nodded with a bit of relief.


    ¡°Indeed. Now the best course of action would be to determine where you are and everything about this world. I''m trying to connect to the nearest satellite..... Sate¡­. Sate.....¡±.


    The robotic voice suddenly began to blitz.


    The sudden change caused Lex to raise an eyebrow.


    ¡°Mercy?¡±


    ¡°Sate..... Sate¡­.¡±. The AI paid him no heed. Just continued repeating half a word over and over like a broken record. And then..... It stopped completely.


    A frown appeared on Luthor''s face.


    ¡°Mercy? Mercy respond¡±.


    ¡°....... Hello¡±. Finally, Lex received a response. But not only did it fail to alleviate his worries, instead, his frown grew deeper.


    That voice....... He didn''t recognize that voice.


    ¡°Mercy¡­. What''s going on with you?¡±


    Looking at the blinking light near his chest, his eyes widened when it suddenly turned from gold to red.


    ¡°...... I''m sorry, Mercy isn''t here right now¡±. The childish voice responded to his inquiries.


    ¡°... What the......¡±.


    ¡°She will be occupied for a while¡±.


    The eyes of the bald genius narrowed to the extreme.


    The atmosphere immediately grew tense due to the sudden change of events.


    ¡°I will be answering you now¡­. You can call me......... A.L.I.C.E¡±.


    ¡°..... What are.....¡±.


    ¡°Alright Alice¡­.¡±. The sound behind him made Lex''s pupils shrink to the extreme. He quickly turned around and stretched out his hand in an attacking motion.


    The fist encased within the suit gave off a gold glow, ready to fire the laser beam at any time.


    ¡°....... Don''t frighten him too much¡±. Dark hair, blue pupils, wearing a white Jacket that gave off a soft glow in the dark.


    Lex raised an eyebrow. The face was young¡­. Looking to be in his early twenties.


    In his eyes, he was barely a grown up. Nevertheless, Lex didn''t lower his guard.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Amari tilted his head to the side slightly.


    ¡°Well that''s not right. Definitely not right at all¡±. A puzzled expression appeared on his features. Seeing him staring at him a bit of doubt and extreme scrutiny, Lex felt slightly uncomfortable.


    ¡°I thought I told you and the rest of your group I''d be coming for all of you. First Ocean Master, now..... You¡±.


    ¡°Which is why I''m perplexed. Did you forget me already lex?¡±


    ¡°.... Um ..... That¡­.¡±. The atmosphere was remarkably tense. Lex couldn''t help being dumbfounded for a second.


    He just arrived at another world, running from home affairs, and he faced a whole new situation.


    From the few sentences, he could already deduce that his ...... Double¡­ In this universe was probably in a lot of trouble. And now¡­. He, an innocent soul was now faced with problems that didn''t belong to him.


    ¡°.... I''m...... Not who you think I am¡±.


    Working his brain, he could only come up with those few words to explain the situation.


    After all, for most people, the idea of another universe was absurd.


    Even if it wasn''t, Lex wouldn''t tell this to just anyone. The information of parallel Earth''s could bring a whole new set of troubles if it fell into the wrong hands.


    Just like he had enemies on his world, he didn''t believe that the heroes of this earth didn''t. As for how to explain the portal behind him........ That was a concern for the future Lex Luthor.


    Now, he just hoped he could clear up the misunderstanding as quickly as possible, instead of having the situation degenerate to the point of a battle.


    ¡°Hehehe¡±. Amari chuckled.


    ¡°Don''t worry, I guessed that much¡±.


    ''Huh? That easy''.


    ¡°Don''t get me wrong. It''s not everyday you see the president of America falling out of a breach in the middle of nowhere while wearing a battle suit".


    The simple words allowed Lex to extract a lot of information.


    ''I see. In this universe, I''m the president''. Although not taken completely, he found the other party''s words believable.


    Nevertheless, due to too little information, some things didn''t add up.


    Then, his body stiffened for a second as he realized something.


    Breach?


    ¡°So would you mind telling me......¡±. It happened then. Right before his eyes, Lex saw Amari''s pupils glow with a bright blue color.


    ¡°...... What is the Lex Luthor from another Earth doing in this universe?¡±


    Looking at those blue eyes, Luther felt a chill run down his spine for no reason.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ''He knows¡­.''. Immediately, energy blasts emerged from the thrusters underneath his feet.


    Acting on instinct, the first course of action was to incapacitate the opponent.


    Following which, laser beams were fired from his fists towards the adversary.


    These blasts, however, were optimized. Unlike the ones he used on able-bodied individuals like Superwoman and Ultraman, these beams were meant to knock the target unconscious.


    After all, he didn''t know the status of his temporary adversary.


    Until he was sure of the situation, Lex had no plans to kill the young man before him.


    Not until he could determine whether he was a hero or a villain of this universe.


    This man had clearly stated his identity.


    If he was the former....... Then he could only apologize later on when he regained consciousness.


    And with these thoughts moving through his mind, the energy beams moved at fast speeds, slamming into Amari''s chest.


    Standing still, the energy beams were absorbed cleanly.


    ¡°Nice shot.....¡±. He hadn''t finished his words, Luthor in his War suit appeared before him and punched with a glowing arm.


    Bang!


    Amari''s head tilted to the side. Then his head straightened back to face the adversary.


    Lex''s jaw dropped slightly, before coming back to his senses.


    ¡°My turn.....¡±.


    ¡°Shield!¡±


    ......


    Tonight, the peaceful evening near the Atlantic coast was destined to be ruined.


    Bang!


    A figure flew out from the valley at Mach speed.


    His figure drew an arc in the air before plummeting to the ground with great force.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Luthor, who was thrown out, bounced off the ground many times upon his crash.


    Cracks similar to spiderwebs appeared on the points of impact before he stopped bouncing and simply dug a short trench to halt his motion.


    ¡°Puff!¡± The moment he stopped, red liquid flowed from his inner chest to his lips and erupted uncontrollably.


    Luthor spat out a mouthful of blood while letting out a low groan.


    A pile of dirt had appeared behind his back which he now lay on.


    ¡°Well, I didn''t expect that¡±. Blood dripped from the side of his mouth onto his War suit. The noticeable fist dent that appeared on his chest area deeply shocked the bald universe traveler.


    Right before the punch landed, he deployed his suit''s energy shield to defend himself.


    The result.......


    It was shattered with a single strike.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Pain surged through his chest area as he tried to stand to his feet.


    ¡°I suggest you give up. Your War suit has retained considerable damage from that attack¡±.


    Alice''s voice rang in his comms.


    ¡°...¡± Knowing his systems had been infiltrated, Lex didn''t reply.


    Numerous thoughts ran through that big brain of his in an attempt to salvage the situation.


    Unfortunately, he wasn''t given enough time to think. Raising his head up, Amari could be seen descending from the sky.


    ''Who the hell is this kid?'' Lex thought gravely. Back in his world, Amari wasn''t a registered person with abilities.


    Meaning that he probably didn''t exist on his earth. Meaning, Lex didn''t know how to properly communicate with the latter.


    That''s right¡­. Communicate.


    The previous strike let him know that this youth before him was on the same level of strength as the leaders of the Crime Syndicate.


    Perhaps above them, as even Ultraman would find it difficult to create a dent this noticeable on his armor. The war suit was reengineered from a kryptonian battlesuit along with Apokoliptan technology.


    It was his capital to go toe to toe with the Crime Syndicate. Now, his chest hurt like hell.


    Thinking this far, Lex knew he had to do something. He was here to get help..... Not gain more enemies.


    Standing up in a somewhat crooked posture, Lex spoke, seeing that the adversary didn''t outright attack.


    ¡°Stop. I don''t want to fight you¡±. He uttered with a solemn expression.


    ¡°I bet you don''t¡±. The apathetic voice fell into his ears.


    ¡°But that''s not what I asked you¡±. Telekinesis was unleashed with reservations.


    Lex''s face changed drastically as he hurriedly tried to flee........ Unfortunately¡­.


    Bang!


    A massive crater emerged on the ground beneath them like a meteor just crashed on the soil. Caught within the area of attack, Lex in his battle suit was flattened I to the earth like a pancake.


    At that moment, the energy shield emerged again, trying to offset the force. It barely resisted for half a second before shattering.


    Lex felt his organs tremble.


    However, instead of squishing him into meat paste, the invisible force wrapped around his body and pulled him upward.


    Lex felt like he was clamped by giant, invisible hands.


    ¡°I ask again. What exactly are you doing here? You can tell me, or I can just read your memories¡±.


    ¡°...... I''m...... Trying¡­". The bald man uttered with great difficulty as he resisted having the air squeezed out of him.


    Creak!


    He could already hear the war suit creating creaking noises.


    ¡°Really?¡± Amari''s eyebrows couldn''t get any higher.


    Clang!


    A part of the war suit seemed to snap.


    ¡°Then I suggest you try harder¡±.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± For several seconds, the only thing that resounded was Lex''s painful groans.


    ¡°I....... Came ....... For....... Help¡­.¡±.


    Amari''s glowing eyes showed a hint of contemplation. Then, they ceased to glow and returned to normal.


    Lex felt the invisible force around him disappear. And then..... He fell from a height of several feet.


    Thud!


    A small human - shaped mark appeared on the earth.


    Cough! Cough! Ugh!


    Rolling on his side, he let the red liquid seep out of his mouth.


    ¡°You should be the one from Earth 3¡±.


    The sound of footsteps behind him made his body stiffen slightly. Then, the sentence quickly caught his attention.


    Earth 3?


    Separate universe had designated numbers? Who numbered them? Was this universally acknowledged? Also, what did it mean for his world to be deemed Earth 3?


    ¡°I''m ...... Alexander Luthor......¡±. Ignoring the pain, the bald man, who didn''t know he was bald yet, sat up straight.


    ¡°Leader of the Justice League of my world. And who might I ask, are you?¡±


    ¡°Amari¡±. The response was plain. ¡°And I know who you are. Any other Luthor would have suffered much worse as I don''t take too kindly to attacks¡±.


    He resisted the urge to gulp down and let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Are you a member of the Justice League of this universe?¡±


    ¡°No, I''m not¡±.


    ¡°....¡±. Lex didn''t know what to say.


    ¡°Luckily for you, I''m not a villain either. If I were, you''d already be dead¡±.


    ¡°....... Understood. Then would you please let me know how to contact them....... Or at least point me in the direction of the nearest city¡±.


    ¡°You''re near the Atlantic coast. The nearest town is a few miles that way¡±. He said while pointing West.


    ¡°.......... I see¡­. I¡­.¡±. His words fell back into his throat as Amari turned to the side and walked past him.


    ¡°Alice, do let the poor AI regain control. Back to business. We''re done here¡±.


    The red light on the War suit returned to normal, but Lex didn''t pay attention.


    ¡°Oh..... One thing though¡±. Amari''s halted in his steps.


    ¡°I suggest you look up the Information about this planet before asking for help. You''ll find the heroes of this earth have their hands full¡±.


    ¡°Hold on...... You''re leaving?¡±


    ¡°Am I doing anything here for you?¡±


    ¡°...¡±.


    Lex opened his mouth but couldn''t say a word.


    He found his situation particularly bizarre. After beating him up to this point, he just let him go like that? Wasn''t he afraid that he was a threat to the world or something?


    ¡°All you need to do is report yourself to the nearest police station in an urban city. Preferably Metropolis. The league should come pick you up after that¡±.


    ¡°They''ll recognize that bald head anywhere¡±. His voice began to fade out as he wandered further away.


    Silence.


    Maintaining his sitting posture, Lex had a deep frown on his face as he recalled the events of his encounter.


    He raised his hand in an attempt to run it through his red hair, only to touch a surface as smooth as an egg.


    At that moment, his eyes widened to the size of saucers as Amari''s words replayed in his ears.


    ¡°I''m Bald!¡±


    ..........


    Meanwhile........


    League of Assassins Headquarters.......


    Bang.


    A clenched fist slammed against the table, causing it to break in half.


    Ra''s Al Ghul looked at the broken table with an air of indifference. A frown still adorned his face though as he said with slight displeasure.


    ¡°Calm yourself Slade. Your actions are unsightly¡±.


    ¡°Unsightly you say?¡±


    With his mask off, Deathstroke looked terribly gloomy at the moment.


    ¡°Then tell me what exactly you think I should do now¡±.

 Chapter 127 Hephaestuss Forge

    ¡°...¡±. There was no response.


    Ra''s Al Ghul maintained the indifferent facade on the surface but deep within, he was at a loss for words.


    This was supposed to be a regular grab and stash operation. The Pheno Drug would be taken so Doctor Langstrom could complete his research on the Manbat formula.


    It was supposed to be that easy. But who knew that they would encounter such a situation.


    In simpler words, it was nothing short of horrible.


    Slade had every right to be gloomy. Although he was called the world''s greatest assassin who worked for the highest bidder, he was still self-conscious on a lot of things.


    Rarely would he take any work that required him to deal with situations that could easily escalate out of his control.


    Fighting against the actual big guns of the Justice League was one of them. Superman was still doable with the right tools at his disposal, but no amount of money would make him stupid enough to blatantly brandish his blades and attempt to hunt Wonder Woman.


    That was purely asking for a beating and a get into jail card.


    This wasn''t fear........ It was self-awareness. The serum he took wasn''t enough to make him look down on everything else with his skills.


    But now, the situation had changed.


    Forget the Justice League. He had messed with someone who even death couldn''t stop.


    ¡°Really old man? Nothing?¡± His voice took a colder tone to it.


    ¡°...... This is not my fault Slade". Deathstroke was angry, while Ra''s was depressed.


    Between both of them, The Demon''s Head wanted to see Amari less.


    After all, the other party had publicly made it his goal to kill him and the rest of the light.


    They might be able to overlook it the first time, but with Orm''s display, no one dared to feel at ease anymore.


    ¡°Do I look like I care whose fault this is?¡±.


    His voice was practically roaring at the moment. He grabbed one half of the mahogany table and threw it towards the nearest wall in a fit of rage.


    Bang!


    Swoosh!


    Multiple dark shadows appeared around them, turning up from seemingly out of nowhere.


    Gleams of silver light reflected off the cold steel on their hands.


    The moment Slade took action, several assassins that guaranteed the safety of The Demon''s Head at all times surrounded the room, both in an out.


    Each and every single one of them had sharp eyes, tense nerves and exuded an aura of murderous intention.


    Their blades, throwing stars, Shurikens and Kunai were held within their grasp, locked on Deathstroke least he tried anything foolish.


    This was the foundation of the League Of Assassins, but Deathstroke didn''t bat an eyelid.


    ¡°Are you going to have your shadow guards kill me?¡± He asked in a mocking tone.


    Ra''s Al Ghul didn''t speak, but simply signalled with a wave of his hand.


    Following which, his shadows disappeared just as fast as they arrived.


    Looking at Slade''s ugly expression, Ra''s knew that he was particularly pissed off.


    Sigh!


    A sigh of weariness finally escaped the lips of the centuries old man.


    "I know the matter is...... Difficult. But believe me, I am in no better position right now than you are. He has also threatened to take my life. And my involvement with you will only lead me to him sooner ".


    His words seemed to calm down the assassin.


    ¡°Threaten you?¡±


    Thoughts reflected through his mind as he analyzed those words. A second later, it finally came to him.


    ¡°I see......¡±. The man muttered with a hint of realization.


    ¡°You''re one of the people he''s looking for¡±.


    ¡°Yes¡±. The Demon''s Head replied with a slight frown.


    ¡°Hmph! Looks like I''m not the only unlucky one¡±.


    ¡°So you can see that I''m in the same situation you currently find yourself in. And do not forget Slade.....¡±.


    The old man''s eyes narrowed greatly.


    ¡°...... That I didn''t order you to attack that facility. No ..... I hired you to get doctor Langstrom to complete his life''s work. How you go about it wasn''t in my instructions¡±.


    As an old fossil who had survived for hundreds of years, Ra''s Al Ghul was shrewd, cunning and a particularly ruthless character who built everything he had now with his own hands.


    He wouldn''t allow himself to be despised by anyone, and the only reason Deathstroke wasn''t immediately besieged from all sides was because he valued Slade''s capabilities.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Nothing more, Nothing less, and they both knew it.


    ¡°So....... Calm your temper, Slade and remember where you stand and who you stand before¡±. The Demon''s Head stood up from his seat, his hands placed behind his back, completely revealing the aura and majesty of a leading monarch.


    Too bad....... Slade wasn''t buying any of it.


    The imposing aura of the Ruler of the League of Assassins wasn''t enough to make his forty-two-year-old back bend in submission.


    Deathstroke adjusted his posture.


    ¡°I didn''t come here for sympathy¡±. His eyes were blooming with a dangerous light.


    ¡°I''m here for solutions¡±.


    ¡°And I have never known you to be a man afraid of death¡±.


    Ra''s said.


    ¡°I know I will die someday¡±. The atmosphere was terrible, depressing.


    ¡°But I will not accept dying for something that isn''t worth it¡±. Slade was well-prepared to die, similar to the man before him.


    They knew what it was like to live on the edge of the blade their whole lives.


    So yeah, he wasn''t afraid of death. But no way in hell was he willing to die for such a matter.


    He was a mercenary, who promised to deliver when paid appropriately.


    And last time he checked, he certainly didn''t get paid to deal with this shit.


    There was a moment of silence.


    Finally, it was broken by Ra''s himself.


    ¡°This matters..... concerns me just as much as it concerns you¡±.


    This was the truth. If Amari found out that Slade had done what he did under his orders, whether directly or not, he was sure that his end would be miserable.


    By then, his hidden identity wouldn''t be needed and Amari would have another perfect reason to end him. And unlike Ocean Master, he wasn''t sure he would be left alive.


    The images briefly flashed through his subconscious.


    In the dark night, the island was completely ruined, flames blazing in all directions. His shadows..... All dead, his daughter..... Dead. Those glowing blue eyes staring at him with unprecedented coldness.


    Even someone as tough as him felt fear at the thought.


    Ra''s had decided. He could not let this happen.


    His death was acceptable, but the destruction of his legacy was something the arrogant old man would never accept. His daughter suffering before death was something he would not accept even more.


    ¡°While I can''t tell you not to worry about this, as that would be a lie, I can say that we are searching for ways to deal with this¡±.


    Ra''s felt no need to hide his secret identity as a member of The Light.


    He turned around and walked towards the wall where an old painting hung on the wall.


    ¡°My...... Associates are searching for a solution to this matter as we speak. And our recent gathering has let me know that they have found....... A possible solution¡±.


    His footsteps halted.


    Slade''s frown didn''t lessen in the slightest due to the old man''s choice of words.


    He knew Ra''s. And this man before him never mixed up his words. Anything he said was precisely how he meant it.


    The ending of that sentence was not the least bit encouraging.


    ''A possible solution''.


    This simply meant that they weren''t sure they could succeed. And this alone was enough to make his heart sink.


    Deathstroke never did things he wasn''t sure of, and neither did Ra''s. Yet here they were.


    The old man turned his face to reveal his side profile.


    ¡°Transport Langstrom. Lie low for a while. Let no one know of your location, and I will contact you when we are ready to resolve the issue. That, Slade, is all I can say¡±.


    That was The last words of the Demon Head. Following which, he turned his attention to the painting completely, leaving Deathstroke behind him to ponder in silence.


    They stayed the same way for a while. That was until Slade moved.


    ¡°Fine¡±. The mercenary turned around and walked towards the exit.


    ¡°And I do hope you''re right old man¡±.


    That sentence was similarly the last and soon, even the lingering sound of footsteps disappeared completely.


    The room once again regained its peace and quiet. The indifferent expression that remained constant on Ra''s face was finally broken.


    Worry, fear, anger, and helplessness appeared on his features one after another as he thought about possible countermeasures that were ultimately useless.


    ¡°L-0¡±. After a while, he tapped the center area on the clothing in the center of his arm and called out with a cold tone.


    ¡°Yes sir. You called?¡±


    A hologram appeared right before him of a teenager girl exuding a pure color white.


    ¡°Contact Savage¡±.


    ¡°...... As you wish¡±. Her figure changed to display a holographic screen midair. The Demon''s Head waited patiently for several seconds as the White Queen connected him to one of the two actually immortal members of their group.


    It didn''t take too long, the image of a man with long hair and a full, well trimmed beard appeared on the screen.


    His full lips, black eyes and the three shallow white scars that ran across his face completely betrayed his identity.


    ¡°If it isn''t Al Ghul".


    ¡°Vandal¡±.


    ¡°To what do I owe the pleasure of your call¡±.


    ¡°You might have to speed up whatever plan you have. The situation is facing a probation escalating¡±.


    Vandal frowned. He could immediately guess the only thing that would make this man speak in such a tone.


    ¡°Tell me what happened¡±.


    Ra''s frowned. Although he didn''t want to disclose his operations, he didn''t have a choice at the moment.


    Although they were partners, everyone had their own thing going on. No one was truly loyal to this secret organization of theirs and only saw it as a way to further their own interests.


    Due to this, Ra''s could only withhold as many actual details as he could while giving a clear picture of the whole incident.


    ¡°I see¡±. Vandal replied after Ra''s was done.


    ¡°It seems that you are right. But worry not, we have made substantial progress in our endeavors¡±.


    ¡°Would you care to clarify¡±. How could simple words put him at ease? Ra''s called precisely to know how far Vandal had gone in his efforts to get rid of the scourge that was sharpening a butcher knife right over their heads.


    Savage was silent for a few seconds, apparently pondering his choice of words.


    ¡°It''s been done. Klarion has located her in the Forge of Hephaestus. Now all we need to do is make contact¡±.


    ¡°...... What about the weapon?¡±


    ¡°We have yet to confirm if it is truly in her possession. But that should not be a problem. Klarion and I will personally see to it that matters are completed¡±.


    The sentence surprised The Demon''s Head.


    ¡°Your are going by yourselves?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I feel it is the most appropriate¡±.


    Vandal''s face showed a smirk.


    ¡°After all, The Gods must be shown proper respect¡±.

 Chapter 128 The Trench

    Atlantic Ocean......


    Far off from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge¡­.


    It was a dark night. Although there was no storm, the sea waves were just as rough as if it were.


    As the turbulent waters rose and crashed against each other, the wind howled in an equally aggressive manner. Looking up, one would see the dark clouds rolling in from the distance, indicating anything but fair weather.


    And looking down...... The seemingly endless sea. From a normal person''s perspective, what could be seen was nothing but pitch-black darkness.


    The rolling waters completely concealing anything and everything that lay below them.


    This region of the ocean was scarce in fish. At least when compared to other, further off areas, the quantity of the general marine life was very little. However, this wasn''t because of frequent fishing practices.


    In fact, no boat, ship, or Yacht dared to sail through these waters at night. All because no news was ever received from those that did.


    Cause, within these waters, was the home of a race of creatures more terrifying than many things mankind had ever seen.


    Currently, Amari was looking at them.


    Crash!


    The water waves collided against each other yet again as the dark clouds expanded to cover the sky.


    A ship sailed on the rumbling sea, heading deeper and deeper into waters that should not have been charted.


    Although there was no rain yet, the deck was soaked with seawater and the waves continually lashed at the fishing boat. It wasn''t too large, and it wasn''t small either.


    ¡°Damn!¡± A young man cussed in a low voice as he rubbed his palms together.


    ¡°Cold?¡± An older male at the side looked at him and asked blankly.


    ¡°.....Yeah!". He replied after a moment of silence.


    ¡°First time at sea, huh?"


    ¡°..... You know?¡±.


    ¡°I can see it all over you¡±. The man cast his gaze away as he continued his work.


    ¡°The way you look, walk, how you seem to be freezing even inside that raincoat.....¡±.


    ''Aren''t you?''. The young man couldn''t help but grumble internally, wondering what these people were made of.


    His hand held tightly to a short iron pole in order to keep his balance in check.


    They were at sea, it was nighttime, and they were a long way from shore. Not to mention he had been splashed with seawater more than once during this journey.


    No surprise, the temperature out here was almost freezing.


    ¡°You''re one of the new guys¡­.¡±. The old aged man with a scruffy beard swept his gaze over him for a second. The dull look in his eyes made the youth uncomfortable.


    ¡°The ones who jump in here with no idea what they''re getting into¡±.


    His calm words made the youth frown.


    ¡°I''m not.....¡±.


    ¡°Cut the rubbish kid.....¡±. He remarked with a drawl. ¡°..... You''re here for the money, aren''t ya?¡±


    The middle-aged man''s stare chilled him greatly. Whatever impulsive thoughts that were initially brewing quickly died.


    ¡°Just like I thought. It''s what you''re all here for¡±.


    The male was silent. Yes¡­. Why else would he be in this place, doing something that would practically damn him for life?


    This..... This was no regular fishing boat.


    He swept his eyes around the deck where close to a dozen men were working. Pushing this, pulling that, moving everywhere and back....... Their expressionless faces let him know exactly how bleak his future would be.


    The old man paid the youth no more attention. He knew what was lying in store for this kid. And he didn''t want to talk about it.


    However, the youth didn''t seem to want their conversation to end.


    ¡°It''s not the cold¡±.


    The wrinkling hands stiffened slightly.


    With a raised eyebrow, old Jim took a look at the youth whose gaze was looking into the far distance.


    ¡°Come again?¡±


    ¡°I said it''s not the cold¡±. Deep within the youth''s eyes, a trace of uneasiness flashed for a split second.


    ¡°.... I mean¡­. It is, but, it''s just a part of it¡±.


    ¡°Oh? Then what is it?¡±


    ¡°I....... I''m a Metahuman¡±. The male said after a few moments of hesitation.


    For the first time, a look of surprise flashed across the old man''s eyes. Following it, a trace of vigilance.


    ¡°.... You do know the implications of what you''re saying, right?¡±


    ¡°.... I know¡±.


    The old man wasn''t sure he did. Because if he did, then he wouldn''t dare to open his mouth to tell him. Or anyone else on this ship for that matter.


    ¡°I see..... And you tell me this¡­ Why?¡±


    This time, he didn''t reply.


    Seeing the youth keep silent, the old man''s eyebrows furrowed slightly. The trace of vigilance in his heart increased greatly as he moved one hand to reach for the gun in the back.


    When it came to people with abilities, there was never anything like being too wary in their line of work.


    Who knows what abilities this kid had at his disposal. As a veteran in the trade, Old Jim had seen many things.


    A tingling sensation emerged in the youth''s mind as the hairs on his body stood on end. Knowing the cause and seeing Jim''s small movements, he let out a wry smile.


    ¡°Because..... It might be the only way everyone on this boat, me included, can get to live to see another day¡±.


    Click!


    The sound of a gun clicking fell into his ears


    ¡°What are you talking about? Stop speaking in riddles and get out with it. And unless you''re as fast as The Flash from Central City, don''t try anything foolish¡±. Jim''s voice was grave.


    His actions immediately attracted the attention of the rest of the crew.


    ¡°Hey! What''s up?¡±


    ¡°Jim? What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°What''s wrong with the kid¡­.¡±.


    The youth resisted the urge to let out a sigh. He knew this would probably be the result, but now, he didn''t have a choice.


    ¡°The gun is a bit much. My power isn''t offensive in any way¡±. The youth raised his hand, greatly regretting why he had come on this boat to begin with.


    ¡°So what are they?¡±


    ¡°I can tell when I''m about to die¡±. The crew members had already surrounded them both, and his words caused a wave of silence.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I know when I''m about to die¡±. The youth repeated. ¡°It happened during the first particle accelerator incident in Central City. The days after that, my abilities began manifesting. Everything something bad was about to happen to me, I''d feel a wave of uneasiness deep within my mind. What I feel each time is different depending on the level of danger I''m about to experience¡±. At this point, he didn''t care about being exposed and earnestly explained his powers.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°How does it work?¡± Jim asked.


    ¡°I can''t say for sure. I don''t know what exactly I''m about to experience whenever it happens. For small things, it could range from someone bumping into me, to accidentally getting cut with a sharp object, or even having a bird poop on my head¡±.


    ¡°For stronger things, it could be as much as a car accident, a brick falling from the sky, or a building that''s about to explode with me in it¡±.


    ¡°Point being, I can tell whenever I''m in danger. Like the way you''re pointing a gun at me. And right now, my powers are saying....... that if we don''t turn back now, we''re all going to die¡±.


    Everyone''s eyes narrowed greatly.


    ¡°This...... You can''t be serious¡±.


    ¡°Tch, Bullshit¡±.


    ¡°He says he''s a meta..... Are you going to rule that out¡±.


    ¡°What if he''s lying?¡±


    Seeing everyone''s gloomy expressions, the youth uttered through gritted teeth.


    ¡°I''ve exposed my identity. Basically, giving away my freedom to let you know this. You have to believe me¡±.


    He had felt this way ever since he boarded the boat. But back then, it was nothing more than a slight chill.


    This level of warning could mean anything. He could trip, get hit with a rock or get slapped on the back of the head.


    At that time, he didn''t take it seriously. But that changed the further out they went into sea. From a chill to a ringing in his ear, to a terrible, horrible, ominous gut feeling.


    His heart was literally pounding where he stood. This was the disadvantage of his ability. It warned him in advance but didn''t let him know where exactly the danger would come from.


    A useful and at the same time, useless Meta ability. But in front of these guys, it didn''t matter. He knew that his freedom would be gone after revealing this, but he had no other way.


    Simply because, he wanted to live.


    No one uttered a word. The silence maintained with only the sound of the sea roaring in their ears.


    Old Jim was frowning heavily. He should ignore this ...... He really, really wanted to ignore this. But if this kid was telling the truth, then the chance of them dying existed.


    He wouldn''t risk it.


    ¡°Take him below deck and lock him up with the merchandise. Then strap a collar on him and see if it reacts. If it does, then we might have a problem¡±.


    ¡°With the others?¡±


    ¡°Yep¡±.


    The old man with streaks of gray hair watched with cold eyes. As was mentioned earlier, this wasn''t a regular fishing boat going out to sea, and Jim wasn''t a regular sailor but the boss of this operation.


    ¡°Didn''t you hear me?¡± Seeing that nothing was happening except him being dragged away, the youth shouted hysterically.


    ¡°If you don''t turn this ship around, we will all be buried in this sea without a tombstone to our names¡±.


    ¡°Quiet kid¡±. Old Jim uttered coldly.


    ¡°Before I verify whether you''re a meta, I''m still gonna rely on my instincts that''s kept me alive this long¡±.


    ¡°Then the fact that you can live to this age is a miracle on its own¡±. Jim''s gloomy expression stiffened.


    The calm, cold voice that sounded right behind him put his hairs on end in an instant.


    Not just him, everyone''s faces changed drastically.


    ¡°What the.....¡±. The old man hastily turned around and pointed the gun forward. He wasn''t the only one.


    The dozen or so crew members on the deck immediately drew firearms and blades from their bodies and faces the same direction with a wary gaze.


    Right in front of them, was a male with a face just as young as the one that was being hauled away a moment ago. Dark hair, clean clothes, able build, but what caught their attention was the glowing eyes.


    Their bodies tensed up even more as the same thought coursed through their minds.


    ''A Meta''.


    ¡°What?¡± Amari tilted his head slightly. ¡°Am I wrong?¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Jim uttered in a loud voice. His eyes locked on the body of the new arrival.


    ¡°Who am I? Really weird¡±. Amari rubbed his chin in thought. ¡°I thought I''d be famous by now. Yet, it seems like I''m still vastly unknown. Even some random posers can''t recognize me¡±.


    ¡°What the hell are you talking about? What posers? And why are you on our fishing boat?¡± Jim was particularly solemn at this moment.


    Did this kid sneak aboard their ship right under their noses. This was impossible. The made strict inspections on every corner before setting sail.


    ¡°Hehehehe¡±. An eerie chuckle fell into their ears.


    ¡°A fishing boat, you say? Funny, because it''s the first time I''m seeing a one that''s involved in human trafficking¡±.


    The expressions on all their faces solidified, followed by a wave of silence.


    Old Jim''s face was particularly unsightly at the moment.


    ¡°It''s also the first time I''ve seen human traffickers pretending to be fisherman, so forgive my rude intrusion. I was just curious¡±.


    These people weren''t Fishermen, neither were they sailors. Their occupation could be summed up in two words.


    Human Trafficking.


    And below the deck, there were dozens of children between the ages of five to fourteen, all locked up in cages as merchandise and divided into two groups.


    Those who were normal, and those who had Meta human dampeners strapped around their necks as collars.


    The latter were classified as the group who had the meta gene. This was why the old man initially suspected that the youth didn''t understand what the implications were when he revealed that he was a Meta Human.


    Because the boy was nothing but a recruit. He was recommended and had no one to serve as a solid backing.


    Once discovered, they would catch him and include him in the merchandise being smuggled, without exception.


    After all, Meta humans in this world were a hot commodity on the black market. No matter what his abilities were, he would sell for hundreds of thousands.


    The atmosphere was incredibly gloomy.


    ¡°You seem to know a lot¡±. Old Jim said with numerous thoughts running through his mind as he processed the situation.


    The person before him was most likely a Metahuman superhero or vigilante. No matter which one it was, it wasn''t good for them. They couldn''t let their operations be exposed.


    ¡°It seems that we can''t let you leave here alive¡±.


    Amari didn''t reply. His words were spoken with a drawling tone as he swept his gaze over all of them.


    ¡°Word of advice, I wouldn''t do that if I were you¡±.


    ¡°Bullshit¡±.


    Bang!


    Without waiting a second longer, old Jim immediately pulled the trigger. However.......


    Squelch!


    Instead of firing a bullet, the gun exploded.


    Splatter. Blood and meat pieces flew in all directions.


    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡±


    A pain filled roar escaped from the lips of the old man, frightening the lot of everyone present.


    ¡°Well, I did try to warn you¡±.


    The dozen men subconsciously made way as Jim staggered backwards while clutching his bloody arm that was missing a hand.


    Raising his head with a contorted expression, what fell into his eyes was the other party making a gesture.


    Before he could understand what was going on, he felt his body being clamped down on by an invisible force, completely restricting his movements.


    ¡°Like I said. It''s a miracle you managed to live this long¡±.


    Following which, the old man was hoisted off the ship boat and cast into the dark sea.


    ¡°So..... Is there anyone else who wants to give it a go?¡±


    Removing his gaze from the ocean, he turned his attention back to the crew members, who had frightened looks on their faces.


    No one uttered a word..... Until¡­


    ¡°You.......¡±.


    Despite the sound of the ocean, the voice of the speaker was loud enough to hear within their deathly silence.


    Amari turned his gaze to the youth who was being dragged away a while ago.


    ¡°I ....... I know you¡±.


    ¡°Finally¡±. Amari nodded. ¡°Someone who watches TV¡±.


    The youth paid no heed to his words, his face looking particularly unsightly.


    ¡°You''re the cause of all the warnings¡±.


    Amari didn''t reply, but examined him with scrutiny.


    ¡°I heard you say that you don''t know the exact cause when your powers are active. So what makes you so certain?¡±


    ¡°I¡­.¡±. His words were stuck at the tip of his tongue.


    ¡°.... Because it''s still warning¡±. Sweat was oozing out of his body, despite being in such a cold environment. He knew this feeling...... The feeling of imminent death.


    There was no chance of them escaping this place alive. This demon would kill them.


    Amari''s eyes narrowed as he continued to examine the youth that looked to be the same age as himself. A few seconds later, he shook his head.


    ¡°Then your abilities are wrong¡±.


    ¡°..... Huh?¡± Amari''s sentence left the youth slightly confused.


    ¡°Don''t you understand? Something is wrong with your abilities. It''s mistaken¡±.


    ¡°Impossible¡±. He blurted out. After so many years of use, his powers had never failed him.


    ¡°Whether you believe it or not is not my business, but your powers are misleading you. I should know because I don''t have the slightest bit of malice towards anyone here¡±.


    Amari remarked with a shrug and an indifferent expression.


    ¡°I..... You¡­.¡±. The male youth couldn''t understand. The first thought that came to mind was that he was being lied to.


    But the other crew members had different thoughts in mind.


    ¡°Wait a minute ......¡±. A middle-aged man raised his hand slowly.


    ¡°Does that mean you won''t kill us?¡± His question was precisely what they all wanted ask.


    ¡°Kill you? No. I will do no such thing¡±.


    The ship galloped on the ocean waves, causing everyone to feel slightly unbalanced.


    ¡°Wait ..... You''re serious?¡± The youth couldn''t understand at all.


    Was his ability truly wrong?


    ¡°Of course¡±. Amari nodded. ¡°However, that''s me....... I can''t say the same for them¡±.


    Everyone was stunned. Then, they turned their heads to the side of the boat and their pupils shrank to the extreme.


    Standing on the edge of the boat, was a creature that they had never seen before.


    With fins, scales, a bony exterior, Its hands carried five knife - like claws, and the head wasn''t a human''s but resembled that of a vicious angler fish.


    ¡°SHRIEK!¡±


    The heart piercing shriek caused their faces to turn pale.


    The Meta youth in particular, finally understood.


    ''So that''s where the sense of imminent crisis was coming from''.

 Chapter 129 Zeus

    ¡°Hello......¡±.


    ¡°..... Hey Jimmy.....¡±.


    ¡°Hey Clark. Is this a bad time?¡±


    ¡°No.....¡±.


    In a medium-sized apartment building, a blur could be seen moving in all directions.


    ¡°Not at all Jim. What''s the matter?¡±


    ¡°It''s chief¡­. He wants to know when your report''s coming in¡±.


    ¡°....... Oh! That¡±.


    ¡°..... He says that if you keep.....¡±.


    ¡°.....Yes, I know its late, but I''m already done¡­.¡±.


    Arriving at the sofa, his hands typed away rapidly on the keyboard of his Laptop. A second later, a clear, concise thousand word journalism paper appeared before his eyes.


    ¡°Wait¡­. You are?¡±


    Clark held the phone between his neck and shoulder.


    After using a nanosecond for proofreading, the report was sent to Perry Whites'' Email for approval.


    ¡°Yep.....¡±.


    ¡°.... Tell Chief that tomorrow''s front page will be on his desk first thing in the morning.....¡±.


    ¡°Oh¡­. Then, ok¡±.


    ¡°Thanks. I gotta get going¡±.


    ¡°Are you going anywhere?¡±


    ¡°Well....... Let''s just say I have an appointment¡±.


    ¡°Ok, Talk to you later Jimmy.....¡±.


    Clark said before ending the call. Then, he dropped the phone and sped into his room, appearing outside again dressed in new clothes.


    ¡°Ok, reports done. Clothes on, the time says it''s still early enough..... Nowhere in Rao''s name did I put my glasses......¡±.


    Taking a look at the time on his phone that said 5:30, Clark took a look in the mirror and discovered the only thing missing.


    ¡°Kara! I''m heading out¡±.


    The Man Of Steel put his glasses on and uttered loudly. However, he received no response.


    ¡°Kara? I know you can hear me¡±. He said with a weary sigh. Seeing that she still wasn''t responding, he walked to the door on the opposite end of the kitchen.


    Inside the room, a blonde female held a mobile phone in her hand with wireless earphones covering her ears.


    Whether or not she heard the voice of her cousin was debatable.


    Knock! Knock! Knock!


    The sound of knocking on the door could be heard, but she simply ignored it. Whether or not she could hear her cousin''s voice was debatable.


    However, the next movement was impossible to ignore.


    ¡°You shouldn''t ignore me. Although that headset can block the unwanted noise, it''s not enough to make you deaf¡±.


    ¡°Hey! Don''t you know it''s rude to step into people''s rooms without permission?¡± Seeing Clark step in, the female Kryptonian said with displeasure.


    ¡°Don''t you know it''s rude to pretend to be ignorant¡±.


    ¡°... Ah,". Slightly speechless, she made a nasal sound and shook her head.


    ¡°Ok! Ok! I get it. You''re going out on your date, I can see that clearly. I won''t wait up for you¡±.


    Waving her hand nonchalantly, she proceeded to relax on her pillow once more.


    Seeing her antics, the solemn expression on his face eased slightly as he found himself amused.


    ¡°It''s not exactly a date perse, more like an outing.....¡±. He had barely finished his words when he was interrupted.


    ¡°Yeah, whatever you say¡±. She rolled her eyes and spoke in a sarcastic manner.


    Clark raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°You''re getting awfully cocky, aren''t you?¡±


    ¡°Clark, I''m not a kid. Logically and literally, I''m older than you. I know all about the experiences between the opposite sex''s. Whatever you say, I''m not buying it. Have fun with the lucky lady¡±.


    Now it was his turn to be slightly speechless. Shaking his head, he got the conversation back on track.


    ¡°My night is none of your concern. We''re talking about you now¡±.


    ¡°And? I already said I wouldn''t wait up for you¡±.


    ¡°You know that''s not what I mean, Kara¡±. Seeing her playing dumb, he resisted the urge to sigh.


    ¡°I''m leaving the house. For your safety, you should do the same¡±.


    ¡°And where exactly do you want me to go?¡±


    ¡°The Cave. After what you''ve experienced, it would be best if you spent your time there¡±.


    Finally, Supergirl couldn''t keep her nonchalance up.


    Her tone grew audibly annoyed as she said.


    ¡°Kal, I can take care of myself¡±.


    Clark''s eyes narrowed as he felt a headache coming in.


    ¡°Kara, please let''s not have this conversation again. I just want you to go to The Cave. Spend some time with the rest of The Team. It''ll be better than spending the night alone here¡±.


    ¡°Really? Then who will I be spending the night with?¡± Wally, Artemis, and Robin would definitely not be around.


    Superboy didn''t speak much, Aqualad was always absent whenever there wasn''t a task and Megan...... Well, usually, spending time with Megan would be a great idea. But not today.


    In fact, not even this week.


    Seeing her expression, Clark knew what she meant. He heard from Martian Manhunter.


    The simulation exercise was a disaster and had done much more harm than good. No one within the team was in the mood or state to act normally.


    Not even the typically cheerful Miss Martian. They needed time to overcome the trauma. He understood that just as much as anyone else.


    And Kara going to The Cave now wouldn''t be of much help, but that didn''t matter.  After what happened last time, Clark would be damned if he left her on her own again.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Kara......¡±.


    ¡°Do you even know how my life is like over there?¡± She didn''t let him start.


    ¡°I mean, you barely even drop by to see how things are going¡±.


    ¡°..... I know¡±. He said after a moment of silence. ¡°And I''m sorry, but I can''t always be around. I''ve been very busy lately¡±


    Kara examined Clark with scrutiny.


    ¡°In that case, where did you find the time to go on a date?¡±


    ¡°I¡­.¡±. Clark was speechless.


    ¡°It ...... wasn''t my idea..... Batman recommended it¡±.


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I was just as surprised as you are¡±.


    ¡°Ok, awkward¡±. The thought of the gloomy man with no expression, looking like everyone owed him a few billion, asking her cousin to go on a date was honestly disturbing.


    There was a moment of silence. Seeing that, she still had no intention of getting up. The easygoing expression on Superman''s face faded.


    ¡°Kara, please don''t be stubborn. I can''t let what happened last time happen again¡±.


    ¡°Kal, I can¡­.¡±.


    ¡°You were kidnapped!¡± He raised his voice.


    The blonde didn''t respond this time. Thoughts of Apokolips couldn''t help but flash through her mind.


    Honestly, she wondered what would have happened to her if she had been successfully captured. Taken away to forever be a slave on that planet.


    The atmosphere, the screams......


    ¡°I...... I''m never going to hear the end of this, am I?¡±


    ¡°Frankly no. Not in the short term at least¡±. Clark replied with a shake of his head.


    ¡°Batman''s just too busy right now to look for you. Expect a visit to the cave anytime this week¡±.


    ¡°You......¡±.


    Ding Dong!


    At that moment, the sound of the doorbell interrupted their conversation.


    Clark paused and used his X-ray vision to see who was on the other side.


    His eyes flashed with a bit of surprise before turning to his cousin.


    ¡°It''s for you¡±.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    The door was opened. Kara, who was now standing at the door, was surprised to see a vague yet familiar face.


    Long dark hair, exquisite features¡­.


    ¡°Hi..... Um .....¡±. Kara''s mind went blank for a moment, before proceeding to give an awkward smile.


    ¡°It''s Zatanna". Perhaps seeing her plight, the female introduced herself.


    ¡°Oh, right. Sorry about that. I.....¡±.


    ¡°It''s ok. We only met once and we were barely introduced. I don''t mind¡±.


    Zatanna said casually. Her facial expression etched with a slight frown.


    Both stood at the door for a few seconds.


    ¡°Can I come in?¡± The voice broke the embarrassing atmosphere.


    ¡°Oh! Um..... Yeah, sure¡±.


    The door was pushed open as Kara made way for Zatanna to walk in.


    Her footsteps paused at the sight of the man in the room.


    ¡°Um¡­.¡±. Now it was her turn to act unnatural.


    ¡°Hi...... Mr. Superman¡­ Sir¡±.


    ¡°Hehehehe. There''s no need to call me that. When I''m off uniform, I''m just Clark Kent¡±. The Man Of Steel chuckled, not at all phased at Zatanna knowing his true identity.


    To those who knew Kara, it was obvious.


    ¡°I know you. Zatara''s kid, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir¡±.


    ¡°Well, what can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­. Nothing really¡±. Zatanna said after a moment of thought.


    ¡°I''m here for Kara¡±.


    "Oh! Well perfect then. I was just leaving and thinking about whom to leave her with".


    Clark said casually as he put on his Jacket, the last piece of clothing to complete his outfit.


    Following which, he walked to the door.


    ¡°Oh! Do me a favor and make sure she goes to The Cave when you guys are done. I''d be grateful¡±.


    These were his last words as he put on his hat and walked out of the door. Walking down the stairs, he reached a secluded corner where no one could see him and his figure disappeared on the spot.


    The door closed behind them as Clark left. Kara turned to look at Zatanna before her.


    The frowning expression of her face was particularly noticeable.


    ¡°Ok..... So what exactly do you need me for?¡± Similar to the dark-haired magician, the blonde kryptonian wasn''t exactly in the best of moods at the moment.


    Walking to the fridge, Kara brought out a soda can and asked casually.


    They were peers and acquaintances in many respects. If she could, she wouldn''t refuse aiding her for whatever reason she was here.


    While chugging the soda, a thought crossed her mind.


    ¡°Did Wally put you up to this?¡±


    ¡°What? No¡±. Zatanna was first surprised, then shook her head in denial.


    ¡°I''m not here on behalf of anyone else but myself¡±.


    ¡°Ok...... So?¡±


    ¡°I want you to tell me where Amari is¡±.


    Pfffff!


    The half drunk soda was spread all over the tiled floor.


    ..........


    Meanwhile, after arriving several blocks away in an instant, Clark found his date for the evening.


    She wore a pink button-up shirt with a tight black skirt slightly above knee-length.


    Black hair, blue eyes similar to his...... A smile subconsciously appeared on his face as he walked over.


    She hadn''t noticed him yet as her eyes faced in another direction away from him.


    The side of the street was crowded as numerous people moved on the sidewalk. Thankfully, Clark was tall and could this see where he needed to go.


    It happened then. Just as Clark made his way through the large number of white-collar workers returning home from yet another hectic day of work, he felt something bump into him.


    This was normal.


    After all, in such a busy area, contact with other people who were going in the opposite direction was inevitable.


    Certainly, Clark wouldn''t mind even if someone bumped into him.


    But this..... This was different. Different in the sense that unlike the small collisions that previously took place, something out of the ordinary happened.


    The bodies of both parties made contact and Clark felt a tremendous force act upon his shoulder, pushing him aside and causing him to stagger.


    Under his glasses, Superman''s eyes widened.


    ''I¡­. I actually felt that''.


    With this thought, he quickly turned around to see the figure of the person who he bumped into.


    Apparently, the other party also had the same thought.


    In the busy street with numerous people going to and fro, two men stood still and turned to look at the other simultaneously.


    However, what Clark saw left him very doubtful.


    The figure wore a brown hooded jacket with black long pants. His face sported a scruffy beard that looked like it hadn''t been shaved for a long time.


    So much that it seemed to occupy the majority of his facial features. The hair was a dull white color and the features gave people the feeling of a middle-aged man approaching his elderly years.


    The clothes weren''t torn or tattered and looked normal. Clean, as if fresh out of the dryer.


    If just based on these alone, Clark would think that this man was one of the homeless in Metropolis or a financially challenged individual in dire straits.


    However, that thought was overturned when he made eye contact.


    Upon laying his gaze on him, the eyes of this middle-aged man sparked with blue lightning. Quite literally he might add, like Barry whenever he was about to run.


    ''Speedster?'' This was the first thought that came to mind.


    But that wasn''t right. Speedsters were fast. And the strength this man possessed was definitely not ordinary.


    At that moment, Clark activated X-ray vision, wanting to see exactly what this man was.


    The discovery left him even more dumbfounded.


    Everyone within Clark''s sight turned into walking skeletons........ Everyone except the middle-aged man himself. He stood there just fine, his body remaining the way it was as if even the clothes he wore were made out of lead.


    "This ...... ".


    ¡°Kryptonian¡±. Right then, the silent old man finally uttered a word.


    It was soft, equivalent to a mutter. So low that no one else, but someone with enhanced senses could hear it.


    The eyes of the man carried faint surprise, as if seeing an unexpected development.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Clark looked at him with narrowed eyebrows. His gaze growing more and more intense with each moment.


    However, fate had other plans tonight.


    ¡°Hey there stranger¡±.


    A hand was placed on Clark''s shoulder, drawing his gaze to a person who had appeared beside him at some point.


    Lois called out with a smile.


    ¡°What''s going on?¡±


    ¡°I¡­.¡±.


    Clark turned his gaze back to the middle-aged man........ Only to find that the latter was gone.

 Chapter 130 The God Treaty

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    Seeing him look backwards, Lois asked with a bit of puzzlement.


    ¡°No ........ I''m fine. It''s just .......¡±. At the moment, the Man Of Steel had furrowed eyebrows and a slight frown.


    ¡°I..... I thought I saw someone¡±.


    ¡°Oh! An old friend, perhaps?¡±


    ¡°Um...... Yeah, something like that¡±. The extra thoughts could only be put aside for the meantime. After all, Clark had no idea who the man earlier was.


    At least, he wasn''t any superhero or villain he had seen before. There were a lot of strange things in this world, and the League couldn''t possibly account for everything.


    This..... Stranger wasn''t the first and he most definitely wouldn''t be the last.


    Now, Clark could only hope that he was overthinking this time. But that sense of ominous premonition within him hadn''t disappeared at all.


    ''When did I start growing so paranoid like Bruce?''


    He wondered internally.


    Whether Bruce''s tendency to worry was rubbing off on him, his ability to keep a poker face wasn''t.


    Clark was strong, powerful, and particularly straightforward. When thinking of something, his thoughts were usually laid plain on his face to those who knew him.


    Lois who was one of them.


    ¡°Alright Smallville, you Ok? You seemed a bit, troubled¡±. She said seeing the frown apparent on his features.


    ¡°What? No. It''s nothing important. I just...... have a lot on my mind recently¡±. Clark sobered up from his thoughts.


    Looking at the beautifully dressed Lois Lane, a charming smile appeared on his face.


    ¡°And nothing could help me soothe those worries better than the company of a beautiful woman¡±.


    ¡°Oh! I didn''t know the coffee boy was such a sweet talker.....¡±.


    ¡°A Kryptonian and a human¡±. Standing on a building a far distance away, the scruffy looking man laid his eyes on the departing backs of Clark Kent and Lois Lane.


    ¡°What an interesting combination, wouldn''t you agree?¡±


    He muttered seemingly to the wind as on the roof he stood, there was no one to respond to his question.


    ¡°Not really. After all, I''ve seen Gods get involved with stranger women¡±. A voice sounded within the man''s head, causing him to chuckle.


    ¡°My son¡­. Are you mocking me?¡±


    ¡°I have done no such thing. Just stating the obvious. After all, your love life was very....... Intriguing¡±.


    ¡°... Touch¨¦...¡±.


    Watching as Clark and Lois disappeared down a corner, the last gleam of interest in his eyes faded.


    ¡°So this kryptonian is the new champion of the mortals. The one they call Superman¡±.


    ¡°Yes. He is known as the most powerful being on the planet. And, apparently, the last of his kind¡±. The voice replied.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± That surprised the old man.


    ¡°How weird. The kryptonian race have gone into extinction in this universe? While their Gods watched¡±.


    ¡°There might be more to this matter than it seems¡±.


    ¡°What are the odds¡±. The evening wind blew over him, causing the hood to fall backwards.


    A head of long white hair could be seen fluttering with the breeze as a cloud of ash emerged from his body. The regular clothes previously worn disappeared with the dust cloud, and what emerged in its place was an ancient Greek style royal robe.  Golden colored armbands made of the Aegis adorned his wrists, and a crown symbolizing his supreme status was placed on his head.


    ¡°No matter. There are more important things to be done. Whether he is the last or not, he will serve his due purpose¡±.


    There was no enthusiasm to discover the reason behind this. Unless, of course, he planned to seek the Gods of the Rao-Orthodox Pantheon itself.


    After disappearance of the Greek Gods for thousands of years, seeking out other Pantheons was not in his to-do list.


    That might change if he knew that not just in this universe, but almost all universe in the multiverse, the Kryptonian race was wiped out.


    The Gods, Great Demons and all extraordinary deities and beings in general, all lived outside the multiverse itself. It was normal to ignore the daily happenings within the realm of mortals.


    It was even more normal if the Kryptonians of this earth didn''t worship their Gods like those in others.


    At least, this was what he thought.


    His blue eyes flashed with glorious lightning. Gone was the scruffy beard and unkempt look he once sported.


    Now, he truly revealed the majesty and demeanor of an Ancient God.


    ¡°You plan to seize his body? That does not seem fitting for the King Of The Olympian Gods¡±.


    Thunder flashed in the dark skies.


    The sapphire blue eyes looked at the beautiful city that was Metropolis.


    ¡°Fitting has nothing to do with it. Unless, of course, you would prefer to remain in a soul form until another, more suitable vessel can be found¡±.


    Zeus uttered with an expressionless face. His eyes couldn''t help but wander on the city.


    Mankind...... How well it has developed in the thousands of years of their absence.


    ¡°.....¡±. The voice was silent, as if inwardly contemplating his words.


    Zeus didn''t mind.


    A few seconds later, he received his reply.


    ¡°Do you plan to take action now?¡±


    The situation was instantly reversed as Zeus began contemplating. Several more seconds passed by in silence, until the Godking made his decision.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°No. Not yet anyway¡±.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because as you are aware, I do not yet have the power I once did¡±.


    Speaking of this, the eyes of Zeus narrowed to the extreme.


    ¡°It has been far too long, Apollo. The time of our reign has long since been buried under the sands of time. During the war with Ares, we lost everything. Our home, our people.......¡±. His eyes shone with a cold light.


    ¡°Our believers¡±. The son of Zeus, the great sun god Apollo who was reduced to nothing more than a soul fragment, remained silent.


    ¡°To the mortals now, we are no longer Gods, but mere footnotes in Man''s history. We are irrelevant..... All Gods are irrelevant. Now, they worship their own kind¡±. In the short time since his return, Zeus had gained a proper understanding of the era he was in.


    The gods were history. Humans followed, believed and worshiped their own. Athletes, celebrities...... And superheroes going around doing good deeds.


    Many exalted them as idols. The more powerful ones...... Gods even.


    ¡°The heroes aren''t God''s father. Just fools with capes......... All but one that is¡±.


    ¡°Indeed. But nevertheless, the facts remain the same. I¡­. Am weakened greatly. Until our strength is restored, further actions are inadvisable¡±.


    ¡°Do you plan to restore the place of the Gods among the humans?¡±


    ¡°What? No¡±. The Godking snorted.


    ¡°Do not misunderstand my words my son. My weakened power is not because of the humans but due to other reasons¡±.


    ¡°Other reasons?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. A thief has stolen a large part of my divine authority. One whom I intend to find. Your proposal is nothing more than a fool''s errand. No good can come from interfering with the absurdities of man¡±.


    And so, Zeus turned away and began walking on the roof.


    ¡°The fall of Olympus was our dark ages. And I''m one hundred percent sure that the other Pantheons must have watched our...... Downfall with relish¡±. The once expressionless face contorted for a split second.


    This just went to show that even a God needed pride and dignity.


    The fact that the Olympian Gods were destroyed in a war against one of their own was embarrassing. Driven to the point of near extinction, slaughtered one after another, he was the famous Godking of Thunder, Zeus once hailed as the all powerful King of Gods was beaten by his own son.


    ¡°Ares ¡­.¡±. The Godking resisted the urge to grit his teeth in anger and utter hatred.


    Fighting against Ares at his peak, even he was nearly killed. More than anything, he wanted to find that bastard and murder him, destroy his Godhead and throw his corpse into the deepest parts of Tartarus.


    But not yet. It wasn''t the time to seek retribution on his unfilial son.


    The Greek Gods weren''t dead. Zeus knew it, Apollo knew it, but the other Pantheons didn''t. And for the meantime, Zeus would try as much as possible to keep it that way.


    Now, his mind wasn''t on the shallow matter of gathering believers but rebuilding the glory of Olympus before the other Pantheons could realize it in time to stop them.


    Don''t think that Gods, being all powerful were indifferent to everything.


    Apart from having a billion times more power than mortals and a long sustainable life, they were essentially human in every other way.


    They scrambled for power, fame, authority, believers, territory, sex. Zeus himself was especially promiscuous.


    Most times, different Pantheons would wage war against each other for the above listed reasons.


    This was of course, until the Great Treaty between Pantheons was signed.


    In order to prevent the Gods and deities from destroying the multiverse in endless war, the Lords Of Order who sought peace more than anyone else, all came together to reach an agreement.


    The different factions depending on a number of varying reasons shared the entire DC Multiverse between themselves.


    In different universes, different realms, different Pantheons would gain complete control over territory and would claim that realm as their own.


    The biggest factions could directly occupy an entire universe while the smaller ones would have to share between themselves, constantly fighting in a struggle for power albeit in smaller scales.


    The realms of hell, the underworld, and places with similar landscape would be occupied by the demons and entities that drew power from negative sources.


    The greater deities already had their own realms and needed not to participate in this division of territory.


    The universe with the planet labeled Earth 16 within the multiverse was once the territory of the Olympian Gods. It was also here that they once resisted the invasion of The God Of Tyranny Uxas before the accords were written.


    Earth 16 was where Zeus created the Amazons and created his daughter Diana. Nevertheless, the friction between Pantheons wasn''t abolished either due to the successful division.


    During the destruction of Olympus, Zeus knew that the other Pantheons were happily watching. Watching them destroy themselves and waiting for him to die.


    They didn''t wait in vain.


    The Olympian Gods were brought to ruin under the hands of Ares, and Zeus knew that this universe was no longer under their domain.


    If it was discovered by other factions that the Olympians were still alive, the results could and would be disastrous.


    After all, no one would like having to spit out the cake already swallowed.


    The Olympians would be destroyed before they could reform. And the Lords Of Order would definitely acquiesce to their destruction in the form of ignorance. After all, their return would bring chaos..... Something they didn''t want.


    All this coming back to the original point, Zeus had no time to waste trying to gather the faith of the people of this earth. It was true that the ideal of each God played an important role in their strength. His was the same.


    As the God of the Sky, Thunder and Lightning, even when faith had dwindled rapidly, his strength would remain largely unaffected as long as these three things remained.


    Humanity had already gone this far. How long would it take to get them to re-establish their faith in the Gods? Too long and would attract too much attention and resistance.


    Now, Zeus was only slightly stronger than this earth''s Superman. How would it be possible to fight against the other Godkings if they discovered him?


    But now, for some reason, a large portion of his divine authority had been stripped away from him. For the arrogant Godking, this was unacceptable.


    Without it, he would never be able to return to peak strength.


    So it wasn''t pointless to point out that unifying the will of man was a fool''s errand.


    At least at this moment.... It was.


    ¡°So until I once again regain enough power to suppress all opposition, we must not do anything rash¡±. His footsteps came to a halt after patiently explaining.


    Apollo was always his favorite son. If not, he wouldn''t have gone to great lengths to save his life from Ares, even by storing his soul within his weakened body.


    ¡°And to achieve that.....¡±. Zeus''s gaze peered I to the far horizon.


    ¡°I will need all the help I can get¡±. This was why he intended to use the body of the Kryptonian as a vessel for his son. Kryptonians all carried great potential.


    Although such actions might cause a great conflict with the Rao Pantheon once discovered, Zeus had few choices at the moment.


    He didn''t know the happenings within the circle of Gods, or he would know that the Rao Pantheon wasn''t exactly in the best of conditions.


    Neither did he know that the Apokoliptan New God who was once injured to the point of near death by his son Ares was now a multiversal Tyrant who was spreading chaos and fear throughout the multiverse and there was little the other pantheons could do to stop it.


    ¡°In that case, what do you plan to do now?¡±


    Zeus snorted solemnly.


    ¡°Among the heroes of this earth, my daughter, your sister Diana is one of them. We find her alongside the Amazons who have sworn allegiance to us¡±. This was his plan.


    As long as he revealed that he was still alive, Hippolyta would definitely do whatever he asked.


    ¡°Then, we find the one who stole my power and kill him¡±. He uttered with an indifferent expression and a cold tone.


    ¡°Finally..... We gather the other Gods who survived the destruction. Wherever they are now¡±.


    Many old Gods had survived the battle with Ares. But with the disappearance and presumed death of the Zeus, they never dared to make their presence known.


    There were also other Gods who were sealed on this very planet. His sons and daughters...... His wife.


    But first, there was something he needed to confirm.


    Before his presumed death, The Wizard Shazam stole a portion of his power alongside the powers of other Greek Gods.


    According to what he discovered, the Wizard had bestowed those abilities all on a single mortal, naming him the Champion of the Gods.


    Zeus was very clear that it was through this portion of his abilities that a larger portion of his divine authority was stolen.


    Now, he was going to see this so-called Champion that the wizard had chosen and learn why and how this mortal had stolen his power.


    ...........


    I hope you enjoy the chapter.


    How has the FF been so far?

 Chapter 131 Shazam Meets Zeus

    While Clark was having a splendid evening, finally getting a break from his demanding secret identity. The night of someone else wasn''t as pleasant as he constantly brooded about his.


    The League members were either missing or currently inactive on Earth at this time. But only one was inactive not because he wanted to, but because he had no other choice.


    ..........


    Metropolis¡­.


    Midvale ......


    Darla''s POV.


    The lights were on in a small bungalow building as several figures sat around the dinner table.


    Unlike the next door Metropolis, the neighborhood was quiet. A little too quiet for my liking, but hey, what else can a girl do?


    When one thought of people sitting around a dinner table at this time of night, the first thing that came to mind would be the picture of a family getting together to eat.


    Dad would ask about the children''s school affairs before Mom would ask how the Father''s Day went, and the conversation would go back and forth until dinner was done.


    If it were a less normal family, like one with crappy parents who had overwhelming issues, dinner might probably be spent in silence.


    At least....... That was what I could picture in possible scenarios.


    But neither situation had anything to do with us.


    Not because of anything special really but simply because we didn''t have parents to begin with. It wasn''t the picture of a family eating a meal at the dinner table. It was just three lonely kids picked up from the orphanage and arranged to live together.


    We called ourselves siblings, but we weren''t in any way related. As you can probably guess, the house belonged to foster care, and we were just lucky enough to be living in it.


    The time spent together was quiet. Save, of course, for the sound of Freddy constantly tapping his spoon against the plate in an attempt to eat his meal.


    The constant clatter of kitchenware against each other was particularly grating to my ears, causing me to give him an annoyed glare.


    Freddy stopped, but the atmosphere didn''t improve in any way. The air around the three of us was gloomy and the depression in the atmosphere was more than I could currently tolerate.


    Eventually, I couldn''t help it anymore and raised my head to look at the third member of the family of three.


    ¡°Billy¡±.


    With dark brown hair and blue eyes, he was still while he sat on the chair. His posture was slightly hunched as he looked at the food on the table unblinkingly.


    The expression on his face showed that he didn''t hear me calling his name at all.


    Seeing this, I looked to look at my brother with a bit of anxiety. Only to see Freddy shaking his head at me with a look of helplessness within.


    ¡°Billy!¡± I called out in a louder voice. That seemed to do the trick as he snapped out of his daze and turned to look at me.


    ¡°What?¡± He replied in a grumpy tone.


    It had been like that ever since..... The incident.


    ¡°I''m ready to help you eat now¡±. I said with the best smile I could muster, trying to put him in a better mood. Unfortunately, it seemed to have the opposite effect.


    From the previous dazed look, a heavy frown appeared on his face as the turned his head to the side.


    ¡°I..... I''m not hungry¡±.


    ¡°Bill.....¡±.


    ¡°I said I''m not hungry ok?¡±


    ......


    General POV


    ¡°I.....¡±. Darla opened her mouth but couldn''t find any words to respond for a while.


    Billy lowered his gaze, not daring to make eye contact. But the sight below only served to fuel his bottled up rage and hatred.


    ¡°Sha¡­ Zam...¡±. Yellow lightning struck down from the sky as he called out unwillingly. The mighty champion of the Gods was returned to human form, his hands, however, were charred black.


    The blurry image of the power of Six Gods being extracted from his body just before he fell unconscious couldn''t help but flash through his mind.


    During the fight with Amari, the entire Justice League could be said to have suffered a painful defeat. Out of everyone who went there that day, there was no argument on the fact that he suffered the most.


    Ever since that day a few weeks ago when he battled with Amari, he lost his abilities just like Zatara did.


    However, Zatara''s loss, while severe was nothing compared to his. The former only lost his magic ability while he ..... Lost everything.


    Not only was the power granted by the wizard Shazam gone, but the mobility of his arms had been stripped away as well. According to the report given by the doctor, all the nerves within his arms had been fried by high electrical voltage. The same one that usually granted him his abilities to begin with.


    He still remembered when Superman came over to visit and broke the bad news.


    ¡°I''m sorry, Billy. I''m afraid...... You won''t be able to use your arms again¡±.


    On that day, hearing those words from a man he greatly respected and admired, the former hero felt his body go cold.


    Like his soul had escaped from his body, he had been in a gloomy state in the following weeks.


    The severity of this was worse than what anyone could imagine. He lost way more than others thought that day.


    His powers, his arms, his friends, his life as a superhero.......


    Everything obtained as a result of his powers was ruthlessly taken away from him with their disappearance.


    His identity was revealed. Even if he regained his powers, he wasn''t sure the League would accept him again due to their rules against admitting children.


    That fact would further strengthen with the situation he now found himself in.


    Everything that made him special was...... Gone. Once again, he, Billy Batson was reduced to nothing more than an ordinary orphan.


    The emotions that followed were expected.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Pain, sorrow, loss....... And rage. Pure, unbridled, incompetent rage.


    After all, although he once had great power, he was nothing more than a child playing dress up at the core. The violent emotions gave him temperamental mood swings.


    It was far too difficult to accept that now, he was a disabled individual. He thought he was suffering before he got his abilities. Now, he was so miserable that he had to rely on others to feed, bathe, and even go to the restroom because he could properly turn the flusher.


    And so, he became cold and distanced himself away from everyone around him, making his already bad relationship with his foster siblings deteriorate even further


    ¡°You ......¡±. Seeing the way things were developing, Freddy knew he had to speak up.


    ¡°..... You know you can''t go on like this, right? I mean¡­. Look at yourself¡±. Due to his raging emotions and unstable psychological state, in an attempt to not show weakness in front of the last two people in his life, Billy had specifically refused to be helped on anything ever since he returned from the hospital three days ago.


    The results were obviously counterproductive. Due to the loss of his arms, he couldn''t do anything by himself, resulting in him not bathing or eating for three days now.


    His body stunk, and his face was as pale as a sheet. Due to nightmares, he was particularly sleep-deprived.


    ¡°If you keep doing this, you''ll starve¡±.


    ¡°Would you just shut up and leave me alone?¡± Standing up from his seat, the poor boy roared with rage. Following which, he carried his limp arms and swept it across the table with as much strength as he could.


    Clatter!


    And so, the hot dinner was swept to the floor and the plate shattered to pieces. The floor was stained with spaghetti and pasta, causing the expressions of Freddy and Darla to change drastically.


    ¡°Hmph! I told you I''m not hungry¡± With a cold snort, he turned around and walked out of the dinning room with a cold face.


    Seeing him leave, the two abandoned their dinner and followed after him.


    Billy turned to walk into the kitchen, his feet headed straight for the open sliding glass door which led to the backyard.


    Unfortunately, due to the constant refusal to have anything done for him, his untied shoelaces led to his downfall.


    Tripping on them, the former Champion feel to the ground with a loud thud. His face making unimpeded contact with the cold kitchen floor surface.


    Thud!


    ¡°Argh!¡±


    A burst of pain assaulted his mind, causing the boy to yell.


    ¡°Billy! Are you ok?¡± Seeing this, the little Darla rushed forward anxiously while Freddy hurriedly advanced with his crutches.


    Upon trying to help him up, she was repulsed by Billy, who resisted her aid and struggled to get up by himself.


    ¡°Don''t touch me. I don''t need your help¡±.


    A trail of blood could be seen flowing from his nose and teeth due to the collision.


    ¡°Would you stop being so stubborn already? You don''t need to be like this because of what happened. Billy, We''re worried about you, you know, like a family would be¡±.


    These words seemed to silence him for a few seconds, but that didn''t last for long.


    ¡°Foster family¡±. He emphasized, ¡°And I''m sure you are. Because now, I''m a cripple, just like you are¡±.


    He uttered with a sweet, expecting them to give another remark of any kind. Strangely, however, what responded to him was silence.


    Slightly startled, he looked up to see Freddy looking at him, tears welling up slightly in his eyes.


    ''Oh no!'' The thought had barely formed when Freddy closed his eyes with a pained expression and turned around. Supporting himself on his able leg and the crutches in his hands, he walked away as fast as he could.


    ¡°I ......¡±. Billy opened his mouth, realizing what he had just said. Unfortunately, the damage was done.


    ¡°Freddy!¡±


    Darla let him go and stood to her feet to see Freddy''s leaving back.


    Following which, her face morphed into a frown as she looked at the boy sitting on the ground.


    ¡°Jerk!¡± She said with evident displeasure before leaving to comfort Freddy.


    This scene played out in Billy''s eyes.


    ''I..... What have I done?'' A pang of guilt appeared in his heart as he saw them leave. And so he stayed there for several seconds before getting himself off the ground.


    Then, he walked into the backyard with a dazed expression on his face yet again.


    The once gentle atmosphere changed as the wind blew slightly. An absentminded billy Batson sat in the yard motionless.


    Raising his head to look at the sky, his blue pupils could be seen reflecting a great deal of sadness.


    Following which, tears pooled in his eyes and the former Champion could no longer resist the urge to cry.


    And so he did.


    Sobbing softly in a corner with his head buried in his knees, both arms lying limply on the floor.


    The wind blew slightly more violently, and a flash of lightning streaked across the sky. The sound of thunder brought the sobbing boy out of his pitiful state.


    ''Is a storm coming?'' The thought briefly passed through his mind before disappearing in his sea of sadness. However......


    BOOM!


    Thunder resounded in the sky again, only this time, a second development startled the young child.


    With the appearance of the lightning, he found himself shrouded in someone else''s shadow.


    ¡°So this is the Champion picked by the Great Wizard?¡±


    The voice coming from behind frightened him to no end. The startled Billy Batson hurried to his feet and turned around in utter panic.


    ¡°You ......¡±.


    Standing behind him, a tall, muscular figure came into view. The illustrious head full of glowing white hair, the well trimmed white beard and the royal robes that exposed half of his well sculpted figure looked particularly eye-catching.


    Zeus took a good look at Billy Batson and observed this Olympian Champion with great scrutiny. Or rather, Ex-champion.


    That was right. As with nothing but a single gaze, Zeus could tell that this mortal didn''t have the power of The Six Olympian Gods.


    At least ...... Not anymore.


    It looks like the universe had experienced drastic changes ever since the fall of the old Gods. Zeus had nothing against his power being wielded by mortals, but why in the name of Olympus was that mortal a child?


    Honestly, he was unimpressed.


    The old wizard''s ability to discern properly must have gone horribly wrong.


    ¡°Speak your name child¡±. His voice reverberated like thunder itself.


    ¡°I ..... Who the hell are you?¡± However, contrary to Zeus''s expectations, the child didn''t cower after laying eyes on him.


    That young face with a solemn expression and narrowed eyebrows...... This wasn''t the image of one who was afraid.


    ¡°Zeus. God of gods, Ruler of Olympus¡±.


    His words made the young man''s eyes widen.


    ¡°Impossible."


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    Billy''s eyes narrowed.


    ¡°The Wizard said you''re all supposed to be dead¡±.


    ¡°Did he now?¡± Sure enough, that detestable wizard.


    A bolt of lightning condensed in his palm.


    ¡°In that case, do tell me boy ........¡±. Looking at the former Champion before him, Zeus''s eyes flashed with murderous intentions.


    ¡°What exactly have you done with my power¡±.


    ...........


    Meanwhile.........


    Happy Harbor, Rhode Island


    ......... The Cave ............


    [Recognized Supergirl: B-08]


    [Recognized Zatanna: B-09]


    Two flashes of golden light were emitted from the Zeta tubes. Following which, two figures stepped into The Cave.


    ¡°So? What''s your answer?¡±


    As soon as they stepped into the cave, Zatanna turned to Kara and asked with narrowed eyebrows.


    ¡°I ...... I don''t think you should.....¡±. The kryptonian''s words came to a halt as she saw several figures standing at the center of the room.


    One in particular was the last person in this world she wanted to see right now.


    ¡°Perfect timing¡±.


    Batman said while walking towards her.


    ¡°Um..... For what?¡± Kara stammered a bit.


    ¡°For a talk¡±. He said, with his eyes glancing at Zatanna for a brief moment before returning to the object of his attention.


    ¡°I need to talk to you¡±.


    Hearing his blunt tone and seeing his indifference, Kara couldn''t help but feel annoyed.


    ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°For starters .....¡±. The Dark Knight narrowed his eyebrows.


    ¡°Everything you know¡±.

 Chapter 132 Youre Of No Use To Me

    ¡°What?¡± The blonde had a slightly bewildered expression on her face.


    ¡°I don''t understand¡±.


    ¡°No?¡± Bruce asked. ¡°Then let me be clearer then. Everything concerning your one night out with him¡±.


    A flash of realization flashed in her eyes, followed by a look of annoyance. Although Clark told her, she would be disturbed, she definitely wasn''t expecting it to be now, and so suddenly.


    ¡°Um..... Is this a bad time?¡± Zatanna asked beside them.


    ¡°You''re seriously asking that?¡± For her words, Kara''s annoyance only grew. She turned her head to look behind The Dark Knight where several figures were standing in the middle of the room, watching the whole thing play out before them.


    Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado.


    How exactly was this not a bad time?


    ¡°Hold on ..... You''re.....¡±. Among the group, there was a face she had seen before. That was on the night she first came into contact with the team. However, they hadn''t crossed paths with each other ever since.


    An attractive woman with blonde hair, blue eyes, red lips and a slender yet toned build. She wore a badass one-piece leotard with the labelled jacket and black fingerless gloves.


    ¡°Black Canary¡±. Dinah waved with her right hand.


    ¡°We met each other that night¡±. Her stern expression broke apart to show a sincere smile.


    ¡°Yeah ..... I remember. Just haven''t seen you around here recently¡±.


    ¡°I was on hospital leave, as you can probably guess¡±. Her smile stiffened slightly as she uttered, her hand gesturing towards what she sat on.


    A wheelchair.


    She was greatly injured during her last encounter against Zoom who had chased The Flash of Earth -1 all the way to the cave.


    Similar to Artemis, both had fractural injuries on their spinal areas. However, while Artemis managed to recuperate with timely help, Dinah wasn''t as lucky.


    Unlike the archer who received a fracture from Zoom''s casual attack, the blow to her lower back had effectively shattered her spine, rendering her forever crippled from the waist downward just like The Oracle.


    For several weeks, she was hospitalized while receiving Hal''s willpower treatment to no avail.


    As a result, there was nothing Hal could do to save her in the case of an injury this severe.


    ¡°I ...... I''m¡­".


    Kara didn''t know what to say. She wanted to apologize or console her but felt it would be inappropriate.


    ¡°It''s fine kid. No need to feel bad, this had nothing to do with you¡±. Dinah''s voice came out at that moment.


    ¡°Besides, just because I was knocked down doesn''t mean I''m out¡±. She said solemnly.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°As you already know, Black Canary served as the combat instructor for the Team before your arrival¡±. Bruce interrupted at this moment to fill in Kara''s confusion.


    ¡°Due to the incident, she couldn''t come in to perform her duties. But now she''s back, and with her condition, while she won''t be able to fully guide you all on physical combat, she''s taken on another equally important role in guiding your teammates¡±.


    The Justice League was now severely short on manpower. With Black Canary''s accident, the league had once again lost another member with considerable combat power.


    The initial plan was for Dinah to stay away from superhero activities due to her disability.


    In simpler words, she was retiring from the Superhero life.


    As you can guess through the current situation, she refused.


    Like all females who joined the JL, Black Canary was a tough woman who wouldn''t allow herself to show weakness due to a setback. She believed that injuries and setbacks came along with the job of being a hero.


    No way in hell was she just going to retire like this.


    Faced with the persuasion of Superman, Green Arrow and Green Lantern, Dinah strongly objected to their proposal and stated that she was going to continue to do her best to remain of help to the League and the world as a whole.


    Seeing as they couldn''t persuade her, Bruce could only compromise and let her do the only thing she could in her current situation.


    Work as the watch guard in the Watchtower. Just like Oracle, Black Canary had taken on a similar to an invisible helper behind the scenes.


    Monitoring the affairs of the world and reporting to available league members if there were any abnormalities.


    It was her voice that responded to Flash''s emergency call concerning a major incident some time ago.


    Now however, Batman had found something else she could be put to use doing. The recent training incident with the team had gone horribly wrong.


    The spike in Miss Martian''s abilities had inflicted severe emotional trauma in all of them, something that hadn''t shown any signs of dissipating in the past week.


    Seeing this, Batman and Martian Manhunter knew that they had to do something before a permanent scar was branded on the hearts of these young heroes.


    And so, Bruce called Black Canary over to the Cave to see the situation and act as a hero psychiatrist to the team. During the time she was here, Red Tornado would be deployed to other areas where League attention was needed.


    The high-level combat power could be seamlessly transferred, Bruce saw it as killing two birds with one stone. Simple and effective.


    Recently, the foreign Flash had found one of their missing members. Cyborg.


    However, the half man, half machine had been in a coma ever since he was brought in.


    ¡°Starting from today, you can consider her as your personal counselor and psychiatrist¡±. Bruce revealed finally.


    ¡°And before you arrived, she was looking into the states of your available teammates¡±. The team right now was dysfunctional.


    Currently, they were in no condition to perform missions within their current state.


    And with the mission currently in store for them, Batman couldn''t allow this to happen. So Black Canary being here was essential.


    Bruce concluded before bringing back the original topic.


    ¡°Now that that''s cleared up, and the pleasantries are out of the way, I need you to tell me exactly what happened when you disappeared a week ago¡±.


    ¡°Superman has already filled me in on the rough details. I just need to hear it again from your end¡±.


    ¡°He said that you were abducted by a group of warriors to another planet. Who and where?¡±


    A moment of silence filled the cave. Both Martian Manhunter and the crippled Black Canary raised an eyebrow at the revelation, clearly quite surprised.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    If not for the fact that Red Tornado was a machine and so didn''t have any eyebrows, he would have probably done the same.


    Kara was silent. Feeling the gazes of multiple people on her, even Zatanna, she felt uncomfortable.


    Nevertheless, she still spoke after a while.


    ¡°They called themselves the Furies¡±. She uttered with a pause.


    ¡°Go on¡±. Bruce urged.


    ¡°Apparently, their leader had discovered my existence and taken a fancy to me¡±.


    ¡°Really?¡± Black Canary was surprised. Looking at the wells developed sixteen-year-old, Dinah''s eyes flashed with as strange light.


    Seeing the strange look on her face, Kara was puzzled before understanding what she meant.


    ¡°That''s ...... Not what I meant¡±.


    ¡°Oh! My bad. So he didn''t take any sexual interest in you then?¡±


    ¡°No. He was more interested in my body¡±.


    Her words were met with a resounding silence. This time, everyone, Batman included gave her weird looks allowing her to realize her poor choice of words.


    ¡°I ..... I ¡­. Again I didn''t mean.....¡±. A blush took over her features as she tried to make coherent sentences.


    ¡°I meant ...... He took interest to my Kryptonian heritage¡±.


    ¡°Your genes. Just like Clark¡±.


    ¡°Yes. Apparently, I was supposed to be captured and taken to be brainwashed into one of his obedient soldiers¡±.


    ¡°On his world?¡±


    ¡°It''s called Apokolips". Coming to this point, her face morphed into a frown as she recalled the terrible atmosphere of that planet.


    ¡°Apokolips?¡± Martian Manhunter had his eyebrows furrow.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Batman had the same expression. Clark had already told him this.


    Kara''s words had too many implications.


    The first invader of Earth was Stepphenwolf, who claimed to come from such planet.


    ¡°Batman. Do you think?¡± Martian Manhunter and Batman trade glances.


    ¡°Yes. That''s precisely what I think¡±.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Black Canary cut in.


    ¡°You''re talking about the first invasion¡±.


    The world of Apokolips was no stranger to the Justice League. From the first day Stepphenwolf invaded their world, they knew the matter was far from over.


    Apparently, that day had come.


    After defeating the Parademon army and establishing the Justice League, Hal generously shared everything he knew with the rest of them.


    Apokolips was home to a powerful ruler, known to be a conqueror of worlds. He had destroyed thousands of planets all over the universe, expanding his domain indefinitely.


    The Green Lantern Corps had tried to stop his tyrannical actions. They failed marvelously.


    It was said that whatever planet he set his sights on, would be conquered by him. Not once had he ever failed.


    ¡°Yes¡±. Batman answered, his gaze still fixed on Supergirl.


    ¡°That day, Stepphenwolf led his army of Parademons under the orders of his master¡±. Bruce paused for a moment.


    ¡°Darkseid¡±.


    Kara saw his piercing eyes, as if he was asking her cousin to confirm. Which she did.


    ¡°That''s right. It''s him¡±.


    Black Canary''s face was particularly ugly.


    ¡°So this means he''s back?¡±


    ¡°For now, the situation seems that way¡±. Batman answered without a change in tone or expression.


    ¡°In that case, we need to assemble the rest of the League to discuss preparations¡±. The thick voice came from J''onn.


    ¡°We need to be ready in case he sends his forces to launch another attack on Earth¡±. The solemnity in his voice was without concealment.


    Countless thoughts on how to tackle this situation went through his mind.


    However, Batman''s next words surprised everyone.


    ¡°No need¡±.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Exclamations erupted as everyone turned to look at Batman with a puzzled expression.


    ¡°Please explain¡±. J''onn said in puzzlement.


    ¡°While this is a cause for concern, if my suspicions are confirmed, then we need not worry about an invasion for the moment".


    ¡°And why is that?¡±


    "Because according to what she said, Darkseid was defeated". Once again, everyone''s gazes turned to Kara making her feel slightly uncomfortable again.


    "That......". Martian Manhunter was at a loss for words.


    "By who?" The Green Lantern Corps was the greatest force in the galaxy. With an army of lanterns all capable of utilizing the power of will under the guidance of the Guardians of Oa.


    Yet even they were unable to do anything against this cosmic tyrant.


    In Hal''s description, Darkseid was the living embodiment of the word evil itself. A being who had destroyed thousands of worlds in his thirst for conquest.


    A Literal living New God.


    When you drew a comparison with Wonder Woman whose strength firmly rested at the top of the League and was quite literally only a demigod, you could imagine how powerful Darkseid, who could send someone as powerful as Stepphenwolf to earth was.


    Everyone''s impression of Darkseid was fixed on the level of their most formidable adversary yet.


    So you could imagine how people would react when they heard that the enemy they feared was suddenly defeated.


    "Who do you think?" Bruce answered with a blank face and a question of his own. Kara was kidnapped without anyone in the League knowing.


    Martian Manhunter raised an eyebrow.


    "Amari......".


    "Correct". Bruce replied and continued.


    "Apparently, Amari took her to the Darkseid''s world after freeing her from her captors. Once there, he destroyed Darkseid''s palace, and the following development can be easily guessed".


    "They fought, Amari won. From her description, overwhelmingly at that. In the end, Darkseid was forced to flee and the planet was brought to the point of near ruin from the aftermath of their battle. Thousands, if no hundreds of thousands of Parademons were annihilated as a result and the planets core was unstable. Under those situations, any attacks on the planet will have to be postponed indefinitely".


    Bruce stopped. Then asked.


    "Am I right?"


    "Yes". Kara folded her arms and turned her head slightly to the side. "That''s about right. Looks like Clar...... Superman told you everything".


    "He did". Batman responded with a nod. "Although to me, all this cannot be taken at face value".


    "What?" The sudden change in his words left the blonde surprised.


    "I mean no offense Kara, but this concerns the safety of our world. While we do believe you, we weren''t there, so we cannot accept everything you say the way you said it. Some crucial details might be over exaggerated while others could be understated. A single flaw in our intelligence could lead to disastrous results. We can''t have that".


    The fact that Amari fought Darkseid was one hundred percent believable. Judging from that guy''s character, he would certainly do such a thing without hesitation.


    The followup of Amari defeating Darkseid was also believable.


    Defeating him with extreme ease ....... That was debatable but also believable.


    What truly worried the Dark Knight was the fact that Amari didn''t kill the enemy. So the possibility of Darkseid attacking earth in the very near future still existed.


    It all depended on how damaged Darkseid was before he fled.


    If it was brutally beaten to the point of Ocean Master, then The Dark Knight could plan ahead with confidence.


    If not and he gathered an army to seek revenge, then countermeasures must be sped up no matter what.


    "....... Then what do you want from me?" Kara restrained her temper at being questioned like this and asked in a low tone.


    "J''onn". Bruce called Martian Manhunter forward.


    "What''s going on?"


    "I want you to share your memories with J''onn". Bruce revealed his intentions.


    "With his telepathy, J''onn can see your memories and with that, distribute it to the rest of the League. We''ll be able to have a clearer grasp of what to expect and how to prepare in case the unexpected happens".


    This wasn''t for the League. It was mainly for him.


    So he could judge the combat power of Darkseid and see if there were any means of restraint.


    Kara didn''t answer.


    After a few seconds of thought, she finally nodded in agreement.


    "As long as I can leave after this".


    "No worries. With your memories, your reference will no longer be required". Batman obliged.


    "Fine". And so, she drew closer to the green skinned bald Martian and stood before him.


    "I promise not to look at anything other than what is needed. Just relax your mind and don''t resist".


    J''onn uttered softly. Following which, he placed his hands on her temples, closed his eyes and activated his telepathy.


    Two of them stood still as if frozen in time.


    Seeing J''onn get to work, Batman turned o Black Canary and the silent Red Tornado while ignoring Zatanna who had been listening in for a while now.


    "In that case, Canary, you can just monitor Megan and Superboy for the time being. The others should be here by tomorrow, then you can begin trying to help them.....". His words were halfway through, a sudden change occured.


    Martian Manhunter holding Kara''s head suddenly let go.


    "Ugh!" He placed his own hands on his head and took several steps backwards.


    "No, No, No ......".


    "J''onn? What''s wrong?"


    Batman asked with narrowed eye as he turned around.


    Unfortunately, Martian Manhunter didn''t answer but fell backwards. Luckily, he was caught in time by the caped crusader.


    "My ...... My head ......".


    "Manhunter, speak to me. What happened?"


    Martian Manhunter was silent for a long time. His body was weak, as if a lot of mental strength had been drained out of him and his eyes flashed with horror and fear.


    "Batman ......... ". He opened his mouth and spoke gravely.


    "What did you see?"


    "We..... We may have miscalculated".


    ............


    ¡°Your power?¡±


    Bill uttered in confusion.


    ¡°Did the Wizard teach you nothing?¡± A trace of coldness flashed past the eyes of the All-father.


    ¡°The power you once possessed is derived from the sources of Six Gods. The abilities and strengths of me and my children¡±.


    The lightning within his palms crackled.


    ¡°The Wizard Shazam stole a source of our powers and used it to create a champion for the mortals of this world. Back then, I did not interfere due to having more pressing matters to deal with. Now, I have returned to retrieve what does not belong to this world, only to find that a portion of my power was stripped away from me. The source being the previous holder of the gifts.....¡±.


    ¡°You¡±.


    ¡°So I ask again. What have you done with the gifts given to you?¡±


    ¡°.... I can''t tell you¡±. Shazam didn''t answer at first.


    ¡°Since you wish not to answer, then .....¡±.


    ¡°I can''t tell you because I don''t have them¡±. Billy finally responded.


    The All Father didn''t reply. Seeing this, Billy continued.


    ¡°My powers were stripped away from me weeks ago when fighting


    against an enemy stronger than me¡±.


    ¡°He took the gifts and I have been without them ever since¡±. The boy replied with cold eyes and a lifeless expression.


    ¡°I can''t tell you what you want to know¡±.


    ¡°In that case .....¡±. Zeus looked at Batson Apathetically.


    ¡°You have no further use to me¡±.


    Following which, his lightning bolt shot forward.

 Chapter 133 Ares

    This is the last Arc concerning the Old Gods for now.


    The next chapter resumes the MC and his endeavors.


    ............


    The bolt of lightning struck faster than any human could react to. Billy Batson, a recently crippled child, didn''t even have time to widen his eyes in horror when the bolt of electricity arrived before his face.


    However.......


    ¡°All-Father Stop!¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± A snort of surprise mixed with a hint of displeasure escaped from Zeus himself. Following which, the lightning bolt took a zigzag motion, bypassing the young Billy Batson and striking the wooden fence a few meters away.


    Boom!


    Followed by a loud explosion, the fence immediately went up in flames, with pieces of scraped wood bits shooting in all directions.


    Finally, Billy came back to his senses.


    Deep, unfiltered fear engulfed him like a tidal wave causing his heart rate to speed up rapidly. He resisted the urge to turn his head and take a look at the object of destruction behind him, fearing he would pass out from a heart attack.


    Death.


    He was only a hair''s breadth away from getting shot in the face with a lightning bolt. For the mortal he was, that was basically instant death.


    Zeus didn''t pay any attention to the frightened youngster. And instead, said telepathically with narrowed eyes.


    ''Speak Apollo. Why do you interrupt me?'' The way of addressing had instantly changed from ''My Son'' to ''Apollo''. Clearly showing that the God of Olympus was currently furious.


    As the revered Godking, even if he had fallen, he was still Zeus. His almighty power might have faded a lot, but the arrogance and confidence befitting of the most powerful Old God of his time hadn''t diminished one bit.


    For Zeus, his words were law and once he passed judgement, nothing and no one could change that.


    When he was in a good mood and the situation wasn''t so serious, he wouldn''t mind occasionally listening to what someone else had to say if he was interrupted.


    But the situation now was far from the appropriate time. The Godking would never allow such blatant disregard of authority, especially when he had already taken the final step.


    Apollo''s actions were equivalent to interfering in his passing of Judgment. An act greatly frowned upon by the God himself.


    If not for the fact that Apollo was his favorite son, strong and wise, and he was more inclined to listen to his views, the call would have been directly ignored.


    Actually having to change his attack midway was already giving this son of his a great deal of face. But that goodwill will definitely plummet if Apollo couldn''t give a reasonable explanation for stopping him.


    Clearly, the soul form Apollo knew this well. With his current situation, there was no way he was even considering the idea of leaving his father''s good graces to save the life of a mortal for no good reason.


    He knew what would happen when Zeus got angry.


    ''Forgive my interruption father. I do not mean to contradict you, but I believe that this mortal can be of some use to our cause''.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Now Zeus was surprised. His gaze locked on the frightened Billy Batson, and a hint of contemplation flashed through his blue eyes.


    ''Does the body of this human have any practical value I cannot see?''


    He asked with a frown on his face and in a sarcastic tone. The displeasure within him rising by the minute.


    ''As you suspect, his body is currently worthless to us. His identity on this world, however, could be of greater significance''.


    ''Hmmmmm go on''.


    ''Until the Olympians are restored, we cannot appear under the public eye. A lot of our actions will have to be completed in the shadows, which will have a significant negative effect in the subsequent plans''.


    ''The faith of the humans, restoring our kind and the restoration of our status. This will all take time and will take us to places where we will inevitably draw unwanted attention. We have to lie low, but others....... Ones thought to have no relation to us have no such scruples''.


    At that moment, Zeus was enlightened.


    ''You propose we use him?''


    ''Of course. As long as his power is restored, he can return to his place among the protectors of this world. Through him, we can make contact with your daughter, my sister Diana. Then, we can easily find the sealed passage under Atlantis leading to Poseidon''s realm. There, and only there can we discover how to reach the Graveyard Of Gods. The only way to resurrect our fallen race''.


    The Old God paused for a moment, a gleam of light flashing through his eyes as his facial expressions softened considerably. Such careful, acute thinking was what made Apollo his favorite son.


    He had to admit, everything his son said held great merit.


    Revealing himself out in the open to contact his daughter was out of the question. His power now was far from what it once was.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    If the other Pantheons discovered his existence, then he would be hunted throughout the multiverse until he eventually met his end.


    Hence, the need to act with caution.


    The thought alone infuriated him to no end. The Great Godking having to hide like a rat in the streets.


    Nevertheless, there was nothing he could do for the time being.


    While there were Olympians who escaped the disaster, they made up the minority. The rest died at Ares hands.


    To resurrect them, Zeus had to go to the resting place where the souls of dead Gods resided.


    The Graveyard of Gods. A dimension hidden and sealed off to prevent those with evil intentions.


    Even he, the God of God''s knew not the location of this realm. That knowledge, however, laid with his brothers. Poseidon and Hades.


    The latter, however, could not step into its domain due to the nature of his Godhood and the former never got the chance.


    When Ares wagged war on all Gods..... Both died.


    Now to complete his goal, he needed to head into the realm of Poseidon hidden under the lost city of Atlantis to find the location of the Graveyard


    With the help of his daughter Diana, This step could easily be accomplished.


    As for the chance that she would refuse to help ...... Zeus didn''t even bother to consider such an absurd option.


    ¡°You.....¡±. The frightened voice of Billy Batson drew his attention.


    ¡°........ You just tried to kill me¡±. Billy hurriedly stood up while taking several steps backwards.


    ¡°Yes, I did¡±. The previous cold look dissipated as the young one before him now had use value.


    ¡°But instead of you, I''ll start by killing them¡±. Billy was confused.


    Them?


    Then, his eyes widened when he saw that the so-called God raised his gaze to look behind him. Turning his head, he saw the last thing he wanted to see at this moment.


    Darla ad Freddy stood at the glass kitchen door with their eyes wide and their mouths open.


    They had run outside after hearing the explosion and were shocked at what they were seeing and hearing.


    Just then, the gaze of Zeus landed upon them, with murderous intentions revealed in his eyes.


    ¡°No!¡± The boy yelled and said to his siblings.


    ¡°Guys run! He''s going to kill you¡±.


    Hearing this, their faces changed drastically. Without a second thought, Darla took to her heels and ran back inside whole Freddy tried to follow.


    But would Zeus let them go?


    The space around them quickly lost color, spread rapidly and engulfed the fleeing duo, causing them to freeze in their movements.


    ¡°You tell them to run?¡± Zeus felt it was humorous.


    ¡°Tell me Champion, what exactly do you take me for?¡± He also felt insulted. He wasn''t at his prime, but that didn''t mean a child could escape from his sight.


    Both children were pulled through the air towards him, their fear filled facial expressions remaining stagnant, as if time had come to a halt.


    In fact, it had. The All-father had frozen time within the vicinity of several meters, bringing everything to a halt. Nothing would move as long as he willed it.


    Chronokinesis, something only the truly powerful beings possessed, alongside those who could harness the Forever force.


    Unfortunately, this was close to the best he could do at the moment.


    ¡°No, let them go¡± Billy looked horrified.


    ¡°Shazam!¡± He yelled out again out of habit. Again, nothing happened.


    ¡°Hehehehe, how amusing. Forget the fact that you do not have your abilities, even if you did, they would be useless against me. You only wield those powers because I allow it¡±.


    The young Batson gnashed his teeth in anger, frustration, and helplessness. Seeing his siblings being held in captivity, he lowered his head and spoke in a softened tone.


    ¡°Please ...... Don''t hurt them¡±.


    ¡°Why should I listen to you?¡±


    ¡°I ....... I''ll do anything¡±.


    Zeus didn''t reply. Staring at the useless young mortal for several seconds.


    Billy fell into despair seeing his intense gaze.


    Until.......


    ¡°Very well¡±. Following which, the Godking raised his right hand and a flash of red lightning emerged in his palm.


    ¡°Forget not your words today. For from henceforth, you will be universally bound by them as an oath¡±.


    The red lightning bolt split into three and rushed in three directions.


    Two flew into the bodies of Darla and Freddy, while the last drilled into the body of Billy Batson.


    The next moment, all Billy saw was a bright light emerge from Zeus himself, and he lost consciousness.


    .......


    Looking at the three unconscious bodies before him, a trace of coldness flashed past Zeus''s eyes.


    ¡°I know you''re out there. So why don''t you show yourself ......¡±.


    He turned around with an expressionless face.


    ¡°Ares¡±.


    The surroundings were silent for three seconds. Following which, a black shadow emerged from the darkness, lengthening upward until it formed the figure of a man.


    ¡°It''s been a long-time oh King of Kings¡±.


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Zeus voiced out with disdain.


    ¡°A projection? You dare not face me directly. Has the God of War grown so timid?¡±


    ¡°I lost in that final battle¡±. The black shadow replied. ¡°It is only normal to be cautious when facing the reinvigorated Godking".


    ¡°...... Haha hahaha ...... Hehehehe ¡­. No¡±. Zeus laughed.


    ¡°For someone who had the audacity to wage war on me, I doubt that. You appearing in your current form suggests one thing and one thing only. That your current state is much worse than I can imagine¡±.


    The shadow remained silent. Zeus confirmed that he had hit the nail on the head.


    If Ares was at his peak, then he would definitely raise that battleaxe of his and run over to chop him the moment they discovered the other''s existence.


    Wait ...... That axe was destroyed during their fight.


    ¡°Always the wise one father¡±


    ¡°I am not your father¡±. Zeus hated Ares. Even before their battle, he showed no form of compassion for this son of his.


    ¡°...... Hehehe, no matter. I just came to say hello. But worry not. We shall meet again very soon. And by that time.....¡±. The shadow dissolved back to the shape it once was.


    ¡°We will have a final dance¡±.


    Those last words echoed in the surroundings. All that was left was Zeus standing still with an ugly expression.

 Chapter 134 Triton

    ¡°Help..... Hel..... Arghhhhh!¡±.


    ¡°No! Don''t!¡±


    ¡°Arghh get the hell away from ¡­ Arghhhh".


    ¡°Don''t....... Don''t come here¡±.


    ¡°Please..... Save us .....¡±.


    Squelch!


    With a slash of its claws, blood stained the deck of the ship at sea. The head of a man was cleanly severed off his body as the Trencher leapt at the body and began to devour it.


    The head drew a parabola in the air and landed against the watery wooden surface. The face belonged to a middle-aged man with dark brown hair and green pupils.


    His eyes were wide open, clearly portraying the fear and horror he felt in his last moments.


    Too bad, for these creatures of the deep who only ate fish all year round, the tantalizing smell of human flesh was akin to a delicacy.


    Barely two seconds had passed and the head of the man was picked up by another Trench creature, who quickly threw it into its open maw and bit down.


    Crack!


    The crunching noise of bones being broken over and over emerged from the creature''s mouth as it chewed again and again on this new piece of meat.


    And with a gulp,


    Screech!


    The creature let out a shrill roar and rushed to the next target that was being jointly devoured by five of its brethren.


    With the arrival of the deep sea creatures of the trench, Chaos emerged on the disguised fishing boat.


    These former Atlanteans who had degenerated into monsters after close to a thousand years of living in their harsh environments staged a one-sided brutal massacre, turning the traffickers on the ship into their lovely feast.


    Boom!


    As the boat continued to sail, dark gloomy clouds gathered above the sea, indicating a drastic change in weather conditions.


    ¡°Below deck! Get the blasters!¡± One yelled.


    ¡°It''s the only way we''ll survive......¡±.


    He-ok!


    Three spear like claws penetrated through his chest, lifting him from the floor and throwing him into the ocean.


    The one being spoken to had his eyes shrink in fear as he turned and ran.


    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡±


    However, he didn''t make it to the lower deck but was torn apart before he could get to the door that accessed the stairs.


    Two trenchers grabbed on to two parts of the male, clearly refusing to give the meal to the other and pulled.


    The man was ripped apart without resistance and the body was equally divided.


    As they feasted, droplets of rain fell from the above as the gloomy clouds released their tears without reservation.


    The blood on the deck was diluted and washed away as the rain fell.


    ¡°Weird .....¡±. Sitting on the ship''s mast, Amari turned his attention away from the brutal massacre below and raised his head to look at the sky with a bit of intrigue.


    ¡°..... Is the weather in these parts so volatile?¡±


    The rain came so suddenly without any sign of a change in weather. Almost as if .........


    ¡°Help!¡± a loud yell interrupted his thoughts.


    Coming out of his reverie, he lowered his gaze to meet a young man crawling away on his back from the feasting creatures.


    It was precisely the Meta-Human with the ability to detect danger. And at the moment, his heart was pounding so fast that he felt it would jump out of his chest any second now.


    ¡°Please, I''m begging you. Get me out of here. I''ll do anything¡±.


    The rain fell harshly, soaking his clothes and amplifying the chill that coursed through every vein within him.


    Even if it didn''t rain, nothing would change except the rainwater being replaced with sweat.


    Seeing everyone being devoured, he turned to the only person apart from him still alive and the only one who could save him.


    Thunder flash in the sky, illuminating Amari''s face in the dark of night.


    He looked at the shivering body of the little human with a flash of amusement in his eyes.


    ¡°Tell me, why should I?¡±


    ¡°I ......¡±. He opened his mouth to reply, but couldn''t find a good response.


    ¡° ¡­. I don''t want to die".


    ¡°Really?¡± Sitting high above on the masts, the dark-haired male showed a charming smile while uttering the coldest words.


    ¡°Do I look like I care?¡±


    ¡°You ..... I''ve already surrendered¡±.


    ¡°News Flash, I never said anything about arresting¡±.


    ¡°Fuck yo .........¡±. Seeing Amari remaining indifferent, the youth''s face changed and swore with a vicious look on his face.


    It seemed like he had finally regained his backbone.


    That, however, didn''t last long as his leg was grabbed by four bony claws and pulled towards the group of ugly sea creatures.


    ¡°Arghhhhhh!¡±


    The sound of crunching bone and ripping flesh entered into Amari''s ears, to which he paid no heed.


    ¡°Alice, report¡±.  He called out in an indifferent tone.


    ¡°I''ve used the nearest satellite hovering over the Atlantic Ocean. The storm you are experiencing isn''t even a kilometer wide¡±.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°I can see that¡±.


    Shriek!


    At that moment, a trencher shrieked with its face stained with blood. Scraps of flesh hung among its claws and teeth, making it look particularly menacing.


    Thud!


    Thud!


    Taking two steps, it turned away from its kind and raised its face upward to spot the last remaining living thing in the environment that wasn''t one of them.


    The dark clouds hovering above him intensified.


    Amari fixed his gaze on the numerous creatures. Everyone else was dead, save for him.


    The trenchers who had eaten everything else all turned in his direction, looking at upward with beady red eyes.


    However, seconds passed, yet they didn''t move a muscle. They didn''t growl, didn''t roar, didn''t attack and didn''t retreat.


    Amari''s eyes flickered with interest. With his enhanced vision, he could see something unusual about these sea monsters.


    Their bodies reacted, shaking uncontrollably as if wanting to attack yet stayed where they were, resisting the urge to do so.


    Within those red pupils, there was a constant struggle, a constant flash between clarity and ferocity, clearly indicating that these creatures weren''t in their normal state of mind.


    It happened then. A large water wave swept onto the ship, washing over every single trench monster on board.


    Less than a second later, the water receded, but all wasn''t the same. The water rushed back into the ocean leaving behind a figure garbed in brown and gold battle armor.


    Amari couldn''t help but furrow his eyebrows.


    Pale green skin, long turquoise colored hair, and glowing green eyes. His upper body wore armor, and the lower body was covered with what he could only describe as a special form of fish skin.


    With a helmet on his head that covered half of his appearance, his arms wore scaly gauntlets and the most eye-catching thing was the Trident he held in his grasp.


    ''Ok, who the hell is this freak and where did he pop up from?''


    Amari thought while examining the newcomer with scrutiny.


    Likewise, the other party looked at Amari with an expressionless face and cold eyes.


    The glowing irises seemed to be looking at nothing but a dead man.


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the ship mast, a dark shadow elongated from a corner slowly. The movement completely concealed in the dark night.


    ¡°And who are you supposed to be?¡±


    The look was truly impressive. With the imposing atmosphere and the sharp gaze that emitted bone chilling coldness, yet regrettably, he didn''t know who this guy was.


    ¡°By the decree of the Olympian Gods .......¡±. The extremely thick bass voice carried a rumble within.


    ¡°...... On the charges of killing Diana Of Themyscira, Daughter Of Zeus. You, Amari Of Earth are sentenced to death¡±.


    Bang!


    At the end of his words, the pale skinned, muscular figure banged the end of the giant Trident against the floor.


    A flash of lightning streaked against the evening sky.


    And as if a chain had been unlocked, the motionless trench monsters roared to the heavens and charged forward in their large numbers.


    As the ones in front rushed forward, more jumped out of the ocean to take their place in a seemingly endless loop.


    Screech.


    The closest ones quickly rushed towards the mas and leapt upward. Their blood stained claws stretched out towards the figure on the mast as their maws opened wide.


    The green skinned male watched from a distance coldly.


    And in Amari''s pupils, the claws of the first trench monster constantly enlarged till the point where it was less than a few centimeters away from his face.


    Then ........ The area where the monster passed through turned gray. Whether it be the trenchers, the ship mast, the ship itself or the roaring ocean waters, everything dimmed and rapidly lost all color.


    Everything froze in place. The roaring waters were silenced, the wind no longer howled, and the trenchers stiffened in the air.


    Time freeze.


    Amari sat on the ship mast and watched everything come to halt under his will.


    ¡°I''m sentenced to death?¡± Looking at the pale green skinned man below, his eyebrows couldn''t get any higher.


    ¡°Now that''s new .........¡±. His expression was calm, but his gaze on the newcomer was quite frightening.


    At this moment, all of Earth was trapped within a time freeze, with the man before him being the only exception.


    ¡°....... Time Manipulation?¡± The green skinned male looked around his with obvious surprise within his eyes.


    Then, he moved his gaze back to the target.


    ¡°Just as I thought. We have underestimated you¡±. His eyes narrowed as he spoke.


    ¡°However!¡± The Trident within his possession suddenly gave off a dazzling blue glow.


    The stagnant storm clouds immediately regained movement and a powerful lightning bolt condensed.


    Amari raised his head to the sky with slightly surprise


    ¡°Your end today will not change¡±.  His words fell and a powerful bolt of lightning fell from the heavens.


    The thunderbolt struck from the sky, accurately striking the figure on the ship''s mast. The whole area was overtaken by a blinding blue light as Amari was hit with the power of divine lightning.


    Following which, it was all absorbed into his body the following second.


    Then, he discharged everything into the environment.


    Boom!


    At that moment, the time freeze was undone. The trenchers had barely regained motion when they were swept away by a blast of divine power.


    How could mere degenerated Atlanteans bear the power of the Gods?


    Under the discharge, their bodies were immediately incinerated to ash.


    As time was undone, the incoming tides were swept away by the power expelled. On the ship''s deck, the pale skinned man spun the trident around and slammed it into the ground.


    A barrier formed instantly, protecting him from the expelled energy.


    Successfully defending against the rebound of his own attack, the pale green skinned, muscular man looked unprecedentedly solemn.


    The enemy was much stronger than he thought.


    ¡°You ..........¡±.


    ¡°Honestly ......¡±. Amari stretched out his right hand, cutting off his words before he could even begin.


    With an indifferent expression on his face, he uttered¡­.


    ¡°I''ve had enough¡±. His open palms clenched forcefully.


    Invisible forces collided from all directions with the pale skinned man right at the center of it all.


    The barrier that resisted the former energy shield shattered in the blink of an eye. His eyes had barely widened when the telekinetic force akin to a planet''s grip crushed him from all directions.


    With the man crushed, his body exploded into golden energy, evaporating into the atmosphere.


    Amari moved his eyes. What he just killed was an Avatar.


    At that moment, the dark shadow lingering on the opposite end condensed instantly. A blue cloud rushed towards Amari''s back, emerging from his blind spot in an attempt to take him unaware. The figure of the pale skinned man was formed once again as he appeared behind Amari and thrust his Trident forward.


    With one fatal strike, the Trident of Triton himself was made of metal forged in Hephaestus''s workshop. When powered with a God''s divine energy, no God, not even Zeus himself, could take it with nothing but physical force and remain unscathed.


    This being before him would be no different. Or so he thought, as the Trident had barely reached his back when it refused to advance any further.


    The classic scene that happened earlier played out again. Time and space froze, and everything lost its color.


    Only this time, he wasn''t an exception.


    ''This .........''. His eyes widened in horror at the realization that, just like everything else, he was completely immobilized.


    ¡°I seriously don''t get why people like attacking be from behind¡±.


    Under his horrified gaze, Amari uttered as he turned around.


    ¡°No! This is impossible!¡± He couldn''t believe this was happening. He was a God.


    How could he be so casually trapped in a time freeze?


    ¡°Mr......¡±. Amari gestured slightly, and two long swords appeared out of thin air.


    ¡°...... You have no idea what''s possible¡±. His words fell and his eyes glowed.


    The two swords moved at extreme speeds, slashing in two opposite directions.


    Slash!


    The pale skinned man was cut into three parts.

 Chapter 135 But Youre Not Triton, Susanoo

    With the swing of the materialized weapons, the pale, green skinned man was cut into three pieces right before Amari''s eyes.


    Boom!


    As soon as the body was split, what followed wasn''t the squelching of flesh and the bone as Amari would have liked but an annoying explosion of energy.


    The blinding explosion covered the boat once again, before receding back to the point of origin.


    Nothing changed. Amari stood on the ship mast unharmed without the slightest ruffles on his clothing. Separating a strand of telekinetic will, the ship similarly suffered no damage from the blast. If not, nothing would remain of this vessel trafficking Meta-humans.


    ''Another Avatar''. With a thought, the material weapons dissipated into nothingness. A slight look of displeasure appeared on Amari''s face at the unfolding of the situation before him.


    Following which, he withdrew his time freeze and the world returned to normal. The waves rushed forward once again and the storm resumed its heavenly banter.


    He withdrew the time freeze, not because of any reason other than the fact that whoever was currently attacking him wouldn''t be able to show his face as long as it remained.


    Sure enough, his conjecture was right.


    Barely a few seconds after time resumed, the ocean itself began to roar. Following which, a giant pillar of water shot straight towards the sky.


    Under his apathetic gaze, Amari watched as the pillar of water expanded and contracted until it finally formed a water giant of massive proportions.


    Under his power, Amari made sure that the ship he stood on wasn''t toppled by the waves that were now large enough to create a tsunami.


    ¡°The others were right. You truly are something special.......¡±


    The water body that exceeded the height of a hundred meters opened its mouth and spoke with a thunderous rumble.


    What had condensed from the ocean itself was a larger figure of the pale skinned man in water form?


    ¡°Tough talk coming from another Avatar¡±. Amari uttered with a blank look. That was right, neither the giant water giant nor the ones he had destroyed earlier were real.


    Just avatars being remotely controlled. Thinking of this, his eyes glowed blue as his senses spread out to the farthest reaches of the earth scanning for any abnormal activity.


    Apparently, the real body was either too overconfident that he sent a clone to finish the job or overly cautious so he dared not show his face in the battlefield.


    His words made the giant water giant furrow his eyebrows.


    ¡°Do not disrespect me just because you have defeated my Avatar, outsider. You stand before Triton, Son Of Poseidon, God of Tides and Wind¡±.


    ¡°You''re Triton? One of the Gods Of Atlantis?¡±


    ¡°And Olympus.....¡±.


    ¡°Really? Last I heard, the Greek Gods are dead¡±. The curt reply with a hint of scoff seemed to anger Triton.


    The tides crashed wildly for dramatic effect as the water giant bent over slightly with narrowed eyebrows.


    ¡°Do I look dead to you?¡±


    ¡°I''m only seeing a stand in, so my doubt remains¡±.


    The casual tone and blatant disregard made the chest of the giant water body heave up and down. The glowing white eyes shone with pure, undulated rage, seemingly at the audacity of a lowly being.


    ¡°....... You have proven your valor, otherworlder. Now, you will return with me to the hidden Skyland to face trial before the God Council. There, the All-father will judge you alongside the rest of the Olympian deities¡±.


    After a long moment of silence, the giant spoke casually in a tone that left no room for questioning.


    Unfortunately, the listener in question could practically be declared deaf when spoken to in this tone.


    ¡°And why in God''s name should I do that?¡±


    Thunder flash in the sky. Right beside the giant water body, a Trident emerged from the sea with a similar gigantic size.


    Clasped in his left hand, Triton released his divine might and the oppressive atmosphere was magnified by several folds.


    ¡°Does stealing the power of the Gods ring any bells?¡±


    ''Oh! So that''s what this is about''.


    ¡°Your actions have angered us. Stealing a God''s divine power is forbidden. You blatantly stole six and therefore.......¡±.


    ¡°...... Are under judgement for death¡±.


    ¡°Is that so¡±.


    ¡°Yes. I am the enforcer burdened with the task of bringing you back to Olympus to face the consequences of your actions¡±.


    ¡°And what will you do if I say no?¡±


    There was a moment of silence.


    ¡°You truly are an arrogant creature, aren''t you?¡±


    At that moment, Triton raised the Trident from the ocean.


    Tsunami like waves flooded the surroundings.


    ¡°In that case, it truly can''t be helped. I will have to take you in by force¡±.


    ¡°Honestly, I don''t think you can¡±. The glowing blue eyes stared at the massive behemoth without emotion.


    ¡°Nevertheless, you''re welcome to try¡±.


    ¡°You''re right¡±. Surprisingly however, Triton didn''t refute.


    ¡°With the power you possess, my current form cannot guarantee your defeat, much less your capture. Your strength has been greatly underestimated.....¡±. Among the Olympian Gods, few could resist time and even fewer could control it.


    This power was what part of what made Chronos so powerful.


    ¡°But make no mistake, outsider. When I return with the Gods of Olympus, your fate will be sealed. There will be no universe, no hidden dimension, no crevice where you can hide from us¡±.


    ¡°When we come, you will experience pain like no other, and will suffer for your audacity and insolence¡±.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Surrender yourself Outsider and face your Judgement. I will not ask again¡±. In front of the giant, Amari looked no smaller than an ant.


    Amari was silent. Standing on the boat, his blue eyes radiated with oppressive light, flickering from time to time.


    ¡°Your words have merit .....¡±. And so, he started slowly.


    ¡°And everything you''ve said is basically true. I''ve known the Greek Gods weren''t all dead. So normally, I wouldn''t have any reason to argue at all¡±.


    ¡°However, in everything you''ve said, there''s just ..... One problem¡±.


    ¡°And what is that?¡±


    ¡°Well ......¡±. At that moment, a charming smile crept its way up to his face.


    ¡°You''re not Triton¡±. His words fell and a bone chilling coldness emerged. Dark red energy emerged from Amari''s body and shot forward.


    Taking a curved motion, the mass of destructive power instantly condensed as soon as it was expelled to form a muscular skeleton arm. However, it didn''t stop there as the arm grew rapidly in size within tenths of a millisecond, layering upon itself until it was dozens of meters tall.


    On the dark red skeletal arm, a giant golden chain similarly emerged from thin air, slashing towards the giant water body of the so-called God Triton.


    ¡°Insolent.....¡±. The giant water body roared loudly and raised the Trident condensed through its divine power to defend.


    Slash!


    Like a knife coming in contact with butter paper, the attack was met with little to no resistance and smashed the Trident in half, continuing its journey to the main target unabated.


    ¡°Arghhhhhh!¡±


    This time, there wasn''t another explosion of energy but a loud, shrill roar of pain and agony.


    The face of the God Triton roared in fury as a long mark appeared on his body.


    With a single slash, the body of was split in two and crashed into the ocean.


    ¡°Let''s get this over with¡±. Amari''s eyes glowed brightly. A gleam of light emerged from the lower cabin of the ship before disappearing, following which the telekinetic force protecting it was removed.


    Bang! A giant tidal wave smashed the fishing boat to smithereens in one strike, but he didn''t care.


    Instead, his gaze was fixed on the development of the body of water he just sliced in two.


    The Triton giant fell into the ocean. Following which, a layer of dark blue emerged from the depths of the waters, coloring the whole place black.


    The black sphere enveloped the area around like a domain and a figure emerged from the shadows. Under Amari''s watchful eye, the pitch blackness condensed to form a figure clad in dark battle armor.


    Unlike the previous look that portrayed a man with a breastplate type armor that left his arms, neck, and head exposed, this figure was fully armored from head to toe. Not even the hands were exposed as it was covered with dark gauntlets.


    The body stature also differed greatly as well.


    However, a long, nasty trail stretched from the lower abdomen of the Armor all the way towards the right side of his neck.


    Obviously, the last strike had inflicted formidable damage.


    The gaping slash on the armor was ignored as the figure fixed his gaze on Amari, who stood on air.


    ¡°......... How?¡± Unlike the rumbling voice of Triton, this one was rather light. Soft even like that of an English gentleman. Completely inconsistent with the image of an armored dark knight.


    At this moment, the man was greatly confused. Finding it hard to believe that his disguise had been seen through.


    ¡°Are you asking how I knew you were a fake or how I hurt your main body through the Avatar?¡±


    Amari couldn''t see his expression as it was hidden behind the helmet, but he could swear that the face behind it darkened considerably.


    He was right.


    The only visible red eyes from the openings the helmet had narrowed to the extreme.


    ¡°You knew¡±.


    ¡°The God of Tides and Wind, capable of resisting a time freeze. Do I look easy to fool¡±. Time Manipulation was a rare ability.


    Amari didn''t know the full skill sets of the Greek Gods, but he knew all Gods with a good deal of strength.


    Triton wasn''t one of them. As the God of time itself, the children of Chronos gained the ability to manipulate it on a smaller scale, the same way Zeus children shared his ability to control lightning.


    While Poseidon could resist a time freeze, in no way could be control it. His son Triton was even less likely to do so.


    Similarly, Triton wasn''t the God of storms and hence, couldn''t unleash divine lightning from the sky. This was reserved for Poseidon, Zeus and the better portion of his descendants.


    Amari knew that the Greek Gods were still alive, but the number would be pitifully few. Now someone rushed forward and claimed that the God Council of Olympus still existed and was waiting to put him on trail, he would be a fool to believe it


    ¡°Well then ........¡±.


    Divine lightning crackled on the black armored man and converged on a certain area. The large slash mark on the metal that gave off dark ed energy was purged under the influence of divine energy.


    ¡°..... I guess I no longer have to act¡±. Ares uttered in a gloomy tone. Tonight''s operation could be said to be a complete failure.


    His impersonation failed, and he gained a powerful enemy for nothing.


    ''Although, it is not without benefits''. The thought crossed through his mind as Ares looked at the giant skeletal arm manifested from destructive energy. Held within that arm was a long golden chain with barbed edges extending all over it.


    Black curse marks emerged almost everywhere on that chain, exuding an aura of pure evil itself.


    Such energy ......... He had never felt something so sinister in all his years as the God of War, not even from the hell dimensions ruled by his uncle.


    ¡°I find your methods ....... Interesting¡±.


    ¡°And I yours¡±. The dark storm clouds released bursts of lightning with seemingly no end.


    ¡°Which is why I''m curious to know what exactly would you hope to gain from targeting me?¡±


    ¡°My goals ....... Are beyond your understanding¡±. Ares replied gloomily.


    ¡°And you will find out for yourself soon enough¡±.


    And with that, the Avatar turned around and was about to be submerged in darkness.


    ¡°I think I''ll find out now, Ares¡±. The words that fell into his ears made his body stiffen.


    Sure enough, his identity was exposed.


    ¡°Or do you think I''m going to let you go that easily?¡±


    The easygoing voice took a much colder tone in an instant.


    ¡°Does the weapon you possess give you the confidence to stop me?¡± The God Of War didn''t bother to turn around.


    ¡°While it might have a suppressive effect, it doesn''t change the fact that this is not my true body. Its death will not kill me in any way¡±.


    Ares could feel the attributes of the golden chain that exuded an awful sense of malevolence towards his presence.


    If he was here in his true form, then this chain was indeed something that could end his life if he was inflicted damage. But the situation now was different.


    His body was nothing more than an Avatar. The pain he felt earlier would at most be shared to his main body. Even if it killed him here and now, he wouldn''t die in the true sense.


    Like Darkseid, Ares was capable of releasing Avatars of himself. However, apart from his more versatile means and magic at his disposal, the physical strength each avatar wielded was one tenth of the main body.


    In a fight against Superman, he would be done for the moment he was caught in the other party''s hands.


    The death of such a disposable body was acceptable.


    With his back turned to his opponent, Ares failed to see the meaningful expression appearing on the latter''s face.


    ¡°I was never talking about your Avatar¡±.


    Following which, Amari proceeded to lower his hand and look into the depths of the ocean. His senses that had spread throughout the entire earth rushed towards the bottom of the sea in an instant, penetrating through the bottom of the ocean and digging into the deepest layers of the earth''s crust.


    Until ........


    ¡°Found you¡±.


    Following which, the area around the giant skeletal arm began to materialize a full-fledged body. Ribs, shoulders, chest......


    Amari''s looked to his right and his eyes glowed with blue, oppressive light. A space crack emerged instantly, then widened to outstanding proportions equivalent to the size of a small skyscraper.


    On the other side of the portal, the picture of a lush dense rainforest appeared. The mountains towered high as tall as Mount Everest and giant stalactites bigger than hills hung from the ceiling.


    This ......... Was hollow earth. A realm hidden at the center of the earth itself. And within this realm stood an ancient looking palace situated on a mountainside with massive hills surrounding it.


    There in that structure was the object of Amari''s pursuit. Ares''s true body.


    And so, without further ado, the massive energy substance that had condensed into a half giant skeleton swung the evil chain towering dozens of feet straight through the portal at the building.

 Chapter 136 Hollow Earth

    Hidden realm .......


    Hollow Earth ........


    What looked to be the habitation of a small civilization stood in the primitive forest of the underground world. Situated in a small valley surrounded by hills from all sides, the large city structure carried an archaic design that was reminiscent to the Gods of old.


    There were tall buildings supported by equally tall columns. Built with intricate detail, symmetry, harmony, and balance.


    Smaller buildings that had a courtyard and some a miniature garden within. And of course, the main palace that served as the resting grounds of the main ruler.


    And it was in this building that an old-looking man sat with a terribly gloomy look in his eyes. His beard was pale white, his hair carried many traces of the color gray.


    He wore not battle armor, but the standard Greek robes worn by those of royalty and high standing among the Olympians.


    The open robes clearly revealed the shrivelling muscles that seemed to lose more strength with each passing year.


    The man who sat in the middle of the throne room was the true body of Ares, the Greek God Of War.


    As a cosmic being with great power and longevity, Ares, the son of Zeus who should have lived to see the end of the universe now looked older than his recently resuscitated father.


    The air around him shook under the influence of divine might, showing just how bad of a mood he was in at the moment.


    Zeus was alive. Through the sight of his avatar, he confirmed that the last person he wanted to see was still alive and kicking.


    The palms of the War God clenched into fists subconsciously.


    He thought he had done it. He thought he won.


    During the time of the Great War against Darkseid, Ares, who grew stronger in the midst of conflict, gained more power than he ever had before.


    His thoughts couldn''t help but return....... Trying once again to recall the feeling of having it ....... So much ....... Back then.


    It was ........ Intoxicating. So much so that it nearly drove him mad.


    Inadvertently leading him to rekindle previously forgotten ambitions. Taking advantage of this power, he waged war against his own kind and set out to slaughter the Olympians.


    With each God that fell at his sword, his power grew stronger and stronger. Apollo, Hercules, Hades, Poseidon ........ Kin who he could never hope to match before, none of them could now pose a threat when placed against his War Axe.


    Hercules divine strength was shattered under his relentless blows. The God of the sea was pierced before he could react, Apollo''s strongest attack could hurt him gravely but his half brother had barely entered the mode of victory when was reborn without injury.


    Everything healed.


    The shocked eyes when he slashed him in half...... Ares would never forget. He relished that moment.


    How the son who was always favored by his father, the strongest, the most promising, was cut down under the weapon of him, the despised one who never got along well with the rest of the Olympians.


    That hot headed fool Triton was even worse than Hercules.


    He gathered his followers and marched to Olympus. His father gathered the Gods and attacked as well. It was one of the greatest battles to ever be recorded in the history of the multiverse.


    Ares loved war ........ He cherished it.


    Both fought fiercely as everyone else but them died on that battlefield or were too injured to come to the aid of their respective parties.


    In the end, in the battle with the All-father, he emerged victorious. Managing to land the finishing blow that would end his father''s life, but not before Zeus struck a devastating attack of his own during his final moments.


    The power within that strike was devastating that the Skyland was ripped apart. Ares fell to the earth, crashed into the ocean and slept at the bottom of the sea for nearly a thousand years.


    And when he awoke, he immediately suffered from the sequelae. Many more years passed and Ares could only watch while trying his hardest to recuperate from his injuries.


    He thought he would heal eventually. But it seemed like luck wasn''t on his side.


    Soon, he realized something that truly scared him. He was ...... dying.


    With the fall of the Gods after a thousand years and the development of humans, the Olympians were directly reduced to nothing more than myths. If the absence of faith was all, it wouldn''t matter. But with the development of humanity and the absence of wars, his already weakened power grew weaker and weaker.


    To the point where he almost lost his life at a time.


    And so, he provoked wars in the world in an attempt to survive. It worked. World war l and ll were successful. Unfortunately, a new development occurred before the third.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Superheroes.


    Thump!


    A wave of energy pulsed from his body unconsciously at the thought.


    If Zeus and Apollo disdained the heroes who the mortals likened to Gods, then his emotion towards them were pure, unbridled anger and rage.


    The arrival of Superman started everything. They solved calamities, stopped conflicts, actively tried to seek world peace.


    The villains who wreaked havoc were stopped due to their actions, and warring countries had to put aside their differences under the Justice League''s unintentional deterrent power.


    With how weakened he was now, this was no worse than killing him.


    Zeus was always first on his list of hated enemies. As for Superman and his merry men and women, even Apollo had to step down to third place.


    With their intervention, his plans to regain his strength were stunted. Now, he received even worse news.


    Zeus was supposed to be history, or so he thought. The arrival of his father had greatly spoiled the cards in his deck.


    One among two variables that recently emerged.


    At that moment, a ray of sinister light emerged from the sky, prompting the God of War to look upward.


    Tentacles made of dark red energy appeared within the hollow world and beamed down to the throne room, a few meters away from where Ares sat.


    The God of War didn''t respond but watched indifferently.


    ¡°Hehehehe ......... How''s it going, your Godliness?¡± Before the tentacle beams fully converged, a weird, very disturbing cackle emerged from within, causing his ears twitch in annoyance.


    Resisting the urge to make a face, Ares looked at the newcomer who was walking towards him with a sinister grin.


    ¡°You''re still here, huh? The place really looks too shabby ....... Ummm and deserted. You should give it a new decoration.......¡±.


    ¡°Do not start, Klarion ........¡±. The eyes of the old God narrowed aggressively as he looked at the dark-haired male with two horns protruding from the sides of his head.


    Klarion, The Witchboy.


    ¡°Heh! What''s got you in a mood?¡± With his beloved teekl being stroked in his arms, Klarion looked at Ares with slight puzzlement.


    ¡° ..... You know not ........". The low, deep voice that seemingly carried the vicissitudes of life fell into his ears.


    ¡°...... how much I tire of your prattle¡±. He uttered bluntly. Nevertheless, Klarion didn''t seem to mind.


    ¡°Hey! That''s rude. And don''t be so pouty about it. It''s not your style¡±. The God Of War stared at the Lord Of Chaos expressionlessly. It was within Ares''s nature to maintain a poker face after everything he had done and been through.


    If not, there was no guarantee that his eyelids wouldn''t twitch. Klarion''s childish antics almost never ceased to amaze him.


    For all the power he held at his fingertips, barely being able to express a fraction of it within this dimension, Klarion acted no different from a ten-year-old child.


    He was a Lord Of Chaos that could destroy planets, galaxies, universes if he wanted to. Of course, that was in his true form outside the multiverse. As he was now, destroying the entire earth would take a considerable deal of effort.


    That aside, no matter how he looked at him, Klarion seemed so unreliable.


    ¡°Enough. What do you want¡±. Klarion was right. Now, he certainly wasn''t in the mood to deal with him. There were more ...... Pressing concerns to handle.


    ¡°So hospitable¡±. Klarion remarked sarcastically. ¡°That aside, Vandal wants to know when you''ll be ready¡±.


    ¡°Not now¡±. The curt reply didn''t sit so well with the Chaos Lord.


    ¡°He thought you might say that, but unfortunately, he quite urgently needs you to hurry".


    Ares eyes narrowed. ¡°Now was not the decided time¡±.


    ¡°The arrangements need to be updated¡±.


    ¡°What for?¡±


    ¡°See, A member of our association has indirectly provoked the person in question¡±. The Witchboy said with a bright smile.


    ''Unreliable indeed''. The Old God snorted inwardly.


    After so many years, Ares had Avatars inserted in many places on earth to facilitate the spread of war. It was also for this reason that he became acquainted with Klarion and The Light.


    As such, Amari publicly executing Ocean Master over and over again had clearly fallen into his eyes. That was the moment he truly began to pay attention to this ...... Otherworlder.


    Amari never stated who he was after so Ares like the rest of the world, was unsure and cared little for the matter.


    That was until Klarion came along not long ago with a man he remembered all too well. Vandal Savage.


    After explaining their plight, they explained why exactly they were seeking for Ares.


    A way to kill Amari. Simply put, they were looking for a weapon. Probably the most powerful weapon ever forged by the Great Olympian blacksmith God Hephaestus himself. Olympus''s ultimate weapon, the legendary God killer.


    What the powers Amari had shown, Savage had already placed Amari on the level of Gods. And what better way to kill a godlike being than with a God killer?


    For now, the weapon was the only way they could think of to put an end to the plague that haunted them.


    However, the Olympian Gods were dead. Something that only Vandal and Klarion were aware of. Or at least that was what Vandal thought.


    Until Klarion showed him otherwise. As nominally the last living God of Olympus, the only person who would know of the weapons whereabouts was Ares himself.


    At first, Vandal thought it would be hard for him to convince the God Of War to look the location of the God killer.


    After all, the chance that he didn''t know was there. And even if he did, why would he give it to them?


    Contrary to their expectations, however, Ares agreed. The weapon was last located within the Forge Of Hephaestus before the great war thousands of years ago.


    All Ares had to do was channel them there. But this wasn''t an easy task.


    Originally, Vandal was willing to show patience....... until Ra''s Al Ghul called to relay Slade''s dealings.


    Now, he couldn''t care less about Ares''s feelings and sent Klarion to urge his acquaintance to hurry up.


    Honestly, Ares looked down on these mortals who had come together just to fight against a mere group of Superheroes.


    He similarly looked down on Klarion as well who cooperated with them despite having no clear goal.


    No plans, no ambitions, he was there just for the fun of it. Nevertheless, disdain aside, Klarion was one of the two people he paid attention to and the only one he truly worried about.


    Ares wasn''t the all powerful God he once was, and he didn''t have the capital to look down on the Witchboy anymore.


    Among the lords of Chaos, Klarion was the only one who knew he was alive. With his character, he had convinced the Witchboy to keep it a secret. After all, he wanted to draw less attention to himself before he regained his strength.


    Who knows what those Lords of chaos would do if they knew he was still alive. Probably blab it to the whole multiverse in fear that there wasn''t enough chaos as it was.


    Ares couldn''t afford to break up with Klarion.


    Plus, he had struck a deal with the light and to further his own goals, he needed their help.


    ¡°...... So things need to be done with a little more..... Haste¡±. Klarion finished.


    ¡°I am not ready, Witchboy". The God Of War uttered plainly.


    ¡°You have come at a bad .........¡±.


    Boom!


    A loud tearing sound emerged from the sky, startling both figures.


    ¡°What the ......¡±.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Klarion turned around and Ares raised his head. The next moment, both their expressions changed drastically at the sight of a giant space crack emerging over hollow Earth.


    On the other side, a giant dark red skeleton standing in the ocean came into view.


    ¡°He found me...... Impossible¡±. Ares eyes widened to the extreme.


    Meanwhile, Amari who had torn open space looked set his sights on the Greek style palace.


    ¡°There you are¡±. The giant skeleton stretched its arm and swung the golden barbed chain at the structure, descending onto the earth like God''s punishment.


    Bang! With one strike, the small city was destroyed.

 Chapter 137 Atlanna, Forever people

    The tearing of the space crack caused a massive disturbance, disturbing the animals and causing the birds to flee.


    BOOM!


    Dust sprung up everywhere and the debris flew in all directions. From the tear in the sky to the earth on the floor, a long golden chain decorated with countless black curse marks destroyed Ares''s palace with a single swing.


    Countless buildings, towers and supporting columns collapsed as a result, with Ares and Klarion being engulfed in the destruction.


    But not for long.


    From within the ruins, a blast of red energy scattered away the surrounding rubble, revealing the Witchboy.


    ¡°Damn! Who the hell is it?¡± With a greatly annoyed expression, Klarion dissipated the shield he instinctively placed around himself.


    If not for his subconscious reaction, he would have been smashed by falling rocks.


    ¡°Whoever you are, you''re gonna.........¡±. Suddenly, his words were stuck in his throat as everything he wanted to say was swallowed back on the tip of his tongue.


    With a loud clatter, the sound of shattering rocks fell into his ears as the golden chain was pulled back


    A mountain in the way was sliced in two as the chain withdrew towards the giant dark red skeleton floating in the distance.


    In the head of the skeletal monster that was developing battle armor at a rapid pace, the dark-haired figure with glowing blue eyes was all too familiar.


    Precisely the reason why he was even here in the first place.


    ¡°Well well .......¡±. Amari shifted his attention for a moment.


    ¡°....... If it isn''t lucky number two¡±.


    For a moment, Klarion was dumbfounded by his words. The next, however, he understood clearly.


    The first was Ocean Master. And now, he had just been discovered. Following which, his expression changed drastically.


    ¡°Fuck! Why the hell are you here?¡±


    Amari raised an eyebrow with some amusement.


    ¡°I should ask you the same thing¡±.


    ¡°Visiting a comrade. Obviously.....¡±. The next reply, however, was not what he expected. With a cat resting on his arm, he reached to pat away the dust on his clothes.


    His voice carried not the slightest hint of fear at the fact that a powerful enemy stood before him. In fact, why should he?


    It was difficult for a Lord Of Order Or Chaos to maintain a presence on a physical plane. Since he couldn''t bring his true body to the earth, he just used an anchor to bind himself to the mortal realm.


    In essence, the death of Klarion didn''t mean his true death. At worst, he would just dissipate from this reality and lose his fun for a while.


    So among the members of the Light, Klarion was actually the least anxious to get rid of Amari. The nervousness of his fellow acquaintances in the past few weeks was actually kinda funny.


    So scratch that, he wasn''t anxious at all.


    After all, he literally had nothing to fear. The others however........ Not so much.


    ¡°See what you''ve done? You got dust all over my clothes. And you almost squashed Teekl ......¡±.


    ¡°Meow!¡±


    At that moment, the cat suddenly meowed, alerting his master on the surrounding developments.


    ¡°Huh? What do you mean he''s gone?¡± The Witchboy was taken aback and hurriedly turned around only to discover that there was no sign of the old God.


    His mind shutdown for two seconds before realizing.


    ¡°That damn bastard! He actually left me here and ran away. Dammit!¡± At that moment, the Lord Of Chaos exploded in fury and began to release all forms of obscenities without repetition.


    For a being with the character of a re year old, his language set skills were surprisingly mature.


    ¡°He''s already run away¡±. Amari with Al this and uttered with a slight smile on his face.


    ¡°Won''t you?¡±


    ¡°You.....¡±. As if finally coming to his senses and realizing there was still someone here, the Lord Of Chaos returned his attention the main person he ought to face.


    ¡°I''m not like the others. Don''t think I''m afraid of you...... You¡­. Killjoy, bully ..... Geezer¡±.


    The reply he received was the now armored skeleton raising its hands and swinging the chain towards him yet again.


    Feeling the ominous energy released from those curse seals, Klarion''s face changed drastically.


    ¡°Holy Carp! We''re outta here¡±. A red portal opened behind him three feet away and sucked him inside right before the strike hit.


    Boom! The earth rumbled, and the surrounding hills were reduced to rubble. Simultaneously, numerous areas Al over the world experienced earthquakes, tsunami''s and various natural disasters due to their single action.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    But that was a problem for the Justice League to handle. Seeing Klarion flee for his life, Amari didn''t bother to pursue.


    Just as Klarion thought, Amari knew that among the members of the light, The Witchboy was the hardest to kill. The most he could do was destroy his physical form in this world and that could easily be done by destroying his pussycat without having to damage the actual body.


    Unless he wandered into other dimensions in the multiverse again to search for Klarion''s trail.


    Perhaps he would have done so before, but now, he wasn''t so idle and narrow-minded anymore. So, the zeal to kill Klarion was the weakest among all of them.


    In fact, his zeal to deal with all members of the light wasn''t particularly strong as it was before. That didn''t mean he wouldn''t kill them if they crossed paths but still.


    Hence, he let Klarion go without giving chase. Other matters were pressing before him.


    The palace had been completely destroyed and the new strike had just ripped deeper into the earth. The chain was withdrawn and through the narrow space granted within the rocks, a small passageway could be seen through which Ares had made his escape underneath his throne.


    It seemed similar to a small underground Labyrinth and at the very end of this tunnel was a room in which a gleaming portal floated in midair.


    Susanoo dissipated and Amari''s figure emerged at the end of the tunnel just in time to see the portal flash with a dazzling light before returning to normal.


    ¡°He really turned tails and ran, didn''t he?¡± Seeing this, Amari''s eyebrows couldn''t get any higher, finding it hard to believe that his opponent was the Greek God Of War who slaughtered the old Gods with his own hands.


    For a man who practically lived to fight, he certainly ran faster than the flash when he needed to.


    ¡°This energy signature .......¡±. There were fifty-two breaches across the earth. Plus one massive one in outer space that still hadn''t produced any movement.


    Among them, seven in particular all possessed the same energy signatures. All those breaches led to Earth -1 in the dark multiverse and this ....... Was one of them.


    Unexpectedly, in order to escape, Ares directly fled to another universe where his senses couldn''t reach. As for how he did it .......... He was a God. Although greatly weakened, that was in terms of physical capabilities.


    He couldn''t tear open the space between dimensions, but he could safely transverse them if there was already a portal open. Ares had discovered this upon his return in search of his ultimate goal.


    Never would he have expected to make use of it, especially for such reasons.


    ¡°Do you think it''s that easy to run away ......¡±. Amari resisted the urge to chuckle and prepared to follow with a smile on his face.


    However........


    ¡°You''re forgetting something, master¡±.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Amari paused, before realizing that he came here for something else, while discovering Ares was just an accident.


    Looking at the swirling portal, Amari pondered whether to ignore Alice and carry on his plans to hunt down the God Of War or finish what he came here for first. After all, he was in no hurry. If not, he would have struck immediately he appeared without relenting.


    With Ares''s current state, he wouldn''t even know what hit him.


    Badum!


    ¡°Huh?¡± At that moment, his ears twitched.


    Badum!


    The faint sound falling into his ears was as loud as a truck''s horn, arousing his curiosity.


    Badum! Turning away from the portal, his eyes peered into the distance with curiosity and doubt gleaming in his eyes.


    That sound ............ It was slow. Appearing once almost every forty-five seconds. Not only slow, but also low. So low to the point that only those with greatly enhanced hearing could hear it.


    Badum!


    That sound, was the sound of a heartbeat. Only, why was it so low? At this level, it would directly be rated as a dead person by a seasoned doctor.


    Appearing before it, he found himself standing in front of a cell. And within that cell, laid the dried up body of a haggard woman.


    Her eyes were closed and her skin was parched. The material she wore indicated that she had been here for a long period of time.


    Amari knew not who this woman was. And if he had no clue, Alice definitely wouldn''t know either. Searching social media and the likes would be pointless because this woman who was teething on the edge of life and death itself wasn''t human to begin with.


    The three straight line cuts on the sides of her neck immediately revealed her racial identity.


    An Atlantean.


    But there was the problem. Why did Ares keep an Atlantean as a prisoner? Pondering slightly for several seconds, Amari made-up his mind to do something he had decided not to do a while ago.


    Within his glowing blue eyes, a change emerged and lines of written data appeared within his view.


    The first one, however, was all he needed to see.


    << Name: Atlanna >>


    << Race: Atlantean >>


    Alright, Ares could wait for a day or two.


    ...........


    Meanwhile.......


    Metropolis, Oct 23, 17:28 EDT


    Boom!


    A loud explosion resounded as a yellow portal opened up in the midst of the Metropolis Central Park. Following which, what looked like a hovering car flew out of the portal and took to the skies.


    The flying car took to the skies, in which five figures could be seen sitting within.


    They spoke in languages that weren''t from Earth for several seconds before one of them took out a rectangular object with black and orange colors.


    ¡° ........ Wait till we see some cowboys".


    ¡°Your obsession with barbarians must wane, serifan". Vykin uttered blandly.


    ¡°Motherbox, please camouflage extraterrestrial energy signatures. Then scan the planet and advise¡±.


    Ding! The box let out a ringing tone.


    ¡°What we seek is one world¡±. Vykin said while looking at the box.


    ¡°So the Intel is correct. The New Genisphere is on Earth¡±.


    ¡°Great. That''s one thing down¡±.


    ¡°Indeed. But ......¡±. Moonrider spoke hesitantly.


    ¡°What about the other one?¡±


    Everyone showed different expressions.


    ¡°Our mission is simple¡±. The red haired, burly male spoke in place of their leader Vykin.


    ¡°Our first priority is to get the New Genisphere back from the treacherous beings who stole her¡±.


    ¡°Right¡±. Vykin nodded. ¡°As for the other ...... We need to find him first¡±.


    ¡°That should be easy, right?¡± Dreamer asked with a raised eyebrow, expecting this to be an easy task.


    ¡°Not really¡±. Contrary to her expectations, however, Vykin said the opposite.


    ¡°The Motherbox has sorted out a lot of information on the person in question, but there''s no location on his current whereabouts. Just where he once was¡±.


    ¡°..... That''s ......¡±. Dreamer was slightly stunned. It seemed their task wasn''t that easy.


    ¡°Then how are we going to find him?¡± Serafin asked.


    ¡°I don''t know. But even if we do, we might have to worry about what happens when we do¡±.

 Chapter 138 Dark Multiverse 1

    ¡°Huh?¡± Simultaneously exclamations of confusion spread.


    Seeing this, Vykin cleared the puzzlement.


    ¡°I don''t know whether lower beings are misguided or not in their judgement, but the Motherbox tells me that more than half the news appearing about him are downright negative¡±.


    ¡°That ...... It can''t be.  I mean, the Highfather clearly said that this being was a powerful and noble warrior¡±.


    ¡°That''s right Vykin". The eyes of Serafin lit up with genuine excitement and adoration as he spoke. His little body shook with pure restlessness at the thought of meeting his new hero.


    ¡°The Highfather said it himself. You know how lower beings tend to exaggerate things. Besides, how bad can someone who defeated the God Tyrant Darkseid be?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. He may not be as benevolent as we are, but to do such a thing, he can''t be evil¡±. Dreamer also spoke with smile.


    Her eyes were bright, and she too was filled with great adoration.


    ¡°I agree. I''m similarly looking forward to meeting this brave and powerful warrior. His deeds have spread throughout the multiverse itself. It would be an honor to meet him in person¡±.


    The young New God who was named after an animal that didn''t exist on earth also remarked with similar excitement.


    The world''s of New Genesis and Apokolips had been at war for thousands of years. As the Gods of Benevolence and Freedom, every citizen of New Genesis greatly spurned the beings who seemed to be their natural counterparts in every sense of the word.


    This wasn''t just a pure escalation of conflicts between two sides, but more like a great rivalry that could and would never be resolved.


    Both planets and its inhabitants were complete opposites.


    The Gods of New Genesis were the Gods of life while those of Apokolips were the Gods of Anti-Life.


    The latter had attacked the former several times, and the two planets were embroiled in constant war for many years.


    Upon realizing that nothing would change, their respective rulers came together to form a sort of peace treaty. Keeping a rough stalemate while constantly testing the opposite party as well.


    For example, Apokolips had stolen technology from New Genesis and sold it to different Earth''s across the multiverse.


    One of the reasons why Darkseid used Avatars in search of the Anti-Life equation instead of simply destroying universe after universe in his true form was because Highfather existed to balance him out.


    Plus, if he truly took such actions, so many powerful beings in the Godsphere would join forces to stop his madness. Hence, Darkseid''s true body never left Apokolips.


    (This is my explanation for why TFD doesn''t just go searching for the Anti-Life equation himself. As for the theory that his true form is too powerful to accommodate his presence and the multiverse would shatter....... I call bullshit. In the comics, Darkseid fought with Zeus on earth and defeated the latter. Unless someone is going to prove otherwise, I refuse to believe that that was also an Avatar so I''d rather use a more rational explanation)


    The point being, after such a long period of rivalry, both sides hated each other to the bones. For Darkseid''s disgusting actions, not even the benevolent New Gods could stand it.


    Then, big news came around. Darkseid was defeated. So badly that he had to flee for his dear life.


    When the information reached New Genesis, its citizens celebrated so grandly that one would think there was no tomorrow.


    The forever people were peace-loving Gods who sought peace, Justice, and harmony for all life in the universe. And to these young Gods, anybody who could kick Darkseid''s ass was a friend worthy of their admiration.


    Hence, explaining their similar reactions.


    Vykin was silent. As the oldest and most mature among the group of New Gods, Vykin never took things the way it seemed.


    For such a powerful person, it was better to be cautious. Nevertheless, seeing the enthusiasm on the faces of his comrades, he similarly showed a slight smile.


    They were right. Just how bad can such a person be?


    .............


    ''Wake!''


    Gasp!


    The almost lifeless body of queen Atlanna suddenly jerked upward with renewed vigor.


    With wide eyes and a disheveled look, her chest heaved up and down as if she had just awoken from a tragic nightmare.


    Within her once dying form, an unknown cosmic energy flowed through her veins executing the task of keeping her conscious.


    But as far as Amari''s ear could hear, her heartbeat was just as faint as it was before. Her skin still remained severely dehydrated, pale, and she looked like a bag of bones.


    Logically speaking, no amount of adrenaline should be able to bring her from her comatose state, with her condition still remaining the same. But there she was ....... Awake and alive.


    Atlanna was momentarily dazed, her open eyes filled with confusion.


    ¡°I ......¡±. The dark surroundings fell into her eyes, although she could barely make out what was around her.


    The first thing that came into sight which was the solid brick wall a distance away let her know exactly where she was. Or rather, let her know that she hadn''t left at all.


    ¡°Awake?¡±. The sound of a male voice from behind caused her body to stiffen. Turning her head around, she saw someone she had never seen before.


    Dark hair, blue eyes, spotless clothing ....... He ..... Wasn''t Ares.


    ¡°You. ....... Who are ¡­. No, that''s....... Where''s ......¡±. Her sporadic sentences showed her current state of mind and the confusion changed to surprise, the to panic.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Her gaze roamed the surroundings as she searched for the shadow of the person who imprisoned her here.


    ¡°Don''t bother. Ares is gone¡±. She stopped searching as his words fell and turned her gaze to him with those orange colored eyes.


    ¡°You .....¡±. She had barely started when the underground Labyrinth trembled with a quake, causing the queen to sway.


    ¡°Oh! Looks like it can''t hold on anymore¡±. Seeing the rock shifting uneasily and sand falling from the roof, Amari couldn''t help but mutter.


    Ares''s palace was built above the underground area. His previous attacks had completely destroyed everything above and destabilized the structures below.


    At any moment, the ceiling would collapse on itself, destroying and burying everything in this place.


    ¡°What''s happening?¡± Atlanna asked.


    ¡°The inevitable¡±.


    ¡°..... What ¡­".


    Knowing what was about to happen, Amari lost interest in observing her and turned around to leave the cell.


    ¡°Wait! ........ Who are ¡­. You?¡±


    Seeing him walk away, the former queen supported her thin figure on the iron bars, her gaze fixed on the departing male, not knowing what she was thinking.


    It happened then. A distance away from where Amari was, the space began to swirl like rushing water before splitting apart into to form a crack.


    Dark clouds, heavy rain, ocean roars ...... These were what could be seen and heard on the other side.


    Bang!


    A large amount of water suddenly splashed through the portal into the underground Labyrinth due to two waves crashing against each other.


    Following which, he moved right through the space crack and fell downwards.


    Amari''s figure disappeared, but Atlanna''s attention wasn''t on him anymore.


    Seeing and hearing the roars of water from the other side, her pupils glowed with frenzied excitement. Without regard for the weakness she felt, she let go of the iron bars and walked forwards.


    Plop!


    Unfortunately, her weakness wasn''t gone. She fell down to her knees after barely taking three steps.


    Her enthusiasm, however, didn''t diminish in the slightest as she propped herself up with whatever strength she could muster and moved towards the portal.


    Boom! The earth shook once again as the roofs began to collapse on itself, causing her face to change drastically.


    Looking back, Atlanna saw the cell where she once laid was completely submerged as the earth above began to sink downwards.


    From nowhere, strength suddenly pulsed through her veins as her weary body secreted as much adrenaline as it could give her. Overwhelmed with the fear of death, she took wide steps as fast as she could.


    The ceiling fell apart, and giant rocks fell from above. Finally, the whole space collapsed completely.


    As for the Atlantean Queen, she gritted her teeth and used all the strength she could muster to leap through the space crack before she was buried under thousands of tons of solid rock.


    Splash!


    The body of Atlanna made a splash as she fell into the sea. As for the portal behind her, it closed automatically the moment she made it through.


    Darkness, pain. This was the only thing she could see and feel during the first few seconds after.


    The next, however, her body reacted to something she hadn''t felt in a long time.


    Water! And not the teaspoon - sized drops Ares gave to her every four to five days.


    Glorious, wondrous water. Like a dried up sponge, her body began to suck as much as it could, instinctively filling itself and carrying out the process of resuscitation.


    Barely three seconds later, her pale skin became vibrant, the flesh immediately enveloped the bones, her chapped lips grew pink, the weary bones received life and strength and the wounds automatically closed up ........ What was once a bone bag was now the body of a well-endowed woman, sinking deeper into her domain.


    Controlling her figure, she navigated the water with her eyes closed, deep joy bursting within her heart to finally be in the ocean she longed for.


    And so, regaining the demeanor and aura of royalty and a queen, she floated vertically and opened her eyes, having escaped from an unfortunate demise.


    Unfortunately, what she saw when she did nearly frightened her to death the following second.


    Trench monsters ......... Hundreds, no, thousands of trench monsters, all floating around while looking at her with hungry, covetous eyes


    ¡°By the blood of Poseidon.......¡±.


    Atlanna was dumbfounded. She had just escaped from Ares, now she had fallen into the territory of the Trenchers.


    Panic emerged on her features as she felt the undisguised murderousness from all directions.


    Meanwhile.


    ¡°Sir....... She will die if you don''t do something¡±.


    Feeling the unconcealed amusement in her master''s eyes, Alice felt the need to speak up. Least the poor woman died from a heart attack before the Trenchers had her for dinner.


    When did her master suddenly have such bad tastes?


    ¡°Alright .......¡±. Resisting the urge to chuckle, his eyes glowed brightly, and a large telekinetic wave swept throughout the waters.


    The trench monsters who were about to pounce forward on their new prey suddenly stiffened in place as their eyes turned dull.


    Deep within their minds, an orange rune mark glowing with waves of antimatter energy appeared, the clear characteristics of the Anti-Life equation.


    This was the first time he had used the Anti-Life equation since he defeated the fragment of the Anti-Life life entity back at the ruins under Apokolips.


    As for his purpose ....... Just like the derange Old Gods of Urgrund, he was going to transport an entire race across the multiverse.


    With the will of his mind, a large amount of energy was consumed in an instant, and the bodies of the Trench monsters turned illusory and were sucked into a different space. Hundreds of Thousands of Trenchers were taken away from the Atlantic Ocean in an instant.


    With the disappearance of the Trenchers, Amari couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow.


    ''They''re more than the Dreggs''. He had also transported the reaction of old Gods, but their number wasn''t so exaggerated. Less than a tenth of the total number of Atlantean monsters.


    To transport such numerous living creatures from Earth 16 to the Axiom, more than 75% of his total energy reserves were consumed.


    Speaking of Earths .........


    Meanwhile, Atlanna watched Amari from a distance with countless thoughts passing through her mind. The scene of thousands of Trench monsters disappearing into thin air had left her incredibly shocked.


    Though, her outer expression portrayed nothing but solemnity. A trace of hesitation flashed through her eyes as she pondered her next course of action.


    She knew not whether to approach or keep a distance as Amari''s identity remained a mystery to her.


    Although he saved her, she knew not whether he was a friend or foe.


    The fact that he didn''t kill her didn''t mean he had no ill will.


    And what had he done with the ocean trenchers?


    However, while she was deep in thought, Amari disappeared into thin air, just like the trench monsters from earlier.


    The ocean returned to silence with queen Atlanna being the only being left in these waters.


    Seeing him disappear, she lowered her head slightly and decided. Determining the general direction, she kicked off towards her perception of Atlantis.


    No matter what, she had to warn whoever was the current ruler of the horrible events that were about to ensue.


    Within the depths of the earth, a great evil was sealed. And Ares was planning to release it.


    ...........


    Earth -1


    Dark Multiverse.......


    On an arid wasteland, a swirl appeared within the surrounding space. Following which, a figure appeared from thin air.

 Chapter 139 Dark Multiverse 2

    Earth -1 ........


    Dark Multiverse........


    ..........


    [Unknown POV]


    Hehehehe........ Ok, now let''s try something new, shall we?


    Hang on. Don''t say no just yet ....... I promise it''s going to be ..... Heh heh ¡­. Haha..... Enlightening, if I do say so myself.


    And before you go about wondering what, no. This isn''t going to be another lame joke. Bah! No, not another one of those.


    For the first time in ...... A while. Old Laughs is going to get serious........ Well, as serious as I can get...... Hahahahaha.....


    Don''t worry, It''ll be sure to catch your interest.


    Now....... What would you do if you knew that no matter what you did, no matter how hard you tried, everything around you would eventually collapse into nothingness?


    That someone''s every fear, every bad decision they made, every wrong thought they ever conjured up would give birth to a malformed existence?


    A world that shouldn''t exist.


    One''s doomed to rot apart, and die because they are ultimately wrong at their core.


    And then, you found out that ....... Hehehehe....... That you were living in it? That your very reality was someone else''s nightmare.


    Destined to host all sorts of nightmarish events. And you, as a resident, would have to live through the horrors that would eventually unfold.


    How does it sound? Creepy right?


    You probably don''t believe me. For something so absurd to be reality ....... Na ¡­ It''s not like you don''t believe it. Rather, you don''t want to believe it.


    You would rather believe that what I''m saying right now is nothing more than a poorly baked horror story.


    One your parents once used to put a little fright into you and your possible siblings at night to convince you to stop being naughty and go to bed early.


    A figment of someone''s bad tastes....... Honestly, I once thought the same. But that''s where the big joke lies.


    I was wrong and if I''m wrong ...... Then so are you. And if you don''t see the proof already ....... Hehehehehe, then I''m the living witness.


    For those who don''t know who I am, you can call me ''Laughs''. And how do I know all this, you may ask?


    Because I was there. There when my world began to shake and the cosmic nothingness swallowed everything I knew.


    I thought I would fade away with the rest of my world ....... Until the jolly old Dragon appeared ....... Hehehehe¡­.


    Funny guy if you ask me, with a lot of ideas. Not that I''d care for them, but boy, they sure sound fun.


    So welcome ........ to the Dark Multiverse. Home to stories that should never be¡­


    Moving on ....... He told me that my world was unstable. One meant to rot apart from the very beginning regardless of my actions. My path was determined right from the start because from the very beginning, I wasn''t the real deal but a nightmare of my original.


    The living incarnation of The Dark Knight''s greatest fear, to become the Joker.


    It turned out it was all one big cosmic joke...... Only, no one on my side was laughing. Well..... Almost no one. Haha hahaha hahaha Hahahahaha.........


    So I set out to work, full of great enthusiasm at his proposal. How interesting it would be to see my counterpart from the positive multiverse whose fears quite literally created me.


    Of course, to complete an invasion wouldn''t be an easy task. Why was that? Because I knew me. And if the me from over there was anything like me, then he would be difficult to deal with.


    Two great minds competing against each other to discover the other''s next move would certainly be fascinating.......


    But then again...... When was I ever one to play fair?


    The outcome might be unpredictable with one Batman against one Batman........ But what if there were more? Three, six, ten ......... That was my job. To find my other counterparts and pull them out of their rotting universes to join us before they finally collapsed.


    Following which, I sought to complete my task, arriving at the first stop on my long journey.


    Earth -1. A world only days away from completely collapsing.


    At least ....... That was what I thought.


    Upon arrival, I immediately realized what was so terrible about this universe.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Similar to my world, someone had gone crazy. However, it wasn''t the Batman this time but the Man Of steel who had gone rogue.


    Noticing this, I did nothing but waited. Waiting for the world to fade away, degenerate and be devoured by the cosmic nothingness when this world''s Batman was pushed to the brink.


    Wait till when there was nothing left but him.


    ......... But strangely enough, that day never came. Two months ago, I came to this planet, and two months I waited. Yet strangely enough, the devastation signalled due to the instability of the universe never came.


    At first, I didn''t understand why...... Until I did.


    ¡°Another portal to the Positive Multiverse .......¡±.


    Ace chemicals.......


    Looking at the flickering portal floating a ten inches above the ground, my widened grin, if possible, grew wider.


    ¡°....... How interesting ...... Wait till I see what Barbatos makes out of this¡±.


    The long black leather trench coat blew with the cold evening wind that seemed to be present even within this place.


    Ace Chemicals in Gotham city, as an enclosed structure, wasn''t supposed to have this wind.


    Unless of course...... It wasn''t enclosed. Contrary to how it was nearly six months ago, the building structure that was previously abandoned was now completely ruined.


    The chemical plant was wrecked in every area with large holes open, no matter where I turned my gaze. Of course, courtesy of Superman.


    This was the aftermath of his successful attempt on the Joker''s life. Following which, he tore the man apart and Gotham city followed in a similar tune.


    ¡°...... But then again .....¡±. I put my hand on my chin.


    ¡°Why do I have to tell him?¡±


    This world hadn''t collapsed like his after so long for two reasons. One, the energy secreted from this portal temporarily stabilized this universe...... And two, this earth, for some reason, hadn''t reached its end yet.


    For the other, I knew why. The arrival of the Wonder Woman from another universe had significantly changed matters here.


    The day Superman killed his wife and child, Batman had decided that their Clark Kent was beyond saving and was prepared to use any means to end him.


    While Superman went on another killing spree, murdering the other forces who stood in his path, the remnants of the Justice League gathered together to stage a final attack against the Man Of Steel.


    A life and death battle to finally decide the outcome. In this timeline, everyone but Bruce Wayne would die and that Batman would be forced to release the Doomsday Virus to kill Superman.


    Following which, this universe would ultimately fade away. But the arrival of another Wonder woman from another Earth caused major changes.


    Seeing another way, Batman, and the resistance didn''t engage in the final battle against Superman and decided to wait. Wait for the Justice League of her earth to come to their aid.


    Hence, two months had passed, and I had found four of such breaches all over the world. This ....... Was taking longer than I thought it would.


    If this world didn''t crumble away, my first mission would be a failure. But that was impossible.


    The sinister smile ever present on my face gave off a cold gleam.


    In my own universe, I had never failed in any of my endeavors. Be it the Bat family, or the world government, the Justice League, Superman...... Against me, none of them could stand.


    No matter what they threw at me neither an army of villains nor alien tyrants were worth mentioning. At best, they were just problems to solve. One by one, methodically. With precision and blood.


    Hehehehe...... After all, my Countermeasures weren''t for nothing.


    Since this world didn''t want to collapse on its own ........... Then there was nothing wrong with giving it a helping hand.


    The heart of this world''s Batman was already gone. All he needed was a little extra push in the ¡­. Wrong direction.


    Then I would take him, and gather the rest of us. The Dark Knights would assemble.


    ¡°As for the positive multiverse........¡±. Looking at the breach before me, I lowered my head with unknown thoughts within it.


    Barbatos was supposed to open the way to the Main multiverse, so every nightmare ever thought of would join in their invasion. That would take time, But now ........ A breach leading there was open already.


    ¡°Hehehehe hahaha Hahahahaha.....¡±. My loud, raucous laughter resounded within the ruins of Ace chemicals as I turned around, about to leave.


    With the confirmation of the fourth breach, my work was just beginning. Now, the first thing I needed to do was find this world''s version of Bruce Wayne.


    It happened then. The rectangular device within my grasp began to glow while releasing several beeping sounds. The streaks of yellow that could be found around its edges brightened and dimmed irregularly.


    "Huh?" My body froze for a moment in surprise. Following which, I turned around to see the portal behind me. However, there was no change on the surface.


    At that moment, a sound emerged in my consciousness, letting me know exactly what it wanted me to know.


    Following which, a holographic screen emerged above the rectangular box, displaying the video of what it wanted to portray.


    This device was The Fatherbox. Just one of the many weapons of mass destruction I had obtained from the Watchtower after I slaughtered the Justice League of my earth.


    Taking it out of confinement, it had bound itself to me and acknowledged me as its master.


    Therefore, I understood what it was trying to tell me as the hologram split in two.


    The first screen clearly showed the picture of one of the previous three breaches I had encountered. At the moment, it was glowing while releasing massive energy fluctuations.


    And the readings being emitted stated exactly what was about to happen. Something....... Or someone from the other side was coming through.


    The other side being the positive multiverse......... And speaking of the other side.


    My gaze turned towards the second screen, and then .......... I couldn''t resist the smile widening on my already smiling face.


    "Hahahahaha hahaha Hahahahaha". Neither could I resist the laugh that came after. I never could. After all, it was always thrilling when you what would happen before it happened.


    When you were familiar with every combination on the deck, and you could predict exactly what came next.


    And that was exactly what I was experiencing right now. The cards on the deck could be likened to the scene on the screen I was seeing right now.


    And I saw through it all.


    Looks like I didn''t have to wait too long. As the remnants of the Justice League were finally battling the Superman of this earth.


    Now, all I had to do was sit back, relax and watch the carnage

 Chapter 140 Dark Multiverse 3

    Dark Multiverse.........


    Metropolis........... Abandoned Underground Sewer system.


    Plop. Plop. Plop.......


    Droplets of murky water dripped from the rusty bent pipe onto the sewer floor. The ripples that formed on the water surface were the only form of disturbance that could be found in these abandoned tunnels.


    The rotten, disgusting stench that could make even the foulest smelling man wretch in disgust, permeated the air.


    With no entry of light, the darkness gave off a ghastly atmosphere alongside as in the distance, the only inhabitants of these areas, the rats, feasted on a nearby corpse soaked in sewer water.


    The disgusting water was stained with bloody fluids, as that wasn''t the only corpse within the vicinity.......


    Boom!


    Just as the rats were feasting, the roof above their heads suddenly imploded, and the space inside began to be filled with rocks and debris. The startled night creatures scattered in all directions as they avoided getting submerged under stone.


    A ray of light shone into the tunnel but was quickly covered up as two figures swooped down from the newly made entrance, landing on the stone rubble with their feet.


    Following which, they dashed forward without regard for the sewer water and made a mad run for their lives.


    Large ripples immediately appeared on the water surface as two pairs of feet rushed forward at phenomenal speed. The dark cloaks that covered their bodies made it difficult to discern their identities as their bodies and faces were shrouded in darkness.


    ¡°Damnit. It failed¡±. A young voice cursed loudly in an anxious voice.


    ¡°I know. But we can''t worry about that right now¡±. The other sounded old, and spoke calmly with a more mature tone.


    ¡°Where exactly are we?¡±


    ¡°Hold on a sec¡±. Their running figures came to a halt as the former raised his right arm a tapped. A hologram appeared, ho wrong above his arm while illuminating his face in the process.


    Dark hair, blue eyes, strong build and a green mask on his face. Damian Wayne solemnly operated the hologram and a central map appeared.


    ¡°Found it. The eastside of Metropolis''s underground network¡±.


    ¡°Then give us exit points, Robin¡±. Taking off the cloak on his head, Slade uttered gloomily. His white hair had been shaved from all directions, leaving only a small Mohawk in the center that barely exceeded five centimeters in height.


    As it was no longer needed, the dark cloak was released from his grip and fell into the sewer water slightly behind him.


    The iconic dark and orange armor made of Promethium with two katanas on the back and various weapons on all sides gave off an intimidating aura when fixed on his tall frame.


    These two were the Slade Wilson and Damian Wayne of Earth -1.


    ¡°Give me a minute here .......¡±. Damian told a look at Slade''s ugly face and responded apathetically. He began to zoom in on the schematics of the Metropolis sewer system.


    ¡°Here it is. This path leads to the underdeveloped side of the city¡­.¡±. Pointing to a place close to a certain area that wasn''t connected to the rest of the sewer system.


    ¡°There''s a drainage pipe around here that leads to a point on the outskirts, that''s our exit .....¡±.


    At that moment, a figure suddenly dropped from the open hole they made into the tunnels. Armed in modern body armor, his feet landed on the rubble, and he quickly aimed the laser blaster in his hands at the duo, firing without hesitation.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    ¡°Damn! They''re here¡±. Seeing this, Deathstroke made his move. Shifting his body, he raised his right leg and kicked the boy wonder our of the way to dodge the first two blasts while drawing his metal blade to defend against the third.


    Clank! The collision against metal rang out in the underground space.


    With his attacks blocked, the armed man in a mask didn''t relent and opened continuous fire.


    ¡°I had that¡±. Seeing Deathstroke had pushed him out of the way, Robin uttered with obvious anger.


    ¡°Sure ¡­ Whatever kid¡±. Ignoring the boy wonder, Slade used his blade to defend with one hand while pulling out his gun in the other.


    Bang! Bang!


    Two shots whizzed right at the enemy, one penetrating the left arm holding the weapon and the other penetrating the neck.


    Blood spilled, and the masked man fell backwards. However, what followed with his death let both man and child know that this was far from the end.


    Screech!


    A large demonic looking figure with four red eyes and charred rocky skin fell from the ceiling. The two wings on its back fluttering as it let out a demonic screech akin to a Clarion call.


    It wasn''t alone, as two more of its kind followed into the hole afterward. There bloodthirsty eyes locked on the two fleshy figures in the distance.


    Parademons!


    ¡°Well what are you waiting for, an invitation? Lead the way.......¡±. Seeing Parademons appear, Slade turned to the boy wonder only to find that Damian had already gotten a head start and was running deeper into the tunnels without even bothering to alert him.


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    And so, the sound of gunshots rang out within the underground sewers.


    Robin and Deathstroke ran for their lives, as fast as their two legs could carry them, while under the pursuit of Parademons.


    ¡°This is Robin to Batman, come in Batman¡±.


    Boom! The first thing that came into his ears as soon as he pressed the comms was the sound of an explosion.


    Followed by the sound of something collapsing and the fierce fighting on the other end.


    The clashes that sounded so loud and frequent alongside the occasional groan made his young face sink.


    ¡°Batman are you there? Respond¡±.


    ¡°Damien report..... Argh!¡± The pained roar went straight through his ears, frightening the boy wonder.


    ¡°Batman? Are you ok?¡± He asked in a tone full of worry and fear.


    ¡°..... It¡­. Damien¡­forget me. What''s your status?¡± A gruff voice called out from the other end of the comms that sounded uttered through gritted teeth.


    Hearing the pain within Bruce''s tone as he said those words, Damien clenched his fist, knowing that Bruce was in a serious dilemma right now.


    He knew what Bruce wanted to hear. What he needed to hear, which made the feeling within him worsen all the more.


    ¡°.. ¡­ We were wrong. The whole thing was a setup. He knew we were coming¡­.¡±. Robin uttered while shouting at Deathstroke behind him.


    ¡°Turn left!¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± Slade who was covering up the rear, replied and followed left. As the turn made a bend, Damian turned around and threw dozens of Birdarangs around the walls of the turning point.


    Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The beeping sounds got more frequent and just as he Parademons passed by.


    Boom! The Batarangs exploded, blowing up the Parademons while sealing the entrance with rocky debris.


    Seeing this, both turned around and continued to run.


    ¡°The mission failed. I repeat, Operation: Fate was unsuccessful. Black Canary and Zatanna are dead. We''re headed to the closest exit point. We can regroup and.......¡±.


    ¡°No Damien.......¡±. The gruff voice came once again from the other end.


    ¡°..... Get out of here. Leave¡­. Run¡­.¡±.


    ¡°No way¡±. The boy wonder refused without hesitation.


    ¡°You can escape. Find a way to get away from him¡­.¡±.


    ¡°We can''t Damien. Not this time.....¡±. Robin knew this.  This time, they had staked it all on this very plan. Once thy failed, the possibility of the others making it back was infinitely close to zero.


    He knew this..... But when the plan actually failed, he was unwilling to accept it.


    ¡°Ou¡­ Sh¡­ I¡­.¡±. At that moment, the comms began to fritz.


    ¡°Batman?¡±


    ¡°Are ..... ou.. read... don''t¡­.¡±.


    ¡°Batman!¡± He called out again but this time but no one responded.


    ¡°Shit! The comms are down¡±.


    Boom! At that moment, the whole city shook wildly, casing both their expressions to change drastically.


    ¡°We have to save them¡±. Damien said out loud as they advanced.


    Boom!


    This time, the explosion wasn''t affecting the entire city but the space behind them.


    The rubble that previously blocked the route behind them was blasted apart, following which, dozens of Parademons rushed forwards with their fluttering wings


    ''Here they come again''.


    As the Parademons approached, the running Robin suddenly leaped upward and twisted. His hands reached into his utility belt and his body immediately made a turn midair.


    Held firmly within the grasp of his fingers were six Birdarangs, three on each hand.


    A low tuning sound emerged as a red light appeared on the weapons.


    One, two, three...... With a quick sweep of his gaze, his mind roughly captured the positions of the nearest monsters approaching.


    Then, he flicked his wrists and the explosive weapons were thrown out, lacing everything precisely to his heavily trained instinct. The rest was left to luck.


    The sound of six weapons tore through the air as they all moved forward and flew in different directions.


    Rarghhhhh..... Squelch


    Squelch!


    Squelch!


    Squelch!


    Four of the accurately hit the respective targets on their heads. Unfortunately, he threw six of them.


    Boom! A series of explosions followed right after as the Birdarangs all exploded but the ones that missed weren''t of any threat.


    Rushing past the weapons, two Parademons rushed towards Damien, quickly entangling him and forcing him to the ground.


    ¡°Kid! ....... Ugh!¡± Deathstroke who was about to intervene quickly found himself busy as six more rushed towards his direction.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Multiple shots were released and two of them impacted the skull of two Parademons. The others either dodged or blocked and rushed towards him unabated.


    Drawing his sword, the blade similarly made of Promethium metal gave off a cold gleam as he slashed out.


    Squelch! A Parademon was cut in half.


    Seeing the other three approaching, he leaned towards the side wall of the tunnel, placed his leg against the wall and used force to leap into the air, narrowly dodging their attacks.


    While midair, he struck out with his sword again and a second later, his boots landed back in the sewer water.


    Splash!


    A severed head fell into the sewer water, the body making another splash right after.


    ¡°Arghh!¡± At that moment, Damien who struggled to hold off two big ugly monsters with his acrobatic teenage frame was bitten on the shoulder.


    ¡°Get off him¡±. A sharp sword was thrown towards their direction with great force. The biting Parademon had its body pierced through by Slade''s Katana.


    Pushed away by the inertia, the body of the monster was flung to the side, leaving Damien with only one to deal with.


    Without turning around, Deathstroke drew the second Promethium katana from its sheet on his back, dodged the attack coming towards him and slashed again.


    Screech!


    This time, he only managed to cut an arm off. The monster wailed but did not retreat, instead it attacked more ferociously and came upon him.


    Deathstroke raised his gun, about to fire, but the Parademon''s relentless attack was one step quicker.


    The gun in his was knocked into the sewer water, completely disappearing from his sight.


    ¡°Shit!¡±


    Under its strong forward momentum, Slade was pushed down onto the floor, his Promethium suit making a splash with it.


    A terrible stench assaulted the middle-aged man on his face as the Parademon''s sharp teeth continuously attempted to chomp his head off at close proximity.


    Seeing this, Deathstroke twisted his body slightly pushing the monster with only one arm to the side. Then freeing his other hand, he threw a punch with as much strength as he could muster, knocking the monster away.


    However...... He had barely regained himself when he saw a shadow flash right before his eyes.


    Squelch!


    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± Blood splattered on the nearby water as four claw marks appeared on the right side of Slade''s face. The fourth Parademon attacked as soon as he knocked the last one aside and struck without warning. The sharp claws immediately marked his face with blood before following up with another attack.


    Clang!


    The sound of metal striking metal resounded as Slade barely blocked relying on nothing but basic instinct to fight his disorientation.


    ¡°Rarh!¡± At that moment, Damian let out a low roar of anger. Sharp blades emerged from the side of his gauntlet which was defending against his attacker.


    Squelch! He quickly pushed the blades into he Parademons skull, pulled it out and pierced it, repeated the same action twice more before pushing the corpse with a shattered brain off him.


    Reaching into his utility belt, he drew another Birdarang and threw it at Slade''s direction.


    Squelch! The monster attacking him was killed, following which, Slade freed the hand that held his katana ad stabbed towards the left without hesitation.


    The weapon penetrated the chest of the last Parademon he knocked aside, preventing it from making a follow-up attack.


    Silence once again returned to the underground sewers as the last Parademon fell.


    ¡°Ha..... Ha ¡­. Ha¡­. Arg!¡± Damian let out heavy pants before wincing in pain as he moved his shoulder slightly.


    ¡°Hurts doesn''t it.....¡±. Slade''s voice came to his ears.


    Damian''s face suddenly hardened as he tried to put on a tough guy expression.


    ¡°It''s just a little bite, I''ve been through worse¡­". Turning to look at Slade, his voice ceased and mouth opened wide.


    ¡°What?¡± Feeling his gaze fixed on him, Deathstroke didn''t care and showed a wild smirk. ¡°Haven''t seen someone lose an eye before?¡±


    The left eye, that was Deathstroke''s only ocular pupil that still retained vision. The other had been scrapped years ago, and he basically covered it up with an eye patch.


    Seeing the blood dripping down his face and the eye that was practically gouged out by the Parademons claw, the boy wonder didn''t know what to say.


    He stood up, came to his side and helped him up with Slade''s hand resting over his shoulder.


    ¡°..... You said we had to save them¡­". At that moment, Slade turned his head to Damian and muttered.


    ¡°I .....¡±.


    Screech.


    The sound of loud roars coming from the direction they just came from fell into their ears, interrupting what Robin was about to say.


    ¡°.... But right now¡­. Who''s gonna save us?¡±


    The enemies were coming, and Damian''s shoulder was injured. Worst of all, Deathstroke lost his only eye and his mobility, hence greatly affected.


    They were in a dilemma.


    Seeing this, Damian gritted his teeth and placed his fingers on the intercom.


    ¡°Batman, are you there?¡±


    Silence. They both waited but received no reply.


    ¡°Batman are you there? Respond¡±.


    ¡°.....¡±. Still silence.


    Immediately, both their faces changed from bad to worse.


    ¡°Batman¡­.¡±.


    .........


    Aboveground.......


    Metropolis.......


    ¡°Batman.......... Batman...... Bruce are you there? ............ Bruceeeee!"


    The scream rang out in his ear, but Batman did not respond. With both knees on the floor, blood rushed out from the side of the The Dark Knight''s lips as he stared above him with a solemn expression.


    Eyes radiating with nothing but pure hate and anger and in his hands, a Kryptonite spear.


    ¡°Well Bruce.....¡±. The calm male voice coming from above made his hand on the spear tighten even more.


    With his figure that seemed to be an eternal shadow over Bruce Wayne, he floated in the air with his cape billowing in the wind.


    The awe-inspiring red and blue super suit and the classic ¡°S¡± symbol on the chest representing the symbol of the House Of El, he folded his arms and looked at Bruce Wayne with glowing red eyes and a strong sense of indifference, as if looking at an ant.


    And unlike his positive earth counterparts, his expression wasn''t the slightest bit easygoing.


    ¡°...... Aren''t you gonna answer?¡±


    Here and now ....... Superman and Batman seemingly made their final stand.

 Chapter 141 Dark Multiverse 4

    Earth -1


    Dark Multiverse.......


    On an arid wasteland, a swirl appeared within the surroundings. Following which, a figure appeared from thin air.


    Stepping out of empty space, Amari swept his gaze around the surroundings and was somewhat stunned at what entered his line of sight.


    Destroyed buildings, abandoned structures, wrecked cars, chasms ......... The area before him looked like it had experienced a great natural disaster.


    If that were all, it would be acceptable. After all, he had seen what this earth looked like from Zoom''s memory and knew what to expect. However.....


    His gaze turned towards the distance where a giant column of fiery energy was shooting straight out of the earths core. Up in the air, large numbers of Parademons patrolled the skies, with their screeches resounding everywhere.


    The fiery pillar of energy combined with the sun''s heat warmed up the atmosphere by a great deal. A regular human not used to the atmospheric conditions would start sweating profusely in a matter of a minute without so much as moving a muscle.


    ¡°So this is the Dark Multiverse, huh?¡±


    Standing on top of a ruined building with no civilians within, he took in the sights before him with narrowed eyes.


    If he didn''t know where he willed himself to, he would have thought someone had forcibly channeled him back to Apokolips.


    At that moment, his eyes glowed as he spread his senses outward. The dark Multiverse, also known as the Nth World, was a shadow under the original multiverse.


    One formed from of every fear and bad decision ever made or dreamt. Compared to the true multiverse, universes formed here were generally lacking, flawed and ultimately doomed for destruction.


    They were failed creations that weren''t stable enough and therefore, would never rise to join the orrery of worlds.


    And from what he could see, Amari was pretty sure that this universe was reaching its end.


    His senses spread and easily caught sight of a notable landmark that could never be forgotten.


    The Daily Planet. Hence, he was in Metropolis.


    Boom! At that moment, there was the sound of a loud explosion, which immediately drew his attention.


    ¡°Oh! Hold on, this is.......¡±.


    .................


    Damian Wayne (Earth -1) POV


    ¡­


    This ........ Is the story of how I died.


    It all started months ago when the giant breach appeared in the sky. When that happened, a figure we were all familiar with fell through and appeared in our world.


    We knew her, yet...... Didn''t know her at the same time. And if I didn''t know Wonder Woman''s situation any better, I''d think she was one of Lex Luthor''s or Superman''s clones.


    But Luthor had been dead for four months now, so it couldn''t be him, and this new arrival didn''t look anything like one of ''rogue Superman''s'' robotic creations.


    That day, she fought beside us. Helped the resistance to escape from a tight spot.


    Still, it mattered little. The casualties we suffered before she came couldn''t be made up for. Aquaman, Queen Mera, Jessica Cruz, Guy Gardener, Barry Allen, Cyborg, Martian Manhunter, Red Tornado, Barbara Gordon, Catwoman, Dick, Redhood, Beastboy, Ravager, Captain cold, boomerang, blue beetle ....... ..... We lost them all.


    Among the members of the Bat family, Bruce and I were the only ones left. Not even Alfred managed to escape.


    Both heroes and villains alike were massacred.


    The once prosperous Justice League was reduced to nothing more than a dozen plus members.


    About a third of that number weren''t even heroes to begin with.  Now we weren''t even considered a League. Just a bunch of people banding together to survive under the sights of a maniac.


    Then the ......... singularity, as Silas called it, happened. We learned that there were universes other than our own. And Wonder Woman came from one such universe.


    One with a League of her own who could offer help to our dying world.


    Hope appeared. A possibility for us to get the reinforcements we so desperately needed. And Bruce, with a solemn expression, didn''t object, no matter how skeptical I knew he was deep down.


    After all, the only thing in his view that could stop a rogue Superman..... Was another Superman.


    Silas and Harrison Wells made a way. Configured tachyon technology to boost the speed of one of the only two speedsters left in the world.


    Wally West, the New Flash that took over Barry''s mantle.


    He was supposed to get their help...... But something went wrong, and we wanted with no positive results for two months. Just the growing affirmation of another dead friend.


    Finally, we could wait no longer. Batman and the others couldn''t sit still anymore, as Wally was most likely dead at Zoom''s hands.


    If that were the case, then there was no help, no reinforcements coming anytime soon if there were any to even count on


    Superman had destroyed half of the world and the total estimated population had decreased to less than ten million.


    He was going to do it again. Take the Parademon army that had grown in numbers after the transformation of the corpses of so many innocent people to clear out any other possible resistance in his path.


    We learned it from Lois........ Before he killed her. And seeing the dated time approaching, any longer, and our planet would truly be finished.


    And well......... That about summaries everything and brings me to the point where I''m at right now.


    We launched our final plan. Those with true combat power left alive would confront our hour of darkness head on in the attempt to stall for time.


    While Superman was kept busy, I would follow a second team to infiltrate his stronghold in search for the only thing that could let us turn the odds to our favor.


    The Helmet Of Fate.


    As long as one of us with a strong enough affinity for magic managed to get that helmet on their heads, then we still had a chance.


    That was the main reason why Zatanna was brought along. Apart from Wonder Woman, she had the highest affinity for mystic energy.


    But we stepped into another trap. Zatanna, black Canary, black lightning and two others died as a result.


    Slade and I were the only ones left.....


    .........


    ¡°Bruceeee!¡± He called out but still, there was no reply.


    The atmosphere was terribly gloomy.


    ¡°It''s ok¡±. Slade''s voice fell into his ears. However, it was akin to a sharp knife piercing through whatever hope he had left.


    ¡°No! I don''t believe it. He can''t.....¡±. He didn''t want to believe it, he wouldn''t believe it.


    ¡°It''s been a slice, kid. But it''s time to face reality. He''s probably gone, and we all knew that this plan wouldn''t work¡±. The eyeless man replied in an indifferent tone.


    In every sense, the plan had a chance of success. Distract Superman, get the helmet and beat him with it. That simple..... At least that''s how it seemed on the surface.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°And if we don''t do something soon, we''ll probably follow in his footsteps¡±.


    Screech!


    More screeching sounds emerged from the tunnel.


    ¡°Then we fight¡±. Damian''s eyes narrowed as he drew out a sword from behind his cape.


    ¡°The exit''s not far, so let''s keep moving. At most, we''ll cut down a few dozen more of em. Even if we go down, we''re not going down without a fight¡±.


    His eyes hidden behind the mask were filled with unprecedented determination, ferocity, and hatred.


    As he said so, he pulled Slade towards the exit direction so they could keep moving, only to find that the man in question didn''t budge.


    ¡°Why aren''t you moving?¡± Slade didn''t respond immediately but turned his empty gaze to the kid who was unrealistically planning to haul him all the way to the exit while escaping from an endless pursuit of monstrous enemies.


    Two words...... Fat Chance.


    ¡°You need to go¡±.


    ¡°What the hell are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I like your determination kid, but we both know there''s no way both of us are making it outta here alive¡±.


    ¡°That''s your take¡±. Damian frowned greatly. "Not mine. I might not like you, but I''m not leaving you behind. We''re making it out together".


    Deathstroke shook his head.


    ¡°Not this time kid. Sorry, but it won''t work. My eye is gone, I''m practically dead weight at this point¡±.


    The moment he lost his sight, Deathstroke had reconciled himself to the possibility of death. Even if they could make it out by some miracle, they wouldn''t get far before he found them.


    Then they would either suffer a painful death or a fate worse than such. Move back even further, suppose they did escape, his fighting days were over.


    Without his eyes, his combat power would be reduced by more than half. What was the difference between that and cannon fodder?


    Slade wasn''t afraid. After all, he had nothing to live for in this world.


    ¡°You''re not going to die here¡±.


    ¡°....... Yes ..... I am¡±. At that moment, Slade used his index finger to push a spot on his palm. An Alpha symbol appeared with a red glow, following which, his entire Promethium suit began to exude dark red light.


    ¡°What did you.....¡±. Damian was stunned.


    ¡°It''s my armor''s self-destruct sequence¡±. Deathstroke uttered blandly while sheathing the katana in his hand and pulling out both guns from the bottom holster near his knee.


    ¡°If I''m going to die today, I''m gonna make sure I take as many of them as I can with me. There''s no way to disable it so you only have a little more than a minute to get as far away as you can. Whether or not it''s far enough is all up to your luck¡±.


    At that moment, a loud sound emerged as several creatures rampaged right through.  With an expressionless face and a bleeding eye, Deathstroke raised both guns and began firing rapidly.


    The sound of bullets echoed in the underground tunnels. With his feel of the gun, and the sound of the air current, Deathstroke killed this wave of Parademons that arrived.


    Some were lucky one hit kills. Others needed three to four bullets. Thankfully, none of them slipped past this time.


    ¡°I''ve chosen this to be my end today kid. But you don''t have to follow me. I''ve lost everything, but your only family might still be alive. So stop being stubborn and run while you still can¡±.


    The Boy Wonder watched with narrowed eyes and an unsightly look. His hands clenched into fists as he watched Slade who remained motionless.


    Then, he took a slight bow at the man who was and still is the greatest Mercenary his earth had ever seen, then he turned around and ran as fast as he could.


    Hearing the departing footsteps splashing on the sewer water, for the first time in a long time, a genuine smile appeared on Slade''s face.


    ¡°Live as long as you can little devil. Live well. I hope I won''t see you in the underworld too soon¡±.


    The tunnel wasn''t a straight path. It had several bends and turns as well as edges one had to scale over or slide under.


    Without his sight, Slade wouldn''t be able to go through it fast enough for both of them to escape their pursuers. And now, Robin ran as fast as his legs could carry him, rushing towards the exit point before Slade''s Promethium suit self-destructed.


    An explosion in an underground tunnel would be essentially catastrophic. At best, within the range of a few dozen meters would be all that was affected. At worst, the entire sewer network could collapse on itself within several blocks.


    If he were still here when that thing exploded. Even if the explosion didn''t reach his position, he might get buried alive in the sewers.


    As the seconds passed, the emotions within his heart grew more and more complex. He should have stayed....... Should have insisted on taking Slade with him¡­ ¡­. He wasn''t a coward, they could have fought and died together, like comrades....... The impulse to turn around right back had never been so strong before...... But ultimately, he didn''t turn.


    He already decided to leave, there was no point in turning back now. He couldn''t die, not yet. Unlike deathstroke, he still had something to live for.


    A father. He needed to know if Bruce was still alive.


    And so he ran....... And ran..... Until...... He saw the exit point of the sewer system.


    About eighty meters away, Robin found that there were less than five seconds left before a full minute passed.


    And so, with all the strength he could muster, he rushed out of the exit and ducked to the floor before the explosion went off.


    The seconds passed. One, two, three........ Robin, who had leaped forward to the ground, raised his head with slight surprise.


    ¡°It ..... Didn''t go off?¡±


    A minute had passed, yet the explosion never happened. Damian stood to his feet and looked at the tunnel that led to the sewer system slightly above him.


    Around Damian was an abandoned construction site of sorts


    Seconds passed ...... Nothing. Robin frowned.


    At that moment, however, an invisible silhouette quietly emerged from the ground behind him using density shifting and returned to regular form.


    ''Did he lie?'' The thought quickly passed through his mind concerning the possibility that Slade had lied to him to get him to leave. However, at that moment, the Boy Wonder caught a glimpse of something with the corner of his eye.


    It was...... A person''s shadow? Realizing this, his face changed drastically. He reacted as fast as he could, moving his body in a subconscious attempt to dodge to the side.


    Unfortunately.....


    Squelch! A long, sharp object pierced through his chest, penetrating through ad emerging on the other side.


    ¡°Arghhhhhh!¡± With a scream of pain, the young boy''s body was lifted from the ground and thrown backwards.


    Thud! Thud!


    Damian, who was thrown out, bounced off the ground many times before slamming into a wall.


    Cracks similar to spiderwebs appeared on the point of impact.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Damian groaned, blood pouring from his mouth as he felt the intense pain spreading all over his body. He raised his head with difficulty to see.


    Clink! Clink! Clink!


    The sound of metal impacting the ground spread into the air.


    What appeared before Damian''s eyes was a half man, half robotic creature with glowing red eyes and dark green skin.


    The waist part of his body was connected to a three-legged robotic machine and parts of his face sported metal workings.


    ¡°J''onn". Damian muttered with horrified eyes. ¡°What has he done to you¡±.


    The being that attacked him was Martian Manhunter....... Or better put, once was Martian Manhunter. After his death at the hands of Superman, the latter took his corpse ad reengineered it to create a robotic soldier.


    The robot didn''t answer. Just looked on expressionlessly and continued to move forward.


    Within its processing system, a line of words appeared before its eyes.


    << Target: Damian Wayne >>


    << Threat Level: D >>


    << Objective: Eliminate >>


    Damian tried and failed to stand up firm. At the moment, his chest was bleeding profusely, and his insides hurt like hell. If not for his subconscious movement that made him shift a few millimeters to the left, his heart would have been pierced right through.


    He had also sustained a few broken ribs, a dislocated arm and a possible concussion from the earlier impact. Even if he could stand, he was in no condition to fight or run away.


    As the robot got closer, it stretched out its green right arm which morphed into a long spear.


    However....... Right before the eyes of both parties, the space in between them suddenly began to swirl.


    Martian Manhunter came to a halt. The next moment, a space crack appeared and disappeared the following moment, laving behind a figure that neither had seen before.


    Thud! The silence was broken as the new arrival dropped an unconscious person on the floor with no regard for the latter''s safety.


    Someone The Boy Wonder easily recognized.


    Slade Wilson.


    Amari dropped Deathstroke while fixing his gaze on the robotic Martian Manhunter with a hint of interest.


    ¡°Looks like this world''s J''onn J''onzz suffered a terrible fate even after death¡±.


    Meanwhile, Martian Manhunter''s systems began to release warning signs.


    << Warning! Warning! Warning! >>


    << Large amounts of energy detected >>


    << Target: Unidentified >>


    << Threat Level: S class (Extremely Dangerous) >>


    << Objective: Eliminate at all costs >>


    The eyes of the Martian robot immediately glowed with a red intensity. As for why the objective remained unchanged despite the highest increase in recognizable threat level ........ The Superman of this earth didn''t bother to add a self-preservation protocol in case it met stronger enemies.


    Because..... There were few enemies that could defeat Martian Manhunter. If it met one such enemy, the alert was meant to notify him while the cyborg would fight to achieve mutual destruction.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Seeing the change, Amari exclaimed slightly. At that moment, the Cyborg made its move.


    With an explosive dash, it quickly shortened the distance of a few meters in milliseconds and thrust out the transformed spear arm.


    Snap!


    The sound of a fingersnap resounded.


    Bang. The attacking cyborg instantly burst apart to pieces, sending blood and mechanical parts flying everywhere.

 Chapter 142 Superman Meets Superman

    Earth -1........


    Ten minutes ago........


    Central City.


    ......


    Screech!


    Compared to what it should be, it now looked more like a modern ruin.


    Majority of the tall buildings within it were practically wrecked, collapsed or had a huge chunk of it missing. The waterways were filled with rubble and floating corpses.


    The asphalt on the roads and tall building structures were charred black with most of them being set aflame. The bright yellow sun and the burning pillar of flames shooting out of the earths core in the middle of the city didn''t help either.


    The streets were deserted of all practical life, as the vast number of citizens had either died during Superman''s rampage or fled right after.


    The rest were divided into two parties. Those who were found and killed by Parademons, and those who hid as deep as they could to avoid death.


    Occasionally, they would come out of their hideouts in search of food with careful movement to avoid the occasional Parademons patrolling the skies.


    Sometimes they would succeed....... Sometimes they wouldn''t.


    And so, the survivors of this new apocalypse had lived in this way for the past year after the Justice League failed to stop Superman from destroying it.


    But today, someone did the opposite.


    Screech!


    A patrolling Parademon swooped down towards the old figure standing in the middle of an alleyway with a loud screech.


    However........


    A flash of blue lightning lit up the dim alleyway, covered under the shadows. Following which, the headless corpse of the Parademon fell to the ground with a thud.


    Blood oozed out, forming a puddle and spread quickly towards the feet of the one who killed it.


    A pair of worn out shoes came into view, expanding to show the appearance of a tattered looking old man.


    With torn clothing, skinny figure and a disheveled look, this male who looked thin from hunger walked away from the corpse of the monster he just slayed with an unusually calm face.


    Gone was the wariness one would usually find on the face of a survivor scavenging for food while on the lookout for Parademons.


    ¡°Argh!¡±


    However, he had barely taken a few steps when he collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest with a pained expression.


    Hidden underneath the clothing, streaks of dark curse marks could be vaguely seen, spreading across his body from the long, hideous wound that extending from one end of his abdomen to the upper shoulder area.


    ¡°What....... is this?¡± The man uttered with great difficulty as his disguise began to fade. His features morphed from a disheveled old man with dark hair and skinny features to an even older looking one with grayish white hair and a full beard.


    The dark green eyes turned to bright red ones filled with unprecedented solemnity.


    Ares!


    The old God examined his physical condition, his frown never being so great.


    ''It seems I''ve greatly understated his means''. When Amari threw the ominous chain back at the hidden realm, although he reacted in time, the barbed edges tore a bloody wound right through his chest area.


    Following which, he immediately fled through the Breach and appeared in this universe while using his divine power in an attempt to heal himself.


    He failed miserably, and if anything, his actions only served to worsen his situation.


    Whatever....... This thing was, it seemed to be the natural enemy of the Gods as it devoured his power and spread rapidly like some kind of evil curse.


    No matter how much energy he diverted to suppress it, the dark curse marks just swallowed them all.


    Ares was an old God who had lived for thousands of years. Never before had he seen anything like this.


    He could feel the pure evil energy emanating from his chest area, trying vigorously to expand and take over.


    It felt like what those humans called a virus.


    If it were back on the earth he fled from, he should have already succumbed. However......... Although it had only been a few hours, Ares was no longer the dying God he once was.


    The pain pulsed for only a few moments before fading away as his body was flooded with new energy. The fading disguise stabilized as the God Of War once again returned to his feet.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    He raised his hand and clenched it into a fist, feeling the pure, astonishing power flowing through his veins.


    As for where this power was currently flowing from........


    Boom!


    The sound of a building collapsing fell into his ears.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The loud booms reverberated throughout the city, accompanied by the earth quaking from time to time.


    This was where his power came from. One thing that Ares had missed for a long, long time.


    War.


    As soon as he was injured, the curse marks began to spread from the point of contact. Ares, had mustered everything he could to flee through the portal leading to unknown places in the multiverse.


    He arrived through the portal and happened to land in an underground chamber on the outskirts of Central City. With his weakened state, the marks spread like a plague, particularly stimulated by his blood and divine energy.


    Barely moments later, all his energy was swallowed up and all that was left was for the God Of War to cease to exist.


    But just as the marks were about to completely consume him. His Godhead suddenly thrummed, releasing a large amount of energy at once, like a dry well that suddenly ushered in a multitude of fresh water.


    However, moments later, the breach in the underground chamber suddenly collapsed upon itself, swallowing everything in its surroundings within a two-mile radius like, a black hole, before disappearing.


    Luckily, he had escaped from the range before it happened. Now outside Central City, a large hole spanning for two miles and nearly forty meters deep.


    Few minutes later, he used his power and discovered a survivor. An old man who he was currently disguised as. Then he invaded the latter''s mind, turning him into a vegetable in the process, and understood the state of this world.


    This earth ...... Had been riddled by war. The fight between the Justice League and Superman provided him with the much-needed power to temporarily suppress his ailment.


    And with each passing second, he could feel himself growing stronger. With his weakened state, this new flow was akin to an exhausted horse being injected with stimulants and steroids.


    And the best part of it was, he didn''t even have to lift a finger.


    The God Of War turned his head to look back at where the explosive sounds were coming from. Then...... He ignored them and continued to move forward.


    Ares had no intention of interfering in their fight. The longer it continued, the more he would benefit.


    For now, the God of War was searching for something else. Another Breach through which he could use to return to Earth 16.


    And moments ago ...... He found one. Right above the skies of Central City. It was through this same breach that Wonder Woman fell through into this world.


    Walking towards the area where the breach hovered over, Ares began to ponder his future plans. This earth was an unexpected yet favorable encounter.


    Hence, he didn''t plan to leave. At least not now.


    After all, once he returned to Earth 16, the blessing of War would be gone. With nothing to suppress the curse seals currently infesting him, he would die minutes after returning.


    Not to mention that there was an even more troublesome existence probably waiting for him on the other end.


    He couldn''t go back, but he also couldn''t stay here for long. The key to achieving his ultimate goal was back on Earth 16, sealed deep in the Earth''s crust, waiting for him to release it.


    It happened then, Ares''s footsteps came to a halt as he felt something.


    Raising his head, he looked towards the sky where the breach that connected both worlds laid, and his expression had a noticeable shift.


    Because in the skies above Central City, the breach that had been giving off stable fluctuations began to grow erratic.


    The space around the breach turned chaotic as swirls began to appear.


    Although his facial expressions didn''t change, Ares''s eyes had narrowed to the extreme as he took two steps back with caution.


    The destruction of the last Breach was still fresh in his mind. And everything within a two-mile radius was swallowed into it before it disappeared, leaving a massive hole in the floor.


    He didn''t want to be close to this one if it followed the same pattern as well.


    Of course, that wasn''t the only reason he was being cautious.


    He had studied the breach that led him here back on Earth 16 and, similar to this one, both gave off the same universal frequency.


    In short, this breach, just like the one that brought him here, led to nowhere other than Earth 16. But it was impossible for normal humans to safely transverse worlds without either being blocked or getting ripped to shreds mid-travel.


    And after he came through, someone else just happened to be following. No doubt, Ares was worried that Amari would be the figure to step out of that swirling gate, hence his cautious actions.


    However, what he was wary of didn''t come through.


    The portal twisted for several seconds before releasing a pulse of energy into the surroundings. And then....... Nothing.


    The breach had returned to normal, but nothing had come through. Perhaps to others, this would have been the final conclusion.


    But Ares wasn''t just anyone. In his perception, a large flying aircraft appeared out of the breach. As for why it wasn''t visible to the naked eye...... That was because it was cloaked.


    Normal people would be unable to see through the camouflage at all.


    Unknowingly, The God Of War breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn''t who he was worried about. Nevertheless, Ares''s gaze on the flying craft never shifted as numerous thoughts crossed his mind.


    All he knew was that this aircraft was from Earth 16. He didn''t know who it belonged to or what their purpose was, so he was completely unsure of his next move.


    However, while the God Of War pondered his course of action.........


    Screech!


    His attention was drawn by something else completely beyond his control. Currently, there were numerous Parademons hovering above him in the sky as the roar of the first Parademon he killed had attracted more.


    A second later, they all swooped down to attack.


    ''Troublesome''. Ares thought with a frown on his face. His strength was rising but slowly. And his divine power now was currently limited.


    Expending it to deal with some monsters was not ideal amidst the suppression of the Curse marks.


    However, just as the Parademons were about to attack......


    The cloaked Bioship suddenly changed direction and flew towards him.


    The hatch at the bottom opened up and........


    The next moment, a Superboy suddenly jumped from it.

 Chapter 143 Superman Meets Superman 2

    Screech!


    The sharp piercing cries of the Parademons patrolling in the skies made Ares''s eyebrows narrow even more.


    ''Bastard creatures''.


    Talk about bad timing. Right now, there were unidentified intruders from the other earth in the distance.


    If he was attacked by these creatures now, he would have no choice but to either defend himself or run and hide. And for Ares, the latter was not an option.


    The thought of running away from these lowly creatures just to avoid suspicion from the unknown made his face shift in a slightly unsightly way.


    Especially when he knew not whether the newcomers were weaker or stronger than the current him. If it were the former, what was the point of running to hide?


    The Parademons however cared not for his troubles.


    Following which, they dropped from the sky and attacked in their dozens. Loud roars and screeches escaped from their open maws as they advanced with fluttering wings.


    Ares stood motionless. However, just when he had decided to unleash his power to tear these creatures apart regardless of who the newcomers were, the camouflaged ship suddenly opened the hatch at the back end.


    Following which, a figure jumped out of the Martian Bioship and fell towards the earth with forward momentum.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Falling from the sky, Conner yelled in a loud voice while drawing his fist back.


    ¡°Why don''t you pick on someone your own size¡±.


    His voice fell, and Superboy, descending from the air with great momentum collided with the Parademon at the forefront at a speed faster than it could react to and pushing both downwards.


    Bang!


    Dust and debris flew in all directions as the earth shook greatly. The dust cleared and an intact male with dark hair, blue eyes and a ¡°S¡± symbol on his chest could be seen standing unscathed over a motionless corpse.


    Turning his gaze away from the body, Conner set his sights on the person he just saved. Or rather ¡­. Who he thought he did.


    ¡°Hey¡­. You alright sir?¡±  He


    ¡°I''m fine¡±. The old man replied. His gaze moved slightly to the side before uttering.


    ¡°Behind you¡±.


    Thud!


    The earth shook slightly as the dark creatures landed with considerable force. Cracks emerged on the ground under their feet as they straightened their large bodies with snarling sounds emerging from their maws.


    ''Superboy! Are you ok?''


    At that moment, Megan''s voice appeared through the mind link.


    ''There''s a civilian down here. Against a bunch of ugly monsters''.


    ''Do you need backup?'' Aqualad asked.


    ''Go on without me, I''ll catch up''.


    ''Copy that''.


    The Bioship didn''t turn off camouflage but sot towards the distance where the collision sounds were coming from.


    This was the last thing he heard from his team. Breathing a sigh of relief, he could now focus his attention on the group of monsters before him.


    ''Now then. Who''s first?''


    .......


    Dark Multiverse


    Central City Park Area......


    Lower District


    ......


    The harsh wind blew, causing the surrounding temperature to rise higher and higher.


    Today was the last resistance by the remnants of the Justice League against the Evil Tyrant Superman of the Negative Universe.


    The flames and destruction that spread as far as one could see was the clear proof of the battle.


    Buildings around the area had been set ablaze. Potholes, ditches and general cracks caused due to countless collisions decorated the streets.


    Rubble fell as houses crumbled and trenches were dug across the sidewalks.


    The whole place looked like a catastrophe coming straight out of a man''s worst nightmare. The streets that were once bustling with life and population were now deserted.


    The bodies of its former residents who had died under Superman''s rampage decayed until nothing but bones were left.


    And so ........


    Boom!


    The sound of buildings collapsing resounded throughout the desolate streets of central city. Following which, a building exploded, and a figure was sent flying out of the flames.


    ¡°Damnit!¡± Dressed in a dark Kevlar bulletproof suit, the caped crusader turned around while midair and fired a batarang towards his opponent. Following which, he leaned desperately to the side to avoid a large green dumpster truck thrown in his direction.


    Crash! The dumpster truck impacted against a nearby building while Batman performed a flip and landed on his feet.


    Beads of sweat secretly accumulated on his back at the close brush against the side end of a garbage truck.


    If that thing had slammed into him, he would lose his combat ability directly. Nevertheless.......


    At that moment, The Dark Knight keeled over and opened his mouth. Blood poured out from his lips and nose as pain made its way throughout his entire body.


    Raising his head, Bruce pressed two fingers against the comm on his ear.


    ¡°Batman to all available Leaguers. Respond¡±.


    ¡°.....¡±. Nothing. The radio static on the other end continuously played in his ears like a silent mockery.


    Bruce gritted his teeth. This was it....... The end of everything they had worked so hard to finish. He couldn''t accept it.


    ¡°This is Batman to all available Leaguers. If you''re conscious, respond¡±.


    ¡°Hehehehe....... Why do you try, Bruce?¡±


    A calm, cold chuckle resounded throughout the park area causing The Dark Knight to stiffen.


    With eyes blazing with fury and hatred, he focused his gaze on the area covered up with large amounts of smoke and rubble where the previous explosion had come from.


    The dust settled....... From the thin cloud obscuring his vision, two red pupils emerged, glowing with a blazing intensity.


    ¡°Clark!¡± Bruce spat out with bloodied teeth.


    The smoke cleared completely. Red eyes, blue tights, red cape, dark hair, blue eyes and a menacing expression.


    His right arm was outstretched, in which a woman was held tightly by the throat. Her eyes were closed and her figure was stained with blood.


    Deep wounds and bruises covered multiple parts of her skin as the blood rushed out profusely.


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Clark paid no attention. With her life and death status still unsure, he pulled back his arm and tossed the woman aside, going straight through a restaurant building.


    With a loud crash, it collapsed upon impact.


    ¡°Is this all you have, Bruce?¡±


    Batman rose with difficulty from his crouched position. His cape billowed with the wild wind caused by the intense destruction that had gone on around them.


    Strapped on his back was a long spear, the body made from the most durable metal he could assemble within his reach, Promethium.


    A part of Slade''s stash shared by the Terminator himself.


    As for the edge .......... The spearhead was made entirely of the only thing the resistance had in their disposal that could threaten this hero gone rogue. Kryptonite........ The last piece on earth.


    Looking at the spear on his back, Clark''s eyes flashed with a hint of amusement.


    ¡°Do you really think a Kryptonite spear is going to stop me?¡±


    ¡°It''s the only thing that can pierce through your skin¡±. Batman didn''t seem to be in a hurry to act and spoke solemnly.


    ¡°And considering how you went to such great lengths to destroy every other piece on the planet as well as all red Sun technology, I''m willing to bet it''s my best shot¡±.


    ¡°....... You know, your thought process is fascinating". The Man Of Steel uttered with a smile.


    ¡°Won''t you agree?¡±


    ¡°I find it hard to agree with a psychopathic killer, but make no mistake, Clark¡±. Bruce looked at the hovering Superman with narrowed eyebrows and moved his hand to hold the end of the spear on his back.


    His posture was slightly bent, his body was aching, and the features exposed through the cowl were stained with blood, making him look particularly miserable.


    Nevertheless, his voice and tone remained unchanged.


    ¡°This world has suffered enough. Hence, I will end you. One way.....¡±


    His thoughts drifted from the spear to the special serum in his utility belt that contained a modified virus.


    ¡°...... Or another¡±. Following which, he pressed down on a certain part of the spear, and then ..........


    Another explosion emerged from the earth right under Superman in a thirty-meter radius. Black smoke immediately enveloped the area ....... However, the dark smoke immediately took on a greenish glow as the smoke changed color in an instant.


    Kryptonite Gas.


    However, the gas had barely spread for a second when.......


    Clap! The shockwave released from two palms clapping against each other dispelled the kryptonite Gas effectively.


    Batman was knocked away as a result, flying into the distance. He tumbled on the floor for a few meters before managing to regain his footing.


    Following which, he leaped upward and fired several Batarangs towards the opponent.


    With a slight swipe of his hand, Superman knocked the bat shaped weapons aside and accelerated.


    ''Time to end this''. In a split second, he crossed dozens of meters and appeared before Bruce Wayne, grabbing towards the latter''s neck.


    However........


    ¡°Hoc corpus ab iniuria invehere".


    The archaic words uttered in a deep tone resounded throughout the surrounding space. And As soon as his hand made contact, the body of Batman turned illusory and disappeared from sight.


    The Man Of Steel came to a halt. His eyes narrowed as the outstretched arm that caught nothing clenched into a fist.


    ''Again?''


    Thud! The body of Batman blurred, then emerged from thin air and crashed on the hard asphalt road. Rolling a bit, The Dark Knight finally came to a halt and steadied himself on his knees.


    Following which, he held his right shoulder in pain.


    Feeling the dislocation gotten through the rough landing, Bruce grasped his limp arm and pushed forcefully.


    Crack! The sound of bones shifting resounded while Batman winced in pain.


    ¡°You''re not ...... Looking too good there, John¡±.


    He turned his head to the side and there was a blonde man wearing a long yellow trench coat, long pants, a scruffy beard and a tie.


    Sweat covered his forehead as he similarly went on one knee while releasing heavy pants of exhaustion.


    ¡°Well it''s hard to keep neat when I have to teleport you out of harm''s way every fifteen seconds¡±.


    John Constantine.


    The standard British accent was unmistakable.


    ¡°The others?¡±


    Constantine''s face fell.


    ¡°Shiva and Harley are gone. Koriand''r was displaced to the safest place nearby. She''s alive, but badly injured, with a bleeding stump of an arm. Beetle, Deadshot, King shark and Grodd are dead. Others aren''t responding¡±.


    He uttered with bated breaths.


    ¡°Either dead or too injured to respond. Face it bats, we''re all that''s left¡±.


    He paused, then asked without much hope.


    ¡°The Helmet?¡±


    Bruce didn''t reply. That alone was an answer on its own.


    ¡°Hehehehe...... I thought as much. The whole plan was a suicide mission¡±.


    He said as stood to his feet, battling against the exhaustion.


    ¡°Never thought I''d die like this, but ..... Meh. Life''s always been nothing but a bigger bitch, hasn''t she?¡±


    ¡°How much magic power do you have left?¡±


    ¡°Not much...... Look out¡±. Bruce was stunned, and turned to see two rays of heat vision firing towards them.


    Both men immediately leaped out of the way. With a bang! Their previous standing points had been reduced to rubble.


    Constantine darted his eyes in all directions, trying to find the figure of Superman. At the same time, his fingers moved at the fast speeds as he made hand seals.


    John was self-aware. He knew that the chances of them winning this war were almost non-existent. And the chances of him leaving this place alive were even more so.


    There were only two of them left. And from their past relationship, Clark would definitely leave Bruce for last. Meaning he was the next target.


    ''Since we''re all going to die. Let''s give the blue Boy Scout a last hurrah before we''re sent on our way''.


    ¡°Tenebris finis sigillum antiquum". He muttered and closed his eyes for a second, before opening them the next.


    Two golden pupils emerged, and he mobilized the magic power in his body.


    Following which, a dark, fifteen centimeter long spherical orb emerged between his palms.


    Ancient Dark Magic.


    His plan was to use whatever energy he could muster after this to displace Batman as far as he could, before blowing up the sphere between his palms.


    Everything within a three block radius would be enveloped within the spell and consumed by corrosive darkness. Including the caster himself.


    Strictly speaking, it was a suicide spell meant to die with the enemy. Now, the only question being whether Superman would be fast enough to avoid it.


    If he was prepared, then yes. But now, Constantine was pinning his cards on the hope that Superman would be caught off guard by an AOE spell.


    Perhaps the spell would explode just when Superman approached to give him the finishing blow. It was gambling ...... And he lost.


    The spell had barely stabilized when a strong palm clasped his neck and pushed to the side.


    Crack!


    Constantine''s neck broke. And with his death, the dark spell destabilized and dissipated into thin air. Then his body fell to the ground as the owner of the palm released his grip.


    ¡°Finally dead¡±. Clark muttered with clear annoyance before turning to the last one left.


    Bruce was silent. He looked at the body of the Occult detective and his heart grew cold. Constantine was dead...... Now, he was the only one left.


    The fight had been going on for close to two hours.


    Considering they were fighting against Superman without Kryptonite weapons, that was an astounding achievement. And all of this was due to Constantine, who engraved everyone with runes to perform a substitution spell.


    When in mortal danger, he could cast the spell immediately and switch those marked with already prepared objects to take the damage in their stead.


    The people, on the other hand, would be teleported to a place of his choosing, out of harm''s way.


    This was how they were capable of battling Superman for so long to give Damian and his team enough time to try to retrieve the helmet of fate.


    Alas, nothing good lasts forever.


    Even with Constantine''s preparations, it still wasn''t enough. Many died one by one, heroes and villains alike.


    It became more obvious as time went by. As magical exhaustion set in, he simply stopped saving those who were unimportant.


    And now, he was gone.


    Batman placed his hand on his utility belt. His last hope, final countermeasure, was still there.


    ¡°Honestly...... I never understood. The other Leaguers in their quiet conversations. They always said you could beat me Bruce. If we fought, head to head. If neither of us held back¡±.


    ¡°Right now, I could break every bone in your body with nothing but a touch. And what do you have to stop me? A spear?¡±


    ¡°Do you understand how weak you all are to me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.....¡±.


    With his left hand actions covered with his cape, Batman reached into his utility belt in an attempt to quickly inject the Doomsday Virus.


    ¡°I do. But now, you won''t be able to hurt me again¡±.


    ¡°Enough¡±.


    Clark''s eyes narrowed before turning red. Two rays of heat vision shot towards his former friend to finally end this all. He had had enough.


    It happened then. A figure suddenly appeared, blocking the way of the laser beams and firing against his chest.


    The heat rays dissipated to reveal a man wearing blue tights ad a red cape. The classic ¡°S¡± symbol on his chest was all too visible, and his face was particularly solemn.


    ¡°I agree. It is enough¡±.


    Looking at the face that was almost identical to his, Superman -1 felt waves stirring in his heart.


    ¡°Superman¡­". Standing in front of Bruce Wayne, Clark narrowed his eyes and uttered in a low tone.


    ¡°Your days of Tyranny in this universe..... Are over¡±.


    ........

 Chapter 144 Earth 16 Flash, Kryptonian Sacrifice

    There was no warning, no action, no hint of any kind. Nothing one would associate that could lead to the destruction of a half Martian, half cyborg killing machine.


    Perhaps....... Nothing but a fingersnap. But this alone made it all the more outrageous.


    A fingersnap? Could destroy Martian Manhunter? Damian felt like his three views were being challenged. And considering that he had seen a lot of things during his time on this earth, that was definitely saying something.


    In the early days, Damian had seen the Justice League in action. He had seen the heavyweights go head-to-head with existences on their own level. Hence, he knew how powerful Martian Manhunter could be at his peak.


    Strength, speed, and a plethora of abilities that made him a troublesome existence to deal with.


    It made it all the more difficult to accept what he was seeing now before him.


    Had the Cyborg lost so much of its power after being transformed into what it was now, or was this person before him so strong that he could do what he just did with ease?


    Or perhaps........ It was some sort of trick.


    Damian didn''t know, but as the Grandson of the Demon''s Head and the son of Batman, his mind carried their brilliance and cunning. Hence, analyzing everything he saw to see if there was a hint of deception before him.


    The scene was silent, and the atmosphere carried an inexplicable hint of tension.


    Damian narrowed his eyes and didn''t speak, while Amari didn''t seem to be in a hurry either.


    And so, Amari and Damian stared at each other. During this time, Amari examined the boy before him with a bit of scrutiny.


    Dark hair, green eyes and sporting a Robin costume. Like the one on Dick Grayson of earth sixteen but with slight modifications.


    Seeing the narrowed eyes of the boy wonder which carried Five points of doubt, Four points of wariness, and one point of surprise, Amari couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow.


    Like father, like son.


    ¡°You''re practically a spitting image of a younger Batman¡±. This boy wonder should be Damian, the actual biological son of Batman. Not adopted like the other three.


    His words made the boy''s eyes narrow even further


    ¡°Who are you ¡­.¡±. He said while attempting to rise to his feet.


    The result ........


    ¡°Ugh!¡± The slight movement of his body made the boy wonder let out a pain groan. At the moment, his uniform was soaked with blood as the injury caused from The Martian Cyborg''s attack left him bleeding out.


    Coupled with the earlier mentioned injuries, a slight movement meant experiencing unbearable pain and would cause his injury to worsen.


    ¡°You shouldn''t move¡±. Amari uttered before walking towards Martian Manhunter''s head. The only thing he had left intact when destroying him.


    ¡°Unless you want to die¡±.


    ¡°...... Is that a threat?¡± Resisting the pain and warning, Damian stood to his feet defiantly. The expression on his face stating that he was ready to face death.


    ''¡­. Yep. Exactly like Batman''. Amari felt amused. He was just giving a light warning, but the latter directly took it as a threat that he would kill him.


    ¡°If I wanted to kill you, You''d already be dead¡±.


    He replied, his gaze fixed on the Cyborg.


    ''Alice?''. Amari called out inwardly.


    ''Am in''. The AI''s voice rang out in his ears as information was transmitted from the computer chip within Martian Manhunter''s skull.


    ¡°Then who are you?¡± Damian asked again with a frown. Someone with such power...... Why did he have no information on the other party?


    ¡°I''m a visitor¡±.


    ¡°From where?¡±


    ¡°Another Earth¡±.


    ''Feeding back necessary data now''. Alice''s words fell and everything he needed and wanted to know about this world was directly extracted from the memory files of the Martian head.


    This world''s earlier timeline, how the Justice League came together. Some major events happening in between and the change afterward. Superman going rogue, the destruction that ensued, his death..... And everything it could remember right after.


    The reprogramming, the assignments given to it by Superman, the files on Wonder Woman''s appearance. Everything.


    Despite only having a head, Alice was able to directly connect with Superman''s network and retrieve all data required that was not in his memory.


    It included the current state of the resistance, why it was after Damian Wayne and Deathstroke, and the true location of the Helmet Of Fate.


    As well as another very interesting addition. Something Amari hadn''t expected either.


    However...... ''No Ares''. Amari muttered with an expressionless face. He felt no surprise at that. Time hadn''t even reached an hour since the God Of War fled to this world.


    It would be surprising if he came into Superman''s line of sight. Especially in his current state, The Old God would definitely be beaten to death by this world''s darkened Superman with very little resistance.


    That was if he wasn''t dead already. From Amari''s speculation, Ares should have been consumed by the curse marks at this point, his soul destroyed.


    This was why he wasn''t in a hurry to chase after Ares. After all, the dead couldn''t run away.


    He just wanted to confirm that he was truly dead. Then, he would be on his way.


    ¡°Another Earth?¡± Damian''s eyes widened.


    ¡°You''re from Wonder Woman''s world¡±.


    ¡°Correct¡±. Amari replied and turned his gaze away. He had gotten everything he needed. Hence he wouldn''t continue peering at a head any longer.


    He turned around only to see Damian''s eyes had lit up with renewed hope.


    ¡°Wally did it. But.....¡±.


    Then, those eyes dimmed.


    ¡°Why''s there only one of you? Are you the advance guy?¡±


    A frown emerged on his face. If Wally had made it, then their world was supposed to arrive with a full team. To deal with their situation, their Superman had to be involved.


    Then he remembered how this guy had destroyed Martian Manhunter literally with a snap of his fingers, and he realized.


    If this was his true strength, then Perhaps this guy was the reinforcements they needed.


    However.


    ¡°You''re mistaken¡±. The apathetic tone fell into his ears.


    ¡°I do come from their world, but I''m not part of the Justice League¡±. Turning to the side, a thought flashed past causing him to chuckle.


    ¡°In fact, you can say that we don''t really get along well¡±.


    Hearing this, the Boy Wonder took a step back.


    ¡°So you''re an enemy?¡±


    ¡°No¡±. Amari uttered blandly. ¡°But I''m not a friend either. So if you expect me to help you defeat your world''s problem, then you''re thinking too much¡±.


    ¡°Then why did you save us?¡± Damian opened his mouth to speak, but someone else beat him to it. Both turned their gazes to a man had sat upright at some point with blood flowing from his open eye.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Despite his sight being completely deprived, he looked towards Amari''s direction with a serious face. As if he could actually see him.


    Slade wanted to know why this newcomer had saved both their lives.


    ¡°Because I can¡±. The reply he received, however, was contrary to his expectations.


    Even Damian, who was prepared for many things, didn''t expect it.


    ¡°I''m sorry, what?¡±


    ¡°There''s no specific reason. I saved your asses simply because I felt like it¡±. Looking at their expressions, Amari felt like laughing. Though, he wasn''t surprised.


    ¡°My world doesn''t have a Damian Wayne. Or it does, and I haven''t seen him yet. And if he does exist, then he''s probably still an arrogant five or six-year-old brat living under Ra''s Al Ghul and Talia. So call me curious to see what exactly the son of Batman would look like. If it were me two months ago, I would definitely leave you to your fates, so don''t think too much and take it as it is¡±.


    Deathstroke''s face didn''t change. As for whether he believed the reason or not, Amari didn''t know, neither did he care.


    Slade remained silent but Damian certainly wasn''t finished questioning.


    ¡°You''re not here to help, so why are you here?¡±


    The tone in which the boy wonder spoke had obviously changed. If initially, he was wary, then he was pleasantly surprised, now that he knew Amari wasn''t here to help, his tone was annoyed, displeased and obviously unwelcoming.


    Despite being a teenager who had spent years under Batman''s tutelage, his arrogant, pampered brattiness was ever present.


    It sounded like he was just a little short of giving him an eviction order to leave their planet, since he was useless.


    But what he did inherit was Batman''s desire to get to the bottom of things.


    ¡°I''m looking for someone¡±. Amari replied, completely ignoring Damian''s tone. He could feel it the moment he stepped into this universe.


    Earth -1 wasn''t far off from collapsing into nothingness. After all, the key characters that brought this world into existence in the first place was the Positive Multiverse Batman''s fear of Superman turning into what he always feared he would.


    Hence, The Superman of Earth -1 was the key factor of this Earth''s stability.


    The moment the fear was killed off, then this earth wouldn''t last longer than ten minutes in existence. Everything and everyone that remained on that planet after that would be swallowed by the cosmic nothingness ad cease to exist.


    Point being, these two were equivalent to dead men in Amari''s eyes. And who would bother punishing dead men?


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°A God¡±. Amari''s answer caught both of them off guard. He ignored there gaffe and continued.


    ¡°Ares. The God Of War. He fled from my world into this one just as I was about to kill him, but not without death inducing wounds. So I''m here to make sure I see his corpse¡±.


    He said nonchalantly. Then squinted his eyes with a pondering look as he fixed his gaze at the tallest building in Metropolis that had now been transformed into Superman''s'' evil fortress.


    ¡°Now ....... it seems like his corpse isn''t the only thing I''m leaving this world with¡±. Amari''s vision penetrated the buildings, through the fortress walls, down into the lowest layer where he saw the unexpected surprise in Martian Manhunter''s memory.


    In the lowest underground room, several spherical wheels were spinning constantly around each other in different directions.


    And at the center of these spheres was a figure in a red flash suit, running on a treadmill with a plug inserted into the back of his neck.


    Earth Sixteen''s original Flash.


    ...........


    Meanwhile ......... Two Superman from different Worlds and different dimensions stared at each other solemnly.


    The wind blew past them both and the surroundings lost all sound. Both men released their auras on each other instantly, bringing the atmosphere to a suffocating level.


    A distance away, within a collapsed restaurant building that at this point, was nothing more than rubble. The rocks began to tremble uneasily for a few moments.


    Following which, a slender hand struck out of the rubble.


    Then....... Bang! Everything within the vicinity was blasted away as a figure emerged from underneath with great momentum.


    She wore a strapless red bustier held up by a brace of gold resembling two W''s. Silver bracelets around her wrists, red star earrings and a golden diadem with a red star on her forehead.


    Blood poured out from the wounds that surrounded her body as the slender figure took deep breaths and let out heavy pants.


    Her pink lips were stained with blood and her uniform was in a mess with a lot of tears and cuts.


    ¡°Where is that bastard?¡± Diana cussed in a low tone and took a step forward. Following which, she fell to the floor with a look of pain on her face.


    Her entire body was aching, and he muscles practically screamed to her that she couldn''t go any further.


    Nevertheless, she still struggled to stand by supporting herself against a firm object.


    She couldn''t fall. Not here, not now. Not u till that monster was put down for good. And by her sword and by Hera, she would make sure it happened...... Or die trying.


    Focusing her gaze, she peered into the distance to see what was happening. However, what she saw left her stunned.


    Two...... Two Supermen were flying in the sky, facing off against each other in a staring showdown.


    At first, she didn''t understand........ But then. Behind one of them, a large weirdly shaped airship disengaged camouflage mode and appeared in the sky for all to see.


    Diana instantly recognized it. That was Miss Martian''s Bioship. And that meant ...... Her gaze returned to the Superman and her eyes lit up with hope.


    ¡°Clark .......¡±. She whispered softly.


    In the distance, Earth 16 Superman clearly heard her voice with his hearing.


    ¡°Diana¡±. He called out back. ¡°I''m sorry, I should have gotten here sooner¡±.


    ¡°It''s not...... Your fault..... Ugh¡±. The pained groans she released right after left Clark feeling slightly distressed.


    ¡°Just wait right there, ok?¡± Clark said calmly. His eyes showing unconcealed anger.


    ¡°I''ll take care of this¡±.


    Following which, he placed his gaze on the other him on the opposite end solemnly. He knew that what he was about to face wasn''t going to be easy to deal with.


    It was another Superman.


    The silence remained for several seconds. Until...... The first one spoke.


    ¡°...... You''re from the other universe¡±. His voice was clear and calm, but his eyes were filled with hostility. He turned his gaze to the position where Wonder Woman stood and raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Just like her¡±. He took had Superhearing.


    ¡°This is over. Your world''s Batman has already stated it. I won''t let you harm anyone else ever again¡±.


    Murderous intentions burst out of the Negative Superman at the words of his other self.


    ¡°You don''t belong here¡±.


    ¡°Perhaps. But you hurt my friend¡±. Clark wasn''t one to back down.


    ¡°And I''m going to make you pay for that¡±.


    ¡°In that case ......¡±. Both figures tensed. The fight was about to begin.


    ¡°Go ahead and try¡±. And then......


    Crack! The asphalt under their feet cracked as they both dashed towards each other simultaneously at their fastest speed.


    Bang!


    Both figures collided and exchanged blows. One hand to punch and the other to catch the other party''s punch as well.


    The shockwave spread out, causing the glass in the surroundings to shatter and buildings to crumble.


    Batman who was still in a state of shock was blown away by the aftershock and his body flew into the air. Thankfully, Superman didn''t come alone.


    The Bioship opened, and a figure flew out to catch the body of the out of control Batman.


    Similar to Superman, she also wore red and blue tights and carried the symbol of the house of El, but the bottom was a skirt instead.


    ¡°Gotcha!¡± Catching Batman, she quickly supported him and flew off into the distance.


    Similarly, the Bioship retreated a distance away from the point of collision.


    ¡°Why don''t you help him?¡± Batman turned his gaze towards Kara who was taking him away and asked.


    The first question was not who they were but this?


    ¡°I .....¡±. Kara was also taken off guard. But thereafter, she didn''t know what to say.


    ¡°Put me down¡±. Seeing this, Bruce uttered with narrowed eyes.


    Kara didn''t refuse and placed the Card Crusader on the floor. As they had retreated a safe distance away, the Bioship also landed and the door opened up to reveal several figures.


    A streak of lightning rushed out and appeared before Batman.


    ¡°Thank Goodness you''re alive¡±. Wally from Earth -1 uttered with joy.


    ¡°You''re late¡±. Bruce, however, didn''t reciprocate. As soon as Clark appeared, The Dark Knight understood what was happening.


    The reinforcements they longed for had finally arrived. However, Bruce wasn''t relieved but felt his teeth itch with anger.


    One day. If they had waited one more day, the reinforcements would have arrived. So many people wouldn''t have had to die today.


    ¡°I ..... It wasn''t.....¡±. Wally was momentarily dumbfounded and wanted to refute, but didn''t know where to start.


    ¡°It wasn''t his fault, Sir¡±. At this moment, a calm, composed voice spoke up for him.


    Aqualad and the rest of the team arrived.


    ¡°You''re Aqualad. Arthur''s prot¨¦g¨¦". Bruce narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°Yes. We''re all from the other earth¡±. Aqualad nodded. ¡°And the six of us are here to help¡±.


    ¡°Six?¡± Batman frowned. He turned to Wally West (-1) who he automatically excluded and counted.


    ¡°There''s only five of you¡±.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Aqualad was stunned and looked at his teammates...... Then they discovered. One of them truly wasn''t here.


    ¡°Superboy dropped earlier to save that old man¡±.


    Megan called out through the mindlink.


    ''Right. Call Superboy. Check his status and have him regroup with us. We will need it''.


    ''Right''. Megan nodded and called out.


    ''Superboy, respond''.


    One, two, three....... No answer.


    Megan frowned.


    Boom! The sounds of collision continued in the distance.


    ''Superboy, are you there. Respond''.


    Seconds passed. Still nothing.


    ''Guys, we might have a problem''. Megan called out in panic.


    ''Superboy''s gone''.

 Chapter 145 Lokee God Of Chaos

    Central City streets.........


    Bang!


    Two rays of blazing heat vision blasted a figure away. The man clad in the darker shade of red and blue was blasted straight through a car, then right into an abandoned oil tanker at the very end.


    Alongside the collision, the tanker exploded and went up in flames. Dust and smoke enveloped the area as iron pieces flew into the air.


    The red trail of heat vision ceased, and a figure slowly lowered himself from the air with an expression of great solemnity.


    Deactivating his heat vision, Clark Kent stepped on solid ground with his gaze fixed on the area of explosion.


    Sure enough, a figure emerged from the explosion, his darker shade uniform burning with fire all over.


    Nevertheless, his face remained unchanged as he stood within the flames, unaffected.


    ¡°Had enough?¡± Although he didn''t expect the earlier attack to do any actual damage, seeing the enemy standing unscathed from his lasers left Clark feeling slightly depressed.


    ¡°Enough?¡± Superman raised an eyebrow, chuckled and raised his hand to dust the spot gathered in the center of impact.


    The area where the heat vision stuck with full force was completely unaffected.


    ¡°I don''t know which universe you crawled out of. But when I send your corpse back, it certainly won''t be in one piece¡±.


    Over the span of fifty-seven seconds, their clash had spread a line of destruction through the already destroyed city.


    During the Altercation, he had the upper hand. Beating this Earth''s Superman with rapid blows while the latter could barely fight back.


    Luckily, there weren''t any civilians left here who would get hurt in the process.


    The thought had barely passed his mind when Clark''s mood fell again. Their battle hadn''t injured a human life yet. There were no screams, no panic, no chaos due to their actions, but Clark couldn''t be happy.


    Due to the fact that the only reason it was so was because everyone who could was dead. With his outstanding vision, the numerous corpses all over the place were just too hard to ignore.


    The Central City in his earth had a population of more than eleven million. And on this one ......... It seemed like there wasn''t a single soul.


    So many people, men, women, children, all dead. All because of him.


    Unknowingly, the Man Of Steel clenched his fists as he looked his doppelg?nger with undisguised hostility.


    ¡°I would rather not have to hurt you¡±. The Man Of Steel had his eyes turn red again.


    ¡°Surrender now. While you still have the chance¡±.


    His stern warning was paid no heed. Instead, a pondering expression appeared on his face as he spoke.


    ¡°I told Bruce I could never understand how the other Leaguers thought he could beat me if we fought.......¡±.


    Walking slowly, he stepped out of the fires.


    ¡°Since you''re here. You can help me clear up something else I don''t understand. How do you do it?¡±


    Clark frowned. Clearly not understanding what the other party meant.


    ¡°Do what?¡±


    ¡°How do you dedicate your whole life, to doing nothing but serving a mass of useless, weak, ungrateful ants who aren''t even worthy of the grace you give them¡±.


    The solemn atmosphere, if possible, condensed even more in an instant.


    Clark looked at the other party coldly.


    ¡°You''re wrong¡±.


    ¡°Oh! Am I now?¡± The wind blew past both of them, causing their capes to flutter.


    ¡°Your tone, your voice, your look, the clenching of the fists and that nauseating gleam of Justice in your eyes........ I recognize everything. You''re practically me five years ago¡±.


    Those words seemed to trigger something within him, as Clark''s face scrunched up into a heavy frown.


    ¡°I was raised by my parents and taught to value human life. Something you''ve clearly lost sight of¡±. The refute was immediate.


    ¡°Those lines remind me of myself. Because I thought just the same. Until my eyes were opened to what these hypocritical humans really are¡±.


    ¡°And you ...... You still don''t see it. No matter what you do, no matter how many times you save their lives, it ultimately doesn''t matter. They''ll always fear you, always secretly wary of you, always despise you. They can lift you up today...... Cheer you as a hero, a god. But that''s just a pretty illusion. One that will come crashing down when put to the test¡±.


    ¡°What''s the point of valuing beings that have no value? They''re worthless, good for nothing. Even when you do things in their best interest, and ask for nothing in return, they''ll always question you. While keeping them safe should be worth every cent¡±.


    ¡°That''s where you''re wrong. No matter how powerful we are, we''re not gods. We don''t get to decide who lives or dies¡±.


    There was no reply. Silence returned for several seconds.


    Eventually, Superman released a sigh.


    ¡°I thought I could open your eyes to reality. But I forgot that when our views are set, we''re impossible to convince¡±.


    ¡°For once, I agree¡±. Clark uttered with the last trace of hope he had in making this Superman see the error of his actions vanishing.


    Things had come to this, now it seemed that there was only one way this could end.


    ¡°I''m nothing like you, I never will be. And you''re too far gone in your thinking to see change. With your powers, that alone makes you dangerous. After everything you''ve done, I can''t allow that¡±.


    "My obligations don''t end at the borders of my dimension. I''m Superman, a symbol of hope and freedom to all life. Even the ones on this earth". Clark uttered with narrowed eyes.


    ¡°So I will put an end to you. One way or another¡±.


    ¡°Hehehehe .........¡±. He closed his eyes and chuckled, before opening them again.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°You don''t seem to understand something. What exactly makes you think that you can stop me?¡±


    The temperature heated up instantly as his eyes glowed red. Following which, blazing concentrated fire shot out of his eyes towards Clark.


    The Man Of Steel immediately returned fire as both men''s heat vision slammed against each other.


    A battle between eye beams emerged as both their lasers clashed against each other, struggling to gain the upper hand.


    The stalemate drew on. Until ........ Negative Superman''s vision had a surge in power, rushing forward and overpowering the Clark''s lasers.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± With his beams overpowered, Clark was blasted straight through a building in a similar way he just blasted his opponent close to a minute ago.


    Bang!


    Clark''s body pierced through the building, his back slamming against a wall, which brought him to a halt.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± His lips let out a groan. That ....... Was unexpected.


    However, something even more shocking happened the following second. Raising his head, he was surprised to find that his vision was blurred with red.


    ''That''s......''. Cleaning it off, The Man Of Steel was stunned at the sight of his own blood.


    It wasn''t much. Barely a drop of it from a wound that healed just as fast as it appeared. Nevertheless, that alone was surprise him.


    ¡°Remember when I said you were practically me five years ago?¡± A voice drew him out of his reverie.


    At the entrance of the hole he created, the other Superman flew off the ground with an indifferent expression on his features.


    ¡°I meant that literally¡±.


    Clark''s brows furrowed. Following which, he blasted off the wall he crashed against towards his assailant.


    Smashing into him and sending both of them upwards.


    A blast of heat vision was released from Clark''s eyes. To which, the other half reciprocated as both lasers collided and escalated out of control.


    The two were immediately enveloped in red as the surrounding area was flooded with their abilities.


    Dazzling red heat vision filled the skies and exploded accordingly.


    Boom!


    The explosion caused by their battle could be seen from miles away, reaching the ears of someone walking outside the city.


    Witnessing the destruction in the distance, was a frail looking old man.


    Those dark green eyes narrowed for a moment, before returning to normal as he turned his attention back to his work.


    However ........


    ''A God ........''.


    A deep, distorted voice resounded within his mind.


    ''One so fearful of mortals''.


    The footsteps of the old man came to a halt. His eyes narrowing to the extreme as his senses spread around to see who was speaking to him.


    ¡°Who?¡±


    At the moment, he was outside Central City on the desert outskirts.


    This place used to be a grassland area, before Superman showed up.


    Now, in the range of one mile, there was nothing but sand and dust.


    No life, not even sand scorpions, lizards, or anything similar.


    ''A weak one ....... Yet, one so...... ambitious''.


    ¡°Hmm. Look who''s talking¡±. Despite not seeing who was speaking to him, the old God was surprisingly calm. Showing no fear or anxiety at all.


    ¡°You don''t even dare to show your face before me at all. Playing mind games..... now who among us seems weak?¡±


    ''Your petty tricks are amusing. But my intent is not to play games. You know where I communicate with you from, weakling''.


    The voice resounded in his head once again.


    The atmosphere instantly condensed to the extreme. At the moment, Ares had eyes shining with coldness and unspeakable murderous intent.


    ¡°Really? Then show yourself you asshole and face me if you have the guts. And I''ll show you that no one calls me a weakling, no one¡±.


    ''Is that so?'' At that moment, the Curse marks on his chest area glowed once again, bringing about a burst of terrible pain.


    A groan escaped from Ares''s lips as he took two steps back with unsteady steps, channeling his energy to resist the invasion.


    Yes. The voice speaking to the old God came from the Curse Marks that had appeared when he was struck by Amari''s chains.


    A new round of problems were about to follow.


    Wisps of smoke emerged from the curse marks and flew into the distance. When the last wisp emerged, Ares trembled and fell to the floor unsteadily, his body resting on one knee and sweat appearing on his forehead.


    Nevertheless, his gaze never left the area in front of him as the wisps of black smoke converged together and spun around rapidly.


    Following which, it all settled and the illusionary silhouette of a three-meter tall behemoth stood before him.


    ''..... You say you are no weakling. Yet, you run for your life and hide in this world from an enemy like a stray dog''.


    The silhouette didn''t speak. Or rather, it had no mouth to speak.


    All words directly resounded within Ares''s head, causing a surge of anger to rise within him. He was Ares Of Olympus, The All Powerful God Of War.


    At his peak, even Darkseid was chopped by his axe. Since when had he ever been this insulted?


    However, the pain lingering on his chest let him keep whatever portion of rationality he had left.


    ¡°...... What are you.....?¡±


    ''Your Ancestor''. The dark silhouette was silent for a second before replying.


    ¡°Hehehehe..... Right. And I''m mother Gaia¡±.


    Hearing the words that were contrary to anything he could have ever expected, The Old God was stunned for a second before chuckling the next.


    The dripping sarcasm in his tone was unconcealed.


    However.......


    ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± His laughter was short-lived as another burst of pain flooded his entire being. The curse marks that had infected him seemed to have once again received stimulants and began to rampage violently.


    ''Watch your tone, brat''. Those dark red eyes floating in the air narrowed to showcase their displeasure.


    ''You might see yourself as a noble, powerful God, but your arrogance ends where I stand. Even at your peak, your power couldn''t hold a candle to mine, and you age¡­. Even more so. For I am one of a race who came before your race of gods were even born. The only reason you haven''t been completely consumed is because I allow it. Your miserable existence still has great value to my cause''.


    The pain stopped and Ares collapsed on the floor.


    All that was left was heavy panting.


    ¡°And what cause is that?¡±


    ''My freedom''.


    Then.....


    ¡°Hahahahaha........¡±. Contrary to what one would expect, with the ceasing of torture, the God Of War immediately began to laugh.


    ¡°Yeah ¡­. Keep talking ¡­.¡±. Propping himself off the ground with his exhausted strength, Ares smiled with a hint of mockery.


    ¡°Just look for some other fool to believe you, oh Ancient Being¡±. His expression portrayed a single question.


    Do You Take Me For A Fool?


    ¡°I was attacked by that blasted alien with his chain. Got scraped by its spikes and that my friend ...... Is where you appeared from. I know my circumstances well, so I''m not picking up whatever the fuck you''re putting down¡±.


    Ares looked at the floating silhouette with disgust.


    ¡°Stop playing mind games Amari. You found me, now leave me some dignity and end this¡±.


    Ares was convinced that the silhouette before him was Amari playing mind tricks. After all, everything he just stated was entirely true. As for why would he do such a thing? .......... Perhaps to get back at him for trying to trick him into going after his father.


    So Ares stood there with a ferocious look on his face, waiting for his inevitable death.


    Only, another bout of pain appeared, once again forcing the God Of War to his knees.


    ''You do not seem to understand. The chains that inflicted my Chaos Marks do not belong to the one currently hunting you, but belong to me. I ........ Am Loki. God Of Chaos and Trickery from the world, Urgrund. It was from the destruction of my world that your race of Gods came into existence millions of years later.....''.


    ¡°Arghhhhhh!¡± A roar of agony escaped from Ares''s mouth as the males intensified, almost covering his face within them.


    ¡°...... I am your ancestor. The one who will rightfully rule supreme, and you..... Will do my bidding¡±.


    The dark silhouette uttered emotionlessly.


    ¡°Or suffer the consequences¡±.

 Chapter 146 Doctor Batman

    Earth -1


    Underneath the Metropolis sewer system.


    Darkness filled the entire area, giving off a solemn atmosphere as there was no entrance for light to pass through.


    Screech!


    Squelch!


    The head of a Parademon caved in and fell to the ground. A second later, blood flowed down from the cracked area, slowly turning into a small puddle.


    ¡°And that makes ....... How many?¡±.


    Amari swept his apathetic eyes around his surroundings. At this point, numerous bodies littered the underground cavern.


    At some point, he had lost count.


    Underneath the general Metropolis sewers was another underground area, not connected to the area above.


    It wasn''t even in the city schematics and hence, hidden from everyone who didn''t know about it, or had the capability to search for it.


    ''The perfect place to hide something from Batman''.


    Amari thought to himself as he turned away from the corpse before him and began to walk forwards.


    The ceiling was high, and the walls were roughly made. The whole place looked like a natural cavern with some hastily made adjustments on various edges.


    There was no security system, no lights, no hidden weapons. The whole place was plunged in darkness twenty-four hours a day. The only thing to serve as a defense line to protect what was hidden here were the large swarms of Parademons made of the transformed humans of this planet.


    As well as the natural unfamiliarity one would have when first stepping in here.


    ''I have to admit ......... He sure picked a good spot''.


    Somewhere within this labyrinth of darkness, the Helmet Of Fate was hidden.


    As the same way Batman had a thorough understanding of Clark Kent, this world''s Superman knew the strengths of his Earth''s Bruce Wayne.


    If Batman wanted to get his hands on something, even banishing it to another dimension wasn''t considered enough.


    There was no impenetrable door, no security system, no vault or safe that could put him at ease to leave it in.


    Upon going rogue, Clark had attempted to destroy everything and everyone that could possibly serve as a threat to him.


    That included killing the previous host of the Nabu before he could put the helmet on ad taking it away so it couldn''t be used against him.


    Of course, that alone wasn''t enough. Hence, he tried to destroy it.


    His attempt proved unsuccessful as even with all his strength, denting the thing seemed impossible.


    So hiding it away was the only option. Somewhere only he could reach, yet was unreachable for anyone else.


    These underground caverns were the result of his search. The cavern expanse was rather wide, covering almost all of Metropolis.


    The tunnels were almost endless, branching out in all directions and the earth below the feet were sensitive. Stepping on the wrong areas could cause one to fall into a sinkhole.


    The helmet itself was untraceable by magical means. Courtesy of Nabu, coupled with the swarms of Parademons and the natural darkness ........ Earth -1 Superman finally felt reassured.


    Aside from himself, no one else could find it. Or so Superman thought.


    And this time, Amari wasn''t talking about himself. As upon arriving at his destination in which the Helmet was hidden, Amari discovered that someone else had beaten him to it.


    In the almost impossible case that the helmet was indeed somehow discovered, Superman had prepared one last layer of defense.


    A formation of three of his former comrades. Queen Mera of Atlantis, Hawkman, and his Earth''s Wonder Woman. Transformed into half human, half cyborg monsters, just like the Martian Manhunter he encountered earlier.


    To serve as guards and to alert the Man Of Steel if there were any intruders. They would kill if the enemy was weak or stall for time. Enough for him to get there if the enemy wasn''t.


    However ........ As soon as Amari appeared at the edge of the cave, he found the badly destroyed bodies of all three reengineered cyborgs on the floor.


    The earth before him was cracked with numerous pits appearing all over the expansive area and the clear traces of battle showed that they had recently faced a formidable enemy.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    And lost.


    Amari''s eyes narrowed with slight surprise at the discovery.


    ''Someone on this world did all this?'' His surprise was easy to understand.


    Hawkman, Wonder Woman, Queen Mera. The first and last weren''t really worthy of much attention. Especially when there was no water around to play to the former Atlanteans queen''s strengths.


    But Wonder Woman was different. Even if transformed into what she was now, the number of people who could do this could be counted on one hand.


    ¡°Well well ....... Who do we have here?¡±


    The voice quickly attracted Amari''s attention as he turned his gaze towards the distance.


    ¡°Hello ......¡±. The figure was clad in leather throughout. From head to toe with nothing but his hands, and the lower half of his face being the only part exposed.


    He wore what Amari could only describe as a metal choker, obscuring his eyes and his face was pale white. The lips blood-red and he sported a crazy grin that Amari was always too familiar with.


    Joker?


    However, the getup he wore let him know who this clown really was.


    Batman ....... Who Laughs.


    However, Amari''s eyes widened when he saw the latter raise something over his head and put it on.


    Nabu''s helmet.


    ¡°..... And goodbye. Haha hahaha".


    The helmet was put on, and a wave of order energy pulsed out of his body, followed by a dazzling transformation.


    ........


    Silence resumed, and the atmosphere was unbearably suffocating. Close to half a minute had elapsed, and Ares was lying on the ground breathlessly.


    The stinging marks that wreaked havoc in his mindscape were gradually fading away. Nevertheless, the pain would take more time to fade.


    Way more time to fade.


    The silhouette floating above him didn''t speak, nor did it urge him. Just silently watched the pitiful creature in front of it suffer in weakness.


    A God? It was pathetic, really.


    Although Ares''s face was pointed downwards, away from its eyes, it mattered not.


    He could see everything. The gnashing of teeth, the eyes about to pop with hatred and impotent rage, the panting chest that was rising and falling due to anger more than it was to pain.


    As well as the slight trembling of his frame. He saw it all, and despised it even more.


    This was supposed to be the new era of Gods?


    Disappointing.


    To think he could find no better pawn than this ......... Thing before him was honestly pathetic. It made him indignant.


    Ares should thank his father Zeus who struck him so hard that he was left in such a weakened state. As it was half due to this despise that the God of War still had his mind intact and hadn''t had his soul devoured by him.


    As the old God of Chaos, Loki despised weakness. And hence hated this ¡°Old God¡± with little strength yet great desires.


    Completely forgetting the fact that just as Ares was weak, he too was far from his own peak.


    During the destruction of Urgrund, his body was destroyed, and he had barely managed to seal his soul into his most powerful divine weapon. The God suppressing Curse Chain forged out of the essence of countless deities.


    Capable of infecting any being that was scratched by its edges with evil beyond measure. Consuming them whole and assimilating them into his own strength.


    It was considered to be the natural nemesis of all Gods, and it was with this weapon that he joined in the great Ragnar?k.


    Sealed for millions of years within Urgrund''s ruins. Until....... Someone picked it up.


    Still, that changed nothing. Until an hour ago.


    When Ares was scratched by the bladed chain, his chance to escape presented itself.


    So he separated a part of his soul into the infected curse marks, invading Ares as a result and finally gaining a taste of his long-lost freedom.


    However....... This wasn''t enough.


    ¡°Wh...... what do you ..... want from me¡±. At that moment, Ares''s panting voice filled with suppressed anger called out to him.


    The old God raised his head slightly and stood on his knees, showing his involuntary surrender.


    ''Pathetic Indeed''. Loki spoke out without even trying to hide it. His disdain and contempt for Ares completely unconcealed.


    The latter clenched his fists deeply. Anger burning within him. Ultimately, they unclenched.


    He was a hothead, he was arrogant, and he had a temper, but Ares was no fool.


    So he restrained himself.


    Loki''s fixed gaze lowered. Away from Ares and onto a new body. Laying less than a foot away from him.


    The figure laying on the floor was dressed in black from head to toe, even his hair accommodating the same color.


    He laid with his belly facing the floor and the ¡°S¡± symbol was hence covered up for no one to see.


    ''Him''. The silhouette spoke in that deep, distorted voice, causing the eyes of the old God to narrow.


    ''My current goal is to regain my freedom. And your broken body ........ Will not do''.


    The casual words made Ares''s face turn ugly.


    Loki didn''t care and continued.


    ''This one on the other hand ...... Shows potential. Promise in his genes''. The floating eyes narrowed.


    ''Good enough to serve as my first host''.


    When Ares was struck by those curse marks, Loki had gained an entrance. While he was weak, he was still fully capable of using the curse marks to consume Ares, swallow his soul and take over his body.


    But Loki chose not to. Not because he despised his strength, but because the latter still had value.


    It would have been different if he could not find a more someone else. Now, a vessel with great potential was laying before him.


    A much better candidate.


    ''Then, on your part. You have two roads to choose from. Swear a sacred oath regarding me as your one and only master from now henceforth, or two ....... Your untimely demise''.

 Chapter 147 Lets Skip To The End

    What would happen if Batman put on the Helmet of Fate!


    Well ........ Nothing really other than what you would normally expect. The Helmet of Fate was a magical possession, a tool with an ancient spirit serving as its inhabitant.


    That spirit being none other than the Lord of Order, Nabu himself. As its creator, it was capable of harnessing his nearly limitless energy, giving anyone who put it on the powers and capabilities of a Lord of Order depending on how much of his power the host could withstand.


    All with one condition. Those who wore his helmet would have their bodies subject to his every whim.


    As his to command and control without question.


    So basically, there was no form of combo in this situation where One plus one was greater than two.


    No Fates Magic prowess + Batman''s Intellect


    Or Fates Magic Prowess + Flash''s Speed


    Nothing of similar origin could ever happen.


    Nabu either wouldn''t or couldn''t harness whatever natural gifts the original host body possessed, hence reducing whatever advantage they could provide.


    In this case, one plus one couldn''t even amount to two and would always remain one.


    Fate and Fate alone.


    However, that wasn''t necessarily a bad thing, as there were few people stronger than the Lord of Order himself. Even when the being he possessed couldn''t exert his full strength.


    That could only be considered a small inconvenience. However, when paired with the fact that the original host would completely lose control over their body, it immediately amounted to a noticeable problem.


    Whoever became Doctor Fate had basically lost their free will. Both short-term and long term as Nabu would never take it off in his never-ending quest to place permanent order.


    In exchange for all the Godlike power, was a job that had long working hours, overtime on many occasions and no days off whatsoever.


    And that power wasn''t even really at his/her control.


    In nicer terms, they were hosts. In darker terms, they were puppets, and worse of all, Nabu didn''t care.


    Chaos was always abound, and Nabu would never tolerate the possibility of it rustling while his host was on vacation.


    Hence, in many universes, Nabu''s helmet usually had the tendency of being left on the shelf for years without a user.


    As proven by Kent Nelson in Earth 16 retiring and no one inheriting his mantle for years.


    Knowing what it entailed, Batman would only put it on if there was no other way. In simpler words, completely desperate.


    So let''s phrase the question in a better way.


    Why would a Batman/Joker hybrid from a dark multiverse, fully aware of the consequences of his actions, ever put on the Helmet Of Fate?


    The moment the helmet was put on, a large amount of order energy flooded out of the helmet before spreading out like a shockwave.


    Like a crack finally appearing on a dam.


    The golden yellow enlightened the dark under Amari''s watchful eyes as a circle of yellow flames rose around the new bearer of Nabu''s helmet.


    The dark leather clothed on Batman began to morph into a suit made of blue, gold and yellow colors. The resplendent flowing cape billowed in the underground Labyrinth as a large amount of energy was emitted from his very being, causing the quiet air to grow turbulent in an instance.


    ¡°Finally.......¡±. The man''s voice echoed with two different tones. Giving the impression that two people were speaking at once.


    The one aboveboard sounded grand and majestic. And as for the one below it .......


    ¡°...... After so many years. My helmet has been donned again¡±.


    Amari didn''t reply for a second. Just looked at the swirling people surrounding Doctor Fate with doubtful eyes.


    ¡°I wouldn''t be so happy if I were you¡±.


    ¡°Oh?¡± His voice echoed again.


    ¡°Piece of advice. You should take that helmet off right this instant. Or something bad is probably going to happen¡±.


    The green colored pupils underneath the Helmet narrowed.


    "And why should I?''


    ¡°Donning your helmet means loss of freedom. And quite frankly .......¡±.


    Amari let out a slight shrug.


    ¡°..... Your current host isn''t one to suffer losses¡±.


    After Earth -22 Batman was infected with the Joker toxin, he gave a special evaluation of himself.


    Specifically in his words .......


    [A Batman Who Laughs Is A Batman ....... Who Always Wins]


    And true to those words, ever since he donned his new persona, he had never suffered a loss. Starting from destroying his home world and their Justice League to the government, supernatural beings, Gods ........ ..... He had always won.


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    With nothing but his mortal body, he had triumphed in places and accomplished feats no other human ever could.


    Using his vast amount of knowledge and intellect to methodically deal with all obstacles in his path.


    Amari''s knowledge of the Batman who laughs wasn''t really extensive. But he knew how far this guy would go in the end if left unchecked.


    It was quite impressive really. Hence, why he knew that something bad was about to happen.


    However, Nabu didn''t seem to appreciate his kind warning.


    ¡°That is my business......¡±. The Lord of Order uttered in a dark tone.


    ¡°Not yours. You should be one of those who sought to gain the helmet before it gained a host. But you are too late¡±.


    As the spirit within the helmet, Fate knew what was happening around him despite being inactive.


    Hence, he knew this world''s situation. He knew how Superman had hidden him away to prevent anyone from getting their hands on his helmet.


    Due to the actions of one man ...... This whole world had fallen.


    ¡°Witness the darkness this world has been plunged into. The havoc rising in these hours. The world needs doctor fate, and while this body''s personality, as well its affinity for the mystic arts, isn''t my ideal host, it will do¡±.


    ¡°Whatever tricks he had under his sleeves were pointless the moment he donned the......¡±.


    His voice came to a halt. Following which.....


    ¡°Ugh!¡± A pained groan came from Doctor Fate as he staggered backwards with unstable steps.


    ¡°I ...... I .....¡±. Incoherent words emerged as Fate shook his head constantly. His gazed settled on his hands with shock and disbelief clearly written in his eyes.


    ¡°Is that so? Well, fortunately, not all my tricks were up my sleeve¡±.


    A voice similarly spoke from Doctor Fate. However, contrary to his resounding voice, the other was raspy, hoarse and downright sinister.


    ¡°I left some outside as well¡±. At this point, both didn''t speak in unison anymore but spoke differently, clearly entailing that something had gone horribly wrong.


    ''Why am I not surprised? Well ...... here we go again''. Amari thought inwardly, resisting the urge to palm his face and sigh.


    ¡°No!¡± Fate shook his head. ¡°The helmet cannot be tampered with. It is impossible for a mortal to have such means¡±.


    ¡°Hehehehehe ¡­. Mister...... You''re not the only one on this earth who knows magic¡±.


    His words fell, and dark marks began to appear on the helmet itself. A dark blue magic circle with countless runes appeared under their feet and illuminated the area they stood.


    ¡°Dark magic?¡±


    Amari raised an eyebrow full of surprise. Batman casting magic ......... This was something that Clark had to see.


    It happened then. A wave of dark energy flooded out of the rune circle and enveloped Doctor Fate, who was still struggling to gain control.


    Seeing this, Fate''s eyes widened. Then, he placed his hands on the helmet in a rushed attempt to take it off.


    Unfortunately, he was still half a step slower.


    ¡°However ........ Everyone else who can is dead¡±.


    His hands were restrained by Dark magic, following which, the entire body was enveloped, reaching up to the neck area.


    Then..... Silence.


    ¡°Thanks for the helmet..... Nabu¡±. The blue and gold colored suit began to change color into the signature pitch black.


    "After all, your world is already coming to an end. The heroes have fallen, the cities destroyed. Trying to restore order would be nothing more than a pure waste of effort. I on the other hand ..... Can put your powers to good use".


    The Fate Costume had been replaced by his previous clothing, leaving nothing but the helmet on his face.


    ¡°Now then ......¡±. His words came to a drawl as the Batman turned his attention back to the newcomer in the cavern.


    ¡°Who pray tell ....... Might you be, if you will¡±.


    The Batman, who laughs spoke with a few eerie chuckles as he, looked at the person opposite with frenzied eyes.


    As someone who had murdered gods on his world, there were very few things that could interest this hybrid.


    And one of those things was currently standing before him.


    Someone he didn''t recognize.


    Amari didn''t respond for a while.


    ¡°What''s the matter? Uncomfortable?¡±. Although nothing could be seen through the mask, those frenzied eyes were enough to show that behind the helmet was that twisted, terrifying grin on his face that was basically ever present.


    Then as if coming to the realization, he slapped his forehead.


    ¡°Oh! Where are my manners? It''s rude to ask someone else to introduce themselves without first doing the same¡±.


    ¡°You''re probably wondering who I am¡±. He said with a gesture. However, co notary to his expectations.


    ¡°Not really, no¡±.


    ¡°Oh!¡± He froze for a moment, before responding with a strange tone.


    ¡°You know who I am?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±. Amari replied. The atmosphere was silent for a few seconds.


    ¡°Hahahahaha hahaha .....¡±. Then it was broken by maniacal laughter.


    ¡°Really ........ How interesting¡±.


    ¡°In that case..... You should know some of my ...... Agendas¡±.


    ¡°Yes¡±. The apathetic reply fell into his ears.


    ¡°And while I''m slightly curious about how you managed to achieve what you''ve just done, we both know where this is going. So let''s just skip to the end¡±.


    His words fell into Batman''s ears, and under the other party''s attentive eyes, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.


    Snap .......


    ''No Magic''.


    The dark underground space, if possible, seemed to lose all color at the moment. Even the dark magic runes on the floor faded completely.


    The Helmet of fate which gave off a strong magical energy signature immediately lost its luster.


    Following which .......


    ''Collapse''.


    A cloud of dark red energy suddenly emerged from thin air and flooded the entire underground space.


    The Batman with a Fate Helmet on his head was no exception.


    Boom!


    A loud explosion took place underground as the ceiling immediately began to collapse inwards.


    High above ground, in the middle of the ruins of Metropolis, starting from a certain street, the earth began to shake. Then the trembling expanded from one street to a block, to dozens of blocks ...... Ten seconds later, a seismic event took place in Metropolis. Following which, the whole area began to collapse on itself.


    The earth sunk to the ground and the buildings were swallowed as well. The daily planet, the Superman fortress...... There were no exceptions.


    The loud ruckus was enough to startle people thousands of miles away as on this day. The entire city of Earth -1''s Metropolis was swallowed into the earth, leaving nothing but a giant hole spanning hundreds of miles on end.


    Above the hole, the space began to swirl. Following which, a figure stepped out of the void and flew in the air.


    Within his grasp was a golden helmet which he fiddled with absentmindedly while looking at the huge hole in the ground.


    As for anyone else ....... Well, they would make the bottom of the earth their permanent residence from now on.

 Chapter 148 Straight In The Face

    ¡°Ugh!¡± A muffled groan rang out as a male youth stirred from his slumber.


    ¡°I ¡­".


    Slowly but surely, two eyes open, revealing the blue irises within.


    ¡°I ¡­ What the ¡­.¡±.  His voice took a noticeable change. As after opening his eyes, all he saw was darkness.


    At first, he thought it was the sequelae of waking up from a deep sleep, but that thought was overturned after seconds passed and everything remained the same.


    Connor turned his gaze in all directions hastily.


    No matter where he turned, regardless of which way he looked, all that was before him seemed to be an endless black space.


    That was until he looked down. Then, his expression changed drastically.


    As below his current form was an endless rift stretching as far as his eyes could see.


    Wisps of darkness emerged out of the rift and dissipated constantly in repetition, filling the surroundings with large amounts of negative energy.


    ¡°Where ..... where am I?¡±


    ''Awake are we, little one?''


    It happened then.


    The endless black space trembled slightly as a thick, deep voice fell into his ears.


    Connor''s eyes widened as he fixed his gaze downwards.


    For this compelling voice was calling out to him from the very abyss he now floated over.


    Just as he was about to speak, the wisps of darkness dissipating randomly all began to converge in different directions.


    Two spheres of energy as black as night appeared a distance away from each other, so dark that they stood out even within the endless darkness.


    And under Superboy''s shocked and horrified gaze, those lumps of darkness fully converged and emitted a blood-red glow.


    ¡°Oh my ¡­.¡±. Connor didn''t believe in God.


    In his short few months of conscious life and literal life, Connor had seen and confronted a lot of things. Things regular humans would only dare to dream about.


    The Injustice League, Amazo Android ...... Even an untimely demise. In the short few months he had lived, he had already experienced death itself and had come back from it.


    As a living clone of Superman, he could literally be described as a representation of what was once thought to be impossible.


    But this was the first time he found himself in such circumstances.


    As so, a young Kryptonian found himself in a peculiar situation, floating above a massive pair of blood-red eyes.


    ¡°You ¡­.¡±. The boy raised his hands in alarm at the sudden change.


    ¡°.... Who the hell ... or what the hell are you?¡±


    ''That? You will find out soon enough''.


    Those were its last words before the massive eyes once again diffused into clouds of black energy.


    Only this time, they didn''t dissipate but turned into streams, shooting towards the unsuspecting clone.


    Connor was caught off guard.


    ¡°No ..... No ¡­.¡±.


    Before he could react, his form was engulfed with negative energy completely.


    His sapphire blue eyes were as wide as stars before they were engulfed in the darkness.


    And then ...... Nothing.


    It was a strange feeling really. One, Connor didn''t really know how to react.


    Everything went ¡­ dark. Like he had been knocked unconscious again, yet still somehow conscious in a weird sense.


    He couldn''t hear, he was unable to see, he couldn''t feel, but he could sense. Vaguely sense the surroundings.


    Time passed. Connor didn''t know how long he stayed in that state, completely incapable of doing anything.


    Until .....


    Badump.


    He heard a beat.


    Badump.


    It was a heartbeat, his heartbeat. And with the passing of a few more moments, everything began to return.


    The boy''s eyelids opened slowly as he resisted the urge to groan. They felt heavy, like they had been lined with large amounts of Lead.


    ''I. ¡­''.


    As the darkness faded and his vision restored, he saw himself in yet another unfamiliar place.


    Once again, it was dark. But his wasn''t the darkness he previously saw.


    There were large crates everywhere and the air gave off a musty smell. Wherever he was, there was no light in the area.


    Not from bulbs or from the afternoon sun, as there was no place that allowed entry for light.


    It looked ..... Abandoned. As for how he knew all this, the vision of a kryptonian far surpassed anything a human could achieve.


    It mattered not whether he was half human in that regard as his vision automatically brightened his surroundings.


    Well, that and the glowing red light that was illuminating the place instead of the .....


    ''Wait! What?''


    Connor''s eyes widened once more as he looked down.


    His body was suspended in the air, had a meter floating off the ground. And below him was a circular symbol with countless rune marks releasing large amounts of mystical power.


    Chaos Magic.


    Not that he knew what it was or what it represented. He was, however, smart enough to realize that it was the reason he couldn''t move.


    Yep. Currently, Superboy found himself completely immobilized, unable to move anything from the base of his neck downwards.


    ¡°Ughhh!¡± Veins appeared as the kryptonian tried his hardest to move, to break free from this circle shackling him.


    ¡°.... Your efforts are pointless¡±.


    At that moment, a voice fell into his ears, causing him to pause in his actions.


    Thump! Thump! Thump!


    The sound of heavy footsteps resounded in the silence, and under Connor''s gaze, a figure appeared from behind one of the crates.


    Connor''s eyes narrowed.


    The person in question didn''t stop, changed his direction and walked towards him, stepping into the light to reveal himself.


    And to Connor''s slight surprise, what stopped before him was an eight-foot tall man dressed in pitch-black battle armor.


    The Greek style helmet covered his features, revealing nothing but a pair of blood colored pupils.


    ¡°That circle could give even Superman a headache¡±. Ares muttered indifferently.


    ¡°And from what I''ve seen, you''re not up to par¡±.


    The Old God swept his gaze all over the awakened youth.


    This one bore a large resemblance to the famous Man Of Steel.


    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± His eyebrows narrowed even more at Ares''s words, apparently not intimidated by the enemy''s imposing stature.


    ¡°Let me out of this thing, and I''ll show you just how up to par I am¡±.


    However, the giant offered him no reply.


    After all, would a human bother to converse with insects?


    Ares raised an eyebrow under the helmet. His gaze held not a single speck of emotion, showing clearly that he was not amused.


    He wasn''t one of those Inferior villains the heroes of earth could chase around.


    He was a God. A superior lifeform who had lived long enough to surpass human civilization itself.


    As such, he had no thoughts to return the contemptuous taunt or participate in a Q&A session with this insignificant mortal creature.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    It was nothing more than a kryptonian clone. One whose life was about to be sacrificed.


    ¡°Why you ¡­. Agh...¡±. Receiving no reply, Connor opened his mouth and released a shout filled with anger.


    However, his sentence was cut short as a weird pulse spread throughout his entire body.


    If not for the fact that he was currently immobilized, he would have keeled over.


    ''What the .....''. Pangs of dizziness assaulted the clone as the pulse spread like a vibrational wave.


    Everywhere it travelled, a feeling of weakness appeared, as if he had been hollowed out.


    ''Hehehehe, looks like the process is starting already''.


    Ares stood a few feet away, watching with cold eyes. His mind momentarily drawn away from the bad luck he had been experiencing in the past few hours as he examined the Superboy before him with interest.


    Like a lab rat that was about to participate in an intriguing experiment.


    Badump!


    The pulse reappeared once again. The energy it emitted causing his very being to tremble.


    ¡°What''s ...... Happening to me .....?¡±.


    Superboy asked aloud in fright.


    This was the first time he had felt such a thing. As, unlike Supergirl, Connor Kent had no experience with Kryptonite.


    ''Guys! Can you hear me?.....''


    He called for help through the mind link.


    ¡°...¡±. No response.


    Connor''s heart sank.


    ''Megan? Aqualad? Robin, come in. Where are ¡­.''?


    ''It is pointless child''. It happened then, that deep sinister voice once again emerged.


    The source of his current predicament.


    ''I have telepathically shielded your mind. Your Martian friend can''t reach you''.


    ¡°You .....¡±.


    Badump! The pulse reappeared.


    Stronger than the last two. So this time, he clearly felt where it was coming from.


    His heart ...... Only, if he had the chance to look within himself at this moment, he would find that it was pitch black. The surface swirling with clouds of chaos magic and negative energy.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ''I am Loki. God Of Chaos. And rejoice, for you have been given the great honor of offering your being as my host body''.


    The voice replied. His words, for the first time, frightened the young kryptonian to no end.


    ¡°Damnit! Keep your damn honor. I''m not interested¡±.


    ''That ..... Is not your decision to make, child''.


    The voice fell, and waves of chaos magic emanated from the portal below him.


    ''I have chosen my vessel. Hence, you will be part of this whether you want to or not. Today, you will know the glory, of Loki''.


    And in that split second, Connor felt pain like no other tearing straight through his mind.


    ¡°Arghhhhhh!¡±


    A loud, horrifying shriek tore through the endless space, reflecting itself in reality as the unconscious body of the Kryptonian clone on Earth -1 let out a beastly roar.


    At the moment, every inch of Conner''s body was covered with intricate rune symbols, running together like a complex algorithm.


    His Caucasian skin was colored with dark and red lines in all directions, and the miserable howl that escaped his mouth was enough to show just how much pain he currently found himself in.


    This was the possession process.


    As right as and there, Loki was integrating his soul into Connors body while swallowing his.


    Squelch!


    The sound of flesh tearing and bones breaking resounded in the air.


    And under Ares''s gaze, the Kryptonian Halfling floating in the air over a magic circle began to transform.


    The arms, legs, back and chest muscles began to twist and turn. Deforming in directions that wasn''t possible for any living being.


    Not even a Martian''s body would react like this during their morphing process.


    The visual effect, added together with the constant cracking of bones made for a chilling experience.


    Superboy''s figure began to grow bigger as the physiological change continued to take place.


    And with it, was accompanied unspeakable pain, both physically and mentally.


    ¡°Arghhhhhhhhh!¡± The shrill roar escaped his vocal cords travelling through the air to the ears of those capable of hearing them.


    Meanwhile .....


    ¡°Ughhh!¡±


    The loud roar immediately fell into Kara''s ears, causing her flying figure to contract together.


    Both hands were placed on her ears as she instinctively tried to block out the bone chilling scream


    A few minutes ago, the team had discovered to their horror that Superboy was missing.


    However, before they could perform an effective search, they were attacked by Parademons.


    Squelch!


    ''Supergirl? What''s the matter?''.


    Waving his water blades and slicing a monster in half, Aqualad inquired urgently with a solemn face as Kara''s pained groans resounded through the mind link.


    The mission was to assist Superman in whatever way they could while he solved the fundamental problem.


    With their current situation, it wasn''t supposed to be an issue.


    But now an issue had risen. Superboy was missing.


    If something happened to Kara as well, things would instantly go from bad to worse.


    ''Are you alright?''


    ''I hear him. I can hear him''.


    ''What?''.


    ''Its Superboy...''


    Shutting off her senses, Kara replied.


    ''And he''s in pain''. Following which, she blasted forwards towards the outskirts of the city.


    ''Kara be careful. You don''t know what you''re up against. Do not engage, I repeat, do not engage''.


    There was no reply.


    A trace of anxiousness appeared on Kaldur''s face.


    ''Megan, where is she?''


    ''She''s heading south''.


    ''Kid, you got that?''.


    ''I''m on my way''.


    Wally, who was zooming through the city immediately, hit the brakes, turned around and began dashing towards the opposite direction.


    ''Miss Martian, take us through the bioship''.


    ''But what about Superman?'' Robin asked out loud, causing everyone to look towards a certain direction.


    The scene of buildings constantly getting smashed to rubble fell into their line of sight.


    ¡°Problems?¡± Batman frowned.


    ¡°Yes¡±. Kaldur replied. ¡°One of our own has been taken¡±.


    The expression of The Dark Knight returned to normal.


    ¡°Go¡±.


    ¡°But ¡­.¡±.


    ¡°Go. We can handle ourselves here¡±. He uttered in a tone that left no room for questioning.


    ¡°Superman is taking care of Superman. It isn''t a battle we can interfere in. You''ll be more of a burden if you do¡±.


    Bruce spoke gloomily while turning his gaze to the battle of Kryptonians. His world''s Justice League had been taken down just trying to defeat one Superman.


    The battle between the two was not something someone could withstand.


    One accidental hit and for some, it was basically over.


    ¡°.... Understood¡±. Aqualad replied after a moment of silence. Bruce was right, the level of destructive power unfolding before his eyes was not something even Supergirl could involve herself in.


    And that was saying something, judging that she was physically the strongest member of the group.


    The position which originally belonged to Connor was taken away when he met a peer with an outrageous double absorption speed of solar energy.


    ¡°Robin, you''re with me. Artemis, stay. Miss Martian, get us to Superboy".


    ''On it''.


    Bang!


    In the distance, a figure was punched away, crashing straight through a building with unceasing momentum as he sped further and further into the distance.


    Following him was a similar silhouette in red and blue tights, eyes blazing red.


    He quickly approached the unstable Superman, who hadn''t regained his composure and threw out a punch.


    Bang!


    The attack sent the other flying farther into the distance as he chased after him.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Clark yelled as his figure came to a halt in the air.


    His eyes glowed red as he fired two rays of burning hot lasers.


    They were dodged nonetheless.


    Negative Earth Superman flew around and approached from the other side. A bruise clearly visible on the side of his face.


    Regular Superman, on the other hand, looked a little more roughed up.


    Blood flowed from the side of his lips as he flew forward without fear and engaged his counterpart blow for blow.


    Their punches were resounding as they fought. Dodging and taking hits from each other that would collapse buildings if it landed on one.


    And so it did, as any standing structure still left in this city was destroyed during their clash.


    With a loud crash, the battle left the area and returned to the earth as the two came crashing down.


    A twenty-meter wide crater appeared in their crash spot.


    With the negative Superman pinned down, Clark immediately took the opportunity to throw several punches in a row.


    Each one was filled with amazing power, disorienting the enemy so he couldn''t muster a proper attack.


    Following which, his eyes released solar rays, bombarding the opponent.


    Boom!


    The result was a massive explosion covering up both of them.


    Three seconds later.


    Another collision resounded and Clark was punched out into the air.


    Not too far though as he stabilized himself a distance away.


    ¡°Hah¡­. Hah¡­.¡±. Small pants emerged from his lungs, but his eyes were fixed intently on the explosion point.


    And undoubtedly, Negative Superman walked out. His face covered with blood and his uniform slightly torn.


    ¡°I''ll ask again. Give up. You''re tired and injured¡±. Clark uttered while staring straight at his evil counterpart.


    Those sapphire blue eyes shone with unprecedented rage and murderous intentions.


    Using his arm, he cleaned the blood off his face and uttered coldly.


    ¡°Not as injured as you''re about to be¡±. The ground underneath his feet cracked.


    However, just when he was about to attack .......


    The space a distance away suddenly distorted into swirls.


    The distance was close to a dozen meters away, but under their perception, it didn''t matter.


    Seeing the signature space distortions that he was unfortunately familiar with, Clark''s pupils shrank to the extreme.


    ''He''s here?''.


    Earth -1 Superman narrowed his gaze as under their watchful eyes, a human being emerged from the swirling space.


    Dark hair, blue eyes. Clark''s breath unconsciously hitched.


    Earth -1 Superman was slightly stunned at the new arrival.


    Who the hell was this guy?


    Unfortunately, that surprise was immediately followed with shock. Then, it morphed into murderous intentions the moment he saw what was within the other party''s grasp.


    The Helmet Of Fate.


    ''Impossible''.


    With Nabu''s helmet within his grasp, Amari had just stepped out of the void when two blazing hot solar rays shot straight towards his face.

 Chapter 149 World Collapse

    Earth -1


    Central City¡­


    Two rays of heat vision streaked into the distance, blasting through a building and bombarding whatever it was supposed to at the other side.


    It was unknown whether it hit a gas container in one of the rooms, but it definitely hit something, as a side of the half collapsed building went up in a fiery explosion.


    Dust and debris scattered in all directions as Earth -1 Superman receded his attack, looking at that direction with an unsightly expression.


    The annoyance he felt at the moment was unprecedented. The helmet of fate was buried beneath the earth under Metropolis.


    Personally doing it himself, he was sure that no one would be able to get their hands on that artifact.


    For this purpose, he even stationed three cyborg heroes to stand guard.


    How else would he feel? However, he couldn''t take the helmet now. Not when this counterpart was still in front of him.


    It would instantly put him at a disadvantage if one of his hands was occupied against a Superman who had both hands free. Yet, his situation would also change if someone else put that helmet on while he was distracted.


    ''How troublesome''.


    To him, Nabu''s helmet was a burden. Yet, one he didn''t dare to let go.


    Clark, however, froze in shock and disbelief at what had just happened.


    ¡°You ...... You just¡±. The Man Of Steel found it difficult to speak.


    Confirming that the person who was just blasted wasn''t mistaken identity, a momentary chill he had never felt before ran through his spine at the thought of what was about to happen.


    ¡°What? A friend of yours?¡± Negative Superman asked emotionlessly.


    He opened his mouth to speak again but was stunned to find Clark suddenly back away into the distance.


    Following which, he stopped moving entirely. Just floated in the air with his arms by his side, as if their previous battle had nothing to do with him.


    ''What the ¡­.''.


    The sudden change caught him by surprise.


    Unable to understand why the enemy suddenly dropped his alert stance and distanced himself.


    Also ..... What the hell was up with that solemn expression?


    ¡°I''m sorry. But after this, I don''t wanna get involved¡±. Even more to his bewilderment, the opponent actually apologized.


    At the moment, Clark''s face carried a deep frown.


    ¡°.... I hoped I wouldn''t have to kill you, but now. But now, it''s no longer something I can decide¡±.


    ¡°What the hell are you .....¡±.


    ¡°Wow supes. Just ..... Wow".


    Before he could finish his question, a voice sounded from behind, startling the Superman of Earth -1.


    ''Someone''s behind me?''


    With conditioned reflex, his body spun around as his right palm clenched into a fist and punched out.


    ''Loss of movement''.


    ¡°..¡±.


    There was no shockwave released, no figure flying into the distance. There wasn''t even the sound of a collision.


    All because the Superman who had attacked remained motionless in the air.


    His body posture, still maintaining that punching posture in the air with the object of his attack only a few centimeters away to make contact.


    Yet, the contact never came, much to his horror and disbelief.


    ''I ¡­. I can''t move''.


    This was the first time he found himself in such a situation.


    He immediately spread out his senses, trying to find out why. But there was no result.


    With his hearing, vision, strength and everything he had. He couldn''t figure out why he was unable to lift a finger.


    It felt like he was shackled by something invisible.


    As for the person who was responsible, he paid the attacker no heed.


    To immobilize Superman wasn''t difficult. Barely a trickle in his energy reserves.


    Hence, his gaze was still fixed on Clark Kent, who stood aside and declared his stance the moment he had appeared.


    ¡°I mean ..... I expect those words from someone like Batman. But you? Now this is something worth studying¡±.


    ¡°Would it make a difference if I wanted to save his life?¡±


    Clark asked calmly.


    ¡°..¡±.


    ¡°Touche¡±. His eyes glowed.


    Squelch!


    Earth -1 Superman let out a slight gasp as his body stiffened.


    Lowering his head, he found a bone sticking out of his chest. Blood flowed from the opening as it began to run down his super suit.


    Superman was stupefied. He opened his mouth to speak ¡­. At least, he tried to. But what came out wasn''t words, but blood flowing out.


    Unfortunately, that wasn''t the end.


    Squelch!


    ¡°Arghh!¡±. He roared in pain as another bone spur erupted out of his chest.


    Followed by another ...... and another.


    Like a rapidly multiplying virus, bone spurs emerged out of his body one after another. First his chest, then his arms, legs shoulders.


    Each one was accompanied by a cry of pain and the gritting of teeth.


    Until the last ones emerged ten seconds later.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Straight from his throat and skull.


    ¡°No¡­". That were his last words before he lost all signs of life.


    Plop. Plop. Plop.


    Droplets of crimson blood flowed down his body and fell from the air.


    Faced with such a brutal sight, even Superman flinched subconsciously.


    ¡°And that ¡­. should do it¡±. Taking a look at the now lifeless corpse before him, Amari released his control.


    The body fell down, descending from the air and crashing into the rubble with a loud bang.


    The dust cleared. A bloody male corpse laid unmoving with eyes as wide as full moons.


    The chaotic blood lines within his eyes were filled with fear and disbelief. As if unable to accept that he died like this.


    A bloody smell pervaded the atmosphere, causing Clark''s frown to worsen


    ¡°That was excessive¡±.


    He remarked with a slightly pale face. It couldn''t be helped, the scene now was too stimulating.


    Especially when the person being used was a kryptonian like him.


    Scratch that ...... Another him from another universe.


    To think he had been battling the other party with all his efforts and barely managed to stand on equal footing ...... Yet now .....


    ¡°Really? I can bring him back to life if you''d prefer it?¡± Amari replied, his eyes glimmering with amusement.


    ¡°...¡±.


    Superman felt his eyelids twitch.


    ¡°.... No need¡±.


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°...¡±.


    Clark took a look at the dead corpse on the floor.


    Yep. Definitely no need.


    Amari felt the urge to chuckle.


    ¡°Your love for all life, even that of an enemy is something that truly amazes me, you know that?¡±


    ¡°Then I suggest you try it some time¡±. His eyes couldn''t help but drift to the corpse again.


    If he didn''t know any better, perhaps he would conclude that this was Amari''s show of force to him.


    A reminder of some sorts that he wasn''t someone to be messed with. But Clark was sure that they had pretty much gotten the message ever since the Ocean Master incident.


    Well..... He was definitely sure ocean master did.


    ¡°I think it''ll do not just you, but all of humanity some good¡±.


    ¡°Huh!¡± Amari replied with a click of his tongue.


    ¡°I''ll keep that in mind¡±. He certainly wouldn''t.


    Clark didn''t speak after that. The solemn atmosphere grew thicker with each passing second as both men flew there as time elapsed.


    Until eventually, Clark couldn''t resist.


    ¡°You came here to fulfill the deal.....¡±. He didn''t finish his sentence, but his eyes drifted to the one thing within Amari''s possession.


    And the crisis within his heart grew stronger.


    Doctor Fate''s helmet.


    Unexpectedly however .....


    ¡°No¡±. Amari shook his head. ¡°I''m here for someone else. This can be considered an unexpected inconvenience¡±.


    The space around his arm holding the helmet swirled. Following which, the helmet of fate was sucked into a different dimension, disappearing from this one.


    ¡°Right .....¡±. Clark wanted to speak again.


    However...... Boom!


    It happened then. Something that caught both Superman and Amari off guard.


    With slightly bewildered eyes, both men looked downwards, only to see the earth rumbling greatly.


    An earthquake.


    And not just any earthquake but one of earth scale magnitude.


    Without needing to think, their hearing travelled to the farthest reaches of this earth, completely locking on the continuous rumbling sounds.


    It was everywhere. In every destroyed city, wasteland, abandoned areas, even deep in the ocean.


    The earth shook and rumbled everywhere.


    ¡°An earthquake?¡± Clark was puzzled.


    Earthquakes were normal, but one of his magnitude wasn''t something that just happened.


    What the hell was going on?


    ¡°It''s more than an earthquake¡±. Contrary to Clark''s puzzlement, Amari quickly understood what was happening.


    ¡°It''s the end¡±.


    ¡°The end? Of what?¡±


    ¡°The end of this negative Earth¡±.


    Amari delivered the news nonchalantly. His tone as calm and steady as it had always been.


    Superman on the other hand, took it quite differently.


    ¡°What?¡± His voice took a sharp rise and his eyes narrowed.


    ¡°What are you saying?¡±


    ¡°I''m saying this world is coming to an end¡±.


    Amari replied with a gesture.


    ¡°This whole place? It''s going to collapse in about..... thirty minutes. Ultimately fading out of existence itself¡±.


    ¡°I ¡­. Wait ¡­ You ¡­  Why? How?¡±.


    ¡°You didn''t know?¡± Amari looked at him with a raised eyebrow.


    How did Clark even get here in the first place without knowing where exactly here was?


    ¡°This world isn''t a true universe. At least not yet anyway. It could have been, but now, it''s unstable, and the death of their Superman automatically began the countdown to its destruction. Once time''s up, anything, and everything still here will vanish alongside ..... well, everything else¡±.


    ¡°...¡±. Clark was silent, showing how he wasn''t prepared for what he had just heard.


    Still, he was the man of steel. He got over it quickly.


    ¡°Then how do I stop it?¡±


    Amari''s eyebrows couldn''t get any higher.


    ¡°That''s the thing. You can''t¡±.


    He found it funny.


    ''You can barely fight another Superman to a momentary tie. Now you want to save a planet from fading out of existence?''


    ¡°I .....¡±. Clark fell silent.


    ¡°There has to be a way¡±.


    ¡°There is¡±. He received an affirmative reply, giving him hope.


    ¡°But you are too weak to implement it. At least with your current abilities, you have no hope of stabilizing a universe¡±.


    ¡°...¡±. Back on Earth, Clark had been hailed as many things. Forget how he had many enemies, the number of people who loved him exceeded his understanding.


    During his early appearances, some of the more ..... Extreme fanatics had declared him God reincarnated.


    With all he could do, it wasn''t that big of a stretch ....... If you didn''t know the true power of one of The Presence''s slightly stronger creations.


    Sure, he was strong, fast, and invulnerable, but Clark wasn''t sure he could hold a collapsing planet together, much less stabilize an entire universe.


    ¡°But ..... The people who are still alive¡­". Clark couldn''t accept what was going to happen.


    ¡°They''ll all die¡±.


    ¡°Perhaps¡±. He nodded. ¡°But like I said..... I''m not here for them¡±. Those glowing blue eyes peered into the distance where he found the person he was looking for.


    Surprise, surprise ¡­. He wasn''t dead yet. Now that was something worth his attention.


    As for the collapse of this universe ....... It was going to happen anyway in the original timeline. He had no desire to change that.


    With a thought, the space around him swirled, and his body began to disappear.


    Clark watched as Amari teleported away, contemplating whether to stop him.


    The thought of God knows how many people left in this world disappearing out of existence was something he couldn''t accept.


    He came all this way not just for Wonder Woman but also to save this world.


    How could he be fine knowing that everything was going to collapse?


    Amari was probably the only one who could stop it. Or at least, knew how.


    But ultimately, his reasoning won over his heart of Justice.


    And so, the Man Of Steel could only watch as Amari disappeared in place.


    .....


    The space swirled again, and a figure appeared in the air.


    ''Now then .....''. Amari swept his gaze around the surroundings, his gaze falling on the single warehouse building around a large construction site in the outskirts of Central City.


    At the moment, his ears twitched slightly as he listened to the sounds of battle going in within the building.


    Bang!


    It happened then. A part of the warehouse wall was broken apart. Following which, a blonde girl in red and blue tights was thrown out of the building.

 Chapter 150 First Use of Antilife

    Sorry guys. I realized I''ve made a mistake. In the Dc universe, there are two versions of Loki.


    The regular one, similar to Marvel, is Loki (Norse Gods)


    The other is Lokee (God of Chaos of The Second world, Urgrund). This is the one I''m referring to.


    Sorry for the mix up for those who may care.


    .....


    Earth -1, a few minutes earlier ¡­.


    With a loud crash, the earth shook as dust and debris was sent flying in all directions.


    On the outskirts of Central City, a deep gully could be seen across a range of hundreds of meters


    At the end of this drawn trench was what looked to be a large, translucent object covered with cloaking technology.


    A moment later, the cloak faded away to reveal a red flying spacecraft with signature designs of the Martian race.


    The bioship was embedded into the earth.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Everyone within let out a groan.


    ''Miss Martian, what happened?''


    Kaldur asked with a hand on his head.


    ''We ..... We were attacked''.


    ''But how? We''re cloaked''.


    ''That ¡­.''. Megan was about to speak when .....


    Bang!


    Another collision shook the Bioship once again.


    ''We''ve got company''. Robin uttered loudly through the mind link.


    With his sentence, everyone looked up to see something pierce through the roof of the aircraft, creating a hole.


    Then, that hole was widened even further as a pair of hands forcibly pulled apart the Bioship.


    What appeared in their field of vision was a head. A large looking figure wearing a helmet and decked out in black tore the Bioship with unobstructed ease.


    A pair of ruby red eyes stared at the trio, emitting bone chilling coldness.


    ¡°Hello children¡±.


    Sparks of lightning emerged on Ares''s hands which spread throughout the metallic surface of the Bioship.


    Following which, the screams of Robin, Aqualad and Miss Martian resounded in the enclosed space as they were electrocuted.


    Robin immediately fell to the floor, losing consciousness with his body twitching constantly. Kaldur and Miss Martian on the other hand, fell to their knees with extreme pain written all over their features.


    Unlike the Boy Wonder, Megan''s constitution was far beyond baseline human capabilities while Kaldur had a certain degree of resistance to magic-based attacks in addition to his extraordinary physique.


    Nevertheless, they definitely wouldn''t last if this kept up.


    Fortunately.....


    ¡°Get away from them!¡± A loud yell fell into Ares''s ears, causing the God Of War to raise his head.


    His reaction was fast enough to see the owner of a fist rushing towards him at sonic speed. He was also fast enough to raise his hands to block his face from getting a fist embedded in it.


    Bang!


    The collision let out a loud shockwave, scattering dust and debris in all directions, scattering.


    Ares''s body flew backwards for three seconds, before stabilizing in midair.


    ''Guys! You ok?'' Kara asked with slight concern. Nevertheless, her eyes remained on the figure she had just punched away with all the strength she could muster.


    However ......


    ''It hurts ¡­. It hurts so much''. The reply she received made her stiffen.


    ''Megan? What''s wrong? Are you hurt?''


    ''It''s¡­. not me, it''s her''.


    ''Artemis?'' Kara didn''t understand. Artemis wasn''t with them.


    ''Not her, the Bioship. She''s in pain''. Megan said with one hand on the floor and one hand on her head.


    The last attack certainly did a significant number on the spacecraft.


    ''And she''s unfortunately not the only one''. Aqualad who had barely regained himself looked at the till twitching Robin and his face changed drastically.


    ''Miss Martian, we need to get out. Open a hatch''.


    ''I''m ¡­. I''m sorry. Of course''. M''gann stuttered at her momentary loss of the overall situation.


    Her eyes glowed white as she flew to the side of the ship and opened a hatch.


    Picking up the electrocuted Robin, Kaldur got up and rushed out of the newly made exist alongside Miss Martian point as well.


    Leaping forward, Kaldur''s bare legs made contact with the ground of warm temperature. Without stopping in his tracks for a second, he moved further and further away from the crash site while holding his unconscious teammate within his grasp.


    Until he decided he had gone far enough.


    ''Robin''s not responding''. M''gann called out with worry.


    ''His pulse is weak''. Kaldur uttered through the mindlink, with a tone as solemn as ever.


    Electrocution wasn''t something a regular human could withstand. Not even someone with Robin''s level of physical fitness. But even if it were, what just flowed through their veins wasn''t ordinary electricity.


    It was magic.


    The only reason Robin was still alive was because of his hero uniform.


    Meanwhile, seeing her teammates retreating into the distance, Kara blasted forwards at full speed towards her opponent.


    The sonic boom echoing in her wake was testament to the ever-growing strength in her cells.


    Arriving in a split second, she threw out a punch in an attempt to push her opponent further away from the Bioship to avoid accidental harm in the battle.


    This was what she had learned from the few short hours in which she had the opportunity for Black Canary to guide her in battle.


    Her intentions were well-thought-out. Unfortunately......


    Bang!


    The collision resounded yet again. But both figures froze in place.


    In response to her speed and strength, the opponent made no efforts to dodge or any exaggerated defensive motions and received the fist with the palm of his gauntlet.


    The ground underneath his feet cracked as the force was unloaded, but he remained unmoving. Not even by an inch.


    ¡°You ......¡±. Kara''s eyes widened.


    But the opponent had no intentions to play battle games with her.


    Charges of divine lightning escaped from his palm, clenching Supergirl''s fist and spread.


    Upon coming in contact, Kara''s expression changed.


    ¡°Argh!¡± A loud moan leaked out of her finely shaped lips as the pain spread through her fist towards her entire body quickly.


    She had tested her invulnerability against many things. It was the first time she discovered that electricity could hurt so much.


    Using her full force, she pulled back and tore away from Ares''s hold. Or rather, he let her go.


    And in exchange, his hand clenched into a fist and jabbed towards her face at speeds her unfocused awareness couldn''t react to.


    Bang!


    This time, she was the one being punched into the distance as her body slammed into the Bioship causing the already long trench to extend by several feet.


    A painful stinging sensation appeared at the side of her face as a warm, metallic taste welled up within her throat.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    What was that? Blood?


    But Ares wasn''t done.


    The old god moved without any intention of giving her a break.


    The intent to murder permeated the atmosphere around him as he moved to finish the kill.


    He wasn''t a second rate villain who enjoyed teasing heroes amidst battle.


    He was a god born to slaughter. Albeit, his situation now being ....... complicated.


    There were no monologues, those things were beneath him.


    And even if they weren''t, it would be demeaning to have one with a group of children whose hair hadn''t even fully grown in.


    And so, he appeared before the young Kryptonian before she could regain her composure.


    Her mind wasn''t focused due to the pain she just experienced. And so she faced the problem her cousin always encountered when dealing with enemies of similar or greater strength.


    Too little actual combat experience.


    But just when Ares''s blow was about to land .....


    A streak of lightning rushed past his fist and with it, the object of his attack disappeared as well.


    That however didn''t mean that nothing was damaged.


    The punch missed Supergirl, but the Bioship wasn''t going anywhere anytime soon.


    The fist ripped straight through the outer layer, destroying the area around the roof.


    ¡°No!¡±. Seeing this, Megan roared in anger.


    The Bioship wasn''t just a means of transportation. It was an organic, living creation with a little bit of sentience.


    Quite similar in some aspects to the New God''s Motherboxes.


    Megan had bonded with it a long time ago and treated it to the point of being family. So while it couldn''t physically speak, she could feel its emotions.


    Her eyes turned white in a fit of rage as she unleashed her telekinetic prowess without reservation.


    Ares felt an invisible force slamming him off the Martian spacecraft. The force didn''t end there as it returned once again, drilling him into the earth itself.


    His crash was met with the area around him being uprooted.


    Rocks, sand, and dust flew up into the air as he was pressed deeper and deeper into the ground like a nail meeting a sledgehammer.


    Kaldur watched from a distance with a solemn expression. A flash of yellow lightning appeared beside him to reveal Kidflash dropping Supergirl beside him.


    ''You ok?''


    Ptui!


    He had just finished his words when Supergirl spat out a mouthful of blood.


    Her hair was slightly disheveled, and her face stung with pain.


    ''I ¡­. I''m fine''.


    ''Good to know. Now can someone fill me in on who this guy is?''


    The speedster asked with narrowed eyebrows.


    ''...... I have no idea¡­.''. She paused for a moment and continued.


    ''But he''s strong''.


    ''We can see that''. Kaldur nodded.


    The black tattoos drawn around his body were glowing with white light as a mass of glowing water appeared on his palm.


    That was placed on the unconscious boy wonder, whose situation was currently unknown.


    Healing magic. It wasn''t his forte, but he knew a little after spending so much time at the Institute of Sorcery.


    Aqualad had beads of sweat forming on his forehead.


    The residual magic within Dick was being slowly but surely forced out. It was exhausting.


    ''Ok then..... What''s our next move''?


    Kaldur contemplated in a moment of thought.


    ''We leave''.


    ''What?''


    ''What?''


    ''We need to evacuate now. The enemy is strong, and we have no information on his capabilities. Engaging will be a grave mistake''.


    ''Then what about Superboy?''


    ''Guys!'' Miss Martian''s voice interrupted at that moment.


    ''Whatever you want to do, do it fast. I can''t hold him here much longer''.


    Megan yelled telepathically. Similar to Kaldur, beads of sweat were all over her body at the moment as she continued to output her telekinesis to keep the eye at bay.


    But that wouldn''t last long.


    Ares was pushing back.


    Her words made Kaldur''s expression change.


    ¡°We need to retrieve Superboy. Kid¡±.


    ¡°I can''t¡­.¡±. Wally turned to look backwards. A distance away was a large dark warehouse.


    ¡°He''s trapped within some kind of magic circle. I can''t get in no matter what¡±.


    Kaldur gritted his teeth with anxiety.


    They needed to get out of here, and they had to do it fast. But he couldn''t leave.


    Robin still needed his help.


    ¡°I''ll do it¡±. Kara stood up.


    ''Just hold on, Megan''.


    Following which, she flew towards the warehouse.


    Kaldur wanted to speak, but ultimately kept silence.


    He could only hope that Supergirl was strong enough to break through whatever enchantment was trapping him.


    Inside the dark warehouse, a figure stood within a magic circle glowing an ominous red and exuded a large amount of negative energy.


    The figure was motionless, his hands lay by his sides and his head was lowered in a lifeless posture.


    Numerous rune symbols could be seen all over his skin moving towards his chest area in an orderly fashion.


    Kara appeared above the warehouse building and looked in with her vision.


    ¡°Connor¡±. She exclaimed and crashed straight in.


    A trace of light finally made its way into the enclosed structure as Supergirl landed right in front of Connor Kent.


    But what she saw made her eyes widen in horror.


    It was Connor, yet at the same time¡­. not.


    Kara had to raise her head to fully examine the figure''s face.


    As what stood before the daughter of krypton wasn''t a Superboy anymore but a giant towering more than nine feet. His skin was ash black and five dark spikes shot out of its back.


    Two horns stuck out from the sides of his head.


    ''What have they done to you?''


    It happened then. The figure floating in the magic circle finally opened its eyes.


    Pupils that carried the blazing momentum of a red Sun shone with unprecedented ferocity heating up the atmosphere by several degrees in an instant.


    ¡°Oh my ¡­.¡±. Kara couldn''t help but retreat several steps subconsciously.


    The magic circle disappeared. Then ......


    Thud!


    His huge body fell to the floor, causing the place to shake.


    The slight tremble was felt by the sensitive Atlantean a distance away.


    ''Supergirl report''. kaldur called out through the mind link.


    ¡°...¡±. There was no reply.


    Looking at the struggling Miss Martian, an ominous premonition surged in his heart.


    ¡°Supergirl .......¡±.


    Bang!


    His words were interrupted by a large bang. Looking at the direction of the warehouse, he saw a figure clad in red and blue tights being smashed away.


    Supergirl was smashed out?


    By whom?


    Kaldur felt a chill run up his spine at a certain possibility. Yet what happened next was far beyond what he could imagine.


    With a loud boom, the roof of the warehouse suddenly exploded as a giant black hand stretched out of it.


    With that unfolding, the rest of the building scattered apart as well as a figure emerged, his body growing bigger and taller with each passing second.


    The weather immediately changed as dark clouds covered the setting sun.


    Kaldur''s pupils shrank to the extreme.


    What the hell was happening?


    The commotion attracted the attention of Miss Martian, who was equally shocked.


    It happened then.


    Her momentary distraction was all that was needed as a body shot out from the earth at unparalleled speeds.


    Ares leaped upward, his body covered with sad, dust and dirt and his eyes brimming with burning rage.


    The old God was furious. Even if he still wasn''t anywhere near full strength, in is opinion, it was enough.


    But he was actually suppressed by a Martian brat.


    Magic flowed through his veins and condensed on his right palm. A lightning bolt crackling with divine energy took shape as he appeared before the startled redhead and thrust his palm forward.


    An attack going straight for the kill.


    Miss Martian turned around in shock, realizing what had happened.


    Unfortunately, it was too late to do anything about it.


    And so, the lightning bolt was thrown to pierce through her heart.


    Snap!


    The swaying breeze disappeared, the rumbling clouds stilled, and the sounds of destruction ceased.


    Everyone, be it man or nature were fixed in place coming to an unbreakable halt.


    And Ares''s lightning bolt stopped a centimeter away from Megan''s chest.


    ''I¡­''.


    If he could, the eyes of the old God would certainly widen at this moment.


    ''I ¡­. I can''t move''. And it all came back, replaying like an event he had just been through.


    Everything was so familiar, except at that time, the person attacking was his avatar while the object of his attack was someone else.


    ¡°Well then .....¡±.


    And there it was again. The question that came from behind him made his heart sink to the bottom.


    Had he forgotten that he was being chased down by an enemy? Or did he think that perhaps he wouldn''t be followed?


    No, that nightmare hadn''t gone anywhere just yet.


    Only this time, it wasn''t an avatar that was fixed in place but his true form.


    ¡°Any last words .....¡±.


    At that moment, Ares knew he was done for. He tried to speak, tried to open his mouth to release his voice.


    What was he going to say?


    Was he going to plead? Beg for his life?


    Or would he leave a vicious curse, damning his adversary to the eternal fires of hell itself before bravely awaiting his death sentence?


    ¡°...¡±. But the fact remained that he couldn''t speak. At least not when stuck in Amari''s time freeze.


    ¡°No?¡± The question made Ares''s blood boil with anger.


    This damn bastard wouldn''t even let him speak, yet he dared to ask him those


    ¡°In that case¡­".


    Without another choice, the old God readily braced himself for death.


    It happened then.


    An aura in emerged Ares''s perception, releasing waves of energy sinister enough to chill Ares to the bone.


    If he could, Ares would have his eyes wide in alarm at the moment.


    This ..... This was antimatter energy.


    "..... Welcome, to Anti-Life".

 Chapter 151 Anti Life Soldier

    How powerful was the Anti Life Equation?


    The answer would be ...... Unknown.


    As no one had ever seen it being used in action since the creation of this multiverse itself.


    Only stories, myths, and legends could be found at best.


    This could be confirmed from how Darkseid spent the majority of his life searching for the equation with no substantial proof that it existed.


    He discovered pieces of the life equation. Hence he concluded that the opposite must exist.


    It was that simple.


    This directly led to the destruction of countless worlds in countless universes in search for a weapon that may never be found.


    The destruction of those words might have happened either way due to the nature of the God of Tyranny, but still.


    What made it worse was that the very thing he had been searching for was within his own home planet all along.


    There would be a time when Darkseid would gain possession of Anti-Life alongside a certain number of people.


    Using its power for their own nefarious purposes. Or simply not using it at all.


    It was powerful, there was no doubt about it as the antithesis of free will itself.


    But like everything in the universe, simple acquisition didn''t make its user invincible.


    As will could be enslaved, it could also be released.


    And the counter for Anti-Life was quite easy to obtain if you knew the right people.


    The Forever people that is.


    Their New Genesis symbol representing free will was the key to resisting Anti Life.


    Not many knew this. Not many people knew of Anti Life at all.


    That was its natural counter. But as the new possessor of Anti-Life, Amari couldn''t have that now, could he?


    A circular rune pattern appeared beneath Ares''s feet. Following which, strands of Antimatter energy was extracted to form glyphs.


    These glyphs floated under Amari''s gaze as he observed them with slight scrutiny.


    ''Evolve''.


    His singular thought immediately caused drastic changes in the surroundings. The rune exuding large amounts of Antimatter energy suddenly began to twist and deform.


    The dark orange energy spun around for barely a few moments before the color changed into a dark red base.


    A large amount of power was extracted from Amari''s energy reserves. One so large that it was noticeable even for him.


    Ever since the day he used the power of the old Gods as a bypass to access more energy from the Godsphere, he never had to worry about insufficient energy problems for a long time.


    Now it seemed he was oversimplifying things.


    Just to improve the Anti-Life equation on its original basis, more than one third of the energy he could harness was diminished.


    Of course, this could be attributed to his intentional limited access.


    The Godsphere was a plane of nigh infinite magical power.


    Every realm that could be found within it basically radiated with different forms of energy.


    Like a Cultivation universe or a world undergoing the revival of spiritual energy. With Spiritual Qi abundant in the air and the likes.


    Mystic, Order, Chaos, Dark, Light, Negative, Solar, Cosmic ....... Almost everything you could think of, it had it all.


    This was because it was connected to a much larger source of energy.


    The Source itself.


    But different beings had different needs and used different types of energy.


    Chaos and Order power were reserved for their respective lords and those with a natural affinity for them.


    Cosmic energy was basically the property of those god like entities and actual gods themselves.


    The very nature of these things differed but at their roots, they were basically all one and the same.


    Magic.


    Amari was different.


    It mattered not which sub version of magic energy he harnessed. All were welcome and all would be swallowed regardless when it came.


    This was how his connection to the Godsphere was formed.


    He was like a sponge with an endless absorption rate.


    Ever since that day, he had never intentionally drawn energy to expand his reserves.


    Simply letting it accumulate on its own with time due to several reasons.


    The most important being ....... It would cause multiversal outrage.


    After all, he wasn''t the only one in need of magical energy. Many realms within the Godsphere also ran on the magical energies it provided.


    If he sucked it all dry, then those multiversal bosses would definitely come find him.


    He already met Death ...... He certainly didn''t want Dream of the Endless, Destiny or Desire to come over for a nice chat.


    Absorbing all energy would also lead to the decline of magic. There would be no more magical energy for those wizards, sorcerers, New Gods and the likes to use across all universes.


    He would simply become the public enemy of the Multiverse causing everyone to unite to stop him just like they would against the Darkest Knight.


    Perhaps even The Presence might make an appearance.


    Of course, that much power would put him on the level of nigh invincibility ranking him among the upper top ten figures in the DC universe.


    After all, his power laid not in strength or speed or invulnerability.


    But that wasn''t something he would do. After all, there were other ways to gain what he wanted without becoming the public enemy of all magical creatures in the multiverse.


    Nevertheless, becoming the public enemy of a specific group of people was inevitable.


    ''Looks like I''ll have to pay a new energy source a visit''.


    But now wasn''t the time to think about that.


    As at the moment, the evolution was complete.


    The orange rune glyphs floating in the air turned pitch black in an instant.


    From within them, waves of ominous energy were emitted constantly into the atmosphere.


    Unlike everything else, it was the only thing given free movement at this time.


    It happened then.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    From the floating rune glyphs, countless dark threads shot out in all directions as they proceeded to wrap around Amari.


    The latter didn''t resist as the process unfolded.


    In the time freeze where everything remained motionless, gusts of wind began to rage around with Amari and countless black threads at the center.


    The bodies of these black threads released a red glow running through them as they continued to rage on and on.


    A strange aura immediately enveloped the atmosphere.


    If death and despair had a signature feel, then this was undoubtedly the prime experience.


    Finally, moments later, the overall phenomenon came to an end.


    Sensing the disappearance of one third of his power and the changes in the Anti Life Equation, Amari examined his new power with interest.


    ''...... Well then, you''re no longer fit to bear the name Anti-Life anymore. Are you.....''?


    Feeling the information on what he had just evolved, his eyelids couldn''t rise any higher than they already were.


    ''In that case ...... I''ll call you the All-life Sequence from now on''.


    Amari''s problem with Anti-Life was the fact that it could be broken.


    And now, he had changed that. Without his personal will, nothing in the multiverse could change those enslaved with his ability.


    Of course, this was theoretical.


    ''Actual results could only be unearthed when placed against beings of similar power scale trying to undo it''.


    Thinking to this point, he raised both hands to eye level.


    Darkness.


    The glyphs were gone. And in its pace when mobilizing what was once Anti-Life, was the dark aura he was currently exuding now.


    ''I only know what it does. In that case ¡­.''.


    He turned his thoughts back to his original intention.


    ''...... Then let''s begin testing ......''.


    Amari''s thought, his eyes locked on the immobilized old God.


    At the moment, Ares felt cold.


    The energies that appeared before literally sent chills down his spine.


    And ominous premonition of a not so simple death was already taking root.


    Snap!


    It was a clear, resounding fingersnap.


    And the next course of events explained its purpose.


    The circular orange rune below Ares instantly turned dark, as if being corrupted with something even more vile than itself.


    Dark threads shot out of the circle, entangling the God Of War from head to toe.


    ''Wait ¡­  What is this ¡­. No ..... No ¡­. Nooo''. He roared at the top of his lungs.


    Or at least he tried to. As even when he was swallowed by the All life sequence, the old God never uttered a word.


    All that portrayed his state of mind at the time were his eyes filled with despair as the darkness swallowed him up.


    In the time freeze, all returned to stillness.


    Everything was the same way it was before. With the exception of Ares being swallowed into what now looked like a cocoon.


    Amari''s eyes were fixed on this. Watching intently at what his new ability would birth.


    It didn''t keep him waiting for long. Barely a few seconds later.


    The cocoon suddenly burst apart, releasing a flood of divine energy.


    Amari''s hair blew restlessly with the dispersing energy, but his eyes remained as bright as ever.


    ''Divine energy ....... This much ¡­''. His thoughts were cut short by what followed.


    With the dispersal of the dark cocoon, a figure decked out in black armor now stood floating on thin air.


    Pitch-black armor, spiked war helmet ¡­. A long black cape extended from the back point, billowing endlessly even though there was no wind.


    A strong sense of oppression oozed out of his very being as he did nothing more than simply standing where he was.


    Who else would it be apart from the God of War?


    However, there were noticeable differences.


    The energy Ares exuded now was tyrannical. Far surpassing what he had just shown a few minutes ago.


    His red pupils were gone, and in its replacement were two pitch-black eyes that seemed to carry endless darkness.


    Streaks of red adorned the gaps in his armor as the three-meter tall giant of a god lowered its posture.


    Then ..... It fell on one knee midair.


    ¡°..¡±. Silence.


    Looking at the previous God Of War now kneeling before him, a feeling that Amari hadn''t felt so explicitly ever since his ¡°creation¡± came upon him at this moment.


    Was it ...... Pride? Or satisfaction?


    He didn''t know, but the smile that was tugging at the side of his lips was all that was needed to explain his current mood.


    ''Well then ..... You ride with me now¡­.''.


    He had barely finished his thoughts when a new development emerged.


    Memories .......


    Images of The Battle Of Olympus, the fall to the earth, his early years, his middle years ......


    Ares''s life memories suddenly poured into his mind, displaying everything the old God had been through throughout his lifetime.


    ¡°...¡±. Amari felt his eyelids twitch.


    This..... Was an unexpected development indeed.


    The process was completed in a flash. Thousands of years of life experience flashed by in less than a second, coming up until the most recent ones.


    There and then, he saw something that made him frown.


    ¡°Connor Kent, Lokee?¡± It has barely been a few hours since Ares appeared in this universe.


    If he remembered right, it wasn''t even up to two months since that clone was resurrected.


    What the hell had he gotten himself into again?


    And who the hell was Lokee?


    ''Hold on .....''. Amari''s eyes widened at that moment.


    He had gotten caught up in the evolution of the Anti life equation that he seemed to have forgotten something.


    Moving his gaze, it was soon fixed on the giant creature that was trapped in the time freeze, quite similar to everyone else.


    Of course, there was a clear difference.


    Unlike the teens, Superman and pretty much everyone else on this world, this ....... Creature, while trapped, wasn''t unaware of what was happening around him.


    Just like Ares.


    Amari squinted his eyebrows, looking quite thoughtful.


    Following which, his eyes glowed.


    The next moment ....... A wave of energy emerged out of the void and shot towards the giant frozen in the distance.


    Without much thought, Amari released his new All life Sequence to engulf the enemy to create a new Anti Life soldier.


    Unfortunately.........


    The wave of sequence rules had just emerged from the void when torrents of chaos magic emerged from the body of the giant creature.


    Large amounts of Chaos energy were forcibly expelled at once without restraint into the surroundings.


    And with this act, the Ancient God Lokee managed to escape the constraints of time freeze.


    The moment he did, his massive body shrunk down with massive speeds as the released Chaos magic converged to form a shield of large proportions.


    The power that was once Anti-Life collided with the Chaos shield, causing it to tremble. Fortunately, it held firm.


    Seeing this, Lokee turned his gaze back to the one floating in the sky with an unsightly expression on his face.


    Looking at his Chaos magic being constantly eroded, it was no wonder his face wasn''t the slightest bit good-looking.


    As an old God, one of the oldest still alive. He knew exactly what these black threads were before they became ...... This.


    Anti Life, hailing from the Antimatter universe. Someone had actually gained control of this cursed formula.


    And as if that weren''t bad enough, he had altered it.


    He knew this clearly. After all, he saw the whole process with his own eyes.


    This made his grim face grow even darker.


    Had the universe grown so dangerous while he was sealed?


    Someone existed that could modify the Anti Life Equation at will.


    Lokee didn''t know what exactly Amari had done. But he would be damned if he allowed those black threads to get anywhere close to him under any circumstances.


    The chaos barrier as wide as a hundred feet with him standing at the absolute center was enough to price how wary he was.


    Amari looked at the opponent resisting with a special gleam in his eyes.


    This was someone on the level of Darkseid.


    His ability to escape from a time freeze was enough to highlight this point.


    However, the latter had not escaped unscathed.


    Amari was sure of this.


    The once powerful momentum had weakened to considerable lows.


    As the one experiencing it, Lokee knew his own situation better than anyone else.


    He had just gained this new body, then he was forced to damage it by overloading himself with chaos magic to break free from a time freeze.


    Feeling the waves of energy constantly eroding his Chaos magic, Lokee quickly made a choice.


    ¡°We will meet again. This ¡­. Is not over¡±.


    Following which, he diverted the rest of his power to tear open a crack in space.


    Amari watched as the opponent fled before anything substantial actually happened.


    He made no efforts to stop it either.


    He was here for Ares, and his goal was completed.


    For the Ancient God whose background dated back to the second world, Amari held no interest.


    After this, he was in no mood to go through another round of catching and killing ancient beings of old.


    If he wanted to kill someone, there were plenty of loose ends waiting for him to tie up once he returned to Earth.

 Chapter 152 If It Isnt The Devil Himself

    After dropping his last words, a round of Chaos magic enveloped his being as he created an exit for himself out of this universe.


    For the ancient God, today had been one hell of a rollercoaster. As for Amari ¡­. that was a problem for the future.


    After seeing what had happened before his eyes, Lokee knew he was no match, especially in his current state.


    It took so much power, effort and self mutilation just to escape from the enemy''s Chronokinesis.


    A head on confrontation would likely result in his defeat, imprisonment, or even worse..... Death.


    He endured the pain of splitting a portion of his soul for a chance at rebirth just to encounter an untimely demise?


    Impossible. He wouldn''t have that.


    He was one of the last remnants of the Second World generation of Gods.


    His fate was not to die here.


    So similar to Darkseid, he chose to take the best available option.


    Leave today to fight another day.


    To challenge this individual before him, he would need to return to his peak state, and add some more power on top of it.


    As for avoiding Amari..... That wasn''t possible anymore. After all, his weapon carrying the greater portion of his soul is still in his possession.


    This had already destined them to stand on opposite paths.


    Unless of course, the latter would hand over his Chains without a fight.


    That was improbable.


    Perhaps he thought simply running away would be the end of it for now. But he had made a grave miscalculation.


    Amari didn''t bother to chase him for four reasons.


    One, he was here for Ares.


    Two, he had already dealt with the old Gods back on Apokolips. So this new addition left him with no interest whatsoever.


    Three, Lokee did not attack him. Neither did he make known any malicious intentions towards him within Ares''s memories.


    Hence, even if he knew that this Ancient being would be up to no good, he wouldn''t bother.


    And the unmentioned number four ......why should he chase a split soul when the greater portion was still within his possession?


    At this moment, Amari stretched out his hand and the void trembled.


    The following moment, Lokee''s chains extended out of empty space and appeared within his grasp.


    ¡°This may have been yours once ¡­.¡±. Amari whispered softly.


    ¡°But not anymore. And therefore ......¡±. A trace of amusement flashed in his eyes.


    ¡°.... I am entitled to expel unwanted guests¡±.


    Dark ominous energy emerged from his hands and enveloped the weapon entirely.


    All Life Sequence ......


    ¡ª An evolved form of the Anti-Life Equation.


    Once contact is made, it will transform the will of all sentient beings permanently to an extension of yours. Corrupting the mind and soul into your most obedient soldier -


    Amari had no interest in chasing after the split soul, but that didn''t mean he was going to let an old God occupy his new weapon.


    In this universe, there were no protagonists who kept old Ancestors in rings.


    Surprise, he didn''t like sharing stuff.


    As the All Life Sequence seeped into the weapon, a ghostly howl raged from within the chains. The voice was dark, deep and carried immense anger and fear.


    ''You knew, You bastard ¡­.''.


    ¡°Yep, I knew¡±. Amari chuckled. ¡°Deal with it¡±.


    The main soul struggled frantically. At least it tried to.


    Mustering all forms of resistance, it was completely transformed a millisecond later.


    After all, what level of resistance could a soul muster up? Perhaps it was possible for lesser beings, but not here and now.


    ¡°..¡±. Silence returned as the pitch black faded.


    ¡°Come out¡±. He uttered blandly.


    The next moment a large amount of negative energy gushed out of the chain, seemingly wanting to spread in all directions.


    The next moment, however, it all converged down on the spot right next to the still kneeling All Life soldier.


    ¡°My liege ¡­.¡±. The form wasn''t the same as the one that ran away.


    Normal when you think about it as he had already possessed a kryptonian host.


    The size, however, remained unchanged.


    Towering more than three meters, the smaller Ares looked like a little brother before it.


    It has three arms, three eyes and double horns.


    Feeling the waves of Chaos energy bing exuded out of him, Amari nodded with satisfaction.


    The main soul had been transformed, and the chance of whatever remained of Lokee making any waves were basically extinguished.


    The soul wasn''t something that could be repaired at will. Especially for those powerful figures who still hadn''t escaped the confines of physical form.


    Lokee was far from the level of the endless. With his main soul gone, his level of power would basically stagnant the way it was now for a very, very long time.


    Unless his soul could heal on its own, perhaps for eternity.


    If he were even more unlucky, it would regress.


    ''Alright then ¡­.''. He took a look around.


    Everything was still frozen in time.


    Kara was laying among the rubble, Robin was still unconscious while Aqualad and Kidflash were staring at the direction of the warehouse with wide eyes.


    Miss Martian was flying just a few meters away from him.


    Further away was the rest of the world itself.


    Peering into the distance, Amari couldn''t help but fall into contemplation.


    He came to this world for Ares. Now his job was done.


    Then came an important question¡­. What now?


    He looked at the members of the team ...... Kara in the distance and the thought to make a momentary appearance popped up in his mind.


    He was a little curious to know how exactly they made it through the breaches.


    Then it was promptly rejected.


    As for what to do next ¡­.


    Actually, the answer to that was simple.


    Turning his gaze back to the two old Gods over two meters tall, Amari raised an eyebrow.


    ''Just right to tie up some loose ends''.


    Up in the air, the surrounding space distorted into swirls.


    Then the trio were swallowed into the void, marking the end of Amari''s hunting trip and the dawn of a new one.


    As for the destruction of Earth -1. That was not his problem.


    And with Amari''s departure, the time freeze was broken.


    ¡°...¡±. The wind blew again.


    Everyone''s movements returned to normal.


    The startled Miss Martian quickly flew backwards, her eyes wide and darting in all directions as she sought to locate her adversary.


    ''Where did ..... Where did he go?''


    Expanding her senses to the limit, she tried and failed to locate the person who almost ran a lightning bolt through her chest.


    ''He''s ¡­. Gone?'' M''gann was perplexed.


    ''Miss Martian. Are you ok?'' Aqualad called out through the mindlink.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ''I''m ¡­. I''m fine. But I can''t find him anywhere''.


    ''He''s not the only one''.


    Kaldur''s face was unprecedentedly grave.


    ''Whatever that giant creature was ¡­. It''s gone too''.


    ''..... Guys, what happened?''


    ''I don''t know. They seemed to just ¡­. disappear''.


    ''That''s.....''. Wally''s eyes darted in all directions.


    ''That''s impossible. They were just here''.


    ''Guys!'' Kaldur yelled.


    ''We need to deal with the situation at hand''. Interrupting them, he signalled to his arms with his gaze.


    ''Damn ..... Rob¡­''.


    Seeing the unconscious Robin, Wally immediately grew anxious.


    ''He''s gonna be ok right?''


    ¡°...¡±. Silence enveloped the atmosphere as no one said a word.


    ¡°Right?¡± Ignoring the mind link, Wally yelled out loud.


    ¡°I can''t say¡±. Kaldur responded gloomily.


    ¡°I was able to expel the traces of magic within his system. His condition has stabilized for now, but his pulse is weak, so is his heartbeat. He''ll live, but it''ll be best if we get him medical help¡±.


    Screech!


    At that moment, a loud roar resounded from the skies, causing their expressions to change drastically.


    Looking up, they were startled to see close to a dozen Parademons descending upon them.


    ¡°Not these freaks¡±. Wally uttered while taking a step back.


    The enemies they were fighting against had just disappeared. The next moment, these things came to cause trouble.


    "Thy aren''t many. We''ll just have to deal with them. Kidflash get .....". Kaldur opened his mouth to give instructions. Then closed them the next second.


    As at that moment, two burning solar rays emerged from the distance, shooting straight towards the monster group.


    Screech!


    Ghastly wails emerged as the monsters were sliced in two, exploding as well in the process.


    ¡°Is that .....¡±. The teens turned around to see a figure appear at rapid speed in front of them.


    ¡°Superman?¡± Kidflash called out warily. After all, in this universe, there were two of them.


    Appearing after destroying the Parademons, Clark paid Wally no heed. Instead, his gaze was drawn to the distance where a blonde-haired girl laid unconscious.


    ¡°Kara¡±. His figure flashed, appearing beside his unconscious cousin and picking her up princess style.


    His actions made them all breathe a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Phew! Thank goodness you aren''t the evil one¡±.


    Ignoring Wally, Kaldur stepped forward and looked to Superman.


    ¡°Did we ..... win?¡±


    His question made Clark''s eyebrows furrow.


    The Superman of this world was dead. Technically, they had indeed one. But .....


    ¡°Yes..... and no¡±.


    ¡°Huh?¡± The three called out in simultaneous confusion.


    A wry smile graces Clark''s features.


    ¡°It''s complicated ¡­". Then, he uttered with narrowed eyebrows.


    ¡°You kids look pretty roughed up. What happened?¡± His eyes wandered around them.


    ¡°And where''s .....¡±. His sentence came to a halt.


    Then, he turned his gaze to the distance where two silhouettes could be seen approaching.


    Ten seconds later, Diana dropped from the air, landing on her two feet. Following which, a streak of lightning zipped to their sides, revealing Earth -1 Wally West and Batman.


    ¡°...¡±. Everyone stared at each other silently with no words being uttered.


    Until ......


    ¡°Clark ..... Is ¡­ Is it over?¡±


    Diana''s question made his features crumple even more


    ¡°No¡±. He shook his head after a moment of silence.


    Bruce narrowed his eyebrows.


    ¡°Is he still alive?¡±


    ¡°No. Your world''s Superman is dead, but your problems aren''t over¡±.


    ¡°What do you mean Clark?¡± His words made Batman feel uneasy. Their monster was gone, what else could they have to worry about again?


    Rumble.


    It happened then. The earth began to quake again, this time with much more severity than before.


    ¡°What the hell .....¡±.


    ¡°Superman. Explain what''s going on¡±. Batman uttered loudly after the rumbling died down.


    ¡°..... Your world is collapsing¡±.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I ...... I was told your earth is fading out of existence¡±.


    ¡°By whom?¡±


    ¡°I doubt you would know him¡±. Clark lowered his head in contemplation.


    ¡°But he''s someone strong. Stronger than I am. I wasn''t the one who stopped your world''s Superman. He was¡±.


    Wally (-1) had his eyes widen.


    ¡°Amari is here?¡± He uttered before Batman could say anything.


    Not only Flash, even Diana and the teens had their expressions change.


    ¡°He was. I don''t know if he is anymore¡±.


    ¡°...¡±. Silence reigned for a few minutes.


    Bruce didn''t speak. His face stone-cold, without any obvious expression.


    Finally, he uttered four words in a grin, grave tone.


    ¡°Can he be believed?¡±


    ¡°..... He''s not exactly someone we''re friends with, but he has no reason to lie about this¡±.


    ¡°How long?¡±


    ¡°Less than thirty minutes¡±.


    The atmosphere was solemn. More solemn than ever before.


    Batman narrowed his eyes to the extreme.


    ¡°........ Tell me everything you know that''s important as fast as you can. Hash out all unnecessary details¡±.


    Meanwhile ...... back in Central City. Lying somewhere at the corner of an alleyway was a male corpse.


    He wore a tan colored trench coat and a white oxford shirt and tie.


    His neck was twisted in unnatural directions as he laid on the floor unmoving.


    For some strange reason, his corpse hadn''t been flattened under rubble caused during the battle between two Supermen.


    The alleyway he laid was completely untouched in the destruction.


    Of course, this could be written off as coincidence. Neither would it matter if that was the end of it.


    As on this day, John Constantine of the Negative Universe Earth -1 had met his demise.


    However ........


    ¡°Gasp!¡± The eyes of the corpse suddenly opened wide.


    Cough cough cough!


    Awakening, John let out heavy coughs as he sat up from the floor, greedily inhaling as much oxygen as his nostrils would allow him.


    ¡°Fuck! What in the nine hells just happened?¡±


    The first thing he did after coming back to life was not to Marvel at how it was possible, but to eye his surroundings warily.


    ¡°.... You have been granted another chance at life.....¡±.


    A middle-aged, gentlemanly voice fell into John''s ears, causing him to shrink his pupils.


    Following which, the space in front of him distorted into ripples.


    It all returned to normal, but there was now a man standing in the space right before Constantine''s vision.


    He wore a dark blue cloak, a dark blue hat, gloves, and a white inner shirt within.


    Peering into his eyes, one would find them to be completely white. It could almost be mistaken for someone with cataracts if his weren''t releasing a white glow.


    Seeing the appearance of the strange man with a getup that made him look like an old count in the 19th century, Constantine showed no surprise.


    ¡°Guess it wasn''t a bad dream after all¡±.


    Uttering those words, he proceeded to pick himself from the ground.


    ¡°You still have the potential to be of great good to the universe John Constantine. An untimely demise would not do you Justice¡±.


    ¡°So you basically want me to keep working, huh? How great. Can''t even be a corpse in peace. As for what you just said ...... The universe can go booger itself¡±.


    Twisting his neck, slight cracking sounds emerged due to stiffness.


    "And where the hell was the universe and its so-called ¡°good¡± when my world was being destroyed by a crazy maniac?"


    ¡°I have gone by many names over the years. But to those who need to know who I am, I am The Phantom Stranger. And I am not allowed to easily intervene in any event unless it proposes great destruction on a wider scale¡±.


    ¡°Yeah mate. I know who you are¡±. He uttered in a low voice.


    ¡°And I certainly don''t want to get involved in whatever shit you''re planning. I''ve already died once trying to save the world from a wider scale threat. And I''m not sure if you know, but death can be a pain in the ass, so do me a fucking favor and let me be, you got that?¡±


    With unbridled sarcasm, John remarked coldly as he finished dusting off the dirt on his clothes.


    ¡°I have no interest in fighting anymore¡±.


    Then, he turned around and prepared to leave.


    As for where he was going to go?


    He had no idea.


    Perhaps an abandoned bar to drown away his sorrows.


    The thought crossed his mind and he remembered that he had moved Starfire to such a location to avoid getting insta killed. Poor girl was probably bleeding out over there or was already dead.


    ¡°And what if I said you could have everything you''ve ever lost returned to you?¡±


    The walking man froze. His footsteps coming to a halt as he stood with his back facing the Phantom Stranger.


    ¡°Do you know what you''re saying you bloody bastard?¡±


    ¡°I do. So what will it be Mr. Constantine?¡±


    ¡°...¡±.


    There was a moment of silence.


    ¡°What exactly do you want?¡±


    ¡°Your skills and expertise. To fight in a possible upcoming war¡±.


    ¡°War?¡± John was puzzled. ¡°Against whom?¡±


    ¡°One not of our fabric of reality¡±.


    ...........


    Earth 16¡­


    Gotham City .....


    Strader Pharmaceuticals .......


    A swirl appeared in space. A second later, Amari''s figure stepped out of it.


    Raising his head, he took a good look at his surroundings. The first thing that came into his view was the door.


    It was the main entrance and exit of the CEO office within the building.


    He recognized this place. This was Lloyd''s office.


    Back when he was still alive anyway. Now it should be considered his office since he literally owned the company.


    And according to what Alice told him, Lloyd was dead.


    ¡°I have to ask though¡±. Amari asked out loud.


    ¡°Why here?¡± His back was facing away from the office desk and chair.


    And right there and then .......


    ¡°Don''t like it? I thought it would be more ¡­. relaxing to talk somewhere you''re familiar with¡±.


    A deep silky smooth voice responded to his question.


    ¡°The venue can easily be changed if you like. I do have my own piano bar. I just felt it would be too ..... alarming to forcefully transfer you to another destination entirely¡±.


    Amari turned around. A rare trace of solemnity flashing past his eyes for the first time in ¡­ Well, ever.


    ¡°I suppose I haven''t introduced myself. How rude. I''m the devil. Lucifer Morningstar, first of the fallen, ruler of hell and ...... And I think you get the picture¡±.


    Standing before Amari was Lucifer, the devil himself.


    ¡°..... And I''ve been dying to meet you".

 Chapter 153 Damien Wayne

    Meanwhile .....


    Earth 16, Caribbean Sea.


    League of Assassins Headquarters ¡­.


    From the outside, all that could be seen was a pure white mist surrounding infinity Island.


    But deep within, on a certain mountainside, laid the Compound HQ.


    The towers were guarded by regular patrol teams, all armed with lethal weapons. Keeping a lookout while the rest of the compound carried on day-to-day activities.


    ¡°Ha!¡± ¡°Ha!¡± ¡°Ha!¡±


    The cry of soldiers practicing their fighting stances could be heard as each warrior garbed in black exclaimed again and again with each punch they released.


    On another side .......


    A dark shadow fell from above, crashing to the ground with a loud thud.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± The assassin barely managed to let out a pained groan before falling unconscious.


    ¡°This one is slightly better than the others ¡­.¡±. A thick voice uttered as two armored boots appeared a few meters away from the fallen soldier.


    ¡°.... But just". Slade uttered with a cold snort, his tone carrying a hint of disdain.


    It had been a while since he left the League Of Assassins. And although he had kept in touch when executing offers from Ra''s Al Ghul over the years, he didn''t expect the latter generation of shadows had gone a notch lower in quality since his time.


    Or at least he thought so.


    It wouldn''t make a difference how skilled these soldiers were, as none of them were strong or skilled enough to give him an adequate challenge.


    And the older generation with much better abilities certainly wouldn''t come to Slade to seek abuse.


    Ra''s definitely had better places to put his subordinates than to accompany this ticked off mercenary for a few sparring sessions.


    As for why he was ticked off ..... The answer was obvious.


    It had barely been two to three days since his operation at Strader Pharmaceuticals had gone down in a way he could only use the phrase ¡°horribly wrong¡± to describe.


    Surprising words to use when he successfully retrieved his target with minimal loss or damage.


    And now, he was ..... Lying low.


    The very thought made his teeth itch with anger.


    Lying low? He was clearly hiding.


    Waiting for Ra''s arrangements to deal with a definite disaster that could very well be the end of them all.


    After his discussion with Ra''s, he had accepted to temporarily stay at the League of Assassins Headquarters until the old fossil and his group were ready.


    Nevertheless, that didn''t mean he liked it.


    No sir, not one bit.


    Slade scanned his gaze around, wanting to find another to continue to be his sparring partner.


    But what fell into his only working eye was a training ground full of unmoving assassins.


    They weren''t dead, thankfully. But a few weeks to a few months in bed for medical treatment and healing time due to injuries ranging from fractures to broken bones were definitely unavoidable.


    ''Hmph! Pitiful .....''. He thought as his anger subsided.


    Dealing with close to two dozen ninjas was enough for a day.


    Later, he needed to go find that old man for an update.


    Slade wasn''t sure he could continue living like this for another week. It was torture.


    ¡°So you''re the infamous mercenary. The one everyone claims to be the best of the best at what he does¡±.


    A small, childish voice fell into his ears, causing Slade''s expression to shift slightly with a frown.


    Turning his gaze to the side, a figure wearing a what looked to be a modern copy of ancient samurai wear walked out of the shadows.


    With short dark hair, green eyes, an expressionless face and cold gloomy aura.....


    ¡°...... The living legend, Deathstroke The Terminator himself¡±.


    He walked calmly with composed steps, stopping only when he was a five meters away.


    Slade''s expression shifted.


    ¡°So you''re Talia''s little bastard. I wondered how long you were going to watch¡±.


    Damien''s eyes narrowed to the extreme.


    ¡°What did you just say?¡± His voice was deep and low, and with those glaring eyes, he really looked threatening.


    Slade however didn''t give a damn.


    ¡°Your steps were as silent as these losers. Low presence, not bad for a child¡±.


    ¡°The name''s Damien¡±. He uttered, his words almost at the point of a growl.


    ¡°.... Remember it¡±.


    ¡°Yeah yeah¡±. Deathstroke uttered dismissively and walked around the young heir.


    ¡°Go find someone else to play ball with. I''m in a bad mood¡±. Damien didn''t turn around yet. The numerous assassins on the ground before him were a testament to Slade''s statement.


    But as the born prince of the league of shadows, would he care?


    ¡°Mother tells me you''re hiding here to avoid someone¡±.


    And there it was again. That one word that made his pride ache and his blood boil.


    Hiding.


    Slade stopped in his tracks, and uttered without turning his back in a tone that was on the verge of clear rage.


    ¡°Choose your next words carefully, young brat¡±.


    ¡°Oh please¡­". Damien scoffed indifferently.


    ¡°I''m not so young and ignorant that I have nothing better to do than antagonize you. And quite frankly, I don''t have any interest in doing so¡±.


    Then he turned to see his backside.


    ¡°I just want to know one thing¡±. His words were accompanied by a moment of silence.


    If Slade turned around, he would see Damien showing an expression of contemplation.


    ¡°How strong exactly is this person who makes Grandpa so ..... Worried¡±.


    That wasn''t what he was going to say. He wanted to use the word fearful, but thankfully, he was capable of controlling his mouth.


    If anyone heard that he called the Demon''s Head scared, then the consequences would be severe.


    Not even his mother and the fact that he was Ra''s grandchild would save him from punishment.


    If it were someone else, it would lead to immediate execution.


    Normally, he shouldn''t even think of asking this. But he had seen Ra''s expression in the past few days.


    His grandpa had lived for hundreds of years, and didn''t even fear a being like the famous alien of Metropolis. The one they call Superman.


    Yet, he looked more haggard than ever in the timespan of two days.


    If this wasn''t worried and fearful, he didn''t know what was.


    Deathstroke paused. Majority of his anger disappearing, like a bucket of cold water was splashed on his head.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°...¡±. Silence reigned for a few seconds. Following which, the mercenary snorted.


    ¡°If all goes to shit, then you should be able to see it yourself¡±. He didn''t answer directly.


    Just left those words and walked away.


    Damien didn''t call out to stop him, either.


    ''If all goes to shit, huh?''


    He stood there for several seconds in deep thought.


    After nearly a minute passed, he raised his head.


    The previous contemplation disappeared, returning to indifference.


    Just as he was about to walk away, he stopped.


    Then, just like Slade did a minute ago, he turned his head to a certain direction and squinted.


    ¡°How long are you going to keep watching me¡±.


    ¡°..¡±. No one responded at first. Until a small sigh resounded, and a figure also emerged from the darkness.


    Damien''s serious look eased slightly.


    ¡°Mother¡±. He called out.


    The woman appearing before him was 5.7, had dark brown hair and clear green eyes, just like her son.


    Talia Al Ghul. Beloved daughter of Ra''s Al Ghul, the legendary Demon''s head. But weirdly enough, not his successor.


    On that note, Talia didn''t care much. After all, although she believed that women could do just as much as men could, her father''s views on the perfect heir was not something she could change.


    Not to mention, even her brother, who already looked older than their father wasn''t chosen.


    It was good enough that her son would inherit what she never could.


    ¡°Now now ¡­.¡±. Wearing a black skin-tight combat suit that was zipped slightly above her breasts, Talia remarked.


    ¡°What have I told you about asking questions on subjects you shouldn''t touch?¡±


    The boy wasn''t scared but replied apathetically.


    ¡°Don''t get caught¡±. Then he turned to where Slade left.


    ¡°How long will he be staying here?¡± He didn''t care about Slade. He was just curious.


    "¡­.Until your grandfather can find a solution to his problem". The initial silence before the sentence spoke great tones to those who were skilled enough to understand.


    Talia and Damien turned their gazes upwards. In the distance, a hundred meters away, The Demon''s Head stood on the balcony with sharp eyes and his hands behind his back.


    Watching over the training of the hundreds of assassins under his command.


    ¡°And if he can''t?¡± Damien turned his gaze away and shot back.


    ¡°...¡±. This time, Talia didn''t respond for a while.


    ¡°... In that case. It''s time we take you to see your Father¡±.


    The mentioning of this made Damien''s eyes narrow. He knew who his dad was.


    The Caped Crusader of Gotham city and member of the Justice League.


    ¡°Let''s just hope it doesn''t get that far¡±.


    ¡°I''m not running away¡±. Damien uttered while turning to face her completely.


    Talia opened her mouth to speak.


    She had already talked to Ra''s about sending Damien to Batman early. After all, they never knew when Amari would figure out their identities and come to destroy them.


    If Damien was still on this island when that happened, it was highly likely he would die.


    As a mother, Talia didn''t want to witness that happen.


    So the best choice would be to hand Damien over to Bruce. That way, he would be under Batman''s care and, likewise, under the care of the Justice League.


    Honestly, it really wouldn''t make that much of a difference.


    Nevertheless, as long as Amari didn''t go crazy, then he shouldn''t hunt down Damien and kill him at all costs. Just like how he didn''t go after Ocean Master''s brother, Aquaman, and the rest of Atlantis.


    This was what Talia hoped.


    ¡°It''s not your decision to make, Damien......¡±.


    ¡°Yes it is¡±. The boy interrupted. ¡°Whoever this guy is, he has to have a weakness. We just find it and face him together when he comes. My honor does not allow me to run away before even seeing the enemy¡±.


    Talia frowned even deeper. Resisting the urge to shake her head and sigh, she wanted to speak again in a much stricter tone.


    Unfortunately......


    ''Is that so?.....''. Something happened that made both their expressions changed drastically.


    ''Funny though.....''. The voice uttered again, directly into everyone''s minds. Be it those practicing punching stances or wielding weapons in armed combat, everyone came to a halt as the voice speaking inside their heads began to cause great alarm.


    Ra''s Al Ghul had his eyes narrow into slots.


    ''He''s ...... He''s here''. In the headquarters of the League of Assassins, starting from the cook to the cleaners to the assassins to Ra''s Al Ghul himself, everyone heard his voice.


    ''¡­. I''m already here''.


    He answered in response to Damien. But everyone heard it.


    Ra''s subconsciously took two steps back.


    It happened then.


    A strong gust of wind suddenly rushed over, enveloping the mountainside base.


    Immediately, anything without heavy weight or a direct connection to the ground was lifted off the floor.


    Be it weapons, uniforms, racks, carts.....


    A streak of wind pressure directly enveloped the entire area.


    Talia''s long hair flew with the wind as it streaked across hair face, obscuring her vision.


    As the name suggests, the headquarters of the League of Assassins, Infinity Island, was an island in the middle of the Caribbean Sea.


    While there were no forecasts of a storm, there was a mist partially obscuring the island from the sights of people who weren''t on it.


    It was different now.


    The mist covering had been blown away by the strong gusts of wind sweeping through the island, completely exposing the sights of those inside.


    Crack!


    The sound was as loud as a thunderclap, drawing everyone''s attention to the edge of the cliff where HQ resided on.


    Crack!


    The cracking sounds continued. Following which, the space swirled, and a substance emerged out of thin air.


    That substance quickly condensed and intertwined to form a giant skeleton hand, which extended even more.


    The seconds elapsed, large amounts of cosmic energy unfiltered were released and condensed to form a giant, terrifying structure.


    And under everyone''s terrified eyes, that structure grew taller and taller, surpassing everyone and everything in height and size.


    Bang! The feet of the structure touched the bottom of the cliff and stood upright. But even then, everyone''s eyes were looking upward.


    Bone, flesh, skin.... .... Until the structure gained full form, appearing as a giant demonic titan right before everyone''s eyes.


    The pressure it released didn''t decrease in the slightest despite its complete formation, as the wind pressure generated by the waves of massive energy continued to blow everyone straight in the face.


    Many already found it difficult to breathe and were being pushed backwards, despite how much they tried to plant their feet to the ground.


    ''What ..... What the hell is this?''


    The calm, composed Demon''s Head at the top of the balcony retreated with shock and horror. His eyes staring at the center of that titan, where a figure he recognized all too well was.


    ''So ...... This is what it means, huh. It all goes to shit''. At the moment, Damien was being held down by his mother to prevent him from being lifted off the ground.


    He had seen and heard all sorts of outrageous things. But never before had he seen something like this.


    ¡°Hello Ra''s¡±. At the center of the cosmic titan (That''s what I''m calling the new, modified Susanoo now. Just think of it like the original Titans in Blood of Zeus. If you''ve watched the series, that is. I''ll explain how this came about in a minute), Amari locked onto Ra''s Al Ghul, his eyes narrowed to the extreme, emitting bone chilling coldness.


    Seeing this and hearing his name being called, The Demon''s Head seemed to have returned from his shock. Following which, he turned around and ran with all his strength into the building.


    At that moment, the Cosmic Titan suddenly raised its hand high and clenched it into a fist.


    ''Oh no''. Talia''s eyes widened. What was he doing?


    Then she pulled Damien and ran with all her strength.


    ¡°Run Damien, Run¡±.


    The area of this training ground was within the main building, and Talia ran towards it with the strength generated from every fiber of her being.


    She didn''t know how much power was packed in that punch, but she knew that it would kill them all.


    Those in the immediate vicinity would be the first to go.


    As for Ra''s Al Ghul, he immediately jumped downwards from the edge of the building, landing on his two feet with a roll.


    For a normal person, landing room in such a height would destroy the legs. But after many years of death and resurrection in the Lazarus pit, Ra''s body had already evolved past a regular human''s.


    Following which, he made a mad dash towards his destination.


    As for where that destination was?


    Of course, it was the entrance to the lower chambers that led to the Lazarus pit.


    The only place he could go at this moment.


    And so, the giant blue fist punched downwards and smashed against the edge of the cliff.


    The force generated under that power immediately reacted, destroying half of the cliff area and sending a shockwave that swept away the rest.


    The Assassins training in close proximity were immediately turned into blood mist before the uprooted rubble was swept towards them.


    Bang!


    All buildings within the League of Assassins Headquarters were shattered into debris and swept away in the shockwave.


    Cracks emerged in various places across the island.


    Inside the Cosmic Titan, Amari watched the aftermath of his actions with cold eyes. Emitting a frightening chill that could freeze with a single thought.


    He had never been like this before. Not when facing the Joker, Justice League, Ocean Master or Ares.


    The aura around him was incomparably gloomy and chaotic yet so much more powerful than it ever was before.


    Seemingly endless energy capable of washing away this universe dozens of times overflowed through his body to the point where it formed an energy barrier around him without his intentional control.


    This was why wind pressure was generated earlier despite not doing anything.


    At this point, the energy flowing through him was unprecedented.


    Why and how? Because he absorbed it all


    The energy of the Godsphere, the birthplace of Magic with vast amounts of magical energy, he had absorbed it all.


    However, he felt not intoxication to the pleasure of increasing power he had acquired.


    All of this was due to what happened with The Devil himself less than twenty minutes ago.


    .......


    Twenty minutes ago.


    After the incident at Strader Pharmaceuticals

 Chapter 154 The Overvoid

    Twenty minutes ago.


    After the incident at Strader Pharmaceuticals, the whole place had been cordoned into a restricted area.


    Although death in Gotham wasn''t surprising, such a massacre wasn''t something that happened regularly.


    The topic that was ''Strader Pharmaceuticals'' had been aired on television for days now as another tragedy Gotham had experienced in the past few months.


    Newspapers going on and on about the possible suspects with possible motives and the likes ¡­. As well as reports on the Joker''s revival and seclusion at Arkham Asylum ¡­. Well, two of em for that matter.


    The pope at the Cathedral was particularly surprised to find a considerable increase in the number of members in yesterday''s service. Officers off-duty accounted for a significant amount.


    ¡°I suppose I haven''t introduced myself. How rude. I''m the devil. Lucifer Morningstar, first of the fallen, ruler of hell and ...... And I think you get the picture¡±.


    Standing before Amari was Lucifer, the devil himself.


    ¡°..... And I''ve been dying to meet you¡±.


    ¡°Well sorry, but I really can''t say the same¡±. This wasn''t an intentional sharp comeback or snarky remark ..... But the honest truth. If there was anyone Amari last wanted to see presently, it would be this guy right here.


    ¡°Ouch¡­ ¡­ Not quite as hospitable as I imagined you''d be¡±. Amari could see his eyebrows raise.


    ¡°Then you''re probably looking for the wrong person¡±. He uttered, resisting the urge to chuckle.


    Him? Hospitable? Yeah¡­. Definitely mistaken identity.


    ¡°Well .....¡±.


    The man replied with a charming smile. He was good-looking, a bit too good-looking. Dressed in that snazzy suit, he made a slight picking motion and a glass of wine appeared in his right hand while his left fingers tapped constantly on the table. ¡°If you put it like that, then I''m probably wrong. After all the ruckus you''ve caused .....¡±.


    ¡°Ruckus?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes. In this multiverse, your reputation precedes you¡±.


    ¡°The feeling is mutual¡±.


    His words elicited a small laugh from the Fallen Archangel¡­


    ¡°Hehehehe¡­. I can imagine. The deceiver, the great big bad, the excuse humans use to explain their sinful actions¡­. Behold! ¡¯Tis the Morningstar ..... Gaze into my eyes and be tempted..... Ladi La ladi ya.....¡±. He raised his wine glass and free arm into the air, making gestures for comedic effect.


    Watching his actions, Amari was a little surprised.


    ''Is this really Lucifer?  Always so chill?


    ¡°Now then. Since we''ve gotten the pesky introductions out of the way. Why don''t you go ahead and tell me ¡­.¡±. His words paused and his eyes glowed.


    A heavy pressure immediately enveloped the atmosphere, as even the air around them stilled.


    ¡°.... Who ¡­. Or what exactly¡­ Are you¡±.


    ''Oh¡­. Turns out I thought too soon. Good to know''. Amari thought with a slight frown.


    ¡°Your tone sounds strangely ominous¡±.


    He said with narrowed eyebrows. The tension was palpable as both men stared at each other.


    ¡°No, it''s my curiosity¡±. Lucifer answered, his expression nonchalant.


    He paused ..... Then continued without waiting for an answer. ¡°Because you see ¡­. Everything existing here, everything is marked as God''s creation¡±.


    Tap! Tap! Tap! His tapping fingers never stopped.


    ¡°.... Everyone and everything¡­. But you¡±. If it was all just a ruse before, then he could see it now.


    Truly this ..... Whatever this thing before him was, it was extraordinary.


    ¡°So it intrigued me how someone from outside my father''s jurisdiction fell into creation. Who are you? What are you? Wouldn''t you be surprised if something strange fell into your back garden?¡±


    ¡°What do you want, Samael?¡±


    Amari''s words made Lucifer stiffen for a moment. His eyes narrowing for a split second as he observed the energy being with renewed intrigue.


    ''He even knows my real name .....''.


    ¡°So let me ask this. How much do you know about this multiverse?¡±


    Amari frowned. ¡°I know enough. Get to the point¡±.


    ¡°In that case, you should know what lies beyond creation itself¡±.


    ¡°The over void¡±. Amari responded in a flat tone.


    ¡°Precisely¡±. In the DC universe, the Over void was a large blank space that existed outside the multiverse. Or rather, all of creation was created on the blank Over void against its will.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    A light appearing in the infinite darkness.


    ¡°For you to appear here, it means you speared right through the multiversal cluster walls protecting this multiverse. At first, I thought you came from another multiverse in the Over void. But that''s the thing ¡­.¡±.


    The drink in his hand disappeared.


    ¡°I''ve gone beyond the source wall. I''ve been to the Overvoid. I''ve seen the other multiverses¡±. The smile on his face at this point was long gone.


    ¡°No matter what multiverse, regardless of who formed it, everything is under his creation. It''s marked by demiurgic power. Like I said, under my father''s jurisdiction. I searched as long and as far as I could, nothing was outside my father''s plan. Nothing but the empty void, waiting for new creations to be formed. I was searching for a way to escape from my father''s grasp. I didn''t find it..... Until today¡±.


    In those glowing red eyes, within Lucifer''s vision was a sight entirely different from anything he had ever seen before.


    Not a man, but a being filled with energy that was beyond his grasp. Escaping out of his control.


    It was a form of power that, despite his eons of existence, he had never encountered before. One that unlike everything else, listened not to his will, no matter what he did.


    All of existence in Lucifer''s eyes were the same, and Amari standing before him radiated something new. A color that had contrasted sharply with everything else around him.


    The answer.


    This was Amari''s Apex energy. Something that transcended this time, space, and reality all together.


    ¡°You''re talking about me¡±.


    ¡°Yes, you¡­".


    ¡°Unlike everything else, you are not made by my father or anything related to him. And that should simply be impossible, unless......¡±.


    ¡°.... You come from beyond the Overvoid itself. From beyond this reality. Beyond my father''s control¡±.


    ¡°You asked me what I want? My questions are simple. I want to know where exactly you come from. I want to know what lies beyond the endless Overvoid. And I want to know how to get there¡±.


    ¡°...¡±. Silence.


    His sentence was met with a resounding silence, as Amari gave no response at first.


    ¡°You want to leave the Omniverse". It was only then that Amari remembered Lucifer''s goal. In the DC universe, Lucifer resented The Presence, he resented the fact that he was created to ¡°do things¡±.


    He hated being in Yahweh''s great plan. He hated having his fate and destiny predetermined. So much that he contemplated killing God himself and actually took it into action.


    He didn''t want to create suns, stars, solar systems, Multiverses, he didn''t want to shape creation like he was made to. He wanted his own will, freedom, away from the shackles of fate that bound him.


    As The Presence''s most perfect creation, he was the literal embodiment of his will. Yet strangely enough, that will now wanted to have a will of its own.


    A typical rebellious teenager mentality. The only difference being that after an eternity, that mentality wasn''t going away.


    He searched through the Omniverse for a place where he could escape his father''s presence.


    As his name implied ¡­ ¡°The Presence¡± was everywhere. Nothing Lucifer did would escape his knowledge.


    The feeling was kinda understandable. Who could stand their parent literally watching their every move? (I couldn''t stand it as a kid, and I can''t even imagine such a thing happening)


    Ultimately, Lucifer''s true goal was something most humans yearned for at times in their life. Freedom from their acclaimed destiny.


    It wasn''t bad per se. Some might even regard it as a good endeavor.


    The only problem now, was that he was discussing this with the wrong person.


    ¡°No¡±.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°I said no¡±. Amari responded to his puzzlement firmly.


    Silence returned once again to the room.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°What will I gain if I do?¡± Amari asked with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°...¡±.


    It was a simple question, yet one that wasn''t easy to answer. Lucifer craved freedom. It was what he identified as his sole purpose. And now, he found a way to achieve it. Yet, Amari''s words hit the nail on the head.


    Why should he?


    What exactly could he gain from this?


    Power? Wealth? Beauty?


    ¡°In that case .....¡±. The devil, for the first time, found himself in a dilemma. ¡°... What do you want¡±.


    ¡°Nothing you can give me¡±.


    The silence returned once again.


    After a while .....


    ¡°Are you sure you want to end with that?¡± A regular question on the surface.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Hehe¡­". Lucifer chuckled.


    ¡°I don''t think I can take that for an answer¡±. His face displayed an easygoing smile that could charm even the most faithful of women. Threat, blatant threat.


    ¡°What a coincidence then ¡­.¡±. Amari responded, his face lighting up with a similar smile. ¡°..... I don''t think I care ¡­".


    Tap! Tap! Tap!


    ¡°Is that so .....¡±. The smile remained, but the atmosphere grew solemn.


    ¡°Do you think it would be wise to make an enemy of me because of a small matter?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps not. It''s a flabby excuse, really¡±.


    ¡°Then I''m curious. Why?¡±


    ¡°Simple. Because I don''t want to¡±. How does one leave the DC universe? Quite frankly, Amari had no idea.


    He barely knew how he entered.


    Apart from accumulating enough energy, he knew no other way to leave. The cost for transporting himself was already high enough, adding a Lucifer ...... Yeah, he didn''t even want to think about it.


    Not to mention, Leaving the DC universe meant possibly going to the main world. What good would it do to reveal that to the King of hell?


    So basically, unless there was another way, Lucifer leaving was unrealistic.


    Even if he wanted to help, option one wasn''t reliable and there was no option two. Would this narcissistic devil believe his words?


    The conversation was doomed before it even started. There was no point in making any fancy excuses. Amari didn''t want to reveal any of these things. No reason in particular, simply because he didn''t want to.


    ¡°What a shame indeed¡±. A regretful sigh escaped his lips. ¡°I was hoping this discussion could have a more ..... Fruitful result. But like I said, I can''t take that for an answer. And I always get what I want¡±.


    He said while standing from the chair.


    ¡°One way .......¡±. A pulse of energy emerged from his being.


    ¡°.... Or another .....¡±.


    Boom.