Infinite Justice: Beyond (Marvel,DC,DBZ X/Over, IC, Open)

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

The Runner narrowed his eyes for a moment then chuckled. "You're not a very good liar, Kryptonian. I'm guessing you need a refresher on recent events? After everything went down a while back, with Vannis and all, the GCD and GCPD coordinated to each take back half of the city. The GCD merged with the GCPD afterwards. The GCPD now has a new branch- The Runners, coordinated by Boxer, the GCD's old second in command. For a while, everything was quiet, with the exception of the Reclaimer going off the grid, until two days ago."

His expression became sombre. "Two days ago, the Joker set off seventeen bombs around Gotham City, flooding the city with his toxin and destroying Gotham General Hospital. He's in Arkham now, and everyone is trying to pick up the pieces. That's what I meant by Joker's attack."

He breathed deeply, calming himself, then sighed. "Any questions, Kryptonian?"

"You got me, though I don't know how you could did that."

And then he heard the explanation. Apparently, GCD and GCPD merged and became stronger and more in numbers, a lot of good things to go. However, then Joker set off seventeen bombs, around Gotham City. Flooding the city with his toxin and destroying hospital. Damages had been done and he's in Asylum now but it will be damned if it means city's safe.

"It's terrible, but acknowledged. Joker isn't exactly the sanest in crime department. Okay, so...what can I do to help?"

The Runner looked the Kryptonian up and down, then went to his radio. "Gordon, I've got a Mask offering his help. Get this- It's a Kryptonian."
"I'll be damned. Send him to the ruins of Gotham General. Who knows- He might even find survivors."
The Runner looked up at the Kryptonian. "You heard the man. After Gotham General was destroyed, a makeshift medical camp was set up around its ruins. They hold the same policy as the hospital did- They accept everyone, no questions asked. The old hospital was 15 stories tall, and there's a lot of people digging through its remains trying to find loved ones. Any chance you can help recover the bodies, give those families some closure?"

Boxer raised an eyebrow. "And like Runner-5 explained, helping us is helping the Bat. You wouldn't be joining the GCPD in any capacity- Do you know how much flak we'd get from the higher ups if we even considered hiring a Mask? Hell no." He shook his head. "Besides, did you think Red Robin was part of the GCPD? He's with Batman, not us. These teams are temporary alliances of Mask and my Runners that will be dissolved the moment their mission is complete. That was always the plan. Now, are you going to help us out or argue semantics all day?"

"I don't see where you're getting at with Arguing, I'd misheard and thought You'd want me to join, I Wasn't arguing with you. In anycase I'll join this alliance to help The Bat".

The Knight gestured his head towards the Assault File, "I'll take Assault". if Boxer gave The Knight the file, The Knight would take hold and inspect it, "I have to note, Boxer, you and Runner-5 set a better face for your Organization then the Runner you sent did".

Boxer handed him the file. When Knight mentioned the Runner he sent, he scowled. "Johnson lost three family members the night that the GCPD fell. He lost his wife and daughter two days ago in the Gotham General destruction. Everyone in Gotham has been through a hell of a lot, Knight, and I'd advise you to remember that."

Suddenly, just as Boxer finished his sentence, his radio came to life. This is Runner-Fifteen. I have eyes on a clown car at Seventh and Trainer, East Side. Six visible, estimated twenty plus, advise to call in the vests.

Boxer turned towards the map at the centre of the War Room. "Alright folks, we've got a Joker gang hideout at seven blocks north-east of Officer Jenson's recon point. Appears to be... An old warehouse on the docks. We move in five minutes. Knight! How many SWAT officers are you the equivalent of?"

[Confederation of imperial states]

"You got me, though I don't know how you could did that."

And then he heard the explanation. Apparently, GCD and GCPD merged and became stronger and more in numbers, a lot of good things to go. However, then Joker set off seventeen bombs, around Gotham City. Flooding the city with his toxin and destroying hospital. Damages had been done and he's in Asylum now but it will be damned if it means city's safe.

"It's terrible, but acknowledged. Joker isn't exactly the sanest in crime department. Okay, so...what can I do to help?"

The Runner looked the Kryptonian up and down, then went to his radio. "Gordon, I've got a Mask offering his help. Get this- It's a Kryptonian."
"I'll be damned. Send him to the ruins of Gotham General. Who knows- He might even find survivors."
The Runner looked up at the Kryptonian. "You heard the man. After Gotham General was destroyed, a makeshift medical camp was set up around its ruins. They hold the same policy as the hospital did- They accept everyone, no questions asked. The old hospital was 15 stories tall, and there's a lot of people digging through its remains trying to find loved ones. Any chance you can help recover the bodies, give those families some closure?"

"I don't see where you're getting at with Arguing, I'd misheard and thought You'd want me to join, I Wasn't arguing with you. In anycase I'll join this alliance to help The Bat".

The Knight gestured his head towards the Assault File, "I'll take Assault". if Boxer gave The Knight the file, The Knight would take hold and inspect it, "I have to note, Boxer, you and Runner-5 set a better face for your Organization then the Runner you sent did".

Boxer handed him the file. When Knight mentioned the Runner he sent, he scowled. "Johnson lost three family members the night that the GCPD fell. He lost his wife and daughter two days ago in the Gotham General destruction. Everyone in Gotham has been through a hell of a lot, Knight, and I'd advise you to remember that."

Suddenly, just as Boxer finished his sentence, his radio came to life. This is Runner-Fifteen. I have eyes on a clown car at Seventh and Trainer, East Side. Six visible, estimated twenty plus, advise to call in the vests.

Boxer turned towards the map at the centre of the War Room. "Alright folks, we've got a Joker gang hideout at seven blocks north-east of Officer Jenson's recon point. Appears to be... An old warehouse on the docks. We move in five minutes. Knight! How many SWAT officers are you the equivalent of?"

. "Johnson lost three family members the night that the GCPD fell. He lost his wife and daughter two days ago in the Gotham General destruction. Everyone in Gotham has been through a hell of a lot, Knight, and I'd advise you to remember that.", The Knight peered back up at Boxer, Equally Scowling. "You say that as if I should've Known that, Aswell that Wouldn't have been a Token for him to Berate and belittle the Acomplishments of The efforts of Me and The Chicago Police force in cutting down crime.". Boxer and The Knight were cut from conversation when the Rdio came to life,
This is Runner-Fifteen. I have eyes on a clown car at Seventh and Trainer, East Side. Six visible, estimated twenty plus, advise to call in the vests.,
Boxer turned towards the Map,
"lright folks, we've got a Joker gang hideout at seven blocks north-east of Officer Jenson's recon point. Appears to be... An old warehouse on the docks. We move in five minutes. Knight! How many SWAT officers are you the equivalent of?"".
"From what My Logistical Report says, Under Normal Circumstances, 30. When Pushed to need to move quickly and pick up the pace, more though It's not currently Estimated". The Knight pressed a button on his gauntlet, bringing up a small olographic hud where began serarchign through his files,
"I have some Air and Hearvy Armor Land Vehicular support that could back us up if need be", The Knight shut down the holographic hud and peered at Boxer, "Your choice if we need them or not".

[Mavorpen]

snip

"So the mighty Champion of Adai can smile." Jamal joked upon seeing her grin, though it was subtle enough that had he not been skilled in detecting even the slightest movements, he would have missed it. He took a drink from the cup. "You must take great pride in your tea. As very well you should." He watched her take the two kebabs and took a bite out of the one in his hand. "Hey, it's the least I can do considering you saving my life. Also, don't get me wrong, it's not like I hate the attention. I could get used to being a celebrity. Just need something like a huge ass guard dog to keep people away while I'm sleeping."

When Jamal heard about a city of Earth that Hadrians lived in, he was pretty surprised. Based off of what he'd seen, they were extremely secluded. Though, in retrospect, Earth was a major player in the universe these days and was already a place that was plenty diverse which provided an incentive for members from various races all over the universe to settle on the planet. "I suppose I'll have to visit one day. Maybe I'll get more free food." He stood up. "As much as I'd love to stick around and forever drink your tea and get free food, I have to take care of the bounty hunter problem as soon as possible. If you have time to see me off, feel free to. I'll leave in about two hours right after I do one more thing."

[Tomia]

The Dark Damned Heart

I can’t believe this. First Sam sticks me with housesitting during the most important mission of the rebellion’s history, and now she orders me to sit down and write in this damn journal again. I hate just sitting around and doing nothing while the demon and its army are out there, causing misery and death everywhere they go. But I guess I might as well get this bullshit over with.

We woke up the next morning after arriving back at JQ tower. The place had been my home for over two years at that point. Usually I loved being back home and it filled me with a feeling of comfort and safety. This time however things felt eerie and strange. I barely slept and my heart was racing the whole night.

I had barely fallen asleep when I was once again awoken by a knocking sound on my door. I rubbed the sleep from eyes and went to open the door. When I did, I saw Hannah standing in front of me in her pajamas. She looked like she was having just as much trouble sleeping as I was. She was looking paler than usual, her bottom lip trembling a bit as she started to speak.

“I couldn’t sleep… nightmares.” She told me softly, wrapping her arms around me and resting her head on my chest.
I wrapped my arms around her, “Do you want to stay in my room tonight?” I ask her softly, and she nodded her head against my chest in response. I led her inside and closed the door behind us. I laid back down in bed and Hannah snuggled in next to me. We were quite for a few moments before I finally spoke up, “What was your nightmare about?” I asked her, and she was quite for a while before finally responding.
“There was this, horrible, horrible, monster. It was this giant black dragon, with piercing red dragons. He surrounded me, I couldn’t escape. Then I saw… I saw you dead. Sam, Sarah, John, all of you. You were dead and the dragon told me it was my fault.” She was shaking now and it was clear that there were tears rolling down her cheeks even though I couldn’t see them directly. That was shocking for me, because Hannah never cried. That was the first time I had ever even seen it.

I wrapped my arms around her tightly and pressed my lips to her forehead. “We’ll all safe Hannah, I promise. I know you’re scared, but I’m here for you. I’ll always be here for you.” She nodded softly wiping her tears a way.

“I love you Roy”. She said softly.

“I love you too.” I said back and soon after that we fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Looking back at that moment is difficult for me. I lied to her. I failed, and I couldn’t protect her. But let’s just move on.

We woke up the next morning, laying peacefully in each other’s arms. I leaned down and kissed Hannah on the lips. “Morning” I said after breaking the kiss.

She gave her usual wolfish grin, despite her fears and replied, “Morning”.

Our quiet moment was ruined however as we heard shouting and the loud crashing of objects outside. I quickly rolled out of bed, grabbing my staff and running out of bed, Hannah following behind me.

When we arrived outside we saw Sarah and Sam facing off against some black specter who had created a small whirlwind within the tower, making furniture and appliances fly all around. I shouted at Hannah to stay back before I charged forward and began firing my dark energy at the monster as well. “What do you want?” I shouted as I attacked.

“The girl! Give me the girl!” He shrieked wildly, sending a kitchen chair toward me. Katie knocked it away with a blast of electricity before fusing with Cora. The cyborg/mutant duo then charge the monster with incredible speed, while Sam managed to bind in a magical trap. Cora beat the monster to a pulp before it collapsed helplessly on the ground.

We all approached it slowly, and as we did it began to speak, “The Demon will rise, and bring the age of darkness. You… Are… All… Doomed.” With that it disintegrated in some weird dark energy, leaving us all to ponder on its eerie message.

You know what, this is ridiculous. I shouldn’t be sitting around writing in this damn diary. I have a world to save. I… I have to keep my promise.

Fuck this, I’m out of here.
-Roy Damon

Chapter 5

The invasion force left the safety of their underground fortress at the first break of light in the morning. They would have left earlier, but darkness was not their friend in this war. Darkness fought for the other side.

Commander Grimm was that the head of a large contingent of troops, most of them regular humans trained with powerful demon killing weapons thanks to the work of Craig, Mars, Xander and the others in the Resistance’s science and magic division. There were a few council members and superheroes among the army, but they were very obviously few and far between. The troops noticed this as well, and it gave them grim understanding that they were just pawns in this battle, one that it seemed they had very little chance of willing. Their leader was aware of how they would feel, but it was the price she needed to pay, to give them any hope of victory.

Alongside Samantha Grimm were her closet lieutenants for this battle, Katie, Naja, and Xander who were talking over battle strategies and preparing for the brutal fight that would surely be waiting for them when they arrived at the occupied city of Gotham. Also next to Sam was DeeDee, who looked far less grim and anxious than the others. For her, this nothing more than a fun adventure that would allow her to fight some fellow demons. She genuinely had little interest in the outcome other than she knew victory would make CeeCee and Sam happy, and keep them alive.

The road to Gotham from New York City was not a pleasant one, especially the path that the army was taking to avoid detection. Destroyed bridges and villages littered the path of their travels. Mutilated corpses and burned rubber and wood filled the air with horrible smells making most people cringe and some even vomit. However Sam remained stoic, her facial features unchanging, and told nothing of the thoughts that were going on in her mind. The young leader had grown much in the two and a half years since that faithful day in Egypt. The now 24 year old Sam had lost much of the childish innocence that she had once held. She had now seen all the horrors that the world could throw at her and she faced them with a cold fury that might give even the Demon pause.

Truly, Sam had grown into one of the most feared magic users in the world. When her sister was lost to the Demon, Sam had seemingly disappeared for a year, alone with DeeDee. In that year Sam spent nearly every hour honing her skills and when she returned to the world, she returned with powers that rivaled her own mentor. She would need those skills now, if she hoped to be able to defeat Klarion, who she had no doubt would challenge her to personal combat. Klarion was proud, arrogant and childish, he’d want to prove his strength by beating her by himself.

Suddenly though she paused a bit, here stone demeanor fading for only an instant as a faint voice filled her mind. It sounded like... It couldn't have been... It sounded like Hannah. Sam pushed that from her mind however, it was just her memories haunting her once more.

Sam tried to get out of her own head and turned slightly to her left and saw Katie, walking silently next to her. The mutant’s usual bubbly and energetic attitude was replaced with an intense amount of nervous energy, and Sam knew why. “It’s going to be alright Katie, Cora is with good company, and she can protect herself.” The leader said to Katie, knowing exactly what she was worried about.

Katie seemed a little startled by Sam’s words but nodded slowly, “I know that she can take care of herself, it’s just… The city is such a dangerous place, and Android 22 is there. I just… can’t lose her.” Katie told the commander, fear clearly in her eyes. Cora and Lizzy were the most important things in the world to her, and she didn’t know what she would do if she lost either of them.

Naja then spoke up, “Ya Katie, you need to focus on the fight at hand. Cora cares just as much about you as you do her. She wouldn’t want you to be distracted.” The inhuman told her friend, trying to get her to focus. Katie nodded, though she was unable to shake the bit of nervousness out of her eyes.

Suddenly Sam received a message on the modified cell phones that Mars had made them. It was a coded message from Alpha Squad. Sam read it over intensely but said nothing of its contents, despite the curious looks from her lieutenants.
Soon, the army made its way toward the edges of Gotham City. The city was a shadow of its former self. Its buildings had mostly crumbled, and its population was all but gone. The ones that remained were slaves, turned into darkhearts and forced to fight and work for the Demon’s army. What was once the jewel of the East Coast, was now a waste land of death and suffering.

The rebel army approached the once great Amerigold Columbus Bridge, which was now turned into a large barricade with the flag of a black axe dripping blood on a white background flew in the distance.

In front of the barricade stood dozens of demons, taking various shapes and sizes. Some looked like humanoid giants, and others were in the twisted image of animals such as rhinos and gorillas. The more human like among them wielded massive hammers, swords, and axes, all made out of demonic energy. In front of the demon horde stood a short man dressed in a tight fighting business suit. He had grey skin and an elvish looking appearance. On his shoulder sat a large cat, who was curled around its master territorially.

Sam’s eyes narrowed as she saw him, focused on the smug grin that he held. It was Klarion the Witch Boy, and the battle was about to begin. As the rebel army approached the bridge, Sam lead them, during the best to ignore the gnawing pit in her stomach. Her troops were already terrified, they could not afford to see weakness in their leader now.

When he the approaching army, Klarion let out a devilish cackle and suddenly the sky around them began to darken. Sam heard Xander scoff at the cheap parlor trick that the lord of chaos was preforming. “Show off,” He muttered under his breath. Sam didn’t smile however, her eyes were fixed on her opponent.

“Come on Grimm!” The witch boy cackled. “Let’s do this already, I’m bored!” He cackled as the demons behind him gave out animalist roars before charging toward the rebel army. Klarion raised his arms and created a massive fire ball that he flung toward the invading army with ease.

The FEA troops gave out a terrified gasp before Sam raised her hand and a massive wall of ice was raised in front of them and then shot towards Klarion’s ball of fire as both objects destroyed each other and released a ball of steam onto the battlefield. The FEA let out a roar of approval and then Sam shouted out in a magical roar, “Charge!” She called as her troops let out a battle cry before running to meet the demon army head on.

Sam’s lieutenants sprang into action as well. Katie shot massive blasts of electricity towards the enemy legions, frying dozens of them at a time. Naja charged into the fray with the troops, smashing her fists into any enemy she saw and created large energy blasts to destroy some of the larger demons nearby. Xander and DeeDee were both using their magic to cause as much chaos as possible. Xander created a hail storm that rained down on the enemies, while DeeDee created a small tornado that sucked up and tossed any demon who crossed its path. She also began grabbing any demon she could and casting a strange spell that would pacify them and make them act sporadically.

The rebel army was making good progress, but they knew this was not enough, they’re ground troops were not as strong as the heroes, and the Demon’s armies were nearly endless. However, they knew they had to keep fighting if they wanted any hope of survival.

Commander Grimm charged forward at Klarion, who ran towards her in return. He sent another blast of fire her way, which she returned with a deadly blast of ice. The two forces met, which resulted in a loud bang that resonated for miles.

The Battle for Gotham had begun.

[Charmera]

Ephilia - Fallen Goddess Of Rebirth

Since the beginning of the conflict, Ephilia had watched on with amusement as the Celestial's launched strategy after strategy against the horde. Clever perhaps, but strategy meant nothing against insurmountable odds and nigh infinite numbers. The weight of hundreds of fallen Galaxy's slammed against the Celestial's defenses, and with time, cracks would emerge that they would readily exploit. For the duration of this battle, Ephilia had delegated command of the hordes to the Greater Succubi and Incubi. In the background, Ephilia would look for the commanders of the Celestial forces and deal with them herself. She wouldn't be waiting long it seemed.

The last thing Ephilia expected was a counter charge against the horde. The zeal of the enemy was enough to almost shatter the morale of the advance legions, but it mattered not. For every fallen demon or 'fallen', seven more were ready to take their place. The Celestial's seemed to realize this as well, and while they put up a ferocious fight, they slowly began to falter against superior numbers. When cracks formed in the enemy formation, the horde would swiftly move to fill it and isolate parts of the Celestial's forces. From there, they would descend upon the enemy and crush them. It was a slow strategy, but in a battle of attrition, the horde was superior.

Despite overwhelming losses, Ephilia looked on with excitement at the carnage before her. Her fellow remaining Ilumni had aligned themselves with the defenders instead of joining her like so many had already done. While disappointing, they would prove a valuable addition to the casualty count. With luck, perhaps Ephilia would be able to add some to her collection.

Then the angelic reinforcements arrived, and Ephilia found that it was time to intervene a bit. With a bit of magic, she effortlessly opened numerous portals above the battle, and to the ire of the defenders, even more waves of of 'fallen' poured out. Dark Angels and Ilumni riding fell beasts sprang forth from their residence within Ephlilia's personal plane.

"Go forth, and deal with this interlopers who seek to disrupt my attempts at rebirth for this Universe!" She rallied her forces with such simple words, and horde found itself invigorated mainly from the magick's of their goddess. As the battle began to swing into its final phase with the reinforcements between each side clashing in a brutal engagement, Ephilia turned her gaze to the Ilumni who had managed to charge through her forces. Figures that it would take her own race to be able to confront her. The horde ignored the two Ilumni, instead focusing on decimating the remaining Celestial's that were putting up a 'glorious last stand'.

"Ephilia, I presume?"

The fallen Goddess smiled at her fellow Ilumni that stood ready to strike her down.

"My my my, how observant. Yes, that would be I. Now, since this battle is coming to a close, I recommend you yield, and perhaps you'll find yourselves content with your brethren in my new Universe." Ephilia extended her hand in welcome.

"I hope you'll accept my invitation. I'm sure you'll make wonderful additions to my new reality. Otherwise...it'd be unfortunate if I had to..." she narrowed her eyes and licked her lips in anticipation. "Get violent."

"Yield?" Akura laughed. "So, let me see if I understand this correctly. You think that we fought through your hordes, had most of our friends killed in front of us, so we could yield to you?" She asked. "Exactly, how far is your head up you own ass?"

"We choose violence of course." Spoke Thora, her whip of blood cracking by itself. "A little bloodshed never hurt anyone." She spoke. She cracked her whip at Ephalia, a whip that had seared through entire mortal armies with the same effort one gives to tearing tissue paper. Meanwhile Akura got ready to exploit an opening.

[Imperial--japan]

Ephilia - Fallen Goddess Of Rebirth

Since the beginning of the conflict, Ephilia had watched on with amusement as the Celestial's launched strategy after strategy against the horde. Clever perhaps, but strategy meant nothing against insurmountable odds and nigh infinite numbers. The weight of hundreds of fallen Galaxy's slammed against the Celestial's defenses, and with time, cracks would emerge that they would readily exploit. For the duration of this battle, Ephilia had delegated command of the hordes to the Greater Succubi and Incubi. In the background, Ephilia would look for the commanders of the Celestial forces and deal with them herself. She wouldn't be waiting long it seemed.

The last thing Ephilia expected was a counter charge against the horde. The zeal of the enemy was enough to almost shatter the morale of the advance legions, but it mattered not. For every fallen demon or 'fallen', seven more were ready to take their place. The Celestial's seemed to realize this as well, and while they put up a ferocious fight, they slowly began to falter against superior numbers. When cracks formed in the enemy formation, the horde would swiftly move to fill it and isolate parts of the Celestial's forces. From there, they would descend upon the enemy and crush them. It was a slow strategy, but in a battle of attrition, the horde was superior.

Despite overwhelming losses, Ephilia looked on with excitement at the carnage before her. Her fellow remaining Ilumni had aligned themselves with the defenders instead of joining her like so many had already done. While disappointing, they would prove a valuable addition to the casualty count. With luck, perhaps Ephilia would be able to add some to her collection.

Then the angelic reinforcements arrived, and Ephilia found that it was time to intervene a bit. With a bit of magic, she effortlessly opened numerous portals above the battle, and to the ire of the defenders, even more waves of of 'fallen' poured out. Dark Angels and Ilumni riding fell beasts sprang forth from their residence within Ephlilia's personal plane.

"Go forth, and deal with this interlopers who seek to disrupt my attempts at rebirth for this Universe!" She rallied her forces with such simple words, and horde found itself invigorated mainly from the magick's of their goddess. As the battle began to swing into its final phase with the reinforcements between each side clashing in a brutal engagement, Ephilia turned her gaze to the Ilumni who had managed to charge through her forces. Figures that it would take her own race to be able to confront her. The horde ignored the two Ilumni, instead focusing on decimating the remaining Celestial's that were putting up a 'glorious last stand'.

"Ephilia, I presume?"

The fallen Goddess smiled at her fellow Ilumni that stood ready to strike her down.

"My my my, how observant. Yes, that would be I. Now, since this battle is coming to a close, I recommend you yield, and perhaps you'll find yourselves content with your brethren in my new Universe." Ephilia extended her hand in welcome.

"I hope you'll accept my invitation. I'm sure you'll make wonderful additions to my new reality. Otherwise...it'd be unfortunate if I had to..." she narrowed her eyes and licked her lips in anticipation. "Get violent."

"Yield?" Akura laughed. "So, let me see if I understand this correctly. You think that we fought through your hordes, had most of our friends killed in front of us, so we could yield to you?" She asked. "Exactly, how far is your head up you own ass?"

"We choose violence of course." Spoke Thora, her whip of blood cracking by itself. "A little bloodshed never hurt anyone." She spoke. She cracked her whip at Ephalia, a whip that had seared through entire mortal armies with the same effort one gives to tearing tissue paper. Meanwhile Akura got ready to exploit an opening.

Ephilia's smile disappeared almost instantaneously following the insults projected by her fellow Ilumni. How dare they speak that way to her? She remembered when they were but little deity's, vying for control over their people. She remembered before they became full fledged goddess' of an entire people. Ephilia refused to allow this slight against her to be taken so lightly.

"I'll show little ingrates like you where they belong!" Ephilia shouted angrily. Extending her hand, she grabbed the whip and held onto it firmly. From where Ephilia was, a tendril of darkness began to slither down the whip towards Thora. It appeared as though it was consuming the whip itself and it had every intent on binding Thora in place. Using her other hand, Ephilia shot forth a bolt of pure black energy towards Akura.

[Altito Asmoro]

"You got me, though I don't know how you could did that."

And then he heard the explanation. Apparently, GCD and GCPD merged and became stronger and more in numbers, a lot of good things to go. However, then Joker set off seventeen bombs, around Gotham City. Flooding the city with his toxin and destroying hospital. Damages had been done and he's in Asylum now but it will be damned if it means city's safe.

"It's terrible, but acknowledged. Joker isn't exactly the sanest in crime department. Okay, so...what can I do to help?"

The Runner looked the Kryptonian up and down, then went to his radio. "Gordon, I've got a Mask offering his help. Get this- It's a Kryptonian."
"I'll be damned. Send him to the ruins of Gotham General. Who knows- He might even find survivors."
The Runner looked up at the Kryptonian. "You heard the man. After Gotham General was destroyed, a makeshift medical camp was set up around its ruins. They hold the same policy as the hospital did- They accept everyone, no questions asked. The old hospital was 15 stories tall, and there's a lot of people digging through its remains trying to find loved ones. Any chance you can help recover the bodies, give those families some closure?"

"Sure, I'll go right away to the hospital," said Len as he flew away to the sky and into the direction of the hospital. He didn't needed to asked, he knew the location only when he saw it. It should be full of ruins, and full of people, but how to help them? By pretending to be a civilian, or a paramedic? Regardless, soon he arrived at the location. People are running all around to help the rescue process and by opening his eyes to the X-Ray, he saw people under the rubble, not many alive.

He rushed into the ruins, and although some surprised they tried to stopped him, thinking he is...someone evil. "Out of my way, human. Unless you want to get squashed," and moved on, eventually reached the location of the rubble. He cautiously lifted few of the rubble, eventually found few dead and few alive.

"I need a hand here, to rescue the alive and dead ones. I'll lift the ruins alongside others, but some have to get them to medics!"

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

The Runner looked the Kryptonian up and down, then went to his radio. "Gordon, I've got a Mask offering his help. Get this- It's a Kryptonian."
"I'll be damned. Send him to the ruins of Gotham General. Who knows- He might even find survivors."
The Runner looked up at the Kryptonian. "You heard the man. After Gotham General was destroyed, a makeshift medical camp was set up around its ruins. They hold the same policy as the hospital did- They accept everyone, no questions asked. The old hospital was 15 stories tall, and there's a lot of people digging through its remains trying to find loved ones. Any chance you can help recover the bodies, give those families some closure?"


Boxer handed him the file. When Knight mentioned the Runner he sent, he scowled. "Johnson lost three family members the night that the GCPD fell. He lost his wife and daughter two days ago in the Gotham General destruction. Everyone in Gotham has been through a hell of a lot, Knight, and I'd advise you to remember that."

Suddenly, just as Boxer finished his sentence, his radio came to life. This is Runner-Fifteen. I have eyes on a clown car at Seventh and Trainer, East Side. Six visible, estimated twenty plus, advise to call in the vests.

Boxer turned towards the map at the centre of the War Room. "Alright folks, we've got a Joker gang hideout at seven blocks north-east of Officer Jenson's recon point. Appears to be... An old warehouse on the docks. We move in five minutes. Knight! How many SWAT officers are you the equivalent of?"

. "Johnson lost three family members the night that the GCPD fell. He lost his wife and daughter two days ago in the Gotham General destruction. Everyone in Gotham has been through a hell of a lot, Knight, and I'd advise you to remember that.", The Knight peered back up at Boxer, Equally Scowling. "You say that as if I should've Known that, Aswell that Wouldn't have been a Token for him to Berate and belittle the Acomplishments of The efforts of Me and The Chicago Police force in cutting down crime.". Boxer and The Knight were cut from conversation when the Rdio came to life,
This is Runner-Fifteen. I have eyes on a clown car at Seventh and Trainer, East Side. Six visible, estimated twenty plus, advise to call in the vests.,
Boxer turned towards the Map,
"Alright folks, we've got a Joker gang hideout at seven blocks north-east of Officer Jenson's recon point. Appears to be... An old warehouse on the docks. We move in five minutes. Knight! How many SWAT officers are you the equivalent of?"".
"From what My Logistical Report says, Under Normal Circumstances, 30. When Pushed to need to move quickly and pick up the pace, more though It's not currently Estimated". The Knight pressed a button on his gauntlet, bringing up a small holographic hud where began serarching through his files,
"I have some Air and Hearvy Armor Land Vehicular support that could back us up if need be", The Knight shut down the holographic hud and peered at Boxer, "Your choice if we need them or not".

Not even going to ask where the hell he's storing that kind of tech in Gotham. Boxer sighed. "We're going in quiet, Knight, not guns blazing. He pressed his hand against the wall, opening a hatch with twin customized pistols as well as a bulletproof vest and assorted other equipment inside. He holstered the two guns and began taking out the rest of it. "We need intel more than body bags."

The Runner looked the Kryptonian up and down, then went to his radio. "Gordon, I've got a Mask offering his help. Get this- It's a Kryptonian."
"I'll be damned. Send him to the ruins of Gotham General. Who knows- He might even find survivors."
The Runner looked up at the Kryptonian. "You heard the man. After Gotham General was destroyed, a makeshift medical camp was set up around its ruins. They hold the same policy as the hospital did- They accept everyone, no questions asked. The old hospital was 15 stories tall, and there's a lot of people digging through its remains trying to find loved ones. Any chance you can help recover the bodies, give those families some closure?"

"Sure, I'll go right away to the hospital," said Len as he flew away to the sky and into the direction of the hospital. He didn't needed to asked, he knew the location only when he saw it. It should be full of ruins, and full of people, but how to help them? By pretending to be a civilian, or a paramedic? Regardless, soon he arrived at the location. People are running all around to help the rescue process and by opening his eyes to the X-Ray, he saw people under the rubble, not many alive.

He rushed into the ruins, and although some surprised they tried to stopped him, thinking he is...someone evil. "Out of my way, human. Unless you want to get squashed," and moved on, eventually reached the location of the rubble. He cautiously lifted few of the rubble, eventually found few dead and few alive.

"I need a hand here, to rescue the alive and dead ones. I'll lift the ruins alongside others, but some have to get them to medics!"

Some civilians came to drag the bodies and assist the survivors, but one in particular simply stared at Len. "Medics? Who the hell do you think was in the hospital? We don't have any damn medics!" The civilian scowled. "We're doing the best we can, but we have no gear, no surgeons, no medevac, and no damn hope. You masks think you're so high and mighty! If it weren't for you guys, maniacs like the Joker wouldn't be around! This is your fault!" The civilian picked up a rock and threw it desperately at the Kryptonian with all his strength, not knowing it would do nothing, and not caring regardless. All that mattered was that he finally had an outlet to express his rage. The nearest people, with the exception of the ones dragging people out of the rubble, stopped and stared.

[Altito Asmoro]

"Sure, I'll go right away to the hospital," said Len as he flew away to the sky and into the direction of the hospital. He didn't needed to asked, he knew the location only when he saw it. It should be full of ruins, and full of people, but how to help them? By pretending to be a civilian, or a paramedic? Regardless, soon he arrived at the location. People are running all around to help the rescue process and by opening his eyes to the X-Ray, he saw people under the rubble, not many alive.

He rushed into the ruins, and although some surprised they tried to stopped him, thinking he is...someone evil. "Out of my way, human. Unless you want to get squashed," and moved on, eventually reached the location of the rubble. He cautiously lifted few of the rubble, eventually found few dead and few alive.

"I need a hand here, to rescue the alive and dead ones. I'll lift the ruins alongside others, but some have to get them to medics!"

Some civilians came to drag the bodies and assist the survivors, but one in particular simply stared at Len. "Medics? Who the hell do you think was in the hospital? We don't have any damn medics!" The civilian scowled. "We're doing the best we can, but we have no gear, no surgeons, no medevac, and no damn hope. You masks think you're so high and mighty! If it weren't for you guys, maniacs like the Joker wouldn't be around! This is your fault!" The civilian picked up a rock and threw it desperately at the Kryptonian with all his strength, not knowing it would do nothing, and not caring regardless. All that mattered was that he finally had an outlet to express his rage. The nearest people, with the exception of the ones dragging people out of the rubble, stopped and stared.

Len-El

Len stopped. He stopped doing anything. He turned his head to the civilian who threw stone at him.

"Don't you see what just happened? I AM TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE! Don't you ever understand? Why you always looked down at heroes? And do you think if there are no heroes, you'll be safe? Do you think Joker will let you live? Penguin? Two-Face? Huh?" said Len as he walked to the man, and stare him face to face.

"But you're right, this is my fault. I should arrive sooner. I should arrive sooner, so that I can," said Len as he thrust his fist to the man's heart, and then he pulled his fist back, the man's heart on his hand right now, "so that I can kill you. Zod was right, it is wrong to trust humans." as the man fell down.

"Anybody else?" and Len smiling happily.

[Illica Falki]

Eva sighed to herself, Of course when she decides to go to Gotham, it all goes downhill. She went to Gotham hoping for some more action then what was going on New York, and to be fair she got what she wanted, and more.
Right now she was scouting the docks, which is considered one of the more important areas of the criminal underworld, so it seems like a good place to start looking for some way to get involved. It doesn't take her long to find a crew in a Container yard, dressed in clown make-up of all things. Deciding to scout out crew before attacking, she activates her repaired optical camo, and slowly sneaks along the containers, trying to gain some Intel on the group before attaching.
The Crew is made up of Six Goons, Four are standing around each other, chatting about something, One is standing guard in front of a rather small container, compared to the others in the yard. The Last one is standing between the group and the guard, keeping an eye on what they are all doing. Given the markings and positioning, the last guy is probably the Head goon. The crews weapons seems to mostly consist of bats and hand guns, with the larger munition like Assault Rifles being set off to the side of the small container.
Another thing Eva noticed, the small group of goons is standing in a quite large puddle, that stretches to just underneath the Container she's on top of. Getting a wonderful idea, she decides to act on it now, instead of waiting for the odds to change. Turning off her Optical camo, taking out her sword and unfolding her crossbow, she hops down into the puddle, landing with a splash. That, obviously draws the entire crews attention, but before they can react she quick fires a tranquilizer dart at the Goon guarding the container and presses the sword into the puddle, and turning on the power. The Dart hits the goon right in the shoulder, and the group in the puddle is dropped almost immediately. Eva stands up, completely unscathed from the electricity, and throws her sword at the lead goon, stunning him long enough for her to rush him and deliver a kick straight to his stomach.
Eva lets out a sigh, "That was easier then I thought", she mutters to herself, almost disappointing by how easy it was. She Not wasting any more time, she used the rope she kept on her as climbing tool to tie up the thugs, and and picking up on of their phones to alert the Police. after alerting the Authorities, curiosity hits and she goes to check small container. Of course, it's locked, and she doesn't have anything to break a lock, so decides to leave it for now, the Police will be here any moment, and she'd rather not go through the full questioning session. She activates her optical camo and heads a good distance away, just to keep an eye out till the Police Arrive.

[Galnius]

snip

Marybeth creeped up the stairs of the JQ, muting her footsteps the whole way. Besides the fact that she was carrying presents for people, she also wanted to about awkward questions about money. Going to her room, she placed the gifts she could bring home on top of her bed. However, lying there quickly became supremely boring, this making her choose to brave the recreation area, at least as she called it. If anyone brought up the car, she would just mute them. Easy as pie. However, upon arriving, she only saw one girl, who she didn't recognize. Unknown to her, this was Jamie. "Uhhh, hey, I don't think I've introduced myself to you yet. I'm a Marybeth. And you are...?" Great, now I need to get another present .

[Charmera]

"Yield?" Akura laughed. "So, let me see if I understand this correctly. You think that we fought through your hordes, had most of our friends killed in front of us, so we could yield to you?" She asked. "Exactly, how far is your head up you own ass?"

"We choose violence of course." Spoke Thora, her whip of blood cracking by itself. "A little bloodshed never hurt anyone." She spoke. She cracked her whip at Ephalia, a whip that had seared through entire mortal armies with the same effort one gives to tearing tissue paper. Meanwhile Akura got ready to exploit an opening.

Ephilia's smile disappeared almost instantaneously following the insults projected by her fellow Ilumni. How dare they speak that way to her? She remembered when they were but little deity's, vying for control over their people. She remembered before they became full fledged goddess' of an entire people. Ephilia refused to allow this slight against her to be taken so lightly.

"I'll show little ingrates like you where they belong!" Ephilia shouted angrily. Extending her hand, she grabbed the whip and held onto it firmly. From where Ephilia was, a tendril of darkness began to slither down the whip towards Thora. It appeared as though it was consuming the whip itself and it had every intent on binding Thora in place. Using her other hand, Ephilia shot forth a bolt of pure black energy towards Akura.

Now was a good time for her training to be used.

She was not the first leader of the Ilumni last alliance. The other was a much older being, who died not to Ephilia, but to a disease. Before that though, she taught Akura "Purification." Turning corruption to purity, darkness to light. But she didn't wish for her training to be revealed. No, she had to wait before she used it on Ephilia herself.

She quickly summoned a sheild, which blocked the bolt at the cost of the sheild. She then sped towards Ephilia before she could counter attack and summoned a sword, flanking her while she had one arm occupied with Thora's whip. She slashed at her foe, imbuing her blade with some of her purification power subtly.

[Confederation of imperial states]

. "Johnson lost three family members the night that the GCPD fell. He lost his wife and daughter two days ago in the Gotham General destruction. Everyone in Gotham has been through a hell of a lot, Knight, and I'd advise you to remember that.", The Knight peered back up at Boxer, Equally Scowling. "You say that as if I should've Known that, Aswell that Wouldn't have been a Token for him to Berate and belittle the Acomplishments of The efforts of Me and The Chicago Police force in cutting down crime.". Boxer and The Knight were cut from conversation when the Rdio came to life,
This is Runner-Fifteen. I have eyes on a clown car at Seventh and Trainer, East Side. Six visible, estimated twenty plus, advise to call in the vests.,
Boxer turned towards the Map,
"Alright folks, we've got a Joker gang hideout at seven blocks north-east of Officer Jenson's recon point. Appears to be... An old warehouse on the docks. We move in five minutes. Knight! How many SWAT officers are you the equivalent of?"".
"From what My Logistical Report says, Under Normal Circumstances, 30. When Pushed to need to move quickly and pick up the pace, more though It's not currently Estimated". The Knight pressed a button on his gauntlet, bringing up a small holographic hud where began serarching through his files,
"I have some Air and Hearvy Armor Land Vehicular support that could back us up if need be", The Knight shut down the holographic hud and peered at Boxer, "Your choice if we need them or not".

Not even going to ask where the hell he's storing that kind of tech in Gotham. Boxer sighed. "We're going in quiet, Knight, not guns blazing. He pressed his hand against the wall, opening a hatch with twin customized pistols as well as a bulletproof vest and assorted other equipment inside. He holstered the two guns and began taking out the rest of it. "We need intel more than body bags."

"We need intel more than Body Bags", The Knight gave a stern face to the remark.

"I don't Condone Killling Boxer", The Knight paused as Boxer put on his equipment, The Knighbt opened up the small holographic display on his right gautnlet, beginning to search through some files. "The vehicular Support is armed with Nonlethal Munitions It wouldn't kill". The Knight began to search through the City's schematics, trying to find some of the Hideout's structure. "I'll try to find some Entry Points for us. ona note of getting there, should we take your trasnport or mine?".

[Imperial--japan]

Ephilia's smile disappeared almost instantaneously following the insults projected by her fellow Ilumni. How dare they speak that way to her? She remembered when they were but little deity's, vying for control over their people. She remembered before they became full fledged goddess' of an entire people. Ephilia refused to allow this slight against her to be taken so lightly.

"I'll show little ingrates like you where they belong!" Ephilia shouted angrily. Extending her hand, she grabbed the whip and held onto it firmly. From where Ephilia was, a tendril of darkness began to slither down the whip towards Thora. It appeared as though it was consuming the whip itself and it had every intent on binding Thora in place. Using her other hand, Ephilia shot forth a bolt of pure black energy towards Akura.

Now was a good time for her training to be used.

She was not the first leader of the Ilumni last alliance. The other was a much older being, who died not to Ephilia, but to a disease. Before that though, she taught Akura "Purification." Turning corruption to purity, darkness to light. But she didn't wish for her training to be revealed. No, she had to wait before she used it on Ephilia herself.

She quickly summoned a sheild, which blocked the bolt at the cost of the sheild. She then sped towards Ephilia before she could counter attack and summoned a sword, flanking her while she had one arm occupied with Thora's whip. She slashed at her foe, imbuing her blade with some of her purification power subtly.

It was almost sad how badly they underestimated Ephilia. The Goddess let go of the whip, but the tendril of darkness continued along the whip as though it had a mind of its own. It sought to devour whatever was on the other end of the weapon. Ephilia's instant transmission in front of Thora came as a surprise to the young Goddess and Ephilia smiled at her before planting a kiss on her lips. Her tongue expertly dominated Thora's as she sapped the willpower from the girl, and after what felt like ages to Thora did Ephilia break their kiss.

"I can assure you, there's much more where that came from my dear," she assured and caressed Thora's cheek. The look in the Goddess' eyes was almost lifeless, as if all form of resistance that she held before had been purged from her body. Thora nodded eagerly, and Ephilia gave her another peck on the cheek.

"Now, kill your dear friend. Will you?" Ephilia asked Thora and the latter nodded in ascent. The tendril of darkness, now merged with the whip, lashed out towards Akura at Thora's command. Ephila stood behind Thora, eager to see the former comrades fight each other.

"It's not too late little Akura. I can make you more powerful than you could ever dream. There's still a place for you in my new reality." Ephilia reiterated. She didn't expect Akura to relent, but it was worth a shot. If Thora was to fall in combat, then Ephilia would simply force Akura to become her champion next. It was a continual proccess.

[Charmera]

"The emperess is attempting to buy us time. She's commanding troops on the surface. They are weathering the first wave, though they are merely testing our defenses. Make no mistake, this is a final stand for many of us. Though I will try to see if she's aviable to talk or assist you. She very much would like to meet you" Soran remarked. "There are two other things that need to be done as well, if you do not mind of course." He spoke. "One, there is a weapon deep within this planet we believe the slimes may want. And two, we believe they may be summoning their... God. Stopping them may be in your interests as well in that case."

The princess looked up at Togara. She got up, nodding slightly. She was tall, about seven feet tall. The empress was even taller it was said, about the same height as the king. The Princess bowed. "It is an honour to meet you." She spoke with a soft and nervous voice. She was trained, but not tested in combat.

Marriac looked at Soran curiously, "Summoning their god? What exactly do you mean by that? Regardless, we will help you in the fight against these slim creatures. If you wish, I can send troops after this weapon of yours, and then the rest of my forces shall join your fight against these creatures to stop them from summoning their so called god." Marriac told him. "And do not bother the Empress if she is in battle, I was just merely wondering if she would be escaping with us. It would be a shame for her to be lost as well."

Meanwhile, Togora watched as the princess stood to greet him. She was quite beautiful, and around his height. He bowed his head slightly in respect. "My name is Togara your highness, son of King Marriac of the Yazara. We're here to protect you and take you away from the approaching invaders." He told her simply, and probably a little more calmly than was usual for this kind of situation. Togara had very little fear in death, and saw battle as just a part of life.

"Sounds like a good plan. We can prepare shuttles immediately."

"I am princess... Or... soon to be empress Yura." She spoke, bowing in response. "I understand. Though the Xyrixma may not let us go that easily. In adition we need to help evacuate the other civilians..."

-snip-

-snip-

The Princess and the Hulk
The Fall of Kandar

The princess and the Hulk arrived in the signature flash of rainbow that signified that they had been teleported via the Bifrost Bridge. They were above the planet, and not too far below they saw the giant forms of the Xyrixma battling much smaller figures. "Mother will be most displeased to hear this. Perhaps we should have ended it all there, upon Asgard when they first came," Valveig commented, beginning to draw out her sword.

"You know that even Valka could not have ended it there, not after the queen of the Xyrixima reduced her Godblast to nothing. It will take a full alliance to defeat the Xyrixma, and perhaps this will serve as a wakeup call." Erza countered

Valveig nodded absentmindedly, cocking her head, as if listening to something. "The wind speaks of an empire, Kandar, that will soon be reduced to naught. The Xyrixma have already conquered many of their outworlds, and now, they seek to take the capital world. It is also said that the Slimes may be summoning their god, which does not bode well, but my mother will wish to know of this. The Kandarian fleet has been destroyed, and members of the Yazara have come, to evacuate as many Kandarians as possible."

"Then let us go buy them the time that they need, shall we?" Erza asked, unsheathing her own weapons.

"I thought you'd never ask," Valveig stated, chuckling, drawing out Battleborne and charging towards the slime creatures, Erza doing the same. The two Asgardians did not announce their presence by a battlecry, instead, they simply plunged their swords into the back of a Xyrixima and sliced downwards, holding on to their swords, the force of gravity pulling them and their swords down, Erza sending out a wave of Frost through her sword with a shouted word. And when they had landed, Valveig, not wanting to give the Xyrixma a chance to reform, called the Wind by its name. And the wind came, and spinning her sword , she created a vortex to disperse the sliced pieces of the Xyrixma, afterwards increasing the air pressure around the creature to hopefully crush. Meanwhile, Erza shouted another word, Force, and as her blast went out, she shifted into her Hulk form and leaped, bringing two fists down upon another slime creature, shouting, "SMASH!"

Valveig, turning her head, spotted what appeared to be the Empress, her guards being cast aside, the slime creatures steadily advancing. The Empress' cloak was trapped, and she looked upward, at the giant foot of the Xyrixima, breathing a prayer as it came down upon her. But Valveig had seen it, and with the speed of the wind she ran, reaching the empress in a half second. Pausing for a moment, she outstretched her hand and a strange symbol appeared upon the ground, Valveig then grabbing the Empress and the rest of her guards, carrying them out of harm's way before setting them down.


When the Xyrixma's foot came down, a tornado emerged, engulfing that Xyrixima, and wheeling towards the rest quickly, while Erza let loose in her hulk form. Seeming a little tired, but still joyful, Valveig gave a nod to the Kandarian Empress in respect. "That should hold them for a while. I am Valveig Silverhand, daughter of Valka Silverhand, the All-Mother of Asgard. That," she said, pointing, "is Erza Songheart, also of Asgard. We came to buy thee and thy people a little more time to evacuate."

"Thank you." Spoke the empress as she got up, groaning. She was not used to being this frail. "Ever since I gave the royal Blood to my Daughter, I have been getting weaker and weaker..." She spoke. She looked around as her troops were holding off the first wave of Xyrixma. But the Empress could already see the reinforcements. The wave was scarcely finished and there was another group.

She turned to the two of them. "There's not much time." She pointed to a structure in the distance. A massive library made from gilded gold that was forged to be superdense. "There is where the artifact they want is." She then pointed at another, the Xyrixma's foothold. There there seemed to be some sort of makeshift camp. It seemed to be glowing with light. "They want a dagerous artifact from the library and my sources tell me they're summoning their god in the camp. Whichever one you go to, I'll take the army to the other. I can spare a few units to go with you, but not many."

"You'll have to choose."

Now was a good time for her training to be used.

She was not the first leader of the Ilumni last alliance. The other was a much older being, who died not to Ephilia, but to a disease. Before that though, she taught Akura "Purification." Turning corruption to purity, darkness to light. But she didn't wish for her training to be revealed. No, she had to wait before she used it on Ephilia herself.

She quickly summoned a sheild, which blocked the bolt at the cost of the sheild. She then sped towards Ephilia before she could counter attack and summoned a sword, flanking her while she had one arm occupied with Thora's whip. She slashed at her foe, imbuing her blade with some of her purification power subtly.

It was almost sad how badly they underestimated Ephilia. The Goddess let go of the whip, but the tendril of darkness continued along the whip as though it had a mind of its own. It sought to devour whatever was on the other end of the weapon. Ephilia's instant transmission in front of Thora came as a surprise to the young Goddess and Ephilia smiled at her before planting a kiss on her lips. Her tongue expertly dominated Thora's as she sapped the willpower from the girl, and after what felt like ages to Thora did Ephilia break their kiss.

"I can assure you, there's much more where that came from my dear," she assured and caressed Thora's cheek. The look in the Goddess' eyes was almost lifeless, as if all form of resistance that she held before had been purged from her body. Thora nodded eagerly, and Ephilia gave her another peck on the cheek.

"Now, kill your dear friend. Will you?" Ephilia asked Thora and the latter nodded in ascent. The tendril of darkness, now merged with the whip, lashed out towards Akura at Thora's command. Ephila stood behind Thora, eager to see the former comrades fight each other.

"It's not too late little Akura. I can make you more powerful than you could ever dream. There's still a place for you in my new reality." Ephilia reiterated. She didn't expect Akura to relent, but it was worth a shot. If Thora was to fall in combat, then Ephilia would simply force Akura to become her champion next. It was a continual proccess.

"I'm no one's lackey Ephilia. War is no one's servant." She replied, parying the whip and wrapping it around her blade, which suddenly shortened as she Yanked thora her way, suddenly slamming a fist into the goddess gut, then one into her face. Then kicking her repeatedly untill she simply was knocked out. She had fed on the combat and rage here, putting her above the now unconcious goddess. But was it enough for Ephilia? "And I'd hate to leave a good battle half done." She then smiled.

"Come on Ephilia. Don't you want to say that you fought war herself?" She taunted. "I might even let you win if your fun enough."

[Tomia]

Young Bloods
The ninja quickly dropped his blades and did a back flip to avoid Kiris' attacks before reaching for a throwing knife on his belt and tossing it quickly at Kiris' throat with deadly precision. Nico had been caught off guard when Kiris tossed him aside, but was able to adjust enough to convert his arm into sand and knock the knife away from Kiris. He then followed up with his attack and the sand from both his arms and his legs slammed against the ninja, forcing the man back into a corner. Nico advanced on him and soon the man was overwhelmed and knocked to the ground. Nico then used his sand to pull the man's mask off and soon his face was revealed. It was Jordan Halson. A young Vice President of the company who practically raised Nico and Cat when they came around the office. Nico's eyes filled with rage, he was sick of being betrayed and lied to. He wanted answers, and he wanted them know.

He grabbed Jordan by the collar and slammed him hard against the wall, his hands around the man's throat. "Where are my parents! Where are they!" Nico shouted in anger. "I swear if you don't tell me, I'll choke the life out of you!"

"They're in the... basement... secret staging area." Jordan managed to say despite the blocked air ways. Nico calmed down a bit and tossed him aside, before grabbing the communicator that Mars had given him and speaking through it in a shaky voice.

"Xyri... Check the basement, try to find what's under there. That's where my parents are."

[Charmera]

Hannah and Roy sat close together on a small private plane that John had lent them. Their hands were interlocked and they were currently fast asleep as the pilot in the front of the cabin flew them across the country. They were currently flying toward South America, to small private island that Roy had discovered during his mercenary days. However, Hannah knew none of this. She had been kept frustratingly in the dark by Roy. This was going to be his gift to her, after all, it was their 1 year anniversary of them beginning their relationship together, and Roy had wanted to do something special for it.

Suddenly Hannah felt a bump. Either landing or turbulence, so she awoke and looked around “Are we there yet?” Asked Hannah groggily. “Wherever “There” happens to be?” She squeezed Roy’s hand, wondering if he was awake. She had been quite impatient about this whole exercise, not sure what to think, plus she didn’t like waiting.

Still, it was cool to go somewhere. She had never been out of the US before, or away from her sisters, whom only let her out on this trip if she let Sam cast a new tracking spell on her. She had learned it from DeeDee, so of course it hurt.

Roy had heard Hannah's questions but hadn't opened her eyes until she squeezed his hand. He couldn't help but smile. His girlfriend was not the patient type. He looked at his phone, and the crew in front had in fact informed him that they had arrived. The windows were blocked out however. That was intentional as to not ruin the surprise.

Roy turned to Hannah, a bright smile on his face. "Yup we're here. And don't worry, you'll find out soon enough sweetie. You'll love it, I promise." He said confidently before starting to stand up, still holding Hannah's hand as they stepped out of their seats to grab their luggage.

The plane door opened and Roy slowly lead Hannah outside. It was early morning as the beautiful https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wbxGZNo-q5A/maxresdefault.jpg island came into view. Roy turned to Hannah, a smile still on his face. "Welcome to Paz Oculto, Hannah, happy anniversary."

Hannah look around, her eyes wide as she looked at the picturesque tropical island. She gasped slightly as she looked around, taken aback by what she saw. "Wow..." She spoke. She walked forward a bit as she felt the sand under her toes, she smiled. She had never been to the beach. She had never been to a place anywhere near this wonderful. She turned to Roy. "This is amazing." She laughed slightly as she looked around again.

Roy smiled brightly when he heard Hannah's small laugh, stepping on the sand next to Hannah and taking her hand gently. "I'm glad you like it. I found this place a while back, you know, before I met the Justice Queens. I called it Paz Oculto, which is 'hidden peace' in Spanish."

"I figured we could spend the weekend here together. There's a bunch forests, beachs, and even a few waterfalls." Roy said, unable to contain his smile, quite proud of his idea to bring Hannah there.

"Roy It's-"

Hannah woke and cursed as she realised she had been sleeping. She looked down to see Wolf moving forward, though he did so slowly so that Hannah would not fall to the ground during the ride. It had also been nice of him to wear a saddle, though she suspected it was partially Bear's convincing that made him do that, since he seemed very annoyed about it.

"Finally awoke pup?" Asked wolf.

"I guess. Though this all seems like a dream now that I think about it." She looked around. She now stood in a field, just about to go over a hill. A little more movement and they could get to the top.

"Hmph."

She looked to her new weapons. The Bear Sheild and Hammer. "Okay, what do these things do exactly?"

"You'll have to find out?"

"What?"

"You heard me pup. Find out for yourself. Finding yourself is part of this whole sprit journey after all."

"Ugh. Could you be any more annoying."

"I could make you walk. Remember who's back your riding on and you may find your ride more enjoyable." The wolf spoke.

They got to the top of the hill and then Wolf looked down. Then his eyes narrowed.

"Whoa." Hannah spoke.

There was a small basin in the plains from where the hill ended, allowing Hannah to see their destination: The large Jungle tree's of Panthers domain. But between them and the Jungle was what seemed to be clones of Hannah, but they had... defects. Some of their heads were cracked like eggs, while some of them had arms missing. Some were the wrong colour, while others had half beast forms. There must have been about 15 of them by hannah's count.

"What are they...?" She asked, warily she got out her hammer and shield, each indicative of the spirit of the bear.

"Shards." Spoke Wolf. "They were as much the protectors of your world as us. It was how we knew... you. But now they're broken." He frowned. "Some more were born to try and take this world back, but whenever they failed this world was plunged back into the dark."

"You yourself are a shard, but you're special somehow... Not that it matters really." Wolf spoke, then sighed. "We should be able to pass through. They don't get violent usaully..."

"Right." Wolf began to head down towards the group. Though unbeknownst to either of them, they were being watched.

---

In the void above Hannah's mind, there was an infinite, neverending blackness, and in that blackness was a figure. A female figure which looked a lot like Hannah, but with a cruel smile and horns singling her out.

She is no threat. A gnat. I can crush her at any time.

Still. It is amusing to see her struggle. To fight her inner self. She had given me so much grief in the beginning, it seems only fair to torture her shattered mind now.

The collosal figure extended a hand, casting an invisable shadow on the inner world of Hannah. She then watched as energy collected on the hand. Several points of light twinkled there.

SIx humanoid figure formed from the light. Each shared the beings cruel smile.

Go forth. Hound her. Kill her if you wish, but only after much suffering and anguish.

The six beings spread out, becoming white orbs which went to different places on Hannah's world.

One landed right in the middle of the shards.

---

Hannah suddenly noticed a white orb descend from nowhere, Hannah's eyes widened as it suddenly took a very familiar form.

"S-sam!"

Her sister looked strait and Hannah with a warm smile. But wolf knew better.

"Do not be fooled Pup! That is a Dark One! They will take the form of those you love most, warping them."

Sam laughed. "Wow. You actually fell for that. You thought I was going to come and help you." She smiled a cruel smile now. "I guess that's why we call you the stupid sister."

Hannah growled.

"No! We head for the jungle. You are not ready to fight her."

"Shut up Wolfy!" She got off Wolf and then looked at Sam. "No one uses my sister against me! No one! You hear!"

Sam just laughed, which enranged Hannah further. Suddenly she found herself leaping to her Sister. Her leap was much higher than before. Then she slammed her hammer down on Sam.

The resounding boom was quite impressive, creating cracks in the ground and triggering tremors, but her sister was no longer there.

"Huh? Where...?"

Suddenly she felt herself blasted by one of her sisters beams of darkness. She yelped as she felt it sting.

"You know, we talk behind your back all the time. About how you're so dumb. It's just so funny, don;t you think."

Hannah rubbed her back with the hammer. That blow would have killed normal her. This magic get up really helped. "Your not my sister. Just some bitter figment of my imagination or something." Perhaps she should listen to wolf.

"We also talk about how dangerous you are." She spoke. Hannah's eyes narrowed at that. "How you can't be trusted..."

"Shut up." Her voice loosing it's confidence and going higher in pitch.

"What? It's true." Sam spoke, faking a hurt voice. "You always turn into a monster when you get upset. You can't be controlled, you can even control yourself. Sarah and I have to look out for ourselves too..."

"Shut up."

"Your far more trouble than your worth. Sure you help on a bank job or two, but me and Sarah can do it on our own. After all all you do is carry the money. All I need is a levitation spell and that's your job gone."

"That was one time." Hannah spoke, her voice choking and croaking. She had to stop tears from coming to her eyes. Was this what Sam really thought. "I...I help loads."

"And how many times do you get upset and turn? Last time you lost your Teddy you burned down the hotel. And the time after that someone just bumped into you."

"That was five years ago..."

"And you haven't got any better!" Spoke Sam. "We've taken care of you for so long.

She suddenly felt horrible. Worthless. SHe gritted her teeth. Had she really been such a paraiste? Perhaps she was better off back in the darkness. Without a name. At least she didn't hurt anyone. Don't cry. Don't cry.

"We should have just left you with the house. What a shame." She spoke. "Sarah and I discussed plans. We're going to get rid of you once we leave disneyland."

Hannah's guilt turned to rage, she picked up her hammer and ran towards her sister. "LIAR"

"LIAR! LIAR! LIAR!" She shouted, then swung her hammer. But Sam stopped it with a mere finger.

"So pathetic. It will be easier to get rid of you that I though." She flicked Hannah and she fell back, grunting. But she was suddenly saved by wolf.

They then leaped into the jungle. Sam cursed. She couldn't follow them in there.

"It's all a lie pup!"

Hannah shook her head. "What?"

"You already left Florida. The Island with your mate. Remember!"

Hannah's eyes widened. "I'm such an idiot! She played me."

"Worse than that. She weakened your will. If she had done that a bit more, she would have broken you like those shards." Wolf Spoke.

"It' matters not for now though, for we should be safe here.... For now."

[New Rnclave]

"Thank you for the compliment. I do have to credit my tails for most of my attractiveness however." Masami remarked with a smile, using her foxfire to incinerate the skeletons she could not reach with her sword. "And yes, I realise I didn't have the most normal relatives living with the Neko. But on the bright side things would never be dull with me."

Akari blew skeletons apart with artfull flourishes of her guns, blasting through as many as she could, Aiming for torso and pelvis to dismantle them. She dodged the occasional hit and used her catlike reflexes to cover for Akhiko, whom she sticked around. Not that he needed her help, she just felt like it.

Soon the skeletons were nothing but a heap of bones. And Masami looked around. "is that it?"

"Oh you'll find plenty of surprises in this house young Fox. You may even find the truth if you live long enough."

Masami frowned. "What truth? What?" She gritted her teeth at the lack of an answer, then looked at the doorways.

She calmed herself and inhaled through her foxlike nose. Then pointed. "That way is the place where the most spirity smell is."

"So we're just going to go to the least pleasant areas of this house."

"Well you know well that these sorts of places have wierd exits. Our aunt is probably guarding it." She replied. "She wants us to know something..." She moved towards the direction in which she had pointed, Akari following.



Etla listened attentively to the explanation that Serene gave her about the demon attacks, occasionally looking away to make sure that Cloudy was still safe nearby and was not heading off into the forest to get lost and make her go look for him again. That had been a very annoying few days of searching for the robotic bunny, who could travel unexpectedly quickly from one country to another despite all logic. Either way, after hearing Serene's tale about the demons and the Demon, the golden-haired Rainborn felt that not much had been explained, but she didn't exactly feel like questioning the siblings any longer, so she figured she'd have to learn more on the way there.

If one could read the last line of her thoughts as a narrative, one would see that she had already decided that she was going to tag along with them.

"Well, in that case, we can help you beat up those demons so they stop going after you!" Etla suggested, wrapping an arm around Ihra's shoulder. "We're pretty good fighters and we don't mind going up against some silly demons. Right, sis?" She said with a smile, glancing at Ihra.

Ihra sighed. "You always get me into trouble, don't you sis?" She remarked, half jokingly. She was quite flattered that her sister thought of her as a good fighter. "I fought a queen of Darkness. So I suppose Demons can't be much worse." She spoke. She nodded to the two of them. "Plus, we don't want to leave you two alone against waves of demons."

Auia smiled. "So it's decided! We'll be the Fellowship of the Spectrum." She spoke, which earned an odd look from Ihra, if not the others. "Spectrum? Lights. Colours. We got me, living embodiment of what makes the world so lovely, hue, shade, tone and contrast!" She sped towards the two brother and sister and wrapped arms around their shoulders. "We got the contrasting duo! Light and Dark." She slid towards the two sisters, moving so smoothly she seemed like some sort of skater. "We got the one with the rainbow sword," Auia then pointed at Etla, pausing. "Um..." She thought. Then she shrugged and smiled. "Okay. I haven't got a thing for you. Maybe the name needs work. But I think we'd make an awesome team to... do whatever we're doing? Something about demons right?"

"We're fighting demons so they'll stop harasing Serene and Darian."

"Yes! That!" She spoke excitedly.

Hiroshi:

When his feet left the ground, and Claudia forgave him, Hiroshi felt inexplainable guilt swell in his chest. It was obvious she forgave him, and that she still cared. But he didn't feel like he'd earned any forgiveness. Tilting his head up, his blue-green eyes scanned her features, quizzically looking over her.

"Y-you did?" Hiroshi almost whispered, clearing his throat as he reined in the last of his emotions, his impassive disposition returning. " But I hurt you... More than I've ever hurt anyone in a fight. I attacked you with words. I purposefully struck at you, lashing out at weaknesses you'd confided in me..."

Shakily raising his arm, Hiroshi unconsciously felt his fingers cup her cheek, his rough hands softly tracing patterns on her skin. It was almost surreal to be here. For him to not only be near her, but being able to talk to her, it was something he'd never imagined accomplishing in the same day.

" The last few weeks taught me a lot." Hiroshi remarked. " I achieved a power far beyond my own. The pinnacle of Saiyan ability. And..." Pausing, the Hybrid met her eyes. " It was accepting failure that allowed me to ascend. My uncle described it as the failure of the Saiyan race as a total, and the failures he and I had and would expirence throughout our lives. I thought at first that he meant overcoming them. But now... No, then. I realized it was accepting these failures and moving past them was the key. It also allowed me to accept the blame I'd pushed away from myself. I've... I've grown more in the last few weeks then I've ever before."

Closing his eyes, Hiroshi felt the pit of despair he'd built around himself almost evaporate as a weight disappeared from his shoulders. He was hardly out of the woods yet, but he could finally feel an almost happiness, an acceptance bubbling in his chest. Opening his eyes once more, Hiroshi felt as if control of his life had been returned to him, turning them upwards, he felt his hair fall to onyx once more as he parted his lips, finally ready to accept Claudia's decision.

" I've changed as a person too. I'm not the same Hybrid Saiyan-Kaioshin you left almost five months ago. And... I think I'm ready to accept your judgement so to speak. I knew you said you missed me too, but like I said, I'm not the same man, and as much as it pains me, if you don't think you can love the new me like you did the old, I accept your decision."

"Hiro. That's the point of love. If a person changes, you're suppose to still love them." Claudia explained. She sighed. "The problem I had was when you betrayed my trust. That's what made me upset. I hated feeling so... disrespected by the one I loved. "

She paused. "But. Though I can love you, and I think we should be together, I think we need to talk about our relationship. Work things out a little." Claudia had surprisingly thought about this. She had considered these things. It was why she was so ready to accept his apology. "Firstly, we're going to live together. Mostly for Tomia's sake. Two parents are better than one, even if one is more of a giant red nanny." She explained. "We also need to be more honest and open with one another. Tell each other everything. Got it?"

Hiroshi:

For a moment, Hiroshi almost forgot where he was. Flooded earth and dying grass being replaced by soft grass and a gentle breeze. Instead of Claudia, he stood several feet back from his uncle, both of them wearing an impassive glare. If Oniyo had made him realize one thing, it was that he wanted more than what he had. He didn't want a girlfriend and a child that he could barely call his own. He wanted a family, he wanted something to come home too.

"I want a family." He finally answered honestly, his eyes staring up at her. " I don't want something short term anymore. I want to be able to make something here, on this planet."

He didn't want to argue, or fight, the idea now. He could always deny it before, that he wanted to be anything more than a warrior, but losing Tomia and Claudia in the space of a few days had opened his eyes, and the tension building in his frame was so apparent it might have manifested itself in a physical form. When he looked back at Tomia, then back to Claudia, he could feel a wave of anxiety flush within him, the longer she waited to respond only piling more on him.

[Charmera]

Ihra sighed. "You always get me into trouble, don't you sis?" She remarked, half jokingly. She was quite flattered that her sister thought of her as a good fighter. "I fought a queen of Darkness. So I suppose Demons can't be much worse." She spoke. She nodded to the two of them. "Plus, we don't want to leave you two alone against waves of demons."

Auia smiled. "So it's decided! We'll be the Fellowship of the Spectrum." She spoke, which earned an odd look from Ihra, if not the others. "Spectrum? Lights. Colours. We got me, living embodiment of what makes the world so lovely, hue, shade, tone and contrast!" She sped towards the two brother and sister and wrapped arms around their shoulders. "We got the contrasting duo! Light and Dark." She slid towards the two sisters, moving so smoothly she seemed like some sort of skater. "We got the one with the rainbow sword," Auia then pointed at Etla, pausing. "Um..." She thought. Then she shrugged and smiled. "Okay. I haven't got a thing for you. Maybe the name needs work. But I think we'd make an awesome team to... do whatever we're doing? Something about demons right?"

"We're fighting demons so they'll stop harasing Serene and Darian."

"Yes! That!" She spoke excitedly.


"Hiro. That's the point of love. If a person changes, you're suppose to still love them." Claudia explained. She sighed. "The problem I had was when you betrayed my trust. That's what made me upset. I hated feeling so... disrespected by the one I loved. "

She paused. "But. Though I can love you, and I think we should be together, I think we need to talk about our relationship. Work things out a little." Claudia had surprisingly thought about this. She had considered these things. It was why she was so ready to accept his apology. "Firstly, we're going to live together. Mostly for Tomia's sake. Two parents are better than one, even if one is more of a giant red nanny." She explained. "We also need to be more honest and open with one another. Tell each other everything. Got it?"

Hiroshi:

For a moment, Hiroshi almost forgot where he was. Flooded earth and dying grass being replaced by soft grass and a gentle breeze. Instead of Claudia, he stood several feet back from his uncle, both of them wearing an impassive glare. If Oniyo had made him realize one thing, it was that he wanted more than what he had. He didn't want a girlfriend and a child that he could barely call his own. He wanted a family, he wanted something to come home too.

"I want a family." He finally answered honestly, his eyes staring up at her. " I don't want something short term anymore. I want to be able to make something here, on this planet."

He didn't want to argue, or fight, the idea now. He could always deny it before, that he wanted to be anything more than a warrior, but losing Tomia and Claudia in the space of a few days had opened his eyes, and the tension building in his frame was so apparent it might have manifested itself in a physical form. When he looked back at Tomia, then back to Claudia, he could feel a wave of anxiety flush within him, the longer she waited to respond only piling more on him.

Claudia paused. Was she beeing too forgiving? She had just forgave the man who had cheated on her and now he wanted to have a family with her. She paused, then looked at Ezika and Tomia. She then nodded. "But." She frowned, slightly, not an angry one, but a stern but fair one. "Your going to have to prove to me that your serious. You're going to have to show me you're not going to go back on your word and that you will make the commitment to me and Tomia. Do you understand?"

[The Republic of Atria]

"Wait..." He trailed off, still trying to wrap his head around what the little man just told him. The amount of strange stuff he saw and was continuing to see would never stop amazing him. "No...Way. That's... Darkseid?" He asked and looked at the snarling flower. "Definitely has the same frown... Anyways. Look at it this way Darky. Your dad is back. He punched me in the face quite a bit. But luckily for me, I have friends. Who then proceeded to kick his ass back to Apokolips. He did destroy my PS4. But I did kick him in the nuts like... Twice? So I think we're even. But yeah, your dad is back. So being a flower might actually be safer than being turned back to normal. We called him Yogi Bear. You should watch it so you can get the reference. Kalibak is Booboo! Or maybe it's Desaad..."

Otis was so busy taunting the powerless flower that he almost didn't notice what Necromancer said: "Merry Christmas." It took him a second before he turned around to see what he was talking about. It had to be a trick. He even rubbed his eyes and nothing changed. "...Mom?" There wasn't a second for her to react, Otis already had his arms around her. His long tail threatening to smash up everything in it's five foot reach. "It's... IT's really you... It is you isn't it?" It was kind of awkward for him to hug his mother, as he was well over six feet tall due to his terrigenesis and the species he had the genes of, was already naturally tall and gangly.

"Yes... Otis. It is. I'm... I'm so sorry for everything. You deserved so much better. What happened to you?" The Red Lantern ring, combined with being dead for a few weeks, had purged her of her alcoholism as well as the emotional problems brought on by it. She finally realized how poorly she treated her only son, who welcomed her back with open arms and the same stupid grin he always had. Even if he looked completely different than he used too. Otis decided to rapidly explain everything that happened to him. She caught some of it, but Otis was going too fast for her to ask him to slow down. "Wow. You are an actual royal guardsmen?"

"I'm pretty sure she just keeps here there because I have Darkseid's-the guy who killed you-that's Darkseid, I have his powers. Which are apparently pretty awesome. I'm still trying to figure out everything I can do with them. I live here. This is Julie." He motioned. "She's a good friend. I'm not sure who that guy is." He motioned to Necromancer. "He never told me his name. Just kind of barged in here and then poof, you were here. So I'm gonna just roll with it."

"You've really been busy..."

"Yeah... It's been pretty crazy."

[Finland SSR]

REQUIEM AETERNAM

Prelude

---

That whole Heran ordeal last week... thank god that's over.

Clothing fixed up, cleaned, not a single clue of such an event on sight. Also, back in my X Corps red uniform. The Earthlings don't really fear it, so why not put it on?

I took a glance through the rear window of the library I was in. The warm and somber autumn sun had just lifted it's head from below the horizon, and was taking a peek across the lands. The sky was clear - not a single minor, tiny cloud. Not even an airplane trail.

Lucky for me, the clash with the meta last week didn't spread around the nation at all. As I arrived to Murmanskas, the people here didn't even recognize me, so I just went into the calmest building they got, which turned out to be this one, and settled down for a while.

That... that was a huge mess back there. No, huge is an understatement. If I had to pick a word, it would maybe be... I can't even think of anything at the top of my head. Gigantic? Monstrous? Impeccably, unmeasurably enormous? Yeah, I'd go with that. We can review it - I come to Hera, searching for a fight, find the fight, but after brawling for just a few seconds I meet this odd girl. I try to explain that I'm not one of the other androids, she more or less believes me, we go to the underground wonder... stuff. Even more things go south as Celestial Androids invade it, I get beaten to a pulp, we magically escape, the girl becomes a godlike powerful... thing... I'm lacking words here. I just decide to leave, and here we are. All done in the timeframe of a day.

As I said, an impeccably, unmeasurably enormous mess.

Trying to take a break from all this thinking and judging, I lifted my head and turned it towards the bookshelf to the right of me. A section labeled "World Literature". Hundreds of unrecognizable names, hundreds of unrecognizable names. Why isn't there a book named "How To Calm Down After A Lot Of Things Happening"? Or "How To Forget Being Beaten To A Pulp And Humiliated"? You're stupid, Frank. Earthlings don't deal with this mess. They're all more or less the same strength and their lives are boring as hell, so instead they write about situations where they're not the same strength and there's always something crazy happening.

I mean, that makes their literature relatable to me, but...

Suddenly, a bell ringed far behind my back, indicating that someone has just entered the library. I heard quite a few voices echoing through the room, speaking in their native language. Concerned, surprised, possibly scared. You know, if so many people just entered this building, all in one moment, there's probably something important happening. It won't hurt to check it out. Wait, that's the exact same way of thinking that brought me into Hera! Why am I even listening to it?

Neverthless, I shut the reasonable part of my mind up, rose up from my seat and took a course towards the door, cutting the time by taking a shortcut between a bunch of lined up bookshelves. The heaps of paper that reside here are probably the least concerned with whatever is going on today, or with anything. All laying in their respective places, orderly, immobile. The only concern they have is whether or not they will be picked up by some curious victim.

Alright... here we go. After moving my body through a few pathways, I found myself near the tiny glass front door. There were half a dozen people gathered up a few meters to the right, looking at the TV screen hanging on the wall. Ah, morning news. Earthlings here don't have their own television, one of the few is here.

And it just so happens to have me here.

And the TV just so happens to show shocking and important news.

Why is it always me, darn it?

I took a brief glance at the people before setting my sights on the screen. They were all of mature age for an Earthling, most of them in their dirtied work clothing. Some of them had moustaches, some of them were bald and senile, but all of them were united by concern and worry. What could it be that these people were frightened by? I guess the screen has some answers. It was a standard female news reporter, clothed in a nice fur coat as the weather was apparently rather windy, in what seems to be the nation's capital. A lot of soldiers marching in the background, flags and patriotic chants all over. This doesn't look good.

"...and despite the Emperor giving the European Union twenty-four hours to explain the captured spy plane incident's reasoning and demanding confirmation of their work behind it, the leadership at Brussels has so far given no answer, even as the time for a response was up..." the reporter spoke. Troubling. "Right now, as you can see, the capital of the Empire is bustling with activity and preparations as we await for Augustin to give his official thoughts. We all hope that he will hurry up, and may he have enough resolve to order us to march! Great Emperor, if you hear us - remember, the Union openly supported the Regime of the One Hundred Days, and helped the revolutionaries oust your father and almost bring an end to the great Lithuanian Empire! The people are ready to bring them justice - just say a word and we will march to the Atlantic! And beyond!"

The room was silent. The only sound I could register was a truck, faintly driving towards the town. Everyone was speechless. Some people, like myself, were apparently shocked. Others just waited for something to happen.

"Oh!" The reporter jumped up and placed her index finger on her ear, as if having a message of some sorts. "We will jump into reporter Reda near the Royal Palace, as the Emperor has finally come out to say his opinion on the incident!"

Flash, and we're a few kilometers away from her. Not literally, of course. The screen greeted us with a red-haired woman with sunglasses, standing in front of a majestic and magnificent palace, with thousands of lowly citizens in the front yard.

"It's negative eleven degrees here in Vilnius, but thanks to the current events, it's far more like hot African summer to all of us! If you haven't caught up with the last few days yet, last Saturday a Lithuanian anti-aircraft station in Ventspils shot and took down a mysterious unregistered plane entering our airspace. After a battalion was sent to examine the crash, it was clear that it was a spying drone, with marks indicating it was sent by German military forces. The National Secret Defense Agency has reported that the plane also included maps of the Empire with arrows indicating drone flying paths, which helped the Air Defense Agency to find and shoot down six more drones within the last three days. Emperor Augustin the Great sent the European Union a 24-hour ultimatum for giving an explanation for the airspace violations and demanded the spying to cease, but no response was given, which is why it appears like he will come out to give a response himself."

Troubling... The camera zoomed in on the large, fancy and beautifully ornated balcony on the front of the palace, right above the main door. Soon, a few Earthlings walked in from the inside. Oh, and here's that guy. So-called "Magnificent Emperor Augustin the Great of the Great Lithuanian Empire". Great! What a great grate! My great-great grandfather had a grate that was greater than this grate, though. That's what his title reminded me of. His expression was confident and calm - he knows that he's the one in control here. Oh, and his flamboyant name was closely followed by his just as flamboyant clothing. All gilded, decorated and glaring, with so much stuff going on all over the coat and the cape. I mean, that has to be just his formal wear.

Right? Right?

He wasn't alone, too. Along with half a dozen armed security guards ready to thwart off any possible attack, there was someone... small. Closely following the Emperor. As it reached the open and wide balcony, I could see it more clearly - it was a child. A male. Also in royal clothes - yeah, let's just call them that. Probably a prince of some sorts, after all, Shaytan was also a prince, so they do exist. But something was odd, and I can't really say what. He just... didn't look like he should belong here. As in, not that Earthling-y. It's too bad that this is just a TV program - I can't scan him and get the information out that way.

Augustin stopped moving when he entered the balcony and one of the guards handed him a microphone. The game was on.

"People of Lithuania and the entire planet!" he exclaimed, immediately appealing to his subjects. "I will keep this short, because we are all aware that this is a time of crisis. And in a time of crisis, we have to move quickly, and not waste time. So far, all of our evidence points to European plans of an invasion of the Great Empire - the spy drone was quite clearly photographing our military facilities, located just a few hundred kilometers from here! If they planned to strike from the air and thus were searching for targets, an attack on Ventspils would have immobilized the entirety of our forces guarding this area - the Heartland. No officials from the Union dared to say a word, trying to cover this up. And we know that if we stay docile, try to forget this ever happens, then when they actually do attack, we will be defenseless.

Here is what I tell you - be careful. Be wary. Be cautious. Soon, war will come to the homes of thousands, screeching, crashing. And we all know that there will be losses. All wars of such magnitude saw thousands lose their lives. But do not despair - remember, no war in Lithuania's history was fought without a goal, without a cause. And our current goal is self-defense. So remember two things, brave and young future warriors...

First - every single drop of blood shed is for the Fatherland.

And second - we will be free people. Just like our ancestors were."

They started throwing hats into the air... Chanting "LIETUVA!" and "UŽ TĖVYNĘ!"... but one of the men watching suddenly grabbed the remote and turned off the television.

"Huh? Why'd you do that?" I spoke, but he said nothing, just pointed through the window. The bland grey truck that I heard a few minutes ago was already in the middle of the road, stopped, with a few soldiers marching around. Oh, that one. The people left through the door, I followed. Joined by most other men in the village, they stood in a line in front of the soldiers, I followed, standing last. There were three of them - a large one next to some big apparatus next to him, an another big one holding a bunch of weird wristlets and a smaller one with a pair of epaulets on his shoulders, which means he's the leader of the ordeal. There was one interesting thing about their uniform, though - a grey and black badge with the image of a wolf on them. Huh...

Let's hope this is just a proclamation of some sorts and nothing like calling people to join the Army. Because yeah, Earthlings are finite and you have to pick out the people who serve.

"So. Is everyone here?" the short soldier spoke. No response. "I'll take it as a yes. As you've all probably heard, the Fatherland is in great danger. Enemy forces are arming themselves and preparing to march to our homeland, with no remorse. If none of us step up, the Lithuanian nation will be no more. Now, unfortunately, the general mobilization will only begin next week, but this is not what we came here for. According to the Emperor's latest decreet, all metahumans, mutants and other super-powered beings are required to register and serve by requirement in the newly-organized Iron Wolf Troop."

Ah, I get it! It's Class X for Earthlings.

"You will be required to serve for the duration of the war, and will undergo special training, as well as, if you decide to register as a volunteer, receive a large fixed salary."

That's more like it.

"If any one of you would like to step up and serve the Fatherland, as is the duty of all Lithuanian people, I'll be glad to hear."

None. Not even me. I decided to hold back for a while. There's still time.

"Alright. Whatever you want."

The largest of the three Earthling soldiers grabbed onto his foundation's handle, lifted it up and walked up to the man that was first in the line. He pulled out a wire with a some sort of handle on it's end from the device, then attached it to the person's arm. The machine beeped for a few seconds until it started showing a number on the handle.

"Five. You can head home." the soldier said in a low calm voice, then took the handle out and moved on, doing the same procedure to the next one.

"Five. You can go home."

And so it went on.

"Four. You can go home."

"Five. You can go home."

"Five. You can go home."

"Three. Exercise more and go home."

"Seven. You are strong for a man, but not enough. Go home."

This continued, and continued, and continued, until the machine reached a small, apparently fragile and weak, with a pair of glasses on his nose. As the machine measured his number...

"Ten thousand and sixty nine."

"I don't believe you." the leader commented.

"Come on, we've seen bigger numbers today. 10 000 is nothing special anymore. Aleksejus, pass me a badge and a wristlet." The wristlet guy did as asked - tossed them forward, and the inspector guy caught them in an amazing speed. After that, he inserted the badge on the poor recruit's checked shirt, put the wristlet on his right wrist and spoke:

"Welcome to the Iron Wolf. Don't worry, we won't hurt you."

The recruit was lead off into the truck, while the soldiers continued the examination. A few fives... and they got to me.

He put the handle on my wrist. No signal. No beeping.

"Eh? Why's it not working? Mindaugas, come here!" Mindaugas - the leader - did so. They still couldn't get any signal out of me.

"Maybe it's broken?" "But it worked for everyone else before him." "Maybe someone rigged it?" "Maybe something else is at work here..." "Wasn't there a manual somewhere?" "It's at the back of the truck, I'm NOT going there again." "Why not just test him out the real way?" "Someone's going to get hurt." "Martial law is already instituted, we have the right to use force." "Fine, just go for it, then."

The two men stopped arguing and looked at me. Ooh. Something happening here-

ZAP!

The leader suddenly leaped forward and struck his fist towards me. Serious expression. He's not playing around, it seems. I merely lifted my right hand up and caught his fist. Cleanly, nicely. No sweat needed.

"WHAT?" He was obviously shocked.

"He's way above the 55 000 of yours, that's for sure." the other soldier commented. I let him go, and he fell on the ground, though immediately standing up to face me. The third guy threw a wristlet and a badge towards us, and they were caught. Mindaugas inserted the badge on my coat and spoke:

"Well, I'm sure you'll be a great addition to the Iron Wolf, that's for sure. Welcome, recruit. What's your name?"

I said nothing. He just frowned and moved towards the truck.

Well, that's a thing now...

[Lavan Tiri]

Beware the Superman
Chapter One: He Who Fights Monsters

He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster.

Monday, December 7, 2015
6:47 AM
Metropolis, Delaware

The rain danced along the rooftops, providing a chilly wake-up to the city below. In the streets, early risers hurried to work, while those who took the night shift hustled home, taking gleeful advantage of the nearly-empty streets. A few eyes turned upward, but few did. He felt a tiny bit of pride at that, that the people of Metropolis found his presence so commonplace it wasn't even noteworthy. Not like across the bay, where people lived in fear of their protector. But Superman…people trusted Superman, loved him, even. Not like Gotham, where everyone had to beware the Batman.

Unfortunately, Clark thought, as he zipped off toward the sound of an alarm across the city, not everyone finds me so awesome. He arrived on the scene in mere seconds, and hovered above for a moment, assessing the situation. The setting was a bank--Metropolis Central. A typical bank, with slightly unusual security--a team of former service members, along with a few superhumans. Minor powers, but they were formidable. Within, he could see at least ten figures upright, along with others on the ground, either crouching or splayed out. Dead, he realized. Damn it. If they'd already taken victims, instead of hostages, then this situation was worse than he'd assumed. And worse, when he tried to listen in on the bank, he heard nothing besides the groans and sobs of the bank's patrons. The attackers were silent--they knew their plan, and weren't going to risk letting any…listeners, in on their aims.

Well, no reason to avoid it any longer. Clark flew downward, crashing through the roof and onto the bank floor. As soon as he landed, the attackers opened fire. They weren't armed with ballistic weapons, instead, they packed frickin' laser beams, advanced ones, that knocked him off his feet and sent the Man of Steel sliding across the floor. His head slammed into the wall, near a red-haired woman's corpse, and he crawled along the ground, taking shelter behind the counter. These people, whoever the hell they were, had sufficient weaponry to harm him, and had already killed at least five people. He needed to take stock of this situation, and so he hunkered beneath the counter, as more shots flew above his head. He quickly came up with a plan, and sprang up, tearing through the counter, zipping at the men. His heat vision, with unerring accuracy, blasted their weapons from their hands, as he grabbed the men, tying them up with their own shirtsleeves. With his opponents summarily incapacitated, Superman set them on the floor. With a flourish, he ripped off one of their hoods. He was a man, middle-aged, his black hair streaked with grey. He glared at Clark, pure hate etched on his face.

Short and sweet, he decided. "Who sent you?" Superman asked, leaning closer to his captive. "Who gave you these weapons?"

The man grinned up at him. Then, his head, along with all those of his companions, exploded in a shower of fluid. Clark jerked back, as the captives screamed. Simultaneously, Clark heard a high-pitched ringing from across town. Jimmy's watch. Rao damn it, this was getting worse. He lifted off, as police sirens approached the bank. In a blur of red and blue, Clark raced to the place Jimmy's signal was coming from. The Planet, a ten-second flight, four at top speed.

He was two seconds too slow. He heard the rumble, and the screams, and then, as he--knowing what was coming--pushed himself harder, to go faster, the rumble built, and a fireball erupted from where the Daily Planet was, a mere moment before. The force and heat of the blast knocked Clark from the sky, and he plowed into the street below.

---

Monday, March 7, 2016.
11:58 AM
The United Nations Headquarters

"And so," Superman concluded, "for the protection of the people of the Earth, the Justice League and Avengers will be temporarily assuming control, until we've apprehended those responsible for the terrorist attacks on Metropolis, New York, London, Beijing, and Qurac. But," he continued, his eyes sweeping the room, "not without the permission of the United Nations. However, before you vote, I urge you to consider--what is the price of your safety, but a temporary loss of some freedom? Is an election worth another round of attacks, of dead children and destroyed families?"

The delegates throughout the room glanced at each other. Each knew how they would vote, and wondered about the others.

---

Monday, March 7, 2016.
12:15 PM
The Hall of Justice, Undisclosed Location along the California Coast.

"They ratified it--almost unanimously. Only the Mexican and Japanese delegates voted against it."

Superman stood in the center of the Hall, facing a room much like the one he'd been in earlier. However, instead of politicians, this room was filled with heroes. The Justice League--Wonder Woman, the Flash, Batman, Aquaman, Cyborg, Hawkgirl, the Question, John Stewart, Green Arrow, and Black Canary--as well as the Avengers--Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor, Spider-man, and Bruce Banner--sat in, while others who couldn't physically be present watched via holoscreens. Stark's invention.

"So, as decided by Mister Stark and I, the League and the Avengers will be merged, into a new team. The Justice Lords." With a grin, he added, "I managed to keep it mostly mine, obviously."

But this attempt to defuse the tension was a failure. The eyes of the room were upon him, and Superman coughed slightly, shifting slightly. "And, just as I didn't force the delegates to vote for this, I won't force any of you to join the Lords. If you--any of you--wish to not be a part of this organization, I'll let you leave now."

Almost immediately, the room shifted. The Question, Widow, Canary, Cyborg, Barton, Spider-man, and Banner all stood. Then, as one, they moved to the doors. The eyes of their colleagues were boring into them, and they left, some looking back, most trying very obviously not to. Then, Batman rose. He cleared his throat, and the room's attention shifted, as the Dark Knight claimed their focus. "This," he said, glaring down at Superman, "is not what we stand for. Or at least, not what we stood for."

And like that, he left, in a swirl of cape.

Superman just stared, his eyes tracking Bruce to the door and beyond, to the Batwing. When his friend had finally left, Superman turned back to the crowd, obviously shaken. "Ahem…so, here's the plan…"

---

Wednesday, July 18, 2016
8:09 PM
Gotham, New Jersey

He'd lied. He'd promised that they could leave, and when they did, and he'd taken over, he found them and killed them. Oliver, Felicity, Barton…all dead. The others were in hiding. He knew, because he'd heard the guards talk about them, and about how there were other dead ones. The Joker, and Ra's, and Grodd, and Leonard Snart, and dozens--no, hundreds of others, murdered. Killed in cold blood, branded as enemies of the state, and then dispatched, by one of Superman's agents. The Man of Steel didn´t like to dirty his own superpowerful hands. So he had his enemies eliminated.

But not this one. No, Superman left him alive, once his oldest friend, now his worst enemy. Batman was still breathing, locked in a cell, deep underground, chained upright with beams of energy, his mouth gagged, his only sustenance the injections the guards gave him every three days. No company besides his jailer, who gleefully informed The Captive--that was how they referred to him, The Captive--of another dead friend, or foe, or ally.

But it mattered not. This prison, like others, was only temporary. Someday, he´d be free. He knew that Luthor was alive, because if he was dead, then the jailer would certainly make sure that The Captive was aware. Luthor, that magnificent, bald, son of a bitch, was out there, fighting. And for some reason, that gave him hope.

He leaned back, waiting for the hourly shock. When it came, he arched his back, gritted his teeth, and clenched his fists. He wasn´t going to give any watchers the pleasure of seeing Batman scream.

[The Fallen Jedi]

Lord Satera
The Primordials Return: The Meeting Pt.2

It only took five minutes for all Twelve of the Primordial Brothers to amass within the great Citadel, the twelve of them sitting around a circular table, with Ouranos sitting at the head of the table, due to his title of the God of Balance, Ouranos was serving as the mediator of the meeting between his twelve brothers, and by sitting at the head of the table, it was obvious that Lord Ouranos had prestige over his brothers, to stand off against the Spectre's even if they had been weakened was a feature that no other could have achieved, as a normal powered Spectre would be able to wipe the floor with numerous Primordials at the same time. Ouranos took a sip of his tea before clearing his voice "As the elder brother of you all, I have called you here on terms that are not very favorable for our people, you see, the Defenders of Earth have insulted our name as well as threatened the existence of our home. This has been the fifth time we have been threatened, and the second time that their threat has come to pass, this cannot continue to take place." Ouranos rose up "We have to come up with a course of action in the event that we face an attack that will threaten the stability of our home."

"If they have truly become a threat to our stability, why have we not yet destroyed the Earth, If they cannot be controlled, perhaps we should simply kill them outright?" Xion asked, a playful smile on his face. "From what you've told us, the Defender of Earth known as Xander simply decided to destroy our Galaxy only to irk the Immortal known as Alastir, a foolish action in my opinion, It actually gives us an excuse to strike considering the fact that at the time Alastir did not represent the desires of our Galaxy, he did it in order avenge those who were lost during the emergence of the Dark Gods, and also to repeat the same actions of the late General Eiling, to put it blatantly, Alastir was intent on giving the earthlings a taste of their own medicine." Xion's normally playful smirk fell into a semi-serious expression "Surely Alastir's actions were pure?"

"His actions were poorly planned and pathetic to say the least, he did not anticipate the Starbrand being involved, that infernal device is what makes Earth such a dangerous opponent." Lord Osiris cut in, casually sipping down some tea "Something has to be done about that device or we will always remain outgunned in the face of the Earthlings, I fear that if we are to make any moves now without locating the Starbrand device, our efforts will be all for naught."

"Right, but we have more problems than the Starbrand itself, we also have the new God of Apokolips, Otis to worry about as his powers will prove to be a great adversary to face in the event that we go to war, in English? he will be able to deal significant damage to us even If we retreat to our home realm, a user of the Omega Sanction is a danger that must never be trifled with, and the successor of Darkseid? We better tread lightly on our path or we will all meet our end at an early date, and we've just been revived." Eldros cut in, his arms crossed as he sat back on his chair, his expression as calm as always, but the emotion in his eyes reflected the grim reality behind his words "Before we can even think of even laying a hand on the Earth, we need to make sure that we can counteract the powers of the Omega Sanction, or at least find a way to defend ourselves from it's power or our attempts will be all for naught."

"We aren't even looking at the big picture here, we have to face facts that we aren't as powerful as we were billions of years ago." Yuzaro finally cut in, his eyes remaining closed throughout the whole debate between his fellow brothers "We have to correct this mistake, for far too long have we kept the people of the Galaxy from achieving their hidden potential, weakening their ability to respond and properly defend against threats that dare to destroy us." Yuzaro turned to Ouranos, who stared back "You may have established a Cosmic Shield that will prevent outside forces from directly interacting with our Galaxy, but the question is: will it be a matter of time before this shield breaks down? Will it be a matter of time before Earth tires of our existence and simply decides to get rid of us with the flick of a wrist?" Yuzaro slammed his fist onto the table, making it shudder and crack underneath his mighty fist "I for one do not want our home, the home of the Precursors, and our successors to fade away like dust in the wind, we must put an end to this accursed Era of Nation-States and bring about a new age, one in which our people can fend for themselves in the face of super powered anomalies, we must give our children the chance to fight, to survive endless onslaught. We mustn't allow our fear of power to keep our children from defending themselves, rather, we should embrace change and give them a fighting chance."

The nine other Primordials began to clap their hands in encouragement of Yuzaro's idea, he was absolutely right, now was not the time to worry about their children gaining power, they should encourage such an action. The Age of Gods had passed, and the Age of Man had begun recently, and the defeat of Yuga Kahn made solid proof that the Old Ones had fallen behind significantly and would damn near be unable to even touch the Earth, so instead they would make the Masaki Galaxy an equal force to be reckoned with. There would be no attack upon the Earth, no attempts to antagonize it, but in it's place, the newly recreated Council of Twelve would make it their sole objective to do only one thing, and that was to only make sure that the Masaki Galaxy was remade into a new Galaxy, one where average people would be granted powers beyond their wildest dreams. There would be evil-doers who would abuse this power, and those who would use it to simply defend the Masaki Galaxy, It would reflect the current situation on Earth and other realms, but like those realms, Good would always triumph over evil.

"So we are all in agreement I suppose?" Ouranos asked, receiving a nod from his eleven brothers and allowing a smile to form on Ouranos' face "Very well, at the behest of the Council of Twelve, I declare an end to the Era of Nation-States, and the beginning of the Age of Mankind, may the light of the One-Above-All shine upon us as we rebuild the foundations of our Galaxy into something greater than ever before seen, something that will give our own children the chance to properly defend themselves against any threat that dare rear it's head towards our great home." and with a simple bang of his staff, a glorious new era began to show itself to the Galaxy-at-large:

The Age of Mankind had finally begun.

[Imperial--japan]

It was almost sad how badly they underestimated Ephilia. The Goddess let go of the whip, but the tendril of darkness continued along the whip as though it had a mind of its own. It sought to devour whatever was on the other end of the weapon. Ephilia's instant transmission in front of Thora came as a surprise to the young Goddess and Ephilia smiled at her before planting a kiss on her lips. Her tongue expertly dominated Thora's as she sapped the willpower from the girl, and after what felt like ages to Thora did Ephilia break their kiss.

"I can assure you, there's much more where that came from my dear," she assured and caressed Thora's cheek. The look in the Goddess' eyes was almost lifeless, as if all form of resistance that she held before had been purged from her body. Thora nodded eagerly, and Ephilia gave her another peck on the cheek.

"Now, kill your dear friend. Will you?" Ephilia asked Thora and the latter nodded in ascent. The tendril of darkness, now merged with the whip, lashed out towards Akura at Thora's command. Ephila stood behind Thora, eager to see the former comrades fight each other.

"It's not too late little Akura. I can make you more powerful than you could ever dream. There's still a place for you in my new reality." Ephilia reiterated. She didn't expect Akura to relent, but it was worth a shot. If Thora was to fall in combat, then Ephilia would simply force Akura to become her champion next. It was a continual proccess.

"I'm no one's lackey Ephilia. War is no one's servant." She replied, parying the whip and wrapping it around her blade, which suddenly shortened as she Yanked thora her way, suddenly slamming a fist into the goddess gut, then one into her face. Then kicking her repeatedly untill she simply was knocked out. She had fed on the combat and rage here, putting her above the now unconcious goddess. But was it enough for Ephilia? "And I'd hate to leave a good battle half done." She then smiled.

"Come on Ephilia. Don't you want to say that you fought war herself?" She taunted. "I might even let you win if your fun enough."

Well that couldn't of been more anti-climatic. Thora was brutally beaten down until only Ephilia had remained to fight Akura. Ephilia wrapped her arm around her own torso and pursed her lips together as she thought about how to deal with Akura. It wasn't that Ephilia thought she couldn't defeat Akura, but there was just so many options at her disposal.

"Well, it's been a while since I've gotten my hands dirty." Ephilia was briefly consumed in a dark light that engulfed her entire figure. Upon its dissolution, the goddess was adorned in her personal battle armor. Not wasting anymore time mincing words, Ephilia charged towards Akura.

[New Rnclave]

-Snip-