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

[Tomia]

Cora's First Christmas
Cora sat on her(well her and Katie's bed as she folded her clothes to put them into her new draw. She was moving her stuff into Katie's room that day. Since they decided they wanted to start sharing a room and Cora didn't have nearly as much stuff as Katie, it only made sense that she would be the one to move. As anxious and excited she was about, there was something else on her mind as well, Christmas.

Cora was vaguely familiar with the holiday and had already been exposed to the decorations and the music, however... it just wasn't clicking. She didn't understand the holiday, or what it had to do with a baby being born thousands of years ago. Still Cora knew how excited Katie was about their first Christmas together so she had tried to do some research and figure out what was so important about this holiday, but nothing was clicking. She could always fake her enthusiasm, but that felt dishonest and she didn't want to lie to Katie, Sighing the cyborg went on with her task, wondering why this thing called Christmas was so difficult to understand.

Katie chuckled as she electrically slipped through the building walls, appearing behind her lover and hugging her from behind. "Hey Cora." She spoke, spinning herself around in joy, having barely been able to sit still for the past few days. "In the words of a famous song, "It's the most wonderful time of the year!"" she exclaimed, twirling like a ballerina. "Don't worry Cora, I'll teach you all about Christmas. Shame you can't meet my family, but they're all in Maine now for the reunion, and I can't be there for... well obvious superhero reasons." She remarked.

Cora couldn't help but smile when she felt Katie's arms around her as she sat on the bed. She leaned back and kissed her girlfriend lovingly. "Why do you always popped when I'm doing laundry?" Cora asked jokingly. She couldn't help but laugh as she watched Katie dance like a little girl. Even though she still wasn't sure about Christmas, she loved how happy it made Katie.

Cora frowned a little though when Katie talked about missing her family. Cora gracefully hopped off the bed and wrapped her arms around Katie. "Well I'm sure we could take one day off to see them right? I mean, the rest of the team can cover for us for a day. I'm sure they would understand." Cora said to Katie, wanting to make her happy, and knowing that seeing her family would make her really happy.

[Tomia]

Sam
Sam entered the room couldn't help but smile when DeeDee said she was impressed with her. Then she tried to hide her blush when DeeDee brought up her being naked in the room last night. "Well..." Sam said before deciding it was best not to lie. "I didn't. It was just so sudden, I was shocked and all. Even if I wanted to... It wouldn't have been right. You were asleep after all, I couldn't just violate your privacy like that." Sam told DeeDee sincerely.

Darian and Serene
Serene couldn't help but giggle at her new friends' enthusiasm. "Alright, let's get going then. Beware though, its going to be cold." Serene toward them before they began to trek north once more. Serene didn't lie about the cold, as they moved toward the base of the mountain, it began to snow and the wind was furiously slamming against them as they walked. Darian looked to be struggling a little bit in the cold, though he said nothing about it. The cold was difficult for him. The fire attributes given to him by the demon made him vulnerable to the cold. Serene wished there was something she could do for her brother but knew the sooner they got there the better. She decided to try some conversation to lighten the mood. Turning to Etla and Ihra, "So how do you two know each other exactly? You look like you might be related, but you didn't seem to be traveling together when you both arrived."

Nico
Nico went over to the cabinet when Cat asked for his help before Kiris said she could take care of it. Deciding not to question it, he went to watch the door like she had asked, and then heard her soft signing, that sounded almost like a prayer. When he turned around however the lock was indeed broken, and Nico rushed over to see what was inside. When he saw it, he was shocked and nearly dropped the files in his hands. They were confidential records regarding illegal drug sales, and the people that his parents' cartel associated with. This was it, this was the proof he had been looking for for so long. Now that he had it though, Nico felt terrible. He felt like his world was crumbling around him.

Then suddenly he heard a voice coming from the front of the office. It was a man who looked like he was wearing a ninja uniform, with two katanas in his hands. "You kids... You made a big mistake." He said as he charged at them, his weapons ready to kill.

[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.

[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."

[Tomia]

Serene and Darian
Serene listened to Etla and she talked about herself and Ihra, noticing there seemed to be a bit of confusion between them. She was impressed that neither of them seemed to be effected by the cold, despite not really being dressed for winter. Her brother however was not at as lucky and Serene frowned when Etla brought it up. "I'm... fine" Darian interjected between shivers. Serene frowned deeper and explained, "My brother, well... has a condition. The cold can be pretty difficult for him." Serene admitted, not mentioning the fact that the reason for that condition was that he was being possessed by an ancient evil.

After a bit longer of a march up the mountain, they came upon the entrance to a cave that seemed quite dubious and sketchy. So much so that Serene was about to walk past it when suddenly she heard Angel's voice, urging her forward, Fear not my child, the one you seek is within. The wise voice told her confidently. Serene was still unsure, but knew she should trust Angel. "Here, this is where we need to go." Serene told the others, sure that they would be quite confuse by her statement. The cave certainly didn't seem like any place they wanted to be.

Kandar
Marriac nodded to Soran and then asked a question, "What about the Princess and the civilians we wish to evacuate? Should we leave them here while we go off to battle?"

Togora merely shrugged at the Princess' words. "These Xyrixma have not yet felt the wrath of Asugar. They would never be able to stand against my father in combat." Togara assured, having not yet been humbled by age like the king had.

[Tomia]

Sam Grimm
Sam nodded a little solemnly at DeeDee's words, the problem was Sam didn't really know what she wanted. Did she want to be with DeeDee like that? Sam was certainly attracted to her, but Sam didn't trust very easy and wasn't sure she could trust DeeDee yet, the half demon seemed a little too aloof for Sam's comfort. Still she pushed those thoughts aside and answered DeeDee's question. "Well, that's a really nice offer DeeDee. I'll have to talk to my sisters though. I'm not sure if we have plans, but I know we'll want to be together whatever we do. As for how I got back. Well... I wandered around in a forest for a while until i found this really big demon that looked like an ogre. He said is name was 'Trugala' I think. He told me he'd get me back to the human world if I managed to beat him in a fight. And well... It took a while but eventually I froze him in a block of ice. I thawed him after a little while and even though he called my magic something in some weird language, he agreed that I won and he brought me home." Sam told DeeDee about her night.

[Tomia]

Kandar
King Marriac nodded, "Very well, let us be off then to find this weapon of yours. My son will stay back to help the Princess, though I can't imgaine he'll be too happy about that. He's a ferocious one my boy is." Marriac said as he headed off with Soran toward the transport shuttles.

Meanwhile the Togara stiffened at the Princess' suggestion. "You want me to go run off to clear some wreckage?" He asked, almost incredulous. "I am no common slave worker. I am Asugar's Hammer, and a warrior at heart. That work is beneath me." Togara said firmly. Though he had been ordered to protect the princess, he was not at all interest at doing search and rescue work when a battle was raging on nearby.

[Tomia]

Young Bloods
Mars heard the conversation between Nico and Xyri, hearing Xyri's report about the armed men on the bottom floor. He frowned a bit. None of the survallaince footage was showing any of that. "They must have blocked off that areas' security system from this server. Alright, well we need to get down there." He said before turning to Vera who was above him. "Vera, you think you can find us a way down through the airshafts?" Mars asked the teammate accompanying him.

Nico turned to the two girls with him. "Come on, we don't have time to wait for the others. Cat, can you use Jordan's memories to find a way inside?" Nico asked, more serious and rash sounding than usual. He was clearly upset and determined to find his parents and get justice and answers.

[Tomia]

Serene heard Etla's questioning of her decision that they needed to enter the strange cave and wasn't surprised, after all it wasn't like she could hear the voice in Serene's head telling her to push forward. "I know it's weird it's just... I have a feeling this is right." Serene said before pushing on ahead. How was she supposed to explain that a voice in her head told her to go inside? The otherwise would think she had lost her mind. Darian raised an eyebrow but merely followed Serene, having gotten used to her being guided by Angel without actually understanding the decisions themselves.

As Serene headed inside she noticed a strange light coming from deep inside the tunnel, it was larger and wider than she had expected. Soon she came upon a large clearing in the cave and couldn't help but let out an audible gasp. The walls of the cave were covered with cryptic symbols that Serene didn't recognize and there were large book cases and tables filled with what seemed like ancient alchemy equipment all around.

Serene took a step passed the entranceway, only to see some of the symbols on the walls glow bright red and suddenly two golem like creatures appeared from the ground, welding hammers and shields molded from the Earth. "Die intruders!" They shouted as they charged the group.

[Tomia]

Young Bloods
Mars heard Vera's question and looked over the plans for the buildings that he had obtained, there was no sign of an elevator down there. The security cameras didn't show anything either, as if they were set up to put the elevator shaft in a blind spot. "There's no sign of an elevator shaft Vera." Mars told his teammate through their communicator. "Someone went through great lengths to hide it. We should find what's down there." Mars said, before telling the others to join them through the communicator. He then headed up through the elevator shaft to join Vera, he didn't have much of a choice otherwise after all.

Nico had turned off his communicator as Cat used her recently aquire memories to find a way inside the secret base. She led them to the elevator as well. Seeing that it was currently at the lower level, they'd need a way down. Nico turned on his communicator, he had a way down but it was a one way trip, so he needed everyone there. "We found a secret elevator, it must lead to the place we're looking for. Meet us down in the basement, I think I have a way to get down there."

[Tomia]

Once the whole team arrived by the elevator shaft, Nico took a deep breath and suddenly his hands began to break down into sand particles and created an elevator over the hole beneath them. "Come on, I won't be able to hold this forever, but it should work to get us down." Nico told the group.

Mars raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You sure this will work?" The boy genius asked skeptically.

"Better than falling" Nico replied sheep and Mars merely sighed before standing on the sand as the others followed suit. Once everyone was on, Nico strained to slowly lower the sand platform down and he was out of breath by the time they reached the bottom. What they saw was utterly shocking and horrifying. A giant factory, equipped to make every illicit drug you could imagine.

Nearby guards noticed the teams arrival and suddenly jumped up from the card games they were playing. "Hey, intruders!" They said as a few of them began firing their weapons." Mars pressed a button on his the wrist of his suit and a large energy shield expanded around them. It was a new thing he had created that he called a "bubble shield". "Alright, we need a plan. Some of us need to take our the guards, and other need to focus and destroying their means of production, any suggestions?" He asked the group, noting how similar this was to his and Kiris' first mission. But they had the whole team now and this was much more personal than some crime lord in South America.

[Tomia]

Samantha Grimm
Sam listened intently as DeeDee talked about demons. Sam was always eager to learn and she was fascinated to hear about the variety of culture and physiology that demons seemed to possess. Sam didn't speak, she prefered to listen when she learned. She was surprised when DeeDee brought up a Christmas gift however, and it clearly wasn't an optional one. Sam forced herself not to blush as she wondered what DeeDee could be talking about. "Well, thanks DeeDee. I mean.. you don't have to go to too much trouble though." Sam told her teacher, wondering if she should get her a gift as well. What would she even get someone like DeeDee anyway?

[Tomia]

Cora
Cora had taken a few days off from her work with the government and had gotten her teammates to cover her shifts on patrol. She told everyone that she wasn't feeling well, and that was only partially a lie. Cora had been so nervous that she was barely able to focus on anything, even training. You see, today wouldn't be just any day, it was Valentine's Day. It wasn't just Katie and Cora's first Valentine's Day as a couple, it was Cora's first ever.

From everything that she had read online and seen on tv, this day was very important. She knew the would have to be very romantic and Cora wanted terribly to impress Katie and meet her expectations. To add even more pressure, Cora had a feeling that this might be the night for them to have... another first. They had been dating for around 4 months now after all, and it seemed like this would be the best time if any.

The reason they had waited this long was mostly because of Cora. She had very little experience and it took her a while to get used to the idea of intimacy. She now wanted this very much, but she was nervous about her total lack on knowledge and experience. She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Katie and disappoint her.

Cora spent most of her "sick days" researching both of these topics online, as well as going shopping for an outfit to wear that night. She had done a lot of work, but she wasn't sure if she was ready. She was currently laying in her and Katie's bed trying to get some much needed rest and take a break from worrying for a little while.she found herself wondering a bit where Katie might be, and what she was thinking about all of this.

[Tomia]

It was then that Katie opened the door, her trademark smile and exuberance about her. She had a small present behind her back, though she kept it stealthily out of view whenever she wasn't twirling, and even then she did it so fast it would be near imposible to notice the prezie. She spun towards her girlfriend, jumping into bed with her.

"Today's the day Cora." She spoke, wrapping arms around her. She was so excited, she could barely contain herself.

Cora heard Katie coming through the door, she barely needed to see her to know how excited she was. Cora could hear her spinning and twirling like she often did when she was excited. Cora couldn't help but tense up slightly when Katie jumped onto the bed, Cora felt jumpy right now and considering what she was worried about being in the same bed as Katie wasn't helping. She relaxed in her girlfriend's arms however, trying not to let her feelings show. She didn't want to upset or offend Katie, making her think this had anything to do with her or was her fault at all.

"Hi Katie, I know I'm excited for tonight too." Cora told her girlfriend, snuggling into her embrace and resting her head on Katie's shoulder. Their plan was to see a romantic movie that night, before going ice skating and then getting ice cream and sitting together in a beautiful park that Cora found outside the city to look up at stars together.

"I can't believe I'm having my first Valentine's day with someone." Cora told Katie honestly. "You've made this whole transition a lot easier Katie, and I'm really great full for that." Cora told her girlfriend, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She enjoyed this restful time they were spending together, and it did help her relax a bit.

[Tomia]

DeeDee
"Awesome!" I shouted "By the way I have a new test for you, this is one you don't have to do, and I can't help you with it because I can not do it. I'm sure you've sensed the magic of others before, and I'm sure that through that magic you've felt things like an intent to attack or protect or heal or kill or ..., you get the point. Well I know there re mages who can basically convey whatever they want through their magic, people feeling it, even non mages, somehow feel like they understand exactly what that mage is trying to convey." I jumped up from the bed and walked towards the door. "So try to convey whatever you can through magic, I've been training myself to do it for the past 3 years and so far all I have managed to convey through my magic is a desire to either fight or fuck, so not so successful." I opened the door "In any case, I'm sure it's breakfast time. I'll leave it up to you how you try that magic test, or if you even want to try it.".

Sam listened to DeeDee's new test that she had for the witch in training and Sam was actually a bit surprised. It wasn't embarrassing or dangerous, though it certainly seemed challenging. Sam had felt like she was able to sense people's emotion and the small amounts of magical energy that the people around her seemed to give off. She knew this task would be hard, but she was determined to see it through. "Alright DeeDee I'll do it. And thank you for leaving it up to me. I'll try to make you proud." Sam told her teaching with determination before following her out the door as they walked toward the hotel breakfast. She noticed the others hadn't arrived yet. "I wonder where everyone else is. Well u know Hannah is probably still sleeping. She doesn't like mornings one bit." Sam said with a smile as she and DeeDee sat down at a table that would fit all of them.

[Tomia]

---

Sam saw Sarah, John, and Hannah arrive at the breakfast table and waved to them as they sat down. "Hey guys, where's Roy?" Sam asked curiously, before hearing Sarah question and being unable to prevent a blush from spreading across her cheeks. "Well, DeeDee sent me on a training mission. I didn't get back until a few hours ago." Sam told truthfully before she was luckily saved from clarifying further when the waitress came over to take their orders. Sam ordered some pancakes and John ordered an omelet. Sam stilled wondered where her sister's friend might be.

Roy had woken up early as he often did and went to the hotel's small gym to workout in the morning as was his routine. The gym didn't have much, but Roy made use of the weights they did have, and spent much of his time doing push ups, squats, sit ups, and other exercises that did not require too much equipment. Working out always helped him clear his mind and relax, which he felt he needed that morning. He still wasn't sure what to think about his conversation with Hannah. He felt like they both had feelings for each other, but had no idea how to move things forward. He went on a run outside the streets of the hotel before finally returning to his room to take a shower. After he had gotten dressed he realized he was going to be late for breakfast and headed there as soon as he could, finally arriving at the table where the others were sitting already. "Sorry I'm late." He said, blushing a little bit as he moved slowly to sit next to Hannah, hoping the others wouldn't notice.

[Tomia]

---

The gang members were thrown into disarray as a storm came impossibly upon them and their equipment began to explode around them. A number of men approached the bubble shield with rocket launchers, realizing that Kiris was the cause of the destruction and aimed to bring the source to a quick end. They began to fire on the shield which caused the machine generating it to strain and whir. To make matters worse, an incredibly large man came approaching with a large machine gun blasting bullets toward the shield at high speeds. "It won't be able to hold much longer!" Mars shouted, they were pinned, down and needed to do something about it.

Nico spoke up and turned to Cat, Vera, and Xyri, "Come on, we need to help the others!" He shouted, jumping out of the force-field and creating giant fists of sand to swing at the enemy soldiers, hoping the others would follow suit. He couldn't help but look over his shoulder as he fought, his eyes searching for any signs of his parents, but it seemed that they hadn't been drawn out yet. He didn't know if he wanted to see them there or not. He wanted closure, to know the truth, but he was starting to realize how much that truth would hurt when he faced it.

[Tomia]

Etla blinked twice at Serene's answer and then shrugged. "Oh, well, alright then. If that's what you feel..." The Rainborn conceded, thinking no more about the situation. If Serene felt that this way would lead them to the Guru, then she'd just follow along, partly because she was prone to changing her mind, like the free-spirited Rainborn she was, but also because she believed Serene. Some humans could be really perceptive, going as far as to border on the premonitory, or at least, that was her experience with them. For example, Craig often was able to find out which machines were malfunctioning and why, without so much as looking at them, which had always fascinated her.

It took her a moment to realize that this had nothing to do with premonition, but his powers. By then, however, they were already descending. The blonde girl thought about it no more and instead simply admired the glow of the cave. It was exactly the kind of thing that would catch the attention of someone like her after all, and so, she stopped paying attention to other things until they reached the clearing. Noticing that the others had stopped, Etla did as well, and only then did she look around, noticing that two earth thingies were charging at them. Frowning slightly, she reached into the Cloud and pulled Cyclone out of its dimensional storage as she summoned her armor to her.

"Power Shift: Star Core." She spoke, and suddenly her blade was filled with light. However, rather than attack, she merely held it up to block the attack of one of the two golems, wondering what else the creature had in store for her and the others.

---

Darian and Serene turned into the Sword Demon and the Lightbringer respectively as the golems began chucking rocks at the intruders. Sword Demon slashed through one them while Lightbringer's arrows created small protective shields that deflected some of the chunks of rock. She then sent one of the arrows into one of the golem's chest as it suddenly exploded in a blast of light, sending pieces of golem everywhere. However those pieces began to reform and half a dozen smaller golem suddenly appeared around them. Serene frowned, "They're reforming." She said, stating the obvious.

"Then we'll just kill them again!" Darian shouted, charging forward and slashing straight through one of the reformed golem's with his sword. It then reformed to two even smaller golem's.

Serene frowned, "Darian, we can't just attack our way through this! We have to work together!" she shouted at her brother who didn't seem to be listening as he futilely slashed through more and more golems as they continued to reform.

[Tomia]

Mars and Nico
The fight seemed to be going pretty well for the Young Bloods as Mars protected Kiris with the bubble shield and Nico knocked out any enemy near by with his sand fist. Still, Nico had the feeling that something was off, this all just seemed too easy. His parents were smarter than that. Suddenly he heard his sister shout out and before he could respond smoke was filling the air around him. He tried to shield himself with sand but he was too slow, and he didn't dare try breaking down his lungs, he'd die that way. He tried to hold his breath but he soon fell to his knees out of dizzyness. As things grew blurry he saw a large muscular Latino man in a grey business suit wearing a gas mask move enter the room. He had tan skin and was clean shaven and had that look of determination he knew all too well. It was his father, the one they were chasing after. He began to lose consciousness as that was the last sight he saw before his face hit the pavement.

Mars began to feel and see the smoke as well as his suit suddenly closed up to prevent it from entering his lungs. He only had a limited supply of clean oxygen though so he needed to hurry. His suit's sensors were analyzing the smoke and learned that it was composed of a powerful sedative and hallucinogen. It would disorient and incapacitate them quickly unless they could find a source of oxygen to dispel the gas. Mars had almost nearly passed out as he began to run out of oxygen and the bubble shield collapsed. Before he fell to the ground and passed out he was able to press a flashing button on his wrist, activating Rocket remotely and sending a distress signal. Mars' last thought before he was knocked out was him wondering whether or not rocket could make it there in time.

[Tomia]

Lance Dagheart
A young couple was walking through the streets of Gotham late one night. Everyone knew that that was a dangerous thing to do, but they were coming home from a party and knew that they wouldn't be safe to drive. Besides, shouldn't they feel safe to walk in their own city? They were both well dressed, the man wearing a dark blue suit and the woman was wearing an expensive red dress, with a gold necklace with a heart shaped pendent. As they crossed the street towards an alleyway however, they were soon surrounded by three men in dark clothes with their hoods up.

"Wrong place, right time." One of them said with a smile as they swarmed the couple. Both victims fought back but were being overwhelmed by criminals when suddenly there was a loud bang on the dumpster behind them. The criminals paused, noises in the dark usually meant trouble in Gotham. Indeed a shadowy figure moved through the alleyways, but it wasn't the one they were expecting. Suddenly a trash can came flying through the air, slamming the face of one of the thugs and knocking him to the ground, blood flowing from his nose.

"What the..." One of the men said before suddenly screaming out in pain as electricity for a taser shocked through his body. The third man panicked and charged into the shadows, and all that could be heard was a series of grunts, kicks and punches, before the man's body came flying back out of the shadows and slamming hard into the ground. He groaned aimlessly and was barely conscious. His face was bloody and already starting to swell as his nose was bent and clearly broken.

The woman who had just been saved let out a startling shriek,fearing the demon that was surely lurking in the shadows. He never showed his face however and the couple didn't wait around to make sure as they ran as fast as they could to the safety of their home.

Meanwhile Lance Dagheart made his way back to his small apart by running across the rooftops, climbing up his building until he finally reached the window of his apartment. He took off his sheer black mask and sat down in his living room chair, catching his breath for a moment. There wasn't much in his apartment besides his bed, workout equipment, and his fathers old books and notes. Lance walked over to the kitchen and poured himself a drink. By day Lance poured over his father's notes, and looking across the city for something that might explain his breakdown. By night, he took out his pent up frustrations out on the city's criminals. It wasn't much of a life, but Lance needed to know the truth. What did Anubis mean? And why had it destroyed his father's life?

[Tomia]

Sam Grimm
Sam was shocked at DeeDee's words, knowing what she was implying and it just simply wasn't true. "It was nothing like that!" Sam said, trying to keep her voice down. Suddenly something else drew her attention. DeeDee's tail began wrapping itself around Sam as it had before. Sam ignored it at first but then she felt a sharp pain in her leg and grimaced. The tail was clenching around her tightly and it hurt. She tried to squirm away from it but it was futile. She finally turned to DeeDee and said, "Uh DeeDee, do you think you could move your tail? It's really starting to hurt." DeeDee said to her teacher who was sitting next to her.

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars sat in the living room of the house he used to live in when his parents were still alive. Things seemed a little blurry, and he was unable to focus on anything, but then he saw his parents enter the room smiling at down at him. He smiled back at them, at least he thought he was smiling. He crawled toward them, why was he crawling? He ignored that thought for the moment, it just didn't seem to matter. His mother suddenly picked him up and put him in her arms and held him close. Mars looked up at her, it had been years since he'd seen those eyes. They were filled with life and kindness. Mars reached out to touch her face, as if to see if she was real, when suddenly things grew darker and darker until he could barely make out his mother's face. Then a voice broke through loud and clear, "Mars... wake up..."

Suddenly Mars shot awake, his vision was still blurry, but he could see Rocket flying into the basement from a hole that wasn't there before. He was barely awake but he managed to climb towards Rocket, and enter the pilot chamber inside him. "I am glad you are alright." Rocket said in his mechanical voice. There was an influx of oxygen into the suit and Mars finally started feeling awake again. He then saw that more armed men were coming towards them behind the man in the suit and he turned to see Kiris laying unconscious. He panicked for moment before his monitor detected a heart beat. He knew she would awake soon like he did so he picked her up and carried her towards cover before placing her behind a wall where she'd be safe from gun fire.

However he then saw Nico on the floor as well, and knew he needed help. After placing Kiris down he ran towards his teammate as enemies began to fire at Rocket, seeing that the giant mecha was not friendly towards them. "Cat! Get your brother to cover until he recovers!" Mars shouted as he used Rocket's armor to shield Nico away from gun fire.

Sam and Roy
Roy smiled at Sarah's comment. He wasn't exactly sure what to think about her yet, but she seemed nice even if a bit intimidating. "I'm okay, those criminals yesterday weren't too big of a deal." Roy said calmly, then smiling when he heard Sarah's offer. "Really? You'll train me? Thank you Sarah, I really appreciate." He told Hannah's older sister sincerely. "I'll do my best to learn, I promise."

Sam was grateful when DeeDee retracted her leg, and was shocked when she broke the floor beneath her, getting a little nervous as people around them started staring even more than before. She then saw DeeDee put her head into her hands, looking very distressed. "DeeDee is something wrong? Are you feeling okay?" Sam asked looking quite concerned for her teacher.

[Tomia]

Sam, Roy, and John
"It's okay. I don't know much about being a student either." Roy told Sarah, looking forward to the idea of having a real teacher, one that was even a friend of his. John then smiled at Sarah's comment to Hannah. "Do I mean so so little to you that you'll just trade me away?" He asked his girlfriend playfully before turning to Hannah. "I will admit, I know little about being a werewolf. However I know a great deal about combat and controlling my strength and emotions. If you would like, I'd be willing to teach you what I know." John told the youngest Grimm.

Sam had a worried look on her face, and it was clear that she didn't really believe that DeeDee was alright. Still, the witch didn't want to question her teacher and merely nodded when she said she'd control her tail. "Thank you, and DeeDee? If there's anything you need from me, or you just want to talk... Let me know okay?" Sam told the demon softly. Sam hadn't known DeeDee long, but she already looked up to her and didn't like seeing her distressed.

Serene and Darian
Serene saw Etla blast one of the golems and melt it completely. The monster didn't reform and Serene smiled brightly. "Elta you're a genius!" "Darian, melt these guys!" She shouted to her brother.

"On it!" Darian shouted back before a blazing fire sprouted from his sword and he waved it toward the golems, incinerating them instantly. Suddenly though a strange blast of magical light struck Darian from deeper in the cave and a man medieval armor approached. "Whoever you are, you are not welcome here!" He shouted.

Serene ran to Darian's side to make sure he was okay before responding to them man. "We're not your enemies!" She told the man, pausing as she knew she'd have to reveal the truth to the others now. "The Angel sent us, she said you could help us." The man paused and lowered his hands as they stopped glowing with magical energy. He stared at Serene intently, and it was starting to make her uncomfortable. The man had wild grey hair, and his eyes showed a wild sense of experience. Like he had just been inside the middle of a tornado and survived.

"I can sense it. You are the Angel's vessel aren't you? It's been eons since I've been in her presence. Come in, we have much to talk about."

[Tomia]

Darian and Serene
Serene heard Etla's questions about the golem's and was confused why she was angry but it seemed to blow over as she caught up to them. Etla was certainly a bit strange, but Serene didn't mind it. After all, who was she to complain about weird? She was actually enjoying having Etla around, it was nice to have companion and she seemed fun, if a bit quirky.

"Sorry Etla, we'll try to save some for you next time." Serene said with a smile as they followed the unnamed man through the cave.

"Where exactly are we going? and why did you blast me with magic?" Darian asked with a frown, having returned to his most basic human form.

"Figured you were one of his men." The unnamed man said, "His followers have been hunting me for thousands of years, and I sensed darkness in you. Care to explain that to me?"

"It's none of your concern." Darian responded.

"It is my concern. I was the Angel's greatest ally during the war. I am quite curious as to what her vessel is doing traveling with an abomination like yourself."

Darian reached for his sword but Serene stopped him, "Darian, Angel is speaking to me. She says we can trust him. His name is Haldran. He fought with the Angel against the Demon in their final battle." She said before turning to Haldran. "My brother... my brother is the Demon's vessel."

Haldran went quite for nearly a minute, and the silence had gotten thick before he final spoke. "So it has finally come. The end times are here."

[Tomia]

The Dark Damned Heart

Chapter 6

Alpha Squad
Alpha Squad was deep within the sewers underneath Black-Gate prison when the battle above them started. They didn’t hear the noises and shouts of warfare taking place above them. They did however feel a slight rumbling in the concrete above them, which told them that the battle at the northern gate had begun.

“Come on, we need to get moving.” Nightwing told his team as they moved through the sewers. He was looking at a digital display of the prison that Mars had created based on the sketches and reports that their spies had delivered to them. “We’re just below the detention center. The control room is just a little ways down.” Alpha Squad leader told his team.

“How are we going to get into the control room Nightwing?” Kylie asked. “It’s going to be heavily guarded, and they’ve installed a shutdown system. Somehow, they’re able to surround the prison in dark energy, no one will get in or out then.” The Green Lantern told the squad leader. Their spies had witnessed this during a riot two weeks ago. The sky around the prison suddenly grew dark and it was enveloped in a bubble of dark energy that as far as they knew was impenetrable.

“That’s why we’re going to use Miss Martian’s ability to copy peoples’ appearances to our advantage. She’s going to disguise herself as guard, and figure out what or who is controlling the lock down system.” Nightwing explained, “Kylie, you and Wonder Girl are going to camp out underneath the control room. Miss Martian will send you a telepathic message when the security is down. Then you’ll bust in and open the prison doors.”

“What then?” Miss Martian asked.

Nightwing gave a wary smile, “We fight, and hope we don’t die.”

The reality of that was starkly apparent and it created a sense of unease among the group. Who realized that their odds of winning this were grim. The truth had always been there, but it had been easier ignore before in the safety of their headquarters. Now it was staring them in the face and they could only keep a brave face and move forward. They had no other choice. They had to move forward, no matter what the odds.
“Anyway, let’s get going. I need to leave now.”

“Where are you going Nightwing?”

“To find someone who can help us. They’ve been trying to kill him for years. But well… He doesn’t die easily.” And with that Nightwing jumped through a nearby vent and was gone, as the others went about their duties, preparing for the fight to come.


Beta Squad
“As you can see here. This is a diagram of WGTU Radio station. This is the enemy’ current communications headquarters. They are using the radio towers across the city to coordinate their forces and control their automated turrets and tanks. If we can manage to get control of these frequencies. We could make things very difficult for the Demon and his death squad.” Craig Thomsen said, as he and his squad stood on the roof of a nearby building. They were all wearing devices that manipulated light to allow them to remain hidden, and they were all gathered around a holographic map of the radio station.

“If you can get me inside, I’ll be able to hear everything in the entire city, and stop all of their communications.” Rin said matter of factly.

“And that’s exactly where I want you to be Melody.” Craig said with a smile, using Rin’s hero name that she had adopted. “However in order to get you there, we’ll need to fight. That’s why Etla…”

“That’s why I’ll run in and smash some demons. It’ll be fun!” Etla the Rainborn interrupted, putting an arm around her husband.

Craig couldn’t help but smile. People often wondered how Etla and Craig got along so well, since they were so different in personality. However Craig found her very sincere and charming, and appreciated how she could get serious when the moment called for it.

“Well, I was thinking you’d lead Chorus, Verse, and Nia against the enemy. But yes, you have the basic idea dear.” He said to his wife.

“Doesn’t this seem too easy?” Verse said, Chorus nodding in agreement. “They will certainly be expecting us. Even if they aren’t, it won’t take them long to realize what’s going on.”

“True, we will no doubt face resistance. But we have no chose. Sam and our friends our counting on us. I will do my best to sneak Rin into the command room, while the rest of you cover us.” He told the others, externally showing confidence in his plan while internally hoping that he wasn’t about to get these people killed. “Now, time to get to work.” He told them, and the others nodded, taking a moment and readying themselves and their equipment.

Etla took a step toward her husband, being able to tell that he wasn’t as confident about their chances as he made himself seem. The Rainborn put a hand on his shoulder, “You don’t have to pretend with me Craig. I know your worried. You have good reason to be. We’re in a dangerous situation.” The Rainborn told him softly.

Craig sighed, the tiredness in his eyes showing. He and Mars worked non-stop most days, and it was clearly starting to weigh on the human genius. That was on top of the guilt he felt for feeling like he wasn’t doing enough to help. “I just… don’t want to lose any of you Etla. I don’t want my friends to die. I don’t want you to die.” He said in a weary voice.

Etla pulled Craig into a kiss, holding him tightly for a few long moments before pulling away. “You are a great leader Craig. There’s no one else I’d rather trust my life to. You do so much for our cause, don’t let your doubt hold you back.”

Craig nodded slowly, looking a bit more relaxed. Etla tended to have that effect on him. “You’re right. Thank you Etla. In case something happens… I want to make sure I say I love you. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Etla smiled brightly and nodded, “I love you too.”

With that, the group separated, and went about their part of the mission. Craig used his falcon wings to make their way to the roof of the radio station, while the others scaled down the building they were currently on, as their part of the mission required a frontal assault. They made their way towards the main entrance, still under the cover of the invisibility provided by Craig’s camouflage devices. They knew they would not remain unnoticed for long, so they took the time to study the enemy defenses to see what was in store for them in the near future.

The enemy was, as Verse predicted, quite prepared. They had built a wooden barricade around the building, and armed dark hearts patrolling the walls. Many in the resistance didn’t enjoy killing dark hearts, but they all knew it was necessary. Even if these people were infected by the Demon, they were dangerous and couldn’t be left alive. Some even hated the dark hearts, having lost loves ones to the disease and taking out their anger and grief on the infected. The dark hearts were accompanied by numerous automated defense turrets, whose guns rotated mechanically. The most intimidating defense however was the squad of demon spawn. Demon spawn varied in shape and size, but all of them were formidable and deadly opponents. These particular spawn looked like giant trolls, but their skin was black and they held massive jagged blades.

“Fight time!” Etla whispered in a determined voice that didn’t seem to go too well with her words before charging towards the enemy.

“Wait, we didn’t even make a plan!” Verse shouted as Chorus charged in as well. Flashes of bright light could be seen as Etla battled with the demon spawn, and Chorus began slashing her sword through dark hearts, absorbing their souls and using them against their remaining comrades.

Nia merely sighed at her teammates crude strategy. She moved quietly and slowly towards the turrets that were firing on the others, closing her eyes and suddenly disappearing from sight. The turrets suddenly ceased firing and turned toward the dark hearts guards and began firing rapidly upon them. They were making good progress, however reinforces came flooding out from the radio station, each dark heart and demon spawn as heavily armed as the last. However, this was the plan after all, no matter desperate and dangerous it might be.

Meanwhile Rin and Craig slowly made their down from the roof toward the main broadcasting chamber of the station. The plan seemed to be working quite well, as they only encountered a few straggling dark hearts that Craig dealt with quietly. That worried the squad leader however, as that meant that the other part of their plan was going well. He knew it was necessary, but he hated putting people in danger, especially his wife. He had to push those thoughts from his mind for now, and focus on protecting Rin. He was suddenly pulled out of his thought by Rin.

“Some one’s coming.” The mutant with super-hearing whispered. “It’s a human. He’s talking to another human.” Craig and Rin stopped in their tracks as they hid around the corner and soon the voice came into the range of Craig’s ears as well.

“Tell the Witch Boy, the master wants her alive. She is needed unharmed.”

Craig raised an eyebrow, he felt like that voice was familiar but he didn’t know from where. It was deep and rugged, and had an eerie feel to it. He was worried about what the strange man was saying. Had they captured Sam? She was tough, and one of the best magic wielders he had ever seen, but she was still flesh and blood and had a lot of pressure to deal with. They couldn’t afford to lose her. Their army would collapse without her and any chance they had at victory would be crushed.

Craig had to push these dark thoughts out his mind once more. He was getting distracted and that could be dangerous. He couldn’t risk revealing himself, so the identity of their mysterious enemy would have to wait. Soon the man and his companion walked away and once Rin gave him a nod, Craig led them through the hallway once more to continue their journey.

The halls of the radio station were once filled with fliers and colorful posters. Now they were stripped clean and the only thing that filled the halls was debris that only left a shallow reminder of better days, memories that Craig was determined to make a reality again.
Craig stopped suddenly in his tracks. It had gotten drastically colder in the hallway and Rin clearly noticed it as well. “She’s here.” Craig said, dread in his voice. He had briefed Rin on the details of the mission so she knew who he was talking about. The only female member of Death Squad currently in Gotham. A woman who made most resistance fighters fear the cold.

“Killer Frost”

Suddenly the whole floor began to freeze around their feet. Craig readied his disk shield in preparation for an attack and he did so just in time as spikes of ice shot towards him at incredible speed. Rin blasted the spikes targeting her with sonic blasts that shattered them in midair.
Suddenly a figure appeared in front of them. It was Killer Frost with an evil smile on her face.

“Looks like I’m going to get have two new additions to my collection of frozen heroes.”


Delta Squad
The atmosphere among the members of Delta Squad was clearly not a happy one. Their journey to Gotham had started on a stealth rocket where team leader Kiris attempting to make small talk with Mars, who ignored her and practically pretended she did not exist. After a few minutes Kiris gave up and sat sulkily in her chair. Xyri had given Mars a dirty look and then spent the rest of the flight trying to cheer Kiris up with silly faces and jokes. This yielded mixed results though the slime girl was quite proud when she got a smile out of her best friend.

Meanwhile Cyborg tried passing the time by talking to Cora and even though she usually enjoyed speaking to her fellow cyborg, her heart was clearly not in it at the moment. She was terribly worried about Katie, her wife and best friend. They had been away before, but this felt different. There was a clear sense of danger here. Everyone knew their odds were slim and victory would come at a price.

Everyone in the resistance worried about their loved ones, but for Cora it was different. Cora had arrived in New York scared and alone. Desperate to make friends and find love she turned to crime, hoping that fear would bring her admiration. Katie had been the first person to give her a chance, to care for her. She took her in when she had no reason to, and Cora had fallen in love with her right then and there. Cora felt like her life began when she met Katie, and she never wanted to know what it would be like without her.

Needless to say, everyone was relieved when the small jet landed on the roof of an abandoned parking garage. Even though they were taking an indirect route to Wayne Tower, it was a safer one. They would move through the underground of the garage, making their way toward a secret entrance of the tower. That was Cyborg’s idea, and the others had agreed expect for Mars who had wanted a more direct approach.

When they descended the steps of the plane, Mars was inside his personal armor which he had named, Demon Killer. It was quite different than Rocket. This suit had no ability to speak, and though it had an AI computer, it was automated and had no personality of its own. The suit was equipped with two personal machine guns; his armor was strong enough to bust holes in walls with single punches.

Kiris frowned deeply when she saw the scene. Kiris hated Demon Killer. He was an insult to the memory of her friend Rocket, and represented the hatred that had consumed the man she loved. She had tried to sabotage the new suit before. Not in ways that might hurt Mars, but only in ways that would force him to scrap the abomination. Mars had caught Kiris in an attempt once and it had led to one of the worst fights in their relationship.

Still, Kiris said nothing and the group made their way down the poorly lit garage, following Cyborg’s lead as he took them towards the secret passage that led them to the basement of Wayne Tower.

“Wow, Mr. Wayne had a lot of stuff down here!” Kiris said in awe when they arrived, seeing all of the advance tech that was curtesy of the Company’s R&D department. It had remained unmolested because of the excellent security of Wayne Tower, which lasted even longer than the Batman himself.

“Wish we could take some of this stuff with us. Could come in handy.” Cyborg said wistfully. “But come on, we have a job to do. Kiris, I’ve got the places we should target marked here on my map.” He said to the Hadrian Squad leader, showing her the display on the screen on his arm.

Kiris looked at the screen intently before speaking. “Alright, Cyborg you and Cora should head to the archives, whatever info those computers might hold could be really helpful for us. Mars, Xyri, and I will head to the top floor to search Mr. Wayne’s personal network. There’s something Sam really wants from it, and we need to get it.”

Cyborg and Cora nodded before heading off to the archives. Mars meanwhile merely glared at Kiris. The Hardian merely sighed, getting very tired of this.

“Mars, if you have something to say just say it.”

“Fine, I want to know why you insist on forcing me to be around you like this. I thought you made it pretty clear you didn’t want anything to do with me anymore.”

Kiris turned to him, clearly fed up.
“I have news for you Mars. The world doesn’t revolve around you. I’m keeping you with me because you are the best hacker we have and we need your help. This has nothing to do with you and me. So can you drop the attitude and just do your job?”

Mars clenched his fist, “I have been doing my job. I’ve been building weapons to kill the bastards that killed our friends. But that didn’t seem to be enough for you. You always wanted more, you always wanted me to be happy. You’re the selfish one. You’re the one who always made it about you!”

“I’m tired of apologizing Mars! I’m tired of trying to comfort you. So shut up, and obey my orders or I will bring you back to headquarters in handcuffs!”

Mars was about to reply before he was interrupted by a sudden shout.

“Stop it both of you!” It was Xyri on the verge of tears. “I’m so tired of you fighting! You used to be best friends! Please, don’t do this here. It’s dangerous. The dark energy is strong here. I won’t lose you two to it to!” The slime girl said, clearly upset.

Xyri was right. There was a clear risk of becoming a dark heart, if you expressed too much negative emotion, the darkness would take over, and you’d lose yourself forever.

Mars and Kiris were both taken aback by this, and the Hadrian spoke. “You’re right Xyri, I’m sorry. We… We should get going, we have a job to do.” Mars merely nodded, not speaking as they headed toward the elevator in silence.

Due to years of neglected it was no longer functioning, but Mars was able to reroute the wiring and connect it to his suit, powering it up and taking them to the top floor. Kiris had to admit, even though she was mad at the jerk, she had to admire his intelligence. It had always been her favorite trait of his.

Soon they arrived at the top floor and Mars sat down at what used to be Bruce Wayne’s desk and got to work on hacking the security code.

“Mind telling me what we’re looking for?” Mars asked Kiris, not looking for her as he focused on his work.

“Search for key terms, Egypt, Demon, and tomb.” Kiris told her teammate, not looking at him either.

Xyri turned to Kiris, “So why is this stuff so important?”

“Well, whatever started this whole messed it started in Egypt. No one who was there will talk about it, but poor Sam. Her sister…”

“Holy Shit”

Kiris and Xyri turned to Mars, surprised by the sudden outburst.

“What?” Kiris asked, her anger at him temporarily forgotten.

Mars merely turned the computer monitor toward them to show them what he had found. At first it was mostly just pictures of arcane drawings depicting some kind of black dragon swallowing a planet whole. Then they saw a white dragon appear and the two were wrapped up with each other as if they were fighting. The black dragon surely represented the Demon, but what about the white one?

“Well, that doesn’t really prove much.” Kiris said.

“It’s not done yet.” Mars snapped. “This is the last entry. Recorded the day that the Batman was killed, killed by the Demon.”

Kiris visibly paled. Only a few saw the Demon and lived, and those that did didn’t talk about it. She didn’t know what it looked like, but had heard it was beyond horrible.

A video played on the screen as a bloody and beaten Batman crawled into view. He pulled himself weakly across the floor, just barely reaching his computer before the door burst open. The Demon walked in slowly, and Kiris raised an eyebrow. The Demon was quite smaller than she expected, and looked like a human woman. Something was wrong here, what was she missing. The Demon grabbed Batman by the throat, lifting him with ease before snapping the man’s neck like a twig. Tears filled Kiris’ eyes and then she saw it, something she’d remember for the rest of her life. The Demon’s face came into view; with the evilest smile anyone had ever seen. Pitch black eyes stared straight into the camera. It was her, there was no mistake.

It was Hannah Grimm.