Hey guys, this is my first story. I had an idea to pit as many DC heroes against as many villains as I can, and still make it a good story. Enjoy. I do not own the rights to DC Comics. I don't intend to bring in the Multiverse, so do not ask. This also features LOTS of DC Rebirth content, so I suggest you look into that if you haven't.
Bruce Wayne sat in the pew, ever so somber looking. It was hard to tell that this was real emotion this time, since he rarely cracked a smile - most of his friends would have forgotten he had a remotely human personality if they didn't see him acting like a drunken playboy on TV every other day. However, they knew it was for real - as they all carried similar looks on their faces. They were sitting at the funeral of Sylvester Pemberton, AKA Skyman. While he had always been a D-list hero not even recognized by the denizens of the fifteen square blocks he defended, he was a dear friend to many in the pews, and a respected coworker to those who hadn't known him.
After the funeral, Bruce was interrupted by Clark tapping on his shoulder.
"Do you know who did this? He may have not been that powerful of a hero, but Sylvester was a smart man, and he had that nifty belt thing too. Yet something just ripped him up like he was a chew toy. I'm worried, Bruce, we haven't got a hint who did this, and they have no motive. They might strike again."
Bruce thought for a second, before replying:
"We don't know who did this, no. However, I've got The Question looking into leads. The Ray did a light-spectrum analysis, and came up empty. Swamp Thing and Animal Man couldn't detect traces of the Green or the Red, so this was a normal human in that aspect. Zatanna didn't find anything unusual in the magic spectrum, and Martian Manhunter did a quick mind scan of everyone within fifty miles of the crime scene - no one had any idea Skyman had been murdered, which means the culprit didn't stick around, and was thus not a local. Batgirl traced the dark web, and didn't find anyone hiring an assassin. The Atom shrunk down to microscopic levels and found no evidence. We've came up empty in every possible way. I just don't know what to do, even Vic and Ralph are stumped."
Clark frowned, and his eyebrows furrowed as he sank deep into thought. His eyes suddenly lit up, and asked:
"You've mentioned multiple ways the culprit could have killed Skyman, but you have still come up empty. Why don't you travel back in time? Tell Barry he doesn't have to change anything, just observe. Have you thought of that yet?"
"Well, now that you say so, we haven't. I can go ask Barry, but he might be a bit iffy. I'll text him now."
The millisecond Bruce sent Barry the text, Barry materialized behind Bruce and Clark. He suddenly spoke, making Clark jump. Bruce simply frowned.
"I don't think this is smart, Bruce. Sure, I'm not doing anything, but what if the assailant sees me? What if I can't resist the temptation to save Skyman?"
"You've done it before, Barry. Remember when you went back and watched your mother die?"
"Not cool, Bruce. Not cool. But I do suppose you have a point. I guess I'll go do that right now."
Barry sped off, leaving Bruce and Clark in the dust. Suddenly, Bruce's Justice League communicator lit up with a call from Wonder Woman.
"Bruce, I... come here. Bring Clark and Barry."
Without another word, Barry grabbed Bruce and sped over at lightning speed. Clark, tried to keep up the best he could, but still arrived many seconds later than Barry. They were in a rather upscale neighborhood, outside a fancy house.
"Guys, come inside. It's Lee."
The four heroes, now in their costumes, stepped inside to the sight of the dead body of Crimson Avenger and his sidekick, Wing How. While Skyman's corpse had still been in perfect shape, the two heroes both had rather messy holes in their chest. Batman leaned down to check their skin temperature.
"They're still warm. This happened very recently. Barry, you've got another person to check up on."
Wonder Woman furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, but Superman quickly caught her up. She reluctantly nodded.
"Alright, guys. Well, I guess I'll be going now."
Barry zoomed out the door, faster than the naked eye could register. He hopped on the Cosmic Treadmill and shot back through time, a process he was very familiar with, to his chagrin. Soon he was gone, within the vast (and very confusing) vortex of time.
Three hours later, in the underwater base of the Legion of Doom.
"You're insane! How could you possibly condone this? I thought we had a code here, Luthor!"
Doctor Destiny, a D-list villain, screamed in rage as he followed Lex Luthor out of the LOD courtroom. Deadline, also known as "The Human Weapon," had stolen his kill - or so Doctor Destiny claimed.
"Listen, John, you have no proof that Deadline did anything out of line. You haven't provided a contract, you haven't provided a witness, you haven't provided the name of the person who hired you, the only thing you've provided is your word, which, frankly, is not much after you falsely accused Cyclotron and got him the death sentence. You're lucky we didn't kill you for that, but his heart was never in the business, so you got a lucky pass. And why are you doing bounty hunting anyways? You were never that type of villain."
"Luthor, I already told you! I need funds to fix my Materioptikon! It wasn't a toy, you know. I broke into S.T.A.R. Labs to get it fixed, and now I don't have any equipment to fix it. So, I need money. Is that so hard to under-"
Before Doctor Destiny finished his sentence, his head was blown off with a loud bang. An irritated Luthor looked towards the source of the gunfire - Deadshot, who was playing with a Luger pistol.
"That pistol may look nice, but it isn't exactly the best. Not bad, but I'd take a Glock any day - any Glock. Oh, and you're on janitor duty today. Your punishment for killing Doctor Destiny."
"Aw, come on, Lex. You know you hated John anyways. Also, my Luger is my business, not yours. Glocks are too easy. A professional needs a weapon with a learning curve."
"Show off. Who said anything about learning curves? it's simply not the best gun. And I did hate John, which is why you aren't dead right now. We need to keep a semblance of order around here - we're crime bosses, not anarchists."
"Says the person with a man named 'Anarky' on his payroll. Say, we've been lying low for months now. When are we going to do anything? All I've been doing is the occasional hit, because you keep threatening to send Slade after me if I do anything. How do you know he hasn't been taking jobs behind your back? A man needs money, you know."
"First, Anarky is a tool, nothing more. A tool who is also keeping my rules, might I add, and has been far less of a nuisance than you. Sad day when you're more annoying than a Socialist wannabe. As for the other part, well, I have my reasons. Oh, and Slade has been keeping loyal, because I give him his jobs. You think everyone has happily decided to lie low? Why do you think you haven't seen Double Dare in weeks?"
"...Oh. But you'd better let me at someone soon - I've been meaning to buy my daughter and my ex-wife a new house."
"Ok, ok. Trust me, after my plans are over, you'll have all the contracts you want."
Without further ado, Lex turned and stepped into his office. He walked past a dartboard, a dartboard covered in cut-outs of... superheroes? Lex sat down at his ivory-sculpted desk, and pulled out a small picture. He let out a small grin at the sight of his target.
"Adios, superhero friends. It's time to step it up a notch."