Chapter One
These are the stories from the Dark Multiverse that should never be…
Witness the rise of the Dark Knights…
Location: Earth -27
Kent Nelson, otherwise known as the hero Doctor Fate, stood in the Tower of Fate overlooking the universe. Sitting on the Nexus of Subtle Realms, Fate was able to watch galaxies swirl in and out of existence before his eyes, he and his ancient tower floating in the vastness of the cosmos like a lone sentry. To most the view before him would be beautiful, a kaleidoscope of colors whirling before him in a cycle of death and rebirth, with stars and galaxies blinking in and out of existence. But Fate saw evidence of the contrary. Something dark was on the approach, a sinister force that was slowly making itself known. And what truly frightened Doctor Fate was the fact that he could gleam nothing of this mysterious force. He had tried every spell and incantation he knew, making use of ancient and powerful artifacts that had long laid dormant. Even the all seeing Orb of Nabu was unable to tell him what was happening. Fate was glad that his helmet covered his entire face, because his eyes would have betrayed to anyone who looked at him just how truly afraid he was. A voice echoed throughout the tower eventually breaking Doctor Fate from his trance like state. "Fate, Fate! Let me in." Fate spread his arms and chanted a brief incantation, manipulating the mystical forces at his command, creating giant glowing Ankh that appeared in the air in front him. A dark figure strode through the portal Fate created and stepped into the Tower.
Batman stood there for a moment and regarded Doctor Fate as the portal silently closed itself behind him. "You've felt it haven't you Fate?" Batman said sternly as he turned to look out the window to view the cosmos outside the tower. "Sea levels rising, massive earthquakes devastating cities, the signs are all there Fate." Batman said as he turned to look at his friend, his eyes dark and solemn. "The world is ending." "Whatever this is Batman this is something beyond any of us. Its something like nothing we've seen before, nothing i've done has given me any insight as to the cause of all this. I-I'm not sure there is anything we can do to stop this." Doctor Fate said. Batman's face grew stern as he look at Doctor Fate. "I refuse to accept that Fate." If Doctor Fate could move his helmet he would have raised his eyebrows in surprise saying, "You sound like you have a plan Batman." Batman was quiet for a moment, just standing there looking at Fate. He stuck out his hand and said "I do but for it to work I need the Helmet of Fate." Fate took a step back, dumbfounded by the statement Batman had just made. "You can't be serious. Even if I could give you the Helmet of Fate its power would be too much for you!" Anger grew on Batman's face, his voice rising with ever word as he said "And with all your power you stand here and do nothing! Earth is falling apart, maybe even our universe, and here you stand here idly in your tower!" Batman once more thrust his hand out to Fate, "I don't want to fight you Fate, but I'm not going to ask again. Give me the helmet." Doctor Fate gathered his power and floated up and away from Batman saying, "I'm sorry Batman. I can't allow you to have the Helmet of Fate." Batman looks down at the floor before quietly saying, "I didn't want to hurt you Fate."
Suddenly, Batman leaps to the side throwing a barrage of batarangs at Doctor Fate. Fate easily swats away the batarangs, creating shields of energy from his hands. Batman launches another volley of batarangs at Fate along with two larger ones. Fate floats off to the side avoiding many of the batarangs and blocking the few he wasn't able to avoid. Fate cries out in pain as one of the larger batarangs clips onto Doctor Fate's shoulder and wrapping around his arms while the other wraps itself around his legs. Fate cries out in pain once more as electricity courses though his body, falling to the floor unconscious. Batman walks over to his former ally and pulls the golden helmet from his head, revealing the older man's face and white hair. "His face is heavy with the lines of age but he doesn't look unhealthy, perhaps is an effect of the helmet." Batman mused to himself as he walks slightly away, admiring the helmet. Kent's eyes open and lock onto Batman as he struggles against the binds and chants an incantation to escape, but to no avail. "It's no use Fate. Not only are your bonds electrified, but they have runes of the Lords of Chaos carved into them. Any spells you try to cast are going to be rendered impotent." Batman said with a slight look over his shoulder as he held the Helmet of Fate. Kent Nelson grits his teeth again trying to break free, "The Helmet won't allow you to use its powers Batman, it has a will of its own." he said as he continued to struggle on the floor. Batman turns back to face Kents grimly saying, "It's never met a will like mine."
Batman lifts the helmet over his head and meets… resistance? It feels like trying to force together two magnets, Batman struggles to bring the Helmet of Fate over his head and the feeling of resistance grows even more. He strains to bring the helmet down onto his head, his arms visibly shaking from the strain. Kent looks up at the struggling Batman and sees the look of determination on his face. Never before had he seen someone resist a magical force like this, let alone someone like Batman who never used magic before himself. Suddenly a booming voice fills the room, emanating from the helmet itself. "Foolish mortal! You think to bend the power of the Lords of Order for your own gain! Kent recognized the voice as Nabu himself, one of the almost god like Lords of Order, the source of his magical abilities as Doctor Fate. Batman's entire body was shaking from the effort of fighting the spirit of Nabu as he bought the Helmet of Fate slowly closer and closer his head. "I am vengeance." Batman said through gritted teeth, every word he spoke grew in volume and power. "I am the night! I AM!," Suddenly Batman brought the helmet down onto his head and a great flash of light illuminated the room, blinding Kent Nelson. Once he opened his eyes again he saw Batman standing before him wearing the Helmet of Fate. Only it was different. The helmet that was once bright and golden was now dark and grey, almost as if it had been thrown into a fire. The ears of Batman's cowl burst through the top of the Helmet and the eyes that once glowed blue with magical energy now burned a deep red. The worst part of it all was that Kent couldn't sense the presence of Nabu, the spirit that resided within the helmet was silent. Batman looked the trapped man and said "I am Batman the Fateless." His voice seemed to reverberate as he spoke, almost as if more than one person was speaking at the same time. He walks over to the bound Kent, gathering magical energy onto his hand forming what could only be described as glowing bats that left his hand, some began to circle around him as he strode across the room while others flew to roost on the ceiling. Kent Nelson looked up at the dark figure with fear in his eyes as Batman the Fateless stood over him like a menacing shadow of doom. "This was the only way my friend, I'm sorry." Batman the Fateless coldly said with his multitude of voices. He turned away from the man on the floor and the bats dropped from the ceiling, landing on him to begin to feed. Kent Nelson's screams reverberated off the stones of the Tower.
After that Batman the Fateless worked his newfound magic as best he could and for a time was able to preserve his universe from destruction. Days turned to weeks which turned to months which turned to years. He held to universe together with his magic for decades. But it was beyond his knowledge to know that his world was always fated to fall into the oblivion of darkness. Batman the Fateless stood at the top of the smoking ruins that once was the Tower of Fate looking out to see the universe quickly fall into darkness, each star briefly shining with a defiant radiance before being permanently extinguished. All was quiet… except for a quiet laughter behind him. The Fateless turned to see a leather clad man casually sitting on some rubble, his suit leaving only his hands and smiling mouth visible. His skin was deathly pale, and his growing laughter was chillingly familiar. "Joker!? Wait… no...you're not Joker." The mysterious figure stood up with a laugh, "That's right Bruce, I'm you. Just a different you from a different world. There isn't much that slips by you is there? Even less now with your fancy new helmet eh? HAHAHAHA!" He practically skips over to the Fateless as he continues saying, "And I'm sure you know for certain this world is dying. You did an excellent job trying to bail out the water that's pouring in but the ship's going down fast! But there's was nothing you could have done to prevent that, this world was always fated to die just like mine." He points a finger at the Fateless saying, "But that's because our worlds are in the shadow of the bright worlds. We're the little trees in the shade of the bigger trees, desperately trying to get our share of sunlight but we end up withering and dying. Haha." He extends his hand for a shake saying, "But that's where we come in. There are others like you and me who want to take our spot in the sunlight, to live in the worlds we deserve. To show them the boogie men that haunt their dark nightmares have come for their due. Care to join us?" Batman the Fateless was quiet for a moment contemplating the offer that was set before him. Then he clasped the other man's hand in agreement.
AN: Hope you guys enjoyed, thanks for reading! More Nightmare Batmen to come!