Young Multiverser (BEING REWRITTEN AND EXPANDED) Chapter 10: First Mission, Part 3, a young justice fanfic

Here we are, fellow readers. The end of what I am now officially calling the "First Mission arc". Originally meant to be simply two chapters long, it managed to grow into three. That's pretty impressive, I have to say. Right, Bio?

Tell me about it. What was originally a chapter meant to detail the Team's unexpected encounter with the Church of Blood, evolved into a two-parter, as well as create your first multi-chapter arc in a story. I've gotta say, that's pretty impressive.

I know, right? I've had this arc planned out for so long, it's really something to see it finally get finished up. Well, here's hoping that I manage to pull the ending off just right so you guys can enjoy it. Now let's-

Hold it! Forget something, dude?

What?...Oh, right! Thanks for reminding me.

Right, so, here's the disclaimer: Neither BioshockerN7 nor I own Young Justice in any way, shape, or form. Young Justice is the property of Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman, created for Cartoon Network. If I DID own Young Justice, however, Season 3 would be out on Netflix by now! So please support the official release, and get Season 3 out there already!...I really hope they do.

Now let's get to the action, and wrap up this arc!

Voice Cast (including how I envision certain characters being voiced):

MAIN:

Michael Verser = Yuri Lowenthal (A/N: Think the voice of Peter Parker/Spider-Man from the 2018 "Spider-Man" video game.)

Rachel Roth/Raven = Taissa Farmiga

Koriand'r/Starfire = Kari Wahlgren

Victor Stone/Cyborg = Shemar Moore

Kaldur'ahm/Aqualad = Khary Payton

Richard "Dick" Grayson/Robin = Jesse McCartney

Wally West/Kid Flash = Jason Spisaks

Conner Kent/Superboy = Nolan North

M'gann M'orzz/Megan Morse/Miss Martian = Danica McKellar

Donna Troy/Wonder Girl = Emma Stone

RECURRING:

Adam Verser = Christopher Daniel Barnes (A/N: Think the voice of Spider-Man Noir from "Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions")

Architect = D.C. Douglas (A/N: Think the voice of Legion from the "Mass Effect" games)

Masamune = Jennifer Hale

Akima/Lambda = Lindsay Jones (A/N: Think her actual voice)

Ultron-Prime = James Spader

Ruben Victoriano/Ruvik = Jackie Earle Haley

The Antiverser = Sam Witwer (A/N: Think the voice of Lord Starkiller from the bad ending of "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed")

GUEST:

Sebastian Blood IX/Brother Blood = John Boyega (A/N: Think the voice of Finn from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens")

Trigon = Jon Bernthal (The voice of Trigon from "Justice League vs. Teen Titans")

Scanty Daemon = Colleen Clinkenbeard

Kneesocks Daemon = Cherami Leigh

Death = Natalie Portman (A/N: Think the voice of Jane Foster from the Marvel Cinematic Universe)

BGMs:

Maroon 5 - One More Night Instrumental

World's Greatest Battle Music Ever: Force of Will

Fatum Iustum Stultorum II (YouTube it; posted by TrocaderoFanPage)

Cool Guys Don't Look At Explosions - The Lonely Island

Snake Eater - Metal Gear Solid 3 Guitar Cover (Feat. Adriana Figueroa) | FamilyJules

Previously on Young Multiverser...

"Sebastian Blood IX," Adam responded with venom. "Also known as Brother Blood. He's the leader of the Church of Blood; a cult that worships an inter-dimensional demon named Trigon." Raven visibly flinched at that info, slightly stepping back from the cultists. "He's also wanted in being suspected of numerous disappearances and deaths."

Her next words hit all in the room like a bullet. "...His name is Architect. And he has more of a soul than you EVER will," she said with a cold tone, defending her technological companion.

"Your 'friend' isn't fully human. She is, in fact, the half-demonic daughter of our Lord Trigon," he continued, taking pleasure in looking at the shocked looks on everyone's (sans Michael and Raven's) faces.

"I'm glad you asked," Adam replied with a smirk. And then, he pointed his left hand at Michael and Architect. "CAN I GET A 'PRAISE THE WALLS'?!" he cried out passionately.

With that said, Michael, Architect and Adam- the former two, realizing with a hint of glee at what was about to happen- threw their fists into the sky, proclaiming "PRAISE THE WALLS!"

"Who...summons...me?" came the deep, careless voice of the demonic father of Raven.

Acting fast, I squeezed out a drop of blood from the flask, and smeared it on the black and gold tattoos. I went through a quick series of hand signs, just as Trigon's echo roared "DIE!" as he flung a ball of dark energy. Seconds before it reached me, however, I slammed my right hand onto the ground, crying out:

"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU (Translation: Summoning Jutsu)!"

Brandishing their golden weapons, Kneesocks added "I hope you're prepared to learn what happens..."

Readying her guns, Scanty continued "When scum like you..."

The sisters lunged forward, saying as one "BREAK THE RULES!"

'Time for Round 2, Bassy...'

Chapter 10: First Mission, Part 3 (Blood Is Spilled)

Third Person's POV:

*BOOM!*

Another explosion rocked the chambers, causing many to stumble and shout as they ran to avoid any rubble and head toward their destination. Said destination being anywhere in the all-out brawl occurring in the Church of Blood's headquarters: from the Team, Thuban, and the new arrivals of the Daemon Sisters; to the cultists, a large demon, and their deity, Trigon.

It was chaos.

In the midst of this chaos, Brother Blood was making his way through the sea of people, trying to find the person he was going to personally kill. At the same time, he was trying to figure out where it all went wrong. The man in black said that the barrier generator was meant to keep their powers suppressed, along with the collars. And yet the Verser brothers had managed to summon a giant dragon and two female demons, both of whom were currently either laying waste to the cult's surroundings outside or in the middle of fighting off Trigon himself.

That wasn't even taking into account how badly the rest of the teenage superheroes were wrecking his followers. Either the Martian was throwing them telekinetically, or the half-machine and alien princess were blasting them, or the Kryptonian was punching them into next week.

Before he could even curse his luck, Michael appeared before him, still bleeding but still standing tall. "So. We meet again, Voldemort," he quipped through the pain in his chest and the blood building up in his lungs.

"You know, I'm starting to think the world just loves stupid people," Blood retorted in annoyance. To emphasize his point, he gestured to practically everyone here (to signify the Team) and exclaimed "I mean, just look at how many there are!"

"Yeah, the world's filled with idiots," the Multiverser agreed. Forming [Aura Radiance], he added "Unfortunately for you, you're one of them."

The cult priest chuckled at his words. "How precious. Do you honestly believe that just because I am seen as a minor in the eyes of your governments that I will not kill you?"

"Oh, I know exactly what you're capable of, Bassy," he taunted. "That's why I'm gonna kick your ass extra hard tonight."

"...Cute." Removing his headdress and cloak, he stood at attention and continued "But for your insolence, I shall tear out your insides and jump rope with them."

"Bring it, bitch!" With that, Michael charged forward, swinging his blades.

"Un!" Blood ducked, dodging the blade that swung overhead. "Deux!" he cried as he rolled out of the way of a downward kick. "Trois!" he said as he shot back up, catching another kick from the left leg. "And punch to the crotch, motherfucker!" He promptly did so, causing Michael to yelp in pain and leap back.

Nursing his crotch, he thought/cringed 'Okay...that's gonna be sore for a few hours...' as Blood returned to his stance.

"You know, some people are like slinkies," he said. "Not really good for anything, but you can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs."

Grunting, Michael shot back "I am really looking forward to shutting your mouth for good, you rapist piece of shit."

"Well don't you just have the most colorful quips."

"Stick around. Your mom's in the next one."

"...You have just ensured your death will be a slow and painful one," he monotoned.

Realizing how he now had the perfect chance to pay homage, he thought 'Oh, he is just making this too easy.'

'/You're...not actually doing this, are you?/' Akima asked, surprised her partner was even considering what he was about to do.

A smirk was her answer. "You can't beat me, Bassy. Let me tell you why. Akima, hit it!"

(Play "Maroon 5 - One More Night Instrumental")

As soon as the music started up and Michael started humming, Blood's face contorted in extreme annoyance. "I swear, if you start singing, I will kill your parents!" he threatened.

That made Michael smirk wider, and he began to sing.

Michael:

You and I go hard, at each other like we're going to war
You and I go rough, we keep throwing things and slamming the door
You and I get so damn dysfunctional, we stopped keeping score
You and I get sick, yeah I know that we can't do this no more

"Stop it! Stop it! For the love of everything, SHUT UP!" Blood cried out. That only made Michael keep going. Louder.

As well as cause his opponent to charge forward and scream angrily.

Everyone else stopped fighting as soon as the music began, with everyone now stunned silent at the impromptu singing performance (complete with Michael now dancing/dodging Brother Blood's attacks). "Is he...Is he really...?" Raven asked in disbelief, still chained to the altar, while Adam and Architect worked on removing the chains.

Face-palming, Adam tiredly responded "He is. And I'm questioning his sanity right now. This...This just screams Duncan." That made him worry, wondering how much the Aspect of Chaos influenced Michael at that point.

A few plates shifted on Architect's head. "/We question this form of oral battle,/" he stated.

"What...What is he doing?" Conner asked, watching Michael spin around past an angry jump kick.

In response, Wally monotoned "Either something really dumb, really confusing, really clever, or a unique mix of all three."

"Making a fool of himself is what he's doing," Victor said as he shook his head.

Nodding her head to the beat, Megan said "Well, he has good taste in music."

"Do the people on this planet usually do something like this?" Kory asked.

"You're asking the wrong person," Donna replied just as Michael quickly moon-walked away from an angry Blood. "But judging by everyone else, I'd say no."

"You aren't wrong," a cultist in the Tamaranean's grip groaned in pain, before falling into unconsciousness.

With a skillful flip, Michael continued to induce confusion through his singing (as well as drive Brother Blood crazy). As he did, his teammates continued to have their 'WTF' moments. "...You know, it really says something when the apprentice starts to copy the master," Robin deadpanned.

"That's an understatement," Kaldur nodded. "I haven't seen something this random since Duncan's last prank in Atlantis."

"Which all involved agreed to not talk about," the Boy Wonder said icily.

"Right. Sorry."

"I really wish I could say I was surprised by this," Scanty said with a sigh and slumped shoulders. "But considering we know the psychopath who's been training him, such a bout of randomness doesn't even leave me the least bit nonplussed."

"Indeed, sister," Kneesocks agreed with an equal sigh and slump, though inwardly chuckled as Michael caught a flying side kick from Blood and threw him across the room. "If it weren't for our relationship with him, we might've slapped him upside the head for such foolishness."

"...Don't we do that anyway, though?"

"...Ah. Right. I forgot about that."

"...I...I have no words for this," Trigon said. "None."

"GODDAMN IT, STOP THIS SINGING!" Blood shouted, but Michael wasn't listening. Instead, he jazz stepped away from him, holding back his laughter as Blood drove himself mad trying to hit his opponent.

Stopping for a moment, Michael thought it over...then decided he needed to be trolled some more. And sang again.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Blood shouted as he threw one hard punch toward the Multiverser.

*KA-POW!*

*Record Scratch SFX*

(End "Maroon 5 - One More Night Instrumental")

Flying back, the music ended as Michael collided with a few cultists, whom were planning to accost Megan and Conner from behind. Regaining his bearings, he got back up, dusted himself off, and said "Jeez, Bassy, ya don't need to spaz out like that."

"You signed your death warrant when you...defiled my mother in that way," Blood said, rage in his every step.

"What's wrong, Bassy?" Michael asked, backing up while keeping my cool. "Can't take what you can dish out?" His response?

Suddenly appearing in front of Michael, as if he had ran the whole gap with Wally's speed and Super-punched him hard enough to send him into the wall.

"...Ow."

Meanwhile, Adam was busy fighting off the cultists, but noticed his brother get owned in a spectacular way. This caused him to groan, shake his head and say "Pretty sure if Duncan was here, he'd be laughing his ass off to hide the disappointment he'd feel."

"This...proves...nothing..." Michael groaned out.

"It proves you're too fucking slow," he replied to his brother. As he said this, a group of cultists rushed him, forcing him to try and push them back. Adam growled through the effort, wondering out loud "On another note, where the hell's Thuban?!"

To answer his question, his faithful dragon companion was currently in the middle of an epic fight against the giant demon. The reptilian creature had the hellspawn on the ropes, severely bloodying it through several bites, slashes from his claws, and beating against his tail. Thuban now flew through the skies as he held the demon in his mouth. Said demon was thrashing around trying to free itself, but it wasn't getting anywhere, Thuban's iron grip proving to be inescapable.

Roaring in anger, it threw a punch to Thuban's stomach, the effect freeing the demon from the dragon's snare. This had the result of making Thuban inhale before shooting fire out his mouth, sending the demon flying toward the upper area of the barrier's radius, slamming into the barrier.

It stared at Thuban, wings now extending from its back as it shot toward the dragon. Thuban quickly flew forward as well, the two creatures meeting in a collision that created a small shockwave. The demon threw a fist forward, only for it to be chomped off by Thuban's teeth. The dragon then swung around, smacking the demon with its tail, sending the demon crashing into the barrier.

The demon then shot fire out of its other hand, sending the dragon flying back, but Thuban's time with Adam trained him to recover quickly in the air as he flew forward, slamming his head into the demon's stomach. This had the effect of making the demon miss its next blast of fire as it flew toward the Church of Blood's lair, likely hitting a random cultist who'd give a Wilhelm scream upon seeing his impending death. After that, Thuban brought up his feet and kicked the demon so hard it did a backflip in the air.

As the demon began to stagger around in the air, Thuban began to gather his strength, his body and spikes glowing red as he then opened his mouth with roar.

Red hot fire shot out hitting the demon so hard it was sent into the Negatium barrier, the force making a sound that sounded like two objects smashing together. Cracks started to appear on the now fluctuating sickly purple barrier, getting bigger and bigger, until...

*CRACK!*

*KA-BOOOOOOOOOOM!*

Scene Change:

Meanwhile, in the Watchtower, the League was currently discussing something when all of a sudden...

"What in the...?"

Everyone turned to see Duncan staring out the window and down at Earth. When they joined him, they all noticed a pillar of fire (mixed in with a familiar purple energy) appear near an area of Earth. "What was that?!" Green Arrow asked in shock.

Duncan, using his powers to check (and instantly surprised), responded "That, my friend, was one of the greatest creatures in the world. For only one creature can make hot fire like a recently released mixtape. One so awesome just saying its name is 10x as awesome. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm talking about a dragon. A MOTHER. FUCKING. DRAGON."

Scene Change:

Back on Zandia, Thuban- having brushed off the flames of the explosion- admired his handiwork.

A sickly purple barrier appeared in the sky, then quickly began to burn like a sheet of paper in a raging bonfire. The demon was now caught in a fiery explosion as Thuban's flames spread across the barrier, clouding the island in a fiery barrier before it dissipated into nothing. Such was the same case with the demon, with the only thing left being its skull, which Thuban grabbed- as if it were a chew toy- then flew off back to his partner and his friends.

Maybe Adam would let him stick around in this world as a reward. As well as keep the skull.

All at once, everyone felt...different. As if a weight was taken off their very beings. Two individuals recognized the feeling...and grinned. "Bad news, Bassy!" Michael shouted at the cult leader, his wounds healing at a slightly faster rate as he pried himself from the wall. "You don't have a barrier keeping us on the island anymore!"

In his own area, Adam gave a malicious grin, shadows surrounding him as his arms became even more draconian. "Meaning you're all fucked now!" Adam then pulled numerous shadows into his palm and sent them into numerous cultists, knocking them unconscious.

Back with his own fight, Michael began to radiate a soft light, something [Aura Radiance] mimicked. Deciding to test something, he aimed the tip of the blade forward at Blood, who began to charge him, and-

*P-CHOW!*

The resulting laser shot from the blade sent Blood sliding back across the ground. "How d'ya like that, bitch?!" Michael whooped (though winced in pain from his wounds).

Stumbling back up, he growled in restrained anger. "As much as I'll enjoy murdering you and your friends," Blood retorted.

"And on that note." Michael raced forward, speeding himself up to take another swing at the bastard.

...Or he would have, if he didn't also catch the Multiverser at equally fast speeds.

...

"...You...drank some of Kid Flash's blood, didn't you?" I asked calmly.

Grinning, he said "And the kryptonian's as well."

"Oh, fuck me running."

"Oh no. I'm not as fucked up as you and your brothers," Blood sneered.

"The hell's that supposed to meeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNN?!" Michael screamed as he was effortlessly picked up spun around, and then thrown far across the room. Several people actually stopped to watch the Multiverser fly from the sight.

While Adam silently wondered why Michael forgot he could stop himself midair. "Well, that's something," Adam commented, he and Architect finally getting the chains off Raven in a loud CLINK.

*SLO-MO: ACTIVATE*

Upon further reflection, however, he started calculating Michael's trajectory. Based on how quickly he was coming down, as well as how much he was flailing like an idiot (which he could write off as blood loss), his eyes widened as he briefly saw his destination.

Right.

Onto.

A wide-eyed Raven, who also realized what was about to happen.

*SLO-MO: DEACTIVATE*

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!"

"Oh, shit-"

*THWUMP!*

And like that, the Multiverser landed right on top of the daughter of Trigon, the impact actually managing to create a sizable dust cloud. So impressive was the sight, that everyone- cultists, heroes, and demons alike- all stopped fighting to see the sight (as well as make sure Michael and/or Raven were all right).

Waving away the dust with a gust of wind, Adam coughed "You two okay- ...Oh my God..."

At his words, everything went quiet. Everyone was staring where his brother had landed.

Why?

...Probably because Michael landed right on top of Raven...accidentally locking lips with each other, and therefore completing the ritual Brother Blood was trying to accomplish.

So...yeah...

Michael's POV:

...

...Okay...I was not planning on this.

Granted, on the plus side, I'd successfully managed to prevent that ass hat Blood from marrying Raven...though I wasn't exactly planning on taking his place.

Slowly, carefully, I removed my lips from hers (subconsciously missing the feeling of their softness) and got up a bit. The two of us staring wide-eyed at each other, gold eyes meeting indigo, with both of us clearly struggling to comprehend what exactly just happened...and failing, if our stunned silence and atomic blushes on each other's faces were any sort of indication.

...

"...You, uh...you okay, Raven?" I asked numbly.

"Y-Yeah, I'm...I'm fine," she softly monotoned in the positive.

"O-Okay, good to hear. I was afraid I might've hurt you after...w-well...getting thrown on top of you."

"I-It's alright. You're actually a bit lighter than I thought."

"Uh, thanks...so, you uh...wanna get up now?"

"I...think that'd probably be a good idea."

"Yeah." After helping her up and brushing off the dust in a casual manner, I turned around...to face the crowd of EVERYONE staring in shock at us. "I, uh...I wish I could say I planned that," I began with a nervous laugh, trying to ease the tension a bit. "But...well...I didn't." Raven only continued to blush heavily, hiding her face underneath her hood.

"...This is...unexpected...but it is better than Blood unleashing Hell on Earth," Kaldur said in surprise.

"Well, at least you're not married to a psychopath," Wally said, giving a thumbs up to try and cheer up Raven. Though he did mutter to himself "Though considering he's related to Duncan, he may become one." Note to self: Gibbs slap him after this is over.

"Yeah, fanatical psychopath, or good guy. Worshiper of a demon, or protector of the innocent. Preeeeetty clear which is more obvious to choose," Robin said, followed by a 'Ditto' from Cyborg and Superboy.

"I am...unsure of human customs, but wouldn't marriage require the two parties to have been in a relationship?" Kory asked, getting a nod of confusion from Donna.

Scanty and Kneesocks face-palmed, muttering in sync "Oh, for the love of..."

Thuban tilted his head in confusion.

Architect simply turned to look at Adam, who looked to be on the verge of a mental breakdown. He then looked to Raven, raising his flaps up and down, which Raven could sense meant he was confused. And having an odd feeling of...deja vu?

Speaking of Adam...he simply stared at me with a disturbed expression, softly muttering "Oh my God, it's the same..."

...Something to note for later.

Trigon...even though he was an echo, I could still feel the irritation coming off of him. Probably from his daughter getting married to someone like me through a ritual meant to bring about the end times.

As for Brother Blood himself...

If only words and numbers could accurately describe the cold, tranquil fury roiling off of him right now. "You...you..." he calmly said, wisps of energy radiating off of him.

"Oh, is he gonna go Super Saiyan?" Adam asked in amusement.

Tired of his wit, I said "Adam, please, not the time-"

"Oh come on, the readers love these references," Adam casually stated.

"What?!" Robin asked.

"Yes!" came the cool response.

"RRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Aaaaaand judging by the blast of energy that knocked us all backwards, it was safe to say he took in some blood from either Kori and/or Raven. Which only worked in showing how pissed he was.

"Supervillain roar, ladies and gentlemen! As common as superhero landings!" Adam stated with a clap, as if he was commentating a baseball game.

His commentary, however, earned him the first beating at Blood's hands. Adam had forgotten, for a moment, that the man could gain another's power from consuming their blood. That left him wide open to a combination of Wally's speed and Conner's super strength, resulting in a rather mean right hook.

A flurry of furious punches befell the Aspect of Time, leading to myself, Robin and Architect to rush forward and pry him off. That only turned his fury onto us, displaying his acrobatic skills from Robin's blood. 'Adam, you mind helping out here?!' I asked over the link.

And so, linking me up to him, Adam- pissed over the surprise attack, did what he did best.

Mess with time.

He then began to rewind everything before the two of us, watching the assault Blood gave rewind, stopping right at the moment Blood was about to punch him. He started time up again at that point, catching Blood's fist as it was about to connect with his face, stunning the enraged cult leader. He then proceeded to have the cult leader hit himself with his punch, and threw him to Architect, Robin, and I.

"/Gang up!/" Architect said, leading to the three of us to wail and kick on the son of a bitch.

"Don't fuck with a time traveler and his crew, Blood! Or you'll be erased from existence!" Adam stated wildly.

'/That probably sounded better in your head,/' Akima said over the link.

'Probably, but fuck it,' he thought back.

Having no more of it, Blood caught my fist, directing it right into Robin's gut. That gave him the window he needed to spin around the floor, sweeping us off our feet and into the air. Each of us landed with a THUD, though Robin reacted fast enough to get back up and split kick the bastard back.

This only made him angrier. "That's it! So help me, I will see you all dead and dismembered by my-!"

*SPLRCH!*

...

...Silence reigned across the entire room, as everyone stared at the leader of the Church of Blood. Frozen in place as soon as a wet, crushing sound filled the air. If one were to look down, they would see a patch of crimson staining the blue pants. Along with a trail of dark energy.

Trailing right back to Raven's outstretched hand and cold glare.

*RRRIIIPPP!*

And with a wave of her hand, Brother Blood's junk was ripped right off his pelvis, thrown to a far off corner of the room. As his own blood squirted out, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, foam building up in his mouth and pouring out. He unceremoniously fell onto his back, unconscious from the pain.

...

"...What?" Raven asked irritably. "I said I would do it."

Everyone could only stare at the half-demon sorceress in quiet horror, trying to comprehend what they just witnessed. Though all the men- both on the Team (myself included) and those among the Church of Blood- unconsciously brought their hands to their crotches, in a vain attempt to protect their manhood from meeting a similar fate.

Trigon, however, chuckled at the display. "It seems you have more of me in you than you care to admit, my daughter."

"And on that note...we've all had a long day," Adam began tiredly, exhaustion starting to show on his face, "with a lot to complain about. But I for one, am sick! And tired! Of fighting! GIANTS!"

*BLAM!*

With a raging cry, he fired a blast from Wild Card at the echo. The Multiverse chose to flip the bird at us, though, as Trigon promptly swatted it into nothingness. "FUCK!" came the cries of many on the Team.

"Your toys cannot harm me!" Trigon said haughtily, before unleashing bolts of red electricity toward us.

As we all dodged a series of lightning bolts, I thought back 'Any suggestions on how to get out of this?!'

'Yeah. Avoid the lasers, get in close, nut shot him, and shoot him until he dies! Like the Cyberdemon,' Adam said, slicing a laser blast in half with Muramasa, which I swear almost seemed to have happened in slow motion.

Fucking, awesome.

Less awesome, however, was the fact that Trigon's arm came down and swatted away Adam, Kory, Superboy, Donna and Victor in one swoop. "Well, there go the heavy hitters!" I cried out. Turning to the others on the Team, I asked "Any suggestions?!"

"I think your people often perform something called a 'crotch shot'?" Kory suggested. Could work...though we weren't going to get close enough to find out.

As another blast of energy showed.

"Okay, any more suggestions?"

"Yeah, relieve this motherfucker of his arms!" Adam cried, having suddenly appeared right next to me.

"FUCK!" I cried, punching him in the face. "Would you stop that- HOLY SHIT!" And like that, we narrowly evaded getting fried.

Hitting me with his own punch, Adam said "Get used to it!"

"INSECTS!" Trigon roared, punching the ground hard enough to send us all flying back. "I will torture your souls for all eternity!"

"...*PFFFFT* AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Adam laughed, as if he heard that threat before. Which he probably has. However, that didn't stop the others from backing away from the likely insane man.

"So, while Adam has his mental breakdown," Donna said wearily, "we really need a plan here."

"I think we have some more pressing concerns at the moment," Megan pointed out, referring to the cultists that were slowly closing in on us. It was like they weren't even caring about what could happen to them, as long as the rest of us died.

"I don't think I can get us out of here," Raven said flinchingly. Her hands twitching with Negatium, she added "This stuff's messing with my powers."

"Well, that sounds great," Adam began, "but I realize that the barrier's been destroyed, meaning my powers aren't as restricted as they were. So I can probably teleport us out of here. But that would leave this red-skinned bitchface over here."

He was right. We could escape now, no sweat. But with Trigon running amok, a lot of people would die in his rage.

No escape. No way out.

Sighing, I said "You guys keep the cultists at bay," as I walked forward. "I've got four eyes."

(Play "World's Greatest Battle Music Ever: Force of Will")

And so, I began to walk, everything around me appearing as if it was in a Slow Mo Guys video.

Cultists running around trying to attack my friends. Architect deploying tech attacks, said attacks flying off his Omni-Tool. Adam swinging Muramasa at cultists, sending them flying. Laser blasts and explosions sending the followers of the Church of Blood flying, a result of the Team.

Basically, I was having the CRAZIEST adrenaline rush in my life.

"You are either brave," Trigon rumbled, now reduced to nothing but shadows now, "or extremely foolish."

"Eh, I get a bit of both every now and then," I said, rolling my shoulders around to limber up.

Chuckling, Trigon floated forward. "I'm going to enjoy this."

With a chuckle of my own, I muttered "Seems as good a time as any to try out my new toy." With that said, I held out my left hand, saying "Akima. Initiate, Project Hephaestus."

On command, my matching left synthetic arm popped open, revealing etchings within the epidermis. The markings glowed briefly, followed by a mass of a black, sand-like substance to swarm out into my hand. The substance then began to solidify into a specific shape: a black version of [Aura Radiance].

"Do you think adding another tooth pick is going to make a difference?" Trigon asked with a mocking laugh.

"Even Goliath was killed with a small stone," I shot back, much to his irritation. "I like to call this little stone...Hephaestus, the Eternally Shifting Forge. Hephaestus, for short."

A weapon made of artificially created Black Dust from Remnant, Hephaestus was without a doubt the most versatile tool I'd ever created. Using my own thoughts, I was able to will the Dust to take any shape or form I thought of, solidify it, and use it in combat. The name was a bit pretentious, maybe. But it served the point of going big or going home.

Gazing at the mass of Black Dust floating about (and the sword copy in my hand), Adam muttered "Why am I not surprised you'd make another weapon?"

"We calculated the likeliness of another weapon to be 88.9%," Architect said in support of Adam.

"Criticize my weapon later, fight now!" I yelled as Adam and I jumped back to avoid Trigon stomping us to death. The inter-dimensional demon followed up with his attack as he swung his massive fist at me, which I dodged by causing an explosion at the tip of Hephaestus. To my luck, it was enough to blow a bit off of the offending arm.

When Trigon's arm passed me enough for me to be near his elbow, I attacked. I drove Hephaestus into the large demon's arm before letting go of the blade and detonating the black weapon.

*BOOM!*

"Argh!" Trigon cried angrily as he held his arm in pain. He definitely wasn't expecting my Dust weapon to be as combustible as gunpowder (a little trick I added as a bonus), so it did its damage well enough. Though because I was so close to the explosion, I had to make a shield of light using [Aura Radiance].

I landed with an ungraceful *thud*, sliding across the floor and near the pool of boiling blood. I couldn't completely defend myself in time from the explosion, so I had a few burns here or there.

Once the shield had lowered, I got a good look at the damage. A massive wound was present on the demon's arm, bleeding crimson smoke in place of blood. Judging by that and the rage-filled growl that followed, it was safe to say that his arm wasn't going to be moving anytime soon. Though knowing my luck, that would change soon enough.

I had to go to one knee as my breathing became heavy.

"Damn! These wounds...making it...hard to move," I said between ragged breaths as Hephaestus reformed in my left hand as another copy of my white Chinese Falchion.

"You insignificant whelps!" Trigon roared in anger as he fired a beam from his eyes at us, destroying the terrain and kicking up dust.

A series of loud coughs followed. "Michael!" Robin yelled in worry.

"*cough**cough* I'm fine. What about the others?" I asked as I waved through the dust.

"We're fine, but it seems we got separated from you," Adam said as the dust started to clear out.

As the last of the dust settled, I realized that I was separated from the others by a large divide. Except for Adam the team looked like they could bare move. Hell, it was a miracle that they were still holding their own against the Church of Blood followers!

"Adam, stay there and protect everyone! Leave Trigon to me!" I yelled back as Trigon locked his gaze at me.

"Are you sure?" Adam asked in worry.

"Yeah," I said with a forced smile. "I can handle Big Red on my own.

Even with my bravado, he knew it'd be a challenge for me to win. Still, Adam always did have a lot of faith in me. "Alright. Go kick his baboon colored ass," Adam said with encouragement.

"You got it! *sigh*...Looks like I'm on my own," I replied, saying the last part to myself as I stood up and stared back at Trigon.

The demon's eyes narrowed in anger as he prepared for the next bout. "I'm going to enjoy destroying you, 'son in law'," Trigon said mockingly.

"Bring it, bitch," I said with a smirk. In response, his eyes glowed brightly before firing another laser blast. Using what agility I could muster, I backflipped away as I dodged the laser.

*BLA-KOW!*

Trigon kept firing laser after laser at me, keeping me on the defensive. Each blast was meant to keep him out of my reach, though he would swipe at me with his good arm when I get within arm's reach of him. All of this running was really aggravating my wounds and making me lose my breath.

'His eye's glow for a bit before he fires the laser. That's when I'll attack,' I thought to myself after avoiding another laser blast. Rolling to a stop, I mentally had Hephaestus change its form, changing from a black [Aura Radiance] to a long bow. Before I could do anything, though, I needed a distraction. 'Weiss-kun!'

{Say the word!} my dragon companion said.

Raising [Aura Radiance] above my head (and thankfully gaining the demon's attention), I cried out two words:

"Solar Flare!"

I said as I used Aura Radiance to make a flash bang, blinding Trigon.

"Aaah!" Trigon cried in pain as he covered all four his peepers. "My eyes!"

While he was blinded I got to high ground so I don't miss my next shot. When I got as high as I could, I dismissed [Aura Radiance] and pulled back on Hephaestus' bow sting. A black arrow forming as the sting was pulled, the arrowhead carved in a spiral pattern for maximum penetration.

Roaring in pain and fury, the father of Raven managed to steady himself. "Where are you, you insect?!" he yelled in anger as his eyesight began to return.

"OVER HERE UGLY!" I yelled to get his attention.

His head whipped toward me so fast, he would've gotten whiplash if he were in an organic body. "I WILL FEAST ON YOUR SOUL!" Trigon yelled as his eyes began to glow brighter than before.

"Feast on this, four eyes," I said as I released the arrow. Just as Trigon was about to fire his laser, the black arrow soared through the air, spiraling right toward his face. The arrowhead nailed him right between the eyes, causing him to throw his head back in pain and forget about me.

Big mistake. "Bang!" I said.

*BOOOOOOOMMMM!*

In a flash of light and a clap of thunder, the entirety of the echo of Trigon was consumed in a ball of fire.

After the smoke cleared, Trigon was gone. Everyone was silent for a moment, processing what happened. And even after they did, they remained that way (though the rest of the Team were breathing soft sighs of relief, myself among them). Turning around, I gave them a big thumbs up before starting to limp over to them.

"So...did he win?" Conner asked.

"No."

*SCHTLUK!*

"He hasn't."

...Tonight was just not my night, if the dull pain in my abdomen and the horrified looks on the Team's faces were any indication. Looking down, I saw a crimson spike sticking through my gut, the color of blood. Just as quickly as it appeared, it pulled back, leaving me stumbling back in pain.

'What the...how did he...' I received my answer as I looked back. The blood-colored spike turned out to be the very source of its color: blood from the pool of it. Imagine my surprise when I discovered how it got formed into a spike and sent through me like a shishkebab.

Brother Blood himself, hand outstretched to control the blood.

Making this even more terrible for me were the four glowing red eyes on his face and dark red skin, indicating how he did that. Before I could react, Trigon used Blood's body to rush at inhuman speeds, kicking me square in the chest and sending me flying, skidding to a halt at the pool of boiling blood.

Blood that I added into with a hacking cough. Definitely cracked some ribs there, along with internal bleeding from bone punctures.

"W-Why can't it ever be simple?" I asked sarcastically as I stood up, a struggle of its own kind. Trigon was on me in an instant.

*CRACK!*

"Agh!"

"It is fate for Raven to bring me into this world," Trigon said as he kicked me down. He then processed to stomp his foot onto my stab wound. "And an insect like you can't stop that!"

Another stomp, shattering the ribcage in half.

"GGRRAAAAAAGGGHHHH!" I screamed in unbearable pain.

"You. Will. Be. The. First. To. Die. By. My. Hands!" Trigon said as he stomped on my wound with each word he uttered.

I cried in pain with every stomp of his foot.

"Michael!" everyone cried in horror. Raven said as she started running towards us.

Raven reacted first, running toward her bastard father and I, fear on her face. Adam and Architect followed close after, anger in their eyes. "Leave him alone, you son of a bitch!" Wally yelled in anger as he and the others followed close behind Raven, charging at the possessed Brother Blood.

"Guys...don't," I said as blood trickled from my mouth.

"Back away, insects!" Trigon said as he released a shock wave from his hand. The shock wave knocked everyone back, with the lone exception of Raven. A dark chuckle came from his inhuman voice. "You are indeed my child if you could withstand that," Trigon smirked.

"Leave him alone..." Raven said as she hung her head low.

"This insect will die today, my child," he said, foot on my chest as he pushed my head closer to the boiling blood, my skin starting to sear from the heat. "And there is nothing you can do about it."

"I said..."

With one last push of his feet, my face was about to-

"LEAVE. HIM. ALONE!" Raven roared, a surge of dark energy blasting Trigon back (and me away from the blood). The blast also knocked several others, including some of the Team.

Gathering my senses, I looked up to see a mass of dark energy surrounding Raven. Her skin turned from its regular pale color to bright red, as she lifted her head to reveal four glowing red eyes to match the anger radiating off of her. Raven's shadow spread and moved as if it were alive.

"You will not harm him, my friends, or this world. Ever!" Raven said as her shadow covered her so-called father.

A whirlwind of shadows tore through the bound demon. His grunts of irritation gave way to painful cries as the spectral visage of Trigon was ripped out, dropping Brother Blood's unconscious form to the ground as he returned to his original appearance. Trigon attempted to escape, but he was bound by the talons of an enormous raven of shadow.

"Leave," his daughter uttered. "And never show your face to me again!"

The wings closed around him, causing the enormous bird to glow brightly, until...

"RAAAAAAVVEEEEEEEENNNNN!"

*FLASH*

In a blinding flash, Trigon had disappeared. And along with him, so did my consciousness.

(End "World's Greatest Battle Music Ever: Force of Will")

Third Person's POV:

After what was basically banishing her father back into whatever prison he escaped, Raven felt...free. For the first time since coming back to life, she felt like she didn't have to look over her shoulder anymore.

She knew her father would continue his attempts to escape, but she sent him back, so she felt great right now.

Well, except for the fatigue that quickly overtook her. As her bright red skin returned to its original pale color, and her four red eyes became two indigo ones once again, a tiring sensation filled her entire being, causing her to collapse to her knees. At this, the rest of the Team went to her, while Architect pulled up his Omni-Tool and ran a scan.

"How is she?" Kaldur asked.

"/She is currently functional, though the Negatium in her systems is slowly deteriorating her body. We must get it out of her,/" Architect responded, bending down and picking up Raven, slinging her over his left shoulder, his mind already forming a plan for this place.

(Play "Fatum Iustum Stultorum II")

"Uh, I think we have another problem to deal with first," Megan pointed out.

"/Th-that problem being?/" Architect asked, his cracked optic turning to look at the White Martian.

Pointing behind them, she said "Them."

Slowly, Architect- and the rest of the Team that were able to- turned around, seeing numerous cultists beginning to surround them, a burning anger clear in their eyes at having their god defeated, their leader's dick ripped off, and the overall collapse of the Church of Blood.

At that, Architect simply turned to look at his teammates, saying one thing.

"/Oh./"

"Shit," Victor muttered.

"Okay, so we have a swarm of pissed off cultists, who just watched their boss become a eunuch, and a shade of their quote-unquote 'god' get obliterated," Wally pointed out. "Plus, we have a heavily bleeding teammate, and another that's suffering from poisoning, as the rest of us are starting to lose the fumes we're running on. I'm open to suggestions."

"/We can do better,/" Architect said, opening a small portal above his right hand. From the portal came a metal, cylindrical device, with different colored wires wrapping around he structure. On the side was an LED counter.

"...Architect...please tell me that isn't a bomb..."

His flaps moved a bit. "/...We won't,/" he responded as he pressed a button and threw the device in the middle of the room.

0:30

0:29

0:28

Everyone's eyes widened at once. "RUN!" Adam yelled, turning tail with the others, running like bats outta hell.

And run, they did. Wally practically teleported out of the place with how fast he was running, knocking over several cultists along the way. The others, however, had to either fly or run out of the chamber (mainly due to helping the injured), fighting their way through the cultists that tried to either stop them or run out alongside them.

"Why did you have a bomb on you?!" Conner asked Architect as he slammed his fist into an approaching cultist that tried to attack Architect (who was holding Raven), sending said cultist into the wall.

"/In case we needed to create a diversion for an escape!/" he replied, kicking a cultist in the gonads. "/This situation qualifies!/"

"Less talking, more running!" Adam said, smacking a cultist with the handle of Muramasa.

Slamming into another cultist, Kory said "Please tell me you remember the way out of here!"

"Even if I didn't, I have a plan!" Adam said, suddenly stopping to pull up his wrist computer, scanning all around him.

"What are you doing?" Robin asked, as Adam's eyes glowed brighter.

"Something worthy of a movie," he replied as he threw his hands out, everything around them now having a yellow glow. Looking behind them, they saw the cultists running after them, but they were VERY. SLOWLY.

At that point, Robin and Kaldur realized where Michael got his chronokinetic powers from.

"Nearly there!" Adam called out, seeing the entrance getting closer and closer. "Nearly there!"

Back in the depths of the caverns, one unconscious Brother Blood was beginning to stir again. The sounds of his panicking followers woke him up, and he felt rather pissed. "When I get my hands on that bastard," he growled as he stumbled back up, stumbling as he held his bleeding genital area, "I am going to kill him-!"

His words died as he finally took notice of the large, cylindrical device before him.

0:07

0:06

0:05

As he looked at the timer, Sebastian Blood IX closed his eyes in resigned frustration, whispering five words:

(End "Fatum Iustum Stultorum II")

"Oh, son of a bitch."

0:00

(Play "Cool Guys Don't Look At Explosions - The Lonely Island")

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

A massive fireball blasted out of the tunnels, engulfing anything in its wake. Thankfully, everyone had managed to get out of the way just in time, finding cover behind some rocks for good measure. Meanwhile, Architect was simply walking casually, a Shield deployed above him from his Omni-Tool, protecting him and Raven from falling debris while playing a rather fitting song from The Lonely Island.

For some reason, he even had a pair of shades on his 'face' as he walked. It looked like those 8-bit "Thug Life" shades, which painted a whole new level of 'WTF' in the Team's minds about the A.I.

Walking away from the flaming mouth of the cave and joining the others, Architect said "/That was satisfying./"

"...Do you and the Versers have a fetish for explosions?" Wally asked, worried that Architect would pull out another bomb.

"/We will neither confirm nor deny that accusation,/" he said as he placed Raven down. "/However, we will say that it is always fun to watch something blow up like that./"

"...How sentient are you?" Robin asked, officially worried that his teammate might have some weird hobbies.

"/We were created with Adam's brainwaves./"

"...Oh good God," Robin muttered, his eyes wide with shock and slight worry. A look a few of the others shared.

(End "Cool Guys Don't Look At Explosions - The Lonely Island")

Turning the music off, Architect flatly said "/Don't hate./"

"You're literally a mechanical version of Adam. That makes me worried," Wally said, remembering the previous outlandish threats Adam made.

"And on that note," Adam began, before sucker punching him hard enough to knock the speedster out. "And on that note, I'd say that we've all had a damn productive evening. However, I'd say we've had enough for tonight. Anyone else?"

"I'm good," said Nolan- I mean Conner. The others all had the same idea.

"Same," Scanty and Kneesocks agreed, with Thuban nodding a bit.

"I'd...really like that," Raven nodded.

"Yeah," Michael wearily said. "Me...toooo..."

*FWUMP*

After his words, Michael fell to the ground, blood loss starting to take over.

"Micheal?!" Adam cried out, rushing over along with everyone else. "Michael! MICHAEL!"

Noises dulled very quickly, leaving only echoes of words. He could feel his heartbeat slow down exponentially, and grew colder. A moment later, everything around Michael Verser faded to black...

"Michael-ael-ael-ael-el-el-llllll..."

And the noise stopped.

Michael's POV:

...Cold.

It's...cold here..but somehow, it's...pleasant.

Opening my eyes reluctantly, I was greeted with a vast, empty plain. It was dark, with the sky being pitch black. It felt...dead here.

Then a series of screens floated around. In each of them, I saw myself. Each me wore different clothes, and were each doing something different in their lives. I even saw a screen with how I was before I became a Multiverser, hanging out with my family.

Realization hit me like a ton of bricks. "Not again," I groaned.

"Nicely done, Michael. Though I give you a '2' for the landing back there."

Turning slightly to face the voice, I was greeted by a rather enchanting, curvy young woman. Skin as white as chalk, she had messy raven hair that went down to her shoulders. She wore black lipstick, matched by her pure black eyes. Her clothes were black as well, a black tanktop with a pair of black leather pants and gloves. Finishing the look was a silver ankh necklace hanging from her neck. She was leaning on a black umbrella, which seemed to fit her perfectly.

A friendly smile graced her lips. "Good to see you again, Michael."

I returned said smile as I got up. "Great to see you too, Death."

Pouting, she asked "When did you stop calling me 'Dee'?"

"Sorry, force of habit."

You read that right. This beauty was Death herself. To be specific, her full name is Death of The Endless, one of a group of entities in the DC Universe. And as of late, someone I've been in contact with multiple times, thanks to a series of near-death experiences. Looked like Zandia was another one to add to the list.

Dusting myself off, I asked "So, how bad was it this time?"

"Multiple stab wounds, severe internal bleeding, punctured heart, third-degree burns, and a collapsed lung," she listed off nonchalantly. "And as always, I'm amazed at how you can survive this stuff."

"Immortal," I reminded her.

Death puffed her cheeks in annoyance. "That's what I hate about you Multiversers. You take forever to die."

"Ouch." I clutched my currently non-beating heart. "So cold, Dee."

"And you're cruel," she playfully rebuked, "making a girl wait like this. I was beginning to think you stopped liking me."

I scoffed. "You honestly think I'd be stupid enough to risk ticking off Death like that?"

"No, not really," she shrugged.

Yeah, it was a rather surreal sight, to be sure. A freshly semi-dead person conversing with Death herself like an old friend. To be fair, though, we actually are pretty friendly with each other. A while back when I was in a world in the DC section of the Multiverse, I had a near death experience. That experience led me to meet Death (who was actually rather pleasant to be around...must be from being an aspect of Prime Death).

Of course, because I didn't want to die yet, I was able to come back from death. Though from then on, I had the irritating habit of having near-death experiences a lot when I'm in a DC Universe. As a result, I had a lot of run ins with Death, who- for a while- was equally irritated by my constantly dying and reviving. She eventually got over it, though, and we came to be good friends.

Which, of course, lead to me asking this (just to make sure): "What happened to Blood?"

Her face darkened a bit at the name. "He died in the explosion. Woke up right next to the bomb seconds before it went off. I'm actually on my way over to him right now, to make sure he goes where he belongs."

I nodded. "Do me a favor: try to make him kick and scream all the way," I requested.

"After what he tried to do? Absolutely."

"*sigh* And like that, another happy ending," I said, laying back into the cold earth. I stayed there for a few moments, before asking "Did you notice anything odd about my stab wounds?"

A solemn look appeared on her face. "Now that you mention it, yeah. It looks like there's this...residue in the wounds. An element, I think."

"Recognize what kind?" She shook her head, causing me to groan. "So it really is Negatium. Son of a bitch..." If Brother Blood had his hands on Negatium, then that can only mean one of two things. Either Lucifer supplied the bastard with the stuff (which, given what I know of him at the moment, is highly unlikely), or...

One of those two are in the world of Young Justice.

I sighed, tired beyond all measure. "I need to tell the others about this," I said out loud.

"That bad, huh?" she asked.

"Let's put it this way: it's made from [Non-Existence]."

If possible, I think that would've made her even more pale. "...Yeah, that's bad," she agreed. "There's more of that stuff, isn't there?"

"If either of who I think is behind it is here, then yes."

"Then here's some advice: be more careful," she said seriously. "I mean it, too. This stuff is enough to kill you, maybe even your friends. It's a miracle you're even alive right now!"

She...had a good point. How the hell was I even still breathing at that point?! Questions for later. Right now, I had to focus on getting back to the land of the living...though considering how messed up I was by the end of the fight, it could take a while before I healed enough to-

...I stood corrected. Using omnipresence, I could see that my body had...healed a lot faster than usual. Negatium was still in there, but it wasn't life threatening at the moment.

Shrugging it off, I decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth and roll with it. "Well, guess this is goodbye for now."

"See you 'round. And seriously, try not to be so reckless until our next meeting, okay?" she asked sweetly.

Feigning insult, I responded "This is me we're talking about, remember?"

"...Your point?"

"...Touche," I relented. As I willed myself to return to my body, the tug of life got stronger. "Well, I'll try to visit when I can, Dee."

Before the world got too bright, she said "I'm holding you to that. Now, close your eyes." I did so, waiting for something...and feeling her lips on my forehead. "Until we meet again," she said softly. "Also, sorry in advance for what comes next."

'"What comes next?" What does she-'

*SLAP!*

And the world faded to white...

Scene Change...

...and then everything darkened again as I saw...a ceiling? I mean, an actual, wooden ceiling. Upon further reflection, I groaned as I felt myself move about in a rather comfortable bed. A window to the side of the room I found myself in showed it was somewhere in the daytime. The whole scene would've been perfect...if it weren't for the fact that Death just slapped me back to life-

*SLAP!*

"WAKE!"

*SLAP!*

"THE!"

*SLAP!*

"FUCK!"

*SLAP!*

"UP!"

*SLAP!*

"DAMN!"

*SLAP!*

"YOU!"

*SLAP!*

"OOOOOOOOWWWWWW!" I howled, clutching my stinging face. "THE FUCK, ADAM?!"

"You were taking too long, dumbass," my brother deadpanned, as though he didn't just both bitch slap and pimp slap my face multiple times. "Now get the fuck up, the others are worried sick about you."

"Wha...? What do you...?" I muttered, still a bit out of it from the near-death experience.

"Did you NOT HEAR ME?! THE TEAM IS FUCKING WORRIED ABOUT YOU, SO GET UP AND LET THEM KNOW YOU'RE OKAY!"

"OUCH! Jeez, alright! Don't have to shout so loud!" Walking across the wooden floor, I mumbled "Fuckin' jackass, shouting at a guy who nearly wound up dead..."

"Fuck you say?!" Adam asked, his voice sounding demonic as his Dragon Arm appeared.

"Oh piss off, I nearly died. I can say what I want." With the final word said on the matter, I opened the door to find...a rather cozy-looking room. Turning around, I asked "Uh...are we still on Zandia?"

"No, we're in the magical land of 'WHAT DO YOU THINK.' Of course we're still in Zandia," he said sarcastically.

"As usual, your dry wit is most appreciated. So," I grunted as I sat in a nearby chair. "When did we get to a populated area, and why are we bunking in someone's house?"

"Because there were some out in the countryside who didn't agree with Church of Blood, but they didn't want to risk their wrath, so they kept to themselves. Thankfully, they decided to give us sanctuary for the time being," Adam said, showing his wrist computer to Michael while bringing up Michael's own computer, showing their clocks were not in sync. "I also pulled a time jump bringing us here, so you might want to change your timer."

I promptly did so. "What happened to the cultists?" I asked.

"...Gone. Either fled or killed by Architect's bomb. Either way, I'd say for the time being that the Church of Blood is finished," Adam said, with a hint of relief in his voice.

"I hear ya there," I nodded. "Especially with Dee making sure Blood goes to Hell."

"Yeah. Looks like some things proceed similar to others," Adam said, before looking at Muramasa. "Though I personally killed my world's version of Brother Blood after having a sword fight with him."

I chuckled at the thought. "Nice. You're gonna have to show me that if you recorded it." A pang of pain shot through my chest with the laughter. "Preferably after I get the Negatium in my chest out- shit!" I muttered in horror. "Raven! Adam, she touched the stuff when she healed me!"

"Don't worry, I checked on her after we got here. She's clean, drained, but clean," Adam said.

"Clean?! Adam, her hands were burning from touching it! Negatium is even more deadly to non-Multiversers! We- agh!" I grunted, falling as I tried to get up.

"Let me finish, MIKEY," Adam said, holding out his hands as his gauntlets shifted away to show his hands were looking shriveled, with his veins blackened. "I absorbed the Negatium from her and now it's in me. So she's CLEAN."

...

"...You forget you saw me freak out like that."

"Bitch, you know that's never gonna happen," Adam chuckled, his face now starting to show black veins. "Seriously, we should probably get the Team ready to head home."

"Yeah, you're right. Though you may want to do something about your appearance first, just so the others don't freak out too much."

"I already planned that," Adam said as black scales started to appear on his face, hiding the black veins.

"Nice...you know, you're also gonna have to tell me later about how you can do that. After we get back to the cave," I added.

Third Person's POV:

Meanwhile, the rest of the Team were gathered outside the house, near a forest separating a small village from the now-destroyed Church of Blood. By a stroke of luck, they had managed to come across the village, who was more than thankful to let them spend the rest of the night recuperating, as thanks for getting rid of the cult. Turns out, demon-worshiping fanatics make for terrible neighbors.

During the time waiting for Michael to recover, Raven told them everything. Who she was. Who her father was. The terrible decision that led to the destruction of an entire realm. She was fully prepared to take their hatred.

Instead, she found acceptance.

Shocked at their reaction to the truth of her, Kaldur explained that she had more than proven that her lineage didn't define her, and that she was her own person. The fact that she risked her life to save her friends had more than proven her loyalty to them as well. And with a tearful smile, Raven realized she had found a place she could call a home.

That was hours ago, and they were still waiting for Michael to make a recovery. While most of the Team (sans Scanty, Kneesocks and Thuban, who went to make sure Trigon's followers were all gone now) were gathered by a large tree, with the young speedster wearing a trench with his pacing. "Ugh, how much of that junk is in him?!" Wally complained. "We've been here for half a day already!"

"Enough for you to shut up." Adam said, suddenly behind Wally.

"JESUS!" he cried in shock (with the others jumping back a bit as well). "Would you stop doing that?! It's bad enough when Batman does it!"

"Batman is nothing compared to me. Hell, I could be here, then in the Batcave in a fraction of a second and screw around on the Batcomputer and be back here, and no one would ever notice," Adam said with pride.

"...Please," Robin calmly said. "For everyone's sake. Don't. Just...don't."

"No promises, Rob." The Boy Wonder could only groan, figuring that was the best he'd get from the Aspect of Time.

"I'm here too," Michael said as he walked into sight. "In case anyone's wondering."

"Yeah, but who gives a shit at this moment when KF probably shit himself after I scared him." Adam said.

Michael flipped him off. "Ass."

It only took a second for them to process the situation. "You're alive!" Kory, Victor and Conner shouted, the first of whom flew over and hugged the wounded Multiverser.

"Thank Hera!" Donna said with relief.

"I am glad to see you are well, my friend," Kaldur said with a smile.

Chuckling as Kory let him go, Michael said "Sorry to say it, guys, but my time's not over yet...hey, where's Raven?" he asked, looking around for his empathetic team mate.

"Meditating over there," Adam said, jerking his thumb behind him at another house.

"Thanks. I'll be right back, guys," he said as he headed over to the house. "I've gotta take care of something."

"Don't choke., Adam said.

"What?" Michael asked in confusion.

"Don't be like Schmidt in 21," he clarified.

"What-" Eyes widen- then narrow- as he understands the reference. "Go jump in a shark-infested ocean," he muttered as he walked off.

Adam's eyes darkened a bit. "Done that before. Want me to give you that same experience?" He received no answer, as Michael was already far away. The others, however...

"If I can say something, Adam?" Megan spoke up.

"Shoot."

"You...scare me a bit."

"I have that effect on people."

Meanwhile, Michael rounded the corner to find Raven. She was floating in meditation inside a shed, her cowl let down to allow her hair to come out. It seemed like she was rather caught up in it, to have not noticed him arrive. Coming closer, he jokingly asked "Penny for your thoughts?"

"I sensed you before you entered the room," she stated dryly.

"Good to know you weren't fretting too bad over little ole me," Michael quipped as he sat down on a stump. "So, how long was I out?"

"Well, with the Time Jump Adam made, he said he jumped past four hours," she said.

"Really?" he asked in honest shock. Cricking his neck, he added "Felt longer. Hell, my wounds look like they took several days to heal."

"Well, I guess Adam slapping you sped up your recovery in some twisted way," she dryly quipped.

...

"...Did...did you just make a joke?" Michael asked in shock.

"Did I?" She asked herself, her back turned to hide a devious smile.

The shocked, gaping visage of Michael Verser made her grin a bit wider. Then he laughed. "Oh, this is the start of a beautiful relationship!" A laughter that Raven joined in on.

The laughter soon stopped, however, as he realized another meaning to his words.

Then memories came flooding back. The stab wounds that Blood inflicted on him. The kiss he accidentally shared with Raven (making them- according to the ritual he interrupted- married). The fight against Trigon. Raven going apeshit on her father.

And in the bleariness of his eyes before unconsciousness, he remembered Raven, kneeling above him, using her magic to try and heal him...and touching something deep within his being.

Turning to face her, he said "You risked your life to save me. Again."

"...You're a teammate," she responded after a moment. "Teammates help each other."

"But you could've gotten killed touching that stuff," he countered. "If Adam weren't there to transfer it to himself, you definitely could've died after touching the stuff twice." Walking in front of her to face her, he continued "Can you promise me something?"

"Depends," she responded.

"If I end up in a state like that again...please don't do what you did. I don't want another innocent life on my hands," he said with seriousness...and sadness.

"You didn't kill anyone, Michael. Not here, and not during the Outbreak," Raven said.

A humorless chuckle escaped his lips. "Oh really? Tell that to the people who'd still be alive if I'd acted just a LITTLE faster. The people I watched breathe their last breath. Their blood's on MY hands, Rae." Lowering his head, he added "And I can never make up for it."

"You can make up for it," she said, her eyes narrowed. "By saving those who can be saved." Eyes narrowing a bit further, she added "Though I thought you'd be surprised that I know about the Outbreak, since I just discovered that you, Duncan, and Adam lied to us about your past," her voice now cold as ice.

Looking up, he asked "What do you-"

*Insert Tire Screech SFX*

...

"...How...?" he asked, shocked beyond all measure.

"When I tried to heal you, I...ended up accessing your memories as well. I've seen your life before becoming a 'Multiverser'," she said, trying the word on her tongue, "along with what came after. I know about your knowledge of Adam's vigilantism after the Outbreak. I know EVERYTHING, Michael," Raven finished.

"..."

"...In...all fairness...I was planning on telling the rest of the Team," he began.

"When?" Rachel asked sarcastically, already knowing the answer.

"...Once I...worked up the courage," he replied.

"Which knowing you now, would take years."

"Hey, that is not true!" Michael defended. "Okay, that one world aside due to the fact I needed more time to prepare, the longest I've gone without telling someone is one year!"

"Tula," she stated dryly.

"Like I said, one year and a half!" he amended without missing a beat, covering how he nearly forgot to take all who knew the secret from this world into account.

"Regardless, you LIED. TO US ALL," Raven stated with calm fury in her voice.

"I-It's not like we WANTED to!" he defended, backing away from her energy. "Duncan set up rules for the rest of us to follow. One of those being we couldn't just out and tell others who- or what- we really are. I mean, how would you react after finding out your world is seen by others through the medium of a comic book?"

"The fact that you knew my father would come is bad enough! And you all know other world shaking events, and don't bother to tell anyone? How does that help your mission to 'protect the Multiverse'?!" Raven asked sharply.

"You mean besides the fact that I didn't think your dad or his flunkies would try anything on our first mission? IT'S BECAUSE MY MASTER IS A BASTARD!" he cried in frustration.

"That I can clearly see!" Raven yelled, her eyes flashing black as she gritted her teeth.

*BOOM!*

"The hell?!" Michael and Raven cried in shock, finding the shack blown to bits.

"DAFUQ IS GOING ON WITH YOU TWO?!" Adam's voice echoed.

"N-Nothing!" Michael called back. "Just, uh...clearing the air on something!"

"CLEARING THE AIR DOES NOT REQUIRE EXPLOSIONS! YOU'RE NOT MICHAEL BAY!"

"DROP IT, VERSER! OR I'LL DO WORSE TO YOU THAN I DID TO BLOOD!" Raven roared demonically.

"I'VE HEARD THAT THREAT BEFORE, ROTH, AND I SHALL SAY THE SAME THING I ONCE SAID TO THAT PERSON: I REALLY, REALLY, DO NOT GIVE A FLYING FUCK RIGHT NOW!" he roared back. "Besides, unlike Blood, I have a healing factor, so it'd be pointless."

'Adam, she knows,' I quickly said to him telepathically.

'Yeah, had the same shit happen with mine. She gave me the same threat. So yeah, really don't care. Just hurry up so we can go home,' Adam responded calmly.

"...Raven," he began with a sigh. "I swear, I never wanted to hurt you like this. And I definitely didn't want you finding out this way. If I had the choice, I'd have told you all the whole truth the moment I had the chance." Hanging his head, he added "Though...I'd understand if you don't want anything more to do with me after we get back..."

"...I believe you when you say you didn't want to hurt me. But that doesn't mean I'm just going to brush this under the rug and pretend nothing happened." Raven said, her eyes still holding anger in them, though they were softer now.

"I-I understand," he nodded. "Still...what happens now?"

"Simple. We head home." She said dryly, walking past me, not turning back.

Michael watched her retreat, a cold feeling in his chest (that wasn't the Negatium) as he sighed morosely. "Great. Guess this is another addition to the 'Michael Fucked Up' list..."

As Raven approached the others, Adam came up and gently pulled her to the side. "What do you want?" she asked irritably.

"Michael told me you know. So I see it necessary to tell you the true reason we never told you guys about our...more-than-human status. Our personal reason." Adam said, the look in his eyes being dead serious.

"What more reason could there be than your 'boss' being an incorporeal bastard?" she asked with venom.

"...Because we were afraid. Afraid of how you all would react. I mean, how else could we think of that situation to turn out other than crazy? 'Oh hi, guys, I'm a demigod who could destroy a planet with the snap of my fingers! But that's cool, I've got super powers like you, so let's go fuck shit up!'" Adam said sarcastically, before his voice turned somber. "Even with all our power, all the shit we've done...we can still lose. Battles, arguments, people...we can lose them all in the blink of an eye. In the end, Michael and I are still guys capable of loss like everyone else. Peace is not a thing to us. So yeah, you wanna know the reason we didn't tell you? It's because we didn't want to lose what friendships we could have. Cause in the end, we Multiversers can never truly know peace," he said, backing away. "Be angry at us if you want, but know we did it because we didn't want to lose any of you to the chaos that is our true lives."

Raven had expected Adam to say any number of things. That, however, was enough to stun her silent. As well as bring up...other emotions. Guilt chief among them. "...And I probably just cost him a friend with me..." she said solemnly.

"If that was the case," Scanty said as she, Kneesocks and Thuban came from the forest, "then you would've done much worse than give Michael the cold shoulder."

"Besides, Mikey isn't the type to hold grudges against friends. So you could still make it up to him," Adam pointed out. "We Multiversers have lied to a lot of people, leading to us being called faceless backstabbing scum who can't be trusted. But I like to think of the words of a great movie I know as an aspiration to what we are: It's not who we are underneath...but what we do that defines us," Adam said, looking at Raven, his yellow eyes glowing brightly, as if the sun itself had fused with his eyes.

It was as if a jolt of light ran deep into her soul at that, giving her strength. Yet also making her feel worse somehow...as well as curious. "...What movie did you get that from?" she asked.

"A film based on Batman," was her reply (A/N: That was a great quote from the film, and you all know it).

The empath only gave an awkward, deadpanned stare at her friend, before sighing downheartedly. "How do I just make up what I said to him?" she asked.

"Simple. Talk to him."

As if on cue, Michael came trudging up to the small group, a shamed look in his eye. "Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Actually, Raven had something she wanted to say," Adam said, pushing her over to his brother after deciding to get this over with instead of let it drag out.

"Indeed," Kneesocks nodded while she and Scanty held back amused laughter. "She said it was important."

Glaring at the three (and a chuckling Thuban), Raven silently swore to get back at them later. However, at the moment...

"Raven?" Michael was nervous about what she was going to say, fearing that she might've been experiencing a delayed reaction to her rage at betrayal.

What she said, however, blew that thought away.

"...I forgive you." That was all she said, yet it conveyed all that she was feeling. With that one sentence, she walked back toward the others...but this time, she looked back and smiled softly at the two Multiversers.

Speaking of whom...

"...What...did you say to her?" Michael asked, now EXTREMELY stunned.

"I simply told her the truth," Adam said.

"/Now ca-ca-can we please go back to the cave?!/" a still damaged Architect asked, revealed to have been next to them through the entire conversation. "/We're frying our circuits out he-he-he-here!/"

"Oh...we should probably do that," the Aspect of Time realized, hopping onto Thuban. "Get ready, big guy."

Michael then created a duplicate to help Architect back to the others (as well as make a portal to get back to Santa Prisca), while the original jumped onto Thuban alongside the Daemon sisters. "What?" he asked. "Always wanted to ride on a kick-ass dragon!"

"Okay. Let's go, big guy!" Adam said, as the Draconis inhabitant spread his wings and took off into the skies.

Mount Justice, July 23, 15:42 EDT

"Okay, where the hell are they?!"

That was the question on everyone's minds as Batman, Red Tornado, Tula and Duncan waited impatiently at the docking bay for the others to arrive back. After having lost trace of them on Santa Prisca, the League began looking everywhere for their wayward wards, with no luck whatsoever. Not even Batman and Duncan together could find them.

Until sometime last night, when Duncan said he found them...on Zandia.

To their credit, the League elected to wait until the Team returned, so as to explain how and why the ended up from South America to Europe. Though as an irritated Tula just demonstrated with her question/shout, their patience was running thin.

"I swear, if they don't show up in the next five minutes, someone's gonna get backhanded through a wall," Duncan muttered irritably.

"/I do not see how that is necessary,/" Red Tornado said.

"It'll make me feel a hell of a lot better-"

["Major Tom to ground control, come in ground control,"] came the voice of Adam Verser.

...With a sigh of irritation, a holographic screen appeared in front of them. "Ground control responding. What the hell have you people been doing?" Duncan asked.

["We'll fill you in once we land,"] Robin cut in. ["For now, mind opening up and letting us in? Megan and her ship are running on steam at this point."]

"Okay, but you better explain everything," Batman said, as the bay doors opened.

Soon enough, Megan's bio-ship flew in, landing on the landing pad smoothly. The entrance to the ship opened up, allowing the Team to walk out looking as if they were put through the wringer. Wally even bent down and kissed the ground, saying "I'm never leaving this cave again."

"Part of this team, Kid. You got no choice in the matter," Duncan reminded.

"Fuck you, I'm staying here until further notice."

"I'm sorry. What were you gonna take back?" Duncan asked, his eyes now glowing red.

"What he meant to say," Robin said intervening for his friend, "is that we had to take a little detour."

"/What could've possibly happened to have made you so late?/" Red Tornado asked.

Before an answer could be given, it was then that Duncan noticed something missing. Or rather, someone. "Also, where's Adam and Michael?" he asked, looking around for his fellow Multiversers.

That was the moment the speakers flared to life. ["WE'RE COMING IN HOT! OPEN THE FUCKING BAY DOORS, DUNCAN!"] came the loud voice of Adam from outside the speakers. Duncan stood there for a second, rubbing his ears before doing as Adam had asked. The doors slowly opening up again as the sound of wings flapping could be heard, getting louder and louder until...

...Adam and Thuban flew into the room, Thuban roaring with joy at finally finishing his flight. Riding alongside Adam were Scanty, Kneesocks and Michael, who leaped off as Thuban came in for a landing. Thuban stared at the present League members and the Team, his reptilian eyes boring into their souls, while the two demon sisters dusted themselves off.

Silence reigned across the room...

...

"...Explaination. NOW," Batman ordered.

Michael's POV:

So we did. From the bombing of the factory and the fight against Kobra, to being shanghaied by the Church of Blood (and the barrier keeping us in/hiding us from others), to all but ending said cult, and my accidentally getting 'married' to Raven. Of course, the rest of the Team graciously left out the part were Adam and I were revealed to be more than human (which led them to realize the same was the case with Duncan), knowing that we'd reveal the whole truth when we were comfortable with it. Also, after a nice talk back on Zandia with the others, Raven was...well, pleasantly surprised to discover the Team was accepting of her, despite her heritage.

A good sign toward a possibly good future. Something to deal with later.

Right now, though, we had to deal with an annoyed Duncan and Batman.

"...You guys...fucked up...big time!" Duncan growled in annoyance, making everyone flinch. "I am personally going to kick all twelve of your asses so hard, that it'll make Jesus' crucifixion look like a goddamn volleyball game in comparison!"

"Ahem," Scanty and Kneesocks coughed as Thuban puffed up a bit at that, reminding Duncan and the others that the massive dragon and sexy demons were still present.

"...Okay, I guess it's fifteen...but you three didn't fuck anything up, so you're good." The dragon hummed, pleased with himself. Same went for the two sisters. "And the rest of you...you all did a pretty good job."

Our response? A big "Huh?"

"To tell you the truth, you handled the first half of the mission well, despite SOMEONE fucking up," he added while glaring at me, "but you all adapted to the second half extremely well. How you adjust to the unforeseen determines success. And you all definitely succeeded," he finished with a smile.

The rest of us smiled at each other in turn.

"You'll all still be getting individual reports on your flaws during the mission, of course," Batman added with a ghost of a smile. "How you learn from your mistakes also determine future success."

'...Even in victory, I feel a bit defeated.'

{Life's a bitch, Michael,} Sterling said. {Life's a bitch.}

"And one last thing: Wally." The young speedster tensed a bit at seeing Duncan's smile. "You disobeyed orders and got your teammates exposed to both Bane's forces and Kobra. Soooo...guess what that means~?"

And like that, Michael's spirits were lifted as he saw how fast Wally could turn white as a sheet of paper in fear.

"Wally," Adam said.

"Yeah?" the speedster squeaked out.

"Let me know how many bones you break during the training. Also, Duncan, Architect took some bad hits during the mission, can I patch him up before it begins?"

"Sure, but be back in thirty minutes," Duncan affirmed, receiving a nod from Adam.

"Alright." He helped Architect start to move, but stopped next to Duncan, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I also discovered a...problem with Architect pertaining to us," he whispered, nodding his head to a spot on Architect's chest. A spot Duncan noticed containing the dissolved remains of a familiar element.

His gaze hardened at the sight. "Alright, once you patch him up, and training is done, I need you and Architect to let me know what happened. If this is the work of who I think it is...we may have a problem."

"Got it."

"So, I don't know about the rest of you," Conner began, "but I think we've earned some more downtime."

"Agreed," was my heartfelt reply.

"Yeah, I'm up for some straight relaxation," Wally said, trying to hide his fear of training with Duncan.

"You realize you're going to have to face the music eventually, right?" Donna inquired.

"Don't remind me."

"And don't think we're letting you weasel out of it," Scanty snapped.

"Duncan let us know that your remedial training begins at 7 A.M.," Kneesocks continued, "so Hell help you if you show up late!"

Thuban simply huffed, resulting in Adam patting his leg. "He says get there on time, or else," Adam said with a smile.

I couldn't help but chuckle as Wally slumped in defeat. It was times like this that I enjoyed having girlfriends who were such sticklers for the rules like Scanty and Kneesocks. Only times I don't were when they did it to me.

Then, Thuban huffed again as he lumbered to the area near the waterfall, and slouched down, his eyes closing as visible air now came out of his nose.

"Get some rest, big guy. You sure as Hell earned it," Victor said, watching the dragon Adam called a partner sleep with the demon skull near him.

"So, on that note...what's say we all hit the hay and don't wake up until sometime past twelve? Sans Wally, that is," I suggested. The young speedster flipped me off as a result.

"Yeah," everyone said.

*CLANG*

"GODDAMN IT, ARCHITECT! I JUST SHUT OFF YOUR OPTIC, IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD!"

"/F-F-F-Fix...us.../"

"THEN SHUT UP AND LET ME WORK!"

"And on that note, I think I'm gonna go sleep," Victor said as he left the room, letting Adam get to work on Architect. "See you guys later?"

"Later Robocop." Adam said.

"Asshole."

"I meant it as a compliment, jackass. Want me to take it back?"

"Want me to not point out I said that in good nature?"

"Touche."

Chuckling alongside the rest of us, Robin said "Guess it's official: we're a team," before walking off to a spare room. Most of the others followed suit.

"Yep!" Adam said, smacking a dent on Architect's body back into place. "All we need now..." He smacked another dent. "...Is a name."

Soon, all who remained was Raven and I, staring at the infirmary window as Adam was busy repairing Architect. His optic was currently off, but he was still active as Adam kept asking him to move his other parts around so he can fix them. As I stopped to look at the Multiversal A.I., I saw him raise his left hand, clench it into a fist, and gave a thumbs up.

Pointed at Raven.

At that, she gave a sad smile and have her own thumbs up, as Adam asked Architect to put his hand down.

"You okay?" I asked my friend (not thinking of her as my wife, just feels weird at the moment).

"...You really want to know?" she asked.

"Rae, you're my friend. I'm your friend. Friends get concerned about one another. It's okay, you can talk to me," I said.

Her face became more downtrodden as I finished. "...I'm not okay, Michael. How else can I be after today? My father is still looking for me. A cult dedicated to him tried to bring him back, and it almost got the whole team killed. And Architect suffered from the cultist's hatred of anything that isn't related to Trigon. Because of me." She looked down at the floor, expecting me to leave her alone. "No matter what I do, no matter where I hide, I'll never be anything but the daughter of Trigon," she said, bitter at herself.

She probably expected me to treat like a demon and lynch her or something.

Suffice it to say, though, she wasn't expecting me to gently hold her head and kiss her on the forehead.

Pulling away after breaking the forehead kiss, I looked her right in her stunned face and smiled. "I don't care if you're the daughter of a demon, or who said demon is. You're you. You're your own person. To me...you'll always be Rachel Roth. And nothing's going to change that."

She stared in shock for a brief moment, before she looked down with a small smile and a...blush?

"Thanks, Michael. I appreciate your concern, but I need time to myself," she said, walking away, but not before looking at Architect, who stared right back.

It was like the two were having a deep conversation solely with their eyes. Then, he nodded his head. She nodded hers in response, before leaving the room.

'Huh, looks like a deep friendship is blooming between the Multiversal A.I. and the daughter of Trigon.'

{Sounds like a buddy cop movie,} Weiss-kun said.

Suddenly, my train of thought ended as my vision went blurry, due to the sensation I felt of someone grabbing me. The next thing I knew, I was in a different room (with Duncan in the room as well, surprised by our sudden appearance). I looked to see it was Adam who had grabbed me, with a...very freaked out look on his face.

"THE EXACT SAME RESULTS!" he shouted. "YOUR MISSION ON ZANDIA GOT THE EXACT! SAME! RESULTS AS MINE! JUST LIKE YOU FINDING RAVEN, CYBORG, AND STARFIRE AT YOUR VERSION OF CADMUS! THIS CANNOT BE A COINCIDENCE! BY GOD, THIS IS ALL KINDS OF FUCKED UP!" Adam shouted, before teleporting away.

...

"...What the fuck just happened?" I shakily asked Duncan.

"No idea," he shrugged. "On another note: we're getting rid of the Negatium in your body first thing tomorrow."

Nodding, I replied "That...that sounds like a good idea."

"Also...you have any idea how you managed to come back from near death?" he cautiously asked, his gaze going toward my chest area, as if looking over the wounds...and...something else?

"Not a clue," I responded. "Sorry."

A thoughtful look filled his face...before he waved it off. "Whatever. Just get some rest. You and the others definitely earned it."

"Still making Wally take remedial training?"

"Yep."

"...Well, at least we'll have some entertainment," I shrugged, limping toward my room.

Unaware of the gift Duncan once placed within me beginning to stir within my body. And how it would play into a battle soon to come.

Third Person's POV:

Unknown Location, Unknown Time...

"By the time I got there, the entire factory was in ruins," said an intimidating man with blonde hair. He wore a gray hockey mask, a sleeveless muscle shirt, and metal plates for armor on his left arm. Lawrence Crock, a.k.a. Sportsmaster, continued "I was able to recover a single ampule of Kobra's product, but that's it," holding up the purple liquid as proof.

["It matters not,"] Brain waved off. ["We can reverse-engineer the formula from this. However, I am most concerned about these young heroes. First Cadmus; then Mister Twister; and now, this."]

["Not only that, but they managed to all but wipe out the Church of Blood,"] Klarion threw in. ["Seems these kids are more of a threat then we originally thought, if they could take Sebastian down. And if the rumors are to be believed, then they also beat their 'god' as well."]

["Once is coincidence. Twice is happenstance. But three times...that's enemy action,"] Savage coldly stated. ["And enemies of the Light...must be eliminated."]

"How do you want to follow up?" Sportsmaster inquired.

["...We'll get in touch with our most recent acquaintance,"] Savage answered. ["See if he has anything that can allow us to counteract these children. In the meantime...see if you can't get in touch with our associate Mr. Wilson, as well."]

Behind his mask, Sportsmaster couldn't help but grimace in slight sympathy. 'Those kids had no idea what they just brought on themselves.'

Elsewhere...

The void of a room that was as black as ever, save for the various lamps and lightbulbs providing illumination to its current inhabitants. One of whom was currently banging his metal head against a desk.

*KONK*

"...You know, if I could feel sensations, I'd be in a bit of pain right now," the towering metal man groaned as he hit his head against the desk again. "And I'd welcome it." Taller than an average human male- much taller- stood a robotic being. Humanoid in appearance with a silver-like metal serving as the main material, it had curved antennae, prominent shoulders, and red internal lighting. It's red, synthetic eyes held curiosity, arrogance, charisma...and insanity.

The mechanical man was instantly recognizable to many who would see him. After all, when one tries to end all life on Earth by dropping a city from orbit, you tend to become recognized.

"What are you so hung up about?" Ruvik asked curiously.

Turning to face him, Ultron replied "I created a barrier of Negatium meant to trap Multiversers. Impossible to escape unless deactivated...and then a fucking dragon slams a demon into it and breaks it," he deadpanned.

"...I can see how that would be annoying," he relented.

"You're lucky that it was just a prototype," The Antiverser said as he stepped out of the shadows. "And that Duncan Verser wasn't there to see it firsthand."

"On that, we can all agree is a blessing," the homicidal A.I. agreed. Plates shifting into a scowl, he added "Though considering Adam was there, it would still be a problem. Plus there's this." He activated a projection system, displaying the fight as captured by his hidden cameras. At one part, he paused at Michael fighting Brother Blood.

And the former was surrounded by a dim, yet beautiful golden aura.

"Adam's little dragon shift and summon was impressive, as was the two brothers' other powers and weapons making a dramatic debut...but this is something I've never seen before." Turning to face his partner, Ultron asked "Any ideas on what it could be?"

"...Verser's making Sacred Gears now, it seems. That sword has the tell-tale sign of Draconic nature, and the jewel... I'd have to say it's the White Dragon King Weisslogia. Which means he's likely got Skiadrum, Igneel, Metalicana, and Grandeeny on hand, too. Probably Atlas Flame as well," he summarized. "Fairy Tail dragons, huh? Two can play at that game."

"Is this going to be a problem for whatever you have planned?" Ruvik inquired.

A moment of contemplation came before his answer. "...No. Not at all."

"If you say so," Ultron said. "In other news," he continued, bringing up a few holographic screens, "our Remnant-based work is showing progress. Project Lerna's coming along right on schedule, and Lucifer's been sent to Remnant to assist in the next stage of miss Fall's plan. The main version of the Negatium barrier is also showing signs of progression, and should be ready to use in about 3-5 months time.

"Also, concerning your...'acquaintance'," Ultron said, his face showing distaste at the use of the word, "our agents have recently spotted him. We're keeping far enough away, but there are signs he'll be coming to this universe. Soon."

"He's a tool," The Antiverser deadpanned. "Both figuratively and literally. I don't see him as an equal, or even a person. His own madness and stupidity will lead to his own downfall. We'll use him for all he's worth till then."

"No, not THAT idiot. He's still under surveillance at one of our facilities, under intensive care. I'm talking about the OTHER acquaintance you had some run-ins with in the past. Recent sightings have his right hand stationed on Tamaran, of all places...which, considering who's there, means that he's going to be crossing paths with the Versers soon."

"And that could bring us into the spotlight early if mishandled..." Another moment of contemplation followed as those words were uttered, before The Antiverser ordered "Have them keep their distance, but make sure they don't lose him. The last thing I need is anyone messing things up for us." Without another word, he blended back into the shadows as easily as he came in.

"...Who're these 'acquaintances'?" Ruvik asked with interest.

"Story for another time," Ultron answered. "Right now, I need you to focus." Pulling up holographic blueprints, he continued "We have a lot to prepare for when we face the Justice League..."

(Play "Snake Eater - Metal Gear Solid 3 Guitar Cover (Feat. Adriana Figueroa) | FamilyJules")

...

YOUNG MULTIVERSER

...

Written by:

Hero of the Multiverse

...

Co-Written by:

VindictiveDunc

BioshockerN7

...

Starring:

Michael Verser/Atlas

...

Conner Kent/Superboy

...

Dick Grayson/Robin

...

Wally West/Kid Flash

...

Kaldur'ahm/Aqualad

...

Raven/"Rachel Roth"

...

Koriand'r/Starfire

...

Victor Stone/Cyborg

...

Donna Troy/Wonder Girl

...

Megan Morse/Miss Martian

...

Adam Verser/Timeshifter

...

Co-Starring:

Akima/Lambda

Masamune

Weisslogia

Architect

...

Duncan Verser/Oberon

Clark Kent/Superman

Bruce Wayne/Batman

Diana Prince/Wonder Woman

Karen Starr/Power Girl

...

John Smith/Red Tornado

Giovanni Zatara/Zatara

Dinah Lance/Black Canary

Barry Allen/The Flash

Hal Jordan/Green Lantern I

John Stewart/Green Lantern III

Billy Batson/Captain Marvel

Oliver Queen/Green Arrow

Hawkman

Hawkwoman

...

Bane

Baran Flinders/Mammoth

...

Sebastian Blood IX/Brother Blood

Trigon the Terrible

...

Lawrence Crock/Sportsmaster

Vandal Savage/L-1

Klarion/L-5

The Brain/L-6

...

The Antiverser

Ultron Prime

Ruvik

...

Special Guest Appearances:

Thuban

Scanty Daemon

Kneesocks Daemon

Death of the Endless

...

(End "Snake Eater - Metal Gear Solid 3 Guitar Cover (Feat. Adriana Figueroa) | FamilyJules")

And just like that, we come to the end of the first mission. As well as the LONGEST STORY ARC I HAVE WRITTEN TO DATE! WOOHOO!

When I first started writing this chapter (as well as the previous two chapters), I knew how things would play out. However, once BioshockerN7 and I watched TeamFourStar's Final Fantasy VII: Machinabridged, we both knew we had to make references to that awesome and hilarious series. Which, of course, led to making references to the first few episodes in this chapter. I also couldn't help but make references to Young Justice Abridged, made by DCAbridgedUniverse. They team responsible for that masterpiece has done such a great job seamlessly blending a number of DC animated movies and Young Justice into one, big, connected universe. Plus, the stuff in there is so awesome, I just HAD to play homage to them!

And on that note, I want to point out that neither BioshockerN7 and I own neither of those abridged series- or either Young Justice or Final Fantasy VII in general- and they belong to their rightful, expect both kinds of references to continue to be made in our stories, as well as references to other TeamFourStar works (which we also don't own). They're freaking hilarious.

On another note: the story is already diverging quite a bit from canon, if the introduction of Starfire, Raven and Cyborg weren't enough of a clue. Though to cover the other events of this chapter: Brother Blood and the Church of Blood are gone (who knows for how long), Raven has discovered the truth about the Multiversers, the Light are sending some familiar foes from DC lore to go against the Team, and the "Man in Black" is preparing to make some serious moves against the Multiversers and their allies. Oh, what insanity will be wrought now?

Stay tuned to find out. Until then, please leave a review/comment. BUT NO FLAMES, as those will be ignored and/or reported!

Hero of the Multiverse, over and out.