Jack's lightsaber clashed with Darkclaw's shadow blade, while Quan Chi's green sorcerous energy collided with Raiden's lightning. The battle was on. Quan Chi had rallied the remnants of the Dark State, and the plan was that after they defeated Earthrealm's greatest heroes, they'd join forces with Outworld and finish the job.
But now…
That plan had gone awry.
The Earthrealm's heroes were fighting back.
Clark and Thanos were busy clashing with each other, both pushing against each other's might to get the upper hand.
"You're stronger than you look, kid!" Thanos snapped, raising a muscular arm to punch the boy out of the way. But when he did…
Clark barely even flinched.
Thanos widened his eyes when he saw the boy's eyes revert to a solid red. Whatever it was he was about to do, it didn't look good!
Thanos was blasted back by a burst of heat vision from Clark's eyes! He was sent flying.
Meanwhile, Kyle and Darth Maul were engaging in their own vicious duel. Kyle deftly blocked every strike with her green blade.
"You've gotten stronger, girl!" Darth Maul snapped.
"I learned from one of the best!" Kyle replied coldly, sending a wave of Force Lightning that sent Darth Maul flying.
"HAHAHA!" Grievous laughed as he moved to face Batman. "This will be a waste of my training!" He began twirling the lightsabers to create a buzzsaw effect as he rushed at Batman.
Batman merely stood completely still, looking at the 7 foot tall cyborg as he wildly came at him with nothing but aggression.
Batman swiftly dodged the strikes, before Grievous was promptly surprised when Batman's heel came square into contact with his face.
BAM!
Grievous reeled back, and began to cough heavily as he tried to recover. However, Batman never gave him the chance.
Batman mounted the cyborg's back, as if he was riding him. The cyborg shook himself wildly to get the Batman off of him, but it would be in vain..
Spraying some sort of strange liquid on each of the cyborg's four arms, Batman finally backflipped off of him.
Now, Batman just waited for the opportune moment..
Grievous narrowed his eyes as he turned to face Batman, but with the push of a button on one of his strange devices-
BOOM!
Multiple explosions went off, which blew each of his four arms off. Grievous yelled out in pain, before he tried to run away, before he was grabbed by the Force.
Several of the fighters turned to see an old Jedi with a blue lightsaber holding out his arm, before pulling Grievous forward.
"So uncivilized..." Obi-Wan Kenobi muttered.
"Master..." Anakin breathed in shock. Nearby, several Stormtroopers were cut down as a young man in white clothes and carrying a blue lightsaber joined the fray.
Anakin looked between Obi-Wan and the young man, before Obi-Wan nodded simply.
Nearby, Shazam had joined Jack in his fight against Darkclaw, and by now, the two were forcing Darkclaw back. Clark was nearing the end of his battle with Thanos now, and Tyromairon was providing support to the others. Quan Chi was fighting Raiden, but it wasn't exactly going how the sorcerer had planned..
"SHAZAM!" Shazam shouted, which inevitably sent a lightning bolt down, which struck not only himself, but Darkclaw as well, which sent the Dark Lord reeling. Taking the opportunity, Jack lunged forward, and buried his lightsaber deep in Darkclaw's chest.
Darkclaw fell backwards. He was defeated, again…
Zillum narrowed his eyes as he watched Darkclaw fall. Now, the old enemies faced each other.
"You will never escape me!" Zillum snarled, before he pressed a button on a wrist console, and in a split second, he disappeared.
Jack's eyes widened, and he threw his lightsaber forward in an attempt to finish his enemy off. But by the time the blade had arrived where Zillum stood, he was gone.
"Dammit!" Jack cursed.
The ground shook, however, when another enemy entered the battle. It was Vilgax!
He stood up to face Jack and Shazam, but at that moment, he was met with a sudden burst of speed.
Amelia, in the form of XLR8, had joined the battle!
Shazam decided to join the fight against Vilgax along with her, but mentally swore he'd hang back a bit. Secretly, he wanted to see how well his girl could kick some ass!
Amelia blasted past Vilgax, before rushing back, and hitting him again, and again, and again. However, Vilgax managed to catch her off guard when he sent a powerful punch her way. Amelia was sent flying, but managed to land safely, and with all the speed she could muster, barreled directly into Vilgax!
The alien was literally flung into the air, and didn't stop until he literally was shot out of the atmosphere!
"Woah.." Shazam muttered. "Remind me to not piss her off when she's got an itch on her wrist.."
Jack cocked a brow as he looked at Shazam.
"Aw, come on, 'Dad'.. You know it's true! I know you think the same about Kyle." Shazam half sarcastically responded to that.
Jack shook his head with a slight smirk. "As long as you're good to her…" He said as he rushed off to fight Davy Jones.
"Pft.. Parents.." Shazam shook his head. "A bit overrated, but, ya gotta love 'em sometimes.."
"What was that...babe?" Amelia asked as she returned to human form.
"Uh.." Shazam shifted his eyes around, hoping she didn't hear that. "Nothing.. Honey!.."
Amelia blinked, before grinning. She pecked him on the cheek, before turning the Omnitrix back on, shifting into Jetray, and rejoining the battle.
Wiping some sweat from his brow, Shazam looked over to see Clark punching Thanos in the face repeatedly. And from what it looked like, they weren't light punches.
Cringing slightly, Shazam yelled to Thanos with a smirk,
"How's it feel, testicle chin Darkseid!? Kid's punches hurt, don't they!?"
Thanos had no time to reply as Clark punched him yet again, until, finally, he was sent to the ground, and couldn't get up.
By this point, Jack had defeated Davy Jones, and it looked like the battle was finally winding down.
Finally, everything went silent as Kyle cut Darth Maul down. Now, only Quan Chi remained…
"It's over, Sorcerer!" Raiden exclaimed, charging up some lightning in his hands as he and the other heroes had him cornered.
Quan Chi looked around at all the defeated villains, before he gave a sinister chuckle, shaking his head.
"No, Raiden.." Quan Chi vaguely spoke. "Not nearly so.."
Before anyone could question what he meant, the sorcerer raised his hand, before quickly disappearing through a green portal, which closed behind him.
There was silence, before Jack looked around.
They had won. Virtually every enemy they had ever faced had been here, and they were defeated! Now...all that remained was Shao Kahn…
HISS!
The sudden sound of a reptilian-like hissing was heard, before they saw a figure fall to the floor with a giant crash!
It appeared that the reptilian was hit with.. a fireball!
Looking in the doorway, they were surprised to see.. Adia standing there. She looked evidently wounded, having trouble standing up. But she had returned to the scene of the battle anyways.
Looking down at the reptilian once more, they saw that in his hand.. was a small dagger.. laced with acid..
The reptilian fell unconscious right behind where Jack was standing..
This was an assassination attempt!
Jack looked at the reptilian with an emotionless expression, before he looked at Adia. Beneath the mask, no-one could see his expression.
"Reptile.." Raiden observed, looking at the reptilian who was dressed like a ninja with solid green attire, mask and all.. Though his mask was partially off, it still would have been clear to Raiden who he was.
"A Zaterran, a long forgotten race whose world was conquered by Shao Kahn long ago.. He has the ability to not only conjure acid from his mouth, but also to go completely invisible.. Not so easily detected by the human eye.." Raiden informed everyone.
Jack nodded in understanding. He looked at Adia again. "Thank you." He said softly.
Adia limped towards Jack, as she sighed, hanging her head down. After a moment of silence, she explained,
"My masters insisted I stay with them, but once again, I went against their wishes.."
Adia shook her head, laughing slightly to conceal the true inner pain she was now feeling. Tears came to her eyes, but she tried her best to hide them.
"I seem to be really good at that, don't I?" Adia asked no one in particular, before she finished, "Look, I know this changes nothing between us, but about me freaking out and almost killing you, that.. That wasn't me! That isn't what Mom and Dad would have wanted! I.. don't know who the hell I even am anymore.. Thinking about it now.. I think Dad would be disappointed in what I've become.. No one is safe around me! Not you, your family, my sister.. Nobody.."
Jack looked at her, before he shook his head.
"It's not your fault. As..." Jack hesitated, before he looked up.
"It's mine."
He looked back at Adia. "All of this is my fault..."
"Except that it's not.." Adia refuted. "It all came up again because I was trying so hard to not repeat the mistakes I did that day with Kylie.. I was even guided by an Elder God, himself, and still failed!"
Raiden cocked a brow.
"An.. Elder God spoke to you?" He questioned the Shaolin Lioness, to which she nodded tearfully.
"Yes! Damashi tried to set me on the right oath, but-"
"Damashi?" Raiden asked, totally confused. "Adia, young warrior.. There.. is no Elder God by the name of Damashi.."
Adia widened her eyes, before she looked down. Had she.. really been tricked!? Was she going crazy?
"So then.." Adia began. "I followed a false deity's path for my life.." She hung her head down in embarrassment, her ears held back. "I am such a fool.."
Jack placed a hand on her shoulder. "We were all deceived, Adia. You by this 'Damashi', me by the Dark Side. What's done is done."
He took a deep breath. "But you wouldn't have been so willing to attack me if I didn't give you a reason to..." He said softly.
Kyle blinked, cocking a brow upon hearing that.
Noticing everyone else in the room, Adia caught a glimpse of Batman.. The man she and her search party had been looking for! The missing link to finding her Dad!
However, after looking at him good and hard, Adia sighed once more. Why even bother!? Joker didn't have her Dad held hostage, this Batman was clearly inspired by what her Dad had once stood for, and The Joker was just really good at hiding, plotting whatever terrorist attack he could think of next.
That was it..
Her Dad was dead, and that was the hard truth..
"What...do you mean…'give her a reason'?" Carandial asked Jack.
Adia merely looked at Jack, not really wanting to say much of anything anymore. It was as if she was mentally giving him a cue to come clean.
Jack nodded.
"On the night Drew and Bebe...died, I found a hologram." Jack said softly.
"It showed my family being dragged off by the Dark State. This...was right after Kyle, Amelia and Simba were taken..."
He looked down. "It looked so real. So convincing...The worst part was...It showed Drew accepting payment for helping the Dark State."
Jack took a deep breath. "I should have seen through it. But at that moment, I believed them. This was directly after an argument with Drew, and in the moment, it all seemed to make sense. Drew and I had been at odds for months by that point."
"What.. was this argument about?.." Kenny asked Jack, curious about what happened that night between his Emperor and his best friend. He, as well as everyone were still trying to absorb what they were being told.
"It was after we headed out to search for Bebe. I...I was so afraid, so angry, so...dark that I destroyed an old building in a fit of rage. Drew, Batman confronted me about it. He lectured me about it, and in that moment, I was in no mood for it. We argued. He told me to stay out of his way, I told him 'I don't take orders from you'. We were this close to killing each other. That's when I found the hologram..."
Kenny shook his head, taking a step back without being able to help it. He.. just didn't know what to really say..
"Holy shit.. I.." Kenny shook his head once again. "What if Bebe was in that building? And you guys didn't know it?.."
Jack looked down. "I found Drew, and confronted him about it. In that moment, all the anger, rage, and pain was back. I wasn't thinking straight. In that moment, everything seemed to make sense. The hologram even made a point that said…'if you don't help us, it will be your family that is killed' or something, to Drew. I thought Drew...sacrificed my family to save his own."
Adia suddenly began to walk away, exiting the room entirely. It seemed she couldn't stand to hear anymore of the story. It brought back.. too many horrible memories for her to bear..
"I was about to attack Drew, but...he told me that I was smarter than this. That this was a plot. That they were using me. And it became clear that they were. I realized I was wrong."
He looked up. "He asked me to take Kenzi home while he went to get Bebe. But...in those crucial moments we had argued..."
He closed his eyes, and looked down.
"So then.. they passed away.." Clark guessed, also listening intently to the story of how the original Batman died..
Jack nodded. "I told Adia this several months back. Her and Simba both. I don't blame her for hating me. Because I deserved all this. I created an Empire that subjugated an entire planet, an entire realm, and two entire galaxies. I shot down anyone who disagreed. I risked everything. I was a tyrant..."
Kenny had both hands on his head, looking out into the distance while shaking his head. It was quite clear that this news was not sitting well with him at all..
"Jesus.." Kenny muttered, before he began to pace back and forth. "So you're telling me, my best friend! Wendy's best friend! They died, because of senseless arguing!?" Kenny now rose his voice.
Jack took a deep breath. "Kenny, I lost my entire family. I had evidence that someone I had trusted was behind their disappearance. Did I act sensibly? No. But let me be clear. If anyone threatens my family, I'm holding nothing back."
"And I understand that, Jack.." Kenny genuinely spoke, trying to keep his emotions in check. "Really, I do.. But y'know, when Bebe was still in danger, while it may sound easy for me to say now having not been directly been in your situation, I would have found it wiser to make sure she was brought back to safety first.. Then deal with Drew and that evidence after that.."
"And what would you have proposed I had done?" Jack asked softly. "Throw Drew in prison? Kill him after he rescued Bebe?"
He looked down. "Answer me that? Plus, I doubt you guys would have accepted it? Answer me this, Kenny, would you have believed me even if I had solid evidence?"
"I personally don't give two shits what a motherfucker did to me in that situation!" Kenny spoke more vocally. "If Bebe is still out there.. literally strapped to a live bomb at the hands of a psychopathic clown, crying for someone to save her?" Kenny shook his head. "They can wait.. Was Bebe family too, Jack? Answer me that.. Would you risk your neck for her the same way you would for Kyle?"
"Yes. But don't forget that Kyle was captured too. I thought I had a lead to save her." Jack replied.
"Surely you, as her best friend along with Stan, can understand that what I did had nothing to do with Bebe, but it was because my wife and children were in danger?"
"And so were Drew's.." Was all Kenny said, defending his deceased friends.
Jack stepped forward. "I did what I did for my family, not for Drew's." He said.
He turned. "But then again...Drew's always been the golden boy around here...He could do no wrong...I've done everything I've done to try and make this world a better place, and what do I do? I'm a tyrant, a monster, and a traitor...Because that's all I am to a lot of you, and that's all I'll ever be..."
"Watch it, Jack.." Stan now butted in. "Don't talk about Drew like that.. He's dead.. Show some respect."
Jack looked at Stan. "Like he showed me?"
He looked at Kenny now. "What was it you guys said, that I'd be nowhere without my soldiers. Well you know what? I've fought in battle after battle after battle. I've been right there with those men, and yet I'm treated like a politician! I've been fighting for this Realm for the past four years!"
He threw his lightsaber to the ground. "I've fought in countless battles...I've lost many brothers and sisters...So many people I've cared about are gone..."
"Drew, Bebe, Thrawn, Nzuri...And you know what? They died because of me...I am the Emperor of the Dilanian Empire, and everytime Joker attacks, or we're invaded...it's because of me..." He looked down.
"It's my fault..."
Kenny looked back at Stan with a shrug of disbelief and confusion, to which Stan looked at him in a similar fashion.
"Kyle.." Kenny began. "Shed some light on this.. Tell us your thoughts. You're probably the only one he'll listen to.."
Kyle took a deep breath, and walked up to Jack. The mask obscured Jack's features.
"Jack...what happened back there...was not right. You shouldn't have risked Bebe's life like that. Maybe things would be different if you just stood down..."
"Jack, if Drew was truly guilty of such a thing, we would have supported you in his imprisonment! Kyle is our best friend, and you know we'd die for these kids!" Stan added on.
"However," Kenny breathed. "delaying Drew's search for the love of his life who was strapped to a bomb set to go off at any time.. was an unfortunate mistake.."
Jack clenched his fists.
"Answer me this. What would you have done if it was Kyle and I who were killed? Would you have said the same thing to Drew? Would you have said the same thing you said to the hero, that you do to the tyrant?"
"Yes!" Stan and Kenny simultaneously shouted, shrugging their arms in confusion at how their point was still not being seen. It appeared the argument was just now beginning to get to them.
"Yes, exactly that!" Kenny added on. "Drew would have been punished for that shit, but only after all those hostages were found! Whether Drew did it or not, you must admit, Jack, he loved that girl! What did you think he would have done? Ran away?"
Jack shook his head. "I don't believe you...You say that now, but as you said, he was your best friend. While I am the enemy. As I was since I first started dating Kyle. I shouldn't have intervened, but I do so because I thought I could save Kyle."
Kenny could only sigh, rubbing his forehead upon getting a headache.
"Ugh.. It's fucking hopeless, dude.." Kenny complained to himself.
"HAVEN'T I BEEN PUNISHED ENOUGH FOR MY SINS?!" Jack screamed. "I know I shouldn't have gone after Drew that night, but you know what's happened since then? I've watched the Joker terrorize my people? I had to watch Darkseid threaten my daughter? I had to watch my niece nearly kill my daughter! I had to lose the person I love twice! And I lost my very humanity!"
"Okay, one more thing, Jack!" Kenny responded. "One more thing, then I'm done! Answer me this scenario what you would have done, and I'll stop arguing: What if in Bebe's place, it was Kylie? The rest of your family was captured by Drew, but Kylie sat strapped to that bomb? What would you have done?"
Jack looked Kenny in the eye. "I would have done what I could to save her."
He looked down. "I would have done anything I could to save her..."
"Do you get it now?.." Kenny softly asked. "Look, Jack, you're not a monster! You just made a mistake! A bad one, but still just a mistake! Life will go on.. People will forgive you in time. But if you say you would've done all you could to save her, then how do you think Drew felt when he was stuck arguing with you while the clock ticked away?.."
Jack looked at Kenny. He looked at the lightsaber at his feet, and then to Kenny and Stan.
"It's my fault. It's all my fault..." Jack said softly. "Why?" He asked the others. "Why would you forgive me, then?"
"Because we're family, man.." Kenny put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "And you never give up on family.. No matter how much horrible shit they've done.."
Jack looked down. "You're a better person than me, Kenny...I don't blame you or Adia for this...I just..."
He looked at Kenny. "I just want my friends back..."
Stan now approached Jack, standing right beside Kenny, before he extended out his hand. It was an offer of forgiveness.
Jack looked at the hand, before he shook it gently. "It's what they would have wanted..." He said softly.
"I miss those crazy sons of bitches.." Kenny chuckled while shaking his head, a tear beginning to come to his eye.
"Me too.." Stan added, putting a hand on Kenny's shoulder.
"Same..." Jack replied, before he looked at Kyle and his family.
He tore off the helmet, and wiped a single tear from his face. It was burned, scarred, but the one thing that remained the same were his eyes. They were blue.
Kyle stepped forward, and hugged Jack. That was too much. The Emperor began to weep.
"I could have saved more...I could have saved them all..."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"When you focus on Kung Fu," Shifu began. Po stood in front of him, while Revan, Talia and Drew were watching from the side. "When you concentrate..."
"Hah!" Po exclaimed, causing the red panda to widen his eyes upon getting cut off.
"What are you doing?" Shifu questioned him with a frustrated growl.
"I'm practicing my.. totally awesome Kung Fu skills! Check it out. I've been practicing this bad boy in my bedroom mirror for years.."
"Master Tigress! Hyah- Woahhh!" Po exclaimed, as he then kicked as high as he could up in the air, before he collapsed to the ground on his back. Drew and Talia both facepalmed simultaneously at such a sloppy move that lacked any sort of discipline or technique in any way.
"Panda...you stink." Shifu said firmly.
"Heh heh.. Sorry.." Po smirked nervously. "Must have been the dumplings-"
"Not that, Panda!" Talia then cut him off, attaining a firm expression of her own, before she approached him, kicking him in the side only hard enough to get his attention. "Get up!"
"Uh, y- yes, Master- Ma'am! I- I mean, uh-" Po stuttered as he got to his feet, before Drew now touched Talia's shoulder, butting in.
"It's alright, Talia.. Let me handle this."
Talia gave an unamused expression, before she stepped back to her original position.
"Look, Po.." Drew began firmly, yet in a teaching manner. "You're not going to defeat this 'Tai Lung' fighting like that.. Hell, you couldn't even fight a frail old woman walking home with her groceries from the supermarket.."
"Ouch.." Talia commented with a smirk.
"But you do have the potential to!" Drew added on, giving an unamused look to Talia, who merely shrugged, her smirk never leaving. "Take it from me.. I could barely throw a punch when I first started my training, and look at how far I've evolved.."
Po looked up at Drew, as if in some sort of nervous trance. Just the way he seemed to speak.. It commanded respect and power.
Po chuckled nervously, before he replied with a slight voice crack,
"Ya don't say.."
"Panda," Revan began simply, yet firmly, walking forward.
The Gray Jedi began to circle Po.
"Tell me what motivates you. What gives you a reason to try? To care?"
"Uh.." Po began as he twiddled his thumbs, trying to come up with whatever answer he could come up with. Something that was philosophical, and usually held a lot of meaning to these Kung Fu Masters, so he thought. "My.. family?- OW!"
Shifu had grabbed Po's ear. "Don't lie, panda!" Shifu said sternly. "Now, be honest."
It was at that moment Po noticed the dumpling hidden in Revan's hand.
"C- Can we continue this awesome Kung Fu stuff after lunch, Master? Please? I'm soo hungry!" Po spoke with slight drool, staring directly at said dumpling.
Drew cocked a brow, studying the panda's body language. Clearly he was hungry, but he had eaten only an hour prior.. No amount of food would be completely digested in that amount of time, unless…
"I know what motivates him.." Drew spoke aloud, capturing the attention of everyone but Po, who still appeared mesmerized of the dumpling.
Revan looked at Drew. "Drew, perhaps you could head about fifty yards over there?" He asked.
Drew immediately complied, catching onto what Revan was thinking of doing. After all, Revan was a smart man, much like himself.
Drew finally stood approximately 50 yards away, Talia looking to Revan now,
"And what of me, Master Revan?"
Revan looked to Talia. "You can go 50 yards to the right of Drew. Shifu, 50 yards away from me."
Shifu cocked a brow, before smirking, and complying.
"You know, I kind of feel sorry for the lard panda.." Talia spoke to Drew, briefly stopping to converse with him on her way over to her position. "Who knows, he may die of exhaustion before he can even get within its radius.."
"We shall see, Talia.." Drew spoke. "I won't go easy on him, but everyone has potential.. You of all people should know that." He added, referring to her earlier thoughts of him when he arrived to Bhutan.
Talia was taken slightly aback by this, before she sighed.
"Yes, I- I know.." Talia replied, before she looked back up at him, into his eyes. "But you were always a fighter.. This panda, however? He- He just doesn't strike me as the fighting kind.."
Drew and Talia looked at Po again, seeing him do some stretches, before he slightly tore a hole in his pants upon bending down.
"Hehe.. Sorry.." Po nervously spoke.
"Case in point.." Talia added with an unamused expression.
"You'll see, Talia.." Drew spoke after a sigh.
"Yes.. I suppose I will." Talia said with a shrug as she finally began to walk to her position.
Revan looked at Po. "If you can intercept or take this dumpling from us...you may eat it."
Po, who was seeing how big the hole in his pants was from his earlier stretches, snapped out of his trance when he heard the word 'dumpling'.
"Alright!" Po excitedly exclaimed with a chuckle, rubbing his hands together intently, as if ready to get started.
Just as he was about to get it, Revan threw his arm forward, and Po realized it was gone. When he turned around, he saw Drew had the dumpling in his hand now.
"Wha- Hey! Come on! That's my lunch!" Po exclaimed as he ran towards Drew.
"Focus!" Revan said coldly. "You eat when you catch that dumpling!"
Drew and even Talia were taken aback by the harshness of Revan's voice.
"It's how he'll learn.." Talia spoke to herself with a sigh. "If that's even possible.." Talia then caught the dumpling that Drew had thrown her way, before she waited for Po.
Po ran towards her, but he was clearly running out of stamina already, due to his immense weight.
"Oh.. R- Real funny, guys.. Come on, Assassin Lady.. Be nice to m-"
Po was cut off when Talia faked chucking the dumpling directly into his face at high speed, causing him to flinch. However, upon opening his eyes, he saw the dumpling still in Talia's hand, with her giving an amused smirk.
"If you are going to learn, you need to start fighting for what you desire.." Talia spoke to him, before she did an almost acrobatic backflip into the air, before throwing the dumpling towards Shifu like a baseball.
"Wha- Hey!" Po exclaimed, before he gave a sad groan and ran towards Shifu now.
Shifu caught the dumpling, and held it out to Po with a smirk. It seemed he was going to go easy on the Panda.
"Oh, thank you.." Po sighed in relief. "Heh heh.. Y'know for a second, Master Shifu, I thought you were going to actually make me chase it until I caught it or something.." He added with a chuckle.
However, when he went to grab it, Shifu pulled it from his grasp, but didn't throw it. He held up another hand, and grinned. "All you need to do is catch it..."
"Aw, c'mon!" Po groaned in anguish, his stomach growling. "But I have butter fingers!"
Shifu shrugged, and threw it towards Drew. With a depressed sigh, Po shuffled, not ran, towards Drew's direction, heavily breathing through his mouth with his tongue sticking out.
Catching the dumpling with ease, Drew crossed his arms and waited for Po to make it to him.
After what felt like hours, Po eventually did, but he was evidently exhausted.
"Gonna.. g- get.. dumpling.." Po panted, before Drew glared at him with a firm look. "Oh- Oh, no.. Not that scary look aga-"
"Po, you need to focus! See this dumpling?" Drew held up the dumpling as he spoke, to which Po reached out for it as fast as he could, only to have his arm parried away by Drew.
"Aw, what the-" Po began to complain once again, before Drew cut him off more vocally,
"Listen to me! Now!"
This caused Po to widen his eyes and back his hand away, as well as immediately nod.
"Focus on this dumpling! Empty your mind from all other thoughts besides this primary object.." Drew instructed him.
"O- Okay.." Po replied, before he began to study his vision on absolutely nothing but said dumpling. As he did so, he yelped in pain when he felt Drew smack him in the back of the head. "Wha- OW! What was that for!?"
"Now do you see how stupid that instruction was? If you focus too much on one thing, you will be blind everywhere else.. The red panda tells you to catch this dumpling, but what he does not tell you is that you need to start thinking outside the colored lines. Start finding ways to increase your speed, use the environment as a distraction, do whatever it takes to get this now cold dumpling within your possession!" Drew taught to Po.
These words really began to resonate with the panda.. He thought back to just what made the Furious Five, 'awesome'.
"You're right, scary assassin man.." Po spoke to himself. "The Furious Five never beat up nasty bandits and crooks just by using their fists and feet. Which, by the way, is still awesome! But it's how they use those moves too.. I think I get it now." Po grinned.
"Good.." Drew spoke, before he tossed the dumpling towards Revan, causing Po to widen his eyes. "Then prove it to me.. Prove it to us all.."
Revan caught the dumpling. "Now…" He said as Po approached. "Take it from me."
Po began to reach out for the dumpling, but paused midway through. He began to think of what Drew had told him, and began to quickly look around.
Upon seeing a pile of wood not too far away, Po began to get an idea. Reaching into his pocket, he now felt a pair of wooden chopsticks that he would use when he ate that dumpling.
However, Po instead took out the chopsticks, and tossed them towards the wooden log that stuck out the most. Upon hitting the side of the exposed wood, it caused it to fall out of the pile. At that point, the entire pile now began to fall down, making an audible racket.
Revan was momentarily distracted, and in that second, Po finally captured the Dumpling!
Po was completely speechless, staring at the dumpling with a wide grin on his face. The panda was unable to stifle his excited laughter.
"Awesome!" Po exclaimed, stuffing the entire dumpling in his mouth and scarfing it down. "I caught the dumpling!" Po added with food still in his mouth, which muffled his voice a bit.
Revan was speechless for a second, before he spoke. "Then you have taken the first step."
Shifu looked at Talia and Drew in obvious shock, but also had a bit of a smile as well, pleasantly surprised.
"I always thought it possible.." Drew spoke to Po, which prompted everyone to face him. "You are far from a master of the Kung Fu discipline at this current time, but you have proved to us all that the potential within you is a strong one.."
Po smiled gratefully at Drew, admiring his words, as well as the advice he had given to him earlier. Talia crossed her arms with a slight smirk on her face, before she looked at Drew, saying,
"Well.. Looks like you are right once again, Mr. 'Detective'.."
"Panda," Shifu spoke, walking up to Po. "We now see the way to get through to you is not with discipline, nor training, but with food."
He offered another dumpling to Po.
Po began to reach for the dumpling, but hesitated a bit, looking at Shifu very suspiciously.
Shifu smirked, still holding out the dumpling.
Po gave Shifu a slight glare, before he looked behind the red panda, widening his eyes with a gasp.
"AGHH! It's- It's Tai Lung!" Po exclaimed as he pointed behind Shifu.
Shifu looked behind him, still smirking.
"Alright.. Gotcha now.." Po whispered to himself while rubbing his hands. With that, he began to lunge towards Shifu, grasping towards the dumpling.
Drew, meanwhile, shook his head, knowing this would end in failure.
Shifu moved the dumpling just out of the way, causing Po to fall forward and trip. He faceplanted onto the ground, temporarily causing Shifu to lose his balance.
"When you have been trained," Shifu said, wagging his finger scoldingly. "You may eat."
"Aww.." Po whined with a depressed expression, grasping his gut.
"The way you presented the distraction was too sloppy. Too predictable.." Drew informed Po in his usual grim demeanor. "Shifu knew you were going to distract him as you did Revan just moments ago.. That's why you have to adapt to your opponents as they adapt to you.. Mix it up. Keep them guessing."
"Yes. You still have much to learn." Shifu said in agreement. He ate the dumpling, to which Po gasped with his hands over his mouth, before he added. "Let's get started."
Talia approached Drew as Po began to whimper some more, but comply to Shifu's command anyways. She looked to see if no one else was listening, before she turned back to him and whispered,
"Is this the only reason we're here? To train a.. a panda bear!? Where is this 'Furious Five' I've heard so much about from Revan? Why is a League of trained Assassins wasting their vital time training him, when we could be the ones who kill this 'Tai Lung' for ourselves?"
Shifu stopped. "The Five left yesterday..." He said grimly. "I believe they went to face Tai Lung."
"So then why are we here exactly!?" Talia questioned Shifu seriously, getting a bit frustrated. "Are we simply wasting our time? What if the Five are successful in defeating Tai Lung? Then our entire reason for being here has been for nothing.."
"They won't be." Revan said softly.
"Why so confident?" Drew asked Revan with a cocked brow, not necessarily trying to dispute his claim, but to find out why he thought so. "In the scriptures I was forced to read thousands of times over by Rás, I learned that he mastered all the scrolls of Kung Fu, undeniably mastering nearly the entire discipline.. However, like any fight, technique is what matters the most. With five kung fu masters against this one person who has learned it all.. is it theoretically impossible for the Five to win?"
"Tai Lung was the only one to successfully merge his technique with the Force. No-one else," Revan declared. "Has accomplished such a feat. Skill or not, they will fall before they even get a chance to strike."
Revan looked at Drew. "You remember your long forgotten friend? The Emperor?"
Drew looked at Revan for a bit, his now usual hard, grim expression unmoving. After a couple seconds, Drew gave a nod,
"Jack.. Yes, I do.. But that is.. but ancient history now.."
Revan looked down. "Tai Lung would defeat him like it was nothing. If he were to compete in that tournament the Thunder God speaks of, he would likely be strong enough to defeat any opposition. It is not just his technique, but his ability to blend the force into his techniques flawlessly that makes him so dangerous. The Five do not know this. They will fail."
"Dangerous he may be.." Drew spoke with his deep, Batman voice, before narrowing his eyes. "But he's never faced me.."
Revan laughed coldly. "You're Jack's equal. But that is all. Neither you, nor I, nor Shifu, nor the Five can defeat him in single combat. But together, with the power of the Dragon Scroll, we have a chance. But heed this warning, Drew, don't let your confidence in your own abilities cloud the reality that there are some foes we cannot defeat alone."
"Forgive me, Master Revan," Drew began. "But it will not be my own confidence that causes me to fall.. If anything, it is your lack thereof within your pupils that they can achieve something much greater than what they could do before.. Tai Lung wasn't this powerful when he first trained.. Evolution is an ongoing process.."
Revan was silent, before he lunged forward with his lightsaber so fast that Drew could only just dodge the stab. Had it been anyone else, the speed alone would have meant instant death. "Your training is far from complete, Detective." Revan replied tersely.
He deactivated the lightsaber. "You still have much to learn..."
Drew said nothing, only narrowing his eyes before taking a deep breath and nodding in understanding.
However, not absent from his internal frustration, Drew began to walk away towards the Cherry Blossom Meadow to just be alone in his thoughts for a little while.
Revan looked at Talia, who looked down with a frustrated scowl on her face. After all, she was the one who originally brought up to Drew just earlier that she questioned what exactly the League was even doing here.. If anything, Talia wanted to go up against Tai Lung as well. Even if she was bested in combat, at least the nearly 2 weeks worth long hike wouldn't have felt like a waste..
Revan turned, and stalked off. However, he stopped for a moment. "It is not a waste if we're saving lives, princess." He said simply.
"Don't.. call me that." Talia briefly snapped out.
Revan didn't reply, only heading off into the forest, his mind filled with worry. There was more to his worry and anger than met the eye, but he'd never tell why that was to these overconfident children.
Talia merely shook her head and followed Drew's path. Maybe he shared the same frustrations she had.. Maybe they could come up with a plan of their own..
"So.." Po began. "Does this mean I get to eat now?.."
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"You…think Jack's meeting with President Gordon's going to go okay?" Carandial asked Kenny. They were among the audience for a summit between Jack and Gordon over US-Imperial relations.
"Doubt it." Kenny said.
Carandial frowned, having to agree. A lot of things had been going...poorly lately. A lot of countries and states were tired of the Empire's 'hegemony' over them. The New Cyrannian Republic and America were among the most vocal.
Finally, President Gordon entered the room, and sat down across from Jack.
"I'll bet you a beer that they start yelling at each other within five minutes." Carandial whispered to Kenny. Kenny nodded in agreement.
"Mr. President," Jack greeted with a nod.
"Your majesty." Gordon replied.
The meeting started off fairly well. The two discussed various methods of cooperation. The US was growing in terms of it's actual power, despite loss of territory. It had established colonies in Galaxia and Cyrannus, as well as on the moon.
"Looks like I owe you a beer..." Carandial said to Kenny as the fourth minute of the meeting began.
"Make it a whiskey at Skeeter's.." Kenny smirked.
President Gordon stopped for a moment, when a reporter suddenly asked. "What about the return of the western states?"
Gordon froze, as did Jack. That had been a touchy subject for the past few months. A lot of countries and nations were starting to see movements demanding the return of territory taken by the Empire.
Kenny crossed his arms before he spoke loud enough for only Carandial to hear,
"Guess we're gonna see if what we argued about a couple years ago in his living room holds up.."
Jack looked at the reporter for a moment. "If a state or province wants to leave the Empire, a referendum will be held-"
"Bullshit..." Gordon chuckled sarcastically.
"Leave it to the career politician to be a dick.. Go figure.." Kenny shook his head slightly.
Jack looked at Gordon, an unreadable expression on his face.
"I don't even know why I agreed to this..." Gordon growled.
He looked at the reporters. "This kid created his empire by force! He's the one who's brought these monsters to us! To all of us!"
Carandial looked at Kenny with a worried expression. "Oh no..."
"If Jack starts to choke the bastard, or the dumbass for whatever reason starts to throw a punch, be ready to separate them.." Kenny whispered to Carandial.
Carandial nodded in agreement.
To everyone's surprise, however, Jack maintained a cold, but calm expression. "I have done what is necessary to protect these realms-"
"Have you?" Gordon asked. "You neutered your own country! You let the South secede and took another third for yourself! This empire you've created? It's a freaking Frankenstein of a country! You and your alien friends started these wars and dragged everyone else in with you!"
Jack looked at Gordon with an ever increasing level of anger, but stayed calm. "It's a wonder those whores stay with you..."
"That son of a bitch.." Kenny clenched his fists. "I oughta beat his ass, myself.."
Jack narrowed his eyes, and he clenched his fists, before saying coldly. "I wish you the best, Mr. President."
With that, he got up, and began to head out. "And don't talk about my family that way." He added. "Hate me if you must, but don't bring them into this."
With that, Jack walked out.
"Unbelievable.." Kenny shook his head in awe, looking at Carandial. "Probably one of the few times I wouldn't have minded Jack flipping out, but you gotta admit.. strategically speaking, that was smart.. Now Gordon looks like a hotheaded asshole, and Jack a good guy who kept his composure.."
Carandial nodded. "I just hope Gordon doesn't do anything rash. Because the last thing we need is another war..."
"On that.. we can agree." Kenny nodded. "Too many of my- our best friends have died on us, man.. I don't want anymore of them to walk through the Pearly Gates just yet.."
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Amelia, Billy, Kylie, Dylan, Clark and Freddy were hanging out by Stark's Pond at the moment. They had made a campfire, and were currently roasting marshmallows and just enjoying each other's company.
"Freddy, stop hogging all the marshmallows, ya fatass!" Billy teased his adoptive brother.
"Mphmphmm.." Freddy tried to counter with his mouth full of marshmallow, to which Billy narrowed his eyes in unamusement.
"Case in point.." Billy added.
Dylan chuckled. "Excuse me," He said, imitating PC Principal, "The term 'fatass' is a microaggression that demeans overweight individuals!"
Everyone chuckled a bit at that, to which a smirking Billy wrapped his arm around Dylan and replied teasingly,
"You stick to baseball, I'll handle the impressions.."
"You do make a good idiot impression..." Kylie pointed out. "Oh wait, that's just you normally."
"Oh, ouch.. That really hurt.." Billy faked a heart attack sarcastically, which everyone chuckled at. "No, but I'm seriously pretty good at impressions! See, look, look.. Here's one of Batman."
Billy cleared his throat, and put on an over the top angry face, which caused everyone to laugh.
"Joker! Get back here! I'm Batman! Rahh-" Billy began to cough at the end while doing a super deep voice. "Man.. Tougher than it seems.."
"I think it made you sound manly..." Amelia said with a slight smirk.
"Ohhhh, shit!" Freddy raised his eyebrows with a wide grin on his face.
"Freddy, I swear to God.." Billy narrowed his eyes.
"I mean.. it's kind of obvious you two like each other.." Clark spoke up with a shrug, biting into his smore.
Amelia's eyes widened. "We don't..." She trailed off a bit, blushing at the thought.
"Oh come on sis!" Kylie laughed. "What, you worried daddy will skin him alive if you two date?"
Billy chuckled nervously at such a thought.
"I mean.. Darkseid? Sure.. I can fight him. But there's just something about that thought that just.."
"Scares you shitless?" Freddy smirked once again.
"Freddy, I swear to God I'll punch you!" Billy scowled.
"Oh come on!" Dylan laughed. "What are you so afraid of? Mr. Anderson seems like a cool guy."
"Yeah.. A cool guy that can use that weird Force power thing!" Billy rolled his eyes, as if it was obvious.
"Aren't you immune to stuff like that?" Freddy asked Billy.
Billy shrugged,
"I don't know.. But does it look like I wanna find out?"
"Yes." Kylie and Dylan said with wide grins.
"Ah, you're right.." Billy shrugged with a smirk. "I'm a risk taker." With that, Billy turned to face Amelia, who hesitated for a second, before she groaned.
"Oh what the hell?"
She kissed him on the lips, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Billy widened his eyes initially, but it didn't take long for him to return the embrace and accept the kiss.
"Wooo! Yeah, Billy!" Freddy cheered his brother on, to which Clark simply smirked as he ate his smore in silence. Billy's response was flipping Freddy the bird.
"That's hot..." Dylan whispered to Clark with a smirk.
"Um.. Why are you telling me this?" Clark questioned.
"Aw, come on, Clark! It kinda is.." Freddy shrugged, to which Clark sighed while shaking his head,
"You people are weird.."
"Agreed..." Kylie said with a roll of her eyes.
Dylan grinned, before he took a bite of his marshmallow. "I'm the new guy, and even I could tell they were totally, hopelessly in love..."
"Oh, awesome, dude! Want a medal?" Freddy asked with his usual sarcasm.
"Sure...I'll also take a number nine! A number nine large! A number six with extra dip! Two number forty fives-"
"Oh, trust me.. I know you would." Freddy countered with his ever witty, yet still teasing comebacks.
"Says the guy with five marshmallows in his hands and eight in his stomach?"
Freddy shrugged. "So I get diabetes.. So what?"
"Yeah...not like you need those legs anyway..." Kylie replied.
"Aw, come on, Kylie. That wasn't cool.." Billy spoke up in defense of his brother.
"No, no.. I'm used to it.." Freddy waved it off. "Unlike me walking.." He smirked at the end, though it was clear it was forced.
"Yeah…." Dylan said, bothered by it just the same. "You okay, Kylie?"
Kylie sighed. "I'm sorry Freddy, just..." She looked down.
"Everything.. alright?" Clark asked the same question Dylan had, showing his concern just the same.
Kylie looked at the others. Amelia frowned, knowing what had Kylie in a bad mood. "Three years ago today, I was captured by the Joker...It's always a rough day for me..."
Dylan's eyes widened at that. He hadn't known about that.
Billy looked down, feeling a bit guilty.
"Oh, I'm.. I'm sorry, Kylie, I- I didn't think about it when doing that Batman impression. I didn't mean to bring him up, I-"
"It's fine, Billy..." Kylie sighed, taking a deep breath. "I'm just being stupid. He can't hurt me anymore-"
"No," Dylan said. "It's completely understandable to be afraid...I-" Dylan bit his lip, hesitating.
"You what?" Freddy asked.
"My parents were...killed in one of the Joker's attacks." Dylan said.
"My God.." Clark shook his head. "Dylan, I- I am so sorry for your loss.. I couldn't imagine losing my Mom and Dad.. If it's in my jurisdiction of knowing, how long ago has it been? What happened?"
Dylan looked down. "A year and a half ago...It was at a mall in LA...And...this gas suddenly began spreading around the mall!"
Kylie closed her eyes shut, while Amelia cringed, remembering how awful that was.
"I survived because of the paramedics, but...my parents and fifty others weren't so fortunate..."
Kylie looked at Dylan, who wiped a tear away. She placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.
"I just don't understand why Batman didn't just kill him when he got the chance.." Freddy shook his head. "I mean.. I know heroes are righteous and all that, but.. Batman was just such a dark and intimidating individual from what I've seen in the images they've depicted of him.. The original one, I mean.. Not the one we have now."
Freddy took a breath as everyone remained silent, wondering what he would add to that.
"I dunno.." Freddy shrugged. "The Joker is just so.. fucked up! Why didn't Batman just end him? Y'know.. at least once?"
Kylie frowned. "That isn't him. That wasn't the Batman I know..." She said softly. "That wasn't...my uncle..."
Billy, Freddy, and Dylan looked at Kylie in surprise. Sure, it wasn't a secret among close friends and family who the Batman really was, but the rest of the group had actually never known this secret until now!
"Batman was your Uncle!?" Billy asked in shock.
"Yes..." Amelia piped up.
"His name was Drew King. He was...one of the greatest men I ever knew. But what would surprise you was his kindness. He cared deeply about his friends."
She chuckled sadly, starting to get emotional. "It was always daddy, Uncle Drew and Uncle Alex...No matter how much they fought, and argued, they cared for each other. They were brothers, and they stood by each other..."
She took out an earring. The one Drew bought her to replace the one he had broken all those years back. "He bought me this. He, mom and dad rescued me from the Joker. And..."
She looked down. "Dad told me that if given a choice to change one thing, it would be what happened on that horrid night..."
Everyone looked down, out of respect for the now deceased Dark Knight. Even though some only knew him from the acclaimed movie he was portrayed in with The Avengers and Jack, they all respected what the real Batman once stood for.
"I would have loved to have met him.." Clark spoke up, still looking down. "He's my idol.."
"He and Emperor Jack were mine..." Dylan added. "What they stood for, what they stand for is hope."
Amelia leaned against Billy's shoulder. "When Joker attacked our school, his girlfriend, Aunt Bebe...she looked after me and Adia...She was a strong person. And she was never given enough credit. But she was just as important as Uncle Drew..."
"It sounds like he loved her very much.." Freddy spoke now, this time in a very genuine way.
"He did..." Kylie said softly, before she looked at the others. "They were good people. They were what the world needed."
"You know, it's not polite to gossip about me.." A sinister, all too familiar voice to Kylie spoke, causing everyone to face the source of it.
The pale white face.. The red lipstick that led into his two scars on the side of his mouth.. The green hair.. The purple suit.. That horrid smile!
It was very clear who this was..
The Joker!
The Joker laughed at the top of his lungs in a very haunting manner following his sentence.
Kylie looked at the Joker in absolute terror and dread. Memories surged back. The torture, the laughing gas, it all came back. The twelve year old couldn't take it. She ran.
Billy looked fearfully at the clown, but kept his composure just as Clark did. Billy looked to Amelia and said,
"Amelia! You and Dylan take Freddy with you and follow Kylie to a safe place! Go, now!"
Amelia was about to protest, before another figure stepped out of the trees. It was a good nine feet tall, and wore a suit. But the thing is…it had no face!
"My god..." Dylan muttered in horror. He heard the stories. But he always thought they were just ghost stories.
Slenderman regarded the children before him, before tentacles extended from his back as he stepped forward.
"GO! FUCKING GET OUT OF HERE!" Billy yelled out of fear and concern for his friends and newfound love.
Amelia, Dylan and Freddy ran, while Clark and Billy stood their ground, The Joker watching the fleeing children with a smile.
"Aw.. And here I thought they wanted to join the party.." The Joker commented.
"You're insane!" Clark exclaimed.
The Joker gasped, before holding onto Slenderman.
"Me? Insane!? Why I neve- Did you hear that, Slendy?" The Joker asked.
Slenderman nodded, before telepathically saying. "You get the princesses as promised, while I get the souls of these brats."
"Upupup!" The Joker playfully poked Slenderman with his trademark smile. "You remember the deal, though! Torture those brats any way you want until they start crying for Mommy and Daddy, but don't kill them.. We're using them as leverage against that dumbass 'Emperor' and his ridiculous friends.. Got it?"
Slenderman looked down to Joker, before nodding once.
With that, he shot two tentacles forward, intending to knock Clark and Billy to the ground. They barely dodged, while Joker merrily skipped away without a care in the world, chasing after the other fleeing children.
"Heehee hahaha!" The Joker laughed as he pulled out a pistol from inside his suit pocket, on a perfect pace to catch up with the other children. After all, Freddy's disability and Kylie's panic will slow them down just enough..
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Kylie tripped and fell on one of the rocks, having not noticed it in her panic. She screamed in pain, having broken her leg from the fall!
"Kylie! Are you okay?" Amelia and Dylan asked at the same time.
"No!" Kylie whimpered.
They were near the outskirts of the town, but…
Dylan looked around nervously, before he took a deep breath. He picked Kylie up and began to run. Amelia blinked, surprised, but followed anyway.
However, Amelia was caught off guard when a puff of gas blew into her face from the side. She immediately began to feel intense, overwhelming pain as she began to laugh uncontrollably!
Dylan was knocked roughly to the ground, and the Joker stepped out of the darkness, and approached Kylie, who tried to scoot away in terror.
The Joker roughly grabbed onto Kylie's face with both hands, adjusting her face to where she was looking into his horrifying, green eyes.
The smile that Joker gave her in that moment would stay with her forever..
"Hoo hoo! What's so funny?" The Joker asked. "I haven't even told you the punchline!" With that, The Joker punched Kylie directly in the face, knocking her to the ground as her laughing doubled in terms of volume. Tears leaked down from her eyes as her facial muscles became paralyzed, exposing her to perhaps the worst pain she had ever felt.
Joker's moment of victory was short lived, however, when a fist connected directly with his jaw. He stumbled back a bit, and saw Dylan standing between the two princesses and Joker. He raised his fists.
"That was for my parents...and my friends!" He said coldly. However, he knew he was completely outmatched here. But at least he'd die fighting the monster who ruined his life!
"Ohoo.. You're gonna pay for that one, you pathetic little orphan!" The Joker insulted with another laugh. The Joker held up his pistol that he had drawn earlier, and shot Dylan directly in his leg, which shattered his kneecap. .
Dylan screamed in agony as he fell to the ground, clutching the wound.
BANG! BANG!
The Joker shot twice more near Dylan's head, which caused Dylan to close his eyes shut. However, he looked up at Joker. "You're...not funny you sick fuck!" He choked out, somewhat defiantly, but mostly fearfully.
"Oh, orphan.." The Joker began almost too calmly, before he released more Joker Gas into Dylan's face, which caused him to cough. "I beg to differ.. HAHAHAHA!"
Dylan began to laugh uncontrollably as the pain intensified, before he saw a dark shadow hidden in the trees…
His eyes widened, and for the first time, he felt hope in this fight!
"Step away from the children, Clown!" The figure spoke.
To Joker's surprise, it wasn't even Batman's voice.. It was instead.. a much different one.
The figure leapt down into view, the moonlight being the only source of light. He had black face paint covering his eyes, concealing very well what his actual face would look like. He also wore a suit that was nearly pitch black, minus a blue V-shape on his chest. There was no cape on this figure either, unlike Batman..
"Just who the hell, are you?.." The Joker asked while turning to face the newcomer, his tone of voice sounding very annoyed.
"Let's just say I know you very well.." The figure cryptically spoke. "Call me Nightwing.."
Indeed he did know Joker well.. For Nightwing's true identity was none other than the second Batman, Dick Grayson! Dick felt like he should make a name for himself and not for who the true Batman once was.. He would follow Batman's example, of which he was a massive supporter, but would do it in his own way.. He would be his own vigilante.
"Nightwing, huh?.." The Joker asked with a slight chuckle. "Nah.. Bats is still my favorite vigilante! Nice try, though!" With that, The Joker held up his pistol to shoot Nightwing, only to be struck in the wrist with a sharp object very similar to the Batarang that the new vigilante threw. Except while Batman's were in the shape of a bat, Nightwing's was closer to a bird..
"Aghh!" The Joker yelped in pain, dropping the gun and his wrist starting to bleed a little bit. With a growl, The Joker held onto the flower attached to his suit ready to attempt to shoot Nightwing with Joker Gas. "Alright! Party's over! You've had enough fun!"
However, just as Joker unleashed more Joker Gas into the air, Nightwing ducked down low with perfect timing and swept Joker's leg, sending the clown to the ground.
With The Joker in a vulnerable position, Nightwing wasted no time punching him directly in the face, knocking the clown unconscious.
The last thing Dylan saw before slipping into unconsciousness was an ambulance and police cars.
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Jack and Kenny rushed towards Stark's Pond, hoping to help Clark and Billy defeat Slenderman. Jack had his lightsaber in hand already, while Kenny had his pistol. However, both stopped when they heard something behind them.
Jack froze, and looked at Kenny with a frustrated expression.
"Isn't that.." Kenny began with widened eyes.
"Calvin...what are you doing here?" Jack asked with a sigh.
"I...just want to help out, dad." Calvin said, walking into view with a sheepish expression.
"Listen, Buddy.." Kenny said with a firm, yet gentle expression as he knelt down a bit. "You need to get back home.. Okay? There is a dangerous man out here, and even a monster!"
Calvin paled a bit, his eyes widening, but he remained firm. "I can help though-"
"Calvin," Jack said firmly. "I'm not going to argue with you about this. Go home. I'm not risking your safety. Not when Kylie and Amelia are in danger."
Calvin looked at Kenny pleadingly. "But…I just want to be brave like you and Uncle Kenny!"
"Nice try, Mister.." Kenny scolded. "But Simba's already pulled that one on us before.."
Calvin looked down, and was about to reply, when he gasped, and grabbed at his throat, as if clawing at an invisible hand grabbing him by the neck.
"Calvin?!" Jack's eyes widened as his son was lifted into the air. He rushed over, but was too late.
There was a sickening crack, and the boy fell to the ground, still.
"No!" Jack yelled in shock and horror, rushing over. He knelt down beside his son, a look of raw pain and sadness in his eyes.
Kenny aimed his pistol as he looked around with a fuming expression.
"Show yourself NOW, you COWARD! I'll fucking KILL you!" Kenny yelled out in the distance for Calvin's anonymous murderer.
"Gladly..." A cold voice said. Jack and Kenny turned to see two figures approaching.
Jack's eyes widened. "You..."
"Yes...It is truly good to see you again, old friend..." Zillum said with a smirk as he and Darkclaw stepped into view.
Zillum looked at Kenny. "And admiral...don't think I forgot how you humiliated me all those years ago..."
"That was my intention.." Kenny countered, matching Zillum's glare. "Did I hurt your feelings? Were you really embarrassed that badly to have been outmatched by a mere 'human'?.."
"Your insolence is truly amusing...as is your belief that you will be able to change any of this..." Darkclaw said to them both.
"You murdered my son!" Jack yelled angrily. "You will pay for that with your heads!"
"Will we?" Zillum asked mockingly.
Kenny got on his communicator and called in,
"Got our coordinates? We're gonna need a Star Destroyer. Repeat, Star Dest-"
The communicator melted in his hand, breaking into pieces. Kenny's eyes widened as he looked at Darkclaw in an odd mixture of fearful amusement.
"They have our coordinates.. Better kill us fast.." Kenny challenged.
"No, no, no." Darkclaw said as if scolding a child. "That won't be a problem. I want your Empire to witness this..."
Jack's eyes burned yellow, and he lunged forward with an animalistic scream. However, Darkclaw blocked the initial strike. Jack barely had time to block the strike from Zillum, and was quickly forced back by the two.
"JACK?! KENNY WHAT-"
Kenny's eyes widened when he heard the voice of Kyle behind him!
"Oh, fuck.." Kenny's face paled, before he exhaled, thinking up one last plan,
'I hope your hearing is what you claim it is, kid..' Kenny thought.
"Clark! We're in danger! If you're done with Mr. Freakshow and No Face, then get over here!" Kenny called.
Kyle activated her lightsaber and lunged at Darkclaw. That at least took some pressure off of Jack, but it wasn't enough. Zillum was far stronger than he was before. His strikes were faster, deadlier and more powerful.
It wasn't long before Jack was thrown to the ground. Zillum roared as he swung his lightsaber down. Jack rolled out of the way and rejoined the fight.
However, at that moment, Darkclaw sent a torrent of force lightning that sent Kyle flying. She landed hard on a nearby wall, and crumpled to the floor unconscious.
Kenny gasped with widened eyes, before he yelled,
"KYLE!" He rushed over to check if his best friend was okay, when suddenly Darkclaw was temporarily stunned as a bolt of lightning struck him from nearby.
It was revealed that Billy was the one to have been responsible for the lightning.
Darkclaw smirked. "All that for a drop of blood..."
"Oh, it's more than just a drop.." Billy smirked with his arms crossed, before a confused Darkclaw was suddenly punched in the face, which sent him flying through multiple trees.
Clark had finally arrived, flying into the scene with a scowl.
Zillum looked between the two boys. "Your proteges I take it?" He asked with a slight smirk.
Jack narrowed his eyes and lunged forward. However, Zillum merely sent a force push that sent Jack flying back.
He turned to the boys. "You're powerful for mere children...I'll give you that..."
"Thanks.." Billy smirked, before transforming back into Shazam. "Want a taste?" He asked confidently while showing off his fist.
Zillum laughed, before he force pulled Jack closer, grabbing him by the neck.
"One more step...and your Emperor dies!"
"Ooh, real tough.." Shazam taunted Zillum, though still not moving forward. "You gotta hide behind a hostage because you know you can't beat us in a fair fight.."
Darkclaw stepped out of the shadows. "We don't need the Emperor..." He said cryptically.
Kenny's eyes widened as he put two and two together. Darkclaw had clearly weakened whenever Jack was around. And now…
"Darkclaw, Zillum. Last chance!" Clark yelled out. "Let Jack go now, or face the consequences!"
Darkclaw only nodded. Zillum turned and thrust the lightsaber into Jack's stomach.
"NO!" Kyle cried out, having just awoken to see that. She tried to rush forward, but was held back by Kenny.
Dark energy began to surround Darkclaw as he began to laugh coldly. "Come children...Show me what you have learned!" He mocked.
Clark narrowed his eyes at Darkclaw, before he turned to Shazam and said,
"I'll hold him off! You get Kyle and Kenny out of here and back to safety!"
"But Clark-"
"Go! Now! I won't let my friends get hurt!" Clark spoke more firmly. Seeing he wouldn't change his mind, Shazam complied before Darkclaw or Zillum got anymore bright ideas.
Soon they were out of sight, leaving Clark to face Darkclaw and Zillum, 2 on 1..
However, as Darkclaw raised his hand, which was surrounded by dark energy, a blade of red stabbed through his chest!
Clark widened his eyes at the scene, taking a step back defensively as he saw a betrayal among villains happen right before his very eyes..
The dark energy began to concentrate again, but this time, it was being absorbed by Zillum. Darkclaw's body began to dissipate as the darkness that made up his very essence empowered Zillum.
"Now begins my rule!" Zillum said with a murderous glare to Clark, who gave a scowl as his eyes began to glow red.
"I don't think so!" Clark resented, preparing himself to defend the town alone..
By this point, the looming shadow of a Star Destroyer came into view. Not long after, dozens of Imperial soldiers, several tanks, and even Raiden and Tyromairon had arrived!
By this point, Darkclaw was only a dark shadow being absorbed into Zillum's hands.
Zillum laughed before he raised one hand, and the Star Destroyer collapsed in on itself!
"THIS WORLD DIES NOW!" He thundered, before Jack leapt up, and began to grapple with Zillum, while absorbing Darkclaw's essence.
Energy began to gather around the two as they fought for dominance.
Raiden realized what was going to happen, as did Tyromairon.
"By the Elder Gods.." Raiden muttered aloud, before he teleported directly in front of Jack and Zillum, before shooting lightning in between them in an attempt to separate the two, before saying,
"You must listen! If you stay combined any longer and do not separate, the blast of Dark Matter would be the equivalent of 10 Supernovas! Separate! Now!"
Jack pulled himself back just in time, but not enough to prevent a blast of light that outshined the sun! When it finally dissipated...both Jack and Zillum were gone!
"By the Force..." Tyromairon muttered. "They've...destroyed each other!"
"For now.." Raiden added with narrowed eyes, having a strange feeling about all this.
"What...do you mean?"
Raiden and Tyromairon turned to see Kyle, Gwen, Simba, Kenny and Stan.
"Nice of you all to be here.. But I think it unwise for you to run in the direction of a Dark Matter blast.." Raiden informed with crossed arms, though you could tell there was a hint of a joke in there.
"Where's my husband?" Kyle asked firmly.
"Your guess is as good as mine, Empress.." Raiden answered, not so much as flinching at her more aggressive tone. "He could be anywhere in Earthrealm, or even on a different planet entirely.. Being the victim of such Dark Matter is a mystery except to those who experience it themselves.."
Raiden then turned to his ally, and said,
"Tyromairon.. Elaborate further."
"When power on the level of Darkclaw's...especially dark power, is destabilized, it can be absorbed. However, unless a being is of sufficient power and ability as Zillum or your husband, they would be destroyed and consumed by the darkness. However, some can absorb that power and control it. However,"
He looked at Raiden, before continuing. "If that power is destabilized as it's being absorbed, such as it being absorbed by two different individuals of equal power, it can either destroy them completely...or blast them across time and space. Perhaps to another planet, or in extreme cases, another realm!"
Kyle looked down, processing all this, her expression blank.
"I'm sure he's okay, Kyle.." Stan tried to comfort, putting a hand on her shoulder. "He'll come back home if he is. I just know he will.."
Kyle looked at Stan. "And what about my son?" She asked softly, not just to Stan, but Raiden and Tyromairon.
"He...cannot be saved, Empress..." Tyromairon said, genuinely sympathetically. "He's gone."
"I sense his presence in the Spirit Realm as we speak." Raiden added on. "It is evidently not suitable to have lost him this soon, but he is in a far more peaceful place than Earthrealm as of late.."
Kyle closed her eyes, seemingly on the verge of tears…
She stopped, however, and took a deep breath. She looked to Simba and Gwen. "We need to stay strong...for him, for Jack, and especially for the girls..." She said softly.
"No matter what I do.. No matter what any of us do.." Kenny began sorrowfully as he looked down to the ground. "All of my friends keep dying!"
Kenny then looked up, tears now beginning to come to his eyes.
"How long before someone else dies!? What if any of you are next!? I can't take anymore of my friends and family dying!"
Simba looked down, before he said firmly. "Then we stand together. We are a family...If dad is truly gone...than we must remember what he, Uncle Drew, Aunt Bebe, Thrawn, Calvin, and all the others stood for..."
Kyle looked at Kenny, and then to Stan. "Will...you help me with the kids? I know it's a lot to ask, but I just...they need a father figure...You've helped me through so much, maybe you can make it easier for them..."
"Kyle.." Stan began as he held both of her hands in a comforting manner. "Don't even ask such a question.. We would already have done so with no hesitation! Those kids are just like my own, even though they're not of my blood! Kenny would agree.."
Kenny nodded, trying to dry up his tears.
"Just look at Kenzi.. I made Drew and Bebe both a promise that I would care for that little girl, and just look at her now.. She's a happy child with a good home and people that love her! Kylie and Amelia will get the same.. I promise." Stan continued on, in a very genuine tone of voice.
Kyle smiled, and finally, a single tear fell down her face as she hugged Stan. She refused to cry anymore, but she was devastated. Drew, Bebe and now Jack were gone…
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It had been a week since Po's training began, and now…
"Here, Panda." Shifu said with a grin, offering Po a dumpling. It had been a tough week, but now, he was a lot stronger! He could actually fight now!
Revan, Drew and Talia watched with slight awe as Po performed every task flawlessly! With all of their teaching methods having put Po to the test, it was all finally paying off!
Part of Talia's shoulder rubbed against Drew's which caused the both of them to slightly flinch and look away from each other in a blushing manner.
They hadn't spoken that much over the past week. Not ever since what happened between the two that night in the Cherry Blossom Meadow after their argument with Revan..
To keep things brief, things got a little.. intimate.
What started as mutual venting and light sparring between colleagues, soon escalated after that..
It's not that they felt resentment towards each other in any way. They just kinda felt.. weird about the whole thing.
Things had been frosty between Revan and the other two as well. He had been mostly silent lately, and was distant. It was clear that the argument affected him far more than he'd like to admit.
Nevertheless, as Po and Shifu competed for the dumpling, which seemed to be Po's final training, all three couldn't resist being impressed by Po's newfound skill and effort. Shifu and Po fought with chopsticks and a stick over the dumpling, and Po was holding his own!
However, Po finally outwitted Shifu and caught the dumpling!
Shifu grinned, and allowed Po the victory. But to his surprise, the Panda threw the dumpling back to Shifu. "I'm not hungry...masters." He declared as he bowed to them.
Shifu smiled, and bowed back, while Revan did the same.
"He is ready.." Drew finally spoke up now, sharing his opinion, to which Po beamed with pride.
"I agree.." Talia nodded after a bit of hesitation of whether or not she should say anything.
Shifu nodded. "Yes...you are...Po."
"Thanks, Master Shifu.." Po bowed, before looking at Drew, Revan, and Talia. "Other Masters.."
After the acceptance of Po's gratitude among everyone, Talia then questioned,
"How long until Tai Lung gets here? And how is the rest of the League doing with their guarding of the town?"
At that moment, several ninjas approached the group, along with-
The Furious Five, all in various stages of injury and paralysis!
"We were no match for...his nerve attack..." Crane panted. He had been carrying Monkey and Tigress, while another figure had carried Viper and Mantis...He wore a hood and cloak, so no-one could see his face.
Drew narrowed his eyes, before approaching the figure. It was a more curious look than anything. He turned to Shifu and stated,
"I've read literature which detailed your students and the group they formed.. And last I checked, I'm pretty sure that the Furious Five only had five members among them.."
"They do," Shifu declared, looking at the figure suspiciously. "Who are you?" He demanded.
Revan stepped forward, and activated his lightsaber, while Talia and Drew unsheathed their swords, ready to fight this mysterious individual. However, Drew quickly decided to put his own sword away, mentally second guessing that choice for some reason..
The figure turned its hooded head to Drew, before it pulled a part of the cloak back, revealing…
A lightsaber. But not just any lightsaber…
Drew just had to widen his eyes, before asking the all too familiar figure,
"You!?.."