Land of heroes: DC Style.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to DC or Halo (God, I wish I did though.) enjoy.

A/N: This is the DC version, it is mostly set in the JLU universe, more precisely the very beginning, there will be a mixture comic and cartoon lore here so please bear that in mind.

Once more thanks to my friend for Beta reading my work, despite comments to the contrary he does good work.

Chapter 9:

"S…p…"

"Spartan…"

"Spartan!"

"Ugh…" John woke up with what he could only recall as the worst headache of his life. The taste of dried blood on his lips and the feeling of wetness from his ears told him it was particularly nasty.

"He's awake!" He heard a woman speak.

"Good that means we can wake the other one as well." Another spoke, a man this time, one he knew from recent interactions.

Remembering his current situation he mentally commanded the armor to activate basic systems and run a systems check.

His HUD came online and showed that communications, some of the sensor arrays, energy daggers and shields were down and not recharging while his biofoam injectors and flight capacity were still active. He tried to move his arms but found them unable to.

"Don't bother sir…" The Ultra-Humanite spoke as he approached him "You are currently strapped physically by 4 inch titanium bands and magnetically to the table, also thanks to my colleague here…" He gestured to Slade who watched on impassively.

"…your shield and communications array, though advance by means I have yet to determine, is being scrambled by the device on your chest." He finished by pointing at a device he could not see.

The device itself was a circular base with three rectangular legs; a red light indicated it was active.

"And, just in case you believe your friend the Martian can help I have taken the liberty to use both yourself and Batman as test subjects for my stasis field."

John saw that Batman had indeed been captured as well. He was strapped to a pole with thick metallic bars and had some sort of beam of light projected downwards, and most likely the neural barrier the man turned ape spoke of.

"Enough…" Luthor spoke with authority gaining the villains attention "…Wake him up he has information we need."

Joker naturally took the offer and walked up to his nemesis.

"Wakey wakey Batman…" he sing-songed in an eerie voice before…

*SLAP*

Bruce woke up immediately and saw the face of the man he had come to loathe.

"Joker…" he spoke with obvious disdain for the self proclaimed clown prince of crime "…I should have known you'd be in on this."

Batman saw John tied to a table next to him though his restraints denied him mobility.

Luthor saw this and chose to comment…

"He's alive for the moment, but both of you have something I want and that is the only keeping you alive." The man spoke with finality.

"What makes you think we'll cooperate?" John asked gaining everyone's attention.

"You will if you value each other's lives."

John was not in the least bit intimidated by the veiled threat and replied calmly.

"A soldier's must always be ready to meet their end on battlefield; I am prepared for that eventuality how about you Batman?" He asked earning a chuckle from Deathstroke.

*How interesting…*

"Seems like a good day to die." The Dark Knight spoke.

"Well if that's your answer…" Joker spoke jovially as his hand reached for the flower on his jacket, those aware of the man's history knew what lied within it, and aimed it at Batman.

"What are you doing? I need them alive." Luthor interrupted the psychotic man's action.

"You heard them…" Joker growled out "…they won't play along with your little game. Trust me Lex, the longer they live the sooner they cause trouble."

"You don't like it then leave." Luthor finally ordered much to the disappointment of the villain.

"And people say I'm crazy…" He muttered as he skulked away.

Luthor turned and saw the questioning looks on the others faces, a twitch of his eye showed he was not amused with being second guessed.

"What! Those restraints are pure titanium, the table is holding his armor in check with high powered magnets and not a single one can call for help." The former industrialist explained to the group before approaching the Dark Knight.

"Now then you two must have a passkey or access code I can use against your friends…where is it?" He ordered.

"…guess." Bruce said with a smile.

Luthor turned to John.

"Left it in my other armor."

"Grrr, Grundy check the belt!"

Grundy did so as he held Batman´s utility belt and tried to open one of the pouches…

*ZZZZAAATT!* and got enough high voltage through that his hair stood as a reward.

"ARRRGH!"

Joker naturally took this time to…point out the error in the plan.

"I told you." The pale faced man spoke in a childish way.

"Shut up!" The ringleader of the group snapped at him while he strode over to John.

However John decided to head him off.

"Before you decide to mess with my armor I should warn you I activated the failsafe. Which in this case is the reactor that powers my armor will go critical should you tamper with it while in lockdown mode and before you ask I will not remove the lockdown for you."

Technically it was partially true that while in lockdown there was a failsafe active, it just shut down the reactor not destroy it since it was basically a star, hence it would cause a lot of damage should it go off.

His voice betrayed no lie and Luthor knew the man´s technology was unknown to him so he opted for the relatively safer venue.

"Bring that upstairs, I'll get it open." He said to Star Sapphire, who silently did as told by projecting a force field around the belt.

As the villains stood in the elevator minus Humanite and Grundy, Luthor soon ordered the two to stand watch over the captured men.

John was thinking hard on how to escape their situation, with no communications and his only weapons being his combat knives safely, he was hard pressed to find a solution.

He turned to see Batman looking at their guards and from the looks of things he had an idea.

"Grundy, what´s Luthor paying you for this?"

"MONEY, LOTS OF IT."

"As much as he´s getting?" Bruce spoke as he nodded towards the Humanite.

*So…psychological warfare is his game…and he picked the right victim* John thought as he saw where he was going with this. Grundy by all rights was brain dead and as such did not have any higher level brain functions. And even if he was still alive, his life as an enforcer did not leave him with a lot of educational opportunities.

"I DON´T KNOW." The oversized zombie mumbled.

"Look at all you put up with…you should be getting more." Batman said in a sympathetic tone.

"More than me?" Humanite spoke in a surprised tone "…Preposterous." He finished as he turns to sit on a nearby chair and took out a newspaper.

"Is it?" Batman asks before John continues.

"That´s how it is you know…" John spoke hoping not ruin the plan, mental warfare was not his specialty but right now they had to improvise. And if there was one thing Mendez taught him with zeal, was that it never matters how you win, only that you win and the enemy loses.

"…Grunts do all the work and the brains reap the rewards."

Grundy did not like the sound of that.

"GRRRR." He slowly advanced on the mutated scientist.

At the Watchtower…

The heroes and UNSC members were currently searching for any lead to their missing allies.

Cortana and Redeeming were looking through every video feed, every audio clip they could find in hopes of locating the villains hideout.

J'onn was in deep meditation as he scanned for their minds.

Hawkgirl and Lantern were patrolling the area in case they were seen and could report back to the others.

Superman and Flash were planet side interrogating Copperhead.

Wonder Woman was currently looking for Miranda who had come on board and was preparing to join with them when they were found.

Superman would have protested in lieu of her safety, but she retorted that she has been through enough conflicts that her safety was secondary and that under the rules of the UNSC John was her responsibility as his CO.

Diana found the Commander in the galley currently assembling several weapons she brought on board, she wore the ODST armor CQC variant. It was colored in grey, black and white for urban combat.

She was currently reassembling of M7 Caseless SMG; next to her were an M6G and a M90 CAWS, with her helmet off she could tell that she was focused on her task. Whether this was to keep her mind off the situation or was per her training she did not know.

"Anything on them yet?" She asked while maintaining herself focused on her task.

"Nothing yet."

"I see…How is Cortana?"

"She is worried and angry; I have never seen her this way."

Miranda paused in her work as she faced the Amazon.

"It isn't all that surprising really, her and John have gone through so much together, they trust each other, believe in one another…" She paused as she let that sink in.

"She once told me that when she stayed behind many had written her off as a lost cause… but John rescued her anyway he brought her back from the brink of rampancy and now I think she intends to return the favor. If there is one thing I learned in my days commanding Cortana and John for so long as I did, it's that those two would rather go down together than leave another behind."

"I see, they share such a strong bond in battle that I find myself wondering if there is anyone who could defeat them when they are in sync." Diana spoke.

"They complement one another, John is the brawn and Cortana the brains, individually they both have caused their fare share of havoc on the Covenant and Flood, but together? I feel sorry for the poor bastards who face off against them, and believe me the list of the said poor bastards is VERY long."

She said with a smirk on her face.

It was then that Cortana contacted everyone.

-Superman reports no progress with Copperhead, Hawkgirl and Lantern have found no leads and J'onn still can't find them telepathically since it appears they are blocked by something.—

-…I'm going planet side to help with the interrogation.—

Miranda and Diana shared a look of surprise when they heard that, Diana reached for her earpiece.

"Cortana that is too risky, you risk exposing yourself."

-To hell with that, I want answers and I will get them even if I have to ring them out of Copperhead's corpse.—

"Cortana? Cortana come in."

-I'm afraid the Reclaimer's construct has teleported to the planet Wonder Woman.—

"Hera help us should someone discover her."

"I'm more worried what she'll do to him if he doesn't give her the answers she wants."

With that both women got up, and after grabbing the Commander's weapons went to meet up with J'onn.

Meanwhile with the rest of group…

Luthor had donned some goggles and a lab coat as he attempted to open Batman´s utility belt, on another table were the Spartan´s weapons…or rather what remained of his weapons.

When Luthor had captured the heroes he saw an opportunity to study the futuristic weapons of the man, however when he placed them onto the scanner to study their inner workings he triggered a failsafe Cortana had installed.

Upon arrival to this new reality and confirming the existence of a shadow organization that could potentially attack them she had placed in each piece of weaponry and technology her Spartan used a small payload of nanobots of Forerunner make.

Redeeming had explained that during the war with humanity, the Forerunners feared their technology would be turned against them, namely due to the fact that the ancient human forces were able to use technology that was able to rival their own, so one of their military scientists created nanites that destroyed designated inorganic material.

When the war ended and demilitarization began, they stopped production of the nanites. When the Flood came they proved useless as the parasitic organism would cover vessels with growths, thus negating the machines purpose as it could not destroy organic life as it was programmed to do.

The UNSC AI however saw the value in them and had them installed should they ever be captured.

The weapons dissolved and only metallic dust remained. Luthor was most displeased and made several loud and profane comments.

Now here was making an attempt on something in his field and timeline.

With him were Shade, Star Sapphire, Deathstroke, Joker and Cheetah.

The former industrialist and weapons manufacturer placed the belt on a seemingly innocuous table and stepped in front of a computer console where the Joker was casually leaning on.

Pressing a series of keys it activated and scanned the object.

"Fascinating…" He muttered as he saw the results of the scans.

*Note to self further study will be required after the League´s destruction and possible cure is found.* He thought before proceeding further.

The machine gave a slow hum as the power grew and sparks flared as energy coursed through the belt when suddenly…

*BOOM!*

"Careful…" Star warned upon seeing those results "…just because you won´t see old age doesn´t mean the rest of us don´t want too."

*I must be daft to remain with this bunch of lunatics.* She thought to herself as she much preferred to be a solo act.

Any other thought was soon interrupted by the sounds of fighting coming from the lower levels.

"What was that?" Luthor asked out loud until he heard the voices of two of his…associates "I should have known."

*Christ, maybe death is a better choice than dealing with these imbeciles!* He thought as he and the others minus Joker and Deathstroke got on the elevator to see what the problem was.

They soon arrive to Grundy manhandling Humanite.

"Unhand me you worthless zombie!"

"GRRR, TAKE THAT BACK!"

While they rolled around on the ground, Luthor suddenly developed a tick in his right eye…5 seconds later he chose to put an end to the brawl.

"Stop it right NOW!" He all but roared at them, though Grundy did get a last shot in.

"You two bumbling idiots are killing me faster than the Kryptonite!"

"SORRY/Sorry." Both apologized before separating and allowing Luthor to approach the restrained heroes.

"You did this! Didn´t you?" He asked rhetorically.

Silence was his answer.

"Well it won´t happen again, Cheetah!"

The humanoid feline approached.

"Take over here, if they cause any more trouble gag the Bat and do whatever you want to the other." He spoke as he left her to deal with the two though she did make an attempt to intimidate them with her claws.

Luthor and the others had returned to his lab in the upper section, when the pain started coursing through his body. The stress was making it worse.

Grundy, Sapphire and Shade saw this.

"What´s wrong?" Sapphire asked.

"He don´t look so good."

Luthor struggled to breathe for a moment though not before he herd Shade make a final comment.

"Maybe we should get paid now before he bites it."

"I´m fine…" He growled to them "…now get out! I have work to do." He ordered.

Left alone with Humanite who had brought him a chair and voiced the truth in their comments, he was starting to think his options.

"I can't give up now… I just need to buy more time…Can't you help?" He asked the "man" whose intellect could perhaps find a solution.

"Perhaps… but…"

"But what?" He asked quietly as he regained his strength.

"…it will cost extra." Said the ape-man considering options and alternatives.

Luthor just grumbled as he realized in this business there was no such thing as honor among thieves. Thieves always went for their own gains and to hell with everyone else, the idea of finding the thief with honor was as about as effective as thinking that there was a form of Kryptonite that could be useless against Superman.

Meanwhile at Stryker's Penitentiary…

Superman and Flash were currently interrogating the captured Copperhead, who kept to his story that he was a victim of circumstances.

Frankly Superman was at his wits end and was about try intimidation as means to get the information they needed however it was that moment the door opened…

And revealed Cortana, though instead of her usual form she used an alternate, having red hair, tanned skin and blue eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Superman asked as he had been warned that she would teleport here, though not form she would take.

"I'm here to get answers from him."

"Hey lady I already told them I don't know nothing…" the man said though he did so as he checked her out "…but maybe you'd like to spend some time with me and we can…chat." He finished with a leering gaze.

She was neither amused nor interested; she proves as much as she extended her left arm and slammed him into the wall.

"Hey! You crazy bitch what…" His words die off as he sees her morph into her natural form and then extends her right hand morphing it as it moves towards the man. Instead of human shaped fingers it now sports five razor sharp daggers.

"AAAAAHHHH!" Copperhead screamed.

"CORTANA!" Superman and Flash yelled as her hand moved at high speed.

They stop a centimeter from the visibly shaken villain. She calmly walks closer to him never losing her hold and not breaking eye contact.

"I am going to make this very, very simple for you Nathan…" She spoke as she was now directly in front of him "…look at me Nathan when I speak to you, or would you prefer I start carving your skin off to make me a new wallet?"

Nathan however was still looking at the knife like appendages aim at his head.

"I said look at me!" She yells as she inches the blades closer.

"Okay! Okay! Keep them away!" he screams.

Superman decided to get involved as he could tell with the use of his super hearing that Copperhead's heart was going to overtime, not to mention the fact that his eyes told him that Nathan was about to bite the proverbial bullet mentally.

"Cortana enough, he's about to have a breakdown."

*John will not be pleased we used her name her with a witness.*

"No Superman I am done pussyfooting around, I want to find J…Spartan-117 and he knows something now tell me Nathan, where are they?"

"I-I-I d-don't know L-Luthor s-said that…that if o-one of us g-got caught h-he'd bail to another hideout, I swear that's all I know!" The terrified snake man spoke as truthfully as he could.

"Fine…" She spoke as she dropped him, he landed on his rear end trembling like a child as she leaned in close "...but mark my words well, if my friend is dead there will be no one and nowhere you and the others can hide where I won't find you…and then you will be very sorry." She hissed with as much venom as possible.

With that said she sent a signal to the Watchtower and teleported back.

"Dude…THAT was scary." Flash spoke after a minute of silence, Superman could only nod. Cortana could be funny and charming, but seeing the ferocity she showed to Copperhead told her that pushing her buttons when she was angry was the LAST thing one should do.

Back with John and Batman…

Things had remained quiet for the two as they strategized a means to escape. Cheetah just watched them in silence though they felt she was thinking something over with the way she looked at them…or more precisely John.

Finally she decided to speak to the man.

"So Spartan…is it true you come from a future alternate reality?"

John wondered if should answer, he was their prisoner after all but having read her profile this could be useful.

"Yes I am."

"…and what sort of advancements has been made in your time aside from space travel?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Scientific curiosity I suppose, I have read of the technology you have given to the world during your stay here...I have studied the science behind them and I find myself intrigued." The woman spoke.

"I cannot reveal anything related to the military."

"I don't care about that; I wish to know more of the scientific background your world has." She spoke honestly and truthfully.

Batman remained quiet wondering if they could use this in some way.

"…may I ask something in return if I answer you?" He asked after thinking through the question.

"All right."

"How is it you became what you are now? I have read you profile yet it is incomplete."

"You…you know about me?" She asked in surprise.

John chose to tell her what he knew of her.

"Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva. Born August 12 1987 in Longmont, Colorado. Mother: Jessica Minerva Jacobson-Fitzpatrick, Father: Louis Ann Fitzpatrick, you have multiple PhD's in genetics, chemistry and zoology. You worked at Chiron pharmaceuticals until you had an accident caused by a faulty serum rendered you in your current…"

"It wasn't faulty! I did everything right!" She yelled at him.

"What happened then?"

"…I was studying the effects of combining animal DNA with human DNA in an effort to strengthen the body or more specifically an animal's unique immune system to human based diseases."

"You are talking about gene splicing and therapy correct?" Batman asked as he had seen before men who had done the same only for the results to…go out of control.

Cheetah nodded at that as she remembered the pride she felt knowing that her work would save millions.

"Yes precisely, I had read of two others who had done the same, one focusing on bats and the other on wolves and canines, though from what I read they never made it passed the theoretical stage."

*Milo and Langstrom, I should have known.* The Dark Knight thought as he remembered his encounters with both men, one he had aided while the other he arrested. Langstrom had vowed NEVER to walk down that path ever again after what happened to him and his wife, but he had always suspected that sooner or later someone would find out about what they did and would try it themselves.

"Early on I realized that picking out only the most important enzymes and cells would not be enough for a stable prototype."

"You needed to take the whole DNA strand and graft it onto the human carrier to ensure there was no rejection by the subject correct?" John guessed as genetics was not one the materials he studied at the academy, but as Spartans they got a good deal of education to balance their combat skills and experience.

"Yes exactly, imagine a human with the capacity to regenerate lost limbs like a reptile or have immunity to Cancer, HIV, and Parkinson's like certain fish and mammals. My research opened the door to so many possibilities. " She spoke with a pride she had long since thought lost.

"But you were under funded." Batman said as he also knew about her.

"Yes…" she said bitterly as the next part "…the fools at Chiron wanted practical results not numbers, they were slowly limiting me and my team, denying me requests for better equipment and samples."

"So you took matters into your own hands and used yourself as a test subject." John spoke in tone that said it was not a question.

"Yes, I thought that if I showed them that my work was feasible they would allow me to continue my work in peace and allow me to further create more to help others."

"Why did you choose Cheetah DNA?" Bruce asked as he wondered use could that animal's genetics could have.

"Believe it or not they were a personal favorite of mine as a child; also biologically they were suitable for my experiment. Their biology allows for low rejection in skin grafts and their hearts and lungs allow for better oxygen intake even at high speeds and have excellent reflexes at high speed."

"I administered the proper dosage and soon found myself feeling rejuvenated, I felt stronger, faster and more nimble than before. My senses were sharper and I healed quicker." She spoke as she remembered the feelings of euphoria as she put herself through her passes and found herself moving beyond the limitations of normal people.

"Then something went wrong I assume."

"Yes…it started out slow, I woke up one day and found some spots on my back, at first I paid them no mind…however the next day I found more on my body and I started to lose my hair."

"I returned to my lab and ran some test on my blood…the results showed that my gene sequence was changing and was slowly incorporating more of the foreign DNA into my own. I had tried to make so the new DNA strand only covered a percentage of the human strand."

"But your body sought to balance it out, correct?" John asked as he found himself drawn in by her tragic tale.

Cheetah nodded and turned her back to them so they don't see her pain.

"More changes were happening, hair falling out and being replaced by fur, my nails slowly becoming claws, my eyes becoming cat like. I was at a point where I was starting to look more animal than human, but I was close to developing a gene cleanser that could have reversed the changes or buy me time."

"That's when I was caught by one of the team members, he saw me without me knowing. Read my notes on what I had done and reported me to board of directors. They sent security teams to capture me for further study and try to turn my work into a bio weapons program."

"A fight broke out and spilled some chemicals causing a fire…all my work, my possible cure…gone in a blaze."

"The news said that you were responsible, you were labeled a corporate spy who sold secrets to rival companies and started the fire to destroy the evidence." John spoke as the files Cortana sent painted a rather grim picture. Now however he could see she was a tragic victim of circumstances and corporate greed.

"All I wanted was to heal the sick, that's all…" She spoke in a defeated tone as tears fell from her eyes "…now look at me, a freak and an outcast, I sell my services like a whore in order to get money needed to try and find a cure and failure is all I get."

"Do you regret the life you have?" John asked making both Batman and Cheetah wonder where he was going with that.

"…" She thought about that and found herself wondering the same; she had done a lot of despicable things in her search for a cure and wondered whether there was any humanity left in her.

"Help us." John asked hoping to reach some part of her.

"What?" She asked in surprised that were mirrored by Bruce.

"Help us escape and I give you my word I will help you as best I can."

"I…I can't, if they find out they'll kill me."

"We can protect you; we can contact the League and make sure you are safe."

"Why? You don't really know me and you certainly have no reason to trust me." She asked wondering why this man would such a thing.

"I know what it is like to be an outcast Doctor, I am loyal to the UNSC but that loyalty does not mean I and my fellow Spartan's were well received by all. Some called us freaks and others saw us as living weapons meant to be used and die on the battle field. And I have met some people who called us results of an experiment that should never be done again, one man even tried to have me killed during a test run and make it look like an accident."

That surprised Batman as the images they were shown did not depict that.

*That doesn't make sense he practically bled for them, why would they hate him and the others?*

"How did you cope?" Cheetah found herself asking though she really couldn't figure out why.

"I never let myself be dragged down by their comments, my duty was clear I was to defend humanity from all threats, it is a duty I carry on to this day. And besides, I have met those in the UNSC who stood by us as well." He spoke before looking at her.

"I will protect you if you let me."

Cheetah was stunned by the man's words; there was no hint of doubt or deceit in them and a part of her believe he would do that.

She slowly reached for the device on the Spartan's chest when she saw his head tilt…

John had the armors sensor on with as much power he could spare given that the device was someone keeping his other functions down. It was subtle but he heard someone get in the elevator.

"Get back, someone is coming."

She was startled but did as asked as the elevator stopped there and from came…Deathstroke.

"I've been asked to tell you that you are needed upstairs." The man spoke neutrally though his eyes looked at John.

"All right." She replied as she got on the elevator, though Deathstroke stayed where he was "Aren't you coming?"

"In a moment…I wish to have a chat with the Spartan." The mercenary said as he walked towards him.

"Luthor doesn't want them harmed."

"And I will not do so; I am a professional after all." Again the man said neutrally.

Cheetah was hesitant as she knew about the man's reputation; some considered him as dangerous as the Joker. She spared a glance at John before leaving.

"So Spartan we meet again…" The masked man spoke as he looks at the soldier in the face despite the helmet "…I believe I won this round don't you? I hope you enjoyed my neural scrambler grenade, I was saving it for Superman but you´ll have to do." The man said with a smirk hidden behind his mask.

"…" John remained silent but deep down he was livid, both at himself and at the man before him. The man was well armed for sure, and no doubt had been augmented to some degree, and it annoyed him that this man managed to damage his armor. And this man was nothing more than a mercenary, and if there was one thing he and everyone who served in the UNSC disliked more than the Covenant, it was people who were hired guns who worked only for money.

"Not talking hmm? No matter...you know I must admit you are quite the opponent, I have faced many men in battle but you…you actually pushed me hard, not even the Titans did that. By the way how is Nightwing Batman?" He asked the Dark Knight casually.

Bruce narrowed his eyes at that, he kept tabs on Dick when he and the others formed the Teen Titans and faced Slade. The man was ruthless and immoral, for some reason he constantly challenged him, tried to convert him and if that failed break him.

"Heh heh, I was just thinking the other day to pay him a visit, he is in Bludhaven correct?"

"You leave him alone Slade." Batman growled.

"Still the ever protective mentor eh Batman?" The villain chuckled.

"You're sick." John spoke with obvious disdain.

"Oh I rather think of myself as ahead of the curb."

"Was it that same thinking you had when you murdered your son and twisted your daughter? I am well aware of who you are, and to me, you are nothing but a rabid dog that deserves to be put down."

Deathstroke was not amused by the reminder or the comment…and punched the Spartan in the gut, but John barely felt it thanks to the armor.

"Hmm, your armor is most impressive…pity in can't stand up to my blade." He spoke as he reached for the blade but then stopped as he remembered his contract.

"You and I will finish this Spartan…" Slade spoke as he leaned forward "…count on it."

"I will be waiting eagerly for that."

It was then that Humanite arrived to check up on Slade and the prisoners.

"Is there a problem?"

"No…just having a chat."The assassin replied before leaving.

With Luthor and the others before Humanite's departure…

Luthor had been working again on Batman's belt. For the success of his plan he had to gain access to the Watchtower. Humanite was helping him make the final adjustments to his equipment while the Joker was pacing around, too excited about his turn to watch Batman.

"He's been down there too long…" said the Joker.

"Forget it. There is no way I'm leaving you alone with him." Responded Lex knowing full well what Joker was really after.

*Why do I bother dealing with this maniac?*

Joker jumped on a desk chair and rolled up to Lex as he spun on the chair. "But Lexy where's your sense of fun? Besides, it won't cost you a cent..." offered the Joker. But Luthor was more focused on the machine then on the madman.

"Humanite… go check up on Deathstroke." Said the criminal mastermind.

"Can't you send Grundy?" argued the ape-man, he really didn't want guard duty; it was unfitting for a being of his stature and intellect.

"Just do what I say!"

"It's your funeral…" grumbled Humanite with a scowl leaving for guard duty.

After leaving, Luthor turned on the advanced scanner again, with the appropriate modifications. The machine sent a current of electricity into the defense mechanism causing an overload in the lock mechanism. The result was all the pockets on the belt opened one after the other in quick succession.

"Finally…" declared Luthor in satisfaction and proceeded to turn the belt over and dump all the contents on the table.

DeathStroke arrived and saw the results; he hoped that it would speed things up and allow him to deal with the Spartan.

"What are you looking for? Bat car key? Bat breath mints?" asked Joker taking a throwing disk and tossing it at a crate. Said disk started to beep before releasing a torrent of energy before blowing up.

"Oops!" he exclaimed.

"Careful you idiot!" Luthor shouted at the clown when he suddenly found a remote "...Wait! This is it!" He declared victoriously.

"What?" asked the Joker.

"The key to our victory…" answered Luthor holding a remote control that was likely the access key to the Watchtower.

After calling together the whole gang Luthor gave them the plan. Sapphire, Grundy and Shade would go to the Watchtower and plant an explosive of his own design to take out the hero's base with tem in it.

Of course whether or not they were in the base was another matter entirely, but that is usually the case when one is driven by revenge. The little things often escape notice, and those had a very annoying habit of coming back to bite one in the neck when one does not notice in time.

With the three villains…

Sapphire ferried a calm Shade and a nervous Grundy in a force bubble that allowed them to travel through space.

Upon reaching an appropriate distance Shade activated the remote that opened the Javelin bay doors. Already the three were going over there strategy should they encounter the League, Shade would blind them while Grundy would use the special UV goggles made for him and ambush the unsuspecting hero's.

They would soon find out that not all plans survive first contact with the enemy.

J'onn and Redeeming were left in the monitoring room and saw the hanger open, however instead of seeing his comrades he saw three of the villains responsible for the disappearance of the other two.

"Oh dear, J'onn J'onzz we have unauthorized personnel boarding the Watchtower."

J'onn pressed the alarm as quickly as he could and flew down to meet the villains, the monitor however ordered the Huragok to hide in their designated areas and activated the Sentinels the UNSC crew brought along.

The trio made their way inside and quickly found resistance in the form of the Martian, as per the plan Shade unleashed his powers and blacked out all of the light leaving their foe in darkness.

Grundy had torn off a pipe to bash the Martian with it, however…

*ZZZAAAATTT*

It was soon shot out of his hand by a golden beam.

"WARNING, UNATHORIZED PERSONEL SHALL BE DETAINED, SURRENDER NOW." A green machine warned as it floated down, it was followed three others.

"What the hell!" Shade cried out in alarm.

"RRRAAARRGH, STUPID MACHINE!" Grundy roared as he charged the Sentinel drones, dropping the bomb as he did so.

"SUBJECTS HAVE PROVEN HOSTILE, INITIATE PHASE 1." The machine spoke as it and the others began firing stun beams at the villains, the darkness not affecting them in the least.

"Grundy you bloody idiot!" Sapphire yelled as she fired on the Forerunner machines.

J'onn Jonzz flew away from the shadowed area to get a clear look of things. Shade however grabbed the bomb and stashed it behind a container while desperately dodging the Sentinels beams.

*Fuck! I swear I am demanding more money for this shit!* he thought as he armed the weapon.

"GUH!" Grundy grunted as he was attacked by J'onn now that the zombie moved away from the shadows.

The Sentinels meanwhile now focused their attention on Star Sapphire.

"Bloody fucking Hell! If we get out of this I want a bloody raise!" She yelled as she fired another beam into the barrage and managed to destroy one of the machines.

"WARNING, SUBJECT REFUSES TO COMPLY, EXHIBITS UNKNOWN ABILITIES, INITIATE PHASE 2." It said as it now moved to wound the villains and called for more Sentinels.

"Phase 2?" She asked in disbelief as they now fired more powerful red beams and more machines came.

"WE ARE LEAVING NOW!" She screamed as she now focused on strengthening her shield. Grundy was launched towards her from a right hook by the J'onn and slammed into a wall leaving an impression.

"UGH! GRUNDY WANT OFF."

"I agree! Get us the Hell off this madhouse!" Shade yelled as he joined them just as the woman surrounded them in a force field and made their escape.

"Blast…" J'onn spoke neutrally though he was really angry he could not get the information they needed "…Redeeming contact the others and have them come here, those three came here for a reason."

"Understood." The monitor replied as he did so and called out the Huragok to begin repairs and search the area in case they left something behind that could help in the search.

The group of heroes arrived onto the Space station unaware of the danger that was in their mist.

Back at the villain's current base of operations…

"Showtime everybody!" The sadistic clown yelled with glee as he rolled a TV into the room that held Batman and the Spartan "…live and in color the end of the Justice League."

John scoffed at the man's words.

"Don't make me laugh." Batman spoke as he wondered whether his offer with Humanite would hold true.

"It's no joke, the trio sent up left a parting gift for your chums, in a few minutes KABLOOEY! Ha ha ha ha." The man laughed.

John instantly classified the Joker as hostile in need of a dirt nap.

"And once their done you and tin man are mine and the walking Picasso's playmates…popcorn?" The man offered seemingly oblivious to the anger of the Spartan.

"Joker you nauseate me." Humanite spoke as he had enough of the man's antics.

Luthor in the meantime sat in front of a television with a live feed to what he perceived was the destruction of Superman and his allies. Shade's comment of getting paid was rebuffed as the man was taking his time to enjoy the destruction to come.

Cheetah found herself despondent at the prospect.

Back at the Watchtower…

The group was currently wondering the reason behind the attack; all were congregated in the control room wondering how the villains obtained entry and their motives.

"It's obvious they came here for a reason, but what? And why not in full force?" Miranda asked.

"That's the question isn't it?" Lantern asked in turn.

"Did they say anything J'onn?" Superman spoke to his teammate.

"No, they were more preoccupied with fending off the Sentinels."

It was then that the emergency line rang, Diana quickly picked up the headset.

"Hello…I beg your pardon…Where!...Hello!...Hello!" She shouted into the receiver.

"Who was that?"

"No clue but he said there was a bomb up here!"

"Those three must have planted it during the scuffle." Cortana spoke as it all came together.

Miranda took charge without asking as the situation demanded immediate action.

"Redeeming get every single Sentinel and every Engineer we got to look for it…"

"Understood." The monitor replied as he sent the order.

"Everyone else move out and find it before we're space dust now!" She ordered as she ran to the door followed by the others.

Soon everyone was searching top to bottom using all of their abilities and resources. However it was one lone Huragok who found the suitcase and gave a shrill cry that Green Lantern heard.

"FLASH!"

"On it!" The crimson clad speedster rushed in and took the bomb and ran to the airlock just as Superman opened the cargo bay, the vacuum of space soon swept the bomb just as it blew.

*BOOOOM!*

Back at the villains lair…

Luthor eyes were as wide as saucers as he saw the space station remained unharmed.

"NO! It's not fair! They should be cosmic dust!" he cursed lifting his couch and throwing it at the screen shattering the glass screen to pieces. Needless to say the man did not take well to failure.

*How! How could they have survived!*

Seeing as their employer was on the verge of a meltdown and possibly a heart attack with his current illness, Cheetah decided to be the voice of reason this time.

"Luthor calm down! Your condition..."

"What do you care?" He snarled at the people "You're all just a bunch of incompetent, money grubbing crooks!" snapped Luthor letting his anger get the best of him once more.

That was the last straw for them, they may be villains but even they had their pride-

"That's it! I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm out of here." said Star Sapphire. A professional of her caliber didn't have to take this.

*There´s always better offers than this.* she thought to herself.

"Me too." added Cheetah following her.

Grundy and Shade followed, this was not worth their time. Luthor was left all alone.

Deathstroke remained where he stood; he only wanted to get paid and perhaps face the Spartan once more before he killed him.

"Wait! I'll double your pay." Groveled Luthor feeling the effects of another pre-stroke on his heart.

"What's the point? Its over." said the wielder of the Star Sapphire.

"No…we can still win if we lure them here! I have a plan, but we have to stick together for it to succeed!" begged the former businessman, a shadow of the confident, devious, man he once was.

*For God sakes! I have been reduced to this? I will see you dead for this Superman!* He thought with shame and anger.

"GRUNDY NOT THAT DUMB" Grumbled the zombie as he closed the elevator shaft. Even he could see no profit in this, and he was a corpse!

"All right then! I'll triple the pay!" shouted Luthor.

THAT got their attention as Grundy placed his oversized hand between the doors.

Luthor once more cursed the Man of Steel for reducing him to this farce.

They all returned to their post and waited to see what the plan their employer came up with. It was in that moment Humanite arrived and when he saw Luthor holding himself, he ran to his side and tried to balance him on his own shoulder.

"You are weakening Lex, I may have the solution but there is a certain amount of risk…"

"…I'm already dying has it is…I have nothing left to lose…do it…" answered Luthor feeling the pain pass and his resolve to see this through strengthen.

With John and Batman…

Both were relieved that their allies and friends were safe. Batman´s plan to appeal to Humanite´s greedy nature bore fruit now all they had to do was get out of here, a difficult prospect with the clown prince of crime watching them.

"Awww, they ruined the punch line…" said the madman pushing over the TV to the ground "…but I can still have my fun." he finished as he leered at his nemesis while pulling out a razor blade.

John could tell the twisted man was going to enjoy what he was about to do, so he decided to stall him.

"You better pray I don´t get loose." He said ominously.

"Oh and why is that tin man?"

"Because unlike him I will end you once and for all." He finished with a slight dark tone.

"Hmm, well then it's a good thing you are all tied up soldier boy." The madman replied with no fear, before turning his attention towards his foe.

"Oh Batman…" he said to him at seeing the stone face the Dark Knight held as he lightly placed the shaving utensil to the man´s cheek "Why so serious?"

However the one thing Joker didn't expect was for the hero to pull his head back and give a mighty headbutt as his reply.

"Nice shot." John commented with a smirk hidden behind his helmet.

"Not funny Bats!" The man said as he got up ready to deal out some more punishment, however he was stopped by none other than Grundy.

"LUTHOR NOT WANT YOU ALONE WITH THEM…" said the big giant holding the madman in place.

"Oh come on Grundy, old pal, what's a couple of nicks between friends?" asked the ghoulish faced criminal with the most innocent smile he could manage.

"GO AWAY…"

"Huh, party pooper…." Muttered the Joker after pulling his arm away and returning to the elevator, pouting along the way.

*I never get to have any fun around here!*

"Thanks…if you hadn't come when you did...Can I have some water?" asked the dark hero weakly to Grundy.

"…OKAY." answered Grundy before fetching the man a drink while they both watched on.

Grundy held the cup up for Batman to drink. The hero took a bit in his mouth before squirting it above his head into the stasis field projection device causing it to short-circuit.

"HEY!" The living corpse yelled.

"Thanks." said Batman said as the machine blew in a shower of sparks.

"UH-OH, MR. LUTHOR WON´T LIKE THIS…" groaned Grundy realizing worriedly what happened.

*J´onn? Can you hear me?*thought Batman trying to reach J'onn.

Back at the Watchtower…

The League was wondering what to do to find their missing friends when the Martian rose with a start.

"I know where they are." He said for all to hear.

"Where?"

"The abandoned Metropolis picture store."

"Let´s go get our boys back." Miranda spoke as she went to grab her guns.

Back at the villains lair…

Luthor was on the table he had previously used to deactivate Batman's belt and Humanite dressed in a scientist's robe with blue gloves. While the others watched on.

They all watched as Humanite started to operate all the machines. Everyone tensed not sure what to expect. The screen on Luthor's table started to glow green before he himself was lifted a foot in the air by some sort of green energy emanating from the table.

As he remained in the air, Humanite pulled a lever, causing a huge current of energy to start coursing through the wires reaching a pedestal above Luthor. Sparks started to fly everywhere as a robotic arm pressed a chest plate over the former businessman's chest before letting go leaving Lex with his chest covered by the plate.

Humanite smiled like a mad scientist and rotated the amplifier on a display unit, while watching his handiwork. The result was the table under Luthor glowing even brighter and the back piece of the chest plate appeared out of it.

Said plate was attached to Luthor's back and connected to parts of the first chest plate, by another robotic arm, forming full torso armour. There was one step left, Humanite smirked and pulled the last lever.

"AAAAAHHHHHAhhh!" the room resonated with Luthor's scream as a huge concentration of energy powered the plates for a few seconds.

Finally, the ape-man turned the machine off.

"Will he be alright?" Cheetah asked her fellow villain.

"This containment unit should stabilize his condition. The next few minutes will tell." He answered removing his gloves and waiting for the result.

"MISTER LUTHOR! MISTER LUTHOR! BATMAN BROKE THAT… STATIC THINGY" Called Grundy running from the elevator to the others.

"He's probably contacted the Martian already. They'll be here soon." Stated the mad scientist taking off his robe.

"WHAT ARE WE GUNNA DO?" The zombie questioned the ape-man.

"Don't... panic." said a deep calm voice spooking the others. Lex Luthor spoke as he was getting off the table; the containment unit was a bluish green with two wide rectangles on each side of the chest and a six point green hexagon on the centre which all glowing a bright green similar to Lantern's ring or that of kriptonite. "We'll be ready for them…once we eliminate the traitor…"

"Traitor?" Cheetah asked not liking where this was going.

The others, minus Deathstroke, were shocked no one was expecting this.

"Think about it… the only way they could have found the bomb was if someone told them… one of us! Fortunately this old place still has functioning surveillance cameras." said Luthor, before picking up a remote and turning on the monitor.

The huge monitor sprang to life and showed 9 different view screens showing all the activity in the past hour. Everyone watched as the view screen in the middle and bottom centre showed Cheetah talking to the two heroes quite emotionally. And then saw her reach towards the Spartans power suppressor.

"Get her!" ordered Luthor.

Grundy was more than happy to oblige, but Cheetah was to nimble and managed to dodge and kick the oversized being in the stomach.

She reached the elevator only to run directly into the Joker.

"Hello kitty." The man said before shocking her with his "joy buzzer"

*ZZAAT!*

"AAAGHH!"

"And they say I'm not a team player." The man said with his dark sense of humor

"Grundy…the pretty kitty is all yours." Luthor said darkly to the brute.

Cheetah was still stunned when the zombie grabbed her. They ignored her cries while Luthor ordered them to prepare, though not before looking at Slade.

"Finish them off before the others get here."

Outside the building…

The heroes arrived and stationed themselves on the building opposite the hideout.

"There. Batman and the Spartan are definitely inside… and so are the rest of them." said J'onn pointing at the hideout.

"So it's a hostage situation. They may try to use them as shields." Lantern said what everyone was thinking.

"Not if I can help it…" stated the green Martian, becoming intangible and leaving before the others could stop him, advancing on the building through the ground.

"Shit…" Miranda hissed "…he could be walking into an ambush."

"We better get ready to hit the place hard and fast." Cortana spoke while the others agreed.

Back in the holding area…

J'onn phased in through the basement wall and into the holding room. Inside Humanite was walking back and forth.

"Batman…Spartan…" Whispered the Martian trying to sneak up on Humanite.

"J'onn, don't…!" called Batman.

"AAAArgghhh." It came too late, J'onn jumped right in the path of an extending pole from the ape-man that stunned the hero with an electrical discharge.

"So it begins…" said Luthor looking at the first casualty from a view screen.

Once more outside…

Without knowing J'onn's situation Hawkgirl decided it was time to act.

"Time's up. Now we do it my way." Said Hawkgirl before flying down with her mace powered up and broke through the door like nothing. The others followed close behind with each hero making their own entrance either it was through the doors, windows or walls.

Miranda and Cortana took the rear with Miranda pulling out her SMG´s as she did.

"Who the hell are you two!" Shade yelled as they did not expect two more additions.

"Your worst nightmare asshole!" The Commander yelled as she fired on them.

Sapphire shielded them from the bullets and started firing one of her rays and hitting Flash sending him into Hawkgirl. The Commander ducked behind one of the statues and switched to her shotgun.

Lantern responded and began to engage the woman in a one on one aerial duel.

Superman took on Grundy…literally taking him through a wall.

Hawkgirl tried to join in but shade covered her in darkness with his nightstick causing her to hit a wax statue. Cortana jumped over her and fired several blades at the man and the Joker who scurried for cover.

"Touchy, touchy…" Joker spoke as he pop up from a cartoon character's statue "…you should stop and smell the flowers, help you relax." He said before firing acid at her.

"Ugh!" She grunted more from discomfort than pain as it blocked her view. Thus the man ran for another place to attack from.

Below, in the holding room, the fight could be heard.

"It's time Batman." John spoke as he looked at the man who nodded as took out a sophisticated lockpick from his right gauntlet.

Both were soon released, though before they could remove the device on John's chest the elevator opened and there stood Deathstroke.

"Well somebody has been busy will we were away."

John ran directly at the man before he could pull a weapon. He tackled him into the elevator wall before turning to look at Batman.

"Check on J'onn! I'll handle him!"

Deathstroke double kicked the Spartan into the panel, causing it to ascend.

"Just you and me now." The man said calmly as he stood up and faces his opponent.

While this happened the League continued to fight the band of evildoers.

Hawkgirl charged at Shade, but the man caught with a shot from his nightstick and made her crash into some statues of two colorful characters.

Diana used her lasso to pull up Shade's stick from his hand. Joker tried to make a run for it but was caught in the princess' lasso and found himself outmatched by her strength.

Shade tried to back him up, and get his stick back but Miranda appeared in front of him and rammed the butt of her shotgun into his face. The princess then put the stick down and started pulling the Joker in.

"Catch!" Joker responded by pulling a doll out of his pocket.

Diana caught the doll in her hand.

"Momma…" Said the doll before it blew up, throwing the princess to the ground.

"Argh!" Before he could laugh the Joker found himself thrown aside as Superman came in through the wall with Grundy hitting him left and right until Grundy hit a staircase.

Grundy tried to fight back but Superman was faster and had the advantage of being a smaller target. Ducking under a right hook, the Man of Steel delivered a right uppercut followed by a three hit left right combo.

Grundy was thrown into another statue; he growled as he pick it up and threw it at the hero. Superman easily cut in half.

Sapphire and Lantern continued their battle until Stewart saw one half flying at her and warned but she ignored it.

"UGH!"

"I did warn her." He said with a smirk.

Shade regained his stick and aimed it at Lantern who had his back turned, however before he could fire…

"Lights out, Shade." said Flash punching Shade in the face, knocking him right into Hawkgirl who took his stick and struck him in the gut and head with it before snapping it in two.

Flash saw Superman pummeling Grundy and was about to help put an end to it, but Joker saw it coming and pulled out some marbles and threw them on the ground. Flash stepped right on them and found himself blown through the air hitting a table, and then a statue.

Meanwhile John and Slade found themselves locked in combat in the cramped space of the elevator as it rose. Slade knew from their earlier encounter that the Spartan outmatched him in strength, speed and, thanks to his armor, endurance.

Hence why he chose to evade the blows and take pot shots at the man.

*CLANG!* John rammed his fist halfway through the metal wall as Slade ducked and struck the armored soldier in the abdomen with as much force as he could with his fists.

Unfortunately for him John barely felt the blows as he grabbed him with his free hand and threw him to the other side.

"Ugh!"

John pulls his arm out and tried to stomp the mercenary. But Slade rolled over and grabbed the appendage struggling with both the weight and the power behind the blow.

"RRRAARGH!" With what strength he had he held it at bay before tripping the Spartan to the floor. Deathstroke leaps on top of him and rains blow after blow on the polarized visor seeing it as a weak spot.

Just as the elevator stops and opens to the laboratory, John grabs the arm and breaks it with a sickening snap.

"Bastard!" Slade snarls as he reaches into his boot and pulls out a Promethium laced dagger and rams into the Spartans right shoulder.

John grits his teeth as he feels the blade go through the bone. He pushes the mercenary out of the elevator and gets up and pulls out the weapon, it takes all of his will not to give into the pain as he does so.

Biofoam is soon administered and he can feel the Bio-Huragok repair the muscle but not the bone, still he presses on as he pulls out his combat knives.

Slade's arm has healed enough he pulls out his sword while keeping his guns on reserve.

"Time to die."

"Bring it."

The battles still warred on as each villain and hero fought to gain ground.

Sapphire got back into the fight and was targeting the Commander who fired her sidearm at her though because of the force field her bullets had no effect.

"Shit on me, why do I get stuck with the purple glowing bitch?"

"Bitch am I?" She snarled at the Commander who intensified her blasts.

"Commander!" Cortana shouted as she saw her in danger "Sergeant I need a boost!" She said to Stewart as she ran in their direction.

Stewart made a spring board for her. She timed her jump just right and flew towards the villainess morphing her entire body into a spiked mace.

"Head's up!" Cortana cried out as she closed in.

"Bloody Hel…UGH!" Sapphire was down for the count.

"Thanks."

"Don't men..." She stopped there as she spotted a very familiar face entering the area.

"Look!" The UNSC A.I pointed in the Spartan's direction as he fought the assassin.

Miranda turned and saw who it was and tried to raise him on the com.

"I can't reach him, something is jamming our signal." She said to her companion.

"It must be that thing on his chest; I can't get a reading on his shields either." Cortana spoke as her sensors showed a power drain on key elements.

*BOOM!* a thunderous clap was heard as Superman was struck by Grundy.

"He's on his own for now!" The Commander spoke as she headed to help against the zombie. Cortana gave one last look before joining in on the battle.

John was fighting as best he could given the pain in his shoulder from the stab wound. He held one knife in a reverse grip to stab and counter in his left hand and the other to attack and thrust in his right. His armor showed signs of damage from the blows he did not dodge in time.

Slade was not better off as once more his body suffered from cuts and blows his enemy inflicted on him, his healing factor was helping him but it was slow given the constant strain.

The mercenary/assassin struck with a diagonal slash that John parried with his left and counter with a horizontal strike with his right.

John maintained a ready stance and then charged at the man, when he felt he was at the right distance he led in with his right in a downward slash that bounced of the sword and brought up his left in wide horizontal slash that pushed the sword away and left his opponent open for a back spin kick.

"Ugh!" Deathstroke grunted as he was launched from the force in the blow into a wall. John ran after him with both knives pointing down in order to end him once and for all. Slade struggled to his feet and saw what the Spartan was about to do.

*I have you now.* He thought as he readied himself.

John stabbed downward onto the man's shoulders…and his blades slide off much to his shock. It was further compounded as Slade rammed his sword into John's stomach up to the hilt.

"Guh!" John let out as he withdrew with the sword still stuck in.

"My torso and mask are laced with Promethium as well Spartan; sorry I forgot to mention that." The man said before delivering a right hook to the wounded soldier.

John turned and fell to his hand and knees. His right hand clutching the hilt.

*Get up! Get up soldier! Do not let your life end this way!* His mind screamed at him and his voice was not alone either, he could hear Chief Mendez and his DIs screaming at him as well.

*Get up 117! I did not spend nearly a decade of my life in the Marine Corps training you to be taken out by a damn mercenary! Get up and fight!*

*Get up trainee! You sure as hell ain't dead yet!*

Slade took out another hidden dagger and pulled his downed foe up with his neck exposed. However John would not go quietly as rammed the back of elbow into the man's stomach and mule kicked him away.

"The fight…isn't over yet!" He yelled as he got up and charges after the man and attack with ferocity only the Brutes and Elites of the Covenant had ever witnessed and regretted ever feeling before he killed them. For the first time, John was going to show to his foe just why he earned the respect and fear of his Covenant foes…why he earned the name Demon.

Punch after punch, kick after kick rained down on Deathstroke who could barely retaliate as his muscles were torn apart as John was unleashing hell. John struck his ribs with the full force of his armor as he slammed into the merc like a bullet train…

"GUH!" Blood flew from the man's mouth from his ribs breaking from the sheer impact.

Slade threw a kick to the hilt buried in the man's stomach but John caught it and twisted it hard to the left and added a deadly amount of force.

*CRACK!* "RAAARRGH!"

The mercenary pulled out a concealed pistol but John batted it away and smashed his wrist with a well aimed punch that shattered the bone and tore the cartilage.

"Son of a…!"

John was not known for being merciful with his enemies during combat but this time he chose to end things by getting him and placing his head in a chokehold. He knew how to do this and he had done it before to Insurrectionists and even the Covenant as well, this time, he was going to kill this man.

"It ends now Deathstroke…"

"Gah…I will kill…you…guh…Spartan!" The struggling killer spoke with utter hatred.

"I think not…" *CRACK*

He let the limp body fall to the floor before he leaned on his uninjured shoulder. The blood he tasted on his lips was a clear sign of internal bleeding. However removing the sword would cause additional damage he did not need will a battle raged on.

He took stock of who was still up and saw most of the League active while only Grundy and Joker were still active.

*Where's Luthor? And Cheetah?* He asked himself.

Deciding that he needed his armor at full strength so he grips the machine on his chest and ripped it off in a shower of spikes. It took 10 seconds at most as power flooded all necessary function in his suit with the exception of the shields because of the sword.

Activating his helmets thermal view mode he looked around the area for any sign of the two, he saw near the laboratory where he and Slade had come from was a figure on the floor.

It was too small to be Luthor and it made no sense that he would be on the ground unless he was caught by some debris fallen from the battles. He walked towards it making sure not to jostle the weapon currently stuck in his body. Common sense dictated he seek out medical help but when it came to battle common sense took a back seat.

He also vowed to protect her should she help them, and though they were interrupted he knew she was going to release them.

He soon reached the room and opened the door, he stood ramrod straight at what he saw… a bloody, beaten and broken Cheetah. Her legs were bent at unnatural angles, her right arm was the same and her left hand…was gone, missing at the wrist, her chest rose and fell slowly though a rasping could be heard.

Forgoing any safety towards himself he ran at her and knelt next to her.

"Barbara! Can you hear me!" He said using her name in hopes of talking to her.

"S…spa…rtan?" She spoke weakly as blood bubbled out of her lips.

"What happened?" He asked as he tried his communications array.

"L…uthor…s…saw me m-me try to f-free y…you…he sicked…Grundy…on me" She spoke with fear and pain; she looked weakly at him at where his face was.

"Am I… going…to… die?"

"Not on my watch…" he said as he finally got a signal through the private comm.

"Redeeming this is Spartan-117, do you read?"

"Reclaimer! It is good to hear from you!"

"I need an emergency transport to the Dawn´s med bay; I have a critically wounded civilian here."

"Understood, are you also in need of medical attention?"

"Yes but my plus one is in worst shape, contact the others and inform them of my whereabouts."

"Understood beginning transport."

"Hold on Barbara, we´ll get you better soon." He said reassuringly as they were beamed up to the ship. He was not going to let someone he swore to protect die on his watch, he would be insulting himself and the code he lived by.

Back with the others…

Superman was just finishing up with Grundy after a lengthy battle by slamming him into a wall hard.

"Give it up Grundy and tell me where Luthor is." Superman demanded…he soon got his answer in a painful way.

"Right here!" he spoke as he fired two emerald beams at the man´s back.

*ZZZZAATTT*

"AAARRGHHHH"

The man was wearing a green armor that had a similar pattern on his chest to the containment unit except the rectangles were yellow and the hexagon was red. The color was green but the gloves, boots and belt were purple. The shoulder armor was arched in such a way that it covered Luthor' ears leaving only his face and covered some of the head leaving only recognizable traits.

"And I'm going to enjoy every minute of this." Said the villain advancing on Superman.

"Why so surprised? It's a basic rule of business: Turn every weakness into a strength." He spoke as he continued to fire the beams at Superman who was screaming in the pain. The beams were likely some form of focused kryptonite radiation.

"Of course that's a lesson you may not learn to appreciate…"

"Neither will you, Lex…" Humanite spoke as he electrocuted Lex with the same weapon he used on the Martian.

Luthor screamed in pain, when as he turned around only to be shocked by who it was… "Et tu Humanite?" said Lex before collapsing.

"Don't move!" Stewart ordered while tehe others closed in on the man-ape.

"I surrender…" said the genius dropping his electric rod.

Joker managed to hide and witnessed everything.

"Ooppsy, time to run. But there is still on little piece of unfinished business…" narrated the criminal pulling out a gun and going to the holding room.

When he got there he found the room empty.

"What!" he started looking around and soon found Batman just a few inches from his face. He raised his gun to shoot him but Batman just knocked it from his hand with a slap. Joker tried to punch him with his left fist but was caught effortlessly by the hero who then pulled it back and punched Joker hard in the face.

"Uegghh! No…no fair…how did you go free?"

"I could have escaped anytime, but I thought I'd stick around and keep an eye on you clowns." said Batman before giving another hard punch to the jaw.

Joker felt his world starting to spin. "…You're despicable…ahhh" he whined before falling to the ground.

Once all the criminals were defeated and secured for transport, the group made a hasty escape to the Dawn, though sadly the media caught a look of both Cortana and Miranda with them thus questions would likely be raised.

Forward Unto Dawn, Medical Bay…

Everyone arrived at the same time as the monitor A.I was prepping Cheetah for emergency surgery while she was placed into a chemical coma. John was lying on a similar bed though he was anesthetized as he was to be operated to repair the damage to his shoulder and stomach.

"What the hell happened to them?" Stewart asked in shock at seeing the damage the mutated cat woman had incurred and John with as he was being readied for his operation.

"The Reclaimer informed me that the one called Solomon Grundy attacked and wounded this one when she attempted to aid Batman and himself, the Reclaimer was also wounded to a lesser extent by the one called Deathstroke the Terminator. Please excuse me while I have the medical drones operate." The monitor informed as he turned towards the machines they modified on the Forerunner homeworld.

"By the Gods…" Wonder Woman spoke in horror upon seeing the damage the woman incurred.

"This is our fault…" Batman spoke grimly "…he promised our protection and a means to return her to normal and then this happens."

"John will not be taking this well." Cortana said sadly as she knew just what happens when John felt he did not live up to a promise.

"What do you mean?" Miranda asked as she and the others decided to wait outside the room for news on them both.

"John takes his promises very seriously, if he gives his word you can bet he will keep it to the letter, it is how he came back for me when the Gravemind captured me." She replied as she held herself.

Having seen the proof of just how far John went to protect those under his watch they could take her words at face value.

"So…what now?" Flash asked.

"Now we wait on them getting better…and then we move on from there." Superman spoke truthfully.

The others silently agreed and began got comfortable while they waited.

The next day

John woke up feeling a bit groggy as the drugs lost there hold on him…he was greeted by the sight of his allies and friends.

"Welcome back John." Miranda said with a smile.

John tried to sit up on the bed but she placed her hand on his chest.

"Easy, you just had major surgery."

"Yeah you caveman…" Cortana said relieved that her friend was okay "…I hope this taught you lesson mister, you are to never leave without me again." She said sternly.

"I missed you too." He replied with a small smirk, getting her to smile in turn.

He turned to the others who were there to see him.

"J'onn how are you?"

"I am fine John, the electricity only stunned me for a while but I am all right now."

"Good…" He spoke before turning to Superman and Batman "…Luthor and the others?"

"Locked up, hopefully for a while though…" Superman spoke hesitantly as if trying the right way to say the next part.

Batman decided to pick up the slack.

"Deathstroke was not with them…" He said neutrally.

"What do you mean? I killed him by snapping his neck."

That got some winces from some of the group but they had been warned previously that should it go that level they would not be judgmental.

"No John…" Cortana spoke up "…his body wasn't anywhere near the place you fought…there was blood but no body."

"How…?" He asked with confusion.

"It is believed he has some sort of accelerated healing factor, it is more than likely his body repaired the damage and escaped while the others were dealt with." Batman said as he did some research on the man as well as giving Dick a heads up.

"We need to update his file then." John said to his partner who nodded.

*I am going to find a way to turn off that healing factor of yours Deathstroke…and when I do…you will not be coming back.*

"You'll have to be careful from now on, Deathstroke has a tendency to obsess on particular targets." The Dark Knight warned.

"Yeah, he's a real psycho." Flash spoke as he remembered all the times he and the other Titans clashed with the assassin.

"I'll make a note to up our security protocols then." Miranda spoke as she was planning to do so anyway with the revelation that there were two more people in the League, at least according to the media.

John accepted that as he remained quiet before finally asking about one other loose end.

"What happened to Cheetah?"

The group looked at one another before Miranda spoke to him.

"She survived but it was not easy, Redeeming had to flash clone her new arms and legs, as well as a lung, and intestines. Right now we have her in a chemical coma."

"Have you decided what you wish to do with her?" He asked.

"We have talked it over…" Diana started as she looked at her teammates "…and we decide that you should be the one to decide her fate."

That surprised him though he barely showed it.

"I see." He replied before thinking about what they could do to help.

On the one hand she was a criminal, but on the other she did not choose this life out of greed but a necessity to return to normal, she was mortally wounded because he convinced her to help that in turn made her his responsibility.

"I wish to help her. She was wounded because she desired a life of normalcy. I gave her my word that I would help and I intend to do so."

"I thought you might say that John…" Cortana spoke up next to him "…Batman gave me a heads up of what she wanted and provided me files regarding men who have dabbled in this type of genetics, both Redeeming and I have gone over them and we may have found a partial solution." She spoke.

"Her genetics are too far gone for total reversal but we believe that with the right enzymes and certain radiation treatments we may be able to alter her so that she may be able to control the transformation." The monitor spoke up.

"We'll have to keep her in a coma since the procedures would be extremely painful but we can at least give her some form of normalcy."

"All right do it."

"What about afterwards? I mean she still had a hand in attacking us." Hawkgirl stated.

"I believe she deserves a second chance at life since she chose the life of a criminal to try to turn herself back to a normal person. Superman did you not do the same with Volcana? Or you Batman with Catwoman?" He said to the two as he remembered reading up on those two cases that had both heroes deal with the same situation he had found himself in.

"Yes…but Volcana disappeared after 6 months." Clark said as he had yet to determine her whereabouts. He was hoping she would try not to go back to the life of a criminal, but he knew how hard that can be to resist. Volcana had lived most of her life on the run and using her powers to find ways to live, it's not something one could turn off.

"And Catwoman usually picks up where she left off." Batman said in turn as he often found himself wondering what mess she was getting into. No matter how many times he had tried to change her, she remained in the grey.

Selina had tried many times, and some of those attempts were honest, but circumstances forced her back, or she could not resist the rush of the theft as well. It was a great test of his patience at times and he could only hope that it would soon end, but he was not going to hold his breath.

"Yeah but that doesn't mean it's a bad idea guys…" Flash spoke up suddenly as he remembered his old flame Jinx who he was still on speaking terms with "…I mean I had something similar happened to me and she turned out all right, I mean she retired but she is living on the straight and narrow and never turned back to the life."

"That may be but just to be on the safe side I want her watched carefully, agreed?" Miranda asked the Spartan who conceded that it was the wise course of action.

"Well this will be interesting." Cortana quipped before she remembers something.

"I almost forgot here…" She spoke as she handed him a case most commonly used for jewelry.

John took the box and opened it and in it found a medal. He looked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Technically you have been taken prisoner on two occasions…" She spoke as she recalled the incident at Camp New Hope and Installation 05.

Pulling it out he showed a bronze medallion with an eagle in the center, its wings spread wide surrounded by stars, the ribbon was colored red, white and black.

"Prisoner of War huh?" Stewart spoke as he did find it apropriet.

"Now you officially have EVERY single medal in the UNSC, I also took the liberty of updating your personal information for you." Cortana said with equal parts amusement and pride.

"I´m not exactly proud to have this one Cortana…but thank you just the same."

"Well guys let´s go and give him some rest." Miranda spoke as she and the others filled out, though Diana stayed behind a bit.

"I am thankful you are safe John and I shall give thanks to the Gods for having them return you to us." She said with a wrm smile, one he found himself returning.

"Thank you Diana."

"You are welcomed." She said before finally leaving.

Three weeks later…

Consciousness was slow coming for the woman known as Cheetah, she felt like she went ten rounds with a Mack truck and lost every single one.

The soft bed and pillow underneath her plus the medical gown she wore told her she was most likely in a hospital. The reason why she would most likely be a hospital came back with swift vengeance as she recalled the pain that was inflicted on her by Grundy on Luthor´s orders.

So with a startled gasp she rose to a half sitting position on the bed with a start, like any person would she rose her hand to her chest before rubbing her face. It was at that point something registered…she felt no fur and her left hand was still there.

With a startling realization she got out of bed and looked for a bath room, she found the next best thing…a full length mirror behind the curtain.

Despite some lingering aftereffects from the sedatives she reached it in few steps and there she saw herself and gasped.

She had hair once more, rich auburn hair and brown human eyes, her hears were pointed and she still retained her fangs, movement from behind her showed that she still had her tail. More out of a need to know what else had change she ripped of the medical gown and took a long look at her body.

Her skin took on an orange hue while there were spots here and there on her body, she touched one and bound it was part of her skin and not fur as before. She also saw that her musculature was just as defined as when she first took the serum, she would have turned quite a few heads given her figure.

Flexing her hands she discovered she had retained her claws and could interchange them with her human nails and that her tail was much more responsive than before.

"What…what happened to me?" She asked out loud.

"I can tell if you want." A voice spoke from behind.

She turned quickly and she saw the armored clad form of the Spartan, he had a tray of food in his right hand as well as a bathrobe in the other. Upon recalling her current state of attire she gasped and clutched the curtain to cover her nakedness.

John had paid no mind since before cryo sleep the users actually had to strip themselves of clothing or risk complications when they are thawed out. It also help that his sexual drive was repressed due to one of the augmentation procedures so he was not affected by Barbara's nakedness…at least not too much.

He placed the tray on a nearby table and approached her to give her the robe; she gingerly took it and placed it on herself.

"Thank you." She replied.

"You´re welcome, now how do you feel?"

"A bit weak and hungry." She said honestly as she felt her stomach growl for food.

"That is to be expected, we had to place you in a chemical coma in order to treat your wounds, let us sit since we have much to discuss." He said as he stepped aside for her to pass.

She nodded and took a few steps but trip on the fourth one, John quickly steadied her and decided to help her to bed, before she could react he carried her bridal style to the bed.

Cheetah was sure she was blushing like mad and she felt her heart going up at full tilt at this moment.

*No one was ever this kind to me aside from my parents.* She thought.

He placed on it and took a seat in one of the reinforced chairs next to her.

"As I´m sure you´ve seen you are no longer the same as you were before." He started out.

"What happened to me? What did you do? And my hand…" She spoke as she showed the appendage she had previously lost "How is it you put it back on?"

"First off when I found you were, for lack of a better word, on deaths door." He said calmly to her.

"According to the medical report, you had a punctured right lung, multiple fractures along your arms and legs, you intestinal track was severely damage and hemorrhaging and your left hand was gone. By all rights you should be dead by now."

"But then how…?"

"In my reality we have developed a way to clone organs with a 0% chance of rejection to the recipient, using this method we not only created you a new hand but also arms, legs and organs to replace the damaged ones."

She was astonished by that confession as she looked at her arms and felt no different than before.

"Incredible…" She whispered in awe.

"Now comes the next part your new look among other things…but first I must ask you something very important that will define what road you take from here on out."

Noting the serious undertone with which he spoke she nodded and paid attention.

"Right now the authorities are unaware of your current whereabouts and status…"

"…all right." She replied not following where he was going with this.

"You have committed several crimes and hurt many people…yet never once you have taken a life and mostly struck back at Chiron by stealing from them, some would argue you are justified in such an act."

"I´m…I´m still not following."

"There are two choices ahead of you…one we notify the authorities you are alive and well and I see to it you are given a reduced sentence with a possibility for parole…" He said calmly before continuing "…the other choice…we have you legally declared dead…and I and my team give you a new identity…a second chance if you will under my personal watch."

"W-what? You can´t be serious! The League would never…"

"I have made them aware of my plan and after much talk they agreed that you deserve a second chance Dr. Minerva."

"But…but why?" She asked truly perplexed.

*What possible reason would he do that for me?*

"You were wounded because you were going to free us; I know you would have done this. I gave you my word that I would help you and I will honor it, the question you have to ask yourself is this…Am I worthy of this opportunity? Am I really willing to continue a life of an outcast or can I be something more than that?"

Those questions revolved heavily on her, she was honest with herself and knew deep down that only a fool would throw away a chance such as this. He gave her a chance to start over…

"I´ll take the second option… I want…no I need to start again fresh, this time I want to live my life the way I wanted it to be and not be treated like an animal or freak."

"Do I have your word that you will not seek out revenge? And I can tell when I am being lied to, so don´t bother. I am placing my trust that there is still some humanity in you Doctor, that there is some good in you. That's why I am doing this...so do I have your word?"

"Yes you have it…I'm tired of this life…I want things to go back to normal…" She spoke before looking at her hands "…or as normal as it can get for me."

"…I believe you; now then I want you to do something for me close your eyes."

"What? Why?"

"I was told this way would help you concentrate better, so close your eyes and picture yourself as you were before the change." John said to her.

She did as asked and pictured herself before taking the serum, it was vague but she finally obtained a picture of what she once looked like.

"Now think on changing into that form, forget what you look like now and focused on that form as best you can."

Again she was perplexed by his words but followed his instruction nonetheless, after a few minutes she felt something happen…a tingling sensation in the back of her head.

John watched as her skin slowly regained its pinkish hue and the spots receded. He took out a mirror from the cabinet next to her bed and placed it in front of her face.

"Open them now and take a look."

She did and what she found left her speechless and gaping like a fish out of water. With trembling hands she traced the mirror surface and found it was no illusion, it was her normal human face staring back at her.

"H-How…?"

"We could not reverse the transformation, so we did the next best thing and altered it so you could control it, it will take time and practice but eventually I am told that you will be able to switch between the two. And with enough time, you can do it without even having to concentrate, not the most permanent solution but it will help."

She stood there in silence as she gazed at her reflection not believing it could be this easy.

"Is this real?" She asked.

"Yes it is Doctor, you have chance to make a better life now so don´t waste this opportunity."

Barbara tried to find the words to express what she was feeling, for so long she struggled with finding some way to go back to the way things were. Now though…she had a chance to start anew, and she owed it to this man.

Sure it was not like she hoped, but to be able to control her form, to be able to blend with others and without disguises. It was more than anything anyone had handed to her; she now had the chance to live normally and no longer had to hide herself from others.

She quickly grabbed hold of him and silent cried while thanking him again and again. John let her cry and hold him.

*I hope this was the right course of action.* He thought as his life took yet another strange turn.

After she calmed down John told her that he needed to meet the others to get things ready, there was much to do now and he needed to be present.

"I will see tomorrow later then Doctor." He spoke as he stood at the entrance.

"Wait…"

"Yes?"

"Could I…could I keep my name please? And would you please call me by it?" She asked.

"Very well…Barbara…" He said earning a smile, he decided that if he was going to gain her trust then he needed to start building that bridge between them "…you may call me Chief or John, whichever is fine with me." He said as he left her.

"Thank you…John." She whispered as she looked at her face in the mirror and smiled deeply for what he gave her.

*I promise I will repay you John, I will find some way to repay you.* She thought as she placed the mirror down and chose to eat to regain her strength, she would need it for tomorrow she began a her new life. And she hoped that one day, she would be able to show John how thankful she was.

Location Unknown, Time Unknown…

A secret meeting was taking place; sitting in a round table three figures obscured in darkness watched the events that took place three weeks ago.

They focused on three images, one Spartan-117, the other Cortana manhandling Copperhead and finally the Commander in her ODST armor.

"Any luck finding any leads?" A woman asked.

"No, these new ones are as elusive as the Spartan." A man spoke, his voice carrying some authority behind it.

"And we are positive they are connected to him?"

"Fairly, they appeared when he was captured and from video recordings from the interrogation quite loyal to him." Another man said to the others.

"From the looks of things Doctor Magnus was involved with that…thing´s creation." The first man spoke.

"It does seem he was involved, though why such devotion to the Spartan is odd…unless she is more than she seems and came with him." The woman said.

"Some form of Artificial intelligence perhaps?" The second man asked.

"I wouldn´t rule that out given the technology he carries with him, our attempts have met with…mixed results." She said neutrally as she recalled certain mishaps.

"And the other one?" The second man asked.

"Whoever that is…is definitely a soldier, I can tell by the way that person moves." The first man spoke.

"Then it appears that there is more to the man than he let on…increase surveillance and begin test runs on Project Immortal, I want it working by the end of the month."

"Very well."

"I´ll have a list of candidates ready for you tomorrow morning."

"Very well gentlemen that is all." She spoke before all three left the room.

To be continued…

A/N: And so here we are again, I know it took a while but when balancing work, school and this well…delays tend to happen.

This story is now on hold while I work on some new stuff, though nothing will be published until my other Halo story is updated. It is necessary I assure since the Amazon arc is next and I will quite the hurdle to pass.

Let´s face it I'm not giving him any warning when it comes to facing Hades, there is now additional firepower to help him, so I have to really work on this hard to get it right. I will say that Alexa and Artemis will appear in this story, though I am still debating whether or not to place Donna Troy in this.

I will make a bit of a confrontation between Artemis and John as well as have the Gods take note of him, or more precisely a certain God of War if you catch my drift, hope I can pull this off.

Deathstroke will return to plague John again, he bit of more than he could chew with him and got burned badly at the end, Hell he lost his sword to the man. I hope the fight was to the satisfaction of many.

Cheetah will obviously take a liking to our hero, and in time may jump start Diana´s jealous tendencies when she sees her flirt with him, talk about cat fight.

I´m bit worn out now so I will answer reviews next time, hope you enjoy this chapter. Peace out.