Chapter 21: Reflection.

"Why don't you take a good look at yourself and describe what you see,
And Baby, Baby, Baby, do you like it?" - Led Zeppelin

Now check this out.

Don´t worry if you´re feeling cold. It´s almost a gift to feel something like that in this place. Besides panic, of course.

There are two people here with us.
They have faced forces that could make the best soldier in the world run home crying for his mother.

But in this place, oh, in this place everything is the worst of the worst.
There´s nothing here for us and even though we want to escape far away from and hide ourselves under the blankets like scared little children we are also fascinated by the events that we know are going to take place in this spot.

Thank God we are with them.

Even though, in this place, you can see them nervous. They would not be here if it wasn´t absolutely necessary.

Neither would we.

Oh, look, those big deformed, obscene door are opening.

They are welcoming us.

We have been here before.

Welcome to Hell.

Inside the cave the fun was just starting.

"ALERT. ALERT. POSSIBLE ATTACK. POSSIBLE ATTACK. ALL SHIELDS UP."

The robotic voice just wouldn´t stop.

"Those holograms/shields that hide the Manor are quite effective. I´m not sure finding us is going to be an easy task for them"- Wally said.

"They are going to make us show ourselves." Batman replied.

"What?"

"They are not coming for us. As I said before, we´re going to end facing them."

"Why are you so sure?" Kyle asked.

Batman´s face was even more serious than usual. He said nothing but he pointed one finger at the big screen bin front of them. They could see someone coming out of the big spaceship in the middle of Gotham ruins. That someone was a crazy sadist called Desaad.

" I hate that guy." Wally said.

"Oh, my God!" Kyle said. "Isn´t that..."

Desaad smiled, like someone who knows he´s being watched. Besides him a brown haired woman was held captive by a huge parademon.

"Lois Lane." Wally whispered.

"Oh, sh-"

"Yes. That´s her." Batman said.

"What are we going to do when he sees this?" Wally asked.

Behind them, a red and blue blur passed. Then a rumble.

Then nothing.

He was gone.

"He already knows." Batman said.

Superman was flying high and he felt his muscles trembling.

He felt the need to destroy everything in his path. The woman of his life was being held by a guy that could do the most unthinkable things to her only for the pleasure of it.

The woman that left him, so many years ago.

The woman that was the mother of the son he never knew.

The woman he never stopped loving for even a second since she left.

The Last Son Of Krypton was really angry when he hit the hordes of Parademons.

And he was completely alone.

That idiot!" Batman growled.

"Emotional involvement." J´onn said.

In the screen they watched Superman using his heat vision against his enemies and paredemons dropped down like flies, screaming.

"Let´s hit them hard!" Aquaman said.

"I´m going after him." Diana said.

"Wait. We can´t go on full disclosure, like amateurs." Batman said. "Diana, J´onn: go over there and help Superman. And don´t hold back with those bastards."

Wonder Woman and J´onn got out of there while Kyle looked impatient.

"How about me? I could be of great use over there!"

"Yes, Lantern. That´s why I think you should stay here".

"I don´t get it".

"Your will is what makes your ring work, but it will be no match against HIS will."

"What are you talking about, Bruce?" Aquaman asked.

Batman sat down in front on the screen and pressed a button. An image of Desaad holding Lois Lane by the hair appeared.

"Lois is the decoy. That´s why I sent Diana and J´onn. Maybe they have a chance of rescuing him."

" ´Him´...?"

"I could run over there and take Lois..." Flash suggested.

"No. The shield around Desaad is too strong for you. Perhaps too strong for Clark too. Desaad is not going to let it down because his plan is other."

"So, we stay here while Superman, J´onn and Diana fight the parademons?"

"Something like that, Kyle. Until the moment comes..."

"What moment?"

"The surprise."

"Kal! Stop it! you can´t let your emotions put Lois in danger like this!" Wonder Woman shouted.

Superman did not answer, he kept pounding at the desperate parademons, kept hitting their skulls against each other´s.
Four parademons fell in flames when he hit them with heat vision.

"J´onn, you have to calm him down. He´s going to get himself killed!" Diana said.

The martian was almost not moving using the power of his mind to make parademons go against their own.

"I can´t, Princess. He´s cutting loose all of his rage. I´m not strong enough to hold him back."

It was then when it happenned.

The leader of the parademons, dressed all in black, his face covered with a mask of the same colour, jumped from the ground and hurled himself towards the Man of Steel at full speed.

Superman had his air knocked out of him and flew backwards but it did no good to him because the parademon came back from above hitting him hard on the back of his head.

Superman fell down to the ruins under him. He landed hard on his back and the ground trembled. He was soon sorrounded by parademons but they wouldn´t make a move.

Superman got up, feeling a little dizzy. He looked around. The parademons were looking at him like hungry hyenas but they were not attacking.

"C´mon! Are you afraid of me?" Superman yelled to them.

"No, you big idiot." A voice said above him coming down from the sky.
It was the parademon leader.

He landed in front of Superman who was astonished.

"They are afraid of ME!" the parademon said taking off his mask.

Superman´s eyes widened when he saw the face that was revealed to him.

"You. You´re... you´re..."

The black haired kid that was in the black suit smiled at him. At smile that was too much like his old man´s.

"I am your son. Mark Johnathan Kent."

Superman could not answer. His own son attacked him with a fury that was alien to him.

"Excuse me if I turn on the heat, dad!" the kid said as he hit Clark with heat vision.

Superman felt that and fell down on his knees. He could smell his own burnt hair.

"Son... no..."

But Mark delivered a kick to his stomach that almost made him faint.

"You know, old man..." the kid said "I´ve been waiting for this."

So this is Hell.

Those are the damned that scream and beg for mercy, that beg for retribution.
That claim they are guilty and they deserve it.

Some say they are innocent.

And all these demons around us, ready for destruction, ready to rip us to shreds.

Then we feel the presence, and they do too because they go back even though they are still growling and drooling and wanting to rip us to pieces.

The demons are scared.

The demons are silent.

The thing they are looking at, the images that has stopped their urge to kill is product of the power of the former Lord of Order.

That´d give us some time.

He has been here before.

Dr. Fate.