Glad you all loved the coming of Hellboy. He was planned for this originally but I hesitated for a while until the Injustice DLC reaffirmed my decision, thus his inclusion. However I will be throwing this out here and now, TMNT, nor any of the MK characters will be making any kinds of appearance in this game save for references amongst the nerdier characters in DC and Halo. Basically any who have played video games like Ryan Choi if you have seen his character banter.
But anyway, this is gonna be a good one ladies and gentlemen. I find it funny that I made a guy like Noble Six, a man who was made of the advancements of science get involved with things beyond the understandings of the Halo Universe. Nice bit of irony I just realized.
And Raptor of Sanghelios, you managed to call it out before Hellboy arrived so big shout out to you
This chapter will be awesome as so many plot points will be furthered and the interest in Six's sword will be addressed.
Honestly, let's just get on with this one, I'm just excited for you guys to be reading about this
Also a big shout out to all those who reached out to me on listing down the Spartans that are currently alive at the time of this story. This is happening before The Infinity finds the Master Chief so certain Spartan teams like Black Team still live.
And Happy new year's everyone
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Noble Justice Chapter 26: Your Body it has torn through, withered in every Place
January 9th 05:00 am
Rose gave the trucker his order, giving him a complimentary smile which he returned with a small nod.
The diner was half full with patrons eating away, chatting idly with one another.
The day was quiet and peaceful, with the sun shining down on the shining white blanket of snow on the ground.
Outside the diner, two black vans pulled up into the parking lot. From the first car came two well-dressed men in suits with pitch black shades on who went over to the second van.
Two more well-dressed men came out and the four of them moved to help out an elderly, sickly man who looked as though he was severely malnourished who was sitting in the back.
Two pulled out an electric wheelchair while the other two gently lifted up the sickly, pale man and seated him into his chair.
With a breathing apparatus to the nose and hand on the controller, the pale man guided his wheelchair into the diner.
Where it was sunny just a few short minutes ago, dark, ominous cloud began shrouding the morning sky before a somber gray was now cast over the diner.
And like that…a switch flipped.
The patrons within the diner began eating more savagely, ravenously as if their lives depended on the very meals they had in front of them.
Several couples began hungrily kissing one another, ripping each others clothes off.
The three waitresses began stuffing money and coins into their pockets, bras, whatever they had on them to store money while the cook in the bag dug his hands into the fryer. He didn't bat an eye as the grease literally burned through his skin to the very bone while devouring the fries within them.
All around, pandemonium reigned and escalated while the elderly man in the center of it all simply sat their calmly and silently as if everything that was happening around him was not transpiring whatsoever.
Slowly, a menacing, creepy and malevolent grin etched its way onto the man's face before he whispered out with satisfaction "Hunger"
Suddenly, the patrons then turned violent and began attacking and clawing at one another. They used whatever they had on hand to try and basically kill each other.
It turned bloody in less than 30 seconds and no sooner than five minutes pass, all the people inside were dead.
"You haven't lost a step Frank" Said a blond man in a sharp black suit with a red tie, slicked back blond hair and three diagonal scars on his face
He looked around the diner of dead civilians, smirking slightly.
"Sometimes I forget how wild shit can be when two of us come together" The blond remarked "Remember the times when all four of us galloped in across Europe in the 40's? Classic"
"I see you're still as punctual as ever, William" "Frank" said tiredly, whirling his chair around to face his brother "Not that you ever cared about formalities. Desmond always had the most trouble reigning to in"
"I'm conflict incarnate Frank" Will said with slight annoyance "Desmond is always the eventuality. Me, I'm one of the paths"
"War" Frank scoffed "It's all you ever think about"
"Oh I'm sorry, Famine" Will said snidely "Last I checked, you said this country was candy land for ya. You haven't left since the 50's"
"I've done my duty"
"Yes, with your agents" Will said impatiently "In case you forgot, Famine, your purpose isn't just limited to here"
"I'm well aware of my duty, War" Frank shot back with a glare "I just can't help it here. These types of countries are too far and few in between. Aren't you also the same person who said that the two of us are not even needed that often?"
"True" Will conceded "But you're limiting yourself here, brother. Look at Percy. Since his change before the bubonic plague, he hasn't looked back since"
"Yes, well not all of us can reinvent ourselves like he did" Frank said tiredly
"Besides all of that" Will waved off "Do you have it?"
Frank inclined his head to one of his assistance who immediately walked out from the diner to the car.
"I still do not understand your fascination with this 'Spartan' from another universe" Frank chided tiredly "It almost feels like an unhealthy obsession really"
"Oh Frank" Will shook his head in amusement "You'll meet him soon enough. And he may not exemplify Famine but you'll love his aura around him. When that time comes, then you'll see why"
In walked Franks assistant with a sheathed broadsword.
"Ah" Will said with satisfaction "The sword of Beowulf. Held by one of the most fearsome warriors to walk this land"
"Is it true that the Spartan is in possession of the ancient blade?" Frank abruptly inquired "I've heard some rumors circulating around him"
"Yes indeed" Will nodded, casually pulling out the blade momentarily to inspect the metal. Lightning shot out from the sword but both War and Famine were unaffected by such displays of menial power.
"Defeated the golem under the mountain and the Singing Assassin" Will said, sliding the sword back into its sheath
"You've been keeping tabs on him"
"Of course I would. He's fascinating to watch" Will said like it was the most obvious thing in the world "But he needs another challenge. Him and those group of young heroes"
"It almost sounds like you want them to survive" Frank gleaned, eyes narrowed
"And you don't" Will countered, brow arched at the sickly man "You do realize that ever since world war 2 you haven't left this country"
Famine only glared at his brother who casually snapped his fingers.
A black vortex swirled behind the man before an armored figure stepped through.
He wore a traditional set of medieval chainmail and armor though it was leaner and less bulkier. In between the joints were linked metal pieces stylized like dragon scales to defend the elbows, knees, shoulders and ankles. The helm was round, dome shaped with most of his face being obscure save for the eyes.
The eyes were the only human aspect visible on the man. The pitch black eyes of emptiness matching the pitch black armor and garments he wore.
"I figured a good figure for the Spartan to fight is none other than the fabled Black knight" Will said, tossing the broadsword behind him which was easily caught by the knight
"The black Knight?" Frank said with a frown "I thought he was a symbol? Just a moniker of an adversary"
"Exactly, Franky" Will said, walking around to his chosen warrior in a glide "But this is the original, the real, bonafide Black Knight that once served under King Arthurs court. Ser Balin the Savage at my command and ready to fight, ain't that right Balin?"
The fallen knight only stood at attention, casually withdrawing the sword of Beowulf. Lightning and energy permeated around the fallen warrior who didn't even make a sound as the Sword of Beowulf imbued its power into his being.
"Let's get this show on the road" Will said with an excitable grin
BPRD Headquarters The previous day January 8th 22:00
It was just too surreal for Nathan right now.
Just surreal. So surreal that he just couldn't help but try to sit down. Luckily, there was a metal chair that supported his weight.
How in the hell does he keep getting sucked into this?
The whole superheroes being real was one thing to begin with but since meeting Constantine, he had been getting dragged into these missions and adventures that are clearly meant for men of magic and mysticism, not men of metal and science.
And yet here he was, surrounded by individuals that would Del Toro drool at the sight of them. Dot seems to be gaining a penchant for references now.
Right now though, Six buried whatever turmoil he was in, focusing instead on the task at hand. Discovering who was it that stole the Sword of Beowulf.
There was a large round table which every sat or stood around. Hellboy, Abraham Sapien, Roger the homunculus, Thomas Manning, Liz, Constantine and Noble Six all had their heads turned to Professor Broom who was pulling out files and a datapad.
"So what have you got for us, pops?" Hellboy asked in his deep voice, taking a puff of his cigar
"Well, a sword of great power has gone missing" Professor Broom stated "The Sword of Beowulf"
"Wielded by the legendary hero himself?" Roger asked with intrigue
"It's named after the guy, so yeah" Hellboy remarked
"Weren't we supposed to take that sword here?" Abe inquired
"We would have but the situation was handled by our new mutual ally the Spartan" Broom answered in gesturing to said Super-soldier "And since it has been once again stolen, Constantine here thought it would be much easier if we brought him along for this due to his prior experience"
"Is it true that you're from another universe?" Hellboy abruptly asked, halting the conversation momentarily
Six stared at the red giant before looking over to Constantine. The conman could feel the glare coming from the Spartan and he raised his hands in surrender.
"Sorry mate, got a bit to drunk last time with Red" Constantine said embarrassedly
Six only shook his head, looking back to Hellboy.
"Yes, Dot and I are from another reality quite different than this one" Six confirmed for the entire room
"How different?" Roger asked curiously
"Very" Six said vaguely, actually making Hellboy snort and Broom give a small amused grin
"None of this" Six held up his finger "Exists in my universe. No superheroes, no gods, no magic. Just extremely advanced science. Far more advanced than most anything here"
Broom in the meantime reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate waffle roll(You know? Those cigar things with chocolate in the middle. The hell are they called again?).
He began nibbling on it happily, something that had not gone unnoticed by his adopted son.
"Pops, that's like the tenth stick you've had" Hellboy pointed out "I know they're your favorites but you eat them for the end of the day"
"I'm sorry Hellboy" Broom said with a shrug "I've been having a craving for them since we left from the museum"
Hellboy simply cocked a brow at his father, deciding on accepting that answer.
"Speaking of the museum" Abe now spoke up "There is an interesting few bits of information here"
Abe's hand glided over several of the photos that were taken of the area. These were instantly printed photos that the BPRD utilized where when they took evidence from the scenes, the pictures would be exposed to the air of the scene for Abe to read.
"Hmmm" Abe tilted his head, as if he were listening in on something the photos were telling him "Fascinating, there is an ancient, primordial aura permeating the area and I do not believe it originated from the Sword of Beowulf"
"Primordial?" Roger repeated "What does that mean?"
"Old as shit" Constantine answered "Like, beginning of all things old"
Roger was startled while Broom, Six and Hellboy held troubled expressions.
"How old are we talking here?" Dot asked, popping up beside B312's helmet
"Unclear" Abe stated "There is something missing here however…I just can't put my finger on it"
"Do you think we should return to the museum?" Constantine suggested "Get up close and personal to see if Abe can wave up what stole the sword"
"The museum is still closed at this time" Broom mused, rubbing his chin "If we make haste, we can get there in an matter of half an hour"
"Or" Dot perked up "We could just teleport there with our tech"
All heads turned to the Spartan and the AI
"We've marked down most of Manhattan in a grid that allows me us to instantly teleport anywhere on the island" Dot explained "I've been working on it for several months now and have completed it recently"
"It works very well" Six added
"I could vouch for that" Constantine stated
"So then let's just get to it" Hellboy said "The faster we get there, the sooner we can get this over with"
"It's your call Manning" Broom turned to the head of the BPRD who had remained silent throughout this entire interaction
He was in deep thought during this time, taking in every piece of information that had been thrown around. He had taken everything into thought very seriously, trying to figure out their next move.
They had initiative at the moment, so it'd better to act upon it sooner rather than later.
"Alright then" Manning nodded "Red, Blue, you'll go back to the museum with John and The Spartan to continue this investigation. Follow Constantine and the Spartans leads since they've tackled this case before. Liz, Broom, Roger, the three of you are on standby, be prepared for anything. My guts telling me we're gonna have a long day"
The collective group nodded, with Six gesturing the to the ones assigned to him to come close. They quickly gathered what equipment that was available within the room.
The four stood in a circle around the Spartan who initiated the teleportation sphere.
In the blink of an eye, they were back in the Museum of natural history in Manhattan.
Hellboy and Abraham took several moments to realize just how fast they got here and readjusted accordingly.
"God damn" Hellboy remarked, using his gauntlet arm to scratch his head "That's pretty awesome"
"Indeed" Abe agreed "It was instantaneous"
The aquatic being blinked several times, sensing something a bit unusual come over him but he shook it off. Now he was thinking of getting some Oreo's later on. Maybe they had some at the gift shop.
Regardless, Abe held up both his hands and closed his eyes in concentration. His face twitched as he got a more direct feel of the air here. It was old. Very old. Guiding his hands towards where the Sword of Beowulf was once displayed, Abe shifted about uncomfortably as the old air permeated very heavily around here. It was mixing with the Sword of Beowulf and it was very chaotic. The air itself seemed to just radiate…hunger.
"Hunger" Abe murmured, gaining the attention of the others who themselves were looking around the area
"Got something Blue?" Constantine asked
"Just a feeling of the air" Abe replied "And it's very…unique to say the least"
"Unique?" Hellboy snorted "How unique?"
"It's barely there for starters, and it feels as though it was intentional" Abe began walking away from the broken display stand and into another wing of the museum, closely followed by the others.
"What exactly is he doing?" Six asked the two individuals of magic
"Abe has a telepathic ability of sorts" Hellboy answered "There's that age old expression of reading the mood and atmosphere. He has that power quite literally"
"It's kind of a weird mixture of empathy, mind reading, mystical reading and all that" Constantine said "I really don't know the full extent of his powers really. He's been developing and evolving them for decades"
"Fascinating" Dot remarked, truly interested in Abe and the BPRD overall
It was then that Constantine and Six noticed where it was they were headed to within the museum.
"Hey Abe" John called ahead "Why are we going to the souvenir shop? What, you want a t-shirt from here?"
"The primordial air seems to be getting stronger here than anywhere else" Abe elaborated
Taking his words into consideration, the group followed Abe into the souvenir shop of the Museum.
"The hell?" Hellboy commented
The souvenir shop was trashed. Items were all on the floor, some broken, some still within their boxes.
"Ok, was there a fire sale we missed out on or something?" Constantine remarked, crouching down to lift up a box of a rocket
"All the food is gone" Six stated
"Hmmm?" Abe glanced over to see Six next to the counter
"All the food…" Six repeated "It's missing. There's nothing left. Including the cash"
Curious now, the others approached the cashier counter and examined the post.
"There's some wrappers here" Hellboy noted
"Empty ones" Abe said, lifting up a rather savaged bag of fruit snacks
"And a lot of blood" Six remarked, crouching down over a pool of semi-dried blood
"Someone was hungry" Constantine said, now behind the register "And greedy. There isn't a single coin or dollar in here"
Six looked around, trying to see if there was a camera anywhere here. Spotting several in the corners, Six asked Dot to hack into the servers and gather the security footage to see what had happened.
"Is this why the 'air' you were talking about is so strong here blue?" Hellboy asked
Abe instead didn't respond as he looked a bit more wary.
"The air feels more unpleasant here…but I can't get a trace of where else it leads" Abe said, disconcerted "It just stops right here, as if it vanished entirely"
"Huh?" Hellboy stepped forward "How the hell does that happen?"
"I'm not sure" Abe answered, clearly frustrated "This doesn't bode well, if I were to be honest"
"Constantine" Six turned to the Brit "Any ideas here? Got a tracking spell you could whip up?"
"I could" Constantine mused "But with how old this aura is, it's primordial nature…it may take a while. A day or two at most. That fastest I could come up with is awareness of it"
"Awareness?" Dot said
"If something similar to the air and magic appears here anywhere else, I'd be able to pick up on it immediately and pinpoint the location" Constantine explained
"That works to" Hellboy nodded "Come on, let's head back to the BPRD, report in what we've got"
"One moment" Abe said, looking to Constantine "John, I believe you can cleanse the air here of this primordial energy. It would be best if it were for it may influence other unsuspecting civilians"
"That I can do" Constantine said, cracking his knuckles in preparation
Holding out his hands, Constantine rolled his eyes shut and began reciting an old incantation. Runes and symbols began appearing around his hands, floating and circling them when suddenly they just popped out of existence and Constantine winced at the abrupt ending to the spell.
"Bloody fucking hell mate" Constantine hissed slightly "This is fucking old"
"You alright, Constantine?" Six asked
"Yeah" Constantine said, shaking his right hand "Just realized that this is gonna take a bit more of an oomph if we're gonna rid this area of this energy"
Wordlessly, John reached into an inner pocket of his trench coat and pulled out a switch knife. Without any hesitation, Constantine flipped his knife out and cut his palm open with blood pouring out of his wound.
Not wasting any time or movements, Constantine clapped his hands together and closed his eyes once more.
This time however, Constantine had a change of pitch with in his voice. It was deeper, had a rumble to it that seemingly vibrated the air around him as a white circle began swirling around him.
The blood that was coming out from his cut hand began being sucked into the swirling light and the cut healed itself after the last drop got pulled in.
Once the last drop entered the barrier that surrounded Constantine, it turned blood red and expunged a wave of power that cleansed the air.
Almost immediately, Hellboy, Abe and Six felt an unseen weight be lifted off from their shoulders. The air was clean and it had nothing left over.
"Made sure to get the whole Museum in the spell" Constantine said with a slight pant "Whatever was affecting the air is now gone"
"Nice work, John" Abe praised
"Let's head back" Big Red stated, looking to B312 "Think you can get us back?"
"Dot already marked down your location the moment we entered your area" Six answered
"How'd you do that?" John asked
"It's a bit complicated to explain" Dot appeared "But it's like…I used a forerunner pulse effect. It's used to map out areas that can be instantly placed into Six's helmet. I combined that with the teleportation tech of the spheres to essentially create marks for transport. It's how I mapped out Manhattan and created a teleportation grid"
"Alright, that completely flew over my head" Hellboy said dryly making both Constantine and Dot snort
"Sorry" Dot said bashfully "It does get a bit crazy for what I can process after my upgrade"
"Alright" Six said, pulling out a teleportation sphere "Let's see if it works. The magical energy around your base may prevent us from re-entering but the exit was smooth so it should be the same"
"Alright" Abe said, putting his trust in Six.
Hellboy did the same and watched Six throw the cube down.
They were now back in the meeting room of the BPRD.
Those that were in there, primarily other field agents and Professor Broom jumped in fright, pulling out there guns at the sudden arrival of Six and company.
"Relax everyone, it's us" Hellboy said, holding up his rock hand
Many let out exhales of relief, rubbing their chests as many had their heart rates explode upwards.
Broom recovered quickly enough and went over to them.
"I trust the investigation went better than our first time there" Broom said expectantly
"We found something alright" Hellboy said "But not exactly what we were expecting"
"It's somewhat difficult to explain" Abe added
"Dot managed to get her hands on some of the security footage" Six spoke up "We may be able to find something there"
"Ah, perfect timing then, we were just about to do the same" Broom said "However, I must ask. How on Earth did you manage to get security footage from the museum"
"Dot's handy work" Six said simply making Broom blink then chortle
"Very well, let's compare notes"
Soon enough, Roger, Liz and Manning had joined them in looking over their investigation, with Six bringing up his wrist tacpad.
The tacpad displayed a holographic screen which then expanded outward to show all the footage available from the Museum.
"Let's see what we can find" Dot said, zooming in on the camera footage where the Sword of Beowulf was held.
Dot fast forwarded the footage to the approximate time of the robbery only to find that there was static for the moment. And that's what it was. A literal moment, a gap of static from one frame of the sword being in place to the next showing that it was gone.
All those in attendance blinked.
"The hell was that?" Hellboy said, looking to Six
"I don't know" Dot said in clear befuddlement
"Is there something wrong with the footage?" Abe asked
"Dot, any signs of tampering?" Six inquired
"That's just it, there is none" Dot said "I had already made half a dozen scans of the footage"
"Magic then?" Constantine suggested
"Maybe" Dot said, clearly conflicted "I've been developing many different methods and tech that helps identify any traces of mysticism and didn't find any on the tape"
"But there was something in the air Abe detected, remember?" Hellboy pointed out
"A primordial air" Six said
"Primordial" Dot said as if that word was the missing link "A primordial energy that doesn't register on anything I have"
"So then what happened to the sword?" Roger asked
"Perhaps it is best we continue this investigation through the lenses of other cameras" Professor Broom said, making Dot nod in agreement.
The AI switched over to one camera in particular.
The gift shop.
And what they saw was startling to say the least.
Behind the counter sat the clerk and in front of him was a security guard. They were idly chatting about random topics, having an overall relaxed atmosphere.
Then, a switch was seemingly flicked between the two. There was a long pause of silence when the security abruptly grabbed the nearest candy and began devouring it at break neck speed, greatly disturbing those who were observing.
The cashier then smashed the register open and began pouring the cash into his pockets as quickly as possible. He then joined his security guard friend in eating the candy.
It truly took a gruesome turn for the worst when they began eating some of the harder candy. The sounds of teeth, jaws, bones and candies breaking were heard and blood was seen. Yet the two men were either unaware of the pain or were so possessed in eating the candy that they didn't even care.
Soon enough, the two men collapsed from blood loss with their broken mouths still trying their damn hardest to eat it all.
And once more, static cut the feed and the bodies were gone.
Dot was already going through the museum mainframe in trying to identify the two men who worked there while the others were staring at the footage, greatly disturbed by what they had seen.
"What the fuck was that?" Constantine asked no one in particular, hoping for some kind of an answer
"That didn't make me feel queasy at all" Liz sad with a grimace and a green expression
"I gotta sit down" Roger stated, leaning on the table for support
"Ok, freaky as that was" Hellboy said "What in the name of blue fuck could do something like that?"
Broom brought a shaky hand to his temple, massaging a headache that was growing.
"Abraham" Broom looked to the blue being "Director Manning, would you kindly accompany me to my study. I believe I will have need of assistance in deducing just what it is we're dealing with"
"What about the rest of us?" Roger asked
"Be on standby for the moment" Manning ordered "Just be prepared and rest up"
"I'll go do some research of my own" Constantine said "See what I could find"
"Mind some company?" Liz spoke up, speaking for herself, Hellboy, and Roger
"The more the merrier" John said, turning to Six who was silent "Six?"
"Keep in contact with me" Six said "I gotta take care of some business of my own"
Constantine only nodded as everyone split off for the time being.
The next day
January 9th Happy Harbor 13:00
Zatanna was undergoing training with Cyborg and Rocket. The trio were facing off against Kid Flash, Robin and Wonder Girl i sparring match being observed by the rest the team.
Cyborg charged forward, meeting with Robin who flipped over him.
The boy wonder twirled two electrical batons in his hands and struck the cybernetic hero.
Victor cringed but endured, using his own athletic ability to send Robin a back kick which he deftly avoided.
Kid Flash in the meantime had engaged Zatanna, running circles around her.
The young mystic was trying to concentrate on getting a brief sight on Wally but he was naturally a blur.
Over the course of the past year, much of the team had greatly improved on many of their skills save for the newer members who were just beginning to push the boundaries of their powers and abilities.
Robin had truly begin to create his own fighting style that complimented his natural athleticism with his Bo staff that also splits into the two batons he wields right now.
Wally had also greatly improved in his usage of the speed force as he literally powered through several weeks of training to master phasing through objects as well as conducting lightning around him.
Aqualad's mastery over water based attacks and control also greatly increased, allowing him to call upon greater power when need be. But this was new to him so he only decided to use this in the direst of situations as he was still unaccustomed to the strain that came with this newer enhancement.
Connor had also advanced in his training, truly taking everything he had learned over the course of the past year to heart. Yet he has been experiencing unusual fluctuations with his strength. He has not brought it up to the team because he believes it is only a passing phase and his body may be undergoing some change at the moment.
Miss Martian has mastered shape shifting and phasing and is now focused on expanding her telepathic and telekinetic capabilities, constantly testing her limitations on what she can and can't lift.
Zatanna has her own set of spells that she had trouble with that she was beginning to grasp as well as expanding her knowledge of the mystic arts.
Victor was experimenting with what his technological body to see what if it had the capabilities to not only hack into other tech but perhaps even assimilate it into his own.
Artemis began increasing her diversity of what kinds of trick arrows she holds and customized her suit to become a walking arsenal of arrows.
Wonder Girl had also taken her training up to further extreme, feeling a literal increase in her strength and power. Her sister had stated that she in time will become much more powerful as she grew so soon enough, her old metallic wrist bracelets will need a serious upgrade.
Rocket was also trying out unique concepts with her kinetic like powers, trying out versatile new ways of using her spheres that she conjures up. One of the new methods she utilizes is have a whip of sorts that increases in power the more damage she dishes out, storing kinetic energy within the whip after every weapon.
The sparring match soon ended and Raquel held up her new weapon with a disappointed expression.
"I don't know Dick, this doesn't seem to be my kind of style" Rocket commented "I don't wanna be a Catwoman knock off"
"Yeah one who can break building overtime" Wally remarked
"You know what I mean" Raquel said in amusement
"We could keep trying out new weapons" Robin suggested, holding out his hand for Rocket to give him her current tool
"Like what?" Raquel asked
"We'll just keep trying out new ones until you find the one that works best for you" Robin said "Hey Donna, aren't you well versed in most weapons?"
"Indeed I am" Donna nodded "All Amazons are trained to be able to wield many weapons from spears to bow and arrows"
"There we go" Robin gestured to her "We'll find you something to use"
"Why do you wish to use a weapon Raquel?" M'gann inquired "Aren't your powers enough?"
"All my powers come from my belt" Raquel pointed out "I figured it's better to expand on what else I can do besides relying on this belt the entire time. And every time I make a bubble, I'm basically a sitting duck. I need to find a way to keep myself safe without relying on you guys all the time"
"Well said" Kaldur said approvingly which earned a not so subtle wink from Raquel
The whole atmosphere changed when Zatanna abruptly cried out in shock and pain, falling to her knees while clutching her head.
"Zatanna!" Robin cried out in alarm
Zatanna let out a groan of pain, her head hammering with an outside force.
"What's wrong?!" Superboy asked them both
"Something…" Zatanna grunted out "Is…very, Very Wrong"
"Yeah we can see that" Wally said incredulously
"It's so old" Zatanna let out a pained whisper "So primal"
Allowing instinct to take over, Kaldur turned to the heavy hitters of the team
"Miss Martian, Superboy, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, go out and patrol Happy harbor now!" Aqualad ordered sternly.
They all rushed out without a second thought or objection, already in their gear thanks to training.
As soon as they entered the town, the group of young heroes were greeted to the sight of a town gone mad.
Lust, Hunger, Greed and madness has seemingly possessed the town as people ran about, robbing, "loving", and Eating to their 'hearts' content.
"What the hell is going on?!" Wally exclaimed
"I don't know" Wonder Girl said clearly disturbed by what they were seeing "But there is something in the air here. Something that's causing all this"
"Like what?" Superboy asked, eyeing a couple that was getting to comfortable in ripping off their clothes
"Feels…kinda familiar" Kid Flash admitted with a slight amount of dread
"Yes" Donna agreed "We've felt this somewhere before"
"We have?" Miss Martian asked in bewilderment
"I sure as hell haven't" Connor declared
"We need to get everything under control" Donna stated, taking control "See what we could do. Tie people down, get them to calm down, anything"
"Let's get creative then" Kid Flash said, running off to a robbery occurring within his sights
He saw that it was the police that were committing the robbery.
"Ok, definitely unusual" Wally said, quickly running over and giving each officer a chop to the back of their necks to knock them out.
Connor was helping restrain people who were showing intense displays of intimacy, bordering on pornographic display.
"The Son/Clone/Cousin of Superman" Superboy said to himself in mirth "Down in the nitty gritty"
Using his super strength to hold the first couple he saw apart, Superboy held them gently around their necks to make sure they weren't facing one another because man were they determined.
Sighing to himself, Superboy set both down and as quickly as possible, flicked the back of their heads to render them unconscious.
"Are we sure that's a good idea?" Miss Martian questioned
"Do you have a better one?" Wonder Girl asked rhetorically
"No" Miss Martian admitted begrudgingly
"You could do it much faster and more efficiently though" Wally stated, skidding to a stop in front of them "You just link up with every mind in every area that you go to and put 'em to sleep. The rest of us will handle the outskirts. All of Happy Harbor has gone to hell"
Now assigned with a clearer objective, the young heroes rushed into Happy Harbor at full force.
All around them, pandemonium reigned.
A literal hungered craze seemingly possessed everyone in this town. Nobody seemed unaffected and the environment itself looked as though it was deteriorating.
"What the fuck is all this?!" Superboy shouted out in a rare instance of him swearing "Has everyone lost their minds?"
"Sure seems like it" Wonder Girl said with a level of fear, roping several people together that had blood dribbling from their mouths from something they were eating.
They looked completely ravenous and insane. One of the women looked upon Wonder Girl as if she were a fine prize and began obsessively attempted to remove her clothing and throw herself at that amazon. No sooner than that, all those she had bounded followed suit and were trying to strip down and go after Donna in a sexual manner.
Wonder Girl was greatly startled and disturbed by these actions and quickly moved to incapacitate them.
"What is going on?!"
Donna and Connor turned to see Aqualad and Rocket had joined, both bug eyed at witnessing the civilians actions.
"The whole town has gone to hell" Kid Flash exclaimed, announcing his arrival.
"What could possibly be the cause of all this?!" Rocket asked in astonished disgust
"Team"
All heads looked up to see Red Tornado flying down to them.
"What has transpired here" The Leaguer inquired
"Everyone's lost their minds here" Wally shouted gesturing wildly to the town
"Zatanna experienced some kind of disturbance with her connection to magic and we came out to find all of this"
"League communications have also been cut off" Red Tornado informed, making the young heroes grimace at the news
"Wonderful" Kid Flash remarked "How's Z?"
"Better now, but nursing a headache"
The team turned to see the rest of their friends and comrades join them in this madhouse, Zatanna looking slightly pale.
"Are you alright, Zatanna?" Miss Martian inquired
"Got a killer headache" Zatanna said sadly "And it's not gonna go away anytime soon"
"What should we do then?" Artemis asked
"We need to pinpoint the source of all of this" Robin stated "If this is a magic based disturbance, there must be an epicenter to it all"
"Like the time Klarion separated the earth in two" Kaldur said getting an affirmative nod from Robin
"That's just it" Zatanna said with hesitation "I don't know how to pinpoint the source of this disturbance. The magic in the air is old. Older than anything I had ever encountered"
"Fire" Artemis said suddenly, pointing to a store that burst into flames. Of course, this being a horrible situation, the embers and pieces of flames spread quickly and other buildings and establishment caught fire.
"They're erupting all over town" Superboy stated, his enhanced senses picking up on the sounds of other areas being caught in flames.
"Team, get a grasp as to what is transpiring here" Red Tornado instructed "I shall handle damage control"
Red summoned a tornado and flew off, quickly dousing the nearest fires.
"Alright, now what?" Rocket asked the team
"We find the source of this" Aqualad stated firmly "There must be something within this town that is the cause of all this"
"Then we spread out and search the area" Robin said and they did just that, pairing up to carry out their task.
This proved to be more of a hassle then a search party as the team had to constantly pull people apart from performing maddening acts of intimacy, food consumption and over the top thievery.
Until…
Cyborg and Wonder Girl stood before a Restaurant that was seemingly untouched by the insanity around them.
They glanced at one another and both, with tech and natural mystical connection, felt an unusual energy radiating from the establishment.
"Hey guys" Cyborg contacted the team "Donna and I found something"
"What is it?" Kid Flash asked
"Converge on our location" Wonder Girl stated
No sooner than several minutes transpired had the team reunited once again, all standing before the untouched restaurant.
"This place is completely untouched" Cyborg stated
"There is a dark aura surrounding this place" Zatanna said, visibly shivering and paling
Robin had his hands on her shoulders to steady her.
"What do we do, Kaldur?" Dick asked his Atlantean friend who stared fiercely at the restaurant.
"Cyborg, Wonder Girl, Artemis, Kid Flash, Rocket" Aqualad ordered "You're with me, the rest of you, stay out here. Inform our plans to Red Tornado and find a way to get into contact with…"
"Six" Wally abruptly stated
"Pardon?" Several team members asked at once, looking to the speedster who held an intense gaze
"Try getting into contact with Spartan" Kid Flash rephrased "Something tells me we're gonna need him more than we need the League for this one"
"How are you so sure about that?" Connor asked
"Call it a gut feeling" Wally said, eyes narrowed as he went in first
The rest of the team was very much bewildered by Wally's actions but nonetheless did as they were instructed by both him and Kaldur.
Donna in the meantime had her thoughts and "subconsciously" her heart stray to Six.
She had contemplated as to why Wally would suggest calling upon Nathan's aid in this. Then again, these thoughts had also crossed her mind upon seeing Happy Harbor in such a state. What was it that connected her, Nathan and Wally to this scenario?
Her eyes immediately realized upon remembering just what this was reminding her of.
Just as they had entered the food joint, Wonder Girl attempted to yell out a warning for her friends only for her to be too late.
She, along with the others who were to enter the Restaurant got sucked into the place by an invisible force.
This greatly alarmed those who remained outside and they rushed in to get their friends only to find themselves being blown back by yet another invisible attack.
Superboy growled in defiance and jumped to see if he could power through whatever it was that blocked entry into the restaurant. Upon reaching a foot from the door, a painful paralysis seized the young Kryptonian-human hero.
He was flung back violently to the others, crashing into Robin and Miss Martian.
"What was that?" Robin groaned
"I don't know" Connor said, picking himself off the ground and helped his friend and girlfriend to their feet.
"It's the source" Zatanna said in wide-eyed terror "The source of the primal energy permeating the air"
"And it's sucked in our friends" Miss Martian said, panicking at the notion of her comrades in such danger
"Robin" Red Tornado flew down towards the four heroes "What has happened? Where are the others?"
"They got sucked into that restaurant" Zatanna answered, shivering still "Some invisible magic or force pulled them in and now, we're locked out"
"There is nothing that could be done?" Red asked
"Red, in case you haven't noticed, whatever is in the air is making my girlfriend pale and shiver" Robin said sharply
"Apologies Robin"
"It's alright, it's just…I know your feeling" Robin said frustratingly
"I could try phasing through the barrier" Miss Martian suggested which was immediately shot down by Superboy and Zatanna
"If Superboy and myself can't get through it…" Zatanna let her unfinished statement hang in the air
"M'gann" Superboy said softly "We're just gonna have to trust them and hope they get out of there"
That did little to alleviate her concerns but sadly, that was all any of them could do right now.
Within the restaurant, the team members that got sucked in quickly got to their feet.
They created a circle formation in order to see if they were surrounded by any enemies only to find a completely empty plaza.
No sound was heard...
"Mm, MM! This is some gourmet steak if I do say so myself"
The young heroes turned to the source of the voice.
Some eyes widened, but none more so than Donna and Wally.
A man in a blood red suit gently brought a napkin to his lips to wipe off the smear the steak had left behind. He turned to face them, three diagonal scars running across his face which creased up upon his wicked grin.
"Hey kiddos" The Horsemen of War said jovially, getting up out of his seat with a spring in his step
Before anyone could move or say anything, all of them where now on the ground, being pushed down by some kind of intense gravity that seemingly made their muscles feel like Osmium(I know science words. This is the densest metal making it the heaviest metal known to man).
"Look at you all" Will said happily, arms open with a malicious grin "Especially you two"
Will stood over the motionless, visibly struggling forms of Kid Flash and Wonder Girl.
"Both of you have made some growth" War commended, kneeling down to Donna.
War's face was scrunched up in confusion and concentration after briefly overlooking the other heroes. Donna had managed to position her head where she would be able to look War in the eyes, showing no fear.
"There's something different about you" War said aloud, tapping a finger to his chin "Not just your strength. You have an edge of bloodshed on you"
He slowly twirled his finger around Donna's hair momentarily, creeping out the others which worsened when he took a whiff of his hand.
"Ah" Will nodded in understanding "So you have consummated with the Spartan. His scent has been embedded onto you"
Some had their eyes widen a bit, with faces cringing at the fact that one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse just ousted that very personal piece of information.
Donna on the other hand, remained fiercely defiant, trying to glare holes into the physical representation of war.
"Oh, you truly have improved" War nodded in praise "It's not just in physicality but in your mentality as well. What was it that brought about this change? The Spartan?"
War need only look to their eyes to see his statement proven true.
"Yes, yes, self-growth and the desire to form your own path indeed gave you all the kick start that you required…" War began pacing around the down heroes "But upon seeing the Spartan's own individuality and his own capabilities, that lit a spark in you all, did it not? It was you, young Atlantean and you young Speedster with the young mortal and half alien that decided upon your journey to secede from your mentors was it not?"
"Ok, seriously, can you stop talking?" Wally gritted out "We get it, you know everything about us"
"Kinda creepy that you're stalking us" Rocket said defiantly
"Not everything" Will scoffed "I had only been keeping an eye on you all since Bialya. Took some time in my case to fully understand the concept of this team"
"Why are you doing this?" Wonder Girl at last asked
"Doing what?" Will asked with a tilt of his head, then realizing what they were asking "Ah, this little show. No, no, my dear. Have you forgotten? I am War. I bring Conflict, violence and Death. This is the work of my brother"
That made the entire team visibly pale in absolute horror.
Another Horsemen of the Apocalypse was here?!
"Hmmm, I do admit however? I understand that some are more naturally resistant to the powers of the Horsemen but this is pretty resilient considering how much power he had dispelled upon the area" War mused before shrugging
"You're all smart, aren't you?" Will asked, idly twirling a knife in his hands that he had seemingly pulled out from nowhere "Figure this one out"
There was a fleeting moment of silence
It was Wally who came to the conclusion of the cause of this madness.
Several hours earlier
Constantine had returned to the Bureau, stacks of scrolls and books in hand. He joined Manning, Abraham and Professor Broom in their investigation of what had transpired in the museum.
The rest of the field agents of Bureau had simply taken their time to rest seeing that it was late or chose to preoccupy themselves however they can.
So Hellboy ended up joining them, idly skimming through a book he randomly picked up.
"Old air, Feeling of want" Abe murmured aloud "This could be a number of things"
"The key component we have my dear Abraham is what you detected as well" Broom said quickly "Primordial. Old, ancient and lost magic"
"Lost magic" Manning repeated "Could that mean we don't have anything on this then?"
"No way mate" Constantine immediately shut down "That is a generic, overused cliché in all forms of magic. Every type or form of magic started somewhere and is in one way shape or form documented. It's an unspoken universal law"
"Constantine is right in the matter" Broom said "But it is the matter of finding said magic that always leads to such difficulties"
"That's typical" Hellboy wryly commented
"But I am curious" Broom then looked to Constantine "John?"
"Mm?"
"How exactly did you come to know the Spartan?" Broom asked, seemingly out of the blue
John blinked at the professor and then looked to the others who were now staring in curiosity at the conman.
"Now that ya mention it pops, how did you meet the guy?" Hellboy asked "He sure as hell doesn't strike me as someone you would just up and become friends with"
"Yes and you're just brimming with charisma" Constantine wittingly shot back
The others chortled while Red only deadpanned at the mystic who scratched his chin.
"There's actually a funny story about that" Constantine said, remembering their first meetings "I met who he was outside the armor before I met him with his armor"
"So there is a man beneath the metal" Abe stated
"More than you realize" Constantine said "I know most everything about him. Who he is, where he comes from, what he has done in his life. It's strange to think he trusts me that much"
"It's strange for anyone to trust you that much, whatever much is" Hellboy added
What he got was a bucket of water spilling over his head.
"Cool down there Big Red" Constantine quipped cheekily earning a grumble from Hellboy who went back to the book he held, but still listening nonetheless.
"It was honestly a strange way to become allies" Constantine remarked "We became situational partners over the Sword of Beowulf, I'll tell you the full story another time. One thing lead to another and then we went and partnered up to take down that lunatic Cult that Kobra formed"
"So you brought them down then?" Manning asked "They've been on our radar for some time"
"Wrong" John shook his head "Six brought them down. He killed Kobra, stabbing him right through his heart. Performed clean up soon after"
"Least we know he's willing" Abe commented blankly
"More than we could say about most of them" Constantine idly added, looking over the scroll in his hands
Let out a frustrated sigh, Constantine tossed it aside.
"What are we missing here?" Constantine said, getting irritated by their lack of progress "Hunger. Abe said that there was a feeling of hunger in the air. What, like…"
"Famine" Hellboy abruptly stated, standing up out of his seat
"Pardon?" Broom said in befuddlement
Hellboy only held up the book that he was reading. It was the book of revelations.
Glancing down to it, Hellboy read aloud only one passage.
"And then will come Famine, riding on a black steed" Hellboy read with an edge to his voice "He will ride into the land of plenty and great will be the Horseman's hunger for he is Hunger. His hunger will seep out and poison the air"
"Jesus fuck, another Horsemen already?" Constantine said with great alarm
"Another one?!" Manning and Broom both said in unison
"Yeah, I'll tell you about it later" Constantine promised "Right, ok, this is all starting to make a bit more sense now"
"Yes" Broom nodded "Now that we have a clearer idea, primordial makes sense now. Before even the birth of Christianity, the concept of Famine, of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in general came with the birth of humanity"
"So there are methods to track a horsemen?" Manning asked
"And dispel the powers that they exude" Broom said
"I think I got something like that at the my home" Constantine sad, opening a doorway to the Sanctuary's library
"Abe, you go" Broom ordered, with John looking at Broom in confusion
"Just show him the section and I trust Abe will find it" Broom hurriedly explained "I believe you can track the Horsemen's movements faster than we can"
Conceding to Broom's reasoning, John handed Abe a marble that he said would allow him direct access to wherever Constantine was upon throwing to the ground.
"First things first" Constantine went for one of his coat pockets and pulled out a sphere.
He simply gripped it tightly and it began glowing orange.
With Six
Six was looking over his armor, personally checking for any details he may have missed. He sat alone, in his HQ's armory that Dot had made.
Earlier, he had business he had to attend to.
That business being just trying to figure out what the hell the sword was.
Professor Broom had taken an interest in the sword and Constantine stated that there was more to this blade then meets the eye.
He recalled upon where the vigilante known as Tatsu under her civilian guise had bestowed him this weapon.
There were only six other men who held this blade.
Now he was the seventh. Noble Six, the seventh user of the sword that clearly had a level of sentience.
He felt that he wasn't accomplishing anything with said blade, so he set it aside for now in order to work on a small project for himself.
Nathan examined the upper arm pieces of his Mjolnir armor, staring at the carvings he had personally forged.
It was the symbol of Noble Team.
He had been having thoughts about his former team since his arrival here, but recently they had become more frequent. It bothered Six so he felt he might as well do something on the thought. He thought about making a small monument to them which he immediately discarded.
Spartans don't do that.
They fight on.
So for now, he settled on using Emile's old kukri to carve Noble's symbol on his armor. It's the best that he could think of.
His thought process was interrupted when Dot ran into the room in her body.
"Nathan, Constantine is contacting us from the Bureau" Dot informed
Without even wasting a breath, Six mentally called upon his armor and suited up.
Leaving a copy of herself behind, Dot jumped into the AI slot of his helmet and he grabbed the katana that he had on the ground before teleporting away to John's location.
He appeared in a room to see Hellboy, Manning and Constantine awaiting his arrival.
"We know what's caused that freakiness at the museum and maybe an idea as to why the Sword of Beowulf was stolen" Constantine informed
"It's one of the Four Horsemen, Famine" Hellboy followed up, making Six's head snap to big Red
"Are you certain?" Six asked sternly
"It's our only known option right now" Constantine said grimly, already holding up his hands and began muttering a spell
"Hope you guys are ready for a rumble then" Manning said
"We'll handle it, Manny" Hellboy said, raising his trusted magnum
Finishing his chant, Constantine seemingly ripped a doorway in the middle of the room and the trio jumped in.
They landed right in the middle of a restaurant, in front of six young heroes with the Horseman of War standing over them.
For a moment, everyone had stopped and seemingly froze in place.
"Spartan?!" The down heroes cried out save for Wonder Girl who only stared in relief to see him
"Alright, gotta admit, that's an old spell I haven't seen in some time" Will admitted, briefly looking down to Kid Flash
"And for the record, you were right. It's Famine"
Six on the other hand locked eyes with Donna, seeing she was overall unharmed but still in a bit of precarious position. That did not sit well with the Spartan who slowly leveled a glare directed towards War.
War blinked, feeling a killing aura radiate off from the Spartan being sent right at him. The Horseman only grinned in excitement, loving the feeling as it had been some time since he felt such pure bloodlust.
"Why are you doing this?" Six asked in a low voice
"For starters, it's in our nature to bring about chaos, death and turmoil" Will shrugged, enjoying Six's intimidation "We were born this way from the beginning of our inception and it shall be until our ends. Isn't that right, Frank?"
"Don't you pin this on me, William" Said an irritated, growly voice
Everyone turned their attention to the arrival of an ancient looking, withered old man on an electric wheelchair.
Upon his arrival, everyone felt a pressure in the air making the old man grin maliciously.
"Those enchantments on you could only do so much in the presence of two Horsemen" Famine remarked, grin in place
It changed however into a scowl when it landed on the Spartan who now had his rifle pointed at him.
"Is that anyway to treat an old man?"
"Buddy, you're the farthest person who'll be getting any sort of 'respectful' treatment" Hellboy idly stated, having his own magnum aimed right at the Horseman's head
"Now this is a truly special day" Famine said, eyeing both Hellboy, Constantine and the Spartan "Three interests all in the same room along with the ten prospects that reside in this town"
"Let's not waste any more time here Frank" War said impatiently "I want this over and done with cause my presence is required elsewhere"
"Why were you doing this to begin with?" Aqualad asked, still struggling to get to his feet
"Hmmm, if I were to be honest…"
Suddenly the team was able to freely move again and they quickly shot up to find that War was nowhere to be found.
"I did this to see what else the Spartan could do" War's voice came from where Famine stood and everyone saw that he did indeed stand beside his brother
It took a moment for them to process what War just said.
"This was all for me?" Six said, a low key rage building
"People have died!" Wally roared out
"Blame this drama queen here" War idly shrugged off the anger over to Famine "All I wanted was for him to retrieve the sword of Beowulf but then he went off on a tangent as always"
"The sword of Beowulf?" Artemis now spoke up, seeing that she was the only one of the team aside from Zatanna to have encountered the weapon
"So you did steal the Sword" Big Red said, gun still trailing on the horsemen
"Guilty" War said, hands raised in faux surrender "But honestly, after everything that has happened most of the momentum, intrigue and tension has kind of been killed on me"
"Sorry about that" Kid Flash said irritatingly "Let me rectify that for ya"
"KID NO" Kaldur yelled out in vain as Wally ran at full speed towards the harbingers of the end.
War only smirked in amusement and flicked the air in front of him. Wally was flung back violently, crashing through several chairs and tables.
"WALLY" Artemis cried out, running to him
There was a crashing sound and in came the rest of the team from the entrance with Red Tornado.
This greatly annoyed War to no end.
"Oh for the love of god, I wanted this to be a private affair" War yelled out irritably "But no, you little kids just had to get involved"
"The Horsemen of War" Robin recognized him, feeling an unyielding dread takeover
"Oh, a fan club I see" War said dangerously, now raising his hands
"Brace yourselves" Constantine yelled out
War expunged a shockwave that instantly destroyed the surrounding area.
The heroes who had no powers were protected by those that did as they held back the overwhelming power.
Six had an intense glint in his eyes as he unconsciously pulled his katana out from its sheath and ran at War and Famine at full speed.
The moment War witnessed such action, he grinned maddeningly.
Famine stared at the charging Spartan with a critical eye before feebly raising one finger.
As Six brought his sword down to strike, there was an emphatic clang.
War only grinned as Six now face a knight who held…
"The Sword of Beowulf" Constantine and Hellboy said in unison
"Yes" War nodded with pride "In the hands of a novice, nothing more than a firecracker. But in the hands of a true warrior…"
The man who held the sword shifted his grip and the blade glowed.
It then sent out a burst of lightning and some kind of dark energy that blew everyone away.
The more superhuman of the assembled heroes managed to get to their feet first.
"Let's just say that originally, I only wished to test the Spartan" War admitted freely "Since he got his hands on that sword of his. But now? I think we shall see what all your mettle is made of. But first"
War held his index finger and thumb as a gun and simply said "Bang"
A red bolt shot out from his finger tip and struck the knight who now had a red aura permeating around him.
"Have fun kiddos. Give em hell Balin" War said merrily, disappearing along with Famine a second later.
The enhanced knight raised his sword and pointed it forward.
"Six" Dot said warily "There's something off about h…..SIX"
He then burst forward and thanks to Six's further enhancements and another type of awareness, he raised his katana in time to hold back the powerful strike that Balin had delivered upon his own sword.
Six's eyes widened slightly at seeing three quarters of his shield get eaten alive.
Balin was then blown back by the combined punch and kick of Superboy and Aqualad.
The Black Knight however landed perfectly fine only for him to get tripped over by Kid Flash who had recovered.
He was then smashed down into the ground courtesy of Wonder Girls double stomp.
However it wasn't enough as he merely swatted her away.
Thankfully it was upward so she simply righted herself in the air and hovered over him, sword and shield in hand.
"He seems to be outnumbered" Red Tornado commented
"But he may outmatch us" Constantine grimly stated, looking to the only other mystic user here "Zatanna, get over here"
"Keep him busy" Constantine ordered
"No shit" Hellboy deadpanned, aiming his gun at Balin
Aqualad called upon his ability of hydro-kinesis to form two maces.
"Attack all at once" Aqualad commanded "Overwhelm him"
"Like that'll work" Artemis murmured.
Regardless, she pulled back several explosive arrows while everyone else fired off or ran in for an attack.
Balin merely twirled his blade and slammed it into the ground.
A red barrier appeared around him and all those who ran at him, all attacks that were projectile based merely bounced off.
One of those that were closest was Wally who was quickly grabbed by Balin by the wrist and slammed into Superboy and Miss Martian.
He then nearly impaled Aqualad who was save by the last minute by a kinetic bubble courtesy of Rocket.
What greatly terrified both heroes was how his one strike actually left a visible crack in the bubble.
Wasting no time, Rocket pulled Kaldur away from a second strike giving Cyborg the chance to charge up his beam cannon and fire.
Robin and Artemis also launched their respective, explosive projectiles which combined with Cyborgs beam.
The explosion was a brilliant display of light and fire which actually managed to make Balin stumble back.
They all grinned in vein as Balin ran right at them, his body crackling with power which was then channeled into his sword.
Wally barely rescued Artemis and Robin but sadly he couldn't reach Cyborg in time.
Thankfully, there was another who at the very least had some measure of restraining the black knight.
Wonder Girl had successfully lassoed Balins legs and pulled hard, sending him into the sky. He was met with the arrival of Red Tornado striking him with a pin point twister directed at his gut.
However, the fallen knight was not to be deterred. In his fall, he had channeled the power of both Beowulf and the Horseman of War.
Upon impact of the ground, his dispelled his power which in turn sent out yet another shockwave that impacted all.
Six had to throw down his bubble shield which expanded largely, successfully encompassing Hellboy, Constantine, Zatanna, Robin, Cyborg, Wonder Girl and Miss Martian.
Aqualad barely held on with his own aquatic shield that he made for himself, Conner and Artemis.
Sadly, Balin took the opportunity to go after one of the bigger threats. He was already high up in the sky, brandishing his sword right at Red Tornado.
Only for him to get shot out of the sky by a powerful magnum round thanks to Hellboy. But that didn't deter Balin in the slightest who unleashed another wave of power.
Red Tornado fired off his own counterattack, yet it was seemingly sucked into Balins incoming assault.
In the blink of an eye, Red Tornado was sliced in two.
And not just sliced in two. Both of his halves exploded.
The team of young heroes froze in absolute horror at what they had just seen transpire.
Red Tornado, the android, the hero, the leaguer, the first one to be there den-mother…
Superboy roared out in complete rage, jumping high at Balin with all his strength and power behind his fists.
All he saw was red but that nothing in impeding his vision and his complete focus on eviscerating Balin.
Superboy slammed into the knight and managed to get around him.
Arms wrapped tightly around Balins waist, Superboy pivoted his body into that of a German suplex.
The two fell straight down like a missile and landed on the ground hard, kicking up dirt and rubble.
"This fight is gonna go out of hand" Six said to the team intensely "Either we clear out of the town or we clear the town of the civilians"
The team in the meantime had remained frozen in perpetual shock.
"HEY" Six shouted this time, gaining their attention "We need to get this guy the hell away from Happy Harbor. If we fight here, the collateral will destroy this town"
Snapping out of his stupor, Aqualad's expression turned fierce.
"Kid, Robin, Artemis, Rocket" Kaldur said "You will handle getting the civilians out of harms way"
"Leave Zatanna with me" Constantine spoke up "I'll need her help in conjuring a way of dispelling the enchantment the horseman of War placed on that bastard"
Kaldur nodded
"The rest of us need to get him out of the town now" Kaldur said, brandishing spears to emphasize his orders
"Let's go" Six said and everyone rushed into action
Superboy's efforts were proven to be useless as he was struggling to free his neck of Balins hand that was firmly clamped over it.
He was rescued thankfully by Aqualad and Miss Martian who both kicked him back with as much power as they could.
They had done it in an angle where he was launched upwards.
Six jumped into the sky in pursuit of Balin, using his built-in thrusters to catch up to the Knight.
This time however, Balin the savage was ready and met steel with steel.
The two seemingly hovered in the air momentarily until they both began to fall.
Balin was unaware or just did not care as he moved to engage against the Spartan in a fierce clash of blades in free fall.
The small duel ended with Wonder Girl flying in to ram her shield into Balin. She proceeded to use her lasso to tie Balin to her shield and flew at high speeds to the neighboring forest of Happy Harbor.
"That's handy" Hellboy commented, briefly glancing over to the two magic users.
It seemed as though Constantine has finished his instructions to Zatanna as the two were now joining the rest in running after Wonder Girl and Balin.
The large group ran through town seeing that it was mostly cleared out of civilians thanks to the heroes Kaldur had instructed to help keep the people safe.
There were some stragglers here and there but it would be resolved thanks to the others.
Wonder Girl in the meantime had dropped Balin off in the middle of the forest and was flying right at his with her sword by her side.
Balin easily countered her and began his next sword fight.
Wonder Girl struggled momentarily in using her shield to stop the sword.
Balin sidestepped Donna's downward swing.
Donna smacked away Balins sword with her shield.
Wonder Girls shield bounced off Balins armored arm.
Balin shot forward and grabbed her sword arm.
She in turn used her shield arm to hold off his blade.
The two entered a power struggle in an attempt to gain leverage on one another.
Wonder Girl grit her teeth with some sweat pouring down her brow as Balin exerted a higher level of strength. She then cried out in pain when Balin exerted a torrent of lightning.
Balin was abruptly punched back by a large rock like red fist.
"You ok kid?" Asked the hulking beast of a crimson man
"Yeah" Donna was slightly put off by his appearance. Now that she recalls, he had arrived along with Nathan "Who are you exactly?"
"Hellboy" The red giant stated simply "I deal with this shit all the time"
"In over your head against a supernatural force of power?" Wonder Girl asked making Hellboy shoot her a wry grin
"I like you already" Hellboy remarked with a friendly grin
The light hearted mood changed when they saw another explosion of power emanating from the black knight.
He raised his sword and hand up to block the blue mace from Aqualad and to hold back Superboy's fist. Balin then bashed the twos heads together and kicked both back with power. He went after them, sword held high above his head in a movement that clearly displayed the intent to kill.
Wonder Girl of course couldn't let that happen as she jumped in ready to kick the living hell out of him. Balin attempted to deflect her only to go rigid, freezing in place and movement. Donna smashed her foot into his chest with all of her might.
"Thanks M'gann" Donna said gratefully as Miss Martian phased out from the ground below and floated beside her friend
"No problem" Miss M only glared at Balin who once more stood up, brushing aside the attacks that he had endured. He was then encased in a kinetic sphere, courtesy of the timely arrival of Rocket flying in from above.
"Is there no way to stop him?" Hellboy had joined them as did Kaldur and Connor with the arrival Cyborg and Wally. Robin and Artemis used the trees around them to catch up to the rest of their friends
"Not telepathically at the very least" Miss Martian informed "There's nothing in there for me to get through"
"That guys nothing more than a puppet" Hellboy stated "When War and Famine were talking, War said that the Spartan was his original target and he called the rest of you guys prospects"
"Meaning?" Said a male voice, and everyone looked back to see Six had joined them as well.
Before anyone could say anything, the Kinetic shield that Rocket was holding got destroyed and Balin ran forward.
This greatly startled the heroes once more at the ease of which Balin had done this.
They readied themselves for combat once more, but they didn't truly need to at this very moment.
For Balins target was the Spartan himself as that was the original purpose his master had brought him for.
Six sensed Balin coming for him so he collided his katana with the sword of Beowulf, entering into a stalemate.
The others attempted to jump in an help Six but Balin would have none of it and expunged another shockwave of power. This blew them all back, allowing Balin to focus solely on Six.
Balin pushed off from Six and then swung at him from the right horizontally.
Six swung back, parrying the blade.
He moved to impale Balin who side stepped.
Balin brought him sword down which was blocked by Nathan's
In lightning speed, Six pushed off and slashed diagonally at Balin who backed away. But the attack managed to get a cut on Balins armor giving Six the 'signal' needed to continue his assault on Balin.
Like many times before, everything slowed within Six's perspective, entering Spartan Time.
Gritting his teeth, Six mentally called upon the Nano-Huragok to enhance his strength as much as possible and he began his systematic strikes against Balin.
He head butt Balin, knocking aside the knights helmet.
Nathan proceeded to grab Balins sword arm and with an uppercut palm, bent his arm in a manner where bones were clearly broken in a severe fashion.
With a well-timed boot the chest, Six jumped into the air for the killing blow only to get hit with a beam from Balins sword at the last minute.
Six landed on his feet, his shielding taking a brunt of the attack with Donna beside him.
"Nathan" She said softly and he glanced at her
Though she saw the reflection of herself with Six's visor, she felt his emotions right now.
Focused, protective and deadly. He was in his element and he did not want her to be involved in this fight but knew it would be pointless to make her leave.
Besides, he knew she was stronger than him so why even bother arguing about it.
Six only looked back to see Balin standing back up with his broken arm snapping back into place.
"Ok, that's disgusting" Cyborg commented
"How the hell do we beat this guy?" Connor asked
"That Horseman" Hellboy mused aloud "He put some kind of booster on the bastard. Constantine and that little magic girl are working on dispel whatever is surrounding that asshole"
True to his word, the red energy that came from War reappeared to engulf Balin in what seemed to be a power up that went down to his legs.
Balin proceeded to jump high into the sky and flew over the heroes.
At first everyone was confused by his actions until Six dashed forward with Robin, Wally, Wonder Girl and Miss Martian running after him.
"OH SHIT" Superboy exclaimed "He heard you and he's going after them now"
"Ah fuck" Hellboy grumbled and they all ran back.
Miss Martian had sent a telepathic warning out to Zatanna and Constantine who were currently both facing each other, sitting down with their legs crossed, arms forward and eyes closed.
"Oh no!" Zatanna's eyes snapped open and she was about to stand up when Constantine quickly yelled out
"Stay seated, do not move"
Zatanna jolted but remained seated
"We cannot break this chanting otherwise we will have to start over" Constantine explained, even though they both could hear someone coming for them
"But that knight guys is coming for us" Zatanna said fearfully
"We'll have to trust our mates and hope to god that they could hold back the nightmare" Constantine said grimly, eyes shifting over to the forest "Speaking of"
Balin had jumped out from the top of the tree line and made a mad dash for the two of them.
He didn't get far as he was struck back nearly a dozen times in rapid succession by Kid Flash who came to a halt in front of the two magic users.
Around the young speedster was yellow lightning, crackling all around him. His eyes were unable to be seen as they too had the yellow lightning coursing our from them.
No sooner did he arrive did the speed force seemingly turn off as Wally fell to the ground on his knees, gasping in exhaustion.
"Holy hell" Wally panted "I've never gone that fast before"
"You better get to it again than mate" Constantine shouted, Balin already running back at them
"Jesus, that guys a mindless killing machine" Wally said exasperatedly, forcing his body to move.
He ran right at Balin who merely held his sword and fired another torrent of chaotic lightning.
Kid Flash weaved around each bolt, expertly dodging the small branches that extended out from each one.
When he moved to face Balin, Wally was grabbed by the throat and slammed down to the ground.
The speedster choked, struggling beneath the grip as it tightened.
Without even looking, Balin grabbed the explosive arrow shot at him by Artemis and was unaffected when it blew up in his face.
On reflex, Balin hefted up Wally and turned to hold him up in front of Superboy.
The young Kryptonian hybrid could only flail in the air, trying to slow down his momentum from crashing into and potentially harming his friend.
This was all Balin needed to toss aside Wally and ready his sword.
Superboy of course saw this and knew that there was no chance of getting out of the way.
However he stopped in time by the timely arrival of Miss Martian. But that proved to be a fatal mistake as Balin moved in for the kill.
And M'gann reacted to slowly as Superboy was impaled on his upper right side, dangerously close to his heart and other internal organs.
He bellowed in pain and agony which intensified when Balin began channeling his power through the sword into Superboy.
Connor could only yell in total pain, his eyes going white in shock.
Miss Martian yelled out his name in complete horror at seeing her boyfriend in such a state.
Wonder Girl, Aqualad and Six ran right at Balin who pulled his sword out from Connor.
He tossed him away and readied against his next set of opponents.
Superboy was carefully caught by Miss Martians telekinesis and moved over to the ground beside her.
"Holy shit, that doesn't look good" Artemis said in clear alarm.
During the whole moment, she had moved Wally over to her, Miss M and Robin as well and helped settle him against a tree to rest.
"Don't worry, working on it" Robin said, pulling out a green laced syringe
"What's that?" Miss M said worriedly
"Something Batman gave me" Robin said, lining up the syringe over Superboy's injury "During his years working with Superman, Batman and Supes developed this syringe of pure liquefied Hydrogen and several other components"
"Huh?" Artemis and M'gann said
"It's basically pure sunlight being injected into Superboy" Robin explained
"WHAT?!" Both girls cried out
"How does that even work?!" Artemis exclaimed in total bewilderment
"Superman's fortress of solitude contains technology from his home world Krypton" Robin said, injecting the needle into Superboy "They can do things we can only dream of"
"Yeah, you're telling me"
Aqualad, Wonder Girl, Hellboy, Rocket, Cyborg and Six in the meantime were fighting Balin with tooth and nail.
Cyborg had some circuitry sticking out all around him, with the others had some bruises and scratches. Six's armor though relatively intact held scorch marks and several dents.
Aqualad held out his hands and channeled his power to form a three pronged trident.
He twirled it in his hands and pointed it at Balin who ran at him first.
Rocket used that time to create another bubble shield, only this time it was stronger as she concentrated all of her mental strength into the barrier.
Naturally she grit her teeth at the power that Balin displayed from his strikes against the shield.
Rocket then dropped it at the last second when Balin swung his sword down and the blade got embedded into the ground.
This was the opportunity that they needed as Cyborg unleashed a powerful blue beam at full strength.
Six and Wonder Girl had some perfect working chemistry as they both managed to cut through the armor of Balin and give him deep gashes.
Aqualad jumped up and flipped to give an extra weight to his smacking of his aquatic trident above Balins head. With the bottom part, Kaldur bashed it upon Balins chin and struck him from side to side before moving back to allow Hellboy to deliver a swift right hook from his rock hand.
Big red then uppercut the knight, grabbed his face and bashed him into the ground. He pulled out his magnum and prepared to fire but Balin once again, frustratingly so, dispelled his power to send his enemies back.
Kicking up, Balin held a possessed look in his eyes and ran forward to attack Rocket.
Aqualad intervened but this seemed to be what Balin wanted as he went after the Atlantean with a zeal.
He immediately broke through Kaldur's trident.
Balins sword hand was grabbed by Aqualad who's other free hand in turn was grabbed by Balin.
Balin was clearly stronger as he began pushing Aqualad back but Kaldur exhibited some of his own electrical control, conducting it into Balin who did momentarily pause.
However Balin then fired back some of his own, a combination coming from the sword of Beowulf and from the enhanced power given to him by War.
It overwhelmed Kaldur who yelled out in pain.
Rocket ran forward to help.
Balin in rapid succession, head butt Aqualad down onto the ground and proceeded to at last incapacitate yet another hero with a powerful backhand that knocked out Rocket.
Seeing this set a fire in Kaldur which was quickly extinguished by Balin stomping into his chest several times followed by a vicious set of punches. Cyborg roared out and tackled Balin off of Kaldur who was now barely clinging to consciousness.
The team suffered another small traumatic event as Cyborg was kicked off by Balin and his leg was grabbed and deftly torn off.
"NO" Wonder Girl yelled out, tears streaming down her face.
She jumped forward and clashed her wrist bracelets.
A powerful blast of energy was shot out from the bracelets and stunned Balin.
That gave Six ample time to stab Balin right through the chest.
Balin was wide-eyed in complete disbelief but shook it off and elbowed Six away, cracking the man's visor.
He was then punched back viciously by Hellboy who then grabbed the leg and Cyborg up and took them back.
"This is insane" Artemis slightly teared up at seeing her friends so utterly devastated "We're not doing anything"
"We gotta keep going" Superboy grunted out, now conscious and slightly crazy-eyed
"You are in no condition to fight" Miss Martian said sternly
"We can't let them fight alone out there" Connor argued, trying his best to get to his feet only to stumble.
Regardless, Superboy forced himself to his feet and wobbled but brushed away the hands of Miss M and Artemis.
He saw Robin stand beside him, electrical batons at the ready.
The boy wonders face was one of fierce focus and intensity.
"Let's do this"
Robin and Superboy ran forward.
Miss Martian and Artemis only looked at one another before they too entered the fray.
Balin was standing back up and heard a war cry.
Wonder Girl was up in the air with her Sword up.
He was suddenly jolted by a stream of explosions thanks to Artemis.
Superboy ten grabbed Robins outstretched hand and swung round, throwing Robin like a javelin at Balin.
Dick kicked Balin with everything he had, flipping into the air to land atop the knights shoulders. He stabbed both batons into Balins neck and tried to subdue him electricity but quickly saw that it wouldn't work and moved out of the way in time from being attacked.
Balin was so focused on Robin he failed to see the three powerhouses rocketing towards him with all of their might.
They yelled out in unison, striking Balin back with every ounce of power in their beings. Balin was blown back, smashing through and taking down some trees with him.
Six who was on one knee, stared out where Balin was most likely lying. A piece of his visor had fallen off, revealing his intense blue eyes.
He didn't know how he knew, but that knight was not down at all.
Zatanna and Constantine were still chanting away as this was clearly requiring more time than they had anticipated.
Six then saw that Balin was indeed back up only this time, the remaining five members of the team had remained standing had already moved to attack.
Hellboy had moved Cyborg over to Zatanna and Constantine and was asking just why was it taking so long.
Nathan then looked to the katana in his hand and glared at it.
"Come on you son of a bitch" Six said dangerously "I know there's more to you then just what you've showed me. Professor Broom felt it, War felt it. And so did I. you better start showing me why you're so god damn important right now"
"Nathan" Dot spoke for the first time since the entire battle
The entire time, Dot tried to get a read on Balin, tried to figure out a way for them to get an advantage but this was beyond anything they had ever faced.
"Come on you stupid hunk of metal" Six angrily said
That's when Six felt it.
That familiar surge of power.
Only this time, it was distinctly different. The familiar black and white aura burst out from the sword and began encompassing Six as a whole.
But Six felt stronger. Stronger then he had ever felt in his entire life.
His aura had wind begin to circle around him while the katana now started to have glowing ruins appear all around it.
"Six" Dot said in fright "I'm getting some weird readings from you. Your body, it's….it's altering"
Six looked to his hand then to his arm as he saw the ruins slide down from the sword, onto his arm.
He saw multiple hieroglyphics and ancient characters from languages long past. From ancient Egyptian, Arabic and Hebrew to ones he did not recognize.
There was a searing burning sensation all along his body now.
The aura he had flared and grew.
He now stood, gripping his sword tightly.
Eyes laser focused on their enemy.
Constantine saw this and yelled out to Zatanna.
"NOW" Constantine and Zatanna threw their hands up and sent their spell into the sky.
Balin had finally incapacitated Robin, Artemis and Miss Martian, leaving only Superboy and Wonder Girl standing who were slowing down and weakening considerably.
Never before had the team been pushed to such extremes.
"Hey…Donna" Superboy panted "What say we try our new combo?"
"Better that then nothing" Wonder Girl responded, throwing her sword to the ground and then threw her shield like a disk while Superboy jumped in the air.
Balin readied himself to defend only to blink when Donna dashed forward, grabbing her sword off the ground and throwing it as well.
The sword quickly surpassed the shield and Balin swatted the sword aside.
Donna then grabbed her shield while Superboy grabbed the sword and the two simultaneously attacked Balin.
Superboy stabbed Balin in the shoulder while Donna bashed her shield against Balin with such ferocity that it caved in the rest of his armor and was now bleeding from the chest.
Balin displayed emotion for the first time in the fight and growled in rage.
With a "puff" of his chest, he made both stumble back. With a swing of his blade, he knocked them back, giving both deep cuts.
Balin removed the sword from his shoulder and flung it to the ground. Balin stepped forward, gripping his sword with a mad gleam in his eyes when abruptly a pillar of light descended upon him and engulfed him.
It came as quickly as it went and Balin stood there, unblinking.
Wonder Girl and Superboy stared in bewilderment at what just happened, trying to make sense of it all.
They had no further time to contemplate as a black wave shot out from behind them and struck Balin.
Balin reacted and raised his sword to block the now empowered Noble Six.
"Nathan" Donna murmured
Six was relentless as he began striking with surgical precision with every swing of his katana, possessed in his fury.
Balin began stumbling back, clearly caught off guard by the pillar of light that surrounded him for only a moment and now being on the defensive against a deadly Spartan.
Six switched from using his katana, to his fists, to his elbows, to his legs, to his knees.
He used everything he had to break down the knight, pieces of Balins armor beginning to fly off upon every strike.
Six was completely devoid of all feeling other than one intent.
The intent to kill.
Wonder Girl visibly paled at the overwhelming bloodlust that resonated off from Six and Superboy himself showed signs that he too felt it.
Balin had seemed to have lost all previous strength as Six was absolutely manhandling him.
And then….
It was over in the blink of an eye.
Six spun his blade and ducked under a feeble attempt of an attack by Balin from the sword of Beowulf and stabbed Balin right through the heart.
Balins eyes went wide, the size of dinner plates as did Superboys and Wonder Girls.
Silence…
Then the strangest display occurred.
The Sword within Balins chest glowed and expunged a wave of energy that began to overtake Balin. It then pooled into one location.
Balins sword arm.
Another burst of light as now the Sword of Beowulf began to glow brightly before becoming what looked like a pure Light-construct.
It shrank into a small sphere and traveled upwards to Nathan's Katana and joined with the light that the Katana gave off.
Six began to visibly tremble as the Katana let out a stream of lights before at last dying down. Nathan quickly removed the sword from Balins chest and the former knight of the round table stumble for a second.
Balin could only stare into Six's visible eye before giving him a solemn, content expression.
He closed his eyes and bowed his head in acceptance.
The moment got crazier and stranger as Balin disintegrated before their very eyes into dust, getting blown away into the wind.
All they could do was only stare at the spot of where Balin stood.
Six slowly looked back to Superboy and Wonder Girl.
He moved to help Superboy up and then Wonder Girl.
Not a single word was spoken.
Not a single sound was heard.
They could only silently go about gathering their friends.
It was at that moment, they had arrived.
The Justice League could only stare, open mouthed slack-jawed at the terrain beneath them.
It looked like a damn warzone with their protégés, a red demon looking person, Constantine and the Spartan in the middle of it all.
And they all looked like absolute hell.
Batman only stepped forward to Six who was facing them.
The world's greatest detective finally locked eyes with the enigmatic super soldier from another reality.
Such tired eyes they were.
One's that held a greater story of turmoil then even Batman could attest to.
"What happened?" Was all Batman asked
YAAAARGH AKDFNGKASDRNGSNVODRNVGLJKSDRVBNJLEKRNVKAJSDCB,NAVJBNMZD,FBSHGHAEVBDNCVJHSDGBV ERNDFH NDVMXCJKLFBD NXCVMJKHBFAS VDNMXCKJVLM
WHAT A FEELING. WHAT A RUSH
AURGH I HAVE NOT HAD A RUSH OF WRITING A CHAPTER SUCH AS THIS IN A VERY VERY LONG TIME
I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU GUYS WILL REACT TO THIS BUT I'M SAYING THIS HERE AND NOW THIS IS ONE OF MY MOST PROUDEST CHAPTERS TO DATE AND I WILL WORK TEN TIMES HARDER TO TOP IT.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
RATE READ AND REVIEW AND AS ALWAYS HAVE NICE DAY