I do not own Dragonball Z, Justice League, Batman Beyond, Team Titans, X-Men Evolution, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Bleach, or Yu Yu Hakusho

****Chapter 21: Tides****

Batman had never been the type to wear his emotions out in the open, forever concealed behind a cold exterior and a black cowl. Even now as Caliwone floated down from the darkened sky, his white and blue kimono fluttering around his white with blue belt as he carried both John and Shayera's lifeless bodies in each arm over to him.

He turned his back even as Superman fought back angry tears and J'onn Jon'zz, Diana, and Flash all bowed their heads. Helena had turned partly away but was watching silently. Her eyes met Caliwone as he laid down the two heroes and he motioned her over with a jerk of his head. She raised her eyes slightly and straightened; following him away from the League.

"You need to inform me as to what has been going on while I have been away," Caliwone said, casually crossing his arms, the fingers of his left hand playing lightly with his bandage that covered nearly the entirety of his right arm.

"Sure," Helena said with a nod. "But first, tell me what happened to your arm."

Caliwone looked down, almost surprised to see the bandage or as if he had forgotten about it. He looked back up, the familiar arrogant look on his face that said he was on the verge of refusing. Perhaps it was the loss of Shayera and John that softened his resolve. "This bandage is a seal," he said and Helena saw the ancient enchantment seals that she had seen in television shows and movies inscribed upon the bandages. "It seal's the majority of the power of my right arm away. Unless I remove the bandages, my full power is inaccessible."

Her eyes widened slightly then narrowed. She knew better than anyone, except maybe Caliwone, that he was dominantly right handed. To seal the majority of his power away on that same arm...

"About how much of your power is hidden?"

Caliwone lifted his head, considering. "If I had to put a number on it, I would have to say close to seventy five percent."

She rocked back on her heels visibly. "Seventy five?" she said, sounding dazed. "Why on Earth would you do such a thing, especially now, in this situation?"

Caliwone looked down at her coolly. "Worry about yourself," he said. "Now, tell me what has been going on."

"Well," she said hesitantly. "Most of the major cities in the world have fallen, including Washington D.C., Gotham, Metropolis, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo. Most of the League is dead-"

"I know that," Caliwone said, the bitterness in his voice overly harsh. "Give me the important stuff only."

She looked at him, resisting her human urge to rest a hand on his shoulder. "Their deaths aren't your fault," she started to say.

"Shut up," Caliwone snapped. "Do not presume to tell me what is and is not my fault. If you will not give me the information I need, then I will get it from someone else."

Helena felt a twinge of anger cross through her. Anger that turned into pity for Caliwone, pride so eclipsing his emotions that at some point, he would simply blow up. She took a breath but before she could say anything, Batman called them over.

"Several years ago," Batman started as the others drew nearer, "John and I were involved in a mission that was off the records. In fact, you," he nodded toward Wonder Woman, "were involved as well.

"A man named David Clinton, later known as Chronos, boarded the Watch Tower in order to steal one of my utility belts. We chased him into a time portal that he had created and eventually we ended up nearly twenty years into the future from now.

"In that future, the Justice League was all but destroyed, leaving only a few members alive including myself, a much older Virgil- Static Shock- a new Batman, and a man known as Warhawk; Rex Stewart, John and Shayera's son."

There was a quiet murmur from the group in front of him before he continued.

"Static alluded to some event or disaster that had taken place in which the majority of the world's heroes had been killed. I am convinced now that this is the event that had wiped out the League in that future. Of course, at the time, we had more pressing concerns and did not learn any details."

"And you didn't think that that kind of information would have been important to tell us a long time ago?" Superman roared.

"The future is very fluid," Batman said shortly. "Besides, I have never trusted such things. Even still, I have tried everything in my power to prevent that chain of events. Why do you think I pulled strings to free Caliwone when he was imprisoned with the League? Why do you think I have done the best I could to weaponize the League and build relations with other groups outside of the League?"

Superman recoiled slightly. As he had to constantly remind himself that if anybody cared more about the League or the people of Earth as a whole more than he did, it was Batman.

"You cannot concern yourselves with the future," Caliwone said unexpectedly from the back of the group. "Concern yourselves with the fate of your immediate situation. Just fight and survive the best you can now. The future will take care of itself."

He turned with a swish of his kimono and left, Helena following quickly behind him.

Once again, Steve Rogers found himself in an airplane with Logan, about to be dropped off in a war zone. Accept this time, he was having a small army accompany them.

The X-Men's Blackbird screeched through night sky, flying well below one hundred feet. Behind him, Scott adjusted his visor and several of the others finished putting on gloves or tied up boots. From the back of the plane, Kitty Pryde pushed her way up to kneel on the floor between Logan and Captain America. "I know this will be a little bit dangerous," she said, as serious as Logan could ever remember her being, "but we are going to be dropping you two off first. No parachutes. We will come in after we land to back you up."

"This isn't the first time we have ever had to do this, half pint," Logan said with a grin over at Capt. "We are old pros at this kinda thing."

"Glad to hear it," Kitty said, clapping both men on the backs. "Good luck, boys."

In front of them, the rear hatch opened and wind erupted around them, nearly blowing Kitty over with its force. With one last clap of hands, Logan and Rogers jumped out. The ground rushed up at them as the jet blew through the middle of a city street, the long wings nearly brushing the large buildings on other side and passing over the largest invasion force yet; consisting of several dozen of the creatures.

They hit the ground, rolling and skidding for several hundred feet before standing up through the dust and facing the army. The last remnants of the sun were setting as the aliens turned, jaws opening with a fierce roar as their presence was noted. Capt did not wait. His shield glinted as he hurled it, the motion seeming far more fluid with all the unwanted Stark Industries technology removed from it. It flew through the air and slammed full tilt into one, bounced off into another, and flew back to him.

Logan had rushed forward with a roar cry, his claws extended and flashed as the unbreakable adamantium sliced clean cut into whatever they touched. With a snarl, Logan lept sideways as the first of the aliens tried to counter, shifting his attentions to the next in line. He jumped high and brought his claws slashing down, leaving bear claw like gashes across the broad chest.

He rolled to the side, sensing rather than seeing the attack coming in from behind just in time to avoid a blow that would have crushed a bus. Capt came sprinting in at that moment, his shield strapped to his left arm and swung downward with all of his strength. The sharp edge of the shield pierced just enough of the alien's thick skin to reach but not break the aliens spin. Cursing slightly, Capt plunged his other hand into the wound, took hold of the spine and pulled but the alien was simply too tough and he could not break it.

From behind him as the alien roared and tried to throw him off, another of the lumbering aliens reached over and grabbed Capt around the waist and yanked him off with enough force to snap the other alien's neck that Capt still managed to hold into.

Logan slashed outward at the aliens arm, succeeding in cutting through the thick tough skin but it wasn't enough to free Capt. With a vicious back hand, Logan was knocked clear off his feet and slammed hard into and through a brick wall. Immediately, three other aliens jumped high into the sky and landed with thunderous blows into the building, collapsing it in rumble.

Capt struggled in the aliens grip, wanting to get over to Logan and try and help before the alien slammed him into the ground. He just managed to get his shield underneath him and soften the blow, causing the ground itself to shatter and break but do relatively little damage to him.

He opened his eyes again, struggling to find a way free when the ground suddenly crystallized into a sheet of ice beneath him. The alien released him just as the X-Men arrived, Scott opening up with a flash from his optic blasts.

The alien above Capt lifted its arm to kill Capt before moving on but Kitty Pryde and Rogue phased up out of the ground behind it. Grabbing the alien around the leg, Kitty phased back down, leaving Rogue to battle the aliens. In the center of the group, Kurt was porting from one alien to the next, teleporting it high and allowing it to fall hard to the ground and moving on to the next.

Beast bounced around, trying his best to strike at weak points since his strength was not equal to the aliens. Lighting struck from heaven as Storm flew over head, raining hail the size of cars down on them. Lava like fire erupted near one side as Amara called upon the Earth for help through her connection with fire.

Logan forced himself out from under the rubble, gasping for air. Capt was running over as best he could, blocking and reflecting blows from the hoard as he tried to get to him. "Logan!"

"I'm fine, Capt," Logan called, freeing the rest of his body from the mass. "Go."

Capt nodded and moved on, battling as best he could. Logan was not far behind, fighting to rejoin the X-Men. They reached Storm and Beast, managing to survive if not battle effectively in the mass confusion.

"These things are much stronger than I thought they would be," Storm said, creating a twister to assist in blocking then using it to force the alien away. She lifted a hand and pointed, sending lightning racing through it and then to the next.

"Yes, they are," Capt said. "Good thing I have a package on the way."

There was the sound of a high speed jet over head. What seemed to be a small bomb dropped from it. It crashed into the ground in the very heart of the battle, drawing the attention of most of the aliens and mutants. Within the cloud of smoke and debris came a deep growl.

"Hulk," Logan said.

"Yes," Capt said.

"Isn't he likely to be more of a danger than an asset?" Beast asked. "Didn't he already try and fight against these aliens in Gotham?"

"Yes, he did," Capt said. "I understand that he wasn't as effective as S.H.I.E.L.D. had hoped but Fury said he wanted to give it another try."

"But he isn't controllable," Storm said. "He's likely to attack one of us as much as one of them."

"I doubt it," Logan said. "I've run across the Hulk before and I can tell you, he can still recognize faces. He suffered a defeat at the hands of these aliens. He won't forget it. Besides," he said, shooting a grin over at Capt. "I've got a surprise coming, too."

The dust settled and in the fading cloud the Hulk stood fully matched in size and muscle to the aliens. His hateful eyes recognized the aliens as enemies. He gave one last huff then let loose a roar. The aliens responded in kind and the Hulk threw itself at the first.

A cheer went up from some of the X-Men before they too leapt back into battle. Logan and Capt threw themselves back into the fray as well, trusting in the Hulk and his abilities.

One of the aliens had been thrown bodily by the Hulk, crashing near the X-Men. Boom-Boom hurried over and placed her hands on the alien before it got back up. When she removed them, a large pile of glowing balls rested on it. There was a massive explosion that blew over a few of the X-Men but did little more than scuffle the monsters body and armor. She retreated quickly as it lashed outward, blowing a hole into the ground. She rolled away as it struck again and suddenly fire erupted around it as Amara came to help.

The Hulk roared as it grabbed another of the aliens, ignoring the blows to its back as anger increased within him. With a brutal swing, the Hulk stunned the monster in its clutches. It fell to its knees, unable to stand as the Hulk took both its arms from behind and with a powerful kick to the center of its back, tore the arms from the alien.

The Hulk threw the arms away, roaring in victory as it took aim at yet another of aliens. Before it could start forward, one of the aliens slammed an elbow across the side of his face. He stumbled slightly before grabbing hold of yet another alien and swung it down to the ground. Before he could strike it, a different alien spun him around by the shoulder. The Hulk reached out to hit back but the alien took hold of his wrist. For a moment, the two pushed and pulled in a titanic battle of strength before the Hulk kicked out at the aliens chest, sending it crashing backward into several others and a few of the X-Men. There was no time for rest as yet another alien rushed forward, most of the attention on the only real threat to them in this group.

There was the sound of thunderous footsteps getting closer and closer to them from just around one of the buildings. Nothing could be seen yet and it seemed as though the aliens did not notice.

Logan smiled slightly. "Hey, Chuck, are you ready?" he yelled out.

Charles rolled over to his side in what was now an abandoned battlefield. "Yes, I will do the best I can."

Logan nodded and through a building Juggernaut burst through, his long lopping strides powerful and unbreakable as he bull rushed the first line of aliens, making a straight line for Charles.

"I really hope you know what you are doing, Logan," Xavier said. "My half brother, Cain does not listen to reason."

"I remember," Logan said. "That's why his helmet got conveniently lost before S.H.I.E.L.D. let him loose. Hopefully he will either get distracted in the battle or you can break into his mind and redirect him."

"I do not like this," Charles said, placing his first two fingers of wither hand to his temples, "but I understand the necessity in this case."

"Or he and the Hulk don't go at it again the way they did last time they met," Logan said.

"BROTHER!" Cain roared, roughly throwing an alien aside from behind in order to clear a path to his hated brother.

"Cain," Charles said. "Now is not the time. The invasion-"

"I do not care about them," Cain shouted, slamming one of his massive fists down hard onto another of the aliens with force of a pile driver. "I just want to put your head on a platter."

Charles sighed and braced himself. Invading another mind like this was strongly against all the principles he had set for himself as a telepath but this was life and death. He reached out with his mind and gently stroked it as opposed to sending concussion blast of psychic power with the intention of crippling the Juggernaut. Instead, he slightly altered his perceptions, forcing his mind to redirect his rage away from Charles and to the aliens instead. With a roar of rage, Cain rushed off into the fight.

"Good work," Capt said as he watched the unstoppable Juggernaut. "He will at least supply a descent distraction for them."

There was a scream from one of the mutants. Logan jerked his head to see who it was and saw Kitty and now several of the others around her pointing up into the air. Logan followed their gaze and pointing fingers and felt his own mouth drop. Moving with deceptive slowness, the asteroid was crawling across the sky, slowly eclipsing the entirety of the sky. Pouring from thousands of locations around the asteroid, more aliens spewed, these ones with black angel like wings on grotesque bodies with stingers on their tails flew down toward them like bees from a stirred up bee hive.

"Oh crap," Logan said.

Helena followed Caliwone closely, noting with some uneasiness that he was not heading in any direction of any known battle ground. Was he intending for the two of them to face these aliens alone as Saiyans? Her question was answered almost immediately as he angled down suddenly and came to a landing in the middle of nowhere.

"Caliwone?" a voice called out from somewhere in the trees.

Caliwone looked up and to the side and saw Mr. Terrific emerging from the foliage.

"There you are," Caliwone said. "Where is it?"

Mr. Terrific looked confused for a moment. "Where is what?" he asked, looking over at Helena as of for clues.

"My only possession," Caliwone said.

"Ah," Mr. Terrific said with sudden realization. "I thought it would be good to hold onto it after you left it lying around the Watch Tower. I thought you said you were never going to use it again?"

"My own strength is great enough," Caliwone said shortly. "Bring it to me."

Mr. Terrific turned around and headed back into his make shift command tower in the woods and returned a few minutes later with a katana sheathed in black and gold wood. There no intricate designs on it, nothing that would label this weapon as anything out of the ordinary but Caliwone knew better.

With a nod, Caliwone took the weapon and turned to Helena. "This sword was crafted for me by an old man a long time ago," he said and pulled the blade out from the sheath, holding the katana above his head and letting light reflect off of the unmarked sharp blade. "It name is Mangetsuken, the Full Moon Blade. It was made with my own blood and energy and will only release its potential with me."

She looked on, impressed despite herself, as his energy rose a bit, running off his hand and into the sword. It glowed golden and grew in size, getting longer and wider as he held it, looking more like the fang of a monstrous beast than a sword any more. He turned and walked a little way away from her and Mr. Terrific. Lifting the mighty sword, Caliwone swung it from right to left. Energy the color of the fullest moon lanced outward like a crescent moon, cutting through the rows of trees in front of him like a scythe.

Helena nodded, understanding. With the seal on Caliwone's dominant arm restricting the majority of his power, this sword, Mangetsuken, was able to lend Caliwone its considerable power and help even out his odds. She crossed her arms as he turned and walked back to them, the sword returning to its normal state as he came closer.

"Very nice," she said. "Who knew that a mere blade could possess power. Maybe you should have used it when you fought me. You would have at least put up a better fight."

"Hn," Caliwone snorted. Rotating the sword in his hand as to point the blade away from her, he held out the hilt to her. "Here. I want you to have it."

Helena mind took a few steps before shuttering to a halt, realizing what it was he had just said. "What?"

He looked at her, annoyed. "Take the sword, woman."

She ruffled a little but moved past it. "You need it more than I do," she said, turning half away and folding her arms. "You're the one with the handy cap."

"You do not need to worry about me," Caliwone said, not lowering the sword. "I will be fine. You, on the other hand, need all the power you can get for the coming battle."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Helena asked sharply. "Besides, it only works for you, remember?"

"It reacts to my alien energy and DNA," Caliwone said. "The same DNA and energy that is coursing through your veins thanks to Slade. You should be able to wield it."

She hesitated a moment then reached out and gripped the hilt. "Now what?" she asked, holding the blade high then swinging it around a little.

"Allow the blade to become one with you," Caliwone said. "Allow your energy to flow through it as if it was an extension of your own arm."

"Right," Helena said wryly, seeing for the first time how difficult something like that really was. The movies always made it seem so easy to learn. She frowned, holding out the sword to her right and looking down the length of the blade. She allowed her energy to rise, trying to force it down into the sword. She felt the blade pulse once in her hand, reacting to her energy. She took a deep breath and tried again. The blade glowed and expanded, transforming itself into the true form of Mangetsuken once more.

"Excellent," Caliwone said. "This will give you the power you need to defeat the aliens in battle, no matter what tricks they hide."

Helena looked at him skeptically. "Maybe once," she said. "They will still adapt to attacks."

"To Tsuki o Sakugen and the other energy based attacks, perhaps," Caliwone said, naming the attack he had just demonstrated for her. "But the blade itself they cannot and it is more than strong enough to cut through any armor and clear through their thick flesh and bone."

"Where did you get this thing?" Helena asked incredulously as Caliwone turned his back to her.

"That is a story for another time," he said. With that, he leapt into the air. Helena let the sword shrink once more and sheathed it before taking off after him.

To be continued…

Well, things are continuing to look bad for Earth and her heroes. How will the Mutants and Captain America fair now that they will be attacked by an army of Doomsday aliens and from death of black angel winged demons? Hopefully no more of out heroes will have to die.

Only four more episodes before Dragon Sagas Book Four is completed. Please take the time to review my work and leave a comment. I want to make sure that the ending is to everyone's liking.

Thank you in advance for all of the reviews, everybody.

Special thanks to my man Kobez2.0 for all the work Beta-ing and allowing me to bounce ideas off of him.

Read you all soon,

The Dark Prince

ps, the percentage has been corrected. lol