Alrighty, folks, while I'm trying to do the 'Press Conference' game in my "Whose Line: OC" fic, I'm going to work on this chapter. This will introduce a new villain in Nate's rogues gallery, as well as bring in two from DC lore, specifically from Superman and Green Lantern. Logan, Cloak, and Sharel are in this as well, as are an OOC Abigail from Final Fight and another Mortal Kombat character that just appeared in Injustice 2.

Nathaniel's Rage! The Ballad of Charles Broadway!

Up in the mountains, where snow was the perpetual weather and the temperatures were below freezing, stood a temple. Outside of the temple, there was a shrine with a flame in each hand. The statue played witness to the training of many ninja warriors garbed in blue with black armor on the shoulders and shins. The ninjas were practicing with wooden swords so no one would be killed. Part of the training was to increase their endurance to the weather. The other part was to prepare to protect the world from enemies both on Earth (such as the League of Shadows as well as their rivals, the Shirai Ryu) and off-world.

The training was being watched by Sub-Zero, having escaped from Outworld and no longer serving as Kotal Kahn's entertainment. His next goal was to make peace with the Shirai Ryu. Now garbed in a blue outfit consisting of a black hood, a blue cape, and ice on his arms, his mask was also slightly different, but allowing for breathing room just the same. He was trying to find a way to end the rivalry between both clans, but he sensed a visitor appear behind him, so he had to put his plans on hold for now.

Appearing behind Sub-Zero was an individual dressed in a blue and gold outfit. The gold was on the shins, the torso, the belt, the gauntlets, and the helm. "Sub-Zero," said the figure.

"So you must be Doctor Fate," said the ninja leader.

"I am. Training your new Lin Kuei, I see."

"Yes. Only the best make it in. And the best of them receive training from me."

"We will require your skill, Sub-Zero. The Lords of Order have informed me of an event that will cause much chaos soon."

"So why can't you fix it?"

"Kent Nelson interferes with the natural flow as it is. I must remain out of the frey on this one. You must stop the Silver Lantern from giving in to his rage." With that, Doctor Fate disappeared through his portal once more.

"Why me...?" Sub-Zero asked himself. He informed his clan of his mission. Leaving his most experienced shinobi in charge until he got back, he took his leave to Nate's location. Like Doctor Fate, he knew he had to stay in the shadows until the right time.

Meanwhile, in Coast City, Nate and Sharel were chasing Captain Boomerang down. Without Barry and Hal being around, they had to pick up the slack. They knew that the two of them were at the Watchtower in a Justice League meeting, which irked Nate even more. Boomerang turned the corner into an alleyway and came upon another open area of the city with the Silver Lanterns hot on his tail. He threw a boomerang onto a window washer's carrier and detonated it, causing the machine to explode and the window washer to fall with the debris, just as he had before. Also like before, Sharel saved him, but she couldn't get to the civilians below the debris. She set the window washer down on the ground and used her ring to remove the debris. To her shock, she found her first casualty in this world. She covered her mouth as the corpse of a man layed there with a gear in his skull and a wooden plank through his stomach.

Now Sharel was furious. She put her focus back on Nate and Captain Boomerang, waiting for the right opportunity. She extended her arm and revealed a giant metal claw on a black wire. Once the claw attached to Boomerang, Sharel swung him back, hit him on a building, swung him in an arch, and hit Nate down. "Mate, I think you be'er control ya' lady before she kills someone," said Boomerang.

"Why?" Sharel asked in an angered tone. "We already have a casualty on our hands!" Nate looked and saw what she was pointing to. "I know you saw him, Nathaniel! However, you were too busy chasing Harkness through the city to even bother to do anything!" Nate was visibly shocked at Sharel's voice; Not once has he ever seen her ticked off at anyone besides Bonkers and Guy Gardner.

"Mike!" shouted a voice. They saw a very muscular man with a bald head and no eyebrows. He wore blue jeans, black boots, and a tight-fitting grey shirt. "Oh man, what happened to ya!?"

"Whoops," said Boomerang.

"Y-You're the m-magic girl, right? C-Can't you b-bring him b-back?" Sharel was sad to see his tears while Boomerang was still scared. Nate, on the other hand, looked away in disgust.

"I'm sorry. I can't," Sharel said solemnly. "The police will have Captain Boomerang behind bars, under tight security. I'll deal with Nathaniel." The man nodded, but now he knew who to redirect his anger to. Sharel grasped Nate's shoulder firmly, digging her thumb and its nail into his collar, and gave him a glare before they disappeared.

"Y-You're going to p-pay for this...Nathaniel D-Dement..."

Back at the cave, Sharel threw Nate onto the couch very harshly. He knew she was still mad. "Do you mind telling me what that was all about? You could've let Boomerang get away just this once to save that man! In case you've forgotten, the Flash family isn't around and neither are Captain Jordan or Sergent Stewart! We're the only ones here!"

"Look, it's a personal issue with the victim's brother, okay?" said Nate. "Anyone else, I'll drop everything to help out. But the Broadway family? No."

"'Personal issue'? Really? This should be good."

(Flashback, Earth-2...)

At STAR Labs in Coast City, a younger Nate and his class were taking a tour of the place. The tour guide was showing them around the labs, with the kids unaware that Nate would be the only one to actually work there in the future, albeit as a janitor. She showed them a particular lab that specialized in chemicals. As the kids looked around, Nate looked at a set of vials with a red liquid in them. He continued to be fascinated with them, but he didn't notice a mischievous kid with black hair, a skull shirt, and khaki shorts add a few drops of another liquid in one of the other vials. When he finally did notice, it was too late; An explosion occured, catching everyone's attention.

The kid had an innocent look on his face while he was pointing towards Nate, who was blown against a wall. Though the workers thought it was Nate, the teachers and students knew about the bully's reputation, notably, his penchant for trouble. Nate was originally sent outside, but the teachers told them about the bully, Chucky Broadway, and his tendency to pick on other students, Nate especially.

(High School, Earth-2...)

In High School, Nate was heading to his locker to get his books. He was going to ask a girl he liked out to dinner. As happy as a clam because of the courage he built up, he had no idea that Broadway, who was calling himself 'Charley' now, was sneaking up behind him with two other Football jocks. They shoved him into the locker and shut the door. If it weren't for his nature, he would've yelled out obscenities that one should never let their parents hear.

He saw the girl he liked, a blonde cheerleader, go with Broadway to lunch, unaware of what happened. This shattered Nate and caused him to develop a deep-seeded hatred for his bully and his family.

(Present Day, Prime Earth...)

"...And that's the reason why I didn't stop to save Mike Broadway," Nate finished. "Charles Broadway was my enemy for years now. I didn't hate him originally, but after the High School incident, he became my enemy. It took Jay Garrick and his girlfriend Joan to get me out of there." He saw that Sharel was still as ticked as she was when the discussion started. "Sharel?"

~SLAP!~ Sharel had just left a bright red handprint on his face, leaving Nate in both pain and tears. "It doesn't matter what kind of grudge you have against Charles Broadway!" she exclaimed, holding his right hand in front of his face. "You still do the right thing no matter what! Sergeant Stewart taught me to do what I know is right, but clearly, that one flew out the door with you! Now you have a new enemy, Nathaniel! He'll be after you AND Harkness for what happened to his brother! And don't get me started on the Justice League! If they come after you, you're on your own!"

"B-But Sharel..." he tried to get out. However, she was already out of the cave and back to Coast City to get some fresh air and clear her head.

"Nate. Did. What!?" Logan asked Sharel, who was on the other end of the line.

"I know. I'm not too happy with him either," Sharel said. "The reason he let this victim-Michael Broadway-die was worthy of a barslaugh."

"You know, I've heard Jakar use that word before when describing Two-Face. It doesn't sound very pleasent."

"Trust me, it's not. It's actually foul language where I'm from. Right now, I feel Jakar's loyalty to Nathaniel is misplaced. Now I have a question."

"Shoot."

"Can I be on your team?"

"Sorry, but Cammy won't have any of that. We're fully aware of your crush on Kiryo."

"Darn it!"

"Listen, Cloak and I will be over there in a jiffy. He's got some new abilities he's been dying to break in."

"Okay. See you soon, Logan." With that, Sharel hung up the phone and sat down on the roof she was on. 'What is going on with you, Nathaniel? What will it take for you to see that this is a different Charles Broadway?'

In a different part of Coast City, there was a bar. It wasn't much. Just a small pub where people could go to drink or dance away their problems. Right now, Broadway was at the bar doing just the former. He had a shot glass and a bottle of whiskey in front of him as he held a picture of him and Mike in his hand. "Why did it have to be you, Mike?" he asked. "Valerie didn't take the news very well. There's nobody who could take your spot, I'll tell you that right now."

"Are you doing alright, Chuck?" a voice asked. Broadway looked and saw a large man standing at 8' tall. His massive arms had tires on the biceps with the words 'MAD GEAR' on them. He had a tire on the wallet chain of his white, tire track pants. His tank top had skulls on it, and he wore a black, spiked collar. He had on facepaint that looked like Nightwing's mask and a flattop mohawk in the shape of the Canadian maple leaf. "I heard about what happened. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Abigail. I'll be even better once the Silver Lantern is dead. But enough about that. How the hell did you get in here?"

"It turns out that the door was wide enough to fit the tires and tall enough to fit me. This beats Belger's pad any day, doesn't it, Chuck?"

"Any place that fits you and Hugo beats Belger's place. But seriously, what are you doing here? I thought you were making a living in that scrapyard in the Bay Area."

"Yeah well, news of Mike's death happened to have reached Metro City, so I thought I'd see how you were doing. Even Cody, Guy, and Haggar sent their condolences and they put us away in the first place. Those guys are actually swell. Makes us want to go straight."

"Which explains why you set up that scrap business."

"Hey, a guy's gotta make a living somehow. Guy wants you to move on, Chuck. I suggest listening to him."

"Tell Guy I'm sorry. But even if it means going back to prison, I'm going to have the Silver Lantern's head at my feet. And when I'm done with him, Captain Boomerang is next."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! You do this, you could wind up back in prison for the rest of your life. I like to scrap now and then, but killing someone is overboard. In case you haven't noticed, Haggar hasn't been doing Cody any favors. And besides, you've got two other problems."

"And what might those be, Abigail?" asked Broadway.

"First of all, Chuck, Coast City is Justice League territory; their Flash and a couple of the Green Lanterns protect this town," Abigail answered. "And second, how would you even deal with the Silver Lantern? You and I are just ordinary humans."

"I'll catch him off guard." Abigail obviously didn't like that answer, but he knew that there was no talking Broadway out of his revenge.

"If we were still the Mad Gear Gang, I'd have no problem with it. But know this, Chuck," the large man said. "There are more important things to worry about than whether or not you would get to carry your revenge out. We've always been friends, but if you do this...you're on your own."

"I'll be sure to remember that." With that, Abigail left and got back into his monster truck to head back for Metro City.

"Maybe I can help," a female voice said. Broadway looked to his left and saw a young woman with white skin, blue hair sticking up, and a black leotard with a lightning bolt tear in the front, showing her cleavage.

"And you are?"

"Call me Livewire. I couldn't exactly help overhearing that you lost something you were attached to because of the Silver Lantern."

"Yeah, my brother. What's it to ya?"

"Well, as it so happens, we're in the same boat. See, I lost the greatest job ever because of another so-called 'hero'. It wasn't because of a Lantern; Instead, Superman ruined my 3rd-year celebration of being the most popular DJ in Metropolis. Although, in some cases, I thank him. He made me what I am today."

"And what might that be?" Broadway asked.

"Someone with a spark."

"You must be that lightning rogue that gives Supes a hard time." The girl merely smiled.

A while later, she led Broadway to a power plant. The sky was cloudy, a clear indication of a storm. She indicated to a couple of lightning rods, telling him to stand in the middle. He grabbed both rods and saw that they were connected to the power couplings. Livewire, in the meantime, flew up and got ready. "Are you ready, Charley!?" she asked.

"I'm ready!" he responded. Livewire had a smirk on her face. Neither one of them knew that they were being spied on by Sharel and Jakar, the former having told the latter about the situation. Naturally, he didn't believe it.

"Is that Broadway?" the soldier asked, getting a nod from Sharel.

"That's him alright," she answered. "I don't know who's with him, though. If Logan's faced her, he never mentioned her to me before."

"Maybe he didn't face her. I know how to pick and choose my battles, Sharel. This isn't mine, but I have no intention of letting the Commander or my ancestor get killed."

"Logan's upset at Nathaniel because he let a civilian die, but even then, he keeps a clear head, meaning he can take care of himself. It's Nathaniel I'm worried about." The sparkshow started and forced the two members of Team Nate to cover their eyes. The lightning surged through the power couplings and to the rods that Broadway was holding. He held on tight, but let out a yell of pain.

The lightning stopped, allowing Sharel and Jakar to uncover their eyes. What they saw was Broadway standing and letting go of the lightning rods. His body was covered in an electric aura as electricity emitted from his hands. "How do you feel?" Livewire asked.

"Much more powerful," he answered. Sharel snapped her fingers, making her cellphone appear, and took a picture of the two. She took another one, but it was Jakar's expression.

"C'mon. Let's get out of here," she said, getting a nod from her teammate.

The morning came and Sharel and Jakar waited on the rooftops for Logan and Cloak to arrive. The two of them still couldn't believe what they saw the previous night. Now, Broadway was more dangerous than they realized. She saw that Jakar was still trying to recover from the sight they witnessed and the power they felt coming from him. She couldn't blame him; she was scared too. Knowing that it was no time to quarrel, she materialized a pot of coffee and poured him a cup.

As he thanked her and started drinking his, Logan and Cloak climbed the building they were on. "You guys got here quick," she said.

"Zeta Beams. They come in real handy," Logan quipped. "You guys look like you've seen a ghost. Nice to see you two getting along, though."

"Yeah, well, here's the reason we're getting along." She showed them the picture. "The big guy is Charles Broadway. He's the guy whose brother was killed because of Nathaniel's negligence. I don't recognize the other one, though."

"That's Leslie Willis. She used to be a shock jock in Metropolis until her show and station got replaced. She was also celebrating her 3rd year of being a radio DJ with a huge event during a thunderstorm. The lightning caused a malfunction and the stage collapsed. Superman was trying to save everyone, including her. She thought that he was trying to ruin her show, though. An electrical accident got her in the hospital and turned her into Livewire. She blamed Superman for it and has been a thorn in his side since then."

"I remember her," Cloak injected. "She escaped from me while I was in Los Angeles."

"Willis has worked up quite a criminal record outside of the states, meaning she's on Interpol's Most Wanted list. Had I known she was involved, we'd have brought Chun-Li along as well. From what I can see, it looks like we're in for a thunderstorm if I fight Broadway."

"Yeah, you're more powerful than Livewire, but she is quicker, Ancestor," Jakar said. "How are you going to deal with her?"

"If I had to guess, Willis is a sideshow, right?"

"That's right, Sharel," Logan said. "It's the two hotheads that we have to worry about. Cloak will try to calm Nate down while I deal with Broadway. We'll deal with Livewire when we come to it." Suddenly, they heard a series of explosions in the city. When the group of four looked down, they saw a bunch of cars being tossed at a distance.

"C'mon, man!" shouted the voice of the tosser. "I just want to talk to ya! There's way too many nice rides here that my Vroom's dyin' to wreck!"

"That's not Broadway," Cloak said.

"No, but he is ex-Mad Gear," Logan said, revealing that it was Abigail as he jumped down. "Easy, big guy. No one's here to harm you. Now, what do you need so bad that you have to trash half of Coast City?"

"I guess you'll do," Abigail said, setting down the next car he was about to throw. He crouched down to Logan's level to talk to him. "You're buddies with that Silver Lantern character, aren't you?"

"At this moment, I'm not sure 'buddies' would be the right word. He's a parolee assigned to me, courtesy of Hal Jordan. Why do you ask?"

"Let's just say that Chuck's motor is running on the wrong gas. You gotta help him, please. Roxy can make it worth your while." As Abigail said this, Roxy hopped out of the monster truck. She added a red vest and a white lace band on her left thigh. As Logan quirked his eyebrow and Jakar let out a wolf whistle, Cloak began to chuckle while Sharel facepalmed herself in disbelief for two reasons: Logan's subtle weakness for most beautiful women and the fact that even wound-tight Jakar showed a sign of attraction to Roxy.

"Why do I get the feeling you knew I was going to be here?"

"Call it a woman's intuition, hun," Roxy said, rubbing up against the Assassin. "So of all the girls you've had in bed with you, which one's the queen?"

"Hey!" Sharel hollered. "Let's focus here!"

"Right. Thanks for the reminder, Sharel," Logan said. "You know, Abigail, I was going to help keep them from killing each other anyway. You didn't have to bring any incentive." Logan and the others saw that Abigail was about to cry.

"Aww, you're a swell guy!"

"Of course, I may have to smack Broadway around a bit."

"Do whatever you have to do, pal," Abigail said. "Just don't kill him, okay?"

"I can manage that. You two head back to Metro City, okay? You'll know when I get your buddy in jail." Abigail and Roxy hated the thought of Broadway being behind bars, but they figured it was for his own good. Abigail gave him a thumbs up while Roxy gave him a kiss on the cheek. After that, the two ex-Mad Gears hopped back in the truck and headed back to Metro City.

"You know, it makes me wonder how many relationships she's been in," Sharel said, a glare on her face.

"Ancestor, I think I have an idea on how to deal with Livewire," Jakar said. "How about I take her on while you fight Broadway?"

"Okay, but first, Nate's going to have to get Broadway out to an area where no more innocent people will get hurt," Logan said, agreeing with his descendant.

Meanwhile, Broadway was wreaking havoc on the Town Green, near where Michael was killed. He was scaring the families there by tearing the place up. Unfortunately, one of the spectators was Old Man Fumbler, who wouldn't stand for it. Like the Penguin, he had a hidden gun, in this case, it was his cane. He leaned against the wall and opened fire on Broadway to get him to stop.

The bullets had no effect, however, as Broadway used his electricity to protect himself. Fumbler ran out of ammo, but he was still ready to fight. Before the ex-Mad Gear could throw something at the old man, a bench was shot out of his hands by a missle from the police force. "THIS IS THE POLICE!" the Chief said over the bullhorn. Broadway spotted him in the helicopter hovering above the scene. "STAND DOWN OR WE WILL USE FORCE! NOBODY HAS TO GET HURT HERE!"

"Not until I'm done, copper!" Broadway yelled as he threw a sewer lid towards the chopper. The lid got a silver aura around it as it was redirected back to him and hit him to a wall.

"He said 'stand down'. What part of that don't you understand?" a voice said. Nate floated down, ignoring the scornful looks the civilians were giving him. Broadway stepped out of the dust and scowled in hatred at his new enemy. "Oh it's you."

"Is that any way to greet the man whose brother was wrongfully killed!? I had nothing against you until you and Boomerang let Mike die! You just made this a personal issue, Dement!"

"I got news for you, Broadway: It was personal on my end for a long time! And to top it off, my partner's not here to save you this time!"

"You took the words right out of my mouth!" The two enemies charged towards each other in a rage. Nate made a baseball bat construct, but Broadway grabbed another bench and blocked the swing before hitting Nate out of the city with it. Little did either know, they were putting the plan that Sharel and the others put together in motion.

Nate landed face first in the desert where he frequently fights. Trying to figure out what hit him, he got his reminder as Broadway zapped his way there. "I've never known you to do that before," he remarked.

"It's brand new. Just got it last night," said Broadway. "You picked a good spot to land. Here, you'll be forgotten. No one will miss you. I can't think of a more perfect place to bury you. Out in the desert, away from civilians, and not worth the burial my brother got." Broadway went for a punch, but Nate narrowly evaded it. He went for a strike of his own, but Broadway elbowed Nate's chest and chained it with a hard punch, using electricity as an added measure.

Nate recovered and formed a cube of brick on each fist and got ready for his unnecessary enemy to attack. Broadway reeled back and got ready to deal out an electrically-charged punch, but the Silver Lantern countered by punching his face hard enough to make him stumble back. That cost him the block on the right hand, though. He got above Broadway and punched him to the ground, costing him the cube on the left fist. He then formed a giant mallet to slam on Broadway, but he was caught off guard by Livewire, who attacked him from behind with an electric shock.

This only served to anger Nate some more, seeing as he had to deal with two lightning users, one being a speed demon and the other a powerhouse. However, no one could see the pupils in his eyes glow red. He formed two giant hands and caught the two foes, moved Broadway to his left hand construct to form a drill with his right one. "Do it," a dark voice said as Nate's aura grew darker. "Take vengeance on your foe...for what he took from you..."

As Broadway tried to muscle his way out of the hand, Nate only squeezed harder. Both constructs faded as Nate got pulled back. He realized that Cloak was responsible when he saw that the Symbiote was what grabbed him. "You really picked the wrong person to fight, Nate," said the black-suited vigilante.

"What are you doing here?" Nate asked as Sharel put her hand on his shoulder. "You too, Sharel?"

"We're here to stop you from making a mistake," she said. "We wouldn't be able to forgive you if that drill were to go through Broadway's chest."

"He would've deserved it." This elicited another slap to his face from his friend.

"You have to let this pointless hatred go, Dement," Logan said, making his and Jakar's presence known. "And the same applies for you, Broadway!"

"I'll let it go if he dies!" Broadway said.

"Keep Livewire busy, Jakar." Jakar gave his Ancestor a nod. "That's some nice power you've got. Mind trying it out on an Assassin instead of a Silver Lantern?"

"Hey! How many times do I have to tell you guys to stop fighting my battles!?" Nate hollered.

"I'm not. I'm just here to keep you guys from killing each other. You're already at the end of my sword, Nate. Don't make me push through." This shocked Nate almost as much as Sharel slapping him did. He never heard Logan, Cloak, or anyone in their groups make that threat before. "Any aggression you have towards Nate, you can take out on me now. If you're that frustrated, you deserve an opponent who can help you release your anger."

"You look like you know who you're dealing with," Broadway said, getting a smirk from the Assassin.

"I know. Ex-Mad Gear, just like Poison, Roxy, Hugo, Rolento, and Abigail."

"Abigail. Go figure." Broadway started the fight while Nate was shocked at what he heard. Logan blocked the punch and kicked the large man away a little. He followed up by tripping Broadway at his feet. The former gang member quickly got back up and fired an electric blast at his new foe, but Logan merely put his fist up and absorbed it with a parry. "Oh, you're good," Broadway said.

"When it comes to electricity, it pays to be a lightning rod as much as it does the generator," came the Assassin's response. To clarify, he fired a 'Chidori Blast' at Broadway and 'Flash Stepped' behind him to shove him into it. "Well?" The dust settled and Broadway had a smile on his face, happy that he could cut loose on Logan, even with a slim chance of killing him. Logan, however, still picked up the rage bubbling inside Broadway, so he knew it was going to be easier than he thought. Broadway charged again, but his fist didn't connect with the target since Logan parried it again.

In the meantime, Nate was getting even more frustrated. It wasn't just at seeing Broadway still around, but also how Logan was making him seem like child's play. "Nathaniel, please," Sharel pleaded. "Calm down." It fell on deaf ears, however, as he blasted her off, knocking her out in the process. He charged for the battle, but Cloak grabbed him with the Symbiote and threw him back, knocking out Livewire as well.

"Get out of my way, Cloak!" Nate shouted.

"Not until you get it through your thick skull that this battle should not have been fought!" Cloak responded. Nate only got angrier at hearing this. He formed a sword construct as Cloak's swords were formed from the Symbiote. The two fighters clashed, but Nate was never told about Cloak's special training. The Symbiote formed several tendrils and jabbed the enraged Silver Lantern on the chest. Nate clashed with Cloak again, but blasted him with his ring.

Jakar was so caught up in both fights that Livewire easily shocked him and knocked him out. She was about to kill him, but suddenly wound up frozen. Broadway was charging towards Logan, but the same thing happened to him, to the confusion of the Assassin. He sensed the ice and discovered a living person's Spirit Signature on it. "It can't be," he said. He looked and saw a familiar blue-garbed warrior approaching. "Grandmaster?"

"You address me with respect, Den-Master," Sub-Zero said. "We are both protectors of Earth. You may address me by either my codename or my birth name, Logan Washburn."

"Who is this guy?" Cloak asked.

"His name is Kuai Liang. Under the name Sub-Zero, he is the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei."

"Enough with the petty talk. There is a source of great power aggravating your friend's rage," Sub-Zero pointed out. "You two search for the real source while I try to clear his mind."

"You got it, Grandmaster." Logan sensed around and found a massive amount of dark energy. "Such anger...And hatred...It can't be..." he said, signaling Cloak to follow him since Sharel and Jakar were knocked out.

Sub-Zero saw that Nate was going to try to kill Broadway again, so he formed an Ice Klone and threw it at him to get his attention. "A word if you will, Silver Lantern," the Lin Kuei demanded. "I figured a Red Lantern was behind this." Instead of continuing with his original goal, Nate formed a sword construct and charged for Sub-Zero. He slashed down, but Sub-Zero covered himself with ice. When Nate made contact, he was frozen all over, effectively giving the Grandmaster an opening. After recovering, the Silver Lantern continued sending more punches in Sub-Zero's direction. "It's bad enough you chose to ignore my help and instead challenge a Grandmaster, but your rage makes this easier!"

"What do you mean my 'rage makes this easier'?" Nate asked, not getting what Sub-Zero was getting at.

"Calm yourself. You almost killed a man who didn't deserve it." Nate growled, but then complied. His aura was back to the bright silver that it was while his eyes were back to normal. "Feeling better?"

"What happened?" Nate then saw the frozen villains and saw that Sub-Zero was responsible. "Oh yeah, now I remember. I went berserk upon seeing Broadway. I lost track of who I was."

"You are correct, Silver Lantern," Sub-Zero stated. "It's affected those around you. The civilians hate you because you didn't do the right thing. It even hurt your friends." At the Grandmaster's words, Nate saw that Sharel was knocked out with tears in her eyes. He fell to his knees in utter shock.

"Was that...me who did that?" Nate asked.

"It was. Your friend the soldier is knocked out as well. However, Cloak and Logan Washburn are going after the one who enhanced your rage. You can make up for this disaster by coming with me to their aid." Nate didn't hesitate; instead of rage in his eyes, there was determination.

Logan and Cloak got farther through the desert looking for the dark power the Assassin sensed earlier. On the way, Logan had told Cloak about the power, noting that there was more hatred and rage in it than Guy Gardner. They both knew full well who it was. "He's around here somewhere," Logan said. "Keep your power ready."

"Right," said Cloak, who was keeping an eye out. Suddenly, Cloak saw a sight he never saw before. "I've never seen a flying cat before."

"You should meet Streaky the Supercat." He then saw it was a Russian Blue wearing red, jagged armor and a red Power Ring on his tail. "Okay...Hal never told me our target had a pet cat."

"Do you like him?" asked a monstrous voice. Logan and Cloak looked behind them and saw the source. It was a red-skinned alien with jagged armor in the same color, yellow eyes, a bald head, and the insignia of the Red Lantern Corps. on his chest. He even had a red ring on his right middle finger. "Join the Red Lanterns and he can be yours."

"Sorry. I've got friends and loved ones here who wouldn't like that very well," Logan said to the alien with a smirk, getting a growl from him. "You must be Atrocitus. Hal told me about you."

"Did he now? I'm honored."

"Don't be," said Cloak. "We're here to release your grip on our friend."

"Too bad you won't get the chance." The two vigilantes were on guard, but the cat slashed both of their arms and joined his owner. "You see, out off all my Red Lanterns, Dex-Starr here is the most unpredictable. He rivals Guy Gardner in that department."

"Is that right?" Logan asked before firing his chain blades at the Red Lantern leader. Atrocitus turned so the blades would miss. He gave an evil smile, but the Assassin gave a smirk of his own and pulled back with a grunt. Atrocitus turned around and saw a mass of earth headed straight for him. He blasted the chunk, but didn't see Cloak coming. The Exonian sucker punched the Red Lantern, which caused him to stumble a little. He tried to further his offense, but Dex-Starr spat blood on his face, blinding him and allowing Atrocitus to punch him back towards Logan, who was about to surge a 'Chidori Blast' into the ground.

"Did you really think you can defeat me? You're facing the Master of Rage. You are out of your league."

"The fight just started and he's already being a pain," said Cloak. "How powerful is he anyway?"

"Powerful enough that we can cut loose and not worry about killing him. So long as he and the cat have their rings on, they won't die."

"So all we'd have to do is remove the rings?"

"That's what John said. It's best we don't, though. The Red Lanterns and Green Lanterns are enemies and the Guardians and GL Corps don't stand for killing."

"As if you could even come close," Atrocitus said, having heard the conversation. Logan tossed a smoke bomb by the Red Lantern's feet and threw one down by his own and Cloak's, knowing that Dex-Starr would be able to see them otherwise. The vigilantes dished out a series of punches on Atrocitus in rapid succession, but it only served to make him angrier. The rage created a shockwave that sent Logan and Cloak backwards, which the Red Lantern chained with a blood tornado from the ground to capture Logan. He grabbed the Assassin by the throat and formed a sword construct to kill him with. "This is your end, Assassin," he said.

Suddenly, a bright silver energy blast sent Atrocitus back, causing him to drop Logan to the ground. They looked and saw Nate along with Sub-Zero, the former having fired the energy blast. Logan saw that the shade of silver in Nate's aura was normal again. "Hey," he greeted weakly. "Glad to have you back, Nate."

"It's good to be back," the Silver Lantern responded. "I know we're dealing with a Red Lantern."

"Not just any," said Cloak. "That's the main one: Atrocitus."

"You going to be okay, Logan?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the Assassin answered. "He just knocked the wind out of me, that's all." They heard a growl, so they looked and saw Atrocitus getting up, angrier than before.

"Remember: When one is enraged, it makes them more susceptible to counters," Sub-Zero said.

"Not in this case," Cloak said. "Red Lanterns thrive on Rage, especially their own. So that lesson's going to have to go out the window against him." As Sub-Zero listened with doubts about Cloak's explanation, Nate got ready to fight. Atrocitus remade the sword construct and charged for Nate, who made one of his own. The two clashed, but due to Atrocitus' large stature and Nate's inexperience, the Red Lantern easily overpowered his human foe. Nate countered with a kick to the inside of Atrocitus' knee and followed it up with a baseball bat construct to the head.

The Silver Lantern saw that the bat was comically broke and that Atrocitus looked like he barely got hurt. Nate saw that a blood tornado was coming from the ground, so he flew out of the way, only to get clawed in the face by Dex-Starr. "Hey! No fair!" he yelled after landing back on the ground. "It's two against one and I can't fight a cat!"

"Does that make you angry?" Atrocitus asked with an evil smile on his face.

"No, but you're about to be." The Red Lantern wondered what he meant until he felt some spikes in his ankles, legs, back, and shoulders. He looked behind him and saw Cloak using his Symbiote to stab him in said spots. "So that's what Jakar was talking about? Neat."

"Yep," Cloak answered before tossing Atrocitus back. Nate fired a full-power blast at Atrocitus, who put a shield up in time. Logan joined in with a full-power 'Chidori Blast', followed by Sub-Zero firing an ice beam at full blast as well. Atrocitus and Dex-Starr tried to fight back, but Cloak wasn't about to let them. He slammed his fist down, allowing the Symbiote to catch them off guard by grabbing Atrocitus' leg. This caused the Red Lantern leader to take a direct hit from the three blasts.

When the dust cleared, the four of them saw that Atrocitus was down on one knee, struggling to get up. He knew he couldn't fight on in his present condition, so he opened a portal to his home to rest up. "Perhaps Cloak was right when it comes to Red Lanterns," Sub-Zero said. "They are harder to battle."

"That was some good thinking," Nate said.

"Don't mention it," said Cloak.

"Hey, I wanted to thank you guys."

"What for?" Logan asked.

"For stopping me from doing something stupid. You and Sharel were right; If I'd killed Broadway, I would've done something I would've regretted. I'm sorry about all of this mess."

"Nate, you made an unnecessary enemy out of someone who had nothing against you and vice versa. That's the biggest scar you'll get out of this. We could've avoided that had you have used your head and remembered that this world's Broadway and the one from your Earth are two different people. Compared to that scar, these scratches we got from Atrocitus' cat are nothing. But there was a positive out of all this."

"I came out of this a little wiser?"

"That, and we got to fight a strong opponent!" Logan said excitedly, getting Nate to groan and Cloak and Sub-Zero to chuckle a little. "Sub-Zero?"

"You've already taken the words out of my mouth," said the Grandmaster. "But I do have some additional advice: Remember the events of today and make sure you think clearly. The outcome of the battle depends greatly on it."

"Thank you, Grandmaster," Nate said, bowing in respect.

"C'mon," Logan said after Sub-Zero left. "Let's go get Sharel and Jakar."

Meanwhile, during the prisoner transport to Belle Reve, Broadway was contemplating on how to get revenge on Nate when he got out. Livewire was sent to a different prison, Stryker's Island to be exact. As he was thinking about this, he also looked at Mike's picture. "I'm sorry, Mike," he said to the picture. Suddenly, he felt the van slide around in circles until it hit a tree. "What the...?" There was a pounding at the door before he saw a red boxing glove burst through. The glove had a black Shadaloo insignia on it. The door was ripped off the hinges and thrown away, revealing an African-American man wearing both gloves, a blue hooded robe, basketball shorts, and boxing shoes.

"Charles Broadway," said the man. "Heard about ya."

"And who the hell are you?"

"I'm your new boss."

CHAPTER 36 END

Took me a while on this one. My buddies and I decided that we needed a serious Nate chapter, so we came up with Charles Broadway. With Sub-Zero being added on Injustice 2, I figured it was the perfect time. I just hope I kept him the same character-wise as he is in Mortal Kombat X. The next one's a Cloak chapter, but we'll be introducing a new OC, along with a very hyper family.

By the way, I bet you can guess who frees Broadway at the end.