The preparations were coming along just fine. Eris watched as the ritual circle was carved into the very stone of the cathedral, Deimos and Phobos etching it with fingers pointed to the floor as they moved all over the room.

The mortals that had used the binding ritual before them had taken great care to make sure everything was perfect before they commenced with the ceremony. The Gods needed to do the same if only to give the appearance they took this just as seriously. This circle also differed to the others as it had several smaller circles traced along the outer rim of the largest circle. These were spots indicated where the other mortal gods were to stand and aid with their power.

Of course, some of the circles would go unfulfilled. There were only three Olympians here, along with that incredible Philosopher's Stone. That left three open ones, but they could adjust. Mortal Maxie would have to accept it too.

"I believe we have ourselves a ritual circle!" Deimos exclaimed as he stopped to admire his and Phobos' work. He was openly breathing heavily, as if he had accomplished a monumental task akin to Atlas. He had his hands on his hips as he took in breath after breath.

"Are you well, Deimos?" Eris couldn't help but ask. Concern was not an emotion she cared to have a dalliance with, but she had never seen one of her brethren behave this way. It was strange.

"I'm perfectly fine," he retorted snidely. "Something like this is easy for one such as myself."

"She has a point," Phobos interjected. He then held up the Philosopher's Stone, something they had given to him for safe keeping—as the mortals would say. Besides, who would try and take something from Phobos anyways? His presence frightened everything. "You look like crap. Perhaps you should use this," he offered. "It may restore your stamina."

"I said I am fine," Deimos growled threateningly. "Choose your next words carefully lest they be your last."

It was a simple gesture, but Deimos raised a hand up to his abdomen, resting it just before the opening of his coat. Clearly he had a weapon he intended to use should his ire increase. Considering the odd devices his host seemed fond of, it could have been anything.

However, they could not continue their exchange as the large doors to the cathedral were suddenly thrown open. The three Olympians turned towards them and were greeted with the sight of their fellow conspirators, the mortal gods, and they did not look enthused.

Well, this was most certainly unexpected and unwanted.

"Eris, Deimos, Phobos," the one called Faust proclaimed, striding into the church. Dr. Alchemy and the Shade followed him, the one they referred to as a traitor floating along behind them. "Your treason ends."

"Treason?" Eris repeated innocently. "Why, whatever gives you that idea?"

"The moment you threw us all all over the damn city," the Shade responded, his cane resting against his shoulder. "Pretty sure that's what tipped us off."

"Along with the taking of the Philosopher's Stone and Maximilian Zeus," Dr. Alchemy added. "We are here to retrieve both."

By then, the two sides were standing a short distance away from each other, an immortal showdown. Deimos and Phobos had taken up positions on either side and a step behind Eris, looking quite intimidating with their wide, toothy smirks. Eris had her own amused grin, one that she was sure made her look enchanting. In comparison, their mortal brethren looked crossed and hostile.

"I must say, you have everything wrong," Eris responded. "As you can see, we have been hard at work creating the ritual circle for our exalted liege. If we were attempting a coup, why would we go to all of that effort?"

Faust and Dr. Alchemy leaned in opposite directions of each other so that they could look past the Olympians. "The circle is in place," Dr. Alchemy observed softly.

Faust, though, was not so easily impressed. "Yet there are imperfections—errors. I can see the incomplete symbols from here."

"I never said we were finished," the red-haired goddess protested. "The base is in place, is it not? Editing is required to ensure everything is perfect."

"Are you not Olympians?" Faust returned evenly. "You are closer to perfection than any one of us. You do not act without having every intent to accomplish your task in the manner you see fit. Such errors are beyond you."

Well, that was an excellent point. These mortals were too smart for their own good.

"Besides, if we were on the same side, then we all should have ended up here," the Shade pointed out. "Or at the very least all of us should have stayed together. There's no reason for us to have been split up."

Phobos leaned towards Eris left ear and murmured, "I believe they're onto us."

"What was your first clue?" she snapped back. Then she redirected her attention to their former allies. "I suppose it is fruitless to continue this charade with you, gentlemen. We've only been humoring you thus far, so allow me to explain our actions in full." She then leveled them with a pointed look. "Your participation is no longer required."

"The hell it isn't!" the Shade exclaimed.

"I agree with that sentiment," Dr. Alchemy chimed in. "I've always suspected an ulterior motive and it is clear as day that you are making your move. Whatever you are planning, it ends now."

"Oh? And how do you plan to end it?" Eris taunted.

"With force if it is required."

The goddess spread her hands out to either side of herself, the feeling of life responding filling her body. Oh yes, she was more than ready for a fight. "I would love to see you—"

"GAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYHHHHHHHHH!"

There was something calling. It seemed so far away, yet way too close. It was hard to distinguish what was being said. All he knew was that he felt the need to hear it, to understand it.

Wake up.

The words gently caressed his ear. Wake up? He wasn't sure what that meant. Was he not awake already if he could hear?

Wake up.

There was some insistence with the tone, one that commanded him to do as it wanted. He felt himself compelled to do so. He wasn't one to be told what to do and usually buckled down on instinct. Yet, he felt warmth and compassion, which lowered his instinctual defensiveness. Though it wanted him to do as it requested, it wasn't going to force him to do as it asked.

Wake up.

With a groan, Batman shifted. It took a moment, but his mind snapped to attention. When he had moved, he felt something tightly against him, holding him down. In fact, it was keeping him face down on the floor.

Thanks to his cowl, he was able to open his eyes without concern of a jailer seeing him. He didn't have to worry about someone watching him though, as he looked around the dark room he was in, finding himself to be all alone.

He continued to search the room, not so much as budging a muscle. He listened intently for the sound of breathing, or movement. None was made. The rest of his senses told him he was alone.

He then tried moving his arms and found he was indeed restrained. "Night vision," he muttered and the lens of his cowl went green from the top down. The room around him was bathed in green and black, allowing him to see what was around him. He was in some sort of office, one that had some religious affiliation as he spotted a few ornament crosses standing in the corner, a podium nearby, and a banner for the anniversary of the Gotham Cathedral's Bi-centennial.

As for himself, Batman found he was indeed restrained, but not by any rope or chain. There were vines wrapped around him, which was rather puzzling.

Except, he distinctly remembered being attacked by said plants when investigating Maxie Zeus' apartment. His memory kicked into gear and he couldn't help but grimace. Damn it, he had been caught so easily. It was a sop to his pride. He did not make rookie mistakes, not since his first couple years on the streets; yet, here he was suffering the consequences for his hubris.

However, he would make up for it. Seeing as he was alone, he began to wiggle about within the vines. The purpose of this was to loop one of the vines against the triangle blades on his gauntlet, to which he was successful. Stopping his wiggling, he began twisting his forearm back and forth, making sure to dig the sharp blade into the vine.

This was going to be slow going, but he needed slack, and this was the only way to do so. Sure, he could have disengaged the gauntlet from his arm, but there were restraining branches up and down the full length of his arm, so there was no benefit to doing so.

After a few minutes, he finally severed through the vine. Immediately he felt the restraints loosen around his abdomen, though both of his hands were still pinned to his hips. Rolling his shoulders up, he raised his arms somewhat, then rolled them backwards, which caused more slack within the vines.

This had the added benefit of loosening the vines below his waist, though just a little. It was still enough for him to move one hand up enough so that he could get leverage on another vine, looping it between his triangle blades and cutting it with one jerk of his arm.

Soon enough, Batman was able to stand up, the greenery falling off of his body. The vigilante took an extra moment to ensure he was clean of them, no random piece clinging to his body like before. Once satisfied, he began stretching out his legs and arms, rolling his head to remove any stiffness he felt. There was no telling how long he had been out, so it was a good idea to keep himself limber.

While he did this, he took stock of his situation. He had obviously been knocked out upon being captured, which had a subsequent change in location. The Bi-centennial banner was a big give away on that. He was at the Gotham Cathedral, though why he wasn't certain.

Batman frowned then. He felt...something. It wasn't physical, but he could tell something was different in his head. It was like he was sensing a presence in the back of his head, one that was retreating to some unknown corner. It felt familiar too, as if it…

No, it had been the one to urge him back into consciousness. The moment he thought this, the presence seemed to shrink in on itself. Clearly it did not want his attention. Or rather, she didn't.

Ace, he called out.

The presence stirred. She seemed meek. Clearly she didn't want him to notice her.

Everything's alright, he told her. I'm awake now. He paused. Thanks.

Ace seemed to hum with approval and that was the last he felt of her. Clearly she had been the one to help him wake up, her voice being the source of that strange call. Most likely she had been at work for a while, or she had made certain he was in a relatively safe location before trying to rouse him. At the very least, he felt certain she would have woken him faster if he had been hanging over a vat of acid or something.

Moving along, Batman was certain he had been brought here for a reason. Perhaps it was as a sacrifice as Maxie Zeus' conspirators suggested. Something must have interrupted them though, as they could have performed whatever ritual sacrifice at Zeus' apartment. There was no need to change location otherwise.

Alright, first thing was first, he needed to make certain he was indeed at Gotham Cathedral. Just because he was surrounded by religious symbols and banners did not mean he was at that specific location. He could have been at Gotham State's Religion Department storage, or a historical preservation organization headquarters. Once he knew for certain where he was at, he'd make the call to J'onn.

Then he'd find Maxie Zeus and teach him that he had messed with the wrong man. God, or no god, no one crossed the Dark Knight, not in his own city.

The screams were incredible. They sounded more akin to a wild beast than a man. And those screams were coming right out of Deimos.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH! RAAAHHHH! AAAAARRRRGHHHHHHH!"

Eris had seen mortals writhe in pain before. She had witnessed horrible, unspeakable tortures; she had even participated in them. None of those mortals had been like this though. Unease filled her guts, a feeling a mortal would refer to as a survival instinct screaming in her head that something wasn't right and she needed to get far, far away.

She did not like this feeling.

Deimos was hunched over, his hands buried in his mane of snakes. The snakes themselves were in a frenzy, some sticking straight up as others flung themselves in every conceivable direction imaginable. Phobos seemed just as stunned by his brother's distress as Eris, his fearsome appearance lost in his bafflement. Their mortal pawns were just as shocked by this development, watching with wide eyes, unable to move.

Then what appeared like steam began to waft off of Deimos. "I...I can't…" he sputtered, spit flying out of his mouth. "Can't...control...can't...hang onto...GYYYYYYYAAAHHHHH!"

"What's going on, Phobos?" Eris demanded as she edged away from her brethren.

"I...don't know," the Fear God admitted dumbly. "I've never seen this before."

"MY MIND!" Deimos suddenly screeched. "MY MIND CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! TOO MUCH! IT'S TOO MUCH!"

Then the steam emanating from the god's body suddenly erupted into a large cloud. It pour off of him in droves, spraying itself high into the air. For a brief moment, the cloud formed the face of a snake, screaming in agony as it rose higher and higher, the face stretching longer and longer until it reached the ceiling and dissipated.

Loud gasps filled the chamber then. Directing her attention away from the fading cloud, Eris saw Deimos' host standing hunched over, panting over and over. Gone were the snakes from his head and the tail that had extended out his backside. In place of the mane of snakes were long strands of green hair, unevenly cut, which gave him a ragged appearance. His clothes remained much the same.

"What...the hell...was that?" the host panted as he tried in vain to catch his breath. The smile that seemed to have perpetually graced his face was gone, in its place a rather stone cold expression. Eris did not like that look for whatever reason. Something about it promised impending doom.

He slowly straightened out his posture, somehow slowing his breathing as he caught his breath. His sunken eyes slid over and stared at the goddess, causing a chill to run down her spine. "What did you do to me?" he growled menacingly.

"Phobos, tell me what's happening?!" Eris demanded.

Phobos continued to stare at the pale man. "Deimos...lost his host…?" he responded questioningly. "But that can't happen. It's impossible. No mortal can fend off a god."

"Then find an explanation!"

The gangling god just stared at the mortal, but his eyes glazed over. Eris wasn't sure what he was going, but it didn't last long as he recoiled with disgust. "The mortal! His mind! I've never felt anything like it!"

"Felt what? What did you do?" she pressed.

"I tried to search for his innermost fears. It's a talent of my host, but all I found was chaos. There was nothing but insanity. I have no idea how Deimos was able to contain it for so long, but it must have forced him out."

A mortal...forced a god out? That was unheard of! Impossible as Phobos had said. Yet, she had no other explanation for it. She had seen odd things with Deimos, such as his sweating and occasional bouts of laughter, but she hadn't thought much of it. All this time, it was the host rejecting him.

What kind of man was this?

"This feeling," the man suddenly spoke, ripping the goddess out of her mind. "I can't stand it. I feel so...so...violated. I hate it!" Fury twisted the man's face, making him look more animalistic. "I have to make it go away! I have to do something to make this right!"

Suddenly, he stuck one of his hands inside of his jacket, then pulled out a gun. Eris stared at it as the man then pointed the barrel of the weapon right at Phobos. The Fear God just stared at it with surprise, staring down the barrel. The mortal then squeezed the trigger, a powerful gunshot ringing out

Much to Eris' astonishment and disbelief, Phobos' head exploded into a torrent of red blood. The bright fluid flew out of the god's neck like a geyser before it ended just as abruptly as it started. Much of it splattered all over Eris, her eyes widened with fear.

That gun...she knew what it was! It was something Deimos had mentioned in passing every so century. He had always talked about making a god killing weapon, but had never seen it through. She figured it was just him talking big, but it seemed he had actually done it. However, with his removal from his host, that left the gun in the hands of a mortal, and a deranged one at that.

Next to her, Phobos' headless body jerked about, its arms spasming about before the corpse fell to the floor with a wet splat. The pale mortal did not seem at all perturbed by this as he then pointed the gun right at Eris. "That made me feel so much better," he spoke before adding coldly, "next."

Eris let out a scream as she thrust out one of her hands. In an instant, large vines exploded through the floor right beneath the mortal's feet. They wrapped around his legs and arms, immediately disarming the man as they carried him up into the air. They continued to wrap around him there, imprisoning him there.

For a moment, the man looked stunned. Then he tried to move his arms and legs. "Tied up and somehow not hanging from the ceiling," he remarked with odd fascination. Then he looked right at Eris. "Pammy, is it Wednesday already?"

"Still your tongue, mortal," she hissed at him. "You have no idea what you've just done."

"I'd say I blew your new boyfriend's head off—B-T-Dubs, love that gun. Do you mind if I keep it?"

A chuckle rang out, causing Eris to snap her head around. The other mortal gods were still there, the one known as Faust having been the one to laugh clearly at her expense. "It would seem you are all alone now," the man said. "The tables have so elegantly turned against you."

Anger did not describe what Eris felt. This mortal was taunting her. Taunting her! How dare he?!

"Flee before I tear thee asunder," she warned lowly.

"I don't believe we will." Light began to flow from Faust's hands. "It's time to surrender yourself, Eris."

Like hell it was. Without even making a gesture, she commanded more of Demeter's children to come to her aid.

Which they did. Due to the doors being wide open, long strands of vegetation swarmed into the cathedral, wrapping around the four that stood in her way. They clamped down on them, causing them all to cry out in surprise. Then they were yanked back out of the church, vanishing through the doorway, to which vines had grown out of the floor. They wrapped around the doors and then slammed them shut.

J'onn was reminded just how large of a city Gotham City was.

Even with the Justice League and the Birds of Prey spread out over the dark city, there were just too many places a person could hide, or in this case multiple persons. Floating high above, J'onn watched and sensed with his mind as his comrades performed their searches.

Flash was easily covering most ground, but he was having to spend quite a bit of time searching each and every building, uncovering every stone that he could to ensure those Greek Gods were not hiding there. Superman was using his own x-ray vision, scouring entire skyscrapers in the downtown area. Unfortunately, the older buildings in the city had lead built into their construction, so they would be harder to scan that way.

As for the others, J'onn could only feel their thoughts and the growing worry and frustration they felt. In the meantime, he was opening his mind, taking his time as he did so. If he went too fast, he would be opening himself up to every person's thoughts in the city and that could potentially overwhelm him. That was simply not an option. Already there were a jumble of thoughts he had to sort through.

I think I can cover the mortgage this month.

What do you want for dinner? What do you mean you don't know?!

Damn it, Freddy, find a damn place to piss already!

Will Daddy be home tonight? He won't? Why?

Shifting through the thoughts, he closed out the ones he knew weren't the thoughts of his quarry. Unfortunately, a few at a time was like counting grains of sand at a beach. There were a couple million people here, so eliminating one hundred was tantamount to nothing.

"J'onn, any progress?" he heard Diana call out to him over the comm link.

The Martian didn't even pause in his search as he continued to touch the minds of others. "Nothing yet, Wonder Woman," he responded over the comm link.

There was a pause before, "Flash should be finishing his section of the city soon, the same with Superman. I'm planning on moving them to the industrial sector of the city."

"Understood." Someone, most likely one of the vigilantes, would be position in the sector those two heroes cleared, if only to keep someone in that part of the city in case something was missing. Assuming the place they were looking for was just outside of these sectors, they would have them ready to converge at a moment's notice.

At least, that was what the current thinking was.

J'onn.

J'onn's head perked up. He knew that tone. He seemed to be detecting it quite a bit lately.

Batman, he responded quickly. I have been—

No time, he was cut off. Get to the Gotham Cathedral. That's where I've been taken and things are going down. Maxie Zeus' group is falling apart. If there was ever a time to take them down, this is it.

Understood. We're in route. J'onn shut Batman's voice off, though he was quick to make sure he kept the man's awareness in the back of his head. Already he could feel anxiety and concern, two things the Dark Knight was not known for exhibiting.

Time was short, however. Though a call on the comm link was appropriate, the Justice League and Gotham's vigilantes did not share the same frequency. The time it would take to alert everyone in two attempts was not desirable.

So he called out to everyone using his telepathy. Attention all Justice League and Gotham vigilantes. I have located Batman. Everyone converge on Gotham Cathedral as soon as possible. There is infighting present in Zeus' group and it would be advantageous of us to take advantage of it.

Already he was flying towards the location he felt Batman was at. No doubt that would be where the cathedral was. Gotham's vigilantes would know where it was automatically, so guidance was not needed. Flash would undoubtedly find it first with his speed, and the others would find their own way.

In the meantime, he would attempt to arrive first, if not second. The more forces they had at the cathedral, the better.

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