There were scrapes and bruises to be certain, but otherwise everyone was alright. Faust grunted as he pushed himself up onto his feet. He and the rest of the Pantheon had been tossed out by Eris' growing control over plantlife, a situation that was becoming quite bothersome. Thankfully she hadn't fully explored what she was truly capable of, but given enough time, he was certain she would become incredibly powerful.

As he stood up onto his feet, the others were joining him. Despite their present situation, they still had numbers against the goddess; all they had to do was force their way back in. Their three would assuredly be more than enough to overpower her.

He wasn't entirely clear on what had transpired to make it just her. The host of Deimos—the infamous Joker—had somehow vanquished the god. Something with his mind perhaps? Then he promptly executed Phobos in the most brutal fashion. Faust was still trying to figure out how that was possible. Gods were supposed to be immortal; yet, Phobos' headless corpse begged to differ.

That could be looked into later. Eris had some dastardly plan concerning Maxie Zeus and she mustn't be allowed to fulfill it.

As his hands began to glow, he held them up towards the large doors of the cathedral. Large vines had covered its entire length in criss-crossed fashion, an attempt to bar them entry. "I hope everyone is well," he called out to the others. "I need you all at your most formidable."

"Nothing I can't live with," Shade grunted back to him. He tapped the end of his cane in one hand. "Get us back in so I can show that bitch just who she's dealing with."

"I concur," Dr. Alchemy agreed.

Before Faust could unleash his spell, though. A green wall suddenly appeared before the church, a barrier between the three gods and it.

"How about we don't."

Eyes widening, Faust jerked his head upward, quickly spotting the Green Lantern floating down towards them, a beam of light extending out from his ring and forming the wall. Unfortunately, he was not alone. At his side was the winged woman, Hawkgirl, her mace held tightly in her hand.

There was a burst of wind, which pulled at the gods' clothes. Looking to locate the source, he then saw the Flash leaning nonchalantly against the green wall, arms crossed over his chest along with an ankle in front of a foot. "Yo," he greeted them.

As if that were some cue, more and more heroes descended from the air. The capes of Superman and the Martian Manhunter flapped in the wind as they landed on the ground, placing the gods between them and the cathedral. Across from the Green Lantern and Hawkgirl was the Amazonian Wonder Woman, who kept to the air.

Others emerged too, women from what Faust could pick out. He wasn't certain of who they were, but each one had a scowl on their face as they regarded them. The professor did spot one woman with a Bat Symbol on her chest, indicating just who they were affiliated with.

"We have you surrounded," Wonder Woman announced, drawing the men's attention to her. "Surrender yourselves now and release your claim to the gods you have bonded to you."

"You've got to be kidding me," Shade spoke as he turned his head from left to right and back. "Did they have to send in the entire calvary now, or something?"

"This does not bode well for us," Dr. Alchemy pointed out. "We are clearly outnumbered."

"We are, aren't we?" Faust murmured. "Perhaps they could be of use to us."

"I don't see how," Shade grumbled back.

Allowing the light glowing from his hands to fade, Faust dropped them to his side. "Wonder Woman, is it?" he called out to her. "I believe we have a common foe that we would be most agreeable to defeat."

He then gestured to the Cathedral. "Inside is the goddess Eris, and I fear she is up to mischief."

"Eris is always up to mischief," the dark-haired woman sniffed. "It is who she is."

"And I fear that mischief will cause irreparable harm. We were just in the process of subduing her when you arrived. If I may propose a truce until she is apprehended?"

"No deal," the Green Lantern interjected. "We'll handle Eris. Right now, you've caused enough trouble. Give up your gods now."

"That sure as hell didn't work," the Shade remarked. "What now, Professor?"

"We fight them, of course," said Dr. Alchemy. "We should be able to handle two, even three of these heroes apiece."

"Uhh, in case you haven't noticed, there's more of them than that," Shade pointed out. "You're talking about four-on-one, including those Birds of Prey women and freaking Batgirl."

So the women called themselves the Birds of Prey? He had heard of such a group, but he chose to ignore them for his own studies. It would seem he needed to rectify that blind spot at a later date. "Not if we allow Mr. Dee an opportunity to assist us."

"The traitor?! No way!"

"It may be our only way to even the odds," Dr. Alchemy said. "I don't really see any other option at this point."

"Mr. Dee, what say you?" Faust called to him. "You may speak."

The man's eyes slid over to look at him. "After what you've done to me, what makes you think I'll help you?"

"By allowing your prior transgressions to become bygones. Consider this a second chance to join us as brothers in the Pantheon," Faust replied. "I will admit that this is a unique opportunity as I would not offer this if the situation were any different. I do recommend you take this."

Mr. Dee stared at him. He was clearly weighing his options before he answered, "Alright, I'm willing to help you."

"Shade, if you will do the honors," Faust then instructed. "I believe we all will need some working space and it is much too crowded here. I trust you'll give us the advantage."

"Whatever you say, Doc."

Faust then snapped his fingers, the glow around Mr. Dee fading away. Shade then raised up his cane and shadows began to flood out of it. Soon their entire world went to black.

The darkness began to clear and it was obvious they weren't at the church anymore.

John's aura immediately brightened as he assumed flight. Movement next to him caused him to look, finding Superman nearby. The two of them had been dumped in midair on the other side of town.

John couldn't help but growl at that. "How much do you want to bet we were all just tossed around the city so they had enough time to get back into the cathedral?" he asked.

"My last paycheck," came Superman's response.

That gave the Green Lantern pause. He knew the Kryptonian had some sort of job, but he wasn't one to make bets unnecessarily. Looking to the dark-haired man, he saw him point to a nearby skyscraper, one with a prominent W on its side.

Standing on the ledge was that man in the purple robe. He was staring them down with great anticipation, something the Lantern didn't like. It reminded him of a shark just moments before it attacked.

"Gentlemen!" the man called out, the two Leaguers beginning to approach him through the air, albeit slowly. "Allow me to introduce myself seeing as how we have only just met.

"I am Felix Faust, God of Sorcery and the Mystic. It is a pleasure to meet you." He then pointed at each man in turn. "And you are Superman and the Green Lantern. Your exploits are well documented."

"I can't say the same about you," John replied. "This is your last chance to surrender yourself."

"My apologies as I cannot do such a thing." Faust shifted his weight as his feet scuffled on the roof. "In fact, this presents a unique opportunity. You see, I have yet to see the full power of my promotion and you two are just the men to experiment on."

"You're going to find that we don't make good research subjects." Without wasting anymore time, John pointed his ring at the so-called god and fired a beam of green light. Before it reached the man, the head of the beam expanded and formed a large hand, one that wrapped around its target and clamped down tightly.

Faust didn't seem the least bit concerned by this. "Elefthérosé me," he then spoke, a light suddenly beginning to creep through the small gaps between the fingers. Rays grew brighter and larger until the construct blew apart, leaving the man unharmed. His smirk widened. "My turn," he said.

He then pointed one hand out towards them. "Fos tou Thanátou," he chanted and a large, bright blast erupted from his hand. Eyes widening, John immediately fired another beam, this one forming a large, half-dome shield before him and Superman.

Faust's blast collided with the shield an instant later and the force of it slammed right into the Lantern through his connection with the construct. Grunting as he gritted his teeth, he willed his shield to hold strong. It did as he wished, but that didn't mean he couldn't feel the strain such an action required.

That's when Superman went into action. Flying around the shield and energy blast, he then made a beeline right for the purple-cloaked man, closing in on him rapidly.

However, John could see through the shield and the colliding beam that Faust was ready for this. His other hand was drawn back, bathed in flames. "Flóges apó tin Kólasi!" he shouted before he threw his fireball right for the Man of Steel.

Superman did not even try to dodge the flames. He was invulnerable to just about anything in this world and fire wouldn't even faze him. He took the fireball head on as it hit him in the face.

Then to John's shock, the Kryptonian cried out as he abruptly stopped his flight. Both of his hands shot to his face, covering it as he writhed in midair.

What...what the hell was happening?

The smirk on Faust's face widened. "I believe this is the first time you've had to weather magic, is it not, Superman? Allow me to test this hypothesis."

That's when he stopped his energy blast. With the same hand he made a gesture with it, a simple slapping motion. It was rather underwhelming in John's opinion, but his shock skyrocketed as Superman suddenly went flying through the air, angled downwards towards the city itself. The Green Lantern watched in astonishment as the Man of Steel collided with a corner of a building and burst through it. He left a trench in his wake along the face of the building as he scraped along it, cement crumbling and window glass shattering. His unintended flight eventually pulled him away from the building moments before he hit the street, bouncing across it like a thrown rock skipping over a pond.

Jerking his head back to Faust, John was scowling now. That had been completely unexpected, but he couldn't let himself be distracted. Keeping his ring hand pointed right at his foe, he fired an energy blast.

Faust spotted this coming and didn't look the least bit concerned. With the same hand that he had used to...well, slap Superman right out of the air, he waved it back across his body. The moment John's attack was mere feet away, it collided with a faint purple shield. Undeterred, John increased his energy output, intending to break the shield through sheer will.

"Some food for thought," Faust called out. "Pure emotion cannot overwhelm magic." Holding his extended hand out before him, his fingers suddenly stretched out as far as they could go. This in turn caused his shield to suddenly start charging forward. Much to John's shock, the shield pushed back against his beam easily, as if it weren't even there.

However, before it could touch him, the shield suddenly expanded. Its edges began to curve until they reached each other somewhere behind John. Before he could react, the shield closed in on him, pinning his arms to his sides and legs together. The shield glowed then before it was replaced with a block of cement, one in which the Lantern's head and feet were the only visible parts of him.

"Please reflect on what I've taught you," Faust called out to him. "You'll have enough time to do so as you fall to your death."

That's when John began to rapidly fall towards the street far below. The wind shrieked all around him as he careened downward. Teeth gritted, he squirmed against the hardened stone, yet he couldn't work his way free. Time was not on his side for this, especially with the ground rushing right up towards him.

John Dee stared with a murderous look full of malicious intent.

J'onn returned the look with cool indifference, though he was on edge. The Shade had purposefully transported the two of them to another part of the city, an alleyway to be precise. Along with them though, were Batgirl and Black Canary, both of whom stood slightly behind him and on either side.

The Martian was quite aware of what Dee could do as his alter ego, Dr. Destiny. Considering he was in his Grecian garb, he wasn't in use of his power just yet, but that could change at a moment's notice. He was admittedly on edge due to the two women with them. It was one thing for him to go up against a telepath, but not with people that could become collateral damage.

"I hope you're ready for a rematch, Martian," Dee growled, his hands tightening into fists at his sides. "Because of you, I was dragged back to those bastards in chains."

"You have been freed from those bonds," J'onn pointed out. "We do not have to fight."

"So that I can be imprisoned again? I don't think so. You have no idea how sadistic those people are; what they are capable of. Faust used me as a guinea pig to try out his powers. Do you have any idea what he did to me?"

"Considering they see you as a traitor, what kind of treatment did you expect?" Black Canary countered. "I don't know the specifics, but I get the feeling you aren't well liked by them."

"If you don't know what you're talking about, then you should keep your mouth shut," Dee snarled. "I don't care for you, Blondie, but if you get in my way, I will bring your worst nightmares to life."

"I do not know what horrors you have witnessed," J'onn interjected, "but you still have the choice to not fight us."

The man snorted. "Regardless of my feeling towards them, you and I still have a score to settle. I think it's time you and I settle it." Suddenly, behind the Dream God, the portal to the Dream World began to open, dark hues of blue and purple shining out. As it opened, Dee's form began to bulk up, growing in size as a blue hood and cape fell about his shoulders. His face melted off until the skull of Dr. Destiny was glaring at them.

"Well, that wasn't creepy," Black Canary remarked.

"Stay on your guard," J'onn warned her. "He's opened a way right into dreams. Anything is possible now."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Whatever you dream, he can make real," Batgirl supplied succinctly. "If you dream of fire, he will set this entire place on fire to hurt you."

That was a good way to put it. Unfortunately, Dr. Destiny heard them. "That's a rather bright girl," he said. "And she just supplied me with the perfect opener."

The god then raised his hands out in front of him. In response, the very wall of the alley erupted into flames, the fire spreading from the ground up until they reached the top of the buildings. Unbearable heat assaulted the three heroes.

Apprehension appeared on J'onn's face even as he flinched from the flames. His mind was screaming with alarm, even though he knew this was only the effect of the dream world. The walls themselves weren't burning as they weren't blackening from the flames. That was a tell-tale sign that they weren't real. And yet his instinct rebelled against his logic.

A couple of batarangs flew by the Martian, Batgirl springing forth towards Dr. Destiny. The projectile flew towards the god, even as he shifted his stance. His jaw twitched into a grin then and he waved a hand in front of him.

In an instant, the batarangs lost their shape, changing into actual bats. The flying mammals let out shrieks as they flapped their leathery wings, flying up into the night's sky. That left the charging Batgirl the only impending threat.

That was until she took a step and the ground beneath her foot suddenly gave way, swallowing her foot whole. The girl's balance was thrown off as she threw her arms out on either side of her, trying to regain her foot. As she placed her other foot down, it too sunk into the ground.

"Shit! Did he just turn the ground into quicksand?!" Black Canary exclaimed.

"It would seem so," J'onn confirmed. He watched as Batgirl twisted her body from side to side as she looked at the ground, continuing to sink into it. It had moved past her knees and was working its way up her thighs.

"Well, this just got difficult," the blonde vigilante grumbled. "Long distance isn't going to work and we're too far away to get into close combat." She then paused before giving the green-skinned man a look. "Can't you fly though? Or use your telepathy?"

"He wishes that he could," Dr. Destiny interjected. "In case you haven't noticed, the flames are causing his mind to fluctuate with fear, which is rendering him powerless. You can see it on his face."

That wasn't necessarily true, but J'onn was finding it difficult to focus on anything other than the flames. It was just like his last visit in Batman's mind, when he had been surrounded by Dr. Destiny's flames. Yet, he couldn't let something imaginary affect him to ineffectiveness. He needed to allow his logical side to overrule his instincts.

So why was it he was having a hard time doing so?

Of all the places they had to go, why did it have to be the sewers?

Flash couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at the stench. It smelled worse than that stink bomb Tommy Philips had detonated under the bleachers in middle school. It took the school a week to fumigate the place and even then the smell never really left.

Thankfully they were at some sort of juncture where maintenance could check water pressures and such. It wasn't really a room so much as it was two hallways intersecting, but the intersecting point opened up into this hexagonal area. There were valves and gages along the wall, showing various pressures in certain pipes. Speaking of, there were pipes running across the ceiling of this place, though way Flash didn't know.

At least his company was nice. There were these two Gotham chicks, one in purple and one in red and yellow. They were part of that Birds of Prey group Bats let running around his city. One was...Huntress, he thought, and the other was Katana.

Crossbow and Sword Chick worked equally well here.

Now, these chicks were very easy on the eyes. Their bodies were well presented in their costumes and he couldn't help but sneak a peek at them. Maybe they'd give him their numbers when this was all over.

However, the reason why he said the company was nice considering the talent that was on display, the reason for the downgrade was the other person. The Shade was standing opposite of them, cane in hand, and a smirk on his face.

Yeah, he was such a downer he downgraded two lovely ladies.

"I hope you find this place agreeable," the man then said. "I was running out of places to place everyone and this one seemed appropriate for me."

"If you're referring to your shit personality, then yeah, you definitely belong here," Huntress snapped, holding a bo staff in hand.

That was a nice burn, Flash couldn't help but admire. Shade frowned at the insult, his body going still. "I'd be careful who you insult down here," he warned her. "Cause this may be the last place you ever see."

"Plenty of people have said that to me," the dark-haired woman retorted. "As you can see, they were mistaken. I don't see that changing with you."

"A demonstration then, shall we?" Shade then pointed his cane right towards them, causing the three heroes to go defensive. Unfortunately, they weren't attacked from the front, but behind. Something heavy rammed into Flash's back, causing him to cry out as he was sent flying to the floor.

Whatever it was that hit him, it suddenly began wrapping around him. Gritting his teeth, he looked down and saw some large shadowy blob enveloping his body, swallowing him up from foot to shoulder. Soon, only his head was sticking out of it. Scowling, he began trying to move his legs and arms, only to find that he couldn't get any traction. It was like being stuck in mud, only lighter and not as messy.

"Let's keep your legs out of this," Shade commented before turning his attention to the ladies. "This place is filled with shadows and I'm going to enjoy taking you down one-by-one as you scurry about. Please keep this entertaining."

So that's what this was. The speedster remembered pretty quickly Shade had control over shadow and damn was it biting him on the ass right now. The guy had distracted him with his cane while he summoned the shadows behind them to take the red-clad man out of the picture. God this was embarrassing.

Suddenly, more shadows began racing across the room, heading right for Huntress and Katana. The two ladies immediately darted in opposite directions, the shadows giving chase to them. Struggling against the shadows, Flash tried to work his way out, but found he was pretty much stuck for the time being.

In the meantime, he saw that Katana woman make a beeline right for a wall. Leaping into the air, she extended a foot out just in time to collide with the wall. She then sprang off the wall, sending herself hurling towards the Shade, her sword over her head.

Unfortunately, the Shade didn't look the least bit affected by this. He just looked up at her, a confident smirk on his face. He did, however, point his cane right at the flying woman and fired a blast of dark shadows.

In response, Katana swung her sword down. Much to Flash's amazement, her sword actually sliced right through the shadow, causing it to split apart and slide to either side of the Asian woman. There was a sharp cry and Flash saw Shade dart backwards, barely avoiding the sword slash.

That was when a shadow suddenly shot up from the floor, forming a wall to the thin man's right. A couple of those throwing star things collided with it, causing them to stop their flight. It took Flash a moment to realize that had to come from Huntress, who was trying to take advantage of their opponent's current distraction in Katana.

That same shadow then swiped towards Katana, who didn't even break stride as she sliced her sword towards it, cutting it apart much like the first attack. With her sword high in the air now, she then took another slash at Shade, aiming for his head.

Shade again jerked back away to avoid the blade. "That's enough out of you," he growled. Instantly, the Katana's own shadow suddenly shrunk in on her, wrapping around her feet and ankles, causing her to stop moving and nearly throwing her off balance.

That's when Huntress came flying in, swinging her bo staff, she too aiming for the head. "Ha!" she shouted as she swung the staff.

Unfortunately, Shade was able to counter as he swung up his cane and blocked the purple-clad woman's attack. "Settle down now, you'll get your turn," Shade said before he jumped away from Huntress so that he could put some distance between them. The moment he landed, he pointed his cane right at her and fired another blast of shadow. This time though, Huntress took it head on and was sent flying backwards through the air, the dark-haired woman crying out until she slammed right into a wall. "Stay there. I want to save you for last."

Pausing to admire his work, Shade then turned his attention to Flash and Katana. "Now then, let's settle up with you two first. This time, he held a hand out towards Flash, then slowly made a fist with it.

In response, the shadows surrounding him began to creep up his neck and wrap around his head. Oh, this was so not cool! Here he was, the Fastest Man Alive and he had been taken out first. Now he was being swallowed by some dark crap. What the hell!

"Get off of me!" he cried out as he resumed struggling. Nothing worked, however, and soon the darkness swallowed him whole.

The wind blew through Diana's hair as she soared like a missile. The buildings of downtown Gotham raced by her as she flew down the street, heading right for the back of her target. With a fist drawn back, she was ready to pulverize the man-turned-god into pieces.

Before she even reached Dr. Alchemy, the road suddenly broke apart and a wall of stone climbed high into the air, forming a half-circle around the god. Diana was already throwing her fist by then and it slammed right into the stone, causing it to shatter.

A large hole appeared as rocky debris was sent flying out the other side. Floating through it, the Amazon saw Dr. Alchemy was nowhere to be seen.

"I've got him!" Hawkgirl shouted as she flew by, high in the air. Diana turned her head as she watched her winged sister head right for the top of a parking garage. Standing at its corner was the green-cloak god, who was watching the Thanagarian's approach.

Along the ledge of the building, spikes suddenly grew out, then fired towards Hawkgirl. Immediately, she pulled up, drawing back her mace before she swung it, timing it perfectly as she smashed apart one of the spikes. With a backswing, she pulverized another in a cloud of dust and smoke.

Suddenly, someone was standing next to Diana. Turning her head, she saw one of the Gotham vigilantes, the one called Manhunter, standing next to her. She was gripping her bo staff tightly as she stared at the battle. "I think we need a change in tactics," she said.

The dark-haired woman nodded. So far they had been trying close-range combat, which was proving to be difficult as Dr. Alchemy blocked, or warded off their attempts. Unfortunately, neither Hawkgirl, or herself had any long distance attacks, so they had to make do. "I'm all ears," she replied.

That's when Manhunter hefted up her staff, pointing an end towards Dr. Alchemy. "Watch and learn," she responded.

That was when a blast of energy fired from the staff, much to Diana's surprise. The beam flew through the air and collided with the corner of the garage Dr. Alchemy stood on. There was a faint cry of surprise as the man was sent flying up into the air, debris from the building flying in random directions.

That's when Hawkgirl closed in on the god, her mace drawn back. Even from this distance, they both heard the redhead's war cry. "Haaaaaaaa!" She then slammed her mace down on the god, which sent him careening right to the ground, a large smoke cloud exploding up into the air upon impact.

"Well done, Sister,' Diana complemented the brunette vigilante.

"Do you think that took care of him?" Manhunter questioned. "That seemed a little easy."

As if in response, a large stone hand shot up high into the air, racing towards Hawkgirl. Immediately, the Thanagarian darted to a side to avoid the attack.

That was when the hand stopped reaching, the palm and fingers suddenly transforming into a slew of tentacles. From what Diana stood, it looked more flesh-like than rock, much to her astonishment. The tentacles gave chase after Hawgirl, extending further and faster than expected. She didn't get too far before they wrapped around her legs and crawled up her body.

"Oh no, I know where this movie's going," Manhunter growled as she hefted up her staff. Taking aim at the tentacles, she fired another blast, one that ripped right through several of the flesh-like arms. A few had attached to Hawkgirl and their severance gave her a boost of speed as she tried to pull away.

That was when a wall suddenly shot up between the two women, separating Diana from Manhunter. Jerking her head to look at the wall, a fist suddenly emerged from the wall and slammed right into her face. Crying out, the Amazon stumbled backwards.

That was when one of her feet seemed to sink into something muddy, throwing off her balance. Moving her other foot to try to stabilize her, she found her foot did the same as the previous, causing her to jerk her head downward. The pavement, though appearing solid, had swallowed up her red boots. Even now she could see it appearing to hardened to keep her there. Her face hardened into a frown before she tried taking into flight.

Though her upper body went up, her legs did not follow and Diana was certain she looked as if she were trying to jump her way upward. It must have appeared silly to any onlooker.

Then she caught movement out of the periphery of her eye. Glancing to it, she saw the fist from the wall had changed again, this time looking like the mouth of a cannon. Eyes widening, she heard a deafening blast as a cannonball was fired towards her.

Immediately, Diana flung herself backwards, bending at the knee until her back was parallel with the road. She watched as the cannonball flew by her face, racing past until it collided with the side of a building, blasting through the wall and leaving a hole in its wake.

Flinging herself back up, Diana knew it was just a matter of seconds before a second cannonball was fired. No doubt her dodge would be taken into account. As if to prove her right, she could see the cannon tilting downward, lowering its aim.

Leaning over, the Amazon then punched both of her fists into the ground, breaking through the pavement. Pulling up then, she then pulled a large chuck of the road up into the air. With a heave, she threw the piece of asphalt at the wall, the force she struck it with knocking off a generous portion of the wall.

Unfortunately, that didn't include the cannon. A light seemed to emerge from the cannon's mouth, telling the Amazon that it was about to fire. Bringing up her arms, she prepared for the—

An explosion ripped through the cannon then, the rest of the wall crumbling. Standing on the other side was Manhunter, the end of her staff glowing as she stood there looking slightly disheveled. Whatever she had gone through on the other side had left her visibly panting.

"This isn't working," Hawkgirl suddenly called out from above. The Thanagarian landed on the heap of stone, looking to her two comrades. "We need to come up with something else to fight this guy."

"You two are the experts on fighting superpowers," Manhunter pointed out. "Don't you have any ideas?"

"Unfortunately, no," Diana admitted. "And we do not have time for this either. There is no telling what Eris is up to; whatever it is, it needs to be stopped."

"You wish to stop Eris?"

The masculine voice set all three women on edge. Appearing in a burst of light was Dr. Alchemy, his hands behind his back, his eyes intent on them. "Tell me, Amazonian, what deeds does this goddess intend?"

Diana leveled the god with a look. "She is the Goddess of Discord, so it will be something that shakes this world to its foundation. It was her actions that started the Trojan War. She's thrilled by the negative consequences she creates. Nothing good can come from her."

"Is she a threat to Maximilian Zeus?"

"Aren't you listening?" Hawkgirl interjected. "'Nothing good can come from her.' That means everyone suffers, including you, us, and this Zeus guy."

Dr. Alchemy stared at them. Then, "It would appear you are Eris' enemies, as am I. The enemy of my enemy could quite possibly be my friend."

"What are you saying?" Manhunter questioned. "That we're on the same side, or something? The last few minutes indicates otherwise."

"What I am saying is a truce. All of us wants Eris stopped. Why should we fight among ourselves? It only allows her to accomplish her objective and as the Amazon mentioned, it cannot be good."

"I don't trust this guy," the vigilante muttered low enough for the two heroines to hear, but not the green-cloaked god. "He's got us on the ropes, but now offers a partnership? He's gonna betray us the first chance he gets."

"I agree," Hawkgirl responded. "But this does offer an out for us right now. If we play this right, maybe he and Eris destroy each other and we can put an end to this."

That did warrant merit. "Then we should take it," Diana said. "If only to change our current predicament."

Then she turned her attention back to Dr. Alchemy. "We have an accord then. Let us return to the cathedral and stop Eris once and for all."