Author's Notes: Hello readers! Sorry that this chapter took longer to get published. I had a bit of a tight schedule since my last upload. However, know that we are nearing the end and I am working to finish this story. So, without further ado, here is the latest chapter.
Disclaimer: Based on characters and references owned by DC Universe and the CW, which I do not own. Enjoy!
Loeb whistles on as he strolls through the darkness. Droplets fall from the stalagmites, echoing throughout the empty cave. His flashlight does not illuminate much, but what he can see is a whole lot of nothing. Just rock formations that are somehow still holding even after what seems to be many millennia, which is when the great Dr. Destiny came to the world with promises of peace and prosperity.
How this place hasn't suffered a cave-in, I'll never—
"Hey Loeb!" Grogan calls out from behind.
"Yeah?" Loeb shouts back, seeing Grogan run up to him.
"Commander Gary's getting impatient. He wants your report now."
"You can tell him that there's nothing to report." Loeb then scoffs, "As usual."
"Did you check the whole way down?" Grogan asks.
"There's no need!" Loeb impatiently retorts. "Nothing ever happens down here. That's how its been for as long as this place stood."
"Commander wants a THOROUGH check," Grogan insists. "Dr. Destiny hasn't arrived from wherever he's gone. He doesn't want any loose ends."
"Alright! Alright."
Loeb then speed walks his way towards the end of the cave, yelling as he goes, "You see this! Nothing is here!"
Grogan notices that Loeb doesn't have his flashlight on. He begins to fade into the dark as he walks even further down.
"Loeb! Turn your flashlight on!"
Things go quiet. No shouting. Just a few drops of water. Grogan can't see Loeb anymore.
"Loeb?!"
No answer. Though, knowing Loeb, this is probably a prank to find some fun in this admittedly boring post.
"Come on Loeb!"
Grogan switches on his flashlight. He can't see much with it at such a far distance. He slowly walks towards where Loeb last was. As he gets closer, he doesn't see Loeb anywhere he shines the light.
Still, Grogan suspects a trick. "Come on man, this isn't fun—"
Suddenly, Grogan's foot catches something and trips. As he falls, the flashlight flies out of his hand and lands at an angle facing him and the object. As he gets up, the light shows Loeb, still breathing but unconscious.
Grogan tries to get up quickly, but feels an invisible hand grasp him by the face. The flashlight gives out for some reason, yet, in the pitch darkness, he can make out two red, menacing eyes.
Th—THE UNIVERSE DESTROY—
Before he can finish his though, darkness overwhelms him has he feels something ramming the side of his head.
Flass, from the top of the ruins, looks over the caves that surround him. So far, all is well. His men patrol the outer perimeter, walking along the various levels of ruins connected by ramps. Whatever these ruins once were, they now serve as catwalks, the sight of them covered by an odd wall here and there.
Though nothing is happening now, two of his men, Grogan and Loeb, have not reported back to him in a while. He hasn't seen them come from the cave either.
"Hey Kelly!" he calls to the man closest to the cave entrance. "Can you go and see what's holding up Loeb and Grogan?"
"Can do," Kelly acknowledges.
Kelly walks off the ancient catwalk and heads into the cave entrance. When he does, Flass looks at his watch for a quick minute, even though he knows it won't make the time pass quicker.
Five more minutes before this stupid shift ends. Just five more—
Suddenly, a scream echoes from the cave. Flass looks up, becoming alert.
What the hell?
"Kelly?!"
No answer. Flass's fingers twitch a bit, but he is not too worried.
Maybe a bat caught him by surprise. No one else would be in—
Suddenly, lights that gave visibility over the cave begin going out. Sounds of destroyed glass echo all over the room. Then, when everything became pitch black, he felt something pass by his head. Something that felt light and lethal.
Oh crap! This is happening! This is actually happening! What do I…no. Calm down. You've been drilled on what to do. So, do it!
With a confident tone, he shouts to his men, "We have intruders! Stay alert! I'll sound the alarm."
As his men turn on flashlights and ready their weapons, he runs to the wall opposite him, which contained the panel to set off the alarm. He stretches his arm out as he nears it and hits the bright, red button.
Nothing happens.
What?! Where are the bells and red lights?!
He presses it again. And again. Over and over as fast as he can.
Come on! COME ON! WORK, DAMN IT!
Suddenly, as he angles his head over the panel, he sees a dark line move over the button. He quickly swats the line, and it crumbles down to the nearly invisible floor. He leans down and feels for it. Among the stone floor he feels something thin and wooden. He picks it up and sees an arrow with a metal tip that sparks a small jolt of electricity.
Could this have…oh no!
Behind him, Flass hears gunshots go off, the sounds of objects being thrown and multiple sounds of metal hitting metal or heads, the crunching of fists connecting with skulls. He draws his weapon and runs over, seeing multiple lights flicker and flashlights moving all over the place. When he reaches the edge, he sees nothing but darkness. He takes out his flashlight and shines it all over the place and aims his gun. However, his aim with both is unsteady.
Flass first see his men, all of them breathing but unconscious. He scans for any signs of other life, but sees…
THERE!
At one of the walls is a figure that he does not hesitate to shoot. However, the first few shots do nothing. The figure still stands.
What the hell?!
The figure gives a salute and somehow moves away from the wall, leaving nothing but a large light. He looks to its source, seeing one of his men's flashlights.
That…that's impossible! How…
He then hears movement coming from the left side. Out of reaction, he shoots just above the floor, but no body falls.
Stay calm. Stay…STAY—
Out of the corner of his eye, something white moves away from one of the walls. Without hesitation, he shoots. But his hands are so clammy that none of them hit the target. He wants to move, run to the surface and get help. But his scared, stiff legs won't let him.
Then, he hears a noise from the catwalk closest to him. Something being thrown.
They're retaliating!
Once more, he shoots at where the noise is, not even caring at this point if one of his men is there. Luckily there isn't, but no bodies are falling still.
At this point, Flass' patience and bravery have run thin. His fear is winning against him.
"WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"Here."
Hearing the distorted, intimidating voice behind him, Flass turns and is ready to shoot the guy in the head. However, the tall man, wearing a dark outfit that flexes a lot, grabs his wrist and pushes the gun away. Before Flass can react, the man's other arm knocks him down. The last thing Flass barely sees is a symbol on his chest. The symbol of a bat.
Gary walks back and forth in the control room. He stares at the screens, seeing nothing changing for the past hour. Everyone's on patrol, no intruders. Yet, Dr. Destiny nor Director Sharpe have called in at all. At this point, he can only assume things have gone horribly.
Then, there is the cave that a patrol goes down into. A lone jammer and a single alarm with only a handful of men to protect it has him doubting Dr. Destiny's strategy, which hinges on the cave never being found by anyone else.
"Sir," Agent Diggle calls from behind as he walks in. "I just got several reports from the men. Still no signs of any intruders."
Gary nods, still slightly nervous. "What about from the caves?"
"We're still waiting on a report from them. We should have it pending guard shifts."
As the monitor showing the double doors confirm, a new patrol comes by, meeting the two men on watch.
"We're here to relieve Flass. It's time."
"We're waiting on the commander to give the all—"
Just then, someone knocks on the door.
"And that's him."
The two guards open the doors. However, their faces express shock as soon as they do.
"Who the he—"
Suddenly, arrows with blunt heads fly at the two guards' faces. Before the others could react, a man with a cape and armor flies at them with incredible speed and throws strong punches and kicks. Two more people, women, fight the others either hand to hand or with escrima sticks. One more person appears, a masked man with a hood, who kicks the last lone guard to a wall and wails at him with hard and fast punches to the body before ending with a hook punch. The caped man knocks out the final guard in the squad by leaping over him, pinning him down, and knocking him out with a punch to the skull.
Gary moves over immediately to the screen as he catches a glance at the hooded one. Particularly, his eyes. He knows those eyes anywhere. From the drills of his youth…his youth… a—and the tales told to him as a child.
The Universe Destroyer! He's here to kill us…kill us…kill…
"Stand down!"
"Please don't kill me sir!"
"I'm not going to kill you! Stand down Sharpe!"
"…Sir!" Ms. Smoak calls. "Their diverging! The Universe Destroyer is heading to the West Wing."
Gary shakes his head, feeling it swimming for a moment.
What happened? I felt like I was…
"Wait," Gary stops himself for a minute. "Did you say the West Wing? The only thing there is…Destiny's special subjects." He puts a hand on Ms. Smoak's chair and leans down to meet her face. "Sound the alarm. Get everyone in the facility inside and divert Kane's troops to the generator room. NOW!"
"Yes sir," She nods before pressing a button. The alarm now blares all over the room.
"Diggle!" Garry shouts as he heads for an exit. "You're with me. We're getting your best troops and fortifying Dr. Destiny's office."
"Roger that!" Diggle acknowledges.
As they head outside and run towards the West Wing, they can hear Ms. Smoak over the comm, "Attention! We have intruders inside Arkham! All personnel are to retreat inside and find them. This is NOT a drill! Repeat…
"…NOT a drill!"
Upon hearing those words, Renee Montoya cocks her pistol and turns to her men. "Alright! You know what to do. Block all access ways into the generator room and hunt down the intruders. Follow my lead and don't stray from your groups. Move!"
"Yes ma'am!" They all acknowledge.
Montoya takes several of her men down the basement hallway and leaves the rest to disperse. She knows that this is the hallway that leads to the secret cave entrance. There's nowhere else they could have come in unnoticed. When first entering the hallway, all the lights seem to be working fine, her men yelling "Clear" every few seconds.
However, that changes when they reach the end. Lights that should be on are dimmed, the darkness growing ever blacker as the hallway reaches the end.
"Flashlights out!" Montoya commands. "Stay in formation."
They all do as told. As she takes out and shines her flashlight, they all illuminate the hallway in front of them. So far, nothing is there except a couple of doors across from each other.
Perfect place for an ambush.
"Proceed cautiously," Montoya whispers.
They all creep down the hallway towards the doors, guns pointed straight at them. The others shine lights at the doors as well and towards the hallway occasionally to make sure they're still clear.
When they reach the doors, four people on each, Montoya looks to the point man opposite her. She counts down with her fingers, "1…2…"
"Hey guys!" A voice booms all over the hallway, prompting everyone to aim their guns away from the doors.
"Form up!" Renee commands.
They all retreat to the center of the hallway, back-to-back in a circle. They look everywhere, shining their lights at every dark spot in the hallway. They see no one. Not even a shadow.
"Do you guys have those horror movies where someone goes someplace that's obviously dangerous, like a dark hallway, and end up being kidnapped or killed by a monster?"
Where is he? We looked everywhere. There's no conceivable place he could…unless…
"If you do…you REALLY should have taken them seriously."
Montoya shines her light up. To her surprise, her instinct turns out to be true. An armored man in a cape is above them, hanging by some kind of thin, durable cable, ready to pounce. She yells…she yells…
"Montoya!"
In her moment of sudden confusion, the man throws down a smoke pellet. Once her head clears, she moves away, as do a few others. But the man is fast. Faster than any meta she helped capture. She cannot tell if he is a speedster because no lightning streak is showing. For all she knows, this is a man at his peak.
As she tries to aim, the door she is next to opens up. From it comes a blonde woman in a white outfit, knocking out the survivors with batons aimed for their heads and disarming guns if need be. Montoya is just far enough to get a shot in. But upon raising her gun, a shuriken star out of nowhere disarms her. She glances across and can barely see a woman in a dark outfit where the other door would be.
However brief her glance, the woman in white catches Montoya and puts her in a headlock.
"I got her!" The woman yells. "Do it quick!"
As the smoke dissipates, Montoya can see multiple bodies on the floor. Only one is still standing, the silhouette of the caped man, who takes out a strange pistol from his belt. She tries to wiggle free, but the woman's grip is too strong.
As she hears a sound emanate from the pistol, she braces herself…
"License and registration."
"My apologies."
"You broke the speed limit, redhead. You should be—"
"No. I mean I didn't expect such a beautiful woman such as yourself to pull me over."
"Heh. Well, some of the other officers are helping Batman take down God knows which villain this week. So, I have to be here, stopping someone like you from going 40 on a 25 mph road."
"Too bad. You could have disarmed that villain with your intimidating stare."
"Are you flirting so that I'll let you go?"
"Among other things. Is it working?"
"I'll only let you off…if you give me your name and number."
"The name's Katherine. My friends call me Kate."
Passion.
Love.
Heartbreak.
Trust.
"Why come to me? The mayor is squeezing us of our resources to hunt you down."
"Besides Gordon, I need other contacts in the GCPD. People I can trust."
"But why ME?"
"Because Kate Kane recommended you."
"Even…after all this time?"
"You two may have gone your separate ways. But she still trusts you…"
"That's…good to know. Thank you, Batman."
Suddenly, Montoya finds herself back in reality. A reality that is foreign to her. She remembers everything, her true life, which has somehow changed in the blink of an eye, and she can't remember the point where it had gone. But she remembers the man in front of her. The one lighted up by the now active ceiling lamp. She remembers the symbol on his chest.
"B…Batman?"
Batman nods his head.
"See," the echoing voice returns. Suddenly, a man in a strange suit appears out of nowhere. "I told you that would work."
The woman in white lets Montoya go. "Sorry about that. We had to restrain you."
"But…" Montoya tries to get her thoughts straight, but the split realities in her head make it hard to do so. "How did you…"
"Detective vision," Bruce explains. "Working off a spacecraft Deegan failed to capture."
"Deegan?" Montoya was about to ask who that was, but a name pops in her head that she finds somehow synonymous with it. "Dr. Destiny?"
Batman nods again. "We know how to stop him, but we need to get into the generator room."
Montoya shakes her head. "You can't. Everyone's looking for you and…Kate. She has the room locked down, so does Lucius Jr. Even if you can overpower them, the others patrolling will flood the room before you switch off the generator."
"We know," the woman in black, whom Montoya slowly recognizes as one of the League of Assassins, acknowledges. "That's where you come in."
"There's too many of them! Fall back to the generator room!"
Upon receiving the notification from Renee Montoya, Kate looks over to Luke, wearing his metal suit. "Get the door open. Quickly!"
Luke acknowledges and opens the door. From it comes an influx of troops who run inside within a matter of seconds. The last one to arrive in is Renee, who runs over to Kate immediately, eyes filled with regret.
"I'm sorry Kate!" She professes. "I couldn't. Their numbers—"
Kate places her hands on Renee's sides gently. "How many are there Renee? Can we hold out?"
Renee just looks up at her, her eyes now making contact. The guilt Kate initially thought was for the retreat now looks like something more. They now give this gaze, this worry. Something that only happens when Renee was hiding something from her, which is…
Why…why can't I recall anything correctly…What's going—
"Drop it!" A guard yells suddenly.
It takes her a moment to realize that Renee is discretely using some ray gun, it's beam projecting onto Luke, who looks blankly at everyone after a moment, as if he doesn't recognize his surroundings.
Kate then looks to Renee with confusion. "What did you—"
Suddenly, a series of explosions go off, scattered across the walls of the room. From them come a few different people, two of them wearing white latex or a black traditional outfit, the others wearing armor of various designs. All of them attack the surprised guard simultaneously, almost at lightning speeds and with a ferocity that even meta humans have rarely displayed.
Unaware of what is happening in front of her, Kate finds herself flipped over onto her back by Renee and aiming the strange gun at her.
"You'll thank me later."
Reacting quickly, Kate raises one leg up and kicks the gun away. She then, regretfully, kicks Renee in the face, stunning her long enough to get back up.
Kate then unholsters her own gun and aims it at Renee. Just as she finds the courage to pull the trigger, a bat shaped shuriken knocks it out of her hand. She turns and sees one of the armored intruders, a man in a cape, charge at her with a blitz punch. She manages to dodge it, but the guy then transitions to what seemed to be a regular back kick. She prepares to grab it, but his hips and leg maneuver around in a circle and the kicking leg cuts back onto her hip. The sheer force of the kick and the armor's material throws her off balance for a moment.
A fake back kick into a back hook? Who is this guy?
The man then gets into a southpaw position and jabs with the right arm. She tries to deflect it, but he ends up retracting it and transitioning into a hook that connects to her jaw, making her dizzy and almost ready to collapse. Whatever material the suit is made of is dense. Very dense.
The man, for some reason, doesn't press the offensive. Not hesitating, Kate charges…ch—charges…
"Don't hurt me! Please!"
"You were outside a bar, drunk…ran into members of Bane's gang…"
"Let me go!"
"you were screaming, begging…"
"Please! Don't…
"…when things became silent, you turned around, and in front of was the B—t—n…Batm—n…Batman…"
"Bruce."
Suddenly, Kate remembers the armored man's name and alias. Standing in front of her, someone that she believed she would never see. She lets her guard down, tears begin welling up in her eyes.
She whispers, "Bruce."
"Mr. Wayne?" Luke whispers, now seemingly fine after the ray gun, but still surprised.
She wanted desperately to just hug him, remembering all the lost years they have to make up for, the family reunion she wanted to share.
But then, the sounds of battle ring behind them, a reminder of their current predicament.
"Kate," Renee calls to her.
Kate turns around and sees her aiming the strange gun. It then occurred to Kate that Bruce was not really trying to fight, but stall Kate and give Renee the shot she needed. Or trajectory. Whatever is used for a ray gun.
"We need to shut down the generator."
Looking at the singular treadmill with all the monitors and switches around it, she nods in agreement.
"Do either of you know how to?" Bruce asks Kate and Luke.
"I do," Luke chimes in. "But this one is a bit complicated."
"How so?"
"The center machine there? It's a speedster on a treadmill. His speed keeps the generator running unless emergency generator is in use. There are four switches across each of the machines. All four of them need to be pulled down slowly so we don't risk the speedster running off the machine by accident."
"You two get to the switches," Bruce addresses to Kate and Renee. "Luke, help the two over there while I assist Talia."
"Got it," Luke says ecstatically. "It'll be like the old days."
Bruce doesn't say anything, but the nod he gives still implicates a lot. "GO!"
With their roles known, Kate and Renee rush to the switches not crowded with guards and await their cue.
Meanwhile, Luke flies into the fray of Bruce's new allies, knocking one guard down. Diverting their attention, Luke prepares to fight, calling out to the woman, "I got this! Head over to one of the switches and be ready. GO!"
The woman retreats without hesitation. Without his usual bat gear to provide him with help, Luke gets in close and blocks off any guard trying to get close to her. Fortunately, his martial arts prowess is still intact from whatever is going on. He finds fighting these guys easy, as if their knowledge is basic compared to the agents of the TCF. The armored guys helps out, shooting out beams of energy from his hands which knock down any guards and prevents them from overwhelming Luke's position.
Meanwhile, Kate watches Bruce charge in to save Talia. As usual, he seems to think of his strategy before heading into the fray and while he is fighting, his mind always at work. He stuns the attacker farthest from the battle and climbs up on top of him. Instead of slamming him down, he uses him as a spring board, jumping onto one of the weaker guys that happens to be near Talia. Bruce then goes to town with these guys, landing blow after blow, punch and kick, dodging and disarming any guns they try to use on him. His reflexes are still as sharp as ever, deflecting and countering every blow he could, first one, then two or three at the same time. Any blades coming his way he slips from a few times until he finds the window to grab the guy and knock him out. Bruce then stuns an armored guard behind Talia Bruce and wails on with blasting punches until his armor is weak enough for a power cross that knocks him out.
Talia seemed to have gotten the message while she and Bruce fought, for she runs over to the switch almost immediately.
"Okay," Luke shouts to the women as he knocks down two more guards, "You're going to slowly pull the switches down…" he bobs and weaves away from another guard before uppercutting him and yelling, "NOW!"
As commanded, Kate and the others pull the switches down, watching each other to make sure they are all pulling at the same speeds. As the switches reach the bottom, the blurry image that once enraptured the center of the room now becomes clearer. But before Kate could get a good look at it, the lights begin to dim down until the entire room is pitch black. All they hear from the center is a body collapse, muffled by the sounds of ongoing fighting.
Then, after a little while, the emergency lights come on. Along with the refuse of battle, with Bruce and the armored man still standing, they see an old man in red, panting heavily on the machine.
"Oh crap," The woman in white utters, running up to aid him. "Barry!"
The blonde takes the old man into her arms and removes the mask from his face. As she sets him up gently, he looks at her with a smirk. "You're…you're with the chosen? Aren't ya?"
The woman nods. "Don't talk. You need rest."
The old man slowly nods. "Th…Thank you."
Bruce hops up to him and takes a pulse while examining him with a device Kate has never seen him use. "He's exhausted, but his pulse is slowly returning to a normal rhythm and his energy readings are stabilizing."
"What do we do now?" Kate asks. "We just shut down the generator. They'll be onto us."
"I got this," the armored guy comments as he sets himself down. He pushes a button on his ear and continues, "Generator's down. You guys are on."
As the other guards make their way down from the western side of the roof, the lights above them begin to flicker. Eventually, they go out completely, everything pitch-black until the emergency lights come on.
"Oh crap," one of the guards utters. "Does that mean—"
Suddenly, a TCF portal appears in front of them, leading to someplace they do not recognize and revealing a group of people, four of them known to be Ava Sharpe and Agents Kara, Mia, and XS. XS rushes past them and breaks the artifacts meant to counter magic abilities.
One of the unknowns, a man in a trench coat, moves up and says something in a language they do not understand. They react and aim their guns. However, they find themselves unable to pull their triggers or even move. Just then, a woman with a red ruby necklace comes up and summons a wind that pushes them all away.
The force knocks all but one of them out. The still conscious guard is able to hear the trench coat man say, "We've got it from here. Get a move on."
The portal disappears and the two people walk past. The last guard tries to reach out and stop them as they pass but succumbs to the pain and fatigue that forces his arm to drop and his eyes to close.
Finally making their way from the front entrance and into the center building, Bane and his men stumble a bit when the lights go out for a moment, only for the emergency lights to kick in.
"They got the main generator," Bane says. "We need to hurry and—"
Suddenly, a portal appears, showing three familiar TCF agents and many unfamiliar faces. Two men, one bald holding some kind of gun and the other with a full set of hair and a star on his chest, charge in against them and the portal closes.
Before they can react, the bald man shoots the gun, which sprays flames at them. It doesn't touch them, but the heat is so unbearable that it messes with their aim. As the flames die down, the star chested man, his body now made of steel, rushes at them and knocks them out one by one. A couple of the men get shots off, but they do not affect the steel man in the slightest. But Bane reacts quickly, taking a syringe from his pocket and injecting Titan into his arms. He can feel the drug flowing through his veins, his muscles enlarging as the last of his men goes down.
The steel man goes in for a punch to the face, but Bane grabs it with ease.
"Oh crap," the steel man utters.
With his other hand, Bane grabs the steel man by the waist and raises him up, ready to slam him to the ground.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Time out! Time out!" The steel man yells as if it will do anything. But Bane will show no mercy. He never does.
However, the flamethrower man shoots more fire at him. Bane backs away from the flames as far as he possibly can, the heat messing with his concentration.
When Bane takes an unbalanced step, the steel man is able to drop down behind him onto all fours. Quickly, he grabs Bane by the waist, lifts him up, and throws him down with a suplex.
Bane, still somewhat conscious, attempts to get up. However, the steel man stands over him quickly and looks out towards nothing.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the steel man addresses, once again, to no one. "Here comes the BIG FINISHER!"
The steel man drops down on top of Bane, his elbow connecting with his face, neutralizing him for good.
They patrolled all over the east side of the top floor, but Floyd Lawton sees no targets in sight just yet. Just then, the lights go out for a moment, the emergency lights illuminating all the halls.
Out of nowhere, a TCF portal appears. From it come Agents Sharpe, Kara, and Mia. Being familiar faces, Lawton and his men lower their guns.
"The generator's shut down," Lawton reports. "We're virtually defenseless."
As the agents get closer, Kara smirks. "Exactly."
Lawton catches on quickly, raising his rifle and yelling, "Open—"
Kara silences him with her super breath, blowing them all further down the hallway. Back flat on the floor and struggling to get up, he can see multiple blunt arrows flying towards his men, knocking them out one by one. Seeing this, he loads his gun and, with his red lens, zooms in on not Mia, but her bow string. With a quick shot, he breaks the string as she pulls back, surprising her enough to make her drop the bow and arrow.
Kara speeds in quickly, grabbing Lawton by the throat. "Give up. You're outmatched."
However, he smiles at his predicament. "That's why I came prepared."
With a touch of his wrist bracer, it shoots out a pellet of gaseous kryptonite that makes Kara cough harshly. Feeling her grip weaken, he grabs her arm and pulls it down, freeing his throat. He then grips her hand with his and employs a wrist throw.
Sharpe charges in with a flurry of strikes, all of which Lawton barely dodges. He manages to get his guns out and tries to put more distance between him and her. As they reach a wall, Mia is running up to join the fight.
As Sharpe employs one more roundhouse kick, Lawton dodges under it and aims his gun at the legs of both women, knowing Destiny will still want to re-educate them afterwards. He shoots sharpe successfully in the leg, the pain causing her to kneel down to the floor. Mia, however, must have perceived this beforehand, since she jumps onto the wall just as the shot goes off. She bounces off of it and on top of Lawton. She then leans backwards, using her momentum to throw Lawton backwards onto the floor.
Before he had time to try and aim his guns again, Mia quickly places a knee on his chest to keep him down and employs a cross to the face, nearly knocking him out.
He stays conscious for as long as he can, seeing Mia check on Sharpe, grab her portal gun, and summon the place they came from to retreat.
That is all he sees before thoughts bring him under. Thoughts of his family. Of his daughter, Zoe.
Oliver checked every corner for hours after their talk with Deegan. He cannot find any major crack in the wall, no secret tunnel into the next cell, no exposed pipes. There is a vent, but it's too small and there is no telling where it goes. After his fifth inspection, he just gives up and sits down on the bed.
Looking around the cell, Oliver remembers his time in Slabside. He envisions himself inside his old cell, going through his daily exercise and routines, trying to not get involved in anything that would get him into trouble. All of that ended during his final couple of months of incarceration. Still, he feels the same way he did then: cutoff, confined, concerned for his family's well being, as he is sure at least one of them worries for him.
William…wherever you are, stay safe. Stay strong.
Suddenly, Oliver hears the entrance door open. He looks and sees several guards come through. A few of them he recognizes to be John, Rene, Dinah and Laurel. From her more brownish hair color, Oliver, for a second, thought she was their world's Laurel, not Earth 2's. Still, she has some blonde highlights and, curiously, she does not have the Canary device around her neck.
Leading the group is a man with black curly hair and glasses. "Lock this whole area down," the man commanded. "I want all eyes on that door. The Universe Destroyer's minions are going for the generator room. We need to ensure that we are ready before the backup generator is turned on."
"But commander Green," Rene says with a troubled tone. "I heard the Universe Destroyer can't be killed by anyone except Dr. Destiny."
"You're right Ramirez," Commander Green responds. "But we can stall him until Destiny arrives, even for a short amount of time."
Everyone's here. I couldn't get to Mia, but John, Rene, Dinah and even Laurel have known me longer than she did. Maybe...
Oliver walks up to his cell door, calling out "Guys!"
They and the other guards do not pay Oliver any mind, their guns pointed at the entrance as it closes.
"John! Rene! Dinah! It's me!"
"Silence prisoner!" John shouts.
Though, Oliver does not relent. "It's Oliver! You guys have to remember me."
"The guy said shut up!" Rene yells. "We're not falling for your tricks and lies."
"Deegan is the one lying to you," Barry, also at his cell door, joins in. "You must feel like something's wrong here. Like your lives aren't what they should be. You guys must feel something."
"Be…be quiet!" Laurel shouts with some hesitance.
Noticing this, Oliver gives Barry a nod of approval. He continues with Laurel. "You remember, don't you Laurel? Do you remember Quentin Lance? He died protecting you. He—"
Laurel does not retort. Her eyes bulge, her hand on the part of her stomach where their world's Laurel was stabbed.
What the hell?
"Don't listen to them," Green commands. "They're the lies of the Universe Destroyer."
"We don't even know who this Universe Destroyer is," Barry admits.
"Dr. Destiny says otherwise. You are his Horsemen, created by the devilry of his red, brimstone eyes, wielding weapons of destruction created from the obsidian steel used to create his armor!"
Red eyes? Black armor? That's…
"William," Oliver utters in a moment of revelation.
Suddenly, all of the lights in the hallway go out. Oliver can't see anyone. For a moment, he thought that meant all the power went out. Though, he is not hearing Barry speed through or Clark busting his way out with his strength.
"Primary power's out," Commander Green indicates. "Secondary power for the cells is still holding here. Turn on the force field then get secondary lights—"
Not even a moment later, a small explosion is heard from the entrance doorway. The bright yet brief light shows that it doesn't hurt anyone, but it does blow the doors towards them, pushing a couple of people down and shocking the rest. At the entrance was a dark figure, his mask virtually impossible to make out. Though, Oliver did not need to guess who it was.
"Open fire!" Commander Green yells. "OPEN FIRE!"
Aiming towards the doorway, they all re-aim and fire their guns. From the bright lights that go off, Red Arrow is already maneuvering towards their right side, grabs one of the gunman and throws him down. Multiple gunshots ring, all of them trying to hit Red Arrow while avoiding their buddies. Though, Red Arrow knocks many of them out one by one, using darkness to his advantage. Through the chaos, Oliver can make out the slightest noise of arrows being fired. However, he doesn't see Red Arrow aim at any of them.
"Get the secondary lights on now!" Commander Green commands, though it is not clear to whom he is talking to.
By the time the lights and force field for the doorway came on, Red Arrow is at the end of the hallway, facing John, Rene, Dinah, Laurel, and Commander Green, who are the only ones left standing. Oliver can see the arrows fired all over the walls, all of them double grapples aimed at the group.
Why would William—
Oliver's thoughts cease as soon as Red Arrow raises his head. He wears a new mask that now covers his whole face. The eyes, while still crimson red, are much narrower, more intimidating. The sides of the mask are carved out, filled in with what look to be mask filters and narrowing down as they reach the center to form a disfigured mouth.
What Oliver sees is more than some replica of Prometheus' mask. Rather, a demon that could easily haunt his nightmares.
"No," Oliver responds, almost out of fear that this is somehow Deegan's doing.
When Oliver hears a multiple guns reloading, his focus diverts back to the group. They all aim once more.
"William!" Oliver shouts out of panic.
It is too late, but the shots don't dent the armor very much as Red Arrow crouches down and shields himself. Even the mask takes a couple of hits pretty well. Still, Red Arrow reacts fast, tapping buttons on his gauntlet. The grapple arrows on the wall fire the secondary grapples that latch onto and pull a few people towards the walls.
John is the only one standing and shooting. Seeing this, Red Arrow stands up and runs towards him, still covering his face. Upon reaching John, Red Arrow pulls a familiar maneuver by grabbing the gun, spinning behind John and elbowing his side, then grabbing John by the arm and throwing him down.
Rene, who is the first to free himself, comes at Red Arrow with a jab cross combo. Red Arrow deflects the jab and slips out of the way of the cross. At the same time as the slip, he takes a forward step from Rene and performs a quick roundhouse to the stomach. While it does not knock Rene down, Rene finds himself kneeling and desperately catching his breath, almost coughing. William pauses and looks down at Rene, either surprised or concerned.
Did William do something he didn't mean to? Or…is Rene remembering the wound he got that night on the bridge more than a year ago?
Commander Green is the next to free himself from his bind and, without even a second thought at Rene's demonstration, charges at Red Arrow with a side kick, which Red Arrow easily steps away from. When Green transitions into a power cross, Red Arrow deflects and quickly bounces the hand into a quick jab. The density of the gauntlet must have been improved, for the jab almost disorients Green. Red Arrow follows with a diagonal strike with his bow in between the shoulder and neck, followed with a crouching horizontal to the hip, leaving Green in immense pain and unable to react.
Rene, somewhat recovered now, goes for a hook punch to Red Arrow's face. He slips and rolls out of the way quickly, almost as if expecting it, and counters with a hook to the hip. The strike makes Rene heave again, possibly still feeling something from the roundhouse kick. Red Arrow then gets up, grabs Rene by the torso, and throws him down next to John. Finally, he kicks down Commander Green, his pain still too great to move a muscle.
Dinah and Laurel, the last ones to free themselves, do not attack head on. Instead, they stand firm, their gaze almost piercing. Both take a deep breath in.
Damn it! No!
As their canary-cry and siren scream roar out, Oliver looks back at Red Arrow in a panic. Somehow, Red Arrow still stands and is holding out his arms. It takes Oliver a while to realize that in his hands are a couple of sonic devices that Sara used back when she was the Canary. But he also notices that one of them, in only a few seconds, starts to crack a bit. Red Arrow backs up slowly, which prompts the two Black Canaries to inch closer.
Red Arrow then looks to Oliver and nods in the Canaries' direction. Oliver looks back, realizing that Laurel is getting closer to his cell and his cell bars are just wide enough for his hands to fit through. Oliver puts his hands on the bar doors, ready to grab Laurel at a moment's notice.
They inch closer and closer, their voices not relenting. As soon as Laurel is at the edge of the cell door, Oliver grabs Laurel by the torso and does not let go. Dinah does not stop, but her eyes strafe just to glance at the situation as Laurel tries to wriggle free. Oliver can see Red Arrow taking advantage of the opportunity and lies prone just out of the scream's radius. He takes out an arrow with sparks of electricity pulsing from its head and shoots it at the dampener generator above Barry's cell, which ruptures with electricity before giving off a low whine.
Barry's yellow electricity enraptures his whole body. After a quick smirk, Barry runs out and turns the whole room into a blur. Oliver can't tell what exactly is happening but can guess that while he and the others are taken out of their cells, Barry is also putting Laurel, Dinah, John, and the other agents into those same cells. And he guessed right, with all but the sun lamp room occupied by agents.
J'onn is able to slowly stand, helping up Clark, who has trouble getting his bearings. They all look at Red Arrow, who removes his hood and presses his chest symbol, which somehow disintegrates his mask until his face can be seen. The face of William.
"You guys alright?" William asks.
"As we'll ever…be," Clark answers exhausted.
Everyone else nods. Everyone except Oliver, who still looks at William worriedly.
"You're wondering about the mask?" William asks, obviously taking notice. "Aren't you?"
William's words confirm to Oliver what he had feared: Deegan did not change William. He truly was wearing a Prometheus-like mask of his own volition.
"You said you got rid of the Prometheus look," Oliver points out, remembering their conversation after seeing his past.
William looks to Oliver and to Barry with a regretful stare.
"I did…mostly. No matter how much I tried to change the mask, it only became more of the demon I saw Prometheus as." His stare then changed to something more determined. "Which also meant the criminals I faced…shared my dread."
He then taps the top part of his chest arrowhead, the mask reforming from neck to face. Even though the demon-like Prometheus returns, Oliver is a little more comfortable with it now that he knows why William made it the way it is. Still, he does not like it.
The one thing that hasn't changed about the mask is the deep, intimidating voice from Red Arrow's modulator. "We don't have much time." He then takes out the dagger that Oliver remembers the Monitor giving to him. "We need to find the Book of Destiny and undo Deegan's work. Let's move!"
Even with the pain between his neck and shoulder, not to mention his hip, Gary forces himself to get up. From his cell, he can hear what the Universe Destroyer says and sees him lead his horsemen into Dr. Destiny's office.
Oh crap! We don't have a lot of time. We need to hold him off just a little longer.
Gary turns to the agents locked with him, Diggle, Ramirez, Lance, and Drake, and commands, "Get up! Quick!"
He then takes out a spare master key from his pants pockets given to him by Destiny's wife just in case.
This will be perfect. The Destroyer and his Horsemen won't know what hit them.
Lydia stands under the turret, her fingers ready on the control pad. She had prepared herself for this type of situation before, but only in drills. From what Jon told her, this turret is made with his power to kill the Universe Destroyer if need be, a fact only she knows because he only trusts her to make the right call.
Admittedly, she is nervous. She has never killed anyone before. Experimented on, sure, but only as a means to an end. The Universe Destroyer's death should be something like that. Still, taking a life is something she never contemplated, even one whom Jon says could help conquer the rest of the universe.
Lydia then hears the office door opening. She is at an angle where she can't see who it is. Though, she can hear some mumbling and the sounds of footsteps coming her way. When they reach the doorway, they stop. She peeks out just a bit, wary of any guns or projectile weapons aimed at her. Still, she sees no one. They may be taking cover just at the corner, waiting for her to make a wrong move.
Then, more mumbling is heard. Her thumb softly circles around the center of the fire button, ready to get it over with.
"Don't shoot!" A deep voice says. "I'm coming out!"
A black boot first steps out, followed by one leg and half a torso. With another step, the whole person…no. The whole demon emerges. The Universe Destroyer. Eyes crimson red, his body covered in obsidian armor, as his husband's stories described. He has his hands up to his head suspiciously close to the quiver on his back.
"You're Deegan's wife," he points out as if it means something. "I recognize your face."
As he takes a couple of steps, Lydia yells, "Don't move!" Her thumb was almost ready to press the button.
"I'm not here to hurt you," The Universe Destroyer says, though she doubts it. "I just want to talk."
"Why?! You're a demon. My husband's archenemy! You've been in constant battle for thousands of years!"
"Is that what Deegan told you?"
Slowly, the Universe Destroyer lowers his hand towards his chest, Lydia being cautious in case it was a trap. Instead, he presses down the top of the symbol. His helm disappears and is replaced by the face of an average adult male.
"You see? I'm no demon. Deegan lied to you."
"You're the liar! This is a trick!"
"All of this is a trick," he cryptically states. "Did you ever get the feeling that all of this is wrong? That nothing is the way it should be?"
Lydia is about to refute his claim but finds that she can't. She has been feeling something. A feeling in her head that has been lingering all day today. Something that resonated stronger when near Jon, and it does with the Universe Destroyer. She somehow feels that she doesn't belong here, like she's from a different time. Her memories become hazy, like somehow years of her life are somewhat blending with images of another.
"Give me the book and I can show you," The Universe Destroyer offers.
Lydia looks behind her, to where the Book of Destiny lays on its pedestal. She can see small strands of energy seeping out of it's bindings. She hears whispers as her gaze is absorbed by its contents. It's calling to her, telling her something.
I…I can't…
Suddenly, a loud cry is heard from the entrance hallway. From it, the special prisoners her husband called the Horsemen fly out. As they land on the floor, the screaming ceases followed by Commander Green and a few other agents surrounding the Horsemen. The agents place their knees on the prisoner's throats and aim their guns at the Universe Destroyer. They also place meta-dampening cuffs on the speedster, Barry Allen, and the Martian, J'onn J'onnz.
"Ma'am," Green calls to Lydia. "We've got the situation handled from here. Stand down."
"You felt it, didn't you?" The Universe Destroyer asks quickly. "The Book called to you. God called to you. He wants you to see the truth. Touch the book!"
"No!" Green yells as he points his gun at his head. "I may not be able to kill you, but I can definitely shut you up!"
"The Book contains the truth! You know it does!"
"Lydia! You know Dr. Destiny's punishment. It extends to you too! I WILL shoot you if you deviate!"
The whispers get louder. She puts her hands to her ears, trying to tune out the outside distractions. She wants to know what these voices are saying. She wants to know more than anything. Closing her eyes and focusing, she hears them clearly.
"To three years!"
Jon?
"Their souls…TRAPPED…"
"Stay behind me!"
Zsasz and Jon? What happened? How does it end? I…I have to know! I NEED to know!
Without hesitation, Lydia runs to the book and reaches out. She hears a gunshot, which shocks her for a second, but she does not stop. She does not even feel any wounds. She is running just fine. No limp or anything.
With one touch of the book, she hears more from Zsasz:
"I…must release…them. I…MUST…KILL THEM!"
Upon seeing Lydia make a break for the book, Gary Green aims his pistol at her. Reacting quickly, William grabs the wrist and pushes the gun away from Lydia's direction as it goes off. He then grabs and pinches the area where his bow struck between the shoulder and neck, the pain preventing Gary from making any other moves. William then kicks Green down, but also leaves him vulnerable to the others who start to aim at him.
Before they could get a shot off, an explosion of energy is heard behind them. As Lydia touches the Book of Destiny, blue aura bursts forth from its pages and travels towards the brainwashed group. They all start to lower their guns, eyes at first bulging and then wondering around the room and at each other. The blue energy then surrounds the paragons, all of them getting their suits back. Oliver is in green, Barry in Red, Clark with his red and blue design and J'onn in his black suit with the red marking on his chest.
John Diggle's eyes set on William. Instead of an aggressive stare, a friendly smile appears on his lips.
"Will," He says in a glad tone.
William nods back, saying, "Welcome back."
"Ah, my head," Rene complains. "It feels like I'm in water."
"Oh man," Green groans as he gets up.
He somehow gets up just fine, as if the pain William dealt never happened. Perhaps it is the blue energy. Perhaps it is the Book repairing the damage under God's orders.
"I'm Gary Green. I'm an agent of the Time Bureau. I was something else once, but now…" Just when it seems like he was going to start blaming William, a huge smile flashes over his face. "But now I'm a BADASS! I was all…authoritative and stuff! I'm awesome!"
William begrudgingly nods his head. "Yep. That's the Gary Green I remember."
"I'm dead."
Hearing Lydia, William turns around. He sees her gloomily stare at the Book and then at him.
"I died…and there's no way for me to stay alive, is there?"
William reluctantly shakes his head. "I'm afraid not."
"My husband, Jon. He resurrected me, yet…he changed so much about me. I committed…SO MANY atrocities to human and meta-human alike."
"He feared of losing you again, and fear can lead us to do terrible things. Especially to those we love." William takes out the dagger from his belt and shows it to Lydia. "But God has sent me to make things right. Give me the Book and I'll—"
Suddenly, a familiar voice screams from behind. William sees Laurel Lance, clutching her head and jerking around as if in pain. The blue energy swirls around her, almost clouding her from everyone's sights.
Green Arrow gets up quickly and walks to her. "Laurel?!"
The blue field pulsates, pushing Green Arrow and everyone else away. It expands and swirls to the point where the screaming is muffled completely.
"What's happening?!" Dinah yells.
"The Book undid Jon's alterations to us!" Lydia responds. "It must be doing the same to her."
"What else could he have possibly—"
Just as Green Arrow asks, the blue energy moves away from Laurel's location and, for some reason, moves on, leaving a trail into the hallway. As the last of it leaves, all of them are shocked at the unexpected surprise before them. Not one, but two Laurel's are in front of them. One of the Laurels William recognizes as the Earth 2 blonde. The other has more golden-brown hair but is overall the same.
The brownish-gold haired Laurel looks up first, looking at her hands and body as if they were new experiences. She then turns to Green Arrow, gazing at him as if seeing a beloved friend for the first time in years.
"O…Oliver?" Laurel asks, almost choking on her words.
"Laurel?" Green Arrow asks back with the same shock his looks express.
She then looks at John and Barry. "Is…is this a dream?"
"No, this is an insane asylum," William replies as calmly as he can. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"I…I was in a hospital after…" Laurel puts her hand to her stomach, clenching a part of it. "…after I was stabbed."
"My god," John whispers aloud. "That's our Laurel. Earth 1 Laurel."
"But how's that possible?" Rene asks. "She's dead."
"Earth 1–"
Earth 1 Laurel then eyes her Earth 2 counterpart, who is rubbing her head and looking at everyone with the slightest hint of a smirk. Earth 1 Laurel shuffles away, almost with a panic.
"You! I remember you. You were in my head. We were arguing, but…but we never knew who we were. Or what we were arguing about in the first place. I was trying to remain calm, but you—"
"I know," Earth 2 Laurel interrupts. "It's like I kept trying to climb above you, but you kept me in check."
Arguing? For control? Control over one body? Or…or arguing to take back control? To resist Deegan? Or…is it Deegan's form of control?
"Oh crud," William utters. "Deegan's not just reconfiguring memories. He's combining counterparts. If our Laurel tempers Earth 2's aggression but still retains the powers and skills, then that can make a near ultimate meta-human warrior."
"Deegan can just do that?" Flash asks. "To anyone?"
William nods. "The Book is an extension of God's creation of time and space. Deegan can pretty much do anything."
"Of course!" Lydia exclaims. "Jon is not just going to invade universes. He's going to combine them. He'll absorb anything he approves of…"
"…and throw away anything he doesn't," J'onn finishes as he helps Superman up. "Including any thoughts of rebellion against him."
"One unified timeline," William summarizes. "Unified under a tyrannical Deegan."
"Who's Deegan?" Earth 1 Laurel suddenly asks. "And who's the guy in black?"
"They can explain later," William says. "We need to finish this before—"
"Batman to Red Arrow! Come in!"
William pauses a moment and presses his comm button before responding, "This is Red Arrow. Go ahead."
"We've secured the building, but we have a new problem. The TCF has just arrived with reinforcements."
William's eyes widen in terror when he realizes what that means.
"They found Deegan." He looks back up to Lydia. "We're out of time. Give me the book so I can revert everything back to the way it was."
"Uh, can we keep my badassery, by any chance?" Green asks.
"No!"
Green, instead of arguing further, just moans disappointingly.
William walks up and takes the Book of Destiny in one hand and raises the dagger up.
"Wait!" Lydia yells. "I just…what's going to happen to me? To my soul?"
"And mine?" Earth 1 Laurel asks.
"I…" William hesitates. He does not know how to tell two women who have been dead for years where their souls may go. Only God knows the answer to that.
"Just have faith," William instinctively explains. "Both of you. Now, I need to—"
Suddenly, the side of the wall explodes. The force is so great that it sends everyone flying a small distance except for Lydia.
William ends up lying next to Deegan's desk, struggling to get up as he hears Batman on the other end:
"Red Arrow, can you…if you can, we're on…"
The signal dies before William can respond.
He looks up to the hole made, the sunshine blocked by an ominous shadow. The sound of a jet engine roars as it inches further into the room and lands on floor. The shadow walks up, becoming clearer as it moves away from the hole and revealing the venomous smirk of Jon Deegan.
Author's Notes: I just wanted to take a second here to answer a quick question that a guest reviewer asked a while back, which is if I knew Wallis Day is going to be the new Kate Kane. I heard something about that, but like I said in a prior chapter, I am more of an "Arrow," "Flash," and "Legends of Tomorrow" fan, so I follow those shows more closely. However, when creating Kate Kane for my fanfic, I thought of Charlize Theron from "Atomic Blonde" in the role. While I have not watched the whole movie, I saw a few clips and thought she would be a good actress to play Kate Kane. Just a little behind-the-scenes information I thought I'd share.
