Justice

by Black' Victor Cachat

Dealing with villains is all part of being a superhero, the Justice League knows this. So how do they handle the new supervillain gang that can't decide whether they're good or evil? And said gang, the Straw Hat Pirates, are just desperate to get home to fulfil their dreams, whatever it takes. And they have no problems with fighting more believers in 'Justice' along the way

20. A Knight of Shadows Part 2

I do not own either One Piece or Justice League Unlimited.

-0-0-0-

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101 and MasterQwertster. Make sure to check out their own stories! Also thanks to other readers who have given incredible help, like Kolomte'49, lincoln time, mellra, scl04, King of Fans, Anycents, Crossovernaru, TheWhiteTitan, coalface, Creation Teller, Bellduke (formerly Blackwizard71), Bkaa19, and VixenRose1996. I know several of you will see your contributions here, even if they will be a surprise ;-)

-0-0-0-

Guest Review answers :-D

E

Agreed for how much more versatile and powerful magic can be compared to haki. That is one of the major reasons for why I decided to keep the SHP from getting it.

Here is the latest chapter, and I hope it was worth the (much shorter) wait! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

SargentEpsilon

Great to hear it was so believable on why the SHP did not get involved. Really worked at that.

Here is the latest chapter, and I hope it was worth the (much shorter) wait! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

Evil Reviewer

Yes, the ripple effect of the SHP being here is only going to grow and grow! :-D

I probably should not encourage this, but I am interested in how far your conflict with my 'previous' self-declared arch-nemesis will escalate. Did you read the review they left for this chapter?

Honestly, I had come to the same conclusion this morning. It was getting too much even for me, even with all those exceptions I already post in the Author Notes.

Great to hear it was so believable on why the SHP did not get involved. Really worked at that.

Here is the latest chapter, and I hope it was worth the (much shorter) wait! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

Fibber

Truthfully, while having haki would be great, you also need the body to use it properly. To use your Harley analogy, even if she could hit harder, or sense attacks, she would still be a lot slower and weaker than even the Beast Pirates' Waiters. That is just how insane the New World is. So they are going to have to take alternate routes to power…

I am still undecided as to just who will or will not decide to go with the SHP home.

Great to hear it was so believable on why the SHP did not get involved. Really worked at that.

Here is the latest chapter, and I hope it was worth the (much shorter) wait! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

Nobody Styles

Okay, I see what you mean for Emma/Queen X Luffy now.

There are indeed more characters who will learn about the offer to go to Gaia, as time moves on. ;-)

I confess, Joker dying because he charges into the New World after the SHP, does sound entertaining :-P

Here is the latest chapter, and I hope it was worth the (much shorter) wait! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

Doraemax

Yes, the Straw Hats are largely sitting this one out. I feel it is too important to the development of members of the Justice League.

Alas, taking Mordred under their wing would be like taking in Joffrey from The Game of Throne. Not particularly recommended.

The Straw Hats loathing Earth is covered in detail more back in chapter 2. Or at least so long as they are trapped there.

Personally, even if it was possible to unlock haki, it would take too long to feasibly learn the basics of it anyways for this storyline I have planned out. From the timeskip, even for prodigies with teachers, it takes years to get a grasp on it.

The very fact that magic is a gamechanger is why I took it away. Even Nami is already an A-ranked villain on Earth, and with magic the Straw Hats would become even more terrifyingly powerful, and the heroes would be overwhelmed for sure. For instance, magic is one of Superman's few weaknesses.

I have no idea for a colour for the weather/sky, but the Green and Red are more for the regular DC-verse, and does not come up in the DCAU.

Here is the latest chapter, and I hope it was worth the (much shorter) wait! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

TheTheorist

Ah, I will say that Cadmus definitely would like to make a clone of Luffy, especially since him being actually Human would make it FAR easier than with a Kryptonian. Although Cadmus will not be developing the technology to properly clone minds; it would be such a mess, because then we could have an army of Luthor's, Waller's, etcetera running around! X-(

Here is the latest chapter, and I hope it was worth the (much shorter) wait! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

DEF

Glad you are enjoying this! Good point for Brook I had not considered. Yeah, he would probably be a master at necromancy, and achieve that fairly easily given his own nature thanks to his Devil Fruit.

Here is the latest chapter, and I hope it was worth the (much shorter) wait! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

-0-0-0-

Justice

-0-0-0-

Chapter 20: A Knight of Shadows, Part 2

-0-0-0-

Previously:

The pirates return home with their new recruits, and while there are some initial issues over Ace being accepted as a full Straw Hat, things are largely settled. With that out of the way, they turn their attention to Zoro's birthday party.

With the Justice League, the ancient and evil sorceress Morgaine le Fay, and her eternally young son Mordred, are seeking the legendary Philosopher's Stone. With the powerfully magical artifact, they can resurrect Camelot and crown Mordred king, fulfilling a prophecy which will allow him to rule the world. Tensions are high with the Justice League amidst this, as several members are unavailable, and Shining Knight, the last knight of Camelot, is forced to work with Jason Blood, the very former comrade-in-arms whose betrayal allowed le Fay to kill King Arthur centuries ago. For his crimes, Merlin bonded Blood with the demon Etrigan, and is forced to live a cursed existence until he has atoned for his crimes. When Shining Knight met Blood, he tried to kill his former friend, only for Batman to intervene and convince him to focus on the greater threat. In an attempt to read le Fay's mind, Martian Manhunter was ensnared by an illusion of his family and race being alive again, with Blood and Shining Knight being suspicious of him.

Continuing to hunt for the relic which was missing from the castle it was hidden in, the Justice League realizes that one of the two original archeologists who had explored the castle must have taken it. They split into two teams: Batman and Flash, while the other is Shining Knight, Jason Blood, and Martian Manhunter.

-0-0-0-

This chapter is an AU of a DCAU episode by the same name.

-0-0-0-

*Author realizes that in the DCAU, Etrigan does not rhyme.*

*Author considers how bad at rhyming they are.*

*Author rolls with it.*

-0-0-0-

November 11

It was a pleasant neighbourhood.

Pristine, large houses and yards, with lots of open space. An excellent place for a wealthy man to retire to.

It still paled before the splendor of Mars.

With a struggle, J'onn J'onzz brought his mind back to the present.

His home was gone. Forever.

(Or was it?)

(Morgaine le Fay planned to resurrect a kingdom that died centuries ago. What else could she do with the Philosopher's Stone?)

His heart clenched in memory of his fight against Scarecrow. What the villain had forced him to endure.

With more effort he shook off those traitorous thoughts. He knew the sorceress could not be trusted. She was a villain. A murderess, who maintained her youth by draining it from others. There was no conceivable way she could be trusted.

(Like they don't trust you.)

With a mental grimace he kept from his face, J'onn knew this was true. Jason Blood, and his own teammate Shining Knight, had been throwing him suspicious looks ever since his disastrous attempt to read le Fay's mind. Oh, Sir Justin had tried to be discrete about it, but he had seen it. Well, he would prove himself to them.

He was a hero after all.

So Martian Manhunter took another look at the home of their target.

Henry Moss was one of the archeologists who had excavated Castle Branek after its magical protections had failed, revealing it to the world. The Philosopher's Stone had apparently already been gone from there before le Fay arrived, and from what little he took from her mind, she suspected those two men had found it, and kept it for themselves. As both he and Hickman had become very wealthy afterwards, if in different manners, they were equally suspect.

By silent agreement, it was Shining Knight who went first, simply knocking on the back door so as to not raise too much attention.

He had to repeat himself twice more before an old man finally answered. Henry Moss had one hand conspicuously in his pocket, and a strong looking dog at his side, lips drawn back with a hint of snarl.

Despite how recognition lit up Moss' eyes, Sir Justin introduced myself. "Professor Henry Moss? I am Shining Knight of the Justice League. May my compatriots and I speak with you? We have reason to believe a previous archeological expedition of yours is involved with a current case of ours, and you are in danger."

While Moss' eyes narrowed a little, taking in the sight of Martian Manhunter and a stranger standing a few meters back, and took the hand out of his pocket to rest on his dog, raising the other to shake the knight's hand. "An honour to meet you. Now, which one are you worried about?"

"Castle Branek."

With a grimace Moss nodded. "Of course. Something always felt off about that one. Never quite believed all those stories we came up with on how it went unnoticed for so long." He frowned again. "Was it magic?"

"Yes. By Merlin himself."

Sucking in a breath, Moss gestured for Shining Knight to come inside, and the other two followed, keeping quiet. Sharp eyes noted that what the man had been holding was a hidden revolver. Not unsurprising given someone knocking on his back door at night, yet something to bear in mind. "Well now, that's a shocker, and no two ways about it. I guess you're really from King Arthur's court then?"

"Yes."

A huff, and Moss shook his head. "Were I younger, I'd be badgering you with a hundred questions. A thousand. No matter." He stopped to think it through. "Merlin you said? He hid something there?"

"Yes, and now a dangerous sorceress is after it."

"Huh, well if Merlin's real, is it Morgan le Fay? Or is it Morgaine le Fay?"

"The latter," grimaced Shining Knight. "Did you find anything unusual?"

"It was in a long room with suits of armour to the side," said Jason, ignoring Sir Justin's glare. "Leading to a stone chest."

Blinking, Moss struggled to remember. "No, no I don't think so. Sounds familiar, but . . . I think Hickman did that one? Huh, what's he been up to? I don't think I've heard of him since—" Eyes bugged out and he paled dangerously. "Wait, so le Fay, that woman from all those stories, is going to be coming after me to try and find it!?"

The heroes and Jason glanced at each other, yet it appeared the archeologist was being genuine. Moreover, he would not be looking so afraid if he had the Philosopher's Stone, and knew how to use it. Hardly any need to resort to J'onn's telepathy to verify. Even if he was up to it after what he had just gone through, that was for emergencies, or when no other option remained.

"Easy friend," reassured Shining Knight to the suddenly anxious old man. "We will simply take you to a police station, and tell them to watch over you. She will come to your home and not find you here, and then try Hickman. Even if she follows you, the fact you are seeking protection from regular law enforcement will tell her that you don't have it."

"Oh, oh yes. Of course," said Moss, taking deep breaths. "Quite right. Thank you."

"Tis simply our duty."

Seeing he was no longer needed, Martian Manhunter found his mind drifting once more, while Jason crossed his arms with a touch of irritation.

!JUSTICE!

Batplane over the Atlantic Ocean

With an internal sigh of resignation, Batman acknowledged he would have to be the one to do it.

The silence between him and Flash as they flew was just getting to be too much.

Who would have thought he would actually miss the inane chatter? Thank goodness he had not met Dick yet, or they would never stop.

"So," he said aloud. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Huh, wha? Talk about what?"

"Whatever is bothering you so much you aren't saying anything." Usually by now he had put his foot in his mouth a few times.

Although given the tension that had already been between Shining Knight and Jason Blood, Flash should be thankful for his timing.

"What!? What are you saying! I'm perfectly fine! No need to be so grumpy about it! Oh hey! You missed me talking! You just admitted you like it! Well just because I'm such a nice guy, unlike some people, not naming any names, *cough* Batman *cough,* I'll tell you all this incredible stuff about me during the whole flight. Maybe sing a song or two!"

Batman waited, and sure enough the scarlet clad hero deflated as nothing came to mind. "Uhm, right."

Silence, while Flash fidgeted in the rear-view mirror which let Batman keep an eye on his passengers.

What? He had been flying literal teenagers back there for years! It was basic sense.

"It's just . . . this might sound weird. I mean, I didn't . . . and yeah it didn't hit me until after, but . . ." A few long seconds passed before Flash finally said, "It's about Grodd and Shade. Joker killing them. Murdering them."

Ah. Yes.

Grodd had been gassed and stuffed as a trophy, days before they had even known about the threat. Then Shade's throat had been slit while the Justice League was busy fighting the rest of the Injustice League. Joker had even stolen the man's signature weapon on his way out.

Honestly, Batman should not be surprised. Flash cared about people with an intensity which frankly confused the Gothamite at times. Even if both supervillains had been people he had fought and defeated before. Or perhaps because of that . . .

Batman thought over what he knew about Flash, a.k.a. Wally West. As a distinguished forensic scientist with the Central City Police Department, the man was no stranger to death. Indeed, he had not only seen far more dead bodies than most people, one of the reasons he was so effective at his work was his ability to get inside the lives of the deceased. Seeking to understand them, and how they had been living their lives up until their final moment. A degree of empathy that could break one less resilient, yet allowed him to put together the clues essential to finding out what happened, and ensuring justice was served.

Moreover, as Flash, he was very friendly and interactive with the people of Central City. An unfortunate percentage of the deceased he saw laid out on cold slabs, were probably individuals he had already known on a first-name basis . . .

Hmmm.

"This is the first time you've seen someone you know die, while actually being the Flash, while wearing your suit, right?" he asked not unkindly.

The other hero stiffened, and there was the faintest hint of suspicion before it was dismissed. Either he did not think Batman knew his secret identity, or he was not dealing with that right now.

"It was my job to handle the Joker," he painfully said. "I failed, and Shade paid for it. I couldn't even catch his killer and Luthor after!"

"You knocked Joker unconscious, and you had other threats to deal with," reminded Batman. "From everything you reported later, which Hawkgirl corroborated, you handled yourself professionally with the rest of the criminals he had gathered together, and without any serious mistakes. You couldn't have done that, and kept an eye on someone you had already defeated as well.

"His death wasn't your fault. No more than it was Grodd's."

Easy to say, harder to believe. Only Flash would not start to believe it until he first heard it from someone else.

Unfortunately Flash went on like he was not even listening. "And then there was Glorious Godfrey going on about what happened on the TV. About how we had only caused an unnecessary mess at the mall, how he had let Parasite knock him out, and demanding to know why we had let those people die—"

"Enough," bit out Batman. "Ignore the man. He just wants a reaction."

As opposed to anybody saying something they might actually want to hear. Although honestly, he should maybe be slightly grateful Flash had been too upset about those deaths that he had not barged into that production set to yell at the media sensationalist. Something to address later.

"And then your ugly, yellow friend was going on about how we would have to kill this lady," Flash said more animatedly, waving his hands as he transitioned to anger, "because that's the only way to stop her, but that's not what heroes do! They save lives!"

Yes. Something the Justice League had gotten very good at. In hindsight, Shade was the main exception to that since they had been founded and defeated the Imperium.

"How would you recommend we deal with her?"

"I don't know! But somebody has to try and show people there's another way, and that's us! Because otherwise it'll just be the same old violence, over and over!"

"Well then, we can figure out a solution once we have her in captivity," said Batman with a crisp, no-nonsense attitude. "But first we have to secure the artifact, and actually capture her. We're getting close, so stay sharp so we can get it."

Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Flash nodded. Talking about it seemed to have relieved him of some weight, as his smile seemed not as forced. "Right, right. Of course, there's only about fifty-fifty odds for us."

"Not quite. I'm confident Hickman has it."

"But wha—?"

"I've met Moss once before, and he appeared legit. Also, that he was actually that talented. Hickman however chose an entirely different profession, and one which would sate his lusts. That's the man we're looking for with a magical, wish-granting rock."

"Then why'd you split us up?" asked a confused Flash.

"Splitting up was the logical solution. Especially as I may be wrong.

"However, I don't want J'onn to meet le Fay if possible. Not if I'm not there to help him. Except neither Jason or Justin wanted him out of their sight, so they had to go with him. Which may be just as well, as I'm not sure if they'll be able to keep their emotions in check with her."

Now if Diana had been recovered enough to help, he would have trusted her, and Flash, to go secure the Stone.

"Uhm!"

"I trust them not to kill each other before we take care of le Fay. Shining Knight will not act rashly now that Jason is no longer seen as a direct threat."

Catching the slight pause, Flash realized, "You don't trust Jason."

"I do. However, Etrigan is another story. I can't predict as well how he'll act. Except I'd still rather have him with us than against us. So I put him in a situation where him being in a conflict is marginally less likely. So that leaves us. You and I will get in, retrieve the Philosopher's Stone, call back the others, and then we can deal with le Fay on our terms."

"Why Bats," grinned Flash. "Not only is that the most you've spoken in your life, it almost sounds like you trust me to keep up with you!"

"After you got beaten by Straw Hat Luffy," he growled, making the speedster flinch in memory, "you said you were going to take things more seriously. Prove it."

Prove that how he had taken down Joker was not a one-time thing.

"I already am!" insisted Flash, trying not to sound like he was whining.

"Then don't get distracted by all the models."

"Ugh, fine! I'll prove it to you!"

!JUSTICE!

To Flash's dismay, stupid Bats was back to being his brooding, paranoid self.

Was it really wrong to want to go in through the front door of the party?

After all, Harv Hickman was throwing a big bash at his even bigger mansion.

No. Right. Serious. Serious, serious, serious.

Okay, but even if they were not going to have a fun time, it was just politer to go through the front door.

Instead Bats wanted to sneak around to the back, and slip in through a window. Although being all ninja-like was wasted, as there were no security guards besides the caveman at the front door. Or cameras. Guess Hickman preferred his privacy more.

Was Bats offended at how easy this was?

"If Hickman has the Stone," Batman softly said, "he'll have it someplace safe, but also where he can easily access it. Where he can be expected to be often. So either his bedroom, or an office if he has one here."

They started with the former, with Flash heroically not ogling any of the ladies going around in bikinis within the place. Or stopping to chat and tell them how awesome he was.

Finally they arrived at a room full of modern art, and an oversized bed.

It only took Flash a fraction of a Human heartbeat to take the entire room in, yet there was one item in particular that drew his attention. At the head of the bed was a grey brick about the size of two fists, with several cracks in it. Not only was it jarringly different from the rest of the decor, it was even being illuminated by a beam of light from the ceiling.

. . . If that really was what they were here to find, then his respect for Harv Hickman might drop a few points.

Being the helpful guy he was, Flash investigated the rest of the room while Bats examined the ugly rock more carefully. "Do you really think that's it? So easily?" he asked. "Him hiding it in plain sight?" Only it was being treated more as a trophy than anything.

"Jason described it as a gem attached to Excalibur, which this isn't," mused Bats. "Except it clearly holds great significance to him, despite showing no sign of value. It might be a trap, but . . ."

Carefully his teammate picked it up, and studied it. Suddenly it briefly glowed, and one of the priceless (tacky) statues changed colour. "This is it."

"Well that was anti-climactic. Let's get this bad boy to the Watchtower."

"No. You get this to the Batplane. I'll stay here and prepare an ambush for le Fay."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" protested Flash, waving his hands and frowning slightly. "You want to pick a fight with her here, when there's a bunch of innocent people about?"

"She's coming here regardless," pointed out Batman, "and if she keeps failing to find what she wants, she may lash out at innocents anyways. And who knows how many she'll continue killing in the meantime. This way we can control the situation, and ensure people are evacuated."

With a grimace, Flash nodded, and took off for the Batplane. In a blur he secured it with a seatbelt. "Done," he reported on the radio.

"Alright, I'll have the autopilot take the Stone someplace safe. Get back here."

Movement caught Flash's eye. "Hold up, I see the javelin approaching."

"Good. Get them here."

He ran for the spaceship just as it landed. "Stone's secure, and on its way," he reported. "Bat's is prepping a trap at Hickman's place."

"Then it is good we hurried," said Shining Knight.

Without waiting for the heroes, Jason Blood took off in a fast jog for the mansion, the others right behind him.

An explosion ripped a hole out of the mansion, and Flash accelerated.

Zipping across the lawn and up the wall to enter through the stylish new doorway (post-apocalyptic style anyways), Flash whirled his arms to create a vacuum to suck out the smoke.

"Morgaine le Fay and Mordred, I presume," said Flash with false cheer to the two figures floating a few inches above the ground, covered in a sickly greenish glow. Ah well, at last he had a face to go with the name. In a manner of speaking.

The arch-sorceress wore an exotic outfit of gold armour on a black bodysuit, with rich purple sleeves and dress. Most striking of all was the ornate gold mask which hid her features, with her long, raven hair piled up on top.

Her son looked about ten or so, dressed more like a stereotypical, medieval squire than what Flash imagined a prince to be like. Purple clothes, hat, and a cape even, with golden trimmings. However there was a cruelty to his features which he felt was more than just his imagination.

"Where is the Stone?" she coldly demanded.

Something black came at her head, but a burst of green shielded her from the explosion.

With a grimace, Batman threw another batarang, just as a certain demon crashed the party.

"Burn, witch!" roared Etrigan as he shot a fire blast.

It impacted a glowing green shield. "Still so bitter, my love?" sneered Morgaine. The barrier then fired a magical attack right back at him.

Stunned, he was nearly hit before Shining Knight stepped forward, and deflected it with his own magical blade.

"Ah, Sir Justin, a man truly out of his time. Cowardice suits you well."

"Morgaine le Fay," he grimly said. "Tonight your countless victims will finally be able to rest."

"Such a bore," she said, unleashing her power again with a shot Flash dodged, and Shining Knight knocked aside again. Mordred stayed safely behind his mom. "Tell me, where is the Stone?"

"Beyond your reach," goaded Batman.

"I see," she said, radiating a controlled fury. "Then what we seek is not here."

With a scream of rage, black and red clouds spitting lightning surrounded her, before the storm erupted.

Flash found himself thrown into Etrigan and back outside, falling from the second story. High-speed perception let him see Shining Knight do the same to J'onn, who had only just caught up.

Giving a grunt of pain, Flash rolled off of gruesome, and went back inside to make sure the guests had gotten away beforehand. Not to mention—"Bats!" he called.

A sound made him run to a certain pile of debris, and tore it all off to reveal a groaning Dark Knight, already trying to heave himself up. "Easy man," he cautioned. "Let me give you a quick look."

Too quick for a regular person to notice, Batman seemed to be glaring at where a window had once been, as if it had personally offended him. Guess he had been a hair too slow to dive out of it.

The others were checking out the rest of the area, and confirmed their targets were nowhere. Fortunately nobody else was hurt.

"C'mon, let's get you back to the Watchtower, and patched up."

!JUSTICE!

Watchtower

The high-tech vault slid open, and Flash gently placed the Philosopher's Stone on the pedestal in the center of the room.

A glowing column of blue light appeared around it, while four metal prongs appeared to hold it in place.

A handprint scan (able to read through even his red gloves), and the thick, steel door sealed shut.

"Hah!" he said with his regular cheer. "I'd like to see her try and get it now."

After all, it would be criminal to destroy not only a priceless historical artifact, but one which could be used to save so many lives. Sir Justin theorized that was the very reason Merlin had hidden it away, instead of destroying it; in the hope it could be used once more for the good of mankind.

"Be careful of what you wish for, little man," said Etrigan beside him, having refused to return control to Jason Blood after the fight.

Sir Shining Knight was two meters away from him, hand never leaving the pommel of his blade. Meanwhile, Batman was recovering in the infirmary under Martian Manhunter's care.

"Well aren't you a ray of sunshine?" was the sarcastic response. Frowning, Flash jabbed a thumb at himself. "As far as I'm concerned," he swept his hand aside, "this mission's over. The world's safe again," as he strode off, "and I for one am going to kick back."

"You forget, my friend," said Shining Knight sternly, "we are dealing with an immortal—"

Flash flinched at that.

"—who can afford to be patient. She will wait until we lower our guard, and try again. We must go on the hunt for her."

"Ah," leered Etrigan knowingly, "except he's afraid to face her and the decision you'll all have to make. He doesn't know what to do!"

"Hey man! I know what I'm doing!" snapped Flash angrily.

"Oh, and what is that?"

Despite a brain able to process at speeds faster than most computers, improvised speech was something Flash still struggled with. Especially when his emotions were up. So he went with the first thing that came to his mouth. "We're fighting for Justice here!"

"Pah! 'Justice!'" sneered Etrigan. "I've lived far too long to believe in that anymore! No, that is only determined by whoever is the strongest at the time!"

"Interesting," and there was something to Sir Justin's tone which made Etrigan stop. "You know, for the life of me I can't tell the degree to which you and Blood are the same person, or your own separate individuals. After so many centuries it must be difficult to know the difference. Rather confusing even."

Red eyes narrowed at that, yet the knight was unfazed.

"However I do know Blood used to believe in that word," Sir Justin coolly continued. "That it was something beyond more than just the whim of a king. If you can no longer believe in Justice, what about protecting others? Not for the reward, but because you know it must be done."

Etrigan snorted dismissively.

So the knight out of time leaned right into the face of the fire-breathing demon, and whispered barely loud enough for Flash to still overhear. "How did it go again? Ah, yes. He said: A lot of people are going to get hurt tomorrow. All we can do is stand in the way of that and say, 'Not them. Me. If you need to hurt someone, hurt me.' Because the alternative is to look at someone else, someone weaker and more vulnerable, and tell them that you want them to be hurt instead of you.

"Yes, that was it."

Throughout this, Etrigan's face was like granite, giving no other reaction. With only an annoyed grunt, he stepped around the knight, and stalked off away from the vault. His silence rang across the corridor.

Without turning around, Sir Justin thundered loud enough to be heard loud and clear, "Had you actually forgotten that!? Forgotten that night and what it meant for all of us!?"

Now the demon stopped, claws tightening into fists, and he threw back over his shoulder, "And yet that man still died, and Justice did not save him in the end."

Surprisingly, Sir Justin gave a knowing, proud smile. "Did he really? I wonder. At the very least, his Dream and ideals have not died."

With another low growl of restrained anger, Etrigan stomped off around the corner.

"Who were you talking about? Who said that?" asked Flash into the silence which had fallen.

Silent for a moment, Sir Justin gave his answer before heading off himself.

"King Arthur Pendragon."

!JUSTICE!

Medical Bay

Impatiently, Batman lay on his infirmary bed.

Originally he had been brought in with cracked ribs and a concussion, assorted bruises, and some minor burns. Only his pants and cowl were on, with bandages and poultices wrapped around his lower torso.

Taking a deep breath as he lay on his back on the infirmary bed, Batman tensed his muscles in a set pattern to assess his performance.

. . . Tolerable. For the short term.

He was fortunate to have access to not only the best of body armour, or the finest products of Cherry Blossom Medical, but also the advanced Martian technology J'onn had created to help speed recovery. Otherwise he would be out of condition for days, if not weeks.

Unacceptable.

He had been sloppy. Inexcusably so. He had just started the evacuation by setting off the smoke alarms and sprinklers, ready to prepare an ambush. Instead he had taken a moment to catch his breath, only for him to be blindsided when she burst in through a window! Then he had provoked le Fay unwisely, and then when she had lashed out, he had been a hair's breadth slower than his usual, and failed to get out that window.

Only dumb luck had kept him alive. From his mission being a failure.

If he had caught Tim or Barbra ignoring their limits for so long, endangering themselves and others . . . well, he would have grounded them and taken away their uniforms until they proved themselves worthy of them again. Or never.

Unfortunately he had a bad feeling it was not over yet.

He was missing something. Some clue, only he could not put his finger on it. Only his instincts trying to warn him, and he knew better than to ignore them.

With a pained grunt he began to lever himself up out of bed. He had to get to a computer.

"Lie still," said J'onn, coming over.

Instead, he got himself upright. "I've survived worse."

Reaching over to the stand next to him, he pulled his upper uniform on. A wince of pain escaped as the armour and cloth settled over his wounds, yet it was not enough to impair him.

Blissfully, J'onn said nothing else, following him to a nearby room where Batman pulled up a computer to start looking up files on magic, setting up search parameters for Morgaine le Fay, and skimming through tales about her to see if anything caught his attention.

Now J'onn tried a different tact. "You really should be resting." He was ignored. "I know this must be hard for you, feeling vulnerable. You're the only one of us without special powers. But you don't need to prove yourself. You're a valued member of this team, and we're only trying—"

The door slid open, and the hunched form of Etrigan entered, eyes narrowing at the sight of the Martian.

". . . I will leave you two be," said J'onn. He walked to the side of the doorway, and waited until Etrigan —reluctantly— let him by.

Throughout this, Batman kept his emotions hidden.

Throwing one more glare at J'onn, Etrigan stalked towards Batman. "Don't trust the Martian. He's been tainted by that witch."

"Let us worry about that."

"Heed me. She will tap into your deepest desires, and dangle them like a carrot in front of your nose. She will give you everything you dream of, but only until she gets what she wants."

Now Batman turned to look at him. "The voice of experience?" he asked with a knowing eyebrow. He was starting to understand more now what had happened so long ago. A warning for sure there, of the dangers of letting your emotions sway you from your duty.

With a low growl in his throat, Etrigan looked away. Knowing how tensions between him and Shining Knight were likely as bad as before, he tried a more diplomatic approach, "She can't corrupt him all at once. She sent those visions, but you've been watching him since, or he's been treating me. He'll be fine. J'onn is strong enough to resist her."

Seeing how unconvinced he was, Batman emphasized, "I trust J'onn with my life."

And he really did. In the short time that he had been a member of the Justice League, he truly did feel that way about the alien, and the rest of his team.

With a huff, Etrigan made to leave. He called back, "I'll send flowers."

!JUSTICE!

Unbeknownst to the hero or demon, Morgaine le Fay was studying J'onn J'onzz through her crystal ball.

She had been dealt a setback, yet the war was still hers to win. For her son.

The green man was walking down a corridor of the 'space station,' by one of the windows looking out to the heavens. He stopped to gaze out at it, and she sent out a tingle of her power, making his eyes widen, and he mumbled to himself, smiling as he reached for something that was not there until he hit the glass.

Realization struck across his face, and he recoiled, dropping to his knees as he looked away. Hands covering his ears desperately, "No! It's a lie! Must, fight it!" he rasped.

Except once more his gaze was drawn to look at the stars, and his arms dropped as his head bowed.

"He's weakening, I can sense it," she told her son. The adorable boy was lounging on a chair in their home, full of magical and historical artifacts. Impatience and boredom clear, yet he had reason to. His rightful throne had been denied him for far, far too long.

Soon he would be king. Of Camelot, and the world.

Unfortunately, then an insufferable pest approached her pawn.

"My friend," said 'Sir' Justin, kneeling down beside the green man, with a supportive hand on his shoulder. "The temptations of le Fay are insidious. Whatever she has to offer you, you know they are a lie."

"Yes," was the mournful reply, pulled out from between gritted teeth.

"What you would become in her service, well, you have seen Jason Blood. Your family would see you, and not recognize you."

"What can I do!?"

With a sigh, the treacherous knight —Mordred was his rightful king now!— shook his head. "I know it will not be easy. But you have us to support you. And we must go on the offensive against her. To stop her once and for all. As much as it pains me to admit, the Justice League is stronger than the Knights of the Roundtable were, with greater resources. Once the others return, we will be at our full strength, and ready to hunt her down from wherever she has gone to ground."

A reassuring pat.

"Superman will be here soon. Talk to him. If anyone can help you, it is him."

"Yes. Yes, you are right," he repeated with growing conviction. "Thank you. My friend. I . . . I know you have had trouble trusting me lately . . ."

Ruefully Justin shook his head. "She has had years upon years to hone her treachery. Do not fear. I have seen far too many good men let their guard down to her. In the end though, they recognized the truth."

He helped the green man up, and then turned to walk away, when asked, "Then what of Jason Blood?"

A flinch.

"He . . . should have known better," ground out Justin. "All of us knights knew the truth of her. What she would do. To both those he betrayed, and to him. There is no way he could have been so blind. Not to that viperess."

Again he started to stroll away, only for the green man to now ask, "Maybe he was just too slow to recognize the truth. Or for those around him to see what had happened. He is actually the most experienced of all of us. Having fought against her, and other threats apparently, for many centuries."

Rigid as his blade, Justin's fists clenched, and le Fay giggled at the pain she could see there.

With an effort, he loosened his hands and body, and said slowly, "I may not know what it is like to lose your entire race, but because Jason Blood gave into temptations, his lusts, I lost my people, my time, and everything I fought for, sacrificed for, were for naught." A steely look pinned her pawn. "Including everyone I knew, and everyone I loved.

"I do not have the words to aid you, but remember that."

In quick strides he crossed out of sight.

For a few moments her pawn stared after him, before going back on his way. Looking anywhere but the windows again.

"Ah, Justin, Justin, Justin," Morgaine tutted. "An interfering busybody as usual," she sneered from behind her mask. "You know nothing. He just needs a little more coaxing."

!JUSTICE!

Having come up with nothing concrete, Batman set up various search algorithms for Morgaine le Fay and Mordred directly, and to search through various records, modern and historical. He had also put in a call to Robin and Batgirl to look through the Wayne library. There were many rare and old books there, and he knew some covered Arthurian tales.

He was now regretting not having a keener interest in such things himself when he was younger.

In the meantime, he headed down to the javelin hanger bay to perform some routine, if necessary, maintenance and inspections which had been put on hold. Shining Knight was nearby in Winged Victory's stable, easing his stress. Etrigan showed up a little later, finding a high place to crouch on, looking down with his cape wrapped around him. J'onn was on duty in the monitor bay.

The lights flickered and went out. Only the stars provided any illumination.

"We are not alone," growled Etrigan.

Out of the shadows emerged hulking, humanoid figures. Brown skin, crude medieval weapons, and armour which, despite their crudeness, appeared more ornamental than functional.

Flash zipped into the room, hands up in confusion. "Hey, who turned out the lights?" Then he saw the inhuman figures shuffling forward, with intelligible grunts, and eyes all black except for a small spot of white for the pupil. "Yikes!"

A blast of fire from above with an explosion of heat, and the attackers were hidden by flames.

"Hey!" cried Flash.

"Cease your howling!" snapped Etrigan. "They are servants of the witch!"

Somehow, even up in space where they believed to be beyond the reach of her or any other of their enemies, the Watchtower was under surprise assault.

"More importantly," declared Shining Knight, running up, "they are not alive. They are but golems. Made of clay, and capable only of the most basic commands. They will kill mindlessly, with no sense of self-preservation, the perfect soldier for her. Fortunately they can still go down like regular foes."

At his words, the golems advanced through the heat unhurt, picking up speed.

Remembering his earlier fight against le Fay's suits of armour, Batman threw a bolo to trip one up.

Shining Knight cleaved one in half, while Etrigan leapt down to bring one down beneath his feet. Briefly Flash hesitated, but then he was in the fray releasing a fury of blows to three at once.

More and more kept coming though, easily two dozen from all sides. Quickly the heroes found their backs to a wall.

"Where's J'onn?" asked Flash.

At those words, the Martian saw what was happening on the security screens, and shifted his density to fly through the floors to go help his friends.

"J'onn? J'onn. Listen to me."

M'yri'ah. His wife.

He fell to the floor as his powers deserted him, clasping his ears again as if that would keep the voice out of his head.

A bright light was ahead, with the silhouette of M'yri'ah extending her arms to embrace him.

"Come back to me. I'm waiting for you."

"Stop it!" he cried, fighting with all he was worth. Holding onto Sir Justin's warnings with all his will.

Back in the fight against the invaders, the Justice League had managed to retreat from the hanger bay, and were now deeper in the station, fighting in a part with several levels of open decks.

Winged Victory flew around the hanger bay with great agility, swooping down to kick golems, or giving his rider Shining Knight the angle he needed to cut them down.

Etrigan was improvising with using his flames to knock golems off of heights, to keep them out of the fight briefly, while he and Jason tried to think of a magical solution. If demon fire was next to useless, clearly le Fay had improved her craftsmanship of them since last they fought.

There was no back-up either, as Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl were still absent with their own missions.

On his platform he shared with Flash, Batman was being attacked from all sides, yet despite his screaming ribs managed to keep in the fray. Single punches and kicks with all the power of his body behind them, were taking golems down. Thankfully they were still lifelike enough for that.

In a blur, Flash punched down four in a second. "How many of these things are there!?"

More and more kept coming. Surrounding them from all sides.

Etrigan came up to join them, and found more success as he threw his own superhuman punches. "Flash, we need a maelstrom!"

"A what?" he asked, taking out one golem with a standing punch.

"A whirlwind! Run fast, now!"

Not even stopping to smirk at the order, Flash was off, running around the golems in a red circle. From the corner of his eye, he saw how Batman was struggle to get free of a hold, and several more were dangling from Winged Victory's legs, trying to drag down the steed.

Etrigan hunched over further, and clenched his fists. "By the cold heart of Hela, I command you: freeze!" Ice burst from his hands, freezing over the golems. The cold air Flash was generating spreading the effect to all of them.

Breaking free, Winged Victory flew back from the growing winds, while the golems slightly if visibly rocked back and forth to get free.

"Faster!" bellowed Etrigan. "FASTER!"

"You got it," grinned Flash as he built up more and more speed.

The golems burst into pieces of harmless ice littering the floor. Nothing but frozen water.

Well, mostly harmless.

With a twitch of pain, Flash reached over to pull a small icicle out of his rear. "Well, that was a real pain in the butt," he said mournfully.

"Is everyone okay?" asked Batman.

"We're fine," said Shining Knight as he landed. "But has anyone seen J'onn?"

"Spread out and search every deck," ordered Batman.

"Don't bother," said Etrigan, holding up one of the few intact golem heads. He looked back at them as sorrowfully as his reptilian head could manage. "The Martian is gone, and so is the Stone."

They looked at him in shock, before racing to the vault.

He was right.

The door was sealed so only a member of the Justice League could access it, and it was open without sign of struggle, the plinth empty.

"You stupid, pathetic, ignorant, excuses for heroes."

"It can't be," protested Shining Knight.

"Oh really, fool, take another look! I've pursued that witch for centuries, yet you blindly ignored my warnings and doomed the world! Even you!"

"But she wouldn't have had time to corrupt one with strength of will like his!" he shot back.

"More bad news!" said Flash as he sped back in. "The javelin's gone, and J'onn's access code is still punched into the hanger controls."

There went their one and only ride off the station.

Something to definitely rectify for the future.

If they had one.

"Any more questions?" Etrigan glared up at Shining Knight.

Suddenly it all clicked together for Batman, and he felt like slapping his face in self-frustration. If only he had been thinking clearly!

"Scarecrow!"

The others all turned to look at him quizzically at his non sequitur. Etrigan seemed to think he had snapped.

"When we were fighting the Joker's group," Batman explained, "J'onn captured Scarecrow. He didn't say anything, but we didn't notice how long it took him to do so. He must have been doused by Fear Toxin!"

It all clicked for the members of the Justice League.

"Forcing him to confront his great nightmare," moaned Shining Knight as he drove his forehead into his palm. "And only a few days ago."

"Exactly. He got out of it, but he would have been forced to confront his sense of being the last of his people. Losing everything. Maybe even forced to relive it all. Making him more vulnerable to le Fay."

"That would do it," Etrigan grunted semi-grudgingly. "With that, she would easily get her hooks in, despite how little they've met."

!JUSTICE!

Javelin

The Philosopher's Stone resting beside him, J'onn J'onzz of the Justice League made a minute adjustment to his course. He knew where he had to go.

It was all an illusion. A lie, a part of him reminded himself.

He knew it was most likely true.

There was no way to guarantee le Fay could be trusted. She was the enemy, and from the stories Sir Justin had told them since even before today, deceit was her favourite weapon. Perhaps even more than magic.

The voices of his comrades, his friends, were on the comlink, talking to him. Begging him to stop until he turned it off.

He did not care.

It was worth the risk, the slightest chance, to see his loved ones again.

Someone like Batman, or any of the others, could not imagine what that felt like.

The loneliness which tried to suffocate him at night. Made him wake up reaching out with his arms and mind for those who had meant everything to him, only to have to remember all over again they were dead.

Gone. Dead. No more. Leaving him all alone, trying to find a purpose to justify clinging to his life beyond spite towards their killers.

Murdered by a race devoid of pity or mercy. Exterminated like vermin.

For a while with the Justice League, he had started to heal. Find a new purpose. Family. Until Scarecrow ripped open that still weeping wound to bleed anew with pain and misery.

Except maybe now he has found what he was really seeking for. A way he can be with them again. Now though, he had a chance to make everything right once more.

Even if he can see them once more for only a second, it will all be worth it. For they were everything to him.

He could not fail.

He would not fail.

No matter who got in his way.

!JUSTICE!

Watchtower

When the comlink failed, Etrigan declared with finality, "He belongs to le Fay now."

"We'll stop him, I promise," said Flash, pointing his finger at him.

"Like you promised to protect the Stone?" Etrigan said back. However there was none of his earlier heat now. Just the sense of resigned defeat.

"We'll do whatever it takes, Etrigan," vowed Batman.

"Are you saying you're prepared to take out one of your own?"

Eyes narrowed, "I repeat, whatever it takes."

"Listen, isn't this kinda academic?" asked Flash bitterly. "We're stranded here, remember?"

"Maybe not," said Batman. "Get a lock on the javelin."

Etrigan widened one eye in confusion.

!JUSTICE!

London, England

Morgaine le Fay confirmed her pawn was on the way with the Stone, and behind her golden mask barred her teeth in victory.

"You asked when you would receive your kingdom, my son," she told her eager boy beside her. She led him to the balcony attached to her main magical workshop, to look out on the city of London; the new capital of Britain with the fall of Camelot.

She went to the rail, with Mordred scampering up on it to be at eye level with her as she gazed out at the massive clock, inanely called 'Big Ben.' It was nearly midnight. "Before the clock strikes twelve, the world will be yours."

Mordred's eyes widened and spread his hands in dismay. "A castle, mother. I must have my own castle."

"And so you will." She moved to a better spot to gaze out at the rest of the city, gathered her power, and clasped her hands above her head to create a ball of green energy, before bringing it all down in a wave of her implacable will.

All of London was engulfed and transformed into a single glorious castle complex, which sprawled out for kilometers in every direction.

People screamed and panicked as their homes and buildings became tunnels and halls of stone walls in a medieval style. Winding passages that they had no idea where they led. No way to escape. Great braziers of fire atop the roofs provided illumination, while atop it all now stood a massive fortress.

All of this Mordred drank in with a gasp of glee, and it warmed her heart to see him smile so. Leading him inside, she showed him the massive golden throne over which he would come to rule over the world itself. She was quite pleased with the throne room in general as well, particularly the golden patterns on the many pillars supporting the grand room. "Behold: here is your palace."

Now he was stunned speechless. So she gave him a reassuring nod before he ran giggling to claim his seat, perfectly sized for him.

"With the Stone's infinite power," she promised, spreading her hands, "I can make this last forever. Merlin's prophecy will be complete, as will be his undoing."

A mechanical sound drew their attention, and the strange flying craft landed upon the balcony. "And now the final piece arrives."

J'onn flew towards them, landing several meters away, holding the Stone in question.

Holding out an inviting hand, le Fay said, "Come forth, my noble knight."

He stared at it for a moment as if in thought, but then closed the distance to give it to her at last.

Violet energy erupted into a wall before him, sending him flying, and from that light emerged the demon and those meddlers!

!JUSTICE!

Etrigan and the Justice League landed on the other side of J'onn, teleported thanks to magic, leaving the Martian between them and le Fay.

"Ding!" Flash could not resist. "Fifth floor: sporting goods, fitness equipment, evil sorceresses."

Not wasting words, Batman just threw a batarang at her, only for it to shatter against a shield she conjured before her head without a gesture. Hands raised she fired bolts of magical energy. Etrigan tackled Batman aside, while Shining Knight blocked the ones aimed at him and Flash, but he underestimated her present strength, and they were still knocked back.

Sparing them a look, J'onn turned back to le Fay to offer the relic again. Again Etrigan interfered, tackling him aside, and raising a violet barrier to try and seal in le Fay, however briefly.

Too briefly. With a flash of yellow magic she was free, along with Mordred, and her son unveiled his own power, firing green blasts at Flash and Shining Knight.

"Get out of my castle!"

Flash ran for cover, while Shining Knight advanced on the duo. The boy was far weaker than his mother, and this he could deal with, deflecting strikes with Gearradh.

"Mother!" called Mordred . . . except it was not with worry or even fear, it was glee? Malicious at that.

"Ah yes, a perfect time for our little surprise," she sneered. A snap of her fingers, and a column of green smoke erupted before Shining Knight. Knowing of her trickery, and not daring to rush in blindly, he halted his rush and sidestepped so he was not in an obvious position, and could keep an eye out for her.

A sword broke the smoke and strove for his head.

With a flick of his wrist he moved to parry it harmlessly, if not outright slice it in two.

For his hubris his own blade was nearly knocked from his hand, and he found himself on the defensive against a flurry of strikes before he could even see who it was.

The choke of horror ripped from the throat of Shining Knight grabbed the attention of the Justice League, and halted J'onn.

"King Arthur!?"

Yet this was not the noble king they had all heard stories of. A desiccated corpse, wearing rusty armour and chainmail, and a sword equally tarnished. The features were well preserved though, with a face Shining Knight recognized well despite the sickly green glow in the hollow sockets, or the aura of similar power moving the body. Even Excalibur, blade aglow with her poisonous sorcery.

"You really shouldn't be surprised," crowed le Fay. "My lover was only ever an irritant, yet you wrecked my schemes more than any other on behalf of Arthur. Except I only ever needed to win once.

"So here he is, your beloved liege to deliver your final defeat. Making it all worth the bother of breaking it out of storage. It's funny you know, all those stories of how Arthur lies sleeping until he is needed most, while in truth he died long ago, and has been lying in my basement."

She laughed at this, while Shining Knight was too pressed to curse her.

"Okay," Flash allowed, pinned behind a pillar by Mordred's attacks, "that's just wrong."

Throwing off his own shock, Etrigan tackled J'onn once more, this time pinning him down against some stone stairs. "Imbecile, that harpy has you charmed. She'll never give you what you want!"

Face contorting now with his first real emotion during all this, J'onn angrily ordered, "Stand aside, demon!" He punched Etrigan in the head with the Stone, and once more made his slow, dazed walk towards le Fay.

With a growl Etrigan caught up, grabbed J'onn by the cloth crisscrossing his chest, and threw him into a wall, cracking it. Two swift punches to the head rattled the Martian, making him drop the artifact, and fall to his hands and knees.

He looked up in despair at Etrigan who picked it up, "She has promised to use the Stone's power to restore Mars."

"All honey and lies," said Etrigan with contempt. "Your reward will be an eternal purgatory for you and this world!"

"I don't care!" slowly J'onn made his way up, trying to make the demon understand his anguish. "This is my last chance for happiness. My last chance to embrace my family!"

"You'll embrace them again," Etrigan said softly, closing his eyes and bowing his head slightly. Red orbs flashed open, "After the worms devour your bones!"

He pulled back for a final punch, but at the last instant J'onn angrily shapeshifted his body into solid steel. With a cry of pain Etrigan recoiled his injured hand. An inhumanly strong uppercut sent him flying to the ground, and then J'onn kicked him into a pillar to keep him away from the dropped Stone.

Weakly Etrigan reached for the Stone, only for a foot to stamp his head down.

"I'll not be denied!" growled J'onn, so far past his usual stoicism.

With all of his strength Etrigan tried to stand, yet could only manage to snarl impotently.

Meanwhile, Batman was taking cover as le Fay fired magical blast after blast at him.

"Yield!" she called. "Or suffer my unending wrath."

Flash ran around her, and decided to see if he could do better at a game he had tried before.

Granted, last time he had played 'Keep Away,' he had been forced to run for his life from a pirate, before being thrown into the infirmary. Except he could not be content to just distract and dodge here today.

"Mother!" cried Mordred in fear as he was yanked off of his feat, and carried off under one red arm.

"Playtime's over," he said, running back to Batman.

"Unhand him!" bellowed a certain mamma bear, firing after Flash, but a batarang intercepted her shot in an explosion.

Whirling around beside Batman on the balcony with a handy wall between them and le Fay, Flash held the squirming kid up to his teammate. "You got anything for this?"

The kid had chops, and they could not focus on his mom until they no longer had to worry about him shooting them in the back.

"Release me so I can kill you!" snarled Mordred. "I am the king!"

"Yeah, pass," deadpanned Flash.

"Gah!" he shrieked, hands glowing for another spell.

"Drop him," ordered Batman, and so Flash did.

The impact of his feet on the floor threw the kid off briefly, and that was all Batman needed to finish adjusting something from his utility belt. With a spark of electricity, Mordred dropped into Batman's arms.

"Huh?"

"Taser, reduced setting" was the terse answer. "Now—"

The wall vanished in a flash of green, and Morgaine le Fay saw her son lying senseless. Her golden mask shifted so the widening sockets showed her horror, before she exploded with a shrieking, incoherent rage.

Her attack caught Batman off-guard with the burden he was carrying. On instinct he moved to shield the child, forgetting she would not harm him, only to be enveloped. With an agonized cry of his own, his body twisted and contorted, until a monstrous bat was perched in his place.

"Oh man," said Flash, slowly backing away until a glaring red eye fixated on him. "Uh—"

The Bat-monster screamed and ravenously threw itself at him. "AHH!" he yelled as he ran, his former teammate being distressingly spry.

Now turning to her son in concern, le Fay went to approach him, only to have to stand back as the ongoing fight between Arthur and Justin shifted in front of her.

"You people brought this upon yourselves, you know," she said, trying to get around them as they kept moving around the place. "It would have all been better if you hadn't interfered. Now that savage will devour his friends. I'm not sure what I'll do with him after, but I'm sure I can think of something appropriate."

With a grunt, Justin staggered back, trying to get some room, only for 'Arthur' to keep pressing him. A cut to the gallant knight's forehead bled freely and into his left eye, blinding him there. Leaving him vulnerable.

Despite her brief temptation to see how that ended, le Fay hurried to her precious Mordred.

In another part of the massive throne room, Etrigan had gotten back up, and was making the Martian take cover from bursts of fire as the demon used everything he had. "Stand and fight, blast you!"

Despite everything happening, Sir Justin's battle-hardened senses remained alert, and unconsciously telling him what was happening around him. How bad it was going for the others. As it was, le Fay was only toying with them; wanting the Stone to be brought to her to make her manipulations complete, instead of going for it herself, or simply using her magic to summon it. And once she had it, everything was lost.

He could not beat King Arthur. Never when he was alive, and certainly not now.

So the Shining Knight took a leap of faith.

He dropped his guard, and let the abomination swing true with Excalibur—

—and it rang like a bell against his golden mail as Merlin's sorcery bested le Fay's once more.

Shining Knight's vice-like grip pinned King Arthur's sword-arm to his side, and Gearradh cleaved through the corpse of a noble man. Ending it for good.

Seeing J'onn duck around another pillar, Etrigan hurried around it to find only empty air. Dropping his invisibility, J'onn appeared from behind with a double-fisted hammer punch. Staggering back briefly, Etrigan fired a magical blast from his hands, only for J'onn to shapeshift again, this time like liquid under the demon's legs to come up behind the confused figure.

Relentless fingers grasped Etrigan's skull to finish him off with a telepathic attack. "Nothing will keep me from my loved ones! Especially not you!"

Etrigan could only scream in pain as his mind was torn open, but what J'onn saw was how it all began.

How le Fay had seduced Sir Jason Blood, and tricked him into betraying Camelot to its doom. Her offering him a kiss, only to reveal fangs which bit him with poison. The judgement of Merlin.

"Art thou satisfied, villain? By base treachery, Camelot will fall this day."

"You could never understand, Merlin. You who are not a man, and have never known the sweetness of a woman's kiss."

"A viper's kiss, Jason Blood. The kiss of a demon in human form. All my great dreams are undone in the name of thy tainted love."

"I've paid for my crime with my life, is that not enough?"

"Nay! Such swift mercy is not for the likes of thee! Thou are cursed, Jason Blood, until the day this monstrous deed is atoned! To mark thy eternal shame, I hereby bind thy soul to a creature of the pit! Look thee now, and see–"

Excalibur rang off of J'onn's head, breaking his hold upon the demon. The wailing ceased as Etrigan dropped to his hands and knees, panting in agony. As a consequence of the alien's invasion, he seamlessly shifted to a man once more.

Shining Knight charged across the room from where he had thrown his liege's blade, his own raised.

Did he have it within himself to cut down a comrade?

Well, that was what the flat-side of Gearradh was for.

Secure the Stone, and then he and . . . Jason, would face le Fay. Together. To end this once and for all.

With a cry, J'onn leapt at this teammate, fists raised. Shining Knight ducked under one swing, to return with a punch of his own. "Think, J'onn! Is this really what they would want!?"

Unfortunately Morgaine le Fay was officially done playing with her toys.

A storm of power rocketed Shining Knight across the room to smash six meters up a wall, and rebound hard onto the ground. He landed just in front of Flash, who tripped over him. Bat-monster pounced, and the speedster barely got his hands up in time to struggle to hold back the talons aiming for him, while his legs tried to push back the snarling face.

"C'mon, Bats, snap out of it!" he groaned.

This sight held J'onn's attention, until he heard behind him, "The Stone. Give it to me."

She reached out with one hand, while beside her, her unconscious son rested upon a floating, purple pillow.

He pulled it out of his belt, and looked over towards Jason Blood, remembering what he had seen within him.

"J'onn," said M'yri'ah with a shining light behind her, bringing his attention back around. "My love," she said, stretching out her hand, mirroring le Fay. "We're waiting."

The image cleared, and Morgaine le Fay was before him again.

J'onn J'onzz took a few more steps closer before he stopped to stare at the Philosopher's Stone, and grappled with a temptation beyond anything the Justice League could imagine. The chance to bring back everything and everyone he had known and loved.

The hero won.

As the witch reached out to take it from him, Martian Manhunter said one word.

"No."

His hand crushed the legend between his fingers, and useless pebbles fell to the floor.

Golden mask shifting again to show her anger and confusion. Softly she demanded, "What have you done? You could have had anything you dreamed of," she accused with a pointing finger and growing heat. "Your family. Your whole world could have been yours again."

"The price was too high," he said with iron. Defiant of her wrath. "I see that now. You can no longer tempt me."

So intent were they on each other, they had forgotten someone.

Excalibur plunged deep through the gap in her armour over her breastbone, and down into her tainted heart.

A reddish-pink glow surrounded the blade, to match the one around Jason Blood's hand, weakly raised.

"AAAGH! NOOOO!" she screamed.

"Burn," was his flat, emotionless reply, and fire erupted from within her out of her eyes and mouth as he roasted her from within as he channeled all of Etrigan's fury.

And his own.

Born of countless generations of suffering, of seeing the evils she had wrought, and what had been lost. Now repaid at long last.

The body of Morgaine le Fay collapsed into faint, green smoke, as her purple robe and golden adornments collapsed to the ground.

With her death, the pillow under Mordred vanished, dropping him to the ground. More importantly, Flash found himself shoving at Batman's head with his feet, sending him sprawling.

"Oops. Oh hey! You're all better!"

The spell over London faded, and the panicking citizens breathed heavy sighs of relief, while the authorities worked to help regain order. The heroes found themselves within le Fay's workshop, and could see through the hole in the wall that the city was fine.

Big Ben struck midnight.

It was over.

Something like a sigh seemed to escape Excalibur, lying upon the remains of King Arthur's greatest enemy, and it faded away before J'onn's stunned eyes.

He gave Jason a surprised look, before hurrying over to see the others. Batman was grumpily letting Flash check his face, so he gently helped up Shining Knight, trying to find the words to say.

"What'd we miss?" asked Flash once they were all sorted.

"I killed her," was Jason Blood's reply as he weakly stood up, words dripping with disbelief. Anything further was cut off as he hunched forward in pain, grasping his head, and a ghostly figure of Etrigan was ripped from his form.

The demon stopped to stare at his companion of over a thousand years, and gave a small nod before vanishing into thin air.

"Merlin's curse is broken," said J'onn calmly.

"Yes," breathed out Jason in relief and loss.

"But last time—" began Batman.

"Etrigan was torn from me by a foreign source," cut off Jason. "This is the end of the spell itself." He stared at his hands in wonderment. "I cannot say if I will age again like before, soon feeling all my centuries, or if I will live out a normal life now."

Batman stared again at the remains of the witch, but Shining Knight put a restraining hand on his shoulder, and stepped forward himself.

"You have ended one wrong, yet was that all you had to atone for?" However, his tone was not accusatory, just genuine curiosity.

"I . . . don't know. I, Merlin, his words . . . I thought it was for eternity. . . . I guess I shall . . . try and find out what it's like to be alone again? While I wait to see what happens with my body."

During this, Flash remembered about Mordred, and did a quick check to confirm the kids was still out cold, and unharmed.

"You just killed someone," Batman firmly said, even if he felt conflicted about it.

"Yes, yes, I did," said Jason, sticking his hands in his pockets, feeling a bit detached as he was still trying to internalize everything. "Although I must point out there is no body, no murder weapon, and the local population will probably be pretty grateful to me for what I've done."

He sighed, and rubbed his face in thought, before turning to give Batman his full attention. "I know what you mean, my friend. And I know this is not easy for you. However, I am not trying to excuse myself. It's just . . . there's no real point. I'm not the one who will have to come to a decision about this sort of thing. And when the League does come to a decision, well, you know where to find me."

Addressing Shining Knight now, "I'll be there. If you want to talk, or end me. You alone have that right."

With that, Jason stumbled to the door to head home. There was quite the trip home ahead of him.

He honestly did not know what to think about it any more than the heroes.

"I shall take my leave too," said J'onn, head bent in heavy regret. "My friends, I've failed you. In my yearning for my old family, I almost lost my new one." Raising his gaze to look at them, "Please, accept my humble apology. And my resignation from the Justice League." He turned to leave them for good.

"Resignation!?" exclaimed Flash in shock.

"Wait!" said Jason from the doorway, still just in earshot. "The demon was wrong about you, Martian. You redeemed yourself here today."

"Did I?" said J'onn with bitter skepticism.

"Yeah, who knew?" said Flash with a broad grin and open arms. "Under that goofy green skin, I guess you're Human after all."

"I only wish I had had your strength centuries ago," said Jason, giving J'onn a look full of meaning towards one who had seen and experienced most of what had happened there that day long ago in Camelot.

". . . I am glad you have found peace at least," said J'onn. He glanced at le Fay's empty clothes. "Despite the means necessary."

"Thank you," said Jason with a small smile. This time he took his leave for good.

"He is right about one thing," said Sir Justin softly, a quizzical expression on his face as he stared after his old friend. "Nothing you did today cannot be undone. No one was harmed, and you acknowledge what you did." He picked up his sword and sheathed it. "That is good enough for me. Now, my friends, will you help me gather the remains of my king?"

"What will you do with them?" asked Batman.

". . . I am not sure yet. And we must search this place."

They could tell he was unsure if he should involve Jason Blood or not.

"Sorry you had to go through that," said Flash.

"It . . . did hurt, I admit. Except remember, this is just his flesh. His soul has moved on, and he lives still, not only in me, but the stories people tell of him. About what we fought for, and why."

!JUSTICE!

Gotham City

Later

Batman found himself crouched atop a tower in his city, staring over the skyline as the dawn slowly broke over the horizon.

A whisper of movement in the air beside him.

"Hello, Princess," he said.

"Surprised to see me?" she asked. Now he turned to look at her, and saw she was fully recovered. "I just saw J'onn, and he declared me well enough to serve again." Concern touched her eyes. "He also told me what happened. I forgave him of course, even though I wasn't there." Now speculative, "You guys sure had a busy night."

"The end of a war which has been waged for centuries," he flatly stated, still not sure about how he felt about it. Relief for a friend, but . . . he just hated to see people die. Even someone who had twisted him into a monster like that.

Was it really wrong to despise killing?

He held up a box for her to see.

"What's that?"

"Morgaine le Fay's outfit and mask. All that's left of her."

"And her son?"

"Sedated for now. I've got a contact who can help with his magic, but for the most part, we can give him to the authorities. Despite when he was born, he's still got the mind of a child, and now he'll age normally."

"You're upset about how it had to end?" she knew. "A great evil destroyed, a man freed, but at the cost of a depraved soul?"

"Flash was upset," was his oblique answer, turning back to the rising sun. "Except I'm not sure how we would have settled it ourselves. She'd been wreaking harm for centuries without any sign of stopping, and we saw that if she had been really trying . . . we might not have won tonight."

He pointedly made no mention of how he had nearly eaten Flash, and she knew better than to touch that herself.

Instead of answering his unspoken question, she opened the box to look inside. "This isn't really her. Sell it, and use the money to help those who need it. Later."

With surprising tenderness, she reached out to hold his chin and gently made him look at her. She drew in close, and softly said, "When's the last time you slept?"

". . ."

"I thought so. And what would you say about us if we didn't stop to rest? No, don't answer that," she said with a knowing look. "Call for your ride home, and go to bed, Batman. Please."

Despite how he knew he should protest how close she was like this, he could not manage his usual defensiveness. If anything, it felt like some of his tension was easing out.

"Whatever you're trying to figure out, you won't do it here and now. We can find out how to solve problems like that as a team once everyone's had a chance to think about tonight."

"It's just," he tried to deflect, "we need to stay on top of the situation. Our missions have been escalating ever since—"

She shifted one finger over his lips to tell him to be quiet.

"We're doing good work," she assured him. "We don't know what the right answer is yet, but at least we're asking the right questions. That's what we need to start to find the right answers. Get some sleep, and you'll feel better, and pretend this never happened."

The man hated to be thought of as vulnerable after all. Except tonight had proved what Flash had told J'onn: they were all only Human.

Now her tender look shifted to something more teasing. "So, I'll come by Gotham tonight to make up for the time I've been recovering. But if I hear even a whisper that you're out and about, instead of being in bed, I'll call in Superman to mother hen you."

"No need to go that far," he said with a tired grin of his own, before fading back into the shadows.

He would call Batgirl to pick him up in the Batmobile. Hopefully he would not fall asleep in the seats.

!JUSTICE!

Straw Hat Base

"—saying I wish we had a better name for ourselves than 'Deckhands,'" complained Volcana.

"Well, like what?" asked Jinbe.

"I don't know!" she moaned, taking a deep drink of her cup of punch. "Just something not coined by the press is all."

He gave a philosophical shrug. "Luffy already likes it, so if I were you, I'd get used to it."

She gave him a glare, more upset at how he was right than anything. "So what are you drinking?" she asked, pointing at his big, red dish in his hand. Like a really wide and flat bowl.

"Sake."

"What's that?"

"A type of alcohol."

"Alcohol!?" she gasped. "Here!?"

Bemused, he wordlessly gestured at the rest of their friends. Zoro's party was in full swing, and now she belatedly realized just how much beer and other alcohol was in attendance. Luffy was chugging back what seemed like a huge mug of it (in between scarfing down food with a wanton pleasure she had to ignore, lest she literally burn with jealousy), and Nami had a small pile of empty ones beside her.

With how powerful and frankly intimidating the Straw Hats were, it was easy to forget most of them were teenagers. And without a care for silly, little things like being 'legal minors.'

"Ah! No, no, no, no, Maureen!" she cried, hurrying off to find her adoptive sister. She had to keep the precious little girl from being corrupted by the Drink!

Watching her go, Jinbe gave a small chuckle, and took another sip. Should he tell her the cake was supposedly sake flavoured?

Meanwhile Harley found herself by the other newcomers. She had chatted a bit with Ivy, but her friend was not in the chatting mood right now. Although it was a little worrisome that she had gone back to wearing her signature green and black outfit, instead of the more casual clothes she had been wearing until lately.

Thus she wanted a distraction, and the newbies, probies, four-bies, were just the ticket! They were grouped together like they were unsure of what to do, which was just as well, since nobody else seemed to know what to do with them either. A little 20/20 hindsight there. Ah well, they'd do well enough as Deckhands, or her name was not the Dread Pirate Bonnie Harley!

"So!" she cried, slapping Daniel on the shoulder, "sorry about all the drama before! Welcome aboard! Oops?"

"Watch it," he grumbled. Rubbing where she had hit him. "We had trackers in us they had to remove, and that's where mine was."

"Ah, sorry."

He muttered under his breath some more, but with a sharp elbow from Emma and pointed look, he let the matter drop. They were the new meat here, so best not to start a fight. Not after what happened the last time they tried that. Who knew how powerful this ditsy-seeming older lady really was?

"Right, well, what were your names again? I was a weeee bit distracted."

So the teenagers (man, were they even graduated from high school?) sullenly re-introduced themselves.

"Hey!" grinned Harley. "I just realized something! The five of you guys, well, just you four now, Ace is already spoken for, I know just the names for you guys!"

"Names? What names?" scowled Ben.

"Well you'd be 'Ten,' Mr. Ben Tennyson! Oh, 'Jack' for Daniel Jackson, 'King' from 'Kingsley Shacklebolt, and, well, sorry kid, you break the theme, but you can still be 'Queen.'"

"Oh yeah! 'Cause I'm the King!" crowed the teen in question. "So much better than my slave name!"

'Slave name.'

Ah, teenagers. It was almost cute.

Well, Harley would have to cut them some slack for being young and stupid. They deserved the opportunity after what they had been through. Besides, not everybody could be as refined and dignified as she had been at that age.

Seeing how they seemed to like, or at least be ambivalent about the new designations, she finished off helping them with "And you can all be the Royal Flush Squad!"

Ah, they had apparently not made that connection yet. The touchy looks they all shot each other made clear what they thought of working together. The warden had hardly encouraged it, and made life as much of a competition between them as possible. However, they also did not want to be separated when they were now thrown into an unfamiliar situation. Be that as it may, they were the only people they knew here, and had gone through the same experience together. It beat the alternative.

"Wait," said Queen with suspicion. "Is this therapy?"

"Going to go get something to drink!" Harley called as she back-flipped away, and then started to skip for the buffet table.

On the opposite side of the room from where Volcana was searching through the crowd and piles of food, weird presents for Zoro (someone had anonymously given him a statue of Sanji somehow, along with markers for him to scribble all over it with), and other stuff, Franky was entertaining the young ladies.

"Ha ha! Again, again," cheered Maureen.

Obligingly, Franky pressed his nose button to change his hair again. Now it looked like a crown somehow.

"Impressive," said Ace, trying to hide how funny she found it all. She was wearing a birthday hat like all the rest, and a little badge which read, 'To Zoro: A New Nakama,' which she figured he had been touched by. At least his smile had not looked scary.

"Aren't I!?" he cackled.

Sipping from her glass of cold water, Maureen gave a warm smile at how much fun her newfound friend was having. Even if they might be split apart in the future.

Personally, despite what she had told Ace, she knew Volcana would ask her for her opinion, and she was honestly not sure if she wanted to go with the Straw Hats or not. Yes, Maureen probably needed to get stronger regardless, yet she really did not know if she could handle her family being split up. Even if they assured her it would only be temporary.

But did she truly need to come up with a decision tonight, right?

As if their captain could sense the gloomy, philosophical mood, both girls found themselves swept up with the dancing line of Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, Brook, and Zoro (who was pretending to be dragged along like he was not enjoying it), as they sang out 'Bink's Brew,' with . . . were those chopsticks up their noses?

Ace could not help but laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all.

Were there any chopsticks for her?

"Okay everyone!" called out Sanji, wheeling in a cart with a massive cake, bigger than some tables. A perfect circle, with candles shaped like katana, and with the birthday boy's name written in icing on top.

However, that was not what was most distinct about it.

"Like it?" he leered at Zoro. "The colour's called moss-green."

With a growl, Zoro drew two blades and leapt to get himself a birthday present of a curly-browed head on his wall.

"Not the cake, not the cake!" wailed Luffy at the fight. "Save the cake!"

"Waaaaaah! Zoro, watch out!"

"Gah, look out for the buffet table!"

"Maureen, there you are! Have you been drinking!?"

"Yes?"

"Noooo!"

"Quick! Grab the cake!"

!JUSTICE!

Author Notes:

Kudos to Creation Teller for pointing out I needed a reaction from the Justice League to the deaths of Grodd and Shade.

.

The person Sir Justin is quoting is actually O-Chul, a paladin from the awesome webcomic, "The Order of the Stick." He talks the talk, and walks the walk, but is also quite crafty, and is everything a paladin is actually supposed to be.

.

The origins of the le Fay's foot soldiers are not covered in the DCAU, but since I have enough going on here without getting into them killing an army of non-Humans without pause, I decided to make them golems.

.

Mordred will basically disappear from the story, even if admittedly that means no "Kid Stuff" episode. His magical powers were connected to his mom's own, so with her dead, he has no juice. He ends up in juvie, comes to grips he is not the center of the universe, and grows up. Somewhat.

-0-

Next Chapter: 'Omakes 2.' This will be out fairly fast given how many people have already sent me some.

-0-

Please Review, and I will get back to you!

Mostly.

The sheer size of my responses for Guest Reviews means I need to start making some exceptions. I will not answer if you are asking when the next update will be, since honestly my answer tends to be, 'I do not know.' Also, for those asking for more One Piece characters, I say, 'Definitely not anytime soon. Maybe later though.' Or 'who would win' questions, since answering those basically counts as giving Spoilers. For those asking about the Justice Lords, I will simply say they are a popular arc request. While Haki is indeed similar in concept to the Will used by Green Lantern Rings, they are still different enough, on different 'frequencies' of willpower if you stretch the analogy, that they do not effect each other in any special way. The Straw Hats cannot use any form of magic, nor teach haki to others. Also no more responding to ones that are just "guest" without a penname, as frankly they cannot be kept track of anyways. Or for any concerns about another Omake chapter coming out so soon.

-0-

EVERYONE STAY SAFE!