*****PLEASE READ*****
Sup! More news. I'm thinking about making another story. I already have a name for it, and it will be a DBZ centered fic where it takes place after the Buu Saga, and I might introduce Super in it. The fic will base itself around Gohan, and if I make it, I hope to make it basically a what-if that I feel isn't really explored in fics. I've already thought about the what-if, so don't try to change my mind.
Anywayyyyy…read on. Sorry, almost forgot. Make sure to review what you thought from this chapter and the previous one. Also, I HOPE YOU GUYS HAD A GREAT CHRISTMAS!
Time was tense as Videl flew at high speed towards the volcano. The heat from it rose as she lowered to dozens of feet off the molten ground. She quickly looked around, searching for any of her teammates. The heat kept her at bay, a constant bite at her skin hastening her search for the following minutes until she heard a scream.
Moving quickly towards it, she saw M'gann. She was sweating, some parts of her cape were charred, and her hair was matted against her face. It was agony as she tried to walk away from the heat that suffocated her.
Because of her biology, she was very susceptible to high heat. And if it was hot enough, a martian would be in such a weakened state they wouldn't be able to use their powers. The fact that M'gann was just feet away from magma was one of these situations. The only reason she wasn't being roasted alive standing so close was again because of her unique physiology.
"M'gann!" she yelled, getting her attention. But it distracted the martian, making her miss the lava flowing towards her from behind. Videl quickly moved fast enough to vanish from the untrained eye. She flew straight towards M'gann. Her ki protecting her from the heat as she promptly grabbed M'gann and flew from the volcano. After gaining a safe distance away from it, M'gann started to calm down, putting a hand against her head as she looked at Videl with a tired smile.
"Horizon… thank you. I just… need a moment… the heat," M'gann breathed out.
Videl nodded, but knew they needed to find the others, hopefully, the sheer heat from the volcano had not taken too much of a toll.
"M'gann, I know it's hard, but can you re-establish our link. We need to find the others."
"I... I'll try, but... I'll only be able to do it for a minute at most," M'gann said, putting a hand on the side of her temple while closing her eyes to focus. Reaching out to the Team's minds, she quickly established a stable but weak link after a few moments.
'Hello, guys, can you hear me?!' suddenly she was bombarded by the others.
'M'gann?!' She heard Superboy, who punched a cyclops in the teeth.
'Where are you?!' asked Kaldur, running long behind Kid Flash as they ran through the green forest.
'Better question. Where are we?' Wally said
'Everyone. Give your location. Now,' ordered Kaldur.
'I'm with M'gann, we're above a volcano some distance away from a city I left, but it's dozens of miles from the forest you're talking about,' explained Videl.
'I'm on a mountain that has some clouds slightly below the peak,' answered Superboy.
'Wait? Where's Artemis?!' Kid Flash questioned with worry coming into his voice.
'Guys, I need backup!' Artemis finally said, her mind sounding pained, 'I'm in some coliseum, I'm not gonna last much… longer!'
Each of the Team's eyes widened as they heard the words in their minds but couldn't truly hear the end as the link faded. Soon it was just M'gann and Videl, alone as they floated above the volcano.
"No! Horizon, I'm sorry. It's just… " said M'gann, shame covering her features as she tried so hard, but her body was still weak from the exposure of a martian's greatest weakness.
"It's alright, you tried your best. But why couldn't we hear Zatanna? We need her magic," Videl said.
M'gann's showed surprise at the mention, "I tried to sense her, but I felt… a pressure. Something that didn't allow me to feel her."
"Okay, M'gann, I know you're tired, but can you use your powers to their fullest, yet?" asked Videl.
M'gann shook her head to the side in reply, "It will take some time, Horizon."
"All right," Videl said. After a few moments of floating down, they arrived at the base of the volcano, far enough from the searing heat of the lava, "Stay here, M'gann. I'll find the others." Then, before M'gann could protest, Videl flew into the air, a trail of energy tailing her flight.
There stood the coliseum in the city that had Greece's beauty in every inch of its foundation. Noise could be heard from a long distance outside of the coliseum's walls. On the inside stood a myriad of different creatures from the tales of Greece in the stands. Some of the most notable beings were skeletons, satyrs, centaurs of Cyprus who had horns similar to that of a bull. Harpies, whose bodies were the arms, feet, and wings of a bird, but the torso and face of a woman, and others who all cheered as they saw the groups inside the coliseum fight until their end.
The fight that created the largest bet of drachmas was the fight going on between a young girl and the other creatures in the middle of the coliseum.
Artemis had been fighting ever since she had awoken being dragged into this large all-for-one fight. She'd been fighting for nearly half an hour, trying to conserve energy by staying at range and only going into close combat when needed.
Earlier, when they brought her in, they talked about how much they would be repaid by the sorcerer for spilling her guts onto the floor. The first one to do so would have the privilege of passing into the mortal plane first.
But now that her arrows were down half their original amount, she had been fighting in close combat to conserve. She felt the bones of her skeleton opponent break as he was hit by a well-placed kick from her boots. After it shattered, she picked up the sword he was attempting to stab her with. Dazed by exhaustion, she started to attack whatever was near her with her new blade.
But soon, the crowd volume started to lower as they saw a black and purple blur in the sky crash into the middle of the coliseum, and Artemis's face gained a tired smile.
Videl pushed several monsters away with a kiai shockwave. The crowd was shocked for several moments until their cheers came back full force. Just as fast as Videl arrived, a tall centaur with a white hide and blonde hair came into the arena.
The stallion galloped towards her as Robin hopped off and scissor-kicked two satyrs with grace as he landed on the ground. "Come with me if you want to live," he said, deepening his voice with a chuckle.
Artemis wasn't impressed as she panted, "You could have, pant, been here sooner, ya know?" Artemis breathed as Kozin bucked a centaur coming from behind him.
"Didn't wanna ruin the surprise," Robin said, throwing batarangs at several monsters in front of him.
Videl looked at Robin over her shoulder and screamed, "Robin, Blinding Feathers!" she called, giving him the code name for her next attack, Robin nodding in response. Grabbing several of his pellets, he threw them on the ground while holding onto Artemis.
The pellets immediately released a large amount of smoke that covered most of the arena. Kozin quickly galloped over to them. Robin and Artemis promptly took the chance and hopped onto Kozin as he started to gallop out of the coliseum.
Videl flew into the air out of the smoke putting all attention on her, 'Just what I need.'
Putting her hand in front of her head and spreading her fingers, she used one of Tien's signature techniques, "Solar Flare!" she screamed, blinding those in the stands.
Meanwhile, Kozin escaped from the coliseum and made sure to get as far away as possible. A small army of monsters tailed them. Robin and Kozin did their best as they traveled through the city. Kozin would cut corners around the buildings while Robin would use explosive batarangs to detonate some parts of them to slow down the other creatures, while Videl rained ki blasts from above on harpies or griffons.
One harpy managed to get past Videl's blasts and bit down on Kozin's hind leg, but the harpy came to regret her decision as Artemis swung her new sword at the creature, cutting off a chunk of her wing before kicking her off. "Kozin?" Robin said, concerned.
The young centaur looked at Robin with a pained smile, "I am fine, Robin," he said, but his body showed the lie in that smile as he moved significantly slower than before. Suddenly, they heard a whoosh as a red and yellow blur went past them and rushed at a centaur, throwing him into a wall.
Robin recognized the streak immediately and looked at how far away they were from the forest. At Kozin's current pace, they might not reach it in time. The streak came to their side and slowed itself, revealing Kid Flash, "You're dashing savior has arrived~!" Kid Flash sang, while Artemis just rolled her eyes.
Robin, meanwhile, knew they needed to get some weight off Kozin's back, "Kid, get Artemis and get her out of here!" he shouted. Kid Flash nodded, grabbing Artemis in bridal style and making a beeline to the forest.
Robin reached into his utility belt and grabbed several pellets, throwing them onto the ground behind him. They started to beep for a split-second before releasing an explosion that sent most near it flying.
"Damn it," Videl said, seeing how Kozin was slowing down. Acting quickly, putting her hand out she released her attack, "Incendiary Burst!" she screamed, releasing one of her signature attacks. Though unlike on her pseudo-mission with Superboy this blast was much larger because she wasn't underground. It hit the ground with enough force to shake it and released embers of ki on many of those chasing her teammates on the ground.
As she willed the embers of ki to harm the creatures she overlooked the large griffon coming to strike her until she heard a roar coming from its maw. It was shot in the gut by an arrow that expelled a rigid rock foam over its body before it rammed her. Videl looked down to see Artemis had shot the beast, a smile on the girl's face.
She kept the pressure on those caught in the embers until Robin and Kozin managed to make it through the streets and unfollowed into the forest. Seeing her teammates safe, she decided caution over risk and threw a final large blast of ki at the ground before flying into the woods.
She weaved around the trees until she came into a small open field and started to walk. After a few moments, she noticed the others. Robin had just jumped off of Kozin and was helping Artemis along with Kid Flash. To her surprise, Aqualad was there as he attempted to help Artemis as well, who was becoming irate at all the attention.
"Guys, I'm fine! It's only a couple cuts and bruises," Artemis protested.
"Well, if we do leave them untreated, they could become infected," Robin countered, grabbing a small spray bottle of antiseptic from his utility belt and spraying on Artemis's wounds while Kid Flash rapped her injuries in bandages Robin passed over. "You're next, Kozin," Robin said, pointing at the centaur who grumbled.
Aqualad walked up to Horizon after bandaging up Artemis, "Horizon, where's M'gann?"
"Don't worry, she's safe, but she isn't around here. She was exposed to too much heat near a volcano. That's why our link dissipated earlier. I had to leave at the base of the volcano to save Artemis," Videl explained.
"Alright, Kid Flash," Aqualad called, causing the speedster to come over, "You and Horizon need to head towards the volcano to find M'gann. She should be at the base of it."
"Alright, but what about Superboy?" Wally asked.
"Are you kidding? The big guy can handle himself, but we need to find M'gann to tell us where he is through her powers. Then we need to find Zatanna. She's the one who can get us out of here," Horizon said.
"Alright, Horizon, lead the way," Wally said eagerly, getting into a runner's stance.
Videl gave him a thumbs up and lifted off the ground before launching herself through the air, quickly followed by the fastest boy alive.
Superboy roared as he punched the final cyclops in the face, breaking a tooth and knocking him into the world of unconsciousness.
Osar smashed his club against one of his sisters' heads as she attempted to pierce his gut with a crude sword, but right before he hit her with a finishing blow, a shockwave resulting from the impact. Afterward, he kissed his club with love.
They had been fighting all this time since meeting Osar's brother. Unfortunately, the shockwaves from that one fight alerted the rest of Osar's family, and they had been fighting the rest of them ever since. After numerous fights, they had finally arrived at the base of the mountain. Looking up at the mountain, Superboy noticed something he missed before.
"Osar is the mountain… healing?" Superboy asked, seeing the mountain they had trekked down seemingly repair itself
Osar didn't even bother to look up as he had seen it numerous times, "When Anesh created this dimension, he made sure that it would remain the same as when he traveled in his ventures across the world. Small things such as rocks being moved over water displaced are allowed to happen, but large structures such as buildings, mountains, large lakes, forests, and glaciers are always kept in their original state, to keep his memory alive," Osar said, flinging blood from his club.
"Sounds like you really knew this guy," Superboy said, wiping some snow off his shoulders.
Osar didn't even answer, instead, looking forward. In front of them was a large gorge they quickly crossed over, but the place Osar was most concerned with was the autumn forest in front of them. Its trees were a vibrant color of ruby red, and grass shined a yellow hue as if kissed by the sun. Beyond the trees, Superboy noticed the large forms of massive elks moving across the yellow grass.
They moved quickly through its beautiful sights. Though, after some time, they noticed that something seemed to be wrong with the forest, if Osar's reaction was any sign, "How… how is this happening?" he said with a wide eye.
"What?" asked Superboy. They had moved to a section of the forest where the trees and grass seemed to be dying off, the leaves on the ground becoming a black and dark, murky brown.
"This forest. I've been through it more times than I can count, but never has any part of the forest seemed to die at any time. Shit, come on, there's a place we gotta go," Osar said, running in a different direction.
In little time they managed to find a small ancient Greek home of modest size. "Get in there kid, we don't have time. Search for a book. You'll know it when you see it." Osar warned.
Superboy quickly went in and through the house. After searching through every inch of the house, he tapped a part of the house that seemed to have a wall but added nothing to the house's structure. His ears heard the echo of a hollow structure. Raising a fist, he punched against the wall and revealed a cavity, looking inside, he found the book.
Pulling it out, he walked to the outside, taking a look at it. It's most prominent feature was the strange glyph on the cover. It was a thick and somewhat leather-covered book with words that seemed to have a language similar to Latin but mixed with other dialects he couldn't even recognize. "What's so special about a book?" Superboy questioned.
Osar looked at it with a sad smile on his face, remembering a time long past, but quickly came back to the present and put it in a cloth hanging from his waist, "No time, Superboy. We need to–" suddenly, he was interrupted as a bright flash from the city came through the branches of the trees.
"Videl," Superboy muttered. "Where is the direction of that light, Osar?"
"Should be near the middle of the city, guess your friends are making a scene. Come on, this should be good," Osar said, running towards the light with a smile as Superboy leaped across the autumn forest, covering the distance in haste.
The only thing changing in the dimension being the sun as it lowered below the horizon.
While the heroes were coming together, Zatanna looked on as she stared at the growing power of Faust's machination. The moment she arrived she was bound by rustic chains digging into her wrists as she tried to struggle. But Faust knew of her strength in speech rather than physical capabilities and gagged her accordingly.
"How much time, Faust?" the god said, his deep voice seeming to shake the room. The wizard simply chanted in a long-dead language in a circle of glyphs. They glowed a blue, almost angelic hue betrayed by Faust and this god's intentions.
"Enough, your time to walk upon the Earth will come soon," Faust calmly stated. "And as for those… heroes that have arrived. They will be dealt with soon enough. They are too weak to gain an advantage over us," he boasted, but the god stayed silent before walking to Faust and putting a hand on his shoulder.
"You know, I once believed the same thing some millennials ago, until a young hero and his band of fellow adventurers battled me. It was my arrogance that blinded me," he said, pressure rising from the god's being. "Do not let it blind you, Faust. After all, it was my decision to bring the youths' sorcerer to us. If I hadn't cast my worries, they might have escaped and found a way from this dimension, warning their Justice League. So please, lower your arrogance," he said, a pressure seeming to almost fill the room with sinister intent.
"Of… course, my Lord," Faust slowly said, the pressure warning him of what to say next. The god walked off, sitting on his throne made of steel and bone. He rested until his eyes closed for a sensation his kind had no need of but often loved...sleep.
Zatanna looked at one of the skeletons near her, a sword in its fleshless hands. Moving close to it, but not enough to rattle the chains too loudly, she put her hand out and slid it against the edge of the blade. It easily cut through her glove and spilled blood from her hand. She moved her bloody finger and started to write, 'Wohs meht Tsuaf's htap.' Immediately the letters glowed, but her smile was cast away as Faust saw the glow.
Standing up, he walked over to the girl, but she scraped the blood to not let him know what she cast before reaching Zatanna. He walked over to her and slapped her face full force, then snapped his fingers, tightening the chains so she couldn't move her arms. "Do not try that again, girl. The only reason I let you live is that your soul will fetch a high price," Faust said, but before he walked back, Zatanna rammed her head into his nose, spilling blood. "Gah, wench!" He said, slapping her again before he walked back to his glyphs.
But even as Zatanna hung there, she couldn't help but smile around her gag. But one thing she, nor the god noticed, was how Faust's glare not only directed to her but his so-called lord as well.
As the Team moved in whichever location they were in, be it Superboy jumping or Kid Flash and Horizon racing back towards the group with Miss Martian in tow, they all jolted as images came into the forefront of their minds. They saw the city's ocean and witnessed as Faust days earlier split the sea and came to the pomegranate tree. Opening a staircase that led to a deal with the god trapped there and Zatanna's situation.
"What's wrong?" Kozin said as he saw those around him jolt as they stared into space.
"Zatanna… Faust," Aqualad said as he shook his head. He looked at Artemis and Robin, shaking their heads, "Did you see it as well?" Aqualad asked.
"Ugh, yeah. We need to wait for the others, Faust is a threat, and we know nothing about the other guy," said Artemis.
"What did this... guy's features consist of?" Kozin asked, an ominous feeling coming into his gut.
"He was tall, with a bearded face, dark eyes with no pupils, and a bident in his hand," the Boy Wonder detailed. Kozin's eyes widened, and his face twisted as he gulped, taking a gasp of air out of surprise.
"What's wrong, Kozin?" Aqualad questioned. Before he could answer, a gust of wind came over the group as Kid Flash and Horizon returned with M'gann in tow.
"Did you guys see it too?" Kid Flash asked, earning a nod from them, then looked to Kozin, "What's with him?" he whispered to Robin, pointing at the centaur.
"I feared this may happen someday, but not like this," Kozin said, putting a hand through his locks in frustration.
"What do you mean, Kozin?" asked Robin.
"Sigh, this place. This dimension was created to seal a god. The unseen one, Hades. But it only could hold his essence. His body remains in another dimension, but without its essence, it is merely a shell of untapped power. If his essence comes to the mortal plane and connects with his body again, it will increase in power many fold. Enough to face any modern hero from your world," Kozin explained.
"So what you're saying is we have to fight a sorcerer and a god?!" shouted Artemis.
"I'm in," said Horizon as she pounded her fist into her palm, "But first, we gotta get the muscle."
The Team immediately knew what she meant, and M'gann focused her mind. Luckily Martian's had regenerative abilities, and she had healed from the heat of the volcano. Her eyes glowed as she searched for Superboy's mind, only taking a few moments to find it.
'Conner? Can you hear me?' M'gann thought through the link.
Superboy stopped jumping, making Osar stop in his tracks, "What now, kid?" Osar asked, but Superboy ignored him in lieu of feeling M'gann's mind.
'M'gann? Where are you? Have the others found each other?' Superboy said through the link.
'Yeah, we're in a forest, with green all around, and flowers of many colors. It's near a city. You have to get here quickly,' Miss Martian said.
'Alright, I'll be there quick… stay safe, M'gann,' Superboy said, worry spilling into his tone.
"What is it?" Osar asked, seeing Superboy stare off into space. The hero looked up to the giant.
"Osar, do you know any forests that are green, with flowers of numerous colors?" Superboy asked.
The cyclops raised a section of his unibrow, "I'm guessing that where the rest of your companions are? It should be near us. Both this forest and the other are connected. It should take little time at our pace," Osar turned in a different direction. "Come on, can't keep the others waiting. Plus, there's an old friend I'd like to see," he said with a grin, starting to run.
Superboy jumped after him as they journeyed to find his friends.
The Team stood around, coming up with strategies to defeat Faust and Hades's essence from reaching the mortal plane.
After some time, they heard trees being toppled as something big was coming in their direction. Alerting them into a fighting stance.
The large figure came into view as a single eye looked at them with a disturbing smile and a bloody club in his hand.
Kozin sighed as he recognized the cyclops, lowering his bow, "Calm yourselves," but the Team wasn't so convinced, especially with the dried blood on the cyclops's club.
But luckily, they heard the ground pounded by something heavy behind the large humanoid. Coming into view was another that was all too familiar as Superboy came up to them with a smile.
"Hey, guys. Don't mind him. He's the one that got me here," said Superboy, finally making them lower their weapons.
Miss Martian was the first to approach Superboy as she hugged him tightly, "Welcome back, Conner." She said, looking into his eyes. The rest of Young Justice followed suit as they surrounded Connor. Not noticing Kozin as he slightly limped towards Osar, somehow with a face of happiness and annoyance.
Osar's grin only grew as the centaur came up to him, "Awww, is the little centaur having a bad day," he said with a little coo in his voice as he talked to Kozin.
"Be quiet, you damn savage," Kozin said, with false animosity, a grin coming onto his own face.
"Ooooh, so harsh, my heart cannot take it," Osar said, putting a hand over his heart as he looked up into the night sky with fake tears.
"As if your kind even have any," Kozin shot back. Osar and Kozin looked at each other with fake intimidation as the Team looked on at the situation. Just as Superboy and Robin were going to intervene, the two hugged each other as they laughed. "Ah, it's good to see you again, Osar. How is the lucky club?" Kozin asked.
"Ah, she's as good as any day no matter what she bludgeons?" Osar said. The Team looked on, confused until Artemis stepped forward.
"You two know each other?" Artemis questioned for the rest of the Team. The two looked at each other before chuckling as they almost forgot about the others.
"Yeah, Kozin and I have known each other before even your ancestors' grandparents were around," Osar explained.
"Good. That means you should know each other's strengths. So, will you help us in stopping Faust's machinations?" Aqualad asked.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Osar chanted, raising his club into the air. Kozin nodded in agreement, and so they began their plan, his earlier anxiety fading as he saw those he would be fighting with. He and Osar looked at each other, almost feeling that Anesh was with them once again.
In the dead of night, without alerting any monsters, the Team moved quickly towards the ocean of the great city. M'gann walked into the sea with the Team behind her as she used her telekinesis, creating a large sphere of air around them, while Aqualad swam in front of it.
After some time searching, Aqualad found the pomegranate tree, quickly followed by the others. Kozin came forward, grabbing a pomegranate tree, digging into it, and throwing the seeds onto the wet earth. The ground opened, but before entering, Aqualad looked at everyone around him, "Remember the plan," they all nodded in response.
Walking down the long staircase, they moved quickly but soundlessly as Robin, Artemis, and Horizon moved throughout the area of the cave first. Robin jumped and hid behind columns, taking glances behind them to make sure that Faust and Hades didn't notice him. He moved near Zatanna, pulling out lock picks from his utility belt he quickly used to free Zatanna and ungag her.
Unfortunately, what he and the others didn't notice was Faust smirking as he turned his back and shot a burst of magic in their direction. Luckily Zatanna muttered a spell, creating a stream of water from her hands that turned the fire into smoke. Creating a distraction as they took cover behind a pillar. The moment they hid, an arrow impacted Faust's body, trapping him in rock-hard foam, a grimace on Artemis's face as she knew it would only hold the sorcerer for a few moments.
Videl saw her chance and rocketed toward Faust, ready to knock him unconscious with a punch, but his hands moved faster. They came alight with magic as the rigid foam around him shattered as he floated in the air.
Videl flew into a shield of magic Faust had created but repelled against it with a kiai wave from her body that set her free.
"A ki user? I have not seen those in many millennia, but you are out of your depth, girl," Faust said.
"We'll see when you're the one on the ground. Oh, wait,who are you again," Videl said with a taunting tone in her last words. Faust snarled at the disrespect and fired blast after blast of magic that Videl either dodged or countered with a blast of her own.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the cave, Aqualad, Osar, Superboy, and Kid Flash moved over to Hades. Hades opened his eyes and his arms as if welcoming old friends, "Well now, it has been some time, hasn't it, Osar. Are these the new heroes that have come to die? I thought you would have learned from Anesh's death?" he said as he stood up from his throne and wielded his bident.
Immediately Osar readied his club, "Don't you think for a second you can say his name!" he shouted as he brought his club down on Hades's head. The god blocked it with his bident, his feet making indents in the ground from the force of the blow. Before he could counter, Superboy charged into him, punching Hades several times before one of his punches was caught, and he was thrown to the side.
Aqualad formed his water-bearer into a sword and shield as he rushed towards Hades. They both became locked in deep combat, but the advantage was in Hades's favor. He started to overpower Aqualad, cutting the Atlantean as they're battle prolonged. Though just as Hades brought down his bident in an overhead strike, Aqualad deflected the blow with one sword and rammed his shield into his face.
Aqualad flipped back from Hades to allow Kid Flash to land several dozen blows onto the god, who only flinched from the impacts. In response Kid Flash accelerated, his blows now making the God grunt. Hades held out his hand, and a green flame grew in his palm. Aiming it towards the ground, he released it in a wave of fire that sent Kid Flash back.
"Osar!" Aqualad shouted. Osar gained a smile on his face as he rushed towards Hades, the fire not affecting him as his kind were immune to the flames. His mother's and father's respective domains allowing him to be resistant to the searing heat as he hit his club into Hades's side, launching him through several columns.
The one person watching both of these battles was M'gann as she floated over to Zatanna and patted her shoulder. Zatanna turned around with a gasp as she looked to see M'gann but breathed a sigh as she saw her friend, "M'gann, please don't do that again," she pleaded as she put a hand over her heart. "Wait? Why didn't you just connect to my mind?" she questioned.
"There's some type of… pressure pushing me out whenever I connect to someone's mind. I think it's coming from Hades. That's where it's strongest. That's why I couldn't connect to your mind before we came here, but that's not important. Apparently, this is," she said, bringing out the book Osar had given to her while they were all discussing it in the forest.
Zatanna grabbed the book, and the glyph on its cover glowed before it flew open and revealed it's pages seemingly at random. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth opened in a silent gasp as she looked through, "M'gann. Where did you find this?" she questioned, as she couldn't believe what she was holding herself.
"Osar. The cyclops gave it to me. He told me you would know what to do with it. You know what it is?" M'gann asked.
"This is… a book of the mystics. A race of magicians like me that disappeared over a thousand years ago. With this book, I can get us out of this dimension," Zatanna said with a smile, but worry came upon her features. "But we would have to get incredible amounts of magic to… " just as she said this, she looked to her side to see the glyphs Faust had created in the cave. The very glyphs that glowed their light-blue hue as Faust battled, surely too distracted as he faced Horizon, Artemis, Robin, and a… centaur?
She looked down at the book before looking up at M'gann, "M'gann. Can you cover me so I can charge the spell from those glyphs?" she said with a tone of determination. M'gann nodded with the same look coming into her eyes.
M'gann morphed her body to become invisible as Zatanna muttered, "Nrut elbisivni," turning her own body invisible. They ran throughout the cave until they quickly arrived at the circle of glyphs.
The book started to float in front of her as the pages turned. It wasn't flipping pages at random but turning itself according to Zatanna's thoughts.
M'gann, meanwhile, stood vigilant as she looked towards both of the battles going on inside of the cave.
Faust was being overwhelmed as Horizon was weaving between his blasts of magic and Robin, Artemis, and Kozin's ranged attacks, but didn't notice his other hand behind himself as he charged a great deal of eldritch energy in his hidden palm. What he didn't notice was that Videl was charging her own blast as she dodged his attacks.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed an arrow shot by Artemis come towards him. He shot a blast at it, but the arrowhead opened as three missiles soared from it right at him. He focused off Videl and chanted, making the missiles change course and head back towards Artemis.
'Here's my chance!' Videl thought to herself and released her technique, "Masenko!" she shouted as a wave of yellow ki poured out from her hand. Just moments before Videl's beam impacted Faust, he quickly raised his hand and released the eldritch energy from his palm, managing to stop the attack with his own, but the struggle wasn't over.
Artemis, Robin, and Kozin threw and shot their respective arrows and batarangs towards Faust as the beams struggled, but the winds coming from the colliding energies blew their weapons away.
Unfortunately for Faust, the energy that Videl was giving was too much for his own, as the yellow beam started to overpower his electric blue.
'I need more power!' the sorcerer thought. Reaching his hand out that wasn't controlling the beam, he began siphoning the energy from his glyphs but found that the energy wasn't bending to his will.
He looked over at the circle seeing nothing but a… book? He closed his eyes, then opened them as he willed magic to come over his vision allowing him to see Zatanna and M'gann even with their invisibility.
'No! I will not be bested by children!' Faust thought, seeing his beam being swallowed by the Masenko, but before it reached him, he held out the hand he was using to siphon the glyphs and pointed it towards the skeletons of the cave.
"Dimitte mortuos resurgere," he chanted, right before the beam swallowed him and indented him into a wall as he lost consciousness.
Videl smirked before floating down to the ground as Artemis, Kozin, and Robin ran up behind her.
"Nice one, Horizon," Robin complimented with a smirk, but the smirk came off his face as he swore when he noticed one of the skeletons seemingly moving on its own. The others saw this as they were about to help the others attack Hades.
"Robin, what is wrong?" Kozin asked. Suddenly the skeletons around the cave started to move on their own. All around, the remains of thousands of long-dead warriors began to rise after many millennia. They rose to their fleshless feet and raised their respective weapons as the resurrect surrounded the heroes.
Back to the battle with Hades, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Superboy, and Osar had managed to leave scratches and cuts across Hades's frame, but it only irked the god as he blasted at them with Greek fire.
Aqualad knew his water wouldn't be able to protect him from the fire as he learned from his studies in Atlantis that Greek fire could burn even when submerged in water.
As they fought, Aqualad noticed the bones of those around them started to rise and head towards them as if controlled by a puppeteer. Superboy and Osar ignored them, however. Superboy, because of his nigh-invulnerable skin that bullets would glance off of. Osar, because the piercing attacks done by the resurrecteds' sword and spears were not enough to go past his tough skin.
Aqualad was safer than a normal human because of his dense skin, but that didn't mean he would let himself be harmed. Unfortunately, Aqualad and Kid Flash focused on the resurrected, leaving Osar and Superboy alone with the god.
M'gann noticed the many undead warriors coming towards them and raised her hands as she willed pieces of a destroyed column to surround them in a dome. This held the undead back as their weapons only scratched the dome, but it would only hold for so long.
With Artemis and Robin, they were fighting back-to-back as they defended themselves against the skeletons. Luckily their bones were brittle as they easily broke down from kicks and punches. Videl was certainly doing the most damage as she didn't have to hold back, firing numerous ki blasts at them, destroying dozens.
Kozin wasn't so lucky. His large size and injury earlier slowed his movements enough for the skeleton warriors to overwhelm him.
"Kozin!" Robin yelled, running over to the centaur. He took out his escrima sticks and began to block and parry the skeletons of warriors long passed.
Just as he blocked the swipe of a sword, he started to hear whispers from the wielder's teeth. "Help me," he heard but simply thought he was hearing things.
Artemis the sword from the coliseum and blocked a strike, hearing the same whispers, now a chorus from every undead around them.
"Damn you, Hades."
"Please."
"Help me," the skeletons whispered as they drew closer. Each whisper was a soft sound, but now it rang out around the cave, all-encompassing. These whispers struck an idea in Artemis's head as she listened, swinging her newfound sword.
"Horizon, cover me!" she shouted to Videl.
"Artemis, what are you doing!?" Videl questioned, but Artemis just looked at her for a moment.
"Just trust me!"
Artemis began to run towards the dome, knowing there was only one other person in the cave that could use telekinesis to hold it together. She evaded and swung her sword only when necessary, and when some of their weapons nearly graced her skin, a ki blast would break them down. Hearing the constant whispers only strengthened her resolve.
Arriving at the column created dome, she banged on it repeatedly, "M'gann!" she shouted, the bangs echoing inside the dome. The dome quickly opened, just as a resurrected's arm came through it and became trapped as it promptly closed again, but Artemis quickly cut it off, the arm still squirming on the ground.
"Okay, Faust used his magic to bring these guys back to life. But I think they can help us," Artemis explained quickly.
Zatanna and M'gann stole a glance at each other before M'gann questioned her. "Artemis. How are you sure they'll help us?"
"Listen to their whispers. Does that sound like they like Hades?" Artemis said as the whispers could even be easily heard through the dome.
"We need to use some magic to turn them against Hades. I'm pretty sure they'll appreciate the gesture. Plus, Faust isn't awake to stop us," Artemis replied, hands on her hips.
Zatanna's thoughts came to the same conclusion, and the book started to turn itself in response as it floated. When it's turns stopped, Zatanna looked upon it and read its contents. After a moment, she began to speak a language unknown, so old it seemed as alien as M'gann.
Robin, Kozin, and Videl tried to hold back the skeletons as much as they could. Though, Kozin was a sitting duck as he fired arrows from his position. Videl rained down as many ki blasts as she could, no longer throwing punches or kicks. She had tried that earlier and noticed that the resurrected bones would simply form their broken pieces together and rise again whenever she didn't disintegrate them.
Suddenly they gained a look of surprise as the skeletons stopped their advance, and even the resurrected seemed surprised as their whispers ceased. Soon, however, they all started to move to the name that came as whispers from their teeth, "Hades," they began to whisper, all at once.
Soon the thousands of those long lost came towards Hades in droves as they latched themselves onto him, seemingly with more ambition than they did with the heroes.
"No! Off me, you scum!" Hades shouted as dozens of ancient warriors started to hold him down. Soon leading to hundreds, and then to thousands.
Superboy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Osar stood to guard against Hades when he inevitably came through the dead, joined by Horizon, Robin, and Artemis, who walked from the dome. Kozin, meanwhile, stayed his distance to shoot his arrows from afar.
Zatanna continued to siphon the energy of the glyphs beneath her feet to get out of this dimension. Her eyes began to glow white as her voice began to echo.
Just as the heroes thought, a green glow came from the pile of hundreds of fleshless warriors, and they were blown away by a roar from Hades. Though they noticed something, his eyes began to change. The black of his pupils and iris took over his entire eyes, then his iris began to change to a sinister red as the green flames came over him. Power seemed to practically drip from his body into the air around him as he took his steps forward.
The other heroes still rushed forward as they attacked him, but Artemis and Robin stayed back, while Kozin shot from further away. Though the one hero that didn't seem to fight alongside them was Videl.
"... no," she whispered as she saw Hades's eyes, another visage with the same eyes came over him. The overwhelming power, while not on the same level, gave the same pressure as his. The pink-eyed demon that haunted her.
"Horizon!" Artemis shouted, releasing an explosive arrow from her bow as she looked over to see Videl, frozen in what seemed like a state of fear. She moved closer to Videl, seeing a face Artemis was all too familiar with. As the archer would wear the same one whenever her father came home. "Horizon?" she said more softly.
She tried to grab another arrow, but her eyes widened as she noticed she was out of them, now getting out her sword. Putting a hand on one of Videl's shoulders, she looked at Videl, "Horizon. Horizon, look at me," she pleaded.
Videl's ears only heard the plea as an echo, but she managed to turn her eyes toward the archer, "You're scared. Not of him, but something else...someone else, right?" Videl looked down before nodding in response. "I know what that's like. I've got my own boogeyman, but we're… we are stronger than our boogeyman… together. Don't let that fear consume you, or someone else might pay."
Videl remembered Krillin. How even though he knew he was far weaker than Buu, he still headed toward the Majin on that lookout. How Goten and Trunks, who were just children, faced off against the monster. And her teachers… Gohan and Tien faced off against him, even as the Buu broke them down and killed those close to them, they didn't stop. Even as their entire world was blown away in a flash of pink. She would not allow that to happen again, not if she still had some strength in her bones.
She looked at Artemis for a moment and nodded with determination. She started to yell, powering up as a white aura came around her. Rocketing towards Hades, she launched herself towards him with a shout fire a blast, "Masenko!"
Her shout barely left her mouth before the beam impacted Hades. His feet dug a trench as he was pushed back, but the beam didn't knock him down. Raising his hand while encompassed by the Masenko, Hades fired a concentrated green fire. The fire began to easily take the Masenko. Just before it reached her, Videl ceased the attack and moved out of the way, now pelting Hades with ki blasts.
Soon though, Hades noticed a glow in his vision. Looking towards it, he immediately knew what was happening. The magic, pulsating as it grew, gave an all too familiar feeling, just as it did thousands of years ago. It was that same spell, Hades concluded, the same magic that put his essence in this dimension. When Anesh fought him thousands of years ago alongside Osar, Kozin, and other adventurers, he could not seal all his power. Instead, Anesh took the essence of his body, his soul, and separated it from his body, which rested in Olympus.
The Olympians wouldn't help him. After all, they were the ones that sent Anesh to face him in the first place. Hades had gone across the earth many millennia before in the time of ancient Greece. He remembered what Anesh used to send him away, a book that moved on its own accord. A book of that was created by humans who could use magic like no other.
He took a step forward towards the dome, then quickly turned into a run… and immediately everyone in the cave tried to stop him.
Robin attempted to hit him with his escrima sticks, but he was backhanded, some of his ribs cracking as he laid on the ground holding his chest. Kid Flash flew back as a ball of Greek fire hit near him hard enough to send the young speedster flying into a column. Aqualad attempted to engage in weapons combat, but Hades moved too, quickly punching the Atlantean in the jaw, his head twisted fast enough for trauma to affect his brain, making Kaldur stumble before falling in a daze.
The remaining heroes kept fighting against the god, but the light from Zatanna's act was now becoming blinding, just as much as Hades's rage. Superboy, Horizon, Osar, and M'gann were the remaining heroes that could do any real damage. M'gann opened the dome and closed it, flying towards them to help.
"Superboy! Flying Hybrid!" M'gann shouted.
Superboy leaped into the air then flew toward Hades as if he could fly, followed by Horizon beside him. M'gann was using her telekinesis to lift Superboy up, allowing him to mimic flight, an idea that Superboy came up with in discussion with Videl. Superboy and Horizon collided with Hades, stopping his stride, even if only for a few moments, as Zatanna chanted. He blasted Videl away and slashed his bident across Superboy's chest, blood spilling from the injury.
Before he was about to impale Superboy, Hades's body was lifted up and thrown into a wall by M'gann. Suddenly, Hades's bident shot out from his position. A sick wet sound seemed to ring in Superboy's ears as he looked up, seeing M'gann with Hades's bident through her gut.
"Noo!" Superboy screamed. His eyes shifted towards Hades, and he let out a battle cry as he leaped towards him. Osar immediately assisted, but his distraction was only temporary. Horizon was the first to get to M'gann, just as Osar flew back, his leg and arm twisted at an awkward angle. Her eyes wide, "M'gann? Are you… ?"
"... It's okay. I just need… time to shi… shift my organs. Please, go help Superboy."
Videl looked at M'gann but nodded as she saw Osar thrown back. Superboy was being pounded. Hades was punching him hard enough in the face to make the hybrid bleed.
'Horizon, please. Just a few more moments. That's all I need,' Videl heard, as Zatanna's voice echoed in her mind.
Videl looked at Hades and thought her next move out, and came up with a gamble.
"Hey! Asshole!" Hades heard, looking up from Superboy, dazed on the ground. He saw the girl that had fired that beam of ki at him from earlier. He slowly walked towards her, and she jumped towards him, punching him in the face. He entered a burst of laughter before slapping her away.
"Heh, what was that? Out of energy?"
"Nope," Videl said, standing, "I just put my energy in different places," Hades heard to his side, seeing another… Horizon?
Suddenly he was hit on the other side of the head with a ki blast. Looking to his right, he saw a third Horizon. "What is this?" hearing a groan behind him, he saw a fourth Horizon, helping up Superboy. "Some sort of trick?"
"No," all the copies of Videl said at once, "A technique." Suddenly, their ki flared from their bodies, and while each copy of Videl weaker than the original Videl, power was not a part of the plan.
The one clone holding Superboy used her speed to move over to Artemis. The archer quickly assisted Connor without a word. Horizon number-four promptly moved to her original position, the four copies now surrounding Hades.
The one behind him raised her hand and fired a Masenko, but he turned around and slapped the blast away. Once he turned, however, two of the copies quickly fired a Dodon Ray. Both of them impacted his back, but he stood still unperturbed.
Hades huffed, ignoring them as they fired ki blasts at his body, but his arrogance awarded one of the multi-forms to use a Solar Flare, blinding the god.
Another copy tried to sweep his legs out, but his hearing was beyond an average human even without his sight. He grabbed the copy by the neck and slammed the copy into the ground hard enough to shake it, causing the copy to disappear.
His eyesight coming back, he wrapped his body in fire and expanded it outwards. The remaining copies shielded themselves with their hands on instinct, but just as one of them unshielded their face, their vision was overtaken by Hades hand grabbing her by the mouth. With a smirk, Hades unleashed a wave of green fire consuming the copy.
With only two copies, they were dropped in number, but luckily, the others' power now returned, giving the last two significantly more power. He ignores them both, walking towards Zatanna, passing by Artemis, who Superboy leaned on as if they didn't exist.
"My love," he hears and freezes in shock, eyes wide. Looking behind himself, he sees his love… Persephone.
"My love," he mutters, taking a step towards her, holding a handout to touch her face. He looked at her features, ones he could never forget, a soft smile slowly came onto his face, as he looked deeply into her eyes… then punched her in the abdomen.
"I am no fool, Martian," he whispered into M'gann's ear. She had managed to finally invade his mind through the incredible pressure given off by his body. Long enough to find the image of Persephone in his mind before she was forced out.
M'gann shifted into her previous form. He had punched her in the spot where his bident impaled her, causing blood to leak from her mouth. Looking into his eyes, she smiled, "I know, but I just needed to distract you for a few more moments."
Hades grimaced, tossing the Martian away. Looking behind at Zatanna, he saw eyes wide as she chanted her last word, "No!" he shouted.
Then the world became blinded by white.
Zatanna woke up and opened her eyes, seeing white all around, all-encompassing. A man appeared in front of her, giving her a hand to help her stand, which she accepted.
He was tall, and for some reason, looked strangely similar to her father.
"... who are you?" she asked.
"My name is Anesh. The creator of the dimension you were in previously, and I believe you have my book," he said. She looked in her other hand to see the book of the mystics.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I–" He calmly raised her hand to stop her.
"It is fine. In fact, you may keep it. I feel it will be of more use to you than myself, no?" he said with a chuckle, "After all, this book was passed down through my family for generations, and… you are of my blood."
Zatanna looked at him in surprise, "You mean…?"
"Yes, you are one of my descendants through your father. My own father gave me that book to help others. And I see you will do the same, as you already have, and will continue to do. As for my friends you fought alongside, Osar, the cyclops, and Kozin, the centaur will be fine," he said with a smile.
She looked at the book before looking at him, "Thank you," he nodded in response, and her vision turned black.
Zatanna opened her eyes again. Feeling the grass beneath her. Looking up to see they were back in the ruins of Elis, Greece, the sunset in the distance giving off an orangish-red glow. She looked around as the other members of Young Justice awoke near them, but some were worse for wear than others.
That was obvious as M'gann and Robin groaned from their injuries, while Superboy kept his composure, his own injuries bleeding out. Still, luckily the rays from the sunset shined on his body, giving his body more energy as some of his wounds slowly closed.
He walked quickly over to M'gann, gently picking her up, "M'gann?" he asked.
She looked up at him with a pained smile, "I'll be fine, Connor. I'm… just happy we're back home," the rest of the Team heard the comment and made murmurs in agreement.
Robin looked around, "Wait, where's Kozin and Osar? Are they…?"
"Don't worry, Robin. They're fine. Just back in that dimension," Zatanna informed, holding the book of mystics in her hand.
Videl got up, helping Aqualad stand as he was still somewhat dazed from Hades's blow. Artemis and Kid Flash helped Robin to the Bio-Ship, as its ramp came down. Kaldur looked at Videl as they walked up the ramp, "Well, Horizon, how would you rate your first mission?" He said with a smile.
"Eh, it wasn't that bad. Almost died, probably have some hairline fractures, no, now that I feel my body, I definitely have something wrong with me. But, ya know, you were right. I didn't have to fight alone. I'm just happy Artemis helped me...get over some things." She said, looking at the blonde. Artemis felt eyes on her and turned her head. Seeing Videl gives her a thumbs up with a smile. She raised her hand with a thumbs up in responses giving the daughter of Hercule a smirk.
Arriving inside of the Bio-Ship, M'gann sent a telepathic message to the ship to bring them back to the cave to heal.
"What happened?" Batman demanded from Aqualad.
"We managed to find the one who was creating the detections of magic. It was Faust. Once we arrived, we were transported to a pocket dimension and faced off against Hades's essence." Aqualad explained.
"Hades?" Wonder Woman questioned, brow raised. She had come hearing about the Team disappearing for the day. "You came to the world of Anesh?"
"You know about it?" Batman asked.
"Yes," Wonder Woman said, "The Olympians sent the sorcerer to fight Hades many millennia ago. After defeating him, they allowed Thanatos to rule over the Underworld in his absence."
"Alright. Kaldur, go, heal your wounds. We'll tend to the ones who need it most," Martian Manhunter replied.
The Atlantean nodded and left to take a long-needed nap.
Inside of the souvenir room, Videl looked around the corner seeing Artemis put the sword she had gotten from their mission on the shelves, as she tried to find her as she sensed her ki. "Artemis… hey?"
"Oh, hey, Horizon."
Videl shifted awkwardly before speaking further, "Uh, look, I just wanted to say that... I'm happy that you helped me get over my fear. If it wasn't for that, Hades probably would've gotten to Zatanna sooner," she finished with an awkward chuckle.
Artemis looked at Videl fully this time, "Yeah. I... I know what it's like when you have to face that fear alone. Just remember you have a therapist in the cave. I'm not really that good when it comes to, well, talking about personal problems."
"Could have fooled me," Videl said
Artemis gained a slight smile at the comment, "Thanks. Ya know what? You may not be so bad, but can you tone down the training with Robin? I swear I'm always the one to help him whenever you nearly break something? And tell that short spiky-haired asshole I said hi when you get back to New York."
"Yeah, sorry. I'll tone it down. As for his majesty, I think he'd like the message," Videl said, causing a chuckle to arise from both of them.
Metropolis
Underground in Metropolis's area hung Metallo, or at least a metal frame that was similar to his own behind the glass. A thick bulletproof glass protected those behind it as they typed on computers and made calculations that would make Einstein raise a brow.
Some scientists whispered to each other with great scientific curiosity about their findings in these past three weeks.
Metallo's body had been sent to Belle Reve after his fight with Vegeta, but a few cheap bribes had occurred here and there before that happened. Allowing for the sensors in his body to be extracted and given to the scientists.
A tall, bald man with calculating eyes and an immaculate three-piece suit that cost more than some's annual paycheck looked at the scientists with a neutral expression. Merely seeing the men around him as bumbling fools. It didn't help that the man in front of him spilled hot coffee on his lap, and another nearly tripped over his own feet. Lex Luthor was not impressed. The head scientist came over to Luthor with a smile across his face. Coming to stand near Luthor, "Mr. Luthor, do you wish to know about our findings?"
Luthor looked the man straight in the eyes with a deadpan stare. The head scientist, seeing the expression, stammered slightly before composing himself, "Ah, it seems that the energy sensors you installed inside of Metallo's body worked perfectly, sir. So far, we've been able to create six androids from your blueprints that can use this… ki energy to power themselves. We've created three different versions."
They walked to a door with a passcode and eye scanner that let them through. After they completed the scan, they walked into a large room with obstacles and weights that would make any Olympic athlete cry from just looking at them. Moving around the room at many times faster than sound were the androids, only slowing down as they processed their sheer speed. Similar in appearance to Metallo, with an advanced A.I. that Luther developed that allowed for learning from battle and other skills.
"They've shown abilities such as super strength, speed, flight, and a form of energy manipulation. The three versions we've made from your blueprints are the classes: siphon, krypton, and overload. The siphons can absorb ki energy from a distance and direct contact. The kryptons are powered by kryptonite and ki, while the overloads have been given five cores instead of one. Letting the overloads have a higher default power than the others."
"Are they enough to harm someone such as say… Prince?" The scientist looked at Luther and shook his hard side to side in a fast, nervous motion, "N-No, sir! The androids have only begun in their prototype stages. We would need to take field tests to truly test the limits of their energy and capabilities."
"Of course, we don't want failure. Especially you," Luthor said with a small smile, but the scientist did not miss the implication. The scientist vigorously nodded before walking out of the room. Luther looked back at one of his greatest creations. A smirk coming onto his face at not just the newly made androids, but what this ki energy could also be used for in future endeavors.
And that is the end! Hope you guys had a great CHRISTMAS! As for my new fanfiction. I hope to be able to bust out a chapter for it in these coming months. In that time, I will still be making new ideas for future chapters for Human Ambition. I will also try to update my old chapters of this story, as I notice my many mistakes as a newbie to fanfiction. So have a sweet time!