Hunters of Justice: Elseworlds
A Rendezvous with Death by trestwho
[~][~]
Darkness. Everything around him was a pitch black. There were no sounds, no sources of light. Simply nothing. For as far as the eye can see, the man was alone. For the first time in decades, he was alone. The thought saddened him, for he knew what this scene meant.
He was dead. Again. How long had it been since he had died last? Since the 'gift' the Brother of Light had bestowed upon him been used? Before, he at least had his previous life to communicate with, but even he disappeared after a time. Lost in his thoughts, the man began to wander with surprisingly confident steps. It wasn't surprising to him, after all he had been here so many times before. Every time he had died, he found his way here.
Found his way to her.
"Hey, you again! So, how many times does that make?" he heard a voice call out to him. With a wistful smile on his face, the man turned around to see a young woman looking back at him with a happy expression on her face. Her skin was a corpse pale with raven black hair reaching to her lower back. She wore a silver ankh around her neck over a black sleeveless dress, a studded belt looped around her black pants. Under her right eye was a small tattoo of a swirling eye. He never quite knew where she got that design from, but he had to admit it suited her.
"I'm afraid I lost count long ago, Lady Death," the man greeted, but Death of the Endless merely scoffed and waved him off.
"Oz, Oz, we've been over this. Call me Death, please," Death insisted, and Oz nodded. He remembered this ritual of theirs. They always did it when he finally died and met with her again, and at this point it was custom.
"Come, come! My house is this way!" Death insisted as she took him by the hand and led him along the black void. Oz, throughout his many lifetimes, always felt that the sensation of her touch was quite peculiar. So cold, yet so filled with life at the same time. How else could he describe her but the same?
As they walked further, a lone object entered Oz' view. It was a small, one story house. In contrast to her gothic outfit, Death's abode was a bright yellow. Flowers lied in pots along the front porch, a small garden along its side. The house, especially when compared to the rest of the endless void, was a beacon of life, and Oz couldn't help but smile as the memories of the times he spent here in-between lives came to mind.
"Ahhh, home sweet home. Make yourself comfortable, Oz." Death sighed in relief as she entered the room and ushered Oz inside. He would have taken off his shoes, but he found that there were none to take off to begin with. Death pointed him to a comfy chair, and with a polite nod Oz sat down upon it. He felt his body sink into the leather, and a sense of relief flooded through him.
"Once again, Death, thank you for letting me stay here until…" Oz began, but Death waved him off.
"It's fine. Besides, I like the company. Usually, the only one who comes and visit is Dream."
"I don't believe I've met him yet."
"He's met you," Death revealed as she fed her pet goldfish, and Oz nodded. He wasn't surprised that Dream of the Endless had met him at some point in his many lives. After all, Dream was the literal function of Dream.
"Can't say I'm surprised," Oz admitted and leaned back further into his chair. His mind reached back to his previous life. It was a good one. He had accomplished much, made friends and loved ones, all while bringing the four kingdoms of Remnant closer than ever before. Still, the very fact that he was here yet again, and his former wife was not, made him frown slightly.
"You're thinking about her again," Death pointed out, sitting across from him on a large couch. Oz looked back at Death, then slowly nodded.
"I'm sorry, but… I can't help it." Oz sighed and looked down, rubbing his hands together. "The gods of my world gave me a mission, and that mission has directly put me in conflict with her. I can't beat her, yet for the sake of everyone else I must continue to pretend that we can. Many…good people have paid the price for my mistakes."
Death nodded solemnly. "Yes, that is true. When the time finally comes that you die and stay dead, you will be held accountable for those mistakes."
Oz slumped further at this news, only for Death to smile, stand up, and walk over to him. She placed a hand comfortingly on his shoulder and sat down next to him.
"Just as you will be held accountable for all the good you've done. You're not a bad man, Oz. Just one whose made many, many, many lifetimes worth of mistakes. I take everything into account when I guide people into the afterlife, and you are no exception."
Oz smiled at this statement, and perked up. He looked at her, and Death smiled back.
"Still," Death leaned back, crossing her hands behind her head and using the couch's armrest as a pillow, "you are a very interesting person, Oz. After all, I usually only meet a person twice. First when they enter the world, again when they leave it. It's not often that I meet a person multiple times, especially over many different centuries and millennia."
"Oh, there are others?" Oz asked, and Death nodded.
"Yes, there are. You'd be surprised how many times people die then come back to life. It's always interesting when they do, even if it's, admittedly, a little annoying."
"Annoying? Death of the Endless gets annoyed?" Oz couldn't help but chuckle at this, and Death puffed out her cheeks.
"Yes, actually. Especially when it happens over and over again. I take them to the afterlife, take them back out, do it all over again, yada yada yada. Sometimes it feels like someone just doesn't want the world to change."
Death rolled her wrist to emphasize her point, and Oz smiled. It always amused him to see just how lively Death was. Many felt, including him before he finally met her all those eons ago, that Death was cold, heartless, coming in uninvited and tearing loved ones apart. Yet Death of the Endless was anything but cold and heartless. She was aloof, yes, but at the same time compassionate, heartfelt, and lively.
"Are you annoyed at me?" Oz asked, and Death, taken off-guard, shook her hands wildly.
"No, nononono!" she insisted. "What's happening with you is not your fault! Why would I be annoyed with you?"
"Because I keep failing in my task and winding up here?" Oz offered, to which Death gave him a look.
"… Oz? How many times have we been over this? Salem refusing to understand the true meaning of life and death is not your fault. It is purely hers."
Oz didn't answer, and Death looked at him with understanding. "You still love her, don't you?"
For a moment, there was only silence. An answer didn't immediately spring to mind, but Death was patient. She let him ruminate in his thoughts, until finally an answer came.
"No, at least not who she is now," he admitted. "But neither do I hate her. If anything… I pity her. She can never truly know peace."
Death nodded. "It's a shame, really. So much power, yet none of it is enough to really give her what she truly wants."
"Hmhmm," Oz nodded in agreement. Although to be honest, he wasn't sure what Salem really wanted anymore. Leaning back against his chair, he and Death continued to converse for quite some time. They talked about a myriad array of subjects, ranging from the banal to the philosophical. She even took the time to show off the latest additions to her sunhat collection.
Oz smiled warmly through it all. Even after coming to Death's home countless times, he never could quite grasp the passage of time here. For all he knew, Oz could have spent anywhere between a few minutes to hours to even years. Eventually, however, his time with Death ended the same. His body began to glow and particles floated off of him.
"Ah, leaving already?" Death asked as Oz's body slowly faded away.
"Indeed," Oz said, closing his eyes. "Once again, Death, I enjoy these conversations with you."
"Likewise, Oz," Death replied with a smile, folding her hands together. "Hopefully, the next time I see you will be the last."
Oz laughed lightly. "You always say that."
"And I always will."
With that final comment, Oz faded away, leaving Death of the Endless alone once again. Yet she wasn't sad at his departure. Instead, she was happy for him. The gift of life was one not to be wasted, and Oz, after all of his incarnations, had learned to not squander it. More than anyone else, he understood what it meant to be alive, which is why they were such good friends.
"May you have an interesting life, Oz."
[~][~]
RWBY: Kingdom Come by The Infamous Man
Time and space shifted again. Hours passed by in the blink of an eye for Norman McKay.
"Where are we now?" The question came from his lips on reflex even as he took stock in his surroundings. They were in a military bunker of some sort with weapons racks on the walls. Men and women were on computers typing away while a group surrounding a table with various notes and maps of different countries strewn about. However, while some were human others were obviously metahumans of a sort. The ears and even tails of various animals, scales around the eyes or cheeks to show they weren't like Norman.
Behind them, facing a row of nine television screens, three by three as if they were a grid, was a young woman dressed in military gear with a white mask with near demonic cat-like features that were a dark blue. On the screens were various news reports, some of Kansas and some of reports on revolutions across the globe. Hanging overhead was a blue flag with the image of a white wolf in the center of a circle.
"We are at the White Fang headquarters in Puerto Rico, Norman McKay." His otherworldly guide, the Spectre, intoned as floated beside the pastor. "And we are here to see the fate of another lost souls, thrust onto this world by a cruel twist of fate."
"White Fang..." Norman repeated the words, tasted them, before he recognized them. "Yes! The terrorist group! They were on the news several times, aiding in various revolutions across the world." Norman got a closer look at the woman and recognized her. "By God..."
He vaguely remembered her as being part of the same group Ruby Rose and her sister were in. The pale skin and cat-like eyes, the flowing black hair that was now cropped short, and the cat ears that rested on the top of her head.
However, she sported a new addition to her features.
Running down the left side of her face from the top of her eyebrow to the corner of her lip was a deep scar. Her left eye was now a murky grey, utterly useless now.
"Indeed. Behold Blake Belladonna, the leader of the White Fang." Norman could now hear the sound of shouting and gunfire from beyond. "And now, we bear witness to a reunion of sorts."
The bolted door to the room was then ripped open by the hinges, revealing Superman and Ruby Rose. The men and women the room drew their guns, aiming it at the two.
"Cease fire!" Blake ordered. "Put down your guns. There's no need for them."
"But Blake!" One protested, a woman with brown skin and red hair as well as dark brown scales.
"That's a direct order from your commander, Colonel Ilia!" Blake barked out. The men under her command tensed but lowered their weapons. "Now leave us. They just want to talk to me."
Uneasily, the people of the room slowly shuffled out. Neither Superman nor Ruby made any motion to stop them. Ilia went beside Blake and whispered, "Are you sure about this?"
"I'll be fine." Blake said, not even bothering to lower her voice. "Now go."
Nodding reluctantly, Ilia left the room but not before shooting Ruby and Superman a glare.
Once alone, Blake turned around and faced them. "So... what do I owe the Justice League for this visit? Honestly, I thought you would have come sooner."
"Blake..." Ruby bit her lip before continuing. "Blake... it has been a long time, hasn't it?"
"Over ten years, from my count."
"You've done a lot for yourself." Superman said softly, but firmly as he looked around. "I remember you mentioning about the White Fang years ago, but from what I recall you wanted to cut all ties with them after they became radical with their methods."
"A lot of White Fang members ended up being abducted by Brainiac, including their leader Adam." Blake walked over to a small cabinet and opened it, taking out a bottle of bourbon and three glasses. "He tried to resume his hunt for me, using his men and pretty much ignoring the position he was in. After you left, he finally caught up with me." She poured the alcohol into the three glasses. "I got out. He didn't." She set down the bottle and traced her scar. "The White Fang members, the ones still alive, needed a leader. Someone to direct them with Adam gone. Otherwise they would've become just as bad as the so-called 'Heroes'. If anyone was going to guide them, I decided it had to be me."
She picked up two glasses and walked over to Superman and Ruby. "I don't drink." Superman politely refused.
"Me neither." With Ruby's refusal, Blake shrugged and downed the glass meant for Superman. "But Blake... what you've been doing with the White Fang... I mean, you're giving people weapons! You're aiding them in their wars and..."
"You know, I used to think the Faunus on Remnant had it bad." Blake let out a bitter chuckle. "But with what I've seen done to people just because their skin, their skin, was different, or people who demanded that they be treated as equals and given basic rights... I don't arm terrorists, Ruby. I arm people who have the will to fight against governments that would shoot them in the head just for having a different opinion. Nonviolence can only get you so far..." With that, she finished the second glass of alcohol.
"That's not how we do things, Blake." Superman spoke up, glaring at Blake. "I thought we taught you that when you joined the League."
Blake's face twisted in anger. "And look how far that has gotten you and the world! How many people had to die in countries that didn't have enough luck to have superheroes who were willing to fight governments that trampled on them!? How much blood had to be spilt just so you wouldn't go 'over the line'?!" Blake stormed off to the table and slammed the glasses on them. "And don't you dare treat me like the new breed! The White Fang is fighting side-by-side with revolutionaries against that fascist monster, Von Bach! I even make sure to fund non-violent groups in countries that won't hurt them, because not all change needs a gun to make it happen!"
"Blake, please just listen!" Ruby shouted, causing Blake to stop her angry declarations. "I know... I know you're trying to help. I know you are hurting... but we can make things better! We can fight together again, and make the world a better place as friends!" Ruby looked to Superman, who nodded. "We... we're also willing to make sure you and your men get a full pardon. If you... if you join the Justice League, and disband the White Fang..."
Blake let out a short, hollow laugh. "It's not going to happen, Ruby. I've built up too much to just quit and play Huntress again."
"Blake, please! This is a second chance!" Ruby pleaded to her old friend. "If you don't take it, sooner or later you will become just like Ad-!"
Ruby was interrupted when a hand faster than a speeding bullet caught something in front of her face. It was an empty glass, its contents spilled on its trip to hit her.
Superman closed his eyes as he lowered his arm. Ruby looked in shock at Blake, who had her arm outstretched and her face red with anger. "Get out..." She growled.
"Blake... I..."
"I SAID GET OUT!"
Tears fell down Ruby's cheeks and Superman put a hand on her shoulder. Without another word, the two of them left the leader of the White Fang alone in the room.
"What happened between them, Spectre?" Norman asked quietly to the agent of God. "They were friends, were they not?"
"In a way, they still are. But the passage of time has changed many things." Spectre motioned to Blake, who shakily walked to a chair and collapsed on it. She stared at them, no through them, with hollow eyes. "Blake Belladonna had always felt like an outsider, turned away by society due to her species. She found friends and comrades that accepted her, but then they were cruelly torn away from their home. Once here, she was an outsider twice over. The new friends and comrades she built were slowly eroded by Superman's retreat from the world. She could only see the injustices of the world and chose the only avenue she knew how to correct it."
At that moment, Blake Belladonna put her face into her hands and began to weep.
"And, in many ways, she became the very thing she once fought against."
Norman turned away from the Faunus, this once optimistic defender of justice who adopted this world as her own. "Take me away from this place, Spectre. I've seen enough here..."
"As you wish."
And thus, they walked on to another place to bear witness.
[~][~]
Hello, everyone! Here is something I decided to do for this story. Introducing Elseworlds, a series of serious, self-contained sidestories meant to explore the RWBY cast's interactions with the wider DC Universe. Up first we have a conversation between Death of the Endless and Ozpin, and the second is the Elseworlds story that inspired our decision to make them, a What If story exploring what might have happened if teams RWBY and JNPR had landed in the world of DC's Kingdom Come. In case you don't know about that story, it was considered one of the hallmark stories of the 90s, heralding the end of the so-called Dark Age of Comics where every hero became a gritty 90s Anti-Hero. It was about a world where Superman retired after a new generation of heroes, led by a hero named Magog, rose to prominence, a generation who had no qualms about killing and little distinction between superhero and supervillain.
Now, these stories are meant to be self-contained, as stated before. Some take place in alternate universes, such as RWBY: Kingdom Come. Others are like A Rendezvous with Death, in that they take place in the Hunters of Justice Prime Universe, just at a different time and place. Ultimately thought, these stories will not have any major implications to the overall plot, and are meant to be more one-shots to be enjoyed and discussed. We have a lot more Elseworlds stories we intend to tell, and we hope you guys enjoy them.
Now, for the Q&A:
JC: Trust me, I have a lot of plans for the Batman villains. He has some of the best in fiction, and I intend to utilize them.
Guest (1): Marvel and the MCU do not exist in this universe. Funnily enough, there is a universe in canonical DC that has expies of Marvel characters in them, as well as a canon reason as to why the DC Multiverse and Marvel Multiverse can't interact outside of a few crisis events (namely 'Marvel vs DC' and 'JLA/Avengers'). Won't delve into that here.
Good7Bad13: Thank you! I'm glad you like the story so much. We do take great pains to merge the two universes together, and I'm happy that our efforts haven't been in vain.
meeyaargh3412: Glad to see you back. Yeah, our plan was always to have Ruby's eyes be connected to the Life Equation, as it just made sense. As for our plans regarding the Grimm and Gotham, you will have to see. Also, you guys will see more of Remnant in the future.
I Am The Prophet: RWBY and JNPR will be getting new skills and abilities as time goes on. We plan on fully exploring every avenue of RWBY in DC, not just the surface level stuff.
Guest (2): Personally, I don't really believe in power scaling. To me, that limits what I am able to do in the story. Now that doesn't mean I will have someone easily punch out someone above their weight class, mind you. I will respect their strengths, but also their weaknesses for both sides of the battle. To answer your question, individually RWBY and JNPR are upper street-tier in DC, but when working together, they are able to beat stronger foes.
Lord of Memory: We have plans for Salem. What they are, you'll have to wait and see.
Jackalope89: Just a quick correction, Nightwing is not a part of this arc, as he's still in Jump City with the Titans. Otherwise, yeah pretty much.
Vein Bloodborne: Enough.
In all seriousness, thank you. As for Raven joining Brainiac, it felt like something she would do. Raven is, ultimately, a coward. Not as overt as Leo, but a coward nonetheless. When faced with a threat she can't conceivably win against, she'll try to run. Failing that, she'll do anything to survive. In this case, she believed she couldn't defeat Brainiac, so in lieu of dying, she opted to sell her soul to the devil and become his servant. How that decision will affect her in the future remains to be seen.
D. : Yeah, Remnant is hanging in there, but it's not looking good. Still, with RWBY and JNPR out there, hope still survives. As for Salem, the Relics, and the Two Brothers, stay tuned.
Avo385: It's because they weren't being used around him. As such, he could only pick up the residual energies. It wasn't until Ruby's recollection of the words that it all fell into place.
Dracus6: I am not taking any suggestions for any story ideas. I do not want them, so please stop soliciting me with them.
That's it for now. See you guys next time.