It's late at night and Gotham is still reeling from the two explosions that have transpired. Both the Gotham Cathedral and the GCPD Headquarters were subject to massive explosions. The Cathedral was completely destroyed and all of the patrons inside are dead. All the city could do is watch as their spiritual hub burned to the ground in a giant inferno. Now the city had to deal with a second explosion in the GCPD that took out its entire left wing. The paramedics are still trying to get a tally on the total amount of casualties, but so far about five officers have been pronounced dead with about ten more that are still up in the air.
Nobody could understand how any of this happened, "Gotham has more than its fair share of vigilantes and heroes, so how could an attack of this magnitude be allowed to unfold. Innocent civilians and law enforcement alike have lost lives. There are corpses that used to be healthy, beautiful children that are now dead. The questions on everybody's minds now is who is this Wrath, what does he want, and why would he do something this horrible?"
Itachi saw the broadcast and felt searing rage. He, too, had those questions running through his mind, but unlike Vicki Vale, he had the tools to find out. Itachi got up with determination and swiftly put on his Crow gear to get handle on this nightmare. As much as Carson didn't want him to go because of her concerns about his safety, even she knew that what was happening to this city couldn't be ignored.
Itachi decided that he was going to head to the GCPD Headquarters first. As much as he felt sorrowful for the victims of the Gotham Cathedral attack, Itachi knew that the chances of him finding anything were slim to none with an explosion of that magnitude. The GCPD explosion wasn't nearly as devastating so hopefully he could find clues as to whom this Wrath is and how he did what he did. Itachi wanted to take down Wrath as soon as possible before any more people died.
As he travelled through the city Itachi saw the results of tonight's joint attack by Wrath. It wasn't just the dead that suffered at his hands, but it was also the living who felt the impact of this attack. People were mourning this great loss. Sirens were heard everywhere and there was a horde of people crying out in confusion as two buildings that served as pillars that protected this city had fallen. Children whose friends died in the Cathedral were weeping. Spouses and families of police officers that were caught in the GCPD explosion were in tears as the status of their loved one was either unknown or they were dead. This truly was the darkest night in Gotham that Itachi had ever seen.
As he was travelling, Itachi saw something that caused him to change his trajectory. Or more accurately, he saw someone.
Several police care could be seen escorting ambulances as the sped towards Gotham General Hospital. There were even cars heading to the hospital even without being escorts. Commissioner Gordon ordered it because with two explosions already in the night, Gotham couldn't afford for the hospital to be targeted as well. He had a bomb squad sent there along with all available personnel that the police force could afford to scout out that building. Gordon knew that this meant that any hope of catching Wrath tonight would be gone.
"Even if we knew what this bastard looked like, we wouldn't even be able to move on him. The threats of these explosions are too great. He could be walking in plain sight and we'd be forced to ignore him. It's infuriating!" Gotham ranted as he stood on the roof of what was left of the GCPD Headquarters.
"Boss, we just got confirmation that Detective Bullocks died in that explosion. That makes six of us that bastard has killed." Detective Montoya said sadly. Sure, she knew he was dirty, but that didn't mean he deserved to be blown to pieces like that.
"Another family I have to call. In one night, this Wrath guy has murdered well over 2,000 people. I don't understand why we keep getting these monsters. Each one seems like they're in a limbo competition; they just keep going lower and lower." Gordon said as he took another puff of his cigar.
Both he and Montoya looked at the bat-signal and sighed. They hoped the day would come where Gotham can finally be able to protect itself without the help of masked vigilantes, but sadly after seeing what tonight brought, Gordon knew that that day was a long ways away. Gotham turned the bat-signal on so that he could draw the attention of Gotham's Dark Knight. And even though he didn't want to admit it, Gordon also wanted the Crow to show up too.
He only hoped that they could help this city because he had the feeling the Wrath was a force of nature that Gotham nor the heroes of this world have never seen before. And to make things worse, tonight was Halloween which meant that all of the loons would use this chaos to mask all of their criminal activities. This was going to be a long night for everyone.
Artemis was currently with Zatanna on a night out in Gotham. As much as Artemis wanted the reason for it to be because she wanted to get to the bottom of Gotham's recent attacks, in truth she just wanted to let off some steam. It all started when the members of Team were all getting ready for school Halloween Dance when the news hit of what happened in Gotham. Everyone watched silently as the news broadcasters showed the devastation that had transpired. Over 2,000 people were dead, including women, children, and members of the GCPD. Robin was the saddest amongst the heroes because he had friends that attended that church and knew of good allies that worked on the police force. Artemis was sad too because she also had friends that probably died because of those explosions.
"Who could do something like this? It's so evil." M'gann said to herself. Wally walked up to her to try and comfort her, "Someone who is evil themselves, that's who. We're doing something about this, right guys?"
"Wrong." Batman answered as he walked in. Everyone looked at him with shocked expressions, "You are all to continue on as scheduled and go to your party. This is an omega class threat that none of you are to get involved in. Not even Robin is to interfere."
"But Batman, this Wrath guy just blew two giant holes in our city! How do you expect me to just sit idly by and do nothing?" Robin asked angrily.
"Because I told you to. You already have plans for tonight that can't be held off any longer. With me being gone, I will have someone else speak on my behalf. Do you understand?" Batman asked, though it was more of an order.
Robin reluctantly nodded his head before going off. The others watched as their friend was clearly upset with Batman's decision. Batman turned to address the rest of them, "I mean it. Don't let me catch you out in Gotham tonight. The results will not be pleasant."
With that the Dark Knight zeta-beamed over to his city so that he could try to salvage what had already turned into a giant catastrophe. He had planned on using tonight to discuss whether or not there was a mole to worry about with the leadership of the Team. But this news threw that to the wayside and now he has to try and figure out who this Wrath person is and why he decided to murder thousands of people.
Having reluctantly accepting that it was best not to cross paths with Batman when he was angry like this, the rest of the Team decided to go on with their plans of partying. They all went back to getting dressed for the party and tried to put off the horrendous scenes they saw on the news, at least until things calmed down a bit and they had more say in the matter.
Artemis was off to a corner by herself as the others chatted. Ever since Itachi was "indefinitely suspended" from the Team, she had been on edge with all of them. She could only imagine how someone like Itachi was handling everything that was happening in Gotham.
'He's probably doing the same thing Batman is. Off all alone when he knows that it's better to have back up. I have barely heard from him since he left the Team. Just because jerks like Batman had him kicked off doesn't mean that we still didn't want to hang out with him. He didn't even respond to our invitation to the Halloween Dance party. To be fair, none of us expected him to say yes, but a response could have been nice. If it has nothing to do with the Crow, he won't even talk to us. I hate it. I met Itachi long before I met the Crow. I just want things to go back to the way they were…' She thought sadly.
She was interrupted from her when Zatanna came up from behind her, "Penny for your thoughts."
Artemis quickly got over the shock and addressed her friend, "Oh, it's nothing. Just thinking about Gotham and Itachi. I know this news must have hurt him too. Itachi is really for protecting one's home. To see this happen in his backyard must have crushed him…" Artemis said sadly.
"I understand. After what you all revealed to me about his past I really feel bad for the guy. It's like death just seems to follow him wherever he goes. I hope he finds peace in all of this somehow." Zatanna offered.
"Yeah, me too. Well enough about that I guess. Talking about it will only make me feel worse. Besides, we're about to party like there's no tomorrow. And with everything that's just transpired tonight, I bet the reason Batman is so adamant on us still doing this is because he knows that this will be our last chance to do this for quite some time. So let's let loose for tonight." Artemis said while trying to hype herself back up for this party.
She had a feeling that tonight was the night she'd finally make her move on her crush; Conner. Artemis always thought that Conner was cute and made no bones about hiding her affections for him just like Wally with M'gann. Tonight showed her that you never know what could happen in the future so it's best to live in the now and have no regrets about it.
"That's the spirit! I'm just bummed that Kaldur and Robin can't come with us." Zatanna said disapprovingly.
"Yeah, but Kaldur said that he had an important meeting with Aquaman and with what just happened to Gotham, Robin not feeling like dancing is very understandable. Heck, I barely feel like it." Artemis replied.
"Those two definitely feel like dancing, maybe even more." The young magician joked. Artemis looked up saw that she was referring to M'gann and Conner. They were sitting pretty close to each other, "Who, Conner and M'gann?" She asked incredulously.
"Obviously. There's no way I was talking about her and Wally. I mean look at them. How long has Conner and M'gann been a couple?" Zatanna asked.
Artemis laughed at the question. There was no way in her mind that innocent M'gann and bad-boy Conner could ever be a couple, "Ha! A couple? No, they're not…"
Artemis stopped when she saw how they were looking at each other. It was the same way she looked at Conner when she was sure no one was looking. She also heard how blatant they were flirting with each other and put two and two together.
'They're a couple? They're actually a couple?! Well forget them...' She thought angrily. Beneath that anger was a lot of hurt and rejection though. She walked away without saying a word as Zatanna followed after her.
"Uh, I…I'm sorry. It just seemed so obvious. I-I didn't realize…wait, the dance." Zatanna said. She really didn't want her friend to leave over something like this.
"I'm not in the mood. Of course, sitting at home with my mom crying about Gotham doesn't sound any more appealing." Artemis answered. She raised a brow when she saw the devilish grin on Zatanna's face.
"Well, there is another option. Egnahc sehtolc otni ruo smrofinu! A girls' night out." Zatanna said as she transformed both her and Artemis into their hero uniforms. Artemis quickly agreed and decided they'd ride out on the Cave's bikes.
Now they were in Gotham both hoping to avoid Batman and hoping to run into some criminal to provide a distraction for just how awful the night had started.
Back in the Cave, there was a meeting being held between Kaldur, Robin, Red Tornado, Red Arrow, and Black Canary. She did Batman a huge favor and decided to fill in for him. Partly because she felt bad about what had happened to his home, but also because she cared about the Team herself and wanted to make sure that everyone on it was safe.
"Computer, secure the room." She ordered for privacy. Canary eyed everyone as the meeting went underway, "I'll cut to the chase. Do we still think that's there's a mole within the Team?"
"I am convinced there is none. When Sportsmaster claimed he had an inside source, he was merely sowing dissent." Aqualad firmly answered.
"His intel could easily have come by comparing notes with the other villains working for the Injustice League. And think about it. If anyone on the Team was working with those creepoids…" Robin started. He really hated being here instead of in Gotham, but he knew that Batman would chew him out if he caught him there.
"He or she would have betrayed us during our fight against them." Aqualad finished for his teammate. Red Arrow still had his doubts.
"I'm not convinced. Sure, you two and Kid Flash are above suspicion, but I know Artemis isn't shooting straight. For starters she's not Green Arrow's niece." Roy revealed.
Kaldur was shocked to hear that, though Robin had already come to know the truth. He was just about to reveal her true origins when Black Canary stopped him. She felt that even though Artemis's relations made her look suspect, but she still was just as entitled to a secret identity as anyone else was.
"Batman is more concerned about Superboy and as much as it pains me to admit it…he has a point. We still don't know much about what Cadmus had in mind when they created him. Connor could be the mole and not know it." Canary said sadly. She's really grown fond with Connor and is impressed with how much progression he has made.
"And what about Miss Martian? She is Manhunter's niece. But I remember him telling you that he has a few hundred nieces and nephews. Problem is that the first time he met M'gann was five months ago, when she stowed away on his ship on his last trip from Mars to Earth." Roy argued.
Red Tornado had a hard time hearing members of his new family be slandered like this. Roy really went there when it came to Itachi, "And don't get me started on the Crow. You all have to suspect him, don't you? A guy who turns out to be a mass murderer and former double spy from a different Earth just shows up and suddenly we get messages about a mole being on the Team. That can't be a coincidence."
"Itachi wasn't even on the Team when Aqualad was informed about the mole. The only person who knew him at the time was Artemis." Robin said while coming to his friend's defense.
"And you wonder why I suspect her so heavily. As far as I'm concerned, both Artemis and Crow are top suspects to being the mole. I just wish that I could have been there to give that murderer a piece of my-" Roy got interrupted by the Team's leader.
"Enough! We told you about his past to cast away suspicion, not bring forth judgement from you. This meeting and the accusations of their character changes nothing. I have stood and fought side-by-side with all of these people. Itachi saved our lives before he even knew what our names were, all at Artemis's request. None are traitors." Aqualad firmly stated in reply to the personal attacks by Red Arrow. He hated hearing his friend being slandered like this. The meeting yielded no results.
Artemis and Zatanna had stopped by the art museum that was just robbed. Whatever police the GCPD could offer to send went there to investigate. Employees and security guards were murdered and the suspect was gone.
"Whatever happened is over. I want some action." Artemis said while overlooking the scene.
"But maybe you need to talk…about Conner and Megan, or whatever." Zatanna offered. Artemis ignored her and drove off. She really wasn't in the mood for talking, "What I need is something to beat up. And I think I just found the target of my ire."
The girls had begun thwarting whatever crimes they came upon. Assaults, robberies, and anything else they saw that broke the law called them to action. Artemis and Zatanna soon found themselves in a park where a young woman was being swarmed by four thugs. She kept crying out for help but the thugs kept inching closer.
"Go ahead and scream. No one can help you." A thug said as he made a grab for her. He stopped when he suddenly felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned to see a green gloved fist connect with and break his jaw.
"Hello, my name is no one." Artemis said as she started to wail on the other thugs. Zatanna made sure the young woman was safe and watched as her friend went to work. Artemis was easily dismantling the thugs. Two of them tried to rush her, but she easily countered by delivering a spinning elbow to one and a flying knee to the other. The fourth guy was about to try and grab her from behind when a chilling axel kick was delivered to the crown of his head, only it wasn't delivered by Artemis.
"Itachi?! What are you doing here? I thought you'd be diving right into the inferno by now." Artemis said to her friend.
Itachi ignored and summoned wire to tie the thugs together. Both Artemis and Zatanna felt to cold shoulder he was giving them, "Geez, first you disappear off of the face of the Earth for three weeks and now when we actually do see you, you blow us off." Artemis complained as she got in his face.
Zatanna got in between them before Artemis's mouth bit off more than she could chew, "What she means is that we missed you. We don't want you to distance yourself from us. We're all your friends."
"…thank you for taking out a lot of these criminals. With all of the chaos, it's been a hassle trying to rein them all in." Itachi said trying to appease to them. It worked as Artemis's frown instantly turned into a smug smirk. As they started to head back, a quick thought had crossed Zatanna's mind, "I know this is completely off subject, but why aren't you in your Crow gear Itachi? "
Artemis stopped when she heard her friend's question. She took a good look and indeed noticed that Itachi had none of his normal gear on. He didn't even have his mask to hide his identity. Something about it was off-putting to her, "Yeah, why aren't you in your gear? I guess I was too busy being mad earlier to notice, but it is weird. You're dressed like your old Anbu Black Ops gear from your time in the Leaf. Feeling nostalgic or something?"
"That doesn't matter right now. The city does," Itachi ended the conversation with that. Artemis wasn't done though and was about to press him further on it, but Zatanna gestured against doing it. Itachi seemed off to her and she figured that the damage to the city must have put him on edge. Understanding this, Artemis chose to go towards a different avenue.
"How come you didn't want to go to the dance party? You didn't even respond." Artemis asked while poking a finger at his chest for emphasis. Itachi's response was to point his head upwards to where the smoke of both explosions was at. They could see that Wrath was still spelled in the sky.
"I've never been the party type. Plus, with all of this chaos happening I wouldn't have gone even if I was." He replied coldly.
"You just never speak to us anymore. It was the League that wanted you out, not us." She said. Itachi gave her a knowing look to let her know that he didn't blame her. After the thugs were tied up, Itachi started to head off when Zatanna spoke, "Do you wanna join us? Artemis could definitely use the company."
Artemis defiantly tried to reject that notion, but the idea of hanging out with Itachi sounded a lot more appealing than sulking over Conner and M'gann. She also had another completely platonic thought, 'The best way to get over a rejected crush is with an even better looking rebound.'
Zatanna saw the look she had and couldn't help but laugh at how silly she could be. Itachi shook his head before heading off, with the girl following suite.
'This may not have been my original plan, but perhaps this can actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise by the end of the night.' He thought to himself. He used his peripheral vision to eye a tree from the distance, 'We're being followed.'
"You were pretty brutal to those criminals back there. That's not your style. There were much more subtle ways to incapacitate them. Mind telling me what's up." Itachi asked as they were about to cross the street.
"They had it coming. No harm done." She replied.
They all left and went back to where the girls had parked their bikes. Just before they got too close though Itachi pulled them back as the bikes exploded. They looked to see a pale man with long black hair walking through the fire. He had no shirt, a grey trench coat, and was wielding a dangerous looking sword in his hand.
"No, indeed. Harm is not done. Much harm left to do." He ominously said while eying the heroes. Itachi figured that this was the man who was following them that he had sensed earlier.
"We need to retreat, now." Itachi ordered as he got up. Artemis disagreed with him as she prepped an arrow. Harm didn't look scared at all as he used his sword to cut down the attack from Artemis.
"Taeh taht nopaew's latem!" Zatanna tried to melt Harm's sword, but magic had no effect on it. He merely laughed and taunted them, "You must do better or suffer Harm."
"We get it! Your name is Harm." Artemis said as she prepared to shoot more arrows at Harm. Harm eyed the three of them in amusement, "Their ridiculous garb and rudimentary skills indicate instruction from Green Arrow and Zatara. The fire is his eyes indicate a burning desire to see the world wither into ashes. Harm will study all of them to learn methods for killing their mentors."
"Oh, you did not just threaten my dad. Etativel drows ot em!" Zatanna ordered Harm's sword to go to her. He grinned at her feeble attack, "It wants Harm's sword? Very well."
Harm swiftly threw the sword at Zatanna who barely managed to dodge it. Itachi used this as an opportunity to strike as he weaved the hand signs for the Phoenix Flower Jutsu. Harm saw through the attack and caught the shuriken that were hidden inside of it. He threw them back at Artemis as a result. Itachi moved quickly to get her to safety before any fatal harm could happen to her.
Once Zatanna joined them, Itachi got ready to cut loose. It was at that moment that he and Zatanna noticed a pale looking girl motioning for them to follow her into an alley. Zatanna surveyed how the battle was going and decided that Itachi was right to suggest a retreat in the beginning.
"On second thought, you were right Itachi." Zatanna admitted quickly. Artemis followed suite, "Okay, fine. To regroup."
"Fire Style! Giant Fireball Jutsu!" Itachi unleashed a huge ball of fire at harm as cover for their escape. Zatanna added to that by using one of her spells, "erif nrub, nordluac elbbub!"
The fire from Itachi's attack intensified tenfold and completely overtook Harm as the heroes escaped. It still amazed Artemis just how smoothly Zatanna and Itachi worked together despite the fact that they didn't do it very often. They all soon noticed the little girl around the corner motioning for them to keep following her. Artemis wondered she that was, but Itachi didn't really see why it mattered.
"We could always go back there." He offered. Artemis quickly decided that strange little pale girl was the way to go. They rounded the corner to see that it was a dead end, but Itachi saw that the girl was on the roof somehow. It perplexed him, 'How did she get up there?'
The girl dropped a nearby ladder so that they could join them on the rood. Artemis and Zatanna happily climbed up, but Itachi had doubts to the identity of the girl. As the others climbed, Itachi leapt up to the rooftop to join the others. As they met up, Zatanna began to express her gratitude for her saving them.
"Thanks for the assist, but who are you?" She asked.
"Secret." The girl replied. Artemis wasn't accepting that as an answer, "That won't cut it. We need answers. Do you know Harm? Does he have any weaknesses?"
"Secret." She answered again. Itachi found her answer strange and was about to comment about it when the girl pointed behind them. Harm had caught up to them and was now on the rooftop, "At least they make the hunt interesting."
"Stay back. I'll take him." Itachi said as he got ready to fight. Artemis had other ideas as she shot an arrow at a nearby water tower, "We're a team, remember? We do this together."
The water started to pour out. Itachi used the Water Prison Jutsu to trap Harm in a sphere of water while Zatanna used her spell to freeze the spell and trap him inside. It didn't hold him long because he used his sword to free himself from the prison. As the three heroes were running they noticed that the little girl was now several rooftops away. Itachi took hold of both of them.
"Hold on!" He warned as he leapt off the roof with Harm in hot pursuit of them. When they landed safely Itachi let them go and shot another Fireball Jutsu at Harm. Harm threw a dagger that went through the fireball without melting. Artemis tried to shoot the dagger down, but it sliced right through her bow. Itachi and Zatanna had to hold him off as Artemis went to restring her bow.
Itachi summoned a kunai to block a swipe Harm made at Zatanna. Artemis rushed in and tried to take advantage, but Harm freed his blade be kicking Itachi back and used it to cut her bow to pieces and neutralize her attack. Itachi came back with Harm's dagger and drove it down to lower Harm's guard as Artemis drew a crossbow that was aimed right at Harm's throat. It was a stalemate.
"Why don't we all try fighting without all of the toys?" Artemis suggested.
"It tries to bait Harm, leave Harm weak. But Harm has no weakness." Harm dropped his sword and took off his trench coat. He, Artemis and Itachi all got into fighting stances to prepare for some hand-to-hand combat.
Artemis rushed first with a flurry of attacks. Harm dodge every one of her strikes, but Itachi landed his first strike with a front kick to Harm's chest that sent him reeling. Artemis rebounded and went for a flying elbow strike, but got kneed in her stomach and sent back to the ground. Itachi went for a spinning roundhouse left head kick that Harm blocked. Harm tried to counter with a double hook combination, but Itachi proved too fast and connected with a shovel uppercut right to Harm's jaw.
Zatanna watched as the three continued to fight from a distance since fistfights weren't her strong suit. She went for Harm's sword since he was distracted with her partners. Harm may have been taking damage from Itachi, but he still had time to taunt both of his opponents.
"So unfocused. The Its struggle with their inner demons. One fights itself in a losing battle. The other may strike me, but Its true opponent remains unharmed. Harm doesn't battle his demons…Harm embraces them."
"Would Harm please shut up?!" Artemis replied as she kept missing strikes. Itachi kicked at Harm's knees which allowed Artemis to finally land a blow via forearm shiver.
Zatanna kept trying to pull Harm's sword out of the ground. The sword shocked her backwards with its unique magic. Artemis saw this and got distracted just enough for Harm to hit her with a right cross that sent her right next to Zatanna. Itachi leapt backwards to check on his friends which got him mocked by Harm again.
"And It cares about others. Another weakness. You will never beat your true enemy until you let go of everyone else." Harm mocked. Harm put his trench coat back on as he eyed his prey, "The sword rejected It's impure heart. It has not made the sacrifices Harm has to become pure."
Itachi was about to get back into the fight except Zatanna had pointed out the little girl to his attention. She was on a nearby rooftop and signaling for them to follow her again. Zatanna figured that since Secret hasn't let them down before that there is no reason to doubt her now.
Artemis and Itachi both threw smoke bombs to mask their retreat. When the smoke had cleared, Harm saw that they were all gone. But he knew exactly where they were being led to, "The Its think to escape Harm, but draw near to home. Such considerate Its."
The heroes had been running all night long. It certainly wasn't the distraction Artemis was thinking of when she agreed to go on this trip. They soon found themselves across the street from a magic store.
"She's gone again. Now what? This is the end of the line. We can't go back the way we came because he's heading here as we speak." Zatanna said while trying to figure out their next move. Itachi calmed her down before she panicked even further, "Calm down. We'll just hide out in that magic store."
Itachi stopped when he saw Harm shoot a magical bolt of lightning from his sword. He pushed the girls out of the way just as the attack landed. Harm had caught up to them and didn't look happy at all.
"This can be no coincidence. They alight on Harm's very roof. How did they know? Tell Harm, now!" The madman ordered.
"Wait, this is your place?" Artemis figured. Itachi was wondering why that little girl would bring them here. He figured that she must have done it for a specific reason.
Harm was tired of playing with them and got serious with more magic from his sword. Itachi evaded the attack, but Artemis and Zatanna took the full brunt of Harm's attack and were incapacitated. Itachi landed on the rooftop of the magic store from across the street and saw Harm take Artemis and Zatanna captive. He also saw Secret with them whom had a defeated look on her face.
'I have to stop him.' Itachi thought as he got ready to go back into battle. He wondered why Harm didn't try to pursue him further, but surmised that it must have been because Itachi was the only one of the three heroes to cause him any real damage, 'Defeating him might require me to use more drastic measures. I guess it can't be helped.'
Artemis found herself bound to a chair in a creepy room. She had a major headache and felt weak from the earlier fighting. She felt the presence of someone else in the room and began to panic.
"Calm down, it's me Artemis." Itachi whispered from the shadows. Artemis turned to see her friend emerge from a dark corner in the room. She was about to ask him where he went when he signaled for her to be silent. Itachi went back into hiding just as Harm walked in. A television nearby lit up and showed that Zatanna was also bound to a chair. She had a crossbow aimed directly at her.
"It deigns to awaken. It will tell Harm Its secrets, or Its partner will pay the price. How did It know of Harm's home?" He asked in a sinister tone.
"Ask you partner. She lured us here." Artemis spat out.
"Harm has no partner. Harm is pure and works alone." Harm answered with a genuine curiosity as to why she thought he had a partner. From the television out of Harm's vision, Artemis saw that Itachi had made it to Zatanna. Since Harm was in the room, Itachi figured that meant that it would be easy to free Zatanna. He removed her duct tape so that she could speak freely. She saw that Secret was behind him and acted fast.
"Sepor, emoc esool," The ropes that were binding her came loose and she immediately alerted Itachi to the girl standing behind him. He turned and faced her, but not in the same defensive tone that Zatanna had. Itachi addressed her in a very gentle one which definitely caught Zatanna by surprise.
"Please help me to understand you. I don't believe that you lured us into a trap. Harm doesn't seem like the teamwork kind of guy. What do you truly mean to accomplish?" He asked.
"Secret." She responded like always. Zatanna was getting tired of that answer. Itachi halted her and pointed to where they were at. The room didn't look like it belonged to an insane murderer. In fact, it looked like it was the room of a normal little girl. They both saw a picture frame that had both the girl and Harm in it. They looked to be pretty happy actually.
"This is your house, isn't it? We're in your room." Itachi said while putting the pieces to this puzzle together. Zatanna was a lot more irritated than he was though, "You live with this nut job?"
"Secret." The girl replied. That answer was really getting on Zatanna's nerves. Itachi was more curious as to why that was her only answer. He figured that she must have been trying to tell them something by using that word.
Artemis was still tied to her chair. She was glad to see that Itachi had freed her friend, but didn't like seeing that hooded girl right next to them. Harm was pacing back and forth in the room.
"It seems honestly convinced that Harm had help. Perhaps the other It…no!" Harm had finally noticed that Itachi had freed Zatanna. He saw them pick up the crossbow in the room and quickly rushed out. When he made it to the other room he wasted no time in unsheathing his sword and slashing at the young heroes. But right when he struck both of them, they blew up and knocked his back into the wall. Itachi had set up a couple of clones to be decoys while he and Zatanna freed Artemis.
Zatanna took them running as a moment to bring back an old topic, "Itachi, something seems off about you. You could have easily taken this guy down by now. I saw how you were fighting him on the roof and you were definitely pulling your punches. What gives?"
Artemis noticed how different her friend was acting too, "Yeah, why haven't you used your Tsukuyomi or whatever the heck its call to put him in a genjutsu. In fact, I haven't seen you turn on your Sharingan once and some black fire to melt that sword down would be pretty useful by now. What's going on? Please, let us in."
Itachi stopped at the top of the stairs and was about to answer them when they all noticed that Secret was at the bottom staring at them. Artemis got her crossbow out and wasted no time in threatening the girl. Zatanna and Itachi got in front of her to stop much to the archer's confusion.
Harm recovered from Itachi's decoy attack and fired lightning blasts at the heroes from behind. Itachi was able to warn them in enough time to avoid the blast so that they could further evade him. Harm furiously chased after them until he saw them in the kitchen. Just before they left the room, Artemis fired an arrow from her crossbow. Harm easily caught it, but started to hear a sizzling sound come from it. He noticed a few things right after that. He saw that a paper-bomb was wrapped around the arrow, the oven was on and open, and there were paper-bombs similar to the one around Artemis's arrow all over the kitchen. He grunted as he realized the trap they set for him before the entire first floor of Harm's home blew up.
The heroes escaped from the basement and made it outside. There they saw a makeshift grave that was dug out for someone. Itachi walked up to it and read what was carved into the faux headstone, "Greta Hayes, beloved sister."
Then the spirit of the grave emerged from the ground and revealed that it was the little girl who had been leading them here this entire night. The girls backed away from fear, but Itachi walked closer as he finally grasped the final piece to this story.
"This…is your grave. This is your secret. This is you in here." Itachi asked her as she looked down in confirmation. Artemis couldn't believe that they were actually in contact with a real ghost.
Though Itachi had a pretty good idea, he still wanted to hear it from Secret. He wanted to know how she died, "How…how did it happen?"
She summoned forth a dagger. Itachi figured that it was the weapon used to end her life. He quickly realized that he had seen the weapon before. It was way back on the roof when they all fought against Harm. He found himself getting angrier and angrier, 'He had this dagger on him. That means that…he…he murdered his on sister. Who could do that?!'
Just as Itachi thought that, Harm reappeared. Suddenly, Artemis and Zatanna noticed a seismic shift in their friend. Harm came out with a look of vengeance on his face. He accused them of defiling his holy place. Artemis came back at him by saying that there was nothing holy in him murdering his own sister. Harm smirked at them which sent Itachi over the edge.
"You're…proud of this tragedy. You dare to have the gall to even write beloved on her grave." Itachi accused as the air around him began to change. Artemis and Zatanna were really getting worried.
"Not gall, truth. She was the only thing Harm ever loved. That's why she had to die. Harm's heart had to be pure. Greta had to be cut out, excised like an infection." He said smugly. That had done it for Itachi.
Zatanna and Artemis saw something that they swore they'd never forget. Itachi had activated his Sharingan. He even turned it to his Mangekyo Sharingan form. He then summoned the skeletal ribcage of his Susanoo. It was there that they noticed two differences. The first was that the feeling of the Susanoo was off. It usually felt warm and brought a feeling a protection with it. This time it felt cold and brought only dread and rage with it. The other difference was that it wasn't its usual color. For some reason, instead of being red like usual, this time Itachi's Susanoo was black.
"Older siblings are supposed to protect their younger kin, not kill them. You're just like Itachi; no…you're worse than him. You're just like that piece of trash…Madara Uchiha. Killing your sibling for power makes you the worst type of trash there is." He declared as the air grew thick around him.
Artemis was confused to what her friend was even talking about. She was even beginning to be afraid of him. Zatanna was about to call a spell when Greta's ghost emerged. As it would turn out, Harm is still haunted by her. He even feels regret about killing her. Seeing her again only confirmed that, which was bad for Harm since the sword he held required it's user to either be pure good or pure evil. Having regrets about murdering your own sister isn't pure evil. The heroes watched as Greta reached in Harm's chest and stole the magic that allowed him to wield the Sword of Beowulf. He lost the ability to wield it as the blade wrenched itself from his grip and sealed itself away.
Itachi saw this and took hold of Harm with his Susanoo. Harm struggled to get free, but it was futile; Itachi had him locked. The Susanoo then began to squeeze harm slowly as the madman screeched in pain from his bones being broken. The Uchiha then used the special ability of his Mangekyo Sharingan as a weird flesh-like substance started to emerge from the ground. It inched its way to Harm until it reached his face and then clamped down like tentacles of an octopus. It started to harden until it was harder than any substance that Zatanna or Artemis had ever seen before.
"W-What are you doing?" Artemis asked as she saw Harm start to thrash about on fear. Itachi ignored her question as he addressed the subject of his ire, "What was that you said earlier about my true enemy being unharmed? Let's fix that."
The substance then began to squeeze and compress Harm's head. The girls all watched in horror as Harm's face was being mutilated by Itachi. Harm's eyeballs started to pop out of socket and the trauma caused the madman to bite his own tongue off in a bloody and grotesque manner. Harm's brain was starting to show as his skull was cracked open. His head began squirting blood everywhere as his bones were reduced to dust. When Itachi was done, Harm was dead. His face looked horribly maimed.
He dropped the body, deactivated his Susanoo, and leapt unto the fence around the house. He stared out at the magic store and shook his head, "Secret...I get it. That was the last thing you ever saw before he murdered you. Greta, your justice has been served. Your grave was the last thing he saw before I killed him."
Artemis and Zatanna looked absolutely terrified. They had never seen someone murdered in such a vivid and graphic manner. There was a pool of blood from where the body was lying on the ground before them. Artemis moved past her fear just as the Uchiha was about to leave.
"What the hell?! We don't murder people! He lost his power and was defenseless. How could you do that Itachi?" She demanded through hot tears. Artemis didn't know if she was more afraid or furious. The Uchiha turned to address them and they noticed the full scope of his appearance.
"Y-Your eyes. Why are they different?" Artemis asked fearfully. The sclera in his eyes was pitch black and the design of his Mangekyo Sharingan was different. Artemis knew she had seen that design before. She'd seen it when Itachi showed them his past, "Are those…your father's eyes?"
The Uchiha nodded in confirmation. The girls were really confused as to what was going on. Zatanna was the first to boldly speak what she was thinking, "You're not Itachi. He never would do something like this. So who are you?!"
The Uchiha pointed upwards at the smoke in the sky. Artemis and Zatanna both looked and gasped at what he was implying. Artemis's legs began to shake, "You mean to tell me…that…y-you're…"
"I am the clone of Itachi Uchiha. The bringer of justice and true heir to the Uchiha name. You can call me Wrath." He answered as he looked down at the shocked faces of the heroes. They couldn't believe or understand what was happening. The person responsible for the deaths of thousands of people was the clone of their friend. They both had so many questions.
"Why are you here? What do you want?" Zatanna asked. Wrath shook his head at them, "I was created for war, but what I truly seek is justice."
"What justice is there in murdering over 2,000 innocent people?! What about Harm? He may have been a scumbag, but he didn't deserve to have his head be crushed to death! You're a monster!" She proclaimed.
"I may be a monster, but you and the rest of you so-called heroes are the true evil here. And if I were you, I'd look into those 2,000 "innocent" people. There's no such thing as innocent people. I will tear down the world as you know it and bring true justice for those oppressed by you." Wrath declared.
"You're insane. The League will take you down and the organization that created you." Artemis replied. Wrath laughed at her. It creeped her and Zatanna out because Wrath sounded just like Itachi.
"You keep thinking that. Go ask the now freed captives of the Dollmaker if they think I'm insane. You know, the only thing that I will regret about killing you all is that I can only do it once." He said as he leered at them. Police sirens could be heard coming, "Looks like our time together is coming to an end. The night was fun Artemis. I hope that whatever ails you subsides soon because you will need to be at your best to fight me. Harm was right about one thing; you can't fight yourself and fight me. It will end in your death."
"Why haven't you tried to kill us yet? Now would be the best opportunity since we're all alone. No one would know about it." Zatanna asked. She wanted to stall for time for the police to arrive. She knew they'd be on high alert since yet another explosion had just transpired in Gotham.
"The answer is simple; I want the whole world to know about when I kill all of you. So for now, your lives are safe. I just wanted to get a firsthand observation of you all tonight. That's why I tagged along with you rather than kill you on the spot. I wanted to know you as the world does…as Itachi does. You're exactly who I thought you were. Goodbye for now. I have more important matters to attend to than you all," Wrath then turned to Secret who was weeping over her dead brother, "Greta, I'm sorry about what happened to you. I wish you had a normal life." Wrath said sadly to the surprise of the girls. He was about to leave when Zatanna asked him one last question.
"Who was the true enemy of yours that Harm mention earlier?" She asked. Wrath's expression turned into a sinister look of hatred, "Don't ask questions that you already know the answer to. Be sure to tell Itachi that I'll be seeing him soon and when I do, I'll take everything away from him."
With that, Wrath disappeared into the night. Both Zatanna and Artemis fell to their knees in relief. They didn't realize it, but they had been holding their breaths the entire time. Artemis thought back to when she saw Itachi's memories and cringed. Zatanna could feel her hands shaking.
"I don't understand any of this. How is there a clone of Itachi? We have to tell the League." She said in between shaky breaths. She looked at Harm's corpse and nearly puked.
"I've seen that look of rage and hatred only once before. It was in Itachi's younger brother Sasuke when they fought in that hallway. The look didn't scare me then…but it does now." Artemis said while trying to get a grip on her nerves.
"Wrath…just being around him, the real him…is so intimidating. I could feel such raw, untamed power inside of him. He was truly terrifying. The world is in trouble, isn't it?" The magician asked.
"Yeah, if what happened tonight is any indicator as to what we're dealing with; the Earth is in big trouble." She answered as she eyed Harm's blood start to seep onto his sister's grave. Even Secret trembled in fear of Wrath. Though that could be from her seeing her brother get murdered in front of her. Selfishly, all Artemis could think about was her friend, 'Itachi, now more than anything, we need you with us. Please come back because you might be the only person who can stop Wrath.'
The real Itachi was in the home of the now deceased Barton Mathis. Seeing Batman's batmobile there drew him in. The police were gone. They had been called away to another explosion that had occurred in Gotham. Itachi knew he had to find and deal with Wrath fast before he killed any more people.
The Dark Knight turned to acknowledge Itachi as he walked in the house, "I see you still have time for common break-ins Crow."
"I do when they bring you out of the darkness. What's so special about here?" Itachi asked. As he observed the house, he could tell that whoever died in here was murdered by someone in a rage fueled frenzy.
"This is the house of the Dollmaker. He was the man murdered here." Batman said as he led Itachi downstairs. Itachi heard about the type of man the Dollmaker was, but all of the rumors were miniscule compared to the horror that he saw down here. There were corpses of children, chains, and a cell down here.
"This man…was a monster." Crow said as the smell of blood and death filled his nose. Batman started to scan the area. Itachi was curious as to why, "With everything going on in this city, why are you spending so much effort on this."
"Because I have reason to believe that this man was murdered by the man we're both looking for; Wrath." Batman answered. He started wiping the cells for fingerprints and submitting blood samples for Alfred to scan from the Batcave. He hoped that Wrath may have stabbed himself in the frenzy.
"Why would Wrath have been here? The psychopath kills 2,000 people just to clear enough time to kill a pedophile and murderer?" Itachi asked.
"You have to ask the children he held captive that. They don't view him as a psychopath at all. According to the counselor that interviewed them when the police arrived, they view him as their savior." Batman replied. He grunted as nothing was found.
"They really said that?" Itachi asked. Batman nodded at him as they headed back up the stairs. He was just as confused by all of this as Itachi was. Batman pointed Itachi towards the wall, "According to my investigation scanner, Barton was pinned to this wall. The initial reports suggest that he was stabbed over one hundred times. Why I doubt this was Wrath is because his body suggests that he was stabbed by multiple people wielding different types of blades."
"As much as he deserved a world of pain, he didn't deserve to die. We have to stop whoever is behind this. What I don't get is why these children are so certain that Wrath was the one who did this." Crow said after eying the holes in the wall.
"I doubted it as well. The police told me that they asked the children what happened here. Their answer confused me at first, but when the name Wrath appeared in the sky, it casted out any doubts in my mind that Wrath was here. I just don't know if he was here before or after the explosions." Batman revealed.
Itachi didn't want to believe any of this, but his life has taught him that anything is possible. They walked out of the house and headed towards Batman's car, "What did the children say?"
Batman had a solemn look on his face before answering, "They said that Wrath came for the Dollmaker." Just as Batman said that a large fireball was shot at the two vigilantes. They both recovered quickly and were shocked to see who had fired that fireball. It was a carbon copy of Itachi. He was in Itachi's old Anbu Black Ops gear. The only thing the clone was missing was Itachi's leaf headband. Itachi couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Who…are you?" He asked with trepidation. Wrath smiled at Itachi's confusion, "Well isn't this a pleasant surprise. Isn't it obvious who I am? I'm you. My name is Wrath and the Dollmaker isn't the only thing I came for murderer."
"You call Itachi a murderer after what you've done to this city?! You have some nerve. What do you want?" Batman demanded.
"I want…you dead Itachi! You and everyone else like you," The vigilantes noticed that Wrath's smile turn into a look of pure rage. Itachi hadn't seen that look since he fought his brother back in that hallway. He saw that Wrath had activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and unsheathed his sword. He was shocked to see that it was the same as his father's, "Heroes and villains alike. You all infect the world with your impure wickedness. Those 2,000 people did too by allowing you all to roam unchecked. And Dollmaker…you saw what type of monster he was. I did the world a great service by killing him. I'll do the world another great service when I kill you too Itachi, or is it Crow now. You never know with all of your lies; it's what you're best at. You see, that's why this has to happen. You're all a disease to life…and I'm the cure!"
Well that's it for this chapter! I had a blast writing this one especially with the mixed review of last chapter. I love constructive criticism because it's just a way of letting me know that I can do better and hope that this chapter is better received. Now that Wrath has revealed himself to members of the Team, who knows what will happen next (except for me of course.) We finally get the confrontation between Itachi and Wrath. I want to thank everyone who viewed last chapter whether you liked it or not, I always appreciate it. Thanks for all of the faves, follows, reviews, and PMs. Let me know what you thought of this chapter and have a great one! Until next time guys and gals!