Andresskorskiruiz: I'm glad you like it! Next chapter you will get your wish.
Kinaki747: Oh, as you'll read in this chapter, the Masked Stranger is both that confident and that dangerous.
Brave2000: I hate one-dimensional villains so I took my time in writing Wrath's character development. As for the Sage question, I only have him referred as God because that's basically who he is in the Narutoverse. There really isn't a divine hierarchy behind it though I probably should establish one.
Rio Skyron: If you thought last chapter was intense, just wait until you finish this one.
Imagine476: Oh yeah! I wanted to show that these aren't your regular run-of-the-mill villains. They are the real deal and will not wait to gloat like others. They will kill if given the opportunity.
Trollzor69: I'm glad you liked last chapter. Itachi can only take so much before the Uchiha blood of his starts to boil.
Ronlol2: He's already unlocked the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan in this story.
Coward123: I understand those concerns but I just didn't want to waste time developing his speech and have that take away from the story.
KH fan: Oh, their fight will be epic.
Guest: Shhh, you might spoil the ending O.o
Redflash 2008: I'm happy you think that. Its reviews like these that keep me going.
Animefreak112097: I'll try to get better with uploading.
1968: Oh I can't spoil the fight's ending, but Itachi will definitely make a strong showing for their fight.
writegood: Thanks for that! Yeah, some of the dialogue of Young Justice was awkward just reading it, let alone having to write it.
Ahnjuu: I know my chapter towards the beginning aren't up to par with the latter ones and I do plan on going back to correct those issues. As for your plot concerns, all I can say is that it will all be explained as to why certain characters are more trusting than others when the final saga begins.
Fear and terror is what everyone at the Gotham City Knights football game is feeling. They, along with millions around the world watching, had just seen Wrath emerge from the ground with his Susanoo and murder Mayor Hamilton Hill, his entire cabinet, the half-time performers, and countless numbers of civilians in just an instant. Wrath looked on as the people started to run like frightened cattle once a lion emerges from the grass.
Shots were fired at Wrath's Susanoo from its blind spot. He turned to see that it was former Police Commissioner Loeb and his police detail that were the culprits. When they saw the cold, black eyes of Wrath's Susanoo turn towards them they stopped shooting and tried to escape like all of the others. The giant avatar bent its knees and leapt high into the air. Commissioner Loeb and his fellow police men and women were helpless as the giant came crashing down on them, killing almost everyone in that entire section of the stadium.
The camera crew from the surrounding helicopters could see the crushed corpses of the poor patrons that were nearby when the Susanoo landed. The scene was gruesome and pure evil. The Susanoo got back up and started rampaging again as it started hammering the ground beneath it in an attempt to kill anyone that might have survived. Blood started spraying everywhere as its fists would land and rise up again to repeat the action.
First responders started to arrive to try to tend to any survivors they found. Wrath saw this and decided that not even the healers would escape him. His Susanoo grabbed an ambulance truck and threw it as hard as it could. The truck was flung into one of Gotham's banks which caused an explosion that killed even more people. Wrath floated up to the mouth of his Susanoo and weaved hand signs for his clan's most famous jutsu, "Fire Style! Fireball Jutsu!"
The clone shot the fireball at an exit to the stadium. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as people that were trying to escape were burned alive by the fireball. The cameras could see young children screaming while in pain as parents and surrounding adults desperately tried to put the flames out, only to catch fire themselves only from the sheer heat of the flames. Wrath wanted the world to see just what was done to his family. How they all died without mercy no matter how young they were.
A trio of F-35 Lightning fighter jets was seen approaching the city and it was clear that Wrath was their target. They each fired a pair of missiles towards the behemoth with the intent of killing it. Wrath used his Hedoro ability to create a giant wall that blocked the missiles from a direct hit. He then used his Shinigami Scythe to knock them out of the sky, killing all three pilots. Two of the aircrafts landed in the Gotham River away from any civilians, but the third one landed right in the middle of the city. It took out a Stagg Industries building that was still under construction and killed all of the construction workers that were on it along with the people on the ground level that were hit with debris from the crash.
"How many people have to die before you show yourself, Crow?!" Wrath yelled as his Susanoo started treading deeper into the city. As he left to cause more damage, a shining light could be seen emerging from the devastating wake of the football stadium. The hand that emerged from the ground was covered in a green light before all of the surrounding debris was blasted away. The hand belonged to none other than Hal Jordan, the Earth's Green Lantern. He had a bunch of civilians that he was protecting thanks to his ring with him. Seeing all of the destruction and death that Wrath caused deeply angered Hal, but Hal knew that before he could go after him that he would have to check for survivors.
Hal flew the civilians to ground level so that they could be safe and flew back up to scan the debris. He also tried to contact his teammates but got no answer for some reason. Hal found a few survivors, but mostly his findings just wound up being corpses. Thankfully, Hal eventually did find something that made him start to have hope again. He used his powers to clear debris and reveal that the members of the Team had indeed survived Wrath's ambush. The young heroes were all a little beat up, but very much alive thanks to Conner and M'gann's quick thinking.
Though Conner wasn't fast enough to verbally alert his friends, thanks to his strong mental connection to M'gann he was able to alert her of the rumbling below. She then used her powers to faze everyone through just as Wrath emerged and collapsed the entire section on top of them. Though none of the debris hurt them, the impact from the shockwaves of the Susanoo's emergence did knock the wind out of them. M'gann was the most exhausted because fazing that many people at once was not something she was used to. The reason they didn't free themselves from the debris was because they didn't know the status of the rest of the stadium and didn't want to cause more damage.
"Are you all okay?" Hal asked with concern.
"Outside of some cuts and bruises, we're all fine. My God, what happened to my city?" Robin asked as he looked around and saw the death and destruction all around him. He then heard a savage yell in the distance before an explosion occurred.
"The short answer is Wrath happened. He came out of nowhere and started killing everyone in sight. Mayor Hill is dead. Just before a piece of debris landed on top of my section I saw him get bisected in half by Wrath's Susanoo. And from the looks of it, the Mayor wasn't his only target." Hal sadly noted as he remembered seeing all of those bodies before he found the children.
"This…monster…he has to pay!" Robin said with so much rage that he was shaking.
"We're going to get him. We won't let him get away with this. I'm calling Itachi." Artemis said as she went to call her friend.
"Green Lantern, I have a question. Why are you here? I thought that the League was supposed to be having a meeting about voting new members in." Aqualad asked.
"They are. I was sent here in secret to serve as a precaution should Wrath choose to use this venue to attack once again. The Mayor, his cabinet, a beloved world famous pop-star, and even the former police commissioner all in same place at the same time would be too great of an opportunity to pass up on. Unfortunately, we were right. I just didn't expect him to be so bold about it. To murder the Mayor so publically and brutally in front of the world is something I never thought he was capable of. How many people just died because of that miscalculation?" Jordan sadly replied.
"You couldn't have known what that madman was thinking. Have you tried contacting the League?" Wally asked.
"No good. For some reason they aren't answering my coms-unit." Hal answered.
"They aren't the only one. Itachi didn't pick up either. I don't like this one bit." Artemis said with frustration.
"But why wouldn't he pick up?" Zatanna asked.
"It might be because Wrath already got to him. Think about it. We're all here which means that Itachi was at the Cave all alone. Who's to say that Wrath didn't go there first to fight Itachi and then come here to destroy his city. It was a possibility the League foresaw when we okay'd you all to go to this football game. We were hoping that the opportunity to face Itachi alone would be enough to draw Wrath out of Gotham. The fact that Itachi isn't answering could mean that he…he might be…dead." Hal regrettably said.
Artemis struck Hal as the rage she was feeling was close to boiling over, "You used my friend like he was some type of bait to catch a fish?! What type of heroes are you?! He…Itachi can't be…"
"We don't know that Itachi's dead. Please, don't cry like that." Wally said as he tried to stop her from feeling the pain that she felt.
"It was our only chance to get Wrath out of Gotham. Even though we didn't tell Itachi the intent of our plan, we all figured that he would catch on to it eventually. That's probably why he chose to stay behind and not tell you guys. He wanted you all to have fun and be normal kids for once." Hal said as he defended the plan.
"How can we enjoy our lives when we know it might have cost Itachi his?" M'gann said with tears in her eyes. She had so much she wanted to tell Itachi, but not she feels like she'll never get the chance.
"I don't know if Itachi is really dead, but I do know that I plan on making Wrath pay for this." Conner announced.
"With the Green Lantern on our side we'll take that creep down and avenge all of these deaths." Robin said as he agreed with Conner.
"No, you aren't fighting Wrath. I'll take him on by myself." Hal declared.
"We are not sitting on the sidelines as that monster destroys MY city. We're fighting with you." Robin said as he went against Green Lantern.
"No, you aren't. Stop being children. Wrath would kill you all. If I go into battle with you my focus would be split between fighting him and keeping you all safe, it would only end badly. It's why Itachi didn't want to fight with you. Help this city in a different way by tending to the wounded survivors and getting them to safety. If you truly cared about Itachi and his will, you would throw away your selfish desires and help the people of the city Itachi loved. You all owe him that." Hal resolutely said as he shut down all of their defiance.
"But if you face him on your own, Wrath might kill you." Zatanna argued.
"That might be true, but it's my duty as the Green Lantern of this quadrant to defend this planet from all threats. The only duty you all have is to live…so live. Don't die in this graveyard of a city." Hal urged.
His message got to the young heroes as they all accepted his words. Artemis wiped her tears and said a silent prayer asking for her friend to still be alive. Zatanna used her magic to get them all into their hero costumes. They gathered around to wish Hal Jordan good luck before he left.
"Thanks guys. I won't let you, the people of this city, or Itachi down. Wrath crossed the line when he messed with one of us. Now the full power of the Green Lantern will come down on him. In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, behold my power…Green Lantern's light!" Hal chanted as he felt the power of his ring grow.
The others watched in awe as Hal flew into the air in a burst of green light as he headed towards Wrath. They truly hoped that the hero would succeed in finally ending this nightmare.
While chaos was transpiring in Gotham, another battle was being fought in space. The Justice League is currently in the midst of the great threat that Itachi was sent here to fight, The Masked Stranger. John Stewart decided not to waste time so that they could protect Gotham from Wrath and shot an energy blast from his ring. The Stranger merely lifted up a red lightning filled hand to completely deflect Green Lantern's blast. The Leaguers watched as the power slowly died down into nothingness.
"Why in such a rush? Most people aren't in such a hurry to die." Then in blinding speed the Masked Stranger sprinted towards the heroes with deadly intentions. Green Arrow tried shooting an arrow at the villain as a deterrent, but it was useless. The Stranger changed levels to avoid the arrow and used lightning to electrify the floor beneath them. Everyone felt the full brunt of it except for Superman and Captain Marvel. They were only barely affected.
The Stranger went for Hawkman first by kicking him into a nearby wall. Hawkwoman tried to retaliate but was still being affected from the initial attack. Hawkman suddenly noticed a piece of paper that was on his chest as it began to spark. The Stranger had placed a paper bomb on him.
"You're done for." Hawkman, while still lodged into the wall, was helpless as the bomb went off. The winged hero was out of the fight and rendered unconscious.
"You'll pay for that!" The Stranger ducked underneath a swipe of Hawkwoman's mace and retaliated with a powerful jutsu.
"Good, I'll use your life as currency then. Vapor Style! Steam Blast Jutsu!" Searing hot steam was then emitted from every pore of the Mask Stranger's body which resulted in the surrounding heroes being blasted away. Hawkwoman got the worst of it since she was closest. One of her wings had been almost completely seared off from the blast. Red Tornado used his wind powers to smolder the flames, but the damage to her wing had already been done.
Superman sped ahead and delivered a powerful shot to the Stranger's sternum. It sent the villain airborne, and with Captain Marvel waiting, the villain was hit with a two-handed hammer strike back down to the ground. The Flash sprinted to try and stop the Stranger from recovering. The Stranger thought fast and put a hand to the ground to unleash another jutsu.
"Fire Style! Heatwave Jutsu!" A blistering heatwave was sent throughout the ground which was so hot that the floor around the villain started to melt. The Flash couldn't react in time and slid past the Stranger and right into the wall. Before the Strange could capitalize on the downed speedster, a whizzing sound was heard in the air.
The Stranger quickly turned to see a pair of batarangs that were aimed directly at the villain. The Stranger then heard the demi-god in Wonder Woman rushing into the battle to give Flash time to recover. The villain caught the Batarangs and used chakra to infuse lightning into the weapons. The batarangs now had two new targets; Flash and Wonder Woman.
The first batarang was flung at Flash, who was still catching his breath, and the other was tossed behind to greet the charging Amazon coming from the rear. The result was Wonder Woman being caught in an up-close electric explosion that sent her flying. The batarang that was heading towards Flash was only a few meters away when a blast of heat vision from Superman was able to disintegrate it before it hit its mark.
The Stranger was about to make another move but was stopped when Martian Manhunter emerged from the ground and put the villain into a powerful bear hug. The move caught the Stranger by surprise and left quite the impression on the villain.
'I guess the warm-up's over. Time to get serious,' The Stranger thought as chakra began to build up within the villain's body. Manhunter quickly motioned for his teammates to help him restrain the evil mastermind.
"They can't save you. Lightning Style! Chakra Mode!" The Masked Stranger was then wrapped in a layer of lightning chakra. The aura being emitted from the technique is so intense Manhunter's arms were starting to burn just from touching it. The aura around the Stranger was a jagged, flame-like chakra coat covered in red sparks of lightning that pulsed at intense frequencies. The muscle mass of the Stranger was just slightly increased, but the neural and cellular activity within his body were greatly enhanced so that the energy output was now almost limitless.
The Stranger demonstrated the abilities of the cloak by increasing the ferocity of the lightning cloak and electrocuting Manhunter until the Martian fell to his knees. The Stranger then vice gripped both sides of Manhunter's head before ominously speaking.
"I hear you like to mess with people's brain. You go in and out as you please without any thought or care to what damage you could cause them. Well, let me mess with your brain now and see what happens once it's fried. Lightning Style! Hands of Torture Jutsu!" The Martian then felt an intense wave of pain as the Stranger emitted a high output of lightning into J'onn's brain. Soon that pain turned into agony and horror everyone watched J'onn's head catch on fire.
Everyone was helpless as the alien hero stopped screaming and fell to the ground with a loud thud. He'd ceased moving and everyone feared the worse. It wasn't until Superman focused his hearing ability that he was able to determine his friend's status, "He's alive! He's heart has a faint heartbeat."
"You'll pay for that!" Canary said as she unleashed her sonic screech. The Stranger found the feeble attack amusing. Flash sprinted and got his friend up before the blast hit them both. Canary made sure her blast got the villain away from J'onn before she went full throttle with it. There was only one problem; The Stranger had vanished.
"Where'd he go?!" Aquaman asked as he searched the surrounding area.
"I'm here." The Stranger said as Canary found herself being choked. She had no idea how the villain dodged her attack so quickly, "H-How?"
"Don't you know that lightning is faster than sound? I bet you will after this." The Masked Stranger taunted before viciously crushing Canary's throat. Oliver feared the worse for his lover as blood started pouring from out of her mouth and she began to make painful sounds as she tried to speak.
"No more sonic screams from you." The Stranger dropped the blond as Batman, Green Arrow, and Aquaman rushed in for attacks. They were determined to make the villain pay, but the Stranger had the perfect jutsu to counter them with.
"Lightning Style! Flash Pillar!" A great bright flash of light was emitted from the Stranger's body that was bright enough to blind all of the would-be attackers. They all stopped in their tracks before they all were simultaneously struck by their opponent. Though Aquaman was still able to move after the attack, Batman and Green Arrow were not so lucky. They both had several bones broken from the attack and were barely still conscious.
"Time for the real target." The Stranger sprinted over to Superman to get the jump on him as well. The Stranger powered up his Red Lightning ability in his right hand and swiftly connect with Superman's face with a skillfully angled right cross to the chin of the man of steel. The hero was able to get a hit off as well, but it wasn't nearly as clean as a hit that The Stranger got off. Superman made a hole in the wall from how hard he was sent crashing into it. The Stranger wasn't without damage either though.
'He's fast. He managed to hit me in the left shoulder and broke the bones there. He probably would have caused more damage if it wasn't for my cloak. Good thing my healing is also increased so I should be as good as knew in a few moments, but I don't have that much time left to spare you Wrath. If this fight doesn't end soon, then I'll die. I only have a set amount of chakra to use and once it's gone, it's gone for good. There is no getting it back by natural means thanks to that damned Sage of Six Paths. Let's speed this up then.' The Stranger thought while weaving hand signs. A combustible flame appeared in the Stranger's hand that was so hot that sparks were could be seen being emitted from the flame. The flame was getting larger and wilder as seconds passed.
"I hear they call you the Man of Steel. It's too bad that steel melts just like everything else. Fire Style! Solar Tsunami!" The flame was aimed at Superman as an inhumane amount of fire was shot at the hero. Not even Superman could withstand that searing heat that he felt as his skin started to boil from it. The surrounding metal around him liquefied from the sheer heat being emitted and fell on to Superman, causing more pain for the hero. The heat was so great that none of the heroes could move from it, and none of them were even in the direction of the flame.
Once the fire died down, the end result was Superman being incased in the metal that fell onto his body. It hardened into a makeshift metallic prison that held the hero in place. The other's looked on in horror at what happened to the world's greatest superhero.
"Now he really is a man of steel. So who's next?" The Stranger asked before turning to face the rest of the heroes. Only Green Lantern, Aquaman, Doctor Fate, Wonder Woman, Flash, Red Tornado, Captain Marvel.
"Come do that to me!" Wonder Woman said as she took up the challenge. After seeing what had just happened to her friends she could honestly say that she felt the fury of Hades flowing through her.
"Me too! Lightning doesn't affect me so let's see what you got!" Captain Marvel added as he joined her.
"They're not alone! We all won't stop until you're defeated!" Flash said as the others stepped up to join the in on the Justice League's last stand.
"Interesting. A robot that controls wind, a space patrolman that holds one of the most powerful weapons in the universe, a speedster that's so fast that he can even bend time, an ancient wizard, a king with the trident of a god, and two beings that actually are gods. I like my chances." The Stranger said as the lightning cloak surround him flared and started emitting even more power.
Back in Gotham, Artemis and Robin were currently searching through the rest of the rubble as medical personnel were trying their best to save as many people as possible. They were hoping that somehow people were able to survive this sneak attack. They the likeliness of that would be slim, but it was the only way they could feel like they were actually doing something important.
"How did this all happen? One second we were all having fun and watching a football game, the next everything goes to hell and Wrath destroys everything. And why haven't the Justice League gotten here yet? We need them." Artemis said while venting.
"We have to stay strong. I know it's tough. I've seen more than a few friends amongst the corpses here, but we can't breakdown. Itachi would have wanted us to finish the mission no matter the losses." Robin said in response.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just hard. I've never seen this many bodies all at once before." Artemis sadly said.
"Itachi grew up in a world where tragedies like this were the norm. I see why he's so distant. Scenes like this damage the soul. Let's go. There's nothing more we can do here, but there may be people that we could save elsewhere in the city." Robin suggested.
They hopped down from the rubble they were just at to leave to the stadium and provide support to the other damaged areas of the city. As the heroes reached the ground floor they could feel rumbling happening from underneath them. They both asked what was going on, but were answered when a giant pair of clasped orange hands emerged from the rubble they were just at.
The heroes then saw the hands open to reveal three people hidden inside. The three individuals inside are Carson, James, and Itachi. Artemis and Robin quickly ran to join up with them as Itachi's Susanoo faded away and the three dropped onto the ground. The teens quickly saw that the three of them were all still alive thankfully, though all were showing signs of being injured.
"Itachi! What happened? And why are Carson and James with you?" Artemis said as she went to check on them. As she got close to Itachi she saw how badly he was injured, "Oh no. Itachi, your arm…"
Itachi's right arm was covered in blood and was a very scary color of blue. Itachi looked up at his friends as Robin quickly alerting the others through M'gann's psychic link. He observed all of the carnage and destruction around him and gave a sad sigh.
"It was Wrath. He did this. He tricked Carson into meeting up with him underground because he knew James would ask me for help. I came and we talked. I couldn't fight him because we were right under you and he used the threat of summoning his Susanoo to kill all of you. And to think that we actually understand each other now. It only cost all of these people their lives. Before he summoned his Susanoo, he had my hand in his. When the transformation began it stretched my arm and caused a lot of damage to it. The joints and muscles in my arms are in tatters. I was able to summon my Susanoo just before he caved us in to protect Carson and James. Once I was sure that no one was above us I took us above ground. But to see all of this and to know it's my fault…I wish I had just stayed dead." Itachi sadly said.
"No, this isn't on you. It's Wrath who is responsible. Green Lantern is going after him as we speak. He was in the arena when the bastard attacked. The League put him hear just in case, but nothing was stopping Wrath. He murdered the Mayor in front of the entire world and then killed all of those innocent people. We saw so many dead children. That's not on you. I refuse to let you take the blame for that." Artemis said as she began to cry.
"She's right. Can you walk, Itachi?" Robin asked. Itachi nodded as he stood up. Artemis created a makeshift sling for his arm for support. Itachi started to walk towards the direction Wrath went but was halted by Robin stepping in his way, "You can't go. It's what Wrath is counting on. That's his strategy. He lured you down there to critically wound you enough so that you'd be on more of an equal playing field during a fight. It's why he attacked us too; so that we couldn't help you."
"Would you have me do nothing as he just slaughters our city?" Itachi asked in a frustrated tone from being stopped.
"Just hear me out. Wrath is banking on you challenging him because he knows that he'll have a better chance of beating one-armed Itachi rather than Itachi at full strength with the Team as backup. Every person Wrath kills is just him goading you into it because he knows that you'll feel responsible. This is his best and only chance of defeating you. Don't go. Just come with me and Artemis." Robin pleaded.
"Itachi, he's right. You're our only hope of saving the world. You can't do that if you're dead. Green Lantern is currently pursuing him and the others are doing their best to save as many people as possible. We've all agreed that the main priority is keeping you alive. That means keeping you out of this fight until you are ready. You have to see that we're making sense." Artemis explained.
"…I do see the sense of it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Wrath is going to keep killing unless I show up. And the more victims that pile up, the more I'll feel compelled to fight him." Itachi quietly said.
"We know. But the Green Lantern will be able to at least hold him off until more help arrives. Then we can drive him out of the city and hunt him down once you're back to full health. Sometimes in order to win the war, that means having to suffer and lose battles like this." Artemis reluctantly said.
"Fine, help me get Carson and James up there on top of Bruce Wayne's tower. It's the tallest building in the city so they'll be safe there. We'll wait there until more help arrives." Itachi said as he carefully placed Carson on his back as Robin went for James.
"Thank you. We will avenge this tragedy. I promise." Artemis said.
"I trust you all. This isn't my world where everyone has a hidden agenda and people like me are left without a choice. We're in this together." Itachi said as they left for the tower. He only hoped that he would regret the decision to trust his teammates plan. For the sake of this city, it had to work.
Hal Jordan was currently flying towards Wrath as he was using his Susanoo to kill countless people in nearby buildings. The Susanoo was currently about to crush a school filled with children with its foot. He glared at the clone before launching an attack with the power of his ring. A giant green fist was launched and knocked the black Susanoo off its feet and to the ground. It quickly rolled back to its feet and saw Hal form a giant mech suit to counteract Wrath's ultimate weapon.
"So, you've come instead of Itachi. How disappointing. I have no interest in you." Wrath said.
"Well get interested. You attack this city, kill its mayor, murder all of those children, and dare to say that YOU'RE disappointed. You're a monster!" Hal yelled as he armed his mech suit with missiles.
"I'm glad you're so angry because that's how I felt when it was my home and my people. You all let this happen. You're no hero." Wrath coldly said.
"This ring says otherwise. I will shine a ray of hope to destroy evil like you in this moment of darkness. The will of the Green Lantern is stronger than anything you Uchiha have ever faced before." Hal declared.
"Is that so? You think I'm evil. Itachi didn't seem to think that when we last talked. Too bad I don't feel like convincing you though. But…you've still piqued my interest. Green Lantern, I will devour your hope." Wrath ominously said.
"Drop dead!" Hal said as missiles were launched at Wrath. Wrath's Susanoo held a hand out as the flesh around it began to harden and used it to block most of the missiles away. The Susanoo caught the final missile and slammed it against its own chest to explode. The result was that the Susanoo was unharmed along with Wrath who was inside of it.
"Okay, missiles don't work on this guy. Point taken." Hal said as he charged forward. He attached a battering ram onto his mech suit and swung at Wrath. Wrath conjured his Shinigami Scythe and used it to easily block the battering ram.
"You should have kept your distance," Wrath's Susanoo preformed a sweep move that took the legs of Hal's mech right out from under it. After it landed on its stomach, the clone then swung his giant scythe down and managed to cut off the arm with the attached battering ram on it.
"Attacking a downed opponent with an exposed back, not cool!" Hal yelled as he shot the attached M61 Vulcan Cannon that was on his back. The weapon stunned and pushed Wrath off of Hal just enough for Hal to use the jet propulsions on the soles of the mech's feet to fly away to get more distance.
The black Susanoo charged at Green Lantern to close the distance. Hal knew he couldn't stop the giant, but he knew he had to give himself some time to recreate a new arm for his mech suit. So he used his one available arm to shoot off a powerful laser beam that was able to slow down Wrath. Wrath had to use the Katamarimasu on his Susanoo's had to block off the power of the blast. It was difficult even with his hardening ability. Wrath made sure to make notice of how powerful that blast was after noticing small cracks in the hardened hand.
Slowly but surely, Green Lantern was able to rebuild the arm of his mech suit while simultaneously holding off Wrath. He even was able to add a new feature to the arm that he was sure to throw Wrath in for a loop, 'Come and get it, Wrath!'
Wrath's Susanoo made a spin move to get around the beam, but was met with the new ability of Hal's mech suit; a sonic cannon. The high frequency blast hit Wrath and his Susanoo like a wall and halted the incoming onslaught.
"Try and used your hardening ability to deflect this!" Hal yelled as he kicked up the power of the sonic blast. The glass of the surrounding buildings started to shatter and fall onto the ground. The Susanoo fell to its knees and slowly was beginning to lose some of its humanoid form and revert back to its skeletal state.
'I have to do something fast,' Wrath thought as he used his Hedoro ability to create a makeshift shield. He then used Katamarimasu to harden that shield and put it out in front of him to deflect the sonic blast. The Susanoo was being significantly less affected by it thanks to the shield. It was able to finally stabilize again and Wrath took full advantage of that by using his Hedoro to shift the plates of the Earth underneath them to create cracks in the ground that caused Hal's mech suit to lose its balance. It knocked Hal's aim off for just a second, but that second was all Wrath needed at he hurled his shield at the mech suit.
It forced Hal to shut off the sonic cannon so that he could use the laser beam to shoot the shield off of its trajectory. The shield was blasted and sent directly into the building adjacent to Hal, destroying until it was nothing but rubble. Hal snarled as he got ready to fire his sonic cannon again. Wrath refused to let that happen so his Susanoo sprinted at Hal and, at the last second, preformed a duck under to take the back of Hal's mech suit. The Susanoo locked in a tight c-grip and had Hal reeling by executing a German Suplex.
The Susanoo held its grip, thanks to the Katamarimasu, and delivered two more devastating German Suplexes. Hal used the jet boosters on the soles of his mech's feet to fly up into the air and break Wrath's grip before a fourth one could be delivered. It landed safely away from Wrath so that Hal could regroup and come up with another strategy.
Itachi, Artemis, and Robin had finally made it on top of Wayne Tower where they could see the full scope of the damage caused by Wrath. Thankfully, James and Carson were still unconscious from Wrath's initial attack. The city was in shambles. Entire buildings were reduced to rubble, fires had broken out where Wrath was at, and the cries for help coming from the civilians could still be heard. They all saw Green Lantern engage Wrath in a duel of the two powerhouses. The whole world was watching too thanks to the news helicopters flying around the fight.
"Wrath is a tough opponent…" Robin noted.
"But so is Green Lantern. He's been keeping up with the creep the whole time." Artemis rebutted.
"Wrath is still only assessing Green Lantern's strengths and weaknesses. His ability to formulate countermoves under pressure has drastically improved. He's also become more flexible with how he uses his Hedoro technique. This won't be easy." Itachi said in a serious tone.
'His armor is some of the toughest material I've ever seen. When he hardens its, the only thing that can even make a dent in it is the energy blast of my ring. And that's only when I focus all of my concentration into it which leaves me vulnerable to counterattacks. I'll use my jet boosters to fly overhead to try and get a clean shot off. That thing has to have a weakness.' Hal assessed as his mech suit started to fly.
Wrath saw the suit start to speed in his direction and was determined to test out a theory of his, 'In the very basic summary of things, it would seem we have the same special power; to create anything we want out of our specific power source to use during combat. He proved that when I removed his battering ram and he immediately replaced it with that sound cannon of his. My Scythe can cut throw his material easily enough, but that might only be because he has it spread so thin with how much he's using it for all at once. When he did have time to focus, he was able to make cracks in my Katamarimasu. That ring is definitely raw power and his control of it is extraordinary. I have to find out just where the limit of that ring of his reaches.'
Hal's mech flew over to Wrath's Susanoo and lifted it up to slam against an already destroyed building. Wrath marveled at how much faster the mech got. Hal took advantage of Wrath's shock by aiming his mech's laser at the Susanoo. He figured the point blank range would be enough to eradicate Wrath's defenses. Wrath quickly reacted by having his Susanoo grabbed the laser cannon of the mech and crushed it before it could fire thanks to his hardening ability. Hal countered by creating a missile launcher to fire out of his mech's now exposed forearm at Wrath. The Susanoo swung the mech suit's arm in the opposite direction so that the missiles fired at a building and leveled it completely, killing everyone in and around the chaos.
"You monster! You'll pay for that!" Hal yelled. Wrath moved himself so that he was in the mouth of his Susanoo.
"Fire Style! Fireball Jutsu!" He shot out a fireball that sent Hal and his mech to the ground. Wrath's Susanoo landed in a loud thud before firing off the miniature fireballs of Wrath's Phoenix Flower Jutsu. Hal turned his jet boosters on to fly past the fireballs and straight for Wrath. Wrath's Susanoo ducked and caught the right leg of Hal's mech suit.
"I don't fall for the same thing twice." Wrath said as he hardened his hand to crush and destroy the jet booster. When Wrath let go, losing a jet booster caused Hal's mech suit to fly erratically and eventually crash into another building. Jordan had just enough control left to be able to scan for an abandoned building to crash into. Hal tried to move his mech, but found that he was stuck to the building. He looked down and found the flesh like substance of Wrath's Hedoro crawling up his mech and attaching itself to both the mech and the building next to it.
"You overplayed your hand, Lantern. I saw from how you fight that you can only do so much with your ring at once while keeping concentration and control. I'd say that your limit is three things at once. The more you spread yourself out, the more concentration you had to focus into your weapons. It left the perfect opening for me to do this." Wrath explained as he and his Susanoo weaved hand signs for a new Fire Style Jutsu that the Masked Stranger showed him while training.
"But when did you leave this gross slime on me?! I've been careful to replace all of the tools that were touched by you." Hal said as he struggled to come up with a new idea. He knew he was in trouble.
"When I was tossing you around earlier. After each impact, I would release small amounts of my Hedoro to attach itself to your visual blind spots. With you being so focused on trying to break my grip on your waist, sneaking Hedoro onto your back was an easy task. Now, burn away! The people of my clan fancied dragons as the beast most representative of fire, but I prefer a different monster. It's the hound of the devil himself. Its name is Cerberus and no being has ever escaped its flames of despair. Fire Style! Burning Cerberus Jutsu!" Wrath said as a giant three-headed torrent of flame erupted from his Susanoo.
It was so wild that it formed the shaped of the three-headed demon dog by the name of Cerberus. It then became tamed before bursting off towards Hal while burning everything in its path. Bystanders were catching on fire just by being in the immediate vicinity of the jutsu. Hal nervously gulped as the blast got closer and closer to him.
"Oh no," Hal managed to say as the blast made contact. It obliterated his mech suit and the building he was stuck too. The only reason Hal survived was because he poured all of his concentration into forming a force field that protected him from the heat and impact of the blast. When the jutsu was over, the building Hal was stuck to was reduced into a smoldering crater in the ground, any nearby civilians had been burned to death, and Hal was stuck in his force field trying to figure out what to do next.
'That was close. If It weren't for my shield, I would have been a goner. Wrath will pay for this. Wait, where'd he- oh no!' Hal thought as he was pressed further into the crater by the foot of Wrath's Susanoo.
Hal had to pour all of his concentration into his shield as the Susanoo began to repeatedly hammer-fist his shield with the intent of shattering it. But even with the enhanced power of his Katamarimasu, Wrath's Susanoo couldn't even make a dent into Green Lantern's shield. Becoming frustrated, Wrath summoned his Shinigami Scythe to use. The Susanoo put all of its strength behind the swing to destroy Hal's shield. To Wrath's dismay, not old did Hal's shield withstand the attack, but it also was able to make cracks into his scythe.
"I swear this fight is gonna give me a heart attack. I don't know if I can take it." Artemis commented.
"It needs to end fast. That fire attack by Wrath probably killed any of the stragglers that our friends weren't able to get to in time. If this continues on, the whole city is going to be destroyed. But the problem is that I don't know how GL is going to be able to do anything while trapped in that shield of his." Robin added.
"Wrath's figured out that as long as Green Lantern is in that shield he won't be able to attack. But the problem is that Wrath isn't able to break that shield with Lantern pouring all of his concentration into it. It's a stalemate until something happens." Itachi commented.
"Or someone." The three turned around to see that James had woken up. Carson was starting to stir as well. James continued on, "You need to go down there Itachi. You're the only one who can beat him for good. What are you waiting for?!"
"No, you can't go." Carson said as she finally had fully woken up. She saw the state of Itachi's arm and double down on where she stood, "You could die. Don't go."
"He needs to go. If he doesn't, a lot more people with die, Green Lantern included. Itachi can't just do nothing while he's still standing and able to help. Isn't that what being a hero is all about? Isn't that what you are fighting for?" James argued.
"You have no right to say that! Not after what Wrath revealed earlier about you creating him. This is your mistake and you want Itachi to die for it." Carson yelled as she rounded on her brother. She was furious with him.
"Carson, I only wanted-" She cut him off before he could finish his defense, "Stop it! Just shut up, okay! You only wanted to keep me safe right? Look around, James. Who's safe?! All of these people are dead because of how selfish you are. Dad would be so ashamed of you right now." She said with angry tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. Carson, we need Itachi to fight him for any of to survive. He's the only one who can. Wrath is the enemy, not me." James spoke.
"No, if what Carson says is true and you really created Wrath, then you are an enemy too. These people and our city are burning because of you." Artemis said while scolding him.
"We don't have time to argue amongst ourselves. We need to figure out a way to stop Wrath. That's all that matters. We'll settle the rest of this drama later." Robin said while tabling the argument. Artemis walked off in an angry huff as Carson ran to Itachi, but he turned away from her.
"I'm sorry." She said as she went to walk with Artemis. She started crying as she guessed Itachi's reaction was because he was angry with her for kissing Wrath. But in reality, Itachi just wanted to stay focused. Gotham couldn't afford to have him worried about personal matters while it was literally burning to death. The city was the main priority to Itachi. Thankfully, he and Robin could see water being used to douse the fires down so that meant his teammates were still trying their best to save the city. James stayed with Itachi and Robin as they watched the battle continue on.
"You know I'm right, don't you? You have to fight. You can win. You're stronger than Wrath." James said. Robin and Itachi both ignored him. Robin was trying to get in contact with Miss Martian to relay information to his teammates and coordinate a strategy. They were almost done clearing out the city. It's why none of them joined the battle yet. Once they secured the city, the Team could join the fight and finally defeat Wrath. But that plan depended on two important variables; securing the city quickly and finding a way to stop Itachi from joining the fight too soon. James being in Itachi's ear didn't help things at all.
Itachi saw a green light flying towards where Wrath and Green Lantern. He was curious what exactly that was.
"How many Green Lanterns are on Earth currently?" Itachi asked.
"Well, the main two are Hal Jordan and John Stewart. But we do have a third one, though he isn't on the most reliable list. His name is Guy Gardner. Why do you ask?" Robin asked.
"Because he's flying right into the battle. He'll be arriving there shortly. He could be what we need to stop Wrath." Itachi responded.
"I doubt that. Hal and John hate working with him because he still can't fully control the power of his ring yet. He could cause more harm than good." Robin commented.
"Well, we don't have another option except for me going down there." Itachi responded.
"You're not going down there unless the whole Team goes with you. That's the whole reason we're waiting up here to begin with." Robin strongly stated.
Itachi stayed quiet. In his head he had to make a choice; to either trust his teammates or trust himself. Right now, Itachi is choosing to trust his teammates to clear the city so that he can fight Wrath and end this nightmare finally. He just hopes that trusting them doesn't wind up being the wrong choice.
In the city, Wrath had Hal Jordan in the grip of his Susanoo and was currently trying to crack his shield open to kill the hero. He was using the Katamarimasu to harden both hands so that he could squeeze the shield open, but no progress was made. So he settled for keeping the shielded hero in his Susanoo's grip so that he could force him to watch as Wrath kept killing more people. Eventually, he figured that Hal would react after seeing more bodies drop and that would be when Wrath would kill him.
That was until a voice was heard in the distance as both Wrath and Hal turned their heads, "Have no fear! The Green Lantern is here!"
"Guy? Oh no…" Hal said as the other Lantern announced himself to Wrath. The clone wasted no time and quickly had his Susanoo try to knock Guy out of the sky, but the Lantern was too quick. He started flying around the Susanoo like a moth to a flame and started shooting the energy blast of his ring at Wrath.
He actually was damaging the Susanoo with his blasts, much to everyone's surprise. People were heard cheering from a distance as the Susanoo was dropped to a knee from the force of Guy's energy blast. Hal mentally cheered at seeing that. He knew that Guy was his best chance at surviving. Gardner flew away from the behemoth before Wrath could get a hand on him. It was increasingly infuriating Wrath by just how small and quick the target was in comparison to with Hal.
'In terms of power, Guy matches up with any of the Green Lantern Corps. He just lacks control, but that shouldn't be an issue with such a big target to hit. I just need him to remove this hand so I can go free and together we can defeat this monster.' Hal thought as Guy started to fly back to continue his assault.
"You murdered all of these people and attacked my fellow Green Lantern. That's unforgivable!" Guy said as he kept blasting the Susanoo.
Wrath started hardening the areas that his Susanoo was sustaining the most damage and using Hedoro to repair it. Wrath had to think fast or he would lose this fight. As he was thinking he did happen to notice a few difference between Hal's and Guy's power. For one, Hal had complete control over his ring and could do multiple things at once. Guy seems to only be able to fly and attack. That first made Wrath wonder about his level of control, but it wasn't until he saw the second thing that he really got curious.
'I'm sick of these Lanterns. Both of these fools are dead.' Wrath thought as he moved to test his theory. Guy came back for a third attack, but this time Wrath was ready for him. He'd used his Sharingan to memorize the attack patterns of Gardner and formed densely hardened armor around the targeted areas of his Susanoo. This way it would take way more time to make a dent in each spot. If Guy persisted with one area over another, he would leave himself open for a counterattack by Wrath. He did leave one unhardened area for Guy to attack; his Susanoo's head.
Guy grew frustrated with how little his blasts were doing and went for the Susanoo's head. Wrath, having predicted and planned for this, countered by using the one shield that Guy never saw coming. He lifted up the hand that held the force-field incase Jordan in it and used it to block the energy blast of Garner's ring. The results were quite interesting. A crack was formed in Hal's force field much to both of the Lantern's dismay. As more seconds passed, the crack got bigger and bigger until Wrath began to squeeze on it with the hardened hand of his Susanoo. Thankfully, Guy was able to shut off his energy blast before more damage was done which let Hal reinforce his shield so that Wrath couldn't break it.
"Guy, you idiot! Are you even watching where you're aiming?! Obviously if the head was the only unprotected spot that meant that he wanted you to attack it. Would you just think for once?!" Hal yelled as he finished repairing his shield. Had more damage been done to it, Wrath would have been able to destroy it and kill him.
"Sorry. I guess I wasn't thinking. It won't happen again. I'll hit him with an attack so strong that he won't see it coming." Guy assured as he changed his attack plan.
'Oh, I've already seen enough. He had trouble shutting the energy blast of his ring off. He needed two hands and about fifteen seconds of focused concentration to shut off a sustained energy blast. Interesting, it seems this Lantern doesn't have full control over his ring. The most valuable piece of the information I gathered is that the other Lantern's shield does have weaknesses. I know what I have to do next.' Wrath thought as he shifted his position inside of his Susanoo.
Itachi saw this from his spot on top of Wayne Tower and started getting concerned. He saw Wrath start to move within his Susanoo and began to worry what his clone was planning. He just knew that whatever it was he was planning, couldn't be good for either of the lanterns.
Guy got some distance and landed on one of the surrounding buildings to begin his counter-strategy. Gardner then began to fly in a giant circle while using the cover of the surrounding buildings. He made sure to stay close to the rooftops so that he could use them as cover to conceal his location. Gardner began firing off smaller but more controllable energy blasts at Wrath's Susanoo. The goal was to cut the behemoth down piece by piece until Hal could break free.
The Susanoo responded by dropping to a knee and clenching up tight to protect its weak spots, creating hardened armor on all of its joints to prevent dismemberment, and increasing the force and hardened armor being applied by the Susanoo's hands in its attempt to break Hal's shield. This was also to prevent Gardner from blasting the hands off of the Susanoo and freeing Hal. It made Wrath's Susanoo a stationary target and dared Gardner to shoot a fully powered energy blast at the beast.
For the most part, Guy's plan was working. Hal could see that the Susanoo was sustaining more damage than it could immediately heal from.
Hal was regaining hope as felt its grip on his shield start to weaken, 'This is great. Only a few more minutes and I'll be able to break free. Then we can take this creep out together. Wrath is so gonna- wait, where is he? Where'd he go?!'
Guy hadn't even noticed it yet, but Wrath had left the Susanoo. He was nowhere to be found and that thought terrified Hal. He couldn't even warn his friends because he was too busy still blasting a now empty Susanoo. Hal knew this was going to end badly was right when he saw the next series of events happen that would shake the Earth forever.
Guy was making another run around the buildings when out of nowhere a large blade appeared from out of the alleys in between the building and severely wounded him. Gardner's left hamstring and right Achilles tendon were sliced apart basically making Gardner immobile. He had to use his ring just to be able to stand up. But that wasn't even the worse of the bad news for him. Wrath had appeared on that rooftop with his Shinigami Scythe in hand and look of bloodlust in his eyes. The scythe dematerialized back into Hedoro before Wrath began the next step of his plan.
Guy then noticed Wrath's Susanoo begin to move again. It got off of its knee and stood up tall. It then maneuvered the trapped Hal so that he was now over its head and increased the power of its grip in trying to break the shield. The final step was the Susanoo opening its mouth as wide as possible as Hal just looked down in fear of what Wrath was planning.
"Is he…is he trying to eat me?! That psychotic monster! Well it won't work! My shield will break that thing's teeth and then I'll be free!" Hal declared. He still hadn't realized what Wrath was planning.
Guy seemed to be thinking the same thing as Hal, "Really?! That's your big plan? To eat Hal? Okay, let's see where that get's you. And people say I'm the idiot."
Wrath had charged a scared Gardner with a dangerous killing intent and Guy was virtually helpless thanks to his legs being sliced open by Wrath's scythe. Guy couldn't even fly because he was in so much pain that it was hard to concentrate enough to have full control of it. Wrath knew this as he rushed the hero. The Uchiha hit Guy with a right and left hook combination before ducking a right cross from Guy and countering with a powerful uppercut. Wrath then formed a blade that was connected to his right hand out of the Hedoro made from his scythe earlier. Guy knew that if he didn't do something fast, Wrath would stab and kill him. So the Lantern did the only thing he thought could save him; a full power energy blast.
'It should be fine since Hal is still trapped. I'm gonna blast this creep away and save the day!' Guy thought as he waited till the last second until he unleashed the strongest energy blast he could muster. Wrath, thanks to his Sharingan, was easily able to predict the attack and use it to his advantage.
Using his left hand, Wrath grabbed Gardner's wrist to redirect the blast out of his direction and put on where Wrath wanted it to be; Hal's shield. Guy, Hal and everyone watching were all terrified after this. They could only watch as the energy blast was slowly being shifted to Hal's shield. Even more cracks began to form as the energy blast slowly broke down Hal's shield. Wrath reveled in what was about to happen as Guy begged him to stop.
"What?! Hey…wait! No way! Stop…stop! Please STOP!" Guy begged as Hal's force field began to break. Wrath glared as he coldly replied, "I swore that I would devour the hope of the Green Lantern. And I am a man of my word!"
Hal had a look of defeat on his face as he saw his shield about to be shattered. He knew he was about to die and mentally spoke a prayer that somehow Wrath would be defeated. He looked down at his Lantern Ring and shed a tear, 'Find the next hero and make sure he goes farther than I ever did. Please protect the world I love. Goodbye.'
The shield was crushed to pieces and Hal along with it as the Susanoo used its hardened hands to crush him until he was nothing but a gush of blood and bones that spilled into the Susanoo's mouth. The sounds of Hal's screams and the sickening sounds of his bones being crushed echoed throughout the world. Thanks to the news helicopters recording the whole thing, the entire world had just witnessed the Green Lantern be killed and devoured like cattle. The last nail in the coffin of Hal Jordan was when his Lantern Ring emerged from the Susanoo, still covered in Hal's blood. It flew away to do what every ring did when its partner died; find a new and worthy successor.
Itachi and the others looked on in shock. Carson and Artemis started crying while James and Robin looked on in fear. Itachi's expression was the only one without emotion. The only thing that was noticeable different was that the air around him got extremely cold and his eyes started bleeding.
Back in the Watchtower, the Leaguers had just witnessed a teammate and friend in Hal Jordan be gruesomely murdered thanks to the Watchtower viewing screen. They were all angry, saddened, and heartbroken by that sight. John Stewart was the most furious and determined to make both Wrath and the Masked Stranger pay.
"Hal was my partner and my friend. He was a good man who only wanted to protect and save people. You murdered and ate him like he was an animal! I will never forgive you for this!" He flew in like he was shot out of a cannon to attack the Masked Stranger. John shot his energy blast at the Stranger but was countered by the Stranger's Chakra Mode enhanced speed to get to John's blind spot and hit him with the Steam Blast Jutsu. The attack completely incapacitated John as he suffered from 2nd degree burns on his back.
"I don't remember asking for your forgiveness. It doesn't feel good when it's one of your people being massacred. Now die like your useless friend." The Stranger coldly responded. Red Tornado and Doctor Fate were next as they tried a combination attack to try to defeat their advisory. The Stranger's head cocked to the side at the sight of Doctor Fate.
'You again. I remember you from when I first got here. You were annoying back then too.' The Stranger thought as the attack got ready to happen.
"Nrub yb erif dna enotsmirb!" The Wizard said as great hot flames were conjured and fired at the Stranger. Red Tornado added to the flames by using his wind powers to enhance them. The end result was a great tornado of fire surrounding the Stranger. The attack impressed the others and probably would have defeated the average villain, but the Masked Stranger was no average villain.
"Vapor Style! Steam Blast Jutsu!" The fire tornado quickly came undone as the flames died out. Everyone was shocked to see that the Stranger was completely unharmed. They were sure that the fight was over after that attack.
"My Steam Blast Jutsu isn't just an offensive move. It can be used as a defensive mechanism when applied properly. That fire technique was smart. It cut off my vision and was restricting my oxygen. It would have defeated most villains. But fire is fire after all." The Stranger explained.
The explanation went over most of their heads, all except the Flash. Being a forensic scientist, Barry knew all about what had just happened as he gave the run down to his teammates, "The creep used his steam to cool down and kill off the flames. Steam is pretty much just really hot water that has been vaporized. Water always beats fire."
"Not always. There are exceptions to that rule." The Stranger corrected. Aquaman had had enough and used his trident to manipulate the water in the air to form icicles that were aimed at the Stranger. The masked villain countered by using the Steam Blast Jutsu again.
'These fools never learn…or do they?' The Stranger thought as the clash of attacks causes the immediate area to be shrouded in mist. The mist was so thick that visibility was completely cut off. Then the final part of the counter was initiated at the Stranger was hit by a blur. The blur came back and hit the Stranger two more times before disappearing in the mist again.
'So Aquaman purposefully used that ice attack knowing that I would heat it up, thus causing this mist. And under the veil of this mist, The Flash is attacking me here. I bet the others are waiting for me to escape the mist to get the jump on me. It is an excellent multilayered attack. To use my own jutsu against me and turn it into their advantage was genius. I expect no less from the Justice League. They only made one mistake; leaving the Flash in here with me, a lightning style user. And we're surrounded by water now thanks to the King of Atlantis.' The Stranger thought while weaving hand signs.
The Flash came to hit the Stranger again. He threw a punch at the villain but it was caught and he was kneed in the stomach so hard that he keeled over in pain. Barry looked up to see the Stranger looking down on him before the villain lifted him up by the throat until they were face to face.
"You were the worst option for them to send in here with me. I've been around a long time…Barry Allen. I know that you got your powers by a bolt of lightning that struck you and energized every cell in your body. I can feel those energized cells racing even now. I knew exactly where you were the entire time and was only letting you hit me so I could assess your strategy. If you all had sent Marvel in here instead of you, perhaps the plan would have worked. Too bad you'll never know that. Lightning Style! Lightning Rod Jutsu!"
There was a flash of light and then a massive explosion as electricity was transferred from the Stranger to Flash. The amount of power was something Barry's body couldn't absorb, even with the electrified cells he possess. The explosion knocked him out and blew away the other League members that were waiting to ambush the Stranger.
The mist had dissipated and the result of the explosion was seen. Flash's body was completely fried. Even with his enhanced healing, this would take a while for him to recuperate from. Doctor Fate and Red Tornado also were blown away by the explosion as they were the closest the mist. They were both down for now. Only Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel were left standing.
The Stranger emerged from the smoke and eyed the three heroes. It was obvious that they were grasping at straws at figuring out a way to win this fight. The Stranger almost felt sorry for them…almost.
"The next time you send someone into a mist filled area, make sure that he isn't most electrically charged than the average human and that his opponent doesn't have the ability to use lightning techniques. With him running so fast and covering himself with the moist mist, combined with his already charged up cells, the Flash was nothing but a giant lightning rod. You three each have the power of the gods at your fingertips. I…hate…gods." The Stranger ominously stated as the air got cold.
The Stranger's Chakra Mode flared again as the villain sprinted forward and ran a chakra filled hand right through Aquaman's left shoulder before any of the three heroes could react. The king was only just able to maneuver so that none of his vital organs were damaged. Aquaman started coughing up blood and feel to his knees. Wonder Woman used her shield to try and knock the Stranger away, but it was blocked via the Stranger using Aquaman's trident. The Stranger took advantage and threw Aquaman at Wonder Woman to knock them away. The Stranger turned to attack Captain Marvel, but the demi-god used his speed to get the first strike in and grabbed the villain from behind and put him in a bear hug.
"Lightning Style! Lightning Rod!" The Stranger tried to get Marvel to let go, but the jutsu had no affect on him. Marvel smirked as he put more strength into the hold, "My cells aren't like Flash's. My lightning is a gift from the gods themselves. You're nothing in comparison to them! Now, it's time for you to get a dose of your own medicine! SHAZAM!"
Lightning shot down and struck the Stranger in the chest, severely wounding the villain. The Stranger started coughing up blood by the power of the attack, 'I need to stop this, fast. If I don't, I might lose. I can't believe I let myself be put in this situation.'
"SHAZAM! SHAZAM! SHAZAM!" One after another, lightning bolts struck the Stranger in the chest. Each time the villain was hit, the Charka Made the shinobi was using got weaker and weaker.
'I…refuse to lose. My son is depending on me to make this world a better place!' The Stranger pushed through the pain and used every ounce of strength left to loosen the hold of Marvel's bear hug. The Stranger created just enough space needed to headbutt Captain Marvel just as he summoned another bolt of lightning.
In an instant, The Stranger was able to completely break free, speed behind the demi-god, and hold him so that the bolt of lightning struck Marvel instead. It resulted in Captain Marvel being turned back into Billy Batson. Before the boy could say Shazam again, The Stranger put a hand over his mouth and lifted him up so that they were face-to-face.
"Oh, I don't think so. You were right. As I am now, I'm nothing compared to a god. But you aren't a god right now. You're just boy. A boy that's about to bleed." The Stranger promised.
Billy gulped in fear as he felt waves of killing intent coming off of the villain. The Stranger began to weave hand signs to execute a jutsu but was interrupted by a charging Wonder Woman, "Unhand that child, now!"
She leapt to the villain with her sword and had every intention of cutting the evil mastermind down. The Stranger saw this and used a roundhouse kick to knock her out of the air. It was stronger than the average kick because of the Stranger's Chakra Mode. The impact was so great that she lost her grip on her sword as she was sent hurdling into a wall. The Stranger caught the sword and used it to cut open Billy's throat.
The boy dropped to the group in a heap as blood spurt everywhere and Billy was left gasping for air. The Stranger dropped the sword in the forming puddle of Billy's blood as the boy's life was quickly fading. It looked like Billy was trying to say something, but blood was pouring out of his mouth. Only disturbing gurgling could be heard coming from the boy.
"How disappointing. You are still just a child and already you have to face death. All because these heroes weren't good enough to save you. They failed you. My son was around your age when he died. He had that same look of fear on his face that you have on yours. This won't be for nothing. Billy, it's okay. Your death will open the door to new life." The Stranger sadly said.
Suddenly, a great rumbling was felt in the Watchtower. The Stranger followed that rumbling to its source which was the metallic prison Superman was being held in. The metal started to literally boil and in a great display of power, Superman broke out and with a rage filled scream, flew at the Stranger. The Kryptonian tackled the villain completely through a wall and took them both out of the Watchtower. His eyes were red with rage as he punched the Stranger through space as the pair quickly were caught by Earth's gravitational pull. The anger of hearing his friend Hal die, coupled with what just happened to Billy sent Superman over the edge and made him snap. The caped hero was no longer holding back anymore out of fear for others safety. The pair was crashing down at great speed toward the final saga of this battle. The destination of their new fight is Gotham City, where hell had already been unleashed.
Before the others could get sucked into outer space too, the Watchtowers activated its backup outer hull to seal off the exposed superstructure. Doctor Fate quickly flew to Billy and immediately began using spells to stop the bleeding and revive the almost dead child. John was next to join as he used his first aid knowledge from his time in the Marines to assist in any way that he could. Manhunter kneeled down to use his powers to help keep Billy brain functional since it had already had been without oxygen for dangerously too long. One by one, the heroes recovered and all saw the state Billy was in. Some cried, others prayed, but Wonder Woman and Batman took it the hardest. Diana was shattered that it was her sword that did this to Billy and Batman was numb because this attack happened under his watch. He felt he should have seen this coming and because he didn't, Billy was on the verge of death.
They could all only hope that Billy survive this and Superman beats this villain like he does everyone else. But deep down they all knew that even if he did win, it wouldn't matter. The Justice League, and heroes as a whole, had already been broken.
"M'gann, this is Robin. Tell everyone to drop what they're doing and get to Wayne Tower. We need to get Itachi out of here." Robin ordered.
"But I thought-" Robin harshly cut her off, "We don't have time! Hal is dead! We need to move fast. We've fallen into Wrath's trap every step of the way. As much as it hurts, we have to leave. It's the only way of securing victory against Wrath. Just…just please get the others over here and be safe."
"I understand…I saw him die. We all saw when that monster…" M'gann couldn't even finish as she broke down crying.
"We can't mourn him now. We have to finish what he started." Robin said as he cut the radio off.
"Artemis, let's get ready to go. We have to leave the city. Itachi…hey, what are you doing?" Robin said as he saw Itachi standing on top of the guardrail gazing towards Wrath's direction.
Wrath was currently in his Susanoo, pondering on what to do next. 'All of this wasn't enough. I killed this city, I killed its people, I even killed the Green Lantern and brought despair to the world, but it still isn't enough. What will it take to bring out the real Itachi?'
As he thought that his Susanoo grabbed the broken Guy Gardner and began preparing to crush him like he did Hal Jordan. The hero fell into a great depression after Hal was killed and had basically given up. Just as he was about to kill him, Wrath felt a seismic shift in the atmosphere and knew exactly what it meant, 'Looks like he's on his way after all.'
Itachi had ditched his sling and put his Crow mask back on. The others begged him not to go because of his injuries, but his mind was already made up, "This city is dying because of me. It's people are dying because of me. Green Lantern….died because of me. And all I could do was sit and watch because of some plan. No more. I should have stuck to my instinct and fought him from the very start. It's all my fault. I'm to blame for this. I know what I have to become to defeat him…and so I will because running away isn't an option. That stopped when Hal Jordan died."
"No! You promised that we would do this together. That you wouldn't become that dark person again. We're your friends! Don't leave us, Itachi!" Artemis begged.
"If you do this, Hal's sacrifice will be for nothing. We need you to live and fight when you're at one hundred percent! This is what Wrath wants. To fight an injured you." Robin argued.
"I can't let another soul die for me...or because of me." Itachi painfully responded.
"Itachi, I don't want to lose you." Carson quietly said as she looked him in the eye. When he looked back, all Carson saw was blood and emptiness.
"…you already did. Itachi Uchiha is gone. I am the Crow and I…I will…" Itachi dropped from the rail and started freefalling. They all ran to the railing and could see Itachi was quickly plummeting towards the ground. Soon, sparks of red light started to engulf him as one singular thought drove his mind. 'I…will kill Wrath.'
And just like that, the sparks turned into an explosion as Itachi's Susanoo was formed already in its full humanoid form. It shrieked a ferocious war-cry as it dropped to the ground beneath it. The impact of the fall shattered all of the nearby glass windows and leveled everything in its path. In that moment, Itachi's Susanoo was reflecting what Itachi himself was internally feeling. It was the living embodiment of rage itself.
Wrath threw Gardner into a building as his Susanoo got in a defensive stance in preparation for Itachi. This was the moment he had been waiting for. What all of this death and destruction had been leading up to. Wrath calmed his mind as the shrieks of Itachi's Susanoo echoed throughout the city. They were filled with rage and suffering. He could tell that Itachi was getting closer and closer.
Wrath's Susanoo broke into a sprint when Itachi's Susanoo was in his line of sight. The fists of both behemoths were clenched and ready to be unleashed once they got close to each other. And as they prepared for a clash of titans, two more super-powered being were hurdling towards the city as a battle for justice has now turned into a battle for revenge. And with the news helicopters still overhead, the world would bare witness to the conclusion both fights. The battles of Superman vs. The Masked Stranger and The Crow vs. Wrath had begun.
That's it for this wild ride of a chapter. So much destruction and loss happened. RIP Hal Jordan, you didn't deserve to die like that. Now both Superman and Itachi have been pushed over the edge. Next chapter, both forces of nature will be unleashed and I can't wait to write it. Thank you to all who read, reviewed, favorited, or followed the last chapter. It was very positively received and hopefully this one is too. Let me know what you thought of all of the fight scenes and shock moments in the reviews/PMs. Also any ideas you all might have are welcomed as well. Until next time guys and gals!