Hellfire & Brimstone
I don't own any properties in this story.
Rio stood away from everyone with a goblet in her hand as they all celebrated Wally's birthday. Taking a sip, Rio kept her eyes on Zatanna, who hadn't spoken to her since the incident on Roanoke Island, before looking away. Robin noticed this and went up to her after talking with Zatanna.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Peachy," replied Rio quickly.
"Why don't you just say you're sorry?" asked Robin as he looked back at Zatanna.
Rio remained silent as she took a sip again.
"Wally said you were crying after we got back to the cave and about the talk you two had before the mission," said Robin.
Rio sighed and her goblet vanished.
"New Year's Day," said Rio calmly, "That's the day my Speed Sickness is going to kill me."
"How do you know that?" asked Robin.
"I did the math," explained Rio as she watched Zatanna converse with Artemis, "While I had originally made that plan with Fate, I actually did grow to love Zatanna. I continued on with the plan though to make sure she wouldn't feel any pain in her heart when I'm gone."
"You've got to tell her," said Robin.
"No," said Rio as she glared at Robin, "T'nod llet annataz. Think of that as a guarantee that you won't say anything."
An alarm went off and both looked around with the rest of the team.
"Attention, team," said Batman over the intercom, "Suit up. Polar stealth. Mission briefing in five."
"Well, that's our cue," said Rio as her suit encased her.
(Five Minutes Later)
"Where are Flash and Red Tornado?" asked Robin.
"They already have their assignments," said Batman on the holomonitor, "A massive ice storm has paralyzed North America from coast to coast," a hologram of a flying fortress appeared between them and the screen, "Satellite imaging has spotted five flying ice fortresses, source unknown, that seem to be responsible and need to be stopped."
"Can't the Watchtower blow them out of the sky or something?" asked Kid Flash.
"What's a Watchtower?" asked Zatanna.
"I've got this one, Bruce," said Moon Knight with a sigh, "The League's orbiting HQ isn't armed with weapons. A bit of an oversight if you ask me."
"And with both Green Lanterns off world, I need all hands on deck," said Batman.
Moon Knight pulled up a clock on the inside of her helmet and paused.
"Miss Martian, Artemis, Zatanna, and Moon Knight," said Batman, getting Moon Knight's attention back, "Take the bioship and rendezvous with Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter at Ice Fortress #2."
Moon Knight and Zatanna gave quick glances at each other then looked away.
"Uh, how long is this going to take?" asked Moon Knight with genuine concern, "I've got to be at a thing in about an hour."
"It shouldn't take longer than that if we work quickly." Said Batman, "I know it's important for you to be with that girl but this is a matter of saving millions of people."
Moon Knight took a deep breath and quickly headed for the bioship. Climbing inside, Moon Knight took a seat and let her mask retreat from her face. Pulling out her phone, she dialed a number then waited.
"Hello?" asked Meena from the other end.
"Hey, Meena," said Rio, "It's me. Listen, something came up and I'm going to probably be a little late to see you go into surgery. But I promise that I'll be there when you wake up."
"Okay, Naruto," said Meena happily on the other end, "I'll see you then."
"See you then," said Rio before hanging up.
The other girls arrived shortly afterward with Zatanna taking the seat next to Rio. As the ship got on its way, could just feel the tension coming off Rio and Zatanna.
"So, Rio, how have things been with the Teen Titans?" asked Artemis cautiously.
"Pretty good," said Rio while glancing at Zatanna out of the corner of her eye, "We were actually going to start searching for Beast Boy and the Blue Beatle from that photo my world's Flash left for us."
Zatanna mumbled something under her breath and Rio glared at her.
"Something you want to say?" questioned Rio angrily.
"I said you're probably going to end up taking their parents away from them," chided Zatanna.
Rio broke off a piece of her chair and Miss Martian flinched.
"You just hurt the ship!" she yelled at Rio.
"She started it!" accused Rio of Zatanna.
"I started it?!" questioned Zatanna as her volume rose, "You're the one who started it by tricking my father into becoming Doctor Fate's host!"
"Well, I certainly wasn't going to be stuck with helmet hair for the rest of my life!" yelled Rio, "Besides, in case you forgot, if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have even had the chance to be a hero with the JLD!"
"Enough!" yelled Artemis at the two of them, "You two need to just shut up and focus on this mission so you can get away from each other when it's over!"
Rio stood up as her mask encased her face and headed to the back of the ship. Signaling Miss Martian to open it up, Moon Knight jumped out of the ship and flew on ahead toward the Ice Fortress where Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter were. Once in sight, the lasers of the fortress began firing at Moon Knight, who flew around and fired beams from her hands to destroy the AADs all over the place. As the fighting continued, Moon Knight kept an eye on the clock in the corner of her vision when she noticed that they had about twenty minutes left. A map pulled up and she gritted her teeth.
"Everyone, get back," said Moon Knight as she landed on the Ice Fortress, "I'm going to end this quickly."
Her eyes burned like raging flames as she roared under her mast while she placed her hands on the freezing metal. Cracks in the metal appeared from the immense heat coming off of Moon Knight before flames flew out of them. Yelling loudly, Moon Knight felt her suit heat up and began breaking a sweat.
Temperature regulation failing
Moon Knight continued to yell as her suit began melting while everyone else hurried into the bioship to escape the heat.
"Rio, you have to stop!" yelled Miss Martian over the coms, "You're going to blow the place up!"
Moon Knight yelled louder as her suit finally melted off before the Ice Fortress exploded. Everyone watched in shock, even Zatanna as Rio's body flew out of the explosion toward them. Miss Martian opened the roof of the bioship and fixed the density of it to allow Rio to land inside, unharmed.
"Are you alright?" asked Green Arrow as they all checked on her.
Rio's hand shot up and grabbed Miss Martian by the throat.
"Get… us… home… now," she said exhaustedly.
A moment later, the bioship flew back to Happy Harbor and landed right outside the hospital. Rio jumped out and ran as fast as she could up to Meena's floor to see her mother in her father's arms.
"What happened?" asked Rio, panting, "How's Meena?"
Meena's father remain silent and just hugged his wife tighter. Looking at Krypto, Rio watched as he rubbed up against her leg and whined. Rio fell to her knees and stared at the floor.
(Several Hours Later)
"You all did good work," said Batman to the members of Young Justice and Teen Titans, minus Rio, "Not only did we manage to stop the Ice Fortresses, but Kid Flash managed to get the heart to Seattle in time.
Recognized: Moon Knight B 99
Everyone looked toward the Zeta Beam platform and saw what appeared to be an angry Rio glaring at them.
"What's wrong?" asked Starfire.
Slowly walking forward, Rio kept her eyes on Batman as she passed through a seal, garbing her in black clothes and a black leather jacket with a chain wrapped over her shoulder.
"Uh, do those clothes seem familiar to anyone?" asked Cyborg.
The members of the Justice League got between Rio and Batman before they and everyone but Batman were thrown against the walls of the cave. Rio's eyes lit on fire while her body started smoking. Her flesh and hair burned off as she roared while her skull lit on fire. Ghost Rider took her chain off her shoulder then threw the end at Batman. Wrapping around his leg as he dove out of the way. Ghost Rider then pulled Batman to her then slammed the Dark Knight's head into the ground with a fist. Mounting Batman, Ghost Rider began punching him in the face without end.
"Get off of him!" yelled Superboy as he rushed over to pry Ghost Rider off but was thrown back by her monstrous strength.
"Rio, stop!" yelled Kaldur, "Stop! You need to let him go!"
Death arrived and covered her mouth in horror as she watched Ghost Rider beat Batman to a bloody pulp.
"Rio!" shouted Zatanna, "Look at me! Stop! Rio! RIO!"
"NARUTO, STOP!" yelled Death in a voice she didn't realize that she had used.
Everyone looked at her, as she quickly covered her mouth. But what surprised them most was that Ghost Rider had stopped trying to kill Batman. She looked directly at Death and growled before walking toward her. A black smoke came out from behind Death and pushed Ghost Rider through the wall and out of Mount Justice. Death went over to Batman then waved her hand over him, healing his wounds before vanishing.
Ghost Rider was dropped to the sand of the beach along the coast while Reaper reformed several yards away. Ghost Rider got up and glared at Reaper.
"Stay out of my way, Sasuke," said Ghost Rider with hatred laced in her voice.
"I knew I was right," said Reaper as he pulled out his shotguns, "You're exactly like Savitar."
"I'm nothing like him!" shouted Ghost Rider as she ran at Reaper.
Reaper fired at Ghost Rider, who shrugged off the gunfire and socked Reaper in the face. Reaper went flying back before skidding to a halt as Ghost Rider hopped on a nearby motorcycle, transforming it as she did, and rode off. Reaper hurried after her in his smoke form before but lost sight as the Rider vanished in the distance and the flames went out. Holstering his weapons, Reaper landed on the ground before gazing at the scorch mark in the street.
Death arrived in her library in the Void before she felt her abdomen start to burn. Lifting her shirt, she saw that the sigil from before had reappeared before she was grabbed by the back of the neck. Thrown into a bookshelf by the Ghost Rider, countless books fell on top of her before the Rider pulled her out by the ankle then swung her through a table. Coughing up blood, Death struggled to move before Reaper punched her in the stomach, forcing her to vomit its contents. Ghost Rider continued her onslaught before she was sent flying away by a shoulder tackle from Etrigan.
Looking up, Ghost Rider roared at the members of Justice League Dark that were there. Reaching behind her, a flaming black scythe appeared in her hand and she swung it. Constantine ducked the flames while Etrigan grabbed Death to shield her from them and Swamp Thing raised a wall of trees to shield them. The hellfire burned the trees to the ground and Constantine locked eyes with Ghost Rider.
"I can see why you were late to so many meetings," said Constantine to the Rider.
"Stand aside, John," ordered Ghost Rider.
"No," said Constantine with conviction in his voice.
"I really didn't want to have to do this," said Ghost Rider before clapping her gloved hands.
Pulling her hands apart, Constantine saw a small black sphere between Ghost Rider's hands. Throwing the sphere out the broken window. The entire place began cracking and breaking up as the sphere pulled everything into it. Constantine, Etrigan, and Swamp Thing vanished in a flash of light as Ghost Rider vanished as well.
"Are you okay, Bruce?" asked Wonder Woman as Superman helped Batman to his feet.
"I'm fine," said Batman before a flaming chain wrapped around his waist and pulled him into Ghost Rider's arms.
Staring into her eyes, Batman yelled in pain before he was limply tossed aside. Ghost Rider looked at Superman and beckoned him to charge her. Doing exactly that, Superman grabbed Ghost Rider and plowed through the ceiling of Mount Justice and soon left the atmosphere. Ghost Rider's flames went out and her body went limp. Letting go, Superman sighed at the life he'd just ended when a hand grabbed his. Surprised, he looked at Ghost Rider, whose flames had returned and was very much alive.
"Nice try," said Ghost Rider before Superman began feeling weak.
Superman plummeted toward Earth and, luckily, managed to land in the water, where Ghost Rider's flames still burned. Wrapping her chain around the unconscious Man of Steel. Ghost Rider trudged along the bottom of the ocean and walked up out of it. Walking up Omaha Beach in France, Ghost Rider pulled Superman out of the tide before removing her chain and using it to create a portal that she walked through. She stopped to flick her wrist and Superman coughed up the water as the portal closed.
"Gah!" exclaimed Constantine as he was thrown back for the fifth time by the magic of the sigil on Death's abdomen, "Why won't that thing come off?!"
"It's a language that only the Endless are supposed to know," said Death, through her injuries, "I've never even told Reaper about it because it's forbidden to reveal its existence to others that aren't the Endless."
"How forbidden is it?" asked Deadman.
"Nothing you need to worry about," said Death, "It's more like an unspoken rule. There's not really any punishment for the Endless telling other and other beings are allowed to learn the language but all record of its existence was erased thousands of years ago."
"Then how did Rio learn it?" asked Blood.
"It's funny what you can understand when you're on the verge of insanity," said a familiar voice from the doorway.
Spinning around, Constantine shot a beam of magic at a girl that looked like Rio, but who dodged at superhuman speeds.
"Ohy!" said the girl as she stood back up, "Watch where you're firing that thing!"
"How did you get in here?" questioned Constantine.
"I ran through the Speed Force and came all the way from Earth-9," said the girl like they should've known this.
"Earth-9?" asked Deadman.
"The name's Jesse Chambers," said the girl proudly as she struck a pose, "But you can call me Jesse Quick!"
Everyone was left speechless by this news and just as confused by it as well.
"Why are you here?" asked Death as Jesse ran up to her.
"Well, I wanted to see what the Multiverse was like and I wanted to meet the person who helped my parents with Savitar," said Jesse as she placed a hand on Death.
Death crackled with electricity for a moment as her wounds healed at abnormal speeds.
"But this was clearly the wrong time to come back to," said Jesse as she took a step back from the healed Death.
"What did you mean before about being insane?" asked Jade as she entered the room, "I just heard about what happened from Raven."
"Did you know that some people have actually had their most brilliant ideas when they were on the verge of losing their minds?" asked Jesse as she sped over to a chair and put her feet up on the table, "It's not really that the person is going insane. It's just their mind is working at speeds too fast to think of what's going on."
"But if the language is one belonging to the Endless, couldn't you or another member of the Endless remove that thing?" asked Cheshire as she looked at the sigil on Death.
"This was made using my attribute," explained Death as she shook her head, "The Endless can only remove the spells corresponding with their own attribute and since I have no power with this thing on me, the only person that could remove it is the one who cast it."
"So, we're basically screwed," said Deadman as Death got to her feet.
"Naruto isn't someone we can underestimate," she said with caution, "He's likely to try again and with more of a plan this time."
"Hope you enjoy your stay," said a prison guard as he shoved a brunette Rio into a cell at Bell Reve Prison then slammed the door.
"And here I thought my last cellmate cut into my beauty sleep," said Killer Frost from the top bunk.
"Dreaming of Dr. Stein, Crystal?" taunted Rio as she gave Killer Frost a cocky smile
"I'd watch your mouth if I were you," said Killer Frost as she hopped down from the top bunk.
Grabbing Killer Frost's wrist, Rio's hand ignited on fire, causing the villain to jump back in shock.
"I can get you out of here," said Rio with a smile, "All I ask is you help me get my revenge on someone. What do you say?"
"Is Batman going to be okay?" asked Robin as they looked at the comatose hero sleeping on a bed.
"He's just like you were when the Penance Stare was used on you," said Black Canary, "He's going to survive but unless Death fixes him, he's going to stay like this."
Zatanna turned and started going down the hall.
"Where do you think you're going?" questioned Black Canary as she and Robin turned toward Zatanna.
"To find Rio and put an end to this," said Zatanna before Black Canary grabbed her shoulder.
"You're not going anywhere," said Black Canary.
"Like hell I'm not," said Zatanna as she pulled her shoulder away.
"You're going to get yourself killed," warned Black Canary.
"And you're not my mother!" yelled Zatanna in Black Canary's face.
"You all are just idiots," said Reaper as he leaded against the wall while looking completely exhausted.
"Where've you been?" asked Robin.
"Hell," said Reaper as he continued to try and regain his breath, "Seriously. I've been in Hell. And… I managed to grab this."
Holding up his hand, a blue ball of flames appeared in his hand.
"What is that thing?" asked Black Canary curiously.
"Is that what I think it is?" asked Zatanna in awe.
"A soul," said Reaper as he finally managed to catch his breath, "More specifically, Naruto's soul. I literally had to fight Mephisto to get this. Needless to say that I'm not going to be able to go there anytime soon."
"So, you plan on putting it back where it belongs," said Robin as he realized the plan.
"Exactly," confirmed Reaper, "When a soul leaves the body and into the hands of a demon, the shell that remains becomes aggressive."
"That would explain her fits of rage lately," said Black Canary.
"That's not what caused him to snap yesterday," said Reaper, "That girl that he was watching over, this Earth's Meena Dhawan, passed away yesterday just as they were starting her surgery."
The eyes of the three grew wide in realization as Reaper moved toward the door to the room Batman was in.
"After I finish healing him as best I can, we'll go after Naruto," said Reaper as he entered the room to start healing the Dark Knight.
(That Afternoon)
Rio sat in the girls' side of the gym in Belle Reve with Killer Frost standing at her side. Looking through the glass, Rio glared directly at Joar Mahkent, A.K.A Icicle Sr.
"So, when's the plan of yours supposed to start?" asked Killer Frost.
"Now," said Rio with a sinister smile.
An alarm went off and everyone looked up.
"Everyone back to their cells," ordered the guards from above.
Everyone started to head for the door while Rio kept her face devoid of emotion.
"Punch me," said Rio quietly for Killer Frost to be the only one to hear.
"What?" whispered back Killer Frost.
"Punch me, now," said Rio with urgency in her voice.
Killer Frost did as she was told and socked Rio in the jaw, knocking her to the ground. Rio got back up and tackled Killer Frost to the ground. The other female convicts began gathering around and cheering/taunting as Killer Frost and Rio continued their fist fight. The sound of boots running toward them reached everyone's ears and both Rio and Killer Frost were shocked by their collars, forcing them to stop. The guards moved everyone away from the pair and dragged them off out of the room. As they finally managed to get to their feet and walk with the guards that dragged them off, Rio waited a second before staggering against the wall with a hand to her head.
"Move it!" ordered one of the two guards that were escorting her and Killer Frost.
Once he was close, Rio threw a ball of fire in the man's face, causing him to scream in pain while Killer Frost shanked the other in the throat. Tearing off her collar, Rio grabbed the guard's face and his entire body went up in flames before crumbling to ash. Killer Frost picked on the gun of one of the guards and the two ran down the hall.
In the security room, the lone guard saw Rio and Killer Frost run through the halls and went to push the alarm button but went limp as his neck had been sliced open. Scandal Savage quietly stepped out of the shadows with blood dripping from her gauntlet and a suitcase in her hand. Opening it up, she set the timer inside for 30 seconds then left the way she came.
Rio and Killer Frost made their way through a boiler room cautiously with Killer Frost taking point and Rio watching the rear. Hearing something behind them, Killer Frost spun around as Rio hit the dirt while Killer Frost fired the gun point blank in a guard's face. As they continued through the boiler room, Rio wrapped a loose chain around her hand before she felt something.
"What's wrong?" asked Killer Frost as she went up to Rio.
Shoving the villain aside, Rio threw the suddenly flaming chain forward, cutting through another guard and turned him to ash. Holding out a hand, Rio pulled Killer Frost back to her feet while dropping the chain.
"Sorry about that," said Rio before they both felt a strange sensation pass over them, Killer Frost's collar getting fried in the process.
"What was that?" asked Killer Frost as Rio tore off the collar.
"EMP," said Rio as she looked over her shoulder, "You got your abilities back just in time. We've got company. Split up and meet at the Warden's office."
The pair went their separate ways just as several guards managed to get into the boiler room. Moving about, Killer Frost slowly made her way through the boiler room, being careful to avoid the guards when one she didn't see shot her in the shoulder. Falling to the ground, Killer Frost clutched her shoulder as the guard moved in on her. Rio quickly appeared behind the guard and grabbed the back of his neck. The guard screamed in agony as he was set alight before turning to cinders. Helping Killer Frost up again, Rio looked around.
"On second thought, we better stay together," said Rio as she picked up another loose chain, "It'll take a while for your powers to return to full power. The other members of the team shoulder be clearing out the guards and other prisoners."
"Other members?" questioned Killer Frost.
"Why do you think that I willingly came to Belle Reve?" questioned Rio as they moved through to the exit of the boiler room, "It was to recruit you for a special team. Welcome to the Secret Six, Crystal Frost."
As a group of guards made their way down the darkened hall, a small figure of about 12 or 13 appeared as the lights flashed with her getting closer and closer each time the lights shut off. As they lights continued flickering on and off, the girl surprisingly took out the guards with ease. Outside, several police helicopters began making their descent when a light flew between each of them and they crashed into the ground. Secret landed on the roof them phased down into the prison. When several cars came barreling down the road, a bullet hole went through the windshield of each one and they drove off the road, exploding when they drove into the ditches on either side.
"Targets: Neutralized," said Deadshot calmly as he stood back up from his position two miles away.
Stopping at a doorway that led to the prison cells, Rio looked to her left and clenched her hands.
"What is it?" questioned Killer Frost.
"Get to the roof," ordered Rio as she started down the hallway, "I've got something I need to take care of."
Walking into the men's side of the cell block, Rio shoved the rioters and guards in her way over the railing before stopping at an open cell.
"Joar Mahkent," said Rio with venom in her voice, "I thought you'd be out here."
"Fighting is for the young," questioned Icicle Sr. as he read from a book, "Besides, with Belle Reve in chaos, it's only a matter of time before the Justice League arrives to bring order to things."
"Two years ago in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island," said Rio as her face contorted in rage while Icicle Sr. looked up from his book, "You were robbing a bank transport one night. During the ensuing chase, your freeze gun caused a car to flip."
Icicle Sr. sat up slowly with appearing to be curious about what Rio was saying.
"Inside that car, was a six year old girl," said Rio as she clenched her fists, "She was on her way home from a doctor's appointment for her heart condition but was paralyzed from the waist down."
"Yeah," said Icicle Sr., "I remember that. I also heard she survived."
"She died the other day from complications of her paralysis affecting her heart condition," said Rio as her eyes burned with anger, "That's first-degree murder."
"So, what?" questioned Icicle Sr. as he got in Rio's face, "I was sentence to life in prison. I'm stuck here! It wasn't my plan to go after that transport."
"It wasn't your plan?" questioned Rio, "Whose was it?"
"I don't know," said Icicle Sr. after a moment, "We were contacted anonymously. If you really want to know, your quarrel isn't with me."
"Who does?" questioned Rio a little more forcefully.
Icicle Sr. remained silent before glaring at Rio.
"I don't know and never will," said Icicle Sr., "Because every member of that crew ended up burned."
"No," said Rio as she shook her head, "Not all of them."
Her eyes ignited and Icicle Sr. backed away fearfully.
"Easy," said Icicle Sr. as he backed against the wall as Rio slowly entered, "You don't want to do this."
"Yes," said Rio as she nodded, "I do."
Her flesh burned off as she gave a roar, turning into Ghost Rider.
"No!" yelled Icicle Sr. as he shielded himself, "No! No! NO!"
An instant later, flames flew from the cell, causing everyone on both sides to stop as the glass shattered. Ghost Rider stepped out of the burning cell and everyone ran into their cells then closed the doors as Ghost Rider passed. Making her way to the roof, Ghost Rider removed her chain and Killer Frost raised the gun she had but Deadshot forced her to lower it. Ghost Rider created a portal with the chain and they all walked through as rescue workers and more law enforcement arrived.
(Two Hours Later)
The entirety of Young Justice, Teen Titans, and Justice League Dark watched as Icicle Sr.'s chard and burned body was removed from the cell on a stretcher with a sheet covering it. Artemis hurried over to the railing and vomited over the side as one of the arms slipped out.
"He was supposed to die ten years from," said Death as she slumped against the wall, "While he couldn't leave, he was to be a gentle force that kept the peace here in his last year."
"I just don't understand how Rio could do this," said Starfire as she tried to make sense of all this.
"Something you want to tell us, young man?" asked Blood of Robin.
Everyone turned to him when Raven reached out toward Robin, a chain appearing when she clenched her hand.
"When did this happen?" she asked the boy wonder.
"Before we went off on that last mission," confessed Robin.
"I have to admit that this is a strong enchantment," stated Constantine as he took the chain.
Zatanna muttered something under her breath causing the chain to shatter.
"Rio's going to die on New Year's Day!" exclaimed Robin as soon as the chain shattered.
Everyone looked at Death, who shook her head.
"Naruto added to that sigil on him so I don't know anything about when he'll die," stated Death.
"Rio also said that she went through with that deal with Fate so you wouldn't miss her," said Robin to Zatanna.
"What?" questioned Zatanna.
"Naruto was always the kind of person that prepared very far in advance for things," explained Death as she leaned on the railing, "He once told me that he always comes up with over a thousand different possibilities that could happen from a situation. I thought it was a joke at the time but it would seem that he was serious."
Pointing across the room to an empty cell, everyone looked as Death lowered her head.
"The Ghost Rider is able to tell when people die," said Death sadly, "Crystal Frost is going to die soon. This is just a guess but… I think Naruto freed her to let her get some closure."
"Got it!" exclaimed Cyborg happily as he looked at a holographic screen on his arm.
"Got what?" questioned Kaldur.
"Rio had heavily encrypted her own server and I've been trying to get in since she went all flaming skull on us," explained Cyborg as he accessed the data, "It seems like she was making another team."
Turning to a wall, Cyborg projected the files against it.
"Deadshot?" questioned Deadman, "Why him again? Shouldn't he be with the Suicide Squad?"
"There are plans here for creating an extremely small EMP wave to disable microscopic electronics," stated Kid Flash, "That must be how Deadshot is still alive."
"Hold on," said Miss Martian as she looked over another file, "There's a file here on Deadshot's daughter."
"Why would Rio have that?" asked Superboy.
"Her birthday," said Death, "Her birthday is today. Naruto probably got Deadshot to join by saying that he'd help him see her today."
"Zatanna, there's a file about Greta Hayes here," stated Artemis as Zatanna hurried over.
"This seal in the file…" said Zatanna as she looked at a picture of a chalk drawing, "It's supposed to drain the magical abilities of those it's used on."
"Doing that to the girl with strip the girl of her powers as well as bring her back to life," stated Death.
"Cassandra Cain," read Robin as the next file was brought up, "The daughter David Cain, a member of the League of Shadows, and Lady Shiva, notorious hit woman that's highly skilled is martial arts."
"Says here that Rio's teaching her how to… talk?" questioned Swamp Thing.
"Cassandra was born with the intent of raising her from birth to be a bodyguard for Ra's al Ghul," stated Death, "Her father completely cut her off from the outside world and deprived her of speech and learning to read in favor of teaching her how to fight and ready the body language of others."
"That's horrible," stated Cheshire.
"Naruto is probably teaching her to do all those things that her father didn't teach her," suggested Death as she twirled her hair sadly.
"But this one doesn't make any sense," said Cyborg as he brought up the final bit of files, "Scandal Savage, the daughter of Vandal Savage."
"You've gotta be kidding me," said Kid Flash, "Savage has a daughter?"
"Vandal killed her lover," said Death as a flask appeared in her hand and she drank from it, "Naruto is likely helping her find a way to kill her father in exchange for her help."
"So, Rio is doing good deeds while being bad?" questioned Raven.
"I don't think that Rio is evil," said Jesse as she appeared with Reaper.
"What do you mean?" questioned Kaldur.
"Naruto is most likely in control of what he's doing," suggested Reaper.
He looked off to the side and paused.
"Something wrong?" asked Cheshire.
"About fifty criminals just died within the span of about ten seconds," explained Reaper.
"What?" asked Miss Martian in surprise.
"He's not wrong," said Death as she took another swig from the flask, "While this thing may render me mortal and strip me of most of my powers, I can still sense death all over this universe."
Sighing, Death willed the flask away and turned to the group of heroes.
"There's one sure fire way to get Naruto to come out of hiding," she stated before looking at Reaper, "I'm sorry, Sasuke, but you're forbidden from interfering in this."
Secret fell to the floor in a cold sweat that washed away the chalk drawing she was on top of. Looking up at the others, Rio tossed her a large wad of cash and a cell phone before leaving with the others.
"What did you just do?" asked Killer Frost as Rio made a portal that led to another place.
"I gave her back her life," said Rio as they all went through the portal.
Arriving at inside the hall of an apartment building, Rio led everyone to a door.
"Where are we now?" questioned Scandal in an annoyed tone.
"Giving Crystal some closure," said Rio as she knocked on a door.
The door opened to a man that appeared to be middle aged and froze in shock at the sight of Killer Frost, who was equally surprised.
"Dr. Martin Stein," said Rio as she pushed her way inside but kept a firm hand on Killer Frost's wrist, "I believe you and Crystal have some issues to talk about."
"Why did you bring her here?" questioned Stein as he slowly backed away from Crystal.
"You don't have to worry about her killing you," assured Rio as she went to the fridge and checked what was inside, "She's going to die soon anyway."
"What are you talking about?" questioned Killer Frost as she took offense from the question while Scandal, Deadshot, and Cassandra stood by and just watched.
"You're a heat vampire and that cell you were in was designed to not allow heat inside," said Rio as she grabbed some beers and tossed a can to Deadshot and Scandal, "You're even taking heavy breaths right now and can barely stand."
Killer Frost gritted her teeth and knew that Rio was telling the truth. She was currently using all her strength to keep herself standing while she couldn't seem to catch her breath. Before anyone could say anything else, a ringing went off and Dr. Stein went over to the phone.
"Hello?" he asked as he picked it up before turning to Rio, "It's for you."
Raising an eyebrow curiously, Rio took the phone from Dr. Stein and held it up to her ear.
"Yes?" she asked cautiously.
"Naruto?" asked an all too familiar voice that caused Rio to drop the phone.
Smashing the device with her foot, Rio pulled the chain off her shoulder and made a portal with it.
"Make sure she doesn't kill the good doctor," said Rio as she stepped through, "Cassandra, stay."
The portal closed and everyone looked at each other.
Ghost Rider arrived at a playground in Central City that was very similar to the one she used to play at when she was a child and saw a lone person standing there. She was about 23 years old and appeared Indian with long black hair.
"Naruto…" said Meena as she turned around to face Ghost Rider.
Ghost Rider walked up to Meena cautiously and gently cupped her cheek. Then, Ghost Rider's hand wrapped around her throat and Meena turned into Death.
"Big mistake using that face," said Ghost Rider before she was blasted away by Cyborg's arm cannon.
Reverting back to human form, Rio laughed as Death faded away quickly while Young Justice and the Teen Titans got ready to fight.
"Clever," commended Rio with a smile on her face as she got up, "Using my wife's face on an illusion to try and trick me. Very clever."
"Where's the rest of your new team?" questioned Kaldur.
"Well, young Greta is alive again," stated Rio as she stretched her shoulder, "Everyone else is busy making sure that Crystal doesn't kill Dr. Stein."
"This ends now, Rio!" declared Connor with a scowl on his face.
"Oh, my dear Connor," said Rio as she raised her hand, "Did you think I wouldn't have prepared for this?"
Snapping her fingers, the ground began to violently as something burst out of the ground behind her. A large robot that stood at about 8 feet tall with several glowing red lines for eyes welding a giant sword rose up from the ground behind Rio.
"I'd like you all to say hello to Ascalon," said Rio as she pointed at the team, "Ascalon, those people are sinners that have defied God."
"Prepare for excommunication," said Ascalon as Rio pulled the chain off her shoulder and ignited it.
Ascalon charged and swung his sword, scratching Artemis with the tip. However, Artemis fell to the ground screaming in pain.
"Aretmis!" called out Kid Flash before a flaming chain wrapped around his neck then threw him into a metal pole, knocking him unconscious.
Rio quickly wrapped the chain around the Teen Titans and threw them into Kaldur, knocking them all to the ground. Superboy, meanwhile, charged Ascalon and punched him. But Ascalon remained where he was an undamaged before swatted Superboy aside.
Rio then turned to Miss Martian and Zatanna before she was thrown back by a blur. Getting up to her feet, Rio took deep breaths as she and Jesse Quick met each other's eyes. Chuckling, Rio snapped her fingers, causing Ascalon to break off his assault and target Jesse Quick. Jesse sped around Ascalon before throwing lightning at the robot. Ascalon shook as he gave off small sparks before collapsing to the ground.
"Very good," commended Rio.
"Thanks," said Jesse with a smile, "Mom taught me quite a bit."
"Well, she is my mother's doppelganger," said Rio as she picked up her chain and wrapped it around her shoulder.
"There really no way that I could convince you to stop all this?" asked Jesse.
"Nope," said Rio as she continued to smile.
"Very well, then," said Jesse as she sped forward.
Rio sidestepped Jesse and managed to tap her on the shoulder. Suddenly slowed, Jesse tripped and flew into the monkey bars, crushing them.
"When a being loses their connection to the Speed Force, they can generate a polarized charge that can negate the speed of a Speedster temporarily," said Rio as she went up to the injured Jesse and knelt down in front of her, "You can only do it once and it only works on those that don't share DNA."
"But we're doppelgangers," grunted Jesse in pain.
"We may be doppelgangers but doppelgangers don't share the same DNA," said Rio as she stood up, "You weren't born with Speed Sickness. I was."
Turning back to Zatanna and Miss Martian, Rio clapped her hands and Ascalon vanished in a flash of light.
"I really didn't want to have to do this to you two," said Rio as she reached for her chain.
"Then do it with me," said Death as she appeared with Reaper several yards away.
Everyone that was still conscious looked toward Death as she approached Rio with a glass bottle in her hand.
"I didn't think you'd actually come," said Rio as she and Death circled each other.
"Wherever there's death, I'm there to collect their souls," said Death as she tossed Rio the bottle.
Catching it, Rio looked at the blue wisp inside before glancing at Reaper.
"You really think that this will make me stop?" questioned Rio.
"It's who you are," said Death as Rio opened the bottle.
Drinking her soul, Rio's body gained a faint blue aura before it subsided. A moment later, Rio pulled the chain off her shoulder and ignited it.
"You took my parents' lives," said Rio angrily, "You took my grandfather's life! You took my wife's life!"
Rio's flesh and hair went up in flames, leaving her as Ghost Rider.
"It's time you lost someone important to you," said Ghost Rider as she swung the chain away from everyone.
This confused all of them as to why she did this before the chain wrapped around Destruction, who became visible and yelled in pain as the chain wrapped around him. Ghost Rider tugged the chain and pulled Destruction into her hands.
"Brother!" exclaimed Death as Reaper moved in.
Ascalon reappeared, knocking Reaper away with a swing of his sword. Pulling Destruction close, Ghost Rider whispered something to him before a blade ran him through. Time seemed to pause as Destruction slowly fell to the ground as he slid off the sword. It started to rain as Rio looked down at the dying Endless.
"BROTHER!" yelled Death as she ran to Destruction's side.
Destruction shakily reached up to his sister with a blood covered hand and managed to barely touch it before it fell back to the ground, lifeless. Death cradled her brother's body as Ghost Rider turned back into Rio while everyone couldn't believe what they had seen. As the rain trickled down, Rio gave Death a detached look of mourning.
"Death isn't something you can just go around handing out," said Rio, "The power of life is something that can never be handed out to people unless they understand the burden it carries. You saw how death affects those around you but you've never truly experienced it yourself. Even when Dream died, you felt no sense of attachment to him. But you did with the brother you discarded. Guess those years we spent together finally meant something."
"You… You knew?" questioned Death as she looked at Rio in shock.
"Since Savitar returned the first time," said Rio as she sat down next to Death while everyone began to recover from the battle, "When I first encountered Sasuke on this Earth, I could feel something familiar about him but I didn't know what it was until I saw you."
"Naruto… I'm so sorry for what I did," apologized Death as she cradled Destruction's head.
Placing a finger on the body of the dead Endless, Rio turned it to ashes before hugging the crying Death.
"What I did to you yesterday was for leaving me and the kids that I'll never see again," said Rio as she removed the sigil from Death's abdomen, "Destruction was to teach you a lesson about your abilities. Life isn't something that should be taken without remorse. You already know what happened to me with that."
Rio stood back and created a portal with her chain and Ascalon went through.
"Where do you think you're going?" questioned Starfire as she tried to get into a fighting stance.
"A funeral or two," said Rio as she pulled a sigil off her body then allowed it to fade into the air, "Bruce will be back to normal tomorrow morning."
Stepping into the portal, Rio looked back at Death with tears running down her face before turning to Zatanna as the portal closed behind her.
Rio entered Dr. Stein's living room and found Killer Frost lying on the couch, looking like she was in pain.
"She got worse after you left," explained Dr. Stein as Rio went to sit on the coffee table next to her.
"I'm sorry I didn't get you out sooner," apologized Rio, "I could've saved you before then."
"It's not your fault," stated Killer Frost as she began aging rapidly, "It would've happened to me even if you hadn't saved me."
"Then… at the very least, let me put you out of your misery," said Rio as she placed a hand over Killer Frost's, no, Crystal Frost's eyes as she began crying.
"Martin," said Crystal softly as she continued to cry, "I love you."
Noticing Death was leaving with a light blue wisp in her hand as she cast an apologetic smile at Rio, said girl turned Crystal's body to ash as everyone lowered their heads.
(The Next Day)
Rio arrived at Happy Harbor Cemetery in her Ghost Rider attire but not as said hero and walked up to the gathering of people. Hugging the parents of the person that was having their funeral today, Rio placed a single blue rose on the closed casket before taking a seat in the back. As the service got underway, Rio looked up and saw Death standing with the young Meena on her shoulder. Meena waved to Rio before the pair faded away. A few moments later, the coffin was lowered and Rio got up with several other people then began shoveling dirt into the hole. Once that was done, everyone started leaving while Rio just stood there, looking at the gravestone.
A hand gently held Rio's and she looked to see Zatanna and the other members of Young Justice as well as the Teen Titans and Justice League Dark. Pulling her hand away, Rio went over to her motorcycle and rode off down the road while Swamp Thing raised grass and several flowers of the grave of Meena Dhawan.
As she went down the road, the wheels of Rio's motorcycle were encased in blue flames as she sped up. Heading out of the city, Rio's flesh began burning off until she became the Ghost Rider, but with blue flames.
"Alright," said Caitlin Snow as she removed her hood when she entered the hut, "Let's get everything set up."
As she went about helping several of the scientists unload some boxes, Scandal Savage cast a glance at her before holding up a corner of her jacket's collar.
"Target identified," she whispered before she continued to unload the equipment.
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