Hey again, chapter 3 here, i dont own the characters... bonus point if you can guess who is keeping Richard busy...


As the darkness tore through the vast expanses between solar systems and the various celestial bodies they contained, its speed increased. It began to feel rage. It had been denied by the universe so long...

It was not fair.

The galaxy, and the universe and all with in would belong to it, and it alone. Its lust was insatiable.

Its rage would be channelled through its herald, and with its herald it would bring the universe and its greatest champions and villains alike to their knees, and then. Then it would destroy them all.

Together they would crush all hope. They would show no compassion. They would be bent to no one's will, their rage and right was absolute.

They would consume all in their path.

The universe would be theirs, and then and only then would it reveal its true self, and by then it would be too late.

**

In another darkness, in another place, a man, a woman, and a hero sat before a shimmering table, looking at images of various people, some friends, some just acquaintances, and yet they all shared a common bond. They all, each and every one of them, fought for what was right.

"Ok, Alfred, Selina, lets get the ball rolling." I said from the head of the table. "You both give two choices, who do you want back in Gotham?"

"Its that simple?" The woman better known to some as Catwoman asked.

"Of course, why make it difficult? So give me one pick Selina, whose it going to be?"

"Is that one person or one group?" She asked looking for confirmation, she knew how tricky we were sometimes, and I think she still hadn't adjusted to being in on the act, cos well, now she was.

I had invited her in, well I had pretty much ordered her in, but she took it well, or at least I thought she did.

"Either or."

"Ok then, no brainier I pick the Birds of Prey. Tactically they are pretty sound and they already know the layout of our operations." She said with a smile.

"Alfred, any objections?"

"None at all, Black Canary, Huntress and Oracle are a formidable team, whomever they bring with them will most probably fit in very well in our travelling circus." The group elder said with a smile.

"Ok the Birds are in. Alfred you're next pick."

"Then I pick the Batwoman, Kate Kane. Master Richard was very impressed with her and she travels in the same circles that Master Bruce once did, which may be advantageous. "

"Good, Selina, any objections?" A subtle shake of the head took us on to my vote.

"My pick is going to be an invitation." The others looked at me, slightly confused. "I'm going to invite a member of a certain group into the family."

"Uh... ok? Who teen wonder?"

Before I could answer the pictures on the table vanished to be replaced with a map of Gotham and a right light flashed over the Gotham Saving Bank. Quickly reaching over and tapping the table a list of details showed up.

Silent alarm tripped.

Police have been called.

Commission Gordon is en route.

One casualty, listed as needing EMT.

"What do we do?" Asked Selina looking over at me.

"Get to work." I said with a smile while pushing away from the table. "Alfred take the console and feed us any updated information." I continued while walking over to the locker room area.

"What do I do?" Selina asked following me.

"Come with me."

**

Moments later the Batmobile was tearing down the highway towards Gotham. At the wheel was the Boy Wonder known to the world as Robin, and at his side the protector of Gotham's East End, Catwoman.

"Nice to see you had a suit spare for me." Catwoman smiled as we shot down the highway at speeds that made passing cars more like a blur than an actual object.

"We cater." I said with a grin.

"Robin, I have been meaning to ask you. Why the new look?"

She obviously meant the new cowl and cape that I had started wearing.

"I was caught in an explosion a while back and was burned badly. I had to cover my head, and then I just decided to stick with it for now. Not like it?" I responded while swinging the car round a tight corner most cars wouldn't have made.

"No, its not that, you just look more like him." Catwoman said with a smile and a friendly squeeze of my forearm.

I smiled, I had to, what else could I do? Brake down in tears and scream? It was a compliment, and I took it as one.

We were now getting into Gotham proper, and I had to admit, I liked riding in the car with someone, made me feel not so alone. Alfred called in from the cave to tell us SWAT was planning on breaching the bank in five minutes. We had to be quick. Luck was on our side though, we were three minutes away and traffic was non-existent.

I tuned into the police frequency and we listened in as Gordon radioed in for more EMTs, he was expecting a slaughter. I think he thought this could be the time I no showed, or I didn't arrive in time. What could I say, I hated to disappoint such a good man. But he knew I wasn't him. I was good, but hell even Bruce slipped up once in a blue moon.

There was a crowd in in front of the bank so I headed another street over and cut down a parallel street and then turned in and headed the block back to the bank.

There were barriers and some cops standing around with their guns pulled.

Suffice to say they heard the tires screeching as the car shot round the corner, and these fine men and women were obviously some of Gotham's more experienced officers, they knew what to do. MOVE!

Catwoman braced herself as the Batmobile smashed through the barricade and came to a dead stop directly in front of the bank.

She looked over at me as our harnesses unlocked and began to retract into the car around us.

"No wonder your all crazy." She wasn't kidding. But she'd get use to it. It was fast or no point at all with us. We were pointless as a force if we didn't make the party in time.

The roof slid back and we both leapt out of the car. Catwoman who was on the side of the Bank jumped a little further and instead decided to land beside me.

The crowd cheered. The real good guys had arrived. The show was about to begin.

We moved over to Commissioner Gordon and he offered a hand.

"See your keeping new company Robin." He said with a smile.

"Any objections Commish?" Catwoman asked revealing the razor sharp claws in her gloves.

"Not at all, just good to see Robin not going it alone for a change." He said smiling. I swore I could see Catwoman blush under her goggles on her cheeks but I thought better of actually turning my head to look properly. Instead I just grinned and got on with it.

Hell how insane was this? Jim Gordon cracking jokes with Catwoman and shaking hands while a bank was being robbed fifty yards away. Guess he had a bit more faith in me than I realised. Or maybe this was what Gordon was like when the sun was up?

"We got word, its one man with a shotgun. Fifteen hostages, and one critical, she needs help Robin." Gordon said in a tone that let me know the pleasantries were over.

"Got it. Catwoman cover the entrance. I'm going in from the roof." A quick nod and we both went to it. In the background I could hear the head of the SWAT team complaining to Gordon about damn vigilantes. Its funny how SWAT rarely complains when we turn up and bail them out of bad situations, but hey, that's for another day.

Catwoman had reached the glass doors of the bank and was pressed against the brick work outside the bank and was looking in, while I was currently running to the side of the building.

"Robin the Gunman has all the hostages in the vault. Move quickly, he's heading for the main door."

"OK Catwoman, clear out of there if you think you're in any danger."

Picking up speed I simply jumped up and pushed off the wall of the neighbouring building and reached up for the ledge of first floor window of the bank, and pulled myself up and let myself in.

Quickly making my way through the back rooms I found the main area which looked directly down onto the bank floor. The gunman was cocking his shotgun, he was about to take a shot. I took a chance, the police intel could have been wrong. He could have had a partner, but now, so did I.

Jumping up on to the handrail over the area that looked down onto the bank floor I leapt into the air and spread my cape. The shadow fell on the floor perfectly and my reflection appeared in the glass doors in front of the thug de jour.

He spun at my sudden appearance and dropped to the ground and started screaming, while quickly forgetting about the gun. I yanked him to his feet and hooked him for good measure before throwing him through the door to land at Catwoman's waiting feet. I couldn't be sure, but he seemed happier outside with Catwoman and the hundred or so cops than inside the bank with me. Go figure.

Turning I ran to the vault and jumped over the threshold and landed at the side of the wounded person, it was a woman, she was conscious but seemed to be in pain. "What's wrong?" I asked looking at her as my cape draped over her body.

"Its coming!" She screamed between clenched teath.

Its coming? What's coming? I turned and lifted my cape and realised just what was coming.

**

"Does something trouble you Richard?"

I turned to look in the direction of the voice, and there she was. After all this time, I wasn't dreaming. It was really her, she was really here, wherever here was.

"Yes and no." I replied as the woman sat down. "Im glad I'm here, but I know I'm not really here, you said so yourself. Where am I exactly?"

"Your in limbo Richard. As much as we would like you to let you come to rest, we have been waiting for you to acknowledge your current condition."

"You mean that I'm dead?"

"Yes. But things have changed, and now, even though you have found peace in your current situation there is something we must ask you to consider." The woman said as her smile began to fade.

"We must ask you to consider two things, your past, and your future."

"I don't understand.." I began, but she put her hand on mine and she explained.

"Richard, your past as a hero has been recorded for all to see. You have saved many lives, over come great evils, stood tall in the darkness and always found a way to make sure the light prevailed. But now we must ask you to chose. Between your future and your future past."

" I don't understand."

"The Guardians of the Universe have made an error, and a great evil is coming."

"Surely they can stop it?" I began again realising the Guardians were the leaders of the Green Lantern Corps.

"Not this time my child. They have already started to fall, and soon you may be our only hope."

**

The darkness met its first challenge, a Daxamite.

It had searched out this one, this being of incredible power, and he wouldn't even know what hit him.

He was flying in close formation with a small group of from what a distance appeared to be nothing more than fireflies. This would not do.

It wanted him alone. Like it was.

Alone. So very alone. But not for long. Its herald was close.

It came up behind them and blew threw their formation and scattered some of the fireflies away, while others it just engulfed, their light it swallowed and devoured as if nothing was ever there.

Nothing but darkness.

Then its target.

It could see it.

"You have committed an act of aggression against the Green Lantern Corps. State your intent or you will be charged with your act of violence." said the Daxamite.

The darkness did something it had not done for thousands of years. It found a voice.

"Daxamite, your name?" It rasped.

"I am Sodam Yat of the Green Lan..."

"You contain the spirit of the Corps... excellent..." the voice rasped "your time has come."

Without any warning the darkness shot out and around the Daxamite and swallowed him whole.

The other Lanterns in the area watched in shock and horror as the Darkness seemed to contract around the Lantern codenamed Ion.

"Lanterns, lets get in there." One called as she brought her ring to bare, and let fire.

The ring glowed a bright firey green and the light shot forth from within. The beam smashed into the darkness and seemed to be having an effect, but the darkness was old. It was wise, it knew this would happen, and it had knowledge that no one else had, and then it happened, her ring began to be pulled in, in towards the darkness. She struggled and tried to pull back but it was helpless, she was going in.

Another Lantern reached around her with his ring, then when that had no effect he used his squid like tentacles, but it was no good, and now they were both going in. He was helpless to relinquish his grasp, he couldn't move, he was no longer in control, and for the first time since becoming a Lantern, he began to feel fear.

The darkness shot out from where the blast from her ring was trying to free Ion, and it sped along her beam to her ring.

Both Lanterns were helpless, and even now that they could no longer move, they still tried to fight. They fell back into their minds, they knew their rings were their last hope. But still the darkness was old, and it knew, it knew so much. It reached out, and it stopped them once more.

The Lanterns not engaged in battle could only watch on in horror. One Lantern screamed to another, run, run and tell the others. But the darkness would have none of this. It demanded silence. For now.

It was time.

The darkness reached out and grabbed the two Lanterns already in its grasp and engulfed them in one large mouthful. It was becoming bored. It had been to easy. Not nearly a good enough test.

The darkness reached out to grab the remaining fire flies, and like the others they fought. But their resistance was futile, it was empty in the end. It took them, one at a time, and engulfed them till it was alone.

The darkness, its hunger had been satisfied for now.

It began to move away and as it moved bodies began to drift out from within.

The first victim's eyes opened, a dull green light could be seen from within.

He began to mutter something...

The ... ... falls from the skies...

...the ... grows as all ... dies...

...it ... your ... and your demise...

...by his ... … the … shall rise!

His eyes began to get brighter. A green light began to form around his body.

But it was the wrong shade of Green.

It was then he noticed something.

He grasped his ring bearing hand in his other, and turned it on himself.