Author's Update: I'm gonna use 3 dots in the middle of the story (…) as a way to cut to action that's happening in the same location but just another area. You'll see what I mean.


Batcave

As Bruce sat at his computer, monitoring the separate missions as much as he could, he couldn't help but think that things were going too smoothly. Some would call it his old man's paranoia but he had a knack for knowing when even the best laid plans were about to go wrong. No matter what was happening he always tried to stay even, don't get to high or low when something happens because you could just be one second away from another disaster. His ability to keep cool under pressure and make level headed decisions is what made him an indispensable tool, both for the Justice League and Gotham.

When the world government was formed every state, city, and country was expected to simply accept the rule of Vandal Savage. Most of them did, but the Batman's city stayed resilient and vigilant. Bruce saw through Vandal's use of heroes and metahumans as scapegoats for the world's problems. He had already made plans to protect Gotham from invasion, though he expected the invaders to be extraterrestrial or from the League of Assassins. He never expected having to repel advances from the government. Eventually an alliance was formed with the surrounding cities of Metropolis, Bludhaven, and Central City. They all fell under the Batman's protection. Gotham featured the most protection and the safest environment, the other cities had constantly been under siege to the point where it had become unsafe to live in certain districts.

Gotham functioned as a host city for the refugees of the cities when they were under heavy attack. But Vandal was willing to play the long game when it came to this war deciding to use attrition to his advantage. Bruce was certain he had something under his sleeve, some trump card that would effectively end his resistance. With the re-emergence of Superman and the Justice League he could finally focus his effort on an endgame to free the world from Savage's control. A certain hopeful optimism had returned to his stoic demeanor, with the help of his old and new allies this battle could be won. Oracle was keen to remind him not to count his eggs before they hatched however.

"I'm just saying I'm worried."

"I know Oracle, but there's no use being worried when we don't even know what to worry about yet."

"No contact from Nightwing and Robin or Superman. Last I heard from Wonder Woman's group they had the Flash and were exiting. We should have had updates by now Bruce."

"We are stretched thin. Once the evacuation team comes in we can discuss our options."

"This was a shot in the dark Bruce. We should have waited."

"I think 10 years was long enough."

Oracle sighs "I know it hasn't been what we wanted, but we could have taken more time to…".

Alarms start sounding and a view of the water entrance to the cave is brought up on the batcomputer. All it catches are the underwater streams of something moving much too fast to be noticed by a camera. A resounding splash echoes through the cave as something exits the water in the cave and lands on the platform Bruce was on. The Atlantean princess has arrived.

"Greetings Batman, I carry a message from Atlantis and offer my aid in your battles against Vandal Savage."

"You're late."

Serenity quirks her eyebrow upwards at him "I have an excellent reason to be."

Bruce replies "What's the message?"

Serenity takes her ponytail to try and get some of the water out resulting in a small puddle on the floor. She is slightly annoyed yet also approving of the Batman's straightforwardness.

"Vandal Savage is receiving aid from Apokolips in the form of boom tubes and he also appears to have a red lantern on his side as well."

Oracle responds, "Well that's bad news."

Serenity looks at the screen where the force is emanating from "Who speaks?"

"Oracle at your service your highness."

She nods in approval, unsure if Oracle can see her "I have heard great things about you and I look forward to working with such a renowned Justice Leaguer."

"Aww shucks, you're making me blush."

Bruce is stuck in deep thought, his enemy is slightly more loaded with threats then he realized and the possibilities are endless. Apokoliptan tech was some of the most dangerous in existence and in the wrong hands, could destroy cities or even planets. The presence of a red lantern almost certainly meant that Alan was about to receive some unwanted attention. One thing is certain, the Justice League is in for a rude awakening.

"Where is the evacuation team Oracle?"

"Right here." Catwoman, Red Hood, Spoiler, and Orphan have entered the cave with Lara flying casually overhead.

"All civilians accounted for and safe boss man" announces Spoiler.

Red Hood interjects "Who's the little mermaid?"

Serenity scowls at him "You would do well to address Atlantean royalty with more respect."

"Did they not teach you about cleaning up after yourself in charm school princess?" He gestures to the various trails of water and puddles she left upon her entrance. "We just cleaned these floors." Orphan smacks him upside the head. "Ow!" He rubs the back of his head and she gives him look that he instantly recognizes despite her full masked cowl.

"Sorry for him, he gets his grumpiness from the Bat" Catwoman gestures to Bruce "I'm Selina and this is our functionally dysfunctional family, minus a few members, nice to finally meet you."

Serenity takes her hand to shake it "The pleasure is mine."

"How's Atlantis?"

"We are motivated, finally, to move against Vandal Savage and the world government."

"Better late than never, what changed?"

"The attempted assassination of the King and attempted invasion of Atlantis."

Bruce is interested now "He went after Arthur? Why?"

"Why does a fearmongering tyrant do anything? He wanted more power and through Atlantis he would have it."

"The move seems desperate for him, why would he engage Atlantis if we are still a thorn in his side?"

Another alarm sounds and the computer now shows the outskirts of each city, which are now surrounded by a fortified line of world government droids. Many of them are the standard kind but a few have a large antenna and satellite dish attached to their backs.

"I think I just figured out why we haven't gotten any contact Bruce."

"What is it Oracle?"

"All signals coming in or going out of our area are being jammed. We are both deaf and mute. I'm willing to bet its because of that line of droids. I'm not even getting transponder locations anymore"

Bruce seems to be deep in thought, but in truth he already decided what to do. Everyone looks to him as he rises from his chair, there's only one way to respond to this in his mind.

He commands "Computer, prepare the Beyond Prototype."


As Red Robin piloted the vehicle that Alan constructed hastily Barda and Wonder Woman attended to the Flash. They had not gotten very far before he finally awoke.

As he laid partially in Wonder Woman's arms and on the floor of Alan's construct his eyes opened suddenly and he stood up faster than anyone could visibly see.

"Wha- Where am I?" A quick look around results in his search ending with an old ally.

"Diana? What happened? I was running and then…"

Flash's face starts to form a grave look as he remembered that he was supposed to be running for a very important reason.

"No! Take me back! They have Linda, they'll kill her if I don't-" Wonder Woman walked to him calmly during his panic and places her hands on his shoulders.

"We are rescuing her as well, Nightwing and Robin may have already liberated her. Please sit." A chair forms behind Wally as he goes to sit down.

"Whoa" Wally looks around and notices he is surrounded by luminescent green walls and his gaze rests on a familiar figure, his adopted son.

"Al?"

"Hello Wally, glad to see you're okay."

"Is this you?" Wally gestures to the vehicle they are in.

"Yes, I have learned quite a lot since you last saw me. I only wish we had been re-united under better circumstances."

Wally looks to Diana again "Are you sure about Linda? Can I see her?"

"Of course," she taps the comm piece in her ear "Oracle?" The sound of buzzing static fills her ears and everyone else's besides Wally who doesn't have one.

"What is that?"

The sound is familiar to Red Robin "It's not because she isn't home, that sound… it has to be interference. Someone is jamming us or jamming her."

"Oracle come in!"

"It's no use, whatever is going on we need to…"

The steering wheel suddenly is nonexistent as Red Robin's hands are only gripping air. The tank begins to jerk and collide with tunnel walls bouncing side to side. He slams his feet on the brakes as almost everyone in the tank has stumbled or fallen to the floor, besides Alan. He is concentrating, but something is penetrating his mind and scrambling his emotions. The tank comes to a halt and everyone stabilizes themselves.

"I've seen better driving from parademons! What's wrong with you boy?" Barda exclaims.

"It wasn't me! The steering wheel disappeared!"

"Alan?"

Everyone's attention turns to Alan who is still seated in the middle of the tank with his head in his hands. Wally is standing next to him with a concerned look on his face. Alan never had many outbursts of power when he was with Wally and Linda, his ability to control each of the lantern lights happened over time. With each new emotion being potentially very destructive, he sought to distance himself from living beings so that he wouldn't harm anyone. He spent his time meditating and visiting every monastery he could to learn different techniques on calming himself. His hope was that he would learn to control his emotions and by proxy his powers. But one problem he always had was using his power and then feeling an overwhelming amount of emotion. This time however, the emotion wasn't coming from him.

"What's happening Alan? Everything is okay. Linda will be fine." Wally and Wonder Woman have placed their hands on his shoulder, trying to console him from what appeared to be a meltdown of sorts.

"It's not that…somethings wrong." A red aura that rises like steam starts coming off him. He becomes hot to the touch prompting Wally and Wonder Woman to pull back their hands.

"There's so much-" Alan turns to Wally, his eyes slowly being glossed over with a blood red color

"Rage".

Suddenly a red wall crashes through the tunnel in front of the tank and three others just like it surrounds the tank on its other sides. The tank is boxed and gets yanked up quickly prompting everyone to fall again and Alan's construct to be completely broken. As quickly as they are brought up out of the tunnel and into the air they are smashed back down to the ground. The impact hard enough to knockout all five of them.


Arctic Circle, Near the Fortress of Solitude

Superman and Amazo flew with a quickened pace after gaining enough distance from the world government forces inspecting the somewhat destroyed building they left in their wake. Superman wanted to move quickly but he didn't want to affect the already injured Martians they were carrying with them. He also needed the time to figure out what he was going to do with Amazo. The android had been nothing but helpful this far, much to Superman's suspicion. He began to realize that Amazo took his Solar Flare ability at point blank range since he was impersonating Amanda Waller. And Amazo also caught his fist with no problem when he started assaulting him in the Anti-Meta HQ. What type of android can shapeshift and be just as strong and durable as me?

Superman had little time to consider his options as they approached his fortress. He didn't trust Amazo enough to bring him inside, so he would make him wait outside while he tried to get the Martians settled and maybe have Kelex scan Amazo, so he could get a better feel with who he was teaming up with. Unfortunately his plan would not work without the fortress being somewhat operational, and from the look of things it wasn't. The damage to the entrance had not been repaired yet and it looked as if the crystals were turning a dark gray color. As Superman touched down in front of the fortress he was shocked, he had never seen his home in such disarray.

"Superman?" Amazo touches down behind him with M'gann in his arms. "Your fortress seems to be damaged."

Superman gives him an annoyed look over his shoulder "Thank you for the keen observation." He approaches slowly and calls out "Kelex!"

The helper robot comes out shortly after "How may I assist Kal-El?"

"Take M'gann from the android and help me get these two to the med bay."

Kelex comes to Amazo promptly and sizes up the android before taking M'gann from his arms gingerly.

"I may be of use in these matters Superman."

"You want my trust? Be of use out here unless I say otherwise."

Superman and Kelex enter the fortress quickly and make their way to the med bay. The inside of the fortress is not fairing much better than the outside. The color of the crystals is a much darker gray and there is little light illuminating the fortress. Kelex turns on a light to guide their path.

"Kelex what's wrong with the fortress? I thought repairs were underway. Its only been a day and it seems to be getting worse."

"I'm unsure what the issue is Kal-El, but we are not receiving adequate power to keep the entirety of the fortress functioning. Even diagnosing the problem is difficult without our main power source."

If there is no power than the med-bay is useless. "Switch to auxiliary and emergency power. Focus on keeping the med bay fully operational and then use the rest of the power to find the source of this issue."

They approach the med bay and Superman's commands bring power to its doors, causing them to open and the med bay to spring to life. He and Kelex walk over to the treatment tables and place J'onn and M'gann down on them. The med bay begins scanning them and trying to diagnose their problems.

"Make sure the med bay is utilizing everything we have on Martian physiology. We need all the help we can get."

As the scans are being conducted Superman decides to check his main computer for anything that could help him figure out Amazo. Upon exiting the med bay with Kelex the door shuts abruptly.

"Kelex? What's happening?"

"I don't…know…Kal…El." Suddenly Kelex falls to the ground, Superman checks on the robot with his enhanced vision but it seems that everything is okay internally. He looks through the window to the med bay and the inside of the room still has full power. Just as he turns around Amazo appears before him quickly.

"We have a problem Superman, someone is approaching the fortress."

"How? We weren't followed."

"It doesn't seem to be any droid or ship under the world government's command."

Great, two giant problems and one me to fix them. Rao, please let this "Amazo" be trustworthy. Superman begins staring at Amazo and settling with the fact that he has to trust him with something important again.

"So, we have two problems and two of us. Either you go greet our guest and tell them to leave or you figure out what's wrong with the fortress and fix it."

Amazo stares back at Superman blankly, calculating the chance of success of the different options and settling on the optimal one. "I can interface directly with the fortress and figure what's wrong that way." Amazo understands that this action requires the most trust, but also knows that he can accomplish the goal faster than Superman would be able to.

Superman internally rolls his eyes at the uncomfortable situation he was in "Then I guess I get to play the good host and welcome whoever is coming. Figure out what's wrong and keep an eye on my friends, I'll be back shortly."

As Superman flies to exit the fortress Amazo kneels down to inspect Kelex. He brings his hand forward but stops short of touching Kelex as a wire extrudes from Amazo's palm and connects with Kelex's surface. He quickly troubleshoots for the problem but finds that Kelex was simply turned off which was odd. A quick scan of the med bay door finds that it didn't lose power but instead it was closed and locked. It should have been impossible for someone to take remote control of the fortress given the immense protections it had but perhaps in its damaged state someone had found a way. Amazo notices the med bay is still performing its functions which makes the situation even stranger.

Amazo walks toward the main computer where he hopes he can interface and discover what is behind the bizarre happenings in Superman's fortress. As he repeats the action he took with Kelex he is likely unprepared to dive into a battle he wouldn't see coming.

Meanwhile Superman made his way outside the fortress and was waiting at the entrance to greet his uninvited guest. He tried listening for a heartbeat or some type of tell tale sign but couldn't find anything. His arms were crossed in front of his broad chest as he waited impatiently for whoever it was to reveal themselves. Too many things were happening for him to not consider the feeling of coincidence surrounding Amazo's presence. Things had been too easy up until this point and now many things seemed to be going wrong. And that feeling soon came to a head as the uncomfortable presence of magic started to fill the air. A magic that Superman was not too found of, though he generally disliked magic as a rule of thumb. As Black Adam revealed himself from the clouds Superman knew that this day was only going to get worse.

Adam lands a small distance in front of Superman, simply staring him down and waiting.

"I'm not taking any visitors or doing tours today. Come back some other time, or don't. That works too."

Black Adam doesn't respond and continues coolly looking at Superman, crossing his arms in front of the yellow lightning insignia on his chest in a similar fashion as Superman's current posture. This is odd, Adam loves to hear himself talk.

"What? No monologue today?"

"There is no need. I'm only here to delay you."

"From what?"

"That is also inconsequential. You are simply to be delayed."

Superman's annoyance is reaching a higher level than he would like "As I indicated before, you aren't welcome. Leave or you'll be forced to. I won't warn you again."

Black Adam holds his ground and even begins tapping his foot in a mock impatience. "I'm waiting."

That's it. Superman charges at Black Adam, in the back of his mind he is scolding himself for rising to Adam's taunt, but he's been waiting to punch someone who could take it for a really long time. Somewhere around 10 years in fact. Unfortunately, he would have to wait a little longer due to his impatience ironically.

As Superman charges he draws back his fist but as he arrives to throw the punch it is side stepped by Adam. Superman quickly finds himself in a full nelson headlock before Adam lifts him slightly and yells the one-word Superman would have preferred not to hear from him today,

"SHAZAM!"

CRACKOOOOOM

Adam feels Superman's body go limp in his hold and lets him drop to the icy floor of the Arctic. He circles him slowly until he is in front of him again, arms crossed and waiting for him to recover. Superman stirs and notes the intense pain on his chest, the sun is still out and helping him heal but Damn that hurt!

Black Adam begins to gloat, trying to further stoke Superman's impatience "I admire your skills and abilities Superman, you have humbled me before for underestimating you. But, even with all your power, you are no warrior."

Superman quickly gets up and throws two more punches that are caught by Black Adam. The two of them are stalemated as they try to overpower the other. Black Adam explains "It is beyond time someone humbled you."

Inside the fortress, Amazo was connected to the fortress' main computer trying to sort through and find the source of the problem. The firewalls were intense in some areas and he could not get past them but in others they were easily dismantled. He noticed that the med bay was simply functioning as commanded with no extra interference but everything else seemed to be infected with a virus. As he traversed through the system digitally he started to feel like he was being led somewhere rather than discovering these things on his own. Something was inside the fortress controlling it and leading him on a convoluted path to show its control of the fortress' systems.

Amazo made his way, digitally, to the hub of the software mainframe to find that everything was not okay. The virus he had noticed was covering the entire mainframe. There were black lines zig zagging all over the controls and firewalls for each system. And in the middle of it all were the same 3 dots that were also present on Amazo's core.

"Brainiac", Amazo spoke the name as if he was summoning the legendary knowledge seeker.

The black lines begin to splinter more lines that pool in front of Amazo until a form presents itself from the mass. The beings green head is offset by its silver and purple armor. A simple headset was present on it's head that had Brainiac's symbol resting on his forehead.

Brainiac stands in front of Amazo, studying and admiring him before menacingly saying

"Finally, you have arrived."


Ambiguous location between the power generating facility and Gotham

Wally and Red Robin had just woken up to find Alan still unconscious, they were separated from Wonder Woman and Big Barda. They gathered him up and sat him against a tree, despite several attempts Alan would not wake up. The area they were in was a dense jungle filled with trees, vines and grass as far as they could see. The green that surrounded them almost seemed to be trying to disarm them and make them feel at ease, but they stayed vigilant.

"We need to find the others and get out of here" Red Robin states.

"I can try and find an exit then circle my way back." Wally turns to begin running but Red Robin stops him.

"We don't know where we are and splitting up is a terrible idea with Alan knocked out. We can scout after he wakes up, but for now we need to stay vigilant. Something snatched us out of the ground and it was huge. Did you get a look?"

"Nah, I was too focused on Alan. He seemed…disturbed or something and he started glowing red."

Red Robin is a little shocked "The thing that grabbed us was red. Did Alan say anything?"

Wally is racking his brain to remember "He said something about rage, like there was too much of it or something."

They are both trying to figure it out when Alan stirs awake, panicking and looking around in a dazed state. When his sights finally fix on them his face contorts in anger. His entire suit is enveloped in a blood red color with his eyes following suit.

"Oh shit."

Alan launches himself at them and Wally dodges out of the way reflexively with Red Robin getting tackled by the surprise attack. Alan has Red Robin pinned underneath him as his eyes glow red. He unleashes a stream of red fire at him from his mouth, but Wally is able to grab Red Robin before it comes out. Alan scorches the ground beneath him and Wally comes back around, rushing Alan to pin him against a tree.

"Alan! Wake up man!"

Alan squirms and tries to get free before Wally continues "It's me! Wally! Remember?"

Alan begins to calm and the red his suit is covered in turns back to the cool white it usually was. He slides to the ground slowly while clutching his head. He had no clue what was happening to him. Someone was manipulating his rage, he had no reason to be angry, but he still felt endless rage. Red Robin and Wally are in front of him again.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me" Alan laments.

"We good now? I don't want you to burn my face off with puke. That's a bad way to die."

Alan hangs his head and Wally elbows Red Robin, "He feels bad enough man relax."

"I'm the one whose face almost got melted off. I think I'm owed at least one comment about it."

"I don't understand what I'm feeling" the two stop squabbling and give Alan their attention. "It's like something is just passively making me angry."

Both Red Robin and Wally look to each other, their surroundings had felt odd since they awoke. Maybe it was the place they were in that was affecting Alan and making him mad.

"Maybe it's time to find an exit. We can't find Barda or Wonder Woman if we have to worry about you getting angry and going red on us."

Wally nods his head "I'll find one and come back."

"Wait" Red Robin grabs something from his utility belt, "Batman said you might need this."

He tosses Wally a small golden ring with the Flash insignia on it. Almost reflexively Wally puts it on and lets out the suit before putting it on in a matter of seconds. The familiar feel of his Flash uniform covers his body, the bright red complimented by the yellow of his insignia, boots, and belt.

"Man, that feels good." Flash says, starting to feel more like himself with every passing moment.

"Looks good, some slight improvements and optimizations but for the most part it's what you are used to wearing. Now find us an exit."

"Be back soon" Flash says before speeding away, leaving a red blur in his wake.

Red Robin looks back to Alan who still has his head in his hands looking completely discouraged.

"Hey man, I only half meant what I said, it's all good."

Alan looks up at him "I've worked so hard to control this and now…I almost killed you. I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be around anyone, so I don't hurt them."

"I understand how you feel, a little. But right now, we have like 25 problems and we need to solve them fast to get out of here with our team. Sometimes things don't go to plan and everything seems like it sucks. But that doesn't mean we give up, so" Red Robin holds his hand out for Alan to take "I need your help…Spectrum."

The pep talk was doing its job and Alan even started to have a slight blue hue surround him. He wanted to help but he didn't want to hurt Red Robin. But if Barda's advice to him earlier was true he would have to experience things like this to gain true control of his powers.

Before he could reach out to take Red Robin's hand a loud -BANG- rung throughout the jungle. The sound was loud enough to startle Spectrum who instinctively placed a green dome around him and Red Robin after shooting up from his seated position. He looked around for the source of the sound but heard nothing but Red Robin groaning behind him. Spectrum looked back at him and saw him clutching at his knee with his other hand clutching some grass as he grinded his teeth in pain. Another gunshot rings out and the bullet collides with the arching green shield right at Spectrum's head. He wants to see what's wrong with Red Robin, but he can't afford to lose focus on deflecting the bullets from their hidden attacker.

Red Robin is laying on his side after falling down and trying not to scream out in pain. His knee felt hot, but he didn't want to look down to confirm his suspicions. It felt like he had been shot right in the knee cap with a large caliber bullet. He physically tried to move his leg, but it was too painful. So, he used his arms to move the leg and groaned internally at how bad it hurt. Looking down almost made him nauseous as he saw the giant hole that was now dead center on his knee. He couldn't tell if the bullet went through, so he had to feel at the back of his knee and he indeed felt a hole on the other side as well. This wasn't the first time he had been shot but this was certainly the worst bullet wound he'd experienced.

The bullets are continuously pelting the shield, but Spectrum is settled and easily maintaining his construct through the onslaught. The direction the bullets were hitting from was confusing him as they came from all sides, only single shots. Is there more than one gunman? Why can't I see them? The groaning of Red Robin breaks his concentration a bit.

"Red Robin are you okay?"

"No" he hears him say through gritted teeth. Spectrum can hear him shifting around and then hears the sound of something being ripped. Red Robin had taken off his cape and was making a tourniquet to cover his wound.

"What can I do?"

"Just keep this shield up, I'll think of something."

Red Robin's sentence is punctuated by a large shadow being cast on them. A large red being is above them, seething down at them.

"Well this day keeps getting worse."

"Who is that?" asks Spectrum.

"A red lantern, Atrocitus."

On cue Atrocitus produces a large axe construct and swiftly brings it down on Spectrum's shield. Spectrum braces and holds the shield, but the power he is pushing against is immense. The shield begins to crack under the pressure.

Red Robin exclaims "Spectrum! You have to focus! Focus on keeping that energy out of your shield!"

Spectrum is beginning to sweat as he tries to keep up with the amount of force Atrocitus is putting out "I'm…trying."

Another axe swings down on the shield and another until it is riddled with cracks and crevices. Spectrum has green willpower shooting from his outstretched hands to make the shield, but he is having trouble repairing it and keeping the axes out.

"Take a deep breath and focus" Red Robin tells him. "You are strong enough to-"

Suddenly Red Robin's voice is cut off and Spectrum quickly turns around to find him not there anymore. There is only a giant hole in the ground where he was laying. "Tim?" Spectrum says as Atrocitus removes all the axes and dives into the shield, shoulder first, shattering it. He hits Spectrum squarely in his chest and launches him backwards roughly. Spectrum skids across the jungle floor before coming to a stop. He tries to push himself up but collapses and passes out. Atrocitus looms over his prone form like a predator that has found its prey. He channels his own hatred and anger into his ring to probe this being's mind in an effort to find the source of his rage.

Barda awoke to her hands bound and on her knees in a place that she instantly recognized. She was back in a place that she never wanted to return to, Granny Goodness' Home for Orphans. Before she succumbed to panic, she pulled apart her hands to see that the bounds were weak and snapped instantly. She had no clue how she got here but she needed to get out, to get away from Apocalypse. Then someone entered the room, it was Scott Free!

"Scott!" Barda rushes to him and pulls him into a hug that lifts him from the ground and places him down just as quickly "We need to leave before Granny comes back."

"I want nothing to do with you Fury filth!"

"What?"

"You heard me, I'll never forgive the things you've done for Darkseid. All the innocents you have killed, the blood on your hands. Never touch me again!"

Barda is getting pissed "Why are you saying these things Scott? You told me you loved me despite what Darkseid made me do."

Scott yells "I never loved you! I loathe your presence and I never want to see you again! I! DON'T! LOVE! YOU!"

That was the last straw as Barda drew her fist back quickly and connected it cleanly against his jaw causing him to fly into a wall and disappear.

And with him the walls disappeared and began to reveal a jungle that felt very real to Barda. Much more real than Scott Free ever saying he didn't love her. Someone was trying to play with her mind and she didn't like that. Despite not really believing Scott would ever say that it still hurt to hear it. Scott was part of the reason she was free from Darkseid and she might not like to admit it, but she loved him more than anything. He in fact taught her how to love something besides battle and helped her escape the teachings of Granny Goodness. Even the thought of that vile woman enraged Barda.

As she took in her surroundings Barda started to remember where she was before the vision. They were saving the Flash before they got scooped up and tossed around. She looked around and didn't see Wonder Woman or Flash or anyone else. Luckily Barda was the best warrior ever trained on Apocalypse, so tracking down her allies would be child's play.

The area was filled with trees, most of them reaching far into the sky and threatening to block the sunlight. The grass was long in this area and thick smog covered the entire plains. As Wonder Woman woke up abruptly she became confused, how did I get here? She tried her hardest to remember the events that lead to her being on the ground in a jungle. Her focus was interrupted by the familiarity of her surroundings. This looks just like the jungle in…

CLANGGG

The sharp sound of metal on metal woke Wonder Woman from her dazed state instantly, she knew what Themysciran steel sounded like when it struck anything, especially other metal. She hurriedly rushed toward the sound, quickly coming to the edge of the jungle and looking out over a cliff and what she saw was the stuff of nightmares.

Themyscira was burning and filled with the demons that should have filled the pits of Tartarus. The city was completely overrun, and she saw that there were only a few amazons left, including Queen Hippolyta. There was only a dozen of them and they were surrounded by a horde, valiantly fighting to the last amazon. Wonder Woman saw them hold back the horde, but they were in desperate need of assistance. As she began to leap off the cliff she was held back by someone grabbing her arm. Wonder Woman looked to the offender and saw Big Barda keeping her tethered to the ground, holding on with all her might.

"Diana! It's not real!"

"Let me go! Themyscira is burning! My mother needs my help!"

Barda is losing the struggle between the two, Wonder Woman is receiving a burst of strength from seeing her sisters in dire need of her help. As she turns her head to pull away further she is greeted to another gruesome sight. Hippolyta impaled on the inhuman blade of a red skinned demon.

"Noooooo!"

She falls to the ground, traumatized by the sight of seeing her idol, her mentor, her mother killed while she could do nothing to help.

"It's not real Diana. Try to remember, we weren't anywhere near your island. We were saving Flash and making our escape before something hit us."

Barda can see that her words are falling on deaf ears, despite it clearly being an illusion to her Wonder Woman is completely entranced and isn't paying her any mind. Her earlier illusion was broken when she struck the fake Scott. She just needed some physical stimulus to break the vision and right on cue she remembered Wonder Woman's handiest trinket, the Lasso of Truth.

Barda kneels down next to her "Diana, use the lasso. Find the truth in what you are seeing."

Wonder Woman reflexively grabs for her lasso and it burns her causing her to recoil from it slightly while also bringing her back to the present. She grabs it again, the burning sensation still there but not painful enough to deter her from finding the truth. She takes one end and wraps it around her wrist before closing her eyes to concentrate.

"I am Diana, Daughter of Queen Hippolyta, Princess of Themyscira, Wonder Woman."

The burning fades as she utters "I am being deceived."

On cue Wonder Woman opens her eyes and sees a completely different sight. She is still in a jungle of sorts but there is no more smog and the trees are no longer blocking the sunlight. Themyscira is no longer burning in front if her, there is only more jungle at the bottom of a waterfall she was standing by. She feels relief that what she saw wasn't real, but instantly feels concerned that someone was trying to trick her. Barda helps her stand and she places the lasso back on her hip.

"Thank you Barda."

"Don't mention it. I went through a similar ordeal. Someone is trying to keep us busy in our own heads."

"You saw something too? Not many could show illusions to both our minds. We should-" Wonder Woman suddenly remembers their previous situation. They were returning to Gotham with the Flash, when suddenly Alan started glowing red. Then something yanked from the tunnel and threw them to the ground.

Wonder Woman hurriedly says "The others! Do you know where they are? Have you seen them?"

Barda unhooks her Mega Rod from her waist and turns to walk away "You are the first that I have found. Let us hope that we find the others before they get hurt."

Wonder Woman walks with her and shares the sentiment. She was about ready to jump off a cliff into a make-believe battle to the death. Hopefully Red Robin, Spectrum, and Flash were faring better than she did. Which makes her wonder how Barda got free of her vision.

"Barda? How did you free yourself?"

"Whoever made us see those things doesn't know me too well. They tried to show Scott telling me he didn't love me."

"It faded because you didn't believe it?"

Barda chuckles lightly "It stopped after I punched fake Scott in his mouth for having the audacity to tell such a lie."

They share a small laugh before resuming their trek. Whoever put them in this predicament separated them on purpose. If they were going to have any chance they would need to regroup and ultimately get out this jungle.

Wonder Woman notes "This jungle is quite thick for this area. In fact, I don't think its real either. North America does not have such a dense jungle as this one appears to be."

"Hmm" Barda takes aim at a tree and fires a blast at it with her Mega Rod. The tree is cut in half and falls in front of them, now blocking their path. "Seems real enough."

Wonder Woman rolls her eyes at the former fury's brazen decision "That was unwise, you may have just given up our position."

"If we are in some type of magical world that got created to hold us, do you think the creator does not know where we are? Besides, if they know where we are than the fight will come quicker." Barda vaults over the fallen tree and Wonder Woman shakes her head. She did appreciate Barda's straight forward approach, but sometimes found it lacking when more finesse was needed.

"We don't want to fight before we can regroup, we don't even know if the others are okay." Wonder Woman leaps over the tree as well and her concerns are suddenly brought to bear right in front of her.

A menacing voice calls out "Well now you know dear Diana, your allies are far from okay." The owner of said voice is in front of them with Red Robin tightly wound in a magical combination of tree branches and stone. She has purple eyes that match her hair with a green and gold outfit consisting of a strapless dress with knee high boots and sleeves. The sorceress Circe has captured Red Robin, and he is currently unconscious.

Wonder Woman takes a step forward but Circe raises a hand to Robin, letting her magic flow through the appendage as a threat. "Stay right there Diana, you're just where I want you."

Barda slowly begins to move around, attempting to gain a flanking position. Wonder Woman notes that Circe isn't telling Barda to stop, she's just letting her get closer and closer to her flanking spot.

Thunderous stomping then fills the jungle as the ground shakes as if a stampede is coming. A large grey monster bursts through the jungle at Barda. She only has enough time to defend herself as the thing bum rushes her while it roars "Grundy smash!"

Grundy stops and hits Barda hard enough to send her flying through some foliage deeper into the jungle. He keeps rushing after her and disappears, chasing after Barda.

Wonder Woman yells "Barda!" but Circe's threat still holds so she doesn't chase after her.

"You do care for this little bird don't you? Or did I pick the wrong one? There's so few of you heroes nowadays I'm starting to get the dead ones mixed with the alive ones."

"What do you want Circe!"

"That's easy, you. I want to see you broken, bleeding, and crying as your precious island burns. Your sisters will suffer as you will, and your loathsome mother will die by my hand. If you're lucky you may die before I achieve such a thing."

Wonder Woman is now visibly angry and frustrated "Good Diana, give me that headstrong Amazon that I have humbled time and time again. No friends to help you this time."

"It's me you want, release him!"

"No, I'd rather you just surrender before I kill this mortal. I wonder if you would make such a sacrifice, your honor and pride for an innocent."

The sound of rapid footfalls fills the air as a red streak collides with Circe and blows her completely away from Red Robin.

Flash stops a few feet away from Circe and says, "She won't have to."

The separation of Circe from Red Robin allows Wonder Woman to approach quickly and use her gauntlet spikes to cut him free. She sees some of his blood and follows the trail to his knee, which seems to have a wound that has a piece of his cape tightly wrapped around it. Circe curses Flash for his interference and creates a portal to get away. Flash rushes her but he's too late as she disappears into the portal. He makes sure she's gone and not coming around for another attack before rushing back to Wonder Woman and Red Robin.

"Whoa! What happened to his knee? Circe did that?"

Wonder Woman lifts the cape tourniquet slightly to see that there is a bullet hole in Robin's knee. "No, this is someone else's work."

"Last I saw him he was fine."

"You saw him? What about Alan?"

"We were together when we woke up. Then I ran to scout ahead and find an exit. I couldn't find one, so I turned back. Next thing I knew I ran into you."

Wonder Woman is angry with his negligence "You left them alone!"

"We needed an exit!"

"And you didn't think to look for me or Barda?"

Flash goes to respond but reconsiders "Alright I messed up, excuse me for being a little rusty after being on a hamster wheel for 10 years."

She sighs "We need to find Alan and help Barda, Grundy engaged her."

"I'm fine, the monster isn't." Barda emerges from the part of the jungle that Grundy knocked her into "He was receiving the beating of a lifetime, some of my finest work, before he disappeared into a portal."

"Circe did too."

Red Robin is waking up "A-Alan, help Alan. Atrocitus."

Wonder Woman is holding him "Tim! Where's Alan?"

"He's fighting Atrocitus."

The three of them look at each other with concern, Alan was strong, but he wasn't ready to fight someone who was a powerhouse. Any red lantern was difficult to deal with, now Alan was fighting the strongest of any of them. Before they could even form a plan however an annoying buzzing filled the air and suddenly the Flash disappeared before anyone else could react. Barda took up a defensive position with Wonder Woman hovering over Red Robin to keep him safe.

Circe reappears from a portal in front of them with Grundy right behind her, a deviant smile on her face.

"Now, where were we?"

Alan woke up in a daze, he felt a sweltering heat radiating around him. As he took in his surroundings he found himself in the middle of a jungle with high reaching trees and grass that was up to his shins. He rubbed his head and blinked a few times to try and clear his vision, but he heard a blood curdling scream that immediately got his attention. As Alan rushed toward the sound he found something that was impossible.

His parents, Donna Troy and Kyle Rayner, were lying on the ground lifeless and towering over them was a being with rocky grey skin surrounded by a dark blue armor. Alan's rage spiked as he knew exactly who it was, the being that killed his parents in an attack on Earth so many years ago. Darkseid was in front of him.

Alan never settled with his grief over his parent's death, he was only 5 when he lost them. He hadn't truly understood why they died, why they were taken away from him. But all of that uncertainty and grief was about to surface now in the form of rage. Red steam began to almost pour out of Alan as he threatened to light the very ground on fire. His clothing turned entirely red besides the black circle in the middle of his top. His eyes were glowing the same red as Darkseid's. When Darkseid finally looked at him with a satisfied grin on his face that was it.

Alan roared into the air as a sharp red fire erupted from his mouth. When it finally ended the scene in front of him was much different. No dead parents, no Darkseid, only Atrocitus.

"What did you do to me!" Alan spits out. He was bound by red chain constructs against a tree and completely immobilized.

Atrocitus strides over to him slowly "I used your mind to find your rage. Now you know what its like, the power you can wield with your rage properly weaponized. The longer you draw on that moment, the more powerful you can become."

"Let me go now!"

"If you become a red lantern" Atrocitus stops in front of him and shows him a red lantern ring "Your power will know no bounds. The guardians fear you and they are right to. Join me and we will overthrow them. With your rage you can strike down everything that has ever harmed you. The Guardians, the green lanterns, Darkseid, none will stand in your way."

Alan really wasn't paying attention to Atrocitus as his rage only grew, Atrocitus felt it grow. He almost became excited at how this prospective red lantern might fare against the Guardians. With so much power in his body Atrocitus had no doubt that Alan was a match for all of them. He underestimated Alan however, much too enraptured in his future success destroying the Guardians than paying attention to the overwhelming rage building in front of him.

"LET. ME. GO!"

Alan unleashes an outward radial blast that levels the tree he is bound to and knocks Atrocitus completely off his feet. Atrocitus recovers quickly, but notices that the red lantern ring in his hand was now broken. That's impossible, what is this boy?

He would have no time to consider his question as Alan now charged him and stopped short of rushing him to outstretch his hands and unleash a column of rage fueled energy that trucked its way into Atrocitus. Alan blew him incredibly far away and fell to his hands and knees. His suit lost its red hue and returned to its natural white color. As he held himself up weakly he was panting and shutting his eyes tightly, trying to recover from the intense surge of rage that he just felt.

A soft voice whispers to him, "Get up Alan, this battle is far from over."

Alan looks up and sees a hand extended to him. He looks further up the hand and swears that an angel is about to help him up. But the angel's face is far too familiar to be a stranger. He quickly takes her hand and looks at her in disbelief.

"Mother?"

"Who else would I be?"

Alan embraces her as tears fill his eyes and he struggles to hold back the numerous emotions her presence makes him feel. She returns the hug, gently rubbing his back to calm him and then he hears another voice.

"You got one for your old man too?"

As if out of a dream his Dad is suddenly next to them, arms wide open as he joins the embrace. The happy family is reunited for the first time in decades. But all is not as it seems. Alan can feel them physically but deep in his mind he knows this is not real.

"I've missed you so much" Alan finally chokes out.

"We've missed you too."

Donna says, "You cannot be delayed here Alan, you have to keep fighting."

Alan shakes his head, "I'm not strong enough to beat him, I could barely hold him off before I lost Tim. I cannot win this fight."

Kyle responds, "But Alan, you're holding Atrocitus off now."

"Huh?"

Reality finally filters in and Alan sees a green bubble around himself, Atrocitus is trying to desperately to damage the barrier or brute force his way in. But all his attempts are deflected and ineffective.

"Your will is stronger than you know Alan. And just a quick reminder, Amazons fight till they have no more fight left." His parents end the embrace and he can feel them fading in his mind.

"Do you have to go?

"For now, you have a world to protect Alan. Fight well."

"Oh! Two quick tips!" Kyle exclaims "Get Atrocitus mad and he'll just keep charging you without using constructs. If that fails just remember, blue beats red every day and twice on Sunday."

Kyle and Donna fade away completely before Alan reenters the real world in his mind again. He is standing strong with one arm outstretched that is providing his green dome. The surge of confidence and peace he felt was unimaginable. His parents put him at ease and made him feel powerful with just a few seconds of seeing them again. How he had made them manifest would be a mystery for another time. Right now, he needed to focus on Atrocitus trying to break his shield construct for the second time that day.

This time Atrocitus is unable to make him budge or crack his construct. Atrocitus's frustration peaks and he settles in front of the shield before unleashing a huge cone of rage energy from his ring that engulfs the shield. It endures for multiple seconds before green suddenly penetrates the cone on Atrocitus's end, creating a lane for Alan to travel through. Alan reaches Atrocitus faster than he can react too and punches him in the head making the big red creature to fly backwards into a tree before slumping down it.

"Im-Impossible…" Atrocitus spits out, blood leaving his mouth as he says it "You cannot match my rage!"

"Are you sure?" Alan's all green suit and eyes fade into the same blood red as Atrocitus's body "I think I have enough to even spare you some."

Alan sticks out his hand and lets the rage energy build before saying, "Go back to wherever you came from, or next time I won't show mercy."

Atrocitus begins to roar at him in disgust before Alan releases the energy and it explodes out of his hand, creating an outpouring of red light even above the trees. Atrocitus is sent halfway across the jungle before finally stopping as the energy dissipates. Alan is a little surprised at the outburst, he didn't intend to completely obliterate the jungle with Atrocitus but he feels as if his point was now made. Alan lets his aura turn back to green and lifts himself in the air.

"Thanks Mom and Dad" he thinks while looking up into the sky, "Now let's go save the others."


Author's Note: This chapter is longggg, but I feel like it was necessary. I usually don't like writing more than 5/6k for a chapter because I feel the story tends to drag and lose focus. Just my personal style when it comes to writing but that may change depending on the next few chapters. The fights will likely take up 2 or 3 more chapters, so we will see if I use the same format.

If you were wondering what Robin and Nightwing's fate was, or how Lara may react to her parents being in trouble I'm sorry to disappoint but all that will be covered in the next chapter for sure. All I'll say for now is that our favorite BatDad is about to go through some serious stress so pray for him lol. Also, I've developed a bit of Alan's powers in this chapter, but more explanations will come in later chapters.

I decided to start including a section at the end where I try to respond to reviews. I'm just starting this now, so I'll just start with the most recent chapter's reviews. I really appreciate every review I get but I don't want to do every one I've gotten so far (like 40) cuz that's a lot of responding and I'm basically too behind.

Review Responses

To ButtonPusherExtraordinare: Thank you for the praise and I agree, the Nightwing part is pretty shocking. I was even shocked at myself for putting it in! But you are correct in assuming it will play a larger role in things later. As to whether or not he's dead, you'll just have to find out later.

To anayeli12: Your wish is my command! *cool genie sounds erupt from this chapter*

To Anianka35: I'm glad you liked the flashback, I wanted to show the suddenness of Kal's decision and reaction to what was happening. Flashback's are difficult in terms of where to place them, but I'm glad I got the right feeling across. In terms of other flashbacks, I think I may only have one more planned but I really like the idea of writing about the things you suggested. Maybe I'll do a bit of a prequel at some point or some collection of one-shots to show off milestones in Kal and Diana's relationship. Also I'm glad the Flash is back too, but he is going to need some prayers as well. He's about to go through a blender emotionally.


I want to thank you all so much for reading, reviewing, faving, and following. You're awesome and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.