Latveria is a nation as strong and independent as its ruler, Victor von Doom. Its capital, Doomstadt, is its centre, mostly because it is the site of Doom's spectacular castle. From there, he brought the country from the bottom tier to the top in the global economy in a matter of years. It is for this reason that the architecture of Latvaria reflects the Europe of centuries ago, yet the citizens enjoy a lifestyle equipped with all modern benefits.

A man strode through its streets. In another place, a large top hat, orange sweater, and black jacket may have raised both questions and eyebrows, but as it happens such was the style in Latvaria at the time, and as such the man did not stand out that much. The same could not be said of his companion, a young boy dressed unusually. A large pair of red goggles sat on his brown pilot's hat, and a breeze ruffled his striped green scarf.

"Seems a bit pointless asking people for information, what I can just read their minds," he remarked.

"While I don't doubt your abilities," replied the professor in his soft voice, "I can't help but feel that that would be something of an invasion of privacy. We'll stick to the usual method information gathering for this puzzle, if you don't mind."

Raz shrugged. "Alright. I'm here if you need me."

"Halt," boomed a robotic voice behind them. Professor Layton and Raz turned to see three robots, built in the image of Dr Doom. "Present your paperwork immediately," cited the centre one.

Raz and Layton shared a look. "I'm dreadfully sorry," apologised Layton, "but I appear to have misplaced it."

The robots raised their hands, revealing weaponry embedded into the palms. "Surrender for torture," one demanded.

"I say," frowned Layton.

Raz lifted his finger to his temple and blasted one robot's head off with a mental bullet. Layton dived out of the way of a laser fired at him, rolling smartly upon landing. Raz managed to set another Doombot on fire before the last struck him, knocking him backwards.

The Doombot turned its attention, and weaponry, to Layton. It was about to fire when it abruptly found itself lacking a head. A loud shot had rung out on the square, and a bullet had ripped through the Doombot's face. It collapsed as Raz climbed to his feet.

Their saviour hefted his weapon, a large silver pistol. He reached into his red vest and pulled out some bullets to replace the shots he had spent.

"A most timely assist, Mr Burton," thanked Layton. "Although I do find your methods somewhat brutal."

Barry frowned at them through his ginger beard. "They're just robots, Layton." His inflections were strange.

Layton looked displeased. "Robots can have feelings, too."

Barry Burton gave him a quizzical look. "If you say so. What have you gathered about finding Kira?"

Layton gestured to the huge castle which dominated the town's skyline. "From the sounds of things, our best bet is that building. The usual ruler resides there, and Kira could co-ordinate himself or herself nicely from that location."

Burton cocked his pistol. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

##

From a darkened room in Castle Doomstadt, a young man with light brown hair and smart clothing watched a computer monitor. It displayed a feed from a camera near to where Layton, Barry and Raz were talking. His eyes brown narrowed.

"This Layton man is intelligent," Light monologued internally. He smiled thinly. "I guess it's too much to hope for that his first name is 'Professor'. In fact, none of these fools have mentioned their full names in the presence of a camera, so the Death Note isn't an option yet." His face darkened as his finger idly tapped the black notebook which had given him so much power. "Especially since however I got here, Ryuk didn't follow me. Now would be a good time to have Shinigami around to explain things."

He stood. "The Doombots proved ineffective. I could keep trying things the physical way, but it's not my area." His face twisted into a grin. "No... Let's keep things how they usually are. You want a puzzle, Layton? I'll give you a puzzle you won't forget."


Revan forcefully strode down the hallways of the Halberd. He was only exploring the ship, but from his confidence, he acted as though he owned it. HK-47 was behind him, glaring protectively at everyone they passed. Also with him was Ty Lee. The cheery girl looked incongruous beside the grave figure in black.

"So, Ty Lee," said Revan, turning a corner. "Tell me more about this Avatar we saw yesterday."

"Oh, he's great," said Ty Lee. "Like I said, most benders can only bend one element, but he can bend all four, sometimes all at once!"

"Hmm, yes. I was referring more to the "glowy thingy" of which you spoke."

"Oh, the Avatar State?"

"Yes. That."

Ty Lee frowned nervously. "Well, I only saw it once. His eyes and tattoo go all bright, and he starts breaking everything. I heard he once took out an entire navy like that."

"Fascinating," breathed Revan.

"Statement: such destructive power is greatly admirable," stated HK. "I am almost jealous."

"But he only goes like that when he's really, really mad..." she added.

Revan tapped his mask thoughtfully. "Which, considering his carefree and pacifistic nature, would presumably take a lot of doing."

"So, why do you want to know?" asked Ty Lee, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Oh, no reason. I just find the subject interesting."

Revan came to a door near the bridge and pushed it open. Inside were Iroh, who smiled at Ty Lee, Bentley, who examined Revan, Phoenix, who blinked at HK-47, and L, who coolly regarded all three. They were sitting around the table as usual. There was a large chair at the head of the table that no-one had claimed. Revan strode up to it and settled himself in.

"Is this where we discuss tactics?" queried Revan.

"Well... I suppose," answered Iroh guardedly.

Revan leaned forward. "Marvellous. You may leave us," he added, addressing his companions outside the boardroom. HK-47 dutifully closed the door.

"That guy gives me the heebie-jeebies," shivered Ty Lee.

"Statement: I know," stated HK. "Isn't it wonderful?"


Layton stood in the main throne room of Castle Doomstadt, striding back and forth. The staff of the castle were arranged in a nervous line in front of him. The ruler was apparently absent, so only the scant domestic staff were present. Behind him, Barry leaned against a wall, watching him think, and Raz stood unnervingly still, his goggles pulled down.

Layton had determined that any of the staff could be the one known as Kira. Some seemed more obvious than others. However, the entire setup – how easily they had entered the castle, the way the staff had gathered without protest... everything slightly seemed off to him.

At that moment, Layton heard Raz's voice, but not with his ears. He did his best to show no reaction.

"Alright professor, I've given everyone in the room a look," said Raz, his words clear in Layton's mind. "Your mind was a good starting point. It was very orderly."

"Still not the strangest compliment I've received," replied Layton.

"From there, I was able to get a feel of all the minds in the room. I caught a glimpse of Barry's mind. Dude really likes his sandwiches."

"Have you any... other conclusions?"

"Well, none of the people here seem that crazy – or at least, not any crazier than usual. But I'm picking up a mind nearby that's sending me weird signals."

"Indeed?"

"Hold on a second." Layton heard nothing for a few moments, but then Raz's voice returned. "Wow, okay, yeah, I think I found him. Unless a mind full of equations, clocks, Latin chanting and apples is normal for this place."

"It appears we have our man." Layton gave a meaningful nod to Barry, who stood upright.

"You can all go," he said to the staff. "We'll call you again if we need you."

"I'm going to go further in," Raz added. "Maybe I can find out more about him..."

##

Light smirked at the visual feed from the throne room. It was a simple opening skirmish to what he knew may be a very lengthy war. Everyone in the castle had gathered in front of Layton except, obviously, Light himself. Light would judge Layton's intellect based on how he handled this. He knew that Layton couldn't determine Kira's identity by any normal means, and thus Light would have plenty of time to plan his next move. He hadn't failed to notice Raz's strange behaviour, and he wondered what the boy was doing.

Suddenly, he became all too aware. Light was an insular man whose mind was always working at full capacity. Thus, when an alien presence entered his mind, he became aware of it instantly.

"WHO'S THERE!?" he thought, panicking. Raz yelped, surprised by Light's immediate reaction. The point of a Psychonaut was that one could enter minds undetected; he had never met someone who had become aware of him instantly.

Raz hurriedly gathered as much information on Light and his location as he could, before retreating as quickly as he had invaded.

Little did he know it had been a two way process.

##

In the throne room, Raz tore off his goggles. "I know where he is!" he said urgently. "He's upstairs, that way," he pointed towards a door. "He knows I tried to read his mind, so we have to go quickly."

Layton nodded. "Understood."

The three began sprinting down the corridor Raz had indicated. As they ran, Raz filled them in on what he had briefly managed to gather.

"He's a young man, named Light Yagami," he said. "Japanese, I think. Really deluded about himself. He kills..." Raz suddenly stopped both speaking and running.

"What's wrong?" asked Layton.

"We have to keep moving!" urged Barry.

Raz fell forward, clutching his chest. He collapsed to the floor as Layton ran back to him. Layton checked his pulse and his eyes widened.

"My word," he said softly. "He's dead."

"Then get up," said Barry stoically.

"You want me to just leave him here?" asked Layton, incredulous.

"We'll come back for him," said Barry pointedly, "when we've made that bastard Kira pay."

"Your point is poorly expressed, but completely valid," murmured Layton as he stood. "Kira is most likely the one responsible for this. And the longer we stay here, the more time we afford him to escape."

With that the two broke into a run again, leaving Raz behind them.


Tai Lung sat placidly on the roof of Maleficent's castle, examining the stars. There was a noise behind him as someone joined him, but the leopard didn't turn around. Dr Horrible walked beside him.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Tai Lung grunted. "Who am I to stop you?"

The Scientist sat down and the two were silent for a while.

"Can I ask you a question?" said Horrible.

Tai Lung growled. "For the last time, my name is Tai Lung. That is my name. Tai is not my first name, nor Lung my second. My first name, which is also my only name, is comprised of two words, which are Tai and Lung."

"I've... got that. I just want to know how you're... uh... doing."

Tai Lung turned slowly and gave him a withering look. Just when Horrible was about to apologise for speaking, his expression softened and he returned his gaze upwards. "To be honest, doctor, I'm not sure."

"Not sure?"

"That's what I said," growled Tai Lung. "I feel... directionless. Have you ever had a goal, doctor? One to which you devoted your entire being?"

"Yes," replied Horrible softly.

"Then you should appreciate my position. I'm left with nothing, merely wondering what is going on."

"Exactly!" agreed Horrible. "And to be honest, I'm kinda uncomfortable here. I mean, this building we're sitting on is full of murderers."

"I suppose that's true. Then again, two of those murderers dragged me to safety, so I'm in no position to complain. Besides," Tai Lung smiled thinly, "aren't we all murderers here?"

Horrible couldn't quite read the leopard's expression, so he just grunted non-committally. Tai Lung was about to go on when a voice came from behind them.

"There you two are," said Scar. "I was wondering where you had gotten to."

"Hello, Scar," said Horrible. Scar came up to the Scientist and planted a paw on Horrible's shoulder, leaning over him to examine the lengthy distance to the ground.

"You know," whispered Scar in Horrible's ear, "we were much higher up back when I did it."

"Did what?" asked Horrible, although he had a feeling he didn't want to know.

"When I pushed my own brother to his death!" Scar suddenly roared, and pushed at Horrible's shoulder. The doctor yelped and flailed his limbs, but Scar hadn't actually intended to kill him; he had merely shaken him. Now the lion was enjoying a lengthy fit of evil laughter.

"That's not funny," scowled Horrible. Tai Lung rolled his eyes.

"A shame Loki wasn't here to see your face," laughed Scar. "Ah, the simple pleasures in life. Come along, Tai Lung." Scar left the roof. Tai Lung stood up to follow him, but paused.

"What do you think we should do?" Horrible asked him.

Tai Lung watched the middle distance. "Perhaps, for now, we should find some new goals."

Tai Lung followed Scar. Horrible, with a sigh, trailed behind him.


Light stood in one of the higher rooms of Doom's castle, anxiously hammering away at a large computer console. In the centre of the room stood one of Doom's circular dimensional portals. Light had seen in Doom's notes that they was one of the more effective escape routes. Fortunately, it had been close to Light's position. Unfortunately, it was also close to his opponents'.

"Dammit! Why won't this thing work?!" Light yelled internally. He watched furiously as a digital progress bar slowly inched up towards 100%.

"Aha!" Light heard Layton speak from the corridors outside. "The only direction he could have gone was… this way!"

Light realized he was backed into a corner, at least momentarily. "I've got nowhere to run until this damn thing turns on, so I have to buy some time. There's no way I can talk things out after killing their friend… but they don't know how I killed him. Maybe I can stall them long enough by bluffing as to just how far my status of God goes. Alright, that's what I'll do. It might be tough, but I'm going to have to act like a madman." He tucked the Death Note away and walked to the centre of the room.

The professor and the STARS officer soon entered. Light whirled around violently, and Layton's eyes widened; Light's face was contorted into an twisted grin. Barry pointed his gun at Light, whose only response was to let out a peal of insane laughter.

"Wah hah hah hah hah!" taunted Light, who was doing less acting than he realized. "You expect to harm a god with that measly thing?"

"If you're a living thing," snarled Barry, "then the answer is yes."

Barry fired his incredibly powerful weapon, and Light gasped in shock as the bullet ripped through his shoulder. Such was the force of the impact that the young genius was thrown off his feet and landed in a heap, facing away from the duo. The Death Note fell out of his jacket pocket and landed, open, in front of him, his body blocking Layton and Barry's view of the deadly object. He clutched his bleeding shoulder and howled in pain. So much for bluff.

Barry aimed his gun at the teen's head. "Some god. You're pitiful!" he declared. "Now I'd better finish the job."

"Just a moment!" protested Layton. "Is this necessary?"

"Are you kidding me? You've seen what this worm has done!" yelled Barry. "Better to end him while we have the chance."

"But…" Layton frowned. "Surely there's another way to put a stop to him. Violence is only ever the most desperate of measures."

"And I'd describe this as a desperate time!" countered Barry. "This monster killed Raz, and we don't even know how!"

"I'm well aware," snapped Layton, anger making a rare incursion through his politeness. "But it shouldn't be that difficult to find out how, especially with the man himself at hand. I implore you, holster your weapon."

"Sorry, professor. But we were told to defeat this man, and Barry Burton's definition of defeat involves shooting something until it stops moving."

While this argument was taking place, Light had been gritting his teeth and trying to tune out the wailing agony radiating from his wound. His eyes were closed tight in an attempt to help with this. When Barry mentioned his full name, however, Light's eyes shot open. A hint of a smirk struggled its way on to his face, and with his blood-soaked hand, he reached for the Death Note. He wiped most of his hand off of the ground, but left his index finger covered in blood.

"It's a simple matter of restraining him," Layton was saying. "However he performs his killings, I highly doubt it's telepathic. Besides which, were he capable of ending our lives, he would have doubtlessly done so by now."

"You know, I'm half tempted to shoot you as well. Just so that you'll stop talking."

At that moment, the portal activated with a flash of blue light and a sound similar to a crack of lightning. Layton and Barry were temporarily taken aback, but Light seized the opportunity. Scooping up the Death Note, he sprung up from the ground and sprinted for escape. Barry recovered quickly enough to fire a round into Light's side. The murderer was thrown off balance, but was close enough to the portal that he fell through nonetheless. The portal snapped shut behind him.

"Damn!" yelled Barry. "He got away." He turned to chide Layton further. By the time he was looking at the professor again, they were on the Halberd's bridge.

Barry raised his weapon, and Layton his eyebrows. Deadpool waved to both cheerily.

"Hey there! Welcome to the after-party!"

"This puzzle just gets more and more complex," murmured Layton. "Hello to your too, sir. My name is Herschel Layton. I'm a professor of archaeology at Hessengeller University."

Layton paused, waiting for his companion to introduce himself. Instead, all Barry made was an urgent, panicked grunt. His hand went to his chest, clutching weakly at his heart. He fell first on one knee, and then collapsed completely, his pistol clattering from his hand.

As heroes around the bridge panicked and leapt into action, prepared to battle an enemy they couldn't see, Layton was left staring at what Kira had wrought.


Light fell down on a hard stone floor, his wounds leaving him in excruciating pain. He managed to turn face-up, and was met with two horrifying white eyes staring into his.

"Hmm," murmured their owner. "It's all go, isn't it?" He drew back, and Light saw he was a muscular man wearing red. "Come on down, boys and girls!" he sang loudly. "We've got another one!"

Light dragged himself into a sitting position, biting back screams of agony as he did so. From the shadows around him, figures emerged, until he was surrounded on all sides.

There were eight in all, seven humanoid – however, it was hard to say if any were actually human. Light clutched the Death Note close to him, as though for protection.

"Wow," said Dr Horrible. "Look at all that blood."

"I didn't know there was that much in the human body," said Azula, perturbed.

"I did!" replied M Bison brightly.

"Kind of makes you hungry, doesn't it?" noted Scar.

Tai Lung grimaced. "That's disgusting, Scar."

"Just saying..."

"Where am I?" screamed Light.

"In trouble, that's where," smirked Loki evilly.

"Scrawny, is he not?" boomed Doom. "And clearly he was an inadequate foe to those who faced him," he added, referencing his wounds.

"I can trade!" said Light. He lifted the Death Note with difficulty. "I'll show you how to use this, in exchange for medical aid."

"Or," said Maleficent, "We could take it and leave you to rot." She gestured, and the Death Note was snatched from Light's hand by her magic. "Here, we only have time for those who surpass their chains," said Maleficent loftily. She examined the notebook with interest, and began walking back up to her personal room.

"Throw him in the dungeon," she called back to Bison. "I'm glad that it won't go to waste."


Yeah... I never really liked Light. But not as much as I dislike not getting reviews!