"Raven, can you hear me?" Bruce asks, as he stands in the forest of Bravery's realm, well knowing that she is currently asleep, but he is testing a theory.
"Only on a subconscious level." Raven's voice filters through to him before Bravery rises out of the shadows. "When I'm asleep, I've noticed I can still hear you when you are out of the chamber."
"Suspected it might be that way." Bruce shrugs.
"What can I do for you at this hour?" Bravery asks.
"I am testing a theory; scientists claim that while a person is asleep they are still capable of learning. Some tests were run by having a tape with a recorded message play while the person slept, but nothing could be proven." Bruce explains.
"Hmm, I wouldn't know, memory is not my function." Bravery replies flatly. "You should go talk to her about that."
"My theory involves you." Bruce replies before the impulsive emotion decided to leave on that note. "As you may have noticed, some of us are growing restless." So far he is pretty sure Superman and Diana have noticed it as well, one through his superior senses, the other through her warrior training that lets her see the ticks and twitches in the others.
"I have and it will affect me, if it continues." Bravery replies. "But you have a theory." She continues bluntly.
"While you sleep, I suggest we try and vent some of our energy with you; training you and us." Bruce replies equally blunt, it paid to be blunt but non-threatening with this emotion, he suspected if things got too complicated for it, it would turn violent as a natural defense.
"Hmm, and what good would that do for me? What you see me do; is me borrowing from Memory, like we all do. If you train me one thing, I won't remember it, I can't." The emotion continues. "Or am I being selfish and not looking beyond myself?"
"Since you are sleeping, Memory will be cut off from the real world." Bruce had been around the library last night to find out about this. Wisdom was snoozing in her chair, while Memory was just standing on the ground looking like it was halfway between sleeping and awake, it was however aware of him when he approached it, but not fully.
"Except when I am sleeping upside down. But I am not the one to decide this, but I see where you are heading." Bravery says as six other Primal emotions appear out of the shadows
"The problem is; that whatever you can teach any one of us will be instantly forgotten if it is not learned by Memory and those like her." Wisdom says. "And no, Bravery can't just lean and then hand it over, as those matches you see her do here are governed by her." Bravery coughs into her hand, pretending not to hear that part.
"So what would it take for you to learn it?" Bruce asks.
"Obviously I would need to merge into my combined self, since I otherwise have to be awake to enter this place." Wisdom shrugs. "And that's dangerous, to those outside if I sleep like that. Also I risk waking up tired."
"Because you are assembled?" Bruce speculates.
"Yes, we as emotions can do what we want when split like this. But together, my brain activity rises too much for sleep to have the effect needed." Wisdom continues.
"Which will make me a real bitch to be around in the morning." Rude adds.
"Sleep sounds good." Sloth says as she leans against a tree and sits down before dozing off.
"But if limited to say, an hour or so, it should be manageable." Wisdom continues. "Without my conscious self being aware of it." Bruce raises an eyebrow at this.
"You aren't aware of this?" He asks.
"Only on a subconscious level I am, like a dream I might remember this conversation taking place when I wake up. As you know, muscle memory is more like a reflex and that will stick, with practice. Even though I may wonder how I knew how to do it. I suspect Hemon and the others did it this way once, teaching me how to access the powers that doesn't come from Trigon." Rage snorts and spits on the ground at the mention. "We will need to talk amongst ourselves, just be careful around these woods."
"Your dreams seem to be relatively harmless to us." Bruce replies.
"Mine maybe, but your presence here is beginning to affect me on that level as well." Sloth blinks a few times as she gets up. "Dream is one of mine and she tells me she is experiencing some things she can't quite place."
"She is reading our dreams?" Bruce asks, inwardly noting this down as a point of concern.
"She thinks' they are yours, the trouble however is her sister." Sloth says. "If Nightmare is also doing it, you better be prepared to fight them if she ends up animating any of them."
"You mean we risk facing our own nightmares if we remain outside the council room?" Bruce surmises.
"Yes, I would ask you to return there, since this conversation will have stirred her, but you would stay anyway." Wisdom says. "Good luck if you meet one." She says as the emotions vanish, leaving Bruce alone in the forest.
"Clark, can you hear me?" Bruce asks into his communicator still in his cowl.
"Loud and clear, what's wrong?" Superman replies.
"Get the others together; we may not be as safe in here as we thought." Bruce says as he takes off, meeting the others halfway between the forest and Azerath.
"What's up?" Wally asks.
"Our presence here is beginning to affect Raven on a subconscious level; Sloth said that some of our thoughts and dreams are leaking into hers." Bruce replies.
"But we aren't dreaming." Shayera counters.
"You don't have to be." J'onn adds.
"So what's the problem with that?" Wally continues.
"Our nightmares are also leaking into her." Bruce continues, the others look surprised at this.
"That's bad." Wally surmises.
"Very, if we meet them." J'onn replies. "Nightmares are based on our fears…"
"Meaning you will be helpless to stop them." An almost serpentine voice cuts through, causing the group to look up in surprise right before something slams into J'onn and carries him down into the forest leaving a trail of fire behind it.
"What was that?!" Wally asks in surprise.
"A Burning Martian." John says. "Guardians told me about them when they heard about J'onn, he is going to need help." The others nod and flies after the pair.
Finding them is easy as the assailant is torching the forest around him, as J'onn stumbles through the trees to get away from him. The Burning is knocked back by a combined strike by Superman and Diana, sending it crashing through several trees.
"Ssooo, fooolissh." It hisses as it gets up, eying the group assembled in front of him.
Batman has a niggling sensation in the back of his head before instincts have him leap to the side as a clawed hand tear a hole in the ground he was standing on. The others are less fortunate. Flash is carried off by a yellow streak that strikes him in the back. Something huge and gray leaps into Superman and carries him off as well in another direction as Shayera is grabbed by the shoulders and carried off into the sky, Diana is ensnared by a rope and pulled into the forest. Finally something yellow rises out of the ground and punches John into the sky before following him.
"Now Batsy, let's dance!" Batman is dumbstruck by the thing that steps out of the shadows, it has Bane's enhanced size, Croc's clawed hands, a mask that resembles Crane's, that is constantly oozing a green gas and finally, it has Joker's voice along with the pasty-white skin. Batman snaps out of his state just time get out of the way of the claws aiming for his head.
"What is it you really fear Kal-El?" A deep gravelly voice asks as Superman brushes the dirt out of his eyes.
"CLARK!" Lois' voice has Superman bolt upright, to see his wife being held by the throat several centimeters off the ground, by a person he could have gone without seeing again. Standing with one hand behind his back and one holding Lois in a choke hold horizontally without strain, Darkseid stands motionless, while staring at Superman
"Put her down!" Superman orders as the red glow appears in his eyes.
"You cling to these worthless ants, and for what?" The tyrant of Apokolips asks in a flat tone. "To feel connected to them? When you should be ruling them?"
"I said, put her down!" Superman says again as his eyes glow brighter.
"As you wish." Darkseid shrugs as a hole opens beneath Lois as she is dropped with a shriek, Superman races after her, catching her just before she hits the ground. A dull bump is heard behind them. "As you know Kal-El, every choice you make has consequences." Darkseid says after he lands. The room lights up revealing three other figures down here forming a square around Superman and Lois.
"Who would have thought my greatest enemy would turn out to be a mild mannered reporter for the Daily Planet." Lex Luthor says from one corner, dressed in his normal black suit.
"An odd development indeed." Brainiac says in his mechanical voice.
"Perhaps we all strike at the armor, when the beating heart is right in front of us." Darkseid says.
"Then the female dies." Doomsday rumbles as the quartet advances.
"Come now Diana, I would not wish you to miss this." Diana opens her eyes to find herself in another setting than the dark forest. She is on a ship under a full moon, a dark island is visible ahead of her, as is the fleet of wooden ships sailing besides the one whose mast she is tied to.
"Heracles?!" Diana asks in surprise as the brute of a man steps into her field of vision, she struggles to get free but the rope and mast hold her tight. Diana looks down herself to see that is it her own lasso that holds her.
"Do not fret my dear; you have the best seat to the event." Heracles smirk at her. "After all, I need you to guide my fleet to Themyscira." Diana's eyes go wide at this and she redoubles her efforts to free herself, much to Heracles' amusement.
"You won't win!" She growls.
"Oh, but I already have my dear." Heracles replies smartly. "While your world remains the same as it was thousands of years ago, the world around you has changed, and now I bring it here." He says as a masked man wearing a set of night vision goggles appears and hands Heracles the rifle in his hands. "See, instead of bullets to end your lives, I bring, tranquilizers." He says as he pulls out the magazine to show Diana the syringe projectiles inside. "I wonder how your mother is doing after all these years?"
"You stay away from her!" Diana snaps.
"My dear, I already have your greatest warrior here, why should I stop now?" He smiles at her.
"My equal is waiting for you!" Diana growls.
"And she will fall like you." Heracles shrugs with indifference. "Perhaps she will join you and your mother in my quarters when this is done?" He continues before laughing.
"Hey I know you. You're me from that other universe." Wally says as he squares off against a yellow dressed version of himself.
"Nope chump. I'm here to teach you how to be better." The man replies in a voice Wally doesn't recognize.
"Oh yeah? And how are you going to do that?" Wally asks.
"Simple really, all the best heroes are fueled by great personal tragedies, but you have none to motivate you. So I am going to provide you with one. Perhaps the loss of Linda will make you take things more seriously?" The man says before blurring out of sight, Wally races after him a split second later.
"Linda's not in here!" Wally yells as he catches sight of the other Flash.
"No, but I am using Raven's mind to bridge into hers. Imagine what happens when her mind starts working at our level without the Speedforce!" The other one yells back.
Wally knows this is an illusion, but he can't take the chance that the threat proves real and pushes himself harder to catch up.
John comes crashing down inside Timid's labyrinth, colliding with a wall before coming to a rest on the ground. Groaning he picks himself up, coming face to face with the figure that attacked him; "Jordan?" The light from behind the man makes it difficult to see, but John is pretty sure it's Hal.
"Hmm maybe." The man replies in a voice John can't remember belonging to Jordan.
"Who are you?" John asks wishing for the umpteenth time he still had his ring.
"Well, somewhere in here I think there is or was a Hal Jordan." The man says as he steps forwards, letting his face show. John just stares at him, the upper part is still Jordan, but his eyes are completely black and his lower jaw spreads like that of some monster from an old alien movie John once watched, letting him see a long tongue and rows of pointed teeth. "But you can call me Parallax." The thing says before it leaps at John, bearing them both to the ground with a shriek.
While being stuffed in a coffin was the most usual nightmare she has, Shayera admits this one isn't new either, being tossed and battered around in the air by shades that look like those of her people. Right now she just wishes she had her mace to hit back with.
"Come now J'onn, you can't run from me in your condition." The Burning Martian says as it casually strides after J'onn how is crawling along on the ground to get away from it. "It's so sad to see you like this." It continues as it picks up pace, walking past J'onn to stand in his path, J'onn just slumps on the ground in the presence of the fiery being.
"I really was expecting something better from you; you are after all a child of mine." J'onn looks up at this with sweat pouring from his forehead. "But as the law of the jungle says; those too weak to live, must perish." It says as it sits down on J'onn's lower back before wrapping one arm around his throat. J'onn's world begins to spin.
"J'onn why are you scared of this?" Raven's voice cuts through to J'onn's mind.
"It… burns…" He manages. "Help…"
"You are a spirit J'onn, fire can't harm you here." Raven replies calmly. "You know this already, and it's not what you are really afraid of. Look at him." With great difficulty J'onn manages to shape shift into a stream of putty that race away from the Burning Martian before reforming, leaning against a tree. "Look at him J'onn, what is it you really fear about him?" Raven asks.
J'onn, still sweating, stares at the creature before him that seems content with being examined.
"It… it can't be!" J'onn says as he probes the open mind of the creature.
"But it is." The thing replies in an amused tone. "I am you, I am what hide's inside of you, waiting in the dark for the day you embrace the fire, I am Fernus!"
"I was told legends of a time when your kind existed on Mars, before White and Green Martian, warring, breeding, destroying all you came into contact with. I refuse to become anything like you!" J'onn growls as his eyes begin to glow a dangerous red.
Clark feels like he is done for, he can feel the three super powered villains beating on him, while Luthor is holding onto Lois while holding a piece of Kryptonite in his free hand. He refuses to hear their endless ranting, having stopped because he did not want to know what they would do to Lois when he is dead.
"How did I get here?" He asks between a punch from Doomsday.
"You didn't." Raven's voice makes its way into his ears. "You are in my mind."
"Raven… help Lois." Superman pleads.
"Lois isn't here, neither is the Kryptonite, Luthor or the others." Raven replies calmly.
"So weak…" Superman sighs.
"Only because you think you are. This nightmare isn't about you falling to your enemies; this is about you failing to protect those you love from them."
"But…"
"No, show me why you are the inspiration all heroes follow, why you are Superman!" Raven says sternly and Superman suddenly comes to a realization.
"RAGH!" He shouts as he bolts up, throwing the three villains aside.
"Come on Walrus, at that rate you will never save her!" The yellow Flash taunts over his shoulder as the two races through the tunnel of compressed time and space, to Wally's horror a hole has appeared at the end of the tunnel, one showing a peacefully sleeping Linda. "I'm beginning to think you want her dead?"
"Stay away from her!" Wally yells as he tries to pick up speed, the other Flash calmly turns to run backwards putting his hands behind his head and puts on a confident smirk before looking at Wally more intently.
"You know, maybe you are too close." He says as he puts down his arms and begins whirling them around in front of him, creating two tornadoes that slam into Wally knocking him flat on the rocky path.
Wally picks himself up just in time to see the other Flash disappear in the distance, his heart drops into his stomach, he knows Linda is dead now; he can't possibly save her now.
"Not the real world remember." Raven says from above him.
"Raven?! Do something! Save her!" Wally orders at the empty sky above him.
"Only you can Flash, the fastest dead man." Raven replies in an almost amused tone. "You are still faster than him, now go get him." Wally just looks at the sky for a second in outrage at her refusal to help before he races off at a speed he didn't think he could do again, soon the yellow impostor comes into view ahead of him.
John is running scared, the thing calling itself Parallax had been distracted by something for a second during their tangle and John had taken the chance to get away, he needs a weapon or something to fight this thing. He can hear it following him from the grunts, slurps and whoops coming from behind him. A sudden impression in the labyrinth wall has John duck into it; a second later Parallax passes him. He can't shake the feeling he is doing exactly what Parallax wants him to. John almost jumps out of his hiding space as Raven's face appears in the stone before him
"You are." Raven says.
"What is that thing?!" John asks as he tries to remain quiet.
"I have only fragments of Gathet's memories of it, it seems to be a spirit parasite one that feeds on fear. I am not sure why it looks like Jordan." Raven replies.
"I'll have to ask them when we get out of here, but why am I seeing this, I've never met it?" He asks.
"I think Nightmare is mixing some of my memories into these things." Raven replies.
"Ok, so can you make me something to beat this thing with?"
"You already have it." Raven says as a smirk appears on her face. "Why did the ring choose you?"
"Because I can overcome great fear." John says surprised before he notices Raven's face has disappeared, nodding at the empty wall once, he steps out. "Hey ugly!"
Shayera has lost all sense of up and down as the shades keep tossing her around between them. She had tried taking swings at them, but she passed right through them, like this was fighting Shadow Thief and his brothers.
"A kingdom for my mace… ouf!" She says as one of the shades punch her in the belly.
"Even if you had a kingdom to give, you wouldn't need to make that trade." Raven's voice says from above.
"A little help?" Shayera asks.
"I am providing it; you are only getting battered because you are letting them."
As Raven finishes one of the shades strike Shayera's head. "Ow...they feel pretty solid to me."
"Means they will be solid when you want them to be, this is just a part of your mind that wants this. Try wanting to beat them. Focus." Raven says as one shade wraps his arms around Shayera spreading her arms wide.
"Ok!" Shayera growls as she focuses on the shade holding onto her as she reached up and throws it over her shoulders into the advancing shade. "Right, now it's payback time. HA!" She says as she quickly cracks her knuckles and charges the shades.
"Heracles, please don't do this." Diana pleads as they enter unseen into Themyscira's harbor.
"I have made promises to these men, and I aim to keep them, as I will all promises to men." Heracles replies while gazing over the sleeping city, while the first of his ships are unloading their cargo. "I wonder if the rest of your people still have the spunk they had all those years ago?"
"Diana, why are you allowing this to continue?" Raven's voice filters into Diana's mind.
"I… I can't stop it."
"Yes you can." Raven argues. "This isn't real, whatever you see it what you make it to be."
"And the lasso?" Diana argues.
"Still in the embassy as I recall."
Diana blinks a few times, she had thought this was real, everything looked solid to her. The realization however has her plant her feet firmly on the deck before she strains her legs, tearing the mast free of the deck with surprising ease. "THEMYSCIRA! AWAKEN!" She yells at the top of her voice. As if it was a signal for a well prepared ambush, Themyscira comes alive, torches blazing and warriors come streaming from every building. Amongst them, Diana can see her mother running at the front with certain red skinned Amazon by her side.
Shortly afterwards:
The Founders all emerge back in the forest clearing they were separated in, each carrying a trophy or something from their experiences. Bruce is sitting on his, evidently exhausted and wounded from his fight and J'onn is standing and staring at a pile of ash at the clearing's edge .
"He's too stubborn to realize he's not hurt." Raven says as she appears out of the woods, dressed in white.
"Is this show and tell?" Flash asks spotting the others are all carrying something.
"Guy called himself Parallax, some kind of fear parasite." John says as he throws the badly beaten body he is carrying onto the ground. "Fortunately I can still fight like a marine."
"Eww…" Wally says as Parallax's lower jaw parts. "Never got this guy's name, but he didn't have a face under this." He says while holding the top of the yellow Flash's costume in his hand. "Which was kinda freaky."
"Well, I just to tangle with a bunch of Shadow Thieves." Shayera shrugs as she drops the tangle of shadows on the ground she was carrying. "Is that a head?" She asks, spotting the thing Diana is carrying.
"A good dream of mine, Raven and I held onto him, my mother chopped it off." She says holding it up proudly.
"A dream version of me." Raven corrects as a few looks are thrown at her. "I only told her what she needed to hear, like the rest of you."
"Except Bruce." Flash ads.
"True." Raven shrugs. "Anyways, since I'm awake now because of some of you. I think we can do what Bruce suggested."
"We woke you?" John cuts in.
"Your collective emotions did. Bruce mentioned something I have also noticed; some of you are growing restless. I can't fault you for this. Bruce suggested you work out some of that energy training with me or yourselves while I sleep. We can do this for an hour or so each night before I end up getting affected by it."
"That's a good idea, or I would start going hunting for more of these." Shayera notes, feeling emboldened by the fist fight.
"You're kidding?" John asks.
"No?" Shayera gives him one of those looks where she tells him she considers it completely normal suggestion.
"So what is this Bruce?" Diana asks, nudging the huge body with her foot.
"A combination of Bane, Joker, Croc and Scarecrow." Bruce groans as he stands up, revealing his torn costume that's missing most of its midsection along with the three claw marks that's trailed over his midsection. "I'll be all right." He says noticing the worried look on Diana's face.
"You're not even hurt, you just think you are." Raven adds, but it seems to go unheard by him. "Or do you need proof?"
"I'll be fine." Bruce says as he straightens up, the others can see he is pained.
"No, you won't." Raven says harshly before she suddenly plants a solid kick on his shoulder that sends him flying over the monster's body, Batman reacts by instinct and rolls on the ground coming up in a crouch.
"Raven?! What are you…" Diana asks in surprise as Raven jumps over the body as well and lands into a series of kicks and punches against Bruce, they are all deflected but Bruce is pushed backwards.
"Has she's lost it." John says, yet they are all reluctant to intervene in the hope there was a reason for the aggression.
Raven is relentless in her assault, as each of her attacks is parried, she begins a new one. Eventually she catches him off guard and lands a heavy punch to his left rib that has him stagger to the side only to be caught on the back of the head by a heel. The force of the blow to his head literally has him somersaulting onto his back before a foot is placed firmly on his windpipe.
"I don't believe it." Shayera gasps neither do the others, having just born witness to Batman getting walked over.
"Normally I wouldn't be able to do this." She notes.
"You're stronger, and faster." He notes through clenched teeth.
"Do you really think that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place?" Raven counters. "Do you think that is air you're breathing now?" She asks before removing her foot and walks away from him. Bruce gets up and seems to stare off into the distance for a second. "Again." Raven says as she gets into a ready position, which Bruce does as well after cracking his neck and back.
"Anyone got popcorn?" Flash asks as he sits down on a convenient rock as the two begin wordlessly circling each other, the others find similar seating's.
"Haven't they done something like this before?" John asks Diana.
"They have, two minutes with no powers or tools." Diana replies without turning to look at him. "Bruce came out on top back then."
The two open up the fight at a blistering pace, each trying, at first, to punch the other only to have both attacks blocked by their opponent, Bruce spins and dodges in an attempt to sweep Raven's legs away from under her which she counters by jumping over his leg. As Bruce stands up again he is met by three kicks from her, one aimed at the left side of his torso followed by two aimed at his head. The one aimed at his midsection hits home, getting a grunt from him while the two other kicks are blocked by his arm while he plants a palm squarely in Raven's chest sending her falling backwards onto her back.
She quickly rolls aside as Bruce leaps and tries to plant a knee and a fist on her. While rolling Raven curls up before spreading her legs spinning around herself once as she hands stands and bends over backwards to come up on her feet. The action has Bruce roll to the other side and stand up to begin a new series of kicks and punches that has Raven back away, dodging the last punch completely, leaving Bruce to strike a tree with a dull 'thud'. The two end up staring at each other again, with Bruce's back to the tree.
"You're stronger than this." Raven says without breaking eye contact. "HA!" Bruce narrowly dodges aside the sudden open palmed strike Raven aims at his midsection, leaving the tree to take it. Raven holds the stance at the strike that pulverizes the central part of the trunk, leaving the upper part to collapse on top of Raven, who catches it at the end before turning to face Bruce who looks surprised. "Catch." Raven says before hurling the tree directly at him, its speed leaves no time for him to dodge it.
The spectators are all about to shout something, outrage, a warning, something, but it is all caught in their throats as the log ceases all movement as it is caught by Bruce who holds onto it apparently effortlessly before dropping it on the ground.
"Let's keep the superpowers out of this one." Bruce says as he straightens up.
"Fair enough…ouf!" Raven manages before Bruce kicks the tree, sending it flying into her midsection, carrying her backwards into another tree, pinning her between the two.
"Never believe an actual opponent." Bruce says calmly as Raven is about to complain, she just stares at him, gauging that remark for a second before disappearing.
"Think those two would work well in a movie or something." Flash adds as Raven reappears behind Bruce trying to deliver a chop to the back of his neck, which is blocked by a raised arm before she disappears again without having fully emerged.
"I think I have seen something like this once." John adds as Ravens leg emerges and slams into Bruce's midsection.
The two continue without pause for the next hour or so, each having their ups and downs and a few trees getting toppled along the way before they finally pull apart panting, having forgotten they don't actually need to breathe.
"That was…" Raven starts.
"A good round." Bruce says before bowing to her, an action which she echoes.
"I need to go rest, you can inform the others." Raven says as she gives the others a tired smile before fading from view.
"Tell us what?" Shayera asks as they get up, personally both she and Diana is both slightly envious about not having a go.
"How this will work." Batman says as he brings his breathing under control before giving the rest of them an almost wicked smirk.
Author's Notes: So now they have something to entertain themselves with. Next, a few plan are laid and a few problems arise.