LXXVI
The Devil's Deal

As the dots had connected for her husband, the true horror the League had crafted suddenly revealed itself to Raven Wayne. As Bruce had pulled aside the sheet of the illusion to reveal the betrayal of Lucius Fox, the entire stage had come crashing down to reveal the gates of Hell to Raven.

The soul barrier.

As a half-demon, she knew of its existence only too well. The psychic barrier that protected the Earth from that which would destroy it. The circle of balance; energy left, energy entered, the order was maintained. On either side of the great barrier wall flowed the entropic seas of Styx. Its black tides drifting across the soul-shattering barrier, welcoming any fool who had not paid the price… one soul in, one soul out. One soul for the dead, one soul for the living. There were lessons to learn on either side.

Eleven million souls.

Nebu demons, like some monstrous dogs at her father's heels, ate souls. They were the end of existence, scavengers of the final apocalypse. As the murdered souls of Kahndaq passed through the soul barrier into the jaws of the Nebu, an imbalance was created, a void of devoured souls, longing to be filled.

A void to be filled by Trigon.

This was his passage. The League, mad with their desire to end the human race, had made a deal with the devil. Eleven million souls destroyed, replaced by Trigon…

"Bruce… The League… They've killed these people to allow Trigon passage to Earth with all of his power! It was a sacrifice!"

"It's too late, Wayne." Lucius smiled at Bruce. "And the best part of it is my reward… my next body… is yours!" Lucius continued giggling like an insane child.

"Raven, knock him out for me, please." Bruce removed his hands from his CEO, turning aside as Lucius cackled like a mad hyena behind him. And then the man who had betrayed them all suddenly stopped laughing, and fell motionless to the floor… his consciousness left abandoned three dimensions away.

"…His mind is sick, my love."

"I know. That will be brought to bear when he faces prosecution... For now, we have larger problems. Much larger problems. Alfred, leave Arella with the bag of ice and fetch some rope and sheets. We'll need Lucius and Luthor's woman tied and gagged."

"Do you wish the hairless one healed?" It was Arella.

"If you could Arella… I hate to say it, but we're going to need Luthor... World order will need him."

Arella tossed the bag of ice aside and placed both of her hands on either side of Luthor's jaw. The words and phrases she uttered sounded like nothing Bruce had ever heard before. He instinctively knew it was actual magic she was performing.

The president groaned, regained consciousness, and began to rub his jaw. He opened his eyes to see Arella smiling down at him, black curly hair surrounding two bright, violet eyes.

"I'll grant you a pardon… The rest of you will all be tried for conspiracy and treason. How dare you!" Luthor slowly rose to his feet. It was Bruce Wayne who replied.

"Luthor, get your shiny head out of your ass. You'd still be a League puppet if we didn't rescue you...The entire world is about to end and you're still acting like a prima donna... Just who the hell is that woman?"

Luthor pondered for an instance before answering, and then grinned at Wayne.

"That is Talia al Ghul, daughter of Ra's al Ghul, age-old leader of the League of Assassins. She was the one giving the speech at the funeral through my mouth."

"The answer to the riddle!" It was Barbara Gordon. "Ra's al Ghul, that's what Edward Nigma's last riddle meant. He must have been with the League as well."

"And unfortunately Lucius Fox as well." Bruce gestured to the prone figure of the fallen business leader. "I'm sorry Mr. President, but I have reason to believe my CEO was the one who organized the attack on the White House."

"As well as the late Secretary of Defense. I knew I recognized that space suit as one of yours, Wayne... I had thought that perhaps you were a member of the League."

"Likewise… Unfortunately, the League's plan is bigger than anything we could have guessed..."

"I see… brief me on the trip, Wayne. I need to get to the Pentagon and in front of a camera before a nuclear war."

"I can have you there in a heartbeat, Mr. President. Once you know what we're up against."

"Bruce, are you insane?! He'll have us killed the moment he sets foot in the Pentagon!" Barbara was always the voice of reason.

"Lex…" Bruce took a deep breath and stared at the president. "…Satan Himself is about to set foot upon the Earth and unleash the wrath of Hell. The League believes they are the chosen ones in this apocalypse, the only tribe who will be left standing. We have one chance of stopping that from happening and she's standing right beside me. Lex Luthor, I would like to introduce you to Mrs. Raven Wayne, my wife."

Raven extended a hand to Lex Luthor who did not accept it.

"You do not have to fear me, Mr. Luthor." Raven did not retract her hand.

"Don't I?..." The president scowled. Luthor made the mistake of glancing over at Bruce Wayne to gauge his reaction. The piercing blue steel in his eyes drilled through him... He accepted Raven's hand.

"You do not trust strangers." There was no uncertainty in Raven's voice as she grasped his hand, no attempts at diffusing an awkward situation. She simply stated it as fact.

"Get out of my head." Luthor broke the handshake as though Raven's thoughts were able to cross the shared physical contact of their palms.

"I was not in your head, Mr. Luthor. Your emotions tell me that you fear others different than you. What Talia has done to you is forbidden by the laws of Azarath. I mean you no harm."

"I mean no disrespect, Mrs. Wayne. It is… difficult for me to accept others different from myself."

Bruce was staring down at an unconscious Lucius. "All that matters right now Luthor is whether you're with us… or not. Things are about to get Old-Testament-ugly very shortly."

"Let's be clear, Wayne... I am not with you...You are with me. I represent the government of the United States of America as its Commander-in-Chief… You are a man whose opinion I value, but I will be the one to coordinate our plan of attack. So, are you with me, Wayne?"

"God forgive me, yes."

"Good. Then let's make it official. Please raise your right hand." For a second, Bruce looked at Luthor dumbfounded, but then slowly raised his right hand as Luthor continued.

"Repeat after me… I, state your name, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."

Any parts of the Oath of Office that Bruce stumbled upon, Luthor aided him with. He still wasn't sure what he was being sworn in for though. Luthor explained...

"Congratulations, Mr. Wayne, I now formally announce you as the new Secretary of Defense. Following the current line of succession, that makes you the Vice President as well. I ask Miss Barbara Gordon to bear witness to this and to please not hit me again… Shall we go?"

"…We shall, Mr. President."

As Raven Wayne prepared to teleport the group of eight to the Pentagon, something smashed through the manor's roof above them.