This chapter is dedicated to Protocol115, a longtime reader and reviewer of this series. Thanks for hanging with AV and I all this time and we hope you enjoy this very belated b-day present.

With every piece that was taken, the board became more bare. Unfortunately, most of the dwindling pieces belonged to Batman.

With a couple pawns, a queen, a rook, and his knights left, Batman was becoming more conservative with his movies. One wrong move and he'd be down a piece and he couldn't afford to toss any away needlessly. Despero, on the other hand, had exhausted his pawns and knights, but was still wrecking havoc with his bishops and queen.

The dark-clad man couldn't say the same for his own queen. He had her positioned a row in front of Despero's king, ensuring that he couldn't escape that way should he be put into check. Getting the king into check had proven to be more difficult. Because of this, he couldn't willingly give up the position.

Even as Despero kept trying to maneuver his bishops into position to take the piece.

"There's something I need to know," Batman said, his tone casual. He might as well have been talking about the non-existent weather in this strange place. "For someone as formidable as you are, you have gone well out of your way to destroy as many worlds as possible."

"I do not see your point," Despero replied.

"Ever since you've returned, you've made a point to destroy rather than conquer." Batman moved his pawn up a space. "That goes against your usual methods."

"That is because I do not seek to conquer," Despero moved his bishop, placing it where it would trap his queen. In a move or two, Batman would be forced to move his queen, or risk losing her. "What is difficult to understand?"

"Do you intend on destroying all worlds?" he pointed out. "Before, you were marshaling a growing force. That isn't an indication you had enough men and materials for your conquest. So you recruited from the local populace and absorbed them into your ranks, using their resources to strengthen your military. How will you convince anyone to join you when you're destroying anything and everything that gets in your way now?"

"Ahh," Despero responded. "You see vast numbers as a key to success. I do not blame you for such thinking; I myself thought as much once. However, after…my defeat on your home world, my forces crumbled. All whom I had recruited into my forces returned to their planets to rebuild and toss away any allegiance to Kalanor. My own people were a shell of themselves."

Batman eyed his pawn, counting the squares he needed to go. Reaching out, he moved it another square up, putting it on the square behind and to the right of his queen. "That sounds like an organizational matter."

"Quite. All it took was the Martian to throw my entire campaign into question. One warrior versus a legion. It was completely unacceptable."

"That was the power structure you created," Batman pointed out.

"Yes, the fault lies with me." Despero moved his other bishop across the board. Batman's king was still safe as well as his queen. Still the move put the Kalanorian in a position to either put the king in check or endanger the queen in the next move. "Upon my return, I discovered how fractured my previous conquests had become. Alliances no longer existed. No one respected Kalanor's authority. Examples…had to be made."

Batman narrowed his eyes at the despot. "How many?"

A knowing look was on Despero's face. "How many what?" he responded coyly.

"How many worlds did you destroy just to make your examples?"

"Twenty four, not including the Citadel."

Twenty four…that was twenty four planets with twenty four cultures and countless people. Billions, perhaps even trillions wiped out just to make examples.

Batman couldn't contain the rage he felt.

Despero tilted his head to one side, resting his check on his hand, which was propped up on the table from his elbow. "Does this anger you? I sense you do not approve."

The Dark Knight moved his pawn next to his queen. "Of course it does. There is no reason other than your own ego for such senseless destruction."

"I do not deny this. You cannot understand what drives a man to do such things, I'm afraid. You do not know what it is like to have your mind overwhelmed and violated, left discarded, forgotten like trash."

Batman gave the Kalanorian a look. "You tried to do the same to me. You left me in a coma for a week."

Despero shrugged his shoulders. "Then perhaps you do know my feelings."

"No, I can't say that I do."

A tremor shook the table, causing the pieces to rattle. "That was a stronger one," Despero observed. "I wonder if your comrades are about to reach us. It would be a disappointing way to ruin our game."

Batman frowned. Though they had felt tremors throughout their time here, this one had yet to stop. In fact, the platform they were on was shaking. This wasn't from some destruction somewhere in this world.

The shaking grew worse then, several of the chess pieces falling over and rattling over the chessboard. Even their chairs were trembling, causing the two players to grab onto the table to steady themselves, only to find the table was shaking as well. "What is this now?" Despero snarled, tearing his eyes away from the game as he searched the surrounding area around them.

Then came a light. To Batman's left, Despero's right, a bright white light erupted. As the two turned their heads, the light raced towards them and before they could so much as utter a sound, it consumed them.

The next thing Batman knew, he slammed into a wall, but not one of stone, instead metal. Taking the brunt of the collision with his shoulder, the vigilante grunted before he collapsed to the floor, lying on his side. Gritting his teeth as he ignored the throbbing he felt, the vigilante glanced around and saw that the ancient stone world he had been in was gone and in its place was the bridge of Despero's ship. Alarms were blaring, computer consoles lighting up.

Next to the vigilante, Dr. Fate crashed into the wall with his back, sliding down to end up in a sitting position on the floor. On another wall was J'onn, lying much like Batman was on the floor.

And in the middle of the room was Despero, returned to his original form. Gone were the other versions of himself, though he did look dazed from the experience.

"Fate!" Batman called out. "What's happening?"

The sorcerer glanced around, seemingly stunned. It took him a moment to shake it off. "My spell was interrupted," he answered. "I do not know how, but I sense…something terrible has happened."

"Lord Despero!" Glancing away from his comrade, Batman spotted several Kalanorians throughout the room, no doubt crew members. Many were in a frenzy at their stations, further proof that something was up. "Something has happened!"

"What happened?" Despero growled as he raised a hand up, rubbing it all over his face, his attempt at regaining his senses.

"The battlefield has been wiped clean," his officer responded.

"Wiped…" Despero trailed off as he looked towards his man. "Put it on screen. And turn off these blasted alarms!"

"Working on it!" another Kalanorian called out. In the meantime, a large screen showed current footage of the battle that was being waged, only…there wasn't any fighting that Batman could see. In fact, all he could see was wreckage.

What the hell happened here?

"I want status updates: now!" Despero roared.

There was silence before a Kalanorian answered his leader. "There was a new ship, something from Earth. It fired an incredible blast that destroyed anything it touched. Your ship has suffered significant damage. We are trying to ensure life support for as much of the ship as we can, but we are having to close off the damaged areas."

"Could you make anything of that?" Batman questioned Dr. Fate.

"Somewhat," he replied. "Whatever this force was that struck the ship, it clearly had the power to disrupt my spell. I find this quite concerning."

"Find the source of this power. Whatever it is, it must be destroyed," Despero ordered. He then turned away from his men, eyeing Batman, J'onn, and Dr. Fate. "I have a matter I need to finish."

"J'onn," the vigilante called out, glancing to the Martian. Much to his chagrin, J'onn had only just begun pushing himself up, but was still lying on the floor. He didn't look as if he were ready for combat, unlike Despero.

This did not bode well.

"I believe I have erred," Dr. Fate said. "My separating of Despero has weakened us rather than him."

Great, more good news. "If J'onn can't fight him, then we're going to have to do it," he replied. That was not going to end well either. Physically, Batman knew he didn't stand a chance. Dr. Fate wasn't physically imposing either, though his magic was their best shot. That didn't account for Despero's telepathy, however.

These weren't exactly winning odds.

"The time has come," Fate said then. "Are you ready?"

"I am," came Batman's response, even if it wasn't his.

"We only have one shot now. Do not waste it."

Suddenly, Dr. Fate shoved himself up, using the wall to brace himself as he climbed up onto his feet. Despero only spared a glance at the sorcerer, keeping most of his attention on J'onn. "Despero the Destroyer!" Fate shouted.

The Kalanorian again spared a glance, but this time kept an eye on the helm-wearing man. Fate raised his hands up until he held them at shoulder height in front of him. "This is your end!"

A bright light then erupted from his hands, casting the entire room into blinding whiteness.

"Gyaahh!" Despero cried out as he moved an arm up to shield his face. He was getting quite tired of all of these blinding lights.

Though he wanted nothing more than to crush the Martian, it seemed he was going to have to dispose of his comrades before he enjoyed that pleasure. So be it. He would not be denied any longer.

Lowering his arms from his face, he found that he no longer felt the blinding, stinging sensation within his eyes. Opening all three of them, he found himself in a world of solid white. It seemed to stretch far beyond the horizon and in all directions. What realm was he in now?

"The last one you will ever see."

A voice? Despero jerked his head to find its source. Incredibly, there stood a young, human female. She was dressed in black and white, dark hair reaching to her shoulders. Her eyes—

Despero gasped. Yellow and orange lights were swirling within her eyes, and he felt himself be dragged into them.

An incredible force rammed into him them. Despero's arms were forcibly yanked up, held at shoulder height. His body felt paralyzed as an incredible wind raged against him. His eyes could barely keep themselves open. However, when he closed them, he could only see that swirling orange and yellow.

No!

Forcing his eyes opened, Despero found he had erred. The little girl he had seen was no longer little. Instead, she seemed to have grown to the size of one of his cruisers. Whatever ground she was on had vanished, a dark void having taken its place, the source of the overpowering wind. This allowed the titan-sized girl to appear to be hovering rather than standing.

Then she drew closer. Despero strained himself, trying to move his arms and legs, but found he could not. He gnashed his teeth, struggling against his invisible restraints. The girl only came to a stop when one of her eyes hovered before him, the eye equal in size to his stature. He could see his own reflection within the spinning colors, swirls that began to distort his appearance as his reflected frame joined the swirling.

And all he could do was scream.

How many ages, eons, and worlds had he seen? Countless. Races came and went, the people lived their lives, and the threats to the peace always came. There was little that could surprise Ganthet by now, though every once in a while, such a feat could be achieved.

From those whom he could expect depravity, there was very little time given to horror. Such actions were expected, and the scope of each act differed by the circumstances. He had witness planet-wide extinction events before, perpetrated by those fully capable and willing to do so, and he had not blinked an eye.

Yes, he did mourn, for with the power of the ring, empowered by will itself, to prevent such atrocities was his will, and so failures would be given their due respect, as well as a vow to do better.

Sacrifice. Valor. Determination. So many times he had seen those in the actions of the Green Lantern Corps, from the largest to the smallest. Sometimes, to obtain victory, the Lanterns would have to go to risky extents, and gamble with the fate of worlds in the balance. Should they prove worthy, they would emerge triumphant.

You would be surprised how many victories they had achieved.

As he gazed upon the ending of the battle, of Kalanor's threat, instead of feeling triumphant and pride, he felt…

…appalled.

It wasn't the sight of the destroyed Kalanorian vessels. It wasn't the fires or the remains of the bodies. War was full of those. The Guardian had seen his fair share of war.

Towards the far end, just over the curviture of the planet Earth he could see the damnable Psion creation, the World Engine, with its aim directed towards the center of the devastation. It was clear what was responsible here. There was only one group that declared ownership of the terrifying terraformer, and it was safe to assume it wasn't the Tamaraneans.

He held an interest in Earth. Call it a curiosity. So many reports came from this one planet in this one sector, and it was natural that he would pay heed. So many conflicts rose from this planet. So many intertwined with it.

Based on his knowledge, the people here were not the most technologically advanced. Some advanced worlds might rudely use the term backwards. They were restricted by their lack of technological prowess and their distance from many of the galactic hubs. Taking up arms against a more advanced race in the technical aspect was a foolhardy act and spoke of desperation, and that is what some of its inhabitants had done.

Now this race had obtained highly advanced and foreign technology, the kind that was not native to it. That their first usage of it was as a weapon…

The results spoke for themselves.

Bereft of their mighty cannon, the blow to the Kalanorians' morale was obvious. None of them had taken into account that such a possibility could occur. There was also a noticeable lack of organization, few of the officers taking command. That bespoke to an absence from their leader; the Kalanorians were well known to be at the mercy to those with a strong enough will and with little strength to enact individual desire. Not quite a hive mind, but not an organized group of individuals either.

It took a powerful will to direct them, and that will was lacking. Now was the time to seize the initiative and bring an end to this conflict. The command to do so was already issued, and the remaining Green Lanterns rushed out to fulfill it.

But Ganthet was not as fast to do so himself. His eyes could not leave the sight before him.

What did this portend? How would the power structure of the galaxy change this time? Who would rise up to fill the void left behind by the various powers involved who had fallen? What would the Corps need to do to mitigate the effects of such a scramble? Who would need watching? Who should be allowed to benefit?

What would this mean for Earth? Would this latest rout afford it new protections?

Or would it place another target on it?

Shayera had experienced her share of sparring with her fellow soldiers. It was part of military life, using your bunkmates and trench buddies to sharpen your skills. Never had she thought she would end up fighting against her own friends while they were in the middle of the war.

She had to admit, she was a little disappointed.

It probably had something to do with the Justice League and its myriad of different powers. It was one thing to go up against someone you knew their entire move set; it was a completely different situation when your opponents could pick and choose who fought you with powers that could target your weaknesses. Black Lighting was proving this as he fired a bolt of lightning down the corridor, striking a guard and rendering him tasered. He ended up laying on the floor, a twitching mass of smoking flesh.

Firestorm had begun doing the same thing, using his strange powers to create lightning bolts. Between the two heroes, they were electrocuting their way through the Raptor. Fire and Ice took up the rear, holding off guards so that way they weren't boxed in. That left Shayera, Steel, and Vixen in the middle, ready to help out if need be.

Of course, they were on the lookout for something else.

"How much closer are we to this communication room?" Steel asked, adjusting his grip on his hammer. He kept glancing back towards their rear, where Fire was forcing back some guards, green fire raging from her hands. The moment she stopped, Ice unleashed her own power, creating a wall of ice to block them off. No doubt the guards would try to break their way through, but they were at least being delayed.

"Not too far off," Shayera reported, passing a doorway. From the corner of her eye, she could see Steel and Vixen eyeing her, looking for confirmation with each and every door. It made sense since they didn't know where they were; still didn't make it any less annoying.

Or maybe it was the fact she didn't have her helmet on, revealing her face to them. No one outside of John had seen her maskless, so it was weird being exposed this way.

Up ahead, the crackling of electricity reached her ears and she spotted more guards being electrified. Hell, the entire hallway they were in had bodies scattered throughout, black singed marks covering their armor and skin. Shayera was having to watch her step as she hurried around them, seemingly darting from one side of the hallway to the other.

"Hey!" Black Lightning called out. "I think we found something!"

Spreading her wings, Shayera took to the air, flying down the hallway until she reached the man. There was an open door where, one of her kinsmen lying sprawled in the threshold, clearly having been electrocuted right then and there. However, this left the doorway wide open, revealing all sorts of computer terminals.

Terminals she knew for a fact belonged to the communication room.

"Alright! We're here!" she called out. "Keep the guards busy out here while I get the word out. The last thing we need is to be trapped in here."

"Got it," Black Lightning said, even as Steel and Vixen joined them. "Steel, help out Fire and Ice; Vixen, you're with me and Firestorm. We need to make sure we don't get boxed in here."

Whatever their response was, Shayera ignored it. Instead she was heading for one of the computer terminals. Reaching it, she knew she was at the right one as a microphone extended out of the workstation. Next to it was a touchscreen interface, one she tapped with a finger to activate. The interface along with a monitor lit up, and she immediately began typing.

An explosion, coupled with a tremor that shook the room, rang out, coming from the hallway. Things were heating up out there.

An image appeared on screen, revealing a number of frequencies. A couple of the frequencies were green while many were red. At first, Shayera wanted to find one that she knew would reach the Justice League, but considering everything that was going on…

This wasn't going to end well for her.

Fingers struck the touchscreen interface and one by one, each frequency icon turned green. Eventually, all of them were green indicating they were active and ready for use.

Taking a deep breath, Shayare grabbed the microphone and began the transmission.

"Attention all!" she began, "this is Hawkgirl of…of the Justice League. Earth is in grave danger, I repeat, Earth is in danger. The Defense Shield Generator is not what we have been told it is. It is in fact a Black Hole Generator. Once activated, it will create a black hole that will swallow up Earth and everything around it. I am calling out to anyone that can hear me: stop this. Whatever our differences are, we must put them aside and unite to stop this…to stop our world from being destroyed."

Despero laid on the floor, along with his fellow Kalanorians.

Batman wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but he had a pretty good idea who was responsible.

Dr. Fate had unleashed a spell, one that had blinded even him despite the lenses in his cowl. Magic was the reason for that naturally. After the light stopped stinging his eyes, he saw Despero lying on the floor, drool looking out of his mouth. Shortly after, the other Kalanorians slumped to the floor one by one. None of them knew what hit them.

This left Batman, J'onn, and Fate to stare down at the unconscious space tyrant. They formed a semi-circle around the large alien, gazing coolly down at him.

"How long have you been planning this?" Batman questioned Fate, not even bothering to look up at the sorcerer. Everyone here knew who he was talking to.

"Since we gathered at the Tower of Fate," he answered. "I felt it was prudent we had a contingency in place should things go awry."

The Dark Knight couldn't fault the man for that. He would have wanted multiple plans with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. It was a credit to him and Ace that they kept it under wraps like they had, especially with a ship full of telepaths looking to invade their minds. Despero had been feeding J'onn's anguish the entire time, so he hadn't been able to focus on anything but the Kalanorian.

Still, there was one thing he needed to do. "I thought I told you not to take over," he spoke internally.

"I thought it would be faster if—" Ace began

"—if you answered," he finished for her. "You and I are going to have a long talk about this soon."

"What was it that Ace did?" J'onn asked then. Clearly he wasn't surprised by this state of affairs, or he was hiding it rather well.

"The girl drove him into a state of catatonia," Fate answered. "However long it lasts, I do not know, but it should allow us time to end this reckless battle."

As if that were some sort of sign, the intercoms came on, a familiar voice coming through. "Attention all! This is Hawkgirl of…of the Justice League."

The three men turned their attention away from Despero, staring towards one of the many computer terminals on the bridge. "Earth is in grave danger," the Thanagarian continued, "I repeat, Earth is in danger. The Defense Shield Generator is not what we have been told it is. It is in fact a Black Hole Generator."

"A what?!" Batman exclaimed. While he had known the Defense Shield Generator was not what the Thanagarians were claiming it was, he hadn't had time to completely follow up on it, especially lately. If there was ever a time to be the last to know something, this was certainly not it.

While Hawkgirl continued with her transmission, J'onn spoke, "This is most unwelcome. We need to get in touch with the Thanagarians and inform them that we have Despero in our custody again."

"I don't think that will matter much," Batman groused. "They've been building that generator ever since they arrived on Earth. In fact, I'd wager they built it for this very moment."

J'onn glanced down at Despero, staring at the Kalanorian as a thought came to him. "They wanted to remove him as a threat. With his planet-destroying weapon, they did not want to risk Despero turning it onto their home world."

"So they chose Earth knowing he would come here. Once he arrived, they'd turn on the generator and rid themselves of the entire Kalanorian fleet." It was a sickening feeling to realize just how logical this plan of theirs was.

"We have to put a stop to them," J'onn declared.

"How?" Batman questioned. "Talak has had his men guarding the generator since construction began. No doubt they're going to increase it, especially after Hawkgirl's announcement. Then there's Despero."

As the dark-clad man trailed off, the three men glanced down at the tyrant. "I would not feel at ease leaving him like this," J'onn admitted. "And there is no place else to hold him."

"He cannot go to the Tower of Fate," Fate proclaimed. "I do not know if his current status will be maintained if we were to enter a different dimension. It is a risk we cannot take."

Batman had to agree. If Despero was somehow restored heading to the Tower of Fate, there were so many magical artifacts he could use to his advantage while there. It also would defeat the purpose of having Ace return him to his psychic coma, or whatever state he was in. That meant they had to transport Despero by conventional means, which meant J'onn was not going to leave the Kalanorian's side.

They were seriously becoming undermanned for this.

Ultimately, this Black Hole Generator had to be destroyed before it was activated. The Thanagarians would be protecting it no matter what, so a fight was inevitable. Hawkgirl's announcement would ensure the League would be heading to the Gobi Desert.

If the League could get the defenses down…

That was the key to all of this. They needed to get the League to the Gobi Desert. Flash was the only one fast enough to get himself there in a matter of seconds, but he couldn't just take one person at a time. The only thing that could give him a run for his money was the Watchtower's teleporter…

A plan was beginning to form in his head. It wasn't a good one, but it was the only one he could come up with on short notice. At the very least, if he succeeded, he could get the League in position to take on the Thanagarians.

He was just going to need a little help to get started.