Things get chaotic, fast...


Say my name Backwards! 1.1

Her agent was confident

Too confident actually. Ever since the mystery man had appeared across the news and incident reports from around the world, she did not truly understand why it seemed like many other thinkers were questioning their sanity around the man. He was as clear as day to her like many other parahumans that she had taken into account when going with the Path.

There were no breakdowns or bouts of error in data that threw off Numberman of all people. He was so incensed by it that he started a very obtuse series of fits that had him destroying more of their equipment in-site that Doctor Mother had to quarantine him for a few days.

He has since calmed down, (admittedly with her help), but for the most part, it seemed like all Thinker-based agents were having difficulties or downright failures when assessing the newest point of contention around the world.

The Superman as he seemed to call himself.

Fortuna admitted the man was strong. Obscenely. It was as if Scion had grown a conscience and had proceeded to do as much as possible to quickly fill in the gaps of all the wrong that his species would someday do to humanity across many worlds.

Oddly enough the distinction was addressed in their many meetings about the existence of this Superman if he was another avatar of an entity that had latched itself to Earth. Thankfully they could not come to a conclusion given the evidence that was thrown into their laps.

Most noteworthy was the simple fact that there was no restriction or blackout when it came to her agent reading the man himself. The Endbringers, the enemy, and even Eidolon himself were full blackouts when her Agent tried to read them, but the man was not.

He was almost like an open book, whereas when compared against the others she needed to enact an indirect path or leeway to traverse the weaknesses of the blind spots.

Sure, it was not full-proof evidence of this man being human, but they had nothing to gauge when it came to fully come to an educated conclusion given that the man while friendly and helpful, barely talked to anyone else unless it was important.

And even then, when he did talk, he easily went into different, non-related tangents with his speech.

There were a few specific circumstances however that supported the theory of the man being human. The most notable case was that of Bonesaw.

Or Riley Davis as she now confidently called herself.

The girl had been ultimately transformed and given a fresh start when it came to her psych profile and mental health. Their topmost experts in the field, hired and ultimately pathed by her agent to get more data on the man's background had agreed that while there were still some issues when regard to her empathy against other people, it seems the girl had willingly and happily changed for the better when it came to her outlook in life.

Sadly, the Cauldron leadership was disappointed to know that her agent was essentially gone and that she no longer had the expertise over biology during her time of membership in the Nine.

However, based on what the girl could share with them about their subject, he was effectively such a humane person, flaws and all that managed to be as kind and as caring as the most moral person on the planet.

It was not artificial. Nor was it even staged in such a manner that would follow a script of sorts. Any action towards all the people touched or encountered by the Superman had been met with a life-changing turn to where they wanted their lives to go, or for most people this would mean 'change for the better'.

They had verified it on multiple accounts, both with the resources that Cauldron had and those that they had directed subtly to confirm if there were any other 'effects' in play, namely Master ones…

But no, there was simply nothing that would point to it.

The man was a genuine, empathetic, and caring person and the more that Fortuna read about and studied the man with her Agent, the more her Path had been refined.

It had been refined to the point of near perfection as she now had every resource needed on how to better use the man for Cauldron's plans and future.

Even with the staggeringly impossible and impressive feats that dwarfed even those of the Endbringers and sometimes that of Scion, she was confident as well as her agent that they had the man's fate by their fingers.

It took merely a week's worth of studying and watching the man and she had enough data to work with on the plausibility of working him in all the paths that her agent had accounted for. It made Doctor Mother glad and quickly gave her all the resources needed to get the man into their hands as efficiently as possible which would allow them the guaranteed success that they all desired.

This was the proverbial silver bullet that they had been waiting after all these years and with the Enemy's avatar still not being able to notice the new piece on the chessboard, Cauldron would have to put every heavy advantage that it severely needed to be ahead against the coming chaos.

Thankfully, she was assured that if the Superman was inserted into their command the once convoluted series of Paths that she carefully maintained throughout the years were now simplified to a ridiculous degree.

All because of one man.

Not even Eidolon in his prime had so much potential during the final steps.

"Hm." She hummed as she stepped out of the Door that was created for her. Her agent gave her the steps already when she walked out of the alley into the sidewalk. She was now being greeted by the full-fledged glory of New York City.

She did not delay any longer as she continued down the street where she finally arrived at a specific shop at that time of day. Her agent had already parsed the information of what this measly shop was as she opened the door to its entrance while the chimes of the shop rang softly in the air.

Immediately she saw her target.

Multiple paths opened to her in preparation as she approached the man without hesitation. His back turned away from her completely as he seemingly tried to decide which product to buy from the store given that he was holding two items in both his hands.

Fortuna also noticed that the man was wearing civilian clothes. A simple business suit and some neat shiny black shoes and what looked like glasses clinging to his ears from her vantage point. He also sported a different gait and a different posture far removed from his much more prominent self.

It did lead her to wonder how the entire disguise was meant to fool anyone.

Even with all the subtle changes, everyone with the right mind would have tagged him as the Superman with enough observation. Even her own perfected knowledge of the man could not seem to understand this little new development of how he hid himself.

She disregarded all those thoughts as she returned to the job at hand.

Clearing her throat as the path guided her, she managed to get the man's attention.

"Excuse me sir." She politely said with as much authenticity as the path could give her.

The man then turned around and Fortuna noticed him blink as he sheepishly smiled back at her.

"Oh… uh, good morning miss. To what do I owe the pleasure?" the man said, the way he talked and the way he brought himself with all the actions he took were impressively different when compared to his much more well-known persona. Of course, the guise would still not fool anyone, but she needed to get straight to the point.

"I wish to discuss with you circumstances involving your other identity."

Much to the man's comfort and almost genuine surprise, she did say those things in a low enough tone that would not force the man on the counter to hear their conversation.

"My… other identity? I uh, I'm not sure I know what you mean?" the man asked.

"Sir, I do not wish to beat around the bush. If you want to resolve things peacefully with your identity and secret intact, I am afraid I need you to come with me to discuss important things regarding the safety of the world."

The man blanched at her words. Fortuna almost wanted to raise her eyebrow in reflex.

"Gee miss… I'm afraid as serious as your words are… I think you got the wrong guy. I-I'm… I'm just a reporter." He said with a hint of fear and embarrassment.

Fortuna stared at the man which was almost out of character for her.

She was genuinely shocked at this.

Essentially with how this man was stupidly doing his best to cover up his idiotic disguise and act. She almost felt like a nerve bundle was being clenched by her forehead in slight anger as she now wanted to make it clear to this man that she was being serious until a loud sound that came from the outside was audibly heard even from inside the store.

The ground also shook somewhat as Fortuna and her agent were suddenly confused at what was happening. They all turned their heads outside through the store's main window where a few cheers and a congregation of people began to gather when a very familiar sight of a man in blue tights and a red cape had slowly eased a bus full of people to the ground.

Fortuna blinked. She turned her head towards the man she was just talking to and he was still there, carrying what seemed like boardgames from the store's contents. She then returned her eyes back to the Superman outside who was now waving and smiling at the people around him as sirens of cop cars arrived on the scene.

The Superman then brought out a man from the bus which Fortuna knew as a villain that regularly did his doings in the city (via Legend's reports) now being held together by steel rebars.

She returned her gaze to the man beside her again as he quickly went to the counter and paid for his items to catch the Superman outside before he left.

Fortuna eventually followed the man she suspected to be the Superman at first as he also wished to talk to the infamous parahuman as well. She joined the crowd and with her Agent, she managed to get herself close enough, conveniently with the man she suspected to be Superman at first being by her side as she saw her target hand over the villain to the cops.

"Superman! Superman! Are you willing to answer some questions for me?" the man beside her said as Fortuna wished to intervene to get his attention first.

The man of the hour turned in their direction and approached with a smile.

"Hello, my dear friends from the press! What would you wish for me to answer?"

"What is your position on-

"Superman, it is a matter of grave importance that we talk. Privately. There are dire problems that are in need of addressing." She said to cut off the person beside her while the cheers and the sounds of people clamoring around them in the background continued.

"I see… if it is an important matter then I should oblige it." He then turned towards the man beside her. "For you sir, I may be able to schedule an appointment! A one-on-one interview if you wish so. Just tell me the time and place." The Superman cheerfully said as the man beside her perked up in joy.

"Y-yes that would be most appreciated, sir! T-Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me; I am merely doing my job." He said waving the 'reporter' off as he turned his attention back to her.

"Well… what about it miss? We should get down to business with what you wish to discuss with me." The Superman finally offered as Fortuna nodded back even amidst the earlier confusion.

Which still made her question why she had an error in the first place.


Fortuna was still confused.

Talking to the Superman seemed to… continuously bring about many baffling and inconsistent results with all the prior data that she had put into use against him.

Especially at that very moment, when they now sat face to face at one of the tables that surrounded the middle of Central Park. Her eyes continued to look around as her Agent was trying to review the data that was being presented to her.

Specifically, she noticed very well that despite her current companion's fame, none seemed to notice that he was there. Civilians of each and every kind that walked near or went about their ways close to their table were neither bothered nor had any attention to notice them.

It seemed as if the most popular man on Earth was merely something that they did not care to look at or even interact with.

What was most peculiar was that the current table that they were seated in was isolated in some shape or form from the outside world. Like an invisible bubble that induced a stranger effect. What confirmed her thoughts on this was the evident proof that within 7.01 meters or 23 feet of space around them in diameter had been the limit to which interaction with the outside world was absent.

She looked at the Superman again as she continued to study him.

His abilities and feats staggeringly increased in retinue and impossibility with each further encounter and observation. This, while benign in nature, was very impressive nonetheless as it would stand to reason that this was the method he used to hide from the World when he intended to.

…And it was probably the reason why Riley Davis had claimed that she had a journey with him measuring up to 8-9 months.

She hummed as she watched the man finish his hotdog with large but neat bites. Fortuna began to wonder if time was isolated here, or if time itself had flowed differently when it came to human perception.

"This is so good." He muttered. "A good traditional hotdog while unhealthy in large quantities is just such a nice treat to enjoy with."

Tilting her head in curiosity, Fortuna wondered why the man even with his seemingly unlimited pool of powers and abilities had acted like the most normal person alive possible. Was it simply an act like some had claimed? Or was this truly his nature and everything that came with was a passive effect driven by his wants and needs?

She hummed again in thought as her Agent took in that information.

"You sure you don't want to eat yours? I like my hotdogs pretty warm rather than cold."

"I would rather get to the conversation itself, though the hotdog is most appreciated." She replied, the most optimal path now being wired for her current disposition.

"I see. Well, I can't really fault people with their different tastes." The man said as he took a final bite and swallowed. "Still, I advise eating that treat, the good man that I bought it from works hard with each shift and while the money is pretty tight, he does his best to get through every week for his family. We don't want to waste his hard work, won't we? If anything I want to help him again by buying his stock."

"I see, but we need to talk sir. I'm afraid we have put off our current objective enough as it is." Fortuna said with as much politeness and respect as she could give.

"Yes. I'm afraid I have, pardon me." He said before clicking his tongue. "Do answer me first, however, what do you honestly expect out of this conversation? Or perhaps, what outcome do you see when we finally finish our business here?"

The cryptic question made Fortuna pause for a moment as her Agent tried to adapt to the sudden shift in tone.

"We merely want your assistance against something that endangers the entirety of the human race." Fortuna leaned closer as she saw the subtle changes of emotion on the Superman's face.

"Ah. So, it's nothing new that I should be bothered about." The man suddenly said with a smile that made her a bit surprised to hear. Given all the possible meanings that the entire statement could adhere to.

"Don't feel too bad about it miss. You are possibly the seventh person this week that has told or asked me the same thing. It's starting to be redundant you see, and while you can count on me to help in whatever shape or form it takes… I'm just a simple man who's trying to do the right thing and for me complicating matters just makes things much more tedious to work with."

"You don't understand sir, the group that I represent and the threat that we face is very much real, and far, far different than anything I believe you have ever encountered so far."

The man frowned a bit, but it was not a negative sort of frown. He then chuckled to himself as he relaxed back into his chair. "I doubt it's as bad as a talking imp that keeps coming back to bug me." He muttered as he looked at her.

"Look, why don't we make a little wager, regardless of the outcome I will help in any sort of challenge or problem that you and your organization faces… but you have to accept my deal in order for me to listen any longer to what your group may or may not offer."

Fortuna leaned in.

"And what must this wager be?" she asked as the man smiled.

"Do you know how to play chess?" he asked as seemingly out of thin air he pulled a traditional-looking chessboard from his cape and onto the table.

Fortuna nodded as the path required.

"Alright then, if you win, I get to listen further with what you offer… and if I win…" he then started to rub his chin until he snapped his fingers with a grin. "…I wish for you to hear me out on a very simple request."

"A request?" she asked as they both started to fix the chessboard. Fortuna went with white which statistically had the largest chance of success compared to his black pieces. While she knew the outcome of this little game, she was still curious about what request it was.

"Yes, for a friend. I don't think it'll strain too much of your group's resources. If anything, you won't be doing much at all but just push them along to a better place." He said as he nodded at her for their game to begin. Fortuna nodded back as she placed her first move on the board.

Her agent already made the best path needed to finish this in three simple moves.

"Very well. We will accommodate such a request even if you will not achieve victory against me." She said neutrally as the man grinned while moving a piece on the board.

"Confident? Heh. That's the spirit! Even against stronger or better opponents, you should always be confident and respectful of your skills. You never know at all what can happen in a game as it escalates…"

"I disagree. Oftentimes when you know you are insufficient against a skilled and better opponent, it is much more respectful and better to simply forfeit or surrender the match." She said as she moved the second move in play. She did not however anticipate being slightly smug about it.

"True, but it never hurts to try. No one is unbeatable after all. Not even me." He said as he moved his piece, entering her trap as a small smile entered her face.

She made her final move on the board as she offered her hand to him.

"Good game." She said as the Superman huffed before making one more move on the chessboard.

"Good game indeed… and I believe that's checkmate." He said as he took her hand and shook it as Fortuna smugly smiled… only to see the chessboard again.

"…"

It was like the world had just crashed and burned around her.

She stared at the chessboard like looking at oblivion, finally realizing what just occurred.

Silence reigned around them, almost to the point of her hearing crickets singing into the air to add to the shock and disbelief. All traces of anything positive or even any sort of absence in emotion was completely gone and was now replaced by a slow descent into anger.

HOW?

HOW THE HELL DID SHE LOSE? HER? OF ALL PEOPLE?

The sudden rise of that one emotion emanated within her like a volcano about to erupt. This was a first for her and the more she looked at the chessboard… the more insulted she felt.

She clenched both her fists as her nails dug into her palms.

Fortuna even felt her own agent almost squawk in a very human-like manner at the travesty and insult that had just occurred. She felt herself sneering as she grabbed the edges of the table and looked at the Super-… no, her ENEMY.

"I demand a rematch!" she nearly shouted as the man now sported glasses on his face,

His smug smile was too painful to look at.

"Very well miss… but let me warn you, my ability called Super-Mathematics is robust! Even the likes of Brainiac and Luthor will not stop me!" he said as he laughed at her expense.

Oh, we will see about THAT… Fortuna thought to herself as they fixed the board back to its original state.


The cheers were loud. After the debrief of all the Protectorate and PRT forces mobilized in this part of the country, she started to yawn in annoyance while the noises continued.

They were noisy even at the distance they were currently in, and they seemed to go louder and louder as the "host" of the event swayed the audience into a new swerve of emotions.

She wanted to sleep. To lay down on her bed or sofa.

Her eyes were still heavy under her helmet and her skin was still pale. Admittedly, she only agreed to this due to her own personal reasons, but she was starting to regret it.

"Meow." She heard her beloved Dexter say on her shoulder as the cat rubbed its face against hers.

At least her cat was here, even if she had to fight David and Doctor Mother over it. It was completely worth it in the end as she felt a lot more comfortable in her own skin at that very moment compared to if he was absent.

She smiled to herself a bit as she yawned due to exhaustion. Her meds were not helping, the sleep deprivation was still harsh and all the depression and guilt piled on top of it made it worse. She reached into the small sling bag that she brought along and pulled out a flask. As she started to open it, it was immediately snatched by Keith who had a scowl on his face.

"Rebecca! We talked about this. We're here in public and your image is already bad as it is!" the man angrily said as he took the flask away. She then heard David huff in support of him.

The nerve of that man. He was worse at it than her on his bad days.

At least for now…

"It's lemon juice." She deadpanned as she heard Dexter meow in support of her.

Legend quickly took the cue and smelled her flask and perked up knowing that she told him the truth. He still bitterly frowned at her as he gave it back while she took a drink.

"Even so. You know our PR is already in a slump given our colleague down there in Central Park. You being seen with anything controversial or problematic is going to have the public double down on us."

"Right. As if I'm the contributing factor that got us into this mess in the first place." She responded as Legend's frown worsened but he sighed heavily as he shook his head.

"I'm not doing this with you. That 'talk' with Doctor Mother had already ruined my day and you being what you are is not making it any better." He muttered almost to himself as she heard David hum in response when the crowd was audibly heard from their vantage point.

"You think the response we're about to enact is reasonable on our part?" the man asked the two of them as David turned his head towards the extravagant show of lights, fireworks, and LED signs with posters that made it seem like Central Park was now the setting of the Superbowl. There was also a plethora of news helicopters flying around the place while various law enforcement and eager civilians that wished to watch the 'game' had converged towards it.

"I believe so. Why do you ask?" Keith said as David returned his gaze to them.

"Because I don't feel like there's any sort of heavy Master effect of any kind on the populace, or anyone involved tonight. If not for the fact that this issue has Contessa and the Superman on international tv, this would have been as normal as a concert or a typical game night."

"We got no choice I'm afraid. Especially with how loud the PRT directors are over this mess earlier in the briefing and of course on Doctor Mother's behalf." Keith replied as Rebecca rolled her eyes when she recalled the mess of a meeting earlier when Endbringer protocols were called into effect.

Of course, Cauldron had a hand in it, especially with how angry Doctor Mother was when Contessa was now trending on the internet and the news in the last four hours of this 'game'.

Even with her current lethargic self, she believed it was the very first time she saw the woman on full tilt. Ever. She did not realize how many bottled-up emotions she had in herself that would warrant such a response.

"I don't care if you need to drag her away from this asinine attempt at contact, I WANT HER BACK HERE AND TO REPORT WHY SHE DID THIS MADNESS IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

If she was back to her normal, fully focused sense of self, she would have flinched with how loud those words were at the back of her head.

"Rebecca…" she suddenly heard David say. She turned her attention towards him as she saw Dexter floating and rubbing himself on his chest. "Why did you have to bring this cat? And is it even a cat? Can cats have agents bonded to them? How the hell does that work? What necessitates a cat to have a trigger event in the first place?"

Rebecca recalled that this was the first time David had seen Dexter.

"He's my cat. It was either he came along, or I didn't."

"And why exactly did you bring him along? For what reason specifically?" David asked and Rebecca knew he was raising both his brows in question to her antics. She chugged the rest of her 'lemon juice' and wiped her lips as she shrugged in response.

"I don't need to explain what I do on my off-time. At least I keep you two out of my business, unlike you."

She could feel the man wince at her words as Keith sighed again on both their parts. He almost looked like he was dealing with unruly children.

"Can we please focus? The rest of the Protectorate and PRT are downstairs waiting for us to mobilize. We either have to stop this little charade or keep the peace to stop anything wrong from happening. I don't know personally why Contessa is so involved in this, path or not, but we can't really stand idly by and just let this all happen without some form of supervision."

There was a slight pause on both her and David's part as they agreed to it.

She then felt Dexter fly back towards her arms as they suddenly heard the 'host' laugh in delight in those heavy and loud, almost comical speakers in the background. Fireworks flew into the sky as the voice escalated.

"AND TEAM CAULDRON PULLS A WIN, IT'S NOW A TIE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! CAST YOUR BETS FOR WE ARE NOW ENTERING THE SUDDEN DEATH ROUND!"

The cheers erupted more as the crowd went wild.

"We should go." Rebecca finally said, wanting to end this mess already so she could get back home.

Surely this would be dealt with moderate ease given the resources at their backing.

"Meow" See, even Dexter agreed with her.

Plus, she needed answers from the Superman, and if she gets those answers maybe some of her current guilt and stress would evaporate somewhat.

Somewhat.


"And I'm telling you, sir, You ain't getting in without paying for your entrance fee! And even if I did let you in you wouldn't be sitting or standing anywhere due to how packed the place is!" she heard the diminutive imp who apparently had the ability to clone himself as he was the 'host', the security, and the event manager all at once with the number of similar beings that attended to their guests.

"This is a Protectorate matter that supersedes your authority! We demand you to cease and desist." Rebecca heard Keith say with a firmer tone while the rest of the heroes that were with them could only watch the entire thing awkwardly in the background.

It did not help that the press and civilians were snapping pictures of them while the imp who was floating in the air blew his cigar at Legend's face.

"You ain't got any authority on me sir, and I'm doing this because I lost a bet to big blue boy scout on somethin' that I personally disliked about. But even then, I don't answer to him or any of you. What we got here is temporary, and it'll stay that way until this little deal is done." The diminutive imp said as Legend coughed and blew away the smoke from his face.

"You understand that if you don't comply, we will have to respond in kind." She heard David say.

"Oh yeah? You don't scare me green lantern. I've faced off beings that make your little problem here look like a joke in comparison. Heck, I'm more afraid of a naked blue man with his family jewels out than I'm afraid of Superman." He then pointed at David.

"And you… you ain't either of those things so do me a favor and scram!"

Rebecca inwardly sighed as she looked at the imp, despite all of his claims and bravado she knew that this would end poorly, especially when David's ego was bruised. Oh for sure nothing bad would happen, but forcing him out like this tend to make him more creative in how he dealt with things.

Hopefully, they would make the matter clean and simple as she looked around when her fellow heroes and civilians watched a bit tenser than before.

"Please, we don't need to be violent with this issue. We only desire to talk to Superman and resolve this since this entire thing can be an affront to chaos." She heard Chevalier say behind Legend as the imp did not lose his glare at David at all.

"Ma'am, what are your orders?" she heard Miss Militia say behind her along with teams from Texas, Los Angeles, and even that of Dragon and the Guild as they hovered or stood behind her, ready for any such action that needed to be taken.

Even Armsmaster had already brandished his halberd.

"Meow." Her beloved Dexter says as it jumped from her arms and into Miss Militia's who was shocked and confused at first.

"Just be ready." She said with a low tone as she returned her gaze to the current argument things started to escalate when David and the Imp's confrontation became a bit more heated.

"Do you not know who we are?"

"I honestly don't. You're no justice league, they're more capable than any one of you on a bad day." The imp fired back as their foreheads were now starting to near each other as their hands started to coil into fists. David's started to pulse in energy while the Imp stayed the same.

Rebecca looked in a deadpan knowing that this would turn into a brawl soon until everyone heard a strangely sweet voice coming from up above.

"There you are, Daddy!"

As everyone looked up, Rebecca saw a very puzzling yet sort of vaguely familiar sight. There was a young woman, a teenager in terms of appearance floating down towards the middle of the imp and David with her loveable, charming smile and beautiful face along with a calming, almost cheerful aura that made everyone stop in their tracks.

The tension ebbed slowly to nothing and was replaced with confusion as she finally landed on the ground. Rebecca noticed that the girl had seraph-like wings on her back as well as an odd glowing halo atop her head. She wore cheerleaders' clothes that had the Superman symbol on them as well as pom-poms in her hands.

She even posed in place as the press and civilians behind her quickly took pictures.

"I've been waiting for you! You took so long to finally come." The young woman said to everyone's shock and horror (unintentionally), the girl excitedly ran and embraced her friend David.

"Don't I look cute in this?" the young woman said as she smiled at David who was speechless.

"You had to pose huh?" Rebecca heard the imp say with both arms crossed on her chest.

"Why? It's what cute anime girls do."

"Sure… let's use that as an excuse. You do know you still got work to do right?"

The young woman childishly brandished her tongue out towards the imp in defiance as she suddenly withdrew from Eidolon's embrace and spawned an identical clone of herself wearing a different set of cheerleader's clothes in place.

"Come on Daddy! Aren't you happy to see us? The world finally sees me as who I am and with my new powers and I'm here to cheer for the winning team." The young girl said as the one wearing the Cauldron symbol started to do an impromptu cheer.

"You're neutral remember? I ain't paying you a nickel if you act like this." The imp added as the madness grew more as seconds passed.

Even Rebecca did not know what was happening anymore as the crowds in the 'stadium' that appeared out of nowhere in Central Park erupted into another brand of cheers.

"Excuse me miss, you claim to be Eidolon's daughter?" Myrddin asked as the 'two' girls nodded happily.

"Of course, we are! Daddy's been very neglectful as of late, but I'm happy he came at all."

"But I… w-what?" David said as his brain was trying its best to acclimate to what was happening.

While doing so, Rebecca took note of the hushed whispers of the press and civilians around them as the entire affair had turned into an awkward set of reveals that she was sure would make the internet and news stations wild with rumors and speculations.

She wanted to go home now, this entire thing was unsalvageable, even if she did want answers.

"Meow." She heard Dexter say from Miss Militia's arms.

"Hey! Are you guys buzzing off or not? I still got a game in there that needs my focus." The imp said in anger as David's 'daughter' pouted at him.

"But you promised that you would get my dad and his friends VIP seats."

"I didn't promise squat!"

"But Superman promised us!"

The imp looked at the two girls almost with a disappointed face.

"The big blue boy scout did?"

"Well yeah!" the one with the Superman symbol said. "Why do you think we're here?"

She saw the imp grumble as Legend tried to chime in to make peace of the madness until something or someone else landed in the small clearing in front of the imp in a very audible manner.

CRACK!

Dust and smoke settled around the air as to Rebecca and everyone's horror, now within reach of every hero and civilian present was the current Butcher.

The villain stood proudly in front of everyone as the imp merely looked unimpressed.

"And who're you supposed to be?"

Rebecca wanted to ask someone if they had any vodka or scotch in hand.

Sure, things got worse but she sure as hell was not going to get through with this without something to drink.


Fortuna felt a bead of sweat that trickle down the side of her face as they were now in the 110th round of their little competition of sorts. They were now competing with not just one singular chessboard…

But of all ten at once as her Enemy had traded wins with her and their scores against each other being neck and neck. She hated it.

She hated him.

And despite winning as much as his number of victories, a large part within her was just so insulted that she was forced to the brink in the first place. She was even sure her Agent was agreeing to it as what amounted to be a simple set of games on one of the most basic of strategies had proven to be obscenely difficult against her current foe.

It was so obscenely difficult because there was no feasible and possible way for her enemy to beat her this consistently in this game.

Fortuna's pride had been shattered at this travesty as she was forced to endure defeats over and over again against this menace of an impossibility.

She seethed as she moved another piece on the 5th board they were playing on.

This Superman was playing with her. She knew it deep inside, especially with how smug and confident he was with those glasses on his face.

Super-Mathematics my ass.

He has no right to humiliate her this badly in a simple game.

"Oh my, you are really getting into this." The bastard said as he moved his piece while they both left afterward to get to the 7th board. "Just know that we should both play fair and respectfully with these games. Sportsmanship is the best part of playing after all."

She scowled at him as multiple paths and strategies of the Path were now present to her.

But even then, there was this small part in her head that doubted her chances of ultimately winning…

And she hated it… COMPLETELY.

TO BE CONTINUED…


AN: Should have the second one out soon. As for how Contessa and Supes aren't noticing the crowds cheering for them around the 'stadium', well does anyone Remember that a certain Imp is here, well, any sort of explanation to be gained from him is not going to make any sense at all...

Plus! With how things have gone down, I expect everything to come to a calm, relaxing conclusion. Or not.

Depends on Clark's mood, to be honest. Or Mr. Mxyzptlk's for that matter.