A/N: I could spend time explaining why it took me so long to update, but lets be real here… would you really care? No. You wanna read, and that I shall oblige!

-DMC-

Black smoke flooded the dance hall, the foundation of the room cracking and crumbling apart as the massive beast roared out, its cry shaking the ground and whipping the clothes of the two heroes. Dante caught a good look at it before the smoke obscured his view, red scaly flesh underneath hard patches of armor-like bone, a heavy concentration of bone forming a helmet-like crown around its head. Glowing, the dragon shot up, its wings spread eagle as its form completely vanished within the darkness.

The warrior and sorceress stood at the ready, senses on high alert as the sound of shifting wind resonated from all around them. With their vision turned black, they awaited an attack like a matador tempting a bull.

Wind shifted from the left… they turned towards it.

Wind shifted from the right… they turned towards it.

The shifting wind stopped.

The two stood at guard as the silence deepened.

Heat and light shot from the darkness, a fireball. Zatanna shot the fireball with an eldritch blast of energy, the ball of flames bursting like a bomb. The detonation cracked more of the pocket dimension's foundation, white light seeping from the damaged floor.

The flapping of massive wings brought Dante's eyes above. Another fireball spewed from the darkness, Dante firing off a charged shot of ebony to detonate the ball of flames midair.

A claw swiped out from the blackness, Dante blocking the tip and knocking it back with his forearm.

Piercing red eyes suddenly lunged out from the darkness, Zatanna throwing her hands up as Dante leaped up into the air, flipping up and over the dragon. A protective orb of energy shielded Zatanna as a massive toothy maw bit down around her. The dragon put more force into her bite, Zatanna's eyes widening as cracks began to form in her shield.

Ember's red eyes hardened as she snarled, something tugging her tail. She looked behind to see Dante grabbing her extra limb with both hands before dragging her back. The dragon dug its claws into the floor, her body glowing red before flames ignited all over her form. Prepping to whip the white haired man off of her, Ember was assaulted by mystical blasts of energy from Zatanna, the sorceress flying up above the smoke.

"Die!" Ember roared.

"You didn't say please!" Zatanna called back.

Before the dragon could fly up after Zatanna, Dante quickly pulled Rebellion, stabbing the dragon through the tip of its tail and pinning it to the floor. Ember roared out in fury, Dante casually leaning on the blade with a smug smirk on his face, "Why don't ya stick around?"

Red eyes burned redder, the flaming dragon flapping its wings to send forth a torrent of flaming typhoon winds down at Dante, the devil hunter putting his arm up to block. Zatanna looked around as the cracks in the nightclub flared out further, filling the room with bright light as the massive pocket dimension broke apart like glass. A crack was rapidly forming between Dante and the tip of his blade, separating the two.

"Crap." Dante sighed, unpinning Rebellion before jumping back onto the separating piece of floor.

An endless white void was what made up the dimensions foundation. Chunks of floating floor and ceiling littered the void, looking much to Dante like platforms. Outside of Devil Trigger, the devil couldn't fly, so falling into that void would surely be… problematic.

Ember roared before flying out, the dragon soaring through the void and around the heroes, keeping its distance from Dante to focus on Zatanna. She pieced that if she could kill Zatanna, that would at least leave the Sparda boy stranded here.

Dante fired off shots from Ebony and Ivory, the dragon snarling from the holes left in its scales. Ember went up high, shooting a massive fireball at the sorceress before divebombing at her.

"Oh boy." Zatanna said. She held out her hands to her side, leveling them at chunks of rubble. She threw the several in front to shield the fireball, the explosion turning the rubble to dust. The dragon followed through to close the distance. It's massive clawed hand reached out for Zatanna, the magician shaking her head as she pulled her hat off, "You really aren't gonna like this honey." She punched into her hat, a massive portal opening in front of the dragon, a large fist flying out and punching the beast hard enough to send her flying back.

Ember roared in shock and pain, Zatanna flying low to clear the path of the beast. The dragon blew flames hot enough to instantly melt the stone foundations, Zatanna clearing the inferno.

Dante hopped on the dragon's neck, "Come now, ain't forget about me have ya'?" he grabbed her by her horns, "I'm starting to feel ignored."

The monster roared, wildly spinning and flipping through the air to knock the whooping and hollering hunter off, though to no success.

Dante took Rebellion, before stabbing it into Ember's wing. He threw back his weight, his sword slicing the dragon's wing clean off, eliciting a furious roar from the beast. Neither unable to fly, the two free fell into the void, Ember turning and snatching the devil hunter with a clawed hand.

The dragon snarled to Dante, "You think… you're cute!"

The hunter smiled, "Adorable."

"Latrop ot yks naeco!"

A massive portal opened beneath Ember, she and Dante falling through. The environment turned from pure white to blue and green as the two land hard onto a grassy plain.

The impact stunned the dragon into releasing Dante, the devil hunter rolling out onto the grass. As he stood up, he could hear the familiar wail of a massive creature coming from above.

He looked up, eyes widening at seeing a massive humpback whale swimming through the clouds.

"The hell?" Dante said, never having been more confused. He looked to the ground, seeing a school of snapper swimming by, just few feet above the grass. He took a big breath, just to confirm it was air he was breathing.

He looked up to the portal he fell through, Zatanna gently floating down through,

"Hey Z, where the hell are we?"

"We needed a change of scenery." the sorceress said, landing down next to Dante as Ember rolled over onto her stomach, "This is a little dimension where aquatic life breathes and swims in air. Neat, huh."

"Trippy stuff." Dante said.

Ember snarled, stealing the attention of the two heroes. She roared up to the sky, the blue turning black as menacing dark clouds pooled above. Fireballs rained down from above, scorching the grass and igniting the dry patches, turning the area into a lake of fire.

Not threatened by the flames, Dante stood still, Zatanna simply levitating several feet above the flaming ground.

Ember reared up with her final clawed hand, slamming down into the ground and ripping up fissures that Dante jumped aside to dodge. With one swing of his sword, he cleaved off the dragons hand, Ember roaring in fury,

"Damn you!"

More fireballs rained down, followed by the formation of a flaming tornado not far in the distance.

"You know what, chick." Dante said as he landed, hair whipping wildly, "I'm starting to feel like we're picking on the disabled."

Zatanna landed next to Dante, looking to him before looking to the wingless, one-armed dragon, "We weren't?" she asked.

"Give her to the count of three to surrender?" Dante asked, aiming ebony to the dragon. The barrel of his gun glow as it charged with energy.

"Works for me." Zatanna said, holding a palm glowing with magical energy.

"One…" Dante counted, smirking as he anticipated the outcome. Ember took in a defiant deep breath, an orange glow appearing at the back of her throat,

"Three." Zatanna smirked as the two of them fired into the dragon's throat, Embers eyes widening as flames burst from her body akin to an explosion erupting from her throat.

When the smoke waned, the charred and cooked body of a dragon lay before the two heroes.

-DMC-

Brother Night watched the aftermath of the fight through a blue flame in his hand, "My darling Ember. Look at how they massacred you." he blew the flame out. The necromancer stood on the San Francisco bridge, gazing out over the city skyline.

"Okay then, my dear Zatara." the villain darkly cackled, looking out towards Golden Gate Park, "Since you and your little boyfriend stamped out my associates," his hands glow orange, "I'll have to scramble me up some new ones."

-DMC-

Dante and Zatanna stood before the slain dragon, a mile of scorched earth and smoke surrounding them. the songs of flying whales echoing throughout the area as the dark clouds dispersed, revealing the blue light of sky once more.

"Hm." Dante slung Rebellion onto his back, Zatanna looking to him, tilting her head at the lack of proper holster,

"How does that sword stick to your back?" Zatara asked, "A big magnet?"

Dante looked back at the sorceress, "How does that hat stay on your head? Velcro?"

"Alright alright, you got me there." Zatanna said, she put her hands on her hips, letting out a breath, "Damn. Been a long night. You feel like turning in?"

"And what? Let Brother Numbnuts run off to keep being a douchebag for ten more episodes?" Dante shook his head, "Not in my story. Let's drop this clown now."

Zatanna dramatically shrugged, "Well fine if ya' didn't wanna rent a cheap motel-" she held her hand up the second Dante's mouth opened, "just kidding." Dante's shoulders dropped. Zatanna looked off to the side, "I was gonna give Brother Night the chance to back down. We did kinda cut up all his associates. Guess you really aren't the reform type?"

Dante simply looked at the woman, "Sweetheart, my preferred method of dealing with evil churches is to drop in and clip the head priest in the face… in front of his clergy. I'm at a point in my life where I've had it with these types…" his head tilted at Zatanna, her face going blank as she looked past Dante. The devil hunter raised an eyebrow. Zatanna simply pointed past him, the demon hunter turning his head to see a great white shark flying at him, mouth agape and teeth baring.

Dante casually sent a back fist into the apex predators nose, "Get lost." sending it fleeing in the opposite direction. He looked to Zatanna, "Flying sharks?" he asked.

The sorceress smiled at him, "I think its neat."

"I think it's crossing the line." Dante said, "Can we go somewhere else?"

"Fine." Zatanna said, opening up a portal, "Etak su ot Rehtorb Thgin."

-DMC-

Dante and Zatanna appeared in the middle of a grass plain, the area shrouded in darkness.

"Zatanna, Zatanna," Brother Night voice called out, the two heroes looking up at the necromancer that levitated above, "you just can't help but insinuate yourself into my business."

"Poor Brother Night, you want so bad to start up business in the mystic and criminal underworld, but it seems like you face alot of the issues of most startup companies." Zatanna said, turning to Dante, "What are they? Oh! Hiring poor employees,"

"Pretty much killed-em all." Dante added.

"fierce opposition," Zatanna continued,

"Us two." Dante also added.

"And, absence of planning."

"Don't seem like you have much in the way of a plan B, having lost your best soldiers and all." Dante said.

The necromancer chuckled, "You two may have set me back…" Brother Night said, "But I'm one for adapting!" The field lit with dozens of glowing orbs of light, circling the two supernatural specialists, "This is my city! My empire!"

The smell, in addition to several of the lights 'blinking', quickly tipped the heroes off.

"Great. More company." Dante said.

The dark field lit up brightly, nothing short of a hundred demons surrounding the duo.

Zatanna's eyes widened, her body tensing up with fear. Dante found it odd, she was just slaughtering demons by the handful back in the nightclub. Why was she so on edge now of all times?

There were a familiar bunch of demons mixed in with the others…

Marionettes. And Fetishes.

"Brother Night!" Dante called out to the necromancer, "You are under arrest! For being that ugly," he leveled a finger at him, "and for spawning this many douchebags!" he held out his arms, "Give yourself up quietly, and I won't turn you from a one, to a negative five."

"Puppets… puppets… why does it always have to be puppets…" Zatanna shuddered.

"You don't do puppets?" Dante asked.

"I do not do puppets." Zatanna said, teeth gritting.

Brother Night cackled, "Guess that rumor checks out. One of the most powerful sorceresses on the planet… has a fear of puppets!"

"Just stay focused, fair maiden." Dante said, winking to the woman, "I won't let them get you."

"Yeah. I'm focused. All the way focused. All the time." Zatanna said, a shake to her voice, "I'm just gonna be focusing on Brother Night while you handle all the fun bits. Can't let him slip off again."

"Sounds fair."

Zatanna flew up after Brother Night, while the demonic hordes focused on Dante.

"Well would you look at that. I get you all to myself." Dante twirled Rebellion, "Lets have at it!"

-DMC-

Zatanna hovered in the air across from the necromancer, "This is your last chance, Night. Give up now, and I can guarantee that you will survive this." she held her hands out, blue aura glowing around them, "Don't, and what happens next is all on you."

Brother Night chuckled, hands filled with blue energy, "Baby doll, I either go big, or I don't play at all."

The two mystics flew through the air, firing blast after blast of eldritch energy at one another. Often the blasts would hit each other, causing a firework-like explosion.

Zatanna heard the clanking of a marionette coming at her from behind, the beauty gasping in shock as she turned to it. The puppet burst apart in a wave of wooden limbs from a shot of Dante's handgun.

"I got your rear, don't worry!" the demon hunter called out.

"Pay attention!" Brother Night barked out as he hit Zatanna with a blast of energy, sending her soaring back over the park. Night soared after her, Zatanna shaking off the impact as she flew back to keep distance.

She telekinetically grabbed two trees, before throwing them at the necromancer. Brother Nights shield turned the trees into splinters as he moved to close the distance.

"Latrop ot eci dlrow!" Zatanna said, a portal opening up that Brother Night flew right into.

A portal almost immediately opened behind her, ice shards firing out at Zatanna.

"Sdrahs tlem!" Zatanna quickly said, a couple of the shards knicking her clothes yet the others turning to water, soaking her clothes. Night flew out of the portal he formed himself, two golems formed of ice following out with him.

"Damn!" With a flick of her wrists, two cards appeared in her fingers, before two slender golems formed of flames were summoned. They clashed against the ice golems, the nature of the fire golems easily giving them the upper hand.

Brother Night prepared a follow up, his shield rippling and cracking from the impact of projectiles from below. He turned to Dante, the necromancer surprised at the lack of marionettes he'd summoned.

"What? Surprised?" Dante said, holding his hand out to the expanse behind him, the ground littered with so many puppet parts one could hardly see the grass, "Yeah, there's not much to marionettes. Should've picked something much more impressive. Wanna wave the white flag, or what?"

The necromancer looked to his front, Zatanna looking right back at him, more annoyed than actually tired, before looking back down at Dante, the gunslinger treating this situation like a minor inconvenience, "Oh, I give up…" Brother Night said, slowly raising his hands, "there's simply no way I can win…" he snapped his fingers, glowing purple runes appearing all around the three, a massive purple orb rapidly taking shape, "in this dimension."

"Shit…" Dante and Zatanna cursed as the three of them were transported.

The three stood in a ruined city, Brother Night before them. The city looked as if a massive riot and bomb went off; the streets littered with abandoned cars and wreckage, the buildings from the one-stories to the skyscrapers windows busted and shattered, the skies above dark and tinting the scenery in a dark grey.

"What are you doing?" Zatanna asked the necromancer

"The three of us… are going on a wild ride." Brother Night cackled, the sounds of horrific screeching and moaning echoing from all around. The air smelled rancid and foul…

The two heroes looked in opposite directions, rotting corpses quickly meandering around ruined cars and buildings, heading straight for them.

"Great. Zombies." Dante sighed, pulling his guns, "Where's Leon when ya' need him?"

Zatanna passed the man a questionable glance, "Who the hell is Leon?" her hands glow.

The two quickly fired off at the corpses, the zombies falling to pieces yet dozens more taking their place. Soon a horde of hundreds surrounded the two demon killers, closing in quickly.

With a few driven swings of the sword, and a few blasts from Zatanna, the hordes were thinned.

Dante blew smoke from Ivory, "Alright, what's next?" he kicked away a dismembered arm laying on his feet.

An inhuman cry tore through air, the two looking up to see what appeared to be Wonder Woman leering down at them.

"That's a bad look." Zatanna said, two more figures appearing at the Amazon's side... Superman, and Batman.

The three jumped from the building and landed across from the two, allowing a closer look at their forms.

The three heroes were shadows of their former selves; flesh rotted with pieces missing, eyes glazed, claws protruding from fingers, and teeth jagged and mangled.

"Hunger…" Batman said, flesh around his mouth gone, teeth fully exposed.

"Feed…" Superman growled, eyes glazed over and face gray and decayed.

In the second it took to blink, Superman shot at Dante like a bullet, barreling him through numerous buildings.

Zatanna threw up a shield, saving her from the ferocious Wonder Woman and Batman attempting to rush her as well.

Cackling, Brother Night watched from a rooftop before opening another portal, briskly stepping back and walking through.

Dante put his forearm against Superman's throat, moving his head side to side as the Man of Steel took eager bites at his face. A bite may not have killed him, but without knowing what exactly afflicted these heroes, he wasn't going to risk it. He repeatedly punched the zombie with his free hand, feeling strain on his knuckles. Even dead, Superman's durability wasn't hindered much.

"Hungry? Try this!" Dante spoke out as he shoved his gun into the undead alien's ragged maw, emptied several rounds of Ebony into zombie Superman's mouth, holes ripping messily through the back of the corpse's neck, but naturally not stunting him.

The zombie threw Dante across a street, Dante springing off his hand and flipping to his feet. He held Rebellion to his side, "You hold together well…" Dante said, receiving a vicious snarl in response,

Hole through its mouth, the undead Kal-el roared out, lunging in and swinging its clawed hands at Dante. Deep claw marks appeared across the devil hunter's chest and forearms, the force of the attacks nearly knocking Dante off his feet to send him flying.

Swinging his sword, Dante cut through the zombie kryptonian's arm, and continued through his chest, chopping him in half. The torso flopped to the ground with a thud, the legs toppling over.

Dante held his chest as his wounds slowly healed, his devil-genes fighting off whatever this zombie plague was. He turned to walk away, a growl from behind catching his attention. He turned to see the torso of Superman growling at him, eyes glowing hot as his lasers fired out at Dante, tearing across the streets and destroying cars.

"Not this again!" Dante blocked the lasers with Rebellion, redirecting it back at the undead Kryptonian, destroying the head.

A wire wrapped tightly around Zatanna's throat, the sorceress's voice cut off. The undead Batman, still holding some of the living's intelligence, tried strangling the homomagi as Wonder Woman went on the attack.

The undead amazon swung her sword at Zatanna, the magician barely able to keep up her shield against the zombies' strength. Cracks were forming, something that upped Zatanna's heart rate.

Zatanna couldn't speak an incantation to get out of this bind, and using so much magic just to hold back Wonder Woman was taking its toll, so she thought fast.

Her hat flew from her head and landed open in front of her. She stomped through the opening, a portal opening near Batman for her foot to kick through, breaking off the zombies jaw and disrupting his pull.

Zatanna quickly grabbed the zombie Batman, and swung him around into the path of zombie Wonder Woman's sword.

Kicking up her hat, it landed on Wonder Woman's head, "Etargetnisid!"

The undead amazon burst into ashes.

Zatanna rubbed her throat, turning to Dante who approached her. She eyed the blood marks and lack of cuts. She noticed the blood on his clothes lack of damage to the fabric,

"Your clothes heal too?" Zatanna asked.

"Sometimes." Dante said.

"How is that even-"

"Don't think about it too much." Dante said, "I sure as hell don't."

"Then I sure as hell won't." Shaking her head, Zatanna held up her hand, "Come on," she said, forming a portal in front of them, "let's get after this asshole."

"Yes ma'am." Dante bowed before the two ran through.

They wound up in a completely different setting. A nuclear war-torn wasteland with skies blackened with ash, and a sea of skeletons beneath their feet.

"Did a nuke go off through here?" Zatanna asked.

Pulling his sinking feet out of the lake of skulls they stood in, Dante grumbled, "That or someone put Skeletor in charge of the landscaping around here."

An explosion in the distance caught their attention, followed by the massive sounds of crunching bones reverberating from the horizon. An army of metallic skeletons marched across the sea of bones and headed their way, laser rifles in hand.

Red and blue lasers fired across the field, Dante casually dodging the blasts, "I'm gonna get that bastard I swear."

"There he is!" Zatanna said, eyeing Brother Night running through another portal in the distance. Zatanna was barely able to raise her hand for another portal before she ducked a laser blast, "Can't focus here. Let's move!" The two raced across the wasteland, hot lasers flying past them, and explosions erupting from just feet from the two.

"So do you have to speak all your spells backwards?" Dante asked, dodging a laser.

"Nah." Zatanna said, the woman somehow running despite her high heels, "That's more a concentration method for complex spells. Forming a portal to another dimension ain't as easy as I make it look!"

As they ran, Dante could sense danger approaching. He tackled Zatanna aside just as something shot past where the two ran.

The two looked up, a metallic skeleton that looked like Flash peering down over them.

"Ah, speedy," Dante said, getting back to his feet. He eyed the Android before him, completely metallic, red in color.

A bright light in the shape of a bolt glow from its chest. It's skeletal mouth didn't move as it spoke, its voice echoing as if it came from a speaker, "Human lifeforms, detected. Termination is imminent." Two more androids appeared, one with a green metallic body and a lantern symbol built into it, and another with cybernetic wings.

"Toaster, detected." Zatanna said, "Breakage is imminent."

A light glow from the green android's hand, a robot mech-suit forming around it. Two cannons made up its arms, a glass covering protecting its body.

"Dibbs on robo-hawk." Zatanna said.

"The lady gets her way." Dante said, "Guess I'll settle for imitation Flash."

"Team up for gang green?"

"Deal." Dante said.

Zatanna flew after the android imitation of Hawkgirl, Dante taking a stance as he stood down the Flash android.

He held his sword out, smirking as he snapped the fingers on his free hand, time slowing to a crawl. The android still ran at him at hyper speed but at a much more bearable pace.

The swordsman swung low, lopping off the android's leg and sending it tumbling across the bone covered ground. The android speedster looked to the swordsman, emotionless. "Bang." Dante put a bullet through its head.

He heard the 'twang' of a charging weapon, Dante leaping up into the air to dodge a green laser blast. He heard the flocking of bird wings, the man turning to see a pack of white doves flying off into the horizon, Zatanna's handiwork.

He found himself levitating as the raven haired woman floated next to him.

The armored mech aimed its guns at them, Dante preparing to dodge. He wasn't expecting bubbles to pour out of the machines cannon.

Dante slammed his sword down into the machines hull, cracks spreading across it.

"Hm. Artificial speed, artificial lantern ring." Zatanna said, "Not nearly as tough as the originals." She raised a hand, a flaming meteor firing down on the Green Lantern Android.

The hull of the lantern-formed mech-suit shattered apart, exposing the Android for Dante to stab.

"Whew." Dante said, the android exploding in a shower of sparks, "So where t-"

Zatanna grabbed him by the back of his collar, flying him through another portal.

-DMC-

The two heroes were wide-eyed as they hovered in a prehistoric world filled with dinosaurs. The dinosaurs, surprisingly, weren't the weird part… the weird part was that several of them were wearing the Leagues costumes…

"I don't get it." Dante said.

"I don't get it either…" Zatanna said, her eye catching Night jumping through a portal formed at the tip of a volcano.

After forming another portal, the two were through it before the jaws of a T-Rex dressed as Supergirl could claim them.

-DMC-

"Ugh, gross!" Zatanna said as she eyed the goop beneath her feet. The two looked around, the world a wasteland covered in slime, eggs, and cocoons. "I don't like this place." the sorceress said.

"I think it's neat." Dante said, mimicking Zatanna. The sorceress stuck her tongue out at him

*Crackle*

Turning, they saw two of the eggs opening, crab-like creatures crawling out of the orifices, before leaping at the heroes.

Dante let off two rounds, splattering the creatures. A hissing sound came from the liquid… acid.

A nasty splitting sound followed, before black, bipedal insects ripped out of the cocoons. They had elongated heads and beaked, toothy maws; bony exoskeletons forming their bodies.

The creatures hissed at the heroes, sizing them up, before charging at them.

Dante let off several rounds that bounced off the creature's exoskeletons. Caught by surprise, Dante barely dodged with a high jump, "I swear these can be peashooters when it counts…" he groaned.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he swung his sword at a creature lunging at him. He cut through it, splashing acid to the ground. His sword hissed with the liquid, Dante phasing around to dodge and kill off the creatures.

He looked up, spotting Zatanna sitting in a floating recliner chair with popcorn in hands.

"Having fun?" Dante asked.

She cheekily threw a handful of popcorn into her mouth, before spawning a drink and taking a gulp. She pointed, "Mommy's angry."

"Mommy?" Dante said.

He heard the sound of dripping acid coming from behind. He looked behind and up, seeing a massive, t-rex sized variant of the creatures behind him.

"Ah…"

It let out a roar straight from the bowels of hell itself, shaking the area. The creature spit a wave of acid down at Dante, the hunter dodging as Zatanna spawned an umbrella to shield herself.

The aliens tail struck down like a massive spear, Dante dodging repeatedly before slashing off the tip. The Queen alien roared as she flung her tail, splashing acid everywhere.

A bit landed on Dante's coat, the hunter shedding it. The leather melted to a puddle of red goo, "Not my jacket..." Dante groaned, "You had to make it personal..."

He moved in a blur, hacking off the creatures arms, before fazing up high above it. He came down hard and cleaned the alien in half.

Dante could hear cheers from an unseeable audience. He looked to Zatanna, seeing a set of floating speakers playing audio, three screens displaying stylized "S"s.

"You are having fun." Dante snorted.

Zatanna walked up to the man and put her hand to his back. To Dante's surprise, another jacket around his body, "Let's mosey!"

-DMC-

Dante and Z stood within a white room… copies of themselves surrounding them.

Dante's immediate reaction was to quick draw Ebony, his copies doing the same. The second he saw the grin on their face, one he didn't have, he put his hand on Zatanna's shoulder and ducked her down before several bullets riddled his body.

He returned fire, shattering the glass all around him.

"You alright?" Zatanna asked.

Dante pouted as he groaned, "I just got shot with my own guns… today's not my day…"

A disgusting laugh resounded from all around them. All eyes went up, copies of brother night floating through the air above.

"Welcome to my funhouse."

"Why would you do this to us?" Dante said, "Looking at one of you is hard enough as is."

The Brother Night's grinned, "Well not everyone can look as pretty as you… maybe when you're dead, I'll borrow that face of yours for a while." he rubbed his chin, finding the idea appealing.

Zatanna leaned into Dante, whispering to him, "He's talking a big game, but he's tuckered. Notice he's stopped running."

Dante smirked, "Ever play hide and go-seek in a funhouse?"

Shaking her head, Zatanna said, "Now that you mention it… no."

"Neither have I, so it's new to both of us. You take up, I take down." Dante said before walking in the direction of Brother Night. Suddenly, he came face to face with his own reflection.

Definitely a fun house. A house of mirrors. All set in a dimension with no visible end…

Dante looked all around, walking in the directions void of his reflection. It was like walking in a maze. He looked up at the floating form of Brother Night, forms of him showing all around. No way the necromancer would be right in front of him…

He threw a back kick, shattering the mirror to reveal a horned lizard demon standing behind it. The demon roared out before Dante grabbed it by the throat, "Shut up." he said before he tossed it behind him, the demon being thrown into the pane.

Dante looked back, the demon standing back up as copies of it shown in every pane around, "Huh. Now we're starting to talk sense." Dante said. He looked to the mirrors around him, eyeing the demons shown surrounding him. He bursted the panes with several swings of his sword, the broken glass crunching under his feet. He didn't voice it, but things clicked, 'No wonder we can't find you…'

"Hey! Z! How ya making out?!" Dante called out.

Zatanna levitated around numerous mirrors, finding herself getting no closer to Night than Dante was, "I'm… making it…" she said, looking up at the necromancer, "Gnirb rehtorB thgiN ot em!"

The necromancer held up a hand, a hex disrupting her spell.

"Don't even try it!"

Frowning, Zatanna fired a blast of blue energy, shattering several mirrors, "You are so not gonna like what happens when we catch you."

"Little lady, you'll starve to death here first."

She grunted, on reflex turning to fire at a presence she sensed behind her.

"Easy." Dante put up a hand, "I ain't got much defense against getting turned into a toad."

"This dimension is massive. And there's no way of telling where he really is." Zatanna said.

"Where do you think he is?" Dante asked her. He walked up to one of the mirrors, "He's here." He pointed to another mirror, "He's there." He held his arms out, "He's everywhere." He looked to the sorceress. Noticing her catching on, "If he's so comfortable… I say we keep him there." He looked to the necromancer, taking pleasure in his look of alarm.

Zatanna smirked, Brother Night flying at the mirror to attempt an escape, "DniB rehtorB thgiN ni srorrim!" Zatanna said.

The necromancer hit the panes, placing his hands against it as the two demon killers looked him down.

"Whelp. That handles that." Zatanna said.

"Damn you!" Brother Night shouted.

Zatanna spoke up again, "Well then, now that you aren't going anywhere, Yortsed lla srorrim."

Every pane in the pocket dimension shattered, except for one. An endless sea of glass shards caked the ground.

"Now." Zatanna started, staring down the necromancer triumphantly, "We're gonna let you out. And you are gonna submit. Do we understand each other?"

Brother Night nodded… before he slowly stepped out of the pane.

Brother Night looked nervously between Zatanna and Dante. They had him dead to rights…

"Okay Zatanna, you've got me." Brother Night said, looking between her and Dante. He dropped to his knees, "I know when I'm beaten." he held up his hands, the duo approaching him, "I gotta ask, have you ever wondered… what became of your father?"

That gave Zatanna pause.

Dante looked between the two, wondering what this bastard was up to. He turned to Zatanna, who stared at the man,

"You know what," Dante started, before he kicked Brother Night hard in the face, knocking out a tooth and sending the man to the ground. The half-devil immediately pulled his sword while the man was still dazed, and stabbed it through his back to pin him, earning him a scream from Night, "lets not play the ominous asshole game." Dante said, holding his hand out to Zatanna, "Tell the lovely lady what happened to her old man."

Brother Night shot Dante a nasty glare filled with all the hate he could muster. Dante responded by twisting the sword, "Don't be tight lipped now, you were just getting to the good part." Brother Night yelled out as he ground out,

"You… sent his soul… to limbo, d-during the scuffle in hell… those months back, I stole his essence!"

"Now why would you go and do that?" Dante asked.

Brother Night's already pale face turned snow white at the furious expression Zatanna wore. He stuttered out a response, "T-Trump card… know h-how strong you are. Thought it would t-tip my scales…"

Zatanna grabbed Brother Night by his head, "Reveal… my… father!"

Dante felt a presence materialize behind them. A spiritual one…

The soul of an older gentleman dressed in a tux appeared before them. He had a well-groomed mustache and graying hair. His eyes were blank and expression lifeless. Zatanna's eyes widened, "Daddy…"

She roughly grabbed Night by his head, "Release him! I demand it!"

The man's eyes widened, signifying Brother Nights' hold on him was released. John Zatara looked to his ethereal hands, his sense of awareness returning to him.

She immediately turned to the spirit before her, running up to it and embracing it.

Dante, his heart warming at the scene, leaned on the hilt of his sword… much to Brother Nights extreme discomfort.

"Zatanna… you saved me." John Zatara said.

"I had help." she said, passing a glance to Dante. The demon hunter responded with a slight wave.

John nodded his gratitude, "I wish I could stay with you longer, but now I must go." John said, his form quickly fading.

Zatanna nodded, "I know. It's just… we just… its unfair."

"I am never farther than a whisper, if you need me." John said, kissing his daughter on the forehead.

He faded away into paradise.

Zatanna let out a sigh, turning to Brother Night. The necromancer looked pleadingly between the two demon slayers. Zatanna simply shook her head and looked away, all the cue Dante needed,

"Sayonara."

*BLAM*

"And that's a closing act." Dante bowed.

Zatanna looked down at Brother Night's body, before looking back to Dante, "Not the outcome Batman would want…" she looked to Dante, "So I think we'll keep this one between us."

Dante looked to the woman, "Here's us, talking about secrets again." his eyes got serious, "Since you… know more about me than most, I gotta ask a favor outta you. A big one, that we also keep between us."

The raven haired woman looked at the man with a gaze of uncertainty, "Okay…"

"You already know, the demon blood in me is where I get my power. Well, there's a form I can take to get the most out of it. Only, ever since I got here, I haven't been able to trigger it. So far, I haven't really needed it, but there's some tough bastards in this world. If I'm ever up shit creek around here, that form is my paddle."

"A demon super form, huh." Zatanna said, "Sounds cool." a cup of tea appeared in her hands before she took a sip, "Show me."

Dante nodded and then pulled from within, red smoke emanating from his body. Zatanna walked around him in a circle, observing him closely. As Dante pulled further, feeling the power of his devil trigger rising to the surface, his eyes widened as the strength was suddenly being sucked from his body. He dropped to a knee.

Zatanna brought a knuckle to her chin as she thought, "Take your coat off for me. And your shirt." Dante, through his panting, passed Zatanna a glance, "Trust me big boy, you're not getting lucky. There's just something I've gotta see."

Dante shed his jacket and his shirt, Zatanna looking his body up and down for any signs of abnormalities… she found none.

"I know it's uncomfortable… but I need you to try it again." Zatanna said.

"Figures." Dante said, once again he pulled…

Zatanna looked around to his back, noticing slight smoke whisps emanating from behind his neck.

"Funny looking tattoo." Zatanna said, eyeing the smoking red 'S' mark appearing at the base of Dante's neck.

Dante's eyes widened, "Tattoo?! What?"

Before the mark could fade, Zatanna burned the same marking into the ground with eldritch energy, so that Dante too could see.

"What the hell is that?"

"That's new to me." Zatanna admitted, "Never seen that symbol before, but it's obviously got something to do with you not gaining access to your full power." She folded her arms, "Just what were you doing before you wound up here? In our world."

Dante looked to the ground, quickly putting two and two together, "Fighting off a devil… Trigon," he noticed Zatanna's blue eyes widen in shock, "Guess the names familiar?"

"You fought Trigon… and didn't die?" Zatanna breathed, opening a portal. She mused as she stepped through, Dante following after her. A black void littered with floating orbs was what was before them.

"Yeah, I fought Trigon and lived. If I didn't have my devil form to hold me together, things might not have played out that way." Dante said as one of the orbs floated in front of him. He looked into it, seeing a swirl of sparkly lights and colors…

Universes?

"You kill him?" Zatanna asked, casually grabbing several of the orbs. She tossed one back to Dante, who caught it. He looked at the universe held within the ball.

"No." Dante said. "Best I could do was seal him. I'm starting to have my doubts if it really worked…" He saw a basketball hoop appear, his eyebrow raising as he eyed Zatanna, the woman casually juggling five different universes with a cheeky smile on her face. He smiled back and shot the ball, getting nothing but net.

For all he saw this woman do, it was being here that he realized she operated on an entirely different field than even him.

Zatanna tossed up the orbs, allowing them to float in the void as they once did. She formed flames in her palm to take the shape of the symbol burned behind Dante's neck. She looked at it as she continued walking, "I gotta do some research on this. Aside from your devil form being sucked out of you, you notice anything else weird?"

The 'S' symbol floated around while they walked, "Aside from the usual weirdness magnet hanging over my head, demons I run into have been saying some really morbid shit. I'm already dead. Trigon's gonna kill everyone I love." Dante's brow furrowed, "But last I checked, Dr Fate said that the bastard was still sealed up, so now things are making a whole lot less sense."

"Hhm, Dr Fate…" Zatanna looked back to the flaming shape of the symbol, "The thing with him is that you'll never get a straight answer about anything. He needs things to play out a certain way. He didn't help you for a reason."

"He said some girl was supposed to help me. Of course, he couldn't make it easy and just tell me her name. It might be a long shot, but you know any spells that might get him to, ya know, spill the tea…"

"Oh no… I ain't going near that one with a thousand yard pole." Zatanna shook her head, "Try to undermine Fate and he'll literally knock the devil out of your ass." Zatanna sighed, "I'm gonna ask around, figure out what the hell this is, and how many girls have a connection with Trigon… though I wouldn't expect them to be friendly…" the insignia Zatanna formed hovered around her. She folded her arms as she stared at Dante, "And don't worry, I will keep this between us… Mr. Secretive." she teased, a familiar portal opening up before them.

"Pinky swear." Dante said jokingly. Zatanna smiled and held up her right pinky, "Ya know I was just joking, right?"

"I insist." the sorceress said, wiggling her little finger slowly.

Obliging her, Dante locked fingers.

"Now we're in agreement." Zatanna said, winking at him, "Come, it's been a long night and I have a nice hot bubble bath waiting for me."

Dante laughed, "Guess that hotel room really is out of the question."

"Your date was with the bat tonight, not me. Don't act up." Zatanna said slyly. She noticed the drop in the devil hunters good mood once the bat came up in conversation. She turned to Dante before she stepped through the portal, "Like I said before, Batman's not the cuddliest guy around, but give him a chance. I think he'll grow on you."

Dante looked to her, "Don't bet on it. Dude reminds me of my..." he was interrupted by the immediate sight of said vigilante right before them.

Batman stood waiting with detective Colton outside of the restaurant. The crime scene had been wrapped up, for the most part.

The detectives looked between the two, Colton's face more of genuine wonder and Batman's more harsh scrutiny.

"Heard Brother Night gave you two the slip." Colton said.

"We caught him." Dante said, "Handled him the best way we could." his eyes glanced over to meet Batman, the vigilante's scowl deepening at the swordsman.

"Yeah." Zatanna said, "Just about all of his hired help has been dealt with. Brother Night, well, he won't be a problem for anyone else. What's done is done." she looked to Dante, "And you… will definitely be in touch." a small white card appeared in her fingers, one she handed to Dante.

The Devil Hunter read the card,

Zatanna Zatara

Magician

Phone Number: 777-1964

"Business card. That's about the most professional way I've gotten a woman's number." Dante said as he pocketed Zatanna's business card, before pulling his own out his back pocket, "Here's mine… though, I wouldn't go to that address… or call that phone number. Kinda between dimension's at the moment."

The magician read over the card, before quirking an eyebrow at Dante, "Devil May Cry, huh. Catchy. How'd ya' settle on a name like that?"

Dante shrugged, "When I found out Devil Never Cry didn't quite roll off the tongue."

A snort came from Zatanna as she stifled her laugh. She walked up to Batman, looking the vigilante up and down, "You alright, Batman."

"Been hit worse." the Dark Knight said, folding his arms, "So. As we were saying before."

Zatanna let out a breath. She looked to Dante, before looking back to Batman, "He's human, where it counts. Where he gets his supernatural edge, could be from anything." she looked to Dante, "Trust him. He's a good guy."

The bat looked to the woman. He knew that she was covering for Dante. He was no fool, and she knew that. Ultimately, Bruce knew Zatanna well, and could trust in her judgment, "He reminds me of Jason." he shook his head, "I pray the two never meet."

Zatanna smiled, "Good luck, Batman." she looked to Dante, "You too, Dante."

"Adios lady." Dante nodded to her, "I'll hear from ya."

-DMC-

Dante entered his apartment in the Watchtower, putting Rebellion against the wall before rolling his shoulders. He shrugged off his jacket and tossed away his shirt, before heading into the bathroom. He looked into the mirror, turning his head in a vain attempt to see as much of his neck as he could.

He grunted, trying to go devil trigger again. His knees buckled slightly as his breathing grew strained.

"Just what the hell did you do to me, you bastard?"

For a fraction of a second, he could almost see the ravager's gruesome smile reflecting back at him in the mirror…

-DMC-

Zatanna shed her clothes, strolling around as comfortably in the nude as one should be in their own home. She dipped a toe into her bathtub, testing the temperature. Finding it to her liking she slunk in, sighing away as the scent of her candles and soaps filled her nostrils.

Her eyes closed as she thought over the information brought to her that night. A glowing likeness of the symbol bearing Dante's neck hung in the air over her tub, the sorceress studying it intently.

She sighed, "Research, research, research." she dispersed the ethereal symbol. Her mind wandered towards something else from the night. She summoned over her mirror, the pane hovering in front of her. The reflection in the mirror faded from that of Zatanna, to a still image of the demi-devil from earlier.

His expression seemed to be eternally that of confidence. Someone who feared nothing. Someone who wasn't afraid to scoff at the rules. Someone who could find a way to succeed in the face of any obstacle. Someone who was more than willing to look pure evil in the eye and trash talk it.

She knew such men. Always had a weakness for such types.

Until she could find out just how strong this one's sense of justice truly was, she'd withhold any true judgment.

She grinned. That didn't mean she couldn't admire from afar…

Her finger trailed the mirror image's jawline, "Handsome devil…"

-DMC-

"Okay, so lemme see if I got all of them." Dante sighed with a smile as he looked over a piece of paper, walking the halls of the watchtower, "Avenged Sevenfold, Alice in Chains, Killswitch Engaged, Pantera, Lamb of God, Disturbed, Coheed and Cambria, Slipknot, and Five Finger Death Punch…"

Supergirl tapped her chin as she thought, her eyes widening, "Ooh! Add Mudvayne to that list, I think you'd like them."

Ice bounced giddily as she added, "You should like Rammstein as well."

"I also think you'd be a Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson kind of guy." Supergirl said.

"Try Ill Niño, they're very underrated." Fire said, smiling at the man.

Dante jotted down the names, "I'll add'em to the list."

Supergirl, Fire, and Ice continued on, the green haired super turning back to Dante, "You sure you don't wanna come along?"

The devil-hunter bumped into the three on their way to an assignment. Typically, he'd always be down for some action, but given the revelations of the previous night, he couldn't find himself in such a mood, "I'd love to ladies, but not today. Gotta take a little R&R."

Supergirl folded her arms and smirked, "Sounds like you're just a slacker. No wonder you're broke."

"Ooh, down for the count." Dante chuckled, turning on his heel, "I'll catch you ladies later."

He walked through the halls of the league watchtower, walking past a window into what appeared to be some sort of research lab. He stopped to look inside, curious as to what was happening.

Superman, strain showing in his eyes, was lifting some sort of metal contraption before a group of scientists, lowering it before lifting it again. It became obvious that he was either working out, or testing his limits.

One of the scientists scratched down notes on a clipboard, "That's 20 sextillion tons. The weight of three Earths." the scientist raised an eyebrow, "Do you want to increase?"

Clark pushed another few reps before telling the scientist, "Add another Earth."

"Hm. Someone's been drinking their milk." Dante said. He wouldn't make it obvious, but he was impressed by the show of raw strength. There weren't many beings out there on Hell or Earth that could push him to his physical limitations. To find those that could, was worthy of garnering his interest.

"It's a kryptonian thing." Power Girl said pridefully, approaching him from the opposite end of the hallway, "Some of the strongest anything's around, living or not."

Dante thought back to when he was on Brainiacs ship, and how Superman dropped to his knees when Firestorm brought forth a glowing green stone, "Heh, that strong but weak to green rocks?"

Powergirl folded her arms, "It wasn't just a green rock, smartass. It was kryptonite. It's radiated material from our home planet."

"A rock from your own planet kills you?" Dante asked.

"It's not the rock. Its the radiation." Power Girl said, as if she's had to explain this a dozen times before, "We Kryptonians get our energy from the sun. The radiation from Kryptonite disrupts our ability to gain solar rays. The higher the rads, the weaker we get. Ever heard of radiation poisoning? Same deal."

"Okay okay." Dante said, nodding before he smirked, "Solar powered, huh. So you're saying if I locked you in a dark room you'd be all assed out."

Power Girl glared at him for several seconds, "I don't think you're taking me seriously." she said as she put a hand on her hips, "Step into the training room."

Dante knew where she was going with this. He put up his hands, "All I'm saying is-"

Powergirl clamped her hand shut in a 'zip-it' motion, "You're not talking your way out if this." Karen said, "Lets go."

"You know I was actually about to get some pi-"

Karen turned back to him, "Oh I know what it is! You're just a chump! A sissy! A chicken!"

Dante frowned.

"You hear that everyone! Dante's a chicken!" Powergirl teased out loud, drawing attention from several watchtower workers and heroes. She put her hands on her hips and made a show of swaying side to side, "Buck buck buckuck! We got a chicken in the watchtower! My names Dante, I fight demons and spooky shit, but I'm so chicken I won't fight-"

"Alright blondie." Dante said, holding a hand out to the hallway, "Lead the way."

"My pleasure." Power Girl said as she immediately started walking down the hall.

-DMC-

The two stood before each other in the brightly lit, plain looking training room. Power Girl, dressed in a white sports bra and matching colored compression shorts.

Power Girl took a boxing stance, Dante matching with a fighting stance of his own.

"Alright rockstar, its just you and me, clean fight, first to tapout, no fancy black magic or whatever you use." Power Girl said.

"Fine by me. Give yourself all the handicaps you want." Dante said as he bounced on his toes.

"Hmmm," Power Girl thought out loud, "I'm thinking, maybe I'll give you 50%."

"Getting your excuses in line already?" Dante asked.

Power Girl damn near phased out, appearing in Dante's guard. The half devil swung his palm forward, Karen weaving and grabbing his wrist. She immediately pulled down, throwing off Dante's balance. She kept the arm low before getting him in a headlock, squeezing his neck tightly.

Dante set his right foot behind Power Girls leg, before jumping and sending the both of them to the floor. To keep control of the fight, Power Girl pushed downward, barely keeping her hold on Dante's wrist and arm before quickly wrapping her legs tightly around his neck, switching into a triangle hold. Dante laughed, something Karen didn't like. The devil gripped under her arm, and behind her ankle, putting just enough force on her pressure points to break the hold. Not allowing him a chance to gain an advantage, Power Girl swiftly flipped them back around the second Dante grabbed her arm, forcing the man flat on his stomach before getting him in another choke and pinning his arm behind him.

"Come on, where's your fighting spirit, demon hunter?" Power Girl asked, Dante's body relaxing.

He suddenly forced all of his weight back, sending Powergirl back into the floor. In the confusion, he grabbed her by the back of the head before he got up and flung her over him. Not releasing her grip on his arm, Power Girl kept him forced down to the ground.

Power Girl got Dante in a nelson from behind, wrapping her legs around his waist to pin him. "You know what I'm starting to think," Power Girl said smugly, speaking into Dante's ear, "I'm starting to think you're enjoying this."

Dante forced a grin, partly from the fact that her attempts at choking him out wasn't gonna work, and also from the big squishy globes pressed against his back, "Is that a crime?" he asked jokingly. He stopped focusing on trying to out muscle Power Girl, and went for areas that he knew would be vital, for human or otherwise.

He put his hand over hers and put his thumb in an area that he knew had a pressure point, causing Karen enough pain to get her to loosen her grip. Dante immediately slipped out, and got behind Power Girl, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. Karen gasped as she was lifted off her feet, and supplexed to the floor.

Dante kipped up to his feet, smugly wiping his hands. He turned around, ready to trash talk the floored woman behind him, Karen getting up to a knee. His eyes widened at what he saw, "Ah damn, you might wanna-" he looked away and tapped to his left pack, Karen looking confused before she looked down at her own chest, her eyes widening,

"Shit." she put her boob back in her bra, the woman smiling, "That's actually really sweet of you, thanks."

Dante shrugged, "Less distractions, the better."

Power Girl smirked, "I agree." She immediately kicked Dante in the groin, before grabbing him, slamming him to the floor with enough force to rock the room, and straddled him. She punched the ground next to his head.

Not even looking at the fist just inches to his head, the white haired man simply eyed the woman atop him, "Well that was cheap." Dante said.

"I don't believe in fair fights." Power Girl said.

Folding his arms behind his head, Dante drawled, "Neither do I."

Power Girl gasped slightly as she felt the edge to a blade press against her throat. Dante's doppelganger stood behind her, the original copies smirk on its face.

Power Girl frowned as her eyes glow red.

"I cut off your head, you laser off mine." Dante nodded.

"Guess we're at an impasse." Power Girl said.

"Call it a tie?" Dante said.

Karen nodded, Dante dispersing his doppleganger as Power Girl stood off of him. She offered Dante a hand up, which he took.

"Happy you got that out of your system?" Dante asked.

"Yup." Power Girl said, walking over and grabbing her shirt, "My day's been made."

Dante chuckled, "As is mine." he worked out the kinks in his back before folding his arms back behind his head, lounging back on the floor. That chick's a ton of tussle… and he liked that…

-DMC-

(Gotham City Bank…)

A pack of men outfitted in black and white suits stormed the place, each armed and wearing masks with melted plastic on half of the face.

"No alarm. No bats." One of the thugs said lugging duffle bags of money.

"This should be easy pickings boys." One of the goons said, "A good payday from the boss and a couple weeks vacation."

A figure watched over the robbery in progress from a perch overlooking the bank floor, "Hm, you just had to jinx it, meathead." The figure was of a woman, dressed similar to Batman. Long auburn red hair flow down her back. She pressed the communicator at her ear, "Hey H, where are you? You said you wanted in on this."

The sound of chaos resounded over the mic, *"Yeah sorry B…. I'm a bit caught up right now…"* the sound of punches and cracks could be heard, *"think you can handle it yourself?"*

"Who do you think you're talking to? Of course I can handle it." The redhead said, cutting the comms. She shook her head, "Such a flake." She overlooked the criminals undergoing this robbery, before touching her lower back. Her suit and armor covered a now faded scar near her spine.

Her legs. It had been a long time since she'd used them. Now, this was her night, and she'd enjoy this.

The lights went out in the bank, the goons dropping their load and pulling their guns.

"What's going on?!"

"What do you think?! It's the freakin Batman!"

"How? We killed the alarms. No way he's onto us!"

Singular beams of light shown around the bank, the goons desperate to catch sight of anything by flashlight. Little did any of them know, a single beam of light went from skimming through the darkness, to rose up quickly in the air.

The Batgirl held a thug by his mouth, stifling the mans scream before dropping him. The thug screamed before the line around his ankle went taught, the whiplash and blood flow to his head sending him unconscious within seconds. The other thugs went to the location of the dangling goon, cursing and babbling amongst themselves in alarm and confusion.

She didn't need her detective vision to know their heart rate. They were terrified. And with terror came stupid decisions.

All to make her job easier…

The shaking of arms quickly came, and the trigger happiness of the thugs quickly followed, given their shooting at everything that gave off a shadow as they roamed around the bank. Batgirl watched with satisfaction, "Exquisite."

She watched one of the thugs get snatched into the darkness by an unknown source.

She turned on her detective vision, whatever figure that snatched the goon now gone. She considered reaching out to Batman, to see if he had gotten himself involved, but if not, she didn't want to get his attention. No doubt, he'd have words with her getting involved with field work now.

She heard the cry of another thug, just looking over as the man was thrown off a balcony. She couldn't find the culprit anywhere nearby.

'Whoever you are, you're working fast…'

"Not on my night, tryhard." Batgirl said as she swung over to a different gargoyle, eyeing the remaining three goons that huddled close, choosing to keep close to avoid getting picked off. Her hand rapidly typed at the hacker on her wrist computer, a satisfying beep resounding from it.

"No more guns." She smirked.

She hung inverted off the gargoyle, head pointed straight down at the pack of goons. She dropped, landed silently amongst the thugs. As soon as she stood up, opening her mouth to say something witty, her back brushed against another figure standing behind her,

"Making withdrawals are we, gentlemen."

Batgirl as well as the goons turned, a white haired man standing back to the woman, "You?!"

"Shoot-" One of the goons could barely finish the word before Barbara shot a grapple claw at him, snatching him forward before following with a brutal kick to the face.

Dante chopped a goon in the throat, instantly knocking him out.

Batgirl weaved a punch from a goon from behind, catching his fist under hers. She threw a back kick into the thug's knee, breaking it before sweeping his legs with her opposite foot. She followed up with a kick to the jaw to knock the thug out.

"You tryna blow up my spot?" Batgirl immediately asked Dante, without skipping a beat.

Dante looked to the woman, smiling before speaking, "My names Dante and I'm an alcoholic. Nice to meet you too."

"Yeah I know who you are." Batgirl said. She looked the demon hunter up and down, trying to see for the first time who everyone was fussing about. Tall, muscular, blue eyed, strong jawed, flawless skin, exotic white hair and stubble, 'Damnit… he's hot…' Barbara thought, 'Gotta keep it professional.' She continued talking, "Between Black Canary's fangirling and Nightwings man crushing, I hear a lot."

"Who could blame him." Dante said, looking the woman up and down, "Lets see, a bat of the fairer sex… Batwoman? Batgirl?"

"Batgirl. Batwoman's taken." The redhead said, "And these bright, hardworking, blue collar gentlemen are Two-Faces thugs."

"Why does every bad guy need a tacky nickname? Why can't they ever just settle for Paul? Or Dave?" Dante asked, getting fed up with remembering all of these titles.

"You meet Two-Face and you'll see why we call him Two Face." Batgirl said, "Too bad that won't be today. Cause he's mine."

"Whoa now, you don't just drop a line like that and leave me hanging. I at least gotta get a look at this guy."

"N. O." Barbara said.

"Please." Dante said.

"If you agree to stay sidelined." Batgirl said.

"That, I can do." Dante said.

"Good." Batgirl said.

"So where we headed?" Dante said as the two headed out.

"If what I beat out of their driver adds up, Two Face should be holding down a waste disposal facility." Batgirl said. She pulled the fire alarm, a simple way to signal authorities.

"Then let's go get'em." Dante said. He smirked, "Look at you, letting me pal around. You should start calling yourself Batlady instead. You carry yourself like one."

"Ah shut up." Batgirl said.

-DMC-

The two stood at the entrance of a locked down facility, a pair of unconscious thugs laying in a heap behind them. Batgirls detective vision could see another door past this one, an electronic pad hooked to the walls next to both doors.

Dante stood impatiently as Batgirl hacked at the dial pad, within minutes getting closer to cracking the code, "Okay, Attri… bution? No. Exec.. Cutive? No. Exec.. cution? Yes!" She heard a beep resound from the device as the door opened, "Presto."

Nodding, Dante entered walked through the first set of doors, "Cool toy." He knocked on the second set of locked down doors, "Mind if I take this next one?"

"You know how to hack?" Barbara asked.

"Sure." Dante simply balled a fist, and held it up so Barbara could see it clearly, before punching the dial pad.

The doors opened…

"Presto." Dante said.

"Show off." Barbara said, walking past him.

"Call me theatrical." Dante said, the two walking into the plant. They could quickly hear the sound of chatter from various goons.

"How about I call you outta sight, cause that's what you'll be until I'm done with Two Face." Batgirl said.

"As you wish." Dante said.

The second Batgirl looked away from the man, and looked back, he was gone. That gave her pause, her eyes glancing around to see where he went.

She shook her head before focusing on the voices quickly approaching.

She dived under a grate, two of Dents thugs heading down the hall toward her. She waited for them to step over the grate, before springing out. With one fluid move she took the two of them down, before continuing on through the facility.

The hall opened up to a massive room, the sounds of chatter growing abundant. Staying low, she quickly entered and hid behind a stack of rebar. With detective vision on, she scanned the room. Five goons walking the floor, two with guns. Sniper on the second floor.

Cake.

Her eyes went to an electrical power grid lining a section of the floor. Two thugs approached, walking past. A few presses of her hacking device, and the grid shorted, delivering a painful electrical shock to the thugs.

All eyes went to the now disabled thugs. Batgirl took the distraction as time to grapple up to a light fixture.

Overlooking the others, she saw them splitting apart, guns at the ready as they searched. The sniper would be the next to go. She glided and landed behind him, and snatched him into a chokehold.

"Three down, three idiots to go."

She dropped down behind a box of cargo, the footsteps of an approaching thug growing nearer. Her fist shot out, striking the goon in the chin before grabbing his shoulders and swinging him into the wall. She finished him with a knee to the face.

Climbing the top of the box, she overlooked the last two thugs who were just meters away. She whistled, grabbing their attention. Pulling her batclaw, she shot it into a thugs shoulder before launching herself at him and kicking him away.

"It's Batgi-" she punched the second thug in the throat, before grabbing his rifle and swinging it into his face like a bat. Looking over to the last conscious thug, Barbara approached him.

"Two Face. Where is he?" Batgirl said.

"S-Second floor. End hallway. But you'll-"

Batgirl kicked him in the face, knocking him unconscious, "Never find him? Don't be so negative." She huffed. Her senses went on high alert, the faint sound of a 'click' echoing in her ears.

She turned to the sound of a *boom*, the redhead flinching as Dante stood behind her, holding a bullet in his fingers.

The devil Hunter looked up at a criminal and psychopath that looked down on him and the bat vigilante.

The mobster was dressed in a suit, one half well groomed and tailored, the other half burned and scorched fabric. The man's face was of an equal duality. One side of the man's skull was reminiscent of Tommy Lee Jones, graying hair and a face that showed a career of stress. The other half of his face looked like a well done steak; Skull bone, eyeball, and tendons visible.

"You look like the one they say got Cobblepot off the streets." The mobster's voice said calmly and affably, "We should be thanking you." He bounced a coin along his fingers, before snatching it tightly,

The man's voice immediately changed, becoming rougher and much more hostile, "Unfortunately for you, gratitude is in short supply."

"Well, it's easy to see why you two wouldn't get along, with those kind of mood swings." Dante said, "If you know what I did to Cobbler you should just save yourself the hassle and come in quietly."

"Maybe I should…" The former attorney said reasonably, before he bounced the coine, "Or maybe we see how things play out…"

"Now that's more like it." Dante said.

Two Face held the coin, before flipping it. While Dante wasn't concerned, he noticed Batgirl tense, expecting something foul. Two Face caught the coin, "Tails."

The front gate opened, a wave of thugs pouring through.

"Hey fellas, how's your health insurance coverage?" Dante asked, a thug winding his fist as he closed the distance.

Dante side-stepped to allow Batgirl to kick the goon, knocking teeth out of his mouth, "Apparently good enough." She added.

The two got to work taking apart the thugs and making short work of the wave. Dante uppercutted the last one, knocking him up high as Batgirl leaped into a two legged kick, sending the man flying for several feet away.

"You chump, sending your boys down here to do your dirty work." Dante said.

"Unless ya got any more hounds to let loose, just give up Dent. You lose." Batgirl said.

"Do we?" Two Face said, pulling a detonator from his pocket.

Several explosions erupted around the floor, the surface crumbling apart as Dante and Batgirl fell through. The bat vigilante shot her grapple hook at the At the, the hook falling out as the wall came apart.

"Crap." Batgirl said as she fell.

"Gotcha!" Dante caught her, the man landing square on his feet.

Batgirl simply looked at him, "The wings aren't for show ya know."

Dante sighed as he let her go, "How do ya do it Dante. Save the damsels that don't need saving."

A disgusting smell lingered in the air. The two looked around, the area pitch black. Dante's eyes quickly adjusted, the hunter noticing a massive figure sitting lifeless against the wall at the edge of the dungeon. He noticed odd cords and rods flowing into the corpse.

"So!" The two looked up at Two Face, the criminal looking down on them, "You think I'm a chump, do ya?!"

The hum and buzz of electricity filled the room, Barbara and Dante eyeing the corpse that now glow like a blue lightbulb. Its eyes shined bright, its gray flesh illuminated by the electricity flowing through it. Its exposed ribcage revealed a heart that began throbbing.

"Why don't you play with Grundy. I can promise you, he ain't no chump." Two Face walked off.

The hulking corpse slowly stood up, towering over the two crime fighters. Its dress was of a tattered sleeveless coat and torn pants, a thick chain hanging around its neck like jewelry.

"Solomon Grundy…" it growled out, "Born on a Monday…" it dropped the chains at its wrist, two wrecking balls hitting the floor, "Christened on Tuesday…" the joints in its fingers popped, "MARRIED ON WEDNESDAY!" it roared, its massive arms flexing out

Batgirl looked to Dante, "Fought something that big?"

"Killed things bigger sweetheart."

The zombie swung his chains, throwing the wrecking balls up in the air before bringing them down into the ground, shattering the floor and sending a torrent of electricity at them.

Dante and Batgirl dodged in opposite directions, clearing the destruction with varying degrees of difficulty.

Batgirl whipped three batarangs at the giant, the shurikens exploding to little effect on the zombie.

Dante fired off several shots, few of his bullets sunk harmlessly through Grundy, others bounced off.

"This guy's tough enough to throw hands with Superman." Batgirl said, "Try something else!"

"Alright alright." Dante said, getting ready for Grundy to swing his chains. He and Batgirl somersaulted and jumped over, clearing the attack. As Dante landed, he threw his sword, the blade spinning through the air before sticking through the zombies throat and out back.

Batgirl looked to the smirking Devil Hunter, who suddenly vanished in a red blur and appeared behind Grundy, sword in hand. She looked curiously as Grundy's head fell from his shoulders, dropping like a boulder to the floor.

"And you're dead…" Dante said, his smirk fading as Grundy's body refused to fall over, "Come on… you're dead…" He groaned as the headless Grundy walked over to his head, picking it up, and putting it back on his shoulders. With a few sickening squelches, Grundy adjusted the reattached limb, "For Gods sake realize you're dead already!"

Grundy roared before punching the generator he was powered to just moments ago, a surge of powerful electricity surging through his body, disintegrating his coat and amplifying his strength.

"Redman and GirlBat no hurt Grundy!"

Annoyed, Dante shot back, "Redman and Girlbat yes hurt Grundy!"

Batgirl noticed a glow from Grundys chest, "That looks important."

Having noticed it, Dante nodded, "That it does."

"Handle him." Batgirl said, easing over in the direction of the generator, "The higher his charge, the stronger he gets. I'll stop him from powering himself."

Dante chuckled, "Don't do it for my sake." He ran at Grundy, the zombie throwing a wrecking ball to Dante who dodged. The ball hit the ground, knocking a crater into it that damn near ripped the room apart.

The son of Sparda slid across the ground, sliding under the gap between Grundys legs. The enraged super zombie stomped around, trying to squash Dante like a bug, "Redman scared of Grundy!"

"Careful, monster" Dante said, putting on a fake accent, "For I am fearless… and therefore, I am powerful!"

Batgirl nodded her approval at the man, "Nice quoting Frankenstein."

Dante leaped up, slicing deeply into the slab of flesh stitched to Grundy's torso. When the zombie reached to grab him, Dante twirled Rebellion, slicing through the monsters fingers. Grundy roared and clapped his hands together, sending a shockwave that Dante got caught in, blasting him back into a wall.

He shook his head of the slight daze, his eyes widening to Grundy charging him like a freight train.

Barbara winced from the sudden rumble of the floor beneath her. She turned from the fuse box, looking at the enraged, powered up zombie punching relentlessly into a hole in the wall she knew Dante was in.

She knew that he wouldn't die, but she still double timed her efforts. Her eyes glanced up to the pulsing electrical coils, bolts that would repeatedly send currents to the rods attracted to Grundy back.

Whoever designed this rig purposefully made it complicated to shut down. It wasn't one switch, but a combination of switches and cords to be flipped and cut.

Maybe complicated for the average Joe, but not a master of hacking such as her.

With a few slips, and the cutting of a few noticeable wires, the rig was shut down, the buzzing of the electricity it generated ceasing.

Barbara gasped, the sudden lack of sounds of Grundys punching signaling her to move. She jumped in the space between two of the rig boxes, Grundys arm tearing through the metal like paper. Batgirl pressed against the wall, Grundy's meaty fingers just barely out of reach of her,

"Grundy rip wings off Girlbat. Grundy make Girlbat hurt!" The zombie said, fingers just inches out of Batgirl way.

An arm wrapped around Grounds neck, Dante's arm. The zombie tried reaching at the half-devil at his back, who's smaller frame was out of reach for the super zombies massive arms.

Barbara shot her bat claw at the zombie, launching in and shoving her arm through the zombies chest. Black sludge splashed out of the hole as she grabbed the glowing, throbbing organ within. With a squeeze and a pull, she ripped Grundys heart out, and crushed it…

The zombie's arms flopped down to his sides, Dante hopping off as Batgirl stepped away. Grundy fell lifelessly to the floor.

The two heroes looked at the now inanimate corpse, making sure it wouldn't get back up, "What's his story?" Dante asked.

Batgirl waved the black gunk from Grundy off her fingers, taking a moment to shake off the adrenaline high, "Cyrus Gold, was a mobster in the 20's." Barbara said, "His love of gold and money led to his own murder, and his body being thrown into the swamps outside Gotham. Legend has it, these swamps are a nexus for mystical energy. After decades of his corpse being left to stew, it came back… cursed to die and be resurrected…"

Dante hung onto one bit of info, "Life is obstinate, and clings closest where it is most hated…"

"More Frankenstein?" Barbara asked.

Dante smirked, "Impressed?"

"Actually, yes." Barbara said.

-DMC-

Two Face ran out of the abandoned factory, heading straight for his car. The flap of a cape made him look back, catching a glimpse of Batgirls yellow boot before he saw black.

Batgirl stood over the beaten crime boss, "And that's that."

Dante casually strolled up to the unconscious psychopath, "Guess we really put a… dent in those plans of his."

Barbara looked at him, "I've never met a guy who could gain so many points, but then lose them at the drop of a hat."

"Don't hate. I'm a comedian." Dante said. He looked down at the coin laying on the ground. He picked it up, looking at it from both sides, eyeing the burned end, and the clean opposite end, "Believe it or not, there was a time I was going through a coin flipping phase."

"You're kidding me right?"

"I do not lie." Dante sighed, giving the coin a light flip before he caught it, "Lets just say… that was the low point of my existence…" he grimaced as he squeezed the coin, "I think the less said about that part of my life, the better."

Batgirl folded her arms, "I agree."

-DMC-

A/N: Good God, I'm not gonna lie, I hated writing this chapter. I have now learned that I hate dealing with sorcerer-type characters, at least when it comes to battle. Working with them is really a question of what can't they do, instead of what can they do in a fight.

I went through a few versions of the whole Brother Night conflict before I settled on how to handle it. At first, I was gonna treat the fight with Ember and Night like two separate boss battles; a big DMC-esque boss fight with Ember and a mook-wave fight with Night. You mighta noticed some hints of that.

After trying that route, and getting bored of writing Zatanna and Night just shooting blasts at one another, and then considering how haxed Zatanna is, and then factoring in Dante, and then acknowledging that these two hardly ever have to try against their own respective enemies, that pretty much ensured that that whole debacle wouldn't be much but a minor nuisance. They're both haxed no matter how much I try to stretch and wank their opposition.

My second approach was to just say to hell with it, and then start the chapter at the conclusion of the whole thing. But, I figured… that's anti-climactic…

My last approach was to say, "Ya know what… I'm dealing with mystics… let's get a little bit wacky."

After it's all been said and done, sometimes writing goes that way, you envision a certain thing but that thing doesn't always translate to how you've planned it when executing it. Sorry for making you all wait, but hopefully the next update is quicker and more enjoyable.

Happy 4th! Until next time ^_^