WARNING, PLEASE READ!: I always knew this story would be headed there eventually, but now it's official. This story will be going to the M section next update. Why? There is a small but semi-graphic lemon scene in this chapter. I'm aware that lemons are not everyone's cup of tea, and that's okay. There will be a big ole fat warning beforehand and a sign for when it ends. Hope ya enjoy!
-DMC-
(Qurac…)
The middle-eastern nation was in an uproar, the terrorist groups inhabiting the nation were hauling trucks loaded with massive missiles and other heavy weaponry.
One of the terrorists yelled orders at his underlings, several men with flamethrowers burning some unknown pile of matter, "Burn it all! Leave nothing! Scouts say that a foreign aircraft entered our vicinity!"
A group of men dragged another soldier, kicking and fighting towards the burning pile. The commander looked at the soldier, shuddering at the bloodshot eyes, green and prickly skin, and receding lips on his face.
"Burn him, too."
The sickened soldier looked helpless as his former comrades pulled their guns on him. His cries drowned out through the hail of bullets.
A thunderous boom exploded in the air, the terrorists gasping as a shape shot down into the center of their operations.
Dozens of guns and weapons were trained at the figure, the smoke waning to reveal Superman, his red cape flowing in the desert wind behind him. The Man of Steel was unfazed by the weaponry aimed his way.
He simply folded his arms, "I'd tell you to surrender, but that never works, does it?"
The terrorists fired at the kryptonian, bullets of different calibers bouncing off of his skin and suit. Superman moved so fast it appeared as if he'd teleport, pulling his punches just enough to neutralize the terrorists without killing them.
He grabbed one of their guns, twisting the barrel to uselessness before hitting him with an open palm that sent him tumbling across the ground. His glowing red eyes melted the guns of several more terrorists, the men crying out in pain from the smoldering metal in their hands.
Jumping up in the air, Superman took a deep breath, and blew, sending a torrent of powerful winds that kicked up sand and sent several men and tents tumbling across the ground in a dust storm.
A putrid scent filled his nostrils, like burned meat. Clark looked to one of the flaming piles. To his horror, he saw charred skeletons…
"What in God's name?" he breathed out.
Angered, the Cape flew down and punched one terrorist in the jaw, knocking him out cold, following up with a backfist that sent one crashing into a stone wall. His superhuman hearing could pick up the whir and shifting of numerous steel mechanisms. He looked up to see several men outfitted in clunky green battlesuits jumping down at him. The suits were obviously meant to amplify a human's abilities, shown simply by their jump.
Superman side stepped, the enemy closest to hitting him stomping the ground, foot cracking the hard dirt. The hero immediately followed up with a kick to the terrorists suit, sending the man into a tent that collapsed around him. The other two threw punches at Superman, the hero hardly phased or moved by the blows.
He grabbed one of the soldiers by the wrist, twisting it and his arm uncomfortably to subdue the man. Before the other enemy could react, Superman headbut him, cracking his visor and easily knocking him unconscious.
Superman frowned at the terrorist he had by the arm. As soon as he opened his mouth,
*BANG!*
Superman felt as if a pebble bounced off the side of his head, the sound of screaming from behind following. He turned to see a terrorist, who'd snuck up behind Clark to shoot him in the head, now on the ground cluching at the bullet wound in his chest.
Giving the man a look of pity, Superman's eyes glow red as a quick shot of his heat vision cauterized the wound. He turned back to the terrorist he'd still had in hand. His eyes glow red again, a concentrated laser burning a thin line down the battlesuit. Superman simply grabbed the suit, and pulled the man right out of it.
"Enough!" Superman said, "What were you doing here? What is this?!"
The terrorist stuttered out, "W-We don't know! We just follow orders! T-Told to burn all infected… leave no evide-aaauugghh!"
Superman gasped as the man burst into flame right in his hands, turning to bone and dust almost instantly. It was as if the man had thermite underneath his flesh.
He looked around, all of the other terrorists he'd neutralized now a pile of blackened bone and dust. His head lowered. Lives were lost, that he couldn't save.
His head turned to the charred bodies in piles.
"Infected…" Superman muttered, confused. He looked to the dead soldier's armor chassis. His vision, able to see even microscopic material, was able to see something tiny engraved into the metal. His eyes narrowed in fury at the name etched into the chasis.
'LEXCORP'
-DMC-
"Luthor's been supplying Qurac with weapons to squash a democratic rebellion." Superman said; Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter in the surveillance room with him, "For him, that's not unusual. I caught the guerillas burning the bodies of what had to be their own soldiers, people infected with some type of pathogen."
"Selling weaponry is Luthor's thing, ain't it? He's got government backing. I don't think we can bring him down on that alone." Hal Jordan said.
"You think Luthor supplied them with the pathogen as well?" Manhunter asked.
"Likely." Superman said, "I fear that whatever this pathogen is, it might have something to do with Metropolis."
"Then we'll need to get information on it. What it is, what Luthor's planning with it." Wonder Woman said.
"So, a little espionage?" Lantern said, he and Wonder Woman turning to Manhunter. It was obvious that with his shapeshifting abilities, he'd be the obvious choice.
"Unfortunately I can't. I need to support Vigilante and Booster Gold on their assignment in New Mexico."
"I can do it." Superman said, "Lex is my problem."
"No." Wonder Woman said, "Lex thrives on trying to kill your reputation. We have to be subtle with this."
"Speaking of subtle, what would be the best way to go about this, just sneaking into Luthor's labs is easier said than done." Green Lantern said.
"Actually," Manhunter pulled up an article on the screen. It was about an event for scientific minds that Lex was hosting, "Lex will be hosting a Gala at LexCorp this evening. It would be easiest for an outsider to infiltrate if they attend."
"Then Clark Kent could go." Superman said.
"That's a no, as well." Wonder Woman said, "Lex Luthor knows Clark Kent. He wouldn't have any business at LexCorp, that already puts an eye on him. If things fall through that's too much of a risk as far as that identity is concerned."
"So we use someone who isn't tied to Lex Luthor." Superman said, "Who?"
Diana looked at Superman, "Dante."
"Oh no way." Green Lantern said.
"Dante is still something of an enigma among the supervillain community." Wonder Woman said, "Luthor already wouldn't suspect someone from the League at one of his casual social events, he especially wouldn't piece together someone like Dante being in league with us."
Superman nodded, "Alright, but we can't send him in alone. Who's going with him?"
-DMC-
*Knock knock knock knock knock… knock knock*
Steam filled Dante's Watchtower apartment, the son of Sparda stepping out of his bathroom, towel around his waist and water dripping from his hair.
He heard the knock at the door, shaking his hair as he answered it.
Power Girl stood on the other side, leaning on the frame with her arms folded over her chest. She blew a bubble from the gum she was chewing, her eyes going to his exposed abs. She popped the bubble and snapped her gum, "Not bad. You keep that on a diet of pizza and ice cream?"
The water on Dante's body suddenly steamed right off, "Guess I can do it all." He said smoothly, "Whaddya need blondie?"
"For you to get dressed. Meet me in the surveillance room."
-DMC-
Dante walked down the hall towards the surveillance room, passing several heroes and Watchtower personnel.
Vixen walked past him, pinching his arm, "Dante."
"Foxy." he said.
"Demon killer!" Cyborg stepped past, Dante fist bumping him,
"How's it hanging tech." Dante said, "Thought you said you'd fix up my bike?"
Cyborg snorted, passing Dante a smug look, "You got bike fixing money?"
"Ah come on, you know I'm good for it."
A whistle caught Dante's attention, the gunslinger turning to see Vigilante standing down the hall in a western duelist stance, the cowboy themed hero's fingers twitching near the handles of his revolvers.
Dante obliged, slipping into his own stance, fingers trained near his pistols. They waited a second, before they both pulled their side pieces, aiming them at one another.
Vigilante's revolvers clicked, the chambers empty. The hero twirled his guns before reholstering them, "You're fast gunslinger." He turned down the halls.
"Likewise cowpolk." Dante said, holstering his own guns.
"Dante!"
The Devil-Hunter stopped in the hall, the voice from behind him angry and very familiar.
"What is it this time?" Dante asked, turning to the Bat vigilante walking towards him. Several watchtower workers hurriedly stepped aside as Batman walked closer.
"I know about what happened in Chicago." Batman said, standing just feet from Dante. The vigilante, despite knowing what Dante was capable of, showed no fear, sizing him up as he would any other adversary, "I told you, the League doesn't kill… when in our world you abide by our rules." The Dark Knight's tone had several of the heroes on edge, those in the vicinity; Vixen, Cyborg, Vigilante, Hawk and Dove turning to look at the scene.
"Dude… I just got pizza." Dante said.
"You had something to do with Black Mask's murder." Batman said.
"Oh, that." Dante said, "Believe it or not, I didn't kill that guy, but it sounds like you want me to take credit for it, make ya' feel better… so I will. Black Mask was a drug peddling crime lord that tortured and killed people. I shot up all of his men. I whooped him and kicked his ass out of a window. And? You gonna throw him a candle-lit vigil?"
Batman stared down the mercenary, his anger rising, "You're out of line. You have no sense of accountability. No regard for the law or the fallout of your actions. It's a shame if they consider you a hero where you come from."
Dante stared the Bat vigilante down, "You're right, maybe I should be more like you; drag a bunch of kids into my craziness, let one of'em get crippled and let another get their head cracked open by a demented Ronald McDonald."
At this Batman stepped forward, "What did you say?" his voice was almost a growl, though Dante didn't move a muscle.
"Keep your own house in order." Dante said, frowning at the vigilante.
"Enough!"
Wonder Woman stepped up from behind Dante, "This discussion is done. There will be no combat here. Batman, we will talk. Dante, come."
Dante didn't spare the bat a second glance, heading down the hall with Wonder Woman.
Batman stood alone in the hall, processing what Dante just told him. Who could have told him that? Dick and Barbara don't go into their personal affairs. Dante and Damian don't communicate, and he has yet to meet Tim… who else would he have contacted?
"Jason." he said to himself, turning on his heel and moving down the hall.
"I see your relationship with Batman is improving." Wonder Woman said to Dante, "You've made quite the effort." The sarcasm was subtle but evident in her tone of voice.
"Come on, you telling me this is my fault?" Dante said, picking up the thickly laid sarcasm in Wonder Woman's tone, "All I've done since I've been here is be a highly moral, upstanding, law abiding citizen. Man just has it out for me. And you know what? That's A-Okay, almost everywhere I go people are either trying to kill me or maim me."
"You have a way of antagonizing by way of missing context." Wonder Woman said, "You may not have killed Black Mask but you know who did and refuse to tell him. Protecting a friend?"
"What do you need me for?" Dante asked, cutting straight to the point. The two stepped into the surveillance room.
"We need you and Power Girl to infiltrate LexCorp." Superman said as the two entered. Power Girl herself sat on a table in the room, "There's data we need extracted, and we hope that you can sneak in and get it."
"I don't wanna." Dante said, shaking his head, "Secret agent stuff isn't really my style." Dante said, "Where's the fun?"
"First of all, we don't charge you anything for staying here." Superman said, Dante groaning and slouching, "Call this paying your dues."
"Second of all, you get to go to a gala." Wonder Woman said, pulling an order receipt, "We already ordered you in a suit."
Dante groaned again.
"Don't be so glum, pretty boy." Power Girl said, taking the ticket from Diana and pushing it into Dante's chest, "Now you get to play dress up tonight."
"I think I agree with him." Lantern said, sitting with his arms folded behind his head, "I mean, who the hell's gonna believe this guy knows anything about science?"
"Who are you again?" Dante asked Lantern, "Heard you're scared of the color yellow."
"Knock it off you two." Wonder Woman said before Lantern could fire back.
"Agreed." Superman said. He looked to Diana, "Go ask Batman for the tech to mine the data."
Wonder Woman shot a deadly glare his way, "Don't get brazen with me."
Superman flinched, the man smiling bashfully, "Sorry ma'am. Will you please ask Batman for the tech?" Wonder Woman smiled and nodded, satisfied with that.
A 'whipping' sound came from Dante's direction, Superman passing the half-devil a glance,
"I didn't say nothing." Dante said innocently. He looked the other way as Power Girl laughed.
-DMC-
(Metropolis)
Cranes and beams hung hundreds of stories over the city, construction being done on several buildings above.
A dark-haired woman dressed in a business casual outfit; purple blouse and black dress pants, hurried along the busy Metropolis streets, bumping and maneuvering around other denizens of the mega city. She had a cell phone up to her ear and a briefcase in her free hand.
"No, Olsen!" she snapped at the distressed voice over the line, brow furrowed irritably over purple eyes, "You know the Union scandal's not gonna be a front pager. Don't run it just to make the deadline. We got Air Force One landing at the airport in three hours, I need you to-"
The construction crew up above cried out as the metal connecting the hook that held rebar cracked, dropping a couple of beams down to the streets below.
The denizens below looked up as a shadow quickly formed above them.
"Look out!"
A panic broke out, citizens running and pushing each other to get out of the way. One cowardly man pushed the dark haired woman out into the street in his panic.
She gasped as a 16 wheel truck sped towards her, the woman closing and turning her head. She caught a blur of red entering her vision. Her heart fluttered, her mind going to her usual savior. She was caught off guard to see the red in her vision was not from a cape, but from a leather duster.
Dante stood in front of the woman, a bag in one hand and a hand up to stop… the truck ignoring him as it continued speeding towards them.
"The red means STOP, moron!" He shouted as he chopped his hand down into the truck, stopping it cold and bending the fender in half. The cargo hold on the back almost got launched off the trailer. The airbag burst out and hit the driver, but he was otherwise unharmed. Dante flicked his fingers as he turned back to look at the woman, who stared at him in disbelief.
Some of the bystanders ran over to pull the man out of his truck, others pulling phones and recording the scene.
"That was close." Dante said to the woman, "You almost became a pretty little hood ornament. You alright?"
"You know, I think most heroes would've just picked up me or the truck." the woman said as she stood up. She looked over at the driver of the truck who held his neck, a few bruises from the airbag splotching his face, "But I guess putting a man through three months of physical therapy works too. What's your theme? Cowboy? Rockstar? Eh, I've seen worse."
Dante chuckled, "You pick a really long way of saying thank you, hot legs."
"Lois Lane." The woman said, holding a hand out, "Daily Planet."
"Dante." the devil hunter said, shaking the woman's hand, "Freelance handyman." He moved to walk around her, before she grabbed him by his wrist,
"Hold on there, partner." Lois said as she grabbed Dante's jacket sleeve, stopping him from leaving. She pulled a notepad, "Got a minute?"
Dante's head tilted as he turned back to the purple eyed woman. Typically, he wasn't one to make time for the press at all, but he looked at her, "What the hell, guess I'm a sucker for pretty faces." Dante said, "Whaddya wanna know?"
Hovering high above, Superman held the metal beams and overlooked the scene, shaking his head with a small smile, "Messy but… effective." he flew the beams back up to the construction site above.
-DMC-
That evening, the sun began to set over Metropolis. Streets began to thin of both cars and civilians. A building within the city stood out, a tech palace that shined brighter than the rest. A line of people trailed into the building's entrance, all dressed in formal wear.
Power Girl was dressed in civilian garbs; her outfit for the night a white sleeveless dress with matching colored shoes, glasses, and her hair tied back in a bun.
She waited on the sidewalk, away from the line of people entering LexCorp. The woman glanced down both ends of the street, hoping to see Dante approach, "Ugh, come on dude." The kryptonian groaned. They needed to be in LexCorp during the peak of this event; the longer Dante took, the higher the risk.
After a few minutes, she grunted and got in line, earning more than a few stares at her… assets.
As she neared the front, the usher holding a tablet greeted, "Hello Miss…"
"Karen Starr." she said, pulling her ticket for the event.
The usher took the ticket and scanned it with the tablet's camera, "Karen Starr," he nodded, "you came alone for tonight?" he asked, almost in disbelief that she didn't have a date.
"No, she didn't."
Both Karen and the usher turned to the voice, Karen surprised at what she saw. Dante was dressed in a black and white tux, his hair jet black, instead of the snow white she'd been familiar with. He walked up and stood beside her.
"And you are?" the usher asked.
"Tony Redgrave." Dante said, pulling his ticket and handing it to the usher.
The usher scanned the ticket, "Alright. Ma'am, sir, please enjoy your night."
Dante passed Karen a small smile, the two proceeding in, "Took ya' long enough." Karen said.
"You don't know how much I hate wearing suits." Dante said, "I never feel like myself."
"I feel ya'." Power Girl looked him up and down, "I never imagined that would actually work."
"Heh, what were you expecting?"
Power Girl put a finger to her mouth as she thought, "Russel Brand in a tux."
"Oh, okay," Dante nodded approvingly, putting his hand to her waist as they walked, "you got jokes."
"Only at your expense." Power Girl said smugly.
On entering, they saw what they expected, a room filled with rich and wealthy types, most mingling and others observing the many art, statues, paintings, and collected pieces of tech and artifacts around the floor.
"Okay," Karen said as the two strolled into the gala, "elephant in the room… you can change your hair color?"
Dante turned to her, his hair flashing from black to white to black again at a speed he knew only she would catch, "What makes you think that? Maybe I just ran to the bathroom and dyed it so quickly you couldn't keep up."
Karen smiled and stomped on his foot, Dante's smile waning.
"Ow."
"Let's go." Karen said slyly, grabbing Dante's arm and pulling him through the room.
"I take it this Lexy guy has a beef with your little cousin?" Dante asked.
"It's almost legendary." Power Girl said, "Some people just can't stand the idea of an alien being more loved than a human."
Dante looked to the Kryptonian, "I think there's an argument that humans are better than… everything else. They don't have powers. They aren't inherently strong, fast, or tough. Yet look at what they're capable of?"
Power Girl looked back, "What's human to you?"
"You don't have to throw the curveball questions at me, Barbie, I learned that lesson a long time ago." Dante saw younger people around the floors, likely teenagers, "What's this event all about anyways?"
"Lex just built a polytechnical school here in the city." Karen said, "He'll be announcing scholarships and all that jazz."
"That's not so bad." Dante said. Of course, in the time he'd spent in the business, he'd long learned that certain people weren't always what they'd led the public to believe.
"What makes Luthor so hard to deal with is that he relies heavily on his public image, so he takes greater strains to hide his bullshit than other baddies." Karen said, "He builds and funds libraries and schools, offers jobs, gives out scholarships, donates to charities. The irony of his animosity towards Kal, is Lex could use his resources to truly save the world and people would probably love him more than Superman or any of the Justice League."
The two looked around, a servant with a tray handing out free glasses of champagne. Dante took one, downing it before putting the glass right back on the tray, much to the servants annoyance.
"What are we looking for?" Dante asked.
The Kryptonian put a finger up to the communicator device on her ear, "Manhunter, where we headed?" Power Girl asked.
From back in the Watchtower, the Martian eyed a digital x-ray of the Lexcorp building. "You need to insert the transponder into the building's mainframe. The lowest level is where you need to be." the visual of LexCorp turned, "The East hall has an elevator that will take you down into the building's underbelly."
Power Girl looked to her right, her eyes narrowing as she saw the hall they'd need. "There's gotta be camera's down there, right? We're too easily traceable. Super speed won't help."
"Be a hell of a party trick if a couple vanished into thin air." Dante said.
"*Don't worry about the cameras. Just hold for a few minutes.*" Manhunter said.
"So what are we doing?" Dante asked.
"Waiting for an opportunity." Power Girl said. The blonde received a tap to her shoulder, a young man with glasses standing behind her.
"Boss! I knew that was you."
"Oh, Dexter! Nice seeing you here." the woman said, shaking the blushing man's hand.
"L-Likewise." the man said, gaining a hopeful look in his eye, "Did you come alone tonight?"
"Kinda booked up for the night." Power Girl said.
"Sorry dude, I gotta keep your unusually hot boss company." Dante said, Karen rolling her eyes and huffing with a blush.
"I'll see you in office." Karen said to her disappointed employee, walking off with Dante.
"Boss, huh?" Dante asked.
"I run a software company." Karen said casually, "Got a problem with that?"
"Problem? Nah. I just didn't exp-"
"Just cause I got big boobs and blonde hair doesn't make me a ditzy bimbo, ya jerk!" Power Girl snapped, catching Dante by surprise. A few attendees looked at the two.
"I didn't even say that." Dante said.
"You were thinkin' it!"
"I was not." Dante said, Power Girl shoving him before storming off, leaving the devil hunter mind blown and by himself. A few of the male attendees grinned as Power Girl walked off, following after her to seize their chance. "What could I have possibly done wrong..." Dante said, walking off.
An older man in a suit, laughing with colleagues took a step back, almost bumping into Dante. Instinctively, Dante put an arm up, shoving the man back and into his associates.
"Hey!"
"Watch it!"
"I can sell and buy you!"
"My bad." Dante said, exasperated, "And ya probably could." he groaned as he kept walking through the crowd.
The older man was about to follow after him, his subordinates stopping him,
"Mr. Stagg, please calm down."
"This isn't worth it, sir."
Dante stopped another waiter that attempted to pass by, taking another glass of champagne. As he downed it, he could see that among the attendees one was getting a lot of attention among the guests; cameras flashing and people getting aking for pictures.
The man was dark haired, handsome, dressed in a suit, and had two smoking hot pieces of arm candy at either side.
"Mr. Wayne, how about a picture!"
"Is that really Bruce Wayne?"
"Mr. Wayne, I got a question for you!"
The billionaire playboy laughed off the attention, smoothly moving through the crowd with the models around his arms. He caught sight of Dante, the man stopping and snapping his fingers, "Hey, I think I recognize you, uh, Tony… yeah, Tony uhhh," he kept snapping his fingers, "Redman? No,"
"Redgrave." Dante finished for him.
"Yeah, Redgrave." Bruce said, "I heard a lot of talk about how you've been making moves around Gotham. Helping the little guys."
"I just love a little action man, that's all." Dante said, the model's on Bruce's arm smiling at him.
"Don't we all." Bruce Wayne said, stepping up to Dante, "If I had the time I'd join ya, but uh," he held up a few bills for Dante, "why don't you get yourself a nice, expensive drink, on me." he stuck them in Dante's jacket pocket and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Wow, thanks dude!" Dante said.
"Don't mention it." Bruce Wayne said as he walked off with his dates. He pointed to a random, "I like those shoes!"
"Pretty cool guy." Dante said to himself. He walked over to a massive painting that hung on the wall, almost overshadowing the floor. It was vivid, detailed, and depicting angels from above battling demons from below.
"Impressive, isn't it?"
Dante looked to the left, almost blinded by the shining globe next to him, 'Damn that's a bright light!' He put up a hand, shielding himself from the light. Squinting, he saw it was just a bald man in a crisp gray suit standing beside him.
"Yeah, someone really knows how to work a brush." Dante said.
"It's almost perfect." the man said, cupping his chin as he tilted his head in thought, "Though I do think it should be upside down."
"Demons on top, angels on the bottom?" Dante asked, "It's metal, but I don't know how I feel about that."
"They have to be." the gentleman said, smiling politely at Dante, though his tone held a tinge of pompousness, "Don't know how much you'd know about such," he twirled his hand as he searched for the word, "otherworldly matters, but demons don't come from below… they come from above."
"By that logic, the big man upstairs would be the one who sends the demons." Dante said, "Sounds sinister."
"Who's to say that he doesn't? That he isn't? For what reason would he allow human beings to suffer as they do? Hm? If God is all powerful, he certainly cannot be all good. If he is all good, evidently he couldn't be all powerful, in which case… why even call him God?"
Dante was resisting the urge to fall asleep. Still, he was able to follow, "Why call anyone God? Devil? Ain't nothing but titles. If humans wanted to, put their minds to it, they could destroy God if it came down to it. All it takes is taking the power they give'em." he could see the proud smile spread across the gentleman's face. There was a really bad energy this man put out, and Dante could feel it clearly. He was trouble. Still, he remained cordial, "You an artist? Or a collector?"
"Collect. I love… owning things. It's a weakness of mine."
"I see you compensate in some areas." Dante said.
"Excuse me?" the man responded.
"I'm just saying, you look great. I can tell you take extra care of yourself." Dante said, "Waxing and polishing and all that."
The smooth headed man was silent for a moment, "I don't believe we've met, Mister…"
"Tony. Redgrave." Dante said. "Nice to meet ya…" he waited for the stranger to finish for him, "man."
The bald man raised an eyebrow, staring the devil hunter down incredulously.
"Mr. Luthor, nice to meet you!" Karen said, cutting in between the two. She pointed a finger to herself, "Karen Starr, Starrware Labs. Excuse my date tonight, he's from out of town, and not much of a science guy."
"So I see." Luthor said, "A man of the arts." He looked Dante up and down, coming to a conclusion about the man, "A music aficionado, I presume? There's certainly room in this world for those types. I hope to see more of you Mr… Redgrave."
Dante and Power Girl stepped away from Luthor, walking back through the crowd. Karen looked over to Bruce Wayne, the man typing something into his phone. He smiled at the blonde and winked at her, a signal that Karen picked up on. They walked through the East hall, towards the elevator at the end, "Ugh, what were you doing just goofing off? I was waiting for you!" Karen told Dante.
His eyes narrowed, "Sorry." he said through an exhausted voice.
Pressing the button, the two stood and waited. The sounds of several pairs of footsteps came up from behind. There were several LexCorp employees waiting, all waiting with Dante and Power Girl to get on the elevator with them.
That wouldn't do.
Karen thought fast. She held her head and stumbled, Dante catching her, "Oh, Tony, I think that last drink… I had…" she slurred her words.
"You gonna be okay?" Dante asked.
"I think I just… I think I just have to…" she leaned in and kissed him, catching Dante by surprise, but the half-demon quickly got into it. Dante was anything but dense, he knew what the idea was, and that, he was all for it.
They wrapped their arms around each other, making out in front of the LexCorp employees. Hands were grabbing and pulling clothes, exaggerated moans coming from both supers.
The workers were now looking down and around, obviously uncomfortable.
*Ding!*
The elevator opened up, the heroes stumbling inside. Dante broke the kiss to look at the workers, "Oh I'm sorry, you guys were getting in too, right?"
"Ya know what, I… I think we'll just take the stairs." one of the workers said as they walked off.
The elevator doors closed.
Karen adjusted her glasses as Dante folded his arms and leaned against the elevator wall, "Nice quick thinking." he said.
"Nice catching on." Power Girl said.
The two stood in silence…
"So, how was I?" Dante asked.
Power Girl passed him a gaze, before looking up in thought, "Let's just say you're a better kisser than you are comedian." She smirked.
"I think I cleared a pretty high bar." Dante said.
Power Girl snorted, "Think whatever you want."
Silence…
"See any good movies lately?" Dante asked.
"Actually, I have. And it's one you might like." Power Girl said, "Like horror movies?"
"The best kind." Dante said.
"Well there's this one about this family that moves to a haunted house in Rhode Island. They call in this couple who're paranormal investigators. They find this doll-"
*DING*
The door to the elevator opened, the two stepping out into a brightly lit yet plain white hallway.
Power Girl pressed a button on her ear communicator, receiving nothing but static.
"Miles underground, no signal." Power Girl said.
"Doubt we'll need him." Dante said, continuing on through the hall, "You see a lot of ways to get lost? I don't." He stopped, spotting a round device attached to the ceiling. It had to be a camera. He had Ebony and Ivory hidden under his dress shirt, and his sawed-off holstered along his left leg under his pants. Before he could pull a gun to shoot it, Power Girl put a hand on his shoulder,
"Don't worry about that. We got the cameras running a loop feed."
The two continued on until they hit a corner, the sounds of wheels squeaking against the floor audible. Karen peeked around the corner, spotting a lone janitor, headphones in ear and mopping the floor, back to them. The other end of the hall turned into another.
Power Girl and Dante turned to each other and nodded, both setting their feet. Power Girl took a deep breath, before spewing an icy breath from her mouth, a layer of ice slicking the floor behind the janitor. The janitor took a step back, before his foot slipped on the ice, sending him tumbling to the floor and his bucket spilling with him.
Twin gusts of wind blew by either side of the janitor, the man pulling himself up and looking around. What the hell happened?
Dante and Karen stopped at the far end of the connecting hallway. An automatic door locked by a keypad and card slide was before them. Dante pulled the janitor's keycard, sliding it down the card slot. The red light on the keypad turned to green before the door slid open. The two heroes walked into an unlit room, darkness all around them.
Both pairs of eyes skimmed the room, not noticing any infrared lights or cameras. As they walked into the room, looking around and taking things slow, they saw six large steel containers lined suspiciously against the walls, three on either side.
Unbeknownst to either of them, they stepped on a piece of tile that acted like a pressure plate…
Luthor was in a conversation with other attendees, taking a picture with a teenage girl that happened to be one of his scholarship attendees. He received a tap on the shoulder from his assistant, a woman with long brown hair and dressed in a navy blue skirt suit.
"What is it, Mercy?" he asked her irritably.
"Sir, I received a report from the surveillance team. We're reporting unknown activity on the lower levels." She handed him a pad. Luthor aggressively took it from the woman, pressing a few buttons that activated a computer monitor's camera within the room.
He was given a view of the inside of the room, his brow furrowing as he spotted the familiar faces approaching the database,
"Redgrave? Starr?" Luthor said. He knew there was something not quite right about those two.
"Should I send down security?" his assistant asked.
"No." Luthor said, "I'll handle it." he stepped away, pressing several passcodes into his device, "Going after my secrets, are you? Well, let's see how you like this one…" he pressed a red button on the screen.
Karen plugged the transponder into the database, a green light beeping as information was transferred to the Watchtower, "And now, we wait a minute or two. Simple."
Dante passed her a glance, "Simple. Heh. Wouldn't that be the day."
"We did everything right." Power Girl said, "What could go wrong?"
The lights turned on, the metal containers shifting as their coverings lifted, revealing glass…
Behind the glass were some sort of mutated monstrosities floating in a mysterious liquid. They all varied in appearance. Different colors; green, purple, and orange. Faces melting, one of them missing eyes and a nose, few teeth dangling from exposed gums, and limbs either tentacled, clawed, or clubbed. The faces of each of the creatures turned their way.
"You just had to jinx it, didn't ya?" Dante asked Karen.
Power Girl turned to him, "Oh screw you, by your own admission your luck is terrible." She poked him hard in the side, "This is your fault!"
*CRASH!*
The monsters burst through the containers, spilling green fluids all over the floor. Their groans were hauntingly humanlike, the mutants ganging up on the two heroes.
"I was hoping I wouldn't have to mess up such a nice suit." Dante said, rolling his shoulders as Power Girl cracked her knuckles.
"Whelp. Here goes nothing." Power Girl said as one of the monsters brought up its clubbed arm, swinging it down at where they once stood. Power Girl shoulder rammed one mutant, knocking it back as Dante leaped above her, pulling his guns from his shirt, spinning a hail of bullets down over the monsters, practically shredding one into confetti.
Karen caught a mutant's clubbed fist, pulling it in and cracking the creature's head with a punch, knocking several of its oversized teeth out of its warped mouth. She dropped back while holding on, flipping the mutant into the tiled floor. With both hands, she grabbed it, picked it up, and ripped it in two. Dante dropped down onto a purple abomination's back with a grunt, knocking it to the floor with a rumble.
He shoved his shotgun into the back of the mutant's head, pulling the trigger and splattering chunky bits all over the walls. Another stumbled up from behind, taking a swing at Dante who vanished from its sight, appearing right behind it. Dante flipcocked his gun and laid it flat on his shoulder, pulling the trigger and shredding it with a burst of lead pellets.
Power Girl grunted as a mutant's tentacled fingers ensnared her, picking her up. The blonde ripped free from the slimy appendages before she grabbed it by the arms, holding it still. Her eyes glow bright red, the woman shouting as her heat vision burned through the mutant's forehead and out the other end.
She hovered next to Dante, the biggest of the mutants towering over them. It growled out, before it swung down at them…
The janitor from earlier had made his way over by the door, the man hearing grunts and shouts coming from the other side of the door, and the occasional object breaking. He grimaced in disgust as the noises stopped…
The door to the room opened, Dante and Power Girl stepping out. The two were adjusting their clothes; Dante fixing his suit and Karen her hair and her glasses. They were both sweaty and disheveled...
"Whoo boy," Dante clapped the janitor on the back, "you have quite the mess to clean in there."
"Have fun." Karen said, the two hurrying around the corner.
The janitor groaned, watching the two disappear from around the corner, "They don't pay me enough for this job."
-DMC-
Later that night, Luthor sat at his desk, watching footage from the lower levels. These two enigmas were obviously not normal humans. The speed he saw them move, the strength he saw. Those specimens were constructed from the DNA of kryptonians, and these two ripped them to bits…
The billionaire rubbed his chin, the only way two supers would get involved was if they were in league with Superman. He saw an article online, written by Metropolises own Daily Planet and Lois Lane.
The article read,
New Hero in Red?
The article talked about a mystery man that saved Lois from a near fatal car accident. The hero, not bothering with a moniker, and refusing to name a proper place of origin, simply called himself Dante…
A man, described as being dressed in red with white hair.
That was familiar…
Lex Luthor's limo pulled up to a destroyed police transport vehicle. The officers in charge were shot dead. He sat in the black car, the door opening to a woman he was familiar with.
"Where's Dr Light?" Lex asked.
"He took off to parts unknown after the mercs attacked."
Lex rested his jaw on his knuckles, looking to the woman disapprovingly, "Giganta, Wonder Woman was across the country and the Kryptonians were off planet. No one they sent should have been a problem. What went wrong?" It was such a simple assignment. Go to the Gotham museum. Steal a handful of artifacts tied to the League of Assassins and leave. How could they have screwed this up so utterly?
The red haired woman folded her arms and pouted, "We got third partied."
"By?"
"Some… hot rocker cowboy guy." Giganta said.
"Narrow that down." Luthor said,
The airheaded redhead looked up, her face blushing. A small smile crossed her face as she thought back to the man she encountered, "White hair… beautiful blue eyes… stylish…"
The bald villain resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She looked like a schoolgirl, "Okay, so he's dreamy…"
He pulled up files from his computer. Images that could have only been caught from traffic cameras. They were from the time of Brainiac's invasion just under a month ago. An image of a ruined street was in view, just off in the corner a battle between two figures.
The battle was so fast the video could barely keep up, the frames per second only able to capture some still images.
He could make out one of the figures as being Wonder Woman, the other, wielding a sword, was unable to be seen from the angle of this current video. He switched to a different camera view, this one a view of the street from a different angle. A car from off in the distance was suddenly flattened by a figure.
The figure climbed off of the car, Luthor pausing the video as he zoomed in and took a look at them. Red jacket… White hair…
Didn't match the physical description of this 'Tony Redgrave'. He zoomed the picture in close. He saw the guns at the man's sides, and matched those with the images shown from Tony that night.
This was definitely the one.
Why was this 'Dante', this 'Tony' fighting with Wonder Woman? He would assess that the League hadn't known about him until recently. Where had he come from? What were his motives?
"Mr Luthor," Mercy Graves started, "the database was breached. The mech suits we've tested in Qurac have shown to be ineffective. This is cause for concern. "
"As if I'd keep anything important in the system's core database." Luthor said, almost snorting at the thought of himself doing something so utterly naive, "The Justice League believes they've gained insight on my plans yesterday night, but all they have gotten are sales reports and ancient tax returns. No. The purpose of Qurac was to trigger a U.S invasion, and draw out the so-called Superman. The mechs were merely a distraction." He turned on the massive flat screen TV in his office. A news report was broadcast, one that showed U.S tanks and troops driving through Qurac.
"This conflict will ensure a boost in LexCorp weapon sales, and has allowed me to extract more DNA from the alien." with a few keystrokes, a DNA helix show on the screen, "The microscopic nanite probes I laced with kryptonite have done that perfectly." a hologram on the desk showed an enlarged version of the device. His monitor screen turned to show a birds eye view of Superman's intervention of Qurac, the Man of Steel questioning the terrorist, "The so called pathogen they are now so concerned about is a designer bacterium that induces symptoms akin to leprosy. Effects can be triggered and deactivated with the push of a button.'' He stood up from his seat, walking up to the window of his office, "What the heroes have gained is trivial. What is important is what I want to know. I want you to find someone. Tony Redgrave. Dante. I want to know where he can be found."
-DMC-
Dante and Power Girl stepped into the surveillance room of the Watchtower.
"So, find everything you needed? Karen asked her alternative universe cousin.
A list of data and files ranging into the tens of thousands scrolled across all four of the massive screens, Superman able to pick up and read them with his enhanced senses, "Weaponized pathogens are within LexCorps prerogatives. As far as his plans are concerned, we can't find anything major tying him to Qurac or Metropolis."
"Damnit Kal!" Power Girl shouted.
Superman gave the two a sympathetic look, and a bashful smile, "Sorry you two. That's the thing about Lex. He's good at covering his tracks."
-DMC-
"Can't believe I got mutant gunk in my hair for nothing." Dante and Power Girl walked the halls. "Well, that's a waste of a night." Power Girl said.
"Not a total waste." Dante said, "We dressed up. We went out. We saw a little action."
"Action? Hm, enough action for my tastes." Power Girl said.
"What kinda action is in your tastes?" Dante asked, the two walking the halls of the residential floor alone.
"Hmmm, maybe" she slowed her walk, tongue poking against her cheek. She made a show of thinking, putting her finger to her chin. The two came up on her room,
(LEMON ALERT! LEMON ALERT! LEMON ALERT!)
She grabbed Dante tightly by his coat collar, "Something like this!"
"Alright!" Dante said eagerly, letting Power Girl push him into her apartment. She had him against the wall, hands grabbing his face while he held her waist. The two frenched and made out in the room, primal urges clouding their minds. Dante's hands slowly slid up her waist, feeling up her back through her white spandex until they found the clasp of her red cape. Power Girl's hands mirrored Dante's, gliding down his face, to his neck, to his shoulders, pulling his jacket down from his body. The cloth of Karen's cape hit the floor with Dante's jacket.
One of Dante's hands went to the exposed flesh of her upper thigh, lightly grazing his fingers up to the curve of where her thigh met her ass. His free hand trailed up the alien mesh of her super suit.
Karen's eyes opened as Dante's finger tapped the sensor that controlled her suit's tightness. With one touch, Power Girls singlet went loose and fell to the floor around her.
"Why can't bras be that easy?" Dante asked, getting hot under the collar at Karen's fully nude body.
"You get the easy part, I think I get the fun part." Karen said, her hands slipping into Dante's black shirt, aggressively ripping it from his body with little effort.
"Guess those jokes of mine won you over?" Dante asked.
"As if. You talk a big game." Power Girl said, "I wanna see you put your money where your mouth is."
"Game on."
Dante flipped the two of them around to where Power Girl was against the wall, the kryptonian resting her arms over his shoulders. Dante attacked her neck with kisses, Power Girl lifting her chin up to allow Dante the rest of her neck. Karen raised her thigh up, using it to drag down Dante's red jeans and boxers. Her eyes widened at what she saw,
"Damn. With a monster like that between your legs, no wonder you're so smug."
"You still think I'm all talk?" Dante said dangerously.
"It's not just the size of the bat, it's how you swing it." Karen said with a saucy grin.
With this, Dante thrust into her, Karen gasping out. Her gasp dropped into a throaty moan as Dante's thighs picked up a rhythm. She kissed the side of his face, Dante turning to give her more access. Her glossed lips pecked his cheek, his jaw, under his eye, the corner of his mouth. Karen opened her legs wider, allowing him deeper thrusts. She roughly grabbed Dante's face and kissed him full on the lips again, the demon hunter kissing her back.
The wall behind Power Girl's back began to indent slightly, the weight of her body and the force of Dante's enthusiasm too much for the room's integrity. Karen looked over to the bed, smirking against Dante's mouth before grabbing his shoulders, and pushing him, sending him flying back across the room and onto the mattress.
Dante shook his head, grinning as Power Girl slowly strolled forward like a supermodel on a runway. Her hands landed on his shoulders to aggressively push him down flat to the bed. Dante put his hands to her waist as she climbed on top of him. Before he could guide her down, the blonde slid back, dragging her breasts down his chest, to his abs, to his crotch. She squished her breasts around him, Dante groaning loudly from the soft and juicy globes against his member. He practically turned to jelly when she started rubbing each breast up and down.
"What's that?" Power Girl said with a mock look of surprise, massaging him faster, "Short on words?" she received a short grunt in response. This urged her on, "Am I making the big mouth monster hunter speechless?" She said before she let her tongue hang, lowering her head to lick the tip of his cock, the tip of her tongue lightly flicking the sensitive underside before taking the tip fully in her mouth. Dante's hips slightly buckled, the man chuckling,
"Can you name a better compliment?" He held his hands out, Power Girl taking it as a cue to crawl back up to him, dragging her breasts back up his stomach. Dante once more grabbed her waist, holding her as she swayed her hips side to side. He guided her down, impaling her on him. The kryptonian moaned, Dante grunting as she rocked herself back and forth against him, her chest rubbing against Dante's own.
Knowing he could handle it, Karen went rough, giving her all and colliding her thighs heavily against his, her sighs almost rhythmic with her thrusts.
The son of Sparda sat up, bringing Karen up with him. The blonde was in his lap, legs wrapped around his waist. Given how glorious Karen's chest was, he leaned in and took the right mound in between his lips. He grabbed her free globe, massaging it as he ravaged the right.
Karen had to lean back, grabbing the sheets with one hand and wrapping an arm around Dante to keep herself balanced. Dante thrusted vigorously into Karen, the heroine meeting his thrusts halfway.
The room was filled with the sounds of moans, grunts, cries, and the squeaking of a bed that was close to collapsing. Dante could hear Karen's heart rapidly beating, a tell tale sign that she was reaching her peak. The woman's fingers dug deep into Dante's side, the demi-devil feeling his ribs begin to crack under the pressure. Used to such injuries and worse, he wasn't at all bothered.
Karen gasped as she released, Dante grunting loudly as her walls clenched tighter than he'd thought possible. That was enough for him, he prepared to throw Power Girl off, but the heroine knocked his hands away and kept him still,
"Humans, and Kryptonians, can't breed." she panted, eyes almost glazed over with lust.
Taking the invitation, Dante moaned heavily as he released inside of the alien.
Dante fell back to the bed in exhaustion, Karen leaning back, riding out the last waves of her climax.
(END OF LEMON)
Karen climbed off Dante, at the same time hopping off the bed. The white haired hunter took a breath and folded his arms behind his head. He watched her as she went to the window of the room, pulling the curtain to see the emptiness of space outside.
Dante aimed to pick his words carefully, "I gotta ask. This isn't uh,"
Power Girl turned back to him, rolling her eyes, "Dude. It's just sex. We both live a high risk lifestyle. It ain't gotta mean anything. Sometimes you just enjoy the little things."
"Fine by me." Dante said, "As long as we both know what we're about. By the way, did I impress?"
Power Girl blushed, giving Dante all the answer he needed, "At least with you I don't have to hold back, so, you're different. Lemme know when you're ready to go again."
"I'm waiting on you, sweetheart." Dante said.
"What?" Power Girl said, "You recover that fast?"
"Healing factor." Dante said, holding a thumb to himself, "Means the tanks refill quick, if ya catch my drift. I can go all night."
Power Girl passed him a challenging glance, Dante raising and lowering his eyebrows. He braced himself as Karen suddenly tackled him off the bed.
-DMC-
"Mr Luthor." Mercy Graves walked into the villain's office. The enemy of Superman was at his desk, handling paperwork, "I managed to compile some info on this Tony Redgrave character you're curious about."
The bald man stopped what he was doing, leaning back in his chair, "Well, what are you waiting for? Out with it."
"He seems to operate a lot out of Gotham City." Mercy said, looking over the documents she'd gathered, "While he isn't always mentioned by name, some reports simply describe a stranger with a red jacket and white hair. There's the report of his encounter with Giganta and Dr. Light, a report that describes someone like him killing numerous monsters roaming the streets." she turned a page, "Gotham police records describe him being connected to Cobblepot and Killer Croc's arrest. A man named Tony Redgrave was recorded attending a rec center event. And, he was at one point committed to a homeless center in that very city."
"He's appeared so suddenly, and he's been up to that much activity." Luthor said, "No home. Only recent ties to the Justice League. I can assess that he's not from here. Not from this planet, at least. From the bits of information that I have on him, he can contend with the League's strongest. Lack of knowledge on him is problematic."
"What do you plan to do about him?" Mercy asked Lex.
Lex pulled up a file on his computer. He opened it to reveal a list of villains that he had contact with. There was one that could give him the information he would need on Dante, his strengths, and what he was…
He opened the file, showing a picture of a purple skinned mutant. One that could absorb the memories and strength of any being it could so much as lay a finger on…
The name of the mutant was shown in bolded letters,
PARASITE
-DMC-
Jason Todd sat on a Chicago rooftop, legs dangling off the edge. His helmet was to the side of him, allowing his face to feel the cool night air. He could sweat so much under the damn thing. He had a large soda next to him, one he took a sip out of.
A beeping came from his helmet, prompting him to pick it up and put it on, "Hey Barbs,"
"*Jason.*"
That was a voice he hadn't heard in a while, "What do you want Bruce?"
"I know you've been in contact with Dante." Batman said, standing at the edge of a Gotham rooftop.
Neither would know it, but they were facing one another.
"What if I was?" Red Hood asked, "You've always wanted me to make friends of a good influence."
"I also know you killed Black Mask, and he helped you." Batman said, "You still weren't taking my advice."
"Well you are the world's greatest detective." Red Hood said, "You know how I roll. If you're worried about your guy, don't be. He's a better man than I am." He heard no response from Batman, prompting him on, "You want someone to get mad at, look no further. That's about the crux of our relationship."
There was a brief moment of silence, "You know it's never too late, Jason." Batman said.
"I am who I am, Bruce." Red Hood said, "It's who I've always been… you just couldn't see it."
The line ended.
-DMC-
(BlackGate Prison)
Penguin, now out of his usual dapper garbs, was now dressed in an orange jumpsuit, his balding and messy hair fully exposed without its top hat.
"This one's big. From the talk I hear, he's been sticking his nose in all sorts of places he has no business." Penguin said, "Been in cahoots with the Bat-kin, acting as their muscle."
"So it's not Batman himself for once? I'm surprised. Tell me about him."
"He took out Killer Croc by himself, KGBeast, helped the girl Bat take down Two Face and Grundy, apparently got Ivy locked back up in Arkham! No one knows for sure how, but me gut tells me he has something to do with Black Mask getting put on ice."
"He does sound big."
"He's dangerous for business!" Penguin shouted through the phone, "My profits! When I get out, I need to be able to capitalize on the lack of competition. Running that city was easier before he came along, muscling up the Bat and his crew."
"Let's cut the crap, Penguin. How much is it worth, me putting a bullet through this guy's head?"
"Three million. Money up front. Six million when he's dead."
Cobblepot's hired muscle thought for a moment before answering, "Six million up front. Double up for twelve when I bag him."
"Piss off!"
"Seven million up front for being a dick." the assassin said, "Fourteen million when I complete the job."
"You're shaking me down, Lawton?!" Penguin said.
"With a guy like that, you can't afford to miss." the assassin said, "Who else ya gonna call?"
Cobblepot snarled, "Fine! You better get the job done, and done good, Deadshot!"
"I never miss, Penguin." Deadshot said, hanging up the phone, "Bank on it."
-DMC-
A/N: So Lex Luthor's taken an interest in Dante. Given Luthor is kind of the figurehead of the supervillain community, this means Dante will have more eyes on him among that group. The fallout of Dante getting himself involved in situations with the League and the batfamily is starting to build up.
And yeah, Dante being able to "change his hair color" is a bit of headcanon (there's probably a book somewhere out there where he does do it). To me, it makes perfect sense that he could change his appearance a bit. I mean, other demons can do it. His father could do it. Trish could do it. He should be able to to at least a limited degree.
The lemon I deliberately tried to avoid getting too detailed and over the top. I was aiming for an 'R' rated scene, rather than full on smut/porn. Some might say I jumped the gun with having the sex scene in general, but its not like there's any real feelings between Dante and Power Girl. They're both friendly adults that find each other attractive. These things happen. Besides, I'm the author, and in the words of Homelander… "I can do whatever the f*ck I want." :D
Review and lemme know your thoughts… or don't.
"I'm not your mommy." -Trish.
