Chapter 16: Hit Him Where It Truly Hurts
More chapters on my (P)atreon at Saintbarbido.
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(Davian's P.O.V)
I woke up.
That's an understatement.
I woke up in a throne room.
My first view was of dozens of Phantoms dressed in ostentatious and opulent garments, dancing around in the ball room.
I looked around me.
I sat on a throne, my left hand wrapped around Chesha Neko. The Zanpakuto was in the form of the Spirit King's scythe.
The other notable thing was my hand. Instead of skin and flesh, it was nothing but pale white bones. The fingers ended in sharp points.
Apart from that nothing else was amiss. I wasn't in my spirit king form, I touched my face and felt the skin there.
Weird.
I tried to get up from the throne but long chains wrapped around my mid-section, tying me to it.
The phantoms in the ball area kept on waltzing to a tune no one else could hear except for them.
They moved along each other, in faceless forms. I swept my gaze around and raised my eyebrows.
There were other thrones besides mine. The thrones were constructed around the chamber. On each one, sat a figure. They were even less distinguishable than the phantoms dancing before us.
So I looked up.
And I saw it. Saw her.
A black butterfly, gently flapping its wings in the middle of the room. It gave one mighty flap and a black wind swept out, the Phantoms disappeared and I woke up.
What a weird dream.
"You're up. Finally,"
Chase spoke up.
"What do you mean?" I asked him, rubbing my eyes.
"How long was I out for?"
"It's the next day. You've been asleep for more than 20 hours."
Chase surprised me.
"20 hours! How long was I in that place for?"
I exclaimed, habitually running a hand across Chesha Neko. Good, weapon still there.
"I'm guessing by your statement that something happened?"
Chase prompted, making me sigh, before Telling him about my dream.
"One thing we can infer from this, is that you have caught the eye of a few... interesting parties."
Chase said after I was done.
"None of it felt malicious."
I explained, tearing into some jerky.
"If anything, I felt...like I belonged. That said, it is worrying, I don't think any kind of attention from cosmic entities is good."
"You're right. Beings like those would only be interested in you if you were useful to their own agendas. I fear, we need to lay low for a while. And prepare as well."
Chase advised.
"Well, guess I have no choice. I've been thinking about it but now I have the answer, I need to leave Gotham."
I sighed.
"I don't want to put anyone else at risk because some crazy magician or monster decides to..."
"What's the real reason?"
Chase saw through my bullshit.
I tightened my hands on the handle of the sword.
"When I freed the souls trapped within Trigon... I could feel each soul's unique signature. All 17,002 of them. Batman's soul was missing. I felt Hal Jordan move on...but not him. Bruce is still alive."
I ground my teeth.
"If I stay in Gotham any longer, I am going to fly over to Wayne Manor and kill him. I want to destroy him. His ideals, his home... everything that makes Bruce Wayne Batman...I want to burn it all to the ground and make him watch as I tear down his legacy!"
I stopped.
Then a long breath escaped my lips.
"Why don't you?"
Chase questioned, more serious than I had ever heard before.
Raven had only come to know of him closer to her death but... he'd watched our interactions.
Raven had allowed me to forget all the fucked up things I'd done. She understood you couldn't come from the darkness without staining your hands...yet she never judged.
Chase liked her for that and in his own words, he was grateful that she had been kicking my ass in our spars.
I guess...it wasn't too surprising he was affected too. His next words proved I was right.
"You know I would support you fully. You could want to burn this whole world down and I would be right there with you until the very end. So why don't you want revenge? You're more than a man, Davian. You cannot stick to the same rules as everyone else. Do what you want as long as you leave the innocent alone."
I was shocked. Stunned even.
"You're right."
I told him as I stood to my feet.
"But I can't kill him. Doing so would be bothersome because the good guys wouldn't stop coming for me."
"When they do, you fight back. It's as simple as that."
Chase countered.
It was, wasn't it. I looked down at my hands. It wasn't as if I was weak anymore. Permit me to be prideful, but I dealt with an enemy even they couldn't handle.
The real question was, Could I do it? Could I kill Batman and choose a side in this stupid war between heroes and villains?
I would stop being gray. And I would go the cliché' route. The villain route. At least in the eyes of everybody. I wasn't afraid of the stigma bit it would make things harder for me in the long run.
On the flip side, Batman would get what was coming to him. I would avenge Raven's death.
Chase' idea wasn't completely terrible. Morally wrong? Yes. Bad? Maybe but...
No. I couldn't do it.
Killing him would do more than just satisfy me, it would also stain Raven's sacrifice.
She went out as a hero. She finally chose a side. I can't taint her legacy like that.
"I can't. I can't kill him."
I sighed in defeat, hands falling to my side.
"Who said anything about Killing him?"
My Zanpakuto spirit asked, then he continued before I could reply,
"A man like Batman would not fear death. The ones who would be affected by it, would be his loved ones. However,...attack his ideals and you have a willful man with no creed to live by. No purpose."
I sank onto the chair, rubbing my chin in thought.
"His ideals?"
I muttered as my brain worked in overdrive.
Then right there...the answer came to me.
"Holy shit..."
I exclaimed.
Chase perked up.
"You thought of something?"
I smiled, steepling my hands together under my chin.
"There is one way...and it's the best way to make him suffer without choosing a side."
Oh man...this...this would hurt him far more than simply Killing him.
"Well, don't keep me waiting. Share with the rest of the class."
Chase became impatient
"It's to do with Arkham Asylum. There is one rule that Batman operates with. No killing. The rest of the League has adopted the same rule. Mostly out of necessity methinks, not because they think Killing is wrong but because the world will look at them differently."
I paused while playing with the red gemstone in my hand.
"The only ones who believe in that rule are mostly Batman and Superman. A few more like Canary maybe but the rest..."
I shook my head while chuckling.
"Green Lantern was in the army, the Hawk people are Thanagarian warriors, Wonder Woman is an Amazon, Green Arrow used to be a violent Vigilante...all of them have taken a life or two."
"I still don't understand what you're getting at."
Chase replied.
"Come on, it's so obvious! If I want to really make him pay, the answer lies with his Rogue gallery!"
A few seconds later...
"Oh."
Realization dawned on my Zanpakuto.
"I am impressed. This...this will change things."
And I could hear it in his tone too. He really was impressed.
I mean, the idea was flawless and simple.
Batman's actions had led to me losing my friend. So I would do the same. But with a twist.
Instead of his friends, I was going to kill every single one of Batman's villains. And I would start with the prince of Crime.
"And the best part? The people will be on my side. After all, I'm the one who dealt with the genocidal, psychotic maniacs. Permanently. He on the other hand will be a protector with no one to protect against. A symbol of fear with no one left to be afraid of him."
I got off the chair, walking towards the large trunk on the metal rack. The one that contained most of Raven's goodies.
"It's almost poetic."
I told Chase while searching for the lock. I didn't find any. However, there was a small slot in the middle of the lid. I looked at the gemstone in my hand before placing it in the slot.
There was a click and the trunk opened. Nice.
I lifted the lid, revealing a neat arrangement of spell books and tomes.
"To do this without being stopped, I'll need more power. Batman's Rogue gallery is not known for fire power but, they are ruthless and unpredictable."
And it was varied. You had guys like Killer Croc who were clearly superhuman then others like the Condiment King, who was basically harmless and just comedic relief.
"I need to be stronger. Stronger to the point that none of their tricks matter."
I explained, grabbing a large book with the symbol of the sun on the front of the cover and the moon at the back.
"You can't learn magic. You tried."
Chase reminded me.
"I know. But you told me that I could move on to higher Kido right? I can't remember a lot from Bleach so that means I'll have to come up with some more of my own. I can use these tomes and spells as a reference/basis for what I want, creating more original Kido spells like Akai Inazuma."
I knew it was a long shot but...I was willing to give it a try.
"Fine. It's your choice. However, you need to know how to fight wit
(General P.O.V)
"Gotham residents this morning of December the 16th, woke up to a shocking discovery. Half of their city was in rubble."
The newscaster said, an image of collapsed Skyscrapers, shattered streets and smog appearing beside her.
She continued articulately,
"The outskirts suffered minimal damage in comparison to the origin of the massive explosion. One that caused a reported casualty of close to 50,000 dead, over 100,000 injured and millions missing. Emergency services quickly set up and begun evacuation."
"Then in a surprising but welcome turn of events, Gotham was brought back whole. Most of the dead were resurrected with the exception of over 10,000 people. The authorities are still looking into the matter."
Wonder Woman tapped an icon on the pad before her and the news report paused.
"We failed."
She sighed.
The meeting hall was silent. All available League members sat around the large table for the debrief.
"The 10,000 civilians we couldn't save...they were sacrificed to Trigon to increase his power."
Zatara informed them.
"Without Davian and the girl, Raven...our losses would have been greater."
He added.
"That's not really saying much when she was the one responsible for this catastrophe in the first place."
Captain Atom spoke up.
"But then she tried to undo her mistakes. She died to bring back a lot of people. The blame doesn't lay with her."
The Flash countered.
"Who does it lay with then? Batman?"
Superman sighed.
"He is one of us. And we know he's had...problems with the boy. What happened when you confronted them, Zatara?"
Superman's question made the magician similarly sigh.
Then Zatara proceeded to explain everything to them. The whole interaction between Batman and Davian, the animosity each displayed towards the other, the lie that broke Gotham...
When he was done, Wonder Woman punched the table, making the metal dent.
"This time he has gone too far!"
"I should have foreseen this."
Superman sighed, running his palm across his face.
"We let this happen."
"No we didn't. It's true that we saw the signs. Bruce was mind controlled. That usually leaves scars. We chose to trust that he would overcome that trauma but the incident only increased his Paranoia. He needs help, not persecution."
Black Canary defended him.
"He indirectly caused the deaths of over 10,000 people. Does that mean nothing?"
Wonder Woman demanded.
"Will the families who lost their loved ones accept that he needs help?"
"And he has also saved millions more." Canary countered getting off her seat, to glare at Wonder Woman.
"We know there wouldn't be a Justice League without Bruce."
The hall immediately devolved into arguments.
The two Legionnaires outside the hall looked at one another in consternation.
"Huh...it doesn't usually get that heated. Any moment now and they will calm down."
Shazam told them from where he was leaning on the wall.
"Probably."
He added as the shouting increased.
"We understand. All teams must argue; it's how you know they care enough."
Dawnstar assured.
"You should see our annual general meetings. Someone usually ends up shoved through a wall."
Karate Kid added.
"Hal is dead."
Stewart said, Killin the argument going on.
"But you would rather argue over a man who is not even conscious to defend himself. When did we get so... unfocused?"
The Lantern questioned morosely.
He looked at each of them. The faces of the League reflected back at him showed shame, anger and worry.
He stood up from his seat.
"I need to go arrange his...send off. I also need to contact friends and families."
He turned to Red Tornado.
"Could you inform me when Batman wakes up? The Guardians will want to speak to him."
Then he flew off. No one stopped him.
"See, I told you they would calm down."
Shazam spoke up once the arguing stopped.
"So..you guys are from the future huh?"
The Champion of the gods asked nervously.
Karate Kid smirked, sharing a look with Dawnstar.
"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone your secret."
"Oh...thanks."
Shazam breathed out a sigh of relief, then he stood up straighter, tapping his ear piece as communication came through.
"They're ready for you."
Shazam informed the two Legionnaires.
Dawnstar couldn't believe she was inside the Justice League's famous Watchtower.
It had been destroyed and rebuilt so many times in the future it was crazy.
They stepped through the entrance and found themselves the object of every Leaguers attention. She shared a nod with Karate Kid before stepping forward.
"My name is Dawnstar and this is Karate Kid. We're both from the 31st century."
She formally introduced the both of them.
"31st century? That's a long way from home. How are the others?"
Superman asked.
Out of everyone, The Man of Steel was more familiar with the Legion of Superheroes from the future. They had called upon his assistance many times before.
Karate Kid reached into his pocket, withdrawing a small triangular object.
"Bouncing Boy says hi. He also told us to give you this."
He threw it at the Man of Steel who grabbed it and turned it over in his hands. The object had the symbol of the house of El.
"What is it?"
The Man of Steel asked with a frown but both Legionnaires shrugged in ignorance.
"He didn't say. Only that you're apparently the only one who can open it."
Dawnstar replied.
"Thank you."
The Kryptonian nodded in gratitude.
"Now then, I'm sure you didn't come all this way to deliver just that."
Green Arrow addressed them.
"We didn't."
Dawnstar agreed.
"We were sent back here to warn you of a catastrophe. One that will make the Gotham incident look tame in comparison."
Her words filled everyone with trepidation.
"15 years from now, a virus one created by an Artificial Intelligence called Brother Eye, manages to wipe out half of the human population."
She started off grimly.
"That was the original timeline. The virus will be unleashed sometime this year."
At this, the already low mood plummeted even lower.
"You can't be serious."
Shazam said, a wide eyed look on his face.
"I wish she wasn't, but it's true."
Karate Kid replied with a shake of his head.
"How do we stop it?"
Wonder Woman questioned, getting right to the heart of the whole matter.
"Before I get to that, you need context."
Dawnstar cleared her throat.
"Brother Eye was supposed to be an artificial intelligence designed to monitor the world of priority Alpha threats. Then it would deal with them in case the League was occupied or unavailable."
She explained.
"Who created it?"
Zatara cut in.
Karate Kid and Dawnstar shared a look.
"Wayne enterprises."
Dawnstar answered.
"Why am I not surprised?"
Wonder Woman bit out, looking towards Canary.
"This only proves my point."
The latter said nothing, merely sighing and turning to the Legionnaires.
"There must be a reason why. We all know Batman; he wouldn't do something that risky without a good reason."
"You're right." Karate Kid crossed his hands together.
"This involves a few things we're not allowed to say, lest we change the future."
"You being here has already altered the timeline."
The Flash was quick to remind him.
"Yes and no."
Dawnstar replied before her colleague could. She held up her hand, on one of the fingers was a ring with a stylized L on the signet.
"This is a legion ring. Apart from the flight capabilities, Braniac 5 fiddled with the settings so anything not concerning the reason why we came back is out of our capabilities to change."
"The rings are shielded by a temporal matrix that aligns probability with every major time point of the original timeline."
She concluded.
"In other words, even if we tell you what threats you might face tomorrow, you won't be able to change anything. The words might come out garbled and nonsensical."
Karate Kid simplified.
"That makes no logical sense. You've already shifted the timeline by being here. You're not in control of our actions..."
Green Arrow debunked.
"That is true. But you're missing the point."
Dawnstar answered.
"Braniac accounted for our presence. The time and place for our arrival was meticulously calculated as to have a 0.000023% effect on the 31st century's timeline. That number goes up exponentially with every major spoiler we give you."
"The kind of intellect it would take for someone to make all those calculations is... unimaginable."
The Flash marveled.
"Well, he's not the only 12th intellect level being in the universe for nothing. Braniac is smart in all caps."
Karate Kid told him.
"Back to Brother Eye, if you won't tell us why Bruce creates a genocidal maniac, at least tell us who unleashes it."
Hawk-woman told them.
Dawnstar had a downcast expression as she answered.
"That we don't know. The only thing we're sure of, is that it will happen sometime in 2010."
"There's a way we can find that out."
Red Tornado's robotic voice cut through the atmosphere.
Everyone turned their attention to the android.
"Batman reported a break in at his home. According to the report, the culprits were led by Talia Al Ghul and seemed to have accessed information from the Batcomputer, before Batman was able to stop them."
"That gives us a lead. The information they accessed might have something to do with the Brother Eye project." Superman addressed the room.
"If we can find Talia and her organization then we can hopefully stop this before things get dicey."
Canary agreed with the Man of Steel.
(Elsewhere)
Sasha Bordeaux stood on the roof of a building overlooking the site with a pair of binoculars.
This was a bad idea. A massive, terrible, stupid, dumb idea.
But she was a soldier. Following orders was par the course.
She tapped on her ear piece.
"Target spotted."
She informed command.
"Affirmative. Confirm location is out of the blast radius?"
A voice said from the other end.
Sasha swept her gaze out at her men.
"We are. Do it."
She gave the go ahead.
"Initiating attack."
With those ominous words, the sky lit up.
Then a ray of red energy fell on top of the Junkyard just as Davian stepped out of the pocket dimension, through the rusted car door.
He looked up and saw the brilliant attack headed for him and all he could say was,
"Huh?"
(Davian's P.O.V)
It wasn't an exaggeration when I said that my Zanjutsu sucked, which is why I took every opportunity, to practice my Sword Kata.
It was the morning after what was arguably my worst day yet in Gotham.
A thin trail of sweat dripped down from my forehead, as I turned slowly, stretching my hip muscles to add more strength to the slash.
Then I pivoted on the left foot, rotating before thrusting out Chesha Neko to my front, the sword held steady.
The sword kata I was practicing was a mix match of different sword moves I half remembered from seeing on tv. The only thing that helped was the almost instinctual understanding of how to fight with a sword.
This was definitely an effect of being so interlinked with my Zanpakuto, a soul weapon.
My movements were far from what anyone could call fluid but I was getting better. Slowly. Progress would be even faster if I were to learn from a master like Bronze Tiger.
"And how are you going to find him?"
Chase asked.
The same question had been running around my head the entire night, but I finally had a few options.
"Artemis."
I answered, cleaving the air before stepping forward and sending out a hundred slashes in a few seconds.
The air inside the pocket dimension screamed from the sharp edge of my blade.
Chase scoffed.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? The last time you saw each other, you realized she was working for Batman."
I grit my teeth, picturing Deathstroke lunging at me with his sword drawn. I parried the blade in my invisible opponent's grip, stepping to the right just as he transitioned into quick jabs intermixed with unpredictable sword attacks.
"I know. But the only other choice I have is Penguin."
I directed at Chase.
It's not like I knew lot of people in Gotham.
I was never into comic books and anime like Nick.
My escapism was usually done through weed, imagining a world without violence.
In fact, if it wasn't for him, I would never have come across Bleach or even known the little tad bits from Marvel or DC that I knew.
However, I had been working to change that.
Raven and I had spent a lot of time casing out regular meeting points for criminals. Places like drug houses, villain establishments etcetera.
That is how we had come across Artemis. But on second thought, maybe she had been tracking our movements, waiting for the perfect time to approach us and create a connection.
I stopped and cursed, letting the invisible Deathstroke decapitate my head from my neck.
"I can't go to Artemis. The sooner I do so, the sooner I'll be embroiled into another confrontation with Batman. And if it came down to it, I don't think I would let him go."
I shook my head. This changed things.
"That leaves Penguin."
Chase said as I wiped my face free of sweat before grabbing a cleaning kit and begun to clean my sword.
The edge didn't need to be sharpened, as long as I ran my Reiryoku through it; which happened often enough, it would never dull.
The pommel and handle however needed to be Polished regularly. Man Bats blood caked the edges of the cross guard and the grooves on the handle. I grabbed a small brush and got to work.
Meanwhile, Chase and I continued to plan.
"What will you offer him in exchange for his services? I doubt he will agree to help you for free."
Chase highlighted another concern.
"I don't have any money."
I said bluntly.
That was not exactly true. I had about 3 grand snatched from criminals stashed away in the pocket dimension.
However, that was for emergencies and utility. Besides, I doubted it would be enough to pay someone like Penguin to find who I was looking for. Was it enough for a private detective? Maybe.
But a P.I couldn't exactly look for someone like Bronze Tiger. To get to that kind of guy, you would need connections. Connections I was sure the Penguin had.
"Maybe he and I could reach an agreement. A criminal like Penguin would definitely see the value in a magical swordsman."
I mused, holding up Chesha Neko to examine it.
"Magical Swordsman?"
He snorted.
"Also are you comfortable with owing a favor to a criminal?"
Chase enquired in uncertainty.
"Who said I have to keep the promise?"
I asked him and he went silent for a short time.
"What about honor?"
Chase finally asked.
His question rang with curiosity, showing he wasn't trying to judge but merely understand.
I sheathed Chesha Neko with a frown.
"You've seen my memories Chase; do you think even for a second I care about shit like that?"
I chuckled in spite of myself, shaking my head.
"My gang, people I thought were my family, tried to kill me. I'm done with all that bullshit. You mess with me; you get the heat. It's as simple as that. People like Penguin don't deserve my respect. He should be thankful; I'm not going to him for the express reason of killing him."
"Be careful. I wouldn't want you to mess up because of arrogance."
Chase warned.
"We're all animals in a cage. I'm just looking out for my self-interest and satisfaction. So I will lie, cheat and sacrifice for what I want."
I added much calmer.
Chase said nothing as I got up and walked towards the shower.
20 minutes later, I was dressed in a clean black t-shirt, grey jeans and my fave boots. I didn't need the Oni Mask. Not really. The plan was to monitor the Iceberg Lounge first before making contact with the Villain.
I gave one last look at the pocket dimension before I willed for the exit to appear, thumbing the gemstone. A black vortex swirled in the middle of the room.
I walked through, pushing past the rusted car door to appear in the Junkyard. The sun was closer to the horizon than I had expected, casting an eerie red glow on the abandoned scrap metal lying around.
"Hope this works."
I said, kissing the gemstone before pointing it at the entrance to the pocket dimension. I had pored over a few of Raven's books, especially the one on dimensional energies manipulation.
I still couldn't use magic but I could anchor the pocket dimension to the Gemstone so that no matter where I was, I could use the stone to access the pocket space. It was a branch of magic called Occultism, i.e., using magical items to perform magic.
The only prerequisite was having a little bit of mystical energy to activate the item. Spirit energy/Reiryoku could count as mystical energy.
I just had to pour in a little bit of power and the pocket dimension was forever linked to the gemstone.
Satisfied, I turned to leave the Junkyard and stopped.
Why was the sky so bright all of a sudden? Within a Pico second, a huge amount of hot energy, speared past my Reikaku's range, headed straight for my head.
I looked up and all I could manage was a confused,
"Huh?"
Then the beam of energy landed.
(Elsewhere)
Sasha Bordeaux looked at the destroyed Junkyard. The entire zone had gone up in flames courtesy of the energy beam shot from outer space.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw no movement through her binoculars. The entire area was covered in a steadily rising smoke.
The outskirts burned, with flames licking the high fence that had surrounded the Junkyard.
Cars in the street screeched to a stop, civilians getting out and looking out into the destruction.
She tapped her ear piece from her position on the roof.
"Confirmed. He's down. I don't spot any movement."
She reported.
"Mmmh...I don't believe he would go down that easy. The target has displayed high durability, capable of going toe to toe with Superman and Wonder Woman. Get ready for another attack."
The voice from the other end ordered.
Sasha sighed, bit her lip and signaled to the rest of her team.
Her men stayed in position. Ready.
Then another massive energy beam fell from the sky. The pressure blast swept out, buffeting them with a gale of wind that caused her hair to dance wildly.
She was already looking through the binoculars. No movement. Maybe, just maybe they could survive this. She remembered, the first time she met the target.
His focused and hard eyes as he swooped in, killed the Man Bats and proceeded to order them around.
She shivered, remembering the...almost kingly aura he possessed. Looking into his purple eyes had made her feel insignificant, as if all her experience facing things that would induce nightmares and insanity in the toughest of soldiers was nothing.
She tapped her ear piece.
"Confi..."
"Who the fuck are you guys?"
A voice suddenly asked from beside her.
Davian had appeared in the middle of the Argus' agents, not a hair out of place. He didn't seem hurt or injured in any way.
"Impossible."
One of her men said in shock.
'They had failed. And now they were going to die.' Sasha Bordeaux thought grimly.
"Ma'am, snap out of it!"
Her second in command yelled, pulling the trigger on his gun and peppering Davian with bullets.
The long sword in the target's grip slashed out almost 100 times in a second, parrying and splitting apart the bullets.
Then he swept his leg behind him, licking his lips in anticipation while holding the sword steadily before them.
"I remember you guys."
He said, directing the icy smile at Sasha.
"You gave me Shield vibes but I guess you're more like Hydra. Let's do this then."
Shield? Hydra?
"What is your Status?! Agent! Come in!"
The voice on the other end sounded nervous and panicked.
Sasha swallowed, reaching out to her ears and removing the Ear piece.
"We're soldiers. Our duty is to follow orders."
She addressed him, lowering her gun. Her men shifted uncomfortably.
"Come with us willingly and no one needs to get hurt."
She told him, well aware of her hypocrisy.
"You just...tried to kill me."
Davian answered, looking at her as if she was crazy.
Dammit.
"Orders. That's all. But we can work something out. Let my men go...they were not part of this. I'm the one responsible."
She told him, almost pleaded.
Davian blinked, looking around.
"Okay then. I'll let you go...let you go unconscious."
He added with another smile. This one predatory.
Then he moved.
The bullets from before could not touch him as he danced around the roof, disappearing in an instant before reappearing behind a soldier and knocking him out. Then he repeated the same thing faster than she could react.
Within 2 seconds, Sasha Bordeaux was left standing alone.
"Well, that was easy."
Davian sighed as he stood over her second in command.
Sasha aimed her gun at him and immediately began firing, depositing the whole clip at him.
He didn't even bother to look up, his blade slicing apart all the projectiles.
The gun clicked empty.
The monster appeared by her shoulder.
"You don't need to tell me anything."
The target soothed, massaging her shoulders gently.
"I only need you to point me towards the one who sent you."
Sasha knew her boss was listening.
"Go to hell."
She told him, but also used her thumb to point towards the sky.
"So be it."
Davian answered, before slamming Chesha Neko's pommel on the back of her head, knocking her out.
Then he stared up at the sky.
"How about we pay our attackers a visit?"
(Davian's P.O.V)
I crouched, then flexed my energy.
The roof broke apart as I pushed off, cutting through the air like a missile.
'I'm coming for you fuckers.'
(General P.O.V)
"Oh shit!"
A tech guy pulled at his hair in panic.
"He's headed straight for us sir!"
He reported to a man standing on a deck overlooking a huge screen that had a satellite feed above Gotham.
"Activate the cloaking function on the Ark, now!" Maxwell Lord ordered.
Then he turned towards another screen, this one on a pad in his hands.
"Brother Eye is not meant to be revealed right now. It's incomplete. Have your organization do something! I can't risk exposing it to the world yet."
He spoke to the figure on the other side.
Deathstroke crossed his hands together.
"You failed, Maxwell Lord. I don't have to do anything. you underestimated him, and now he's there to kill you."
The terminator smiled.
In an undisclosed Cafe in Italy, Deathstroke sat, watching the satellite feed he was patched into. The radar on the Ark captured something fast moving towards the large Argus craft.
The boy had grown.
Maxwell Lord growled, turning to his people.
"Activate defense measures. Ready a team. I want him dead."
He ground out, before looking at Deathstroke as if challenging him to say something.
Deathstroke paid him no mind, still staring at the feed in anticipation. His fingers twitched.
He wanted a rematch with him. Too bad he was halfway across the world.
"Cloak activated."
One of the tech guys said.
In the midst of the clouds, a huge floating ship shaped like a Helicarrier, shimmered before disappearing.
(Davian's P.O.V)
I leapt off another air platform, the sheath on my hip glowing as I pulled on the soul of wind, creating spring boards that pushed me up faster and further.
"Be careful, I hear something."
Chase told me just as I cut through a white cloud. Gotham disappeared from view as I found myself among the voluminous, huge billowing constructs of compressed air.
The peace was cut off by something fast cutting through the air to my side. The pressure blast pushed me away through the Cumulus clouds, then came the sound. A long roar.
"Was that a jet?!"
I yelled, pulling on the air to slow myself down. I stopped, looking around while extending my Reikaku as far as I could.
The thing broke through the clouds to my front, then it started shooting at me. Very similar to an F-22 Raptor, with the color being a deep matte black and just a little sleeker.
"Yup that's a jet."
Chase said.
I smiled evilly. These guys had come at the right time. I could blow off some steam.
I elected a shield to block the bullets. The jet didn't stop, seemingly headed for a collision course. My eyes narrowed.
The pilot inside pulled up at the last moment, going above me. A Shunpo threw me to the bottom of the plane. I unsheathed Chesha Neko, holding it in a reverse grip.
Then I stabbed it into the jet, dragging the blade down and tearing through metal.
Smoke rose from the underside of the craft. It lost control, beginning to spin on its self.
I jumped off it just as it caught on fire. The pilot ejected in time, his seat getting thrown away as the craft exploded. The pilot's scream's ended as I appeared next to him, steadying the seat and pulling on the latch of his parachute.
He was lurched up when the Parachute unfurled, then looked at me in fear. I slashed one of the Parachute's ropes and the wind swept him away as he screamed a new.
That was payback for trying to make me look like swiss cheese.
He wouldn't die. Probably.
I cut towards the sky, as another Jet zoomed past the space above me.
Pulling on the soul of wind even more and in two moves I was higher up. Enough to feel multiple low spirit energy through my Reikaku. However, whenever I looked up, I couldn't see anything.
"Whatever it is, it might be invisible."
Chase pointed out and I agreed.
Before I could say anything else, more jets punched through the clouds, their trajectory showing they were coming for me.
I twirled Chesha Neko. This is gonna be fun.
They immediately began firing, moving in a pincer formation.
A shield habitually appeared at my front, ripples spreading out as it blocked the bullets.
I slipped into a Shunpo, pulling on wind to add more speed to my movement.
"Heerrree comes..."
Chase started but couldn't finish the statement before my shield crashed onto the nose of the first jet.
Metal broke around me, fire licking at the outside of my shield.
(General P.O.V)
"Jesus! Whiskey is down! I repeat Whiskey is down!"
Zulu called out through the comms.
Maxwell Lord pinched his brow.
"Those were two cutting edge jets."
He glared at the screen, before tapping a key on his pad.
"Listen to me, do whatever you have to but I want him taken out, he cannot reach the Ark. Fail and you're dead!"
He warned, cutting off comms and leaning back in his seat, hands clasped together in deep thought.
The whole deck was silent with everyone nervous.
"Ready the initializing sequence."
After a few seconds, he gave an order and the agents hurried to fulfill it.
On the outside, things were not looking so good for the fighter jet pilots. The 4 jets left, broke away from the formation to escape the explosion. Smoke obscured the position as they tried to locate the enemy.
Nothing was turning up on the radar.
One of the jets changed trajectory flying around the site of the explosion. The pilot frantically looked around.
"Where is he?! I can't see..."
He trailed off as he heard something heavy land on top of his craft.
"Zulu! He's on you!"
Another Jet, Tango radioed in.
"Fuck!"
Zulu cursed, spinning the ship on its end to dislodge the target. A blade cut through the hatch.
"I can't get him off me! I can't get him off!"
Zulu yelled, reciting and trying every flight maneuver he knew. The opponent however was too stubborn.
"Zulu, I'm coming in hot!"
Tango called out.
"Wait...I... Are you crazy?! you will kill me too you bastard!"
Zulu yelled back.
"Sorry. Orders are orders. Don't worry, I'll take care of your wife for you."
Tango replied with a snicker.
Alarms started ringing out from within Zulu's cockpit.
"Missile inbound! Missile inbound!"
"Fuuuuck!"
Zulu screamed, trying to deploy decoy flares and failing. Someone had taken those out. Of course...
The pilot pushed the eject button and his seat was pushed out through the hatch, only for an arm to grab onto his seat.
(Davian's P.O.V)
"Where do you think you're going?...A captain never abandons his ship."
I told the wide eyed pilot before plunging him back onto the jet just as the missile landed.
I flipped, using the force of the explosion to throw myself towards the next jet. The one who had shot the missile and was responsible for his colleague's death.
Something was off. He had been too focused on Killing me to the point he had no moral qualms about taking out his fellow pilot.
Chesha Neko severed the third jet's right wing, causing it to lose control and start spinning in the air.
I aimed a hand at the second craft which came from under me.
"Hado 4: Byakurai."
A long streak of yellow lightning shot out, landing on the jet's nosecone. The pilot looked determined and not the least bit concerned as the multimillion dollar craft went up in flames around him.
I flash stepped away, my eyebrows scrunched up.
"You killed them."
Chase observed.
"I felt like I had to... something was off with them. It's like they weren't there."
I answered thinking back.
"I couldn't sense them through Reikaku, which should be impossible. And the pilot's behavior...they think and act like normal humans but...they're like Puppets. Someone is controlling them. And my money is on whoever is leading this whole thing."
I bit out, feeling a little angry.
What was up with DC and mind control/ possession?
There was a whine of engine as the last jet circled around, shooting out flares to distract me.
"And then there was one."
My form disappeared as I blurred after the jet. As if he could sense me, the jet ducked under the thing I had felt earlier. Cleaver.
Invisible weapons begun firing from the undercarriage of the mega craft.
I diverted the shots with Chesha Neko, pulling on my Reiryoku to enhance my reaction speed. What I couldn't parry was blocked by the shield around my body.
We came out on the other side, just in time for me to see another scarlet beam of energy fall onto my head from the sky.
"Fuck! It was a trap!"
(General P.O.V)
Maxwell Lord, smiled, reading the biometrics stats on the pad in his hands. There were rows showing mental and emotional attributes.
One of the benefits of O.M.A.C, even in its infancy was that anyone infected by the techno - organic virus could be accessed and remotely controlled through the nanites in their bodies.
He had lowered the paranoia and compassion of one of the pilots causing him to shoot at the target despite the risk of friendly fire.
And when that had failed, he had lowered the fear and increased the bravery of the next pilot, turning him into a Kamikaze pilot.
That had also failed, so he changed tactics.
This time he increased the IQ of the last pilot, coordinating with him to place the target in the ideal position for an attack from Brother Eye.
"No visual movement from the target sir." One of the agents reported.
"Keep surveillance up."
He told them, walking down the stairs from the deck towards the operation room.
Nothing was showing up on the feed. He tightened his hold on the pad, having the pilot do a few circles around the target's last position.
"Begin activation of protocol Dead game. We are going on a small vacation until the buzz that will be born from this little light show is over."
The confirmation came in quick.
Protocol Dead game involved hiding the Ark in the same layers of folded space that the core of Brother Eye occupied.
It was off the grid in the most off the grid location in the planet, the edges of space.
He would hide away there and complete Brother Eye. There were a few essential systems that were not yet functional.
And when he came back, Leviathan would be the first to pay for almost wrecking his plans.
Maxwell Lord was about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that their target was dead when...
"Sierra, where do you think you're going?"
He called out with a frown.
The last Fighter jet broke off from its established trajectory, flying up to hover above the Ark. Lord had not given the order.
"Sierra, I demand..."
He started before he was cut off.
"Jeez, could you stop shouting through my ears? Besides don't you think you have more pressing business to attend to?"
The voice was the pilot's, only he was carrying a distinct Bostonian accent.
"What..."
The villain could only mutter before the floor under them broke apart.
The Ark rocked and Maxwell Lord fell to the ground.
Hundreds of purple strings cut through the hole, rampaging around the operations room, striking at the machines and people alike.
Screams sounded out as someone landed on the inside of the craft, a massive hole on the floor behind him.
Alarms rang out, with the technical staff scrambling to run away from the room. The agents huddled behind furniture, weapons trained on the intruder.
Maxwell Lord got to his feet, a cut on his forehead dripping blood down onto the floor.
"I can't believe you C-listers forced me to use my Shikai."
Davian said to the leader of Argus.
(General P.O.V)
Deadman had finally arrived at Gotham. However, things were different from what he was expecting. Instead of a burning collapsed wreck, Gotham was the same as it always has been, albeit...cleaner. Not just the streets either.
The murky air around the city had disappeared. Gotham was a cursed city. Brand absolutely, indubitably believed that.
Something made the people here darker than they should have been, quicker to react on impulse. Quick to take the easy way out.
If that meant stabbing someone when they refused to hand over their wallet or even after they'd handed it over...it was still the same.
Gotham was dark.
Which is why the few good people who shone like a beacon of light in the darkness were even more impressive.
But that darkness seemed to have disappeared. At least for the time being.
There was also something else in the air. A sort of feeling that Deadman couldn't quite explain. If he had to describe it, he would say it felt like a thread. A spirit thread.
Or thousands of them, winding through the city like strands of webbing. The threads all leading to one place.
They were attached to a young man with silver hair and brown skin. This already would make him stand out, if it wasn't for how the outline of his soul shone.
It was a purple that almost obscured his real features.
Deadman had never felt so...in awe of something before. Was he a god?
No. The gods wouldn't waste time coming down to the mortal world. Especially to a dump like Gotham. They had champions and Avatars for that. So what or who was he?
Deadman had mostly come here to track down Constantine. Despite looking and waiting for him where they had decided to meet up, Constantine hadn't shown up.
So he decided to stalk the silver haired man. The man led him through the city at a fast speed. One that even a spirit like Deadman struggled to keep up with.
After some time, the silver haired man stopped in a junkyard. He seemed to disappear through a rusted car door.
Deadman finally figured out that it was a Pocket Dimension when he waited for the man to come out for more than a few long minutes.
He resolved to camp out in wait. He was a spirit, he had no need for food or sleep.
In the meantime, he tried to contact Constantine again. Even going as far as to briefly check out a few hide outs that he knew.
A few hours were enough for him to come to the conclusion that Constantine was not in the city.
The last option he had was Zatara. The Justice League's magician had his mansion on the outskirts of Gotham. All across the city on the other side.
Deadman chose to keep watch on the young man and then go to Zatara after he knew who the man was. A few days of trailing him were bound to reveal a lot of information.
Of course Deadman was careful to never get too close. He could feel the man's Spirit Energy permeate through a zone around him.
Things started getting interesting for Deadman when agents wearing blue costumes descended from choppers to surround the Junkyard.
Deadman had stayed away from the conflict. And in doing so, had learned a lot about the Silver haired man.
He was like him. And also not.
The Silver haired man could use his soul. Spirit Energy brimmed inside him as he fought. It was potent enough to even enable him to reinforce his physical body. Which was impossible.
His powers were only highlighted when the fight changed into ariel combat.
There Deadman had noticed the weirdness going in with the Pilots.
After the ingenious move the last pilot did, he possessed him and then pulled around, flying the jet closer to the spot where the Silver haired man had
Once Deadman was in his range...it was like time briefly stopped. Deadman felt himself exposed to something he couldn't comprehend.
He could only relate the soul scan Davian did on him to the meeting with his patron goddess when he had died.
Complete and utter surrender.
And then...Davian had turned away from him, spring boarding through the air to approach the underside of the craft.
"I'm helping."
Deadman had decided. Unknowingly, his entire life would change based on this decision. The pilot, under Deadman's control, pulled on the yoke, shooting to the sky, right behind Davian.
And just like that...
(Davian's P.O.V)
"I can't believe you C-listers forced me to use my Shikai."
I ground out, more than a little peeved by the man standing before me.
I was in a high tech operations room. That is, if you ignored the damage from my entry. More of the Argus agents had their weapons trained on me while under cover. Just waiting for the order to start this show.
"I'm guessing you're the head honcho."
I pointed a sword at him. Dressed in a tight black T-shirt, grey tactical pants and holding onto a pad, this dude reminded me of that arrogant bad guy you had to beat up to get access towards the true hidden boss.
"Scarlet Devil."
He chuckled.
"Or should I call you Davian Mabuz?"
I raised my eyebrows.
"You know my real identity. I have no idea what that Scarlet Devil crap is. I only want to know one thing."
I twirled Chesha Neko. Their eyes followed the movement of the blade.
"Are you the guy I'm supposed to beat up for disturbing what I was hoping would be a quiet day?"
The man's smile seemed to widen.
"You have no idea who you're messing with. Let me show you, how out of your depth you are."
His arrogance was off the charts!
I almost felt a little in awe at his ego. I was even tempted to let him power up when he brought up his pad and begun tapping on it.
Psyke.
I appeared at his back, holding the small device faster than he could react to. Faster than any of them could react to.
"I'm guessing this is how you did it."
I spoke up, eyes running over the screen. There were sections I didn't quite understand.
However, the rows of attributes that seemed to come straight out of a video-game were indication enough.
Almost immediately, a scream sounded out as his wrist started spraying out blood. No surprise there, seeing as I had sliced it off.
"You...you bastard!"
The man yelled, taking a knee.
"You can control people using this thing."
I held it up. Should I keep it or...
"It might be useful but..."
Chase trailed off.
"Yeah. It's unethical for something like this to exist."
I threw it up, then watched as it was slashed into small pieces no bigger than shredded paper.
"No...no! What did you do?!"
The Man dove after the remains, blood caking the floor as he frantically tried to salvage the parts.
"Do something!"
He shouted at his men.
I jerked my head towards them, hitting them with the most unimpressed look I could.
"Move an inch and you die."
I promised, the strings I had turned invisible briefly flashing in the air around us.
None of them dared to test me. Some even lowered their guns.
I turned to the wannabe villain, placing Chesha Neko's blade below his chin, turning his head to stare at me. His face held immense hate mixed with a little bit of fear.
"I won't ask you again. Are you the leader?"
He forcibly calmed himself, still holding onto his wrist, only this time no blood was coming out of it. In fact,...there seemed to be a metallic sheen at the severed part.
The Man looked back at me, his arrogant smirk returning.
"The fact that you have no idea what you're dealing with is pretty funny."
He started laughing.
"Is this guy for real?"
Chase wondered out loud.
"He's actually pissing me off. How can anyone so weak, be this arrogant?
I had never heard Chase so...annoyed. it was almost funny if I wasn't also annoyed by the guy's attitude.
I pressed the tip of my blade on his neck. A trail of blood dripped down his neck.
"You understand; I can get answers from the others right? Which means I have no actual need for you. Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now?"
To his benefit, he didn't show fear. It was quite the opposite.
"You think you have me at a disadvantage?"
His eyes begun glowing.
Ah. And now the true game begins.
A menacing laugh escaped him.
"I wanted you to think that..."
He spread out his hands and the surroundings started to change.
It was like time rewound. The destroyed chamber went back to its original state before I had crashed through.
I swept my gaze around, taking note of the huge satellite feed they had over the world. The dozens of screens all monitoring Gotham. Monitoring the places, I had frequented.
"I took control of your mind the second you stepped in here!"
He yelled, snapping a finger.
The floor disappeared from underneath me as I found myself falling.
I managed to stop my descent by creating a platform of Reiryoku. Only for massive shadow to loom over me.
"This fight was already lost the moment I decided to use Brother Eye on you. What an overkill."
His voice boomed out through the surroundings.
I looked up and saw him, his body was gigantic. Almost as big as Trigon had been.
He waved a hand and his palm crashed through the shield I had hastily created with my sheath. His long fingers wrapped around my form as he grabbed me, bringing me closer to his face.
"Deathstroke thought I had failed. He thought that you were dangerous. That a single man could destroy Argus. Destroy what I have painstakingly, cheated, lied and killed to build."
He laughed.
"Where is the danger he spoke of?"
"Mmh."
I hummed, a thoughtful look appearing on my face.
"I see now. He's the one behind you. Or rather, you're working for Leviathan. You're working for Talia."
I hadn't sat on my laurels when Raven and I had escaped the Wayne Manor. I had tried to find out more about Leviathan. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of news about them.
Even Artemis who was very familiar with the underworld knew next to nothing.
All I had going for me was our first meeting.
Talia had seemed very interested in me. How strange.
And if she was willing to go to these lengths just to capture me then why not just pay her a visit after I was done here?
Speaking of which...the man whose name I still didn't know was still busy monologuing.
"Okay. Enough."
I flexed my spirit energy.
"What..."
He pulled away his hand, the skin flaking off as thousands of strings lashed out and sliced into his palm.
"How?!"
He ground out, staring at me cautiously.
"You're not supposed to have any control in here! I am the master of this..."
I landed a slap on his cheek, throwing him away and breaking the mental illusions around us as Chase took control of the man's mind scape.
By using his metahuman abilities to dive into my mind, he had left himself open for the same. Chase had a lot of abilities at his disposal and something told me that anything he had shown was but the tip of an iceberg.
The mind-scape broke around us and we found ourselves in the operations room. It had only been a few seconds.
The man's body hit the floor, staring up at me like I was the devil. Or the Grim Reaper. He had no idea how right he was.
"Any last words?"
I asked him.
"You...you tricked me. You were never under my control. You only wanted information."
He said, almost lifelessly.
"Duh." I answered him, tapping his shoulder.
"I needed to know who I was fighting. Your mind control might have worked on someone else but unfortunately for you... you're about to see why it couldn't work on me. I want to introduce you to someone."
He looked up at me and then scrambled backwards in fear.
"Wait... please...I have money! Don't do this! Not yet!"
A low rumble escaped the massive figure that stepped out of my shadow. His shoulders were taller than my head and his face was full of large teeth.
"I normally don't concern myself with you humans...but you remind me of a rat. A dirty, scraggly, smelly nuisance of a rodent."
Chase growled out in a deep baritone as he stalked forward.
"No! Help! What are you!?"
My opponent or rather...Chase's victim panicked.
Then again if a giant purple cat with sharp teeth and intimidating eyes stalked towards you then...it was only right you tried to run away.
I looked at the terrified agents.
"I would look away if I was you. Things are about to get messy."