Penance And Redemption

by PotCFan101

Six months after stopping Beth Chase and Billy Russo's murderous doppelganger, Frank Castle murders the representative of Bagalia, Bruce Wayne, in front of the United Nations. On the run and forced to team up with one of Gotham's most recent killers, Frank sets out to put an end to Bagalia and its leader, a returned Baron Zemo. Finale of the "Vengeance and Punishment" series.

17. Breakpoint

A/N: Wow, I was not expecting this to be as long as it was! But, things will reach a tipping point for all the heroes.

Enjoy!

---

Washington DC

"Mr. President! What are your thoughts on the viral video of an American soldier killing a foreign citizen?"

"Mr. President, do you know if this is related to the terrorist organization known as the Flag Smashers?"

"Mr. President, who is the woman in the video? Is she part of the US military?"

President Bracken sighed, lifting his hands to calm the reporters, before clearing his throat.

"It has come to my attention that this video circulated online just fifteen minutes ago." the President announced. "No, I do not believe that the woman in the footage is part of our military. She wears no flag, nor colors on her uniform. Most likely, she is part of a private mercenary group."

"But why would she kill an unarmed civilian?" one reporter, a redhead, asked.

"I have it on good authority that he wasn't innocent." Bracken countered. "We have reason to believe he was a member of the terrorist organization the Flag Smashers, and that his cell attacked the woman first."

"Mister President, would you suggest any action be taken on this supposed mercenary?" another reporter, a blonde male, pressed.

"That would be up to her superiors- if she has one." the President told them. "Now, onto the main reason I called this press conference: I've received reports that the trial Purge was a success."

The crowd of reporters fell into hushed whispers, making Bracken smile.

"As a reminder, this is to solve the ever growing population problem that the Blip caused." the President continued. "Because the trial run had a 95% success rate, I am fast tracking the first ever Purge Night to take place in two days, rather than five."

The reporters all gasped, while in the wings, Vice President Graham and Leon widened their eyes in shock. Only two days… that would place it around the same time as the UN's hearing of the Sokovia Accords. Hell, that was still going on right now, because the world leaders couldn't make a damn decision.

Ashley looked grimly over to Kennedy, as they both realized that things were about to get much, much worse.

---

Romania

Dredd, Heisenberg, Batman, and Hound Wolf Squad all watched the main monitor in the dungeon, all having mixed expressions.

"Gruddamit." Joe grit his teeth. Who the drokk signed off on all this?

"Can't you do something, Wayne?" Heisenberg asked, looking over to the Dark Knight. "Like, throw some money in their pockets, get them to call this whole thing off?"

"I think you're overestimating how much power I really have." Bruce folded his arms. "If this was a congressman or other politician from Gotham, I most likely could sway them. But the President is a different story."

Redfield sighed, checking his rifle.

"If anything, we should prepare for a fight." he warned.

---

Music: "Passacaglia" from Falcon And The Winter Soldier OST

Latvia

Millie ran past the crowd of people and through busy streets, pushing people out of the way. She didn't stop running until she reached a derelict terminal station, where she finally tried to catch her breath. Kessler panted in exhaustion, taking off her helmet and tossing it away, before activating her earpiece.

"Frank?" Millie croaked out. "It's me, Millie. God, I… I fucked up. I got Alice killed."

Unfortunately, Millie couldn't hear anything but static. Why couldn't she call him?

Kessler screamed in grief, collapsing to her knees, and began hugging herself. Why'd she have to go after Karli? Why didn't she just wait? If she didn't try to rush to get her, maybe… maybe Alice would still be alive.

You consistently make the right decisions under pressure.

At the moment, that sounded like a thick slice of bullshit.

"Millie."

The Hellhound looked up, seeing Sam and Bucky walking towards her.

"You saw what happened." Millie murmured. "You know what I had to do."

"Yeah. We saw." Bucky nodded, while Sam inched forward. "But that guy didn't kill Alice."

Kessler reluctantly nodded, looking at the ground.

"You're right." she whispered. "Why didn't I listen?"

"What?" Sam frowned.

"Why didn't I listen to you when you said to wait?"

Falcon sighed, looking off to the side.

"I was wrong." Sam admitted. "I was trying to see something in Karli that wasn't there. She's crossed too many lines. And we gotta take her down."

"And me?" Millie asked. Wilson pinched the bridge of his nose, before stepping forward.

"You killed one of the Flag Smashers in front of a crowd of civilians." Sam told her. "All of them recorded you and posted it online, it's gone viral."

Millie groaned in frustration, clenching her fists.

"Look, it was the heat of the battle." Sam reasoned. "If they try to bring up charges, maybe they can look at your past record. Bucky and I will even vouch for you-"

"No." Millie shook her head. It was like Necropolis all over again. Once again, she took a life without considering the consequences. Only this time, instead of unleashing an apocalyptic terror, she potentially just caused an international incident.

"Kessler, you made a mistake. We can still turn it around." Sam told her. The Hellhound leader numbly nodded, as Bucky and Sam helped her to her feet, and led her out of the warehouse.

---

Music: "The Betrayer" from Doom Eternal OST

Hell

Jesus, this was taking forever. Least that's what it's felt like down here, looking for Maximoff. Forever. And we didn't seem to be one any closer to finding her.

"Thought you said you could track her." Frank complained.

"I can." Stephen said irritably. "Something must be interfering with my magic."

"Harkness." Castle guessed.

"Or worse." Strange mused, as they began to hear screaming in the distance. Frank's eyes widened, realizing the screams sounded like Wanda's.

"Shit!" Castle yelled, preparing to run. He was only stopped by Strange's cloak detaching from the sorcerer, which wrapped around the soldier like a straight jacket.

"Castle, stop!" Stephen told him, walking forward to face him. "If we go in blind, we could be lost to Hell forever."

"But we gotta find her." Frank told him. "We can't just stand around with our thumbs up our asses!"

"No. We need a guide." Strange agreed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a cigarette.

---

In another area of Hell, blue flames erupted from the ground, materializing into the forms of Constantine, Bela, Riley, and Gibb. The group looked around, seeing what appeared to be a twisted and burning city, almost like slums.

"Home sweet home." John murmured, brushing dirt off his trench coat, before looking at Gibb. "You remember where that Krueger asshole is?"

"Sure do." Smith smirked. "Even if I didn't, my 'zombie sense' would find him."

"Zombie sense?" Riley tilted her head in curiosity. Gibb laughed, tapping her temple.

"It's kinda like this pull I get whenever I want to find someone." she explained.

"How can you… do that?" Bela asked in curiosity.

"It's a long story." Gibb shrugged. "Basically, I died, but John helped bring me back."

Dimitrescu's eyes widened, now intrigued by the woman's past.

"And how did you-"

A figure with a trimmed beard suddenly appeared out of thin air, wearing a blue tunic and black cape.

"Ah, Strange!" Constantine grinned. "I've missed ya, mate! What's it been, ten years?"

"Technically it only feels like a month on my end." Stephen muttered. "But we need your help."

"We?" John frowned. "You got a friend with you?"

"Yes. Frank Castle and I are trying to rescue Wanda Maximoff from Hell."

"And you want me to come over and help you, on account I've been here before." Constantine guessed, seeing Stephen nod. "Sorry mate, can't. I'm already in Hell."

"That doesn't help your argument." Strange told him.

"It does if I'm already trying to find someone." John crossed his arms. "I already got a harem here mate. We're looking for that kid fucker Krueger."

"Harem?" Bela narrowed her eyes, while Gibb snorted in laughter.

"So you can't help us." Stephen furrowed his brow.

"Not right now, I can't." Constantine confirmed. Strange grumbled in annoyance, before looking at the demonologist.

"Thank you Constantine." Stephen told him, before fading away.

"Well… good seeing him." John shrugged. "But we better get going, right?"

"Right." Gibb nodded, walking forward. "Come on, I know the way."

---

Strange put the cigarette back in his tunic, while Frank looked at him in amusement.

"Not the call you were hoping?" the Punisher asked. Stephen glared at Castle, before pressing his hand to the ground.

"I have one more I can make."

The ground began to ripple with jagged golden cracks, before splitting open, and a figure emerged. The figure wore a black jacket with white stripes, but his face was more interesting. Instead of a human face, the being had a skull with glowing orange eyes, while the skull itself was inflamed. Frank raised an eyebrow, having heard about this creature before. Years ago, there were rumors of a beast with a flaming skull who hunted criminals in Los Angeles, going by the name Ghost Rider.

The being roared loudly, before human skin formed around the skull, and the flame was extinguished. In the skull's place was a head of black hair and a thin mustache.

"Couldn't have called another time?" the man complained.

"Apologies, Mister Reyes." Strange murmured. "We need your help. Frank Castle, meet Robbie Reyes."

"I've heard of you." Reyes revealed to Castle. "The Rider is a fan of your work."

"What?" Frank frowned. "Aren't you the Rider?"

"He's the thing I turn into." Robbie told him. "The one who gives me this power. And he is pleased with your way of punishing the guilty."

Didn't expect that. Some demon or spirit is a fan of my work.

"Robbie, focus." Strange said sternly. "We need you to guide us through this Hellscape to look for Wanda Maximoff."

"She belongs here." Robbie argued. "I know what she did in Westview."

"She didn't realize what she was doing." Frank told her. "And once she found out she was enslaving the town, she let everyone go."

"Doesn't change the fact she still did it." Reyes murmured.

"That right?" Frank snorted. "Then you might as well leave me here too, for all that shitbags I've put down."

Robbie narrowed his eyes, before sighing.

"Fine." the Ghost Rider muttered, turning and walking away.

"This way."

The trio began walking along the darkened roads of Hell, with Strange staring at the ground in mortification.

"I don't understand. How could I not have seen this?"

Frank stopped, looking at the sorcerer.

"What?"

Stephen looked up, staring at Frank in confusion.

"When I used the Time Stone to see millions of timelines, I knew there was one way we could have defeated Thanos." Strange explained. "But this… merging our universe with multiple others… I had not forseen this."

"The stone never told you." Castle guessed, causing Doctor Strange to nod in confirmation.

"I cannot see past my death." Stephen revealed. "Perhaps this was one of the futures that was assumed I wouldn't survive, yet against all odds… you and your colorful friends brought everyone back."

If that's a compliment, I'll take it.

Frank simply nodded, processing what Strange said, before they resumed their trek to find Wanda.

---

Earth -15

Becca blinked the light out of her eyes, as she and Caitlyn found themselves in the middle of a ruined town, with tattered red flags hanging on the street poles. On those flags was the same symbol of a black line and four triangles facing back to back. The same symbol Brightburn wore on his suit.

"Jesus." Butcher gasped. Constantine was right. From the looks of the town alone, Brightburn really did turn his world into a living Hell. "Where are we?"

"My home. Or what's left of it." Caitlyn said solemnly. "Brandon, he… Brightburn was the name of this town. When he decided to 'take the world' as he put it, this was the first place that got wiped off the map. Then he took the name for himself."

Connor looked down, feeling tears form in her eyes. Becca reached out, gingerly putting her hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

Caitlyn shook her head, wiping the tears away, and looked up.

"We gotta go. Can't stay out in the open-"

A whistle suddenly went off, and the two looked over their shoulders, seeing a small group of four men and women wearing pitch black uniforms with helmets, face masks, and goggles with red lenses. Lining their biceps was a red armband, which had Brightburn's symbol on them. Funny, the uniforms made them look like…

"Nazis." Becca snorted. "Little bit on the nose."

"Brandon was never very subtle." Caitlyn murmured, flexing her gauntlet. Becca smirked, pulling out her crowbar and a pistol.

"Hope you brought something else other than that metal glove."

Connor grinned, pressing a button on her wrist. In an instant, a metal exoskeleton formed around her body, with the chest area glowing a dark magenta.

"Diabolical." Becca nodded. "Looks like an old friend of my husband's."

"Iron Man, right?" Connor asked. "I read about him."

Butcher tilted her head in amusement, before the pair ran towards the soldiers. Brightburn's men began firing their rifles, forcing Becca to take cover behind a ruined wall. Meanwhile, Caitlyn surged forward, uppercutting one of the soldiers, and kicking the second away. The other two began firing at the metal woman, and in their distraction, Becca ran forward, shooting the third in the head, and then smashed her crowbar into the fourth's chest. The men and women in black all fell to the ground, either dead or unconscious, and Caitlyn retracted the exoskeleton, leaving only the gauntlet.

"You fight well." Becca complimented.

"Thanks. So do you." Connor replied. "But we need to get moving. More will come soon."

"Where are we heading?" Becca asked, as they both continued walking. Caitlyn looked over her shoulder, looking at Butcher grimly.

"The farm Brightburn grew up in."

---

Music: Batman Arkham Asylum Main Theme

Gotham

Earth Prime

Beth and Billy walked through the halls of Arkham Asylum, being led by Commisioner Gordon. Russo took a couple glances from cell to cell, seeing many… colorful prisoners. A man wearing a golden mask, who seemed to be talking to himself. A pale woman with black hair, who made sure the window to her cell was covered. A box of glass separating what looked like shifting mud from the rest of the world. And that was just a few of them.

"Is there a reason why you two are here?" Gordon suddenly asked, drinking coffee from a paper Gotham Jitters cup.

"We need to speak with Black Mask." Batwoman announced, passing a cell decorated with calendar dates, which showed a bald man with the abbreviated months tattooed on his head.

"And what do you think you'll get out of him?" Gordon inquired. "After the mask got melted onto his face, Sionis has been reduced to ramblings."

"He's faking it." Russo muttered, just as they all stopped in front of a cell door with a plaque saying Sionis, Roman. Prisoner 85386. "But when we apprehended him at Janus Cosmetics, we faced some supes he had on his payroll."

"Some of Vought's?" Gordon widened his eyes.

"No, they were his own men." Batwoman told him, opening the cell door. "But he must have gotten his hands on Compound V."

Beth and Billy entered the cell, finding Black Mask sitting at a table, twiddling his hands and mumbling something inaudible.

"Sionis." Batwoman announced, sitting on the other end. "You had four of your men injected with Compound V at your hideout. I want to know how you got it."

Roman said nothing, continuing to ramble on. Russo narrowed his eyes, striding forward, and slammed his hand on the table.

"Where'd you get the V?!" he yelled, making Sionis jump.

"Ah, what is this, good cop, bat-cop?" Black Mask asked.

"You'll be wishing Batwoman's the good cop in a minute." Billy sneered. "I've faced enough supes to know one when I see them. The ones you had capture Batman and Batwoman? They're supes. You got the Compound V somewhere, so tell us!"

"Or what?" Sionis challenged, standing up and looking Russo in the eye. "You gonna kill me? You gonna kill me, like Alice killed my daughter?"

Beth looked down at the table in shame… but then jerked back, as Russo grabbed one end and threw it into the wall.

"Choose your next words carefully." Billy growled, grabbing Roman by the throat and slamming him into a wall. "Where. Did. The V. Come from?"

"Do your worst." Sionis spat. Russo glared at the man, before getting an idea, and grabbed at Black Mask's lower jaw- the actual mask.

"What- what are you doing?" Sionis suddenly asked.

"Tell me where you got the V." Billy repeated, and began slowly pulling at the mask. Black Mask squirmed from Russo's grip, as he felt the mask being ripped off his skin.

"Stop, stop!"

"Tell me where the Compound V came from, and I'll stop." Russo threatened.

"Okay, okay!" Roman told him. "I got it from someone called the Power Broker!"

"Who is he?" Russo asked.

"I don't know, I swear!" Black Mask cried out, causing Billy to stop. "We've only communicated once via phone, and then the next thing I knew, he sent me a shipment of the stuff! That's it, that's all I know!"

Billy looked in Roman's eyes, seeing he was, unfortunately, telling the truth, and threw him back in the chair.

"Fine." Russo grumbled, as he walked out of the cell. After a few moments, Batwoman followed him out, where she took off her mask to show her face.

"He's right." Beth murmured.

"Huh?" Billy asked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I'm never going to escape my past." Beth said sadly. "I'll always be haunted by what I've done as Alice."

Billy sighed, as he cupped Kane's face.

"Maybe you will. But you're trying." Russo told her. "You're doing your best to make up for all you've done."

Beth smiled, while Billy wiped away the tears that found their way on her face.

"Thanks, Billy." Kane murmured. "But we need to find the Power Broker."

Russo nodded, pulling out his phone.

"Yeah… I think this is bigger than just Gotham."

"What do you mean?" Beth asked, putting her cowl back on.

"Call it a hunch." Billy shrugged. "But I'm pretty sure those terrorists in Europe, the Flag Smashers… from the footage I've seen, some of those guys have superstrength. Just like the fucks we faced at Janus."

And if he was also correct, he was pretty sure his 'niece' Millie and her squad were tracking down the Flag Smashers. But he had to call Frank first.

Russo dialled Frank's number, but found the line go dead within seconds. He tried his earpiece, but there was nothing but static.

"Huh. That's weird."

Those earpieces were supposed to allow communication across time and alternate Earths. So where could Frank be?

---

Latvia

Millie, Sam, and Bucky returned to the Bakers' safehouse, walking in through the door to find the remains of Hellhound Squad, as well as Mallory waiting for them.

"You called her?" Kessler frowned, looking over at William.

"I've notified the GRC. They're beginning to conduct raids to try to find Karli." Mallory announced. "Unfortunately, they're only finding her followers."

"Right." Millie muttered. She knew she shouldn't have let her go.

"Then we won't find her." Wilson grit his teeth. "She's gone, like a ghost."

Mallory sighed, folding her arms, and stepped towards Millie.

"Clayton and Keener told me everything. How you took the last of the Compound V." she revealed. "They also told me about you killing one of the Flag Smashers, but I had already seen the video."

Kessler swallowed hard, as Harley brought up the footage on his tablet.

"Given that Hellhound Squad is technically classified as private military, there are no grounds to go to war with America… yet." Grace told everyone. "However, the government is putting pressure on the CIA- me- to hold you accountable. If I don't do something, the higher ups will."

"We still have to go after Karli." Millie mumbled.

"She's laying extra low." William told her. "Like, under the underground. There's nothing we can do right now."

"Right." Millie sighed, while Sam stepped forward.

"Ma'am, I think we should consider the circumstances that led to Kessler killing that terrorist in broad daylight."

"I have considered it." Mallory told them. "I am sorry for the loss of Alice Pierce, but there is a difference between what the public saw and what actually happened. The President was informed what happened, but there's also the court of public opinion. To them, Millie killed a man who was trying to get away from her."

Kessler groaned, shaking her head. Of course they would. Their perception would be reality.

"My hands are tied. Considering the circumstances, the best I can do is dissolve Hellhound Squad and strip Millie from any and all military titles. Effective Immediately, you are given a general discharge. I'm sorry."

Millie sadly nodded, as everyone looked at her in sorrow and shock.

"Yeah." Kessler whispered, reaching into her coat and taking out the photograph of Alice and Sienna.

"I'm sorry too."

---

Music: Doctor Strange Main Theme

Hell

Been walking down here for hours. Still not sure if we've gotten closer. Think Strange said something about time moving slower, and I'm definitely feeling it.

Frank, Doctor Strange, and Reyes trudged through the blackened hellscape, eventually coming to a door that emitted a red light.

"Wanda Maximoff is through there." Robbie told them, while Stephen muttered an incantation. The door was illuminated in a golden light, before opening up. Frank was the first to go in, but when he got a good look at what he was seeing, he froze.

In front of them was Wanda in the middle of Westview, staring Agatha down.

"You have no idea how powerful you are, Scarlet Witch." Harkness told her. "You have the power to rewrite all of reality, yet you were making breakfast for dinner for your imaginary kids and boy toy!"

"Stop!" Wanda pleaded. "I'm not a witch! I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Oh really?" Agatha smirked, as a crowd suddenly gathered around Maximoff. One such woman, a blonde, marched right up to Wanda, sneering in her face.

"D-Dottie?" the former Avenger asked aloud.

"My real name is Sarah, but you didn't bother to ask." the woman spat. "You would rather have lived out a fantasy that wasn't real, than let me see my daughter!"

"No, no!" Wanda denied. "I… I… I gave you all peace! You felt peace!"

"No." an African American man snarled. "I used to fight you for so long. But after a while, I couldn't remember why I tried. Do you?"

"What?" Maximoff stammered, backing away, but was confronted by a woman with black hair.

"Please, tell my husband, never come here! I don't want him to become your puppet!"

Wanda began backing away, but a crowd of people suddenly formed around her.

"I'm exhausted." one man in a button down suit said. "Whenever we dream, we have your nightmares!"

"We feel your pain!" an older woman accused. "Every waking our, you tortured us, subjected us to your own trauma!"

"No… I didn't mean…" Wanda murmured, eventually crouching on the ground, trying to cover her ears.

"You should have let us die!" Sarah yelled coldly. "It would've been better than the Hell you created!"

"Please… stop…" Wanda whimpered, curling into a ball. "I didn't… I didn't know what I was doing."

"Do you really believe that, Wanda?" Agatha asked smugly. Maximoff squeezed her eyes shut, sobbing out a defeated "No".

Okay, time to break this up. Maybe she does deserve Hell for what she did, but this isn't the way.

Frank began moving towards the crowd, sifting through the people, and finally reached Wanda, crouching down.

"Hey, Wanda." Castle murmured, reaching out and shaking her shoulder.

"It's me, Frank."

Wanda timidly looked up, almost expecting him to be part of this… hellish nightmare.

"Frank? Are you real?" she asked.

"Yes. Yes, I'm real." Castle told her. "Come on, we're getting you out of here."

"We?" Maximoff asked, as Frank pulled her to her feet. The Punisher took a step back, revealing Doctor Strange and the Ghost Rider waiting for them.

"But… but… I deserve this." Wanda told him, looking at the crowd of people watching them. "I… I took so much from them…"

Frank sighed, looking down.

"Yeah. Maybe you do." he admitted. "But you gotta learn to deal with it. Make up for it. But not here. You gotta serve your penance, right? And you do that by being an Avenger."

Wanda slowly nodded, but before they could leave, a blast of violet energy came soaring towards them, out of the corner of Castle's eye. Strange had just enough time to conjure a shield around Frank and Wanda, as the two energy constructs clashed together.

"You didn't really think I was a figment of the Hell loop, did you Wanda?" Agatha gloated, flying towards them.

"Go. I'll handle her." Stephen instructed, flying up to meet Harkness, while magical shields appeared in his hands. Frank nodded, leading Maximoff away, but was stopped by Robbie.

"Move, Reyes."

"No." Robbie told him, as his face began to burn and melt away, revealing the skull underneath.

"Ah, shit."

The Ghost Rider roared in anger, pulling out a fiery chain. In a split second, Frank pushed Wanda away, just as the Spirit of Vengeance wrapped the chain around his body.

Gotta find a way to get out of this, and fast.

Castle felt himself get pulled forward, and the Rider grabbed him by the throat, looking into his eyes.

"Look into my eyes, see all that you have done!" the spirit ordered. "After you, Wanda Maximoff is next!"

Frank's eyes widened, as he stared into the inky black void, until-

I saw everything. Everyone I've killed. Gotten killed. People I've failed. Maria. The kids. Millie. Bendix, both of them. Thing is, I've been here before- when Beth tortured me.

Ghost Rider let go of Frank, who fell to his knees and threw up all over the ground.

"What? How are you…" the Rider wondered, seeing Frank getting back up. "Most mortals, they go insane from the torment of my stare-"

"I ain't most people, asshole." Frank snarled, headbutting the spirit. Ghost Rider stumbled back in surprise, but before he could recover, a scarlet energy wrapped around him and threw him into the sky, miles from Frank. Castle looked over his shoulder, seeing Wanda getting up, her hands conjuring orbs of her magic.

"Thanks." Frank nodded, while looking up to see Doctor Strange fighting Harkness.

"You won't be needing this anymore." the witch smirked, firing a blast that shattered Strange's sling ring. Stephen grunted in annoyance, before binding Agatha in what looked like crimson rope, and descended down.

"So what now?" Harkness seethed. "Will you lock me up somewhere, oh great and mighty sorcerer?"

Stephen gave her a glare, before shrugging.

"Not somewhere. Here."

Agatha's eyes widened, looking around.

"Here?" she asked. "But, but… this is Wanda's Hell loop!"

"And I have a friend of a friend who runs this place. I'm sure he'll be happy to have you." Strange told her, as the ropes remained on the witch.

"Don't worry, we left you a playmate." Frank added, as he, Stephen, and Wanda headed back towards the door they entered. Once Doctor Strange got to the doorway, he dissolved the spell, leaving Agatha to scream once the entrance shut.

"NOOO!"

Outside of the Hell loop, Frank, Strange, and Wanda began walking through Hell, with Stephen inaudibly grumbling.

"So what are we waiting for?" Frank decided to ask. "Are we going back or what?"

"Not possible." Doctor Strange revealed, holding up his hand. "She destroyed my sling ring. We're trapped down here."

"Why don't we find that friend of yours?" Wanda suggested. "The one you said runs this place?"

"He's not exactly my friend." Strange corrected. "He's the friend of my friend. And he should be here."

"Then we find Constantine." Frank decided. "He said he was searching for Krueger, right? So we follow that trail."

"I have an idea where he is then." Strange said gravely, as he led Castle and Maximoff through the darkened landscape.

---

Constantine, Bela, Gibb, and Riley continued picking their way through the ruined streets and burning alleyways, stopping at what appeared to be a nightclub. John looked up, seeing a neon blue sign reading Lux at the top.

"You sure this is the place?" John asked. Gibb smiled and nodded, staring up at the building.

"Yes. The 'zombie sense' Jason and I have is never wrong, John. You should know, since you used the Necronomicon to bring me back."

"Necronomicon?" Bela asked. "What, are we pulling made up shit from Evil Dead now?"

"You've seen Evil Dead?" Riley asked in surprise.

"But of course! Those films are groovy!" Dimitrescu wore a cheesy smile. "My uncles Karl and Salvatore were always movie buffs. Karl especially loved the Evil Dead, it inspired him to attach a chainsaw to a small tank!"

Gibb smirked, turning towards the bug woman.

"You'd be amazed at what is and isn't real anymore."

"Huh?" Riley frowned. "What do you mean?"

Gibb looked over to Riley, then at John, who simply shrugged.

"You don't know?" Smith asked. "This isn't the original universe."

"What do you mean?" Bela asked. "If that wasn't it, what was it?"

Gibb sighed, running a hand through her hair. As she tried to find the right words, John stepped in.

"Originally, our worlds were separated. But then when Thanos snapped away half of all life, it collided with the Anti-Monitor wiping out nearly all the universes." Constantine explained. "I'm not sure how many merged together, but I can guess. For one, on my original world, the Avengers only existed as comic books. The Seven never existed. I never met Gibb, or Krueger. And I sure as hell never knew who you were, Dimitrescu."

"Then how…" Riley gulped. "How do you know all this?"

"Well, I have a theory." Gibb jumped in. "That the more it happens, the more you can notice the differences. Especially after the Necronomicon brought me back."

"So… if the Necronomicon exists… does that mean the Evil Dead films are based on real life?" Bela asked hopefully.

"Not anymore." Gibb said sadly. "But they used to be. The guy in those movies, Ash Williams? I met him once or twice. He was a good guy. Now he's just a character played by some actor."

Smith looked down, wiping away a tear. Constantine, on the other hand, looked down the road. Riley was the only one who felt compelled to speak again.

"How many times has this happened? To you?" she asked. Gibb finished wiping her tears, looking up.

"When the Necronomicon resurrected me, I remembered everything." she revealed. "Originally, I died. Skewered by the man I loved. And then the timeline changed, and I became a killer, like him. In another universe, I meet John, and together, we send Freddy to Hell."

"Which is what happened in this world." Constantine agreed. "Only difference is that here, Gibb was killed in the process, so I was forced to use the Necronomicon to revive her. That, and an intergalactic tyrant about as bad as Thanos destroyed the Earth in that universe, which forced the Flash to turn back time and reset everything…"

"What?" Riley's jaw dropped.

"Story for another time." Gibb waved her hand. "But Barry and John believed that if he reset the timeline, it would stop the destruction of Earth. But now… after the Snap and the Anti-Matter wave did this… we know that it's already happening again."

"How so?" Bela inquired.

"Think about it, love." John told her. "Strange and I have already picked up some anomalies. One of them is that bitch you and Stone encountered in the village."

Riley slowly nodded, taking everything in. Did that mean… she and Billy might not have…

"Best not to dwell on it." Constantine announced, almost as if he was reading her thoughts. "Let's get in there, find Krueger, and get the fuck out."

The ladies nodded, and together, they all entered the nightclub. Once inside, Riley's eyes widened, seeing naked women dancing on tables, people drinking heavily or smoking, and other such debauchery. And in the middle of it all, was a man in a suit, with black hair and a poorly shaven beard, drinking scotch and playing the piano.

"Fuck." John muttered, walking forward. "He's here."

"Who?" Bela asked with a frown. Constantine looked at the bug woman grimly, before answering.

"Lucifer Morningstar."

Riley raised an eyebrow, as the pieces fit.

"The nightclub owner in Los Angeles? I thought he died."

"In a way he did." John shrugged. "But don't think the names just for show, he's the literal Devil."

"Right." Bela said sarcastically, as they all moved toward the piano. The moment they entered his field of vision, Lucifer stopped playing, looking at John with tired eyes.

"Well, Johnny! You still owe me for that last card game!"

"I thought we called it even after I did you a favor." Constantine muttered. Lucifer blinked a few times, seemingly forgetting what he was talking about, before turning towards the women.

"Hello, ladies." Morningstar slurred out. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"This is the Devil?" Riley wrinkled her nose.

"Trust me, he's not like this when he's sober." John murmured. "At least he wasn't…"

"Why are you here, Constantine?" John asked. "Come to torture me some more, after the Detective and her spawn vanished before my very eyes?"

John sighed, stepping forward.

"Chloe and Trixie are alive, Luci. They've been that way for weeks."

Morningstar's eyes widened, standing up from the piano.

"No." he murmured. "It's… it's a trick, this has to be another one of your cons, John!"

"It's not." Riley added, realizing what the demonologist meant. "If your friend, Chloe… if she vanished because of the Snap, then she was brought back."

"But… but how?" Lucifer frowned in disbelief. "I know of the Infinity Stones. The only way to have brought them back would have been…"

"If we went back in time, got the stones from the past, and snapped everyone back." Riley told him. "We did that."

Lucifer stumbled forward, wrapping Stone in a hug.

"Thank you. Thank you, miss…"

"Riley." the girl answered. "My name's Riley."

"Well, thank you, young human." Morningstar mumbled, patting Riley's back. Once he pulled away from the embrace, he looked over to John.

"I have to go immediately!" Lucifer announced. "I have to make sure they're alright!"

The Devil began to walk away, but Gibb suddenly reached out, grabbing his arm.

"Wait a minute!" Smith said harshly. "We have to find Jason!"

Lucifer suddenly turned around and glared at Gibb, his face suddenly morphing into a blistering, scarred visage, while his eyes glowed a fiery crimson.

"Unhand me at once." Morningstar hissed through grit teeth. Behind Gibb, Riley and Bela backed away in fear, having never seen anything so demonic. Not even Mother Miranda made Dimitrescu feel so terrified. Nevertheless, Gibb stared Lucifer down.

"We… I need you to tell us where Freddy Krueger is." Smith begged.

"What makes you think I know?" Lucifer growled.

"Because I can feel him." Gibb whispered. "Please… just tell me where to find him."

Lucifer sighed, willing his face to morph back into his human appearance, before looking into her eyes.

"I know that's not what you really want, so tell me… what do you desire?" the Devil asked. Gibb's tried averting her eyes, but she slowly became entranced by his sight.

"I want… I want to find Jason."

Lucifer stared at the woman in pity, as Gibb removed her hand from his arm.

"Who… who's Jason?" Riley asked in confusion. Constantine sighed, realizing the real reason Gibb joined him.

"I… I haven't seen him in years." Smith explained. "And after I came back from the Snap, I just… I want to make sure he's alright."

Morningstar shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Ah, love…" he murmured. "I didn't think I'd be capable of it, until I met Chloe."

Lucifer looked between Riley and Bela in curiosity, staring at them the same way he did to Gibb.

"And what do you two desire?"

Stone found herself lost in Morningstar's eyes, feeling her mouth begin to move. It was almost like… like staring into a darkened abyss.

"I… I want to kill the cunt who murdered Billy." Riley muttered out, surprising John and Gibb.

"Oh, revenge." Lucifer raised an eyebrow in intrigue. "Tell me more."

"Well… I…" Riley stammered. "I won't pretend that Billy was a good person. He might even be down here, in Hell, but he was trying, and that witch, Achlys, she took him away from me."

Lucifer slowly nodded his head, before turning to Bela.

"And you?"

Dimitrescu looked up, preparing to speak the truth. No point in lying, if he somehow convinced Riley and Gibb to speak.

"I want to protect my family." she revealed. "I lost my sisters, my uncle, and aunt ten years ago. Ever since then, I've been trying to protect them as long as I could, but now with that witch woman, I'm afraid that I'll lose them again."

Lucifer slowly nodded, looking down.

"They're both down there." Morningstar told them. "The other demons love no holds barred fight clubs."

"What?" Gibb asked in shock, turning around and racing towards the elevator. Lucifer shrugged, beginning to leave the nightclub.

"Everyone, bar's closed!" the Devil announced, making everyone pause. "I'm retiring permanently, it's gotten boring!"

All at once, the other demons and souls began to leave, prompting Lucifer to shake John's hand.

"Thank you Johnny… but you still owe me."

"Put it on my tab." Constantine smirked. Lucifer smiled back, before unfurling a set of beautiful white wings, and flew up through the ceiling, seemingly phasing through.

"What… where'd he go?" Riley asked.

"He left this plane of existence to return to Earth." John told her. "Come on then. Let's go help Gibb."

The other two women nodded, and they and Constantine went to the elevator, just as Gibb began to close it.

"Hold up!" Bela shouted, grabbing the doors and forcing them open with her unnatural strength. "We're after the same thing!"

Gibb tilted her head in curiosity, before pressing the open doors button and allowing the three in.

"Jason is my priority." Smith told them, as the elevator rode down. "Krueger's in Hell where he belongs. That's good enough for me. But as a show of good faith, I'll help you."

"Fair enough." Riley muttered, just when the doors opened. The four individuals stepped out to a darkened, grimy basement, with the lights flickering on and off. Amongst the flickering, Gibb squinted, seeing a hulking man in a hockey mask swing a machete at a burned man in a red and green sweater, fedora, and bladed glove.

"Krueger." Stone snarled, marching forward. Hearing his name uttered, Freddy looked over in her direction, his eyes filled with hate.

"Oh, it's you, bitch."

In that moment, the man in the hockey mask plunged the machete into Krueger's chest, making him gasp in pain.

"Hey, what the fuck!"

Gibb's eyes lit up, running towards the two.

"Jason!" Smith grinned, causing the man in the hockey mask to look at her. Jason took his hands off the machete and held his arms out, and Gibb wrapped him in a bear hug, who responded in turn.

"That's Jason?" Riley looked in awe, as she began to piece things together.

"Jason Voorhees." Constantine introduced to Riley and Bela. "Former killer of Camp Crystal Lake. After we sent Krueger to Hell, he helped me bring Gibb back with the Necronomicon."

Bela looked between Freddy, who fell to his knees from the blade in his chest, to Gibb and Jason, who seemed to be fighting over who would hug harder.

"I've missed you." Gibb murmured, tightening her hold over Jason's back. Voorhees responded by tightening as well, causing a loud cracking noise to be heard. The woman smiled, as the two ended their embrace, and Smith pressed her hand to her back, popping the spine in place, while Voorhees let his own bones to reset.

"Gibb… I remember you…"

Gibb slowly turned around, seeing Krueger bare his teeth at her.

"I remember Lori more…" Freddy grinned. "Especially in her final moments, when I drove my fist through her chest."

Smith clenched her fists in anger, marching towards Krueger, and ripped the machete out of his body. She was about to cut off the man's head, when Bela morphed into flies and surged forward, blocking the machete with her sickle.

"We need him." Dimitrescu reminded everyone. Gibb shot a dirty look at the bug woman, but slowly backed away.

"Make it quick." she told Bela. "Lori was my friend."

Bela nodded in agreement, as she and Riley approached Krueger.

"What do you want?" Freddy asked. Riley took a deep breath, before taking a step forward.

"We need your help." Stone told him "There's this woman who killed Billy, and we need to stop her."

"I can't kill her, even with… what I can do." Bela added, as her hand morphed into a few dozen flies. "Only a gas bomb could harm her."

"And what's that got to do with me?" Freddy asked.

"You helped HYDRA in synthesizing the Scarecrow's Fear Gas, right?" Riley asked. "I knew someone who was subjected to the toxin. Whatever injuries they sustained in the hallucination, carried over into the real world. But it wasn't finished. It took hours for the injuries to affect her."

"Yeah, because just as they were going to make a breakthrough, the Avengers took them down." Freddy spat. "Then a few months later, those two bitches-"

Krueger nodded to Gibb and Constantine.

"Sent me here."

Riley swallowed, staring the burned man down.

"We need your help to finish the toxin."

Freddy stared at her blankly, before laughing his ass off.

"You might as well fuck off right now, because there's no fucking way you'll get anything from me!"

Riley stared slack-jawed at Krueger, processing what he said. She knew that the only way to complete the Scarecrow's fear toxin and kill that Witch Woman that attacked them, was to take Freddy Krueger's blood. She looked over to Bela, Constantine, Jason, and Gibb, who all wore grim expressions.

"What, you thought you could just walk right up and ask nicely?" Freddy sneered. "Newsflash, bitch: no fucking way I'm gonna help you! Not after your friend put me here!"

The dream demon bellowed out a sinister laugh, relishing in Stone's disappointment. That was, until Gibb sent him a glare that made him pause.

"Jason, hold him."

The undead killer followed Smith's order, quickly grabbing Krueger's arms and pinning them behind his back. Freddy tried to struggle, but Gibb held him by the collar, forcing him to look at her.

"The fuck do you think you're doing, bitch?"

Gibb let out her own chuckle, as she heard her heart race.

"Too bad for you, we don't need your cooperation anymore."

Before Freddy could ask why, Gibb forced her lips onto his own, making Bela and Riley's eyes widen in shock. Krueger's own blue orbs enlarged, as he let out a muffled scream, trying even harder to escape Jason's grasp.

"What's she doing to him?" Riley whispered to Constantine.

"Just wait." John told her with a shrug.

Though she wouldn't admit it, Bela was curious as to what was going on too. As far as she knew, Smith wasn't like her. She couldn't disperse into a swarm of flies and eat away at one's insides, like what she did to Ice Princess years ago. So what the hell was she doing?

Moments later, Gibb pulled back, her body collapsing to the ground. Before Freddy closed his mouth, Riley squinted, just barely seeing a black, slug-like creature slither down his throat. Jason let go of the dream demon, and Krueger fell to his knees, retching loudly, and spat out a wad of blood. A shudder ran through his body, but when he calmly stood up, everyone could see that his eyes were now a light gray instead of blue. Just like Gibb's.

"Gibb?" Riley tilted her head in confusion, as the pieces began to form in her mind. "That you?"

Freddy, or Gibb now, nodded their head, forming a grin.

"Ah, it's been a while since I've done that." Gibb chuckled, inspecting Krueger's finger blades and seeing her real body's reflection. "But, it'll never get old."

The entire time, Bela's eyes were the size of dinner plates. She's known for years that she and her sisters were not the most powerful beings out there, especially with their weakness to the cold, but this… this was on a whole new level.

"All fine and dandy, Gibb, but we still need his blood." Constantine interrupted with a wave of his hand.

"Oh, right." Gibb grinned, swinging the finger blades down and cutting into her wrist. Blood began to pour freely out, causing Bela to hold up the vial Donna had given her, watching it fill to the top.

"Thanks." Dimitrescu murmured, putting the vial away.

"Don't mention it." Gibb shrugged, walking back over to her normal body and transmitting the black slug-thing in through the mouth. A shudder ran through Smith's body, while Krueger's slumped to the ground, melting before everyone's eyes.

"Jesus!" Riley shouted, seeing Freddy's already burnt skin blister and boil, as his bones couldn't hold him up anymore. Gibb looked over to the rapidly melting corpse, a cold smirk playing on her lips.

"Good riddance."

With the dream demon permanently killed, Jason lumbered over to Gibb, holding out his hand. Smith eagerly accepted, and the zombie pulled her up off the ground, much to her enjoyment. Even more so was when Gibb flicked her wrist, and four sharp blades protruded from her fingertips, making her grin even wider.

"Thought so." she smirked, before willing the blades to retract. Upon looking over at Riley, Bela, and Constantine, she added, "I figured that once I possessed Krueger's body, I'd have access to his powers."

"So… you can enter people's dreams now?" Riley asked, her eyes widening.

"Don't worry." Gibb quickly told her. "You'll never see me again. That one bitch you and Miss Dimitrescu fought, however…"

"I thought you didn't care about her." Riley reminded.

"What can I say, you guys are growing on me." Smith gave a playful wink to both Bela and Constantine, who smirked in return.

"Anyway, good seeing you again, John." Gibb told her old friend, while snaking her hand around Voorhees'. "But I'm going to stay here, with Jason."

"More power to ya, luv." Constantine shrugged, turning to head back to the elevator. "Riley, Bela, let's go. We're done here."

The two women followed the demonologist into the elevator, while John pressed the lobby button, and they were taken back up within minutes. Once they arrived, however, they were greeted by a few familiar faces.

"Oh for fuck's sake." Constantine grumbled. "You couldn't have waited?"

Riley arched an eyebrow, seeing Frank Castle in front of her. Right next to him was a bearded man in a blue tunic and red cloak, whom she recognized was the hero known as Doctor Strange, while the red haired woman on the other side was the Avenger Wanda Maximoff.

"Frank? What are you doing here?" Stone asked.

"Rescuing a hostage." Castle told her, eyeing Maximoff. "Thanks for the help, Constantine."

"We were a bit busy ourselves." John shrugged, while Bela's mouth hung open.

"Frank Castle?" the blonde surged forward, grabbing the Punisher's hand and shaking it.

"Bela Dimitrescu, it's so good to meet you! My sister Cassandra is such a big fan of yours!"

At this point, I shouldn't be surprised that I'm getting a fanbase. Not sure if this one's good or bad.

"Huh. Thanks." Frank muttered, while Doctor Strange cleared his throat.

"We need you to send us to Kamar Taj." Stephen requested. "I assume you've heard of a witch named Agatha Harkness?"

"Sure, that cunt tried to suck me dry. And not in the fun way." Constantine smirked.

"She sent Wanda here to Hell." Strange told everyone. "And when Castle and I went to retrieve her, Harkness destroyed my sling ring. I need your… expertise in dark magic to conjure a portal out of here."

John smirked, placing his hands together.

"You're gonna owe me for it, Stevie."

"How about drinks are on me next time." Strange offered.

"Deal, mate." Constantine's grin widened, just as a portal formed, showing a type of courtyard.

"Ready?" Stephen asked Wanda. Maximoff looked over to Frank, wrapping him in a surprise hug.

"Thank you for not giving up on me." she murmured. "I'll do my best to make up for what I've done."

Castle slowly smiled, awkwardly patting Wanda on the back.

"Best of luck, Wanda."

Maximoff broke off the hug, nodding to Frank one last time, before entering the portal. Strange was next to follow, but addressed the Punisher as well.

"I'm thankful for your assistance, Castle." Strange told him. "If there's anything you need-"

"Just make sure to train her how to use her powers, alright?" Frank told him. Stephen nodded in agreement, stepping into the portal… and looked over his shoulder.

"The man you and Mister Allen fought wasn't the only visitor our world has gotten." Strange warned, just as the portal closed. "I've detected eight that slipped through."

"Eight…" Riley furrowed her brow, turning to Bela. "What if Achlys is one of those… those 'breachers'?"

"And the creature Uncle Sal and Chris fought?" Dimitrescu realized.

"There's also that prick Brightburn who took over his own world." Constantine added. "Now he's running around with Becca's son."

"What?!" Frank yelled. "We need to get back now!"

John suddenly looked down, seeing the blue flames return.

"Just in time. Hold on, Castle."

Constantine and Riley grabbed Frank's shoulders, just as the flames engulfed them and Bela, and in an instant, they vanished in thin air, leaving Lucifer's nightclub an empty building.

---

Earth -15

Becca and Caitlyn approached a small barn that was several yards away from a rundown house, seeing several of Brightburn's soldiers guarding the entrance.

"Great. How the fuck are we gonna get in?" Butcher asked.

"Just watch." Caitlyn smirked, firing a small disc from her gauntlet. The disc soared into the air and landed on the ground, right in front of the soldiers. A second later, the disc emitted arcs of electricity, shocking all the men.

"Impressive." Becca smirked, as she and Connor approached the barn, with the redhead using her crowbar to open up the doors. The pair walked in, finding a set of doors in the barn floor, with a red light emitting underneath.

"It's right there." Caitlyn announced, smashing a gauntleted fist into the doors and pulling them apart. Becca looked down, seeing what looked like a type of ship or pod, which appeared to make a high pitched humming noise. Connor jumped into the hole, reformed her suit, and began to lift the pod out. Meanwhile, Becca looked around the dark barn, noticing something just up ahead. Butcher quickly pulled out her phone and activated the flashlight, shining the light to reveal…

A large grey pad, with a control panel and terminal next to it. If Becca remembered correctly, it looked almost exactly like Project Proteus.

"What the fuck?" Butcher asked in alarm, just as Caitlyn made it to the top with the ship.

"What is it?" Connor inquired.

"You've never seen this?" Becca stared at the girl. "It looks like a teleportation device."

"No, I never knew it existed." Caitlyn shook her head. "Should we see where it leads?"

Becca stared at the teleportation pad, feeling urged to turn it on, in that moment. She wanted to… she wanted to…

"No." Butcher shook her head. "We need to get that ship out of here"

Connor nodded her head, as Becca grabbed hold of the outer hull.

"Hold on." she told the younger woman, as she activated the temporal displacement belt. In an instant, the familiar blue light engulfed the two women and the ship, leaving the barn dark and empty.

---

Mega City One

Earth Prime

Becca blinked the light out of her eyes, seeing McGruder waiting for them.

"You're back." the Chief Judge murmured. "And you didn't come empty handed…"

"No." Becca shook her head, as she fiddled with the belt. "Thank you, Chief Judge."

McGruder nodded, before the blue light enveloped Butcher, Connor, and the ship, and they were transported out of Mega City One.

---

New York

2028

Becca looked around, seeing that she was in her own backyard. Well, her's and Joe's.

"A little help?" Butcher asked, nodding towards a shed a few feet away. Caitlyn nodded, and the two women moved the ship into the small metal box, shutting the doors immediately after.

"Why the wait?" Connor asked.

"I need to find my son." Becca declared, marching back into the house and activating her earpiece.

"Ryan? Ryan, where are you?"

While Butcher was trying to contact her kid, Caitlyn turned on the tv, which opened to a news broadcast.

"We interrupt this newscast to bring you a special report!" The ginger haired news anchor announced. "Two superpowered beings, one of which appears to be known as the Traveller, have been locked in a struggle that has killed thousands throughout the city."

Becca's blood ran cold, as she stared at the screen. There, among the grainy footage, was her son, fighting Brightburn. Hell, it didn't even look like a fight. It looked more like Beightburn was beating her child to death.

"Ryan?"

---

Castle Dimitrescu

One Hour Ago

Ethan paced around the library, studying the giant tome that Heisenberg read to him and Dredd. He's read it before, of course, but to think that the Four Kings, Vought, Miranda, and the… Dark Judges, as Dredd called them… it was all so surreal.

"Reading anything interesting?"

Winters looked up, seeing Daniella walking up to him, a sly smile playing on her lips.

"Not anymore." Ethan said coyly, setting the book aside. Daniella's smile widened, as she grabbed the blonde man's shoulders and roughly pushed him into a bookcase. Not that Ethan minded, having gotten used to the bug woman's unnatural strength.

"I want to thank you." Dimitrescu whispered, leaning in. "Every day, I'm grateful you came to this castle, helped my sister Bela choose to fight Miranda."

"You know that was mostly Chris." Ethan drawled.

"Well, you were still there. With Uncle Karl." the redhead murmured. "Because if you two didn't show up to this village… Mother would probably never have changed her ways."

"Come on Dani, Miranda had my daughter." Winters mumbled. Daniella tilted her head, letting out a giggle.

"Do you believe in fate, Ethan?" she asked. "Destinies that are predetermined, and one small change can set you on a different course?"

Ethan furrowed his brow, realizing that the redhead's lips were extremely close now.

"What are you getting at?"

"I mean you coming for Rose." Daniella whispered. "One thing led to another, and now… here we are. Together."

Ethan widens his eyes slightly, as Daniella pressed her lips against his. On the one hand, he wanted to pull back, as the first thing he thought of was his wife Mia. Even after all these years, he still had feelings for her. But then, it had been years, right? Would Rosie understand?

Not knowing what to do, Winters tried to pull away, making Daniella stop the lip lock and frown.

"Ethan?" she asked timidly. "I thought… I thought we…"

"I'm sorry." the father apologized. "It feels like we're taking this fast, okay? Maybe we should slow down-"

Ethan suddenly heard a loud crash, and he looked up, seeing the glass skylight shatter. Two figures flew down, whom Ethan quickly recognized as Brightburn and the Traveller. Stupid name, now that Ethan thought about it, but what the hell were they doing here?

While Winters was pondering, Daniella let out an ear-splitting scream, causing his eyes to widen. Dammit. He forgot how vulnerable the Dimitrescu daughters were to the cold.

Music: Brightburn Main Theme

Brightburn touched down, glaring at the redhead with hate.

"You…" the superhuman murmured, as Daniella tried staggering away. Brandon quickly zoomed over to her, grabbing Dimitrescu by the neck, and began dragging her back under the destroyed skylight.

"No, please!" Daniella shrieked, trying to pry Brightburn's arm off her. Unfortunately, not even her inhuman strength could match his.

"Why are you doing this?" she pleaded, as she tried to punch Breyer in the face. That also didn't work, as she felt several fingers break, in addition to her hand feeling like it punched solid concrete. Brandon coldly smirked, as patches of frost began to cover the redhead's face and dress.

"Not a fan of the cold, huh?" he bragged. Daniella violently shuddered, seeing her breath come out as a white vapor.

"Please…" she begged, still grasping Brightburn's arm. "I don't… I don't want to die…"

Breyer's lips curled into a sneer, as he leaned forward.

"You should've thought about that when you tried to kill Achlys."

"It… it wasn't me…" Dani tried to say, but felt it difficult to speak with the superhuman's hand on her throat.

"Aunt Dani!"

Ryan looked towards the door, seeing a little girl with blonde hair staring at the entire scene in horror.

"Stop it, please! You're hurting her!"

The whole time, Ethan had been frozen in shock, but the minute he heard his daughter's voice, he pulled out his gun, aiming it at Brightburn. He squeezed the trigger five times, but as he should have expected, the bullets didn't seem to harm Brandon at all, causing him to throw the gun away. In desperation, Winters ran over to the library's fireplace, grabbed the fire poker, and began to viciously assault Breyer's back.

"LET HER GO!"

Ryan's breath caught in his throat, as a memory resurfaced from years ago. He, Becca, and Joe were running through the forest, only for Homelander to stop them in their tracks. After casting Dredd away like a broken toy, the supe had Becca by the throat and pushed her up against a tree, causing Joe to beat him with his daystick. And just like that little girl, he had been begging, pleading, for Homelander to stop.

Eventually, Brightburn grew tired of Ethan hitting him from behind, and he quickly whipped around, firing lasers from his eyes that cut off Ethan's right arm. Butcher's eyes dilated, realizing that if he didn't do something, the woman was going to die.

Oh god. What were they doing? They were supposed to be heroes that upheld justice, not executioners like… like…

Like Homelander.

"Okay, stop!" Ryan suddenly yelled, quickly walking over to Brightburn and prying his arm off of Daniella's neck. "They're both injured. Let them get medical attention."

"What?!" Brandon yelled back, glaring at Butcher with blood red eyes. "She deserves to die. Don't you know who she is?!"

"That's not the point!" Ryan countered. "It doesn't matter who she is, we didn't arrest her or give her a trial!"

"So?" Brightburn raised an eyebrow. "These people, they're just paste to you and me! We're the ones with the power, so we can do whatever we see fit! Whatever the fuck we want, don't you get that Ryan?!"

Butcher took a step back, realizing at that moment, Brandon sounded exactly like Homelander. Why didn't he see it sooner?

"No. We can't." Ryan clenched his fists. "Just because we have power doesn't mean everyone else has to bow down to us."

"Like fuck they don't." Brightburn snorted. "That's exactly what it means. We're gods to them, Ryan. And we shouldn't stoop so low to adhere to what they think."

Butcher narrowed his eyes, stepping forward. At the same time, he noticed Daniella and Ethan stumble out of the library.

"No, you're insane! You're no better than Homelander!" Ryan spat, holding up his fists. Brightburn sighed, looking down.

"I don't want to fight you, Ryan." he murmured. "But if I have to… then so be it."

In an instant, Brandon was inches away from Butcher, only pausing to deliver a brutal uppercut that sent the younger supe flying back up through the skylight and into the atmosphere. Ryan gasped in shock and pain, trying to realign his body, but Brightburn flew towards him again, punching him a second time that caused his body to careen through the air, away from Castle Dimitrescu.

---

Back inside the castle, Ethan and Daniella shuffled through the halls, trying to reach the library. Because Winters had his hand lopped off, adding to the fact that the youngest Dimitrescu was shivering uncontrollably, the two had locked arms around each other's shoulders, while Rose surged ahead.

"HELP! DADDY AND AUNTIE DANIELLA ARE HURT!"

The three made their way down the stairs into the main lobby, just as Dredd, Heisenberg, Chris, and Alcina entered from the kitchen.

"Good heavens, what happened?!" Lady Dimitrescu shrieked, seeing her daughter in such a state.

"We'll have to figure that out later." Joseph announced. "They need medical attention."

"No shit!" Karl exclaimed, as he and Chris grabbed onto Ethan and led him towards the elevator, while Alcina picked up Daniella by herself and did the same. The group all entered the metal box and Redfield pressed a button, making them descend down below. To Ethan, the way down felt much longer than it should have, but maybe that was just because he just had his arm cut off. Well, lasered off.

Eventually, the elevator opened up, and Ethan and Daniella were led towards the hospital section of the dungeons, seeing Donna and Angie waiting for them.

"Jesus, what the hell happened?!" the doll screeched. "How did Ethan lose his fucking hand?!"

"Language, Angie! Rose is here!" Alcina bellowed, but immediately softened her expression.

"My daughter needs blood. Ethan needs his hand reattached."

"Yeah, we can see that!" Angie noted, as Winters and the youngest Dimitrescu were placed on hospital beds. At the same time, Batman and Cassandra emerged from the stairwell, followed by a flash of blue flames, revealing Constantine, Bela, Riley, and the Punisher.

"Blimey, what'd we miss?" John asked, looking around.

"Ethan and Daniella are in critical condition." Donna spoke up. "I need everyone to clear the room."

"Wait…" Ethan murmured. "Need… disinfectant."

"What?" Alcina frowned, while Angie held up a dark green bottle. Winters took the item, nodded in thanks, before pulling the cap off with his teeth and generously pouring the contents onto his stump. Setting the bottle aside, Ethan took his severed hand, and through grit teeth, stuck it onto the stump. After holding the ends together for a few seconds, his fingers began to twitch, before he was able to flex the digits.

"Impressive!" Heisenberg chortled. "I knew you were one of us Ethan, but I've never seen you do that!"

"Yes, most impressive." Alcina murmured, eyeing her daughter, who was outfitted with an IV that was pumping blood into her system.

"Are you able to describe what happened?" Batman asked, looking at Ethan. The father nodded, clearing his throat. Before he could say anything though, Cassandra's eyes bulged, realizing who was standing next to Constantine.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed, almost in a girlish squeal. "You brought the Punisher here?!"

"Cassandra! Now is not the time!" Bela barked out. "Ethan, what happened?"

"Dani and I… we were in the library, when these two supes crashed through the skylight," he revealed. "One of them was that new guy named Brightburn, and the other was that kid with the red suit and blue cape."

"Who is he?" Alcina frowned. "He simply appeared three weeks ago. They both did, for that matter."

Frank gave Dredd a weary glance, who looked down.

"Ryan." he murmured. "He's my son."

Everyone looked at Joe in an array of emotions, mostly ones of surprise. Frank and Constantine were the only two who looked at the Judge in pity, while the residents of the castle, particularly the Dimitrescu's, all glared at him.

"Your son attacked my home?!" Alcina raged, extending her fingernails into claws.

"Alcina, wait!" Ethan held up his hands. "He didn't try to hurt us! Hell, he probably saved us!"

"What?" Bela frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Brightburn was the one trying to kill us, but Dredd's kid stopped him."

Joe numbly nodded, as he turned to look at Winters.

"Do you know where he is?"

"No, he and Brightburn flew back up." Ethan mumbled. "Actually, it was Brightburn who decided to kill him over us."

Dredd widened his eyes behind his visor.

"Drokk!"

Joe turned on his heel, being followed by Frank and Riley, as he activated his earpiece.

"Ryan, are you there? Ryan!"

---

Ryan's body flew through the air until he somersaulted backwards to slow down, just in time for him to duck from taking another punch by Brightburn, who soared right past him.

"Who could you do this, Ryan?" Brandon yelled. "Going against your own nature, siding with these lesser beings? You could have had every insignificant speck on this planet worship the ground you walk on, but you're playing hero!"

"I don't want that!" Butcher shouted, just barely dodging another punch. "It's our duty to defend the weak!"

"Oh for fuck's sake." Brightburn snorted, grabbing Ryan by the throat. "If I hear any more of that self righteous bullshit, I'm going to rip someone's spine out."

Brandon threw the Traveller as hard as he could, sending the supe careening into the ground, where his body created a miniature canyon. Ryan groaned in pain, getting up just as Breyer landed on the ground in front of him.

"Do you really think you can stop me?" Brightburn asked. Ryan strained his eyes, looking at his friend turned enemy. The more he stared at his cloth mask, the more demonic it appeared. Not that the glowing red eyes helped in the slightest. Nevertheless, Butcher swung his fist as hard as he could, trying desperately to throw a haymaker into Brightburn's face-

His eyes widened, when Breyer simply caught his fist with ease, tightening his grip and forcing him to his knees.

No…

Brandon delivered an uppercut that sent Ryan flying up, but before he could hit the atmosphere, Brightburn grabbed his legs and swung him around, causing him to fly once more into the air. Brandon watched his "friend" become a speck against the skyline, sighed in frustration, before levitating himself and taking off after Ryan.

---

"Dammit, I can't reach him!" Dredd shouted, hearing the sounds of static and wind in his earpiece. "We need to find them!"

"We can connect one of the computers to a Wayne satellite." Batman offered, as Chris led everyone back up towards the main hall, where he, Bruce, and Joe sprinted up the stairs towards a door reading "Communications". Redfield threw the door open, revealing a large computer with several monitors. Chris and Bruce quickly made their way to the keyboard, where they began to work in unison to connect one of the satellites, until the main monitor flickered on, revealing a balding man flanked by a man and woman. The other man was dark skinned, bald, and had an eyepatch, while the woman wore her blonde hair in a bun. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on who you asked in the room, at least two of those individuals were recognizable.

"Mallory." Dredd said begrudgingly.

"Joe." Grace Mallory answered.

"Gareth." Chris muttered. "I see you got Fury and Grace working for you now."

"Working with them, Mister Redfield." M corrected. "And we need to work with you."

"What is it now?" Chris groused, just as Alcina, Frank, Riley, and Constantine entered the room. "Need help tracking down bioweapons? Or are you just trying to draw me out?"

"None of the above." Nick Fury interrupted. "We've gotten satellite readings of two superpowered people tearing each other apart in Europe. Our guess? It's those new supes, Brightburn and that kid named Traveller."

Dredd stiffened, but Nick continued.

"You and Gareth can continue the dick measuring later, Redfield. But we're the only ones who know where they're going."

"Mallory… Grace." Joe murmured, looking at the blonde woman on the screen. "Don't go after Becca's… our son."

Grace watched Dredd with pity, before clearing her throat.

"Nick and Gareth are working on scrambling jets to led the two towards a secure containment unit."

"Where?" Joseph asked. Mallory paused, looking down.

"It's in the bottom of the Flatiron Building."

---

Ryan coughed up blood, just as Brightburn flew right towards him and grabbed the front of his suit.

"It's not… too late." Butcher told him.

"Yes it is." Brandon narrowed his eyes. "I thought you'd see things my way, but you still deny that this world is ours to take!"

Butcher suddenly looked up, hearing what sounded like jet engines. Brightburn heard it too, as he looked around, seeing two jets flying straight towards them.

"See what I mean?" Breyer told him. "Look what they need to mimic just a mere fraction of our power! They need machines to fly!"

Brandon tossed Ryan away, before zooming straight towards the jets. Before they had time to react, Brightbrightburn rammed himself through the first aircraft, killing the pilot instantly, then proceeded to fly through the middle of the second plane, which caused the pilot to eject.

"No!" Butcher yelled, flying up to catch the pilot. The Traveller quickly wrapped his arms around the seat, ripped off the restraining belts, and grabbed the pilot, before flying back to the ground and setting the man down.

"Thank you!" the pilot gasped. "I didn't think I'd make it-"

Brightburn suddenly landed behind the pilot, causing Ryan to glare at him.

"You could've killed him!"

"Yet you saved him. And for what?"

Brightburn suddenly reached out and grabbed the man's head, crushing the pilot's helmet and skull with ease.

"Why did you do that?!" Butcher raged, grabbing Brightburn by his collar.

"Oh, did his death disturb you?" Brandon narrowed his eyes. "Then let's see how you handle this!"

Brightburn grabbed Ryan and flew them high into the air, taking them where Butcher thought was North. Ryan squinted, trying to see where they were going. All he could see was a city in the distance, and it seemed like they were going straight towards a gigantic skyscraper-

Oh… fuck.

That was the last thought that went through Ryan's head before his body created a giant crater in the middle of the building. To Butcher, it felt like being hit by a car… comparatively, of course.

Brightburn threw Ryan through the other side of the building, where he dropped into the streets below and skidded along the pavement. Butcher slammed a hand down beneath him, slowing his descent, but when he looked up, he saw the skyscraper he had plowed through was about to collapse.

"No!" Ryan yelled, flying back up and holding the tower back. The glass windows shattered, forcing everyone inside to stumble and fall down the slippery slope that used to be the floor. One such person, a little girl holding a teddy bear, was falling straight towards the supe, causing him to reach out and grab her hand.

"Hold on, I got you!" Butcher promised, although holding back the skyscraper with one hand was straining him further.

"Just don't let go!"

"But… but…" the girl sniffed. "But Teddy's going to fall!"

"You need to give me both hands!" Ryan shouted. "Just hang on!"

Despite Ryan's efforts, the skyscraper was too much, and he felt the structure bear down on him and smash him into the ground. Butcher struggled to see, having to punch his way out of the rubble, but when he could finally see daylight, he looked back down…

And gasped in horror, as he was now holding just a disembodied arm.

"No…" Ryan whispered, just as Brightburn flew down to join him. "You killed them all."

"No, you did that." Brandon said coldly. "You haven't been listening. But you'll see."

Brightburn suddenly grabbed Ryan by the throat and punched him deeper into the ground, making Butcher realize they were in a subway station. Before he could move, Breyer grabbed the Traveller's head and forced him to stare straight ahead- directly at a train that was coming straight toward them.

"Don't do this." Ryan begged. "Please, don't!"

Brandon didn't listen, and the train smashed into Butcher head on, causing dozens, if not hundreds, of people to instantly explode in a red mist once they came into contact with the two supes. Ryan screamed in horror, but Brightburn wasn't done, slamming him into the floor of the train and derailing the rest of the vehicle. Butcher felt himself get buried under several tons of steel, but before he could lift himself up, Brandon pulled him out.

"Had enough?" Breyer asked, letting Ryan go for a moment. Butcher bared his teeth, revealing blood was caking his mouth.

"Not even close!"

The Traveller surged forward in a punch, but Brandon used his speed to zoom out of the way, before proceeding to slam his fist into Ryan's back. The wind was taken out of Butcher, as he hit the ground so hard, he began to bounce back up, and Breyer tackled him midair again, flying them back up to ground level, ignoring Ryan punching his back. Butcher would've kept at it, until he heard the static of his earpiece go off.

"Ryan… Ryan, where… where are you?"

Ryan froze, reaching up and activating the device.

"…Uncle Joe?"

"Ryan… listen… me." Dredd's broken voice told him. "Get to… Flatiron Building. Sub level… containment unit… Frank and I… meet you there."

Despite some words being broken up, the Traveller understood what he was saying. I'm the Flatiron Building in New York, the sub level had a containment unit, most likely for supes… which they could use to trap Brightburn in.

With one final punch, Ryan escaped Brandon's grasp and flew in the opposite direction, giving himself only a few seconds before Breyer began to chase after him.

---

Chicago

Millie sighed, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door in front of her. It had been a few hours since returning from Latvia, and every minute seemed to be agonizing to her. She stepped back, swallowing the lump in her throat, as the door opened, revealing a short man with brown hair and a beard.

"Millie?" the man frowned. "It's been a while. How are you?"

"Not good." Kessler admitted. The man looked over her shoulder, suddenly realizing she was by herself.

"Where's Alice? I thought you guys were chasing down the Flag Smashers?"

Millie gulped, as she pulled out the photograph Pierce gave her.

"I'm sorry, Andy."

The man in front of her, Andy Barclay, visibly recoiled, realizing what had happened.

"Do… do you want to come in?"

Kessler numbly nodded, and Andy moved out of the way, leading her inside and towards the living room, where a woman with auburn hair and blue eyes sat on a couch, with a younger woman with black hair and a nose piercing was opposite in a chair, whom Alice recognized as Sienna. Which meant that the redhead must be Alice's aunt Nica.

"Hello, Nica. Sienna." Millie whispered. Nica looked up, seeing Kessler's distraught, and she instantly knew what happened.

"Alice is dead, isn't she?"

Millie didn't say anything- couldn't say anything- as she handed the photograph to Sienna.

"I'm sorry."

Shaw looked down at the picture, seeing herself and Alice, and began to wipe her eyes.

"I just… I wish I could tell her that." Millie confessed. "How sorry I am…"

Kessler stumbled back, breathing heavily. She blinked several times, trying to keep tears from pouring out, while Andy, Nica, and Sienna all averted their eyes.

"I knew the risk."

Millie snapped her head up, hearing Alice's voice. But that was impossible, she watched her friend die!

"Up here."

Kessler looked over her shoulder and looked up the stairway, seeing what looked like a red haired doll descend the stairs, wearing a leather jacket. At first, Millie's hand went towards her knife, until she heard Andy's voice.

"Don't. It's her."

Millie stared dumbfounded at the doll, as it reached the bottom of the stairs, looking up at her.

"How?"

"I didn't tell you everything." Alice admitted, sitting down on the top stair. "When Thanos snapped half of all life, I split my soul into this doll. And when Karli killed my human body, well… I transferred that part of my consciousness back here."

Millie smiled to herself, as Alice stood back up.

"But, I gotta know… did you kill that cunt after she did me in?"

Kessler's face fell, and she shook her head.

"No." she revealed, looking down. "I went after the wrong asshole, and the whole world saw."

"It was all over the news." Nica added. "That footage of you killing the Flag Smasher went viral."

"So where's my human body?" Alice asked.

"Probably in a casket locked away." Millie muttered. "I'm sorry Alice."

"Hey, it's okay." Alice told her. "You've been the best friend and battle buddy I've ever had. I'm honored that you recruited me into Hellhound Squad."

The doll stepped forward, hugging Millie's leg. The blonde let out a laugh, kneeling down, and the two embraced in and actual hug.

"But… we have unfinished business." Alice reminded her, as the hug broke off.

"What?" Millie asked in confusion. Alice smirked, as she pulled a knife out of her small jacket.

"We still gotta kill that bitch."

Millie grinned and nodded, reaching out and squeezing the doll's shoulder.

"Deal."

The exchange would've lasted longer, if Kessler didn't notice the television out of the corner of her eye showing two superpowered people fighting in the middle of the city. Well, fighting was relative, it looked more like one was getting the shit beaten out by the other. But the one who was losing…

"Ryan?" Millie murmured, recognizing the red suit and blue cape. But who was the other one? The one with the black suit and red mask?

"Oh god."

---

New York

Becca ran out of her house, leaving Caitlyn inside, when her earpiece began buzzing.

"Becks, you there?"

"Joe?" Becca asked aloud. "Yes, I'm here, and I just saw the news! My god, what's he doing to our son?!"

"Becca, listen. I told him to go to the Flatiron Building." Dredd told her. "I think you know why."

Butcher slowly nodded, as she set the coordinates on her time displacement belt.

"I'll see you soon." Becca murmured, activating the belt, and then she was gone in a flash of blue light.

---

Ryan flew back into the city, not bothering to see if Brightburn was behind him. He knew he was, it was just a matter of time… but hopefully he still had time to do this.

Butcher made it to the Flatiron Building, accessing an entrance at the back and surged through, running down several flights of stairs and reaching the basement, finding himself in a sterile hallway. A quick scan with his X-ray vision told him where he needed to go, and he quickly ran to the end of the hall, entering a cell emitting green light. Butcher took a deep breath, stepping into the cell, just as he heard a loud crash.

Brightburn smashed through an underground hall, his eyes burning a deep scarlet. The villain looked at both ends of the hallway, finding a door hanging open, with green light pouring out. With a smirk, Breyer strode towards the entrance, like a predator stalking his prey, and entered what looked like a solitary confinement cell to find… no one?

The door suddenly slammed, and Brandon turned around to see Ryan glaring at him.

"You're gonna pay for what you did." Butcher snarled, drawing back his fist. Brightburn didn't move an inch, which made Ryan even angrier, as he swung his arm with all his might…

Music: "Let Them Go" from The Boys Season 2 OST

When his fist connected with Brandon's face, a loud cracking was heard, and Ryan fell to his knees. He screamed in agony, feeling as if his entire hand had shattered, and as he looked up, Breyer decided to tell him what he was slowly realizing.

"You think I'm a supe like you? Please." Brightburn sneered, picking up Ryan by the throat and casually tossing him into a wall. "Yes, we may have similar powers, but I'm a Viltonian."

"Wha… what?" Ryan asked, straining to see after hitting his head against the wall. Brandon didn't seem to listen, or care, and grabbed him again.

"A shame. I was hoping to see you as an equal." Brightburn feigned disappointment. "No matter. I can take this world, with or without you-"

Bang!

Brandon stumbled back, holding onto his head and letting Ryan go. Butcher quickly looked in the doorway, seeing Dredd, Becca, and Frank all there, with Joseph's gun smoking.

"Ryan, get over here!" Joe shouted, as he continued firing round after round from his Lawgiver. The boy quickly got back up and ran towards the door, being engulfed in a hug by Becca.

"Mom… Mom, I'm so sorry."

"Shh, it's okay." Becca said soothingly, tightening her embrace. "It's okay, we're here now."

Dredd took a few steps forward, entering the cell, while continuing to fire armor piercing rounds from his weapon. He figured they wouldn't kill Brightburn, but he was hoping the alien would be stunned for a few moments, maybe even knock him out for a moment.

And that was all he needed.

"Joe." Frank spoke up. "We gotta go."

Dredd nodded, returning to his family and Castle, handing them his time displacement belt… and pushed them through the doorway.

"What?" Becca asked in alarm, just as Joseph slammed the door shut. "What are you doing?"

"I made you a promise. I'm keeping Ryan safe." Dredd told her, shooting the door handle off with his lawgiver. "Go. I can't hold him off for too long."

"Joe, no!" Becca yelled, trying to desperately open the cell from her end, but the door was locked tight. "Don't do this!"

"Uncle Joe… Dad." Ryan pleaded. "This was my fuckup. Please don't punish yourself for what I did."

Joe sighed, as he took off his helmet to reveal his black hair and brown eyes.

"Becks, protect our son." Dredd told her. "I was lucky you found me when I first showed up in New York, but now you need to go."

Next, he turned towards Frank, who looked at him in sorrow, but also respect.

"Castle, you were more of a brother to me than Rico or Kraken. You keep them safe, alright?"

"Right." Frank nodded, as Joe finally turned to Ryan.

"Ryan, protect your mother. She's not like us." Joe told him, reciting what he said years ago. "She wasn't trained to be a Judge. She doesn't have Compound V. You have to protect her."

"I will Joe- Dad." Butcher murmured. Dredd nodded, before slipping in the accent he used when he was Billy Butcher. For old times sake.

"And remember what I told you… don't be a cunt."

Ryan would have smiled, if he didn't remember what Joe was doing.

"Now go." Dredd ordered, turning around to see Brightburn stand back up and glare at him.

"You thought that could kill me?" Brandon sneered.

"No." the Judge admitted. "I just needed to get them away."

Breyer looked over Dredd's shoulder, just in time to see a blue flash of light in the hallway. When the light vanished, Ryan, Becca, and Frank were no longer there.

Brightburn growled, throwing a punch, but Joe quickly ducked, and Brandon's fist sank through the walls. Dredd continued shooting his Lawgiver, despite knowing he couldn't hurt the boy, while Breyer slowly turned around, backhanding Joe. The Judge flew back and hit a wall, where he felt something hot and sticky wet the back of his head. Most likely he was bleeding, but he couldn't dwell on that, as Brightburn zoomed over and picked him up by the throat.

"You're wasting your time." Brandon told him, choking Joseph. "You can't kill me."

Dredd spat out a wad of blood, which landed on Breyer's face.

"You're right. I'm just buying them more time."

Brandon's eyes dilated in irritation, as he tightened his grip. All at once, all the oxygen left Joe's lungs, and he died within seconds. Brightburn barely glanced at Dredd's body, carelessly tossing it aside, and flew straight through the doorway, looking in the halls to see what he already knew: that Ryan was no longer there.

The Viltonian growled with rage, before taking off and flying straight through the ceiling, exiting the Flatiron Building and soared through the skies. It wouldn't be long until Purge Night happened, and when it did…

It would finally be time to take the world.

---

A/N: So I suppose there's a few things to unpack here.

Remember when I said that Gibb was a recycled character? That includes being brought back with the Necronomicon. However, instead of my original Gibb/Jason trilogy, during the events of Constantine Vs Freddy, Gibb wound up dead, and Jason and Constantine worked together to bring her back. This isn't the last we've seen of her either.

Also, Brightburn being a "Viltonian" is literally something I pulled out of my ass. A lot of my scenes are pulled from either Invincible or Miss Power from Wordgirl, so I decided to combine Viltrumite with Kryptonian to explain what Brightburn is.

And all the bits with Wanda are pulled straight from my Punisher/Scarlet Witch fics, except for the Hell stuff. That was just to run parallel with Constantine and friends.

Next chapter won't be as long, I promise. But I am thinking on there being about two more chapters, plus the epilogue.

Until next time guys!