The Inquisitor

Chapter 37

Interrogation

A/N: I want to make a big thank you to Danenagai who was a big help with parts of this chapter I was having some trouble with. Danenagai if you're reading this, then you are awesome my friend!

Also to the reviewer who stated that M'gann was undergoing Imperial Corruption, I honestly thought that was a clever way of putting it but I should warn you that there is an Inquisitorial agent waiting outside to 'speak with you' due to your choice of verbiage.

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-Mt. Justice, Conference Room 1-

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The instant that the Team were back at the Cave, they were all taken to the conference room for a debriefing. Well, everyone except for Catwoman at least, who had disappeared shortly after the hostages were rescued, but that wasn't unexpected. It was just how she was when it came to helping out. Appear for a few minutes to help out –when she wasn't robbing the wealthy completely blind and then later disappear just as quickly.

The debriefing lasted a little less than an hour but the instant that it was over, Batman took both the Inquisitor and Miss Martian to separate rooms. The rest of the team were left to wait for them in the recreational area of the small base for when their friends were done speaking with their team leader and teammate.

The Inquisitor was already sitting down on one of the chairs while Batman, Martian Manhunter, and Black Canary stood just a few feet away. Neither side had uttered so much as a word but Dante already had his hand on the psy-maul in case the psyker tried anything…regrettable. Eventually though Dante grew tired of the silence and spoke "If you are going say anything, I recommend that you speak now."

Black Canary was the first one to speak "We just want to know what happened to you exactly when you were under Scarecrow's fear toxin."

Oh, of course, it was another transparent attempt at getting information from him. Why hadn't he expected anything less? "I already gave a description of what happened during the debriefing earlier," the Inquisitor stated.

The three of them looked at one another for a moment or two before Batman asked "We were hoping for more details regarding what you saw while under Scarecrow's toxin. You broke a man's arm before throwing him out a thirty-five story window, even under fear toxin, that's more than a little extreme."

"No more extreme than how most react to that substance." The Inquisitor remarked dryly before he continued.

"As I stated back in the debriefing, I was under the impression that I was being attacked by hostile forces, and so I defended myself. Nothing more and nothing less. If I am to be punished because of how I acted while under the influence of that drug, then I suggest you consult the laws regarding the matter; someone who has been forcibly administered with fear toxin cannot be held legally responsible for their actions while under its influence." His tone was curt and to the point, as well as heavily implying to them that they should drop the subject matter entirely.

They seemed to get the point and didn't pursue the matter, despite looking like they truly wanted to. Instead they seemed to move on "There is also the comments you made towards Quincy Sharp. They're already making the rounds on news and social media."

Dante cocked and eyebrow and asked "And why would this be a problem?" his tone showing how ridiculous he thought the situation was. Batman narrowed his eyes into his Bat Glare "It's a problem because now more and more people are advocating for using more lethal means of keeping criminals in check."

There was a long pause before the Inquisitor spoke again his tone deadpan "I still fail to see the issue in the matter."

Batman's glower only deepened "It's an issue because we are not here to advocate for killing people."

At that Dante's brow threatened to fly off his head it was cocked so high. "I was not 'advocating' for 'killing people', I was stating that the Joker and those like him should either be executed given the clear threat they pose to law abiding civilians, and if the local judicial forces lacked the stomach for that then at the very least they should put them in a facility that they can't break out of."

"Either way, we don't do that. It's not in our purview to give out any sort of opinion on political policy on the Justice System. We capture criminals and then hand them over to the police, and only that."

'Yet another demonstration of both the incompetence of both the Justice League and the local Governments. If this had been the Imperium those in charge would have been executed for criminal incompetence long ago.' The Inquisitor thought but he also felt the need to ask them one simple thing "And if the government were to have individuals like the Joker and his ilk executed? Would you object then?"

That had the fools keeping silent for longer than should have been necessary, showing just how much of an effect the Inquisitor's words were having on the three heroes as well as giving all the information he needed. Batman knew deep down that there was no easy answer for that. He preferred to work with the law. Despite the many problems that were inherent in the legal system it was still better than any of the alternatives out there.

While Black Canary was of similar opinion to the Caped Crusader, she was far more emotional on the matter "Just executing criminals won't make things better."

The Inquisitor turned his attention straight to Black Canary and despite his helm obstructing his facial features, everyone in the room got the impression that he was looking at her as though she was less than intelligent.

"You truly believe that don't you." His tone told everyone that it wasn't a question and it told her exactly what he thought regarding her feelings on the matter. Black Canary felt her frustrations build up again. Why couldn't he understand that while the League's methods may not have been perfect it was the best way they had?

It was then that Martian Manhunter spoke, his tone displaying his anger "Inquisitor I want you to tell me exactly what has been happening with my niece, she's changed ever since she met you. And not necessarily for the better."

Despite wearing a helmet, everyone could tell that that he was cocking a brow at the alien at the sudden change in subject "I don't know what precisely has happened with your niece, xeno. Perhaps you should ask her yourself."

While he was positive that M'gann's uncle would have asked her anyway Dante was -strangely enough- more than certain that Miss Martian wouldn't give away any of his secrets, even to family. It was an odd thing for him to be so certain of a xeno acting countercurrent to how he would have expected them and yet here he was. He knew that she'd do it not only to keep the other members of the League and Team safe –not only from him but from Chaos- but also because she clearly didn't want to break her promise regardless. If someone had told him something like this would have happened months ago, he would have considered them completely and utterly insane.

The Inquisitor's thoughts were broken when Martian Manhunter's expression took on one of pure fury. So much so that when he spoke Dante was surprised that he didn't snarl.

"Don't lie to me Inquisitor! My niece never showed any propensity for such violence before coming here and meeting you! If you don't tell me what you have done then I will-"

Martian Manhunter's rant was cut off by the one it was directed at. Dante stood from his chair and stared down the Martian across from him, behind his helm, his gaze was both firm and unyielding.

"I have done nothing but provide the needed training, discipline, and leadership that was sorely lacking in this team before I took command. If you believe I have overstepped my bounds in any way then I suggest you consult the security footage, training logs, and reports that are ready and available. I will warn you now however, if you continue to threaten me, or forcibly enter my mind like when we first met, there will be severe consequences."

The three heroes then noticed how the Inquisitor was not only grasping the hilt of a sheathed combat knife with one of his hands but the other was already on his psy-maul. To make matters worse Dante already had his thumb hovering dangerously over the activation stud, as if daring the Martian further to try something he would doubtlessly come to regret.

"Enough both of you!" Batman shouted, stopping the quickly escalating the situation "J'onn, I've looked over every last piece of security footage, and report that has been made since the Inquisitor took command over the team. There's nothing to suggest that he had anything to do with what has been happening with your niece. Inquisitor, we will not tolerate those kinds of threats! We're going to have you speaking with another counselor."

Oh great, more pathetic attempts at gleaning information from him. They remained as predictable as ever. It wasn't like they were going to get anything and yet they still tried the same thing over and over with him.

"Very well. Are we done here or am I going to be continued to be subjected to this farce?"

Batman narrowed his eyes for a few moments before he nodded "Yes, we're done."

With that the Inquisitor left the room and made a beeline straight for the Zeta-Tubes, not wanted to spend another moment in the damn Cave.

The moment he was gone though Batman and Black Canary turned to face their friend, on the latter's face was an expression of pure concern "J'onn, what exactly just happened?"

It took a few seconds but Martian Manhunter responded "I, I'm not sure. I know it sounds irrational but, seeing him there, lying to me while my niece is changing right before my eyes…it infuriates me!"

"J'onn, there's no evidence, at all that the Inquisitor had anything to do with what's been happening with M'gann."

J'onn wanted to believe that, he did but to him, everything pointed towards the Inquisitor doing something to her, to make her change into something she wasn't.

"Look, J'onn let's just talk to M'gann. Maybe she can clear things up a bit."

The Martian forced down the anger he had been feeling and nodded.

As they headed out Batman turned and started to make his way towards the Zeta Tubes, and Black Canary asked "Going back to Gotham?" Batman didn't turn or nod, instead he simply said "There are a few things that need to be dealt with."

And that was all that he declared on the matter.

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M'gann sat down on one of the chairs that were available and looked at the three people that were trying to her. Superman, Black Canary and her uncle. She didn't need to be a telepath to know just how put on edge they all were. None of that was a good sign. Especially when Black Canary started to speak up "M'gann I assume you know why you're here."

She did her best to remain calm and said "I can guess, it was about how I went off on my own to help the Inquisitor and what I did to Scarecrow."

"Partially yes. Look what happened with Scarecrow-" Black Canary started but was cut off.

"What about him?" she asked, her eyes narrowed in anger as she remembered what the monster had been planning on doing. The three heroes looked at one another before Superman spoke up "M'gann, he's in a coma, one that he's likely never going to come out of. He's practically braindead at this point."

It took every last ounce of willpower for Miss Martian not to shout "Good!" Instead she simply gave a more thorough explanation "He was already planning on making an escape again, and he wanted to make his way over to Seattle so that he could dose up the Inquisitor with more fear toxin; make him relive his worst nightmares as well as try out a new batch on people in the city to see if he could recreate the same result! You know as well as I do that he doesn't care about the people he hurts, he was getting sick a thrill out of all of it! He wasn't going to stop, so I did the only thing I could do to make sure he wouldn't escape without actually killing him."

Superman sighed "That's what we're talking about. We're all worried about you M'gann. Ever since what happened at Bialya you've been acting much more differently than normal, and it's worrying everyone."

"He's not wrong, M'gann. We're all concerned about you." Her uncle paused before asking "What did he do?" At that M'gann blinked not understanding the question at first so her uncle clarified "Did the Inquisitor threaten or do anything to you?"

The question was so unexpected that Miss Martian's eyebrows shot up, "No!" she stated, "The only time he was ever violent with me was when accidentally forced my way into his head when we first met."

Black Canary shook her head "And that kind of thing is unacceptable when it's someone who doesn't how things work on Earth and especially when it's not an attack."

"Considering that almost every single psychic he's encountered both here and back home either tried to get into his head to kill him, force information out of him, or drive him completely insane, I'd say that his response was not only reasonable but also very much restrained given what he could have done."

"Then what else could possibly have caused this? M'gann you're a good person, you've never been violent before, especially not like this. Please, talk to us, tell us what happened." Her uncle seemed desperate when he asked.

M'gann knew that this was coming and prepared herself to share only what she had been given permission to. She wasn't about to betray another person's trust "When I looked into his mind, I saw a lot of his memories. They were a jumble at first and I only saw a few bits and pieces so I decided to use some meditative techniques from back home to try and make sense of what I saw. Unfortunately they didn't stop coming and almost every night since I've been dreaming about them."

At that J'onn's face took on a look of not only understanding, but also regret, and shock, while Black Canary and Superman seemed concerned by what they were hearing.

"M'gann do you have any idea how dangerous that can be? You are literally sifting through memories not your own, you weren't just watching them like a normal mind read. You were planting them in your own mind reliving them as though you were there! It can be extremely dangerous for your mental health. There's a reason why those meditations are used in conjunction with a Martian Mind Healer, if you had done it improperly your subconscious and eventually conscious mind could very well have started to think you were the original owner of those memories."

That surprised both Black Canary and Superman who now were both looking on in fear and concern. At first M'gann didn't say anything but eventually Black Canary spoke up "Is she at risk for any of that?" she asked, voice radiating worry.

"That depends, it's been quite some time since you were in the Inquisitor's head. Have you had any of these 'dreams' while you were awake, where you were just doing something and then suddenly found yourself somewhere else you recognize maybe with people you haven't met but somehow already know? Any strange feelings of your own body, not feeling like it was 'yours' or there was something wrong with it? Or at any point did you realize you could use some of the equipment or weapons he has without ever having used it before."

M'gann shook her head "No, only when I'm asleep. I'm also pretty sure this body is mine and definitely sure there isn't anything wrong with it. As for the equipment; the only equipment of his I think I could actually use would be his chainsword or psy-maul, but I'm pretty sure anyone could understand the concept just by watching him use either of them for a few minutes."

With that having been said, Martian Manhunter sagged in his chair, relief palpable as the near distress started to drain from him. "If that's the case, then you should be safe from the worst possible side-effects." Superman and Black Canary also seemed utterly relieved at the news as well.

"So I'm okay then?" she asked curiously. In response her uncle then gave her a look that only members of one's own family could pull off, it was the 'you're not off the hook yet kiddo' look that her mother, father or other older family members did. "I thought so," she grumbled.

"While you may be safe from the more extreme problems, those thoughts and memories will still influence you on some level."

"I'm not seeing a mind healer, they'd have to see the memories as well and I'm not going to violate the Inquisitor's trust on this. I promised that I wouldn't tell or show anyone his memories and a mind healer would have to sift through all the things I've seen."

Well they suspected as much, the Inquisitor likely requested that she keep things to herself. "M'gann we want to help both of you. If you'll just let us." Said Black Canary.

M'gann sighed "I'm not seeing a mind healer." She insisted "And as for the Inquisitor, I think he's made it abundantly clear that he doesn't want your help. In fact did any of you ever stop to think that maybe he has good reason to think the way he does?"

"You realize that his Imperium has committed genocide on aliens before right?! Completely slaughtered them for-" Superman's near rant was cut off by M'gann who was all but seething as she stood up from her seat at that point "And did any of you at any point even think to ask why? Or did you all just assume that he thought that way for its own sake?!" She shouted but she wasn't finished "Maybe the reason he hates nonhumans is because of the fact that where he's from his entire species was enslaved and slaughtered for five thousand years by various alien races?"

Everyone was practically stunned by this revelation but M'gann wasn't finished with her rant "Or how about how several of some of these alien races are perhaps some of the vilest things to have ever roamed any universe. One race in particular are nothing but brutes, whose very existence is rooted so deeply in war that the idea of peace is incomprehensible to them and even if you explained what it was they simply could never grasp the concept of it. They start wars not for territory, resources, ideology, religion or any other normal reason a war might be fought for. They start them simply its own sake and if there are no enemies around they will more than happily start killing each other for no other reason than because it gives them someone to fight and kill.

Or how about another species that are like locusts. They go from one planet to another, devouring all life on it, all the way down to the atmosphere. They do this so that they can break all organic matter into an organic slurry to make more of themselves and then they just move on to the next planet afterwards. All of our achievements, our culture, our history, our lives mean absolutely nothing to them aside from how much 'biomass' we can be broken down to. Nothing more and nothing less.

Then there's one that is the worst of them all. They raid whole worlds and take millions of people as slaves almost daily so they can torture them all to death over the course of weeks, maybe even days but some of them are able to keep their victims alive almost indefinitely no matter what torment they inflict on them. Each of their victims looking like they should have been dead for days if not weeks ago but somehow they're still breathing. They do this so they can feed off of the suffering they inflict in order to rejuvenate themselves. From what I've seen though, I have to wonder if their torment of lesser races is also just a twisted form of entertainment for them."

There was a completely stunned silence from the rest of the group for a moment before she continued "Do you know what they all have in common? It's that none of them feel pity or remorse for any of the atrocities they inflict on others, and how no matter what happens, no matter what you or anyone else does, they will never stop."

Horrified looks of realization came over the three other heroes' faces as they discovered just how dearly they had misjudged the entire situation, not only with Miss Martian but everything regarding the many assumptions they made about the Inquisitor.

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-Gotham, Gotham General Hospital, Operating Theatre Observation Suite-

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After her defeat and apprehension Silver Swan was taken to what was taken to what quickly became the most heavily defended hospital ward in the entire country. There were several SWAT teams strategically placed in several areas of the building but the main group of them were literally right outside the door of one of the operating theatre. Each team was armed with everything short of a missile launcher.

Inside of the operating theatre was a small observation suite and at the current moment Wonder Woman was looking down at the surgical team operating on her surrogate little sister. They had examined her for quite some time before they started to remove some of the more dangerous implants. There were so many of them that it had been nearly two hours and they still weren't done. There was a part of her that didn't want to watch but at the same time she felt she had to do so, she couldn't be in the room physically of course but she'd do whatever she could to provide at least some form of support. Even if it was miniscule at best for the moment.

For several minutes she simply stood there until she heard Bruce's voice coming from behind her "How's she doing?" He asked.

Once again he had seemingly managed to appear as if from thin air in a direction she hadn't even been looking in. For years she had tried to figure out how exactly he did it only to come up with nothing. Eventually she simply just chalked it up as some strange superpower he had and resigned herself to allowing him to pop in and out whenever he pleased.

Wonder Woman sighed, and said "Considering that she was abducted, tortured, brainwashed, forced into being a terrorist, and is now undergoing surgery to remove some of her more dangerous cybernetics, and is probably going to be interred at some maximum security prison…?" She trailed off, not really knowing what to say and she paused for several moments, trying to keep the tears at bay. "…I don't know, I honestly don't know."

There was a pause before Batman spoke up again "I'll inform Commissioner Gordon about everything that happened. When a judge knows just what she went through, no court on the planet will be able to find that she was responsible in what happened."

"You and I know that people aren't going to just assume that she's 'all better' now. They'd want her secured so that they can make sure that she's…Oh gods, please don't let them send her there, they'll tear her apart and-"

Batman held up a hand and he looked her in the eyes "Vanessa won't be kept anywhere near individuals like the Joker I promise you. There's a medium security ward in Arkham and none of the patients there have any violent tendencies, I can promise the best doctors available for the initial psychiatric workup and when they're sure that she isn't a threat to herself or others she'll be transferred into a separate facility, one far away from Arkham but likely still in the Gotham area."

Wonder Woman let out a small humorless laugh "I see even after all this time you're still a very persuasive speaker. I don't like it, I really don't…but thank you, for everything. I know you normally don't let other heroes into Gotham but, I'd like to see Vanessa whenever I can."

Batman didn't smile, but his features softened more than just a little "As long as you abide by my rules, you can visit as often as you would like, but I would recommend coming in as a civilian rather than as Wonder Woman whenever you can."

Unlike Batman, Wonder Woman did smile a little bit "Thank you."

Batman didn't reply at first, seeing as how the door opened and a nurse stepped through. "Excuse me Wonder Woman. Ms. Kapatelis is here and wants to speak with you and the doctors."

"I'll be right there." Wonder Woman turned to give Batman a goodbye only to see that he had disappeared. She shook her head, once again wondering how he managed to do that.

It didn't take long before she managed to meet with Vanessa's mother, who was already talking with the other doctors and almost looked like she was on the verge of breaking down. Apparently the doctor was telling her about what had happened to her daughter and it was obvious that Julia wasn't taking it well.

Immediately Wonder Woman moved to give whatever support she could to her friend.

The doctor –whose ID tag read Harris- looked over at the two and appeared more than a little hesitant to continue. "We can stop if either of you need a moment to-"

Julia shook her head "No, I need answers. My daughter went missing weeks ago and now I find that she's part of some…Injustice Gang, taking hostages and demanding money! What happened to her?!" She came very close to actually shrieking that out.

Doctor Harris still seemed reluctant but eventually he caved "Alright, but I think it might be best if you took a seat, this is going to be…extensive."

And it was, it truly was as the doctor started to go over just how bad things were "Your daughter is still alive Ms. Kapatelis, but apparently whatever happened to her several alterations were made, and I'm not talking about the wings that were grafted to her back."

"H-how bad are things?" she asked. Harris bit his lip for a moment before he spoke again "Vanessa has been outfitted with numerous cybernetic implants."

"Can you remove them?!" Julia asked, horrified.

"If we wanted to kill her outright, yes we could remove them. Unfortunately, most of the implants are outright replacements for several vital organs, including her heart, lungs, liver. There are even non-vital organs like her eyes and vocal cords have been replaced. I'm sorry Ms. Kapatelis, but your daughter, she's going to be stuck with this."

With each word spoken Julia's face became more horrified and Wonder Woman started to regret not beating the answers out of Ballesteros the old fashioned way when she had the chance. She had been hoping to hand the monster over to Batman in the hopes that he could get some information out of him, but several government agents immediately took custody over the bastard before he could be taken in.

Things became even more uncomfortable even as the doctor continued onwards. The more the doctor spoke, the more Diana felt herself becoming ever more enraged at the monster that had put her surrogate sister through so much suffering.

At last they reached what was perhaps the worst part of it all "There have also been several electrical shocks to certain parts of her brain by way of two implants. Most of it was limited to two specific areas of the brain but given that these implants caused her to lose consciousness it's possible that her memory could very well be damaged."

"Damaged?" Julia's voice was almost hoarse and the doctor gave a reluctant nod "We can't be sure until she wakes up unfortunately but it is possible there may be some damage to her long-term memory."

At that point Julia Kapatelis simply started weeping for her daughter while Wonder Woman did everything she could to try and help her friend.

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- Seattle, Primary Base of the Inquisitor-

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The instant that Dante had finally escaped those fools back at Mt. Justice he performed his usual check for any bugs or tracking devices before he started to make his way back to his base. All the while his thoughts were in a whirl as he not only about what had happened with Miss Martian but also with the events that transpired in Gotham. He could scarcely believe it but he had met a xeno that was so unlike a xeno and more like a human that it frankly baffled the Inquisitor completely.

He had no idea what to make of this whatsoever. If someone had told him about this before his arrival to this twisted amalgamation of Holy Terra he would have killed them on the spot for heresy. 'And what does that make me?' He wondered as his eyes widened behind his helm, 'To trust a xeno so.'

He would need to pray at the altar he had made to the Emperor for forgiveness and perhaps for a sign for what he must do.

The Inquisitor then forced such thoughts out of his head for the time being and more on what was happening with the Injustice Gang. Despite the damage the gang inflicted and the difficulty involved, the civilian casualties were relatively low: a couple dozen in a subway line that was hit with Joker Venom; one psychiatrist from Arkham along with the Senator and some of his top supporters. Given that the Joker was at the helm, the body count should have been much higher than that. Especially with all the preparation that went into it.

Something was off about the entire thing. A lot of time, money and resources went into creating the drugs and equipment for that operation. A lot of preparation for such a poorly planned, organized and executed plot. With the way that things had been set up the Injustice Gang had no real means of escape from that building even if the US government had complied with their demands.

True they could have demolished the same walls that the Team had used to gain entry to the building. If that was the case though, they would have either had some Kobra-Venom enhanced thugs beating down the walls or simply used explosives to blow a hole in it. Not to mention that they would have long since done that and used it as an escape route given how they had nearly an hour to do so.

No the whole thing seemed not only like an attack doomed for failure but also like a farce. In fact, the more he thought about it the more that it made sense that this was something that the Joker was put up to. The Joker had been hired out by other groups on occasion before but he only really did it if he could specifically antagonize Batman in some way. In fact Dante wouldn't have been surprised that was the reason that the Joker had decided to do it.

The other members of the Injustice Gang could easily be explained away as well. Harley would have gone along with whatever the Joker wanted; Circe likely wanted to see Wonder Woman dead or in pain at the hands of her now turned surrogate sister; Parasite and Metallo were likely promised monetary rewards of some kind; Scarecrow, he likely thought it would be interesting to test out his fear toxin on some new test subjects. As for Onomatopoeia, well, who knew why that maniac wanted to join in.

Instead given what they had been uncovering recently on some of their missions it was far more likely that they were starting to stumble on to something that a certain group didn't want them to. Yes it was more likely that this group whatever it was, was using the Injustice Gang to throw them off the scent, and if a certain well connected, well respected senator were to die as well, all the better.

Dante then remembered that one of the associates of the gang was in government custody along with a certain government agent that he had dealings with.

The Inquisitor quickly withdrew the communications device that Waller had given him and activated it. There was a delay for a few seconds before he saw Waller's face.

"Inquisitor, I'd say that this is a surprise but I'd prefer not to lie that blatantly."

There was a small smile that curled upwards behind the Inquisitor's grim helm. Talking to her reminded him a lot of some Inquisitorial agents he had met. It was quite refreshing if he was to be completely honest. "As would I Waller, but I have question. You took a prisoner that was an associate of the Injustice Gang correct? The one that Wonder Woman captured?"

At that Waller cocked an eyebrow "And why would you think that we were the ones who took him into custody?" she asked. The Inquisitor only just barely managed to avoid rolling his eyes at the response. "Given your clear ranking in the covert arms of the US government Ms. Waller if you don't have Ballesteros in custody as we speak, then you must know who does. You are not a fool and neither am I."

Waller smiled at the Inquisitor calling her out "All right, suppose we do have him in custody. What do you want with him?"

"I want to interrogate him personally or if that is not possible, at the very least assist in your interrogation of him."

That was something that Waller had not been expecting. Likely due to her expectation that the Inquisitor would simply request information from her when they managed to get something out of him. "If I may ask why you want to interrogate him?"

The Inquisitor went over his suspicions regarding the events as well as what the League had uncovered the past couple of months. It took him more than a few minutes but by the time he was done, Waller looked more than a bit thoughtful. It was likely that she was coming to similar conclusions he was.

"That makes more than just a little bit of sense. Still though, interrogating people isn't as simple as just beating them up until they tell you what you want them to."

"Now you underestimate me Ms. Waller. I have prior experience in interrogating many unsavory individuals for information ranging over the course of several years. I also have means that you are unaware of that will assist in making sure that the subject is completely truthful. Besides if our…agreement is to bear fruit, then we must have at least some trust in one another. What better way to gain trust than to work together for a common goal."

There was a pause for a moment before Waller spoke "You really are quite the persuasive speaker. Very well, can you get to New Jersey via zeta-tube without the League knowing?"

"No, but if they ask I will inform them that I was simply tracking a fugitive from Seattle. Not a completely un-true statement and they are not likely to look too deeply into the matter as I have done it before. I will inform you of when I arrive and where I am."

At that the call quickly came to an end and Dante began to gather some specialized equipment he had sequestered away that he would need for this little excursion.

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-New Jersey, Black Site, Sometime Later-

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Once Dante exited the New Jersey Zeta-Tube, he almost immediately moved as quickly as he could away from it before he contacted Waller again. When he relayed his positional coordinates Waller stated that she would have transport arranged to take him to the site in less than thirty minutes. His contact was right as the unmarked black van pulled up to his location extremely quickly afterwards.

From there it was a relatively uneventful drive, even if there weren't any windows inside the van save for the ones in the drivers section of the vehicle which was cut off from the back area. The instant that the van came to a complete stop Dante found himself in a small sealed off part of a small, underground parking garage. A decent way to keep things hidden he supposed. It was much like how the Inquisition did things, and though this was far more amateur by comparison, it wasn't bad.

The Inquisitor was escorted out of the vehicle by two men who were watching his every step. The instant that he was outside though he was greeted by a very familiar individual. Amanda Waller herself.

The dark skinned woman walked up to the Inquisitor and held out a hand "Amanda Waller, it's a pleasure to finally meet the Inquisitor in the flesh, so to speak."

Dante nodded and accepted the hand "Likewise."

The two finished shaking hands a few moments later and Waller began to start making her way towards what appeared to be an elevator with the Inquisitor following close behind "What do you know about the prisoner?" he asked.

Waller gave a small smile "Straight to business then, I like it." She remarked before continuing "The prisoner's name is Sebastian Ballesteros, a businessman from Argentina who got his start as a mercenary working for warlords in Africa and the Middle East before deciding that he'd probably make more money and live a little bit longer if he worked in a different manner. He owns a small weapons manufacturing firm that deals in standard small arms but has also been working in the cybernetics field recently."

The Inquisitor got the implication almost immediately but still thought for a moment before responding "This can't be a simple product demonstration as there would be no need for him to have even been in the area at all."

"That's what we were thinking, Ballesteros isn't an idiot. He apparently didn't expect us to pick him up and was expecting to get shoved into an easily escapable prison like Blackgate, or his friends would have busted him out."

"What interrogation methods have you used on him thus far?"

"Just the initial works, talking, trying to get him to come clean now before we escalate our methods." Much to Waller's pleased expectations the Inquisitor didn't balk at that, instead he simply nodded "I see. And has he said anything?"

Waller shook her head "Not so much as a word, he barely even changes facial expressions but we all get the feeling he's just laughing at us in his own head."

The elevator door opened and the group stepped through the doorway and continued to walking down a very blank corridor "I see," the Inquisitor repeated "Does he have any family, loved ones or friends?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"No, we would have already tried using them as leverage if he did." Waller stated while Dante just shrugged, "Figured as much, from what you've described, it would be unlikely at best that he would have anyone close to him."

"Then why ask?"

"Just because something is unlikely, it never hurts to be sure. I was taught that all possible avenues must be searched, even if it seems fruitless."

Waller nodded with a small smile "Wise words."

The pair eventually came up to the area where Ballesteros was being held. There was a large one way window that showed the entire cramped and confined room. Inside was a small, rectangular metal table with two chairs on opposite sides of the table. Ballesteros was restrained in such a way that it would be extremely difficult if not outright impossible for a non-super powered individual to escape.

"I assume he's been checked for any, suicide devices, including poison capsules in fake teeth."

Waller smirked "Now it's you who is underestimating me it seems. We've checked him for everything."

Dante felt the urge to smile as well when he remembered that he wasn't dealing with the complete incompetence of the Justice League at the moment. "I would like to begin my work on the subject immediately. I only request neither you nor anyone else here interrupt my work, no matter what you may see or hear, as it will only undermine whatever progress I make."

At that Waller gave the Inquisitor a quirked eyebrow "We still need him to be kept alive."

The Inquisitor understood her concerns, as he had heard of some Inquisitors that easily went off the handle and put the target through so much pain that they gave out before any information could be given. During his interrogations, Inquisitor Monroe had been explicit in how more forceful methods needed to be applied with surgical precision and at the right point in time. Simply applying pain would make the subject give up any information they might have had, and they may have even believed it to be true.

It was why that Dante tried to follow the Action Processes of Interrogation whenever possible, so as to limit any lasting damage to the subject. So far it would seem as though the interrogation methods being used were a combination of Actions' one and two, which both consisted of simply talking with the subject, though the latter did involve the interrogator making threats.

It would seem as though Action three would need to be used, which consisted of relatively light –by Inquisitorial standards- torture followed by questioning. It would seem as though he would need to begin with that.

"He will live, this I promise. Though I would like to begin with the subject, immediately."

.

.

All in all Sebastian Ballesteros hadn't precisely been expecting this when was picked up by Wonder Woman. Given everything he had been expected to be taken by Batman and interrogated by him. The methods that Batman employed may have given fear to common street thugs but Ballesteros was a different breed altogether. The things he had witnessed, endured and perpetrated were well and above anything the Caped Crusader could possibly throw at him.

Instead though he had been taken by a group of government agents in a van marked as the FBI but Ballesteros wasn't stupid. These weren't feds, as the second that he was inside the vehicle he was restrained even further by men in unmarked tactical gear and had a black bag placed over his head. The first bit might have been something the feds would do but the lack of any insignia on any of the guards and the bag going over his head only cinched that this was some kind of covert ops group.

For a while the interrogator across from him simply tried to convince him to answer his questions. They had tried to catch him off-guard by revealing that they knew who he was –a classic interrogation tactic if there ever was one- but Ballesteros had expected such things and had said nothing to him. It was clear that the interrogator was beginning to lose patience with him, and would likely escalate the methods being used. Ballesteros wasn't worried though. He had been interrogated before, and by much more vicious and sadistic men, these US government pawns were nothing compared to them.

Sure he was handcuffed to the chair he was on, and would be unable to fight back against anything but he had nothing to truly worry about. His benefactors would get him out. All he needed to do was wait.

"Ballesteros this is your last chance. When I walk out that door you'll be at the mercy of whoever comes in here next, you realize this right?"

'Of course, the good-cop, bad-cop routine. Why can't they be just a little more original and not rely on such clichés?' Ballesteros wondered as he started to guess what fool would come walking through that door.

The man questioning him sighed before he got up off of the seat in front of him and started to walk towards the exit. As he did he gave some parting words "Don't say I didn't warn you." The door opened and the man walked out.

For several long minutes all was completely silent. So much so that one could hear a pin drop. Eventually Ballesteros was wondered if this new interrogator was even coming.

Then without warning the door slammed open and a young man wearing combat armor a greatcoat and a skull themed helmet, Ballesteros had his answer.

He had heard of the Inquisitor, many had ever since he made his debut, especially his benefactors. He had heard rumors that they were trying to sniff out things about him but he wasn't sure. The Inquisitor was different from other heroes, much more ruthless to be sure but still just one of those goody-two-shoes types. He would likely use the same interrogation methods as Batman. In other words, Ballesteros had nothing to fear from him.

The Inquisitor said absolutely nothing to him and instead placed a small bag on the opposite chair and began to remove some of the contents. They weren't precisely what he had been expecting. Instead of trying to show him photos or something like that to see if he could get some kind reaction or something, he started to place medical instruments onto the table, each one more sinister looking than the last.

The final piece he retrieved from the bag was a strange looking device that looked like some kind of hand held computer that had several metal cables emerging from it. What it was, Ballesteros didn't have a single clue, but he wasn't too worried. The League didn't allow torture of any kind, so he was safe. All he had to do was wait and eventually he'd be in front of a court judge and then put in one of the many easily escapable prisons, where the Light would break him out.

It was strange though that at no point did the Inquisitor start speaking, instead he simply and dispassionately readied his tools. Once that was done he took a small packet of what looked like an alcohol swab and opened it before moving behind him. Ballesteros didn't even have a chance to utter a single word before he felt the Inquisitor's gauntleted hand on the back of his head and a cold wet feeling on the back of his neck. Reflexively Ballesteros tried to jerk away but the boy's grip was stronger than it looked and soon the feeling started to dry.

For the next few seconds there was nothing even as the Inquisitor retrieved another instrument from the myriad of medical pieces he had placed on the table, this one a scalpel. Ballesteros knew almost instantly what the Inquisitor was about to do and was about to start struggling again but the Inquisitor held him in place even as he dragged the surgical blade down one side of his neck, the blade leaving a relatively short if somewhat deep and bloody incision in its wake. Ballesteros twitched slightly and let out a grunt of pain "What the hell are you doing?!" He demanded.

The Inquisitor ignored the man and did the same to the other side of the back of his neck. He then proceeded to widen both wounds as much as possible but it wasn't deep enough to cause any permanent damage, nor was it anywhere near an artery, so as painful as it was, it wasn't life threatening. The Inquisitor then made two more horizontal incisions, thereby connecting the two wounds he had already made.

He continued to hold Ballesteros' head down as he reached for the strange mechanical device that he had brought with him. "What is that?!" Ballesteros demanded.

Once again the Inquisitor ignored him and placed the device on the back of his neck. The edges of the machine fit snugly into the incisions and began to dig into the skin further causing Ballesteros further pain and discomfort. But that was nothing to what came next.

Numerous cables came out of the sides of the device and attached themselves to various parts of his body. They weren't idle though as they began to burrow their way into him. Ballesteros screamed in pain while the Inquisitor simply remained impassive. The man tried to move, to escape but it was pointless given how he was handcuffed to the chair.

The cables continued to dig into his body but they were somewhat visible as their sized made them bulge upwards against the man's even as they continued to seemingly squirm arounds, like serpents attempting to get comfortable. Eventually they stopped and Ballesteros felt a throbbing pain in almost every part of his body.

That didn't last long as all of the sudden it felt like his entire body was ice cold, as though someone had thrown him into the Arctic Ocean and then he couldn't breathe properly, it was like his lungs were refusing to inhale or exhale. Then just as quickly as that had happened, it stopped and then instead of being frozen solid, he was on fire. His skin felt like it was blackening and blistering and scorching right off, it felt like every last part of him was going to be seared right form his bones. Then it was like he was being electrocuted with voltage that was tearing apart his nerves from within.

The utter agony altered for several seconds between burning and freezing and during the entire thing, the Inquisitor remained completely silent throughout it. After several minutes of being subjected to this, it suddenly stopped, as though switch had been flipped. For several seconds Ballesteros just took in deep breaths, desperately trying to replenish the oxygen in his lungs that he had screamed out just a few minutes earlier.

Finally Ballesteros' tormentor spoke "From here onwards you will speak only when spoken to and you will answer all of my questions promptly and honestly. Should you fail to do so, there will be consequences. Am I understood?"

Ballesteros couldn't believe what he was hearing "You're one of those gutless heroes! You can't this to-"

The businessman was cut off by the sensation of his arm having its skin being slowly peeled away with a knife. He took a glance and saw that the Inquisitor was running the dull portion of the scalpel against his skin. There shouldn't have been any pain! Why was it hurting so damn much?! However those thoughts soon gave way to raw, unadulterated pain.

Ballesteros started screaming again, and this time it was even louder than before.

The Inquisitor slowly ran the flat of the blade against the length of Ballesteros' arm with an air of dispassion. He then ran it down the length of his other arm for good measure. Ballesteros never stopped screaming the entire time.

"Am I understood?" The Inquisitor repeated ready to bring the blade up against his face this time. Ballesteros' eyes widened in near complete panic "Yes!" He cried "Yes I understand completely."

"Now then, state your name and occupation."

Ballesteros did just that and though the Inquisitor was behind him, he could almost tell that the man was nodding.

"For whom and why did you kidnap and alter Vanessa Kapatelis?"

The man breathed in for a few seconds and answered "Circe, and she wanted to make Wonder Woman Suffer. I wanted to test out a new product for the market."

The screaming began again as he felt his body freezing solid again before being lit on fire. It continued for several seconds before it stopped "I warned you about lying."

How the hell did the Inquisitor know he was lying?! Hell he'd just left out a single detail! "It really was for Circe, but it was also being done for someone else."

"Who?"

"I don't know who they are." This much was at least partially true, he knew the name of the organization but not its exact list of members. He hoped that might fool the Inquisitor.

He was dead wrong.

This time the pain lasted much longer and all the Inquisitor did this time was place his hand up against Ballesteros' chest but it felt as though the bastard was ripping through Ballesteros' ribcage in an effort to tear out his heart. Once again this continued for a while longer but apparently the Inquisitor grew bored and stopped.

"Who are they?" he asked again but this time Ballesteros' defiance had given way to pure fear, not one of the Inquisitor but instead that of another group. "They'll kill me if I say anything!"

The pain increased again and he was put through another round of agony as this time he felt like everything was being electrocuted. Eventually though it came to a stop and Ballesteros finally lost control over his stomach and puked all over himself.

The Inquisitor ignored the disgusting display and continued. "You should be less worried about what they will do to you should they find out and more concerned with me and the suffering I can and will inflict unto you! Now, who are 'they'?"

This time Ballesteros didn't even hesitate to give up the truth "I don't know their real names or any of the higher ranking members, but they call themselves the Light."

"And what are the aims of this organization?"

"I don't know what their ultimate goal is, but I know that one of the big ones is that they want to get rid of all the Superheroes! I'm sure it's a big part of their primary mission but I don't know what it is. World domination maybe?"

"Were they using the Injustice Gang?"

"Yes!"

"For what purpose?"

"It was partially to kill Evan Gregory, they wanted him and his closest supporters and funders dead because he was a huge supporter of the Justice League."

"What other reasons did they have?"

There was a hesitation but then Ballesteros realized that whatever horrors the Light might inflict on him, this horror was unlike anything he had felt or witnessed before in his life. He'd deal with whatever hell they might do to him if only so he wouldn't have to be subjected to this ever again!

"They wanted to use them as scapegoats. The Light seemed to think that you and the rest of the League were getting too close to uncovering them when you kept stumbling onto their operations. The entire thing with the Injustice Gang was just their way of getting you heroes off their trail!"

The Inquisitor then spent the next four hours going over everything Ballesteros might know regarding the Light, its list of members, its hierarchy, its operations, any bases or research facilities, everything the Inquisitor could think of asking. By the end of it, the Inquisitor had seemingly gotten all the information he believed was required and he began to the removal process for the device he was using.

Ballesteros screamed once more.

.

.

When the Inquisitor walked out of the interrogation room, he saw Waller and several of her fellow operatives waiting for him. While Waller seemed more than a little stone-faced at what she had just witnessed, the other operatives looked more than a little unnerved while the medical teams went in to check on Ballesteros. Waller cleared her throat and said "That, wasn't what any of us were expecting."

Dante nodded "Understandable, it is unlikely that you have seen such methods and I assure you that what I extracted from Ballesteros was accurate, the device I used checks for deception and it is unerringly accurate."

Waller still looked less than fully convinced but at the very least seemed receptive to what she learned. "So this 'Light', the fact that they murdered a senator makes them an enemy of the United States of America. And given that they are clearly your enemy as well…"

The Inquisitor nodded easily understanding her meaning "It would seem that we have more reason to work together."

The government agent looked at Dante with a curious eye "It would seem so, the question is: where do we go from here."

Dante didn't even hesitate to answer "It is possible that this fool may still have information, even as unlikely as it sounds. I was quite thorough, he seems to only know rumors and hearsay about their operations for the most part. Still though, he may have had further dealings with others who may lead us further to the Light. I would suggest any future interrogations begin there."

Waller nodded "I agree, but a group like this, it would need a lot of funding, not just for research but also development and deployment. We'll have our work cut out for us, especially if they've managed to remain in hiding for this long."

"True, hunting a group such as this will prove to be challenging, to say the least. Our investigation should start with every crime network we can find. It's always the criminals who know the most, and how the corrupt so love whispering when they think no one can overhear them. We will also need to operate under the assumption that this 'Light' has managed to infiltrate both the government and the Justice League and conduct ourselves appropriately."

Once again Waller found herself agreeing with the young man "I was thinking the exact same thing."

"Then it seems we have an accord. We find more about the Light, drive into the open and, 'deal' with them." This time Dante held out his hand for Waller to shake, and sure enough. Waller accepted.

The pact was struck.

To be continued.

A/N: So in case anyone was wondering why the Light risked Ballesteros blabbing like that, it was quite simple. One, he was a pretty decent distance away and he along with those techs needed to be relatively close by get a decent signal to send orders to Silver Swan's head. Two, Ballesteros is a step above most criminals, he's a hardened individual who has seen, inflicted and withstood some pretty horrific things (think what happened in the Qurac-Bialya border region and you're on the right track), so he's very different from most of the foes that the League has had to question before.

Aside from Dante, Batman would be the likeliest candidate to get anything from him but that would take a very long time given how Batman's methods wouldn't work nearly as well in this kind of situation (Ballesteros doesn't have any reason to fear Batman after all), and if Ballesteros hadn't been picked up by Waller (who knew something was up with this guy) he likely would have been booked in Gotham and been broken out of Blackgate within a week.