Society's Ghosts

by secretagentman1

In a hero-saturated society...why are there those that are left behind? The ones that cannot be saved, and are thus forgotten by the world and the so-called heroes sworn to protect. And what happens when those of us that have lived...decide to fight back, and show how dirty your heroes, your world, your society really is.

8. Chapter 8

Society's Ghosts

AN: Been awhile, huh?

Anyway, this chapter is what I would call the first foray into messing with the Justice League cartoon's timeline. Where before it was just references to certain events this is the one where the L.O.V. get their hands dirty with one of the top dogs of villainy within DC and his little Injustice Gang, through their actions in the previous chapter. And because of this, Lex is going to find just why this group is giving the Justice League such a time of it and that crossing them was not the best idea.

Though we also know that Lex isn't the best learner.

Chapter 8: Next Gen

(Metropolis- Two Days After The Van Heist)

It was a surreal experience for the League of Villains to find themselves back in Metropolis. They hadn't set foot back in the large city since their Master had been taken into custody and their small group of two had grown exponentially in the aftermath. And that strange feeling only washed over them all as they stood on the edge of the closed-off area of the bustling city that was dedicated to its reconstruction after all the damage that All For One had done during his final stand against the Justice League.

The large trench that the masked villain's Air Cannon had created still had yet to be filled, cranes littered its expanse while lifting girders to recreate the infrastructure of the skyscrapers that were left with gaping holes in the attack. Workers were milling about as they communicated with one another, wanting nothing more than to heal the great wound that plagued their great city and leave it all behind them and the other citizens.

Unfortunately, the memory of those events would make a scar that no amount of cement, steel, asphalt, or denial would be able to hide.

Not by them and certainly not by their great hero.

"Awesome..." a small voice came from Gaz, staring with her eyes wide open for once as she looked on at the space, forgetting all about the people that were working themselves ragged to fix it all. Her mind, instead, was on the amount of destruction that had to be repaired by the man she had yet to meet...it was a completely different feeling than when she'd seen it on the television...this was incredible.

"You think that's impressive, wait 'til you get to meet the Boss in person," Enid crouched next to the young girl, looking wistfully at the construction site. She couldn't help but think back to the night it all happened...that worthless feeling that she refused to feel again now that she had her powers, but couldn't do a thing to help her leader.

"You...think he'll like me?" Gaz turned away, feeling slightly vulnerable.

"Trust me, he's gonna love you...I'm just looking forward to showing him how much we've changed..." she smirked.

"How many humans do you think died!?"

Enid sighed in exasperation as a small, child-sized Mahito skipped along the cement barriers lining the site. Uncaring for the small heart-to-heart the two were having, he had his mind on the carnage that All For One caused, all the while acting as childishly as he normally did with all the morbid topics he spoke of...it's just now his shape matched the mindset.

"It isn't about the body count, you freak," Enid stood back up and pulled the inhuman off the barrier, watching him cross his arms and pout when she placed him next to Gaz.

"I know that, but I'm just curious," he huffed, "This is the largest tragedy that I've been around for...it just makes me want to go bigger, I guess," Mahito chuckled evilly.

"No way you'd pull that off," Gaz zapped him a little, getting a yelp.

"Not yet, but I'll get there, just you watch!" Mahito stuck his tongue out at the girl who ignored him to stare back out over the construction site.

The reminiscing was halted when the ever-dry, buzzkill voice of Dabi called over to them and got their heads out of the clouds.

"Hey, let's get a move on already. We aren't here to look back on greatest hits..." the burned young man had his whole body covered in a large hoodie with sunglasses over his eyes to hide the patches of skin below them.

Enid simply wore a baseball cap over her purple hair and her own pair of sunglasses to obscure her face, deciding to keep her biker jacket on with a black shirt that had an image of a forest fire on it.

"Can you blame us..." she turned her head back to the area superimposing the desolate wasteland it had become that night and imagined her Boss standing protectively in front of her and Tomura, silently resolving to be the one to be his shield once they retrieved him.

"If it wasn't for what happened here, we wouldn't even be together."

Beneath his sunglasses the distant pyrokinetic rolled his eyes at the sentimentality, "I think the jury's still out for me whether that's a good thing..." he coldly shot her attempt at connecting down in his typical fashion.

"Tch, love you too, you dried-up piece of jerky," she smirked with a head shake.

"Dabi's right," Tomura spoke from beside them, he too staring down at the site where he'd lost his father figure. His eyes were calm, not giving away his thoughts to his companions.

"We can't focus on the past...only use it...and those feelings to drive us forward. All Master did here was become the catalyst for all of us...and it wasn't special," he turned to them, face obscured by the hood over his head, hands in his pockets to cradle the disembodied hand that would inevitably find its way onto his face.

"He became the beacon we needed to truly start the crusade...everything that comes after, that's what will be the important moments."

"Or they would be, if we weren't wasting time..." Dabi reminded them of their current predicament.

Standing together was the majority of the League of Villains. Shigaraki, Dabi, Enid, Bakugo, Mahito, and Gaz had gathered in Metropolis for the forced meeting with Lex Luthor due to the...'procuring' of a product he owned for their alien tech specialist who had stayed behind with their newest member to continue to remove Luthor's tracking on said product.

"True, best we don't keep Luthor waiting and give him an excuse to destroy our hard work..." Tomura shrugged nonchalantly but with no small amount of hidden disdain for the hairless businessman.

"I say we just blow the bastard to smithereens before he even gets the chance!" Bakugo growled with a scowl on his face, wearing a tight short-sleeved shirt littered with dynamite stick images and lit wicks and a pair of baggy jeans that sagged despite him wearing a belt.

"And that's why you aren't in charge," Dabi walked ahead.

"Yeah, hothead, why don't you try and act civil during this meeting...it'll only be a few minutes before you get to go back to your normal, angry, annoying..." Enid began to list everything wrong with Bakugo's personality on her fingers.

"I can be civil, fatass! I'm civil every day when I think twice about blowing you bastards to pieces!" Bakugo stomped and got into the girl's face with a twitching eye.

"Wow, you only said one thing out of that rant that was true...and you thought it was an insult," she chuckled, poking a finger into Bakugo's chest, and walked away.

"Just keep a lid on your temper, Bakugo...and maybe just keep quiet," Tomura bluntly told the sandy blond who could only stay rooted in place as the others continued on without him, the mocking laughs of Mahito and Gaz lingering to taunt him further.

The light-hearted atmosphere, or the equivalent that the villains shared, was soon lost as the group moved towards the meeting place that Lex Luthor had set for them. Frowns marred all of their faces the closer they drew to the dreaded meeting with the pompous mastermind, forced to dance in the palm of the man's hand for the moment...but they'd have their reckoning if they had anything to say about it.

Approaching a rundown building, no doubt one that Luthor owned himself for homefield advantage, the League steeled themselves before making their way into the dark room. Before them, in the center of the room, was Lex Luthor, elbows resting on his knees, hands steepled in front of his face while waiting for their arrival, and sat in a ragged armchair that still managed to display how he viewed himself given it aired on the fancier side.

Lex was garbed in a long-sleeved purple shirt with a black gun holster strapped along his chest and a laser pistol held within it, and green pants with matching gloves.

Standing behind the armchair was Ultra-Humanite, bearing the appearance of a large white gorilla with a large brain visible through the skin on its head, wearing a metallic, red pteruges with suspenders that had golden spikes protruding from them. The sophisticated primate stared blankly ahead as the anarchist group entered the room, closing the door behind them.

"Ah, welcome, League of Villains," Lex welcomed the group, his voice dripping with insincere politeness, and waved them all into the room. The bald multimillionaire then gestured to a couch that was situated in front of him, a table in between the two groups much like a business meeting, "Please, have a seat. I trust you had no trouble arriving, you do have a way with skirting beneath the radar."

Tomura stared unamused, removing the hand from his pocket, he placed it onto his face as he threw the hood of his coat off his head. Going into a serious mindset, boring his only showing red eye at the bald man's irritating, self-assured smile, and took a seat in the middle of the couch.

"It was no walk in the park, Luthor...after all, our faces are becoming more and more recognizable lately...and returning to a city that would be on the lookout for us...more than any other? It has us on edge..." Tomura raised a leg and planted his heel onto the table, having it slide forward slightly before placing his hands on his knee displaying a lack of respect for the man and this farce of a meeting.

"I think the least you could have done is roll out the red carpet for us...not even so much as a bottle of champagne..."

On his left Enid took a seat next to Tomura, her shapely leg crossing over to rest on the knee of the other, and bringing her arms to rest over the back of the couch with an indifferent gaze on the two villains in front of her. To his right, Gaz hopped onto the cushions and reached into her pocket to retrieve her Game Slave and proceeded to play it rather than humor the negotiations going on.

Dabi stood behind the small purple-haired girl, having removed the heavy coat to show that he had his villain costume on beneath, his uninterested, half-lidded eyes staring down the millionaire and his companion.

Bakugo seemed to be visibly restraining himself from an outburst if his narrowed eyes and pulsing vein on his temple were anything to go by seeing as the bald bastard that insulted him two days ago was directly in front of him and he couldn't blast him over the horizon, so he let himself be content with his glare.

Mahito stood behind Tomura, having transfigured himself back into his original shape with a few snaps and cracks coming from his body as he did so. The nonhuman had a straight face, rubbing the back of his neck as he found himself utterly bored in this situation. He had no want to listen to the bald man talk with Tomura about their entrapment...in his opinion, he was with Bakugo and thought they should just kill Lex to end it once and for all, and unlike the explosive blond...the inhuman monster was far more inclined to act on his desires if the man irked him too much.

Though there was something odd he felt when they entered the building...or perhaps it was the lack of something now that he thought about it.

"I apologize for the lack of fanfare, but I didn't think those of your...caliber would be comfortable in such a position," Lex took Tomura's words in stride offering his own snide remarks. It was then that the mastermind became much more serious, leaning forward in the armchair with his steepled fingers covering his mouth as he stared into the single red eye of Tomura.

"But, then again...I seem to remember telling you to bring your whole group to this meeting...yet one of you seems to be missing..." Lex said evenly, "Perhaps meeting here was the better choice, if you're already planning to renege on our agreement."

Tomura gave away nothing in his eye, matching Lex's even stare and staying in control of his emotions as he went to answer, "You have nothing to worry about from us, Luthor. Our remaining member is simply our information specialist...on her own, she's not much of a threat, and you've already proven you can outmaneuver her mentally," Tomura played to Lex's ego, reminding him of his short exchange with Peridot two days ago.

If the Gem found out he'd downplayed her intelligence when compared to a human...he'd never hear the end of it.

But it was a necessary move.

"So, we simply decided to leave her behind...as insurance in case you couldn't be trusted. Can you really blame us?" Tomura raised a hand up, palm facing upward as he offered his counterpoint, "I doubt you're showing your full hand to us right now, so why should we? If you try anything against us, then we'll have someone on the outside to help us out of whatever you have up your sleeve..."

Lex had to concede to that. Knowing that he held all the cards in this deal, the group would be wary of whatever the bald man had planned for them during this meeting.

They didn't trust each other, and he doubted that would be changing during this small stint.

Lex sent his gaze over to Humanite, seeing the gorilla give a subtle nod that let the man know that the premises hadn't been compromised by anyone. A myriad of cameras had been placed in preparation for this along with sensors that would detect body heat and movement for any living thing as small as a rat.

In other words, nothing alive had been detected by the sensors.

"Very well, I'll allow this mysterious member's absence...I don't have much need for someone unable to act in combat situations..." Lex finally said, closing his eyes and mulling it over for a second, "...but if I think anything is amiss..."

Lex showed a small remote. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was somehow related to the canister that contained the League's ill-gotten Metallo, most likely something that would lock it down, or a beacon that could make it easily findable for the Justice League.

"This will cause the Metallo to be out of your reach permanently...and your hideout will be ousted before you even get the chance to blink, leaving your comrade to deal with those that would investigate...and I doubt you'd want to abandon them," Lex smirked at the twitch he got in return from Tomura.

The villain scratched at his neck slightly.

"Tch, just who're you trying to impress?" Dabi spoke up, getting the attention of the man. "Acting all high and mighty, but you need us more than you're willing to admit..." Dabi scoffed.

"Excuse me?" Lex narrowed his eyes at the uncaring pyrokinetic who did not buckle at the bald man's gaze.

"Y'know, giving us two days to get here leaves a guy with a lot of time to get information, Luthor. I thought it was kind of weird one of the big dogs of the criminal world would suddenly take an interest in what some newcomers were doing, even if we stole an asset you forgot all about." Dabi smiled while watching the frown form on Lex's face. "Imagine my surprise when I learned that Lex Luthor of all people finally got caught by the guy he's always messing with."

"What are you talking about?" Gaz looked up at her burned teammate. She may have been way smarter than any child her age, but she still didn't care much for anything that wasn't within her sphere of interest, so watching the news was out.

If it didn't affect her or the League, then why should she waste time devoting brain power to it?

"*sigh* After our heist, I decided to look into what had happened while we were busy. Turns out, the reason why Superman and the Martian weren't on our tails that day was that they were busy catching him," Dabi explained, having caught up on the news while they waited to get into Metropolis.

"So, essentially, Mr. Moneybags here is probably just as broke as us, or at least close to it," Enid chuckled derisively, having done the same as Dabi along with Tomura, and knew the baldy's situation.

"And that isn't even the worst of it..." Dabi pressed on, "...apparently someone went and got himself a rare form of cancer just from carrying around that little rock of his."

"Kryptonite..." Gaz whispered in realization.

"The one and the same. How does it feel being so paranoid that someone with the power to swoop from the sky and drop you like a bag of bricks is out to get you, that you go and basically kill yourself just to feel safe?" Enid snarked.

"Enough!" Lex let his temper get the better of him, slamming a fist on his knee and ignoring the pang of pain that shot through his chest thanks to his condition, muttering a curse directed at the Kryptonian within his mind.

"I won't be mocked for this...I wouldn't have this...any of this if it wasn't for Superman!" Lex sneered.

"Oh, come on, Superman didn't force you to carry that rock around for years, Lex...you did. You got no one to blame but yourself on this one," Enid leaned forward, taking pleasure in riling the man up.

"That's enough banter. Whether Luthor has a condition of his own making or not doesn't matter...what does, is getting our debt settled so we can continue with what we want," Tomura stopped his two teammates from pressing the man that could set them back to square one.

"Let's get to the real reason you called us here, Luthor...just how do you plan on using us to your benefit?"

Tomura left no delusion that he didn't know of the man's plans to make use of the League of Villains' growing infamy to his advantage in whatever scheme that had been cooked up in his egghead.

The question was, just how was the man going to move his new chess pieces on the board?

"You should keep a tighter leash on your...teammates..." Lex leaned back in his chair and composed himself.

"It's just as your burned friend exposited...I am dying thanks to the Kryptonite poisoning in my bloodstream...and if that wasn't bad enough, those Justice Fools humiliated me, and tossed me in prison as a final insult. My wealth...my company...everything I've built, thrown out the window by those costumed nuisances, and they think they can have the last laugh...I think not," Lex's eyebrows knit in annoyance just thinking about his nemesis and his little club celebrating LexCorp's downfall and his impending death.

"Lex Luthor is not one to be humiliated, and I won't be leaving this world knowing that the Justice League still draws breath within it," Lex continued with his eyes narrowed, "With the assistance of my colleague, The Ultra-Humanite..." he gestured to the ape who inclined his head to the assortment of rogues.

"I'm sure this is quite the interesting experience for all of us," Humanite said with a small amount of mirth.

"Whoa...the monkey's talking..." Mahito pointed out in surprise.

"Ape..." Humanite corrected with a huff.

"There's a difference?"

Humanite was unamused, not that he knew that Mahito wasn't as well versed in things that most found obvious in the world.

"...I escaped from my cell and set about plotting my revenge. And that's when I found out that a group of rising stars had taken it upon themselves to...relieve me of my property," Lex smiled when he saw the umbrage rise in their eyes at his comment, "No need for the glares. You should take it as a compliment, stealing from me is no easy feat even with my company going into disarray," Lex chuckled, his backhanded compliment irking them further. "I was so impressed, that I extended this offer to you."

"How kind..." Tomura narrowed his eye and scratched at his neck some more.

"Please, I think this is something that your group can get behind. After all, we all have a disdain for those costumed menaces, don't we?" Lex appealed to the desire the League had to eliminate the heroes, believing that he could get them on board by waving that carrot in front of their noses.

The businessman then went to deliver the irresistible bait for the simpletons.

"With my plan, I can guarantee that the Justice League will be eliminated."

A moment of silence washed over them all. Luthor believed it was because the amateurs were in awe of his charisma and way with words, making them chomp at the bit for their desire to be realized through his ingenious machinations.

But a single cynical voice came from the other side of the room that swiftly took the wind from his sails.

"And?"

The voice had come from Gaz, still nose-deep in her video game, not even bothering to so much as look the annoyed criminal mastermind in the eye as she questioned him.

"What?" Lex scowled at the brat that thought she could question him.

Just who did she think she was?

This collection of cretins should consider themselves lucky to have even been picked to take part in his plan, even if it was against their will. It isn't like they'd be getting any closer without someone like him in the first place. Without a driving force, these aimless dregs would only be running on whatever fumes that 'All For One' had stoked and those would only last for so long.

"Oh...you were finished?" Gaz rose her eyebrow the slightest bit, tilting her Game Slave as she continued, "That just makes it sadder..."

Lex let his displeasure be known through the furrowing of his brow, annoyed that a brat thought she could question him and the rest of her group didn't lift a finger to silence her.

"And you suddenly have a problem with this? I was of the mind that your group was attempting to destroy the Justice League, correct? My plan will do just that...perhaps, being so young, you should keep your nose out of adult business..." Lex told the young Membrane.

"Just because I'm young doesn't mean I don't have common sense..." Gaz let her fingers dance across the buttons of her game, able to dress down the older man without losing stride. "Your pitch doesn't hold any weight...just what about this 'plan' of yours guarantees that the Justice League will be destroyed?"

The question made the man's frown deepen the slightest bit.

"Given your track record of failures against just one of them...the strongest one at that, you think you can take all of them down at once?" Gaz sighed at the supposed mastermind's simple plan...it was something that a child would be able to come up with...and she felt insulted, being one.

"I think we're going to need a little more than a 'guarantee' from someone that hasn't bested his nemesis, yet he's about to drag us into whatever harebrained scheme he has to get rid of the whole club." Gaz finally cast her squinted eyes at the angered bald man, winning the game in more ways than one.

"I'd watch your mouth if I was you!" Lex growled; he would not be slighted by a child.

"I think it's a reasonable position to have," Gaz stayed calm.

"And what would you all know of winning? You've been barely scraping by on your own! Playing around with costumed children, and then stealing from me, only to be nearly caught yourselves!" Lex swept his arm angrily through the air.

"You'd think a businessman would understand the subtlety of short-term goals...achieving small steps forward before reaching the end? Or maybe, when everything is done for you, you forget how to do things step-by-step..."

Lex stood from his chair at that point, the lack of respect for a man of his stature...by a child! A child that was part of a group of nobodies!

"One more word from you and we'll see how many steps backward you can take!" Lex had his thumb hovered over the button as a threat.

"Your ego so fragile you have to argue with a kid, chrome dome!?" Bakugo laughed, respecting the balls that Gaz had to speak up against the annoying bald bastard.

"If words are all it takes to get you to try and screw us...I'm wondering why we should even bother listening..." Dabi rolled his eyes.

"I dare him to try it!" Enid stood up with her eyes glowing.

Mahito simply stood, trying to figure out why he still had that weird feeling, rubbing his chin as he stared at Lex and Humanite, his eyes squinted as he did so.

A hand raised from Tomura silenced his companions, he calmly stared into the angered eyes of Lex, not allowing his emotions to get the better of him even as his group allowed their displeasure to be known. His red eye stayed locked on Luthor from the top of his eyelid, scratching at his neck with his free hand.

"Quiet. All of you," Tomura spoke barely above a whisper, but the gravity of his words let the more vocal dissenters stifle the words of protest that were about to come up.

"We haven't even heard what our part in this plan is yet...just calm down and listen...before you ruin all our plans before they get started."

Enid fell back into position with a harsh breath from her nostrils, annoyance shown on her face as she clicked her teeth. Gaz merely grumbled and continued her game, keeping her skepticism to herself...for now. Dabi simply shrugged his shoulders, keeping his hands in his pockets as he did so. Bakugo's frown deepened but he surprisingly managed to keep quiet, only narrowing his eyes further.

Mahito continued to stare intently at Lex and Humanite, thinking harder and harder with each passing moment.

"Now, Luthor...just what are you going have us do in your little scheme? If you're feeling so confident that it can finish off the Justice League, it must be intricate, right?"

Lex allowed himself to calm down, sitting back in his chair, and running a hand over his bald head, "I won't be going into specifics...seeing as we can't seem to truly agree...just know that my word will be law to you all...I can see that I was being far too lenient on you, I'm rectifying that," Lex held the device that controlled the League of Villains' future between his index finger and thumb.

"You will do what I say, when I say it, and if I so much as suspect you all turning on me, you can kiss your little anarchist movement goodbye," Lex let the threat hand in the air for them all before he continued, "From here, you will make yourselves scarce, I will be gathering more colleagues tonight for the plan and we'll meet again there...can you handle that?"

His piece said Luthor looked at the young leader of the villain group, watching Tomura continue to stare at him as if he was waiting for more. When nothing else came from Lex's mouth, Tomura raised his head slightly and began using both hands to scratch at his neck, the sound being much louder thanks to the room's silence.

"Oh...now you're done, huh?" Tomura narrowed his eye.

"You know...I've taken plenty of jobs. Some from nobodies...and some from lower-tier villains that needed a hand. And occasionally, your name would show up on the list..." Tomura stopped scratching at this point, "It seemed a little ridiculous, one of the biggest criminals skimming the bottom of the barrel, but if it saves the millionaire a few dollars, that's all that matters in the long run."

The villain crossed his arms, leaving his index fingers raised from his biceps, "Master always trusted me to get the work done for our survival, but the minute I thought to take one of yours...he denied it immediately," Shigaraki's eye narrowed.

"Because he hated you."

Lex's eyes narrowed right back.

"Master saw what you were, and was against ever meeting you...he thought you were pathetic. Your games...all to best Superman...and prove that you were superior to him. Only to lose at every turn...he thought it was sad...and now, meeting you in person, I can say that, as always, Master was right."

"Have you forgotten-!" Lex's rage was rising but he could not continue for Tomura stopped him.

"I gave you the courtesy of listening to your side of things...I was being polite...Master taught me that much...to show respect when negotiating and making deals with others. I think you can extend that same courtesy...because only a lesser man doesn't keep his word, Luthor."

That shut Lex up.

"I think it's insulting that you would compare our goals to each other when that is the furthest thing from the truth...our desire isn't driven by a childish need to be the best. You stood on a pedestal that few others could attain, but then a man came from the sky, something outside your little bubble that you couldn't control and he gained the love, adoration, and accolades that you 'so rightly deserved.'" Tomura shook his head, "No, no good...no one could be as amazing as Superman acted...he couldn't be perfect...only Lex Luthor could be...and that's when it started, am I right?"

Tomura gestured his hand toward Lex, expecting an answer.

"And you disagree?" Luthor humored the annoying buffoon, "He has those addled fools eating from the palms of his hands all while he looks down on them..." Lex wondered what Tomura was getting at, they thought the same thing about the Man of Steel...so how were they any different?

"That part may be true, but our goals diverge from there...our goal, it isn't driven by a childish need for attention...we don't want to be better than Superman or the Justice League and we don't care to be, either," Tomura gestured his hands to the League...

"We're the villains."

"All we want is for those idiots to pay for what they've done...every person that's been pushed underfoot by the society they've created, left behind in the rubble of their battles with no savior, ostracized for being different, and suppressed...they need to see just what happens when those types come back to haunt their every waking moment," Tomura's grin stretched behind his mask. "And we aren't doing it for those idiots to look at us and see us as the heroes' betters...we don't want their attention or love...we're doing this because someone has to show them that heroes are nothing special and that they fail...the masses just choose to omit those failures until they are staring them in the face," Tomura raised his hand, palm up and continued.

"Just killing the heroes wouldn't get that across...we need to take something far more precious than their lives. We'll drag their names through the mud before we're through...their image, the people's faith in them, their oh-so-precious love and adoration...it will all go. And just when it seems they can't get any lower, that's when they can try their hand at stopping us, and whether we win or they do, the precious society they made will never be the same again and it will never go back to the way it was before."

Tomura, finished with his speech, leaned back on the couch, and placed his hands back across his knee, "That's why we're different..." he waited for Lex to respond.

The bald man was silent for a bit before he started to chuckle, it soon becoming full-blown laughter. The League was wondering what he found so funny about their mission.

"Ah...do you have these little speeches prepared, or do you just make them up on the spot?" Lex steepled his hands again, smirking at the joke of a group in front of him. He'd assumed they were delusional, but for it to be to this degree, he had to commend All For One's manipulative skills.

"As long as we're being frank here...I don't think highly of you lot either...or more specifically that 'Master' of yours," he hit them where it hurt. The bald mastermind could see Tomura tense at the mention of his mentor, and Enid immediately shot back up, the room becoming much hotter in that instant.

"You better watch what you say!"

"And just why should I? You call me childish for my drive, yet you follow someone that is so very much like me..." Lex chuckled.

"Master is nothing like you..." Tomura scratched violently at his neck, leaving small breaks in his skin now.

"True, I'm still free, aren't I?" Lex jabbed, "Your leader's little crusade is really quite adorable...but I think it is the epitome of childishness...I cannot deny that he lost a great deal thanks to Superman's weakness, but that's where my sympathy ends...tragedy is a simple part of human life, if we stopped and thought of each person the world has wronged, nothing would get done. The way I see it..."

Lex let a knowing, evil smile get onto his face, taking great pleasure in the words he was about to say.

"He's nothing but a boy refusing to grow up, unable to take the world as it is, and wants to reshape it to his liking...quite pathetic if I do say so myself."

That got the entire group livid, even those that had yet to meet the powerful villain in person grew angry at the insult to the man...the thought that this idiot in front of them could even begin to think he was as good as All For One...that was crossing the line.

"I hoped that assisting me would wake the lot of you up from the fantasy he had you believing in...working with a man that has true drive, but it seems you've been drinking too deep," Lex shook his head almost feeling sorry for the poor fools.

"And I thought I had a way with words. I can give that invalid brute this, being able to have this group of wayward children hang off his every word is nothing short of impressive. Even now, when he isn't here to constantly whisper into your ears you still-!"

A swath of blue flames shot at Lex and Humanite at that moment.

Dabi raised his hand and blasted the irritating criminal mastermind, his face as stoic as ever while he cremated the annoying criminal mastermind and his companion. Finished with his attack, Dabi let his smoking hand fall back to his side completely unfazed by his actions.

"I'm tired of humoring this annoying bastard..." Dabi frowned at the stares he got from his teammates, not that he really cared.

"And you all were telling me to keep in control of my temper..." Bakugo sneered, wanting to have been the one to finish off the high and mighty baldy.

"I was. You see me start shouting about how I was going to kill him?" the burned villain shot back nonchalantly.

"You lousy...!" Bakugo's teeth audibly gnashed together.

"We should have just done this from the beginning," Dabi rubbed the back of his neck.

"And risk everything just to kill the baldy? Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining," Enid shrugged.

"Between that and listening to his high and mighty talk, it was definitely worth it to shut him up..." Dabi then looked back to the dying flames ahead of them.

"...besides, you don't really think I killed him, do you?"

Indeed, from within the flames, the forms of Lex Luthor and the Ultra-Humanite were unscathed. The two villains remained where they'd been as if the sweltering flames surrounding them were nonexistent. The blue fire soon cleared up, leaving the mastermind with a hard glare on his face and his intertwined fingers resting in front of his mouth.

"Am I to take this as our negotiations finally breaking down?"

Dabi smirked, unamused, "Should've known. A paranoid bastard like you'd never risk coming here and meeting us face-to-face," the burned village scoffed.

"And for good reason...you did just try to kill me after all..." Lex returned threateningly.

"Ah!" Mahito snapped his fingers, finally speaking up, "Now it all makes sense," his words got his companions to look at him, "I didn't sense any soul signature from either of them when we entered...I did find it odd just why that was."

"Even if you did meet him in person, I don't think it'd make a difference," Dabi rolled his eyes, not missing the moment to insult the villainous millionaire.

"And now you'll never have the chance...I've underestimated your ability to think. I assumed you'd understand your predicament and realize just who is in control here!" Lex raised the remote.

"Please, that was more to shut you up than anything..." Dabi frowned.

"Funny..." Lex growled, about to end this here and now.

"That's enough, Luthor," Tomura stood up at this point, "It's obvious we'll never reach a consensus here...we're too different, but I'm not about to let all our hard work be undone because of your ego and ours," Shigaraki turned to leave, regarding the man with a glance over his shoulder.

"You can rely on us to carry out your little scheme for now...but after everything you've put us through and what you said about Master..."

The hateful red of the villain's pupil seemed to glow as it so desperately wanted to see the dark-skinned millionaire turned to dust but the instinct had to be quelled, "You won't be getting away with it. We'll be coming after you when we're done" Tomura let the threat hang in the air as the rest of the League began to move to follow him out.

"I'm shaking in my boots," the insufferable, all-knowing smirk of Lex was the last thing the group saw as they took their leave, forced to wait until the man called them for his plan.

"I must say, Lex," Humanite kept his eyes on the door as they left, deactivating the solid-light hologram he'd whipped up to keep the two of them safe should anything untoward happen during the meeting.

Lucky them.

"You're playing with fire by dealing with that group of ruffians...no pun intended, of course," Humanite turned to the sick man seriously wondering if breaking out to assist him was worth it with the company he'd come to keep.

"Are you certain that you want their help with this...I think you have more than enough problems without looking over your shoulder the entire time the plan is carried out."

"Come, Humanite, surely you know how to train new pets," Lex chuckled, holding the remote that held the League's fate in his hand, "They're resistant to it at first, but eventually they always fall in line."

The gorilla shook his head, not liking this course one bit, but the money he'd be getting for this job was hard to pass up. He'd just have to be careful around their new...'associates' and play his cards right.

In the end, he'd get what he wanted.

Back with the L.O.V., the group was silent as they left the abandoned building, forced to wait for Lex's call to action. Unable to do much, they trudged through Metropolis's alleyways for a few minutes to stay out of sight of the passerby, intent on finding a place to hide for the time being.

All of them had frowns on their faces after the terrible meeting, not liking one bit that they were working with Luthor or the fact the man had them cornered but chose to keep their personal feelings on it to themselves. Or rather, most of the group wanted to stay silent, Mahito on the other hand clearly had something to say.

The nonhuman, behind everyone else, had been making exaggerated faces of displeasure the entire time they'd been walking. From pouts, to frowns, to shaking his head slowly from side to side, and rubbing the back of his head frantically...trying to find the words he wanted to yell to the others...but couldn't as he tried to stifle himself. His fidgeting behind them all didn't go unnoticed but they tried to ignore it until the dam burst and the gray-haired nonhuman let his thoughts be known to them.

"I don't like this!" he had his eyes narrowed and his nose curled like he'd smelled something putrid while he huffed.

"What the hell's got your underwear in a twist, Patchface?" Bakugo sneered at the childish look he'd gotten in return...

It should have been obvious what the problem was!

"This! All of this!" he waved his hand to their group. "I can't stand the idea of following that guy's orders...being forced to play his game! I don't like it!" the dark look on Mahito's face showed just how much disdain he had for the situation.

As childish as the whatever-he-was could be, he was also very deadly and the others knew that firsthand with his abilities. If Mahito so chose, he could probably kill every single one of them without much effort with his abilities, but didn't. So, having the nonhuman suddenly speak out against the group's decision...could mean a lot more than simple displeasure.

"Will you just calm down for a second," Enid tried to ease their incensed member, pulling a hand from her pocket, "You can't think you're the only one annoyed by all this, Mahito. We all hate this just as much as you, but if we don't want to push everything back, we've just got to suck it up for a bit. Shigaraki's been holding back just as much as the rest of us..."

Enid, unlike the others, had been around Tomura for the longest and could tell that the blue-haired villain was just barely restraining himself from ruining the entire meeting the whole time. Once she'd seen the leader of the group scratching at his neck, she could tell how much he was holding back. That little habit of his had practically disappeared once they'd been on their own, taking the reins as leader meant he had to be in control of himself, hold nothing back and stride forward for the sake of the League. Now he had to be pushed down by someone that wanted to keep them under his control.

Knowing him for as long as she had, she had to say she was impressed.

"I'm with Mahito..." Gaz spoke up in agreement, taking her eyes off the Game Slave and even opening them to glare. "Working with Luthor churns my stomach...dad stayed away from him for a reason, and after seeing him for myself, I don't want anything to do with him," Gaz clenched her hands tightly against her handheld. "He thinks he's a genius, but he's just a manipulative idiot that gets smarter people to do everything for him...I can't, I won't deal with that, even if it means restarting from zero."

Lights flickered the slightest bit from her anger.

"Tch, bunch of kids..." Dabi removed a hand from his pocket about to let it ignite if it came to fighting the two, Bakugo being just as ready.

"See!" Mahito gestured to the small girl, proving his point that they didn't want to follow this plan of action any longer.

"If we don't want to do something...then why should we continue down this road, Tomura?" Mahito spoke directly to the leader who'd yet to turn around and face the two. "Before joining the League, I was content. I didn't want for anything, because I was free to do whatever I wanted! No one could stop me! I could move freely and experiment as much as I wanted on human souls!" Mahito raged, venting his discontent. He acted on his desires, and no one could tell him not to, not anymore.

"When I saw All For One, I saw someone that acted on his desires as well! Regardless of what others thought of him! Wrong or right, he did it simply based on his desires! That's why I decided to join the League, I felt that it was a group that would feel the same as me!" Mahito transfigured his arm into a blade, bringing it up to his face.

The whole group was tensing up, and the air was starting to grow heavier. Smoke was already beginning to rise from Dabi's hand; Bakugo was twitching in anticipation of Mahito's next move; Enid, still resistant, readied a glowing arm to fight the two; and Tomura still had his back turned to his allies, listening to the nonhuman's grievances fully.

"I may not care about the League's goals...I have no particular hatred for the heroes, but if it's what the group is working toward, I'll do it wholeheartedly because I want to. It's a fun game...and I want to see All For One personally."

Mahito stalked forward, raising his blade, and swiftly slung his normal arm around his leader's neck as he'd done multiple times before, only this time with a deadly edge to it. The move had everyone turn to get ready and attack the nonhuman, planning to remove him forcibly from Tomura before he got the chance to try and kill, or worse, transfigure their leader.

Mahito smiled creepily, placing his head next to Tomura's, his blade dangerously close to the slightly shorter man's neck, threatening to slice into it. Keeping the blade steady, and placing his palm onto Shigaraki's chest, Mahito spoke in a low voice into his captive's ear, "So, please...Tomura...tell me just why I should do this...when I don't want to?"

Mahito's question was heard by them all, waiting to see just how Shigaraki would respond to the threat on his life by one of his members of all things, and fully expecting their already upset leader to attack. Mahito had a smile on his face, wanting to hear the justification before he decided whether he'd kill his teammates or not, they were only humans, after all.

Just slightly more interesting humans than he had the pleasure of coming across.

After a moment of silence, Tomura finally gave Mahito a side glance from his still position, unconcerned with the blade at his neck and the even deadlier palm on his chest. Moving his hand from his pocket slowly, Mahito took it as Tomura getting ready to retaliate and jumped back. The nonhuman readied his blade to pierce Tomura from behind; Dabi had just started to thrust his arm forward to blast the traitor on the spot, reacting quickly; Bakugo bent his legs to press the attack when the flames had died down with Enid just as ready to engage in close-quarters combat with the blond; and Gaz remained behind Mahito, waiting to see whose side she would take in this, though had power begin to course through her fingers to use just in case.

Mahito expected this conflict to end in his favor, he was invincible to anything the others could throw at him, so he'd have the upper hand even if he couldn't match the likes of Bakugo or Enid in hand-to-hand. His near-limitless stamina and unique makeup gave him the advantage, he'd wear them down and transfigure them.

A shame.

Licking his lips, blade about to be thrust into Tomura...something he never expected happened that froze him in place.

What Mahito had mistaken as an act of aggression, was Shigaraki simply removing the hood from his head. The ragged locks of hair fell over his shoulders as he looked up into the sky past the hand-mask on his face.

"I'll tell you why..." he said simply, quietly, yet powerfully, for them all to hear. Tomura raised his hand again, gingerly gripping the hand on his face, and taking it off.

"It's a simple reason, really."

Ahead of his group, Tomura looked down at the disembodied hand's palm that lay within his own. No malice, or anger, not even irritation was heard in his calm but still uneven voice. The actions stayed everyone, all wondering what he had to say that would end this small coup.

"It's the same reason that Luthor's little plan is going to fail...why he can't find help other than through coercion...or paying for loyalty..." finally, Tomura turned to regard his comrades, revealing his face to them all for the first time; even Enid, after all this time had yet to see her longest companion's visage.

The man had many deep wrinkles around his red eyes with a faded scar going over the right eye. His lips were chapped, broken skin littering them that never seemed to have flaked off to make way for unbroken, new skin, another scar at the left corner of his mouth, and a mole just underneath the right side of his mouth.

All in all, he looked the part of a disheveled, maniacal, anarchist as he'd been painted.

But...

The thing that managed to freeze his two insurgent members, shock his longest comrade, quiet the explosive blond, and get an almost interested eyebrow from the flame-wielder...

...was the small, serene, sincere smile on his face as he looked at them all.

"It's because I trust you."

Those words cut deep into the nonhuman, his eyes widening in disbelief.

After what he'd just done, Tomura trusted him?

He was planning to kill them all in a fit of childish rage, most likely only leaving Gaz, both because she agreed with him, and because he wasn't sure he could actually touch her in the first place, yet their leader didn't seem put off in the slightest.

"I know how you feel...I can't stand what Luthor is going to have us do either..." Tomura looked back to the hand he held, "He's using us, and he thinks that we're foolish enough to believe he'd let us go after it is all said and done."

Tomura frowned at the future he imagined that Lex saw, one where the League was on a leash, at his beck and call until they were no longer needed and he threw them to the wolves.

"And that's why I asked you to place your trust in me before this meeting...with my gamble..." Shigaraki's smile turned sinister now, directed, not at them, but at the plan he'd already laid.

"Luthor, without even knowing it, has tipped his hand. Not bringing Peridot, showed that he knew that we hadn't brought all our members, but he only noticed her absence..." Tomura led Mahito to think it over.

Tomura, two days ago, hadn't elaborated on just what his gamble was, just for the others to trust his plan and fall in line. Without any reason to call him out, they simply let their leader go through with it, wondering what he had up his sleeve.

"Right...the pretty boy just joined, so Luthor has no idea he's with us," Bakugo, having come down from the bout that had almost broken out, supplied the answer out loud.

Bucciarati, their newest member, had only just arrived, not even the Justice League knew of his existence. The well-dressed, model-worthy young man was the League of Villains' trump card for the time being.

"Exactly, Bucciarati and Peridot are free to move now. Luthor's ego is so large, he can't dream that someone he had already mentally 'bested' would be able to do so after a mere two days."

"Tch, that rock has been hacking that thing nonstop since the bastard called us..." Dabi scoffed.

"And that persistence, I trust, will pay off," Tomura inclined his head toward the burned villain with a smirk. "We can't risk contacting Peridot while Luthor is hovering over our shoulders, so we'll need to rely on her to finish ridding ourselves of the tracker. Hopefully, she'll finish it by the time this little scheme of Luthor's fails and get us out of whatever trouble it gets us into."

"It's that trust in them that lets me feel confident that we'll be coming out on top of this trial, and that same trust I place in all of you. For now, as much as you two don't like it, I need you to go through with Luthor's plan and follow his orders...this isn't just about you, it's about the good of the League itself," Tomura directed this at both Mahito and Gaz.

"We won't be subjugated by others...I promise, at the end of this, we'll come out on top."

Stunned into silence, the two youngest members, allowed their powers to deactivate. The fighting wouldn't be happening...after seeing that their leader didn't see them as disposable pawns as Luthor did, and even as a lot of them expected given Shigaraki's nature, how could they?

Gaz pouted, trying to play off how those words made her feel, looking off to the side and crossing her arms, "Fine, I won't like it...but I'll do it...better be over fast..." Gaz huffed, getting a pat on the head from Enid.

Mahito was more emphatic with his apology, bending down at the waist, and placing his hands at his sides, he bowed, "I'm very sorry, Tomura-kun!" he put the suffix back to the end of his leader's name, retaking his jovial attitude as if the problem he'd started never happened. "I underestimated you. I guess I was just so used to getting whatever I wanted, that I forgot that I'm not on my own anymore!"

Without raising his body, the nonhuman lifted his head up to look Tomura in the eyes, smiling in his usual disarming way, "I'll follow the plan to the letter!"

"It's fine," Tomura waved the apology off. He knew how to handle these sorts of outbursts, he was the culprit of more than a few over the years, All For One had the patience to calm him and have the young man reevaluate himself.

"And I'm not saying you need to compromise yourselves either..." Tomura smiled evilly, "We're a team. Follow Luthor's orders, but do it in your own ways, stay true to yourselves and I'll accept the fallout."

"Heh," Bakugo chuckled with his hands in his pockets.

"What's funny?" Enid asked with a hand on her hip.

"Never thought that Handsy could be so emotionally mature, is all..." Bakugo smirked.

"What do you take me for?" Tomura looked at the blond.

"I don't think you can blame him too much, Shigaraki...you don't look the part of someone that'd calmly talk things out when somebody disagrees with you," Enid scratched her cheek.

"When we first met you morons, you were about to kill each other," Bakugo pointed out, continuing forward.

"True," Gaz agreed, wanting to get off the topic of the disagreement now that it had passed.

"I wasn't going to kill her/him," they denied.

"Tch, trust..." Dabi was as distant as always with his response, "I don't trust any of you bastards," he shrugged, staying ahead of everyone as he walked away.

"You're just the only ones crazy enough to fight the Justice League head-on...won't find that kind of crazy again any time soon."

"You could just stay quiet sometimes, y'know," Enid smirked at the pyrokinetic's callous response.

"If I did, who'd keep you all on track?" Dabi asked rhetorically. "We got a lot of problems coming our way...enemies on both sides of us..." Dabi reminded them that they'd need to watch for the Justice League and their current 'employer' during this job, surrounded by people that wanted them eliminated.

How fun.

"It'll be hard to even sneeze around that guy without him taking it as betrayal..." Dabi sighed heavily at the headache he was in for.

"Can't be helped," Tomura agreed, "Luthor is the type to keep his grip tight on all his game pieces, but that paranoid focus of his can be his blind spot since he thinks that his threat will keep us from acting against him...not that I'm clamoring to press our luck until we're sure that Peridot has neutralized whatever he's got on the canister," Tomura crossed his arms.

"I have an idea!" Mahito shot up from the bowing position he'd still been in this whole time with his hand raised as if he was in elementary school, eyes gleaming with excitement as he stretched his appendage and waved it around to try and be noticed despite the fact he was the only one speaking.

The nonhuman's exuberant movements and shout did their job of gaining the attention of his teammates. With all eyes on him, Mahito lowered his hand and began to explain his idea.

"As further recompense for my outburst earlier, I think it's only fair that I contribute 100% for this operation...and give you my trust," Mahito smiled, "I have a special new trick that I came up with after the heist. Using it, I think we can kill two birds with one stone...we'll be able to operate under Luthor's gaze and leave him none the wiser about our plans on the outside. Forcibly making a blind spot that we can exploit."

By the end of his explanation, Mahito's eyes had an ominous shadow cast over them by his hair and his smile had become so big that it threatened to split his face. The pleasure he was taking in the mere idea of getting one over on the bald mastermind brought the creature such sinister delight he couldn't help himself.

"That's an idea...and how does your trick work, Mahito?" Tomura asked, willing to take this chance and accept his comrade's bid for forgiveness.

"It'd be boring to just explain..." the stitched-up being started to gather his energy, different from the other times he did so, it flowed over Mahito's entire body. The purple miasma, visible to the others, flared the slightest bit as it seemed Mahito was about to use it.

"So, let me just demonstrate..."

His eyes upturned and a wide, toothed grin on his face that only promised sick pleasure, Mahito revealed what he had in store.

Lex Luthor would never realize what was done until it was too late.

(That Night – Metropolis Pictures Store)

As night fell over the bustling city, the busy streets filled with the daily goings on of the citizens gave way to the sparsely populated skyscrapers as everyone hurried home to their loved ones. Streetlights turned on to illuminate Metropolis's sidewalks, offering some protection from any thug that thought they could get a quick and easy score. The bright lights gave the quiet city a new look, but they also inadvertently highlighted its darker aspects, condemned buildings that no one in their right mind would go into.

And it was within one of these buildings that a meeting was about to take place, a meeting of criminals.

Carefully approaching, a shadow appeared at the doorstep of Metropolis Pictures Store, or what was left of it. The shadow moved on all fours as it searched for a way inside, searching around it found its way in from above. Through an open window in the ceiling, the being landed on the floor inside to see the many abandoned objects in the store. Continuing cautiously forward in the dark place, the moonlight revealed that the shadow was not entirely human.

Clearly female, the creature was covered in brown fur that had dark brown spots littering the coat, resembling a cheetah complete with a tail and ears fitting the animal counterpart. Ironically enough, the name of this femme fatale was Cheetah, and she'd had the pleasure of bumping heads with Wonder Woman on more than one occasion as she tried to 'get' funding for her research and change her back to normal.

Still crawling along the dirty floor, the female cat took a quick whiff of the air to get a sense of her surroundings. Behind her a new mysterious figure had propped itself against a pillar, casually observing Cheetah from her low position...most likely enjoying the view. Unfortunately for the figure's peeping, Cheetah's sense of smell was able to pick up their scent.

Whirling around, the cat woman jumped at her unwanted tagalong, claws drawn to shred the figure to pieces for sneaking up on her. The figure was swift to jump away from the sharp claws of Cheetah, meeting her gaze with slit yellow eyes. Giving the characteristic growl of her animal namesake, Cheetah was about to pounce on her prey again when the male voice of her target stopped her.

"Whoa, there, kitty, I wasn't planning on doing anything," the man said, putting his hands out in front of himself in a calming manner.

The newcomer wore a full-body suit that held the resemblance of a snake complete with orange scales covering it and lighter scales serving as the snake's underbelly. On the male's head was a hood that took the shape of a snake's head that enveloped his skull with his face showing. On his hands and feet were dark green gloves and boots.

"And just who are you supposed to be?" Cheetah remained on guard as she asked the question.

"Copperhead. Came here because I got a call for a job," the snake-themed villain answered.

"Same as me, then," Cheetah let herself ease a tad, learning that information, and let her claws retract.

Copperhead smiled and sauntered over to the literal cat woman, getting closer to her until they were face-to-face, "Well, isn't that nice...maybe we can...get to know each other a little better...for teamwork's sake," Copperhead leaned forward and let his forked, snake-like tongue slip from between his lips and flick close to one of Cheetah's ears.

Getting agitated at the insinuation, Cheetah's claws came back into the equation. The female let her displeasure with the scaled villain be known through her swipe at his arm, catching the barest hint of his skin as the man managed to move away quickly enough with a growl coming from the back of her throat as a further warning.

"Agh! You bitch!" recoiling, Copperhead grew angry at Cheetah's rejection. Bringing his outfit's tail around, the snake-themed villain showed that it packed a punch as it managed to smack Cheetah hard enough to knock her off her feet.

Using her animal reflexes, Cheetah was able to right herself fairly easily, but she still stumbled when she backed into something that she did not expect to be there. Placing a hand against what she'd hit, Cheetah felt fabric and muscle beneath her fingers and it belonged to a very large individual at that.

Turning to see the new arrival, Cheetah took a step back in shock as she came face-to-face with a zombie. A large zombie wearing a torn-up black suit that looked like it had once belonged to someone of smaller stature. He had a blank stare on his face, pale white skin, matching hair, and cracks running across his face.

Taking a step forward, the large being gave a small smile to Cheetah before reaching out to the female with his large hand. Rather than crushing the femme fatale as one would expect, instead the undead creature pet Cheetah's shoulder.

"Heh, Grundy likes kitties," the zombie dumbly said, speaking in the third person and giving his name in the process.

The cat woman frowned at the physical contact, annoyed with the creature, and on reflex scratched the behemoth's forearm to force Grundy to get off.

"Kitty doesn't like to be pet!" she said with a growl, watching Grundy recoil in pain from the scratch.

The large zombie, growled angrily while clutching his injured arm. Stalking forward, Grundy raised his arms and shouted at the feline who just now seemed to notice her mistake as the hulking monstrosity approached her.

"No one hurts Grundy!"

Charging at Cheetah, the woman flipped backward to avoid Grundy's initial attack, using Copperhead as a buffer. The poor snake was hurled at the zombie, getting smacked away since he was not Grundy's target. Chasing Cheetah, Grundy picked up a broken table and tossed it at the woman, splintering its wood when it missed and hit the floor. The zombie could see that his attack had failed but managed to get the spotted woman dazed from a piece of debris that had managed to throw her for a loop, making him walk toward her to finish the job.

Behind, Copperhead had taken none too kindly to being tossed aside as garbage and jumped atop Grundy's back to headlock the undead. Agitated by the unwanted passenger, Grundy attempted to shake the smaller man off him, unable to reach him thanks to his large arms. Cheetah, now cognizant, saw the opportunity to attack the large creature without retaliation and assisted Copperhead in holding Grundy back, adding a few slashes with her claws for good measure.

As the brawl intensified, from the shadows approached another mysterious man dressed in all black, with circular dark shades, a top hat, and a cane that he pointed the bottom of toward the fighting group of criminals. From this man's cane came tendrils of pure shadow that soon enveloped the motley crew in total darkness, stunning them.

"Where'd the lights go?" Grundy grunted, halting his attack on his small opponents, sounding slightly afraid as well which was surprising that such a frightening individual could be scared of the dark.

As if answering the zombie's question, the newcomer reabsorbed the shadows into his cane and planted the object back onto the floor to lean on, "That would be me."

Stepping forward with a clack of his cane the man lifted it back up to point at the three, "And if you three don't behave yourselves, I may just have to leave you in there for a spell."

Not wanting that, the three got off each other and looked to the man, believing he might have been the one to assemble them with that kind of power.

"And you are?" Copperhead asked.

"The Shade," he offered simply, twirling his cane with a deceptive smile despite his polite demeanor. "Good to know that we can have a civil discussion without resorting to using my nightstick, isn't it?" he mocked them, getting annoyed glances.

Shade's bravado quickly disappeared though as a violet beam from the ceiling enveloped his dubbed nightstick and levitated it into the hands of the beam's creator.

"Quite a terrifying threat, that is, if you had this, right?" the female that floated above them quipped as she landed next to the powerless gentleman.

She wore a mask that covered the upper portion of her face, leading into a crown-like protrusion that housed a violet crystal on her forehead. Her body was covered by a black unitard with a violet star in the middle of her chest that also led to her shoulders, leaving her legs uncovered, with purple boots and gloves.

Meeting those who would be her accomplices for the job she was about to be hired for, the woman, Star Sapphire, was unimpressed with them. She was worth much more than the lot of these fools, and her face conveyed as much.

Cheetah snarled at the woman, catching the looked she'd given them.

"Hm, common criminals...am I truly worth so little?" she voiced her displeasure with a scoff.

"I dunno...I think 'common' might be a bit too generous to describe you guys," a familiar dry voice said from across the group, getting them to turn and see them.

Dabi stood with his hands in his pockets, regarding the group of 'villains' with a mocking smile, standing next to the rest of the League of Villains.

"Frankly, I've never even heard of any of you bastards before, so that isn't a point in your favor."

On an unbroken table, Tomura sat with legs hanging over the edge and his hands resting between his legs, not even lifting his head to look at the group that they'd be forced to work with. Enid stood at the right end of the table, wearing her villain outfit now, having brought it in preparation for whatever Luthor would be using them for, one leg touching the floor while the other was raised to rest against the table and her arms crossed. As always, Gaz was not paying attention to anything that was going on around her, finding her Game Slave far more interesting as she sat cross-legged next to Tomura on the table. Bakugo was still garbed in civilian clothing, refusing to use his costume until he'd gotten a replacement bracer, with an unimpressed sneer on his face and a glare coming from his narrowed eyes. Mahito, of course, was the odd one out as he waved enthusiastically at the assembled group, standing to Tomura's left in front of the table.

"I don't think you should be so cruel, Dabi-kun," Mahito laughed with his deceptive smile. "I think we've got an interesting group of allies here, especially those two..." he set his gaze on Grundy and Sapphire as he said that, finding their souls interesting.

Grundy's reminded him of his transfigured humans to an extent but somehow different...and Sapphire's was glowing a violet color most likely from her gem.

He really wanted to get his hands on her.

"I think we've got enough 'interesting' people with you lot," Dabi huffed.

"What do we even need these extras for anyway!?" Bakugo ground his teeth audibly.

"Cuz we're not trusted...baldy needs someone other than the brain-monkey to watch his dying back," Enid smirked at Luthor's paranoia.

"The League of Villains? Color me surprised," Shade said sarcastically, taking his nightstick from Sapphire's grip. "I wouldn't expect the group that wrecked Superman's city of all things to find themselves back here," Shade was suspicious of them.

"Who they?" Grundy grunted in confusion.

"Bad news..." Copperhead narrowed his eyes.

"Don't tell me you all are the ones that arranged this little meeting," Cheetah was just as cautious.

Enid stifled a chuckle poorly, "That's a good one," she smirked derisively at the idea, "No, just think of us as volunteers...I guess that's the nice way of putting it anyway," she rolled her eyes with an uncaring shrug.

"But don't let that stop you from tearing into each other...that was funny," Gaz let her own idea out, wanting this to be over before it began, giving an evil smirk and chuckle.

"I'll help 'em out!" Bakugo let his bloodthirst show, rolling his shoulder, and ready to jump into the fray.

"Quit it..." Dabi warned as if he was talking to a child.

"Say, how were you created?" Mahito pointed to Grundy, curious.

The disjointed attitudes of the rising villain group, gave the criminals pause, not able to get a clear read on them. This unpredictability was not inspiring confidence, and from what the smarter criminals knew of them...this was becoming more trouble than it was worth.

"Enough..." Luthor finally made his appearance coming down an elevator with Humanite beside him, looking at his indentured servants with a knowing glare, and holding up a certain remote that made all the League stop their prodding with frowns.

"Well, well, Lex Luthor, this job becomes less enticing as time goes on," Shade dryly snarked.

"Now, Shade, surely you wouldn't pass up a chance for money, would you?" Lex drew the man back in.

"Depends on how much..."

"Especially when we have to split it 12 ways," Sapphire pointed out with her gaze directed at the League.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about them...as they said, they're volunteers," Lex smirked.

"Oh yeah, had to help out of the goodness of our hearts...cancer is such a terrible way to go. We've gotta make the baldy comfortable, y'know, before the end," Enid jabbed with a side glance and a roll of her wrist.

"So that was true?" Cheetah, being a scientist in her past life, knew of the repercussions of the disease, and when she'd heard Luthor had it, it came as a shock.

"Unfortunately, yes," Lex didn't like the looks of pity that the human criminals gave him. He was one of the most powerful people on the planet...he'd beat this supposedly terminal illness like he'd beaten so many other obstacles in his life and show that he was in control.

"And where do we come into this equation?" Copperhead stepped forward, "Don't know if you know this, but I'm no doctor or therapist, Luthor, so forgive me if I don't cry a river."

"Trust me, your lack of tact and proper education displays just what you are, Copperhead," Lex rolled his eyes, "And what you and the rest bring to the table are your unique skills and experience, and it's those attributes that I require right now."

"And just what do you have in mind?" Shade asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A trifle really...I am not content letting my remaining time tick away while those costumed cretins still draw breath. So, our mission is to annihilate Superman...and the Justice League. On completion, all of you will be rewarded handsomely for a job well done," Lex smiled evilly as he revealed his plan to the assembled villains for hire.

Unlike the League, the group seemed interested whether it was because of the promise of monetary gain or the chance to fight the Justice League was unknown. Either way, the poor fools had fallen for the pretty words of the dying millionaire for better or worse.

"Hook, line, and sinker," Dabi sighed with a shake of his head.

"You expect anything less from them?" Gaz leaned forward to look the pyrokinetic in the eye, "Dangle a carrot in front of a horse, and you can make them go anywhere."

"That's how the simple-minded operate..."

"You got something to say, kid?" Copperhead hissed like his namesake.

"Pretty sure I said it," Gaz opened a single eye to glare at the snake-themed villain with irritation.

"I don't think I've got a lot to be afraid of from a guy dressed in a kindergartner's pajamas..." Gaz smiled cruelly.

"*Hiss* You better watch your mouth!"

"Arguing with a kid? Don't you have standards?" Shade looked at the man.

"Just cuz I'm a kid doesn't mean I can't outthink you idiots."

"Ha ha ha!" Mahito laughed at the stunned faces of the villains.

"You hit 'em where it hurts," Bakugo toothily smirked.

"Behave..." Luthor silenced them with the remote.

"Tch..." Gaz clicked her teeth.

"Ah, you've got them on a leash," Sapphire giggled at the poor fools.

"Yes, it's the training that's the problem..." Lex rubbed his forehead.

"Now then, perhaps we should move on to business before something else interrupts us," Humanite said, getting the meeting back on track.

"Yes, just what does this plan of yours entail, Luthor?" Cheetah asked with her tail swaying behind her.

"A simple blitz to begin with, my dear," Lex explained, "Luring the Justice League to a field of our choosing, then using that element of surprise to pick them off one at a time." Lex gripped his fist in front of him, imagining standing over the crumpled body of Superman.

"Are you joking," Bakugo scowled, "That's your big plan? Bum-rushing the Justice League?" the cage fighter scoffed.

"You looking to have this whole thing blow up in your face this fast?" the blond pointed at the assembled criminals, "Have these bastards even fought in a team before? Know each other's abilities? Seems like an accident waiting to happen, baldy."

"And? What would you suggest," Lex was truly becoming annoyed with this group.

"Other than picking from better stock, how about thinking up a real plan?"

"Well, since you seem to be so against this idea, then perhaps you can sit it all out!"

"I'm helping your dumbass out!" Bakugo had a vein pulse on his temple.

"And I'll let you know when I am in need of your assistance...but until such a time, keep your mouth shut! And that goes for all of you!" he commanded the unruly group.

"Can't listen to good advice..." Dabi shrugged.

"You aren't here for advice. You're here as an extra set of bodies...and just which one of those bodies is going to accompany us?" Lex 'asked'.

"Teh, stupid as this plan is, I'll-!" Bakugo stepped forward, and even with his disagreements with the moronic plan, he was confident enough in his ability to survive and make it out of the doom operation.

He didn't expect to be interrupted by the pale hand of Mahito shooting up as he volunteered.

"I'll go along with you, Mr. Luthor!" Mahito enthusiastically bounded over to the bald man, unnerving him with his chipper attitude.

"That's a surprise!" Bakugo stopped midstep to let his shock be known, taken aback by the overeager member of his group.

The others only gave the grinning nonhuman a questioning glance, wondering what he had up his sleeve. Not that they were going to stop him if he was going to take the first step in getting them out of Luthor's clutches.

"Indeed, and what brought this on?" Luthor was skeptical, narrowing his eyes as Mahito stopped next to the man and quickly slung his arm over Lex's shoulder as if he was one of his teammates. Unused to the overly friendly nature of the creature, Luthor recoiled slightly only for the grip on his shoulder to keep him in place.

"Does there really need to be a reason?" Mahito smiled with his eye closed, uncomfortably close to Luthor's ear as he spoke, "I'm just trying to be a team player, Mr. Luthor, and besides," Mahito held a hand out before the two of them, "You should think about it this way, the sooner this plan is finished, the sooner we can get out of your hair...right?"

Mahito's friendly demeanor took a more ominous turn. His smile became a sinister smirk, and his cheery eyes became heavily lidded almost seeming tired as he stared at Lex from the corner of his eye. The unnerving shift in tone suddenly disappeared before the dying mastermind could dwell on any potential meanings, as the nonhuman went back to his disturbingly off cheeriness complete with a chuckle.

Growing tired of the contact, Lex harshly pulled himself from the silver-haired entity's grasp. "I suppose I can agree with that, any of you miscreants is better than nothing," Lex conceded while dusting himself off.

Mahito didn't seem too bothered by the man's removal, only offering a shrug of his shoulders since he'd ultimately gotten what he'd wanted from the short exchange. He was a tad surprised though when Luthor suddenly addressed him again with a certain stipulation.

"But if you are going to be attending this mission, I won't be having those disfigured puppets of yours running freely."

Lex's order made Mahito's shoulders droop and his arms go limp as if he were a child that had his favorite toy stolen right out of his hands. A look of disbelief crossed the heterochromatic creature before it gave way to an immature pursing of his lips.

"Aw, what? Why not?"

Though he already had an idea.

"Please," Lex was unamused, "A veritable army that only you can command and create? Just why would I hesitate in allowing you to have such freedom?" the man asked rhetorically.

"Oh, well, when you put it like that, I guess it makes sense," Mahito instantly changed his attitude once again, back to being cheery and smiling. Luthor's cautiousness about himself and his team was not unfounded. For all the man knew, they were groping for a chance to stab him in the back and leave him for dead...and he wasn't wrong, because they were expecting the same knife to be driven into theirs if they weren't careful.

"Don't you think you should trust me a little more? This is only the first phase, after all, I couldn't possibly be planning something," Mahito's deceptive smile did little to calm Luthor, it only made his suspicion heighten.

"Hardly...you'll follow my orders to the letter, and if I have the slightest inkling of foul play..."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Metallo destroyed, set us back, blah, blah, blah," Mahito threw his hands up in exasperation at the constant looming threat Lex loved to use.

Unconvinced with the nonhuman's noncommittal answer, Luthor had little choice in the matter. He'd simply move forward with his machinations and ensure that the League of Villains fell in line appropriately as it went. For now, he had to inform the rest of the Injustice League of this first phase of his plan.

"You think he lost his hair from all that worrying?" Mahito wondered aloud, standing back with his allies.

"Mahito..." Tomura spoke for the first time since arriving, looking into the eyes of the entity with a calm stare, searching deeply for the reason he'd volunteered.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Aw, not you too, Tomura-kun..." Mahito sighed with an exaggerated eye roll. "Sure, I'm sure! I mean, if we want to get out of here, I've got to pull my weight...and make sure the plan is carried out, right?" the double meaning was not lost on the others, "I'm simply proving our usefulness to Mr. Luthor."

Mahito's formal way of referring to Lex, while to the common listener would seem tinged with respect, it was clear that Mahito was only affecting the formality to play mind games with the man. Seeming all too eager to help, yet giving a healthy dose of defiance, as well as compliance to orders when given. It all served to unnerve the man and leave him woefully unprepared for whatever would be coming for him.

"It ain't just about that, Patchface," Bakugo walked forward, hands in his pockets and his head slightly raised with his chin pointing at the nonhuman, looking at Mahito from the bottoms of his eyes. "The Ragdoll said it himself earlier...we're dealin' with enemies on both sides looking to put us down," Bakugo lowered his head to look at his childish teammate head-on.

"If you aren't careful, we'll all be paying for it, so watch your back."

"Oh, Bakugo-kun! Is that you showing you care about me?" Mahito giggled, angering the explosive blond.

"Like hell! I'm just making sure you've got your head on straight, you bastard!" Bakugo covered himself with his trademark outburst.

"Yelling aside, he is right," Dabi shoved Bakugo away and ignored the yelling fit he was fixing to get into.

"True, but you have to remember, it isn't like any of the Justice League are capable of hurting me in the first place, so I'm fine, truly," Mahito pointed out.

"And you have that handicap," Gaz looked up, pausing her game, "Can you even do anything without using that magic of yours?" she prodded, still not believing in magic thanks to her upbringing but couldn't deny that it was his main ability.

"You shouldn't be so skeptical, Gaz, I'll prove magic is real to you one day," Mahito sighed at her skepticism. "But you are right," he looked off to the side and rubbed his chin, "Not being able to transfigure humans will certainly be an annoying challenge, but I've decided to take it as a learning experience," his sadistic smile made its way to his face with his eyes turning upward.

"*sigh* There he goes..." Enid shook her head, getting the message just as the rest of their group did.

"It's simply a more interesting game now...and if all goes how I would like, then I'll gain a new skill."

"As long as you're certain," Shigaraki trusted the nonhuman to get the job done and return.

"No problem! Just don't blame me if one of them dies while I fight!" Mahito said confidently.

"That's enough chatting amongst yourselves...I don't want you taking that privilege for granted," Lex stopped the conversation, limiting their time alone.

"No problem, Mr. Luthor!" Mahito bounded over to the Injustice League, "They were just expressing their worry over my wellbeing, their concern is touching," Mahito gave an excuse.

"I highly doubt any of you are capable of worrying for one another," Sapphire couldn't see this radical group she'd heard so much about being capable of looking outside of themselves and their wants.

All criminals were the same no matter how they tried to dress themselves up, a cheetah, a gentleman, a snake, a scientist inhabiting a gorilla's body, all here to pay their way through life and live how they believed they deserved.

"Maybe you're right, or wrong," Mahito stuck his tongue out, "Now then, Mr. Luthor, how are we going to be starting the plan," Mahito joined the huddle.

"We'll be luring the Justice League with a decoy to a building of our choosing, and ambushing them before they can formulate a plan of attack. The surprise should allow us to take them out one by one, saving Superman for last of course."

"And how will we be luring them? Appearing on the nightly news out of nowhere would certainly rouse suspicion after our absence," Humanite rubbed his chin.

"Oh, if it's a lure you want," Mahito jumped at the chance, already having an idea formulating in his twisted mind, "I can get you one easily...just give me a few minutes..." a dark, far-off look made its way onto Mahito's face, licking his lips.

The action got the newcomers to this entire dynamic to look at each other in confusion, questioning themselves and each other silently if the promise of a payday was worth the headache...

...and the danger.

(The Watchtower)

Above the Earth, in the headquarters of the Justice League, Batman, as always, was keeping himself occupied with any outstanding cases that the League had lying around during his shift. Those cases currently entailed finding the location of Ultra-Humanite and Lex Luthor after their escape two days ago, two genius-level villains out and about could spell all kinds of trouble, especially when one of them had money in spades to the point that accounts were still being traced and frozen and had a grudge against their arguably most famous member. They'd most likely have been found already if not for the majority of the League being preoccupied with locating the League of Villains after their escape right from the Justice League's clutches at the same time Lex was being captured by J'onn and Superman.

As always, the group had a way of disappearing that even the likes of the Caped Crusader had to commend, their lack of connections to any villainous group, black market dealer, or anyone outside didn't make tracking any easier. His allies had been looking as well of course, searching Central City top to bottom with the help of the police proved fruitless which was to be expected given the small group had been ousted after their heist so staying wouldn't be wise. So now, the League was searching other cities that the villains hadn't haunted just yet.

And coming up with nothing.

Rubbing his eyes, spending so much time in front of the giant screens taking its toll, Batman turned to another that had different news channels on. Scanning over the different feeds, the Dark Knight's eyes narrowed when he caught the news coming from Metropolis, specifically the white ape that was holding a long-haired woman in the crook of his arm and a weapon of some kind in the other.

Ironically, Ultra-Humanite had come out of hiding just as Batman was about to take a much-needed break, only this serendipitous discovery did not ease the costumed man in the slightest. In fact, the mere idea that someone who prided himself on his intellect as Humanite did would take a hostage was suspicious.

Turning the volume up on the feed, Batman became aware of the situation.

"We take you live to an active hostage situation where the Ultra-Humanite, an escapee of Stryker's prison only two days ago, has apparently come out of hiding. The supposed scientist has holed himself within the building behind me and is threatening to harm hostages if the police approach!" the reporter said, standing behind the police barricade as he relayed the information to the audience.

Frowning, Batman saw the stalemate that the authorities and the ape were in with no way for the police to approach otherwise they'd risk the 'hostages.' He didn't hold his breath; this must have been some kind of trap. For Humanite to act outside of his usual modus operandi and take hostages as well as let it be televised so easily...it had to be an invitation of some kind.

And it was one that the Justice League would answer on the off chance it wasn't a ploy and for the chance to take him back into custody.

"Full League response," Batman said into his communicator, making his way toward a Javelin, "Ultra-Humanite has appeared in Metropolis, and apparently he's taken hostages."

"Humanite taking hostages?" Lantern answered with a surprised voice.

"Not his style," Superman made his way toward the site.

"It's probably a trap, but we can't take the chance...the others will be there shortly. We'll be the first on the scene," Batman activated the Javelin and moved out of the Watchtower's hangar unable to shake the unease he felt.

(Metropolis)

"Humanite! Stop this!" the officer in charge said through a megaphone to the villainous genius.

From his position, back flush against the ajar door, Humanite regarded the surrounding officers with a sneer. His index finger rested on the trigger of the weapon in case he had to fire another warning shot.

"Release the hostages now and give yourself up!"

"And what?" Humanite asked, "Go back to that derelict correctional facility of yours and enjoy my Salisbury steak?" the villain was less than pleased with the palate of the prison, someone of his stature should have better meals.

Any other grievances the ape wanted to air were put on hold though as the familiar green beam of Green Lantern took hold of his weapon. While he tried to wrest it from the hero's construct, he found that its pull was too powerful for him.

"Would you prefer a banana?" Lantern smirked, crushing the weapon after it made its way to him.

Soon after, before the ape could come up with another form of action to take, Superman swooped down and plowed into the ape, crashing through the doors behind him, and making him drop his hostage to the floor.

With the woman on the ground, Batman landed by her side to check her over while Superman started to do battle with Humanite behind him. Placing a hand on the woman's shoulder, he looked up to see Lantern hover before him to see if any assistance would be needed.

"Look for other hostages."

With a simple nod, Lantern left his teammate to search.

Batman turned his attention back to the woman who seemed to be regaining consciousness. The hero noticed that she seemed pale, her skin looking a ghostly white, and sweat was pouring from every pore on her as well. It seemed the shock of being kidnapped by a large ape was too much for her.

Reaching his hand back out, the Dark Knight did his best to comfort her, "You're safe now..."

As soon as he touched the woman, she flinched away as if the contact burned her, bringing her arms up to hug herself, the shaking of her body intensifying exponentially. She never turned to regard the man who'd saved her, her wide eyes staring straight ahead with her pupils shrunk to pinpricks.

"S-safe?...no...no...not safe...not..." she rambled incoherently, her body shaking uncontrollably.

Batman, used to dealing with hostages that had been through far worse than what Humanite would have done, stayed patient with the woman.

"You're fine. The police will take you to the hospital..."

"No...nononono..." she held her head scratching at her skin violently enough to start drawing blood.

"Stop!" Batman grabbed her hands to stop her from harming herself any further.

"Can't...can't stop...he..." she finally looked at Batman, untold fear conveyed in that brief second, she met his gaze, and tears streamed down her face.

"What? What did he do?" Batman's eyes narrowed as he watched the woman shake her head.

"...he...inside...inside..." she jerked suddenly, inhumanely, painfully.

Batman, with his years of experience taking over, jumped away from the convulsing woman. Before the hero's eyes, the woman gave a final wail of untold agony before her bones shot from beneath her skin in multiple directions pointed in such a way that they would impale anyone unfortunate enough to have been nearby.

The sickening scene left the assembled officers on the verge of emptying their stomachs. Batman only frowned more, the scene before him bore a striking resemblance to others he'd had the displeasure of seeing recently and had only learned of because of a young sorceress.

"Aw...you avoided that?" a voice came from the woman's corpse, male.

Slowly, the body began to move slightly from within as something made its way out of it. It started with fingers emerging from the woman's mouth, placing them on the top jaw when a second set gripped the bottom. Then, as if a snake were shedding its skin, the woman's body crumpled into a heap as a familiar silver-haired monstrosity made his appearance.

With a smile on his face, Mahito stepped out of the body suit, taking one foot out at a time before he unceremoniously dropped the previously living being onto the floor with a plop.

"I thought I had you with that one," Mahito widely grinned at the angered expression on Batman's face, "I even went out of my way to grab a female for this idea," the nonhuman uncaringly prodded the deflated skin with the tip of his foot.

"I thought humans were supposed to be gentle with women because they're seen as weaker...you really don't let your guard down, do you, Batman?" Mahito seemed to wait for an answer but the silent hero only glared harder at his disregard for the life he'd taken.

"I suppose you just don't trust other humans...a wise policy. Humans are pretty disgusting," he looked thoughtful as he said that.

"Mahito..." Batman said the nonhuman's name with disdain, his scowl curling the corner of his mouth as he watched the 'man' perk up at finally getting a response from the Dark Knight.

"Oh, good! You can talk," Mahito clapped his hands together in front of his chest, keeping the fingertips together while separating his palms. "I was worried because you weren't answering me," Mahito laughed, completely ignoring the man's anger.

"And you even know my name, even though this is the first time we're meeting..." the smile on his face turned mocking, turning his eyes to the side as if remembering something, "Did Starfire or Raven tell you about me by chance?"

The Dark Knight stayed silent again.

"If I ever get the chance to see them again, I have to remember to thank them one more time," Mahito chuckled with his eyes closed, "I've really grown a lot thanks to meeting them, and my abilities are still growing!" proudly stating his growth as a child would when they accomplished something, Mahito tilted his head and waved a hand as if it were no big deal.

"What is the League of Villains doing with the Ultra-Humanite?" Batman cut through to the root of the issue. For the group to appear so suddenly, assisting another that had no interest in their goals...this was growing to be more than a simple hostage situation.

The entity deflated at the Caped Crusader's lack of reaction to his pressing, pursing his lips in annoyance, and bringing his hand to scratch the back of his head. Looking at the wall with an uncaring glance, Mahito answered.

"Oh, that, I wouldn't say that's exactly what's happening here. And I'm not happy about the situation we're in..." he looked to the balcony where he knew the bald mastermind pulling the strings was, then turned his eyes back to the angered masked eyes glaring at him, "...buuut, I'm not unhappy with the outcome, either."

"What do you mean?"

With that question asked, explosions erupted from behind the Dark Knight, rubble falling as Solomon Grundy made his appearance. The large zombie knocked Superman away from Humanite while Green Lantern had been buried beneath debris from the upper floor after he'd checked a room for hostages.

"Oh, looks like everyone's starting. And it went just how I wanted, too!" Mahito laughed, watching with Batman as the Injustice League made their appearance on the scene.

"What!?"

"Hm, I wanted you all to myself, Batman...father told me about you, so I wanted to see for myself how good you were. And, it's a learning experience for me too, so give me your best!"

At the end of his sentence, Mahito rushed forward with his hands thrust forward to do battle with the Bat. Batman stood ready for the onslaught that the creature was about to unleash on him, forming a plan of attack in his head already based on what he knew.

'He's like Shigaraki. I can't let him touch me!' Batman had already thought up some counters to the leader's abilities, so he felt confident that he'd be able to handle Mahito.

As the silver-haired nonhuman was upon him, Batman acted first by quickly deflecting Mahito's right arm by striking its cubital fossa. The action forced the outstretched appendage to bend away from its intended target, taking its owner by surprise. In that same instant, Batman had also used his elbow to hit the middle of the left palm, halting it suddenly thanks to the unexpected abrupt impact.

'He was ready to counter me so quickly,' Mahito thought, then felt a fist strike the side of his chin. The hit made Mahito jerk to the side as it managed to rattle his perception much like a human while not physically doing anything to him.

The entity drew his arms back to try and attack the hero again, ignoring the disorientation the punch had given him, only for the Dark Knight to use both fists to smash into Mahito's arms from the sides before he'd gotten the chance. The move slammed both arms together to stop any movement momentarily for the villain, allowing Batman to strike the stomach, followed by an uppercut to force Mahito's head upward.

Staring from the bottom of his eye, Mahito reached forward with his right arm. Expecting this, Batman slid to the side just out of reach of the deadly hand and swiftly wrapped his hands around the stretched arm. Forcing the surprised being over his shoulder, Batman brought him down hard onto the ground, leaving Mahito on his back.

Taking a second to register what had occurred, a crooked smile made its way onto Mahito's face. He heard Batman make his way around his downed body, no doubt thinking that the villain was done thanks to the takedown.

The poor fool.

Laughing, he got the attention of the Bat once more. Mahito slammed the back of his fists into the ground and used that to rise back to his feet unnaturally, rubbing his chin in mock pain.

"Wow, you are good. You beat me so quickly, all while avoiding my hands, too," his eyes bore into the Dark Knight's, "Now I know you definitely talked with Raven, or else you wouldn't know...though I guess you had those moves more planned for Tomura, since our skills overlap, right?" Mahito deduced. He raised his hand next to his head and let his energy flow over it.

"Afraid that I'm looking to transfigure you, Batman?"

The Bat didn't let his thoughts be known, though he figured that the twisted thing in front of him was looking to do just that. Body count didn't mean much to Mahito, all he cared about was the act itself it seemed, and he didn't care who was the target. It was a reasonable thought to have in Batman's eyes.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that!" the tension was then relieved when the energy was cut off from Mahito's hand, getting a raised brow from his opponent. "I have certain...reasons why I can't transfigure you right now," he rolled his eyes when he said 'reasons.' "But, even if I didn't, I wouldn't transfigure you, Batman."

The heterochromatic eyes of Mahito regained their deadly tinge.

"It would be way too easy to beat you like that. After all, you're only human."

He was used to being underestimated by his opponents, so Batman didn't rise. Mahito was just another overconfident psychopath that thought he could go around and do whatever he wanted, like the rest of his group. Catching him here would cripple the League majorly, and Batman didn't plan on letting him slip through his fingers.

He'd use that overconfidence to overcome Mahito and call in some friends to ultimately deal with the entity.

He was far too dangerous to leave around.

"Plus," Mahito continued, "I wouldn't get the chance to improve myself. I want to learn a bit more about hand-to-hand combat...and what better person to learn from than you?"

That got Batman to raise an eyebrow...

He trained his body extensively for years, learning multiple forms of martial arts, breaking down the styles, and mixing them all together into something new. To think that Mahito had any chance of deciphering this from this exchange was laughable...but he was also well-known for taking everything into account.

'Whatever he is...it's unnatural, nonliving. And he's relatively new, ending him as soon as possible should become a priority...or I truly believe he can be a danger...to everyone.'

Raven's words rang through his head.

"So, please, don't hold back," Mahito brought his arms up in a boxing position, showing that he didn't have much fighting knowledge from the stance he took. Only taking from what little knowledge he had of how humans fought, Mahito was ready to change over the course of this fight.

"Give me everything you've got!" running forward again, Mahito was ready to do battle with the Bat. Around them, the rest of the Justice League, minus Martian Manhunter, arrived on the scene and broke off to deal with the assembled villains all with Lex watching from his balcony as the game master. With the Injustice League's numbers advantage, even though they wanted to assist their teammate, they had their hands full with the rest.

This would leave their battle uninterrupted.

'He could be bluffing about using his powers, I'll still need to avoid his hands,' Batman didn't trust the superficial being. His words dripped with double-meanings and lies, and along with his childish attitude, there was no way Batman could take anything he said seriously.

His thought finished; Batman ducked a straight punch from Mahito's left. This left Mahito vulnerable and let Batman smash a fist into the patchwork creature's face with his right.

'He countered with a right because of my overextended left...' accepting the strike in stride, deconstructing the man's movements all the while, Mahito retaliated by bringing his right hand around for a punch to the man's side.

The hit managed to make contact with the Dark Knight, but only against the man's arms as he'd brought them up to defend his side from the blow. Thanks to Mahito's above-average strength, the heavy hit did send a shock up Batman's arms, getting the hero to grunt in pain. Steeling himself, Batman did not let the punch take his mind from the confrontation, already in motion for his next move. This move entailed Batman using his left arm to trap Mahito's right, keeping the offending limb stuck between his midsection and the crook of his arm.

The action confused the nonhuman. This would only make it easier for him to attack the hero if they were going to be this close together. It may have taken an arm from them both, but the Dark Knight was the one that needed to stay on his toes the most in this situation by Mahito's projection. Internally shrugging at the foolish move, the thoughts that had only taken a second in real-time came to an end as Mahito reared his remaining arm back to punch with the ultimate goal of getting his other arm released.

Just as he'd thrust his fist forward, a yank by Batman toward the right not only caused the attack to miss, but had the added benefit of taking away Mahito's balance as well. Pulled aside, Mahito could not react to the fist that barreled into his cheek, and before he could go back too far from the hit, he was pulled again by the Bat to get a gut punch that curled him over Batman's fist.

A series of attacks like this ensued.

Mahito would try to attack his opponent only for said man to remain just out of reach of the nonhuman, leading him along by the arm for the punches that would follow. Getting a punch to the side of the head, not that these did much more than jar for a second, Mahito's mind was focused on his next course of action.

'Hm, this is surprising...' he looked at his opponent while keeping in thought even as he was beaten, 'This tether of his doesn't just lock down my arm as I'd previously thought...it's effectively forced my entire right side to become a blind spot,' indeed, thanks to this maneuver his right side had become essentially unusable to him. His right arm locked by Batman, and his right leg much too close to be used for an attack.

'And it also lets Batman lead me around by the nose, too...'

Answering that thought, Mahito was pulled forward into a devastating punch to the face. A crooked smile spread on Mahito's lips as his head reeled back from the blow, devising his countermeasure.

'An easy fix, though,' Mahito brought his head back down, noticing his enemy was already motioning to pull. 'I'll just go along with this next pull. That will leave Batman off balance...and open for attack.'

Going through with his plan, Mahito shifted his weight to follow the yank on his arm. This move managed to make Batman stumble the slightest bit in surprise, planting one of his feet back to steady himself. And with that momentary distraction, Mahito acted in tandem, thrusting his left arm forward to strike the hero's sternum dead-on with a giant smile.

Even with this setback, the Dark Knight didn't look worried. Instead of losing balance and being caught unawares as Mahito intended, Batman went with the backward motion. He released Mahito's arm, then, without missing a beat, moved his hands around the other and moved to the outside of it. The nonhuman was stunned at the odd reaction from the human, his eyes widening upon feeling Batman's grip go to his other arm.

A sudden feeling of weightlessness came over the silver-haired villain, his gaze somehow meeting the ceiling of the building. It turns out that Batman had used Mahito's momentum to his advantage. Keeping the left arm in his grip, Batman brought his foot behind Mahito's before sweeping the nonhuman's foot from beneath him.

'Huh...he was ready for that, too. He probably expected me to eventually try it,' Mahito thought while falling backward, Batman releasing his hold on him. 'I had hand-to-hand all wrong, you can't simply crush your opponent with overwhelming force and speed...' he thought to himself, the shadow of Batman's fist obscured the view of the ceiling, yet Mahito still continued his thoughts, '...it's setting up counters as you exploit their weaknesses, and using your skills to keep each other at bay as you search for an opening...'

A crack came from the floor when the back of the nonhuman's head hit it with added force from the Dark Knight's fist. With the balled-up hand covering Mahito's face, Batman couldn't see that the mad grin had returned to it despite the situation.

'~Ohhhh~ This is so much fun. Hand-to-hand...it's all just...'

Again, Mahito sat up even after the harsh attack that would have most likely left a normal person out of commission. His legs crossed and lifting a hand toward his scuffed face, he wiped the mark from it with his thumb and gave it a small, creepy lick while staring down his panting opponent.

"...so much fun," he finished his thought and got back up onto his feet. Clenching and unclenching his hands, Mahito got ready for another assault on Batman, sure that this exchange would be going much differently.

Regarding his opponent, smiling all the way, Mahito took notice of the slight sheen of sweat that had built up on the Bat's skin and his raised breathing. "I hope you aren't getting tired Batman," Mahito got back into his stance after quickly extending his arms downward as if shaking them off, raising them back to up to his face.

"Because I think I'm starting to get the hang of this."

Before Batman could even begin to think about Mahito's words, the nonhuman was upon him. Expecting another aimless barrage from the inexperienced fighter, the Dark Knight moved his arm to deflect another right punch that was aimed for at the face.

Smiling at the move, Mahito wrapped his arm around Batman's, appearing to copy what the hero had done to him minutes prior. Hooking his palm onto Batman's elbow, the villain's hold gave more length and slack rather than keeping it locked against his ribs as Batman had done. The move left the hero confused, watching as his opponent reared his remaining fist back to attack.

'He's only copying me,' he thought, realizing just how much of a 'learning experience' this truly was for Mahito. Imitation was one of the first steps to developing hand-to-hand, but it wouldn't do much against a master.

Batman's right hand came up and smacked the punch intended for him away with practiced ease, though it didn't seem to bother his attacker. He retaliated with a punch of his own, planning to separate himself from the cold hand gripping him, but became shocked when Mahito's right arm came up and moved his punch aside. Batman's eyes widened in shock, seeing the appendage that had previously been grasping his arm come into his vision, coming across its owner's body to take hold of his wrist and lead the hand down away from its target.

In that moment of surprise, Batman barely had the awareness to react to Mahito's left hand. The silver-haired being had taken advantage of this lapse, as intended, aiming his fist at Batman's chest, that is until the Dark Knight blocked the punch using both hands to catch it. The strength behind the punch still managed to knock the wind from the hero's lungs. And without missing a beat, the right fist followed shortly after the left had made contact with the Bat's palms, coming up on the side of the hero's head quickly.

'He isn't just copying me...'

Seeing the approaching punch, Batman disengaged, ducking low to completely avoid it. The hero spun, using his cape to obscure Mahito's view, leaving less time for him to react when a back fist erupted from behind it. Smirking while shifting his eyes to the side, Mahito rose his arm and leg to defend himself from the blow, balancing on his single leg as he took the hit.

'...he's actually improved over our exchanges!'

Mahito's overall technique had indeed come along throughout their fight. His stance had gone from being akin to a boxer's to his legs being spread for more maneuverability and his attacks becoming more methodical, letting him react much quicker to Batman's counters along with having his own in the works. Case in point, with his back fist blocked, Batman had stayed low to the ground to swing his leg back around and hit Mahito's.

'Planning to sweep my leg again?' Mahito thought, seeing the incoming attack. Using the lone leg on the ground, Mahito jumped up and avoided Batman's sweep, then, with the aid of gravity, planned to drive his fist into the hero's stomach.

Yet, even with his back to the ground and his opponent falling toward him, Batman still went on the offensive and lifted his other leg to hit Mahito in his gut. Thanks to legs being longer than an arm, the attack halted Mahito's fall totally. Without missing a beat, Batman retracted his leg and sprung back up. Swiftly twisting his arms around Mahito's right arm again, he used his right hand to grasp the wrist and put his left against the elbow.

'Even though I've improved, he's still outmaneuvered me. He really is too good...' Mahito still held his smirk even in the hold, wondering what the hero planned now.

Surely, he wouldn't just be knocking him over again...

*Crack*

The noise had Mahito's eyes widen the slightest bit and he lost his smile as well when he felt his arm bend in the opposite direction. Looking over, he saw that Batman had harshly pushed his left hand against the elbow while jerking the right, grasping the wrist, back to break Mahito's arm cleanly.

The hero released the villain soon after the debilitating move, hoping to have taken it out of the equation entirely and half the fighting ability that Mahito was gaining. The thing might not feel pain from the blow, but it had to have done something.

The chuckle coming from his opponent's lips said otherwise.

"Wow, I'm impressed, Batman," Mahito turned to the hero, lifting his broken arm up and letting it hang morbidly, "Heh, did you do this because you're getting worried about me?" Mahito smiled with his eyes closed and then threw his broken arm to the side to have it snap back into place as if it wasn't broken at all.

"That's good...I want you to take me seriously, Batman..." Mahito licked his lips. Slowly, four slits appeared on his face, two just below his eyes, and the other two just below his lips.

"I want you to show me everything you have in your arsenal..."

The slits opened themselves to reveal that they were extra eyes, all darting around in random directions.

"I don't want to miss a single move you make...so give it your all!"

The now six-eyed creature attacked again, faster than before, harder than before, punching with such speed that Batman barely could block in time. The hero began to be put on the back foot as Mahito had truly taken the offensive this time around, leaving little time for the Bat to attempt his own attacks.

All while Mahito's eyes read everything that Batman would do down to the most minute detail. From the look on the silver-haired creature's face, one could tell that he was relishing the fight.

'I can see it all...' he thought, blocking a fist with his open palm before it could strike his face, his left lower eye looking to Batman's leg, '...every tense of his muscles...' that same leg came up, and Mahito deftly caught it in his palm after bringing his right arm across his chest before it could hit the side of his head.

'...Every bead of sweat...' one of the eyes in the middle of his face took note of a dollop of perspiration as it made its way down Batman's jaw, while the opposite eye watched a fist making its way toward Mahito's face; a fist that was halted by an elbow which led into a hook that caught Batman's across the jaw.

'...And every harsh breath!' Mahito grinned so widely that all his eyes upturned in pure glee as he began to outpace Batman in their duel, a flurry of fists flew between the two of them. Blocking, deflecting, dodging, and slowly Batman was beginning to tire.

Of course, when your opponent is an inexhaustible, unnatural being that could kill with a touch if he so chose, what else would happen?

'This is it! It's just like a two-player board game!' Mahito enjoyed himself as he gained the upper hand. 'Nothing but the two of us, trying to best the other with our skills and pieces provided! And all this effort...the work I'm putting in to beat him...'

Batman managed to catch Mahito's cheek with his fist, forcing the nonhuman's head to the side and his hair to obscure his multiple eyes.

'It just makes me want to kill him more~' Mahito's original eyes rolled up in ecstasy at the thought, licking his lips as he entered back into the fray. So intently focused on each other, the battles going on around them fell to the wayside until their bout was settled.

'He really is impressive,' Mahito continued to attack the exhausting hero, 'Even though I'm stronger and faster...' he ducked to the side, letting a punch narrowly miss so he could get within Batman's guard, 'He's still able to keep up with me...not that it'll matter.'

The entity prepped his leg, feinting a punch to Batman's head. 'I haven't used my legs this entire time...did you notice, Batman?' stopping his punch just before it could strike Batman, a devastating knee hit instead.

'You probably assumed I wouldn't, thanks to that.'

With that, Mahito was able to lay into Batman at his leisure. Punches rained down onto the exhausted hero, blood, sweat, and spit flying from him with each blow with a few kicks for variety on the chance the Bat got used to the rhythm Mahito set. Before long, Batman had been overtaken, slumping against a wall and breathing heavily after the nonhuman had hit him against it with a strong punch to the stomach.

"Whew, oh, looks like we're all done then, huh, Batman?" Mahito wiped imaginary sweat from his brow, standing before his prey with his annoying, mocking grin, having his extra eyes recede back into his skin. "I have to thank you for showing me so much during our fight, I learned a lot, and I used to think combat was a worthless skill..." he looked to the side with an embarrassed rub to the back of his head.

"I'll need to apologize to Bakugo and Enid when we meet back up for thinking so lowly of their specialty..."

Then just as quickly, his jovial attitude disappeared, stalking forward to stand just before Batman's tired form with the hero only glaring.

"Buuuut, now that we're all finished, and I've gotten all I can from you...you're just another human, Batman...granted one slightly above average, but hardly worth anything, you know, like the rest."

A small smile, nothing like his sadistic smirks, or mocking grins, made its way onto Mahito's face. It promised an ending to his opponent, yet also conveyed that, to him, it was nothing. Just something he'd done so many times before that it was a process, one he enjoyed and looked forward to, but one he was used to.

"Before the end, though, I just wanted to ask..."

Mahito balanced on his toes, bending his knees to get low and stare into the masked eyes of the downed hero, resting his left elbow onto the corresponding knee to lean against his fist with his right arm resting over his right knee.

"Don't you ever feel jealous?"

Batman narrowed his eyes further, letting the talkative villain go on so he could catch his breath a way out of this.

"I mean, you're surrounded by so many powerful people, and you're only a human...you must feel inadequate sometimes. Right?" Mahito's eyes turned upward. "Don't get me wrong, you're certainly impressive compared to a lot of them, but that can only get you so far, Batman. Say you come across someone that can kill with a touch...just as an example...how would you counter that?"

"Your allies, with their powers, certainly could, but you? All it would take is a single slip up...and your life is over," Mahito kept his gaze on the hero intently as he continued, "Would you want that to weigh on their souls? Or are you more worried they would see you as a burden, someone to watch out for because of his weakness?"

A twitch of the eye, almost imperceptible.

"You're much better suited to the rogues of your city, don't you think? Other humans that know they need to stay out of sight, or they'd have to deal with the Justice League...of course, they wouldn't do that...it isn't worth their time, and that's what you're for. It keeps you occupied and lets you feel like a part of the team, because when an enemy appears that can match your friends...they know they need to protect you."

Mahito could tell he was striking a nerve, maybe not in a physical way, but in the wavering of Batman's soul. It was small, the man did have a reputation of being stone-willed, but after a loss, a loss where he hadn't so much as made his opponent sweat...it could chip away at that will a tad.

"Ever think they'll get tired of that...and have you resign? Let them handle everything while you take a backseat? Act as support to appease you as you try to show your worth?"

He got no response, but he didn't really need one.

The seed was planted all the same.

"Tight-lipped again I see...well, that's fine," he hefted himself back up to stand. "I suppose none of those feelings will matter...you can keep them with you...and have those thoughts curse someone down the line," lifting his hand next to his head, his energy encompassing it, intending to end The Batman here and now.

"Tomura and Enid might be upset with me for killing you here," Mahito rubbed his chin a little, "But on the other hand, what with your hand in All For One's downfall, they might just thank me too!" he leaned forward, reaching to grasp Batman's face. Knowing he shouldn't transfigure the hero; he would just shrink him down and show the others later.

"Only one way to find out."

Above the two, Hawkgirl had been busy dealing with Star Sapphire. The bird woman's mace being used to bust through the beams the villainess would fire her way as she made her way toward her. Sapphire, not being an up-close fighter, did her best to distract her opponent and catch her side or wing to slow her pursuit. That plan didn't work out as she'd intended, ending with Sapphire having one of her own beams reflected back at her, knocking her from the air, and hopefully from the fight for the time being.

From above, Hawkgirl surveyed the other battles taking place to see where she could lend a hand. Grundy was currently locked with Superman, probably the only one that could even begin to keep the Man of Steel at bay, but the zombie wouldn't be able to for long since he lacked any kind of sense. Cheetah was scratching at Wonder Woman who was using her bracers to defend herself from the claws, allowing Cheetah to get in close and exhaust herself before retaliating. Green Lantern was busy with Humanite, the intelligent ape avoiding the beams fired on him while returning fire from a backup firearm. Flash was running circles around Shade, careful not to get blinded by the man's darkness when he'd go in to punch the villain. Copperhead's whereabouts were unknown to her at the moment, having slunk away much like the snake he was dressed as, meaning that he could be waiting to ambush them.

That only left their stoic, dark-themed ally to address, and when her eyes saw that he was currently at the mercy of the inhuman monster that was part of the League of Villains, it didn't take a genius to know where she'd be lending a hand. Flying downward toward the silver-haired thing, Hawkgirl gave her trademark war cry as she lifted up her mace to smash into Mahito's face.

He turned to her slightly with a confused expression and a sigh of annoyance, regarding her as nothing more than a nuisance as she came upon him.

"And just what are you planning to do?" he asked under his breath.

Though Mahito soon came to eat those words when the mace hit his face, crunching it up and leaving one eye visible to widen.

He felt that!

A shock ran down his form from the impact, different from what he'd felt when fighting Raven, but still painful. He was launched from the mace, bending his knees to stay on his feet as he skidded backward with his head tilted back from the blow.

"That's two you owe me," Hawkgirl said jokingly.

"Thanks..."

That was a surprise coming from Batman, he never thanked anyone.

He must have been in real trouble before she'd come along.

While the two talked, Mahito had brought his hand back down to grasp his face, wincing when making contact.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed in childish surprise, a bit of what could be called blood leaked from his nose.

'What's happening...she's no sorcerer, so how did she manage to damage me?' Mahito thought seriously, his eye going to her mace. 'It must be her weapon...hm, my soul is still intact...it only affected my form, like it disrupted it for a second...'

Batman was not idle while Mahito thought, seeing the entity be hurt gave him pause. He was unable to do anything to so much as rattle him, but Hawkgirl got him to not only feel pain but have him take his time before reentering battle. That meant that it was no fluke, and Hawkgirl was able to do damage to him.

"Hawkgirl..."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"You'll have to handle him. He can't be hurt conventionally...I broke his arm and he shook it off."

"What?"

"If you can, weaken him enough to the point we can capture him, he can't be let go..."

"And what are you going to do?"

Batman glanced up at Luthor, still watching the fighting as the game master.

"I'm ending this."

With that said, and a plan made, Batman broke off from the two, trusting Hawkgirl to handle the villain.

Mahito froze in bewilderment, watching the man he was about to kill run off before they could finish.

How rude!

"Hey! Batman, we aren't done yet!" he pouted and shouted at his prey, making to chase after the hero.

Hawkgirl was having none of that and charged forward, mace crackling with energy and bringing it down. Mahito jumped backward, confirming for her and the glancing Batman that the weapon did pose a threat to him or he would not bother dodging.

"So, you don't like this thing, huh?" Hawkgirl taunted, hefting her mace in both hands.

Mahito only grinned, holding his hands up while watching her.

"No, I don't. It managed to injure me, and I pride myself on being practically invincible..." Mahito licked his lips, going into a stance to fight.

"And I can't have that hurting me anymore...so there's only one thing left to do, right?" he said ominously, eyes half-lidded and his face serious for once.

"And what's that?" Hawkgirl got ready too, spreading her legs and wings to ready herself for flight at a moment's notice.

Only for the tension to be released immediately when the being turned tail and ran away comically with a laugh.

"Run away, of course!"

That got Hawkgirl to falter for a second, not expecting such a maneuver from the villain that, from what she had seen, stayed confident no matter what situation he'd find himself in.

"Get back here!"

Hawkgirl flew after the fleeing Mahito, watching him gaze back up at her with that mocking smile of his.

"Why would I stick around, if I know I'm going to be hurt? That doesn't make much sense!" he goaded her.

The heroine took the bait and smashed downward, narrowly missing her target when he jumped back. With the dust kicked up, Mahito jumped into the cloud for a sneak attack on the woman. Throwing a fist forward where he felt her soul was, he hit something solid that rung up his arm. He punched the mace, Hawkgirl using it to defend herself, leaving Mahito sweating and vulnerable.

"Oops..."

Another hit to the face and Mahito was sent tumbling into a wall, ending upside down against it and watching the woman stalk forward.

"You know," he flipped out of the way when she went to hit him again, and he started to retreat once more. "It's to my understanding that males aren't attracted to brutish girls! You and Enid should get along, really!" he cackled, seeing her take umbrage with that and started attacking in earnest.

He continued to avoid the attacks, weaving around the airborne heroine with ease. Searching for a way to get her away from him, he believed he'd found the answer when Grundy and Superman had come into view after busting through a wall.

"Hey~" Mahito waved to them both getting the two to look his way, "Mind taking her off my hands~" Mahito leapfrogged over Grundy with a laugh.

The movement had obscured the zombie's vision for long enough that the heroine he was meant to distract had barreled into him though. This sent Grundy sailing into a pillar when he was smacked aside by the woman, but that left her open for Mahito's counter.

Having hidden behind the large body of Grundy, Mahito got into Hawkgirl's blind spot and struck. Transfiguring his arms, Mahito made to clip Hawkgirl's wings...and head...clean off with a pair of large scissors. Unluckily, with Superman being right there, he didn't get the chance before getting launched by the Man of Steel away from the woman. This also left Mahito vulnerable in midair, getting the mace to his stomach, and disrupting his form again.

He didn't let that deter him, though, going back on the run shortly after. Grundy gets back up and takes on Superman again so he would not give chase.

"That didn't go as planned..." he pouted, running across Shade, he gained another idea. "Oi, Mr. Shade! Can you handle her~"

"What do you think you're doing!?" Shade said shocked. Seeing an irate Hawkgirl, the villain had no want to get between her and her target while he had his hands full with Flash.

"Trying to find Batman~" he answered simply, and got his answer, looking up to see that Batman had made his way up to the balcony where Luthor was.

"Oh, there he is!" Mahito ran past Shade, focused on finishing up with the Dark Knight and ignoring his pursuer.

"~Batmaaaan~ Why'd you go and leave before we could finish our fight!" Mahito stretched his arms up to the balcony, coming between the two before Batman could take Luthor.

"That was rude of you," Mahito chuckled, watching the hero back away.

It was then that Copperhead struck from behind and bit into the Dark Knight's shoulder, injecting venom into the hero.

…

Mahito was dumbstruck.

"Hey!" he became indignant, having his prey be swiped from beneath him like that.

And to add to this disappointment, Hawkgirl finally caught up and downed the whole balcony, making the three villains fall as she grabbed Batman. Humanite acted quickly, grabbing Lex from midair before he could hit the ground.

Couldn't have their pay go up in smoke.

Mahito fell with his arms and legs crossed, ignoring the danger given he couldn't be hurt by it. He grumbled about his missed chance to kill Batman thanks to Copperhead...also ignoring the havoc he'd caused running about with Hawkgirl on his heels and the similar situation he'd caused while doing it. He perked up from his funk when he saw Green Lantern approach them, no doubt to try and catch the two remaining villains in freefall.

Smiling to himself, Mahito used Copperhead as a scapegoat as a form of revenge. Placing the panicking snake villain ahead of himself, a green beam hit the villain and thrust him against a wall knocking him out. This left Mahito free to land unscathed, taking a sick pleasure knowing he'd gotten one of the Injustice League out of commission.

Maybe he'd think twice about kill stealing next time.

And consider himself lucky there'd be a next time.

Currently, the Injustice League had been backed against a wall. Copperhead was downed; Sapphire being handled by Wonder Woman now with Cheetah barely able to help now that the heroine was flying out of reach; Grundy had Flash to contend with now and the swifter man left the undead confused and disoriented. Shade had made his way over to Lex and Humanite, rubbing his jaw from a punch he'd received and watching with them as Superman, Hawkgirl, and Lantern enclosed around them.

"I don't know about you, but I think a retreat might be necessary unless you want to get your old room back," Shade said, looking for permission from the 'boss'.

The bald man saw no other option but to pull back and lick their wounds before trying again.

Not that he was happy admitting that the plan had failed, of course.

"Fine!" Lex growled out with reluctance, swallowing a bitter pill of defeat.

Nodding, Shade directed his nightstick and released a blanket of darkness that covered the entire room. The pitch-black mass covered the villainous group's retreat, and when it finally dissipated, left no trace of their presence other than the destroyed surroundings.

"They're gone..." Lantern landed on the floor with the others.

"What was one of the League of Villains members doing with Lex?" Superman asked. He knew his archenemy blamed him for his condition, but he didn't think he'd go so far as to enlist the help of those maniacs.

He must have been desperate.

"We'll worry about that later. Batman needs medical attention!" Wonder Woman turned the man over and could see he was burning up, the venom of Copperhead doing its work.

"At least we got one of them out of this," Flash dashed over to Copperhead, "We can ask him when he wakes up."

"Sounds like a plan. Flash, you take Copperhead into custody, the rest of us will get to the Watchtower and treat Batman. When we're done, I'll meet with you to interrogate Copperhead, and the rest will start searching for Lex," Superman received nods from the others and they swiftly made off to carry these tasks out.

(On the Watchtower)

Batman groaned, his eyes meeting the ceiling of the Watchtower's medbay. Propping himself up on his elbow he saw Superman and J'onn beside his bed with visual relief coming onto Superman's face.

"You're alright."

"Yes, the antivenom appears to have worked, though you'll need more rest," J'onn, monotone as ever, said matter-of-factly.

"What happened?" Batman cut straight to the point. He didn't have time to lay around, not when those criminals were on the loose and working with those monsters no less.

"Lex got away. All of them did, save for Copperhead. He was thrown under the bus by that...whatever he's supposed to be..." Superman's demeanor changed to a slightly more serious one.

"You should have said something. What if he managed to touch you?"

Batman frowned, "You were all busy with the rest. I handled myself," he narrowed his eyes.

"Just barely. Hawkgirl said she had to come in and help you," Superman crossed his arms.

The frown deepened.

Knowing where this was heading, having had this kind of conversation with his friend more than once, Superman let it drop with a sigh.

"I'm going to head back down to Earth with the others. They'll hunt Lex and the Injustice Gang, and I'm joining Flash to interrogate Copperhead."

"Then let's go."

Batman was stopped from getting up by the powerful hand of the Kryptonian, a stern look on his features.

"No, you're staying here to recover. That venom almost killed you."

"What's your point. I already almost died once tonight...what's one more?" Batman glared.

"You're staying here, end of discussion. You shouldn't be playing fast and loose with your life like this."

"And you can?"

"You know that's different!"

"Is it?"

Superman frowned, shook his head, and then left.

"J'onn, don't let him leave!" he called over his shoulder.

Within seconds of the Man of Steel's departure, Batman got up from his bed and made his way out of the medbay. J'onn simply followed after his teammate, having a feeling he had no way of getting the Dark Knight to stop. From what he'd seen of the man, he was devoted, obsessive, and, unfortunately, stubborn.

"You really should listen to Superman," J'onn tried to reason with Batman, watching him sit in front of a monitor and pull up a grid map of Metropolis from the looks of it, a red dot blinking on it. As quickly as the image had appeared onscreen, it was gone, before J'onn could discern the location that had appeared.

"I understand how you feel...being human...no powers to speak of, you feel you need to work yourself twice as hard to prove yourself to us."

Batman clenched his fingers the slightest bit hearing that, mind going to what the stitched-up monster had said to him. He banished that thought, couldn't have it slowing him down.

"But you don't have to. We value your skillset and knowledge and only want you to continue to be with us. You're a valuable member and good friend to us all," J'onn said sincerely though it would be difficult to tell given his delivery.

The Dark Knight got up from the seat and looked directly into the Martian's eyes unflinching.

"I'm taking a shuttle...unless you're going to try and stop me."

A second of silence passed between them, ultimately ending with Martian Manhunter backing down, acquiescing to his teammate's stubbornness.

"No..." J'onn stepped aside, allowing Batman to disappear down the hall. The Martian looked down to the ground, feeling like he'd failed.

Batman tromped through the hall; eyes knit as he went. While J'onn's words were meant to help, that's all they were. If he wanted to prove to himself and the others that he was valuable, as he had time and again, he'd need to show it through his actions. Finding the Injustice Gang would be a good start, and perhaps even cornering the League of Villains as well if they were truly affiliating themselves with Luthor.

He had their location, and once he got some intel, he'd call the whole League in to take them all down.

(Metropolis Pictures Store)

"I can't believe you lot!" Lex was currently throwing a tantrum, pacing back and forth in front of the Injustice League and Mahito, the rest of the League of Villains off to the side watching.

"Of all the incompetent, clumsy...!" his fist shook in restrained anger and a vein pulsed on the side of his head.

"Maybe if there was more money on the table..." Shade muttered under his breath.

"What was that!?" Lex turned to him.

"I mean...it would be a start..." the shadow-man.

"You think I should reward this failure?! Do you!?"

"Tch, it's almost like someone told ya it was gonna end up like this, baldy!" Bakugo smirked toothily, chin pointing at the irate man as he took enjoyment in being correct.

"If I want your opinion, I'll ask!"

"Pretty sure the problem was that you didn't, Lex," Enid rested her head in her hand with a lazy smirk.

A raised hand from Mahito silenced them. He waved it in the air, trying to get the attention of Lex like a child in school, his lips pursed.

"You know, Mr. Luthor, I don't get why I'm getting scolded with everyone else. I did a great job keeping Batman busy the whole time," Mahito pointed out, "I even would have had him dead if someone had kept Hawkgirl busy..." he pointed a not-so-subtle finger at Star Sapphire.

"I did what I could!" she replied indignantly.

"Then I guess it wasn't enough...what was that you said about not being a common criminal?" Mahito dug the knife in deeper.

"You're one to talk," Shade defended Sapphire, though not out of the goodness of his heart. "Because you went on a rampage with that harpy, everything started to fall apart, including Copperhead getting taken away."

"That wasn't my fault," the nonhuman shrugged his shoulder uncaringly, "Excuse me for thinking that the professional criminals could handle themselves. Besides, if he was dumb enough to get caught like that, we don't really need him, do we?" Mahito waved off the man without a shred of remorse for his hand in Copperhead's capture.

"And even taking that into account, it still comes down on her," he brought the blame back onto Star Sapphire, "I wouldn't have been running around if she'd kept Hawkgirl busy, see?"

"You cretinous..." Sapphire had her gem glow, it becoming brighter with her anger.

"Quiet..." Lex rubbed his forehead, becoming tired of the back and forth, "Whether it was her failure or not, your antics did not help the matter."

"~But if she had~"

"Enough! Go back to your group and keep that mouth shut!"

Mahito only shrugged and returned to his comrades, scratching the back of his head and pouting at being scolded like a child by the villainous mastermind.

"I really did do my best though..."

"Forget it," Enid rolled her eyes, "The baldy'd get mad no matter what happened, especially because we were right about his 'plan' failing," she made no attempt to quiet her voice, making sure Lex would hear her.

"You think he'd be used to it by now. That's all he does, after all," Dabi added his two cents in as well.

"Maybe he just forgot what success feels like..." Gaz joined in, never lifting her head from her game.

"So, you and the Bat, huh?" Bakugo asked their nonhuman companion, curious how that went.

"Oh! Yes, he was impressive. He managed to break my arm and everything when we fought!" Mahito recounted with a laugh.

"For a human to so easily outclass me like that, it was surprising at first, but at least I was able to learn from him," Mahito looked to the more battle-centric members of their group. "Hand-to-hand combat is so rewarding. I want to apologize to you and Enid, Bakugo-kun. I thought it was just for idiot brutes before..."

"The hell you say, Patchface!?" Bakugo grabbed Mahito by the collar with the silver-haired entity ignoring it and continuing.

"But now I know better...it only whets the appetite until you beat them...and then the end is all the more rewarding," Mahito rubbed his chin even with the fuming face of Bakugo inches from him. "I'll want to spar with the two of you when we're done here so I can improve. Sound good?"

Bakugo released his comrade and walked away, "I'd kill you."

"Great! That's just what I need!" Mahito said joyously, missing entirely what the blond meant by that.

"Sounds good to me...and I probably wouldn't be as rough as someone," Enid chuckled.

"No. You should be, I'll learn a lot more if you try and kill me."

Ok, so maybe he did understand what Bakugo meant.

"See what I mean, Luthor...just having to deal with these...radicals, I think a raise isn't out of the question," Shade brought the subject of pay back up to the acting leader of this outfit.

"And what? You want me to pay you more for failure? You fools didn't even accomplish the baseline of what I asked, and you expect me to pay extra?" Lex got into the man's face, angrily staring Shade down until he relented and looked away.

"Next time, try doing your jobs before coming and begging for scraps like the dogs you-urk!"

The large hand of Grundy suddenly gripped Lex by the neck, lifting the small man up to stare into his dead eyes.

"No one talks to Grundy like that!" he squeezed, getting a strangled cry.

"Hello..." Enid smirked at the development.

"Now things are starting to get interesting..." Dabi raised his eyebrow to watch how Luthor'd be getting himself out of this mess.

Gaz closed her Game Slave to watch this.

"Hmmm, oh, this'll all be over with if Mr. Luthor dies here, right?" Mahito pretended to come to this realization with a snap of his fingers.

"Ha, give a big twist, big guy, and make sure it hurts!" Bakugo goaded Grundy.

Tomura only inclined his head the slightest bit to watch, eye staring intently from behind his mask.

"Are you certain you want that?" Lex struggled with a smirk directed at them.

"Um...pretty sure..." Mahito supplied.

"You'd only be hurting yourselves..." Lex smirked.

"Don't tell me..." Enid sighed with a hand to her forehead, already having an idea of what the bald man would say.

"If my life were to end prematurely, then your Metallo would still be affected. A dead man's switch. To be honest, I expected one of you fools to make an attempt on my life far sooner and have me reveal this, though not in this way, it serves the same purpose." Lex chuckled even with the hand wrapped around his neck.

"You lousy...!" Enid heated up for a second, letting her anger get the better of her.

"Should have guessed," Dabi rolled his eyes.

"Ah! Wait! Then don't kill him yet!" Mahito waved his arms around exaggeratedly.

"If Grundy chooses to end me here, it doesn't matter. I still get the last laugh, knowing that you lose all you're working for, and guaranteeing that I don't have to pay any of you a cent with the added benefit of the Justice League hunting all of you down with nothing to show for yourselves. You'd be doing me a favor, anyway. I've always abhorred hospitals, and I don't fancy spending my final days laying in a bed being fed through a tube, wasting away," Lex smirked at them all, completely in control of all their fates even in death he'd be in control.

"So, what are you waiting for?"

The zombie gave a grimace, a face shared across the room. Probably the one thing the two groups of villains would be on the same wavelength for, their shared distaste for Lex Luthor and his smug grin.

"When all this is over, you're going to get yours, baldy," Enid cooled off with a resigned sigh.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Now, what are you waiting for, Grundy...release me."

It was a command.

"You're crazy," even the undead gangster, not that he remembered that past, had the sense to know that Lex's readiness to be killed, as long as it meant they would suffer, was not the action that most would 'sane' people would think of.

"Ha!" a loud laugh came from the front entrance, adding to the chaos of the scene. Slamming the dual doors open, a man in a purple suit, a wide grin, white skin, and slicked hair made his way into the room with gravitas.

Everyone knew just who this man was.

"And what's wrong with crazy? Normal is overrated, the crazies are the ones you have to watch out for..."

Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime, and Batman's archnemesis strolled in like it was nothing.

"Joker..." Tomura whispered in disdain.

"What's he doing here, baldy!?" Enid did not want anything to do with the clown. Their group was lumped together with this psycho too much for her liking with plenty of people considering the Boss a Joker with powers, forgetting the ideal he strived for whereas this thing didn't have such fiber.

"Well, at least now this circus is complete," Dabi rolled his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Lex wasn't happy with Joker's appearance either, visibly becoming angry once again.

Most likely because even he'd have a hard time dealing with Joker.

The clown looked scandalized, bringing his hands onto his chest, "Me? What am I doing here? Lexie, how could I not be here?" Joker immediately got into Luthor's personal space, slinging a hand onto the man's shoulder. "When I heard my bestie was hosting this little shindig, I couldn't stay away!"

"I am not your...'bestie'!"

Lex punctuated 'not' with an elbow to get the clown off him.

"You might be right about that...I mean," he stood before the assembled League of Villains without fear. Most of them stared with angered apprehension toward the clown, only Gaz and Mahito were not. Gaz simply glared at him, a clear example of the heroes' failures to her; and Mahito only stared curiously at the man, blinking simply as he started to gesture to them all.

"...You even invited the new kids on the block, and not me...what are those friendship bracelets I made for us even worth?" Joker put the back of his hand to his forehead in faux sadness.

And just as quickly the act dropped and he placed his hands behind his back, starting to make his way down the line of young, rookie villains, his grin still present on his face, perhaps even wider than before.

"Although, I have been itching to see what these kids are all about..." he rubbed his chin, staring Dabi in the eye first.

"Hmm...play with too many matches, my boy?"

"Try something original."

"Heh, figured, you'd heard that one before."

He stepped over to Enid. Unlike Dabi she took a defensive stance, bringing a foot back to plant herself in case she needed to embed a fist through Joker.

Chuckling a little, he proceeded to step around the girl with an appraising look, until she finally shoved him away with glowing eyes.

"Back off, Pennywise!"

"Ooh, a fire in this one...heh, heh, what are they feeding girls these days? Harley could take a page from your book," Joker wasn't concerned with his wellbeing, stepping away from the girl. Her usual confidence in her body image felt dirtied when she was complimented by the Joker.

He bent down slightly to look at Gaz, the girl looking back with her squinted eyes and a frown on her face.

"Glad to see that villainy's been extending to the elementary level," he moved to pinch her cheek only for a shock to stop the action altogether. The girl's displeasure at the action was evident by her grinding her teeth together and the single eye that opened to glare at the man, barely holding herself back from frying him entirely.

"Ha!" Joker slapped his knee with a laugh, not even fazed by the tiny shock, "You can never start too early," he wagged his finger at the girl and made his way down the line.

When he got to Bakugo, he stared for the longest time at any of them, seemingly focused intently on the living dynamite.

Eventually, the silence got the better of the blond's short fuse, "What!? Got something to say, clown?"

"Hm?" those words got Joker to come back to Earth, smiling and rubbing his chin, "Oh, sorry about that. I was just thinking that I've got to change the gel I've been using," he moved his gloved hand through his hair, "Apparently spikes are the new trend," he joked about his and Dabi's hairstyles.

Bakugo's eye twitched at that, "I'll give you spiky hair, you bastard!" the way he'd do it was a well-placed blast to the face! Bakugo took a step forward and made to grab the clown's face, but Enid reached over and held him back.

"Calm down...he's just annoying."

"Good, you've got it!" Joker cackled at them both, holding his gut and moving to Mahito.

The nonhuman only blinked at the clown in his face.

"I've got nothing," Joker shrugged, laughing maliciously at the incredulous looks that the others, sans Dabi, gave him.

He had a snide joke for each of them, but he couldn't come up with something to mock the nonhuman with?

It should have been easy!

"Ah, and then we have the young leader of this little band..." Joker looked into Tomura's lone red eye with the young man meeting the gaze easily without fear, calmly staring back.

Joker made the first move.

"You know, since seeing you the first time, I wondered..." he bravely reached for Tomura's mask, "Are these real?"

Swiftly, the arm was taken before it could so much as brush the disembodied hand. Tomura gripped Joker's arm harshly, wrinkling the suit, and leaving his middle finger raised.

"And if they are?" Tomura asked dangerously, his eye narrowing.

Joker only smiled, not at all bothered by the grip on his limb, "Well...you won't be losing points for style," with his joke made, his arm was released. The only sign of discomfort the clown gave was rubbing his arm.

"Welp," Joker clapped his hands together to rid them of imaginary dust, "I can't say I'm impressed with them..." Joker rubbed his chin, actually frowning at his assessment of the League of Villains, looking disappointed now that he got a good look.

"They just seem like another group of punks...looking to make waves in this already wacky world we live in...thing is, you kids will need a tsunami," Joker chuckled.

Enid, Bakugo, and Gaz were the ones that visibly showed a problem with the clown's words while Dabi showed his usual apathy toward everything, and Shigaraki with Mahito had straight faces.

"But, there's plenty of time to prove me wrong, and show you've got the right stuff," he leaned forward a bit, "I look forward to seeing you in action, kiddies."

Lex finally stepped forward, "You're talking like I'm going to let you stay, Joker."

"Oh, come now, Lexie, we go way back!" Joker skipped over to his B.V.F (Best Villainous Friend), "And you could use a man with my...specific skillset," Joker rubbed his knuckles against his chest as he said that.

"Oh please," Lex rolled his eyes, "In case you haven't noticed, I have more than my fair share of loose cannons," a point to the League showed who he meant, "Why would I want to add to that?"

"Hm, why indeed?" Joker said contemplatively, wandering back over to a certain patchwork nonhuman.

"Tell me, my fine, stitched-together fellow," Joker leaned in, slinging his arm over the confused Mahito. "Tangled with Batman, did you?"

Taking a second to blink, Mahito answered, "Um, yes."

"I could just tell," Joker took his index finger and thumb and pinched at Mahito's right shoulder, taking something off it.

"You really should be more careful. You never know the types of bugs those flying rodents have on them."

Flipping the object he'd taken, Joker revealed that it was a bat-shaped tracker. This made both Enid and Tomura widen their eyes, knowing the trouble that the small device would bring down on them firsthand.

"Mahito! What the hell!?" Enid immediately set her sights on the surprised creature.

"Wow," he turned his head completely around to look at his own back and still seemed amazed, "Batman managed to slip that on me even when I had six eyes on him...incredible," he thought back to their battle, remembering when he had one of the Bat's fists narrowly miss hitting him in the face.

'That must have been when he did it.'

His musings were cut off when the irate teenage femme fatale wrapped her hands around his neck and started to shake him.

"Why're you sounding so impressed!? You know what that thing could do?!"

"I didn't know!" Mahito gagged as he was shaken, only to keep up the act, of course, he couldn't be choked.

"That's no excuse! You've gotta be more careful, and quit messing around so much!"

He didn't seem to be listening though as Mahito even started to bloat his own head like it was a balloon getting too much air which only served to make his companion madder at him before he eventually made it pop for added effect.

"What did I just-! That's it, I'm ripping you a new one now!" the air distorted with Enid's anger, most of her team backing off as she started to stomp on the pieces of Mahito's head.

"Ha-ha, you see, Lexie," Joker dropped the tracker into the mastermind's hand, "I have expertise that you could use. I'm great at pest control," Joker tugged on his collar, assured that he demonstrated what he was capable of.

Lex scowled, gears turning in his head. On the one hand, he loathed Joker and the beginnings of a headache were already forming; on the other, he did just lose one of his members, Copperhead wasn't anything too special, so a replacement, even one he hated, was welcome, and Joker was intelligent...at least to a degree.

And there was also that edge of unpredictability that would most likely be a detriment to his plans...but also to whatever plans his rowdy 'employees' might be scheming as well.

It would be a calculated risk.

"Fine."

"Oh, goody, I knew you had a heart, Lexie!"

"No time for games...we need to prepare for our guest."

"I'll take care of 'em!" Enid took charge, holding Mahito in a headlock.

"And what's bringing this on?" Lex was skeptical. She was one of the more vocal members that were against everything so far, after all.

"Other than the fact that I've got a bone to pick with the flying rat... I gotta make sure I fix..." she tightened her arm around her teammate's neck, "...this one's mess."

"I really don't understand why you and Hawkgirl wouldn't get along...you're so similar," Mahito mentioned offhandedly.

"You really want me to crush your skull, don't ya?" Enid gave a forced smile but tried to remain calm.

"Very well, I suppose it doesn't matter so long as Batman is captured," Lex conceded.

"Glad we see things eye-to-eye, chrome dome," Enid smirked.

"I love it when a plan comes together!" Joker cackled loudly and received annoyed reactions from all present but Mahito.

(A few hours later)

Batman had tracked down his tracer's signal to the Metropolis Pictures Store. Yet another abandoned building that was being used to house villains and their nefarious dealings. Narrowing his eyes, the Dark Knight found his way in through a skylight, landing silently on the second floor to avoid detection from any that could be nearby.

Stealthily making his way down the halls, he noticed a light illuminating the darkened space. Ducking behind the upper floor's railing wall, Batman peeked over and took account of all present below him. The remaining members of the Injustice Gang were assembled at a lone round table playing cards of all things. He was slightly surprised when he saw a certain clown kicking his feet onto the table as he held up the card that was the same as his namesake.

If he was here it was going to become a lot more complicated.

Turning his gaze away from the veteran villains, Batman saw the deadly newcomers off to the side. Clearly, they had no want to associate with the other criminals present given the League of Villains believed themselves to have ideals and weren't in it for petty mischief or money.

He took stock of them all.

Against the wall stood the explosive blond that he deduced was named Bakugo thanks to his altercation with Mahito who happened to be sitting cross-legged on the floor. Gaz Membrane, assumedly, sat next to the silver-haired villain, playing her Game Slave and speaking to him about the game she was playing thanks to his incessant pestering evident by her annoyed expression, yet she still continued to answer. Separate from them all, keeping to himself, Dabi stared off into the darkness with a bored expression on his face. And finally, their leader, Tomura Shigaraki sat on a table, his legs over the side and his hands hung limply in the gap between them with his head hung low, shadowing his face thanks to his raggedy hair and the hand obscuring it.

They were all here.

This was his chance to get the others here to catch them all here and now, ending not only Luthor's reign but also stopping the League of Villains before they could gain any more momentum.

Just as Batman was about to contact J'onn so the Martian could inform the others of his location...he paused. Surveying the villains again, he took a headcount and realized that one of them was missing.

Enid Mettle.

"Missing someone, Batbrain?"

A voice reached his ears, though it wasn't hard given the owner had gotten close enough to lean in and whisper into it. Turning quickly, Batman came face-to-face with the villainess he'd just been worrying about. He only had time to register the smirk on the girl's face, seeing her bending at the waist with her hands on her hips, before, almost instantly, her smile became predatory and she swung her leg at the man's head. Taken by surprise, the powerful kick met the side of Batman's head and made him fall to the bottom floor, breaking the table that the Injustice Gang was sitting at.

Immediately, the assorted villains gathered around the hero as the last vestiges of his consciousness left. The last thing the Dark Knight could see was the large smile of his archenemy on the edges of his vision right as his eyes closed.

"Whoo! Talk about a wallop...heh, heh, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, as they say," Joker rubbed his chin impressed.

The young woman responsible for the hero's painful nap then proceeded to land on the bottom floor after hopping over the second's banister with a smile on her face. Clapping her hands as if she'd just finished taking the trash out, ending with a cock of her hips and a hand coming to rest on her right.

"Well, I feel better," she felt a certain catharsis finally getting a crack at the one she held responsible for her Boss's imprisonment.

"And that was my plan from the beginning, see?" Mahito said lamely in an attempt to lessen her annoyance with him.

"I'm gonna tear you apart when we spar."

The small smile on her face and her closed eyes promised pain.

"So he came here on his own? I thought he was supposed to be the smart one," Dabi looked down on the unconscious Bat, "Coming here, outnumbered, doesn't make any sense why he'd take the risk with that club he has backing him."

"Hm, I wonder," Mahito crouched next to Batman and grinned knowingly.

'Did what I said get to him that much?' he thought sadistically.

His burned companion didn't care to delve further into what he'd said. It was Batman's mistake even if he'd been goaded a tad into making it.

"Ya think he'd put up more of a fight..." Bakugo scoffed with his hands in his pockets.

"Being taken by surprise will do that," Gaz pointed out obviously.

"Get him up, I have the perfect place for him," Lex ushered everyone away, having Grundy lift their catch and move him to where he had in mind.

About an hour later, Batman was now enclosed in a kind of restraint that covered his body, rendering him completely immobile if he were conscious. Above him shone a light that seemed to emit a field around him, its purpose currently unknown.

For now, the first step would be to awaken the hero from his forced slumber.

"Rise and Shine, Bats!"

*Slap*

A harsh open-hand slap roused the knocked-out man back to the waking world. On instinct Batman tried to attack the offender and defend himself, only to feel his restraints prevent any movement aside from his head. Scanning the room, he could see that both the Injustice League and the League of Villains were before him and his nemesis's grinning face inches from his, making Batman narrow his eyes.

"Joker, now you're a part of this?" Batman glanced at the newer villains with this group of veterans, "With them?"

Joker only shrugged his shoulders, "What can I say. I wanted to see what all the hubbub was about, and so far, they aren't too shabby...if a little rough around the edges...but not bad at all."

Done humoring his foe, Batman addressed the leader of this coalition with a word of warning.

"You're playing with fire, Luthor. Working with Joker...them, they'll chew you up and spit you out."

"Thank you for the words of concern, but I can handle myself," Luthor rebuffed the advice.

He was in control of these dogs.

And Joker...

Well, as long as he behaved himself, he'd leave on his own once he got what he wanted.

Speaking of which.

"Now that the witty banter's all done..." Joker brandished a switchblade and threateningly approached the detained hero.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Lex pulled the clown back before he could get too close.

"What?" Joker looked confused, "Oh, do you want the first cut?" Joker offered the knife to Luthor.

"No. We aren't killing him."

Joker blinked and then busted out into his trademark laugh. It echoed in the empty expanse of the basement they stood in, ending with the Clown Prince of Crime wiping a small tear from his eye.

"Oh, Lex, that was a good one. And I thought you didn't have a funny bone...come on, now..." he waved the knife handle to the mastermind who did not look amused.

"I'm deadly serious, stay away from him."

Now Joker got serious in return, "You have to be telling a bad joke here, Lex. You know who this is...heh, heh, heh, you can't just-just leave him like this...or you'll be sorry," his voice got low at the end to show just how serious he was.

"For the moment, he's more useful alive than dead. So, he gets to keep breathing until that usefulness runs out."

"Much as I hate to admit it," Dabi chimed in with the same lazy drawl he was known for, looking to Lex, "I have to agree with the clown on this one. What good is keeping the bastard alive?"

"Even the newbie can tell!" Joker laughed at the unexpected assistance.

The burned villain ignored the clown and pointed to the utility belt in Grundy's hands.

"You got what you wanted from him. And if you're half the genius you like to think you are, I'm sure you can figure it out from here without hearing from the horse's mouth. Having the guy known for disappearing under the noses of his enemies stay alive just so he can do it to us, doesn't make sense."

"And I'm sure you and yours don't have your own agenda in having him killed here and now...do you?" Lex said sarcastically.

"Not just us, I'm sure even these schmucks can tell it's the practical decision."

"Well then, it's a good thing I don't care what you or they think, isn't it. I say the Bat lives, so he lives!"

Rather than challenging the bald man, Dabi only rolled his eyes and shrugged again.

"Whatever, it's up to you. I gave my two cents, can't blame me..."

Lex gazed over the room and saw the skeptical glances from the Injustice League and the uncaring, but assured, eyes of the League of Villains staring back at him.

"What! Don't give me that," he walked over to the hero and pointed to the trap encasing him, "Those restraints are made of titanium, no human could escape! And this stasis field will block his thoughts, keeping the Martian from locating him. It's foolproof!" he said defensively.

"And I'm sure he's never thought that before..." Gaz looked at the clown that had had the Batman captured the most out of everyone there, yet still hadn't killed him.

"Ouch, the truth hurts..." Joker acted as if he were struck.

"Now, then, Batman, we wouldn't want anything...untoward to become of you, would we?"

The hero only gazed forward, stone-faced.

"Surely you must be in possession of some kind of key, or code that allows access into your base floating above our heads...where is it."

Again, Batman only gazed ahead, keeping his mind centered on the issue he was in. He needed to get out of here, or at the very least, deactivate this field so he could contact J'onn and have the others converge on the villains.

Annoyed by the man's silence, Lex snapped his fingers, "Grundy."

The large zombie stalked over to stand next to the man, lifted the yellow belt next to his head, and made to pry one of the compartments open. Unfortunately for the hulking undead, a powerful shock stopped him in his tracks, ending with the stunned Grundy falling to the floor smoking.

"Told you so~" Joker sang his grin becoming mocking, frustrating Lex.

The mastermind only continued ahead, gave a cursory point to the utility belt and a command, "Bring that. I'll open it." he made his way upstairs, followed by the rest of the Injustice League with Sapphire opting to take the utility belt by levitating it in a bubble from her gem.

Still rooted in place, though, was the League of Villains. They all stayed in their original positions, staring down the captured hero, with different gazes, sure, but it was clear that they seemed unwilling to have the Bat out of their sight. Unlike the overconfident Lex, they tried to be a tad more careful...after all, this guy was, in a way, the reason that they were currently here.

Give him a chance, and they'd come to regret it.

Batman was much too shrewd.

"And what are you standing around for?" Lex called to them from the elevator, narrowing his eyes.

"What?" Gaz kept focused on the hero even as she spoke to the bald man. "We have to watch you tinker with a belt?" she rolled her eyes, "No thanks."

"If it ain't something I can kill, I'm not interested..." Bakugo chimed in.

"If it's all the same to you, I think we're gonna stick around," Dabi looked over his shoulder.

"No, you won't be!" Lex stepped from the lift. "I'm not leaving a single one of you alone with him...there's no telling what you'll do, Joker included. The lot of you will remain in my sight unless another is here to keep watch over you."

"Why am I being punished?" Joker asked though he received no answer.

"Come on, Luthor, you really-" Enid began with a frown.

"Inside the elevator," he left no room for argument.

"I swear when we're done with you..." she huffed under her breath and started to shuffle off with her annoyed team.

Their leader on the other hand moved much more slowly. Shigaraki kept a half-lidded eye on the masked whites of Batman. Upon being satisfied with whatever he'd done, Tomura turned his back on the Dark Knight to head toward the elevator with the others.

"Nice to see what those ideals were worth."

The hushed tone of Batman reached the villain's ears, halting his stride to listen.

"You like to talk a big game...but as soon as your shield is gone, you jump ship to the next one to hide behind. I wonder how he'd feel," Batman narrowed his eyes further, "How much are you getting for this."

Tomura lifted his head and chuckled lowly.

"Oh, Batman. You and Luthor...you love to present yourselves as geniuses, but you both seem to lack vision. I'm sure you know of means to an end."

Tomura looked over his shoulder at the trapped hero.

"As a detective...I'm sure you have your little informants that feed you information...in exchange, you might let them go free, so they can keep abreast of dealings in Gotham, right? You aren't omnipotent after all."

Batman stayed silent.

"Must've hit the nail on the head, then. This is the same thing, hero. We'll use Luthor for the time being, but throw him away once his little game is finished and we get what we want," the edge of Tomura's smile showed from beneath his mask, "Don't worry about us, Batman. By the end of all this, the both of us will get what we want...and before long we'll have Master back by our side. Then, we'll show you what our conviction can amount to...and how cheap Luthor's are."

"Hey, Shigaraki, come on!" Enid called over her shoulder to her leader.

Turning back, the hand-clad villain took his leave, but not without some final words for warning.

"And watch your mouth, Batman...you of all people should know that Master can't be compared to Luthor in the first place."

With that, Shigaraki joined everyone in the elevator and got a questioning look from his oldest companion.

"What was that about?" she asked, looking between him and Batman.

"Nothing to be concerned over...just him talking about things he doesn't understand."

"Hm, wouldn't be the first time," she shrugged with a smirk and half-lidded gaze to the side.

Lex ignored their comments and issued an order, "Cheetah, keep an eye on our guest."

The feline villain only nodded and stepped back out as the other rose.

The elevator reached its destination and the assorted villains made their way out. A giant security monitor, a worktable, and miscellaneous machinery met them on the upper floor. Star Sapphire rested the utility belt on the worktable for Lex to begin working on it.

"Be ready...talking to Batman...it has me on edge...I have a feeling that this will be going sideways soon, and we need to make sure we don't get caught up in it."

"Please," Enid waved it off, "This won't be like last time. We're in control."

"Still...we might just need to help it along."

"Maybe..." Enid thought to herself.

(Elsewhere)

On a certain Prison Island in Metropolis, Superman and Flash were in an interrogation room with Copperhead. Flash sat in a chair at the table in the room with Copperhead on the opposite side, the villain's gloves and snake-head mask in its center, and Superman standing next to Flash.

"I don't know how many times I gotta tell ya, I don't know anything," the exasperated and annoyed voice of Copperhead said with his arms crossed.

This back-and-forth had been going on since the heroes had arrived. The snake-themed villain remained tight-lipped even after he'd been thrown under the bus and left behind.

"I dunno if I'm just tired, but I'm starting to believe him," Flash rubbed his eyes and stifled a yawn.

"Copperhead, you can't expect us to believe you, do you? You didn't know anything about the attack or what Luthor is planning?" Superman didn't buy it.

"It's like I already said. All I got was a call about a job, didn't know nothin' else," Copperhead spun his hand around lackadaisically.

"What about the League of Villains?" Superman's voice got deadly serious just at the mention of the group.

"Feh, that's how ya know I had no idea about Luthor's plans. If I'd 'a known those freakshows would be there, I would have passed...you saw what Frankenstein did to me."

"Exactly, so why are you protecting them and Lex for letting happen."

Copperhead leaned back and crossed his arms with a self-assured smirk on his scaly features, "That's an easy one, boy scout. In my line of work, you roll over on someone, you're signing a death warrant. I don't like what Luthor did to me, but the guy can do a lot worse than leaving me to rot in prison...and with those freaks helpin' him, heh, it's safer in a cell."

Superman took a threatening step forward, "Copperhead, I'm warning you. This is serious! Don't you know what they can do?"

"I know exactly what they can do. Which's why I'm staying right here for the time being...and, uh, that was a cute try, boy scout, but, come on, who do you think you are? Batman?" Copperhead shook his head.

Superman ground his teeth but conceded that he did not have the edge his colleague did. The Kryptonian stood straight and called for the guards to take Copperhead back to his holding cell, the snake tauntingly flicking his tongue out toward the heroes as he was led away.

"I know Bats is down for a bit, but this really is his bag," Flash rubbed the back of his head, "Maybe we should head back up to the Watchtower and bring him down..."

The Scarlet Speedster turned to his companion to see him staring at a wall, or more specifically, beyond it.

"Supes."

The Man of Steel came back to his senses when he felt Flash's hand rest on his shoulder.

"You okay?" it felt weird to ask the indestructible alien that question, but it needed to be asked. The hero had been...irritable Flash would say since coming to Stryker's.

And he had an idea why.

"Sorry...I just...he's still smiling...like he knows..." Superman had used his X-Ray vision to see through to a certain cell.

The prisoner still sat in his chair, strapped, unable to move, unable to breathe without assistance from a machine, trapped in a cell made especially for him...and he still sat that with that same malicious smile on his face that he had when Superman and Batman had dropped him off.

It got on Superman's nerves.

"It's alright big guy, no way he could know. No news in or out. He has no idea we're here, or what his kids are doing right now," Flash assured his teammate, his levity managing to calm the Kryptonian.

"You're right...he just gets under my skin is all, I guess," Superman turned to Flash with a smirk of his own, "Can't say I don't want to wipe that smile off his face though. I think the first bit of news he's going to be getting is hearing that his League is getting put behind bars with him."

"That's the spirit."

"Let's join back up with the others and search for them."

"Don't wanna head back up to the Watchtower first?"

"No, better to have us all searching. Batman will recover and we can try interrogating Copperhead again," Superman stayed dead set on finding the group.

"You're the boss."

"No telling what they're planning now," Superman worried about what diabolical plot Lex would be enacting now.

(Back with the Injustice League)

*Yawn*

Mahito let out a big yawn and scratched at his neck with some of tears in his eyes from the intensity of his yawn. In front of him, and the others were Lex, Humanite, and Joker in a rolling chair. Blue light lit up the room as Luthor tried once again to unlock Batman's belt with Humanite assisting him. The League simply watched along with the clown while the rest of the Injustice Gang were off somewhere else occupying themselves...they weren't the captives, after all.

"Mmm, how many times is this now?" Mahito rubbed at his eye.

"15," Dabi answered easily.

"I thought big-time criminals were supposed to work faster than this..." Mahito's head bobbed in his tiredness, mainly from boredom than actually being tired.

"Blast!" Lex growled at another failed attempt, the pristine belt taunting him as it lay in the middle of the worktable.

"Make that 16," Dabi sighed.

"Gah! Just let me blast it and get it over with!" Bakugo's impatience had hit a boiling point after being forced to watch this process for the past two hours, his pupils dilated to pinpricks such was his anger and his grin was downright jagged.

"That would be entertaining, but it would defeat the purpose, hothead," Enid rested her elbow on the explosive blond's head to stay him.

"Doesn't matter! At least it's something!" Bakugo's eye twitched.

"Can't argue that..." she conceded...doing something would be better than nothing.

Lex ignored their banter, readying for another try at opening Batman's belt.

"Humanite, up the power. We're cracking this thing!" Lex sneered at the object as if it were mocking him.

No piece of equipment was going to get the better of Lex Luthor.

"About to be 17 and counting..."

"*Sigh* It's impossible, Lex," Humanite looked over the machinery and saw that the limit had been reached. "This equipment has already been pushed above what it's capable of. Any more and we run the risk of a short and that could lead to a fire...and I don't think I need to go much further into why a fire would be less than ideal."

"Just do as I say!" Lex ignored the simian's warning, tunnel vision clouding his mind. "We'll run these machines into the ground if we have to, I don't fail!"

"Come now, Lex, we're lucky to have gotten what we could from these obsolete relics, they were on their last legs, to begin with."

"Some genius," Gaz muttered under her breath, taking great pleasure in the supposed mastermind's shortcomings.

"Hn, we're wasting time," Tomura glared and almost scratched at his neck but held himself back. "Those idiots are probably getting closer as we speak, and we're here waiting for a belt to be opened..."

"Eh, it's unlikely they'd find us..." Gaz pointed out, "Metropolis is a big city, without a lead on where we are...and the fact we have their brains downstairs, I doubt they'd find us anytime soon."

"They do have snake breath, though. He could end up talking," Enid reasoned.

"You're giving him too much credit," the smart child looked to the teen, pausing her game. "The guy's more of a dog than a snake. He won't bite if it means he won't get fed. He won't jeopardize getting another job in the future, so we're safe from him telling," the girl reasoned.

"Not to mention, I doubt any of them would be able to get him to talk anyway."

"Heh, yeah, none of those guys seem the interrogating type," Enid rolled her eyes at the image of Superman or Hawkgirl doing the job. Superman is too goody-goody, and Hawkgirl is much too heavy-handed.

"Still, every second counts...and he's wasting them with these failed attempts..." Tomura glared at Lex's back...thinking over their options, he decided to lend a hand so the wheels could continue to turn.

Well, not his hand.

"Gaz, help Luthor unlock the belt."

The girl closed her Game Slave with an audible clap as the two halves of the handheld met. She regarded her leader with a raised brow, keeping her eyes squinted as she did so.

"Do I have to?" she turned her head back to watch Lex angrily slam his hands on the worktable, smoke rising from the belt to show that Humanite had indeed upped the power at the dying man's behest, and ended just as the ape had predicted. The machinery was sparking from its misuse; Humanite had just barely pulled the power back to a manageable level to avoid the fire he warned of.

"I'm enjoying this..." a sly smile made its way onto Gaz's features, a rare occurrence given how she often only smirked.

"Come on, Gaz," Mahito leaned over the table she was sitting on, appearing next to her suddenly and hanging his arms over the edge as he talked to the girl, "It was funny maybe...the first...five times? But now it's just boring..." Mahito pouted.

Tilting her head slightly toward her bored companion, she rose a brow, "I figured you'd be enjoying this too. Isn't seeing humans suffer your whole thing?"

"Of a different sort, you know that...maybe if we remove Luthor's legs it'll get funny again..." Mahito mused, pinching his lip in thought.

"No, even that wouldn't help. This has moved far beyond being amusing, now it's just annoying and a waste of our time," Tomura's tone conveyed his exasperation, "We need to get the wheels turning again, or else we'll never get out of this."

"If I have to..." she obviously didn't want to, but she did want to get away from the baldy already and see all this crud he had them doing crash and burn in his face...that would be worth seeing.

"And what are you doing?"

The small child had taken a place next to the mastermind, her height just below the worktable so she'd have to stand on her tiptoes just to see its surface. Doing so, Gaz gazed at Lex from the corner of her squinted eyes with her brows furrowed in irritation.

Being so close to him was already giving her a migraine.

"Helping you open a belt, apparently..." she sighed, reaching her small arm over the table to hover it over the article of clothing.

Concentrating, sparks started to come from Gaz's fingertips. The belt started to shake slightly as small sparks also started to rise from it slowly, soon leading to streams of electricity being absorbed into the girl's fingers. Blue light bathed Gaz's face as she watched the power flow from the utility belt, draining the object of its defenses.

"Hm, decent voltage coming from this thing. No wonder the zombie was put down for a bit..." she mentioned off-handedly. Eventually, the electricity ceased, the belt stopped shaking, and fell back onto the table before all the compartments opened with nothing keeping them locked.

"There..."

No sooner had the words left her mouth was Gaz practically shoved aside by Luthor. The man combed his hands over the opened belt, ignoring the one that had opened it in the first place as he began to search it.

"Where is it?" Lex turned the belt upside down, having the variety of gadgets fall out all over the table.

"You're welcome," Gaz sneered before she retreated back to her team and got reabsorbed into her Game Slave.

"Nice job, kid," Enid pats her head, ignoring the tingling feeling she got from the girl's constant charge.

"Whatever..." she looked away, hiding her face.

"Ok, Lexie, now that we've cracked the pinata, what goodies are we looking for?" Joker slid over in his chair and roved over the gadgets. "I've always wondered what Batsy kept stashed in here...let's see..." as the clown picked up the various gadgets, he became disappointed.

"Aw, no shark repellant...I just lost a bet..." Joker tossed a Batarang away with a huff, making Dabi and Bakugo lean to the side to avoid being hit by it.

"Hands off!" Lex slapped Joker's hand away, and with that jerk, a remote finally clattered onto the worktable.

"Ah, here it is!"

In Lex's hand was Batman's Watchtower access remote control. This would give the Injustice League full access to the Watchtower, a way to covertly carry out his plan.

"What's that? Keys to the Batmobile?" Joker quipped.

"More like, the keys to the Golden Gates," Lex smiled evilly, turning to the simian scientist, "Humanite, get me Sapphire, Grundy, and Shade, they're going on a little field trip. And relieve Cheetah if you would."

"*Sigh* Very well," heading to the elevator, Ultra-Humanite went to retrieve the selected three to carry out the mission.

Enid then got up from her sitting position, stretching to let her joints pop before saying, "Well, I think I should go and lend them a hand," she said simply.

"Why? They can handle this," Lex frowned suspiciously.

"Aw, come on, 'Lexie.' Do I really need to spell it out for you?" Enid teased the man; the gazes of her teammates went to her as they wondered what she was getting at.

At Luthor's own questioning look, the tan-skinned teenager decided to elaborate.

"You've got those three heading up to the morons' base with no idea how many of them are even up there right now. Your little squad would be outnumbered, and what do they have?" Enid started to count on her fingers.

"Pure brute strength with no finesse, a long-range shooter, and, heh, a guy made purely for support," she described Grundy, Star Sapphire, and Shade respectively and, why they'd have issues going up to a space station with no chance of escape and an unknown number of foes. "Having someone that actually knows how to throw down when a fight breaks out seems like a good idea." Enid could tell that the gears in Lex's head were turning.

He didn't want to trust the word of the League of Villains member, but he did need to admit that the unknown number of Leaguers within the Watchtower at the moment did cause concern. The thing that really stayed his decision was the eagerness the girl had. She'd been aloof this whole time and gave little sarcastic comments befitting her age, but now she was ready to lend a hand.

"While I can concede that point...what's stopping him from doing this?" Lex pointed to Bakugo, getting the red-eyed blond to raise a brow at being called out.

"Well, blondie does know how to handle himself...but he doesn't exactly know how to play well with others," Enid pinched Bakugo's cheek and got the expected reaction.

"I can do it, fatass!"

"Y'see, can't even talk nice to his own friends," Enid smirked even as the explosive blond twitched in anger at being used like that. "Face it, I'm your best bet, baldy."

Lex growled at her logic, "Fine!"

"Glad you see it my way..." Enid moved aside to let the irate man leave to cool off.

Tomura paid little attention to Lex's departure, staring at Enid as he was.

"Just what are you up to?" he asked.

"Me? Just trying to keep the ball rolling like you said, Shigaraki. Can't have Luthor's plan go up in smoke, right?" she mused, "Need to make sure it goes without a hitch."

"Tch, like it's been going well so far," Dabi rolled his eyes.

"Too true, that's why I gotta go make sure these morons don't screw up," Enid chuckled.

They all knew it wasn't the whole story, but they also knew they had no reason to stop whatever she was planning.

Just like with Mahito, in the long run, this would only benefit them.

(Later)

Within a violet bubble created by Star Sapphire, far above the planet Earth, said villainess was transporting Grundy, Shade, and the purple-haired brat up to the Watchtower. As they floated upward, Grundy looked nervously through the transparent construct clearly distraught.

"Grundy no like heights..." the zombie grumbled sadly.

"Psht, what's gonna happen, you big baby?" Enid stared out into the endless expanse of space, trying her hardest not to associate with her forced colleagues. Slung over her shoulder was a briefcase that the group had been given for this plan of Luthor's.

Within it was a bomb that had a payload that would destroy that Watchtower in one fell swoop, supposedly. The idea was that they would infiltrate the Watchtower, deal with any of the stragglers of the League, and hopefully either leave the bomb to finish them off or have the remainder called by whatever alarm was raised and have it detonate once they had arrived.

Fat chance.

The girl's disinterested gaze caught the three that were with her from the corner of her eye. The 'experienced' criminals stared upward as the Watchtower came into view, readying themselves to carry out Luthor's plan and earn their pay, like good little sheep. All that was on Enid's mind was how she'd be going about her own plan without incriminating herself, leaving the Injustice League none the wiser until it was too late. They never saw Enid's stare, too busy looking at their destination.

"We're here," Shade tapped his nightstick against the bubble, taking Batman's Watchtower transmitter from his pocket. With a click of a button, the bay doors opened without any fuss, allowing the villains to waltz right in.

Touching down within the Justice League's base, Sapphire removed her construct from around them once the bay doors closed. The four moved slowly through the space station, taking in the sights that no one other than the Justice League had been privy to up until this moment.

Boots clicking against the metal floor, Enid's lazy gaze scanned the interior and gave a humorless chuckle. "Too bad Peri isn't here," the teen thought of the diminutive alien, "She'd be like a kid in a candy store."

Any further thoughts were cut off when an alarm began to sound throughout the base, catching the attention of the assorted villains.

"That's enough sightseeing," Shade tipped his hat and shrouded the room they were in with darkness to cover their positions.

'At least this shows that they aren't all here...why bother with an alarm if there were enough of them here to defend themselves,' Enid thought to herself, pinching her bottom lip as she continued, 'Are they all out looking for Batman? Probably not. No doubt they're trying to find us, then who'd they leave up here?'

Her question was answered when Martian Manhunter flew into the room, confused by the darkness that obscured his vision. Looking side to side, the alien tried to find the intruders as best he could, but could see nothing. Getting ready to use his powers, he was caught off guard by a super-heated leg barreled into the side of his head, knocking him unconscious before he could even realize what had happened.

"Well, that answers that question," Enid lowered her leg back to the floor, keeping a hand in her pocket and the other holding the briefcase's handle over her shoulder. "Guess you're only scary when you know what's going on, greenie. Shame you're the only one up here..." Enid smirked at the downed Martian, taking immense pleasure in hurting the hero after he had sifted through her mind in their last meeting.

"That's enough gloating," Sapphire flew above the girl to get her back on track, "Plant the bomb, and let's get out of here before the rest of them arrive."

"What else was I gonna do?" Enid picked her ear clean. "Maybe you should pull that wedgie out of your ass, then you wouldn't be so wound up," Enid walked away.

"Why the nerve!"

"Sapphire, get the bubble ready!" Shade stopped the female villain from tearing into the teenager.

Peeking over her shoulder, Enid saw the three Injustice Leaguers huddle around to save time for the transport, leaving her alone to leave the explosive. Extending her arm ahead of her, Enid stared at the briefcase for a second as a devious smirk came to her face.

"Hurry it up!" Star Sapphire shouted, so wanting to leave the girl behind, but that could lead to the brat disabling the bomb and jeopardizing her pay.

"All done. And I see you still have that wedgie, huh?" Enid jabbed.

"Why am I here..." Shade sighed.

Grundy only grunted.

(Back at Metropolis Pictures Store)

"I don't get it!"

Bakugo stared at a big screen with the others of both groups of villains after the four that had gone up to the Watchtower returned. The only ones that were currently absent from the room were Joker and Humanite who were both down in the basement, one to watch Batman, and the other there to mock his nemesis.

Mock him with what?

The onscreen destruction of the Watchtower, of course.

Lex, having a satellite of his capture the image, had the feed from space transmitted to them for their viewing pleasure. A front-row seat for the fireworks that he so desired to see. A moment that he had worked so hard for was finally going to be realized and something he so rightly deserved after all his hardships.

"If you were just gonna plant a bomb, I should have been the one up there!" Bakugo got upset at the stupid idea, and the fact that he, the living bomb, didn't have a hand in the mission. "I'd have caused way more damage than whatever firecracker you had made!"

"And what?" Gaz took the time to poke fun at the blond, "You'd blow everything up and get sucked out into space..." the purplette paused and seemed to realize something.

"Yeah, how come he didn't go up there?"

"I wouldn't die, Plum-head!" Bakugo shouted at what she was implying.

"Aw, a bomb's so boring...what good is it if you don't kill them yourself," Mahito pouted.

"Quiet. All of you..." Dabi rolled his eyes at their antics, "You act like this is going to work...like a bomb would finish them off." Dabi couldn't fathom how they'd believe a dumb plan like this would ever have a chance at succeeding.

Lex's brow twitched at the conversation that the League of Villains made no attempt to quiet. The man sat in an armchair in front of the screen, wanting front-row seats to the demise of his nemesis and his friends all in one fell swoop. Even with the remarks, Lex tried to ignore the words spoken.

"I don't know," Enid sat cross-legged on the worktable, resting her head in her hand, "Having no idea where the thing is...might just get them. The only one that could probably survive the vacuum is the Martian, Dabs," Enid spoke up lazily, getting her burned teammate to look at her over his shoulder.

"And where's that confidence coming from?"

"Hey, I followed baldy's plan to the letter, so if it goes wrong...that's more on him than me. A lead-lined briefcase on a space station? It'd be hard for them to find such a small thing, right?" she offered.

"Tch," Dabi clicked his teeth. Unable to argue that it would be an annoying task, especially when the Justice League had no idea to look for the thing in the first place, the pyrokinetic turned back to see how the plan would unfold.

Still holding a healthy amount of skepticism given that assurance came from someone that he, and all his group for that matter, believed would have something in her back pocket.

"Even your own can admit when they're wrong it seems," Lex felt vindicated that one of them had the clarity to concede to his genius.

The pieces were in place, and he was lucky enough that Superman had prioritized hunting for all of them rather than defending from within the Watchtower. With the alarm the Martian caused, they would all return to the space station unaware of the hazard in their midst. And before they knew what hit them, no more Justice League.

He thought this all without knowing what his defender was thinking at the same time.

'Of course, with a helping hand, I can't say it's totally impossible to find it...' Enid stared at the screen with her same lazy gaze but with a small almost invisible smile 'Let's hope their annoying quality of persisting doesn't up and disappear this time around.'

(On the Watchtower)

After receiving J'onn's distress call, the remaining League members met back up at Stryker's Island before taking the Javelin up to their headquarters. They were all concerned about just what could have transpired in a place that only a select few would even be able to reach, to begin with.

Docking the ship in the loading bay, they were immediately met with the unconscious form of J'onn on the floor. Flash took their friend to the medbay within seconds after confirming he was simply knocked out with Superman following after him. Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, and GL all went the opposite route afterward, deciding to search for the Dark Knight whom they believed to still be within the station recovering from the venom.

Minutes later, in the medical bay, J'onn was still unconscious with his two bodyguards wondering how this could have happened. Soon after, the others arrived, floating in and landing on the floor to report their findings or lack thereof.

"We searched the Watchtower from top to bottom. Batman's gone," Hawkgirl told the two heroes.

"I told him to stay put..." Superman groaned, dragging his hand down his face in exasperation.

"You know Bats. The only thing that'll keep him still is death, and I think we all know he's too stubborn to do that," Flash joked.

"This is serious, Flash," Green Lantern reined the jokester in, "Where would he even go?"

"There is only one place he'd think to go in a situation like this," Wonder Woman reasoned.

"No..." Hawkgirl didn't want to believe he'd do something so foolish.

"He found Lex? And he didn't think to tell us before going off on his own?!" Superman was very upset. Batman knew that this situation had gone far beyond Lex with the inclusion of the League of Villains, and he went on this loose-cannon crusade anyway.

"He was trying to prove himself, though I don't understand what brought it on..." J'onn woke at that moment, answering the Kryptonian's question.

"J'onn. Are you okay?" Superman let his irritation leave him with the Martian's awakening.

"I am fine...the culprits..." Manhunter rubbed his head to clear up the muddiness, "It was The Shade, Solomon Grundy, Star Sapphire, and Enid Mettle."

"What?" G.L. questioned.

"I sounded the alarm and went to meet them, but was ambushed from behind."

"How could they have gotten in here?" Hawkgirl wondered aloud.

"Only one way...Batman's transmitter," Green Lantern revealed.

"They captured him?" Flash's eyes widened, not used to hearing the idea.

"Went off half-cocked, should have at least warned us," G.L. shook his head.

"We have to save him! Who knows what they've done to him," Wonder Woman clenched her fist at the thought.

"Where would we start, princess? Batman is our only lead, and he's caught," Hawkgirl pointed out.

"We'll just have to..."

A ring was heard within the room as a headpiece positioned next to J'onn's bed received a call.

"Maybe he escaped?" Wonder Woman moved over to the device and answered it in a hopeful tone, "Batman? Is that...wait...what? Where is it?! Hello?!" her tone soon became frantic. Whatever was said on the other end gave the Amazon cause for alarm.

"That him?" G.L. asked the woman.

"No, it was someone saying that a bomb's been planted up here!" Wonder Woman revealed getting the heroes to become serious.

"This has gotta be a joke, right? Who was it on the other line?" Flash denied the possibility.

"I'm not sure. They had a voice modifier," Wonder Woman told them.

"Planting an explosive device would make sense," J'onn finally stepped out of the bed, "Why would our intruders take the time to infiltrate the Watchtower only to flee when they had the upper hand?"

"That's all the reason I need!" Green Lantern flew out of the room with the others following after him.

"Search everywhere!" Superman shouted.

A mad dash around the Watchtower ensued, the six heroes looking high and low for anything out of the ordinary that could lead them to the explosive device. With the clock ticking, they wasted no time taking different sections of the station to comb.

"Nothing on the upper floors!" Hawkgirl hastily flapped her wings, moving onto another area.

"Haven't found anything in the common areas!" the red blur of Flash zipped around the lower levels, opening and closing doors nearly simultaneously as he beat his feet against the metal floor.

"Not seeing anything in the walls!" Superman stared intently through the station's infrastructure with his X-ray vision. "J'onn, you found anything!?"

"No," the alien answered in his regular deadpan, becoming intangible and flying through the walls while he looked.

"Unh!" Wonder Woman lifted machinery to search for the bomb, casually putting the machine down when she did not find anything beneath or behind it, "Nothing here!"

The final member of the team, G.L., was within the docking bay, using his ring to scan over the floor, hoping to pick up any faint trace he could that the Injustice League had been through there.

"I'm searching the docking bay now..." John let them know. Not too long after his update, the former marine's ring picked up something.

"Wait a second...I found something."

(Back with the villains)

"Any moment now..." Lex smiled to himself, ticking the seconds down until the big bang, tapping his fingers together while reclining in his chair.

"And after that, we get paid?"

The voice of Shade knocked the bald man from his immersion.

"Am I not allowed to enjoy anything without one of you talking and ruining my moment?!" Lex spoke as if he were an annoyed moviegoer, turning in the chair to glare at the sheepish gentleman.

"Sorry..."

The L.O.V. just stayed silent as they continued to watch the footage, wondering how it would end. Enid had her own thoughts on the matter though, an intense look focused on the screen while waiting for the fruits of her labor.

'Come on, you dumbasses...' Enid frowned, narrowing her eyes, 'How hard can it be to find such an obvious clue?'

(Up on the Watchtower)

"I found a thermal pattern," GL shone his ring's light onto the floor and found a distinct pattern leading from the docking bay rather than into it. "Not just any thermals either...it's still clear even after all this time...and their footprints."

"That's kind of obvious..." Flash joined Green Lantern in the bay.

"That's an understatement, I found the bomb, the thing's outer casing is hot. My ring's practically making it a night light!"

After following the footsteps, Lantern came across Lex's little gift. The ring had lit up the trail of footsteps that moved away from the planted explosive while the briefcase itself had become illuminated from the sheer amount of heat it had absorbed.

"Flash!"

"I got it!" the speedster acting befitting of his name, quickly grabbing the explosive and moving to the bay doors. With a push of a button, courtesy of Lantern, Flash tossed the device out of the Watchtower and not a moment too soon.

Mere seconds after the case had been flung into space it exploded, managing to shake the station the slightest bit due to its proximity but leaving the HQ unscathed otherwise.

The Justice League had survived.

"Talk about a close one," Flash huffed.

The crisis averted, Superman and the others convened within the room, wanting to hear just what had happened after Lantern's investigation. The emissary of willpower showed the others the trail of footprints he'd followed to the bomb, and it didn't take a certain bat-themed detective to figure out who the culprit was.

"Mettle. But why would she assist us in finding the bomb?" Wonder Woman asked.

"She didn't. This was subtle, only able to find it if we were looking for it...something we would have probably done anyway after what J'onn told us," Lantern pondered.

"Indeed...whoever our mystery caller was I doubt that they and Enid Mettle were allied or else their clues would not have been so disparate," Martian Manhunter added.

"So, we've got a guardian angel at the same time one of the League of Villains tips us off?" Hawkgirl summed up.

"Probably didn't want Lex to have all the glory...they care too much about having us to themselves," the others had to agree with Superman's words. "The important thing is, we survived. Now we need to focus on finding Batman and rescuing him."

"We find Bats, we find the League and Lex too. Three birds, one stone," Flash smiled.

"J'onn have you been able to locate him?" Green Lantern saw the Martian concentrate before shaking his head.

"No...something must be blocking my abilities," he brought his hands back down to his sides, "Until the obstruction is removed, I cannot locate him."

"So back at square one, then...that's nice," Flash crossed his arms, feeling useless.

(With the Villains)

Turning the clock back to just after the Justice League had avoided a painful demise, Lex Luthor was none too happy to see the space station still in one piece.

"Told you..." Dabi sighed.

"No! How? How can they always live! It isn't fair!" the dying man lifted the chair he'd been sitting in and threw it into the screen destroying the monitor. The man's agitation caused his condition to flare up painfully in his chest, something he tried to stifle by gripping his shirt.

"Calm down, Luthor, your condition will-"

"Aw, just leave him alone, kitty," Enid rested her elbows on her legs, feeling satisfied that the Justice Morons had finally managed to find the bomb. You think she wouldn't need to try as hard as she did in the first place if they had any sense, but she supposed she gave them too much credit.

"The only way babies stop throwing tantrums is if you let them tire themselves out...or give them a bottle, and I sure as hell ain't got one," Enid shrugged at the end.

"Another swing and a miss, baldy! Told you I should've gone up there!" Bakugo jabbed a thumb into his chest with a vicious smirk.

"Dabi-kun was right, it seems. I should have known better..." Mahito sighed with a shrug.

Gaz only gave a shake of her head, though it was up in the air whether it was for Lex's failure or Mahito's words.

The constant criticism, pity, and compounded failures of the night finally came to a head as Lex finally let his anger out. Ignoring the pain in his chest, he directed his gaze to the League of Villains and let his vitriol fly.

"Quiet, quiet, quiet! Is that all you can do, offer snide remarks at my expense!?" he growled at the assembled group that didn't look intimidated or bothered by the dying man's words. "What good are you? You criticize me, but what triumphs have you? Eh? The only one worthwhile is imprisoned because he was nothing but a decrepit husk that can't so much as breathe on his own!" Lex spat at them.

Unlike the last time that Lex had insulted All For One, the League didn't bristle...in fact, they only looked on in pity and disappointment. These words weren't thrown in an attempt to get under their skin like last time, no, they were hurled in a sad attempt to deflect his own insecurities and failure.

"You fools need a shadow to hide behind because without him, you know you're nothing but empty words!"

The man's rant did not end there either, turning his hateful glare to the Injustice League now.

"And you...you think I need your pity!? Please! The only reason that you want me to live is so I can make out the check! If you wanted your money so badly, you would have ensured my plans were carried out! Instead, I'm met with failure after failure, yet you have the gall to continue to ask for my money! You're nothing but brainless, money-grubbing lumps!"

Clutching at his chest again, Lex huffed heavily, sweat marring his brow from straining himself so much. The room was silent after the angered ranting of the bald millionaire, the Injustice Gang speechless, and the League of Villains staring blankly.

Eventually, a voice cut through the silence, and it was none too pleased.

"That's it, I've had enough," Star Sapphire was the one who'd spoken, throwing her hands up in exasperation before she'd placed a hand on her hip. "I was able to stomach working with these fools," she pointed at the League, "The pay was more than enough to have me grit my teeth, but I draw the line being insulted by a dying man. No pay is worth the insult! In the time I've wasted on your little plans, I could have been at home after a much smaller job, at least I'd have something by now."

She floated toward the elevator, passing the villains, clearly finished with Lex's harebrained schemes.

"I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I. Am. Done."

With a glance at each other, one by one the rest of the Injustice League started to take their leave as well, muttering different assents with the woman. Having reached their limit with Lex's insults, and the younger villains' general disregard of their presence and experience, the Injustice Gang were all but ready to leave Lex to lie in the bed he'd made for himself when the Justice League inevitably found him.

"Wow, take a look at that. They finally grew a brain between them," Enid smirked over her shoulder, watching the group leave, "I'm almost proud."

"Don't give 'em too much credit. They signed up in the first place, after all," Dabi downplayed their decision seeing that they agreed when they no doubt knew the size of Lex's ego.

"Should be us..." Gaz muttered wanting to leave too, but they didn't have the luxury.

Mahito only offered a wave goodbye that came off as condescending, "Bye-bye!"

"Who needs them anyway?" and Bakugo didn't bother to watch at all.

Tomura was much the same, only following them for the briefest of moments before turning away.

It seemed Lex realized the error he'd made, staring dumbfounded as the group was walking away from him. While he knew that he'd dressed them up with pretty words to get them to work with him, he also knew that being stuck alone with the remaining villains (that would sooner throw him to the wolves) would not be ideal.

"Wait!" he reached a hand out, sounding more desperate than he probably intended, a hand still to his chest. "My anger got the better of me! What with the mishaps and their constant criticisms...I spoke out of turn!"

"Way to throw us under the bus..." Enid rolled her eyes.

"I'll double your pay!"

"Have some self-respect, man..." Enid shook her head.

"What's the point? You're finished, it's only a matter of time before they bust down that door," Sapphire continued into the lift.

"Even stuck it out, I'm impressed," Enid whistled.

"We still have a chance! They haven't found us yet, we can prepare, but I can't do it without your help!" Lex pleaded

"Ha, you're losin' 'em, Luthor! Better try something else," Bakugo laughed at the sad man's expense.

"Alright, Triple!"

That one word got the villains to come back with smiles on their faces, the promise of a stupid amount of cash being enough to have them return.

"Well, I did say I was almost proud..." Enid sighed.

"At the end of the day, it's all about money to them," Dabi rolled his eyes.

"Probably roll over and beg if they were told to..." Gaz muttered, never looking up.

Their words were ignored by the reassembled Injustice Gang. To the villains, they were only saying such things because they weren't going to be getting a slice of the ever-growing pie that was promised. The group of anarchists would have to go on in poverty, clinging to the vague ideal they preached, while they would live in the lap of luxury.

Too bad for them.

Behind the group, Ultra-Humanite had come up from the elevator.

"No doubt you've seen the recent developments," Humanite alluded to the Justice League's survival.

"Yes, unfortunately..." Lex winced, still feeling the pain, "...but we aren't finished yet. We'll lure them here with the Bat, and ambush them!" he groaned again as a particularly painful flare-up wracked him. "But before that, Humanite, I need you to help with my condition...you said you had a way to stave it off?"

The gorilla rubbed his chin, he'd brought up the idea when he and Lex were awaiting the League of Villains' arrival for their meeting. His plan was to make a device that would hold off the Kryptonite poisoning from spreading to the rest of Luthor's body, not a cure, but a way to keep him alive until one was found.

"Yes, I did, but it was only a theory without the proper equipment, Lex," the gorilla continued to ponder even as Lex looked down in disappointment. "But, with the assistance of our young friend here...we have the necessary power that makes that stipulation moot," Humanite turned to Gaz as he spoke.

Hearing herself being addressed, the purple-haired girl looked up from her handheld looking from the gorilla to the dying mastermind a few times with her squinted gaze.

"What? Now I have to save his life, too?" she did not like this one bit.

"Might as well do it, we don't have a choice..." Enid grumbled.

"Fine..." Gaz frowned heavily.

"Very good, then," Humanite started to explain just what the girl would have to do for the procedure, while also leading Lex to the worktable to lie on as they set about to help his condition.

The two groups of villains all stayed off to the sides of the room, only watching as the preparations were made. One of them though took notice that not everyone was present, turning their gaze to the elevator, they left without so much as a word to their respective group, slipping away with all the commotion.

Only one took notice of them walking away but said nothing, deciding to keep it to themselves rather than draw attention to it. It would only cause problems for them in the long run if they did so, so letting the one that left go would be a better idea, besides he wouldn't do anything to compromise them.

(At the same time in the basement)

The Clown Prince of Crime heaved a heavy sigh, resting his elbows atop a tube television he'd wheeled into the room. Onscreen the pristine Watchtower greeted the viewer when what it should have been displaying was its destroyed remains. Joker's plan to show off the Justice League's destruction to taunt Batman before taking his foe's life shortly after had fallen through because those party poopers managed to find the bomb.

"Hmph, there's nothing more unsatisfying than a joke with no punchline," Joker grumbled, pressing his hand on the television's side and knocking the device over. The clown reached into his suit's inner pocket and brandished a straight razor, the television shattering onto the unforgiving ground beside him.

"Guess not everyone can be a top-notch entertainer, like me," Joker passed the blade between his hands as he approached Batman who was keeping his face set in its same stoic state even while the threat got closer. "Stop me if you've heard this one before, Bats."

Just as the clown was about to start cutting into the Dark Knight's flesh, he was stopped by a certain raspy voice calling to him from behind.

"Back off, clown," Dabi made his appearance, his same aloof gaze, and hands in his pockets as he walked into the room and put a stop to Joker's plans.

Said supervillain recoiled, surprised at the sudden intrusion on the moment. Upon realizing that it was the pyrokinetic that had come in, the Joker's grin came back in full force. The clown walked with a swagger up to Dabi, confident that with his charm he'd be able to talk the younger villain into allowing him to finish Batman off.

"Come now, my burned compadre," Joker, unafraid, placed a hand on Dabi's shoulder before whispering lowly into his ear, having his other hand next to his face for added cartoonish effect as he'd made sure that his tone still let the hero hear him.

"We both know that we can't leave him alive...remember, you agreed that we should *chkk*,"

Joker dragged a finger across his neck.

Dabi was unimpressed and shook his shoulder free of Joker's gloved hand. "Just because I agreed that the baldy's decision to keep the flying rat alive was stupid, doesn't mean I'm gonna jeopardize what we want out of this," he answered bluntly. "Now, are you going to back off, or are we both about to find out if a single clown can do the burning building act?"

The burned man lifted a hand and let his threat show, his flames appearing over the limb with his tired gaze trained on the clown.

Joker weighed his options, he could try to kill Dabi, no one but his team would care since Lex and the others definitely wouldn't, but the chances of him being able to attack faster than the burned man could react were slim at this distance. Beaten, Joker backed off and took his leave, at the very least he knew that Dabi wouldn't be killing Bats, and he still had a chance to do it himself at a different time.

"And I was just starting to like you..." Joker plodded away childishly with a frown on his pale face, retreating to the upstairs where the others were.

Dabi did not turn to watch Joker leave, choosing to keep his half-lidded eyes on Batman's narrowed ones. Giving away none of his thoughts, Dabi walked over to a machine and planted himself atop it, his right leg drawn up to rest his arm over and the left dangling, and a grin beginning on his pierced face.

"What? No 'thank you'?" Dabi dryly joked to the unamused hero, letting a brief pause come over them before he decided to continue, "Why the long face? You think you'd be feeling great. Your little clubhouse and all those morons managed to survive, right?"

Batman continued to stare forward, not humoring the villain's attempt at a conversation, though that didn't stop the burned man from continuing anyway.

"Ah, right," Dabi gave the impression that he remembered something, perking his head up to add to the affectation, "I guess you do have a reason to be upset...those two kids of yours are permanently scarred after all."

The mere mention of the Robins and the fact that they now had burn scars on their bodies thanks to the separate encounters they'd had with the League of Villains got Batman to tense the slightest bit within his confines, making them shake from his movement. That reaction pleased Dabi, showing that he was starting to chip away at the stony face that the hero liked to project.

"Ah, got under your skin, huh?" Dabi's grin grew a little, "I don't understand why you're so upset about it though...It is your fault they ended up like that."

Batman's frown deepened at the implication.

"You've had to think about it before, right? You brought those kids into this mess in the first place, Batman, or else they'd be living normally like everyone else," Dabi pressed on, "It's a wonder why you'd even feel like taking kids under your wing like you did, and I was always curious..." Dabi placed a hand under his chin.

"They don't really look too much like you to me, well, besides the glare on the one leading the Titans that I met up with, can't say about the other one. But with that, they're probably orphans or something that you managed to pick up, right?" Dabi deduced. "Why would you pick up those two kids out of all the other ones that I'm sure you've saved over the years?"

Dabi looked back into Batman's eyes; he could tell that he was striking the man's heart. He could see that the hero's emotions while being held behind his serious face, were becoming harder to keep that way. The burned villain had this effect on people, to give himself time to cool down from his flames he became adept at gripping others psychologically, unnerving them so they would find it harder to act.

"I think it's because you saw yourself in them, right? Projecting yourself on them? Saving them because someone didn't save you when you needed it? So you took them in, to make you feel like you'd come full circle, you stopped the tragedy that set you down this hero's path you walk...must've felt good."

Batman had a bead of sweat go down the side of his head...

These guesses...they felt too spot on, too informed...could this man know? It should be impossible, but he spoke so confidently about it that it didn't feel like a mere guess.

"But then, I'm guessing you started to see a little bit too much of yourself in their eyes...that insane drive you've got...the stubbornness...that fire...it scared you, didn't it? And you tried to hold on to them all the tighter before they got hurt or went too far, like they already have." Dabi, by this point, had a full-blown smile that was stretching the edges of his skin and straining the piercings on the sides of his face.

"You found out the hard way that you couldn't douse that flame you lit inside them, that's why one of them went out and started his own team. He needed to prove to Daddy Bat that he could be just as much a hero as you are, that your time wasn't wasted and he could continue your legacy."

Dabi's hair shadowed his eyes as he said this, a mad gleam appearing in his normally distant, lazy eyes.

"That's what you heroes caused," looking back up to Batman, Dabi's look returned to normal, "You lit a fire within this society, one that's burned out of control for years now. A blaze that's made people feel safer as they hide behind it, one that's spurred others on to do the right thing, and they praise you for it...makes you feel untouchable when they don't know just what you're hiding behind those masks you put on for them. The fear, the dark truths, the lies...and they'll never be willing to get rid of you because their love for you keeps you up on that pedestal. Well, Batman, you've had to realize that fire is a double-edged sword."

Dabi's eyes seemed to glow the same shade as his flames did as he spoke, the drawl he had gaining an edge.

"It lit the way for all these people, but it's also pushed a lot of them out. That glow made the shadows grow, and the cracks started to form. Now, you're seeing its effects, and there's no stopping it. You've stoked the fire for too long, it was only inevitable that it would grow to consume you..."

Batman finally made to open his mouth, but the untimely arrival of Solomon Grundy halted any more conversation.

"Hey!" the zombie plodded over to the burned villain, intending to remove him.

"Ah, looks like the talk's over, Batman."

Standing up after lifting off the machine he'd been sitting on, Dabi's arm was taken into the grip of the zombie. He didn't react beyond moving his eye to see Grundy in his periphery.

"What you doing here?! Luthor not want any of you alone with Batman!" Grundy growled, his grip getting slightly tighter. If he hadn't shown up, then the burned man could've killed Batman, and then Grundy wouldn't get money!

"Calm down, nothing happened," Dabi sighed, returning to his nonchalant persona as if he hadn't been cruelly speaking to the hero moments prior. Wresting his arm from Grundy's large hand, Dabi turned to leave the basement. "If anything, I did you a favor. Stopped the clown from killing the Bat, none of you even noticed he was down here with him, alone," Dabi uncaringly waved his hand behind his back, acting like it wasn't a big deal.

"I'm sure you don't want Luthor to know that you failed to do your job, so we'll keep this between us, as payback for helping you out."

With his hair shadowing his face ominously Dabi continued to walk forward, "Think of it as a favor, from one zombie to another."

The words confused the two that heard them; Grundy, as an actual undead, could tell that Dabi was alive, so what could he have meant; and Batman, so thoroughly shaken by the previous conversation and those words, found himself asking...

"Who are you?"

At the stairs, Dabi stopped.

"All For One, Shigaraki, Mahito, and you...your identities are still unknown...I couldn't find anything...but you, even compared to the others...you know too much," Batman could never really say that he's been stumped for long on a case.

Joker is one of the standouts, having no trace of who he once was, but these specific four members of the League of Villains had no record of ever existing. Excluding the one named Bakugo who he'd only learned the name of recently, and their technical expert whom he knew existed but hasn't seen, those four remained elusive.

"What, trying to build a profile on me?" Dabi didn't turn back, keeping his hands in his pockets and speaking from the stairs. "I got no reason to answer, I'm not the prisoner here. Besides, it isn't time for that yet..." Dabi tilted his head upward and turned to look over his shoulder, "But trust me, Batman, you'll find out...and you'll see just who's been burned by that fire your existence caused."

Turning back, he slowly made his way up the stairs, waving sarcastically behind him as he disappeared up them.

"Who knows, though, maybe if our roles are ever reversed, I might feel bored enough to share..."

Leaving behind the undead mobster and the flying rat, Dabi made his way to the ground floor. The gears started to turn in Batman's head, the more he learned about the individuals that made up the League of Villains, the warier he grew about what they could accomplish if left free. Coming up with a plan to call the others here, the Dark Knight subtly looked toward Grundy and decided to take advantage of the zombie's dimwitted nature to facilitate his escape.

(Upstairs)

Humanite hurriedly scurried about the room, twisting knobs on the machines, pushing buttons, and pulling levers. The power coursing through the machines could be heard in the quiet room, some of them sparking from working harder than they were made to, but pushed through it thanks to the small living bolt that had her hands holding many of the wires to continue supplying energy for them. The villains all stood by, watching the proceedings with bored gazes, while Lex was still laying on the worktable, shirtless and pantsless for the procedure.

Above the man, a chest piece was held by a mechanical arm ready to descend. With the prep work completed, Humanite pulled one final lever, and from below Luthor came green energy that lifted him from the table. Lowering a pair of goggles onto his eyes, Humanite turned a pair of knobs, and the energy started to course through the bald former businessman, and it must have been quite painful given the man's screaming.

Slowly, the chest piece lowered onto Lex's torso, clamping shut around his body. As the procedure was completed, Lex fell back onto the worktable, smoking slightly and the emerald-colored chest piece glowing a familiar green in its center. Humanite removed the goggles from his head along with the rubber gloves he'd put on, admiring his work. Gaz simply dropped the wires out of her hands, the palms smoking slightly from the electricity she'd output.

"Great work, you should feel proud," Humanite said to his unwilling assistant.

Gaz opened one of her eyes to glare, not bothering to turn fully and regard the gorilla with her full attention, choosing to look at him from the side. "Nothing to feel proud of. If it wasn't for what you two are holding over our heads, I'd have let him die."

She made her way back over to her group after her piece was said, not feeling any semblance of joy or even anger with her actions. She had no choice but to help or make the League pay...this whole caring about other people thing was starting to suck...but she guessed it had its perks...not that she'd admit that.

"So he's cured?" Cheetah asked.

"Not cured, just stabilized," Humanite went on to explain, "The device will draw the Kryptonite radiation from his blood and contain it, keeping it from spreading throughout his body but by no means remove it. At the very least, it will stop his condition from worsening until a suitable treatment can be found."

"And the world gets to keep another millionaire. Aren't we lucky?" Enid sarcastically said.

Further discourse was halted by the sudden arrival of one agitated Grundy. The zombie came running into the room with panic in his eyes, huffing heavily as he came into the room.

"Mr. Luthor! Batman broke the...thingy!"

Yes, Batman had taken advantage of Grundy's naivety and dimwitted nature, asking the undead mobster for a cup of water after the conversation he'd had with Dabi. The zombie had seen no reason not to allow the Dark Knight a drink and obliged the request. That simple decision would cost the villains as the hero used the mouthful of water to spit into the stasis field, short-circuiting the device, and allowing him to send a telepathic message to Martian Manhunter.

The Justice League would be arriving soon.

"He's probably already alerted the Justice League...they'll be upon us in moments," Humanite rubbed his head, attempting to think of a plan of action.

"I told you~" Joker chuckled knowingly.

"Finally, things are going to get fun again!" Mahito grabbed Bakugo's shoulder and started to shake the blond in his excitement.

"Get off me," Bakugo said simply, holding his anger in while he was shaken.

"What are we gonna do?" Grundy asked worriedly.

"Calm yourselves," Lex got up from the worktable, waking up after the procedure. "We'll deal with them shortly, that is, after we've gotten rid of our mole," Lex said seriously.

"A mole?" Star Sapphire arched a brow.

"It came to me during the procedure...the only way that the Justice League could have found the bomb is if one of us told them. There's no other possible explanation. To them, it would have only appeared as a failed infiltration attempt."

The occupants of the room, sans the League of Villains, started to look at each other suspiciously, though one of them voiced what they were all thinking.

"I don't know why we're even humoring this. I think it's pretty clear who'd be the traitors," Shade pointed his nightstick at the League, "The one that's been undermining every little thing we've been doing since getting here, and she was eager about joining us up on the Watchtower, suspiciously eager," Shade specifically pointed to the disinterested Enid.

Surprisingly, Bakugo was the one to speak up on her behalf, slapping the stick away with a scoff.

"Back off, Top Hat! Why don't you use your damn head for a second," Bakugo went on to elaborate, "None of us are even allowed to go off on our own in the first place, so we wouldn't even get the chance to tip those bastards off, even if we wanted to. Fatass was with the three of you the whole time up in space, so she wouldn't have a way to tell them, same as you. The only ones that could have given those bastards the heads up are the ones that are unaccounted for during that whole time; that means it had to be the clown, gorilla, or the cat, they weren't in the room with the baldy and us until you got back to watch that dumbass bomb plan fail."

Bakugo showed off that despite his outward appearance he was very capable, being able to think this through easily and cast reasonable doubt on those that would have been capable of alerting the Justice League.

"Aw, you defended me," Enid smirked.

"Shut up! If they're gonna point fingers, they should at least do it right!" Bakugo growled.

"Hm, well his logic is sound," Humanite admitted, "I can account for my whereabouts at the very least. During the mission, I was on guard duty, and Joker can corroborate as he was with me in the basement. Upon the bomb's failure, I made my way back up here to see what our next move would be."

"He's right. Old Humie here was with me for the better part of the bomb plot but left because I sickened him, no idea why," Joker assented while also absolving himself.

"I was in the lobby, and clearly I have no pockets, so there's no way for me to hide a communicator."

Cheetah's alibi was the flimsiest of them all.

"Well, it's a good thing this old place still has surveillance cameras, there's a chance this plot could have been set up ahead of time," Lex turned the monitor on to show multiple feeds. Scrubbing through the different times, everyone's eyes were drawn to a specific moment.

Back when they first had left Batman alone with Cheetah as the bodyguard, the feline villain was seen kissing the captured hero.

Instantly, all eyes fell on Cheetah, the woman becoming very nervous with all the piercing glares that were directed at her.

"Wait, th-this is a misunderstanding. I didn't tell-!" Cheetah tripped over her words, so shocked was she at being 'found out.'

"Well, well, someone's been a naughty kitty!" Enid jumped into action first, setting upon the woman with her leg reared back. Thrusting it forward, aiming for the woman's chest, the cat jumped backward, avoiding Enid's attack.

In mid-air, the cat was a sitting duck as a certain explosive blond came for her immediately after his companion's attack. Bakugo launched himself from the floor, his right hand thrust back to propel himself with an explosion, causing him to appear above the cat woman. His left hand started to glow, the beginnings of a blast building up in his palm at point-blank range.

"If you're gonna go for the kill," the dangerous hand went straight for Cheetah's face, "Then you gotta do it right!"

With his trademark predatory grin on his face, Bakugo made to obliterate the femme fatale in an instant. The glow of the coming explosion lit up Cheetah's face as it reached the point of no return. Luckily for the woman, she swiped a clawed hand at the blond's face to which he reacted accordingly.

Tilting backward, Bakugo avoided the attack and missed his explosion at the same time thanks to the diversion. This lapse let Cheetah fall to the ground, making a mad dash for the elevator to escape.

"Look who's talking," Gaz mocked the blond as he landed back on the ground next to her.

"Shut up!"

Gaz drew her own arm back and started to gather electricity.

The next to try their hand was Mahito, appearing before the woman with an easygoing smile on his face. One hand was ahead of him while the other was ready to punch the woman, thrusting the fist forward, the inhuman aimed for the fleeing woman's head.

Using her lithe, flexible form, Cheetah ducked down and narrowly avoided the punch as it sailed over her head, allowing her to continue running for her life. Mahito was none too concerned, simply turning to see the woman run, taking it as a game as he often did.

"So slippery."

"Don't just stand there, Patchface!" Bakugo moved past the smiling nonhuman to continue attacking.

"Why not let her go so we can chase her?" Mahito asked with a laugh, moving with the blond.

In the gap between the two villains, a brilliant bolt of electricity fired from behind them. The culprit of this surprise attack was, of course, Gaz Membrane with a finger lowering after unleashing her power. The lightning struck true against the back of Cheetah, her fur bristling from the charge while her limbs started to go numb. Only Cheetah's higher-than-normal resilience kept her on her feet pushing through the pain of the electricity coursing through her. Wincing, Cheetah dropped to all fours to speed herself up, wobbling slightly but her drive to escape this situation overpowered her fatigue.

"She's still going? That's impressive," Gaz mumbled, going back to the Game Slave when she noticed who'd be meeting the woman next.

Having swiftly gone around his team, Tomura's intimidating form stood in front of Cheetah. The de facto leader of the League of Villains had a deadly hand at the ready to grip the woman when she got within reach. An intense look was in his showing bloodshot eye, glowing red from beneath the shadows that were cast by his hair and the hand on his face. Once the woman was in range, Shigaraki's hand was already in motion, palm forward and fingers stretched out to clasp the feline villainess with only the slightest contact.

Cheetah could not retreat, what with Bakugo and Mahito still behind her and growing ever closer. Knowing that a wrong move would end with her turning to dust, the woman pressed forward with a resolute, yet resigned face. The palm of the pale-skinned, blue-haired villain had just started to cast a shadow over her face when Cheetah gave a mighty leap, using her powerful legs, and great the speed of the animal she took after to jump clean over Tomura. Leaving the villain behind to look over his shoulder with his eye narrowed at her, watching her land and reach the elevator.

She'd done it!

Against all odds, outnumbered and confronted by the League of Villains, the group that had the Justice League shaking in their boots, Cheetah had outplayed them all! She could only assume that she had been framed by them or someone in the Injustice League, but it was clear they wouldn't be listening to reason. She'd escape, for now, lay low, and get revenge on whoever had done it. Costing her a payday as huge as what Luthor was offering, whoever was behind this would need to pay dearly for that.

But for now, she needed to get out of there.

Reaching a clawed hand toward the button, she backed off when the ding of the machine let her know that it had returned to the top floor without her calling it. Her shock became two-fold when the doors of the elevator opened.

Within the lift stood Dabi, his disinterested gaze meeting Cheetah's nervous cat-like eyes. Hands in his pockets, it only took the burned villain a split second to check the room with an arched brow. Seeing the faces of his comrades and the ready stances they'd appeared to be in, the sweating Cheetah in front of him who was obviously distraught, and the fact she'd been attempting to use the elevator in such circumstances...

It didn't take a genius to figure out what he needed to do.

In one clean motion, Dabi's hand found itself inches from Cheetah's face, alight with blue flames.

"Wai-!" Cheetah's words were cut off by the roar of fire washing over her, burning away her fur and flesh, leaving behind nothing but a charred corpse, blackened to the point of being unrecognizable.

"Sorry, I'm not a cat person," Dabi muttered, walking around the smoking body a hand rubbing the back of his neck, "I get jumpy when they get too close," he played off the act with dry sarcasm.

Walking into the room proper, Dabi ignored the Injustice League's incredulous looks as they realized that he'd been missing that entire time, even Grundy had forgotten with all the commotion.

"What the hell's going on? Figured with everyone staring at her like that, she became a problem...that the wrong call?" Dabi asked, but didn't really care.

"Nah, you did good. Turns out the cat was going soft on the bat, and not even the cat I'd heard was soft on him at that. Looks like she gave the Justice League a heads up about the bomb to help her loverboy," Enid explained, knowing full well she had her own finger in a similar pie...not that Luthor knew or needed to know.

"Where'd you disappear to, anyway?"

The question wasn't made to draw attention to his disappearance or denote she was suspicious of his motives. It was only to show that she did notice he'd been gone and that it would dissuade Luthor from thinking that they were up to anything given it was a genuine question that she didn't need to dress up.

"Went to take a leak," Dabi answered easily, "Why do you need to know, anyway? Were you gonna hold it for me?"

Enid scoffed at the response, "Bet you'd like that, wouldn't you? A hot girl touching you."

"Get your mind out of the gutter. I'm already covered in burns," Dabi shot back without missing a beat.

"Your relationship is weird," Gaz said off to the side with a straight face.

"On my way back, I saw the zombie running to the elevator, passed right by me, and took it before I could get in. Something happen?" Dabi ignored Gaz's words so he could press the actual conversation forward.

"The flying rat called the other bastards here, they're on their way now, probably," Bakugo answered gruffly.

"Huh, things just keep getting better..." the burned villain rolled his eyes. Looking at Shigaraki, Dabi asked, "So what are we gonna do?"

Instead of their leader answering, the annoying voice of Luthor undercut Tomura, him believing, as always, that he was in control of all the game pieces.

"We'll prepare ourselves accordingly for our guests," Lex answered simply and began barking orders. "They will need to exercise caution when entering, not knowing where Batman is within the building. Holding onto him as leverage will give us an advantage. Sapphire, aerial support will fall to-"

"I'm done with this farce, Luthor..." Tomura looked into Lex's eyes, stepping forward to be face-to-face with the man. "This game of yours has gone on all night, and you have nothing but failures to show for it...I thought you were supposed to be showing us rookies how a real villain handles himself," Tomura narrowed his eye.

"Yet all I've seen is you flounder around to keep this all from coming apart at the seams..."

Turning away from the bald man before he could retort, Tomura went to the elevator with the rest of the League following after him.

"We'll help you clean your latest mess, but after that, we're done. You'll let us go. You'll give us the Metallo. And then, you best pray that we never cross paths again...or you're dead."

The League of Villains took the elevator down to prepare themselves for the Justice League's arrival while the Injustice League stared forward. Joker's laughter at the brave declaration by the newbies was what got them all to snap out of it.

"Oh, those guys are crazy!" Joker laughed all the harder.

"Quiet!" Lex shouted at the clown, but it didn't stop the clown.

"You should tread carefully, Lex, you know they shouldn't be taken lightly," Humanite warned the man.

"Empty threats. They won't be going anywhere until I'm done with them! And if they think I'll lie down and take this insult, they have another thing coming!" Lex growled.

"Humanite, what of those augmentations you suggested?"

"I could have them done within an hour...but are you sure? Putting yourself in harm's way..." Humanite tried to dissuade the mastermind from this course of action.

"If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself! The rest of you, go downstairs and support those cretins for the time being. I'll join you shortly, and when I do, we'll be ending their little crusade. Here and now."

Lex went to stand next to Humanite going over the plans for whatever they had in store.

(Half an hour later)

"He is within that building," J'onn pointed to the Metropolis Picture Store, otherwise known as the hideout of the Injustice Gang and the League of Villains.

Standing next to the Martian Manhunter was the remainder of the Justice League, minus Batman whom they were going to rescue at the same time as apprehending the combined villain groups.

"Any idea where he is?" Hawkgirl palmed the head of her mace.

"The basement."

"Need to take this carefully. We're outnumbered, and they've got the leverage with Batman as their hostage," Green Lantern reasoned.

"I can slip in undetected and retrieve Batman while the rest of you engage," J'onn left no room for argument, quickly shifting his density to slip into the building that they were standing on and make his way into the hideout from underground.

"Wait!" Lantern tried to call to his teammate, but it fell on deaf ears, the Martian too far gone to hear the word of warning from his friend.

(Inside)

Within the building, or more specifically, below it, J'onn J'onnz stealthily waded through the underground. Coming to the source of Batman's telepathic signature, J'onn had his head come through the wall of the basement. Ahead of the Martian, he could see his captured friend in the middle of the room, unaware of his presence. Coming out from the wall, but keeping his form invisible, J'onn approached Batman carefully, floating slightly off the ground.

"Batman..." Martian Manhunter quietly called to the hero.

When he heard J'onn's voice, Batman lifted his head and hurriedly yelled to his would-be rescuer, "J'onn, don't!"

From the shadows of the room, almost appearing out of nowhere, a hand found itself next to Martian Manhunter's head. Attached to the arm was Dabi, a lopsided grin on his face and head tilted casually.

"No caution, huh? Guess it makes sense when you can just fly through walls."

The alien turned to the villain in shock, having only the barest of moments to realize what that hand pointed at him entailed just before the flames rolled over him Dabi pulled his hand back from the burst of fire after it had been released and rose an eyebrow in intrigue when he heard the Martian Manhunter scream in anguish. Looking on, Dabi saw the last living Martian attempt to stop the fire to no avail, desperately trying to put it out until the strain seemed to get the better of him and he passed out.

"That was weird..." Dabi commented under his breath.

'That worked way better than I would have expected...'

Deciding to file this information away for the time being, the scarred man put his hand back into his pocket, turning to the stairs to meet back up with the others. It was Shigaraki's idea that he be down here to serve as an early warning system, so to speak. The leader of the League of Villains figured that the heroes would try and liberate their comrade before anything else and so sent the pyrokinetic to guard the Bat. When they made their move to rescue Batman, Dabi's attack would serve as the alert that the heroes had arrived.

"He's out of commission, and that's all that matters," brushing it off, Dabi started to walk up the stairs, "Better see how the rest are doing..." he turned to regard the Dark Knight one final time with a sly smirk, "Don't go anywhere now."

(Outside-minutes prior)

"He's taking too long," Superman frowned, worried about his comrade being in there, surrounded by enemies.

"Then why wait!" Hawkgirl put a foot up on the ledge of the roof, ready to bust in as always, and figured that now was the proper time. Flying down she raised her mace and flew at the large window leading into the building.

Shrugging, the rest of the Justice League made their move as well, following their battle-hungry teammate.

None of them noticed the figure that was watching them from a nearby building.

(Inside Metropolis Pictures Store-Foyer)

Bursting through the window, Hawkgirl saw the assembled League of Villains, minus one Dabi, and the Injustice Gang, missing Cheetah, Humanite, and Luthor, but adding Joker into the mix. Moments before the hero had come barreling in, they had all heard Dabi's flames going off in the basement, letting them know that the time to fight was fast approaching. Soon after Hawkgirl had made her appearance, the rest of the Justice League arrived much the same with Superman leading the charge, destroying the doors leading into the foyer rather than following through the window.

"They're here," Tomura whispered with a hand up next to his face, his team readying themselves behind him.

"There they are!" G.L. called, his ring hand forward to create a construct when needed.

With a flourish, coat billowing behind him, Shigaraki acted first by crouching to the ground, "Stay behind me," he said lowly to his companions, sending his hand down toward the floor. "We should have just done it this way from the beginning."

G.L.'s eyes zeroed in on the young leader's movements and without a moment's hesitation made a construct from his ring that would put a stop to it. A green pane intercepted Shigaraki's hand before it could reach the floor, being decayed in the process.

"Not bad...but did you forget what happened last time?" Tomura stared up at the former marine, reminding the man that his powers would crumble at his touch.

"'Course not. That's why you're getting a timeout!" G.L. pushed more power into his ring and had the beam that the pane had come from start rounding upward to encompass Shigaraki.

The villain took a surprised step back, realization showing in his eyes as the bubble began to close around him.

"I see...that would take care of me..." Tomura had to admit it was a good idea, turning his head to the others, he spoke plainly.

"Take care of this."

It was then that the green sphere finished forming, trapping Tomura within it, but the trap did not end there. With the deadly villain inside, it wouldn't do just leaving him at ground level, that would give him a chance to decay the bubble and simply try and do the same to the whole building again, so G.L. moved onto the second step. The hero of willpower lifted his arm, taking the trapped villain with it, and pushed both the sphere and Shigaraki through the roof, effectively taking him out of the fight entirely unless he wanted to become acquainted with the pavement.

"There goes, Tomura-kun," Mahito did not seem overly concerned, placing a hand over his forehead to shield his eyes as he looked to the hole his leader had been ejected through.

"It's no big deal. It was their best bet," Gaz kept her eyes on the heroes, electricity arcing from her hands, "Shigaraki could have brought the whole place down on their heads if they hadn't got rid of him."

"So what? That just means more for us!" Bakugo's hands were twitching, ready for some action.

"Can't argue with that logic," Enid smirked herself, staring down Wonder Woman specifically, "Besides, you heard, Shigaraki...he said to take care of things."

Just then Dabi made his appearance, joining the group after making a grand entrance from the basement. Firing his flames from behind the door leading to Batman, he emerged from the smoke with a lazy gait as if the danger didn't register to him, a hand rubbing the back of his neck. He looked over to the League of Villains and took note of their leader's absence before sighing.

"Can't leave you alone for a minute without something happening. Where the hell is Shigaraki?"

"Ejected, but we can take care of this, right?" Enid joked.

"Least the Martian's down for the count..." Dabi revealed casually, ready for the fight to come.

"Great work, that makes it all the easier..." Enid cracked her knuckles, then seemingly realized, "Hey, I just realized, this is the first time we're all together facing these idiots since the Boss got taken down."

"Oh, you're right, Enid!" Mahito hopped on the train of thought. "Don't humans celebrate milestones like this?"

"Who cares?" Dabi drawled.

"It's important! Maybe we should kill one of them, huh?" Mahito nudged Enid.

"Can't do that, remember?" Gaz shot that down.

"*Sigh* True...how about maiming?" the nonhuman snapped his fingers.

"Think Shigaraki would be fine with that, I am," Enid relented.

Bakugo threw his arms up and shouted, "That's enough talk!"

Throwing his left hand behind him, the blond sped forward with an explosion propelling him, taking the initiative to attack first. The dynamite's target just so happened to be one shocked Flash.

"So impatient," Enid mumbled through a small smile.

"Your mine, Streaker!" ignoring the surrounding heroes, eyes wide and pupils small, Bakugo reared his right hand back to blast the Flash to bits.

"SHINE (DIE)!"

Thrusting his appendage forward, the blast not only was made to catch the Fastest Man Alive but also served to scatter the remaining heroes.

"Y'know, most people don't aim for the guy that can run circles around them," Flash quipped from behind the blond, easily having avoided the explosion. The kid didn't seem to get just what he'd be getting into mixing it up with him, but he'd make it quick so he could help the others.

"I ain't most people!" Bakugo turned to Flash, even with the circumstances he had his wide predatory grin on his face. "I'm just out to prove a point to Fatass!" Bakugo was raring to go, wanting the chance to prove he was right from all the way back when they'd first come together. Enid and Dabi had both said that Flash and his speed would beat him!

He'd prove them wrong here and now!

"Bakugo-kun's raring to go, as always," Mahito landed away from the blast radius of his friend's attack. From within the smoke of said blast, a familiar silhouette could be seen coming for him. Raising his brow, Mahito created a shield from his arm just as Hawkgirl smashed her mace into it.

The unique properties of the mace made the shield crumple like it was made of paper, but it still served its purpose. From behind his destroyed shield, the mocking smile of Mahito met Hawkgirl's intense glare.

"Oh? Are you going to pull to play with me again?"

The woman didn't react to the mocking nonhuman, choosing instead to press her attack, that is, if she wasn't blasted away by a bolt of electricity.

"Oh, Gaz! Are you here to help?" Mahito greeted the girl amicably.

"Here to make sure you don't play around, more like," she groaned annoyedly.

"Aw, but that's what makes it fun!"

"Just finish up," she directed her hand toward the still-reeling woman, shooting more lightning to knock her out, but a green pane stopped her in her tracks.

"See?" she mumbled.

Green Lantern came to Hawkgirl's rescue.

"You alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine...just keep her off me...I can take care of him," Hawkgirl glared.

"Oh, look, one for you and one for me," Mahito pointed excitedly at the two heroes.

Gaz grunted in response.

"That's enough playtime children...the adult's taking charge!" a violet beam fired at the heroes from behind the child and nonhuman.

Star Sapphire floated above them, watching Hawkgirl and G.L. move to opposite sides to attack their three opponents.

"Hey!" Mahito looked at the villainess indignantly, "We were handling this! Go somewhere else!" he childishly stomped his foot.

"Oh, please do be quiet. Children can't be trusted with important jobs, and you've already shown that more than once tonight. I will be making sure this goes smoothly so I can receive my just rewards, and you will fall in line. Or else, I could always let Luthor know of your...complaints.

Mahito huffed, puffing his cheeks up.

And Gaz, on the surface, looked the same, but her brows furrowed slightly more.

"Now, follow my lead."

Unwillingly, the two villains made way for the haughty violet woman with clear displeasure on their faces. The trio would come together to fight the bird woman and green guardian, but they knew that it wouldn't be a smooth team-up.

During the impromptu altercation, Enid had also jumped out of the smoke caused by Bakugo, sliding along the ground with her legs spread and a hand reaching to the floor to steady herself. Raising her head, she looked up and saw Superman and Wonder Woman coming for her only to smile without a hint of fear.

"I ain't crazy enough to take the both of you on," with that same look on her face, the purplette spoke plainly to someone else, "Hey, zombie, come on and do your job."

Grundy burst through the smoke behind the encroaching heroes and batted Superman away, knocking the Man of Steel through a wall. This was the brute's job, keeping the Kryptonian at bay while the rest of them would take care of the other Leaguers.

Standing back up, a quick glance toward the zombie as he pressed his attack on Superman, Enid gave a wry chuckle. Her hair shadowed her eyes as she looked down to the floor, her back was turned to the Amazonian heroine, unconcerned with her approach.

"It always seems to end up like this..."

Familiar blue fire pushed the woman away from Enid, its glow shining on both the girl and its user, Dabi. The burned villain had come to the girl's rescue, hand smoking after the use of his abilities as he stood slightly behind Enid.

"...looking up at Little Ms. Perfect...really pisses me off," Enid's smile strained and a vein pulsed.

"You will stop this and atone for your crimes! It is not too late for you," Wonder Woman dusted herself off, trying to reach the girl she'd already failed to save.

"Isn't that nice of ya? Trying to make up for last time, yeah? Tell me something...when is it gonna be too late?" the dark look in Enid's eye showed a lack of remorse.

"We shall see..." Wonder Woman did not wish to give up on the girl, but she still needed to be stopped.

"Do I have to be part of this? I'd rather bail," Dabi chimed in, breaking the tension with his voice.

"What? You don't wanna help me out?" Enid looked at him, smiling at his eye roll.

"I'm not getting dragged into your grudge, I'd just be a third wheel...or a fourth wheel in this case..." he looked off to the side when he said that.

"Who's the fourth-Ah! What the hell are you doing here!?" Enid recoiled in disgust when she saw Shade behind her and Dabi. It was clear who her companion had meant.

"You said it yourself, I'm support, so I suggest you keep me in one piece so I can keep supporting you," Shade tipped his hat, content with shielding himself behind the two.

"I'm not wasting my time doing that, just stay out of my way," Enid brushed the man off, her good mood souring immediately with the unwanted fourth to the bout.

'Think I'd rather be in Shigaraki's shoes right now...' Dabi thought, a deadpan on his face, trying to ignore the two he'd found himself with.

(Outside)

Speaking of the League of Villains' current leader, he was still up in the air trapped within Green Lantern's sphere. Keeping himself steady within the bubble, Tomura stared below at the building where all the action was happening.

"A great way of keeping me out of the fight," he muttered, admitting that the hero's strategy was a sound one, "But he's an idiot if he thinks I'll just sit here."

The hero figured that the villain would keep himself within the safety of the orb simply because falling from the height he'd been left at would either injure him seriously or kill him if he landed wrong. Sure, Shigaraki was crazy, crazy enough to seriously hurt himself just to get one over on the heroes, but he would never risk his life with such a small chance of success...

Would he?

"This actually works in my favor. Luthor's probably seen me get removed, and has written me off...the perfect chance to get to him," Tomura eyeballed the distance he'd have to maneuver himself to catch the edge of the building as he fell. Believing he'd oriented himself properly for his plan, Tomura put all five fingers of his right hand onto the bubble.

The construct began to disappear beneath his fingers, spreading to the rest of it as with all things that Tomura's powers affected. When enough had been eaten away, the villain began to fall, plummeting toward the ground at a fast pace. Calmly, with his eye narrowed, Shigaraki moved himself closer to Metropolis Pictures Store and reached a hand out to catch the corner of the roof.

Most likely, with the rate he was falling, he'd probably hurt his arm from the sudden stop. When the moment of truth arrived, his hand had just barely missed its target, the distinct feeling of his fingers grazing the roof but not enough for a grip hit Tomura before anything else.

"Damn..." he sighed, not sounding overly concerned with the fact that he would now truly be falling to his death. The wind rushed past him for a few more seconds, the ground growing closer.

This might be it.

Looking disdainfully at the unyielding ground as he was, Shigaraki was taken by surprise when a hand reached out and grabbed him. With this last-minute save, Tomura's life had been spared by the mysterious new party. The dark of the night kept the figure cloaked in shadow, but Tomura knew who this was given his reaction as he looked up into the person's eyes.

"Oh, it's you," climbing up with the newcomer's assistance, Tomura regarded them from over his shoulder, "Good timing, I'd forgotten you were around. You've spoken with the rest?"

Receiving an affirmative from the figure, a familiar smile on their face, Tomura ushered them to follow him.

"Come on, the others are handling the Justice League as we speak. While they're doing that, we'll be dealing with Luthor. We're removing his shackles here and now..."

Finding a way to reenter the building, the two would be gunning for Lex and his right-hand gorilla while the rest of the L.O.V would keep the Justice and Injustice Leagues preoccupied.

"I'm sure the rest are feeling the same way."

Tomura grinned.

His order before his ejection meant a lot more than just taking care of the Justice League, and he was sure they'd understood.

(Back inside)

Mahito jumped backward from Hawkgirl, landing on the floor, and ready to meet her latest charge toward him. Grinning, he enlarged his fist with his abilities, making it harder for her to avoid the attack he'd be throwing. Swiping with his giant fist with a backhand, he fully intended to knock the woman out of the air.

Unfortunately, this move intercepted Star Sapphire's who'd led Hawkgirl's trajectory to shoot her from above with a beam from her gem. The Thanagarian had slowed herself down in preparation to avoid Mahito's fist, making Sapphire miss her shot and kick up dust from the impact.

Thanks to this both villains were left unable to see the hawk-themed heroine from within the cloud, allowing her to move undetected and strike Mahito with her mace. Smacking the nonhuman away, his large arm accidentally smacked Star Sapphire as well just as she'd recharged for another shot, causing a misfire that interrupted Gaz at the same time as she tried to fry Green Lantern. The foreign energy of the gem disrupted Gaz's form long enough that G.L. could push her away and into the ground with his own construct.

"You clumsy oaf! Watch yourself," Sapphire commanded to the nonhuman when he sat back up, looking up at her with an annoyed expression.

Taking a quick look around at the others in his group, he saw a similar lack of cohesion due to their unwelcome helpers.

Across the foyer, Bakugo was keeping himself aloft with his explosions. With a bird's eye view, the blond's eyes were darting around, watching his opponent's movements as best he could to try and find a pattern that he could exploit. As a human, Flash had to have habits that he subconsciously followed, and they'd leave the bastard open.

"There!" Bakugo shot downward, his right hand behind him. The perfect moment had presented himself after minutes of narrowly avoiding the Scarlet Speedster's punches. From behind the running hero, Bakugo crept up eerily like a lion on a gazelle.

"Gotcha, Streaker!" Bakugo cackled and brought his hand forward to catch the shocked hero.

Quickly though, the blond had to stop himself with the readied explosion when Grundy came from a wall beside him. Shooting to the side, he avoided both debris and the hulking zombie, landing on the ground with a thud.

"Watch where you're going, extra!" Bakugo raged at being interrupted, the momentary distraction got the blond punched in the face, side of the head, and the back of the head near simultaneously.

'Damn annoying bastard!'

Bakugo shot back into the air before Flash could try and get him again.

"Stay out of my way!" Bakugo shouted to Grundy even as the zombie was locked in combat with Superman.

In the third battle, Shade pointed his nightstick at Wonder Woman as she hurtled toward a prepared Enid who was in the process of jumping so she could slam her heel down on the hero. The shadows erupted from Shade's item and engulfed the surprised Wonder Woman at the same time that Dabi let loose a stream of flame. The bright flames forced the shadows to recede against Shade's will, freeing Wonder Woman from its suffocating grip.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Shade backed off from the heat that Dabi gave off thanks to his flames.

"More than you."

"Your candlelight is destroying my shadows!"

"Sucks for you, but what do you expect me to do about it? Not fight?" Dabi stared uncaringly at the man.

"I expect you to stand back and let a professional finish this!"

He fired more shade from his nightstick to entrap the heroine, but she'd already moved aside by the time it would have reached her. Instead, the airborne Enid had become the victim, becoming blinded by the solid shadows wrapping around her body.

"Can't see!" she ground out.

Shade clicked his teeth and called the shade back in time for Enid to barely raise her arms in time to block a punch from the Amazon. Struggling for a bit, the girl was sent to the floor next to the other two villains, her eye glowing in anger.

"The hell do you think you're doing!?" her purple pupils glared at the bespectacled man.

"Me? It was him."

"He was setting me up!" Enid roared at the man, beside her Dabi launched more fire to keep the Amazonian woman at bay. "Why don't you just stay out of our way!" Enid pressed Dabi's attack by meeting Wonder Woman in the air, kicking her in the side.

Back with the watching Mahito, he crossed his arms and sighed heavily.

"I think I'm done playing this game," he huffed.

Beside him Gaz appeared, hearing what he'd said, staring up at Green Lantern while Hawkgirl dealt with Star Sapphire.

"What are you mumbling about now?" she asked.

"Oh, Gaz! It's nothing, really..." he chatted with the girl casually seemingly forgetting the situation that they were currently in, that is, until Hawkgirl started to fly toward them with G.L. taking over holding off Sapphire. "Oops, here she comes again, better run and talk," Mahito dashed off, Gaz following.

"I was just thinking that I finally reached my limit playing Luthor's game."

Mahito continued to talk with the girl as the fled from Hawkgirl, him ducking beneath a swing she aimed at him.

"I mean, think about it," he held up his index finger to make a point. Behind him, his attention on Gaz, Hawkgirl had her mace ready to cave his head in, until Gaz fired electricity from her own index finger so the nonhuman wouldn't be interrupted.

"All night we've been playing by his rules, and it's been nothing but boring and failures," he shrugged, turning around to the stunned Hawkgirl and delivering a punch to her cheek that sent her back up and away from the two villains.

"Yeah? Well, there's nothing much we can do about it," Gaz answered bluntly.

"That's just it! There is...since we're in the final stage, and Luthor's track record's been so poor...I think it's time we play by our own rules again," Mahito grinned at her.

"That's a bad idea," Gaz shot him down, along with shooting more electricity to keep Hawkgirl away from them. "Even if we did, it wouldn't be worth it. Best case is, we escape, Luthor's club gets caught, but he makes us lose the Metallo just to spite us in the end. That'd make this whole mess we went through worthless..."

"I don't think so," Mahito remained calm, "Didn't you hear what Tomura told us?"

Gaz rose a brow.

"He said, 'take care of this.'" Mahito looked directly at his companion with his normal sadistic smile stretching his face, "I think Tomura wants us to let loose and do things our way now...he's trusting us to come out of this while dragging Luthor down."

He thought back to their conversation in the alley at the beginning of the night.

"It's just like he told us before, don't compromise ourselves, and do it in our own ways."

Gaz thought over Mahito's words for a second, bringing up one sticking point.

"And what if you're reading into what he said wrong?" she asked him, "If you are, we risked everything for nothing and still won't have anything to show for all this."

"Then I take the blame," he answered simply, bringing his arms up to defend himself from a blow from Hawkgirl, it crumpling his arms, though he was undeterred.

"It would be my fault, after all, and you all would be following my lead. Though I'm certain this is what Tomura-kun is intending of us, I have no problem accepting responsibility if I misunderstood," he healed his arms as he said this.

"Fair?"

Gaz didn't even need time to mull it over, more intense electricity coursing through her suit and some sparking around her head.

"If you're gonna take the fall, then I'm all in...I've wanted to do this as soon as we started this whole thing," she smirked evilly, finally going to go all out.

"That's great! It's always easier to do something crazy when someone else does it with you!" Mahito laughed, running once more with the girl blinking from place to place next to him.

"So to start, how about I show off another new trick?" the sinister look on his face showed equal parts excitement and evil.

"What is it?" she asked genuinely curious. After the last one, she wondered what else he had up his sleeve...doesn't mean she believed in magic though.

"Well, it's a lot like my first one, but think of it in the opposite direction," he started to explain.

Between the two, Hawkgirl slammed her mace onto the floor, using the debris to hopefully slow them. The broken pieces of the ground did hit the silver-haired entity but did little to him given that the grin never left him, and they simply passed through Gaz.

"You remember Firestorm from two days ago, right?" Mahito continued without interruption, flipping out of reach of the bird woman.

"Barely."

"The interesting thing about him was that he had two souls in his body, so I wondered to myself if I could create a transfigured human that contained two souls!" from Mahito's pockets, he pulled out two miniaturized transfigured humans that just needed to be imbued with his energy to be activated.

"And?" she asked.

"Just watch..." Mahito licked his lips, an eye closed as if to aim whatever he had planned.

In front of him, Hawkgirl was charging in, damn the consequences, as always; above him, Green Lantern and Star Sapphire were locking beams, too distracted to notice what would be coming; his companions further ahead locked in combat with their respective heroes; and Superman and Grundy out of sight.

*Clap*

Slamming his hands together, the husks of the former humans in his palms, Mahito funneled his energy into his hands and touched their souls.

"Mui Tenpen (Idle Transfiguration):…" he whispered, the two transfigured humans in his hands started to writhe and wriggle between his fingers. The things bulged, shrank, overflowed, spiked, and a myriad of other unstable motions from the inside of Mahito's hands as if they were trying to take form but could not.

"Tajūkon (Soul Multiplicity):…" here, the mass in Mahito's hands started to become one single lump of flesh, yet it still seemed to be resisting taking shape. When the two distinct objects got close, they would suddenly move away from each other much like when a magnet repelled the same pole.

When the energy could no longer be contained within Mahito's hands, the lump managing to become one, but still moved uncontrollably in his grasp, Mahito fanned his hands out, one on top of the other. Directing the odd pile of flesh at his intended target, it finally became still for a moment.

"Battai (Body Repel)!"

The mass of flesh, with only one outlet to be released, exploded outward from Mahito's hands as a large pillar of skin with a gnashing, gaping maw on its end. The mouth of the attack rushed towards Hawkgirl, looking to rip a chunk of flesh from her with its teeth.

The bird woman narrowly moved to the side, some of the teeth managing to rip some feathers from her wing as they passed. The move did not end there either, missing Hawkgirl not deterring the pitiable creature in the slightest, instead, it was directed upwards toward the flying targets. From beside G.L. and Sapphire, the creation interjected between the two of them before they could hope to react. The villainess had just barely gotten out of the way of it, though she did lose altitude, and G.L. had been struck in the side. The magical energy coursing through the monstrosity made it able to harm the hero much more easily than normal means, this led to a bloody gash in his side from being caught by the teeth.

The man exclaimed in pain, holding his bleeding side, Hawkgirl coming to catch him before he'd fallen too far. Once the odd mixture of souls had extended far enough, it fell to the floor, then shriveled up after using up all its energy. And as the flesh pillar crumbled, leading back to its originator who stood watching the aftermath of his attack in glee.

"The two souls reject the fusion," Mahito started to explain, "That reaction causes them to expend a great amount of energy that I can direct the output of into an attack. The sad part is that it uses up the humans afterward, so it burns through my stockpile pretty quick," Mahito told Gaz.

"Can your science explain that?"

Mahito looked to the small girl expectantly, eager to prove to the young girl that magic did in fact exist, but she was staunch in her scientific beliefs. Their diametrically opposed viewpoints led to quite a few childish, one-sided, arguments where the older-looking creature would annoy her until she'd concede with Gaz ignoring him.

"Easy," she replied without missing a beat, taking the wind out of Mahito's sails.

"Eh? For real?" he was incredulous, though his face didn't depict it much, he only looked to his side slightly to regard the girl.

"It's just the laws of physics," she turned to him and threaded her fingers together as a visual aid, "Two things can't occupy the same space at the same time, their electrons stop it from happening. And that similar charge causes a repulsive force to be created, ergo the buildup of energy. All you're doing is manipulating some element or matter we haven't discovered yet, is all, it's nothing special," she explained.

The jargon went over Mahito's head for the most part, the important thing to him was that his trick was being explained away and he couldn't prove to Gaz that it was magic.

"Aw, no way...really?" he pouted.

Across from them as they spoke, Hawkgirl was seeing to Green Lantern. The man's side was worse for wear, blood running through his fingers after Mahito's attack.

"Are you okay?" Hawkgirl looked at his sweating, pained face with concern.

"I'm fine...just grazed me," he winced, "What was that?"

"Never seen it before, and Batman told me he wasn't supposed to be using those things. Something must have changed," Hawkgirl watched the two banter with one another, ignoring them entirely. "If he's going to start now, then we'll have to take him down all the quicker."

"I thought I had you with that one," Mahito snapped his fingers, rubbing his chin. He'd have to figure out a different way to prove magic's reality.

"Whatever, you wouldn't be able to prove it anyway," Gaz dismissed him with nary a look in his direction before asking, "But can you do it again?"

"Ooh! Can I! What did you-!"

The nonhuman was interrupted by a certain violet beam that had aimed for his head, and it would have collided if not for Mahito raising his hand up to block it. From behind his smoking palm, an unamused, bored Mahito looked up at the culprit, an incensed Star Sapphire.

The woman floated closer to the being, letting loose laser after laser to inflict what she believed to be damage on him for what he'd done, missing the fact that, other than slight twitches at the impact points of the beam, he was largely unharmed by her barrage.

"I. Have had. Enough of you! You rebellious, treasonous, oaf! You almost hit me with that!"

"Oh, only almost," he sighed disappointedly, rolling his eyes.

"What was that!?" Sapphire charged the strongest beam she'd unleash, "You don't realize just what this means, you simpleton! How would you like it if Luthor finds out that you've broken his-!"

"I hope he does, that's the point of all this," Mahit smiled calmly without looking the woman in the eye, a hand on her midsection and a dark look on his face, "Now, be quiet...I was having a conversation...Mui Tenpen (Idle Transfiguration)."

In an instant the poor villainess was forcibly shrunk down by the manipulation of her soul, in one second, she felt extreme pain, and in the next, nothing. The husk of her body started to fall to the floor only to be caught in her killer's hand, the violet sapphire plinking to the ground.

"No!" G.L. shouted, grunting from his sudden movement. Hawkgirl watched with him as Mahito rolled the former human around in his palm, inspecting it.

"Well, that's disappointing..." he held the transfigured woman between his index finger and thumb, bringing it up to his eye. "I guess that gem was all that made your soul interesting, too bad," he maneuvered the husk into his fingers and sighed.

"How boring."

He then crushed what had once been the villain Star Sapphire, it crumbling beneath his fingers like a dry leaf, flecks disappearing with the wind.

"You...How could you do that!?" Hawkgirl spread her wings.

"Why so angry? That's one less enemy for you to fight," he grinned.

"That's just how it is, they don't really care what they do, because it isn't right to kill someone," Gaz reminded the nonhuman.

"Seems limiting," he mused, "Oh, and what were you saying?"

"I wanted you to do that attack again, but make it bigger."

Mahito gained an intrigued toothy smile that curled his face at the mention of this, "Oooh, I never thought of doing that! I wonder what would happen with more than one soul," his interest piqued, Mahito set about doing just that.

His cheeks bulged, and Mahito regurgitated a handful of shrunken transfigured humans, disgusting enemy and ally alike from the display.

"You're so gross," Gaz groaned.

"Am I?" he asked legitimately, "Did you really think I only held my stockpile in my pockets?" he asked, some drool leaking from the side of his mouth, "That wouldn't hold near enough, so I use my stomach. Not needing to eat has its advantages!"

Holding the bunch of transfigured humans, he began the process of Soul Multiplicity. The larger number of humans being held caused a much stronger reaction than the previous time. The buildup of energy could be felt in the foyer, and those more familiar with that ominous feeling creeping down their spines were more prepared for something unexpected to come.

The charging of Mahito's attack had finished, and he let loose many heads with mouths, similar to the last one, but much thinner and faster with the energy being shared by all the transfigured souls.

"Battai (Body Repel)!"

The web of heads charged at the two heroes ahead of them, boxing the injured G.L. and surprise Hawkgirl on all sides. With little choice, Hawkgirl took hold of Green Lantern and rose straight up out of their path. From above the two of them watched as the creatures spread to the other ends of the foyer, crashing through objects without discrimination, even rushing toward allies.

From the side, Dabi could see the odd creature gnashing its teeth at him, and rather than rush to evade, or bother to look surprised, he held his hand out and burnt it to halt the charge. The thing stopped a little before it would have hit him, charred as it fell to the ground with the pyrokinetic changing his nonchalant face little save for his eyes turning fully to it.

"Figured he was up to something crazy when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up," he sighed, watching the other tendrils of flesh bust through walls around him. "What's he doing?" he rubbed his neck, in the background Shade was doing his best to keep Wonder Woman away from himself while Enid landed next to Dabi.

"Breaking the rules looks like," she stopped her own monster with a heavy foot to its head, making its snake-like body scrunch up like a crashed train. "He's not supposed to be using these things..."

"Well, if he's gonna go all out, I'm doing the same..." Dabi drawled, flames erupting from his arms.

"And the Metallo?" she asked.

"Who cares? If Luthor's watching this, he probably already pushed the button, after seeing what he did. He can't take more away from us, so I'd rather make sure I make it out of this. And if Shigaraki asks, I'll just say it was his fault for starting..." Dabi answered.

"Heh, pointing the finger, huh?" Enid laughed.

"Got a problem with it?"

"No, just making sure that's what our story'll be," she agreed with the burned villain, sizzling coming from her glowing arm.

Dabi started off by unleashing a far more powerful wave of fire from both arms rather than the single-handed flamethrowers he'd been throwing previously, the heat getting Diana to wince slightly if nothing else, and just narrowly missing Shade. In seconds Enid rushed into the flames herself, easily taking the heat, and burst through them to catch Wonder Woman off guard.

With the cue from their silver-haired comrade, the fight would be getting much more intense.

Aside, Bakugo was still doing battle with Flash, and it could still be called a stalemate. Bakugo mainly kept himself just out of reach of The Fastest Man Alive by staying aloft with explosions, only coming down to try an attack. Flash would easily move around the wild blond's blows and often retaliated with punches to hopefully knock the blond out.

Thankfully for Bakugo, his time fighting meta-humans had hardened him, so he knew how to take hits that would leave other people unconscious fairly well, not that they weren't going to add up eventually.

From behind the explosive blond, Mahito's Body Repel had crept up on him. He easily evaded the attack from behind and landed atop the creature with a twitch of his eye; below Flash ran to the side to keep away from the monstrosity's giant teeth.

"Damn Patchface!" looking back, he could see the transfigured humans attacking both Hawkgirl and Green Lantern, bolts of electricity being seen every once in a while. "Who does he think he is!? Going all out first like he's the main character or something!" Bakugo's eyes shrank, and veins were visible on his neck from the anger he had.

"I was about to do that, anyway!" he popped, small explosions all over his hands and, landed back onto the floor to stare down Flash. "I'm done screwin' around, now!"

Crouching low, his explosions still going in his palms, casting shadows over his face, the mad, wide grin on Bakugo became far more feral, to the point his teeth even seemed to resemble fangs.

"I'm about to show you why I was King of the Ring!"

Without a second for his opponent to even question what he'd meant, Bakugo blasted forward, much faster than he'd done before. Of course, to Flash, that quickness still seemed far too slow and he set about outmaneuvering the blond once again, but unlike the other times when Bakugo would retreat after a failed attempt, he pressed on. A trail of booms followed after the blond as he chased his enemy heedless of missing entirely as he was intent on finishing his fight with the hero, spurred on by his ally ramping up across from him.

Said inhuman villain was smiling gleefully himself, seeing his teammates following suit after he'd thrown off the shackles that Lex had forced onto them. It was time for the League of Villains to not only toss Luthor's little rules aside but also show why they deserved to stand on top of both the Injustice League and Justice League.

"This is much better," Mahito said as he observed, standing with Gaz against Green Lantern and Hawkgirl, "None of Luthor's rules to hold us back, we can let loose and cause chaos as we want," he smiled.

"Just as I'm sure you had intended...right, Tomura?"

He whispered the last part to himself with a lick of his lips, preparing to go all out against the two heroes with Gaz beside him, while Mahito's mind thought of what his leader and his current companion were getting up to outside of their vision.

(Upstairs- Lex and Humanite)

"Well, Lex, it appears that the worst has come to pass," Humanite watched the large screen, showing the goings on below them, and what he saw did not look good. Sapphire was killed, Shade was treated like a side note, Joker was nowhere to be found, and Grundy was being smacked around by the Man of Steel. On the flip side, The League of Villains were thriving in the chaotic environment of their own making, all thanks to the stitched-together monstrosity.

"It hardly matters what they do now, Humanite," Lex said from behind the gorilla, mechanical noises coming from his position. "In fact, they're doing me a favor. They're ridding me of those useless cretins, so I don't have to pay them for their continued defeats, and now..." the millionaire looked to his hand with a mechanical whir sounding as he closed it with force, crushing an imaginary object, "With what we've created, we no longer need the cover of the League of Villains notoriety. All I need is your assistance, Humanite, and we can finish these thorns in my side here and now. With full payment for services rendered, of course."

Lex was no fool. Humanite had created the chest piece that was currently allowing him to draw breath for the foreseeable future. It would be foolish of the man to toss the genius aside like he was doing with the rest of his pawns, the value of the gorilla was too great...not to mention the risk of said ape deciding to enact retribution for such a slight.

No, Lex would keep Ultra-Humanite close, that is, until he could learn the inner workings of his augmentations and remove anything "untoward" that could be used against him.

"I expect nothing less," Humanite offered bluntly. Thinking much like Lex, only in the opposite direction. The gorilla genius needed to put himself in a much more advantageous position lest the extracurricular deal he made fall through because he could not deliver on his end. "So, what shall we be doing now?" he asked.

"Simple really," Lex reached over and grabbed a certain remote, "First, I have to show those fools the error of crossing me. Throwing away all their efforts simply because they could not follow simple instructions, a fitting punishment in my eyes. Don't you think?" he gave a devious smirk to the unamused Humanite.

While he did believe the League did deserve whatever ills befell them for their heavy-handed tactics, and brutish tendencies, a man of his stature did not take pleasure in toying with those less "gifted" than he, which is why Joker disgusted him so.

When the gorilla went to give a response to his employer, the screech of metal halted him. From behind the two, the elevator doors were being forced open by two hooked metal bars that resembled crowbars. When the doors could no longer take the strain, they were quickly pulled apart, revealing Mahito to be the culprit, his eyes turned up and mouth stretched into his trademark grin when he saw the shocked faces of Lex and Humanite.

"Hellooo~" Mahito gave a mocking wave with his recently returned to normal hand with the other returning to its original shape as well.

"You!?" Lex looked at the silver-haired nonhuman and turned back to the large monitor, showing that within the foyer there was another Mahito still fighting below them.

"Impossible! How are you here!?"

The second Mahito cupped his chin, looking past Humanite and Lex to watch himself on the screen doing battle with Hawkgirl alongside Gaz.

"Oh, so that's where I am," he smiled. "That's the original down there. I'm a body double that split off from his soul, able to move independently of him, and leaving you none the wiser to what I was doing this whole time," the copy watched the looks of shock make their way onto the two's faces. He then waved a dismissive hand in front of his face, "Your surprise is warranted, but I wouldn't take it too hard," he insincerely assured them, "I mean, even the others had only just learned of this technique tonight. That made it all the easier for us to use it to our advantage." the second Mahito held his lazy yet menacing gaze on the villains, "Waiting outside for an opportunity to present itself, your focus entirely on your scheme that you'd be left open...so we could get rid of you nice and proper."

"We?" Humanite edged toward the end of the worktable for a weapon he had hidden.

"Oh? You didn't think I was the only one looking to kill you, did you?" Mahito stepped aside, having a silhouette step from the darkness that came to be Tomura Shigaraki.

"Come now, Luthor...surely you had to see this coming, right?" Tomura swept a hand out to his side as he said this. "You forced us to play this little game of yours...you insulted us...and, worst of all, you dared to speak ill of my Master..." by this point Tomura's eye appeared to be glowing, staring down Lex in particular as he dredged up all the transgressions the millionaire had against the League.

"At this point, dying is the only way I can see you apologizing..."

Tomura had his hand facing Lex now, fingers flexing in preparation to attack the man.

"Hmph, and surely you had to know what would come of any insubordination!" Lex raised his hand with the remote, making a big show of ruining their plans, whatever they may have been, for his Metallo. "I hope this little stunt of yours was worth tossing aside what you've worked so hard to steal!"

With a push of a button, Lex Luthor had crippled the League of Villains entirely and would enjoy the looks of anger and despair that would spread on their leader's face. Their decision to bite the hand that had so thoughtfully sought to feed them would come to be their undoing.

Or it would have if the device had done its job.

The bald man repeatedly pushed the button angrily, glaring at the device that should have emitted a tone to denote that the act had been carried out, yet nothing came. Crushing the useless device, the millionaire could tell something had gone wrong with his contingency.

"Humanite!" Lex growled.

"It seems the signal was blocked entirely...it never made it to its destination..." the gorilla frowned.

"Really? I wonder why that is?" the Mahi-two said aloud.

"What have you done!?" Lex bared his teeth, and they audibly ground against each other such was his rising rage.

"I thought it would be obvious," Tomura said simply, the tone showing that he took pleasure in getting another one over the supposed mastermind. "We wouldn't have even dreamed of making this move on you if there was any chance of you destroying the Metallo, Luthor. You don't seem to understand what's happening...it's Game Over," the edges of Tomura's smile could be seen behind his mask, infuriating his opponent.

"You think you can outsmart me!? Lex Luthor!?" slamming a metallic boot onto the floor, Lex's power suit was shown off in all its glory. An emerald green suit that had large shoulder pads, purple gloves, purple boots, and his chest piece visible at the center.

"I am the world's greatest mind! And with this suit, even Superman will be made to kneel before me!" Lex had power arc from his hands, building up a familiar green energy in the palms of his hands.

"Don't lie to yourself...Mahito, take care of the gorilla," dashing forward, coat flowing behind him from how quickly he moved. "Luthor's mine," this was whispered lowly.

"Understood, Tomura-kun~" Mahi-two saluted and turned to his unfortunate victim, seeing the nervousness that came over the gorilla. "Mm, it really is too bad that I only get the monkey, ~buut~ I suppose Tomura is the leader, so he should deal with yours," he perked up when he saw the hesitant step back that Humanite took, "Scared of me? Don't worry, I have good news~ and bad news," the copy told Humanite while walking forward to meet him.

"As a copy, I can't transfigure the souls of others," as a demonstration he held his hand up with a distinct lack of the oppressive purple aura around it. "So you're safe from me killing you that way...and that's the bad news~," he said, eerily cheery while delivering the "bad news". "But the good news is..."

One of Mahi-two's arms morphed into a blade reminiscent of a praying mantis's foreleg with him holding the transfigured limb up next to his face when it finished changing. A long shadow, cast from the blade, shrouded half of the copy's face, evil intent conveyed in the gleam of his differently colored eyes.

"I can still transfigure myself!" he cackled, "So I can still kill you much more painfully than if I only transfigured you!"

The clone of Mahito then swiped his blade at Humanite, leaving a gash through the machinery that was surrounding them. Wires hung free and electricity sparked from the destroyed devices, with Humanite perched atop one after he'd jumped to avoid Mahi-two's attack.

Looking up at the gorilla, he gleefully called out to his opponent, "Isn't that great?!" Mahi-two went to attack once more.

"Wonderful..." Humanite did not seem too concerned, firing his weapon and striking the leaping nonhuman clone in the face specifically the left eye, "I abhor violence, but I'm not above self-defense."

Humanite's eyes widened in shock when the copy morphed its right hand's fingers into sharp tendrils that drove themselves into the gorilla's body at different points. Stuck as he was, Humanite was then pulled down by the whip-like fingers and harshly onto the floor in front of Mahi-two.

"Good to know," raising his head up, the clone showed that his face had been damaged by the blast, a good portion of the eye showing after the flesh around it had been burned away by the laser, and also revealing that he was easily healing it. In seconds, it was impossible to tell that he'd been shot in the first place as he stood above the downed genius, "I'd hate for this to be too easy."

He used his tendrils to heft Humanite onto his feet and look him in the eyes, "I hope you've got more to show then...while that did tingle a bit, it will take more than technology to kill me!" he then threw Humanite against one of the broken machines, forcing the gorilla from his sharpened fingers thanks to the momentum.

"I am curious to see what a genius's brain is supposed to look like," he licked some of said genius's blood from his finger and proceeded to attack again.

While that was happening, Tomura was rushing in to do battle with Lex, staying low to the ground as he approached the millionaire so he could avoid the beams that were fired at him that were glowing a familiar green.

'Probably weaponizing that Kryptonite radiation in his blood,' the villain thought to himself, eye narrowing in concentration. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to get close to Lex as long as he was in eyesight, Shigaraki turned his gaze to the wooden table within the room. Coming up with a plan of action to skew the fight in his favor, Tomura ran over to the piece of furniture and turned it onto its side, hiding his body from Luthor's view and simultaneously making it more difficult for the villain to hit him with his lasers.

"Ha! Running and hiding! Is that all you're good for?!" Lex mocked Shigaraki, continuing to fire lasers at the table, leaving holes in their wake. "You're bottom feeders! Parasites that need to attach themselves to a larger, more capable animal just to survive!"

From his hiding place, Tomura took the table and threw it at Lex, strategically using it to cover the movements he was making from behind it.

"At least you were being put to better use by me!" Lex scoffed at the attempt the young man had made to attack him.

A table?

Really?

With his suit, the flimsy table was broken in two by a well-placed punch, the two pieces sailing to Luthor's sides.

"That half-dead fool had no idea what he was doing! All he's done is fill your head with his nonsense! And now it's going to get you killed!" Lex looked ahead to see that his target had disappeared from view. "Your last great feat will be serving as my punching bag before I move on to Superman!" he said, looking for the blue-haired villain.

"Please..." from behind one of the airborne pieces of the broken table, Tomura had hidden from view. The surprise attack got him close enough to grab onto the perplexed Luthor's gauntlet when he'd gone to raise it and fire in the direction of Shigaraki's voice.

All five fingers came to rest against the cold metal of the suit, the decay already started to spread from the points of contact. Pulling, Tomura had the gripped appendage come up next to his face, keeping his tight hold on Lex who was sweating from having the killer so close.

"With or without this suit," Tomura started, barely above a whisper, and his red eye looking directly into Lex's, "You could have Superman on his knees and still wouldn't be able to kill him."

Those words snapped Lex from his befuddlement and slight fear. Rearing his free hand back, he made to smash his other gauntleted fist into Shigaraki's face, but he'd already been released since Tomura had jumped back, anticipating the attack.

"I'd squash him and all those other fools like bugs! Nothing can stop me!" Lex waved away Tomuras words.

He'd beaten an incurable disease, and turned it into power! A power he could use to bring his nemesis to heel once and for all!

"You can't, and you wouldn't," Tomura landed, a hand on the floor for the barest of moments. "Earlier, I had told you the difference between you and us..." Shigaraki stood, calm and collected when compared to the enraged Lex, "Now, we'll show you...why we're going to be the ones to end the Justice League."

His piece said Tomura ran back into the fray.

Below these two battles, and still shown onscreen, the rest of the League of Villains were deep in their own.

(Downstairs)

"Battai (Body Repel)!" from that call, another pillar made from the poor distorted corpses of human beings was formed from between the original Mahito's hands.

The grotesque creature blitzed forward, crashing into a green pane erected by the Green Lantern. He struggled against the monster, being pushed back from the force, and wincing thanks to the added pressure on his midsection from tensing to keep the barrier strong. Soon, the monster stopped pressing up against the shield, instead opting to open its maw and crunch the shield to pieces using its teeth.

The kickback from the destruction made Lantern's hand recoil thus leaving him open for a counterattack. From within the creature's now open mouth stood Gaz, a hand up to fire electricity at the hero.

"So gross..." she mumbled off-handedly, unleashing her power on the man who barely had enough time to put a wall between them.

"Come on, kid, you don't want to do this..." Lantern sweat, feeling his control slipping thanks to the pain and power coursing through the construct.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't..." she responded without missing a beat and increased the power being used.

Below the struggle, Hawkgirl made her way toward the two, her mace charging with electricity itself as she went to save her companion from the small girl.

"Lantern!" Hawkgirl shouted in concern watching cracks begin to form in the intergalactic policeman's defense. She flew perpendicular to the small purplette lightning bolt, ready to swing her mace against the villain.

"Not so fast~" a voice that Hawkgirl had come to despise over the course of the night made its way to her ears.

Slightly lower, Mahito had created another slithering transfigured human that he rode atop like he was surfing. The quick, snake-like monster allowed Mahito to intercept Hawkgirl before she could attempt to save Green Lantern from Gaz. Bringing his fist up to clash against Hawkgirl's swing, Mahito managed to stop the weapon before it could build up too much momentum though it did break his hand, not that it seemed to bother him in the slightest.

Even with his fingers bent at odd angles, the large smile never left Mahito's face. Coming between the bird-woman's intended target, the nonhuman's happy look only served to infuriate the heroine since she could still see her friend defending himself behind the villain.

"You know," Mahito spoke amicably with his opponent, disregarding their current situation entirely, "That weapon of yours is very annoying for someone like me." Cracks and Snaps came from the rapidly regenerating hand, ending with his index finger pointing upward to stay the woman for the slightest of moments before she could charge again, "But there is one great thing about not being human, do you want to know it?"

The woman chose not to answer, ignoring his question completely, instead, she stayed true to her rough exterior and went to attack him again. Despite the incoming harm to him, Mahito stayed in position undaunted, and just as his attacker's shadow loomed over him, a certain person's lightning erupted from the middle of his forehead to strike Hawkgirl.

"Ah!" she cried, falling to the floor like a bag of rocks.

"I can do things like that!" Mahito made fun of the downed woman, the smoking hole in the middle of his forehead closing slowly, eyes turned upward in despicable schadenfreude.

"Hawkgirl!" Lantern shouted to the woman.

"Sure you have time to worry about her?" Gaz asked, one hand continuing to push him back with electricity while the other had been crossed beneath it to shoot the bolt that went through Mahito's head.

"That's just the way they are," Mahito laughed, flipping backward while morphing his hand into a spiked club and finding himself above Green Lantern, "Hurt their allies, and they lose sight of everything else!" Mahito punctuated his words with a slam down on the black man, sending him hurtling down to the floor next to his teammate.

The two villains landed on their feet standing off to the side of their defeated opponents, Mahito's hands on his hips smiling down at them, and Gaz looking as uninterested as usual.

"All done~" Mahito clapped his hands of imaginary dust before turning to his friend and commending her, "Great job, Gaz~ You were able to read what I was trying to do~" he referred to her shooting through his head.

"Not really," she looked off to the side, opening one of her eyes narrowly, "I was just trying to get you to shut up."

The humanoid entity took the barb in stride, "Seriously? Oh well, it all worked out in the end," he smiled, rubbing the spot where the bolt had run through his head. He then surveyed the other battles, wondering how his other friends were doing against the Justice League now that they weren't adhering to Lex's stringent design. "I wonder how everyone else is doing."

"Better help them, or the night's going to go on forever..." Gaz sighed.

"You think so?" they started to decide where to head first, though their help wouldn't be needed.

Across from Mahito and Gaz, while they'd been finishing up with Hawkgirl and Green Lantern, Dabi and Enid's battle had been building up steam. The burned villain's flames had grown much more violent than they had at the beginning of the fight. Gone were the simple flamethrowers from a single hand, and now came the large roiling waves of fire from both hands. He offered support to Enid as she dealt with Wonder Woman up close and personal; if it looked like the girl needed a second to take a breath or right herself, he had fire already making its way toward the Amazon before she could capitalize on the villainess's vulnerable state.

Such a situation just so happened to be occurring now as well.

The purple-haired teen had brought her arms up to block a powerful punch from the woman, sending her skidding backward with her arms feeling a little numb from the strike. The thrill she'd felt from doing battle with Wonder Woman still did not abate even if it was an even match, smirking and ready to continue.

Wonder Woman did not give Enid a chance to think, pressing her attack in seconds, already flying over to strike her again. To the side, in Diana's periphery, the brilliant blue of Dabi's flames came roaring toward her, the heat tickling her even from a distance. The danger forced the princess to divert her movement upward to avoid the fire just as it would have washed over her form, but also giving Enid an opening of her own.

Jumping up, the femme fatale met Wonder Woman in the air and clashed with her.

Dabi watched from below, bringing a smoking hand down to his side. 'This isn't getting us anywhere...' he thought, seeing Enid be forced back to the ground. 'We haven't made any headway, and I'm not gonna hold up if it continues like this.'

He launched another swath of fire that made to catch Wonder Woman from behind this time, but she was able to dodge again thanks to the blue glow that shone on her, wasting another of Dabi's shots.

"Guess that's an advantage of being a trained warrior, she's aware of everything going on around her. And my flames being so bright aren't doing me any favors either..." he mused, letting himself go on autopilot as he thought of a solution.

Luckily for him, one presented itself with an annoying voice attached.

"Watch where you are shooting those fireballs of yours, fool," Shade poked his cowardly head from behind an unfortunate counter that had its corner burned away by one of Dabi's errant shots.

Outwardly, the villain only let his eyes stray to Shade for a moment, uninterested as always as conveyed by his heavily-lidded gaze, but inwardly he smiled evilly at the unintended answer to his problem.

'Looks like he's about to prove how valuable his 'support' is after all,'

Coming back to himself, Dabi turned away from Shade and blasted with more fire, separating Wonder Woman and Enid unnecessarily which caught the attention of both thanks to the odd reaction. With eyes on him, he relied on Enid to read the situation he'd be creating and act accordingly when the chance presented itself.

"Sorry, forgot you were even there," Dabi nonchalantly dismissed the man's complaint. "Not like you were much help anyway," Dabi jabbed, he then waved his hand to shoo the well-dressed villain away from him.

"Why don't you go on back to your hiding place, and I'll try to keep you in mind next time."

The insulting words from the burned man riled Shade. He fully intended to survive this rollercoaster he'd found himself riding on and receive his reward for dancing with danger as closely as he had, but insults were something he was growing tired of hearing from the mouths of both Lex and these League radicals.

"My shade can only be used without bright lights, and that candlelight of yours isn't exactly welcoming of shadows..." Shade countered with a sneer.

"Oh, that so?" Dabi rolled his eyes, "Sounds inconvenient. No wonder you have to skulk around and work for people like Luthor to get ahead," he purposely prodded the tophat-wearing villain.

"I do not skulk! The power of the shadows is versatile. I've been able to pull off heists that leave the authorities dumbfounded!" Shade defended himself.

"Yet no one knows your name. Seems to me the power of the shadows is only good for hiding away where no one can see you, and be completely overlooked, fading into obscurity. Kind of makes sense for a guy like you, huh?" Dabi was close to giving the final blow with a smug smirk.

"So why don't you use those shadows to slink off and make your escape? That's all you're good for..."

The final straw broke, black wisps of shadows branched from Shade's nightstick and soon began overtaking the area that the four were standing in. The action shocked Wonder Woman, making her question what the purpose of this blanket could be, but seeing the look that Dabi had, one that did not look concerned with this turn of events, made her act without thinking.

"Shade! Stop!" Wonder Woman disengaged with Enid, hoping to stop the villain before he committed to the mistake he had no clue he was making.

Enid on the other hand stood, rooted in her spot and looking on, wondering what her companion had in mind. She locked eyes with the burned man, and she decided then and there what her move would be.

"Alright, gotcha," she tensed her legs to ready herself to act.

"I'll show you the power that I hold!" Shade screamed the dome of shadows covering them all. "A darkness so deep you'll be crying in seconds!"

Standing in the middle of the dark, or what he could only assume was the middle thanks to the lack of anything within the dome, Dabi was unmoved. Smiling to himself, even with no sense of direction, he knew that it wouldn't matter for what he had planned.

"I'm terrified...or I would be if I was a four-year-old, but thanks for this..." between his cupped hands the beginnings of a great fire grew, "It'll be much easier to catch her off guard with this."

With that, Dabi spread his hands out and made a large ring of fire with him in the center. The flames crawled across the ground both ridding them all of the dome of shadows, allowing them to see, and catching Wonder Woman by surprise as she flew straight into them.

"Ah, there you are," he looked at the woman covering her face from the powerful fire, the heat being uncomfortable for her but she remained relatively unharmed and continued her charge. "Looks like the distraction worked," Dabi thrust his hand forward and sent more flames at Wonder Woman, though his eye was on something behind her as he did it. "All to get you into position."

The heroine barreled through the fire, keeping her bracers ahead of her as she did so, essentially tunneling her way through Dabi's attack to grab him by the neck. Hearing her prey's grunt as she gripped his throat, she slammed him into the ground, holding herself back from causing too much damage to the human.

"Your distraction was for naught! Now, stand down!" Diana had her fist raised to intimidate the captured villain and received a smirk in response.

"You thought I was talking about you?" Dabi chuckled, "Nah, I knew you'd be able to handle my flames well enough to get me. This stunt was to get you to sit still for a bit, and give her time to get in position," he inclined his head behind the heroine that had him pinned.

From behind Diana, emerging from the fire that she had blitzed through, came Enid, glowing an intense blue the same color as Dabi's fire. The remnants of the flames clung to the girl's body, giving her an ethereal appearance as she bore down on Wonder Woman a crazed grin on her face while doing so.

Drawing her leg back, a collection of the flames converged there, covering the appendage in it. Enid swiftly brought her leg around in a devastating roundhouse, the fire exploding outward on contact with Wonder Woman's bracers that the heroine had just managed to bring up to defend herself. After a brief struggle between them, the powerful leg eventually won out with the enhanced power behind Enid thanks to the added heat of Dabi's fire, sending Diana flying through a wall.

"That takes care of that...think she's done?" Dabi rubbed his neck, standing back up next to Enid, and watched her cool down.

"Not by a long shot, but she'll be out of our hair for a bit at least," Enid sizzled a tad while crossing her arms, "*Whew* This is some pretty intense heat, though," she made a show of wiping her forehead despite the fact she was completely immune to the otherwise deadly temperature, "You deal with this all the time?"

"Well, when most of your nerves are dead, it doesn't make much difference," he answered her question.

"Oh!" Enid seemed to realize something.

"What?"

"I just realized that I can think without an annoying voice complaining about us," she poked the side of her head with her index finger, "You have something to do with that?" she asked wickedly, knowing full well what had happened.

"No idea what you're talking about," Dabi shrugged, "The guy was just trying to prove how useful his powers were. He just happened to pick a bad time, I was using mine and they didn't mesh well. Not my fault I couldn't see him; if he's lucky, he's probably dead," out of view of the two villains, the burned body of Shade had been blasted back from Dabi's attack and laid on the floor not moving.

"That's lucky?" Enid's body finally had cooled to a normal temperature for her, placing a palm beneath her chin, not believing Dabi for a second that catching Shade in his attack wasn't intended.

"When the other option is painful burns for the rest of his life..." Dabi let his words hang for a bit.

"Well, how thoughtful of you to give him a chance," Enid scoffed a little and put a hand to her hip. She then turned her attention elsewhere; now that they'd gotten themselves a reprieve from the warrior princess, it seemed prudent of the two to turn their attention toward the rest of the L.O.V and help if needed.

"Now that we're freed up, how about we go lend everyone else a hand?" she nudged her distant, fiery teammate with an elbow.

"Go if you want, I'm taking a breather," ushered her forward and turned his back on the action, "I need time to cool off anyway."

"Aw, baby needs a nap?" Enid cooed.

"Wouldn't need one if someone's grudge match didn't go on for so long," Dabi shot back bluntly.

"That one's a low blow," Enid scoffed.

"Besides, they seem to be handling themselves. They can finish up and we can end this long night," Dabi gave a sigh while looking up through a window to see the moon at its zenith.

"What a waste of time..."

With the final ongoing battle in the foyer, Flash against Bakugo, to the outside observer it appeared that Flash still had the upper hand. The Scarlet Speedster continued to keep the sandy blond on the defensive even after the second wind he'd gotten in thanks to being influenced by his fellow villains going all out in their respective fights. Dashing forward again, Flash gave another punch toward Bakugo's face, catching the explosive villain and making his head tilt back. But even with this supposed disadvantage, Bakugo still held a confident feral grin on his face, enjoying the fight, and relishing the comeback that was about to take place.

"Y'know, I still have other bad guys to help catch, so if you'd just go down, that'd be great," Flash moved forward again after his light-hearted jab, dominating the fight as he was, he felt no concern closing in on the blond once again.

A chuckle came from Bakugo's mouth when he heard that, "It doesn't take long to figure out that you haven't been in a real fight before," Bakugo said, catching his enemy's attention.

"What? Too used to running in and knocking someone out in a punch?"

Bakugo was punched in the side of his head, jerking it from the impact harshly in that direction, but it doesn't stifle the explosive blond in the slightest.

"Makes sense, all those bastards you fight rely on their powers to make up for the fact they can't keep up with you."

Flash rounded back around, coming up on Bakugo's back, and aiming for the back of his head. This would be the hit to end the fight.

"But I ain't like them. I know how to take a punch! And because of that, I get to see something those extras don't-!"

Cutting off the villain's words, Flash's fist rocked into the back of Bakugo's neck, watching the unconscious blond finally begin to fall forward, "Yeah, the ground instead of the ceiling," Flash quipped, referencing the fact most of his foes would fall onto their backs after he punched them.

"Nah, it's that you've got patterns!"

Flash's eyes widened, meeting the red pupils of Bakugo as he noticed that the villain had deftly defended his nape before the hero could deliver his blow. From the corner of his eye, Bakugo saw the surprise on Flash, he'd brought his arm up and used his forearm to block the speedster's punch from connecting and knocking him out altogether.

Taking advantage of the shock, Bakugo used his left hand to fire an explosion to propel himself toward Flash and brought his right forward, attempting to get a grip on the hero's costume. The resounding boom of the explosion shook Flash from his stupor and got him to react just in time. The hero swiftly sprinted backward out of reach of the explosive villain.

"None of those other bastards notice because you take them out too quickly, but you've been throwing the same three hits this entire time!" Bakugo called Flash out.

All throughout their fight, Flash had been only aiming for Bakugo's head, never attacking anywhere else. Not only had the hero been repeatedly striking Bakugo's head, but over and over he'd always struck the face, the side of the head, and the back of the neck.

Never deviating. Always those three spots.

Because they were what he was used to.

"I've fought plenty of guys with powers, so I'm pretty good at readin' 'em, and all their little ticks. And you, you're full of tells and patterns!" Bakugo poked the side of his head, referring to the battle intelligence he'd honed thanks to his cage matches, not that Flash knew, but he'd be on the receiving end of those experiences.

"All those others focus on trying to outmaneuver you, but all I have to do is outthink you!" Bakugo crouched, about to go on the offensive now that he had a proper strategy. "There are plenty of ways to take you down, and I'll show ya!"

The intensity of the villain made Flash shudder for a moment, but he wrote it off as the blond only trying to frighten him.

He was the Fastest Man Alive!

No one kept up with him, and any that got the upper hand would always use tricks to divide his focus or use his speed against him. They planned in advance on how to deal with his speed, they couldn't outthink him in a one-on-one.

That's not possible!

"I can't say you don't have confidence, but I think that's all you have," Flash disregarded the words in seconds, starting to move to the side and encircle Bakugo.

"Of course I'm confident! I never lose!" Bakugo started his plan off by crouching low to the ground and directing his palm to the floor while his other hand held his wrist.

"First, take away your options!" he blasted the concrete floor, kicking up large chunks ahead of him that barreled toward the speedster.

"Furagu Gurenēdo (Frag Grenade)!" His red eyes darted from place to place, reading the size of each slab, and the space between them.

Flash did the same, of course, just much, much faster than Bakugo did. The speedster, without breaking stride, weaved himself through the dangerous hunks of rock that rushed toward him with ease thanks to his speed. He came out of the attack unscathed, ready to continue running...

"In an open space," Bakugo appeared next to Flash, his hands together in front of him, "You can run anywhere. But if I funnel you so you have only one place to run, it doesn't matter how fast you are!"

Flash was so taken aback that the blond had predicted his movements as he did, using the environment to his advantage to get Flash to act just as he'd wanted, the bright light emanating from Bakugo's palms just barely registered until it was too late.

"Sutan Gurenēdo (Stun Grenade)!"

The bright light of the explosion blinded Flash, his eyes instinctively closing to try and stop the over stimulus to them and clear up his vision. Unfortunately, in a fight, those precious seconds count for a lot, and as a speedster, they could last for even longer by his perception.

"But that ain't the only way to stop you!" Bakugo grabbed the back of Flash's costume, grin widening, "Take away your eyesight, and you aren't going anywhere!"

Another explosion reached the blinded hero's ears, and he felt his feet leave the ground. Slowly opening his eyes, he could vaguely make out the shape of Bakugo above him as they readjusted to the regular lighting. It was then that Flash realized that the explosion from before had been used to suspend the two of them in the air, though gravity would be acting on them soon.

"Next, take away your foothold, so you won't be running anywhere! Up here, you're at my mercy!" Bakugo made good on his plan after those words.

A series of explosions came from the blond's palms as he laid into the defenseless Flash with a flurry of fists and kicks. He blasted himself all around the falling hero, giving him no chance to even attempt a weak resistance to the combo that he was subjected to by Bakugo. Punches rained on the poor man's face, swelling an eye shut from one particularly powerful hit, a kick to the side made his ribs creak from the force, and a culmination of these well-placed strikes, a few feet from the ground, Bakugo took hold of Flash and threw him harshly onto the floor back first.

The speedster could only groan in pain, moving was painful, and breathing was painful...but he had to pick himself up...he couldn't let this fight end like this...

Opening his good eye, Flash saw Bakugo still high above him, that animalistic smile at its widest before he shouted at his prey, "But there's still one surefire way to keep you still!" he put his hand behind him and shot forward with another explosion, flipping himself through the air to gain momentum and his eyes shrunk to pinpricks as he focused on his target.

*Crack*

"AHHHH!"

Flash screamed in absolute agony.

Bakugo had landed, harshly, on Flash's leg, bending it at an odd angle and effectively keeping the speedster from continuing the fight.

The pain was unreal, it compounded with all the injuries that he'd just accrued in such a short amount of time. He wanted to pass out, but his body refused to let him, jolts of constant pain kept him aware of everything, and all he could do was stare up at the one that had done it.

Through the smoke of the explosion, the shadow of Bakugo could be seen, looming over his defeated hero with a sick glee. His grin could even be seen through the dark cloud it was so large, and his eyes appeared to glow maliciously, leaning forward and grabbing the Flash by the collar. He ignored the poor man's whimpers of pain, looking at his only open eye, though it was squinted in pain.

"Heh, this is the best you got?" Bakugo asked mockingly, "You're supposed to be one of the big dogs! The cream of the crop, but you're no better than that damn nerd!" he referenced the unfortunate outcome of his bout with Gear.

"The both of you are the same! Got your powers and expected everything to fall into place, huh!?" Bakugo growled at the hero, "Look at you! All it takes is someone that knows how to fight, and you end up like this!" he shook the hero showily, getting more groans, the display made Bakugo scoff, "You wanna use these powers the way you want, you better be willing to work at it, hero." he was disappointed in the fight, he didn't get to go all out, and it ended with the damn streaker beaten after one strategy he'd thought up.

"At the end of the day, that's what matters! Who cares if you want to save a bunch of extras? Or stop me?" Bakugo leaned in to glare at the pathetic man, "What matters is that you have the power and skill to see it through...but you lost. And I won!" he rose back up with an angry huff.

"And as the winner, you can't blame me for doing what I want with you now!" he reared his free hand back, intending to blast the pathetic hero to kingdom come...

*Crash*

Crashing down next to him, woozy groans coming from this interruption, Bakugo turned his head, irritated, to see just what happened. Laying on his back, an unconscious Grundy turned out to be the culprit behind the busted wall next to the League of Villains member, though he couldn't have done that by himself.

'The zombie? Then that means...'

Turning to look over his shoulder, Bakugo saw the Man of Steel himself.

The Kryptonian had finally finished dealing with Grundy and now he'd be cleaning up the rest of the criminals. From his face, one could tell that he was very upset with the state of the foyer, in particular, the blond that stood in front of him with one of his comrades gripped by the collar within the villain's hand. Superman narrowed his eyes, staring the unafraid Bakugo down who'd just turned fully around at this point.

"Well, the big guy himself," Bakugo turned to regard the biggest threat to them all with a lop-sided smirk. Subtly, Bakugo took stock of the Kryptonian, probing the alien for anything exploitable for when they came to blows. His smile grew slightly though it was more from slight apprehension...he was no fool, beating Superman was a pipe dream for him right now...but Katsuki Bakugo wasn't one to back down or show fear!

Putting his free hand into his pocket, Bakugo also allowed his arm gripping Flash to lower slightly so he could drop the loser at a moment's notice, becoming more guarded.

"Took you long enough to beat the zombie," Bakugo spoke again to the angered Superman and getting no response, "But I guess I'm not complaining, I was just finishing up too," Bakugo emphasized his words by letting his grasp on Flash go slack, causing the man to finally fall to the floor fully with a moan.

The Man of Steel's brow twitched the slightest bit.

"Gotta say, I was disappointed," Bakugo took his focus off the Fastest Man Alive, he wouldn't be a problem for the rest of the night, he needed to keep his eyes on the Kryptonian. "He's supposed to be one of your heavy hitters, right? He went down way too easy once I got the hang of his tricks," Bakugo continued to prod with a malicious and disrespectful tone, not even considering the hero he'd beaten to be worth the time it had taken to do so.

"I hope you've at least got something to-!"

In an instant Bakugo was swept off his feet by a powerful hand that took hold of his face, covering his mouth to stop him from talking. Soaring through the air, it took a second for the villain to even register that he'd been forcibly moved. Blinking in shock, his vision started to refocus, and saw the frowning face of Superman ahead of him.

The Man of Steel had dashed headlong into the loudmouthed villain that disrespected his friend. Once Flash had been released, Superman reacted, moving the blond from his downed teammate to keep him from danger as he dealt with Bakugo himself. His hand held the villain by the face and made to remove him from the fight entirely before he would move on to the rest of the League of Villains.

'Fast!' Bakugo came back to himself after realizing his position, 'Not as fast as the Streaker, but I still couldn't see him, and barely any startup! Make sense for the alien!' Bakugo thought fast, taking stock of where the Kryptonian seemed to be heading and figured that he'd be taking the blond from the building entirely effectively beating him.

'You think you've got me!?' Bakugo's smile grew beneath the hand covering it, his fight not going away even now. He raised his hands and took aim at Superman's face and torso, 'I'm not giving up just because you're some "invincible" alien!'

A series of booms came from his palms, exploding into Superman's face, and while they did not damage him, they were distracting. Covering his face as the smoke both obscured his vision and got into his eyes, Superman did not let his grip up. He was slightly taken aback by the fire that he still saw within Bakugo's eyes, never once considering that he would lose, and even resisting the normal reaction of trying to tear the Man of Steel's hand from his face.

"I'm not letting go of you!" Superman met the blond's stubbornness with his own, growling over the many explosions going off around his head. The serious eyes of Superman met with Bakugo's and within that brief glance, the defiant gaze of Bakugo just screamed 'we'll see'.

Flying erratically above the rest of the League of Villains and leaving a trail of explosions in their wake, Superman with the captive Bakugo flew around the foyer. Below, a smiling Mahito watched the spectacle with glee, taking amusement in seeing his blond friend in a bind against their most powerful obstacle, and not at all concerned about the implications.

"Uh-oh, looks like Bakugo-kun's in trouble!" Mahito laughed, a broken window is heard as the two broke through it and continued outside the building. "Think we should go help him?" he looked down to ask the small girl who huffed in annoyance.

"Guess we should. *sigh* How is it the guy who's the best fighter is always getting in trouble?" Gaz rolled her squinted eyes.

"How mad do you think he'll be when we save him?" Mahito imagined the angered denial that would spew forth from the blond's mouth, already moving ahead of his companion. So focused on his impromptu rescue, the nonhuman only just noticed the winged shadow that was descending upon him as it was too late.

Smashing into the side of his head and knocking him off balance slightly was none other than Hawkgirl. With his head still tilted from her blow, Mahito looked at the heroine with a deadpan gaze, as if she were not more than an annoyance at this point.

"Mm, you again?" he groaned with an eye roll of his own, nonchalantly mending his skull as he talked to the exhausted heroine. "Haven't I played with you enough tonight?" Mahito shrugged, "You've already seen you can't do much more than slow me. Aren't you tired of losing?" he smirked evilly at the tightening of her fists, goading her into charging him again like she had so many times tonight and planned to skewer her through the chest with a well-placed punch.

"I'm tired of something alright!" she glared at her personal nuisance of the night but smiled just as she was within range of clocking him with her mace, "But I decided to take a page from your book!" she flapped her wings and rose above Mahito in time to avoid the fist that was aimed at her.

"And what's that?" he asked amused.

"Misdirection!" she rushed the electric girl instead who only rose a brow at the foolish attempt while leaving Mahito behind to stare at her, bending backward to keep her in sight.

"Really?" he said intrigued at the prospect of the woman outsmarting him, though it looked to him that she didn't have the slightest clue how to do it. All she'd done is feint, and the worst of that was getting him off balance for a second.

"Because looks like you're just running from me!"

Mahito's taunt did little to stop the harpy, but that fact did little to stop him from moving to give chase, though something else would be halting him entirely. From above, a green construct formed and slammed down atop the nonhuman, pinning the creature to the ground, and keeping those deadly hands at his sides.

"What!?" Mahito growled from his position, cheek flush with the floor with his head facing the culprit.

John Stewart, who'd been pretending to still be unconscious, had stealthily moved his ring-wielding hand beneath his torso thanks to laying facedown and created the binding that currently kept Mahito still. Now that the ruse had been broken, the former marine rose up to a knee, keeping the power flowing to his ring, a smirk on his face.

"Making you think one thing when another's happening...isn't that the point of misdirection?" Green Lantern bluntly jabbed.

Hearing that, the easygoing smile that Mahito had the entire night went to one that showed the contempt he had for the idea that a human outpaced him. He watched the hero carefully and saw that his injured side was still giving the man trouble, explaining why he was content with trapping the silver-haired entity rather than confronting him.

"So this was your plan? Trapping me?" Mahito tried to goad the man into making a mistake and loosen his restraints, "I suppose that's the best you can hope for, it isn't like you could hurt me~"

John didn't rise, his no-nonsense attitude keeping him focused on his mission, "I don't have to, long as I can keep you pinned."

In response, Mahito grinned more widely, summoning his energy throughout his body, "You think so? Just try," the nonhuman then shifted his body with Idle Transfiguration, making himself larger in a bid to break free, only for the construct to hold up against the change.

"Not gonna happen," Lantern countered, morphing the size of the construct to keep Mahito down for as long as needed even as the nonhuman gave a challenging glare and started to shift more erratically within his confines.

A restrained sigh came from Gaz's nostrils as she watched her childish compatriot wriggle in his trap, struggling to escape, "Do I have to do everything around here?" she charged a beam of electricity with her arm, aiming to do a lot more than simply electrocute the Green Lantern before her, ignoring the fact that Hawkgirl was after her due to the fact she was untouchable.

"Time for a timeout!" Hawkgirl raised her mace above her head, hoping her idea would work.

"This was your big plan?" Gaz asked condescendingly, keeping her focus on Lantern while also readying another bolt with her second hand to hit the bird out of the sky after the attempt at striking her, confident she'd simply be phased through as always. "You know what I'm made of, right?"

'If the Nth Metal works on him...it should...!' Hawkgirl grit her teeth and charged her mace before swinging it at the young girl's face.

A distinct tingle reached Gaz's cheek. Opening one of her eyes, she was shocked to...to feel the mace drawing closer to her...not only that...she was being forced backward by it!

"Hah!" Hawkgirl shouted in exertion, succeeding in knocking the purple-haired girl off her feet.

Soaring through the air, Gaz's mind was solely on one thing, something that she thought impossible since she'd gained her abilities, and it came out in a scream that echoed in the foyer.

"OW! That hurt!" Gaz held her cheek, thrown off that she could even still feel pain. With an open eye, she could see that the woman looked surprised herself that her plan had indeed worked, but that did not stop her from pressing her advantage on the girl. Ignoring the sensation on her cheek, Gaz took to defense now that she knew Hawkgirl was capable of harming her somehow, flashing from point to point out of reach of the weapon.

At the same time, Mahito too was taken aback by the scream Gaz let out, ceasing his struggle against Green Lantern for the barest moment, outwardly voicing his befuddlement, "Did Gaz just say 'ow'?"

Suddenly, Mahito was lifted from the floor and released from his restraints, leaving him in midair. Blinking in confusion, Lantern's call for his partner made it clear what would be happening to the nonhuman. Hawkgirl disengaged from the fleeing Gaz thanks to Lantern's shout, letting her know that Mahito was a sitting duck for her, smashing her mace into the villain's gut after he'd anticipated a hit to the face and chose to defend it.

Stunned from the blow, Mahito was then hit again in the side of his head to rattle him. He was at the mercy of Hawkgirl's onslaught, the heroine leaving no time for him to think a counterattack through or so much as transmogrify his form to take her by surprise.

Seeing her allies in real danger, Enid had already begun to move thanks mostly to Gaz's shout of pain concerning her. "Gaz is hurt!? How!?" she said, her composure giving way to her worry for her comrades. Without a second thought, Enid moved forward, aiming to deep fry Hawkgirl, and ushering the unfazed Dabi with a finger.

"Come on, we have to go and help them out," Enid said seriously, her mood souring thanks to the danger.

"Tch, why?" Dabi merely craned his head to see the two villains in trouble, his expression never changing, "This is on them," he shrugged uncaringly, "If they weren't so busy playing around with them, they wouldn't be in that mess. Let them clean it up themselves."

Upset with the uncaring response, Enid fell back on her biting sarcasm with a healthy dose of reality to get the burned pyrokinetic moving, "Aw, and let you handle them all on your own when they're done with the others?" Enid gave a shrug of her own and knowingly smirked his way, "I didn't know you had it in you," she looked over her shoulder with a half-lidded eye.

He was unamused at the logic, his eyes drooping all the more as he groaned in annoyance, "Fine...better appreciate this..." he mumbled under his breath, lazily moving to join her.

"No need to pretend that you don't love us," she snarked.

"Funny, is that what I'm feeling? Thought it was indifference..." he fired back and trailed off when a yellow glow appeared above them. "Huh?" was Dabi's smart reply, thankfully not the target of the Lasso of Truth that honor would go to the one with him.

Going taut around the girl, the lasso restrained Enid, with her rage already building at being tied up by this thing...again! And the person who would have used the object to capture her...again!

"Dammit, not this thing...!" she managed to growl out just as she was yanked backward and over Dabi's head. Glancing behind her, she could see Wonder Woman. Other than some singes on her person, the Amazonian Princess looked none the worse for wear, though her eyes did seem to convey some exhaustion.

"Heh, all that work, and that's the best I can do?" Enid had an annoyed, strained smile on her face, seeing that Wonder Woman was still raring to go even after all she'd put into the superheated kick that was augmented by Dabi's flames. It was then that the villainess started to be swung by the lasso in a circle above the Amazon's head, building momentum.

His attention on the returned heroine, Dabi called his flame to his hand, "Couldn't have stayed down for a few more minutes?" he asked rhetorically and sighed, "Now I've gotta save her..." a small smile on his lips, Dabi thrust his hand forward...

*Shing*

"Tch..." he grimaced, fire dispersing thanks to the timely arrival of Batman coming up from the basement he'd been left in. Cradling his wrist, the Batarang that hit him had fallen to the ground, Dabi took notice of the now conscious Martian Manhunter slung over his teammate's shoulder along with a tied-up Joker being dragged behind the Dark Knight.

'Great...now Batman's free. Shouldn't be too surprised...he probably could have escaped anytime he wanted to, he was just trying to ring us of information. He even caught the clown while he was at it, was wondering where he'd slunk off to,' Dabi thought, locking eyes with the bat-themed hero. Taking stock of the battlefield mentally, the burned villain sucked his teeth, "This is getting dicey..." he backed off slowly.

In a flash of light, Gaz reappeared, hand still on her injured cheek, and her back to a wall. "Why did that happen..." she seethed, removing her hand to show that her cheek took on the appearance of television static, becoming her skin again but much more slowly than was normal. A crash beside the electric girl caught her attention, the dust giving way to reveal that Enid had been tossed over her way simultaneously releasing her of the Lasso of Truth.

"I swear I'm gonna choke her with that thing one day..." Enid growled under her breath and dusted her shoulder off. Noticing the small girl was now next to her, she took a second to let go of her vendetta and regard her teammate.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine, just wasn't expecting her mace to hurt me," Gaz answered simply, rubbing her cheek a final time just as her skin returned.

Their chat was interrupted by the arrival of Mahito, having been flung between his two female teammates. Laying on his back, the nonhuman only moved his eyes over to Gaz, not even acting like he'd been thrown by G.L. seconds prior. He then sat up, leaned back on his hands, and spoke to the girl nonchalantly, "I was surprised when you yelled."

Mahito hopped onto his feet, and put his hands on his hips, smirking at the idea he had brewing, "But why would the mace hurt you?" he was being cheeky, "I thought I was the only one that could be hurt by it...unless~" he tried to lead Gaz.

"Come off it," she stopped him, "It's not magic," she looked at him, getting the entity to raise his hands in fake surrender though the smile stayed. "That mace was coated in some kind of electrical field; it most likely had the same charge as me, so I was forcibly repelled by it...it would be like hitting me," Gaz reasoned.

"That explains why it hurts you, but what about me?" Mahito wondered.

"Who knows. You can't even explain your powers too well, remember? Besides, only idiots take something they can't explain and label it as magic..." Gaz did not humor the nonhuman.

"Can't argue with that~" Mahito gave up with a shrug.

"So you admit to being an idiot?" Enid crossed her arms, smirking at the oblivious blink she received from him.

"Nice to see you all are chatty as ever..." Dabi walked up with his hands in his pockets, looking at the heroes that were assembling in front of them from the corner of his eye.

"Thanks for the assist back there..." Enid grumbled at the pyro.

"Nothing I could do. The Bat's back, he brought the Martian, and the Amazon would have been after me too. Better to back off and regroup," Dabi waved it off.

Again, the villains' talk was interrupted by the arrival of Superman, the hero's hand still gripping Bakugo's face. The villain still released explosions even after all this time, trying to break free of the iron grip of the Kryptonian. Superman looked down and saw that his team had cornered the League of Villains, meaning their long night could come to an end once they captured the lot of them.

Swooping down to join the Justice League, the Man of Steel tossed the blond to his own group so the heroes could fully confront the villains and let them see what they were up against. Landing in front of his team and crossing his arms, Superman sternly stared down the group of villains who, even now, conversed amicably with one another rather than worry about their impending incarceration.

"*Cough* That damn alien! Thinks he can just lead me by the nose like that, does he?!" Bakugo had slowed his descent by using explosions after stretching his arms behind him. His eye twitched angrily with his pupils shrunk down and feral grin wide.

"Glad you joined us," Enid looked at the blond who seemed to realize just where he was thrown, tossing his head to the side to see his comrades behind him.

"What the hell are all of you doing here!?" he became indignant out of nowhere.

"It's just how it went down. Their second winds are a dangerous thing, and they just herded us over here...now it looks like we've got our backs to the wall, literally," Enid leaned against said wall, remaining calm.

"Any idea how we get out?" Mahito rubbed his chin wondering.

"The Ragdoll can just torch 'em!" Bakugo offered.

"Not if you like the air in your lungs..." Dabi drawled. He slid his eyes subtly to lead the others to notice, "See? The Bat grabbed the Flash from the floor, and now he's got us in his sights."

Flash was slung over Batman's shoulder, keeping the speedster's weight off his broken leg. Weakened as he was, Flash's unswollen eye was narrowed in determination, and his free arm was outstretched, directed at the villains, ready to be spun at high speed.

"He spins his arm, he makes a wind tunnel and sucks away all the oxygen around us...no oxygen, no fire...and no breathing..." Dabi gave a sarcastic shrug, "Great job, breaking his leg. Couldn't have broken his arms too?" Dabi asked scathingly toward the incensed Bakugo.

"Like you did any better! What's she still doing here!?" Bakugo drew attention to the Amazon standing with the others none the worse for wear.

"What can I say," Dabi tilted his head and looked away, "We used our extra piece to the best of our ability to give us an opening," he referred to Shade, "But he wasn't worth much to begin with, so it barely helped any. Only managed to push her out for a few minutes."

The blunt, matter-of-fact answer Dabi gave only served to anger the sandy blond.

"And it looks like we weren't the only ones to use their extra piece," Dabi took notice of the missing Sapphire.

"I wouldn't say that..." Gaz deadpanned.

"She was just irritating us~" Mahito tilted his head happily.

"I'm not surprised..."

"You think you could zap them?" Enid asked Gaz. If flames wouldn't work, then the girl's electricity might.

"Not all of them at once..." she made a small spark between her index finger and thumb, thinking over how she would go about hitting them, but coming up with nothing. "Superman is vulnerable to it, but that would leave the rest ready to dodge from there; and if I went after any of the others first, he'd pounce on us faster than we could react."

The Kryptonian was indeed their biggest threat now that the whole Justice League came back together. Anything they could do to handle the members they'd been dealing with previously, all those ideas could be tossed into the garbage all in thanks to his presence. Superman truly was a one-ton weight that forced the scale heavily in the Justice League's favor.

"Getting reinforcements would be a good idea," she opened an eye and looked to the one that would be able to give them extra numbers without risking themselves in the ensuing fight.

Mahito blinked, recognizing that he was being indirectly addressed by the girl, and after a moment of thought, responded, "I see what you're getting at, but I'm afraid I can't use of anymore transfigured humans..." he shrugged with a sad sigh. Seeing the questioning looks he got, the nonhuman went on to explain, "Remember when I told you that Body Repel burns through my stockpile?" he pointed a finger to his open mouth, "I used them all up during our fight. It's the drawback of using Soul Multiplicity; it uses up the energy of both souls in the fusion for the powerful reaction, and then they become worthless," Mahito pouted.

"Heh, so we really are cornered," Enid smiled wryly still leaning against the wall casually.

During their conversation, the Justice League were having one of their own now that their most powerful member had rejoined with them. Superman still stood in front of the assembled heroes, staying alert in case the villains tried anything. Turning his head just enough to speak over his shoulder, the Earth's Mightiest Hero checked on his team.

"Are you all alright?"

"No, but it could always be worse..." Lantern grunted, still clutching his injured side, but kept his ring on their enemies, specifically Mahito so he could hold the entity still so Hawkgirl could take care of him quickly.

"I'm good...just took me by surprise is all...I'll be on my feet before you know it..." Flash tried to keep his upbeat personality after the thrashing he'd received, but in the back of his mind, he couldn't ignore what Bakugo had said to him. He refocused, steadying his arm so he could spin it at any time to suck away the oxygen around their foes.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. Grundy put up more of a fight than I thought he would," Superman frowned. He should have been able to take care of them all, but holding back his real strength was always a balancing act in whatever fight he was in.

"Is everyone captured?"

"This is every one..." Hawkgirl answered bluntly, "They got rid of the Injustice League themselves...Grundy and Joker are the only ones left that were down here with us..."

"They were at each other's throats this whole time..." Batman scowled.

"And Lex?" Superman tensed. They may have been criminals...but to be killed in cold blood...by those on their side, and just forgotten about as quickly as the deed had been done...the League of Villains was truly callous.

"We have not seen him. Perhaps he has made his escape?" Diana, dirtied as she was, did not let her guard drop. The Amazonian princess stayed battle-ready, hands gripping her lasso.

"No, he can't. This is a chance he wouldn't pass up, and even if he did, he'd have nothing afterward. His accounts will be frozen after tonight, he'll be just like everyone else," the Kryptonian knew his nemesis too well. Lex was a shrewd businessman; he no doubt knew that getting to the Justice League again would be far more difficult without funds to entice more criminals to follow him.

"Then perhaps he is preoccupied?" J'onn offered. Having been absent from the fighting, he did not know the current position of those not directly in front of him.

"That might explain where he went..." Superman narrowed his eyes slightly, remembering what he'd seen on the outside while handling Bakugo, or rather who he hadn't seen.

"We'll worry about that later...right now we need to focus on them," Batman got them all to remember just who they were currently in the company of.

"Right. This is a perfect chance to capture them," Superman agreed. As always, he would attempt a peaceful approach with the criminals, after all, the majority of the League of Villains were human, so being too heavy-handed with them wouldn't do.

They had to realize the situation they were in.

Superman took a step forward, his arms coming down to his sides, cutting an imposing figure as he stood to his full height. Standing in front of the villains as they continued speaking among themselves, Superman made his stance known as he offered them a final chance at ending this.

"That's enough," Superman looked them all over and played his hand, "You all have to realize that you're outnumbered and outmatched. Make it easy on all of us and just surrender. You can pay for your crimes and reflect on what you've done," he said seriously, no room for argument from the villains who all seemed nonplussed.

"Well, how generous of you," Enid said, closing her eyes and smirking, expecting the magnanimous hero to offer the olive branch.

Appearances had to be kept up, of course.

"I dunno, seems like a pretty good deal," Enid was being facetious, not even coming close to considering the deal, and it did not stop her from mocking the hero further, "What do you guys think?" she asked her team.

"Hell no!" Bakugo answered instantly, unafraid, and fully intent to keep fighting no matter the odds. "I'll fight 'em down to my teeth if I have to!" he crouched low to the ground as he said this a hand up while smirking ferally.

"To be honest, as long as Gaz and I avoid Hawkgirl, we can't be defeated easily, so giving up wouldn't be much fun," Mahito reasoned with a hand on his chin, looking at his fellow near-invincible villain.

"If I wanted to, I could just escape through some power lines and leave you all behind," Gaz bluntly said, "But if I did, I'd just be running for the rest of my life..." she turned her head, her arms crossed, only opening her eye to narrow it toward the heroes.

Rather than chime in with the rest, Dabi was currently staring up at the ceiling, not paying any mind to the words that had been spoken with his bored expression still on his face.

"Glad we're all on the same page then," Enid stood from the wall, her bang covering her eye while the other glowed its powerful purple, and grinning crookedly as she stared down the Man of Steel without fear, "Cuz there was no way I was going down without a fight!" she allowed her power to flow to her arm causing it to glow with heat.

The powerful alien gave a shake of his head, flying up off the floor and back toward the Justice League who were all ready to continue the fight.

"I don't understand why you all insist on doing things the hard way..." Superman sighed.

They were cornered. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, but they still chose to fight.

"And guys like you never will," Enid shot back.

The League of Villains were set to give the ugliest fight they could even if it seemed hopeless, and for Enid specifically a far cry from the nervous young woman that had been in this same situation with her Boss. Things were different this time around, she didn't have the luxury of being unsure or indecisive, getting caught now meant All For One would stay imprisoned with no hope of getting out, and then everything that they'd all put on the line would be for nothing.

She couldn't let that happen.

Despite her focus on the matter at hand, the young villainess couldn't help but take notice of her sarcastic partner in crime's lack of involvement. The burned villain still stood off to the side, completely disinterested as he continued to stare intently at the ceiling.

"Hey!" Enid called over to him, catching his attention, "Your head in the game? I don't need you zonked out."

"What? I need to pay attention to the team cheer?" he rolled his eyes, "I thought my answer was obvious so I didn't chime in...I had more important things on my mind..." he went back to looking at the ceiling.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Enid was skeptical, knowing how he was.

"Just where the leader is," Dabi answered evenly which called the attention of the others, realizing that Shigaraki had not yet returned to them. "No way he's just been sitting around in that bubble the whole time."

"He ain't," Bakugo said, "While the alien had me outside, I didn't see Shigaraki or that bubble he was in. He must've got out," the explosive blond confirmed Dabi's theory.

"Tomura's free? Wonder what he's up to, then," Mahito wondered.

"Probably taking care of our Luthor problem," Gaz reasoned.

"Least he could do is show up to see us get caught," Dabi sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Heh, nah, all it means is we've got an out. So all we have to do is buy time 'til Shigaraki finishes up, and then we get out of here!" Enid smiled.

"Don't make it sound so easy," Dabi gave his own smirk, taking a hand from his pocket so his fire could cover it in preparation for the fight ahead.

As the two sides started to fight one another, the commotion they were causing made them miss the tiny bits of rubble that came from the ceiling. The small, almost imperceptible debris turned to dust before it could land on any of the heroes or villains which added to their obliviousness. Along the ceiling, cracks were slowly making their way across its surface, evidence of the happenings just on the opposite side. Not only that, but these cracks seemed to be sprouting from multiple places forming a kind of diamond above the two fighting sides.

For just above them, another pair of fights were finishing, and one, in particular, would be putting an end to this long night.

(Above the fight)

The whole room had been devastated because of the battle between Tomura and Lex. The machinery within the room had now stood in ruin, wires jutting from their broken remains and sparking as they tried to continue supplying power. Windows were shattered thanks to the errant blasts that Luthor had supplied which left shards of glass littering the floor. It wouldn't take one more than a glance to see that the fight had been intense between the two villain leaders.

And standing in the middle of the wrecked expanse of the room, was Lex Luthor, his power suit still in one piece, minus the gauntlet that had been decayed by his opponent's abilities. He had his smug smile on his face as well for within his grasp, using his remaining gauntleted fist, was the neck of Tomura Shigaraki.

Dangling in the powerful hand, Tomura's red eye stared from beneath the disembodied hand on his face looking banefully at the criminal mastermind.

"Heh," Lex began, never losing his confident smirk as he went to mock the nobody that thought he, Lex Luthor, one of the most brilliant minds amongst the rabble, could be defeated by a collection of strays, "After all that big talk of yours...look at you now!" Lex shook the weakened villain in his grasp, not even getting a grunt of annoyance from the blue-haired gnat, though the millionaire could tell by the slight twitch of Shigaraki's eye that there was some discomfort.

"Weren't you telling me that you'd make me pay for belittling that 'master' of yours?!" Lex laughed. For added insult to his defeated enemy, the man reached his free hand up and took the hand from Tomura's face, giving Lex an unobscured view.

With his face uncovered, Tomura's baleful red eyes were on full display to his captor. They glared intently at Luthor, the anger building within him at the continued insults to his Master and the affront the millionaire had committed by taking his mask. The cracks running along his wrinkled eyes seemed to deepen and spread, the urge to scratch at his neck returning as he tried to keep his composure, focusing on simply keeping his hatred showing through glaring from the bottom of his eyes.

"But that is all you have left, isn't it? Empty words, without the umbrella that brute gave you from retaliation!" Lex tossed the hand away from them.

Tomura's eyes followed the gray appendage as it flopped to the floor, palm facing up. To its owner, it looked empty, he needed to get it back...soon...now!

The itch was coming back...

"That's just the nature of cockroaches, though," Lex referred to his enemy's little band, regaining his attention. "You scurry about in plain sight. Disgusting lowly creatures, an assault to the senses...teasing those far larger than you. Thinking you're safe, too insignificant to be worth squashing, and fast enough to hide when you've pushed your bounds too far!" the mastermind lowered Tomura so he could stare him in the eyes.

"But therein lies the problem...eventually, the shoe drops," Lex gave a low chuckle, clearly believing himself to be the shoe, the reckoning for the League of Villains...the one that they pushed too far.

"Though, even I have to admit, as far as roaches go..." he turned around, giving Tomura a view of the only remaining monitor in the room. It displayed the League of Villains fighting a losing battle against the Justice League. The villains were slowly losing ground thanks in no small part to the presence of Superman, but pressed on regardless of the odds, "...you were a lot more difficult to squash than most."

Tomura gave no outward reaction to this news, the feed shining in his eyes as he watched his team do their best to hold out, no doubt waiting for him before they could all escape.

"Now, I find myself in a conundrum," Lex gained a playful tone, cupping his chin between his index finger and thumb, acting as if he were mulling over a difficult decision.

"Should I end you now, and bring your broken body to those fools as a present? Or, should I let you live long enough to watch the end of your 'cute' movement here and now as you sit here unable to do anything?"

A cruel smile worked its way onto Lex's face, turning back and expecting to see the pained face of Tomura to meet him. Lex wanted this nothing to grovel at his feet and apologize profusely for all he'd done this night to undermine him, to watch that pride he'd had in the League of Villains melt away now that they were cornered.

Only...Tomura remained calm, not even so much as a twitch to show he was concerned...almost like...even after all this...the simpleton still believed they would be making it out of this!

He was Lex Luthor!

When he said they were finished...they. Were. FINISHED.

"What!?" Lex hoisted Tomura back up, again losing the battle in composure as he had back during their first meeting, "No more smug remarks!? Everything you've worked for is about to be destroyed before your eyes, and even your leader will never know what has happened! You have well and truly failed!" his voice went down to a deadly whisper, "So tell me! What do you think?"

There was a moment of silence between the two...Lex's huffing from raising his voice was the only noise, mixing with the sparks of machinery.

Tomura stared at the ceiling, the goings-on within his mind a mystery.

After that moment, his chapped lips opened for him to speak.

"There was a lesson that Master taught me..." Tomura began, keeping his view on the ceiling, "Back when I was young...naive...and I thought there was no way we could reach our goals."

He thought back to the child he was...his nervousness...wanting to do his best to reach his and Master's dream after all that had happened to them, but...as a child, it was hard to imagine the two of them prevailing against the Earth's mightiest, especially when even beings on the same level did not succeed.

"He told me...it isn't the strong you need to be wary of..."

Slowly, unseen, cracks were making their way across the floor, silently.

"...it's the weak."

The red eyes of the villain moved back down to look at the perplexed Luthor before Tomura continued, "It's because the strong, more often than not, started there. They had all the advantages, everything handed to them, not needing to lift a finger...and even for the few that clawed their way into that position...they forget that feeling of being weak." Tomura spoke resolutely, blinking slowly as he stared into Luthor's eyes, their unwavering belief making the man that held him buckle.

The cracks continued to stretch along the floor.

"They reached the peak, and grew complacent...fat...overconfident..." Tomura emphasized the last word, "Simply reaching that zenith, believing themselves untouchable, and never imagining that they could fall..." Tomura spoke barely above a whisper.

The multiple cracks at this point had met each other and were now making their way toward the middle of the room, inching towards the two villains.

"They smash through their obstacles...they have no need for higher thought...they forget how to even think...but the weak, they need to be smarter, more methodical...they slowly eat away at the strong, chipping at them until they can no longer resist..." a smirk came to Tomura's face.

"You wondered how we plan to defeat the Justice League...and that's it...we don't need to fight them head-on and prove ourselves superior...we just need to eat away at the pillar, that unseen thing that holds the society they've made upright until it buckles. We've already started."

The cracks had finally met in the middle of the floor, a strong shock would be all that was needed to send it tumbling down.

"You called us roaches, easily squashed, perhaps...but also resilient. After a nuclear blast...what remains?"

Lex had veins pulsing at his temples...this wasn't the broken, defeated foe he wanted...if anything the insect was more confident than ever.

"You know, I think I will kill you now!"

"Tell me, Luthor...did you notice?"

The words made Lex halt before he could crush the life from Shigaraki.

"You were so busy trying to crush me, I'm sure you didn't..." Tomura chuckled evilly, "While avoiding your attempts, I touched the floor."

Those words made Lex look down and take notice of the spiderweb of cracks that were beneath his feet, his eyes widening in shock.

"I couldn't linger for too long or it would have taken effect too quickly...not more than a brush, leaving you none the wiser as I set this up. Not that you were focusing too heavily on what I was doing."

Indeed, thinking back on their battle, Lex realized that the slippery cretin had kept his distance after their initial altercation where his gauntlet had been decayed. From there, Lex kept his mind on avoiding those fingers, wanting to keep a good distance between them as well and wear Tomura down so he could get ahold of the brat and strangle the life out of him. As the fight raged, Tomura would often slide along the floor using a hand to steady himself for the briefest of moments before moving on to continue avoiding the laser blasts directed at him.

That was how he set this trap.

"You...!" Lex growled.

"Careful...all it takes is a nasty jolt to send us falling..." the look in Tomura's eyes revealed that he fully intended that to happen.

"I don't need to move to kill you!"

"True, but I never said it had to be you," the gleam within those red eyes spelled disaster for the dark-skinned criminal mastermind.

"Mahito!"

Away from the two, the copy of the nonhuman had an unconscious Ultra-Humanite in his grasp with an enlarged fist. The genius had been fighting an uphill battle against Mahi-two, unable to do anything to truly stop the creature from continuing to come after him; even with the ape's resourcefulness and agility, he could do little against the unrelenting pursuit of the inhuman monster coming for him. This ended with Humanite gaining a fair share of injuries while his pursuer seemed to purposely draw out the chase to inflict as much pain on his prey as possible, deriving a good amount of pleasure from watching the 'monkey' struggle against his onslaught.

And here the chase ended.

Mahi-two's free hand's fingers had all been extended into long curved blades ready to be driven into the ape.

"Mmm, is that really all you had?" the copy smirked sinisterly, talking down to the unconscious genius, "You're supposed to be one of the smart ones. You think you'd have put a little more effort in trying to live," he sighed, only to seemingly get an idea seconds later from the way he'd perked up, "Then again, perhaps you simply weren't too keen on living...I could tell that your mind was on something else," the clone could read the soul just as the original could, he just could not interact with it, and he sensed a wavering within Ultra-Humanite.

He wondered what it was.

"Did that distract you so much you couldn't invest your whole heart into your survival?"

Mahi-two cupped his chin, awaiting a response that would not come from the ape, a rhetorical tease only made to amuse the creature. It didn't truly matter what had affected Humanite's soul in such a way that his mind could not fully focus on the danger that was before him, what did was the simple fact that he'd lost because of that lack of focus.

"Well, as unfortunate...and disappointing as that is~..." Mahi-two's index finer blade slowly began to extend, sharpening the further the point reached until it just barely pricked against Humanite's enlarged head, enough control to not even break the skin.

"...I still get what I want~" the copy of the nonhuman dragged his tongue across his lips sadistically, tensing up his arm to drive the spike into the brain of Humanite.

"Goodbye~"

Lunging his head forward, eyes wide and grin wider, his arm was right behind for the thrust forward...

But.

"Mahito!"

With great control, the copy was able to stop himself from ending Ultra-Humanite's life. Hearing his leader's call, Mahi-two let his free arm return to its original form.

"Oh, Tomura-kun is calling me?" Mahito let his released his hold on Ultra-Humanite, his enlarged arm shifting to normal as well so he could scratch the back of his head with a small pout, "Just when we were getting to the good part..." he looked to the slumped-over gorilla with a small smile, strands of his long hair falling over his eyes.

"...I wanted to get a look at that 'genius' brain of yours, oh well, lucky you," Mahi-two shrugged and moved to assist his leader throwing one last comment over his shoulder, "I think you would have appreciated my dissection techniques."

Jogging over nonchalantly, Mahi-two quickly appraised the situation, his eyes roving over the surrounding area in milliseconds, and understood what Tomura had to deal with while fighting Luthor while he took out the monkey. The important detail that his mismatched eyes zeroed in on was Tomura being strangled by the baldy.

"Hm, need a hand, Tomura?" Mahi-two readying to transfigure himself to reach Lex in the shortest amount of time.

"Fool, don't you know anything about hostage-taking?" Lex moved, carefully, given the floor, and made sure that his captive would be between himself and the unpredictable creature, "I hold all the cards here! And it won't even take me a second to kill him, so no funny business!" Lex warned.

"How underhanded..." the copy narrowed his eyes.

"Floor."

That was the only word Shigaraki spoke.

Confused for but a second, the clone of the inhuman cast his eyes down and saw the network of cracks within the floor. A malicious grin stretched across Mahi-two's face not even giving any more thought to the next course of action, he only instinctually moved. Focused entirely on their footing, the clone jumped, bringing his energy to his fist for added force, and brought it down, crashing against the weakened foothold.

"What are you doing!?" Lex felt the rumble across the floor, his balance being lost as it finally collapsed.

A laugh could be heard coming from the clone of Mahito, no real concern with the fall for him, after all.

Lex became nervous, his power suit lacked flight capabilities, and it was only the first iteration...he had Humanite focus on powering it with the Kryptonite radiation within his body so he would have the edge against Superman!

What were they thinking?!

A fall this high?! With this debris!?

"Are you mad!?" Lex shouted in panic, seeing Shigaraki falling above him just as unconcerned as his teammates, "A fall like this could kill you, too!"

Tomura gave a small smile, his face calm but giving off contempt for his enemy, and highlighting another difference between them at the same time.

"Maybe..."

(Seconds Prior-Ground Floor)

Dabi took a step backward, dirt littering his outfit and his skin beginning to sizzle from the overuse of his powers, but he was used to it. Huffing lowly, he could see that they weren't doing too well against the heroes, only really serving to hold them back for a few seconds at most without any real damage being done.

They weren't gonna last much longer like this.

Swiping the back of his hand against his cheek to wipe some sweat from it, the pyrokinetic got ready to reenter the fray, until some dust made its way past his vision from above.

"Dammit!" Bakugo blasted away a wind tunnel that was making its way toward the distracted Dabi, "Why the hell am I saving you?! Pay attention!" he growled at him.

The lack of reaction only served to anger him further.

"What the hell are you looking at, Ragdoll!?" Bakugo got into Dabi's face.

"What's with you guys always falling from the ceiling?" the flame-wielding villain mumbled.

"Huh!?" came Bakugo's smart reply, getting him to look up and see the ceiling cave in above them.

The loud noise caught the attention of all present until they all were watching. The falling rubble made them all take a small break from attacking one another to defend themselves from the debris.

"What's Shigaraki getting up to?" Enid asked, nonchalantly breaking any rock that made its way toward her while the smaller bits broke on contact with her toughened skin.

"Doubt it was just his idea..." Gaz, equally uncaring, had the rocks harmlessly passing through her body.

"That's right...I forgot about him...one was enough..." Dabi tilted his head.

"Why the hell am I PROTECTING YOU!?" Bakugo blew up any rubble that approached him, and by extension Dabi...under absolute protest by the way.

"Tomura must be all finished then," Mahito batted away the remaining debris.

"Now comes the hard part..." Enid sighed, wondering to herself how they'd be getting out of there.

Across from the villains, their enemies were busy recovering from the sudden rain of debris. Green Lantern was able to cover himself, Batman, and the injured speedster beneath a dome he'd created with his ring; Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl defended themselves well enough with their super strength and mace respectively; J'onn shifted his density to have the rubble phase through his body; and Superman opted to protect the captured villains Grundy and Joker using his invulnerable body to shield them easily.

As the dust cleared, Lantern's dome came down, leaving the heroes wondering just what had happened and if the occurrence was the work of the League of Villains. Superman let his surprise dissipate first, as the leader he needed to ensure that his team was alright after the ordeal.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked, the dust that accumulated from all the broken concrete falling away from his shoulders as he moved.

"Well, my wrists are chafing, but other than that, I'm just peachy," Joker cackled, even while detained he would be there to make a nuisance of himself.

"Quiet," Batman's eyes knit together the slightest bit, keeping his focus on the group directly in front of them in case they tried to make their move while the Justice League were recovering under the cover of the dust cloud.

"Oh, come now, Batsy! These are the jokes!" Joker gave his nemesis the stinkeye.

Honestly, he should know better by now.

The rumble of disturbed rubble got the attention of all, making both sides wary of the movements of the other.

"Or maybe the problem is...you thought they were," Joker chuckled lowly, looking forward to seeing where this was going when he saw who'd emerged from beneath the pile of debris.

Well, emerged may have been too kind...it was more like...clawing?

Yes, clawing his way out of the mountain of broken floor, everything from the waist down was caught beneath the rest and seemingly unable to draw the rest of his body from underneath it.

None other than Lex Luthor made his appearance, struggling to free himself from his confinement. His suit had been damaged in the fall, dirt and grime stuck to his sweaty face, and his anger was reaching a boiling point as he tried to get his legs out from under the debris.

"Lex?" Superman rose his brow as he saw the mastermind in such a compromising position, vulnerable.

Then came more rustling, the sound denoting the reveal of another figure coming from the pile, wobbling slightly on its feet. The figure took slow steps, walking atop the assorted concrete chunks to reach its peak, and stare down into the angered gaze of Luthor calmly.

"You!" Luthor growled at Tomura Shigaraki.

The acting leader of the League of Villains stood above the defeated benefactor of the now-defunct Injustice Gang. Even as the millionaire continued to hurl insults and vitriolic curses at the young man, Tomura let his eyes stray to the side the slightest bit, seeing a familiar yellow box sticking out from beneath the rubble.

"This is all your fault!" Lex raged, watching Tomura take shaky steps towards his prize, bending down to gently take up the hand that Lex had carelessly tossed aside, "If it wasn't for you...I would have won! You've ruined everything! I should have ended you as soon as I-!"

"Do you know why you lost, Luthor?" Tomura asked quietly, a crooked grin coming across his chapped lips showing his yellowed teeth, his face bathed in the shadow of his ragged hair. Looking down on Lex, the young man took great pleasure in his next action.

Raising his foot, he brought it down onto Luthor's face with a satisfying, pain-filled grunt coming from the man's lips when he did it. He put all the frustration that he'd been feeling since the beginning of this idiotic crusade, the anger at the manipulation they had to been subjected to, and the contempt he had from the disrespect he'd shown both his teammates and his master.

"Come on...a smart guy like you has to know, right?" Tomura's grin grew wider, and he ground his foot against the fool's face for added insult, "What did we just talk about?" he mocked, wanting an answer from Lex so very much!

In response, all Tomura received from the defeated man was a defiant, anger-filled glare from beneath his heel, refusing to humor Tomura, but it only made the villain all the giddier. The fact he had the haughty, all-controlling, mastermind under his foot when the man was so sure he'd have both Leagues dancing in the palm of his hand for the night and achieve his long-awaited goal, only for the rug to be pulled from beneath his feet by those he did not take seriously made Tomura relish the look he was given.

"It's because...you were overconfident," Tomura raised his head to put the disembodied hand back onto his face, giving a small sigh once it was back where it belonged. His mask firmly affixed to his head once more, the only eye that showed from between the index finger and middle finger gazed at Luthor with a half-lidded, calm stare.

He then removed his foot from Lex's face, and tilted his head slightly, before bringing it back down for another stomp to the bald man's face. Shigaraki then went on to repeatedly stomp on Luthor as he continued talking down to him.

"After all, you're the great Lex Luthor. Right?" the edges of Tomura's mouth emerged from behind his mask as his smile stretched, "There was no way a bunch of rookie villains would ever be able to outsmart THE Lex Luthor! Right?" he swept his arm out showily, his eye never leaving Luthor's. Tomura then brought his hand to his temple and poked it with his finger, "And that thought, it made you lazy."

Letting a moment of silence pass between them and slowly lowering his arm from his head, Tomura ground the sole of his shoe back into Lex's cheek now.

"You had us in the palm of your hand. We couldn't kill you or we would jeopardize all we worked for, and we had nowhere to run...the only way out was following your orders," Tomura's eye narrowed, "Then you tightened your grip by introducing those fools on your payroll, extra hands to carry out your plan...and extra eyes to keep us in check. And it was with that tight grip on all us pawns that you thought you could control everything," Tomura clenched his fist to illustrate Lex's imaginary hold on both the League of Villains and the Injustice Gang.

"But it was also because of your grip that we were able to slip through your fingers," Tomura opened his hand slowly to demonstrate, "Because you had to be in control of everything, your finger in every pie, every step of the way, Luthor. You couldn't trust us because you knew we would be biding our time waiting to end you; and you couldn't trust your own lackeys, either, because, to them, it was only a paycheck," he counted off on his fingers as he listed the 'flaws' the mismatched groups had in Luthor's eyes.

"The only one you could rely on was yourself. It was your plan, and it would succeed. It was airtight, foolproof...if it failed at any step, then it was the fault of those putting it into action, not the plan's itself," Tomura leaned down to put more weight onto his leg, "And look where we are now."

Tomura spread his arms out to show what Luthor's diabolical, foolproof plan had wrought. For all his supposed genius, his plans had failed spectacularly, none of his 'employees' could save him now, and the full weight of his risky deal was currently pressed against his face.

Lex couldn't help but think...how?

How did these cretins...these children that were no more than aimless, uneducated, unwanted scum of the earth manage to outsmart Alexander Joseph Luthor, one of the most brilliant minds this planet had to offer with more achievements under his belt than the League of Villains could ever hope to accomplish combined!

It was impossible!

Unacceptable!

But it happened!

A laugh from Shigaraki broke Lex from his thoughts, the villain throwing his head back as he did so. When the laughter slowed to chuckles, Tomura looked back down with an upturned eye to display his glee.

"I can see it! That look in your eyes! You're wondering how we could have managed to get one over on the great Lex Luthor...how much scheming had to go into this plan to keep you so blind, right? It must have been so much work for us!" Tomura read Lex like a book.

The cogs had been turning in Luthor's head, groping for an answer to this question. It made no sense how they could have done this...he was watching them they were nothing but pebbles only good for stepping over without so much as a second thought.

"What if I told you there wasn't one," Tomura said in a low tone that shook Lex to his core.

None of this was planned?

"All of this was just improvisation and circumstances that happened to go in our favor, how would that make you feel?" Tomura asked the shocked man.

"After our first meeting," Tomura began, "All I told the others was to follow your orders but never compromise themselves as they did so. I wanted them to stay true to themselves as they followed your plan, knowing that they would find chances to sabotage you from within while leaving no room for you to suspect them. For instance, someone that you forced a handicap onto that succeeded in holding off one of the Justice League as instructed, but your employees failing to do likewise led to failure and losing one of your members...when the opportunity presented itself"

Mahito smiled at being mentioned.

"Or, a certain someone positioning themselves as a necessary addition to an infiltration after proving their usefulness...only to leave a clue to the device they'd left behind after the mission was finished."

"So it was true..." Wonder Woman scowled remembering that one of the reasons that the Watchtower was still in orbit was because the bomb had been superheated so it was easily found.

"You idiots had me worried for a second there. At first, I thought I was making it too easy to find, but you really made it just under the wire," Enid gave a smile to the scowling Justice League.

"So you gave us a call too?" Hawkgirl huffed, feeling insulted at the assistance.

The girl gave a raised eyebrow at that revelation, clearly confused by the accusation, "Call? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Looks like one of the Injustice League really was a traitor then..." Dabi guessed.

"I've heard enough..." Superman growled under his breath, about to blitz over to the de facto leader of the League of Villains and wrest him from atop his nemesis.

"Stop!" Batman held the Kryptonian back, "Think through this for a second. We have to be careful," the Dark Knight, as always, took stock of their situation fully, rather than looking to crash through the adversity without proper thought. "One wrong move and he could bring the whole building down. We have injured and incapacitated; you wouldn't be able to move all of us out in time if the whole building collapsed, and the others would only be able to take two at most."

Thanks to the fighting, both sides were exhausted, not to mention the injuries that the heroes had on their side with Flash and G.L., so taking that into account, each remaining flier of the group (Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Manhunter, and Superman) would carry one of those that could not and with a total of 12, with half of them more than likely being aggressive against their rescuers even if it meant getting crushed, that created a problem for the heroes.

They couldn't act without being sure that Shigaraki could be taken out instantly. No chance for him to touch the building, or interference from his allies that would buy him time to do so.

"So we just stand here?!" Superman shrugged the hand off.

"Without a plan, we'd only be allowing people to die..." even if the world would be better off without them, he would never cross that line or allow the Justice League to.

While this was going on, Tomura continued speaking to Lex, ignoring all that was going on around him.

"You see, Luthor, that's the difference between you and me. I trusted them to impede you when they had the chance, I put my faith in their abilities and knew they would act accordingly for the good of our League, despite personal feelings and without a direct order from me to do so," underneath them the rubble began to shift a little, "You, on the other hand, suffered from your ego and lust for control. You were far too rigid in your planning, shooting down any suggestions because you couldn't put any trust behind us...because your plan was 'perfect' already. Your lack of flexibility and faith in your group helped lead to this, and now you have to accept the consequences..." Tomura went to lean down and grab Luthor's face, seeing that the man's bravado was finally beginning to melt away at the very real threat before him.

"Enough!" Superman readied himself, ignoring the warning that Batman was giving.

*Crmbl*

From underneath the mountain of rubble, a small, pale arm wormed its way out bonelessly at first. When the palm was able to stabilize itself on the floor, it began to pull the rest of what it was attached to through the small opening it had created in the destroyed concrete. With a series of squelches, a familiar body was squeezed through the hole, his skin stretched taut distorting the features but there was no mistaking what it was.

The stitches lining the body and the mismatched eyes were a dead giveaway.

"Phew..." Mahi-two came from beneath the rubble after being buried, a hand on his head as he wiped away imaginary sweat from supposed exertion, "That was mean of you, Tomura-kun, using me as a shield like that," the copy huffed, sitting cross-legged and his right hand on his knee while continuing to rub the top of his head. "Though I guess I can't be too upset since it wouldn't be able to kill me..." casting his eyes to the rubble he noticed a steady stream coming from below it, "...at the very least I fared better than the monkey."

"Two of them?!" Green Lantern grunted in shock voicing the surprise that the Justice League felt.

"Oh~ The Justice League's here!" the clone jumped to his feet, "Then that would mean..." he turned around, his hand over his eyes as he pretended to search until he locked eyes with the original body.

"Oh! ~There I am~!" Mahi-two pointed excitedly.

"~Look, it's me~!" Mahito mirrored his copy, the two of them acting shocked.

"You're too excited...it's creepy," Gaz deadpanned at the display.

Completely ignoring the situation, and the comment, the clone of the nonhuman bounded over to the original and struck up a conversation with each other.

"Ah, so you were with Tomura while we were down here?" Mahito asked his copy.

"Yep~ I was helping him by holding off the monkey while he talked with Mr. Luthor," a sad look came across Mahi-two's eyes along with a pout, "I wanted to get a look at his brain, but I ran out of time...now it's probably mush..." it almost brought a tear to the copy's eye.

"*sigh* I know the feeling...I transfigured this Sapphire person and thought I could get a transfigured human with abilities...but it turned out they didn't come from her, so it was worthless..." Mahito sighed sadly.

A questioning look came onto the clone's face, "Hm? Sapphire person? Who's that?"

"That's right, you were made before we met them, so you wouldn't know!" Mahito laughed along with his copy.

"I thought one of him was bad enough..." Bakugo rolled his eyes.

"Be glad there is only one...way too talkative..." Dabi drawled.

"You wanna hurry this along," Enid made a circle with her finger to indicate that the nonhumans should pick up the pace.

"Ok, ok...just one more thing..." Mahito met the gaze of his clone and asked a question that only they would understand the subtext of.

"Did anything else interesting happen?"

Giving a smirk to the original, Mahi-two placed his hand onto Mahito's chest, "Anything else interesting?... Hmm, well, I guess you'll be finding out yourself soon enough..."

With those cryptic words, the copy fed his energy into the original Mahito's body and was reabsorbed into the main body. With the clone gone, Mahito had his full power restored, he let his purple aura envelop his hands as a test to ensure it had returned fully.

"Ah, much better...I think I finally understand that saying you humans have about not knowing what you have until it's gone," he turned to his team with a grin.

"I don't think we meant it to be taken so literally..." Enid said lazily and putting the weirdness of the interaction she'd witnessed out of her mind.

"No more talk," Superman was done letting them walk all over the Justice League, acting like the heroes weren't across from them as they talked like it was any other day.

Tomura, having stayed in position above Luthor, letting his hand linger above the man's face, withdrew the appendage as he seemed to finally notice the presence of others within the room. Standing back up to his full height, Shigaraki looked down on the Man of Steel from the top of the hunks of rock, his red eye flat as he looked at his Master's captor.

"Oh, Superman," he said nonchalantly, "I'm sorry I didn't notice you...I was finishing up my business with Luthor," the villain finally removed his foot from the man's face, taking a step down the mountain slightly with his hands in his pockets.

"It's been a while since we were face-to-face like this, and even longer in this kind of situation...almost makes me nostalgic..." he referenced their first meeting.

"If you ask me...it's been far too long. And it ends now," Superman glared at the young man.

Tomura gave a shrug and shook his head, "Now, is that any way to thank us for doing you so many favors tonight?" he asked the hero. He moved his lone eye over to the captured Grundy and Joker, "From the looks of things, you got a hold of the zombie and the clown...but I don't see the rest of them..." he smiled knowingly.

Looking over his shoulder briefly, staring at his group, "I can only guess that it's thanks to us...you should feel a little more grateful. You have fewer criminals to deal with now, right?"

He grinned at the sight of Superman's wrinkling face, getting under his skin with each word.

Tomura snapped his fingers in realization, "Oh! Maybe you're just upset that we haven't finished the job...well, how about I do you one last favor..." Shigaraki kneeled down next to Luthor and hovered his hand back over the man's face, "...and kill your biggest enemy. You don't even have to do anything other than stand there...you'd be the only witnesses...what's one more death? Besides, I'm sure he'd appreciate dying this way rather than wasting away in a hospital bed..."

The hand inched closer and closer to Lex's face, the billionaire futilely trying to avoid the deadly touch but could do little more than shake his head back and forth. His regular confidence was finally gone with his life now on the line, the only thing left for him was to plead.

"Wait! No, don't-!" Lex cried pathetically, fearing the end.

Superman moved forward finally, rushing to save his nemesis before it was too late.

"Gaz..." was all Tomura said.

Instantly the small girl flashed forward and met the Kryptonian inches from reaching Tomura, her hands behind her and both eyes wide open, staring directly into the alien's soul as electricity arced within them.

"Back off."

A powerful lightning strike pushed the Man of Steel back to his starting position, making him grunt in pain as the power flowed through his body. Smoke rose from him, painful, stunning, but otherwise fine after the attack, Superman would have simply tried again if it wasn't for the purple-haired girl remaining next to Shigaraki in case he'd try again.

All in the span of a few seconds did this occur, wind kicked up from the swift movement, sending Tomura's coat billowing. Sighing to himself, the young man stood back up and regarded the alien again.

"Sad...even when the end is in sight...you choose to save him. You know what he's done, and what he'll continue to do, and you still won't let him die?"

"It doesn't matter what he's done...he needs to face justice and pay for his crime...just like all the others!" Superman stood firm.

"Mm, more heroic platitudes...but I can't help but wonder...just how much of that is truly how you feel, and how much realizes what would happen to you if Luthor were to die...the two of you are the same," Tomura could see the confusion in the Kryptonian's eyes and could only feel more disappointment, "You two could have the other kneeling before you, dead to rights, and you wouldn't go for the kill...because you're parasites, you feed off one another in an endless cycle," he pointed to the billionaire, "He won't kill you because without you he'd have nothing to strive for, to be better than...he'd be nothing, he needs you alive to lord his victory over you for the rest of your life...and you," he directed his finger to Superman now, "You can't let him die for the same reason. What's the hero without his villain, right? You need Luthor to validate your existence, so you can continue to stop him and get your praise from the fools that adore you...and yourself in that position for as long as you 'protect' them."

Tomura's eye glowed, his hate for the broken system in place by the heroes, building, "The endless cycle that you're blind to and keep going every time you stop Luthor or any villain, only to have them escape and start it again. It's your game...without it, you'd wither to nothing. You need each other, just like the clown and the Bat...only ironically enough, the clown is sane enough to admit to it," he looked at the aforementioned clown.

"But that won't work with us...the only way to stop us is to end us...we'll never stop. The game you've gotten so used to, it's changing now, the days where you can swoop in and throw a punch to stop a rampage, a robbery, a natural disaster, and get showered with accolades and praise...they're over. A new one is starting, one where each time you fail to end us, you'll lose that hard-fought faith...we'll erode it, whittle it down to nothing...we'll have those people that love you so much...stare at you with as much contempt as we have for you...as the bodies pile, the tragedies grow, until the Justice League is backed into a corner...and you'll have no choice but to stop us once and for all..."

By this point, Tomura spread his arms, encompassing the ideals that his Master had imparted upon him, that now drove the group forward even in his absence, and would continue to until he was freed and standing with them to see the end of the path.

"Or die."

If the words affected any of the heroes...they hid it well, stoic faces were returned to the villain, taking these words far more seriously than they ever had previously after what All For One had managed...the lengths that these rookies would go in pursuit of this ideal would no doubt grow, and that thought, even if in the back of their minds, terrified them.

"I'm not going to give you what you want," Superman stood tall, meeting Tomura's gaze, "I'll stop you. As long as it takes, and I won't give you the satisfaction of seeing me, any of us, break. We'll stop you, and you'll join your leader in jail."

The Kryptonian and the blue-haired villain stared each other down, their positions clear, and were not willing to budge.

"Did you hear a word I said?" Tomura sighed, shaking his head, "I honestly think you have these responses rehearsed...oh well...it's easy for you to feel that way...even now, our plans have only just begun...you haven't reached the depths just yet," Tomura was done talking now, his hand raised in front of him to fight.

The Justice League returned this readiness in kind, Green Lantern and Flash were going to stay behind those that could continue due to their injuries and watch their captives in case they would try and escape in the commotion.

The League of Villains all got themselves ready as well behind the leader, still looking rough from the previous battle and their chances still in the black, something the right-hand girl of Shigaraki voiced.

"You got a plan to get out of here?"

"Not a one," he answered without missing a beat.

"You can't be serious," she frowned with her eyes flat, disbelief clear in her tone. "Then how do you expect us to get out of this?"

He looked at her from the corner of his eye, "Trust mostly...and I hope it isn't misplaced..." he told her; his pupil moved to Mahito as he said this.

"Yeah, Enid, just stand tall, everything will be fine!" the nonhuman was confident.

"Easy for you to say," she sighed, taking the confidence he had as his usual overexuberance. She heated her arm up to the point it began to sizzle, ready to fight nonetheless.

"At least all that talking let me cool off a bit," Dabi sighed, he could put up a bit of a fight before they bit the big one, at least.

"Finally! Let's go!" Bakugo as always was raring to go his grin wide and toothy as he let off explosions in his hands.

Gaz only let her power envelop her hands to unleash in an instant, eyeing a certain bird's mace warily.

"Go!" Superman called and the two forces went to charge at each other.

(Underneath Metropolis Pictures Store)

Within the darkness, the slamming of an object could be heard followed by the sound of footsteps. A figure stood, a hand on its hip as it stared upward toward the ceiling, appearing to have some idea of the event happening up above.

"Is this the location, Peridot?" the voice of Bucciarati cut through, a hand to his ear.

"Yes. They should be located directly above you," the familiar voice of the Gem technician came from the communicator in Bucciarati's ear.

"Good, I pray that I'm not too late," he tilted his head.

"They know how to take care of themselves. The problem is that our allies seem to have a habit of getting themselves into situations where escape is close to impossible..."

Bucciarati could practically hear the exasperation in her tone.

"Indeed...but that is what my ability is for, is it not?" with a thought, Sticky Fingers appeared from behind its master. "Go, Sutikkyi Fingāzu (Sticky Fingers)!" commanding the apparition, the user watched as the ghost punched the ceiling with the telltale zipper appearing to show its ability activating.

Seconds later the zipper opened, giving Bucciarati a glimpse of the action above. The opening widened, no doubt being noticed by all present at this point, but the young man did not jump out to rescue his comrades, instead, he rustled in his pocket.

"I'd rather not reveal myself just yet...so I will make use of these," resting within his palm were the familiar dried husks of transfigured humans in their portable form.

(Earlier that night-Shortly after the First Meeting)

At the beginning of this whole ordeal, Bucciarati had made himself scarce. Thanks to his anonymity, he was able to mingle with civilians without arousing suspicion. Wading through the people that were still out and about, he was just another face in the crowd all while he made sure to stay close to the building that the others had let him know would be the meeting place for the negotiations with Luthor.

His role for these first steps was to simply be a safety net in case Tomura's gamble on Luthor's knowledge of their members fell through and the man did in fact know of Bucciarati's existence; if it proceeded as planned, then the Italian would keep himself close by for the inevitable moment when the League would destroy Luthor's outfit from the inside to give a quick escape for them.

Of course, this all hinged on Peridot freeing them of the millionaire's influence before they destroyed his plans or they imploded on their own.

He kept a good distance away from the building, effectively blind to what was being said as he could not risk getting any closer on the chance that Luthor had devices in place. Atop a building of his own, Bucciarati waited for news in some form on just how they would be proceeding with their plans.

Surely it would be a subtle sign pointing him in the right...

"Hey, Bucciarati~!"

Knocked from his thoughts, the newest member of the League of Villains saw his inhuman companion making his way toward him. Getting up from his seated position, he met with the silver-haired being so they could converse.

"Mahito? You're here...where are the others?" the young man was confused. He would never have expected such an overt correspondence for the exchange of information, though then again, this group wasn't known for doing things the expected way.

"Technically I'm not here either," the inhuman patted his chest with a grin, and when he got an eyebrow he decided to elaborate, "I'm just a copy the original made by dividing his soul...after a conversation he'd had with Tomura...you should have been there to hear it," the revealed copy smiled at the memory. "In short, he decided it was best to show off this new trick for everyone. With me here, it becomes much easier to move around without Luthor watching us and it doesn't put anyone else at risk," Mahit-two explained.

Bucciarati rubbed his chin taking in this new development, "Then this must mean that the negotiations proceeded as expected."

"More or less," the copy waved his hand in a so-so motion. "For now, they're all laying low until they are called to the next location. Luthor intends to bring more criminals into this and have them all gather later tonight.

"Will you be able to tell where this second location is?"

"Unfortunately not. The original and I only share memories up to the moment we split. Anything he learns now, I won't, and vice versa, though he will gain all my memories when I return to him."

"Hm, this has become more trying," Bucciarati wracked his brain.

"Not really," the copy interjected, "I can't tell where they'll end up once they learn the location, but I will be able to follow them there. Just like the original, I am capable of sensing the souls of others, that's how I was able to tell where you were so easy."

"So, you will simply tail them to the second location..."

"And when the time is right, add a little chaos to Luthor's scheme~!"

"Yes, a sound strategy with few vulnerabilities on our end."

"Other than that tracker of Luthor's, he even revealed a deadman's switch that can apparently render our Metallo useless. That's something that we'll still have to contend with," Mahito reminded and informed of the new development. "How is Peridot's work on that going?"

"She has assured me that she is well on her way to ridding us of the threat, though it will still take a little more time..." Bucciarati recalled his last talk with the Gem her irritation with Luthor driving her forward these past two days, working nonstop to destroy his tracker.

"I guess we'll stick together then, and once I feel the original in a new location, I can lead you there."

Bucciarati thought to himself, running through different scenarios in his head quickly and coming to a conclusion that he felt would benefit his party the most.

"No...you go on ahead and find the others...I have something that I must do before I can rejoin them."

"Hm...ok?" Mahit-two wanted to ask more but decided to trust the young man...he ought to extend the courtesy like his leader was, "But how will you find us?"

"Peridot will be disabling the tracker that Luthor has placed upon the Metallo...I've no doubt that she would be able to reverse engineer the technology to do the opposite. Right?" the last part was directed to the green-skinned alien that had been listening in.

"Easy. I only wish that I could see the look on that clod's face when he realizes that he was duped by a vastly superior being, one that he should not have insulted the intelligence of," Peridot's visor glowed ominously just imagining the despair that would come across the billionaire's face, it made her almost burst out laughing with just that image alone.

"In that case," Mahi-two rooted around in his pocket and presented four transfigured human husks, "Take these with you, they might come in handy," he dropped them into Bucciarati's hand.

"I can activate them?"

"No, only someone that can perceive and touch a soul can do that. And as a copy, I can't utilize Mui Tenpen (Idle Transfiguration) on any soul but my own, but if you get to the group and they're in a pinch, having a quick supply of expendable soldiers could be useful."

"I see, I will keep them close."

"Great, I guess I won't be seeing you later!" the copy made off, alluding to the fact he'd most likely cease to exist by the time Bucciarati came around to the League's aid.

"Hm," he gave a small smile at the antics of the nonhuman, even if it wasn't completely him. "Now, I'll need one known for its speed..."

(Present)

"Now, throw these, Sutikkyi Fingāzu (Sticky Fingers)!" Bucciarati gave the being the transfigured humans and had it use its superior strength to toss the small, dried husks into the room above and hopefully provide an edge for his allies.

(Above- seconds before)

As the two groups charged at one another, the peculiar sound of a zipper being unzipped reached everyone's ears. Those that were familiar with the noise, at least in this unusual context, immediately cast their eyes down to see that said device had appeared on the floor and opened itself. The Justice League was startled at the odd occurrence, taken aback at the sudden appearance of a zipper from out of nowhere.

And that momentary pause was more than enough for the villains.

Mahito's eyes caught a series of objects shoot up from beneath the zipper, so small that they were probably unrecognizable to those unfamiliar, but to the inhuman entity, he could sense the soul signatures before he'd registered their physical forms.

'Right on time!'

That was the one thing that ran through Mahito's head before he disengaged entirely from his charge. The creature had tensed his legs and jumped up to catch the transfigured humans in his hands, his position above giving him an unfettered view of the battlefield. Twisting in midair so he was upside down, he clapped his hands together and brought his energy to his palms to activate his soldiers, but before he did so, Mahito thought of the best way to use them.

'Only four...I can't waste them or they could be destroyed before getting any real use out of them,' he looked at the heroes who were now beginning to come after him, knowing what he'd be doing, 'If I used Battai (Body Repel), I could push them all, but it would use up their energy instantly...' Superman was closing in on him along with a construct of Green Lantern's, with Hawkgirl coming to swing her mace into him, 'I have to cause the most damage in the shortest amount of time...' his gaze focused on Green Lantern's construct, leading him to the hero's position among his injured teammate and the defenseless Grundy and Joker, giving the nonhuman a malevolent idea.

'Mui Tenpen (Idle Transfiguration)'

Bypassing the heroes coming at him, Mahito threw the four husks past them and directly above G.L., Flash, Joker, and Grundy.

"Kill the injured and captured~!"

The command seemed to act as a trigger word for the creatures as they suddenly burst to life, their distorted faces staring through their targets and voices groaning in pain as they brought hulking limbs down upon the defenseless.

"Grundy no want to die again!" the zombie sounded scared.

"Speak for yourself, hahahahahah!" Joker cackled gleefully staring death in the face unafraid.

It was official, he loved these kids!

The loud laughter of the clown seemed to draw the ire of one of the monsters as it attempted to crush him beneath a hulking fist. Wonder Woman acted quickly and shoulder-checked it away from the mad clown before he could be splattered. Lantern tried to put up a shield, but with his injured side, he could not keep it up without straining the wound, leaving him vulnerable to a grotesque club of mangled flesh and bone being brought down onto him.

"Hah!" Hawkgirl was first to defend the man.

Batman could do little else to the creature but throw Batarangs at them for a distraction thanks to their hulking mass, but it did not stop them. J'onn held off two by shapeshifting himself to stop their movements but, to the piteous creatures, Mahito's words were law and they completely ignored their obstacles, only fighting to kill those they were ordered to.

As this crisis was happening, the League of Villains took advantage of the distraction.

"Time to go everyone!" Mahito laughed falling into the zipper and disappearing into the darkness.

"Finally, this night is over," Gaz zipped into the zipper, following after Mahito.

"Took long enough," Dabi lazily jumped in following the girl.

"I'm not running! Only losers run!" Bakugo refused to flee.

"Alright then, you can stay behind and let us get away. I'm sure you can handle it," Enid's words made the blond freeze before he begrudgingly followed after her.

"I'm not running! It's a strategic retreat!"

Tomura only gave a glance to Superman as he calmly took a step back and fell into the zipper with it starting to close soon after he slipped in.

"No!" the Man of Steel flew to the zipper and placed his hands on each side to pry it open.

"Superman, we need you!" Wonder Woman was pulling one of the monsters, but it crawled closer and closer to Flash, her exhaustion from her battles taking its toll, similarly it was happening to the others except for J'onn and Batman.

"I can't...let them...get away...!" he strained, pulling with all his might, but the zipper refused to stay open, it continued to close.

'I can't open it!? Why?' a stinging sensation on his hands showed that the zipper's teeth were cutting into his skin, making the Kryptonian bleed.

'I'm bleeding?! It's made of magic?!'

With this revelation, it was no wonder that he could not stand up to the zipper with pure strength! The opening shrunk more and more, the pure exertion that Superman was putting into trying to keep it open made the ground surrounding the zipper crack but left the zipper itself untouched.

"Looks like another failure on your part, Superman..." Tomura spoke from within the zipper, his eye shining through the opening to taunt the hero one final time. "Why don't you just take your consolation prize and lick your wounds," he mocked the Man of Steel.

Veins popped on his neck as he tried to keep the zipper open, it got closer and closer to being fully closed. His teeth were grit, and sweat poured from his forehead...after all he'd said to the villains, he couldn't let them get away!

He was Superman!

"You'll need your strength...because the next time you see us...we'll have Master by our side again..." with those ominous last words the opening to the zipper became too small for Superman to keep his fingers in for they started to dig too far into his fingers, risking chopping them clean off.

"No!" Superman shouted, punching the floor, his fingers throbbing in pain from the blow.

Behind him, the danger had ended, even without his help.

The four transfigured humans lay dead, having used up their energy.

Silence permeated the entire room.

A long night had just ended...

...and with another colossal failure to capture the League of Villains had come to pass.

The Injustice League was eradicated the same night it had been formed.

Copperhead, apprehended.

Star Sapphire, deceased.

Solomon Grundy, apprehended.

The Shade, deceased.

The Joker, apprehended.

Cheetah, deceased.

Ultra-Humanite, seriously injured.

And the mastermind of the night's events, Alexander "Lex" Luthor, apprehended.

Such a thing should have given them some solace, but seeing the amount of destruction, injuries on both sides...and the death toll...it was hard to see this as anything but a loss.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh," Joker gave a low chuckle.

"Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee," it rose.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH!"

"What's so funny!?" Batman grabbed his archenemy's collar.

"What's so funny? Come on Bats you can't see it...HAHAHA, they are...did you hear all that!?" Joker cackled so hard it was making his lungs burn, "They-they're ready to die! HAHA, just to drag all of you unde...HAHA...under! And...and...hee...hee...they aren't gonna stop until you all...HaHa...break-brea...Ha...break your rule and kill them, or you lose everything!"

The Clown Prince of Crime laughed uncontrollably at the idea.

"Oh, and I hope they do, Bats...I reeeeaaallyyy do~" Joker calmed down, breathing heavily from his outburst.

"Why?" Batman sneered.

"It's survival of the fittest, Bats...may the best madman win! I may want you dead, but if someone I respect beats me to it, then I'll have to give them a pat on the back!" he looked over to the area where the League of Villains had disappeared.

"And those kids...I think they have what it takes...I can't wait to see how this will end."

Joker then proceeded to laugh again, irritating all those conscious.

(Below)

The hum of an engine rang through the tunnels as a sports car sped through.

At the helm was a grinning Gaz who was finally able to drive something that matched her skill. Turning the wheel harshly, she had the vehicle take a harsh left with reckless abandon, narrowly avoiding the wall.

"Why..." Dabi groaned in the back.

"I apologize. If I knew you were carsick, I would have chosen something smoother. I prioritized speed so we could make our getaway," Bucciarati said to the miserable pyrokinetic who could only grumble as he was too busy gripping the armrest trying to keep himself together.

"This explains why you were so sure we'd get out of that!" Enid punched Mahito for keeping this to himself, "You should have said so sooner!"

"I had no idea when Bucciarati would appear, I just knew he had a chance to," Mahito laughed, ignoring the slugging he was getting from the incensed girl.

"I'm guessing the rock got that metal safe and sound, then?" Bakugo sat next to Dabi, keeping a watchful eye in case he started to turn green.

"Indeed, and not too soon from the situation I found you all in."

"I was fine! I coulda taken them all!" Bakugo cackled overconfidently.

"So everything is back on track," Tomura had his hands intertwined while resting his elbows on his knees.

"Yes...I've no doubt she has already begun her work with the Metallo and is awaiting our return."

"Let her know not to get too comfortable. Once we get back, we'll be moving again...with Luthor caught, he could always give us away to the Justice League out of spite," Tomura knew that the man was that petty...if it wasn't for the fact that the billionaire was nice insurance against Superman simply rushing them...Shigaraki would have made good on killing him.

"I'll tell her..."

"I want to thank you all..." Tomura gained their attention, "You trusted me to get us out of this mess, even with certain reservations, and while it didn't go the way I intended...we did come out on top as I promised."

"Yeah, well, how about next time you make sure to have an escape plan so we don't have to go in blind?" Enid sighed.

"I'll be sure to keep it in mind...now we need to keep our focus on freeing Master. We must rest, and prepare ourselves..."

The League of Villains all had serious expressions at the thought that they would soon end the first leg of their journey.

They did not know of the trial that they would be facing beforehand.

(In a certain hospital)

An EKG beeped steadily within a hospital room, showing that despite the occupant's condition he was fine. Bandages were covering different areas of his body, with some going around his head indicating some trauma, and given his unconscious state was the most likely culprit for it.

It was then that his finger twitched and his eyes slowly opened.

"Ah...call Mr. Wayne!" a nurse shouted for a doctor.

"He's awake!"

AN: This took far too long and it is far too long for a chapter but I feel like I owed you guys for taking so long and I didn't want to spilt episodes that happened in the Justice League cartoon into multiple chapters.

Hopefully this never happens again, and I apologize for the clunk.

Oh, and to answer the reviewer Lerans, who asked me if there would be any other CN characters appearing.

Yes.

Though no more O.K K.O, I almost had Shannon be part of the League when I first started thinking this story up, but by the time I had decided to fully commit to making it, I'd decided to remove her.

And to be completely honest there will only be one more from a CN show joining.

Something that's funny in hindsight as I constructed the League is the fact that, completely subconsciously I made all the men come from Anime/Manga and all the girls are from cartoons, and I only realized that when I sat down and mapped out who'd be joining, a funny coincidence.

Join the AizentheGoat Server if you'd like!

Far better authors than me are on there, that are active, and talkative. Lots of shit goes down.

Link: /cfGhZZm435