I wish you guys a Merry Christmas!
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...so, I may have been even more of a liar when I lied again about not getting a chapter out anytime soon. That said, I will note that I already had 4k words written and with the direction from the interlude, I was able to get this whole thing done a lot quicker than usual. Sadly we aren't back to November 2022 speeds as my crack is gone, so consider this an actual Christmas miracle lol. And seriously, this is gonna be the actual last you'll hear from me for a while, so enjoy and have a happy holiday.
anyway, here you guys go with it being back to our regularly scheduled Amazo, with a hint of Batman and a send off to Johnny boy.
note that this starts where we left off on chapter 12, though this will go into the events of the interlude quite soon
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Now, while dialing the authorities to clean up this mess, as well as sending a bit of a message through one of their body cams, let's check the news, you never know when something might be going on in this wacky world of here.
Breakout at Strikers' Island
Oho, a prison breakout? So soon too? And it's not even Arkham Asylum?! Well, I'm not one to complain when it comes to free food, even if it'll be mere fast food compared to the gourmet meal that the League was.
Though, if I recall correctly, this ought to coincide with a scheme of somebody's. An ordinary fellow with a rather unfitting name.
I followed along with the repeat broadcast and found that the escapees were a Luminous, Volcana, Firefly, Copperhead…
…andSoloman Grundy.
And moving on from that leads us to the supposed non-metahuman category being one Johnathan Dee, one letter off from a John Doe.
I waited for the recap on the story to go through before they got to mentoning the more recent and thus relevant bits.
"In other news, prison escapees; Solomon Grundy, Volcana, Luminous, Firefly, and Copperhead are all now back in custody thanks to the Justice League. But still unaccounted for however is the last escapee, John Dee."
Well, looks like the doctor is in. A Doctor Destiny in this case.
Despite being one of the most powerful superheroes, Doctor Fate was also one of the least known in the eyes of the public. Being a recluse that mainly dealt with magical issues and threats tends to do that. Then again, it probably made his job significantly easier if he didn't have to deal with the modern world in addition to the moonlit world as well. Still, I can't help but feel that John Dee was ripping him off by going with a name like Doctor Destiny of all things.
Gets powers over the mind and dreams and that guy chooses Doctor Destiny of all things to call himself. Especially when his powers were more thematically towards dreams than destiny.
Then again, I doubt that Doctor Dream would sound much better.
Though that isn't to mean that dreams themselves aren't powerful, they very much are considering that one of the most powerful entities in the multiverse happened to be the representation of the concept of dream itself; the Sandman, Morpheus, or simply Dream.
He also happened to be one of the few who could really make that work as a name with a significant amount of weight in the name.
And strangely enough, Dee's powers seemed to reflect this even if one a lesser scale with incredibly powerful ESP, one that grants him stronger telepathy than Martian Manhunter (though that isn't new in most cases involving new enemy telepaths), able to reach into the minds of Superman and Green Lantern, and the ability to reach people in orbit while he was still on the planet.
Yes, laboratory experiments tended to grant incredible powers, but this much power seems to match the absurdity that I recalled his comic counterpart to possess. Though I can't seem to completely recall the man's origins, only that he gained his power from an incredibly powerful source. Perhaps that source was used in the machine that granted him his ESP?
Well, I can find that out once I head over to Strikers' Island, to scan some juicy powers and see about scanning the power source of that machine.
As I walked out my doorless front entrance, I quickly supplied some replacement oak trees and sent Mercy a message that my home would need repairs thanks to Cadmus deciding that my home needed a second home invasion just so soon after I had a home renovation.
Becoming intangible, I took to the sky. Activating my Ring, I pull up the location of Strykers' Island on Googol, finding both the metahuman and human sections.
I acted with some haste as while I knew that the League could handle themselves and I had faith in them, and confronting their deep fears would help them grow, I didn't want to chance the possibility of them dying either.
A supermax prison filled with criminals, baseline human and metahuman. A lite buffet for me with powers and tech, major and minor.
Upon arriving, I could still see the remnants of the latest escape attempt; some scorch marks left by Volcana and Fire Fly and some collateral damage done by Solomon Grundy. Though there were already attempts to clean up the damage.
Which just goes to show how recent this attempt was and how experienced they were in dealing with the aftermath. As expected in DC with how often prisons are escaped from. I don't think I'd want to know how often Wayne Construction is on standby for Arkham Asylum escape attempts, perhaps as much as the criminals themselves are out of that revolving door.
Now, I wasn't too sure regarding the quality of the security of the prison. I don't recall anyone in here having intangibility, so I should be all clear. But logically they had to account for a villain having the ability, as Gentleman Ghost was a notable thief, though he was more magically inclined, so perhaps the magical heroes nullified that before sending him to prison. And honestly, such a thing would only be worthy of a few cells since that's a power both rare as well as ridiculously expensive to counteract.
As I phased through the walls, I took note of the current state of things.
The normal prison guards and the riot control were rather highly active in their patrolling, likely to dissuade anyone else from attempting to escape, especially now that there would be much more scrutiny. Not to mention now that the League had been involved and likely, as far as they knew, on alert for any further escape attempts.
So the villains of various rogues galleries were content to simply mock the escapees' failed attempts, though of course Grundy was excluded, since even in DC where common sense wasn't always so common, people had enough brain cells to know not to piss off the undead Hulk.
I first went into the storage room, where they kept all of the supervillains' equipment and gadgets.
I scanned everything, regardless of the quality of whatever lister it belonged to. Be it something as simple as Fire Fly's jetpack and flame gun, to Luminous' suit which allowed him to create hard light projections (which opened up a world of possibilities to abuse in clones and physical illusions since that tech may well scale with me)
I turned my attention back to the prisoners themselves and made towards those with the more useful powers.
Parasite wasn't too useful since I made him irrelevant in the conversation of power copying, but he did possess a draining effect that may be useful in a fight in which I couldn't just wait for someone to tire themselves out against me. With Galatea, I had plenty of time, but on other occasions, I might not. So somewhat useful.
Volcana had a fairly basic powerset of pyrokinesis. But firebending is pretty cool and I won't say no to it.
Livewire gave electrokinesis. Rather limited in that she needed to be charged to keep her abilities potent, otherwise she was just a baseline human for all that she could do and easily contained, but that drawback wasn't nearly as much of a concern for me, as is the same for the ever class weakness of water. This mandroid is water-proof hehe.
Shade gave me control over the shadows. But rather than just simply give me his power, it gave a connection of sorts to something greater. Though it was new, something faint, that I would likely need to actively use to improve my connection to it; akin to the Speedforce but not exactly.
And he seemed to have noticed it given that he looked in my general direction. He tilted his head in confusion before shrugging it off.
Last, but most certainly not least, was Star Sapphire, for she granted me the next color in the Emotional Spectrum to fall under my control. Pink, also known as Love.
To be honest, I was expected to gain yellow next with how often Fear interacted with Will, but I'm not going to complain when that will be mine soon enough, Though the rest of the colors are ones that I'm gonna have to find out there in space with the extent of any Lantern Corp being here was limited to Will, Fear, and Love.
Greed, Rage, Hope, and Compassion would be ones I had to find later on once I departed to space.
With all of these powers, I got everything that I wanted from here. That said, I did find some of the prisoners to be interesting. Volcana for one seemed to be deep in thought about… Cadmus, huh?
Seems that Superman spilled the beans to her. But considering that she was one of their earlier subjects for most of her life, I could hardly blame him for wanting to give her some information about them, especially since he was determined to see them brought to Justice the second that he could, regardless of them possessing the authority of the government to act as they have.
Perhaps I could give her some scraps of information for the next time that she breaks out, because she inevitably will, and have her act as an attack dog of sorts against them. Force them out into the open some more by acting as a neutral party. Maybe even rope some of the villains into it as well, they'd have plenty of reason should they find out about Task Force X and its casualty rate.
Well, not now because it'd be far too suspicious to her and the League, and the idea might not work as well as I'd thought. Regardless, I'll keep her in mind later on should she break out or if I myself felt like doing so.
Now, while I did reach my goal in furthering my powers, another could be said in regards to dealing with threats.
One of them here being Kallibak, son of Darkseid.
Him, I'm even hesitant of scanning despite doing so to Diana even with her being blessed by the Greek Gods and under their scrutiny. Dead this version of Darkseid may be, for now anyway because that asshole always finds a way, I'm still hesitant of messing with anything to do with him. Kalibak may have been sired by an avatar of Darkseid but I'm still hesitant of touching anything of his until I reach a level of power that's beyond much of this universe's.
Besides, Superman was already much more powerful than him so I didn't need his power. To be honest I'm surprised that he's even still alive.
Parademons were perfectly fine to kill for even the most staunch moralist of heroes, being alive creatures that Batman had no qualms about using lethal force against, yet because this guy was unique and had a name, could speak and looked far more humanoid than the parademons, he gets prison time. Despite being a part of an alien invasion that could've had Earth taken over. And having no actual nation for him to return to after his sentence, however long that inflated number has to be, there's not much in regards to the whole 'could do good for society.'
In all honesty, I should kill him. The guy isn't going to be redeemed anytime soon and is rather loyal to Darkseid. So really, anything that denies the New God of Tyranny an asset when he returns could only be a good thing, couldn't it?
Though, besides his role in Darkseid's invasions, he does play an important if somewhat minor role in the future. Being a part of a team of Superman villains dedicated to killing him.
Supervillain team ups come and go, but this one was rather notable in it being the first one that seemingly worked in killing Supes. Only in actuality to have sent the guy 30,000 years into the future, a desolate future for the sole human alive.
I could kill Kalibak here and now to in part prevent that from happening, but it could be said that the experience could be good for Superman to go through. And I had a few plans in mind regarding that event…
So I'll stay my hand until then or he does something that warrants being put down before then.
Solomon Grundy, however, I'm finding myself much more inclined on killing, suspicion be damned.
He was the one entity in the entirety of the series that my Golden Amazo self, who was astromonically more powerful than myself, couldn't just brush aside, which is insane considering that he managed to teleport the entirety of the Green Lantern Corp and Guardians on Oa to another dimension simply because it was easier than just moving around it.
Of course, the main reason why Golden Amazo couldn't just solve Grundy as easily as he could with everything else was due to Grundy being possessed by Chaos Magic.
Magic, being something that was much more common on Earth than anywhere else in the universe which would explain why that Amazo had yet to truly adapt to it as he could every other effect of powers. And that wasn't even to say that Golden Amazo couldn't defeat him, just couldn't do so without inducing a ton of collateral damage. And since the evil Amazo II managed to wipe all life out in his universe, he overcame that issue regardless. Which only reaffirms my decision to remain on Earth for a while longer, as despite the technology not being as advanced as that in the stars, it was serviceable and had much more potent magic.
Still, though it was a lesser sensation, I could feel the inklings of the same lull that came over me when I was debating on whether or not to kill Lex Luthor. Because of villainy, to prevent further evil and loss of life, to end a potential threat to myself.
Grundy was nowhere near the level of threat that Lex or Darkseid would be to me.
Though, killing Grundy here and now wouldn't do me any real good for now either, seeing as this only becomes a problem after the Chao Magic possessed his dead body. So perhaps I should just yeet him into space where hardly any magic happens.
…and besides, I'd be better off holding off on any more villain killing for now. If only to spare Batman from launching another investigation or draw attention to prisoners dying so soon after a failed escape attempt.
With the Supervillain section checked, now I just needed to find out what the hell made John Dee so powerful since I'll be going up against such power soon enough.
The machine, the Materioptikon, was fried from being overloaded. Despite that, there were plenty of guards surrounding it. From a gleam of their thoughts, the main reason was to dissuade any prisoners from attempting to pull what Dee did in gaining superpowers and thus escaping.
Additionally, they were keeping it safe until the government organization that provided them the machine could arrive to retrieve it.
Government organization, huh?
This just reeks of Cadmus.
But I'll leave looking into that for Batman after this whole mess is dealt with. I was more interested in the machine itself.
Which held a faint trace of something powerful. As if the source had left its mark here, but the traces of it were dragged out rather than merely evaporate into nothing or just cling to the place.
I seriously needed some info on this because my gut and my sensors were telling me that something was up with this energy reading I've been sensing.
It didn't take long to find the scientist responsible for the operation and study of the machine, Dr. Kelvo.
A few nudges of thoughts quickly revealed that the man wasn't really aware of Cadmus but was a part of STAR Labs, but most importantly was what he knew regarding a detail about the machine itself.
It was powered by a strange artifact of unknown origin that only possesses a name due to a dismissed myth. Despite that dismissal, they did take the rumors of its effects on humans with interest and saw fit to test it here.
TheDreamstone.
An artifact that belonged to Dream of the Endless.
And I believe that oughta bring this investigation to a close, because I needed to get to the League right the hell now. For if even Superman and Batman at their most absurd were nothing to the power of the Endless, then these versions were most certainly most not going to stand against the Dreamstone if it's true power is used.
"Hey Watchtower, Amazo here," I said casually, though my heart wasn't really into it. That said, I didn't want to alarm them with the worry I was feeling regarding the fact that they were up against a man powered by a primordial force of the universe.
But nobody was responding to me.
Which was very much concerning but made sense, this was an emergency situation, and with Manhunter being the only telepath along with everyone else being knocked out, no one else would be responding.
And a sinking feeling starts to form in my chest at the realization that everyone could very well mean everyone.
Including the kids.
I didn't think about the fact that Dee could've gone after them.
I don't think that he would go after kids, but if something managed to cause the League pain and with much he revealed in their nightmares then there's no knowing how low he would go…
Fuck, I wrote this guy off without fully considering the fact that as much of a forgettable villain he may have been, he was still a living, breathing, and thinking creature. Even if his goals were useless and how he went about them so egotistical that Walter White would get butthurt at being outdone.
So Manhunter was handling the mental front, meaning that all that was left was Batman to handle the physical front. Against a man with a Dreamstone.
Even the most absurd of Batman's capabilities ain't saving him here, I gotta go fast.
Not even a minute. About thirty seconds was all it took.
I didn't have to scour three of America's deserts, but merely a single city, even if Metropolis was rather big with it being Luthor's former shining jewel.
Though where it'd ended up being was so obvious that I felt annoyed that I even had to use this much effort to do so.
An abandoned LexCorp warehouse.
An entire city to hide in, with all the access you could gain though abusing ESP, and this clown chose an abandoned warehouse rather than a five star hotel or the house of some wealthy socialite. Smh…
Still, I ended up exactly where I needed to be, although I made a few adjustments before I got there. I turned tangible again and donned my trusty trenchcoat and hat. As much as I wanted to see Batman's reaction to a human me, now wasn't the time for jokes nor to give such a thing away and disguise that through my usual BS.
And speaking of that terror of the night, I found Batman just arriving in the Batmobile, which sported a broken window. Blasting from the vehicle's speakers was a heavy metal song, echoing into the night something I very much wouldn't have expected:
'wake me up inside!
(I can't wake up) wake me up inside!
(Save me) call my name and save me from the dark!'
Oh, yeah! This was 2003! Still, I didn't expect to hear Batman of all people to have 'Bring Me to Life' by Evanescence of all the things as something he'd listen to. I was pretty sure he listened to something classical like Mary had a little lamb or something about morning bells. Regardless, it sorta fit the guy well lmao.
But I'll tease him about the choice in music later, now I gotta announce myself.
"Hello Batman," I greeted as he stepped out of the Batmobile.
I sensed his surprise but he managed to hide it rather well, as well as his annoyance. I hadn't even uttered a word, but I could tell that he caught on to my amusement.
Or it could be that my attention was on the Batmobile still blaring away. Normally something Batman would never do no matter his exhaustion but considering that Dee was able to project and sense people from across the planet, this wouldn't really be hurting an ambush, plus every bit helped in keeping himself awake.
While he projected the same stern image as he always did, I could feel tiredness radiating from him. The only thing keeping him up right now was likely a not insignificant amount of Willpower, caffeine, and probably some stimulants.
I also sensed a malevolent force attempting to penetrate his mind – undoubtedly Doctor Destiny trying to worm his way into Batman's psyche.
"Amazo, what are you doing here? Did Manhunter send you?"
"No, but he is partially why I'm here. I just wanted to check up on the kids, so I gave the Watchtower a call but no one answered. Of course, I figured that you guys were likely busy. So I saw the news and noticed that Dee has yet to be caught and figured that he might be some new villain you were after and figured that I could help out."
Batman didn't look all too pleased with how I was still able to reach the Watchtower despite his updated security, though he shouldn't be too surprised, three days is much too short a time for software that complex to see meaningful change. But he accepted my words well enough.
"How did you find Dee?"
"A little while ago, I started detecting some abnormally strong frequencies that resembled the kind that Ace and Martian Manhunter gave off when using their telepathy."
His eyes briefly widened at the mention of my ability to detect the use of telepathy, and very much wished to recreate such tech for himself, before schooling himself and taking my words in.
"I'll quickly brief you on the situation then. John Dee is the source of that absurdly strong frequency as its the result of his incredibly powerful ESP. He's trapped most of the League except for me, Manhunter, and Wonder Woman. He's on the Watchtower trying to keep the League from dying and keep the children safe from Dee. Wonder Woman is currently unavailable to help us. Since you're an android, you shouldn't be affected by his ESP, but there's no telling what he can truly do if he's able to attack us with such a distance between us."
I processed this information quickly, analyzing the situation. "Understood. So, what's our approach to this?"
"Dee needs to concentrate to be able to use his powers, so he holed himself up somewhere where he feels that he should be safe. With us here, he's no longer safe, and thus can't focus his attention solely on the League. We overwhelm him and knock him out so he can't think any more."
"Sound plan. You can sit this out if you want? I can detect that you're not at your usual capacity."
"No, I need to see this through."
"Alright then, shall we go inside?"
Without wasting any more time, we entered the building.
For once, I was the one who knocked. And by knocked, I mean knocked doors right off their hinges. Let's see how you like that Lex! Though the catharsis was rather mute considering it was some warehouse rather than his home.
God, it was hard keeping up a good mood when you're plagued with this much worrying, my respect for Superman and Flash remaining as light as they do went up a few notches.
I used my x-ray vision to look through the walls to see a man still in his prison uniform with a lab coat on, rather ordinary if it were for the glowing red in the middle of his chest that resembled a Canadian maple leaf for some reason. That had to be the dreamstone, given that there couldn't be anything else responsible for his current state, which would include the surprisingly ragged looking man.
Though that wasn't to say that he wasn't still up to no good despite the strain he was in, as while hiding in a storage room he still clutched a syringe in his hand with a death grip, full of sedatives. It seems that for all of the idiotic decisions this man has made so far, he at least came prepared for a fight against Batman, though it still was a dumb move to fight Batman rather than just relocate or something.
And unfortunately for him, there wasn't no preparing for me.
Other than acceptance.
I scanned the man and in that instant my mental prowess expanded, I could reach so much farther than I thought possible, or to be more accurate, in greater ease than I thought possible.
I could reach the entire world, and even beyond, though my grasp over it was limited if only by my inexperience to such possibility.
But I was distracted from the vast expanse of possibilities as Dee was now from the vast expanse of possibilities as Dee was now able to perceive me as well.
As soon as he did, a great and overwhelming pressure descended on my mind, attempting to crush it.
My mind was under attack, and in the back of my mind, I noted that this was likely the sensation of someone attacking with ESP. Foreign in its intent after having been used to the adoration that Ace's use carried, but the harshness and malevolence wasn't new due to having gone into the mind of various Cadmus agents.
The sensation was quite unpleasant, like a sudden migraine, or like having a brick suddenly dropped on my head, a crushing weight and pressure, but it wasn't as severe as I thought it would be.
Though that didn't mean that the pain hadn't hurt like hell, because Ben's pain immunity only extended to physical rather than mental, nor did it mean that the attack was nothing.
I pushed back, and as the pressure continued to grow, I continued to push.
My mental defenses were not to be underestimated.
A normal person wouldn't have even stood a chance against this, but I wasn't a normal person.
I was a being of infinite possibility.
I could evolve into bending this reality to my will.
If anyone was a god, it was me, and I'll make sure Dee knew that.
I am Amazo.
And no man's mind would ever best me.
The weight and pressure continued to build, but my mental defenses stood unbending, a titanic wall of willpower.
The uniqueness of my android mind, an intricate labyrinth far removed from organic structures, became my advantage. It was an alien terrain to Dee, as obscure and unfathomable as the most distant stars.
As I pushed back against the psychic barrage-
'Ah!'
A distant, familiar voice pierced through the tumult. A cry of pain, one that had been distant yet ever so painfully clear.
Ace.
Without any hesitation, I propelled myself into the realm of dreams.
For I would catch her even as she fell.
Frankly, the Dark Knight would much rather that he was working on this alone. Especially not with Amazo, considering how little about the android that he still didn't know for certain. However, he couldn't pass up on the help with how close he was to succumbing to slumber and the fact that the League's lives, and potentially the children's, were on the line.
Despite managing to even surpass Martian Manhunter in telepathic ability, John Dee was still an ordinary baseline human. And from the files he received, the man wasn't the type to work on his body while he was in prison, so he had an average physical build as well.
But he was tired enough that Robin (Dick, Jason, or Tim) on their best days stood a good chance of exceeding him, so he had to be careful going into this.
'Coming here was the mistake of your life,' a voice suddenly called out, one that had to be John Dee's.
'See, the closer I am to someone, the stronger I get. I'll be able to go into your brain, even if you're wide awake.' Dee added, his voice carrying a chilling confidence.
"My brain's not a nice place to be." Batman said, a warning not to enter his mind and to warn of what lies within. Following that exchange, Batman began to hum a song within his head, it going to the rhythm of the lullabye, Brother John.
'What's that stupid song going through your head?' Dee demanded in annoyance.
"It's what's keeping you out, Johnny." Batman replied calmly, his focus unwavering.
Batman ascended the stairs, his senses alert for any sign of Dee. Suddenly, his surroundings morphed into a dark void, filled with endless stairways twisting in impossible directions and windows eerily devoid of glass.
"...of all things to be hallucinating about, it just had to be stairs." he muttered. It was a disorienting, almost Escher-like landscape, far from the usual haunts of his mind. Batman had faced his share of fear-induced visions, often of his parents, courtesy of Scarecrow's toxin. But this was different, unsettling in a new way.
And a sense of foreboding crept over him at the mere thought of stairs…
'I could let you go, you're a distraction now. And it's the others that I have the real problem with. We're like insects to them, they step on us and ruin our lives. And they don't even realize it. But you're different, you don't have any of their special powers.' Dee's voice echoed through the void.
Batman's reply was steady, imbued with his unwavering resolve."Oh but I have one, Johnny. I never give up." As he spoke, he resumed humming his lullaby, the familiar tune anchoring him to his core.
The melody swirled around him, a bastion against the chaos. With each note, the surreal landscape began to fade, the oppressive void losing its grip. Reality gradually reasserted itself, the stairs and windows dissolving into the ether.
Batman found himself back in the physical world, his mind clear and focused. The lullaby had broken Dee's hold, reaffirming the power of his will. He continued forward, undeterred, ready to confront whatever lay ahead.
In the dreamscape, Doctor Destiny, fueled by the raw, unstable power of the dreamstone, directed his wrath towards Ace. Her defenses crumbled under his relentless assault, leaving her vulnerable.
But before his attack could connect, I intervened. Materializing from the fabric of the dream, I erected a golden barrier around Ace. Towering at ten feet, my form crackled with a fierce, electrical aura, radiating a resplendent golden light.
I hadn't turned golden, there was neither the need nor the time for that. Though it seemed that some part of me was insistent for there to be dramatics of one sort, considering the kind of ting I just did very much belonging in any number or comics or shows out there, so my golden aura manifested itself as I let out as much power as needed to ensure that not a single wisp of harm could come to Ace.
"You lay a single hand upon them, within the realm of dream or the waking world, and the only thing that'll be in your destiny will be doctors after what I do to you." I intoned as I looked down upon the lesser life form.
I'll admit, a part of me very much wanted to have said morgue because I had no intention of simply letting Dee live, be it in Arkham for the rest of his life or in a coma. Not with this kind of power at his disposal and especially with what he's done with it. But I wasn't about to swear bloody vengeance in front of Ace of all people.
John Dee, because I refused to dignify this villain wannabee, was taken aback by my sudden appearance and the intensity of my promise, momentarily faltered. His eyes darted between me and Ace, calculating his next move.
I couldn't care less, as I knew that my barrier would hold whatever cheap shot he would try to get in. I had more pressing concerns on my mind.
Ace, who had been bracing herself for the worst, looked up at me in surprise and relief. "Amazo!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with joy and gratitude as she moved to hug me.
"Ace!" I called out in turn, my voice unable to hide my concern as I kneeled down to let her in my arms. I of course did a scan to ensure that she was alright, as even if this was within the realm of dreams rather than the physical world, for all I knew, any sort of scarring or damage could carry back on to her mind or something of a similar sort. Better to be safe than sorry.
And thankfully, she was fine.
That was all I needed, and with a sigh, I let myself relax a bit.
Ace took the chance to properly hug me. She buried her face into my shoulder, her breathing slowly returning to normal. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice muffled.
"Of course."
With that settled, I looked towards Dee. I could sense his confusion and irritation, as well as a few thoughts that were just barely audible.
He finally settled his demeanor, a mix of curiosity and scorn, as he addressed me. "So, you're this Amazo, then? The one these children look up to so? The one whose- wait- stairs that Lex Luthor died on?" he stopped, utterly baffled at what he just said. Upon entering the League's minds to place them into nightmares, he also took the time to search for things such as their greatest fears, their weaknesses, identities, and lastly the answer to a question that he and many of his fellow prisoners had, how did Lex really die? He was saving that for later, but upon seeing the android that popped into their thoughts whenever Luthor came up, he had to read it now.
"Allegedly," I replied, correcting him. "There was no evidence to prove otherwise, and technically that was Brainiac." Which was true, from a certain point of view, that any modification of the human brain on the level that Brainiac had done effectively killed the person that Lex Luthor used to be.
Doctor no Degree sneered, seizing the opportunity to unleash a tirade."Allegedly? The League themselves have harbored suspicions about you! Even the Flash, naive man child as he is, pondered over your involvement before being swayed by your façade. Batman, at least, maintains his skepticism, not blinded by arrogance like the rest of those gods above us."
"And you're admiring Lex Luthor of all people? You were just some henchman, one that he was perfectly content to just leave to rot in prison for the sake of his failed scheme, couldn't even be bothered to bail you out with all that fu-fricking money he has. One would think that you'd have some sense and resent him instead, having you do the job in the first place and not even help you when it went wrong."
Dee's eye twitched. "I was just a nobody then! Just a man. But Luthor, he too is just a man who started from nothing, yet he was able to do great things! The man had ambition, drive. He understood the way of the world, that we are merely insects beneath the feet of these gods. The Justice League, with all their powers, step down on people like us! Why shouldn't I admire him!?"
I sighed at the idiocy I was hearing. "Because Lex Luthor was an evil, petty, and cowardly man, who used the world like his own personal plaything and saw himself as the closest being able to play god. And you are a deluded and foolish man who wants to be exactly like him. Only thing is that you have no understanding, no sense. You're nothing more than a petulant child with a magic rock."
Dee's eyes widened in rage at my dismissal and he went to say more before I cut him off,
"Besides, Luthor's a bloody billionaire! You literally have more in common with the Flash or Green Lantern, powers or no powers, than you ever would with him. I'd say Superman too because the guy's a country boy in the big city but I insulted two heroes enough already and would rather not drag Superman in your mud either."
"One of the League is literally an alien spy! I'm practically saving the planet by killing her!"
"If you were a man worthy of admiration, you'd have used your new abilities to better the lives of humanity and the rest of the world, not use it for your own sick fantasies and revenge, and definitely not be wasting it on hurting children."
"As if you are so high and mighty?! You're just a fucking robot! And you, I'm inching my way into you. You can't be here without a mind after all, and when I get in there, I'll be seeing all of your deep and dirty little secrets just as I have with Earth's supposed greatest heroes!"
I stood unmoved by the threat, though an increasingly growing ball of energy was growing in my hands, "Well, if you're so keen on getting the truth, I have a simple solution for you. I'll send you to Lex Luthor to ask him yourself - in Hell."
The retort hung in the air, a clear message.
I had already scanned him. His powers, his physical attributes, the limits and capabilities of the dreamstone, and the state of his body. He was running low on energy and stamina, his mind strained. And he was still trying to project his nightmares, but the League and children were starting to wake up and his focus was being divided.
His destiny did not lie with victory, for he was fated to fall into defeat.
Dee's eyes narrowed at me. "...if you had any sense, you would be more careful in your choice of words. You're in my domain, android." he replied, his voice low and cold.
Doctor Destiny's fury erupted in a visceral scream, reminiscent of Darth Sidious' primal outburst. The sound tore through the dreamscape, a raw expression of rage and power. He lunged towards me, his form blurring with the intensity of his anger.
Instinctively, I extended my hand towards Ace, who sensed what I was going to do and was about to protest, before sending her back to the waking world for her safety. The battle was about to escalate and I didn't want her involved.
Now, we were truly alone.
My aura flared, a radiant shield that held its ground as the skeletal monster charged in its mad approach,
But as we braced for the inevitable collision, the dreamscape itself seemed to pause, the air thickening with a new, potent presence. In a swirl of ethereal mist, a figure materialized between us, halting our advance.
"Cease this." the voice ordered, its tone soft yet powerful, resonating with a subtle might that left no room for defiance.
Both Doctor Destiny and I stopped, the weight of the voice leaving no option for anything else.
We gazed upon the figure, a tall, thin man with bone-white skin with a youthful complexion, black and spiky medium length hair, dressed in a black jacket, shirt, and pants. His features could even be said to look human were it not for the two white stars looking out from the shadows where his eyes should've been. Those eyes holding the depth of countless slumbers and nightmares.
It was the Sandman.
The King of Dreams, Dream of the Endless.
Dream of the Endless turned to John Dee with an unwavering gaze, "You possess my Dreamstone. It grants you great power, but it is not yours to wield, human. Relinquish it," he commanded, his voice echoing with an authority that transcended the dreamscape.
The Dreamstone in Doctor Destiny's chest glowed with a sinister red light. Initially confused and fearful, his emotions quickly transformed into a manic defiance. His skeletal visage twisted into a grin, a mocking challenge to Dream.
"Oh? Is this your Dreamstone, Dream King?" Doctor Destiny taunted, his tone dripping with smugness and mockery.
Dream's frown conveyed slight displeasure, yet he remained composed in the face of Doctor Destiny's insolence.
Dee cackled, the madness evident in his tone as he continued his rambling, "This is your Dreamstone, the source of your power? Well guess what? This is my stone now! And it'll serve me as the ruler of this realm!"
"You misspoke." Dream responded calmly. "It is not too late to save yourself."
"Oh, you think that I need saving? With all of this power that I possess, it's me that needs saving?!" Doctor Destiny gripped the Dreamstone with his bony hand. The red jewel began to shine brighter, its crimson hue intensifying as its glow grew more brilliant.
Dream remained unflappable, his soft voice carrying a grave warning. "Your ignorance has cursed you with that Dreamstone."
His laughter, shrill, discordant, and unhinged, echoed through the dreamscape. "Cursed? No, I've blessed myself! This is my ascension, my destiny!"
Dream regarded the self proclaimed, self deluded Doctor of Destiny with a mixture of bemusement and solemnity. "Destiny?" he mused, the word carrying a weight beyond its mere utterance. "He observes you and the automatron both, yet his role here is solely as a silent spectator. This realm is mine, a domain of dreams, and here, you tread a perilous path, Johnathan Dee."
John Dee, energized by his delusions, proclaimed with fervor, "I am DOCTOR DESTINY! John Dee is NOTHING but a forgotten echo, a relic of a bygone era!"
"Ever still, Dee, you stand at a crossroads in my domain," Dream continued, his gaze fixed upon Dee. "Your petty actions, fueled by the power of the Dreamstone, may seem grand to you, but they are mere ripples in the vast ocean of dreams. Yet, even these ripples can lead to a tempest, a terrible fate that awaits should you persist in this folly."
Dee's manic energy seemed to falter for a moment under the weight of Dream's words, under Dream's penetrating gaze, but his grip on the Dreamstone remained unyielding. The red glow of the stone pulsed ominously, a visual echo of his defiance against the warnings of the King of Dreams.
"Your sibling Destiny may watch over us," Dee retorted, "but it is I who shapes my fate now! My power, my Dreamstone, makes me master of my destiny!"
Dream regarded Dee with a quiet, almost pitying gaze, "You may believe yourself to wield the Dreamstone, yet you understand not its nature. It is not a tool for dominion, but a key to the deeper truths of existence. Misuse it, and you invite not mastery, but ruin."
Ignoring Dream's caution, Dee attempted to use the Dreamstone's power against Dream himself. However, to his utter shock and dismay, he sensed the stone still regarded Dream as its true master. And for the first time, the source of his power refused to heed his call or aid him.
"What? How can this be?! The Dreamstone, it's mine, my destiny!" Dee's voice trembled with disbelief and frustration.
"Destiny is not the same as fate, and you, John Dee, are fated to fail," Dream said quietly, a subtle note of pity coloring his tone.
Dee, now engulfed in desperation and denial, clung to his belief in his destiny, "No! This power is mine, it belongs to me, my destiny!" he howled, his form twisting and warping as the Dreamstone's crimson glow began to flare with a dangerous intensity.
Dream's eyes narrowed as the Dreamstone's power began to build, the crimson aura twirling around Dee at a dizzying speed. "Foolishness. Your hubris is your undoing," he intoned gravely.
In a final act of desperation and madness, Dee decided to destroy the Dreamstone, hoping to deny its power to Dream and perhaps even destroy him.
Doctor Destiny's twisted visage contorted into an enraged snarl. His scream, filled with raw desperation and fury, erupted like a sonic blast, shattering the dreamscape they were residing on. But as he unleashed the stone's energy, all he achieved was freeing it, allowing its power to flow back to Dream.
But his attempt was in vain. As the stone shattered, its energy did not explode into chaos; instead, it calmly dissipated and flowed back to its rightful master. Dream stood unharmed, the essence of the Dreamstone returning to him.
John Dee, witnessing the collapse of his ambitions, was left in a state of utter despair. He fell to his knees, a broken man, as the realization of his failure dawned on him. The power he had so desperately sought had eluded him, slipping through his fingers like sand, just like his old life had. It had failed to grant him revenge against the Justice League, failed to give him control over his destiny, and ultimately, failed to remain with him.
Dream looked down at him, a mixture of pity and resolve in his eyes.
"For the pain you have inflicted upon others, especially to the one who once loved you, you shall now know their suffering," Dream declared. He raised his hand, and the mist of the dreamscape began to shift around Dee, transforming into a nightmarish labyrinth with no end.
Trapped in a nightmare of his own making, Dee found himself spinning under a sheltering sky, with no one to catch him as he fell. "Twirl me about, and twirl me around, let me grow dizzy and fall to the ground. And when I look up at you looking down..." Dee murmured, his voice trailing off in despair.
Dream completed the line with a finality that echoed through the dreamscape, "It was only a dream."
With those words, Dee was left to confront the eternal cycle of his own nightmares, a fitting retribution for the pain he had inflicted upon others.
In the fleeting moment that bridged John Dee's demise and the dissolution of his fabricated reality, the dreamscape convulsed. Amazo, caught in the maelstrom of collapsing dreams and fading illusions, found his sensors overwhelmed, his usually unflappable mind thrust into turmoil.
I'm sitting here waiting on my bus but it's a train that's coming.
As the world around him shattered, reality fracturing into innumerable shards of impossibilities, Amazo stood amidst the chaos, his electronic consciousness struggling to make sense of the rapid dissolution. The dream world, once a realm of structure and narrative, now cascaded into oblivion, its existence unmade by the whim of the Endless.
I'm sitting here kicking up the dust, thinking of my big gun, the one that stops my running.
In the epicenter of this unfurling darkness, a singular figure emerged, an anchor in the tumultuous sea of disintegration. Dream of the Endless stood, his presence a calm amidst the storm of collapsing dreamscapes.
Oh high dreamer, I see you.
His gaze met Amazo's, an enigmatic blend of detachment and fleeting curiosity. In those eyes, stars in the void, there lay a depth of understanding that transcended the ordinary, a perception honed across eons and countless slumbers.
As the darkness enveloped everything, swallowing the remnants of Dee's twisted dreams, Dream's voice, timeless and resonant, cut through the silence:
"An automaton capable of dreaming? Just what are you?"
Amazo opened his mouth to respond, but found no answer. The darkness claimed him before he could speak.
The pavement is waiting for your soles.
The path ahead beckons to your souls.
In the waking world, amidst the dimly lit corridors of the abandoned LexCorp warehouse, Batman's sharp senses were abruptly pierced by a cry of sheer terror.
"Augh!"
The sound was unmistakably John Dee's, a raw expression of pain and terror.
Batman rushed towards the source of the noise, finding himself in front of an open door. Dee laid writhing on the ground. The once ordinary man now appeared skeletal in frame, his body convulsing in agony as his bone thin limbs contorted in unnatural angles.
Narrowing his eyes, Batman cautiously approached, only to be halted by a sudden, unexpected presence. A hand gently rested on his shoulder, its touch ethereal yet firm.
"He is beyond your aid now, Batman," spoke a voice, soft yet resonant, his gaze fixed on the dying man.
Batman turned sharply to face the speaker, his instinctual demand for answers evident in his tone, "Who are you?"
The figure before him was enigmatic, his appearance otherworldly, his eyes being that of the stars cementing it, "I am Morpheus. I have come to claim what is mine, the Dreamstone that this man dared to lay claim to. And to take your automatron friend out for a talk."
Batman's mind raced with questions, but before he could voice them, Morpheus offered a cryptic piece of advice, "When you next speak to your butler, Pennyworth, have a cushion nearby. For you will fall not into dream or sleep, but a shutdown." With those words, Morpheus vanished, dissipating into a swirl of mist, leaving Batman in contemplative silence.
Batman blinked, then shook his head. He would have to investigate this strange entity later. Because despite his exhaustion, he knew enough about hallucinations to know that this wasn't one. Right now, there were other matters to attend to.
Shaking off the disorientation, Batman refocused on Dee. The man's labored breaths were growing fainter, his skeletal fingers clawing desperately at his chest where the Dreamstone had once resided.
In these final moments, Dee seemed a mere shadow of the man who had once sought to wield the power of dreams. Now, he was caught in the throes of his own nightmare, a grim reminder of the price of hubris and the unforgiving nature of powers beyond mortal ken.
Batman stood alone. Amazo, following his encounter with Morpheus, was conspicuously absent. With no trace of the automaton or any leads on how to locate this enigmatic being known as Morpheus, Batman knew he needed assistance from someone well-versed in the arcane.
He made a mental note to consult Zatanna about the Dreamstone and Morpheus. Her expertise in the mystical realms might shed light on this enigmatic figure and the events that had transpired. Or Jason Blood should she not know everything.
And should push come to shove, he may even have to consult John Constantine.
Batman's attention then returned to John Dee, lying motionless on the floor. Despite Dee's delusions and the path he had chosen, Batman was not one to forsake his principles. He could not allow even a foe like Dee to perish when there was a chance to save him. It was not Batman's place to pass final judgment; that was a matter for the court of law, rather than the court of a supposed king of dreams.
With a sense of duty, he carefully moved Dee's frail form, planning to transport him to the nearest hospital. John Dee, even lost in his own misguided quest for power, deserved a chance at redemption, however slim.
Once Dee was safely on his way to receive medical attention, Batman's thoughts shifted to the Justice League. He needed to return to the Watchtower, to ensure his allies were safe and recovering from the ordeal they had endured.
In the familiar confines of the Watchtower, Batman stepped into the medical bay, his eyes quickly scanning the room. The members of the Justice League were gradually rousing from their induced slumbers, their expressions a mix of confusion and relief.
As he approached, Ace, who seemed to be the least affected despite being the most fussed over by the others, locked eyes with him. "Batman, where's Amazo?" she asked, her voice tinged with concern. "I saw him... before I woke up."
Before Batman could delve into her cryptic statement, his communicator buzzed to life. Alfred's voice, always a source of calm and reason, came through, but this time with an undercurrent of urgency.
"Master Bruce, I'm relieved to hear from you. Now, while I'd normally lecture you on the perils of neglecting rest, this incident now being my newest sticking point, there's pressing news. There's been an incident at the Ivo residence. A black ops team, most likely belonging to this Cadmus organization, attempted a breach..."
"And?" Batman prompted, his tone sharp.
"They encountered... quite a scare from Amazo trying to ward them off. And it appears they've all had quite the tumble down his stairs."
"Stairs," Batman echoed, a sense of foreboding washing over him.
The word reverberated in his mind, Alfred's words, mingled with Dream's earlier cryptic message, echoed in Batman's head. And a feeling of something was about to come forth. But it never did, as without warning he promptly collapsed, as if his body had finally given in and crashed.
It wasn't the exhaustion from days without sleep, nor the strain from resisting Doctor Destiny's mental onslaught.
It was the absurd, almost surreal realization that Amazo's stairs had claimed more victims.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
and we end the year off with a stairs joke.
it was honestly how I always envisioned this chapter to end, with episode's ending being ripe for it in having just crashing because with the day he's had, them stairs are the last thing he wants to be dealing with lol
and to further add to that, enjoy a meme I cooked up on my phone
imgur khu7McH (add in the usual url bits and it should work)
and in another bit of a cliffhanger with Amazo now in Dream's clutches. Don't worry though, our boy is fine.
This chapter was a bit of a recap in which we go over what Amazo has been doing this entire time, starting on that power scanning grind. originally that would've been longer in which Amazo would've tried chatting up Livewire and Volcana, but I decided against that thought from a while ago due to the urgency Amazo was in. Side note, I was gonna write in another reason to why Amazo wouldn't kill Grundy, in which the zombie helps Doctor Fate and Aquaman ward off a deity that the Thanagarians once worshiped, though that'd be JLU stuff so not relevant for a long while so I cut that out.
And I do hope that you guys aren't too disappointed about the rather cut short fight despite the bit of hype the interlude gave it. Originally I had considered having them fight briefly (not adding an extra 1-2k words this time lol) but I figured that when Dream eventually arrives, he's just gonna shut things down rather quick so he can get his stuff and go. Which happened to include Amazo since the fact that he can dream like a mortal despite being an automotron was rather interesting to him, so expect the start of the next chapter to be in the world of Dreaming, rather than just the dreams/minds of mortals. Mini spoiler, this may or may not lead into Amazo meeting with best girl Death, depends on how things go really.
Then there may be a bit of a scene with Batman investigating the stairs, getting in contact with Zatanna about Dream, in which she pulls Blood and Constantine to hammer it into his skull not to fuck around with the Endless. Maybe I might even include a show of what Galatea's been up to. Also a bit with the Flash exploring his newly found connection to the speedforce and a bit of drama with the League regarding Shayera being a spy, wrote that a bit too simplistically, forgot to add the details in which Dee was forcing feelings through their mind to make the accusation stick, I'll edit that later tho.
Also, I'm curious to hear what you guys think about my take on John Dee. Did you like it, did you not? Did I try too hard, too little? Just asking because I do plan on doing a whole lot of expanding on a villain character, who I am very excited to work with when he comes around (or more like Amazo drags him in lol), though I suppose it'd be more accurate to say that he'd be a former villain, to be seen after this arc truly comes to a close. God, this feels weird to say considering that this is the farthest I've ever gone in a fic, I really gotta push the numbers on my others up some more.
Anyhoo, with this round of author's rambling done, I do hope that you guys liked the chapter and please do leave me your thoughts and critiques
