The first thing she noticed was the dull throbbing in her skull, like someone was repeatedly poking her forehead with a pen. Then, as she slowly regained her senses, she became aware of other things. The coarse sand beneath her, the cold wind ruffling against her. Her lips were dry and throat raw. She blinked but only saw dark shadows. Then she realized that was because it was dark. It was night.

There was a soft crackling sound coming from behind her, like a fire, and she realized she could feel its heat behind her as well.

Then she heard it. The familiar breathing sound. HHAAAWWW-PPPPEEEERRRR. HHAAAWWW-PPPPEEEERRRR.

She braced herself and then moved, twisting around to attack when her whole body froze, held still by an invisible force.

"Do not do that again," came the cold mechanical voice.

Barbara breathed as the force released her, her whole body coming loose once more. She straightened up and took a good look around her. The cliffs were gone, she evidently having been moved away. She was now in the middle of what could only be a dune sea, sitting at the bottom of a large one. The sky was as black as pitch, the only thing illuminating up there being the two moons. Then Barbara blinked and looked again. Yep, two moons. So she definitely wasn't on Earth. Wonderful.

Across from her, on the other side of the small fire, was Vader. In the shadows, with only a little illumination from the fire, he was even more imposing. He sat there, almost statuary, his mask unreadable. Barbara couldn't see his weapon but she knew that meant nothing. He was dangerous with or without it.

"Why am I alive?" she asked, sitting up.

"You may yet prove useful to me," Vader replied.

"How?"

"We will see. And do not make any attempts at escape or attack. Your life will be forfeit if you do." He said it so calmly that Barbara almost missed the threat. She so wanted to attack right now, throw some batarangs and smoke grenades but she knew how powerful she was. Heck, she actually didn't know how fully powerful he was but based on what she had already seen, she knew she stood no chance against him. She would have to wait and bide her time. And try to stay alive til then.

As she sat there, watching him, she realized she still had all her weapons. Batarangs, grenades, grapple, bo staff, all of it. Vader hadn't taken any of it. He didn't care if she had it. Barbara didn't know if that was arrogance or calculation that none if was any threat to him. Probably both.

"Who are you anyway?" she asked.

He didn't reply, his mask merely staring back at her. Looking into the dark visors of his eyes was like staring into voids of darkness. Barbara couldn't help but look away.

"That is not your concern," the reply came. "Be still and be silent."

Barbara grimaced, wanting to punch him in the face even more now. But, knowing what would happen if she did, she just lay back instead. But she wasn't down for more than a few seconds when she shot back up at the sudden yells.

"Release me at once!"

"What the hell?" Barbara muttered, batarang in hand as she scanned the area. She saw Vader rise and turn around. As he did she saw a large boulder behind him until the light illuminated it and she realized it was no boulder but a giant head. And not just any head.

"You will return me to my body, mortal, or you will face my wrath!" Polybotes roared, eyes glaring fiercely at the approaching Vader. "You will-"

He didn't get to say anything else as Vader raised his hand and the giant began to choke, eyes bulging at the loss of air. He glared with pure hatred at Vader before his eyes rolled up and the head slumped. Several of the snakes lingering in his hair popped up, angry at the treatment of their master but Vader dispatched them with ease, barely swinging his saber.

Barbara just stared, open-mouthed at the scene, not quite sure what she had witnessed. "He's still alive?" she went with a moment later.

"Evidently," came Vader's reply.

"As a head?"

"It appears he was serious when he described his immortality. Only a god and demigod may kill him. I have tried many times to no avail. The snakes as well." Again, Barbara had trouble reading his words. He didn't seem frustrated or annoyed at this. Not amused or fascinated. Just…blank.

"But…why are you keeping him?"

"His body wishes to reconnect with his head. I buried it beneath the cliffs. It is almost certainly free by now and if not, then soon. I would rather the two remain separate."

Barbara frowned. So there was a giant body without a head wandering the desert looking for them? She honestly didn't know if she had heard of weirder things.

But as she lay back down, she realized something else. Vader wouldn't be toting a giant head like that just to keep it separate from the body. Based on what she'd seen, he'd probably just bury it or chop it in half again or something. That way, the giant body wouldn't be after them. Vader wanted the head for something.

Immortality.

Yes. Polybotes was immortal. That had to be why Vader was keeping his head around. He wanted to know how.

Barbara spent the rest of the night awake, planning on what to do. In the end, as the sun began to rise, she had nothing. The only thing she really had was just to wait, assess the situation as much as possible. Vader was an unknown. All she really knew was he was fast, powerful, and extremely dangerous. She needed to know more about him if she was going to do anything about him.

"Get up," Vader said, rising himself and Barbara followed suit. He turned towards the head which was still out. Barbara wasn't sure how it could be choked if its throat was missing but since it survived as just as a head, rules like that kind of went out the window.

The head was lifted up into the air and Vader began to move, passing by the dunes. Barbara followed behind, keeping a fair distance between them.

"So what's the plan?" she asked.

"Walk."

That seemed to be his whole plan. Granted she wouldn't have come up with a better one if she'd been alone. So they walked, passing by and over the many dunes dotting the landscape, the sun beating down on them relentlessly. Vader didn't seem to mind, continuing to walk at the same pace, but Barbara was beginning to struggle a little. She was moving with no food or water and was pretty soon she would pass out soon.

"You wouldn't happen to have water on your…suit, would you?" she asked.

Vader gave no reply, simply continuing to walk up another dune slope.

Barbara came to a stop, panting a little. "Look, I can't keep going until I drink something."

Vader came to a stop as well and then raised his other hand. For a second, Barbara thought he was going to kill her but instead, she felt the earth shake a little bit and then the sand next to her scattered, a large crack appearing in the ground. A few seconds later, a stream of water emerged, forming a ball in the air before floating over to Barbara. She blinked and then reached out just as it fell, splashing into her hands. Acting quickly, she brought the water to her lips and managed to get in one gulp before it was all gone.

She sighed. It wasn't enough, not nearly, but it would have to do for now as Vader was already moving again. She hastened to catch up, climbing the latest sand dune to the top to see yet more dunes awaiting her.

And then the shouting resumed.

"AARRGGGHHH!" Polybotes roared, his eyes flying open. "What is this…Outrageous!" he screamed, seeing his head floating in the air. "Release me at once, puny human, and perhaps-"

Vader lifted his hand again and once more Polybotes was choked to death, his face going slack. Barbara felt sick watching it. The whole floating head thing was disturbing on its own, but Vader toting it around just to kill it again and again turned it up to a whole new level.

They kept walking, dune after dune, Vader never stopping or slowing. Barbara wondered he was exactly. Some kind of sorcerer maybe, like Zatanna? Or maybe even a machine, like Cyborg? The breathing apparatus and mechanical costume seemed to suggest so. But it was hard to tell. Everything about the guy was a mystery. Lucky for her, mysteries were one of her strong suits.

Barbara didn't know how he could stand to be in that suit in this heat. Part of her hoped it would cause him to faint or falter or something and she could make her move. But so far, he just kept up his pace without pause, showing no sign that anything bothered him. Barbara was pretty sure even Bruce would be having trouble right about now, and he was the toughest man she knew.

Every now and then, Barbara stopped when the thirst got too bad and Vader managed to bring more water out of the ground for her. She suggested at one point getting a lot of it at once and putting it in some container but he just ignored her. Evidently, he wanted to keep her on low energy, weaker. Not a bad plan actually as Barbara had trouble focusing with the little energy she had.

Still, she'd been in worse spots and always found a way around them. This would be no different. She just had to be patient and wait. Her main plan right now was find out where she was exactly. Clearly she was on an alien planet of some kind, given the two moons, so her current plan was to find some sort of town and see if she would be able to find some way to contact Earth. And if she couldn't then some way to contact the Green Lantern Corps. She also knew the Superman symbol was an almost universally recognized symbol so she could also use that to her advantage. But first, she had to find some sort of sign of civilization. And so far, there wasn't one.

She thought back to the others. She hoped Ember and Amani were ok, though she didn't think anyone stuck in this desert was ok. Still, she hoped they were alive. Unlike Diggle, Elrond, and Julian. She sighed, thinking of how easily Vader cut them down. Which brought another thing to mind. That light that had taken each one, what was it? Did that happen every time someone here died? If so, where did the bodies go? There were too many mysteries here, too many questions.

A few more hours passed before Polybotes awoke again, raising hell before Vader silenced him again. At this point, they'd been walking for more than half the day, the sun beginning to sink in the sky. Barbara gulped down her latest spoonful of water, relishing every drop. She wondered how long this would go on. If Vader would just keep walking endlessly. It sure seemed like it. He had shown no indications of having any other plans. Then again, it wasn't like he was showing off he had indications for anything. With most people, Barbara could gain impressions from them based on their movements and expressions. But this guy had none.

Again she was reminded of Bruce and how he kept everything in check. The comparison scared her.

It was early evening when once again Polybotes awoke, screaming about vengeance and death when Barbara snapped.

"Hey, moron!" she shouted. "Unless you want to get your throat snapped again, you should probably shut up."

"How dare you!" the head roared at her. "I am Polybotes, general of the gigantes. And I will not-"

"Buddy, you're not the general of anything right now. You're just a head," Barbara told him. "So what ever threats you're planning on making, none of them are going to work cause you can't do anything."

Polybotes spluttered at that, face turning red. "I will not be insulted by some mortal girl."

"Well, deal with it cause you just were."

"Enough," Vader's voice cut through, cold and sharp. "You, head, will be silent. As will you, girl."

"I wi-" Polybotes began.

"That was not a request." Vader held out his hand and Polybotes spluttered as he was choked again. This time, however, Vader released him. "You will be silent, by your choice or not."

Polybotes glowered with a look of pure hatred, but he fell silent, realizing the futility of shouting.

It was as the sun finally began to set that Vader stopped. Barbara didn't even think too much on it. She just collapsed where they were, lying in the sand. She was so exhausted. And hungry. And thirsty. God, she was thirsty, her throat so parched it felt like it was made of sand. It honestly might be.

She sensed Vader moving again and couldn't help but groan. She honestly didn't know if she could get back up. She was pretty sure she was incapable of it right now, her muscles feeling like jelly. But then she sensed him sitting down a few yards away. She opened one eye and saw him kneeling there, staring at the horizon. She shrugged, guessing that this must be where they were stopping for the night. She didn't question it or anything, just closed her eyes, rolled over, and let oblivion take her, falling into a deep sleep.

She woke suddenly, feeling a knife around her neck.

"Don't move," a voice behind her said. "Do as I say, and you just might make it through this."

Barbara froze, but inwardly cursed herself. How could she be so dumb as to fall asleep just like that. She should always be aware of her surroundings. She had been raised by a police officer and trained by one of the best fighters in the world. She should have known better than to just drop her guard like that.

Now that she was awake, she became more aware of what was happening. Vader was still in the sitting position as he had the previous night with his legs crossed. Next to him was Polybotes's head who was also fast asleep, snoring loudly.

Barbara could also sense several other people around her. There was someone behind the woman holding the knife, someone with loud heavy breathing. If Barbara had to guess, she'd say a large man. And a little to her right was another large man wearing a costume that was a mix of brown and red, cracking his knuckles.

"Who a-" Barbara began but the knife pressed closer and she sucked in her breath, the blade extremely sharp.

"Shhh," the woman holding it said. "Don't talk. Just do as I say." She then jerked her head at the costumed guy. He lumbered forward right towards Vader, knuckles clenched. Barbara felt a strange urge to warn him but even if she could, she didn't know if she would. Judging from this first encounter, she had no idea if these people were any better than Vader.

The man was two feet away from Vader, arms raised to grab him, when he suddenly said, "come any closer, and I will cut you down."

Barbara was suddenly pulled back a little, leaving her throat more exposed, the edge of the knife barely touching it and already biting into her skin. "Don't make any funny moves, or the girl dies."

Polybotes snorted, eyes flickering open. "Whazz- huh? What's going on?"

The costumed man stumbled back a step. "Jeez, that thing's alive? What the hell?"

Polybotes looked around and groaned. "Great, more mortal witnesses to my humiliation." He stared directly at the woman behind Barbara. "If you kill them and reunite me with my body, I can reward you with endless riches."

The woman seemed to regard him for a second before turning back to Vader. "You're going to hand over everything you have to us now, or I'll slit her throat."

Muggers? Really? Even in the middle of an alien desert? It seemed some things were just universal.

"Please, slit away," Polybotes sniffed. "That girl is nothing but a hindrance."

Barbara rolled her eyes. In this form, there was no way Polybotes was anything but a hindrance.

"You do realize I'm not his friend, right?" she said out loud. "I'm a prisoner."

The woman paused but only for a second. "Well then, you'll lose your prisoner unless you do as I say."

Vader said nothing. He didn't even move. He just sat there, regarding all of them. If he hadn't spoken a few seconds ago, Barbara might have thought he was sleeping.

"Hey, didn't you hear me?" the woman said loudly. "Hand over everything you have, now, or I kill her."

"Kill away, please," Polybotes told her while Vader still didn't respond.

"The lady's talking to you," the costumed man said, walking towards him. "It's rude to-"

The second his hand reached for down, Vader's hand went up and the man went flying, smacking down into the nearby sand dune with a loud THUMP! He groaned and rubbed his head.

The knife woman hesitated for a second before lifting the knife. "I warned you," she said, and moved the knife to slit Barbara's throat when it stopped a hairsbreadth from her skin. Babs could only see it out of the corner of her eye but she was fixated on it, wondering why it had stopped when she heard the woman groan a little and she realized what was happening. Then the woman's hand twisted aside and Barbara instantly took the opportunity, rolling away and throwing a batarang as soon as she rose up. But a sudden burst of red light knocked it aside midair with a sound similar to the laser guns many supervillains used.

She looked over and saw on the next dune over a woman in a crouched position holding a long rifle pointed directly at her. Barbara couldn't tell much from the distance, but the woman seemed to be wearing a red outfit and was almost completely bald except for a ponytail in the back.

The other woman, the one with the knife, glared over at both Barbara and Vader. She had spiky black hair and was wearing way too much eyeliner, looking like an Egyptian priestess in a bad Hollywood movie. In her other hand was another knife, identical to the first, both looking like they could slice through stone.

Behind her was a large figure with hair covering their skin and bulging muscles as well as large canines emerging from their mouth. For a second, Barbara thought it was Gorilla Grodd but no, whoever this was, they were smaller and their fur was more silvery than black. But definitely some sort of ape.

"Hmm," Polybotes eyed Barbara as she rose up. "Disappointing."

"Oh will you shut up?"

Beside her, Vader rose up as well and Barbara backed away. She already knew what was about to happen and even though these people had almost killed her, she couldn't help but feel a little bad for them. She hoped they would just be knocked out but that seemed extremely unlikely.

The man Vader had thrown aside walked forward, fists raised menacingly. "You'll pay for that," he promised.

"Stop Erik," the woman said. "We've lost our leverage. Now we negotiate. And if not, you can pound him into the dirt."

"Not likely," Barbara said under breath.

"Kill them both and free me, cretins!" Polybotes bellowed.

The woman eyed the head. "Can you put a muzzle on him or something?"

"How dare you! I wi-"

Polybotes was interrupted when his throat cracked, Vader's fist clenched towards him.

"Or that works too," the woman nodded.

"He comes back," Barbara said. "He…doesn't really stay dead."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. But that's beside the point. Why don't we introduce ourselves. My name is Sarah Jacobi, servant of the House of Life. The esteemed gentleman over there is Erik Josten also known as the Power Man. Behind me is the wereape Balk. And the woman with a rifle lined with your skull is the lovely Miss Aurra Sing. So don't try anything or you'll be dead before you even blink." She grinned, making Barbara feel queasy inside. It was a grin that promised violence and death. "And you are?"

Vader remained silent for a second, looking over the group. "Vader," he finally said.

Jacobi nodded. "And you?" she turned to Barbara.

"Batgirl," she replied, refusing to say her real name.

"Batgirl," Jacobi repeated. "What an adorable little name," she said with a fake smile, tilting her head as if she was regarding a small child, before turning back to Vader. "Well, as you must realize, you are at a significant disadvantage. You are outnumbered and outmatched. Move a step and Aurra over there will shoot you down. Or one of my knives will. And either Erik or Balk will finish the job." Erik cracked his knuckles again and Balk flexed his canines. "Do you understand?"

Barbara glanced over at Vader. Why wasn't he doing anything? She had almost expected him to light up his sword and cut everyone down, not that she wanted him to. But it was like he was waiting for something.

"Come now, you must realize there is no winning here," Jacobi said in faux-sympathy voice. "So, why don't you just hand over all your weapons and food, if you have any, and tell us what you know of this place and we'll just-"

"So you know nothing," Vader interrupted.

Jacobi paused. "What?"

"You know nothing of this place," Vader said. "Then you are of no use to me." He pulled out his handle and the crimson blade ignited. Just above its hum, Barbara could swear she heard a sharp intake of breath but she couldn't tell from where.

"So that's how you want to play this?" Jacobi asked, eyebrows raised. "Very well. I guess we'll take what we want from your corpses." She then threw one of her knives at Vader without warning.

Barbara flinched on instinct but Vader didn't move, the knife stopping midair in front of him. It hovered there for a second before turning around and pointing back at Jacobi who stared with wide eyes. And then it flew right at her.

She yelped and dove out of the way right before it could slice through her, striking the sand behind her instead. "Get him!" she snarled.

Both Erik and Balk charged, Erik heading right for Vader while Balk attacked Barbara. As he did, she whipped out her bola and threw it, the weighted ropes spun and wrapped themselves around his legs, pulling them tight. He squealed out and fell heavily to the sand. Then, as he moved to get up, she took out her staff and whacked him over the head with it hard.

She turned around as Erik launched a punch at Vader. She knew what was going to happen next but couldn't look away. Vader moved aside easily and then his blade came up. Erik looked down at his severed arm and barely had time to scream before the blade struck again, relieving him of his head. His body instantly vanished in the bright light. Barbara could only watch in horror.

Jacobi gaped for a moment before rising from the sand. "Aurra, bring him down!" she cried.

Barbara readied herself for the blast to come again but there was only silence. "Aurra?" Jacobi called again.

"My apologies, Jacobi, but I only serve the best around. And I know of his kind. So I'll just sit this one out."

"Traitor!" Jacobi snarled. "I'll deal with you after." She then turned to Balk who had freed himself. "Ape, you go after him!"

But Balk, having seen what happened to Erik, stayed where he was.

"I am surrounded by traitors," Jacobi growled. "Fine, I'll deal with it myself."

No you won't, Barbara thought sadly, watching as Jacobi picked up the knife Vader had sent back and charged, both blades at the ready. She then leapt in the air and Barbara blinked as the sand at her feet followed her up, forming a sandstorm beneath her which she then flew upon.

"Die!" the woman screamed, throwing her knife at Vader but his blade came up, deflecting it. It bounced right back into Jacobi's hand and she just glared and threw her other blade, Vader deflecting again.

"Enough of this." She held out her hands and what seemed like an Egyptian hieroglyph shimmered red in the air in front of her. Then, the red light spread across Vader's suit causing it to smoke and spark. Jacobi allowed herself a grin before it faded as Vader nearly cut her in half as he leapt forward, swinging his saber. She only escaped as her sandstorm shot her backwards.

"Ho-" she started. "That was the glyph for pain. You should be in agony now."

"I am agony," Vader replied.

Jacobi sneered and her hands came up again, this time shooting out bolts of red lightning. Vader's saber came up, many bolts striking it but a few made it past to hit him. But if they bothered him, Barbara couldn't tell.

She honestly didn't know who she was rooting for here. She would be a prisoner or dead either way. She could try to escape right now but there was nowhere to go. As much as she hated it, she had to wait until the end of this fight. And she already knew who would win.

Jacobi tried many attacks, more glyphs appearing in the air, conjuring spectral knives and spears, throwing what looked like acid or poison, even throwing some weird clay thing at Vader which grew midair that he sliced through before it could do anything. Everything she tried, he bested easily. And now, Barbara could see the fear plain on her face.

Jacobi finally seemed to realize she wouldn't win this and so moved to escape, the sandstorm turning in the air, but then Vader's hand came up and she was suddenly pulled off the cloud right towards him. She screeched and brought her knives up in front of her just as she reached his blade, the metal just managing to hold Vader's saber back.

But not for long. Barbara watched, horrified, as Vader kept pulling on her, his saber cutting into the metals. Jacobi could only watch as slowly her knives gave way. She tried to pull free, to leap out of the way, but Vader's grip was unbreakable.

"What are you?" she gasped.

"Death," he replied and then his saber cut through the knives and then cut through her, the familiar light taking her as well until there was no trace.

Barbara would have thrown up if there was anything in her stomach. In the moment, part of her wished she could have done something, anything. But she had just stood there, frozen, watching the woman die. She knew there really wasn't anything she could have done. Any action would have just resulted in Vader killing her as well. It didn't make her feel better though. She had still watched and done nothing as that woman died. And that made her feel sick to her stomach.

A few seconds later, the rifle-lady Aurra walked up, the rifle slung over her shoulder. Barbara blinked, the woman's face so pale it shone brightly in the dim light. Two smaller guns adjoined her hips.

Vader turned to her, blade still at the ready. "Whoa there," she said, hands raised. "Like I said, I serve the best. And clearly, you're it."

Vader looked down at her and Balk. "Betray me, you die."

"Understood," she nodded back before smiling. "This is going to be fun."

Balk shrugged. "Sounds good to me." He then glanced at Barbara and a savage grin appeared on his face. "Really good."

Barbara gave him a disgusted look.

Vader turned to the rising sun. "Then let us walk."

Yeah, Vader's a lot of fun to write.

Who are all the new characters?

Saraj Jacobi is a major villain in Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles, a magician serving Apophis.

Erik Josten is Marvel comics villain who used to be called Power Man before Luke Cage fought him for it. Now he goes by Atlas.

Balk is a minor villain of the Wereworld series, appearing in the third book. He's a wereape. And

Aurra Sing is a famous bounty hunter from Star Wars, appearing in many of the Clone Wars episodes.

I know a few people were wondering what I'd do with Polybotes. I did think about just killing him off there but it didn't work with his mythology and this way was more fun anyway.

Thanks for reading and please leave a review if you can.