Chapter 32
The Return
Atlantis
Ash and Harleen have been doing non stop hero work for the past month. After each day, they felt deflated and exhausted to do anything. They want to spend time together but can hardly find anytime for themselves now. So it's times like these that they really cherish. They were babysitting Arthur Jr. for Aquaman and Mera. Ash was sitting on one of the sofas in the palace, waiting for Harleen to return. The door to the room opened and Harleen walked through it.
"Okay, he's falling asleep. He should be out for the night now." Harleen said as she walked over to the sofa.
"I bet he's tired from winning all those wrestling matches with me." Ash joked. Harleen chuckled at the joke. She then sat down on the sofa, cuddled up to Ash and made herself comfortable. The way they were feeling right now, they just wanted to stay like that forever. They felt like not even reality itself could tear them apart and the baddest weather could not falter their feelings for each other.
"What are you thinking about now?" Harleen asked.
"I'm thinking about how I want this as soon as possible. Sitting right next to you and not having to worry about not seeing you again." Ash said. It was true. After every close call he had after the Doctor Destiny incident, he has always had the fear that one day, one of them will hear the news that they wish they will never hear. "What are you thinking about?"
"I'm just thinking about Emily. Even though it's a nice thought to think she is actually here with us, I really want it to be a reality. We can go on family days out, movie nights, all of those sorts of things. I've been sort of looking forward to it for a long time now." Harleen said.
"I said it once and I'll say it again, you will be a great mum." Ash said. Harleen then came up with an idea.
"What about if I wanted to be a mum now?" Harleen asked, looking at Ash. Ash looked Harleen, was she being serious?
"What did you say?" Ash asked.
"Think about it, we'd have more of a reason to stay at home, have actual days out like we do with Emily and we might be able to have a normal life earlier then expected." Harleen said. She did raise some good points and Ash was coming round to the idea of it. "So what do you say?" Before Ash could answer, the doors to the room opened and Aquaman and Mera walked into the room.
"Sorry we kept you waiting for so long, the sharks were a little more of a challenge then anticipated." Aquaman said.
"It might have got a lot worse if we didn't intervene. But how was Arthur Jr while we were away?" Mera asked.
"He was no trouble at all." Harleen said, wrapping her arms around Ash.
"Yeah, it's always a blast looking after him." Ash said.
"Well you should have seen him when I said uncle Ash and auntie Harleen was coming round, he had the biggest smile on his face." Mera said.
"Yes. Even you might not see it, you two have really made a positive impact on his life." Arthur said. He then turned his attention directly to Ash. "Ash, I need to talk to you in private." Ash was confused at this statement.
"What for?" Ash asked.
"It be better not to ask any questions." Arthur said as he walked out of the room. Ash hesitated a little bit before getting up and making his way out the room.
"I'll see you any minute." Ash said to Harleen.
"Don't take too long." Harleen said. Mera came to the sofa and sat next to Harleen and started talking to her. Ash went out of the room and saw Arthur standing there.
"Follow me." Arthur said as he started to walk away. Ash still didn't know what this was about but he needed to know, so he followed Arthur. Soon, they were looking out the window, looking at the ocean floor. They had been standing there for a while and Arthur hasn't said a word to Ash.
"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" Ash asked. Arthur turned to him.
"Me and Mera heard what you and Harleen said, about you two having children." Arthur said. Ash was shocked, he thought that Arthur and Mira was still away before they came through that door.
"You heard that?" Ash asked.
"Yes, Ash I have no doubt that you and Harleen would be excellent parents, but I think you are thinking about this for the wrong reasons." Arthur said. Ash knew what he was talking about but he didn't see anything wrong with it.
"But isn't it normal that when you want to start a family, you want to make sure that you're there for them as much as possible?" Ash asked.
"That is a normal feeling to have. At the same time, I have guards that have children. There are police forces on the surface that face danger on a daily basis while having a family. There are everyday people that have these same feelings while doing their duties." Arthur said. At this point, Ash was completely speechless. Was Arthur right? Was he thinking this the wrong way? "I'll give you time to collect your thoughts." Arthur walked away. Was Ash doing the right thing? He would need to talk to someone about this and soon.
Watchtower
After getting back from Atlantis, Ash got an emergency alert from the league that required his help. Harleen offered to go with him but he insisted that she stay home, rest up and get ready for her shift on the watchtower. But during the whole time Ash was helping out, all he could think about was what Aquaman said to him and if he was actually ready to be a dad. He thought that the best thing that he could do right now was to keep his mind off of it and he thought of a good distraction. He's been meaning to see James after hearing that he heard that he had date after the Booster Gold incident. Ash entered the research room and saw James talking with Elongated Man, when were they good friends?
"Hey guys." Ash said. Both James and Elongated Man looked over at Ash.
"Hi." James said.
"What's up man, how are you doing?" Elongated Man asked.
"Yeah, I'm doing better than other days." Ash said. This was true, there's was no mission alert yet so he was able to slow down for a while. "Anyway, I heard someone went on a date the other day."
"Yeah, we were just talking about it just now." Elongated Man said. He then looked back at James. "So what happened?"
"She took me to her lab that she works at and challenge me build something on the spot. She had all the components I needed to use on the table and about 2 minutes later, I was able to build a matter displacer." James said.
"IN 2 MINUTES?!" Elongated exclaimed. "That's impressive."
"Well I sort of had to quicken my pace here since Jessie hasn't made any gadgets that works lately." James admitted. This was a surprise to Ash.
"Really?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, it's not like her to be doing this. I wonder what could have caused this?" James asked.
"I have no idea." Ash said, but that was a lie. After the blackhole incident, Jessie went to see Harleen and Ash to let them know what happened and how some new feelings had started to emerge within her. Harleen was quick to say that Jessie was developing feelings for James. Jessie was quick to deny the claim but now there might be some truth to it now.
"Anyway, I need to figure out what's going on with her and try to get her back to her old way before Batman finds out. I would hate to think what would happen if anyone finds out." James said. At this point, a staff member entered the research room and immediately saw who he was looking for.
"Everyone, all hands on deck. It's an omega level threat." The staff member said. Omega level threat? Everyone knows that when an Omega level threat has been declared, that it's something that can potential end the world. Ash immediately looked at the other two.
"James, get onto your station and start analyzing the data on the situation. Elongated Man, we need to go now." Ash said as he started running out of the room. Elongated Man quickly followed and James went to his station. Ash and Elongated Man ran for minutes before they reached the main floor. Ash immediately saw Superman and Green Lantern talking to each other. Ash ran up to them.
"Guys, what's going on?" Ash asked. Superman and Green Lantern looked at Ash.
"It's Amazo, it's back." Superman said. Ash remembers Amazo and knows he can cause big trouble for the league. Now that it's coming back from space, it might threaten the entire earth.
"Are you sure?" Ash asked.
"Yes, it's already destroyed Oa." Green Lantern said. This shocked Ash, so it's confirmed that Amazo is capable of destroying planets. "Amazo hasn't reached earth yet but it will soon. We need to get everyone prepared now.
"Agreed, we need a mixture of heroes and Pokémon in different defence lines to try to stop it." Superman said. Ash had a concern.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to have the Pokémon helping out?" Ash asked.
"Ash, at this point, the risk of it destroying the world greatly outweighs the risk of it gaining the Pokémon's powers." Superman said as him and Green Lantern walk away, making up a battle plan.
"Sweetie." Ash turned round and saw Harleen running to him.
"Harleen, thank goodness you're up here." Ash said as he hugged her.
"What's going on?" Harleen asked.
"Amazo is coming back and we might have the toughest fight on our hands." Ash said. Ash then thought of something. "Is everyone else up here?"
"They are all coming up now. May and Serena was working overnight and are now getting up heading up here now." Harleen said. This was good news for Ash since he was going to ask Harleen to do something.
"Once they come up here along with the staff workers, head to the Pokémon room and lock yourself inside. If something happens, I need to make sure that you and everyone are safe." Ash said. Harleen felt special that Ash wanted her to stay safe, but if Ash was in danger, she wanted to be with him.
"Absolutely not, if you're putting yourself in danger, I want to be by your side so I can protect you." Harleen said, determined to protect Ash at all cost. Ash grabbed her by the arms and looked at her in the eyes.
"Harleen, if something happened to you during this fight, I wanted be able to focus properly because all I would want to do it is protect and get you away from harm. Please, get everyone and go to the Pokémon room." Ash said. He pulled her in and gave her a hug. "I love you." Harleen grabbed Ash's face and kissed him on the lips. They were like that for a moment before they separated.
"I love you too." Harleen said. "Promise you will come back to me as soon as this is over."
"I promise." Ash said. He then let go of Harleen. "Quick, get everyone and go." Harleen nodded and ran off.
"You did the right thing Ash." Ash turned round and saw Superman behind him.
"You heard everything?" Ash asked. Superman nodded. "And I take it you have came up with a plan."
"I have." Superman said. As he said that, there was a flash of light. Mewtwo, Pikachu and Lucario appeared with Lucario holding Ash's bag. Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder.
"What are you guys doing here?" Ash asked.
"There's a powerful energy coming the bag, there'll be some new arrivals coming soon." Mewtwo said.
"Also they're part of the plan." Superman said. Ash then spent the next time minutes listening to what had been arranged. Ash didn't like getting his Pokémon involved. But at times like these, him or the league wouldn't be enough.
Space
This was it, everyone was in position. Heroes and Pokémon that were able to operate in space were stationed just outside the ozone layer. Mewtwo flew up to Superman.
"You having second thoughts?" Superman asked.
"No, we know this must be done." Mewtwo said.
"I wonder why it's coming back all of the sudden?" Superman asked.
"I don't know, but with Amazo being out there and gathering new abilities for this long, we should have immobilised it when we had the chance." Mewtwo said.
"Are you sure Ash would have wanted that?" Superman asked.
"I have done things a lot worse before I ever met Ash. I was created as a weapon and Ash was one of the few people back in my world that saw me as a true Pokémon." Mewtwo said. Superman then focused on something.
"It's here." Superman said. Mewtwo looks at the area that Superman was looking at and saw a fireball heading towards them. It was fast approaching. Mewtwo could feel the energy radiating from that fireball. It was something that might be too much for the universe itself. Mewtwo wanted to try to stop this all together before a conflict starts. Out on impulse, Mewtwo flew straight towards the fireball. "Where are you going?" It took Mewtwo a moment before reaching the fireball. The projectile stopped in its tracks and the fire dispersed, which revealed Amazo. Mewtwo noticed its appearance has changed since they last met. It's body was gold now.
"Are you here to stop me?" Amazo asked.
"I am here to protect earth." Mewtwo said.
"Please stand aside, judgement must be served for the ones who wronged me." Amazo said.
"Does that include the Justice League and Ash?" Mewtwo asked.
"The judgment is for Ash's behalf." Amazo said. This confused Mewtwo.
"What?" Mewtwo asked. Out of nowhere, Superman appeared on the scene and tried to hit Amazo, but Amazo was too quick and caught the punch. Amazo then looked at Superman.
"Please don't." Amazo said. Superman's eyes started to glow red, about to fire his lasers from his eyes. Amazo quickly cover Superman's eyes and the laser was absorbed into the hand. The power of the laser was then redirected and hit Superman with three times the force, sending him deeper into space. Amazo started flying towards earth again but was quickly stopped by Mewtwo's psychic. "I do not want to fight."
"Me neither, until you can convince me that you are here peacefully, you are not going anywhere." Mewtwo said.
"I am sorry." Amazo said. It's entire body began to glow and energy was shot at Mewtwo. It hit Mewtwo and knocked him unconscious. With the psychic hold let go, Amazo advanced to earth. The heroes saw it coming and got ready. Before Amazo reached the heroes, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Rayquaza and Deoxys circled around it and released their signature attacks on it. The attacks collided with Amazo in the middle of the power. It was being torn apart with the mixture of energy coming from it. Amazo managed to absorb the energy into its body and disperse it around. Hitting the Pokémon and heroes. Amazo then proceeded towards earth.
Earth
"The space defence is down, sky defence are now engaging." A hero said through the receiver. Ash was getting ready as he knew that if the sky defence failed, he would need to go head on with Amazo.
"Get ready Pikachu, this might be the toughest fight we ever had." Ash said to Pikachu.
"Pikachu."
"Ash." Ash heard his receiver, he pulled it out and activated it.
"Ash here." Ash said.
"Ash, it's Supergirl. Can you meet us at these coordinates? We know what Amazo wants." Supergirl said. Ash locked into the location and teleported there. Ash suddenly appeared in front of Supergirl and Steel.
"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Ash looked at the voice and notice the extra body in the party and it's someone he never wanted to see again
"Luthor." Ash snarled. "Now it makes sense. Amazo is coming here for you."
"And yet, you have to protect me from that android. It's a shame I won't be able to watch you and Harley work together." Luthor said. Big mistake as Ash grabbed Luthor by the shirt and slammed him against the wall of the building.
"Watch what you say, you won't need to worry about Amazo coming after you." Ash threatened Luthor. His aura was flaring up. Steele and Supergirl grabbed Ash and tried to pull him away but to no avail.
"Ash, you need to calm down." Supergirl said.
"Luthor can put you away if you don't let go of him." Steele said. Ash wasn't listening to what they were saying as he only thought about making sure Luthor doesn't try to go after Harley. Before anything else could be done, Lugia fell to the ground near the heroes. Then Moltres, Ho-oh, Zapdos and Articuno. They knew they didn't have a lot of time left.
"Get him inside now." Ash said as he pushed Luthor towards the heroes.
"What about you?" Supergirl asked.
"I'm going to face Amazo head on" Ash said. Supergirl didn't like this idea and stood by Ash.
"No you're not facing that thing alone." Supergirl said. Ash conjured a barrier in front of Supergirl and forced her back towards Steele and Luthor.
"It's not up for discussion, secure Luthor and don't come out until I come get you." Ash said. Supergirl was going to protest but Steele stopped her.
"Don't, he's pulling rank now. We need to follow his orders." Steele as he dragged Luthor into the building. Supergirl hesitated and looked at Ash.
"I'm sorry Kara." Ash said. Supergirl took another moment before heading inside. Ash stood there for a minute before he saw the clouds parting. "I know you can hear me and I know why you are here." A gold energy struck the ground in front of Ash and it reveals to be Amazo.
"Please let me through Ash, he must pay for what he has done." Amazo said.
"As much as I want that, I can't let you through." Ash said.
"Why are you trying to stop me?" Amazo asked.
"Because we have laws on this planet that need to be followed." Ash said.
"I have ran countless simulations where Luthor is kept alive. If he is not dealt with soon, events will happen where the earth will be put into dangerous times." Amazo said. "If I don't, he will come after you first." Amazo said. Ash was stunned by this statement.
"What do you mean by that?" Ash asked. Amazo paused.
"I cannot tell you." Amazo said.
"Then I am not letting you through." Ash said as he conjured up his aura.
"I would advise from fighting as at our current evergy levels, we could easily level 3 miles of the city." Amazo said.
"Then go." Ash said.
"Not possible." Amazo said as he fired energy at Ash. Ash threw an aura sphere and it met the attack in the middle. There was a power struggle before the attacks exploded and sent a shockwave throughout the street. Ash and Amazo were knocked back from the wave. Amazo wasn't quick enough as Ash landed an aura punch on the androids face. Amazo grabbed his fist and threw Ash through buildings. "I know you have grown stronger while I was away and that's how I know you are able to take on these attacks." A aura beam came through the dust clouds and struck Amazo. He tried to absorb the energy but was having great difficulty doing it. Amazo moved away from the path of the beam and started to recover. "It looks like I have reached my full capacity. I am unable to get a full reading of your power." Ash charged forward and landed a barrage of punches on Amazo. Amazo caught both fists and fired energy at point blank at Ash. Sending him down the street. Before Ash could get back up, Amazo grabbed him and lifted him into the sky. "It does not bring me any pleasure to do this." Amazo then brought him and Ash to the ground and broke through the road. Amazo stopped when he reached its destination. Amazo dropped Ash to the ground and saw Luthor on top of a big gun.
"I'm sorry this is a short visit." Luthor said as he fired the gun at Amazo. The energy from the gun hit Amazo and Amazo started absorbing the energy. After the energy was gone, Amazo saw Luthor was nowhere in sight.
"There is no point in hiding, I will find you." Amazo said as he started to scan the room. Ash got up from the ground and was charging up an attack until his receiver went off. Ash grabbed it and activated it.
"Hello." Ash said.
"Ash, it's Atom. I got Luthor with me, I shrunk both of us down." Atom said. So that's where Luthor went. "But Ash, we have a problem. Amazo has us in the palm of his hands."
"What? I'm looking at Amazo now and it's doing nothing." Ash said.
"I can't explain it now Ash, do something otherwise me and Luthor are dead." Atom said. Ash had to think of something quick but what do you do to an android that knows everything? Wait, does it know everything?
"Amazo, what happens next after you kill Luthor?" Ash asked. Amazo paused before responding.
"What is the purpose of that question?" Amazo asked.
"The only thing that is clear is that you want to kill Luthor. Then what?" Ash asked.
"I will research my next logical step after removing Luthor." Amazo said.
"Then it's not your time to finish him yet." Ash said. Amazo stopped in his place and looked at Ash.
"What do you mean?" Amazo asked.
"I once had the same mindset as you. I only had the end goal in mind, never thinking about what happens next. It was then I realised that I couldn't finish my journey yet, I needed to find something else to do afterwards before I close that chapter." Ash said. Amazo was only absorbing this information.
"Did you find your new path?" Amazo asked. Ash shook his head.
"No, I couldn't find anything I wanted to do after I achieved my dream. Because of that, I missed so many opportunities that could have given me purpose at the end. If I achieved my dream without having another one to chase afterwards, I would end up doing nothing else with my life. Everything that moves needs to have a purpose. And I want to make sure that you have another goal to chase before you kill Luthor." Ash said. Amazo looked at the spot where Luthor and Atom is before looking back at Ash.
"I will not kill Luthor yet. Only until I figure what I want to do next." Amazo said. Ash smiled at its response then looked at the floor behind Amazo.
"Ok, it's safe now. You can come out." Ash said. At that point, Lex Luthor and another man, Atom grew to normal size.
"A job well done." Atom said, looking proud at himself. Lex Luthor walked towards Ash.
"Thank you Ash, I do appreciate what you did." Luthor said, sticking his hand out for a handshake. Ash slaps the hand away and went up to Luthors face.
"Just remember this, I saved your life. You owe me that much. So you best remember this, stay away from me and Harley. If you do anything to us again, president or not. I will kill you." Ash said with venom in his voice. All of a sudden, a wall collapsed and John and other lanterns entered the building. They surrounded Amazo and aimed their rings at it.
"Everyone ready?" John asked. Ash quickly jumped in front of John.
"Green Lantern, wait. It's not a danger anymore." Ash said. John did not want to listen.
"Out of the way Ash, we need to take it out." John said.
"Lantern, please." Ash said.
"It destroyed Oa." John said. Amazo decided to speak at this point.
"I didn't destroy Oa, I moved it out of the way." Amazo said. This hesitated some of the Lanterns.
"Are you being serious?" One of the lanterns asked. Amazo's eyes glowed for a second before they went back to normal.
"It should be back in its original place now." Amazo said. One of the lanterns flew off to check to see if it was telling the truth.
"I'm sure you understand that we need you to stay here until we can confirm that you are telling the truth." John said.
"That is fine, I am not going anywhere soon since I need to discover my next step in this reality." Amazo said.
"Maybe I can assist." There was a bright light in the room. When it died down, Dr. Fate appeared in the room.
"Dr. Fate?" Ash asked, stunned by his sudden appearance.
"Sorry about the intrusion but I think I can help our golden friend in what it wants to do next." Dr. Fate said. John was quick to respond.
"That's nice of you to offer but we need to put Amazo somewhere where we can keep it contained while we confirm it hasn't destroyed Oa." John said.
"I'll shall house it at my proximity, the magical energy at my place will make it a challenge for it to escape." Dr. Fate said as he waved his hand and Amazo disappeared. John wasn't happy about the sudden disappearance.
"What do you think..."
"Please do not be alarmed, if it does need to be taken to confinement, I will transport it there myself." Dr. Fate said as he started to walk away. He then stopped and looked at Ash. "Ash."
"Yes?" Ash asked.
"Please be prepared for what is about to come, your future is unclear right now." Dr Fate said. This concerned Ash.
"What do you mean?" Ash asked. Dr Fate looked at Luthor.
"Just keep your distance from that man. If you see Luthor after today, there's no telling what will happen." Dr Fate said as he disappeared. Kara heard everything Dr Fate said as she entered the room and walked towards Ash.
"You doing okay Ash?" Kara asked. Ash didn't say anything, just glaring at Luthor. Kara knew he had to get him out of here. "Hold on." She grabbed onto Ash and took him back to his place within the blink of an eye.
"What did you..." Ash started before Kara put her finger on his lips to stop him talking.
"Ash, you heard Dr Fate. Please stay away from Luthor." Kara said.
"He's planning to do something and I'm going to find out what it is." Ash said.
"Ash please, let it go. We both know what Dr Fate was saying." Kara said. She then started to cry. "I don't want to see you die." When Ash saw her cry, he didn't know how to react as he didn't expect her to break down in tears.
"Kara, please st..." Out of nowhere, Kara pressed her lips against Ash's lips and started kissing him. Ash tried to pull away but Kara was holding him in place. Suddenly, Kara was being forced away by an unknown force and suspended in mid air. It looked like she was struggling and Ash didn't know what was going on.
"What the?" Ash questioned.
"Don't worry." Ash looked to his side and saw Mewtwo. "I will erase her memory of what just happened." Mewtwo said as his eyes glowed blue. Kara's eyes glowed blue and she stopped struggling. Mewtwo then teleported her away. "She is resting at her place. She will not remember what happened."
"Thank you Mewtwo." Ash said. "Just so you know, I was trying to stop it."
"Do not worry Ash, I saw everything and I will not say anything to Harleen when she returns. You better watch how you act with Kara now though. Her memories maybe gone but her feelings for you are still there." Mewtwo said. Ash didn't know what to do now. Not only did he had to avoid Luthor, but he potentially have to avoid Kara as well.
Dr Fate's House
Amazo arrived at the common room and saw no one around, until someone showed up.
"Well, never thought I'd see you today." Amazo turned round and recognised the person.
"It's you." Amazo said as it was looking at a person with big wings. Shayera.
Next Time: Ultimatum