Chapter 19:

– Shayera –

Shayera jogged across the training deck of the Watchtower, her toned body glistening with sweat after her workout. She spotted Wonder Woman adjusting her bracers nearby and grinned as she approached.

"Hey there, wonder tits!" Shayera called out. "Where's that handsome hunk Titus been? I haven't seen him in days and feel like he's been avoiding me."

Diana visibly stiffened at the question, her movements halting for a fraction of a second. She turned to face Shayera. "I… I don't know where he is," Diana admitted. "I haven't seen him in a week at this point."

Shayera raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "Really? That's strange. A guy like Titus doesn't just vanish without someone noticing. You're sure you don't know anything?"

Diana hesitated, clearly weighing her options. Finally, she gestured for Shayera to follow her. "Come with me. We need to talk. Somewhere private..."

Intrigued, Shayera followed Diana down the hallways of the Watchtower until they reached a small, soundproof conference room. Diana locked the door behind them and turned to face her friend.

"What's with all the secrecy?" Shayera teased, leaning casually against the wall. "Is this about Titus? Because now I'm really curious."

Diana took a deep breath, clearly reluctant to share what was on her mind. "Titus disappeared a week ago… from my bed."

Shayera blinked, letting the words sink in. Then, a wicked grin spread across her face. "You mean… you two? Ah, you lucky bitch!" she exclaimed, her laughter filling the small room.

Diana stared at her, caught off guard by the reaction. "That's all you have to say?"

Shayera shrugged, her grin not fading. "So what if you're hooking up with Titus. Why would I be upset about that? If anything, I'm envious! Besides, Earth customs are a little strange to me. On Thanagar, literally no one would care. It's like that on most worlds, actually…"

Diana folded her arms, still looking uncertain. "It's not just that… We had a passionate night together and went to sleep. When I woke up he was simply gone. There was no sign he left at all..."

Shayera tapped her chin thoughtfully, her eyes narrowing as she mulled over the situation. After a moment, she snapped her fingers. "I might know a guy who can help. He's good at keeping his mouth shut and definitely won't give a shit about you and Titus."

Diana tilted her head, intrigued. "Who?"

Shayera smirked. "John Constantine. The guy's a master when it comes to weird, unsolvable shit. Trust me, he's seen so much crazier stuff than someone vanishing from their bed," she said.

Diana's shoulders relaxed, and she let out a sigh of relief. "That's better than what I've been doing… which has mostly been flying around the world searching aimlessly with Grail."

Shayera blinked. "Whoa! Now there's a shocker. I still can't believe the daughter of Darkseid is a good guy...er...good girl?"

Diana sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I wouldn't say she's good. She's more like… not evil? Grail's very selfish and just does what she wants, but she doesn't go out of her way to bother innocent people. For example, if she wanted to buy a new outfit but didn't have the money, she'd probably just steal it. But she wouldn't harass or fight any guards or heroes that showed up to stop her. She'd just fly away."

Shayera raised an eyebrow, a grin creeping onto her face. "You know, it sounds like most of our problems with that girl would be solved by giving her a credit card."

Diana chuckled softly. "Funny you should say that. I actually thought the same thing and did just that. She's been… luxurious with her purchases, but nothing I can't afford as the princess of an entire nation that's been saving up for thousands of years."

Shayera let out a laugh. "You're telling me you gave Darkseid's daughter a blank check? Damn, Diana, you've got more guts than I do."

Diana's lips curled into a faint smile. "It's worked out so far. Grail's difficult, but she's not a lost cause. And right now, I'll take any help I can get to find Titus."

Shayera nodded. "Alright, let me reach out to Constantine. Knowing him, he'll want some kind of payment, but I'm sure we can work something out."

"Thank you, Shayera," Diana said sincerely. "I appreciate this more than I can say."

"Don't sweat it. Now let's go get our man back!"

"Don't you mean my man?"

"I know what I said!"

– Titus –

The freezing wind whipped around us as I hovered in the air above the snow-covered power plant. Not that the cold bothered me—being half Kryptonian had its perks. I kept my eyes on the patrol helicopter heading straight toward us.

The rotor blades cut through the air as the soldiers inside started shouting. "We've got a supervillain attacking the power plant!" one of them yelled over their radio.

Supervillain? I rolled my eyes and scoffed.

Power Girl floated next to me, looking way too eager. "You want to knock them all out, or should I?" she asked, already grinning.

I shrugged. "Be my guest."

In a blur of red and blue, she shot toward the helicopter. The soldiers barely had time to react before she slammed into the side of the chopper, rocking it violently. They started shouting and grabbed for their weapons as Power Girl ripped the rotor blades off and tossed them into the snow. The helicopter spun out of control, and for a moment, I thought she'd let it crash. Instead, she grabbed the cockpit and steadied it, lowering the chopper to the ground in one piece. It didn't stop the soldiers, though. As soon as the helicopter hit the snow, they poured out, rifles raised and aimed at us.

"Stand down," I said, floating down to join Power Girl and Raven on the ground. "You don't want to do this."

"Like hell we don't!" one of them shouted, firing a shot that hit me square in the chest. The bullet flattened and dropped harmlessly into the snow.

I sighed. "Alright..."

The soldiers opened fire, bullets raining toward us. Power Girl darted forward, moving faster than they could see. One by one, she disarmed them, crushing rifles and tossing them aside like toys. When one of them tried to swing at her with the butt of his weapon, she caught it mid-swing and knocked him out with a flick of her wrist.

Power Girl finished off the last of them, standing amidst a pile of groaning bodies. "Guess they weren't interested in listening." She cracked her knuckles. "Their loss."

Raven hovered nearby, her cloak billowing around her. "More will come," she said. "Cyborg's people won't stop until they figure out what's going on here."

I glanced toward the horizon, where a column of armored vehicles was already making its way toward the power plant. "Looks like you're right. Let's get ready. We've got a job to do."

Power Girl grinned. "Finally, some real action!" The convoy was closer now, a line of armored trucks kicking up snow as they rumbled toward the power plant. I floated in the air next to Raven and Power Girl.

"How about we make this interesting?" I said, glancing at Power Girl. "Whoever takes out the most soldiers wins."

Power Girl smirked. "You're on. What's the prize?"

I grinned. "The winner gets to ask a favor from the loser. Anything they want."

Her eyes lit up, and she gave me a shameless grin while licking her lips. "Oh, I'm definitely winning this," she said. "No matter what!"

Raven hovered silently, her cloak billowing as she began summoning dark energy around her hands. "Children," she muttered, clearly exasperated. She stayed behind, shaking her head. "I'll just handle the ones you miss."

Power Girl reached the convoy first, slamming into the lead truck with enough force to send it skidding sideways. Soldiers spilled out, shouting and raising their weapons. She grabbed two of them by their vests and tossed them into a snowbank. "That's two for me," she called out.

"Sloppy start," I teased, zipping toward the second truck. I landed on the roof and ripped off the turret, tossing it into the snow. The soldier manning it scrambled back, but I grabbed him by the collar before I tossed him flying away. Then I yanked open the truck's doors and disarmed the two soldiers inside. "Three," I said, looking back at her.

Power Girl didn't respond—she was too busy punching the tires off the next truck, sending it lurching into the snow. The soldiers inside scrambled out, only to be knocked out one by one as she darted between them. "Six!" she shouted, giving me a smug look.

"Show-off," I muttered, flying to the back of the convoy where the largest truck was carrying some kind of heavy artillery. A soldier manned the turret, firing explosive rounds in every direction. I dodged the blasts, landing on the truck and ripping the turret off in one motion. The soldier tried to swing at me with a baton, but I grabbed his wrist and broke it with a crack.

He screamed in agony so I quickly knocked him out with a chop before tossing him into the snow. At least there was plenty of ice everywhere for that wrist…

"That's five for me," I said, yanking the truck's doors open to deal with the rest.

Meanwhile, Raven hovered above the middle of the convoy, her hands glowing with dark energy. She raised them, and black tendrils erupted from the ground, wrapping around an entire truck. The metal groaned as the shadows crumpled it like paper, spilling soldiers out onto the snow. With a wave of her hand, the tendrils gently deposited them unconscious into the snow. She sighed. "This is ridiculous," she muttered. "I'm just cleaning up their mess."

"Raven, you're ruining the competition," I called out, tossing another soldier into the snow.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I forgot this was a game…"

Power Girl darted past me, knocking two soldiers off their feet with a single punch. "Nine," she said smugly.

"Don't get cocky," I shot back, flying to intercept another group. I grabbed one by the vest and sent him tumbling into the snow, then disarmed another before he could raise his weapon. "Eight."

By the time the last truck was overturned and the soldiers were all subdued, Power Girl landed next to me, brushing snow off her suit. "Fourteen," she said triumphantly.

"Twelve," I admitted with a shrug. "You win this round."

Power Girl's grin widened, and she stepped closer. "You know what my favor is going to be?" she asked shamelessly. "You. Me. Bedroom! All night long!" She licked her lips for added effect.

I felt my face heat up, and I rubbed the back of my neck. "A deal's a deal, I suppose." Somehow I didn't even feel like I lost.

Raven scoffed loudly, crossing her arms. "Unbelievable. Both of you."

Power Girl snickered, turning to Raven. "Oh, don't act so high and mighty. You've already been with Titus yourself. You even went off and snuck yourself into his bed ahead of me!"

Raven's pale cheeks turned bright pink as she sputtered in embarrassment. "I… That is… I don't know what you're talking about!" she stammered.

Power Girl laughed and flew over to her, wrapping her in a tight hug. "You're so cute when you're flustered," she teased.

I couldn't help but glance at the sight of the two beautiful superwomen hugging, their bodies and skimpy costumes pressed tightly together. It was… distracting, to say the least.

Power Girl caught my stare and gave me a shameless wink before planting a playful kiss on Raven's cheek. "Don't worry, Titus," she said with a grin. "I'll share."

"I hope so," I said with a smirk.

Raven pulled away from the hug, her composure barely restored. She cleared her throat. "With these soldiers taken out, the next group is going to be members of the regime," she said.

"We'll be ready," I said confidently, though a knot tightened in my stomach. I couldn't ignore the possibility that I'd be clashing with my alternate mother and father soon. Hera's training had given me a solid power boost. I was sure I could take either one of them in a one-on-one fight, but both at the same time? That might be a struggle… Just a small struggle though…

More than that though, I didn't really want to kill either of them. Especially not the woman who looked and acted so much like my own mother. The thought made my chest tighten, but I shook it off.

I decided to change the subject to district myself. "I wonder how Billy's doing…?" I asked out loud.

"I'm sure he's doing just fine," Power Girl said with a shrug.

– Shazam –

Billy Batson, better known as Shazam, wasn't feeling very confident about the mission. While the others were up in Alaska dealing with the power plant, he had been tasked with heading to Atlantis alongside none other than Hercules.

Their job? Convince Queen Mera to overthrow her husband, Aquaman, and send the Atlantean soldiers back into the ocean where they belonged.

Billy glanced at Hercules, who swam beside him with ease. "I don't know how we're going to pull this off," Billy muttered.

Hercules grinned confidently. "We'll use our roguish charms to seduce the beautiful Atlantean queen! Poseidon should have tried this tactic from the start. I've seduced many a fair maiden or warrior princess."

Billy's face turned red. Despite looking like an adult as Shazam, he was still only ten years old. He made sure to point that out. "Uh, you do remember I'm a kid, right? I don't think I can seduce anyone!"

Hercules blinked, then laughed. "Oh… right. Never mind my thoughts about enticing her with a devil's threesome with two buff men, then… Too bad, I was sure that plan would have worked."

Huh?

"What does that mean?" Billy asked, genuinely confused.

"Nothing you need to worry about!" Hercules said quickly, waving him off. They continued swimming toward the palace. Thanks to their godly powers, both of them could breathe underwater without issue. It was one of the reasons Batman had chosen them for this mission—or so he'd said.

Billy suspected there was another reason. Batman probably wanted him out of harm's way. With Aquaman and his armies gone, there wouldn't be anyone under the ocean who could actually hurt him. Not to mention, Billy's lightning powers made him incredibly dangerous underwater.

Not that he'd ever killed anyone or wanted to. The thought made his stomach churn.

Sometimes, Billy didn't understand adults. They always seemed to find new ways to argue, fight, and start wars over stupid things. Life would be so much easier if everyone just chilled out, ate more junk food, and played video games.

As they approached the palace, two Atlantean guards swam into view, tridents in hand. Their postures stiffened when they spotted Billy and Hercules. "Halt, intruders! Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

Billy opened his mouth to explain that they came in peace, but Hercules had already surged forward. He punched one of the guards square in the face. The man's head snapped back, and he floated there, clearly unconscious.

Billy gaped at Hercules. "What are you doing?!"

Hercules shrugged nonchalantly. "This way is faster. He was keeping us from seeing a sexy redheaded queen."

Billy slapped his palm to his face. "This is not going to go well," he muttered to himself.

The remaining guard hesitated, gripping his trident tightly but looking unsure. "Do not take another step! You will not defile the palace of Atlantis!"

Before Billy could defuse the situation, more guards swam out of the palace, armed with halberds and surrounded by swirling water magic. Their expressions were anything but welcoming.

"This is bad," Billy said, his voice low.

The guards attacked in unison, their weapons gleaming as currents of water surged toward them. Hercules didn't flinch. He charged forward, tanking every hit like they were nothing. Halberds clanged off his skin, and bursts of water magic dissipated on impact. The guards' attacks were relentless, but Hercules seemed to be enjoying himself.

With a booming laugh, he swung his fists, knocking guards aside one by one. They floated in the water, unconscious but alive. It wasn't long before the entire group was subdued.

Billy just floated there, watching in disbelief. "There's no way the queen is going to be happy about us beating up all her people," he grumbled.

Hercules wiped his hands together as if dusting them off, except he seemed to forget they were underwater so it was impossible for them to get dusty. "This is the most fun I've had in decades!" he declared. "I really need to leave Olympus and get out more. The home of the gods is a paradise, but even a paradise can get boring after a while. Sometimes, a man just needs to punch something."

Billy groaned. "I'm never going to hear the end of this," he muttered, swimming past the unconscious guards toward the palace.

…

Release the Kracken!" Queen Mera declared as soon as he and Hercules reached the throne room.

Yep, she was not happy…

"Hell yeah! It's been a while since I fought a giant tentacle monster!" Hercules cheered.

The entire Underwater Palace shook has a creature larger than anything Billy had ever seen in his entire life appeared in the distance.

Billy wondered how everyone else was faring…?

– Batman Injustice –

Batman frowned as Raven's voice came through the comms, reporting that Titus, Power Girl, and herself had already engaged soldiers of the regime.

He had hoped they'd have more time before Cyborg's network picked up on their activities. It seemed Cyborg's algorithms were becoming more advanced, now that he had complete control of the Watchtower's systems.

"Are we going to turn on this portal machine or what?" Green Arrow asked impatiently, standing near the control panel. "Everything's plugged in, right? Let's do this!"

"Arrow's right," Black Canary added. "We shouldn't waste any more time."

Batman's gaze shifted to Mister Terrific, who stood near the console, double-checking connections. The hero had recently defected from the regime, and his expertise had been instrumental in putting the portal machine together.

"I'm just making sure everything works perfectly," Terrific said. "We need to hit the right dimension on the first try. It's a big multiverse, and who knows what's lurking out there, waiting for someone stupid to open a gateway to their world."

"Bah, you're just being paranoid," Green Arrow said, rolling his eyes. Without warning, he slammed his fist down on the console. The large circular portal machine immediately whirred to life, spinning and lighting up as the gateway activated.

Batman's eyes widened under his cowl. "Wait!" he barked, but it was too late.

"I didn't add Titus's DNA yet!" Mister Terrific shouted in panic.

The portal shimmered to life, revealing nothing but empty black space on the other side. Batman let out a small sigh of relief, but his glare shifted to Green Arrow, who held up his hands defensively.

"Alright, my bad, my bad," Arrow said sheepishly. "Let's just turn it off and try again—gahhhh!" He let out a high-pitched squeak as a massive, slimy tentacle covered in hundreds of blinking eyeballs slid into the room through the portal.

The entire team froze as the eyeballs swiveled, focusing on everyone present. The room filled with an unsettling, wet squelching sound as the tentacle moved closer.

"Oh shit," Mister Terrific muttered. "I think that's some kind of eldritch monstrosity."

"Well, don't call it that! That's just rude," Green Arrow quipped nervously as the tentacle loomed over him. "Um… hi?" he said awkwardly.

Black Canary, proving to be wiser than her boyfriend, backed away slowly until she was standing near Batman.

The tentacle's many eyes blinked in unison before it suddenly lashed out with incredible speed!

"Hey, let that go!" Green Arrow shouted as the tentacle grabbed his high-tech bow and yanked it backward through the portal. The bow disappeared into the void, leaving Arrow gaping in disbelief.

"That space monster just robbed me!" he grumbled.

Mister Terrific slammed a button on the console, shutting the portal down before anything else could come through.

Batman exhaled sharply and rubbed his temples. "Arrow, please don't touch anything else. Go grab a spare bow out of the plane..."

"You just have spare bows lying around in your Batplane? Why?" Green Arrow asked incredulously.

"I plan for all situations… mostly," Batman said in a deadpan. He turned back to Mister Terrific. "Let's make sure this doesn't happen again."

"I'll just need around 5 minutes to make sure everything's perfect this time."

– Damien Wayne –

Damien grinned as he stared at the glowing yellow ring on his finger. He clenched his fist, feeling the surge of power radiating through him. "Finally! I have the power to fight on the same level as that bastard!" he declared, his voice filled with a twisted sense of triumph.

"Uh-huh," Sinestro said, floating nearby with his arms crossed. His tone was unimpressed. "Listen, kid, usually I don't just hand these rings out willy-nilly. Joining the Sinestro Corps requires you to already be a being capable of spreading great fear, but I have a good feeling about you, so I'll make an exception." Sinestro leaned closer. "Keep in mind, you'll have to follow my orders from now on. MY Orders..."

Damien nodded, his face a picture of perfect compliance. "Of course."

…A second later, his molecular katana lashed out with blinding speed. The enhancement from his new yellow power ring made him faster and stronger than ever before. Sinestro's eyes widened in shock as his head separated from his shoulders and tumbled to the floor. His body collapsed in a heap, yellow light flickering and fading from his lifeless form.

Damien smirked. "The only one whose orders I'll follow is Superman!" he declared.

There was a knock at the door, and Damien called out, "Come in."

The door slid open, and Cyborg stepped inside. He took one look at Sinestro's decapitated body and sighed. "Can you stop being so murder-happy, kid? Yes, he was a villain, but he pledged his support to Superman only a few days ago."

Damien scoffed. "Oh, please. We all knew the day was coming when Superman and Sinestro would fight it out for control of the yellow lanterns. I just sped up the inevitable." He watched with mild interest as Sinestro's ring slid off the corpse's finger and floated into the air. A couple of seconds later, it shimmered and vanished, flying off to find its next master somewhere in the universe.

"Whatever," Cyborg muttered, brushing past the body. "Anyway, my satellites have located Titan, Power Girl, and… Raven." He said the last name hesitantly.

Damien's head snapped up at the mention of Raven. "Where is she?" he demanded.

"I just notified Superman and Wonder Woman," Cyborg said. "For some reason, the three of them are outside a power plant in the middle of Alaska. A power plant that's not responding to any of my signals on the net. I sent some regular regime soldiers to investigate, but none of them reported back. Satellites show they're all knocked out and tied up in the snow."

Damien raised an eyebrow, a mocking grin spreading across his face. "Sparing the lives of your enemies? How soft. I'll bet anything this is one of Father's plans. Who knows what crazy scheme he's cooked up to 'save the world.'"

Cyborg glanced at him. "Are you going to head out and stop him?"

"No," Damien grumbled. "My only target is Titus. He and I have a score to settle. He's the reason my brother is dead!"

Cyborg hesitated. "Er… if you say so. Just so you know, Wonder Woman will not be happy if you kill her son..."

Damien rolled his eyes. "He's not her son, and I'm sure she'll get over it once Superman knocks her up or something. He'll need heirs to stabilize the new world order."

"I guess that makes sense," Cyborg said, nodding. He tapped a few buttons on his forearm console. "Here are the exact coordinates."

Damien took the information, a dark grin spreading across his face. "Perfect."

XXX

Thanks for reading!

I have a patreo n. My subs can read advanced updates of my stories ahead of standard release and even check out pics for some of the more naughty chapters. That's a recent development though.

Link:

Patreo n .com (slash) Starwaves

Here is the list of Current Advanced Chapters:

The Fallen Gamer ch 310-314

The Fox Hole 42

The Titan 21

The Blood Queen 28

The Fox Hole 41

The Fox Hole 40

The Blood Queen 27

The Titan 20

The Fox Hole 39

The Blood Queen 26

The Fox Hole 38