The "World of Heroes" DC RPG Season VII

[Saved]

TwoFace​

"Gordon's been looking for you."

As I rise to my feet on the rooftop of a Gotham City skyscraper, my head feels light and my eyes flutter. A rush of blood goes to my head, dissorienting me, and causing me to stumble back and forth. "Looking for me..." I mutter as the words from Batwoman resound in my head.

"Gordon..." Right, Gordon. Still untrusting - ever the good cop. Always by the book with him. Well... sometimes.

As I catch my weight on my legs I stabilize, holding my body straight and planting my feet firmly on the concrete surface. I continue to give the illusion of unbalance and confusion, faking a dizzy stumbling as a rush of wind blows to my back. "What's the charge?" I growl to my female vigilante guest, already knowing what her answer will be.

"You murderer six thugs," she frowns. "And countless others over the past ten months."

"What were they beside expendable?" I ask, stealthily sticking my hand into my pocket. "Would they not just rush out onto the streets to cause more mayhem and death?"
"That's not the point, Harvey." She states in a deep voice. "You've never understood the line. The line you always cross."
"I cross the line?" I ask as my fingers wrap around the handle of the pistol. "What about you? Picking up his mantle even in his death."

"I'm not claiming to be him." She says with a scowl. "You're the one proclaiming avidly that you're continuing the Batman's mission. But he never killed, Harvey. He never took a life - no matter what."

"Can you honestly tell me what I do isn't for the best?"

She stays silent, simply staring at me with her mouth closed shut. She knows the truth I've known all along - the truth Bruce never faced. I smile as I lean back on my legs, slowly pulling my arm from my pocket. I test the waters and step back, making my way to the building's edge. "Batman may have been naive, but I know you aren't." I shout, the strong winds beginning to drown out my voice. "Think of the thousands that would be alive if he had crossed the line. Think of what would be if he killed Bane, or Scarecrow ... or Joker." My foot suddenly steps on the edge of the building and a wide grin comes across my face.

"...Harvey, what are you doing?" She asks, moving fast toward me.

"Tell Gordon thanks for the sentiment," quickly I pull the gun from my pocket and fire. "But I have a city to save." As she drops to the ground to evade the bullet, I leap backward, sending myself falling fast through the cold night air.

You know, Harvey, I hear him speak, finally coming out of the shadows of my mind to haunt me once more. I'm not sure this was the best escape route...
Did you have any better ideas?
Like ideas that keep us from becoming a red mess on the pavement?
...Shut up.​

 

[trustyside-kick]

OOC: Previously...

Chuckling within his helmet, Black Manta signals his men and they draw nearer and nearer to Aquaman. They do not strike; they merely await for further orders. Black Manta studies his prey for a brief moment, relishing the sight that the great and powerful Aquaman struggles to breathe comfortably right before his eyes. Top it off with the fact that he is now at the villain's mercy, and Manta is having the first good day he's had in a long time.

"Hehe...No. You don't get it, Arthur. There is no door number 3. Though you've just presented me with even more entertainment so I guess I get a door number 3 with having you suffer along with your family isntead of one of them. Hahahaha."

"Manta...ple--please."

"Heh...hehe...hehah...hehehahahaha! Boys, it looks like you're going to all have the pleasure of gutting the King of the Seven Seas. My what a trophy he'd make. I think I'll hang your head on my wall Arthur."

Floating slowly backwards as his men swarm closer and closer to Orin, Black Manta nods at them. Except for the men keeping a perimeter in check, the rest holster their weapons and instead pull out injection needles. In unison, they all raise the needle to the side of their necks, and inject themselves.

"Years ago, I toyed with the experiment of giving my men gills. But you saw the side-effects to that wacky procedure. This however, as you can see, is a bit more sophisticated. Just like O.G.R.E. supplied me with the prototype toxin, they supplied me with this."

Black Manta raises up his own supply of the injection serum before putting it away in one of his suit compartments. Each suited-up henchmen removes their helmets, but before they suffer the same side-effects of oxygen deprivation that Orin, Mera, and Kym suffer, they each swallow capsules.

"It grants the user an uncanny adaption required to survive underwater. Now, not abilities on par with your own...but I'd say it more or less levels the playing field. So last chance, Arthur. Combine that with the antidote to the toxin I have this entire facility swimming in that they all just swallowed and, well...heh, you're in for quite a show. Either you choose who dies--your wife or your child--or I unleash my men on you and they can watch in agony as you die along with them."

His name is Arthur Curry.

His name is also Orin, and he was the former King of Atlantis. For a large gap of his life, he has been commonly labeled with the superhero name Aquaman. And for years, these two identities clashed; a never-ending battle. Outweighing one's responsibilities as a King with one's allegiance to protecting all life on Earth is not always easy. What happens above the surface can so easily affect what happens below the surface of the ocean and vice versa.

And that is why after all these years as trying to play both roles, the Marine Marvel had passed the throne over to his long-time protege Tempest. But before he handed over the Atlantean Crown he had set into motion, a union with the United States Government. For the safety and security of his people, and more importantly his family...he completely restructured the politics of Atlantean law.

But the law can only protect the common citizen from so much. Not everyone can be protected from...supervillains. And that is where the Aquatic Ace finds himself dealing with right now: a supervillain. Black Manta has plotted a revenge scheme on the former Sea King and both his wife and daughter's lives are at stake.

"...I already told you, Manta. I cannot make that decision."

"Then it's decided..."

"...you choose all the above."

 

[Watchman]

"In the end we will all be equal."

"This was one of the members of the so called Religion of Crime. A warning the following footage is not for younger viewers."

"Gotham is merely experience a fraction of what he will bring. In his eyes we are insect crawling along waiting for him to stomp out our existence." The camera pans backwards to show a cop car behind them in flames.

"We are all in him. We are all one. Choice, thought, being will all be destroyed in his wake. Reality will all crumble into one, all into..." The camera cuts out.

"I'll like to thank tonight's guests for joining me. We are here to discuss Gotham. Gotham has begun a never ending warzone and now what seems like a religious battlefield.....who are you?" Someone had walked into the studio.

"All we oppose with free thought must be cast off and let to rot."

"Christ, he's got a bomb!"

"Die! Die for..."
******
The Batman moves across the rooftops of Gotham like a shadow. The Caped Destroyer comes across his destination, the Gotham City Opera House. Out back a few vans wait for him. There are some members waiting for him, they all stare at him with indifference. The same look they give Godfrey as he walks out.

"Ah, our litte horseman has arrive. Welcome to the show that will never end."

"A most unorthadox move, Godfrey. A concert what purpose does holding this concert?"

"Nope, that would be telling. You're going to have to wait for opening night."

"What's in the vans?"

"Will one of you roadies of anti-thought be so kind." They opened the vans to reveal people wearing black suits and domino masks, tied up. "I give you the Gotham City Orchesta. I have something very special plan. A song composed through him with the tune to the screams of a billion dying worlds. Are own technology breeding the perfect sound weapon but you're going to have to wait."

"Fine, what did you need me for?"

"Protection, of course."

"From what? The cops can be easily dealt with, without me." Godfrey gave him a coy smile. "Fine, is that all?"

"Oh yes, continue to spread his name with naplam, broken bones, and bullets. Not really subtle but I can't complain." The Batman had disappeared.

 

[Blacklight]

Sweet beads on my forehead as I push against the energy. Without warning, the pressure against my shield drops away and I shoot forward with the lack of resistance. It takes me a moment to stop myself from falling and realize what just happened.

I respond to Hawkman's words. "I thought I did scan it." I focus my ring again, and detect nothing below the buildings but ground.

Wait...that can't be right. I literally detect nothing but ground. There should be pipes, and conduits, and other signs of utilities beneath the streets. Yet I see nothing but ground. Except beneath the cannon.

"That bastard. He's cloaking his base just like he did the satellite!"

I follow the billowing smoke down to the ground, ignoring the screaming people running away from the remains of the massive weapon. I land next to Hawkman who's inspecting his handiwork.

"Nice job. Save any for Sivana?"

"I certainly hope so." Jay Garrick appears out of nowhere. "Flash and Cap will be along in a second. You know how slow they are."

"Ahem..." I cleared my throat as me and Cap were already standing behind Jay, who was happy to see us.

"You were saying?"

 

[Catman_prb]

"Now you're gonna get it," Powerboy says as he grabs Rose by the throat. "Now I'm gonna rip you limb from LIMB!"

"Great, now you've annoyed me greatly," Tim muttered to the raging psycopathic Apokolyptan.

The Boy Wonder leapt onto Powerboy's back, wrapping his legs around the maniac's torso. He wrapped his hands into a fist and slammed the fist into his face, hard. Powerboy grabbed Tim by the top of his training outfit and flung him into the wall. He landed awkwardly, but pulled himself back up into a fighting stance.

"Why don't you leave my girlfriend the hell alone," he shouted, throwing a hard punch, moving himself at the waist, connecting his fist with the superpowered menace's jaw.

 

[Keyser Soze]

"This is nice, isn't it?"

The Joker and Bruce Wayne walked through the downtrodden East End of Gotham City. What was stopping Bruce from escaping or attacking The Joker was a collar around his neck. A useful old gadget The Joker had picked up on his travels. He had the trigger strapped to his hand. If Bruce tried to run away, The Joker would press the trigger, and the collar would explode. If Bruce attacked him, The Joker would press the trigger, and the collar would explode. If Bruce tried to tamper with the collar or remove it, the collar would explode. The real Batman would have neutralised it within a minute, so that was something to look forward to. For now, though, it was a pretty good way to ensure he had the pleasure of his company for this important trip.

"I hope you don't mind me changing your outfit while you were sleeping. We don't dress up like ninjas in America, so I wanted you to look a little less....conspicuous."

Bruce Wayne was dressed up in a novelty beer hat, complete with twisty straws, a pair of oversized, pink-rimmed sunglasses, a Hawaiian shirt, a kilt, and a pair of bunny slippers.

"I think it's a good look for you."

Bruce made no response. He hadn't said a word to The Joker since he had awoken. And so they walked on in silence, until they reached their destination.

Crime Alley.

"Here it is, my friend. If this doesn't spark some memories, nothing will. Take a look..."

The Joker ran nimbly down the alleyway, stopping around halfway, not far from the back entrance of an old, disused theatre. He turned to face Bruce, and knelt down on his knees, making himself the size of a child.

"This is where you were when your parents were shot dead. You looked up at the man who killed them, and right then.... right then you knew your life would be dedicated to stopping people like him. At that very moment, in this very place.... you became Batman."

 

[trustyside-kick]

It seems that this is the only way out: a fight to the death. But at the same time, even if Aquaman takes down all of Manta's men...will that be enough to stir the crazed villain to free his family of this wretched facility. Of course...would there still be anytime left?

With each stroke he makes with Poseidon's trident, bashing in one of the jaw's of Manta's man and with each punch he throws in defense of his life, his strength diminishes. With each passing second, he gets closer and closer to suffocating in the very domain he once reigned supreme.

"YAAAH!!"

But he cannot give up.

His wife and child watch on, with what strength they have left as they remain held against their will. His wife chained to where she cannot gesture her hands and utilize her incredible hard-water manipulation abilities. And his child...dear old baby Kym, simply cries draped in a cloth as she hangs from a hook. What little fight he has with him as he suffers from more and more oxygen deprivation, he fights mainly for her.

"OOOFF!!"

He fights so that they may somehow survive this nightmare, and go on trying to live the life he had hoped to finally be able to live when he passed down the Crown to Garth. That's all he ever wanted: to do it right this time around. He fights for the days that he will always remember, as little Kym as a young girl finally gets her legs moving, and races her father all across the kingdom. The citizens will see her blitzing through the water, faster than her father, and all will point and say 'That's Orin's lovely girl. Look at her go.' leaving him with a smile. He fights for the day that she will grow into a beautiful young woman, and meet the Prince Charming of her dreams.

"AAHH!! ARRGGH!"

He fights for her future.

Any mother or father will willingly sacrifice their life so long as their children remain safe. Live a good life. That's all any real parent wants for their children.

They tare at his suit, and they tare at his flesh. These men are vicious as they are relentless. Manta has provided them a tough punching bag, with skin so strong that they could be at this for hours before they actual cause real damage. But then again, with all the oxygen deprivation it's only a matter of minutes until the Marine Marvel collapses.

Black Manta halts his men with nothing more than a gesture. The Aquatic Ace's very own blood floats around them and himself as he finally catches a moment to breathe; although it's somewhat of an oxymoron given the amount of oxygen in this water is rapidly decreasing with each passing minute.

"Have you had enough, Arthur? You want this pain to stop? You know exactly what to do. Hehehe...all you gotta do is choose."

Struggling to keep his composure steady, the former Sea King manages to look Manta in the eye. Without any thought and without warning, he spits out the blood from his mouth in Manta's direction. Black Manta chuckles, and with another hand gesture unleashes his men upon Orin once more.

 

[Batman]

"This is where you were when your parents were shot dead. You looked up at the man who killed them, and right then.... right then you knew your life would be dedicated to stopping people like him. At that very moment, in this very place.... you became Batman."

I am going to kill this idiot.

The decision comes to me with relative ease, but the hours of humiliation, torture, and betrayal that have brought me from my home - my throne - my very life as I know it, all but fortified the feelings of insurmountable hatred I feel towards this... nuisance of a man. I underestimated him before, I know this now. Infact, my ignorance may very well have been playing right into the hands of a terrorist mastermind of the highest proportions. But despite the consequence of failure looming about as I try to study my captor's bizarre methodology, I have promised myself one final victory if I am to die on this day: to see the grinning head before me, lifeless, on a stake above one of my castle's corridors.

Yet I fear such a comforting thought would never win back the feigning dignity that has been stripped away from me, brought down by the mocking laughter that I hear in my enemy's voice every time he catches a glimpse of my eyes. My cold stares of vengeful anger mean nothing to him. And it is at this point that I feel something come over me that I have never once experienced.

I feel helpless.

"Why?", I ask him, unable to look up and focus on my surroundings. "Why do you keep calling me that? That... that name."

My teeth grind together, trying to make sense of the madness. Raindrops splash across my legs, as thunder clouds survey the night's sky. Despite pressing circumstances, it is the sensation that washes over me that grabs my immediately interest. The air around me begins to feel familiar... yet indifferent, as if intentionally trying to cascade the confliction within my mind. In comparison to the purifying sands of the Sahara, the sights and smells I now face are unbearably putrid, yet... comforting. It is almost like I have found myself in a natural environment in and of itself. An urban nightmare of the most perplexing sense, yet in it, I feel both calm and at peace.

I have never been here.

Have I?

Masking my uncertainty with resolve, I think only about my wife and son. The two people that matter most to me in this world, as their memory keeps me focused. I will not be fooled by this gesture. "I don't know what purpose you were trying to seek out, jester. But you've wasted both your time and mine. I told you before, and I will tell you again. I am The Demon's Head. Sworn ruler of The League of Shadows. And I have never been... and never will be the man you mistake me for."

 

[Andy C.]

Love.

Since the dawn of time, creatures across the universe have studied, fought for and lived for love. It is one of the constants in a universe that seems controlled by chaos. One is born, one loves, one dies. Why, what, who and how have dominated the thoughts of those from the Alpha galaxy all the way to the Promethean.

But what of hate?

What is that makes one person hate another?

The villainous Zod holds Superman in a grip, his hand settled around Superman’s neck. His eyes alight and emit a red, burning ray. Superman winces, turning his face away, while Zod smiles and applies more pressure. Casually, the villain releases his grip as he flings the hero away, sending him hurtling out across the void behind the Source Wall.

“An infinite amount of yellow suns, orbiting around infinite planets, in infinite universes,” the Kryptonian criminal says. He breathes out a hail of icy air to freeze and contain his adversary. In the void there is no air, but then, within the void, there is every thing.

Zod charges forward while he rears back his fist. “You want to know why, Kal-El?”

Why indeed?

Why would one man hate another?

“You killed me.”

Zod’s fist shatters the ice, Superman gasps. The villain’s hands shoot out, grabbing the hero’s uniform. It nearly tears as Zod pulls his opponent closer. Their eyes lock and then Zod glances downwards, his heat-vision searing into the emblem Superman wears so proudly. The ‘S’ that not only symbolises him, but his lineage.

“You resemble your father,” the Kryptonian general chuckles as he viciously head butts his enemy. Superman crashes into the Source Wall, which cracks slightly as the hero impacts.

“Truthfully, if the circumstances had been different, if it had been another, I might well have commended you for doing what your father could not.” Zod goes for another blow, but it narrowly misses and instead strikes the Source Wall, sending ripples down its sides. Superman quickly delivers a left hand hook, which, while painful, is unable to make Zod smile any less.

“In that, you were always better than Jor-El.”

Zod jabs Superman in the stomach and the hero doubles over.

“And perhaps I could’ve lived with you as the final representative of our race, in time.”

An uppercut.

“But I can’t.”

Superman gravitates slowly towards Zod, who pulls back his fist.

“Because no matter how much you might – eventually, unwittingly – follow in my footsteps…”

A devastating blow.

“It would still be you.”

You ever walk past a pretty girl, or boy, or whatever strikes your fancy, and just know? Just get that feeling? Even if you’ve never felt it, you’ve heard about it, read about it or maybe even seen it happen. That feeling has been described by people past, present, future and in galaxies far far away.

Sometimes, love is just that love.

And hate.

Sometimes hate is just that too.

Hate.

Blow after blow, I can feel myself losing this fight. He's as strong as he ever was, maybe even stronger. And with my powers still weakened, I can't keep up.

Even if I could go toe-to-toe with him, even if I could match his punches that blur my vision and numb my senses, how could I justify it? It's not like this anger and hatred came from nowhere; I killed him. I literally took his life away from him. I've died in battle before, but I at least spent some time in Heaven before coming back. Zod was a aspiring tyrant and a would-be butcher of billions; I can't even imagine what happened to him when he died.

Another fist finds its mark in my gut, and I can taste blood rising up into my mouth. Yet another crashes into my ribs, forcing all the air from my lungs. Finally, he catches me across the jaw, and I black out.

.....

Come on, Kal, you've got more in you than that!

....Kara?

Get back in there and fight! You're SUPERMAN, for God's sake! Now kick his ass and save the day!

.....

My vision re-focuses, and for a moment I'm able to see past the murderous spirit of one of my most powerful enemies, and see what really lies beyond the Source Wall.

It's not Heaven or Hell.

It's not a parallel universe.

It's....everything.

Absolutely every life, afterlife, dimension or plane of reality that one could ever imagine, and just as many that one couldn't. Infinite strata of existence play out in all directions in a way that is at the same time absolute chaos and perfectly ordered. Outside of the boundaries of the universe I know, all possibilities are laid bare. I see the beauty of Creation in its most basic and essential state...

...and I remember why I was forced to take Zod's life in the first place.

He wanted to destroy it all. My home. My friends. Ma and Pa. Lois. And I don't doubt for a second that he wouldn't have stopped there. Beyond the bravado, the smugness, the sense of twisted devotion to our home world, Zod has become consumed by his rage. He's not just a man who hates anymore; he's become hate itself. I look at Zod, and all I see is destruction.

I look him dead in the eye, and catch the next punch he throws like it's nothing.

"Zod," I say, finally matching his crimson gaze with Heat-vision of my own, "I really hope you've got more up your sleeve than this. Because I don't give up easy."

Kick his ass and save the day.

Sometimes, the 'right thing' is a lot simpler than we think.

 

[NiteMare Shape]

​

"So do you think you can help me? Can you find my daughter?"

I look across my desk at a woman who is clearly desperate. I do not have to reach into her mind to see that she has already done everything she can to find her little girl, to no avail. When this woman came into my office and began relaying her story, I could not help but to feel for her. Her six year old daughter Maggie has been missing for several weeks, seemingly taken from the playground near here apartment complex. No witnesses, no leads. A brazen abduction in broad daylight. The woman who sits before me has lost faith in the ability of anyone to bring her daughter home. She is a single mother with limited income, having been to several private investigators hoping for a miracle, only to be laughed at when they realize that she doesn't have the money to pay.

"Don't you think that perhaps you should let the police continue with their investigation?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"Mr. Jones, the police haven't done anything. I keep calling the detectives that are in charge of the case, and on the rare occasions that they actually return my call, they won't tell me anything. I just want my little girl back."

I want to tell her that I am sure that the police are doing everything in their power to find Maggie, but I know that it won't help this woman. She doesn't understand that these things can take time, and unfortunately in cases like this...the more time passes, the less likely it is to recover the child. So I look the young woman in the eye, smile and tell her...

"I'll help you."

The woman, Cassandra, she said her name is smiles...tears streaming down her face as she thanks me, telling me that she may not be able to pay me, but she will find a way. I tell her to think nothing of it, and that I will do what I can to return Maggie to her. She continues to thank me even as she leaves my office. After she is gone; I continue to sit at my desk, thinking about how humanity can be so cruel...that the desire for money and material possessions comes before the life of a little girl. I look down at the photograph that Cassandra had given me of her daughter, and for just a moment, I find myself thinking about my own family...and how empty I feel without them.

"K'hym....."

Snapping my self back into the here and now, I head out into the streets to find little Maggie, and to save Cassandra from a lifetime of the same regrets that I myself feel.​

 

[trustyside-kick]

Mercy Reef.

It's where Orin was condemned to die as a baby. A superstitious fear brought upon his people for nothing more than having blonde hair. Fear that he would bring on destruction on the scale of his ancestor Kordax, who used his uncanny abilities and powers over the creature of the deep to wreak havoc across the ocaeanscape. But as the tides were about to change, before the young infant could die of suffocation the very creatures of the deep came to his aid. Creatures as simple as marine life, knew that Orin was not a threat but a blessing to the seas.

"ARRGH!!"

"Just let hem go, Manta. Please. You've gotten what you want."

He grew up, and he grew up strong. When he grew curious he ventured to the surface world, and met a lighthouse keeper. He viewed the man so highly he was practically his adoptive father, and even took on a surface-world name: Arthur Curry. Realizing that his destiny lied with the oceans, he swore to protect all marine life. For years he donned the superhero name given to him by the public and original Flash: Aquaman. Taking up a side-kick, a young boy who much like him was practically discouraged among the Atlantean people at birth because of his purple eyes, and together Aquaman and Aqualad patrolled the Seven Seas.

"Stop it! Orin, no!!"

Mera. Not too much later did he and Aqualad run into Mera. A beautiful woman from another water world dimension. She quickly fell in love with Aquaman, risking everything. Never able to return to her dimension she took the role as his wife and Queen proudly. She mothered a child for him, and it was the happiest day of his life: Arthur Jr. Of course, most people just called him Aquababy and instantly the Aquatic Ace dreamt of a remarkable future for his son.But that dream was taken from him. Taken from the hands of Black Manta on that fateful day. That day forever changed Aquaman. It forever left a scar. The loss of a child caused a family to tare apart and a marriage to fall through. A friendship that was as strong as any just...melted away, and from the ashes lied only memories to forever haunt them.

Mercy Reef...this is also where Arthur Jr. is buried.

"M--Manta...plea--ARRGH!"

It took a long time for Orin's wounds to heal and for him to fince peace. He got remarried, and through that reunion they gave it another shot: had another baby. While nothing can ever replace the memory of Aquababy from the former Sea King's heart, nothing can ever replace what Kym has meant to him these past few months. And he's not ready to lose her too.

"WAAAH!! WAH!! WAAAAAHHH!"

Mera and Kym cry in the background, though the volume of their cries and screams are muffled from all the comotion that Manta's own men makes as they beat up Orin like a peace of dead meat. Punch for punch, kick for kick...they are without mercy and relentless.

Black Manta stops his men again, but this time for good. Orin pants deeply, looking his arch-nemesis coldly in the eyes as the devilish villain sadistically smirks. About to speak, Orin is stopped as Manta swiftly kicks him right in the face.

"AAAH!!"

"NO!"

"WAAAH!! WAH!"

With two of Manta's men grabbing Orin by the arms, and pulling him up, the Marine Marvel is bound as Manta speaks to him what he plans to be his last words to his long-time foe.

"This is where it ends, Arthur. As it should. It ends where it all began. Look back on your life. Hehe, go on. I'll grant you this small favor. Think about how all of this could have been avoided, and sulk in it. Your pathetic, sad, dramatic little life. Sulk in it and--WHAT?"

All of a sudden, the young baby Kym is no where to be seen. Immediately Black Manta immediately looks to the mother Mera but she is as surprised as him; frightened even.

"Where the HELL is that baby? How did she--"

Suddenly, the very water around them--in the entire facility--starts to swirl and become turbulent. In the background of it all, echoing throughout the walls of the facility is the cry of baby Kym. It's as though she has become some sort of omnipotent being, screaming from the heavens, whose voice just booms throughout the water.

Without warning, the very walls of the facility tare open like paper and Manta and his men become sucked into a whirlpool. The turbulent waters break the chains that once kept Mera bound, and instantly she gestures with her hands to create a hardwater bubble around her and Orin. Keeping her form tight and strong, they are impervious to the drift and pull of the strong waters as she increases the weight of the construct.

"This cannot be happening. This CANNOT be happening! NO!!!"

With his best effort, the villain presses a button on the forearm of his suit, and his manta-shaped sea craft comes in from the distance. Pressing yet another button, Black Manta is able to shoot a grapling to the ship, and with one last button the engine starts up. Making his getaway, Manta looks back at what's left of his men and the facility as it appears that the very water of the deep had become alive and violent.

 

[Red_Robin77]

"Why thank you, Mister Torchbearer." I say with a smirk.

"Last time I was here, I heard you midgets gabbing about something called 'Blackest Night'. Me and the kid here found out what it is, and we want to know what you little smurfs are doing about it."

"Mind your tongue, Honor Lantern Gardner. You dance with insubortination."

"I know you think of me as a dumb earth-man that came from a monkey, but I gotta tell you something. What I saw today made me sick, sick to my stomach. I saw my fellow lanterns slaughtered, and you all knew it was coming?"

"The Blackest Night is a fairy tale, a story designed to put fear into the corps."

"From what I saw today, it sure as **** did that."

"This prophecy will not come to past, the new rule has made us possible to even the playing field against our enemies."

"You mean we're stooping down to their level? Before long, we'll be nothing but those goddamn red monsters that killed hundreds of us!"

"SILENCE! One more word, Lantern Gardner. And you will be expelled from the Corps and sent to Qward for the rest of your days."

"Hey! At least he's talking same damn sense!"

"That is enough from both of you! You have no power over us and so you shall not command us!"

"We're just trying to get some sanity into you! You need to do something, before it's too late. Who's going to save the universe when we're gone?"

The Guardians merely frown down at me, anger spewing inside them. This is pointless. Why the hell isn't there another way to get a point across? You'd think it'd be easy.

"We shall not fall, the Blackest Night is nothing but myth!"

 

[Byrd Man]

"Hey! At least he's talking same damn sense!"

"That is enough from both of you! You have no power over us and so you shall not command us!"

"We're just trying to get some sanity into you! You need to do something, before it's too late. Who's going to save the universe when we're gone?"

The Guardians merely frown down at me, anger spewing inside them. This is pointless. Why the hell isn't there another way to get a point across? You'd think it'd be easy.

"We shall not fall, the Blackest Night is nothing but myth!"

In my time as a trouble maker, I have devloped this sixth sense about people's limitations. And, right now we're stepping on the Guardians' last nerves.

I've gotten a rep as a loud mouth bore, but I have learned that sometimes it helps to pick your fights.

"Come on, Kyle." I say as I touch his shoulder.

"We can't talk to them. They've got their mind set on this, and they ain't budging. Nothing we can do here, except back off and let them think everything is okay."

I turn and walk out their chambers. I look back at the group of blue men before I leave and my eyes fall to Ganthet, the look of worry on his face.

Something more is going on, I can tell it. But now's not the time to find out what.

I keep on walking and pass through the doors back into the citadel.

 

[wiegeabo]

"Ahem..." I cleared my throat as me and Cap were already standing behind Jay, who was happy to see us.

"You were saying?"

I grin. "I was saying that some people sure take their time to get here."

"Sorry about that," Captain Marvel says as he lands. "I had to profusely apologize to...well...um, better we don't get into that." Cap scratches the back of his head and looks away. I swear he's blushing.

"It's ok Cap." I look at the door, the entrance into whatever Sivana has planned for us. "Cap, you know Sivana better than anyone. Why don't you take point."

He nods in agreement. "Right. And don't worry, about me. The strength of Hercules and stamina of Atlas will keep me safe." I smile. Sometimes Marvel sounds like he's come straight out of the 1950's. It makes me think of simpler times.

"I'll take the rear. I'll best be able to handle a surprise attack."

I nod in agreement. "Sounds good."

His jaw set with determination, Marvel punches open the door and steps inside.

We follow...

 

[Red_Robin77]

In my time as a trouble maker, I have devloped this sixth sense about people's limitations. And, right now we're stepping on the Guardians' last nerves.

I've gotten a rep as a loud mouth bore, but I have learned that sometimes it helps to pick your fights.

"Come on, Kyle." I say as I touch his shoulder.

"We can't talk to them. They've got their mind set on this, and they ain't budging. Nothing we can do here, except back off and let them think everything is okay."

I turn and walk out their chambers. I look back at the group of blue men before I leave and my eyes fall to Ganthet, the look of worry on his face.

Something more is going on, I can tell it. But now's not the time to find out what.

I keep on walking and pass through the doors back into the citadel.

"So what are we going to do then? Follow them blindly to the end? Mutiny?"

The Corps were still on high alert and rushing around with injured quickly.

"Well, guess we might as well lead on while there's still panic."

 

[Byrd Man]

"So what are we going to do then? Follow them blindly to the end? Mutiny?"

The Corps were still on high alert and rushing around with injured quickly.

"Well, guess we might as well lead on while there's still panic."

"Just cause the Smurfs ain't listening doesn't mean the rest of the corps will." I say as we past by Natu's medical bay.

I don't even look in cause I know it's bad.

"We're going right to the top."

Kyle follows me all the way through the citadel and is right behind me as I approach the big man himself.

"Kilowog. You, me, and Rayner need to talk."

 

[Eddie Brock]

"Just cause the Smurfs ain't listening doesn't mean the rest of the corps will." I say as we past by Natu's medical bay.

I don't even look in cause I know it's bad.

"We're going right to the top."

Kyle follows me all the way through the citadel and is right behind me as I approach the big man himself.

"Kilowog. You, me, and Rayner need to talk."

"You're telling me," I snort with a smirk. I can tell by the look on Gardner's face he's not happy. He never is after talking to the Guardians. They have that effect on people. I cross my arms. "So what's the situation, Gardner?"

 

[Byrd Man]

"You're telling me," I snort with a smirk. I can tell by the look on Gardner's face he's not happy. He never is after talking to the Guardians. They have that effect on people. I cross my arms. "So what's the situation, Gardner?"

"Kyle and I had a little pow-wow with the smurfs." I say as the three of us walk down the halls of the citadel and outside to Oa's surface.

"Apparently, there's a prophecy called the 'Blackest Night'. In it, it tells about the different corps that have been springing up and it even details the end of the GLC.....and the blue man group ain't doing **** about it! They're just riding it off as a fairy tale, but I can see the fear in their eyes....especially Ganthet. If they're just gonna sit on their asses, I say we need to get off ours and so something about this!"

 

[Eddie Brock]

"Kyle and I had a little pow-wow with the smurfs." I say as the three of us walk down the halls of the citadel and outside to Oa's surface.

"Apparently, there's a prophecy called the 'Blackest Night'. In it, it tells about the different corps that have been springing up and it even details the end of the GLC.....and the blue man group ain't doing **** about it! They're just riding it off as a fairy tale, but I can see the fear in their eyes....especially Ganthet. If they're just gonna sit on their asses, I say we need to get off ours and so something about this!"

I give Gardner a strange look. "Easy, cowboy," I warn. "You know I don't agree with the Guardians either, but I'm not trying to lose my ring." We walk a little further in silence before I continue, "All I'm saying is we should be careful about this."

 

[Andy C.]

"I thought Lois Lane was just Superman's girlfriend." I say with a smile as I enter the room, my arms crossed.

"I had no idea she was just as Super herself....but I guess that comes from the suit, right?"

"Kryptonian war-suit armor, mixed with a Thanagarian flight harness and a few other bits of alien tech that Clark stashed away in the Fortress along the way," Lois said like she was listing off old clothes stuffed in the attic. "After getting kidnapped by that creep Prometheus last year, I had the Fortress AI make the suit for me, partially for self-defense in case some other loser tried the same thing, but mostly so I could get a little payback. Of course, I had to keep it secret from Clark-- if he found out, he'd never let me use it. It would be 'too dangerous,' you know. Heh, like I haven't been in dangerous places before."

She propped herself up in her hospital bed, and gave Dick a smile.

"It's really too bad the suit got trashed so quickly; I was thinking the Nightwing and Flamebird team could have made it big. One detecive, one powerhouse, and none of the usual awkward hang-ups that come with a man/woman team-up since neither of us is 'interested.' Plus, with Clark and Bruce both out of the picture, someone's got to step up to be the new World's Finest Team, right?"

Her smile faded, and she took on a more serious, almost parental tone. Friendly banter out of the way, Lois quickly turned back to her 'fearless reporter' mode.

"Which brings me to another question. I hate to just repeat what I'm sure you've been hearing for the last year, but we all know that it should be you in the cowl, not the poser we just took down. I mean, I put on the 'S' when Clark left, and I don't even have powers. What's your excuse?"

 

[Eddie Brock]

"Great, now you've annoyed me greatly," Tim muttered to the raging psycopathic Apokolyptan.

The Boy Wonder leapt onto Powerboy's back, wrapping his legs around the maniac's torso. He wrapped his hands into a fist and slammed the fist into his face, hard. Powerboy grabbed Tim by the top of his training outfit and flung him into the wall. He landed awkwardly, but pulled himself back up into a fighting stance.

"Why don't you leave my girlfriend the hell alone," he shouted, throwing a hard punch, moving himself at the waist, connecting his fist with the superpowered menace's jaw.

I don't have time to warn Tim. Powerboy rears back and lets a mighty punch fly. His hand is supercharged with electrical energy. The blow catches Tim under the chin and launches his limp body through the air. He lands with a loud crash.

I find myself torn between checking on Tim and lunging at Powerboy. I think Powerboy recognizes my hesitation. He cracks his knuckles, sending sparks of purple electricity across the floor. He takes his first step toward me when something jabs him in the neck.

"Rose..."

Powerboy rips the crossbow arrow from his neck and spins sharply. The back of his hand collides with Rose's cheek, flinging her backward. He begins to approach her when he hesitates. It's as though he's listening to something.

"I truly am disappointed, Rose," Powerboy announces solemnly. "I would have thought that Deathstroke's daughter would know better than to enter a fray with an obvious weakness." He wraps his hand around Rose's throat and lifts her into the air. In one swift move, his fist drives into Rose's abdomen. There is a sickening crunch as her ribs are shattered.

I can tell by the look on Rose's and Tim's faces that this is much bigger than that.

Powerboy turns to Tim with a smirk. "Was it yours?" he asks, and the truth hits me like a Kryptonite brick.

 

[Watchman]

"Worlds live again and die again, worlds live again and die again. They all fold into one massive black hole of submission taught one lesson. Time and space bend and cripples itself. Look upon the hand of glory," Black Hand lifted his hand up to Zauriel.

Zauriel was chained up to a chair in a dark backroom of some warehouse. He had resisted the voice in the back of his head but it was getting stronger with each passing moment. He could feel himself getting weaker he could no longer hear the voices of Heaven but dark old ones. It sounded like a million insects all screamning his head. He was getting tired, lonely, ashamed. All these feelings were creeping into his mind chipping away his will.

Black Hand continue to pace speaking things that made no sense. Though he was mad he possessed powers that were not of this plane of existence.

"Have you ever seen a dead body? Of course you have, that was a stupid question. You see at first I thought they were infestation. They were worms and all sorts of bugs crawling around our corpses eating away stripping away at our identities," he grabed the angel's face, "Pay attention!"

"See, they are in all of us but it doesn't end there. They are in all of reality. The are the worms, the cockroaches, the slimely creepy crawlers of everything around us. It is reality decay, can't you feel it."

"You're mad," Zauriell was finally able to speak, "nothing more."

"Madness? Sanity? Outmoded concepts for an outmoded age. There will only one concept. Your powers had left you when you were first touched by it, then your conncection to Heaven." It was like fighting an ocean. He heard his name, the name of God.

"Hurakk," Zauriel fell back his chair. There was nothing left to fight, there was no hope.

"Father, why have thou forsaken me?!"

"Yes, give in! Give in!"

There was no opitions left. No choice, no other thoughts, no more will to continue. Just give in.

 

[Watchman]

in dreams i walk with you

"Anyone who cannot come to terms with his life while he is alive needs one hand to ward off a little his despair over his fate... but with his other hand he can note down what he sees among the ruins."
-Franz Kafka

Dr. Jeremiah Arkham wanders the halls of his asylum, his prisoner, every night looking over his life work. His mind hasn't been right lately. He feels like he can't remember weeks on end and it feels like his soul has been dragged through the sewers. One day he woke up and it fealt like he's been locked in a very dark place for a very long time. Well, it feels like every other day.

He wander through the corrider filled with Gotham's brightest. The ones dressed up in garish costumes and terrorized Gotham. All his failures lined up in one hall. He passed by one cell and heard crying.

"Mr. Wesker?" More crying.

"Arnold, what seems to be a problem?" Two giant lens appeared out of the darkness.

"D..Dr. Arkham? I hear him. I hear Mr. Scarface's voice coming through the vents," Arkham sighed, "he's telling me the secrets of the universe."

"Arnold, those voices are in your head. Please take your pills."

"Mr. Scarface says there no good for me. I won't hear what he has to say about the dark night, about the end of times." Arkham heard a scream coming from the cell next to him. It reads: Tetch, Jervis on it.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch!" Arkham turned his back and continued walking. He stopped when he heard clawing against one of the cells.

"Slice and dice and dice and slice."

"Zsasz, go to bed, or I'll get the guards and make you."

"Who are you, my mother," he laughed at Arkham, "remember when I told you everyone was a zombie? Well, I was right, soon everyone will be a zombie and I'll be sane. I'll have to save the universe. I guess that makes me the world's greatest superhero." Arkham saw that he was holding a shiv.

"This is my superpower. My creativity will save the world before the insect gods can take it away," he began to cut into his chest.

"Guards! Now!" He sounded the alarm and a team of guards had Zsasz restrained. There was a giant S craved into his chest.

"Bring him to the infirmary. Use as many tranquillizer needed. Don't let him out of your sight."

"Insect gods crawling around your brain. Coming to get us! You're all one of them, the empire never ended! The empire never ended!" The guards had finally subdued him. For all the work he's put into them, he gets nothing back. Sometimes Arkham thinks that he must have died some time ago. Now he is forever trapped in this Kafkian nightmare.

One more cell makes him stop. It reads: Doe, John. He opens the door, no one has been in this place for months. He's been out there doing god knows what. The news likes to try and define him nihilist, anarchist, agent of chaos. A team of word's best psychologists like to define it as super-sanity but he just laughs and laughs at them. Arkham has a theory. That this madness is something not this world, something supernatural.

He takes a step in and closes the door behind him. The walls have pictures of children with smiles cut into their faces, crude drawings, toys, and a tuba. Dr. Arkham sits on the bed and puts his face in his hands. This is what his life has come to and the only thing can do is laugh.

"Heh..heh...hahaha..." there was a knock at the door. "Yes?"

"Dr. Arkham," the guard was nervous, "um...there seems to be a break-in."

"Well, that’s a new one. Where?"

"The lower levels."

"Right I'll be there soon." He ventured downstairs with a team of guards. He kept hearing a noise, a pinging sound. He thought is was a bomb. Maybe blow this entire place straight to hell. One of the guards kicked the door down where the sound was coming from him. Standing in front of them was the devil.

"We forgot something," in his hand he held a cube. He dropped something on the ground and there was a flash of light. When he could see again the Batman was gone. Maybe off to bring him more to fill up his personal hell

 

[trustyside-kick]

"I'll take the rear. I'll best be able to handle a surprise attack."

I nod in agreement. "Sounds good."

His jaw set with determination, Marvel punches open the door and steps inside.

We follow...

The heroes make their way through Sivana's underground lair. Captain Marvel leads and Hawkman resides to the side of him, gliding slowly. As they make it to a large, tall, solid, steel door the Big Red Cheese simply tares right through it with his strength and might. Just down the hall, the heroes can see another steel door.

"Looks like Sivana is going to really make us work here. For kicks he probably has doors upon doors stacked just to simply tire us out."

As they pass through the door, a new door sprouts from the ground below, closing them in. An alarm sounds and from the side walls comes a large robot that looks like Captain Marvel with one very noticeable difference: it has Sivana's head.

"Holy moley!"

"Like you said, Sivana is going to have multiple traps and things to interfere with us making it through his facility. You guys go on ahead"

Taking up his mace, Carter smirks and grips it tightly.

"I'll distract security."

 

[Catman_prb]

I don't have time to warn Tim. Powerboy rears back and lets a mighty punch fly. His hand is supercharged with electrical energy. The blow catches Tim under the chin and launches his limp body through the air. He lands with a loud crash.

I find myself torn between checking on Tim and lunging at Powerboy. I think Powerboy recognizes my hesitation. He cracks his knuckles, sending sparks of purple electricity across the floor. He takes his first step toward me when something jabs him in the neck.

"Rose..."

Powerboy rips the crossbow arrow from his neck and spins sharply. The back of his hand collides with Rose's cheek, flinging her backward. He begins to approach her when he hesitates. It's as though he's listening to something.

"I truly am disappointed, Rose," Powerboy announces solemnly. "I would have thought that Deathstroke's daughter would know better than to enter a fray with an obvious weakness." He wraps his hand around Rose's throat and lifts her into the air. In one swift move, his fist drives into Rose's abdomen. There is a sickening crunch as her ribs are shattered.

I can tell by the look on Rose's and Tim's faces that this is much bigger than that.

Powerboy turns to Tim with a smirk. "Was it yours?" he asks, and the truth hits me like a Kryptonite brick.

"You..no," Tim hissed under his breath, breathing very hard, but keeping absolutely still.

"Cassie, get Rose to a hospital," he stated slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on Powerboy who looked like Christmas had come early "NOW!"

Wonder Girl snapped out of whatever trance she'd been in and raced forward, picking up the shell-shocked Rose in her arms and leaping out of the shattered window. Powerboy took a step towards them, but Connor already had him by the neck, throwing him down onto the ground with such force that the floor gave way. Tim jumped after the pair, followed shortly by Megan and a hesitant Zach.

Connor and Powerboy were trading blow for blow, sickening crunches signalling snapped ribs and broken fists. A pool of blood was forming around the two. Tim turned coldly to look at Megan, who was looking on in shock at the sheer hatred between the two former allies.

"You can read minds," he stated hoarsely. Megan nodded wordlessly, her eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"His worst fear," Tim said, his voice trembling with barely supressed rage "Do it,"

"Tim-" Megan started. He regarded her with dark eyes.

"Go deep,"

***
​

Powerboy shook the sleep from his head and opened his eyes. He was in a pitch black room, tied onto a slab in the middle of it. Something about it was familiar, but he couldn't place it. A door opened and a switch was flicked. Bright white light shone into his eyes, almost blinding him to the sillhouette of the short figure who was making her way towards him.

"You've been a bad boy," the woman said, giggling slightly.

Powerboy's eyes widened. He remembered now. Apokalips. It had been so long...

"Not you," he whimpered, trying to move away from the woman who was now looking over him.

"Let Granny take care of you,"

He screamed.​