A/N: First off, Merry Christmas. I hope you had some nice holidays!
Starting from the next year, I will begin my new job and since the commute is a few hours, I will only be able to upload at around 9 pm, maybe later. I don't know if that upload time will be permanently changed, but it will be until I got my stuff sorted out. See you next year.
------------------------------
He had a bad feeling about this newcomer. After seeing him converse with Flash in the canteen this morning, Batman had noticed that this 'Saiyan' had some capacity for low-level health regeneration, probably attributable to his alien physiology. Given his attempt at secrecy, Batman was sure that 'Shallot' won't allow them to thoroughly scan his body.
His secrecy was admittedly understandable if his story turned out to be the truth. After re-watching the tape of the 'conversation', he had already noticed some possible misdirection, or rather him leaving some things out. However, even knowing this won't change the fact that he won't disclose things he wants to keep secret any time soon.
Batman pondered what to do next, but there were several unknown aspects about his arrival, injuries, and his world that made planning for it nigh impossible. Good thing they weren't going in completely blind, Batman thought as he looked at the DNA samples he had taken from the tableware the Saiyan had used last night.
It looked comparably human, but alien enough to be something completely different. There was also some unknown data interference that vanished after a while as well. There were enough samples, and it had been consistent enough to be evident of energy that was interfering with their data.
His first guess had been magic or something more tangible like nano-machines, but under further investigations, these theories had been proven to be incorrect. Still, the data he collected should be enough to create a non-lethal poison.
Seeing how his appetite appeared to be, he had increased the dosage by a lot. It was something that would even knock out several enormous elephants with a single drop. Whether it would knock Shallot out would have to be seen then. Just in case he concocted several stronger variants as well if he is proven to be durable enough.
Of course, another problem would be the admittance of said concoction, since his skin seemed to be durable enough to withstand normal syringes.
He looked at the monitor inside the monitoring station with Cyborg to the side, analyzing the data during Shallot's transportation into the meeting room of the Hall of Justice. The subject of another monitor was Shallot and his partner Raven eating together with Flash in the canteen.
His partner appeared to be of a similar build to Raven of Teen Titans, coupled with the name further investigations need to be done in that direction as well. Considering the other earth, it wasn't unlikely for her to be their earth's version of Raven. Batman was also wondering whether the man knew of the other members of the Justice League like Shazam.
The Justice League of his earth had a different setup, but that didn't mean he couldn't know of the various heroes that were helping around on earth. In fact, there wasn't much they knew of him besides that he was one of the initial members of his Justice League and that they operated with similar moral boundaries.
The concept of multiple earths wasn't something he didn't know about, but there were just too many unknowns and limitations with the current technical capacity to develop any feasible plans or investigations about them. However, his plans for the Justice League would sure be somewhat useful for those of other earths if proven necessary. Given Shallot's words and mannerisms, the possibility of a malevolent Justice League wasn't low.
A sudden alert attracted his attention. His eyes snapped to the message. "The Legion of Doom, Great," Cyborg spoke with irritation. Having worked through the night because of the last evening's event would cause that.
The 'Legion of Doom', apparently an alliance between Lex Luthor, Toymaster, Weather Wizard, Cheetah, and Solomon Grundy, was now attacking the Hall of Justice. The Hall of Justice was only unveiled a few days ago to the public and had been quickly dubbed with its tacky name by the media. That those villains attacked it wasn't too surprising, though such a blatant challenge this early was new.
Without delaying further, the two exited the building to meet their uninvited guests. Batman pinged Damian to have him on crowd control as the available members of the Justice League engaged the villains.
Just after stepping out of the Hall of Justice, Batman was presented with a lot of chaos brought about by the villains' attacks. Expectedly, Lex Luthor was engaging Superman. He was sure that Luthor was the one orchestrating the attack. The others were just a distraction for the other members.
Cheetah was engaging Wonder Woman, Weather Wizard was taken on by the Flash, and Toymaster was fighting Cyborg, which left Solomon Grundy to Batman.
Given the egocentric personalities of these villains, they were fighting as individuals forming a group instead of a team, though that seemed to be accounted for as the villains purposefully dragged each hero away from the group and across Metropolis. Of course, the first guess was that these villains were overconfident in their victory if they fought them one by one, but Batman was still looking around to check if it was an elaborate scheme.
Batman dodged the attacks of Solomon Grundy with an unusual, exaggerated margin of error. A must, considering his larger size and his strength. Slowly but surely, Batman managed to lure Grundy into an alleyway with a high-voltage substation just behind a fence. Batman dodged just as Grundy swung at him with all his speed, causing him to crash into and through the fence before being shocked by the electricity.
He watched for a moment to make sure that Grundy was taken out before dedicating his attention to the overall situation. Batman called out for a status report from Robin before heading toward the location of the other members of the league. They also reported in, stating that they have captured their opponent.
"Too bad Lantern and Shazam are missing out on all the fun," Cyborg stated as they assembled.
"Yeah, those slackers," Flash responded with a chuckle. Just as they were about to assess the damage done, Weather Wizard stood up and made a run for it.
"We have a runner," Flash stated before running after him. Batman only grunted as he saw that.
"He should have been more thorough with neutralizing him as a threat," Batman said, seeing how Weather Wizard seemed perfectly fine except for the rope around his torso. He pinged the local authorities to pick up the properly neutralized villains from their location. His eyes glanced at the small monitor embedded in his wrist guard, showing how their newcomers of another universe exited the building. He was about to disappear when he was interrupted by Cyborg.
"Give him some slack. Weather Wizard doesn't have his -eh stick anymore?" Cyborg retorted as he held up the Weather Wizard's tech.
"Hm?" Superman suddenly perked up, as he surely must have heard something with his super hearing. "Something is off." The Kryptonian said before flying after Flash and the Weather Wizard.
Batman and the others quickly headed after him as well, figuring that an unknown aspect had suddenly popped up. They turned the corner, only to see Superman being knocked away. His figure shot through the building and into the distance before crashing into the road several blocks away from the sound of it. "Urgh. What did he hit me with?" Superman's comm sounded out.
"At least not with his tech, that's for sure," Cyborg stated as he held the still-inactivated tech in his hands.
"It's magic." Wonder Woman stated in shock before flying into the sky at the Weather Wizard. Flash blurred away and Cyborg used his jet pack to follow Wonder Woman, while Batman used his grappling gun to anchor at the side of a skyscraper before letting it pull him into the sky.
Everybody was experienced and already knew what would be expected of them, given the current situation. Flash would be out evacuating the civilians as Superman and Wonder Woman were out engaging the flying now-magical Weather Wizard.
Batman's eyes narrowed at the appearance of their foe. He looked awfully like Shallot's partner, Raven. Red skin and four eyes.
Wonder Woman was about to reach him before she was shot to the ground by red lightning. Similar to the Weather Wizard's tech, a sudden tornado appeared with the additional lightning. Batman instantly saw how devastating the wind was as it swept away cars and trees, endangering the civilians down below.
He quickly swooped down and dragged an unsuspecting pair out of the way of an incoming car. He placed them on the sidewalk before Superman appeared next to him with the car in his hands. "Get them to safety. I'll keep him distracted."
A storm of icicles appeared and was swiftly blocked by Superman's car shield before the Weather Wizard was smacked by it into the distance. Batman did his best to get the people off the streets while pinging Damian's communicator.
"Robin, get all civilians inside. Do you read me?"
He needed help to keep the civilians safe, while he could figure out to take the possessed Wizard in. Though it seemed like his son had other ideas as he refused to comply with his orders. "I have a more efficient way to keep them safe, Father."
"Robin? Robin, I gave you a task." He emphasized, though it seemed impossible to get through his thick skull.
"Yes, as a human cattle prod. I'm being under-utilized."
"What's your location?" Batman asked, fearing what he would do.
"Where I need to be. In the driver's seat. Between the missile and fuel cell detonations, I'd estimate at least a three-kiloton- What?" Batman watched as the Batwing flew over his head. By his words, he already figured that Damian wanted to crash the Batwing into the Weather Wizard.
Given that Weather Wizard was able to tank shots from Superman, an appropriate force to take him out, though possible, also preventing them from learning whatever had taken over Weather Wizard.
Though it seemed like his worries about not getting any information were unnecessary, as the storm suddenly calmed down before the Batwing reached it. Batman used his grapple gun to get to a higher altitude before using his wings to glide to his destination.
The other members had already arrived around the duo that had apparently taken down the likely possessed Weather Wizard. Batman's eyes narrowed as he watched the confused Weather Wizard before turning to watch the 'culprits'.
Shallot stood to the side looking bored, but also disappointed. About what wasn't clear. His partner, though, was clearly holding onto a dark shadow with red eyes in her hand that was covered in a particularly dangerous-looking claw-glove? Certainly something magical.
"Seriously, you struggled against one demon? He wasn't even strong." Shallot said with crossed arms.
Batman grunted, but said nothing in response to the mockery as he looked at the shadow creature for a moment before turning his attention to Damian landing with the Batwing.
"I would have totally got him!" He said before glaring at their guests from another world.
"And we would have been worse off if you did. I gave you an order. You should have done what you were told and not gone rogue." Batman spoke with force as he knew that Robin's maneuver could not only have cost them a valuable source of information but also could have endangered those that were engaging the possessed Weather Wizard.
"You've buried me in a worthless position to keep me out of the way, while I could have solved the entire problem!"
"This isn't about you, it's about teamwork." Batman retorted, and Damian was about to argue when they were interrupted by Shallot's voice.
"Yeah, I don't want to interrupt your lovely son and father conversation, but I am not sure how long my... partner can hold him down for you."
"This isn't over." Batman decided before turning towards the squirming demon in Raven's hand. He wasn't entirely convinced about this entire situation. They arrived the night before and now there was an attack involving demons? Had another demon truly already entered their Hall of Justice without them noticing, or was this staged by them?
"Hmph. Just a lot of grandstanding." Damian muttered under his breath, but Batman ignored it for the demon at hand and the possible plot by another earth or by a world-conquering demon. Both options weren't pleasant.
The group headed inside to interrogate the demon while Damian was told to wait in another room.
...
"Just another underling of my father. He is probably trying to enter this universe. If I were you, I would keep an eye out of possessed people. He will make his move soon." Raven added after they had squeezed out all the information they could have from this demon of Trigon, which was unsurprisingly not much.
I had to say; I was surprised to see another of Trigon's demons this soon, especially after having slaughtered a whole lot just a day prior. Of course, this Trigon was from this universe, so it wouldn't be the same, I guessed? Though the demon was awfully a lot like the one that had popped up in Portland back then.
We exchanged some words with the League and offered our help, especially since Raven could detect them easier than they could, though I suggested they gathered some magical help soon. "You think this is Your father or is this just a coincidental run-in with this universe's version of him?" I asked Raven as we walked through the hallway in the exit's direction.
"I am not sure." She shook her head, but I could tell that she already had a theory. The next moment, she proved me right. "Though I think it has something to do with the portal, we used to escape the collapse of the dimension. I had already figured that we overshot our target, but perhaps it still had locked onto my father's essence, causing us to arrive here and now."
"Whatever the reason is, just keep your eyes open for anything particular." I felt like I was being played by someone, though it could also be said that it was just another Tuesday for a - former? - member of the Justice League.
We walked out of the Hall of Justice only to watch several people in uniform running around fixing or closing off areas that might endanger civilians. Not something I was unfamiliar with, especially after a villain's attack. We waited for a moment before Superman appeared next to us.
"Superman, are you going to bring us to our new apartment?" I asked, causing him to be stunned for a moment.
He nodded, "Yes, how did you- never mind. Yes, we have arranged an apartment for the two of you. There is also a public identity we have arranged for you so that you don't run into any problems with the authorities." He answered before rising into the air.
We heeled him. "You certainly move quickly when it comes to identity forgery. What about the other thing we talked about?"
"... I won't comment on the first sentence. As for S.T.A.R Labs, they are awaiting your arrival tomorrow, where you can discuss everything you know to help them create a way back to your universe." I nodded at his answer. There was probably not much more I could get from them, anyway.
Should it bother me that I was easily gaining their support when I had avoided it on my earth since I thought they wouldn't help me? Maybe, but my position now couldn't be compared to what it was back then. I was already so powerful that I could just go to another civilization, dominate them and make them build a way back.
Currently, I was speaking from a position of power. They knew if they denied me, only problems would arise from it, whether it was through my actions or that my presence would attract the attention of beings from my universe.
Back then, I could barely protect myself and the Justice League hadn't even formed. These were different circumstances, which was why it didn't bother me that their help was so readily available, because the same wouldn't be true back then.
"All the documents are available at the end of the week. We will deliver them personally." Superman added as he dropped onto a balcony and opened the door.
"I expect that you have made a background check on the scientists of Star Labs," I said as I stepped inside the apartment. It was rather cozy. Something one would imagine a couple of middle class would live in.
"Of course, you can trust their integrity." He answered dutifully as he let us inside, still standing at the balcony door, probably wanting to leave soon. I imagined they still needed to discuss the information we had delivered to them.
"We will see about that, but for what it's worth... thank you, Clark. Deliver my thanks to the others as well. Oh, and take the door next time. Having someone come in from the balcony will make me shoot first if you understand what you mean, especially if it is a man-bat."
He nervously chuckled slightly as he rubbed his neck, "Sure, I will deliver your words to him..." He stood there, not saying anything as he looked at me. It was clear he wanted to say something, and it took him a moment of deliberation until he bit the bullet. "How much do you actually know about us? I mean, we Leaguers know each other pretty well, so it is a bit weird to have someone new come in that does as well."
"I know you decently. It was more job related, though. At least, with the others, it was more job-related. I knew you a bit better. Or did you mean your secret identities? I know pretty much anyone's," I said as I glanced into the fridge that was filled. They had even considered that aspect. The fridge was massive.
"Oh, that isn't really surprising. Why do you say you know me better?" He asked and when I turned to him, he had a curious look on his face. Was he excited to have an equal... No, the others weren't that far away life force-wise.
"Well, I am dating your cousin." I threw out, making his eyes go wide open.
"Wha- who? My cousin? I have a cousin?" He asked, completely bewildered, making me shrug helplessly.
"You have in my universe." I couldn't say for sure that Supergirl existed in this universe as well.
My revelation didn't seem to sit well with him after he mulled that fact over in his mind. His gaze turned toward Raven and me with a frown on his way. He pointed at us. "So, you two? What exactly are you?"
I couldn't help and snort, "Good question. We are figuring things out as well. It's your cousin that is pushing us together. So, I am not being unfaithful, if that's on your mind. It's ... complicated, but nothing for you to worry about."
I stood up and walked towards him. "If you need help, you know where to find us. Oh, one more question." I leaned in and asked him in a soft whisper, "Cyborg, does he have a mother box built into him?"
He frowned at the question and gave me a puzzled look, so I just continued, "Mother boxes and I believe other technologies of Apokolips have a backdoor for Darkseid to exploit. There was a universe where the Justice League got completely annihilated as their plan was being spied on by him. You might want to talk with Batman for a contingency plan after we have dealt with Trigon."
I leaned back again and patted his shoulder goodbye before turning around and walking into our temporary apartment. Although I was planning on killing Darkseid myself again, it was a good idea to make the other members aware of this, just in case I am not available.
Especially since we were planning to go against Trigon again. If we ended up in another plane of existence again and have to escape again, it wasn't guaranteed that we returned to this universe.
Of course, this time I would beat Trigon to a bloody pulp. This universe might suppress me, but it would be enough for that demon! My hand clenched into a fist as I felt reality react to the slowly rising power.
I was being suppressed to one-hundredth of my true power, but... I felt myself getting more proficient, like a kid that was learning to swim for the first time. My ki proficiency was increasing as I learned to play by its rules. Not to mention after that debacle with one of Trigon's demons...
The life force I sensed had once again fooled me. Well, better to overestimate than underestimate, especially in an entirely different universe. They felt as strong as the post-time travel Justice League of my universe, but considering their poor performance just now, there was no way they could stand on equal footing with them. It felt like they were as strong as my initial Justice League. I know I should expect it by now, but it was irritating the hell out of me.
To me, they felt strong. Needing to use Super Saiyan to defeat them strong, but now seeing how they moved and hit showed they were hardly living up to their perceived strength. Even though I felt suppressed, compared to them, I wasn't even on the same scale as them.
After Trigon, I received a Zenkai that increased my strength by 3x and it was still increasing as I healed. In this world, my power was suppressed to 1/100th, but comparatively, it was like I was never suppressed and instead got stronger.
Purely mathematically, if my strength was a 1000 on a scale from 1 to 1000 before entering this universe, it was suppressed to a 10 in this universe. However, this universe wasn't using a scale from 1 to 1000, but it was mapping the scale of 1 to 1000 to a scale of 0.01 to 10, while using the same amount of energy.
Now it wouldn't be irritating if that applied to the Justice League's life force equally, but watching their brief bout made me realize that they should have been a 1000 suppressed to a 10, but were instead a 1.
Was this just another case of them not being able to use their ki or was there something special about my body that I wasn't as weak as they were? I looked at Raven, who was meditating on the couch, and asked her right away, "By how much are your abilities suppressed in this universe if you were a 1000 on a scale from 1 to 1000 before?"
She opened her eyes and looked at me, puzzled because of the sudden question. She then let lightning dance over her skin as she pondered. After a moment, she shook her head. "I am not sure if I can guess accurately. My abilities have developed tremendously after our battle in that dimension. It is a bit difficult to quantify my strength like that..."
I was about to give up when she spoke up again, "However, if I had to guess. About a 8 to 15? In that range, at least."
I held my chin as mulled over that. "Don't you think the Justice League was rather weak?"
Her gaze turned blank for a moment as she thought about it. "I guess you are right. They are incredibly weak... What are you thinking about?"
"I... I guess it doesn't matter." I bit on my thumb, but I just couldn't get what I was missing. This universe's inhabitants had more life force, but were weaker than their counterparts with less life force. Was it truly because I had taught them how to use it? Even prior to the time travel, my Justice League had been as strong as this universe's Justice League with significantly less life force.
Not knowing was so frustrating and something I couldn't figure out even if I thought about it any longer, so I decided to shelf it for now. I turned towards Raven, who watched me having a brain aneurysm from that topic.
"It seems like we can't have a vacation just yet. The Trigon in this world needs to be stopped as well... Have you thought about it?" I changed the topic.
"I know." She answered curtly as she looked at me with firmness in her gaze, "We will wait until you have recovered first. Though, it's best to meet this world's Raven sooner than later. She will need to confront him, just as I have."
"Yes, we can prepare her, but I want to have a go at him again." She glared at me, but I dismissively waved my hand. "I just want to compare his strength with our Trigon and get some experience in. Besides, I am brimming with energy that needs to be released and Trigon will be a perfect sandbag!"
Besides giving me more clues about how the magical scales to in power compared to our universe, which was also a great way to assess their potential threat level if they invaded us. It would also be... fun.
Fighting someone like Trigon didn't come as often as I would like, even when I almost died the first time. I held up my hand and clenched my fist. I could feel my body brimming with energy even when I noticed some injuries were a bit aggravated by my flexing.
Suddenly, I found two delicate red arms embracing my neck from the front. I looked forward and found that Raven had stood up and approached me. She leaned against my body before dragging herself up to me with her arms and tip-toeing to reach me better as she closed in for a kiss.
I was too stunned and didn't react when she gave me a chaste kiss. The first one she had given me in real life while obviously not being influenced by her demon side. At least, I imagined she wasn't.
"How about we do something less aggravating for your injuries?" She asked with surprising boldness. It had barely been a night since our 'talk' with Kara and she was already ready to advance our situationship. Though I couldn't deny that the tension had been there for a while now, starting even prior to our dreams.
Her arms unwrapped themselves before she took a step back again. Probably, as she took my silence for rejection. My hand reached out and grasped her wrist before she could excavate herself completely. Kara had been pushing this for a while now and I tried to be understanding and patient with her, trying to make her understand that it wouldn't be the best idea, but she kept pushing.
It was grinding on my patience and it felt like she was questioning the pride as a man. With Raven approaching me like this, I finally snapped. I had already told this to Kara, the fault of what would become of this laid with her. Normally, I wouldn't have acted upon it, at least not without talking to Kara again, but who knew if we were able to talk through our dreams again? Now, with Raven being so forward, I wasn't going to let that slide, not anymore.
"I am going to fuck the ever-living shit out of you."