Barbara drove into the Batcave on her motorbike, she could barely keep her eyes open. She had been patrolling for the whole night before, then going off to college where she then did another night of patrolling all without a bit of sleep. She was hoping to get at least a few hours of sleep at the mansion, but she wasn't too hopeful; her ribs hurt from being hit in them by a metal pipe, it was sloppy and not something that would have happened if she had been fully awake, but none the less she still chided herself for it.
Parking her bike next to the Batmobile she hopped off with a little difficulty, her muscles burned from the exhaustion she felt. Running across buildings and fighting the entire night wasn't an easy task and yet she felt like she had to do it. Mark was gone, for good this time, she never got to see them after their last encounter, her childhood friend, someone who meant a lot to her was gone. She spent many days weeping and feeling bad for so many different reasons.
She felt envy for her friend Kara as she had lived the dream of living with Mark and even having his child —though if she was honest she wouldn't want one so soon. She also felt guilt at not having done more to prevent this from happening, maybe if she stopped Bruce from hunting Mark in the first place then things would've been different. Dick was dead too, they had known each other almost as long as Mark and she had, they trained together and went on missions together. She watched him turn from a little brat into a hero.
Dick was a real hero in the end, not like her who hadn't been able to save anyone. All she could do was try to make up for the mistakes she had made and save as many people as she could in their memory; she stopped talking to her friends and even started skipping her evening classes. She had about 18 missed calls from her dad, but it didn't matter, the only thing that mattered was this, her mission.
She limped down the walkway to the Batcomputer where he sat, not Batman, but Bruce Wayne. 'I'm not the only one taking Dicks death hard,' she thought to herself. But she couldn't find it in herself to care, especially since she had been told that he was the one who gave the order.
"Firefly has broken out of Arkham, he'll probably be looking to get some equipment before going on a rampage, I've noted down the possible locations he might visit," Bruce said to her as he brought up a map with multiple red dots on it.
"You'll have to ask Tim or Damian, I can barely stand and I have classes in a few hours," Barbara said as she kept walking towards the elevator.
"Negative, Tim is investigating a new cult that has sprung up in the sewers of Gotham and Damien is helping with the Titans," Bruce replied.
Barbara scoffed "Titans? Dick is gone, Raven is gone, Beast Boy is gone, what titans are even left," she said emotionally.
"If you're so concerned about this then maybe you should deal with it!" She shouted at Bruce before walking to the elevator and leaving the cave.
Bruce sat there in silence rubbing his eyes before continuing with his work. He wouldn't put on the costume again, he didn't deserve to be called a hero, his choices as of late have led to the deaths of so many people both friend and foe. He wouldn't don the name Batman again, he didn't deserve to.
All that was left for him was preparing the earth for the eventual invasion, but he wouldn't do it the wrong way this time. 'I'm sorry Dick,' he thought to himself.
———————————————————-
Clark walked with his younger brother Connor as they made their way to the board room. Connor had been made a full-fledged member of the Justice League for his actions in Bialya, he had protected his teammates from bizarro long enough for Superman to reach him and take him out. "You did well today Connor," Clark said with a smile as he put his hand on his shoulder.
"Professor Hamilton believes that the platinum Kryptonite may have altered your DNA slightly as you were already Kryptonian, so you might see more increased strength in the future," Clark explained, they had just left the gym on the watchtower and were now headed for a meeting with someone who had told them it was urgent.
"I hope so, I don't wanna feel as useless as I did during the auction ever again. If I had been stronger maybe I could've saved Dick or Mark," Connor said regretfully.
"They both died as heroes, the only way we can honour them is by making sure their sacrifice wasn't in vain and that means fighting the good fight," Clark said with a smile which Connor returned.
"Are you going to visit Megan after the meeting?" Clark asked and Connor nodded.
"Good, you should work things out with her, I know how happy you used to be with her," Clark advised. They then arrived at the meeting room and the door opened automatically revealing the other members of the Justice League with the exception of Batman who had resigned.
In there as well were three additional members that Clark had spotted out long before he had reached the room. Giovanni Zatara, his daughter Zatanna and Kent Nelson, or as he used to be called when he donned the mask, Doctor Fate.
"I'm glad to see you again old friend," Clark said with a smile to Kent Nelson as he shook his hand. The older man smiled and returned his handshake.
"I wish it were with better news," Kent said with a weary expression on his face.
"Are you here for the same reason?" Clark asked Zatara and he nodded.
"Then let's get this meeting underway," Clark said as he and Connor took their seats.
"As you know it has been quite a many years since I've donned the mask as Doctor Fate, but the connection we share goes beyond the physical world," Kent said as he stood in front of the table the league sat at.
"Nobu has been speaking to me in my dreams lately, he has been urging me to wear the mask again," Kent said in a more serious tone.
"Do you know why?" Wonder Woman asked as she leaned forward on the table.
"That mask is always trying to get someone inside of him, nothings changed," Flash said waving him off.
"I am afraid it is more serious than that," Zatara interjected.
"Indeed, those with a deep connection to magic will be able to feel it, but right now the balance of the world has shifted," he said gravely.
"It has shifted... in favour of chaos," He finished, though it didn't garner the reaction he was hoping to get.
"I don't understand is that a bad thing?" Green Lantern asked with a bit of confusion.
"Of course it is you utter fool! Balance is essential to life, if the balance between Orca and seals fell out of balance then one would either starve or the other would grow too numerous sending a chain reaction through the ecosystem," Aquaman explained as he pounded his fist on the table.
"Alright, Arthur I think he understands," Superman said as he tried to calm the Atlantian down a bit.
"Your friend is right but this will have repercussions on a much larger scale, chaos is one of the fundamental laws of the universe, if it has been shifted out of balance then there is no telling what damage could be done," Kent explained further.
Superman and the rest of the league started to look a lot more serious at the situation. "What can we do to help?" Superman asked.
"We need to find the cause of this disruption, from my dreams I've only been able to decipher that it is a necklace," Kent stated.
"A necklace..." Connor said with a raised eyebrow.
"Indeed," Kent replied.
"You have nothing more to give us than that?" Connor asked.
"As the object grows more powerful it'll start disrupting the natural order of the world, when it comes to that it will get easier to track down, but as for now we have little else to go on," Zatara interjected.
"I believe that it may have been one of the objects sold at the underground auction," Zatanna blurted out, getting a frown from her father.
"If that's the case we need to find it as soon as possible," Superman said in a clear voice getting nods of agreement from everyone.
"Can we count on your help as well?" Superman asked Kent and Zatara.
"I'm afraid not my friend... as much as I wish to help I do not want to extend my life any longer, putting on the helmet will only extend my suffering," he said with a sad smile.
"I am afraid that I will have my hands full too Superman, a new cult has emerged and has been invading places of magic and stealing various artefacts, but I assure you my daughter here is every bit the competent magician that I am," Zatara assured them as he put his arm on Zatanna's shoulder.
Superman sighed but nodded "I'll take all the help I can get, I'm not that knowledgeable when it comes to magic, just how much it hurts," he said with a slight chuckle.
"Perhaps Marvel and her family could be of some help, they make regular trips to the rock of eternity and have learnt from the Wizard Shazam," Wonder Woman suggested.
Superman nodded slowly "I will try to contact them, but Mary has been the only member active as of late so I'm not sure how many will come," he replied.
"I will update you on any new information that I am given, I apologise for not being able to help more, but I am so weary of this fight you must understand," Kent Nelson said.
Wonder Woman gave him a sad smile before nodding "Of course, we wouldn't wish to force you into doing anything against your will," she said.
Kent nodded thankfully "Then I shall take my leave, and wish you good luck,"
"I believe it's time for me to leave as well, take care of my daughter," he said before turning to Zatanna and kissing her on the head.
"You will do well, you are a Zatara," he said to her before leaving her alone.
She felt incredibly nervous about being given a mission of such importance. Before this, she had only helped her father with stage shows and things that didn't matter, but this was something that affected the entire world, not the entire universe and she was being given a part in it.
'I won't let you down...'
———————————————————
"Friend Kara, did you see the news on the television!" Kori called out in excitement as she rushed through the house nearly knocking into Debbie as she did.
"No running in the house!" Debbie called to her which made Kori switch to a fast walk.
"Sorry Mother Deborah," she said as she opened the door to Mark's room and saw a heavily pregnant Kara eating a tub of ice cream. She had chocolate smeared around her lips and her stomach was poking out of her shirt. Needless to say, there were certainly more flattering images that Kori could think of.
Kara looked at Kori's facial expression and her face scrunched up in worry "Why're you looking at me like that?" She snapped.
"I was just-"
"You think I'm fat don't you!" She shouted emotionally.
Kori was never good at lying and always told the truth, but during her time on earth she had learnt that sometimes you need to be subtle with what you say to people. "Noooooooo..." she said with a nervous smile. Kori still hadn't perfected the art of subtly yet.
"YOU DO DON'T YOU!" Kara said throwing the tub of ice cream at her that she easily caught.
"You are beautiful Friend Kara, and your baby will certainly be beautiful as well, but you must come and look at the news!" She said with excitement as she dragged Kara up to her feet and led her out of the room. Though before Kori left herself she slipped back into the room and lifted the bed up. She smiled as the underwear she had hidden was still there, she grabbed it and took a deep whiff before putting it back under the bed. She then followed Kara out into the living room before she could call for her. Kara collapsed down on the sofa and looked at the TV that had the news playing.
*The body was found by a few hikers during a trip up one of the local mountains. DNA testing at the lab confirmed that this was the body of the infamous Gotham Criminal 'The Joker'
The Justice League have also confirmed that it was Invincible that was fighting the Joker. There you have it folks, the Joker is no longer able to reign terror over Gotham again and we have our hero Invincible to thank for it God rest his soul*
Kara felt tears fall down her face as the memories of Mark started to rush through her mind. "Oh sweetie," Debbie said as she sat next to what she considered her Daughter-in-law and rubbed her back hugging her.
"No Friend Kara, can you not see how this is good news!" Kori said excitedly.
"They have searched that mountain from top to bottom and only found one body, which means honoured Mark could still be alive!" She said with a wide smile on her face.
Kara stopped crying and for the first time in moments hope flared up inside her again. She knew it was a long shot, but then she considered the fact that she had thought he was dead before and he had surprised her, he could do it again.
"Then we need to find him!" Kara shouted out.
In her excitement and hope, she had forgotten they had already spent months looking for a body and they had found nothing.
———————————————————-
*ALARM*
"Ma'am he's broken through to the lower levels!" A guard shouted through the walkie before screaming
and getting cut off.
"Seal section 22 now!" Amanda Waller commanded, but it didn't matter as the door was ripped apart like wet tissue paper.
Waller scowled as she watched the visage of Nolan on the cameras as he walked through all their security and killed everyone that got in his way. She only hoped she would not have to activate 'that' as their fight might bring down the whole facility.
Nolan laughed as a few ants tried to shoot him with their toy guns. He grabbed one by the neck and ripped his spine out before stabbing it into his friend. It was all too easy, humans really were a pitiful race in need of guidance from the empire. He kept on tearing through the guards and anyone that got in his way until he made his way to a special storage unit where he tore the door off and made his way inside.
On a stand inside the room as a bionic arm, Nolan smiled as he floated closer to the case. Snapping his fingers the glass cracked and shattered and he reached in to grab the arm. If what he had read was correct this was a depleted promethium arm that was powered by a volatile promethium core; this arm would be stronger than even Conquests by a few dozen times.
Nolan tore his sleeve off and shoved the prosthetic onto his arm where it stabbed into his arm and searched around for his nerve endings to connect. Nolan grits his teeth in pain but couldn't help but smile, he had been searching for this for months and now he finally had it. Now he could finally call for backup.
He could finally call the Viltrum Empire.
...
Waller started to bite her nails bloody as she saw Nolan take one of their most powerful pieces of technology. She also felt a pit form in her stomach when she saw him take some advanced communication equipment; she knew the truth about Omni-man despite the Justice League attempting to hide it, she knew about the Viltrumites, she knew about Mark and she knew what Nolan was going to do with that equipment.
Turning to one of the scientists in the control room with her she scowled "Start the wake-up protocol, but make sure she obeys orders this time," she said sternly before leaving the room to go and make some calls.
(AN: Damn I wonder who's being woken up? I mean I did leave a few clues, kind of, they are pretty vague. Anyway, this is mostly setting things up introducing new characters shit like that. I hope you liked the chapter)
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