What Makes A Hero(Naruto/Injustice)

[Bonzoluv]

'It's finally time to rest,' Itachi thought as his body turned into paper. He closed his eyes until he felt a light warmth, and he reopened them to see a light approaching him. One side of his mouth raised but it quickly turned upside down when he saw the Sage of the 6 Paths before him causing his brow to furrow.



"Itachi Uchiha, your job isn't finished yet, you've lived your life a victim of an unfortunate circumstance with no good outcomes, but hopefully this time will be different." The Sage floated closer to Itachi and placed his hand over his eyes. "Although this next world is brutal and many could kill you at a moment's notice. To accommodate this you will never go blind again."



Itachi blinked a few times, he felt like he was looking through a new pair of eyes. But this still didn't answer his questions, he opened his mouth but his curiosity clearly changed to awe when he looked around him.



He was surrounded by giant stone blocks with lots of windows. 'Where am I? These buildings are the size of the mountains in the Cloud Village.' Itachi's focus changed to his own body though when he realized just how clearly he was breathing. Itachi took a deep breath and exhaled. He couldn't help but smile, for he hasn't breathed this clearly in years. 'It seems like the Sage restored my health, and he must have granted me an Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. This is kind of him but I should have got more of an explanation for why I'm chosen to go to a world that isn't my own.' Itachi huffed and started walking down the alley. 'Well I'm already here so'- Itachi was cut off when he suddenly felt cold steel press against his head accompanied by a metal clicking sound. Itachi looked towards the direction of the object and raised a brow at the oddly shaped metal object this man was pointing at him. "Give me your money."



Itachi tilted his head at the words. "I don't understand what you're saying." The man pulled back the top part of the object and gritted his teeth. He stuck the object right in Itachi's face. "Stop speaking anime! We're in America Jap you're not gonna pull some tourist trick on me! Everyone knows what a gun is!"



Itachi didn't understand a single word he said but his expression said enough about his hostility and Itachi lowered his posture and spread his feet. But before he could do anything a man in red and blue suddenly swooped down and knocked out the mugger.



The tall man had Black hair, blue eyes, and a red and blue suit with a big S in the center. And to his right another tall man landed on the ground. This one wore black and gray with a yellow belt and a bat symbol in the middle. "Too slow Batman" the tall man said with a grin. He looked back at Itachi and asked, "Are you alright sir? That man looked like he was gonna shoot you with that gun."



Itachi still didn't understand anything but he assumed the man was checking up on him. Itachi bowed, "I'm sorry, I don't know what you're saying." 'I'm assuming no one on this earth speaks my world's language, this will make things difficult.



The man with the bat symbol walked up to Itachi, "You only speak Japanese?" Itachi's eyes widened and he nodded. "I'm glad that someone understands me. My name is Uchiha Itachi. Can you tell me your names and where I am?"



"I'm Superman, the grumpy guy next to me is Batman. You're in the heart of Gotham city."



"Uh, Gotham city?"



Batman raised a brow at this. "How did you get here?"



'Hm, well there's no harm in telling them, I doubt they know the Sage.' "The Sage of the 6 paths dropped me through a portal for some kind of mission, the details of which I'm not so sure of. And I don't know if I'll ever be back anytime soon. I was supposed to be dead."



"Uh hello, guys? I'm still here. Are you guys speaking Japanese?"



"Yes, this man doesn't know English and says he was dropped through a portal. His name is Uchiha Itachi."



Superman nods, "Konichiwa Uchiha. Uhh, Watashi wa Superman desu."



Batman was slightly taken aback, "I'm surprised you know that much. Although in Japanese they say the last name first, so his name is Itachi."



Superman rubs the back of his head, "I save people all over the world all the time, it's more comfortable for them if I at least know how to greet myself in their language you know?"



"Right, well anyways. Itachi, you say that you were dropped through a portal with a mission. Are you a metahuman?"



Itachi raised an eyebrow at this. "A metahuman is a person with unnatural abilities most people don't have."



'I'm not completely sure if I can trust them even though I sense no malice from them. Although the dark one seems like he would recognize a lie, I'll just say enough to please them.' "Well as a Uchiha we have a powerful Kekkei Genkai exclusive to our clan. It allows us to predict movement, copy almost anything we see with perfect accuracy, and some other things." Itachi's eyes turn red and he stares at both Superman and Batman. "How come neither of you have chakra?"



"Alright guys it's a little annoying just standing here and not understanding anything."



"Take us to the Gotham Library, he's a metahuman and he says his eyes let him learn really fast so let's put that to the test."



Once they're in the library they quickly find a book for Japanese and English translation and hand it to Itachi. "Itachi,

You're going to be staying in America for a while so it'll make communication a lot easier if you learn this land's tongue. Your eyes should make that easy right?"



Itachi nodded and Batman started leaving. "Hey Batman, where are you going? I can't babysit!"



Batman waved him off, "I need to finish patrolling. I'll be back in a couple hours. Make sure he doesn't leave your sight. We don't know what he's capable of or what his intentions might be."



Superman rolled his eyes, 'Always so suspicious of everyone.'



Itachi's eyes turned red again and a strange pinwheel pattern covered them. His eyes started surfing over every word he saw and he was turning the pages fast.



"Hey, you won't be able to process any of the words if you're just skimming through like that. Oh right he can't understand me..."



"Is fine."



Superman was taken aback. "You understood that fast?! It's a little broken but that's incredible!"



Itachi just flashed a smile and continued skimming through. After 2 hours he had a firm understanding of English. Some of his speech is still broken but he'll improve.



"Hey Itachi, you said something about Chakra earlier. What exactly is that to you?"



Itachi thought of how to answer. He picked up a nearby pencil and started drawing on a piece of paper. He drew a human with 361 points in its body, all connected through lines. "This is the chakra system. Is our life source and power source."



Superman nodded and both he and Itachi turned their eyes towards Batman who was walking towards them. Superman leaned into Batman's ear, "Batman, Itachi has some amazing eyes, his learning ability is almost as good as Jay when he learned a language in 10 minutes!"



Batman put a hand under his chin, "Itachi, do you understand what I'm saying?" Itachi nodded.



"Great, this will make things easier. Let's go to a more secluded location."



After arriving on top of a rooftop Batman asked many more questions about Itachi's capabilities and Itachi was an open book. He assumed they were like the Anbu of this world. Superman asked him, "Itachi, so you came from a different world with uhhh, Shinobi who uses chakra as a power source like how I use the sun. And you were apart of a gifted clan, and you were apart of a great war that you were brought back to life for, which you died in again, and now you're here after a Sage sent you here."



Itachi nodded. "Man, that's a crazy story. There's no way to get back to your home and clan?" Itachi looked down at the ground. "My clan has been dead for a long time." Superman looked down at the ground guilty, "Oh, sorry I didn't know. I understand that pain." He looked back up. "Well you're welcome to ask us any questions."



"SOME questions." Batman glared at Superman.



"Alright, well could you tell me where I am and the reason for the odd clothing?"



"You're in Gotham city, which is my city. Superman comes from Metropolis, and the clothing is to hide our identities from people who would harm people close to us if they found out who we are. It also works as a symbol of fear-



"Or hope."



Itachi raised a brow. "If it's to hide your identities then why doesn't Superman wear a mask?"



Superman chuckled, "It's a little trick, you'd be surprised how well it works."



"Right, well are there more like you?"



Superman nodded, "Yes, many more. Me and Batman are a part of the Justice League, we defend the earth from whatever threatens it. You might meet some of the other superheroes like Wonder Woman, Flash, Black Canary, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Hawkgirl, Cyborg, Aquaman, and Green Arrow. And more heros show up all the time! Then there are the heroes who came before us, the Justice Society."



"I see, this League you're a part of, the closest equivalent to it in my world would probably be the legendary Sannin. But there were only 3 of those. What exactly are you two capable of?"



"Well I have super strength, invincibility, x-ray and heat vision, freeze breath, and I can fly."



"None."



"None?"



"He may not have any powers but don't let that fool you. He could probably take out the whole league if he wanted- the conversation was cut off when Superman heard a voice in his comms. "Sorry guys, there's been a devastating flood down in Florida, I have to go save the day."



"And I need to deal with Black Mask, he's got out and has been causing trouble. Itachi, take this."



Batman handed Itachi a communication device. Itachi fiddled with it not knowing what it was. Batman sighed, "I'm going to contact you later, when I do hold down this button to talk back." Itachi nodded and they all said their goodbyes.



'Super heros that defend the world huh? The Sage warned me that I could be killed at any minute so I'll have to tread carefully until I can find out just how powerful these people are.



Itachi's eyes darted around looking at all the buildings and the ground far below. There were a lot of weird metal and glass cocoons on wheels with people inside them. 'I'm assuming they are like horse carriages that pull themselves.'



Itachi looked in the direction of the sound of the screams he just heard in a restaurant. He quickly used shunshin to see what was going on. He walked in the store and saw someone holding a weapon up at a lady behind a counter. 'If I remember correctly Superman called that a gun earlier.'



Itachi scanned the room and saw 3 hostiles. One with a shotgun and two with handguns, and there were 8 civilians. He got ready to do hand signs but quickly grimaced. 'I didn't realize just how low on chakra I was. I'll have to be more hands on then.'



The man standing around with the hand gun noticed Itachi standing while everyone else cowered on the ground. He glared at him, "Hey, don't try to be a hero, get on the ground!"



Itachi faked an oblivious expression, "Uh sorry, I no understand engrish." The man facepalmed and sighed and started walking up to Itachi, "Alright well if I put a gun in your face do you understand tha-" The man was cut off when Itachi took the weapon away from him and shot him in the chest with it. He then shot the man with the shotgun twice with one bullet landing in his head, and went to shoot the man near the counter, but the gun was empty. "You're gonna pay for that!"



"Damn." Itachi jumped behind a table as the man shot at him and all of the civilians started screaming. Itachi poked his head out but quickly receded as a bullet almost hit his head.



Before he could plan his next move the glass shattered and a man in Black and blue landed in the restaurant. He threw a baton at the gunman's head and he was quickly knocked out.



"Hey that's Nightwing from Blüdhaven! We're saved." Nightwing waved at the civilians with a smile as they walked out of the store. "So you're Itachi right? Batman told me that you might be out here somewhere."



Itachi bowed, "Is nice to meet you, Nightwing. And yes I'm Itachi."



"Well IT is nice to meet you, Batman said you're new to English so I'll give you some tips for when you mess up."



"Thank you."



Nightwings eyes traveled down to the dead man holding a shotgun in his still warm hands. Nightwings eyes widened. His voice raised slightly, "Wait you didn't kill this guy did you?!"



Itachi's eyes furrowed, "Yes, is that a problem? He was threatening these people's lives."



"Even still, if you're interested in being a vigilante or a hero you can't kill people! As Batman says . If you kill a killer then the number of killers in the world doesn't get any lower."



'Well I've killed a lot more than just one killer, although I doubt that would change his mind.'



"I understand."



Nightwings eyes narrowed, "I can tell by your eyes that it isn't your first time*sighs and puts a hand on his chin*, well I guess this counts as self defense so what you did is lawful. Let's go."



"Where are we going?"



"We're gonna get you some new clothes. The black robes with red clouds looks nice but it isn't practical for combat."



Itachi looked down. He hadn't even noticed he was still in his Akatsuki robes. "Sorry, but I'm really low on chakra right now, so-" Itachi stumbled onto his knee. Nightwing came to his aid. "You alright?"



"I will be, just-" Itachi passed out. "Alright, well change of plans then."

 

[Bonzoluv]

Itachi opened his eyes and was greeted by shouldering flames everywhere he looked. It looked like he was in a warehouse and there were bodies littered everywhere. All decapitated and flaming corpses. As if a precise laser beam cut through all of them.

Itachi opened his eyes again and he was on a hospital bed. His eyes darted around but everything was blurry. He heard the sound of bats and a heartbeat monitor.

Once his eyes adjusted he noticed a lot of things he didn't recognize that seemed advanced. Some kind of weirdly shaped boat with bat wings, another vehicle which he now knew was a car which was designed like a bat. And what he assumed was an aircraft, designed like what? A bat obviously. 'I'm noticing a strange theme here. Although besides that the only thing I understand about this place is that I'm in a cave.'

He got up out of bed and noticed a gold bell on a small table. He put a hand under his chin and looked down. After a few seconds he decided to ring the bell and waited. While his eyes wandered he soon noticed a young boy with a multi-colored suit and a face that was glaring at Itachi. Itachi raised a brow at this and tried to make conversation. "Hello."

"Don't talk, prisoner."

'Prisoner? Did someone take me after I passed out when I was with Nightwing?'

A tall Grey haired man in a butler suit walked down a long flight of stairs with a glass of water and 5 stacks of pancakes with 3 eggs and 4 pieces of bacon on the side.

"Master Robin, please avoid antagonizing the guest. Good morning Master Itachi. My name is Alfred Pennyworth and I'll be at your service as long as you stay at this residence. Master Nightwing requested for you to be serviced extra food due to your malnourished state. Please don't mind Master Robin, he is very... passionate shall we say."

"I understand, and thank you for the food."

Alfred nodded and Itachi picked up the chopsticks looking at the food with a slight grimace. 'I've had dreams like that before, although lasers aren't something that was included in those dreams. Maybe it was a sign, a precognitive dream perhaps? Maybe'-"Itachi, you're awake!"

Nightwing walked in along with a long red haired girl in a batsuit. 'Her name is probably Batwoman or Batgirl.'

Man you're almost as heavy as Batgirl, I told Alfred to get you some extra food to put some meat on those bones."

Batgirl punched him in the side and raised a brow with a hand on her hip. "Heavy?!"

Nightwing chuckled, "Just joking. He's almost as light as you." He turned back towards Itachi, "Oh and sorry for bringing you down to this dreary cave, no one completely trusts you yet."

"I understand. I wouldn't trust me either."

"Well when you're done eating I'll be over there. I wanna see what you can do, so come over when you're done."

Itachi nodded and began eating his food. As he finished one stack he noticed Batman walking down what he assumed was the entrance to the cave, he also noticed that he looked annoyed. "Nightwing, why did you bring Itachi out here to the cave?"

Nightwing put his hands up, "He seems like he's good, besides you let a Kleptomaniac know your secret identity."

"Well that Kleptomaniac isn't a murderer."

Everyone's eyes besides Nightwing's turned to Itachi who was still silently eating his pancakes. Batman walked over to Itachi and glared at him and put his hands on the table. "If you want to gain our trust then you'll have to do things our way. We don't kill. Even if you're held at gunpoint yourself don't kill. Got it?"

Itachi finished his last pancake., unphased by Batman's glare. "My apologies, I understand." 'I don't understand this man's obsession with keeping people alive no matter what. I'd understand that if he was a pacifist, but the dried blood on his gauntlets says otherwise.... although he understands this world better than I do. Maybe he's more like a police officer than a soldier of war, so he doesn't need to kill to solve a problem. I'll have to go with that for now.'

Batman stood straight and walked towards the Bat computer. "Alfred, Black Mask is planning something big tonight, can you call in anyone in the family who is available?"

"Of course sir."

Itachi finished the last of his food after a few minutes then walked over to Nightwing rubbing his slightly bloated stomach with a grimace.

"There you are, so I've heard that you can do all this stuff like genjutsu, uhhh gekkei kenkai, and elemental release abilities."

"Kekkei Genkai, and yes I can do all those things. Although from what I can tell you or anyone here has no powers right?"

It's neither you, nor anyone here has powers. You're getting really good at English, and yes you would be correct. We're all powerless, we have to rely on technology and our own physical skills we've taken years to develop. No healing factor, no flying, no energy beams, nothing."

"Don't underestimate us though, prisoner!"

Itachi waved a hand. "I'd never underestimate you guys. Back home in my village there was a man named Gai sensei, he couldn't do any ninjutsu unlike the other shinobi, yet with his physical skill alone he was among the strongest ninja in the village. I've never seen him go all out but I have no doubt he'd be on the level of the Kage if he did."

Nightwing tilted his head. "Kage?"

"The Kage are this world's equivalent of world leaders. They are intelligent and embody their nation's will of fire. They are willing to sacrifice themselves so the next stronger generation can prosper, and although it isn't necessary they're often the strongest shinobi in their village."

"Wow, they sound amazing. A little too ideal in fact. Even though they're supposed to be like that, does it always work out?"

Itachi put a hand on his chin and looked down. After a good minute he looked up and spoke confidently, "Yes, there's never been a single Kage that has meant to harm their village. In my village specifically the past 3 Kage have all died protecting the village from disaster."

Nightwings mouth hung open a little, "Wow you're serious." Nightwing looked up. "Man, I wish my world could be like that."

"What is this world like?"

"Well, I don't know too much about world politics but some leaders treat their citizens like garbage and will just do things for personal gain, or sometimes even help their enemy."

"Itachi's brows furrowed, "Wouldn't that be considered treason?"

Nightwing chuckled, "You would think so wouldn't you? I don't know a lot about this stuff but something I can say with certainty is that they're all a part of the same club. Even if there seems to be opposing parties and different branches of government that act like enemies, they're really all in it together. That's Why they never get accused of treason for it."

Itachi was beginning to have a rough understanding of how things worked on this earth. The closest example to this he could think of was when the 3rd Mizukage was under Obito's control and he did what he wanted with him. "Nightwing, I want to understand the way this world works better, do you know how I could do that?"

"Yeah, there's this thing called the internet. I'll show you it later, but first" Nightwing started stretching, "Let's do some sparring. The best way to figure out what you're capable of is a good fight."

Itachi got into a fighting stance. "Are there any restrictions?"

Nightwing tossed his batons to the side, "Well let's stick to hand to hand combat. No fireballs in the cave. Whoever gives up first loses."

Itachi nodded and charged at Nightwing. He decided not to use any chakra to keep things even. He started with a side kick which Nightwing blocked but he stumbled a little. "You pack more power for someone your size than I thought."

"Thanks."

This time Nightwing charged in with a flurry of punches. Each one was dodged and blocked with little difficulty. Itachi grabbed one of his punches and tried to flip him over his shoulder, but Nightwing used the momentum to roll out of Itachis follow up kick.

Itachi gave no time to recover and quickly tried to kick Nightwing again but Nightwing grabbed the leg and caused Itachi to fall. But Itachi caught himself with both hands and attempted a sweep kick which Nightwing evaded.

They both got back on their feet and started going at it again. 'This is the first time in years that I've been able to fight without feeling the pains caused by my illness. Normally I'd have to bear through horrible chest pains and violent coughs by now. Being able to fight for the first time in years without feeling any pain feels.... good.' A slight smirk appeared on Itachi's face.

The fight continued on for a while with both nearly landing blows for a while.

Itachi received a kick to the chest but quickly took advantage of Nightwings weakened balance by grabbing the leg and twisting it, causing him to fall. He landed an axe kick on Nightwings stomach which caused him to wheeze. But he quickly recovered by bringing Itachi to the ground with him.

Nightwing sat up and tried to deliver a punch to Itachi's face, but he narrowly dodged it and grabbed his arm then wrapped his legs around his head. Nightwing was stuck in a guillotine choke and quickly tried to regain his footing.

Nightwing slowly started standing up while still in the guillotine choke, he was about to slam Itachi, but before he could Itachi unwrapped his legs and kicked off Nightwings chest into a flip before landing. But as soon as he landed Nightwing landed a kick straight to his face which sent him flying.

It was pretty close, but without the sharingan he believed that Nightwing was better at hand to hand. Itachi tried to stand up but fell back down. He started panting, "I give up."

Nightwing smiled and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. "Man you're a lot better at this than I expected! Most guys with powers I know don't bother training in hand to hand combat a lot. You gave in pretty quick though."

Itachi stood up slowly and caught his breath. "My apologies, I was sick for a very long time before this and my fights rarely lasted more than a few minutes, not all of my stamina has returned to me just yet."

"It's alright, you put up more of a challenge than Robin does." Nightwing said, pointing at Damien who glared harder than his default expression, "Hey!"

"Master Itachi, if you are finished down here may I show you to your room?"

Nightwing reached his hand out for a handshake, we're going on patrol later at night, hopefully you'll join us?"

Itachi accepted the handshake, "I'll be glad to."

"Well see you later then."

Itachi followed Alfred up the steps and through the halls until he reached a guest room.

Alfred walked up to a nightstand and pointed at a bell. "If you are ever hungry just ring this bell. Oh, and another thing."

Alfred reached in his pocket and pulled out a rectangle with a screen on it and handed it to Itachi. Itachi raised a brow at it, "How do you use this?"

Alfred was taken slightly aback. "Oh, well let's see. You press the button on the right side to turn it on." The screen lit up to the homescreen. "Ah, it's like a handheld computer right?"

"Exactly that sir. Now, the buttons on the left side control how loud the sounds coming out of it are, or volume for short."

"How do you do anything on it though? There isn't a keyboard or mouse."

Alfred chuckled a little. Itachi looked at him with slight confusion. "Sorry sir, it's just that I never thought I'd be teaching a young man how to use a phone, it's always been the other way around."

Itachi's expression relaxed, what Alfred said reminded him of when he explained how telecoms worked to his father.

Alfred's finger touched the screen, and as his finger moved the screen moved with it. He showed many of the basics of using a cellular device. Itachi was finally comfortable enough with using it on his own and he thanked Alfred. As Alfred made his way out he stopped in the doorway. "Oh one last thing, I overheard that you wanted to learn about the history of this world. Well while you're doing that make sure you look at multiple sources and compare, different websites will tell you different things about the past and the present. Oh, and personally I'd start with the Roman Empire."

"I'll keep that in mind, newspapers back home did that a lot."

As Alfred left the room Itachi's eyes became red as he typed into the search bar. The first site he started with was Wikipedia. He scrolled through fast, and after he finished one page he'd go straight to the next then repeat at a speed that would look like he read nothing to a normal person.

As Itachi continued to read the sun fell west and the moon rose in the east. Little did Itachi know, a catalyst was about to set off the chain events that would change this world forever. And it was happening right at the Blackgate Penitentiary.

"How long do I have?"

The doctor looked down at his clipboard. "A month, maybe two. I've let the warden know, he's agreed to a parole hearing on compassionate grounds. I'm sorry, Mr. Chavard.

Later Mr. Chavard sat down in front of 3 men in suits. "I'm sorry Mr. Chavard. Your illness has been taken into account, but your situation does not outweigh"-"Please don't! I have a grandson, I just want to meet him!" Chavard said, holding both his hands together.

"He knows where you are, Andre. He hasn't visited. It is the decision of this board that your crimes have still not been paid for. Parole is denied."

Andre was sent right back to where he came from. On his way back he picked up some books and traveled down a hall with bars lined up on both sides. He stopped in front of one of the cells, "Brick."

Brick crossed his arms, "Andre. What have I told you about books?"

"Don't worry. I have long since given up on your literacy, Brick. I need to get a message outside."

Brick faced Andre and uncrossed his arms. "Um..."

"Don't worry. I'll write it."

"To who?"

"To whoever can get me out of here."

Brick leaned in and put both hands on the bars with a smirk. "We ALL want to get out of here."

"You can't offer what I can."

"Yeah? And what's that?"

Andre spoke in a low tone, "Power. Power to control a God."

Itachi received a knock on his door as he finished learning about the Great recession of 2008-2009. He walked over and opened the door and saw Nightwing with a woman in black, purple, and white behind him. "Still up for tonight?"

Itachi nodded. Nightwing looked up and down at Itachi's cloak with red clouds. He put a hand on his chin, "You sure you should wear something like that in a fight?"

"Yes I'll be fine. I've been fighting in this cloak for nearly 8 years, so I'm used to it."

"Alright cool then. Oh yeah, Huntress, meet Itachi. Itachi, meet Huntress. She's pretty feisty, but once you get to know her.... well honestly she's still pretty feisty."

Nightwing received an elbow in his side and he hunched over a little. Huntress reached out a hand and Itachi accepted it. "Hello Huntress, it's a pleasure working with you. I've read up on some of your work and it's impressive."

Huntress smiled, "Well he sure has more manners than you Dick."

"Huntress! Secret identities!"

Itachi waved a hand dismissively, "It's fine, I've already deduced everyone's secret identities. Your Dick Grayson, she's Helena Bertinelli, the child in the cave earlier is Damien Wayne, Batman is Bruce Wayne, Batgirl is Barbera Gordon, then there's Tim Drake who's Red Robin. I'm not sure who Red Hood is though since there doesn't seem to be a connection to him anywhere online."

They both looked at him with wide open eyes for what felt like a minute. "Alright then, you might give Batman a run for his money on being the World's Greatest Detective. How'd you deduce that?"

"Well for Batman only someone connected to a lot of money in some way could do what he does, and both he and Bruce Wayne disappeared for a while then resurfaced at the same time. They also have a similar build. Then most of you branch off of him in some way like the different Robin's attending parties with him across the years. Things like that."

"Well if you know all of ours then you might as well know the Red Hood. That's Jason Todd, the second Robin."

Itachi raised a brow at this, "Didn't he die?"

Nightwing rubbed the back of his head, "Well yeah, but... well it's a long story. I'll tell you later. Let's just get to work for now. We're still testing how trustworthy you can be out in the field. We thought it would just be a normal patrol, but Black Mask is terrorizing the city. So we better hurry. Batman is waiting for us in the cave."

They started making their way down. "Is Batman ok with me coming?"

"He's the one testing you. I could tell by trading blows that you're trustworthy, but Batman is a different story."

When they got to the cave Batman and Damien were waiting inside of the Batwing and everyone hopped in and got into a seat. Everyone else put on a seat belt and Itachi copied the action. Huntress looked back at Itachi, "I'm assuming you've never been in an aircraft before?"

Itachi shook his head, "Only horse carriages."

Nightwing laughed, "Well you're in for a treat then. Lay the back of your head on the seat so you don't get whiplash."

Nightwing did as he was told and mentally prepared for the launch. Although that didn't do much for him since he's never even been in a car before.

The sudden launch out of the cave and through the air glued Itachi to his seat as he tensed up.

Eventually the turbulence stabilized and he could sit up properly. He looked out of the window at the city below. There were lights everywhere from the cars on the ground to the cement giants that ranged from small to so big they were still towering above the plane.

Huntress noticed the slight look of awe on Itachi's face. "Nice view right? I still remember the first time I was in the Batwing. Just wait until you see the view from the Watchtower." She pointed a finger up at the night sky.

"It's up there?"

She nodded. Itachi laid back in his seat. 'Even after catching up on all the amazing and disturbing history this world has to offer there's still so much more to learn. The most I know about these heros so far is just no killing and some of their identities.'

The plane slowed down and landed on a roof of one of the only surrounding buildings that wasn't on fire.

They all jumped out of the plane and looked over the edge of the building down at the chaos below. Batman looked at Itachi, "Itachi, does one of your elemental abilities include water manipulation?"

Itachi nodded, "It does, but I need a source of water to draw from first."

Batman pointed at a few fire hydrants, "You can draw water from those. Take care of the fires everywhere then you can join the fight with the rest of us."

"Yes sir."

Batman appreciated the compliance and they split up.

Itachi landed on the ground and briefly glanced at the others fighting Black Mask's goons before getting to his job. He looked at the fire hydrant and put a hand on his chin as he looked at the whole thing up and down. Eventually he charged chakra in his hand and cut off a piece on the side that was sticking out.

Water came rushing out and he quickly got to work. He raised one hand and said, "Water style: multi-water dragon jutsu."

The Water spraying out quickly formed into multiple dragons and they started traveling through all of the buildings hallways and rooms taking out all of the flames along the way. After a while all of the flames died off. And he got ready to help.

The goons didn't have much fighting skill so taking them out was laughably easy.

Suddenly a red blur arrived on the scene. When it stopped everyone realized it was Superman. "Can I help?"

Batman acted almost like he wasn't there, "No."

Nightwing gleefully said, "Sure! Black Mask's goons ran when we showed up, but"-"But they're all still conspicuously wearing masks?"

"Yep."

"I'll round them up."

In just a few seconds all of the remaining goons were tied up in a circle. 'His speed is amazing, it reminds me of Minato.'

Damien pouted, "We didn't need your help."

"I know, but I was happy to lend a hand.

Everyone said thank you besides Batman and Damien.

Batman crossed his arms, "I know why you're here."

"Of course you do."

"You're here to make sure I attend."

Superman smirked, "I was concerned you'd find a reason why you couldn't leave Gotham."

"Like Black Mask goons terrorizing my city?"

"Exactly like that. So, I'm glad that's over now."

Batman turned his back to Superman,, "It's not over."

Nightwing cut in, "It's totally over. Batman, we've got it. Go. Get to your party."

Batman sighed. Superman offered his hand to Batman and Batman accepted it and they flew off.

Itachi walked up to Nightwing, "A party?"

"Yep, a thank you party and retirement for the Justice Society."

"Ah, to my understanding they were the Justice League before the Justice League, correct?"

"Pretty much. Although they're all pretty old now excluding the ones with longevity and immortality like Hawkman and Hawkgirl."

Nightwings expression changed as he put 2 fingers up to his ear. "Black Gate Penitentiary? The Joker!? We'll be there as soon as possible."

Itachi tilted his head, "The Joker?"

Nightwing raised a brow, "You deducted all of our identities but you didn't take time to learn about the villains we usually fight?"

Itachi shook his head. Nightwing sighed, "Well I'll tell you a little bit on the way, but we better hurry."

 

[Bonzoluv]

Explosions were heard inside the Penitentiary followed up by guards being gunned down.

"Andre is it right?"

"Y...yes?"

The man in the purple suit walked up to the cell, "That's good. Be a bit embarrassing if I'd massacred all the way to the wrong cell. I hear you have something for me?"

While chaos was being raised in the Penitentiary the Justice League was spending time with their heros, the Justice Society up in the watchtower, ignorant of what was to come.

Batman and Superman looked down at Earth. "The world looks smaller from here. It's dangerous being so distant. I don't think people should see it this way."

"I couldn't disagree more, Bruce. From here, you can't see any division. There are no borders, no beliefs keeping people apart. No "US" and "THEM". I wish everyone could see this. See it as one planet. A world we have to protect. Now... and in the future. I've been thinking about what comes next. About legacy. You have a legacy already. You mentored Barbera and Cass, and you raised Dick and Tim, and Damien"-"The jury's still out on Damien."

Superman looked at Batman, "No isn't. He's a good kid. He's just angry."

Batman had his arms crossed. "So was Jason."

"Damien isn't Jason."

Batman pointed at himself with a thumb, "I started this... I became Batman for my parents. But at some stage, I evolved. I started fighting for my children. So they have something better. So they can be better."

Superman lifted a finger, "That's what I want, too."

"You have a legacy, Clark. But I don't think that's what you're really talking about here. Have you and Lois started talking?"

Superman put both hands up, "About kids?" He looked down. "I.... It's difficult. I think we both want the same thing, but there's a fear there."

"Of course. But there are people you can talk to, Clark."

The Old Green Lantern walked in with open arms along with Amazing Man.

The Lantern smirked, "The World's Finest."

Amazing man asked, "What are you boys talking about?"

Superman turned around, "We're talking about legacies, Will."

Batman pointed at Superman, "Superman of all people doesn't think he has one."

Amazing man pointed at Superman with raised eyebrows. "Really? X ray vision, telescopic vision, and microscopic vision, and he still can't see it?"

Batman couldn't help but smirk. "Apparently not."

Superman shrugged his shoulders, "See what?"

Green Lantern stated, "You may not have noticed, but you're Superman. You've inspired your entire generation and the next."

Amazing Man put an arm on Superman's shoulder. "Your entire legacy is alive in every hero on the planet, son..... but I understand wanting to know a piece of you will go on after you're gone."

While this was happening Itachi and Co reached the Penitentiary, but they were a few minutes late. After walking through the hole in the wall they walked past all the dead bodies and reached the only open cell in the whole wing.

Nightwing put a hand on his chin. "Seems like he only came here for one guy."

Batman walked in with a scowl harder than usual. Nightwing waved a hand, "You couldn't have done anything more, Batman. We followed the plan precisely."

Huntress stated, "Nightwing and I were here three minutes and forty five seconds after the alarm sounded. By then, The Joker was gone."

Batman walked up to the broken cell door. "Who did he break out?"

Gordon walked up behind Batman. "A man named Andre Chavard. He's 86 years old."

"Andre Chavard?"

"You know the name?"

Batman put a hand on his chin. "Perhaps, what else do we know, Gordon?"

"Chavard had been here for 55 years. He was just denied parole on compassionate grounds."

"Why compassionate grounds?"

Huntress stated, "He's dying, Batman."

A van stopped in front of a suburban house. "As promised, your chariot has brought you to your grandson's house, Andre. In you go, remember, if you try to run, I'll break both your legs and another surprise body part."

Harly poked into the front seat, "Good luck, Andre!"

"Th-thank you, Ms. Quinn."

Andre walked up to the door of his grandson's house and he rang the doorbell. Soon after a man opened the door and asked, "Who's there?"

Andre rubbed the back of his head. "Stefan Chavard?"

"Yes."

"Do you know who I am?"

I know who you are. What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to meet you and to say, more than anything.... I'm sorry."

Stefan went wide eyed as he looked past Andre. "Oh my God! Is that The Joker?!?!"

Joker waved, "HI, kid!"

Stefan raised a fist and his voice, "You show up out of nowhere, in the middle of the night, to apologize, and you bring a homicidal maniac to my home?"

Joker agreed, "I'm with the kid, Andre. This is poorly thought out."

Andre pulled at his collar. "Yeah... yeah. I suppose it is." He turned and started walking away. "I'm sorry. I hope you have a good life, Stefan. It was good to meet you... even if I messed it up. I'm glad our name goes on and is made better."

Later down the road while hitting pedestrians, "I gave you... whatever that was. Let's talk about this.... power of a God."

"No."

Joker pointed at Andre, "Excuse me?"

Harley leaned in, "Ah...Andre. Joker doesn't really like that answer."

"Are you trying to double cross me?"

Andre pointed at himself, "I don't care. I'm 86 years old and a dead man anyway. I have nothing. I am nothing. There's nothing you can take away."

Joker suddenly turned the car around and a sinister smile appeared on his face. "Oh, but, Andre, you really didn't think this through. You just showed me where the only person you care about lives."

Later after some violent convincing Andre changed his mind and was willing to tell Joker about the power. They entered an abandoned house and sat down in the rotting chairs.

"In 1945 Hitler put a gun in his mouth, and pulled the trigger. What only a few know is... it wasn't his choice."

Joker leaned on the fireplace with his eyelids hanging low. "Oh. Hey. I didn't realize this was a whole story time thing." He walked up to his two henchmen in Joker masks. "You get me a cozy rug. You, light a fire."

"How big do you want the fire, boss?"

Joker raised a brow, "What?"

Harley leaned into Joker's ear, "Ned's an arsonist."

Joker put his hands on his hips. "Gary? Are you an arsonist too?"

"Assassin."

"Okay Gary, you're in charge of the fire."

"Ned, you're in charge of the rug."

Ned held up his fire gun and started bouncing in place. "Do you want the rug on fire?"

"Why would I want the rug on fire?"

"Everything's better on fire."

Joker shrugged his shoulders and smiled, "Gary. Kill Ned."

"Wai-"

"That's a convenient assassin. Sorry about that, Andre. You were talking about Hitler?"

"It began in Egypt in 1942..."

While Andre told his story Superman and Lois were visiting the best doctor they knew to consult them on if they could have a baby or not."

"A doctor's office with no light is a little... strange."

Superman reassured her, "McNider is the greatest doctor in the world, but Dr. Mid-Nite can only see in the dark."

An owl sound was heard. "Also he has an owl. I admit, that's a little strange. He's in an office just up ahead."

"Superman. Lois. I'm glad you came to see me."

Lois raised a hand, "I can't really see you, but thank you for doing this."

"It's my pleasure. I hope I can help you find what you're searching for."

Down in challenger deep 35,800 feet down below the surface, Joker, Harley, Andre, and Black Manta were searching for the stone that would grant Joker the power of a God.

"Do you have it, Black Manta?"

"I have something on the sensors below the seafloor. And it certainly doesn't belong here.

Black Manta shot his eye beams at the spot in the ocean floor where the sensor was the strongest. And beneath it there was a box wrapped in chains. "Incredible. How did this get here, Joker?"

He brought it into the ship and asked again, "What is this?"

Joker put his arms behind his back. "You'll find out."

"Well, maybe I'll find out for myself? Maybe something so well hidden is valuable?"

Joker grabbed the amulet with the Ankh engraved on the gem, "Sure. And maybe, one day, you'll be deep under the sea, and--when you least expect it--you'll discover tiny holes in all your breathing equipment?"

"Andre, No!" Harley called out as Andre reached for the amulet, but he was quickly backhanded by Joker.

"Did you plan to take the amulet for yourself? Have a little fun with the short time you have left? Oh that's so naughty, Andre. The time you have left just got a lot shorter."

Joker wrapped the amulet around his neck and his appearance suddenly changed. Going from a purple and green suit to a hero like suit 2ith purple boots and cape along with a green top and black pants. Red lighting arked from the amulet.

Black Mantis got in a defensive stance. "What the hell?"

"Puddin?"

"Harley. The energy I'm connected to... the awesome abilities at my fingertips..."

"Uh huh, I really like what it's done with your hair."

Joker played with it. "Right? It has, like... a bounce."

Andre pointed a rifle at Joker. "You will never get a chance to use that."

Black Mantis held up a hand. "Fire that in here and you all die."

"I am not afraid to die. After the war, I spent twenty years in the suicide squadron."

Harly asked, "Really?"

"But I'm truly sorry to take you with me, Ms. Quinn. Goodbye." Andre pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. "It's.... not working."

Joker walked around him. "Yes it is, but you're not. Because I'm already in your head. And it's so boring in there. Climbers into the airlock, Andre."

"Puddin, maybe he doesn't have to"-"CLOSE YOUR DAMN MOUTH! DON'T TELL ME HOW TO EXACT RETRIBUTION!... Black Manta... Eject him."

Andre stepped into the airlock with a blank expression on his face. The airlock opened and the rushing water forced him out into the open sea where he was crushed by the pressure of the deep. Red mist came out of his body, but that red slowly started glowing green.

Joker looked out the window, "What is that light?"

Black Manta answered, "There's someone outside."

Joker saw Alan Scott, the Green Lantern outside of the sub and his eyes glowed red as he smiled, "Well that is just perfect. What a great toy to play with."

A couple hours later Joker is in one of his many hideouts with Harley. "What are you doin' now, Mistah J?"

"I'm flying over New York."

Harley tilted her head, "What's it like?"

"It's terrifying, and I love it."

"Have you squished anyone with a giant green hand yet?"

"I told you Harley. This is a fact finding mission. I have plans that require subtlety and secrecy. And then I will squish people with a giant green hand.

Joker inside Alan Scott's body arrived at the Justice Society headquarters in New York. He poked around hunched over until he found a computer in the wall. "PLEASE HOLD FOR A FULL BODY SCAN. WELCOME, GREEN LANTERN."

"What's happenin?"

"I'm operating a whole other person here, Harley. I need to concentrate."

Harley pouted, "Aww. Give me somethin'."

"Fine. They have a very polite security system..... and trouble letting go of the past." Joker said as he entered the trophy room. "Talk about being full of themselves. They have a whole room full of trophies."

"You collect trophies."

"I don't."

Harley put a hand on Joker's shoulder, "What about that Mobster guy's feet?"

Joker scowled, "They weren't trophies. I genuinely liked his shoes. The feet were just in....."

"Puddin'? Ya just stopped talkin' there. Is everything okay?"

Joker peered at a picture of the Justice Society and Justice League together, all happy.

"Hmmm. Look at the Justice League, with their heros. I was right. This is going to hurt them so much. Hmm. Who is this man dropped over you, Batsy? And what is that expression on your face? It looks like.... respect." Joker pointed at Wildcat in the picture frame, "I'll definitely torture you first. Now to see if I can get into their system." He walked over to the big computer on the other side of the room.

The computer opened just by looking at him. "Get me a pen, Harley."

She put a hand on her chin and looked up. "Um.... I don't think we have any pens that don't squirter acid."

"I need to write things down!"

"I think the kid who lived here had crayons."

"Green Lantern?"

Green Lantern smiled, "Hello, fellow hero."

Harley raised a brow, "Who are you talking to?"

"I don't know. Some of these Justice Society types are pretty obscure."

Sandman walked forward, "What are you doing here? I thought Hourman was scheduled for the morning?"

Green Lantern was silent and he asked, "Are you okay?"

Green Lantern looked at him, "Can we talk?"

"Sure."

"Not here. It's not safe."

They both went outside and walked down an alleyway. "What's going on? Why weren't the headquarters safe?"

"I think someone's infiltrated the Justice Society."

They both stopped walking and Green Lantern hid something behind his back.

"What? How?"

"Like this." Green Lantern plunged a knife made out of green energy into Sandman's stomach, and he smashed his head into the ground. "Let's see who you are under that mask, shall we?" He took off his mask. "Right.... Well, that's cleared nothing up."

"Al...an...?"

Green Lantern lifted him up. "Who's Alan? Are you Alan or am I? Hello?"

Harley put her hands behind her head. "What's happening now?"

"Now? Now I have to dump a body. I think I'm getting the hang of this," He said as he flew through the air. Suddenly he was surrounded by green spirits. "Oh yes. This is going to be a lot of fun..... huh?"

His costume started to fade away. "What the hell is this?"

His powers stopped working and they both started falling from the sky. "AAAAAAAGHHHHHH."

Joker stopped controlling his body and Harley put her hands on his shoulders. 'What's wrong?!"

Joker was wide eyed. "I think... I think Green Lantern's power has a time limit. Heh. Ah ha ha ha ha ha! AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!"

The next morning Itachi finished eating breakfast and he sparred with Nightwing more. This time the fight lasted a lot longer, but Nightwing still won. They were both sweating heavily and Nightwing helped Itachi off the ground. Batman and Damien walked past them, "Itachi, come with me."

Itachi followed behind and they both got into the Batwing. "Where are you two going?"

"New York, we got a disturbing report, but I want to confirm it first. I'll tell you later."

The Batwing quickly flew off and Itachi sunk into his chair again, still not completely used to the feeling.

"I've heard that you deduced all of our identities."

Itachi looked at him. "Yes."

"You did what?"

"Damien, quiet. It's extremely impressive that you could do that in such a short amount of time..... I still don't completely trust you, but we can work together."

Itachi sighed, "Batman, you're the only reason I can even communicate with anyone here, and you and Superman saved my life when I first got to this world. I have no reason to betray any of you."

Batman's eyes narrowed. "You're right, but I still don't know anything about you besides some of your abilities."

"You mean my past?"

"Yes."

Itachi looked outside the window, 'How might he react to knowing my past?'

Batman glanced at him, "If you plan on telling the Justice League, then you should tell everyone. Some of them are already interested in meeting you."

Itachi nodded and they continued their flight until they arrived at the crime scene. They both hopped down and Itschi asked, "Who was this?"

"This was Sandman."

A cop walked over, "There were two victims, but the other"-"I know what happened to the other one."

Another cop walked over. "What's so special about this guy? Did you know him?"

"I did. His name was Wesley Dodds. Come on, we're going to see Alan Scott."

Damien raised a brow, "Green Lantern is the suspect?"

"Yes, judging by the stab wound and that he's in the hospital, he's the only suspect."

They arrived at the headquarters and Batman walked in while Itachi and Damien waited outside.

Soon both Hal Jordan and Jay Garrick arrived outside the building. "Hal!

"Jay, I came as soon as I heard. How's Alan?"

"Doctor Mid-Nite has done all he can. But we don't know what will happen next. You heard what Batman thinks happened?'

"I did. Are you buying it for a second?"

"Of course not. Alan has been my friend for.... too many years to count. Especially because some of those years get fuzzy when you add up the time we all spent together trapped in another dimension. There's no way he hurt Dodds."

Green Lantern clenched his fist. "I agree. I don't care what it looks like. Until I know this wasn't an attack, I'm not leaving him alone."

Superman walked in and consoled them when Batman finished his interrogation, and after Superman walked out Batman asked, "What did you learn?"

"I didn't go in there to interrogate him, Batman."

Damien raised a brow, "What? That's not how good cop, bad cop works."

"In this case, Damien, it was bad cop, no cop."

Batman walked close to Superman, "You could hear Jim's heartbeat. See his eyes. Was he nervous? Was he lying?"

"No."

Starman stated, "We're missing something. Security footage shows Green Lantern and Sandman talking here. Alan was accessing classified information."

Batman finished for him, "Then they left together. After which, all evidence points to Green Lantern stabbing Sandman in the chest from a blade made of ring energy."

Itachi asked, "What information did Alan access?"

Batman answered, "The names and addresses of the entire Justice Society."

 

[Bonzoluv]

Amazing Man was reading a book when he heard a knock on the door. When he opened the door he saw a delivery man in a blue uniform. "Package for Will Everett?"

"Yes, that's me."

He handed him a clipboard, "If you could just sign here."

"Sure."

The delivery man's smile quickly curled up unnaturally as he reached into a box, "Thanks... Amazing Man."

Amazing Man raised a brow, "What did you call"- he was cut off when the delivery man pulled a gun on him and shot him right in the head.

Although one look at Amazing Man's brass skin revealed that he failed. "Huh? I thought you could only turn into something you've touched..... ah." Joker noticed the doorknob that he grabbed.

Amazing Man grabbed him by his collar. "Who are you? Who sent you?!"

Joker held the gun up to his head. "Oh, I'm not going to make it that easy." And he blew his brains out.

Joker broke out of the trance of the body he was controlling, "Damn it! I should've just grabbed one of their minds instead of resorting to a nobody off the street," he sat down and looked up at the ceiling and he grumbled, "But I want them to see it coming.

Harly said, "Yeah. But ya can't have everythin'. It's like the old saying goes, sometimes you just have to be content with bein' able to control the brains of your enemies."

"But it's not as much fun if they don't..."

"Don't what?"

He smiled at her, "Of course!"

She held up a hand, "Is this a revelation you're keeping to yourself or...?"

"I know what's missing."

"What are you lookin' at me like that for?"

He guided her out to a two sided staircase. Her eyes were wide and her posture was tight. "Uh... Watcha doin' Mistah J?"

He had a huge smile on his face, "I'm finessing, Harley. I'm finding that sweet spot of control and awareness. It will be far funnier if these heros know what they're doing while I make them do it." He grabbed her, "I appreciate the help, doll."

Her voice shook, "Puddin'? You really don't have to"-"Jump."

The mind control forced her to jump right off the balcony.

Later Joker was alone in his room. "Be quiet. No, that's not going to happen. Because I don't want to." He held up the amulet to his face and pointed at it. "Shut up! You're an inanimate object, stop telling me what to do!"

Gary the Assassin walked in, "Uh... who are you talking to, boss?"

"Harley."

"I don't think she's here."

Joker held up a Harley uniform. "Wear this."

He leaned back slightly, "I'm not sure I can pull that outfit off, boss."

He glared at him. "Wear. This."

The next day Jay Garrick, the older Flash, rushed into a burning building and rushed everyone out of the building, but there was one more person. "Help! Somebody! Please!"

He opened the door it came from, "Hello? Is anyone here?!"

He saw the silhouette of a person, "It burns! Oh God! Help meee!"

He started running, "I'm coming." But he stopped when he saw Gary in a Harley outfit that didn't fit. "What's... going on?"

Joker cracked open the door and his eyes were red. "You came! Thank you... you're my hero." Flash tensed up and he became bug eyed. "Can you hear me? Do you still know what you're doing?"

"Ye..es."

"Perfect!"

"Hel"- Joker put a finger on his lips, "Uh uh, shhh."

"Uh, boss?"

"I'm in the middle of something here, Gary!"

Gary pointed at Flash's foot. "Yeah, but he's on fire a bit, boss."

Joker put a hand on his lips. "Whoops! That's awkward. This fire wasn't supposed to get quite so out of hand, but Gary here shot our Arsonist. I'm in your head. I could make you stand here and burn. Watch you, helpless, feeling your skin melt. But I have something even more fun planned."

Later in Gotham Superman, Itachi, and Batman were in the Manor around a table. Superman looked down at the table and one of his legs was hopping. He stated, "First Sandman along with Green Lantern, and now Amazing Man. At least Amazing Man is ok."

Batman put his hands together. "I've almost connected the dots. First Andre was broken out of prison 3 days ago because he promised Joker power. Whatever that power was, Joker definitely has it now."

"I went to the bottom of the sea where Black Manta said it came from and there was just a small crater there."

"Correct, but none of us hid anything there."

Itachi cut in, "Maybe the Justice Society knows what was down there. You mentioned that they knew Andre back in world war two."

Batman nodded, "I agree. We should organize an emergency meeting with them today, we need to know just what this power can do."

"I think I already know what the power can do. Back home we called what Joker is doing Genjutsu, and it was fairly common. So far he most likely controlled Green Lantern to kill Sandman then fell himself. Although if he wanted to kill him he would have..." Itachi had a hand on his chin and Batman followed up, "The Green Lanterns have rules. Killing is one of the rules they cannot break, if they break this rule then someone or something will come to take away their ring, maybe something along those lines could have happened."

"Maybe. Then the next day he failed to kill Amazing Man. For some reason he hasn't tried to kill anyone else since then."

"Knowing the Joker he won't go after him again right away. That leaves Flash, Wild Cat, Dr Mid-Nite, Liberty Belle, Hourman, Starman, and Mr. Terrific."

Superman lifted a hand, "What about Doctor Fate, Wonder Woman, Hawgirl, and Hawkman?"

"Judging off the pattern so far it seems like he's only going for the members that are retiring soon. And even though that includes Doctor Fate he probably figures she's too much trouble to go after."

Itachi leaned in, "That leaves Wildcat, Flash, Liberty Belle, Hourman, Starman, and Mr Terrific. He'll more than likely target one of them very soon. We should guard each of them before he can kill another."

"Batman stood up, "I'm going to arrange a meeting with some of the Justice Society members."

Itachi looked at Superman, "Can you fly me near where Wildcat is?"

"Of course." Superman picked him up and they started flying in that direction. "May I ask why you want to go to Wildcat specifically?"

"Wildcat is Batman's Idol, since the Joker is Batman's main nemesis he's probably going to want to kill Wildcat the most."

"That's true. Hey you might take Batman's world's greatest Detective label soon. And your English is perfect now Itachi, I'm impressed."

"Thank you."

While they flew there, Flash under the control of Joker already arrived at Wildcats gym where he was training a young boy. He told the kid, "This isn't supposed to be fun. Stop holding back." The kids' punches still had little intensity. "Come on. You've got more in you, Nick. Show it!"

He finally delivered a good blow. "There it is." Flash leaned in at the side of the ring. "Mind if I cut in?"

Jay's brows raised, "Flash? Can I help you?"

Flash went through the ropes of the ring. "What's so special about you, old man?"

"Huh?"

Flash suddenly dashed forward and pushed Wildcat into the ropes by his neck. "What does he see in you, Wildcat? What are you to Batman?"

The boy reached into his bag. "Hey, man. Let him go." He pointed a gun at Flash.

Flash laughed and Wildcat told the boy, "Nick. Put it down. Walk out of here. That goes for everyone else. Out. Flash and I need to have a private chat."

The boy resolved himself and glared at Flash. "Nah. We're not leaving you, Ted."

"Stupid child. I'm the Flash..." the boy started pulling the trigger. "I'm faster than a speeding bullet."

Flash started running at the boy and the gun went off. "Oh, whoops."

In the van Gary asked Joker, "What? Did the old Flash die?"

"Nom.. I just... I really should have practiced a little," Flash was covered in blood and looked down at the skeleton that used to be Nick.

Superman was flying over a city and he put two fingers to his ear, "Where am I needed, Flash?"

The Justice League Flash answered, "I'm not sure yet. All I've gleaned is that it's a metahuman. And someone has died."

The radio went off. POSSIBLE ADDRESS FOR CODE 616. REPORTS OF METAHUMAN VIOLENCE AT 600 COMMONPAW.

Flash raised a brow, "600 Commonpaw?" UNCONFIRMED REPORTS THE FLASH JUST MURDERED SOMEONE. "What?" NO. NOT THE JUSTICE LEAGUE GUY. THE ONE IN THE HAT.

Superman changed his comms channel, "Itachi!"-"I heard everything Superman. I'm already on it. I'm at Fifth and Beredo."

Inside the gym Wildcat stood in shock looking at Flash who was picking at his teeth. "Oh man, I have bits of this kid in my teeth. Ha!"

Wildcat waved a hand, "All of you. Get out of here. Now."

"Yes. Listen to Wildcat. Run. It will be fun to chase you."

Wildcat glared, "You won't be chasing them."

"Oh right, you're a boxer." Flash mocked him and put up his hands, "Let's box. Go on. Put up your dukes"- He was cut off by a sharp straight right to the dome that knocked him flat on his back. "AH HA HA! Nice one. I can't feel it, but I think you just broke this face, Teddy. Way to permanently damage your friend."

Wildcat walked forward steadily with his guard up, "Jay, whatever has gotten into you, I'm gonna get it out."

Flash grabbed his jaw and put it back in place. "Nah, you're not. See, I wanted you to have that one."

Wildcat started throwing punches. "Jay, if you can hear me, fight this! I know you can."

Jay started talking in his normal voice, "I... Ted. You have to... HNNNGG.... get away."

Joker pursed his lips, "Ugh! That's enough self awareness. Give 'em an inch of free will and they take a mile, am I right, Gary? Time to take complete control of this puppet." Flash delivered a strong uppercut. "Whatever it is Batsy sees in you," He started hitting him with dozens of fast punches to his body, "He's not going to be able to look at you after this. Can't look at someone with respect if they don't have a face. See ya, Wildcat."

But before he could deliver the final blow, Barry caught his arm. He glared at the younger Flash. " Huh? Where did you come from?"

"Jay, what are you doing?"

Jay slapped his hand away, "So familiar, Flash. Ah, I'm your hero, aren't I? That's sweet."

Barry pointed at him, "Who are you? What are you?"

Jay put a hand behind his back, "Nope, not gonna be that easy," he pulled out a knife and stabbed it into Flash's leg, "Tag! You're it!"

Jay ran out of the gym and started running to try and find as many people to kill as possible. The first person he saw on the road was a young man with Black hair and a black cloak with red clouds. His eyes were also glowing red in a pinwheel pattern.

'I don't know how strong his mind control his, so the safest option is to go all out right away. Tsukiyomi!'

The Joker's perception changed from a normal city street to a black flat terrain and a red sky. He started looking around, "Where am I?" He looked at his arm and realized he wasn't in Jay's body anymore. He also noticed Itachi. "Just who the hell are you?"

Itachi remained silent and Joker was strapped to a surgery table. "Alright, not much of a talker are you?"

Itachi materialized a sword and stabbed it straight through Joker's stomach. The surprising pain made him gasp and cough up blood. "What the hell is wrong with you?! You can't kill me!"

"This is all in your head, so you won't die, you'll just wish you were. Release control of Jay Garrick's body and I'll let you escape this."

"Do you think I'm new to this kid? I"-"I don't care what you are." He stabs him again. Joker chuckled a little, "Is stabbing me with some swords all you can do?"

Itachi sighed and his expression remained blank, "I'll put this into perspective for you. Only one minute has passed. I could stick you in here for one hundred years if I wanted to, and only a picosecond would pass by in real life," Itachi leaned in, "I'll stay here as long as it takes."

Joker stayed silent and frowned. He glared at him coldly. He stated, "Whoever you are, I'll make sure you die slowly," before fading away.

Itachi sighed again, 'I could tell just by looking at his eyes that torture wouldn't have made him give away his location, even if he did he'd just go somewhere else before anyone else could get there. I was right to guess that he would be too impatient to wait years in a genjutsu to get one kill though.'

The environment changed from a black ground and red sky to a city street. Jay Garrick's body dropped right on the ground and the momentum caused him to fly into Itachi's arms.

Flash ran outside and Superman flew down. Superman had scrunched eyebrows, "Uh, what just happened?"

"I put Joker under a Genjutsu that forced him out of his body."

Jay mumbled to himself in a low tone, "He made me kill that young boy..."

Barry got on his knees and put a hand on Jay's shoulder. "That wasn't you, that was the Joker," Flash looked up at Itachi, "Your name is Itachi right Thank? Thank you for saving Jay," He said with a genuine smile.

"Of course it's my job as a hero, we should get Jay and Teddy proper care though, then we have a meeting." 'So far I'm in the good graces of Flash, Superman, Nightwing, and mostly Batman. If I continue like this I'll eventually be able to make it into the league,' something Batman said earlier popped into Itachi's mind, 'I'm still going to have to tell them about my past though, that'll be the determining factor.

 

[Bonzoluv]

Inside the Justice Society Headquarters in New York members of the Justice League and Justice Society sat around a table. Superman and Itachi were just outside of the room.

"This could be an opportunity for you to have a good impression on more heroes. I got your back in case you need it."

Itachi waved his hand, "Thank you Superman, but I'll be fine. You can introduce me though."

They both walked through the door and Mid Nite, Wonder Woman, Hourman, Amazing Man, and Liberty Belle's eyes set on Itachi. Wonder Woman raised a brow. "Who is this?"

Superman put a hand on Itachi's shoulder. "This is the man that saved Jay's life."

Everyone's eyes lit up and Wonder Woman stood up. She walked over to him and stretched out her hand. Itachi accepted the hand shake. "Well then I think I speak for everyone when I say you already have our respect. I am Wonder Woman."

"My name is Uch-..... Itachi Uchiha."

"Oh. We're using real names? Well my name is Diana then."

Superman smiled, "Just so you know he doesn't have a hero name yet."

Batman put his hands on the table. "Let's begin this meeting. Itachi, you can lead it."

Itachi was caught off guard, but accepted the offer and cleared his throat. "3 days ago the Joker broke Andre Chavard out of prison in exchange for power. We believe that he has this power now, and we followed the trail of his associates down to Challenger Deep where there was a hole that the power came from. When I used genjutsu on Jay I saw Joker which confirms he was controlling him, and he was also controlling the man who tried to kill Amazing-Man. The Justice Society came across Chavard in ww2, so you know what this power is then, right?"

Liberty Belle shook her head, "That's impossible, we destroyed it after the War."

Mid Nite put a hand on the table, "No Libby. We didn't."

"What?!"

"Even together, Green Lantern and the Spectre couldn't break it."

Wonder Woman clenched her fist on the table. "Why would you lie to us, Charles?"

Mid Nite pressed his hands together. "We needed people to believe it didn't exist to guarantee no one would look for it."

She looked away, "Well, someone found it."

Batman cut in, "Found what? What did you bury in the Mariana Trench?"

"It's an amulet. It allows the user to take over the mind of anyone they're near."

Batman put a hand on his chin, "And Joker has clearly decided to target the Justice Society with this."

Amazing-Man asked, "Why?"

Itachi answered, "Because he wants to hurt the Justice League. He knows that you're their heros."

Superman stepped forward, "We need to get all of the Justice Society to safety."

Hourman lifted a hand, "We don't need you to protect us. We can fight our own fights."

Wonder Woman responded, "No. We've lost one already and almost lost Wildcat and Flash today."

"You're one of us too, Wonder Woman. And he's just one man."

Batman put his fist on the table. "He's not a man. He's something else. And you should never underestimate him."

Amazing-Man pointed at Batman, "And neither should you, son. I know you want to protect us. But if he can't find us, he'll move on to you. Madmen don't play by rules. If he gets control of Superman, or Wonder Woman, he could break the world."

"I wouldn't let that happen. As long as I'm nearby I can break the mind control on anyone he has a hold of."

Superman said, "That's good, but we'll have to catch him eventually," he looked at Batman, "We can fight him together. We can plan once we have all of the Justice Society and League in a safe place."

Batman put a hand on his hip, "There's nowhere on earth he can't reach."

Itachi lifted a hand, "Maybe we should go off world then. You guys have a watch tower."

Batman nodded, "bring everyone in, but no one moves by themselves. I want escorts for everyone.

Later Green Arrow and Black Canary. She crossed her arms and leaned on a door frame. "Hello Oliver."

"Hello, Ms. Drake."

"Are you here to make sure I do what I'm told?"

"No. Batman insisted we travel in pairs. I promise I didn't want to be anywhere near you two for this bit."

"He's getting more sensible."

Black Canary put a hand on Oliver's chest, "He is. Now, mom"-"I'm not running away."

"We're not suggesting that. We're just getting out of immediate danger. All of us. We're heading to the watchtower."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone. The Justice League, too."

She started walking away, "Fine, I'll just get the cat."

Oliver raised a brow. "You're bringing your cat... to space?"

"Do you know when we'll be back?"

"No."

"Then yes, I'm bringing the cat to space. Mr. Mittens." She walked into the next room and Joker was there holding her cat.

"Well, this worked out even better than I was hoping. That is just serendipity, right there. This'll make up for my last experience with That old Flash with the weird hat," She picked up the cat with blank eyes and Joker held her like a doll, "I'm really getting a lot better at this. I can see right in there. I can see what you're thinking, and-- oh! Dinah Drake, what an unseemly and violent thought," She started walking away with a fake smile. "Buh bye Mr Mittens," he held up the amulet to his face, "What was that? I don't care if you liked the cat. Oh, suck it up. It won't have time to suffer that much."

When they arrived at the Watchtower they were greeted by Hawkgirl, "Welcome to the Watchtower, Dinah. And.... Mr. Mittens. I had no idea you were joining us."

"You only dress as a bird. You don't have to over commit and be legitimately scared of cats."

"Make yourselves at home."

Dr. Fate flew forward, "No... there's someone else in there."

Dinah whispered to the cat, "I guess we're moving the schedule forward, Mr. Mittens."

Itachi realized what was going on and yelled, "Everyone cover your ears!" 'I haven't used this in a long time,' a crimson cage manifested around him and a couple other members. Protecting them from the scream of Dinah that broke the glass separating all of them from space. Although many of them flew into space unconscious.

Batman quickly sent a message to the league, "Justice League! We've been attacked! The Watchtower! Fate and Itachi managed to protect some of us, but there are people in space!" Batman activated thrusters on the bottom of his boots and went into space, "I'm going after them, but I won't be able to reach all of them in time!"

Superman communicated through the comms, "It's alright Bruce, I'm here."

Itachi dropped the rib cage that protected him and a couple members. As Superman was bringing everyone in, Hawkgirl yelled, "No! You can't let Dinah Drake in here!"

Black Canary lifted a hand, "Please be careful with my mom. She's not herself."

Dr. Fate put a hand on Hawkgirl, "Yes. She is herself now. He's gone. The Joker has left her mind."

Dinah covered her face with her hands, "He could see in my head. He knows so much of what I know."

Superman walked up to her and handed her her cat, "Ms. Drake. I believe Mr. Mittens belongs to you."

"Thank you."

Dr. Fate stated, "I can't help everyone protected with magic indefinitely."

Batman stepped forward. "We aren't. Everyone into the teleporters."

Later they arrived at the Hall of Justice and Green Arrow said, "The Hall of Justice has a lot of perks over the watchtower. My favorite thing is that you can open a window without being sucked into the cold vacuum of space."

Superman and Starman split off. "Superman, we can't just wait around for the Joker's next attack. That's asking for trouble. When it comes to corrupt madmen full of power, action is required. It's something we used to be very good at."

"I know Starman. We're heading out. We'll keep our distance," Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Hawkgirl started flying off, "But we're going to search the whole country."

But Joker wasn't in the country. The next day he was having a drink in Egypt while someone in front of him kept shoveling away at the sand. He heard a tnk sound, "Tnk? That's perfect. That's the sound we were after. You can take a rest now," The man dropped over dead, "I said you could take a rest. I didn't say you could drop dead. Urgh. Are basic instructions so hard?" He looked down the hole and saw a helmet covered in sand. "So this is where you live huh?"

The helmet spoke, "It is not where we live, it is how we communicate. This is the object through which we can give our powers to you."

He picked up the helmet and wiped the sand off, "Hmm. It's a little extreme. Kind of like you're trying too hard you know? Not the first ancient evil to need a makeover," he took out lipstick and started drawing a smile on it.

"What are you doing?! This helmet is older than stars. We"-"Oh, shut up. You're Lords of Chaos. You can deal with a little defacing..... alright that works. But before I fully commit to this, what levels of chaos are we talking about here? Pet's talking and revealing our most personal secrets? Or people walking around with their insides on the outside? Neither of those are deal breakers."

"The chaos will be yours to determine. You will be our champion. Your enemies shall tremble."

He started putting the helmet on, "Okay, I'm in." As soon as the helmet was fitted onto his head, red lightning arked from him down to the ground and up into the sky as a huge dust cloud blew away from him. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

"What first?"

"Let's stick to the plan. Destroying Batman's heros still sounds like a great time. Now we get to do it with a little more style. We just have to find them."

"We know where the Lord's of Order are. Order has always been the enemy of Chaos."

"Well that's convenient."

Dr Fate felt something, "Something is coming!"

Batman looked up from what he was working on, "Fate, what is it?"

"Chaos."

Joker hovered over the Hall of Justice, and said, "Knock knock." As he blew the building up."

There was fire everywhere, but the heros slowly rose up from the rubble dazed. Batman made a call, "Priority one! Hall of Justice under attack. He's here! Joker is here!"

"Why didn't I get ancient chaotic powers ages ago? This is a hoot," he looked down at a crowd of people recording the action and flew down to them, "Are any of you News reporters?"

One stepped forward hunched over, "Um, yes?"

"Great! Tell your people to start broadcasting. This is going to be one hell of an exclusive... the fall of Gods."

He flew back up into the sky and Superman met him up there, "Joker!"

Joker had his arms behind his back, "Superman? Are you really going to waste time on me? I'm pretty sure your friends are dying down there."

Superman flew back down to help Amazing Man and the others check up on everyone.

Joker's eyes traced across the whole battlefield until he saw Itachi who was still recovering from the explosion. "You.... I'm gonna get back at you this time," Joker shot multiple arcs of red lightning and in response Itachi quickly activated his Susanoo as all the cameras looked at him as he manifested something never before seen in this world. He surrounded himself in a rib cage which quickly grew flesh then was covered in armor. He summoned the Yata Mirror with his left hand and took the full brunt of the blast. Joker increased the intensity of the blast and started shooting with both hands.

The rest of the heros recovered and Starman stood in front, "Itachi looks like he's in trouble. Joker!"

Joker diverted his attention from Itachi to the group of 8 walking towards him. He flew down to them, "Ooh. Final standoff time. How exciting."

"Let's see how exciting you find my fist in your"- before he could finish that phrase he was shot by lightning and disappeared. The rest of them started charging at him and Dinah Drake asked, "What did you do to them?"

In response he pulled the same trick on the rest of them besides Batman and they all disappeared. Batman was left standing there with his fist up, "What did you..? Where did they go?"

Joker shrugged his shoulders, "I... have no idea, chaos and all. Ha!"

"You!" Wonder Woman flew straight towards Joker and punched him into the rubble, then followed up with another punch. But the third one was caught and she was thrown off.

Joker stood up and got hit by something, "Ouch. What the hell? A boxing glove Arrow?" He picked it up, "Oh, I get it. For when you want to punch someone who's a really long way away. That's... actually very practical."

His thoughts were interrupted by Black Canary, Superman, and Batman rushing at him. Batman yelled, "Superman! The helmet, take it!" Before kicking him in the head. Both him and Blafk Canary restrained Joker while Superman grabbed the helmet and started pulling on it.

Itachi saw an opportunity while Joker was being held still and decided to end it all there. He outstretched the right Susanoo arm and the Totsuka Blade started to manifest.

"No! My head! You're pulling off my head! I need that for thinking!" Superman fell for it and released his grip on Joker, "I... I didn't mean to"-"Superman no!"

Joker broke free and shot a beam straight at Superman. 'Superman you fool, you should have seen that coming.'

Joker smirked, "Ha! Oh you people. So caring. So trusting. So stupid. You have no idea how much power I'm connected to. It's so tingly," he grabbed Batman's head, "I could crush you like a bug right now, Batsy. But I have something far more fun in mind. You see... I was saving the best for last."

Superman started to stand as if he was in a trance. Itachi started to brace himself. "Yes. I have his mind. And... ew. He's just as earnest on the inside. I'm going to make sure he feels all of this. Superman. Kill everyone here, slowly. Turn them to mush. Leave Batman for last. I want him to watch. Kill the one with the cloak that has clouds on it first.

'Joker found out about the eye contact and closed Superman's eyes,' Superman dashed towards Itachi and landed a blow that Itachi blocked with the Yata Mirror. He wasn't harmed, but he was pushed back. Although before he could land another blow he heard foreign voice say, "Stop!"

Alan Scott put a dome of energy around Superman. 'This must be the other Green Lantern.'

"You? Didn't I accidentally drop you out of the sky?"

Alan ignored him and landed beside Superman, "Superman, listen to me. You're better than this pathetic maniac."

Joker pointed, "Rude."

Batman stood up, "Green Lantern's right, Superman. I've seen you move a moon. I've seen you fly into the heart of a star. These old Gods and their psychotic magic welder are nothing. You're the best of us. Fight. It."

Joker waved his hands, "Ha! Oh, that's... well, it's a little saccharine if I'm being honest. Time for some extreme violence."

"Hnnng."

"What's "hnnng"? I don't think you understand. I'm in your head. You're mine. Now do as I say. Fuck them up!" Superman broke the bubble of Green Lantern energy that covered him. "Yes!"

Superman looked at Joker, "No."

Joker put up his hands, "What's happening? What's this?"

The amulet spoke, "We've never seen this before. He's fighting us. He's incorruptible."

"Impossible."

Batman wiped blood off his mouth, "It's not impossible. He's just better than you can possibly comprehend." Superman snatched the amulet off of Joker and destroyed it. "He's Superman."

Joker flew back into a wall, "Ow."

Wonderwoman started walking towards him, "I will end him."

Batman stood in her way, "No."

"Stand aside, Batman. Stop protecting your monster."

"I'm not. I'm protecting you. I'm protecting the Justice League. The world is watching. We don't kill."

She pointed at him, "Batman, if you let this monster live again, you are responsible for everyone he hurts after this.:

Superman put an arm on her shoulder, "We don't kill, Diana. We have to be stronger than that. We have to be better than that."

Black Canary walked towards him, "We don't have to be that much better," She kicked him in the head and asked, "Where is my mother?"

Itachi sat off to the side and looked at the scene in front of him, 'Stronger than that? Better than that? I thought of them as officers before, but they definitely fight wars. To not kill seems senseless. Maybe it's for public reputation, maybe the people of this world would view them as villains if they started killing? I still don't know enough. This.... Joker seems more vile than Danzo ever was..... but I still need to learn more about how things work here before I step out of line. I still have to gain the trust of the League.'

A few days later the members of the Justice Society that didn't disappear went with Spectre to travel across multiverses to find where their friends were sent. And the same day Itachi sat down with the Justice League inside the Watchtower. The current members being Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Cyborg, Black Canary, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Hawkgirl, Hawkman, Wonderwoman, and soon Itachi.

"You've all been very kind to me, but before I can be welcomed into the League"- Superman cut him off, "Itachi, you saved Jay's life and helped us defeat Joker. You're already welcome."

Martian Manhunter cut in, "Superman, you'll want to hear this. I apologize Itachi, but I looked into your mind when Joker was going on a rampage."

Itachi shook his head, "It's alright."

Batman put his hands together, "Itachi was going to tell us about his past before coming to this world."

Everyone stayed silent and sat straight up while looking at Itachi, "It's a lot. So it'll be easier if I can show you through my Genjutsu if that is ok with you all...... I've lived my whole life hiding my secrets. I want to start out here living an honest life. If I'm shunned for what I've done then so be it," No one seemed to have a problem with this and his eyes turned red, putting everyone under an illusion. They saw everything, his Anbu work, the fear people had of his clan, the planned Coup, the ultimatum he was given along with Danzo's set up, his slaughter of his clan, his Akatsuki days, along with how his life ended and what he did when he was resurrected.

The genjutsu ended and everyone came back to their senses, rubbing their heads. Being shown so many different things led to a huge mixture of emotions, although there was one thing that definitely stuck in their heads after seeing all that. The slaughter of his clan.

Some held their heads looking at the ground while others glared at him, and some just looked forward. Green Arrow stood up, "You killed so many families..."

Black Canary yelled, "You.... slaughtered so many children."

Superman's eyes glowed red and he grabbed his collar, "You... you massared so many innocent people! You killed your own parents and tortured your brother!" He lifted him off the ground and Itachi did nothing to stop it.

Batman slammed his fist on the table, "Superman enough!"

Superman's eyes turned back to blue and he slowly sat him back down, "I'm... sorry, Itachi."

"It's alright, I understand."

Aquaman stood up, "I have to go back to my people now."

"Yeah, and I have to get back to Queen Industries."

Green Lantern started walking off, "I have a date with Carol today."

Black Canary left, "I just have to go."

Cyborg left, "I'm gonna help repair the Hall of Justice.

All that remained in the room was Itachi, Superman, Batman, Wonderwoman, Hawkgirl, Hawkman, Martian Manhunter, and Flash.

Batman leaned into the table, "How did you do that?"

"It's an illusion casted on your mind through eye contact. I'm sending Chakra directly to your brain, then doing whatever I want from there."

Flash rubbed the back of his head, "So that Danzo guy ruined your plan then set you up to kill your whole clan, or else something even worse would have happened..... I'm not sure if Joker has even done anything that bad."

Wonderwoman pointed at Itachi, "It seems like in your world that it was common for children to be trained as warriors to help fight nations they were at war with."

Itachi nodded, "That is correct. Us Shinobi are trained in multiple areas of combat and stealth from childhood."

Batman stood up and started to walk away, "Superman, come with me."

While they discussed Itachi's past. Joker was being tended to in the Gotham Hospital.

"Nurse. Hnnng, my teeth are too loud."

"That sounds like a problem, Mistah J."

"Harley? You came!"

She tilted her head, "You're.... happy to see me"

"Of course! The only thing preventing me from smiling more is my severely broken face," his expression softened, "I'm so sorry for what happened. There was an ancient evil in my head. I wasn't in control. You know I would never hurt you like that."

She gripped the clipboard close to her chest. "I..."

"Thank you for being here in my hour of need. I'm such a lucky clown. You know what? I will get you that Submarine. You can name it whatever you want."

She sat on the edge of the hospital bed, "Are you okay?"

"Honestly, I've been better. Punctured organs. Broken bones even Batman hasn't broken before. But I have something to look forward to now."

"Oh, puddin'."

"What...? Oh, I didn't mean you. Batman thinks Superman is incorruptible. INCORRUPTIBLE. Heh. Let's put that to the test. I saw something while I was in his head."

"What did you see, Puddin'?"

"Lois."

End: Year Zero

 

[Bonzoluv]

It's been one year since the Joker was defeated at the Hall Of Justice. Since then Itachi has fought many battles alongside the League, and they have all grown to trust him as a valued member overtime despite his past. He's also become well assimilated with this Earth and has a full understanding of how it works. He often wonders if he should have killed Joker that day, but he chose the trust of the League over that.

He wore black sweatpants and a Grey t-shirt, along with sandals, a hat, and a facemask. Itachi walks through a Torii(Red Shrine gate) and lifted an arm to block the sun while he read the sign that read, "Kyoto." He looks at the Minka style homes that surround him and the traditionally dressed people that walk by, 'I suppose that this is the closest I'll get to home on this planet.'

He lifted his face mask over his nose. After the show he put on with his Susanoo at the Hall Of Justice when they fought Joker his popularity rose very fast, especially back in Japan considering how his style seemed to represent the country in the League. Recently after signing some kind of contract some places have even started making merchandise of him and his Susanno.

Some people stop on the road and look at him, squinting their eyes. Itachi tilts his hat down and speed walks, 'I'm starting to wish I had my own secret identity. Although having to hide my identity in public also reminds me of home, not the good memories though.'

He stopped walking when he saw a Ramen shop. He sighed and smirked before walking in " for the first time in a long time he could say he felt truly relaxed.

"Batcomputer, Security Level Zeta, Password 10-3-2002, file name Pinwheel. Itachi Uchiha. Currently the youngest member of the League yet the most dangerous out of all of us, strong, fast, versatile, natural genius, experienced in warfare, and capable of killing with no hesitation," Batman leaned back in his chair and out a hand under his chin, "He's capable of using elemental attacks including Fire, Water, and Wind, with fire being his strongest. These are usually activated with hand signs, although some are not, this is likely decided based on the strength of the technique. This could be countered with either some sort of oxygen deprivation, or immobilization of the hands. Next he had a hereditary ability called the sharingan capable of casting powerful illusions that have yet to be broken, and grant precognition. In hand to hand combat he is a master, relative to Nightwing, but he hasn't beaten him yet. Although it should be noted that he has never fought Nightwing with the Sharingan, which would boost his combat skills significantly. His eyes also seem to summon an avatar made of orange energy with a shield. Taking out his eyes with something like flashbacks or tear gas is a must. Although if someone can't then they must avoid eye contact, which would be extremely hard in a fight. Maybe using an alternate form of vision like detective mode or thermal vision would help. He can also use indistinguishable black flames, although these flames have to travel a distance before hitting their target. The only known way to defend against this is to avoid it," Batman frowned, "Lastly everything he uses seems to come from his Chakra which is his stamina. He is still human and would eventually burn out. Maybe the use of chemical blockers to stop him from properly accessing his energy stores, or even taking away his energy should be considered. Further investigation is needed."

In Metropolis moon light shone through the window of Clark's apartment as he was sound asleep. Although he was woken up by the sound of a second heartbeat coming from one person, and he smiled. Lois woke up and looked up at him, "Clark? What is it? Smallville...?"

He stood up and put one hand behind his back and another under his chin as he walked back and forth, "We need to get everything checked thoroughly. I'll contact Star Labs. There are people there I trust to be discreet."

"Clark."

He looked down, "There shouldn't be any danger in the first trimester, but I'm not leaving it to chance. We'll need a bigger place, obviously."

"Clark!"

"Maybe we should consider moving away from Metropolis. Smallville would be a much safer and more private place to raise a child with powers. Although I'd prefer Metropolis High to"- he was cut off by a book thrown at his head.

He looked back at her, "Did you just throw a book at me?"

She crossed her arms, "You're invulnerable, I should be able to throw satisfyingly hard. objects at you sometimes," She walked up to him and poked his forehead, "I'm glad our fetus has a high school already, but I need you to slow down that Super speed brain. Let's just enjoy this moment," her phone started to vibrate and she picked it up, "It's the planet. An anonymous tip. Councilman Ives is taking a pay off at the docks tonight."

She started to get dressed and Clark crossed his arms, "I should come with you."

"Oh, should you? I don't remember you being so protective before you found out I was pregnant. Maybe you only care about the baby," she tilted her head playfully, "Ah ha! Your plan is finally apparent, alien. You have come to this planet only to breed! And you have chosen Earth's most beautiful woman for your nefarious schemes," she picked up her bag, "Clark, I'm not spending nine months sitting on the couch getting fat while you go out and fight death rays. That's not how I operate."

"I'll worry."

"I know. If only there was some way you could keep an eye on me at all times. If only you had some sort of incredible x-ray vision combined with telescopic vision and...... wait a minute."

He looked out the window. "Is it trouble?"

"I'm not sure, maybe."

"We both have somewhere to be. Don't worry. Jimmy will be with me. I need a photo of the handover," She kissed him and said, "Go. Save the world."

He flew down to an alley in Metropolis where Batman was fighting some goons, "What are you doing in Metropolis?"

"I'm on my way to Star Labs. Something sensitive was taken."

"You could have called," he started flying up, "Meet me up top when you're done."

A few minutes later Batman was perched up on a building and Superman flew by, "I have news."

"Lois is pregnant."

His jaw dropped a little, "How did you...?"

"You're sweating, your pupils are dilated and your left hand is shaking. You don't usually show any signs of stress or fear. The last time I saw you this afraid, you were facing Doomsday. And I doubt it's Doomsday....... you're grinning like an idiot."

"We want you to be the Godfather."

His posture changed barely, but enough for Superman to notice. "Hey, look at that, 'The World's greatest Detective' is surprised," he looked out at the city, "I heard it's heartbeat, Bruce."

Batman finally cracked a smile.

While they talked on a building a gunshot went off at the docks. A broken camera and a ginger boy laid down on the ground. Joker adjusted his hat, "Ew, I got some Jimmy on my shoe," he threw the hat off and stood over Lois, "Hi, Lois!"

The morning sun shone over Metropolis as Superman flew down to the docks. His brows were furrowed as his Jaw dropped in distraught. "Jimmy."

Batman was currently in Star Labs interrogating a scientist, "No one leaves this facility until"- he was cut off by Superman entering the room.

"I can't see her. I can't see Lois!"

"We're not alone, Superman. Maybe you should--?"

Superman handed him a bloody Joker card and Batman frowned. Superman put a hand on his shoulder, "He has her. Please. Help me. Find her."

Batman put two fingers up to his ear and made a call, "This is a priority call to all Justice League members and reserve members. I need as many eyes, ears, and minds as we can spare in Metropolis. A woman is missing."

Green Arrow asked, "You want the whole Justice League on a missing person case?"

"Absolutely. We believe she was taken by The Joker."

Cyborg asked, "Who is this woman, Batman?"

"She's one of us. That's all you need to know for now. Her name is Lois Lane."

Wonderwoman said, "Lois..."

"Wonder Woman, Miss Lane was last seen at the Metropolis docks. Head there and find out if anyone saw her or the Joker."

"I'm on my way."

Unfortunately at this time Itachi's communication device was in his bag, and he was asleep.

Superman found the Submarine and put it on a beach before ripping into it. He saw Harley and Joker working on her. "LOIS!" He ripped the straps off of her, "What did they do to"- suddenly green gas entered the room.

Joker had a manic look, "Something wrong, Supes?"

Harley said, "Yeah, for a man of steel, you look kinda wobbly."

"Suupahmaan."

Superman looked up to see Doomsday. "DOOMSDAY! No... Lois. The baby."

He grabbed Doomsday and went up into space."

Joker took off his mask, "Time to go."

Harley looked at him, "We're just going to leave? But this is the first Submarine I've ever owned."

"We'll get you another one!"

"I can't just get another one! I've named this one! You can't abandon something once it has a name. Everyone knows that."

He grabbed her arm, "Harley, any minute now, angry do gooders are going to realize what we're up Tom if we're still here when they arrive they will hit us over and over again, say goodbye to your Submarine."

"Goodbye Gunther!"

A green hand of energy pressed them into the sand. "Gunther is a terrible name for a Submarine.

Wonderwoman also arrived along with Flash and Batman. "Wait a minute. Did Flash carry you here? Ha! Putting fear in the hearts of criminals... while his bright red friend carries him through the night!"

Batman ignored him and went into the ship with a mask because of the fear toxin, and saw that there was no one inside. He jumped back out and asked him, "Where is she, Joker?"

Wonderwoman pulled out her lasso, "My lasso of Truth will"-"No. Not on him. I'm not sure what would spew out of that mind, but it wouldn't be the truth."

Joker put his bloody hands together, "Come on, Batsy. Use that pointy eared head of yours. You can see the truth. You just don't want to look at it too hard."

"What did you do to her?"

"You know what I did. I operated on her. She's the trigger."

Batman looked at Flash, "Flash. The missile on the Submarine, check to see if the warhead is still there."

"Don't bother checking. It isn't. When her heart stops, every heart in Metropolis stops, too."

He looked back at Joker, "Why would her....?" He looked down, "The kryptonite. Scarecrow added it to his fear toxin, so it could enter Superman's bloodstream through his lungs. And then...." he finally realized what was going on and put two fingers on his ear, "SUPERMAN! Superman! Can you hear me?"

Superman yelled at Doomsday, "You won't take them away from me!"

"Superman. STOP! Whatever you're seeing, It isn't real!"

Joker put a finger on his lip. "Did you know she was pregnant?"

In response Batman punched him and continued, "It's lois!"

And then the two heartbeats coming from one person, stopped beating. And with it came an explosion that leveled all of Metropolis.

Despite being on the other side of the planet Itachi woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. 'Something feels very wrong.'

Green Lantern landed a crowd of people onto the ground and asked, "Is that the last of them?"

Flash brought more people with him, "Yep, all the outlying areas have now been evacuated to outside the fallout zone."

"Superman?"

"I think he's still in Metropolis."

They both looked on at ash and smoke clouds that used to be Metropolis. "Have you tried to talk to him?"

"His communicator stopped working as soon as he entered the blast zone, and with that much radiation, Superman's the only guy who can stand at ground zero. No one else can."

A buzz came in on Flash's communicator and he picked it up, "Flash, what's going on over there?"

Flash fell silent for a moment. Green Lantern raised a brow, "Who is it?"

"It's Itachi, he's still supposed to be on a vacation."

Green Lantern looked at the ground, "That's not gonna be good."

Flash responded, "Itachi..... Metropolis..... it's gone, it's all gone. Superman had a pregnant wife, Lois. He hallucinated and killed her which set off a nuke that destroyed Metropolis."

Itachi blinked a few times, he almost asked him to repeat himself to make sure he heard right, "....... My vacation is over, come pick me up as soon as you can."

"Alright."

Itachi sat in his apartment in silence with a hand on his forehead. He hadn't felt such genuine anger since he was accused of killing Shisui. 'I was wrong to have valued gaining their trust over ending his life........... 11 million people, gone. As soon as I find him I'm killing him on the spot."

Itachi promised himself this, but he's gonna be beaten to it. In Gotham Prison Batman was interrogating Joker. "Someone took it all away from you once too, didn't they, Bats? And look what you became, an all punching all kicking little ball of angst. What do you think Superman will become? He's a God who has deluded himself into believing he's a man. What will he turn into?"

"There are some thing even you can't corrupt, Joker."

Joker's brows raised, "Ha! Oh, Batsy. You're so cute. You honestly think your friend will still be fun to play with?"

"He will grieve. But he will stay one of the best men I know."

"No. I think it's going to be a whole lot funnier than that."

Superman broke through the wall and lifted Joker with one hand, before sticking a hand through his torso, with Batman standing nearby with wide open eyes and a dropped jaw.

 

[Bonzoluv]

"......Superman, killed him?"

Flash nodded. Itachi blinked a few times and looked down at the ground, 'Of all the people...... Superman did it?' Before meeting Superman he wouldn't be surprised if he did this, but after knowing him for a year, and how the amulet made it seem like he was incorruptible, he slowly considered Superman killing as something that would never happen. He put a hand under his chin, 'The Joker Dying is good, but was it a good thing for Superman to have been the one that did it?'

Superman sat in the Fortress Of Solitude, still having Joker's blood on his hand along with messy hair and facial hair. He could hear everything, reports of Metropolis, the rising death toll, growing fear, the Joker's death, but one thing caught his ear.

"Meanwhile, Bialya's telecommunications have been severed, in an apparent attempt to prevent information from reaching beyond the country's borders. It is believed the shelling of Bialya, which has already claimed thousands of lives, continues unabated inside this internet blackout."

"No more," Superman flies out of the Fortress down to the City of Gared in Bialya where a boy is about to get hit directly by a tank shell, but Superman blocks it. The boy looks up and Superman offers his hand, "Up you hop, son."

"Shukran!"

"I'm sorry. I don't speak Arabic.... but I should. I'll learn," he hears more tank shells and quickly destroys them with heat vision.

A mother comes out and hugs the boy. "Shukran! Thank you! Thank you!"

Many more people come out and gather around Superman. He puts his hands up, "It's okay. I should have been here all along. I'm sorry. I'll... I'll stop this."

Superman flies to the capitol building and opens the door with his eyes glowing red, "Mr president," he walks forward at a steady pace while he's shot at and as guards try to jump on him. But he keeps walking with no struggle and grabs the president through the bodies covering him, "I'd like a word."

He flies out of the capitol building, "I want to show you something," He flies down to one of the battlefields where there are craters in the ground and dead bodies everywhere, "These are the people you were supposed to protect."

The president looks around and notices civilians coming outside, "No. You... you can't do this."

"Yes. I can. I realize this now," he rips off his uniform.

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT! I AM PRESIDENT!"

"Not anymore."

Wonderwoman flies down, "Superman. There are cameras."

"Good, I have something to say."

"Are you planning on addressing the world?"

He starts dragging the president over, "Yes."

"No," She puts a hand on his chest.

He doesn't make eye contact and glares, "I will speak."

"The world will hear you, but not here, not in the middle of this, and not looking like that. Wash off the scorch marks the shrapnel and the blood. Shave."

He looks at her, "You're right."

"I will call a press conference at the United Nations, and you will say what I've been waiting to hear since I first met you."

Itachi sits on a couch with Nightwing, over the past year Itachi has had the closest relationship with Nightwing, he was a good sparring partner that has helped Itachi get better, and an even better friend.

"You know, before I heard what Superman did I planned on killing Joker myself."

Nightwing didn't look surprised and smirked, "Well.... I'm not a fan of killing, but I wouldn't be mad at you if you had done it."

Itachi looks down at the ground, "I should have been here instead of trying to reminisce in a place that resembled my planet, I could have stopped all this a year ago when I first saw him.... but, that doesn't matter now."

Nightwing stared at Itachi, "You know, Batman has done some things I never fully understood when it comes to his battles with Joker. One time both him and Joker were poisoned with no way out, there was only one pill in the room and they were told one had to swallow the entire pill to survive. Batman took the risk of splitting it in half, and forcing one half down Jokers throat while he ate the other."

Itachi's mouth hung slightly open after hearing the story, "He'd risk his own life to save him??"

'Is that what being a superhero is supposed to mean?'

Nightwing nodded and he scrunched his brow with a hand under his chin, "I've always understood the no killing rule, but I don't think it would have been murder to save himself over Joker....... honestly I wish he just took the whole pill..... Beast boy and Kid Flash are dead now because of that bomb," Itachi put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Nightwing looks back up at Itachi, "You know, he hasn't talked to Superman once since he killed Joker."

Itachi tilted his head, "I thought they were best friends."

"Yeah, they are...... he was even supposed to be the Godfather of their child."

Their conversation was interrupted by an emergency UN meeting on the TV. Superman showed up with the president of Bialya and Wonderwoman, peeking at both of their interests.

Superman grabbed both sides of the podium and looked down, "I'm so sorry. We failed you. My name--my earth name-- is Clark Kent," he looked up, "I am... I was a reporter for the Daily Planet. As a journalist, I spent too much time writing about the evil in the world. As a hero, I have spent too much time reacting to evils already perpetrated," he gripped the side of the podium crushing it while he grit his teeth, "No more. What happened yesterday can never be allowed to happen again. Monsters can no longer roam free among us," he pointed a hand at the president of Bialya who was trying to cover his still shirtless form, "This man turned his weapons against his own people. He is a criminal and he will be tried as one. To those who would do the same, those who would hurt others, know that I will come for you. I don't care about your lands or your beliefs. I don't care about your petty squabbles. I don't care if you're a madman or a terrorist, a king or a president. You do NOT have the right to take Innocent lives," he pointed at the camera, "I am calling for an immediate world-wide ceasefire. All hostilities will stop immediately--or I will stop them. It's over."

Itachi narrowed his eyes and put his hands together, for a second he was reminded of Madara, 'Superman, just what do you think you're doing? Dismissing everything people believe then trying to force your morals on the whole world?'

Soon after this Superman intercepted a drone strike by the airforce.

"Estimated casualties?"

The general answered, "Acceptable. Between five to ten civilians."

A lady spoke up, "It looks to me like he was trying to prevent the death of innocents."

"What he was doing was acting against the United States Military. What he was doing was committing Treason! He has already murdered on our soil without punishment. And we have no idea how his blundering actions in Bialya may destabilize our efforts in the region. Sir, Superman has decided to police the entire world. He has already toppled one government. If he is allowed to continue, unchecked, uncontrolled like this..."

The president asked, "What do you propose?"

Later at night the Kent residence was set aflame and Superman broke into the house looking for his parents, "Mom! Dad!"

"They're not here."

"What?" Superman looked down at a mirror and there was a person inside of it that had men behind him. It was Mirror Master, "If you've hurt them, I'll"-"You'll what? Put your fist through my chest? Seriously, that was some pretty dark stuff. Know this. You're never going to see your parents again. They're somewhere even you can't find or touch. But they are alive. The old man put up a fight though so I had to use some good old fashion violence on him, but he'll live."

Superman smashed the mirror in anger but Mirror Master was still on the shards, "And they will stay alive if you heed this message. It's a simple message. Stop what you're doing. Stop interfering with governments and wars and go back to punching giant space robots and stuff. Do this and your parents keep breathing. Forget your place again, and we'll start sending you little pieces of one of them. Maybe we'll even let you choose which one."

The next day many heroes gathered in the Watchtower and got a briefing from Wonderwoman on what happened to Superman's parents, "Many of you have lost family and friends in Metropolis, there are heros who should be standing here now that we will never see again. Superman has not been mourning, he has taken a tragedy and began to act to make sure it could never happen again. Last night in response to Superman's recent actions his parents were taken from their home. They will be killed if Superman continues to get in the government's way. Whoever did this wants us to know our place. I am princess Diana of Themyscira and I know my place. I believe in what has been started. I believe we can make a real difference. I believe we can not just save the world, but change it for the better. I believe in Superman. I know some of you may be feeling uneasy about his recent actions, if any of you feel you can't help"-"No," Cyborg steps forward, "He's Superman. This world would have been destroyed ten times over without him. We owe him this and far more. Let's go fight for him."

Everyone started walking towards the teleporter and Itachi walked besides Nightwing, "Dick, what she said about changing the world for the better......"-"I know what you mean. I doubt the rest of the world will think that her definition of better is the same as hers, but this is Clark's parents we're talking about, this comes first."

Itachi silently agreed and they were teleported down to earth where they interrogated each Rogue's member which led them all the way to the World's End bar in Keystone City. Itschi stood outside of the bar with the rest of the heros while Raven, Wonderwoman, and Flash entered the shop. And soon exited.

"I'm heading to Salar De Uyuni," Flash stated before running off.

Later in the Presidents office the President heard a voice, "That was incredibly stupid."

"What??"

Batman showed up behind the president and covered his mouth, "You don't touch a man's parents," he took his hand off of his mouth, "Don't call out."

"They said it couldn't be tracked back to me."

"It couldn't, I was playing a hunch. It's not a hunch anymore though."

The president sat down and put his hands together, "Will you tell them of my involvement?"

"No, but if they do work it out..."

"What? They wouldn't dare touch me. The public perception"-Batman slammed a hand on his desk, "Are you really that naive? Think about who you're dealing with! No one would know they've touched you. There would be no evidence. You'd just go missing," he gritted his teeth, "The police wouldn't think to look for your body on Saturn! Your plan failed, Mister President. And it failed in a way that will only strengthen Superman's resolve--it will unite all of them behind him."

"Them?"

"What?"

"Unite 'them' behind him. Not 'us'? You know, don't you?," he looks outside the window, "You know what one man with that much power could do to the world."

"He is trying to bring about peace."

"Yes, but then how will he keep the peace? Power corrupts. Trust me. I know."

Later in the Batcave Nightwing was training Damian while Itachi watched. The spar went on for a while until Nightwing sweeped Damian's legs with a staff, causing him to fall flat on his face. "What did you do wrong?"

"Legs."

"Yes, legs. You keep aiming for that killing blow, you're trying to hurt me--which I'm trying not to take personally, by the way, but it's not all about the body and head. Your opponent has sticky outy bits that are easier to reach. Not only does your opponent have those bits, they also may have had some bad circumstances that led them to a point where you're fighting them. So criminals deserve a second chance. Second chances are harder with a severe brain injury. Get ready, we'll go again."

While Nightwing was looking away Damian threw a baton straight at his head, but Superman caught it. "That's not very sporting of you Damien."

Damian clenched his fist, "How..?"

"It's okay, Superman. I knew it was coming. He tries it all the time."

Damian threw his hands up in the air, "You can't just... appear! Seriously. A bit of warning."

Superman handed his baton back to him, "Is he in?"

Nightwing responded, "Yeah, he's on the computer."

Damian accepted the baton, "He's even broodier than usual."

"Well, your father is the master of brooding, but he still needs to practice."

Superman started walking further into the cave, "Hey, Superman. I wanted to say thanks. Now that the Joker's gone, everything just feels safer, you know?"

"Dick, could you take Damian and give us some privacy?"

Nightwings eyes narrowed, "Sure... are you okay?"

"I'll manage," he walked further into the cave with a clenched fist.

Itachi decides to listen in with Chakra enhanced hearing.

Batman noticed him and continued working, "Damien isn't used to people just appearing in front of him."

Superman crosses his arms, "Where were you? My parents were taken. Where were you?"

Batman looks at him, "I was doing what needed to be done."

Superman puts a hand on Batman's shoulder, "My parents. You of all people...."

Batman looks down, "You have to stop what you're doing."

Superman leans back and his face becomes scrunched with a dropped jaw, "I have to stop what? Stop saving lives? Stop bringing dictators to justice?"

Batman looks back up at him, "You're scaring them."

Superman rips off his mask and screams in his face, "GOOD!" He backs away and looks off to the side, "They should be scared. They should be too scared to press the button. They should be too scared to pull the trigger. They should be too scared to hurt each other," he points at Batman, "You taught me that."

Batman's expression lightens and his brows raise, "Clark, I"-"You'd do exactly what I'm doing if you were me--if you could do what I can."

"You killed a man, Clark."

"I DID!" He points at him again, "And every time you let that madman live, how many more did you condemn? Did you even feel responsible? Did you even feel guilty?"

Batman looks down, "Everytime," then looks back up, "But we don't get to choose who dies."

Clark puts up a finger, "One death. To save millions. One. Death."

Batman narrows his eyes, "It always starts with one. That's how justification works. But once you justify something once, you can do it again, and again. It becomes easier. Right and wrong blur."

"Itachi seems to be doing just fine as a killer," Batman walks back to his computer and Superman asks, "You loved him, didn't you?"

Batman looks back at him, "What?"

"You're not sitting here in the dark mourning Metropolis, are you? You're mourning him, You're angry at me for taking the Joker away from you," Batman put his mask back on. "That's it. Hide behind your mask. You loved having him around. Your constant nemesis. The two of you played your stupid game, and people died."

"You know that's not true."

Superman turns away from Batman, "Then why didn't you stop him?" He turns back towards Batman and raises a fist with glowing red eyes, "WHY DID YOU LET HIM DO THIS TO ME, BRUCE?!? You can't possibly understand what he took. He stole the life Lois and I would have had together. Our child. And more. There was going to be someone else like me in the world. Another Kryptonian. Someone who would have made me feel less alone. And I would have loved that child more than anything. I already did. And look at you."

Itachi noticed that Nightwing and Damian were also listening in on the conversation and Batman walked to Superman.

"You're sitting in the dark ignoring Dick and Damian. How many friends did they lose in Metropolis? Have you consoled them? Have you held them?" Superman tenses his jaw, "Your parents died and left you, Bruce. What's your excuse for not being a father?"

Batman becomes enraged and punches Superman across his face, which didn't even make him flinch. Superman crosses his arms, "Show me your hand."

He looks away, "No."

"Don't be you. Show me," he reveals his hand to him and Superman gets a good look at it, "A hairline fracture to your third finger. A small amount of ligament damage. You'll be okay in three to four weeks if you can stop yourself from punching things."

An alert shows up on the Batcomputer, "What's that?"

"You're not wearing your communicator?"

"No, I didn't want us to be interrupted."

"Trouble in the Pacific ocean in Atlantis. Several Justice League members are on the scene."

Superman turns away, "I should go."

"Wait," Batman takes off his mask, "You can't put yourself above us, Clark. You're right. I'm not saying I'd act differently if I had your abilities. I'm not saying I wouldn't try to impose peace. But you..."

"What?"

"You're a better man than I am."

Superman offers a hand, "Bruce, come with me."

Batman stares at his hand for a minute, contemplating his decision. Eventually he looks down at the ground, "I can't, Clark. I'm sorry."

Superman remains silent and starts walking up the steps. Alfred passes by him and asks, "Not staying for tea, Master Kent?"

"I'm afraid not, Aldred. And you don't have to call me Master."

Alfred glares at him, "Good. Let's remember that."

Itachi rushes down the stairs and jumps into the Batwing. "I'm going to the battle."

Superman showed up and flew through one of the Kraken's tentacles and threatened Arthur to call off his attack, along with Batman's request to call it off over comms he complied. The heros flew the sailors out of the ocean.

Superman stood in front of Aquaman, "I called for a worldwide ceasefire."

"Even your voice does not reach down into the deep Superman. If you wish to rule the surface world"-"I do not seek to rule, only to protect."

"I understand, with the destruction of Metropolis, you lost your kingdom. But you can't have mine."

Batman stated over comms, "Don't provoke him!"

Superman crossed his arms, "I do not want"-"Superman, whether you can see it or not, your reign is beginning, but the sea is mine alone to command," he stated with crossed arms and a raised chin.

Batman said, "Arthur what are you doing?"

Wonderwoman flew over, "Superman! Turn your communicator on!"

"What's happening?"

"Atlantean armies are rising in countries across the world."

"Arthur, what is this?"

Arthur brushed his hair out of his face, "A reminder. I am not some pathetic self appointed leader of some insignificant country who can be bullied into submission. Every port, every ship, everything that flies over the oceans does so with my blessing. Your world would grind to a halt if I willed it. Every land mass borders the sea. Your entire world is inside mine. Consider this a show of strength. Now get the hell out of my ocean."

Batman slammed on his computer desk, "You idiot! He's not going to respond to an ultimatum!"

Superman flies off and Wonderwoman follows, "Where are you going? You can't back down!"

"I'm not backing down."

Itachi was listening in on the comms the whole time and was curious as to what was going on as he flew over North Africa on the way to the Pacific. Eventually to his shock he heard a breaking world news report. "As a city from the darkest depths of the ocean. A city that has never been touched by sunlight. Has been placed in the middle of the hottest desert in the world.

Batman contacted Superman, "Superman, you can't threaten an entire city and expect the world to just"-"No. You don't get to speak. You think I didn't hear you whispering your poison into Arthur's ear? Cyborg, remove Batman's communicator access. He's not with us. That's enough words from you, "Bruce."

"Clark, Don"- his comms were severed.

Wonderwoman flew over, "Clark, Arthur is ready to talk to you."

"I don't want to see him, and I've achieved nothing by talking today, you're the diplomat, you speak to him."

Itachi looked outside of the Batwing down at the shore of Algeria and saw Wonderwoman and Aquaman. He put two fingers on his ear, "Batman, can you connect me to Wonder Woman's comms so I can hear what they're saying?"

"Done."

"I didn't think he was capable of Something like this. You have his ear, Diana. Steer him away from this course of action."

Wonderwoman has her hands on her hips, "I will not. I believe this course of action is what's best for the world."

Aquaman looks at the sun, "You will have scared a lot of people today. Ordinary people who do not want Gods and Aliens telling them what they can't and can't do."

"Perhaps."

"Can you pass a message onto Superman?"

"Of course."

"I have ruled peacefully for many years. If he has decided to command, when he is ready, I would ask that he seek my counsel. And please tell Clark..... tell him I'm sorry about Lois."

Wonderwoman flew back to Superman who was looking at Atlantis and he noticed her, "Well?"

"He said he will pull his armies back into the ocean."

"Good, I'll let Shazam and Hal know that we can put Atlantis back into the sea. This decision didn't sit well with either of them."

"Don't worry about what they think. You did the right thing, you did what needed to be done."

Superman looks down, "So you've said."

"I won't let you doubt yourself."

They both flew to the ground and he asked, "What else?"

"What?"

"Surely Arthur had something else to say."

She stared for a minute before responding, "No, nothing."

Itachi clenched his fist. 'I've heard enough of this, everything we've all established is about to be destroyed for good soon.' and he landed the Batwing on the ground in front of them. Wonderwoman got into a fighting stance.

"Batman?"

They both saw Itachi get out of the plane and their hostility turned to confusion. Itachi narrowed his eyes and walked forward, "Wonderwoman, why don't you tell him what else Arthur said?"

"Excuse me?"

Itachi stood in front of Superwoman, "Or maybe you need to have the lasso of Truth around you to tell the truth?"

Wonderwoman lifted her chin looking down on Itachi, "Don't threaten me, child."

"Superman, he said he was sorry about Lois, but tell me, just what are you doing?"

Superman crossed his arms, "Don't tell me that you of all people are going to start lecturing me about killing a man?"

Itachi shook his head, "No, in fact I planned on doing it myself. And I stand by my word when I say I should have done it one year ago. It would have saved you and everyone else the sorrows we're dealing with now...." Superman's expression lightened up, "But Superman, what you're trying to do to the world….. you need to stop."

"I'm going to make it safer."

"Safer, yes. But at what cost? You're going to castrate each nation one by one until they bend to your will and adopt your sense of morality? You just want to unnaturally absolve all conflicts and force everyone to get along?"

Superman walked towards him, "I'm saving lives! You know how many kids I've saved from being turned into child soldiers when I stopped the war in Bialya alone? You know all about being a Child soldier, would you wish that upon anyone else?"

Itachi looked down at the ground, "No," he looked back up right into Superman's eyes, "But Superman. When you brought Atlantis here into the desert. What would you have done if Arthur continued to fight? Would you have let millions of Atlantians slowly die from the heat? And if any other nation resists long enough what will you do to them? Cut off all their trade? Maybe pick it up and put it in the Arctic?"

Superman looked down at the ground for a minute, as it hadn't crossed his mind that Arthur might refuse, and what he would have done if he did."

Wonder Woman but in and grabbed Itschi's shoulder tightly, "He would have done what he needed to to keep people safe."

Itachi glared daggers at her and his own eyes glinted red for a second. "Wonderwoman, stop filling Superman's mind with your silver tongued lies and"-"We're ready to put Atlantis back into the ocean.

Green Lantern and Shazam arrived. Green Lantern raised a brow when he saw Itachi, "Itachi? When did you get here?"

Superman started flying away, "Not long ago, and he was just leaving."

"Superman"-"Enough, Itachi. I've argued with enough friends today."

They all flew off to lift Atlantis and Itachi was left disheartened by himself as he got back into the Batwing, and went home.

 

[Bonzoluv]

Itachi landed near Aquaman who was about to enter the ocean. He turned around, "Itachi, what are you doing here?"

Itachi walked close to him and looked up at him, "How are you feeling?"

Aquaman scoffed and turned away slightly, "My entire kingdom has been scarred and I've been told to ignore what the surface world does to my oceans," he looks at him, "How do you think I'm feeling? I doubt you've had to deal with this before."

Itachi looked down, "Well when I was younger, a beast that dwarfed mountains nearly destroyed our village, but our Hokage defeated it, then as an adult an....associate of mine wiped out my village. I do have some understanding of your pain. I just hope you don't turn on all of us after what Superman has done."

Aquaman's expression lightens. "I'm.... I'm not sure who I can still call my friends after today. I fear that we may never be the same."

Itachi shakes his head, "I've tried talking to him, but this? The League? It's all over, things will never be the same again. I have a feeling that Superman may still be able to be normal again, but with Wonderwoman by his side there's no hope..... although I'm not known for my tact or abilities to change people's minds, so I'd need assistance," Itachi starts walking back to the Batwing, "I won't ask you to help me if you don't want to, but if things get worse then Superman will force you to do something that endangers your people. Contact me if you ever want to help."

Aquaman nods and walks into the ocean.

Some time later on the Gotham News Channel where the reporters had unnaturally wide smiles, "Tonight on Gotham 2, our continuing coverage of a nation divided. While our own poll shows most of Gotham is in favor of Superman's recent actions after the terrible events in Metropolis, there are many who oppose them. And one of the more vocal opponents joins us in the studio tonight. Doctor Boone, thank you for being here," the doctor sat in the dark where half his body was covered, "We appear to be having some difficulty with our lights, as soon as"-"I'm sorry, Doctor Boone couldn't be here. Channel two. Twin anchors. A nation divided," the man stepped out of the light and revealed himself to be Two Face. "I couldn't stay away. I tried, but the coin....." he aimed his gun at them and they recoiled putting their hands up. "And now we have to find out which one of you I'm replacing tonight."

The male anchor bit his lip, "No. Please."

Two face flipped a coin in the air, but as it came back down Two red beams burned it into ash. "NAARGH! No, what was it? Heads or tails?"

Superman appeared in front of Two Face and he asked Superman, "You must have seen. Tell me. Please."

"No," he looks at the news anchors, "Are you all right?"

The male anchor with still wide eyes said, "He was going to.... right her. With everyone watching, he would have..."-"Yes."

The female anchor shook his hand, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm just glad I was nearby. Now, I need to"-"Wait! Before you go. Could I ask you some questions?"

The male anchor walked up, "Julie. He said he had to go," but he was ignored, "Please. You're a journalist. You know how important it is for the public to be informed."

"We've met before haven't we?"

"Yes. We've met. Well, I've met Clark. At the Pulitzers."

Superman frowns, "Yes. I lost to my wife."

"You were nominated. You're a wonderful writer. But, I hope you'll forgive my saying, Lois Lane was far better."

He smiles, "Yes, she was."

They both sat down and she asked, "Do you think Lois would approve of the more.... proactive role you've taken in the world?"

"I hope so. In a way, I'm doing this because of her-- because of something she said to me."

"It's been widely reported that you killed the Joker. Did you?"

"Yes."

"I doubt there's a single soul in this city who thinks you did the wrong thing."

"I wish you were right. But there are those who continue to defend these psychopaths," he looks at the camera, "It's why I'm in Gotham today. There's something... sick in your city. These twisted individuals who have hurt your city time and time again cannot be allowed to do so anymore."

Batman watched in his cave with Nightwing and Robin and said, "Get the plane ready."

Robin asked, "Why? Where are we going?"

"I will no longer allow them to kill and maim and terrorize and then be 'treated.' The onus has always been on getting these people the help they deserve. They deserve nothing. Their illness can no longer be an excuse for your threatened society. YOU DESERVE to know that they can never threaten you again. One of these madmen permanently scarred this world. Myself and my fellow Justice League members have decided that these criminals must be taken away, far from Gotham. I promise you, they will never threaten you again."

The three of them started running towards the plane. Batman states, "I know why he's in Gotham."

Robin asks, "Why? What's happening?"

"They're going to Arkham!"

Robin stops and crosses his arms, "So what?"

Batman gets in the pilot seat, "We don't have time for this, Damian. Get in the plane."

"Sure. I'll get in. So long as we're flying to Arkham to help Superman burn it to the ground."

Niggtwing tilts his head, "Damian, you're thirteen years old. How are you the darkest thing in this cave?"

Batman says, "We need to leave. Now."

Robin points at Batman, "Have you considered for a single second that you might be wrong? You self righteous, arrogant"- Batman and Nightwing fly off in the Batwing before he can finish his thought.

Nightwing looks at Batman and smiles, "You do see his point. Right? You know how annoying it is when you don't answer? I mean, you may think it illustrates your point, but it's also just kind of douchey."

"You were never as stubborn as Damian."

"No. For someone to be THAT stubborn, they really have to be directly related to you, but both of us remember what it's like to be an angry teenager."

"You understand, don't you? You know why we can't let them do this?"

"Of course, but you've had way longer to indoctrinate me."

He looks at Dick, "Dick...."-"It's okay, Bruce. I get it. Now, let's go defend a bunch of horrible murderers from the world's greatest heroes."

Itachi was also watching the news. 'If only this was the only thing you did instead of taking over nations then we wouldn't have a problem..... Should I go? Now might be my last chance to establish an alliance with Superman and get on the inside to figure out his future plans....,' Itachi decided to act on this and got in uniform

While he was preparing to go there, a fight had already started in the prison between the inmates and all of the heros. Damian was being particularly brutal in his beatings, "I am so sick of all of you. You think you deserve help? After everyone you've hurt. You think Society owes you freaks anything?!"

Nightwing looked over at Robin, "Robin, that's enough!"

Robin looks back at Nightwing, "You're as bad as him! Superman is right. They don't deserve our protection. Even Itachi would agree."

Nightwing goes back to fighting, "He probably would. But Robin doesn't beat people once they're down!"

"You're not Robin anymore!" Robin threw his baton at Nightwing who was looking away, "STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!" but this time Nightwing didn't see it coming, and the hit to the head made him lose his balance. He stepped back a couple of times before falling back onto a rock that his neck landed on as there was a subtle crack.

He didn't get up, and Robin walked over slowly, "Nightwing?" He knelt down to Nightwing and slowly reached out a hand, "Dick..?"

Superman, Batman, Wonderwoman, and Flash raised up from a hole in the ground. Superman clenched his fist, "Enough! Grundy is down. Everyone back in your cells!"

Batman glanced over at Robin who had tears streaming down his face, "I... I'm sorry."

Batman's eyes became wide, "You.... what did you do?"

"He always...."- Batman clenched both sides of his head and walked over, "What did you do?!"

"I didn't mean to..."- Batman pushed him away from Dick, "GET OFF OF HIM!"

Robin grabbed both sides of his cape, "I didn't...."

Superman walked up to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, "I know, son."

Batman with a dropped jaw and still wide eyes slowly reached out his hands to Nightwing and picked him up as the heros and inmates looked on in silence. Batman carried him out of the building with pursed lips the whole time.

Shortly after Itachi arrived not knowing anything about what occurred. Superman noticed his presence, "Itachi? What are you doing here?"

"I've.... had a change of heart. Although I'm still hesitant about what you're doing worldwide, I've always thought this Asylum was pointless since I first found out about it over a year ago, so I'll help you with rounding up these inmates."

Superman smiled, but Wonderwoman narrowed her eyes and drew her lasso, "Is that so? I'm having my doubts about your intentions."

Superman put a hand on her shoulder, "Diana, I think"-"It's alright Superman. I'll gladly put myself under the lasso's influence," he grabbed the lasso.

Wonderwoman was taken very slightly aback at how willing he was, but quickly stated, "Why do you want to help Superman? The lasso compels you to tell the truth."

Itachi maintained strong eye contact with Wonderwoman and a blank expression, "I believe in ending the threat of all villains we've dealt with in the past year and more. I've always despised that you all willingly put them in cages knowing that they would break out and kill more innocents. That is what I believe in."

Wonder Woman's expression eased up and Superman smirked, "See? He's fine, he's had the right idea since the first time we've ever met him," Superman put an arm on Itachi's shoulder, "Itachi, I'm sorry that we've held you back for so long....... we've been filling ourselves up with self righteous thoughts that we were saviors, when in reality we were just prolonging deaths. You're part of what has opened my mind up to that."

Itachi smirked as his memory returned back to normal, 'A simple self inflicted mind wipe genjutsu. When holding the lasso I genuinely thought what I was saying was the truth, well..... I still do. But that isn't my only motive for being here,' Itachi finally takes notice of all the rubble and unconscious inmates around him, "I thought Batman would be here at some point. Did he not come."

Superman tensed up for a second then looked off to the side, "Yes, but.... he left."

Itachi tilted his head at the body language of Superman, 'Is he avoiding telling me something about Batman? Well they're still on bad terms, so it's a given.' At least this is what he had thought at first, but he quickly realized that all of the heros had some kind of avoiding grief stricken look on their faces,"Did I miss something?"

Superman and Wonderwoman looked at each other, before Superman cleared his throat, "Itachi.... Nightwing has died."

Itachi stood completely still for a second processing what he heard as his eyelids spread far apart, "Huh?"

"Superman looked down, "Damian threw a baton at him in a slout of anger, and his neck unexpectedly fell right on a rock, killing him instantly. It was... a tragic accident."

Itachi's eyes remained wide and his jaw was slightly open. He didn't say a word and simply turned around and left. Wonderwoman opened her mouth to call after him but Superman put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't. Excluding Batman, he was the closest League member to Nightwing. He'll need some time."

Itachi walked all the way back to his home and sat on a couch. His face remained mostly expressionless, excluding the tear that fell from his face, 'I never beat him in a sparring match a single time."

A couple nights later Itachi was training harder than he has in awhile when he received a knock on the door. He got a towel to rub away his sweat and opened the door, "Batman? What are you doing here?"

"Itachi, I heard you over your comms a couple nights ago, it seems like you've decided to join Superman.... but I'm not entirely convinced."

Itachi's head lowered, "I'm assuming that you want me to join you?"

"I want to at least listen to what I have to say...... I know that we disagree on a lot, but we both know that world domination isn't right. You once mentioned before that you were a double agent for your clan and your village. If you'll agree with what I have to say, then I want you to be a double agent again."

Itachi looked at the ground for a while before looking back up at him, "Alright. I'll come."

Later deep underground there was a gathering of random heroes including Batman, Batwoman, Huntress, Captain Atom, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Black Lightning, Aquaman, and Itachi.

"Thank you all for joining us."

Green Arrow lowered his head slightly, "I said I'd listen. I didn't agree to join anything yet."

Everyone gathered around the table and Aquaman and Itachi noticed each other and nodded at each other. Batman put his hands on the table, "You know why you're all here."

"Captain Atom said, "Of course. What's our plan of attack."

Later Itachi was in Kahndaq with Superman's team to help him take over the country. Although he was taking a more passive role in the battle and tended to Green Lantern who was down with healing Chakra. "Green Lantern is down everyone."

Cyborg, who was nearby, held up his scanner, "Something is approaching fast."

Superman asked, "Is it him?"

Cyborg turned his arm into a blaster, "It better be. Because, whatever it is, I'm about to bring it down hard," his eyes narrowed, "That's it. Fly towards the giant cannon you stupid mass murdering"- Black Adam appeared right next to him and tore off his arm, "Looking for this?" And he punched him to the ground, "You should not have stood in the way of my retribution, Half Man."

His speech was interrupted by Wonder Woman who dropped kicked him in the back which sent him flying. And Superman followed up with another kick which sent him into the ground. They both restrained him and Shazam flew over to them. "You're done, Adam."

Black Adam yelled with a contorted expression, "I am not done. Someone fired a shell into my country. They killed children of Kahndaq. I am Kahndaq's leader, it's protector and it's wraith. My country will suffer no such attack without vengeance. So long as I have power."

Wonderwoman glared, "Then we will take your power," She pulled out her lasso."

Itachi walked over to observe and Shazam asked, "What are you doing?"

"Asking him a question. Shazam, hold him," She wrapped it around his neck, "Know that you cannot lie while touching the lasso."

Shazam had furrowed brows and looked at Wonderwoman, "Wonder Woman. If you compel him to say the word... he's ancient. I don't know if he will survive the transformation."

"Then ask him if there's any other way."

He looked back at Adam, "Adam, tell me how we stop you from killing again?"

"You cannot. I will kill without mercy. I will slaughter anyone who would threaten Kahndaq. I will tear whole countries apart! And know that you are no different to me. You are choosing the same path. Your end will be the same. You will be the same. You will rule. You will bring about peace. But they will FEAR you."

Wonderwoman clenched the Lasso, "Black Adam."

Shazam looked away and closed his eyes while pursing his lips. Black Adam tried leaning towards him, "Billy! Promise me."

"Tell us."-"Promise me that Kahndaq will be safe!"-"What is your magic word?"

"SHAZAM!"

Black Adam's previous muscular build turned into that of a skinny old man with messy hair and beard. "He's alive."

"Sh...sh.."-Wonderwoman covered his mouth, "No."

Shazam walked around and came across a father with his two kids and he started speaking their language, "It's alright. The danger has passed."

He received a glare in response, "Passed? How? We are surrounded by angry, powerful Gods who would decide our future."

"I understand."

"You DON'T understand. How could you? You are one of them. Go back to your skies, angry God. Do not pretend to understand us"

Later that day Itachi opted to stay behind in Kahndaq, and he walked towards Black Adam who sat on rubble back in his muscular form. Black Adam glanced at him, "What do you want, dog? Has Superman decided to take more from me than just my pride?"

Itachi shook his head, "I'm here of my own volition. I've come here because I understand"- Black Adam chuckled, "Understand? You're too young to understand t"-"No, I've known war since I was child, and in the world I'm from I've dealt with something similar to this. I've come to make an offer."

Black Adam raised a brow and maintained eye contact with Itachi, who smirked in response. 'If I'm gonna take down Superman then I'm gonna need a lot of allies to insure my victory. Eventually, I might even turn some of Superman's team against him, guys like Black Adam will help me make sure of that.'

 

[Bonzoluv]

It's been one month since the tragedy that has wiped out Metropolis, since then no one has stepped foot in there, nor has a sound been made, until now. "I'm alive."

Up in the watchtower Cyborg was talking to Superman, "I'm telling you, it's definitely being broadcast out of Metropolis. It's Just the same two words over and over again. I'd say it's a recording."

"I'll go and take a look."

"A look? You can see radio waves? Of course you can..."

Wonderwoman walked over, "You shouldn't go."

Green Lantern stepped in, "Wonderwoman is right. We've been upsetting a lot of powerful people. Now we get a lone message of impossible hope being broadcast from your destroyed home..?"

Wonderwoman leaned in, "It's the perfect lure."

Cyborg said, "And Metropolis is uninhabited for miles in every direction, there's no better place to attack you. They could hit you with whatever they wanted without worrying about collateral damage."

Superman stated, "If a citizen of Metropolis has survived, I'm not ignoring them."

Green Lantern and Wonderwoman came to Metropolis with Superman. The sky was gray and there was rusted metal and scorched shadows everywhere, along with skeletons laying in piles absent of any flesh they may have had on them before. "This is where the signal is coming from. That transmitter attached to the door. It must have been damaged by the blast. It is a miracle it's working at all."

Wonderwoman walked over, "Or someone wants us to think that," Her head darted in another direction.

"What Is it?"

"I'm not sure... I feel like we're being watched. Are you sure we're alone?"

Superman used his x-ray vision, "I'm not seeing anything else alive down here."

Green Lantern called over comms, "Superman, can I suggest we leave this one alone? We'll find another way. Maybe via a remote or something. You know that bit in the horror movie where you're screaming at the cheerleader not to investigate the strange sound in the woods? This is that moment. You're the cheerleader."

Superman ignored him and grabbed the large door before tearing it off its hinges. His expression lit up, "Lex!" Lex looked back in surprise, "Lex? I thought..."

They both smile and Superman lifts him up with a hug, "I thought you were gone. It's a miracle."

"Not a miracle, just a well executed contingency plan. It's good to see you too, but I'd hate to survive a nuclear explosion only to be crushed by an over-exuberant hug," He's released and he continues, "Tell me. What has happened?"

"Later. There's still a lot of radiation present. We need to get you out of here."

Later at Batman's hideout he was talking to someone who stood in the dark. "You were right. It's Luthor. He's alive."

"If anyone could survive that. It would be him. How?"

"He had a speedster on the payroll. Not someone on Flash's level, but still very fast. This speedster had one job. To get Luthor to his bunker in an event like this."

"What happened to this speedster?"

"After she got Lex to safety, she went back out. Lex believes she tried to save people-- she wasn't fast enough. I didn't get much else. Wonderwoman sensed me somehow."

"Be careful of Diana, she doesn't seem like herself. Where's Lex Luthor now?"

"He asked to meet with the Justice League."

All the current heros that still consider themselves the Justice League including Itachi gathered at the Watchtower as Lex talked to them, "I can't see what you're attempting. I can see why. You're doing it all for the right reasons, but it is too heavy handed. You want to save lives. I understand. However there aren't enough of you. Even with your incredible abilities, you can't keep the peace. You can't cover the whole plant," he looked out the window down at earth, "If you truly want to bring about a better, you need to stop reacting and start planning, I'd like to help."

Wonderwoman pointed at him, "I know you and Superman are friends, but how do we know we can trust you?"

Lex turned around and pointed at each of them, "Diana Prince, Hal Jordan, Billy Batson, Barry Allen, Clark Kent, and Itachi Uchiha who massacred his whole family. I'm a very intelligent man. Your secret identities are no secret to me. However, I have protected your identities, and I've protected your loved ones without your knowing. You've had to trust me for a long time. You just didn't know it. Now. I'd like to join you."

'Huh, that must have been how Dick and Huntress felt when I did it to them. Lex is dangerous though, if I give him too much time he might find out my plan. I'll need to turn him to our side, or do something else.'

After some days Wonderwoman came to the Watchtower after having her comms disabled for a while. "Where have you been? Your communicator was deactivated."

"What's happened?"

Flash responded, "Hawkgirl was taken."

"What? Who?"

"It was a team. Captain Atom, Black Lightning, and Huntress. Working together."

"Captain Atom suggests a U.S. military involvement..... But Huntress?"

Lex stated, "It's Batman."

Green Lantern waved a hand, "Batman wasn't seen at the location."

"Yes. That's how you know he was there," Lex put his hands behind his back, "This is just the start. You're spread too thin. You can't police the whole world alone. You'll be picked off one at a time."

Superman peered at him, "What are you suggesting?"

"You need more people. I think I know how to get them for you."

Batman and Catwoman stood at the hideout staring at Hawkgirl who was in a cell. Catwoman put her hands on her hips, "Seems like your intelligence was right."

"So it seems."

She looks back at him, "How did you know she was going to be there? How did you know she was going to try to take the leader?"

Batman looked away, "I can't say."

"Yes, you can. You may not want to tell the others. But you can sure as hell tell me," Batman starts walking away, "Are you going to keep her locked here forever? That's not very heroic."

"No. I just need her to be here for a week. One week."

She stared back at Hawkgirl in the cell, "They'll come for her. They will scour the globe for her."

"No. They won't be looking for her. They don't know she's missing."

Back in the watchtower an argument broke out and Flash glared and pointed at Lex, "Why are we talking about other people when we've lost one of our own? We need to find Hawkgirl!"

"You don't need to find Hawkgirl. I'm right here."

Everyone's head turned towards Hawkgirl who stood right in front of them.

'I doubt that Batman would have just released her, his other spy must be Martian Manhunter then. Alright then, now we have two spies. They'll only think that there is one mole, so if one of us is caught then the other will be in the clear.'

Lex raised a brow, "Batman simply let you go?"

She put her hands on her hips, "No, Lex. He gave me a message. He said he doesn't want to have to fight us, but we have to stop what we're doing. He wants us to stop working for the world and start working with it. Maybe we should consider what Batman is saying?"

Itachi stepped in, "I think so. I don't have a problem with what we've been doing with villians, but we've been committing injustices in multiple countries."

Flash put a hand on his hip, "I agree. It feels like, ever since Metropolis, we've been reacting. I'd like to slow down and talk about what we're doing here."

Wonderwoman stated, "What we're doing is finally bringing real peace to our world."

Flash waved a hand at Superman, "What about that kid you crippled in Australia? Is he at peace? No. The poor kid tried to stand up for something and now he's eating through a straw!"

Superman looked away with a tensed jaw, "Unpleasant things have taken place, but more lives have been saved in these last weeks than ever before."

"At what price?"

Wonderwoman glared and pointed at Flash, "If you have that much doubt about what we're doing, you can leave at any time, Flash."

Shazam retorted, "What he's asking is far from unreasonable. We could have killed Black Atom last week."

"Yes, after he butchered a village!"

"I want to fight for the world as much as you do, Wonderwoman, but I do not want to bully it into submission!"

Superman looked over his shoulder, "This is not about"--Shazam stood diagonal to Superman and pointed at him with a firm expression, "We've been following your lead without question. Ask yourself, what sort of leader doesn't want to hear questions?"

They both glared at each other for a while until Damian interrupted, "I can practically see the strings. Seriously, just like that, you all become Batman's puppets. Tactically, it made more sense for Batman to lock Hawkgirl away somewhere. Take his opponents off the board one at a time. Instead he sent her back. You think he did this as an act of kindness or mercy? Trust me, I know how my father works," he pointed at Hawkgirl, "He sent Hawkgirl back as a weapon. She's his little doubt bomb."

Hawkgirl snarled and walked towards Damian with clenched fist, "I am nobody's weapon. I"-Lex interrupted, "Yes, you are. Robin's right. We're being played. Also, when you people get angry, it tends to lead to property damage. Before you lose your tempers any further, can I remind you all that we're on a satellite? Some of us aren't comfortable with a sudden lack of oxygen and the cold vacuum of space.. Superman, all of this comes down to communication. If your friends are feeling this uneasy, consider how the people of the world may feel. Let me help you to start shaping your message. Then if you're agreeable, I'll ask my people to set up a public address."

Shazam asked, "So the message comes solely from Superman?"

"No. Lex is right. We need to communicate better. All of you should be part of this."

"Thank you Superman, I just don't want to see us turned into something we despise.

Far far away on the planet Apokolips Kalibak was trying to find his father, "Father! Father, I would speak with you. Darkseid.

Darkseid looked over his shoulder, "What is it, Kalibak?"

"News from Earth, the Kryptonian has called for an end to fighting. He is dismantling armies in favor of peace."

"You think Superman has softened?"

"I would like to lead a war party to Earth. I would like to test this "peace."

"Then go. Kill the Kryptonian and take the Earth."

On stage Superman was dressed in a suit with his costume underneath. Lex started the speech, "Ladies and gentlemen, just over a month ago. The world was rocked by a terrible event. A city, my city, was torn apart in the blink of an eye. Since this day, the heroes of Earth have been working tirelessly to ensure this never happens again," Lex turns and his hand points towards Superman, "This man began a crusade to fight for you all, to fight for truth, justice, and peace. People of Earth, I give you-- SUPERMAN!"

Superman took the stage, "I'm sorry if we frightened you. We should have spoken sooner. We have been acting against some of the greatest evils on Earth--Men and women's governments and regimes that have killed and tortured and oppressed without consequence for too long. Some of you may see me as an alien, but I came to this world as a child. And I was raised by two of the greatest. Most compassionate people on Earth. I believe in this world. I am one of you. I know there are some who disagree with our actions. But I could no longer stand by and allow the people of Earth to suffer. Not when I had the power to prevent it," Superman's head lowered and he diverted his eyes, "I know some of our actions may have seemed... extreme, but the result is less people are dying from needless war. Less people are grieving loved ones. Sons and daughters, and mothers and fathers who may have been lost are returning home. My friend, Lex Luthor, reminded me that we hadn't told you all why we're doing this. He wanted us to shape a message," he smiles at the crowd, "We just want you to be safe."

Out of nowhere a boom tube opens and parademons fly through and start killing people. Superman grabs one by the neck and tells the other heros, "Protect the people," before getting shot down by Kalibak.

"I've heard you don't believe in fighting fighting anymore, Kryptonian."

Superman gritted his teeth and glared at Kalibak who stepped back in response, "You look... What is wrong with you? After receiving no response he pointed his weapon at him, "Say something!" Superman punched him through the sky in response.

Up in the Watchtower the League saw Boomtubes opening all over the world in Shanghai, Mumbai, Moscow, Istanbul, Tokyo, etc.

Itachi rushed towards the Teleporter, "I'll take Tokyo."

Cyborg nodded and sent him down. When he arrived many buildings were already on fire, and there were skeletons everywhere. Itachi glared, 'I've never seen anything like this since I've been here. Is this the doing of that Darkseid I've heard about?"

He jumps on top of a building and Parademons start flying towards him. 'These things aren't even human, so I'm not gonna hold back on them, I doubt Batman would complain about killing these things,' He raises one hand and takes a deep breath before releasing a huge flame that covers the sky and incinerates them all. He does this a couple more times but their numbers are endless and he's eventually overwhelmed.

That is until he activates his Susanoo and his sword sweeps through the sky. Wiping them all out. More start coming after him, but the sword is enough to deal with them.

Eventually less are coming after him and they begin attacking the city again. Itachi grits his teeth, 'Damn, my Susanoo isn't mobile enough to protect this entire city in its current state.'

He looks down at the street at the many families being incinerated by parademons. Some of them even notice Itachi, and smile at him in hope before being killed themselves. Itachi shuts his eyes closed. 'In my current state, I can't protect this whole city alone!"

The emotions started to fuel his Uchiha blood with power, and that on top of all the battles he's been in in the past 2 years, his Susanoo starts to transform. It gains two angel wings along with a pair of legs and Itachi's mouth hangs open for a second before paying attention to the battle again as he stands inside the tall red Susanoo warrior. 'With the ability to fly I should be able to save any survivors.'

He quickly darts around the city blocks and sweeps his sword, taking out every Parademon in sight, 'Sasuke's susanoo has more than likely reached its final evolution by this point too, if time flows the same back home as it does here....'

At some point. He noticed there were no parademons left and he caught his breath. 'I got lucky here, heros like Wonderwoman that like area of effect attacks might not have the same luck."

People finally started walking outside of the buildings as they looked around at the clear sky until they saw Itachi's susanoo, and cheered.

 

[Bonzoluv]

Superman has slammed Kalibak into the ground, "Call off your attack."

One side of Kalibak's mouth raised, "Or what?"

Superman just glared at him and he smiled, "You haven't really changed, "He smiled ear to ear, "You will not save this planet. Your pathetic moral code will see Earth burn," he pressed a button and another boomtube opened as Parademons started swarming Superman. "If you're not prepared to take a life," he grabbed Superman's throat and slammed him into the ground, "Then you can't possibly fight a war!" He leaned in, "Can you hear the people? Can you see them? You can? Can't you? You can see all over the world."

Words of people worldwide in all their languages flooded into Superman's ears as he heard their cries and he gritted his teeth. "You're weak, Kryptonian. Too weak to do what needs to be done. You'd rather spare the lives of your enemies than save the lives of your people."

"No," his eyes started to glow red."

"They're dying, you're failing them."

"Not again," the pile of hundreds of parademons on top of him lit up, "NAAAARGH," he yelled as he incinerated all of them besides Kalibak.

He started walking towards Kalibak with clenched fists. Kalibak tries getting back up, "I didn't think you were capable...."

Superman grabbed him by his beard, "Stand up. Face me."

"No. You win, Kryptonian. I yield."

Superman lifted him off of the ground, "No, you don't get to yield."

Kalibak put his hands up in defense, "I'm beaten."

Superman punched him and yelled, "FIGHT ME!"

Kalibak uppercut him with both hands, but it did nothing and Superman looked down on him. "You still stand?"

Superman clenched his fist and the veins started popping, "You think you can come to my world, slaughter innocent people and not answer for your crimes?"

Kalibaks eyes widened and his jaw was loose, "Darkseid will"-"No. Daddy isn't here for you to hide behind, Kalibak.

Kalibak yelled and tried to throw a punch but it was caught by one hand. Superman gritted his teeth, "You hurt my world."

"Hnng!" His knuckles started being crushed by Superman's grip.

"I've let creatures like you live before. No more," he grabbed his throat, "No more mercy for cancers posing as men."

"You can't.... hnng kill me. I'm immortal. I'm a GOD!"

Superman started pounding him into the ground after each word, "I. Don't. CARE!" With his final punch he crushed Kalibaks head.

Right after that he flew to Flash and started talking to him at a speed so fast that everything around them was frozen. His jaw was tense and he looked at the ground, "Barry. I need to talk."

"You can't wait until after the planet wide invasion?"

"No. And thousands will die in the time it takes to talk to anyone else," he looked to the side at the frozen scene of a parademon about to rip a woman's face off, "Kalibak said something to me. He said I'd rather spare the lives of my enemies than save the lives of my people."

"Well, let's not put too much stock in what Kalibak says."

"I think Kalibak was right in his own sick way. This needs to change."

"What are you suggesting?"

Superman pointed at the parademon next to them, "I'm suggesting we don't hold back. I'm suggesting we don't let Innocent people die while we handle these invaders with kid gloves."

"You want to kill them?"

"No. But nor do I want to worry about their lives more than those they're killing. All around the world. Every second. They're slaughtering people. Every second we spend trying to incapacitate or restrain these murderers more people will die."

Flash made strong eye contact, "I think you've already made up your mind. You didn't come to me to talk. You came to me for permission to kill. I'm sorry, Superman. I can't give it to you."

Superman's jaw went loose and he scrunched his brow with wide eyes, "You can think faster than anyone else on Earth. Can you think of any other way that will save as many lives?"

They both looked up at the frozen sky above them killed with parademons coming down to kill more people. Flash looked down at the ground, "No."

Superman flew up into space and took a moment to look at Earth, before flying back down and killing every single Parademon left on Earth.

Batman looked up at the sky as small pieces of Parademon dust fell, "Clark. No."

Clark flew down to Lex who said, "Incredible."

He grabbed Superman's hand and raised it in front of the crowd who cheered for him.

Itachi wiped the sweat off of his forehead, 'I was wondering when Superman would do that. I'm glad the world is safe now.......' Itachi sighed and shook his head, 'This is the last time we'll ever be united against a threat again, isn't it?'

A beam of light surrounded Itachi for a second before he was teleported back to the Watchtower. Superman walked up to Itachi and put an arm on his shoulder, "You did great Itachi. You did what I should have been doing from the start."

Itachi gave him a reassuring smirk, "I'm just doing my job, and I'm glad you started so soon or else even more lives would be lost."

Wonderwoman walked over, "Superman, they're celebrating."

Itachi took this as his opportunity to leave, "Cyborg, can you send me to New Jersey?"

"Sure thing," Cyborg prepped the teleporter and Itachi stepped on it. Before pressing the button Cyborg said, "Be careful of Batman, he might try to kidnap you like he did Hawkgirl. You know you could start living anywhere else, you're a bit too close to Gotham."

"It's alright, I have memories in my current home I want to keep close to me," Cyborg understood and sent him down.

'Now then, I'm sure that Batman is gonna have a meeting tonight.'

Later that night Itachi snuck to Batman's hideout and sat at the table where all the other heros already were.

Batman put both of his hands together, "There's no coming back from this for him."

Itachi scrunched his brow at this, he was gonna speak up but Huntress beat him to it, "No coming back from what? It was a war. Admittedly thanks to Superman, it was a very short war. 0eople die in wars. He saved lives."

Batman narrowed his eyes, "He slaughtered thousands."

Itachi leaned in, "Batman you can't be serious, they're parademons. Mindless creatures that have had any form of sentience stripped from them. You aren't seriously so naive as to think even they deserve to be spared. Just like Huntress said, he saved lives."

"By taking dozens of thousands of others."

Huntress put her hands on the table, "He's a hero in the eyes of almost everyone around the world," she stood up, "But not in your eyes. Even after he saved the lives of your friends," she pointed at Green Arrow and Black Canary, "Go on. Tell Green Arrow and Black Canary why their being alive offends you."

Green Arrow put his hands up in defense, "Please don't bring me into this."

Itachi glared at him and stood up, "You know, Superman told me that Kalibak told him something. How he'd rather spare the lives of his enemies rather than save the lives of his people. That is EXACTLY what you do.

Batman crossed his arms, "You think I haven't wanted to kill the Joker before? I have....every time I saw his face, but I'd be no better than him if I did."

Itachi blinked rapidly until his eyes tensed, ".... What? That would make you worse, huh? No," Itachi pointed at him, "You're probably even worse than him, making up these selfish self fulfilling excuses about how that somehow makes you morally right," Itachi's eyes darted to some of the other heros in the room, "And It isn't just you..... always arresting maniacs knowing full and well that they'll break out and kill more people in a never ending cycle instead of just killing them so everyone can sleep soundly. Would killing the Joker have caused hundreds of families suffering? Or would it have saved the lives of millions?" Itachi pinched his nose and shook his head, "Is being a "hero" just a thrill? You let them live just to fight them over and over and over again, convincing yourself that your..." Itachi took a deep breath, "what does crossing the line even mean? It becomes easier after the first? Do you think after killing a mass murderer that you'll accidentally kill a Barista for getting your coffee wrong?..... Wonderwoman said a year ago, that whoever the Joker killed from there on out would be your fault, do you feel any responsibility at all for what Joker did?"

After Itachi finished his rant he was itching to say everyone in the room caught their breaths, not realizing they were holding it in. Batman looked down at the ground, "Every day..... but," Batman had a tensed brow, "That doesn't change"-Huntress gritted her teeth, "Being sanctimonious and arrogant doesn't make you right, Bruce, "Batman looked glared right at her and her eyes went slightly wide before going back to normal, "There are people in this room who don't know your secret identity, aren't there?"

As more chatter went on, the audio faded into the background of Itachi's head as he sported a blank expression, 'I think I finally understand Batman. I always thought he just had an iron will, but in reality. He's just as crazy as everyone else he locks away, probably more crazy. To be that stubbornly dedicated to such a foolish cause is nothing short of pure insanity. His logic works against normal criminals, but we're talking about wars and psychopaths that will never be able to change no matter what. To treat these as if they're the exact same thing shows just how black and white he views everything...... unless he truly is aware of it all, and chooses to stay this way anyways. Just out of pure pride. Either way, it isn't good. Maybe he should be put away for a while after everything with Superman is done.'

Itachi caught back up with the conversation when Batman took his mask off. Captain Atom squinted, "Bruce Wayne?"

Green Arrow went wide eyed, "Holy crap."

Batwoman yelled, "On screen! We've got trouble!"

Batman looked over raised shoulder, "Damn it. The Cultist!

Catwoman asked, "Who?"

He put his mask back on, "I'll explain on the way. Move! Captain Atom. You'll beat the rest of us there. Try to disperse the mob. Itachi, stay here, you can't risk being seen working with us out in the open."

Everyone started leaving, but Huntress stayed behind and looked at Itachi, "Thanks for having my back."

"Of course, I was keeping that in me for over a year now," Itachi stroked his chin for a second before leaning into her ear, "Listen. My end goal might end up being slightly different from Batman's, when the time comes...."-"Sure, I'll have your back."

"Great."

Huntress ran off with the rest of the heros.

Sometime later while they were fighting zealots in Superman cloaks, Superman, Green Lantern, and Wonderwoman showed up. Superman crossed his arms, "Stop the fighting! Return to your homes."

Green Arrow narrowed his eyes, "We were handling this."

Wonderwoman flies in front of him, "No. You weren't. You're not needed here. Leave."

Both Superman and Batman hold their chins up while looking at each other, Catwoman interrupts and puts a hand on Batman's chest, "Not here. Come on. It's time to go."

Some days later Itachi was at the Fortress Of Solitude with Superman, he was examining the many Kryptonian artifacts when his eyes started focusing on a strange portal, "Superman, what is that?"

"That's the Phantom Zone, think of it as a timeless prison parallel to our universe. You don't wanna end up there, I'll just say that."

"This is true."

Flash walked towards Superman in the Fortress Of Solitude. "You and Luthor are creating some sort of Super Soldier drug? Seriously? This is what we do now?"

Superman looked at him, "Lex was already close to creating it before Metropolis, and he had a lot of thinking time in that bunker. I've just provided more Kryptonian technology. I know it seems extreme"-"Extreme? It's mad scientist territory!"

Superman turned towards him fully, "Barry, do you play Chess?"

Barry's expression lightened up, "I.... wasn't expecting that."

"Do you?"

"Um... I played a couple of times when I was a kid. But, no, I guess I've never slowed down long enough to learn."

"How quickly could you learn?"

Flash ran to the Watchtower computer, "Watchtower. Access Justice League Library. Subject: Chess. Display at Flash speed. I'm done."

They both sat down at a table. Flash had his arms crossed while Superman had one hand on the table and one on his chin. "How fast can you think?"

"There's no way of knowing that."

"No."

"...Fast, very fast."

They started their Chess game at Super speed. Superman started the conversation, "I want to discuss some ideas with you."

"What ideas?"

"I want to get rid of guns," Flash froze for a second and Superman continued, "Checkmate," They started another game, "We could do it, you and I, couldn't we? In what? A day? Two?"

"We could never get rid of all guns."

"No, but most. We could do it."

"Yes."

"Checkmate."

Barry looks up at Clark for a moment, "But just because we can do it doesn't mean we should. Unless they give up their guns willingly, they will resent us."

"Yes, but they will be alive to resent us."

"I know. They will rise against us."

"Maybe. And let them come at us with sticks."

"You start with guns? Then what?"

"You're a forensic scientist. How many lives have you witnessed ruined by gun death?"

"Smoking."

"What?"

"Cigarettes. They kill far more people than guns. People keep smoking even when they know it's killing them. They keep smoking and looking into the eyes of their families and they die."

"And?"

"And tomorrow we get rid of cigarettes. Checkmate. You want to save lives? That's how we do it. Then we imprison anyone who speeds in a car. Checkmate. Then we lock up anyone who leaves a dangerous dog unchained. Checkmate. Then we kill anyone who doesn't recycle. Checkmate. Checkmate. Checkmate. Checkmate."

 

[Bonzoluv]

Itachi along with the rest of the Regime sat around a table as Lex presented the Superpill. "Essentially, we're talking about a technology that will enhance the strength and durability of ordinary people a thousand-fold."

Damian raised a brow, "Magic pills? Really?"

Lex raised one in return, "It's not magic. It's something Superman and I have discussed for years. I just couldn't work out how to reverse engineer the Kryptonian nanotechnology."

"Yeah, I'm still only hearing Magic Pills."

"You're sitting on a space station high above the Earth with men and women who can literally move mountains and you have a problem with magic pills?"

Superman stood up, "I'm sure there are ordinary people in all of our lives we would trust with such power."

"I suggest we draw up a list of candidates."

Green Lantern asked, "You want us to ask our friends to help police the world?"

Superman said, "If we had more people when Apokolips attacked, think of how many lives would have been saved."

Lex Smiled, "We need people on the ground at all times. Or all of our good work could be undone."

"So you want a super-powered army?"

"Not an army, Green Lantern, a peace keeping force. You of all people should understand this."

"I'm sure there are many World Governments who won't see it that way. What if it fell into the wrong hands....?"

Superman's brow tensed, "It won't. And this technology isn't just about protecting the world, Hawkgirl. It's also about protecting you. It will make all of you stronger."

'Hmm, this Super Pill could be a problem. I'm gonna have to tell Batman about this.'- Itachi's thoughts were interrupted by Superman who walked towards him as the meeting was dismissed, "Speaking of getting stronger, what was that huge Chakra avatar I saw you in back in Tokyo? It looked like your Susanoo."

"It was my Susanoo. After a Uchiha fights enough battles with the Susanoo, it evolves multiple times. It started out as just a small ribcage."

Superman nodded, "Will it evolve again?"

Itachi shook his head, "No, the full Susanoo body is its final evolution. And I'm glad I achieved it when I did, or else I wouldn't have been able to protect Tokyo."

Lex came over, "Excuse me, Superman. I require your assistance with finalizing some things."

"I'll be right over. Bye, Itachi."

At night when no one was around, Damian snatched the super pill that was still on the table, and teleported to Gotham City, with Hawkgirl sneakily following him.

He went to the Batcave and walked up to Nightwing's suit stand, and put a hand on it. "I'm sorry."

"What was that?"

Damian turned around in a fighting stance, but eased up when he saw it was Alfred. "I suppose it's little wonder you're on edge, Master Damian."

"Alfred?"

"I trust you received my letter?"

"I did."

"That's good, it was hard to find the zip code for space. And were you planning on writing back?"

"I...I've started. It's not easy."

"No."

The Batmobile drove into the cave and Batman jumped out. "Damian. What are you doing here?"

Damian started leaving, "I should go."

"Master Damian...." Alfred whispered in Batman's ear, "Your guilt ridden son has just walked back into your home seeking redemption and forgiveness. Please try not to be you."

He took a deep breath, "Wait."

"Why?" Still not turning around with a tensed mouth.

Batman's eyes darted at Alfred before looking back at Damian, "I just want to talk."

Damian looked at him with his body still turned away, "You left me. At Arkham. You just left me there."

"You chose to stand against me."

"That's because you were wrong and Superman was right! You're just too full of yourself to see it."

"This isn't about me."

He pointed at him, "OF COURSE IT'S ABOUT YOU!" His whole face tensed, "It's always all about you. YOUR crusade. YOUR pain. YOUR parents who died. YOUR way. YOUR rules. YOUR legacy. YOUR IMPOSSIBLE STANDARDS!"

"Damian," Alfred put a hand on Damian's shoulder.

"Let go of me."

Please. Let your father speak."

"I said--" he shrugged off Alfred, "Let go!" Alfred flew into a collection of monitors. His brow tensed and he reached out to him, "No..."

Batman yelled, "Alfred!" His fist clenched and he looked at Damian with gritted teeth, "You!" He started approaching Damian, but was punched away and he collided with the giant penny. Which started to fall on him, but before it could crush him Hawkgirl stopped it and set it down."

Damian rushed over to Alfred who was bleeding, "Alfred! I'm sorry... I didn't know how strong I was."

"Bruce... Where's Bruce??"

Batman stood up and groaned. Hawkgirl put a hand on Damian's shoulder and started guiding him out, "I think we should go back to the Watchtower, Robin."

Batman stated, "No, leave him."

Hawkgirl stopped and turned around.. Damian remained stone faced, "Since when do you listen to Batman, Hawkgirl? Wait, what are you doing here? How do you even know where the cave is? After he took you. You came back. You came back and you gave us a message. Even today, you kept raising doubts over the pills. And the penny..." he started reaching towards his belt, "Hawkgirl is strong--but not that strong." He threw an incendiary on the ground that set Hawkgirl on fire, "You're not Hawkgirl!"

Batman covered himself with his cape while Manhunters disguise faded, "Manhunter!"

"I'm all right. Go."

"Wait! Damian!" He looked around but he was already gone, "Damn it."

Damian explained the situation to the Regime back at the Watchtower and Superman looked out the window down at Earth. "He has her."

Flash waved his hands around, "So, Batman attacked Shiera, took her away, locked her up somewhere, and had a shape-shifting alien take her place, just so that he could spy on us? I mean, that sounds crazy. Even for Batman that sounds"-Damian interrupted, "It sounds exactly like something he would do," Damian clenched his fist, "You don't know my father like I do... and I barely know him at all. No one does," he pointed at them all, "He will go to any lengths. I've seen the files he has on every one of you, on all of the Justice League. It's not just strengths and weaknesses. Those files include your past. Your friends. Your families," he looked down, "If he feels he needs to, he will use them against you. He will strike preemptively."

'I've already known about Batman's contingency plans for a while. And although this secures my safety as a spy, I'm cautious about how Superman will respond to Batman's plan he had.'

Superman walked towards Cyborg, "Cyborg, the emergency broadcast system. All devices."

"Where?"

"Everywhere."

Superman started to appear everywhere. On the screens at Times Square, people's tvs, their phones, etc.

"People of Earth. We have been betrayed. The hero known as Batman has taken one of our people. One of your heros. Hawkgirl has been abducted. An imposter was put in her place. Batman's spy has been among us for a week. Somewhere, Hawkgirl has been held, no doubt hoping for rescue, and we, her friends, didn't even know she was missing. Batman lied and kidnapped to get what he wanted. No more. He has taken one of our friends and allies, and I am taking something of his. I am taking his anonymity."

"Damn you, Clark. Protocol Icarus."

"Batman's true identity is-"-He was interrupted by Batman pressing a button that made all electronics go static worldwide. Along with the Watchtower.

Everyone started to float upwards. Cyborg exclaimed, "He's taken out the whole damn Watchtower!!"

Lex asked, "Is the teleporter working?"

"Everything is offline. Even life support systems!"

Flash went wide eyed, "He knocked out life support? His son is up here!"

Lex said, "We have to get the Watchtower down to Earth before we run out of Oxygen. We can't go outside without breaching the hull. Wonderwoman, Superman, I need you to"-"No."

Lex went wide eyed, "What do you mean no?"

"He wants our hands full. He wants his identity. He's buying time so that he can put some contingency plan in place. I'm not giving him that time. Let me finish addressing the Earth."

Cyborg stated, "The Watchtower doesn't have power, communications are out."

Damian pointed, "You're a living computer, and you're supposed to be the smartest man in the world. You're telling me we can't put four little worlds online?"

In the end Batman's contingency failed and his identity was exposed online. The Watchtower also landed on Earth.

In the Batcave Alfred started walking down the steps, "Sir, there are what can only be described as a ludicrous number of newscasters circling the Manor. I'm sorry, Alfred--for what's about to become of your life. I'm truly sorry."

Alfred handed him a piece of paper, "I'm a grown man, Master Bruce, and I'm also not an idiot. I've always known this day would come. I'm sure you'll have planned for every eventuality. Wayne Industries will somehow be secure. The trust funds and charities will be protected. However, I wasn't sure you'd have thought of this."

"What is it?"

"A list, sir. I have one for myself, too. Everything I thought you might want to take from the manor in a hurry. Your mother's pearls, your fathers stethoscope, photos of the boys..."

"Thank you. Alfred. It's all coming to a head. I... you shouldn't be around me."

Alfred held out a hand as a 'hold on' gesture, "Oh, what utter nonsense. I appreciate the noble self sacrificing gesture, sir. But I'm afraid you can't leave me, I'm the first thing on your list," he stated as he walked away.

Itachi was being carried by Green Lantern as he, Wonderwoman, Superman, and Flash were on their way to confront Batman, 'This is bad. If we end up meeting Batman I'll have to blow my cover, I can't risk him being captured.'

"Remember, we secure Hawkgirl's release and we leave. For now, this is a conversation. Not a fight."

Green Lantern stated, "We're bringing a lot of big guns for a conversation."

Flash replied, "It's still a conversation with Batman."

Wonderwoman landed, "He'll be expecting us. And, after we released his identity to the world, Bruce isn't going to be happy."

"How does this work? I've never been her uninvited. Do we just knock on the secret entrance?"

Diana walked towards it with clenched fist, "I'll knock."

But before she could, Batman came outside. "You took my life."

"You'll buy a new one. Where are you holding Hawkgirl?"

"I'm not holding Hawkgirl."

She narrowed her eyes, "Enough of your deception, Bruce. We know all about Martian Manhunter and"-"She's here. Hawkgirl is here at the Watchtower. We've confirmed it's Shiera," Lex informed them.

Flash asked, "So do we just leave?"

Batman stared at them all coldly, "Yes."

Wonderwoman pointed, "No. We're not leaving. This is your last warning, Bruce. I know you're too conceited to accept that we're working in the best interest of the world, but if you, or any of your team, act against us again, we WILL respond with force."

Batman turned around and started walking back inside. Flash started walking to him, "Hey! We're trying to talk to you!"

Itachi stated, "This wasn't part of the plan, Barry. Let's go."

"We're just talking. You can't walk away from me, Bruce."

"No. No, I suppose I can't," so he flew up into the air.

Barry looked up with a dropped jaw, "Well... that was unexpected."

Green Lantern exclaimed, "It's Manhunter!" As he, Superman, and Wonderwoman followed him into the sky.

Itachi manifested his Susanoo and followed them into the sky, 'Damn it! I'm not as fast as them when it comes to flying. This could end badly for Manhunter."

Up in the sky Manhunter hid inside of a cloud and knocked out Green Lantern before confronting Clark as Diana followed after Green Lantern.

"J'onn."

"Clark. Batman has left the cave. He's long gone."

"Why are you working with him? Why are you against me?"

"Because of what you could become."

"And what is that?"

"I'm going to show you something. I want you to feel something."

He started to show Clark his life on Mars under the White Martians. "What Is this?"

"This is what it feels like. When your planet is overrun. When you are part of a weaker species that is dominated by a stronger one. This is what it feels like to be ruled. This is what it feels like to be helpless. You know this feeling."

The things he showed Superman were interrupted by Wonderwoman who grabbed his head, "GET AWAY FROM HIM!!"

His head started to surround Wonderwoman's arm, "You never trusted me. Two aliens and you always followed the one who looked like you," he turned into some kind of slime and entered Wonderwoman's body as she and Superman tried to pull him off to no avail, "And you both always underestimated me. You see yourselves as Invulnerable. But right now I'm in your lungs. I can strangle your organs. I've been in your head, Diana. You've changed so much. I've seen the violence in you. Maybe the world would be safer if you weren't in it. I can make that happen. I can cut off the oxygen to your brain."

She gripped her head with wide eyes before looking up at Clark with a strained expression, "Do it, Kal! It's the only way."

Itachi came onto the scene, 'Wait, he's not going to do what I think he is....' Superman's eyes glowed red which confirmed it for Itachi as he went full speed, 'Damn it Manhunter! You should have just run!'

The heat vision touched Wonderwoman's body, but before it could envelop her, Superman's heat vision was stopped by the Yata Mirror, "MANHUNTER! GET OUT OF HER BODY RIGHT NOW OR YOU'LL BE KILLED!"

Manhunter phased out of her body and part of him was on fire as he screamed in pain, Itachi held up a hand sign, 'Thanks to my training I can manifest water out of the air now. It's not as good as the Lord Second, but it's enough to snuff out a flame,' but before he could complete the jutsu, Manhunter fell into the ocean below.

Superman's heat vision stopped and Itachi lowered his shield. But before he could speak his Susanoo received a crack to the back as Wonderwoman attacked him, "What did you save Manhunter for? Are you a spy too?!"

Itachi gritted his teeth, "No," he glanced at Superman, "You almost killed someone that you've fought alongside for years! What's wrong with you? Do we kill not just enemies but our friends too now?"

Wonderwoman glared at him, "He tried to kill me, it was nothing but self defense."

Superman approached both of them, "Enough. I doubt Itachi would betray us, he's had the right idea of how to deal with threats longer than any of us," He looked at Itachi, "But Itachi, he did almost kill her. Had you known that, would you still have protected him?"

Itachi maintained a straight face, "No."

And it was left at that, 'Something like hearing my heartbeat isn't gonna help Superman know if I was lying after all the time I spent as an Anbu. This was probably the best way that this could have ended, I've lost Wonderwoman's trust more than likely, but Manhunter survived. He's too valuable to lose, I'm sure that Batman has been observing from a distance and will save him.'

 

[Bonzoluv]

After busting a hole in the Watchtower to get Superman's attention Lobo landed in Metropolis and waited for him.

"What are you doing here Lobo?" He landed on the ground.

"This was yer city, right?"

"Yes."

"I was gonna go on a destruction spree ta get yer attention, but it looks like someone beat me to it."

"You have my attention, what do you want?"

He lit his gun lighter, "Someone put a price on yer head."

"Who?"

"Some Apokolips bastich. They say ya punched a God to death," he took a puff and smiled, "That's pretty badass."

Superman walked towards him, "So, you're here to collect the bounty?"

"I'm here to see if it's worth th' trouble."

Superman stared him down for a minute before walking away, "I don't have time for this."

"Hey! No one flies away from th' main man!" He grabbed a piece of a building nearby and slammed it into Superman, "No one."

Superman flew out of the rubble and grabbed him, "You want to know if I'm worth the trouble?" He flew into space and grazed Lobo's body against the sun before coming back to Earth and setting him down, "You can heal from anything. You can regenerate from a single drop of blood. You think there'd be a single drop of blood left if I dropped you into the sun? Am I worth the trouble?"

Lobo started walking away, "Not fer what they're offerin'."

Superman put a hand on his chin in thought, "I have a job for you. You're one of the best manhunters in the galaxy."

"No. I'm THE best manhunter in the galaxy."

"I need you to find someone. Her name is Harley Quinn."

In Gotham City, Itachi was at Batman's hideout looking at Martian Manhunter, who lay on a hospital bed in a severely injured state. Batman finished tending to him and said, "Good work Itachi, had you shielded him a moment later he would have been incinerated completely."

"I had never thought Superman would be willing to kill a friend.... how long will he be out of action?"

"He's strong, but he's in a near death state. He'll be out of action for a long time. Also, Itachi. Will you be able to get us data on the Superpill?"

He shook his head, "No, after saving Manhunter my relationship with the Regime is a little strained. It would more than likely be pinned on me if the data was leaked. I'll have to repair my relationship with them before trying something like that."

Batman put a hand on his chin, "That'll take too long. I'm going to have to come up with a plan for me and the rest of the team to retrieve it then. Thank you, Itachi."

Itachi nodded and left. As he was walking down the streets of Gotham City, he heard crashing from above and saw a flying Motorcycle. He peered his eyes, 'What is that? It looks like a humanoid alien, and..... Harley Quinn? I thought she had died already."

Harley fell off of his Motorbike after eating a Superpill and started running away. 'Great, and now she has a super pill, either way I'm ending her.'

He jumped onto a building to get a better vantage point and saw Lobo get punched out of a building before being hit by a truck that blew up. 'Well if he can get punched out of a building by someone with a Superpill and not bleed then I'm sure that he'll survive a truck explosion.'

Harley started running away, but Itachi trailed behind, 'Should I take her to Superman?.... No, letting him be the one that killed Joker was what started this in the first. I'll kill his sidekick."

Itachi dropped right in front of her and used a genjutsu on her that put her to sleep right away, not interested in anything she had to say. And he swiftly pierced her with the Totsuka Blade, ending things as fast as possible. Just like in his Akatsuki days.

Lobo landed nearby, "Bastich! You stole my bounty!"

Itachi turned around and put his hands up in defense, "I'm assuming that Superman called for the bounty, right? Don't worry, I'm part of his team. I'll take responsibility for this."

Lobo walked forward and snarled, "Ya took my bounty and now I have no way of getting paid, you expect me to just"-Itachi pulled out a Superpill. "Does this work as payment?"

Lobo groaned before taking the pill and getting on his Motorbike, "The crazy nut ate my other pill, so yer lucky this time."

Down in one of Batman's hideouts he called a meeting. Black Canary and Green Lantern just walked in and heard Black Lightning arguing with Batman, "I thought we were stopping Hawkgirl from kidnapping a democratically elected official! Had I known we were taking Hawkgirl and IMPRISONING her, I never would have agreed to be a part of it."

The two of them take a seat and Black Canary speaks up, "Black Lightning makes a good point."

"I've released her, I never would have held her indefinitely. I just needed to put someone on the Watchtower who might talk some sense."

Huntress frowned, "Which you should have told us you were doing. We know about Itachi so there shouldn't be a problem."

Captain Atom agreed, "You should have told us about the Martian."

"Martian Manhunter is in the ICU now, Superman almost burned alive, but Itachi just barely saved him. Although I believe Manhunter got through to someone in the Watchtower, and Itachi has informed me that Lex and Superman have finished their superhuman drug, and It's being manufactured at the Fortress Of Solitude."

Green Arrow's brow tensed, "And.... what? We should just break into Superman's impenetrable Fortress? And let me repeat, SUPERMAN'S IMPENETRABLE FORTRESS, and steal this tech? Why can't Itachi get it for us?"

"Itachi's relations with the Regime are strained after saving Manhunter, and besides we need to accept that Superman has changed. Getting our hands on this drug may be Earth's only hope in the future," his phone rang, "This is it."

Black Lightning asked, "This is what?"

"US warships have just turned towards the Korean Peninsula."

Oliver asked, "Wait... what?"

"A distraction they can't miss. Catwoman, Black Canary, Captain Atom. I'll need the three of you with me. The teleporter will take us just south of"-"Don't think for a second that you're leaving me behind, Bruce."

Batman faced him, "This is a surgical strike. I'm not taking anyone I don't need. I have the greatest Thief in the world, a man that can hold off Superman if it comes to it, and a woman who's voice may be able to shatter Kryptonian crystals."

Ollie pointed at him, "And you have her boyfriend, who can put two arrows in your condescending ass before"-Black Canary interrupted, "An entire Armada is buying us a small window so that we can take steps to possibly save the world. I'm going to go do that. You two feel free to keep bickering though."

Although ultimately the plan nearly failed. Superman figured out about the President's coordination with Batman, and survived Captain Atom's dying attack. And he was pissed. He busted through the wall and saw Ollie along with his parents, "Get away from them."

His mom put a hand on his chest, "Clark. My God. What happened to you?"

He maintained strong eye contact looking down at Ollie, "The US government just ordered my death. Do you know anything about that, Ollie?"

His head lowered but he maintained eye contact, "I know very little about anything. I didn't even know we were coming here. Hell, we came to the North Pole and Black Canary wore fishnets. That shows a distinct lack of planning," he looked at the pill and reached out a hand to it, "Super pills... you know, I always figured Batman would be the one to snap."

Superman blasted the glass container with heat vision, "Don't touch them," Ollie drew his bow, "Arrows won't help you."

"Sure they will. They'll make me feel better."

Superman's blood lust settled for a moment as he thought back to what Itachi said about killing friends. And settled down for a moment, but when the arrow Ollie shot bounced off of his chest and landed in his dad's chest. That all went out the window. His eyes glowed red and he slapped Ollie through a wall.

Ollie scurried on the floor and grabbed his bow, aiming another arrow that shot right past Superman's shoulder. Before being beaten to death.

Itachi sat up in the Watchtower and received an encrypted call from Huntress, "Itachi, we're all going into hiding. Oliver has died, and Batman is synthesizing the pill in the Batcave."

Itachi's eyes narrowed, "Then that must mean Superman knows he took the pill. The cave will be the first place he looks."

"Yeah, we know..... do you think, you could"-"No, I'm sorry. But I'm sure even Batman would agree that my work up here is more important than helping him down there right now."

"...Right. Well be careful."

Itachi hung up and put one hand on his head, and the other on his knee, 'To think that Superman of all people would be the one to kill his own friend,' Itachi wasn't the type to be inspired, but even he could recognize a beacon of hope when he saw one, 'Just a year ago that amulet said he was incorruptible, but then how could any of this happen?..... maybe it might be too late for him?' He shook his head at his own words, 'As if I'm one to talk considering what I've done. You can still come back, Clark, I'll save you.'

He pulled out his phone and pulled up a camera he had in the Batcave as Superman grabbed Batman, "You're right I'm not here to kill you, Bruce," he ripped off his cowl revealing Batmans open mouth and wide eyes, "But I can't have you in a position where you can hurt me or the world any more."

He held him above himself. "Clark, don't! CLA"- Superman slammed him down on his knee and broke his back as Bruce let out a shriek of pain.

He dropped him on the ground and Superman started walking away, "I'm sorry. You're just too dangerous, Bruce."

Bruce looked at the computer screen and saw that the Analysis was complete. He tried to push himself up, but to no avail. "Don't try to get up. You can't. Two of your lumbar vertebrae are cracked. I'm surprised you're conscious," Superman looked down at him with low eyelids and a frown, "I'm putting you away with the rest of the monsters from Gotham. Accept it."

Bruce was still trying to stand up but Superman placed a foot on his back, "Stay--down," and pushed him back down with it, "Stay down, Bruce. Stop trying to fight me."

Bruce tried to look up, "Wasn't.... trying to fight you.... was trying to distract you."

"What?" he looked back at the computer and saw the screen say ANALYSIS COMPLETE UPLOADED TO REMOTE SERVER. He looked down at Batman with wide eyes and a tensed face, "What did you do?"

Bruce smiled, "I gave us a chance. We can synthesize it now. We can stand up to you."

Superman got on the ground and grabbed his cape, "Where did it upload to? Who has access to it?" Bruce groaned in pain in response with gritted teeth and clenched fist and Superman pushed down on him more, "TELL ME!"

Bruce shut his eyes aggressively, "No matter what you tell yourself in the future. I want you to remember this moment. When you resorted to torture for the 'greater good'."

Superman released his hand and his eyes went wide, "I... I didn't mean to"-"No. Of course not. It's always someone else's fault, isn't it? It makes it so much easier to justify your own atrocities. You're not a hero. You're just another thug!"

Superman stood up and looked at his hand before a hand grabbed his shoulder, "Clark Kent."

He turned around, "Alfred?"

Alfred headbutted him, breaking his nose instantly. Superman stood dazed before falling to the ground. Alfred clenched his fist, "I am so disappointed in you," he kicked Superman across the face, destroying his own shoe. "No more." He started pounding Superman's head into the floor, "Do you hear me? YOU DON'T GET TO HURT MY FAMILY ANY MORE!"

He finished the beating and wiped the blood off of his hands with a handkerchief. He walked over to Bruce. "Alfred."

"Easy, Master Bruce. I've got you. I'm sorry, this is going to hurt," He picked him up.

"Hnnng. What about"-"We have everything we need, sir. There's nothing worth saving here."

The next day at the U.N. Superman stood in front of world leaders with the rest of the Regime by his side, along with Ragen who has recently joined. "Our way of life is threatened. Bruce Wayne, the terrorist also known as Batman, has stolen a powerful weapon. He intends to use it against us. We are standing here, together, today, to tell you that we will not allow Batman to terrorize the planet. We are standing here today to tell you that we will fight for each and every one of you. We will fight for peace. We will fight against the terror that Batman represents. You do not have to fear this great evil. Because we will be ever watching. Ever vigilant. As a reporter, my wife. Lois Lane, spent her time uncovering evil. She believed that no matter how well Injustice, corruption, and evil hid, it could always be rooted out. It could always be exposed," soldiers wearing the insignia of the Regime walked out on stage, "We are gathering our forces. We will expose Batman and all who seek to aid him. The last thing Lois ever said to me was "Save the world." I intend to. Whatever it takes."

End: Year One

 

[Bonzoluv]

Oliver Queen's funeral service was a quiet one. Resistance members stood on one side while the Regime stood on the other, United only by their mourning for a friend's death. Dinah and Hal stayed last. "Dinah."

She peered her eyes at him, "Are you still standing with Superman after this?"

He closed his eyes and turned his head to the side, "I am. The world is better. He didn't mean to"- She turned away, "There's nothing more to say, Hal."

Soon enough Superman flew down, "Can we talk? I'm sorry. I... it was an accident. I never meant to hurt him," he tried to reach out to her, "Please. Say something."

"You want me to say something?" She turned around and screamed loud enough to make his ears bleed. He grabbed her by the mouth, but released her a moment later. "That's it, Clark. Let's see the real you. Show me the last thing Ollie saw before you killed him. You fooled me, like everyone else. I believed that you were like us. I thought you were human. But you're not. You don't see the world like we do. You see humanity as something you need to protect, something fragile. We will tear you down."

He glared at her, "I would watch your words, Dinah."

"Look at me closely."

After a moment his eyes went wide, "You're pregnant."

"Yes. I'm fighting for two now," he flew off. "He's gone. Did the lenses record everything?"

"Yes. We got it all, Dinah. Well done."

"Good."

"Oracle out."

Up in space Itachi looked down on Earth.'The plan has changed. Superman is still loved by the people. If we take him down now the world may hate us...... we'll have to make the world hate him first. The cracks are starting to show already, he just sent Green Lantern to interfere with Congress's government shut down, and he has started enforcing curfews starting in Gotham. It's inevitable that he'll soon try to enforce this on a world scale.'

Itachi made his way to the teleporter and went back down to Earth. To try and hide his identity he has been using a disguise to walk around in public. And for his communicator his only choice is to muffle it, because he gets questioned if it's turned off.

Up back in space as soon as Itachi left, Sinestro appeared outside the watchtower window and Superman blitzed him into the moon. Sinestro didn't fight back, "Please... I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to warn you. They're coming. They would see this world returned to the chaos that was consuming it. They're coming for you Superman."

Later at the Hall Of Justice Ganthet the guardian confronted Superman with Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner by his side. "What can I do for you, Ganthet?"

"You have helped us many times in the past. There have been times when your intervention was the difference between victory and defeat, and so I come to you today as a friend-- as an Ambassador of Oa. I am here to advise. Not to interfere."

Superman remained stone faced, "And what is your advice?"

"Stop what you are doing."

Superman slammed a fist on the table. "What I'm doing is protecting these people."

"No, Superman. What you are doing is seeking to control them."

"I am one of them."

"No. You are not. You have been raised among them, but you are not of Earth."

"You're right. I am not of this planet. My planet was destroyed and my people perished due to ignorant and arrogant leaders not acting when needed. I will not allow that to happen again."

"I have watched many civilizations rise and fall. We guardians are gifted with enormous power. Sometimes, not using that power is the most difficult decision of all. The people of Earth must be allowed to follow their own path, without outside interference or control."

The earpiece in Superman's ear went off, "Ask him. Ask him the question."

"You said you have watched civilizations rise and fall," he glared at him, "Were you watching Krypton in its final moments? Did you choose, in your infinite wisdom, not to use your power that day?"

Ganthet looked down and Hal said, "Ganthet?"

Superman pushed his hands into the table, "You dare? You dare come to me today to lecture ME on responsibility? You doomed my planet. You people, my parents!"

Ganthet flew above Superman, "No. They doomed themselves."

Superman flew above him, "You want me to let the monsters of this world run free?"

"We will not allow you to rule over these people, Kal-El of Krypton!"

They both got into battle ready positions, "Is that a threat?"

"It is a warning."

Guy Gardner got in-between them, "Okay, guys. You're both very intimidating. Now, how about we take the ominous power levels down a notch before we lose a continent? Why don't we go get a drink? It might be hard for Ganthet to see over the bar, but I could bring a cushion or something."

Superman peered his eyes and maintained strong eye contact with Superman, "Ganthet. Get the hell off my planet."

He turned around and walked out, "I am sorry to see you like this, Superman. It is clear that you are past the point of reason. We will return to Oa. Come, Hal Jordan."

Superman sat back down in his chair and Sinestro appeared behind him, "You see now? You realize now what I realized long ago. They are guardians in name only. I am sorry for Krypton and Its people, Superman."

"Do not think for a second that I trust you, Sinestro."

"We are not so different, Superman. They will come for you as they came for me. I don't expect you to trust me, but you will need me when they come."

After their meeting, Sinestro willingly was imprisoned and Superman, Flash, and Lex were standing on the other side, and even after Sinestro's story about his past Flash still thought the team up was a horrible idea. "Oh, come on. Can we please not even pretend to believe this 'poor misunderstood Sinestro' sob story? This is the poster boy for an entire corps of evil, who spend all their time doing evil."

Lex stood in front of Clark, "We cannot trust him. He's right. You can't trust me. But I have no interest in destroying you, Superman. We have the same enemy. I need you. I need you to stand against them. They will never leave you in peace. I am not trying to decieve you. I want revenge."

Flash's mouth tensed, "Well at least He's honest about his evil. I vote for letting him rot in the cage."

Sinestro raised his chin and started glowing, "You think you can contain me?"

He easily walked through the laser grid cell and everyone got into a battle ready stance, "Impossible. I designed that cell myself. Nothing should be able to escape."

Sinestro got close to him, "You have no idea what I'm capable of."

"Exactly."

"I can kill you with a thought, human."

Flash got in his face, "I can smack you down faster."

He looked back at Lex, "You fear me."

"Of course."

"Then there is only one way. I give you your fear," he handed his ring to Lex. "They are Guardians in name only. They only want control. They let your planet and your parents die. How many more civilizations have they watched burn? How many times have they chosen death over life?" He turned around, "I am not a good man anymore, but when the time comes you will need me. Together we will end them," he turned around again and smiled, "Oh, and also I think we should have a talk about your interesting friend with the red clouded cloak."

Back on Oa Green Lantern has finished standing in front of the Guardians for trial, he flew down and met Kilowog who met him with open arms, "Poozer!" He hugged him, "It's good to see you!"

"Hnng, it's good to see you too, Kilowog, but I need my chest cavity for all sorts of things."

"Ha! What's a few ribs between friends?"

Ganthet flew down, "Kilowog. The council is waiting."

"Of course Ganthet."

Hal turned his head towards another friend, "You look like you just watched someone repeatedly slapping a kitten."

"John Stewart!! What are you doing on Oa?"

They shook hands, "I was hoping you could tell me."

Hal frowned, "I'm afraid you're probably here because of Earth."

"Why?"

"Superman has begun transforming the planet in your absence. It's amazing, John, but I'm not sure the guardians see it that way." Well, it has to be big for them to recall me from Ryut. The place is far from stable."

They looked up into the sky at dozens more Lanterns arriving on the planet. "Looks like you're not the only one being recalled," he looked towards Kilowog and the rest of the lanterns coming down the steps, "What's happening."

He looked down at the ground, "I'm taking a squad of Lanterns to Earth. The guardians want us to apprehend Superman and bring him back here for trial."

"What? Superman is doing what's best for Earth. If you think for a second that I'm going to help you"-"No. The Guardians know you're not going to help. I argued for you, but they don't trust you on this one. Sorry, Poozer. I'm going to have to ask you for your ring until this is over."

Hal's brow and mouth tensed, "You think I'm going to just lie down and let you attack my planet?"

The test of the Lanterns started surrounding him, "Don't be stupid, Jordan."

"Back off!" He used his ring to shoot out beams like a disco ball that made everyone back off and started flying off the planet.

"STOP HIM!"

The guardians looked at Hal trying to leave the planet, "It is as we feared."

"We should intervene."

A guardian put a hand on Ganthet's shoulder, "No, Ganthet. Let the corps handle Jordan."

"Hal Jordan has proven the strength of his will time and time again. If he wills it strongly enough, do you honestly believe his fellow Lanterns could stop him? He must not be allowed to warn Superman. We must act."

On Earth Superman, Shazam, and Hawkgirl flew over a plain field and looked up at the dozens of Green Lanterns flying down. Shazam had a furrowed brow, "What do they want?"

Superman kept looking up, "Me."

Kilowog led the group, "Superman. The Guardians want to talk to you on Oa."

I am doing important work here, Kilowog. I will not leave."

"I've been told to bring you in. I'd really like to do that without any trouble."

Hawkgirl's eyes peered, "Where is Hal Jordan?"

Superman asked, "What did you do to him?" Kilowog didn't respond," Cyborg."

"I have them."

"The ground is clear beneath us. Take the shot."

Kilowog looked up, "No fricking"- a huge red beams shot down from the Watchtower and hit all of the Lanterns.

"Are they down? Superman, can you confirm--are all of the Green Lanterns down?"

"No."

5 Lanterns flew out of the smoke and started fighting them. Kilowog swung a hammer at Superman, "This is stupid, Kilowog," he went behind him and grabbed his head, "You can't touch me with a thought based weapon. I can move faster than thought."

"Then I guess it's lucky that we already thought of that. See, we already touched you."

Superman crashed onto the ground and was paralyzed. He looked up at a flying squirrel. "S...Squirrel?"

"Yeah, they always underestimate the Squirrel."

The Squirrel landed on his chest, "It's always the same with you all powerful types. You're used to big things coming at you, but you don't consider the little things. Sure I'm small, but I can also think small. Right now. I'm thinking so small that I'm stopping the synapses from firing in your brain."

Hawkgirl and Shazam were restrained and Kilowog announced, "Okay, let's wrap this up."

Another Lantern asked, "What about these two?"

"Bring them, we'll let the Guardians decide what to do with them. Ch'p. Can you keep Superman's brain out of action until we get to Oa."

"Sure, I'll even try not to permanently damage him." Although before they could do anything else a yellow nail went through his brain, killing him instantly."

They all looked up and saw Sinestro. "You..."

"Oh, don't look at me like that, "Poozer". I did you a favor. You always looked ridiculous fighting beside a Squirrel."

Another fight broke out and Hal and John arrived on the scene, "What's Sinestro doing here?!"

"Try to break up the fighting. Then we'll ask questions."

John started flying towards Sinestro, "I've got Sinestro. You try to stop Superman and Kilowog from tearing each other to pieces!"

Hal stopped Kilowog's fist, "Kilowog stop! Stand down!"

"Yes, stand down. Sinestro stood in front of a squadron of Yellow Lanterns, "There's really no point."

Hal looked at Superman, "What is going on?"

"Don't be concerned, Superman. They're not against you."

Superman's brow furrowed, "What is this, Sinestro?"

"This is how you win a war."

Kilowog looked back at the rest of the Green Lanterns. "STOP FIGHTING! We yield okay? We're done, let us take our wounded."

Sinestro stated, "No."

Hal got close to Sinestro and pointed at him, "I don't know what you're doing here, but you don't get to make that decision, Sinestro."

Sinestro put his hands behind his back, "They can't be allowed to report back to Oa. You know this. If you let them go, they will only return with the rest."

Hal looked at Superman, "Superman?"

Superman looked away and down at the ground, "Sinestro's right."

The Yellow Lanterns surrounded the Green Lanterns, "You know what needs to happen. They must be exterminated. Superman," he crossed his arms, "Superman. If you let these Green Lanterns go free, they will only return to challenge your rule again. Let us exterminate them and be done with it."

Hal yelled, "NO ONE is exterminating ANYONE."

"Superman?"

Shazam cut in, "We will not condone executions, Sinestro. We're heroes."

Kilowog said, "You sure about that? Cause I don't remember a whole lot of "heroes" that were happy to be seen standing so close to the scum of the Sinestro corps. HRRRG!"

Arkillo wrapped ropes around him and lifted him off the ground. Hal put jackhammers on both sides of his head, "Release him!"

"We outnumber you, Jordan. I'm not going to let him go. I'm going to keep squeezing until he pops."

Superman walked up to Arkillo, "You were told to stop."

He looked at Sinestro for confirmation, "Do as they say, Arkillo," he returned his focus to Superman, "If you won't kill them, then realize that this is a war. There are prisoners in war."

"I know," he walked up to Kilowog, "Green Lanterns, remove your rings."

"Do not!"

Superman leaned in and his forehead tensed, "Remove your rings and I promise you will be humanly detained. No harm will come to you."

Arkillo also leaned in, "Don't listen to him, Kilowog. Fight back! Give us a reason to turn you into little green bits."

"I don't control the Sinestro corps, Kiloeog. This is the only way your people make it out of this."

Kilowog submitted and took his ring off, "You should have come quietly. The Guardians are going to kick your ass."

Superman looked at Sinestro, "We'll take them from here. Sinestro. Your corps isn't welcome on Earth, I want them gone."

Sinestro's forehead tensed and he lowered his head, "I would advise against this"-John interrupted, "You heard him, Sinestro."

Hal followed up, "Leave."

"No. The corps goes, but Sinestro stays."

Hal had wide eyes, "What?"

"There is more going on here than you realize, Hal. And without him I'd be paralyzed, and halfway to Oa by now."

Sinestro looked over his shoulder at Arkillo, "Arkillo, take the corps away but remain ready. We've hidden our presence here from the Guardians gaze, but this is not the end. This war is just beginning."

 

[Bonzoluv]

As Superman and Sinestro dealt with the Green Lanterns, Itachi has been spending most of his time in Gotham lately. A super soldier came across a young couple. "Citizens! It's past curfew."

"What?"

He grabbed the man's arm and twisted it, and the girl backed up, "What the hell?"

"You are on the street past curfew. By order's of Superman you will be taken and"-"Hey Stormtrooper, they're not making any trouble. Let's just let these two go home, okay?" Bullock said leaning on a car.

"Superman has declared a curfew. You are in violation of"-"Oh, calm down, you overzealous thug. We're one the same team here," he started reaching into his Trench coat.

The soldier started approaching him, "Hands where I can see them!"

"Oh, you stupid.... I'm not reaching for a gun. I'm reaching for my"- he got back handed through a store window. He still had his hand in his coat, "You.... have the right to remain silent. Anything you... hnng.... say can and will be used against you in the court of law." He pulled out his badge.

"You are not the law anymore."

Gotham was protesting the recent take over of their city by Superman's super soldiers. Once the soldiers got tired of telling them to go home they started using force and a fight broke out.

Gordon stood in a warehouse in front of everyone who used to be apart of the GCPD. "It's boiling over out there. Superman doesn't understand. Gotham won't just sit still while Superpowered thugs take over the city. He thinks marching soldiers in, Declaring Curfews, and beating people up will result in order. But Gotham citizens have never been known for their compliance. We know this, we know violence alone doesn't get the job done."

Gordon, Bullock, Montoya, Huntress, Batwoman, Catwoman, and Itachi stood on stage. Itachi wore a slightly modernized version of his old Anbu outfit, with everything being more armored with a crow mask.

A woman in the crowd stated, "We don't have a job anymore."

"We still have a job to do. It just got a lot harder and a lot bigger. We need to protect Gotham's citizens from their so-called protectors. And we need to keep our city safe."

Another man in the crowd asked, "And how do you propose we do that, Commissioner? You know what happened to Bullock. He had a badge in his hand when they did that to him!"

"Yeah, I did have a badge in my hand. And now I'm standing here for a reason."

Gordon stated, "You won't need your badges anymore."

One of the women stepped up, "We won't need our badges anymore? You're asking us to quit the force? How are we supposed to pay our bills?"

Huntress stated, "We have a private benefactor. You will all be very well taken care of financially."

Gordon said, "I understand your concerns and I didn't bring you here to waste your time."

"Why did you bring us here?"

"Because you're good police. You care about this city and its people. And every single one of you has stood up to authority without fear when you thought it was the right thing to do. Some of you have even stood up to me. I'm offering you a chance to stand up for what's right again. I'm offering you a chance to be police."

A man asked, "How? How are we supposed to do the job with them in our city?"

Batwoman showed off the pill, "With this."

"Our city is at war. The Birds Of Prey have started a resistance, but they can't do it alone. They need soldiers. If you agree to join the resistance, this will be your new badge."

"What is it?"

"This--" he swallowed the pill and Bullock pointed a gun at his head and shot it. Eyes went wide in the crowd, but the bullet fell off his head crushed. "--This is the game changer."

Everyone who stood on top of the stage was now out in an alley waiting for the opportunity to strike. Black Canary talked to Oracle while Itachi stared at a pill in his hand. Huntress asked him, "How do you think that pill would affect you?"

"When I don't use Chakra to enhance my abilities, I'm just a normal human. The pill would probably work the same on me as it would for anyone else. Although I'm curious if I can stack Chakra on top of that."

"You might be able to take on Superman yourself if you could do that, maybe hold off though so they can't report back to someone with abilities like yours."

"Of course. Although I doubt I'd be able to beat Superman on my own even then."

There was a scream in the alley which they took as their cue. They all hopped onto the scene. Batwoman slammed a guard into the ground, Huntress took out two, and Bullock went through two of them like a Football player. Itachi ran up on one, 'Let's see if this works,' He applied Chakra to his finger to add onto his already powered up strength and flicked him with his pinkie which sent him flying into a wall.

Gordon close lined one and some of them gathered around the downed agent. Bullock stated, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say"-"No."

Bullock's eyebrows raised, "Commish?"

"Pick him up. And bring the other one. They're an invading army, not criminals. We're going to be interrogating them for as much information as we can get, and holding them without due process. We won't read them their rights. They don't have any."

As that went on, Green Lantern and Sinestro were far away in space on a mission to find the Ur-Forge. The mission was to get it before the Guardians did. And they just found it.

"We got it, we actually got it."

"Yes. We did it."

"It'll take both of us to transport it off world. You'll never move it on your own," Green Lantern couldn't help but worry about how nothing involving the Ur-Forge would end well, whether it landed in the hands of Sinestro, Superman, or the Guardians. But his worries ended when Sinestro destroyed it.

He gawked and his mouth tensed, "You.... you, of all people," he smiled, "No one can use it now."

Sinestro smiled back, "You were worried, weren't you? That little tang of not quite fear.... we're you more afraid of what the Ur-Forge would do in the Guardians hands, Superman's.... or mine?"

"How could I be afraid..." he shook his hand, "When you were the one at my back?"

When they got back to Earth, Superman greeted them with red eyes, "Hal? Empty handed? The Guardian's haven't"- Hal put his hands up, "I'm sorry Kal-El. The Ur-Forge was destroyed. We couldn't salvage it."

"Destroyed.... that.... is for the best. Our people will be safe after all. Thank you. Hal. Thank you, Sinestro. At least it didn't fall into the wrong hands."

"No... no, it did not."

Seven months have passed since that mission and what looked like a meteor was about to hit Chicago, until Sinestro intercepted it. "Despero!! I won't let you hurt these people, monster. How dare you attack the Earth!"

Despero's brow tensed, "How dare I?" Sinestro grabbed him and flew him out of the building, "I don't know what sick game you're playing here, Sinestro. But you know full well why I'm here. Your damn Corps attacked me and threw me down here to"-"Stop it, Despero! I don't want to hurt you."

Despero's whole face tensed and his eyes narrowed, "What are you talking about?" John and Hal started flying over. He looked at his hands, "What are you doing?"

"You don't have to... just stand down."

Despero put his hands around Sinestro's neck, "What is this? Release my hands!!"

He put an energy bubble around Despero's neck. "Please. Don't make me do this!" He snapped his neck, turning his head around like an owl. "Hal, I... I didn't have a choice. He would have..."

"I understand Sinestro. We saw. I'm just glad you arrived in time to stop him from doing more damage."

Sinestro flew down to the damaged building, "There will be people who need us in that building."

John said, "I didn't think that there could be any redemption for Sinestro. But, all of the good he's done these past few months-- I still can't believe it."

Hal replied, "I think we need to believe it, John. People can change"

In one of Batman's hideouts Itachi stood over Martian Manhunter who was now fully recovered. He opened his eyes, "Itachi? What happened?"

Superman nearly killed you until stepped in and stopped him, do you remember?"

He looked down in thought for a moment before nodding, "Yes.... I do. At the time I didn't expect Superman would go as far as to do something like that..... Well, I am in your debt, thank you, Itachi."

"I'm glad you're ok..... I heard what you were saying while you were inside Wonderwoman, you were going to kill her."

Green Lantern turned his head away, "Wonderwoman..... she is not the Wonderwoman we know anymore. Had she not fed her poison to Superman, things might have been different now."

Itachi leaned forward, "I don't want to kill any of our friends, but you're willing to do something Batman can't, and he'd have a problem with you if he found out your intentions."

Manhunter looked back at him and narrowed his eyes, "Are you going to tell him I shouldn't be on the team now?"

Itachi waved a hand, "No, not at all. I just want to make sure I can count on you if I ever need you for something Batman wouldn't condone." He offered his hand for Manhunter to shake.

Manhunter looked down at the hand and raised a brow, "Such as?"

"Nothing yet, but I can guarantee that to win this war we'll need to do things Batman isn't willing to do. I already have Black Adam, Huntress, and Aquaman on my side."

Martian Manhunter stood still for a minute, before accepting the hand.

In a Hospital, Dinah just finished giving birth. And her bag was glowing green. She took the Lantern communication device out and Guy asked, "Dinah, is it safe to speak?"

"Yeah, it's ok."

"It's time, Dinah."

"How long?"

"Our full force has gathered, but we'll need three weeks to move our secret weapon. We only get one shot at this. We'll need you and your resistance force ready on the ground when we come."

"I understand. The Green Lantern Corps, the Sinestro Corps, Superman's forces. Are you sure you can fight this war without the planet being torn apart?"

"No, which is why we're bringing our own Planet."

Three weeks later they lost the element of surprise when they were spotted. Superman soon made a broadcast to the whole world with Sinestro behind him, "People of Earth. A war is coming tomorrow. We did not start this war. We did not invite this war. But our world will soon be attacked by agents working for powerful intergalactic beings. These self proclaimed "Guardians of the Universe" seek to undo everything we have achieved. The Rouge nations we've toppled. The wars we've ended. The private forces that we have established as super powered peace keepers across the globe. All of it will be for nothing. If these Guardians and their Green Lantern corps succeed, everything we've fought for will be lost. Yes, we have powerful allies, but I urge every single person on Earth to join us and oppose these Alien Invaders. Fight for your world. Do not let these aliens take your way of life from you-- from your families. Get out on the streets and fight for your future!"

Barbara and Dinah watched and Barbera asked, "Is he...?"

"Yes. He's eloquently and passionately inspiring the entire world to get out and be human shields."

"The Green Lantern's attack will be severely hampered if there are civilians every"-"What's that?"

"They're codes."

Dinah raised a brow, "Codes for what?"

Barbara smiled, "They're codes that go to the Watchtower communications system. Itachi has been giving it to us every time they've changed it."

Zatanna appeared, "It's time."

Barbara put a hand on Dinah's arm, "Dinah, you don't have to do this. Ollie doesn't need avenging."

Dinah looked down at her baby and smiled, "If I don't fight, and we lose, what world would I be leaving for him?" Her expression steeled, "I'm going to take down Superman. I'm going to make sure Conner has a future."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

At the Tower Of Fate Batman talked to Zatanna and Catwoman, and finished some of his Rehab and stated, "We're out of time, Alfred. Oracle. I'd like to talk to them. All of them."

"Opening the channel."

"The war is coming. The Green Lanterns will be here tomorrow. I'm sorry. I'm sorry it has come to this. I'm sorry any of you need to fight in this war, but you all know your roles. This may be our only chance to take down Superman. He has shown that he no longer values life, and the murderous Sinestro corps will be beside him. I'm sorry that some of you won't be coming home tomorrow. And I'm sorry to ask you to say your goodbyes. To family, to friends, to friends, to children, to husbands, and wives. Tomorrow, the tyranny of Superman will be ended by all of you. And I'm sorry I can't fight alongside you.

Alfred approached Zatanna, "Zatanna. I believe it's time, if you'd be so kind as to send Ms. Kyle, Mrs. Lance, and I to the Batcave?"

"Alfred?"

"Please, Master Bruce. Did you really think I'd sit back while our friends went to war?"

"No... I guess not."

Zatanna teleported the three of them away and Batman asked her, "Zatanna. If the unthinkable happens. Don't get involved. We will need you for plan B. No, send me to Oracle."

"They think you're staying here, safe, Bruce."

"They think what I need them to think. Oracle has agreed not to say anything," he gritted his teeth, "I don't care how broken I am. I will make sure Superman goes down."

The next day Itachi finished breakfast and stood on the teleporter of the Watchtower. "Cyborg, I'm going to Themyscira. They'll want to seize the opportunity to capture her while she's injured."

"Good thinking," Cyborg sent him down. And when he was gone, he smirked.

Itachi teleported into the room Wonderwoman was being cared for in and multiple spears started poking at his neck. He put his hands up, "No worries, I'm a friend of Superman's. I'm staying here to make sure no one attempts to capture her."

They lowered their spears and a guard said, "I'm insulted that Superman thinks we can't defend her ourselves, but fine. Stay."

Itachi gave her a fake smile and when they went back to their normal post Itachi's eyes narrowed at the sky. 'When the sky turns green. That's the signal.... Taking him down now wasn't ideal since people still love him enough to go out on the streets for him, but we can't just stand by and let the Green Lanterns fight him on their own,' he rubbed his stomach, 'Strange. Even though I just ate, I'm already hungry again.'

The Green Lantern Corps arrived near Earth. John had raised brows, "They brought Mogo?"

Hal said, "And what looks like half the corps."

Guy flew over to them and gave off a playful expression, "Hal, John. So... this is all kinds of nuts, right? Oh. Hey, look. Your 'saviors' are here," Superman and the Yellow Lantern corps arrived near them and Superman came to the three of them. "Here we go. So before this whole intergalactic war thing, I just wanted to make one last appeal to sanity," he dropped the playful expression and his mouth tensed, "Help us take down the Sinestro Corps. Then stand trial. You get judged fairly. The Earth keeps spinning. None of our friends die."

Superman glared, "No one dies if you leave."

Guy gestured to him, "Don't do this man. Have some perspective. You have super vision or whatever. Take a good look at your allies. They're the Sinestro corps, chosen because they can instill fear. They're the very definition of Bad Guy. Half of them are just spikes and sharp teeth," he pointed at Arkillo, "That guy's name is Arkillo, he literally has 'kill' in his name."

Superman crossed his arms, "For now, they are useful. The enemy of my enemy"-"Is sometimes just a much worse enemy. You're not going to win this. I don't want to hurt you, any of you. I'm trying to protect you, and our friends."

"We don't need your 'protection.' We've seen how your 'Guardians' have guarded worlds in the past."

Guy scrunched his brow, "We can stop this, Clark. Just you and me. Just words. You get that, right?"

Superman looked down, "Guy," before glaring at him, "You were always an embarrassment to the Justice League. Now, you're an embarrassment to your planet too."

Guy gritted his teeth and glared while making a wrecking ball for a hand, "Oh, screw you you sanctimonious piece of"- Superman side stepped him and broke his arm before grabbing him by his face. "I don't want you in this fight," and throwing him away.

 

[Bonzoluv]

A Lantern screamed, "Attack!"

John flew to Guy and caught him. "John, tell Hal to get out of there!"

"What?"

"It's a feint! They're not really attacking! The Guardians want the Sinestro Corps destroyed. You think we came all the way out here without a plan? Mogo, a living planet with a will powered weapon. Why do you think we dragged him across space? How much Will do you think something that size has?"

The planet started to glow and the Green Lanterns flew out of the way of it, before it shot a ginormous beam of energy that killed dozens if not hundreds of Yellow Lanterns in an instant.

In the Batcave Dinah took a gun out of a case Alfred showed her. Batman called, "Dinah. The sky is green. That's our signal."

"Batman? You're supposed to be safe in the Tower Of Fate."

"Not now. Do you have the weapon?"

"I do."

"I'm afraid you only get one shot, Miss Lance," he handed her a Kryptonite tipped bullet."

"I know you're angry. I know what he took from you. But when the chance comes to take him down... try not to kill him. Remember who Clark was."

"I remember. But I can't guarantee anything," she loaded the bullet, "The guy with the best aim is dead."

What used to be the GCPD stood outside of the Hall Of Justice along with an explosive Itachi clone and Martian Manhunter. Gordon announced, "Take your pills and be ready. We're trying to take out one of the smartest people on Earth and a man who can cross continents in a heartbeat. The guards outside and everyone inside will be as Invulnerable as we are. Don't hold back."

The clone walked up to the Hall and a guard walked up to it right before it exploded. Sending the guard through the window, along with the whole front of the Hall being destroyed.

Flash caught the guard that flew through the window, "It's ok, I've got you."

She took her helmet off to reveal herself as Catwoman, "My hero," But before Flash could do anything she planted a device on his neck that knocked him out. "This isn't permanent. Batman doesn't want you hurt. But your part in all this is over."

Catwoman heard a staff swing at her head and blocked it, breaking the staff. "What Is that? What did you do to Flash?!"

"I just stopped the electrical impulses running down his spine. Don't worry. He's still the fastest man on Earth from the neck up."

Damian gritted his teeth, "My father made this device, didn't he? He was always thinking of creatively sick new ways to hurt heroes. You think he hasn't developed something that exploits all of your weaknesses? You honestly think he loved you, Catwoman? You think he hasn't created something that tears you open? That exposes you and leaves you a broken husk?"

Catwoman side eyes him and her eye twitched, "Urgh. Shut. Up. You know what? All the other Robin's were good for Batman. But you, Damian--your father is so much better off without you. You're just this joyless, entitled, moody, whining little shit. And you hurt Burce. I'm going to punish you for that."

At an airfield Hal stood alongside three Yellow Lanterns including Sinestro. And Carol was next to him. Guy started talking to him, "You know. I did everything I could to convince them. I told them that there was no way Hal Jordan would side with Sinestro. I promised them you'd come around. You were supposed to be the best of us, man. You were the ones the Guardians chose. Me, John, Kyle.... we only got the gig because you weren't around. You're not supposed to be Superman's puppet. You're supposed to be better than this!"

Sinestro smiled, "Shut him up. End him!"

He looked down, "I'm a cynical bastard, but I still had faith in you, Hal," They blasted at him but a bubble protected him, "Yeah. That's not going to work. You think we didn't prepare? We didn't come all this way to have our asses handed to us. I never stopped believing in you, Hal, but the Guardians gave up."

Hal's eyes went wide, "Ganthet?"

Ganthet raised a hand and everyone flew back. Sinestro threw a jet at him that was easily blocked. Guy picked up Carol and started flying away, Hal got in his way, "Guy! Give her to me!"

"It's okay, Hal. Guy saved me. He"-"GIVE HER TO ME!" Hal grabbed her wrist.

Guy told him, "Calm the hell down! You think the Guardians will let you stand against them with their power?"

Hal attacked him in response and Ganthet stated, "Hal Jordan. You have broken your oath. You are not worthy of wielding Green Lantern's Light."

"No." He tried to reach out for his ring but started falling. "Sinestro!! Save Carol."

"No."

"Please!"

"We need you in this war. Save her yourself," he offered him a yellow ring with a sinister grin. Hal looked at it with a tensed brow. "Don't be ridiculous! This isn't a moral quandary! You're powerless, Jordan. Carol will die. Take it, save her."

Hal shit his eyes and accepted the ring.

"Now, feel her fear. Use it!" He caught her. "They tried to cast you aside. They tried to take her from you. They tore us apart, but they forced us together again, Hal. You, and I. We are one corps again. Let us show them fear."

Back to Batman and Oracle they were both viewing the battle, and it seemed like they were starting to lose. "Damn it! What are they doing? Oracle, tell the Green Lanterns to come back together. Superman and Sinestro corps are deliberately stretching them out. They're spreading the war across the world, they're moving the battle to populated areas. They know the Green Lanterns won't take out civilians," Oracle's eyes narrowed at the screen and Batman looked at her. "What Is it? What's wrong?"

"I don't know. There was something in the system and then it was gone," Her eyes went wide, "There. Someone's tracking us!"

"What?"

"The Regime knows we're listening!"

"Shut down the servers!"

"It's too late! They're coming. They're moving through my proxies like they're not even there!"

Batman narrowed his eyes, "Cyborg."

"I know you're there." On the Watchtower Cyborg has almost finished tracking down Oracle when Lex Luthor came to the Tower. "Lex. I've traced the hack in our communications to someone called Oracle. Whoever it is they've masked themselves well, but I'll have their location in"-"No. You won't."

Cyborg turned his head to see a knocked out Luthor along with Gordon and Manhunter. Manhunter blitzed him before he could do anything and knelt down on his unconscious form. Gordon asked, "Any idea how to turn it off?"

Manhunter shook his head, "No, I"-Gordon pushed him aside and grabbed the metal part of Cyborg's face and ripped it off. "I don't understand tech, but nothing runs if you turn it off."

Barbera confirmed that the trace was gone and Manhunter asked, "Lex could you teleport Cyborg down for collection?"

Lex nodded, "You understand why I couldn't act directly, right?"

"Yes, hopefully you do a better job as a spy than I did."

Lex grinned and walked off.

Manhunter asked Gordon, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Gordon was pale and sweating, "I'm gonna need a moment to myself."

Manhunter walked off and Gordon called Oracle, "Oracle?"

"Commissioner?"

"I'm on the Watchtower, tell Bullock and Montoya that Cyborg is being sent for collection."

"And what about you Commissioner Gordon?"

"Could we speak on a closed channel?"

"Dad?"

"Barbera. I wish you could see this. It looks so beautiful from up here. You can't fear or violence or hatred. It's just... calm. Superman is a criminal. Nothing more. He can't be allowed to hold all this in his hands."

Bruce said, "We won't let him, Jim."

"It's good to hear your voice, Batman."

"It's Bruce."

Jim looked down and smiled, "No, it isn't. It was never Bruce."

"No. It's been an honor to serve Gotham with you."

"Keep serving her."

"Dad, Bullock is standing by. Just get to the teleporter and"-"I'm sorry, Barbera. But you're strong, you always have been. Stay strong. The resistance needs you. I love you. I'm Sorry I have to say goodbye."

Her eyes tensed and tears started welling up, "Dad? Please.... don't."

Jim put a hand on the window. "Batman. I guess I... I guess I get to disappear on you for once."

"Jim? Jim...?"

The Batwing shot at Superman and he glared. "Bruce." He destroyed it with heat vision and Black Canary came out of the smoke screaming directly into his ears. They both flew down to the ground. "Is he down? Canary. Is Superman down?"

"No."

Superman put up a hand, "I never wanted to hurt you, Dinah. I never wanted to hurt anyone."

"Oh SHUT UP!" She glared daggers at him, "You want me to feel sorry for you? You're the most powerful thing on Earth. Stop pretending that someone else is to blame. It's pathetic. You have supervision. You're telling me that you can't see the evil, murdering dictator you've become? I'm just glad Lois died before she saw you like this."

Superman grabbed her jaw and gritted his teeth, "You don't talk about Lois."

"Do you remember what I told you at Ollie's funeral?" Superman's eyes went wide as he looked down at his chest and saw a green gun wound in it. "Kryptonite bullet. You weren't faster than that. Were you?" She kicked him in the face, "I told you I'd tear you down. I missed anything vital on purpose. I promised Batman I'd grant you the mercy you denied Ollie, you son of a bitch. Everything you've done to him--," she leaned into his face and gritted her teeth, "--And Bruce still cares about your worthless life. But your reign is over. And the evil you brought to Earth is done. Without you, the Sinestro Corps will crumble. Without you. They will fall apart. And all those you sold your twisted dream to, all those you tricked into fighting for you, they are already falling. The Hall Of Justice has Fallen. We are taking your allies. We're hiding them. They won't be coming to rescue you. Guy. Can you hear me?"

"Can you speak up? I'm in the middle of an Intergalactic war."

She smiled, "We did it. Superman is down."

"Well done, Dinah."

"Tell Ganthet to come and get him. Get this evil bastard off of our planet. No...." her face was filled with dread.

She turned around to see Superman using a Yellow Lantern ring and pulling out the bullet. Before she could do anything he heat blasted her right through her stomach and she fell.

She faced him and smiled, "You lose. Contact Lenses. They recorded everything. Everything I saw, they saw. And I saw the truth. You're being streamed around the world. You don't get to hide behind your hero facade any longer. You might win this war. You might kill all those who tried to stop you. But everyone will know what you are now. They'll know you're..... you're not their savior. The whole world will fear you."

On Themyscira, Itachi just knocked out everyone and carried Wonderwoman on his shoulder outside, 'There were smarter ways to go about doing this rather than a full on assault, but I'm putting my trust into Batman's plans for now,' She was abnormally heavy and he started sweating. When he got a broadcast, "I am ordering a full retreat. The Green Lanterns are falling. Guy Gardner is down. Black Canary... Black Canary has fallen. It's over. We can't win this."

Itachi's eyes went wide and he looked up at the sky with Chakra enhanced eyes and saw Superman push the planet Mogo into the Sun. 'Damn it. Damn it! I have to get out of her fast before'- suddenly he collapsed to the ground ground Wonderwoman fell beside him. "What's going on with my body? Something is wrong."

He tried to stand up, but to no avail. He felt like he was starving to death, and even noticed that he was skinnier. Before he could think of anything else. Superman landed in front of him, in a Yellow Lantern suit. Itachi gritted his teeth, "What.... what did you...."- Superman put finger on his lips, "Don't expel any more energy than what you're already losing."

He picked him up and started flying North, "We have one of the smartest men on Earth, the fastest man/thinker alive, and a living computer, along with an entire space corps watching us from below. It was inevitable that we'd eventually find out that you were a spy, Itachi. Remember what you had for breakfast this morning? We put chemicals in your food. Energy blockers and destroyers. The ATP in your body is killing itself, along with your fat cells and carbs. Chakra is connected directly to your stamina, so that takes care of that. You aren't going to be able to use any troublesome hallucinations or any of your other tricks now. If this goes untreated then you'll die, which is why I'm taking you somewhere where that won't be a problem. You can thank Batman for coming up with the idea." They landed at the Fortress Of Solitude.

Manhunter looked up Itachi's location on the Watchtower and saw that he was at the Fortress Of Solitude. "Batman, we have a serious problem. Itachi has been captured and is at the Fortress Of Solitude."

"What?! Goddammit..... Itachi is too valuable of an asset to lose....... but there's nothing we can do.

"I'm going."

"No, you nearly died last time you faced him."

"I won't make the same mistake again. Besides, I owe him my life."

Batman's forehead tensed, "He just took a dip in the sun, and has a Yellow Lantern ring filled by the fear of billions of people right now. I'm not sure if your hits would even phase him right now, we have to wait for now. But I assure you, we'll break him out eventually."

Manhunter gritted his teeth, but relented, "Fine."

Superman dragged Itachi on the floor. "How did you...."-"Lex had suspicions already and had Cyborg use cctv all around Gotham to see where you were going, using a DNA filter we saw that it was you, and Sinestro brought more to my attention when we first met, even still I didn't want to believe, but then I come here and see you trying to capture Wonderwoman." Superman closed his eyes and shook his head, "Out of all the people.... I expected that you'd be the most eager to join me, but I guess you can't help but betray people, can't you?" He glared down at him. "You're even more dangerous than Batman, I'm not taking any chances with you, which is why you're going to where I sent the Titans." They arrived in front of the Phantom Zone portal. Itachi's eyes went wide.

'The Titans? I'll worry about that later. Right now I'm dealing with an unstoppable Superman, my only chance is to touch the seal on my leg so I can get some Chakra back, but even then what could I do? Using Susanoo would use too much Chakra, and I wouldn't be able to beat him in that state. My only chance is Genjutsu, but he knows this trick, I'll have to somehow make him look at me.'

Itachi slowly started reaching towards his leg, but Superman noticed and grabbed his arm. Then he crushed it, breaking the bones. Itachi screamed in pain, "What did I tell you about not moving?"

Itachi was completely helpless, left at the mercy of Superman. Superman said nothing else and threw him into the portal. He started falling and it felt like he was underwater, but he fell at a normal speed he would in air. He kept falling and falling until he landed on a rock. When he got up he saw that he wasn't alone on the rock. There were other aliens on it, likely prisoners. They got into a fighting stance and Itachi quickly undid the seal on his leg, rejuvenating his body with Chakra. And then he got into a fighting stance himself.

End: Year Two

 

[Bonzoluv]

Itachi tried to raise both arms, but his broken arm fell and he winced, 'My forearm bones are completely crushed. Even with Medical ninjutsu this will take a really long time to heal.' Itachi activated his Sharingan and started fighting them with one arm. They didn't have much skill, but their physical superiority was evident, and Itachi killed them quickly by neck snaps, stabs, and broken windpipes. Although some of them were still standing. They were obviously in pain but they wouldn't die for some reason. Itachi pulled out a kunai and cut the connection from their brain to the rest of their bodies, killing them.

He took a deep breath, "This place is timeless, and Superman said I could survive here. I'm assuming that all normal body processes are frozen here, although..... as soon as I leave I'll start dying again. God dammit, Batman."

He walked to the edge of the floating rock he was on and looked down at all the other floating rocks, some had people on them, and some didn't. It looked like it went on endlessly, an endless sea of blue, pink, and purple lights everywhere.

He looked at a couple other seals on his body with enough Chakra to recover him twice over. 'Good thing I came prepared. While I'm here, I should take this as an opportunity to find the Teen Titans, hopefully they're all still alive. I might be able to find a way out of here too.'

Itachi manifested just the Susanoo wings and started flying around. Over the past seven months he improved his control over his Susanoo and can summon just one part of it at a time now if he wants, he also improved his Chakra reserves.

In the real world a day passed and Sinestro brought an officer that was a part of the siege to Superman. Superman still bore his yellow ring and sat on a throne. "Officer Sprague. You were a part of the attack on this hall and on its heroes."

The cop stared at him stone faced until Sinestro grabbed his face with an energy hand, "Answer him!"

Superman put up a hand, "It's ok, Sinestro. Let him go," he stood up, "I appreciate your loyalty, I understand that Batman.... inspires this in those around him. But I want answers."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Superman's eyes glowed blue, "There's nothing you can hide from me. I can hear your heartbeat, I can see your shoe prints on the street outside. I can see your fingerprints around this room. The rest are hiding. You're the only person from Batman's group who went to work today. I was watching, I was listening," his head turned, "I can see your wife. She's at work. The children at her school seem to like her."

The cop looked down at the ground, "What do you want?"

"You know what I want. You took our people. I want to know where."

"I don't know what we did with them. I promise, I'm telling the truth."

Sinestro smiled, "We will see."

Itachi continued to fly around, for a really really long time. 'This place is like a maze. There's got to be a better way to do this.' He stood on a rock and activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, and started to observe. 'Superman said this place was parallel to our own universe once, so maybe I should be navigating it in a similar way, there might even be multiple ways to escape this place.'

He walked towards something strange in the air and tapped it. It was like a rip in reality. A sound came out of it and it vibrated slightly. His hand retreated for a second, before touching it again. This time he pushed all the way through it, and he heard a sound. It sounded like cars, and he could see. He saw buildings in Gotham. He tried to step through it, but he couldn't. He could observe the normal universe, but he couldn't go back to it. 'I'm starting to understand this place.'

At the home of Jason Blood someone just broke in and their blast killed both Bullock and Jason Blood, along with injuring Detective Chimp. Zatanna started a spell, "Tcetorp lla edisni siht esuoh!"

Batman looked at Constantine, "What is it? What are we up against?"

"I don't know."

Klarion's eyes went wide, "Constantine."

"What is it, Karion? What do you see?"

"Oh, this isn't good. It's the Spectre."

Zatanna kept on holding back the Spectre's power, "Hnng! John! He's too strong."

"Zatanna, we need an exit. Can you get us all out of here?"

"If I drop the protection spell we'll be crushed."

Batman commanded, "Batwoman! Huntress! Search the house. Look for a cellar or"-"Are you kidding?!" Constantine gestured his hands, "That's the Spirit of Vengeance out there! You think he's going to be fooled by the great strategy that is hiding in another room?"

Batman's mouth tensed, "I'm trying to"-"I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to take control. Well, you need to do better. This isn't your world, mate. This isn't capes and tights and punching bad guys in the face until they don't get up again. You can't control this!" His hand waved to Jason Blood's skeleton, "You think you can protect us from the Spectre? He just reduced one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world to a stain in the carpet. Look at you! You can barely walk. You're being held up by pain killers and stubbornness! YOU'RE BLOODY USELESS!"

Batman punched him right in the face, flooring him. "Zatanna. As soon as you feel the attack stop, drop the protection and get everyone to the Tower Of Fate."

"Where are you going?"

"Out."

Catwoman said, "I'm going with you."

"No. You're not."

"If you think for a second that I"- He looked over his shoulder at her, "You're a criminal. You can't help me. That's the Spirit of Vengeance out there. He punishes criminals. He and I have something in common."

He walked outside, "Spectre."

He stopped his attack, "Batman."

Inside Constantine was wiping blood off his nose, "Klarion. What's happening out there?"

"Batman is just... talking to the Spectre."

He smiled, "Jesus. Bollocks the size of coconuts. Brilliant."

"You're supposed to be a Spirit of Justice. You killed a good, innocent man in there. His name was Harvey Bullock."

"Do not lecture me, Little Bat. He stood beside a Demon."

"Tropsnart lla ot eht remote for etaf!" Everyone inside the house disappeared

"What?!" The Spectre grabbed Batman, "Deceiver! How have you done this? Where have the magic users gone? How have you hidden them from me?!"

"Reappa! Yawa!" Zatanna grabbed Batman and teleported away."

"No!"

Later in the Tower Of Fate Batman called out to Constantine again, "Constantine."

He showed a side smirk, "You gonna hit me again? If so, can you make it a body blow this time? I use my face for some of my favorite things."

"You pushed me on purpose."

He looked to the side. "I don't know what you're"-"Don't lie to me."

He sat down and put a hand on his face, "You've been hiding for almost a year."

"I was healing. Superman broke me."

"No, he broke your back. I don't know what happened to the rest of you. You've been off your game. You had a chance to take Superman down. You blew it. People died, and your double agent got captured. Some of the things we have to do... I need you angry. I need the guy I saw today. The guy who can stare down the Spectre," he stood up, "I need Batman."

Somewhere else in the Tower Of Fate Huntress approached Manhunter, "Now that we have some time to breathe. I've been meaning to ask, what happened to Itachi? He isn't here with us."

"He is... more than likely in the Phantom Zone right now, Superman stopped him from capturing Wonderwoman and took him there. Although that's not all, his vitals were dropping rapidly, as if something was eating away at him."

Her brow scrunched, "Eating away at him?"

"I'm not sure what it was, either way. When we have the time we'll have to retrieve him from there."

"Of course."

At the Hall Of Justice Sinestro was torturing the cop with a smile on his face, "I'm impressed. Officer Sprague. Few creatures have taken this amount of punishment and maintained their silence."

Superman walked in, "Sinestro. That's enough."

"Not yet."

Superman walked in front of Sinestro's energy projection, "I said, that's enough!" He offered a hand to the cop, "On your feet. Officer."

Sinestro put a hand on his shoulder, "No! No kindness! Superman. A word outside.

When they were in the hallways Sinestro started pacing around with his hands behind his back, "I understand if you're not comfortable with this sort of enhanced interrogation. But our allies are being held. And who knows what the enemy is doing to them? We must find them, and this man is our only link to Batman and his resistance."

"He has given us nothing, he knows nothing."

"Perhaps, but you said yourself that Batman inspires loyalty. Give me more time."

Superman looked down at the ground with a tensed face, "I..."-"Don't worry, Superman. Part of leadership is knowing when to delegate to the strengths of others. This is unpleasant business, but it's something I'm very effective at. If this man has information I will uncover it. You have more significant issues to attend to. You have an entire world to nurture and protect. You are far too important to concern yourself with this one insignificant traitor. Please, let me take this small burden from you."

Superman looked at the cop for a minute, before turning away and looking down, "Very well."

Superman sat on his throne next to the remaining Regime members. "Lex. Any word on our allies?"

"None, I'm afraid. Every avenue we've investigated has led to nowhere. It's like Batman took our friends and simply vanished."

"Yes. He's always been good at that."

Shazam spoke up, "Superman? Could we speak alone? I"-"SUPERMAN." Everyone's attention went to the loud booming voice coming from outside.

Sinestro flew into the room, "What is it?!"

Superman told him, "Put it away, Sinestro. Your ring is useless against this."

The Regime members flew outside and The Spectre stated, "Superman. I am here to warn you."

"You are not usually a being of words."

"No. However, you need to know powerful forces are working against you."

Hal asked, "Are you one of these powerful forces, Spectre?"

"No. I am not against you. I will do all in my power to protect you."

Shazam asked, "You believe in Superman's cause?"

"I do. It is righteous. But you...." he grabbed him, "I sense doubt in you, Billy Batson."

Superman got in-between them, "Release him!"

"He does not believe in you. I should destroy him."

"He is my ally and my friend. If he has doubts, we will talk. Release him," he complied and Superman stated, "Good. Now. Tell me of these new powers that stand against us."

Itachi opened his eyes after finishing his long meditation/healing session. His broken arm was now at least healed enough to move around. He stood up and looked around. There were rips everywhere. He looked through a lot of them, in some the League was made of vampires, there were some worlds where Batman killed the Joker, and others where Superman went crazy and killed everyone in the world. "This place isn't just parallel to this universe. It's like the gateway between this universe, and many others. Maybe I could find my own universe here somewhere."

In the distance he saw something strange. Something that looks like a building. He flew towards it and saw the word "Athyropolis" on it. As he approached it a man wrapped in bandages walked out and looked at him, "Who are you? And how did you get here?"

Itachi questioned himself on whether to tell him or not for a second, "Itachi Uchiha. I'm here because Superman threw me in here. And you are?"

Xa-Du. I'm here for the same reason. An enemy of Superman is a friend of mine, come in."

Itachi peered his eyes, 'His outfit has villian written all over it. For now I'll act like a villain, and try to learn as much as possible from him before disposing of him.'

Itachi went inside with him and walked around. "Xa-Du, I'm guessing that you've been here for a long time. Do you know a way out?"

Xa-Du stood in front of a door and gestured for Itachi to come in, "I do, it's right in here."

Itachi walked in and saw a suit of armor. "What Is this?"

"It's my Ecto armor. It allows me to roam freely in this dimension, and once it has enough power it will allow me to escape."

Itachi eyed the armor up and down, "And how do you power it?"

"With the bodies of the people in this dimension."

Itachi remained stone faced, "Makes sense. How close is it to full power right now?"

Xa-Du shook his head, "Not very close at all. I"- Itachi started walking out, "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go bring some bodies here. I had to kill quite a few just to get here."

Xa-Du snickered, "Haha, yes of course. Go do that."

As Itachi stepped outside he looked out of another ripple, 'I should be able to observe what's going on right now if I focus on what I want to see.'

He focused on Superman first, and he saw Superman wrapped in rags on the ground surrounded by a blonde man and a.... ragman for lack of a better word to describe him. "Have those two managed to capture Superman?"

Although Shazam quickly arrived and Constantine yelled, "Ragman. Take him!"

"I can't. He's innocent."

"No one's innocent!"

Shazam grabbed Ragman, "Let him go!!"

Ragman tried to reason with him, "You're defending the wrong man. You don't understand how corrupted his soul is. He's evil!"

"He's Superman!"

"Not anymore!"

"SHAZAM!" He shocked Ragman and Sinestro, Hal, and Spectre quickly arrived.

Spectre reached out a hand, "Give me Ragman."

"He's done, it's over. Hey!" Spectre snatched him from Shazam.

"You almost took Superman from this world. You almost took peace and order. You will be punished. All of you who reside in there. All of the corrupted souls who escaped damnation. Your time has come." He ripped his rag cloak, releasing the many souls inside him. "And you Soul stealer." He grabbed the rags covering his face."

"What are you doing?!"

"Rory Regan."

"No. JOHN!!"
John looked at him then back down at the ground, "I'm sorry, Mate."

Shazam yelled, "There's no reason to kill him! There's"- The Spectre crushed his head and Shazam looked on with a dropped jaw and contorted face."

Superman started standing up, "You.... Constantine. Now you die you little shit!"

Itachi shut off the rip in reality and got back to hunting. 'It seems like Hal has abandoned will in favor of fear.... and The Spectre?? Wasn't he supposed to be looking for the missing Justice Society members across all of reality? If that's him then where are the others?'

 

[Bonzoluv]

The company of Superman and his allies flew through the air carrying Constantine. The Spectre stated, "Something is watching us."

Superman asked, "What is it?"

"I'm not sure, I can't see it. Which troubles me..."

"We shouldn't be out in the open. We need to move quickly, we're exposed."

Shazam whispered to Constantine, "Hello, John."

He raised one brow, "Huh?"

"It's me, Boston Brand."

"Deadman?"

"Klarion contacted me and told me you might be in trouble. Though, truth be told. He didn't need to. Batman's had me spying on you for a week."

"What is this?"

"It's a rescue, and an intervention."

"What are you planning to do?"

"I'm going to have a talk with an old friend. I'm going to talk to the man inside the Spectre, Jim Corrigan. See if I can talk some sense into him."

"I think we're way past that, mate. There's no sense left in him."

"Maybe, but you won't see it. It's time for your rescue."

"What are you doing?"

He dropped him and Constantine started falling towards the ground. Until a big top hat appeared right under him, "Tuo fo ereh."

In the Phantom Zone Itachi finished collecting enough bodies and was bringing them all back to Xa Du. 'For a villian he was being way too friendly. After getting a good look at him he seems to have a body like Superman, although he must have been here for a long time so I doubt he has any powers right now.'

Itachi landed in Athyropolis and walked into the room with the Ecto armor in it. Xa Du was waiting for him with his hands behind his back pacing back and forth. "I have everyone you need."

Xa Du looked at him and noticed all the bodies he had with him. His tongue moved around in his mouth and he smiled, "Good. Bring them over here so they can be absorbed," he pointed at an empty room.

Itachi's face remained plain and he complied. He walked into the room and dropped everyone. "So when can you"- He was interrupted by a blade that ran all the way through his chest. Xa Du started laughing maniacally, "HAHAHA, all those weaklings give pitiful amounts of energy. But you'll give me more than enough energy I need to get me out of here."

In the Himilayas Deadman was flying towards the home of a Goddess after The Spectre sliced through him. "Rama Kushna! Help me. I am.... fading."

The blue goddess opened up her arms for an embrace he fell into, "Yes. I am sorry, Boston Brand. There is nothing I can do. I cannot repair what the Spectre has broken. There isn't much time. You have served well. Another will soon take your place. There must be balance."

He looked up at her, "Can... Can I choose my successor?"

"I know your choice. It is a wise one. It restores balance. I will bring him here."

She laid him down on the ground and Deadman looked up at him with a weak smile, "Hey, kid. Thank you for coming. Knowing you'll be next... it's right."

"Are you in pain?"

"No.. no. That's not how I'd describe it," he started fading and reached out a hand, "Take my hand."

"Thank you for choosing me. It will be good to help again."

"You were the only choice-- Dick Grayson. Are you ready?"

"I am."

"Find Jim Corrigan. He's at the heart of this and tell Batman... tell your dad goodbye for me. I hope that you and he can win this war together."

Dick's normal Nightwing uniform turned blue with the symbol and his skin turning ghost White.

Deep in a forest stood Batman and Constantine. "I appreciate the support and all, but me and this guy have a... complicated relationship. It might be best if I have a chat with him alone."

"No. We will do this together from now on."

"All right, mate. You wanna hold hands?"

After walking deep enough into the forest they could no longer see the sky, and a humanoid figure came out from the trees. "Constantine. You are wasting your time and mine. Whatever you seek, you will not find it here."

"Yeah, it's good to see you too mate. We're going to take Superman down. We could use your help."

Swamp Thing spread his arms wide, "Superman is doing more than any before him. He and Luthor have been harnessing wind and the Sun for energy. They've stopped the humans tearing, digging, drilling into the Earth and burning the Green for power."

"Humanity will be enslaved."

"Humanity is not my concern!"

Constantine gestured to him, "You were human once."

"So were you."

"I'm trying to save the world."

"No. You're trying to save one species on it. Or you're pretending to. I've known you too long and too well. You don't care for the world. Somewhere behind all this will lie some selfish motivation."

Batman cut in, "You won't join our side?"

"I won't."

"Will you join his?"

Swamp Thing just stared.

"You already have."

Constantine stated, "I don't want you as an enemy."

"Nor I you."

"You don't think I've planned ways to end you already?"

"Of course you have. You're Constantine. You're a bastard. But you know it won't be easy, and I will agree not to harm you if you steer clear of the Green," vines started reaching out to them, "Cross me, and you will fear every tree. Every blade of grass."

Constantine started walking away, "Yeah yeah put it away. I'll look twice at every house plant."

Once the two of them left the forest Constantine looked at the ground, "Bugger it."

"What?"

"We're going to have to kill Swamp Thing."

Back in the Phantom Zone Xa Du's laughter quickly turned into shock as he was suddenly on the other end of the blade he had stabbed through Itachi. In reality, Itachi stabbed him through the back. "H-how??"

"I put you under an illusion the moment I saw you. And your strange openness to my help only increased my suspension, which ended up being right." Itachi pulled out the blade and quickly stabbed him a couple more times in vital places. Xa Du dropped dead and Itachi kicked him into the room. He closed the door and pressed a button on the side.

Through the window in the door it looked like the bodies were atomized. He looked at the Ecto armor and the screen next to it said it was charged about 40%. Which was enough for one person. He walked over the armor and almost put it on, but paused. 'I can go back to Earth now.... but I should find the Titans before I leave this place.'

He approached the huge monitor on the other side of the room and saw that there were hundreds of cameras on every island. "There you are."

At the Hall Of Justice Superman's hands were behind his back and he looked up at the night sky. Hal asked him, "What troubles you?"

"The Spectre. He's gone."

"Sinestro. Come to the main hall."

Sinestro quickly flew into the room, "What is it?"

Superman still looked up at the sky, "I'm not sure. It could be nothing. But be ready--that smell...."

"What smell?"

A voice seemingly coming from nowhere spoke up, "The smell of Brimstone. The odor of death. The stench of Hellfire--On Etrigans breath!" Hellfire instantly engulfed the center of the large room and Etrigan emerged from the source. He spat Hellfire and engulfed the whole room.

Hal looked around, "Sinestro! Use the ring. Concentrate! Protect yourself. Protect"- Sinestro had gritted teeth and clenched his eyes, "I... can't. I caag AAAAGGHHH!"

He was enveloped by the flames, but Superman used his breath to extinguish it. "Hal, get Sinestro out of here!"

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me. He needs help, and you can't fight Hellfire. Go!" Hal picked up Sinestro and they started flying off, but Etrigan spit fire at them. "No!" Superman covered his mouth, but his hand recoiled in pain."

"You would put your hand on Hellfire? Is pain what you seek?" Superman extinguished the flame, but before he could do anything else Etrigan started beating on him, "You despotic, idiotic, psychotic freak!"

Superman hit the ground, but quickly got back up and punched Etrigan through a wall. Etrigan supported himself on one hand and slowly started getting back up, "Ha! I feared that you had lost your fight, but it's clear the boy scout has some bite."

"What do you want here, Etrigan? Why attack me?"

"It's nothing personal. A deal was done. Though burning the flesh of your friend was fun!"

Superman grabbed him by the collar, "What deal? What have you agreed to?"

"Oh, nothing complex or grandiose. I was only asked to keep you close," he grabbed Superman's head and leaned in, "Gone gone, O Etrigan. Rise instead, the form of--Batman."

Superman's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped, "Bruce....?" Batman threw a powder in his face and Superman released him looking at his hand, "What....? What was that? What did you put inside me?"

"Only dust."

Superman grabbed his head, "I.... you made a deal with a Demon?" Superman's forehead furrowed, "You refuse to stand beside me and fix the world, but you'll stand with he'll against me?!" He started to collapse, "You have fallen.... fallen far further than I, Burce..... you...." Superman finally collapsed.

"That's it. Sleep, Clark. Dream of the man you should have been, and never wake to this nightmare again."

Itachi watched through the rift in reality and gritted his teeth, "Batman, you fool. Don't just leave him there! If there's even a chance they could somehow wake him up then you should capture him," he closed off the rift and saw the Titans in his eyesight. 'Batman, so far none of your plans have worked. I'm going to fully take matters into my own hands soon enough.'

He jumped down to the Titans and they all looked at him. Starfire asked, "Itachi? Why are you here?"

"Just like you I was sent here by Superman. I can tell you more later, but now we should get out of here as soon as possible. I have a way out."

Superboy looked down at the ground, "I can't..."

"Why?"

Starfire answered, "Superman and him fought, and Superboy got hurt. Badly."

"If I leave here, I'll die."

Itachi approached him, "Where were you hurt?"

Suberboy put a hand on his chest, "It's internal. My sternum is broken and one of my ribs has punctured my heart."

"Lay down."

Superboy raised a brow, "Uh, why?"

"I should be able to heal you. Not fully, but enough so that you'll be able to move around on your own back on Earth."

They all smiled and Tim said, "This is great, now"- but before he could finish his sentence Itachi grabbed him with a Susanoo arm and threw him at another floating rock farther away to avoid a heat blast that annihilated the place he was just standing.

"Sit this one out, Tim. Whoever this is, he's way out of your league." The rest of the Titans looked up at a man with glowing red eyes and black hair. He had a symbol on his chest similar to Superman's. Itachi looked at Wonder girl, Starfire, and Superboy, "Who is he? A Kryptonian?"

Wonder Girl nodded, "General Zodd. He's like an evil Superman pretty much, not quite as powerful as him though."

Itachi briefly smirked, "Well Superman is somewhat evil himself right now," he looked at Superboy, "You're still injured, you should sit out this fight."

"I can still"-"Don't argue. You'll only be a hindrance." Suberboy grunted, but complied.

'Someone like Zodd should have more than enough energy to power the armor so that we can all leave. Although they likely won't agree to killing, so even if I have to trick them, I'm going to kill Zodd. No matter what.'

 

[Bonzoluv]

"Mother?"

"So good to see you finally awake... your body healed months ago. However, when you didn't wake up, we suspected there was magic at work."

Ares looked down at Diana, "By "suspected" she means that I told her there was... she and the others finally came to their senses and allowed me to call upon Hera."

Diana sat up, "Of all the Gods... Hera?!"

Hippolyta said, "Relax, child... we did what needed to be done."

"She wouldn't have helped you out of the kindness of her dark heart.... what price did you pay, mother?"

She looked down at the ground silent before leaving, "It's so good to see you awake."

When she left, Diana held Ares against a wall, "If something happens to my mother... you will pay the price."

He smiled, "I look forward to the day you come to collect."

Continuing to glare at him she asked, "Where is Superman?"

"Much has happened since you fell into slumber."

After Ares' explanation of what happened, they both went to the Hall Of Justice and the first hero they saw was Hal. "Diana!"

"Hal... what are you Yellow? And where is.... Clark?" She saw Clark on a hospital bed with Sinestro next to him.

"Diana, listen to me... a lot has happened.... Batman did something to him and he won't wake up."

Sinestro followed up, "Some kind of magic spell."

"She knows. It was the same magic that afflicted her. Magic that I have the means to dispel."

Diana was looking Clark's body up and down and noticed the Yellow ring on his finger. Her eyes went wide, "That ring..." she grabbed Sinestro by the throat, "What did you do to Superman?!"

Hal yelled, "Diana, stop! You're killing him."

"You may have aligned yourself with Sinestro... but I'm here and his influence on Clark stops now!"

Hal raised his hand, "You don't understand..." but Ares backhanded him into a wall, "This is not your fight, Lantern."

Diana took one hand from Sinestro's throat and pointed it at Ares, "And this is NOT yours, Ares. I don't need your help."

Sinestro took the opportunity to blast her away, "That's the last time you lay hands on me, Amazon."

They proceeded to battle, but it wasn't much of a battle as Diana bulldozed through everything Sinestro threw at her. Eventually he was back on the ground and she was punching him to death, but she was stopped when Superman caught her fist. "Enough."

"Let go of me, Clark."

"Leave Sinestro alone. He's with me."

"Is he? Because from my view. You're wearing his ring."

"You have it wrong, Diana. A lot has"-"Happened while I was away!? Everyone keeps telling me that." She reached out a hand, "But nothing justifies you wearing a power ring fueled by fear. That's not who we are... or why we do this. Give it to me, Clark."

He contemplated it for a minute and she stared at him the whole time. Eventually he complied, "Here. Fly with me Diana." She crushed the ring and flew after him. "It's good to have you back."

She crossed her arms and turned slightly away from him, "I'm in no mood for chitchat, Clark. What is it?"

"While I was asleep I had this dream. It felt more like a dream. It was so vivid... so real... Lois was alive. But it was more than that. None of this happened. No Joker bomb.... no war...." his forehead scrunched and he closed his eyes, "We lived together, raised a family.... and grew old together. Everything was the way it was supposed to be," he opened his eyes and his whole face contorted into a sinister glare as his eyes flew red and he clenched his fist, "And then I wake up and she's gone. Taken from me all over again. And it hurts so much worse now because I know what I missed."

"We all dream, Clark... but this is our reality. Get used to it."

The Spectre appeared, "Superman. Flash, Robin, and Cyborg.... I have found them. They're being held captive in the Tower Of Fate, outside of this plane of reality. I can't go into the Tower.... but I can get you there."

"Is that where Batman is hiding?"

"Yes. When do you want to go?"

"Right now."

In the Phantom Zone both Starfire and Wonder Girl rushed Zod at the same time and landed a few hits before being slapped away.

Itachi summoned the full Susanoo and put his hands together. When they separated a whole line of Yasaka beads appeared. He hurled them at Zodd who tried to slap them away, but instead they exploded on contact, knocking him away. He snarled and blasted the other beads with Heat vision. He blitzed the Susanoo, but Itachi raised his shield in time to block the blow. He started punching the shield over and over but to no avail. Itachi manifested the Totsuka Blade on the other hand while grabbing Zodd with the third. He tried to stab him with the blade but Zodd uses Super breath and froze Itachi's Susanoo.

He smirked and was about to destroy it, but before he could Starfire shot him with a powerful beam in the back. It dazed him for a second and Wonder girl and Starfire started an assault of melee blows. Itachi's left eye started to bleed. "Starfire, Wondergirl, get away from him. Amaterasu!" He set aflame his own frozen Susanoo and Zodd. Lately he had also been training his Amaterasu, and its heat reached the temperature of the surface of the sun.

Zodd started screaming in pain and tried to freeze himself, but it didn't do anything. Starfire asked, "What kind of power is that?"

"The black flames of Amaterasu. They won't extinguish until they've destroyed their target."

Both of the girls looked back at him. Wonder Girl stated, "We don't want to kill him!"

Itachi waved a dismissive hand, "Don't worry. I'll stop it before it gets to that point."

All the ice on his Susanoo melted away, 'Now for the finishing blow.' He was ready to stop the Totsuka Blade into Zodd, but when it touched him it didn't pierce him. He winced and his Blade disappeared. 'Although I've been using it conservatively, I've still been using the Susanoo for almost..... a day now. I believe I'm almost out of Chakra. I'm not strong enough to pierce him now...... now that I think about it..... there's no way so much has happened out there in only a day. Time must be flowing differently here in some places.'

Zodd became enraged and lashed out at Itachi. This time he went right behind him and punched the Susanoo in the back which is its weak spot. The Susanoo was destroyed. Zodd started trying to punch Itachi but he was able to dodge everything. Zodd got mad again and tried to freeze him. Itachi did one hand sign, 'Fire Style: Great FireBall Jutsu.'

His flame clashed with the freeze breath and covered everything around them in fog. Itachi took the opportunity to undo the seal on his body. 'Last one. But this will only give me about half my normal Chakra storage.'

He made a Shadow clone that appeared behind Zodd in the fog and kicked him to Itachi. The clone and Itachi started juggling Zodd back and forth before Zodd destroyed the clone, causing it to blow up in his face. His wounds started to show that he was starting to bleed all over, but he just shook it off and destroyed the rock they were standing on, sending them all falling down dozens of levels before landing on another floating rock.

Zodd starting punching at Itachi and he undid the Amaterasu. He started dodging his blows again, but this time he starting following up with counterpunches using the Susanoo arms. Every hook, haymaker, straight, and other punches were dodged and countered with a Susanoo punch until he landed an uppercut on Zodd's chin. It made him do a flip and it seemed like he felt real pain from that hit, but he got right back up.

'It's like he's too angry to go down,' "Starfire, Wonder Girl, I need you two to restrain him. Tsukiyomi!"

Zodd became frozen in place and both of them grabbed his arms. Starfire asked, "Is he down?"

Itachi shook his head, "No. I'm only stretching out the time passing in real life compared to how long he's in the dream. It can be as short as a picosecond or as long as minutes for now."

"So what are we going to do then? We're not strong enough to take him on our own."

"Just hold him still. I'll take care of it."

Itachi manifested half of the Susanoo and wielded the Totsuka Blade. 'I don't have enough Chakra to pierce his skin normally right now, but judging by how similar Kryptonians are to humans, I'm sure that the insides are a lot softer than the outsides.'

He undid the Tsukiyomi and as soon as Zodd woke up he started gasping for breath after waking up from whatever torturous experience he just had. And in that split second his mouth was open. Itachi pierced the blade straight through his mouth and out the back of his neck. Effectively sealing his soul in the pot.

Both Starfire and Wonder Girl's mouths dropped and they released Zodd's lifeless body and backed away. Wonder Girl's brow scrunched, "Y... you tricked us."

"Yes, you wouldn't have agreed otherwise. Both Superboy and Tim came back to the rock they stood on. Superboy grabbed him by the collar and gritted his teeth, "Superman and now you? Why are you all killing now?!"

Itachi looked at Tim, "Tim, Batman said that you're a genius and a Detective on par with him. I can only use one arm effectively, Superboy is near death, and you couldn't hurt Zodd. Leaving only a weakened version of me and Wonder Girl and Starfire who aren't even half as strong as Zodd. Tell me, do you think that there was any other possible way to non lethally take him down without one of having to be a sacrifice?"

Tim really did try to think, but he looked down at the ground, "No...."

Superboy clenched a fist, "Even still! We're heroes. We find a way no matter what!"

Itachi did nothing to resist and remained stone faced, "Guy Gardner, Black Canary, John Stewart," They all looked at him with tensed brows, but he continued, "Oliver Queen, the Green Lantern Corps, Bullock, Jason Blood, Rory Regan, Deadman, Captain Atom, Kyle Rainer, Jim Gordon, and Dick Grayson."

Tim asked, "Why did you just name off a bunch of guys we know?"

"Those are all of the heroes that Superman and his Regime have killed in the past three years. That logic of always finding a way to save everyone without deaths.... is nothing but a fantasy."

All their eyes went wide simultaneously and Superboy released him, "No.... there's no way Superman would let that happen, you have to be lying!"

Itachi opened a rift, "See for yourself."

He opened a rift that showed the Regime fighting Batman and his resistance in a strange 3D maze-like dimension. They saw Hal bearing a Yellow Lantern ring, and how Sinestro fought alongside them. They also saw Sinestro kill Klarion by shooting him in the back.

Itachi closed off the rift and his eyes narrowed, 'As I feared. Batman leaving Superman on the ground ended up with another failed plan, and now Wonder Woman is back too.' Superboy fell to his knees crying and Tim grabbed his head, "Dick...." and Starfire covered her mouth and looked down.

"I'll tell you what would have happened if I wasn't here to kill Zodd. First he would have killed Tim right off the bat like he almost did. Then he'd eventually kill Superboy who is already too weak to fight. And while you two girls can hold your own in a fight, Zodd is too strong and would have eventually killed you both. Since he wouldn't have died in that case do you think that would have been a better outcome?"

None of them said anything and he continued, "Superman gutted The Joker and people loved him more than ever for it. If you four are going to survive out there you'll have to understand that sometimes a sacrifice is needed for the best outcome. Because the world is very different from what you remember it being. Superman has used Imperialist tactics to effectively take over the world. It's only a matter of time before he decides to take full control. Since then a lot of heroes have ended up killing or have stopped caring about their friends' killing. Batman has been leading a Resistance against Superman and has stayed true to his code, but all of his plans have done nothing but fall apart one way or another. Eventually Yes I believe he might be able to stop Superman for good, but too many good people will be dead by then. I got off lucky compared to Green Arrow or Black Canary for believing in Batman's plan."

Wonder Girl sat down, "I'm starting to not want to go back."

"It isn't all hopeless," Itachi activated his Sharingan and they all looked into his eyes. "I can end the Regime. Although I'd like you four to ally yourselves with me. I won't ask you to kill for me, but you have to prioritize my mission over Batman's if I ask for help." 'I'm going to have to plant a suggestion in them in case they reveal this secret to anyone.'

Superboy narrowed his eyes, "If you think we'll help you kill Super"-"I would never. I have faith in Superman being able to change."

Tim scoffed, "If Batman hasn't been able to end the Regime in 3 years then what makes you think you can?"

"I'll reveal that plan in the future, but just in case that doesn't work, I have this," he closes one eye only revealing one sharingan, "Izanami. The ability to decide fate, if all other plans fail then this is my last resort. I'll trap Superman in an infinite loop that he won't possibly be able to escape until he has a change of heart. So if all else fails my victory is assured as long as I have these eyes. The Regime's true weakness--is my existence!" They all fell silent at that and Itachi continued, "Also, I had to kill Zodd for his energy. It's the only known way we could get out of this place. Although once we get out I'm on a timer. Damian revealed Batman's contingency plan for Superman, I'll start slowly dying again unless Batman has an antidote for it hopefully." He looked at Tim.

"Uh... Itachi. What exactly is it that's killing you? I might know how to take care of it."

"It's a chemical in my body destroying my ATP, fat cells, carbs, etc. Draining me of all my stamina and everything else that let's me except energy."

Tim put a hand on his chin, "I know about that, it was part of an incomplete plan for dealing with you. If I had a lab I'd be able to make a cure for it."

"Good, I just came back from a place with a lab," he stared at all of them and saw the sadness in their faces. "I understand that you're all hurting right now, but right now they're fighting out there and more of them might die. We can save the mourning for after the fight." Itachi put a hand on Superboy's shoulder, "But first, lay down so I can heal you." Superboy complied. 'Healing him won't leave me with much Chakra left, although if I'm not able to maintain Susanoo then I'll just have one of them fly me. I hope that Manhunter and Huntress are alright.'

 

[Bonzoluv]

"This is getting too risky. I understand the need for prisoners of war, but as long as we have them Superman will hunt us. It puts us on our heels when we should be on the offensive. It's no longer worth it for us to keep them."

Huntress leaned on a wall, "So what are you saying, Kate? That we should cut them loose?"

"I'm not sure, but this isn't working."

Manhunter stepped up, "It took the sacrifice of the Green Lantern Corps just to get those four, with them gone Superman is weaker and he knows it. We need to maintain this advantage no matter what."

Outside Mitzelplik teleported the Regime and Ares to safety. "Let's put everything out on the table."

Shazam asked, "Where are we?"

"With your frenemies who are hiding like chumps in the House Of Mystery."

Batman and Constantine saw them from the tree line, "He brought them all here?"

"And Trigon, too."

"The super blokes don't look so hot now, but unless we finish them off now, things are going to get"-"Problematic? I know. But we're not alone in this."

Huntress, Catwoman, Batwoman, Dr. Fate, Manhunter, and Deadwing rushed out of the House of Mystery. Batman took Hal, Huntress took Sinestro, Batwoman took Superman, and Catwoman took Wonder Woman.

They made quick work of them and Batman stated, "Clark... enough is enough."

"No..."

Batman punched him in the face, "Damn it! You need to end this madness."

Constantine got his attention, "Um, Batman.... speaking of problematic, mate... look who decided to show up."

Swamp Thing appeared out of nowhere and binded everyone.

In the Phantom Zone Itachi just finished healing Superboy. 'As I thought, I still have enough to fly on my own back to the lab.' He turned towards the rest of the Titans, "So, have you all made up your minds?"

They all looked back and forth at each other. Wonder Girl was the first to raise her hand, "I'll.... I'll follow you." Starfire also raised her hand. Superboy looked at the ground for a moment before making eye contact with Itachi, "Will you promise that Superman will be good again?"

"I promise."

And with that he also raised his hand. Tim raised his hand about halfway before stopping and pulling it back down. He looked off to the side, "Sorry.... I can't turn my back on Batman."

"That's alright. You may warm up more to the idea later, but for now we should go back to the lab," Itachi manifested his red Susanoo wings and carried Zodd's body as they all started flying to the lab.

Billy Batson put a hand on Batman's shoulder, "Bruce, it's Dick."

"You're... in possession of"-"It's me... I want you to know something... I never truly appreciated all that you did for me. At least not how I should have. We butter heads so many times over the years, I can't count the number of times I said I hated you. But that was never the truth."

"I know, Dick. You were a kid"-"Let me finish. You didn't just rescue me from my grief... you protected me and made me into a man. More than that..."-"Stop. It's my fault that you... that Damian..."

"No. It's not. You gave me the chance to have a real purpose in life. It's not about how I died. It's how I lived. And I owe that all to you. I saved lives because of you.... the greatest man I have ever known. The greatest father I ever had. Don't turn your back on Damian. It was an accident. He needs you the way I did."

They hugged, "Thank you, son."

"Now how about you knock Billy out and get back to fighting? Love you, dad."

The stray hellfire from Trigon's fight with Mitzelplik weakened Manhunterand both Huntress and Batwoman were fighting Wonder Woman. "Fighting for a lost cause doesn't make you Martyrs, it makes you foolish."

Wonder Woman punched Batwoman and lifted her shield to block Huntress's attack, but the shield was destroyed. "We'd rather die Martyrs than be slaves to tyrants!"

She threw her broken shield at Batwoman, "You are calling us Tyrants?!" She wrapped the lasso around Huntress's neck, "You have no idea what oppression is. We are on the right side of history," and pulled. Breaking Huntress's neck. "By Athena... no..."

Batwoman lashed out, "MURDERER!"

Inside the House of Mystery Dr.Fate and Constantine broke into the prison room and saw Hal trying to release Flash. "Step away from the red man!"

"Or what? You'll be forced to ask a second time?" He held them against the wall with energy hands, "Seriously, do you think a few harsh words are going to stop me from saving my friends?"

"You misunderstand. If that magic outside goes unchecked--it will consume--us all." Reality bended for a moment.

"What was that? The magic out there?"

Constantine answered, "All consuming magic. So listen, mate... I can see how you'd like to save these blokes with that brilliant ring you got there, but going outside right now is the last thing you want to do." A blinding light went off outside. "I appreciate a standoff as much as the next bloke... but we have to do something.

"I do feel weird... what's happening?"

"The sheer magnitude of their magic is causing temporal displacement. It's tearing us from reality. So I suspect the "weirdness" you feel is your losing connection to your ring's power source." His energy hand constructs collapsed.

"This is really bad. If I'm totally cut off in here... what's happening out there?"

"Everyone has been cut from their power source. Sinestro's is almost as drained as yours. Superman's cells are not recharging without access to the Sun, Swamp Thing has been cut off from the Green, and the rest are starting to lose their physical forms as they're being pulled into another plane of existence."

"What plane?"

Constantine answered, "My guess... Hell."

"So are we safe here?"

"Safer than out there. The Houses of Mystery and Secrete have temporal resistance--for now."

"Then we need to get them inside."

"We're out of time."

"I'll do it. Let me go. There's enough speed force energy in me to get everyone Inside. I promise."

Constantine took a puff, "Of all the blokes on the wrong side, at least I know I can count on you to do the right thing. Good luck."

Flash ran outside and grabbed everyone to bring them inside, but he couldn't touch Swamp Thing. "What-- no!"

"Go."

Flash ran into the House of Secrets where he put the rest of the Regime to separate them from the Resistance. "I... I..*pant* got everyone*pant*... everyone except... Swamp--I--Tried...."

Superman put a hand on his shoulder, "It's okay. You did your best."

"No, it wasn't good enough."

In the Phantom Zone the Titans and Itachi arrived at the lab. Itachi dropped Zodd's body into the energy gathering room and pressed the button. He glanced at the Ecto Armor and saw that it was 100% charged. Hell, it seemed like it even went higher than that. Tim found the lab, "I remember everything it took to make the chemicals in the first place, so I'll have your antidote ready in about an hour."

'An hour.... hopefully I won't be too late by then.' He glanced around the room at each of the Titans, 'Cyborg was close to the Titans. I wonder if he would care to find out about what really happened to them.... but then again, he has been the most loyal to Superman out of all the heroes, so maybe it wouldn't change anything--hm?'

He noticed another rip in reality, near the ecto armor, but this rip wasn't anything like any of the others. The other ones were like rips or tears in mid air. This one was like broken glass, and orange in color. He walked up to it and looked through it. He saw a village. In the village he saw a man and a woman walking down a road, one with a red outfit and pink hair, and the other in a poncho with Black hair. The woman was pregnant.

'.... This is!....'

"I came up with a name for the baby."

"What is it?"

"Sarada."

"Sarada? Like the dish?"

"Well.... yeah."

"..... it's not bad."

Itachi watched them for the next hour. Through their dialog he learned all about how the war ended, the current leader of the village, and his little brother's new goal. Seeing the path that his brother chose, it brought a tear to his eye, for the first time since the Uchiha Massacre. Although it wasn't because of sadness this time. He couldn't feel more happy for his brother. 'With the Ecto armor..... I could go there. Leave all of this behind.....'

He genuinely pondered it for a minute, but ultimately decided against it. 'My time living there is over, at least for now.... maybe I might go there again at some point, but I'm on a mission now.'

With a lot of reluctance, he closed off the rift. Although he was sad to close off the portal, he was still filled with joy that his home is at peace. He never voiced it out loud, but he was always worried about the state of his home world, and wether or not Superman was too far gone, but he was filled with a new hope. 'Sasuke is proof that someone like Superman can change. He'll just need a good beating and some reasoning to realize it.'

He felt a tap on his shoulder. He quickly wiped away the tear and turned around and saw Starfire, "Itachi, you've been standing staring off in the distance for over an hour now, Tim has your antidote ready."

"Right, my apologies."

Back on Earth before Itachi saw that tear, the fight against the Regime ended in a way that can't be considered a victory, although it wasn't a complete loss either. Trigon and Mr Mitzelplik are trapped in the void and can't come back, which was good, although unfortunately Dr. Fate was trapped with them. Huntress died after Wonder Woman snapped her neck with her lasso, and they lost all of their prisoners. Manhunter was also temporarily out of commission after intense exposure to stray Hellfire.

Bruce woke up in a lead mine in Alaska, "What... happened?"

Batwoman answered, "Dr. Fate's plan worked... although I'm not quite sure what happened to him. He disappeared along with Trigon and Mitzelplik."

"Into the void?"

"Yes. And according to John, that's as close to dead as you can make them. They're not coming back. The light show knocked everyone flat. Luckily, Zatanna showed up and transported us 200 meters below the World's biggest lead mine.... to this Superman proof bunker that I can only assume you had built."

"Always have to try and stay one step ahead of him.... Where's Constantine?"

He puts on his mask and rushes out into the halls, eventually finding Constantine with his daughter. "John! Where are you going?!"

"It's about that time, Bats. I wish I could say it's been a pleasure."

He gritted his teeth, "Don't. You've been playing us all from the start, haven't you? Getting rid of Trigon, that was your Endgame, wasn't it?"

"Took you longer than Chimp to sort that one out, mate. He wanted to have a little chat about it weeks ago. He didn't get to say so... but he also knew that was a means to an end. Ever since Superman's bloody war dropped an Alien on Rose's mum, she's been my only agenda. I'd lie, cheat, and make deals with all the devils in hell to keep her safe."

"And to get revenge. You blamed Superman for what happened. You wanted to kick him in the"-"You both deserve shots in the bollocks. Him for being a tyrannical wanker, and you for being so damn simple minded. There's more out there than what's in front of your face. Open up to other possibilities if you want to win this bloody war, or even other people's plans. Now, as much as I'd love to spell it out for you, Rose and I have to go."

"Go where?"

"Ain't a word for it. It's not exactly a where.... consider it a sort of magical relocation program. No one will ever put my daughter in jeopardy again."

He tensed his mouth, "I trusted you."

"Your mistake, mate. I'm no hero... I'm just a father with a kid to raise. Next time you see Superman, do me a favor."

"Damn it, John... don't"-"Kick him in the bollocks."

At the Hall Of Justice Superman was giving a speech with his hands behind his back, "I owe you all an apology. Because of the personal nature of this feud with Batman, I've made some questionable choices. Bruce has made this feel personal, and he's been using that to cloud my judgement. Had I not been so focused on him, I might have seen Trigon and Mitzelplik coming."

Wonder Woman stated, "There's no way you could've known"-"I don't buy that. If there's one lesson we should've all learned from Bruce, it's that there's always a way. He's been undermanned and underpowered at every turn, yet three years into this, he keeps on coming."

Damian said, "He's freaking Batman. That's what he does."

"That may be true, but this can't be about some vendetta against Bruce and his insurgency. It has to be about making the world safe for all people so that there are no more Jokers or ground zeroes. EVER again."

Flash stated, "We have created a world without war."

Wonder Woman said, "That's why we fight. Why we bleed, why we die."

"You're right. And to get there we've all had to make some hard decisions. Thank you all for standing by me."

In the Phantom Zone Itachi has taken the antidote and has prepared the suit. Superboy walked up to him, "Itachi, remind me again how long you said we've been here?"

"I'm guessing it's been nearly three years now."

"That's.... strange. It's almost impossible to keep track of time here, but it felt more like months for us where we were."

Itachi narrowed his eyes for a moment, "Well we've been here probably a couple days, so it's not worth worrying about now."

He turned the suit on. 'Aquaman, Black Adam, Huntress, Manhunter, and now three of the remaining Titans. I have enough people to make up our own team now if I wanted to. A rag tag group of strong individuals from all over.... similar to my Akatsuki days.' "Titans, are you all ready?"

They all nodded and Itachi opened a portal back to Earth with the suit.

End: Year Three

 

[Bonzoluv]

Soon after the Battle that nearly sent them all to hell, Superman had time to make an announcement about a former ally. "People of Earth. Recently, just weeks ago during the devastating invasion of the Green Lanterns, a former ally of mine has betrayed us. Many of you know him...... Itachi Uchiha. He was another spy sent by Batman to try and undermine our protection of Earth. And for this, I will reveal a secret of his to the people of Earth, so you realize just the kind of people Batman fights with..... Itachi Uchiha was a mass murderer before joining the League, a secret that he hid from us for a long time. He even killed his own parents. This is the kind of person that Batman happily allies himself with. Now tell me, people of Earth. Is this someone you want protecting you?"

It's been months since Batman and his Resistance was last seen anywhere on Earth. Ever since Constantine betrayed him he's been sitting in his bunker not planning anything. He hasn't even been shaving. His allies were losing faith in him, and Montoya herself has become an alcoholic.

Superman has been trying to find Batman this whole time, but to no avail. Currently he is sitting on his throne in the empty Hall Of Justice. "Bruce is out there somewhere... plotting... planning...."

Hal said, "It's been months since anyone has seen him or his allies. And it's not for lack of searching. He could be back in the Tower Of Fate for all we know, but without someone like the Spectre we'll never find that place."

Superman put a hand on his chin, "We need to do better."

Hal scowled, "Are you freaking kidding me, Clark?! We need to do better? Condescending much?"

Superman leaned back in his chair, "Do you have a problem with how I speak to you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. I'm not your "subject," Clark, so don't talk to me like one."

He stood up. "Honestly, Yellow Lantern... I don't have time for your delicate little ego," he 'shooed' him, "Take your hurt feelings and go."

Hal clenched his fist, "What if I don't?"

Clark flashed his red eyes, but before he could do anything, Wonder Woman came in, "Clark, can I have a word with you? Stand down, soldier."

"Whatever."

"What is it, Diana?"

"During our last fight with the insurgency, I took Huntress' life. She was a former ally, if not a friend..."

"I'm sorry, but we've all done things"-"Let me finish. Just before I broke her neck, she called us Tyrants. Her death was not intentional. It's a burden that I will carry for the rest of my life. I can bear the responsibility of my actions, but I can't live with the notion that there was truth in her dying words. There is no doubt that you are first among equals, Clark. But please don't forget that you are not above us or those you protect. The last thing you want to do is turn allies into Insurgents."

Later that same day Montoya had finally snapped and challenged Superman on live news. They fought next to one of the Washington Monuments. During their battle she overdosed on Green pills and ultimately died. As her blood that had turned green poured out of all the holes in her face, Bruce came out of a helicopter to retrieve her. After sharing a few words Superman said, "Take her and go."

Wonder Woman's eyes were wide. "Clark... You've been scouring the Earth for him for months. Now is your chance to take Batman down."

"He's not Batman. He's Bruce Wayne... and he's just here to take his friend home," he put a hand on Bruce's shoulder, "This war has already cost too much. It's over. You hear me? Say it."

Bruce's eyes were red and tears fell from them, "...... It's over."

"Good. If I ever see you in that cowl again, Bruce. It will be the last time you ever put it on."

Somewhere in America, a portal opened and out of it came Itachi and the four Titans. They all took deep breaths and Superboy felt his chest. Wonder Girl asked, "How do you feel?"

"Well... I'm not dying, so great!"

They hugged and Tim looked at Itachi, "Are you going to take us to Batman now?"

Itachi shook his head, "No. We're going to Atlantis to meet a friend of mine," Tim raised a brow and Itachi continued, "Batman always has some kind of plan, he'll be fine without us for now. I've come up with my own plans on how to deal with the Regime."

Tim pointed at him, "Sorry, but I'm still loyal to Batman before anyone else. If you think that"- Itachi turned to him, "Batman's comms codes change all the time. I have no idea how we could contact him right now, nor do I know any way to get to the House of Mystery. The battle has probably ended by now anyways, Atlantis is the only place we can go to right now."

Tim stopped talking and they flew into the middle of the ocean. Starfire asked, "So how are we supposed to get to Atlantis?"

"It's simple, it's straight down from here. Everyone, get close. I need great concentration for this." Everyone did as he said and put a hand on his shoulder and back, "Water Style: Reverse Water Prison Jutsu!"

They started to sink into the water, but as they did all of the water spread away from them in the shape of a sphere.

At the Hall Of Justice the Amazonians along with Artemis and Hermes confronted the Regime. Hermes announced, "Superman! By decree of the almighty father Zeus, you are ordered to vacate Earth, or suffer the wrath of the Amazon army of Themyscira!"

Superman asked, "Diana, do you know anything about"-"No, but I'm going to find out," she started walking towards the army and faced Artemis, "Artemis, I demand some answers. You dare march our army on the Justice League?! Only Hippolyta and I have the autho--... who ordered this attack? Where is Queen Hippolyta?"

"I don't know,."

Wonder Woman grabbed Hermes, "Where is my mother, messenger?!"

"You have no dominion over Earth, Amazon."

"If my mother is hurt, I will tear down all of Olympus"- Superman put a hand on her shoulder, "Please, I'll handle this. Hermes, if Zeus has an issue, take me to him and we can discuss it without the need for violence. Just tell us where Hippolyta is"-"You do not make demands. Nor will you speak with Zeus. Now relinquish your rule over Earth, or fight."

Diana yelled, "Warriors, I am Princess Diana of Themyscira and I order you to lay down your weapons!"

Artemis said, "I'm sorry, Princess. You have no chance of victory. You are hopelessly outnumbered."

"Says you! Did someone call for backup?" Damian and Cyborg along with dozens of Super soldiers came outside.

Cyborg said, "Superman, approaching twelve o'clock."

Wonder Woman glared, "Bruce is behind this?"

The Batwing landed. "Of course he is. He obviously doesn't remember what I told him last time we spoke."

Batman, Batwoman, Batgirl, Catwoman, and Manhunter came out of the plane. "I remember, Clark. But you were wrong. It's not over."

Back to Itachi and Co, they just landed in Atlantis. A Dome that surrounded Atlantis protected them from. The crushing pressures of the sea. Only inside of the safety could one really appreciate the beauty of the creatures that lived down here, along with the gold and pearl architecture of all the buildings here. Aquaman greeted them. "Itachi, I had thought that you were captured."

"I was, but I escaped. And I found what remains of the Teen Titans while I was there."

"More allies is always a good thing, but what brings you here after so much time has passed?"

Itachi narrows his eyes at his last few words, "Arthur, I'm curious. Just how long have I been gone? In the Phantom Zone only a little more than a day passed."

".... You've been gone for eight months."

Itachi's eyes spread a little wide at that. "Eight months?..... Did spending one hour in that lab really cause so much time to pass out in the real world? What's happened since then?"

Aquaman looked to the side, "The world has been.... quiet. Superman has been scouring the Earth looking for Batman and his allies, but they haven't been spotted since whatever magical battles they were having months ago."

Itachi looked down at the ground briefly, 'I've been away from Huntress and Manhunter for a long time. Hopefully they're still loyal to me after all this time. I'll have to get in contact with them soon.'

"Arthur, I'd like for you to help me with a plan to help eventually take down Superman."

"Itachi, I trust your judgement. But last time I"-"I understand, Arthur. But I'm not going to ask you to expose yourself like Batman. This will be a stealth mission. You'll just be helping with extraction."

Aquaman raised a brow, "Alright, you have my interest. Just what will you be infiltrating."

".... The Trench. The most impenetrable prison on Earth, created by Superman."

At The Hall Of Justice Diana demanded for Judgement By Combat to the death to avoid the decree. Superman chose to be his own champion, and on behalf of the Gods Batman chose Wonder Woman."

Wonder Woman lashed out, "NO!"

Superman grabbed her, "No, Diana. Not like this."

But she pulled away, "FIGHT for him?! No, Clark, I'LL KILL HIM FIRST!" She grabbed Batman and slammed him into the ground. But before she could do anything else she was grabbed by Hermes, "You Are out of line, I will not allow this!"

He tossed her off of him and Superman grabbed Hermes, "Get your hands off of her!"

Everyone got in battle ready positions and were ready to clash until a lightning bolt shot the ground between them and a booming voice emerged from it, "ENOUGH! I will not have this divine challenge be ignored, by my daughter or anyone else!"

Wonder Woman gawked, "Father?"

All the heroes had open mouths and Cyborg asked, "Did you guys know her dad was..." Yellow Lantern and Flash said, "Nope," in unison.

Diana leaned in and gestured to Zeus, "Please, help me understand.... this can't really be happening?"

"It is, Diana."

"How? Mother would never agree to such a thing."

"Hippolyta owes a debt to Hera... she made a part and must honor it."

"What pact?"

"When you were under a magical spell-- a coma, caused by the mortal, Batman. Now you must fight on the side of Hera."

"And if I refuse?"

Hera appeared out of blue flames with a wide grin, "Hippolyta pays with her life."

Superman approached Diana, "Does this mean..."

"I invoked trial by combat, Clark. I'm sorry."

They both looked down, "Diana, I"- Hera got between them, "Let us begin. Fight to the death!"

Hermes stated, "Any intervention will nullify the pact and result in grave consequences."

The following fight was a very brutal one. Superman broke her sword and hit her with a right straight. She responded with a roundhouse kick to his head. He gut punched her then hit her with a left. She tried to retaliate, but he caught her fist and head butted her. Her nose started bleeding and she started fighting savagely. She elbowed his knee then poked both of his eyes. After he fell she grabbed his arm and broke it. All the heroes and God's looked on with either stoic expressions or grins. "You can't beat me with one arm, Clark. Believe me, this is the last outcome I wanted. But your only way out now is to surrender. I'm sorry."

"No," Clark shot a powerful heat blast at her that enveloped her whole body. But she pushed through it and uppercut him with her shield. It seemed like he was down for a moment, but he got back up and hit her, knocking her off her feet. Once she got back up she punched him which sent him flying, but she grabbed his cape and started slamming him into the ground. Superman finally couldn't move anymore, she was about to deliver the finishing blow, but Sinestro came out of nowhere and shot her in the back.

Back in Atlantis Itachi and Co were in the main chamber Itachi was hatching his creating his plan. "For this plan the people that we will need are Manhunter, Huntress, me, Tim, and Plastic man."

Starfire tilted her head, "Plastic man?"

"Yes, he's extremely versatile, and with him on the team we won't need any sort of keys or codes or anything."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I was inside of the Regime for two years, I helped with some of the planning on how to build it."

Wonder Girl asked, "Wait, so what exactly is this place anyways?"

"I told you already. It's a Maximum security prison meant to imprison all of the villains of the world, along with the remaining Green Lanterns that survived."

Tim scrunched his brow and approached Itachi, "So Itachi..... what exactly do you want to go to this prison?"

They stared at each other for a few seconds. 'If I tell him, he may refuse.'

Although before he could say anything Aquaman came into the room, "Everyone, you might want to see this. There is something big happening at the Hall Of Justice."

 

[Bonzoluv]

Aquaman turned on the big screen in the room and they saw that the Regime, the Resistance, and what looked like the Greek Gods were fighting. Starfire frowned, "It still feels so bizarre seeing heroes fight each other."

Shazam has just defeated Hercules and Hercules fell to his knees, "Very well... finish it."

"No, I'm no killer."

A big boom was heard from the sky and they both looked up and saw Superman, he attacked Hercules with a diving attack and killed him.

Superboy clenched his eyes and Wonder Girl grabbed his hand and held it. Itachi stated, "It looks like Batman's plan this time involves getting the Greek Gods involved. It's not a bad plan, although when it comes to God's I doubt they'd help him just out of the goodness of their hearts."

Shazam seemed to be carrying to fight against the Gods, and Batman was fighting Damian.

"I'm gonna enjoy kicking your ass, Dad."

"Don't count on it son."

Damian tried to kick him but it was blocked, "I don't need you pulling punches. I'm not a kid anymore."

"You're right. You're older and stronger, and the most skilled fighter that has worn the Robin costume."

"Don't say that too loud... though it's not like your favorite son can hear you."

"This shouldn't be about Dick"-"It's ALWAYS been about him!"

"I'm really sorry, Damian."

"For what? Turning your back on Clark or for being an a-hole?!"

He swept his legs from under him, "For blaming you. What happened to Dick wasn't your fault."

"I saw how you looked at me then," he landed a punch on his jaw, "I don't believe you!" He tried to kick him but Batman focused on defense, "You're making it too easy on me, Pops. What's the matter, afraid your best won't be good enough?"

"I'm not afraid of failure, son.... I fear that your blind allegiance to Superman is my fault. I pushed you away and I shouldn't have."

"Bull. You never had to push me away."

They stopped fighting for a brief moment, "But I can promise you that I will do whatever I can to make it right. I just need you to choose what's right and join my side. Come back to me, son. Batman and Robin."

Damian ripped off the R on his chest, "No, I'll never be your Robin. I'd rather die first!"

He rushed at him but Batman kneed him in the solar plexus which knocked him out instantly.

A lightning bolt struck Shazam and he turned back into a kid. "Shazam!" He tried to transform but nothing happened. His eyes went wide and Zeus stood in front of him. "How?"

"I am the All-Father. You only have your gifts because I allow it. No more... I will not have you use them to hurt my children," he grabbed him by his shirt and picked him up, "Superman you must abdicate your false throne immediately, or I will punish you all... beginning with this boy."

Wonder Woman walked up to him. "Please... there has to be another way. I don't know who's responsible for this treachery"-"SILENCE, daughter! Take your place beside the Gods and your fallen brother. Don't make me bury two children this day."

They disbanded and the focus of the camera turned to Hermes, "I speak to all of Mankind on behalf of All-Father Zeus... no longer will you be left to worship alien invaders and empty promises. Superman has no dominion over Earth Now that the All-Father has reclaimed his rightful place. The world's Religions are ineffectual and obsolete. Zeus is the only Deity you need pay homage to."

Itachi turned off the screen. "So it seems like Batman has won for now. Although the sacrifice was that the Greek Gods will become the Gods of the world? I doubt that he'd do that."

Tim shook his head, "He wouldn't."

As Itachi thought about the battle that just took place his eyes widened. 'Wait..... where was Huntress during that battle? She couldn't be.....'

Aquaman noticed the concern on Itachi's face, "Is there a problem, Itachi?"

Itachi looked up with a slight glare, "I've changed my mind. We're going to go find Batman, right now."

Superboy asked, "But didn't you say you didn't know where he would be?"

"He has the Gods with him, he's more than likely going to Themyscira," he turned to Aquaman, "I'd like for you to take us there, although your involvement should be kept a secret for now."

He nodded and they all ventured out. They hid inside of a whale's mouth on the way there, and once they arrived they walked up to the tents on the shore. There were dozens of tents lined up on the shore storing Amazonians, Gods, and Heroes. An Amazon stopped them and got in a battle ready position. 'Last time I was here I was a Regime member that knocked them out, well I don't have time to clear up that misunderstanding.'

He activated his Sharingan and she fell to the ground. They got to the tent Batman was in. "Titans, I want you to stay out here while I have a talk with Batman."

They stayed in place and Itachi entered, seeing both Wonder Woman and Batman. Their eyes went wide and Wonder Woman spoke up first, "....Itachi aren't you supposed to be in the Phantom Zone?"

"No prison of yours can hold me forever Diana. But Batman. Tell me, where is Huntress?"

"... She died during the battle between Trigon and Mitzelplik."

Itachi looked down slightly, "So.... another hero has died following your plans."

His eyes narrowed, "It isn't my fault that"- Itachi punched him straight across his face, "It's never your fault IS it, Batman?....... Green Arrow, Huntress, my captivity from an exploited weakness! .... all of this could have been avoided if you weren't such a stubborn fool....." he shook his head and gritted his teeth, "Although there is nothing I can say that I haven't said before... We're done, Batman. I've had enough of your plans failing. I'm"- the ground started to shake and they all went outside and saw a huge Tidal wave towering above the side of the island that could come down on them at any time with Poseidon on top of it."

Itachi maintained his glared, not focusing on what Hermes, Wonder Woman, or Poseidon were saying. 'I'm sorry, Huntress......' the death of one of the members of his team reminded him of his own clan's death, and how it was the result of him not doing as much as he could, and letting himself be manipulated. 'No more. There will be no more heroes dying, it all ends now.'

Itachi walked to the beach and stood In front of the Tsunami. Starfire flew to Itachi's side, "None of us can do anything about this Tsunami, we have to fall back further into the island!"

"No."

Her brow raised, "No?"

"I'll stop it. But stay by my side in case I faint or anything."

"Itachi we"-Itachi looked at her with strong eye contact, "Trust me."

She stayed quiet and Itachi observed activating his Mangekyo. Wonder Woman started attacking Superman, and Apollo shot an arrow into Poseidon which made him lose control of the tidal wave. Everyone started running back, but Itachi took a deep breath. 'Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!'

His flames clashed with the tidal wave and stopped them in their tracks. Poseidon glared down at him, "You dare defy the God of the Sea?"

He put more power into the total wave and it increased in size. 'Fine then.... Amaterasu!'

His left eye became extremely bloodshot and blood poured out of it. The red flames turned into black flames that turned the tidal wave into vapor with little effort.

Once the water stopped coming he undid the jutsu and took a deep breath. He lost a lot of blood from his eye and lost his balance, but Starfire caught him before he could fall, "You did it! You saved the island."

Itachi regained his balance, "Not just yet, now we need to deal with Poseidon himself."

The Amazonians and heroes alike looked at Itachi in astonishment, shock, and more. "To think that a mortal could challenge a God like Poseidon."

Although before the fight could continue, Zeus appeared in front of Posiedon and told him to leave. After he left, Zeus confronted Superman, "My patience is at an end. Look what your insolence has wrought.... You've lost your right to inhabit this planet. Leave this world or die, Kryptonian." Superman tried to punch him, but his fist phased through him, "Your arrogance is astounding, my omnipotence is celestial. It might as well be magic to you." He swatted him away like a fly. "Be gone or many will die, beginning with the boy, Billy Batson."

Manhunter flew down to Itachi's side, "You managed to escape the Phantom Zone?"

Itachi nodded, "Yes. We got out earlier today. We were there for only more than a day, but it seems like a lot more time has passed out here."

Manhunter looked down, "Yes..... while you were gone, Huntress"-Itachi raised a hand, "I know.... I'll have to visit her grave later. Although it's my fault for not taking action sooner. I'm going to make up for that now. Manhunter, I want you to leave Batman and join me for my plan," Itachi reached out a hand.

Manhunter accepted it and they shook on it, "Of course."

The rest of the Titans walked to Itachi's side and they looked down at the situation going on between the heroes and Zeus. Superman flew off of the Planet. Itachi turned to them all. 'Besides Black Adam and Aquaman, this is everyone.' "Titans. My plan will be enacted very soon, You'll all have a part in it. Are you in?"

The Titans looked back and forth at each other. After all of Itachi's speeches, his display of power, and Batman's failures. They were becoming more loyal to Itachi as a result. Most of the Titans nodded, but Tim looked down, "I just.... need more time. And I should go see Batman. It's been three years since he has seen me."

Itachi smiled at him, "That's alright, you should go see your Dad," Tim went down the hill to Batman's side. 'I don't like Batman, but right after Superman, he has been suffering the most from this war. Losing all four of his sons, one already dead, one killed by another son that betrayed him, and one who he suspected died in the nuking more than likely. There's nothing wrong with letting him have this......' He glanced at his team, 'The jutsu I'm going to need to use normally requires that the soul has Chakra in it, so I'm going to need a Magic user to help me use Reanimation Jutsu when the time comes. The only person I can think of is Zatanna.'

Batman noticed Tim and his eyes went wide, "Tim?"

"Batman." There was a moment of silence before Tim hugged him.

Batman returned the hug, "H.... how are you here?"

They separated, "Itachi saved me and some of the other Titans from the Phantom Zone..... now that I'm back, do you think the world could still use a Batman and Robin?"

They shook hands and Batman smiled, "Yes, I do."

Meanwhile on New Genesis, the home of the New Gods. Orion flew to Highfather, "Forgive the intrusion, Highfather.... May I speak with you?"

"Of course."

"Apokolips is discharging dangerous levels of geothermal energy. If the planet's core has a meltdown, it will explode, killing millions and flooding the galaxy with radiation. They may be our adversaries, but we need to go find out what is happening."

"No need, Orion. I have spoken to The Source and know what transpires of Apokolips... Darkseid is in mortal combat with the Kryptonian called Superman."

"Why?"

"That is unimportant. We can't allow their fighting to threaten Apokolips and its inhabitants. Go to Apokolips, and deliver a message," he flew off, "Hello, Batman."

"Highfather, may I have a word?"

"Walk with me. The Source of all things has enlightened me regarding man's troubles with Zeus. However, it has not yet offered Guidance on this."

"I appreciate your Temperance.... but what does that mean for Earth?"

"My inclination is to wait."

"We don't have that kind of time, Highfather."

"We do not share the same timetable."

His mouth tensed, "You'd stand idle and watch the Old Gods lord over mankind?"

"It is not the role of the New Gods to interfere with the will of men."

"And what about when the Old Gods and the New transpire together?"

Highfather stopped walking and looked at him, "What do you know?"

"That Ares and Darkseid are working together."

 

[Bonzoluv]

Superman and Darkseid continued to clash on Apokolips. "You are not the same person I've battled with over the years, you're darker... uninhibited... the death of your wife has changed you"-He hit him with a strong right. "NO! DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT HER!!

He smiled, "Now this Superman I recognize. Emotional, weak, and easily manipulated. And somehow convinced that he is still a hero."

"I fight for the home that I've sworn to protect. I won't let anything get in the way of that."

"No matter how many die at your hands? We are more alike than I thought. Kindred Spirits, perhaps."

A servant of Darkseid crawled towards them, "The core is about to rupture, you must stop!"

Darkseid snarled, "You dare command Darkseid?!"

He obliterated him, and Superman heat blasted him while he looked away, "We're nothing alike! But I have changed. And if you want to know how far I am willing to go to keep you from ever interfering with Earth, ask your son Kalibak!"

Orion tackled Superman, "No more, Kal-El. No more!"

Superman threw him off, "This is not your fight, Orion. Let go!"

"Do not interfere. Or when I am finished with him, I will visit my wrath upon you!"

"No, you won't, Darkseid. I have a message from The Source.... if you continue this fight, you and billions of others will be destroyed."

"And the Kryptonian?"

"The Source was not clear."

Superman's eyes flashed red, "Then let me make this clear, Darkseid. Stay away from Earth."

In the Batcave Batgirl asked, "Now What?"

Catwoman said, "Honestly, I don't know."

Batwoman said, "I'm all for fighting the good fight, but this is above our pay grade. No offense.

"We can't sit on our hands and do nothing."

"Sure we can. I appreciate your optimism, Barb, but Batman is gone. Superman is gone. The Justice League is M.I.A., Itachi came back, but he took the Titans and Manhunter with him and is doing his own thing now. This isn't our fight.... maybe it never was."

"Of course it was. Miss Kyle," Alfred walked out of the shadows, "The Insurgency has survived for almost four years. On the strength of you all. Defying the Regime's awr inspiring powers against incalculable odds... you have been remarkable in your resolve. It would be a shame to abandon that now. And as fat as Bruce... he will return and the lot of you will set things right."

"How do you know?"

"I don't. I believe it."

Back to Itachi and Co. "A big fight is about to break out between the heroes and the Gods, while they're distracted we're going to set the rest of the plan in place. First, Starfire, I want you to get Zatanna to help us, when she agrees I want to speak to her personally. Then Wonder Girl and Superboy, the three of us will get information on every single Super villain currently living, seperate the worst of the villains from the ones likely to change. Tim, I have schematics of the prison already. I want you and Aquaman to come up with a plan on how to break in and have a safe extraction out. And Manhunter, I need you to retrieve the Green Lantern rings from the Hall Of Justice, and I also need you to put this drive in the Main Terminal so that Tim will gain access to the cameras. I will get Plastic Man to join us. His son was recently sent there so that should be good enough leverage to have him join."

They all nodded and Tim asked, "So you never told me. What is the purpose of this plan anyways?"

Itachi stared at him for a moment, 'I have their interest. Although I might not have the loyalty of all of them just yet. After just a bit more time. They'll go along with it.' "This plan will result in many things. One of the goals is to save the surviving Green Lanterns, and in there we'll find something that will help Superman become normal again. I'll tell you the rest of the details once everything is in place."

The first step was for Starfire to find Zatanna, which was not difficult. She was in Batman's current hideout in the Salt mines that Starfire learned about through other Resistance members. She walked through the doors of the bland gray metal structure and the only thing that matched the gloom of the place was Zatanna herself who was sitting at a table looking down. "Zatanna."

Zatanna looked up with raised brows, "Starfire? I had no idea you were still around."

"Itachi rescued me from the Phantom Zone along with Red Robin, Superboy, and Wonder Girl.... how come you aren't out there joining the fight?"

Zatanna gave a weak smile, "I feel like this war is over already. We've lost at every turn, and we keep losing manpower.... I want to keep on fighting, but..."

Starfire put a hand on her shoulder, "Zatanna, have faith, Itachi has found a way to take down Superman and even bring him back to our side."

She looked up at her, "You think that he'll succeed where Batman has failed for nearly 4 years?"

She nodded, "Itachi has more experience in war than any of us. There are some things I disagree with, but in this world after seeing what he can do.... I believe in him."

Zatanna put her top hat back on and smiled, "Alright I'll help. What did he need from me?"

"I'm not sure, he wanted to speak to you personally."

The Atlantis Archives computer shared information with the Watchtower, so they got all their info on villians from there. Superboy stated, "Killer Croc, he seems more misunderstood than anything else. His skin condition has made him crazed many times before, but he has helped homeless people and.... anti alcohol sponsorships before?"

They both shared a laugh at that, the idea of a big scary crocodile man preaching prohibition was so random it was humorous. Wonder Girl said, "Alright. Well Grundy, he's already dead, nothing to say there. Bane, well Bane got over his Venom addiction for a while and turned a new leaf, but he was dragged back into it."

"Mad Hatter, he suffers from insanity as a result of being a really big fan of Alice In Wonderland pretty much. And he's hypnotized people to make them do horrible things..... he probably isn't on the list of guys who can change."

"Riddler, he has killed.... his own daughter. Along with holding up all of Gotham before. His goal seems to be that he wants to get caught and he's only interested in playing a game of wits with Batman to feed his ego. He sounds too far up his own ass to change. Next is Zsasz.... nothing needs to be said there."

"Two Face, he's done good in the past even after becoming Two Face. It seems like he gained a split personality after half his face burned off. Maybe surgery would reduce or fix that."

In the War room of Atlantis both Tim and Aquaman stood together. Tim pointed at the map of the place, "Alright, so for Plastic Man he has four points of entry he can go in through and when it comes to the rest of us. Only Manhunter, Itachi, and Plastic Man will be going inside. Once Plastic Man's son is safe he can distribute the rings."

Aquaman nodded with a hand on his chin, "Alright, what about the Warden though? He'll notice if anything goes wrong, and he has to check back in constantly. Manhunter should take his place and let Itachi in through the airlock since he can't slip in like Manhunter and Plastic Man. And we'll also need a plan for extraction. I will have us wait inside the Whales to extract the Lanterns and the team."

"Alright it's a plan then........ Hey Aquaman. Itachi's plan.... you know"-"I know. Separating the worst villains from redeemable ones, it's obvious what he plans on doing."

Tim's brow tensed, "And you're fine with that?"

His expression remained bland, "Yes."

Tim put both of his hands on his head and sat down, "I feel like I'm betraying Batman just by helping Itachi...... but Batman's allies have been dying for four years. Soon enough he might be next, I don't want that to happen."

Aquaman patted his back, "You're a smart boy, Bruce even thinks you're smarter than him. Think of it as saving him rather than betraying him."

Tim nodded weakly, "Alright."

At The Hall Of Justice Manhunter disgusted himself as a Super Soldier and made his way to the main terminal. It was very easy since all the heroes were gone at the moment. He found the terminal and stuck the hard drive in there for a minute until he heard a beep and pulled it out.

He also found the rack with all of the rings in it and took them. On his way out he saw a picture frame of the Justice League when Plastic Man joined. It was a spin off of one of those post hunt pictures where everyone lines up and holds the long serpent of fish they caught, with Plastic Man being the fish. "Those were happier times, Hal was still green, Canary and Green Arrow were alive, Superman was still pure.... I'll never forget those times."

At the battlefield the fight was about to conclude between the Gods and Heroes after the failed nukes and Highfather coming to face Zeus. "You've muddled in the affairs of man for long enough, Zeus... I cannot permit you to continue this folly."

"You dare talk to me about permission?! I am the All-Father of Olympus, I DO NOT SEEK PERMISSION!" His eyes glowed blue and lighting started arcing around him, "I will lay waste to this entire Island if I choose!"

Superman got ready, "Not while I'm here to stop you."

Highfather froze time, "Let's discuss this without intrusion. You have been drawn into this war against Superman through the manipulations of Hera, Ares, and the malevolent Darkseid. Exploiting your vanity, they coaxed you into disregarding your long standing tradition of ignoring the antics of the mortals, so that you could further their true agendas... to destroy Superman, Hippolyta, and you."

"I know all of this, and fear none of it."

"Yet you let this happen."

"It was intolerance, not vanity, that brought us here. I have not the patience for false God's and Mankind's apathy towards the might of Olympus. Provoked or not, this is where I stand."

"Your dominion over Man ended long ago, when you turned your back on the Old Gods and chose the survival of Olympus."

"I answer to none. Old God or New."

"I answer to The Source of all things, and that is why I am here. It has told me that your time on Earth is at its end."

"The Source.... and what if I refuse?"

"Then we fight. And the best you can hope for is that we will destroy each other, but that is precisely what Ares and Darkseid want, is it not? So the only question you need to answer is... how much longer do you wish to play their fool?"

"Fine," time unfroze, "Let us go, Wife. I have forsaken this place forever. The Gods of Olympus are never to return."

"Why?"

"SILENCE! You have tried my patience enough."

Highfather said, "Not yet. There is something that must be undone. This child's gifts were not yours to take."

Billy Batson was thrown in front of Zeus by Orion. "Agreed. Say the word, boy."

"Shazam?"

An arc of lightning shot down and he transformed into Shazam. Superman faced the Highfather, "It was Batman. He sent you, didn't he?"

"We talked."

"Where is he?"

Highfather started teleporting himself and the three Resistance members away, "There has been enough fighting, Kal-El. Do not press this further."

A few seconds later he flew into space and grabbed Ares and took him all the way to Apokolips. "He's all yours, Darkseid. But I have one condition. You, Ares, and your underlings never step foot on Earth again. If I ever see Ares again. The responsibility will fall on you."

"You expect me to take custody of this immortal fool? What use is a fallen God of War to the great Darkseid?"

"You'll think of something, but be warned. He can't be killed."

"Excellent, his suffering will be all the sweeter. Leave me to torture war."

The leaders of the world sat around an oval wooden table and were all in panic mode, "That's what we wanted, even if the goal was accomplished a different way."

"A different way?! Forgive me for asking, Prime Minister, but are you an imbecile? Superman was very clear with his demand for total disarmament. Do you know what that means?!"

The President spoke up, "Yes. He's back, he knows that we lied to him. And we will have to answer for it."

Superman destroyed the wall, "I don't need your excuses, Mister President. I know why you did what you did. And although I don't condone it, I understand it. You made the best choices you could under the circumstances. That said, I have rounded up the remaining Nuclear weapons and dealt with the culprits who harbored them," his eyes glowed red, "Your council is hereby disbanded. All authority will be formally ceded to me. If I even perceive threatening behavior from ANY of you, you will regret it."

 

[Bonzoluv]

Slight gore warning.

Itachi looked up at the sky, 'Superman is back. Now that the Gods have left things will go back to normal.' Itachi walked up the steps of Plastic Man's home, and was about to knock, but the door opened.

Plastic Man recoiled back, "Itachi? What are you doing here? You're not here to recruit me to the Resistance are you?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm here to help you get your son back."

Plastic Man waved a hand, "We don't need to do that. I'm sure that Supes can abuse his power for an old friend and just let him out."

Itachi offered a friendly smirk, "You don't really believe that, do you?"

He shrugged, "Well a man's gotta hope, doesn't he?"

Itachi offered a hand, "We have a plan that incorporates your abilities already. Don't worry it'll be in and out with no sign that any of us were there."

Plastic Man sighed, "Alright. I'm in. I was going to break in as a backup plan anyways."

After a little bit of traveling, they arrived in Atlantis. Itachi turned to Plastic Man, "Patrick, Aquaman is in the war room and can catch you up on the plan."

Plastic Man left and Zatanna approached Itachi, "I heard that you had wanted to talk to me privately."

He nodded, "Yes..... do you think that you could convert my Chakra into pure spiritual energy?"

Zatanna put a hand on her chin, "Maybe, although it'll be difficult."

"Just so you know, my Chakra is made up of half physical energy, and half spiritual energy. Does that help at all?"

She nodded, "That should help, but what do you need me to do that for anyways?"

"I'm going to revive Lois."

Her eyes went wide, "You'll..... what?" She shook her head, "Bringing back people from the dead is already risky.... and they never come back the same."

"Maybe among you magic users. Although where I come from, as long as you have a DNA sample of the person you want to revive you can reanimate them."

"How do you know about such a technique?"

I've had a lot of exposure to it. I was even on the receiving end of it once. It isn't a complex jutsu, figuring out how it works is simple."

Her head tilted, "You.... were reanimated?"

"It's a long story, one I can tell you about another time..... although another thing you should know is that using this jutsu requires a sacrifice."

She backed away a bit, "A.... sacrifice? I don't want to help kill someone, Itachi."

Itachi's eyes narrowed, "Zatanna. Do you want this war to end?"

"Yes, but"-"There are no buts. All other options have been exhausted. Batman has gone from getting help from the space police, to giving himself to a demon,, to allowing himself with actual God's. And he's failed at every turn resulting in more and more of us dying. Eventually he may succeed, but how many more of us will be dead by then? I can end everything without any more heroes dying."

She looked off to the side, "I'll.... think about it."

"That's alright, I won't need to do this for a while."

Zatanna disappeared and Itachi made his way to the center of the where everyone was besides Plastic Man and Aquaman, 'The only thing that is really hard about Reanimation Jutsu will be using another source besides Chakra, although hopefully this plan will work...... later when she's ready I'll have to have her revive the rest of the villains too after I kill them.'

"Manhunter, Red Robin, Superboy, Wonder Girl, Starfire. Are you all ready?" They all nodded. "It seems like the Regime is back in order after Batman's failed alliance with the God's. Which brings everything back to square one," Tim winced hearing the words, although he knew it was true. "Everyone. Before we go, I will reveal what my main goal is...... before the nuke destroyed Metropolis, I was a part of the Justice League for one year. I had helped them take down a lot of villians in the past. I was still adjusting to this new world and just went with what the heroes wanted me to do...... we may be from different worlds, although part of me knew from the start that it was all insanity. The League always waited to respond to a threat, never attacking it first. They would take them down and put them in a useless normal cell instead of something like the Phantom Zone knowing full well that they'll escape. And then they would forget about them until they escaped to put them back in and start it all over again. On the Battlefield they'd give half hearted words about how the villain could do better and be good, yet they wouldn't care at all about the rehabilitative progress of these villains, and if they were getting what they needed or not. They only care about the villains when they have to fight them, resulting in the deaths of more and more families, and more buildings being destroyed." he pointed at Wonder Girl and Superboy, "That's why I've had you seperate those that have a chance at good from those that don't..... I don't agree with Superman's inevitable One World Government, although once it's gone all of these villains will be set loose on the world and start it all over again....... I'm not going to let that happen. Which is why I'm killing all of the ones that can never change."

All of the heroes in the room were smart enough to have figured this out on their own over time. Manhunter's expression remained blank, although the Young Titans put their hands on their knees and head and looked down. A part of them knew what they were doing, but they had wanted to act like it wasn't real. Although after hearing it verbalized, they couldn't deny it any longer. They were going to be complicit in a mass murder. Although they felt like there was no other way.

Plastic Man and Aquaman came out of the war room. Itachi looked at Tim, "Tim. Could you tell us the whole plan one more time?"

Tim wiped the cold sweat off of his hands, "Yeah. First, Manhunter and Plastic Man will sneak in through the ducts while I hack the cameras and make them still frames. Manhunter will find the Warden and replace him while monitoring the cameras, along with letting Itachi in through the airlock. Then Plastic Man will break his son out along with distributing the rings to the Lanterns, and they'll be extracted. Then Itachi will find Killer Croc, Bane, The Rogues, Livewire, Killer Frost, Mr Freeze, Deadshot, Kite Man, and Two Face and will knock them out and extract them. Then..... he will do what he has to. And Manhunter and Itachi will be extracted."

Aquaman walked forward, "My wife will be joining us to deal with the oxygen problem between the whales and you all."

"Good, we're leaving now."

Itachi swapped from his Akatsuki cloak to body armor styled after his old Anbu outfit. He has a Kevlar laced sweatshirt and sweatpants on, along with a steel chest plate under the shirt. His two arm guards were also steel. He had a sword, kunai, shuriken, metal thread, and modified paper bombs. And lastly he had scrolls inside of a pouch on his leg for extra Chakra in case it was needed. Along with a green pill if anyone he fought ended up being too strong.

They walked inside of the mouth of a Whale, and two other whales followed behind them. Itachi took deep breaths and meditated on the way there. 'I was hoping more of the villains there would be changeable..... although I'm not a fool. Most of them are clinically insane or are psychopaths with no interest in anything remotely good, some of them are even aliens that survive off of killing. In the case of Two Face we'll have to fix his face. For Killer Croc we'll cure his condition. When it comes to Bane he'll have to be separated from Venom completely with no opportunity to relapse. The motivation of Mr Freeze has always been to try and save his wife's life. I'm sure that Lex will come up with something. Then for Deadshot, well he's a contract killer with a daughter he wants to protect more than anything, so that shouldn't be hard. Both Killer Frost and Livewire have actually helped heroes before briefly, they'll just need more of a push to the right side. And for the Rouges? None of them have killed, they have standards. Stopping them should be the easiest.'

The whale stopped moving and everyone sensed the lack of motion. Aquaman walked to the entrance of the mouth and Mera stood up ready to hold off the water. Aquaman held his hand to the side of the whale and closed his eyes. A moment later the mouth opened and they all marveled at the prison. A huge gray building with a glass dome on top. And long corridors that worked as bridges to four other buildings. Both Plastic Man and Manhunter went in through a duct.

Once they were in Manhunter found the camera room quickly and saw that the Warden was Metamorpho. Manhunter snuck behind him and held a hand up to his head. His index finger turned into a tiny tentacles that was as thin as a thread and put it in Metamorpho's ear. Once he found his brain he expanded the finger a little which made his brain bounce around in his own skull. The shock from it made him pass out.

He then morphed into Metamorpho and heard a buzzing sound coming from his right. He saw a button on the wall with no description. He pressed it and it stopped buzzing. "This must be the tool to check in. Tim, I'm in control now, you can give me back access to the cameras."

"Returning it back to you now."

When the cameras turned back on Manhunter saw that Plastic Man had already freed his son. Along with all of the Lanterns. He unlocked the airlock, "Itachi, it's your turn now."

Itachi went into the Airlock. And as the water was drained the door opened and he saw the remaining Lanterns on the other side along with Plastic Man and his son.

The Lanterns noticed him and got ready for battle. Itachi put up his hands in defense, "I'm not with the Regime. I was a spy. Don't worry, I mean you no harm."

Kilowog stated, "You sure? You really like like you're ready to kill someone."

Itachi put on a fake smile, "I came up with the plan to break you all out. Trust me, Aquaman is out there ready to extract you all."

They all cautiously lowered their rings and Itachi made his way past them, dropping the smile. Manhunter talked over the comms, "I've ordered for all of the Villains to be sent to the Cafeteria."

Itachi stood outside of the Cafeteria, "Thank you," placed a hand on the door. He took one more deep breath. 'First, take out the Supersoldiers, then everyone else.... I'm not very good at fighting groups of enemies, but I should be able to complete this mission anyways.'

He used a jutsu to disguise himself and entered the room. 'This room is one big open area with a couple beam supports above it with guards on it. In total, 6 guards, more two dozen sacrifices, and 13 good villains. So out of the hundreds in the room there are I need to not kill thirty-nine. Easy enough.'

He blitzed each of the guards in an instant and gained the attention of everyone in the room. Everyone looked up at him and some started cheering, "Are you gonna break us out?" He undid his disguise and activated his Mangekyo. 'Tsukiyomi.' About a fourth of the people in the room dropped dead foaming at the mouths with blood shot eyes. One of them screamed and another blurted out, "W-what the hell?! Is Superman having us executed?!"

Itachi remained silent and dropped down. He pulled out two shuriken and undid their transformation which made them increase in size to massive shuriken. He threw them through the crowd which cut down multiple people, but then he pulled on the metal thread and pulled them back, hitting more people. Although before they could take out more people Killer Frost froze them. Her ice traveled up the thread and Itachi dropped them and drew his Blade. Bane dashed at him and threw some punches that Itachi easily weaved past every blow and pulled out a kunai. He cut each of the tendons in Banes arms and legs causing him to fall into Itachi's Chakra fueled uppercut which knocked him out.

Next Zsasz, Two Face, and Cheetah rushed at him, but Itachi just dodged everything they tried and he caught Zsasz's arm as he tried to slice at him and he sliced his throat open. Then the roundhouse kicked Two Face across the room. After that he broke Cheetah's left arm. Killer Frost tried to blast him again, but he guarded using Cheetah's body. While hidden by the ice he planted a paper bomb on her back, "Wait!--" He chucked her at Killer Frost which killed Cheetah, but only knocked out Killer Frost.

With no time to breathe at all Killer Croc tried to chomp down on his head, but Itachi substituted with a paper bomb which went off in Crocs mouth, taking him out instantly. After that a weird purple alien monster tried to pounce on him, but he hopped away. Although he quickly realized he was about to hop into the hands of Grundy. 'Wind Style: Wind Gust.' He used wind to propel himself further into the air, narrowly avoiding Grundy's grasp. Although once he was in the air he noticed Gorilla Grodd getting ready to swing at him. Although once he hit him it turned out it was a clone that exploded in his face sending him flying. Itachi broke the handle off of his blade and threw it into the ground where Grodd would land. It stuck into the ground, and when Grodd landed on it it went straight through the back of his head.

Itachi sensed a lightning bolt that was about to strike him and it hit, causing him to grit his teeth. Livewire dropped down in front of him and put her hands on both sides of his head. "Time to fry your ass!"

"That level of lightning is too weak," Itachi dissolved into water and covered Livewire which immobilized her. The real Itachi jumped down in front of her and put a hand on her forehead. 'Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu.'

He turned back towards Grundy and the Parasite. 'These two are much stronger than anyone else here. One eats just about anything including lasers, and the other is immortal and regenerates from everything.... although does regeneration matter when I take the soul from the body?'

Itachi manifested the right arm of his Susanoo and stabbed the blade through Grundy. Grundy's already dead body slowly softened and the blade absorbed him. He tried to hit the purple monster with it, but it dodged.

Just to test a few things he threw kunai at it, but his body just sucked it up. It rushed at him, "I'M HUNGRY!"

Itachi started to rely on dodging. 'The way that Superman used to beat this was exposure to Kryptonite after he absorbs his power and gains his weakness, I could do the same tactic. Sorry that it had to be this way, Parasite. But there isn't any cure for what you suffer from.' He pretended to slip up and let himself be caught. As soon as he was he felt the energy leave his body, and when he felt like he lost enough he broke free using the Susanoo rib cage. He then thrust a vial into Parasite's body. 'An accelerated version of the weakness Batman came up with for me. Amaterasu.'

Parasite was set aflame and parts of his body started dissolving due to the sheer heat of the jutsu. He was being burned alive faster than he could absorb the jutsu because of his rapid energy loss. Eventually he dissolved into nothing and Itachi deactivated his Mangekyo, switching to the normal Sharingan. He turned and looked at what remained alive in the room since it seemed like all the biggest threats were down. Killer Frost had woken back up, but was backed up against a wall with a desperate expression on her face instead of fighting. The rest of the people in the room also slowly backed away when he looked at them.

He walked over to Livewire and undid the Water Prison Jutsu. She passed out. But was alive. Itachi did one hand sign and pulled the water out of her body that was preventing her from breathing. After confirming her safety he turned to the rest of the people in the room and slowly started walking towards them. No one moved, they just backed up further until they were against a wall and couldn't escape. Many of them were sweating with very tense faces. Some were breathing heavy, others fell to the ground, some begged, etc. Itachi raised one hand sign, 'Wind cutting Water Dragon Jutsu,' what followed for the next couple of minutes were nothing but screams of pain as Itachi finished off the rest of the villains. At the end of it, his previously black outfit was completely red from blood. Including his face. He killed most of them, but he made sure to spare some to be used as sacrifices later. He then looked at Killer Frost. As soon as they made eye contact she started looking back and forth for a way out, but saw nothing but bodies everywhere. 'Fear. That's good. That can be their motivation.'

He got within two meters of her and she put her hands up in front of herself. "H-hey you don't have to kill me! I'll do whatever you want!"

He knelt down in front of her, not bothering to undo his Sharingan or wipe away any blood, "You want to live, right?" She didn't say anything at first so Itachi raised his voice just a bit to get the message across, "Right?"

She meakly nodded, "Of course...."

Itachi stood up and pulled her up off of the ground. Bring them at level height. "Do you know why you're still alive?"

She stopped shaking as much but was still very tense, "... No."

"Well unlike the rest of the guys laying around here, I believe that you can do better. You don't need to become a Saint like the old Superman, but you can be better. Fight for something better. Like you've done on past occasions where you've helped heroes. Although it'll have to be permanent this time, or else I will kill you without hesitation. Alright?"

Her eyes blinked rapidly, "Uh, Y-YES!" She stuttered a little, since Itachi's words caught her off guard. Although she wasn't gonna let an opportunity like this go.

"Good. Well then let's go."

"Go w"-- she passed out and Itachi caught her and picked her up bridal style. Manhunter entered the room and gave brief glaces at the bloodbath. "We need to get out here soon. It checks in at intervals of 5 minutes."

Itachi nodded and quickly got all the DNA samples he needed, then he and they both started carrying bodies. Manhunter carried Bane, Two Face, and Livewire, while Itachi carried Killer Frost and everyone else in Reverse Water Prison Jutsus. Itachi took one last glance at the bloody room and shut his eyes forcefully and looked away instantly.

They made it to the airlock and Mera was on the other side ready to protect them from the threat of drowning. When the airlock opened they were taken out of the prison. Mera stated, "Put the supersoldiers in the whale on the left with the Lanterns. They'll be sent back to the surface..... also the Titans are somewhat uncomfortable with seeing you right now. So it's best if you go in the whale with those villains. You should probably wash up before you see them again."

Itachi nodded, "Thank you, Mera. For everything."

Manhunter stuck close to Itachi, "I'll go in the whale with you."

"You don't need to, Manhunter."

"It's alright. I insist. I was ready to kill Wonder Woman almost four years ago now, I have no problem with what you've done today."

Itachi smiled, "Thank you."

They put the Super soldiers in one whale, and got into the whale with the sacrifices and ten of the villains. Manhunter looked at Itachi, "I noticed the look of shame on your face when we were leaving."

He briefly looked up at Manhunter, "This may come as a surprise to you..... but despite how talented I seem to be at it, I hate killing."

Manhunter raised a brow, "Why do you do it then?"

Itachi looked up, "I don't want to see people die, but objectively killing is what saves the most lives in cases like these ironically enough."

Manhunter looked down and had a hand on his chin, after a few seconds he nodded and asked, "What now?"

"The only other person who could break everyone out is Plastic Man, although he'd put on a big show and let everyone know he did it. He also wouldn't leave hundreds of dead bodies behind. He'll find out it was us eventually if not right away, but either way we have time to set up the next part of my plan. We're going to reanimate the villains which will become his main focus, and as a result his forces will be spread out even more. Then it'll be easier to pick them all off, one by one. Leaving Superman himself for last."

Manhunter nodded, "It's a good plan. What about our allies though? They don't even want to see you right now."

"Let's compare this to one of Batman's plans. Batman has tried to infiltrate the Fortress Of Solitude before. Much less secure. Two heroes died and his back was broken, it was almost a complete failure. And the rest of his plans from then on followed a similar pattern. I've acted on only one plan so far and it went perfectly without there being any surprises. I've proven my reliability, and after today there's no going back. For any of us. I used to just have their word, but now I truly have their loyalty. They'll come around on their own very soon, and when they do the Regime will be as good as done."

End: Year Four

 

[Bonzoluv]

Superman was walking around the Hall Of Justice sporting his new swept back hair look when Cyborg ran to him with a cold sweat, "Superman! It's the Trench. The Warden has hit the Alarm!"

Superman flew out of the Hall Of Justice in an instant, "Hal, Diana, Sinestro, to me."

They all flew down into the ocean and quickly arrived at the prison. Metamorpho opened the AirLock and they walked inside to see Metamorpho at the entrance. Superman crossed his arms, "Why did you pull the alarm?"

Metamorpho briefly looked down, "It's best if you see for yourself," he pointed at a door on the right of the hall, "Right through that door."

They walked to the door and Diana winced and grabbed her nose, "Ugh.... what is that smell?"

The door was opened and they all saw that the whole Cafeteria was painted red by blood. Hal recoiled, "Christ!"

Superman's eyes went wide for a brief moment before he regained composure. He walked forward and looked at the many bodies everywhere. Sinestro walked to his side, "Well I suppose that you won't have to worry dealing with these villains anymore."

".... Yes, that is true, but whoever has done this will pay regardless. Being able to sneak into my prison and kill my inmates under my own nose is nothing short of an embarrassment."

"Could Batman have done this?"

Superman scoffed, "Never. He wouldn't kill to save his own life."

"But"-"Shut up, Sinestro. I know what I'm talking about. This is someone unrelated to the Resistance."

He started to leave, "Metamorpho, deal with this. I want a report by tomorrow on who could have done this."

Metamorpho gestured, "By tomorrow? Superman, it'll take a whole day just do"-- Superman backhanded him and he went flying into a wall, "Your job was to make sure that something like this couldn't happen! You're lucky that I won't have someone just replace you. Now as I said, have a report by tomorrow, or else."

Inside of the whale where the Titans were. There was tension in the air. Aquaman and Mera stayed near the front of the whale's mouth while the Titans stayed further in the back. Superboy looked down at the ground for most of the time. But he eventually looked up, "So are we just okay with this?"

Tim looked up, "Okay with what?"

Superboy gritted his teeth and closed his eyes briefly, "Itachi is basically executing people right now."

Their heads hung low and Starfire cut in barely maintaining eye contact, "It's just part of the plan to take down the Regime."

Tim followed up, "There's nothing else we can do except for follow the plan... even if there are sacrifices."

Superboy shot up from the tongue he sat on and his fist clenched, "It's just part of the plan?! There's nothing else we can do?! Do you guys hear yourselves? Since when did we start talking like paid killers? We used to be"- Tim cut him off, "Stop it, Conner. We've had this talk before already."

"So you're already okay with doing this then?! You helped plan it after all."

"I didn't say that.... but..."

Wonder Girl cut in, "Conner. That's not fair, you and I both separated those that were "redeemable" from those that weren't. She grabbed her own arm, "We basically choose who died and who was spared.... if anything we're the most responsible. And we can never take that back. Whether we like it or not, we choose to do this. We should accept responsibility for that at least."

Superboy's fist stopped being clenched and his expression eased up, "Yeah....." he slid against the wall of the mouth into a sitting position and he put his arms on his legs, "I blamed Superman for killing Joker before..... and look at what I did....." his eyes started to well up, "I.... just wish that.... we could all go back before any of this happened."

The rest of the Titans comforted him and even the rest of them became emotional in their own ways.

Aquaman and Mera looked on with curious eyes. Mera looked up to her husband, "Quite the team that Itachi has," she stated in a half mocking tone.

He nodded, "These are kids whose role models preached to not kill. The fact that he could convince them to help him do what he did is impressive. It may not seem like it now, but he has their loyalty."

She tilted her head, "And does he have yours?"

Aquaman remained silent for a moment. "He respects my priority for the protection of Atlantis and doesn't ask me to expose myself to Superman's wraith. For that, I'll say yes."

After a while the whales stopped moving and their mouths opened. Itachi saw the Titans exit from the mouth they were in. They looked like they were handling it better than he expected since most of them kept their heads high. But he still waited for them to go inside regardless. After they were no longer in sight he left the whale. He walked up to Aquaman who was waiting for him. "When you go down this corridor and down the staircase on the left, there are cells in the first door on the right you can put them all in.

Itachi nodded and went where he was told. He separated the sacrifices from the villians and undid the jutsu he had them all in. He observed the villains, 'They'll be unconscious until tomorrow. In the meantime I need a way to contact Lex since he's the only one that could help me with Croc, Two Face, and Freeze. The only way I know how to do that right now is through Batman's computer in his cave. I'll need to pay him a visit then.'

Before leaving the room he cut all of the Venom tubes on Bane and took them away. He deflated slightly before his eyes, but was still buff. 'Hm, I should put up a warning just in case any of them decide to start mauling each other.'

He took out a paper bomb and placed it on a glass window that was connected to the ocean. It read "Don't try anything stupid, or the glass breaks." 'That should work. Now I need a shower and a change of clothes.'

He left the room and was about to go up the stairs but he was greeted by Aquaman who put a hand up, "Itachi, you can't walk around leaving bloody footprints everywhere," he pointed down the corridor, "You can clean up right there through the door on the left at the end of the corridor."

Itachi glanced back at where he pointed and turned back and did a slight bow, "Thank you."

Itachi went into the shower and after stripping off his clothing he went under the hot water. He looked down and saw the blood go down the drain. 'How long has it been since that nuke went off? Not far off from five years now. I'm 25 now, technically, although I was in the Phantom Zone for a long time,' He glanced down at the blood and calluses on his hands, 'I haven't had the opportunity to train since before the Green Lantern War, although I'm already many times stronger than I was when I fought Kabuto.... but is it enough to fight someone like Superman?' He glanced out of the shower at his new clothes that were brought in, 'The only reason that Batman has lasted five years against Superman is mainly because of Superman's mercy for his old friend. Even when he fights him he neglects using his powers in favor of a hand to hand fight he should fully know that he'll lose. Honestly it's almost like he wants to lose....... actually, that may be the truth. When going all out he killed Kalibak easily and destroyed part of the Green Lantern Corps using all of his powers, yet against Batman he'll use nothing but his fist as if he has no powers. Although that part of him is likely slipping away. Soon enough Batman will be overwhelmed and will ultimately lose at this rate. The only chance he would have at this point is if he somehow brought back everyone that died, which won't happen,' he ran his hands through his hair to get the blood out of it and started washing himself, 'Although I've never had the luxury of being Superman's ex best friend. I might get the Green Arrow treatment if I'm not careful.'

He got out of the shower and dressed himself in his normal Akatsuki cloak. He exited the room and started moving towards the exit of the building, 'Once Superman is taken down, what will the world be like? Batman will more than likely never trust me again, the Titans will be forever changed after having helped me kill, Hal might never be accepted back into the Green Lanterns, Wonder Woman will have to be dealt with in some way for being partially responsible for Superman's evil, Superman more than likely will never be able to be the Symbol of Hope again, and there's absolutely no way he would be able to be exactly like his old self even if he became good again...... that brief one year of being with Justice League will more than likely never return. Although the world will be much safer regardless with all the villains dead or reformed.'

His thoughts were interrupted by Starfire who walked in front of him, "Itachi, I speak for all the Titans when I say this.... I don't think that we ever said thank you for what you've done for us.'

Itachi shook his head, "There's no need to thank me, I'm just"-"But there is a need," She subtly nodded and leaned in slightly, "You saved Tim's and Conner's life, and then you broke us out of the Phantom Zone." She closed her eyes briefly, "And all that we've done is complain, act borderline hostile, and second guess everything that you've done when you were just helping us. So for that.... we're sorry," she extended a hand, "We trust that you'll bring an end to this war. So what's next?"

Itachi looked down at the extended hand speechless, and then he smiled and accepted it. "For now, we're going to wait until Zatanna contacts us again. I'm about to go get in contact with Lex to help me with the criminals down there."

She nodded and went back to where Itachi assumed the rest of the Titans were and he continued walking. Once he was outside he met Mera who was sitting on a Bench. He walked up to her and she noticed him, "Itachi."

"Mera, I have a favor to ask."

"I'm listening."

"Can you open a small tunnel through the water back to the surface?"

She stood up, "Simple enough. How are you supposed to get up though?"

"You'll see."

She raised both her hand and opened a circular tunnel back to the surface. Itachi raised one hand sign, 'Shunshin.'

He became a blur and went from the bottom of the ocean to the top in an instant. Once above the surface he thought, 'I have to get from the East Coast to the West Coast since Batman's computer is the only I know how to contact Lex,' He raised another hand sign. 'Shunshin.'

As he was traveling at high speeds he thought, 'Being able to Teleport like I used to with the Watchtower teleporter was a lot more convenient than this. My speed is more suited for combat than travel.'

After a couple hours he arrived at the Salt Mine and made his way through the mines into the hideout as a crow. When he found the computer he was looking for he started going through it until he heard footsteps behind him. Without looking he said, "Hello, Catwoman."

She narrowed her eyes, "Itachi... What are you doing here? I heard that you quit the Resistance."

"I have, but that doesn't mean I quit fighting against Superman," he found Lex's contact and was ready to call it.

She crossed her arms, "If you're still fighting Superman then why have you left our Resistance?"

Itachi turned away slightly from the computer and looked at her analytically. "You already know the answer to that," She looked away and Itachi turned full towards her, "I'll tell you this. When I ended up in the Phantom Zone, I wasn't mad that Batman came up with a weakness for me. I was just upset that he let that information get into enemy hands. I'm just tired of his failures. Now, you aren't going to report me to Batman for being here, are you?"

She turned her back to him and started walking away, "No."

Itachi turned back towards the computer and called up Lex, "Bru-- Itachi? How'd you get this number?"

"I'm using Batman's computer. But that isn't important, I need you to do a couple small things for me. They won't expose your secret, I assure you."

Lex leaned back in his chair and his brows raised, "I'm listening."

Itachi put his hands on the table, "I need you to come up with a cure for Killer Croc's condition, perform surgery on the burned side of Two-Face's face, and cure Freeze's wife."

Lex nodded, "That should be simple."

"Also I may need your help again in the future. So be on the lookout. I'll drop off Two Face and Killer Croc at Warehouse A17 in Gotham tonight at 9."

The call ended and Itachi heard Starfire's voice through his earpiece, "Itachi. Zatanna is ready to give you her answer."

 

[Bonzoluv]

"Zatanna, what's your answer?"

She looked up at him, "I'll do it."

Itachi smiled and reached out a hand that she accepted and shook, "Thank you. Let's get started now."

They both walked down the long staircase into the room where all the sacrifices were about thirty-one unconscious bodies in total. Itachi went to the corner of the room and picked up a bag with a DNA sample of each of the villains he wanted to use. He started walking around putting them on each body and when he reached the last body he pulled out a piece of Lois's hair and placed it on that body. Then he got into position.

Zatanna put her hands on Itachi's shoulders, "For this to work..... I need to make direct contact with you," she stated looking off to the side.

'She isn't as adamant about this kind of thing as the Titans were. But she is still clearly reluctant.'

Itachi started doing a few hand signs and slammed a hand on the ground. Symbols started appearing under all of the bodies and they started glowing.

"Itachi, I've been wondering something, all of your abilities revolve around Chakra, right?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"Well you aren't able to revive these people on your own because none of them possess Chakra. With Magic it doesn't matter either way. Why is Chakra different?"

"Chakra is..... it isn't some mystic art like magic. Where I come from is our life force. Without it we would all die. Unless it's Ninjutsu or summoning, almost all of our abilities like sealing, illusions, etc rely on the other person having Chakra to suppress or manipulate. Even our souls contain Chakra, which is the main reason why reanimation is possible."

She tilted her head, "If that's the case then how do your illusions work?"

"The Sharingan sends Chakra directly to the brain through the eyes. Chakra becomes irrelevant in that case..... it's time, they're ready. Reanimation Jutsu!"

The bodies slowly dissipated and in their places thousands of pieces of paper started to slowly form into humanoid bodies. Eventually the glowing faded away and the ritual was complete. Thirty villains under the control of Itachi including Parasite, Grundy, Cheetah, Hyena, Grodd, Plastique, and many more stood waiting for orders. Along with Lois Lane.

Zatanna stood up and looked at them all with a slightly agape mouth. "You really did it. Can they think on their own though?"

He nodded, "If I let them then yes. They can be either under my control or have complete free will."

Zatanna got a closer look at some of them, "This surpasses any revival magic I know of."

"Sadly, it isn't perfect. Where I come from there is another revival ability that brings them back like they never died in the first place, although," he put a hand under his eye, "I don't possess the eyes necessary to do that. But this should be good enough."

The door opened and the Titans came into the room. Tim stated, "We finished delivering those two."

"That's good, we've just finished the reanimation."

Starfire asked, "So how will they give the Regime more trouble than they would have if they were alive?"

Itachi pointed at one of them, "Shoot through him. That will give you the answer."

Starfire raised a hand and shot through the villain. The wound was just shredded pieces of paper that regenerated after a few seconds. Itachi pointed at the healed wound, "They're immortal. Any wound dealt will heal in a few seconds. If any part of them is left then they will regenerate. Nothing short of complete annihilation will suffice. And Superman is really the only one that could do that."

Tim raised a brow, "So after they figure out that they can't beat them then what's stopping them from calling Superman over?"

"He'll have to be distracted or we'll have to cut communication."

Conner shook his head, "He has Super Hearing, and the others would notice the cut comms quickly. So we'll have to rely on a distraction. But what could realistically distract him long enough that he can't rescue them before we capture them?"

Itachi put a hand on his chin, "A distraction will present itself soon, either by Batman or something else. Let's wait for now."

Itachi turned to Lois and walked over to her. He performed a jutsu on her that hid the cracks in her skin and the black sclera. He ten reached into the back of Lois's head and pulled out a tag. After a few seconds she started blinking rapidly and looked around, "W... where am I?"

Itachi looked at the Titans, "Are you all alright with explaining everything to her for me?"

Wonder Girl walked up to Lois and put a hand on her shoulder and showed the way out the door, "We can explain, but we should get somewhere more comfortable."

All of the Titans left with Lois and Zatanna asked, "Couldn't she be used as a distraction to get the rest of the Regime? She might even get through to him."

Itachi looked down at the ground for a moment before looking back up and shaking his head, "To use his dead wife as a distraction to take him down would make him more blood lusted than ever, we should wait for something else."

The next morning Selena and Bruce were eating at a restaurant in disguises. "I just don't understand what it is that you're doing, Bruce."

"I'm not giving up."

"You've spent five years, pulling every trick out of your bag, and where are you? No closer to stopping him or the Regime. What's the point?"

His brow twitched, "He crossed lines that we can't ever cross, Selena. As someone who made her career crossing them, you have to understand that I can't let it go. What he did"-"Yeah, I know. He killed the Joker. Big loss to mankind."

"If that's how you feel then you might as well join the Regime."

"That's not what I'm saying. I know he's done so many awful things..."

"He murdered Oliver and Dinah."

"And Renee. I'm totally with you. I just need to know that we aren't just spitting in the wind. What's your plan?"

"Short term.... to mobilize as many super powered humans as I can to fight against the Regime, heroes, villians"-- she gestured a hand, "Sorry Bruce but what villians? Someone had them all killed."

"... It was Itachi."

She leaned back in her chair, "Itachi?"

"There's no one else who would do it."

She sighed and thought back to what Itachi said yesterday and it all made sense now, "Well Itachi's team has a lot of fire power we could use. Maybe it's time to put aside your differences and team back up ag"-"No, he's decided to cross that line again. He's just as bad as Superman."

She scoffed, "Bruce, are you serious? Even when we're at such a steep disadvantage you'll still preach about this kind of stuff?!"

He narrowed his eyes, "He brutally executed hundreds of people, Selena. If you think that's OK then you might as well join him."

She crossed her arms and looked down at the table for a moment, "That's not what I'm saying, but..... Listen, Bruce. We've failed at every turn and we have no one on our side but four non powered people. And as far as I know there are no other powered people to turn to, there's no shame in admitting it... you can't win, Bruce."

In the Hall Of Justice Hal handed Superman the folder he wanted on what happened at the Prison, "You're dismissed."

Hal scowled briefly before walking away. "Forty four missing bodies, and the rest were killed by a combination of blades, shuriken, burns, and water based attacks. Most likely culprit is...... Itachi."

He crushed the armrest of his throne with his left arm and Wonder Woman walked in, "Is something wrong."

Superman took a deep breath and stood up, "Itachi has taught me a valuable lesson."

She tilted her head, "And what's that?"

He glared off into the distance, "Prisoners will just become thorns in my side later on down the line, they should just be killed to be done with them right there and then."

Down in Atlantis Itachi entered the room with the unconscious villains. At some point after bringing them back from The Trench, he had them in a dream-like state. But now was the time to break them out of that state.

He snapped his fingers and all of their eyes became wide open. They all sat up and either rubbed their heads or eyes. Although once they became aware of their surroundings their eyes all eventually landed on Itachi. Bane shot up off the ground and tried to punch Itachi, but Itachi just caught the hand with a normal fist.

Bane quickly realized just how much smaller his body was. He was still muscular, but not the hulking monster he was before, "WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY VENOM!?"

"You don't get to have Venom anymore."

Deadshot observed the room, "Atlantis?"

"Correct. I've brought you here to talk. Your answers will decide your fate. So pay attention, Deadshot, Rouges, Bane, Livewire, Killer Frost, and....."

"My name's Kite Man."

Livewire's brow scrunched, "Who the hell is Kite Man?"

Kite Man looked at the other villians with a dropped jaw, "What do you mean who's Kite Man?!"

Killer Frost stated, "He must be a C.... no, probably D list villain."

His forehead tensed and he stood up, "D... D list!?" He turned to Bane, "Bane, you gotta know who I am. We've both fought Batman multiple times!"

Bane shook his head, "I've never seen you in my whole life."

Kite Man sat down defeated and Itachi cleared his throat. "Anyways, as I was saying. You're all here because my team believed that you could all turn a new leaf and stop being criminals. Some of you have even teamed up with heroes on occasions. If you need any kind of assistance to become better then I'll be all ears, but make no mistake. This isn't a kind hearted offer, it's an ultimatum."

Heatwave rubbed the back of his head, "So uhh... what happens if we don't become better?"

Itachi snapped his fingers and the reanimated villains started walking into the room. "Then you'll become a reanimated asset with no will of your own."

Their heads fell and they remained silent. Although this was only for a moment, "Mirror Master yelled, "The hell is wrong with you? What kind of hero does this?"

"I'm not a hero. I'm someone that's going to save lives before they're ever put in danger, "Itachi turned to the door, "It's dangerous for you all out there right now. So you can stay here and think about everything until I'm done with Superman."

Itachi went up the stairs and met the Titans in a Lounge. Tim walked up to him, "Itachi, you may want to see this."

He handed him a tablet that monitored the Satellites around Earth and they were picking up on a foreign object heading to Earth. Itachi squinted his eyes, "What is that?"

Tim smirked, "That's gonna be our distraction."

Itachi summoned all of his reanimations and they were all on their way to the surface. Itachi stated, "No one besides you four, Zatanna, and Aquaman know about Reanimation Jutsu. We have the element of surprise, although when they discover that they're immortal they'll be able to restrain all of them."

Starfire tilted her head, "You think that they could restrain guys like Parasite so easily?"

"One of the downsides of Reanimation jutsu is that they aren't at their full power, so when they stop holding back they won't stand a chance against guys like Yellow Lantern or Sinestro."

Tim raised a finger, "Which is why they'll be our first targets. The Reanimations will isolate everyone else from them."

They reached the surface and Itachi ordered his reanimations, "Cause chaos. But not enough to kill anyone. Only enough to get the Regime's attention.

Doomsday crashed into the Hall Of Justice. "Kill! I KILL YOU KAL-EL!"

As their fight began Cyborg called the rest of the Regime, "Guys, I am picking up reports of multiple villains causing trouble across America."

Hawgirl said, "What are the closest ones to us?"

The one in Denver is closest to you Hawkgirl, Raven, there's one for you in LA. Flash. You're closest to Minneapolis. And Sinestro and Hal, you're both near Orlando. And Dinah"-"Superman is fighting Doomsday right now! I'm going to help him."

Itachi and Co stood at the shore of Florida, "Alright.... Akatsuki. Let's go."

 

[Bonzoluv]

"You didn't forget about me did you, Cyborg?"

"Of course not, Shazam. You're closest to Atlanta and there's an attack there right now."

Flash asked, "Are you joining the fight?"

"Yeah, I'm going to Philadelphia."

Flash arrived at Minneapolis and was met by Grundy, Grodd, and Hyena. Grundy tried to attack him right away without making a sound but Flash easily dodged. "What's wrong, Grundy? None of the usual grunting and rhymes today?"

He tried striking at him a few more times and still didn't respond. Flash frowned, "Ok, Strange."

Shazam fought The Eradicator and a few other villains. He was beating them relatively easily, but they kept getting back up. He started to sweat and took a deep breath, "No matter what I do these guys won't stay down."

At LA, Hawkgirl was fighting Plastique, Atomic Skull, and a couple other villains. Dodging the energy blast that came her way was easy, although it felt like everything she threw at them didn't do much of anything. She started to get aggravated and swung her mace harder than normal which whacked Pastique's hand off, although Plastique looked unphased and her wound quickly healed itself. Hawkgirl backed up, "What the...? She doesn't have a healing factor. How did she do that?"

Both Sinestro and Hal arrived in Orlando and started fighting Parasite. Although they ended up dealing with the same problems as everyone else. Flash started talking to the rest of the League, "Hey guys, have these villains been doing endurance training? Cause they just won't go down."

Hawkgirl replied, "There's something wrong with them. I accidently blew the hand off of one and it healed up seconds later."

Hal stated, "Well some of these guys have healing factors."

"Well this wasn't one of them. And all of them seem to be healing the same way."

Sinestro said, "They don't seem to talk as much anymore either, but I'm not going to complain about that."

Cyborg announced, "Guys, something is seriously wrong here. There were missing bodies at the prison, but everyone that we're fighting.... is confirmed dead."

Hal said, "Wait so that means"-Although before he could continue his sentence his earpiece was destroyed along with Sinestro's. They both turned their heads and saw Itachi, the Titans, and Manhunter.

Itachi stared at Hal, 'This is my first time seeing him with a Yellow Lantern ring in person..... it's an eyesore,' Itachi stepped forward, "You can surrender if you want, although this is the only chance that you'll be offered."

Sinestro's ring glowed bright, "Over my dead body."

Itachi remained stone faced, "If you want then that would be fine too."

The dry humor wasn't appreciated and Sinestro tried to shoot a beam at him but Itachi tilted his head out of the way and his eyes started to glow red. He tried to activate his genjutsu, but nothing happened. 'I planted suggestions in all of the Regime members back when I was still on the team, being on the battlefield with Trigon and Mitzelplik must have messed with my jutsu. I should train to try and bypass the eye contact problem, but for now it's fine,' He pointed at Sinestro, "Here's How this is going to end. You're going to die the same way John Stewart died. Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu."

A huge ball of flame erupted from Itachi's mouth and it shot straight at Sinestro. He manifested a huge fan and swept the flame upwards so it didn't hit him. But the flames turned into Itachi who held up a hand sign, "Water Style: Water Basin jutsu. Sinestro was caught off guard by the substitution and was almost hit by it but he quickly shielded himself. Although while he was focusing on the attack from above the shadow clone that did the fake fireball was preparing an attack he wouldn't see coming. "Wind Style: Wind Bullets Jutsu."

The bullets hit Sinestro dead on and some tore through his side. He groaned in pain and coughed up some blood, but he powered through the pain and turned himself into a sphere that blades started protruding rapidly from. Itachi used wind ninjutsu to get away so he didn't get hit. "Superman wants to take care of you personally, but I'll kill you for that!"

Itachi sighed, "You're the main reason why Clark has ended up this way. You pretended to be a hero like a rat while corrupting his soul. Your corruption ends today." He deactivated his Sharingan.

Sinestro's brow tensed, "Where did the red eyes go? You can't possibly think you can beat me without them can you? Or are you perhaps giving up now in hopes that I won't kill you?" He smirked.

Itachi shook his head, "Nothing like that, my Sharingan just isn't needed to kill a pathetic rat like you." Sinestro gritted his teeth and started lashing out.

On the other end of the battlefield Starfire, Superboy, and Wonder Girl were fighting Hal while Manhunter was on standby ready to assist or watch out for anyone else trying to join the fight. While they fought Hal was on the defensive. Starfire asked, "How could you side with Sinestro of all people? He enslaved his own planet before!"

"He's changed, he isn't the same man he used to be. And it seems like you've all changed too," he swung a baseball bat at Starfire and she went flying back.

Wonder Girl started putting pressure on him and punched past all of his projections, "What we're doing is ensuring a safer future once your New World Order is destroyed!"

Hal scoffed, "By executing hundreds of villains?"

"You sided with Superman who killed tons of your friends among the Lanterns along with a whole planet. Don't try to act like you're better!"

She landed a punch which sent him into the ground, but he quickly recovered and made her back off with gunfire. "They attacked our PLANET! And they were going to destroy everything that we achieved. We were just defending ourselves!"

Superboy destroyed his turret and upper cutted him back into the air. His eyes narrowed, "Were you just defending yourself when you brutally killed Guy Gardner?"

Hal gritted his teeth and he glared at him. He smashed him with a mallet, "Guy was trying to act like a peacekeeper and then he KILLED John. What was I supposed to do?!"

Starfire shot him in the back, "Is that what Sinestro manipulated you into believing?"

Hal was taking longer to recover this time which gave the three of them the chance to start wailing on him. Starfire continued, "Sinestro is the one that killed him."

Hal emitted a blast of energy that made them back off, he started shaking his head rapidly and he looked at the ground, "No... don't lie to me."

"You probably already know that's true, right? Is your fear of the truth stopping you accepting reality? Or do you just not have the WILL to stand up to evil anymore?"

He stood up slowly and his whole face was tense, "I.... I don't know."

Flash called up the rest of the Regime, "I'm not sure how he's done it, but I think that they're all already dead...... They're reanimated."

Hawkgirl replied, "In that case there's no reason to take them as prisoners."

Shazam said, "I've managed to put these guys in a position where they can't hurt anyone anymore, although they're still conscious. Also I think something is wrong with Hal's and Sinestro's comms. I'm the closest to Orlando so I'm going to check it out."

Cyborg said, "Let us know what you see."

Shazam arrived in Orlando quickly and saw the fight going on between Itachi's Akatsuki and Hal and Sinestro who were barely hanging in there. He tried to dash in, but he was stopped by Manhunter who tackled him through a building. Shazam glared at him and he clenched his fist, "So it's you guys who were behind this... how could you do something like that? Bringing these people back to life just to fight for you?"

Manhunter punched him through the building, "It's the best way to take you all down, so we'll gladly use this to our advantage."

Shazam closed his eyes for a moment before dashing at Manhunter, "You've fallen."

Manhunter caught the fist and started to wrap around Shazam, "Says the man who sides with a globalist tyrant."

"SHAZAM!"

Manhunter had to seperate from Shazam's body and he recovered, "We've done.... some bad things. But there are no more wars now, and soon enough people won't have to suffer anymore."

They started trading blows, "Billy, tell me. Do you ever actually go around and ask people what they think of Superman nowadays?" Shazam stayed silent and Manhunter continued, "How about I show you."

He grabbed Shazam's head, but before he could say his magic word, Manhunter flooded his mouth. Shazam's eyes started to see people living in slums, suburbs, cities, and everything else. He felt everything they felt. The feeling of being dogs forced in cages only allowed outside certain times of the day, nations that are slowly collapsing due to their leaders being taken out and not knowing how to lead. And many more things.

Itachi tried to dodge the flurry of blades that came his way, but he couldn't dodge them all and he ended up getting pierced by multiple blades going through his torso. His eyes went wide and he coughed up blood. Sinestro had a wide smile and clenched his fist, causing the blades to turn into more blades stabbing him through every part of his body, "I told you that I would kill you." Itachi dropped dead. Sinestro took a deep breath and looked at how Hal was doing.

All the Titans were unconscious and Manhunter was on the ground unconscious after being scorched by Shazam's lighting. Hal flew next to him and patted his back, "They weren't so strong after all."

Sinestro nodded, "Yes, it seems sOOOO!"-- Sinestro coughed up blood and looked down at his chest to see a sword pierced straight through him. He looked to his right and who he previously thought was Hal turned out to be Itachi. Sinestro's eyes were as wide as saucers and he started sweating and breathing heavily. "A-an illusion?! H-how?! I never looked into your eyes!"

Itachi dug the blade deeper through his chest and twisted it around causing Sinestro to make groans and screams of pain, "The fireball jutsu. The flames you were looking at were really my eyes," He ripped the blade from his chest and Sinestro started bleeding heavily and was beginning to lose consciousness. "I told you that you would die the same you killed John."

Sinestro tried to fly away, but fell to the ground. He looked around and saw that Hal was knocked unconscious. And that Shazam was in his child form being held by Manhunter. Itachi walked up to him. And the rest of his team looked on at Sinestro. "You'll..... You'll all be hunted and killed for this! Don't think that you'll get away with trying to put an end to Superman's peace!" He fell to his knees. Itachi got within arms reach of him. Sinestro glared at him, "I won't beg."

Itachi sighed, "Everything that you've done will be for nothing. Superman will see the light again," he swiftly sliced his throat open and Sinestro dropped dead. "Good Riddance."

Itachi turned to the rest of his team, "If Shazam came here then the rest of them will follow soon after. We have to get out of here fast.

Although before they could go anywhere a red and blue blur crashed into the ground near them making a crater. Itachi got into a serious fighting stance and went straight to his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Superman?! There's no way he could have beaten Doomsday that fast!"

When the dust settled they saw a man who looked like Superman at first glance. Except his skin was gray, his hair was unkempt, and the S on his chest was backwards. The thing smiled and pointed a thumb at himself, "Yes, me am Superman."

After getting a good look at him Itachi calmed down, 'That.... that isn't Superman.'

The Titans got ready to fight. Starfire said, "I don't think we should be starting another fight now or else more of the Regime might come soon."

The fake Superman dashed at Tim first at a speed he couldn't react to, but Manhunter intercepted him and started a brawl with him. Tim yelled, "Itachi! We'll have to leave Parasite here to fight him, we have to get out of here."

"Yeah, you're right. Everyone, let's go," he ordered Parasite to attack the fake Superman and Manhunter followed after them. Wonder Girl said, "Hey. Don't you think we should put a tracker on him or something?"

Superboy raised a brow, "Why?"

"It did seem to think it was Superman. And going off its grammar skills it probably isn't the smartest. Maybe it could help us later, you know?"

Itachi noddex, "That's a good idea," he turned to Tim.

Tim smirked, "I put it on him earlier when he dashed at me."

His fellow Titans brows raised. Starfire said, "Wow Tim, when did you become that fast?"

"I can tell you about it later, but for now let's focus on getting away."

At the Hall Of Justice Superman's clothes were shredded and he started breathing heavily. Doomsday charged in for another attack, but Wonder Woman flew into the building and grabbed him, "Finish him!"

Superman didn't hesitate and landed two hooks that made Doomsday hit the ground unconscious. "Thank you, Diana.

Before she could say anything Superman started getting calls over his comms, "Hey, Superman. We found the missing prisoners, I think although they're undead like Grundy and we don't know what to do with them."

"On my way, Barry," Superman flew out of the Hall Of Justice and grabbed each villain and threw them all into the Sun. Flash said, "Guys. I went to Orlando to check on Shazam, Hal, and Sinestro, and well..... Sinestro is dead. And Hal and Billy are gone."

 

[Bonzoluv]

Itachi's group arrived at Atlantis with Hal's and Billy's unconscious body. Billy had a piece of duct tape on his mouth that was sealed and Hal's ring was removed. Tim was walking with his head down and his shoulders were shrugged. Itachi noticed this and peered at him briefly before he started looking forward again. Starfire handed Itachi Hal's yellow ring. "What should we do with this?"

Itachi crushed the ring in his hand and dropped it into a trash can. "He won't need this anymore."

Tim stated, "We lost most of the Reanimations since Superman threw them in the Sun. We only have non powered villains left."

Wonder Girl said, "We got three of the ten main Regime members though, and we have a tracker on that bizzare looking Superman now, so I think we got off good."

Aquaman entered the room and approached Itachi, "Itachi what you're doing is good. But I can't keep hiding all of these people here. You have a lot of history on you now, and if Superman comes here and sees them....."

Itachi nodded, "I understand. We'll have to find another place to put everyone then."

Superboy raised a brow, "Where else could they go?"

Suddenly Zatanna appeared in the room and smiled, "We can put them in the Tower Of Fate. Although you'll need to help me clean it up since it hasn't been used for a long time."

Itachi smiled, "Thank you, Zatanna," he turned to the rest of his team, "Are you all fine with going now?"

Wonder Girl rolled her shoulders, "We didn't really exert ourselves too much, so sure we can do a little clean up."

Itachi turned back to Aquaman and bowed, "Arthur, I will be in your debt if you allow us to hold our enemies here just a little longer."

Aquaman put a hand on his shoulder and smirked, "You don't need to bow to me. You're a friend. I can hold them a little longer."

"Thank you," he and the rest of the Akatsuki got close to Zatanna.

Zatanna raised her hands, "Tropelet."

The gold and Grey beautiful architecture of Atlantis that was complimented by the luminescent blue glow of the ocean was replaced with the dilapidated plain brick walls of the Tower Of Fate. And one of those walls was destroyed and everyone could clearly see into the void. 'Too bad Earth isn't one of my Chakra nature's.'

Back on Earth a few hours later Superman was furious and stood next to Cyborg with his arms crossed. He had a Yellow Lantern ring on his finger that flew to him after Sinestro died, "Itachi, his allies, Batman and the Resistance, villains, anyone. Just find them, now!"

"This takes time, Clark. And they might be using something to hide their locations, Itachi might have a magic user on his side, or he might be able to do something similar with his Chakra. I might not be able to find them."

"You've been getting on my nerves with all of these excuses lately... you're useful Cyborg, but you're still expendable."

Cyborg looked over his shoulder at him, "Are you threatening to replace me, or kill me, Clark?"

Superman started flying away, "Just get the job done. I need to take care of a few alliances. My first stop is Kahndaq." He landed in front of Black Adam. "It's been a long time. I see you've healed up nicely."

Inside of the Salt Mine Batman sat in his chair looking at a computer screen. Batgirl came into the room and leaned on the door frame, "Bruce, ever since everything that's happened with the Gods you haven't come up with anything..... real talk, do you have a plan?"

Batman kept on looking at the screen and didn't respond. Batgirl's expression softened and she looked down. Right then..."

After more than a day most of the cleaning in the Tower Of Fate was taken care of and Itachi and Zatanna were finishing the last of the cleaning in the Library. "What do you plan on doing next?"

The next targets are going to be Damian and Hawkgirl. Damian has a lot of angst in him right now and it'll be easy to lure him into fighting the non powered villains. Although I'm still trying to figure out the best way to take out Hawkgirl."

He picked up a stack of books and was about to put them on a shelf when Zatanna looked over, "Put those in alphabetical order."

Itachi looked down at the names of the books, and they were all in strange lettering he didn't understand. His brow scrunched and Zatanna noticed this expression, "Oh, sorry. Here. This will make it easier. Just look at me"

He complied and she put a hand on his cheek while making eye contact and she said, "thgiseye srotalsnart."

She turned away and went back to what she was doing silently. "Do you need physical contact for all of your spells?"

She put a finger on her mouth, "For the ones that involve giving things to others yeah.... why?"

".... No reason," Itachi stared back at the books and noticed that he could understand what they said now, and he quickly started organizing them in alphabetical order.

"It looks like we've finished cleaning, I'm going to bring the rest of the villains here now," though before he could go she grabbed his shoulder.

He turned around waiting for her to say something, "Itachi. I've been wondering lately..... Superman doesn't even seem like he cares about his friends anymore. What makes you so confident that he can change?"

She made strong eye contact with him while he thought of how to respond. "I'll tell you another time. For now we should put these prisoners away. And then I need to train for a few days. Would you mind helping me train?"

She shook her head, "oh, alright. Not at all."

Itachi went back to Atlantis with Zatanna and Aquaman had his arms crossed and was tapping his arm. "Is something wrong, Arthur?"

Aquaman looked up at him, "Superman came just a few minutes ago asking me to swear allegiance to the Regime. And to promise that Atlantis will fight for him if he so calls for it."

Itachi's head lowered slightly, "I hope that you said yes."

Arthur scoffed, "He doesn't even accept compromises anymore. There was no other choice. Although I shouldn't have to worry about that much longer. Bring them in."

On que guards walked into the room holding the eleven villains. Zatanna said, "Just place them near me, I'll take care of the rest."

They did as they were told, and before they left Itachi said, "Arthur, thank you for giving us Sanctuary here and helping us. We wouldn't have made it this far without you."

Aquaman smiled, "You may not be a resident of Atlantis anymore, but if you need help again I will be there."

Itachi waved and they were back in the Tower Of Fate in a room where they would be held captive. "I'm glad that you've all been so compliant. Now tell me, will you all promise to stop being villains?"

They all briefly looked back and forth at each other and gave collective nods to Itachi. "Good. Although we have a lot of heat on us right now because of Superman. You should all lay low," he undid their bindings and some of them had tensed brows. Mirror Master asked, "You're letting us go just like that?"

Itachi tilted his head, "Well you all gave your promises, didn't you? Just don't break them. Oh, and one last thing. I put seals on all of your left wrist, if you get into trouble then scratch at it and I'll know."

They all looked down at their wrist and the seal became visible briefly. Before they could say anything else Itachi nodded to Zatanna. "Raeppassid."

Itachi started walking out and Zatanna tilted her head, "You're giving them a way to call you?"

He looked back, "They deserve a chance at redemption. I'm just going to ensure that they get that chance, and don't end up back where they started," he started walking out and she smiled.

"Itachi.... I'm sorry."

He turned back slightly towards her, "What are you apologizing for?"

She started playing with her hair in her hand and her eyes darted to the ground a couple times, "Well I... I misjudged you. I thought that you were some pragmatic heartless guy that would do anything to achieve his goals, but..... it's all an act, right? You seem like you really do have a kind heart behind the whole emotionless persona."

He turned fully towards her and his mouth opened slightly, "I have a brother that was just like Superman."

She tilted her head, "What?"

"Earlier, you asked me why I'm so confident that Superman can change. It's because I have a brother that used to be like him."

She subtly nodded, "Can you tell me more about him?"

He started to turn around, "Soon. But for now let's train."

After a few days of special training, making a bunch of Chakra storage seals, and helping Tim with his fighting skills, another opportunity had presented itself. Hawkman came to Earth to retrieve his wife, but he was instead beaten by her and a few Regime members.

At the same time, Itachi sat down and talked to Hal while Billy sat in the corner with tape on his mouth while being handcuffed. "Hal, tell me, just what was it that drove your fear powered ring?"

Hal didn't make eye contact and had his hands on his knees, "This isn't going to end well for you, Itachi. Hell, he'll probably just try to kill you now. You should have just followed orders."

Itachi looked up at the ceiling, "Followed.... orders?" He looked back down at Hal, "Hal, do you remember when I showed you all my past?"

"I do, why?"

"If you remember, I was in the same situation as you. There was an authoritative figure who everyone knew was evil, but no one acted out against him. And because of that, I was forced to kill everyone I loved, besides my brother." He knelt down to eye level with Hal, "Let me tell you something. Did you know that Barry's old girlfriend is a member of the Resistance?"

Hal's eyes went wide and he looked at him. "You can't be serious."

"I am. And with how Superman has been getting more and more ruthless, it's only a matter of time before he stops taking prisoners all together. What if he asks Barry to kill her?"

Hal shook his head, "He would never do that to his friends!"

"Friends? When is the last time he's even called you friends? You're more like his servants now."

Hal gritted his teeth and was about to say something, but was cut off, "Tell me this, when's the last time you've talked to Carol?"

Hal looked to the side, "She hasn't talked to me since what happened with the Green Lanterns."

"Yes.... now what if I told you that she was also helping the Resistance? Would you be able to deal with her then?"

Hal didn't respond and went back to looking at the ground with a blank expression. Itachi sighed and stood up, "Think about it, Hal."

He started to leave the room, but before he did Hal called out to him, "Itachi, wait," Itachi turned back around and waited for him to respond, "I admit it... I'm afraid...... a part of me always knew it was Sinestro that killed John, but by the time I really started thinking about it," he looked at the hand his ring used to be on and shook his head, "I was already wearing one of Sinestro's. And I killed a good friend. You want to know what fear my ring was powered by?"

Itachi knelt down again, "The fear of accepting the truth that what we've done is partially our own fault. And the cruel reality that it's too late to do anything about it."

"Yeah...... once this is all over, I want you to turn me over to the Corps. I should answer for my crimes."

"I will," Itachi stood up and walked to the doorway, "Thank you, Hal."

He left the room and was approached by Zatanna, "Itachi. Hawkman has returned to Earth with the intention of bringing his wife back with him."

Itachi sat up out of bed, "This will be our next opportunity. Could you take me to him?"

"Of course. Tropelet." They both appeared in Hawkman's ship, "Hello, Hawkman."

He looked back at the both of them expressionless, "I was just thinking of finding one of you people."

Itachi stepped forward, "We would like to help you get your wife back."

Hawkman turned towards them, "And how would you help me do that?"

"We'll offer a distraction that keeps the rest of them busy enough to let you take her."

He put a hand under his chin, "And what's stopping them from following right after my ship to take her back?"

"We'll make it look like you were never involved, we've taken out three of them already so they'll more than likely assume it was us."

Hawkman crossed his arms, "You aren't really telling me much here."

"We're going to get Damian and Flash, this will help us create a distraction that will give you an opportunity to take back Hawkgirl."

He smiled and stood up, "Alright, I'm in."

 

[Bonzoluv]

Just like when he used to spar Dick, he never activated his Sharingan or used Chakra as he stood in front of Tim in a battle ready stance. Tim tried to tag Itachi with jabs, but they were swatted to the side. Itachi did a spinning inside crusting kick that Tim ducked under. Tim swept him off his one leg he stood on and tried to kick him in mid air. But Itachi landed on one hand and used the rotation of the fall to kick his leg away and stand back up. Itachi tried to grapple by grabbing the side of his neck, but Tim went under his arm and delivered an uppercut to his chin. Itachi moved his neck with the blow to reduce the impact and back flipped gracefully. Tim tried to charge at him, but Itachi maintained distance with a side kick. As Tim backed up, Itachi did a quick dash forward and tried to hit him with a right straight, but Tim caught his arm while maintaining balance and twisted on his back foot to flip Itachi over him. Itachi twisted his body in mid air and kicked Tim in the side which made him grunt and release his grip allowing Itachi to catch himself. As they were briefly separated Tim asked, "How do you think I'm doing compared to how Dick used to do?"

They started circling each other, "You've improved a lot, you might be as good as Dick was."

Tim smiled, "I'm glad that I could catch up to him."

Itachi got out of a fighting stance, "That's enough for now, I have a couple favors I want to ask you."

Tim leaned on a wall, "Ask away."

I want you to recreate Batman's weapon to take down Flash."

Tim walked over to his bag and pulled out a needle. "I've had one on me the whole time," he handed it to him.

"Wh, thank you. Although there's one more thing. Do you think that you could beat Damian in a fight?"

Tim rubbed the back of his head, "In a straight up fight? No. He has years worth of training over me since I was in the Phantom Zone for a long time, and he's always had more natural talent than the rest of the Robin's."

Itachi was about to speak, but Tim stopped rubbing his head and looked at him, "But, I don't need to beat him in a straight up fight. Leave him to me. I just need control of the remaining reanimations."

While the new Akatsuki were developing plans on their next capture attempt, Superman was confronting Lex in his tower about the news footage that showed Parasite fighting a gray Superman. Superman looked out the window of the skyscraper while Lex sat at his desk, "I'm going to ask you something, Lex. And I need you to be one hundred percent honest with me."

"This sounds more like an accusation than a question."

"If you lie I'll know."

Lex put one arm on the table and diverted his eyes to his laptop, "... By listening to my pulse. You're a Kryptonian Polygraph now?"

Superman's eyebrows tensed, "Did you have anything to do with this imposter?"

Lex lowered his head slightly but kept looking at Superman, "Why would you even ask me"-"You're the only one I know with cloning technology. Answer the question."

"Skipping over just how much of a leap in logic this is... how dare you call my loyalty into question? We've been friends for a long time, Clark, but that doesn't give you the right to"- Superman slammed through the corner of his desk and glared at him, "Is this YOUR doing?!"

Lex stared at him for a minute before standing up, "No. I had nothing to do with it. Satisfied?"

His Yellow Lantern ring seemed to flare for just a moment, "Yes." And he flew away.

The moon rose and Iris stood on the sidewalk of an empty street and took her phone out of her pocket and texted Barry to come over. He came to her in about 30 seconds. "Iris, it's good to see you, what's up?"

Iris hugged Barry and he dorze for a second before returning the hug, "Gee, Iris. What's......"- He collapsed and Iris caught him. There was a puff of smoke and Barry saw that it was Itachi who pulled the needle out of the back of his neck.

Just before calling Zatanna he noticed all of the screens turn on and Superman showed up on screen. "This brand of radicalism will not be tolerated. Those like Batman and Itachi whi continue to wage their war of terror will be hunted down and held accountable for their crimes. And until further notice I am issuing an executive order banning all forms of public assembly. I will not tolerate Anti-Regime hate groups threatening what we have accomplished. The Regime has created an age of unprecedented peace on Earth. But that peace comes at a price. So if you are angry or upset that I have infringed on your personal freedoms. Get over it."

"Zatanna, extract me," After a moment he was in the Tower Of Fate and dropped Flash into pre prepped bindings meant for him specifically.

At the same time in Blüdhaven Damian was running across rooftops tracking down where he heard the non powered villains were hiding out. He found the Warehouse where there were about ten villains standing around. The villains being Black Mask, Scarecrow, Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum, Bronze Tiger, and a few others.

As he started fighting them Red Robin observed from a high up corner of the warehouse and was whispering in his comms to Starfire, "Are you sure that you don't want back up, Tim? He could make a call to Cyborg at any time and then...... well you'd be in big trouble."

"He could do that, but he never would. He's too hot headed and stubborn to accept help."

"....Alright, if you think you have it then I won't bother you."

Tim turned the channel and observed the fight. Damian looked like he was almost getting overwhelmed, but he managed to put something on their chest that binds them. By the end of his fight with them he was drenched in sweat, but he still won. "Wow, he really is the most complete fighter to have worn the Robin costume, but that won't matter."

Damian was drenched in sweat and went to pick up his baton sticks he dropped during the fight, but something wrapped around them and pulled them away. Damian looked in the direction they were pulled in, and while his head was turned Tim landed a flying side kick to his head which sent him rolling on the floor. He quickly recovered and looked at who attacked him.

His eyes widened slightly when he realized who it was, but they quickly narrowed. "Tim, were you really dumb enough to come here on your own? I thought you were supposed to be the smartest among us."

Tim cracked his knuckles and smirked, "Are you really arrogant enough to think that you can beat me in your current state? Well you're supposed to be the most arrogant among us, so I guess you are."

They both dashed at each other and Damian threw the first punch which was evaded and countered with an uppercut. But Damian leaned back narrowly avoiding the attack and followed it up with a roundhouse kick which was blocked, but caused Tim to almost lose his footing, so he used the momentum to spin into a spinning straight which made Damian adopt a cross block. But even after blocking it he slid back a little. Their back and forth continued for a couple minutes with narrow evades, blocks, and near hits. "You were the last one out of the family I would have expected to abandon Batman. Although I guess you were sharp enough to realize how helpless he is."

Tim finally landed a punch, "I didn't abandon him like you! When this is all over things will go back to normal."

Damian kicked him away, "Go back to normal? You know how many people you helped kill? Did you forget his one rule?"

Tim pulled out his bo staff and extended it, "I never broke the rule myself, and that's enough talk. Let's end this."

There probably wasn't a single person on this Earth that was as skilled as Tim when it came to a Bo Staff, and Damian wasn't ignorant of this, but he didn't have a choice but to fight. He tried evading under and over the staff as much as he but Tim landed multiple hits on him. And that overlapping with the damage he already sustained he quickly collapsed.

As Tim looked down at Damian his face tensed and he put a hand on his face, "Maybe.... maybe he's right."

"No, he isn't."

Tim looked in the direction that the voice came from and he got into a fighting stance, but he quickly dropped his stance along with his mouth when he saw that it was Dick.

"D... Dick?!"

He smiled, "It's me."

Tim returned the smile, but after staring at him for a while his head lowered, "You.... you really are dead."

Dick frowned slightly, "...Yeah."

Tim clenched his fist and glared at Damian's unconscious body. "Don't be mad at Damian, it was an accident."

"I heard about how it happened.... but even still. He KILLED you. I'm not sure that I can forgive that."

Dick walked towards them, "I won't ask you to forgive him for me. Hell, he hasn't even forgiven himself yet," Tim looked up at him and Dick kneeled down in front of Damian's body, "He blames himself more than anyone for what happened to me. He's been throwing himself head first into fights like these almost like he's asking for death as if that's the only way he can atone." He looked up at Tim, "So, maybe you can give him another chance once this is all over."

Tim's expression eased up and his fists loosened, "I will."

Dick stood up, "Oh, and another thing. You don't think that Bruce has given up on you, have you?"

Tim turned away slightly, "It's not that exactly, it's just that..... he might be. I don't know.... ashamed of me. He might think that I've thrown his teachings out the window. I've helped plan executions for God's sake!" He gritted his teeth.

Dick smirked, "Tim, do you remember what Batman told us all what he wanted us to be?"

Tim turned back to him and had a tense brow, "He wanted us to be better versions of him."

Dick smiled and gestured to him, "I'm not going to pretend that I know every single thing that Batman wants, and I'm not going to tell you whether what you're doing is right or wrong. But Batman is aware of just how stubborn he is, he expects us to be able to do things he never could on his own. He might get angry, or even disappointed in some of the things you do," Dick put one. Serious expression, "But he would never be ashamed of you. Out of all of us he expects you to be able to surpass him one day. Got it?"

Tim nodded, "Yeah, you're right."

Dick took a deep breath, "Well then, I gotta go now. Deadman business, you know how it is, see ya, Tim."

Tim smirked as he started to fly away, "Not really, but bye, Dick. See you next time."

Dick disappeared and Tim picked up Damian, "Zatanna, Extract me."

As those two finished up, there was commotion in a warehouse in Gotham. A blonde man with red glasses stood above everyone else on a stage. "The Joker Underground is real! We will not stand for oppression. We will not bow down to the Regime! We are armed... we are ready... the Joker underground will stand up and fight!"

Out of nowhere, Batwoman jumped on stage and glared at him, "Who do you think you are?!"

"Batwoman?"

"The Joker is not someone to be honored, he's a genocidal murderer."

"He's a symbol of freedom. He's anti establishment... a martyr who fell at the hands of the Red Butcher!"

"Wrong! He is no one to be worshiped. If you want to fight against the fascist Regime, do it for yourselves... not in the name of the man who slaughtered millions and took Superman's family from him!"

As Batwoman lectured the two hundred plus people in the warehouse, Cyborg was making a report to the High Counselor. "Superman, I've got credible intel on the Joker Resistance from a source in Gotham."

"How credible?"

"I've run the information through our satellites. It's actionable," he raised his arm and showed a map of America on it that showed the location of the warehouse."

Wonder Woman and Raven are running sweeps on the West Coast, but Hawkgirl is on her way back. She's the closest, I can"-"No... I'll deal with this myself." His eyes glew a vibrant red as his face contorted into a glare.

Batwoman knocked out all of the people with guns in the room, "How many of you do I have to knock sense into before you get it? You wouldn't even last ten seconds against Superman!"

The leader's face scrunched, "Um...."

She sighed, "Listen. If you want to"- She was cut off by a red blast that destroyed part of the roof. Everyone looked up and saw Superman looking angrier than ever. "You DARE assemble in the JOKER'S NAME?!

Almost as if on que everyone raised their fist and the leader started another speech, "We... are the free citizens of the United States of America! This is a lawful assembly of the Joker Underground. We do not recognize the authority of a tyrant!"

Everyone started chanting Joker's name and Batwoman's eyes went wide, "What the hell are you all doing?! You're going to get us all killed!"

Superman's vision started to become red and he gritted his teeth, "Shut up..."

He suddenly snapped and he used his heat vision on everyone in the room. The chanting of the Joker's name was quickly replaced by screams of pain as the heat blast sliced through them and set them on fire. There was nowhere for anyone to go. And eventually, there was nothing left but the sound of crackling flames.

 

[Bonzoluv]

"Wondergirl, Starfire, Superboy. There's something I want to teach you." They all started listening intently. "Don't take any offense to this, but while you three all team up to fight someone, you don't actually fight them as a team."

Some of them were taken aback at the statement and Starfire raised a brow, "We've been fighting together for years, I think that we fight together well as a team."

Itachi shook his head, "No. While you are fighting three on one, you all wait to attack one by one. So instead of fighting the combined power of you three, they're fighting you individually. Your minds should be in sync and you should be able to land simultaneous attacks when fighting. I'll demonstrate. Any volunteers?"

Superboy raised a hand and stepped forward. Itachi made three shadow clones. "So how is this going to work?"

"The three of us are going to put you down on the ground three times in less than half a minute. Just try to stay on your feet."

Superboy got into a fighting stance and the three of them charged at him at the same time. Two ran at him head on while the third circled around him. The two in front of him threw their fist at the same time and he used both hands to block. One of them followed up with a wheel kick which Superboy blocked with his own leg. While on one leg the clone behind him swept his leg from under him and he fell.

Superboy was caught off guard but quickly stood up. The three of them threw a fist at his face at the same time and he could block two, but not the third one. One clone started punching him head on which made Superboy focus on blocking it, which allowed another clone to kick him behind his knees which made him start to fall. Itachi kicked him in the back from behind to make sure he fell.

Superboy gritted his teeth and got back up, "I'm not falling this time!" Itachi dashed at him and went low for an uppercut which Superboy blocked. But while he was looking lower and his guard was down a clone jumped over Itachi and side kicked him in the face. And at the same time his legs got swept from under him again.

Itachi dispelled the clones and reached out a hand to Superboy. He accepted it and stood back up. "As a shinobi I used to fight people that wanted to kill me all the time like the villains you fight now. Don't waste too much time with words unless it's a distraction, and use any underhanded tactic you can to win. That's what I learned as a Shinobi. If you have the advantage in numbers then take full advantage of it. Sync your minds, get out of their line of sight, strike at the same time. Do you three understand what I mean now?" They all nodded, "Good, well you should just work on that today. I'll be back."

He left the room and saw Manhunter at the door with his arms crossed and a grim expression. "Itachi. There's been an incident."

"What happened?"

"Batwoman has gone missing. More than likely killed."

Itachi's eyes narrowed, "How do you know this?"

"Oracle lended us the video of the last thing her visor picked up. Maybe you should listen to it yourself," Manhunter handed him a phone and Itachi played it.

After he finished watching it he handed it back to Manhunter slowly, 'It's exactly what i saw in my dream that day.' "Does anyone else know about this?"

"Tim and Zatanna know about it already."

Itachi put a hand on his chin, "It's getting worse out there.... I didn't expect him to go so far as to kill a whole crowd of people, although the idea of people praising the Joker is probably one of the only things that could make him do that."

Manhunter glanced at the clock on a wall that was connected to Earth. "Itachi, it's been about twelve hours, before they come to the conclusion that two more members have been captured. We should take advantage of this."

Itachi nodded, "You're right, can you get Superboy and Wondergirl to go find the gray Superman?"

"Of course, but what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to find Zatanna and Tim."

The first person he found was Tim who was currently filling up his utility belt. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine for the most part.... but Batwoman was part of our family."

"I understand. Although we're going to need back up for this capture mission to be a certain victory."

Tim faced him, "I'll go.... although after that, I want to go see Batman."

"I've noticed that you've looked troubled these past few days. Do you think that Batman might look at you badly now?"

He shook his head, "No, after last night I'm sure that that isn't the case. But after everything that's been happening, I just think that I should....."

Itachi put up a hand, "It's alright. You don't have to explain it to me. You can do what you have to."

Tim smiled, "Thanks. Now let's get to work."

Next Itachi went to Zatanna's room just as she teleported in it, "Zatanna, it's time."

She looked back at him with a strange look. He fully entered the room, "Is there a problem?"

She covered her mouth and nose and closed her eyes, "I went to the warehouse where it happened to confirm and...... there's scorched bodies everywhere. It has to be hundreds. And the smell...."

Itachi was about to speak, but she dropped her hand and looked at him, "Itachi. I understand that you want to give Superman a chance.... but after something like this?? That's just pure evil."

Itachi pondered his next words for a few moments, 'Now is probably a better time than any,' He sat down on a chair near a dresser, "My brother's name is Sasuke. He was eight when I killed our clan. He lost everything like Clark did, and in a way, I was his Joker," as he kept on talking she started to pay close attention to his words, "I was hoping for my brother to be the one to kill me, to avenge our clan. Although to do that he seeked out power. He abandoned his village at fourteen to join a killer who had assassinated the leader of our village."

"Almost like when Clark bore a Yellow ring."

"Exactly..... Well eventually he succeeded and killed me. Although after that. A man named Obito revealed the truth behind the Uchiha clan massacre to Sasuke. Which changed his goals to something much different. Now he wanted to destroy our village. On his new path of revenge, he nearly killed his best friend, his old teammate, his ex sensei, and he sacrificed his current teammate to kill the man who manipulated me. At this point killing his friends meant nothing to him. I'm sure that Superman probably feels the same right now."

At this point she was sitting on a chair next to him, "What happened next?"

"His goals changed again after he talked to all the reanimated Kage, including myself. This time he planned on killing all of the world leaders and becoming the one ruler over everyone. He believed that as long as everyone feared one God-like figure above them, there would never be any risk of war. Although his best friend beat him and brought him back to the light," he couldn't help but smile, "Right now he helps protect the world, and he's starting a family...." After a moment the smile dropped from his face. "We're going to experience the worst of it soon. Superman is going to want to become the feared God-like figure soon..... there's no Kryptonite anywhere, and he has a yellow lantern ring again."

Itachi looked down at the ground and held his hands together. For the first time ever, Zatanna thought she saw genuine concern on his face. She put a hand on top of his and he looked up at her, "We've had flawless victories so far, I'm sure that he'll be defeated just like your brother was."

Their eye contact lasted for a while before Manhunter knocked on the door, "Hawkman has been notified of our plan today. It's time."

Zatanna realized that she was still holding onto his hands and obtained a light blush before they both stood up and started making their way out the door. Before opening the door Itachi rested his hand on the doorknob, "Thank you."

She looked up, "Huh?"

He looked back, "Thank you. Superman is many times stronger than anyone I've ever faced, so I started having some doubts. But you're right." He turned back towards the door and exited.

In Germany both Superboy and Wondergirl were sneaking into the home where the fake Superman was. Wonder Girl looked to her side at Superboy, "How exactly are we supposed to convince him to fight Superman anyways?"

He shrugged, "Maybe I could pretend to be related to him or something."

"And then?"

"We'll just wing it from there."

They heard sounds from the living room. "Who am the man on TV? He not Superman!"

They heard the sound of something being broken and a moment later a TV flew through the door they were next to at a speed that took it off its hinges. Bizarro noticed the two of them and his eyes started to glow red. "WHO AM YOU?!"

They both put their hands up defensively, "Wow! Superman calm down! It's me, your brother."

Bizarro's eyes stopped glowing red, "Am... brother?" He noticed the similar appearance, although what really convinced him was the Superman symbol on Superboy's chest.

"Don't you remember me?" He started to gesture with his hands and they both had fake smiles.

Bizarro scratched his chin before asking, "If you brother. Then you know lots about Superman?"

Superboy and Wondergirl glanced at each other briefly before nodding simultaneously, "Yeah. We both know a lot about you."

"Tell Superman everything what you know about Superman."

They both started thinking about what to start with first, and Wondergirl started first, "You're the greatest Superhero on Earth. Everyone looks up to you. You're like the symbol of peace, a savior!"

Bizarro smiled and put his hands on his hips, "Me am savior?"

Superboy went next, "But there's a fake Superman out there that's ruined your reputation. Now everyone fears you."

Bizarro's fist clenched and his face contorted in anger, "Where am he?!"

"He should be at the Hall Of Justice right now."

Bizarro flew off right away and Wondergirl sighed and became less tense, "Whew, that was easier than I thought it would be."

"Yeah it was. Although we should get back to training now."

"Wait."

He turned around, "Yeah?"

"All that stuff you said, about their being a evil Superman trying to replace him... was that just to convince him, or...."

Superboy looked at the ground, "I don't know.... I was just saying whatever came to mind."

She opened her mouth to speak again. But decided against it."

After they were brought back to the Tower Of Fate, Itachi, Zatanna, Manhunter, Tim, and Hawkman arrived near where Hawkgirl was patrolling. Itachi handed Manhunter the comms device of Damian and they were transported away, "Tropelet."

As soon as Manhunter and Tim were positioned on the other side of the country, Manhunter changed into Damian and called Cyborg, "Cyborg. I've taken out Tim, but I'm having trouble with Wondergirl. Can you send some assistance?"

"Damian.... sure. We're sending Wonder Woman to assist. Just wait there."

Cyborg cut off the comms and contacted Raven, Wonder Woman, and Hades who had recently returned to Earth after escaping Apokolips. "Guys, I'm pretty sure one of Itachi's people is trying to bait one of us out again. But they won't expect three. You three are the closest, so can you check it out?"

They all answered yes in their own ways and started flying there.

Manhunter asked, "Should we be worried?" Tim smirked, he had recently learned about the new comms channel from Lex and hacked into it, which was how they both heard Cyborgs message. "It doesn't matter if they find out we're bait. That just attracts more people here away from the real target. This time and place was specifically chosen because Hawkgirl was the farthest away and wouldn't be asked to come here. It's the perfect bait."

"Smart, but we shouldn't overstay our welcome. Let's go." Tim dropped the comms device and they both signaled Zatanna to send them back to the Tower.at the same time a red and blue blur crashed into the Hall Of Justice in front of Superman. "You are fake Superman!"

He raised a brow, "I am?"

"Yes! Stop it right now!"

"You want me to stop being myself?"

"Yes!"

He smirked, "This isn't some ruse. You actually believe you're me."

"No! You are not you. Me am you!"

While that went on, Itachi and Hawkman found Hawkgirl. "What are we waiting for, Itachi?"

"Well if we wait for the right moment, we can knock her out without any trouble."

Hawkman stood up and started to fly towards her. "That is unnecessary.-- SHIERA!"

Itachi sighed and looked on at how the fight was going to go. "I told you that I would kill you next time you lay a hand on me."

They both swung their maces at each other violently almost like they were trying to knock each other's heads off. Zatanna sat next to Itachi looking at the scene behind a low wall. "It's kind of hard to believe that they've been together for hundreds of years when they seem to be at each other's necks like now. I doubt their relationship can recover after something like this."

"It does seem that way. But my brother married a woman that he tried to kill multiple times, and she's never been happier. So it's not out of the question."

After learning the surprising bit of info about his brother she stared at him blankly for a minute before turning back to the fight.

Unlike last time, Hawkman was winning this time. He landed multiple blows and after she missed a blind swing, he landed his mace against her dome which sent her hurling into the ground, unconscious.

"Alright, that's six down now. Now all that's left is Cyborg, Wonder Woman, Raven, Hades, and Superman himself."

 

[Bonzoluv]

After playing around with Bizarro for a little while, he received a call from Cyborg that Hawkgirl had been captured and he got serious. After a bit of effort he knocked him out. The combined power of the ring on top of Superman's already vast strength put him in another time of power. He picked Bizarro up by his cape and flew straight to Lex Luthor's Tower, "Time to get some answers."

He got there in just a few seconds and Lex's eyes went wide as he saw what Superman was carrying. Superman slapped Bizarro to wake him up and he started looking around. Eventually his eyes locked on Lex and he raised a brow, "Uh, you science man. Why father here?"

Superman had a glare on his face and he threw Bizarro aside and started approaching Lex, "You... lied to me. You betrayed me!"

Lex put his hands in front of him and started backing up, "Clark, listen to me"-Superman back handed him into a wall, "I'm done listening to ANYONE else! You made this clone to try and defeat me!"

Bizarro flew back in and tried to start fighting Superman again, but Superman put him in a Yellow bubble, "I'm getting real tired of you. I'm going to have to put you away until I can brainwash you too," he called Raven who was close by, "Raven. There's a clone of me here, somewhere where it can't interfere with my plans."

Raven arrived a couple minutes later and did as she was told. Superman then noticed that Lex hadn't moved the whole time after he slapped him into a wall. He walked up to him and noticed his head was bleeding, "Lex?"

He picked him up and looked into his eyes. They still responded to light so he was alive at least, but he was in a bad condition. Superman walked out of the room into the next where there was a secretary, "Lex has suffered an Injury at the hands of a Superman clone. Take him to the medical bay."

"R-right away Sir!" The secretary pressed a button and called up a medical unit and Superman left him on the desk. He started to leave and looked back one more time, "Next time you lie to me, you won't get another chance." He started going through Lex's desk, "Where is it? Ah, here it is." He pulled out a tablet for the controls of Doomsday on it. "I want everyone to come to the Hall Of Justice now. Drop anything else you might be doing."

After a while when everyone was at the Hall Of Justice, Superman sat on his throne and put his hands together and took a deep breath. "How did we manage to lose another Regime member?"

Cyborg stepped forward and he looked at the ground, "We got a fake transmission of someone Imitating Damian's voice asking for our assistance. I sent three of our team over there to deal with the threat, but when they got there they were already gone and just left Damian's comms piece. While there was no one else around they must have got Hawkgirl."

Superman crushed a piece of his throne and gritted his teeth. But before he could have an outburst, Raven stepped in, "The comms piece they left behind is all that we need though. It was recently touched by Tim, and that's all I need to track him down."

Superman calmed down, "Well at least someone here is competent. Good job, as soon as you find him, tell me. And from now on, all of you need to be teamed up with someone else so you can't be picked off one by one."

She nodded and Superman dismissed them.

The next day, the Akatsuki were all in a good mood after having another victory. The Titans were still training, Hawkman took Hawkgirl back with him to Thanagar, Tim was in the real world on his way to meet Batman, and Zatanna, Manhunter, and Itachi were already thinking of their next plan. Itachi said, "We've been perfect so far. Not a single loss and we're more than halfway there. Although now we need a plan on how to take out Raven, Superman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, and Ares."

Manhunter replied, "I believe that with our current members we could take them out in a head on fight."

"Maybe, although I don't want to risk that. We've been taking them out secretly so far, I want to keep it that way."

Zatanna raised a hand, "I don't think we can do that anymore though. We should have taken out members like Cyborg and Wonder Woman first. Because they don't need to eat, sleep, or drink."

Itachi put a hand under his chin, "You're right. That would have given us more options since now we can't poison anyone or take them out in their sleep now..... although, Wonder Woman still needs to breathe."

"That's true. If Superman wasn't there, I could have taken her out easily."

"I see what you're both getting at, but after how many of them we've taken out I doubt that we can separate them from each other again. They'll probably always be teamed up and have linked communication now."

While they discussed their plans, Raven found out where Tim was and the whole Regime started descending on his location.

"Thanks, Alfred. I'll be fine. I'm going to go see Bruce now." Tim shut the door to the Manor and started to venture out into the night. Before seeing Batman he decided to visit Alfred first because he hadn't talked to him in years. Although he didn't take many steps before he was surrounded by Superman, Raven, Wonder Woman, and Ares. Tim reflexively reached for the Green pill in his pocket, but before he could swallow it he was blitzed by Superman who grabbed his arm and almost crushed it.

Tim groaned in pain, and Superman looked down at him and his eyes started glowing red. But before he could lebotomize him Wonder Woman put a hand on Superman's shoulder. He glared at her, but she remained firm, "There's no reason to kill him! Maybe you could use him as bait to draw out the rest of his team."

His eyes stopped glowing red, "Alright, that's not a bad idea," he put a hand on his shoulder, "Well, Tim. It's your lucky day. Think that you can help me with something?"

Tim glared at him, "I'll never help you!"

"It's not up to you Tim. Come on now." They flew away and Alred opened the door, "What was that sound just now?" He looked around but he saw nothing and closed the door again.

"I could pretend to be one of them and capture a few of them using Genjutsu. That's one of the only ways left we have to capture them sneakily."

Before they could plan for anything else the door swung open and Wondergirl stood there with a dreadful look on her face, "You all have to come see this, now!"

They didn't question her and followed her to the only room in the Tower with a TV connected to Earth. The news channel was on and the content on the screen quickly put surprise on all of their faces. "Tim has been...."

Superman held Tim Drake who was currently tied up and gagged, "Itachi Uchiha! For the past week you and your team have been doing nothing but interfering with the path towards peace this world is on. Well your terrorism ends now. If you and your team don't come here ready to surrender with my captured subordinates in six hours, then Tim Drake will be executed, if you try anything then Tim will be killed right away. This goes for Batman too, I expect you to come and surrender at the same time. If any of you are even a second late then he will die."

The News broadcast cut off and went to the normal reporters who started expressing their own concern and anticipation for what Itachi might do.

Everyone's eyes in the room looked towards Itachi, waiting for what he might say. He hid his clenched fist in his cloak, 'How did they capture him so soon? He's only been out there for less than an hour. It must have been either Raven or Ares that used some kind of magic.... but that doesn't matter now. This isn't something I can ignore,' he looked back at the Titans who looked at him with the most desperation in their eyes out of his whole team, 'They've known him the longest. After losing so many of their friends at once, they'd do anything to save Tim. There's really only one way I can respond to this.'

Itachi stepped forward, "I won't let Tim be killed, so we're going," a sense of relief washed over the Titans and they let out the air in their lungs not even realizing they were holding it. "Although, this is obviously a trap. I wouldn't be surprised if he had an army of Super Soldiers there with him. And I also have no doubt that he'll have us all killed if we surrendered."

Starfire asked, "So what do you think we should do then?"

"We're going to have to call in some allies. And once we get there, to save Tim's life, I'm going to have to kill him myself." Everyone's eyes went wide.

While they discussed their plan, Raven stood guard over Tim who was strapped to a metal chair. "Raven, you were one our team.... Why are you helping Superman of all people?!" She didn't respond and Tim gritted his teeth, "What would Nightwing, or Beastboy, and or anyone else who was on our team think of you now?" Still no response. "TALK TO ME, RAVEN!"

She finally looked at him, and when she did it she suddenly tensed up. Tim's eyes turned from their normal blue into a red and black pinwheel pattern. Tim smirked. Although his smirk turned into a frown when Raven's eyes went from two eyes into four and glowed red briefly before turning back to normal. His eyes went wide, "Trigon... he...."

Before he could say anything else Superman walked into the room and leaned down, "Tim, tell me. Does Itachi have any secret powers I should know of?"

Tim shook his head, "You can forget about it. I was trained by Batman, remember? You're not getting anything out of me."

Superman glanced at Raven and they both nodded at each other. Raven stepped close to him and hovered two hands over his head. She'll just have to extract your memories directly then."

She started going through all of his memories. She eventually found one of Tim in the Phantom Zone. "I'll reveal that plan in the future. But just in case that doesn't work, I have this," Itachi closed his eyes, but before he could open them the memory suddenly became distorted and Raven flew back into a wall with a throbbing headache.

Tim passed out. Superman walked to Raven, "What happened?"

Raven rubbed her head and slowly stood back up, "Itachi must have put something in his head that somehow blocks anyone from learning about his power. Tim probably can't even recall it from memory himself."

Superman sighed, "Well no matter. He only has less than six hours to come here anyways."

Itachi teleported to Atlantis first and appeared straight into the Throne room. "I was wondering just how soon you would come."

"Then you must know why I'm here."

Aquaman nodded and stood from his throne, "Yes, I do," he smiled, "And yes, I will help you. You are a friend, and Superman is a threat to everyone on this planet. I'll gather our forces, we'll come when you're ready."

Itachi smiled and they shook hands, "Thank you, Arthur."

"And thank you, Itachi."

Itachi walked back to Zatanna, "Next is Black Adam. Tropelet ot qadnahK."

They appeared in the Throne room of Black Adam and saw construction workers on top currently repairing a recent hole in the ceiling. "I'm guessing that Superman came to see you recently."

Black Adam's brow scrunched at the memory, "Yes. After so many years, what brings you here before me?"

Itachi got on one knee and bowed his head, "I'd like to ask for your assistance in the fight against Superman."

Black Adam put his hands together, "Interesting. Superman asked to do the same thing," Itachi stayed still for a minute and kept his head bowed, "Although unlike you, I despise Superman. So yes, I will help you. You may go now," he waved a hand.

Itachi smiled and did one more bow before leaving, "And now, Batman. Tropelet."

They appeared in the bunker that was in the Salt Mines and found Batgirl, Catwoman, and Batman getting their equipment ready. Without looking back at them Batman said, "Yes, we plan on going too, I don't like to team up with killers. But if it's for Tim then I'll compromise just this once."

Itachi smirked and sighed, 'Straight to the point as always. That's a good thing though. I know that we don't agree on a lot, but I'm glad that you could set aside our differences for Tim's sake.'

Both Zatanna and Itachi left. "We have three hours left. Anywhere else we need to go?"

"Just one more place. Take me to a red sun."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and he continued, "Don't worry. My body can handle it. I just have to hold my breath. Adding red sun radiation to my weapons will be a huge help against Superman. Probably the only way I can beat him.

She complied and soon they were floating in space next to a red sun. Zatanna covered herself in a magical air bubble and Itachi floated next to her in the vacuum of Space. Itachi marveled at the countless white dots everywhere around in the black void. 'Seems like my assumption was right. Although Naruto's ability to breathe in space seems to be connected to his six paths powers..... but since the Sage restored my vision, then maybe....' He released the air out of his lungs. And then he breathed in again. And then out, and then in, and out again.