Chapter 08: [Demons of the East] - Part 3 – Ninja Twilight
"Shadow is a color as light is, but less brilliant; light and shadow are only the relation of two tones."
- Paul Cezanne
*DOOM*
North Pacific Ocean
November 9, 2011
3rd Person POV
This section of the North Pacific Ocean is unusually quiet. It's an area of deep ocean that more intelligent creatures avoid. No whales or dolphins will swim near the area, and no sharks or cephalopods will approach unless maddened by hunger. Humans on the surface never think about diving or exploring this area. Fishing ships won't drop their nets in these waters and even the most dedicated marine biologist will find the place uninteresting. The Atlanteans who claim ownership of the world's oceans find themselves avoiding area, their minds repelled by something the techno-magic can't detect.
This is the ocean above Dragon King's Dragon palace castle. There are a hundred and eight barriers surrounding the former World War II base, severing its connection to the mundane world. There are Physical barriers composed of earth and extraterrestrial alloys, both technological and magical. There are energy-based barriers which range from Daemon force fields to western magical barrier to Eastern spiritual barrier. All of these barriers both physical and non-physical are compressed by spatial warping that turns the 18 meters (59 feet) of defenses into 18 cm (7 inch) wall out of phase of normal reality. This compressed multi-layer barrier must have taken decades to construct and can stop point-blank nuclear strikes with ease.
It was never designed for what's about to hit it.
In the sky above, Rorschach's choice of vehicle floats. It uses a phase-shift barrier to render itself invisible to conventional forms of detection and additional devices render it invisible to mystical detection and the energy sensors of extraterrestrials.
*DOOM*
Inside Rorschach's Silver Saucer
November 9, 2011
1st POV
I slowly breathe in and out, calming myself. I don't need to breathe and doubt even a nuke would harm me, but I'm not a big fan of heights and flying. I'm also not a big fan of Rorschach's idea to using me as a battering ram to breech the barrier. I know it will work with Rorschach having bullshit levels of intellect and the Gamer ability. I just hope I don't get stuck somewhere as I don't want to have to dig myself out of mud and twisted metal.
"This is crazy."
I turn to my teammates for this crazy mission - Blackfire, Starfire, Raven, and Rorschach. We all stand in a circular control room with a round holographic display table in the center. The controls look like combination of retro-futuristic controls and more super-modern controls and displays.
We didn't tell the Justice League for several reasons. One – They would object to the wholesale slaughter of Daemonites due to their human hosts. Two – If any of them possessed the Justice League we would be in deep shit. Supes may not be able to permanently kill me, but he could leave me stranded in space. Three – This is dealing with very dark magic. One bit of news that isn't spread around is Doctor Fate was left comatose in his Tower due to Dragons Event. We don't want to risk it happening again.
"I intended to show this baby off earlier, but then I got sidetracked by that hot mess in China," Rorschach stated. "You would not believe how many resources I put into this thing. My Inventory is... so empty right now."
"It reminds me of those ships used by those Gray creeps." says Blackfire.
The Tamaranean sisters are dressed in form-fitting white bodysuits with black rubbery armor. I wondering about its purpose, when they hit the activation switches. Starfire's uniform shifts to her preferred purple color and Blackfire's uniform shifts to dark metal and black. They both have hi-tech bracelets.
"Gray Aliens?" asks Raven.
Raven is also wearing a black bodysuit instead of her dress or leotard. I'm already missing her legs, but I would rather she be protected. Her fingers are still exposed for the spell casting and I notice gold bracelets with red stones. She still wears her hooded cloak which adds to her mysterious beauty. Raven smirks as if guessing what I'm thinking.
"A bunch of gray-skinned humanoids with large black eyes. They do all kinds of abduction and smuggling operations. They are also perverts even by galactic standards." answers Blackfire.
Me and Rorschach share a look. I knew the Greys were real in Marvel comics due to the mess for Arno Stark, but I didn't know they existed in DC. I'm guessing Neo has the same look under his mask.
Rorschach is the most different. He appears to be wearing form-fitting black power armor similar to the Accelerator Suits from the GI Joe live film or the combat suits from the Purge episode of Rick and Morty. The helmet is clear, but Rorschach's face is still covered by his mask.
"So... What's so special about our new stuff?"
I'm dressed in an improved version of my Kryptonian biker leathers. I don't need any special protective gear as I'm more durable than anything. He did give me an odd black belt with a round white buckle.
"Daemon-Buster Gear. I whipped it together with a Star Trek-style fabricator as soon as I knew what we were fighting," he answered. "It's made of a nano-weave smart textile that's waterproof, stainproof, bullet-resistant, temperature-resistant, and self-repairing, as well as the ability to disperse the energy of Daemonite energy weapons. Most important, however, is that it blocks the phasing and possession abilities of Daemonites."
The Gamer screen appears in front of me and the girls. I'm convinced Rorschach to add them to the Party system. He made a weak threat that if they tell the League any of his Gamer info, the Internet gets full nudes. It's weak because the Tamaraneans are practically nudists, something that is apparently common in extraterrestrial races that are solar-powered. After four years in hell, Raven doesn't care about a little skin.
Three images are displayed and I recognize them.
"Alan Scott, Jade, and Obsidian."
"Alan Scott? The First Green Lantern from the Justice Society?" asks Blackfire.
"Correct. He and his children have been kidnapped by the Daemonites, and are more than likely already possessed by them. Alan Scott and Jade possess mystical powers that imitate those of the Green Lanterns' Power Rings, while Obsidian possesses shadows. Since they've been listed as hostages to be rescued for the Quest, we obviously can't leave them like that. Which, is why, I included the fancy armbands," he said gesturing to their forearms. "They shoot sequentially-modified proton beams that force a Daemonite out of its host, and the projectile stream then transitions to trans-phasic energy which will cause cascading damage to the Daemonite metamorphic cells until they experience a complete cellular crystallization."
Starfire and the sisters look confused.
"That's Rick-speak for it will turn Daemonites into statues." I say, while I'm guessing Rorschach is rolling his eyes. One problem with becoming super-intelligence is it becomes increasingly hard to communicate with less intelligent people. Smart people either enjoy sounding smart, or don't know how to "dumb down" their speech, hence the scientific gibberish the others couldn't get.
"So how are you turning Ashy into a battering ram?" asks Blackfire.
"Behold the Doom-Driver!"
The Doom-Driver is hard to describe. I'll be surrounded by thick metal rings, surrounded by force fields, and placed inside a metal container. That container will be placed in a hi-tech cannon like machine that will fire me like sabot-round straight down.
As the rings lock in place, I consider something.
"What about the water? Won't it cause deceleration?" I remember an episode of MythBusters when they shot into the water of a pool. A 50 Cal banana bullet was reduced to scrap in the blink of an eye.
"Not to worry, my gray friend." says Rorschach getting into the mad scientist vibe, "I got some interesting tech when I looted that Atlantean criminal and made some improvements. Raven! Hit the big red button!" he says pointing to a conspicuous "big red button" on the nearby console.
Raven, looking over to Ash for confirmation, walked over and did just that.
Or rather, she would have if the button had moved at all.
Repeatedly tapping her finger on the stubborn piece of plastic, after several seconds Blackfire nudged her to the side before slamming her fist into it, a confirmatory *BEEP* sounding out as the Doom-Driver whirred to life.
*DOOM*
3rd POV
Rorschach's personal aircraft decloaks above the water revealing it resembles a Flying Saucer. The bottom of the saucer towards the center opens up and components shift around with the sounds of a Transformers movie. Bright turquoise lights glow as a four-pronged ring begin to rotate counter-clockwise.
The ocean beneath the ship begins to swirl as turquoise light ripples outward from the center. The movement of the water increases as the device on the ship continues to rotate. Soon there is a huge whirlpool with a growing hole in the center. Finally, there is a huge cylinder- shaped space going down the drying sea floor. The sea water is held back by a spinning glowing ring. Down on the sea floor, there are distortions in the barrier caused by the sudden loss of water.
A cannon barrel extends from the bottom of the flying saucer and inside Rorschach grabs a red lever. He flips the switch while yelling.
"Doom Driver – Fire!"
To an outside observer it would appear the alien flying saucer fired a white beam from its underside cannon. In reality it was Ash Grey the Doomsday fired at massively hyper-sonic speeds. The impact energy is so immense that the water still inside the circle flash vaporizes and the sand becomes globules of molten glass and plasma.
The Great Barrier of the Dragon Palace stands against the attack for a moment, then it falls before an incarnation of destruction turned giant armor-piercing bullet.
In less than a second, all one hundred and eight layers of the barrier are breeched. Every force field and magic barrier violently fails and a projectile reaching the temperature of the sun easily destroys the physical barriers.
The entire facility shakes with the impact as if caught in a great earthquake.
There are daemonite mystics in several chambers that maintain the magical barriers. When the doomsday bullet shatters those barriers, the resulting surge of magical backlash incinerates them and fills the outside corridors with fire.
There are daemonite engineers working at the force field generators. When those overload and explode. The lucky ones are incinerated by the power surge, while the rest of the sector burns.
Dozens of water pipes burst and flood parts of the base. Dozens of power conduits explode, causing fires and depriving areas of electricity. Some places suffer structural damage and collapse, while others are left trapped behind bulkheads. One poor soldier on the toilet drowns when the waste pipes burst.
*DOOM*
Lower Levels – Level 13
3rd POV
The Daemonite soldiers on the lowest level are the most heavily armored and possess the most powerful weapons used in the base. They are the ones charged with guarding the most important sectors and most important items. They were trained to defend at any cost even their own lives.
They weren't expecting something to burst through all of their defenses all at the same time. They move by the hundreds to the central shaft of the base and the center of the explosion. What they find is a monster standing over seven and half feet tall emerging from the half-molten rubble.
The Daemonite Heavy Soldiers unleashing all of their fire power on the creature. More than a hundred laser, particle, and plasma beams hit the creature causing a massive explosion.
Normally, Daemonites are equipped with two of two suits – stealth suits and flash suits.
The Stealth suit is primarily used for clandestine operations, not combat, it is light on munitions. Each suit has: radar dampening circuitry within its micro-weave mesh; coolant systems to fool thermal imaging and infrared sensors; sound bafflers that minimize the wearer's audio profile stealth-suits. This was the blue-black suit worn by assassins.
The Flash suit is the Primary Daemonite combat suit. A suit can be activated from a small device which causes the suit to instantly appear over the top of the wearer's body. The Flash Suits are equipped with powerful armaments and a power pack that provides the suit's weapons systems with fifteen minutes of uninterrupted energy. It can give a soldier the fighting power of a battalion of soldiers.
The Heavy Combat Suits are in upgrade of the Flash Suits. Thick armor with strength boosting exoskeleton, heavy armaments, and a sixty-minute battery pack. A soldier with this amount of firepower could take on a US Military base and more than a hundred soldiers could take out an army of soldiers and tanks.
When they stop firing to allow their weapons a chance to cool, there target walks out of the smoke. It grabs two soldiers by their faces and crushes their heads in an instant.
*DOOM*
Level 13
1st POV
I crush the Daemonite helmeted heads with ease. I noticed I had to put a tiny bit of effort in the crush, like the difference between a soda can and a paint can. The heavy combat soldiers open fire again, but I'm done letting them shoot at me. I only used their firepower to burnt off the debris that was stuck to me and slowing me down. Now those weapons are making enough noise to annoy my Kryptonian ears.
I give into my body's instinctive need for destruction. I punch a soldier in the chest, imploding armor and sending the fool through a wall. I backhand another and he's decapitated by the force of the blow. One of them pulls out a plasma sword resembling a lightsaber, but I grab his arm and throw him, tearing off the sword arm in the process. I then spine around and drive the sword still held in the severed arm's grip in another soldier's torso.
I extend my bone spikes and speed up my movements. The nano-edge blades of Kryptonian-hard bone slice deep into my enemies. I'm beginning to seriously enjoy tearing apart these body-snatching vermin to pieces. My inner monster is laughing in joy as more enemies die into terror.
I start imitating the moves from the Prototype games, coping the killing moves of Alex Mercer and James Heller. Sharp claws that pierce and slice. If I extend the bones in forearm, I can create a giant blade capable of slicing soldiers clean in two. If I grow thick spikes on my fists and arms can imitate the Hammerfist. I did try to learn the Tendrils and Whipfist in Hell, but I didn't get it no matter how many tentacle monsters and Lovecraftian horrors I ate. I did develop an odd like of Japanese seafood.
I'm pulling off a Mortal Kombat fatality, when I feel something hit my back. It itches and I turn to see a Daemonite in it's true form. One of the Daemonites got the bright idea to possess me, but is now regretting it. It did manage to sink part of the way in, despite my resistance to phasing, but its body is bubbling and rippling.
The Daemonite are reptilian bipeds with their most common form having elongated heads containing tentacles, digigrade feet with four toes, four arms (two big, two small) with sixteen fingers, and long tails. When in solid visible form they are green-gray color, but when trying to possess people they are translucent purple. It makes them look like there made of energy. The one trying to possess me is screaming in pain as it shifts from bluish-purple to reddish-orange then disintegrates. I haven't seen something like that since I watched Dark City (1998).
Having inadvertently absorbed part of a Daemonite, my Poison Embodiment ability activates. It supplies me with toxins tailored to the Daemonite physiology. I add those toxins to my flame breathe as I release it incinerating dozens of soldiers.
My fun on this level is almost over as Neo's device finally informs me where the backup power generator is located. The facility is barely functioning even with the backup power, but when I take out the generator, they will be down to battery power.
I hear a loud noise and see that my enemy have brought out their biggest weapons.
One is a huge green-and-yellow mech suit that looks like it could transform into a vehicle. It's taller than me with thick armor plates and large guns. Seriously, a hundred soldiers armed with heavy combat weapons couldn't scratch me and you think this toy will work? It would make for a plausible Transformer, but not a decent opponent.
My head is knocked back when the mecha fires a solid projectile shot. I choke on something before my body remembers it doesn't need to breathe. I then spit out a very large bullet that I apparently caught with my mouth. It was heavier than most bullets so I guess either alien metal or depleted uranium. I actually ate one of Neo's anti-brute bullets back at the Ink Well and it was bitter.
The other two are Spider-Tanks. Giant robotic tanks built to resemble spiders. These things looks like they were created by Masamune Shirow, so either it's a weird coincidence or the designer is a fan. I'm almost going to regret what I'm about to do to them. After the battle, maybe I should mention them to Neo and see if he wants to make some.
In a burst of speed, I ram a bone blade into the mecha's chest, piercing the thick armor plate and lifting it into the air. My body generates a fiery red glow that concentrates into the spike before being injected into the mech. I watch as the red energy – the power of destruction – ripples across the mech. It's wake, the metal develops glowing red lines on every surface.
I'm betting the pilot inside the mecha is wondering what the strange glow was.
That's when it happens. Everything breaks. Every single component in the mecha from the largest thickest armor plate to the smallest screw shatters. Parts containing gas and liquids burst as their containers break into tiny pieces. Electrical systems arc as they are torn apart and the shattered batteries detonate. The pilot doesn't have a chance to scream as his cockpit explodes around him. I stand unharmed by the mecha's complete destruction.
I then jump into air, avoiding the shots of the two spider-tanks and land next to one of them. I grab one the legs intending to flip the whole thing, only for the leg to tear off in spray of sparks and hydraulic oil. I change tactics, tossing the broken leg at the other spider-tank, while jumping on top of the damaged one.
I grab the cylinder-shaped vertical abdomen of the tank which contains the main cannon. It takes a second to get a good grip, then I lift it up. I tear if from mechanical components connecting it to the rest of the tank – tearing apart electrical cables, fiber optic cables, hydraulic lines, and coolant lines. Once I have a good grip, I use my power to charge up the cannon abdomen and toss it at the other tank.
The canon abdomen explodes as all of the ammunition stored within detonates and the second tank is blown to pieces, which also explode.
The damaged spider-tank beneath me begins to move around, trying to throw me off. My response is to ram my foot into the half-sphere head of the spider-tank. The head implodes under the force of my foot, destroying the computer controlling the Spider-Tank. There is a pause, then the final spider-tank explodes.
I'm beginning to wonder if I'm in a Michael Bey film.
*DOOM*
Rorschach
Level 7
3rd POV
Rorschach walks down a corridor having entered through a hole caused by the annihilation of central shaft. He is looking for something specific, but is interrupted by a group of soldiers in stealth suits. They appear and open fire on him, only for "Rorschach" to shatter into vanishing particles of light. What's left behind is a floating pure black sphere, the size of a baseball. A sphere that shoots down the corridor at high speed. In those brief seconds, it releases laser beams as it spins. When it stops at the end of the corridor, there are smoking trails behind it and the soldier fall to the ground in pieces.
The Real Rorschach decloaks himself and walks down the now safe corridor. As he reaches the end, he generates a pure white ball the size of a tennis ball. It grows from the palm of armored hand and hovers a couple centimeters. He raises his hand and the little white ball flies into the wall. As it touches the wall, it spreads out and is absorbed into the wall.
[Nano-Explosive Charge #15 deployed] appears on his HUD.
"No sign of Dr. Shiro Ito. Ash has destroyed the backup generator. The others are getting close to the special targets. Armor-Piercing."
Rorschach whips out a fancy retro-futuristic handgun. It's a beautifully crafted weapon – pure black decorated with white-gold. He pulls the trigger and round fired is very powerful. It pierces the wall separating two corridors. Rorschach walks around the divider to find a dying Daemonite with a hole through his chest. He slid to the ground after the bullet pierced the wall and his chest. He also holding a huge alien rifle.
"How? How did you...?" says the soldier, barely breathing.
Another black orb decloaks floating next to the dying enemy's head.
"Shit." says the soldier as he finally expires.
Rorschach walks to his destination, a large computer terminal, which have their own separate power sources. It's also the main computer since Ash Grey the Doomsday Bullet vaporized the main computer core. He taps a couple buttons on his holographic display, then two black tendrils shoot out of his gauntlet. The nanotech cables pierce the computer and inject nanomachines into its hybrid human and alien circuitry. The system has extensive hardware and software protections, but the molecular machines overwhelm the system.
Rorschach flashes through the files. With his "Rick Intellect", he's able to memorize and sort through the flashing data. He stops at one file.
"Ash. I just found out why the Daemonites are working for Dragon King."
"Go ahead. I'm just heading up. (Daemonite screaming) Stubborn thing. (Wet crack sound)"
"1945 - Helspont was the High Lord of the Daemonites on Earth, the last High Lord after the Death of Defile. You can guess the Daemonites were on the Axis side. Dragon King approached Helspont about a powerful ritual. The ritual would allow Helspont to tap into the other Daemonites and become a transcendent being. It succeeded and Helspont became a being of pure power, but without a physical body to direct the power. Dragon King absorbed Helspont's energy form and spent the last 50 years learning to control his new power."
"So instead of Helspont absorbing the power of the Orb and being killed when the ship Behemoth exploded, he became the Orb and was absorbed by a different bad guy."
"Correct. The binding to the Daemonites is what allowed him to assume control. A binding which was made even more stronger with the introduction of Cadmus clones. Every last one of these assholes is in a modified clone of Shiro Ito. I hope you can use your Soul Manipulation."
"Why? (scream) (Another one bites the dust)"
"The Daemonites are permanently bound to Dragon King. If we kill Dragon King, he'll just possess one of his minions. So, either we kill every Daemonite in the galaxy, or we find a way to kill a soul."
"Can't you make soul traps?" Referring to the episode in which Rick trapped alien souls in his own version of a Ghost Trap.
"Where would I store it? I don't have a dedicated facility like the Ghostbusters, I don't have someone willing to buy Dragon King's black soul, and I don't know if Wonder Woman's Tartaros will accept a Japanese soul fused with a transcendent alien daemon."
"I'll see what I do. (Another one bites dust) I'm wondering. Can the ship handle things outside?"
"She can. Rapid-fire"
Rorschach turns like the hero in a Hong Kong action film and shoots his gun at several places. A dozen more daemonites in stealth suits appear and collapse to the ground. Each one has been shot in either the head or the heart with perfect aim.
The next opponent to show up is a large black-and-white robot with long double-jointed arms and long double-jointed digitigrade legs. Each of its limbs end in four claws and its armored faceplate has a single red eye. Rorschach thinks it resembles a certain antagonist from a Metroid video game and raises his palm instead of his gun.
"EMMI, Sit."
The daemonite-built robot stops its attack and sits down. It's red eye turning green as Rorschach's armor hacks into its AI.
"EMMI, Lie down."
The robot places it's body, low to the ground.
"EMMI, Roll over."
The robot rolls over onto it's back, so its underside is pointed upward.
"EMMI, Play dead."
The robot is covered in arcs of electricity from short circuits, as it's insides glow red. It makes an electronic squawk, then collapses releasing trails of acrid blue smoke from various parts. The light of cyclopic eye fades as it shuts completely down.
"Good Girl."
*DOOM*
Silver Saucer
Outside the Facility
Same Time
1st POV
The Flying Saucer continues to hold back the ocean, preventing the pierced enemy facility from flooding while it's master and comrades are inside. It also constantly scans and calculate for possible threats.
When a group of Daemonites rise from the ocean using Amphibious Spider-Tanks, they don't get a chance to even think of attacking. The ship deploys emitters connected by robotic cables and fires precise high-energy laser beams.
The precise and powerful laser beams pierce the Spider-Tanks, slicing through steel plates with ease. They go through and pierce the heads and chests of the Daemonite soldiers. Then, the laser beam cut apart the electronics and power systems, and create holes to sink the Spider-Tanks.
This all happens within the thirty seconds after they reach the surface.
It then notices a cargo ship in the distance. A scan of the computer networks determines while it appears to a be legal ship transporting electronics, it is also involved in human trafficking. It selects it's targets and fires a spread of laser beams that kills twenty-eight out of thirty people. The captain is merely paralyzed from the neck down and the last person is a young man who had no knowledge of the child trafficking. That young idiot receives a call from a scary-sounding robot lady telling him to release and care for the children until the authorities arrive or else. At the same time the authorities receive information of the illegal operation with Atlanteans being displaced since they are closest and there is an Atlantean girl among the prisoners.
This all happens within one minute of killing the Daemonite group.
The Ship is all about efficiency.
*DOOM*
Raven
3rd POV
Level 10
Raven move down the hallways of the former military base. Her movements supernaturally quiet and stalking like a predator.
With a wave of her hand, a wing made of shadow manifests and arcs through the air. A split second later, the cloaks of the Daemonite Soldiers fail as their bodies split apart. While the suits may make the soldiers invisible to sight and infrared, they can't hide the wearers from supernatural senses.
Another group of soldiers appear with rifles and get into firing position. As they open fire, Raven disperses into mist, revealing herself to be an Illusion. The six soldiers are then impaled by two-meter-long black spikes that rise from there shadows. The mass of spikes disperses into mist, which the real Raven appears from.
In Another Universe, Raven would never think of killing as she was trained as a pacifistic way of Azarath and its great founder Azar. Long ago, the people had attempted to cleanse their souls of evil and their discarded evil merged with a newborn god to create the demon Trigon. This is why they felt responsible for the young half-demon.
The Raven of that Universe would be draw to the light and darkness, pulled in two directions.
The Red Raven is the true daughter of Trigon, the Demon Princess of Pride and instrument of Trigon's will and hatred.
The White Raven is the heroic daughter of Angela "Arella" Roth, the Soul unbound by Hatred, and Trigon's destroyer.
In this universe, she is the Rachel Roth the Raven, the Twilight Princess, the balance between the light and darkness, and lover of the Ash Grey the Doomsday. She was trained as sorcerer, in both healing and destruction, in both peace and combat. After four years of surviving in Hell, she has experience wielding her powers to their most lethal.
Raven pulls out a case from her shadows and presses a button. One of Rorschach's tennis ball size white spheres appears. It stays in the air for a second before flying in a programmed direction.
"I hope this plan works, Rorschach. I don't know you, but Ash trusts you."
She turns and points her hand to a walkway above her, where more Daemonite soldiers were about to attack. The three soldiers are stopped by bands of darkness appearing around their necks and holding them in the air. She twists her wrist and the necks of all three soldiers are snapped. She releases her power and the three soldiers collapse to the ground.
Raven then disperses into mist as a fiery green beam pierces her body.
"So, you defend yourself by replacing yourself with an illusion. That won't save you from my power" says the Daemonite-possessed Jennifer-Lynn Hayden. The possessed Jade is smiling like psychopath and reveling in her power, "This body is powerful, more powerful than anybody I have possessed before."
Raven has to admit that emerald heroine Jade has a lot of raw power. Jade had extensive energy manipulation powers due to the mystical power of the Starheart. This is why she can casually fire destructive force blasts. Raven cloaked in magic can avoid the blasts but they tear up the terrain.
Raven notices how Jade's head darts around reacting to the sound of her invisible decoys. The mystical power must also grant Jennie enhanced senses.
"Her brother's mind was weak, something he inherited from his mother. He was easy to possess and once we had him, we could get close to her, she was so desperate to meet her real father. "
The unknown daughter of Alan Scott uses her power to create animals composed of emerald light. They range from Earth animals like snakes, sharks, dolphins, and insects to bizarre extraterrestrial creatures. Raven immediately knows they are like magical familiars and Jade can see through their senses.
Raven was prepared for this as she shields herself from Jade's energy attack. The once invisible decoys become visible and detonate in explosions of light and sound. The magical flashbangs disrupt Jade's concentration to falter, causing her constructs to fail.
Raven tosses a 70 kilo (145 lb.) computer server at Jade hoping to pin Jade. Jade instead uses her power to become intangible, letting the Server fly through her. She is sent flying back into wall by the dark energy blast fired after the server.
Suddenly, Jade generates a massive green aura which blows everything away from her. It's powerful enough to create a crater. Raven slides back, but her feet are encased in glowing emerald crystal. The crystal construct spreads up to knees before Raven is able to block it.
"Fool! Did you think that would stop me! The girl never understood the power she possessed. All she did was pale imitation of a Lantern Power Ring, but I have unleashed her powers in all their lethal glory."
Jade gathers energy between her palms creating a sphere. It glows like miniature sun in her hands, a ball of white star fire with a corona of green.
"She had a strong will and nearly overcame me, but then I broke her. I killed children in front of her using her own hands. If she ever tried to rebel, I would kill a dozen more and bath in their blood, while forcing her to witness."
With those true words meant to shock her prey, she releases a massive ball of energy towards Raven. Raven spreads her arms and lets the ball hit.
Jade is about to laugh in sadistic victory, when she sees something unbelievable
The mystical power doesn't tear Raven to pieces, instead it shatters and splits into two streams of bright green magic. Those streams form two smaller balls hovering above Raven's palms. Behind her, her shadow is very long and in the shape of a raven with its wings spread.
"Impossible. That's my power!"
"Your stolen power. There is a big difference between tossing around a lot of power and actually controlling it. I'm a sorceress and you're a parasite."
Raven tosses one the spheres back at Jade and Jade barely has time to create a shield to block the much faster projectile. When the ball of magic hit, the shield completely shatters and throws Jade back. She is then hit by the second ball of energy which causes her to scream in pain.
Raven is a skilled sorceress who can turn raw power into spells and that includes altering an energy ball to mess with the original owner's energy flows. Raven essentially causes Jade's Starheart powers to short out like an electrical device.
Now that Jade isn't shooting or creating barrier, Raven is able to use Rorschach's Daemon Buster tech. One of her golden armbands transforms and becomes a golden retro-futuristic ray-gun in her hand still linked to her wrist by bracelet and wires. She points it at Jade and pulls the trigger.
A red beam shoots out of the barrel while making toy sound effects. Jade screams in pain, then it's something else screaming in pain. The Daemonite separates from before the red glow of the pistol's beam spreads across its entire body. The Daemonite is crystalized leaving behind a statue.
After a few minutes, Jade wakes up and sees the Daemonite-turned-glass-statue. She freaks out for a minute, before her memories catch up.
"Are you OK, Miss Hayden?"
"After saving my life, you can call me Jennie." says Jade as she gets up, picking up a steel pipe broken off during the battle. She looks at the translucent blue-purple crystal statue that was once her tormentor and enslaver.
Raven watches as Jade smashes the crystalized Daemonite into little bits.
*DOOM*
Blackfire
Level 8
3rd POV
Princess Komand'r of Tamaran, also known as Blackfire, is having fun. The warrior-princess destroys her opponents and she can almost hear the music of one her boyfriend's video games.
She dances in the air, avoiding the shots and beams of her enemies. She then fires her own barrage of blackbolts – her name for her own darker star bolts. She wonders if the people who armed and equipped the Daemonites were as cheap as the ones that supplied the Stormtroopers in the Star War films. Her blackbolts burn through the Daemonites with ridiculous ease.
She reminds herself to thank Rorschach for the Interdimensional Cable Star Wars boxset for Ash. He said it took a week to find a universe in which the prequels had proper character development, good acting, better CG, and no Jar-Jar. When asked what a Jar-Jar was, he replied "target practice."
Blackfire lands in front of another group and delivers a punch that sends the largest one flying down the corridor with a crushed skull. She then delivers punches to the other soldiers, discharging a burst of plasma with each blow. The impacts combined with the explosions toss her opponents like rag dolls. If Ash was watching her fight, he would compare her movements to a certain fire haired huntress from RWBY. The big difference is her targets are a lot squishier than Huntsman or Creatures of Grimm.
A door opens to reveal Daemonite soldiers holding ridiculously large hi-tech guns. These 80s style BFGs look like they should be shoulder-mounted instead of held in their arms. They fire massive plasma blasts that send Blackfire into wall. The heat from the blasts is so intense the steel around her indentation begins to melt. Unfortunately for them, a UV-heavy plasma beam is not a weapon you should use on Tamaranean. Not only are Blackfire and her sister immune to heat and cold, but they can absorb more energy than a Kryptonian! The shooters don't have time to react as super-charged blackbolts go through the guns and their wielders.
The next to arrive are a bunch of black-and-white robots. They fire powerful lasers from their glowing cyclopic eyes. They try to pierce her with blades that extend from the center of their four-clawed limbs. They are hard to predict because of their superior flexibility and speed. There armor is so tough it actually withstands her blackbolts, merely pushing them back when they don't use their claws to get traction. Her punches don't do much beyond the same.
Finally, she nails one in the eye which causes it to fly back. Smoke and fire erupt from the eye as it's body shorts out. It quickly stops moving as its body releases the blue "your electronics are history" smoke.
"This really is like a video game."
Blackfire dances around the robots attempts to kill her, avoiding the spikes and laser beams. She waits for the precise moment to strike the "critical weak point" of each robot. The Warlords of Okaara would be proud if they saw her today.
More of Rorschach's little explosive orbs so off to find their targets, while she is wiping out the last of the robots on Level 8.
She finishes off the last robot – number twenty – when doors open to reveal forty more robots. Blackfire is ready to scream is frustration when all of the Robots suddenly stop moving. There red cyclopic eyes turn green, then they act like earth canines – sitting, laying down, and rolling over. They then short out in front of her eyes.
"Rorschach got to the computer" is an obvious conclusion.
"Prepare to die, Tamaranean."
Blackfire looks at the loudmouth in front of her. The man is only five-foot-eleven compared to her six-foot-two self. He's dressed in a dark blue and black costume with a utility belt and silver-gray cape. His face is completely hidden by black beyond his white eyes and mouth. Blackfire smirks as she has found Todd Rice also known as Obsidian, one the Daemonite victims. All she needs to do is get the Daemonite out of the shadow manipulator.
"I still possess more than enough power to eliminate you!"
Obsidian's body becomes completely black and grows to immense size, reaching the 4-meter high (13 feet) ceiling of the chamber. Blackfire doesn't even bat an eye. Instead, she forms a basketball-size sphere of plasma is her palms, then compresses it into a tiny white marble. Then she tosses it into the air to explode. The explosion of the compressed star creates a blinding flash. Obsidian according to Ash is easily damaged by light and she just surpassed a quasar.
Todd Rice collapses to the ground in pain and Blackfire uses Rorschach's Daemonite Buster gun to push the Daemonite out of the body and turn it into an ugly example of modern art.
A few minutes later, Obsidian is awake.
"You weren't much of a fight with that Daemonite driving." she says as she helps him to his feet.
"Your here to save my biological father and sister?"
"Yes. Can you fight?"
"No. Dragon King drained me before our fight. I was running on fumes and now. I think... I think my powers are gone completely"
*DOOM*
Starfire
Level 9
3rd POV
Starfire wanders through Level Nine. She was far more hesitant to mass slaughter like her sister, but she understands the dangerous of Daemonites. While she has heard of their oppression by the people of Khera, the Daemonites have long since become a threat to her new home and the people she cares about. Dragon King's corruption of the Ancient Dragons has left China in ruins and on brink of a civil war. Dragon King killed all those people solely to get the blood of dragons for a plan that will threaten the world. She thought she saw pure evil when she encountered the Psions, but on this world she may have something far worse.
Starfire looks at the cylinder-shaped chambers lining walls. Each one is two meters tall with a half-meter radius. They are double-stacked and there are rows after row of them. Inside each one is a bald Japanese man floating nude in the thick translucent liquid. Each one linked by wires and tubes to a life support and monitoring system. They are all modified clones of Dr. Shiro Ito designed by Dragon King to be hosts of the Daemonites when not in specific target bodies. Now that the main and auxiliary power sources have been destroyed, the chambers only have a short battery life. When they run out of power, there contents will perish.
She finally reaches a secure door and forces the thick metal doors open. Normally they would be secured by magnetic locks and force fields that would shock anyone that touched them. All those defenses were negated when the main and backup power sources were destroyed.
Inside, there are special chambers containing special people instead of bottom standard clones. These chambers are higher quality than the mass-produced ones and are marked "Cadmus Sigma". There are a dozen chambers, arranged in two rows of six, each resting on their own pedestal.
Number one is around five-foot-ten. A beautiful dark-skinned woman with long black hair and a dancer's body. There are bands attached to different parts of her body with tubes and wires connecting them to the chamber. She also wears a unique looking helmet.
Number two is an identical woman also standing five-foot-ten, only her body is muscular and athletic like an Amazon warrior. She also lacks the helmet.
Number three is an Amazonian woman standing six-foot-four with shoulder-length red hair. There is a thick collar around her neck, which Starfire guesses is a backup power suppressor.
"Com-All. This is Starfire on Level 9. I just found a dozen young Metahumans in chambers marked Cadmus Sigma."
"Sigma!?" says Ash, "Do they have any names?"
"Did you scan for Daemonites?" adds Rorschach.
"Just barcodes." says Starfire, "Nothing on the Daemonite scanner."
"I'll send my BB to transport them to a secure site."
A monochrome portal opens and a black/white robot hovers out of it. It's only 0.67 meters in height (18 kg in weigh), sported a distinctive cylindrical head and a spherical body. Starfire notes it reminds her of Astromechs in those movies the Team showed her, but slightly more mobile.
Starfire doesn't know why Blackfire was giggling when she said she watched Star Wars.
The little astromech built by Rorschach is the evolution of Swiss army knife and assistant. The little robot is loaded with over nine hundred tools with fifteen hundred functions, plus an extensive sensor package, repulson hover technology, and other gadgets. A built in "Pocket Dimension Generator" allows for such a huge amount of potential in such as small container.
As it beeps and clicks, more portals open on the ceiling and robotic arms descend to capture the chambers. As the first two status chambers are pulled through the portal, the portal closes and portals open above the next set. Within a minute, all of twelve chambers have been removed.
*DOOM*
Rorschach
Level 7
3rd POV
Rorschach looks at the decoded data taken from the chambers that Starfire found.
DKH2 – 01 - Priscilla Kitaen - Alpha
DKH2 – 02 - Priscilla Kitaen - Beta
Gen13 – 01 - Caitlin Fairchild
Gen13 – 02 - Roxanne Spaulding
Gen13 – 03 - Cassidy Cash
Gen13 – 04 - Robert Lane
Gen13 – 05 - Jodi Slayton
Gen13 – 06 - Rachel Goldman
Gen13 – 07 - Matthew Callahan
Gen13 – 08 - Nicole Callahan
Gen13 – 09 - Sarah Rainmaker
Gen13 – 10 - Percival Edmund Chang
He sends the file names to Ash "Ash, what do make of these?"
"Oh! My! God!"
"Your last name isn't Joestar."
"Sorry. This is Big. Priscilla is WildCATs heroine Voodoo. Numbers 1, 2, 4, 9, and 10 are Caitlin, Freefall, Burnout, Rainmaker, and Grunge of Gen 13! I used to walk miles to buy those comics!"
"The others?"
"Number 6, 7, and 8 are Sublime, Threshold, and Bliss of DV8. The Deviants are rivals to Gen 13, sometimes enemies sometimes friends. Threshold and Bliss are Big Problems – they are both psychics with telepathy and telekinesis, the former has mind control, while Bliss is an emotion manipulator."
"Thanks for the warning and the last two?"
"Number 5 is the daughter of Marc Slayton, the half-kherabim superhero Backlash. Number 3 I don't know, but it sounds like he or she is the child of Cole Cash, this world's Grifter. It makes sense."
"It does?"
"All the Gen 13 subjects are children of Team 7 – a black ops team that was exposed to Gen-Active to give them powers. Internation Operations tricked and kidnapped the children for experimentation. At least that is how it was in the Wildstorm universe before the New 52." says Ash, "The new Team 7 is supposed to include Amanda Waller, Dinah Drake, Kurt Lance, Slade Wilson, and Steve Trevor."
"Black Canary and Ravager are not here, thankfully." Rorschach pauses, "It's quiet on your end."
"There is nothing left alive on this level. No sign of Dragon King."
Rorschach's super intellect flares and he looks over the data.
"Shit! He's already at the Ritual Site! The Gamer trolled us! It only said we could stop the Ritual, just so we would fail and have a Big Boss Fight."
"Can you open a portal to the site?"
"There is barrier, but we have the solution."
"Light the candle!"
*DOOM*
The Ritual Island
3rd POV
The Ritual Island is a small island near the Dragon Place Headquarters. It's a very small island, smaller than a football field with no real fauna or flora. It's just a pile of sand and stone sticking out of the Pacific Ocean. The only life being some moss on a couple of rocks and the seaweed and occasional crab that washes on the gravel and sand shore. If the island is nature, it wouldn't be found on any major maps and the maps that do record it would call it an obstacle to avoid.
On the Island, Dragon King is black ceremonial robes is chanting in a language that sounds Japanese. He stands on a platform surrounded by soldiers. His ritual items include a man-size black mirror marked with Dōman's lattice in white and three crystal orbs on their own pedestals, at the cardinal points. One orb is filled with a red liquid that glows like molten metal in its container. It also moves like wax in a lava lamp with large bubbles. The second Orb is filled a pure black substance, a mixture of liquid and gas that moves around like a living creature. The third Orb is filled with bright green flames that flow like water inside the crystal. In front of Dragon King on a stand is the open scroll of Ashiya Dōman, which is glowing with a dark purple miasma.
Dragon King raises his arm and pulls back his sleeve without stopping the chant. On his wrist is a gold bracelet with two dragons holding a yellow gemstone in their mouth. The yellow gemstone glows brightly and a golden glow ripple across the island
Ash Grey the Doomsday descends from the sky at terminal velocity. The group would have used the Doom Driver to annihilate the island, but Rorschach still wants to rescue Alan Scott for the bonus points. Ash Grey is more than enough to shatter the energy barriers surrounding the Ritual Island. He barely slows down as he falls through it, creating a ripple of lightning and glowing plasma. Another force field generator explodes from the overload killing the Daemonite guarding/monitoring it. Another mage maintaining the mystical component of the barrier is incinerated.
Suddenly, dragons composed of the island's earth and stone rise up. One of the Dragon golems grabs Ash Grey in its mouth and whips its body. The head of the stone dragon breaks off with Ash Grey still in its mouth and goes flying a good distance. It makes a huge splash in the ocean and sinks to the bottom. On the Island, one of the Daemonite soldiers collapses to the ground dead as the headless dragon crumbles to dust and pebbles.
As Rorschach's portal deposits the man himself and the Tamaranean sisters, Raven's soul-self also transports herself and Jade to the opposite end of the Island. The Five are confronted by five immense dragon-golems. The earthen dragon constructs hunt their prey, but unlike Ash Grey who couldn't maneuver in the air, they can react.
Starfire and Blackfire take to the air, firing there starbolts and blackbolts, respectively. While the dragons possess enough strength and mass to cause damage to most foes, there durability is lacking. The bolts of explosive stellar plasma crack and shatter their dragon opponents into rubble. Unfortunately, as the two constructs shatter, two more rise from the island.
Rorschach doesn't appear to move, just tossing some metal objects to the air as the dragon consumes him whole. The dragon soars upward and if it was a living creature, it would be confused as it would only taste the metal objects in its mouth. Rorschach phases out the dragon's body as the plasma grenades detonate, blasting the head to pieces.
A second Dragon rises to attack Rorschach but he snaps a wooden stick between his fingers and delivers a punch that shatters the dragon's head. Rorschach looks down at the popsicle stick size piece of wood in his hand, covering in weird symbols and slowly burning to ash.
A Gacha item that for one action makes your lowest stat equal to your highest stat. In Rorschach's case that means Strength stat becomes equal to his Intelligence stat for a single action. Normally, this would be pretty useless in a mini-max build, but because actually studying different fields of science the old-fashioned-way caused his INT and WIS to increase, and he was presently nearing "The Rickest Rick"-level intelligence...
He then has to avoid a third dragon, shooting into the air with Air Jump skill, while leaving a few plasma grenades behind. He fires at Dragon King with his custom gun, but his attacks are blocked by a fourth dragon that rises from the Earth. He does notice that the Daemonites are not attacking or even taking pot shots. Instead, many of the Daemonites have fallen dead, the same number of destroyed dragons.
On Dragon King's wrist, the bracelet is covered in hairline cracks. As another dragon is destroyed, another crack appears.
*DOOM*
The Daemonite in Alan Scott's body is barely conscious after his Lord and Master drained him of the mystical power of the Starheart. He can feel his body slowly regenerating the magic, but it's slow due to his weakened will. Suddenly, a portal of darkness appears behind him and a set of glowing green chains wrap around him and pull him through. He's then stapled to the ground by more constructs. Raven points her Daemon Buster and fires at point blank.
Within seconds, there is a Daemonite statue being tossed into the ocean. Alan Scott finds himself staring up into his daughter's eyes for the first time.
"Sorry to interrupt this touching reunion, but Dragon King is still trying to end the world." says Raven.
Alan rises and looks at Green Lantern Ring, fully understanding it since he got it in 1940. The Lantern vanishes from the hands of the dead Daemonite soldiers and appears in Alan's hands. He places the ring against the Lantern and recites his Oath.
"And I shall shed my light over dark evil, for the dark things cannot stand the light. The light of … THE GREEN LANTERN!"
One male transformation sequence later and Alan Ladd Wellington Scott is dressed in a costume he hasn't worn in decades since the Un-American Activities Committee.
Seconds later, three earth dragon constructs arrive to end their lives. Jade kills the dragon attacking her father with a beam of green energy, while the Justice Society Green Lantern creates a massive fist wearing brass knuckles to shatter the one attacking his daughter. Raven smirks as her own dragon is sliced into pieces no bigger than Lego bricks by a spell she casts.
*DOOM*
Ritual Island shore
1st POV
I am seriously pissed off at Dragon King. He summoned an Earth dragon like out of fucking Naruto and tossed me into the ocean. My soul may be from Newfoundland, but I don't like smelling of mud and sea water. It didn't take me long to shatter the stone dragon that held me, but it's not easy to move in the sand and mud of the sea floor. My version of Doomsday isn't able to float, so it's not like I can swim to the shore. Eventually, I do make it, getting lucking find a couple boulders to push off.
I burst from the water and land on the shore. I see my girls and friends fighting more of those stone dragons, and I run forward. Another dragon attempts to grab me, but a single brutal punch shatters it completely into fragments. The pieces that fall remind me of the shattered rocks in the beach near my old house, ones that had been blown apart by the explosives of road workers.
Another dragon attacks and is shattered by my blow. This happens again and again, with dragons rising from in front of me, behind me, from the sides, and even beneath me. As dragon after dragon is destroyed by me and my teammates, I notice the Daemonites are rapidly dropping dead. I move with a burst of speed and reach the remaining soldiers and unleash by fire breathe. The barely conscious soldiers fully awaken with the pain, but are quickly incinerated by my hellfire.
The bracelet on Dragon King's wrist cracks and shatters into fragments. The golden fragments turn grey and dissolve into dust before they can hit the ground. The gemstone also ignites and burns away before it can hit the ground.
"Qu Yiqi Bushi Ni! Qu Yiqi Bushi Ni! Qu Yiqi Bushi Ni!"
The Scroll of Ashiya Dōman glows with purple light, before igniting into black flames. The three crystal orbs violently shatter, creating pillars of emerald green magic, crimson dragon qi, and pure black power of shadow. The three pillars cause the sky to become dark with roaring storm clouds. The lightning doesn't act like normal lightning. The lightning that reminds me of Black Lightning Dragon's transformation.
The black flames flow towards the black mirror and Dragon King is also pushed into the mirror. As he touches the mirror, the three pillars are pulled into the mirror as well. Once the three pillars are absorbed completely, all that remains is the black mirrors whose surface is covered in glowing ripples.
I run towards the black mirror, hoping to shatter it before Dragon King has a chance to emerge, but the lattice symbol flashes white and I'm pushed back by a hurricane force wind. There are white-crested waves in the dark ocean around the island and the island itself begins to break apart.
A huge mass of darkness emerges from the mirror's black surface taking the Dōman lattice with it. It's like an immense amount of black liquid trailing a dark mist. The blob stretches upward until it reaches a hundred twenty meters, taller than the island itself and its shadow stretching even further. The liquid takes solid shape of an immense humanoid in hooded black robes. Its black hands possessing the claws of a dragon emerge from the sleeves. As they hood is pulled back by an unknown force, it reveals a giant skull covered in green mystic flames, its eyes filled with darkness. On its chest is the lattice symbol of Ashiya Dōman in emerald flames.
Me and the other "Heroes" can only look up at the massive "Boss Monster".
"It's as tall as Fucking Godzilla!" I yell out, shaking everyone out of there silence.
"What's a Godzilla?" asks Blackfire.
"I'll show you later. Neo can get us the films."
"No problem and call me Rorschach when outside." says the Rick-Smart Rorschach, getting his senses back, "I'll get you guys the best Godzilla films I can find across the multiverse."
"You two sound confident." says Green Lantern, starting to smile, "You modern heroes are completely fearless."
"Heroes aren't fearless, they just overcome fear to do the right thing." I say to the classic hero, not telling him I'm not a Hero, just a Monster who is helping a crazy friend.
"You know the saying." says Jade, glowing brighter with the will of survival, "The bigger they are..."
I interrupt before she can complete the proverb by boxer Robert Fitzsimmons, I say my own twist "the more bones to break,"
A black magical darkness spreads from the immense giant that was once Dragon King. It spreads across the land and water, darkening everything it touches. The wave of corruption and dark energy wash over me and it feels like I'm back in Hell
*DOOM*
1st POV
I turn at a strange sound to see something that would terrify most people. There is another Doomsday.
The new version of Doomsday is same height and build, but instead of ash grey with white bone spikes, it is black with ash-colored spikes. Its eyes are glowing white instead of red and their similar glowing white veins/cracks in his body. It's as if he's filled with power ready to explode. On his chest is the familiar lattice symbol.
"Summoning the inner darkness of people? Is he ripping off Trigon?"
"You know the deal. Unless you accept or defeat your darkness, you shall be devoured by the darkness." says "Dark Grey".
"Wow. My voice is super deep and your voice is even deeper." I say, noticing he looks like a Basara from Twin Star Exorcist. Makes sense since the First Basara was created by Doman Ashiya.
"Can you take this serious? I'm trying to be dramatic."
"You are me; I am you. We have long since accepted each other." I say as the other me smiles, "Let's show that Trigon wannabe what a real lord of destruction looks like."
We both begin laugh as the wind howls.
I watch as Dark Grey glows bright and shatters into a mixture of brilliant light and darkness that flows into me. I can feel the Qliphoth within me bloom and I feel a euphoric rush of power.
*DOOM*
3rd POV
"Fascinating isn't it."
Rorschach faces his shadow counterpart. He's the same build and height as Rorschach, but his beige trench coat has been replaced a black long coat with a flaring collar. He also wears white gloves and his black-and-white mask resembles the Taji (yin-yang symbol). On his chest is the glowing lattice symbol, but it's slowly fading line by line.
"Light in darkness, darkness in light. I am thou, thou art I. From the sea of souls, I have risen to meet the other me. I am Dark Taji."
"Is there a reason you are speaking like a Persona?"
"Many reasons exist in my mad mind." says Dark Taji the shadow of Rorschach, "You know you are already part mad. It was the price for our intellect, to be able to perceive and understand the hidden truths of the worlds. I was born from the madness of your soul, the part broken from reality that allows the acceptance of magic. This is why I look like a magician out of an urban fantasy."
"You are too smart to be controlled by that dark god wannabe. So, what do you desire?"
Dark Taji takes off his mask to reveal Neo's face with bright golden eyes and I knowing smile.
"I am thou, thou art I..."
Dark Taji dissolves into golden sparks which wash over him, a Notification causing him to raise an eyebrow behind his mask.
[STAND ACQUIRED: What Do U See?]
[Stand Parameters]
Destructive Power: S
Speed: A
Range: E
Persistence: C
Precision: B
Development Potential: ?
"My Jojo Stand calls itself a Persona? Madness."
*DOOM*
3rd POV
Shadow Raven looks like the demonic form of Raven with a palette swap. She is identical to Raven with white hair, gray skin and four glowing red-on-black eyes. She also has pointed ears and horns.
"If Ash and I have children, I think they would look like you." says Raven in her demon form.
Demon Raven has red skin, four glowing eyes, and pointed ears.
"If this was years ago, before we met Ash, I would be a lot scarier"
"We did the journey to the center of the soul bit. Get back where you belong."
"I am thou, thou art I..." says Shadow Raven as she dissolves into black smoke. Demon Raven inhales the smoke into herself and then reverts to her normal form.
"I think Ash's love of anime is effecting me."
*DOOM*
3rd POV
Black Jade is identical to Green Jade beyond the palette swap. While the young heroine has dark green eyes, light green skin, and long dark green hair, her shadow counterpart has pale yellow eyes, dark grey skin, and long black hair. The whites (sclera) of her eyes are also black.
Black Jade also taunts as she attacks
"So pathetic. You spend years wondering who your parents are and you learn they were a washed-up hero and the crazy villainess he accidentally married. You only found them because you became a freak, a green-skinned freak just like your crazy mama. If you had a spine maybe Dragon King wouldn't have caught us, but you were so happy to meet that defective brother of yours. Now, his power is gone, leaving us the sole remaining freak."
Black Jade fires fiery black energy blasts, that rot and decay anything they strike. These are the necromantic forces of magic. This is very similar powers would be used in other universes in the creation of Necron's Darkest Night. In many ways, Black Jade is the Starheart magically equivalent of a Black Lantern.
Black Jade can even see the emotional aura that surrounds the real Jade.
Red is Rage. Her hatred towards those who harm the people she loves and those that would harm the innocent.
Orange is Avarice. Her heart desires to protect what is hers with the fierceness of a dragon.
Yellow is Fear. A Fear of losing friends and family. A desire to inflict fear on her enemies.
Green is Will. The Will to Survive. The endless creative potential born of evolution.
Blue is Hope. The hope for the future and the belief in victory.
Indigo is Compassion. The empathy towards others and wish she didn't need to kill.
Violet is Love. Love of Family and even a little romantic crush on her heroes.
Black Jade's eyes widen in shock as the lights combine into the White Light – the light of life that pierces heaven and earth. A light that pierces Black Jade's chest and explodes out the back into a bloom of emerald flame.
Jade watches as her Shadow counterpart's dark magic body is dissolves by emerald sparks. She feels something different inside herself, as if she had been color-blind all her life and now, she can truly see. The day is now much brighter to her.
*DOOM*
3rd POV
Alan Scott faces his own shadow doppelgänger. He looks a young, monochrome version of the Green Lantern like he did in Justice Society and All-Star Squadron photographs. Its constructs are also identical and are the normal bright green.
Two giant green fists strike each other creating a thunderous shockwave before shattering.
Two giant emerald green swords collide over and over, dulling their edges before shattering.
Two green-black cannonballs are shot by giant green canons. They collide together in midair and explode.
Green machine guns open fire sending hundreds of equally green bullets. Those bullets that don't collide with each other are stopped by green barriers.
"Copycat." says Alan, breathing hard.
"Do you really think you are breathing?" says his shadow, whose eyes glow a faint green.
"What?"
"Do you think you are human?"
"That is how I have lived."
"You think you are human because you are perceived as human. You think you are human because your treated as human." says what appears to be Shadow Alan Scott.
"Yes. If I'm not human then what am I?" asks Alan wondering where this conversation is going. At least it is giving him time to recover.
"What you remember is finding the Lantern and the Power Ring appearing. That is not the Truth, only what you want desire to be true." says Shadow Alan, whose form is developing glowing green cracks around the eyes, "The Truth is the Lantern channeled the power of the Starheart into your and you forged the Ring with your own will."
"So, I'm the one who made my Ring?" asks Alan, looking at the Ring on his finger, "How does this make me not human?"
"After the Oan vs Magic War, all the stray mystical energies in the universe were gathered and bound in an orb called the Starheart. This orb was hidden in the heart of star." states Shadow Alan, more cracks appearing on his body, "Do you think a frail mortal body can contain a force that required a STAR to contain and hide?"
"So, what am I?" asks Alan, half believing his double.
"You are magic in the form of a man. Much like the Lords of Order and Chaos who are bound to objects of the mortal plane, you are bound to the Starheart Green Lantern. You possess the power to save those you desire to save; all you need is the application of willpower."
"Who or what are you? You don't sound like some sort of shadow demon puppet."
Shadow Alan smiles as glowing cracks spread and the monochrome layer shatters into nothing. What remains is a glowing green projection of the original Green Lantern. "I am thou, thou art I. I am the will of the Starheart, but I am also will of Alan Ladd Wellington Scott. You wish for power to protect others, now know the power within thyself."
Green Shadow Alan shatters into particles of green light and flows into Green Lantern's body. Brightly glowing cracks spread across Alan's body, before there is a blinding flash. When the light clears, Alan Scott looks down at his strong youthful hands. He creates a mirror with his Ring and sees a young face he hasn't seen since the 40s.
"Woah. I thought my life couldn't get weirder."
*DOOM*
Ascended Dragon King
3rd person view
He was once known as Dr. Shiro Ito, a patriotic Japanese scientist who developed nerve gas for Imperial Japan. After he joined the Black Dragon society, he became the feared Dragon King. The man who stopped the so-called heroes of America from touching Axis ground. When he tricked Helspont into become power and absorbing it, he became more than human. Now that he has transcended and become a God of Shadows. Vast magic held in a star, immense qi held in dragon blood, and the power of the shadowlands have fueled his ascension.
As he stands, he doesn't care for the bugs on the ground. All mortals have becoming nothing to his power and he stands as his darkness floods the Earth.
Then he senses something strange. His curse should summon shadows from every person on Earth, shadows that will devour the weak-willed human race and become his loyal demon army. Instead, he senses shadows fading away. Instead of dying and being consumed, the mortals are growing stronger.
Suddenly, a giant bird of shadow pierces his chest with a deafening bird cry. The Dragon King roars in pain as his chest feels like it's filled with fire. The Doman lattice on his chest's crackles with lightning and he feels connections within him snap.
Dragon King tries to center himself and drive out the invader, but a pillar of green light shoots into the sky in front of him. The light transforms into a green construct of Alan Scott standing a hundred meters tall. A construct that delivers a punch to Dragon King's fiery bony jaw. It's not the only punch and the Green Lantern demonstrating his love of boxing with Dragon King as the punching bag. Dragon King has devoted himself to the sorcerous arts for fifty years, so his fighting skills are atrophied. After feeling his bones crack, Dragon King releases a shockwave to knock the Green Giant away from him.
The energy wave is strong enough to break Alan's construct, but his daughter is ready to step in. She fires two brilliant beams at the Dragon King's eye sockets. They are not magic or plasma which Dragon King would have defenses against, instead they are two beams of pure brilliant laser light. The Dragon King cries out in pain as he is temporarily blinded.
He then throws his head back in absolute agony as Raven's soul-self bursts from his chest, causing the lattice to shatter like glass. There is also an explosion of black, green, and red globules, that make it look like Shiro Ito was just shot with a shotgun. Those globules explode in the air, dispersing their power back into the world as lightning crawls across Dragon King's immense form.
Suddenly, a glowing portal appears in front of him. From his prospective it might as well be the size of 10-Yen Coin and to its new senses it sounds like buzzing insect. In seconds there are a dozen portals around its body. It can sense immense danger, but it can't react in time.
*DOOM*
Seconds Ago
1st POV
I am amazed we came up with a plan so quickly. I guess we got this superhero stuff down.
Raven's soul-self will enter DK's body and sever his connections to his stolen power. Green father and daughter will cause enough pain to prevent DK from countering her efforts. Starfire and Blackfire will keep Rorschach safe, while Rorschach sets up a portal network around Godzilla-size Dormammu Rip-off.
As for myself, I use one of Rorschach's portals to return to the Silver Saucer. Once there I load myself into the Doom Driver cannon with help from the robot that looks like the evil BB-series astromech droid from Star Wars. The canon powers up and since no power is needed to keep the funnel of water open, all of the power can be directed to the canon. The Doom Driver's power level gauges reach the red zone and sends a signal to Rorschach.
*DOOM*
Rorschach
3rd POV
Rorschach points his finger at the Dragon King, making a finger gun motion. At the same time, clicking a button in his pocket. It's all about showmanship.
Ash Grey the Doomsday once more becomes a projectile. He shoots down at hypersonic speed into a portal. He emerges from a horizonal second portal to pierce the chest of Dragon King and burst from the wannabe God's back into a third portal. He emerges from a fourth portal to pierce the back and burst from the chest into a fifth portal. He then emerges from a sixth portal and goes completely through Dragon King's skull before entering the seventh portal. Ash finally emerges from the eighth portal, sliding across the barren island. He digs a shallow trench in the ground before he can use his spikes to slow his speed and stop.
This attack occurred in the blink of an eye due to the massively hypersonic speeds of the projectile. To an outside viewer it's like Dragon King was simultaneously shot in the chest, back, and head by 50 Cal snipers and "damage hacks" engaged. The Dragon King's fiery skull explodes into tiny fragments from the shot and sending a pillar of energy into the sky, dispersing the darkness. The body collapses to the ground and collapses into black and purple flames.
*DOOM*
Ash Grey
1st POV
I run up to the others, when something emerges from the flames.
"FOOLS! I AM A GOD! I AM IMMORTAL!"
Dragon King is now a translucent being standing a mere 2.5 meters with its twisted body composed of reddish-purple liquid. I'm guessing the liquid is ectoplasm, if I have a guess since he's a ghost. He begins to gather dark power around his hands and a white Doman lattice appears on his chest.
"Hey Ash! I got the solution!" says Rorschach tossing me an object from his Inventory.
I stare at the object in my hand, trying to get my mind around what I'm holding. It's a golden metal gauntlet reaching mid-forearm. On the back hand are six colored gemstones – one in the center, one behind each knuckle, and one on the first metacarpal of the thumb.
"The Infinity Gauntlet!?"
"Just the appearance. It's designed to allow you to pull off a Beerus!" says Rorschach, "Just make a fist, point, and say the magic word"
I retract the bone spikes on my hand and put on the gauntlet, which automatic adjusts itself to me. As I make a Fist, I feel an odd drain and watch as the gems light up. The green gem on the thumb glows until fully lit up. Then purple, blue, red, and orange, on his pointer, middle, ring, and pinkie, respectively and in that order. Finally, the large yellow stone – the Mind Stone in the cinematic universe
I point at the Dragon King and say one word.
"Hakai!" (Destruction!)
An orb of purple-white energy forms above the "mind stone" before vanishing and hitting its target. The Dragon King screams in absolute fear as the sphere of Absolute Destruction strikes him. His ghostly divine body shakes and glows purple-white. As he screams, he dissolves into vanishing particles, leaving nothing behind. I swear I can hear ominous chanting as the soul is destroyed.
"What was that!?" asks Raven, shivering from what she sensed. Even her father Trigon would be terrified by what she sensed and he's mostly pride and rage.
"Pure destructive energy. The kind used by the Gods of Destruction." says Ash, as he stares at the smoking Gauntlet, "I annihilated him completely including his black soul."
Everyone but me and Rorschach pale at those words.
I watch as each gemstone shatters into dust one after another. After the "mind stone" shatters, the gauntlet itself begin to crack. I notice blue flashes under the gauntlet as it cracks and I turn away from everyone as the Gauntlet finally breaks into pieces in a burst of blue light.
"Rorschach, what were those blue flashes?"
"Gamma pulses."
"Gamma pulses. As in the same insanely high amount of gamma radiation that crippled Hulk and killed Iron Man in Endgame?"
"I'm shielded and your immune to gamma radiation. Starfire and Blackfire have Radiation Immunity and Raven is magically protected."
"What about Alan and Jennie?"
"..."
"Look over there!" comes Jade's voice.
My talk with Rorschach is interrupted by Miss Hayden pointing at another example of strange phenomenon.
*DOOM*
Bonus – Story of Dark Jade
The Black Mirror of Ashiya Dōman is a mysterious antique. A black mirror composed of an unknown material in a decorated gold-red frame. Collectors claim it's a relic of Heian period (Japan: 794 - 1185), but archeologists would doubt due to the level of technology required to craft the mirror. Many magical relics tend to be called O-Parts (Out of Place Artifacts) because magic allows crafters to bypass normal technological limits.
According to magical records, it's magical trait is acting as magical portal to the Shadowlands – a realm existing outside normal universes, a primordial realm of darkness. In some ways it's similar to the other elemental realms like the Red and the Green, granting powers of darkness and shadow to people, and containing dark elementals. The difference is the primordial light and darkness are not linked to a single universe.
These facts that learned from Raven doesn't explain why we found a beautiful demon woman on the surface of the mirror, like a cork that floated to the surface of a black lake.
The demon woman looks like a beautiful Chinese woman. She is athletic like a martial artist with large breasts. She has pale blue-gray skin and long flowing black hair with prominent front lochs. Other than her skin color, her demon traits include pointed ears, fangs, horns, and vine-like markings on her body resembling tattoos. She is wearing a flowing black dress with purple inline.
As she awakens, I notice she also has mirror black irises that glow red when she becomes angry or scared.
"Who are you!?"
I watch as her shadow darkens and releases smaller blobs of darkness. After they spread out a couple meters before growing and taking form.
Her darkness element summons are identical women possessing the same height and build as the summoner. Under their uniforms they have glowing red eyes and blue-gray skin and they also have sharp claw-like nails. They also have long wild black hair coming out the back of their demon masks. There ninja-style uniforms are very familiar.
"Shadowkahn!"
"How do you know? Who are you? Where am I?"
"Are you Jade Chan?" I ask, making her eyes widen.
"I am the Queen of the Shadowkahn! Now answer me!"
"You are in a comic book universe. My name is Ash Grey and I was reincarnated as Doomsday – an immensely powerful monster. In my soul's home universe, there was a show call Jackie Chan Adventures. It involved an archeologist /reluctant adventurer, an antique dealer Uncle who was a Qi Wizard, and a hyperactive troublemaker."
"Hey!"
"You literally swallowed the Rooster Talisman because you don't chew your food."
"It was Soup!" Jade and Me say at the same time.
"I also know how you became the Queen of Shadowkahn, at least the first time. You wanted a tattoo to impress your friends at school and used the Mark of Terakudo you found in one of Uncle's books without knowing what it was."
"Seriously?" asks Raven
"She was 12, born in '88"
"Hey, care to explain for the rest of us?" asks Blackfire.
"In Jade's universe, there are supernatural threats. One was a group of demon sorcerers defeated by a group of immortals. One of those sorcerers was the Dragon Demon Sorcerer of Fire Shendu, whose powers were extracted as Twelve Talismans based on the Chinese Zodiac." I explain, sitting down on a boulder, "The first season was an around-the-world scavenger hunt - the Chans and the evil Dark Hand organization searching for Talismans. The season ended when the Shendu reclaimed the Talismans and they had a final fight in Hong Kong."
Rorschach pulls out some metal cubes and tosses them on the ground. The cubes transform into chairs, so everyone can sit down.
"After Shendu's statue body was blown to bits with the Dragon Talisman by Jade, his spirit possessed the dark hand's douche bag leader Valmont. He was ordered to release his siblings – the Demon Sorcerers. Another chase around, defeating demons and sealing portals. There last big attempt was the Book of Ages which Shendu used to rewrite history. Jade's team succeeding in undoing the retcon."
Rorschach passes around some water bottles. Dark Jade Chan is amazed at how casual things are. She even lets her Kunoichi Shadowkahn disperse. The red glow in her eyes dulls, leaving them inky black. Alan Scott and his daughter Jade hope this won't take long – Todd (formerly Obsidian) is healing on the Silver Saucer. It's easy to tell from their faces.
"Season Three was Dark Qi Wizard Daolon Wong and his attempts to claim the powers of the Talismans. A fight between different groups led to the Talisman's breaking and their powers going to the closest animal matches. Another trip around the world and the final battle is when Daolon Wong resurrected Shendu in return for the Dragon Talisman power. Shendu betrayed him and Uncle magically neutered him. Shendu was then turned back into a statue and the talismans removed for a second time"
Jade giggles at the use of the word neutering.
"Season Four had Terakudo – King of Shadowkahn and Lord of all Oni – be awakened by the actions of Daolon Wong in prison. He was trying to summon Shadowkahn using a potion. It became yet another scavenger hunt looking for Oni Masks. Masks containing the Oni Generals which when worn would possess people and allow them to summon from different tribes of Shadowkahn. While the first tribe look like ninja, the rest were more monstrous. The big finale was when all the masks were brought together by accident and broke releasing the Oni generals – apparently there was a reason they were kept separate. Terakudo was defeated when he was sealed into his own mask along with all of the Generals and Shadowkahn."
Jade Chan is wondering how long her fictional biography is.
"The Fifth and Final Season was against Drago. Drago is Shedu's son from the future, who came back in time to kill the younger Jade. Jade was saved by her older secret agent self, but Drago later escaped. A race against Dragon to acquire the Demon Qi found in the relics of the Immortals used to seal away the Demon Sorcerers. In the end, like always, the Chans lost everything they collected to a bad guy right at the end. The only way to defeat the Qi-mutated Drago was to release the full power Shendu. While father and son were fighting, they were sent into the Demon Netherworld. No more sorcerers, demon qi, or talismans."
I look at Jade Chan.
"So, what is your story, Jade Chan?"
"Can you not call me Chan?"
"We already have a Jade?" pointing out Miss Hayden.
"You can call me Jennie" replies the green-skinned girl.
"Alright. I'm not the original Jade. Three years after the defeat Drago, the original Jade was with my uncle at an underground auction. One of the items was ancient Chinese mirror crafted by shadow sorcerers. It could make a dark clone of anyone that looked into it. Jade wasn't careful and I was born from that mirror. In the shadows, I listened while they destroyed the clones of criminals. I learned without a source of dark energy I would eventually fade away. "
Jade creates an illusion above her hand – a fierce red demon mask with prominent teeth and huge white eyebrows, mustache, and goatee. The Mask of Terakudo.
"I had my own thoughts and feelings. I didn't want to die and I knew what madness and challenges my... my other self's family had endured. I needed a source of power, so I used the Mark of Terakudo. It worked, but the Chans discovered what I did. They used the mask to summon me and banished the me and mask into the mirror. I was trapped inside the shadow realm, slowly absorbing the power of the Mask.
Jades creates images of herself.
A teenager with amber eyes and chin-length black hair wanders the darkness holding a mask. She is dressed in dark clothing and a black jacket. She looks like she is crying.
"The first things I experienced were sorrow, fear, and anger. I possessed all of Jade's memories, but I wasn't her. She possessed everything and I had nothing but a cursed mask. I was alone and nobody would come to save me. I hated everyone for having everything I could not, I hated my own existence."
A young woman with red eyes, gray skin, and longer hair in a forest of black trees. She is dressed like a fighter out of some sort of post-apocalyptic film. She turns as some sort of black creature flies at her, but as she raises her hand the creature is dispersed. She closes her eyes in concentration and two standard Ninja-Shadowkahn appear before dissolving into darkness.
"Those negative feeling fueled my shadow powers. If I couldn't live as a human, I would live as a creature of Shadow. I was no one, but I could become someone."
A mature woman dressed in a hooded robe fighting an opponent in a huge dark arena illuminated only by blue flame torches. Her opponent is massive muscular humanoid dressed only in a loincloth. He must be at least three meters in height. Her opponent has gold-on-black eyes, dark red skin with tribal markings, and wild spiky white hair. He also has the horns and ears of a bull indicating it is on Oni. As Jade avoids the Kanabo (a wooden bat wrapped in iron bands), she creates a blade from dagger and pierces the Oni's chest.
"As time passed, I encountered other creatures of darkness. I learned from them and I fought them, all to become stronger. In time, my name became known in the Realm of Darkness."
An elderly woman in old black robes is reading ancient scrolls in an ancient library with gray stone walls. She reads by candle light of a blue-flame black candle. She stops and rolls up the scroll and puts it to the side. She forms a disc of darkness above the palm of her right hand. That black disc then develops a glowing blue magical seal. A black imp –like creature emerges from the seal.
"I found Shadow Sorcerers, those exiled to darkness, those who retreated to darkness, and those born in darkness. The real Jade always had the potential for magic. I was the one to nurture that potential. The Darkness is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. I lived an unnaturally long life and I don't remember how many centuries."
The final image is a ceremony. The huge, muscular form of Terakudo is bound to a cross. The former King of all Oni is Dead, his heart cut from his chest while he was still alive. In front of him is young beautiful Queen of the Shadowkahn sitting on magical seal. She is nude except for a flowing silk robe and she has a blissful look on her face. The blood on her mouth indicating where the heart of Tarakudo went.
"It was towards the end of that unnatural life that I broke Terakudo's seal. I devoured his power and gave up what remained of my humanity."
She pulls her bloody hand from her mouth and makes a fist. She summons half a dozen Kunoichi-Shadowkahn for the first time.
"The youth and power I gained was worth it" says Dark Jade are her illusions fade. "So, what can you tell me about this new world?"
"It's a comic book universe as I said. There are a bunch of superheroes, ranging from vigilantes with deep pockets to an extraterrestrial immigrant from a dead world. In the case of the later, Imagine Super Moose as a man with the Pig Talisman's heat vision. The villains range from idiots with powers to geniuses with no common sense to would be conquerors. The most dangerous was a guy known as Clown Prince of Crime. A guy who killed more people than the times Jackie has gotten into trouble. Rorschach over there melted the guy."
Jade's expressions are interesting. A mix of wonder, disbelieve, and a little bit of horror about the Joker.
"The Heroes are mostly organized into two groups – The Justice League for adult heroes and the Young Justice Team for the younger members." they hate being called sidekicks, but they liked the Young Justice name enough to make it their unofficial Team name. "As for the villains, the main group of called the Light. The Light is composed of immortal caveman Vandal Savage, immortal assassin Ra's al Ghul, super-genius bald businessman Lex Luthor, mind controlling despot Queen Bee, a super intelligent brain in a jar called the Brain, and finally Klarion the Witch Boy. There was also a Fish Hitler, but he was replaced by Black Panther in dumb-looking flying saucer-shaped helmet."
Jade giggles at my descriptions. It doesn't last long as I have to tell her more about those threats.
"Seriously, Vandal Savage made a deal with an alien God of Tyranny. They work together and fight once they conquered the universe to decide who rules. He's been many conquerors throughout history include Sun Tsu and Genghis Khan!"
"I dropped from one mess to another." says Dark Jade, "So what am I going to do now?"
"Your originally from Hong Kong, right? After recent events, a lot of people with super powers are leaving China."
Rorschach and I explain what happened recently. The origin of Dragon King, the Ancient Dragons attacking China and Rorschach's Liberty Primes, and the fight against the Daemonite-infested base and the wannabe God of Darkness. We also tell her how many Chinese including people from Hong Kong are moving to other countries in order to avoid becoming Super-Functionaries for the panicking crippled Chinese government.
Jade looks exhausted from our talks, but quickly pulls herself together.
"OK. I can pose as someone from Hong Kong. Rorschach can make the paperwork?"
"No problem." says Rorschach, taking out what looked like an ordinary phone, took Jade's picture, and started tapping away at blistering speeds, "Everything from birth certificate to college papers. Even If the Alphabet soup gang looked hard, they won't find anything."
"As long as they don't do any DNA testing." I add, noticing her look, "I don't think you pass for human on a biological level."
"I can still fake being human. Even make fake blood to fool the tests." says Jade as she transforms in a burst of black smoke. She is now a 23-year-old Chinese woman with amber brown eyes, tan skin, and short black hair. She's also completely nude. She looks down, covers herself, then a second wave of darkness clothes her. She is now wearing a long-sleeved white shirt, a black hoodie, gray high-water jeans and black sneakers. "Sorry about that. I forgot I'm wearing magic. I'm going to need to do a little shopping."
The tapping on his phone coming to an end, a moment later he reaches into his Inventory and tosses her a black card. It kind of looks like an American Express Centurion Card, the most exclusive credit card back in the world. It also reminds me of the Black Cards from Marvel 2099 - which give the owner unlimited funds and law immunity.
"So, how much can I buy with this?" asks Dark Jade
"How much do you want to buy?" replies Rorschach.
"Wait, you mean this thing has infinite money?!" she gawped.
"I got the idea from Project Zeta. So, sue me," he shrugged before swatting irritably at his face. "Damn post-Quest level-up notifications."