24 END VOL. 1 Chapter 22: Justice League vs Ghost Rider 4; A Bitter Goodbye
Guys, with this long chapter (6993 words) we close Vol 1. A little over a month after uploading my content to this platform, I can only say, thank you all for the great support. Of course, I know some of you hate my content or didn't get past chapter 1, but to all of you who made it this far, thank you very much.
Also to my followers in P@treon, that I don't mention because I didn't ask for their permission, thank you very much for your support. For someone who lives mainly with school scholarships, the extra money I earn with this content is a great support.
The following chapter is the prologue of Vol 2. There you will get an idea of what is coming in the future.
Also, I left an auxiliary chapter, where I mention the 15 members that The Light will have, and their commanders. Go check it out.
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"talking"
'thinking'
"spells"
<ROBOT VOICE>
"GHOST RIDER VOICE"
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Cyborg, Captain Atom, Shazam and Green Lantern's instincts were asking, NO, begging them to leave. That whatever this... monster was, it was far beyond them. And it was all because of one simple change.
The fire in his head was no longer orange like a campfire, it was now blue, like the purest flame. At this moment, Edgar was no longer present. Now, there was only Ghost Rider.
But contrary to what the heroes expected, the Ghost Rider did not move. He simply stood there, staring at them. This only made the group of heroes more tense.
"Green Lantern, what do we do?" Shazam asked Green Lantern. He was the most experienced of the group, if anyone had an answer it could be him. Besides, the situation was anything but good, as everyone was pretty exhausted from the hard fighting.
"We have to attack with everything. At this point, I'm sure it's best not to hold back" John replied. His ring had 30% battery. It wouldn't be easy, but they had to make it with what they had.
"Right"
"Understood"
Everyone replied. Green Lantern was right. This fight had gotten more serious. They could no longer contain themselves.
Cyborg changed his sonic cannon to a plasma cannon and set it to full power. Captain Atom also pulled out all his atomic energy and charged his hands with it. Shazam did the same with his Zeus lightning power. At this point, his eyes were glowing completely, sparks were coming out of them. And Green Lantern created, with all the willpower he had, not ONE, not TWO, but FOUR green fighter planes with missiles included.
However, the Ghost Rider never moved, he simply let the heroes get ready. This made them wonder.
'Doesn't he care anymore?'
However, if this event was by a miracle from heaven, they would take advantage of such a situation.
"Cyborg, containment, NOW!" requested John to the youngest of the group. Cyborg without delay configured his left arm and launched 4 devices that scattered throughout the area. These devices would generate an electromagnetic field that would trap or enclose the attack of the heroes in a specific area. This way it could not spread and generate more damage on the city.
"On my signal, 3,2...1, ATTACK!"
Green Lantern launched his jets, Cyborg his plasma beam at full power, Shazam launched white lightning from his hands and Captain Atom atomic energy beams. All of these attacks were aimed at one place...to the Ghost Rider.
And as if this were not enough, Green Lantern created chains that tied Ghost Rider to the ground, so that he would not run away. At this point, this monster had no escape.
The attack hit the road hard, generating a slight earthquake in the area. A combination of bright green, white and orange lights spread across the site of the explosion. For a moment the place seemed to light up as if it were daytime. This phenomenon might astound everyone when they looked at it, but what followed next brought the heroes back to reality.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM"
Finally, the light went out and the shockwave generated by the attack appeared. Such a terrifying explosive wave appeared.
"Cyborg, activate the devices, NOW!"
"On it"
The devices Cyborg had deployed activated, creating an electromagnetic barrier that would trap the blast from the attack. This would have been enough in normal cases, but this was not a normal case. This was a combined attack at maximum power.
There, the heroes realized how powerful the attack was when the shock wave began to destabilize the barrier. This was not going to hold, the explosion would spread destroying the area and its surroundings.
"It won't hold!"
"Sure it will" Green Lantern replied confidently. Then with a solemn face he used his ring to generate another barrier that reinforced the electromagnetic barrier. John Stewart had a total look of concentration on his face, sweat was pouring down his face from the energy he was expending.
As Cyborg said, the devices did not hold. At this point his barrier was the only defense against the blast. He was not a believer, but at this moment he was praying to whatever gods existed for the blast wave to end.
After a few long minutes, John's prayers were answered and the shock wave began to subside. Gradually the shockwave petered out until a small wind was left behind. This meant that John could rest by ceasing to generate the barrier with his ring.
<PIP, PIP, PIP. BATERRY LESS THAN 5%. INMEDIATE RECHARGE RECOMMENDED>
'I know that'
After those few, but hard seconds, the heroes finally saw all the destruction it stirred up at the site. The entire road was completely destroyed. Water from the drainage was seeping through the asphalt, and with the heat generated due to the attack, a dense fog was starting to generate, making it difficult for the heroes to see.
The authorities would make a show of it. But at least it hadn't leaked to the city. That was already a huge win for the heroes.
"Fiuuu, impressive, guys" Shazam commented in awe. They had never used maximum power. The whole explosion was impressive. This had clearly amazed the boy hero. The other heroes were no better, as their minds were also a bit numb from the sight.
This had clouded a bit the cause of why the attack happened, until Captain Atom remembered and hesitantly asked
"Hey... Where is he?"
When finally the smoke and all the aftermath of the explosion died down, they finally realized that the opponent they wanted to attack, was not even in sight.
"tap, tap, tap"
Green Lantern was snapped out of his doubts when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder from behind. Turning around slowly, he was able to witness a sight that completely horrified him. Right behind him was the Ghost Rider calling out to him.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This caused all the heroes to react.
'How had it gotten there?' they wondered.
But they could do nothing when the being, with a speed that even surpassed that of Superman held Green Lantern's right hand tightly. There this being looked curiously at the ring on the superhero's finger.
John wanted to react and attack. He had less than 5% but this would not stop him from defeating this monster. A powerful green light started to come out of the ring.
However, Ghost Rider simply looked curiously at the event. Totally unconcerned about the situation. Then he raised his skeletal hand and covered the ring with his palm. Closing his hand, he squeezed John's hand tightly breaking several fingers in the process.
"MMM" a loud groan escaped John's mouth, but this did not stop him, rather with all his willpower he kept trying to generate an attack.
The green light began to glow at a thunderous intensity. But as if this was a sign, Ghost Rider also moved, generating a blue fire that began to fight against the ring light.
"AGGGGGGGGHH" John screamed in pain, at this moment he felt his whole hand was in the hottest fire.
The heroes who were in shock from such an event wanted to react to the attack, but when they wanted to move, it was all too late.
At this moment John was no longer dressed in his Green Lantern suit, at this moment he was wearing his civilian suit.
He had fainted due to exhaustion, even blood was coming out of his nose due to all the mental strength he had used. Worst of all, however, was his right hand, which had a large third-degree burn.
The Lantern ring he treasured so much was not present on his finger, there was not even a trace of the ring. Ghost Rider had completely undone the ring with his blue fire. One threat had been neutralized, 3 remained.
Ghost Rider did not stand idle, and quickly moved towards Captain Atom. Then he held his arms tightly, pinning him in place. Everything was so fast that Captain himself could not react.
"What do you want to do to me....AGGGGGGHHHHHHH" Captain Atom shouted as he felt all his strength leaving his body. That's right, Ghost Rider at this moment was absorbing like a sponge the energy of said superhero.
Captain Atom's large and robust body began to deflate like a balloon. In the end a totally emaciated body was left passed out in the area.
"MMMM, YUMMY" Ghost Rider grimaced as he patted his belly.
Shazam and Cyborg were mind numb at such a sight. They knew this being was powerful, but this? It was another level.
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Flash was not having a good time. He looked over to a corner and there he saw Black Lightning passed out, completely wounded in the chest. Then he turned to where Vixen was, her arm was bleeding, but otherwise she was fine.
This big dog was a total menace. Since his behavior changed completely, he no longer hesitated to use lethal force, plus his shadow power made him unpredictable and erratic. Flash spent a long time concentrating, trying to guess where he would appear, but it was difficult.
Besides, this dog was very smart, because when he attacked Black Lightning, the dog had feinted and had sent Flash far away. When Flash had arrived to help his friend, the dog had already grazed his chest with his claws.
They were so sharp that the graze alone caused Black Lightning's suit to cut like butter, severely wounding his chest. Then, he began to periodically attack Vixen, as if he knew she was the group's easy prey.
Flash had been keeping an eye out, but still couldn't stop him from injuring her left arm with his claws.
'Focus Barry, come on'
However, their thoughts were interrupted when they felt a tremor in the ground. Then a great light illuminated the area.
"Damn, the kids are really excited" Flash commented. It wasn't the first earthquake they'd felt. Whatever was going on, it was already completely in another league from what the Justice League normally faced.
Vixen, however, paid no attention to his banter. Rather, she began to watch the giant dog's behavior.
'He's worried. He's scared. But not for us...'
Duke began to get impatient, things were getting out of hand. He quickly wanted to run again, but Flash quickly waved his arms and generated two small tornadoes directed at him. Duke, already accustomed by Red Tornado to such attacks quickly melted into the shadows to avoid him.
'Damn heroes, let me get to the boss'
"WOOF WOOF WOOF RRRRRR" Duke growled at the speedster. Flash also looked at him solemnly, and got ready to run, when Vixen stopped him.
"Flash, wait!"
"What's wrong?"
"Let him go"
"What?, you're crazy. I'm sure you didn't get hit in the head, but if you feel bad..."
"It's not that, idiot. Look, listen to me. My powers not only allow me to use the powers of animals, but they connect me on a spiritual level with them. I can understand them. And this dog is afraid"
"Afraid? If it's beating us up" Flash exclaimed in disbelief. This thing feeling afraid? What a joke
"Not for us Flash. Fear for its owner, the flaming skull. I don't know what's going on, but he wants to get to him"
"But...."
"Flash, trust me, okay? We have to let him go!"
Flash debated. If he was let free he could join his master and kill his partnerts. But Vixen's instincts told her this would not happen. In the end he just sighed.
"Fine, let him go"
Vixen turned solemnly and shouted at Duke.
"GO. GO TO YOUR OWNER"
Duke looked askance at this, but understood the orange clad lady and started running to Edgar. His master needed him... before it was too late.
Flash wanted to run and chase after him. But Vixen snapped him out of his reverie.
"Flash, we need to get Canary and Lightning to the doctor. They need to be stabilized"
"If we take them to the Watchtower, we will take a long time"
"No. Not to the Watchtower. The police set up a perimeter 5 kilometers from here. There should be paramedics there"
Out of nowhere their conversation was interrupted when they saw a powerful white lightning bolt fall from the sky. For a moment the whole area lit up due to this phenomenon.
"We have to be quick then"
"Yes!"
Vixen and Flash no longer hesitated, and quickly grabbed Black Lightning and Black Canary to take them to the paramedics. Their condition looked like it was serious.
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Shazam and Cyborg had their minds numb to such a sight. They knew this being was powerful, but this? It was another level.
They didn't know what to do. Both were powerful but young, plus both were already tired from the attacks produced. However, something happened to Cyborg at that very moment, which made him panic.
<PIP, PIP, PIP. UNIVERSAL LEVEL THREAT DETECTED. ACTIVATING EMERGENCY PROTOCOL>
Out of nowhere Cyborg's entire body began to change. His entire platinum-colored robotic body began to turn a blackish color with purple lines. And his robotic eye, once red, was now purple. However, Victor was completely frightened by this, because he realized that he could not move his body. All the actions at this moment he was doing were on Motherbox's part, not his.
"Motherbox what did you do to me. Let me move!" Victor pleaded. In his tone there was slight panic due to this event.
<PIP, PIP, NEGATIVE. EMERGENCY PROTOCOL ACTIVATED. MAIN MISSION: KEEP VICTOR STONE SAFE>
Out of nowhere, Cyborg's entire body began to change, turning his hands into a cannon almost twice the size of the one he normally used. Victor wasn't even aware that he could do this, as he thought the attack he had previously performed was his ultimate power.
The cannon began to charge with violet energy. Said gun was being aimed right at where Ghost Rider was.
However, Ghost Rider did not flinch at such a sight. He simply stretched out his hand and summoned his double-barreled rifle. Then, using his blue fire, he began to transform the weapon, lengthening it and merging its double barrel into one. In the end he was left with a sniper rifle, which he then aimed at Cyborg's large cannon.
Cyborg's cannon charged and finally fired a powerful purple laser at Ghost Rider.
Ghost Rider fired as well. However, what came out of said gun was somewhat comical to see next to Cyborg's big purple laser. For, when he fired, out came a small deep blue ball no bigger than a golf ball. The small ball traveled to intercept the purple laser.
One would logically think that the laser would engulf the little ball. But contrary to everyone's expectations, when the little ball hit the laser, it did not falter or get destroyed. It simply hovered there, preventing the laser from advancing any further.
Then like a sponge, the little ball began to grow and grow, absorbing all the energy of the purple laser. Eventually the purple laser was gone and the little ball was now the size of a large basketball. The ball hovered until out of nowhere it simply exploted
"BOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!"
A shockwave, almost as powerful as the combined attack of the four heroes came out of said ball. The shockwave caused the area to suffer a great tremor. Strong winds arose due to this.
Shazam who was immersed in the spectacle was taken by surprise by the explosion, and was sent flying by these strong winds. However, Cyborg and Ghost Rider did not move. Both seemed unperturbed by the shockwave.
<PIP, PIP. HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT. ACTIVATED>
Cyborg's large laser quickly transformed into two metal mallets. His legs had also undergone a metamorphosis as they had thinned, to simulate greater speed. When this transformation was over, they both moved.
Both threw a strong blow with their fists. Metal against bone clashed, generating another small wave of wind. Cyborg moved quickly and threw a kick right at Ghost Rider's torso, but Ghost Rider easily dodged it, and threw his fist at Cyborg's face. But Cyborg intercepted it by switching his sledgehammer for a small shield.
Kicks and punches were quickly thrown. At this moment a beautiful and lethal dance was brewing between these two beings.
Cyborg, thanks to the Motherbox at this moment was fighting with the optimized knowledge of thousands of martial arts across the universe. And Ghost Rider, being a superior spirit was also moving with the strength and grace of an expert.
At this point the two were pretty evenly matched, as each attacked and defended with everything they had. In the end, Cyborg had to change his strategy.
<PIP, PIP. CONTAINMENT PROTOCOL. ACTIVATED>
Out of nowhere, Cyborg transformed his arms and summoned metal bindings that trapped Ghost Rider's feet. He then regenerated these bindings and trapped his arms.
He then quickly regenerated the sledgehammer on his right arm and began repeatedly punching Ghost Rider's face. Each blow Cyborg delivered generated a sound like a bell. Each blow caused Ghost Rider's face to turn completely around, and Ghost Rider could not defend himself because his arms and legs were completely bound.
<PIP, PIP. CONTAINMENT PROTOCOL SUCCESSFUL. PROCEED TO ELIMINATION>
Cyborg finally stopped punching Ghost Rider's face and, transformed his chest into a large cannon. This cannon was small, compared to the fusion of his arms, but the energy emitted by the weapon was almost triple what it had generated before. He began to charge the weapon. Ghost Rider was inches away from him, he would not be able to dodge it if it hit him. The gun finally finished charging.
But just before it fired, Ghost Rider finally got rid of his arm restraints, and with a hand movement at a speed even faster than Superman's, his fingers quickly stabbed Cyborg's robotic eye.
"AAAGHHHHH" Cyborg screamed intensely from the pain. Even though it was a robotic eye, this was connected directly to his nerves, feeling like a real eye. Then, as if that wasn't enough, all the energy that was charged began to subside.
Slowly Cyborg's whole body began to sag under the weight, dropping like a rag. The robotic eye was the main battery, without it, everything else was useless. At this point, only Victor was left in a metal body that weighed over a ton.
Clearly, with his normal strength, he could not stand up properly. Cyborg could no longer fight. But Ghost Rider did not stop. He had destroyed the main battery, but the Motherbox was still there. It was still a threat.
He was about to attack the fallen Cyborg, but was intercepted by Shazam who grabbed him as he flew.
"Leave my friends, monster"
Then Shazam generated power in his arms, his eyes glowed white, lightning bolts shot out of them.
"That's enough!" right punch.
"I won't let you hurt my friends" left punch.
Every punch Shazam landed made the area rumble like thunder. Bright white light reflected back.
After several punches, Shazam quickly grabbed Ghost Rider from behind, and, again, lifted him from behind and shouted loudly
"SHAZAM!"
But Ghost Rider wasn't going to let him again use that dangerous attack against him. So he quickly used his fire to burn Shazam's arms which made him groan in pain and let go. He then turned around and slammed his hands right into Shazam's ears disorienting him. Finally, Ghost Rider threw a kick to Shazam's calf causing him to stumble and quickly lifted him off his back. This sequence happened in less than three seconds, just before the lightning struck.
"BUUUUM" a great white bolt of lightning struck all of Shazam's humanity.
In Ghost Rider's arms, there was no longer the superhero Shazam. At this moment, there was a 15-year-old boy, named Billy Batson, totally unconscious. Smoke was coming out of his body.
This was Shazam's true appearance. A teenager, who was following his dream of being a superhero helping all those people in their problems and bringing the bad guys to justice. Billy Batson, was no longer a threat, as he was just a simple unconscious young man at this point.
However, Ghost Rider did not let him go, but rather held him tighter as he saw something in his soul that made him doubt whether it was necessary to get rid of him.
Contrary to popular belief, Ghost Rider is not a punisher of sinners. Rather, he is a protector of innocents. Someone whose goal was just that, to cleanse the world of all evil.
(AN: this will be explained in detail later)
The wickedness or sins of the souls, can be divided into levels, being a level 1, a completely pure soul. Adult people on average reach a level 3, not all are innocent, but not all deserve eternal punishment. The Ghost Rider, begins to act in souls levels 4. People who commit or committed totally horrible acts for pleasure.
From there the other levels just skyrocket. The most evil he has met so far was Steppenwolf with a soul level 6. However, Billy was a mere level 2. Quite good for his age, as this indicated that the young man had a lot of goodness and justice in his heart.
This would never raise red flags in the Spirit of Vengeance, but there was something that made him doubtful. His soul had completely dark edges. So dark that it could even be a level 5, if he catalogued himself well.
These edges were small, just a simple trace, but they were there. This only indicated one thing...
Right now Billy was a good and pure person, but in the future... he could become someone evil, corrupted by his power. In short, this child was a great potential threat. And this is all because of his power.
SHAZAM is an acronym for 6 powerful beings. Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury. Some powerful Gods, others Demigods who transcended their humanity by becoming lesser Gods. Either way, all are powerful in their own way.
A God is already powerful in his own way, but he has a peak. That is, there comes a point at which such a god can no longer grow, and he depends entirely on faith or his dominion to become more powerful.
Demigods could become more powerful than their parent Gods because they did not have this limitation. But it all depended on how much divine power they had or could use.
That was not the problem. The problem was that Billy was a mere human. This brings many disadvantages obviously, but, it also brings him one major advantage.
The disadvantage is that humans are greedy and too much power comes to corrupt. And Billy could come to have this problem, since his power is not only that of a God, but that of 6 combined.
And the advantage he had, which made him a future threat to the Ghost Rider, was his unlimited potential.
Humans are ephemeral, and weak to other beings with power, but the growth and evolution of this race is unlimited. Given time and experience, a human can transcend even the power of the gods. This has been seen with the growth of more and more metahumans. More and more humans have powers that can become dangerous against beings of great power.
Ghost Rider debated whether to leave him alive or not. In the end, he decided it was best to get rid of him.
Generating a light blue flame, like the morning sky, in his right skeletal hand, he brought it close to Billy's face. This flame was special. It did not produce heat, but it was more powerful than the others. A simple touch on Billy would quickly disintegrate him and he would feel no pain from it. That was the mercy the Ghost Rider would give this boy.
He was going to finish him off in the most painless way possible. However, before he could touch the boy a large shadow hit the Ghost Rider hard, sending him, rolling away.
"WOF WOF WOF!" (Return the boss, monster!)
Duke had arrived just in time before Ghost Rider got rid of Billy.
Ghost Rider quickly got up and moved throwing a strong punch that sent Duke flying. Duke flew several feet and crashed hard into a broken pole. Said pole was sheared off and embedded itself into Duke's body severely injuring his side.
Duke groaned in pain because of this, blood was starting to leak because of this. Duke was injured, and it made it hard for him to get up. Ghost Rider approached him, and generated a dark blue fire from his right hand. This was a normal fire, but just as hot. If it touched Duke, it would burn him badly giving him a lot of pain.
"WOF WOF WOF WOF WOF WOF" (Boss, it's me, Duke. Boss, please come back)
Ghost Rider wanted to burn Duke, but before he could touch him with his right hand. Himself stopped, because his left hand was grabbing the right hand, holding it back.
"AGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"
Then he fell to the ground and pulled his hands towards his head, as he screamed in pain. The fire in his head began to dance erratically. The fire in his head started to go crazy. It would rapidly change color from blue to orange. Then it would fade and then flare up. Even for a moment, you could see half of Edgar's face and half of Ghost Rider's face as he kept screaming in pain.
(AN: like the cover)
A long minute passed like that until finally his head lit up again, in an orange color.
"Wof?" (boss?)
..
..
..
"It's me Duke. I'm back"
Edgar got up slowly. He didn't know how he had come back. For a moment the chains had him completely trapped. But then they began to break one by one, and then he began to fall through an eternal void.
Then when he felt he was finally going to hit the ground, he woke up and was now here, next to Duke. His energy, his power, had returned or at least it felt like it always had.
However, there WAS something different. At this moment he felt totally exhausted, mentally and physically. He still had power left, but he felt that at any moment it would give away, leaving him helpless.
Then, his senses registered as Flash and Vixen arrived on the scene quickly. Vixen had stood protectively by Cyborg's side, and Flash had quickly grabbed Billy's body and pulled him away from where Green Lantern and Captain Atom were. But they just stood there, alert, protecting their friends' bodies.
Edgar no longer moved. He felt that there was already an unspoken agreement that everyone would go their separate ways. That these heroes would no longer make his life miserable. After all, they had many wounded to tend to.
"FIU FIU" Edgar called to his trusty motorcycle. The heroes tensed up more but didn't move, they just let Edgar get on his motorcycle.
"Let's go"
"WOF" (Yes boss).
Edgar set off on his motorcycle at almost sonic speed. Flash wanted to follow him, but Vixen simply shook her head at him. In the end, he had to swallow his pride and he didn't stop him from leaving.
Vixen was right. Besides, he didn't know if they were enough to be able to fight it, not after this thing defeated all the Justice League tanks. In the end, he was just a simple speedster, what else could he do.
(AN: Mess up with the timelines, buddy)
The worst thing is that all this loss had been broadcast on live television. The League's image had been completely destroyed because of this fight.
(AN: Fun fact. Flash is actually the most powerful superhero in DC that the writers themselves have to nerf him so he doesn't end it all quickly. And, in my story, so do I haha)
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Vixen was helping to lift Cyborg. His weight weighed over a ton, but Vixen who had the strength of an elephant, had no trouble lifting him.
"How are you feeling Victor?"
"Humiliated. I feel humiliated"
"We all feel that way" Flash interrupted the conversation. He was one of the original superheroes, but at this moment he felt he could have done something more. That, with his help, his friends wouldn't have ended up so badly physically.
The police had already arrived on the scene as well. They were gathering evidence, while paramedics were stabilizing the fallen heroes. Lois was already downstairs reporting everything on live television. She had once again donned her mantle as an expert reporter. The worried Lois was no longer visible.
"As you can see, the entire area has been destroyed. Authorities report that they will close the roads out of the city, and move to construction work tomorrow. Also an official statement will be issued shortly in the coming days. Stay tuned. I'm Lois Lane from the Daily Planet, have a good night"
"And... cut. Ready Lois, we're off the air-"But Jimmy could say no more as Lois quickly ran over to where the wounded heroes were.
"How's Superman?"
"That's a confidential League matter-" Vixen told her on the record like they always answered in interviews, but Flash interrupted her. He did know about the relationship with Superman, so it was okay to tell her.
"It's okay Lois. He's stable, but his injuries are serious. We'll keep him under observation"
"Thank God" Lois began to shed grateful tears. She was remembering it all in her head, how Superman was so injured. His burns looked pretty severe. She was very frightened.
"Are all of you all right?"
"Sorry for the late"
Several voices interrupted the conversation. From the sky were coming down Hawkman, Hawkwoman and Zatara. They were busy in Europe, they couldn't help but be late. It should be noted that this whole fight did not last more than 20 minutes. The heroes hurried, but they couldn't help but be late.
"Where were you?, that thing defeated us as mere rookies" Flash couldn't help but complain. Zatara's magic and the strength of the pair might have helped.
"Shadow Thief came up with stealing Spain's currency camera, he's very sneaky" Hawkman replied. He wasn't bothered by Flash's tone, he understood well because of the urgency of the situation. They were also playing the live feed in the rest of the world. Before they came running over, saw how this being was tearing Superman apart.
"A pack of werewolves came to feast in the local market in Budapest" Zatara replied. He was also unlucky enough to have to prevent a massacre. Unfortunately that was the way the world was, there were many threats every day.
"Cyborg is fine, but John and Captain Atom's condition are critical, the paramedics are stabilizing them. Then, we will move them all to the Watchtower medical bay" commented Vixen. This relieved the group that had just arrived.
"I'll use my healing magic to speed things up" Zatara offered. He then began to approach Cyborg and began to chant backwards.
"gnilaeh thgil" a white light illuminated Cyborg as he began to feel better.
"Thank you Zatara" Zatara simply smiled and moved to head over to where John was standing.
"Hey, where's Wonder Woman?"
"Wonder Woman was never here"
"I know that. She was right behind us. But she's not here"
"Don't tell me she went to face that monster alone..."
"Holy crap" they all exclaimed as the realization hit them.
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Edgar was already several kilometers away from the city, passing a barren, totally deserted road. Finally, he decided to stop driving and got off the bike. Duke materialized in front of him. At this point he had already grown to the size of a normal dog, which didn't cost him so much to travel through his shadows.
"Wof wof" (My instincts tell me there's no one, boss)
"Mine are the same. We're sticking with the plan Duke. See you at the rendezvous point"
"Wof" (Roger that, boss)
Duke materialized into a shadow and set off towards the rendezvous point. They were going separately, as they both had different ways to get there quickly. After this, Edgar simply tapped his bike and it stopped looking like the ghost bike, and went back to being a normal bike.
"You know what to do, mate" Edgar said as he watched the bike depart heading down the road. If the heroes or anyone else tracked him, they would be following the trail of the bike at this point, but Edgar would be somewhere else by now.
(AN: if you ask about his weapons, the bike has his weapons in its holsters)
He then proceeded to concentrate and generate the image of the place he wanted to get to so he could hide.
However, just at that moment a huge headache hit him that made him kneel down and look at the ground. Then, his transformation was interrupted when his normal face returned.
"Buagh!" blood came out of his mouth. His body was no better either, for at this moment it felt as if all his bones had been completely destroyed and rearranged. His consciousness began to slowly cloud over.
'Come on, don't do this to me, body'
When he transformed and lost control at first, Edgar always woke up in complete pain or with headaches so strong that they could make any normal person faint. But what he was feeling right now was 10, NO, 100 times worse than anything he had ever felt before. Clearly, whatever had happened when he'd lost control had taken its toll on him completely.
"Buagh!" more blood came out of his vomit.
In the end, Edgar managed to barely get up. His mind was still aching, but he tried to concentrate. However, his energy was almost completely gone. In the end he could only transform his hand to be able to open the portal.
With the little concentration he could get, and with the little power he had, he was able, after many, many seconds of trying, to generate a portal to the place where they were going to hide.
This was a safe house in Medellin, Colombia. Now that the authorities and the heroes, mainly Batman, were going to look for him, he hoped that he would at least get a full month of hiding in this place.
However, before he left, a voice stopped him. He would have realized that someone was approaching him, but at this moment he was doing his best to concentrate to open a portal. The worst part was, that the voice that stopped him, was the person he least wanted to hear.
"Stop right there monster. You have to come with me. You have a lot to face for your crimes" Diana spoke with all authoritative. At this moment, she was no longer the cute Diana who was acting childish with Edgar. At this moment she was the Amazon princess in all her splendor.
Edgar, who had his back to Diana, could only lament over the event. Of course he missed her more than anything else, but this was not the reunion he wanted between the two of them. In the end, he opted to simply raise his hands in surrender, and slowly turn away.
"Relax, I won't fight you. Even if I could, with you, I never would"
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Diana was surprised by the sight before her. But then her face changed to one full of rage and she quickly moved, coming right up with her sword at Edgar's neck
"How dare you use his face, you monster. For this alone, you deserve death" Diana said as she squeezed Edgar's neck tighter, blood starting to ooze from the sharp blade.
"It's me Diana. It's Edgar"
"DON'T SAY HIS NAME, YOU BASTARD!!!"
"Use your lasso on me and prove it"
Diana hesitated, she was afraid that this was simply an illusion. To her, Edgar was dead. Her emotional side told her she couldn't bear to see that it was all an illusion, but her logical side told her to check it out, that was the least she should do. In the end, she opted to follow her logical side, and tied her lasso around Edgar's arm.
"The great lasso of Hestia commands you to answer truthfully. Who are you?"
"It me, Diana. I am Edgar. I know I lied to you and didn't tell you the whole truth, I swear that day I was going to tell you everything but it all happened-" However Edgar's explanation interrupted when Diana clung to him in a big hug. Tears of happiness ran down her eyes.
"You are here. You are alive. Thanks to Hera I didn't lose you!"
Edgar was surprised by such a change. But he simply hugged Diana tightly as well.
"Yes. I'm back"
Then they both moved. Diana's full lips merged with Edgar's soft lips. Slowly the inexperienced dance of their tongues coordinated, leaving a mingled trail of mint and vanilla flavor. This kiss was one that conveyed everything they felt. Love, passion and desire. Finally their tongues stopped dancing when they had to catch their breath.
"ahh, ahh, that was-"
"Great"
They both had a goofy grin on their faces. They didn't know what had happened, but they felt that the kiss had somehow connected them. Making said pleasure from this act, even more pleasurable. Even Edgar had sworn that for a moment all his pain had been cleared. But unfortunately the reality was otherwise.
"Buagh!"
Edgar vomited blood again, the headache came back stronger. As if that wasn't bad enough, the portal was starting to flash, indicating that the power was running low.
"Edgar, are you all right?" Diana quickly supported him. She was very worried about such an event.
"I-"
"WONDER WOMAN, GET AWAY FROM HIM" Edgar couldn't even answer her when they heard the voice in the distance. They were fast approaching Hawkman and Hawkwoman, flying at a great speed.
"Diana, I have to go. The portal is closing"
"No. Don't leave me. Come with me, we can heal you"
"It's not that, and you know it. I...I don't know what am I, Diana. But in the eyes of the League, of the world, I am, and will be a monster. And now, I'm a murderer. They'll lock me up and you know it"
"I-" but Diana bit her lips. She knew Edgar was right. They didn't know him like she did, they would never give him a chance to explain himself.
"If you want me to stay, I'll stay, but we both know it's better if I leave"
The portal began to emit sparks again. Diana noticed this as well. She was still biting her lips hard in doubt, even a little blood was starting to appear because of this.
"Will you come back?"
"I will come back...to you. I swear"
"You'd better Edgar, or else, Hades himself won't be able to stop the great fury I'll have against you"
"Ha. I know, my princess" Diana finally sighed. And quickly gave Edgar a kiss.
"Stay safe"
"I will" Edgar no longer hesitated and quickly crossed the portal. Just then Hawkman and Hawkwoman arrived at Diana.
"Wonder Woman, are you all right?" However, Diana didn't answer. She simply stared at where the portal had been.
"Let's go. It's all over now" Diana said as she took off into the sky.
"Hey, that wasn't the missing doctor, that Edgar B-"Hawkman was almost certain that his good eyesight had picked up on the missing Dr. Bones. But he couldn't finish asking when his wife stopped him, holding him by his arm.
"Don't say anything. Let's just go" Hawkwoman unlike Hawkman did know Edgar because of Diana, and she was sure it was him. But she had a pretty good idea what had happened, and had better keep her husband from talking. At this point, Diana would not want to talk about it.
Hawkman was confused by this, but went no further. You should never go against a woman, it was a RULE OF LIFE.
However, because of this whole situation, neither Diana nor Edgar noticed that just before he entered the portal, the portal no longer gave the image of the safe house where he was going to go.
Instead, the image had completely changed. Also, on the edges of the portal there was a golden circle, indicating external magic that had modified the portal.
--------------------
'Where am I?'
Edgar stepped through the portal, but did not reach the place where he thought. At this moment his senses registered diffusely to a forest. He could hear the water of a river running and birds singing. He did not know where he was.
His mind was still a mess and his body was still in pain. He didn't know what to do, as he felt that at any moment he would faint. However, his thoughts were interrupted by a voice.
"Who are you?" said a voice startling Edgar. The voice sounded that of a girl, but it lacked any emotion, as the tone was completely monotone.
'How did she approach me?'
Edgar didn't know how this girl had approached him, whether it was out of pain or something else, but he hadn't registered that there was anyone until he heard the girl's voice
"I.... I'm Ed-"
However, Edgar's consciousness could take no more, and he finally passed out.
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3 advanced chaps in Golden Members (chap 26)
7 advanced chaps in Diamond Members (chap 30)
I also have discord, link in the fic description.
