69 5.10

Location: Alien Space ship headed for Mothership 'World Breaker'.

Time: Invasion Day + 8 hours.

So… this is a very strange flight. I mean Superman and Batman loitering in an alien Janitor's Closet is already surreal. I think I see a mop. Bats has already investigated everything in here, mostly containers of alkalines and tools that are genuinely ordinary, aside from the vacuum cleaner that uses a tractor beam.

The guards are performing another sweep of the corridors at a lazy walk, so I'm fairly confident we're still undiscovered. Thankful for the distraction, we move into hiding as the door slides open and they stare inside before stomping away.

Gunnr emerges from someplace else, ghosting out of the wall with a look of bemusement on her face. "When we tell this tale, I feel this part will detract from it. I think I'll say we were brawling with innumerable security forces instead."

"Ha, ha. Very funny." I reply wryly. "As important as that is, I feel actually striking at the heart of our foe is more important."

"I think you have some anger issues, Magnus." Superman finally said. "You are always talking about killing or maiming the enemy. Which is understandable and in some cases is vital to our goal. But it makes me think that you lack empathy for them as living, thinking beings."

"I may need to rip them to pieces, I can't allow myself to think of them as people caught up in the crossfire of a war. Not when they so eagerly bombed our world and tried to kill anyone they saw." I answered gruffly. "I am here because it is the best way to stop this conflict with the minimum loss of life. If I have to sacrifice these invaders to the last for our world to survive I'll do it gladly."

"Which I can't argue with, but it can't be healthy for you." He answered, sighing.

"When has anything we have done, healthy?" I asked chuckling. "I am damaged, I know it. No one lives through betrayal from their own father and comes out of it fine. So yes, I'm angry. All the time. I'll never be quite like either of you. You are each trying to help people, in different ways. I am trying to help myself, by raising the bar for everyone."

The silence was nagging.

"Have you been forced to kill yet?" I asked.

Kal El slumped. "I haven't, however I have caused accidental fatalities. One died in a crash that I caused and another was firing at a child. Heat vision was intended for the gun. One of the ships crashed into me mid air, at that exact moment."

"I can assume Batman hasn't, since he is fanatical about it." I glanced at him. "But you saw no need to save them from their own hubris, correct?"

"Yes." The eyes narrowed. "A trio were buried under a collapsing wall during a firefight, I could have warned them or even pulled one or more out of the way."

"Accidents happen and this was chaos to an extreme degree. Will you need some time to process it, or do you want to talk about it?" Batman's eyes narrowed, but Superman nodded.

"Talking to someone about it can't hurt if you're vague. I know I will, because frankly this is too much. Far too many people have been traumatised today to ever compromise your identity, if you dare to." I said to Bats, before turning to Kal El. "You have your folks, I'm sure whatever you say they'll support you on."

"Yeah, they are great. They keep referring to you as my kid brother after they saw you wearing that shirt with… my logo plastered all over the newspapers. They'd love to meet you." He said fondly reminiscing.

"This part I will skip entirely." Gunnr added cheekily. "Where is the normal male bonding over the corpses of your enemies?"

Batman was about to say something, before sighing. "War aspect. Judgement is obviously skewed."

"Apparently her sisters are worse, so small mercies." I remarked. "So you like sagas and telling stories, Gunnr?"

"Only when they are about me or mine. Otherwise the tale would never end. Battle is a constant of life. Even if it is simply the human struggle to earn money or a predatory animal's attempt to catch food." She responded, laughing softly. "True war on the other hand is exceedingly rare, but the stories that abound during that time..."

"Is there anything you want to ask me? It has been less than half a day since we met, even if you were assigned to me." Her face softened at my words.

"No need My Lord. I have watched over you since you were born. I was curious of who I would be serving under. So I observed you out of curiosity." Batman's paranoid flinch at the thought of being observed by random gods was sure to end in him warding his cave up to and including the bats roosting on the roof.

"Divine stalkers aside, how is the battle faring on the… I'd like to say ground, but its Atlantis." I asked her.

"Good to varying degrees. Green Arrow has taken some injuries in India just now. England has been recaptured, Atlantis was resilient enough to field a counter attack in London. There was a bit of panic from their king's forces when they found the enemy battling hordes of minor demons, haunts and the dead..." I let out a mutter of 'Bloody Constantine'. "...but that was eventually dealt with by using liberal applications of overlapping magical lightning attacks."

I nodded. Warhammer 30000 was correct. That is the best way to treat demons. More dakka.

"In China and Russia the battles rage on. Pakistan is suffering under the attacks, however rather oddly the gods are active in India. Some of the greater gods have blessed mortals with their powers, much like how your Captain Marvel is empowered in part by Zeus. Hanuman, Shiva and Kali in particular."

"Kali. The goddess of death?" Batman asked pointedly.

"Among other things. The Hindu pantheon is complicated and even their roles can be interpreted in different ways. She is also a protector goddess." Gunnr responded. "However in this case her champion is using the gifted powers involving killing to their limit."

"It is interesting they are getting involved, usually they sit back and just watch." I remarked.

"It is a rebirth of the Age of Heroes, Odin and his court wishes to be more involved in the coming days, I would venture the same is true of these three." She suggested, looking my way. "Perhaps something tipped them off?"

"Odin or Loki." I groaned. "Trickster gods, pick one. Fifty/fifty chance it is correct. From the sounds of it these three either want to join the League or form their own local one."

"In other news, the Lord of Order is once again roaming the world from battlefield to battlefield." She added.

"Dr Fate too?" I whined. "What is he a doctor of, even? Magic doesn't count."

"I believe he wanted a title of respect, but did not yet fully understand English and it became his public name, much like your own problems." Gunnr replied.

"Dr Fate, the veteran from the old days like Green Lantern and Red Tornado?" Superman asked, curiously.

I nodded. "He's a nearly limitless source of order magic and a master magician in his field, with his opposite being the Lords of Chaos. There is a sort of balance there, but don't mistake him for being good or kind. He follows rules, but they are mostly his own. He is from the distant past and may still consider slavery a necessary evil if it allows him to continue acting in his role against Chaos. He possesses human hosts to manifest his powers, otherwise he is simply a helmet with a soul attached to it. The other Lords of Chaos and Order also have a focus, like for example a pet cat. If the focus is damaged or destroyed they can be banished or even replaced by a different lord of the same domain. But in the same vein, Chaos doesn't mean evil either. It just seems to attract the evil people more often."

Time passed slowly as we waited some more.

I felt the faintest of changes in the drives of our vessel. We were close enough to start feeling the gravity well of the planetoid sized ship.

[We have been allowed to dock. In ten minutes we will land. Prepare yourselves. We are beginning the plan.] Martian Manhunter chimed in, with his warning from the bridge.

"Guys, we're going loud in ten minutes." Gunnr smiled broadly at my statement. I could feel her bloodlust spring to the fore. "Time to end this farce. Just as well too, the silence was beginning to get awkward."