Chapter 44 - interlude 7

First, I'd like to tell you guys I have a new fanfiction here. It's actually my most well received one, people really seem to like it.

Anyways, Will of The Force is a Star Wars / Worm fanfic with Anakin Skywalker as the MC.

After he dies at Luke's hand in episode VI, he wakes up into a grimdark Superhero world and tries his best to not fall back to the dark side while helping a little precog girl escape slavery.

Really, do give it a try.

Anywasy, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

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Danette closed her eyes, enjoying the taste of the Dessert in her mouth. It was a red berry cheesecake this time and, quite possibly, the best thing she had ever tasted. She actually released a moan as she pulled the spoon out of her mouth, hearing Diana coughing at her side.

"Too much?" She asked, flushing slightly.

"Just a little," her friend answered, motioning with her thumb and forefinger.

"I just… never understood what I was missing," she said, sighing as she stared at her friends. "You know, I remember loving seafood, it was part of my programming, but I discovered that I actually hate the taste. It's very… disconcerting."

"I can imagine, Still, I'm glad you're here Danette, your 'death' hit all of us hard."

After their meeting, Jay had joked that she had childish tastes, but Danette supposed he wasn't far from the truth. While she had been built in '42, she had only been active for about three years. She was a child.

She had memories, experiences, a life, but it was all fake and, far more often than expected, wrong. She didn't love going for walks in the evening, she didn't like shopping, despite remembering going into hours long experiences when she was younger and she most definitely didn't like eating healthy, taking great pleasure in sweets and fried food.

She did dislike putting on makeup, but it wasn't because she thought such vanity stupid, it was because she didn't need it, her synthetic skin was always at its best and most makeup didn't sit well with it. At least she did prefer wearing pants to skirts.

Really, there were hundreds of little things like that, Danette suspected she would spend years just… finding things she thought she knew that were actually wrong. Sometimes, she wanted to hurt her father, the utter bastard.

Still, it was nice to be between friends again, the three years she had spent with the Justice Society weren't entirely a lie. Taking another spoonful of the cake, she managed to keep from moaning and looked at her brother talking with Alan.

Red Tornado had seemed to take her existence well, for a normal human that is. Now that she was aware of what she was and had been given some access to her own coding, she could actually read him much better.

"I take it your first meeting didn't go well?"

"He doesn't know how to react," Danette sighed, leaning back on her chair. "He's out of balance and hating every second of it. It doesn't help that we don't know how to act around each other, I'm technically the older sister, but he's been active for much longer."

"I am confident Red Tornado will be well but, how are 'you'?" the princess asked, focusing fully on. "I understand how difficult it is to find yourself in a completely different world."

"I suppose you would," Danette sighed, giving the princess a small smile. "I'm… adapting, Kara is helping out a lot and the internet doesn't hurt. It's so much easier to learn about things now than during the war."

"I'm glad," Diana smiled back, stretching in her seat and adjusting her posture. "I must confess I have been missing this. With Batman's reforms, the Green Lanterns busy and some of the recent revelations, The Justice League has not felt the same."

"Is everything fine?"

"We are facing a trial, but the League was born of trust, I believe we will emerge stronger for it."

"Ladies? Are you ready for lunch?" Jay yelled from inside the house causing the both of them to refocus.

Looking over, they saw Alan helping carry a plate of food while Red Tornado put the plates and cutlery, Wildcat was chatting animatedly with Doctor Mid-Nite, but many of their former friends were missing.

Seeing Joan walking beside her husband, the two superheroines got up, glancing guiltily at the Dessert they had stolen from the fridge. Or, well, that Danette had stolen.

"That better not be my cheesecake!"

"Sorry!" Danette yelled back, hurrying to put it back into the fridge, she hadn't resisted a quick snack before lunch, and it wasn't like it would make a difference to her, there were some advantages to being an android after all.

"You know, ever since Jay told me you're back, I have been looking forward to this little get-together," Alan told her, drawing Danette into a quick hug. "It's hard getting some of the guys out nowadays."

"Come on Alan, you guys act like old farts," Ted complained, despite his age, he was still looking good as he sat at the table beside Jay. Not having lost too much muscle mass since his time active as Wildcat. "Invite me for something fun and maybe I'll come."

"My friend, I'm sorry to say but most of us are old farts," Charles, former Doctor Mid-Nite laughed and bowed in thanks as Jay helped him get a serving, as a blind man, he had trouble with it when he wasn't using his power. "At this point, I'm more than happy just playing chess at a park."

Staring at the gathering, Danette couldn't help feeling something squeezing her chest. They WERE old, she could see her old friends on their faces, but she had missed so much.

Sitting down, she forced a smile on her face and, eventually, started laughing for real, forgetting her problems for a few hours.

"So, what excuse did Rex give this time?" Ted finally asked after they had finished putting everything into place and washing the plates. "The bastard has been dodging me every time I call. I thought he'd show up for our feisty tomboy there, if not to meet her, then because she'd burn him for missing it."

"Fuck you Ted," Danette threw a napkin at the old fighter, drawing a laugh from him. "That happened one time, one," Danette too had been missing Hourman, she hadn't really been friends with him, but she did want to meet after so long.

"He had a consultation, it was important so he couldn't reschedule," Jay sighed, handing everyone a cup of coffee and sitting beside his wife. "I also couldn't get a hold of Kent and, well…"

Everyone just shrugged, they were old and superhero life hadn't given them the longest life expectancy. Worse, like professional fighters, their lifestyle eventually caught up, giving them a lot of health problems.

"I too have been unable to contact Kent Nelson," Red Tornado spoke, his voice having a hint of worry. "He has been missing for several weeks now."

That information stopped all conversation. Danette had already heard that Kent had been spending more and more time at his tower after his wife's death, but she had hoped to see him here.

"Have you talked with Zatara?" Charles said, his voice tired as he adjusted his sunglasses back in place and gripped his cane. "He was the old man's apprentice for a time wasn't he?"

"Giovanni Zatara has been occupied with a new apprentice, but he too hasn't been able to contact him."

Another quiet moment passed between them. At their age, not being in contact with anyone didn't look good.

"Do you still have the key to the tower?" Alan finally asked with a somber voice. "I can check on him when I leave."

"I can go with you," Jay said, putting a hand over his friend's shoulder. "It's been a long time since I last stretched my legs."

"I'm afraid I have to go," Charles sighed, leaning forward in his chair and pushing himself to his feet with a groan. "My granddaughter is arriving to pick me up soon and I'm not nearly as fit as Ted. It has been nice seeing you all once again, but I'm tired."

Getting up, Danette gave Doctor Mid-Nite a long hug, letting him touch her face to see her once more. "It was a pleasure to see you again little girl, try not to leave us so soon this time, will you?"

"Don't worry, I don't intend to."

Watching the former superhero leave, Danette noted her brother stopping at her side and the rest of her friends giving him some space. Still, she kept quiet, letting him gather his thoughts.

In a way, Red Tornado was worse than her older brother, he hadn't been built with the intent of passing as human, he didn't have memories of an entire false life to burden him, but he also didn't have the knowledge of how to interact, how to feel and relate to people.

To be truthful, Danette kind of envied him, at least he knew that everything he experienced was his own and not influenced by his false memories.

"I apologize, it seems like I have not handled the information well," the android told her, his voice without any inflection as he finally turned her way. "I truly do not know how to react to your existence."

"That makes two of us little brother, that makes two of us," Danette whispered, letting some of her true feelings out, she still felt lost in the modern world, isolated even when she was surrounded by people. "Have you spoken with Jim? He seems to be handling this whole thing much better than the both of us."

"I have not, I was not certain brother would want to interact with me."

"He's… surly, he'll probably act annoyed if you show up, but he'll actually be happy," Danette said with a small smile on her face. "Our older brother likes to complain about everything, even when it's something he enjoys."

"I see, I will have to meet him," he nodded. "And Father?"

"He's not awake, Brother takes care of his life support system, but he hasn't reacted even when I spent an hour yelling at him," she confessed, feeling a little ashamed. "We can visit him together if you want."

"I… would like that, yes. Despite everything, he is my father."

They would have spoken more but, like Doctor Mid-Night, Wildcat had to leave to deal with personal things. It was already three in the afternoon and Danette had to remind herself that not everyone was as free as she was at the moment.

Staring at Alan and Jay sharing one last beer, she had to ask. "You think Kent will mind if I go with you guys? I was looking forward to meeting him."

"Why don't we all go?" Diana interjected. "I have taken the day off from any of my duties; it would be nice to see Kent."

And that's how the five of them found themselves in Salem, Massachusetts and in a seemingly empty plot of land. Stepping forward, it seems like Kent hadn't noticed their presence yet. Danette couldn't help herself, using her new sensors to try and look for the tower.

She was actually surprised when they caught something. It wasn't able to fully locate the tower, but her sensors did warn her of an exotic energy source all around the empty location. Was Kara trying to incorporate magic in her tech?

Stepping forward, Red Tornado pulled out a large key, inserting it into empty air. The key disappeared and, soon after, they all heard a 'click', turning the key, a large medieval tower simply appeared midair.

Made from bricks and as wide as a modern skyscraper, it had a square shape and at least thirty floors. The top looked like a typical castle watchtower, with crenellations where a man could look down on the city. With only a small noise, the wooden door opened inward, allowing them entry into the Tower of Fate.

The first floor was a wide room with no indication of a door or stair. In the middle of the floor, the tower spirit appeared, taking the form of Kent Nelson. Danette recognized him, even if he looked several decades older than she remembered.

"Red Tornado, Princess Diana, Jay Garrick and Alan Scott, you have with you a member that the tower does not recognize, please, identify yourself."

"I'm Danette Reilly, Firebrand."

"Firebrand was slain during 1945," the spirit said, turning to fully focus on her. A quick blast of magic hit her body and scanned it before the spirit nodded. "Very well, the Tower will update your status. Why have you come?"

"We have not been able to speak with Kent Nelson for days now," Diana stepped forward. "Is he in the tower?"

"Kent Nelson left the tower over a month ago," the spirit said and waved a hand, causing a set of stairs to materialize from the wall behind him. "Would you like to wait for his return in a more comfortable location?"

They all traded glances. They had expected the old man to have simply locked himself away for an experiment or, in the very worst case, passed away alone but, if he had left the tower, that spoke of a far more sinister possibility.

"Have the two of you noticed anything?" Diana asked Jay and Kent.

It was likely that any problem Kent had faced was something exclusive to his magical dealings but, as they had worked in the same team for such a long time and, like Kent, were now retired, it wasn't impossible that an old enemy had resurfaced.

"No, none of the old guard seems to be active," Jay answered.

"You think it's something to do with the old JSA?" Alan asked, a green light already gathering around the ring on his finger.

"Fuck, father was preparing an attack before Supergirl dealt with it," Danette looked at them all and shrugged. "What's to say someone else isn't becoming active right now? Heck, my youngest brother is still missing too. Although the timing doesn't really fit for him."

"I will contact Zatara," Red Tornado said, turning back towards the exit door. "I will also warn the others about Kent Nelson's disappearance."

Watching the android leave for a second, Jay asked. "What about the Helmet of Fate, did he take it with him?"

"The Helmet of Fate remains here, according to orders, the tower would have started looking for a new host in another eleven months," Kent's image promptly orders. "As trusted allies, the three of you have permission to retrieve it. I apologize for Miss Reilly, but she will have to remain out of the important areas of the tower."

"I get it," Danette nodded.

In truth, Danette sometimes worried if she wasn't about to betray everyone. Red Tornado may have overcome his programming, but she had never even been tested, having sacrificed herself before being activated. She didn't know what she would do.

Kara had said she was safe, but the Kryptonian hadn't dared delve too deeply into her software and, admittedly, wasn't the best at programming, who was to say Father hadn't hidden a few other safety measures they were unaware of?

Climbing the stairs, they reached Kent's personal quarters. A picture of Inza, Kent's wife, hangs on the wall above the fireplace and the entire room seemed really cozy.

"I'm gonna look for clues," Jay said, darting around the room using his speed to look through anything that indicated Kent's location.

"I must check on the Helmet," Diana said, looking at Danette and Alan. "If this is an attack, it is possible that Fate itself is the target. Attacking Kent while he did not have access to the helmet would be an ideal situation."

"You know, when I said I was glad we were all together, I didn't mean I wanted to get out of retirement," Alan sighed, approaching a desk at a corner and starting to look at the drawers. "I enjoy my time out of the limelight too much for this."

"I didn't think you were the kind to retire," Danette commented, releasing some of Kara's drones to look around the room for clues.

"It's nice, not being needed that is," the graying man smirked. "I still wear the ring and, if I have to face the darkness again, I will, but the new generation seems to have things in order."

Suddenly, the tower spirit appeared again, standing in the middle of the room with a slight smile. "Thank you for waiting; it seems like master Kent Nelson has returned to the tower."

Danette and Alan looked at each other. Yeah, this wasn't suspicious at all. "Can you show us an image of him?"

"Certainly, it was unexpected, but he seems to have brought guests," with another wave of his hand, the tower spirit caused a screen to appear midair, showing Kent Nelson walking up the stairs.

The old man looked bad, he had several bruises all over his body, half his face was covered in red tumors and there seemed to be something bulging under his clothes, as if they could no longer contain his form, his chest pulsating as he was pushed forward.

Still, Kent didn't look afraid, instead his eyes still had an intelligent light in them and he looked everywhere in search of a way to escape. For a second, he seemed to catch sight of one of Kara's disguised drones that had somehow found its way to the stairs and he smirked before starting to walk again.

At his back, there were four people. The leader seemed to be a young boy wearing all black, one Danette had seen in some of Kara's information. Klarion, a Lord of Chaos.

At his side was a man dressed like a stage magician, his shirt was unbuttoned, showing his entire hairy chest and a gold necklace. He also carried a small wand which he used to control a mechanical collar around Kent's neck.

The other two were large demons that looked alike; they had red skin and four shining eyes. Larger than the magician, one of the demons was obese and walked with a bored look in his face, carrying a large bag of snacks he was constantly eating from.

The second demon was more intimidating. Even larger than the obese one, it was made entirely of muscles upon muscles, thousands of veins bulging from his entire form as he stomped his way through the tower, barely staying behind Kent.

"Flash! Come here." Alan yelled while staring at the image on the screen with his hands balled into fists. "I think we have one of yours!"

A second later, Jay stood at their side, staring intently. "Not mine, he appeared after I retired. That's Abra Kadabra alright," closing his eyes for a second as he stared at his suffering friend, Jay took a deep breath and let his anger out. "Don't be tricked, while he dresses like a magician, he isn't really one, using tech instead. I think he'd probably want to get his hands on the helmet, but this isn't his style. I don't recognize the others."

"The child is the leader," Danette said, getting back into the mindset of a hero. They had been through years of war, they could do it again for a day. "Klarion is a Lord of Chaos; he's at the same level as Fate."

"That… complicates things," Alan sighed. Seeing as Diana came back carrying the helmet, he asked. "You recognize the other two?"

"Demons, they remind me of beasts from hell, not tartarus or any of the other realms, but I don't recognize them," Diana answered, cracking her neck.

Grabbing one of Kent's red shirts, Jay put it on, but he didn't have his helmet, instead, he found a bandana and tied it around his mouth, leaving his eyes and hair free.

With a burst of green, Alan changed; a green set of armor appeared around him, leaving him slightly bulkier, with a large cape at his back falling to his knees, the image of a lantern in front of his chest and a Zweihander at his waist.

Both Diana and Danette were already ready, only a command was needed for a mask to form from some of Kara's nano-machines, covering her face as she felt her cores starting to become active, sparks of fire appearing around her.

"So, how are we doing this?" Alan asked. "I really need to punch those bastards."

"Keeping the helmet away from them is paramount," Diana said, looking at the artifact on her hand. "Did they disable Red Tornado to come in?"

"I doubt it, Lord of Chaos he may be, but Red Tornado is a powerhouse," Alan commented. "Tower, could you help separate them?"

"Not without orders from Kent Nelson himself," the tower spirit answered, shaking his head sadly.

"Alright," Jay spoke. "Diana, Alan, Danette do you think you can keep them busy? I want to try and rescue Kent, but I don't want to bet that none of them can react to my speed."

"I have never faced a Lord of Chaos or Order, but I have fought with gods before, I believe I can deal with him," Diana answered.

"I'll keep the demons busy," Alan offered. "I'm not sure fire would be all that useful against creatures from hell."

"You'd be surprised," Danette snorted. "But I can deal with Abra Kadabra."

Using the drones watching the group, they started planning their assault. The tower was much bigger on the inside and the villains were walking through a space filled with hundreds of white marble staircases floating in space. The place looked chaotic but, with the Tower Spirit's information, it wasn't hard to see the patch they were going.

Klarion's group climbed the latest set of stairs and found themselves facing a fully armored Alan Scott floating in the air. His sword on his right hand.

"Oh, look, it's one of the Justice Geriatrics!" Klarion mocked, pointing with one thin finger.

"I'm really gonna enjoy this," Alan mumbled, his face very serious.

The fight was fast, faster than anyone expected. Driven by his willpower, Alan felt the starheart empowering his body, improving his strength, speed and reaction to their limits. He felt forty years younger as he pulled his arm back, his sword turning into a spear as he hurled it faster than most heroes could react.

He wasn't facing an average group. Lifting his hand, Klarion created a yellow barrier in front of them while both demons opened their eyes, releasing blasts of energy towards his projectile.

Empowered by his iron will, the spear cut through the magic like a hot knife through butter, scattering the eye blasts without even slowing and shattering Klarion's barrier into a million shards.

The spear flew right above Kent's left shoulder and moved straight towards the biggest demon's heart but, with a roar, the monster punched downwards, diverting the weapon so it cut through his leg and exploded against the floor.

The resulting cloud of debris was enough to momentarily block everyone's view.

"Hey, that's cheating. Green Lanterns shouldn't also have magic! Ack!" Klarion pouted, and then was too busy to talk.

Diana had taken the chance to attack. Usually, she would have gone for the kill, but she needed to take Klarion away from Kent and she knew something like Klarion didn't truly need a body, it would be meaningless to just destroy his head or heart.

Instead, she flew towards them, grabbing the boy's neck and pushing her shoulder against his chest before driving the both of them through the damaged floor, crushing his back bones and falling onto a different stairwell.

Klarion only laughed, his face morphing from the impish boy into a demonic visage, his skin looking color as It became full of edges and cracks from where red energy was leaking.

"Get off me!" The eldritch abomination yelled, kicking out and sending a large blast of magic her way, sending Diana flying back. Looking down at his chest, Klarion noticed Diana's trick and pouted. "Well played."

Diana had managed to wrap her lasso around Klarion's chest, holding it tightly in her hand as she flew away, having reacted fast enough to block his spell with her bracelets.

Soon, the lasso snapped taunt, stopping Diana in her tracks and causing Klarion to stumble, sending his magic wide. Grabbing the tool with both hands, she swung him around, smashing through three different stairs before he somehow broke free and went flying.

Diana pulled the lasso back and was about to follow when an elephant sized tiger jumped at her back, scratching through her clothes and drawing blood as they went tumbling through the air. Together, they smashed through the staircases, but at least she had taken out the most dangerous enemy. Now, it was time for Danette to act.

Danette had been waiting under the stairs Klarion had been climbing, using some of her new tech to remain invisible to normal senses. When Alan attacked, she had gathered her flames, forming a ball of fire between her hands.

In less than a second, the fire grew hot, the flames glowing orange in front of her, more than a thousand degrees Celsius just sitting there between her fingers.

And then she activated her second core, drawing oxygen into the flame. For a moment, the flame expanded, but then she refocused and concentrated on it, the color going from orange to blue in an instant.

Amongst the destruction of Alan's attack, she saw Diana grabbing Klarion and one of the demons reaching for Kent while her target lifted his want and created a shield around himself.

She released the inferno she had been holding, a pillar of blue fire wider than she was tall and over 4 thousand degrees hit the stairs, the entire construction didn't offer any resistance, erupting into a shower of ceramic and melted stone.

The attack smashed against Abra's shield and sent him tumbling back while both demons went flying. For a second, Danette worried about Kent, but Flash was already there.

Jay wasn't as fast as the current Flash, but he was close. He exploded into action the second Diana has taken the Lord of Chaos out.

Running towards the group, he saw Abra activating a shield, the barrier reaching for Kent and he knew he wouldn't make it. Still, he stepped harder, increasing his speed as much as he could.

Right as the shield was about to envelop Kent, the entire floor exploded, sending Abra back. Giving a brief glance down to Danette, he ran between the debris and the pillar of fire as if everything was in slow motion, grabbing Kent just as his feet were starting to leave the ground.

The heat started to affect him, a bead of sweat started to gather on his face, but he turned back, carrying his old friend on his shoulder.

One of the demons, the fat one, was still close enough to attack, opening his mouth into a giant maw and attempting to bite down on him, but Jay twisted aside, driving an elbow on his face so hard he snapped the head back and saw the shockwave forming.

Then he was out, the temperature decreasing. Always the eager one, Alan flew towards the fight, yelling towards the falling demons. "Come back here, I only want to hurt you!"

Feeling a hand squeezing his arm, he laid his friend on the ground and looked at him. Kent looked terrible and there seemed to be something getting even more active under his clothes, but his eyes were determined as he tapped the collar on his neck.

Grabbing the device, Jay couldn't unlock it, so he started vibrating his hand as fast as he could, the limb turning into a blur as he pushed a finger through the collar and destroyed the lock. Ripping the thing off, he threw it aside.

"The helmet," Kent gasped, not losing a second. "I need the helmet before it's too late."

One last blast from one of the demons almost hit them but, now that he was free, Kent managed to parry it aside with a magical shield, grunting in pain as a tumor seemed to burst from his chest, soaking his shirt.

Looking at his struggling friend, Jay gritted his teeth and nodded, running back to grab the helmet; they hadn't dared bring it here for the confrontation.

Seeing her friend safely rescued, Danette released a breath of relief and refocused on Abra Kadabra. The villain had fallen into a lower stairwell, but he was already getting up and adjusting his clothes, the barrier having managed to block most of her fire and heat.

The little drones were everywhere, doing their best to block attacks and help in the fight, but the levels of power displayed were just too much, any attack broke through their shields with barely any problem and they couldn't move as fast as most of the fighters.

Jumping down, Danette used a combination of fire and wind to direct herself; it wasn't flight, more like falling with style. Two of the drones formed a platform in the air she used to take a second jump and then she arrived, her feet impacting the ground with strength, cracking it around her as she righted herself.

"Well now, you aren't supposed to be here," Abra said, studying her figure. "Then again, I did hear that Dr. Morrow was defeated earlier, how odd."

"You really shouldn't have come after Kent," Danette said, starting to walk towards him. "Try not to die too soon."

Abra didn't take her seriously, simply raising his wand towards her. "Don't worry my dear, I guarantee you I won't. Sleep."

Danette stumbled, feeling something hitting her systems and causing them to momentarily lose power. An EMP.

Regaining her footing, she smirked at him. One of the first things Kara had changed in her hardware was to shield her against such things and put in a lot of redundancy.

Even the biggest EMP detonated inside her armor would only disable her for a couple of seconds, much less a weak one coming from outside.

"Ah, that also wasn't supposed to be possible," Abra said, uncertain for the first time and then Danette activated her plasma sword, the blue blade distorting the air around itself from the heat. "Well, shit."

Abra waved his wand, shooting several laser bolts towards her, but she countered with a huge wave of fire that blanketed the area. It was red and less than 1000 degrees, but it managed to block his vision and freak him out.

With another wave of his wand, he started floating, trying to flee from her. Danette wasn't having it. Gathering even more fire, she gestured with her free hand; shaping it above his shield and smashing him down like a hammer.

For three whole seconds, Abra resisted and even gained some ground, but Danette's torrent of fire wasn't stopping and, with time, she started increasing the heat by feeding it with air.

Finally, the villain was smashed into the ground, his flight unable to overcome her fire but his shield doing a good job of stopping the flames and dispersing the heat.

Stomping the ground, Danette smashed into Abra's shield, her plasma sword hitting it and causing it to lighten up. She slashed twice more, sending Abra stumbling back.

Adjusting her grip, she aimed the tip of her sword at his chest and pressed the blade against the shield. The plasma lightened the device, revealing a bubble of energy around him.

Her sword was specifically made to be her hottest flame, it was several thousand degrees hotter than anything she could manage even with two cores and, without the energy shield to stabilize it, would be capable of incinerating everything around her just by its sheer presence.

Slowly, it burned into Abra's shield, the entire thing growing brighter as it failed to disperse all the heat and Abra's own skin started to burn.

Suddenly, a wave of eldritch magic hit her in the chest, piercing her armor and sending her flying. The blow so strong Danette was sure it would have blown a hole through her had it not hit the wind core in her chest and lost most of its strength.

Still, sparks flew from the hole it had made and she felt her sword and wind powers being disabled as the nano-machines inside her started repairing her circuitry. Thankfully, the safety feature that forced her shut down when supposed lethal damage happened was long disabled.

Stumbling to her feet, she frowned. The attack had only been a glancing blow from Klarion as he attempted to kill Diana. Turning back to Abra, she saw the villain collapsed to the floor, probably from the pain of his second degree burns.

"Ahahahahaha, you're surprisingly resilient for a baby Titan aren't you?" Klarion laughed, shooting blasts of red energy at Diana. "Still, are you sure you should be fighting me? Don't you have something more important to do like saving your friend?"

Glancing at Kent, Danette saw most of his right arm had turned into one huge tumor, red flesh growing and pulsating as if it was a living creature.

Running towards him, she used all her strength to jump into the stairwell he was in, again, using the drones as platforms and sending jets of fire through her feet to help propel herself up.

She hit the floor running, sliding to a stop close to her old friend. Kent's eyes widened when he saw her. "Firebrand?" He gasped weakly. "Honestly, couldn't they send my Inza?"

"Sorry Kent, you're not dead yet," she said, trying to come up with a solution, would it help if she burned the tumors?

Kent looked at the hole in her chest still releasing sparks and breathed out. "Ah, a robot doppelganger, most convincing I have to say."

"I hate to say it, but Prof. Morrow was a genius," she laughed nervously. "What can I do?"

"Nothing, I'm afraid. The spell is almost complete," Kent coughed, his voice weak. "I wanted to have the helmet to provide some support one last time and maybe delay the spell, but I don't know if Jay is gonna be fast enough."

"No, no! Maybe I can burn it off, buy you some time?"

"Yes, if Jay doesn't arrive in a minute, burn it," Kent gave her a smile. "It won't stop the spell, but it will leave it incomplete, the gate won't form perfectly."

Danette was about to complain when Jay arrived, the helmet of Fate in his hands. Sliding down beside them, he knelt over Kent and put the helmet on his still working arm.

"Help me put it on."

Together, Jay and Danette did, releasing an explosion of golden light that drove them back and caused Klarion to roar with rage.

.

.

.

Kent Nelson opened his eyes inside the helmet; the entire space was an empty plane with only Nabu, in the shape of a golden helmet, floating in front of him. "Kent Nelson, you have brought disaster to this world," Nabu's voice boomed.

Kent just shook his head, a bitter smile in his face as he lowered his eyes. "I apologize, Fate; I should not have left you."

Nabu was taken aback, growing quiet as he stared at his former host. Finally, it was Kent that broke the silence. "Will you help me one last time?"

"It was your fate to wear the helmet, your actions that allowed Klarion to continue to act as he is," Nabu growled, but Kent gave him a smile as he sensed the answer.

"What is happening to me?"

The Lord of Order stayed quiet for a moment longer but, finally, he gave up. "Long ago, both chaos and order once worked together to repel certain beings, things that did not belong to our reality. Creatures so inherently damaging even the Lords of Chaos agreed to their banishment. Yog-Sotha is one of those things."

"Is that what I'm becoming?"

"No, such a creature could not be contained in a mortal body, even one such as yours," Nabu denied. "One of its spawns was long locked under the ice on the pole to forever sleep; it contained a key, a key that Klarion used to turn you into a gate."

"Can it be stopped?" Kent asked, even as old as he was, there were some things he did not know. "Will my death help or hinder it?"

"Your sacrifice would hinder it, but the door was already created, the connection made," Nabu revealed. "More than death will be required from you to avert this disaster."

"I already guessed, even if I hoped differently," Kent sighed, turning away from Nabu.

"Kent Nelson, it was your fate to wear the helmet," Nabu spoke again, his words hitting him with the weight of the world. "It is still your fate. You once fled from your responsibility, will you do it again?"

Looking down, Kent put his cane against the ground in front of him and held it with both hands for a few moments, closing his eyes and letting a few tears fall.

"Forgive me, but you'll have to wait a little longer, Inza," he whispered as quietly as he could. Looking up, he nodded towards Nabu. "No, I guess I'm not."

"So be it!"

Faye opened his eyes, the resulting golden light washing over his tower and driving even Klarion back a few meters.

"Aw crud. Nabu, you spoilsport!" The childish abomination yelled, sending a wave of red flying towards their location.

Widening his eyes, Jay grabbed on to Danette and ran back while Fate formed a shield, it was able to block the attack completely, but he was still sent back several meters as the stair disintegrated from Klarion's power.

Breathing hard, Diana dropped beside Danette and Jay. Together the three of them took stock of the situation.

On the ground, Klarion sat on top of his monstrous cat, the beast was still the size of an elephant and only had a few bruises from the fight.

In front of them were the dried husk of Kent's left size, an arm and a leg as well as pieces of his chest momentarily drained of color, but already starting to recover, growing like a fungus. Danette frowned and directed her fire towards the remains, not doing much more than slowing down their growth.

Fate floated on the air, half of his body glowing gold as his magic sustained his life and slowly recovered his missing pieces. "It is over Klarion, Fate already sees your defeat."

"Oh bugger off, what are you gonna do with a half dead host?" Klarion mocked, a huge smirk on his face. "I bet the old geezer doesn't even have a minute left before you finish draining the life out of him."

"It is not Kent that is being drained, Klarion," Fate answered, creating an enormous ank of light at his back.

For a second, Klarion narrowed his eyes at his counterpart, and then he glanced at the quickly recovering tumors. "You're still connected. Clever boy, your father would be so proud!"

A blast of gold hit him in the belly, causing his body to explode from the impact and go flying in two different directions. The cat hissed in anger, its fur lifting as it jumped away from the stairwell and started fleeing while dodging blasts of magic.

Klarion himself was still laughing, his blood turning into black strings that moved like tentacles, grabbing each other and reconnecting the two pieces of him. "Uuuuuh, someone's feeling very saline!" With a wave of his hand, he blocked two other blasts and formed a pentagram below the regenerating tumor, teleporting it on top of Teeki and away from Danette's fire as it had started to gather heat.

Connected again, Klarion's eyes shone red, almost spilling malice, Diana took a step forward, but the Chaos Lord glanced her way and sent a large blast of magic, forcing her to block it.

"Hmm, I think I'm missing something," Klarion complained, looking down at his chest where there was still a hole. "Nevermind, I never had a heart to begin with."

Suddenly, a large beam of green energy cut through the tower, almost hitting Klarion as Alan flew back, roaring with rage. The muscled demon was holding on to his body and punching him repeatedly while Alan blocked with a shield.

Behind them, the second demon followed, far slower but still faster than an average car. Since Klarion was clearly the biggest threat, Diana flew towards Alan, smashing into the demon holding him and punching it away.

"Alan, are you alright?" she asked while the older man breathed hard, his eyes looking all around for a target.

"I need something to fight… something to kill," he mumbled and then grabbed his face, shaking his head to gather himself. "Sorry, both of them have an emotional manipulation power. Also, don't block their blasts, they have some kind of aging magic. I saw some armor set rusting and collapsing from a single hit."

The second demon aimed another magical blast from his way, but Jay arrived in time, delivering a punch as fast as he could and sending the fat monster flying back.

On top of the stairs, Danette looked down at the fight and concentrated. For about half a minute now, the nano-machines inside her body had been working overtime to repair her. She still had a hole in her chest, but her wind core was already working again.

From all around her, some of Kara's drones arrived, entering her wound one after another and allowing the nano-robots to cannibalize their materials to finish the repairs.

Lifting her arms, she created the hottest flame she could, feeding it with oxygen again and turning it blue. The heat was contained by her power, but she increased it more and more, turning it into a fireball the size of her head and it only grew bigger by the second.

"Aww, you guys are useless!" Klarion complained.

"Fuck you, how would I know wrath and willpower would be so compatible?" the larger demon growled, cleaning some blood that had leaked from the corner of his mouth when Diana punched him.

Seeing as there wasn't anyone in the way, Danette released her power, causing a second pillar of fire to shoot at Klarion. This time, she had kept it as contained as she could, increasing its potency even more.

Klarion blocked it; the fire roared against one of his magical barriers, but it pushed him back and boiled his flesh, leaving only blackened bones with two red lights in the middle of his skull.

Shadows covered his body, taking the place of his skin and leaving the Chaos Lord as a mass of darkness and eldritch energy, his voice becoming hoarse as he 'tsked' and glanced around. "Well, I guess it's time to change the battlefield."

Releasing a shockwave of power, Klarion pushed the heroes back and teleported close to his cat once again. Lifting his hand, he blocked one last blast from Fate and created a red portal at his back.

Together, Danette, Fate and Alan sent waves of power at the blocking Lord of Chaos as he bought time for the demons to flee, but Klarion was actually taking things seriously and had created several consecutive shields. Danette didn't have time to build the heat and was the weakest of the fighters.

Both Jay and Diana rushed towards the bastard, but Klarion collapsed the path ahead of Jay and blasted another wave of power at Diana, slowing her down. "Hehehehe, your precious tower may be able to take our battle, but I wonder how the city is gonna handle it! See you later, armadillos!"

Feeling all of her functions finally coming back on, Danette looked at the others for a second, unable to do anything as Klarion's portal closed behind him.

Looking up, Fate growled. "Klarion has released the portal on top of the city," closing his eyes in concentration, he finally finished re-growing his body, leaving him with fully white limbs in place of human ones. A moment later, his costume covered it. "Come, we must hurry outside before the damage grows."

"Good to see you too Fate," Alan commented, grabbing on to Jay and flying up.

"What will it do?" Danette asked, holding on to Diana as they flew up through a portal Fate had created.

"Without the tower's suppression, the door will open much faster. Yog-Sotha must not be allowed to gain a footing in this plane," Fate growled, finally flying out of the tower to stare at the outside.

From the middle of the sky, supported by Klarion's magic, the released pieces of Kent's body multiplied faster and faster every second and started to form a large circle from which a green light spilled out.

"Ignore Klarion and the demons, the portal's formation must be delayed until Fate can repel the being."

Looking upward, Danette already saw her brother engaging, a large tornado of wind smashing towards Klarion as Red Tornado flew towards the villain, his legs covered by a twister.

Before she could say anything else, Fate, Diana and Alan flew up to engage, leaving her and Jay alone on top of the tower. With a command, she gathered the last of the drones and stepped on top of a shield formed between two of them, ordering the others to start rescuing civilians.

"Fuck, I knew the meeting wasn't a good idea," Danette cursed, already starting to gather another fireball. "It's either a stupid fight or a supervillain attack, nothing good ever comes from a super meeting."

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