Not counting the mission in space, it had only been a few hours, but the Justice League was already exhausted. The recent events were just too stressful and the hard-fought battles were too numerous to not drain them of their mental energy, but in the end, they succeeded.
After being hit by that energy wave, the light of Green Lantern protected them from the ripples of time. They were displaced on an unfamiliar earth. In another timeline, where Nazi Germany had won the second world war.
After they had joined the resistance, they figured out the reason the history of their world had changed. Vandal Savage had helped win the war by sending a laptop with information to his past self. The information included how to win the war and inventions that were too advanced for that time to help him in his endeavor.
It also included information on how to build a time machine, which was needed to stabilize the timeline. Good thing it had already been built or they would have been stuck in the past.
Fortunately, they managed to stop Vandal Savage, therefore correcting the timeline to what it was before they returned to their original time.
After landing on the other side of the space-time tunnel, they helped the others land safely as they traversed the tunnel to make sure that everyone returned with them. With a sudden thunderclap, the tunnel sizzled out of existence, returning the surrounding space to the stable, familiar sensation.
"Home sweet home, I hope." Flash said before a voice called out to them.
"Could have guessed that you would have been fine. I really worried for nothing." They were greeted by the sight of Nathan, who walked out from behind the control panel and approached them. They hadn't noticed him before since they were too concerned with the deadly space-time tunnel.
The first one to approach him was Wonder Woman, who hugged him fiercely. "Nate, I am back." Nathan frowned slightly before welcoming her return with a one-arm hug.
"So, what did I miss?" Nathan asked as he turned his attention to the others. They couldn't help but smile at what they figured was him being embarrassed by Diana's greeting.
"It's a long story." Superman added with a chuckle before he clapped on Nathan's shoulder before looking at the broken entrance with a raised eyebrow.
"You are not going to believe what we have been through." Green Lantern added as he and the rest headed for the entrance.
Nathan raised an eyebrow at that. "Let me guess. Another visit to another earth again?"
Flash snorted, "Close, but not quite there yet. I will tell you after I got my 15 thousand calories, you didn't empty the storage of the Watchtower again, did you?"
Diana noticed that Nathan's smile stiffened a bit and suddenly stopped being dragged along by her. "...There are still some things I need to investigate and since I am already here, might as well do it now. How about you guys get some rest while I deal with all of this?" Nathan pointed at the mess and the time machine around them.
"You sure you don't want to head back home? This can probably wait another day, and I really need that shower." Diana asked Nate with a provocative smirk on her face, but he seemed unfazed, or rather, he looked confused.
"No, it's fine? You guys head back and rest for now. You need it. Besides, having this machine lying around isn't exactly safe." Nathan said without moving an inch. He was clearly adamant about this, so she could only let it go and head out with the others, who were equally tired as her.
Diana noticed Batman's frown after he looked over his shoulder in the direction where Nathan was left behind. It looked like Batman wanted to continue working. He was getting better with taking some rests, but he was still a workaholic, so she couldn't help but support Nate's suggestions even though she would rather Nate joined her under the shower.
"He is probably only worried that we would work ourselves to death." Diana said to Batman as they climbed out of the hole and found themselves in a forest.
He grunted before he answered, "That is understandable, but didn't he appear off?" He questioned before looking around them.
"In what way?" Diana asked as the others looked around as well before noticing one of the Watchtower's spaceships hover above them. Did Nathan arrive in a spaceship? Convenient, since they could take it to head back. The others thought the same and quickly boarded it.
"He seemed relieved but wasn't reciprocating as I had guessed he would. Though he doesn't know that we messed with time." Diana thought about Batman's observation and he seemed indeed less enthusiastic than she had hoped or guessed, but she knew why that might have been the case. "He probably is just exhausted after having to take over the shifts of several days and now even needed to take some overtime."
Batman thought about it before hesitantly nodding. "I guess you are right... He will probably shirk duty for the next weeks."
She chuckled at that. "Certainly, and you are going to jump in, right?" She only got an unhappy grunt.
...
The Justice League were relaxing inside the spaceship as they flew towards the Watchtower. They didn't say anything as they were tired of the journey, but all could be said to be happy that they were able to succeed and correct their timeline. Diana tried to relax and thought about having a shower right after they arrived before she had to write her report.
After landing in the Watchtower's hangar, everyone said their goodbyes and headed to their room or towards the canteen to get some food. She couldn't blame them. Diana could go for a bite as well, but she wanted to get clean first in case Nathan wanted to join her for the meal.
After stepping into her room, she made several steps towards the bathroom when she started frowning. Her room looked strange. It felt familiar, but it wasn't how she remembered leaving it behind.
"Where is our picture?" She muttered as she looked at the nightstand next to her bed where a picture should be standing. She couldn't help but shake her head. Maybe Nathan redecorated her room. Perhaps he finally decided to get rid of the picture. He always complained about how goofy he looked on it, though that was why she liked it.
Deciding not to think too much about it, she headed right into the shower after losing all her dirty clothes before letting the water clean off the grimes on her. The water rinsed her hair and trickled onto her face.
Even though it was peaceful and quiet, she couldn't help but feel anxious. Something is wrong. Her feelings were seldom wrong, so she finished up quickly and stepped out of the shower.
After she got dressed with another set of battle wear with the other one thrown in the washing machine, she made her way back to earth where she headed back to Gateway city. Her anxiousness didn't let her rest in the Watchtower, so she headed back home directly to ease her nerves.
...
Shayera sat on her bed with a towel containing and drying her hair as she looked down at the communication device in her hand. A frown sat on her face as she looked at the sent message. A message of her fiancée, Hro Talak, calling off the invasion because of the information she provided.
"What information?" She couldn't recall anything that would warrant a retreat, but there was something else, another request. He told her to keep a good relationship with Shallot and to not provoke him in any shape or form. He also told her it was better for her to not contact them again in case she was found out.
There was nothing that could indicate what the information was other than it had to do with Shallot. It seemed like she had to have contacted them personally and it obviously spooked them. She felt conflicted about it.
On one hand, she didn't have to betray and spy on earth for Thanagar again, but the message of her staying here and not contacting them again felt like she was being exiled. Worse, it was initiated and accepted by her fiancée.
"What the hell happened?" She muttered to herself before standing up and getting dressed. She had to figure out what had happened.
...
After dropping off the other members of the Justice League at the Watchtower, Batman took the SSJL-02 towards Gotham. The camouflage system hid the spaceship from the naked eye to the military sensors. It was an innovative technology that wasn't on the market yet and was only beaten by the Batwing's system.
After he swapped to the Batwing that was waiting above the city, he let the autopilot take the SSJL-02 back to the Watchtower while he flew towards the Batcave without detours.
He quietly landed inside before the cockpit's ceiling opened up for him to jump out of. Making no noises, he landed on the metal platform before heading over to the Batcomputer.
Just after sitting down, a familiar presence made itself known. "Master Bruce, you have just returned. How about a rest? Or...a shower?"
"Yes, in a bit, Alfred. Just want to record the last events." Batman said before typing away.
"I figured as much that was why I brought tea...Did you just say 'yes', sir?"
Batman responded with a light grunt, knowing and accepting the incoming ridicule. "How remarkable. I thought I would never see the day where you would rest as early as 4am." Alfred said as he continued to put the cup next to Batman before pouring the tea inside, not believing that he would rest this early. Something always came up.
"Alfred, has anything happened in the time I was away?" Batman asked as he continued to write his report about Vandal Savage. The Justice League would need to pay more attention to him if he had this kind of technology. It raised his threat level enormously. Batman was simultaneously checking up on the news of Gotham.
"The city survived and if you ask about Master Dick and Miss Barbara, nothing has changed in the past 2 and a half days, sir. Master Dick is still in Jump City and Miss Barbara is filling in just fine."
Batman grunted in acknowledgment. "What about Selina? Is she alright?"
"Selina...Kyle Sir? As far as I know, you haven't spoken to her for a couple of months now. Unless you have snuck out of your room again." Alfred dryly added as he continued to stand behind Batman.
"That was only one time...Wait. A couple of months?" Batman turned to Alfred as his mind raced a hundred miles in a second.
He then turned around and closed the report he had written before searching for a name. "Shallot again. Did he do something 'suspicious' again?" Alfred asked as he saw that he looked up the alien's name again. Batman didn't answer, which didn't surprise Alfred.
Batman wanted to access the files on Nathan, but to the surprise of the two present, he failed to access them. Batman hesitated to type in the password again, knowing that he hadn't misspelled it. Instead, he went with another method of using fingerprint and his eye scan.
As he read through the information, it became increasingly clear to Batman that this wasn't what he had written, or at least not the him now.
"Did Nat- Shallot visit the cave in the past?" Batman asked Alfred, who shook his head as he denied it with certainty. He didn't need more than that. It was clear that they hadn't restored the past as perfectly as they had thought.
The butterfly effect wasn't something that Batman was unfamiliar with, so it could be reasoned that even the smallest change in the second world war had created a ripple effect, changing some things now.
The most probable effect was that the ones on earth had a different personality prior to the change in history. Changes outside of earth were improbable. He just had to know what had changed on earth. Even though Vandal Savage had assumed that he and his future counterpart had created a fixed timeline didn't mean they were right...
"I will prepare another pot of tea." Alfred said as he made his way out of the cave after seeing the intensity of Batman's gaze as he typed away on the Batcomputer.
...
If someone other than Batman could find him quickly, then it was him, which was why Diana was waiting for his call with bated breath. Despite having returned to a slightly changed house, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary.
The only thing that concerned her was that every picture she had taken with Nathan or anyone else that she had met through him had disappeared. Not to mention, he didn't answer his phone. She had returned to the time machine hoping to find him there, but everything was already cleaned up and Nathan wasn't anywhere to be found.
She couldn't help but assume the worst. Suddenly, her phone rang and Diana instantly picked up. "I found him, Diana. He is in a house at the edge of Portland. I think I know what is wrong. I have already called the others."
After asking him some questions, she made her way toward Portland at top speed. Zatara was already watching Nathan's house, having seen something that warranted not only her attention but that of the entire Justice League.
Superman, Hawkgirl, and Zatara were already there with Diana on the way there. Batman had told them to lie low for now and that he was already on it, which admittedly made the other members hesitate, but in the end, they would come there as well. Diana was sure of that. They weren't the type that would be on the sideline if something happened. The only one that was missing was Aquaman, who should be in Atlantis and couldn't be reached at the moment.
After reaching the place they had agreed to gather at, she saw magic rune around the house. She had seen a similar rune, albeit a lot smaller. Something to stop detection. It certainly would help against Nathan's ki senses.
Flash had already arrived as well. She landed softly next to him before turning her attention to Zatara, who was looking towards a house on the outskirts of the city through a spinning rune. The house was surrounded by a forest and a lake into which a waterfall ended in. It looked like a really nice place, which somehow made Diana uncomfortable.
"So, what's up with the emergency meeting, Zat." Flash asked as he squinted towards the house in the distance before he disappeared into the city and returned with binoculars. Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter arrived before Zatara could respond.
"I believe a child of Trigon is mind controlling Shallot." He told the group, which drew a sharp breath from her. The others looked at each other before resting their worried gazes on her. The tension in the air was palpable. Diana took the binoculars out of Flash's hands and looked into what appeared to be the living room of the demon's house.
There Diana saw the perpetrator of her unease. Red skin and a pair of demonic glowing eyes with her wretched hands going through Nathan's hair, touching his scalp as if she was massaging it as her demonic energy flowed through her hands. Diana's teeth clenched as she saw how brazenly this demon was trying to mess with her man's mind!
"Calm down, Diana! We don't know the situation if we just walked in. Who knows what will happen if the demon decides to kill him?! Now at least he is alive, we have to be smart about this." Superman plead, grabbing her wrist as she prepared to head towards the house.
Diana took several deep breaths before she broke free of his hold and continued to look through the binoculars again. "But we can't just do nothing. The longer we wait, the severer the consequences might be." She heard Green Lantern argue, and she was the same opinion.
The demon suddenly lowered her hands and molested her man before Nathan stopped her approaches, showing that a part of him was still aware of the outside.
"I might not figure out what spells are placed on Shallot, but if I can get the demon isolated, I will be able to cut off the source of any spells." Zatara supplied, giving the others an idea of how to approach this. They just needed someone to lure Nathan out. That's when they turned to her.
"I am not sure if it is a good idea for me to approach him." She gritted her teeth as she thought about it, but it truly might not be the best option for her to go. "All my pictures of him have disappeared and any chats or phone calls I had with him are gone as well. It's like we never talked outside the missions with each other. That demon bitch must have made him forget me. Who knows how he sees me now?" She said with venom in her voice.
The others looked at each other, not being sure who else was best to lure him out until Zatara interjected. "There is something else. Making him forget you is probably an attempt to divert and dilute his emotions, but usually isn't permanent if it hasn't been going on for long. Since we were only away for a few days, we should have enough time to prevent long-term damages."
Zatara pauses as he tried to reassure Diana, though that did little to make her any less restless. He continued, "To redirect emotions is a common technique for demons to fall back on if they tried anything on people that either have potent emotions or are naturally resilient to that kind of manipulation.
Usually, they would use themselves as the object of desire as they fabricate a relationship, but since he seemed to resist it, it likely didn't work perfectly. It is possible that she brought in another demon or person to work with her. So watch out for that." He theorized before looking at Diana.
Diana was sure that Nathan could resist this kind of manipulation, but who knew for how long? If that demon permanently changed - harmed - her Nathan than she swore by the almighty Zeus, she will let Tartarus loose on that bitch.
"So, who are we going to send and lure him out?" Flash said as he tapped his feet on the ground. Like the others, he was edging to do something.
"Will we even be able to lure him out? After all, this is the demon's house. How would we know he was here to begin with? Our appearance will probably alert the demon and if the demons figure out that something is wrong, then they might just vanish." Diana said after tearing off her eyes of the demon, running her hands over Nathan's back with that darkness in her hands.
She just hoped that she wasn't torturing him. At least his expression didn't show that he was in pain, even with the little frown on his face. She knew that expression very well; he was focused. He looked like his thoughts were on a problem that he didn't know how to solve.
"The best option is still Wonder Woman. If he isn't completely in the demon's control yet, you have the highest chance of him reaffirming his resistance." Zatara was the one that had most knowledge about demons, so they were inclined to follow his lead.
"What about we just sent him an emergency request from the Watchtower?" J'onn asked as he held up a communication device from the Watchtower, but Zatara shook his head.
"It's too unreliable. What if the demon monitors the requests? What if he just dismisses it? Besides, letting him see Wonder Woman would have the most effect on rousing his inner resistance." Zatara added before agreeing on a plan and dividing their tasks among each other.
...
Currently, my clone was giving the papers to my research team in San Francisco. They should be able to figure out what these things meant and if it was useful to their own research.
I slapped the hand that was subtly approaching my inner thigh and was about to say something when I was suddenly lifted and slammed into the couch. Tentacles made of darkness bound my arms as demon-Raven threw her arms around my neck before kissing me passionately.
I quickly responded by biting down on her lip strong enough to make her bleed, hoping that the pain would snap her out of it, but I knew I had to think up something else when she released and gave me smirk, "Feisty, me likey."
"Oh, come on! Raven stop it." I put more strength into my arms, but just as I was about to forcefully tear myself free, the bell rang. This stunned Raven and gave her the opportunity to calm down, while I couldn't help but frown. The reason was simple. I couldn't sense who was at my door.
Well, it wasn't entirely true. I could feel that something was there, but I couldn't quite put my finger on who or what it was. It felt similar to the new gods of Apokolips. I spread out my senses and I couldn't sense anything off. With a gesture, I made Raven understand to hide as I walked to the door and opened it.
A familiar figure presented herself in her full garb as if she was ready to fight and she seemed tense as well, though that might just be attributed to her being a trained warrior ready for any sneak attacks. Still, she felt more tense than usual. Perhaps...?
Was she here for another spar? The last beating I gave her probably didn't sit well with her and since then, she certainly improved. I had already noticed it when she came back from that portal. She felt a lot stronger than before and now she seemed to be able to use her divine ki at will? What the hell happened to her in the last few days?
Although she appeared to have gotten the highest boost in strength, it wasn't just her. The other members of the league seemed to have gotten a significant boost since the last time I saw them as well, though not as impressive as Wonder Woman's.
And with her skill, she should be able to use all that strength that I felt back then. Considering that she could use her divine ki now as well, she might even be stronger than I sensed.
I took a step out of the house before closing the door behind me, not wanting to invite her inside and accidentally see Raven. "Everything alright?"
She didn't answer immediately after opening her mouth as she hesitated to say something. "I just need your cooperation for a moment." She settled with before turning around and flew into the sky.
I followed her closely, "Is this about the last spar...? Look I am sorry it won't happen again." She said nothing and just continued to fly, so I stopped.
Almost immediately she stopped as well before turning around, "...I...I don't want to lie to you, but I need you to be on the Watchtower."
I couldn't help but frown. "Wonder Woman, what is this about?"
She gritted her teeth before approaching me and grabbing me at the wrist. "Please, Nathan. Just trust me and return to the Watchtower with me." She said tenderly, almost as a whisper, which honestly made me want to agree, but then I heard something in the distance, back at my house. A scream. Raven's life force was getting harder to sense.
"?!" I turned around and saw Zatara burst out of my ceiling as tentacles of darkness chased after him. Zatara retaliated instantly and cut off the tentacles with a golden, glowing sword.
Before Zatara surrounded Raven, trapped inside two magic runes forming a tube. My body was already beginning to move towards her before I heard something from behind me.
"I am sorry." Wonder Woman said with pain in her voice. I didn't understand until the edge of her shield slammed into the back of my neck. The force sent me tumbling to the ground.
My entire view was spinning after my legs caught a tree, breaking it apart. Several trees broke because of my trajectory before I slammed into a stuck up root. Finally stopping my momentum. My descent hadn't hurt me at all, but...
"Fuckin' hell." I muttered as I rubbed my neck. The attack was precise and if she had hit harder, I might have fainted directly. Her shield had hurt, but I wasn't too focused on that, as I knew Raven was in danger.
If they decided to directly kill her instead of capturing her, then... I didn't know what I would do.
"Nate, you have to trust us, this is for your own good." Wonder Woman said as she lowered herself to the ground with raised hands placatingly. She seemed mildly surprised that I wasn't unconscious. If she was surprised by that, she should be terrified now.
My golden aura soared.
Not counting the mission in space, it had only been a few hours, but the Justice League was already exhausted. The recent events were just too stressful and the hard-fought battles were too numerous to not drain them of their mental energy, but in the end, they succeeded.
After being hit by that energy wave, the light of Green Lantern protected them from the ripples of time. They were displaced on an unfamiliar earth. In another timeline, where Nazi Germany had won the second world war.
After they had joined the resistance, they figured out the reason the history of their world had changed. Vandal Savage had helped win the war by sending a laptop with information to his past self. The information included how to win the war and inventions that were too advanced for that time to help him in his endeavor.
It also included information on how to build a time machine, which was needed to stabilize the timeline. Good thing it had already been built or they would have been stuck in the past.
Fortunately, they managed to stop Vandal Savage, therefore correcting the timeline to what it was before they returned to their original time.
After landing on the other side of the space-time tunnel, they helped the others land safely as they traversed the tunnel to make sure that everyone returned with them. With a sudden thunderclap, the tunnel sizzled out of existence, returning the surrounding space to the stable, familiar sensation.
"Home sweet home, I hope." Flash said before a voice called out to them.
"Could have guessed that you would have been fine. I really worried for nothing." They were greeted by the sight of Nathan, who walked out from behind the control panel and approached them. They hadn't noticed him before since they were too concerned with the deadly space-time tunnel.
The first one to approach him was Wonder Woman, who hugged him fiercely. "Nate, I am back." Nathan frowned slightly before welcoming her return with a one-arm hug.
"So, what did I miss?" Nathan asked as he turned his attention to the others. They couldn't help but smile at what they figured was him being embarrassed by Diana's greeting.
"It's a long story." Superman added with a chuckle before he clapped on Nathan's shoulder before looking at the broken entrance with a raised eyebrow.
"You are not going to believe what we have been through." Green Lantern added as he and the rest headed for the entrance.
Nathan raised an eyebrow at that. "Let me guess. Another visit to another earth again?"
Flash snorted, "Close, but not quite there yet. I will tell you after I got my 15 thousand calories, you didn't empty the storage of the Watchtower again, did you?"
Diana noticed that Nathan's smile stiffened a bit and suddenly stopped being dragged along by her. "...There are still some things I need to investigate and since I am already here, might as well do it now. How about you guys get some rest while I deal with all of this?" Nathan pointed at the mess and the time machine around them.
"You sure you don't want to head back home? This can probably wait another day, and I really need that shower." Diana asked Nate with a provocative smirk on her face, but he seemed unfazed, or rather, he looked confused.
"No, it's fine? You guys head back and rest for now. You need it. Besides, having this machine lying around isn't exactly safe." Nathan said without moving an inch. He was clearly adamant about this, so she could only let it go and head out with the others, who were equally tired as her.
Diana noticed Batman's frown after he looked over his shoulder in the direction where Nathan was left behind. It looked like Batman wanted to continue working. He was getting better with taking some rests, but he was still a workaholic, so she couldn't help but support Nate's suggestions even though she would rather Nate joined her under the shower.
"He is probably only worried that we would work ourselves to death." Diana said to Batman as they climbed out of the hole and found themselves in a forest.
He grunted before he answered, "That is understandable, but didn't he appear off?" He questioned before looking around them.
"In what way?" Diana asked as the others looked around as well before noticing one of the Watchtower's spaceships hover above them. Did Nathan arrive in a spaceship? Convenient, since they could take it to head back. The others thought the same and quickly boarded it.
"He seemed relieved but wasn't reciprocating as I had guessed he would. Though he doesn't know that we messed with time." Diana thought about Batman's observation and he seemed indeed less enthusiastic than she had hoped or guessed, but she knew why that might have been the case. "He probably is just exhausted after having to take over the shifts of several days and now even needed to take some overtime."
Batman thought about it before hesitantly nodding. "I guess you are right... He will probably shirk duty for the next weeks."
She chuckled at that. "Certainly, and you are going to jump in, right?" She only got an unhappy grunt.
...
The Justice League were relaxing inside the spaceship as they flew towards the Watchtower. They didn't say anything as they were tired of the journey, but all could be said to be happy that they were able to succeed and correct their timeline. Diana tried to relax and thought about having a shower right after they arrived before she had to write her report.
After landing in the Watchtower's hangar, everyone said their goodbyes and headed to their room or towards the canteen to get some food. She couldn't blame them. Diana could go for a bite as well, but she wanted to get clean first in case Nathan wanted to join her for the meal.
After stepping into her room, she made several steps towards the bathroom when she started frowning. Her room looked strange. It felt familiar, but it wasn't how she remembered leaving it behind.
"Where is our picture?" She muttered as she looked at the nightstand next to her bed where a picture should be standing. She couldn't help but shake her head. Maybe Nathan redecorated her room. Perhaps he finally decided to get rid of the picture. He always complained about how goofy he looked on it, though that was why she liked it.
Deciding not to think too much about it, she headed right into the shower after losing all her dirty clothes before letting the water clean off the grimes on her. The water rinsed her hair and trickled onto her face.
Even though it was peaceful and quiet, she couldn't help but feel anxious. Something is wrong. Her feelings were seldom wrong, so she finished up quickly and stepped out of the shower.
After she got dressed with another set of battle wear with the other one thrown in the washing machine, she made her way back to earth where she headed back to Gateway city. Her anxiousness didn't let her rest in the Watchtower, so she headed back home directly to ease her nerves.
...
Shayera sat on her bed with a towel containing and drying her hair as she looked down at the communication device in her hand. A frown sat on her face as she looked at the sent message. A message of her fiancée, Hro Talak, calling off the invasion because of the information she provided.
"What information?" She couldn't recall anything that would warrant a retreat, but there was something else, another request. He told her to keep a good relationship with Shallot and to not provoke him in any shape or form. He also told her it was better for her to not contact them again in case she was found out.
There was nothing that could indicate what the information was other than it had to do with Shallot. It seemed like she had to have contacted them personally and it obviously spooked them. She felt conflicted about it.
On one hand, she didn't have to betray and spy on earth for Thanagar again, but the message of her staying here and not contacting them again felt like she was being exiled. Worse, it was initiated and accepted by her fiancée.
"What the hell happened?" She muttered to herself before standing up and getting dressed. She had to figure out what had happened.
...
After dropping off the other members of the Justice League at the Watchtower, Batman took the SSJL-02 towards Gotham. The camouflage system hid the spaceship from the naked eye to the military sensors. It was an innovative technology that wasn't on the market yet and was only beaten by the Batwing's system.
After he swapped to the Batwing that was waiting above the city, he let the autopilot take the SSJL-02 back to the Watchtower while he flew towards the Batcave without detours.
He quietly landed inside before the cockpit's ceiling opened up for him to jump out of. Making no noises, he landed on the metal platform before heading over to the Batcomputer.
Just after sitting down, a familiar presence made itself known. "Master Bruce, you have just returned. How about a rest? Or...a shower?"
"Yes, in a bit, Alfred. Just want to record the last events." Batman said before typing away.
"I figured as much that was why I brought tea...Did you just say 'yes', sir?"
Batman responded with a light grunt, knowing and accepting the incoming ridicule. "How remarkable. I thought I would never see the day where you would rest as early as 4am." Alfred said as he continued to put the cup next to Batman before pouring the tea inside, not believing that he would rest this early. Something always came up.
"Alfred, has anything happened in the time I was away?" Batman asked as he continued to write his report about Vandal Savage. The Justice League would need to pay more attention to him if he had this kind of technology. It raised his threat level enormously. Batman was simultaneously checking up on the news of Gotham.
"The city survived and if you ask about Master Dick and Miss Barbara, nothing has changed in the past 2 and a half days, sir. Master Dick is still in Jump City and Miss Barbara is filling in just fine."
Batman grunted in acknowledgment. "What about Selina? Is she alright?"
"Selina...Kyle Sir? As far as I know, you haven't spoken to her for a couple of months now. Unless you have snuck out of your room again." Alfred dryly added as he continued to stand behind Batman.
"That was only one time...Wait. A couple of months?" Batman turned to Alfred as his mind raced a hundred miles in a second.
He then turned around and closed the report he had written before searching for a name. "Shallot again. Did he do something 'suspicious' again?" Alfred asked as he saw that he looked up the alien's name again. Batman didn't answer, which didn't surprise Alfred.
Batman wanted to access the files on Nathan, but to the surprise of the two present, he failed to access them. Batman hesitated to type in the password again, knowing that he hadn't misspelled it. Instead, he went with another method of using fingerprint and his eye scan.
As he read through the information, it became increasingly clear to Batman that this wasn't what he had written, or at least not the him now.
"Did Nat- Shallot visit the cave in the past?" Batman asked Alfred, who shook his head as he denied it with certainty. He didn't need more than that. It was clear that they hadn't restored the past as perfectly as they had thought.
The butterfly effect wasn't something that Batman was unfamiliar with, so it could be reasoned that even the smallest change in the second world war had created a ripple effect, changing some things now.
The most probable effect was that the ones on earth had a different personality prior to the change in history. Changes outside of earth were improbable. He just had to know what had changed on earth. Even though Vandal Savage had assumed that he and his future counterpart had created a fixed timeline didn't mean they were right...
"I will prepare another pot of tea." Alfred said as he made his way out of the cave after seeing the intensity of Batman's gaze as he typed away on the Batcomputer.
...
If someone other than Batman could find him quickly, then it was him, which was why Diana was waiting for his call with bated breath. Despite having returned to a slightly changed house, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary.
The only thing that concerned her was that every picture she had taken with Nathan or anyone else that she had met through him had disappeared. Not to mention, he didn't answer his phone. She had returned to the time machine hoping to find him there, but everything was already cleaned up and Nathan wasn't anywhere to be found.
She couldn't help but assume the worst. Suddenly, her phone rang and Diana instantly picked up. "I found him, Diana. He is in a house at the edge of Portland. I think I know what is wrong. I have already called the others."
After asking him some questions, she made her way toward Portland at top speed. Zatara was already watching Nathan's house, having seen something that warranted not only her attention but that of the entire Justice League.
Superman, Hawkgirl, and Zatara were already there with Diana on the way there. Batman had told them to lie low for now and that he was already on it, which admittedly made the other members hesitate, but in the end, they would come there as well. Diana was sure of that. They weren't the type that would be on the sideline if something happened. The only one that was missing was Aquaman, who should be in Atlantis and couldn't be reached at the moment.
After reaching the place they had agreed to gather at, she saw magic rune around the house. She had seen a similar rune, albeit a lot smaller. Something to stop detection. It certainly would help against Nathan's ki senses.
Flash had already arrived as well. She landed softly next to him before turning her attention to Zatara, who was looking towards a house on the outskirts of the city through a spinning rune. The house was surrounded by a forest and a lake into which a waterfall ended in. It looked like a really nice place, which somehow made Diana uncomfortable.
"So, what's up with the emergency meeting, Zat." Flash asked as he squinted towards the house in the distance before he disappeared into the city and returned with binoculars. Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter arrived before Zatara could respond.
"I believe a child of Trigon is mind controlling Shallot." He told the group, which drew a sharp breath from her. The others looked at each other before resting their worried gazes on her. The tension in the air was palpable. Diana took the binoculars out of Flash's hands and looked into what appeared to be the living room of the demon's house.
There Diana saw the perpetrator of her unease. Red skin and a pair of demonic glowing eyes with her wretched hands going through Nathan's hair, touching his scalp as if she was massaging it as her demonic energy flowed through her hands. Diana's teeth clenched as she saw how brazenly this demon was trying to mess with her man's mind!
"Calm down, Diana! We don't know the situation if we just walked in. Who knows what will happen if the demon decides to kill him?! Now at least he is alive, we have to be smart about this." Superman plead, grabbing her wrist as she prepared to head towards the house.
Diana took several deep breaths before she broke free of his hold and continued to look through the binoculars again. "But we can't just do nothing. The longer we wait, the severer the consequences might be." She heard Green Lantern argue, and she was the same opinion.
The demon suddenly lowered her hands and molested her man before Nathan stopped her approaches, showing that a part of him was still aware of the outside.
"I might not figure out what spells are placed on Shallot, but if I can get the demon isolated, I will be able to cut off the source of any spells." Zatara supplied, giving the others an idea of how to approach this. They just needed someone to lure Nathan out. That's when they turned to her.
"I am not sure if it is a good idea for me to approach him." She gritted her teeth as she thought about it, but it truly might not be the best option for her to go. "All my pictures of him have disappeared and any chats or phone calls I had with him are gone as well. It's like we never talked outside the missions with each other. That demon bitch must have made him forget me. Who knows how he sees me now?" She said with venom in her voice.
The others looked at each other, not being sure who else was best to lure him out until Zatara interjected. "There is something else. Making him forget you is probably an attempt to divert and dilute his emotions, but usually isn't permanent if it hasn't been going on for long. Since we were only away for a few days, we should have enough time to prevent long-term damages."
Zatara pauses as he tried to reassure Diana, though that did little to make her any less restless. He continued, "To redirect emotions is a common technique for demons to fall back on if they tried anything on people that either have potent emotions or are naturally resilient to that kind of manipulation.
Usually, they would use themselves as the object of desire as they fabricate a relationship, but since he seemed to resist it, it likely didn't work perfectly. It is possible that she brought in another demon or person to work with her. So watch out for that." He theorized before looking at Diana.
Diana was sure that Nathan could resist this kind of manipulation, but who knew for how long? If that demon permanently changed - harmed - her Nathan than she swore by the almighty Zeus, she will let Tartarus loose on that bitch.
"So, who are we going to send and lure him out?" Flash said as he tapped his feet on the ground. Like the others, he was edging to do something.
"Will we even be able to lure him out? After all, this is the demon's house. How would we know he was here to begin with? Our appearance will probably alert the demon and if the demons figure out that something is wrong, then they might just vanish." Diana said after tearing off her eyes of the demon, running her hands over Nathan's back with that darkness in her hands.
She just hoped that she wasn't torturing him. At least his expression didn't show that he was in pain, even with the little frown on his face. She knew that expression very well; he was focused. He looked like his thoughts were on a problem that he didn't know how to solve.
"The best option is still Wonder Woman. If he isn't completely in the demon's control yet, you have the highest chance of him reaffirming his resistance." Zatara was the one that had most knowledge about demons, so they were inclined to follow his lead.
"What about we just sent him an emergency request from the Watchtower?" J'onn asked as he held up a communication device from the Watchtower, but Zatara shook his head.
"It's too unreliable. What if the demon monitors the requests? What if he just dismisses it? Besides, letting him see Wonder Woman would have the most effect on rousing his inner resistance." Zatara added before agreeing on a plan and dividing their tasks among each other.
...
Currently, my clone was giving the papers to my research team in San Francisco. They should be able to figure out what these things meant and if it was useful to their own research.
I slapped the hand that was subtly approaching my inner thigh and was about to say something when I was suddenly lifted and slammed into the couch. Tentacles made of darkness bound my arms as demon-Raven threw her arms around my neck before kissing me passionately.
I quickly responded by biting down on her lip strong enough to make her bleed, hoping that the pain would snap her out of it, but I knew I had to think up something else when she released and gave me smirk, "Feisty, me likey."
"Oh, come on! Raven stop it." I put more strength into my arms, but just as I was about to forcefully tear myself free, the bell rang. This stunned Raven and gave her the opportunity to calm down, while I couldn't help but frown. The reason was simple. I couldn't sense who was at my door.
Well, it wasn't entirely true. I could feel that something was there, but I couldn't quite put my finger on who or what it was. It felt similar to the new gods of Apokolips. I spread out my senses and I couldn't sense anything off. With a gesture, I made Raven understand to hide as I walked to the door and opened it.
A familiar figure presented herself in her full garb as if she was ready to fight and she seemed tense as well, though that might just be attributed to her being a trained warrior ready for any sneak attacks. Still, she felt more tense than usual. Perhaps...?
Was she here for another spar? The last beating I gave her probably didn't sit well with her and since then, she certainly improved. I had already noticed it when she came back from that portal. She felt a lot stronger than before and now she seemed to be able to use her divine ki at will? What the hell happened to her in the last few days?
Although she appeared to have gotten the highest boost in strength, it wasn't just her. The other members of the league seemed to have gotten a significant boost since the last time I saw them as well, though not as impressive as Wonder Woman's.
And with her skill, she should be able to use all that strength that I felt back then. Considering that she could use her divine ki now as well, she might even be stronger than I sensed.
I took a step out of the house before closing the door behind me, not wanting to invite her inside and accidentally see Raven. "Everything alright?"
She didn't answer immediately after opening her mouth as she hesitated to say something. "I just need your cooperation for a moment." She settled with before turning around and flew into the sky.
I followed her closely, "Is this about the last spar...? Look I am sorry it won't happen again." She said nothing and just continued to fly, so I stopped.
Almost immediately she stopped as well before turning around, "...I...I don't want to lie to you, but I need you to be on the Watchtower."
I couldn't help but frown. "Wonder Woman, what is this about?"
She gritted her teeth before approaching me and grabbing me at the wrist. "Please, Nathan. Just trust me and return to the Watchtower with me." She said tenderly, almost as a whisper, which honestly made me want to agree, but then I heard something in the distance, back at my house. A scream. Raven's life force was getting harder to sense.
"?!" I turned around and saw Zatara burst out of my ceiling as tentacles of darkness chased after him. Zatara retaliated instantly and cut off the tentacles with a golden, glowing sword.
Before Zatara surrounded Raven, trapped inside two magic runes forming a tube. My body was already beginning to move towards her before I heard something from behind me.
"I am sorry." Wonder Woman said with pain in her voice. I didn't understand until the edge of her shield slammed into the back of my neck. The force sent me tumbling to the ground.
My entire view was spinning after my legs caught a tree, breaking it apart. Several trees broke because of my trajectory before I slammed into a stuck up root. Finally stopping my momentum. My descent hadn't hurt me at all, but...
"Fuckin' hell." I muttered as I rubbed my neck. The attack was precise and if she had hit harder, I might have fainted directly. Her shield had hurt, but I wasn't too focused on that, as I knew Raven was in danger.
If they decided to directly kill her instead of capturing her, then... I didn't know what I would do.
"Nate, you have to trust us, this is for your own good." Wonder Woman said as she lowered herself to the ground with raised hands placatingly. She seemed mildly surprised that I wasn't unconscious. If she was surprised by that, she should be terrified now.
My golden aura soared.
