Guess who's back

A few days later,

Apokolips.

Darkseid sat there, in an extremely foul mood. His Cybernetic arm had just been attached, but the pain and disgrace behind the wound weren't hidden so easily.

He slammed his other hand against the wall. This resulted in the entire wall collapsing from the force.

"Desaad! Get over here, NOW!" he screamed.

"Yes, my master! What is your command?" Desaad immediately asked upon entering.

"The earthling that dared to transgress against me, his name was revealed to be Nostradamus. Inform every corner of the universe that I will reward the one who brings his decapitated head to me with any treasure they wish. Make that mortal's life hell." Darkseid instructed.

At this moment, another one of his retainers reported "My lord, the tower that was used in the invasion of Earth has exploded. The reactor exploded, causing the entire tower to disintegrate. The surroundings have been eviscerated. The troops nearby have been destroyed as well. It's a catastrophe."

On hearing this, Darkseid's eyes turned red and he could only scream "HUMANS!!"

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10 months later, January 1st.

Metropolis

"HELLO Metropolis!!"said Arnold into a microphone.

"WOOO" the crowd screamed back.

"It's been a crazy year, hasn't it? I mean, an alien invasion, the elections and me actually holding a tour, all in the same year? What are the odds of that?" Arnold began to rant.

He continued his speech "To top that all off, the justice league has new members now. Maybe they'll give me an invitation some day. But anyway,that's so last year now. So Happy New Year everyone, here's to hoping we change ourselves for the better"

The crowd once again cheers at this statement. Arnold then says "Okay, now that the stand up section is over, let's start with the main reason you came here in the fun place. Jacob! Hit me with "Crazy little thing called love."

Jacob, the lead guitarist, switched guitars from an electric to an acoustic as the show began.

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7 hours later, Backstage.

"Good job guys." Arnold commended his band.

"Ah seriously, did you have to keep going for 6 hours?! The concert was supposed to end 2 hours ago!" complained Roger, his band's drummer.

"Come on! Everyone had fun. Plus, it wouldn't sit well with me if people didn't get their money's worth."Arnold replied.

"Ah, as humble as ever, Arnold. You're a multi-millionaire, how the hell do you stay so down to earth?" comments Jacob.

"Eh, I have a brother that gives me an ego check." Arnold explained.

"Is that so? Well what does he-" as Jacob was asking Arnold about his brother, Leslie, the band's instrumentalist, cut him off, as she cried out "Yess!!"

Startled by this sudden cry, a confused Roger asked "What the hell happened to make you so excited?"

Leslie, too excited to care for the question, in an excited tone cried out "The song of Frost and Magma is getting a show!? I demand a pizza party to celebrate!"

This news made Jacob intrigued "Seriously? I heard the fourth book is coming out next month as well. Man, this book is really becoming mainstream now, isn't it?"

Arnold, extremely confused by this series of events, asked the others " What are you talking about?"

On hearing this, his other bandmates were baffled, as Leslie asked him "Wait you don't know about The song of Frost and Magma? It's the biggest fantasy book out right now! Like everyone knows about it! It broke 400 million copies sold just this year. It's written by 'Laufey'. He's the biggest author on the planet right now! He's the same person who wrote 'One ring to rule them all' and 'Boy who lived'. It's literally the only thing I talk about!!"

At this, Arnold can only muster a weak "Uh-huh"

'And here I thought I was getting too blatant with the plagiarism.' he thought to himself.

As he was thinking about paying his brothers a visit, his phone rang. It was from his assistant, Jen. He picked up the call and asked "What is it Jen?"

On the other end of the call, a hoarse, male voice called out "Hello there, Mr.Denver. We are speaking on behalf of Miss Jen. Right now, she is in our custody. If you truly wish for her safety, arrange $10 million in 24 hours. We will contact you after this period is over. If you fail to meet our demands or involve the authority or Superheroes, we will deliver her organ by organ, to your Beverly hills mansion, over the course of a month. Stay prepared."

'Well shit. This isn't good.' I thought to myself. Jen had been kidnapped, and by professionals at that. The ransom wouldn't be a huge deal for me, but I ain't risking her well-being for that long. Who knows how those fuckers would treat her.

'The timing is rather unfortunate too.' Superman had just recently fought Ultra-humanite and was heavily injured by a Kryptonite superweapon. So he was currently recovering in the Yellow sun chamber in the Fortress of Solitude. Looks like some criminals took this chance and kidnapped my secretary of all people.

"Arnold?" asked Jacob, breaking my concentration.

"Uh, yeah? What's up?" I asked in a startled voice.

"What's up? You tell me! That phone call rattled you. Is everything good" he asked.

I masked my tension and replied "Yeah! Just an interview I have to attend."

"So you won't be here for pizza?" asked Leslie.

"Sorry, I can't. But hey, to make up for it, take it off my account! I gotta leave!" I say and exit the building.

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A/N: I'm back with Vol.3: Hunted. This volume will set up some of the main plot points for the future. So I hope you continue to read this story and enjoy the experience.