5

Back with Genocide, the Unofficial Sin of Wrath was staring down the eye sockets of the Spirit of Vengeance as it slowly walked towards him. "Genocide," the Ghost Rider said.

"Been a long time, Bonehead," normally, no one would say that to the Ghost Rider. But, after staring down Satan in the eye, everything became sort of a joke to Genocide.

"Your soul is stained with blood," the Ghost Rider replied. He can clearly smell all the lives on Oscar's soul from the other side of the world from how much blood stained his arms.

"Yeah, yeah, we've been through that before," Genocide waved off what the Ghost Rider said, knowing not to waste time. "I'm not here to talk about that shit. I'm here for information."

"Why should I answer you, Sin of Wrath?" Zarathos asked back, not exactly liking the idea of a conversation with a sinner.

"Because we both want the same thing… punishing the damned," Oscar answered, knowing full well what the rider wants.

The spirit of Vengeance huffed in annoyance. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Genocide was one of the very few beings that had some type of respect from the spirit of Vengeance, mainly because of their shared hatred towards all demons.

"There is great evil on earth, and I've been able to sense it lately," the Ghost Rider suddenly said. "Something ancient, powerful, and dangerous. So much, that you should stay away from it," he warned.

Genocide wasn't phased by the warning. "Did being Maphisto's slave turn you into a coward."

In an instant, Zarathos appeared in front of Oscar and roared at his face, releasing some Hell-fire from his mouth. Normally, anyone else would be cooked alive, but Genocide dealt with Hell-fire on a daily basis, so he didn't even blink behind his helmet.

After a couple of seconds, the spirit of Vengeance stopped and took a step back before, surprisingly, it started laughing. "You have not changed a bit," the Ghost Rider turned and started walking towards his bike. "Perhaps you might survive this after all," Zarathos knew that if Genocide fought against what was coming just as hard as he fought against Satan, then he might win.

Oscar simply looked on as the spirit of Vengeance got back on his bike before turning around and driving off, leaving a trail of fire in his path. He was honestly surprised no one noticed a literal man on fire in the middle of the forest, or that said man didn't set the forest itself on fire.

The Unofficial Sin of Wrath simply shrugged it off and looked around. "Now… do I just wait for Dark Heart?" he asked, not remembering the Winged Phantom saying anything about when he would come.

…

As for Jade Rose, he was right now standing in front of the mysterious female figure that was concealed by shadows. "Is there any reason for this meeting, my child?" the woman asked.

"I'm hurt, mother," the assassin replied in a joking tone. "Is it wrong for me to want to see you again?" he asked rhetorically.

"I can see that something troubles you," his mother stated, able to tell how her son feels even without seeing his face.

Jade Rose sighed with his shoulders dropping slightly. He knew he couldn't hide anything from his mother. She just knew him that much. "Yes, I'm in quite the predicament," he admitted as he walked through the corpse covered alley to sit on a box that was on the side. "I'm in the kind of trouble that father would usually get into," he added thinking it would be better to explain.

"There, there, my child," the woman comforted as she sat down beside her son, her form still covered in shadows. "If you are anything like your father, you will be more than capable of making it through this," she said reassuringly.

"It is not only me that is in trouble, mother," Jade Rose added, remembering that, contrary to his usual adventures, he had partners now.

"Yes, I seem to have noticed," his mother replied, having already known about her son's current situation.

"Can you tell me what's really going on?" the Assassin asked, knowing that his mother should know. However, his mother remained silent, which means that she couldn't tell him. "Will people die?" his mother nodded at that question. "How many?" when his mother stayed silent again, his eyes widen under his mask. "Everyone on Earth?" his mother nodded again, causing him to sigh and put a hand on his forehead. "Well, Aiden is just going to love this," he wasn't worried about using Dark Heart's real name, mainly because he knew that his mother knew everyone's names.

"I am sorry that I can't help you, my child," the woman apologized, regret obvious in her voice.

"Do not fret, mother," Jade Rose knew that, despite how powerful his mother is, she has rules that she must follow. "What you gave me is far more helpful than you can think," he added standing up from his position on the box. "Oh, one more thing," he added, remembering something. "Do you know anything about a being called Paradox?" he asked, hoping to get some answers that even Dark Heart doesn't have.

Suddenly, the aura of dread in the alley intensified. The shadows grew darker to the point where it was almost impossible to see anything but the woman's white eyes, which formed to a glare. "How do you know that name?" in contrast to her earlier tone, this one was much colder.

"She has been hanging out with a friend of mine," Jade Rose's mother seemed to relax, probably glad that the cat-eared woman wasn't out for her son. "Do you know who she is?" his mother nodded in confirmation. "Can you tell me?" this time, she remained quiet. "Well, I guess I'll find out sooner or later. See you soon, mother," with that, he walked into the shadows before vanishing.

The woman sighed, sad that she could not help her child as much as she wished. She always watched over him and saw him do his work, but she still wanted to be able to do more for her son.

"I think you hurt his feelings," the woman looked at the other side of the alley… only to see Paradox leaning on a wall while crossing her arms. "And you call yourself a mother?" her tone matched that teasing smile on her face.

"What are you doing here?" Jade Rose's mother demanded.

"Are you worried I might go after your little boy?" Paradox's question received a hateful glare. "I thought you had more trust in me. Aren't we friends?"

"You're concept of 'friends' is very… wrong," the mysterious woman replied, still holding her glare.

"Relax," Paradox rolled her eyes, used to how the woman acts around her. "I have no interest in your little boy. I have my eyes on someone else," her grin turned somewhat dark as an image of Aiden fighting Talia Al Ghoul appeared in her irises. "I was just making sure that you didn't tell your beloved son anything that you shouldn't have."

"Unlike you, I have rules to exist by," Jade Rose's mother replied.

"Which is why you're boring," Paradox retorted before vanishing in a rainbow hue to avoid a blast of black energy that struck the wall she was leaning on.

The stones of the wall started losing their color, turning a pale white color. Afterwards, they started slowly crumbling, before the entire wall was nothing but a pile of dust, revealing what's behind was seemingly the refrigerator of some restaurant.

The assassin's mother turned her glare upwards to see Paradox standing on top of the building that the wall belonged to, figuratively and literally looking down on her. Giving one last grin, the cat-eared woman vanished in another rainbow hue.

The mysterious woman let out a loud sigh of annoyance. She was beyond tired of Paradox's antics. However, she also knew that she can't actually get rid of Paradox… especially since getting rid of her would be the equivalent of getting rid of the universe itself.

…

Dark Heart dodged another sword swing before delivering his own. Talia immediately raised her sword to block, but that still didn't stop her from skidding a few feet back.

The daughter of the Head of the Demon grit her teeth. She had obviously underestimated her opponent. The Winged Phantom proved to be a skilled opponent. They had been fighting for a while, yet she didn't land a single hit on him, while he came close a few times.

Meanwhile, Aiden thought that it was about time to stop playing around. While Talia has been fighting him, he was simply stalling her. He just needed to see her movements for a while to guess what she's doing next.

Thanks to his brain enhancements, Dark Heart managed to notice and memorize every detail about Talia's fighting style and how she moves, from her facial expression, to muscle movements, and even feet position.

Running calculations in his head, Aiden managed to predict the next actions. He immediately moved forward, thrusting his sword along the way. Talia immediately tried to sidestep to not be skewered through the chest… only for her to play into her opponent's plan.

Dark Heart did a faint by spinning around in his place and slashed at Talia as she attempted to sidestep his bluff. He managed to land a cut on the side of her stomach, causing her to grit her teeth.

Years of practice helped Talia simply rough through the pain and attack again by swinging down her blade. Already expecting that, Aiden moved back slightly, causing the blade to strike the ground where he quickly stepped on it to stop it from being used again.

Before Talia had a chance to pull her weapon away from her opponent, the Winged Phantom gave her a hard kick in the chin, sending her off the ground and into the air slightly. She didn't even land before Dark Heart jumped in the air and delivered a downwards kick straight to her face, harshly knocking her to the ground and rendering her unconscious.

Ra's Al Ghoul still looked neutral, despite his daughter being knocked out right in front of him. However, Aiden was able to notice a small, barely noticeable narrow in the man's eyes.

The Winged Phantom wasn't surprised that the head of the Demon managed to keep his body language to such an unnoticeable level. After all, Ra's Al Ghoul was an assassin for centuries, and obviously has a lot of experience in leading the League of Assassins.

Of course, Aiden could have killed Talia, but he already had the Avengers and the Justice League out for him, and he didn't want the League of Assassins on that list. Also, he especially didn't want a personal vendetta from Batman.

"Have I met your expectations?" Dark Heart asked, throwing away his sword.

The Winged Phantom knew that Ra's didn't interfere in the battle because he was studying him. He simply wanted to see Dark Heart's skills against someone as experienced as his daughter, who can fight against Batman.

"Your style of fighting is quite interesting," Ra's commented after looking up from his unconscious daughter to his intruder. "You make it seem like you are fighting your opponent, only so you can study them, before quickly finishing them off," If he was honest with himself, then the head of the Demon himself barely noticed that about Dark Heart.

"You're not going to fight me, are you," it was a fact rather than a question. Dark Heart knew that Ra's only did things for a reason, and he didn't have a reason to fight him now that he saw his skills.

"I am tempted to test your skills myself, but no," Ra's admitted before turning around to the other side of the room. "Perhaps we can settle this in a more peaceful manner," he said motioning to a table that had a chessboard with pieces.

Aiden can tell that the head of the demon was going to test his mind now that he saw his skills. Deciding to play along for now, the winged phantom walked towards the table and sat at the opposite side of Ra's, choosing the black pieces with his opponent being the white ones.

"Awe, you're not going to fight?" Paradox was suddenly standing beside Dark Heart, looking disappointed. "Lame."

Seeing that Ra's didn't give any response to the woman's sudden appearance, Dark Heart would not be surprised if she made sure that only he can see and hear her. She had done stranger things before. So, he simply opted to ignore her.

"So, what reason do you have for coming here?" Ra's asked moving one of his pawns.

"Answers," Aiden replied while moving his own piece. "Someone set me and Genocide up to be dubbed as enemies of the Avengers and the Justice League," there was a glint in Ra's' eyes, which wasn't unnoticed by Aiden. "You know something."

Ra's moved another piece. "Perhaps I do, perhaps I don't," to Dark Heart, that was pretty much the long version of saying 'yes'. "But, I am wondering, who taught you how to fight?" Ra's was truly intrigued.

He had personally trained Batman, Deathstroke, and Bane. And, from what the head of the Demon knows, the Winged Phantom was able to go against all of those people.

"People who are dead," Dark Heart replied, moving another piece.

The leader of the League of Assassins was both impressed and annoyed. He was annoyed that he couldn't read through either his opponent's movements or his voice, which is probably why the voice modulator was there.

However, he was also impressed by how Aiden was able to hide all kinds of body language. If there were any signs, then Ra's was not able to see them.

Moving his knight, Ra's asked another question. "Then tell me, do you think what you're doing is enough to save this world?"

"I know where this is going Ra's, and the answer is no," the head of the Demon faked a rather convincing look of confusion, but Aiden didn't buy it. "You were going to try and get me to join your League of Assassins, but such tactics do not work on me."

Ra's smiled again. He hasn't seen a student this promising since Bruce Wayne. "Oh, and why would you not join me?" he asked.

"Simply put, I don't trust organizations, government or otherwise," the Winged Phantom answered as he moved his bishop.

"A wise mindset," the head of the Demon complimented.

Truthfully, other than his daughter, Ra's didn't trust anyone inside the League of Assassins. And, even then, his trust in her would be shaken whenever Batman was involved because of her feelings for him.

"Tik, tok, tik, tok," Paradox said over and over again as she looked between the two men playing the strategy game, which was getting on Aiden's nerves.

The two remained quiet as they kept moving pieces one after the other. The only sound was the clicking of the pieces… and Paradox's ticking like a clock. The centuries-old man had to admit that his skills were being greatly tested in this match.

However, everything stopped when Dark Heart moved his king and said, "Checkmate."

Looking at the board, Ra's realized that his king was surrounded by Aiden's Rook, Bishop, and his own king that he just moved. The head of the Demon was beyond impressed.

"Ohh, you got him good, Aiden!" Paradox cheered while waving a black flag that had a purple Y in it.

So far, there were only four people to ever beat Ra's Al Ghoul in chess. Those people were Batman, Bane, Joker, and Victor Von Doom. Now, it seems that this list got one more name on it.

"So it would seem," Ra's leaned back on his chair to see Dark Heart looking at him, expecting answers. He might have been an assassin, but the head of the Demon was a man of his word. "A few weeks ago, I have been contacted by a mysterious employer, who wanted the League's help in something that, as they put it, would make the world in a new image."

"Give me a name," Aiden demanded.

"They never revealed their name," Ra's replied, causing Aiden to scowl under his helmet. "They did, however, try to peruse me into joining, but I refused."

"Why?" Dark Heart asked suspiciously.

"Remaking the image of the world might be one of my goals, but I simply didn't trust someone who did not give me more information than that," the leader of the League of Assassins replied. "However, I can tell you that the set up was not entirely meant for you or the Sin of Wrath, it was meant for the heroes specifically."

Aiden hummed in thought. This was not what he was hoping for, but it was better than nothing he supposed. However, at that moment, Talia managed to regain consciousness. Recalling what happened and seeing that Dark Heart was still here, she silently reached for a hidden button on her belt and pressed it.

But, unknown to Talia herself, Aiden managed to notice what she did thanks to his brain enhancements. "I suppose this is the part where I leave," the Winged Phantom said as he stood up and walked to the balcony that overlooked the mountains.

"Stop right there," Talia called out causing Aiden to stop and look at her over his shoulder as she stood up. "You really think that I'll let you walk out of here with your life?"

Just as she said that, a group of ninjas rushed through the gates, all holding swords, staffs, sickles, and many bladed weapons. They all surrounded Dark Heart in half-a-circle with his back facing them.

To say Talia was ashamed would be an understatement. She could not imagine going through her life knowing she lost to someone she dubbed as a 'Batman rip off'. What's worse, she couldn't imagine looking at her beloved Bruce again because of it.

"Oh no!" Paradox cried out, raising her hands in surrounded with an obviously fake scared look. "They have us surrounded," she stood up beside Dark Heart, still invisible to anyone other than him. "Whatever shall we do?" Aiden spared one last glance at Talia… before he jumped over the railing. "Well, you're the boss," Paradox chuckled before she backflipped over the railing herself.

The head of the Demon and his daughter both looked over to see Dark Heart falling. Talia thought he was insane, while Ra's was interested on what he'll do, knowing he wouldn't have jumped without a plan.

The Winged Phantom then reached into his gauntlet and pressed on the buttons. Suddenly, the wing-shaped capes on his shoulders spread out and started glowing dark purple, activating the hovering technology inside of them.

Dark Heart started flying through the skies. His capes made it look like he grew a pair of purple angel wings. The assassins all watched as he started floating away from their temple.

Watching Aiden float away on his wings, Ra's couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, now understanding why the media dubbed Dark Heart as 'the Winged Phantom'. Especially when Dark Heart activated his cloaking device, causing him to vanish from their sight.

…

After returning to his jet, Dark Heart proceeded to leave the mountain and pick up both Jade Rose and Genocide, both of whom were found just sitting around, waiting for him. They all decided to wait until they get back to the Winged Phantom's base to share the information they gathered.

Aiden entered his base through the mountain and landed the jet. The three partners all left the jet and went through the same hallway they walked through before and entered the same laboratory.

Inside, they found Paradox, sitting on her side with a bored look on her face. "Took you long enough. It's not nice to make a lady waiting," she complained childishly.

"Does she always do this?" Genocide asked, referring to how they always seem to find her sitting here when they came in.

"Yes," Dark Heart replied as he walked towards one of the chairs and sat on it before removing his helmet to have some fresh air. "Now, what did you two find out?" he asked.

The first one to speak was Oscar, who stored his helmet inside the core of his armor. "From what I know, there's been weird signs of ancient evil on Earth. All I know is that's ancient and powerful," he said, explaining what the rider told him.

"Well, what I'm going to say shouldn't come to a shock to you then," Jade Rose stated causing them to look at him. "From my… sources, I found out that whatever is going might end up killing everyone on earth," he explained causing their eyes to momentarily widen.

"Oh, that's not just it," their attention turned towards Paradox, who had a rather sadistic grin. "If whatever is going on actually succeed, then nothing, and I mean nothing will ever live on this planet again."

Aiden put a hand on his chin as he started thinking and putting what they got together. "So, what did you figure out?" Genocide asked, seeing that Aiden didn't say anything yet.

"The set up wasn't for us specifically, it was meant for the Justice League and the Avengers," the Winged Phantom said causing looks of confusion on his partners. After a while, Aiden came to a conclusion. "We're a distraction."

"What?" both Jade Rose and Genocide asked in confusion.

"Someone is using us to distract the world while they do something," Aiden explained before turning his seat around and beginning to type on the computer after activating it.

"So, wait, we're just someone's distraction?" Genocide genuinely felt insulted. He used to be someone who ran massacres in Hell, and now he was just some mysterious person's diversion.

"Well, it is for the entire world, so…" Jade Rose trailed off, trying to brighten the mood, even though he still felt insulted himself.

Oscar shook his head with a loud sigh. "So, what are we supposed to do now?" he asked.

"Of my calculations are correct, then it won't be long before the entire world is after us," Dark Heart replied as he slumped on his chair, taking a chance to relax from recent events and all the mental strain that his enhanced brain would put him through. "In fact, we should expect bounties on our heads pretty soon."

"That future telling of yours scares me," Genocide admitted, rather creeped out of how accurate the Winged Phantom's predictions were in the past when he saw them. He might have fought demons, but the idea of some who can tell the future did not sit well with him.

Aiden couldn't help but smirk. "It's not future telling, it's-"

"Predicting the most possible outcome through- whatever!" Genocide cut him off, already knowing what Aiden was going to say as he pointed at him with his finger. "Point is, it scares me, and I'm someone who literally punched Satan in the face."

Dark Heart simply rolled his eyes before reaching into a drawer under the table in front of him and pulling out a glass bottle with a few glass cups. Setting them on the table, Aiden poured himself a drink from the bottle on one of the cups.

"You're drinking?" Jade Rose could not hide the disbelief in his voice. "Now of all times?"

Oscar looked shocked as well. "You're predicting that the world would be after us, and you're drinking!?"

Aiden took a drink from his cup with one hand while offering the bottle to his partners, who couldn't help but look at him like he just grew a second head. Meanwhile, Paradox seemed amused by what's happening.

From what Dark Heart told them, the entire world would be after them within days, weeks if they're lucky. And, even despite that, Aiden was offering them a drink while having one himself.

Genocide, getting over his shock, did the one thing any rational person would do in his situation. He snatched the bottle from Dark Heart's hand and started chugging down its content.

Jade Rose looked at him from the side. "Hey, save some for me," he requested.

(A/N: Thank you for reading this.

First, as you can see, Zarathos and Genocide had obviously met before, and Genocide obviously knows Mephisto. That will be explained in the future.

Second, more about Jade Rose's family is shown. Hopefully, I didn't make it obvious who his mother is.

Third, about the meeting between Ra's and Dark Heart, it's actually well known that Ra's likes to tests his opponents both minds and skills, which is why he believed in both the Batman and Bane, because they had both skills and brains.

Lastly, I would like to ask how you think about the relationship between Dark Heart and Paradox.

Again, thank you for reading. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.)