The Secret of the Red Baron

Kevin Grant's pov

It's been a tense two to three days. We all were guards essentially protecting Osiris from whatever threat was on the outside and protecting the outside from Osiris. Robin came to me and patted my shoulder and said, "They found her, everything is going to be good."

"Don't call it in too soon. Something doesn't feel right."

He laughed an exhausted huff, "Good to stay vigilant." Then he asked, "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Stay awake for two straight days?"

"Fought for longer before, something just clicks and I can do it."

"Well," he got up and stretched, "I'm going to rest for a few hours."

"Rest up, Grayson."

"What?"

"Sorry, tired."

"Raven did say you knew A-team, eh. Dick Grayson, but Robin is fine."

"Rest up."

"I will."

I watched the rain and lightning slosh the ocean for an untold amount of time. The ocean was always beautiful, always, all the time. I can't remember what time it was exactly when Cass joined my side. Saying nothing, just watching the rain with me.

"So," someone tossed a phone over my shoulder, "when were you going to tell me the plan to betray me?"

We both turned and none other than Osiris stood there. I put out my hands disarmingly.

"Osiris-"

"Shut up you snake! The Kahndaqi Director of Espionage reached out to me with documents on all of you! I'll get my sister myself."

I noted the blood dripping off his fist and when Cass noticed her body was covered in a red hooded garment with golden gauntlets, greaves and a shoulder piece.

"Osiris!" She cried, "What have you done!?"

"Oracle will live, but she won't be triggering the alarm until after I am gone."

"This is your last chance." I said, "Those are falsified! You are running headlong into a trap!"

"I am Osiris!" Electric power surged from him, "Lesser powers cannot hurt me!"

He zapped Cass out of the window and flew forward and impaled me with his fist. Choking on my blood, I begged, "Don't do it."

"It's already too late for that."

He pulled his hand out of me and I fell forward.

"It's cauterized, you should live but removing the cauterized flesh would take time."

"You underestimate me Osiris! You will regret this!" I spat.

"No," he shook his head, "no I won't. Your government is corrupt! Ran by kleptocrats, oligarchs and hypocrites pretending to support the people! A government where the minority controls the majority is true tyranny!"

He flew out of the hole he made in the middle of the living room window. Rain was pelting me as I crawled forward, getting his phone he left. I went through the fake messages and got to the part on Isis' supposed location. Remembering it I called out,

"Raven!" I croaked. "Robin!" I cussed and pushed myself up. I hobbled to Raven's room and banged on the door. I heard her groan on the other side, "If it's not an emergency, go away!"

"Raven-" I coughed blood all over her door, wanting to smash it open, "Raven!"

In my mind's eye, I think she saw my emotional turmoil and came running to the door. It opened and her mood hardened, tactical professionalism in her voice,

"What happened?"

"Breakout, Oracle and Cass." I spat blood to the side, wheezing, "I'm going to stop him."

I reached into my wound and ripped at the cauterized flesh so it could regenerate.

"Stop and let me heal you!"

"No time, get my keys that Arisia gave me."

She ran and did as I asked and I took the elevator down to the underground parking garage. I ripped out another hunk and left it in the elevator. A hole still in me, I walked to the all new Harley Davidson Street Bob stroking it with my elongated nail before turning it on. Burning rubber, I accelerated aggressively and had to duck under the garage door that was opening too slow. Seeing the sea water, I pumped hellfire into the bike and skipped across the water. The waves I observed earlier became mad jumps as I rushed to the location detailed on Osiris' phone. I just hope I can get there in time.

—————

Ravager's pov

"It's go time," Diesel said, "you see that blonde that fell out of the window? She has what I want."

"Just the boots and gear?"

"Yeah," he smiled, a three hole balaclava over his face, "you could say that." He added, "Tell me how you killed Mr. Smyth again."

"He was going on and on about how a slave obeys and a man chooses. Or bemoaning his sunken city so I cracked his skull with a nine iron."

"A man chooses and a slave obeys. Sounds familiar from somewhere."

"Would you kindly pass me that gun?"

"Oh, yeah."

I put the G18 on my belt and made sure the sword on my back was snug. I also had various gas grenades and gadgets provided by Ozy's scientists. Some were Kahndaqi in origin but one was an energy shield.

"So all you need is a pistol and a sword to take on the Titans huh?"

"Yep. Today is the day they pay."

———————

Rose Wilson's pov (aka Rose Worth)

I stayed in the hospital for three days with everyone from my school. The only one who hasn't awakened was Susan Ryan from the cheer team. I was sitting at her side when that…

Slade guy… came up to me, saying, "I know, I said this once but uh, we're leaving tomorrow."

"I know. Thank you."

He sat in the seat next to me, awkward as could be, "Um, give it to me straight. You don't think much of me do ya?"

"That's a GREAT way to start a conversation with someone."

He chuckled but I answered, "No, but it's just I don't know you enough. Once I'm in WITSEC, we won't be seeing each other again most likely anyway. So…" I asked, "you already entered my mom in the program before?"

"Yes, in Cambodia."

"That's weird."

"Why?"

"She never talks about Cambodia."

"Yeah," Slade said, almost carefully, "there was a war. So it must be hard for her to talk about."

"Yeah… I can understand why."

"Anyways," he tried to change the subject, "what do you like to do?"

"Track, archery and other olympic games when I'm not talking to friends." I smiled weakly, "As you can see, I'm waiting for one to wake up."

He patted my shoulder, "Death is just part of life, you'll learn to block it out."

Jesus, he was terrible at this.

"Anyways, I gotta step out for some family related stuff. Your mom, Officer Wintergreen and I will keep you safe okay?"

"Thank you Officer Wilson."

He left as it rained outside and I fell asleep at Susan's side. It wasn't until she moved that I woke up. Thunder struck, and fear filled her eyes as she looked around,

"Susan!" I exclaimed, "You're in the hospital. You okay?

I gave her my tablet.

"Don't try to talk, type anything you need right there."

She turned pale for a second but just before I called a nurse she started typing frantically, saying, *You need to leave.*

"Why?"

*They were looking for you.*

My blood froze in my throat, "Are you sure?"

She struggled with typing the next message,

*He asked for you by name.*

"Wintergreen?!"

As if on cue, the lights shut off.

—————

Ravager

We had it all planned out, a tranc dart specially designed to put an elephant to sleep but not kill a human, an EMP for the robot, a shot for Diesel's ex, a remote hacking device to get us inside, lots of yellow paint grenades for the Lantern for some reason, but the Martian, Starfire, and Robin and the others needed to be more "conventional". I was surprised how easy it was, it was like we caught them off guard. The element of surprise in our favor. I heard that Osiris had a trap set for him and that last one? The new guy who killed Carol? I'm going to relish killing him.

Jammers were in place so they couldn't radio Batman. Raven was high priority once alerted because she had telepathy strong enough to reach the outside. Once we entered the parking garage we saw two of our targets, Cyborg and Beastboy.

They were in heated conversation about something and about to get in the car. I couldn't let that happen. I nodded at Diesel and he prepped the EMP grenade before tossing it.

Beastboy shouted and the grenade killed the lights. However, the bomb was super effective on the car and it made ominous boiling sounds before exploding violently. The blue flames illuminated the now dark underground garage. Readying my G18 Diesel and I walked quietly towards the carnage and saw a blood trail. Following it we were led to a door that had a fist sized web of cracks in it. It seems they were locked in with us.

The roar of a tiger filled the darkness. Loud enough to possibly alert the others.

Or rather, we were locked in with them.

"Diesel, going dark."

He pulled the goggles down over his eyes and I pressed a button on my helmet that Ozymandias commissioned for me. The darkness turned green a few feet in front of us. I motioned for my partner to stay close, if a tiger got a hold of him he was toast.

Next I heard a bat. I mentally cursed, he's using echolocation to find us. It's probably better than our night vision right now. I continued following the blood trail and heard something flutter to my side. I smiled to myself, my enhanced senses and intellect from the serum doing it's magic.

However, the boy still surprised me on my flank. Not because he was a bear or lion. No, a bloody velociraptor (A/N: While researching, a Deinonychus is more accurate) sprinting towards you in the dark at 40mph (64kmph) can at least surprise you. However I dived and rolled underneath, bounced up and sprayed some shells at him. This immobilized him and Diesel tranc darted him.

We continued towards the blood pooling under Cyborg.

"Garfield? Is that you?"

My foot removed some of his teeth easily enough. He spat and choked on his teeth and blood as my boot stomped down on his leg. I emptied my clip in the metal and ripped his leg off. That should keep him there.

Me and Diesel moved to the door and used a breaching charge and timed it with the thunder; just in case. We moved in and found a place to set up. Despite the rain, we needed small drones in the air to scan the thermal signatures in the building. We checked them now and noticed a few of our targets were missing.

"I think the Lantern and Martian aren't here."

"Which is good. No need for the yellow paint grenades and that Martian could phase through walls."

"Think we should get this one?" Diesel pointed to the signature that was painting in an art room below the living area. All alone.

"For sure. Let's move."

On the move, we took the elevator and Diesel asked, "Which one is that?"

"It's most likely that cunt that killed Carol. I didn't see any files on him."

"Ah, I'll stay by the elevator then and let you have your privacy with him."

We pulled up and I heard the sound of classical vinyl playing. The creepy thing was where did I hear this before? I opened the door to the back of a blonde guy painting away. Passing the vinyl player I saw "Two Brothers- Anne Dudley, The Quartet of London". On one wall I froze at the sight of my mother in a painting. Who in the hell?

Other than that the room was white, hell, the man was wearing a white apron and turtleneck. I stepped closer to him and saw what he was painting. He was painting a family portrait, MY family portrait.

As if on cue, the next song that came on was "Oh Fortuna by Gregorian". The man sighed, and turned as if to change the song back and saw me. It was Jericho, my brother, but he didn't recognize me in my mask and gear. Once the surprise washed off his face my mask warned me of a mental attack and I surged forward and decked him. I punched him so hard he spilled his paint on the painting and sent it all falling to the floor ruined. The song reminded me of when he was yabbering on about it. It was a poetic complaint against fate, which found kings, strongmen, and even Greek gods back then. Some of the lyrics stuck out to me as I walked away, "…shadowed

and veiled

you plague me too;

now through the game

I bring my bare back

to your villainy

fate is against me

in health

and virtue,

driven on

and weighted down,

always enslaved."

In Latin of course.

I met Diesel and said, "Wasn't him but I want him alive later."

"Yes sir. I checked the thermal temperatures and everyone else is on the floor above."

"You ready for this?"

"Hell yeah."

——————

Kevin Grant's pov

My hellfire boosted bike threatened to set parts of Gotham on fire as I raced to the location. Thankfully it was raining hard now but as I approached the location, a nondescript half-built project, I saw clothes and guns on the ground. We were in the middle of a discontinued suburban neighborhood construction site. I set out the bike's kickstand while my memory whirred, what abilities haven't I used in ages. What powers did I use in 69'? Letting out an annoyed sigh, I ripped the last hunk of my own flesh out and popped my neck and shoulder out.

"Oh Osiris!"

I passed more and more piles of clothes. He had turned them to dust. I don't think Batman will be happy about this killing spree. Running up the steps on my right I came to a large double door and pushed it open. I was disgusted by the sight of it, not what Osiris did. Arms, intestines, a sitting spine, it looked like four assault rifles unloaded on the upper part of a woman and obliterated her head and torso. Osiris was silent at the foot of it until he pointed out, "It's her, she's got a birthmark on her ankle."

"Osiris, good God."

"I now see that my Godfather's system is better. This never would have happened in Kahndaq."

"Osiris, no system is perfect."

"What? No defense for your sick excuse of a country? Did you not fight for it all over the world?"

"Boy, my distant relative, Ulysses Grant had a very corrupt presidency. This has been around for a while."

"Ah, so you have been corrupted for hundreds of years and we never should have trusted you?"

"No, I feel we corrected most of that."

"No," he said, "no you didn't."

He stood, his eyes bloodshot and he said, "Let me show you how Kahndaqi diplomacy handles this sort of situation." Electricity arced off of his arms as he walked towards me, "Watch as I turn Gotham to glass."

"I'm not going to let you do that. I don't want to fight you!"

"You can die fighting or not, I don't care."

He charged me again but my auras redirected his attack when I blocked it with my hand. My free hand connected a counter attack in his jaw. He rubbed his face and laughed as we both paced around each other. This next time, he charged again, his hand raised too far back. It was a feint attack. Not knowing exactly what he was up to I stuck out my boot, hoping to kick him. However, I played right into his hands as he flew into my balancing leg and the wooden wall crushed behind me and we were in the rain. Holding my leg he laughed, twirled me around and threw me into a house that was in the framing stage of construction. The whiplash dislocated my hip, the fall broke a shoulder and I got bloody impaled. Like seriously?

"While your pain tolerance is impressive, and you drove here with a hole in your chest, you have no hope of victory. You are as a plant begging for the swarm of locusts, divine retribution; to pass over."

Swarm. Ah Apollinix! I remember what I used in 69' now! I used my strength in my fist to snap the wooden beam impaling me. Using my auras I pulled myself off of it and kept myself in the air like Dr. Octopus or something. Wait, who the hell is Dr. Octopus?

"Suck my dick!" I spat and he shook his head.

"Why are you so obstinate?! So childish?!"

"A guy named Freud said I have intense regression. My brother's call me the Red Baron."

"Enough talk!"

Osiris shot a lightning bolt at me and nearly ripped me in half. He would have if I didn't dodge to the side. Now I had a cauterized hole in my side as big as a bowling ball. Lashing out my tendrils wrapped around his wrists, as that seemed to be where his lightning came from. Electric power coursed through his eyes and he struggled to get out.

Interesting, from what I understand his strength is equal to or more than Solomon Grundy. Either he's holding back or the fact that he gets his strength from a magical source and not a physical one means this is a more even fight than he thought. I was used to fighting demons others had trouble with but I had my power origin to thank.

Electric current also couldn't harm me or my auras. With my physical hand, I ripped at the hole in my body, trying to help the healing process. Roaring in rage Osiris released enough power to blast off his restraints… and nuke the two partly built houses on both sides of him.

"God help me." I murmured as the splinters rained down from heaven.

"Your god is fake! And corrupt! Just like you!"

He flew down and punched a van towards me. Jesus, he did that so easily. I formed my auras into a blade or wedge and cut the van in half. It was the kidnappers' van, so luckily some guns fell right beside me. As I expected, he was flying in for a superman-punch. Instantly my wedge turned into a whip and wrapped around him like a tentacle.

"Ten." I spat, summoning the forked staff I duplicated from Grendel and blessing it in Hellfire. "Ten of your gods my God pinched a big turd on."

He ripped himself from his restraints and I blocked his following punches with the forked blades on the staff, cutting him. Then with a twirl I tossed a fireball at him from my free hand that sent him flying back. Hitting a car so hard he smashed it he chuckled and hovered above me in the air while summoning a rain of lightning from heaven onto… himself? After it faded, I realized that he had healed himself.

"Pious talk for a demon."

The wind howled between us as wet splinters blew like ashes. The rain drummed on, like soldiers of yore. I don't think I have ever fought someone as strong as this, but I had my advantages. I ripped out another hunk of my cauterized flesh.

"Stop this Osiris! Just go back to Kahndaq!"

"Surrender and die, little plant, and be consumed by my power!"

I leapt to the side, and grabbed an M4 from the remains of one of the soldiers. Spraying the bullets they all bounced off of him harmlessly, as I expected. He looked at me confused before I put Hellfire into the gun and pelted him with rounds. However, the rounds exploded on impact; unable to penetrate his nigh invincible skin. They did do enough damage to cause him to fly out of the way.

Maybe I could knock him out with a spray of headshots?

"Zheuti! Help me!"

As soon as he said that an assortment of Egyptian images invaded my vision. He's got psychic powers as well?! I screamed from the mental struggle before feeling a hand on my throat. My vision cleared, with a punch incoming, my demonic hand instinctively caught his. I heard heartbeats, and laughter as I crushed his hand; releasing a guttural growl from my throat. I couldn't hear it but he screamed and threw me aside.

I broke through a wall, my back colliding with with a kitchen's island hard enough to snap my back. It was so fast I didn't feel any pain but my legs instantly turned into jelly. My vision was growing red, having lost almost all the blood in my body and running entirely on willpower and Hell's power. Auras lifted me into the air again and I leapt out to him as he cradled his burning hand. He tried to punch me with his good hand, the air whistling from the force coming towards me.

I knew my demonic hand was tough but was it nigh indestructible? Withdrawing all my auras in that hand I blocked his attack. His punch was so strong a shockwave disrupted the rain falling around us… and broke bones in his hand. Focusing my auras and powers into my human hand I uppercuted him.

"Impossible!" He coughed.

I picked him up by the throat in my demon hand and roared in triumph, while holding him towards the sky. He slapped me weakly with his broken hand. Angered, and losing a little bit of my control I slammed him into the pavement. I choked him in the rain for so long his nose bled and head began to swell until an idea came to his face. He just would not knock out! Laughing, he croaked,

"You might want to move."

Confusion washed over my face before he took his burned hand and relocated my shoulder, depowering me instantly. Too late to react, he had called down his healing lightning onto us. What healed him, burned right through me only the upper third of my body remained after the merciless storm. Groaning, he tossed me off of him into the newly glass crater we found ourselves in. He tried to blast me with his hand but I had summoned a relic from my past: a coach gun with both hammers cocked. My weak hand blasted him in the face and he tripped onto the street.

"Don't make me do it." I growled, coughing from the blood in my throat.

"Still talking!" He roared, pushing himself up, "I'm going to kill all of them, Grant. Raven. Cass. Oracle. ALL OF THEM!"

He aimed down at me but I used an ability I hadn't needed in a hundred years. Or I was just too lazy to use it until now. I disappeared in a cloud of locusts and trapped his arm before piercing him just below the collar bone with my elongated thumb on my demonized hand. My full body rapidly reforming as I did. Power flowed into me like blood does a heart; thumb becoming an artery of sorts. The Heart thrummed in my ears and my vision grew red.

"Locusts are a bad omen aren't they not? One from the god Seth?" I said before my body even fully reformed.

He screamed at the horrific sight.

"Do you feel that?" My bug mouth said, "That's a Baron's most guarded secret."

His uniform dissolved before his eyes as he became powerless.

"We aren't anti-demon demons; but anti-god." My body fully reformed, and I added, "The game was rigged from the start."

He collapsed and started screaming and crying, "Black Adam! Black Adam!"

"Your powers should return in a few minutes but me?" I coiled the magic ancient lightning along my fingers, "This will help me forever. It's very picky though. Can only absorb abilities from demons or from possessed people, or blessings of gods upon you or maybe Donna for example. Can't just shank all the alien Titans and alter my genetics."

"Black Adam!" He screamed, "Black Adam!"

"I didn't take a portion of your power; just a copy. Stop whining."

"Black Adaaaaaaam!" He sobbed.

I shook my head at him, "Why aren't you standing up! Fight me!"

He just started sobbing and I realized he was paralyzed from the waist down.

"See," I pointed at him as I walked around him, "you are exactly the specimen that illustrates why I haven't abused this power. Prideful. Arrogant. Totally okay with inhumanly committing genocide because the power, or immortality or whatever got to your head! Every single one of my brothers ended up like you! When if they remembered their humble beginnings they would have been better off! I wonder if Oracle would have ended up like you. Maybe, maybe not."

"Black Adam!"

"Jesus," I hissed in disgust, "your power is your God. Pathetic."

I gave him a swift kick to the face, knocking him out. I tried to call the Tower but didn't get an answer. Sirens followed shortly after. I tried to call again and a worried feeling settled into my gut.