Chapter 28: E.N.D (No, it's not the end of this fiction)

[Superman's Point of View]

I came to, with the surroundings heavily damaged, a few League Members injured and Acnologia holding the Golden Skull that was in my hand just a second ego. I noticed that Pandora was tired but kept looking at Acnologia who was currently in a trance-like state.

"Is everyone alright?"

I asked the stupid and obvious question in the hope that someone explain to me what had just happened. As I was waiting for someone to explain, I heard a voice I had never heard before but it explained what I wanted to know.

"Well, a couple of boo-boo kisses and they will be alright but what you truly want to know is that once you held the Skull of E.N.D, yeah, that its name, you went bananas until they managed to stop you."

I turned to where Acnologia was to see someone standing next to him. She is a pale goth girl dressed in casual clothes, a black top, and jeans. She also wears a silver ankh on a chain around her neck and has a marking similar to the eye of Horus around her right eye.

"T-That's..."

"...D-Death?"

Pandora and Zatara said as they looked at the girl. As they identified her, the rest of the present Justice League members and I ready ourselves for a battle. I mean, Zatara is not one to joke in this kind of situation so she was death which means she must have come here for a reason.

"Wow, hold your horse, I'm not here to fight you guys. I'm here for what's inside the skull plus fighting you guys isn't really part of my job."

She said while lifting her hands up as if she was surrendering but her eyes told a different story. It was like an adult faking defeat when they played with their children. Nothing about her says being in danger.

"What is inside the Skull of E.N.D? Who even is E.N.D? I searched for this Skull's history and I have never heard of that name."

Pandora yelled.

"Well, that's because that was not recorded but to answer your questions, E.N.D is the acronym he gave himself. It stands for, Existence... Nothingness and well... D."

Death said.

"D?"

I asked which caused her to nod before resuming.

"Yeah, it's kind of his pet name. I won't go into details but that is how it is. As for what is inside that skull well... It's a Life Spirit, a big piece of the Great One at that."

"A life what?"

I said before looking at Zatara who looked like he had seen Bigfoot and had his brain short-circuited. I turned to look at Pandora who had the exact same facial expression as Zatara. I looked at Diana who was the only other League member who knew anything about magic and she also had that same facial expression.

"Oh, right, you guys would not know this if you were not versed in the world of the supernatural world. Something I never understood was, why was I classified in the supernatural category. I mean death and life are part of nature."

"Well... Hm..."

I was at a loss at what to say since well, I was not a verse in the world of the supernatural, yes I am an alien but the supernatural she said was meant for the magic type of supernatural. She waved her right hand before speaking as she walked around us.

"In layman's terms, a Life Spirit is the font of energy that raises all races in many many MANY worlds. There are usually all around you but not many can interact with them outside of me. The Skull of E.N.D served as a container for it but the council of wizard, before they were downgraded to a solo team by their former champion, used it to contain the Seven Deadly Sins.

Up until now, no one had managed to reach the Life Spirit but now that you did, people in various places felt it. I don't usually meddle in the life and death of others, I just welcome you when your life begins, kinda like a doctor or nurse except I don't spank your butt.

Then I meet you guys again at the end of your life. You all live what everyone gets. You have a lifetime. No more. No less... usually. Most of the time, the duration of everyone's lifetime is up to my brother, not me. I do my job and that is it but this is a sort of a loophole slash exception.

The Life Spirit falls under my job... in a way and seeing that my job will become a mess if it is left unattended on top of the chaos that it would bring, I figured I would take it here."

"W-Wait, please Lady Death..."

Zatara said in the most well-manured but frightened voice I have ever heard of him.

"No need to call me Lady Death, Death is just fine."

She said and he nodded as he gulped some of his saliva. Zatara took a few seconds to steer his will before he spoke again.

"From my meager knowledge in the mystic arts that I have accumulated, Life Spirits are said to be peaceful creatures and were rumored to bring smiles to those around them, while spreading joy wherever they manifested. Forgive my intrusion but how could they possibly bring chaos?"

Death tilted her head before bringing a finger to her chin and then answering.

"Well, your knowledge is not wrong but it is not complete either. Guess that is what you get when a man who calls himself *snort* Earth's first immortal decides to erase knowledge of history to monopolize it. Heck, he even hoarded a big part of the knowledge regarding the Skull of E.N.D."

"Vandal... that bastard."

Pandora said as she greeted her teeth. Her eyes showed that she had come to a realization.

"Anyway, to answer your question I will give you a question, what do you think would happen if someone got a hold of the Life Spirit? Someone like John Constan-"

"Please take it as far away from this plane as possible."

At Death's words, Zatara practically screamed as he begged her to take it away. 

"If Constantine gets his hands on it then the world would be destroyed, a destruction far worse than any Sins could ever bring."

Pandora said while nodding as I was about to ask who this John Constantine was. Death nodded before taking the Skull from Acnologia's hands.

"Good."

Her eyes glowed for a second before they went back to normal then she threw the skull at Diana who caught it.

"The Skull is empty, you can keep it if you want to."

She said and just as she was about to leave, Pandora screamed at her.

"WAIT!"

Death turned to look at Pandora who then spoke.

"I am still cursed, how do I undo the curse? How do I free myself from this curse?"

She pleaded with Death who scratched her head before speaking.

"Well, this is also kind of my jurisdiction, I could undo the curse for you but you will die, you know that right."

"Wait-"

I said as I instinctively wanted to save her thinking that she was in danger.

"I've lived a thousand lifetimes, most of them were shit so... nothing would make me happier."

Pandora said in a tired tone and I stopped in my tracks. It was clear to me that death was her only wish.

"Okay then but let's do it somewhere else."

*Snap*

Death snapped her fingers, a flash of light illuminated them and both she and Pandora were gone along with the flash of light. As everything settled in, I turned to face Zatara and asked him a question I wanted to ask.

"Who is this John, Death spoke of?"

His face looked like he had eaten shit.

"You don't want to know and pray whichever deity you believe in to never meet him."

He said as he left.

[Acnologia's Point of View]

I zoned out after I touched that Golden Skull and now I have to go through several therapy sessions with Black Canary, where I could not bring up my real issue, preference of blonde, because we have to talk about what happened while I was touching the Skull. It was either that or having someone look into my mind freely.

If there is one thing I have learned from the X-men about dealing with telepaths is that its a mind fuck... literally, I am not about to let someone into my mind especially after I was put in a trance after touching that Skull.

Either that Skull is unique and special or my immunity has its limits, regardless, I am not about to let anyone else enter my mind. If it's the latter, my adaptation should be changing that... The thing I noticed about my adaptation is that unless it is related to my life's survival, it does not work passively at least not on the things I do not want to give up.

I still need to eat, drink, and sleep because I do not want to lose that. Those little things are what is actually keeping me sane... well relatively saner than I would if I did not take time to enjoy those little things in life.

Anyway, some might think this is a joke but I view my attraction to blonde to be a grave weakness, what if I am fighting an opponent who knows this weakness and suddenly changes their hair color, this could put me at a tactical disadvant- All right I fest up, I just want to get this in control before Kara notices it and use it against me.

The sixty-fourth last thing I want is to be one of those overpowered characters that because weak due to a female character giving them the so-called puppy eyes, then spending the rest of the day *shudder* shopping with them.

Anyway, I remembered the weird thing I saw but what was even weirder was how I reacted to it. After I touched the golden Skull, the next thing I knew, I was in a dark space hearing the same voice in repeat and multiply. In front of me was a giant blob and it was shaking.

"... me..."

"Help me."

"Help me."

"I'm scared."

*BLOOP*

*BLOOP*

"Help me."

"Something bad is trapping me."

"I'm scared."

"I'm scared."

"I'm scared."

"Take me out of it."

"I'm scared."

"HELP ME."

"I'M SCARED."

"HELP ME."

"I'M SCARED."

"TAKE ME OUT OF IT."

"I'M SCARED."

"TAKE ME OUT OF IT."

"I'M SCARED."

"I HATE IT."

"I'M SCARED."

"HELP ME."

"FREE ME!"

"I'M ALL ALONE!"

The blob deformed itself as I heard those voices and something surged through me. I felt sympathy for it. I gave a fuck when I would have not in the usual case. I spoke to it in a soft tone that borderline showed weakness.

"... It's okay, you are not alone... I'm here and I am going to free you..."

I brought my hand towards it and as I touched it, the deformed blob reformed itself into a sphere, and the surroundings brightened. My hand was still touching it and before I knew it, the sphere with a smiley face started entering my body through my hand that was touching it. I heard something as I came to my senses.

"...Thank you... #!%^!&*..."

It is now living inside my mind yet for some strange reason it was not harming me in any way and I was letting it roam inside my mind. I trusted it on a frighteningly deep level almost as much as I trusted myself. This should ring some bells inside my head but ironically it does not also for some reason, I have the feeling that I am now being constantly observed.

[Third Person's Point of View]

Pandora and Death appeared in a desolate field. Death turns to look at Pandora before speaking.

"So... is there anything you want to do before... well leaving this world?"

Pandora shook her head before speaking.

"No, there isn't, being freed from this curse has been my tortured life's purpose though I do have a question."

"Oh, what is it?"

Death asked.

"I went with your act but I am curious, why did you do all that theatric for? You made it look like you took the Life Spirit but you didn't. It was already gone before you even showed up. Who took the life Spirit?"

Pandora said.

"Well, you are not wrong. I did not take the Life Spirit but the thing is... it never left the room even after I showed up. It was just taking its time bonding with its true host."

Death said nonchalantly causing Pandora's eye to widen.

"That's impossible, no mortal can handle being a host to a Life Spirit and no God or any supernatural creature who can rival them can become a host of a Life Spirit."

Pandora said to which Death nodded.

"That is true... well for what most mortal knows, being a host to a Life Spirit is impossible... but that is because those capable of being a host have long since been extinct... or so I thought, and believe me, I was the first one to be shocked."

Death said before adding on.

"Now the reason for the theatric was so that one of my younger brothers does not meddle with the kid until the assimilation is complete. Knowing him, he will be too busy with planning a prank before the assimilation is ends. Any more questions?"

Pandora shook her head and Death brought her hand up which Pandora took. A bright light came from the contact and when it faded, Pandora's clothes fell onto the ground as dust came out of them.

Now some may be confused as to how Acnologia could have this if none of his wishes included something akin to Life Spirits. The reason for that is due to the story of Anon and his initial wish of being lucky.

The being that reincarnated him had intended to grant Acnologia's wishes in a way that would prevent the latter from dying right after being reborn. That was the reason why it picked Anon's body which had already lost everything and was going through a never-ending cycle of death and rebirth gaining something more with each cycle only to sacrifice it to gain more in the next cycle.

Truthfully, the being thought Acnologia would not be able to escape the place where he was born, it had lied to Acnologia not knowing that it was influenced by his first wish, to be lucky, it is that same luck that allowed Acnologia to escape that supposed inescapable place.

-A while back, at the same time around the end of Chapter 26-

On the dark streets of Gotham, a man can be seen walking around aimlessly. If people cared enough to look at that man they would notice that man was named Charles Brown though most know him as the D-list petty criminal Kite-Man.

Charles Brown's path to becoming Kite-Man started years ago when Riddler and Joker went to war over the right to kill Batman. One night, Batman himself tracked Brown down and convinced him to reach out to the Joker, hoping Brown's past connection as the designer of the Jokermobile would give him a way in.

After agreeing to help Batman and join Joker's side as a mole, Riddler discovers the plan and poisons the rope on Brown's son's favorite kite, killing the boy. Distraught and wanting vengeance against both Batman and the Riddler, Brown fashioned himself a costume and officially joined Joker's side as "Kite-Man".

The War of Jokes and Riddles ended with him not achieving his revenge. He could not kill Batman or Riddler and as the years went by his sanity left him due to grief. The only time he could feel his son was when he acted as Kite-Man which is why he continued his criminal acts.

The only time he could not do so was when it was the day of his son's death. He roamed Gotham aimlessly during that day as it was better than staying home and getting reminded of his failures. He took a turn into an alley and was greeted by a flying golden robot that looked like a football.

"Greetings, Charles Brown also known as Kite-Man. You are searching for something that can feel that void inside your heart and I believe this might help you."

The robot dropped a USB drive that Charles took in his hand before flying away. Charles did not care enough to question it and to be completely honest with himself, he did not even care if he lived at all anymore.

He went back home as curiosity had gotten hold of him and placed the USB drive on his computer. As he did so, three circles appeared on his computer with two lines connecting all three in the shape of a V.

That symbol had also been on the USB Drive thus Charles did not pay much attention to it. As the content of the USB Drive became available, he clicked on the first file and a recording was played. Charles knew that voice as it belonged to one of the two men he hated the most.

"This is Batman, security level omega password: DeltaCharlie-27-5-1939. Agamemno Contingency if these contingency plans are discovered in the wake of my being incapacitated, PLEASE understand… This HAD to BE DONE for EACH and EVERYONE of US...

-Agamemno contingency file code name Last Son-"

Charles paused the recording and started to laugh. How could he not laugh after hearing what Batman said and remembering the names of the other files? He had in his possession every villain's wet dream. As he debated on what to do, he heard a voice coming from his computer.

"I am pleased to see that you enjoyed my gift but I must advise you to listen to my instruction if you ever wish to fulfill your revenge against your son's murders."

Had it been any other time, Charles might have hesitated but at this moment, at this time when he was grieving the death of his son as well as knowing that he had the knowledge to take down the league, those words were hypnotic to him. 

"Who are you?"

Charles asked not out of suspicion but out of certainty. He was already sold, he just wanted to know who was offering him such a deal.

"Where are my manners? I am known by many names though the one that is common in most universes is... Brainiac."

The computer said before adding on.

"Listen to my advice and you will bring the Riddler to his knees, begging for his life and Batman suffering what you suffered. Knowing what it feels like to lose someone that meant the world."

Charles had a sadistic smile on his face. He knew that he was being used. Even as a petty criminal, he was still smarter than most in the D-list class but that was just it, he did not care. Had it been any other day, he might have hesitated but not today, part of him knew that all of this had been carefully orchestrated but if Brainiac's honeyed words became true then he would have no complaints.

-In the present-

Charles can be seen walking in the streets of Metropolis while listening to music through his airpods... only though it is not music that he is listening to but Brainiac's voice.

"Are you ready?"

Brainiac says as Charles arrives in front of Lex Corps. Charles looks at the building and speaks with confidence in his tone while his eyes are burning with determination.

"Hell Yeah."

[Desire's Point of View]

Oh? It seems my dear older sister is having some fun dealing with her biggest blunder and it's about to become public knowledge. Now that I think about it... Destiny told me to meddle with the being who calls himself Nezha and I accepted since that would piss off Dream but I have yet to see Dream being pissed off even after I did what Destiny requested of me.

Right now, I am asking myself a very interesting question. What could piss Dream off more than toying with the one that helped him regain his strength? I guess, I'll hit three birds with one stone.

[AN: Want more? Like Thanos, I want those STONES!!!]