What's Next? (End of Volume 1)

Sitting atop one of the only building that were left standing after the clash, I finally took a breath of relief.

"It's all in ruins."

Red Hood and the woman whose name I did not bother with were able to evacuate the heroes out of the chaos. 

Truth be told; all of this feels unreal. 

Building something, seeing it burn, killing one of the most notorious villains and facing the heroes of the Justice League.

While it was not the entire Justice League and I would have certainly lost if Flash and Manhunter were a part of this clash; I still managed to hold my ground.

I give up on the heroes.

They are not worth it; their ideals and beliefs never did any good.

So, now I do not care about their beliefs. And I will show them how easy it is to twist the views people have towards heroes and villains.

"Can it be recovered?" 

Turning around, I saw Zatanna looking at the place with sorrow.

"It can be," I said, barely muttering it, "But it will take a lot of effort."

Because now it wasn't only about building a place, it was about cleaning it fully then rebuilding it.

And even with my ability and her magic, it was going to take a lot of effort.

"Where is Ivy?" I wondered, after not seeing her for a while.

"She is tending to the Harley girl," Zatanna sighed, taking a seat next to me. "You messed her up badly."

"She will survive." I said, after all Harley was a tough cookie.

"She will." Zatanna agreed, "But she will have to be in bedrest for a long time. She had lost too much blood and her bones are shattered."

"I hope you know why I did that?"

At my question, she nodded.

"I do," Zatanna seemed just as tired as me, "She is… was Joker's sidekick and I can guess what must have happened during your confrontation."

She brought her legs close to her chest as the two of us sat at the edge of the terrace.

"Why is everything going to shit…" She was sad, it was pretty obvious, "Am I that unlucky?"

"Or maybe it is me," I said as I dropped on my back, laying on the concrete with my feet dangling by the edge of the building, "I have been in nothing but trouble after getting here."

"And who is responsible for that?" Zatanna quipped which made me chuckle a little.

"Definitely me."

Some of it was because of my emotions, some because others overstepped their boundaries and rest because of straight hate.

Closing my eyes for a while, I calmed myself.

"You made an enemy out of the Justice League," Zatanna wasn't too happy with it, "But there isn't much we can do about it."

"We?" I repeated, "I don't think you should involve yourself with it."

"I am already involved and besides… there isn't much to my life either," She was definitely depressed, "And I have pretty much no one left with me."

She was without a family.

"So, at least I can stick with you and maybe make this life a little enjoyable." Saying this, she laid next to me.

"You might regret it."

"Oh, I definitely will." She chuckled, "But I am willing to take this risk," She turned towards me, "After all, you still have to help me with the circus."

This made me laugh.

"Of course," I smiled, staring at her beautiful eyes, "I'll keep my promise."

"You better!"

With that, we just stared at the sky –not saying anything for a very long time.

I kept my eyes closed, going through a few memories.

Mostly about my powers.

During my clash with Joker, I lost sense of a lot of things and was using my powers in a semi-conscious state. And that also allowed me to use my power in ways that I didn't previously do and even if I did, I had to go with a deep scientific approach.

I did lose the grasp once Joker died, but I definitely was able to preserve some of that ability.

The red sun radiation was a perfect example of it. 

Maybe not as efficient as the fight with Joker, but I was definitely faster, stronger and better than earlier.

And if not for that improvement, I might not even have won against Superman.

"Ah, I need a kryptonite."

"A what?" Zatanna looked at me.

"Just me being stupid," I said as I realized I should have gone in a deeper search for the metal.

Thankfully I was able to put my research and ideas into use and end up with the red sun radiation.

If not… It would have been an unending cycle. 

With Kryptonite, I wouldn't even have to worry about it. 

Maybe…

Maybe I should meet with a certain Superman hater. And if I want to face the Justice League again the future, I will definitely have to get stronger.

Yeah, that is a must.

And for that, I have to make a proper visit to Metropolis.

…

…

"How…"

Batman stared at his shaking hands, the ice had messed up his nerves quite a bit and it would be a lie if he said it did not hurt.

"How did all of you lose to a single guy?" Wonder Woman was baffled hearing their story.

"You, Supes, Arrow and even the newbie Hawkgirl?" Flash whistled, "He has to be strong."

"He is." Superman frowned as he held a ice pack next to his face, "He was able to neutralize my powers and bend matter according to his will. Like some alchemist."

"That's cool!" Flash gasped, but the other heroes immediately frowned at him.

"Should we go after him?" Martian Manhunter asked, "It might be dangerous to let him roam so freely."

"No," Batman immediately denied the idea, "We have seen what he is capable of and there is no guarantee that we will win if we go against him. For now, we have to gather every little bit of information we can find about him and his powers."

"And his weakness…"

They all looked at the man who was gnashing his teeth.

"Are you alright, Arrow?" Aquaman asked.

Green Arrow had a look of pure rage and disgust.

"Let him be," The new member of the Justice League sighed, "I am just as pissed as him. We were handled like ragdolls."

"And why didn't Batgirl and Nightwing take more active participation?" Arrow asked, unsure of where to direct his anger at. 

"Batgirl… as you know ended up revealing her identity to Jasper Hughes," Batman said, "Which wasn't smart but she had no choice. Her father's life was at stake and she had to stay by her father's side."

"And I ordered Nightwing to make sure that Batgirl and commissioner Gordon weren't compromised in the clash," Superman added, "Batgirl and Nightwing might be heroes but they are also younglings."

"So, what is the plan for now?" Cyborg asked.

"We keep an eye out," Batman sighed, "Given his personality, he will not strike first so we have to gather as much knowledge on him as possible."

"Agreed."

"Very well."

"Alright."

…

…

[[Dimensional Rift]]

"You left an empty seat."

A certain being who was unbound by the rules of the multiverse smiled.

"Are you certain that he is capable of taking a seat here?"

This made the other man chuckle, "Have I ever been wrong, Kento?"

Kento shook his head, "Of course not." He said, "You never place a bet that you are not certain about, Marcellus."

"It will take a while, but I am certain we will have another person capable of taking a seat besides us." Marcellus said, "He will be ready one day to bear this responsibility."

"It wouldn't be too bad to have another person to share a drink with," Kento mused, "After all… It might soon be The Conqueror, The Plunderer and… The Enchanter."

"I hope so, Kento… I hope so."

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[[A/N: Read 25+ chapters ahead on:

https://www.patreon.com/Greedyfrog

And this marks the end of the first volume.

We will now move to the next volume.

The new volume will be filled with superpowered enemies, magic users, aliens, women and power chasing.

But mostly, destroying the image of the heroes.

P.S. The recent Patreon chapter was a difficult one (had to write and delete multiple times) and hence the delayed update.

P.P.S. *Whisper* New HP Fic drops next week. HP: Magic is Programming. *Whisper*

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