3rd Person POV:

The campsite was cold and damp, the small fire had run its course hours ago, leaving the heroes in the dark.

Fortunately the Bio-ship was pressurized and kept them warm enough throughout the night.

Still Zatanna shivered under the blankets. The magician was in a deep slumber, something that surprised her husband who was laying beside her, wide awake with his mind racing.

Suddenly Zatanna moved her hand along (Y/n)'s abs as she slept. She gripped his ribs tightly with one hand and attempted to pull herself into him even more than she already was.

In response, (Y/n) took his hand and gently rubbed her back.

She still shivered, groaning in her sleep as (Y/n) tried his best to comfort the love of his life.

Unknown to him, Zatanna was feeling a confusing wave of emotions wash over her, throwing her into a strange dream that she couldn't understand.

—————————————————————————

*Tower of Fate ruins*

A red star hurtled towards Earth, having emerged seemingly from nowhere merely minutes before it entered the atmosphere. The star soared through the sky, gaining speed as it descended towards the ground.

As the star cut through the clouds and slammed into the ground, a massive amount of dirt and dust was sent flying in all directions.

The shockwave knocked over any trees that remained near the Tower of Fate.

When the dust finally settled, a massive crater was all that was left of the ruins that were once the Tower of Fate. The red star slowly rose from the ground before changing form to that of a glowing red woman in a red dress.

The entity looked like a hologram of a regular woman, hair flowing in the wind and a fine red dress that was a slightly darker shade of red than her body.

Her laughter echoed throughout the empty field as she felt her connection with the magic within the earth strengthen in an instant.

—————————————————————————

*Apokolips*

The fires of the hellish planet roared, endless pits sending lava thousands of feet in the air and parademons flying in every direction.

Slaves of every race worked the mines of the forsaken planet, spoils of war from the planets conquered in Darkseid's name.

Standing on a massive balcony attached to one of the planets many palaces, the god of Apokolips himself was standing alone, looking out at the rows of hellspores being prepared by his slaves.

A safe distance away, two of Darkseid's sons, Grayven and Kalibak, stood with his chief scientist Desaad.

Desaad was a deformed man, Apokoliptian technology was infused into his body long ago. Not to give him powers or special abilities, but simply to prolong his life and aid in his research.

His voice was raspy and shaky, filled with a mix of excitement, terror and pain.

Desaad: "Master, our plan goes along as predicted. Our advanced agent has arrived and has begun its mission. Soon all will be ready for your triumphant return. And of course the retrieval of the Anti-Life Equation."

—————————————————————————

*The Hub, Division Headquarters*

"The evacuation order has been confirmed, all personnel proceeded to your designated transports. This is not a drill."

ISAC's mechanical voice boomed over the PA system as Agents scrambled in every direction, alarms blaring all throughout the facility.

Manny Ortega was overwhelmed. Amanda Waller and Cadmus had forced the president's hand. Not that it took much effort, the federal government was still recovering from the Black Tusk's coup attempt. Any known associates of (Y/n) and Kelso were now subject to arrest, along with immediate execution if Waller would have her way.

To make matters worse, the arrest warrant was now an INTERPOL red notice and had been expanded to cover Miss Martian, Superboy, Nightwing, Tigress, Rocket and Kaldur after a thermal imaging satellite confirmed the presence of the bio-ship at the safe house Waller stormed.

The director of Cadmus was fuming and out for blood. After the destruction of her Task Force X at the hands of (Y/n), Zatanna and their friends, Waller had made it her personal mission to secure the world in the wake of so many recent crises.

The Hub, while a massive underground base, was compromised during the attempted overthrow of the government by the Black Tusk and as a result (Y/n) and Ortega had begun relocating all the supplies and equipment utilized by the agents to other facilities.

Luckily for Ortega, he had nearly finished when they were attacked. Only a skeleton crew remained to finish moving some evidence boxes from past operations; and if it wasn't for ISAC, they would've been taken by complete surprise.

Waller's new team was made up entirely of military cut throats and felons, the most ruthless killers she could find. As a result the command she held over them on their missions was limited to say the least, but she wasn't the type to worry about the minor details, like taking prisoners.

Agent: "Proximity sensors on the west gate have been tripped! They're blasting through the roof!"

The massive underground complex shook as a distant explosion rang out. The power flickered briefly as dust fell from the ceiling.

Ortega: "What's our evacuation status?!"

Agent: "The last team is making their way out of the vault now. They'll be at the zeta tubes shortly."

ISAC: "Perimeter breach detected, hostile forces have entered the base."

Without any hesitation or delay, Ortega jumped into action and dismissed the few agents that remained with him in the control room.

Ortega: "Get to the zeta tube and get out of here! ISAC, purge everything on this database. I don't want Waller getting anything!"

ISAC: "Confirmed, purging local servers, stand by."

Another massive explosion rang out, but this one breached the ceiling. Ortega dove for cover as debris slammed into the rows of computer desks all around him.

The communications officer managed to push himself to his feet and retrieve his rifle as dozens of Waller's men began fast roping down into the room.

The men wore all black uniforms, with high tech armour that looked almost alien. Each man had a gray ballistic mask with glowing red eyes, making them look like futuristic Hunters.

"Suspect spotted, engaging."

Ortega rolled onto his back and fired, hitting two of Waller's men in the head before they hit the ground.

To his complete shock, the bullets bounced off their helmets but the force of the impact did knock them down.

As Waller's men scrambled for cover they threw a grenade towards Ortega. The explosion happened in an instant sending shrapnel cutting through Manny's leg in several places.

Waller's cut throats realized the fight was over after that. Ortega couldn't move anything in the right side of his body, blood began seeping out through his plate carrier and staining the damaged floor.

"Get him up."

Ortega was barely conscious when they hauled him to his knees before them. Pain surged through his body and he noted the word ARGUS etched in each man's metal armour.

"Unlock the computer and give us access to all your safe house locations. Do that and we'll get you medical attention before it's too late."

Ortega: "F-Fuck... You."

"You know we're the only way you survive this, don't be stupid."

ISAC: "Local servers purged, all files deleted."

With blood dripping from his mouth, Ortega let out a defiant chuckle as Waller's men glared down at him.

"That was a mistake."

Ortega: "Get it over with.... You fucking bore me."

The leading operative of Waller's men swiftly pulled out a handgun and shot Ortega without any hesitation. The gunshot rang out, echoing throughout the command center.

Manny's body slumped forward, his life's blood draining from the hole in his head.

—————————————————————————

Zatanna gasped as she woke up, sweat was streaming down her face and her stomach churning.

After finding out she was in bed alone, she stood up wanting to find her husband.

Though stealth wasn't her strong suit, Zatanna attempted to stay as quiet as possible as she made her way into the cockpit.

There she found (Y/n) sitting alone, looking out at the night sky through the windows of the bio-ship.

Zatanna: "What are you doing up this late?"

The agent stayed silent for a moment, his gaze fixed upon his cellphone as he read over a news article.

It was only after Zatanna placed her hand on his shoulder that he snapped back to reality and realized she was there.

(Y/n): "Sorry. I was lost in thought."

Though they were alone, with everyone else sleeping on the makeshift beds in the cargo hold, the married couple still spoke in hushed tones.

Zatanna: "It's okay, but you're usually more alert. I don't think I've ever been able to sneak up on you. What were you reading?"

(Y/n): "Our arrest warrants. And the news. G. Gordon Godfrey's having the best week of his life. First the embodiment of evil attacks in the form of the Upside Down Man and overwhelms the League with a snap of its fingers. Then the League's paraded across Gotham by the Joker. Heroes displayed like trophies. I don't think their public image will ever recover."

The magician shivered at the mention of the Upside Down Man, the memory of that fight still fresh in her mind.

(Y/n): "Then to top it off, there's this."

The agent handed over his phone to his wife. Zatanna stared blankly at the screen as it showed the arrest warrant for every single one of them. Signed by the President of the United States himself.

The cherry on top was the words stamped in red right below their names and beside their photos.

"LETHAL FORCE AUTHORIZED"

(Y/n): "Waller was on Godfrey's show this morning. Announcing her new government agency to work as the special forces branch for Cadmus. She's calling it Argus and they've raided S.T.A.R labs to equip themselves. Combine that with Batman's contingency plans for the League, and Waller's men just became a serious threat."

Zatanna: "They'll have to catch us first."

The confidence in his wife's voice brought a smile to his face as (Y/n) leaned back in the chair and looked out at the night sky.

(Y/n): "We can't hide forever. We'll have to face them eventually."

Zatanna: "Then we'll crush them. No one can stand against us."

(Y/n): "You don't sound like yourself. Want to talk about it?"

Though he knew poking the hornet's nest wouldn't go well for him, the agent couldn't stop himself from blurting out the comment.

The magician scoffed and crossed her arms, looked down at her husband with an angry glare.

Zatanna: "Sorry your innocent little angel's gone. Was bound to happen sooner or later, with all the lunatics that've tried to fuck with me."

(Y/n): "It's going to be okay, Zee. We'll get through this."

Zatanna: "Don't you dare tell me it's going to be okay. My father's dead. His body was dismembered by that psychopath. I want revenge."

Her voice broke at the end, the anger replaced with fear and uncertainty. But before he could do anything, Zatanna turned on her heels and went back to bed.

The rest of the night passed in a blur for the exhausted agent. He finally went to bed several hours later and found his wife wrapped up in the blankets of their makeshift cot, shivering away.

Once he slipped into bed beside her and his arms found their way around her body, Zatanna stopped shaking and though she was in a deep slumber, let out a subconscious sigh of relief.

————————————————————————

When the morning arrived the heroes reluctantly began their day. Everyone wanted out of the bio-ship. While it served as a great makeshift tent, it was a little cramped with everyone and their gear inside it.

As most of the group was cleaning up from breakfast, Kelso and Nightwing began searching for any sign of Keener. It didn't take them long to find what they were looking for.

Nightwing: "He's in Markovia. Specifically the royal palace."

Miss Martian: "That was fast."

Kaldur: "Too fast. How did you find him?"

Kelso: "It's all over international news."

The senior agent activated her ISAC watch. While the two were marked as "rogue agents" by the government, and thus didn't have access to the main network, ISAC's local systems and gadgets still worked.

With the push of a few buttons, Kelso's watch projected a holographic image showing GBS's coverage of the attack.

The Palace was in ruins. The entire third floor was completely destroyed and caved in upon itself, with fires raging in the lower floors sending pillars of black smoke into the sky.

While the main building burned, another fire was raging in the courtyard. The second fire was spread out, consuming all the carefully maintained gardens and in the shape of a Division Phoenix.

The news helicopter kept its camera focused on the burning phoenix, showing the destroyed palace in the background.

Superboy: "Well, that's one way to get our attention."

Tigress: "He has to know Waller's looking for us as well. This is a trap."

Kelso: "Yes, but we don't have to spring it. Waller is definitely on her way with a small army. We could sit this one out and let them fight each other."

Nightwing: "No. Letting Waller turn the Markovian capital into a warzone will lead to a lot of casualties. We need to get in there and end this before it devolves into a massive catastrophe."

(Y/n): "He's right. Not to mention this could be our only shot at getting to Keener. The sooner we put an end to his schemes the better. Gear up, we fly for Markovia as soon as everything's packed."

Kaldur: "You understand that this is most definitely a trap."

(Y/n): "Of course it is. He branded Brion's front lawn. I'd be disappointed if it wasn't one."

————————————————————————

*Watchtower*

Black Canary and Batman were watching the live news feed from Markovia. Canary was pacing nervously around the observation deck, fully knowing the original team was on their way.

Black Canary: "This is a disaster. If Keener's ready for them, and you know he is... they'll get slaughtered."

The former "den mother" of the cave wasn't even trying to hide her fear. But, as much as the view of the palace made her stomach churn, she couldn't take her gaze off the holographic projection.

Batman: "If those two agents have half a brain between them, they'll avoid this mess and let us deal with it."

Black Canary: "If that fire on the lawn was in the shape of a bat instead of a phoenix, you'd already be in Markovia!"

The Dark Knight stayed silent, fully knowing that Black Canary was right. And he was in no mode to face her anger.

Batman: "Point taken, but that doesn't mean we can't help them."

Black Canary: "How are we supposed to do that? Half the League can barely stand right now, and Keener knows all our weaknesses."

Batman: "Take everyone willing, and then we go to Markovia and do whatever we can to help."

Black Canary: "That's not the best idea. You have to know everyone here will jump up to fight in a heartbeat. But they're too injured. They need time to heal."

Batman: "Stay here, watch over them and help Dr. Kendal however you can."

The Darkn Knight turned around in an instant and began walking towards the zeta tubes on the far side of the observation deck.

Black Canary: "Where are you going?"

Batman: "To Markovia."

—————————————————————————

The bio-ship was flying over the Markovian capital, the palace was still burning in the distance.

The group did their best to fill Wally in on Markovia's significance during his absence. But even with the long flight they had to give him the short version.

Wally: "That's a lot."

(Y/n): "Wait until you hear about the Guest House."

While the speedster struggled to guess the significance of this "guest house", Zatanna slapped her husband on the back of the head.

Zatanna: "Joking about your trauma? Really?"

(Y/n): "I suffered through it, I reserve the right to make any joke I want about it."

That almost earned (Y/n) another slap. As Zatanna swung her hand much harder than the first time, the agent ducked forward, barely dodging his wife's hand before spinning around in his chair.

With a playful but swift kick, he swept Zatanna's legs out from under her. The magician's fishnet clad legs shot into the air, her boots nearly falling off her feet as she landed softly in her husband's lap.

Though she tried to remain mad, her face flushed red when (Y/n) wrapped his arms around her stomach and secured her in place.

As giggles and the odd laugh erupted from the other heroes in the bio-ship, (Y/n) gently kissed Zatanna's cheek and whispered into her ear.

(Y/n): "I'm just trying to ease the tension, believe me Zee, I take this seriously."

The magician sighed in relief and relaxed into her husband's hold, fear still ran rampant through her body. Her mind was exhausted, the strange dream she had the night before was just a mix of emotions, but it almost felt like a message, a warning, though she wasn't sure who it was from or what it was about.

—————————————————————————

Mary, Traci and Jaime were still in the Watchtower, resting peacefully in the facility's kitchen with Titan sleeping on the floor. Despite the fact that the Outsiders had basically been begging to return to the Premier Building, Black Canary and Kandel had refused to let them out of their sight.

But, now that Batman was gone and Canary busy with Kandel's work, it would be easier to sneak out.

Once Mary and Traci learned about the ongoing attack in Markovia and saw the burning Phoenix on the palace grounds, the two magic students started preparing for their mission without any hesitation.

Jaime: "Should we really be doing this?"

Mary: "You're welcome to stay here and watch over Titan."

Jaime: "No, if you two are going, then I'm going. But all I'm saying is, whoever caused that, clearly has a major beef with (Y/n). Are we sure we want to get in the middle of that?"

Mary: "He's just as much of a mentor to us as Zatanna is. His fight is our fight."

Traci: "He needs our help. Waller will be on her way as well. We can't sit this one out."

Jaime: "Then I guess we should go find Gar or Cassie and get them to watch Titan."

Mary: "He'd be fine on his own."

The group shifted their gaze down to the suspiciously quiet German Shepherd. The dog was spread out on the floor, sound asleep, his brown fur perfectly smoothed out from all the attention he'd been receiving from the recovering heroes.

Titan had been going from room to room, visiting the injured heroes on his own accord and getting a snack from the weaker ones that couldn't resist his puppy dog eyes.

Jaime: "Sure, but should we leave him alone in the kitchen?"

As the heroes debated on what to do, Titan stayed in a deep slumber. The group finally decided that (Y/n) had trained the German Shepherd well enough that he could be left unsupervised. They swiftly cleaned up their mess and left the kitchen, rushing towards the zeta tubes.

The second the sound of their footsteps disappeared, Titan's eyes shot open and he jumped up. Within seconds Titan had trotted over to the kitchen island where a bowl of freshly baked muffins sat ready for any hero to take as a snack.

Titan swiftly stood up on his hind legs and grabbed a muffin straight out of the bowl with his mouth. As Titan tore through the thin paper wrapping and then devoured the muffin, his tail was wagging rapidly.

—————————————————————————

Markovia was a mess. When the bio-ship arrived overhead the heroes saw how destroyed the capital was. Power had been cut to the entire city, including the palace, people clogged the streets, attempting to flee to the countryside as an orange gas spread throughout the city.

Nightwing: "That's fear gas, Keener's gazing the city with it. Why?"

Kaldur: "It looks as though he's only selected a few neighborhoods."

Superboy: "He must be trying to clear the city. A little bit of that gas and everyone will evacuate."

Miss Martian: "So he wants the city empty? Why? Here I was thinking he's the type of scum to use civilians as a human shield."

(Y/n): "I have a feeling we're about to find out."

Miss Martian carefully maneuvered the bio-ship above the palace, finding a gap between the columns of rising smoke for the team to safely drop down. The drop went straight down to the first floor, the second and third floor of the palace having been completely destroyed.

(Y/n) and Superboy were the first ones down through the opening, with Wally and Nightwing right behind them.

Within a couple of seconds the entire team was inside the palace. They found themselves in the royal library, or whatever was left of it. The large room was completely destroyed. Bookshelves were burnt to ash, the expensive paintings and decorations that lined the halls were all burnt beyond recognition.

Tigress: "Where do you think he is?"

The youngest agent lightly chuckled, a small smile appearing on his face.

(Y/n): "With his ego, the throne room."

Kelso: "Look who's talking."

The younger agent rolled his eyes before leading the group down the closest hallway. It wasn't long before they found the bodies. Guards and palace workers alike, their bodies laid scattered across the floor, as if they dropped dead in an instant once the attack began.

Most of the guards still had their weapons holstered. But apart from that, the fire made it incredibly difficult to identify a cause of death as it had brutally burnt all the bodies beyond recognition.

Or so they thought. As soon as (Y/n) took two steps into the hallway, ISAC beeped to life. Everyone froze in place, holding their breath in anticipation and to keep the smell of burnt flesh out.

ISAC: "Warning, remote traces of Eclipse Virus detected. Stand by for readings."

Tigress: "I guess we know how Keener wiped out a palace full of guards."

Nightwing: "But what about Brion and his Infinators? Surely they would've given him more of a fight."

Kelso: "I wouldn't count on it, Keener is unpredictable and adaptive. As crazy as it sounds I'd still pick him in a fight against Brion and his meta-humans. All your powers don't mean anything if you can't breathe, and when you do breathe, the gas kills you."

ISAC: "Non lethal amount of Eclipse Virus detected. Proceed with caution."

Zatanna: "Yeah, that's not good enough for me. Esnaelc siht yawllah fo yna suriv!"

The remaining heroes watched in amazement as everything in the hallway flashed white before sizzling like it just came off a barbecue grill.

Zatanna: "There we go. Good as new."

The magician smiled as she took a step down the hallway, brushing past her husband to lead the group towards the throne room.

The youngest agent sighed, shaking his head as Zatanna continued to move down the hallway with the utmost confidence.

Both agents and Nightwing were constantly scanning for traps, though ISAC's abilities were limited when not connected to the main network, the supercomputer still proved incredibly useful.

After carefully navigating the mess of mangled corpses that littered the hallway, the group arrived at two large wooden doors leading into the throne room.

Wally: "These guys have expensive taste."

Miss Martian: "They are royalty."

Nightwing: "SB, you mind knocking for us?"

Without any hesitation, Superboy kicked the doors open. The massive wooden doors crumbled instantly, the fire having already done significant damage.

(Y/n): "ISAC, emp everything!"

As the heroes charged into the throne room, (Y/n)'s ISAC node charged up and detonated an emp pulse, shorting out the two automatic gun turrets Keener had set up on either side of the throne.

Sitting on the throne was the headless body of Ambassador Baazovi. The ambassador's head was laying on the steps, just below the throne.

Brion and his Infinators were scattered across the throne room, most looked alive but severely wounded. The king himself was unconscious, a large gash across his chest and what looked to be a bite mark on his shoulder from a large animal.

Keener stood beside the throne, paying no attention to the sudden arrival of the heroes. The rogue agent was cleaning his combat knife with a rag, wiping the blood off it.

Keener's gear was completely untouched, as if he hadn't just fought through the palace and taken down the Infinators.

Without any warning (Y/n) took aim and fired at Keener, an action that took less than a second.

The bullet soared towards Keener's head, but never made impact. Instead the projectile slammed into an invisible force field and dropped to the ground, the crumpled bullet bouncing off the marble floor.

The rogue agent didn't flinch at all and calmly stepped back, revealing a floating device the size of a and shape of a football. The device was dark red in colour and had several glowing yellow lights scattered randomly across it. It reminded Superboy of a Fatherbox, and he was right to make the connection.

Keener: "I'm glad you finally showed up. I was afraid my message would be a little too subtle for you."

Zatanna: "You're a sick fuck, you know that?!"

The venom in Zatanna's voice returned as she began levitating a few inches above the ground. Her eyes flashed white and began glowing as the tails of her magicians jacket began flapping like they were in the wind.

Keener: "So, she does have a little fire in her. My master was right."

Confusion washed over (Y/n) as Keener's words rang around in his head.

Keener: "His files are quite in depth you know. Something that surprised even me, but then again, the Light did always have an intelligence sharing agreement with him."

(Y/n): "What are you doing here?!"

Keener: "Killing you, wasn't it obvious enough?"

Just as the heroes thought a fight was going to break out, Keener brought his hands to his head, gripping his hair like he had the worst headache in the world.

Keener: "NO! I will kill him! I swear it! I'll complete the mission after I kill him! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

The heroes froze in confusion as Keener stumbled about around the throne, his body shaking as he gripped his head.

Eventually the rogue agent went silent and snapped his gaze towards (Y/n) and Zatanna, his eyes bright yellow and foam dripping from his mouth.

Keener: "KILL THEM ALL!"

The strange device beside the throne beeped as a boom tube opened up above the heroes. Without any warning Parademons began pouring out of the portal, forcing the heroes to scatter across the room.

The Parademons screeched and roared, slashing rapidly at anything that moved. (Y/n) lost track of his friends instantly, all he could see was a continuous stream of Parademons flooding the room, which seemed to be getting smaller every passing second.

Eventually the portal snapped shut, but not before the heroes were outnumbered around fifteen to one. There was barely enough room to move without bumping into someone or something.

Nightwing found Tigress and Kelso, the three of them holding their own against the onslaught of Parademons.

The rest of the heroes could survive on their own, at least for a few minutes. Kaldur and Miss Martian, tore through enemy after enemy, leaving the Parademons unconscious or dead on the ground.

Superboy was more than a match for every Parademon in the room, the only reason he was even remotely on the back foot was because of the ambush.

After he found his footing in the battle, Superboy fought his way to Nightwing's side and ensured the human heroes wouldn't be overwhelmed.

Wally was back fighting to perfection in his new Kid Flash suit. The blue lightning sparked off his body as he zipped around the room, saving his friends by moving them to safety whenever a parademon was about to land a hit. When he had spare time, and he had spare time, he moved Brion and the Infinators out of the palace, hiding them in the city.

Zatanna was like a goddess. She stayed flying in the middle of the room, a small shield around her body with lightning shooting out in every direction, finding the parademons wherever they were.

(Y/n): "ISAC, deactivate that thing!"

The agent was tearing through any parademons that dared to put themselves between him and Keener. With a combat axe in one hand and a handgun in the other, (Y/n) wasn't going to stop or take prisoners, not that the Parademons would surrender anyway.

ISAC: "Warning, additional boom tube activity detected."

To the absolute horror of the heroes, dozens of boom tubes opened up in the sky above the city. Parademons began pouring down like rain, crashing into the city.

Keener: "Better hurry, don't want those nasty fuckers to kill any civilians still in the city."

Within a second Kid Flash and Zatanna had taken down the remaining Parademons in the throne room and the boom tube had snapped shut.

(Y/n): "Call them off. It's over."

Keener: "Nope, not going to happen. What's going to happen next, is that I'm going to kill all of you, the Justice League and all the stupid little heroes that follow you. I will burn your world to ash before I do anything else! FUCK YOU! GET OUT OF MY MIND!"

As the heroes got ready for another fight, the Apokoliptian device behind Keener beeped and buzzed, like a sports scoreboard, suddenly the Parademons were recalled, vanishing into the very boom tubes they appeared from seconds ago.

The device lowered its shield and shot out a beam of red lightning towards Keener, forcing him to drop to his knees. 

Keener: "NO! I-It's my right! F-FUCK OUR DEAL!"

The rogue agent slowly stood up, pain surging through his body as the device did its best to bring the rogue agent to heel.

Despite not understanding what was happening to Keener, (Y/n) still took the opportunity to strike. The agent rushed forward, covering the short distance to the throne as fast as he could.

When the lightning wasn't enough, a boom tube snapped open from behind Keener and began pulling everything in with an impressive vacuum.

Keener screamed in rage as he was pulled in, along with Baazovi's body and the destroyed turrets. (Y/n) attempted to stop his run but was pulled clean into the air.

In a desperate attempt to save himself he slashed the throne with his axe, an act that gave himself an extra second and a half before the chair shattered and he was pulled into the boom tube.

Zatanna called out to her husband, casting a spell in desperation. She was too late. Before she got half the words out the boom tube snapped shut, leaving the throne room in complete silence.

Kid Flash: "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!"

————————————————————————

Waller was standing in the Cadmus command center beneath the Pentagon, watching a satellite broadcast of the events in Markovia.

Waller: "How far out are they?"

"Our Argus commandos are entering the cities airspace as we speak."

Waller: "Good, wipe out any of those alien fucks they find and arrest every single fugitive "hero" in the city."

"What about Zatanna Zatara? Should we fail to ambush her, we won't have much of a chance at defeating her. And there are reports of a speedster being with them, he will be difficult to deal with."

Waller: "Give the asset the green light. We've made a deal and it'll even the odds against her significantly. As for this mysterious speedster, let's wait for confirmation. I'm not going to throw more resources into this mess unless I absolutely have to."

"And your plans for Keener?"

Waller: "Argus can't take him, send a payload to his last known location and make sure to retrieve his body."

"Ms. Waller, it's the royal palace. How can we justify such a strike?"

Waller: "Just do it!"

—————————————————————————

Zatanna: "Kelso, can you track him?!"

The anger in the magician's voice was replaced with fear and uncertainty, the hate finally fading away from her body and the severity of their situation weighing on her.

Kelso: "ISAC's already scanned every satellite on the planet. (Y/n)'s watch isn't giving a signal."

Superboy: "It won't. He isn't on this planet. The Parademons, Keener acting strange, as if he was hearing voices in his head... I think Apokolips brought him back and have been using him as a puppet. Or we're trying to at least."

Tigress: "If that's the case, it explains the Parademons, but why go through all the trouble of reviving him? What kind of mission did they need him for?"

Silence fell over the group with only the sound of Zatanna's heels clicking on the marble floor filling the room. The magician was pacing back and forth nervously, her mind racing.

Kelso: "To kill the Light. We've suspected that Baazovi was a part of the Light after Brion took power. Keener was taking them out, one by one. He would have the skills and he did work for them, he would be the natural pick."

Superboy: "Wait! Missile! Wally, get us out of here!"

The speedster acted in an instant, grabbing the heroes one by one and running them into the city. Even though he prioritized the members of the group that wouldn't be able to survive a missile strike, he didn't have time to get everyone.

Superboy crouched down and launched himself through the throne room's glass window, punching the missile head on before it could hit the palace.

The resulting explosion sent him flying into the city uncontrollably, disappearing from sight.

The shockwave swept over the palace, causing even more damage to the already ruined building.

————————————————————————

(Y/n) hit the ground with a grunt of pain shooting out from his lips. The agent rolled to a stop and pushed himself up in a heartbeat.

He felt the overwhelming heat before he noticed his surroundings. Columns of fire as big as cities shot up in the distance, sending their fire high into the atmosphere.

The stone beneath his feet was almost too hot to touch, despite the obvious, it still took him half a second to process the fact that he wasn't on Earth.

(Y/n): "We're not in Kansas anymore Dorthy."

Suddenly an ear piercing scream rang out and the agent spun around. Several feet away was Keener, red electricity surging through his body as Gretchen Good pressed her electrified staff into his back.

Gretchen: "I told you he'd fail my lord, Desaad's plans are far too complex for his broken toys to complete."

Desaad: "LIAR! My creations are at the forefront of science and innovation. This one's mind was not properly broken, they must believe themselves to be obsolete before my work can begin!"

Grayven: "Enough squabbling, both of you! It is unbecoming to put on such a display in front of our unexpected guest. You embarrass Lord Darkseid."

The aliens all collectively glared at the stunned agent. The biggest of the bunch and the only one to not say a word simply turned around and walked away, (Y/n) letting out a sigh of relief that the gray skinned monster with blood red eyes was no longer staring him down.

Grayven: "Nothing to say, Agent of the Division? We were led to believe your witty remarks were as sharp as your skills. Though the Light does have a habit of exaggerating events in their updates."

(Y/n): "I just want to go home. Let me go and nobody need to get hurt."

Gretchen: "The idea of you hurting anyone here is laughable, young hero. You have no idea what's about to happen to you."

(Y/n): "I beat you before, I'll do it again."

Gretchen: "You got lucky. The Lords of Order pulled you from my grasp. You won't get lucky again."

The young agent scoffed, his eyes darting all around him in search of an exit. To his dismay, he realized they were on a balcony extending far away from the large castle behind the aliens. He'd need to get through them, which didn't seem likely.

Grayven: "Gretchen, do we need this human to obtain the Anti Life Equation?"

Gretchen: "No, we do not."

Grayven: "Then kill him. We must not lose the element of surprise."

The white haired alien stepped forward and took out a father box, but before he could do anything with it Keener jumped up and grabbed the device.

Grayven lunged after Keener, but before he could do anything Darkseid held up his hand.

The fight stopped in an instant. The only sound was the distant burning of the massive fire columns. Then the god spoke. His voice clear, low and commanding. It sent a shiver down (Y/n)'s spine as the aliens around him snapped their gaze towards their master.

"This is the one chosen by the Lords of Order? Let him prove his worth."

Without anyone uttering another word, Darkseid backed up, his slaves scrambling to follow him.

Keener stood tall, father box still in hand. The rogue agent smiled insanely at (Y/n), his face reminding him of Joker's own smile.

As if to signal the start of their fight, Keener dropped the Father Box onto the hot stone floor, the device landing with a sharp crack.

(Y/n) reached for his combat axe, pulling it off his belt just as Keener pulled a large knife into his hand.

Keener: "I've waited so long for this. To kill the lab rat I was forced to give my title of Vanguard to. At the end of this, there will be only one Vanguard!"

The insanity drained away from Keener's face, as the old rogue agent seemed to return to his own mind.

(Y/n): "In that case... you have my condolences, Aaron Keener."

The rogue agent snapped, venom filling his voice and rage boiling in his eyes. His grip on his knife tightened as he demanded an answer from (Y/n).

Keener: "Condolences?! FOR WHAT?!"

(Y/n): "You died today."

The young agent slowly walked forward, his body calm and ready. Keener lunged to meet him, screaming in rage with his knife ready to strike.

Keener's first slash missed (Y/n)'s neck by half an inch as the young agent had backed up just in time.

With a swift upward strike, (Y/n) slashed Keener's arm. The rogue agent dropped his knife as the young agent's axe cut deep.

Despite having a massive wound on his arm, Keener refused to miss a beat. The rogue agent caught his knife midair and slammed it into (Y/n)'s plate carrier.

The blade couldn't cut through the metal plate, instead it slid up and cut across (Y/n)'s cheek, leaving a small gash that began to bleed.

In response (Y/n) backed up once again, giving himself space and time to prepare for Keener's next attack.

Keener lunged once again, his knife raised. As he slashed down, (Y/n) grabbed his wrists and stopped the knife before it could hit his head. With his axe in his other hand he smashed the hilt off Keener's face multiple times.

Blood shot out of Keener's mouth and nose, his face a complete mess by the time he pulled away.

Once again, (Y/n) backed up, giving himself enough space to react to Keener's attack.

He was nearly out of room, the platform getting smaller with each passing attack. The bubbling lava churning below, reminding the young agent to watch his footing.

As Keener prepared for another attack, (Y/n) silently decided that he wasn't going to die in the fiery hellhole of a planet. He was going to make it back to his friends and to his wife.

But in order to do that, he couldn't play defense any longer. He needed to kill Keener, and he was running out of space.

When Keener attacked again, (Y/n) was more than ready. He neglected to block Keener's knife in an effort to land a killing blow.

But despite his injuries the rogue agent was still incredibly fast. The knife came out of nowhere, moving far faster than (Y/n) thought he would.

The agent screamed out in pain as Keener's blade cut his face, slicing from his left cheek, cutting his eyelid and forehead.

(Y/n) fell forward, the pain surging through his body. He caught himself before he hit the ground, stumbling towards Darkseid and the other rulers of Apokolips.

Without any hesitation (Y/n) spun around and swung his axe down at Keener whilst bringing his arm up to defend his left side.

Both (Y/n)'s axe and Keener's knife made contact in a split second. The battle came to an unceremonious hault, silence filling the air as fires roared all around the strange castle.

Keener's blade cut deep across the top of (Y/n)'s left hand, causing blood to stream down the agent's arm and soak into his clothing.

The blade of (Y/n)'s axe was lodged deep in Keener's neck, nearly cutting his head clean off his body. Blood poured from the rogue agents mouth and neck wound, soaking his chest as his body went limp.

With a burning hatred for the man still alive in his heart, (Y/n) ripped the axe out and shoved Keener's body over the edge. Several seconds of silence passed before the splash of lava cut through the air.

A pillar of fire shot up, burning away any trace of the man that had caused so much pain and suffering.

The adrenaline from the fight began to wear off instantly, replaced by pain as (Y/n) limped towards the Father Box laying between him and Darkseid.

(Y/n): "Anyone else?"

Grayven: "An impressive display. You have earned your trip home, Agent of the Division, do not expect Lord Darkseid to be this merciful again."

(Y/n) held his tongue, not wanting his sarcastic nature to cause another fight or jeopardize his trip home.

The boom tube opened up in front of him with a sharp ear piercing bang. Wanting to leave that god awful planet behind, (Y/n) limped into the portal without a second thought.

—————————————————————————

Wally collapsed onto the ground, drawing in desperate breaths of air as he laughed at the close call.

The heroes were scattered around an abandoned street, the palace burning in the distance.

Wally: "That... was a lot harder... then I thought it was going to be."

Miss Martian: "We need to get out of here and find (Y/n). Maybe Cyborg can track his location."

Nightwing: "Call the bio-ship, we need to get out of here now!"

The heroes followed Nightwing's gaze to the horizon above the palace. Logging up the night sky were dozens of helicopter searchlights. The vehicles swept over the city in an instant, their searchlights lighting up the empty streets.

Tigress: "No time! Get to that building!"

Tigress grabbed Kid Flash, hauling him to his feet and throwing his arm around her shoulder. Kaldur broke down the door leading to an apartment building, the group of heroes making it inside the lobby just as the helicopters passed overhead.

Nightwing: "That was close, I don't think they saw us."

Miss Martian: "I thought the Markovian military was busy evacuating civilians?"

Kaldur: "These are not the Markovian's. These are Waller's men."

Kelso: "They know we're here."

Nightwing: "Nah, we're good. Have a little hope."

Right on que, dozens of soldiers in high tech Argus gear rappelled down from helicopters, landing in front of the glass doors.

Kelso: "Still think they didn't see us?"

Kid Flash: "I'm starting to think you Division agents are just bad luck."

Tigress rolled her eyes and let go of Wally, the speedster standing tall as he and the archer prepared to fight.

Kid Flash: "Get moving, find Superboy and then come back for us. We'll stall them."

Nightwing: "Are you sure you're up for this? Waller knows all our weaknesses."

Tigress: "We'll handle it. Good luck."

Before anyone could comment any further the Argus soldiers attacked, smashing through the ass doors and storming the lobby.

With their high tech armour, masks and electrified batons, they looked like they jumped straight out of a sci-fi movie.

"Tigress, you are under arrest for aiding and abetting the known fugitives of Alani Kelso and (Y/n) (L/n). Surrender now and you will not be harmed. Failure to comply will result in the use of lethal force!"

Kid Flash: "A shame really, Waller actually thinks they have a chance."

Tigress: "Be a dear and disarm these gentlemen, I'd hate for them to get hurt."

Kid Flash: "Not what I imagined for our first date back together."

A hint of red found its way to the archers face, causing her to shift nervously as the thought of going on a date with Wally entered her mind.

Tigress: "No, this doesn't count. You still owe me a trip to Paris."

"Kill them!"

The heroes smiled at eachother as the fight began, Kid Flash disarming the twenty attackers in the blink of an eye, leaving them all helpless before Tigress.

—————————————————————————

Superboy groaned as he woke up, his head spinning as he pushed the debris from his lap.

From what he could tell, he had landed in a department store. Although there wasn't much resembling a store now, the impact had destroyed nearly everything that remained inside.

Small fires burned around him as what little remained of the sprinkler system tried to douse the flames.

Despite the noise all around him, Superboy's super hearing lived up to its name. Helicopters went flying by overhead, circling the building with their searchlights aimed directly down at him.

Suddenly a small thump sounded out from behind Superboy. He spun around to see a metal canister roll towards his feet.

Not wanting to find out what it was, he jumped straight up, through the hole in the roof just as the canister detonated. The store room below him filled with a green kryptonite gas, manufactured by Waller with Batman's stolen plans.

Superboy let out a sigh of relief as he landed on the roof, racing towards the edge of the building as the helicopter's search lights found him.

Missiles and small arms fire rained down on Superboy, but the kryptonian powered through without any issues.

—————————————————————————

Miss Martian had successfully summoned the bio-ship and the heroes were about to board it. They had arrived in a quiet sector of the city, Waller's men having already cleared it.

As the ship revealed itself and landed, Miss Martian was the first to board, waving her fellow heroes on as they rushed inside.

Suddenly Zatanna froze, a chill shooting down her spine as her stomach churned. She felt out of balance, as if the natural order of things had been broken.

Kaldur: "Is something wrong?"

Zatanna: "I think... I think Klarion's here, but something feels different."

"Not Klarion dear, the rest of us."

Zatanna spun around to see a glowing red woman standing a mere twenty feet away. Her body appeared holographic, red steam or mist rising from her shoulders.

Zatanna: "The rest? You're the Chaos Lords, aren't you?"

"Very good dear, so you know what's about to happen?"

Zatanna: "More than you do. Kaldur, tell the others to leave and find Conner. I'll deal with this."

Kaldur: "Are you certain? These are gods."

Zatanna: "Only in name."

————————————————————————

The bio-ship pulled away and soared up until the night sky, swiftly moving across the city to Superboy's last known location.

Nightwing: "Kaldur, where's Zatanna?"

Kaldur: "She stayed, something found us. The Chaos Lords, they were after her. She stayed to cover our escape."

Kelso: "I'm going to pretend like that was a normal sentence and not freak out, but we're getting spread dangerously thin here."

Miss Martian: "We can't leave her there alone!"

Kaldur: "Rescue the rest of our team and then we will go back for her. To be honest we'd be little help anyway. She outclasses all of us put together in the field of magic and we can't afford to have her worrying about us."

Nightwing: "I found SB."

Several blocks away, Superboy was bouncing from rooftop to rooftop, keeping a safe distance ahead of the helicopters that were still firing rockets at him.

Nightwing: "Taking a page out of (Y/n)'s book and causing the biggest commotion he possibly can... I love it."

—————————————————————————

"You should've listened to your friend, little witch, then you could've all die together."

Zatanna: "You should've learned from the Upside Down Man, messing with the balance of magic only ends in disaster."

"We aren't here to upset the balance, chaos has never been so powerful! With the death of Nabu, his helmet and tower, we have everything we could ever want. This is personal, you are a blight on us, a symbol that we can be defied. We will not stand for it."

Zatanna: "For thousands of years the Lords of Order have chosen champions to fight on their behalf, maintaining balance in this world. You mean for me to believe that in all that time, I'm the only one that's warranted this response from you?"

The red woman shimmered in the night, her illusion almost breaking apart with a gust of wind. Zatanna narrowed her gaze, ready for the fight that was inevitable at this point.

Zatanna: "No, there's something else. Llet eht hturt!"

The spell, though minor in scale, compelled the Lords of Chaos to obey, seething in agent as they did so.

"Waller. The control freak offered us a world of chaos and blood if we followed her command for a short time. A world where humans fought superhuman, and chaos reigned supreme."

Zatanna: "Do you honestly expect Waller to honour that agreement, or were you content to be manipulated like Savage controls Klarion?"

The standoff continued, Zatanna having no expectations that her words would carry any weight, started playing out the fight in her head, looking for a way to end it in her favour.

"It wasn't a deal we could refuse."

Zatanna: "The great Lords of Chaos, reduced to a puppet? How funny."

"We could kill you where you stand girl!"

The voices snarled back, filled with venom of every kind. A burning hatred much like she has for Keener.

By this point Zatanna had enough. She gathered all her strength and prepared one spell to end this little show of force.

Zatanna: "I dnamed taht uoy tcepser eht ecnalab fo siht dlrow dna evlosba flesruoy fo yna laed taht dluow worht siht dlrow otni yarrasid! I dnammoc uoy ni eht eman fo eht Sdrol fo Redro, tcepser eht ecnalab!"

Translation: (I demand that you respect the balance of this world and absolve yourself of any deal that would throw this world into disarray! I command you in the name of the Lords of Order, respect the balance!)

The magician collapsed onto the ground instantly, panting as sweat streamed down her face. She had never attempted to command a god before, let alone all the Chaos Lords at once.

Still, much to her own surprise, the spell worked. The collective voices of the Chaos Lords rang out in a mix of minor annoyance and anger.

"Balance, such a precious thing to you. One day it will break and you will bear witness, Zatanna Zatara. Chaos will reign once again."

The holographic woman broke into a thousand little stars, flying up into the night sky, leaving Zatanna exhausted and alone on the rooftop.

As the darkness swept over her, Zatanna wiped the sweat from her brow and laughed. She dropped to her knees, her body exhausted and teetering on the verge of unconsciousness.

Her throat burned, like the magic had torched her lungs or she'd just taken a shot of hard liquor. As she continued to smile and laugh at her unexpected survival, she thought of how amazing it would be to have a shot of anything alcoholic at this point.

Her hands were still shaking with power, the true scale of the spell lost on the magician until after she performed it.

"We've got her!"

Zatanna snapped her gaze over to a nearby alleyway just as dozens of Argus soldiers poured out of it.

She scoffed and pushed herself to her feet, attempting to cast a spell that would enable her to escape.

Instead she found her voice raspy and broken, unable to speak in complete words or cast any magic.

Flagg: "What, no magic? We figured taking out the Chaos Lords would take everything you had."

Rick Flagg, Waller's right hand man and the new commander of Argus. He was ready to make a name for himself on the world stage, ready to prove that his men could take down some of the best heroes and do the job of the Justice League.

Flagg's men closed in, their batons ready and charged with red electricity surging from the ends.

Before Flagg and his men could surround her, Zatanna turned and ran. While not the fastest sprinter she was able to make it to an alleyway down the street.

She could hear the footsteps of Flagg and his men right behind her the entire time, they were closing and fast.

As Zatanna rushed down the crowded alley, weaving through dumpsters and garbage cans, she attempted to hurdle over a small fence that cut off her access to the next street over. 

Before she could escape, Flagg grabbed her from behind and pinned her against the brick wall. The rough bricks pulled at the fabric of her magicians jacket, nearly tearing it off as she squirmed in a desperate attempt to escape.

Flagg: "Enough! Your magic is gone, and I'm not looking to be anywhere near you when it returns. Tell us where Vanguard is or I'm sending you to Waller, and you'll face a fate worse than death."

An inhibitor collar was secured on Zatanna's neck as Flagg attempted to gag the exhausted magician with a cloth.

Zatanna refused to open her mouth, simply being as stubborn as ever in an attempt to piss off her captor as a form of resistance and petty revenge.

Flagg: "I swear, if your husband is half as an asshole as you, I'm going to kill you both."

In response Zatanna sent her knee crashing into Flaggs crotch, causing the Argus commander to collapse in pain.

Flagg's men grabbed Zatanna and forced her to her knees, making vague remarks and threats about how she'd regret that or it'd be the last thing she did. She couldn't care less.

As Flagg picked himself up, his men began to laugh, grabbing his arms and holding him up. They continued to taunt him as they shoved him towards Zatanna.

"Come on Colonel, don't let that little girl knock you down."

"Make her kiss it better."

The men erupted in laughter, their poor military discipline on full display, a side effect of recruiting from federal penitentiaries and rogue paramilitary groups.

"Open wide little magician, you've got a new daddy."

"Time to make this dick disappear."

The men continued to send sexual remarks towards Zatanna as panic gripped her body. Fear replaced her anger towards her captors as she tried to find an escape route that wouldn't end with a bullet in her head.

Before Zatanna had to face what would probably be her worst nightmare, a dark shadow passed over the alleyway, blocking out the moonlight for half a second.

Flagg: "You sick fucks! Stop dreaming about raping her and watch our flank!"

The shadow landed in the center of the alley, just between Zatanna and the Argus soldiers. A small smile crept onto Zatanna's face as The Dark Knight stood tall, towering over the shocked soldiers. His eyes narrowing at them and fists ready to break bones.

Before Flagg could bark out an order, Batman struck. His fists like lightning, his attack intended to do the most possible damage. The high tech armour worn by the Argus soldiers, designed by DARPA and S.T.A.R Labs, shattered like glass as Batman's fists smashed through them.

The Argus soldiers charged, their moment of hesitation and shock passed. The brutal close quarters fight dragged on, Batman never slowing or showing anything related to mercy.

Zatanna dove to the ground and crawled close to the alley wall, escaping the center of the fight without being hurt or noticed.

As Batman shattered the arm of the Argus soldier that had made the sexual remarks towards Zatanna, a boom tube snapped open in the street just as the last of the soldiers collapsed.

(Y/n) limped out of the portal just in time, the boom tube snapping shut and leaving the bloodied agent in the street.

He spotted Zatanna instantly and began limping towards her. The magician gasped, noticing the extent of his injuries and jumping to her feet. Her voice still raspy but able to speak in complete sentences.

Zatanna: "(Y/n)?! What happened?!"

(Y/n): "Keener... he's dead."

The agent was out of breath, his blood still streaming down his body as he limped towards his wife.

He forced a smile to his face as Zatanna grabbed onto the tattered remains of his blood soaked uniform, keeping him upright as she studied his body.

Zatanna: "My magic is slowly returning, hang on. Laeh ym dnabsuh."

The magician's hands started glowing softly, flickering like a dying lightbulb. She carefully moved her hands across his arm, her magic closing his wounds just enough to stop the bleeding.

As Zatanna focused on healing his body, (Y/n) gently removed the inhibitor collar from her neck. He tossed the devices away and sighed in relief, desperately wanting to sleep.

When Zatanna's attention arrived at his eye, the large wound began to close, allowing (Y/n) to open his eye properly.

Though her magic faded before she could finish the job, Zatanna had closed the majority of (Y/n)'s wounds and time would heal most of what remained.

The one outlier was the wound across his left eye. Keener's blade had cut deep enough to leave a permanent scar from the agent's cheek to forehead.

Batman: "I've contacted the others, they have rescued Superboy and are on their way to Tigress and Kid Flash. We need to leave now. The Markovian military has mobilized and is about to retake the city."

The magician nodded in agreement as she took her husband's arm and forced him to put it around her shoulders, helping him into the Batwing which had just landed in the abandoned street.

The doors shut immediately and Batman took the controls, letting the exhausted magician and her husband rest in the cargo hold as the aircraft took to the skies once again.

Behind them, the city burned. The Markovian military did its best to restore some semblance of order, but the Argus forces refused to leave without a fight.

The attack left King Brion in a difficult situation. He barely escaped his own palace during the throne room carnage and blamed the heroes for the aliens that attacked his city.

As he watched his military regain control block by block, he vowed revenge against Nightwing, his allies and the heroes that illegally entered his country like it was their own.

Capitalizing on his anger, a strange voice cut in on his secure communications line.

"Your majesty, those heroes left quite a mess didn't they."

The cocky yet charming voice had a hint of power to it, causing Brion to listen before lashing out. An impressive feat given his temper.

Brion: "I am informed of world events quite regularly, and I know your voice. What do you want, Amanda?"

Waller: "It's Waller, and I think you know. My forces attempted to arrest the very people that caused this to your country. They failed, and at great cost. You want revenge and I need manpower. I can tell you exactly where they'll be in a few days and can get you the legal authority to go after them."

Brion: "And what do you want in return for this generous offer?"

Waller: "Loyalty."

—————————————————————————

*Aboard the Bio-Ship*

Nightwing: "Copy that Batman, Nightwing out."

The detective sighed in relief as he sunk back into his chair before spinning around to face the crowded cabin. They had just exited Markovian airspace after having picked up Tigress and Kid Flash from the same apartment lobby they left them in.

Nightwing: "Batman found Zatanna and (Y/n). He's got them both and is taking them home. I'm glad we got you two out of there when we did."

The speedster scoffed and placed one hand on his hip while using the other to pull Tigress close.

Kid Flash: "We were fine. It was like a date."

Though Tigress still had her mask on, everyone could see her blush hard. But instead of fighting her feelings off, she leaned in and gently kissed Wally's cheek as Miss Martian piloted the bio-ship towards home.