Chapter 28: Remember

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"Anyone with a heart, with a family, has experienced loss. No one escapes unscathed. Every story of separation is different, but I think we all understand that basic, wrenching emotion that comes from saying goodbye, not knowing if we'll see that person again - or perhaps knowing that we won't."

Luanne Rice

Chapter 28: "Remember"

(Monday-May 19, 2016)

"Dude…" Richard Foley peaked out of the window of his friend's house, "Why is it that I'm always stuck at your house when supervillains attack the entire world?"

"I don't know, man," Virgil Hawkins shrugged, "You're here most of the time anyway. If it were gonna happen, I guess it would most likely be here."

"Well, I'm never coming over here again."

"Don't be like that, man. It could be worse. You could be stuck at school," Virgil suggested.

Richard scoffed, "Good point."

Both boys paused in their conversation when they herd angry shouts from the kitchen. The two boys shared a look.

"I, uh, don't think your mom likes being stuck in here," Richard rubbed the back of her head.

"Yeah, she probably wants to go out and help people," Virgil frowned, "But I'm glad she's here. I don't want to worry about her out there."

"Not that this place seems as safe. I mean…this guy beat Superman…with ease," Richard looked nervous, "How does anyone beat that?"

"I don't know, man, but—"

Virgil instantly shut up when a dark portal appeared in the middle of the room. The two boys instantly cried out in shock and fell to the floor. Their shouts drew the attention of Robert and Jean who rushed into the room just in time to see Hotep Ra step out of the portal.

"You!" Robert rushed forward, "Get out of my house!"

In an instant, Robert was sent flying back and into the wall. Everyone watched in horror as the man slid to the ground. Hotep Ra didn't pay any attention to him, though. His focus was on one of the boys.

"You," Hotep Ra pointed at one of the boys.

"M-Me?"

Hotep Ra reached forward to grab the boy. Jean, however, jumped in between him and the boy, "No! I won't—"

Jean was sent flying through the window.

Virgil looked on horror, "Mom! No! You…Richie!"

"Virg!" Richard cried out as Hotep Ra dragged him into the portal, "Help!"

"No!" Virgil lunged forward as the portal closed. It closed right as his fingertips were about to touch it. He landed flat on his stomach before jumping to his feet to look around desperately only to see nothing he could do to change what just happened, "Rich…no…"

Aquaman floated in the water in a defensive stance. Frostbite was right by his side ready for battle. Despite the damage he had sustained, he still was calm and collected. The same could not be said for the rest of Atlantis. Flashes of black and screams poured from the city. His people were in pain and trouble, and he couldn't go to help them. It pained his heart, but he knew that the Black Hand needed to be dealt with first.

The biggest problem was that he had no help besides Frostbite. Tula…Tula had already fallen, and her afterimage was fighting against her former lover. Lagoon Boy was trying to combat the deceased Ocean Master, but the inexperienced boy lacked the battle prowess to defeat the resurrected villain. Both of his protégés were being completely beaten down, for two obviously different reason.

One protégé still remained available, though. Kaldur looked to be in no mental condition necessary for battle, however. Seeing Tula's demise seemed to shatter his mind just like Aquaman's wife…his wife…

"Shit!" Aquaman hissed as his eyes darted around desperately, "Where did Mera go?! She was just down there!"

"The queen?" Frostbite's eyes narrowed, "She must have retreated, otherwise the Black Hand would have already used her against you."

Aquaman was instantly calmed, "Right, righ—"

"You're open! Hahahahaha!" Black Hand smacked them away with a large skeletal arm. The two of them were sent flying away through the water. Their abilities quickly allowed them to correct themselves and try to combat the Black Hand using a combination of water and ice. Nothing seemed to be close to actually hurting the agent of Nekron, though. A black energy bubble easily protected him from the water and ice attacks.

While the two of them were trying to fight back the Black Hand, Kaldur continued to cradle the cooling corpse of Tula. Tear streamed down his face as he gently stroked her cheek. Why did she have to die? She was good and innocent. Why not him? His blood was the muddied one. It was him that should have died, not someone as soulfully beautiful as Tula.

"Tula?" Queen Mera's voice sounded behind Aqualad. Kaldur did not turn away from his unrequited loved one. This did not stop the queen, though. She knelt by the young man and gently reached out to her dead apprentice, "No…not another…"

As the sounds of loud sobs invaded his ear, Kaldur turned to face the queen that was now gently petting Tula. He had seen the queen's face many times, but he never realized how broken Mera looks. She looked like a shell with no purpose in life. It was like she just lived because she was too afraid of dying.

Was…was that how he looked right now?

Looking up, Kaldur finally noticed the destruction around him. Atlantis, the city of water, was literally burning. Everything was being destroyed. Yet, he was just sitting here cradling the dead. That…that would do nothing. Wallowing in pity would do nothing. It wouldn't save anyone. That was the point. Even if it hurt, he had to do something.

Kaldur leaned in and whispered into his dead love's ear, "I am sorry, Tula. I know that you never loved me, but I wanted you to live a happy life. As long as you were happy, I was happy. I would have done anything for you, but now I must leave you. I will avenge you, my love, so that you can rest in peace."

Gently kissing her nose, he moved Tula over to the crying queen. Mera carefully took Tula into her arms. Then, finally, Kaldur let go of Tula. For the first time in years, he released her both physically and mentally.

Turning to where the Black Hand was floating, he pulled out his Water Bearers and charged forward, "Black Hand! I will cut off your heat and mount it on a spike!"

The Black Hand gave the boy a side glance and scoffed, "Fool, the Black Hand is beyond you."

"Go ahead and come, I'll destroy all of you," Nekron sneered at the holograms before him. He reclined in a throne made of different bones. The Guardians of the Universe just glared back at him with a look of pure hate.

"Do not think that you can stand up to an army of our Green Lanterns, Reaper," One of the Guardians snapped, "No one being is that strong."

Nekron chuckled, "I'm willing to bet that I am. Of course, that's assuming that they even make it in time."

Another Guardian hissed at the ghost, "Are you not aware of the consequences of your actions?! Without the Life Entity, all life in the universe will come to an end."

Nekron gave them a blank stared, "Um, that's the plan, genius. Sheesh, I'm the Ghost of Death for a reason. I want everything to die. You'd think that people as old of you would be able to make that connection. Are you going senile? Do your little Lanterns have to wipe the drool from your chins?"

"You won't succeed! Your arrogance will be your downfall!"

"Arrogance? I just bitch slapped Superman into submission along with the rest of the Justice League. The only way I could have dominated them is if I got a belt and spanked them. Hahahahaha!"

"You're sick!"

"I know, that's the point, dumbass," Nekron rolled his eyes, "Okay, I'm bored with talking to you. Your conversations skills suck hairy donkey balls. I'm gonna go kill all life in the universe now. BYE!"

"You won't—"

The holograms disappeared with a wave of Nekron's hand, "Wow. They just don't know when to shut up, do they Little Vision? Unlike you. You haven't said a word."

Standing from this throne, Nekron walked towards the kneeling and tied down Vision who was still clothed only in a bedsheet. They were all in the giant cave that once was used to summon Trigon to Earth. The massive crater that had been used to 'kill' Phantom was still where it was. The only real difference in the cave were the floating body trophies of the League, Vlad, and Superboy who were all held up by black energy rings.

Kneeling down, Nekron gently lifted Vision's chin to get her to look at him. Her response was to spit in his face. Raising a hand, Nekron wiped the spit from his cheek and then violently smacked Vision with that same hand.

"Even now, you're defiant?" Nekron grabbed her hair and pulled her head up violently this time, "Even after I gave the courtesies of keeping your husband alive and letting you keep that bedsheet to hide your modesty?"

"Go to hell," Vision hissed hatefully, "I know you're just doing that to hold a power over me, you sick sack of shit."

"Then I should strip you and kill your husband?"

"You're going to do what you want no matter what," Vision noted, "Do you want me to beg? To cry? To offer you anything to spare Vlad's life? What can I offer you that you've want? You're not interested in money, knowledge, or sex."

"That rationale of yours…It both pisses me off and impresses me," Nekron released her hair and stepped away, "That's why you're my favorite out of all the original ghosts. And why you're going to be my final witness to destroying Life."

"The others will stop you."

"Really? Who? Jester? Dead. Ghost Writer? Dead. Fright Knight…DEAD! Hahahahahaha!"

Vision looked at him in horror, "No…"

"Oh yes! And the others will be the same soon enough!" Nekron created holograms of the remaining Ancient Ghosts. They were all being beaten down by their enemies. He then created holograms of Spirit and Dusk to show their predicaments, "They have no chance. Besides the Green Lanterns, there are literally no heroes able to fight me. And even then, they won't make it in time. I stand unopposed."

"No…there has to be…someone…"

"There's no one, dear. Anyone that could stand up and fight is defeated or dead," Nekron sneered, "How does it feel knowing that you'll be the last living member of your family? Not the just the 'Phantom' one either. The one created by your father. All your sister and your brothers…All died by my hand twice. It's almost poetic."

Vision just looked down in defeat. She could think of no way out of this situation.

"Shall we go?" Nekron asked, "The Life Entity is waiting."

Mal took deep, steady breaths. With his legs crossed, he floated in the center of the strange dimension. He focuses on keeping calm. That was not possible, though. His mind was buzzing with thoughts on what Jericho told him. Opening his eyes, he glared at the blonde man calmly strumming at a guitar.

"Okay, how in the hell am I supposed to find this inner peace stuff when you drop bombs on me?" Mal questioned.

Jericho looked up from his guitar with a raised eyebrow.

"Nekron…the world ending…my friends are in danger…" Mal scowled, "Hell, my girlfriend might be dead right now! How am I supposed to be calm while knowing that!?"

Jericho smiled. He wrote in the air, 'It is easy to be peaceful in calm times. The true test is to be peaceful in times of panic.'

"Now you sound like Dusk…" Mal sighed, "How come he can't do this? He's the pacifist type, not me."

Jericho shook his head, 'The Horn is not meant for him. It is meant for you.'

"And the only way to get to the Horn is through inner peace…" Mal muttered under his breath, "But I won't be able to do that knowing what's happening in the real world."

'This isn't real? Mal, my friend, this is more real than you realize. Extend your mind. Reach out and feel the universe.'

"Feel the universe…" Mal sighed and closed his eyes, "That sounds like something a drug addict would say."

Colossus let out a groan as he sensed the Spectre and Pariah Dark landed right in front of him, "Damn it. Can't you give me a damn minute to rest?"

Pariah Dark's response was to kick Colossus with a leg empowered with ectoplasm. In a burst of green, Colossus was sent flying away. He soared across the plains like a rocket. Eventually gravity took its hold once more, and he landed with a crash. The giant continued to move through the dirt, though, leaving a long trail in his wake.

After finally coming to a stop, Colossus lay at the end of the trail looking up at black sky, "Guess not."

Before Colossus could do anything to get up, the Spectre appeared above him with a glowing green fist. The fist smashed down on Colossus's stomach casing the red giant to arc his back up in pain and to spit out blood. Green energy then spread out from the Spectre's face and spread out creating a large blast of energy.

The entire plain area around them shattered from the spray of energy. Once gentle flowing grass was now a destroyed mess. Having the entire crumble around him, Colossus decided to use the new area to his advantage. Despite the current pain rushing through his body, he lifted his massive arms up and then brought them back down to smash against the broken earth. A giant shockwave spread out from his arms and lifted all of the crushed earth high into the sky and created a reverse rainstorm.

Flying earth and dirt rammed into the Spectre sending him flying into the air with the rest of the dirt and ruble. Knowing that he couldn't give himself time to rest and still take advantage of this opening, Colossus picked himself up and chased after the reverse dirt storm. With eyes hone right on the flailing Spectre, Colossus channeled as much energy as he could into his right arm as he possibly could.

Just as he was about to send out his attack, Colossus was stopped. A tsunami of ectoplasm tore through the area. In the blink of an eye, the dirt storm was replaced by rolling waves of energy. The ruble disintegrated into ash while Colossus was stopped completely in his tracks by the dense storm of enemy ectoplasm. When the energy finally began to die down, Colossus was left floating in the air. His body looked completely defeated with more burns and bruises covering his body than untouched skin.

Unable to move his body, Colossus forced his eyes to see the old Ghost King floating off to the side with both arms extended and smoking. With a snarl, Colossus tried desperately to do anything he could to Pariah. Even if it wasn't an attack, Colossus wanted to do something in defiance. Instead of flipping the Ghost King off, though, he just feel down in defeat.

He didn't get far, though. The Spectre caught Colossus and threw him up back into the air. Now thousands of meters above the ground, Colossus could do nothing by fly lifelessly through the air. His eyes were glued down to the enemies below him. Both Spectre and Pariah Dark floated side by side. They appeared to be charging up a combined attack. Still barely conscious, Colossus could do nothing but watch and wait for the attack as he began to fall back to the ground below him.

Colossus did not fall for long, though. His enemies sent out a concentrated beam of energy that was slightly larger than Colossus. The events that happened next was a blur to the giant ghost. There was no pain when the ectoplasm hit him. He was beyond pain at this point. Still, he did recognize the beams power, though, as it carried him further up, past the highest clouds, air particles, and Earth atmosphere. In mere seconds, Colossus was pushed out into space.

Luckily, he came to a stop before he flew too far out. This was not because the energy of the attack died down. It also wasn't because Colossus fought against the attack. The reason was because something managed to stop the massive amount of force pushing the brute through the void of space. Blinking, Colossus looked up from his position to see a large black orb circling around a burning sun. That sight and the white rock around him revealed what had stopped him.

Colossus had landed on the moon.

Dick and Cassandra rushed through Wayne Manor with Joker right on their heels. Neither of them were in good enough condition to fight against the psychotic clown without their equipment. Even if it was two on one, they didn't want to waste time or risk further injury with Lady Shiva and David Cain still lurking around the manor. As such, they had decided that the best course of action was to make a beeline to Batcave.

Turning a corner, they saw a familiar grandfather clock hiding one of the main entrances to the Batcave. They rushed towards the clock without a second's thought.

"Hurry!" Cassandra hissed as she grabbed a painting from the wall and threw it at the Joker to slow him down.

"I am!" Dick shouted as he spun the clock hands to unlock the door, "Just keep an eye out for your par—"

BOOM!

The clock exploded in a blaze before the clock could move. Both members of the Batfamily were sent flying into the side wall where they slumped lifelessly onto the ground below them. It seems like they had found out where Shiva and Cain had been hiding. They had been rigging the Batcave.

"Well, well, well," Joker smiled as he skipped over to the downed Richard's position with his knives ready, "Looks like I finally get to carve the first Robin. Don't worry, Nightwing, I'll make this faster than with your little friend. HahahahahahahahahahahaAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

The loud bang of a shotgun drowned out Joker's insane laughter. The hand that had been position to stab Dick in the chest was now completely blown off, leaving only a sub in its place. Joker immediately dropped his other knife and stumbled back holding the bleeding appendage. Oddly enough, the blood was more of a black ooze.

"Who the fu—"

Another bang sounded out from the shotgun. This time, Joker was shot in his other hand. He immediately crumbled to the ground in agony.

"I will not permit such language in this household," A butler with graying hair and wrinkled features walked up to the downed clown.

"You…" Joker stared up angrily at the man. The butler didn't let Joker get another word off as he placed the end of his shotgun against the clown's temple and pulled the trigger once more.

"I always wanted to do that."

"Gah…" Dick forced himself to sit up. He stared at the Joker's corpse, which was dissolving into a black liquid, "Alfred…"

"Master Grayson, do keep still. You have quite a few injuries," Alfred stated, "The same goes for you, Miss Cain. Oh, and please don't tell Master Wayne I keep this weapon in the house. He would be very upset. Both of you stay her, and I will go get the nearest first aid kit…" The butler paused in his speech and turned around to fire the shotgun at sneaking David Cain who jumped out of the way of the spreading bullet.

"Of course he can dodge bullets…" Alfred stated dryly before being tripped and thrown away by Lady Shiva who jumped down from above. The butler slammed into the wall like a rag doll.

"Alfred!" Dick shouted out even as Lady Shiva lunged at him.

Cassandra, however, wasn't able to say a word as her father stood above her with a gun pointed at her head. She met his cold eyes with her own, "Dad…It's me…It's Cassandra…Please remember me…"

Cain didn't even react. There was nothing of the man that had existed before his death. He was just a shell. Unflinchingly, he pulled the trigger.

Bang!

With that, blood splattered across the ground.

Kid Flash ran through the desert at full speed, which unfortunately was still the speed of sound. His eyes darted all around the area looking for Clockwork. He knew that this was useless. It didn't matter how fast he was. Clockwork was beyond speed. There was no way for him to keep up with time itself.

He had to try, though.

"Oof!" Kid Flash groaned in pain as Clockwork's fist rammed into his face. The force sent him flying through the air. On instinct, he flipped and landed on his feet. The speedster glared at the ghost while ignoring his aching jaw.

Trying was a very far distance away from succeeding, it seemed.

Sand flying beneath his feet, Kid Flash rushed towards the ghost in a desperate attempt to catch the ghost before he disappeared. Unfortunately, the speedster's attempt failed, though. Clockwork disappeared without notice. The next thing the speedster knew was that he was face first in the sand with his legs aching.

He tried to push himself up. As he got up, though, his back screamed in pain as if it were hit by a staff. Then, it happened again…and again…and again. By the time the constant blows came to a stop, Kid Flash felt like his back was close to shattering. Once more, he tried to get up. His legs refused to respond to his will, though, and he just arced up from his arms like he was doing a yoga stretch.

Both his arms suddenly ached in pain. Like his back before, a constant barrage of pain splintered through his upper limbs. Once more, Kid Flash fell face first into the sand. His arms ached just as much as his back did at this point. There was no way for him to get up with all his limbs injured like that.

"Damn it…" Kid Flash spat out sand. He had been trying to pay attention how the blows were working. There was no way to predict or react to the blows. Clockwork literally just stopped time and hit him. No strategy could stop that. In fact, no speed could keep up with that.

Would the Speed Force even help here? He doubted it. There wasn't any way he could outrun time. Without a doubt, he was going to lose this fight, and in this fight, losing meant dying. But…

His eyes met Artemis's own pleading eyes. Her face was twisted in agony, begging him to not die. Kid tried. He really did, but he had nothing left. His limbs fell uselessly to his sides. Tears began to fall from Artemis's eyes as she saw Wally's body give out on him. She cried out, but her words fell on deaf ears. Despite not hearing them, Kid Flash knew the meaning. He watched Artemis break down, sob, and beg her not to leave her in such a cruel world.

He couldn't die. Artemis was waiting for him. She would get away from Brother Blood. Kid knew she would. It's what Artemis did. She wouldn't give up, so he had to live no matter what.

With a loud grunt, Kid Flash rolled to the side to avoid Clockwork stabbing his staff into the ground where his chest used to be. Breathing heavily, Kid Flash grinned as he saw Clockwork's shocked expression. That was the first attack the speedster managed to dodge.

Now he only had to do it two hundred more times…

Nyx knelt on the ground watching as her parents fought against each other. She shook fearfully as her father cackled throughout the fight. Memories surged through her mind of all the months were Klarion ordered her around like a puppet. She remembered every moment of pain as he hatefully shut down every single attempt of rebellion, especially her last attempt at freedom before the Sorcerer Initiative.

Even now, she felt shadow of the electricity tearing through her bones.

The shadow ghost wasn't alone on the ground, though. Johnny 13 and Kitty looked be having seizures. She heard mutterings of children and regrets from them. None of that really made sense to her, but she felt a strange sensation of remembrance at their words for some reason.

Nyx didn't allow herself to focus on them, though. No, her eyes were focused solely on her parents. Pandora hard created spears of electricity and was using them to combat the Lord of Chaos. Klarion used his own spells of black electricity to fight off Pandora's own attacks. Neither of them were able to gain an edge as they traded blows.

The battle did show obvious consequences, though. Their deflected attacks were sent flying to the side. The concentrated attacks of ectoplasm and magic tore through Pandora's garden. This left Pandora's home a barren and burning mess. None of the attacks even got close to hitting Nyx, though. Pandora stood protectively in front of her daughter. There was no fear in her stance as she faced the person that stole her daughter.

Nyx could only watch in awe as her mother fought. She had never noticed how powerful her mother was. Even without her box, Pandora stood on even ground with one of the most powerful magic users on the planet, all the while protecting others. This was Pandora, the Controller of Chaos. No fear. No regret. No hesitation.

Yet her daughter knelt on the ground shaking in fear.

How pathetic was that? Was she really still just a little girl that needed people to protect and save her? Her mother…Dani…all her friends…They did so much to give her a chance to be herself, yet she was still too scared to move. Nyx felt disgust churn through her chest.

Still shaking, Nyx forced herself to her feet. Her bones ached in shadow pain from her memories, but she ignored that. Fear was stupid. Klarion was already dead, and she wasn't going to let his memory beat her. She was Pandora's daughter!

No fear.

No regret.

No hesitation.

With a roar, Nyx flung herself forward to her parents. Her shout caused both of the combatants to freeze in shock. Nyx quickly took advantage of that. With a wave of her hand, she ordered the shadows below them to jump up and grab hold of Klarion. Said Lord of Chaos tried to slip out of the strands of shadows, but Pandora did not allow this to happen. She grabbed a hold of Klarion and surged her electricity through the Lord of Chaos.

His screams of pain pushed Nyx onward to her goal. She flew past the duo and towards Klarion's stupid cat. Nyx created a shadow spear in her hands as the cat transformed into its battle form. With Klarion's magic making up half of her, though, she easily dominated the animal's will and brought the shadow weapon through the cat's head. Still screaming, both Klarion and Teekl dissolved into a black ooze and disappeared from the physical realm once more.

"Nyx…" Pandora's voice was filled with awe and pride.

Turning, Nyx smiled at her mother, "Sorry I took so long, Mom. It won't happen again."

"No…I understand why—"

"LOOK OUT!" Nyx suddenly lunged forward and pushed Pandora out of the way as Walker sent out a large beam of energy to hit the woman's unprotected back. She did manage to push her mother out of the way, but she got herself caught up in the attack herself.

"NYX!"

Black Hand dodged each of Kaldur's accurate swipes of his Water Bearers. He didn't seem to be in the least a bit threatened by the young man. His eyes weren't even focused on Aqualad. Instead, the Black Hand was looking straight at Frostbite. Even as Aquaman attacked from the opposite side of Aqualad, the Black Hand did not turn his attention away from Frostbite.

Said yeti ghost was struggling to fight at all. Black Hand had created massive skeletal arms that were trying to crush the ice user. Frostbite was trying to use his ice to stop the skeletal arm by stabbing the black bones with shards of ice along with freezing the water around the energy constructions. Nothing worked on even slowing the things down, though.

Eventually, the skeletal arms managed to catch the yeti ghost. The bony fingers latched around Frostbite and quickly began to squeeze the ancient being. He gasped out in agony. In a more seconds, he would be crushed into oblivion. Luckily, he wasn't alone in this fight.

Knowing that their direct attacks weren't working, Aquaman and his protégé turned their focus to helping Frostbite. Kaldur raised his Water Bearers while Aquaman raised his hook. They both focused all the magical energy they could into their respective blade. With a roar, they then brought the blades down and cut through each of the skeletal arms.

With the constructions destroyed, the Atlantians rushed to the now freed Frostbite's sides. Meanwhile, Black Hand was seething in a rage. Lifting up his ring hand, he sent out a barrage of energy blasts towards his enemies. Luckily, they were prepared. Together, all three of them created a massive shield of water and ice.

"We will not be able to defeat him like this," Kaldur noted.

Aquaman nodded, "He is too powerful for the three of us to fight alone. We need to get Garth and La'gaan up here to assist us."

"It doesn't look like they will be defeating their opponents any time soon, though," Frostbite argued.

"Then one of us most go help them," Aqualad noted

"You go," Aquaman ordered.

"I cannot just leave you," Kaldur argued.

"You can and will. That is an order," Aquaman stated.

Frostbite smiled to the younger Atlantian, "Do not worry, young one. We will be able to hold Black Hand back long enough for your return."

"I-I…" Kaldur nodded, "Understood. I will return quickly."

"I never doubted that you would," Aquaman nodded.

Not letting any doubt hold him back, Kaldur stopped his support on the shield and turned away from his king and friend. Forcing himself not to look back, Kaldur rushed down to help his fellow Young Justice members. Seeing that Lagoon Boy and Ocean Master were closer, Kaldur decided to help his junior out first.

Lagoon Boy floated in the water in puffer fish mode. He was currently in a power struggle against Ocean Master. They were both pushing against each other using the deceased villain's trident. It seemed like neither of them were getting an edge. Kaldur was going to change that.

Rushing behind Ocean Master, Kaldur made it so that only Lagoon Boy saw him. Bringing his Water Bearers down, Kaldur ruthlessly cut through both of Ocean Master's arms at the shoulders. The fake Ocean Master cried out in agony as black ooze seeped from his shoulders. Lagoon Boy was quick to take advantage. He grabbed the copy of the villain and literally tore him in half.

Seeing the body dissolve in his hands, La'gaan let out a satisfied grunt, "I've wanted to do that to this monster for months."

Secretly agreeing with Lagoon Boy's words, Aqualad only nodded and sheathed one of his Water Bearers. He reached his hand out to the younger man and pointed his remaining Water Bearer towards a struggling Tempest and fake Aquagirl, "La'gaan. Maneuver 14."

With a grin, Lagoon Boy grabbed Aqualad's free hand. He then spun around and with all his strength threw Kaldur towards the fighters. Kaldur flew through the water like a rocket. In the blink of an eye, he was by the combating former lovers. Tula looked at him in shock. Despite seeing her beautiful and pure features, Aqualad did not hesitate.

He stabbed her through the heart.

"You…" Tula whispered out in shock.

Kaldur leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Be gone. You will not pervert her memory anymore."

At his order, the fake Tula dissolved into a black ooze just like Ocean Master did before her. With that done, Aqualad turned to the shocked Tempest, "How…"

"There is not time for hesitation, Garth," Aqualad unsheathed his other Water Bearer, "Come. Our king needs us."

Nekron hummed happily as he easily blasted through the stone wall hiding the Life Entity's chamber from the world. With a skip in his step, he entered the chamber. He was quickly followed by the dozens of captives he had with him. They all floated around the glowing white chamber. Once they all hung from the walls like the fallen gods they were, Nekron began a steady stride towards the white cocoon that floated in the middle of the room.

A pulse of white energy blasted out from the cocoon in an attempt to stop the Reaper. Nekron didn't flinch as he actually absorbed the white energy. This continued two more times before large angelic wings burst of the cocoon and tried to stab the Ghost of Death with its sharpened feathers. Like the attacks before it, the wings were absorbed into Nekron like they were simple air.

"You should know that it's useless," Nekron continued his steady strides forward, "I control your Catalyst now. There is literally no attack you can do that will hurt me."

The Life Entity's response was another burst of energy. That was just as useful as the previous attempts, meaning, not at all.

"Told you," Nekron chuckled. After a few more steps, though, his joyful steps came to a stop, "Oh! Now this was unexpected. Who would have thought that you would be here to fight me?"

The Endless stood in front of them. All seven of them were side-by-side standing between Nekron and the Life Entity. They all glared defiantly at the harbinger of demise.

"Did you really think that we would just stand by and let you destroy everything?" Destiny questioned.

"No, I'm just surprised that you will actually fight me directly," Nekron explained, "Who will show up next? Lucifer Morningstar? The Monitors? The Presence?"

"Fight you directly?" Destruction looked at Nekron like the Reaper had a mental issue, "We aren't going to do that, dumbass. The fallout would kill the Entity anyway."

"Although…" Desire gave Nekron a curious look, "It is tempting to see how we would stand up to someone with such untouchable power."

Dream gave her an exhausted look, "Really?"

"Well, what did you expect from me?"

"As amusing as this is…" Nekron pointed his scythe out at them, "Can we hurry this up? I want to get on with completing my obsession."

"That won't be happening," Despair noted.

"And how are you going to do that without fighting me?"

"We don't have to fight you," Death gave him a condescending look, "We just have to delay you."

With that, the seven Endless disappeared in a burst of energy. The energy surrounded the cocoon of white. A clear shield of energy covered the Life Entity, protecting it with the blessing of every element of existence.

With a curious look on his face, Nekron walked to the spherical shield. Placing a hand on the shield, he tried to decay the shield with his energy of death. To his surprise, it didn't falter at all. Oddly enough, Nekron seemed amused instead of angered.

"Really?" He shook his head, "Okay then. Nice move. But you've just delayed the inevitable."

"Ah!" Brother Blood sighed contently as he slid into his comfortable throne, "Isn't this nice?"

It really wasn't. What was once a beautiful, if creepy, church was now a ruined mess. The Church of Blood lacked a ceiling at this point, and the walls were halfway falling apart. This was fine for the cult leader, though. He enjoyed hearing the world scream.

"Oh, that's right…" Blood sneered down to the kneeling girls, "I ordered to stay silent, haven't I?"

None of the heroines spoke up to answer him. His orders were absolute to them. Even if they wanted to curse his name, they were forced to silently look on with a sickening expression of devotion on their face. They felt like they'd prefer pulling teeth than continuing this.

"Such good girls…" Blood chuckled cheerfully, "I do wish that I could have collected more, but to have three goddesses under my command…I suppose I can't complain too much. Still, I am glad that I ordered the minions Master Nekron gave me to bring me some labor slaves. That way the four of us can enjoy as much time as possible with each other."

All three girls trembled as they tried to fight the control Brother Blood had on them. They failed, though.

"Oh, how cute," Brother Blood stood and walked over to them, "You're trying to fight. I like that. But it is useless."

He stood over them. With a deep breath, he relished in the power he held over them. This was why he loved his powers. Blood loved the domination he had over them.

"Soon, everyone you know will die. Even that little speedster we left behind," Brother Blood stated arrogantly, "The only ones that will live are those that have been given the blessing of Master Nekron. We will be the last living people in the entire universe, and there will be no possible way for new life to grow. Sure, we won't be able to go on forever. Eventually, we will die too, and there will be nothing left. But I am determined to enjoy every second of the time we have."

Grinning, Brother Blood turned his full attention to Raven. He ordered her to stand and remove her hooded cloak leaving her in her leotard. Blood eyed her frame hungrily. Placing his hand on her hips, he pulled her close to him. He whispered gently in her ear.

"Especially with you, Raven. I've dreaming of getting my revenge on you. I'm going to enjoy breaking you over and over again for ruining my previous plans. By the time I'm done with you, you're going to wish that your father succeeded."

Upon seeing Brother Blood's disgusting look of pure evil, Raven began to shudder a single tear appeared in the corner of her eyes. His smile only growing, Blood gently wiped the tear from her eye. Then, to her ever mounting disgust, he licked it.

"Shall we begin?"

The smoking form of the Bioship sat in the middle of Happy Harbor. Its landing created a large crater for the ship to rest. Fortunately, all the residence of the town had already fled as soon as the Blackest Night had started. So no one was injured in the crash. Well, no civilian was injured in the crash at least.

With a grunt, a gorilla shaped Beast Boy kicked open the door to the Bioship. He carried his unconscious friends over his shoulders. Stumbling, he brought them out of the crater before placing them down as gently as possible. Then, he collapsed to the ground clutching his aching head and ribs.

Beast Boy wasn't allowed to focus on the pain for too long. Loud growling forced him to look up to see the monster from before circling around them. They were completely surrounded by the beasts. With a snarl, he transformed into a tiger and stood defensively over his friends.

To his shock, the monsters seemed to back down from that. They all knelt their heads down like they were bowing. Before Beast Boy could question what was happening, a row of the black creatures parted to create a passage for someone to walk through. When he saw who it was, Beast Boy's heart sunk further.

'I'm going to die, aren't I?'

"Hello, little boy," Madame Rogue smirked at him as she took steady strides to them.

Beast Boy growled.

"Oh, scary," Madame Rogue chuckled, "Maybe you aren't zhe little boy after all. Protecting zhem like zhat is pretty manly. Especially in the face of your death."

Beast Boy didn't back down.

"Before we get started, I feel like I should apologize," Madame Rogue noted, "Zhis isn't personal. I don't particularly feel like killing you or zhe Martian. It's just zhat…If everyone else is going to die, zhen I would prefer my pride stay intact. You two are zhe only remaining targets I ever had zhat are still living after all…or outside of Nekron's grasp at the very least."

Beast Boy tensed as he prepared to lung.

"Don't worry, zhough. As a reward for your bravery, I'll kill you quickly. Zhe same goes for the Martian. You won't feel a zhing."

With a loud roar, Beast Boy lunged forward despite knowing that he didn't stand a chance in all hell.

Spirit didn't have the time to come up with a plan. The spikes around her hurriedly began to cave inward towards her. She scrunched up into a ball in an attempt to make herself small as possible. Even then, she felt the tips of the spikes press against her body. There was no time to think of a plan, and she didn't have the ability to get out of the bubble. For split second, the halfa was certain that she was going to die.

Until a bright shined through the area and her bubble was shattered.

"What!?" Nocturne shouted out in outrage.

Spirit blinked rapidly as the light faded. A now adult Youngblood stood in front of Grundy. His sword was stabbed through the zombie's head while his hook cannon was pointed at Spirit. It didn't take a genius to discern what happened.

As Grundy's form dissolved into a black ooze, Youngblood pulled his blade away and sheathed it. He then rushed to Spirit and grabbed ahold of her with his real hand. When he grabbed her, he pointed his newly transformed hook magnet at Cyborg. The magnet burst out from a chain and slammed into his metal friend. With tug, Youngblood pulled Cyborg free from Wulf's grasp.

Wasting no time, the ghost of youth raced away. As he moved, the chain retracted to pull Cyborg close. This allowed him to hold on tightly to both of his friends as he raced towards the edge of the city.

"Good moves there, Chuck," Spirit complimented.

Youngblood did not crack a smile, though. He didn't even look at her. The ghost just continued to fly forward into the horizon. To her complete shock, he seemed to be crying a bit.

"Chuck?"

"I wanted more time," He whispered to her.

"What do you mean—Woah! Was that Mr. Blood!?"

What Spirit said was true. They just zipped past Jason Blood who had been firing different spells at them. Youngblood didn't even acknowledge the deceased teacher. He just dodged the attack and continued his trek to his destination.

"They can recreate people who died," Cyborg decided to speak up, "I haven't seen any copies of living people after all."

"Aye. It's a smart strategy. Using the people your enemy loves against them…" Youngblood shook his head, "It's both genius and despicable."

"It can't just be us they're targeting," Spirit rationalized, "And if they have an army of people who died…Oh damn! Imagine what that could do to Danny!"

"The question is what to do…" Cyborg noted.

"We head to Axion Labs," Youngblood stated, "That's the only place in the city that's guaranteed to be guarded, have people that can fix your armor's damage, and give us a chance to contact the others. Besides, they probably got Masters Mansion and Fenton Works surrounded. Then we need to…Oh my God…"

Youngblood froze in his flight. Both Cyborg and Spirit could see why. A literal wave of Nocturne's Sleep Walkers were flying towards them. A quick look behind them showed that a similar situation was happening behind them. They were trapped between two giant waves of enemies.

Dusk stood on the edge of a beach. Despite the sky of pure black above him, he knew where he was. Aragon had teleported him to Themyscira. The island of the Amazons was set ablaze with the fire of Aragon's dragon form as he flew over the other side of the island. From what the halfa could tell, he was the only member of his group to be teleported so far away from the battle.

It didn't make a whole lot of sense really. Aragon had said that he was the target, so he obviously didn't want to kill the others first. The former king already had the chance to throw Dusk into a trap as well, so trying to draw him to the battlefield didn't seem like the likely plan either. So what was the point? Did Aragon just accidently send him to the wrong part of the island?

"Joel."

Gasping at the familiar voice, Dusk whirled around to see a familiar face, "Greta?"

Secret gracefully stood in front of him. The gentle waves barely brushed against her bare ankles. Even with only the light of a burning forest, she looked like an angel to him.

"I missed you, Joel," Greta stepped up to the slightly taller ghost and gently cupped his cheek.

"I missed you too. I…This can't be real. It's a trick," Dusk tensed up.

"It's no trick, Joel," Greta gave him a loving look, "This is reality. We've come to bring you home."

"We? Who's—"

"Bark!"

Scratching at his leg drew Dusk's attention downward, "C-Cujo?"

With his tail wagging happily, Cujo leapt up and into Dusk's waiting arms. He eagerly licked at Dusk's face.

"How…" Dusk's words came out in a hushed whisper, "I saw you die."

"We are dead, young knight. What's why we are here for you," The Fright Knight appeared in a burst of light, "It is time for you to join us."

"Fright Knight! You're not…"

"I am. I fell in battle not that long ago," Fright Knight explained, "Do not despair, though, for I have finally obtained peace as you are about to."

"Peace?" Dusk stood in a daze.

"Yes, Joel," Greta brushed her fingertips across his cheek causing him to trembled in pleasure, "It's finally time for you to stop fighting and have the peace you deserve."

"…Yes…" Dusk nodded. His eyes were glued solely on Greta. He wanted this so much.

"Then just let go."

"I will…" Dusk leaned into Greta. He greedily pressed his lips against hers. She tasted just as wonderful as he remembered. If only this would last forever…

If only this were real.

"Ack!" Greta dissolved into a pile of black ooze as Dusk stabbed her with a knife made from his Matter Make ability. Cujo met a similar fate at the end of the Burst Gauntlet.

Turning to the Fright Knight, Dusk gave a glower of hatred, "This was a sick trick. I don't kill, but I'm sure as hell going to make sure Aragon wishes he were dead when I'm through with him."

Freddy breathed out a sigh of relief as he was caught by a squared floating piece of debris. He, like the rest of the residents of the apartment building, was floated gently to the ground. Once they were safely on the ground, Freddy looked over to Box Lunch who was still held in Mary's arm.

"You, little girl, are an angel."

"Yeah!" Box Lunch clapped her hands happily, "In the arms of an angel!"

"Oh~" Mary cooed, "You're so adorable."

"Dote over her later," Freddy grunted and lifted Billy up once more, "We've got to move."

"Right," Mary quickly got up herself and followed after her boyfriend, "Where do we go?"

"Anywhere will be fine…Damn it! Why am I always wrong!?" Freddy shouted as they exited the apartment building and looked up to see the darkened sky.

Box Lunch laughed happily, "Damn it!"

"No!" Freddy turned to her in fear, "Don't say that. Your mom scares me."

"Damn it!"

"No. Darn! Say darn!"

"Damn it!"

Mary pulled Box Lunch away, "Normally, I would reprimand you, but…The entire world is ending, and we need to do something!"

"Right…" Freddy looked away, "We need to wake Billy up. That's the only thing I can—"

Freddy was interrupted when Box Ghost and Lunch Lady was sent flying out of the apartment building. They crashed onto the ground. Both of them tried to force themselves up but were immediately locked up in a golden ankh. Both of them tried to fight against the restraints, but the magic overpowered and suppressed their powers.

Doctor Fate then turned his attention to them. He pointed a hand towards them and sent out several blasts of golden energy. The two of them tried to use what little movements they could get while carrying people to dodge the attacks. Eventually, they tripped up, though. Seeing this, Doctor Fate sent one giant wave of energy at them.

"Damn it!" With a look of regret across his face, Freddy tossed Billy off to safety and then lunged to tackle the two girls to the ground. He covered them and used himself as a human shield. The last memory Freddy had was the look of pure horror across Mary's face. But...But at least she was safe.

That was all that mattered.

Scribe blinked as he felt a hand grab onto his own wrist. His eyes followed the pale hand up a poofy purple shirt to see a man with a faced divided into two. The left side of the face was painted black while the white side of his face was a pale white. A strange clown hat stood on the top of the man's head with different bells hanging from the ends of the hat.

"Hello, old friend," Jester smiled at Scribe, "And goodbye."

In the blink of an eye, the Ghost Writer disappeared into a black cloud of dust. Jester just dispelled the shade of the deceased ghost like it was nothing. Still smiling, Jester turned to Skulker. Said hunter tried to open fire with various guns. All the bullets disappeared into black dust before they could touch the clown. With a wave of his hand, Jester dispelled the fake Skulker as well.

"So sorry!" Jester hummed, "But Nekron's little tricks don't work on me because I control memory~"

Floating over to the downed Poindexter, Jester waved his hand and created a memory of Secret who quickly went to heal the other ghost.

"Gah…" Poindexter glared at the memory of Jester, "Took you long enough."

"You know the mirror needs time to recognize Nekron's influence. Don't want me to show up with only a minor incident of Black Lanterns," Jester mentioned, "Good job saving all these ghosts by the way."

"Thanks…" Poindexter looked around, "How did you beat those two?"

"Well, I'm only a memory of Jester. The original placed me in the mirror to fight against Nekron's army in case the bonehead ever returned," Jester explained. He pulled his shirt collar down a bit to show the Mirror of Memory shining from his chest where it continued to pump energy into Jester's new body, "That's the reason the mirror only works to reconstruct people who no longer exist on the mortal plain. I have the dominance over the 'shades' of dead people."

"So…You could defeat Nekron's army?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Yes. Maybe."

"Well, that's reassuring."

Mal didn't really get it. Inner peace? Feeling the universe? That sounded ridiculous. He always considered himself a rather grounded person. There was never really a moment where he wanted to be anything more than what he was…At least not for himself. The only reason the Horn of Gabriel even appealed to him was so that he could help other…so he could help Karin.

God, she was so amazing. Beautiful, intelligent, caring…She was great in so many ways, and he just wanted to be there for her. During the Trigon problem, he couldn't do anything. He felt so useless. It wasn't injured pride that hurt him. It was the fact that people needed his help, and he couldn't do anything about it.

Knowing that his friends…that Karin need him, and he just had to sit and ignore it…It sucked. Mal didn't really care for fighting. Despite his body builder appearance, he didn't particularly wanted to hurt people. It wasn't about hurting people, though. He just wanted to avoid seeing people getting hurt.

Yes. That's the point.

Was that really his place to try and protect people, though? Mal was surrounded by people with godly strength. Most of them could kill him with the flick of a finger. They could handle any threat far better than he ever could. He didn't even want that kind of power. Since he was young, he always had to be careful not to hurt people. Mal was just always bigger and stronger than his peers. Getting more power…That was something he never wanted.

Exactly. Desiring power goes against the flow.

Power was needed right now, though. Nekron was threatening everything. With the Justice League defeated and the others scattered, nothing stood in Nekron's way. To stop Nekron, they needed power…power to fight…Because fighting was always necessary for others to have peace. For the good of everything, heroes with power were needed.

You're almost there.

Mal didn't think that he deserved such power or the status of a hero. He was so self-conscious at times…he wasn't as smart as others…he wasn't even as kind as others. There were plenty of other people that deserved power more. Mal was just a guy that wanted to protect the little things and the beautiful things.

Images flashed before his eyes.

…The setting sun…

…Birds soaring through the air…

…Gentle falling snow…

…The sound of children laughing…

…Karin's beautiful smile…

Mal wanted them all to be preserved. He wanted all them to live. He…He wanted Life to continue because life is beautiful. That was it. Life is so beautiful. One day, it might all come to an end, but it had to be natural. Nekron wasn't the natural end. The Reaper had to be stopped so that the beautiful life could continue for as long as possible. To do that…he would be the guardian of that beautiful life…No. He would be the Herald of the universe.

Yes, you will. Accept my power, Mal Duncan.

Jericho looked up from his guitar to see the energy beginning to swirl around Mal. He smiled at the sight. There was never any doubt in his mind that Mal could do it.

Holding out his hand, Mal allowed the energy to flow into his palm. The flowing energy began to solidify into that of a silver horn. As soon as the weight appeared in Mal's palm, his form was instantly covered in a blue suit. Darker blue pants covered his lower half while a light blue, skin tight formed over his torso with the symbol of a horn on the front. Finally a black cape and hood formed around him to hide the upper portion of his head.

Jericho raised his hand to write, 'You did it.'

"Yes…" Mal studied the horn in his hand, "But it would be more accurate that I took the first step. I have much more to learn, but that will need to wait. There is much work to do if we want to stop Nekron."

'We?'

"Yes," Raising his horn, Mal blew into the instrument. Energy flowed from the end of the horn and gently opened a portal out of the peaceful dimension, "The universe needs us both along with a few friends we need to pick up."

'So you sensed them? They've been sleeping around here for a long time. I just thought they were people lost on the path of life.'

"No, they're people that can help us. It seems like Poindexter planned out everything," Mal smiled, "Let's go, Jericho. It's time to fight for the peace we crave."

Nekron stopped his constant flow of energy towards the shield created by the Endless. He could feel that the shield was quickly getting weaker. In mere minutes, it would have shattered. Unfortunately, it seemed that he would have to break it later. Right now, he head to deal with some more bugs.

Turning, the Reaper was greeted by the sight of several swirling portals. A lot of them were Boom Tubes. A few of them were magical portals, though. To Nekron's undying amusement, the entirety of the Light and their minions came out of the Boom Tubes. In addition, the still living members of Danny Phantom's "strike force" from the Ghost King's castle walked out of the magical portals.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Nekron burst out laughing at the sight of them, "So now the bad guys stand before me? That's just perfect. The universe's last remaining hope is a bunch of selfish assholes. Oh, the irony…"

"Dad," Jinx looked to her father.

"I'm glad to see that you're okay, Jinx," Savage did not take his eyes off Nekron, though, "I thought the worst had happened."

"Normally," Lex Luthor spoke up. He was dressed up in a giant green robotic armor designed to increase his battle capabilities. The billionaire rarely like to fight directly, but it was necessary now, "I would ask why you are with those three. Right now, I'm just grateful they're here."

"Why in Merlin's bloody damn beard am I grouped with the bad guys?" Constantine took a long drag of his cigar, "I mean, really. I do good stuff...most of the time..."

Ra's Al Ghul gave Constantine a side glance, "And who are you exactly?"

"Oh, you son of a bitch…"

"As amusing as this is…" Morgaine le Fey retreated back into the portal, "I prefer watching the entertainment."

"Le Fey!" Dark Dan snapped as the portal closed, "Damn her…"

"I was wondering where you went," Nekron looked straight at the alternate Phantom, "How did you get out of that coffin exactly? I mean, I was right there. Was it Hotep Ra? Did he betray me? Damn. You think you know a guy. Well, I'll just have rip off his fingers and choke him with them."

"That's gruesome, even by my standards," Deathstroke noted with a disgusted look plastered on his face, "And that's saying something."

"Well, this is the guy sick enough to literally kill all life in the universe, right?" Sportsmaster eyed the cocoon behind the Reaper, "So we have to protect that thing? Really? That's the source of all life in the universe?"

"That's so disappointing. I was expecting something grander," Cheshire twirled her katana.

"Of course life is disappointing," Nekron snorted, "What did you expect? Geeze, father, I thought you would actually bring some intelligent people."

"Do. Not. Call. Me. Father," Savage hissed at the Reaper, "You killed my children, monster. And now, I finally have the chance to avenge them."

"All while playing the hero. Good for you, father, but…" Nekron sneered at them, "Playing the hero is a dangerous game. Just ask the Justice League. Do you really think that you all can beat me when they couldn't?"

"We don't really have a choice but to try, do we? It's the only chance we have."

"Chance suggests that there's a possibility of you winning," Nekron argued, "But if you would prefer to die by my hand directly, I'm perfectly happy with fulfilling your wishes."

"Okay…" Black Hand stated after shattering the combined shield of Aquaman and Frostbite. He glared hatefully at them, "I get it. You want to die first, Aquaman. Very well. I'll save Frostbite for last. I'll kill him after killing every Altantian you say you protect!"

Covering himself in projection armor, Black Hand rushed forward to his two enemies. This time, though, his focus was on Aquaman. Frostbite went to protect his friend by trying to tear through Black Hand's armor with his claws. He did manage to make chinks in the armor, but Black Hand didn't even flinch as his armor healed itself.

Ignoring Frostbite, Black Hand focused all his attention on Aquaman. In a rage, he swung wildly. It was only thanks to Aquaman's battle prowess that he managed to dodge his enemy's deadly blows. One of the blows just barely came close to hitting the hero, and the result as a deep gash across his chest. It would definitely be best not to get hit by the villain.

That was fine, though. He could keep dodging the attacks. Black Hand obviously didn't have a lot of battle experience. All the power in the world meant nothing in the hands of an amateur. Aquaman was sure he could hold out long enough for his protégés to come back.

"My king!"

Speak of the devils…

Aquaman smirked as he continued to dodge Black Hand's wild blows. Despite not looking as his approaching allies, he knew that he had won. There was nothing Black Hand could do now. Together, they would defeat the Black Lantern and avenge Tula.

"Bugs! Bugs! Bugs buzzing around! So annoying!" Black Hand shouted as his armor dropped, "Fine! I'll crush your spirits before killing you!"

No one expected what the Black Hand did next. In the noble minds of the Atlantians and Frostbite, they didn't even consider the next move a possibility. It just didn't register in their minds that he would use such a simple but diabolical tactic. What happened next would be remembered in Atlantian history for the rest of time.

The Black Hand held out his non-ringed hand.

Such a tactic might seem stupid in the situation, but it was actually the most powerful thing he could have done. Everyone was instantly floored by the action. They all froze in shock and horror. Aquaman actually began to tear up at the action. It wasn't because the arm itself, though. No. It was what the Black Hand was holding.

"Dada?" The deceased son of Aquaman peered up to his father with innocent eyes.

"Arthur…" Aquaman gasped in horror, "I…I don't…"

"GOTCHA!"

Once again, everyone was shocked into horror as the Black Hand brought his ring hand and swiped it at Aquaman. In a blur of black energy, the Atlantian hero was cut in half. His torso permanently separated from his pelvis and legs. As his upper half floated away from his lower half, the king of Atlantis knew that this was his end.