Chapter 13
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***
Appearing in the house where they lived, Willard Light collapsed to the floor with the others. Minato's consciousness immediately faded into the background, leaving only the clear mind of Kirill Drozdov. Willard Light was now him. Except that while Minato's consciousness and memory had been hidden from him before, now he was a direct participant in his consciousness. Now their two minds were finally united, but still slightly, just slightly, separated.
«Damn you, that was really cool, but now I can barely stand on my feet," Will exhaled, rolling onto his back. The floor was cold, and he was glad that his body wasn't tense every second from the chakra filling him, and his body wasn't vibrating from the power overflowing him.
His muscles immediately relaxed and ached a little, as they always did after a hard workout. Now he had to pull a lot of tricks at once that Will himself would never have thought of. Nerves and fear probably wouldn't let him reason as cleanly and calmly as Minato Namikaze or the Fourth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf.
"It comes with experience, don't worry about it," Minato encouraged him.
«It's so strange to feel someone else's voice in my head. I'm definitely not going crazy, am I?
"I wish I could say no, but I'm not sure either," Minato replied smilingly, "Now if you'll excuse me, I must leave you for a while
«Why?
Minato didn't answer anymore.
Will was answered by John, who was lighting a cigarette and leaning his butt on the wooden table.
«Damn, this place sucks. Don't try to talk to him, Willard Light. Your mental state is quite unstable right now, and the one you call Minato is recuperating in your subconscious.
Karen immediately joined the conversation.
«Is that even normal?
«It's normal, if during the travel between worlds of consciousness that were supposed to merge never did. What the hell is going on, though. All I know is that without these two trapped in the same body, we're definitely fucked," John said. - Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'm gonna go take a nap. I haven't done that in the three days I've been trying to find this guy and save my ass from the para-demons.
John waved his hand and collapsed onto the nearest couch in front of him and immediately began snoring.
«You okay, Will?
«It's fine, but... we have a lot to talk about.
***
Willard Light and Karen walked out into the hallway, down into the basement, and saw a surprised Vanessa, who immediately jumped up from her seat.
Willard pulled from his pocket a certain piece of paper he had gotten from John and held it out to her.
«It's what your father asked me to give you," Will explained.
«My father? Isn't he dead?
«Dacreside made us believe that Batman and Superman were dead. Apparently, he wanted to undermine our spirit or something, but at least he succeeded. Batman is alive, but he's imprisoned on the planet Fargus. Trapped by Darkseid so he wouldn't interfere with his plans to invade Earth.
Vanessa opened the note and saw the information on the Central Tower of the Apocalypse, but neither John, Will, nor anyone else could understand the contents. All of them, because only Vanessa could.
«I thought he left me, died," she muttered, clutching the piece of paper.
«No, he's been trying to find a way to get back to you all this time," Will said.
Vanessa leaned on the table with a trembling hand and lowered her head.
«If that's true, why didn't he do it himself? Didn't pass the message on to me?
The answer was given by John appearing on the doorstep.
«Because Darkseid took him by surprise. Batman didn't have a chance to do anything about it, but the paranoid man still had time to do something. He had time to realize he was trapped, too late to get out, but in time enough to remember you of all people and trust you with this one opportunity before Darkseid's trap locked. He had seconds to do anything about it, and he used those seconds to send a message to the person he trusts most. You, Vanessa Wayne.
«I still don't believe it. Maybe it's just another trick.
«It's unlikely your father really didn't believe in you all this time, or he wouldn't have trusted you by sending you out on solo missions," Will said.
«I see... please let me think about it for a while..." in a dropped voice, Vanessa said.
Willard had never seen her so confused and weak. He and John stepped out into the hallway and fell silent.
«I thought you decided to take a nap.
John ruffled his messy hair and sighed heavily.
«I can't sleep, all because of Zatanna. I wish I hadn't seen her before it was over.
«Id.
***
Some time later.
«Just before the space barrier locked Batman on the planet Fargus, Batman sent a coded message of a couple of words that encoded a verbal cipher, apparently expecting Darkseid to be able to intercept the message. This message, a riddle, is the key to freeing Superman from Darkseid's trap.
«Superman's alive too? - Vanessa wondered.
«Right, and we need to free him to win. Batman must have a plan to turn the tide of the war, but we don't know what it is. You're the only one who can find the answer to that question, Vanessa," Will said.
«I'm not sure...
Vanessa's former confidence seemed to be gone. She was pale and tired, the effects of lack of sleep and constant stress.
«Maybe Karen was right, I'm no good at anything. I don't think I can... after failing so many times with the virus.
Vanessa's condition was deteriorating before his eyes. Willard covered his eyes and rubbed his lips with a nervous shiver.
"She should get a good night's sleep, and we've thrown so much at her at once."
«After all we've been through, babe, be sure you give it a try even if it doesn't work out," John cut in sharply.
Will gave him a cold stare, but the mage didn't even react.
«John...
«Say... Will, did you get a chance to help Starfire?
Will frowned. She meant her virus, the one they were supposed to use.
«Your virus has nothing to do with this.
«No, he's not. Answer me," her hands trembled.
Will looked away grimly and reluctantly said:
«It failed. But not because your virus is bad, but because she melted the host before I could use it.
«I see-" Vanessa lowered her head.
«Drop this game, girl. There's too much at stake for us to back up because of your snot! - John growled.
Will stopped him with a hand and pushed him back. The mage twitched his cheek and clucked.
«Look, Vanessa, I don't know Batman much, but... if it makes you feel any better, I'm sure that if there's anything he cares about more than anything right now, it's the safety of his family. If he trusted you with this message, then he believes that of all of us, he believed in you the most," Will said.
Vanessa clutched the scrap in her hands and pushed Will away from her. There was the sound of droplets hitting the paper, and she pressed her lips together. She turned away, trembling.
«Go away! Get out of here, all of you!
«Vanessa...
John took Will by the shoulder and turned him toward him, shaking his head, saying, "Let's go."
Will silently followed John out, hearing Vanessa's quiet sobs from the corner of his ear.
***
A few days later. They were discussing a plan to leave the current hideout, because sooner or later they were going to be tracked down and captured.
«Zatanna will try to track us with magic. Any misstep outside my barriers will be in her sights. I can block Zatanna's abilities temporarily, but I can't run forever," John explained.
«How much time do we have?
«Maybe a couple days.
«Not much," Will muttered.
«You bet. The Steppenwolf will not leave us alone, so I suggest we leave this reality before it's too late. But in order to do that, we have to go beyond Zatanna's magical spell.
«What about the others?
«The others? - John arched an eyebrow, grinning, "You'll have to forgive me, kid, but I can't go broke and protect several thousand people at once. I'm good, sure, but obviously not that good. I can move you and your girls, and the rest of you," he nodded at Karen, who was asleep.
«It's like, uh.
«Not your style? I know it's hard for a punk like you to make sacrifices, but trust me, when push comes to shove, it won't be a laughing matter. It's time to face the truth and realize you can't do shit alone and you're always gonna have to risk something. With a couple of scumbags we're just delaying the inevitable, but one Superman is worth an army. We need to free this guy as soon as possible, and maybe some of the others.
«Flash and Diana.
«That's right, we don't need all of them. Just a few of the best and the ability to get to Darkseid.
«And I know how to do it," Vanessa said as she walked into the hall. She had red marks under her eyes, but none of the men were looking at her. She frowned unhappily, though, tossing the flash drive onto the table. - 'All we have to do is find access to Wayne-taver. He's our key to victory.
«What's the big deal about Wayne Taverner?
«Apocalypse uses Wayne-taver as his main base in Gotham City and as a means of moving his army. There is a portal through which para-demons and Darkseid's servants enter our world. Presumably through this portal we can get to Apocalypse and reach Darkseid. At least that's what I assumed from my father's cipher.
«You solved Batman's cipher? - Will arched an eyebrow.
«Partially. I can only guess, but my father did leave a message for me with some coordinates in a star system. I don't know what those coordinates are, it could be anything. I'm sure I'll figure out what it is if I can access the Apocalypse computer.
«What do you suggest?
«We need to get into Wayne Tavern at any cost, access the computer, and find out exactly what my father wanted when he sent that cipher. Apparently, the answers are in there. And I'm the only one who can understand them, because I'm the only one who can understand Apocalypse technology.
John grinned.
«Okay, I can see why Bats bet on you," John said.
«You look happy, like you've realized something," Will said.
John only shrugged, and threw the cigarette in his mouth.
«It's not happiness, it's relief, like after hours of constipation, son. I've been living with this constipation for a shitload of months now, and I can't get rid of this shit.
At the sight of the raised eyebrows of those gathered, and Vanessa's lips curled, John shrugged nonchalantly.
«I was speaking figuratively, of course. Tch... kids.
«I just wish I knew how to get into Wayne Tavern.
«No way now, Apocalypse is trepidatiously guarding his base. The main problem is the Tyranids that are spread across America. They'll destroy us before we can get anywhere near them. Which is why we won't infiltrate Wayne Taverner now. We will escape.
«Run away? - Will wondered.
John grinned, shrugging his shoulders.
«Yeah... we need to team up with the surviving Resistance forces until I can figure out a way to shut down all the Tyranids at once. As long as those cannons threaten us, we'll always be on the losing end. Right now, the only one who can do anything about them is you, Will," Vanessa said, giving him a serious look.
«... Well, I understand," Will nodded glumly.
Everyone looked at each other tensely. Vanessa's suggestion sounded like a reference to the eighth wonder of the world, because disabling all Tyranids meant weakening the Apocalypse Army by about fifty percent-an unthinkable achievement for an ordinary person like her, but for her father...
«It's a good idea, but it would be good to shut down a couple of Tyranids now. If we want to team up with Atlantis, we'll have to go outside and get blown to hell," John said.
«Right, but..." Vanessa glanced at the map. All five Tyranids scattered across Gotham were in the palm of her hand, but there was nothing anyone could do about them right now. - But my father wrote in his message that he believed in me... If I can't do it, I don't know who can.
"Lex Luthor and the rest of the geniuses... They'd probably get rid of the Tyranids, but Darkseid got rid of them back when the invasion started," Will thought to himself.
Will grinned, kindly, but Vanessa gave him an angry look, as if he'd offended her.
«What?
«No, I just thought it was funny to see the growth of a little genius in his own father's eyes.
«Shut up..." Vanessa muttered unhappily, "by the way, about the relationship... are you ready for Kara to wait for you?
Will froze for a moment, licked his lips, and smiled strainedly.
«Uh... I don't know. Honestly, I think about her every day, but... I'll manage somehow.
«Then the first thing we need to do is figure out what to do next..." Vanessa said, looking away as if she realized she'd asked a stupid question.
«'I'll tell you what we do next,' John said, 'first we leave this bloody dangerous place before Zatanna gets us.
«And then team up with Atlantis to figure out how to sneak into Wayne-taver," Vanessa said.
«Atlantis? Why her? - Will asked.
«I got a message from Green Arrow a few minutes ago. Arthur, King of Atlantis, has moved all the survivors to Atlantis after you helped them escape. They are now defending themselves against an invading army of Apocalypse, but the water barrier they created with ancient artifacts is about to fall. If we let the Steppenwolf take over Atlantis, we're in serious trouble.
«Serious problems? If Atlantis falls, we'll lose the only surviving army in the world that can do anything against the para-demons of the Apocalypse," John said.
«So Steppenwolf is leading the attack? - Will said thoughtfully.
«No, he didn't.
Everyone stared at Vanessa in surprise.
«The General is away on some important business right now," Vanessa explained.
«Important business...? He?
«Yeah... I don't know what would keep someone like him away, but this is certainly a good opportunity to take advantage of his absence. We may yet have time to help Atlantis. Whatever it is... I'm really glad Steppenwolf was distracted by it," Vanessa said.
***
A few days earlier.
The Steppenwolf tore apart the Atlantis creature he had caught and tossed it aside carelessly. A real battle unfolded in front of him, involving not only para-demons and humans, but also sea creatures. The huge torso of a whale swept right in front of him, crudely collapsing onto the underwater rocks. A scarlet outline engulfed the watery space. The sea world shook, howled, and exploded, bursting with war.
The barrier protecting Atlantis began to crack, and shake from the shots of the ships that were in the sky.
«Just a little more..." the Steppenwolf whispered in anticipation.
There were sounds of movement behind him. Steppenwolf slowly turned around to see a para-demon dangling in the water, lifting a box sparkling from the red waves with his hands. At first, Steppenwolf wanted to break the insolent man's neck for distracting him from the beautiful moment of his imminent victory, but the hologram of the red-eyed, stone-skinned titan, who was holding his hands behind his back, made the General himself open his eyes in surprise.
«My Lord," he said, kneeling right in the water.
***
Darkseid's orders forced Steppenwolf to leave Atlantis immediately and board his personal ship. He made a hyperskip and found himself far from planet Earth, leaving his army in the midst of battle. Only two days... no, one more day, Atlantis would have fallen, but the Overlord found him a task more important.
Standing at the window above a red, lonely planet in endless space, Steppenwolf put his palm to the glass.
At first, Steppenwolf was skeptical of the threat that lurked there, but when he learned that several hundred Para-demons had died there, he changed his mind abruptly. It was impossible for even his Overlord to understand what was happening there, so where was he to meddle? However, he still didn't understand, why not just destroy the planet or send more Para-demons there?
But the lord answered him as calmly and reservedly as ever, as befitted a great conqueror and ruler.
"I commend your determination and decision-making skills, Steppenwolf. In fact, no one has ever given you a decent fight yet, but that's why it never occurred to you that someone might be more cunning than you. Listen to me carefully, you don't have to do anything, just follow my orders exactly, and be warned, if I find out that you have done anything without my knowledge, you will answer to me personally," Darkseid's eyes flashed with cold fire.
Steppenwolf realized the meaning of those words only in time, having found himself right next to this planet called Fargus.
Breaking away from his memories, the Steppenwolf hummed and turned to the man standing to his right in silent expectation:
«Is it true? - He asked.
«Yes, my Lord," the Martian hunter bowed.
The space barrier that was preventing Batman from getting out began to shake.
***
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