Chapter 20: Chapter 20
Gaia was a Primordial Immortal being that represented the Planet Earth. She was the mother of the titans and the grandmother of the Olympians. She was the sister of the night and daughter of Chaos.
Just from that kind of background, one could tell that she was a being of absolute power. Anyone that knew the myths and the actual data could tell you that she was better than most, but she was still a terrible woman.
All these immortals were psychos when compared to humanity. They lacked any kind of morality and just followed their desires.
There was no logic to their actions. They were rarely ever selfless.
The only one that humanity could trust would be Hestia.
Taking all that in, it was obvious that Zatanna's suggestion wasn't serious. The meeting was adjourned and the information about Naruto and Centurion had been put into the database, and communicated to the rest.
Laura was allowed to stay at the Hall of Justice, if she so desired. But, she decided to rest at her Villa before re-starting her life from the next day.
Batman went back to his base while contacting Diana who had been visiting her twin sister Donna. Her sister had been struck by tragedy and decided to leave the outside world.
Talking to her, Batman got the response he had expected.
Gaia wasn't easy to get in contact with and she would contact them if she wanted to. There was a very low possibility that she would even entertain their request to track down a person with her signature.
It was most likely that Gaia already knew and had a hand in it.
"Can you get the information from someone else? Aphrodite or Artemis or Hera?" Batman questioned as none of these women worked with Gaia personally and were more inclined towards the Amazon's.
"I can try, but them knowing isn't guaranteed. It would be better to meet him in person than get information from these people. You already know how they can be." Diana replied as she sat on top of a mountain looking at the view of the Ocean and Themyscira.
Batman was silent for a moment and understood what she meant. None of these people did things properly and always had a price tag attached.
"I understand, just see if anything pops up. We will look into it personally, like usual." Batman ended the conversation with that and told Diana to take care.
Just as he was thinking about all the new data and trying to locate Centurion using Laura's memories, he got a call.
The call had him stop in his tracks.
It made him hesitate and think.
"I didn't think you would call me so soon."
"Didn't expect anything warm from you either, but that was unusually cold. I see, still afraid of opening your heart Bat's." Catwoman spoke in a calm tone, holding back her annoyance and disappointment.
"Think what you want to think, but this call must have a reason. I don't see you as someone willing to give until I personally come there for you."
"Heh, did you learn that from all those years of chasing women or criminals?"
"Bit of both, Cat…"
"Jason might be alive." Catwoman stopped him midsentence and threw the bomb.
Those words shook him to the core. Jason was like a son to him and he had almost killed Joker for him if Superman hadn't stopped him on that day.
After that he had regained his mind and never tried to avenge his son. It had been eating him from inside, as Jason continued to blame him in the dreams.
"Check Gotham, something has happened and a new player has arrived. He called himself the Emperor of Mankind."
Batman knew that Emperor would act, but this was fast. He quickly checked on Gotham. He had satellites, cameras and all kinds of things that he could use to find things.
Using those, he found battles had taken place like he had expected. But, there was something unexpected among all of them. Emperor was there and all the criminals had disappeared.
Batman heard the recording of what he said to his companions from the microphone on their armors and decided to call all of them to the base for a proper meeting.
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Within half an hour, everyone was gathered in the Batcave and even Red Robin had left the Young Justice base to attend the meeting. He wasn't really part of it in a personal sense but he would feel left out.
In the 30 minutes before the meeting, Batman had gathered all the details and gone through them. Just like he had expected, Emperor was dangerous.
"We are all gathered here for two things. The new player called Emperor and Jason Todd." Batman spoke to the point like usual.
"What do you mean, Jason?" Nightwing spoke up immediately in a cold tone. His relationship was Batman was still very much strained. He wouldn't even have attended the meeting if not for Batgirl dragging him into it, saying it was important.
Catwoman placed a hand on his shoulder, "Emperor said that the person in the red hood is Jason."
"And, you took that personally? Is it your ego hurting you so badly? I don't why don't just kill Joker already and get it over with." Nightwing knew it would hurt Batman, so he did it on purpose.
"Nightwing stop acting like a child, he is your mentor." Red Robin lashed out in anger because of the disrespect.
"Mentor who didn't even avenge his so called student and son, don't be so ignorant kid."
"ENOUGH!" Batman hit the table and his voice echoed in the room.
But it seemed to only fuel Nightwing to retaliate. Catwoman quickly caught him by the arm along with Batgirl while Black Bat had almost attacked him for daring to show wrong intentions for her father figure.
The meeting was starting on a terrible point as expected.
"Nightwing stop acting out of line and just listen for now. This is important, Jason might be actually alive." Batgirl reprimanded him as she pushed her baton into his side.
She hadn't expected him to have so much anger left in his system.
Both men glared at each other and if not for the others restraining them, it would have been a fight again.
"Apologies, I just saw something unpleasant." Nightwing muttered as he sat down, holding back his anger that was built upon his sadness for Jason and his disappointment in Batman.
"Ignoring the drama queen, we came into contact with Red Hood. It was the first time we had seen him, but he knew us very well. He seemed to know how we fought and it felt like he was used to us. He was very angry and wished to kill every criminal in that place.
This didn't really tell us that he was Jason. But, Emperor said he was Jason. He said Jason was very angry and wanted to repay his mentor for his care.
Emperor said he read people like a book and punished them according to their deeds. He didn't kill anyone and sent them to different places to repay their debts. He gave them second chances after torturing them in their minds.
He also tried to recruit us and said he liked us, but our ways were inefficient. Meeting him directly, I am inclined to believe that his words are the truth. Jason is alive and he might not like us very much." Catwoman explained the situation and the others agreed to her words, since they had heard similar things from Emperor.
"Before he appeared in Gotham, he appeared on the moon and met someone else. He called himself the Will of humanity and has shown good manners, and gentle attitude. His intentions are very clear from his title, he intends to take over the world and he will kill everyone after the second chance is over. He is very cautious and has a lot of powers. From the initial analysis he is supported by Gaia and might not require the whole league to handle him.
Avoid getting into conflict with him and just initiate talks if there is no choice. He is not our friend. He doesn't consider criminals human. He will kill every one of them once his words have been heard.
He will take over the world and create his Empire, taking away everyone's freedom and rule by an iron fist.
No matter how gentle he sounds, once he has taken over there is no guarantee about his methods and objectives.
Coming back to Jason, Emperor hasn't shown to be a liar but he is manipulative. None of you can deny that he didn't affect you with his presence.
There isn't enough evidence to prove his nature to us. But, according to the current data he might be telling the truth.
Regardless, we will come into conflict with him. We will apprehend him and check his identity. If it is Jason, we will take him back and talk to him." Batman continued where Catwoman stopped and fed them the rest of the data.
"Talk to him, Hahahaha. Oh My God, did you just say that? If that is Jason, he doesn't like you anymore Batman. He hates you and that's why he isn't here now. How are you going to talk to him?
Did you even think about it? You think he is going to miraculously forgive you for treating his killer with more love than you did for him.
And the rest is also your pessimistic nature talking again. What have we really done for Gotham? The time when our actions amounted to anything is over. You aren't a kid, Batman. You know that this rotten hell hole can never be fixed with your methods.
It is your refusal to even listen to advice and realistic approaches that I dislike your very presence. If I had your power we would have a better Gotham and that is a fact."
"What methods are you talking about? Killing the criminals, where will you stop and who deserves it. It is the duty of the Law to punish them. It is not our fault that anything happens."
"You are just a child Robin. We are all criminals, operating outside the law. So what does it matter if we go a little bit further.
And, I never mentioned killing. Our crazy old man here doesn't have the spirit in him to be involved in killing. Unlike you I have been involved in public safety outside this hero business and I see the world around us from the ground.
I suggested fixing the corrupt political system of Gotham, corrupt capitalism and the public safety. We have the financial power and the ability to do such a thing. But, our supreme leader is afraid that we might go too far.
Let the people follow their own path, he said. How long do we want see innocent people die from things that we could have prevented in advance. Do you even have a heart? I used to believe that you were a hero, but now I know that you are just another clown." Nightwing's barrage of words deflated Red Robin as he couldn't speak up.
Batman couldn't deny his words either. It was harder than what Nightwing expected, but it wasn't impossible.
In the end it all came down to his fears. He was afraid of being the reason that people went on the wrong way or died.
He just couldn't take the responsibility for others death.
He was afraid of slipping too far and becoming something he despised. He was afraid for himself and for others, so he stopped others from trying it as well.
"Nothing to refute, Bat's." Catwoman asked as she was also now on the same line of thought with Nightwing. She had lived too long in the dirty wasteland called Gotham and understood that soft approach would never change it.
It needed drastic measures.
"He is lost in his emotions and delusion. My words won't change his mind anymore. But, what are you going to do? Are you going to support this dictator if I don't start walking your path?"
"I don't know yet. But maybe, if he puts forth a convincing case then I might. He said watch the changes and decide whom to follow. He sounded very convincing and I am quite tired of the same old Gotham." Catwoman responded in a challenging tone. She was trying to get a reaction out of him.
"Just because we don't agree with you, doesn't mean we are going to support some criminal. Our first meeting wasn't bad and seeing that he already knows us, maybe he has a reason to be confident about his words. He probably already knows about all of us and this place, maybe he is watching us right now. You know, I am tired of acting like I care about the lives of these scum. The government will never do the right thing and they have never done anything right in the first place. Why should I continue deluding myself of such a lie? If my actions cannot produce any change, I should change them or retire. It is the reason I am more violent against them, so they don't walk back into crime next time. You have the power to change it, but you continue to act like a lunatic."
"Nightwing, please don't go out of line." Batgirl muttered as she looked at him.
Nightwing looked at her and then back to Batman, "I am not the one lost in delusions, it is you. Next time just send me the data, I have no desire to work with you. And, keep your pawns in check as we aren't afraid of the JL."
The group was divided between two sides, Nightwing, Batgirl and Catwoman while the Red Robin, Spoiler and Black Bat were with Batman.
"Do you agree with him?" Batman asked the others
Spoiler had been silent and didn't have the guts to say anything in such an oppressive atmosphere. She owed a lot to Batman and couldn't say that she kind of found Nightwing's words appealing.
Red Robin stood strong by Batman's side along with Black Bat.
"I wish we didn't have to come to this, but we have all gone through too much. I agree with his words, and you already know my background. There is no need for us to care about the life of criminals when they endanger lives of innocents." Batgirl responded, she was the daughter of the Police commissioner and also a part of the police special force to handle special criminals.
She had taken the job only recently to take the criminals off the streets in a permanent manner in a legal manner. Batgirl couldn't kill people but Barbara Gordon could.
It was the same for Richard Dick Grayson, as he was also a government agent in his public life.
Batman had a problem with both of their decisions, especially Nightwing. Richard's violence was increasing and he was framing events to lead to a shooting even when he had the ability to stop the criminal.
The Bat family had ruptured from the day Jason died and the old partners had started moving in a direction that he wished could never happen.
It was the reason that they found Emperor's words appealing and were interested in seeing his changes to the world.
"Both of you are walking a thin line, any moment you could end up having innocent blood on your hands. Where will you stop and how can you judge, not every criminal is so easy to spot like the big names. How will you know, if the person wasn't being forced?
Can you really deny that you find it easier to kill now? It is easy to say that you can control yourself, but your actions are testament of your fall. You reinforce my views.
As for Raven, I truly apologize for my cold treatment.
But, what I suggested is better than what the result can end up being. You shouldn't let your emotions blind you to the reality of the situation.
Emperor hasn't done anything criminal like at the moment, but it is very likely that he will start a killing spree. Don't let your emotions blind you to this fact as we need to work together for this threat.
If he is truly the Will of humanity, then we have a powerful being to face and he most likely has abilities to influence humanity. Keeping that in mind, you should second guess your conclusions as they might not be real." Batman spoke in a cold tone. He had been seeing many of his colleagues consider such an option, only outsiders didn't think about it as they were afraid of causing problems.
Even Flash had suggested similar things as he was working in the Police force and asked him to try to enter politics to fix the problem of criminals escaping all the time.
The Justice League wasn't impotent and ignorant, they knew what the government was playing at but they could do nothing.
Killing villains could also lead to villains teaming up and starting a war. The current situation was a mess and Batman just couldn't take the steps required. He was a logical person, but he had fear of such power in his hands.
It was the reason he hadn't tried to gain super powers when he could easily do so. He could become part Kryptonian or whatever he wanted. He could have the Speed Force or magic.
It was fear of being what he hated. He had seen other futures where he became a maniac, where his colleagues had gone haywire.
"We will see what he does and I prefer being emotional to giving upon my friends. And, congrats…You can finally lay down your regrets." Nightwing sneered as he walked away. He was tired of staying around Batman when the man wouldn't listen to reason.
He was part of the family but didn't work with Batman.
Seeing that the meeting had turned into a mess, the members dispersed except Black Bat.
Catwoman looked at Batman before shaking her head and leaving. The words of the Emperor kept ringing in her head.
Batman had already planned to take them all down if they went too far, and he was once again reminded of that kind of reality. It was not a good thought. In the shadows, he looked lonely. Black Bat put her hand on his back and tried to give him some warmth.
"Everything will be okay."
All this drama was witnessed by Naruto through the seals he had placed on the members and he finally understood which members to target.
Catwoman and Batgirl seemed easy, Nightwing looked problematic.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone