Special Chapter

Chapter Six: Villains

Unbeknownst to Batman or Subaru, there had been, others, who were transported to this new world.

However these individuals did not seek peaceful endeavors or even positive contributions to this world, whatsoever.

No.

They only had violent intentions and malicious actions were to be unleashed along with it.

While this world knew of evil, this was different.

These four individuals...they were not heroes.

They were...VILLAINS.

A small village that was located east of the Capital of Lugnica, was eerily quiet. Usually the morning would sound of people's voices, ground dragons pulling carriages and merchants selling goods. But there was no sound. Except small drops of liquid landing in a well.

It was blood. A young man's corpse lay over the town water well, with an axe embedded into his skull. All around him was a scene of carnage.

Women, children, the young and old. They were dead, killed by their own fellow family members and neighbors.

"What in the world is this?"

The commander of a group of knights muttered these words. He, along with ten other knights were sent to investigate town after neighboring cities claimed to have heard some sort of battle occurring. The knights slowly surveyed the area.

Each and every time they looked somewhere new, they found another body.

"Was this 'them'?"

"No, look at their hands. Covered in cuts and bruises. They did this to themselves."

Many of the knights were ill-prepared for what they saw. An entire town, living for years in blissful comradery, in one night, they killed each other.

It seemed as obvious that there were no survivors.

"Men, let us report this immediately to the capital! We have to go and-!"

"Commander! Look!"

A nearby soldier pointed to the far distance and they saw a person walking to them. The person was covered in a bloody cloak and could barely walk straight.

"A survivor! Come on men!"

The knights on their ground dragons rushed to the man. The commander dismounted and hurried to the cloaked person.

"Are you well? What happened here?!"

The cloaked figure started to fall, but was caught by the commander.

"W-water…"

The commander pulled out a water jug and popped it open.

"Here."

The cloaked figure graciously drank from the jug.

"Th-thank you…"

"Yes, you're most welcome. Now tell me please. What happened here?"

"A man came, he asked people questions about fear, we thought *cough* We thought he was just a crazed wanderer, but he...he-!"

"What? What did he do?"

"...JUST THIS."

The cloaked man pulled out a large glass jug and slammed it into the ground. Orange gas envelopes him as well as the nearby knights.

The cloaked man removed his disguise revealing himself to be Scarecrow. He stabbed the commander in the back with his syringe fingers, releasing more Fear Toxin into his body.

He then strolled away.

Behind him, he could hear the clashing of swords, screaming and ground dragons roaring their death cries.

Scarecrow was very happy about his recent experiment. He had learned his new Fear Toxin was especially effective. One large vial could create a massive cloud of gas, infecting a town with the population of 1,000 in only about 25.12 minutes.

He was also delighted by the creatures known as Demi-Humans.

They seemed the most susceptible to the toxins, possibly their unique anatomy left them more open to the formula.

It went the same for Ground Dragons.

"Huhuhu. I'll have to remember this."

He stroked his face with a syringe finger as he saw a sole knight sitting in a dragon carriage. When he noticed him, he jumped out and slowly walked to him.

"Hey, just who-?"

Scarecrow quickly pulled out a handgun with his left hand and fired. The knight collapsed, a bullet wound on his forehead.

Scarecrow jumped into the driver's seat, but before he got moving, he pulled something from his left pocket.

It was something he found when he awoke in the morning, lying next to him. The moment he gazed into it he knew it was something only beneficial to him.

It was a small black book.

He opened it and read through it. The past passages warned him about the knights arrival and the location of the dragon carriage. So he turned to the next page as it told him:

Go North East...you will find help.

Scarecrow whipped the reins as the Ground Dragon moved forward to a dirt road. But before he made it to the end of the road he took a small detour. He turned to a wooded area, where he saw it.

The cargo plane.

He awoke inside of it the day before, having no idea what was going on. He then snuck around the forest observing the town from a distance. He then became interested with the various characters and creatures and was wondering what they feared. So, he waited for nightfall to unleash the Fear Toxin to see if it still worked in this odd world.

It did. And he was ecstatic.

He lurked into the wrecked cargo plane and found exactly what he was taking with him.

It was the plant hybrid that he and Poison Ivy created. It created flowers that could spread Fear Toxin. With it, Scarecrow could continue his work on spreading fear throughout this new world.

All so he could see what he saw so many years ago.

"Ah...someday."

A lone tear fell from his blind eye. He wiped it away and carried the rather large plant to the dragon carriage.

After securing it in the back, along with some stolen food and items. Scarecrow returned to the driver seat.

He looked to the bright blue sky and a passing bird flying over head.

"You'll all know what it means to FEAR soon enough."

The dragon carriage continued moving, leaving the now dead town behind.

Katagari. A country to the west of Lugnica. It is a country with a history of markets and technology. The culture is very strange, even for a world such as this.

For Batman or Subaru, the culture would be reminiscent of Edo period Japan, the clothing, the kansai dialect the civilians use and the buildings straight out of a history book.

The country has most of its lush trees and other natural vegetation near the rivers.

The rest of the country is desert-like, with lots of rocks and sand in some areas.

"Oh my poor babies, don't you worry. I'll help you reach your perfect form."

A woman with a rather seductive style of clothing stood on a dirt hill.

One would say she was only covered by a skin tight black suit covered in vegetation and vines. Her orange hair flowed with the wind as she overlooked the barren valley.

Her green lips smiled as she unleashed giant vines from under the ground as they began to envelop the entire area.

She was Poison Ivy.

And she would make sure plants would have their place in this new world.

Two weeks later, a Katagari subjugation force would be sent to defeat her.

320 soldiers were sent.

NONE RETURNED.

Several miles away from the capital of Lugnica, there was a sole bar near a mountain face. It was mostly used by mercenaries and crooks as their local watering hole.

The patrons were rowdy as always, drinking, wrestling and fondling local prostitutes.

Then, a strange figure came in.

He was clad in heavy armor. The color scheme was orange and dark blue. A sole eye hole in his left side, showed an eerie red eye. He carried with him strange weapons, as well as two large swords and a staff. His bandana swayed as he entered, he stared everyone down looking for around for any sign of trouble.

Trouble came to him.

"Hey man, that's a nice suit. Hehehe, mind if I try it on."

A drunken thug stumbled over to him, with a drink in one hand and a blade in another.

The armored man merely looked down at him..

"Weakling. Get away from me before I show you how to really threaten someone."

"HUH?!"

The thug threw his mug on the floor and charged at him with his blade-

"WHAT?!"

Only for the armored man to run past him, cutting off his hand in one fell swoop. The thug collapsed on the floor, screaming in pain.

All the other patrons froze. Even the biggest of men, the most dubious of thieves and foul looking psychos, were frightened. None of them could even register what happened.

How did he do that?

Was that magic?

Is he a knight?

Am I drunk already?

The armored man began to place his sword back into its sheath.

"BASTARD!"

"DOING THAT TO BOSS?! GET READY TO DIE!"

Several of the thugs compatriots rushed at him from their seats.

He unsheathed his sword and effortlessly cut them down. Almost like a dance, he simply spun around with the sword in hand and sliced them to ribbons.

Blood, entrails and bones flew all over the place.

The main thug almost puked from seeing the savagery displayed before him. He raised his hand and began to concentrate.

The armored man noticed this as well and slowly began walking to him.

"Eat this...HUMA!"

An icicle fired from his palm. He missed the armored man and hit a random patron in the face.

Before he could fire another shot…

"Don't fire weird things at me you little bastard."

The armored man was already behind him in the blink of an eye. The thug's head was sliced off, from the neck up.

"Tsk. Such a waste of time."

He finally sheathed his sword back. He made his way to the bar, but noticed something.

A child wearing a hood was sitting in the bar.

He looked to the bartender pointing at the kid.

"Hey, you so desperate for money you'll let kids in here?"

As he said this, the kid turned to him.

"Well geez mister. I just came to pick up my onee-chan. Can't I sit and enjoy some milk in peace?"

"...Well, as long as you're drinking milk like a good kid, then that's fine."

"Hehe. But mister, you were really good back there. I've only seen onee-chan do something amazing like that!"

He looked down at the young girl who had an expression of admiration.

"You see that kind of stuff a lot kid?"

"Yup. It's part of the job!"

"Job?"

"You know, job! Someone tells you to kill someone, then you kill them and then, hooray! You get payed. See? A job!"

"Really?"

The man simply crossed his arms at this.

"So you're an assassin?"

"Mhm."

He looked into her eyes just to see. When he saw her lime green eyes shine at him. He knew.

She wasn't lying.

"Oh my. Sorry Meili, it took quite a bit of time."

A woman came from the back, she wore a seductive black dress and long dark cloak. Her dark hair and eyes made her look utterly mysterious.

She stared at the man speaking with Meili, analyzing him up and down.

"My my, and who is this?"

"This is Mister! He just had fun over there!"

Meili pointed back to the area where he killed all of his assailants. This made the woman smile and look back at him.

"I see...how interesting."

She turned back to Meili with a caring look.

"And how was he?"

"Really good! He reminded me of you a bit."

"Fufufufu. How lovely."

She turned back to him with a bright smile.

"I see that you are a man who does not let society dictate on how he should act."

"If you want to survive in this world you really can't."

"Fufufufu. Tell me, are you interested in joining us?"

She extended her hand to him.

"I can see it in your eye. Even now you are cautious of me and Meili. A deep killing intent lurking there and I love it."

Meili stood up from her bar stool.

"Are you sure Mama will be okay with this?"

"Of course, once she meets him, she'll have no choice but to let him join."

"Well, Mama is a good judge of character. So I guess we can do so!"

She turned her attention back to him, he was still standing there with his arms crossed.

"Will the pay be good?"

"Fufufufu. Yes I am sure it will be satisfactory."

"Will the targets be worthwhile?"

"Not always. But there are exciting ones as well. I've faced great swordsmen, spirit-users and even entire armies."

He looked at her hand, only to turn back to Meili, who had had a expectant look on her face.

"Come on mister! You'll love it I swear!"

The man looked back at her hand, shaking his head.

Then he he shook her hand.

"What the hell. I need the money."

"Fufufu. That's the spirit."

"Hooray! We got a new friend!"

The three then moved to leave the bar. Everyone around them backed away in fear. They then reached the door as the two ladies turned around.

"Ah yes, I forgot. I never introduced myself. I am Elsa Granhiert. This little one is Meili Portroute, she is simply splendid. And you are...?"

"...Deathstroke the Terminator."

The two stared for a bit until they both gave a smile.

"He's a precious one isn't he onee-chan?"

"Yes, indeed."

The three assassins exited the bar shoulder to shoulder. The door closing behind them.

The Vollachia Empire. An empire south of Lugnica. The country is known for having a strong army, their belief in strength is ingrained into all of its populace. They have had a tumultuous relationship with their neighbors in the north.

Either way, they were hadn't face an internal threat for several years now. One could say the country is at peace.

But peace doesn't last. Not when an external threat creates an internal one.

A group of soldiers carried a man to an abandoned temple in the outskirts of a city. His face was bleeding and his arms were broken. His short blue hair was ruffled and his glasses were bent and broken. His green eyes scanned around looking for anything to help him.

They dragged him to a vast room where countless other soldiers were standing around.

"Why are you doing this? For what reason have I been brought here?!"

The man yelled at them begging for answers. He noticed it just then. These soldiers eyes were pure white and drool was falling from their lips.

"What in the world…? Hey...HEY! Please someone explain! WHY AM I HERE?!"

The man looked around him, seeing more soldiers with white eyes and blank expressions.

The man became desperate for answers and he kept looking around, until he finally concentrated forward.

He saw a shabby stone throne and something huge sitting on it. Before he could say anything though…

"Darius Balkan? A renowned mage in the Empire's army if I am correct?"

Darius heard a monstrous voice from the darkness where the throne was. The large ominous figure moved towards him.

From the darkness, emerged a large beast, clad in armor made of gold. Spikes protruded from the shoulders and single one from his helmet. Red marks covered his chest. His eyes were glowing ominously blue. A red cape flowed from his back as well from his belt.

It was the belt that frightened Darius as much as his physical appearance. It had a human skull in the middle.

The figure loomed over Darius.

"And I'm sure you are wondering for what reason I have brought you here?"

Darius could not answer. He was terrified by this being.

"W-why..?"

But he finally asks a question.

"Why has a Demi-Human brought me here?"

The figure showed an expression of utter disgust at his question.

"You...dare use the word 'human' to describe me…?"

He then grabbed him away from the soldiers. And lifted him high off the ground. He let out a vicious roar.

"YOU DARE CALL ME A HUMAN?! YOU SHALL SHOW RESPECT TO YOUR NEW MASTER! NEVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN OR I WILL TEAR YOU IN HALF AND DEVOUR YOUR FAMILY WHILE YOUR SOUL FADES TO THE NEXT LIFE! UNDERSTAND?"

"Y-y-yes."

"Good."

The figure slammed him back to the ground, hard. Darius could feel pain in his side. He knew his ribs broke from the impact. And he also noticed his ears were now bleeding.

"Now then, I have brought you here so that you may swear allegiance to me. I will soon amass an army, one strong enough to create an empire that can easily conquer half of this world. I would say all of it, but I am realistic about my goals."

Darius secretly tried to draw in mana and prepare a wind slice attack.

"I wish to have a powerful magic user by my side, like you. From what I learned you can use Wind and Earth magic. That can be very useful to me."

The figure walked over to him again, looking straight down at him.

"Swear allegiance to me Darius. You and your family will continue to live in splendor and I will allow you to have anything you desire."

Darius built up enough mana for a solid Wind Slice.

"Swear loyalty to Grodd."

Darius shifted his body and prepared to attack.

"What?"

But he could not move. Grodd simply smirked at him.

"Trying to attack me with wind magic? Fool. I heard your thoughts.."

Darius then began to levitate towards Grodd and he got his neck caught by his humongous hand. Grodd then began to choke him.

"So I take it you have ignored my offer? Very well. Too bad, you could have joined your friends had you not tried to attack me."

Grodd looked over his shoulder to show three imperial mages with the same expression as the soldiers, standing near a wall overlooking the entire affair.

"What are you?"

"Me? I AM GRODD. AND IT IS MY RIGHT TO RULE OVER ALL. And in this new world, with no Justice League, no Gorilla City and no Flash...I will."

Darius then heard loud clashes and screams in the distance.

"Huh?"

"Oh that? Well, I was trying to see of you would join me willingly. Controlling so many minds is a bit taxing on me, but not impossible. I will just need to get stronger and I will jump through this hurdle."

Darius was beginning to foam at the mouth. Grodd smiled at this.

"That noise was your punishment."

Three soldiers moved forward from the crowd, each carrying something that was dripping. Darius got to see it.

"Oh...oh ohNNNNNNOOOOOOOO! AGGHHHHHHH! AGHHHHHHH! NOOOO!"

They were the decapitated heads of his family.

His wife.

His two sons.

Dead.

"If only you had joined me henceforth, we all could have avoided this."

"AGGGGHHHH! KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU ALLLLLL! DIE DIE! GRODD!"

Grodd was unamused by his sobbing and angry comments.

"You will serve me well in death then."

Grodd used his free hand to grab his head. He then began pulling.

"EYAGGHHHHHH! AHHHHHH-!"

He ripped open his skull, revealing his perfectly shaped brain. Darius was no longer really there.

His eyes twitched and his mouth foamed excessively.

Grodd then slurped up his brain matter and chewed vigorously.

He then looked around and smiled as he gulped it down.

"Ah I see. AHAHAHA, I have an affinity to Earth Magic. How informative."

Grodd dropped the dead body on the ground and the two soldiers who brought him in, took him away.

Grodd had used a technique in which any human brain he eats, increases his intelligence and allows him to see into the victim's memories.

He returned to his throne, rested his head on his hand and looked out to his army.

"Find me another."

A soldier stepped forward..

"Yes master... Hail! All Hail, King Grodd!"

The soldier said this in a zombie like fashion with absolutely no emotions.

Then they all began chanting…

"Hail! Hail! All hail, King Grodd!"

Gorilla Grodd looked over this and smiled. Blood and brain matter slipping off his fangs.

And so, the four villains followed down their paths, in this new world. And death would follow with them.