Chapter 8: Holl's Unique Mindset.

A/N: The current iteration of the Justice League is from Young Justice Season 3: The Outsiders.

(Holl's P.O.V)

Superman's face was as hard as granite while staring down at me (literally). Dude was like 6'7 to my 6'3.

Jacked as all hell too.

I tried to step back but the vice grip on my shoulder was too much to contend with.

What to do now...

I don't think this guy will let me escape like before. The only feasible plan was to put him under the influence of my pet pet fruit. Yeah let's do that.

"Careful! He can control you!"

Spoiler yelled from behind us. Tch, that little bitch.

Superman narrowed his eyes at the green gel swirling around my palm, his hand shooting out and grabbing my wrist the very instant Spoiler had warned him.

It was faster than I could track with my eyes.

Oh well...

My other hand lashed out, the sharp nails slashing him across the face, producing sparks from the contact.

He didn't even blink. Nor was he hurt. Only the frown on his face increased.

On my part, the nails shattered, two of my fingers bending the wrong way.

I swallowed the pain, forcefully exerting what little control my budding Seimei Kikan gave me to unbend them with a crack.

"You are the boy from before."

The Kryptonian guessed, the stern but accomadating expression on his face shifting to cold and distant, the second he recognized me.

"You've caused enough trouble young man."

The Man of Steel spoke, tightening both grips on me. Waves of pain surged out from my right hand and shoulder.

"Stand. Down. I won't ask a third time."

His eyes glowed a sinister red, the air around his eyes visibly and audibly humming.

Fuck. His strength blew mine out of the water. There was literally no way I could compete with him. It was like pushing against a mountain.

My legs shook, knees almost touching the ground. Damn...this bastard is really giving me no chance.

Okay, second plan. I looked up, eyes burning with a fervent light. I always liked a challenge. This was like fighting against the sea once more.

The similarities were almost too much. I think it spoke on how crazy this world was if a single man had the capability to cause as much destruction as a force of nature.

It left my heart pumping wildly at the thought of what I could achieve with time and effort.

Heat rushed across my body...a thin trail of sweat flowing down the left side of my face... And the burn in my muscles...

I felt more alive than I had ever been before.

This is where I was supposed to be. This Insane world of Monsters...was where I fit in.

Our eyes made contact. I noticed the surprise in his gaze, before he hid it away quickly.

"You should really let me go. I'm not into dudes."

I cheekily told him.

"Oh really? And why would I do that?"

He smiled without any warmth.

"You stabbed Batgirl and now I find you here- in the middle of all this chaos."

He cast his gaze around. The clinic was still burning, though with the firetrucks that were pulling up, it wouldn't stay that way for long.

The cops had already arrived a few seconds ago. And I'm guessing Spoiler and Cassie were busy helping them secure Killer Croc. He could shred metal with his bare hands. Restraining someone like that needed their full focus.

That meant...a lot of targets. Targets that werent paying attention to us because they trusted Supes to contain me.

And to be fair, his eyes never left my own, watching me like a hawk.

Let's see how long that was going to last.

My hair flared up behind me, the strands dancing on a non-existent wind.

I grinned up at him, finally answering his question.

"Because if you don't, I'm gonna do worse than stabbing Batgirl. I'm gonna kill everyone here, Superman. Except for you of course, your durability will probably let you survive. Everyone else though?"

My grin could be called disgusting as I added,

"Not likely."

The smile disappeared from his face.

The strands dancing at my back hardened.

"You see the hair behind me? It's not for show. I can form needles from the strands and shoot them out. You get me?"

I chuckled, as realization dawned upon him.

"Don't."

He shook his head.

But I didn't give him a chance, immediately releasing the attack onto my surroundings.

The hair strands shot out, almost as fast as bullets, as hard as metal and as thin as a hair follicle.

There are on average about 100000 hair strands in a human body.

And hair is formed by creating new cells at the base of the Derma, the layer of skin below the Epidermis. The new cells are then cut off from nourishment, hence hardening into Keratin.

Which eventually forms a hair follicle.

My head alone had ten times the number of follicles. My body having consumed itself to create more. So Superman didn't have a few thousand thin and sharp projectiles to contend with.

It was more like in the hundreds of thousands.

And most of them had their trajectory aimed for Spoiler, Cassandra Cain and the police.

There was a sudden blast of wind around the two of us, the big blue Boy Scout disappearing from my vision. I instantly found myself freed. Glad that worked.

However, I didn't stick around to see the effects of my ruse. That didn't mean I couldn't hear the sounds the needles made as they devastated the surroundings.

Glass shattered, car alarms started blaring out loudly and shouts of surprise reached my ears. But it didn't sound as if anyone was hurt.

Superman's work now doubt.

Putting in all my body's energy into running, I escaped down the sidewalk, planning to leave the streets as they were too open.

As I ran, I thought.

Croc was still alive. That was something that bothered me. Usually when someone pissed me off, I made them disappear. It had created a certain reputation around me.

And now my perfect 'fuck up anyone who messes with you' streak has come to an end.

Fine, he gets to live to see another day. But the next time we see each other...

"He's getting away!"

Someone spoiled.

Probably Spoiler. That little bitch.

I increased my speed even more, depleting more of my body's protein content.

Fortunately, the gods of the seas, (a totally real thing, trust me) were looking out for me. I was approaching the end of the street. The home stretch.

I tore off the patient's gown I was wearing, revealing a pair of blue slacks I'd grabbed from the clinic.

My shoulder wasn't as raw as before. During the entire fight, I had been using Seimei Kikan to enhance my healing and now I could move my arms without feeling like screaming.

A shadow passed overhead.

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At the end of the street, Superman appeared from the gray sky, descending onto the ground, hands crossed and obstructing my path.

My feet slid as I changed direction immediately, cutting down a narrow corridor in between a boarded off building and a large residential complex.

Before me was a chainlink fence. Without slowing down, I extended the strands of my hair into ropes that grabbed onto the metal, helping me leap and clear the whole thing.

I landed on the other side softly...

Or so I thought. Reality was, I found myself held above the ground by the nape of my neck.

On instict, my hair hardened into spikes that I released behind me and into the surrounding area.

This time I was privy to the destruction the attack caused. The needle like strands tore into whatever lay on their path. The walls of the buildings at my sides...

And even the ground.

They worked on everything except for...you guessed it, the man of steel. The needles shattered on his body.

"That could have really hurt someone you know."

Supes said, sounding almost disappointed in me.

"I think we've already established I don't care."

I responded, hardening my hair into strands and releasing another wave of hair projectiles.

"You know that won't work."

Superman sighed.

"It didn't work before it won't now."

"Doesn't hurt to keep on trying. I could get lucky."

Plus, I didn't have any other attack. Call me optimistic but I was still confident I could escape. I just needed to find a-

Snap.

Huh?

"Those are power dampening cuffs."

The Kryptonian told me as my hands were forcefully handcuffed behind me.

"They should deal with your ability to control others. That said, whatever it is you've done to your body seems like the result of an ability, not it's effect, so the cuffs won't work to change you back."

We started descending to the ground where Cop cars were waiting.

"I thought you'd struggle more."

My captor said, curiously staring at me.

I merely shrugged.

So what if my escape was short lived. It wasn't unexpected. I knew Supes could easily catch up to me. There was no logic in struggling anymore.

Or even trying to run away from him.

Now was the time for strategizing...and patience.

"That ability enhancing your physical strength."

He begun,

"You need to deactivate it before your body goes into shock. You can't handle being in that state for too long."

He said, likely using X-ray vision to look into my biology.

He was right too.

I was already starting to shiver. My body was also very cold.

And my joints were locking up, mouth as dry as cotton and my vision was growing blurrier by the second.

I had to release it. But the second I did, I knew I was going to pass out. Only my pet pet fruit's ability was keeping me going.

Deactivating it was not something I could do without making sure I would be safe for the next 10 hours. Ag least.

Giving me enough time to rest.

We reached the ground, Spoiler and mini Lady Shiva (Cassie) approaching the two of us.

Spoiler and I made eye contact. She kept on walking towards us without slowing down.

"Spoiler... "

Superman started but she ignored him, planting her knee into my belly. Or she would have, if I didn't cover that part with a coating of hair.

Unfortunately,I still felt the impact of the blow. All of the strength of a peak human.

"You bastard! That was for what you did to Batgirl!"

She spat.

Cassandra pulled her back.

"That was reckless Spoiler. You could have seriously hurt your knee had he hardened his hair like he's fond of doing."

The Man of Steel cautioned her, adding,

"You're lucky."

Yeah. She was really lucky I had decided on coming in silently. Totally not because I had no way to flee or anything like that and hence saw no point to conflict.

I only fought when I was left with no choice or it benefitted me.

"Where's Killer Croc?"

Superman asked, while I straightened up after Spoiler's knee strike.

Speaking of,

My hair could have easily defended that before. Seems like I was hitting my limit in the form.

"We've secured him in the S.W.A.T truck. He couldn't fit in any of the police cars."

She answered, throwing me the stink eye.

"Put him there as well."

Superman said, pushing me forward.

Spoiler raised her eyebrows at him.

"Are you sure? They were fighting each other when we got here."

"No please by all means... Put me in the same vehicle with someone that tried to kill me."

I rolled my eyes.

Spoiler stared at me without an ounce of pity.

"I don't think anyone would mind if he succeeded."

Ouch. I'm hurt.

Cassie dug her elbow into the taller girl.

"Ow, what did you do that for? He's annoying."

The latter complained.

I was a little surprised. Not at the fact that Cassie came to my defense (I had that effect on women and girls. Perks of being a handsome devil) but at the fact that she could understand Spoiler.

Could I have been wrong about her past? No. She had most likely read Spoiler's body language and sensed her hostility.

"No one is killing anyone."

Superman affirmed.

"If you can't put them together then I will personally fly him to a containment cell. He's too dangerous for the police to handle. Watch him as I make a call."

Superman decided.

"Behave."

He muttered to me, squeezing my injured shoulder enough to hurt but not harm.

I hissed through my teeth, glaring at him.

"You're supposed to be the good guys."

I pointed out.

"We are. But we also get mad when someone hurts those we care about."

He shot back coldly.

Someone's still mad about the whole Batgirl-stabbing situation.

Seriously though, it wasn't like I had killed her. Last I heard, she was still alive.

"Fair enough."

I acquisced.

He stared me for a few more seconds before walking a few steps away, close enough to matter if I tried to do anything.

"Now then..."

I said turning to the two superheroines.

"Mind loosening these cuffs, girls. They're really tight."

I gave them my most charming smile.

"Die."

Spoiler merely replied, only to get an elbow shove from her companion.

"Will you stop doing that?"

The Bo Staff wielder told the shorter girl, incensed.

"Why are you defending him?"

Oh my dear Spoiler, she's not defending me, she's defending you. From getting annoyed by me.

That's right! It was time to activate plan C! Be a sore loser.

"So what was your name again? Spoiler right? You really couldn't come up with something better?"

I grinned.

"Ugh! See! Annoying!!"

She yelled, ready to jump me only for the shorter girl to hold her back.

"I mean you have so many options you could have gone with. Calling yourself Spoiler and expecting no one to call you out on it is just dumb."

I shrugged, leaning on the wall of the building behind me.

"That's it!" Spoiler begun, twirling her Bo Staff.

"I'm going to-"

Before she could finish...the entire ground shook.

Pink Light bloomed from the west which was the direction of Midtown, the center of Gotham City.

The light turned out to be a huge explosion that could be heard even from our distance.

It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. That said, the pink light resembled the light from this afternoon's explosion.

Though the detonation at that time had been much smaller. Strong enough to provide me with cover to escape though.

Was there a connection?

It could also explain what Supes was doing in Gotham.

Following the bloom of the explosion, was a massive pressure wave that blasted out, reaching us fairly quickly. The burst of air pushed me back.

From the corner of my eye, I watched Superman take off towards the devastation, leaving behind a sonic boom.

I couldn't believe it.

The Gods of the seas really are looking out for me! Not really the time but...I told you so!

This means I could escape. I don't know what was going on in the city but this was my chance to bail out.

Everyone's attention was on the explosion and I couldn't see Spoiler or Cassandra anywhere. I was free. I could sneak away.

My eyes landed on the S.W.A.T truck very conveniently packed close to me.

The majority of the cops were jumping into their cars and pulling out, no doubt driving towards the explosion.

The coast was clear.

A smile spread out across my face...

Here I Come Waylon...

(General P. O. V)

(A few hours later)

(10:00 P.M)

The late night news bulletin opened up with the Newscaster's grave expression.

She sat upright, dressed in a black and white pantsuit. Her make up and hair was immaculate yet from her red eyes, one would notice that she was barely keeping it together.

Swallowing hard, she begun,

"Good Evening to you Gotham. Our top story today-"

She stopped, closing her eyes before taking a deep breath.

"The Joker's uncontrollable rampage has struck a blow that will be felt for years to come."

She continued, voice more steady. "After placing explosives throughout the Gotham City Stadium, authorities were too late to stop him, ending in the death of 2100 people and 16181 gravely injured ones from the 50,000 fans gathered to watch the game. One of the casualties was- my younger brother..."

The Newscaster looked down, knuckles tightened on top of the table. Sucking in another deep breath, she turned her face to the camera, now composed.

"It is truly appalling that they can let that...Lunatic walk around, destroying the lives of others."

She stood up abandoning all traces of professionalism, a hateful expression on her otherwise beautiful face.

"Where were the police when this was happening? Where was Counter terrorism? Wherebwasthe Justice league? Where was...Batman or even Superman! Witnesses say they saw him flying through the city. Someone even snapped a picture of him in East End."

"And even if those reports were wrong, Metropolis is literally across the bridge!! Where does our taxpayer fund go to when basic safety is an issue!?"

She smacked the table.

"We can't even leave our homes past 8 o'clock! Not to mention, now we have Human Traffickers kidnapping our children for Metahuman experiments!"

"The New UN Secretary-General even promised a solution to the capewearing vigilantes and the Monsters they fight. Only for nothing to change. The latter are still imprisoned in the same Rehabilitation Centers they routinely break out of!"

"What is the point of it?! This. Is. Stupid! And it only increases the suffering of the common man! You and I and our families! We lose when they fight! We are the butt of the Joke! Don't you see it??!"

She was breathing heavily at the end.

Slowly, she calmed herself down.

Gently, the Newscaster sat down.

"I apologize for my blow up. We've all had enough and now I feel the impact of a biased justice system personally."

She touched a pendant hanging from her neck.

"My younger brother, Jake was a fan of the Gotham Knights, and now he's dead."

The news transmission paused on her hollow look.

"This is terrible."

Green Arrow shook his head, staring at the Newscaster's face on the Holographic Projection above the table.

"They're blaming us."

"That's what your concern is? That they're blaming us?"

Black Canary glared at him.

"Not the tragedy of lost lives?"

The Archer had the grace to look ashamed.

"That's an understatement. Even calling it a tragedy does not fully encompass how fucked up the whole thing is."

Jefferson Pierce, Black Lightning said from his seat, crossing his hands together.

"And blaming us? Why shouldn't they? We're the goddamn Justice League and people died on our watch."

The Justice League was gathered in the Watchtower. Almost all the members were present, including the ones Offworld like Wonder Woman and her team (Green Lantern Stewart, Martian Manhunter, Ice and Adam Strange).

The Offworld team was in space on a mission; following up on the case of metahuman children being trafficked to other parts of the galaxy.

They were present through Holo Projections.

"How could this happen? How could anyone cause so much suffering? Some of the people who died I knew personally."

Zatanna said sadly, staring at the Newscaster's face.

"I know her. Allie. Her brother Jake and I went to summer camp together. I can't believe...he's gone."

It made sense she would be affected, seeing as she called Gotham her home.

"We lost something as well."

Aquaman pitched in.

"The public trust in us is dead. Reviving it will not be easy."

"You want to blame someone, blame the Joker. That crazy son of a bitch finally did it. He massacred all those people for shits and giggles."

Plastic Man spoke up in a rare moment of seriousness.

"Regardless, what matters now is how we can fix this."

The Flash said.

No one responded. The mood in the Meeting Hall was subdued.

Flash looked around,

"Come on you guys...this is what we do. We fight even when we don't have the will to."

"This time...It's different Flash."

Batman eventually spoke up.

All eyes focused on him.

Batman got up from his seat.

"Wait..."

Zatanna grabbed his hand, looking up at him with a strange look on her face.

Batman said nothing, only gently pulling his hand away.

"Different how Bruce? I know you blame yourself for what happened but...you can't give up. None of us can. Not now."

The Flash insisted.

Instead of responding, Batman reached for his cowl and in one smooth motion, removed it.

Silence.

"It's different because for Starters, I'm not Bruce."

Nightwing, the first Robin revealed to the Justice League, most of whom were shocked into silence.

"Explain."

Wonder Woman ordered, eyes narrowed.

"As of today... I'll be taking over Batman's responsibilities. As for the reason..."

He went silent, jaw clenching, teeth grinding.

"Bruce was badly hurt during the fight with the Joker who used a new strain of Joker gas that we've never encountered before. As we speak, Bruce Wayne, the Batman, is in a coma."

*********

A/N: Where's Superman?