Sell you a Bridge chapter 350

July 4th 2016 Castle Bat, 10:00 PM EDT

We  headed out of the castle at top speed as soon as we found the others.  Of course, there was no need to stick around. I could see the clones  being suppressed, as we ran, the trap closing in. Zee's protections were  fucking stellar, but they weren't invincible. They only lasted as long  as they had because the bat joker was as annoying and chattery as the  original one and twice as sadistic. He'd cranked the suppression of the  trap array to the max and was slowly crushing them all to death, which  while cruel and villainous, was basically the WORST possible way to  break those shields.

They were cracking under the pressure  though, and if we weren't gone when it happened we were screwed.  Luckily my Deception powers were still...I stopped. Everyone else  stopped with me, and I looked around frantically. "That...isn't ideal."  I'd just noticed something incredibly unsettling. I'd been using my  powers to prevent both us and the clones from being noticed, but that  meant I was using them actively and ignoring the perception aspects.

Which  was why I hadn't noticed we'd run down this same hallway at least twice  already. The surroundings had warped, but the actual location hadn't.  I'd have noticed being teleported. This was much subtler. I sighed and  let my Deception field drop. If it was restraining us here it knew there  was someone around. I had no clue HOW it knew that, but it obviously  did.

I left the clones active to distract the crazy one,  but I doubted it would last much longer. Zee frowned at me. "Morgan?  What's wrong?" She couldn't perceive the field, which was only  reasonable since it was a Deception field and if people knew it was  there it wouldn't be very deceptive, so she didn't know why a chill was  running down my spine right now.

"We've been discovered." I  said shortly. "Which means-" I had to cut my explanation short as the  wall next to us smashed down on our heads like a massive stone hammer.  My Domain opened fully, no longer held back by having to hide us, and I  conjured a dozen illusions as usual and switched us all with them. There  was a boom from behind us but I didn't turn to look, I started jumping  the whole group across the castle toward the entrance.

Every  time we jumped I took us to the edge of my Domain, and when I landed  the Domain came with me, essentially letting me leapfrog us constantly. I  spammed us through the halls as fast as my reaction speed would let me  go, cranking my speed and using my haste for all it was worth as I  avoided the collapsing halls of the living castle trying to flatten us.  After about a dozen jumps though, I realized the inherent flaw in that  logic.

The castle didn't need to chase us, it was  everywhere, which meant it wasn't trying to smash shit, it was HERDING  us. That said I couldn't exactly sit still and tank a fucking building  with all my friends along for the ride. It might not kill me, but people  like Donald and Goofy would be meat paste. Plus Zee had used her one  get out of jail free card on that fucking speedster. I kind of wished I  could shoot that asshole in the head a few more times, but that was for  later.

We arrived in the hall with the trap as it smashed  the clones, the timing being much too fortuitous to be a coincidence. It  was obvious that castle had a sense of drama. It had somehow alerted  the clown too, because when he saw us he cackled with delight. "Oh  goodie!" He crowed with relish. "The guests of honor are here. You  almost fooled me with your little dolls." He waggled a finger at me.  "Shame on you."

I drew my gun and shot him in the head.  There were very few people I could just execute on first meeting without  any reason or motivation outside just knowing who they were, but those  people absolutely included ANY fucking version of the Joker. I didn't  stop at one either. I emptied my whole fucking clip into his skull. Or  at least AT his skull.

"Goddamn it!" I snarled. "Does this  thing EVER work anymore?" Stupid cursed gun couldn't even fucking kill a  batman knock off. I put the gun away, ignoring the shocked looks from  the others (Sora and co looked pretty stunned at the brutal execution  attempt, but again, this was the Joker, or some version of him.

He  clicked his tongue in regret. "Naughty, naughty. Such a ruthless young  man." He sighed and stepped back to slump into a throne, the bullets  collapsing off an invisible shield that radiated from the throne in a  sphere based on the appearance of the plane when they struck.

Making  a mental note to finish that reforging project for Tartarus (preferably  with Artemis's help) and the gun, I scowled at him. "You're the Joker. I  don't know what your body count is at, but I'm guessing it's past six  digits at least judging by the blood practically oozing from your aura.  I'd have been doing the multiverse a favor by taking you out of it."

"So  rude." He said disapprovingly. "You know, my son was just like you. An  entitled little brat. Always so serious and stuck up. But I fixed him up  good. Put a big old smile on his face and now I'm the proudest papa in  the world." His constant grin grew feral. "I find, when dealing with  difficult children, that sometimes one must sink to their level." He  reached up to the side of the throne and yanked on a black chain that  extended out into the darkness. A pair of bright red eyes lit up, and a  massive form about twenty feet tall floated slowly out of the black. "So  since you like to play with dolls. Why don't you play with mine?"

The  huge form was familiar in multiple ways, not just the familiar bat  themed costume, but the aura that radiated off him. I knew that aura, or  a version of it. I'd seen it in the outer body trance a thousand times.  I'd seen it in the Infinite Void when his fragment fought Gojo. I'd  seen it in my fucking nightmares. The version of Batman floating  imposingly above the throne room wasn't just Batman. It was fucking  DARKSEID. And not a piece of him either. This was a complete deity.

I  wasn't sure how that had happened, but however it was...I had no idea  how I was going to beat him. If it had been the real Darksied I'd have  at least been able to hold him off while the others escaped, I'd trained  against him enough to have that confidence, but it wasn't. This was  Batman. Darkseid was unfathomably powerful, but he was also a thug. He'd  been born a monster, and while he fought other monsters his whole life,  he'd always leaned into that power. Brute force above all in terms of  combat. I'd fought him enough times to know that.

Batman  was different. Batman had been a human in a world of monsters for longer  than I'd been alive. He had the skills that came from NEEDING skill.  From relying on technique to overcome greater force. I wasn't some  Batman fanboy (like some annoying dark gods who shall remain nameless).  I'd fought people who were about as good at combat I was pretty sure.  The Warlord had blown him out of the water no question. The problem was  that he didn't need to be the undisputed most skilled martial artist  ever. He was REALLY fucking good, and now he was also Darkseid.

The  joker Batman was cackling. "See, this is my favorite part of being a  parent. When they see the error of their ways and their eyes fill up  with hopeless despair. Darkfather, punish the bad boys and girls for me.  I've been needing some new Robins. These should suit me just fine."

My  domain opened, because fucking DUH. I opened it to the very maximum,  conjured all twelve of my illusion and spread them around the room as  the massive form approached us. I watched as Dreamer. My Beautiful  Dreamer, stepped forward to put herself in front of us. Her eyes were  furious and cold, in a way I'd never seen them before. I felt through  the bond the hate she had for Darkseid, the memories of how terrified  she'd been at the Street of Gods, how useless she'd felt when she  couldn't protect us.

Darkfather looked at her and the same  jagged lined of energy shot from his eyes right at her. I knew she'd be  fine though. He was strong, but my voo-don't dolls would block one blow  for her. His eye beams couldn't change that. I knew what she was doing,  she was buying time for me to think. I reached into our bond with Zee  and pulled on the connection for a Haste spell, and as it came, I WARPED  it. I used my power to change the spell into something different,  something purely mental.

I merged it into my Outer Body  Trance, and suddenly I was alone, in the dark, in a familiar void where  time now stood still for all intents and purposes. I conjured Darkfather  based on his aura, it had been oppressive and overwhelming, but it had  also been obvious and right in my face. I'd read enough warriors and  fought them in here that I could map his fighting style. It helped that  I'd fought a LOT of Batmen and sparred against Darkseid more times than I  could count.

With the monster manifested in here, I  fought him, with everything I had. I lost. Almost instantly. He was  abominable, implacable. I restarted the simulation. Loss. Again. Loss.  It was fine. I had time. I fought him a hundred times. A thousand times.  A million. A second ticked by, the beams drew closer to Drea. Still I  fought. Over and over. I tried every trick, every spell, every power. I  invented new moves, new fighting styles, and they failed me.

Rather  than be upset though, I got excited. Because while I was still dying, I  wasn't dying instantly anymore. After a thousand fights I lasted a  move. After ten thousand I lasted two. After a hundred thousand I lasted  a minute. After a million I lasted an hour. The fights dragged on. They  stretched into eternity. The NZT was still in me, and it helped me  learn and adapt in ways that shouldn't have been possible even for me.

This,  I knew, was what the Outer Body Trance was REALLY for. I didn't have  the talent to put it to use like this, it was supposed to work  subconsciously while you fought, was supposed to let you adapt mid  battle, but it was fine. This was enough. I injured Darkfather for the  first time. Then the second. I got better, not just at fighting him, but  at exploiting his weaknesses. My Domain was MADE for this. For finding  gaps that weren't there or making new ones.

No one was  perfect, not even him. I polished my use of my Domain in battle, adding  in those same reality altering feints I'd made against the war god, and  slowly but surely I started to overpower him. I left more and more  damage, but I couldn't beat, him couldn't FINISH the fight. I conjured  my gun. I'd been thinking about reforging my keyblade with it, but I  hadn't had the time. I was pretty sure I couldn't beat him without it.

But  I had time now. I'd worked a forge with Artemis before, I knew HOW to  do it, if not as well. I dismissed Darkfather and started on the forging  process. I fucked it up the first time, but forging was much easier  than godslaying, I didn't need a million iterations to make a perfect  keyblade. I slipped back into realtime, not even exhausted from altering  the Haste spell because I technically hadn't DONE anything. I pressed  on my fire magic, creating a hellfire sphere in front of me, and tossed  the gun and keyblade in.

The beams hit Drea as I did it,  but the doll shattered, protecting her. I ignored everything. I didn't  need to do too much. I knew what combination I needed for the best  keyblade, and I used my power to ensure I'd get that exact version first  try. Darkfather was paused, staring at us cautiously after I avoided  him. As I reached into the hellfire, I pulled out something...new. Not  my gun, not my keyblade. Tartarus was gone, and so was the Mortal Gun.  All that was left was Thanatos. I whirled the wickedly gleaming weapon  and leveled it at Darkfather. This would be the first and last battle we  ever had. I knew I had what it took to win it.