Injustice 3: Rings War (Book 2)

Chapter 6: A Magical Meeting

Superman:

"Superman," Cyborg says as I enter the room. "I have something I think you need to see."

"What is it," I ask, walking up to Cyborg's side. The two of us standing in front of a computer, Cyborg points toward the screen. A layout of a city on it, there seems to be a lot of blue dots on the outline, varying in size.

"This is a satellite imaging of Gotham City from only about half an hour ago," Cyborg says, wires in his arms connecting to the computer. "Notice all the blue dots?"

"Yes. What are they?"

"Energy signatures. A lot of them."

"Like The Man?"

Pushing Cyborg aside, I start to examine the dot, trying to find a pattern to their locations.

"I thought you said you couldn't trace his energy signature anymore."

"I can't," Cyborg answers, walking back up. "After the raid on Harleen's base, he must have done something because I haven't been able to pick up the same energy signatures since. No, these aren't his. They're new. According to my reading, they're magical energy signatures."

"Magical," I repeat. "You mean, like Raven?"

"Not exactly like Raven but yes. It's magic and a lot of it. All over Gotham City."

About to ask why all over Gotham, the sound and flashing of bright-red alarms stop me. The entire room turning dark-red, Cyborg and I look at each other. Immediately, Cyborg activates his arm cannon and I raise my yellow lantern ring.

The map of Gotham City disappears, it switches to a map of New Metropolis, the layout of the building on the screen now. Focus on one room, the room Cyborg and I are in, we slam our backs against each other and start to spin around.

"What's going on," I say, still surveying the room.

Cyborg eyeing the screen, a blue dot begins to form in the red room.

"It's magic," he says before a bright light appears only feet from us.

Both of us turn, the bright light turns out to be a large, white cross. I recognize it immediately, and it's only a second later when Dr. Fate enters the room through the cross.

"Impossible," I say, my ring still train on the intruder. "Dr. Fate. How? I saw you died."

The Man:

"It's not him," I say, footage of all of us fighting Dr. Fate on the display in the center of the room, floating above the table.

"What do you mean by it's not him," Dinah asks, standing with her arms crossed. "It's him. We can clearly see him."

"Only that's not him," Oliver says, pointing at the display as it switches over. Now, instead of Cold's and Ivy's fight, it's Kara and Cat.

Immediately after Kara and I jumped through the portal and find ourselves back in the base, we learned that Cold, Ivy, Cat, and even Arrow all made it back to the base with help from the Doc. Also by that time, everyone else had recovered from the assessment test and had gathered around the table. Once there, Christel puts up surveillance footage he got from the reminding cameras still in Gotham.

"What do you mean by that," Barry asks.

"What Oliver means," Cold interrupts, "Is that the Dr. Fate you're thinking about, the 'noble and heroic' one, isn't the same as that one."

Cold points to the display.

"That Dr. Fate, all those Dr. Fates, are cold."

"Wow," Harleen says, "And that's coming from you."

"I know," Cold says, nodding his head.

"He wasted no time fighting us," Ivy adds, "He wasted no time almost killing Snart and no time trying to kill me."

"I still don't get it," Dinah says, looking at all of us. "Why would Kent try to kill any of you? It doesn't make any sense, or even sound like him."

"That's because again," I say, all eyes turning to me. "It's not him. All those Fates we fought, every single one of them, not one of them is the actually Kent Nelson."

Superman:

"I am not Kent Nelson," Dr. Fate says, his arms spread out and his feet on the ground. The cross behind him vanishes, Dr. Fate then looks at us.

"Then who are you," I ask, stepping forward, my ring only a thought away from firing.

"We are the Lords of Order," Dr. Fate answers.

The Man:

"The Lords of Order," Kara repeats, her wide eyes matching everyone else's. "Wait, who are the Lords of Order?"

"They kind of like Dr. Fate's bosses," Oliver says, "Right?"

"More or less," I say, shaking my hand. "From what I remember when I had to deal with them, they-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Jason interrupts, waving his hands right and left. "You had to deal with the Lords of Order before? When?"

"Years ago. Listen, just shut up and let me talk. From what I remember when I had to deal with them, they focus on one thing and one thing only; order. You know, keeping everything in balance. Making sure there is no chaos."

"If that's all they care about," Kara says, "Then why were they after you?"

Superman:

"You know about the man in the sunglasses," I ask, lowering my ring. "Do you know where he is right now?"

"We are afraid not," Dr. Fate, or the Lords, says. "Shortly after we surrounded him, your cousin, Kara Zor-El, intervened."

"Damn it, Kara," I say.

"When she did," the Lords go on, "The man used the opening to open a portal and vanished. We have not been able to find him since."

"So what does that mean," Cyborg says, in front of the computer. Deactivating the alarms, the ringing turning off and the lights turning back white, he then turns to the guards that entered.

"False alarm," he says, pointing at the door. The guards nodding their heads, they quickly walk out the room in a single file.

"It means to preserve the delicate order of balance you have achieved," the Lords says, gesturing toward me. "We must expand our efforts."

"Expand your efforts," I repeat, looking at Cyborg.

"Yes. We will share our powers with you. More specifically, we will share our power with Raven. Together, we can end that blight that is the stranger in sunglasses. Together, we can ensure the world is in order. Together, we can save the future."

As moving and heartfelt as the Lord's speech is, there is one thing I want to be sure of.

"If I do agree to this," I say, walking up, "Then I want a guarantee that only he dies. I want everyone else alive. Flash. Green Lantern. My intervening cousin."

The Lords are silent for a while, the body of Dr. Fate just floating there in the air. As we wait, Cyborg taps me on the shoulder.

"I don't like this," Cyborg whispers, "According to the records we have on the Lords, they don't share their powers. At least, not willingly. Besides, what about the plan?"

"I know," I reply, "But this may prove what we need to finally end the man. The Lords of Order are incredibly powerful, and they can stay here while we move with the plan."

The glow in Dr. Fate's eyes intensifies, Cyborg and I turn back to him.

"Deal," they say. "The man, and only the man, will die."