Justice: Rip and tear (DOOM x DC comics)

Chapter 2-Inquiry

***

---Watchtower---

Barnes found himself seated in an interrogation room, surrounded by superheroes, as he awaited further questioning. Zatanna, a woman with black hair, wearing a female magicians clothes but in a very skimpy fashion.

Despite the tense situation, Barnes was allowed to keep his armor on, though he had to stow away his utility belt temporarily. He glanced at the one-way mirror, contemplating how his encounter with a Gorilla had landed him in trouble with these powerful individuals.

Zatanna began the interrogation, starting with a simple question: "What is your name?"

Barnes's eyes widened at the straightforwardness of the query. "Barnes Taggart Blazkowicz," he replied.

"Okay, Barnes. Why did you kill Gorilla Grodd?" Zatanna inquired, holding a pen to her lips as she awaited his response.

"I killed him because he was trying to mind-hack me," Barnes explained, offering his reasoning.

Zatanna pondered her next question while outside the room, Batman, Martian Manhunter, and Wonder Woman observed the proceedings through the one-way mirror. Diana couldn't help but tease her colleagues, suggesting, "Are you sure he didn't kill him for the thrill of it?"

Batman gave a succinct reply, "No."

Manhunter added his insights, remarking, "It does seem strange that our friend here surrendered after only a few minutes of fighting."

Back inside the room, Zatanna proceeded with her line of questioning. "Where do you come from?" she inquired.

Barnes took a deep breath, preparing himself for his answer. "Will you believe everything I say from this point forward?" he asked, capturing Superman's curiosity.

Before Zatanna could respond, she interrupted the interrogation, requesting Wonder Woman to bring in the Lasso of Truth. Diana entered the room, carrying the lasso, and placed it around Barnes's upper body.

Perplexed, Barnes questioned, "What's this?"

"It's meant to make you speak the truth," Diana explained, handing the handle to Zatanna. With that, she exited the room, leaving Zatanna and Barnes alone to continue the interrogation.

Zatanna activated the lasso, its glow signaling the compulsion, to tell the truth. Barnes straightened himself, locking eyes with Zatanna, his voice compelled by the lasso's power. "My origin does not start in this universe. I come from a different dimension. My abilities and arsenal are inherited from my father, an interdimensional being known as The Doom Slayer. For eons, he fought against the forces of Hell, bestowed with divine blessings from the Seraphim. However, eighteen years ago, he succumbed to his wounds after battling Davoth, the Dark Lord. I arrived here through an interdimensional portal, driven by the sole purpose of eradicating evil from the multiverse."

Zatanna halted Barnes, placing her free hand over her mouth in sympathy. She reflected on the fact that an eighteen-year-old was destined to carry the weight of ridding the multiverse of evil, aware that his father had slain the root of all evil.

Superman shared a similar reaction, knowing that the lasso had never failed before.

"So, your father fought demons and Hell. Is the Hell you speak of similar to what we read in religious texts?" Zatanna probed.

The lasso glowed once again as Barnes responded, "It is the Hell described in religious texts, but it has been sealed since both my father and Davoth's demise."

Superman, satisfied with the answers he had received, opened the door and left, recognizing that Barnes was no longer a threat.

Observing the ongoing proceedings through the one-way glass, Diana turned to Batman and asked, "Did you catch all of that?"