Metropolis

The blow was strong enough to send Superman careening through a building. Headfirst, he struck the concrete, the momentum and his own invulnerability took him through to the other side. He struck the ground hard and pulled himself up, shaking off the rubble.

A beast of great strength leaped over the skyscraper, landing right before the Man of Steel. Superman stared at his enemy, whose gray body was laden with calcified bone extrusions and dressed in nothing more but a pair of dark green pants, his long, white hair around his head like a lion's mane.

Doomsday.

The only remnant of Krypton's dark past. Bred over the course of generations to be the perfect, indestructible killing machine. Their experiments worked all too well. Some time ago, this monstrosity accomplished the impossible—he killed Superman.

Now, he had returned. And though it may result in his death yet again, Superman had to press on. Continue the fight. The never-ending battle. He stood to his feet when he felt a presence in his mind and a slight smile appeared on his face.

J'onn J'onzz, the Manhunter from Mars, hovered lower, coming to Superman's side. A red and silver blur and a sudden gust of wind signaled the arrival of the Flash. Following those two were Black Lightning, the Atom, Jade, Zatanna and Aztek. These eight comprised the current incarnation of the Justice League of America.

“Are we going to stand around all day or what?” asked Jade.

Superman responded to the young metahuman's comment by unleashing a massive dose of heat vision on Doomsday. Instantly, the rest of the team followed his lead, moving in and attacking the creature, giving him no quarter.

All of them had seen what happened when Superman faced off against this creature. Some of them were there for it. They knew not to give Doomsday the chance to begin another rampage, another killing spree.

Doomsday, however, seemed completely oblivious to their attacks. With a mighty roar, he slammed his fists down on the ground, massive shockwaves rocketing forth and knocking the Justice League to their feet. Doomsday stood over them and began to laugh.

Superman was not about to take that lying down. In an instant, he was back on his feet and he delivered an uppercut that caused Doomsday to fly back, stopped only by a bus.

The Last Son of Krypton helped the rest of his teammates up. The Martian Manhunter looked at him with a worried expression before he spoke. “If we're going to have a prayer of defeating Doomsday, we must attack his mind.”

“Do you think you can get through to him?” asked Superman.

“I have no idea, but it seems to be our only option.”

“Okay,” said Superman, looking towards the killing machine, now lifting the bus over his head. “I'll try and slow him down first.”

	The World's Greatest Superheroes! DESPAIR Part I: Don't Believe Your Eyes
JLA #46 January, Year Six	by Dino Pollard

BATMAN	MARTIAN MANHUNTER	SUPERMAN	BLACK LIGHTNING	AZTEK

THE FLASH	ATOM	ZATANNA	JADE	ZAURIEL

Gotham

{INCOMING MESSAGE}

The Batman narrowed his eyes, viewing the source of the transmission with skepticism and a bit of curiosity as well. At first, he considered simply disconnecting but instead, he depressed a button that brought up an image he hadn't expected to see again.

“I'm a little surprised,” he said.

{No one moreso than me, I promise you that,} said Oracle. Looking back at him from the monitor, however, was not the face of Barbara Gordon but a digitized, femine head with a large cranium, devoid of any sort of hair. The visual representation Barbara used for herself as Oracle.

“What's this about?” asked the Batman.

{I know you left the League, but this is something you should see.}

“J'onn knows what he's doing,” said the Batman. “If he needs my assistance, he can contact me at any time. I have other matters to attend to, so if you wouldn't mind...?”

{Dammit Bruce, would you quit being so stubborn and just pay attention to the world around you for once?}

The Batman momentarily froze. His finger hovered over the button to disconnect from the transmission, but he considered the situation. If Oracle had contacted him, even after what he'd done to her, after how strained his relationships with those closest to him have become, then it was obviously something important.

“What do you need?” he finally asked.

{Look at this transmission from CNN in Metropolis.}

Oracle linked the Batman's computer to a live transmission in progress. Behind the opaque lenses of his mask, Bruce Wayne's eyes widened in horror at the carnage and destruction wrought. But more frightening than the devastation, however, were the culprits responsible.

At the bottom of the screen, the caption read, “THE IN-JUSTICE LEAGUE?!” That headline became burned into the Batman's mind as he watched eight of the most powerful metahumans on the planet lay waste to America's greatest city. And the one who seemed to be leading them was the very one who had made Metropolis his home—Superman himself.

{Well...?}

“Mobilize whatever forces you can muster to try and hold off the League.”

{Against the Justice League? Easier said than done.}

“I know, but do what you can,” said the Batman. “Get Nightwing in there, tell him he's in charge.”

{Does that mean you're not participating?}

“I am... in my own way,” said the Batman, looking over his shoulder at the transporter that connected him to the Justice League Watchtower.

Metropolis

As far as the members of the Justice League were concerned, they were under the impression that they had been fighting Doomsday.

In truth, what they had actually been doing was fighting an imaginary opponent. Doomsday had no presence in Metropolis whatsoever. But instead, the League was laying waste to the very city they believed themselves to be protecting.

Superman and the Martian Manhunter both rose in the air, laying waste with their own respective destructive visions. Zatanna's magicks caused cars to levitate and slam into buildings. Jade's energy constructs acted as wrecking balls. Black Lightning wrought havoc with Metropolis' electricity. And finally, the Flash, Atom and Aztek, while they thought they were helping citizens out of harm's way, in fact they only succeeded in terrorizing the denizens of Metropolis.

From a safe vantage point, Jimmy Olson snapped photo after photo on his digital camera as Lois Lane stood by his side, completely dumbstruck at the carnage before her.

“Any idea what's going on with them?” asked Jimmy.

“None whatsoever,” said Lois. Her eyes in particular were fixed on Superman as he rose in the air like a vengeful god, delivering judgment on a populace who defied him. Unbeknown to Jimmy, the pair were married in Superman's civillian identity. Seeing him like this, it was almost too much for the intrepid reporter. But she had a job to do and she wouldn't let her personal feelings prevent her from performing her duties.

“Something is happening to them,” said Lois.

“Hope you're right, Lois,” said Jimmy.

“I know I am,” said Lois.

Gotham

The Batman sat at the computer, constantly replaying the footage of the Justice League's attack on Metropolis. He heard the sound of footsteps and glass clattering against a metal tray and knew it was Alfred Pennyworth, loyal butler to Bruce Wayne, walking into the cave with some lunch.

“Thought you might want a bite,” said Alfred.

The Batman shook his head. Alfred looked over his employer's shoulder at the footage on the screen. It wound backward, then forward. Backward, then forward. Over and over.

“I understand it's shocking, Master Bruce, but what do you hope to accomplish?” asked Alfred.

“Look at the way they're moving,” said the Batman. “They're not simply causing carnage and destruction. They seem to be attacking something that's not even there.”

“Have they taken up spirit hunting, then?” quipped Alfred.

“No, more like they're being coerced by some external force,” said the Batman. The footage minimized and a search window opened up. The black-gloved fingers danced across the keyboard and various search boxes came up, with the Batman quickly responding to each query.

“What are you doing now, Master Bruce?”

“Searching through all known criminal databases including the files of not only the Justice League, but also the Justice Society and the Titans and cross-referencing the results with inmate lists at the Slab, Arkham, and other holding facilities.”

“Any matches?”

“A few, and none of them pleasant,” said the Batman.

“Is there anything you would like me to prepare for you, sir?”

“No, I can handle it myself.” The Batman left the computer terminal and descended a staircase leading to the lowest level of the cave. Alfred followed him on the trek, moving a bit more slowly down the steep and dark steps. When he finally reached solid ground again, Alfred saw the Batman standing in front of a chamber of sorts. He approached and the Batman didn't turn to acknowledge him but instead began speaking.

“It's something I've been developing for a while,” he said. “Untested, though. But it should provide me with the means I need to get into the Watchtower undetected by my target.”

Inside the chamber was a sleek Batsuit which looked somewhat heavy. The cowl was a full one and in place of a cape were red wings under the arms and on the chest was a large, red bat.

He had walked for what felt like forever. This new body took some getting used to for him, the sweat making the cloak he wore stick to his white skin. Beneath the cloak, his wings strained, craving release of some kind.

But he wasn't ready, Not yet. His memories were muddled, he wasn't sure where he actually was. All he knew is that he was surrounded on all sides by the desert. So, he began walking.

Beneath the hood, his red eyes would glow brightly. He could feel the weight of the gold armor he wore as well as the weight of the matching gold sword. All of it covered with strange symbols he couldn't even begin to decipher.

Who was he? And why did he have this feeling that something was so completely wrong? Why did he feel so... defiled? And why was he so completely and utterly lost?

He heard the click of a gun and he turned around. A man dressed in combat gear and holding a machine gun pointed at his hand stood before him. A few other men dressed in a similar fashion stood nearby. Their uniforms bore no symbols or markings of any kind, they were completely devoid of any sort of identification.

“Just where do you think you're going?”

“I... I don't know,” he said.

Metropolis

“I'm still not sure what I'm doing here,” said Nightwing.

{He said you're in charge.}

“And where's he?”

{Didn't say, just said he was going to deal with this problem in his own way. Apparently, your team's main goal is to hold off the Justice League.}

“Yeah, that'll be easy...”

The man who spoke from Nightwing's side wore a red and black costume. A red bow was slung across his back and he held a pair of handguns. His hair was short and blond with a soul patch and in place of a domino mask, he wore red-trimmed sunglasses.

“The other four I get, but the two of us?” said Arsenal. “What good are we against Superman?”

“You'd be surprised,” said Nightwing. “It's not like you to have an inferiority complex.”

“It's also not like me to get my skull crushed by Superman,” said Arsenal.

Nightwing raised a finger to his ear, activating the communicator he had plugged in. “Everyone else in place?”

Responses in the affirmative were relayed to Nightwing by his teammates. “Okay,” he said. “Let's get ready to move.”

The Watchtower

The transporter platform hummed to life. The room became bathed in a light blue light and as it slowly faded, the Batman appeared in view dressed in the experimental Batsuit. He put a finger to his temple, activating a hidden switch that set off a sonar for mapping the Watchtower.

“Oracle, I need you to be my eyes,” he said.

{Sonar is picking up some activity in the monitor womb.}

The Batman moved through the Watchtower, carefully making his way from the transporter room to the monitor womb. As he came closer, he could hear Oracle's voice keeping him informed of the progress.

{According to the sonar, whoever it is is very big and probably very mean.}

“Which means my theory was correct,” said the Batman. “Activate the mind shields.”

He pressed the hidden switch again and the sonar lenses slid up, returning his opaque lenses into their rightful place. He held up his hand and flexed his wrist. A collapsed batarang slid out from the armament hidden in his gauntlet, immediately releasing to its full size.

The door opened and the Batman leapt in, hurling several batarangs at the target. Each of them was caught by his foe's massive, salmon-colored hands. The hulking brute crushed them as if they were nothing and stood before the Batman, his long, blue cape flowing over his body. A large fin stood atop his head and a third eye looked at the Batman from the alien's forehead.

“Hello Batman,” said Despero. “Before I kill you, I just thought you should know—love the new outfit.”