Bʅαƈƙ & Rҽԃ Bɾσƚԋҽɾʂ [Hαɾҽɱ]

19.A Darkness Like Never Seen Before

Disclaimer:All rights go to the DC Comics and their respective owners these characters are not my own hence I give credit for the ones who made them and respectively ask them not to take down my account or story thank you and have a good day all the images shown are owned by the DC Comics and the artist(s)

[Just in case you're wondering about the eventual harem it'll consist of Batgirl, Zatanna, Power Girl, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Enigma (she was introduced in chapter 17) and there are some others that I have in mind and alas no I shall not be taking requests; now good day to you sir or madam!!]

Inside of the wonderfully built and clearly expensive Wayne Manor, Nate sits in the middle of his bedroom and closes his eyes as the voice of Zarathos speaks to him

Zarathos:(You're contemplating about telling your girlfriend and family about what you've become..)'

Nate still with keeping his eyes closed replies back to the spirit of vengeance inhabiting his body

"We both know what they'll think about you if I do show them..I want to tell them when the time is right, I just want it to be on my terms.."

Zarathos:'(Very well, but try not to take too long..your kryptonian friend must be wondering how you overpowered her the last time you spoke)'

Zarathos did have a good point, Kara would want to seek answers about his newfound strength and how he was able to do all of this; he just hoped that she didn't come to Gotham seeking those yearning answers

"She's persistent..she always has been *chuckles* one of the ever so redeeming qualities of being a farm girl"

Zarathos laughs a bit hearing this as he replies back agreeing with Nate's assessment of the Maiden of Might alas their jointed laughter stops as they both feel something off unsettling; Nate gets up from the ground and with a simple he finds himself wearing his Red Hood attire

Zarathos:'(You sensed it aswell..there is chaos in the air, a darkness that feels ancient..we must find the source)'

---

Alas that darkness wasn't only residing in Gotham City because somewhere in the shining night of Metropolis near what many would say was a lovely neighborhood was reduced to a scream of anger inside of a house as Steven aims the barrel of his shotgun to his own wife and kids

Steven:I'll ask you one last time!! What did you do to my family!?

There was something wrong with Steven, you could see it in his eyes as he gripped his shotgun tighter and with his finger on the trigger as his wife; Gloria tried to calm him down while holding her frightened sons in her arms

Gloria:Steven it's me Gloria! I'm your wife..these are our children..

But that's not what Steven sees, all he can see is a three eyed demonic beast starring back at him with teeth on the sides of it's head

Steven:You're not my family!! You killed them, just like the others!! And now it's your turn to join them!!!

Steven pulls the trigger to the shotgun but out of nowhere the Maiden of Might, Power Girl crashes through the roof of the house and blocks the incoming bullets as she quickly snatches the shotgun away from Steven and bends it in half before tossing it away

Power Girl:No one is here dying here tonight!

Steven falls to the ground and tries to tell Power Girl that what he is seeing is the truth unfortunately for him a group of armed SWAT men break down the front door and cuff Steven

Steven:Look at them!!

Power Girl turns around seeing Gloria crying as she holds her scared son's in her arms as she turns her attention back to Steven

Steven:It's just like the neighbors, go to my shed!! You'll see im right!!

And Power Girl does exactly that as she walks out of the house and to the shed as the handcuffed Steven is brought along by one of the SWAT men; Power Girl stands in front of the wooden door of the shed and uses her heat vision to blast the door to pieces but what she saw next brought horror to her eyes

Instead of finding these 'demons' like Steven had told her..all she found were the lifeless bodies of the local neighbors  either hanging from the ceiling or cut apart with a chainsaw; their blood covered the walls of the shed as she turned back to Steven and asked with a trembling voice

Power Girl:What have you done...?

Steven looked into the shed as he finally saw what he had done..he killed his neighbors; their bodies laying inside of his shed as he could only scream out in torment for what he had done to these innocent people

---

The night merely begun..the streets of Gotham were not to taken lightly for man, woman or in this case a newly born baby. A mother held her baby in a small blanket as she stood over the ledge of a cathedral not knowing what else to do she held the baby out for her to drop all the way down to the sidewalk

"Ma'am let me help you.."

She spun around seeing Red Hood walk out of the shadows as he glanced at the crying baby and then back up at the mother

Anna:It's not my fault..ive given birth to the Devil..it's the Devil..

Anna looked down but just like Steven, it wasn't a baby she was looking at..it was a demon with it's eyes replaced by two sharp horns and an eyeball inside of it's mouth

Red Hood slowly approaches Anna and holds his hands as he calmly tells her

"Your tired..please just give me the baby, you don't want to hurt her.."

And just for a brief second when Anna does look back down at her baby girl..she does see it turn back into human as she slowly holds her out for Red Hood to take but as he is about to take the baby away from Anna; it turns back into the same horrific demon and out of fear she spins back around and proceeds to throw the baby off the ledge of the tall cathedral

Without even a second thought the vigilante runs and jumps off the ledge as he dives down and luckily catches the baby with one hand but quickly pulls out his grapple gun and swing to safety to a nearby rooftop; the sound of something hitting the street gets his immediate attention as he looks down from the rooftop seeing that Anna has made her unfortunate end with the sidewalk

He bows his head feeling a wave of sadness and tragedy overcome him and holds the crying baby girl in his arms

"I'm sorry..im so sorry.."

He wasn't fast enough..he only wished that he was able to save that innocent woman because now this baby girl would have to grow up without a mother; Red Hood knew what that was like..as he rocked the baby gently back and forth in his arms

Whoever was behind this..they were going to pay in the most painful way possible; for a darkness had washed over the Earth itself, a darkness like no other..for the night had only just begun and many more poor unfortunate souls would follow through by the end of the night

To be continued...