Justice League: The Spartan

Chapter 5

Being back in New York was torture for Troy, he was on a skyscraper and overlooking the city. Many flash images of the city came back in his head, most of which were bad and horrible.

He gripped his head and yelled at the sky,"Get out of my head!!!".

"Trying to hide will not help you". A voice said.

He immediately recognized the voice but didn't turn to face the person.

"I'm not hiding, Athena". Troy said.

"What do you call being here then?". She asked.

"I didn't come here by free will". He replied.

"Ah, yes. Chaos brought you here, why am I not surprised?". She said.

At that, he turned to face her and saw how ghostly and transparent she looked.

"What do you mean?". He asked.

"She always has had an interest in you. Because of your inability to die". She said, floating a few feet away from him.

"She said the same thing. What does that mean? Tell me!". He yelled.

"She said you should find the answer yourself". Athena teased in her reply.

"I thought I would never see you again after switching dimensions. But I was wrong". He said, glaring at her.

"Did you really think you would escape? You will always carry your burdens no matter where you go, Spartan". Athena said, somberly.

"Then how do you fit in one of my burdens?". Troy asked.

"I am one of your burdens. You still have that quilt for killing me". She said.

Troy sagged and looked away. To which Athena noticed, she floated closer to him and stared at him.

"Did I struck a nerve?". She teased cruelly.

"Go away". He said coldly.

He then turned and fired a chain and took off.

.............................

After swinging for hours he came back to his apartment in Queens, he changed into civilian clothing and made a sandwich to eat. Then his phone rang, he answered it and put it on loud speaker while he ate his sandwich.

"Hello?". He answered.

"You seem to be doing fine in New York". A voice said over the phone.

"Oh, hey Clark. How's it going?". Troy replied.

"It's great. How's it going there?". Clark asked.

"Still adjusting to being back home". Troy said.

"Were there any problems?".

"I mostly had bad memories relapsing in my head but I'm fine now".

"That's great. Oh, if you need anything just call us. The League is like a family and will help you". Clark said.

"I'll consider that, don't worry". Troy said, pulling some strands of his hair.

Note-to-self: Cut hair shorter.

"I'll call later. Something big just went off". Clark said.

"Alright, later". Troy said, before ending the call.

He looked around and saw his suit lying on the couch. This one was less sinister and more welcoming than his other versions.

"Well, I guess I could start designing my other suits instead of just wearing one". He said, picking up his mask and looking at it.

Then he felt a familiar tingle in his head and then he started hearing sirens.

"Well, let's go take care of this". He said, picking up his suit.

Meanwhile at Watchtower

Hal Jordan scrolled through the images and came to a peculiar one, it was of Darkforce supporting a section of a building on his shoulders.

"Hey, guys. Check this out". Hal said.

Diana, J'onn, Barry, Arthur and Bruce showed up and watched the monitor. Hal played the video.

"As we have reported, a hero clad in black swinged in and supported a section of a building that was on the verge of collapsing. As he was holding the building the people on the building were safely brought to the ground". The reporter said.

The video was played and Darkforce caught the section and held it up, he supported it on his shoulders until the people got to safety.

"Talk about real strength right there". Barry said.

"Superman and I have lifted heavier things than that and you have never been impressed". Diana said.

"No. Troy is different, he is an ancient relic. He is powerful in his own perspective and that's what makes him unique". Barry said.

Diana rolled her eyes.

"Do we have anything that needs our presence?". She asked.

"No, not really. I haven't heard a peep from one of our favorite villains". Hal said, typing on the monitor.

"Don't get to comfortable, Hal. Who knows who strikes next?". Bruce said.

"I may not be the best person to be here now. I have to return to National City and help the DEO and Supergirl with a situation". J'onn said.

"Go ahead". Bruce said.

J'onn gave a nod and headed for the teleporters.

"Can we watch other footage besides footage of Darkforce?". Diana said, pleadingly.

"Sorry, Diana. But Darkforce has taken the world by storm and a lot of people love him". Hal said.

"You're just gonna have to deal with an that". Barry said.

Diana shot him a glare and Barry immediately took a few steps back. It was not a good idea to tick off an angry goddess.

Bruce watched the monitor for a few minutes before leaving.

"Where are you going?". Diana asked.

"To go see what our little friend is up to". Bruce said.

"Why?". Diana asked.

"I need to know more about his abilities if he is going to be part of this team". Bruce said.

"Part of this team? What are you talking about?". Diana demanded.

"He is a very powerful ally. He could be very useful". Bruce said.

"have you forgotten the memories that J'onn showed us, Bruce? He killed the Gods of Olympus of his world and took innocent lives". Diana said.

"The Gods took everything away from him, his wife, child, mother and his siblings. If I was in his shoes, I would have done the same". Bruce said.

Diana was quiet for a moment before remembering how she saw Troy holding his dead wife in his memories and how he cried at the loss of his whole family. Then she realized that she might have misjudged him too much.

"I'll be back later". Bruce said.