Prepare for the unexpected. (DPxDC)
Everyone knew about the reign of Pariah Dark. Even those who did not dabble in those realms have heard the tale of the tyrant. A power-hungry man who ruled over the dead with an iron fist.
Following the rise of Pariah Dark, his realm had been effectively cut off from communication. Many mystics and magic users knew better than to open the door of nightmares that could arise if Pariah Dark's reach went further than his own realm.
Except, the universe had plans to bring the realm of the dead back into the cards.
A new opponent, one that had all of Earth's heroes scrambling for options. A being with powers of a god over weather, destruction was on the horizon. A world ending threat.
It's the only reason the Justice League was doing this. In a deep bunker, far from close civilization as a precaution, the heroes looked on with grim expressions.
The world was already being threatened. It would be destroyed regardless of what the league did. So it only made sense to make the last ditch effort. To summon someone strong enough to defeat the threat.
No one wanted to do it. No one wanted to be the one to pull the realm of the dead back to the living. The consequences were untold if this succeeded. If Pariah Dark was freed and defeated the threat, whose to say he won't want control?
That was a problem for later. For the aftermath. For now, the league could only watch on with bated breath as Constantine completely the summon ritual.
They watched on as the shadows in the room seemed to darken and grow. As the sigil sputtered to life with a glow that was growing increasingly brighter. A sudden gust of wind rushed through the room, the temperature began to drop with eaching ticking second.
And then it was all gone.
The room stood perfectly still. Just as it had been moments before. Nothing changed. No giant king standing before them, no sign that the ritual worked.
The room stood deadly still for another beat before the murmurs started. The team trying to make sense of the situation, figure out what went wrong.
Constantine swore up and down that this was the correct ritual, taking offense that they would even think the problem was on his end. It only made it better when it finally happened.
A loud sound ripped through the room, pulling everyone's attention back to the summoning circle. Just in time to see a tear appear in the space above the circle.
A thin tear that ran the length of eight feet. The fabric of the dimension seems to curl at the edges, pulling back to reveal a deep glowing swirl of greens. A dark gloved hand reached through, fingers curling around the edge of the tear, stretching it even further.
A portal. The ritual had worked, but there had been a delay. A delay that had every hero nerves on edge. Each team member tensed, weapons at the ready as they watched the being stretch the portal to the right size.
Then, a foot stepped out with a heavy thud. A dark boot that looked otherworldly despite its similarity to mortal clothing. A deep black that seemed never-ending. A second foot quickly followed before a full body emerged from the portal.
Not many people in the room have ever seen Pariah Dark, let alone know what to expect. Based on what Constantine and Zatara had said, this wasn't Pariah Dark.
A man had stepped out of the portal, standing at almost seven feet tall, and built like a brick house. One glance at the glowing white hair, deadly red eyes, and shard teeth was enough to know this being was not to be messed with.
But there was no giant show of armor or royal garbs. There is no large crown at the top of his head or jewelry from the infinite realms laced around his neck.
Instead, the man stood before them in combat boots, worn-in ripped jeans, a graphic t-shirt, and a spiked leather jacket. Despite his almost normal clothing choice, the man's jacket seemed to be a never-ending depth of the dark night sky. If one was to look closely enough, the cosmos could almost be made out in the sea of darkness.
None of that would have prepared them for when the man spoke. His tone sounded more bored than anything as he took a step forward.
"Oh, so now you need the help of the dead." The man had spoken, running a hand through his hair. When Batman took a step forward to speak, the man raised a hand. Immediately commanding silence in the single gesture. "I'm on babysitting duty and have yet to have a cup of coffee. I'll be right back."
Just like that, both the man and portal vanished into thin air. Leaving behind a group of stunned heroes. Not only was the man not Pariah Dark, but he was also supposedly babysitting.
"Did that just-"
The Flash had been the first voice to speak up, his eyes trained on where the man had once stood. Except he had barely made it through the first few words before the man was suddenly back.
The man that now had a child hanging off his shoulders and another teen being held up by his scruff. Unlike the man, these kids looked human.
Too human for Bruce's liking. The dark black hair and bright blue eyes had every heroes eyes flickering to Batman for just the briefest moment.
"This isn't fair! I'm not even the king. Why do I have to be here!" The teenager had been complaining the moment the man had reappeared. Arms crossed tight over his chest and seemingly used to being held dangling. "Besides, who brings kids to a show down! Wait til I tell mom about this."
"Aw, come on, Danny. This is gonna be fun!!" The younger girl seemed in much better spirits than the teen, Danny. She had climbed up the large man, sitting on his shoulders and resting her arms on the mess of glowing hair. "It's like take your kids to work day! Ooo, Dan! Can we fight too!?"
Unlike the two kids, the man looked purely exhausted and annoyed. The man, Dan, dropped Danny like a sack of potatoes as he took a long drink from the travel cup in his hand.
It didn't take a genius to recognize the look of an exhausted parent in Dan's expression. A look many of the league members were well acquainted to. A look that even had Batman grimacing with sympathy.
"Can it, little shits. You two were grounded, remember." Dan had growled at the kids before shifting his focus back on the team of heroes before them. His glowing eyes set in a deadly glare. "Pariah Dark isn't coming, and he never will. He's been dethroned and banished. We're the best you've got."
A summoning that started with a group of on edge and scared heroes looking for the ghost king, ended in a way no one expected.
No one was even sure if it made any sense. They weren't sure if they should feel hopeful or in despair.
Because truly, what was a ghostly man with two seemingly human children against a godlike foe with the control over the weather?
The unspoken question of power and ability seemed to vanish following Dan downing the metal travel cup of coffee, and crushing it in his fist.
He tossed it to the side, straighting up his posture as he looked over the heroes. Dan might not be a hero, but he's been playing family for too long.
An almost feral, bloodhungry grin spread across the man's face, sharp fangs on full display. The look made the man suddenly look even less human. He looked closer to a demon from the pits of hell rather than the exhausted parent he looked just a few seconds ago.
"Point me in the direction of this bastard. It's been too long since I let loose and had some fun."
1K notes
·
View notes
"and this has nothing to do with the plume of smoke rising from... oh, just about where your lab was, last i checked?" "shut the fuck up"
our plot begins on edward's doorstep! i'm still trying to figure out how i want to format all of this so um... bare with me! but this is what i'm doing for now because i don't have the patience for comics. story introduction below !!
after the world ended (not actually; although gotham had collapsed into ruin, the rest of the world was quite content ignoring their existence. let the city eat itself alive, they reasoned, and the problem would solve itself.) edward found himself incredibly, mind-numbingly bored. with everyone making chaos and scrambling for power, there’s no audience to his crime, and no payoff. money is obsolete, he already has all the power he needs with essentially a monopoly on tech and repair, and there’s no thrill of the chase without a functioning gcpd. he needs someone to BOTHER.
and who better than his old friend (read: guy who wants him dead) jonathan crane to bother while everything else goes to shit! so he heads over to jonathan's last known residence and proposes an alliance. jon tells him where he can stick it, and slams the door in his face.
then, about a week later, jonathan's entire laboratory is blown sky-high. jon has no idea who did it, (a lot of people hate him enough for that) and if ed has a clue he's not going to say a word. but nonetheless jonathan is now homeless and in dire straits! all of his supplies were destroyed, half of his work didn't make it out of the fire, and they're having a pretty bad goddamn day, alright, so their judgement isn't the greatest right now!
his first thought is the sirens. ivy is pretty much his only friend in gotham, but the sirens are at full occupancy right now with plenty of their own problems to solve, and jon knows ivy: she'll just tell him to suck it up and figure it out
again, no one else in the city likes him, so he's pretty much out of luck. until he remembers a... certain someone. and jon hates the idea. he really, really hates it. but they're down on their luck and if they want a chance at finding their footing and saving what's left of their hard work, they need a place to stay, and fast.
so he shows up covered in ash on edward nygma's doorstep, to request a second chance at that offer. edward laughs in his face, obviously, but lets him in nonetheless! he reasons that he could use the entertainment around the house, anyway.
neither of them have any idea what they're getting themselves into, but don't worry! the horrors are just around the corner <3
63 notes
·
View notes
One word prompt: growth
Prompt: growth
Her hair got longer, he thought, watching Ladybug blow her bangs out of her face.
It was odd. His hair always changed when he transformed, so Adrien had never considered that Ladybug might keep her same style.
His claw caught on a tangle between silky, black strands.
“Ah–”
“Sorry, sorry,” he apologized. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
She threw a smile over her shoulder. “Playing with my hair, are you, kitty?” Her eyes crinkled as she giggled. “You’re such a stereotype sometimes.”
Her laughter was infectious. “Guilty.”
A gloved hand reached out to curl under his chin.
“It’s cute,” she laughed.
Send me one word, I’ll write you 100
33 notes
·
View notes