Justice League

The battle against Darkseid was going well. Darkseid's army seemed to be in full retreat, boom tubes were opening everywhere. Superman spotted Darkseid, continuing the fight. A boom tube opened behind Darkseid and Superman decided to punch him into the tube before it collapsed. Rushing forwards, he took a moment to enjoy the ability to relax his restraints. Humans were fragile to him, Darkseid however, was not.
BOOOM!!!!! A boom tube opened just in front of him, he couldn't turn and barreled through it. He found himself flying at a man wearing robes with long, dark hair. He realized, and tried to reign himself in, but there wasn't enough space to slow himself.
In the end it didn't matter, as he encountered something gold that sent him flying backwards. There was another boom and he crashed into Batman, Diana fell right on top of him. The three of them continued to slide along the floor of the room. A third tube opened, and their slide was halted by a wall of green energy. Diana rolled off of him and he stood, looking back down the room towards the thing that hit him. It was a giant of a man, in golden armor. His face was stern, though he looked surprised when Superman stood.
"I do not believe that one to be human, my king," the giant said, clearly addressing the man behind him. Superman went to charge at him, but found that he was missing his speed from before. The giant let him come, and then caught him with ease.
"What planet is this?" Superman asked, glaring up into the giant's face. "It can't be Earth."
"This is Earth, though it is known as Terra these days," the giant answered patiently. Superman was trying to force his way out.
"Earth doesn't orbit a red sun," Superman said. "Stop lying to me."
"Sol is a yellow star," the giant said calmly. "We are in orbit around Sol, the sun of Earth."
"Then there must be kryptonite somewhere," Superman said. "Taking my powers from me."
"I've never heard of kryptonite before," the giant said, sounding confused.
"Perhaps there isn't enough solar radiation," the other man said, stepping up next to the giant. He was just as large as the giant.
"I've never had a problem with getting enough radiation inside a building before," Superman said.
"Not from being inside," the man said. "From the pollution levels of Terra's atmosphere. Do you require it to survive?"
"Not to survive," Superman found himself answering, looking back towards his companions he saw them all fighting to not kneel. He could also feel the pressure to kneel, but couldn't act on it due to being held by the golden giant.
"You can survive without your powers?" the man asked.
"Yes," Superman said. "However, if I need to fight I will need my powers. I'm useless without them."
"Interesting," the man said. "I'll summon a Martian to look into the situation. You can let him go, Valdor."
"Very well," the golden giant said, releasing Superman.
"What happened?" Green Lantern said.
"I think there was a mess up with the boom tubes," Batman said. "Possibly moving us dimensions."
"It would not be the first time that such an event has happened," the golden giant said. "Last time involved mutant turtles."
"How do we get back then?" Diana asked. "We don't have any boom tubes, nor do we know how they malfunctioned to send us here."
"Where ever here is," Green Lantern said. "This isn't any part of Earth I've ever seen."
"It's not the Earth that you know," the man said. "It's far into the future, along with being a different dimension."
Another tube opened just then, depositing Flash and Cyborg. They picked themselves up and looked around. A door opened, and another cyborg walked in. It had so many cybernetics that it was impossible for the Leaguers to tell if it was a man or woman. It stopped and made a fancy form of bow to the man.
"You called for me, Holy One?" the voice that came out was mechanical, but implied male.
"Yes," the man said and indicated Superman. "The one in blue has need of increased solar radiation. Can you make something for him?"
"I might be able to make something," the cyborg said, moving over to Superman. It stopped at Cyborg, looking at him with strange eyes. "You are not a magos biologis?"
"A what?" Cyborg asked, confused.
"A magos biologis," the cyborg said. "If you were, you could create a solution. The Omnissiah could help you if you required."
"The Omni-what?" Cyborg asked, even more confused.
"The Omnissiah," the cyborg said. "You stand before him and cannot recognize the manifestation of the Machine God?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Cyborg insisted, hoping that this other cyborg would move on and do whatever it was he was supposed to be doing.
"He is not one of your fellows, Cawl," the man said.
"My apologies then, Unenlightened One," Cawl said. He then moved on and began to scan Superman in several different ways.
"When will this Martian arrive?" Green Lantern asked.
"He is here," the golden giant said. "Cawl is the Martian."
"He's not a Martian," Batman said bluntly.
"I assure you that I was born on Holy Mars," Cawl said. "I am here to work under the supervision of the Omnissiah for a time."
A final boom tube opened, and J'onn J'onnz fell out of it. Flash moved over to him, making sure that he was alright. Cawl finished his examination of Superman and stepped to the side, unwilling to leave until dismissed.
"What are your names?" the man asked, seeming to hope that they were done showing up.
"I'm Superman," Superman said. "The last son of Krypton."
"I'm Batman," Batman said, he didn't seem pleased about their situation.
"I am Diana," Diana said. "Called Wonder Woman. I'm an Amazon."
"I'm the Flash," Flash said. "The fastest man alive."
"I'm Green Lantern," Green Lantern said. "One of many."
"I'm Cyborg," Cyborg said.
"I'm J'onn J'onnz," J'onn said. "Called the Martian Manhunter. I am also the last Martian."
"He's a real Martian," Flash said.
"I am also a real Martian," Cawl said.
"We have given you our names," Superman said. "Will you give us yours?"
"I am the Emperor of Mankind," the Emperor said. "The Martian Mechanicum call me the Omnissiah."
"I am Constantin Valdor," the golden giant said. "Leader of the Legio Custodes."
"What are you?" Diana asked Valdor.
"I am a Custodian," Valdor answered. "A trans-human, gene-forged by the Emperor himself."
"You must be able to move very fast," Superman said. "When I arrived I was going quite fast, and you struck me out of the air."
"That comes with training and being trans-human," Valdor said. "I am surprised that you were not turned to pulp when I struck you."
"Is that what you expected to happen?" Batman asked, appalled.
"It was the most likely conclusion," Valdor said. "I was reacting, and therefore not holding back."
"Why did you strike me?" Superman asked.
"It was my duty," Valdor replied. "Custodians are the bodyguards of the Emperor, along with his companions."
"Ah," Superman said.
"We need a way to get back to our own dimension," J'onn said. "Darkseid escaped, he will return if he learns that Superman isn't there."
"J'onn's right," Cyborg said.
"There's one problem with that," Cawl said. "The chatter on the noosphere is that there are strange creatures flying about the Outer Palace, they seem to be headed somewhere specific."
"Cyborg?" Batman asked. There was a pause before Cyborg nodded his agreement with Cawl.
"There's parademons running around," Cyborg said. "I can't tell where they are going, or who is controlling them."
"We need to deal with this before we can leave," Superman said.
"What are parademons?" Valdor asked.
"They are the foot soldiers of Darkseid," Superman said. "They are mostly mechanical, though there is some life in there."
"Darkseid is a tyrannical monster from a planet called Apokolyps," Cyborg said. "He is obsessed with finding something called the anti-life equation."
"I do not sense anything that would match a xenos tyrant," the Emperor said. "There is a xenos mind, but I do not think that it is Darkseid."
"Probably one of his lieutenants then," Flash said. "That makes things a bit easier. I'll go see if I can follow them." With that Flash disappeared, running away before the Emperor or Valdor could stop him.
"Fellnor," Valdor said. "Do you register anything moving rapidly through the Palace?"
"Yes, lord," Fellnor voxed back. "Do you want us to intercept it?"
"No," Valdor said. "Keep track of it, and let me know where it stops."
"At your command," Fellnor answered.
"He can track him that far?" Cyborg asked.
"We do not have the information for that," Valdor said. "However, it is more likely that he will get lost."
"How so?" Diana asked.
"The Palace is large, and we are deep in it," the Emperor said. "It will be more impressive if he gets out of the Palace at all."
"What will you do if he gets lost?" J'onn asked.
"I'll send someone to retrieve him and bring him back here," the Emperor said.

******************************

Flash didn't see the old man until it was too late. He tried to stop, but wasn't able to do much other than slow down a little bit. Flash slammed into the old man, and tried very hard to catch the staff he had. The top of it was on fire, and he really didn't want to start a fire here. He only managed to brush the staff before it fell away from him. 

"Oh no!" Flash called out, trying to snuff out the flames on the staff. He was confused when he was unsuccessful.

"What do you think you are doing?" the old man asked brusquely. He snatched the staff from Flash. The flames had not spread from the staff to the carpeting. 

"I was trying to stop a fire from starting," Flash said.

"Psyflames aren't going to start a fire," the old man said. "Who do you think you are, wearing Jaghatai's Halloween costume?"

"I'm the Flash," Flash said. "And this is my own costume. I don't know who Jaghatai is."

"You are too tall to be fitting in Jaghatai's costume, I guess," the old man said. +My lord, there is a man who claims to be the Flash. He just ran into me.+

+Are you alright?+ the Emperor asked.

+Yes+ Malcador replied. +What shall I do with him?+

+Bring him back to me+ the Emperor replied. +Throneroom.+

+He's not a rat, at least+ Malcador sent with a hint of amusement. "I've been instructed to take you to my master, the Emperor of Mankind. From the way he phrased it, it seems that you came from him."

"Yeah," Flash said. "I was trying to get out of here and follow the parademons. I didn't spot you until it was too late. Are you alright?"

"I am unharmed," he said. "I am Lord Malcador, the Sigillite."

"That's an interesting name," Flash said as he turned and followed Malcador. "Good to know that I didn't hurt you."

"I'm a bit tougher than I look," Malcador said. They arrived in the Throneroom that Flash had only recently left. 

"Why am I thinking of the turtles?" Malcador asked as they entered. Valdor chuckled and the Emperor also smiled.

"I made that comparison myself," Valdor said. "Flash, if you had waited a moment longer, you would have learned that we are deep into the Palace, and that getting out was harder than you were thinking."

"As it is, we are tracking the parademons as you call them," Cawl said. He still hadn't been dismissed by the Omnissiah, or Valdor. 

"Be about your work, Cawl," the Emperor said, realizing why the tech-priest was still there. Cawl bowed again and departed. 

"Who are you?" Superman asked Malcador.

"I am Lord Malcador," Malcador said. 

"Well, they all appeared in the same place this time," Valdor said. "That's better than the turtles."

"Indeed," the Emperor said. 

"I would agree," Malcador said. "But the rat didn't run into me at high speeds."

"Sorry about that," Flash said. Malcador indicated his acceptance of the apology. 

"What are we going to do for now?" Green Lantern asked. 

"I have arranged for a guest residence to be prepared for you," Valdor said. "I advise against exploring without someone to escort you."

"I'll second that," Flash said. "it's a maze out there."

"Well, let's check out the accommodations," Superman said. Valdor lead them to the residence that had been prepared for them. It was one of the larger ones, as he had been unsure how many people were showing up when he gave the command. No further boom tubes had opened, so everyone assumed it was just the seven. 

"Thank you for this," Diana said. "My apologies for dropping in on you unannounced."

"There is no reason to apologize," Valdor said. "It was not your intention to come here. We have some experience with this."

"Does that mean you can get us home?" J'onn asked. 

"The Mechanicum can yes," Valdor said. "It may take a few days before they can, but there is this lieutenant that you mentioned to deal with first."

"True," Superman said. "When do you think tech-priest Cawl will be finished with the device to give me my powers?"

"I am unsure," Valdor answered. "He is somewhat erratic, though he will focus on the project."

"I have another question," Flash said. "How do I get to food?"

"There's a kitchen in the residence," Valdor said. 

"Thanks," Flash said. "My metabolism is tied to my speed and I need a lot of food."

"Understandable," Valdor said. "We have very nutrient dense food if that works better."

"Maybe," Flash said and headed towards the kitchen. He came back, looking confused. "What's with the cyborg in the kitchen?"

"That is a servitor," Valdor said. "It will follow directions that you give it. Though you will want to ensure that it recognizes you before giving it instructions."

"Oh?" Cyborg asked.

"Servitors are mind-scrubbed," Valdor said. "They have almost no intelligence at all and have no personalities."

"Why are they mind-scrubbed?" Diana asked.

"The organic parts of a servitor typically come from criminals," Valdor said. He never thought much about servitors and where the biological parts came from. They were everywhere in the Imperium, so no one thought too much about it.

"You do that to criminals?" Superman asked, appalled.

"Not all of them," Valdor explained. "Criminals who are given multiple life sentences and are unable to be rehabilitated are turned into servitors."

"That's still horrible," Flash said. 

"I can remove it, if you would like," Valdor offered.

"No," Batman said. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

"A good saying to live by," Valdor said. "There is a vox unit on the wall you can use if you need anything."

"Thank you," J'onn said. Valdor nodded and departed. The seven super heroes turned to each other.

"We need information," Batman said.

"Agreed," Cyborg said. "I'll see what I can do with their computer systems."

"What do we know about these guys?" Diana asked.

"The Emperor and Lord Malcador are both powerful psychics," J'onn said. "I can also sense other psychics around."

"What else can you sense?" Superman asked. He hated being without his powers, but couldn't do anything about it until Cawl made something to help him. J'onn focused for a while, and then shook his head. A strange look passed across his face before opening his eyes.

"What is it?" Green Lantern asked.

"There is a strange psychic null space," J'onn said. "There seems to be people causing it."

"Could they be a threat to the Emperor?" Batman asked.

"Probably," J'onn said. "I did not like the brush that I had with them."

"We should inform Valdor then," Superman said. "It will show that we have good intentions."

Cyborg went over to the vox unit and then activated it. He adjusted a few settings before he got an open channel. "This is Cyborg, with the Justice League, trying to reach Valdor of the Legio Custodes."

"Can I help you, Cyborg?" Valdor's voice answered. 

"Not me," Cyborg said. "J'onn has something for you."

"There seems to be a gathering of anti-psychics," J'onn said. "They are possibly a threat to your Emperor."

"Your vigilence is commendable," Valdor said. "However, there is no threat from the Sisters of Silence."

"The who?" Flash asked, looking excited.

"The Sisters of Silence are the partner group to the Custodians," Valdor explained. "They do not have psychic presences, as J'onn has discovered."

"Apologies then," J'onn said.

"None are needed," Valdor said, and then closed the channel.

"Well, that backfired," Flash said.

"We got some information though," Batman said. "We learned about these Sisters of Silence, and that information is need to know."

"Would it hurt you to trust people?" Superman asked.

"I have no reason to trust them," Batman answered. "And they don't trust us."

"It might work better if we gave them a little," Diana said. 

"We just tried that," Batman said. "And as Flash said, it backfired."

"You are the one who said we got information from it," J'onn said. "And that we need information."

"What else can you get, J'onn?" Superman asked, trying to get everyone to stop arguing. J'onn focused again, he began to radiate sadness.

"The Emperor is a father," J'onn said. "He seems to have eighteen sons, and he is with them right now."

J'onn had been a father himself before Mars died in their own dimension. Diana put a hand on J'onn's shoulder. The others looked away, J'onn didn't like the others witnessing what he considered his weakness.

**********************************

The Emperor's voice trailed off. He had been telling the Primarchs about the Justice League. The Primarchs looked around, even the ones that were more restricted in their psychic abilities were aware of the psychic presence that had brushed against the psy-wards and the sadness that accompanied its departure.

"Was that one of them?" Magnus asked.

"Yes," the Emperor said. "J'onn J'onnz is a psyker."

"Why was he sad though?" Corvus asked. It confused him. 

"Let's go find out," Horus said. The Emperor nodded and lead his sons to the residence that the Justice League was in. He knocked on the door, and Green Lantern opened the door. 

"Hello, Lord Emperor," he said, and then stepped aside. The Primarchs flowed into the room, checking out the Justice Leaguers. Jaghatai looked excited when he spotted Flash, but kept quiet because of the somber atmosphere in the room.

"J'onn, look," Diana said, indicating the Primarchs. "The Emperor brought his sons." J'onn kept his head down.

"Hey, there's a mini Hawkman!" Flash said as he spotted Sanguinius. This caused J'onn to look up, and lock red eyes with the red eyes of Vulkan. 

"Your eyes are just like mine!" Vulkan said with a smile. 

"Indeed," J'onn said. He then noted Magnus and turned towards him. "What happened to your eye?"

"I turned it inwards to learn of myself," Magnus said. 

"You did it to yourself?" Diana asked.

"Yes," Magnus said. "I'm a powerful psyker like Father is. He could do that to his eye too if he wanted."

"So you can shape shift?" J'onn asked, changing to look more like a normal human. "Like this?"

"That's easy," Magnus said, turning into a miniature version of J'onn's human form. "I can also change into other forms." He proved this by turning into a small version of the Emperor, followed by Superman. He then changed back into himself.

"That was pretty cool," Flash said. Jaghatai approached the Flash then, less restrained as J'onn seemed to be happier.

"I'm Jaghatai Khan," Jaghatai said, introducing himself. 

"Lord Malcador mentioned someone called Jaghatai," Flash said. "He accused me of wearing your costume when I ran into him."

"I went as you once when we were celebrating Halloween," Jaghatai said. 

"That was a good choice," Flash said. Not many kids outside of Central City usually went as Flash for Halloween, everyone preferred being either Superman or Batman. The rumors said that Batman kept a tally of how many Batmans to Supermans he saw that night. Flash had yet to ask Batman if is was true.

"I liked it, I like going fast," Jaghatai said with a wide smile. The other Primarchs introduced themselves to the Justice League. Flash seemed very amused by it.

"So, we have mini-Hawkman, a mini-J'onn, and two mini-Batmans," Flash said with a chuckle. "And a mini-me."

"They only get to be mini-Batmen if they can vanish like he does," Green Lantern said.

"How about a competition to see who can hide best in this room?" Batman suggested to Konrad and Corvus, the two Flash had declared mini-Batmen.

"I like that idea," Corvus said, he knew he would win.

"Let's all turn away from them," the Emperor suggested. "No cheating." The Lion looked up at the Emperor, clearly trying to ask how he wasn't supposed to cheat. 

+Let the Justice League try to find everyone first.+ the Emperor sent, the Lion nodded and turned away from the three who were left to most of the room. They waited a few moments before turning around. All three had seemingly vanished. 

"Mundane and latent senses only," Superman said to the Justice Leaguers with him. The Emperor merely nodded his agreement. The Primarchs kept quiet, all of them had heard that they were letting the visitors go first. 

"I'm getting a strange reading," Cyborg said. "It's like one of them left an invisible imprint of themselves, but nothing seems to really be there."

"I found Batman," Sanguinius said, he was still on the floor, so no one could accuse him of cheating. Batman came down from the shadows of the ceiling where he had been hiding.

"There's Konrad," Vulkan said, pointing to another darkened corner. Konrad came out, indicating that Vulkan had been correct.

"Now where's the last one?" Diana asked. She couldn't find him anywhere. The Lion looked to the Emperor, who nodded.

"He's where Cyborg detected the strange reading," the Lion said. 

"But that's right out in the open," Cyborg said. "There's no one there."

"I am here," Corvus said, dropping out of the shadow walk. 

"Whoa," Flash said. "How'd you do that?"

"I can remove myself from the conscious thoughts of people around me," Corvus said. "It only sort of works on people with cybernetics, like Cyborg. It causes a dissonance because the bionics detect me, but the brain can't interpret it correctly."

"People with bionics still tend to rely on the organic parts of their body over the bionics," Ferrus said. "This is also true of servitors, who only have a basic consciousness."

"Then how did Lion know he was there?" Superman asked.

"I detect living things sub-consciously," the Lion said. "I don't have any conscious control over it, but it bypasses the part of my mind that the shadow walk, or wraith-slip, affects."

"Interesting," Batman said. "So you literally disappear."

"Yes," Corvus said. "Lion's about the only one who can find me when I'm doing that. Though Father can as well."

"So, are all of you psychic on some level?" J'onn asked.

"To a degree," Horus said. "It manifests in different ways for each of us."

"We know Lion's ability," Superman. "And Corvus's, what about the rest of you?"

"Most of us just have charisma," Fulgrim said.

"I can see visions of the future," Konrad said. 

"So can I," Sanguinius said. "The wings are different."

"I can slow time down a bit," Roboute said. 

"Magnus says that I have a psychic howl," Leman said. "I'm only sort of aware of it."

"It's pretty obvious if you're on the receiving end of it," Magnus said. "At least if your more psychic than Leman."

"Do we know anything about where the parademons were going?" Batman asked the Emperor. For him the fun was over, and it was time to get back on topic.

"They have all gathered in a condemned hab building," the Emperor said. "Malcador has agents checking it out."

"I would like to check it out myself," Batman said.

"I advise against that," the Emperor said. "Malcador's agents are more than capable."

"We need to trust them, Batman," Diana said.

"This is their world," Superman said. "Let them investigate, we can step in later."

"Very well," Batman said, though he seemed very annoyed with the situation.

"I do have an image that one of Malcador's agents brought back," the Emperor said. He stepped over to the cogitator unit and brought up the image.

"That's De Saad," Superman said. "He's one of Darkseid's chief lieutenants."

"He looks a bit like an evil Malcador," Horus said.

"He doesn't have the Staff of the Sigillite though," Magnus pointed out quickly.

"True," Horus said. "It's mostly just the robes, and the fact that he looks old."

"I can see that," Magnus said as he looked at the pict again. "The lighting doesn't help with that."

"The robes are a different color though," the Lion said. "This guy is wearing purple robes, Malcador's are grey."

"Correct," the Emperor said. "There are both similarities and differences."

"The similarities could cause problems," Roboute said. "The hab is condemned, but that doesn't mean that there aren't people staying there. If they mistake this De Saad for Malcador, he could cause dissent."

"Agreed," Lorgar said. "How close is the hab to the Palace?"

"Not far," the Emperor said. The Justice Leaguers were surprised at the conversation between the Emperor and the Primarchs. They saw the Primarchs as children and so it confused them that they were being involved.

"We'll need to shut this down quickly then," Rogal said. "If De Saad works up a following, they could try and storm the Palace. Then a lot of people could die, innocent people."

"True," Perturabo said. "That should be avoided if we can."

"How do we go about this?" Superman asked. "I don't have my powers."

"We will need to wait until Cawl has something," Green Lantern said.

"That is going give time for De Saad to do things," Superman said. 

"Do you have a better idea?" Batman asked. "We will need you to help with the parademons. We're going to get swarmed with them."

"I don't," Superman said, hanging his head.

"We will have to risk De Saad raising a riot," the Emperor said. "I do not like it, but it there's nothing to be done about that. We need to give Cawl the time to make a radiation catcher."

"How long do we think it will take?" Superman asked. He wasn't feeling the most patient right then. 

"It will probably be a few hours," the Emperor said. "Cawl is innovative, but eccentric. He will be focused on this task though."

"Why?" Batman asked.

"Because I told him to do it," the Emperor said. "The Mechanicum believes me to be the Machine God, and will do anything I ask of them."

"What should we do while we wait?" Flash asked.

"Perhaps we should discuss what you know about De Saad," Horus suggested. The Justice Leaguers agreed to that. 

*********************************

They went into detail, and quickly lost track of time talking about De Saad and Darkseid. Superman was able to explain quite a bit about him, and the others of Apokolips that usually went with him. The door chimed after a long time. Flash opened the door. Bellisarius Cawl stood there, holding something in his mechadentries.

"I'm looking for the xenos called the Superman," Cawl said. Flash stepped aside, allowing Cawl to enter.

"What is that?" Superman asked, indicating the thing that Cawl was holding. It looked like some form of wire-mesh netting.

"It's a radiation catcher," Cawl said. "You wear it, and it amplifies the solar radiation and transfers it to you."

"Excellent," Superman said, taking the net.

"It is vulnerable to over-heating," Cawl warned. "You should not get too close to any heat sources, or to fire."

"Alright," Superman said. "I'll try and remember that." He put the net on, spreading it out so that it covered him as well as he could.

"It will probably take a few moments for you to feel results," Cawl said. Superman nodded, just happy that he was likely to get his powers back.

"How are we going to take down De Saad with all the parademons?" Green Lantern asked. "We'll get swamped."

"Not if we go with you," Fulgrim said. 

"You are children though," Diana said.

"We are Primarchs," Ferrus said. "We are made for war. This would be nothing more than training for us."

"There would be eighteen of us," Horus said. "That would be helpful if nothing else."

"There would be twenty of us," the Emperor corrected. "Valdor and I will go with as well. There is no space restrictions this time."

"True," Horus said. He liked fighting beside the Emperor. 

"I still don't like this," Diana said. "They are very small."

"We are trained in combat," Angron asserted. "We will lead armies when we are adults."

"Angron is right," Konrad said. "We each have our own Legions we will command."

"That is for the future though," J'onn said. He didn't look at all pleased with the idea of letting the Primarchs join the fight. He didn't mind the Emperor and Valdor joining, but the Primarchs were too young for his taste.

"This won't be our first fight," Magnus said, catching some of J'onn's thoughts. "We helped fight off a robotic invasion once, and another time we fought a large group of mutants."

"We'll even have our armor this time, like with the mutants," Leman said. "Though it was fun to fight without it against the robots."

"It was fun for you," Ferrus said. "I didn't get to fight them."

"An even better reason for you to go," Fulgrim said. "You had to sit the last fight out for the most part."

"You did even the playing field again," Perturabo said to Ferrus. "That was important."

"True," Ferrus said. "But I wanted to fight as well."

"Fair enough," Perturabo said.

"You are children," J'onn said emphatically. "It is not safe for you to fight."

"It isn't safe for you to fight either," Angron said. "Adults can get hurt, just like children."

"Adults are responsible for themselves," J'onn said. "They are also responsible for keeping children safe. You are the future, and your father's legacy."

"Is that why you were sad?" Magnus asked suddenly. "When you brushed against the psy-wards?"

"Yes," J'onn said, surprised by Magnus' insight. "I was a parent, before my Mars died. I could not save my children, despite my best efforts."

"You tried," Magnus said. "That's all your children could have asked for."

"Parents also can't keep all harm from their children," Corvus said. "We need to be able to experience life, and life as we will live it. This means being able to fail, and even get hurt sometimes."

"The Primarchs are right," the Emperor said. "I do not like taking them into battle, and keep them out of it when possible. However, this is a time that they will be more helpful than leaving them out."

"How can you say that?" J'onn asked, appalled at the Emperor.

"They are important for simplification," the Emperor said. "With them we have enough numbers to fight the parademons, while also keeping innocent people safe. It also limits the amount of collateral damage that might occur."

"His logic is sound, J'onn," Batman said. "I don't like it either, but this is probably for the best."

"You'll try to be careful?" J'onn asked, looking at the Primarchs.

"Always," Horus said with a smile. 

"We should prepare then," Vulkan said. With his branding he took the longest of all the Primarchs to prepare for a battle. The Emperor nodded, and lead the Primarchs out. 

******************************

The Justice League met with the Emperor and the Primarchs near the Lion's Gate. Valdor had come to retrieve them. The Primarchs greeted them with excitement. Flash had to chuckle at the White Scars symbol that was prominent on Jaghatai's armor. 

"Did you come up with that after learning about me?" Flash asked.

"No," Jaghatai said. "I thought it looked cool, then found out about you. I had a good laugh at that as well."

"Are we ready?" Batman asked. He was more interested in getting things done. He wanted to return to his own universe. There was no telling what Joker or the other residents of Arkham might get up to if he was gone from Gotham for long. 

"Yes," the Primarchs chorused. The group headed out, moving towards the condemned hab unit. Batman, the Lion, and Corvus going on ahead and scouting the building. Corvus reported a few moments later. 

"We see them," Corvus voxed. "There's a lot of parademons."

"Any leaders besides De Saad?" Superman asked. The sun was starting to set, but his powers had returned. 

"No," Corvus said. "He seems to be the only leader, though he has several underhivers with him."

"Can you tell if they are working with him?" Valdor asked. He found fighting underhivers to be a waste of life. It was abhorrent to him. 

"Not from here," Corvus said. "I could try to get closer."

"No," the Emperor said. "Hold your position there. Keep Lion with you." 

"Yes, Father," Corvus said. He didn't seem too pleased, but understanding. The others continued to work through to the building. Flash looked like he wanted to run faster, but kept with the others.

The group arrived at the hab building, and were met by the Lion. He explained that Batman had sent him back to lead them in to where Corvus was waiting for them. Batman was on the other side of the large room that De Saad had claimed as his base of operations. 

There was a large number of parademons in the room. More than Cyborg had originally estimated. Looks of concern were shared by the Leaguers, but the Primarchs looked even more excited than before. The Emperor cautioned them all psychically to keep quiet. The underhivers looked to be a mix of captives, and those willing to work with De Saad.

They crept closer, spreading out so that they encircled De Saad and the parademons. They all looked around, finding each other. Signs were exchanged, and they began the attack on De Saad. Several falling or swooping in from above. 

It was quickly revealed that the underhivers working with De Saad were being forced to. The captives were mostly children, and the adults were trying to save them. Valdor's distaste for the situation grew. He turned his attentions to freeing the captive children. He wanted them to be able to escape, and he hoped that once free, the adults would also leave. This would reduce the number of needless casualties and weaken De Saad. However, the parademons seemed to guess his plan, bogging him down.

"The flesh is weak!" Ferrus called out, making a charge towards Valdor. Cyborg went with him, and gave the Primarch a confused glance.

"It's my battle call," Ferrus explained. "We all have our own."

"Interesting," Cyborg said. The two waded through the parademons to Valdor's side. "What's the plan here?"

"We free the captives," Valdor said. "If we can free the children, the other underhivers won't have a reason to fight us. Perhaps they can be turned against De Saad. That would also help turn the tide of this fight." 

"At the very least it gets innocents out of the way," Ferrus said as they continued forward. The parademons seemed very determinded to keep the three from the captives. It was clear that De Saad understood what they were doing, and that the captives were important. 

"Death to his foes!" Fulgrim cried as he leaped into the fray himself. His power sword humming. 

"For Caliban!" the Lion yelled as he joined in. The five of them pressed through the parademons, chipping away at the forces. However, the parademons were still too many, 

"Victorus aut mortis!" Corvus shouted as he swooped in on his flight pack, using himself as a projectile. Slamming through parademons, he cleared a path for the others to finally make it to the captives. They rushed through and cut the bonds of the captives.

"Go! Get out of here!" Valdor called out. The children, terrified, ran from the golden giant. The other underhivers saw this, and several began to follow their children out. De Saad screamed his annoyance at this development.

The Emperor approached De Saad, wading through parademons. De Saad backed away, only to back into Superman. Superman held De Saad, preventing the lieutenant of Apokolips from escaping. 

"What are we going to do with him?" Green Lantern asked.

"We have cells that should do," the Emperor said. "At least until we can get you back to your own dimension."

"Let's go then, De Saad," Superman said. Everyone headed out, J'onn bringing up the rear. Batman took over De Saad, placing manacles on him, though Superman stayed close by. However, De Saad had managed to set up a trap for the Justice League. When he was removed from the room, with only J'onn left, an explosion rocked the hab unit,

"J'onn!" Diana cried. "Fire strips him of his powers. It leaves him weak as a kitten."

"I'll get him," Superman said. 

"No, Superman," Cyborg said. "Your radiation catcher, you can't go in there."

"I'll get him," Vulkan said. He adjusted the scale cloak that he was wearing and disappeared into the flames.

"Stop him!" Flash yelled. The Emperor shook his head instead.

"Vulkan loves fire, and the cloak he is wearing is fire-proof," Corvus explained. "It's the skin of a salamander from the planet Nocturne."

"How did he get it?" Cyborg asked.

"He killed it," Leman said with a smile.

"It was a good hunt," the Lion said, also smiling. 

Vulkan came out, the size of the cloak now fully evident as he had it around J'onn as well as himself. J'onn was staggering, Vulkan's arm thrown around him. Green Lantern took J'onn from Vulkan, pushing through the others to put more distance between J'onn and the fire. 

"Are you hurt, J'onn?" Magnus asked.

"I'm alright," J'onn said. "The blast didn't harm me."

"Good," Magnus said. As they got farther from the fire, J'onn improved. Though the blast had done more damage to the building than to anything else. There was a loud groaning sound followed by a crash as part of the building gave way in front of them. 

"We need another way out," Superman said.

"I have the schematics for the building in my auspex unit," Ferrus said. "I should be able to find us an alternate route."

"Make it quick, Ferrus," Fulgrim said as there were more creaking sounds. 

"To the right," Ferrus said. "There's a stair we can use to a lower level."

"No," Konrad said suddenly. "We need to go left, the stair to the right isn't stable. De Saad will escape if we go that way."

"To the left it is then," the Emperor said. They headed to the left, and found a shaft they had to slide down. However, it was stable, and that was what was important. They followed the lower level and began to look for a way back to the higher level, as that was where the exit was. 

"There should be something a few meters ahead," Ferrus said. "It looks like a ramp."

"I don't see anything against that," Konrad said. They made the ramp, and moved further away from the damage. Fulgrim relaxed a bit when they didn't hear any creaking or groaning from the hab unit. Finally they exited the hab unit, and returned to the Palace.

"Have De Saad taken to the cells," the Emperor said to Valdor. He nodded and took over the prisoner from Batman and headed off. 

"Well, that was fun," Angron said. "Who got the highest death count?"

"Allfather," Leman said. "He always does."

"Valdor," the Lion said. "The parademons were very determined to keep us away from the captive underhivers."

"He's not here to give his number though," Angron said. "This means we need to wait."

"Yeah," the Lion said. "That's not too big of an issue though, right?"

"No," Angron said quickly. "Not at all."

"You killed the parademons you fought?" Batman growled.

"Of course we did," Horus said. "Weren't you killing the ones you fought?"

"No," Batman said sternly. "I do not kill."

"That might be a problem then," Corvus said. "We have their leader, they may try and get into the Palace to retrieve him."

"True," the Emperor said. "However, I do not think that will be too much of an issue."

"Fair enough," Corvus said. "The Custodians and Sisters of Silence can take care of them before they get too far."

"How can you be comfortable with killing your enemies?" Superman asked.

"It is the way of war," Vulkan said. "We must kill so that we are not."

"This wasn't war though," J'onn said.

"We must treat every encounter as if it is a battle," Corvus said. "That will be the reality of our adult lives, and should be what we experience."

"That doesn't make it right," Flash said.

"We had this conversation before," Sanguinius said. "It's not the best option, but we cannot grant mercy."

"We take prisoners when we can," the Lion said. "However, that's not always an option, and we don't take simple troops. It's more important to take leaders."

"It's mercy for things like the parademons," Roboute said. "Especially with what you told us."

"I guess that you are right," Flash said, though he didn't seem to like it.

"You do not have to kill," Jaghatai said. "You normally fight criminals. Law breakers, that have the possibility of being rehabilitated."

"Alright," Flash said, managing a quick smile. Valdor returned, and Angron's excitement returned with him.

"What was your death count?" Angron asked, Valdor chuckled before giving his answer.

"Fifty-seven," Valdor said. "All parademons, no underhivers."

"What was your count, Allfather?" Leman asked.

"Fifty-four," the Emperor said. "The parademons seemed more interested in protecting the captives then protecting De Saad."

"I win," the Lion said to Leman. Leman pouted at the Lion, but didn't reply.

"What do you win?" J'onn asked.

"Nothing really," the Lion said. "Mostly bragging rights."

**************************************

It took two more days before the Mechanicum was ready to send the Justice League back to their own dimension. Cyborg had helped with the basic design of the boom tubes, and the readings that he had taken at the beginning had been very important as well.

"This has saved us several days of research at least," Cawl said.

"I appreciate that," Cyborg said. None of the Justice League were fond of this dimension. They wanted to go home, both to prevent criminals, and to get away from the Imperium. 

"Thank you for providing me a way to have my powers," Superman said to Cawl. Cawl nodded, seeming distracted. He handed back the net, a pair of mechadentrites took it from Superman's hands. 

"I hope things aren't too bad in your dimension when you get there," Sanguinius said. 

"Me too," J'onn said. 

"We are ready," Cawl said. The Justice League formed up, Green Lantern had De Saad in a bright green bubble. Cawl and his fellow tech priests opened a boom tube, and it swallowed the visitors, returning them home.