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Jason sat on a rickety chair that looked like it had been salvaged from five different pieces of furniture and assembled by someone who had given up halfway. The bunker was small, underground, and depressingly bare...a bed in the corner with a thin mattress, a table made of stacked crates, a few rusted cans of food that had probably expired before the multiverse collapsed. Dove had been living here for years. Jason couldn't imagine a worse existence.
"So," he said, leaning back, "what's your story? Why are you here in this terrible place?"
Dove sat across from him on the edge of her bed, picking at a loose thread on her sleeve. Her eyes were distant, unfocused, as if she was looking at something far away.
"Oh, where can I start?" She laughed a hollow, bitter sound. "I mean, I actually don't know. One moment I was a dead woman. Next, I was here." She gestured vaguely at the walls, the ceiling, the oppressive darkness beyond. "I guess this is Hell, huh? I mean, I did fail to save my family. My friends. The people of Earth." Her voice caught. "I watched my husband get killed in front of me." She looked up at Jason, her expression hardening. "So... yeah. What about you? Why are you in Hell?"
Jason narrowed his eyes. "Hmm. Are you joking? Or do you actually think this is Hell?"
"You don't?" She tilted her head, studying him. Then she grinned sharp, knowing, a little mad. "Oh, is that how demons get to people? So I didn't crack like the rest. They send a demon like you to make me feel like this is a normal place, and then I get hope." She leaned forward, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "BOOM. I figure out that I'm in Hell and I start to lose hope. Right?" She sat back, satisfied. "Yeah. Nice try."
She picked up a half-rotted apple from the crate table and took a bite out of the good side, chewing with deliberate nonchalance.
Jason watched her for a moment. Then he smiled not cruelly, not mockingly, but with something almost like pity.
"I'm guessing this place really did break you. Huh?"
"No, it didn't." Dove's voice was too quick, too defensive. "I'm fine, really. Thanks for worrying, demon guy."
"My name is Jason."
"Quite an odd name for a demon."
Jason sighed. "Once again, I'm not a demon. Nor is this place Hell." He held her gaze, steady and serious. "I'd know. I'm literally the King of Hell."
Dove blinked.
"Hell's fucked up," Jason continued. "But not like this. Nor do people like you deserve to be in it."
Dove stared at him. Then she laughed a sharp, incredulous bark. "Oh, how cute. Am I supposed to believe that?" She set the apple down and crossed her arms. "Let me guess. You have a way out, and you'll help me? Right? Then we leave this place and live happily ever after?" Her eyes narrowed. "Or let me guess once I reach the doorway out, you reveal yourself as the demon Jason, and BOOM. I'm depressed. Angry. Betrayed." She spread her hands. "I break. Quite a good idea, really. I think it would've worked for others." She jabbed a finger at her chest. "Not me, though."
Jason leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Yeah. You've truly cracked."
"I haven't..."
"I don't blame you." His voice was calm, unhurried. "But I'll tell you what this place is. This is where the remains of the Dark Multiverse were thrown. That's why there are so many evil Batmans running around." He paused, letting her process. "I do need your help. But I'm not here to get you out. I'm here to destroy something and dip. The fucker who runs this place has been attacking my Earth for a while."
Dove looked at him for a long moment.
"Cute."
Jason sighed again, the sound heavy with patience wearing thin. "Look. Think what you will. But I have a family and friends to get back to. Yes, I can help you out. No, I'm not a demon. As I said, I am the King of Hell." He ticked off points on his fingers. "No, I don't plan on breaking your heart at the last second to destroy you. I think you're already broken enough." He met her eyes. "What I'm looking for is simple. A massive dark gate somewhere here. My objective is to destroy it. And dip."
Dove's expression shifted. The suspicion remained, but something else crept in beneath it curiosity, perhaps. Uncertainty.
"You're... really not a demon."
"No, love." Jason shook his head. "Demons don't do torture this way. You lose your powers in Hell, and the torture is more psychological than physical." He stood up, stretching his shoulders. "Now. Have you seen a massive dark gate anywhere around here?"
Dove was quiet for a moment. Then, slowly, she nodded.
"Yes. Kinda. I mean, I've only seen it once, and I almost died." She hugged her arms to her chest. "It's protected by one of those batfreaks."
She stared at him, her brow furrowing. Then her expression tightened.
"No. No, this is Hell. You're tricking me." She slapped herself lightly, but deliberately. "I mean, it's obvious, right? I'm Dove, and all those things are variants of a Bat. Batman." She laughed, the sound unhinged. "Yeah, antithesis of ME. Hehe." Her eyes went wide. "Is that your torture for me? Huh?"
Jason didn't answer immediately. Instead, he asked, "Why did you try to protect me back there? If you're this suspicious?"
Dove hesitated. Her bravado flickered, just for a moment.
"I mean... I thought you were a survivor. Like me."
"There are others?"
Dove's face fell. "There used to be. All dead now." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm the only one left."
"Let me guess." Jason tilted his head. "You think that's because this is YOUR Hell, too?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Maybe..."
"Look." Jason crouched down in front of her, bringing himself to her eye level. "I get it, okay? I don't know how long you've been here. But I once again explain....this is NOT Hell. It's a throwaway universe of broken worlds." He gestured around them. "Such as yours. I assume."
Dove's lips pressed together. "I mean... yeah. My world is fucked up. But like..."
"How did it happen?"
The question hung in the air. Dove looked away, her jaw working.
"Well." She swallowed. "Do you know anything about the Black Lantern Corps?"
Jason narrowed his eyes.
"They took over. Turned everyone into zombies." Dove's voice was flat now, detached, as if she was reciting facts from a history book rather than her own life. "We tried to resist. We did really well, too." A pause. "But one day, they figured out our hideout. Killed everyone inside." Her hands twisted in her lap. "I survived. Ran and ran and ran." She looked up at him. "Until suddenly, I was here."
Jason was silent for a long moment. Then he spoke, his voice quieter than before.
"I see." He sat back on his heels. "I feel bad for you. But to be honest, your world was deleted. Neutered. Considered a failure." He held up a hand before she could interrupt. "Not because of anything you did. Or your world. It's more like... the multiverse you came from was made by a very dark and evil entity that wanted to spread evil."
He let that sink in.
"It wasn't your fault. Or your resistance's fault. Your world was just destined to become evil, regardless of what you did." He met her eyes. "If anything, you should be proud of yourself. Staying good after all of that." He nodded slowly. "You truly deserve no Hell, Dove."
Dove stared at him.
Her eyes were wet. She didn't wipe them.
She didn't speak.
Jason stood up. "Look. I gotta go now. Find that gate." He glanced toward the bunker's exit. "If you want to come with, feel free. But I won't promise that you'll be safe." He looked back at her. "I promise you that if there's a way out, I'll find it. And help you leave."
He turned and walked toward the door.
"You're not a demon."
Jason stopped. He looked over his shoulder.
Dove sat on the edge of her bed, her hands clasped in her lap, her expression raw and open and terrified.
"Right?"
Jason shook his head. "No."
Dove was quiet for a moment. Then she stood up.
"I trust you." Her voice was steady, even as her hands trembled. "And I won't regret it."
Jason faced her fully. "I can't promise anything. Our enemies are strong. I expect them to be."
"Just say yes." Dove walked toward him. "Say I can trust you."
Jason held her gaze. "You can trust me. I plan to defeat them. And destroy that gate."
Dove stopped in front of him. She studied his face searching for the lie, the trick, the demon behind the eyes. She found nothing.
"Okay." She nodded. "I'll go with. I'll show you where it is." A shaky breath. "I'm not strong like you. I've been here for years, and I haven't found a way to kill any of them." She gestured at him. "Yet you killed two." She squared her shoulders. "You're my only hope out of here. So fuck it." A small, fragile smile. "I'm down."
Jason smiled back. "Good. Let's go defeat us some fucked-up Bruce Waynes."
Dove blinked. "Bruce Waynes?"
"Yeah." Jason turned toward the exit. "Batman."
He was already walking when Dove's voice stopped him.
"WAIT!"
Jason looked back.
Dove stood frozen in the middle of the bunker, her eyes wide as saucers, her mouth hanging open.
"BRUCE WAYNE IS BATMAN?!"
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If you Like this story! Check out my other story ! Shadow Monarch in Danmachi!
AND
If you wish to read more or simply support me just because ? than check out my patréon at
"https://www.patréon.com/Riadooo"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want !