...

Wait. Where was she?

It was hard to remember. There was... something wrong. Something about the silence. It was... there had been words, hadn't there? Words and words and words and... she hadn't even noticed them until they were gone. What had the words been saying? They'd seemed right, so right, and yet now that she couldn't hear them, she felt suddenly certain they'd been wrong.

What was going on here?

Something shifted in the obscurity, and an enormous presence loomed into existence.

"Hyuuga Hinata. The time has come."

------------------

Sasuke growled and sat up. "I demand an explanation."

"You and me both," returned the odd man in the red suit. "But demanding isn't going to get either of us anywhere. You're that Sasuke guy, aren't you?"

"Indeed." Sasuke clambered to his feet, glancing warily around the close, narrow room. "And you are?"

"Dude, you don't know who I am? That's sad, man, just sad. EVERYBODY knows me."

"I don't. Your name?"

The man sighed in defeat. "Flash. The Incredible Flash. The AMAZING Flash. The STUPENDOUS Flash. I'm one of the seven founding members of the Justice League, pal! You've seriously never heard of me?"

Sasuke thought about it for a moment. "I may have heard about you in the pre-mission briefings." He conceded. "Generally I do not concern myself with lesser warriors."

"Yeah? Well this 'lesser warrior' just saved your butt, pal! And with my leg half busted, I'll have you know! Those Juugo clones of yours did a number on me, but man I heal fast. Do everything fast." Despite his apparent bravado, Flash was studying his leg with a muted concern. "Still looks okay. Hurts, though."

"How exactly did you save me?" grunted Sasuke, bending to pick up his sword from the floor. "The last thing I remember, I had just defeated Superman." Technically that had been Karin, but Sasuke saw no need to stress the point.

"Yeah, don't remind me." Flash sent a glare at him. "With Supes, we might have had a chance, but thanks to you..." he shook his head in disgust. "Something funny's going on. Best guess I have is that Luthor finally got that Anti-Life thingummy working... everyone in the MetroTower is acting screwy and most of the continents got shifted into shapes spelling the word 'Luthor.'" He shrugged at Sasuke's disbelieving glance. "Trust me, I checked. Want me to run out and check again?"

Sasuke grunted in resignation and tucked his sword into his belt. "So. You 'rescued' me from Luthor's equation?"

"More like from that explosive thing in your head. I was doing a quick run-through of the Metrotower rooms, and you were the only guy not catatonic or Luthor-approved. But your eye looked like it was about to explode, so I dismantled it."

Sasuke felt his head. The cybernetic eye was still there, but a sizeable chunk of it was missing. "You possess the knowledge to do that?"

The man shrugged, with just a hint of swagger to his motions. "You're talking to the guy who dismantled a nano-tech Brainiac. You pick up some stuff in that time."

"Ah." Sasuke had NO idea who Brainiac was, or what 'nano-tech' might imply, but he decided not to show it. Instead he let out a long sigh and glared up at the ceiling. "So. Most of the world has been overcome by Luthor's genjutsu. My teammates are once again scattered and, I presume, lost to me."

"Oh nah." Flash moved aside to show some forms slumped against the wall. "They were right by you. I just picked them up and carried them over." Frowning, he added. "Not much help, though. They're dead out, just like the other ninjas."

"Indeed?" Sasuke strode over and knelt next to Karin's recumbent form. "Let us see if we can rectify that..." For a moment he seemed to concentrate deeply, then stood with a shrug. "Curious. The genjutsu's hold on her is very strong."

"Genjutsu. Riiiiiiiight." The man rubbed the back of his neck and glanced toward the door. "Listen, we can't stay here for long. Luthor seems to have this weird 'all-present knowingness' thing going on, and it's only a matter of time before he realizes there's something messed up about this basement we're in. I just hope that..."

A sudden blur, a rush of wind, the sound of the door as it finally slammed, and there was a shrimpy teenager standing before them, arm raised in an awkward salute. "Kid Flash reporting for duty, Boss Man!"

"Ah?"

"Oh, sorry. Kid Flash reporting for duty, Ultra-high Awesomest Superhero of all time!"

"Better. Whatcha got, kiddo?"

The yellow-clad teen shrugged. "Not much. Everyone outside is still acting freaky. They're all in factories, making stuff."

"Wonder why. Seems like Luthor could just think giant mechs into existence."

"Maybe he just likes to see workers in factories, I dunno. I looked, but I didn't see any of temples or anything."

"Weird. Definitely not how I would handle godhood."

"Yeah, me neither. Anyway, did a run-through of the Metro-Tower..."

"WHAT!" There was a red blur as Flash shot forward, a yellow blur as Kid Flash shot away, then a complicated whirlwind of color as the two chased each other all over the room. It finally ended with Flash, sitting on the filing cabinet, holding up Kid Flash by the ear. "I thought I told you to stay away from that place!"

"Well... yes, yes, you did," agreed Kid Flash desperately. "But Luthor's everywhere, right? It's not like he's going to be any more dangerous there than any other place!"

"All the superheroes are there! All the brainwashed superheroes, anyway."

"Superman's there."

Flash was so startled, he dropped Kid Flash. "What?"

"I saw him, I swear." Kid Flash picked himself up off the ground. "He's not brainwashed, and he's alive." A frown creased his face. "Well, sorta."

"Sorta? Sorta in what way?"

"Sorta in the half-dying-gasping-for-air-unable-to-move sort of way."

"Oh."

Sasuke simply watched the two go back and forth, blanking out the portions he didn't understand and storing away what he did. The world was under Luthor's control. Luthor was in the MetroTower. So were all the superheroes. And Superman.

"There's more." Kid Flash interjected. "While I was there, they brought in a prisoner."

"Prisoners? We still got prisoners?"

"They have a whole BUNCH of them in there. All the ninjas. I guess they're not brainwashed, just unconscious. But the one they brought in..." Kid Flash swallowed and looked down. "...It was Raven. Y'know, from the Teen Titans?"

"Really? That's weird. And she wasn't brainwashed, hmm?" Flash seemed to be thinking. "Nifty."

"Hey, Boss Man..." Kid Flash's voice sounded a little tight. "...do you think... Jinx maybe..."

"I dunno, kiddo, I dunno. If she wasn't there, probably not. But if she is, she's probably better off without us finding her." Flash walked over to Team Taka and picked up Juugo's limp form, wincing as he did so. "Cause we're about to get really crazy."

------------------

"Where... where am I?" asked Hinata frantically, glancing about her in the darkness.

"Your mind, naturally. Or rather, a secluded corner of your mind that I have managed to hide from Luthor's probing gaze." It was impossible to tell whether the Spectre's voice was booming or calm, ominous or reassuring. His presence felt both incredibly terrible and unbelievably gentle, soft and yet hard, calm and yet fierce. When she looked at his form—if what she was doing could truly be called looking—she could not say whether he was enormous or whether she was tiny. Or, for that matter, if the distinction made much difference.

"Luthor? What does he... what's going on?" Hinata felt her head, half-expecting to feel a bump or cut of some kind. "The last thing I remember, Green Lantern had just arrived and Naruto was..."

Spectre cut her off. "A great deal has happened since then. Your companions battled with the champions of Luthor, and though they won their battles, they lost the war. Something... completely unforeseen has occurred, something I had not expected."

"What?"

"Your Hokage, Hatake Kakashi has arrived here. It could not possibly have been timed worse, I was distracted and could not intervene as I did with you. The Sharingan is now in Luthor's hands."

Hinata's hands flew to her mouth. "Y-you mean h-he... He couldn't have... oh poor Kakashi-sama..."

"More importantly, Luthor has now assembled his dominance strategy. The earth, sea, and air respond to his will, and the minds of nearly all beings are tied in submission to his. It is only a matter of time before his ambitions spread to the universe."

Strangely, all Hinata could think about was Kakashi-sama's missing eye. How horrible, to have your eye ripped out like that... had he been conscious? She hoped not. It seemed unreal, that the Hokage's mismatched digit, which had always been such an integral part of him, should suddenly be gone. Was there any kind of jutsu or medical procedure that could...

With an effort she tore herself back to the Spectre's other words. "D-dominance strategy?" World domination, mind control... they didn't mean anything to her, they were just words, words that seemed far away and unrelated to this swimming darkness, but she asked anyway.

The Spectre seemed to sigh. "The Anti-Life Equation. The Moon's Eye Plan."

"Oh." That made a bit more of a connection but it was still something abstract, something academic. She tried to care. "The, um, the, um... they said in Konoha that the Moon's Eye Plan was a special genjutsu, but... but the League people... they said it was more like a..." Hinata fumbled, there really wasn't a term to encompass what the League had described. "...a god-like... world control jutsu... or something. Like in the real world." She looked up at Spectre. "But you say this is both, so... what is it?"

The question seemed to give the Spectre some trouble. "It is difficult to explain, but I will try. It is a real world, but only the illusion of a real world." Seeing Hinata's expression, he sighed. "For one with the power that Luthor now possesses, or with the power that I have possessed for eons, the reality you inhabit is very much like an illusion. It is fluid, shifting, one of countless reflections of a deeper and truer reality." The Spectre spread his hands. "In a sense, your friend Sai was correct... this world is a genjutsu, as is Konoha. Both are merely illusions of a primary reality. You, in fact, are merely a reflection of a deeper, greater Hinata found elsewhere in the cosmos. The Superman of this world is real, yet he is merely an imitation of a greater Superman who is more real yet." He eyed her doubtfully. "Do you understand?"

"I... think so." Mostly she didn't and just wanted him to stop, but some small, instinctive part of herself grasped at the meaning of his words and understood them.

"Mmm." Spectre did not seem satisfied, but he continued nonetheless. "What you MUST understand is that Luthor does not possess the true Equation."

Hinata blinked. "B-but you j-just said..."

"I said he had assembled his dominance strategy, which he terms the Anti-Life Equation. But it is false. A mathematical proof that the universe belongs to Luthor. Fah!" Hinata would not have guessed that an angel could show such disgust. "If the universe did belong to him, why would he need an equation to prove it? More, if the equation can be used to seize control of others, how would anyone be able to know it without being seized themselves? No, what Luthor possesses, even with the Sharingan, is a pale, twisted copy that fools the listener into believing HE controls the universe."

"So it IS a genjutsu," said Hinata, who was still on the last point.

"Many years ago, the observer Metron took Luthor to the Source Wall to find the Anti-Life Equation. Metron understood neither the Source Wall nor the Equation, he knew only that they were related and that the only chance of stopping Darkseid lay in them. Metron lacks the courage to act, he merely observes. But Luthor leapt into the Source Wall in search of the Anti-Life Equation."

The Spectre closed his eyes in deep thought. "What he saw there is impossible to describe. The truth of the universe, perhaps, is the best term. The most understandable term? He saw the true Anti-Life Equation, which is neither an equation nor Anti-Life, but indeed the very essence thereof."

Hinata blinked again. "Um-m... I'm sorry... what happened?"

A sigh. "To know the Equation, the secret of the universe, is to be acquainted with your position and importance in it. You see perfectly how you fit within the great song, how all things have happened and will happen. You see, Hinata, the connections between all the dots and the overall picture that they form. THIS is what Luthor saw, what Darkseid saw, what amazed them both with its beauty and glory."

"But to know the Equation is also to surrender yourself to it, or so Luthor thought. Both he and Darkseid strove to master the Equation, only to find the feat impossible. What emerged from that struggle was neither Luthor nor Darkseid, but the most defiant and ambitious parts of both, merged into a single being." Spectre shrugged suddenly. "More Luthor than Darkseid... the ruler of Apokolips has always felt assured in his mere existence, while Luthor has constantly fed on nothing but ambition." Shaking off the comparison, he continued. "But in tearing themselves free, they lost much of the Equation, and have spent the intervening years building up a twisted copy that allows them dominion over the earth."

"O-ok-kay..." Hinata glanced away. "Um.... What do you want me to do about it?"

"We have a breathing spell." Spectre answered. "Luthor's power is not adapted to your world, and he cannot control you and your friends. My power renders you absolutely invulnerable, though I have hidden this from Luthor's inspection. Yet you are still only one agent."

The Spectre's enormous visage loomed closer. "Your gift to the girl Ino gave you a connection to her. Reach out with your mind and find her, I shall give you all the power you need. It is vital that I speak with the sealed ones."

"The... sealed ones?" Hinata asked, brow already furrowed in concentration.

"The demons. I must speak with the Kyuubi no Yoko and Trigun the Destroyer."

------------------

"...honest, Superman. Have you ever seen your friends so happy?"

J'onn blinked his eyes, tried to focus.

"So serene?"

Something was wrong, J'onn knew that immediately. Where had the words gone? Momentarily, he blundered about in the sudden freedom, but quickly recovered himself and began to carry on as before. He felt a sudden relief, as if a great weight had been lifted.

No. No, something was NOT wrong, rather perhaps something had finally gone right. There had been something dangerous about the words, something deadly that he'd been fighting. He remembered that now. The words had been tearing at his soul, he'd felt the pain of their perversion as cleanly as if hooks had dug into his body and twisted him into a whole new shape. They'd been so utterly, oppressively, irresistably false. His Martian soul knew that now.

And now his mind was catching up. Brainwashing. Anti-Life Equation. Luthor. That was Luthor on the balcony above. Beside him was... Clark? Was that Clark?

J'onn just barely kept himself from stumbling and realized immediately the danger. His comrade's minds were closed to him, he could feel that much already. They must all be under Luthor's control. Superman probably wasn't—J'onn felt rather than saw him leave with Luthor—but if he tried to contact HIM, Luthor would inevitably sense it and all his former friends would be on him. In fact, the only reason they hadn't hit him YET was because they somehow hadn't caught on that he'd broken free.

And yet, how could they NOT know? Luthor ought to have sensed the minute the Anti-Life Equation was expelled from J'onn's mind. Come to think of it, he ought to have seen that J'onn wasn't following the exact steps he wanted him to.

Except I was...

J'onn's eyes almost widened in realization. He could still hear the equation, still hear the ritualistic Loneliness plus fear plus... but it no longer had control over him. He now knew the place Luthor wished him to occupy, and subconsciously, he did so.

But at any moment I might stop...

How was this even possible? More to the point, how had he broken free in the first place? There'd just been the words, always the words, the words that even now itched at his brain, and then... then there'd...

There'd been another voice. It was only there a moment, but it'd sounded something like "Ino?"

------------------

"No... that's not her... Wait. Yes. I can feel her. Yes, she's there." Hinata's brow creased in concentration. "But... I can't wake her up."

"That is because I do not wish you to. It would expose us. No, I merely wished you to form the connection so that we might call on her abilities."

"You're possessing her?" Hinata yelped.

"Nothing so crude. I am merely using accessing the links she has already formed. There are a great many, she touched many minds during her dementia. Ah... there they are." The Spectre waved a vast hand. "Come, Trigon. Come, Kyuubi no Yoko. It is I, Uriel of the Rod and the Chalice, who summon you."

Hinata stumbled backwards with a startled cry as two great cats-eyes flamed suddenly into life. An immense, orange-gold form stalked into the light, twitching all nine of its great tails. Its malice pierced Hinata through in a thousand knifing blades of flickering hate. Even Naruto's manifestation had not prepared her for such a sensation. "Uriel." It snarled. "What do you want?"

"Why do you summon me?" The sense of malice grew even stronger now, the very air seemed crushed out of Hinata's lungs by an overpowering weight. The voice was old as worlds and solemn as death, and its sound made the flesh on Hinata's skin grow cold and dead as another figure loomed into the light. He was even greater than Kyuubi, far greater than Hinata should have been able to see from her tiny position on the ground, and yet she clearly beheld all of him—a vast crimson figure like a man, crowned with ash-white hair and stag-like horns above four glowing yellow eyes. "Why do you risk the wrath of Trigon?"

"I risk summoning Trigon for the same reason that Trigon answers," snorted the Spectre, and instantly Hinata felt the weight lift. "Because no other choice is left. It gives me no pleasure to consort with demons, yet it seems that so God has willed."

"And as God has willed it, you will do, even if he wills you to corrupt yourself in the deepest dregs of a shithole, eh, Uriel?" snorted Trigon. "Have you no pride?"

Spectre did not even blink. "No. Pride is a sin. Therefore I have none."

"Hah!" Trigon spat and jerked a massive thumb at Kyuubi. "Must I be suffered to speak in the hearing of this whelp?"

"Shut your stupid mouth, Trigon," snarled back the Kyuubi. "Or maybe I should have your daughter shut it for you. At least some of us can bear this silently."

"Not so silently, Divided One. Where are your brethren? Are you the only one foolish enough to venture to a world marked for me? Or have they also fallen to children?"

Kyuubi hissed. "As if you're one to speak of being defeated by brats, Corpse-Sucker."

"Enough." Spectre did not raise his voice, yet the single calm word silenced the roaring of the two demons. "You two have both been summoned. You cannot leave until I wish it, and I do not yet wish it, hence you shall both suffer the other's company, whether you will it or no."

Trigon growled. "Others show more respect, Spectre."

"But I do not. I show respect only to those worthy, and you, fallen ones, are not worthy of anything, least of all respect. I would smite you both to hell, were you not there already."

At this both demons broke into a laugh, Trigon's a deep, throaty booming, Kyuubi's a snarling chuckle. "True, true," snickered Kyuubi. "We are both in hell, both bound to pitiful brats who refuse our power. What're you going to do about it, Watchdog? What have you to threaten us with? Will you banish us from our flesh-bags?"

"Both your hosts have been rendered immobile by the mortal Luthor. You know this. And you also know that it will take all my strength merely to hold him at bay, therefore I can hardly do that and banish you." Spectre's gaze did not flicker. "Indeed, it is because of this moment that I have not banished you already. Play no games, sealed ones. You know what I seek."

Kyuubi's teeth widened in a malicious grin. "True. But why should we give it to you?"

"So a human has twisted the Eternal Mandate to his own ends. What of that?" Trigon shrugged his massive shoulders. "This world shall be mine, soon or late, the hour makes little difference. Luthor's power stretches neither to me nor to my host. I am not one to be bound by hedgepenny sorcery such as this. At present, it amuses me to see discord in the Great Song."

Kyuubi wagged its furry head up and down. "Exactly. You know us, Uriel, discord is the only kind of fun we ever get, being in Hell and all."

"Small comfort," snorted the Spectre. "As you should know, there is never any true discord in the Great Song, only dissonance that adds to make the melody sweeter still. Yours is an occupation foredoomed to failure."

Hinata turned aside her head. It was too much, too much! In her mind, she heard not merely their words but also their intent, far greater and more subtle than words could convey. Her mind was not made for such things... SHE was not made for such things. This conversation was utterly beyond her.

The darkness seemed to flicker slightly, and the demons glanced around in confusion. "The conduit is disturbed," mused Trigon. "How...?"

"Oh HO!" Kyuubi had finally caught sight of Hinata. "Well THIS is amusing! So you too, Uriel, are bound to a brat? Ha! Truly angels have no pride." He bent low, his enormous muzzle sniffing Hinata up and down. "I know this one, I nearly killed her once or twice." He reared back and grinned at Spectre. "What might you be doing with her?"

"What game do you play at, Rod-Keeper?" demanded Trigon, now studying Hinata also. "What means this?"

"A ruse," answered Spectre, somewhat stiffly. His eyes were now bent on Hinata also. "A trick to hide amidst Luthor's prisoners and keep him blind to my presence. She is no host, she is merely an channeler."

"Ah. And the channel is disturbed because she comprehends nothing of our speech."

"A ruse? From you?" Kyuubi laughed and laughed. "Oh, Uriel, this IS pleasing. I should not have expected you capable of such games. And yet you did not tell the brat what she was getting into, did you?" Leaning forward again, he brought his enormous toothy face within inches of Hinata. "Well. Shall I tell you, kit, what is going on? Shall I tell you why the all-powerful Spectre is forced to beg for help from demons?" Without waiting for an answer he continued. "Because he cannot defeat Luthor, little one. He is an angel and so he cannot defeat Luthor. Only a demon dares to break the Eternal Mandate."

------------------

"See, Luthor can't sense the kiddo and me," explained Flash at a restroom in what had been Paris. Sasuke, using a nearby toilet to throw up, paid him only the barest attention. "Cause we're awesome and tied into the Speed Force and yadda yadda."

"But if anyone alive sees us, he knows it instantly." Kid Flash added as they entered a deserted store in Texas. Seeing a nearby sink, Sasuke rushed for it and had just enough time to get in two or three good hurls before a red arm grabbed him around the waist and they were off again.

They barreled into a handy skyscraper in Hong Kong. "So we need to keep moving, you see, to stay one step ahead." The words just barely registered with Sasuke as he scrambled for the window, leaned over, and unleashed the contents of his stomach. The people on the street below looked up.

"See, THAT'S why we don't do that," complained Flash thirty seconds later, as they collapsed, exhausted and slightly injured, in an outpost in Greenland. "Luthor knows we're missing, and he's kinda got a chip on his shoulder about me." A grin twisted the edge of his mouth. "I took him out the last time he got this high." The grin faded, and he continued, "So anyway, he's looking for us, even if it's only with a corner of his mind."

Kid Flash, just racing in the door with a limp Suigetsu in his arms, shot a glare over at Sasuke. "Doesn't help that you're with us, Mr. Dark and Angsty."

Sasuke, who was too busy trying to vomit the last bits of his stomach out, made no reply.

"Dude." Flash leveled a glare at his sidekick. "Remember the Super-Awesome-Nice-Guy-Code-of-Hero-Stuff."

Sighing, Kid Flash dumped Suigetsu unceremoniously to the ground. "Right. Look, can I just leave the other two for a bit? Hong Kong's cooled down a bit now, they should be good for another minute or so."

"Get the girl first, I'll grab the big one."

They must have left, but either because of their speed or his delirium, Sasuke didn't really notice. One second they were there, the next they were... also there, but with Juugo and Karin. Much help the Sharingan is these days. He thought bitterly.

"Why are we tugging around Team Comatose, anyway?" whined Kid Flash.

"C'mon, man. They're among the few people NOT trying to kill us." Flash laid down Juugo with barely a wince. "If we can get them back online, we raise the odds from 3 to 6 billion to... 6 to 6 billion. See? Much better." Flash shrugged. "Besides, we need to figure out how to wake them up."

Kid Flash blinked. "...why?"

"So we can wake up the others back in the Tower! Duh!"

"Is... that... the plan?" Sasuke managed to grunt, in between vomit attempts. "Wake up... the others?"

Flash and Kid Flash glanced at him as if noticing him for the first time. Then Flash gave a long-suffering sigh. "Hey kid, tell Gloomy here our multi-purpose, one-size-fits-all battle strategy."

"Yes sir!" Kid Flash faced Sasuke and gave a cocky grin. "Run like heck!"

Sasuke stared at him for a moment, waiting. "That's it?"

"That's it!"

"Run like heck. The essence of all strategy." Flash nodded approvingly. "The only things you have to figure out are little things like where and for how long. Oh, and maybe what you'll do along the way. But that's the sort of stuff you can usually sort out en route. If you're a quick thinker."

"Which we are." Kid Flash buffed his glove on his suit.

"Yes. Yes we are," agreed Flash, shooting his apprentice a look of approval. "So. That's what we've been doing."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. "Running around aimlessly and figuring out destinations as they come to you?"

"Pretty... much, yeah." Flash nodded. "Oh, I mean, I've got a pretty good idea of our END destination... the MetroTower, where we wake up your friends and rescue Superman before pounding Luthor's ass... but if we go there now, while he's still out looking for us, he'll figure it out immediately and probably kill them all before we can even do anything."

"So this is distraction."

"Yeah. Basically we need to wear out his mind." Flash bit his lip. "Will probably take a while."

Shaking his head and sighing, Sasuke stood to his feet. "Look. I don't like you, or you, and I don't particularly like any of those ninjas you have back in the MetroTower. But I like Luthor even less right now."

Both Flashes glanced at each other. "Is this going somewhere?" asked Flash.

"Just so you understand why I'm helping you." Sasuke's fingers wove in a complex seal and electricity crackled in front of him, quickly shifting and solidifying into three familiar figures.

"Dude!" Kid Flash was already on his feet. "That's me!"

"Me too." Flash nodded, grinning. "And aren't I a handsome devil."

"Thanks man. You don't look so bad either," replied the Flash clone, giving a cocky smile.

Flash's grin froze in place. "That's freaky."

"Raiton clones," explained Sasuke, barely glancing at his double as he walked past them. "They take less chakra than the Kage Bunshin clones that Naruto's always forming, but they're still not my specialty, I used a lot of chakra on them."

"So this plan of yours BETTER be good." The Sasuke clone glared.

"They can't run as fast as you—"

"Well duh."

"Hey! Let's put this to a race, Pajama man!"

"—but they should be enough to fool Luthor for a few moments," continued Sasuke, ignoring the argument. "I suggest you go and put them in an evident location, then come back and bring me to the MetroTower."

"And... how're we going to wake up the ninjas?" Kid Flash asked, returning to a suddenly empty room.

Sasuke shrugged as the other Flash materialized. "Figure it out on the way."

------------------

"An angel is an agent of order, and what is the Anti-Life Equation, if not order?"

"I am an agent of GOD'S order," growled the Spectre. "All other order is but mockery."

"But a demon, ah, a demon is all about chaos."

Trigon frowned. "You betray your ignorance, lap-dog. I, for one, am in favor of an absolute order erected under myself. Or indeed, most formations of order, if only God is not at the head."

"Thus, only the perfect chaos of a demon can combat the order of the Anti-Life Equation."

"Oh, really, Kyuubi." Trigon spat. "You grossly misrepresent the situation. Surely even the child knows that your 'Moon's Eye Plan' depends on a demon."

"The brat is but a mortal, and a foolish lovesick one at that," snarled Kyuubi in response. "She has neither the mind nor the strength for the full explanation."

"At least allow me to give her a more believable lie." Trigon loomed closer, his great yellow eyes burning into her. "Child, even the most powerful beings are bound by their own natures. Spectre is an angel and cannot tell anything but the truth. He can use your unique spiritual energy—your 'chakra'—as a link to overpower your friends minds with the truth and wrench them away from Luthor's control."

"Overpower?" Hinata blinked.

"Oh, he did not tell you that?" Trigon aimed a malicious grin at Spectre. "Spectre, as I said, does not lie, but he sometimes does not tell you the whole truth. Spectre can counter Luthor's false Anti-Life Equation only with the TRUE one—the one he and all angels and demons know. But to know it is to be bound by it, as Luthor nearly discovered. He will free your friends from Luthor's influence, yes, but only to place them under his own. He means to bring you under the Tyranny of Truth."

"But... if it's true..." Hinata stared quizzically at Trigon's gleaming eyes. "Aren't we under it already?"

Kyuubi's loud raucous laughter filled the darkness, and Trigon growled. Out of the corner of her eye, Hinata saw Spectre's mouth twitch. "Well noted, Hyuuga Hinata. I but return you to your natural state."

"Yes, well..." Trigon waved Spectre to silence. "He cannot do this with the rest of the world, as they have no chakra. Nor can he do this with Luthor, although he possesses chakra, in his current form. Luthor will not accept it, or any other idea that requires him to realize he is under another's control. That is how he escaped originally. Thus, to fully defeat Luthor, a lie is needed—a powerful, believable lie which only a demon can create."

"You also twist and obscure the truth of the matter."

"A war of ideas?" Kyuubi sneerd. "That's your 'more believable lie'?"

"What is the world formed of, if not ideas?" returned Trigon. "For such as us, all of existence is but illusory, formed of thoughts. Truth and Lies make up all the cosmos."

Spectre glared. "They do not. Your explanation to the girl is sorely wanting and intentionally misleading."

Shrugging, Trigon receded away from Hinata. "Do you wish to add your explanation to the mix?"

"No. As you say, I cannot lie, and no human can bear the full truth." Spectre faced Hinata. "Understand the essence at least. I require the peculiar aid that a demon, and only a demon, can provide. Luthor will not be stopped by the truth, and in his current body he cannot be killed. Thus, much as it galls me, I must request and demand the help of my greatest enemies."

"Demand?" Trigon lifted his massive eyebrows. "A strong word, Heavenly Executioner. You are in no position to demand anything. I am perfectly content to watch Luthor twist the Great Song to his will. Anything that perverts the will of your Master amuses me."

"And I," yawned the Kyuubi, "am not of this world, and care little what happens to it. The only beings I know are helpless, which suits me very well."

"So then. You are content that your hosts should remain slaves?"

Trigon smiled a great slow smile. "I have no host, merely a conduit, and though she has forestalled me once, another time will come. What matters when, for one as ageless as I?"

"For me, I couldn't care less what happens to the brat. Luthor can't use him to control me. And, if he kills him, I shall merely manifest myself back in my home." With a shrug, Kyuubi observed, "it would be the quickest way back."

"But this is a chance to do good!" exploded Spectre, as if unable to understand why no one would want to do such a thing. "A final chance to redeem yourselves in the eyes of the Almighty!"

"If it is final, at least we shall not have to refuse it again." Kyuubi's toothy grin gleamed in the gloom. "Nothing delights us more than to offend the Almighty."

"Reprobate!" hissed Spectre, pale eyes burning with rage. "The pits of Sheol are too good for you, bone-crunchers and corpse-suckers! Return then to your everlasting torments and your hopeless struggles, it matters not! The will shall..."

"Ex-excuse me..."

It takes great courage to interrupt the Wrath of God, particularly when he is raging at two unwilling demons. But Hinata barely flinched as all three turned to regard her. "Ummm... you said his current body." At Spectre's uncomprehending glance she hurried to explain. "Luthor cannot be killed in his current body. You said that." Hesitating for a moment, she looked up and asked, "Does he have another one?"

Spectre nodded, momentarily distracted. "The Darkseid part of him can also physically manifest, yes. But more crucially, he has gained the ability to transfer his consciousness to other bodies."

"Possess people?"

"More than that. The transfer is difficult and very taxing, yet none the less dangerous for that. The effect is permanent, and irreversible. Any body he inhabits will die as soon as he leaves it."

Hinata's eyes were growing wider. It's like Orochimaru. "Could he do that to us? To Naruto-kun?"

"Possibly. At the moment I think he is planning to use Superman's body, once he has fulfilled his revenge. But should that prove impractical... yes, I think he could possess Naruto."

Hinata's eyes grew cold and hard.

"Wait a minute." Kyuubi shot into the light, straight in front of the Spectre. "If he did that, he'd be in control of me, wouldn't he?"

"The Equation has no effect on our kind, lapdog." Trigon's voice was full of scorn.

"I know that, World-Sitter!" snapped Kyuubi in return. "But the seal the Fourth placed on me does! If he gains control of the brat, he gains control of me!"

"More so than Naruto, I would think." Spectre nodded slowly. "Luthor has both more intelligence and, surprising as it is, more will than Uzumaki Naruto does. He would certainly gain a far, far better control over you than Naruto has."

Kyubi growled, he snapped, he turned around three or four times, and all his tails twitched ferociously. Finally he stopped. "Then I have no choice, do I?"

"No." The corner of the Spectre's mouth twitched again. "Ironic, that even a demon is bound by his nature."

"Be silent, Watchdog," snarled Kyuubi. "I shall spin your lie for you, and that is all. But know you this, it is NOT to redeem myself, nor to accomplish any kind of good. It is against my will I aid you."

"And I shall not do so at all." Trigon's form began to fade into the darkness. "I am not bound by a host, I have nothing to fear from Luthor's possession. But I shall not hinder you. I shall merely watch."

"Watch then, and be damned." Spectre replied coolly. He turned to Hinata. "Well, are you ready, Hyuuga Hinata? My power must flow through you, as yours must through Ino, to all your friends, therefore your willingness is required. Will you let me do this?"

Hinata's gaze was as hard as flint. "Yes."

"Then let us awaken the sleepers."

------------------

"I don't get it." Kid Flash frowned at the door. "Luthor's got ungodly power, and he puts an electronic lock on this thing? Why not just seal the room entirely?"

"Luthor's mind thinks in locks." Flash shrugged. "He can't help himself. Though I will admit that's the first chess-based lock I've seen."

Sasuke didn't bother to comment. The door was glass, as was the wall it was set in, and through it he could see all the other ninjas, lying each on their separate bed, sustained by various life-support devices. For some reason, the sight of his old teammates, helpless in such a state, affected him... unusually.

"Well, whatever." Kid Flash strode confidently forward. "There can't be more than 9000 combinations to this game, right? This shouldn't take long."

"Wait!" Flash blurred in front of him. "Omniscience, remember? The first wrong answer will probably set it off!" Another blur, and he was in front of Sasuke, gripping his sword arm. "Or the first attempted breach! The second he knows we're here, everyone in that room is dead!"

Sasuke glared back. "I'm sure you'd be fast enough to save at least half. Do you have any better strategies?"

"Well, no..."

"Then think fast, because one way or another..."

"Uh... guys?" Kid Flash's nervous voice broke in on them. "There's something... sorta freaky going on here."

Both of them turned to behold something very strange. A dark shadow, much like a snake, had just darted out of the ventilation shaft and was gliding toward them at a disquieting rate of speed. It shot to the wall, up to the lock, and immediately began working out the chess game.

Sasuke was slightly less confused as the others. Shikamaru. But how? Even if he was here and conscious, even if he could stretch his shadow so far, even if, conceivably, he knew where the ninjas were, how could he play the chess game without even seeing it? At most, he couldn't have had more than a glimpse of the starting position...

Could you really determine the entire course of a game, and your responses to it, from a single starting position? Was that even possible?

With a little beep, the lock clicked open. A blur of red and yellow filled the room, and suddenly the entryway was filled with eleven limp bodies.

"So... we got them." Kid Flash glanced to his mentor. "Now... how exactly were we going to wake them up again?"

"That was always kind of the fuzzy part of the plan." Flash admitted, rubbing his chin. "Maybe we could link them with the Speed Force?"

Kid Flash blinked. "Would that work?"

"No idea. Don't really want to try, to be honest, last time I did that I almost didn't come back." He sighed. "Still, if there's no other way..."

Hinata's eyes snapped open. Then Ino's. Then Tenten, Sai, and Naruto, and before Sasuke knew what was happening the whole room of ninjas was getting to its feet.

Flash blinked. "Well... that took care of itself."

Kid Flash's mind was on something else entirely. "Um... boss? Where did we leave Team Comatose again?"

Flash's eyes widened in sudden understanding. "The reactor..."

An explosion rocked the complex. In one second both Flashes were gone. In two they were back with Suigetsu and Karin. In three they returned, badly bruised, with a raging Juugo.

And in four seconds, the wall to the entryway vanished entirely, revealing an enormous figure sheathed in gleaming black armor, and behind him, the indistinct shapes of a hundred League heroes.

"So," said Darkseid. "It seems you found a way to circumvent my control after all. No matter. I find this uprising amusing, and crushing it will cement my control more firmly yet. Attention Luthor League!" He gestured, and the room behind him stood upright. "Destroy them!"

And the entire roomful of metas charged at the ninjas.