Hey guys! It is I, the phoenix, FINALLY back with a chapter of the new and improved Hero Complex!

I know it took a bit of time, but after the last failure I had to take a bit of time in order to go over everything and see where it went wrong.

My conclusion? I wasted too much time on Micheal's preparation phase without getting into any actual action, which was a big mistake. In my fear of the DCU's crazy powers, I wanted to make my OC slowly go into the DCU after preparing himself, because intelligence trumps power in almost every case in this Universe.

However, I spent too long on it, and people got bored. Some also thought that I gave him too much to start off with, which made him seem Gary Stuish. I can see why one might think that, but if you actually take the time to look up the kind of feats DC Heroes and Villains are capable of, then you'll see that even with all those resources Micheal was still at a severe disadvantage, because the power of a Heroic Spirit will hardly leave a dent in the opponents that actually matter.

Adding Neo was the boiling point I guess. The new Hero Complex is strictly an Infinite Dendrogram and DCU crossover, so the most I'll do is add a Dendrogram character, but that is all.

And on the subject of the Embryo, the winner of the Poll was Tyr, Maiden of Justice. I had everything planned out and was about to go for it when suddenly, I received a Review, and watched the new Harley Quinn and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.

How are those two even related, you ask?

Well, the Review finalized my decision about the Embryo and my NEW OC, Magnus Grey's Job Build as well as backstory, while JJBA, especially my second favorite part, Golden Wind, along with Harley Quinn giving me quite the laugh and a little more appreciation for some of Gotham's Villains, helped me decide the general plot direction of this story.

Basically, I was asked about a certain Build and if I would incorporate it into my OC, and received a suggestion to make his Embryo Brynhildr, in homage to the fact that SIGURD was going to be Micheal's Heroic Spirit.

I loved that idea, and so the new Hero Complex was born. I've put a lot of time into Brynhildr's design, and am satisfied with my work.

To put it simply, Brynhildr's main 'concept' is 'sacrifice one's life for power' and 'damage through love' like the Vikings of old. You'll see more of her powers in the next chapter, though her Ultimate Skill has already been revealed. Please keep in mind that although I am using the Fate Grand Order Brynhildr for her appearance (check the story thumbnail for an idea of how she looks), I am not copying her exact lore and powers, for reasons you all might understand.

Anyways, one thing I want to make clear is that I won't tolerate baseless hatred and flames anymore. If you don't like this story, then don't reas it, or have an actual reason for telling me it sucks, like for example, if I got the lore for a certain character wrong. I don't want to get firebombed again for personal issues like I did with the original. I know I'm being a little harsh, but this story and Event Horizon especially have worn my patience thin due to all the flamers.

As for relative power levels and origins, think of it as somehwere between the shows and the comics (New 52 for the most part).

Anyways, after the chapter, which is honestly more of a teaser as to what's coming and what the ENDGAME of this story is, PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE THAT I'M PLACING AT THE END! IT HAS SOME INFORMATION THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO READ BEFORE YOU START GETTING THE WRONG OPINION AND BEGIN FLAMING ME!

Okay, that's it for now.

Let's get on with the story!

Introducing... Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5 Alternative: Gotham Wind!

I mean... the new and improved Hero Complex!

Please don't kill me.

Chapter 1 - A Villain Looks Back

{Gotham City, United States of America}

Sirens wailed as the police gathered around next to a bank, their cars forming a blockade as they dismounted their vehicles and formed a perimeter around the building, their guns at the ready, as they went through a process they'd been performing for what felt like forever.

The sad part was that it never usually worked.

Especially in a city with a record like Gotham's, though it had gotten much better than it used to be. In fact, this was a rather rare incident, as far as the public were concerned, because only absolute idiots would mess with Gotham.

After all, two extremely scary people lived here and protected it, along with their allies, so no one in their right minds would try to set up shop there.

After all, it was thanks to the efforts of these people that Gotham became known as the city with the least crime rates in the World.

A few years ago, it had been a rabid cesspool filled with the worst elements of humanity.

Some people literally called it Hell on Earth. People got mugged in alleyways in broad daylight, and crime rates were off the charts.

That was how bad it used to be, and how extraordinary the people who changed such a place were.

The two Guardians of Gotham, as they were called, were both people to which the norm didn't apply.

Each of them operated by their own rules, which were radically different, as was their approach to fighting crime, but both of them brought results, the same results that had brought Gotham into a veritable Golden Age.

And unfortunately for the idiots who had decided to try and make it big in the Underworld by attacking Gotham for their first big score that day, they would meet both of them.

The doors to the bank was blasted off its hinges, as a massive, hulking figure made his way out, holding a mini gun with one hand and a large briefcase of stolen money over his shoulders as he proved to be an excellent cover for his allies, who fired at the police officers from behind him.

"This is way easier than I expected!" yelled a thin, shrew-like man as he fired a revolver behind the back of his mountainous ally. "I thought Gotham was supposed to be the most secure city in America!"

"Ha! But we have you and Doyle, Boss! Between the two of you, even Gotham's so-called Guardians wouldn't stand a chance!"

However, as the shootout continued, one of the robbers wasn't so sure about his companion's statement.

It should be noted that while he wasn't the smartest of the group, he was certainly the most sensible, and as such was far more worried about ticking off Gotham's Superhuman Elements, as the Heroes and Villains operating in the city were known.

"G-guys, I'm not s-so sure about this." he said nervously, a bead of sweat running down his forehead. Even so, he still kept firing, hitting a conveniently placed nearby gas canister, causing an explosion that knocked several members of the GCPD off their feet and injured a few. "Do we really want to piss off freaking Menagerie by doing something like this in their home turf?"

His question earned a few nervous looks from the other men.

After all, the gang known as Menagerie was probably the most well-known in the entire World, and even off of it.

It was probably the most widespread gang in the whole World, having started right there in Gotham. Despite only being a few years old, it had a reputation that struck fear into the hearts of criminals.

After all, its Boss was one of Gotham's Guardians, the other being the infamous Batman.

If Batman beat down criminals and put them behind bars, it was Menagerie that had seized control of Gotham's Underworld by force, ruthlessly eliminating the other factions that had controlled the region, and prevented the more heinous criminals from ever escaping.

Surprisingly enough, Menagerie remained true to the original ideals that the mafia and yakuza were based on, actually doing more good to the city than they ever did harm. Fighting against human trafficking and the drug trade fiercely, they acted as bodyguards, assassins and even more mundane trades like bakers or farmers.

In fact, Menagerie Incorporated, the famous mega-corporation, was their legal front, which made the thought of their illegal front all the more terrifying.

It took them a few years, but they eventually managed to become an even greater deterrent to crime than even the Justice League, which actually didn't even try to remove it after the first few battles they had.

Several familiar names made up its ranks, such as the ruthless Red Hood, the infamous Deadshot, the downright insane Harley Quinn, and many other powerful people that made the gang a force to be reckoned with.

To be honest, when one thought of Heroes and Villains, Menagerie was pretty much a third party, being independent from both the Justice League and the Legion of Doom. They were sort of like a hybrid of the two, being mostly heroic criminals.

That was why the most sensible man among the robbers was so worried, because even those facts paled in compassion to the rumors surrounding the Boss of Menagerie. And they were acting out of line in the gang's own hometown, and had even killed a few citizens and GCPD officers during their robbery.

As they advanced, getting farther and farther away from the bank as police reinforcements arrived, his compatriots, including the giant metahuman who acted as their muscle, were quick to reassure him of their clean success.

"With Doyle's powers, and my own brains, there's no way those freaks from Menagerie can even touch us." he said arrogantly, laughing as he fired his assault rifle at the approaching officers.

"Yeah! You really think Menagerie is all that great? It's just a collection of self-righteous wierdos who can't do anything more than get in the way of actual criminals like us." said another one, grinning stupidly as Doyle roared in laughter and agreement.

"Oh? Do tell." said a voice from directly behind them.

They all whirled around to see a tall figure, carrying a bag of takeout in one hand.

The strangest thing about him was that he was wearing a panda costume, not exposing a hint of the his identity. In fact, even the voice was slightly distorted, though it sounded male.

"W-what? H-how did he get behind us?" asked the man who had spoken earlier, terrified, his eyes wide open in surprise.

"It doesn't matter! Doyle, pulverize the freak!" yelled the boss, turning his revolver on the person in the panda suit and opening fire.

To his shock though, the bullets pinged off of the costume as if it was some sort of armor.

Dropping his minigun as to avoid friendly fire, Doyle ran at the figure, roaring menacingly.

Beneath the suit, the intruder raised an eyebrow, and slowly bent one of his legs back, impeccable balance keeping him from dropping the bag of food.

A few seconds later, as Doyle was about to get in close and bring his fist down on the intruder's head, the panda guy spoke again, his voice strong and clear.

"Crag Scraper."

The leg which had been cocked back shot forward, and slammed into the approaching Doyle, catching him straight in the chest.

Normally, that wouldn't have done anything, as Doyle's metahuman ability was in fact the ability to absorb physical impacts and use them to increase his own power, and was even able to take getting rammed into by two bullet trains at the same time without even a scratch.

However, what he didn't know was at the person he had just attacked was well-known in certain circles as the Physical Apex, because of his sheer strength.

As the leg connected to his abdomen, Doyle's eyes bulged as he hacked up blood, his Shock Absorption being overwhelmed in less than a second, before a massive shockwave emanated from the point of impact, causing an earthquake that could be felt all around Gotham.

Doyle was sent flying, disappearing into the Gotham skyline.

The others, who had been sent flying by the shockwave of the kick, were barely conscious, and couldn't believe their eyes.

Just who was this guy?

The guy in the panda suit began to slowly walk towards them, his bag of takeout having been shielded by his arms so as to not explode from the sheer force that had just been emanated.

The remaining criminals, those who were still conscious anyways, desperately tried to crawl away, nothing but fear engraved into their minds.

In their haste they didn't even realize that all the asphalt on the street had been stripped away by that single kick, causing them to scrabble away at the rich Gotham soil.

"Guess using a Skill on that guy was kind of overkill." the panda man said, scratching his head sheepishly.

He took a few steps forward, only to stop suddenly and look to the building directly to his left.

"Hey, Batman! Didn't see you there." he said cheerfully, waving a paw.

The conscious criminals paled as they saw the shadowed figure on the rooftop.

They were f*cked, and now they knew it without a hint of doubt.

"Yes, I doubt you noticed a thing when you sent a metahuman flying through Gotham." said the Caped Crusader rather accusingly.

"Hey, no one insults my family in front of me and gets away with it, especially people like them." said the panda guy comfortably, not at all bothered in the least by Batman's irritated glare. "Besides, I held back."

"I can see that, Berserker. The fact that you didn't level a city block like you usually do was pretty indicative of that fact."

The panda guy looked around sheepishly, before pointing at the fear-struck criminals.

"You mind arresting those guys before you get on my case?" he pleaded, causing Batman to let out a sigh before he turned his patented Bat-Glare on the criminals, who trembled in terror, having long since given up on trying to escape.

"P-please Batman! S-save us from that monster!" cried one of them, causing Batman to raise an eyebrow, before turning his gaze to the rapidly retreating Berserker.

"Hold still. This'll only take a minute if you don't struggle."

Berserker had gotten a few blocks away before Batman caught up with him.

The panda suited figure was sitting on the edge of a rooftop, overlooking the Gotham skyline.

"Want some?" he asked, gesturing to the takeout he had gotten, which, coincidentally enough, was from Panda Express.

"I'll pass." said Batman, before walking up to his position.

"Jeez, too plebeian for your tastes?" complained Berserker, opening a box of fresh chow mien and orange chicken.

"I understand that you're practically addicted to that blended crap Alfred gives you to keep you alive, but you really need to expand your palate."

Before Batman could respond, he took a small object out of... somewhere, and placed it on the ground, causing a translucent bubble to burst from it and surround the area.

"It's safe." said Berserker, before taking off his costume in a flash of light, revealing a teenager who couldn't be older than eighteen, though his prodigious height and build seemed to try and contrast the fact.

He had blue eyes and grayish-white hair, and a kind smile. His features appeared to be sculpted from ice, and he seemed like the son of some Eurpean Noble. On his left hand gleamed a strange blue sigil, depicting a spear win a heart-shaped head.

Not the kind of person you would expect to be wandering around Gotham in a panda suit ordering takeout.

But then, looks could be misleading.

Batman didn't say anything, but took a seat on the ledge next to the kid, taking off his headgear and revealing the face of playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne.

"For your information Magnus, that stuff isn't healthy for you." said Bruce.

"Meh. It's still an experience for me. Honestly, fast food's kind of simple, which is why I like it. I hate that expensive crap that the rich always eat, so damn complex that they have names like something out of a Pharmacology textbook."

"I don't really take any offense to that, because you're kind of right." admitted Batman. "It does become somewhat of a hassle."

"So... you want some?" asked Magnus, causing Bruce to facepalm.

In the end, he turned to the younger man.

"Do you have any beef?"

"Yep. Here you go." said Magnus, handing a box over to the other man. "I added an extra fortune cookie for good luck."

Batman snorted at that one.

If fortune cookies were all it took to improve someone's luck, then the World would have been a very different place.

"So what brings the leader of the biggest criminal organization on the planet out for Chinese takeout?" asked Bruce casually.

Honestly, few would believe it, but Magnus Grey, a teenage boy who hadn't even crossed eighteen, was the leader of Menagerie, as well as its founder. To put it in his own terms, Bruce would call him one of the most successful criminals in history. Although, calling him a criminal was kind of debatable because he wasn't evil. He just broke the law when he felt like it.

Despite his age, he was someone with a large number of achievements under his belt, some of which even Batman and the Justice League couldn't claim.

He was far more than just a child. Dick, Tim and Jason had all been young when they started their tenures as Robin, so it wasn't that hard to wrap his head around, but even they hadn't been involved in the sheer amount of crazy that seemed to follow the teenage Mafia Boss around.

"It's Game Night tonight, so everyone's all riled up back at the base. Kozue's determined to beat Raven at poker, while Constantine, Etrigan and Harley are drinking themselves stupid. And that's just the beginning of what's going on. It's a bit of a dangerous time to be at home, so I just decided to see the sights and get some food. Hoped I'd run into you though, it's been a while since we've chatted."

That was another thing. One of the Earth's Symbols of Justice regularly chatted with one of the most powerful criminals on the planet.

It was something that they'd started doing a lot sometime after that night.

The night the Joker was killed.

Just thinking about it brought back unpleasant memories, one of them being the internal debate that had torn him apart from that day onwards.

Bruce Wayne had always felt strongly in his morals, in his beliefs. That was a core part of him, the piece, the part of himself that he would never let go of, no matter how dark his path may have been.

But that night, and the words that had been spoken to him by someone half his age still shook him to the core.

He still remembered the bloodied, gored teenager standing in front of him, one eye nearly falling out of its socket and his stomach somewhere on the floor nearby, face partially eaten away by acid, his dingy animal costume practically fused to his skin.

'So, you're going to damn hundreds of people just to feel good about yourself? Taking the law into your own hands. That's what this is all about, isn't it? I won't criticize you for your beliefs, Batman; I respect you and your work too much for that. But... I guess that makes me glad I'm not a Hero, then. Because the criminal action I've committed tonight... will save the lives of many people. Maybe even you...'

He'd been unable to respond to that statement, as the boy limped by him, struck dumb by the sight of his nemesis' pulverized corpse.

Logic dictated that there was no way Batman was in the wrong there.

After all, if he decided to execute the criminals he'd fought, then that would make him no better than them, since he would be taking the law into his own hands, acting as if he was above it.

The principle that defined a criminal.

Like Magnus was.

But the boy had been right, hadn't he?

He had saved hundreds of people by killing the Joker.

And like he'd stated, he was a criminal, in the eyes of the law, though the general public hailed him as a Hero, even those who knew him as the Boss of Menagerie.

In a sense, he was the most controversial character Batman had ever known.

They'd talked many times after that, and had come to something of an understanding; that neither of them would change their beliefs, and all they could do was respect the other, something that the boy had no qualms with.

Funnily enough, after their discourses, Batman couldn't bring himself to see the kid as a killer.

Batman's principle of 'Justice, not Revenge' hinged on the fact that he believed revenge and murder would lead down a path one could never come back from. Magnus was a living contradiction to that statement.

Although he'd killed Supervillains, he'd also saved Supervillains, and made them better people, something Arkham definitely couldn't boast about doing.

It was something that confused Batman. How could he tell if a Supervillain could be saved? There was no logic behind the choices he made. For someone as methodological as Batman, Magnus' seemingly impulsive actions and decisions weren't understandable in the least.

Magnus had never given him a straight answer to that question, muttering about 'meta-knowledge', something which only made him more confused, and convinced the boy was in the wrong.

One shouldn't just choose at random who to kill and who to spare. That was just insanity.

But when Magnus pointed out that he was trying to lecture a criminal on morals, Bruce was forced to concede.

But... somehow, all of Magnus' choices had been more or less correct. Batman couldn't say anything about the people Magnus had killed, but all those who he'd spared had ended up becoming better people.

It made even less sense than magic.

"Earth to Batman!" called Magnus, snapping his fingers, snapping the older man out of his thoughts. "You always space out for a few minutes whenever we meet up. You can have flashbacks later, okay?"

"Sorry." he said curtly, before taking a bite of his food.

Huh, it was good. Guess even fast food had its charm once in a while.

"How are Jason and Damian?" he asked finally.

"They're doing just fine. Damian said he'll come visit you in a while, though I practically had to force him to do it." said Magnus.

No surprise there. Their relationship was kind of strained, mostly because of Batman's lingering resentment at being taken advantage of by Talia combined with their differing beliefs. But still, Damian was his son, and so Bruce still cared about him. It was a feeling Damian grudgingly returned.

He knew that Damian was in good hands though, so he didn't have to worry.

"Jason though..." said Magnus, a slow smirk spreading across his lips.

"Did something happen?" asked Bruce, raising an eyebrow.

"Mhm. That was the other reason I wanted to meet up with you. You and the rest of the Bat-Family are invited." said Magnus, producing a clearly stylized card and handing it to him.

Batman read the first few lines before his jaw actually hung open, his eyebrows having shot into his hairline.

"You're kidding."

"Nope~!" snickered Magnus. "He actually popped the question! You should have seen his face! It was the funniest thing I've ever seen in my whole life!"

After getting over the momentary surprise, a small smile was visible on Bruce's face.

"She'll be good for him."

"She will. Kozue'll have him whipped within the first week, but yeah, she'll be good for him."

Tucking the card away for later, Batman's small smile grew into a nasty smirk as he asked his next question.

"So how's your love life doing?" asked Bruce, nearly laughing out loud at the teenager's grumbling. "Have you solved the Love Dodecahedron you have going on?"

"Oh, ha ha ha." said Magnus sarcastically, shaking a chopstick at him threateningly. "Laugh all you want, Bruce, but we both know you're not any better."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Suuuuure."

"I'm serious. Selena and I are happily married. End of story."

"Mhm. One word; Talia."

"Okay, let's not go there." said Batman with a glare. "We both know that isn't exactly the same kind of situation."

"Fine then. Diana?"

"We're just colleagues. I don't know why you would even think that." said Bruce.

"All the Wonderbat shippers on the Justice League Forums claim otherwise." said Magnus, causing Bruce too look at him with a perplexed expression.

"Wonder what?"

"Never mind." said Magnus quickly, clamming up with a mouthful of chicken, deciding to change the subject, though Batman still filed away the information for later.

"But still, it's kind of amazing isn't it? The World's moving forward, and we're all living out our lives. It's been relatively peaceful for a while now, and I guess this makes me realize it more than ever."

"That peace didn't come easily." said Bruce, though he conceded the point.

"No", agreed Magnus softly. "It didn't."

They both contemplated silently, remembering all the lives that had been lost on both sides to secure this era of relative peace.

"Tough decisions had to be made, and many tragedies happened before we were able to get this far." said Bruce.

"I'll say. It doesn't help that we live in a pretty f*cked up World. Aliens, Gods, Monsters, crazy scientists, street thugs with superpowers; there's no end to the people who would threaten others due to their own selfish desires. That's why I started Menagerie, you know? I wanted to make the ideal mafia, like the old ones, which had honorable principles that they operated by. But most importantly, Menagerie was meant to be a family for all those people who didn't fit in, whose suffering set them apart. I'm talking mainly about people like Caitlin or old Clayface who have conditions that make their situations for different from normal people. People like them were the ones that had the highest chance of becoming the next big calamity, and they honestly didn't deserve to go down that path, because most of the time, the situation that resulted in their conditions wasn't even their fault. They're not sick psychopaths like Zsasz or egoistic warlords like Darkseid; but they had the potential to become just as big a threat."

"So by providing them with a place where they could belong, you both reduced the amount of possible enemies and criminals running around and increased your own power base, also earning the absolute loyalty of your new subordinates in the process."

"In one." said Magnus, not really trying to hide it. "It's not like I'm doing it for my own selfish gains; money and fame aren't really my goals. I helped them because I genuinely felt their pain. While not as f*cked up as theirs, I had a past of my own that wasn't very nice as well. It was honestly just luck that things ended up working out so well, considering the kind of people I had to deal with."

"You're telling me that you managed to successfully merge the League of Assassins into Menagerie through luck?" asked Batman with thinly veiled disbelief.

"Well, kind of." said Magnus awkwardly. "It helped that my methods were much closer to theirs than yours were and I had a good rapport with Talia and Damian."

Batman snorted at that one. He didn't know if it was intentional, but Magnus had a way of playing down the ridiculous things he did.

'Luck', he said.

Batman would eat his own cape if everything that had followed the creation of what first seemed like just another gang in Gotham was due to luck.

He would know firsthand, having fought Berserker before many times in the past, that there was another reason as to how he gained such iron-clad loyalty from his followers.

Berserker was strong. Incredibly strong. There was a reason he was known as the Physical Apex, but that wasn't the only thing.

He was smart. Not a genius in any sense of the word, though, having made countless mistakes that nearly left him dead on more than one occasion, but smart enough to take a plan, a foolish one at that, and actually make it work through sheer force of will and determination.

And several millions of dollars of property damage as well.

Lastly, he was kind, even though he could be absolutely monstrous when the situation called for it. He had an unnatural charisma that seemed to wear down a person's defense like some kind of killer fungus before they inevitably became allies.

Batman guiltily admitted to himself that he was one of the people who'd experienced this trait of his firsthand.

"How did you do it?" asked Batman finally, cutting to the chase and asking what had been on his mind for a long time.

"Do what?" asked Magnus, snapping open a fortune cookie, having finished his meal when Batman was deep in thought.

"Apparently, today is a good day to meet up with friends and family." he read, musing to himself. "Man, these things can be so legit sometimes!"

"Everything." said Batman, drawing Magnus' attention back to his earlier question. "When we first met, you were far from the person you are now, at least in terms of power and condition. You built an empire from scratch, and conquered the Gotham Underworld at the age of sixteen. Your influence puts even Lex Luthor's to shame. In fact, you have allies in Atlantis, the Lantern Corps and even among the New Gods. The true nature of your powers are unknown to anyone on both sides, magic and science. What I'm trying to get at is this; how did you go from a sick boy who couldn't even eat a bar of chocolate without getting a stroke from hyperglycemia to someone capable of defeating Darkseid in single combat?"

It didn't make any sense, just like everything else that surrounded the strange mobster. The things he'd been involved in were something straight out of a comic book or a tv show. True, as an actual Superhero, Batman had no right to talk about crazy adventures, especially when considering the times that he had crashed the Watchtower onto the planet's surface, but he could safely say that playing Jeopardy with the Riddler, beating an alien warlord to death with his own skull, and of course, riding a whale-themed warship that could fire tactical nukes, with two AI occupying it, into battle against a horde of Paradooms and their boss while wearing a wolf costume, were all brands of crazy that far surpassed anything he could hope to pull off.

Magnus grinned at the question, remembering the same incident Batman had just referenced. The same incident that had resulted in him gaining the title of Physical Apex.

"Yeah, it really doesn't seem to make much sense, right?"

{Apokolips, An Undisclosed Amount of Time Ago}

A Batarang lodged itself in a chink in the armor of a Paradoom, exploding and causing the green glow of Kryptonite to light up the area, practically incinerating the creature. Not that he had any sympathy for them. They were man-eating drones that were little more than enhanced savages sent to kill them.

Batman cursed as another three Paradooms came to take the place of their fallen brethren.

One thing he had noticed after being in the Superhero industry for a while was that almost every major Villain somehow had an endless amount of grunts to stall them somehow and keep them separated.

Being on the receiving end of that phenomenon all the time was incredibly frustrating, as Batman could attest to.

Thankfully, a green fist slammed into them, sending them flying as Green Lantern came to back him up, but he knew the situation wasn't good. They were hopelessly outnumbered, barely managing to hold them off, while Diana and Clark fought Darkseid himself in the throne room not too far from their location.

"There are too many of them." said Martian Manhunter gravely, transforming his arm into a giant dragon head which chomped down on one of the Paradooms, killing it, and using it to bludgeon another that tried to sneak up on them.

"Yeah, tell us something we don't know!" said Shazam in response, his fist punching clean through one of them. "We have to keep these things from reaching those two no matter how many there are!"

Easier said than done. After being in the field for so long, Batman knew a losing battle when he saw one.

After all, judging by the noises from the interior of Darkseid's hall, the battle wasn't going very swimmingly for Superman and Wonder Woman as well.

It wasn't that much due to a lack of power, per se, but the fact that Clark and Diana tended to be naive and obvious at times, more so than almost any other member of the League, which gave them a natural disadvantage against a cunning ruler like Darkseid who had been around for millennia, and so knew all the tricks both inside and outside the book, as well as the wordplay needed to create an opening for it.

Plus, Darkseid no doubt had experience fighting warriors like them, and his superior attributes were certainly nothing to laugh at, even if Superman and Wonder Woman could keep up with him, if only just barely.

The fact of the matter was, they needed suitable backup in there, while the rest of them needed backup out here.

Due to the simultaneous attacks taking place on Earth, the Justice League was stretched thin, with only eight of them managing to come for a direct attack on Apokolips in order to defeat Darkseid and get him to call off his forces.

The rest were busy fighting off his main invasion force, along with the Reapers that were trying to extract the Earth's molten core (again).

The situation wasn't looking good. The only good thing was that the Paradooms were nowhere near as strong as the original Doomsday. If that were the case, they all would have died by that point.

Batman checked his inventory, realizing that he was starting to run dangerously low on Kryptonite weaponry, having only a few Batarangs and his trusty pair of spiked knuckles left.

Problem was at getting into ranged combat with flying super predators wasn't a good idea.

He expended another one of his Batarangs and nailed a Paradoom that was sneaking up on Black Canary, whose scream was causing the Paradooms to clutch their heads in pain and slam into one another, leaving them open for Green Arrow to pick them off.

He narrowed his eyes when he grasped for another and nearly came up short.

'Only two left.'

He cursed silently under his breath when Green Arrow's quiver ran empty, causing him to go on the defensive with Canary, whose attacks were pretty much meaningless without backup to kill the disoriented targets.

That was nearly three of them down, and they hadn't even been injured yet.

Superman and Wonder Woman were still fighting, while Shazam, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter were forced to pick up the slack, although Canary still did her best to try and stun them for one of the others to pick them off.

A glowing green minigun formed in Hal's hands before he sprayed a stream of holographic bullets that tore into the Paradooms, causing them to stagger and fall out of the sky, where Martian Manhunter and Shazam were waiting for them with open arms, which they then used to crush the beasts like they were made out of paper maché.

Batman threw his last Kryptonite Batarang, killing another of the Paradooms, but his eyes widened when he realized that they were now surrounded, as a new contingent of the mindless beasts had somehow snuck up on them in the chaos.

He cursed under his breath and put on his Kryptonite Knuckles, as the remaining members of the Justice League formed a ring, back to back.

Green Lantern projected a couple of arrows with his power and tossed them to Green Arrow, who nodded grimly in thanks and mocked one to his bowstring.

For a moment, there was a hushed silence as the members of the Justice League prepared their last stand.

And then a massive explosion lit up the surrounding area, practically cleaving through the Paradooms in front of them, who had ironically acted as a shield preventing the force of the blast from reaching them.

"What the heck?!" gawked Shazam, surprised to see that half the enemies they were about to face had just vanished.

Batman, however, had looked up, and saw the massive shape that had suddenly appeared on the horizon, casting a shadow on the surface of Apokolips.

"So he came."

{In The Skies Above Apokolips, A Couple Seconds Earlier}

"Daddy, we've entered Apokoliptan Airspace!" chirped a cheerful, female sounding voice.

"Good. Thank you Moby." said a figure dressed in a shaggy looking wolf costume. "The rest of Menagerie's already been deployed across Earth to help the League and the others, so it's just us for now."

"Affirmative." said a far more robotic, male sounding voice. "Judging by relevant data, we will be more than enough to carry out the objective."

"That's some good confidence there, Dick!" said the man, before rubbing his fur-covered hands. "Now, what's the status?"

"Hostiles detected. Determining Nature... Nature Found. Enemies bear Pseudo-Kryptonian Biosignatures. Closest possible match... Doomsday."

"Haaaah" sighed the figure. "So that's really the case then, isn't it? Okay then. Moby, load the KK and the DD Ammo only, okay? The others aren't going to do much good in this situation."

"Okay, Daddy! Killer Kryptonite and Direct Damage Warheads have been loaded!" said Moby, her cheerful voice causing a smile to spread across his face for a few moments, before it turned wicked at the thought of the battle to come.

"Let's do this." he said, taking strides forward as he stood on the edge of the massive flying battleship that had appeared over Apokolips.

He could make out flashes of light that indicated the possible location of the Justice League.

It looked like they could use a hand.

"Dick?"

"Attack Vectors Calculated. Hostiles Locked On. Weapon System Functionality Running at 100%."

"That's all I need to hear." said Magnus, as he somehow snapped the claws of the wolf costume. "Open fire."

"Affirmative!" came the synchronized voices of Moby and Dick. "Biframe Warship That Swims Through The Heavens, Twin Moby Dick is engaging the enemy!"

And with that, the Superior UBM Reward Magnus earned by defeating the Superior UBM Biframe White Whale, Twin Moby Dick, the massive warship that answered his beck and call, proceeded to go on the offensive.

{On The Planet's Surface}

"Is that a freaking battleship?!" cried Shazam excitedly as more shells were fired, decimating the Paradooms in flashes of Kryptonite green.

"Looks like it." said Green Arrow offhandedly, though he was no less shocked than anyone else.

"Why don't we have a battleship?!"

"We have a giant floating satellite that we call our home base." said Black Canary dryly.

"So? It's not a battleship, is it?"

Batman's eyes were focused more on the barely visible figure on the deck of the warship.

"The situation out here's handled." said Batman urgently. "We need to support Superman and Diana before-"

His words were interrupted by a loud crash that drowned out even the explosions that were taking out the Paradooms, and barely dodged tot he side as a red and blue blur shot past them.

The figure was revealed to be Superman, who wiped away a trickle of blood from his chin and moved to go back into the palace, but was forced to stop as a similarly injured Wonder Woman was thrown at him, sending them both flying.

"I was expecting more from the Kryptonian." said Darkseid offhandedly as he floated out of his palace with his hands behind his back. "But this showing was especially poor. You must be punished for trying to resist me."

Great.

The Justice League formed up as Superman released his heat vision, twin trails of red blasting at Darkseid, only for them to be halted by one of his hands.

Wonder Woman had picked up her damaged sword and her shield, while Green Lantern projected another minigun, Green Arrow prepared to fire, Martian Manhunter's hands transformed into scythe-like claws, Black Canary fell into a fighting stance, Shazam slammed his fists together, lightning cackling around his form, and Batman readied himself for battle.

Superman came to float before them, his face set into a hardened frown.

"We'll beat you, Darkseid." he said with absolute certainty.

"You'll certainly try." remarked the New God, not really taking the Kryptonian's words seriously.

His eyes glowed orange, signaling the appearance of one of the fabled Omega Beams.

Everyone tensed, knowing just how destructive they could be, but before they could do anything, someone else beat them to the punch.

"Velocity Hammer."

A grey blur slammed into Darkseid, causing a massive shockwave to erupt, knocking most of the members of the Justice League to the ground as Darkeid went flying back into his palace, breaking through the front of it on the way in.

The figure who had inflicted the injury knelt in the crater of his own making, steam slowly wafting off so his body.

When it cleared, it revealed a figure in a wolf costume that looked rather silly, like those one could find at a kid's birthday party.

But Batman wasn't going to let looks fool him a second time.

He'd seen those strange costumes of his shrug off Promethium bullets before.

"Berserker." he said calmly, causing the figure to turn to him.

"Hey hey hey!" he said cheerfully. "Nice meeting you all here! You know, you guys should take a hike now. I've got this guy."

"What? We can't just run." said Superman, somewhat offended.

In response, Berserker rubbed his head sheepishly. "I didn't mean it like that, Big Blue. Your help is needed back on Earth. Your specific skillsets are needed to defeat the main invasion force. Darkseid himself is just a distraction to keep you, the Justice League's finest, occupied. I'll take over for you."

"Your actions are noble, and befitting of a true warrior." said Wonder Woman. "But what makes you think you can take on Darkseid alone? He is incredibly powerful. If we were to leave, he would immediately be able to follow."

Berserker paused at that.

Suddenly, before the eyes of everyone watching, his costume began to shift, for lack of a better word, transforming into an entirely new shape.

When it was done, Berserker was left bare-chested, exposing numerous scars, wearing furry leggings and gauntlets that exposed his fists. A wolf pelt was tied around his hips, forming a sort of waistcoat, and he had a hood made out of a wolf's head obscuring the upper part of his face, with only strands of whitish hair being visible.

He kind of looked like a Viking berserker of old.

"You're right." he said nonchalantly, his much younger voice being revealed for the first time. "But victory is honestly optional. What I can do is buy enough time for you to destroy Darkseid's forces at the very least, so you can come back me up. Until then, I'll stall him personally while Moby Dick takes care of the Paradooms so the invasion force can't receive additional help."

"Hey, we can't just leave you here!" protested Shazam. "You're just a kid!"

"Wow, hypocritical much, Batson?" said Berserker with a smirk, causing the hero to flinch.

"How did you-"

"Don't bother." said Batman, cutting him off. "We don't have much time. Are you sure you can hold him off?"

"Batman, you can't seriously be considering this, can you?" protested Superman. "I know he's a villain but we can't let him sacrifice himself to save our skins! Who knows what Darkseid'll do to him!"

"I am. I know Berserker better than any of you. Despite the name, and the fact that he loses his sh*t after getting into a fight, he's not someone who makes rash claims or underestimates his opponents. If he says he can do it, then he can do it, no questions asked."

"Thanks, Batman." said Berserker with a smile. "Now go out there and be Heroes! Raven will take you back to Earth! Let this humble Berserker tangle with the likes of that overcompensating as*hole."

As if on cue, a shadowy blob of energy appeared, revealing a cloaked figure.

"We don't have much time." she urged silently, a portal opening behind her.

The Justice Legaue looked like they wanted to protest further, but Batman's glare stopped them, causing them to begin exiting Apokolips.

"May the Gods watch over you." blessed Wonder Woman before leaving in a hurry, intent to finish up the fight as fast as she could.

"Don't worry!" said Superman before he left. "We'll be back for you before you know it!"

Berserker grinned at that before the Kryptonian disappeared into the portal, leaving Batman the only Hero left.

They locked eyes, and Berserker nodded, knowing that there wasn't anything that needed to be said. The message was clear.

Then he left, leaving Raven and Magnus alone while he turned to face the direction he had sent Darkseid, wondering what was taking the New God so long.

While Velocity Hammer was one of his Upper Tier Skills, he didn't believe for a second that it would be enough to take down Darkseid.

"Get out of here, Rae." he said calmly.

Raven hesitated for a moment, but ultimately complied, knowing she was needed elsewhere.

"Don't die." said the daughter of Trigon simply before she teleported back to Earth.

Magnus grinned at that, before his arms settled into an odd position, cocked back at his sides as if he was winding up a spring.

"I'll try not to."

A beam of orange light soared out of the wreckage of the palace, and Magnus acted before they could strike him.

"Machine-Gun Blows."

Magnus' fists blurred forward, causing a violent wind to whip up around him, encasing him in a veritable tornado as the sheer strength of each punch warped the area around him.

His bare fists collided with the Omega Beam, but instead of disintegrating and burning away, they actually held it back and started destroying it, causing wayward bursts of orange light to scatter behind him and detonate.

He let out a breath as his Skill ended, having successfully staved off the Omega Beam, his hands steaming slightly.

"Impressive." said Darkseid, floating across from him appraisingly. "No one has been able to halt my Omega Beams like that before. I didn't expect a human to be the first."

"Coming from you? I'll accept that praise with pride. Though if you're expecting me to submit to you, then I'm afraid your dead wrong. You're making moves on my home turf. I can't let that stand."

"Very well. Then you shall suffer for your insolence. Who know? After I break you I might gain a powerful new servant."

"Don't count your chickens before they've hatched, Darkseid. I'm not going down without a fight."

Magnus took a deep breath, before he smirked to himself.

'I guess... it's time.' he thought to himself. 'Are you ready?'

'Always, my love.' replied the gentle voice of his constant companion and partner.

"Heh!" he said, laughing to himself. "I wonder... how does the power of a Superior stack against a New God? Guess I'll find out."

Magnus stood tall, a wide grin on his face, his eyes beginning to cloud over with battle-lust, placing a hand over his now-glowing heart.

And intoned the Ultimate Skill of his Superior Embryo.

"Till Death Do Us Apart, Brynhildr!"

The surface of Apokolips exploded as two colossal forces engaged in battle.

{Gotham City, Present Time}

Half the planet had been destroyed in their fight, and he'd barely won, his Right of Destruction acting as a foil to the New God's Omega Force abilities.

Even after killing him, he'd almost died due to the battle itself, having used every Skill in his arsenal, including his Final Blow, and would have died if it hadn't been for... well, he guessed it didn't matter now.

Considering he had ripped open the fabric of reality with his own physical strength, he was regarded as the Physical Apex from that point onwards.

Well, back to Batman's question.

Magnus smiled wistfully as he looked up at the stars, thinking back on the many adventures he had gone through after coming to this strange new Universe.

It had been one hell of a ride. One that he could never have imagined for himself, considering his early life.

Where did it all begin, he asked?

Well that was an easy question to answer.

Magnus leaned back, placing his arms behind his head, his mind going towards events that had gone by.

"It all began when I woke up in Arkham Asylum, unjustly imprisoned with some of Gotham's worst, for a crime I couldn't possibly have committed." he said wistfully.

"Keep in mind that I was a sickly teenager suffering from an incurable heart disease, and had no idea where I was, no friends or family and no resources."

And so, Magnus Grey, the Berserker, Undisputed King of Crime and Destruction, Physical Apex and Boss of Menagerie, began to recount his tale.

And that's all, folks!

Before you guys start shooting flames at me like freaking Etrigan when he farts, I just want to make a couple of things clear, so please pay attention.

*Ahem*.

1) THE EVENTS OF THIS CHAPTER TAKE PLACE PRETTY CLOSE TO THE END OF THIS STORY, SO DON'T SEE ALL THE ACHEIVEMENTS MAGNUS HAS UNDER HIS BELT AND ASSUME HE IS A GARY STU! HE WILL NOT GET EVERYTHING HANDED TO HIM ON A SILVER PLATTER, IS FAAAAAR FROM A PERFECT HUMAN BEING, AND HAS TO USE HIS OWN WITS AND STRENGTH TO SURVIVE!

2) THE REASON WHY BATMAN AND MAGNUS ARE SO FAMILIAR WITH EACH OTHER, ONCE AGAIN, IS BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN THROUGH A LOT AND SO BATMAN RESPECTS HIM AS AN EQUAL AND A FRIEND, WHICH IS WHY HE BEHAVES THAT WAY TOWARDS HIM.

3) WHILE SOME OF YOU MIGHT THINK THAT MAGNUS BEING ABLE TO DEFEAT DARKSEID IN THE STORY MIGHT SEEM TOO FAR-FETCHED, KEEP IN MIND THAT INFINITE DENDROGRAM HAS A POWER SYSTEM THAT IS EASILY JUST AS BROKEN AS THE DCU'S.

4) ONCE AGAIN, ALL THE CHARACTER THAT HAVE JOINED MENAGERIE HAVE ACTUAL REASONS AND SOMETIMES EVEN STORY ARCS WHICH MAKE THEIR CHOICE MORE CLEAR AND REASONABLE, SO DON'T KEEP FLAMING ME WITH COMMENTS LIKE 'THERE'S NO WAY JASON WOULD JOIN!' AND 'WHY AREN'T BATMAN AND DAMIAN WAYNE BEST BROS?'

TRUST ME WHEN I SAY THAT ALL OF THE OCCURRENCES IN THIS STORY HAVE RELATIVELY REASONABLE EXPLANATIONS, SO STAY TUNED FOR THEM!

5) PAIRINGS HAVE ALREADY BEEN DECIDED, BUT YOU CAN ADD YOUR OWN SUGGESTIONS! EVEN IF IT IS A HAREM THOUGH, NO UNREASONABLE (IN THE SENSE THAT THERE'S NO WAY THEY WOULD BE PAIRED WITH MAGNUS) CHARACTERS LIKE WONDER WOMAN OR EVEN TALIA AL GHUL! WHILE THERE MAY BE SOME CASES OF HOMOSEXUALITY, MAGNUS IS STRAIGHT. JUST PUTTING THAT OUT THERE.

6) EMBRYO IS FINAL! I WILL INCLUDE SOME OF MY OTHER CONCEPTS IN FUTURE STORIES, BUT DO NOT BUG ME ABOUT NOT PUTTING UP YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITE IN THIS ONE!

7) NAMES ARE NOT FINAL! MAGNUS' VILLAIN NAME AND THE NAME OF HIS GANG ARE NOT SET IN STONE! JUST TELL ME IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS, PREFERABLY WITHOUT ANY SCATHING REMARKS!

That's about it.

Phew! My fingers are hoarse from all the yelling, but I needed to be really direct with this.

As you can see, unlike my other characters, Magnus has a pure power build, soemthing that'll be expanded upon psychologically in the next chapter when we get to Magnus' past as a terminally ill child.

Anyways, I'll see you guys for the next chapter of Hero Complex, in which Magnus makes some prison buddies and plays Fortnite Cops and Robbers in real life. Will he succeed or will he be killed or even taken to gnome jail?!

Who knows! Find out next time, on Hero Complex!

Spatialphoenix here, burning to ashes.

Query: Should I do a Certain Magical Index fic where Touma has an Embryo?