[Emissary] Chapter 14 - Blackmail (Patreon)

One of my fics is close to ending, so I'm thinking about starting to write a new story once that happens. I have posted a poll with over ten story options on my FFN profile, so you can go vote there. It is a blind poll so that you do not get influenced by other voters. The poll will remain open for several good weeks.

Keep in mind that you need to be on the desktop version of the website in order to access the poll. The mobile version and the app won't show it.

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

Chapter 14 - Blackmail

Previous chapter

Having watched how every single one of his friends passed through the circle of fire unharmed, Flash didn’t hesitate and ran through it unafraid.

“AAaargh!”

A hoarse scream of agony erupted from Batman’s chest as Flash passed with him through the fire. Flash watched, petrified with shock and horror, how Batman’s body was instantly engulfed by the blue flames.

Batman’s terrible screams of pain were cut short a moment later as his body was turned into ash.

⁂

Five very long seconds passed without anyone saying a word. The numerous members of the Crime Syndicate and the still conscious members of the Justice League were all momentarily stupefied.

“Did he-, did he just-” Flash began to say as he pointed with his finger at Harry, but it was like he couldn’t find his words.

“Emissary…what did you do?” Superman also asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper due to shock.

But while the members of the Justice League were frozen in disbelief at what had just transpired, Harry summoned a ripped piece of cloak lying on the ground nearby and cast the Portus Charm on it.

“Everyone, grab onto this,” he said, ignoring Superman’s question.

“I asked you a question! You’re not just brushing over this! What did you do? What happened to Batman?” Superman shouted.

“I told you to grab this piece of clothing. Now!” Harry said dangerously, not in the mood to deal with their questions at that moment. “The entire reality is at stake, boy! That madman could detonate the QED bomb at any moment! I don’t have time for you now!”

He threw the piece of clothing turned portkey on the ground in front of them before saying:

“This fire spell will last another 30 seconds after I’m gone. If you want to live, take this Portkey and say the activation word, ‘home’. If not, you can all stay here and get ripped to shreds by the Crime Syndicate. I’m going after the bomb.”

Once he finished saying those words, his body was engulfed by a blue light, and he vanished soundlessly from the circle of fire.

⁂

Even with the owl helmet covering two-thirds of his face, Harry could tell how startled Owlman was to see him appear at the foot of the QED bomb out of thin air. But his surprise didn’t last more than a second, and he quickly shot several exploding discs from the launchers installed in his gauntlets.

A spherical Shielding Charm covered Harry as he crouched and placed both his hands on the rocky ground before Disapparating. The ‘crack’ made by Apparition forced Owlman to turn around and look in the direction where Harry had teleported.

‘If he could teleport around, he could have teleported right at my back, and I would not have been able to react… What is he playing at?’ Owlman thought, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

It made no sense to him that the wizard chose to teleport away instead of directly taking him out.

“Before I kill you, I’d like to know what’s on your mind,” Harry explained as if he could read his mind. “So tell me, what is this place? What made you do what you’re about to do?”

The costumed criminal didn’t reply right away.

‘I don’t know what you’re plotting, but, fine, I’ll play your game,’ he thought.

After all, Owlman needed a bit more time in order to finish setting up the bomb. If the wizard wanted to stand and chat, he was all for it.

“This is Earth Prime. Before there was thought, there was this place: one Earth, with a single history. But with the coming of man came the illusion of free will, and with that illusion came chaos.”

Harry merely listened to his words, despite the fact that he could see Owlman rapidly tapping on the bomb’s control panel.

"With every choice we make, we literally create a world. History branches into two, creating one Earth where we made the choice… and a second where we didn’t. That’s the secret of the Universe, you know? Billions of people are making billions of choices, creating infinite Earths. Some Earths are so similar to each other that you can spend a lifetime searching for any distinction… while others end up so radically different, they defy comprehension.”

“Interesting,” Harry mused, rolling the Elder Wand on his fingers. “So you’re saying that everything started from here?”

Glancing around, Harry noted that he was in a desert of sorts; the terrain did look like Earth’s terrain, but the sky was completely different. For one, although it was night, it took only one glance at the stars above for him to realise that he couldn’t recognise any of the constellations in the sky.

“Yes, every version of reality balances precariously on this singular Earth,” Owlman replied. “It seems so different from the Earths we know. I can’t imagine what series of decisions led this world to hurtle out of its orbit. But I know this: the source of the cataclysm was the same as it always is: Man. Man is a cancer, and I chose to cut out the disease.”

Once he said those words, Owlman finished tapping on the control panel.

“I see. Are you done arming the bomb now?” Harry asked leisurely.

“...You knew what I was doing all along. Why did you follow me here if you weren’t going to stop me? What is your purpose?”

Not waiting for an answer, Owlman charged at Harry with a speed well beyond anything a normal human would be capable of.

Harry just raised his hand in his direction and clenched his fingers into a fist.

Owlman’s feet left the ground, and he let out a choked scream when something like an invisible hand wrapped around his neck and lifted him in the air.

Despite his desperation, even while he was being choked to death, instead of following his survival instinct and trying to claw at the invisible hand clenched around his neck, Owlman aimed his hands at Harry and fired his exploding projectiles at him.

Another Shielding Charm appeared around Harry soundlessly, rendering those explosions ineffective.

“Thanks for arming the bomb for me,” said Harry as he aimed the Elder Wand at him. “Avada Kedavra!”

Seeing the green beam of light heading towards him, Owlman stopped struggling. He just accepted his fate. His last thought before dying was:

‘It doesn’t matter.’

Right as Owlman’s lifeless body crashed onto the ground, a tear appeared in space and a portal was formed.

A feral smile appeared on Harry’s face. He knew who it was. How could he not when he felt their deathly energy flooding the air even before they made their first step out of the portal?

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Death?” Harry asked and made a mocking bow.

“What do you think you’re doing, Harry Potter?”

Harry felt each one of those words landing like a hammer into his skull. Nevertheless, he wasn’t intimidated, and the rebellious look in his eyes didn’t diminish in the least. He was surprised, however, when Death took their first step out of the portal and he saw their new appearance.

It was a young woman in her mid-twenties. She was rather thin, not too tall, and pale-skinned, and her long raven hair fell past the middle of her back. The black ripped jeans and black spaghetti-strap top she was wearing, coupled with her black lipstick and heavy black eye shadow, made her look like a goth girl from the 90s.

But Harry didn’t comment on Death’s new appearance. Instead, he answered carelessly:

“What does it look like I’m doing?”

“Don’t play games with me now!” Death said coldly.

“Or what? You’re going to kill me?” he scoffed. “Do it! Kill me if you dare.”

Death’s eyes momentarily left Harry and looked at the runes inscribed on the ground right next to the QED bomb. Harry had planted those runes from the first moment he teleported there, when Owlman attacked him and he crouched, placing his hands on the ground.

“I see you’ve noticed my Runes. I’m sure you know what they do. If you kill me now, the magic I left in those Runes will explode. The explosion itself is not powerful enough to detonate the bomb, but you know what happens when my magic comes into contact with technology.”

Death turned to look at Harry, her face livid.

“This isn’t like you! You’re not going to annihilate every living being in the Universe. You were terribly angry when I compared you to the Harry Potter who had used his wife as a meatshield. You would never kill an innocent!” said Death. “You aren’t like that!”

“Aren’t I?” Harry asked

“You should know better than this. You should know that there are fates far worse than dying. Why would you do something like this? Do you want to suffer at my hands for eternity?” Death asked.

“I sure as hell know what a fate worse than death is. I’m living it.”

“This solves nothing. Your contract won’t be broken. All you’re doing now is lengthening your contract!”

“Am I now?” Harry asked, smiling coldly. “You told me that when the first living thing existed, you were there. There is no life without death, and there is no death without life. When the last living being dies, you will cease to exist too.”

“If this bomb destroys Earth Prime, the Universe with its infinite number of realities will disappear too.”

“Life will disappear...but so will you, and so will I. I will finally be free of you. I will finally have my rest.”

“Don’t do this, Harry,” Death said in a pleading tone this time, using his first name too. “This isn’t you.”

Harry laughed coldly. “Is that why you took on the appearance of a cute girl? Do you think that shite is going to work on me?”

He was far too old and jaded to fall for a girl’s sad face and pleading voice.

“Nothing will stop me after coming this far.”

“You’re bluffing,” Death spat, dropping the pretence.

“The alternate version of myself told me one thing before I killed him: I’m just one of your many slaves… there is no happy ending for those like us… there is no escape… there is no hope. You’re the one who pushed me to do this, Death. I saw the chance to break free and I took it.”

“Whether I’m bluffing or not, we’ll see in about… let me see… ah yes, the bomb’s timer will run out in 40 seconds,” Harry said flippantly.

“I know the future, the past, and the present. And I know you, Harry Potter. I know that you would never do something like this!” Death shouted.

Now that Death had adopted a human-like appearance, it was much easier for Harry to tell what emotions they were experiencing.

‘I can see it. I can feel it. She’s anxious.’

That thought strengthened his confidence.

“You may know the future… but you aren’t omniscient. I’m sure of that. You don’t know my thoughts. Otherwise, I would have never gotten this far with my plans. If you had been omniscient, you would have known what I was planning to do, and you would have killed me straight away. I would have never been able to blackmail you.”

He didn’t need Death to verbally confirm his words; he could tell from the look on her face that he had hit the nail on the head.

“Either you don’t know the entire future… or my existence is like a bug in the system. Becoming your Emissary has removed me from the River of Time. That makes me a variable, an unpredictable being that you can’t control. My actions can throw the future that you know into chaos.”

“Sure, you can always threaten me and coerce me into acting as you want. You can also remove me from this world, kill me, or erase my very existence… but you will never be able to control me and my thoughts.”

“That’s because free will is the greatest gift the Creator gave humanity. And You have never broken His laws.”

As the QED bomb’s timer was about to run out, a pulse of energy came from Death, freezing the time in the entire dimension. Only Harry wasn’t affected due to the fact that Death’s own power was coursing through him as well.

A long silence was instilled between the two of them.

“What do you want?” Death finally asked.

“I want justice.”

“You, who is threatening to destroy the world, asking for justice?”

“You gave me no choice. You pushed me to do this,” Harry repeated himself calmly. “You knew that Vandal Savage was going to destroy New York with a meteorite, so you used your knowledge of the future and directly manipulated me into getting killed by it.”

“Tell me what you want,” Death said again. She looked like she just wanted this to be over.

“I was in your service for hundreds of years. And I will complete my task in this world too. All I want is a clean slate. Don’t say it’s not in accordance with the contract. You killing me with a meteorite wasn’t in the contract either.”

“I want justice. I want fairness. No more scummy moves on your part. I will accomplish my task in this world, and then I will get my eternal rest. That’s all I’m asking for.”

Harry's tension rose to unreal levels as Death looked at him unblinkingly for nearly half a minute.

“Fine. Have it your way. You have won this time, Harry Potter. No more tricks on my part. When the time comes, I will let you pass on into the afterlife. You have my word.”

A look of great relief flashed on Harry’s face before he quickly schooled it into a mask of indifference.

“You, humans, have a saying: those who laugh last laugh best. You may think you have won now. But I know the future of the world you live in.”

As she said those words, Death walked until she was face-to-face with Harry, less than half a metre away.

“I know what kind of person you are, Harry Potter. I know that, ultimately, you would have not detonated this bomb. You may have gotten your clean slate now, but I assure you, you will come back to me by yourself. When the time comes, you will lengthen your contract out of your own free will.”

Harry stiffened in anxiety when Death raised her hand to cup his face, slightly caressing his cheek with her thumb.

“This is my prophecy for you, Harry. You and I are entwined for eternity. You will forever be mine.”

But, despite her sweet words and her kind and gentle-looking face, Harry wasn’t fooled by appearances. He had never forgotten, not even for a moment, who that girl really was.

She was, in equal measures, his master, his tormentor, and his benefactor.

She was Death.

Once Death left Earth Prime’s dimension through a portal and time started flowing again, Harry quickly aimed the Elder Wand at the QED bomb and chanted out loud:

“Evanesco!”

As the QED bomb vanished into nothingness, Harry let himself fall down on his ass. It was as if all strength had left his body.

He couldn’t believe that he, a mere human, had really succeeded in blackmailing Death, the second-strongest entity in the Universe. It was surreal. For a while, he just lay there numbly, with a blank look on his face, staring vacantly at the desolate desert in front of his eyes.

⁂

Wonder Woman, Superman, Martian Manhunter, and Flash stood silently in front of a one-way mirror window, watching over their friends and teammates sleeping in their hospital beds.

Hawkgirl’s wings were severely injured, sporting several long and deep cuts. She had lost a large amount of blood, she was unconscious.

Lex Luthor had suffered a savage beating at the hands of the villains; all his arms and legs were in casts, and his entire body was bandaged, even his face.

As for Green Lantern, his injuries weren’t as severe, but he still had a broken right arm, and his face looked like one big bruise.

Outside the hospital room, Superman sported several cuts and bruises too, but they were in the process of healing. Although he couldn’t absorb solar radiation because it was still night, his Kryptonian physiology was nothing to scoff at.

Martian Manhunter and Flash were uninjured, and Wonder Woman’s wounds had already recovered thanks to the goddess Demeter’s blessing.

“I can’t believe that Batman…”

“We don’t know for sure yet, Flash,” Superman cut him off. He knew what he had seen, but he was hoping against the impossible.

“But what happened to Emissary? Why is he still not back?” Flash asked. He was just making conversation. He couldn’t stand the quiet when the alternative was to think about Batman’s fate.

More than one hour passed since the Justice League took the Portkey that teleported them all back to their world.

“Seeing as we’re all still alive, I assume he succeeded in defeating Owlman and stopping the QED bomb from being detonated,” Wonder Woman said.

“He’s got some serious explaining to do when he comes back,” Superman said, clenching his hands into fists.

“We should head back to the Watchtower,” said J’onn. “Maybe he’s already there, waiting for us.”

“For his sake, I hope he is there. Or I will not rest until I find him and make him answer for what he did,” said Superman stiffly.

The four superheroes left the Star Labs behind them and boarded their Javelin before flying away.

⁂

As Martian Manhunter predicted, Emissary was indeed at the Watchtower. The wizard had been waiting for them in the conference room.

When the four heroes entered the room, they found Harry with his back turned at the door, his hands clasped at his back as he watched the starry sky.

“You’re back,” said Diana.

“Yes, I’ve been waiting here for a while.”

Batman’s fate was too important a matter for any of them to start off with any pleasantries. Superman asked directly:

“What happened to Batman?”

Harry didn’t beat around the bush either.

“Batman is dead.”

Faster than thought possible, Superman launched himself at Harry.

But despite the Kryptonian's inhuman speed, Harry had seen it coming, so he turned his body into a wraith, becoming intangible. Superman flew through his ghost-like body and smashed into the reinforced windows, blasting them apart and making the vacuum of space start sucking everything out of the room violently.

However, thankfully, the Watchtower’s built-in emergency measures kicked in, and a blast panel fell from the ceiling, covering the glass window that had been shattered.

“Superman, calm down, or you’ll destroy everything!” Martian Manhunter raised his voice. “You’re not alone here! We’re in the Watchtower!”

J’onn J’onzz’s shout stopped Superman in his tracks. The Martian Manhunter almost never raised his voice like that at anyone.

“How do you want me to calm down?” Superman shouted back. “He killed Batman!”

“And I saved your life and the lives of the rest of the Justice League,” Harry said once he materialised his body again. “Before you start raging like an imbecile again, do try to listen to what I have to say first. You’re not a child; you’re a grown-up man. Act like one.”

“Insulting someone isn’t exactly the best way to convince them to listen to you,” said Wonder Woman with a frown on her face.

All four of them immediately became tense and took a fighting stance when the Elder Wand appeared in Harry’s hand.

“Protego Diabolica!”

Slashing with his wand in front of him, a wall of blue flames separated the conference room from the middle. On one side was Harry, and on the other side were the four members of the Justice League.

“Flash. Do you hate me?” he asked.

“Me? I, ugh, I don’t know. I mean-”

“Let me ask another question: do you wish to cause me harm? Do you have any ill intentions against me?”

“No… I don’t want to hurt you,” Flash muttered.

“If that’s the case, try stepping through the flames. If you carry no ill intent towards me, nothing will happen to you.”

Flash raised his leg to make a step, but he put it back down. He swallowed a node in his neck and looked at the rest of his friends, not daring to go through with it. Not after he had watched Batman burn to death in his own arms.

“I’ll do it,” Diana said abruptly, and she started walking towards the fire.

“Wonder Woman!” “Diana!” Martian Manhunter and Superman both shouted alarmed, not having expected her to suddenly do something like that.

But she didn’t listen to them, and stepped through the flames. To everyone's surprise and relief, she was completely unharmed.

“Proteco Diabolica is a complex Shielding Charm, one that protects the caster against anything that bears ill intent directed at them. What did I tell everyone when I cast the spell back then?  I said that the spell won’t hurt anyone who does not wish me harm.”

“Then Batman-” Superman began.

“He hated me. As simple as that,” Harry cut him off. “The spell is never wrong. For example, if you were to try passing through this wall of fire now, you would burn to death too.”

He made a small pause before saying:

“I thought I was among friends here. How was I supposed to know Batman hated me? I bloody saved his life today. If it wasn’t for me, Superwoman and her Made Men would have torn him apart. So I ask you again, Superman, how was I supposed to know that he was fostering such animosity against me?”

Hearing Emissary’s words, as much as Superman hated to admit it, even he could see it. Batman had always been vocal about his distrust of Harry. He had never liked him. Even today, when he crossed into the other dimension, right after Harry saved his life, Batman told the rest of the League that Emissary could not be trusted.

Wonder Woman, Flash, and J’onn could see the truth in Harry’s words too.

“What now?” Harry asked when he saw that the four of them were just looking at each other silently.

Superman was the first one to speak.

“You have to leave.”

“Superman! What are you saying!” Wonder Woman protested.

“No, Diana! I won’t have a killer in the Justice League! Attenuating circumstances or not, he killed Batman! He killed one of our own! How do you expect me to be friends with someone like him?!”

“You can’t be serious! It was outside of his control!” she tried to defend him.

“That doesn’t matter!”

“So the fact that Darkseid brainwashed you when you invaded Metropolis and started killing people doesn’t matter either?”

“That was different!” Superman screamed incensed. “How dare you compare me to this murderer!”

“I can’t believe it!” Wonder Woman said, almost amazed.

“It’s fine, Diana,” Harry put a hand on her shoulder to stop her from continuing to defend him.

He knew that, at the end of the day, Superman was the leader of the Justice League. If he was so vehement about kicking someone out of the Justice League, there wasn’t much that the other members could do about it.

“No, Emissary, this isn’t right,” Martian Manhunter unexpectedly took his side too.

“J’onn, you too?!” Superman exclaimed outraged.

“Emissary saved our lives today, Superman,” the Martian said seriously and frowned.

“That doesn’t mean that he can just get away with murdering one of our own!”

“It was not his intention. And I repeat myself: without him, we would have all died at the hands of the Crime Syndicate,” J’onn said.

“Am I going crazy, or are you two going crazy? Flash, you tell them!” Superman said in disbelief and turned towards Flash for support.

The speedster scratched the back of his head, not replying right away.

“I don’t know, big guy… you’ve seen how the spell works… it was an accident…”

Harry let out a drawn-out sigh.

“Forget it, guys. Diana, J’onn, Flash… Thank you for standing up for me. Truly,” Harry said sincerely. “But I think it’s better for me to just leave. I’m resigning from the Justice League.”

“Wait, Emissary!” J’onn suddenly said. “If you’re going to Earth, take me with you. I have something important to do… something private.”

“Sure,” Harry said, not minding giving him a lift.

“J’onn!” Superman raised his voice, but the Martian didn’t stop.

As Harry grabbed the much taller man by the shoulder, the two of them vanished from the Watchtower.

Once they Disapparated, Wonder Woman looked at Superman.

“What?” he asked defensively.

“...I just thought you were different.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Superman asked in a belligerent tone.

“I think I need to take some time off from the Justice League,” Wonder Woman said.

“Tell me you’re kidding… don’t tell me you’re quitting too! Wonder Woman!” Flash said in disbelief.

Superman didn’t even attempt to stop her as she left the conference room.

“If you want to go too, feel free to leave,” Superman shot at Flash.

“What’s wrong with you, man? I didn’t even say anything…sheesh…”

“What’s wrong with me? I am the one at fault? Batman died, and it looks like I’m the only one who gives a damn about it!”

“Hey! That’s so not fair of you to say that!” Flash shouted, losing his patience too. “I’m saddened by what happened too but you don’t see me lashing out at my friends! You want me to leave? Fine! I’m leaving too!” he said and sped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

“No, I didn’t mean-” Superman began to say.

However, it was too late. Flash was long gone.

⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. If you're interested, join my Discord server at https://discord.com/invite/yRt7Bg65 if you are interested.