DC : The Template System

Meanwhile, in the city...

The sky rippled crimson as Max's barrier ballooned outward like a massive dome, glowing brighter with each second. Then—

BOOM!

A sun bloomed inside it, followed by a deafening explosion that lit up the horizon. From miles away, Flash, Cyborg, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Shazam watched in awe.

The barrier ruptured, and a blinding flash tore through the clouds. A second later, a shockwave raced toward them—howling winds and a pressure wall that shook the ground.

"Oh my God…" Barry muttered.

"Green Lantern!" Cyborg yelled.

"Already on it," John said, slamming his fist forward as a glowing emerald dome sealed around them.

The wave hit.

Windows exploded. Cars flew. Streetlamps twisted like toothpicks.

The barrier held—but just barely. When the winds died down, dust lingered in the air like smoke after a warzone.

Green lantern dropped the shield. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, we're good," Cyborg replied, scanning the area with his sensors. "But Darkseid… he has to be dead after that, right?"

" Samurai Guy was actually planning to nuke him the whole time" Green Lantern muttered, wide-eyed.

"Did you guys see that? IT. WAS. AWESOME!" Shazam shouted, practically bouncing. "He blew up the sky! Max is nuts! I love it!"

"To think he could produce an attack of that magnitude…" Barry said quietly, her brows furrowed. "It's no wonder he lured Darkseid away from the city."

Cyborg glanced around. "Even then, it wasn't far enough. Look at the buildings—every window's shattered."

He turned toward the blast site in the far distance. The red haze was gone. Only a faint heat shimmer remained on the horizon.

"We should check on him," Green Lantern said, voice tense. "There's no way he walks away from that unscathed."

"Let's wait for Batman and Superman," Cyborg advised.

A calm voice interrupted them.

"No need."

They turned as Batman and Superman descended from the sky. The Man of Steel's cape fluttered in the wind, batman landing on the ground using his grappling gun.

"We need to move. Fast," Batman said firmly. "Tobi might be down."

Everyone nodded.

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

The smoke cleared.

Amid the scorched battlefield stood Darkseid, hunched over, steam rising from his cracked skin. He was breathing heavily, his once-pristine armor shattered—the chest plate gave out and clattered to the ground in pieces.

He dropped to one knee.

A cough wracked his body.

Blood splattered the ground.

And yet, his wounds—glowing faintly red—began to stitch themselves back together, healing slowly but steadily.

A few meters away, a swirling black sphere hovered in the air before unraveling.

Max stepped out.

He dropped to the earth, landing with a tired grunt. With slow, dragging steps, he moved toward Darkseid.

Mid-stride, his transformation flickered—horns retracted into his skull, the truth-seeking orbs around him tumbled to the ground and disintegrated into ash, and his pale, god-like skin faded back to normal.

A sudden wave of exhaustion hit him like a truck. Max fell to one knee, panting hard. His glowing eyes dimmed, reverting to the three-tomoe Sharingan as he instinctively tried to conserve the last flickers of his chakra.

"Damn it..." Max clenched his fist, swaying. "The transformation had a time limit...? This one-time feature sucks..."

He tried to push himself up—but his arms trembled, weak.

Across the battlefield, Darkseid saw it all.

He smirked, blood still dripping from his chin.

"In the end... I win."

Still kneeling, Darkseid's eyes suddenly glowed with burning fury—red light intensified into twin spirals.

The Omega Beams fired.

Max's eyes widened as he tried to move—but his body wouldn't respond fast enough.

The beams struck him dead center in the chest.

BOOM!

A massive hole blasted through his torso. Blood exploded out the back as Max let out a guttural gasp, his body flung backward. He crashed to the ground, motionless, blood pooling beneath him.

"NO!!" Superman's voice tore through the field like thunder.

He and the rest had just arrived—seconds too late.

Superman's eyes locked onto Max's broken body, then snapped toward Darkseid, glowing red.

With a roar of fury he tackled Darkseid, the impact blasting a shockwave that carved a deep trench in the earth, dirt and stone erupting around them.

He unleashed a flurry of punches, each blow cracking through Darkseid's still-healing body.

Darkseid's eyes flared again.

He caught one of Superman's fists and countered with a devastating uppercut, sending the Man of Steel hurtling into the sky, crashing through two ruined buildings before vanishing behind the skyline.

Darkseid staggered, smoke rising off him, blood dripping from his mouth—but before he could regain his footing—

A golden lasso whipped through the air and coiled tightly around him.

"You're not going anywhere," Wonder Woman growled, anchoring herself with both feet and pulling the lasso taut.

Darkseid strained, muscles bulging as he struggled against the divine rope—only to be blasted by a sonic barrage from the side.

Cyborg, arm transformed into a White Noise Cannon, unleashed a torrent of high-frequency blasts that sent ripples across the battlefield, battering Darkseid with pure sound and kinetic force.

---

Meanwhile...

Flash skidded to a stop next to Max's fallen form.

"Tobi—hey! Come on man—Tobi!"

Max's chest was a bloodied ruin, the fist-sized hole still smoldering. Flash's hands trembled as he applied pressure to the wound, crimson blood soaking his gloves.

"Hold on! Just hold on! You hear me?! Tobi!!"

Max's eyes fluttered.

He coughed violently, blood gurgling up from his throat as his vision swam. The world faded—colors dimming, sound drowning under a dull, growing silence.

Flash's voice became distant.

"Tobi...? TOBI!!"

Everything went dark.

Time Skip ,3 days later

Max woke up with a groan as his eyes fluttered open. He sat up on the bed he was lying on.

"You're finally awake," a voice said.

Max looked around and found Batman sitting in a chair beside the bed, wearing his Batsuit—but without the mask—reading a newspaper. As Max stirred, Batman folded the paper and stood up.

Max glanced down at his chest, noticing the bandages wrapped around him. He peeled them off to reveal that his injuries had fully healed.

"How long was I out of commission?" Max asked.

"Three days," batman replied, entering the room. "You heal fast. You were already fully recovered by the second day. We've just been waiting for you to wake up."

There was a moment of silence before Max spoke again. "Did you manage to kill Darkseid?"

"No," Batman answered, "but we did manage to blind him before he escaped."

He paused before continuing. "Which brings me to the real question—how do you know so much about him?"

Max was silent for a moment, then decided to give him a half-truth.

"Because I'm from another timeline. One where Earth fell to him, and I was the only one who escaped. There, Darkseid was far more powerful than what you faced here. As for how I arrived... I can't tell you that."

Batman didn't press further on the last part. "Well, this presents a problem. I have a feeling he'll be back one day."

"Yes, he will," Max replied. "And you'd better be prepared for him."

Max stood up, revealing he was only in his boxers. He made a hand seal, and with a puff of smoke, he used the Transformation Jutsu to reappear in his Madara gear, complete with Tobi's mask.

"I'm guessing the reason you're not wearing your mask is to make things even, since you already know who I am?" Max asked.

"Yes. My name is Bruce Wayne," Batman said as he extended his hand.

Max shook it firmly. "Well, my real name is Max Schiller. The one you knew—Pietro—was just a temporary alias."

"Nice to meet you, Max," Bruce replied.

Max looked around the Batcave and nodded. "Nice place. I'm surprised you brought a stranger into your base."

"You needed immediate medical attention at the time," Bruce said. "And this was the most secure place available—both in terms of equipment and protection from... interested parties."

"You mean the government?" Max asked.

"Yes—among others," Batman replied.

"Well, I'm not surprised," Max said.

After all, during his battle with Darkseid, he had unleashed attacks capable of wiping out an entire country. It would be weird if they weren't interested or afraid. He also had a good idea of who those "other parties" might be—and two names stuck out to him: Amanda Waller and Lex Luthor.

Those two were notoriously paranoid. But their paranoia often led to stupidity... and dangerous curiosity. The kind Max would eventually have to address when it becomes a problem to him.

"Cyborg has been wanting to show you something," Batman said, handing Max a card. "He said it's urgent. It would be best if you met with him as soon as possible. You can find him at this location."

"I will," Max replied, taking the card. "It was nice meeting you, Bruce Wayne—but I have urgent matters to attend to. Some of your unasked questions will be answered when the time comes. I'd rather explain things once and clarify everything properly."

With that, Max disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving only silence in the Batcave.

End of Chapter