"The Crow: Dark Game"

Chapter 5: "Battle Through the Darkness"

Disclaimer: Teen Titans, The Crow, and Yu-Gi-Oh do not belong to me by any means. People far luckier and talented than me own them.

Author's note: It's the beginning of the end, as the Titans, Robin, and Yami Yugi fight desperately to save Starfire and stop the resurrection of Thartoc. But will they be in time?

"It's been around for a thousand years

And it'll be here for plenty more

It is the face hidden in disgrace

That has now become an open sore.

"It is a false messiah

It is the face of pain

The bringer of the bittersweet

The heretic insane.

"Take my scars

Through hands of God

I found a better way

To break the walls.

"Fed all the lies and desensitized

Taught to believe that it is the way

Taught to divide and exactly why

You'll never understand my rage.

"You've never had to borrow

You've never had to steal

You eat it with your silver spoon

For me it's real.

"Take my scars

Through hands of God

I found a better way

To break the walls.

"Blood and concrete

Piss and wine

Whores that fuck

To feel divine.

"They'll clean their needles

In their shrine

In ignorance

It's bliss you find.

"Why can't you

Fuckin' open

Open up your eyes?"

Machine Head - "Take My Scars"

Robin rode through the darkened streets on his R-Cycle with Yami Yugi sitting behind him, Superboy next to him on the S-Cycle, and the other Titans behind him in the T-Car. Above, the crows that guided him and Yami Yugi soared.

Finally, they saw the immense skyscraper that was Mikanus Industries' home office building. They parked their vehicles and stepped off or out of them.

[Inside]

"They're here," Exodus said. "I can feel them."

"We cannot afford their interference now," Mikanus said. "Kazan, guard the girl with your life until the alignment is in place. As for the rest of you, see to it that those brats don't get that far."

"Yes, sir," Kazan said. He departed to guard Starfire's cell.

[Outside]

"We can't walk in through the front door," Robin said. "Too obvious."

"And they already know we're coming, so we don't have the element of surprise on our side," Beast Boy added.

"Let's go in," Superboy said. "We don't have time to stand around debating how to get in."

"You're right," Robin said. "All right, we're going to go in. Anybody gets in our way, we trash them."

Raven, Superboy, Wonder Girl, and Beast Boy as a hawk flew up to the rooftop. Raven used her telekinesis to levitate Yami Yugi, while Superboy carried Robin and Wonder Girl carried Cyborg.

"Roof access," Robin said.

"I'm on it," Raven said. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" The lock on the hatch glowed black before being undone.

"Let's go," Superboy said. He jumped in, followed by Robin, Yami, and the other Titans, and they landed in a large chamber.

"What is this place?" Beast Boy asked.

"Robin, are you getting anything more from that good-luck charm?" Wonder Girl asked.

"I can tell that she's close," Robin said. "I can also tell that we don't have much time."

"You don't even have that," a cruel female voice said. The seven heroes turned and saw all the Nightmare Soldiers except Kazan.

"You're not going to stop us," Cyborg said.

"Really?" Xero asked. " 'Cause last time I checked, I kicked your outmoded ass all over the club. Of course . . . if you wanna go for round two, I don't mind very much."

"Where are we?" Beast Boy asked.

"We're inside Mr. Mikanus's special laboratory," Mirage replied. "This is where he cooks up his grand experiments."

"What's with all these giant canisters?" Superboy asked. He looked and saw the biohazard signs on them. "Oh, fuck."

"Chemical warfare," Yami deduced. "And just who is he selling this bottled death to?"

"It won't matter to you soon," Mirage said.

Trinity summoned an energy sword. "Let's do this."

"Robin, go find Starfire," Superboy said. "We'll handle the Nightmare Soldiers."

"Thanks," Robin said. Then he ran for the exit. He had to find Starfire, and nothing and no one would get in his way.

Trinity and Wonder Girl fought, Trinity firing energy bullets out of her energy gun and Wonder Girl deflecting them with her bracelets. Trinity slashed at her with the energy sword, but Wonder Girl flew out of the way and kicked her. Trinity flipped back and continued firing with her energy gun.

Kisei threw death energy balls at Beast Boy, who was dodging as best as he could. He shifted into a tiger and ran at her, but she jumped out of the way and onto his back.

"Mind if I ride?" she asked.

Beast Boy changed into a horse and reared back, knocking her off his back. She turned her fall into a backward handspring and landed on her feet, then fired another death ball at Beast Boy, who turned into a turtle and used his shell to block it. Kisei dodged the reflected blast.

Superboy and Cyborg were fighting Xero, who wasn't making things easy for them. His strength and speed were greater than Cyborg's, and even Superboy's powers couldn't do much.

Yami fought Mirage in a deadly hand-to-hand duel, fists and feet colliding. Mirage ducked under Yami's swing and grabbed his arm, then flipped him over her shoulder. Yami rolled and rose to his feet, then leaped into the air to kick Mirage, who caught his foot and tossed him. Yami did a backward handspring so that he would land on his feet.

"Come on," Mirage said. "You can do far better than this, can't you?"

"You'll see," Yami Yugi replied. He shifted into a fighting pose and made a beckoning motion with his outstretched hand.

Mirage made a high kick aimed at his head, but Yugi sidestepped the kick and caught her leg. Mirage tried to kick with the other leg, but Yugi caught that as well. Mirage flipped backward out of his grip and then aimed another kick for him, but Yugi blocked and kicked her.

Raven pursued Exodus with fierce kicks while hovering in midair. Exodus let her hit him for a while before grabbing her leg and throwing her across the room. She righted herself in midair and fired black bolts of telekinetic energy at him.

"What are you, some kind of sorceress?" Exodus asked.

"What does it matter to you?" Raven asked.

"But it's not just that," Exodus replied. "I sense the demon blood within you. It'll make for an exotic treat, don't you think?" Then he vanished.

"Where'd he go?" Raven wondered.

"Right here," Exodus said from behind her. Raven had no time to react as he wrapped one arm around her waist and placed the fingers of his other hand on the red gem on her forehead. "Perfect."

Raven struggled in his grip, even as she felt her energy being drained from her.

"Wonder Girl's energy was sweet, but yours is luscious," Exodus said.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven chanted, generating an explosion of dark energy that blew Exodus back. "How do you like my energy now?"

Exodus chuckled nastily. "I like it a lot." He vanished again, and reappeared in front of Raven. "Greetings, sweetheart."

"And goodbye," Raven said, kicking Exodus hard. Exodus stumbled back and retaliated with a hard kick to her stomach, sending her flying into a wall. As she flew toward the wall, Exodus appeared in front of her again and knocked her back down to the ground.

How does he keep vanishing and reappearing? Raven asked herself. He doesn't teleport; I would have sensed him using that kind of power. Then she realized something.

"It's not teleportation," she said to herself. "It's speed. Figures. Vampires are fast."

[Elsewhere]

Robin stalked through Mikanus Industries with one thing on his mind: finding Starfire. And nothing would get in his way. Nothing.

Suddenly, shadows leaped out at him. Robin flipped out of their way and the shadows landed, revealing themselves as demons.

Kazan must have summoned these demons to delay me, he thought. He silently chuckled. Fool. He should know that these pathetic creatures won't stop me from saving Starfire.

The demons charged at Robin, ready to tear him to shreds. Robin replied by drawing his katana and slashing at them. However, for each demon he took down, two more arose to take its place.

"You won't stop me," he snarled. "None of you will stop me!"

He fired a barrage of X-bolts to bind the demons. Not all the X-bolts were binding bolts, though. Some were fired as shuriken to slice at the demons. However, the demons were not so quick to give up.

The demons surrounded Robin and then dog-piled him. Their apparent intent was to entrap him in their collective mass and tear him apart while he couldn't escape. However, they underestimated him greatly.

I won't let them beat me, Robin thought. Visions of Starfire came to his mind: her smile, her gentle innocence, her giggle. Every reason that he loved her came back to him. For you, Koriand'r.

With a love-fueled rush of strength, Robin burst out of the demons' hold, sending them all flying into the walls. He withdrew his extendable Bo staff and set it on the ground, using it to rotate in a circle, kicking the demons. He landed on the ground and fired X-bolts all over, trapping the demons. Defeated, they vanished.

Robin retracted the Bo staff and placed it back on his belt. Sheathing his katana, he continued running to Starfire.

[Starfire's cell]

"It's time," Mikanus said. He and Kazan entered Starfire's cell and Kazan plunged a syringe into Starfire's arm. Immediately, she felt her muscles relax. Kazan began to undo her bonds.

"What are you doing?" Starfire asked, her voice weak.

"Getting you ready for the sacrifice," Kazan replied. "The tranquilizer's to keep you from trying to break free while we move you."

After undoing her bonds, Kazan slung Starfire over his shoulder and teleported with Mikanus out of her cell. When they reemerged, they were in what looked like a large greenhouse with a glass dome for a roof. Only there were no plants, just lurid purple and blue lights.

Kazan placed Starfire on a table in the center of the room.

"She's ready for you, sir," Kazan said.

"Good," Mikanus said. He and Kazan moved to opposite sides of the table. "Now let's finish this."

[The laboratory]

The Titans and Yugi were still in the midst of the fight against the Nightmare Soldiers. As hard as they fought, the super-powered assassins seemed to fight even harder.

"Get this through your heads," Kisei said. "Your friend's soul already belongs to Thartoc. It just needs to be free of its fleshly bindings."

"Your master will not stop Robin from rescuing Starfire," Yugi said as he kicked Mirage, who simply did a one-handed cartwheel, then spun on that hand and kicked him.

"Oh, I get it," Mirage said.

"Get what?" Yami asked.

"You're buying the little black songbird time," Mirage replied. "Nice try, but the sacrifice is imminent."

"What could you have to gain from Thartoc's return?" Raven asked, even as she fought Exodus.

"Power, wealth, all the usual stuff you'd expect from a being of Thartoc's infinite power," Exodus replied. Raven created shields to block Exodus's attacks, but they were strong and it was taking a great deal of her energy to create the shielding necessary to stop them.

Wonder Girl, to everyone's surprise, burst out into a laugh.

"What the hell's so funny, little girl?" Trinity asked.

"That you guys think you'll get everything you want from allying yourself with Thartoc," Wonder Girl replied. She let out a giggle. "Sorry, but demons never follow through on their promises. If they do, it's only until they get what they want from you. Then it's 'sayonara, and by the way, take a trip to hell.'"

"You are an arrogant little girl," Trinity said. She smirked evilly. "And arrogant little girls deserve to be disciplined very harshly."

"And how are you going to do that, huh?" Wonder Girl asked.

Trinity's eyes glowed and so did her now-open mouth. Everyone paused to look.

"What the hell's going on?" Superboy asked.

"It doesn't look good, whatever it is," Cyborg replied.

Xero smirked. "You haven't used that in a long time." He glanced at the Titans and Yami. "You're all finished."

Trinity's eyes and mouth seemed to bleed light. Glowing cracks began to form in her skin. The energy began to pour out of those cracks as she laughed, her voice distorting.

"You're dead, Wonder Brat," she said. The cracks grew wider and spread until she looked like a walking, glowing road map. Finally, she exploded, bright light spewing forth from where she'd been.

"Can't . . . see," Raven said, her eyes closed against the blinding light.

When the light dimmed and the Titans' eyes had recovered significantly, they looked at where Trinity had been. In her place now was a six-foot-tall monster created from what looked like molten light.

"What the hell is that?" Beast Boy asked.

"This is my ultimate power," the light monster replied. "Does it scare you?"

"Is that you, Trinity?" Wonder Girl asked.

"Yes, it is me, Wonder Girl," the light monster replied. "So now look into the face of your death."

"I'll still beat you," Wonder Girl said. That said, she flew at Trinity, intending to body-slam her. Unfortunately, Trinity evaded her and then fired a blast of light from her mouth, knocking her out of the air.

As for Beast Boy, he was still fighting Kisei. He turned into a gorilla and tried to slam her, but she flipped out of his way and kicked him so hard he went flying into a wall, barely missing a canister. Knocked back into human shape, he got up again and changed into a pterodactyl. He flew at Kisei and grabbed her with his talons, swooping her up.

"Let me go, you stupid green punk!" Kisei yelled.

Make me, Beast Boy thought, smirking inwardly.

Kisei must have been a mind reader, because she charged up two death balls, one in each hand, and fired them at Beast Boy's underside. The impact knocked him out of his senses, which made him drop Kisei. She landed gracefully on the floor as Beast Boy fell toward a canister. And at the speed he was falling, the canister would certainly shatter.

"No!" Raven shouted and caught him telekinetically, then lowered him to the ground.

"Shouldn't have gotten so distracted," Exodus said, preparing to strike Raven and drain her energies.

"Azarath . . . Metrion . . . Zinthos!" Raven shouted. A black glow covered Exodus and then suddenly ignited, the end result being that Exodus was now a human (or vampire, as the case was) torch.

"Aaaaaaahhhh! Ahhh! Ahhhhhh!" he screamed, running around wildly.

"Fire," Raven said. "Every vampire's weakness."

"Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!" Exodus screamed.

"Oh, well," Raven said. "I suppose it would be cruel of me to leave you on fire." She telekinetically freed a convenient hose from its glass holder and fired its contents at Exodus, extinguishing the fire. However, the vampire had been so weakened by the flames that he collapsed, an unconscious black heap.

[Elsewhere inside Mikanus Industries]

Robin finally made it to Starfire's cell. "All right, you bastards, time to die!" he shouted, kicking the cell door open. To his astonishment, there was no one present inside the cell.

Where did they take her? Robin thought. Did she somehow escape and is she looking for us now? Or did they just move her?

Robin walked into the cell, looking for any psychic traces of them. When he approached the chamber, his mind was wracked by a painful vision that brought him to his knees.

He saw Mirage taunting Starfire with his living image, using it to conjure up secret fears and terrors within her. He also saw Kazan drugging her so she couldn't fight back when he and Mikanus moved her.

When the vision ended, he looked up from the ground with murder in his eyes. "They'll pay for what they did to her," he growled. With that in mind, he walked out of the cell, headed for where he sensed they'd taken Starfire. He just hoped he wasn't too late.

[The laboratory]

Wonder Girl was continuing to fight the mutated Trinity, but it wasn't easy. As an energy monster, she seemed to be even more powerful and even faster than before. Wonder Girl still wasn't ready to give up yet.

"Give up yet, little girl?" Trinity asked.

"To you?" Wonder Girl replied. "Never."

"You can't attack pure energy," Trinity said. Suddenly, multiple rays of light emanated from her body, tangling themselves into a web that ensnared the teen Amazon. "On the other hand, energy can attack you."

Wonder Girl struggled in her bonds, but even her superhuman strength wasn't enough to break the energy web.

"Wonder Girl!" Superboy shouted. He flew to her, but he was interrupted by Xero's punch.

"You should be more worried about yourself than your pretty little girlfriend," he advised in a cold mocking voice.

"And you oughtta be more worried about yourself than him!" Cyborg retorted, firing his plasma cannon at Xero. The blast knocked the evil machine-man a considerable distance away before he landed on the ground.

"Oh, you're dead, you outmoded piece of cyber-shit!" Xero yelled. He ran at Cyborg, intending to tackle him, but Cyborg had been a football player in his human life and he knew how to counter. The two half-machine beings collided with one another, each trying to wrestle the other into the ground.

Meanwhile, Yami Yugi was still fighting Mirage. He dropped and did a sweeping kick that knocked Mirage's legs out from under her, but she landed on one hand and knocked his legs out from under him as he rose. Yami turned his backward fall into a flip that brought him back to his feet.

"You're light and energy, right?" Raven asked Trinity. Her eyes glowed white. "Taste darkness." She fired a blast of shadow-telekinetic energy at Trinity, who countered with a blast of light energy from her mouth. The two forces pushed against each other, neither one gaining an inch. Finally, both blasts exploded where they met, blowing back both females.

"You mind getting me out of this?" Wonder Girl asked.

"Sure," Raven replied. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Black energy covered the light web encasing Wonder Girl and dissipated it.

"Thanks," Wonder Girl said as she got up.

"You're welcome," Raven said.

"Now you're both dead!" Trinity yelled, getting up. She lunged at Wonder Girl and grabbed her, entangling her in vines of light.

"What are you trying to do?" Wonder Girl asked.

"Consume you, little girl," Trinity replied. "Or rather, enter you and burn you out from the inside out." She began to shift into a liquid form and crested into a wave, ready to dive into her mouth. "Open wide." She squeezed Wonder Girl until the blonde Amazon opened her mouth to scream.

It was at that moment that Trinity began to descend upon her, aiming to pour herself into Wonder Girl's mouth.

"No, you don't!" Wonder Girl exclaimed. She remembered her mentor and idol's inspiring phrase in situations like these and recited it. "Hera, give me strength!" With a burst of strength, she freed herself from Trinity's deadly grip and punched her.

"I'm surprised," Trinity said. "You're a lot stronger than I thought you would be. No matter. You'll still die!" She lunged at Wonder Girl, who flew up out of her way. Trinity lunged again, and Wonder Girl dodged again. This time, Trinity's lunge carried her through the wall and into some delicate circuitry.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!" she screamed as she was electrocuted. Finally, she collapsed on the ground, reverted to her human form.

Beast Boy was still dodging Kisei's attacks, her energy blasts at a distance and her physical attacks up close. For such a cute-looking girl, she was quite vicious.

"Why won't you stay still and die?" she asked, irritated.

" 'Cause I don't feel like it," Beast Boy retorted. Then he turned into a hummingbird and flew out of the way of Kisei's next blast.

"Want me to clip your wings, little birdie?" Kisei asked cruelly.

Beast Boy flew right at Kisei, shifting into a raven as he did. His talons were out, presumably to claw at her. Kisei just fired another blast at him and that was when he turned into a turtle. He retreated into his shell, which bounced the attack right back at Kisei.

"Ahhhh!" she cried out, the death energy that she had absorbed slamming right back into her. She collapsed, unconscious.

Meanwhile, Cyborg was still wrestling Xero, who was currently forcing him to his knees.

"Do you submit yet?" Xero asked nastily. "You should know by now that you can't beat me."

Indeed, it seemed as though Xero was right. Cyborg's machine parts were rapidly reaching their limits.

Cyborg just smirked. His machine half might be reaching its limits, but his human half still had plenty of life in it, as he had discovered for himself when he'd defeated the fighting robot Atlas.

"No, I don't submit," he said. He started pushing back against Xero, putting everything he had into it.

"What the hell?" Xero wondered. "How the fucking hell are you doing this? You should have nothing left!"

"You know what your problem is, Xero?" Cyborg asked. "You rely too much on your machine parts! One computer may be faster and more advanced than another, but the real difference is the guy behind the computer! In two words, you're done!"

With a burst of strength, he lifted Xero over his head and tossed him up toward the ceiling. Then he shifted his right arm into cannon mode and fired a blast of plasma energy that slammed into the ceiling. Xero fell back down to the ground, unconscious.

As for Yami and Mirage, they were still fighting.

"It's time I ended this," Yami said.

"Yes, it is time this ended," Mirage agreed. "But I will end it, not you."

"Are you sure about that?" Yami asked. "Come on, then."

Mirage chuckled. "You're dead, you painted-up freak!" She charged at Yami, aiming a high kick for his throat. However, Yami caught the ankle of that leg. Mirage kicked with the other leg, but Yami caught that, too. Then he somersaulted into the air while holding her by her legs and they landed on the ground with him on top.

"I'm already dead," he said. The emblem of the crow flashed on his forehead when he grabbed her by her head, his fingers digging into pressure points. "Mirage, feel the pain of your sins!"

Images of pain filled Mirage's mind, the pain of all the victims she had killed. She tried to use her telepathic powers to shield herself against it, but Yami's powers pierced straight into her soul and she had no protection against that. Since her psychic powers were linked to her shape-shifting, she began to change into the images of the people she had killed.

Finally, Mirage stopped shifting and laid flat on the ground, her mind completely burned out.

"That takes care of them," Yugi said, rising to his feet.

"Now we just have to go find Robin," Superboy said. "Hopefully, he's managed to save Starfire."

[The domed room]

"It is time," Mikanus said.

"Yes," Kazan agreed. He gave Mikanus the jeweled dagger, and Mikanus raised it over Starfire's chest. Kazan removed Starfire's neck guard, leaving her chest unprotected.

"And now you shall bring forth a new order, Master Thartoc," Mikanus said. Just as he began to lower it toward Starfire's chest, a red shuriken knocked the dagger out of his hand.

"Get away from her," a cold, venomous voice said.

Mikanus and Kazan turned to see Robin standing in the doorway, cold fury in his eyes.

"And who's going to stop us, little dead boy?" Mikanus asked. "You?"

"Yes," Robin replied.

Kazan fired a blast of dark magic at him, but Robin dodged. Kazan fired another blast, but Robin dodged that one as well.

"Stay still, damn you!" Kazan yelled.

"What are you doing?" a malevolent otherworldly voice asked.

"Master Thartoc!" Mikanus exclaimed.

"Don't just stand there!" the voice, identified as Thartoc, yelled. "Get the dagger and sacrifice the girl while the boy is distracted with Kazan!"

"Yes, Master Thartoc," Mikanus said. He ran to retrieve the dagger.

"I don't think so," Robin said. He fired an X-bolt at Mikanus, pinning him to the far wall. "Struggle all you like. You'll never escape." His blackened lips curled into a deadly smirk as he looked at Kazan. "As for you . . ."

He leaped at Kazan, who tried to counter his leap with a dark magic blast, but Robin flipped over it and landed feet first on him. He reached down and removed the Azima Stone amulet from around his neck.

"No!" Kazan protested.

"This thing's the source of your power," Robin said, getting up off Kazan. "Without it, you're nothing." He clenched the amulet in his fist and when he opened that fist, the amulet had been ground to dust. "Nothing."

Kazan shuddered in fear.

Robin shook his hand until the dust that was once the Azima Stone had fallen off it. Then he grabbed Kazan by the throat and lifted him clear off the ground. With a yell, he hurled Kazan into the air and Kazan crashed through the domed roof. Robin leaped up after him and drew his katana.

"Time to die," Robin said and landed in the spot where he deduced Kazan would land. Then, as Kazan fell, he impaled him with the katana. With a swift upward and downward slash of the katana, Kazan was cut in half and the two halves of his body fell.

Robin looked once at his bloodied katana and then dragged it along the pavement. The fat that had accumulated on the sword caused the blade to ignite and he slashed Kazan's divided body with the flaming blade. The two halves were immediately engulfed in flames.

Satisfied with his work, Robin leaped back into the domed room. However, he didn't see that the ashes of Kazan's body were settling into the image of a crow.

Just as Robin came in, so did the Titans.

"Is she all right?" Wonder Girl asked.

"Star?" Robin asked. "Are you ok?"

"I am . . . fine," Starfire replied. "The muscle relaxant he gave me is beginning to wear off. I shall regain full mobility soon."

"You failed me," Thartoc's voice snarled. "But no matter. I can still return to this world. I need a pure heart to return, but that doesn't mean it has to be a heart of pure good. Pure evil will suffice."

"No, Master Thartoc, no," Mikanus protested.

"Goodbye, my faithful servant," Thartoc's voice said.

"You said you'd make me a king!" Mikanus protested.

"And so you are," Thartoc's voice replied. "The king of fools!" That said, black energy surrounded Mikanus, consuming him in its darkness. When it faded, a shadow could be seen where Mikanus once was.

The shadow did not stay a shadow long. Soon enough, it materialized.

Into Thartoc.

"The irritation we're pretending not to show

Has replaced the motivation

That I had not long ago

I know that.

"I, I don't ever want to be the one to make you forget it

I, I don't ever want to be the one to make you resent it

I, I don't ever want to be the one to make you repress it

I, I don't ever wanna be, never wanna be, NEVER WANNA BE!

"It's the beginning of the end

And I don't know where we lost control

It's the beginning of the end

And I know that I am all alone.

"Interrogation has replaced the trust we had

Your misguided accusations

Helping me to turn my back

I know that.

"I, I don't ever want to be the one to make you forget it

I, I don't ever want to be the one to make you resent it

I, I don't ever want to be the one to make you repress it

I, I don't ever wanna be, never wanna be, NEVER WANNA BE!

"It's the beginning of the end

And I don't know where we lost control

It's the beginning of the end

And I know that I am all alone.

"I thought that we would find our way

I thought that we would be okay

I thought that you believed in me

But now it seems so far away.

"The life we knew before is gone

There is no compromising

The life you save will be your own

To find your inner senses.

"Find your inner senses.

"It's the beginning of the end

And I don't know where we lost control

It's the beginning of the end

And I know that I am all alone."

Spineshank - "Beginning of the End"

End Notes: So how'd you like that? By the way, I got Robin's sword trick from Makoto Shishio in Rurouni Kenshin and the "king of fools" line was derived from Darkseid's last words to Mannheim in the two-part Superman episode "Apokolips . . . Now." The end is coming, and you won't want to miss it.