The gates of the Netherworld opened (I)

All my life, people had told me to go to Hell.

I hoped they were happy now.

My name was James Jesse. Until recently, I had been a con artist. Now I was the devil's right-hand man.

"Is the list finalized?" Demon Nero asked James Jesse.

"Yes."

"Let me see—Batman, the Flash, Joker, Lex Luthor, Circe—all promising candidates." Nero looked over the list. "Captain Cold, Weather Wizard, Captain Boomerang, Mirror Master, Pied Piper... Hmm? Why are there so many Rogues?"

"Well... because I know the Rogues best, of course."

"Hmm, let's go with this, then." Nero spread her hands, and green flames unfurled, rising straight into the sky.

Gotham City.

The Batcave.

"Come out. I've already seen you." Batman rose from his workbench. "This presence... a demon?"

"Now, this is a surprise." A green flame appeared out of thin air. Demon Nero stepped out of it, followed by Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne.

A roar of fury whispered across Batman's lips. A layer of pitch-black substance covered his right arm, churning like a raging current. He threw a punch, releasing the power coating his arm across the distance and smashing it into Nero's face.

"Interesting." Demon Nero rubbed his nose. "But you're getting ahead of yourself. Won't you even hear me out? That's hardly the right attitude for a negotiation. I'm here to make a deal. What would you give... to have them back?"

"Bruce?" Martha Wayne called softly.

"You want them... You need them..." Demon Nero slowly approached Batman, his voice thick with temptation. "Just say one word, and you can have them back... Just say 'yes.'"

"No," Batman said.

"What a pity." Demon Nero vanished on the spot, and Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne disappeared into thin air as well.

Batman instinctively rushed after them, but there was