The Tour of Antiquities

[V]

The wood double doors opened soundless, save for the creaking of the knobs, to the "Hall of Heroes." The most sacred to V.

"Pieces from your own time, hmm?"

The large, singular room resembled a dimly lit museum, the low hum of stage lights. The lights themselves rested on the ground looking up at the antiquities.

"The significance of these things becomes greater as you walk farther in." He said, no longer wearing his hat or cape. He seemed much smaller but still symbolic.

The first item, an uncommon sort of "Relic," was a metallic wheel chair. Next, a single boomerang in the shape of a bat, suspended, hanging under flood lights.

Te room went on forever, the iconic items that V had gotten his hands on. Near the end of the walkway, an obliviously important stand stood a marble block with a plaque on it that read

"Yes, in my fight I have killed. I have shed human blood unmercifully, but for freedom I killed. And in that I have more humanity in me than any one of you."

On top of the block rested a dark red helmet, meant only to cover the head, leaving the face exposed.

V watched Spider-man curiously.

[Spider-Man]

Spider-Man recognized the helmet instantly, and dreaded it. Magneto... His mind thought with a grimmance. Spider-Man had sent Magneto or "Magsy" to the Void a few times, often assisted by the X-Men.

Even though Peter had a lot of respect for Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, he didn't agree with the methods of him or his brotherhood.

But then something caught Peter's eye.

At the end of the hall, in a large glass case stood a wooden pole and hanging loosely from it was a tattered and bloodstained red cape.

Lots of heroes wore red capes, but this one... This one was different. Even when it wasn't being worn, the golden S symbol on it shone brightly, filling the room with ideals of Truth, Justice and what was once The "American Way," but alas, no longer.

Peter took a few steps closer to the garment as it hung behind the glass barrier.

"Superman..." He gasped.

[V]

V stood silent for a few moments, his gaze on the cape. One could only guess the expression on the face beneath the mask, but it would be safe to say that it was one of complete and unmatched respect.

"Yes, And case that holds it." He said, gesturing with a gloved hand to the "Stand" holding the cape in the glass case. A jagged sphere, slightly bigger than an average man's torso, the space pod of the baby Kryptonian.

"That is what the child, Kal El, traveled in from his home planet of Krypton." V detected inquiry on how he would know this.

"A few years ago, before I definitively decided to deviate from the roll of victim. I found myself lost in an endless walk, lost in my divided emotions.." He struggled with the next word.

"...afraid of death and failure, unsure of the worth of fighting. The walk became a "Pilgrimage" as somewhere in my mind, I knew where I was going as i entered the frozen tundra of Northern Nowhere. I came upon his castle, his Fortress of solitude. Knowing of his death, I ventured inside and through a strange mechanism of knowledge, no doubt the source of his tutelage in human life, I learned of this great man's lost home. I'd admired him more now, than the stories I heard. I knew this man had made his home here, an outsider who helped us all until THEY killed him." He paused again.

"I found the ship and brought it here. In order to build the explosives that put on the show for the 5th earlier tonight, I ransacked an old warehouse a year ago and I found the cape, The so called "Symbol of defeat" for the evils of the world that Sutler and his officers paraded around at the end of the war. Now discarded and forgotten it came to me, called to me, no coincidence that it should find me, not I that found it." His tone lowered significantly.

"There, that night, I found..It is the most shocking discovery...my true sign that someone long gone cries out for justice."

Spider-Man took a step forward, obviously touched by the story wanting to know of his uncovering.

"Please mind your step." V suddenly yelped "I'm sorry. I must ask you to be careful around this mausoleum..."


mausoleum

And there raised on the bottom of the ship was a plaque, inscribed by V himself.

Here Lies
Kal El Of Krypton
The Man of Steel

"I found him."

[Spider-Man]

Peter entered the mausoleum slowly, he knew what was in here and wanted to show respect.

In the centre of the room lay a metallic looking coffin, with the S symbol engraved on its surface.

Peter removed his mask and stared in awe of what stood above it. A sculpture, several feet tall on a platform, towering over Peter and V, of the alien hero himself.

It looked bronze and showed a smiling Superman, looking up to the skies which he often flew through.

Peter then noticed that the room, which had six corners, had another statue in each corner.

He turned slowly to see them all.

The first, a woman, winged and holding a mace. Another plaque lay beneath her feet,

Here Lies
Shayera Hall

"Hawkgirl."

The next was a military looking man, a short cut hairstyle and what looked like a ring on his index finger.

Here Lies
Jonathon Stewart

"The Green Lantern."

The next, another smiling man who looked like he was ready for a race.

Here Lies
Walter West

"The Flash."

Another alien followed, clearly the tallest statue here and the only one which didn't resemble a human being.

Here Lies
J'onn Jones

"The Martian Manhunter."

An impressive display of female power and beauty was next, the sculpture was dressed like royalty and carried a golden lasso which Peter guessed was the real deal.

Here Lies
Princess Diana of the Amazon

"Wonder Woman."

And finally, in the most dimly lit corner of the room stood a dark warrior who Peter had learnt a lot from. Peter's first thought was dread that such a man had died so injustly. Peter sprinted to the sculpture and dropped to his knees to read the plaque below it.

In Memory of
The Dark Knight,
Guardian of the Gotham,
The Batman

"Bruce..." Peter sighed, Bruce had often come to New York hunting down Gotham's crazies who had skipped town, and Peter had also travelled to Gotham to stop his own rogues before. The two heroes had learnt a lot from each other and knew each others secret identities.

This was a sad day for Peter.

[Spider-Man]

"This says in Memory of, not here lies. He isn't buried here?" Peter asked, staring back at the masked man in the cloak. V's head tilted.

"No. Few of them are, but I assumed the rest of the League's finest were departed. However, the dark knight, maybe the greatest escape artist of our time, has conquered deadly scenarios so often that claiming his death was true would be nothing more than foolish." V explained.

Spider-Man stood, he was weary and sorrowed.

"What now?"