(General P.O.V)
"Alpha team out. Civilians secure and ready for evacuation."
Batman spoke through his comms as paramedics moved around him to the civilians hurdled together after they'd been saved from the Chaos vortex. The vortex shrank noticeably upon exit and Batman's computer was surveiling and running scans for any changes.
"Eew will I ever get this stuff off?"
Green Arrow asked, wiping mucus off his shirt. Alpha had been assigned the hospital ward in Atlanta, Georgia. And that had arguably been the worst chaos vortex. All the suffering from the sick had coalesced into disease monsters.
Batman reached into his utility belt and came out with pellets that he handed to Green Arrow and Zatara. Zatara wordlessly swallowed it while Green Arrow watched it curiously, shrugged and then swallowed.
"That is a strong antibiotic, just incase you were exposed to the pathogens."
"Thanks Bats."
"Htlif sith fo seidob ruo esnaelc!"
Zatara cast the spell. Immediately the mucus and filth covering them were banished away by the magician.
"Much better."
Green Arrow nodded in gratitude, before eyeing the civilians.
"Hey...did you guys notice anything odd about the ward patients?"
"What do you mean?"
Zatara wondered.
"Well, this might just be me but... looking at the placements of the beds, they should have been occupied by at most 6 people. We already know that 6 patients and 1 nurse who was on night duty were trapped in the vortex...but at one point,I counted 8 people excluding us."
Batman's eyes narrowed. He'd noticed it too and filed it away for later. That was why he had a list of all the patients. But for now,there was something else to handle.
"All teams report in."
A little bit of static before Captain Atom's voice came through.
"Bravo team out. No civilian casualties. The Chaos vortex seems to have reduced in size. Then it disappeared a few minutes later."
"Gamma team out, we're good. The kids are all fine. A few scrapes here and there but we had more problem managing them than dealing with the clowns holding pencils and rubbers inside the Vortex. The chaos pockets similarly disappeared a few minutes after we got out. "
Black Canary explained.
"Delta team out. We faced a kraken...oh not a Kraken something called a...Lusca. Oh and the initial report was wrong. It was only the captain and crew member who were sucked into the vortex. They're both safe, though the captain lost a finger saving the crew mate. Our chaos rift unravelled as well."
That made it four out of the initial 6 teams. Though based on the fact that the Disneyland chaos vortex was handled by Jason Blood, Constantine and Deadman who were closer, it made it 5 official justice league teams.
"Beta team, report in."
Nothing.
"Beta team do you read me?"
Still nothing.
Zatara and Green Arrow exchanged worried looks. Batman switched to the main channel. Beta team was Wonder Woman and Superion.
"Console, status on the Watchtower."
It only took a second before Robin answered.
"Sooo.... about that..."
(General P.O.V)
"And then there were three."
Aden intoned in a flat tone while walking towards the three last Olympians.
Athena stretched her body, eyeing Ares from the corner of her eyes.
"You go left, I go right."
Ares smirked.
"Whatever you say...dear sister."
The blow came suddenly, a spear manifesting behind Athena and plunging straight through her.
Pain assaulted her as her legs suddenly grew weak. Athena tried to speak but golden ichor trailed down her lips. She felt a movement from Ares and despite the spear stuck in her she spun out of the way of the axe that fell on her previous position.
Athena pushed off in a low crouch in the fastest speed she could use, only for Ares to bat the weapon to the side and slam a hand onto the back of her neck, hitting a precise angle that seized up her spine and disrupted her body movements. Athena fell like a puppet with cut strings.
Her eyes sought out Zeus and what she saw turned her blood cold with fear and despair. Her Father stood there with a blank look on his face. Behind him were three silhouettes of the fates. The Fates? But...Her sight was obscured by a crouching Ares.
"Sorry dear sister...but he's not going to help you. You see, Father without his Sky Father title is nothing. He's weak of mind. Growing dependent on his status instead of personal power. That's why the Fates have chosen someone more fitting to take over. Someone truly DESERVING OF THE THRONE OF OLYMPUS! AND WITH THEIR BACKING I SHALL USHER IN A DIVINE WAR TO RECLAIM EARTH AS PART OF MY EMPIRE! THEY WILL WORSHIP ME! FIGHT FOR ME! DIE FOR ME! AND WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT...ALL THE OTHER PANTHEONS WILL EITHER JOIN ME OR DIE!"
"You're...cough... you're..."
Athena tried to speak.
"Hush dear sister. Hush. It's time for you to meet your end. Go out like a god. Your head held high."
He raised his axe intent on finishing her. The blade fell but a sharp sound rang out from the impact the blade made upon clashing on Equity's short knife form. The contrast in size was incredible.
"Oi, who the fuck do you think you are?"
Aden asked, casually blocking Ares' axe. He had his head slightly bowed.
"Huh? Hahaha. Are you so eager to die scum?"
Ares mocked.
"I hate repeating myself. Who. The. Fuck. Do you think you are?"
The Avatar asked again, sparks of Purple lightning flashing across his body. A serious look appeared in Ares' eyes. Instead of talking, the god of war pulled back his axe, and adjusted the grip. He slashed out in a powerful swing from the side.
Aden flipped over his arm smoothly and curved a trail blazing with black fire across the god's side. The metal armor Ares was wearing parted but with flexibility that was out of place in such a body, he leaned back, escaping Equity's edge from touching his skin. Ares rolled away and came to a stand a meter away.
His right forearm came up to block the punch, thrown at his temple then a cross guard under his chin to block the knee headed straight for his lower jaw, only for an explosion of purple flames to escape the knee, sending him up to the sky with his forearms crying out in pain.
He grunted spinning his body to land on his legs only for a sudden streak of lightning to speedily intercept him in the sky. A heavy kick landed on his chest shattering the leftover remains of the chest armor as purple lightning coursed through. Ares was thrown away across the deserted landscape. His body bounced off the sand a couple of times before hitting a boulder with his back.
Ares fell to the ground in a grunt. He was shocked. Despite the power he wielded and one that continued to grow stronger due to the ongoing conflict...he had been sent flying away. He should have known it when Aden had handled the other gods as easily as breathing. But that was not such a surprising thing because Ares had done the same before.
But he was strong. That was undeniable. Unquestionable.
Aden landed on the ground and turned his back to Ares. His steps took him to Where Zeus stood unresponsive, Athena's body on the ground next to him. The god of battle and wisdom took in shallow breaths while eyeing Aden with a complicated angry face.
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"I wanted to be the one to teach you a lesson. One in humility that is." Aden stated,
"Your brother beat me to the punch and taught you one in stupidity. Why the fuck would you trust someone who betrayed you before? But don't worry... I'll handle him."
A boom tube manifested below her and she disappeared into his dimension. Then he eyed Zeus, considering for a second whether to break him out of the trance he'd been put in by the Fates. Aden could glean through his energy sense, strings of Fate currently tightly squeezing into Zeus' existence. The strings led back to three women who were in another layer of space, hidden and undetectable through normal means.
He grabbed the eyes of the middle figure, Clotho.
"I'm coming for you soon."
With that threat, Zeus disappeared into Aden's dimension. A keening wail sounded from the Fates as the connection was cut off.
"Beware master of disorder!"
Lachesis spoke up.
"The time for your fall draws near."
Clotho continued.
"And like all who try to circumvent fate..."
Atropos followed.
""" YOUR END SHALL BE PAINFUL!!!"""
They said in a multitude of voices then disappeared.
"What a bunch of bitches."
Aden muttered turning around to face the last god. Ares.
The final battle.
"So how do you want to die?"
He questioned.
Ares grabbed the remains of the chest armor and threw it away, fully exposing his powerful physique. He looked like a mountain of muscles. His voice rambled out as he laughed.
"If you think I'm going to fall like those weaklings...you are disillusioned."
Aden shook his head.
"No no, you don't understand. I asked you how you wanted to die. They're not dead, I still have a use for them but you god of war...the only useful thing you have is your power." He raised his hand tightened it into a fist. "And I'm going to strip it from your corpse and give it to someone who deserves it."
The red smoke wafting off of Ares helm grew more potent.
"I am going to make you suffer."
He warned making Aden snort.
"That's my line."
"Aaargh!!"
Ares stomped the ground in a few steps, making it rumble as he sped towards Aden. Then he jumped, instantly shedding his normal size for a giant of a god that cast a shadow above Aden. Aden was moving by the time Ares fell.
The ground quaked underneath the god of War's descent. His powerful battle axe split the ground into two at Aden's previous position. The Avatar had jumped at the last minute, running across the shaft of the axe towards the god of War's neck.
He stepped on Ares' powerful arm, only for shards of weapons to sprout on his skin towards him. Aden jumped off and skated in the air, around Ares' back. The god of war instantly shrunk and spun, using the still huge axe mid swing to increase his momentum. His fist passed by Aden as he leaned out of the way, bracing Ares tricep with his left forearm while grabbing the wrist in his right arm.
Then he pulled the arm down onto his knee. A sharp crack sounded out as Ares' hand was broken at the elbow. The hefty shaft of the axe fell out of the broken hand into Ares' other palm. He slashed out aiming to split Aden into two. Aden zoomed away in a burst of lightning, winding up behind Ares.
His hand was sheathed with sparks of violently gyrating purple lightning that he brought down on Ares' back. The god of war felt the danger and instantly let out a burst of telekinetic power, pushing Aden off.
Aden floated to the ground aided by air in annoyance 'So close.' He thought.
Ares breathed out heavily. That had been so close!
"You bastard!"
He called out deciding to use his entire strength. The wind picked up as a low rumble spread out across the distance between them. Red smoke rose up from the cracks that appeared on the ground. Misshapen arms with strips of flesh followed closely by rotting corpses with rusted weapons and armor rose up from the ground.
Aden looked at the scene and snorted.
"What is this, night of the living dead? Is this the best you can offer oh god of war?"
Ares gritted his teeth in anger.
"I shall..."
"Destroy me, break my body, make me suffer for eternity yadda yadda. This battle is over Ares."
Aden stated in disappointment, walking forward towards the hundreds of living dead soldiers called up from the underworld by Ares.
"And guess what...it will end with a sudden thunder clap and shock!"
With the final word, Aden fully employed his speed, purple sparks greater than anything he had displayed screeched through the air as he surpassed his highest speed.
Equity slashed out, sending a swathe of formless net like lightning that destroyed all the undead warriors before him, clearing the way for his form to blur past. His feet not touching the ground due to how fast he was going.
"Clap!!!"
Ares only felt a pressure as Equity's edge, in its lance form speared through his chest too fast to catch. The last thing he saw clearly were the shifting eyes. Aden's brown eyes flashed red.
"Equity... absorb."
Then the pain begun and Ares felt something that was linked to everything he was, get ripped out.
His eyes grew wide as bursts of divine energy rippled out, yet despite creating a crater with them at the epicenter, the energy was forcefully pulled back into Aden's weapon.
Ares started or rather tried to thrash. To do anything to stop this robbery. He could feel the darkness encroaching from the corner of his eyes.
"You brought this upon yourself Ares. Your core is stained by the lives of millions. Console yourself with the knowledge that you were not felled by any ordinary being. Your life was reaped by the Motherfucking Avatar."
Darkness fully swallowed Ares.
(Elsewhere)
"This is not what I signed up for."
Deadman stated, flying away from a beam of pure ice. This thing could even see him when he was functionally invisible!
"Bah who am I kidding...it's either this or watching Saturday morning cartoons. Actually that doesn't sound so bad..."
"For chrissake Deadman, focus."
Constantine growled, his hands flashing in the air as he managed to create a shield of mystical energy that protected him from a beam of super condensed acid.
"Six heads. Not quite the hydra. We're instead dealing with Yamata No Orochi."
Constantine explained as the monster with six serpent heads and a huge body measuring 50 feet fully stepped out of the chaos vortex. Something they had been trying to stop from happening.
The cordon across the beach was rocked with a massive wave of water that submerged the entire section in sea water.
"Is this the worst possible outcome you were talking about?"
Deadman asked.
"Gee, I wonder what gave you that idea?" Constantine shot back sarcastically.
"Is it the huge mythical monster trying to kill us?"
"You don't have to sound so rude..."
Deadman complained.
"Is everyone far away enough? I'm about to bring out the big guns."
Constantine asked the ghost man who could sense life fluctuations.
"Yeah. Go crazy."
Constantine nodded, giving him a final instruction.
"Distract the fucker."
The ghost man gave a curt nod and dove in towards the heads. A beam of Lightning shot out towards him that he dove under but a slight contact with the super beam took him spinning away as the energy managed to hurt him.
"Constantine...I can't get too close."
He told his colleague only to see him occupied by the chanting he was doing. A long tail with a huge barbed snake head from Orochi swung out and smashed into the building Constantine was standing on. The dust settled and Deadman controlling Constantine's body flew from the debris of the falling building to another.
"Whew! That was too close!"
Orochi fully stepped out into the beach and roared with all his heads. The eyes of his heads had a cruel light in them that eyed the helicopter flying a bit far away in the air.
He pulled back some of his heads, aimed at the air craft and released a beam of fire, freezing ice and super condensed air currents. They cut through the air in astonishing speeds.
"Kuso!"
The pilot cursed out and tried to shift the trajectory of the helicopter but was too late.
Death beared down on them and the reporters he was carrying. But death met someone else in between it and it's targets. In a flash of a sudden thunder clap, a figure appeared and slashed out his sword at the incoming beams.
An arc of white flames exploded out of the sword he had in his hand and swallowed the beams. Orochi felt fear grip it from the sudden arrival of this new being. But it was Yamata No Orochi! None could stand in his way.
All it's heads pulled back in preparation for another massive attack. Constantine noticed the new arrival and instead of continuing his initial magic, he expertly diverted the energy from the spell of exorcism he was planning on, to creating a zone around Orochi that stopped it's movements. He knew the new arrival could handle the task of Killing the mythical creature with minimal difficulty.
A yellow magic circle appeared below Orochi on the sand underneath the water. yellow bindings held him captive. Strong enough to obstruct it's huge body despite the straining muscles.
The White Shadow narrowed their eyes. That was an opening! Streaks of white lightning shrouded his body and he was off, skating through the sky in speeds that although were slower than his true body were still very fast.
The black saber in his hands slashed out as he passed through Orochi. The sword bit through the heads of the creature, a sheath of white flames extending out to lengthen the sword as he beheaded the monster in one fell swoop. Each head he cut off was sent to his hammer space until all that was left of Yamata no Orochi was a huge body with zero heads.
And for the finishing move...
The white Shadow looked up to the sky just as a massive boom tube manifested above Yamata No Orochi. A build up of power, that Constantine had only felt once before and not to this degree pulsed through.
"Is...it, is it a god?"
Deadman wondered.
"No," Constantine muttered confidently. Wondering whether or not to tell him. Then he reminded himself to inform Deadman to keep what he was about to reveal a secret.
"Something more powerful than a god. Something able to stand beside the most powerful of beings as equals or...even more. This...Deadman is what was responsible for my freedom. It calls itself the Avatar."
Massive streaks of silver lightning fell through the boom tube to land on Yamata no Orochi. The silver lightning rang out with screeches and whistles, unstoppable in its task to bring complete destruction to what it landed on.
Yamata no Orochi never felt when it died. It just did. All the water under the zone of magic it stood on, similarly disappeared, exposing the scarred sea floor and parts of the beach. Ash from the mythical creature blew away to the ocean.
Everything settled down as the boom tube disappeared. The White Shadow held out a hand towards the inert chaos vortex and gripped his palm into a fist. The rift of chaos closed as he reclaimed the energy. His eyes flashed red. He then nodded at Constantine and was off to the next chaos vortex.
Deadman separated from Constantine and stared at the area in shock.
"That was..."
"I know mate."
Constantine nodded. Adding not a second later,
"Blimey, I need a smoke."
(Aden's P.O.V)
The boom tube disappeared after I'd sent the attack through. I couldn't afford to waste any more time with senseless fighting when I could tell that someone was actively trying to use my chaos vortex for something nefarious. Already 8 of the vortexes were unravelled by that 'someone.' leaving only 9.
I looked at the mission tab and saw the progress on the mission I'd received go up. I had unravelled one chaos vortex and the Justice League had taken care of 4. Due to them being my allies for this mission, I knew I was going to receive the rewards for 5 of the chaos vortexes. That only left 12 vortexes that I hadn't personally gotten to. Of those 12 vortexes, 8 were unravelled and the energy sucked out. Which left 4.
I had to get to those 4 before they could!
Using the innate sense I possessed over the chairs pockets, I could direct my Homunculi puppet there while I dealt with the fall out from defeating the gods.
The hollow lands had new occupants. All the Olympians who had stood against me sans Ares who was dead were chained up in pillars set along in a semi circle.
I stepped forward to address them.
"So here's the deal, if you want your freedom back, you will have to sign this soul contract."
I held up a regular looking sheet of brown scroll that pulsed with power.
The benefits of having hundreds of thousands of demons in my realm? I had learnt how to make demon contracts. Well my own variants of course. And so the end of the plan arrived with me standing above my enemies. There was no one to save them.
I had truly won. The look on Zeus' face confirmed that for me.
(Objective Complete)
(Survive the machinations of the Fates)