(Aden's P.O.V)
Ascension. It was like everything and nothing I had anticipated it being. Power was a given. After all gods were principalities. They held shallow control over powerful concepts. But what I hadn't known was just how true that statement rang.
I could feel my realm shake in response to a smidgen of my power. The mortal realm struggled to house me. It struggled because I was not a mortal anymore. Perhaps I should explain...or maybe I shouldn't. Gods were a mystery package after all. Maybe explaining it steals the meaning away.
All I knew was that, nothing was ever going to be the same.
I ran my fingers over the luscious hair of my sleeping daughter. My presence seemed to ease her tense expression as she spiritualized. A comfortable state of rest where Kai dematerialized in my eyes and joined the fire realm. Simultaneously connected to, while being the aspect of destruction.
I could now understand what exactly my spirits were. My gaze could spear past the layers of anonymity, that which even they had no knowledge of and see. But it wasn't the time.
My anger was palpable and the volcanoes erupted next to me as Kai shared that same anger. Someone had dared...dared to lay hands on what was mine.
"Sleep my daughter. I give you my promise as the god of flames and air, they shall all suffer."
Blazing lightning strikes splintered the sky.
(General P.O.V)
The world was shocked.
The threat that had seemed skeptical due to the faith everyone possessed in the Justice League was now a grim reality.
Geneva was in flames. The Palais Des Nations was nothing but a smoldering ruin full of smoke and cries from the people injured due to the proximity of the attack.
Authorities were pulling up, ambulances and the red cross marshalling up to help those in need. The scene captured by the cameras showed a man, standing above the the wrecked Symbol of the League of Nations.
Vandal looked at the Chopper and subtly motioned with a finger. The pilot started to turn back, before the suited individual wearing glasses next to the cameraman talked.
"He can catch up with us if he wanted to. Do as he says."
The craft slowly descended towards Savage. The camera man held onto the camera so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He gulped, seeing the Stony visage of the man that had dared to do what no one had ever managed, spat in the faces of every nation in the world.
The Pilot directed the helicopter down at an open field in the wrecked grounds of the destroyed buildings. The Camera man was the first to step out, his camera managing to capture the descending form of Savage.
He felt the presence of the man wearing the suit next to him. He looked like one of those secret service types from America, the camera man reasoned. Someone senior from the news station had allowed him to accompany them.
The suited man walked forward once Savage landed.
"Mister Vandal, I represent an elite group of like minded individuals..."
"Raisin strip on your left hand to make it less obvious, an experimental bomb inside your belly and a fast acting cyanide pill inside your mouth to avoid capture."
Vandal stated.
Too fast for the camera to capture, Savage had the man held up by the neck.
"You thought you could kill me?"
He reached his fingers inside the man's mouth and plucked out a tooth. The Camera man could see the wide eyes of the suited man. Eyes that were full of shock and then pain when Vandal speared his hand through the man's belly and pulled something out.
The Camera man was so shocked that he went ramrod stiff. The steady positioning of the camera managed to capture everything. The man's gurgling painful hurls of blood and the sound of flesh being torn through. The pilot freaked out and started the helicopter, seeking to get away from the madman. The camera man asked why he hadn't done the smart thing and followed.
Savage looked at the bomb that was small enough to fit in his palm. He squeezed it and the Camera man's ears popped from the sharp noise caused by the explosion of the bomb. Tongues of a bright white flame escaped through Savage's fingers before something compressed it into a bead, the immortal held between his fingers.
The camera man swayed in his feet at how close he had come to death but then felt a force grip him, holding him steady to keep filming.
"Not bad. Enough power to destroy 10 city blocks."
Savage commented looking at the Camera.
"If this was your plan, then you disappoint me."
He ascended.
"And furthermore you prove my point."
Every eye in the world was glued to the T.V watching the transmission.
"I am an inevitability. And I tire of games. The UN were not going to announce their surrender. They were going to slander my name despite the fair way I have conducted this change in leadership."
He shook his head.
"The Justice League failed in their only chance to secure my captivity. It was a matter of whose will was stronger and I won out."
"For those of you who foolishly still insist on fighting, remember this, I, Vandal Savage has existed before any of your ancestors knew how to forge or take care of themselves. Back when the beasts of fantasy walked the land. I became their protector. I became their light. Humanity is mine to rule by right. 30 minutes remain."
With that a boom tube appeared behind him and he disappeared into it, leaving behind two words,
"Tick Tock."
(Elsewhere)
The Watchtower was now reoriented back in its position. Dr. Fate used all the Power he could to repair the damages that couldn't wait for any of the Lanterns to work on. Black Canary was standing in front of the display screen when a copy of Dr.Fate returned with Superman in tow.
The man of steel rubbed his jaw, feeling the dislocated part fix itself. The first thing Black Canary did was launch herself at Clark and hug him. Then she stepped back, a smile on her face.
"Good to have you back."
Superman grinned as well.
"It's good to be back." Then he turned his attention to the meeting hall.
"Now, what is going on? And how come Savage is powerful enough to send me flying down to earth?"
Black Canary then told him everything that had transpired. A short version of course, time was of the essence.
When she was done, Superman had a stern look on his face.
"What do you need me to do?"
Canary wasn't the one who answered.
"Well." Robin groaned getting up from a seat where Canary had placed him to rest after he'd hit his head.
"We can start by making sure Savage loses control of those androids."
"You're up."
Canary commented happily.
"Good. The team is about to arrive in the coordinates you gave them. If you're right, we can shut down the control hub by transmitting the program from there."
She turned to Superman.
"He found a series of unique key codes that can theoretically shut off Red Tornado's processing core from one of Morrow's hidden abandoned labs."
"That seems a little too convenient."
Superman stated, flying closer to the Holo display. Satellite feed showed Superion and a few figures Superman did not know, scouting out a building in Vancouver.
"We need to get the League back." Superman said.
"You said you lost comms with them once they arrived on scene?"
"Your teammates are likey in another dimension. I cannot feel Zatara's magical presence anywhere on earth."
A double voiced entity made itself known. Flying in, Dr. Fate exuded power.
Subtly and almost as if she'd imagined it, Canary saw Superman stiffen.
"Another dimension? Oh Rao...that complicates things."
"Robin and I can handle the situation here. The two of you on the other hand, need to find a way to get them back."
Canary addressed Superman and Dr.Fate.
"I might be able to find a way to trace their energy in the Fortress of Solitude."
The Man of Steel mused.
With a division of duties, Superman swiftly changed into his costume and made his way back to the meeting hall.
"Are you read...y"
The words caught on his throat however as the short figure of Dr.Fate started hovering in the room ominously.
"He comes." The double voice that left the helmet sounded afraid and nervous.
"He comes."
"Who?"
Black Canary, Superman and Robin looked around in alarm. Superman activated his supervision and used it to scan the room.
Apart from Canary, Fate, Robin and a glorious figure covered in the first ray of light, the world had ever seen, the wild tongues of fire essence and soft wind breezes swirling green and yellow around him, there wasn't anyone else in the meeting hall.
His gaze passed over his eyes and beautiful face. Beautiful not handsome. One of his eyes was green and the other red. His black hair gently swayed behind him, shining with scattered stars while he walked forward, two symbols flashed on his Glabella whenever he shifted his stance. His feet never seemed to touch the ground.
His presence was so overwhelming, none of them seemed to even sense it.
He had on a green and golden robe that resembled one worn by ancient Chinese royalty. Silken garbs that emphasized his Majesty.
Clearly nothing else was in the meeting hall apart from them.
"I...I apologize. I must have been mistaken."
Dr. Fate told them floating back down to the floor.
Inside the white expanse that was Nabu's personal space, Zatanna frowned. Dr. Fate did not make such errors in judgement and for a second, she'd felt something. Something familiar yet alien.
"I am surprised you managed to catch a glimpse of it. Even if it was for just a single split second. Bravo, human minds are not made to comprehend a god's true form."
"What?"
Zatanna questioned the familiar yet alien voice in confusion and a growing sense of awed apprehension. Something in her, something primal told her she wasn't standing before a regular human.
"Yes. Everything you feel in relation to me is simply your mind trying to attach meaning to something it cannot comprehend. I am of course making it easier for you but that's not here nor there."
The voice responded, growing more familiar yet more alien as it talked.
Tears fell down the young girls cheeks.
"Crying?" She said softly.
"Why am I crying?"
"Awe. Shock. Surprise... your mind is your greatest strength but such strength can also be turned into weakness by an illusion. What you believe, exists simply because you believe it does. So if Crying is how you perceive a meeting with a god would happen then that is exactly what will happen."
Nabu was suspiciously silent. Fear hit Zatanna like a ton of bricks, she looked around wide endless white.
"What are you?! Where are you?!"
Dr. Fate fell from the sky, only to gently land in Aden's arms. Everything cane rushing back to their minds. Time started moving again and everyone could breath.
"I've only been gone for two months yet the world is teetering on the edge of collapse."
"A...Aden..."
Black Canary said, looking on at the impossible sight before her. The wide sharp jaw and distinct features, tanned skin and voice was the only indication of this being the same boy she knew. This Aden and the original one were different.
He was bigger. His height had shot through the roof and was now standing at 6'8. His shoulders were broader and his whole figure generally more muscular while retaining a slim build.
He exuded glory. A certain kind of beauty that was perfect. It was like everything that had been slightly off with his face had been fixed to give him the best features without turning him into a stranger. But the take away was the aura.
Just from standing near him she could feel a blistering heat that didn't seem to hurt her as well as the subtle scent of mint. Superman made eye contact with the dumbfounded Canary. His own shock was reflected in her eyes. None of them had felt or could even now feel him. It was clear he was allowing this to happen.
Aden gently helped Dr. Fate to stand, before grabbing the edge of the helmet and removing it easily. Zatanna felt light headed. Her lips parted as a blush worked it's way onto her face. His eyes were gorgeous...his lips so inviting...his jaw so strong. His...
"Hey Zatanna?"
The figure greeted her. She nodded, too shocked to say anything.
Infact all of them were simply too stunned to react. He held up the helmet staring at its eye hole. The helmet that had been dented ever since his fight with Nabu, snapped as it became whole again, the dent on it's length filling out.
"There...brand new."
Aden stretched out his hand and handed the helmet back to the young girl. Zatanna reached out and took it. Or at least tried to.
"Remember... borrowed power is not your own."
The girl nodded with the blush covering her cheeks.
Then Aden turned to the others.
"Canary, Robin, Superman."
No response.
"Right. Stand back."
He simply ordered after seeing that they were still tongue tied. Fortunately they heeded his request and gave Aden an open space.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Aden knelt and picked up the pendant he'd gifted to Starfire as protection.
He closed his eyes and breathed out before standing and clasping Starfire's half to his own, making the pendant whole again.
Then he raised a hand up. His face settled into a cool mask, giving no indication to what was going on inside his mind. He dragged his finger down the air, like ripping a canvas with a sharp thin blade, reality unzipped.
A spatial rift caused by his new control over the Subskill. It was stable and looked like a single one dimensional line, from an angle. Aden's hand plunged inside and pulled out Klarion by the neck.
The Lord of Chaos took only a second before he started hyperventilating in a way none of them had ever seen before.
"No...no...you can't! You can't do this!!! It was them! Let me...let me go LeT ME goooo!"
His tone changed into a deep voice that grated on the nerves of the heroes present.
Teekl growled dangerously. Turning into a tiger that jumped at Aden and bit his arm. A single flame whipped out and touched it's skin. The familiar turned into fine ash.
"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!"
A single continuous wail exploded out of Klarion.
The floor under them cracked, the sound sending out ripples of destructive sonic waves that slammed into Superman who appeared before Canary, shielding them from the attack.
"Shut up."
Aden tightened his hold on Klarion's neck. The head exploded showering him with blood and brain matter. The headless body fell to the floor and turned into a sludge of black liquid that tried to flow through the cracks on the floor.
"Where do you think you're going?"
An unseen force gripped the black sludge and compressed it inside a sphere.
"LET ME GO! PLEASE! I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG! IT WAS ALL MORDRU'S DOING! MORDRU AND SAVAGE!! THEY ARE THE ONES WHO CAME UP WITH THE WHOLE THING! PLEASE! SPARE ME MERCY OH POWERFUL GOD! MERCY!"
The black sludge swirled in the sphere, hitting the bubble, trying to escape.
Aden placed a hand below the sphere...
"You're so quick to scream when I haven't even began to torture you... Klarion. Where's the bravado! The arrogance? The glee? You think I cannot see into your dirty rotten core? You're so afraid of death, of non existence that you don't understand that there is something much much worse."
Aden concluded, tightening his fingers below the sphere. A golden flame started burning below the sphere. Then the screaming begun anew. And it went on for close to thirty seconds. The screams were a multitude of human voices. Of children, of men, of women. It was terrible. It was gut wrenching and it was satisfying.
"Stop this madness."
Aden felt a hand land or at least try before it bounced off of him along with the words. He stopped scouring through Klarion's soul and turned to the Kryptonian. Aden was taller. They looked at each other. One of them intimidated by the other but still trying to act like he wasn't. The other on the other hand, looked right through the first one. Seeing and understanding everything about him.
"I see."
His eyes gained a knowing light. He then closed his eyes and the screams ended.
"Klarion is only a pawn in the grand scheme of things. If we want all this chaos to end, we need to deal with the ones at the top. Savage, The Lords of Chaos, Kronos and two more mysterious figures shrouded in darkness."
The information managed to stagger Black Canary.
"Only 26 minutes left...how, how are we going to find them all within that time and without most of the League?"
"I know where they are." Aden said, pointing at the Spatial rift he has opened.
"I will deal with 4 of them. Someone else will deal with Kronos."
(Elsewhere)
The fighting was well underway. Titans clashed again gods, splitting the sky with powerful divine attacks, the ground rumbled as the terrain changed. Volcanoes erupted with force, sending ash to the sky and casting a dark shadow over the blood of fallen enemies. Bodies were trampled upon by allies and foes alike.
It looked like Armageddon.
At the middle of the battlefield, two figures danced. One wearing silver armor that gleamed with white light against it's antithesis, a figure shrouded in darkness, that managed to erase anything that came close to him. Arrows launched by The moon goddess expired into formless energy.
Helios and Apollo, the titan personification of the sun and the god of light blasted out beams of destructive heat, mowing down the almost unending numbers of monsters on the Titan's side. Water whips, constructs of ice fell on top of Hyperion from Poseidon, their own fight causing a zone of destruction where two opposing elements crashed.
Zeus was engaged in a fight with the brothers, Crius and Coeus, the former a god of constellations that sent beams of starlight to wreak havoc on the former god king of Olympus. The other titan, the god of the inquisitive mind, manifested illusions that messed with Zeus' perception enough that he couldn't use his formidable power to do away with both.
Similar to his brother Poseidon's fight, gods and titans alike avoided their fighting zone owing to the disastrous effects of Zeus' divine attacks.
The last of the three principal gods, Hades was dealing with his own altercation against not one but 2 of the Titan's strongest, Lapetus the god of Pain and mortality as well as Pallas the titan god of destruction.
Even more than Zeus and Poseidon, their battle completely changed the landscape. The strikes sent out from the clash of Hades divine weapon against Pallas' destructive claws was incredible. Lapetus covered his brother by often sending pain beams Hades way, distracting him enough that the god of the underworld could not administer a powerful enough attack to destroy Pallas once and for all.
However all those battles were nothing compared to the two gods of war facing off against each other. Yaotl of the heavy fist as the gods called him now. His strikes were like hammers against the broad shouldered barbaric of a man that was Perses the titan god of war.
They fought with a fervor to hurt each other. No weapons, just fists and kicks that collapsed mountains under them as they laughed. It lacked grace or rather it was unrefined grace that came about from the instinctual way they fought.
"Give up granddaughter! I have a force of millions while you gods have grown fat and lazy off of sitting on your thrones all day. I can give you purpose!" Kronos swiped out a hand and sent forth an arc of yellow energy. Wonder Woman ducked under it and brought her sword swinging down with power.
The weapon dug into the gauntlet on Kronos' left arm but failed to penetrate.
"I have a purpose! Keeping the world safe from monsters like you!"
She answered pulling the weapon down. Kronos right hand snaked out in a fist that Diana blocked with a sudden white shield deployed from the armor.
"Disappointing!"
He stated and jumped after her.
"I guess it's high time I stopped watching and joined in on the fight."
A melodious voice declared. The words were heard on every corner of the battlefield. In unison they all looked above them. Olympus itself vibrated in happiness. The ash covered clouds were burned away by purple smokey flames, revealing him.
"Hahaha...nice of you to join us brother. Just make sure not to interrupt in my fight."
Yaotl directed to the sky.
"No worries Yaotl. I am just here to get rid of the trash. One particular trash that is."
Vaatu answered looking down at Kronos.
"Another pest that I will crush underneath my feet."
Kronos raged, his form increasing in size as the fights happening stopped.
Vaatu snickered.
"Dude are you blind? I got a fucking light show going on over here. My aura is off the charts, I got bitches creaming their undies when I smile and my manliness makes Hyperion look like a prepubescent boy whose voice is just breaking. Da fuck who you calling a pest? You know what Mother fucker? Die."
And with that, the world was overturned while the air screamed. Vaatu's wings sprang out behind him and a projection of a mighty dark angelic figure made itself known at his back. Blackish purple arrows, spears and lances rained down.
Kronos couldn't believe it. The lances did not touch any of the gods. They instead landed on the Titans and monsters, taking good care not to injure Perses after Yaotl had claimed him as his foe to fight.
"Is this the power of that man's creations?"
Artemis shuddered as she questioned herself. Her world view had been drastically changed ever since he had arrived in their lives.
(Aden's P.O.V)
Now I understood everything. And my hot anger changed to a chilling cold rage. Not even the least bit appeased. It was sharper now. Deadlier.
A scheme to kill me.
Normally that wouldn't make me this furious. But the second plan they had, left my mind buzzing with hate and righteous fury. Right then and there, while holding Klarion suspended in the air through curving space, I decided that none of them were going to live. No endless torture in the Hollowlands, no soul contracts. I just wanted them gone.
Equity appeared in my hands. I held it loosely while clamping a mental gag on Klarion to silence his begging. Then I turned to Superman.
"Sometimes being a paragon of justice means doing what it says. Dealing out true justice."
And then I plunged Equity's edge into the sphere. The whole ball exploded as Klarion changed into a formless cloud creature that tried to escape getting devoured by my sword. I could feel the chaos get funneled inside. I could feel that side of me croon in pleasure.
Superman and the rest were frozen, not knowing what to do. Which suited me fine because before long, Klarion was no more while I on the other hand had increased the potency of the chaos energy I could use greatly in exchange for losing myself into it. Or at least that was the case before I ascended.
"...You killed him."
Robin stated in shock. I ignored them and eyed the Space rift before me.
"If you're worried he'll be lonely...don't. I am sending his friends to him soon."
I started drifting forward, only to be stopped by the Man of Steel.
"Wait! I am coming with you."
"Clark! You can't be serious! The world needs you now!"
Black Canary interjected. Superman's gaze didn't leave my back, I could feel him staring at me intently
"He's going after Savage. Savage needs to answer for his crimes...not die for them."
I smiled.
"Suit yourself."
I stepped through.
The second I appeared on the other side, I instantly felt like I was forcing myself into a stranger's home. A stranger who was content to watch me without saying anything. Though who knew if that sentiment would hold true when I started breaking things. And break things I would, seeing as the ones I wanted to break were here, waiting for me.
I spread out my divine sense and felt it all, two planets that had been embroiled in a fight between good and evil for eons. Two planets that were opposites. Contrasts just as night is different from day or a woman is different from a man.
And I also felt her. My gaze speared past the army standing infront of me, a force numbering in...more were pouring out of holes in the dystopian city set up...so countless is the correct word I'm looking for. And I was in the less desirable one. A huge planet measuring millions and millions of square kilometers, earth would have seemed like your local town deep in the middle of nowhere in comparison.
Back to my earlier point, I could see her, trapped in a mystical purple circle as wisps of an even darker red were positioned directly on to the points of the Star symbol constructed inside the circle. At one points of the star, was a young blonde schoolgirl standing on her familiar, a giant crystal man thing.
The mystic circle itself was sustained by a black sun some 10 meters above the whole mechanism. The black sun funnily enough was made up of concentrated Chaos energy. My chaos energy. Were the black sun to explode, the whole solar system would be gone due to the amount of energy packed inside. I could feel it resist my control, likely the judicious efforts of all the Lords of Chaos.
Star was unconscious. My hands went to the pendant I had strapped around my neck. They had captured her because of who she carried...my child. My heart seized and constricted in pain. I had let this happen. Failed to protect her. But the presence be thanked, it wasn't too late. They were going to pay. For everything.
I couldn't get to her just yet but I could at least stall the energy. Using whatever control o could wrestle from Child, I rendered the black sun inert for a few minutes. Just enough time to get rid of the rubble.
But it wasn't going to be as easy as I'd thought. Being here confirmed a scary theory I'd had.
The very air sang with his will.
A whisper that reached my ear...
Darkseid Is.
A god is stronger in his domain.
"So, who came up with this stupid idea?"
I asked the gathered force seeking my head.
"An unavoidable conflict due to nature. Your nature to be precise..."
Savage spoke up, standing as the head of the forces before me.
"We waste time with words. My furies stand waiting for my orders. Ready to take his head."
An old woman dressed in funny clothes said. Actually all of them were dressed in funny clothes.
My enemies were separated into five specific groups. At the head was Savage, the old woman who I suspected was Granny goodness, a thin man with short blades sitting on a huge dog, a bloodthirsty new god, Kalibak, can't forget the muscle headed son of Darkseid, and behind Granny goodness were 3 girls. One of whom I knew very well.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" I asked my companion.
"That's your cousin."
The Man of Steel shrugged from behind me, all of his actions laid bare to my divine sense.
I nodded.
"I see."
That had become my default response.
The last four groups was the huge army of parademons hovering behind them and in the air, then Apokaliptian soldiers riding on massive dogs and the last but not quite final group was of course Child and the Lords of Chaos.
"I do not underestimate." Savage stated.
"So I hope this army is more than enough to satisfy you. Call it a show of respect before you die."
Kalibak started walking forward.
"All of us against two... I'm frankly so insulted, I will just end this farce of a fight in one move."
For all his faults, the son of Darkseid could actually back up his claims. He stepped forward and ran forward with the force of a bulldozer.
Then he jumped, coming down at me with a huge axe held above his head. The axe ominously glowed red, seeming to heat up as he went for my head. The Axe head slammed onto my finger and raptured into small shards.
My fist came swinging for his chest but Kalibak died before it even landed. Space depressed before him, turning his whole body into mist faster than he could see.
"Oh."
I hadn't actually meant for that to happen. Forget my earlier words, dude was a weakling.
"It's not all of you versus the two of us. It's all of you versus me."
I declared, levitating to the sky. Superman's heat beam slammed onto my back and curved around me, decimating a fraction of a fraction of the millions of Parademons hovering in the air waiting for the signal to attack.
The skyscraper toppling down was apparently signal ENOUGH.
The swarm rose up, covering the dark red skies due to their sheer number.
"How did you know?"
Clark asked floating up to the sky as well to face me with a wide unhinged smile.
"You mean, how I knew that you were not Clark and that you have secretly been plotting to kill me so as to seize control of my dimension, use it's connection to the source to corrupt the entire universe and place yourself at the head of all creation?"
His face changed.
"Or maybe you mean, how you have been lying to everyone that you are Rao, the Kryptonian Sun God. Knowing fully well that that would be the fastest route to power you can take due to their immense ability under the yellow sun, and the untapped resource of having a dozen of them trapped in the Phantom Zone. zealous fanatics who can do anything as long as they can justify it was done according to the will of Rao. Is that what you mean?"
"Or maybe you mean, how I know that you are just a dark spirit. I don't know how or why you came about. You might have arrived in this world by piggybacking through Iroh's inter dimensional path to this world, Laid in wait through Spiritualization, knowing the nature of spirits was lost to me at that time and then escaped through my boom tube or possessed Superman and started planning on how to oust me? I wonder how your allies would react to knowing that you are a fake..."
The fake Superman/ fake Rao's eyes widened.
"Shut up! Shut up!"
With a blur, he closed the distance between us and threw a punch that would have devastated the entire west coast had it landed. All his momentum bled away under my power.
I smiled, tapping my head.
"Don't worry, I'm not breaking you guys sort just yet. You gotta work together and get rid of me remember? All that was in your head."
I raised up my index finger, making sure they could all see, then I swung it out. Space splintered and cracked, blood rained up, down to the sides, within and out when the simple motion destroyed every Parademon in the city. And because Apokalips was one huge megacity, with one simple move, I killed off all of Darkseid's bio-engineered soldiers.
Silence.
You would think that my action would put them off. Scare them to the point where they begun to doubt if fighting me was good for their health. Instead Savage smiled. As if he was expecting this to happen.
Then it was on.
Kara pulled in first, fists held infront of her to collide against me. I waved a hand and the dark spirit that had taken advantage of all of them, pushed through the air to smack heavily on her.
Both of them bounced off one another and opened up the way for another attack.
"For the glory of Darkseid!"
A huge woman, towering over most of everyone around was already in the air, sword poised to attack me.
I blurred to her, colliding with her body at maximum velocity, felling a skyscraper, not once pausing or slowing down until we hit the ground at high speeds. I felt her ribs break underneath my knees.
A growl forced me to refocus on the rest. The dog squad seemed intent on running me down. The head dog was missing it's rider and a second later I knew why. Something bounced off my eternal spatial force field. The stoic face of the would be assassin changed when I grabbed his face in my palm.
A golden fire sprouted out from the contact and the man was reduced to ashes. That gave them pause.
"He...he just reduced Kanto to ashes."
One of the female furies stated. I looked at her sharply from the long distance between us and she stumbled back.
The dog squad had arrived closer to me by then. I could feel their wet slobber smell and fur. Raising my foot, I brought it down on the city floor with the smallest force I could muster. I didn't want to destroy the planet just yet.
The ground cratered and caved in. The whole dog legion started falling towards the dark and gloomy bottom that turned into another fire pit while I levitated away to provide a better target for them.
"Well?"
I asked Savage, curious to see what gave him such confidence in getting rid of me.
"Mob him."
Savage gave the order and as one, I was besieged by characters that would have each been at the very list, b-list villains. Their power enough to destroy the earth.
On our second clash,Fake Rao moved in with a yell, his strikes landing heavily on my forcefield and failing to penetrate through. He was subtly changing as well, his true being showing through the attacks. The force was reflected back at him, throwing his body away and clearing the space to allow for a breath attack to freeze me. The cold air phased through me as I turned my whole zone into Immateria. A state of being and non being.
Savage himself blurred onto my back, his kick swung out through the middle of the back but similar to Fake Rao, he bounced off. Spinning, the immortal reoriented himself and pushed out eye beams aimed for me. The lance of hot energy bounced off and hit Fake Rao.
The spirit absorbed the blast and split into multiple copies that surrounded me and pushed out their hands. Red hot heat drowned my position in fiery energy. The clash folded around my sphere of protection as I curved space, thinned the projectile paths and released the attacks back to his allies.
They all took cover behind the Skyscrapers and anything they could find. The sharp heat cut through the inflastructure like a knife through hot butter.
"He's playing with us!"
Supergirl shouted.
"Stick to the plan."
Savage ordered and a second later they pulled back in. Big Barda from the right with her sword held to her hips, Kara Zor-El with her eyes glowing red from the top, Granny Goodness at the back, aiming a strange device at me, the other two female furies coming from my back, Savage at my front and Fake Rao a short distance behind him.
All of them froze in space.
I held them aloft with barely a thought while floating down to the ground slowly.
"This fight is over."
I informed Savage. He was stuck in a pose that had his fist swung out towards my face.
This close and I could see the ashy tone of his skin.
"How does it feel to trade away your humanity for power you hypocrite? On second thought....I don't even care."
I loomed over him.
"What I do care however is that you deliberately set out to make an enemy out of me Savage. I can admire you not leaving anything to chance." I shook my head,
"But this!? Kidnapping the mother of my future child for a ritual designed to enslave him or her to become the Lords of Chaos pet because of his power? An unborn child? What could they have promised you that you fucked up this bad!?"
The world cracked apart as the cold rage I held tightly under my control slipped.
The whole sky started burning golden in response to my emotions.
"You are just an insignificant little toad!" This close and his soul looked ugly. Something I didn't want to even look at. His eyes held no remorse or regret at what he had done. And it made me feel better about my next move.
"I will enjoy Killing you..."
Then I walked away, disregarding him. Space started constricting around them slowly. A pressure that built up continuously at a snail's pace.
In that zone I also added a stipulation, a law of space. Their sensation was magnified a thousand fold. So the pain they were going to feel would literally be insanity inducing. They couldn't move, couldn't blink, couldn't cry. Just a pain that increased more and more and more.
My steps carried me to Kara. With a hateful glare at nothing in particular, the young Kryptonian must have had her spaceship captured by the Apokaliptians who then saw her power and decided to train her to serve Darkseid. While I could most definitely erase the brain washing, I wasn't as intuned with telepathy's fine control as I was with sheer utility and power, so I sent her to the elemental dimension. One of the Martians could help her better than I could.
Fake Rao followed after her...I wasn't done with him. Not even close.
And then I turned to begin the fight before the true fight.
"Analysed, accessing Aden Strong."
As if appearing from the very air itself, a being of complete yellow materialized before me. Space cracked and shifted, rips appeared in the fabric of reality, bringing forth things that should have remained unseen.
Tentacles of great beings that existed in the bleed poured out of the holes as the Amazo android started accessing my abilities. Oh so this was the 'plan' Savage had. Let the clearly improved Amazo copy all my powers and then kill me.
"Error! Error! Error! Cannot access."
The Android started sparking dangerously in the air as what it had gleaned from my bio signature was too complex to decipher and begun breaking down. The explosion that would have destroyed the whole of earth was safely contained in a sphere that I held in my hand.
The energy was white hot and roiling around restlessly. Space fractured around, too fragile to survive contact with the powerful energy.
I sent the ball to my hammer space and turned to face my real foe. I could sense him waiting for me. He was eager for this just as I was. Darkseid possessed an innate link to one of the Cosmos only exclusive energies, The Omega Effect and on top of that, he had pissed me off. To him, I presented a curious thing to study in his machinations to acquire the anti-life equation and I was also responsible for ending his army and General.
It was a given we were going to clash. And at the end of it all, there wouldn't be an Apokalips left.