Wind roared passed his ears, a hurricane created by his body as he tumbled through the air. Juggernaut cursed Kara’s fiery nature, armed extended to try and stabilise his flight. He managed to turn his face toward his target, just in time to smash headlong into the smooth side of a half-molten pyramid.
“God damnit, little bird,” Juggernaut shook his body and sent an explosion of rubble into the sky. The pyramid of War lay in pieces around him, devastated by his uncontrolled arrival. “At least you have good aim…”
“YOU DARE!” An inferno blossomed from the centre of the ruined stonework, a tornado of fire that dyed the skies with crimson light. A woman levitated from the flames, face formed from luminous embers. “I will reduce you to ash on the wind, you lumbering buffoon!”
Juggernaut snorted as a maelstrom of fire washed over him, a warm caress that caused him no harm. A laugh rumbled from his throat as he set his shoulders in line with the woman of war. These Horsemen were all small fries, irrelevant compared to their master.
“That’s my line!” Broken stone exploded under Juggernaut’s feet as he lurched forward in a blur. The constant sparring with Superman and his kin had taught him how to transfer his strength into speed. “Look at what you’ve done to this place! How many people have you killed, all to serve that bastard Apocalypse?”
“My father is a God,” War rocketed skyward, just ahead of Juggernaut’s grasp. Hands extended, she pulled the heat from the flames around them and concentrated it between her palms. “Soon he will turn this entire world into his throne and set his gaze to the universe beyond!”
The skies dimmed as even the warmth of the sun coiled into War’s grasp, focused into a luminous, molten orb. An artificial eclipse took hold of the heavens, sunlight twisted into radiant braids. Frost rimmed Juggernaut’s helm, his breath turned to a plume of fog.
“Those who stand against him have only one fate,” War compressed the sphere in her hands, refined it until she held a miniature star. Her eyes flickered, a pitying glance as she gently pushed her palms forward. “NOW BURN!!!”
Juggernaut smiled, body highlighted with a crackle of crimson force. He crouched down, eyes locked on the small flare that drifted towards him. If that attack fell, any survivors within the city would be turned to cinders.
The ground exploded under his feet, reduced to atoms as he launched himself skyward. The power of Cyttorak sang in his veins, a song of blood and ruin that thundered through his soul. He was before the startled War in an instant, hands extended to smother her miniaturised star.
“You know nothing of the power of Gods, foolish child,” Juggernaut’s voice contained an echo of another. The light of War’s sun vanished in silence, consumed by a savage crimson that burned the skies. “Even En Sabah Nur doesn’t believe his lies of Godhood. The only reason he is still alive, is because the Celestial’s consider him to be beneath their notice.”
War twisted away, but Juggernaut’s hands were too quick. One palm wrapped around her legs, while the other slapped against her upper body. Bones snapped, folded backward at an unnatural angle.
“Your father should have continued to hide in the dark,” Juggernaut shook his head, the voice of Cyttorak within him dimmed to a whisper. “His toys are far too vulnerable in the light…”
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“Not so slippery now, are you?” Kara grinned as the Horseman of Death rocketed back, his left shoulder twisted into a ruined mess. The runic formation around her wrists flared, a spell that Cal had created to anchor the mutant’s shadow form in this dimension. “You’re the only reason your master is still alive, and now your power is useless.”
The Anubis-masked Horseman steadied his own flight, one hand pressed to his ruined shoulder. Eerie laughter echoed from beneath his dog-headed helmet, his body surrounded by a fog of shadows.
Kara drifted back, on guard as Death’s shattered bones slipped back into place. The Horseman rolled his shoulder, before he reached up and took hold of his helm. It slipped upward to reveal an ink-black void, one that spilled outward to cover the land.
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“My shadow realm is a small part of the greater whole, Supergirl,” Death’s voice croaked out from within the darkness, ancient and hoarse from lack of use. The shadow around him surged forward, a wave that wrapped around Kara and stuck to her skin. “It is you who will die today, turned to dust by the merciless grasp of time…”
The broken and emptied buildings around her blurred around the edges, desiccated and blown away on the wind. Kara frowned, eyebrow raised as the black fog carved out a perfect sphere around her.
“Watch as your flesh grows old before its time, ravaged by the passage of centuries!” Death cackled, half-mad as he danced around within the orb of darkness. “Despair as you wither and die, your lifespan spent in mere moments! I…”
“You’re really into monologuing, huh?” Kara appeared before a startled Death, hair grown well past her waist. She flashed the Horseman a grin, fist pulled backward. “Don’t you know, Kryptoinians are functionally immortal… thanks for the help growing out my hair though!”
Kara’s fist descended, aimed for the centre of the fog of shadow, when a blur of movement snatched the Horseman from her sight. Kara spun to face the new arrival, who had already shoved Death into a portal and sealed the gateway over.
“Sorry, Kara, but En Sabah Nur still has a use for this one,” Bucky’s voice carried a hint of mirth, almost hidden behind the gravelled tones. “You and I can play around for a bit, a reunion of family…”
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“Look at all the destruction…” Archlight shook her head as the scout ship cruised over the ravaged city. Half of Manhattan had been levelled, rolled over in a wave of stone and blood. “That pyramid looks empty, why don’t we check it out and then move to help evacuate the injured?”
Domino nodded and banked their stolen vessel to the left, headed for the base of the massive, stone monument. Something itched at the back of her mind, a worm that told her the structure wasn’t as abandoned as it appeared.
“We need to be careful, Apocalypse’s position still hasn’t been confirmed,” the itch grew stronger as she brought the ship to rest on the broken remains of a fallen skyscraper. Domino had long learned to trust her instincts, and this pyramid was bad news. “We should let Pietro do a bit of scouting, before we risk going inside…”
“Why do I always have to go first?” Pietro appeared at her side without warning, a half-eaten chocolate bar in hand. “I should get danger pay, or something… maybe get a promotion to team leader!”
“Just shut up and check it out,” Domino snorted. The young speedster was the newest member of the x-men, but his ability made him one of the strongest. “You’re the only one fast enough to get out of dodge if it turns out to be a trap.”
“Yeah-yeah…” Pietro vanished, then reappeared, his candy nowhere in sight. “I’m not sure if it’s a trap, but Professor Logan is having a nap inside…”
“We need to get out of here!” Domino spun up the engines, only for the room to light up with warning messages and alarms. The ship twisted onto its side, flipped over like a toy and slammed into the ground. “Too late…”
“That’s my line, young woman,” Logan’s voice echoed through the upturned vessel, filled with amusement and mockery. Metal screamed, sheared apart as a pair of claws carved into the scout’s bridge. “It’s too late to run, your only path forward is to join Apocalypse.”
“Sorry, Professor, but you know that we can’t do that,” Domino glanced at the members of her team, eyes narrowed. Even with Pietro’s speed and Colossus’ strength, they stood no chance against their former teacher. “Why don’t we just agree to disagree and go our separate ways?”
No chance, kid,” Logan reached out, his hand an inch from the bridge of her nose, when a familiar ripple slipped from within the core of her being. Fate closed its eyes and chance became certainty. “What did you…”
“Finally back… Logan?” Superman popped into reality, shoulder to shoulder with a wide eyed Domino. “It looks like things have gotten out of hand while I was away…”
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“This is taking forever,” Dan picked up the pace, on target to reemerge somewhere on his chosen Earth. Distance seemed to be nonexistent here, an illusion created by his mind. “Slow down and focus…”
Eyes closed, Dan let his body flow toward his destination, all expectations left behind. Space around him flickered, replaced by the touch of sunbaked wind. The familiar tang of fossil fuel and humanity, combined with the reek of blood.
“Finally back… Logan?” His focus returned to his surroundings, only to find Logan about to beat Domino over the head. He extended a hand and chopped Logan on the side of the neck, a blow that sent a dangerous ripple through the Earth. “It looks like things have gotten out of hand while I was away…”
“Superman, you’re back!” Domino leaned forward, arms extended to showcase the devastation around them. “Where were you?”
“Learning how to find our enemy…” Dan frowned, two fingers pressed to his temple. A new layer had been added to his normal perceptions, more than one. “Everyone else is doing alright, but Kara’s in trouble…”
The world around him rippled, replaced by the sounds of battle. Kara tumbled past, covered in blood as she crashed through another ruined city. Dan’s eyes flashed red as he took in the countless dead. His decision to enter the phantom zone had cost the Earth more than it should have to pay.
“Dan-EL, you’re back!” Bucky’s voice, distorted but recognisable, thundered from the mouth of an oversized hulk. His mutation had been unleashed, to a result Dan had honestly feared. “My Master would have words with you…”
“I’ll deal with him soon enough,” Dan’s words were soft, but they shook the air and battered the Mutant Doomsday to his knees. “First, I need to help the others finish up their work.”
The connection to the phantom zone let him view more than he could have ever imagined, but now was not the time to become lost in his power. Dan reached out, a wave of boundless energy that infused into the warriors of Krypton.
Drawn from the phantom zone and controlled by his will, it healed their wounds and empowered them beyond their limits. From the young mutants of the x-men, to the mechanical army of Primes, he raised up all who fought against the forces of Apocalypse.
“What is this…” Kara exploded from beneath the rubble below, her body edged in an ominous black light. The sigil of the house of EL on her chest radiated silver, bright enough to cast shadows over the land. “I feel unstoppable!”
“Then prove it,” Dan waved her toward Bucky, before the world shifted once more. He stood within a truly massive pyramid, positioned just above the unborn Celestial at the Earth’s core. “En Sabah Nur, your actions have caused the deaths of countless living beings… what say you in your defence?”