Infinite Justice 4 (IC)

[Confederation of imperial states]

"A Boom Tube." Damocles declared, returning to the battle, having been knocked halfway across Upstate New York by the Dark God. "He and his Parademons come through Boom Tubes to this world, and Boom Tubes are made by a Mother Box. They come from a hellish nightmare planet called Apokolips. Literally." The New God said calmly, explaining what he knew to the gathered heroes. "Darkseid isn't the only one with Mother Boxes, though, most New Gods have them. New Gods like me... And Titan." Damocles continued, holding up a glowing rectangular device.

"And me!" Invincible said with some hurt feelings, Damocles simply looking at his fellow New God, who was barely clothed at this point, remembering how he watched Invincible die. "Erm, Dame, you alright?"

"I... I'm fine. Are you fine?" Damocles asked back, stifling his emotions from showing.

"Yeah, I'm good. A bit breezy, but Darkseid is really about to beat our asses in. Just look at Titan, he's an absolute mess!" Invincible declared, gesturing toward their third musketeer, whose armor was badly damaged, burnt, and shattered in many places. Titan himself had some blood, scrapes, bruises, and some major injuries, but every now and again, little electrical arcs would flash as he regenerated himself. "If he was a race horse, I'd shoot him."

"Shut up." Titan mumbled, "Damocles, open a Boom Tube. Let's put him right into one of their fire pits." Titan said, stretching his muscles out once more, every inch of his body hurting and sore from the ass whoopings Darkseid was handing out, and even still from the fight with Steppenwolf. "Our goal from this moment on will be putting Darkseid through that Boom Tube." Titan said, cracks of electricity flowing from his body into the ground and the surrounding air. "Let's rock this party."

BOOOOM

A giant, whirling vortex tore it's way open behind the immense Darkseid, sucking in clouds of dust and debris. His loss of sight was a hindrance, but the unmistakable sound of a Boom Tube opening surprised Darkseid, causing him to stop his direct assault against the heroes as they gathered around Magnus. "You think this will stop me?" He asked, his calm voice eerily able to talk over the vortex. "It will only slow me down." In an instant, a man-sized object slammed into the New God's stomach hard, a definite CRACK! of a bone breaking heard.

Titan had tackled Darkseid, aided with his speed, and began to push the Dark God closer to the Boom Tube, his shoulder - still weak and recovering from the fight with Steppenwolf - breaking apart as he hit. Ignoring the pain, the New God pushed further, yet Darkseid was already about to rip the smaller New God away from his body when his hand was suddenly bound. Invincible wrapped himself around Darkseid's arm and pulled it back towards the Boom Tube, adding more force acting against the Dark God, causing his feet to barely slide backwards. Damocles, one hand holding the Mother Box, unleashed a continuous blast of explosive positrons against Darkseid's face, again putting more against the Dark God, waiting for the others to take the initiative.

Titannia - Dark Knight 4

As Both New Gods started to Beat on Darkseid, pushing the towering Titan figure towards the Boom tube, Titannia took a deep breath. An Army of Undead Demons, A God Alien Deity beating down the most powerful beings on the world, and all before morning arrived. Titannia looked over to both the Red Armored man, and the Molten Titan standing near her, "It's Now or Never!" she yelled, half calm half ready. Titannia jumped at Darkseid, slamming into his chest (between one of the spots Invincible wrapped around). Titannia began to throw a series of punches into Darkseid's abdomen as she dropped, along not doing much, but together helping to push the God through the portal. As she dropepd to the ground, she charged forward and began to beat on Darkseid's Legs, helping to weaken the New God's strength on the ground. Titannia began to push, when she heard a series of screeches behind her, as she looked, a horde of Parademons began to near her and the other Supers as they attempted to push Darkseid into the Portal. "Dammit" she said gritting her teeth and beginning to charge up her heat vision, she stopped when an Explosion hit the front of the Parademon horde.

Dark Knight shot his grappel as the Explosive Knightdart disrupted the front of the Parademons, wrapping around 2 Parademons and pulling him up. Dark Knight shot a Knightdart into the backs of one of the Paras as he jumped off. The Two Parademons exploding as he jumped off he panded on the front of another, jamming a Flashbang into the Para's mouth he grappeled off of the Para as it exploded in his jaws. Dark Knight landed on another Para demon wrapping it in a headlock as he struggled, noticing some of the Supers including Titannia noticing he yelled "Kick Darkseid into the Boomtube, NOW! I've got you covered!" he shouted as he shot an Electrical Knightdart into the Parademon's head. As The Parademon was hit with volt upon volt of Electricity shocking him to the ground, Dark Knight turned and jumped off of the Para, grabbing onto the back of another Parademon, whilst shooting Knightdarts at other incoming ones. Titannia watched, turning back to Darkseid and continuing to focus on him, "Knew he still had it in him" she muttered as she continued to help force the God back.

[New Rnclave]

Tabbis: Planet Zasha

Blinking, the Saiyan warrior watched as another Namekian entered the fray, shifting Slug's attention from him, to the new arrival. Which of course was a blessing in disguise for Tabbis. Forcing Slug to challenge his strongest attack had already been the best option in his mind, but now that he was dealing with the other Namekian, it meant Tabbis had an even deadlier edge.

If Slug challenged it and won, he'd be all the more tired as a result. If he dodged, he condemned the city around them at the least, and the planet in the best scenario. Smirking, sweat appeared on the Saiyan's brow, scalding energy building in his hand. His entire aura disappearing, Tabbis sneered at the Titan moments before his hands shot forward, the lions share of his energy exploding out into the night.

"Devil's Absolution!"

'Stop that motherfucker!'

High winds cut through the air as Tabbis was forced back by his own attack. Any remaining vehicles were almost instantly vaporized in the attack, shards of glass and molten steel showering the Saiyan. Two black eyes widened moments before the attack impacted, gloved hands flying up to catch it before Slug was obscured in the destruction of his attack.

It was almost beautiful in a way. Watching his bolt push forward, Tabbis glanced around the apocalyptic destruction all around them. The once magenta sky was now boiling, clouds warping and swirling as stray energy interacted with the environment. But it was when his beam slowed, a cold sweat formed on the Saiyan's brow. Dropping away, he rocketed off towards the Namekian, crimson energy crackling in his palm.

Arriving at the other side, Tabbis found Slug grinning at him, a single hand holding back the attack he'd thrown. Throwing his other arm forward, crimson energy arced after Slug. Sneering back at him, the Saiyan's attack was cast freely skyward, breaching the atmosphere before detonating in a spectacular event. Shrinking back, Tabbis only gaped as the lions share of his energy was so simply done away with.

"You know the price of failure." trembling, Coolers words echoed through his mind, something ticking in him as an animalistic howl ripped from his throat.

Blasting off after Slug, Tabbis struck out, a small shockwave exploding off Slug as if to prove a point. Growling, he struck out again. Each punch or kick was ineffectual. if not more so, then the last. Slug wasn't even blocking or smacking the attacks away, he was just dodging them. Avoiding them as if Tabbis was a child.

Drifting back into Slug, something different happened this time. Snatching his fist from the air, Slug pulled him downwards, impaling the Saiyan warrior on his knee, blood and spittle exploding from his mouth in a disgusting fashion. It was almost instantaneous. Several ribs buckled and snapped upon impact, air leaving his lungs as he gagged on blood. He hardly had anytime to recover before the titan flipped him around, a vise like grip grabbing his wrist and shoulder.

"You shouldn't disrespect your elders, boy." Slugs words were lost in the white hot pain arcing up his shoulder. Frantically grabbing at the gloved hand, there was a horrific crack in his collarbone, muscle and sinew pulling away from bone as more pressure was exerted against him. Snarling, the Saiyan bore his teeth, teeth digging into green flesh in utter panic, his jaw straining with effort. Slugs scream barely registered in his mind, flesh and muscle pulling free as Slugs boot pressed against his jaw, giving the weakened muscles in his shoulder a final pull.

A final cry escaped him as the limb came free, blood exploding freely from the open wound. The scream of agony was piercing, echoing through the city. Casually tossing the ruined limb away, rough fingers grasped the Saiyan by the hair, the world coming back into focus as flesh pushed back against bone, throwing the Saiyan down the ruined street, another round of chuckles escaping the Namekian.

Sliding to a rough halt, he shakily found his feet, the world nothing but a haze as the Namekian closed on him. Blood was pouring from what was once his shoulder like a geyser, drenching his body suit and forming a puddle below him. The rational side of his mind urged him to accept his death, to stay down. But something else told him to stand, and keep fighting. It was only when a pale light bathed the battlefield, that Tabbis found his trump card.

'Even this bastard can't fight an Oozaru! All I need is five-'

" You're master won't be able to help you now Saiyan." Breathing shallowly, the Butcher of the Southern Galaxy felt the first indication of a full moon fall on him. Turning cold onyx eyes upwards, Tabbis sneered at the Titan. Focusing his energies, twin bolts of energy burst from his eyes, the smell of burning flesh filling the air as they impacted Slugs chest, burrowing into flesh and staggering him. The response was instantaneous, but expected. The world spinning, the Namekians knuckles crashed across his features, sending him sailing through one of the few still standing walls in the city.

[New Rob Halfordia]

As the 1st Expeditionary Unit of Stone's Reach marched across the scorching desert of the Outskirts, they did not steel themselves, nor did they hold any fear of battles to come. Nay, they instead prepared for yet another slaughter, a bloodbath propagated by their own hands. They had reason, of course, to wield this unwavering bravado, as among their ranks were five thousand of the finest soldiers that Stone's Reach had ever produced. Each one of these soldiers was capable of engaging nearly ten of the Knights of the Unknown's own soldiers with little effort. One of these soldiers was Spectrum, a veteran of several crusades, and a shining example of what every warrior of Stone's Reach should strive to become.

As the battalion made its way through a canyon however, the wind suddenly died down, and black thunderclouds began to roll in, the armor clad hand of battalion commander rose into the air from the front of the formation, causing it to come to a dead halt. His head was directed straight forward, as were the rest of the soldier's. A figure stood further down the canyon lit orange with fire which burnt furiously as the sky began to blacken. The commander of the Expeditionary Unit closed his raised hand into a fist, and the soldiers at his back activated their energy shields and swords, taking one knee as they formed a defensive circle, shields raised.

The burning figure simply continued to watch, barely visible. As a bolt of lightning surged through the sky, he suddenly lifted his hands, and something strange began to occur. The ground began to shake, and the canyon walls seemed begin to lower, or, more accurately, the floor began to rise. Suddenly, a deep and powerful voice began to boom throughout the canyon. "I bid thee welcome, Warriors of the Reach." it proclaimed, coming from fiery figure, as the floor continued to rise, "Tonight, a crusade shall begin. A crusade led not by ignorance of the ways of our Creator, but one enlightened by His true will. For I am that will, Voluntas Dei. I alone am an extension of The Unknown's will. I alone decide who is worthy to bask in His creation, and who is not."

As the canyon floor neared the top of the walls, Spectrum looked around. Many warriors of the battalion slightly trembled, while other held firm. Voluntas Dei's power meant little without an army to back him up. The fiery being continued on, "It is God's will that Stone's Reach be torn to the ground. I am merely the deliverance of this will."

Suddenly, Spectrum heard the commander of his own unit speak up, "A strong bluff from another delusional wastelander. You will fall just like the others, regardless of any trickery you can perform on the battlefield. I suggest you surrender, and we can speak about letting you walk away alive."

"You will die here tonight, commander, as will you're men. Prepare to be..." the Voluntas Dei said, trailing off slightly as the canyon floor reached the top of its walls, flattening off, and revealing millions of Knights of the Unknown, spanning on both sides as far as the eye can see.

"Enlightened."

Spectrum stood firm, awaiting command. But none came. Nothing at all. Every soldier remained silent, not a word or sound uttered. Everything shifted out of perspective, and the enemy became blurred in his vision. I am gripping my shield too loosely, he told himself, tightening his grip on his equipment. My footing is off a little, he reminded himself, adjusting his stance by a minor degree, making himself more sturdy. I'm not going home. he assured himself, allowing his stance to falter and grip to loosen.

Tonight, I die.

[Imperial--japan]

Avis
East City

"Oh, I can handle myself just fine. I've been taking care of these things without your help for a while, thank you very much!"

Avis groaned internally as it seemed as though she managed to upset the girl. It wasn't her intention, she was just trying to keep the civilian safe, but all she managed to do was rile her up. As the Parademons charged forward and Leah had no intent on moving, Avis was about to pick the girl up herself and get her out of hear before it happened. The most ridiculous move name could be heard.

"Deadly Disco Ball!"

"Deadly..Disco Ball?" Avis tried her hardest not to laugh, but busted out into a wide grin. Someone was quite creative it seemed. Then the sphere began releasing dozens of ki beams, not very powerful, but highly concentrated and needle-thin, and thus deadly. It was an impressive display actually, and proof enough that the girl could hold her own. Numerous Parademons fell before the attack, with the only foe that Avis would get to vanquish being one that descended behind them from the sky. That one was dealt swiftly with a decapitation strike.

"Maybe you might want to stay behind me if you don't want to get hurt." The redhead stated, before flying into the group of Parademons, delivering a surprise axe kick to one of them and caving in its skull before engaging some of the others in combat. Avis grinned like a madwoman. This girl had spunk. She liked her. It would be absolutely invigorating to see how she destroys Parademons.

"I'll stay behind you alright..." Avis muttered as her heart fluttered at the destructive capacity of this girl. A brief glance at her rear being all she could spare before charging forward into more Parademons. Glory was to be found today.

[Charmera]

---

Lucas couldn't help but smile at how his servant handled the guards, those tank arms looked quite deadly. "Nice, I like what I see, and yes. We should be off. The police have probably been alerted by now. Follow me." He ordered the servant as they made their way out of the museum and into Gotham. "You asked why I summoned you. Well, I need your help. I'm on a mission for revenge and to save my family, and the skills you provide will help me. Especially with the revenge part. Now, what should I call you anyway." Since the spirit wasn't exactly who he was expecting, he wasn't sure what to call her.

"You may call me rider." She spoke, moving towards the exit of the museum, assuming that her master would follow. She walked calmly, not really in a rush. Her manner was cool and in control, as would befit a general. As she walked on the streets people's heads turned, her manner causing a few people to stare, besides her quite unique fashion. "Very well. Who is the target of your revenge? I would like to know more about the situation before we proceed."

---

Lancer frowned when she heard that her Master had not been treated well in the past, and made a mental note not to allow that such situations repeated themselves ever again now that she was here to make sure of it. Swiftly hiding alongside Susan, her heightened agility allowing her to react near-instantly, she continued listening, scrunching her forehead in thought as the idea of making her pass as Susan's relative was brought up. She wasn't entirely sure how that would even work, considering they didn't look very alike or anything. But for the sake of her Master, she was willing to go through with it, even if it didn't make a lot of sense to her.

So far, despite her questions and comments, she hadn't had any real objection or complaint to her Master's wishes. But as the two darted towards the door in order to get to Susan's home, Lancer heard her Master's comment, and suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, also holding Susan back by virtue of holding hands with her, though she quickly let go and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Well, I think I look just fine in this!" She said with an annoyed tone of voice, clearly referring to her armor.

Susan sighed and rolled her eyes. "Look that's not what I meant!" She exclaimed. "No one's used armour in hundreds of years, it would be like me turning up in whatever time you came from with a Ipod and Jeans. It would be conspicuous and you would think that I was a crazy person. I mean you could wear it for special occasions and stuff, maybe if we're LARPing or at a Renasance fair, but we're gonna stick out like a sore thumb!" She explained. Then sighed again. "I'm sorry if I insulted your dress, that was not my intention, but we should really get back home. At the very least I need to work out where you're going to sleep."

[The Republic of Atria]

Cyrus pulled himself out of the crater that Darkseid put him into. Luckily the Scarab stopped him from doing any serious damage, but he was still a little dizzy. "This didn't happen. Nope. Don't care what you say. Did not happen at all. Ow." He muttered and was just about to jump back into the fray when he saw the New Gods who recruited them to begin trying to force Darkseid through a Boom Tube. Obviously it wasn't going well. Not yet at least. "Oh NO! You get in there! We don't want what you're selling! Gimme something big!" He commanded to his Scarab. It was more than happy to oblige. The armor on his chest extended out, while his arms formed one massive weapon that was as long as Cyrus was tall. "Hell. Yes. SUCK ON WHATEVER THIS IS!" His HUD locked onto the angry god and fired the massive beam at his chest.

Tygan, almost completely drained of his magic energies, watched as everyone made one last attempt to kick Darkseid off of Earth for good. He had enough for one more good attack. It had to count. Brute force against Darkseid had already proved to be futile. He was stronger than them by a absurd factor. So he used his magic to create tiny forcefields under the ends of the Boom Tube. Helping to push Darkseid's fingers off of it and make him fall into the the Boom Tube. "Begone fiend! There is nothing here for you!" Tygan obviously wasn't the type to say badass things right before doing something badass. With him, actions spoke louder than words, and he was helping take down an evil god. Which spoke fairly loud.

Zeke was still half complaining about his dominant arm being broken, and punching Parademons with his left arm at hyper sonic speeds. "Jerkasses! Your boss is worse, but still! I broke my arm punching him in the face. Not fun." It was then that dozens of boom tubes opened up, sucking up the parademons like vacuum cleaners. "FINALLY. That's one issue taken care of." Every one of the civilians was safe as far as he could tell, and with the parademons being removed, that meant he could go back and help focus on Darkseid. He rounded the corner to see Cyrus blasting him with a gun that would be the butt of many an overcompensation joker were it not for the circumstances. He couldn't tell what Tygan was doing, but his magic was flaring up, so he assumed that he was doing something. "Get the hell off my planet you asshole!" And with his one good arm, he spun it at at relativistic speeds, creating a powerful, directed whirlwind at the Dark God to punch him through the boom Tube once and for all.

[Altito Asmoro]

Len-El

Ignoring both of people he tried to talked to, Len decided to turned his attention to Darkseid. Considering that he's not on his way to here made him realized that he may or may not involved in a fight, a fight that is so terrible to him. While flying to there, he had to squashed Parademons on his way which made the journey harder than ever, but then again it was already hard in the first place.

Arriving on the site, he found that Darkseid was involved in a fight with many other fighters, but also decided that considering Parademons may still in vicinity he decided to squashed them away, involved him in a wave of Parademons coming to himm "Come On! Fight me you filthy demons!" boasted Len as he launched his heat rays, punches, and kicks as he fought the Parademons on the sky, occasionally threw one of them to the grounds, near Darkseid.

Darkseid is in some kind of being pushed into the boom tube? Noticing this, Len turned his attention to him and blasts his heat rays Darkseid, hoping it will do some things.

[Charmera]

Cyrus pulled himself out of the crater that Darkseid put him into. Luckily the Scarab stopped him from doing any serious damage, but he was still a little dizzy. "This didn't happen. Nope. Don't care what you say. Did not happen at all. Ow." He muttered and was just about to jump back into the fray when he saw the New Gods who recruited them to begin trying to force Darkseid through a Boom Tube. Obviously it wasn't going well. Not yet at least. "Oh NO! You get in there! We don't want what you're selling! Gimme something big!" He commanded to his Scarab. It was more than happy to oblige. The armor on his chest extended out, while his arms formed one massive weapon that was as long as Cyrus was tall. "Hell. Yes. SUCK ON WHATEVER THIS IS!" His HUD locked onto the angry god and fired the massive beam at his chest.

Tygan, almost completely drained of his magic energies, watched as everyone made one last attempt to kick Darkseid off of Earth for good. He had enough for one more good attack. It had to count. Brute force against Darkseid had already proved to be futile. He was stronger than them by a absurd factor. So he used his magic to create tiny forcefields under the ends of the Boom Tube. Helping to push Darkseid's fingers off of it and make him fall into the the Boom Tube. "Begone fiend! There is nothing here for you!" Tygan obviously wasn't the type to say badass things right before doing something badass. With him, actions spoke louder than words, and he was helping take down an evil god. Which spoke fairly loud.

Zeke was still half complaining about his dominant arm being broken, and punching Parademons with his left arm at hyper sonic speeds. "Jerkasses! Your boss is worse, but still! I broke my arm punching him in the face. Not fun." It was then that dozens of boom tubes opened up, sucking up the parademons like vacuum cleaners. "FINALLY. That's one issue taken care of." Every one of the civilians was safe as far as he could tell, and with the parademons being removed, that meant he could go back and help focus on Darkseid. He rounded the corner to see Cyrus blasting him with a gun that would be the butt of many an overcompensation joker were it not for the circumstances. He couldn't tell what Tygan was doing, but his magic was flaring up, so he assumed that he was doing something. "Get the hell off my planet you asshole!" And with his one good arm, he spun it at at relativistic speeds, creating a powerful, directed whirlwind at the Dark God to punch him through the boom Tube once and for all.

Alexandria also moved quickly to produce a beam of energy to blast Darkseid in the same direction so that he headed into the boom tube. She had not been all that present in the fight itself and had only dealt a few blows to Darkseid, having attended to a few other things. She would have stayed out of it, her input in the fight not really needed, but as ever she could not resist a bit of Overkill. Overkill was practically epidemic in Heliopolis society.

Interestingly though, her crimson guard were nowhere to be seen...

[Atlannia]

---

---

"Plan? A magus of my stature has no need to prepare a plan." Came Alyssa's swift response to Lance, her more arrogant side clearly showing. After saying this, the blonde sorceress turned to Archer instead, noticing him staring at her questioningly and responding by crossing her arms and staring back, not with defiance, as that would have implied that Archer was somehow above his Master. No, her eyes were instead filled with a sort of regal dignity, the kind that sought to make it clear that she was her own ruler and the only one. But she did not do this for long, soon enough turning her attention back to the Parademon siege. Though both Lance's rampage and Archer's skirmish had made a small dent in their forces, alongside her own lightning dome of course, the sheer numbers that the Parademons sported made this almost a non-factor, and so, Alyssa began thinking of how to reduce said numbers without straining her body too much and without wasting one of her mana-bearing jewels, something she thought unnecessary at the moment.

When Lance returned to the dome, appearing somewhat frightened by the battle raging below, Alyssa listened to his inquiry and then looked down, seeing the leader of the invasion force displaying a strange power, a red beam shooting forth from its eyes. Swiftly, she performed a few insight-gathering spells, and frowned. "It appears to be some kind of divine power or mystery. The leader of these flying rats is a god. Of what sort, I have no idea; not from this Earth, that's all I know." She said as her red eyes continued to peer down at the battle taking place for several moments, before she turned her gaze from it, judging she had seen enough.

"Regardless, the fighters down there seem to be doing a well enough job at keeping it busy. They've already managed to handicap it to a degree." The heiress spoke, and indeed, Invincible and Titan had just finished blinding the Dark God, and though the act appeared to cause it to go berserk, it was still a noticeably less one-sided battle than before. "So instead of cluttering up the battlefield even more, I say you lot and I should keep the flying fire-breathing vermin off their backs." She stated, looking disdainfully at the Parademons who even now continued to smash against the lightning dome, only to be fried or vaporized by its thunder.

Focusing, Alyssa began chanting several words in rapid sucession, her lips moving at astounding speeds as she crafted verses of power in mere instants. At the same time, she began performing several hand gestures that progressively grew more and more complicated, though she did not seem hindered by their difficulty at all. As she continued the process of casting her spell, the dome of lightning began glowing, yellow light giving away its position. Then, when the blonde magus chanted the last few words and made the last few gestures, all of the light began gathering at the top of the dome, forming a sphere of swirling electricity. Suddenly and without warning, said lightning exploded in several large thunderbolts, each of them seeking out Parademons, and branching out in smaller bolts to strike others once they hit their mark. The process repeated itself a few times, resulting in the charred corpses of thousands of Parademons raining down upon the battlefield that was New York.

With the spell over, Alyssa, feeling slightly dizzy, took a few steps back and leaned on the roof access, taking a few deep breaths. Though the magnitude of the spell wasn't yet quite enough to cause her any harm, it did put some strain on her body, owing to her being out of shape due to being spoiled by a life of luxuries. Still, the spell had done its job.

Watching the remaining Parademons continue to ram into the dome, however, she frowned. "The barrier won't hold forever, by the way." She commented.

"Ohhhhh god, ohhh my god whaaaaat the fuuuuucck?"

Mina hadn't really done much in the last while apart from standing open mouthed as her brain desperately tried to process her surroundings. It might have been the fact that she had suddenly and without warning been translocated to the other side of the world, the statue of liberty just barely poking a greenish arm out from behind a skyscraper. It might have been that the impressive metropolis she had always wanted to cover was teeming with hordes of flying, fire breathing monsters and generally in a state of total chaos.

It was enough to give anyone pause really, it was also enough to roust Cykithos from his sulky retreat inside her body.

"What in the name of the Elder bones is going on?" demanded the serpent as he poked out from Mina and began swivelling his head around to take in the scenery. In fact he was just in time to witness Alyssa's rather spectacular display of magic and he made a kind of low whooshing noise that might have translated to an impressed whistle in human terms.

"So this fellow down there is responsible for all the disorder that resulted in the destruction of my snacks?" the Serpent asked Alyssa airily, his previous wariness of her seemingly brushed aside. "I have to say it would be somewhat burdensome to make my way all the way down there merely to extract satisfaction and as you observed it seems he's rather hard pressed anyway. These creatures on the other hand are rather tempting morsels."

Mina was not in any kind of shape to argue with her bodily roommate as she normally would but disorientated as she was she managed a wide-eyed, stuttering.

"W-wait, waht exactly are you gonna--"

Without warning Cykithos struck,his body spooled out of Mina and gathered in loose coils before he suddenly sprung upwards like a jack in the box, colliding with an approaching parademon his fangs sinking into its chest and plucking it out of mid flight. With a flick of his long, sinuous body he sent the parademon flying towards one its compatriots, the two monsters smacking roughly inot each other and tumbling into the side of the nearest building with a loud crash. Without bothering to watch Cykithos turned and opened his mouth sending forth an eerie blast of emerald fire that caught a third parademon in the chest, the flames sticking and engulfing the creature as it fell to the ground, screeching incoherently.

"MINA!" shouted the Serpent happily, as he used his long body like a whip to knock another demon aside. "I take that back these creatures are not delicious, do not attempt to consume them!"

"I...probably could have told you that without biting one," said Mina tiredly, starting to sound a little more lucid.

"This is rather amusing though!" added the serpent, between firing more bursts of green fire at the oncoming parademons.

"Greaaaat," Mina replied, before turning to Alyssa. "So- to recap, Earth is being invaded by that dude--" Mina jabbed a finger in the direction of the distant figure of Darkseid. "And these flying things and also we're in New York now? That's fine I mean-- it's not like I had plans or anything." The teenager looked up moodily to where Cyktihos had extended his body and was happily engaged in beating a parademon with another parademon clutched in his jaws. "I don't know about taking on a God or anything but I guess if it's going to be helpful I can let him fight those things for a while. Hell it might even tire him out and give me some peace and quiet for once."

[The Starlight]

Anya Davis and Ashkira
A shriek parted their silence, and both of their heads shot up, Anya slapping herself. “Of course they would come to Gulf City. Stupid!” she berated herself, before shoving on her helmet and making her way to the door. But then, a man crashed through the door, as if he was thrown through, and they both heard sounds of battle, and a scream.

Ashkira went first, disintegrating the debris and the door with a punch which made the bar quiver as Anya rushed the rest of the occupants out. The Essence, clambering out, saw Parademons attacking a heroine, and went on the counterattack, plowing through several Parademons who stood in her way. But there were too many of them, and by the time Anya had arrived, the young woman had been carried off. The Blue Aviatrix turned to the man she had noticed while driving in, frowning.

“He knew the woman too. Osira, he called her.” Anya piped in, furtherly describing the woman.

Anya knelt down next to the quivering man, looking closer. “Who are you? And how do you know that woman?"

[Tomia]

"You may call me rider." She spoke, moving towards the exit of the museum, assuming that her master would follow. She walked calmly, not really in a rush. Her manner was cool and in control, as would befit a general. As she walked on the streets people's heads turned, her manner causing a few people to stare, besides her quite unique fashion. "Very well. Who is the target of your revenge? I would like to know more about the situation before we proceed."

"The English Government" Lucas told Rider with contempt in his voice. "They killed my family, and stole the land of my people. My father died trying to free Ireland from their grasp." He told Rider, his fist clenched in anger. He led Rider to the small apartment that he was renting in the city. Well "renting" was a strong word. His land lord thought we was receiving payment at least. "The reason that I am here. Is that my spells have detected a magical presence here, very similar to your own. I now suspect that it is another spirit like yourself. I plan to attempt to recruit them, and whoever is controlling them, to my cause." Lucas said, not sure how he felt about this "Rider" yet. She seemed like she might be difficult to control, and not as obedient as some of the spirits he had read about.

[The Starlight]

Lorn Stormblessed | The Forsaken Amazon

Magic. The one thing that humans desire and admire. But magical things are not the beautiful, wonderful things that they are described as. Magic is a tragedy, something that should have never been. It offers hope, but it is in truth, unhope, a perversion of hope that is offered and then snatched away when the eye is turned away. Its price is too high, for what it gives, and it is a blight, a sickness upon the face of the Earth. There is no one panacea to this plague, but its reaches must be stopped. I am the Forsaken Amazon, and for us all to live, magic must die.

--From the Diary of Lorn Stormblessed
First Entry

---
Lorn Stormblessed stood upon a skyscraper in London, looking down upon the great city of London. “What was that poem of Shakespeare’s?”

Her mind, which had stored more than a millenia’s worth of ideas, plans and history, happened on it, and she looked up and spoke into the fluttering wind.

This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.

“Such an interesting realm, this England.” Tilting her head and hearing the faint clashing of a sword, she strapped her spear behind her back, and swung her circular shield to rest over her shoulder. And then, sighing, the forsaken Amazon leapt, her hair suddenly lengthening, softly grasping wires and other objects to slow herself. She pushed off a building, long lengths of her hair propelling her from building to building. And then, at last, she found the disturbance and let herself drop, not minding the 200 feet between herself and the ground.

She landed in a crouch, her shield on her left arm, her sword in the other, and then she straightened, her eyes piercing through her feathered helmet, as she hissed out, “Circe.”

Lorn beheld the sorceress entrapping the Amazon Princess, Diana in a cage made from the most abominable creation: magic.

“What’s your problem, Stormblessed? Do you not hate the Amazons? Do you not plan their demise in every waking and sleeping moment?” Circe asked, her purple eyes glittering.

“Yes, I do. But magic is my greater enemy. And the Princess is different from the murdering, hateful, self-righteous women who dwell upon ‘Paradise’ Island. So let her go, Circe, or you will feel Nth metal, and your screams shall pierce the sky.”

Circle laughed, a rich, merry sound which promised pain and retribution, as Wonder Woman looked back and forth between the two soon-to-be combatants. And then the sorceress flung out a hand,
lavender flames issuing forth, racing towards the Stormblessed.

But the weathered Amazon swept up her sword, holding it aloft, and around her the flames dissipated. Circe shouted “Ignus Maximus!” and the flames renewed themselves, and engulfed the rogue Amazon. Their heat was so fierce that Wonder Woman could feel it several feet away, and peered through the fire to witness the fate of Lorn.

But it was not a day where victory lay with the Fates, and so, Lorn, laughing, strode through the magical fire, her sword trailing behind. And then she burst into movement, dashing through a hail of arrows Circe had summoned, batting aside two tigers and slashing a tidal wave into nothingness. At the end of the onslaught, Lorn stood before the sorceress with a smirk on her face. The sorceress recoiled at her mere presence, and then Lorn lifted her sword and placed it on Circe’s cheek, the woman screaming in pain. A sadistic smile stretched across Lorn’s face as she moved the sword slowly across Circe’s face.

“Enough!” shouted Wonder Woman, the sickening smile on Lorn’s face disappearing as she regained control of herself. Then, striding over to the cage, she slashed through the bars, setting Wonder Woman free. “I have saved you once again, Diana. This is becoming quite a habit.”

“Yes.” Grumbled the Amazon, brushing herself off. “What came over you there?”

Lorn’s eyes glared as she shot back, “Magic has been the bane of my life. It killed my mother, gave me the scars I bear to this day. So excuse me if I take some vengeance.”

“Regardless, thank you for..rescuing me,” said Diana, murmuring under her breath as Lorn grinned. “I hope you find peace one day.”

“Peace?” Lorn laughed bitterly. “I will find peace when the Amazons throw aside their anachronistic ideas and forsake the Olympians and Hippolyta. I will find peace when the Olympians taste my sword and my mother is out of Tarturus, not having poison dripping into her mouth for all eternity. And that day is coming, Diana. Beware.” And then she swung away, Wonder Woman looking up at the Forsaken Amazon’s retreating form with some thought, before flying away herself.

[United Seasonal Osnilian Districts]

New York
Shane reached the battleground, weary and exhausted. Seeing that the battle was close to completion, and that everyone was pushing as hard as they could to cram him into the tube, he grabbed one of the Blind New God's legs, and began pushing as hard as he could. This thing wasn't going to take over his home world if he had anything to say about it. Sweat rolled down his brow as he continued to push. "Dangit, that's gonna rust," he muttered to himself, "but that doesn't matter if we bring him down. And I will help if it's the last thing I do."

Natalie, by now was helping deal with the Parademons. She strung four arrows on her bowstring and fired them at four of the areal menaces. SHe swung around and stabbed another Parademon assaulting her from behind with an arrow. She was now surrounded by a few dozen of the beasts. She smashed one over the head with her bare fist, and ripped the wings off another, causing it to collapse to the ground. By the time it did that, the rest had latched onto her armor, slowing her down. She put full power in her boosters and soared into the sky with her suit at such a high speed that the Parademons lost their grip on her and chased her into the sky.

[Empire of the Siberian Flaming Eskimos]

Michael rolled his eye's while he hobbled over to Abigail, wincing as moved forwards. "I won the lottery, what does it look like?" he snapped as he grabbed her arm for support. Just then, a Parademon was vaporized by some guy who was stealing his style with the trench coat. "As for that dude, I have no clue. By the way, nice coat," he said to the mystery man. Looking down at his own, he noticed the extensive rips and bloodstains. "And I will need to buy a new one when this is over." Michael lashed out a nearby Parademon that managed to lunge past his field of exploding assailants, cutting it cleanly in half. All around them battles continued to rage on. It seemed that many of the heroes had turned their attention from the Parademons to Darksied himself at this point though. Half watching, half fighting, Michael managed to make out that they were able to land several decent hits on the God, but still only managing to slow him down. It was then that the Boom Tube opened up behind him, and the heroes began their assault anew.

"Looks like the freak show needs some help," said Michael with a grin. Suddenly all of the Parademons around the Dark God started dropping out of the sky, writhing in pain as nerve gas formed in their systems before exploding all around him. Bright bursts of light and flame appeared as the creatures detonated, giving the appearance of flak being fired at him. Darksied simply roared in rage. It seemed that the fiery clouds only served to annoy him. "Well he sure is tough. Great abs too. I wonder what sort of cardio he does."

[Deminis]

Rivitz began making his way towards the village once more, as it came into view, he found it burning to the ground. His rear legs collapsed under him as he witnessed, the Shamans hut crumble into a heap, no survivors were remaining. As Rivitz walked among the deceased, remembering each of his friends as he neared the center. As he stood infront of the Shamans now crumbled hut, he began to push away the rubble until he found the old mans broken form. Rivits lifted the Shamans lifless body onto his back carfully and carried him out to lay in the center of the village. He carefully pulled each body, each friend, he created thirty seven pyres, built from the homes of the men and women he once knew. Each family was given a pyre built of their home, a funeral kept sacred to the tribe for centuries, each pyre burned bright as Rivitz stood guard as they burned throughout the day. The embers still burned red long after the setting sun had descended past the farthest dunes, the large mechanical being finally rose, turning his back and made his way north.

---

Three weeks later

Peter looked over London, holding loosely to the spire atop a smaller Cathedral. He watched as a strange looking dog walked tirelessly in the allys, dodging lights and people, keeping itself hidden well. Peter could not hold back his curiosity, this was no mere animal. It clearly had intelligence equal or beyond common humans. He had been watching the creature for three days now, when one of the lost boys had spotted it entering the city, hidden among the cargo of a freight ship. Unlike anything he had ever seen, Peter desperately wished to get closer look, but did not with to scare it off and be unable to find it again it. So he hovered over the creature quietly as it layed down among the trash, covering itself with cardboard and news paper.

After nearly an hour, Peter was certain the dag had fallen asleep. He carefully floated down to try to get a closer look. As he neared he realized its fur was not only blue, but transparent. Hiding beneath machinery unlike any he had ever seen, be it Hydra, Shield or even Stark Tech. That was when he realized he had been trapped.

"I wont hurt you" The dog said suddenly, a deep gurgling voice sounded clearly from the 'dog', yet it had made no motion at all.

"What Are you?" Peter asked, as the machine shifted, now looking at Peter, or at least aiming his eyes at him.

"I am lost, from a time far from here, and a place that may not even exist in this universe." The dog layed its head down once more, "My name however, Is Rivitz."

Peter let his feet touch the ground finally, "How did you get here?" his mind wondered to the endless technology that must have been at this 'Dog's disposal. "And why would you come here?"

"I was sent to search for a friend, One of my kind that had been lost in time. I was meant to find him, and yet. The machine that sent him through time had failed, sending him to another universe. A similar accident happened to me, despite our best efforts, we were unable to replicate the effects of the previous failure. But i will be returning home soon, I know not how yet, but Our leader has never abandoned one of our own."

Rivitz lifted his head again, looking up into the stars wondering where and if even, his "Father" might be awaiting his return. Peter simply sat and watched for a moment before finally understanding, "Your lost."

[New Neros]

Darkseid

As the final might of Earth's heroes came together in harmony against the wrath of Darkseid, the Dark God's fingers began to slip on the tear in reality he held onto, holding himself out of the Boom Tube. Combined energy attacks and physical strikes, magical blasts thrown in now and again, all worked to throw the wretched scion of Apokolips off of this world for good. Holding firm to his Mother Box, Damocles looked on with intent, looking for the right time to close the Boom Tube and send Darkseid back to lick his wounds. "I just need a little more..." He said to himself, keeping a steady stream of positrons locked onto Darkseid's head.

"Your victory... Your lives..." Darkseid mumbled, his voice able to be heard by all those around him, "...Are meaningless." With those words, a concussive blast radiated from Darkseid, throwing off all of those who had latched on to push the Dark God back to Apokolips, disrupting all around, sending Damocles flying back slightly. "You." Darkseid declared, grabbing onto Invincible's head, the New God knocked unconscious from the concussion wave. "You're coming with me." Titan, who had skidded on his back, yet remained awake, leapt to his feet quickly.

"Invincible!" Titan hollered, his New God ally stirring slightly, Darkseid turning to face the other dog of New Genesis, his eyes still bleeding their sickly lava. "Damocles, get ready." He also shouted, his other ally scrambling to grab the Mother Box he had dropped. A series of lightning flashes struck Titan in rapid succession, a roaring aura of electrical power surged across his body, causing Darkseid to smirk ever so slightly. "You're not going to take him from us... Not again."

"My Omega Effect would have seen to your destruction tenfold. You have been granted that mercy - That your death will only be delayed, and with each passing day, I will ensure it grows more agonizing." Titan's eyes, hands, feet, and the rest of his body began to glow and cackle with electrical power, the New God reaching heights he had only imagined. releasing a portion of that pent up energy in the form of an eye blast, aiming it at Darkseid's hand, the one grabbing Invincible. Striking with incredible force and power, the electromagnetically excited radiation assaulted Darkseid at a molecular level, tearing through his forearm and hand with surprising ease.

Roaring in pain and dropping Invincible, Titan released part of his energy for speed, scaling towards light speed, increasing his mass in the process. Not to the level that Zeke could accomplish, but enough to slam into the God of Evil with tremendous power, knocking him off balance, and causing electrical surges through his neurons through direct contact with Titan. "I don't know if Gods can die, but I hope you do. Don't come back. If you do, we'll be waiting, and we'll be ready." With those few choice words, Titan propelled the leviathan through the Boom Tube, the Dark God screaming as his muscles spasmed without his control, disappearing through the waves of the Boom Tube.

"I WILL RETU-"

Less than a moment after the God of Apokolips vanished through the portal, Damocles closed the Boom Tube rapidly, leaving a soft, eerie silence in the air. It was the sound of victory, despite the utter destruction of several neighborhoods, the damage was minimal compared to what Darkseid was capable of - This world experienced nothing short of a miracle. Titan collapsed to his knees, his power eroding away, his body aching all over from the final hit. "All of their Mother Boxes are fried." Damocles declared, "They won't be coming back for a while." Turning to look at the allies that played a part in the final defeat of Darkseid, Damocles offered a grin through his mask. "It's over."

"We won."

[Illica Falki]

*snip*

Eva almost let out a sarcastic response about her being 'new to the fake name', but decided against it. It confused her at first to hear Vira talk to herself, and she wasn't able to answer her question before the parademon attacked. "No I Don't know who these are, and luckily I haven't lost a home, yet..." She turned, just in time to see the Other person who tried to talk to them fly off. Sighing in slight disappointment, she turned back to Vira, "Looks like someone doesn't have much patience" She says with a smirk. She turns and takes a look at the area around them, and taking a glance at the direction the other person flew off too. "I surprised these things did as much damage as they did... They weren't exactly the biggest threat here..." she says shaking her head slightly in surprise.

[Charmera]

"You may call me rider." She spoke, moving towards the exit of the museum, assuming that her master would follow. She walked calmly, not really in a rush. Her manner was cool and in control, as would befit a general. As she walked on the streets people's heads turned, her manner causing a few people to stare, besides her quite unique fashion. "Very well. Who is the target of your revenge? I would like to know more about the situation before we proceed."

"The English Government" Lucas told Rider with contempt in his voice. "They killed my family, and stole the land of my people. My father died trying to free Ireland from their grasp." He told Rider, his fist clenched in anger. He led Rider to the small apartment that he was renting in the city. Well "renting" was a strong word. His land lord thought we was receiving payment at least. "The reason that I am here. Is that my spells have detected a magical presence here, very similar to your own. I now suspect that it is another spirit like yourself. I plan to attempt to recruit them, and whoever is controlling them, to my cause." Lucas said, not sure how he felt about this "Rider" yet. She seemed like she might be difficult to control, and not as obedient as some of the spirits he had read about.

"You're far from home if that's the case." Remarked Rider, wondering back to her memories of the British. They had been worthy opponents, and honorable ones too. She also knew of the conflict in Ireland due to her knowledge of the modern age gifted to her as part of her summoning. She hoped she would not have to resort to those sorts of tactics, which she found particularly distasteful. As much as she sympathized with their cause, that might present a problem. However, for now her master seemed reasonable enough at least. At least he has a plan to gather support, as powerful as I am I doubt I could face down britain's entire army and it's new super heroes. He knew of these heroes even before he was summoned, though they had grown exponentially since the days he encountered Captain America. "And what if they do not wish to help us?"

[Turmenista]

"We won."

Season's Greetings - Finale
Magnus, Ruins of NYC
Who gives a shit about time of day and Temperature now

And with that, Darkseid, whose hype everyone had prepared for ages, had been defeated. Just like that. It wasn't a solo effort by that badass mask wearing dude, or Speedy McZeke Gonzales, or Magnus himself.

No. He hated to say it, but despite all the cringe, it was a team effort. And a damn good one at that.

"Fuck outta here, DARKSEID!" Magnus had shouted, watching as the portal closed as Darkseid disappeared into it. "You just got your ass whooped by all of us! Goodby-"

Magnus's voice slowly lowered in volume realizing what had happened. "Oh. He's gone already. Uhh...."

The Gurdian looked around awkwardly at all the other supers, heroes, badasses, and others standing among the ruins of New York. "Well, uhh... I guess... What now..?" He shrugged- midway through the gesture he paused, an imaginary lightbulb going off inside his head. "Oh, uhh.. Why did I ask you this question. Okay. I know what we can do.."

Magnus melted into the earth, appearing in the center of everyone else as he emerged from the ground. "Okay. So, here's what I have: you know that badass feeling everyone gets when they satisfyingly work together? And you know how alone we couldn't do shit to Darkseid, but together we managed to do that back there?" He paused mid way, exchanging a few glances at the Speedster, Damocles, and himself. "Well, sorta.. Heh. But you get what I'm saying, right?" He paused, waiting for everyone's attention. "Great. I honestly think that if we all work together as a team again, but this time on a larger scale, we can do-" he paused, cringing. "Great.. Things? Ugh, ok, I hate cringeworthy stuff, but I hate to tell you this, everyone: I've got a great idea, and I think you all will be very interested if you hear me out on this."

[Krytonus]

"I WILL RETU-"

Less than a moment after the God of Apokolips vanished through the portal, Damocles closed the Boom Tube rapidly, leaving a soft, eerie silence in the air. It was the sound of victory, despite the utter destruction of several neighborhoods, the damage was minimal compared to what Darkseid was capable of - This world experienced nothing short of a miracle. Titan collapsed to his knees, his power eroding away, his body aching all over from the final hit. "All of their Mother Boxes are fried." Damocles declared, "They won't be coming back for a while." Turning to look at the allies that played a part in the final defeat of Darkseid, Damocles offered a grin through his mask. "It's over."

"We won."

I groaned as my eyes fluttered open. A small red warning light flashed in the bottom corner of my HUD. [AREA NOT SAFE FOR RESPITE].

"No shit." I whispered, propping myself up on an elbow. I glanced around. I was lying in a pile of rubble. A few hundred feet away, I could see a large group of people. Those heroes from before.

Darkseid!

I leapt to my feet and shot towards the others.

"Alright Darkseid, you got me there, but this time I'll-" I stopped, staring down at the others. I craned my head to see if I could spot any hulking evil Gods.

Nothing.

"D... Did he leave?" I asked, dumbfounded. "Did I miss the whole fight?" I asked, disappointed.

[Confederation of imperial states]

"I WILL RETU-"

Less than a moment after the God of Apokolips vanished through the portal, Damocles closed the Boom Tube rapidly, leaving a soft, eerie silence in the air. It was the sound of victory, despite the utter destruction of several neighborhoods, the damage was minimal compared to what Darkseid was capable of - This world experienced nothing short of a miracle. Titan collapsed to his knees, his power eroding away, his body aching all over from the final hit. "All of their Mother Boxes are fried." Damocles declared, "They won't be coming back for a while." Turning to look at the allies that played a part in the final defeat of Darkseid, Damocles offered a grin through his mask. "It's over."

"We won."

With the last push from Titan, Titannia, and many, many others, The embodiment of Death and Enthropy was gone. As the Boomtube closed finally, the scene left quiet, with the destruction all around them, Titan simply said, "We Won". The scene was quiet, as the remaining Parademons had fleed through the portal, had been killed in the fighting, or simply dropped from some sort of connection to Darkseid cut. Dark Knight landed on a fallen Parademon, pulling the half broken part of his sword out if it's jugular. He stepped off it, walking over to Titannia, who was partly smoking from the Bokmtube discharge, and looking all the more roughed up.

She peered over at him as he stopped next to her, "Did we really stop him?". Dark Knight looked at the blackened spot where the monsterous boomtube once stood, "Their Motherboxes are fried, another invasion will be awhile". As they stood around them, the snow white volcanic ash continued to blanket the area.

The large Molten figure that'd been taking on Darkseid spoke; "Great. I honestly think that if we all work together as a team again, but this time on a larger scale, we can do-". "Great.. Things? Ugh, ok, I hate cringeworthy stuff, but I hate to tell you this, everyone: I've got a great idea, and I think you all will be very interested if you hear me out on this.". A Team, he was suggesting they form a sort of team, and from the looks of how this worked out, they could work as effectively. Titannia was about to speak up, when she noticed Dark Knight had left her side and began to walk off, "where are you going?" she asked stopping him in his tracks. Dark Knight stopped, turning his head half back to her he said;

"As much as everyone here put up a good effort, I don't work in teams, not anymore", before he began to continue off, he stopped, "If you need my help, you know where I am". She peered back at Magnus who'd still been talking, not noticing the conversation between the two. She peered back quickly as the sound of a small Boomtube from an alley started up, and as she looked back, there was no trace of the Vigilante. She sighed, "I'd be willing to join in" she said to Magnus in his obvious suggestion to form the team.

[The 7 Corporations]

Michael Goodman

Ground Zero, New York City

While most of the assembled heroes had taken the fight directly to Darkseid himself, Matthew had concerned himself with saving as many trapped civilians as possible from being caught in the crossfire of laser beams and psychic blasts and bomb blasts and whatnot.

A confused old man here, a trapped family in a burning car there, a couple police officers evacuating an apartment building and other such scenarios made sure Matthew was kept busy tending to the confused New York residents who had their quiet evening disturbed by an alien invasion.

"Ma'am!" hollered Matthew, approaching a concerned old lady who seemed to be hiding behind a tree on the sidewalk as parademons zoomed through the sky and the sounds of intense battle could be heard from all around. "Ma'am, it's not safe here!"

"Oh, young man, thank goodness," sighed the old lady, clearly relieved by the trenchcoat wearing individual holding a shotgun approaching here. Judging from how she squinted, it was clear how much her vision and overall senses have deteriorated that she didn't even notice the raging battle between Gods and superbeings happening right around her.

"Ma'am, you need to get out of he-"

"Not without Mr Scrunches I'm not!"

"Mr who what now?"

"My cat," she explained, motioning to the top of the tree behind her. "She got spooked by those horrid birds and now she's gone hiding up the tree. Poor Mr Scrunches!"

"I don't think those are birds but-"

"Please, will you help an old lady," she pleaded, grabbing Matthew's hand. "He- he's the only thing I have to remember my dear old Charlie by."

Matthew sighed, clearly not pleased with the idea of what he was just about to do.

"Fine," he decided. "But after this, you have to leave, it's not safe here."

"Yes, of course!"

Matthew looked up the tree to examine the situation and he could make out the small lump of brown fur that was a cat sitting quietly on one of the branches of the tree.

'For Pete's sake...'

Matthew deftly climbed the trunk of the tree and made his way through the leaves and branches towards the cat which was perched on the end of a long branch. Slowly, surely, Matthew crawled carefully along the thin flimsy branch towards the small tabby.

"Here Mr Scrunches. Come on you little fucke-"

"I WILL RETUR-"

The loud booming voice could be heard for miles around and for a second, Matthew thought the demonic voice had come from the cat and was just about to blast it to bits with his shotgun but it wasn't. The voice came from further away.

SNAP!

The branch Matthew and Mr Scrunches were on snapped at the moment and both fell: Mr Scrunches falling right into the hands of his old owner waiting patiently below while Matthew landed with a dull thud on the concrete sidewalk.

"Ow..."

"Thank you young man, you've made an old lady very happy today," she happily exclaimed, hugging the small cat which looked none too pleased to be reunited with its owner. "Come on Mr Scrunches, let's go home!"

The old lady left Matthew lying face down on the sidewalk, still mumbling to the cat as she disappeared down the street.

'Sonuvabi-'

It was then Matthew heard it. Or rather, the lack of it to be more precise. The whole world seemed to be still. The sounds of rampaging parademons and explosive superpowers seemingly coming to a complete standstill.

The battle. It was over.

[The Rebel Alliances]

Daniel Carter/Aqueduct-28-Gulf City

Anya Davis and Ashkira
A shriek parted their silence, and both of their heads shot up, Anya slapping herself. “Of course they would come to Gulf City. Stupid!” she berated herself, before shoving on her helmet and making her way to the door. But then, a man crashed through the door, as if he was thrown through, and they both heard sounds of battle, and a scream.

Ashkira went first, disintegrating the debris and the door with a punch which made the bar quiver as Anya rushed the rest of the occupants out. The Essence, clambering out, saw Parademons attacking a heroine, and went on the counterattack, plowing through several Parademons who stood in her way. But there were too many of them, and by the time Anya had arrived, the young woman had been carried off. The Blue Aviatrix turned to the man she had noticed while driving in, frowning.

“He knew the woman too. Osira, he called her.” Anya piped in, furtherly describing the woman.

Anya knelt down next to the quivering man, looking closer. “Who are you? And how do you know that woman?"

My vision was blurry, and the heat from the fever radiating from me did not impede my speech. Groaning, looking up at the woman I uttered, almost to the point of her having to read my lips in the chaos. "I...don't know her." But then as I picked myself up, placing a hand against my forehead. I spoke louder and clearer. "She is my niece." Knowing the two statements seemed contradictory I had no time to explain the paradox. So instead I reinforced my weak legs as I shoved off of the young and very blue woman as I stumbled away declaring. "I have to save her." Walking off into the distance and across the street in the downpour. I paid no heed to if the pair was following me or not. But assumed they were. I rounded a corner just around the block in the poorest sections of the city known as the 'Corridors'. Stupid name I always thought.

The complex...my home...was in a condemned building which served as illegal housing. The structure dated back to the original steam revolution in Gulf City. The largely reinforced concrete structure had a central stairway which led to five stories of levels filled with the homeless and squatters. My own 'home' was all the way on the fifth which suffered a large leak problem as several pools had formed in my room, which was a large rectangular single room with two stained twin beds laying exposed with no sheets and a single thin comforter per bed pressed up against the left hand wall. A fire pit serving as a kitchen in the center room, three windows on the right side of the room overlooking the streets beneath us, one of which are busted. Empty beer bottles decorating the cold bare floor. And a toilet and bath in a exposed ajoining room on the far side. Completed with a bizarre odor of alcohol and potential mould in the building.

The only other features of note was a photo, clean and maintained which in it's frame sat next to the bed I used. It revealing that I was not always like this. The warm smile of a long red haired mother and wife, roughly four months pregnant. Embraced by a rough and friendly but quite sober and clean husband. If looked at closely enough, it would reveal the man in that past life was me.

But then there was the stack of crates in the corner. At first appearing to hold wrinkled clothes. But as I removed the boxes to retrieve what was beneath them I explained to my guests who had followed me here from the bar. "It seems so long ago now, but once...I was not like this. I...was called a hero. They gave me a name..." I then uncovered the dusty and smeared uniform of Aqueduct. Even the bright blue Helmet face plate seemed to have dulled. Picking it up I continued.

"Aqueduct." I continued to speak as I placed the suit upon myself. "When I disappeared, at first...the city looked for me. But no one even attempted to search here...in the gutters. Over time...they just stopped looking." Now, covered in the suit I had not worn in five years, minus the helmet. I finally turned to look at the two women. Tears, starting to well in my eyes as my mind flashed back to the day I failed to save those hostages, including my wife and child. Showing that even if I put this suit back on...it does not make me what I used to be.

"Osira, I never even met her. All she knows of me...is this suit. That her uncle was Aqueduct. I, don't even know...what to tell her. When...if, I can free her. She will never forgive me. Please, I...I do not know either of you. But, I am afraid..." My voice began to break. As tears finally began to fall from my eyes.

"This sounds selfish. To ask you to help me save a single life. With all that is happening right now. But Osira...or Dolphin as she is being called, she's all I have left from my wife. And I know, that she can be just what this city needs. The hero Gulf City deserves...the hope that Aqueduct...her uncle could never be. And I am afraid..."

I locked eyes with Anya. Begging. "If I go alone...I am terrified I will fail."

Finally finished pouring my soul out to these two complete strangers. I gripped my helmet in my hands, waiting for their judgement for abandoning my city.

[Confederation of imperial states]

Guardian 1

2 Weeks After Darkseid's attack...

San Andres, California

A speeding subway train crossed from under the tunnel, onto the elevated high rails, making it's trip to it's next stop. the Train was silver, gleaming in the sun as it traveled onto the elevated rails, the conductor a bit more relaxed while managing the gears on the train. Out of the calm morning, the front breaks of the engine of the train broke off when the Conductor tried to apply them, causing the train to jolt as it went into free run. "jesus!" the Conductor said as she tried tried to use the emergency brakes, which were compliant as she desperately tried to stop the train. The people within the train started to panic as it went faster and faster, seemingly with no stop. "Emergency, Emergency, we're out of control and need immediate assistance!" the conductor called into her radio, whilst grabbing and jamming down on the emergency break.

The train was nearing a sharp turn, only meant to be taken at slow speeds, and now gaining on 110 mph, the train was in no way going to stop. The conductor stopped trying to use the emergency break, and instead sat back as the train neared the turn. Then, out from the right side of the train, a flash of Dark grey flew by the windows as the train jumped a it, and it's speed started to cut down drastically. The Conductor's eyes widened as she stood up, looking down, as the train finally stopped, she saw Guardian the City's protector, stopping the train easily with both hands on the front of it. Guardian took his hands off, standing off he simply smiled and waved to the conductor as he jetted off.

---

San Andres Secretary offices...
A Few Hours Later...

[San Andres National News]

"After a very Daring, and Miraculous display in downtown San Andres, The superpowered individual Guardian stopped a speeding train before it could crash, saving 75 people onboard. In other news it's now 2 weeks since the extraterrestrial attack on Earth, where many Heroes banded together to stop an Alien Menace who'd appeared in New York, among many of them were San Andres' Heroine 'Titannia', A Large Molten Figure, The Crimson Armored man named 'Cyrus' and many others along with an individual rumored to be the Debated Chicago Vigilante Dark Knight. The figure has so far gone back into seclusion, sparking up yet again the long debate if the Dark Knight Vigilante exists.

Though coincidentally, Members of the Black Mask Gang, along with another group of the dying Chicago Mob were handed to the police and Arrested, all of them badly beaten, with one of them having a strange Shield Brand in their neck. More news at 9".

---

Twitter Feed: @Tanner542 Hell Yeah #GuardianSanAndres is Boss! / @Kristen673 #GuardianSanAndres is a Hottie! / @MarcusTheMan Who would win in a fight? #GuardianSanAndres or #TheDarkKnightofChicago ? / @NicholasFurry #GuardianSanAndres Can just throw #DarkKnightofChicago into the sun

Connor turned off the Tv, sitting back in his chair, his suit coat off and slung over the arm of the lounge chair. "Stupid Homocidal Vigilante" Connor muttered sitting up, One of his co workers, Jonas, peered up from his laptop, sitting in a chair not far from Connor. "A Vigilante which has cut down crime by 65% since he's arrived", "Over the course of 10 years" Connor said standing up and walking over to the water machine. "Well I'm sorry, maybe if Guardian stopped saving cats out of trees, and helping grandma's across the street instead of taking down criminals, He'd be near that margin too". Connor took a paper cup from the machine, beginning to fill it, "it doesn't matter what his Gains are, He's terrorizing the City of Chicago, running around pummeling people like a Psychotic madman". Connor took a drink from his cup, "And what? you're gonna go over there with your briefcase and tie, and shake your first at him: 'Oh Knighty Knighty you're so mean, I'mma sue you even though you've put away 7 f*cking thousand criminals behind bars' " Jonas finished the last line in a slightly mocking tone.

Connor gave him a deadpan look, "Really?", Jonas looked up at him, "No One cares about Connor Morales taking on the Dark Knight". "Maybe not me....But someone's got to stop that Maniac" Connor said drinking the rest of his water. As he did, his co worker, Cellina Mathers walked in, going over to the file cabinet at the back of the room. Connor peered over to Cellina, admiring her as she quickly took the folder she was looking for in the cabinet, "Hi Marcus" she said in a flirtatious way. "Hello Miss Mathers, We were just talking about nothi-", "we were Debating The Dark Knight of Chicago, and Connor was loosing" Jonas budded in, catching a frustrated glare from Connor.

"That's if The Knight Exists" she said sorting out her folder and carrying it by her side, walking out of the room, "He does you know!" Jonas retored. "Someone needs to take the Dark Knight off of the Willis tower", "It's the sears tower' Connor sighed, "Again with this?", "Willis Is not worthy, Also if you really want to go rant to the Vigilante, you're in luck". Jonas turned his computer displaying a message.

To: Secretary Connor Morales of the San Andres City Council
From: Billionaire Philanthropist Malanor Rex

"You're cordially Invited to attend the 34th Annual Malanor family Gala, hosted by 'Rex Malanor' at the Chicago Estate Theater"

Connor nodded after seeing the invitation, Jonas turning the laptop around and continuing to type, "Guess I'm going to Chicago". Connor walked out of the office, as he did Jonas called out to him "When Dark Knight beats the crap out of you have him sign your tie!", "Why?", " a Souvenir!".

[Saint Morning]

Amber Winters

"Well: it looks like we weren't needed here." Amber stated as she twirled her guns; before shoving them into her pockets. She hadn't even gotten a single hit in when the guys was assaulted on all side by the other superpowers; she was quite disappointed by how easily he fell and the sheer number of other powerful individuals in the area. In recent years America had become jammed packed with superhero wannabes and it was really grating on her nerves, sighing, she glanced back at Lance and gave him a wink.

"See you around love!" She told him as she magically sprouted wings and took to the skies.

________________________________________________________________________________________

She didn't know how long she spent soaring through the skies, though judging from her current region she seemed to have flown all the way to Japan without breaking a sweat. As she walked down the crowed streets of the city, that she would soon identify as Hiroshima, she noticed that many of the locals had been sending strange looks; though she simply ignored the curious looks they gave her.

She paused as she noticed a flyer, while she was no expert she was capable of reading and understanding Japanese, and quirked her brow at it's contents. People mysteriously disappearing in an abandon subway? Seems like something she should check out.

Making her way towards the abandon subway, after getting several directions, she entered and found the place in a rather dismal state. She wrinkled her nose as her eyes caught the sight of what appeared to be a massive hole in the ground. "What do we have here? " She said as she peered down to see a long winding staircase. "Wonder if whatever is behind the disappearences is down here." She said as she descended upon the steps.