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Not even Thanos, the Mad Titan, could escape Ivan's grasp. With a sickening crackle, Ivan's body contorted, becoming impossibly pliable. Like a greased serpent, he effortlessly slipped free of Thanos' desperate grapple and vaulted over the more prominent being's head.
The window of opportunity was minuscule. Darkseid's Omega beams were a hair's breadth away. Reacting with lightning speed, Ivan lashed out with his leg in a twisting motion, striking the back of Thanos' head. Unaware of the impending doom, the hapless Thanos took the full brunt of the Omega blast. Despite Darkseid's attempt to divert the beam at the last moment, Thanos was struck. The blow was catastrophic.
The armor renowned for withstanding starship weaponry was reduced to a smoldering ruin, revealing a gaping wound on Thanos' purple hide. A cold sweat slicked Thanos' brow as he realized the gravity of the situation. A hairline delay from Darkseid and the Omega beams would have carved a permanent, debilitating gash across his chest – a wound that sapped his very life force.
With Thanos momentarily incapacitated, Ivan seized the initiative, focusing on Darkseid. A whirlwind of martial arts prowess unfolded as Ivan unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks. Darkseid, outmatched in close combat, was forced into a constant retreat. Though boasting physical strength comparable to Thanos, Darkseid lacked the finesse and skill to match Ivan blow for blow. He resorted to spamming Omega beams like a hail of bullets, hoping to slow Ivan's advance if not inflict any real damage.
But Ivan seemed to possess an uncanny prescience. He dodged the beams with effortless grace, their trajectories posing little hindrance. In the blink of an eye, he had closed the distance on Darkseid.
Darkseid, cornered, threw a desperate haymaker, simultaneously encasing himself in a protective halo of Omega beams. The scene that followed would forever be etched in Darkseid's memory. Ivan, with an almost serpentine movement, dipped under Darkseid's fist. His hand, seemingly guided by an unseen force, snagged one of the Omega beams, manipulating the intangible energy with an almost impossible feat. His other hand, now a clawed weapon, lunged for Darkseid's abdomen, sinking five fingers into seemingly nonexistent flesh, creating five small punctures.
In a final act of defiance, Darkseid redirected two Omega beams toward Ivan's head, a desperate gamble for mutually assured destruction. Ivan, forced to react, retracted his hand and turned one beam toward the other with a flick of his wrist, effectively canceling them.
Just as Ivan prepared to press his assault on Darkseid, Thanos, having recovered somewhat, roared back into the fray. A powerful punch aimed squarely at Ivan's back left the smaller being with no choice but to disengage from Darkseid and confront the Mad Titan. Seizing this opportunity, Darkseid, with gritted teeth, reversed course and rejoined the fight, flanking Ivan alongside Thanos.
The three titans clashed in a furious dance of destruction. The battlefield expanded, the very planet trembling under the weight of their blows. The two spaceships caught in the crossfire were forced to flee the atmosphere entirely to escape the devastating concussive blasts.
The scene on the massive screens of Obsidian Star and Apokolips left the assembled warriors speechless. The raw power on display defied comprehension.
Generals watched in stunned silence as the planet buckled under the combatants' blows. The two spaceships, caught in the periphery of the devastating clash, were forced to flee into the farthest reaches of space to avoid being annihilated.
"Who in the heavens are these beings?" whispered one of the Generals, his voice laced with awe. The might they witnessed was far beyond anything they had ever encountered.
Back on the ravaged planet, the tide had turned decisively. Darkseid and Thanos, battered and bloodied, lay sprawled in a crater, coughing up mouthfuls of blood. Ivan, the lone figure hovering above them, appeared relatively unscathed.
Seizing a fleeting opportunity, Darkseid activated a device on his belt, a portal tearing open in the fabric of space. Without hesitation, he lunged towards it, desperate for escape.
But Ivan wasn't finished. With a flick of his wrist, he sent a burst of energy that rippled through the portal, causing it to collapse with a snap. Darkseid caught mid-jump, slammed headfirst into a nearby boulder, his escape thwarted.
Thanos glared at Darkseid with undisguised fury. Darkseid had abandoned him, using him as a distraction for his escape attempt. This was a betrayal, a violation of their fragile alliance.
Swallowing his anger, Thanos knew this was no time for internal disputes. His survival hinged on a united front. With a grimace, he pushed himself to his feet and charged at Ivan, pouring all his remaining strength into a desperate punch.
Ivan met the blow head-on, the impact echoing across the devastated landscape. However, something unexpected happened. As their fists collided, a cloud of blood erupted from Ivan's arm, revealing a network of minor, gruesome wounds.
Darkseid watched with a glint of hope in his eyes. This exchange exposed Ivan's vulnerability. His power, amplified by the future phantom, came at a terrible cost. His body was nearing its breaking point.
Capitalizing on this newfound weakness, Darkseid unleashed a concentrated beam of Omega energy, thicker and more potent than ever.
Ivan, his arm throbbing with pain, was forced to deflect the attack with his other arm. His fingers danced in a complex sequence, momentarily disrupting the beam before sending a burst of energy toward Darkseid. The blow struck Darkseid's shoulder, leaving a bloody wound.
But the victory was pyrrhic. Ivan's arm, once again, dissolved into a bloody mist, the same gruesome wounds reappearing.
A cruel smile stretched across Darkseid's face. "Your power may be immense," he rasped, "but your body is a ticking time bomb. Continued fighting will see your body crumble. A stalemate, wouldn't you say?"
A flicker of emotion crossed Ivan's otherwise impassive face for the first time. A phantom materialized beside him, a mirror image reflecting the bloody wounds marring his arms. A deep sigh escaped his lips.
"It seems fate has intervened," he said finally.
"Perhaps you are right. Further conflict would benefit neither of us. We shall call a truce for now. However, be warned: I will be ready if you choose to resume hostilities."
With those words, Ivan retrieved a mirror, the phantom dissolving back into him. He propelled himself skyward, vanishing into the distance towards his spacecraft.
Thanos and Darkseid, drained and battered, watched him go. They slumped to the ground, their bodies screaming in protest.
"Thanos," Darkseid rasped, breaking the silence. "Have you been aware of this formidable presence on Earth? Why did you not eliminate him before he reached such a level?"
Thanos shot Darkseid a withering glare, the memory of his betrayal still fresh. The exchange went unanswered, the tension hanging heavy in the air.
"Haven't you been keeping tabs on Earth?" Thanos countered, his voice laced with accusation. "After all, you have three Mother Boxes stashed away there. Surely, you had someone monitoring the situation. Did your intel miss this entirely?"
Truthfully, Thanos himself was at a loss. Ivan seemed to have materialized out of thin air, and his immense power was a complete surprise.
Darkseid sputtered, on the verge of an angry outburst. Thankfully, he managed to rein himself in, forcing down his rage. He took a deep breath to compose himself before speaking. "Regardless," he rumbled, "one thing is undeniable – our opponent is formidable. Let's put aside our differences for now. A united front is our only hope against Ivan. He stands in the way of your Infinity Stone collection, and his existence is a thorn in my side as I strive to unify the universe. Our goals converge on this point, do they not?"
Thanos considered this for a moment, then gave a curt nod. "Very well. But our cooperation extends only to dealing with Ivan. There will be no further collaboration on any other matters."
Darkseid readily agreed. Frankly, the prospect of extensive cooperation with Thanos held little appeal. Both were considered overlords in the greater cosmos, acknowledging each other's strength while harboring deep wariness. Given the opportunity, either would eliminate the other without hesitation.
Meanwhile, upon his return aboard the spacecraft, Ivan was greeted by the relieved faces of the Four heads. Seeing him unharmed brought a sigh of relief, especially from Shaw, whose earlier anxiety was still etched on his features.
However, just as the tension began to ease, an unexpected turn of events unfolded...