A low-pitched roar of calamity burst from within the Vortex as it widened and grew outwards, distorting the space around it. The very fabric of reality seemed to shudder, rippling outwards from the tear as debris, loose rocks, and even nearby assassins were sucked toward its growing mouth.
Bruce's eyes widened, his grip on Lady Shiva tightening as the vortex's force pulled at them both. He never expected to see the dimension ripper that he planned to develop in the future to travel through realities in action. "You're insane!" he yelled, feeling the pull intensify as the ground beneath them began to crumble, pieces of earth spiraling upward into the abyss.
Lady Shiva laughed hysterically despite the terror in her eyes, her voice almost lost in the roaring wind. "If I can't kill you, then I'll at least make sure you die with me! No one escapes the Reality Breaker!"
Bruce could feel the pressure mounting as the vortex continued to expand. He quickly looked around to see everyone struggling and holding onto something stable. Even Kara was having trouble maintaining her flight as the suction pressure was too much. He let go of Lady Shiva who was swallowed by the vortex immediately, and tried to fly away.
The relentless pull of the vortex grew stronger by the second, threatening to tear apart everything in its path. Lady Shiva's laughter echoed in Bruce's ears as her form disappeared into the swirling void. Some of the assassins spiraled helplessly into the growing abyss.
Selina and Harley were holding onto a giant boulder which was also crumbling slowly due to the intense suction power of the vortex. Kara flew toward them. She grabbed their arms and tried to fly away, but it was useless. Even Bruce with his enhanced power failed to get out of there. He even tried to use his lightning ring to teleport away, but the dimensional energy emitted by the vortex messed up his teleportation.
"KARA! DON'T LET GO OF THEM!!" Bruce shouted as he tried to fly toward them.
"Damn it! What the hell is going on?!" Kara yelled, holding onto Selina and Harley, struggling with all her might to resist the vortex's force. Her superhuman strength strained against the pull, yet even she could barely maintain her position. The ground beneath them cracked and crumbled, being sucked into the expanding vortex.
"That's a freaking dimensional ripper. I've no idea where that portal leads. It could be anywhere, in any universe! Even if we survive somehow, there's no guarantee we'll be able to return to our universe!" Bruce's words echoed as he tried to fly toward Kara and others. He used the nanites in his bloodstream and put them in overdrive mode, using them to increase his strength.
"BRUCE!!" Kara struggled as she held onto Selina and Harley. Their hands were slipping off her grasp. She gritted her teeth and tried to grab them once more, but they slipped through her fingers.
"Batsy!" Harley cried out as her fingers slipped from Kara's grasp.
"Bruce!!" Selina also yelled as her finger slipped out of Kara's grasp.
"NO! Hold on!!" Bruce yelled desperately.
Kara tried to reach out to them, but it was too late. Had she used any more force, their bones would have been crushed.
Bruce manipulated the nanites to create multiple arms, catching them before they got sucked into the vortex.
However, he failed to control his nanites properly due to the intense dimensional energy. The rest of the arms disintegrated. But he managed to maintain his grasp on the girls. He saw no other way to get out of this situation, but leaving Earth in such a critical situation when Darkseid's coming for Earth was unacceptable. He could come back from the other side using the teleportation power of the ring but without Skylar controlling it, there is no guarantee that he'd be able to come back on his own. Small teleportation around the solar system was within his limits, but long-distance dimensional teleportation would be reckless.
With no other choice, Bruce decided to do what's best in this situation. He squeezed out every single nanite from his body, forming a missile. It was strong enough to blast everything into smithereens and the force of the explosion should be big enough to create massive shockwaves. which might disrupt the dimensional energy and close the vortex temporarily. But Harley and Selina might not survive the blast even with the Extremis upgrade.
The only choice was to concentrate it and attack Kara and blast her off the vortex's radius. With her Kryptonian body, she can easily survive the attack and even if she gets hurt, there's sun.
"Jarvis, upload your core program into my suit. Put Wednesday and Thursday in charge of security. Activate Protocol 231. In case everything fails and Darkseid wins, it should be enough to prevent him from gaining the Anti-Life Equation."
[Protocol 231. All the nanites that Bruce created till now will merge to form the ultimate cyborg, somewhat similar to Failsafe. Its only objective is to kill Darkseid and his army, and then destroy itself. That cyborg is made from the metal Bruce got from the Crusader Suit from Ra's. He also used some Amazonium metal, thanks to Diana. However, unlike Failsafe, this cyborg is connected to Skylar's lightning. If it goes out of control, she should be able to destroy it with a flick of her finger.]
Bruce closed his eyes.
"KARA!" He smiled.
"NO! DON'T YOU DARE!" Kara shouted, tears forming in her eyes.
"SORRY... I leave the Earth in your hands. And look after my family, will ya? Also, thank you... For everything. And don't worry, I'll be back..." With that, he launched the missile toward Kara using the last drop of his strength.
"NO!! BRUCE!!" Tears fell down her cheeks as she tried to dodge, but it was too fast.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The missile exploded on contact, creating shockwaves that blasted Kara off the vortex and into the distance. The vortex started to shrink, disrupting its dimensional energy. But some of the energy got fused with Bruce, Selina, and Harley, causing their bodies to flicker before fading away from that reality.
Bruce smiled as he looked at Kara flying toward them.
"See you soon... Powergirl." His voice echoed as the vortex closed with a massive explosion that destroyed the entire island, creating a massive crater on the ocean's surface.
Everything around them dissolved into a swirling mass of distorted reality. Bruce felt his senses disintegrate, every aspect of his being twisted by the vortex's incomprehensible power.
Darkness. Silence.
Bruce couldn't tell how long they were suspended in that void. It could have been seconds or an eternity. There was no sense of time, no up or down, no beginning or end. Only the feeling of being pulled apart and then reassembled by forces beyond human comprehension. Despite the situation, he held onto Selina and Harley.
'Damn it! That bitch!' He cursed Lady Shiva for creating such a big mess. That device was a small one, so, the damage was low. If she had built a giant one, then the entire reality could've been in danger. He glanced over to Selina and Harley. They were unconscious but stable. Thanks to the suit and Extremis upgrade, their life won't be in any danger, at least for now. But it could be difficult once the oxygen runs out. He can survive with his evolved body, but not them.
"Jarvis, you still there?" He asked as he tried to access AI.
"Yes, Sir." The AI replied.
"Activate Extremis-X2," Bruce ordered.
"Understood." Jarvis agreed.
With the Kryptonian DNA infused with Extremis, their cells are going to undergo a metamorphosis process. Their bodies will be enhanced, increasing their strength, stamina, speed, durability, and healing factor. And most importantly, they'll be able to breathe and survive in space. This might cause some discomfort, but it's better than dying.
.
.
[Meanwhile...]
Darkseid's colossal ship floated through the vast, chilly void of space, a massive structure that seemed to defy imagination. The universe around him was hauntingly quiet, with only the low rumble of the ship's powerful engines breaking the silence. He lounged on his throne, eyes shut tight in deep thought, plotting out various ways to take over Earth and seize the Anti-Life Equation. Out of nowhere, a jarring disturbance disrupted the tranquility.
BOOM!
A fierce jolt shook the ship, rattling even its most fortified sections. Darkseid's eyes flew open, his expression darkening. The space around him began to shimmer, and reality itself appeared to ripple as cracks in the fabric of space opened up like gaping wounds. Unstable energy crackled through the air, warping the atmosphere and sending a deep, resonant hum vibrating through Darkseid's very bones.