Earth -1
Dark Multiverse....
On an arid wasteland, a swirl appeared within the surroundings. Following which, a figure appeared from thin air.
Stepping out of empty space, Amari swept his gaze around the surroundings and was somewhat stunned at what entered his line of sight.
Destroyed buildings, abandoned structures, wrecked cars, chasms ... The area before him looked like it had experienced a great natural disaster.
If that were all, it would be acceptable. After all, he had seen what this earth looked like from Zoom's memory and knew what to expect. However.....
His gaze turned towards the distance where a giant column of fiery energy was shooting straight out of the earths core. Up in the air, large numbers of Parademons patrolled the skies, with their screeches resounding everywhere.
The fiery pillar of energy combined with the sun's heat warmed up the atmosphere by a great deal. A regular human not used to the atmospheric conditions would start sweating profusely in a matter of a minute without so much as moving a muscle.
"So this is the Dark Multiverse, huh?"
Standing on top of a ruined building with no civilians within, he took in the sights before him with narrowed eyes.
If he didn't know where he willed himself to, he would have thought someone had forcibly channeled him back to Apokolips.
At that moment, his eyes glowed as he spread his senses outward. The dark Multiverse, also known as the Nth World, was a shadow under the original multiverse.
One formed from of every fear and bad decision ever made or dreamt. Compared to the true multiverse, universes formed here were generally lacking, flawed and ultimately doomed for destruction.
They were failed creations that weren't stable enough and therefore, would never rise to join the orrery of worlds.
And from what he could see, Amari was pretty sure that this universe was reaching its end.
His senses spread and easily caught sight of a notable landmark that could never be forgotten.
The Daily Planet. Hence, he was in Metropolis.
Boom! At that moment, there was the sound of a loud explosion, which immediately drew his attention.
"Oh! Hold on, this is....".
........
Damian Wayne (Earth -1) POV
…
This ..... Is the story of how I died.
It all started months ago when the giant breach appeared in the sky. When that happened, a figure we were all familiar with fell through and appeared in our world.
We knew her, yet... Didn't know her at the same time. And if I didn't know Wonder Woman's situation any better, I'd think she was one of Lex Luthor's or Superman's clones.
But Luthor had been dead for four months now, so it couldn't be him, and this new arrival didn't look anything like one of 'rogue Superman's' robotic creations.
That day, she fought beside us. Helped the resistance to escape from a tight spot.
Still, it mattered little. The casualties we suffered before she came couldn't be made up for. Aquaman, Queen Mera, Jessica Cruz, Guy Gardener, Barry Allen, Cyborg, Martian Manhunter, Red Tornado, Barbara Gordon, Catwoman, Dick, Redhood, Beastboy, Ravager, Captain cold, boomerang, blue beetle .... ..... We lost them all.
Among the members of the Bat family, Bruce and I were the only ones left. Not even Alfred managed to escape.
Both heroes and villains alike were massacred.
The once prosperous Justice League was reduced to nothing more than a dozen plus members.
About a third of that number weren't even heroes to begin with. Now we weren't even considered a League. Just a bunch of people banding together to survive under the sights of a maniac.
Then the ... singularity, as Silas called it, happened. We learned that there were universes other than our own. And Wonder Woman came from one such universe.
One with a League of her own who could offer help to our dying world.
Hope appeared. A possibility for us to get the reinforcements we so desperately needed. And Bruce, with a solemn expression, didn't object, no matter how skeptical I knew he was deep down.
After all, the only thing in his view that could stop a rogue Superman..... Was another Superman.
Silas and Harrison Wells made a way. Configured tachyon technology to boost the speed of one of the only two speedsters left in the world.
Wally West, the New Flash that took over Barry's mantle.
He was supposed to get their help... But something went wrong, and we wanted with no positive results for two months. Just the growing affirmation of another dead friend.
Finally, we could wait no longer. Batman and the others couldn't sit still anymore, as Wally was most likely dead at Zoom's hands.
If that were the case, then there was no help, no reinforcements coming anytime soon if there were any to even count on
Superman had destroyed half of the world and the total estimated population had decreased to less than ten million.
He was going to do it again. Take the Parademon army that had grown in numbers after the transformation of the corpses of so many innocent people to clear out any other possible resistance in his path.
We learned it from Lois..... Before he killed her. And seeing the dated time approaching, any longer, and our planet would truly be finished.
And well... That about summaries everything and brings me to the point where I'm at right now.
We launched our final plan. Those with true combat power left alive would confront our hour of darkness head on in the attempt to stall for time.
While Superman was kept busy, I would follow a second team to infiltrate his stronghold in search for the only thing that could let us turn the odds to our favor.
The Helmet Of Fate.
As long as one of us with a strong enough affinity for magic managed to get that helmet on their heads, then we still had a chance.
That was the main reason why Zatanna was brought along. Apart from Wonder Woman, she had the highest affinity for mystic energy.
But we stepped into another trap. Zatanna, black Canary, black lightning and two others died as a result.
Slade and I were the only ones left.....
...
"Bruceeee!" He called out but still, there was no reply.
The atmosphere was terribly gloomy.
"It's ok". Slade's voice fell into his ears. However, it was akin to a sharp knife piercing through whatever hope he had left.
"No! I don't believe it. He can't.....". He didn't want to believe it, he wouldn't believe it.
"It's been a slice, kid. But it's time to face reality. He's probably gone, and we all knew that this plan wouldn't work". The eyeless man replied in an indifferent tone.
In every sense, the plan had a chance of success. Distract Superman, get the helmet and beat him with it. That simple..... At least that's how it seemed on the surface.
"And if we don't do something soon, we'll probably follow in his footsteps".
Screech!
More screeching sounds emerged from the tunnel.
"Then we fight". Damian's eyes narrowed as he drew out a sword from behind his cape.
"The exit's not far, so let's keep moving. At most, we'll cut down a few dozen more of em. Even if we go down, we're not going down without a fight".
His eyes hidden behind the mask were filled with unprecedented determination, ferocity, and hatred.
As he said so, he pulled Slade towards the exit direction so they could keep moving, only to find that the man in question didn't budge.
"Why aren't you moving?" Slade didn't respond immediately but turned his empty gaze to the kid who was unrealistically planning to haul him all the way to the exit while escaping from an endless pursuit of monstrous enemies.
Two words... Fat Chance.
"You need to go".
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I like your determination kid, but we both know there's no way both of us are making it outta here alive".
"That's your take". Damian frowned greatly. "Not mine. I might not like you, but I'm not leaving you behind. We're making it out together".
Deathstroke shook his head.
"Not this time kid. Sorry, but it won't work. My eye is gone, I'm practically dead weight at this point".
The moment he lost his sight, Deathstroke had reconciled himself to the possibility of death. Even if they could make it out by some miracle, they wouldn't get far before he found them.
Then they would either suffer a painful death or a fate worse than such. Move back even further, suppose they did escape, his fighting days were over.
Without his eyes, his combat power would be reduced by more than half. What was the difference between that and cannon fodder?
Slade wasn't afraid. After all, he had nothing to live for in this world.
"You're not going to die here".
".... Yes ..... I am". At that moment, Slade used his index finger to push a spot on his palm. An Alpha symbol appeared with a red glow, following which, his entire Promethium suit began to exude dark red light.
"What did you.....". Damian was stunned.
"It's my armor's self-destruct sequence". Deathstroke uttered blandly while sheathing the katana in his hand and pulling out both guns from the bottom holster near his knee.
"If I'm going to die today, I'm gonna make sure I take as many of them as I can with me. There's no way to disable it so you only have a little more than a minute to get as far away as you can. Whether or not it's far enough is all up to your luck".
At that moment, a loud sound emerged as several creatures rampaged right through. With an expressionless face and a bleeding eye, Deathstroke raised both guns and began firing rapidly.
The sound of bullets echoed in the underground tunnels. With his feel of the gun, and the sound of the air current, Deathstroke killed this wave of Parademons that arrived.
Some were lucky one hit kills. Others needed three to four bullets. Thankfully, none of them slipped past this time.
"I've chosen this to be my end today kid. But you don't have to follow me. I've lost everything, but your only family might still be alive. So stop being stubborn and run while you still can".
The Boy Wonder watched with narrowed eyes and an unsightly look. His hands clenched into fists as he watched Slade who remained motionless.
Then, he took a slight bow at the man who was and still is the greatest Mercenary his earth had ever seen, then he turned around and ran as fast as he could.
Hearing the departing footsteps splashing on the sewer water, for the first time in a long time, a genuine smile appeared on Slade's face.
"Live as long as you can little devil. Live well. I hope I won't see you in the underworld too soon".
The tunnel wasn't a straight path. It had several bends and turns as well as edges one had to scale over or slide under.
Without his sight, Slade wouldn't be able to go through it fast enough for both of them to escape their pursuers. And now, Robin ran as fast as his legs could carry him, rushing towards the exit point before Slade's Promethium suit self-destructed.
An explosion in an underground tunnel would be essentially catastrophic. At best, within the range of a few dozen meters would be all that was affected. At worst, the entire sewer network could collapse on itself within several blocks.
If he were still here when that thing exploded. Even if the explosion didn't reach his position, he might get buried alive in the sewers.
As the seconds passed, the emotions within his heart grew more and more complex. He should have stayed.... Should have insisted on taking Slade with him… …. He wasn't a coward, they could have fought and died together, like comrades.... The impulse to turn around right back had never been so strong before... But ultimately, he didn't turn.
He already decided to leave, there was no point in turning back now. He couldn't die, not yet. Unlike deathstroke, he still had something to live for.
A father. He needed to know if Bruce was still alive.
And so he ran.... And ran..... Until... He saw the exit point of the sewer system.
About eighty meters away, Robin found that there were less than five seconds left before a full minute passed.
And so, with all the strength he could muster, he rushed out of the exit and ducked to the floor before the explosion went off.
The seconds passed. One, two, three..... Robin, who had leaped forward to the ground, raised his head with slight surprise.
"It ..... Didn't go off?"
A minute had passed, yet the explosion never happened. Damian stood to his feet and looked at the tunnel that led to the sewer system slightly above him.
Around Damian was an abandoned construction site of sorts
Seconds passed ... Nothing. Robin frowned.
At that moment, however, an invisible silhouette quietly emerged from the ground behind him using density shifting and returned to regular form.
'Did he lie?' The thought quickly passed through his mind concerning the possibility that Slade had lied to him to get him to leave. However, at that moment, the Boy Wonder caught a glimpse of something with the corner of his eye.
It was... A person's shadow? Realizing this, his face changed drastically. He reacted as fast as he could, moving his body in a subconscious attempt to dodge to the side.
Unfortunately.....
Squelch! A long, sharp object pierced through his chest, penetrating through ad emerging on the other side.
"Arghhhhhh!" With a scream of pain, the young boy's body was lifted from the ground and thrown backwards.
Thud! Thud!
Damian, who was thrown out, bounced off the ground many times before slamming into a wall.
Cracks similar to spiderwebs appeared on the point of impact.
"Ugh!" Damian groaned, blood pouring from his mouth as he felt the intense pain spreading all over his body. He raised his head with difficulty to see.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
The sound of metal impacting the ground spread into the air.
What appeared before Damian's eyes was a half man, half robotic creature with glowing red eyes and dark green skin.
The waist part of his body was connected to a three-legged robotic machine and parts of his face sported metal workings.
"J'onn". Damian muttered with horrified eyes. "What has he done to you".
The being that attacked him was Martian Manhunter.... Or better put, once was Martian Manhunter. After his death at the hands of Superman, the latter took his corpse ad reengineered it to create a robotic soldier.
The robot didn't answer. Just looked on expressionlessly and continued to move forward.
Within its processing system, a line of words appeared before its eyes.
<< Target: Damian Wayne >>
<< Threat Level: D >>
<< Objective: Eliminate >>
Damian tried and failed to stand up firm. At the moment, his chest was bleeding profusely, and his insides hurt like hell. If not for his subconscious movement that made him shift a few millimeters to the left, his heart would have been pierced right through.
He had also sustained a few broken ribs, a dislocated arm and a possible concussion from the earlier impact. Even if he could stand, he was in no condition to fight or run away.
As the robot got closer, it stretched out its green right arm which morphed into a long spear.
However.... Right before the eyes of both parties, the space in between them suddenly began to swirl.
Martian Manhunter came to a halt. The next moment, a space crack appeared and disappeared the following moment, laving behind a figure that neither had seen before.
Thud! The silence was broken as the new arrival dropped an unconscious person on the floor with no regard for the latter's safety.
Someone The Boy Wonder easily recognized.
Slade Wilson.
Amari dropped Deathstroke while fixing his gaze on the robotic Martian Manhunter with a hint of interest.
"Looks like this world's J'onn J'onzz suffered a terrible fate even after death".
Meanwhile, Martian Manhunter's systems began to release warning signs.
<< Warning! Warning! Warning! >>
<< Large amounts of energy detected >>
<< Target: Unidentified >>
<< Threat Level: S class (Extremely Dangerous) >>
<< Objective: Eliminate at all costs >>
The eyes of the Martian robot immediately glowed with a red intensity. As for why the objective remained unchanged despite the highest increase in recognizable threat level ..... The Superman of this earth didn't bother to add a self-preservation protocol in case it met stronger enemies.
Because..... There were few enemies that could defeat Martian Manhunter. If it met one such enemy, the alert was meant to notify him while the cyborg would fight to achieve mutual destruction.
"Oh!" Seeing the change, Amari exclaimed slightly. At that moment, the Cyborg made its move.
With an explosive dash, it quickly shortened the distance of a few meters in milliseconds and thrust out the transformed spear arm.
Snap!
The sound of a fingersnap resounded.
Bang. The attacking cyborg instantly burst apart to pieces, sending blood and mechanical parts flying everywhere.
...
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