Screech!
The sharp piercing cries of the Parademons patrolling in the skies made Ares's eyebrows narrow even more.
'Bastard creatures'.
Talk about bad timing. Right now, there were unidentified intruders from the other earth in the distance.
If he was attacked by these creatures now, he would have no choice but to either defend himself or run and hide. And for Ares, the latter was not an option.
The thought of running away from these lowly creatures just to avoid suspicion from the unknown made his face shift in a slightly unsightly way.
Especially when he knew not whether the newcomers were weaker or stronger than the current him. If it were the former, what was the point of running to hide?
The Parademons however cared not for his troubles.
Following which, they dropped from the sky and attacked in their dozens. Loud roars and screeches escaped from their open maws as they advanced with fluttering wings.
Ares stood motionless. However, just when he had decided to unleash his power to tear these creatures apart regardless of who the newcomers were, the camouflaged ship suddenly opened the hatch at the back end.
Following which, a figure jumped out of the Martian Bioship and fell towards the earth with forward momentum.
"Hey!" Falling from the sky, Conner yelled in a loud voice while drawing his fist back.
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size".
His voice fell, and Superboy, descending from the air with great momentum collided with the Parademon at the forefront at a speed faster than it could react to and pushing both downwards.
Bang!
Dust and debris flew in all directions as the earth shook greatly. The dust cleared and an intact male with dark hair, blue eyes and a "S" symbol on his chest could be seen standing unscathed over a motionless corpse.
Turning his gaze away from the body, Conner set his sights on the person he just saved. Or rather …. Who he thought he did.
"Hey…. You alright sir?" He
"I'm fine". The old man replied. His gaze moved slightly to the side before uttering.
"Behind you".
Thud!
The earth shook slightly as the dark creatures landed with considerable force. Cracks emerged on the ground under their feet as they straightened their large bodies with snarling sounds emerging from their maws.
'Superboy! Are you ok?'
At that moment, Megan's voice appeared through the mind link.
'There's a civilian down here. Against a bunch of ugly monsters'.
'Do you need backup?' Aqualad asked.
'Go on without me, I'll catch up'.
'Copy that'.
The Bioship didn't turn off camouflage but sot towards the distance where the collision sounds were coming from.
This was the last thing he heard from his team. Breathing a sigh of relief, he could now focus his attention on the group of monsters before him.
'Now then. Who's first?'
....
Dark Multiverse
Central City Park Area...
Lower District
...
The harsh wind blew, causing the surrounding temperature to rise higher and higher.
Today was the last resistance by the remnants of the Justice League against the Evil Tyrant Superman of the Negative Universe.
The flames and destruction that spread as far as one could see was the clear proof of the battle.
Buildings around the area had been set ablaze. Potholes, ditches and general cracks caused due to countless collisions decorated the streets.
Rubble fell as houses crumbled and trenches were dug across the sidewalks.
The whole place looked like a catastrophe coming straight out of a man's worst nightmare. The streets that were once bustling with life and population were now deserted.
The bodies of its former residents who had died under Superman's rampage decayed until nothing but bones were left.
And so .....
Boom!
The sound of buildings collapsing resounded throughout the desolate streets of central city. Following which, a building exploded, and a figure was sent flying out of the flames.
"Damnit!" Dressed in a dark Kevlar bulletproof suit, the caped crusader turned around while midair and fired a batarang towards his opponent. Following which, he leaned desperately to the side to avoid a large green dumpster truck thrown in his direction.
Crash! The dumpster truck impacted against a nearby building while Batman performed a flip and landed on his feet.
Beads of sweat secretly accumulated on his back at the close brush against the side end of a garbage truck.
If that thing had slammed into him, he would lose his combat ability directly. Nevertheless....
At that moment, The Dark Knight keeled over and opened his mouth. Blood poured out from his lips and nose as pain made its way throughout his entire body.
Raising his head, Bruce pressed two fingers against the comm on his ear.
"Batman to all available Leaguers. Respond".
".....". Nothing. The radio static on the other end continuously played in his ears like a silent mockery.
Bruce gritted his teeth. This was it.... The end of everything they had worked so hard to finish. He couldn't accept it.
"This is Batman to all available Leaguers. If you're conscious, respond".
"Hehehehe.... Why do you try, Bruce?"
A calm, cold chuckle resounded throughout the park area causing The Dark Knight to stiffen.
With eyes blazing with fury and hatred, he focused his gaze on the area covered up with large amounts of smoke and rubble where the previous explosion had come from.
The dust settled.... From the thin cloud obscuring his vision, two red pupils emerged, glowing with a blazing intensity.
"Clark!" Bruce spat out with bloodied teeth.
The smoke cleared completely. Red eyes, blue tights, red cape, dark hair, blue eyes and a menacing expression.
His right arm was outstretched, in which a woman was held tightly by the throat. Her eyes were closed and her figure was stained with blood.
Deep wounds and bruises covered multiple parts of her skin as the blood rushed out profusely.
Clark paid no attention. With her life and death status still unsure, he pulled back his arm and tossed the woman aside, going straight through a restaurant building.
With a loud crash, it collapsed upon impact.
"Is this all you have, Bruce?"
Batman rose with difficulty from his crouched position. His cape billowed with the wild wind caused by the intense destruction that had gone on around them.
Strapped on his back was a long spear, the body made from the most durable metal he could assemble within his reach, Promethium.
A part of Slade's stash shared by the Terminator himself.
As for the edge .... The spearhead was made entirely of the only thing the resistance had in their disposal that could threaten this hero gone rogue. Kryptonite..... The last piece on earth.
Looking at the spear on his back, Clark's eyes flashed with a hint of amusement.
"Do you really think a Kryptonite spear is going to stop me?"
"It's the only thing that can pierce through your skin". Batman didn't seem to be in a hurry to act and spoke solemnly.
"And considering how you went to such great lengths to destroy every other piece on the planet as well as all red Sun technology, I'm willing to bet it's my best shot".
".... You know, your thought process is fascinating". The Man Of Steel uttered with a smile.
"Won't you agree?"
"I find it hard to agree with a psychopathic killer, but make no mistake, Clark". Bruce looked at the hovering Superman with narrowed eyebrows and moved his hand to hold the end of the spear on his back.
His posture was slightly bent, his body was aching, and the features exposed through the cowl were stained with blood, making him look particularly miserable.
Nevertheless, his voice and tone remained unchanged.
"This world has suffered enough. Hence, I will end you. One way....."
His thoughts drifted from the spear to the special serum in his utility belt that contained a modified virus.
"... Or another". Following which, he pressed down on a certain part of the spear, and then ....
Another explosion emerged from the earth right under Superman in a thirty-meter radius. Black smoke immediately enveloped the area .... However, the dark smoke immediately took on a greenish glow as the smoke changed color in an instant.
Kryptonite Gas.
However, the gas had barely spread for a second when....
Clap! The shockwave released from two palms clapping against each other dispelled the kryptonite Gas effectively.
Batman was knocked away as a result, flying into the distance. He tumbled on the floor for a few meters before managing to regain his footing.
Following which, he leaped upward and fired several Batarangs towards the opponent.
With a slight swipe of his hand, Superman knocked the bat shaped weapons aside and accelerated.
'Time to end this'. In a split second, he crossed dozens of meters and appeared before Bruce Wayne, grabbing towards the latter's neck.
However.....
"Hoc corpus ab iniuria invehere".
The archaic words uttered in a deep tone resounded throughout the surrounding space. And As soon as his hand made contact, the body of Batman turned illusory and disappeared from sight.
The Man Of Steel came to a halt. His eyes narrowed as the outstretched arm that caught nothing clenched into a fist.
'Again?'
Thud! The body of Batman blurred, then emerged from thin air and crashed on the hard asphalt road. Rolling a bit, The Dark Knight finally came to a halt and steadied himself on his knees.
Following which, he held his right shoulder in pain.
Feeling the dislocation gotten through the rough landing, Bruce grasped his limp arm and pushed forcefully.
Crack! The sound of bones shifting resounded while Batman winced in pain.
"You're not ... Looking too good there, John".
He turned his head to the side and there was a blonde man wearing a long yellow trench coat, long pants, a scruffy beard and a tie.
Sweat covered his forehead as he similarly went on one knee while releasing heavy pants of exhaustion.
"Well it's hard to keep neat when I have to teleport you out of harm's way every fifteen seconds".
John Constantine.
The standard British accent was unmistakable.
"The others?"
Constantine's face fell.
"Shiva and Harley are gone. Koriand'r was displaced to the safest place nearby. She's alive, but badly injured, with a bleeding stump of an arm. Beetle, Deadshot, King shark and Grodd are dead. Others aren't responding".
He uttered with bated breaths.
"Either dead or too injured to respond. Face it bats, we're all that's left".
He paused, then asked without much hope.
"The Helmet?"
Bruce didn't reply. That alone was an answer on its own.
"Hehehehe... I thought as much. The whole plan was a suicide mission".
He said as stood to his feet, battling against the exhaustion.
"Never thought I'd die like this, but ..... Meh. Life's always been nothing but a bigger bitch, hasn't she?"
"How much magic power do you have left?"
"Not much... Look out". Bruce was stunned, and turned to see two rays of heat vision firing towards them.
Both men immediately leaped out of the way. With a bang! Their previous standing points had been reduced to rubble.
Constantine darted his eyes in all directions, trying to find the figure of Superman. At the same time, his fingers moved at the fast speeds as he made hand seals.
John was self-aware. He knew that the chances of them winning this war were almost non-existent. And the chances of him leaving this place alive were even more so.
There were only two of them left. And from their past relationship, Clark would definitely leave Bruce for last. Meaning he was the next target.
'Since we're all going to die. Let's give the blue Boy Scout a last hurrah before we're sent on our way'.
"Tenebris finis sigillum antiquum". He muttered and closed his eyes for a second, before opening them the next.
Two golden pupils emerged, and he mobilized the magic power in his body.
Following which, a dark, fifteen centimeter long spherical orb emerged between his palms.
Ancient Dark Magic.
His plan was to use whatever energy he could muster after this to displace Batman as far as he could, before blowing up the sphere between his palms.
Everything within a three block radius would be enveloped within the spell and consumed by corrosive darkness. Including the caster himself.
Strictly speaking, it was a suicide spell meant to die with the enemy. Now, the only question being whether Superman would be fast enough to avoid it.
If he was prepared, then yes. But now, Constantine was pinning his cards on the hope that Superman would be caught off guard by an AOE spell.
Perhaps the spell would explode just when Superman approached to give him the finishing blow. It was gambling ... And he lost.
The spell had barely stabilized when a strong palm clasped his neck and pushed to the side.
Crack!
Constantine's neck broke. And with his death, the dark spell destabilized and dissipated into thin air. Then his body fell to the ground as the owner of the palm released his grip.
"Finally dead". Clark muttered with clear annoyance before turning to the last one left.
Bruce was silent. He looked at the body of the Occult detective and his heart grew cold. Constantine was dead... Now, he was the only one left.
The fight had been going on for close to two hours.
Considering they were fighting against Superman without Kryptonite weapons, that was an astounding achievement. And all of this was due to Constantine, who engraved everyone with runes to perform a substitution spell.
When in mortal danger, he could cast the spell immediately and switch those marked with already prepared objects to take the damage in their stead.
The people, on the other hand, would be teleported to a place of his choosing, out of harm's way.
This was how they were capable of battling Superman for so long to give Damian and his team enough time to try to retrieve the helmet of fate.
Alas, nothing good lasts forever.
Even with Constantine's preparations, it still wasn't enough. Many died one by one, heroes and villains alike.
It became more obvious as time went by. As magical exhaustion set in, he simply stopped saving those who were unimportant.
And now, he was gone.
Batman placed his hand on his utility belt. His last hope, final countermeasure, was still there.
"Honestly... I never understood. The other Leaguers in their quiet conversations. They always said you could beat me Bruce. If we fought, head to head. If neither of us held back".
"Right now, I could break every bone in your body with nothing but a touch. And what do you have to stop me? A spear?"
"Do you understand how weak you all are to me?"
"Yes.....".
With his left hand actions covered with his cape, Batman reached into his utility belt in an attempt to quickly inject the Doomsday Virus.
"I do. But now, you won't be able to hurt me again".
"Enough".
Clark's eyes narrowed before turning red. Two rays of heat vision shot towards his former friend to finally end this all. He had had enough.
It happened then. A figure suddenly appeared, blocking the way of the laser beams and firing against his chest.
The heat rays dissipated to reveal a man wearing blue tights ad a red cape. The classic "S" symbol on his chest was all too visible, and his face was particularly solemn.
"I agree. It is enough".
Looking at the face that was almost identical to his, Superman -1 felt waves stirring in his heart.
"Superman…". Standing in front of Bruce Wayne, Clark narrowed his eyes and uttered in a low tone.
"Your days of Tyranny in this universe..... Are over".
.....
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