Godwar: Part 2: Battleground, chapter 1: Personal Feelings
I don't own the Teen Titans
As someone once said, "And here we go….."
The Entity sat, metaphorically speaking, atop the tallest skyscraper of Jump City, seething, seething in a way no mortal could ever really understand. Birds flying along suddenly veered around the invisible spot that was him. A few people on the ground looked up and saw this, but of course without understanding. Must be some sort of electromagnetic interference, some thought.
He'd been a fool.
In truth, he admitted to himself, he'd made a fool of himself. He'd actually deluded himself into thinking that the human/demon hybrid known as Raven would actually understand about him, and what he was trying to do. He really should have known better.
No person touched, infected, with the concept of individuality could ever truly understand the sheer magnificence of Unity. It wasn't really their fault. Humans were accustomed to the condition of predation, of the fear of something catching them and tearing off chunks of their flesh, swallowing them in order to maintain their own individual life functions. That was a hard image to shake, he guessed.
But he'd still allowed himself to hope, hope that she could see beyond that. That had been his biggest mistake.
And all it had taken was a few words from his Enemy, Typhon, pretty much telling her what he himself had already told her, that he sought to assimilate everything, make it One with Himself, and she'd turned on him, yelling at him and telling him he was no better than Malchior, who probably would have raped her had he had the chance. He'd certainly emotionally abused her, as it was. To the Entity, there was really no difference.
So. He was no better than a rapist, was he? Terrif. Idly, he wondered, if she had the chance, whether or not she'd go back to Malchior. Sometimes humans, especially abused human females, seemed to do that sort of thing. The image came into his Godmind of Malchior chopped up into tiny bite-sized bits, still alive and screaming in agony. If he'd had a face to smile with, he would have. Now there was a pleasant thought. Maybe later.
He "sat" there, on the tallest peak in the city, boiling with something beyond mortal rage. He couldn't take his anger out on her, of course, because, even in his anger, he cared about her. He cared about them all. It was part of his nature, why he'd started this whole crusade to begin with, so long, long ago. He couldn't deny himself. And it was true, also, that perhaps he, too, had said some things he….regretted. Well. Okay. That was the human condition. Even though the Entity had far outstripped humanity uncountable aeons ago, he was still composed of emotional beings, and so couldn't help but have emotions, himself.
He felt within himself, seeking control and comfort. He couldn't blame Raven for not understanding; her own father had tried to use her as a human portal from his world into hers. Then, Malchior. Face it, the poor girl had really never had anything like a normal, positive relationship. With anybody. That is, until Hank came along. He wondered how that was going.
Well. He'd never know. It was better this way, to be by Himself. He needed no other. He hoped she and Hank would have a good, long-lasting, upbeat relationship, and maybe, in time, she'd come to see that not all others sought only to take from her.
But he was still angry. Fortunately, there was someone he could take it out on.
High overhead, inside the mile-wide crystal sphere that was the Starheart, Typhon sensed the powerful magnetic flux that was his Enemy headed his way like a runaway missile, a flux strong enough to warp light around it, like a giant moving lens. "Missy! He is coming! Get within me, now!" And, in a practiced move, Missy merged her energy waveform with his, matching his frequency and modulation perfectly. His/her power sang within her, as if a droplet of water had suddenly become one with a tidal wave. She felt like there was nothing she couldn't do. Do not get overconfident; he is here.
The Entity hit them with the force of a hundred thousand hydrogen bombs.
On board the Watchtower, lights flicked out as the fantastic magnetic surge hit them. Emergency lights came on, ghostly red in the darkness. "What's going on?" demanded J'onn J'onnz, the Martian Manhunter.
"Don't know, sir," shouted the tech on duty, above the din. Everyone was holding on to whatever they could, as the Watchtower shuddered violently underneath the assault. Somewhere behind them, an ascending whine announced an overloading circuit; smoke curled from more than one panel. "Some kinda super powerful EMP; never saw anything like it. It ripped through our defenses like they weren't even there. Hardened circuits or no, we're on backup now." He flipped a few more switches. "Nothing. Except for emergency, we're dead in the water."
Another wave of magnetism broiled out towards the Earth as the two elemental forces collided.
Typhon/Missy fought back. He/they had to win. If they did not, the Enemy would absorb all life, indeed, all of everything, into himself, eliminating all freedom. It was true that man's ways were not God's ways, but that was the way it was supposed to be. Humans were supposed to find their own way, to choose for themselves, to make mistakes and to learn from them. That was what it meant to be free. Only in that way could they ever come to know the splendor of the Truth for themselves.
The Entity counterattacked. He had to prevail. If he did not, chaos would rule the Earth, with every man's hand against every other man's, and love would be reduced to mere sex, a commodity to be bartered and traded. So for Love's sake, he had to be victorious. Failure was just not an option.
And within him…..
Within the Entity, he who had been Kalibak roared and surged forward. Kalibak had suffered much in his life. He'd been abused, tormented, and, worst of all, continuously rejected by his father, whom he'd loved, in his own way. But within the Entity, there was comfort, acceptance, and, perhaps most important of all, something he'd never truly believed possible: innocence. He'd fight to preserve that. If necessary, he'd die to preserve that.
Some things are worth dying for.
Within the Entity, he who had been Officer Ron Davis drew his weapon. Nothing was hidden from him, and he was not deceived. He knew he was no longer a physical being such as he had been, no longer an individual, but a part of a much greater whole. But some images, some useful images, remained. He pictured in his mind a Glock Model 20, in 10mm, loaded with fifteen + one rounds of hollowpoint, Hydra-Shok high-velocity ammunition. The enemy had identified himself, and been given the chance to peaceably withdraw. He had not done so. Now it was time to serve and protect. He moved forward to attack.
Within the Entity, on what may as well have been a vast plain, he who had been Steppenwulf of Apokolips stood at the head of an army such as he would never even have believed possible, even as leader of Apokolips' forces. He drew his sword, silently pledging his undying allegiance to a Master who'd earned it by way of right rather than might. He raised his sword high in salute to a valiant but misguided foe. Forward.
And with a roar to match that of an exploding star, the legions behind him charged as one. In the Name of Love.
The battle for Forever had begun.
To be continued….
