Starling Gym, Star City
Wild Dog and Wildcat fought back to back, their fists covered in blood belonging to both them and the Parademons. Each blow they landed proved fatal, but their numbers were endless. Perhaps the Parademons relished the fight, which is why they failed to use their guns. Either way the pair of crime fighters couldn't stand against the horde forever. They were only human, their movements would slow, they would make mistakes. Then they would die.
Though Wildcat was older, he made more experience. Wild Dog was young, and only had a year of experience crime fighting. He had never fought with even a metahuman, aside from Wildcat. He was the first to be injured, with a parademon claw cutting into his gut. He was quick to break its neck and throw it into the horde, but already his fate was sealed. As Wild Dog's blood spilled to the ground he continued to fight.
Wildcat had his right thigh torn open before his left shoulder was bitten into, but it barely slowed him down. He pulled the parademon from behind him over his shoulder and threw it to the ground before stomping its brains out, then punched through the skull of another parademon. It was the most alive he felt in decades.
Wild Dog managed to kill another two parademons before he fell, the undead aliens climbing over him as they tore him apart. Wild Cat let out a roar of anger as he pulled them back, ripping through them as he attempted to rescue his friend. One of them had its throat cut open, and it was this act that sealed his own fate. Ted Grant died in a fiery explosion, taking with him three dozen parademons.
Mammoth Road, Star City
The Black Canary rides atop a motorcycle, three parademons following behind her. She curses her own fearlessness, having already realized what it is that attracts them. She halts on the breaks as she reaches the plaza holding Queen Industries, finding it already under assault by an impressively sized horde.
She turns to face the parademons chasing her and lets out a scream, the frequency so high and volume so loud it sent them falling to the ground as their ears bled. Without finishing them off Black Canary continues towards her friend's building, blinded by the waves of parademons, but able to hear gunshots and shouting from beneath the drum of hundreds of wings and her own motorcycle.
As Black Canary rams through the horde she is thrown from her bike, only to land sliding on her feet, turning to face them once again. She opens her mouth and lets out her loudest scream, killing eight of them and wounding three more. The falling explosions claim twenty more parademons, followed by another dozen.
A hand grabs the Canary by the arm and pulls her up, causing her to turn with a fist only to freeze at the sight of Green Arrow. He smirks and says, "Hello, lover."
"Long time no see," she purrs before planting a kiss on his lips.
Around them are seven security guards, and nearly a thousand shell casings littered the ground. Though they started with submachine guns all, but one were onto their handguns, and even then, were almost out of ammo. The corpses of three more guards were strewn across the ground, one's chest still smoking from the laser blast that claimed his life.
Green Arrow moved past Black Canary, drawing his bow to land a perfect shot through the skull of a parademon as he said, "Speedy's bringing out the big guns. We're waiting on him."
"Big guns?" Canary asked as she claimed the handgun off the corpse of a guard.
"Some tech Palmer's been working on. Should be enough to take care of this," Just after Green Arrow finished saying this there came an explosion from the top floor of Queen Industries and he quickly growled out, "Or maybe not. Bastards must have gotten inside."
From the top floor fell a man clad in what was unmistakably a suit of power armor, landing behind the horde of parademons. The armor held red and blue highlights with a mostly unfinished grey chassis, while an atom was perfectly carved into the suit's forehead. Behind the glass visor was the familiar smile and warm brown eyes of doctor Raymond Palmer, who had just completed his life's work.
Ray raised his arms and clenched his fists, before a series of bright blue bolts of plasma shot out in automatic fire, ripping through the horde with ease. He spread his arms to the sides, taking more of the horde down as they attempted to turn and attack him, only to be taken down by bullets and arrows. His plasma fire killed them too quickly to even activate their self-destruct, and soon the area was secure.
"What was that explosion?" Green Arrow asked as he approached Ray.
"One of them broke in as I was gearing up. Your sidekick hit it in the chest, and it blew up. He got to the stairwell though, he should be fine."
"Good. Any idea what our next plan of attack is?"
"Well, unfortunately the only thing that comes to the mind is… well…"
"Ray," Black Canary said as she stepped up alongside her fiancé. "What is it?"
"It would require us getting on boardthat," he said, pointing to Apokolips as another horde began to descend towards them. "Shit."
"Everyone, back inside!" Green Arrow yelled as he reached for his last arrow.
Black Canary stepped forward and let out a scream, knocking most of them from the air, but still dozens more flew at them. She turned to see the guards already storming inside as Green Arrow fired his last arrow, which found its mark perfectly in the left eye socket of a parademon.
He turned to Ray and said, "Everyone means you too, Palmer!"
"I can help!" Ray cried, shooting parademons from the sky.
"Now!" he growled, pushing Ray back towards the building's entrance.
Black Canary moved forward, grabbing Ray by the arm as she pulled him inside. She threw him in, knocking him onto his butt as she entered the building herself. Speedy pushed open the stairway door just as Green Arrow entered, only to freeze in place as his eyes bulged. He then stumbled forward, collapsing into Black Canary's arms while a parademon stood over him holding the bloody arrow that had claimed its eye.
The guards were quick to mow it down as Dinah Lance held her dying lover in her arms, tears welling up. She cried, "Ollie… oh god, why you? Anyone but you…"
"It's okay, song bird," Ollie whispered as he stroked her cheek.
"I can't lose you… not you!"
"I love you… Dinah…"
"I love you too, Ollie…"
He leaned upwards for one last kiss, that Dinah returned, tasting his blood while he tasted her tears. Then he went limp, their lips still intertwined. Dinah pulled away in somber silence, and slowly rose to her feet. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Roy Harper standing with her, bearing the same loss.
She looked back outside, to where a new horde was amassing, bearing down on them. Black Canary clenched her fists and let out a cry, a scream louder than any she had ever produced. Glass shattered two miles away from the force of her scream, even those behind her fell to their knees covering their bleeding ears. The parademons stood no chance of survival, their skulls exploding into green and pink sludge from the Canary's cry.
This was not enough to sate the Black Canary, and so she continue outwards. She unleashed her cries upon all parademons she encountered, killing all of them. The Endless all had their eyes upon her on this dark hour, and for years they would talk of its beauty. The love she felt for Oliver Queen, the despair over his loss, the delirium she felt. She would cause so much destruction, take so many lives. It was this that saved Star City, though she wouldn't know this.
The Black Canary would scream until her throat was raw and bloody, until she could cry no more. Then she fell to her knees and wept, for it was all she could do. She wept for the love she had lost, for the family and friends long passed. She wept for her city, and her world. She wept for everyone. Even humanity would talk of The Black Cry for years to come, for all in Star City had heard it. As the world ended around them, one woman cried so fiercely she claimed the lives of thousands of her enemies, and saved millions of her people.
As she wept to herself a dark shadow was cast not just over her, but her entire city. She broke away from her sobs for just a moment to watch as massive thick vines surrounded her home, blocking out all light from the setting sun. The vines trapped the city in darkness, cutting it off from the entire world. Once more Dinah began to weep.
Metropolis
Two miles below Lexcorp Headquarters there is an expansive bunker only accessible through six strategically located express elevators. The bunker itself goes on for miles, as it was designed to hold thousands of people in the event of a nuclear apocalypse. Instead it holds just three hundred and sixteen people.
Lex Luthor sits at a desk watching the chaos unfold throughout his city on a laptop as he thinks of ways, he can possibly save the day. There aren't many. The best he has is an incomplete Superman clone still incubating. At that moment there was no way he could be the hero. Then came a video call from an unknown contact, when his laptop was supposed to be run on a private network.
After accepting he looked into the cold glare of Amanda Waller who said, "Hello, Lex."
"Do I know you?" Lex asked.
"No. I'd like to keep it that way, for now. Three hours ago the United Nations was attacked. The only confirmed survivor was Prince Adam of Khandaq."
"I care why?"
"As of five minutes ago, you were announced to temporarily have control of the world's military, until the end of the invasion."
"I see…"
"I'm connecting you to my mainframe, with limited access. You'll be able to send commands to the surviving generals, or whoever take their places."
"You're trusting all of this to me alone? What do you want in return?"
"Just a favor, when the time comes."
"Heh, of course. But how do you know you'll survive?"
"I'm not in the game of dying, Lex. Goodbye."
The call ended, leaving Lex viewing a new screen showing hundreds of links connecting him to the world's generals. Most of the names he saw were green, but as he looked over them two became red, before two new names appeared. He couldn't help but smile at his new-found power, before he began to save the world just like he always wanted.
Themyscira
Princess Nubia fought alongside her sisters against an endless army, their first real battle in centuries. Humanity had found the Amazonians only once in all their time on the island, entirely by mistake. Now an army of monsters hellbent on their extermination attacked with the impossible knowledge of their location.
Arrows and lasers flew through the sky, spilling Amazonian and parademon blood onto the once peaceful island. Clay sculptures fought alongside the warrior women, while the gods themselves rained lightning and fire upon the invaders. Thousands of alien bodies littered the once beautiful landscape, but thousands more came.
Nubia's back pressed against Artemis' as a horde surrounded the pair, the bodies of their sisters quickly fading from sight beneath undead feet. "Are you ready to die, sister?" Nubia asked.
"Only if you are, princess," Artemis replied as she cut the head off a parademon.
There came a burst of black lightning before them, leaving the sand beneath their feet as glass while black flames fell over the parademons, melting their armor and flesh with ease. From the center of the lightning rose a familiar and hated figure, that of the god Ares. He dressed in black spiked armor with a tattered black cape on his back and a ram horned helmet that hid everything other than his glowing red eyes. In one hand he held a massive mace, and in the other a man-sized battle axe. As he rose to his full height he towered over the impressively large Amazonians, standing at twelve feet tall.
"You will not die today, daughters of Zeus," the god said as he approached the horde, brandishing his mace.
"Even the evil gods fight on our behalf," Artemis remarked.
"Truly this is the end of days," Nubia said in a grim tone.
With a single strike from his mace a dozen parademons were thrown through the air. With a slash from his axe four were cut in half. The god was a powerful force, but against an army as massive as that of Apokolips even he had difficulty fighting them back. Were it not for his nieces fighting along side of him, even the god would have fallen.
Nubia and Artemis kept the horde back from Ares' back, but two Amazonians were not enough to keep the legions of parademons away. They fought as hard as they could but soon became overwhelmed and separated and would soon be slain by their enemies. As the parademons covered Nubia, clawing open her flesh and biting into her shoulders she made a dangerous decision.
With all her might she clapped her bracers together, sending out a shockwave that threw all off their feet. Even the mighty war god Ares was thrown back, crushing two parademons beneath his weight. As Nubia brought herself to her feet, she saw Artemis' hand sticking out from beneath a pile of parademon corpses.
She ran forward and took her sister's hand in hers, pulling her free from beneath the corpses. Artemis looked up at her beneath a blood-stained face and said, "Next time just leave me to die."
"Don't jest, Artemis," Nubia said as she looked around for a sword.
"Their numbers are lessening," Artemis replied as she stood up and looked to the skies.
"Yes. That scares me."
"Why? We're winning."
"I don't think so. I believe… this was simply reconnaissance."
"If this is reconnaissance, then even I fear what comes next."
Las Vegas
Vegas has always been home to madness incarnate, in various forms. The Apokoliptian invasion was just another madness to the city of devils. Upon their arrival the legions of parademons found themselves driven as close to insanity as was possible, their minds torn to shreds and rearranged by the various forces that exist in the city.
One of these forces is called Shade, and currently they don't feel like a man or a woman. Or even a human for that matter. Instead they are a force, a force of madness and relief. Sanity and torture. For the parademons they are only madness and torture. They rip through the parademons like a disease, rendering the invasion nearly useless at first.
But the monsters adapt. They do what they know best and kill everything that moves. At first this is just each other, but soon they learn from this. Nothing with the scent of death. Nothing green or gold. Only those that scream. Only those that feel pain. Only those that reek of fear. Shade decides to become a human again while they think of how best to deal with the situation and borrow the appearance of Janelle Monae.
They think out loud, "Perhaps I could just make themselves think they're already dead? Oh, but what if they explode? Why don't I have any friends? This is always easier with friends."
Shade doesn't have long to wait for the situation to be corrected, however. On the other side of the city rests a high-class bar called Lux. It serves rather nice drinks with quick service, and one never has to worry about annoying patrons. If you decide to spend time, there you may even have a pleasant song played on a piano. All in all it seems like a fairly normal, if a bit odd, lounge. Only those that know who owns it know its true purpose. The bar acts as a home to the literal devil himself, Lucifer.
Most are taken back when they see the devil. He has no red skin, no horns. He just looks like a fairly attractive man. Pale skinned and blond hair, more beautiful than most women. The only unusual features on him are a pair of golden eyes, which only a handful of beings can even notice. He even dresses like a normal person, in various suits he finds interesting. Tonight is a black suit with a red shirt and white tie.
When the first parademon stumbles into his home, he is displeased. It would be fine if they were just slaughtering patrons as they left, but the monster dared to set foot in his home. With a wave of his hand it crumbled to still living dust, doomed to an eternity of sentience spread out across millions of pieces. Then, to ensure he isn't annoyed by any others, he snaps his finger and the entire army within Las Vegas bursts into flames.
Shade is delighted to find they somehow saved the day, oblivious to Lucifer's involvement. They decide that they deserve a reward for their good job, and leave the city to find a nice spot in the desert to get high in. More parademons arrive shortly after, with little to stop them now. With their senses undisturbed they know to stay away from Lux, and there are no more heroes to stop them.
The Sahara Desert
Living with a pride of lions, away from the strains of human life, is Thomas Blake. He once called himself Catman and had been an aspiring super villain but was defeated by Speedy. When he realized he was beaten by a teenager with nothing more than a bow and arrow, he decided to leave the world behind and learn how to be nature's top predator. Unfortunately, he can't swim, and as such went to what he viewed as the next top predator: the majestic lion.
To say it's unusual for a human to live amongst lions is nothing. What's even more unusual is to become their leader, and the most vicious of them. He had sharpened his nails into claws and was faster than any normal human. He had incredible strength and agility, and reflexes to rival even Batman. His time amongst the lions truly had made him into the ultimate predator, excluding sharks.
His once short red hair had grown long and mangled, while pale skin had grown red and blistered before he began to paint it with the blood of his kills. His green eyes were exaggerated by the crimson blood, their already wide and mad expression served to make him look more like a monster. To all who would see him, he would appear like a savage man that had been raised by the beasts, not a rich young man who decided to live with them two years before.
The Catman's usual hunting stopped as he looked to the skies and found dozens of strange creatures flying through the air with insectoid wings. His curiosity had been great and so he decided to follow them, making sure his pride stayed behind first while he went alone. He would not risk his family to whatever those strange creatures may be.
However, Catman is not the only strange and somewhat deluded white man connecting with predators in the Sahara. As a group of poachers discover when they attempt to shoot a herd of gazelles. One by one their throats are cut by inhuman claws and their bodies silently pulled away, so the others aren't alerted.
At last only their leader remains, before he's dragged from his tent and thrown onto the yellow grass. He looks up into the remorseless eyes of Buddy Baker, Animal Man. He dresses in a yellow costume with a blue A on his chest and black shoulders, while blond hair sticks out of a black topless cowl. His eyes are crystal blue and look more like that of a snake's than a person. His fists are held tight as he stands over the poacher, filled with anger.
"You killed them," he growled.
"K-killed who!?" the man cried. "I haven't killed anyone!"
"Them!" Buddy growls, gesturing to a pair of rhino calves, their horns cut off and a bullet lodged in both their skulls.
"I, I, I!" the man stammered.
Buddy grabbed him by his collar and pulled him into the air with the strength of a bear as he said, "Don't worry. I'll make this only as painless as their deaths were."
Animal Man called upon the power of the animals around him, finding many gentle creatures. But there was one that worked. He smiled as he summoned the power of a deathstalker scorpion, a tail growing from his back. The poacher looked up in horror just a moment before the tail stabbed through his eye and injected venom straight into his brain, killing him nearly instantly.
Buddy dropped the poacher's corpse and turned away, his tail receding back into his body. He never liked gloating over death. Overhead he saw dozens of creatures flying, their nature not of Earth. He knew then that they were a threat to nature, to the animals of the desert, and he would have to stop them. With the speed of a cheetah he ran forward, chasing after the parademons.
Central City
Two Flashes, Barry Allen and Jay Garrick, ran through the city streets as fast as the speed of light. They took down parademons with ease, for the creatures couldn't even react to them. They rescued every civilian they could, which was most of them. But even they couldn't save everyone. For every hundred people they saved, one would die or suffer extensive injuries. Both men believed this was an isolated incident, that they were being specifically targeted. Later they would discover that Central City was affected the least by the invasion.
When the vines began to enclose the city, both Flashes met at Star Labs. Barry said, "One of us needs to get out of here, get help!"
"You go, kid," Jay replied. "I've got things handled here."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, now go!"
Barry Allen ran, faster than he knew he could. Faster than the speed of light, faster than the universe. He moved not over the vines but through them, oblivious that they were even there. Then he was in Central City again, then beyond it. He couldn't see anything other than an ethereal blue tunnel stretching into infinity. Barry ran faster and faster, faster than time itself, pulled along by a force guiding him to some unknown place in a near-distant future.
The next thing Barry knew he was falling not through the air, but space. He let his breath out as quickly as he could, his skin already burning from the cold and body aching. Only a few seconds later a bright light washed over him, blinding him from the void. Though he couldn't see it the ship was large and black, modeled after the silhouette of a bat.
Barry closed his eyes tight to shield them from the light, and a few moments later felt hands touching his shoulders as a rope was tied around his waist. He hoped they would hurry as his lungs screamed for air but didn't have long to wait before he was pulled into the ship. He never heard the door close but felt the rumble, which was soon followed by the sound of oxygen being pumped into the room.
He gasped for breath and stumbled to his feet before looking around, his eyes landing on a sight both familiar and foreign. Standing before him was a person who was definitely Batman, but not the one he knew. The man was thin and slightly taller than his Batman and wore a completely different suit. This one was skin tight and pure black with a red symbol on his chest, while an air mask covered his mouth.
"Robin? Is that you?" he asked, grasping his head from the pain he felt.
"Dick's dead, Barry," came a vaguely familiar voice. Barry turned to see an elderly Bruce Wayne standing before him with a mechanical left leg and an omega symbol branded onto his face. "Everyone's dead."