13 Justice League Eternal War
Thrym went down and finally stayed down. He weakly lifted a hand to ward off Thor's next swing of Mjolnir, "No more!"
Thor stayed his hand but he kept the hammer poised for action, "Do you yield?"
Thrym had to weigh his option. He was spent. The Aesir Thunder God had well and truly bested him.
Sif had savaged Menglad. The Jotun giantess was barely able to still breathe while the Aesir shield maiden kept her sword at Menglad's throat. Thiazi was defeated as well. He'd underestimated the Pantheon's Hercules and paid the price. Utgard-Loki had led Utgard's forces against the combined force of gods. Artemis' huntresses had led the defense against them.
Thrym was almost amused to find that Odr was still worked up in a lather. Thrym knew his name meat "Frenzied" in the common tongue. It seemed the wretched Aesir lived up to it.
"I yield," Thrym said heavily. He knew that Odin and the Aesir would make his people pay a heavy price for this insurrection. One so onerous that the Jotun would be forced to rise up again in order to alleviate some of the debt. Wisdom would suggest that moderate terms would go further in ending the conflict for good. But there was a reason Odin had sacrificed an eye to gain what wisdom he had.
Thrym knew this yet he couldn't keep his people in the battle. The Aesir craved blood and were willing to kill every last Frost Giant man, woman, and child to get it. Thrym was a warrior but he wasn't about to sacrifice his people on the altar of pride.
"Once again, you are under the authority of the All Father," Thor proclaimed, "You will inform your people while they are gathered together that this war is over and you are vanquished."
"What about terms?" Thrym inquired.
"You will surrender unconditionally or this fight will be carried on until the Jotun are no more," Thor said with dire menace in his voice.
Thrym sighed, "Very well, but inform Odin that a little mercy buys loyalty whereas revenge breeds insurrection."
Thor paused and Thrym resisted rolling his eyes, "Do you know what those words mean?"
"Of course I do!" Thor declared in such a way that Thrym knew he was talking to a wall.
"Let me speak with Sif," Thrym requested.
Thor reared back Mjolnir, "You will not go near the Lady Sif!"
Thrym seriously wanted to smack Thor upside the head, "Can I talk to Balder?"
"Yes," Thor huffed. He signaled Saxnot who drew near and received his instructions. The patron god of the Saxons retrieved Balder. Once he drew near, Thrym repeated his request. Balder nodded his understanding.
"Lord Odin will be informed," Balder promised.
"That's all I can ask," Thrym knew. Looking to Thor, he asked; "Can I at least stand up now?"
Thor thought about for an extremely long time and Thrym began to lose his patience, "I won't attack you. I've already surrendered. As much as I would dearly love to crack your skull, I won't make my people suffer for my indulgence," Thrym explained.
Thor eyes him suspiciously. Balder interjected, "I'll watch him. You see to Sif and your boys."
Thor tromped off and Balder allowed Thrym to rise. The Jotun over-king nodded his thanks, "Your counsel is wise."
"Perhaps, but I do not have Odin's ear," Balder admitted.
"But you can express my hopes with passion. Perhaps that will sway him," Thrym encouraged him.
"We'll see," Balder dourly replied.
Freyr was kneeling before Odin and Zeus, "We wish to parley, All Father."
"There will be no parlay!" Odin announced in a booming voice over the kneeling Vanir, "There is only capitulation."
Freyr grated but he acquiesced, "Very well, we surrender. Do with us what you will."
"Return to Vanaheimr," Odin commanded, "I will come to you to dictate the terms of your reparations."
"Very well, we obey," Freyr sighed. The Pantheon and the Aesir stood vigil as the Vanir marched home.
Odin showed Zeus back to the All Father's hall. There, pressed up against the wall were Loki and Ymir. They were watched over by Ares and Athena of the Pantheon and Hodir and Vidar of the Aesir. Hodir's name meant "Warrior" in the common tongue and Vidar translated as "Vengeance". It was easy to read what was on their minds.
"Loki, you were like a brother to me but your base treachery has ended that," Odin declared, "It has been proven that you cannot die but you can still be punished. You and your Jotun comrade are to be taken to the base of Yggdrasil, the Tree of Worlds, and exiled in the domain of the Norns. As you know, prolonged exposure to the tree's roots breeds madness. May you find contentment in yours."
Odin waved his hand and a dozen Aesir stepped forward to join their brethren. They hauled Loki and Ymir away and made the journey to the roost of the world tree.
Odin clasped Zeus' arms, "Let me tend to my people and then we feast!"
Zeus smiled, "I'm always up for a banquet."
"Good! For you will have known none like this one!" Odin declared and then he happily bumbled off to direct the preparations.
Akarl clasped the restraints on Hades. The Lord of the Underworld's hands were behind his back and Magnar was hauling him into a battlecruiser for transport back to Olympus. Akarl and Lonar accompanied him.
Vermin Vundabar and the surviving remnant of the parademons had fled back to Apokolips in the face of the Atlantean assault. Aquaman and then led his forces against Hades even as the New Gods rallied against the usurper. Commander Gideon had led his forces into success and Hades had capitulated. Aquaman personally freed Poseidon and the undersea god had declared a celebration in honor of the New Gods and their mortal allies. Poseidon would have words with Zeus regarding the fate of their brother. But for now, a great fête was called for.
In NYC, Mr. Terrific was leading a losing fight with the parademons. He had Hawkman fighting them in the air. The Ray was using his solar powers to incinerate the foe. The Shining Knight was atop Winged Victory and also taking the battle into the skies. Closer to earth, Vixen's totem was giving her animal powers that allowed her to beat a parademon, but that was the very problem. She could only face them one at a time.
Obsidian's powers were nearly useless in broad daylight. But the sun would be setting soon and then he'd fare better. The Atom's size changing tricks gave him an advantage over his simple enemies. Parademons definitely weren't known for their intelligence. The slimmest of gambits totally threw them off.
Elongated Man was doing rather well. He at least could engage multiple targets at the same time. Hourman's chemically boosted strength gave him a complete advantage over any parademons that got within reach. And fortunately for Hourman, they were so stupid they kept trying to overwhelm rather than blast him from a remote distance.
The bulwark of the defense was led by Nemesis. His dart pistol was effective and his only worry was of running out of ammo before he ran out of parademons. He was coordinating the efforts of the Super Friends and STRIPE.
Black Vulcan could return electric bolts for blaster fire. Samarai's command over wind and fire made him a lethal opponent. Apache Chief basically relied upon the same skill set as Hourman.
STRIPE's remotely operated mecha was a prototype specifically designed for emergencies like this one. STRIPE met the enemy on the air and blasted away with his energy weapons. Those parademons that managed to get close enough were ripped apart by the STRIPE unit's superior strength.
The parademon attacks had begun in clustered groups but now a literal living wave was headed the JLers' way. Being honest with himself, Mr. Terrific admitted that he'd never seen so many parademons before. Oh sure, there had to be this many or more in the invasion the Secret Society had helped them avert. But they'd been scattered across the globe that time. Now they were all here, in New York City.
Mr. Terrific's IQ may have ranked him as the third smartest person on the planet but he in no way had a clue as how to stem this tide. He saw that the flying members of the team had recognized the danger and were actually headed for the oncoming rush of parademons when common sense said to head in the opposite direction. Mr. Terrific thought that distinction must be what made them heroes.
Suddenly, Rocket Red and Red Tornado flew past him. Rocket Red's gauntlet blasters were blazing. Reddy formed a cyclone before the heart of the wave and it began to such hapless parademons into it.
If that weren't enough to gladded Terrific's heart, then the sight of Captain Atom and Starman pursuing their friends would have melted the glacial edges of fear. And he was downright overjoyed to see Steel as well. He was only slightly surprised when J'onn landed next to him.
"You have done well, Michael," J'onn commended him, "But now we must take this battle to a new level."
"How?" Mr. Terrific thought it was already at a new level.
"We must garner the attention of all Darkseid's forces while our comrades deal with the Master of Apokolips himself," J'onn related.
Terrific immediately grasped the implications of that statement, "All right, I'm in. How do we proceed?"
"The rest of our teammates are joining your vanguard force," J'onn said, "They are explaining that we must hold at all costs while drawing as much attention to ourselves as we can."
"So we basically carry on as usual and let nature take its course," Mr. Terrific surmised.
"Essentially," J'onn said, "Now if you'll excuse me."
The Martian flew off to meet the horde. Mr. Terrific gazed about and saw that J'onn's unit had met up the the Elite busters and were now reinforcing his counteroffensive.
"Heads up!" Nightwing called out.
His cluster of JLers included Batwoman, Huntress, Question, Catwoman, and Commander Steel. Working with Catwoman had become second nature to Nightwing. He was also on good terms with the Huntress and the Question. He'd only paired up with Batwoman twice but he had a good sense of her abilities and nerve.
Commander Steel though? He was a huge variable. Nightwing knew that Commander Steel was Wildcat's pet project since Black Canary was fully on her own now. Or at least as fully as she could be with Green Arrow dogging her every step.
Nightwing knew that Commander Steel had a metal skeleton that nigh unbreakable. He also had synthetic muscles that were far stronger than natural tissue. His skin was also artificial and could withstand knife and bullet wounds. How well it would endure parademons claws was another matter altogether.
The parademons dove in on them. The Huntress had shot one through the eye and then quickly collapsed her crossbow and holstered it before the parademon assault. She deftly caught one by the arm as it reached for her and flipped it into the ground. Planting a foot on the parademon's chest, she used her arms to wrench the parademon's arm out of socket. It howled in misery as she abandoned it and turned to face a new opponent.
Meanwhile, the Question had her back and kept the demons off of her. He punched them in the throat and used eye gauges to swell their throats shut and to blind them. The Huntress deployed her quarterstaff while her husband kept the parademons at bay. She then came to his side as he was beginning to get overwhelmed.
Catwoman's whip kept the inhuman creatures at a distance. Commander Steel stood by her side and dealt with those that got by Selina's ministrations. Nightwing was greatly amused by this sight. Catwoman practically exuded sexual desire while Hank Heywood III seemed completely oblivious. Of course, the man was fighting for their very lives at the moment. He'd probably take notice of Selina's attentions after the battle concluded. Afterwards, well afterwards, history might be made.
Nightwing came to Batwoman's aid. She was fighting well. Even better than Dick had hoped for. She'd obviously honed her hand to hand skills over the last year. Being a private investigator on the mean streets of Chicago had probably provided her with enough justification to attend the classes in Margo Sawyer's eyes. Hell, Margo might even be attending classes with her.
Batwoman threw another parademon into a light pole. There was a growing collection of unconscious bodies at its base. Nightwing cleared his throat and she whirled on him. He leapt back.
"Easy," he advised calmly, "I'm on your side."
"Why the hell are you sneaking up on me?" she demanded with some exasperation, "Don't you have anything better to do? Like save the planet?"
"You sound a little frustrated," Nightwing observed.
"Of course I'm frustrated, you idiot!" Batwoman yelled, "I don't do cosmic. Mobsters and gang bangers? Fine. Bring `em on. But this shit is waaay beyond me."
Nightwing grinned, "But you're doing great."
Batwoman's shoulders sagged, "Typical male. I talk and talk but you never listen."
Nightwing launched a side kick into an approaching parademon's face, "We can discuss what you think of the League after we survive this."
"If we survive, you mean," Batwoman grumped.
"Hey, we'll win," Nightwing confidently predicted.
"How can you be so sure?" she wondered.
"Because we're the good guys," he grinned.
Batwoman suddenly felt more lost than ever.
Mr. Terrific joined the conclave that was made up of Hawk, Dove, the Atom, Obsidian, Hourman, and the Elongated Man. Unsurprisingly, Hawk was in a lather when Mr. Terrific arrived. Dove was trying to "manage" him and Ralph… Ralph was beside himself with giddy laughter.
Mr. Terrific checked in with Hourman. Rex Tyler had stepped down as Hourman in order to run his pharmaceuticals giant. His son Rick had stepped up in his place. The new Hourman was even steadier than his father despite the elder Tyler's experience. Rick was unflappable. Case in point: this parademon invasion was only the current Hourman's second JLU mission yet he was the one directing the others and having them guard one another to secure their mutual safety.
Mr. Terrific noted that their loose formation was designed to provide maximum coverage for Obsidian. Of course, since Obsidian was the son of World War II's Green Lantern who was also now the Justice Society's Sentinel, he and Rick had grown up in the shadow of the JSA. They'd been friends all of their lives.
"What's going on?" Mr. Terrific asked Hourman in between parademons.
Hourman grinned, "Just listen in. It'll become clear."
Mr. Terrific shifted towards the brothers while his T-Spheres engaged the parademons. They discharged energy bolts or teleported them to an emergency relay station Terrific had erected near Atlantis. Since parademons needed oxygen, and he had no stations in space, sending them underwater seemed equitable.
"What d'you mean she's a lesbo?" Hawk roared as he ripped a parademon's arm off.
"I don't think Batwoman would appreciate you using such a derogatory term," Dove advised as he neatly twirled a rushing parademon face first into the ground.
"Who the hell cares? She sleeps with chicks. That ain't right," Hawk grimaced.
"You're just mad because this means she won't sleep with you," Dove argued, "There is no greater crime than that."
"You're just defending her `cause your so-called girlfriend cheats on you with other women," Hawk accused.
"How can it be cheating if I don't object?" Dove inquired.
"You're both a couple of freaks," Hawk declared, "She's spitting on your manhood."
"No, I'm just not forcing Donna to make a choice," Dove shared.
"A choice?" Hawk queried him as he smashed another parademon in the face.
Dove drove another demon face first into a nearby semi, "A choice. I'd love for Donna and I's relationship to be exclusive but she's not ready to make that choice and I'm not going to force her into choosing. I have time."
"What you have is a severe lack of balls," Hawk snapped.
"Call it what you will," Dove replied as he threw a parademon Hawk's way, "Catch!"
Hawk punched the parademon, "You're really into this chick, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am," Dove suddenly had hope that Hawk was finally getting it.
"Let me offer you some advice," Hawk stated.
"I'd rather you didn't," Dove dryly remarked.
"Make her choose. The sooner the better. Then you won't be so unhappy," Hawk insisted.
Dove gave him a pitying smile, "Who said I was unhappy? You're the one that's upset by the situation. You might want to think about that."
Finally, Hawk had no reply.
J'onn caught up with the flying squad of JLers. Captain Atom had them well in hand. Nathaniel Adams had been an Air Force Officer before being transformed into a living energy matrix. In Adams' case, he'd been a pilot cross specialized in ground based covert operations. Typically he'd have been parachuted into an area behind the Forward Area of Battle and he'd wreak havoc, steal a plane, and fly to friendly territory.
That training was now proving itself. Rocket Red, Starman, the Ray, and Steel were Captain Atom's gunners. Hawkman was the dog fighter. Red Tornado was the clean up specialist. Once the gunners had harried them, then Reddy would suck them into a whirlwind and give them a ride straight out of hell. So far there hadn't been a single parademon that could withstand the experience. They all fell to the ground, lying there twitching, afterwards.
Captain Atom left his squad to their own devices for a moment while he reported in as J'onn arrived, "All member of the Flight Squad present and accounted for, sir!"
A slight smile formed on J'onn's features, "You do realize that it is unnecessary to salute me, Captain?"
Captain Atom's containment suit made its approximation of a sheepish smile, "Old habits, sir. What are your orders?"
"Just continue to carry on," J'onn instructed, "I shall be checking in with the ground teams and assisting them where needed."
"You do realize that we're hopelessly outnumbered? Don't you, sir?" Captain Atom asked.
"Have faith, Captain. Help is on the way," J'onn assured him.
"They'd better be something special," Captain Atom opined.
"He is," J'onn assured him and flew off.
"Him?" Captain Atom blurted, "That's it? A him?"
The Shining Knight had landed Winged Victory because the flying horse was getting bruised and battered in aerial combat with the parademons. Sir Justin kept his sword at the ready as he tied off Winged Victory's reins to a nearby bike rack. He then joined the cluster of heroes gathered in the UN's courtyard.
Vigilante and Green Arrow were blasting parademons out of the sky. Fire shifted to her plasma form and joined by adding her flame blasts to the mix. Ice froze parademons that came into range. Wildcat, Black Canary, and Vixen dealt with those that got by the long distance shooters.
Sir Justin used his blade to skewer a parademon who had come in on Vixen's back, "Careful milady. I would be loath to lose a comrade in arms as comely as thee."
Vixen took a moment to laugh out of delight, "Down boy or I'll tell Tessa."
"Heavens forefend," Sir Justin jested, "Mayhap I shall just have to endeavor to treat Lady Tessa to even more earthly pleasures."
"Mmm…You sure you don't want to pamper me instead?" Vixen asked.
"Nay, I truly love the Lady Tessa. My heart is hers and hers alone," Sir Justin declared.
Vixen wore a wry look, "Now if only your gun toting cowboy friend had been as loyal."
"Pardon?" Sire Justin was baffled.
"Ask him for the story of why we broke up," she suggested, "It may prove eye opening."
"Mayhap," Sir Justin allowed, "But perhaps we'd best carry on another day and assist our comrades."
Wildcat and Black Canary were struggling against multiple foes at once. Sir Justin used his sword to good effect to clear Wildcat's way. The elder hero quickly dispatched the remaining parademons. Meanwhile, Vixen used her totem derived claws and reflexes to assist Black Canary.
They suddenly had a moment's respite. Wildcat greeted Sir Justin, "Good to have you aboard, son."
"I am truly honored to serve beside you," Sir Justin admitted.
"Listen up folks," Wildcat said to the entire group, "Vigilante and Green Arrow are going to run out of projectiles before too long. Fire can sustain her plasma form for a duration but eventually she has to damp it down. Ice has the same story. She can generate absolute cold for a while but she'll eventually tire. That means we'll be carrying the bulk of the fight after that."
Green Arrow and Vigilante both protested. Wildcat shut them down, "I've seen you fellas at the gym. You're better than the average Joe but you haven't got what it takes to last long against these critters. But you can help keep the uglies off of our backs."
"You don't think we can win," Black Canary realized.
"I think we're a holding action until the real guns get displayed. So, keeping that in mind, we hold for as long as we can," Wildcat decided, "And we keep hoping that our help, whoever it is, gets here soon."
Atom Smasher doubled his height and swatted Parademons out of the air. Stargirl used both the Cosmic Rod and her Cosmic Convertor Belt's powers to engage the horde of inhumans. Zatanna used simple spells and defenses. Anna also rudimentary craft against the parademons. They were so simple in nature that they didn't require much more. Their only real assets were their single-minded savagery and their force pikes.
Suddenly, Anna froze. She could feel it. Order was on the move. The Ankh symbol that filled the air was merely an outward manifestation for what was already occurring. Barda and Mr. Miracle appeared from the portal and quickly got out of the way.
Dr. Fate came through and moved past them. The parademons froze. It was as if they knew what lay before them. Suddenly, they redirected all of the energies at Fate.
"Maybe they aren't as stupid as they appear," Anna mused.
Thousands of parademons converged on one lone figure. Fate's golden helm shone in the waning sun. He stretched forth a single hand and recited a spell. It was in a language that had been dead to the mortal realm for tens of thousands of years.
Anna could feel its power and knew what was going to happen even before it did. She shuddered and Zatanna looked at her with some alarm, "Are you okay?"
"Never better," Anna said with a chipper voice.
"I don't recognize that spell," Zatanna admitted, "Even though it definitely reverberated through my head."
"It reverberated through everyone's head," Ann amused, "It is from a time when humanity was still hunting and gathering. There was only one true seat of civilization."
"Atlantis," Zatanna realized, "When it was still above water."
"Then you know of Arion's spell and how it displaced Atlantis to the sea?" Anna asked.
"Every mage knows the legend," Zatanna said huffily.
"Arion only choose the sea because he lacked vision," Anna replied, "He wanted to remain on Earth albeit far removed from his current threats."
"You're saying the spell can do more?" Zatanna inquired.
"Infinitely more," Anna confirmed, "It can literally take you to the ends of this universe or any other you can imagine."
"That you can imagine?" Zatanna was somewhat troubled by that phrase.
"If you're desired universe doesn't exist, then it will create a tailor made pocket dimension to fit your specifications," Anna explained.
Zatanna suddenly realized that Anna had greater access to Nabu's texts and scrolls than she herself had ever been granted. Anna had essentially been placed on probationary status with the JLU because of things that had occurred 149 years ago. But if Kent and Inza were willing to trust her this implicitly, and even Nabu himself, then wasn't she worthy of the League's complete trust as well?
Zatanna decided she would speak to J'onn, Waller, and Sue about it at her first available moment. For now though, she was enraptured by current events, "What happens now?"
"The first recitation has been made thus staging the universe for the transfer," Anna described.
"What universe?" Zatanna wondered.
"Fate invoked the imagineri clause, which means he's creating a pocket dimension for the parademons to inhabit," Anna informed Zatanna, "Now, he's going to shift them into it."
Suddenly, Fate's words rang through their heads again. Then he slowly closed his hand into a fist. When his fist formed, he held it for a second, and then his fingers flew apart. A golden pulse issued from his hands in a single wave. Every parademon that the wave passed through simply disappeared.
"That's why he summoned the parademons when he appeared," Anna said nonchalantly, "He was lining them up so he could take the shot."
"I don't believe it," Zatanna admitted.
"Wait for it," Anna warned, "We've only just begun."
In their heads, the JLers could hear Fate's voice reverberate, "Come with me Justice League. While you have been defending your world from such as these, the mightiest among you have taken the battle to the Dark Lord of Apokolips himself. They have battled Darkseid and now they need your help. "
There was a rustling amongst the crowd of heroes. Fate pressed his point, "The fate of your world rests upon your shoulders, not theirs. In order to save this plant, you must stand strong against Darkseid. Do not fear him, for he is a psychic vampire and fear strengthens him. Rather, be emboldened and be confident that the day is yours. Join with me now and we shall crush the monster and once the head of this particular serpent is cut off, the rest of the beast shall wither and die as their resolve evaporates. What do you say?
There was a profound silence and then suddenly Wildcat spoke for them all with a, "Hell yeah!"
Cheers met the reply and Fate spoke again, "Prepare yourselves. I shall move us into Darkseid's presence and then the final conflict can be fought."
Fate gestured and they were gone.
