Well folks, here it is. The last ever episode of "Sandman Unlimited".

It's been one hell of a journey, I can't believe I almost considered cancelling this story. It was so much fun to write, and I absolutely enjoyed every single moment of it. Every character, every episode, every line of dialogue, it was a great learning experience and a fun one.

Now, before we begin this chapter, I believe I promised you all a Q&A! So here we go, and I want to thank you all for all the questions you guys sent. It really made my day to read them, I loved every single one:

demonic hellfire: Can Captain Marvel (Marvel version) absorb the Omega-Beam?

That's actually a really good question. I mean, the Omega-Beams are incredibly powerful, able to completely cripple Kryptonians. I imagine she might absorb some of it, but not the whole thing. It would probably also damage her a fair bit too.

Faith Doe: Question 1 - What was your favourite chapter/arc to write and why?

That's a hard one for sure, since I loved so many, so I figure I'll name my favourite chapter and then my favourite arc. For the chapter, I'm thinking either "The Great Brain Robbery" or "Alive!". The former had some of my favourite dialogue ever to write, and the latter was just full of great Luthor moments. Although I must say that "The Return", "Doomsday Sanction", and "An Injustice Far From Home" were some other standout favourites for me. My favourite arc was easily "Homecoming", every chapter I got to explore more of the characters and I threw in so many cameos. It also had a really adorable proposal. So that was nice. The total Cadmus Arc ("Fearful Symmetry", "Ultimatum", "Dark Heart", "Doomsday Sanction", "Clash", "The Catalyst", "Panic in the Sky", and "Divided We Fall") was a close second though, since it was, in my opinion, the beginning of a sharp increase in quality. It also had some great moments.

Question 2 - What made you choose 38 chapters? Is there a significance to the number or was that just how many you felt was right?

There was no real significance to the number, that's just how it turned out. A lot of these I almost didn't write. "The Great Brain Robbery", "An Injustice Far From Home", "The Sandman vs Dracula", and "The Dark Before the Light" were all last minute additions to my original drafted list, and while originally I was going to write "Patriot Act" I ultimately decided against it.

Question 3 - Can Flint and Zatanna have a biological child together in the sequel? Please?

Well, I did state before that the radiation that gave Flint his powers made him sterile. But then again... there is always magic...

Lovingh3art: If you ever have room in the sequel, would you consider doing ant man and the atom?

Like having them meet? Maybe, I hadn't really planned on it happening, but it might.

JAKEkenstein: Any chance for a Spider-Man & Galatea sequel?

A sequel? Probably not, but I am considering doing a collection of one-shot chapters. They'll just be collections of what occurred with characters during and after the events of "Sandman Unlimited". I'll probably include Spider-Man and Galatea in a few of those, as well as some for J'onn, the Ultimen, and The Riddler. There will also be an entire chapter dedicated to assembling the Justice League Dark as well, so that will be fun.

Aria42: What prompts you to change the endings of characters who you don't like the endings for? Supergirl for example, changing her ending didn't change the outcome of the fic at all so I was wondering what your motivation is.

Simply put, they're unsatisfying. Of the characters whose endings I changed they were as follows: Supergirl, because her arc ending without a proper conclusion and stranding her in the future was dumb. Deadman, because oh my god did they ever make him suffer for a simple mistake he made to save a life. Shazam, another unsatisfying exit. It just felt really spiteful in the show, and it really damaged both him and Superman's character. Longshadow and the Ultimen, because they had a really sad ending and I couldn't just let them die in such a painful manner. The Shade, because I love him and don't want him to die.

Chandra Saint: Do you have any ideas for other fanfics and if so, what are they?

Well there is the sequel to this fic, "Alchemic Justice", which will focus on Keemia. I am also finally going to write the Walking Dead fanfic I've been sitting on for the longest time. The Sandman Unlimited one-shots will also become a story, and I do have a standalone Batman fic centred on Black Mask that will come out. I'm also considering a crossover between Harry Potter and Justice League Dark.

Princess TS: If you couldn't use Sandman, which Marvel character would you have used in your fic and why?

Easy, the Juggernaut. His redemption arc in the comics was great, and his return to villainy was perfectly tragic. Then when he became a hero again for selfish reasons in order to both do good and appease Cyttorak, that was great. I would have loved to explore Cain Marko, but ultimately, I wanted to do Flint more.

Moniker Man: Which characters would you have liked to focus on more in the fic and why?

That's a really hard one, since I thought everyone had the perfect time. But honestly, I wanted to see Black Canary and Huntress more. I just didn't have an opportunity to really have them appear with Flint, which influenced their appearances greatly.

Killer Frost225: Have you seen Black Panther yet? If so, what did you think?

I have seen it. It is, in a word, PHENOMENAL! Absolutely phenomenal, and I recommend that everyone goes out and watches it. WAKANDA FOREVER!

Lady Pond: Since this is the last episode of Justice League Unlimited, what series will the sequel be based off of if any?

The sequel shall be based off of Young Justice, so that will be fun. I already have workarounds for certain characters who can't be used, and I have some new members of the team selected for arrival as the fic progresses! I am also re-watching the show in preparation. Expect the sequel to be released soonish. Not right away, as I do need a break. But soon.

Iron Man 666: I was wondering if Condiment King was coming back for the sequel and if so would he actually do anything this time?

Well first of all Iron Man, HOW THE HELL DID YOU ESCAPE MY DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS CAMPAIGN?! As for Condiment King, he will return in the sequel. But he will not actually do anything. He is the butt of the joke. He is meant to be laughed at. He is functionally useless, but hilarious as he attempts to try and succeed. Now get back to D&D!

Thank you everyone for a fantastic Q&A! These were some great questions, and as I said earlier I enjoyed reading them all. It was also a lot of fun to answer them as well. Hopefully this means I can do more for my other fics in the future.

Before I progress any further towards the chapter itself, I do have some thank you's I would like to give.

First, a big thank you to my new editor. You have made writing these last few chapters so much easier, and I can't thank you enough for all your help. hopefully you can stand me long enough to help with any future stories I have.

Next, a big thank you to Fox Boss, Lucian Naruto, and Dion ComicWiz. You guys gave me some great ideas for characters, events, and even chapters. You helped with so many great ideas and I couldn't have come up with some of these without you.

I would also like to thank The Incredible Muffin who inspired me to write this story. While he might not be continuing the original saga of Ben 10 Unlimited, he was still a massive influence to me while making this. In the same vein, I would also like to thank my other big inspiration for this story, AffectEffect12. Their story, "Beacon of Justice" was another big inspiration for quite a few of my chapters, so I can't thank them enough.

And finally, another big thank you to Lucian Naruto and Dion ComicWiz just for being such loyal followers and friends. You guys have been around since the beginning, and you encouragement helped me all along the way. Your friendship was invaluable to me as well, so I just want to thank you again for everything.

Now, with that out of there way, here is the very last disclaimer:

The following is a non-profit fan-based tribute. Sandman, Salamandra, the Avengers, and all related characters are owned by Marvel and therefore Disney (ALL PRAISE THE IMMORTAL MOUSE!). The Justice League, Secret Society, and all related characters are owned by DC Comics and Warner Bros. Darkseid, the New Gods, and the 4-th World characters are owned by Jack Kirby, DC Comics, and Warner Bros. Please support their official releases!

And now, on to the finale!

Previously, on Sandman Unlimited:

"I'm telling you guys, If Luthor really hated being bald as much as he says he does, why didn't he make a cure for baldness when he had Brainiac?" Flint asked, leaning against one of the tables in the Metro Tower. "He had the resources to do it, it would only take him a few minutes, tops"

"Gotta admit, you make a good point" Superman chuckled. "I'm surprised he didn't steal any more cakes"

"That's true too. I mean, he stole forty on his own. With Brainiac, he could have stolen forty-thousand!" Flint smirked.

"Forty-thousand? But that's as many as four ten-thousands!" Wonder Woman said in mock horror.

"And that's terrible" Superman chimed in again, before all three broke into hearty chuckles. Their laughing was soon cut short as one of the many workers in the tower rushed through the door before hurrying to Superman.

"Superman, you better come outside! Quick!" the man said in a panic. At his the direness in his tone, Superman immediately rushed outside, followed closely by Flint and Wonder Woman, as well as the other heroes on duty in the tower.

When they arrived outside, they were greeted by an alarming sight; the remains of the Secret Society were standing there, waiting for them. Bizarro, Giganta, Toyman, Cheetah, Star Sapphire, Sinestro, Heatwave, Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Weather Wizard, Killer Frost, Evil Star, Atomic Skull, and Volcana stood before them, being led by Lex Luthor.

Lex stood with his arms folded behind his back, staring down Superman and the League, who were all tensed and ready for combat.

Luthor looked at him impassively before speaking. "We have a little problem"

As was to be expected, the sudden arrival of Luthor and the surviving fragments of the Secret Society put all the present members of the Justice League on high alert. The fact that they didn't attack right away was even more alarming. But it was what they had to tell the League that troubled them the most.

When Lex first relayed his story, Flint was skeptical, but there was a piece somewhere in the back of his mind that scared him to no end. Flint had heard the tales and read the case files from past encounters with Darkseid. He was an immensely powerful and dangerous foe for anyone to take on, and he had nearly succeeded in killing Superman on numerous occasions. To hear that he was alive once more, and on the track for revenge, was quite the intimidating prospect.

However, this message was relayed to them by Lex Luthor of all people, so naturally their skepticism took the lead over their own fear. Superman was the prime example of this, as after allowing the Society into the Metro Tower, he was the first to address Luthor. "Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that I believe a single word of your story. How did you survive the explosion?"

"By the skin of my teeth" Luthor said simply, the events from just minutes prior coming back to him easily before he relayed them to Superman and the League. He told them about the suddenness of the explosion, how off-guard everyone was. But he also mentioned how quick both Sinestro and Star Sapphire were to respond, managing to protect most of the villains inside a bubble they had generated. Those on the lower decks weren't nearly as lucky.

"But, stranded more than a power ring's charge from home, we found ourselves dependant on the kindness of strangers" he continued. "A resident of the nearby planet New Genesis, drawn by our ship's explosion, offered his help. We accepted of course"

Naturally, Lex left out the fact that they killed this Good Samaritan in order to obtain his Boom Tube technology, which allowed for them to arrive back on Earth safely.

Superman simply levelled a glare to Luthor, his contempt and anger for the man very clearly shown. "You've got some nerve, coming to us for help"

"Darkseid took Brainiac away from me. I can't hear his voice in my head anymore" Luthor reasoned with a scowl. There was a prolonged pause as Flint simply looked to Luthor in surprise.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked incredulously as Atomic Skull and Sinestro seemed to mirror his confusion.

"Enough of the crazy talk Lex" Giganta interrupted, stepping between the two before looking at Superman. "Darkseid said he was coming to Earth to destroy it. You guys are supposed to keep that sort of thing from happening"

"We'll do just that lady. Thanks for the heads up" Green Lantern said, folding his arms.

"Yeah, thanks for that" Flint frowned. "Certainly makes our job easier"

"And what about us?" Atomic Skull asked.

"You're all going into holding cells" Wonder Woman answered, as the villains suddenly took up defensive postures.

"You think so?" Skull scoffed, his fists glowing bright with atomic energy. "Ain't no way we're givin' up without a-"

"Watchtower to Metro Tower, we got a situation" Mr. Terrific suddenly called over the communication screen, cutting the villain off.

"What's going on up there?" Superman asked

"Multiple hyper-spatial incursions, but they're planet side" Mr. Terrific said, before bringing up a screen that displayed several glowing red dots appearing all over the globe. "I'm sending telemetry"

Batman took a look at the reading for only few seconds before recognizing the energy signature they displayed. "Boom Tubes" the detective said, his eyes narrowing at the implication. Luthor was right.

"He's right" Superman nodded, tilting his head to listen. "Can you hear it? Like thunder"

True to what he was saying, the numerous display screens suddenly showed footage from all over the world. They showed large Boom Tubes opening and releasing numerous tanks and soldiers. Flint recognized them from when he had fought Mantis alongside Clark and Captain Atom a few years back. The sight of seeing these portals now unleashing hundreds of soldiers all over the world was more than a little intimidating.

"Oh that ain't good" he muttered as Flash grimaced.

"Understatement of the millennium" the speedster quipped.

Up on the Watchtower, Mr. Terrific wasted no time in open all of the communication lines and delivering an urgent alert. "Attention all Justice League personnel, this is an Omega level threat!" he announced, just as Shayera landed behind him on the monitor platform alongside Vixen, Green Arrow, Doctor Light, and Blue Devil.

"Get to the Javelins!" Blue Devil said urgently before Shayera shook her head.

"No time" she disagreed, before going on the intercom herself. "All members, prepare for emergency teleport!" she said before taking to the air again, heading for the teleporters. "Send us first, give the others a chance to put their pants on!"

"You got it" Mr. Terrific called after her.

She landed on the teleporter, being joined by the others from the observation deck before Mr. Terrific teleported them down to Earth to begin their defense. Numerous other heroes arrived on the teleporters after they had left, with Mirage, Booster Gold, Crimson Fox, Crimson Avenger, and Aztek making up another party.

Once they were gone, Mr. Terrific immediately began cycling through the League roster, tracking down everyone he could to help fight this invasion.

Back in the Metro Tower, Superman grasped Bizarro's shoulder before starting to walk him away. "Alright, let's get these people locked up. Sounds like we got a fight on our hands"

Giganta scoffed before standing in from of him with a less than impressed expression. "If you think you're locking us up while the whole world's under attack, you got two fights on your hands!" the size-changer threatened as she and the rest of the villains got into a fighting stance. Sandman and several of the other Leaguers looked ready to retaliate against them before Batman shook his head.

"She's got a point. We'll need all the bodies we can throw at this"

"Oh come on!" Superman said in surprise. "It's Lex flippin' Luthor, why should we trust him?"

"Hey, it's our world too!" Atomic Skull spoke up, before Luthor held him back with his hand.

"Let's be clear about this" Lex began, approaching Superman with a stoic yet cold expression. "We're not here to help you save the world, you're here to help me get revenge on Darkseid. When this is over, it's back to business as usual"

Superman stared at him, almost defiantly, before meeting his gaze with a nod. "Wouldn't have it any other way"

Wonder Woman watched their exchange before turning back to the monitor with Mr. Terrific. "You get all that?"

"Yeah, you guys sure about this?" he asked cautiously.

"Trust but verify" She reasoned as Leaguer and villain alike headed for the teleporter. "Put the bad guys on teams with regular Leaguers"

"Search through the telemetry on the attack groups, find the best protected mother ship. That's where Darkseid will be" Batman said, before running to a teleporter where he was joined by Flint, Luthor, and Superman.

"That's where I wanna go" Superman added.

"I imagine so, it's in Metropolis hovering over the Daily Planet. Standby" Mr. Terrific said as Flint folded his arms.

"Make sure Z gets some help down in Miami, she'll be their only hero down there at the moment."

"No need to worry" Terrific assured him. "I already sent the Rogues down to assist her, I know how much you like them in your city" he added with a smirk.

"That's goo- wait you sent who?!" Flint said, taken by surprise before the teleport started. "Fu-"

Washington DC

Hawkgirl, Citizen Steel, and Atomic Skull were all teleported on the lawn of the White House, where several of Darkseid's parademons had begun an assault against the secret service. They now stood as one of the few lines of defense between Apokolips and the president.

Hawkgirl took to the sky, using her mace to savagely strike against several parademons, while Citizen Steel turned into organic metal, engaging in hand-to-hand combat against the swarm. Atomic Skull used a more crude strategy; he released wave after wave of deadly atomic energy, literally vaporising any parademons that got too close.

Paris, France

Flash, Green Lantern, Shocker, and Giganta all arrived near the Eiffel tower, where dozens of panicked citizens ran away in fear of the swarms. Flash took off first, using his speed to move the citizens to safety before he disarmed and quickly punched out the parademons assaulting the ground.

Giganta grew to a colossal hundred feet tall, before using her hands to throw warships out of the sky and bat parademons off the iron bars of the tower. One of the tanks on the ground aimed its cannon at her, but Shocker was quick to notice.

"Heads up darlin'!" he called out, before using a level-4 blast from his vibrosmashers to quickly destroy the tank. He then used another equally powerful wave to blast several more parademons away.

"Thanks for the save, Tex" she commented before swatting more out of the sky.

Lantern provided air support, using his ring to blast numerous parademons and warships, where they all fell to the ground in smoking pieces.

The Great Wall of China

Star Sapphire used her gem to blast several Parademons, while Wonder Woman and Shining Knight cut down any that got too close to the panicked tourists. Vigilante provided them with some cover fire, while Atom Smasher simply plowed through any of the tanks on the ground, as well as knocking larger drones equipped with cannons out of the sky.

Rome, Italy

Doctor Light flew around with Bizarro, knocking and blasting parademons to the ground. Bizarro in particular was rather effective at this as he crushed several of them into one large ball before lobbing them at another gathering swarm. The end result was almost two dozen parademons, sprawled out and twitching feebly in the cobblestone streets.

Green Arrow and Black Canary lead the ground assault, using their arrows and canary cry respectively to make short work of the invading army.

Tokyo, Japan

Large gunships barrelled down the crowded Tokyo streets, firing into buildings and after the fleeing civilians. However, Steel and Blue Devil were quick to meet them head on.

Steel swung his hammer, knocking a gunship to the ground, while Blue Devil used his magic to conjure a swirling mass of energy that tore another to pieces. Sinestro used his ring to conjure a massive yellow dragon, which tore the tanks to shreds, and threw them all around the streets. The fear generated by the invasion helped to give him more power than usual, before he made his own large gun to fire multiple powerful beams of energy, disintegrating an entire wave of parademons.

Midway City

Hawk and Dove had taken to the streets, brawling with the parademons head on. Creeper leapt between them, stealing spears and axes from the invaders and using them with savage glee. Meanwhile, Question drove his car through the streets, running over parademons, while Huntress stood on the roof, firing her crossbow at the invaders. She had recently been welcomed back to the League after helping to shut down and underground fighting circuit, and she was more than willing to prove her worth.

Captain Atom, meanwhile, fired massive bursts of Gamma energy to annihilate a gunship before providing more cover fire for those on the ground.

Morocco

Toyman found himself surrounded by a pack of the parademons, with nothing but a toy gun in his hand. However he still fired the foam bullets into them. They appeared confused at first, however they were soon surprised to find that these bullets caused them to explode.

London, England

Hawkman, the newest recruit to the Justice League, flew through the streets with his battle axe, cutting swathes through the invasion force. Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E. provided him with backup as they doubled their own energy blasts to fight the invasion.

Across the city, Doctor Fate had decided now was the perfect time for his team to make their debut. Constantine and Etrigan used hellfire to blast away entire hordes, while the Shade conjured shadow creatures to fight them.

"Rather dull for an invasion, don't you think John?" Shade commented dryly.

"It's an invasion, 'ow exciting did you want it to be you bloody sod!" he scoffed before using another spell to blast away another parademon that got too close to Looker. The vampiress had recently been gifted a special amulet that allowed her to fight in the daylight. She used it to assist in the efforts, her telekinesis throwing the invading gunships around like cheap toys.

Venice, Italy

Killer Frost used an ice slide to gain momentum in the air before she blasted an entire fleet of gunships with ice. She was holding her own rather easily, and she didn't quite need the help. Still, she would have preferred if Shark as there to fight alongside her.

It just wasn't the same without him.

Coast City

Shazam called down wicked thunderbolts to knock gunships from the sky, while Supergirl's strength proved incredibly useful in tossing away the parademons. Longshadow grew to titanic heights, allowing him to crush numerous parademons with each step.

"It's like when you're a kid playing with an ant hill" he laughed before Supergirl paused to look at him, a pair of parademons clutched tightly her hands.

"I thought you never were a kid" she said dryly.

"You get the point" he groaned before another Boom Tube opened, revealing an unwelcoming sight; the Female Furies.

"You dare try and fight against the glory of Darkseid?" Bernadeth scowled, drawing her Fahren-knife. "We'll make short work of you"

"You can certainly try" Supergirl smirked, cracking her knuckles.

"Ooh, a plaything. Can we enlist her to the furies when we're done here?" Lashina asked hopefully while Mad Harriet and Stompa immediately sprang into action.

"I see no reason why we can't" Bernadeth shrugged before the two joined their sisters in battle.

Miami, Florida

"Watch your back there, Len!" Mirror Master warned, jumping from a nearby window pane and attacking a parademon that attempted to take Captain Cold by surprise. The Rogues had quickly set out to defending civilians as soon as they arrived, a fact that surprised Zatanna. However, the sorceress was more than happy to see them putting the safety of the people first.

"Thanks for the heads up Evan" Cold nodded, before he and Heatwave unleashed dual blasts of ice and fire at the hordes.

"Easy there boys, don't think for a minute that this won't get hard" Zatanna warned.

"Are you kidding? This is child's play" Weather Wizard laughed, shooting lightning at another gunship before a boomtube opened before them in the streets. They looked at it for a moment, cautious, before an eight foot tall behemoth of a man, clad in armour with a wicked looking battle-axe stepped out.

"I have come to claim this planet for the glory of Darkseid" Steppenwolf bellowed.

The five paused for a moment, now all incredibly fearful before Zatanna looked at Weather Wizard with a scowl. "You just had to say it, didn't you?"

Metropolis

"-uck!" Flint yelled as he appeared on the roof of the Daily Planet newspaper office alongside his chosen allies. Upon arrival, they were immediately met with a large crowd of parademons, who immediately attacked them like a pack of starving dogs. Floating overhead was an absolutely gargantuan mother ship, one that dwarfed any other ship participating in the invasion.

Luthor was the first to counterattack as he drew a pistol with a sneer. "Back off" he ordered before firing directly into the crowd, dropping three within seconds.

Batman was next as he threw several explosive batarangs, blasting large holes in the crowd.

Flint immediately went to his mallets, swatting the parademons aside, before switching out to his axes. He used them to cleave through several in a single swipe before finishing with one large column of sand, which he used to crush them with ease.

Superman blasted several with his heat-vision, before switching to close combat as several dozen attempted to dog pile him. With a single shrug, he knocked them all away, where Flint helped him to crush the remainder. However, as they decimated the first wave, more and more parademons suddenly descended upon them.

"Was there a plan here?" Luthor asked in irritation, drawing his second pistol to increase his barrage as the swarm continued to grow in size and persistence.

"Take out the small fry until we attract the big fish's attention" Batman grunted, swapping to electrically charged knuckles, as he fought hand to hand against the parademons, the electricity shocking them senseless.

"Ha! With everything that's going on, I'll bet he never even notices us!" Luthor scoffed, before suddenly, the large mother ship floating above the building opened up. The hatch slowly opened before revealing Darkseid, who descended down to where the heroes were waiting.

The parademons immediately ceased their fighting, bowing down before him, while Flint simply folded his arms and looked to Luthor with a small scowl.

"Don't you ever get tired of bein' wrong all the time?" he asked, Luthor rolling his eyes in response.

Darkseid finally reached the rooftop, landing a few metres away from Superman, his gaze never once leaving the man of steel. "I hope you appreciate, Kal-El, that everything that everything that happens from this point is on your head" he began, his voice low and gravelly, yet uncannily calm and cultured. "The skies will rain fire, the oceans will boil, and the streets will run red with the blood of billions. Only then, after your last pitiful hope is extinguished, will I end your life. Let's go"

Superman glared at him, his gaze unwavering, his fists slowly clenching. Before he could retort, Luthor leapt forward towards Darkseid, a crazed glint in his eyes. Darkseid simply raised his hand in response, catching Luthor in some field that suspended the villain in midair.

"You destroyed Brainiac, I'm going to make you pay!" Luthor yelled in anger.

Darkseid seemed completely unmoved and disinterested in the billionaire's actions. "Unlikely" he stated, before casually throwing Luthor off the side of the building.

Batman was quick to respond, leaping off of the roof and grabbing Luthor as he fell. He then used his grapple to safely swing them back inside the building, crashing through a window on one the lower floors.

"Well, guess it's my turn" Flint shrugged, catching Darkseid's attention as he struck him in the face with a massive mace, utilizing all the strength he had, not holding back for a moment. Darkseid barely budged, his face moving more in surprise than as a response to the force.

"A modest attempt, but a pitiful one" Darkseid said before countering with his own fist. It struck Flint in the chest before barrelling through, spraying sand all across the roof. Darkseid quirked his brow in mild interest, as Flint smirked.

"Gotcha" he chuckled before solidifying the sand around the conqueror's fist, trapping Darksied briefly as he suddenly attempted to flood his hand through Darkseid's face, trying to choke the despot. He sputtered, disoriented before utilizing a massive burst of the omega beam to blast Flint's sand out of his face and across the roof.

"I know who you are now; I've read Mantis' file about you" he muttered, standing up straight before looking at Flint in mild annoyance. "He was correct in his statement that your powers were an obstacle to be overcome. But I am nothing if not resourceful"

Flint reformed his body, slowly attempting to stand up before another blast of the omega beams scattered his sand off of the roof to a slow descent towards the streets below. Superman watched yet another ally fall from the building, internally thankful that Flint's abilities would keep him safe as he descended, before returning his focus to Darkseid.

The tyrannical ruler of Apokolips smirked, before clenching his fists almost boastfully. "I'm more powerful than I've ever been. The last time you and I fought, you were barely able to hold your own"

"Funny, that's not how I remember it" Superman countered, crouching into a ready stance.

"Then allow me to refresh your memory" he smirked, and with that, he easily lifted the massive globe that sat atop the building. In one fluid motion, he slammed it down onto Superman. Superman attempted to catch the globe and hold it in place, however, he was easily overpowered, and suddenly fell through the floor as the globe started barrelling through after him through the building before crashing into the ground floor, crushing Superman beneath it.

Flint had just reached the ground only seconds before, reforming his body in time for the globe to collide with the ground, blowing out every window in the skyscraper from the impact alone. He covered his face to protect himself before grimacing. "Well… damn"

Back in Tokyo, Steel received a brief reprieve from the fighting to watch a large, glowing tower slowly being constructed by the numerous Apokoliptans. After a moment, he contacted Mr. Terrific to relay his findings. "Blue Devil got me close enough to get a good look. Those big burling machines are magma towers"

Mr. Terrific watched from his own monitors as similar machines were constructed all around the globe wherever the boom tubes opened. "At least now we know what they're trying to do. The invaders are setting up drilling machines to tap into the heat at the Earth's core"

"They're trying to create fire pits" Steel surmised, knocking two more parademons from the sky with his hammer. "If they succeed, it'll be Apokolips on Earth"

"They won't succeed" Mr. Terrific said, his eyes narrowing in determination before opening a communication line to all channels. "Your primary targets are those drills, destroy them at all costs"

Hawkgirl nodded at the new information, before looking to her team mates. Both were aware of their new targets as she looked to them with determination. "You heard the man, rock and roll" she ordered, before grabbing Atomic Skull and taking to the air again, with him in tow.

While Commander Steel ran through the troops on the ground, Skull used his radiation to clear away the parademons that surrounded the magma tower. Once there was an open pathway, Hawkgirl set him down on the ground in front of it before she inspected the machinery.

"Looks like the main power coupling. Cover my backside" she said, as her mace crackled with energy. Skull nodded, before immediately engaging a large crowd of parademons, attempting to keep them away. However, he missed one, and as Shayera readied herself to strike at the tower, the lone parademons threw a spear at her. The weapon hit its mark, impaling her wing as she fell to the ground in pain.

Skull heard her cry for help, but the swarm was bogging him down too much for him to provide assistance. Luckily, Commander Steel was able to see the parademons that threw the spear closing in on Shayera. He quickly grabbed a nearby shield that was dropped before throwing it like a Frisbee. It decapitated the parademons before embedding itself deep in the metal of the tower.

After a moment to catch her breath, Shayera removed the spear from her wing before slowly standing. With her mace firmly grasped in her hand, she struck it into the power coupling on the side of the tower, immediately over-loading it. The energy crackled out wildly, coursing through her body before flinging her back.

Skull was quick to catch her, he noticed the entire tower suddenly start to over-load and spark as the energy ruptured and detonated all along its frame. "Get out of here, it's gonna blow!" Skull yelled, as he carried Shayera to safety, with Commander Steel close behind him.

The three managed to duck behind shelter just in time, as the tower exploded, completely incinerating any parademons unlucky enough to be caught close by. Skull grinned wide before raising his arms in victory. "Yeah!"

However, the battle was not yet over as dozens more parademons swiftly flew in to continue the attack.

In Paris, the heroes plus Giganta had managed to clear themselves a path all the way to the magma tower, which was being constructed in front of Notre Dame Cathedral. Giganta continued to swat away the flying hordes, while Shocker used his gauntlets to destroy any stray tanks that came their way.

Green Lantern looked at the tower, while Flash generated tornados to blow away the invaders. "We need to find a way to take this out for good!" Lantern yelled while Flash cupped his chin in thought.

"Why don't you just throw it into the sun?" he offered before seeing the look on John's face. "Yeah, I guess that was a pretty stupid idea"

"No, maybe you're onto something" the Lantern mused. "But I'll need more leverage, and a trench!"

"Here, use this!" Shocker said, setting one of his gauntlets to level-3 before tossing it to Flash. "Just squeeze the button inside the thumb to generate the blast!"

"On it!" Flash nodded, sliding the gauntlet on before running at a rapid speed around the tower. He then activated the gauntlet, creating a massive trench in a matter of seconds as it blew apart the earth around the tower. He ran back to the others when he was done, returning the gauntlet to Shocker. "Now what?"

John focused his energy before aiming the ring at the tower. Suddenly, the energy turned itself into a massive catapult, with the tower loaded and ready to fire.

"Oh, cool!" Flash grinned before the catapult fired, launching the tower through the sky. The four watched it carefully, with John frowning as it flew.

"Doesn't look like it quite made escape velocity" he said while Flash shrugged.

"No…" the speedster admitted, before the tower suddenly collided with a massive spaceship, destroying both in a massive explosion. "It was a good effort though"

Supergirl grunted in discomfort as she blocked attacks from both Mad Harriet and Lashina. The former's claws were proving a dangerous close-range threat, while the latter's whips were keeping her at range for more long distance barrages.

"Shadow! Run to the tower, we can handle them here!" she urged, as Shazam used his lightning to knock Stompa away, before narrowly avoiding multiple slashes from Bernadeth.

"Are you sure?" the teen frowned, picking up a tank before crumpling it into a large metal ball.

"I'm sure, just take it down!" she nodded before screeching in pain as Lashina's whip delivered a powerful electric shock.

Longshadow grimace before turning to face the tower. "Well, I always wanted to play softball" he mused before pitching the crumpled tank into the base of the tower.

The result was instantaneous as the tower slowly fell over onto itself, while at the same time rupturing from within to create a massive explosion. The Furies were shocked by this sudden development, allowing Supergirl to punch Harriet away.

"You dare to defy Lord Darkseid?!" Bernadeth scowled before aiming her Fahren-knife at Longshadow. "You shall pay for your insolence!"

The knife suddenly glowed a blistering red as Longshadow grasped his head in pain.

Bernadeth smirked at the result. "Behold the Fahren-knife, it can injure you at any distance. How does it feel? To have such a burning pain inside your very mind, it must be excruciating"

The size changer fell to his knees before Shazam suddenly struck Bernadeth in the face, breaking her focus as the knife's glow ended. "Well, this fight just got more dangerous" Longshadow groaned as the Furies rallied together for another attack, dozens of parademons behind them.

"Tcere enots sreirrab!" Zatanna cast desperately, making large walls to cover the escape of the Rogues, who ran towards the magma tower. Steppenwolf, however, was easily able to destroy the large constructs with only a single swing of his battle axe.

"Is that all? Your sorcery disappoints me" the general chuckled as Zatanna grimaced.

"Tnemevap emoceb sruasonid!" She said, before pointing her wand at the ground. Instantly, the street all around Steppenwolf grew and transformed into large Tyrannosaurs, which all attacked the Apokoliptan general. Yet again, this proved little more than a nuisance as he slammed his axe into the earth, rupturing the dinosaurs with the shockwave before he struck Zatanna with the back of his hand, knocking her into a nearby car.

"I grow tired of this feeble attempt" he scowled. "What hope do you have to stop us?" he asked, before the magma tower in the distance suddenly exploded. Steppenwolf looked at it in surprise while Z gave a weak smirk.

"Looks like we got a lot of hope, it matches your shoddy workmanship" she bit out as Steppenwolf gave a bellowing roar before raising his axe above her.

"Insolent wench! Prepare to taste the fury of Apokolips!"

As it so happened, Keemia Marko was running through the streets during all of this invasion trouble. School was cancelled in the wake of the attack, so she used some if the magic Zatanna had taught her to sneak away and join in the fighting.

Granted, she didn't know many offensive spells yet, but she could at least cast and throw large stones and fire.

'Gotta thank Uncle Kent for teaching me that' she mused to herself, remembering the lessons Fate had given her, before she rounded the corner to see Zatanna. She was laid out on the ground, with Steppenwolf prepared to bring his axe down upon her.

With little regard for her own safety, and only caring about her step-mother's wellbeing, she grabbed a rock from the ground before throwing it at Steppenwolf. "Leave her alone!"

The rock struck him in the face, and he stopped mid-swing to look at the source of the stone. "Who dares?!"

Keemia suddenly looked rather sheepish as the eight-foot tall behemoth of a general looked at her with a sneer. "Uh… I dare?"

"Keemia, run!" Zatanna said desperately before Steppenwolf chuckled.

"A child? A mere child wishes to fight back against me?" he laughed. "No matter, I shall make swift work of you before I continue with this sorceress. Any last words?"

"Well, the lyrics to 'Family Reunion' come to mind…" Keemia laughed nervously before turning and running away, Steppenwolf hot on her heels.

In the ruins of the Daily Planet newspaper building, Darkseid descended into the rubble before digging Superman out from under a large chunk of rock. He grasped him by the neck before lifting him off the ground to look him in the eye. "Don't leave us yet Kal-El, I want you to see your adopted homeworld bow down before me. Only then will I allow you Death's sweet release"

A batarang suddenly embedded itself into Darkseid's hand before exploding, causing him to drop Superman to the ground harmlessly.

"You said that exact thing, literally five minutes ago. You need some new material" Sandman quipped before striking Darkseid twice across the face with his mallets. The rubble of the building allowed him to take in more sand and debris, so his fists were now armed with concrete and rebar, which made for more powerful blows.

Luthor followed up, having arrived alongside Batman, by firing more shots from his pistols. Once Darkseid regained his bearings, he activated a button on his armour, as a crackling energy slowly came over his fists. He then struck against Flint, rendering his sand inert and solid as he flew back next to Batman before exploding into a cloud of sand.

"Parademons, dispose of these annoyances" he ordered, before several parademons swooped down from above to the three new arrivals.

"Oh great more of these things" Flint grimaced before smacking two aside with a large mace. "Can't these villains ever get competent lackeys?"

Darkseid watched his minions descend upon him before feeling a finger tap his shoulder. "Excuse me" a voice said, and as he turned his head, he was struck in the face by another blow from Superman. He flew back into the rubble with a grunt, as another fragmented wall collapsed on top of him. Superman nodded, surveying his handiwork before he flew in after Darkseid for another blow.

Back in China, most of the tourists on the Great Wall had long since fled. However, two individuals remained behind. One was a man wearing a brown trench coat and fedora. Standing next to him was a woman clad in black leather, with sunglasses and a large black sunhat that offset her tanned skin.

"We should help them" the man said, gesturing to the League and Star Sapphire who continued to fight the invaders.

"Yes, I suppose we should" the woman nodded before looking to the man quizzically. "These things aren't alive, are they?"

"They are organic robots, they only feel hatred" he corrected her as the two walked towards where the fighting was happening.

"Excellent, then I don't need to hold back" she smirked as they continued their approach. Wonder Woman who flew overhead, saw the two and was immediately surprised and alarmed that two civilians had stayed behind.

"Get away from here, it's not safe!" she warned them, before deflecting an energy blast with her bracelets.

"Don't worry, we're here to help" the main explained before immediately punching one of the parademons with immense strength, while the woman next to him simply tore another in half with her bare hands.

"I appreciate your intent-" Wonder Woman started before the parademon in front of her was immediately knocked out of the sky by another that the man below had flung into the sky. She turned in surprise to see both the man and the woman, fighting back with great strength, and in the case of the woman, ferocity. "Hera…" she muttered as Shining Knight and Star Sapphire both watched what was happening.

The woman tossed away her hat and sunglasses, revealing herself to be Salamandra as she continued to plow through the parademons. The man beside her simply transformed into a massive dragon before taking to the sky, knocking huge swathes of parademons away with his tail. The dragon then flew into the sky before stopping in front of Wonder Woman and transforming back to his normal form; J'onn J'onnz, the Martian Manhunter.

Wonder Woman looked at him before flinging herself forwards and embracing him joyfully. "J'onn! I thought you were still in K'un L'unn?"

"I was, but Salamandra and I decided to return here to celebrate our engagement" the Martian replied.

"You're engaged…. To her?" she asked before turning to see Salamandra leaping onto a tank, tearing it apart with her bare hands before she transformed into a large red dragon and breathed a large burst of fire to destroy another gunship.

"Yes I am" he nodded, his tone almost love struck as he watched Salamandra. "I have so much to tell you about"

She looked at him for another moment before nodding with a smile. "We'll catch up later"

"Wouldn't miss it. But, first things first" he said before the two flew back into the fray, they in turn charged at the large magma tower in the distance, their allies close behind them.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP!" Keemia muttered before quickly ducking behind a building as she attempted to hide from Steppenwolf. The footsteps of the general shook the earth behind her as he continued to advance. Any minute now he would find her, and Keemia shuddered to think of what would happen if he did.

"Hey kid" a new voice called, as Keemia turned to see a man standing behind her. He was tall, almost 6'8", and his clothes looked very grungy. He wore an open flannel shirt, with a beige t-shirt beneath it. His jeans were faded with numerous paint stains, and he didn't even have shoes. His face was scruffy, and his eyes shone an unnatural blue. His hair was a fiery orange, tied back in a long pony tail. "Looks like you could use some help" he smirked.

"Yeah, that would be nice" she scoffed cynically. "Not sure what you can do about the large world-conquering general though"

"Just use this" he shrugged before handing her a large sledge hammer.

'What the…?" she asked, before she suddenly felt a massive amount of raw energy flooding her body, her eyes suddenly turning a deep coal black. When it subsided, she turned and noticed that the man was gone, in his place was just an empty alleyway.

She didn't have long to dwell, as Steppenwolf's footsteps indicated that he was just around the corner. She grasped the hammer tight, nodding to herself before she looked up. "God this better work…" she whispered.

"Where are you little one? I promise your death shall be swift" Steppenwolf chuckled before approaching the building she hid behind. Immediately, Keemia jumped out, the hammer behind her back, ready to swing.

"No, you!" she said before swinging the hammer right into his gut. In a second he was suddenly flung backwards by a large, explosive burst of energy. His armour touched by the hammer instantly exploded. Any that wasn't, corroded away to dust as he was flung back down the street, before eventually colliding with one of the numerous tanks.

In the wrecked metal of the vehicle, laid the now beaten form of Steppenwolf. His chest was rapidly turning black and blue with bruises, and a small trickle of blood oozed from his nose. "Im… impossible…" he groaned before passing out.

Keemia looked at the result of her strike in shock before dropping the hammer fearfully. The second it struck the pavement, the ground eroded away leaving a crater. The earth in the bottom was hard and compacted, yet still rapidly crumbling away to dust.

"What the hell was that?" she asked, looking back to Steppenwolf, before returning her gaze to the crater where the hammer laid. As soon as she did, however, the hammer was gone.

"What… the…. HELL?!"

Back in the basement of the Daily Planet, Batman used the last of his grapple lines to pull a parademon from the sky, swinging it into the ground before he moved back to back with Luthor. Luthor cocked his head to look at the detective curiously.

"Problem?"

"I'm out"

Luthor simply held out a pistol to the dark knight. "Take my extra"

Batman looked at it for a moment before declining. "Not my style"

"Suit yourself. I'm planning to live through this" he smirked before ducking under another parademon. Batman simply grasped the spear it was holding before flinging it away, where it was impaled by a piece of jagged metal.

The two then ran towards the large spire where Superman and Darkseid were still fighting, beating away any parademons that got too close before they were rejoined by Flint.

"How you holdin' up there bats?"

"Could be better" the detective said simply as the three rapidly approached their ally.

Superman struck Darkseid in the face again, before swinging another punch. Darkseid was ready however, and caught his fist easily, slowly crushing it in his hand. He then head-butted Superman roughly, knocking him to the ground, prone. His approach towards him was halted by Batman, who vaulted towards the villain before striking him in the face with both feet. Darkseid stumbled to the side before regaining his balance. He turned to look at Batman, his eyes full of malice, as they glowed faintly.

"Flee" he ordered before firing his omega beams at the dark knight. Batman was quick to dodge, flipping away off of the ledge he was perched on as the beams followed. He then leapt upon a still flying parademon before jumping off, causing the beams to strike it instead as he made his escape.

"Impressive" Darkseid commented, genuinely surprised. "No one has ever avoided my omega beam…" he trailed off before noticing Luthor. "I wonder if the other one is as agile"

Luthor turned from his own combat against the parademons to see Darkseid looking straight at him, his eyes glowing bright. Lex immediately paled at the sight of it before quickly running off to save his own skin.

Darkseid smirked lightly at that, barely noticeable. "Excellent strategy"

"How's mine?" Flint yelled before generating a massive column of sand and ramming it into Darkseid before striking him savagely with maces, mallets, and axes. The conqueror was forced back with each blow but swiftly retaliated with a backhanded strike. With the energy still flowing through his armour, he forced Flit into a solid body with the strike, and as a result, flung him out of the ruined building.

Flint flew across the street before crashing through a neighbouring building's window, and striking a wall where he once again exploded into sand to avoid further injury.

Superman watched all of this unfold with a grimace, slowly attempting to stand. However, Darkseid just kicked him off of the ledge towards the ground twenty feet below before jumping after him. "Your friends have abandoned you, or fallen before my might" Darkseid smirked before striking Superman twice with his fists. He then kneed the man of steel in the gut, doubling him over before using both hands to strike him down into the ground.

Superman fell to the ground limply, groaning I pain. However, Darkseid wasn't finished, as he grasped Superman's cape before lifting him with both hands above his head.

"Super or otherwise, you're merely a man. While I, am a god" he said decisively before dropping Superman onto his waiting knee. Superman cried out in pain before falling to the ground and rolling along the floor weakly.

Luthor ran until he was just outside of the building, before stopping to catch his breath. 'What was I thinking? Trying to fight Darkseid head on, it's impossible!' he mentally chastised himself before a swirling black portal opened before him, and the familiar figure of Vandal Savage stepped out.

"Ah, Mr. Luthor, how are you this fine day?" the immortal chuckled.

"Stow it, I know you've been watching the fighting, seeing what's transpired" he scowled.

"Yes, indeed I have. However, I also know that the day is not lost. The heroes shall win" he shrugged before looking around at the destruction. "Eventually"

Luthor put his pistols away before looking the immortal in the eyes. "So why are you here then?"

"I'm here to offer you an escape, a safe passage. After all, I need you alive" he said as Luthor nodded in understanding.

"Making another attempt to have me join you?" he surmised before mulling it over. On the one hand, he knew the Justice League would just hunt him down after all this was said and done, if they managed to stop the invasion. On the other hand, what else did he have to lose? After another minute, he nodded before folding his arms. "Alright, I'm in"

"Excellent!" Savage said jovially before clapping his hands together. "Trust me Mr. Luthor, you will not regret this decision"

"I'd better not" Luthor scowled, following Savage back inside the portal.

"Oh trust me Mr. Luthor, we will get you to see… the Light"

Flint Marko groaned out in pain as his sand slowly swirled together, reforming his body for what felt like the millionth time that day. He was tired. Tired, and most certainly sore. He might have invulnerability but the battle was still taking its toll on him. And despite their various successes, they still didn't seem any closer to an actual victory.

"God… this is impossible…" he groaned out before standing, to see the numerous parademons that still swirled and circled around the Daily Planet. "There's just no way to win, there's too many of them"

He watched the crowds of invaders, before looking to see ever more of the spaceships and tanks start to arrive through yet another Boom Tube. "We'd need an army… and where are we gonna get an army?" he asked himself with a frown before his hands fell to his waist.

The second they did, he felt a familiar shape in his pocket. It took him a moment to realise what it was, but as soon as he did, he immediately face-palmed. "Oh damn it, How could I forget about his?" he asked before reaching inside and taking out the device.

Superman rose to his feet again, just in time for Darkseid to deliver another wicked punch that sent him stumbling back. Darkseid followed him with every step before delivering a vicious haymaker that sent Superman into the floor. Batman used this opening however, to leap on Darkseid's back, attempting to put him in a headlock.

"You still try to fight?" he asked rhetorically, before grasping Batman and throwing him away. "Can't you see that it's hopeless?"

With that, Superman caught his second-wind before rushing forward and punching Darkseid in the face, sending him careening across the room. But Superman wasn't done, as he struck Darkseid into a wall before grasping him tightly by the throat, a hardened glare on his face. "That man won't quit as long as he can still draw breath, none of my teammates will" he said defiantly. "Me? I've got a different problem…"

He punched Darkseid again, and again, and again. Each punch pushed him further and further back into the brick of the wall until finally, one last punch sent Darkseid through the brick and the mortar, and out the other side of the wall, where he ended up in the street.

Darkseid slowly picked himself off of the ground, as he saw Superman approach. The man of steel glowered at him before continuing. "I feel like I live in a world made of cardboard, always taking constant care not to break something… to break someone. Never allowing myself to lose control, even for a moment, or someone could die!"

Darkseid stood before attempting to strike back, but Superman blocked his attempt before countering with another punch to his face, which sent him flying back yet again. "But you can take it, can't you big man? What we have here is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose and show you just how powerful I really am" he finished before crouching down. The ground crumbled under his feet before he rocketed forwards towards Darkseid at blinding speeds.

Darkseid only had moments to look up before Superman struck him head on, with the single strongest punch he ever mustered. The result was impressive as Darkseid was sent flying through the sky, and the shockwaves from the punch ruptured every window all along the street from the direct vicinity of the hit.

Darkseid rocketed through the sky, crashing through building after building, before Superman eventually caught up with his speed, where he waited for Darkseid himself to arrive. As soon as he was in range, Superman clasped his hands above his head before using them to strike Darkseid, slamming him down into the streets below.

A massive crater was formed in the pavement, and at the very center lay a very beaten Darkseid. The lord of Apokolips grunted in pain, before turning to see Superman land on the edge of the crater. "Had enough?" the man of steel asked.

"Not quite yet…" Darkseid scowled, standing up slowly as Superman flew towards him again. However, Darkseid suddenly flung what looked like an electrified net at the hero. It instantly wrapped around Superman, sending him crashing to the floor as he screamed in agony.

Superman laid bound on the ground, writhing and crying out in pain as the electricity from the net flooded all through his body. Darkseid simply smirked at his own handiwork as he watched the downed Kryptonian suffer.

"It's called the Agony Matrix; direct neural stimulation of pain receptors, all of them" he revealed, before walking towards the downed Superman. "Imagine the worst pain you've ever felt in your life, times a thousand. Now imagine that pain continuing forever"

He stopped just above Superman, as the hero weakly looked up at him, his body still convulsing from the pain. "Oh that's right, you don't have to imagine it"

Darkseid continued to watch his enemy writhe in pain before shaking his head, almost wistfully. "Still alive? You impress me. More, your valour has touched my heart. Oh yes, there is still some small part of me, that knows mercy" he said before raising his hand, and pulling a silver strip from his gauntlet. "I will end your pain, with something special I've been saving, for just this occasion" he smirked before pressing a button on the strip, causing a blade of kryptonite to appear out of it. 'I'm going to care out your heart and put it on a pike in my throne room"

Superman lowered his head slowly, dreading what was to come as Darkseid prepared to make the final blow. However, before he could, a massive green hand would suddenly grasp his wrist as a deep grunting could be heard behind him.

"Rock man hurt boy scout… boy scout Hulk's friend… HULK SMASH ROCK MAN!" the ten-foot tall green goliath bellowed before picking Darkseid up by his wrist and slamming him into the ground repeatedly. After a few strikes, he switched to punching him down further and further into the ground before throwing the Apokoliptan ruler into a building.

Superman looked up in surprise as Hulk pulled the Agony Matrix off of him, casting it aside. He took a moment to breathe before noticing Batman, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and Sandman all gathered around him.

"Looks like you could use a hand son" Captain America smiled before helping Superman up of the ground.

"Thanks for the save Captain" he said graciously.

"Oh don't thank us. Thank Flint, he called for help" Iron Man commented.

"Yeah, I figured we could use some help, so I called in some assistance from the other world" He mused.

"How much help?" Superman asked.

"As much as we could gather" Flint smirked before raising a massive mallet and pointing it at the slowly standing Darkseid. "Alright, now what do you say we end this invasion?"

"Verily" Thor nodded, thunder crackling around Mjolnir.

"Sounds good to me Flint" Iron Man agreed. "Now, why don't you do the honours?"

"You mean it?" he said with a hopeful glint. Seeing Captain America nod to him, he smirked before pressing his finger to his communicator. "Alright, all points to battle; AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!"

"Just surrender now girl, and maybe we'll let you join the Furies as penance" Bernadeth glowered to Supergirl who slowly attempted to stand. Behind her, the battered forms of Longshadow and Shazam shook their heads defiantly. Supergirl spat off to the side before shaking her head as well.

"Never. I'll never join you. I would sooner die!"

Bernadeth seemed unmoved as the rest of the Furies gathered around her. "So be it then" she declare before raising the Fahren-knife, until…

"GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER!" a voice bellowed before striking Bernadeth head-on. The leader of the Furies was flung back, her nose very violently broken as the other three looked up in shock to see Galatea. She wore a less than enthused expression, her new red cape billowing in the wind behind her before she looked back to Supergirl.

"You okay there Kara?"

"Yeah, I am now" Supergirl nodded, her hopes raised. Bernadeth grasped her head in pain before a glob of webbing struck her mouth, while another trapped her hand onto her head.

"Ouch, this looks like a doozy of a fight here" Spider-Man laughed as he swung in, Captain Marvel close behind him. "Bet you're glad we're here to help"

"We certainly are" Shazam nodded before seeing several massive gunships starting to bear down on them. "Got any way to take those down fast?"

"I do" Captain Marvel nodded. "I'm just gonna need to absorb a lot of energy to do it"

Shazam thought for a moment before holding her up in the air. She squirmed in his grip, looking at him in shock.

"What are you doing kid?"

"Just trust me, and be ready to absorb this!" he said seriously before looking to the sky. "SHAZAM!"

Instantly, a massive thunderbolt rained down from the sky before striking Captain Marvel head on. She managed to absorb all of its power as her eyes glowed a bright yellow. Shazam nodded before setting her down on the round. "How's that for power?"

She looked at her hands for a moment, crackling with electricity, before she smirked. "It's perfect" she said confidently before the energy suddenly coalesced around her as she gave a battle cry. Her hair became engulfed in flames, as her skin took on a reddish hue. "Behold, the power of Binary!" she yelled before firing a massive beam from her hands. In a second, the instantly vaporized every gunship in the sky above them, as well as any unlucky parademons that were too close by.

"Holy crap!" Supergirl said in horror and surprise as the Furies helped Bernadeth to her feet. Their leader managed to cut the webbing away before shaking her head. "We must retreat, immediately!" she ordered before the four of them escaped through a hastily conjured Boom Tube.

As the four left, the heroes reconvened amongst themselves as Captain Marvel clapped Shazam on the back. "Thanks for the power up Billy"

"Oh, uh... anytime" he chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head as a blush started to grow across his face.

"Oh man, we missed it?" a new voice called, as the group turned to see the Ultimen having arrived, with Wind Dragon being the one to look at the now finished battle with a frown.

"Guys, you came to help us too?" Longshadow asked as he ran over to greet them.

"Of course, why wouldn't we?" Juice asked with a grin. "You're our friend man. Besides, we gotta show you the new combos we learned!"

"Then you can try them out on them" Spider-Man commented before jerking a thumb over his shoulder to the remaining crowd of parademons.

"Well, it's better than nothing" Wind Dragon sighed before nodding. "Come on Ultimen; to battle!" he called before the four lead the charge, soon followed by their allies as they went to attack the last of the invaders.

"God these things just keep coming, don't they?" The Shade said in annoyance as he conjured yet another monster made of shadows to attack several more parademons. Beside him, Constantine was taking a moment to catch his breath, before he looked to Dr. Fate.

"How many more o' these bloody things are there?"

"I do not know John, this battle has been raging for quite some time" the sorcerer frowned before raising his hand to attack yet another swarm. However, another blast beat him to it as they turned in surprise to see Doctor Strange.

"Kent, it would appear that you require my assistance yet again" Strange chuckled as Fate gave his own laugh.

"Too true old friend, too true"

"Then allow me to even the odds" Strange nodded before waving his hands as Ian McNee, Brother Voodoo, and Elsa Bloodstone all appeared and joined in the fray. Elsa instantly pulled out her Uzis before using them to blast holes through several parademons as she made her way over to Constantine.

"This is becoming a real pattern, me saving your arse"

"Well maybe I just use these moments to look at yours!" he countered before blasting more with a stream off hellfire.

"The flirting I sincerely hope can wait, until these hordes at last abate!" Etrigan interrupted, Constantine and Elsa nodding to each other. Then they leapt back into the fray to assist their allies, as Hawkman, Stargirl, and S.T.R.I.P.E. finally rendezvoused with them to finish their battle.

Down in Midway City, Wolverine had leapt into the streets alongside Creeper, Hawk, and Dove, giving a savage roar as he slashed and clawed his way through parademons. Up on a rooftop, Huntress had taken up a sniper position alongside the newly arrived Domino, while Question covered their backs.

"You're a good shot there. Any chance you could give me a hand with some cases?" Huntress asked good-naturedly.

"If I have time. I usually do these gigs for money" Domino shrugged.

"That reminds me, whatever happened to the man who arrived with you?" Question asked, from where he had beaten down another parademon.

"What do you mean? Wade's right…" she trailed off before turning to see that Deadpool was in fact missing. "Where'd he go?!"

Deadpool grinned under his mask as he laid comfortably under the comforter of a large bed. His left arm wrapped around the shoulders of a pale girl, the only defining feature she had being the eye of Horus under her own eye, and the silver ankh necklace she wore. "Heh… Best. Day. Ever"

In Venice, Killer Frost found herself surrounded by a large crowd of parademons. She had gotten in a little over her head and as a result was left without any backup. "Damn it. You want some of this? Come and get it!" she yelled before firing beams of ice to freeze several of them where they stood. However, dozens more soon arrived to replace them faster than she could blast.

She prepared for the end when suddenly an all too familiar roar was heard.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" King Shark bellowed, as he grasped a nearby parademon, using it as a bat to attack several of its allies. He was soon joined by Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and Captain Boomerang, as Rick Flagg lead them into battle.

"Squad behind me! Keep her safe!" he ordered as Frost rushed forwards to hug Shark.

"Shark, you came!" she said happily as he hugged her back.

"Wouldn't miss it for anything" he smiled before the squad grouped together in formation. "Now come on, let's fight the end of the world together!"

Frost smirked, readying another blast of ice between her fingers. "How romantic"

Darkseid picked himself off of the ground weakly, before he spat a glob of blood from his mouth. These new arrivals were relentless, especially the big green one. And with the added strength of Superman and the Sandman, they were proving to be far more dangerous than it was worth.

He brought up a holoscreen to check the status of his army around the world, only to find a similar situation. New arrivals he had never seen before coming to turn the tide of battle. They appeared wherever the League was, in groups of two or three, and yet they were still causing his own forces to be decimated.

"Surrender Darkseid. It's over" Superman ordered, floating to the ground in front of him as he was flanked by the other heroes.

Darkseid stood up defiantly, before taking stock of his situation again. Thus, with much regret, he opened a Boom Tube behind him before sending an order to retreat. "This is not over Kal-El. I will return one day, and finish what I have started here" he said before leaving through the Boom Tube.

Worldwide, his ships and soldiers all did much the same, as they picked up their fallen before returning home to Apokolips. Steppenwolf barely managed to limp himself through, while the Furies had long since abandoned their post. The invasion of Earth was a failure.

The Justice League had prevailed.

"Thanks again for all your help you guys. You really pulled our fat out of the fire" Flint said gratefully, shaking Captain America's hand gratefully. In the wake of the battle, the League had returned to the Metro tower with the villains who assisted, as well as the heroes from Flint's universe who had also joined in the battle. The only villain who hadn't returned with them was Frost, as she seemed keener to leave with the Suicide Squad. No one attempted to stop her.

For the most part, they had all cleared out and returned to their own world, however there were still some who stuck around for final goodbyes.

Thor was trading stories of battle with Wonder Woman, the two looking both intrigued and invested in the stories they had to share, while Constantine continued his discussion with Elsa Bloodstone. Flint wasn't quite sure what they were talking about, but he heard them mention something called the "Hideous Felch-Monster", so he decided to leave them alone.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Supergirl asked Galatea, a small frown on her face. Galatea nodded her head, before placing a hand on Kara's shoulder.

"I'm sure. I have a good life in the other universe right now, and I don't want to leave it" she explained. "I mean, I don't want to leave you, but I can't just leave webs. He'd be lost without me" she smirked before the two laughed amongst themselves.

Longshadow and Stargirl were both talking amongst the Ultimen, listening to Wind Dragon recount a story about one of the battles they had at the academy. "… and just then, right when everything seemed lost, I swooped in and made a tornado to throw the monster into the ocean!"

"Uh huh, and what did you say the monster was called?" Longshadow asked, his face skeptical.

"Uh… Tricephalous?"

Stargirl and Longshadow both raised their eyebrows skeptically, before looking to the other Ultimen. Shifter simply raised her hands in response.

"Don't look at us, we weren't there for this one"

"Well, we'd love to stay but we really do have to get back" Cap said as Iron Man activated their portal again. "We'll see you around though Flint?"

"Yeah you will. I'll always be back for the occasional visit. Besides, you can always come to visit whenever you want" Flint nodded.

"Trust me, we will" Iron man added as they left through the portal, eventually leaving just Spider-Man and Galatea behind.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye. Again" Spider-Man said before shaking Flint's hand.

"I guess so webs. Take care"

"I will Flint. Until next time" he nodded before turning. However, before he could leave, Galatea nudged his shoulder.

"Aren't you forgetting something important?" she asked, putting extra emphasis on 'important', as Spider-Man suddenly nodded.

"Oh right" he said before pulling an invitation out of his costume and handing it to Flint. "Here you go, one invitation for our wedding!"

"Oh thanks" Flint smiled before realising what he said. "Wait, your wedding?!"

"Yep. Bye Flint!"

Flint just stood there blinking in surprise as the portal closed. "Okay then… I'm gonna need to talk with him later…" he muttered to himself before turning to reconvene with Zatanna. "How's your head? I heard from Heatwave that you hit that car pretty hard"

"Yeah I did, Steppenwolf can sure pack a punch" she nodded, removing her ice pack before dissipating it. "But it's fine now. The wonders of magic"

"Well, the important thing is that you're safe. Even if the Rogues had to help out against Steppenwolf" he sighed, shaking his head at how Wally's villains had yet again gotten to run around his city.

"Actually it wasn't the Rogues that helped me against Steppenwolf. Keemia was the one who stopped him" Zatanna revealed

"Keemia? My little girl fought that invasion? She fought Steppenwolf?!" he said in alarm as Zatanna placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

"I know, I was just as worried as you were but Keemia… she had some sort of weapon. It exuded this energy I'd never felt before, and it defeated Steppenwolf in just one hit"

"Was it some sort of magic?" he asked, his interested now piqued.

"If it is magic, it's very old magic. I've never seen or felt anything like it" she frowned, folding her arms. "It had to have come from some ancient being… something very old and powerful"

He frowned at this information, cupping his chin. "We'll get Dr. Fate to look into this, but for now let's just put this aside. We'll continue her lessons, but I will be talking to her about proper responses to alien invasions"

"At least until she's become more adept?"

"Oh no way, she's getting grounded until she's forty" he added as Zatanna laughed, the two now walking over to where the founders were talking.

"I can't believe he just ran off. Where did he even go?" Superman frowned, referring to how Lex had abandoned them mid-fight.

"I believe it. Of course Luthor would be one to abandon us in the middle of a fight" the detective surmised gruffly. "I'll be sure to look into it once we're done here"

"Maybe he just disappeared? That way we don't have to deal with him again" Flash suggested.

"God, wouldn't that be amazing?" Flint smirked.

"We can only hope" Superman sighed as Green Lantern nodded.

"What's that old saying? Believe half of what you see…"

"And none of what you hear" Hawkgirl finished before folding her arms. "He'll be back"

"And we'll be ready for him" J'onn nodded, Salamandra holding onto his arm possessively.

"Meanwhile, it's high time that Luthor's partners-in-crime were locked up" Wonder Woman said, as the villains now grimaced.

"Wait a minute? We help you guys save the world and we don't even get any consideration?" Atomic Skull protested. Some of the villains behind him nodded their agreement, as the Leaguers looked among themselves. Finally, Batman spoke.

"You're right" he said, surprising the villains present. "Five minute head-start"

"Five minutes? Are you kidding?!" Skull repeated in shock before Wonder Woman stepped in front of him, folding her arms.

"Four minutes, fifty-seconds"

At her new declaration, the villains all started rushing off in a hasty retreat, with the exception of Giganta. She ran up to Shocker with a coy smile on her face, before pulling his mask away from his lips and kissing him. "See you 'round Tex" she grinned before following behind the other villains, Shocker touching his lips with a grin as Rhino just smirked in response.

The heroes, true to their word did wait the time they allotted, before they proceeded outside the Metro Tower, approaching the stairs. J'onn walked down the stairs alongside Salamandra a small smile on his face.

"We should be home in time for dinner, unless you want take out?"

"I think I'd prefer eating in tonight" Salamandra mused before kissing his cheek.

Flash stopped mid-step behind him before grimacing. "These are the end times…" he sighed before Fire prodded him back down with a playful smirk as she moved on ahead to join up with Ice.

"After all this, I think I'm ready for a nice vacation" Flint sighed as Zatanna nodded alongside him.

"Agreed. I'm doing a Vegas show next week, why don't you join me?"

"You know, that sounds like a lot of fun" he agreed. "I've never been to Vegas. Let's just hope Condiment King doesn't show up again" he added as Zatanna grumbled at the mention of her new least favourite villain.

"A head start" Superman mused, shaking his head before he looked at Bruce. "You're getting soft in your old age"

"Don't you have a tall building to go leap?" Batman retorted, the smallest of smiles on his face as Wonder Woman shook her head wistfully behind them.

"And the adventure continues…" she laughed before the heroes ran down the stairs after the villains:

Constantine

Etrigan

Blue Devil

Looker

The Shade

Hawkman

Aztek

B'wana Beast

Metamorpho

Steel

Question

Huntress

Captain Atom

Creeper

Hawk and Dove

Stargirl

S.T.R.I.P.E.

Longshadow

Crimson Avenger

Vigilante

Shining Knight

Atom Smasher

Dr. Fate

Dr. Mid-Nite

Hourman

Wildcat

Mr. Terrific

Vibe

Mirage

Citizen Steel

Vixen

Rhino

Shocker

Booster Gold

Ice

Fire

Elongated Man

Rocket Red

Crimson Fox

Doctor Light

Shazam

Supergirl

Red Tornado

Atom

Zatanna

Sandman

Green Arrow

Black Canary

Aquaman

Salamandra

Martian Manhunter

The Flash

Green Lantern

Hawkgirl

Superman

Wonder Woman

And Batman.

The Justice League; united and ready to save the world.

Epilogue:

In the wake of Darkseid's invasion, the League had found that many things changed. The Metro Tower, for example, had recently undergone a bit of a revision in architecture, making it look more simple. It was now a large white building, with two large pillars and a great circular hall in between. Flash jokingly referred to this new building as the "Hall of Justice" to the crowd of reporters on opening day. Nobody in the League believed it would stick.

It did.

Another change was that Aquaman, a former part timer, had now decided to join the Justice League full time. He had kept the coastlines safe during Darkseid's invasion, but seeing how effectively the League worked to protect the whole planet, he felt it was high time that he did the same.

Lex Luthor was another big change. Just months after the invasion ended, he had resurfaced, once again in charge of LexCorp with his past reputation back and seemingly intact. At first the League was outraged and attempted to recapture him, but then Mr. Terrific discovered something alarming; his entire criminal record was gone. Every single criminal activity from the last ten years was completely erased, like it was never there. There was nothing aside from his philanthropic and business pursuits. The entire world had forgotten he had nearly destroyed it. Begrudgingly, the League opted not to act on this, at least not until they had any concrete evidence that his record was previously criminal.

For now, Lex Luthor was a free man.

But as usual, far as many things had changed, there were of course some that never changed. One of these things was the return of poker night, and so Flint had once again gathered around his kitchen table with Wally, John, Ollie, Herman, and Aleksei. They were several rounds into their game, and the newest pot was getting fairly large. The players were all incredibly focused, each watching the other carefully to ensure there was no cheating.

"So..." John said, trying to start a conversation. "Is any one here taking their sidekicks to join the League on Friday?"

"I am" Wally nodded. "Barry's been pestering me forever to allow him to join, so I kinda have to"

"Apparently Robin's been doing the same for Batman" Herman pointed out.

"Well, Speedy is definitely going to be there" Green Arrow chimed in.

"I thought he was already a member of that Titans group with Nightwing?" Flint spoke up.

"He is, but the Titans have been on a bit of a break for the last little while" he shrugged. "Did you hear that J'onn might be bringing someone?"

"J'onn, really? Who would he bring?" Aleksei asked.

"Not sure. Maybe he has a relative?" Wally mused.

"That would still be unexpected" John shrugged. "What about Keemia? Is she gonna join?"

"Oh for sure, she definitely is. She's been wanting this for a long time now, almost as long as Barry" Flint grinned. "She'll be great"

"Please, nobody wants it more than Barry" Flash laughed as they all broke into hearty chuckles.

"Y'know what guys?" Flint asked, taking a sip of his drink.

"No, what?" Herman replied.

"This hero business is the best thing that ever happened to me" he decided as the other nodded in agreement before continuing their game.

From the Blue Area of the moon, Uatu watched these events unfold from his special viewing screen. He had viewed the last few years of Flint Marko's life with great interest; the events he changed, the lives he touched, the good work he did. He watched it all, and nodded with pride.

"Well done Flint... Well done"

And there you have it, the fic is done.

Two years and one near cancellation later, it's finally finished.

I'm sad to see it go, but I'm glad it happened.

Besides, there's so much to unpack here:

What is this new power that Keemia used? (In addition to how she used the ultimate teenage comeback)

What is Darkseid planning now that he failed ANOTHER invasion?

What is the Light planning behind the scenes, that they have been planning since the Society arc began?

All these and more will be answered, in the sequel.

Thanks again you guys for sticking around this long, and for giving me all of this support. It's humbling and it gives me the motivation I need to write.

Be sure to read and review, let me know what you thought of this finale!

For now, I'll be seeing you in the sequel;

Flint Marko, Keemia Marko, and the Justice League will return,

in "Alchemic Justice"!

Coming soon!

Until then, remember to be awesome and stay awesome, and have an awesome day!

One last time, Ciao for now!

~WafflesTheApprentice