Chapter 48- Apokolips

Karen flinched and fell backwards towards the ground, but moments before crashing, she felt Hal's arms around her. Breathing out, she jumped out of his grip and landed on the ruined street, where the league was grouped. Glancing around, she noticed that Batman was missing, and as was Wonder Woman. Only her, Barry, Hal and Victor were left.

Hal sized up the giant hovering above the buildings. "I'm guessing that's the bad guy?"

Victor snarled. "Lucky guess."

Cruelly looking down at them, Darkseid smiled. "I am Darkseid, Lord of Apokolips. Kryptonian...Give yourself to me."

Karen scoffed, even though her legs were shaking. "Like HELL!"

A sadistic grin appeared on the tyrants face as he released a wave of energy, crumbling the buildings on the street. The four of them were caught in the blast, and were knocked back with an enormous force.

Barry had jumped out of the way just in time, but had still knocked his head against something, hard. He held his head. "Owww..." Looking up at Darkseid, he saw his eyes tinted red, about to release a wave of energy. "NO! STOP!"

He frantically looked around. "Uh...guys? Anyone awake yet? Im not that good at making chitchat!"

Victor punched through the rubble with his six arms, and roared in anger. Darkseid released the beams of energy, and Barry rocketed away from them, Victor on his tail. The metal man was using his energy thrusters to move as fast as possible, but Barry could see that he was not going to be able to avoid them. He took a deep breath as he was running and prepared himself for what he was about to do. They cant beat Darkseid without Vic, he's the only one who can talk to their tech and shut down the boom tubes...

Faster than thought, he pushed him aside and took the full brunt of the beams, his suit almost disintegrating. He flopped on the ground, unconscious, barely alive. Victor yelled out, but no one heard him. Darkseid laughed, but did nothing, turning and walking towards the rubble where Karen was buried.

NO! If he gets her, he wins! Leaping forward, he struck Darkseid's jaw with pure brute force, breaking two of his own six arms. Shrugging off the blow, the giant crushed his chest with one hand, constricting what was left of him, making it difficult to breathe.

Almost passing out, he was freed by a blue blur, Supergirl punching him out of Darkseid's grip. Hal burst out of the ground, covered in dirt, but alive. The three of them stood back to back, as Darkseid sent a wave of parademons towards them. Hal gripped Karen's hand momentarily for reassurance, and she nodded and smiled at him. Victor roared and grew out his two arms that he had shattered, stretching them outwards as if beckoning the monsters.


Apokolips

Bruce jumped on top of the demon and stabbed into its back with his arm blades, guiding it towards a closed off landing strip. It was deserted...All the demons had flown through the portal. He snuck towards a laboratory, and gasped when he saw Diana strung up against the wall, being tortured. Unbridled rage coursed through his senses.

Desaad was sadistically slicing her arms with a thin blade, revelling in the blood. "The hives on earth were ill-equipped to process your flesh, but what a pleasure it is to cut it and cut it again."

Bruce dropped down, onto Desaad's skull, fracturing it in the process. Diana cried out in pain, and he quickly unstrung the panels inner workings, releasing her from the torture device. She fell into his arms, looking up at him with such adoration that he felt his heart melt. He wanted to hold her and never let her run away from him again, but now was not the time for that.

She took rapid breaths, standing up straight and on shaking legs. "I saw...I saw death. I saw pain. I saw my friends being killed. Everyone...all of them. Hal, Karen, Vic, Barry...and Bruce..."

He wanted to kiss her right then, but the portal shook, Lobo and Superman tearing through it with immense speed, locked in combat. Diana pulled him down to a platform below the strip, not wanting to interfere in the clash of the titans.

The Main Man forced Clark on his back, tossing his body carelessly across the strip. "You're not so strong now, are you, Superman? This is Apokolips. The walls are fire, and the ground is death. The skies pour blood and the clouds are acid. There is no SUN, here. Do you feel it? You are WEAK. You burnt out all that solar energy last time you were here. And your friends arent going to help you this time!"

He kicked Clark's face, and Diana winced as the blow shattered his nose. Lying on the ground, weak and pale, she almost felt sorry for him, but then only shocked, as he pushed himself up. Holding his arms in front of his face, blood dripping down his nose, he smiled.

"I could do this all day."

She felt Batman vanish from next to her, and jump up on the landing strip.

"You won't have to"

Lobo, albeit shocked, was quick to respond, throwing a chain towards Batman's feet. He jumped over it and spread his cape, gliding down onto the bounty hunters face. Lobo staggered, but gripped Bruce's feet, smashing him downwards. Feeling vertebrae about to crack, he jumped up and threw a batarang point blank, to no effect.

Lobo chuckled, about to crush both Batman and Superman, only to feel cold metal between his ribs.

Diana sheathed her sword. "Boys...you never share. You could have asked for my help, Batman."

"You were just being tortured."

"I can handle myself...I'm a big girl." Diana flashed a grin.

She helped him up, and glanced at the staggering Superman, who was limping towards a motherbox, lying on the ground. She contemplated stabbing him as well, but Batman gripped her hand, which was resting on her sword. "No."

She scoffed. "Let's go kick Darkseid's ass."

He didnt let go of her hand as they went through the portal, and couldnt help but feel that maybe he didnt want to either.


A/N- Sorry for the delayed updates, I've been really busy...

But a promise is a promise, and this story WILL be finished.

We're approaching the climax, and things are tense. A teenage Justice League is going to have a MAJOR problem taking down A GOD!

And even though Bruce's hormones are running wild, will he let them take over his analytical BAT-MIND and give in to the possibility that maybe Diana feels the same way?

Find out next time on Dragonba-*ahem*

Whenever I next update, that is ;)

PLEASE REVIEW!