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Apokolips
Just beyond the throne room was the private chambers of Darkseid. It was only here he was alone with his thoughts and plans for the future away from the constant attention of his sycophant elite. He had long since stopped concerning himself with the day-to-day business of running Apokolips. It was a perfect machine set up on violence, envy and fear to unquestioningly carrying out his designs. Occasionally it took some small course corrections, but those were few and far between. He was the unquestioned ruler of Apokolips but had long ago set his sights on bigger things. He wanted to rule everything forever. Until he accomplished this, he understood he was still subject to change like every other being in the universe.
While that didn't sit well with him, Darkseid always took the long view on things. New Genesis had been a thorn in his side from the beginning, but when he achieved his ultimate goal they would be swept aside like all the others. In a way there was no real need to fight New Genesis and High Father again. Yes they were two sides of the same coin, but his reach only extended to their own planet. Darkseid's influence was expanding to new worlds all the time. Those that fell in battle were absorbed so now worlds all across the galaxy worshiped him as their ruler and God.
Only one had so far beat back his parademons, a backwater planet so young it was barely entering its information age, Earth. He had left the invasion to others and they had paid for their failure. Another assault could happen at a moment's notice, but Darkseid had resisted so far because of something unusual for him, curiosity. He had four children. One hated him and all he stood for, rejected Apokolips and aligned himself with New Genesis. Darkseid didn't worry about him, despite the prophecy that one day he would overthrow his father and rule Apokolips. All the pretty words of High Father's teachings couldn't change who his son was or quell the rage that burned within him. He would return and stand as his father's side one day.
Darkseid's eldest son was a brute, a blunt weapon that would always need someone to point him in the right direction. He was cruel and heartless, enjoying the pain he inflicted on others, but he lacked anything resembling an imagination. He was a colossal disappointment, but he was Darkseid's son so he allowed him to live, at least for now.
This third son had been an even greater disappointment and had been banished from Apokolips.
Then there was Darkseid's youngest and in many ways the most troubling child, his daughter. She was so unlike his sons, a mischievous trickster that seemed to enjoy nothing more than challenging her father yet never directly. She vexed him more then the others, yet he found her the most fascinating of the lot. It had been through her his attention was first drawn to Earth. She had been captured by one of the governments that ruled the planet. Looking back Darkseid knew she had allowed this for some reason, but at the time he had taken it as an affront to him and ordered the invasion. The defeat and the appearance of someone being called Death had made him pause. Perhaps there was more to this backward world than he'd first realized.
His daughter never did anything without a reason, so Darkseid studied this world. He was never quite certain whether she was deliberately trying to undermine him or if there was something else going on with her. His first thought was the figure of Death was what attracted her interest, but then it was finally revealed to be just a man, an alien young man at that. Doing a bit more digging he came upon a prophecy that stated Earth would be the genesis of the Fifth World. The Fifth World would eclipse the Fourth, just as Darkseid and the New Gods had eclipsed the Third World. Could that be what drew his daughter to this world, Darkseid wondered? Was she looking for a force that could oppose him?
If it was, there was a part of Darkseid that almost admired his daughter's audacity. Of all his children, she alone seemed to have learned the lesson of his own rise to power. He hadn't waited his turn; he'd taken what was his and disposed of those in his way. It seemed his daughter had similar ideas. Of course he couldn't allow it. The easy thing to do would be to send his parademons and Furies to crush the world once and for all, but that would be too easy. He had learned long ago on Apokolips that the sweetest victory was when you allowed your enemies or subjects to have a glimmer of hope, to let them dream of victory for just a moment before you crushed them completely.
So Darkseid waited and watched. Part of him was interested to see how his daughter would escape the prison the humans had built just for her, while another wanted to watch these young 'heroes' that seemed to be appearing. Apparently the meta-gene was present on Earth and beings with what most would call amazing abilities were starting to appear. That could be the first step to the rise of the Fifth World's Gods. Could the anti-life equation also reside on this backwater planet, Darkseid wondered?
Again the wise decision was to snuff out this possible threat before it could grow. Darkseid had conquered countless planets for less reason, yet he hesitated. He continued to observe the 'heroes' and could see that they were inspiring the world with hope. The young Amazon demi-god was certainly a formidable fighter. The speedster, the Lantern, the sea king along with the representative of the Gods in the form of a boy that transformed into a man with magical powers. Then there was the dark knight, a mere mortal but he continued to exceed what should have been his limitations. There were others, young heroes that had yet to emerge and aliens that called Earth home. The last Martian, the Thanagarian and the warrior of Coda had revealed themselves to the world and fought on the side of the other heroes.
The one that interested Darkseid the most was the Kryptonian. When it was revealed that it wasn't death that helped turn the tide against his parademons, but a young alien man, Darkseid followed all the information that had come out about him. It was a simple process to do the math to realize the young man was a Kryptonian. Under a yellow sun he would have extraordinary abilities, perhaps abilities to rival the Gods. Strangely when he left the planet Darkseid found himself disappointed. It made the eventually task of conquering the planet that much easier, but it would feel like a hollow victory. Conquering the world without facing their possible greatest weapon wasn't a complete and total victory. Hope would always remain and over time would grow. Darkseid was the opposite of hope. Hope meant change and if Darkseid was to see his plans fulfilled change had to end and so did hope.
For all his stoic outer rock-like appearance, Darkseid still had emotions. Just like the Gods of old he'd replaced, he was subject to vanity and hubris. He believed no force or being in the galaxy could ultimately stop him from his fundamental dominance of everything. There would be no Fifth World to replace this one. All his daughter's machinations would come to naught. As he watched the Cathar and Despero's Legion of the Third Eye assault Earth Darkseid decide Earth needed its potentially greatest weapon, the Kryptonian. Let him along with the other heroes turn the tide against the invaders and save the young world. Hope would grow and flourish. Darkseid's daughter would think she'd won, Earth would think it had won. Only then would Darkseid strike. He would let them taste hope before he snuffed it out forever. It would be a warning to his daughter and anyone that harbored thoughts of opposing him. There was nothing in the universe that could stop Darkseid.
Florida
Despero's ships began to arrive around the planet. They bombarded cities around the world in preparation for their ground assault. Military targets and government facilities were their primary objective. Tapping into the world's computers they were able to identify the black sites and other possible weapons labs that could cause problems. The chaos of the Cathar's regional war suddenly became global.
Batman had been monitoring all of this and knew the League had to shift its focus. Individually the Cathar were still the greater threat, but sheer numbers were on Despero's side. He had called in all the heroes he knew to counter this, but there weren't enough of them to go around. The world's militaries were overmatched and things were dire. Suddenly an alien seemed to materialize out of the floor next to Batman. He automatically took a defensive stance.
"I am not your enemy,' Jonn said. "My name is J'onn J'onzz and I'm here to help."
"I only have your word for that,' Batman replied.
"Yes you do,' Jonn admitted. "I am a Martian. The Lanterns know of my people. I've lived on this world since the destruction of my own. As I said, I'm here to help. Despero's ships need to be countered. I would suggest the Green Lanterns join me in breaking off from the fight with the Cathar and concentrate on the ships bombarding the planet."
Batman wasn't a trusting person by nature, but in the current situation it seemed he had little choice.
"Agreed,' he finally said. Raising his hand to his communicator, he signaled Hal.
"Hal, I need the Lanterns to join our new ally, a Martian and take on those ships in the atmosphere."
"A Martian?" Hal's voice replied. "There's a Manhunter on the planet, cool!"
"You know about him?"
"No personally, but I've heard of them from the Lanterns,' Hal replied. "I thought they were extinct."
"Not all of us,' Jonn offered.
"Thank you for joining the fight,' Batman said, extending his hand to Jonn. He took it and gave a rare smile before lifting off towards the sky.
Detroit
The Circus was in chaos. Despero's ships had somehow found the Circus's location and were firing on it. Amanda Waller was trying to reestablish order; the continued assault was making this difficult.
"Secure those containment fields, we don't want those creatures escaping!" She shouted.
""Ma'am!" One of her men shouted back. "Project Omega has been compromised! She's escaped!"
"Damn it!" Amanda growled. "This is a disaster! Just make sure none of the others escapes or we'll all be in a world of shit!"
Florida
Diana and Zealot continued their attack on Asha. They had wounded her, but in the frenzied state she was in, the wounds didn't stop her. There was no surrender at this point for Asha, as this was the final battle to end all battles prophesied by the Dark Goddess. The unbelievers were all around, with more arriving from the skies but that only reinforced her faith. It was just as it was written in the sacred texts. Asha and the Cathar were the chosen people and this was how the world ended. Paradise waited for them just on the other side.
For Asha there was also a personal satisfaction in all of this. She had grown up in a society where women were thought of as second-class citizens. For such an advanced race as the Cathar were, they held on to traditional view on the roles of woman and men long after the fallacy of this belief was shown on countless worlds including their own. The future when she was young held out limited hope for her. Subordinate roles to lesser men or because of her beauty marriage to a high official seemed her most likely career paths. She rejected all that and instead chose the other option available to her, entering the religious order. Rejecting the material world she set a course of spiritual discovery that she hoped would explain what was wrong with the world.
Asha had floundered about in this pursuit at first. The old texts and old ways seemed like something that should have been left in the past, a part of the Cathar's formative age. Listening the priests and priestesses Asha realized they were just repeating the words of the book and had no more divine knowledge or insight than anyone else. They were just supporters of an ancient system that came out of early man's desire to understand the world around them. The stories were little more than fables for children, full of unsubstantiated claims and magical thinking that seemed tawdry by comparison to the truth.
Then the attack by Zod and the Kryptonians changed everything. Much like her world Asha had been shattered beyond repair. The entire world she'd known was gone in the span of hours. The leaders had perished along with the high priests and priestesses, as it seemed the bombs didn't discriminate over rank or title. Asha was lost and wandered among the wreckage of her world without hope. This was how Hannibal had found her. She knew he found her attractive as most of the men she'd met in her life did, but when he spoke to her it was as an equal. He said how all of Cathar was lost just as she was. The few survivors left needed hope, even if it was false hope if their people were going to continue. He wanted her to take the role as high priestess and help get their people through their darkest hour.
As the years went by, Asha grew into this role until finally she began to see all of it as some part of a divine plan for Cathar. They had lost their way and now that the shackles of society's gender roles had come off her ambition could take her as far as she wanted. What had seemed like childish stories and myths now offered answers to why this was all happening to her. The former priests and priestesses had turned away from the truth path and were more interested in preserving their small bit of power and their institutions. Asha would return her people to the original path. Now as she stood on this distance world and battle raged all around her, she reveled in the knowledge that she was her people's leader and prophet. Hannibal had just been an instrument to her rise. He had thought he could keep her in the traditional female role of subordinate from before Zod's attack, but Asha knew there was no going back. She had taken them to the ultimate outcome that all the sacred texts had foretold. She would be the one to lead her people into paradise.
Diana had come to see Zealot as an ally. She was strong and fast, perhaps not as strong or fast as Diana, but she was a trained warrior. With the entrance of another alien army into the battle, Diana knew she was needed on the large scale rather than in combat with one Cathar.
"Zealot do you think you can handle her?" Diana asked.
"You wish to join the larger battle, Wonder Woman?" Zealot asked. "I will continue the battle with her, go!"
Diana nodded and then rose off the ground to lend her abilities in the larger battle. Zealot turned to see Asha had been watching all of this transpire. Covered in blood, Asha smiled a murderous smile at Zealot.
"Your best hope has left you,' Asha said. "She would not have stopped me. What hope do you have?"
"Let's find out, shall we?" Zealot replied.
Asha started towards her, sword high and Zealot instinctively raised her own to counter the attack. At the last moment Zealot saw Shayera out of her the corner of her eye. She used her mace to strike Asha from behind and knock her into one of the crumbling buildings nearby. Shayera landed next to Zealot.
"I saw Wonder Woman leave,' Shayera said. "I thought you could use a hand."
Before Zealot could answer, Asha tossed away the rubble that had collapsed on her and stood ready for battle. Zealot looked at her and then turned back to Shayera.
"Yes, I guess I can,' Zealot replied.
Earth's Atmosphere
Jonn had joined the Lanterns and was attacking the Legion of the Third Eye's ships. They were heavily armed and multiple blasts were able to shatter some of the Lanterns shields. Jonn took the fight inside the lead ship, phasing through the hull and appearing on the bridge. He took on the command crew effortlessly and then decided to try a gamble. He had scanned several of the crew before he attacked and knew what their orders were. Transforming himself into Despero he opened a channel to the other ships.
"Retreat! Victory is ours, fall back to our home world!"
Confusion reined over the fleet for several moments, but many of the commanders on the other vessels knew Despero was down on the planet. Before Jonn could reach out to take over their minds, they opened fire on the lead ship and Jonn. They would destroy one of their own rather than retreat; this was a lesson Despero had instilled in all his troops unless he gave the order personally. They knew this image on their screen wasn't him, so they reverted to the original order.
The momentary lapse did give the Lanterns an edge and they used it to disable several of the ships and continued to press the counterattack against the Legion.
World of the Crescent Moon
Clark and Kori had moved on from the World of 2 Suns to the next planet and were having dinner at a local restaurant. Since learning of his origins Clark's thoughts had been on Earth more and more. Kori picked up on this.
"You're thinking about it again, aren't you?" She asked.
"About what?' He asked innocently.
"Earth,"
Caught, he thought.
"Yeah,' Clark admitted. "I now know why I was sent there. You were right about leaving giving me some perspective but it feels like I have unfinished business back home."
"You still think of it as your home?" Kori asked. "Even after learning about Krypton and your parents?"
"Yes, it's where I grew up,' Clark replied. "I understand now that there's a huge galaxy out there beyond Earth. You were right, this trip had given me a new perspective."
"But?' Kori said.
"You were also right about the fact I'm going to live a long time,' Clark explained. "I want to explore the entire galaxy and see all the amazing sights you have but there's no rush. If I don't see them in five years or ten or even fifty, they'll still be there. I'm just starting to figure all this out, but there are things and places I still want to see and do on Earth too. I guess what I'm saying is as wonderful and amazing as this trip has been, everyone, me included, still needs a home to return to. Earth is my home for good or bad."
"So this was just a vacation from it?"
"Yes,' he said with a nod. "And like all great vacations it gave me a new perspective on where I'm from. I also couldn't imagine a better person to spend it with."
Clark leaned over and kissed Kori.
Watching all this from the bar were Kanto and Lashina. Darkseid had entrusted them to find the Kryptonian and encourage him to return to Earth. He had selected them because they weren't the blunt instruments like most of his elite were. They had some tact. Darkseid wanted the Kryptonian to return to Earth on his own, without realizing he was being manipulated. The master assassin and the female Fury had found Clark and Kori and followed them to this restaurant. Over several drinks they watched and listened. They had different reactions to Clark. Kanto found himself relishing the chance to confront him. Kryptonians were thought lost to the galaxy and the idea of killing one of them appealed to him. They were an old race and had been feared by many in the galaxy. A truer test of his skills as a master assassin, Kanto couldn't ask for. He knew better than to not follow Darkseid's orders, but it was so tempting.
Lashina's reaction to him was far different. While she was only here to do her Dark Lord's bidding, she found herself taking a keen interested in the Kryptonian. Growing up on Apokolips and being an attractive woman, Lashina had to fight off the attentions of men and women higher up the food chain than her. The brutish groping and threats she had endured until she gained her place in the Furies hadn't been forgotten and neither had the culprits of those indignities. As one of the youngest Furies she knew she would have to wait, but one day she planned on repaying all of them.
The Kryptonian seemed different to her. She found him attractive. That Darkseid had taken an interested in him also peaked Lashina's interest. He was right about her; she was a bit smarter and more cunning then the others. Lashina was deadly with her whips but made sure she followed the commands she received to the letter. She took no initiative, never giving any of those above her a reason to question her loyalty. She watched and waited, taking notice of even the smallest detail.
If Darkseid had an interested in the Kryptonian there must be a reason, Lashina thought. Darkseid only took interest in those he saw as a possible threat. Lashina had watched the video of the parademons defeat on Earth and knew the Kryptonian had a hand in it. Standing at the bar with Kanto, Lashina had let him talk but she kept her eyes discreetly on the Kryptonian. Yes he was handsome and he didn't seem like the men of Apokolips. Lashina sensed no anger coming from him, in fact just the opposite. Some of this she put down to his female companion, although Lashina found herself not liking the Tammarean. They were a weak people, prone to sentiment in her opinion. If the Kryptonian's abilities were enough to draw Darkseid's interest, then he deserved someone stronger.
Someone like Lashina.
Once the thought entered her mind, Lashina found she liked the idea. He was strong and handsome, yet seemed gentle in his relationships. That was something Lashina would never find on Apokolips. She would do nothing about it now. She would carry out her assignment, but Lashina made a mental note to keep watch on the Kryptonian. He was still young like she was. Perhaps one day he would be strong enough to defeat Darkseid. If that day came, Lashina wanted to be at the Kryptonian's side.
First there was business to attend to. She finished her drink and turned fully to face Clark and Kori.
"You're from Earth?" She said loud enough for both of them to hear. "I thought I overheard you mention that planet?"
Clark and Kori turned to look at her and her companion. Kori wasn't sure who she was, but something about them both she didn't like, especially her.
"Yes,' Clark replied. "You've heard of Earth?"
"Just gossip,' Kanto said. "The last planet we stopped on earlier today there was quite a bit of gossip about it."
"About Earth?" Clark asked, completely surprised that Earth was even known this far out.
"They're being invaded,' Lashina informed him. "One of the local tyrants and his followers, Despero and the Legion of the Third Eye are attacking Earth as we speak."
"Earth sounds like it's quite popular,' Kanto added as he took another drink. "The Cathar, who everyone thought was extinct are also on the planet."
"A backwards world like Earth probably won't be able to handle them,' Lashina observed. "Even if they do, they'll probably lose tens of millions of civilians."
Clark and Kori were standing now. They were both shocked by the news.
"Are you sure?" Clark couldn't help asking. "Why would they attack Earth?"
"The Cathar? Who knows?" Kanto offered. "As for Despero he likes to attack weaker worlds than his own and expand his empire and church."
Clark and Kori were rushing out the door in the next moment. Kanto watched them leave and then smiled as he ordered two more drinks.
"Like taking sweets from a child,' He mused and then asked Lashina. "Do you think he'll really make a difference if he returns to Earth?"
"Lord Darkseid does, that's enough for me,' she immediately replied and then took a drink. A small smile played across her lips. Lashina would make sure to watch what happened on Earth with interest.
Outside
Clark and Kori rushed back towards her ship, where Krypto met them. Clark caught the dog this time so he didn't knock him down.
"Not this time, boy,' Clark said as he pet Krypto. "Kori, we have to get back to Earth and help."
"I know, but it will take some time getting there in my ship,' she explained. "We're a long way from Earth, Clark."
"Then I'll go ahead,' Clark said, determined to help Earth.
"Do you think you can make it in time?"
"Yeah, I think I can,' Clark replied. He went over to the small craft he'd arrived on Earth in and took out the shield his parents had left him. Pressing it against his chest, full body armor and a cape materialized around him. "Take Krypto with you and get there as quick as you can."
Clark moved over and kissed Kori, which she returned.
"I'll try and make sure there's something left when you get there,' Clark said. With another kiss and then a pat to Krypto's head, Clark lifted off the ground and headed straight up, gaining speed with every passing moment.
