CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

LIBERTY ISLAND.

The Statue of Liberty, long since closed to tourists, still stood as a beacon of hope, a symbol of freedom, and a silent overseer of the land of opportunity. Near her feet, in sharp contrast, were the ruins of what Superman had referred to as the "New York Fortress." A second Fortress of Solitude, created by the Eradicator, had served as a base of operations for the Justice League when it first formed. It had been destroyed in a battle with the Suicide Squad. The fact that the decimated fortress was left at the feet of the statue was a visual reminder of the fragility of truth and justice.

Erik Lensherr stood inside the Statue of Liberty's torch, looking out over the harbor at the city skyline. He couldn't help but think about the last time he was inside this torch, years ago, when he attempted to use young Rogue to power his mutant-making machine and activate the latent X-gene in the world's leaders. That hadn't worked out so well. The X-Men had foiled his plan, and he'd wound up incarcerated in that infernal plastic prison. Today, though, would be different. They would never imprison him again after today.

In his hands he held his helmet, with the glowing power stone affixed to it. He stared down at it. Even without putting the helmet on, he could feel the power radiating from it, increasing his innate mutant abilities. He knew that as soon as he placed the helmet on his head, his gifts would increase exponentially, to an absolutely unbelievable extent.

En Sabah Nur stepped forward out of the shadows from behind Erik and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You are making the right choice, Erik," En Sabah Nur said. "The other members of your secret society would have used the infinity stones against Darkseid. But you… you will help usher in his reign. Help us tear down this primitive world that the humans have built. We will build a new one in its place. One where mutants can rule supreme."

Erik continued to stare into the abyss of the gem's purple aura.

"I always knew this day would come," Erik muttered. "A war between mutants and the rest of humanity."

"Not a war, my child," En Sabah Nur replied. He leaned in close and whispered in Erik's ear. "An apocalypse."

With that, the ancient mutant stepped back and folded his hands patiently behind his back.

Erik closes his eyes. Without another word, he solemnly raised the helmet, and placed it upon his head.

The gem glowed even brighter. The purple aura seemed to extend around Erik's entire body. When his eyes opened again, they had also taken on a purple hue.

"The power," he whispered. "My God, the power. I can feel all the metal on Earth… I can feel every ounce of it, all at once…"

A sinister smile crept across his lips.

He raised his arms, hands outstretched, palms up.

Down at the base of the Statue of Liberty, the foundation of the great statue began to shake and quake. There was a groan-like creaking of metal being ripped and rendered as the statue was pulled free of its moorings. With an earsplitting sound of splintering steel and cracking copper, the iconic lady that had welcomed generations of poor, tired huddled masses to the shore of America rose up off of her foundation. The crystalline ruins of the New York Fortress were sent flying in giant chunks, splashing into the water. The Statue of Liberty flew up, up, and away, into the clear blue sky.

The smile on Erik's face grew wider.

"It's more than just the metal ON Earth… I can feel the metal within the Earth as well… I can feel the magnetic poles of the planet itself…!"

The purple energy that radiated around Erik began to spark and sizzle, and extend and creep outward to envelop the entire Statue of Liberty.

.

THE HELICARRIER.

Tony Stark stood silently watching over the unconscious body of Bruce Banner, who was hooked up to dozens of electrodes, monitors, and a very large IV bag.

Superman entered the room.

"Any change?" Superman asked.

"No. And in the case of our dear Doctor Banner, 'no change' is good, of course," Tony replied. "The last thing we need is him turning back into that out-of-control anti-life-equation version of the Hulk. That's why we're pumping him with enough sedative to give King Kong a colonoscopy."

Superman shook his head. "You've always had a way with words, Tony."

Stark looked at Superman. "How is she?" he asked, trying to read his expression.

"Mary Jane? She's taking it really hard. She and Peter and hadn't been especially close recently but that doesn't change the history they shared. She loved him. As a friend… and more."

Tony ran his hand over his face. "You know, just because he didn't come back, doesn't mean he's dead."

"He was supposed to come back to the exact moment that he left," Superman said. "The fact that he didn't means that if he's not dead, he's trapped somewhere in time unable to get home… which might be just as bad as if he were dead." Superman sighed. "I never should have let him be the one to use the Legion ring. This is all my fault."

"Y'know, Supes, for a guy who has saved the world more times than I can count, you sure say 'this is all my fault' a lot," Tony replied. "We're superheroes. Putting our lives on the line to save everyone else isn't just part of the job, it is the job. Parker knew that. And if the roles were reversed, and you had put on the ring and not come back, and Parker were standing here with me, you know what he'd be saying?"

Superman looked at him, and shook his head.

"He'd be saying 'this is all my fault,'" Tony said. "You two are a lot more alike than you realize."

Superman took a moment and let that sink in. He nodded. "Like I said… you have a way with words, Mister Stark." He gave a small smile.

Just then, an alarm started blaring throughout the facility.

"Troublert," Stark said.

They both rushed into the monitor room.

"Show me," Stark commanded to the computer banks in front of him.

The screens across the room lit up. They were all showing images of the Earth, taken from space. Calculations and coordinates flashed across the bottom of each screen. Stark stared at them in astonishment for a moment.

"Tony? What is it?" Superman asked.

"This doesn't make any sense," Stark said, shaking his head. He began waving his hands in front of the monitors, sliding different screens forward or backward as he analyzed the calculations. "The Earth…" he fumbled for the right words to explain what he was seeing. "The Earth's axis is shifting."

"…Excuse me?" Superman asked.

Tony flicked his wrist and the screens shuffled again. A simulation of the Earth appeared on the center screen, spinning as normal with the north pole at the top and the south pole at the bottom. Then, it gradually shifted its rotation in such a way that New York was now at the top of the globe.

"Friday, what's causing this?" he asked.

The simulation switched to an actual satellite image of the Earth, then quickly zoomed in on New York. It continued to zoom and enhance the image until a shot of New York Harbor came clearly into view. Hovering about three hundred feet above the water was the Statue of Liberty, surrounded by a crackling force field of bright purple energy.

"Sensors indicate the presence of Erik Lensherr, the mutant extremist known as Magneto," Friday stated. "I am also detecting the energy signal of another of the infinity stones."

"We need to get a team there right fucking now," Stark said, a touch of panic in his voice. He was already sprinting out of the room, with elements of his Iron Man armor flying to him from across the complex and clink-clacking into place as he ran.

.

NEW YORK HARBOR.

The Javelin streaked across the New York sky, heading for the Statue of Liberty. A freak snowstorm had kicked up out of nowhere, a blizzard so intense that it was obscuring the view. Through the cockpit window of the Javelin, the outline of the glowing purple statue was just barely visible through the obfuscation caused by the battering of snow.

The occupants of the Javelin included Superman, Iron Man, Lex Luthor, Wonder Woman, Doctor Strange, Wolverine, Storm, and Jean Grey.

"Isn't this a bit unseasonable for June?" Lex Luthor asked.

"Magneto has tilted the Earth's axis so much that we're experiencing weather you'd usually find at the north pole," Iron Man explained. "Hell, as of right now, this IS the north pole."

"Let me see what I can do to clear things up," Storm said. Her eyes turned an opaque white.

There was a swirling of wind outside the front of the Javelin. The snowstorm parted directly above and in front of them, clearing a straight path to the Statue of Liberty, even as snow continued to bluster all around either side of them.

"Neat trick," Iron Man said. "Remind me to hire you for the next Stark Industries company picnic. It gets rained out almost every year." Then, seeing something unexpected on the radar, he exclaimed "Oh shit!" and pulled the yoke hard to the left. The plane spun to one side, just barely avoiding a collision with a Honda Odyssey that had somehow come flying through the air toward them.

"What the hell was that?" Wolverine asked.

"He's throwing shit at us," Iron Man said simply. He jerked the stick to the right this time, rolling to avoid an airborne Ford Escort. Then they dodged left again to avoid a Chevy Cobalt.

Suddenly, a huge shockwave of purple energy was released from the Statue of Liberty. The sheer force of the blast sent the Javelin into a spin, knocking it back at least a mile.

"This is nuts," Iron Man said. "We're not even going to be able to get close to him."

"We'll have to abandon the Javelin," Superman said. "Make a full on assault. Everyone who can fly, I need you to-"

"There's no need for that," Wolverine interrupted. "Throw me at him."

Superman paused. "Come again?"

"Colossus and I used to call it the Fastball Special. Pick me up… and throw me at him."

"Wolverine…" Superman said slowly. "Your bones are literally lined with metal. Magneto's powers are off the charts right now. He'd rip you apart. I'm not throwing you at him."

"And I'm telling you, I can take it," Wolverine replied.

"You're going to get yourself killed."

"I don't get myself killed very easily."

Jean Grey grabbed Wolverine's hand. The look on her face was full of fear. "Logan, I know what you are thinking. I know what you're hoping will happen. You have no guarantee that that will work… or if you could survive something like that…"

"Anyone else has an idea, I'm all ears," Wolverine said through gritted teeth. "Trust me, this will work. C'mon, Superman, we're wasting time."

"Um, not to understate the situation here," Iron Man spoke up. His helmet retracted to reveal the face of Tony Stark, so he could look his teammates in the eyes. "We're facing an extinction level event. If this goes on much longer, Magneto is going to pull the Earth out of its natural orbit around the sun. The consequences of that will make what happened to the dinosaurs look like a freaking clam bake. If anyone here has a way to stop this quickly, we need to do it!"

Superman and Wolverine stared at each other for a few long, tense moments.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Superman said finally. He nodded to Tony. "Turn the plane around and open the cargo bay doors."

Moments later, Superman and Wolverine stood at the edge of the open cargo bay. Although Storm was keeping the snow away from their immediate surroundings, there was still a bone-chilling wind blowing across their faces, causing Superman's cape to flap wildly. In the distance, at least three or four miles away, was the ominously glowing Statue of Liberty, hovering like a specter above the city.

"Are you sure about this?" Superman yelled over the howling wind.

"Not at all," Wolverine shouted back. "But that's never stopped me before."

This response didn't exactly fill Superman with confidence. But, obligingly, he grabbed Wolverine and hoisted him effortlessly above his head. He bent his knees and poised for takeoff.

"Hey, Superman," Wolverine said quickly.

"Yeah?" Superman said, looking up.

"It's been an honor," Wolverine replied, solemnly.

Superman gave a half smile and nodded. "Likewise," he said.

Then, without another word, Superman took off into the air in a bust of super speed. He flew, Wolverine still held aloft over his head, straight toward the soaring statue. Then with one great heave he launched Wolverine like a shotput, sending him hurtling through the squally sky.

Wolverine unsheathed his claws with the familiar SNIKT.

Superman's aim had been true. Wolverine soared seamlessly through one of the slat-like windows around the perimeter of Lady Liberty's torch. He landed in a defiant crouch, facing off against Magneto himself.

Magneto threw his head back and laughed. "This should surprise me, but somehow it doesn't," he said. "The Wolverine. Always throwing himself headfirst into danger… thinking he can scrap his way out."

Wolverine was immobilized with a strong magnetic force holding him firmly in place. He grimaced. It felt like every square inch of his body was being squeezed in a giant vice grip.

"Such fortitude," En Sabah Nur remarked, stepping out of the shadows once again. "A commendable trait. Perhaps this mutant would have a place in our new world."

Magneto smirked. "Perhaps," he acknowledged. Then, to Wolverine, he elaborated, "We are tearing down the world of man, Logan. The hour of triumph for mutant kind is finally at hand. The humans will soon be wiped from the Earth."

"There's a word for that," Wolverine said. "It's called genocide."

"It's called evolution," Magneto replied, defensively. "The humans have had their day, and for far too long. This is your chance, Wolverine. Join us. Your might, combined with ours… there would be no limit to what we could accomplish. What do you say?"

"I've got just three words for you, bub," Wolverine snarled. "Go. Fuck. Yourse… wait, now I'm not sure if that's three words, or four."

Magneto scowled. "Insolent to the last. I expected as much." Magneto closed his fist and Wolverine was pulled forward to the floor, sprawled out in a prostrate position. "I grow tired of your petulance. It has become annoying. And so has that accursed adamantium that runs through your body. It's time we do something about that, don't you think?"

Wolverine just grunted. It felt like a thousand pound weight was pressing down on him. He could hardly breathe.

Magneto stood over him, grinning wickedly.

"Today is the day I finally perform surgery," Magneto said.

With a flick of Magneto's wrist, Wolverine was in pure agony. His bones felt like they were on fire.

Then, what felt like knives burst up out through his back.

He tried not to scream. He didn't want to give Magneto the satisfaction. He couldn't help it. This was excruciating. He screamed.

His claws were ripped from the backs of his hands, taking huge chunks of flesh with them. His shoulder was dislocated as shards of adamantium were violently yanked out of his arms. Hot, liquified metal poured out of his nose and mouth. He choked and coughed and gagged on it and struggled to breathe. It felt like sawblades were cutting though his chest and legs as more and more pieces of his adamantium skeleton were pried from every inch of his body. The grisly sound of snapping bones echoed throughout the hollow copper torch as Wolverine's own skeleton was cracked apart as each piece of his metallic one was violently removed.

Several anguished minutes later, Wolverine lay in a bloody heap on the floor, motionless save for the occasional involuntary twitch.

The individual scraps of metal that had once made up Wolverine's adamantium skeleton floated in the air around Magneto. Then, with the slightest tilt of Erik's head, all of the errant adamantium went flying out the window and splish-splash-sploshed into the harbor far below.

"Impressive," En Sabah Nur mused. "You have come a long way from the young man I knew years ago, Erik. You deal with your enemies swiftly and without mercy. This is a trait I admire."

Magneto turned and stared across the harbor. The blizzard had grown more intense. The city skyline was little more than a hazy silhouette at this distance.

"He is just the first. There will be more," he replied. "The Justice League Avengers," he said, in an annoyed, almost mocking tone.

The Javelin was approaching again, faster now.

With a mere flick of his pinkie finger, Erik sent out another shockwave blast of purple magnetic energy. This one was so powerful it ripped the wings off of the plane and sent it spiraling away, nose over tail, over and over. It eventually crashed somewhere on the Manhattan mainland, clipping the side of a skyscraper as it careened into the city.

"Hah! You see? They are nothing you cannot handle!" En Sabah Nur assured him with an approving laugh. "There is nothing you cannot accomplish now. The world will soon belong to-"

"Hey, asshole," a straining, guttural voice interrupted.

Magneto and En Sabah Nur both turned toward the source of the voice.

Rising slowly, agonizingly from the floor was a blood-soaked Wolverine. His legs were shaking, his hands trembling. Flesh was hanging off of his face, with hunks of bright red muscle and bare white skull showing through. His left eye was partially out of its socket. Extending from between the knuckles on each hand were three long, razor-sharp, bone claws.

"Here's the thing about ripping all the metal out of me," Wolverine continued. His voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard. "Now there's nothing left in me that you can control."

Magneto barely had time to gasp in horror.

With every ounce of energy he had left in his broken body, Wolverine lunged, claws out, at the master of magnetism. He savagely plunged his claws directly into Magneto's chest.

"Aaauughhh!" Magneto screamed in pain.

"No!" En Sabah Nur yelled.

Wolverine's face was inches from Magneto's, foaming at the mouth with rage, spit bubbles forming at the corner of his mouth.

Erik's eyes were a mix of pain, fear, and regret.

Wolverine closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry, Charles," he whispered.

Then, with startlingly smooth speed and precision, he withdrew his right hand from Magneto's chest, sending an arterial spray of blood everywhere – and then with a second savage slice of his arm, he cut Erik's head clean off.

The severed head, still sporting the helmet, was wide-eyed and open-mouthed as it bounced and rolled across the floor of the torch.

There was a brilliant explosion of purple light, releasing all of the energy that had been built up within Magneto's body.

The Statue of Liberty was blown apart, sending her falling down into New York in pieces.

Several minutes later, Wolverine regained consciousness, floating in the harbor and clinging to the Statue of Liberty's right arm. He had never been in this bad of shape before… and he'd been caught in the bombing of Nagasaki in World War II. His body was having trouble healing from the trauma it had just been through. His wounds were not knitting themselves back together like they usually did. He was in a state of shock, barely able to concentrate, to think coherently…

He looked out into the water. There, floating just a few yards away, was Magneto's helmet. The power stone was still affixed to it.

The stone had amped up Magneto's power. "If I can just get to that stone…" Wolverine thought. "Maybe it can juice up my healing factor…"

He didn't know if he had the energy to swim to it. He was not sure if he could trust the muscles in his arms to get him there. But, he had to try.

He reluctantly let go of Lady Liberty's arm. He awkwardly treaded water, trying slowly but surely to make some progress toward the helmet.

Floating not far from the helmet was the huge stone tablet that had once been in the Statue of Liberty's left hand – the book of laws with "July 4th, 1776" carved into the cover. A strange, ethereal glow started to form and to take shape just above the tablet. A swirling green and blue sort of mist. A doorway…

Wolverine was getting closer to the helmet, but it was so hard. His body felt foreign to him. He was getting lightheaded. The water was so cold.

The blue-green doorway grew larger. A figure stepped through it. A man.

Wolverine reached his hand out. He was almost close enough to the helmet to grab it… almost…

The man standing on the Statue of Liberty's tablet stepped up to the edge and looked out over the water. He smiled. "Greetings, Logan," he said. "I am he who is called Ra's Al Ghul."

Wolverine was starting to feel dizzy. His head slipped under the water a couple of times. He reached out, his fingertips just barely grazing the helmet…

Ra's Al Ghul held up his left hand, which was sporting the infinity gauntlet. There was only one open recess on it. The other five were occupied by the space, time, reality, soul, and mind gems.

"I'll be taking that," Ra's said with a smile. He knelt down, reached down over the side of the tablet and casually plucked the floating helmet from the water.

Ra's Al Ghul held the helmet up to the light, marveling at it.

"A quest that has taken centuries," he mused. "Finally come to fruition."

Wolverine gasped and glugged as his head went under water one final time.

The power gem glowed brightly and began to shake. Seemingly of its own accord, it detached itself from the helmet, levitated in the air for a few moments, and then slowly began to float toward the gauntlet to join its siblings.

So transfixed was Ra's Al Ghul in watching the glorious sight of the infinity stones about to be united with each other that he didn't notice a tendril-like strand of green light snaking its way up his leg. The tendril of light made its way up Ra's Al Ghul's body and coiled itself around the gauntlet.

A second tendril swooped suddenly over Ra's' shoulder, glomming onto the power gem and preventing it from affixing to the gauntlet.

Ra's finally noticed the mysterious green tendrils. "What is the meaning of this?" he bellowed.

There was a thoomp! thoomp! of large, powerful footsteps behind him.

He turned.

Towering over him was the massive, imposing figure of Darkseid. On his finger, he wore a Green Lantern ring.

"I will be taking that," Darkseid declared.

The tendrils of light coming from the ring snatched the gauntlet and the final gem from Ra's Al Ghul's grasp, and delivered them promptly to Darkseid.

A third tendril wrapped itself around Ra's Al Ghul's neck and head. With a sharp and sudden CRACK, it snapped Ra's' neck. Ra's fell to the ground, dead.

Darkseid tenderly placed the infinity gauntlet on his hand. The remaining tendril of green light from the ring almost lovingly placed the final gem into the last recess. The infinity gauntlet was complete.

"Great Darkseid!" yelled a voice.

Darkseid turned. En Sabah Nur was pulling himself up onto the floating tablet as well.

"Hm?" Darkseid replied.

"The time is nigh. The hour you promised is at hand. The time to deliver the Earth to the mutants!" En Sabah Nur declared.

"And why would I do that?" Darkseid scoffed.

"You… you promised…" En Sabah Nur said. "In exchange for the anti-life equation!"

"Yes. When I needed your help with the anti-life equation, I believe I did promise that," Darkseid said. He held up the hand with the infinity gauntlet upon it. "I no longer need your help. I can complete the anti-life equation on my own, with this. I can BECOME anti-life. I have no more use for you. Return to the primordial soup from which you crawled."

The reality stone on the gauntlet lit up. En Sabah Nur's legs transformed, turning into solid concrete. Then, the power stone began to glow. A blast shot out of the gauntlet and knocked En Sabah Nur off of the tablet and into the water. The mutant managed to get out a short scream before he sank like a stone.

Darkseid smiled.

With a great leap, he jumped from the floating tablet and soared toward the mainland.

.

MANHATTAN.

The Javelin was in pieces, having crash-landed in the wake of Magneto's earlier magnetic shockwave. Parts of the demolished plane were in flames. Superman blew out the fire with his super-breath, then sifted through the wreckage for his teammates. He lifted a piece of the fuselage up and tossed it aside, revealing Wonder Woman pinned underneath. A bit dazed, she kicked some more debris off of his leg, and shook off the injury as she stood up.

"Thanks, Kal," she said, dusting herself off. "Is everyone okay?"

"I'm still looking for the others," Superman replied. "The Statue of Liberty… exploded," he said, looking out over the bay at the wreckage. He pointed to his JLA armband. "I can't get ahold of Wolverine. I think… I think he might be…"

Wonder Woman put a hand on Superman's shoulder. She had rarely seen her friend so distressed.

"We'll find him, Kal. Logan is a survivor. I'm sure he's all right. Let's search the Javelin wreckage for the others, and then we can regroup."

There was a whistling sound overhead like an incoming missile. They turned just in time to see Darkseid come flying across the sky. He landed so forcefully on the ground that he shook the streets for miles. He stood up and marched toward them.

"Merciful Hera," Wonder Woman gasped.

"You'll find nothing merciful today, Amazonian wench," Darkseid replied.

There was a BOOM as a yellowish white portal appeared behind Darkseid. Out of the boom tube stepped the grotesquely inhuman versions of Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and the Thing. They stood behind Darkseid, waiting obediently for their orders.

Then Darkseid raised his left hand as if reaching for something.

.

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

Many miles away, over the Atlantic, the SHIELD Helicarrier jerked forward and started to move quickly toward land. It did not do so of its own volition. It was as if it were being pulled by some invisible force.

.

MANHATTAN.

A laser from Iron Man's glove cut through part of the Javelin's wing that had him pinned down. He was able to push the rest of it off of himself and stand up. He heard groaning from a few feet to his left. With a quick blast from his repuslor ray, he knocked aside the remains of one of the engines. Lex Luthor groggily pulled himself out of a pile of debris that had been underneath it.

"Thanks," Lex said.

"Don't mention it," Iron Man said, flatly.

Lex looked to the horizon and stopped cold. He grabbed Iron Man's arm.

"Tony…" he said, his voice full of fear. He pointed into the distance. "Look!"

About a half mile away, Superman and Wonder Woman were squaring off with Darkseid and the insidious Fantastic Four horsemen.

"Is that who I think it is?" Iron Man asked.

"Darkseid," Lex whispered. "He's here. We're too late."

"What is he reaching for?" Iron Man asked, noticing Darkseid's outstretched hand.

As if in answer to that question, there was a low rumbling from somewhere above and behind them. It grew increasingly louder. Lex and Iron Man both looked up.

Barreling toward the city was the SHIELD Helicarrier, being drawn toward Darkseid by his sheer force of will. As it flew toward them, the Helicarrier smashed the top off of the Empire State Building, sending the first dozen floors or so tumbling to the ground.

Superman, Wonder Woman, and Iron Man all took to the sky to try to somehow catch or at least divert the Helicarrier, but they were too late. The entire Helicarrier came crashing down, knocking over buildings, crushing cars, and utterly demolishing dozens of square blocks of the city as it fell.

Manhattan was covered in a cloud of ash and smoke for miles around.

The dust and soot was so thick that Lex could hardly see. He tried to wave it away from his face, but to no avail. He climbed awkwardly over wreckage and ruins, not sure whether he was climbing his way over pieces of the Javelin, or of the Helicarrier, or of demolished buildings. It was all just debris now.

"Tony?" he called out. "Clark?" There was no response. "Anyone…?"

From somewhere deep within the smoldering wreckage came a loud, enraged, horrifying roar.

Lex's blood ran cold as he realized who, or should he say what, had been aboard the Helicarrier that Darkseid had been trying to summon.

A large green fist shot up out of the wreckage.