Answers to reviews:
Spiral-Voltron-Zero0Q1: Thanks.
Direbeast37: I'm not sure I will continue it or bring it back. Maybe I'll change my mind but right now... no, I don't see it returning any time soon. Sorry.
Diana and J'onn looked over the edge of a building they landed on an hour ago in Metropolis, Superman's hometown, so Flash and GL can rendezvous with them. Diana could look down as the citizens ran in fear, smashing windows and stealing those strange boxes.
"Perhaps Mother was right about Mankind, there nothing but Untamed Savages." Diana said with venom in her voice.
"Do not judge them too harshly, they act out of fear," J'onn spoke up.
The duo didn't need to wait much longer as Flash and a recovered Green Lantern arrived at the building, having been called over by J'onn via telepathy.
"Sorry we're late, had to stop and help civilians," said Green Lantern.
"What did you call us back for?" asked Flash.
Diana pointed at the alien factory ahead of them. "Superman has been captured, he's trapped somewhere inside there with Hawkgirl,"
"Whoa," Flash was finding it hard to believe that someone like the Man of Steel could have been captured, even when he had backup.
"Where's Batman and the kid?" asked Green Lantern but Diana remained silent so J'onn spoke instead.
"They acted heroically to the very end,"
"The bats and the kid are gone?" Flash was in disbelief. With how Batman operated and the villains he had taken on, Flash had thought nothing could kill the Batman. As for the kid... no one should loose their life that early.
"This is not good, definitely not good," Green Lantern said this with a frown on his face.
Moments later, the group had arrived close to the proximity of the factory which was currently guarded by an alien walker with Green Lantern and Flash scoping the area.
"I can't believe we're doing this again," said Flash.
"If Superman and Hawkgirl are in there, someone's go to rescue them…you're sure they're in there, aren't you?" Green Lantern turned towards J'onn who remained silent "…J'onn?"
"…yes your friends are alive but we must act quickly…the Imperium is coming," J'onn spoke ominously.
Flash quirked an eyebrow in confusion "The who?"
"The supreme intelligence which controls these invaders, we have met before,"
Flash towards Green Lantern to whisper to him "Can we trust this space case?"
"What choice do we have?" Green Lantern whispered back before speaking to the rest "Okay, we're going in…Flash, create a diversion…Diana, watch my back,"
Diana placed her hands on her hips with a smirk "You want to rely on an amateur?"
Green Lantern could only growl inwardly at the snarky response before speaking up "Alright…let's move!"
On that the team split up into two directions with Green Lantern, Diana and J'onn going down a route while Flash took another with the latter running in between the alien walker's legs to appear behind it. Flash threw a rock at the head to catch its attention as the alien robot turned round and began firing at him but he quickly outran the laser fire to strategically position himself close to a hidden explosive mine then taunted it to attack him again. The alien walker approached then raised one of its legs to stomp on him, only for the speedster to move out of the way for it to strike the landmine and have the leg destroyed, the walker unable to maintain its balance toppled to the ground and exploded.
The group made their way inside the factory with Flash soon rejoining them soon after, a pair of alien invaders were patrolling the passageway so J'onn transformed into one of them and led them to the others before striking them both down from behind. The group continued on with their search for Superman and Hawkgirl with J'onn in the lead while cautiously keeping out of sight to avoid being detected by the alien invaders. They stopped before a wall where J'onn placed a hand on it and concentrated his powers for a moment before speaking up.
"I sense that they're somewhere behind these walls," said J'onn.
Diana approached the wall and tried to push it down to make a way through but to no avail "It's no use, we'll have to find another way,"
"Stand back," Green Lantern stepped forward and aimed his ring at the wall to fire a thin green energy beam and began to cut a hole through it.
J'onn looked up to the ceiling "We haven't much time left," eventually Green Lantern was able to cut a hole through the wall and there they found Superman and Hawkgirl hung from the ceiling unconscious, they ran to help them but J'onn suddenly spoke up "Wait! Something is not right…"
At that moment, the unconscious heroes suddenly woke up to reveal red eyes, confirming J'onn's suspicions as the hole behind them quickly sealed itself up before they could pass through it.
"It's a trap!" Green Lantern called out in alert, then small openings appeared in the ceiling which then proceeded to expel yellow gas that was all too familiar with Green Lantern and Flash. Everyone struggled for consciousness but they eventually succumbed and laid out on the ground. The 'Superman' and 'Hawkgirl' stood before them with smirks on their faces before transforming to reveal that they're the alien invaders.
"J'onn! J'onn! Wake up!" J'onn groaned shaking his head of the gas as he took in his surroundings. He was trapped with the others as the Imperium gathered their forces. He looked over to see Superman trapped with him, any injuries had already disappeared from the Kryptonian.
"Superman."
You shouldn't have risked your lives for us." Superman said.
"You would have done less for me." J'onn stares as someone on the other side of him groaned. Looking over he saw Flash waking up.
"Ow, my aching head. What happened?"
"Earth's mightiest heroes…" the alien then transformed into Senator Kelly, Superman was mildly surprised before glaring at him "…welcome,"
"Just as Red Shadow thought, you really were an imposter all this time," said Superman much to the surprise of the alien.
"So you know of who I am, a pity that your very comrade lies dead alongside Batman," said 'Senator Kelly' with a sneer, causing Superman to grit his teeth with rage.
"This is far from over!"
"That's where you are wrong…" the imposter pushed a button on a control panel next to him for the ceiling to open up widely for everyone to look up to the sky, there they saw a massive spaceship hovering overhead and a smaller shuttle descended from it before coming down to land on the platform. The hatch opened up with a hiss as something descended from the shuttle it resembles a giant violet jellyfish with black and white matter swirling within…needless to say, it was very grotesque in appearance "All hail the imperium!"
The putrid being floated towards the group, particularly J'onn and spoke to them via telepathy "J'onn J'onzz. It's been a long time." The Imperium stated as it floated over to the heroes. With its telekinetic powers it hoisted J'onn over to it and set him free. J'onn made no attempt which surprised the others, was J'onn giving up? Despite what they didn't want to believe it was true. J'onn saw no hope, the Imperium was here and no one could stop it. Even if this hope was secretly climbing up the pillar under the heroes in disguise he just knew it was not enough. He screamed in agony as two aliens used electro staffs, the pain was so much he reverted to his original form.
"That is much better, you have defied us for centuries,"
J'onn struggled back to his feet "And I'll never bow down before you or any of your kind,"
"Then we will personally see to finishing what should have been accomplished long ago…the elimination of the last Martian," the imperium lashed out with its tentacles to grab J'onn then drew him within itself as he screamed out in pain.
"Let go of him, you filthy…grrrrr!" Superman yelled as he struggled to break from his bonds but to no avail.
"Yield to us, J'onn J'onzz," said the imperium.
"Never!" J'onn refused defiantly.
"Why do you resist? Embrace this truth, after all these years you have finally lost,"
"…have I?"
That response casted an unsettling feeling upon the imperium "You're hiding something, a secret deep within the recesses of your mind. Is this another one of your Martian tricks?"
"Do I sense fear?"
"What are you hiding?" the alien demanded.
J'onn transformed back into his Manhunter form and yelled out "…NOW!"
BOOOOOM!
There was a loud explosion and everyone turns towards the source which happens to be close to the ion chamber, there they saw something which was extremely hard to believe.
"Can anyone join this party or do we need an invitation?" Drake asked with a smirk as he stood with Batman.
"Batman and the kid?!" Flash spoke in shock and disbelief.
"It can't be, they're alive?!" Diana was shocked but inwardly happy to see the duo especially Drake are alive and well.
"I mentally shielded them so they couldn't be detected," J'onn grunted out in pain.
Batman inserted the device through the damaged shield of the ion chamber to attach to the crystal and was activated, causing the crystal along with the fluid inside to change from red to blue.
"What have you done?!" 'Senator Kelly' demanded.
"Reversed the ion charge," Batman replied rather bluntly.
"Destroy the crystal!" the imperium yelled out in rage, the alien invaders opened fire at the duo and the ion chamber but Batman quickly using a grappling gun to swung away whilst Drake leaped down to another platform.
"Get the others free! I'll handle the ripoffs from the Blob." Drake said as he cracked his knuckles before he whipped out Ebony and Ivory and fired at any aliens that came at him. Drake moved with practically inhuman speed and agility as he shot any Imperium soldiers that came at him with the intent to kill. He even shot one behind him without looking.
Drake soon landed and saw he was surrounded as lots of the aliens were charging at him from all sides. He smirked as he holstered his guns, unsheathed Rebellion and spun as they leaped, causing his sword to cut through all of them and kill him. He then placed his sword on his shoulder and ran his hand through his hair.
"Enough of this!" The Imperium yelled, enraged, as Drake was suddenly sent crashing into the wall multiple times by a telepathic force.
"Drake!" Diana cried in concern for her new friend.
"Die!" The Imperium roared as it used it's power to take rebellion out of Drake's hand then, to the shock of the heroes watching, stabbed Drake right through the chest and into the wall.
"No!" Diana gasped, wide eyed. The others were wide eyed as they couldn't believe that Drake was dead... died by his own sword and not at his own hand.
The Imperium chuckled as it went to focus on the other heroes when suddenly Drake's body suddenly began to pulse, beating like a heartbeat. Feeling something happening, the Imperium stopped before turning back to the teen to see what was happening.
Suddenly, the sword's guard and jaws opened up, along with the spike of the pommel opening to reveal several spikes. Then, there was a blast of energy that threw the blade into the air, causing everyone to follow the sword, and it fell down before a hand caught it. Everyone looked to see Drake standing, breathing heavily, a white aura coming off him.
"By the gods of Olympus..." Diana said with wide eyes.
"Holy shit..." Green Lantern couldn't help but say.
"ARRRGGHHH!"
Drake gave out a powerful roar as he released a powerful blast of demonic energy that nearly blinded everyone. When they looked to see what had happened, they saw that in Drake's place...
...stood a humanoid Devil.
"W-What are you?!" The Imperium said in fear before it sensed something and realized something else. "T-The power flowing off you... you're a descendant of that accursed Sparda!"
"I am..." Drake said in a deep, demonic voice as he gripped Rebellion in hand. "And like my father before me, I shall protect this world and humanity. All those who oppose me... SHALL KNOW THIS DEVIL'S POWER!"
(Play Devil May Cry 5 Sin Devil Trigger theme (Dante vs Urizen))
The Imperium commanded it's soldiers to attack but Drake, with his wings, flew at them with a burst of speed that could rival Superman and slashed right through them all, grabbing one with his free hand and smashing it into the ground hard to make it explode enough. The changed Drake backhanded one hard, sending it flying across the room and into the wall beside the heroes.
Drake's demonic red eyes locked onto the Imperium before it flew at the alien and went right inside, grabbing J'onn before flying out and putting the Martian down, then flew back into battle and punched the Imperium, sending it crashing down. Drake flew up then brought his feet down, creating a small shockwave from the stomp.
"Damn, he's really going to town on that guy." Flash said with wide eyes under his mask.
"What in the hell is he?" Green Lantern asked. He's seen many things... this is not one of them.
"He's one heck of a warrior." Hawkgirl said. She of course heard the legend of Sparda, who in this Universe hasn't? If this kid was Sparda's son... just how powerful could he become?
"Batman... hurry up and get the plan rolling." Drake said as he briefly looked over his shoulder to see Batman getting to work on their and J'onn's plan.
"Y-You!" Drake turned to see the Imperium trying to get back up. "You cannot defeat me! I am the Imperium! I am A God!"
Drake's demonic eyes narrowed. "Oh go fuck yourself."
"NOW BATMAN!" J'onn yelled telepathically. The Dark Knight nodded as he slammed a strange device into the side of the core.
Soon enough, the reversal of the ion charge was now complete as the factory launched a blue energy beam to the sky and pierce through the dark clouds, causing them to dissipate and the sunlight finally shone through. The sun's UV rays effect was instantaneous for any which was shone upon melted into a puddle with screams of agony while the others quickly took cover to avoid evaporation.
J'onn managed to break free from the imperium's grasp and grabbed it by the tentacles before forcefully pulling it into the sunlight all the while taunting it.
"You live underground and shun the light, why?! Does it burn your pale putrid skin?"
"NO!" the imperium shrieked in pain as its skin steamed and bubbled as the sun shone upon it.
"Oooh, that's one nasty sunburn," Flash commented, looking pretty revolted.
Superman seized the opportunity to absorb the sun's rays to reenergize and then used his heat vision to free himself. He tore off a large part of the upper platform and raised it to serve as a shield for Batman to work on freeing the others without interference which he did so with Diana first, Superman used his heat vision to free Hawkgirl with her doing the same by using her mace to smash the restraints holding down Green Lantern. Diana smashed the binds holding Flash.
"NO!" The Imperium tried to block its body from the light, but those soon melted leaving it a near giant puddle of liquid on the ground. Turning whatever face it had left in rage towards Drake, it slowly slithered towards him. "Y-YOU! I-I will destroy yo-!"
"Heard it before." Drake cut it off as he transformed back to human, sheathed Rebellion and had Ebony in hand, aimed at the Imperium. "And Jackpot."
BANG!
The powerful gunshot struck the Imperium, sending it into the sunways which caused it to screech in agony as it burned and melted until it was no more.
The Earth was saved and the Invasion was over.
A TV switched on to display Snapper Carr standing amongst the ruins of the alien factory days later "This is Snapper Carr, in the aftermath of the Metropolis meltdown, majority of the alien invaders have been eliminated. Superman and a tag group of heroes have driven out remaining packets of resistance, helping to restore order around the world."
The screen switches to display Superman and the other heroes destroying alien walkers and factories in different countries.
"Despite this stunning victory, some are warning that we must remain vigilant."
The scene changes to a press conference with a dark-skinned military general speaking from a podium
"We got lucky this time, what will we do when another group of aliens attempt to invade our planet just like these ones almost did?"
The screen was turned off to reveal that it was Batman watching the news in his Batcave, he reclined on his seat with a hand on his chin as he thought on the statement which the general had just made.
Sometime later, a massive space station was seen orbiting the earth. Inside, Superman was looking through the window in awe at the sight of the earth.
"Incredible, do your stockholders know about this Bruce?" Superman turned towards the approaching Batman.
"A blind item hidden in the aerospace R&D budget, this watchtower will act as an early warning system for detecting other threats of invasion from space," said Batman,
The elevator door opened up for Flash and Diana who now goes by the name Wonder Woman to walk towards them while holding cups of iced mocha.
"And it has a fully stocked kitchen," said Flash, then he offered a cup to Superman "Iced Mocha?"
"No thanks," the Man of Steel politely refused.
Flash simply shrugged before sipping on the drink "Suit yourself, more for me,"
Diana sipped her own and was quite surprised with the foreign but pleasant taste "Mmmm, they don't have these on Themyscira,"
"Stick around princess, I'll show you the ropes,"
"Perhaps I will,"
"Not a bad place." Drake said as he came back from exploring the station. "Though I would've preferred a tower or something in New York, but getting to see the view of the world is even better than a tower."
"First time seeing it?" Superman asked with a knowing grin.
"Yep."
Then Green Lantern and Hawkgirl descended from the higher level to join the group with the former speaking up "An impressive installation, most impressive but what's it to do with us?"
Superman was silent for a moment, then he spoke "…I one thought that I could protect the world by myself…but I was wrong," he gestured through the window towards the earth "Working together, we saved the planet and I believe that if we stayed together as a team, we would be a force that could truly work for the ideals of peace and justice,"
"What? Like a bunch of super friends?" asked Flash.
Superman smiled in response "More like a…Justice League,"
"Do you have any idea how corny that sounds? But maybe the big guy's got a point, with all of us behind it, it just might work," Flash strode forward and placed his hand on Superman's own "Count me in,"
"Me too," Green Lantern joined in by placing his hand over theirs.
"And me," Hawkgirl was next.
Diana looked a bit hesitant "My mother may not approve, but I find man's world to be intriguing. I'll gladly join," she walked up to them and placed her hand over theirs. The group turned their attention towards Drake.
"How about it, Red Shadow? You in? This club could use a guy like you." Flash said.
Drake had his arms crossed as he considered it. He had always been more of a solo guy, preferring to do things on his own so there aren't any complications. But... having a team to rely on when things get tough, having friends to have his back... maybe it was time he dropped the lone wolf act.
"Screw it, I'm in." Drake said with a smirk as he placed his hand atop Diana's, getting a smile from her as well as a small blush.
Superman turned towards Batman who was standing away from them "So what about you, Batman?"
"I am not really a people person, but when you need help…and you will. Call me," Batman replied.
"Understood, then we're all agreed,"
"But wait, where's J'onn?" Diana spoke up.
Superman looked up to another platform of the station and flew up to speak with J'onn when Hawkgirl looked at Drake.
"So... you gonna explain to us about what that demon called you?" She asked, getting nods from everyone except Batman who just stared expectantly at the Cambion.
Drake sighed. "Everyone might as well get comfortable because this is a long story for those who haven't heard the legend of Sparda." Once Superman and J'onn joined them and they all sat down, Drake wasted no time in explaining the legend about his father. "Forget what you believe is real and what you know... Demons are real."
"Wait, Demons and Angels are actually real?" Flash asked in surprise, shock and disbelief. "Hell and Heaven are real? God and the Devil are real?"
"Yeah." Drake nodded. "Angels, Demons, Gods,... Aliens. All of it is real. The Supernatural world that is considered myth and made up is indeed real. Since before the dawn of Man, the armies of both Heaven and Hell have waged an Endless War. The prize has always been the same... for Man.
'Mother once spoke about this, how The Gods took in a battle that echoed across the cosmos.' Diana thought. She was only a child when her mother told of this story, how beings more powerful than the Gods could only watched as all of creation was saved by a Legendary Warrior that was neither God or Mortal.
"However all that ended when someone finally stepped up and said enough." Drake began again.. "This being was no ordinary being: He was a Demon." This shocked the group, a demon wishing to stop a war? "He went by many titles: Swordsman, General of the First Legion, but my personal favorite: The Legendary Dark Knight…..Sparda."
"Your father?" Superman asked and Drake nodded with a small smile.
"Yeah, what that demon called me was no joke. I am indeed Sparda's son. Anyway, my father took up his sword and fought against his own brethren and drove them back with the help of the Angels. But Sparda knew it would not be enough, so he sealed the Demon gates with his own power and blood, in the process he became human."
"How does that work?" Flash asked.
Drake shrugged. "No idea, that part always confused me. he was still considered demonic though, which is why I'm half-demon. Anyway, after the battle, the Angels returned to Heaven and my dad lived amongst the humans. A few centuries later, he met my mother, Eva." He reached into his coat and took out a locket and opened it before handing it to Superman who saw the picture of a beautiful blonde haired woman smiling softly.
"She is very beautiful." Hawkgirl said once the locker had been passed around and handed back to Drake who placed it back within his coat.
"Thank you. Anyway, that's the story of my family's legacy. A pretty big one I've got to live up to." Drake said.
"Well, you're doing a good job so far by helping the world just there." Flash said with a grin.
"though.. maybe give the name a change." Superman said with a smirk. "red Shadow makes you sound like Batman."
"i have actually thought of a name to use." Drake said with a grin, gaining everyone's attention. "A name I will proudly carry as I defend Earth and humanity like my father before me. I am no longer the Red Shadow. My name is now... Sparda..."
And that's it for the first arc of this story. I figured you all know what the title of it meant, it was Drake awakening his Devil blood, power and the Devil Trigger. But just to tell you... Drake has barely scratched the surface in the power that flows through him.
Considering all the DC villains that are more powerful than gods like trigon and Darkseid... Drake's gonna need to be a lot more powerful to take on those types of guys, but that'll take time, progression and hopeful character development.
So, Drake has finally changed his name from red Shadow to Sparda, taking up his father's name to proudly carry it. Drake will end up getting a new suit, thanks to Batman
He's also gonna be the one who introduces Diana to most of Earth's cultures like movies, TV shows, books, the whole shebang so those chapters will be fun to write. And yes, Diana will be the first of the harem to get with him and be the Alpha of it technically.
Speaking of which...
Harem (so far): Wonder Woman, Supergirl (Superman unbound version), Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Uriel, Angela, Maze, Fury, Circe, Aphrodite, Athena, Grail, Bekka.
It's not the full harem as I am debating with some, even some crossover girls like some from Mortal Kombat. And yes, certain names you can clearly see in the list above are from Darksiders, Spawn and Lucifer. I did say there would be elements of Darksiders and Spawn, that includes some characters from it if I can make it work. It'll be a challenge, but I do so love challenges.