Hello again, DC Comics fans! The new chapter of Justice League: All-Out Attack is up at last, and it's time for some magic! Have fun reading.


Chapter 8: The Battle of London

LONDON
JUNE 13, 16:21 GMT

The British military was lined along the river Thames when the Justice League's Delta Squad; Doctor Fate, Zatara, Zatanna, and Wonder Woman's old friend Donna Troy suddenly appeared and glided down to greet the commanding officers of the British Army. On the west side of the river with a vast company of men were the top military men in the United Kingdom including General Thomas J. Kingston, high commander of the British Army. The General and his men saluted as the Justice League arrived, and then he shook Doctor Fate's hand.

"Thank you for coming, Doctor," General Kingston addressed him. "The League will be glad to know that we currently have 120,000 men positioned on the Thames with a good 40,000 more in reserve."

"Then the Justice League is the last line of defense needed," Doctor Fate confirmed. "Now we'd best be prepared. The attack is upon us."

It was true, for at that moment, another horde of Parademons and Apokoliptan war machines began to pour out from the enormous ship and advanced on London with the same bloodthirsty lust for battle. As the attackers drew near to the heart of London, Doctor Fate led Zatara, Zatanna, and Donna Troy up into the air to take their positions. Then the Apokoliptan invaders made landfall and rushed upon the defenders with blind, reckless rage. All at once, General Kingston shouted into his walkie-talkie, "All right, men! Let 'em have it!"

All at once, from the banks of the river and from towers, alleys, and rooftops low enough to hide their numbers, the British soldiers opened fire with plasma impactors, energy disruptors, plasma grenades, and sonic blasters. As with the other locations under siege, Darkseid's Parademons were taken by surprise and several barely had time to find their targets before they were blasted apart from all sides. As the Parademons and Doom Hawks separated into two groups to attack, they were attacked from behind by enhanced tanks that fired sonic blasts strong enough to bulldoze a building with a single shot. Some more soldiers were stationed on the Tower Bridge, led by Lieutenant Bill "Bruiser" O'Malley, and they threw the attackers further into confusion with a surprise attack on both sides of the front. Then as the Justice League moved into action, several Royal Air Force jets: Lockheed Martins, B.E 12s, M.1 Cs, Kittyhawks, Nieuport Scouts, Thunderbolts, Tempests, Spitefuls, Tornadoes, and Eurofighter Typhoons let fly with lasers and missiles that tore through several Hell Hounds and Draco-Tanks, and even a few Doom Hawks were blown out of the sky. Unfortunately, the British soldiers had to run for cover when Darkseid's monsters made their landings and several of them found themselves fighting simply to stay alive.

Their hope was not in vain, for the Justice League commenced their counterattack and quickly turned the tide back on Darkseid's contingency. When the League's fight began, Zatara and Zatanna were already in the air on platforms of mystic light and preparing to fight. Zatanna couldn't deny she was getting butterflies in her stomach, mostly because she was afraid to lose her father in this terrifying situation, but her fear left her when Zatara held her hand and gave her a smile.

Zatanna asked, "Insieme, Papà?"

Zatara nodded and replied warmly, "Insieme, mia bambina."

With that, father and daughter moved in to face Darkseid's attackers with steely determination. Zatanna raised her hands as several Parademons armed with energy pikes and fire-whips came at her howling "For Darkseid!" Though she felt more scared of these creatures than she was of Lex Luthor and the Injustice League, Zatanna narrowed her eyes and said in a commanding voice, "Snopaew emoceb srednib!"

All at once, several of the armed Parademons had their weapons become as flexible as ropes and bound their arms and wings, and the monsters plunged from the sky with wailing shrieks and disappeared into the streets below. Zatanna felt pleased with herself for her courage and prepared to take on a few Doom Hawks next. She raised her hands again and said, "Evig meht srehtaef!"

The Doom Hawks immediately grew feathers which weighed them down and sent them careening to the ground and some into currently-deserted buildings. Then Zatanna lifted her hands toward more Parademons and said grinningly, "For my next trick: Fi yeht tnaw ot thgif os yldab, tel meht!"

This time, the Parademons coming at her were thrown at one another and ended up smashing each other until they fell from the sky and shattered in the streets. Zatanna threw a wink to her father before hurling more spells at the Apokoliptan invaders.

Zatara was dealing with the Hell Hounds and Draco-Tanks while keeping himself in the sky. Flying low over the heads of a few Hell Hounds, he called out in the same commanding voice, "Yam uoy llaf trapa ta eht stnioj!"

Instantly, the Hell Hounds felt their mechanical joints loosen and snap at several points. They tried to move onward, but each move only jarred at their pistons and gears, causing them to wail with mechanized agony. They tried spitting fire at Zatara, but even their neck joints shuddered and groaned inside them. Then the Apokoliptan beasts collapsed to the ground, losing their legs and for some, their metal heads. Then Zatara flew over a few Draco-Tanks, which turned their attention from the British soldiers and blew flames at him. The older magician levitated out of their range and said, "Knis otni eht dnuorg!"

Under the treads of the lumbering Draco-Tanks, the street became malleable like quicksand. The alien war machines began to sink with astounding speed until only the muzzles of their dragon-faced cannons were above the ground. Next, Zatara shouted, "Ekirts nwod eseht larutannu serutaerc!" and blasted several Parademons and Doom Hawks out of the sky with bolts of mystic energy. But as he brought down more of Darkseid's attack force, Zatara saw that the British military was having to exert more of its strength to hold the line.

He was about to use a lightning strike to help the soldiers push forward when he heard a scream for help that sent a violent chill up his spine.

"Zatanna!"

Sure enough, Zatanna had been fighting off Parademons left and right and had been holding her own until one struck her in the back with an Agony Gauntlet. Now two of the cyborganic monsters had her by the arms and were flying away toward the sea with her. Zatanna struggled as hard as she could and kicked at the Parademons, but this time she could not free herself, and the pain in her back prevented her from concentrating on a spell. Zatara could not move fast enough to save his daughter, but he didn't have to, for Donna Troy walloped both Parademons in the chest with a bent streetlight. The Amazon maiden caught Zatanna and carried her back into the sky, where her father quickly administered a pain-relieving spell. Zatanna hugged her father, who then promised to stay by her side until the battle was over, and Donna Troy rushed back into battle.

Moving with amazing speed, Donna Troy saved another company of men led by 2nd Sergeant Montgomery Lawfield and Corporal Danny Hill from an oncoming Draco-Tank, which she proceeded to toss against a Hell Hound. Donna then took a damaged satellite dish from a rooftop and flung it at some incoming Parademons like a Frisbee, effectively catapulting them away. She smashed more Doom Hawks to pieces and then had a breather when the British troops fired shots from tri-laser tanks, ten-kiloton missile units, and sonic impactor tanks at the Apokoliptan invaders.

Doctor Fate was at the front lines, where he explained his power would be most useful in holding the line. A horde of Parademons came soaring at him shrieking "For Darkseid!" when the wizard hero simply raised his right hand and shouted, "Begone with you!"

A beam of golden light shot from his hand and in a brilliant flash, a few hundred Parademons vanished into particles of shadow with loud cries. Doctor Fate flew low over the British lines and turned several Draco-Tanks into wood, and then several Hell Hounds to stone. Then with a wave of his hand, Doctor Fate sent a wave of fire at many Doom Hawks and torched them. He caused hands of stone to grow out from the street and smash more Parademons to pieces. In moments, the streets of London along the Thames River were filled with the remains of the techno-monsters, but still more were on the attack.

The Justice League and the British military fought valiantly, but General Kingston and his fellow officers worried that they would be able to hold out against such an unceasing attack. Suddenly, the sky was illuminated by beams of violet light which began blasting more Parademons and Doom Hawks down. When the defenders looked, they saw several Star Sapphires flying into London to aid them. Leading them to the defense of London were Queen Aga'po, the head of the Star Sapphire Corps, and her niece Ghia'ta.

Aga'po and Ghia'ta landed to greet General Kingston and the other British officers and the Zamaronian queen directed her warriors to aid the Justice League in the sky. One soldier; Private Gerald H. Michaelson was surprised to see them as he had been expecting the Green Lanterns to be helping out. He didn't mind that these new heroes had come to help out, but he knew nothing about them and asked the first question that came to his mind: "So you lovely ladies are… Pink Lanterns? Violet Lanterns?"

"Not precisely, human," replied Queen Aga'po with a gentle smile. "We are the Star Sapphires of Zamaron, of whom the first Green Lantern of your Justice League requested aid. I am Aga'po, queen of Zamaron and head of the Corps. And this is my niece, Ghia'ta."

Little Ghia'ta smiled with childlike innocence, batting her lashes, and General Kingston said to her and her aunt, "Thanks for the assist."

"Glad to be of help," answered Queen Aga'po. "Now let us go to aid your heroes, and we shall claim victory."

And with that, the Queen and Ghia'ta led the British soldiers into a charge to aid Doctor Fate and the rest of Delta Squad against Darkseid's invasion force, and the battle for the freedom of Earth saw another push in the right turn.


A/N: Ghia'ta of the Star Sapphires is alive in this story because she's an exciting and cute character and I felt it wouldn't be fair to have just Star Sapphire herself appear among her fellow Sapphires in this tale.

Translations:

- Insieme, Papà?- Together, Dad?
- Insieme, mia bambina- Together, my child

- Snopaew emoceb srednib!- Weapons become binders!
- Evig meht srehtaef!- Give them feathers!
- Fi yeht tnaw ot thgif os yldab, tel meht!- If they want to fight so badly, let them!
- Yam uoy llaf trapa ta eht stnioj!- May you fall apart at the joints!
- Knis otni eht dnuorg!- Sink into the ground!
- Ekirts nwod eseht larutannu serutaerc!- Strike down these unnatural creatures!

Hope you all liked this chapter. Next stop, Paris and some more Star Wars callbacks!