More Justice League action against Darkseid's armies here, folks!
Note: Bold text for this scene is for Blue Beetle's scarab communicating with Jaime. Plus, you get to see up of Blue's new upgrades! Enjoy!
Chapter 9: The Battle of Paris
PARIS
JUNE 13, 17:18 CEST
The battle in France's capital was already beginning when Icon, Rocket, Blue Beetle, Cyborg, and Halo arrived to aid the French army in defense of the city. Along several streets in the town, French soldiers were firing at hordes of Parademons and Doom Hawks with the enhanced weapons the Justice League and Cadmus had provided. Huge tanks with multiple turrets fired beams of lasers into the sky, blasting scores of the monsters to the ground, while others released missiles at the oncoming Hell Hounds and Draco-Tanks.
Icon gave the signal, "Epsilon Squad, move in!" With that, the heroes prepared to launch their counterattack. However, they noticed a few Parademons headed for the French general and his personal squad, and Icon ordered Halo and Rocket to commence attack on Darkseid's contingency while he and the boys went to aid the general. With a few energy blasts, the cyborganic beasts were downed, and when the heroes landed, they saluted the general and Icon said, "It's all right, General. We're here to help."
"Merci, monsieur," the French general replied. Then he saluted and said, "General Pierre de Archambeau, Brigade d'Infanterie de Marine."
"Icon. Justice League," Icon answered. "We'll cover you from air and ground while you halt their advance. Then when they're packed into a crowd, we kick their high-tech backsides back to Apokolips."
"Then we'd better hurry," added Blue Beetle. "Darkseid's armies are swathing the city's center now!"
"I'm reading the French army units here currently stand at 170,000 troops," Cyborg reported. "We can hold back Darkseid's army for now and we'll be able to take it easy for a moment when reinforcements show up."
"Okay. Let's move!" came Icon's command. And with that, the three heroes joined the girls and their part in the battle began.
"I'm going in,"* reported Icon. "Cover me, Rocket."
"I'm right with you, Icon,"* she replied.
With that, the two heroes flew toward the oncoming horde of Parademons. Then without warning, Icon fired on them with his energy blasts. He blew several Parademons away before using the tactics he had learned training with the Justice League to strike down Darkseid's soldiers with hand-to-hand combat. Icon also managed to hit a few Doom Hawks and then blasted a few Draco-Tanks. Rocket managed to hold off a few Parademons on her own by slamming into them, punching them with some enhanced power thanks to her gloves, and she even managed to trap a few in her kinetic-energy shield. Unfortunately, Rocket's stand-off was cut short when a couple of Hell Hounds began breathing fire in her direction, and she attracted some more attention from the Parademons when she moved through the sky to avoid being burned.
"Uh, Ike? Got a problem here!*" she called into her comlink.
Icon followed his protégé through the sky and knocked a few Parademons down to earth. Soon, only one was still pursuing Rocket, but it was getting out of range. In a desperate attempt to save his apprentice, Icon let loose an energy blast. It hit the Parademon in the neck and the monster erupted in flames.
"Thanks, Icon," breathed Rocket. "Sorry I panicked."
"It's all right, Rocket. It happens to everyone," Icon assured her.
With that, Rocket continued the battle and managed to hold off more Parademons and even took down a few Doom Hawks as they came. On the ground, Halo, Blue Beetle, and Cyborg were putting up a fight of their own. Several Parademons and Hell Hounds were advancing on a group of soldiers commanded by Lieutenant Michel LeBeau, who were fighting back with all the firepower they could muster. Their plasma impactors and quantum blasters did fine against the Parademons and their tanks were remarkably effective, but the numbers of the mechanical beasts were almost overwhelming. That's when Blue Beetle stepped in to help out.
"Scarab, what's the readout on these goons?" Beetle said to his scarab.
"The Parademons outnumber the French army by more than four to one," the scarab replied. "However, our fellow heroes have proven superior against them. Now we must join them in the fight, Jaime Reyes."
"You read my mind, buddy," Blue Beetle grinned, and then he rushed to fight the invaders. The Parademons shrieked, "For Darkseid!"
"For Earth!" Blue Beetle answered. And to the amazement of the soldiers, the young hero activated his sonic cannon and blasted hundreds of Parademons out of the sky with a single shot. The ones that managed to withstand the attack came at him with vibro-pikes and Agony Gauntlets, but Beetle had a plan.
"Scarab, analyze them," he said.
"Analysis complete," his scarab announced. "The Parademons are shells of processed organic material housed in the armor they wear, powered from within by artificial alien-tech hearts. They are not truly alive, and therefore, you are allowed to unleash your full power on them, Jaime Reyes."
"In that case, activate plasma cannon."
"My pleasure."
Blue Beetle suddenly opened fire on Darkseid's attack force, hitting several more Parademons with blue bolts of superheated plasma energy which blasted them into flaming shards of metal and organic material. When three Hell Hounds lumbered his way, Beetle hit them with a sonic blast that ruptured their joints and sent them crashing to the ground with a rumble. Then more armed Parademons came at him, but again, Blue Beetle was prepared to go one better. He activated his scythes and began driving his opponents back. Their weapons did manage to damage his armor, but each tear and scrape regenerated on the spot.
"Now let's see what you can really do, scarab," smirked Blue Beetle.
With that, he took to the air and unleashed sonic blasts and bursts of plasma on the Apokoliptan invaders. When he returned to land, Blue Beetle hammered at more of them with his maces. He also used his staple gun to lock down more of the creatures and even his jetpack pinned some Parademons to the walls of buildings with body-size blue staples. He blasted a few Draco-Tanks with his plasma cannons when two Parademons grabbed him from behind. Fortunately, Blue Beetle was prepared for this and extended a pair of lightning rods which shocked the cyborganic monsters until they fell apart. Another one tried, only for a plasma cannon to emerge from Blue Beetle's jet pack and blast that Parademon away. Blue Beetle took to the sky again to face some Doom Hawks and this time, a small cannon in his chest armor activated and spat crystal shards at the flying terrors which ripped through their metallic forms like they were made of tissue paper.
A score of Parademons and Draco-Tanks were bearing down on another company of soldiers led by Sergeant Jean-Paul Delacour and Corporal Anton Marcelle when Halo projected a red-energy shield to protect the troop. The shield held against the attacks from armed Parademons and even the Draco-Tanks couldn't break through it. Eventually, Halo let the shield down and projected her yellow aura, then proceeded to blast the oncoming Parademons out of the sky. Her efforts were rewarded, but the numbers of the foe were too great for her and she knew her energy blasts would not be enough to stop the Draco-Tanks.
"But there is another way to stop them," Halo thought out loud.
With that, she projected her indigo aura, opening a Boom Tube of her own making which stood in the path of the Draco-Tanks. They ended up falling in and the Tube transported them back to Apokolips. With the alien tanks out of the way, Halo resumed firing beams of yellow energy at Darkseid's oncoming hordes.
For Cyborg, handling the Apokoliptan armada was little trouble. He steadied himself as a squad of Doom Hawks bore down on him, and then ran toward them and jumped higher than he had ever jumped before. His great metal hands smashed the Doom Hawks to bits and when he landed, his feet left prints in the road. Cyborg ran to a Hell Hound and pulled its front legs until it fell, and then he heaved a Draco-Tank to put it on its side. Then his train of thought went off-course when another horde of Parademons came at him.
"You want some of this?!" Cyborg shouted. "Come and get it, ya flea-bitten buzzards!"
That got their attention. The Parademons howled in wrath and charged at Cyborg, who caught the lead one by the neck and flung it back at the others. Next, the teenage superhero activated his sonic cannon and blasted more Parademons out of the sky. He fought some armed Parademons and slammed his metal fists and feet into them for all he was worth. However, in the midst of the fighting, Cyborg received two energy pikes to his chest and one to his stomach. It looked like the end of him, but to the shock of the French soldiers and Darkseid's Parademons, Cyborg stood up with a laugh and pulled the energy pikes from his body, for his veins were soon sealed to prevent blood loss. Cyborg then ran back to fight and had many French soldiers fighting beside him shouting "Aux armes, citoyens!"
Suddenly, the air was filled with a loud roar, and the Justice League and the French army saw planes from Spain, Norway, Holland, and Belgium open fire on Darkseid's attack force. They ripped through the enemy lines, and then a great many planes of the Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace: Mirage 2000Cs and 2000Ds, Rafale B/Cs, Boeing E-3F Sentries, and MQ-9 Reapers, tore through the sky and began turning the sky into a multicolored rainbow of laser fire. They dodged, dove, and spun to avoid the enemy attacks, and any pilot that was hit ejected before his plane went up in smoke.
The Justice League pressed on, never daring to break lines, and the French army only doubled its counterattack. With such strength and will behind them, it was hoped that victory would soon be in reach for Earth.
A/N: Can you guess what callbacks to Star Wars are mentioned in this chapter? Just for fun.
Translations:
Merci, monsieur- Thank you, sir
Aux armes, citoyens!- To arms, citizens!
Brigade d'Infanterie de Marine- Marine Infantry Brigade
Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace- Army of the Air and Space
Hope you liked seeing the Justice League and their apprentices defend Paris. Chapter 10 will be up soon.
