Here is the moment you've all been waiting for, folks! This is the final chapter of Superman's showdown with Darkseid, and once it goes down, it'll be time to finish the job with driving the Apokoliptan invaders off the Earth! Enjoy!


Chapter 24: Superman vs. Darkseid (Part 3)

It seemed absurd to Superman to keep fighting Darkseid in the central power room of the mothership as the floor of the chamber was now swathed in glowing fuel and littered with still-burning metal. But he knew that taking his attention away from Darkseid would give the Apokoliptan tyrant the advantage. So he kept his eyes on Darkseid, who was charging toward him with a battle cry that reeked of unbridled hate. Once again, Superman grappled with Darkseid and flew across the room, slamming the sinister dictator into the walls again and again until his back finally ached from the Man of Steel's relentless attack and his skull rang like a gong.

Darkseid tried the same tactic he had earlier of rushing and tackling Superman, but this time, Superman was ready for it. He flew out of the way and caught the villain by his left ankle and flung him toward the ceiling before landing a double hammerfist that sent Darkseid hurling into another catwalk whose bearings groaned under the impact. Now enraged to a level greater than the capacity of his composure, Darkseid released his Omega Beams again. But this time, Superman wasn't going to dodge the shot. He stopped the oncoming lasers with his own hands and began pushing them back. The intensity of the Omega Beams was enough to sting Superman's impervious skin, but he pressed on even as Darkseid focused harder and still harder.

Finally, Superman managed to clamp his hands over Darkseid's eyes and his own beams stung him. The Apokoliptan tyrant roared with pain and tried to rub the searing sting from his blood-red eyes, but he regained his sight just as Superman pelted him from all sides with his heat vision. Assaulted by nonstop bursts of intense heat, Darkseid tried to knock Superman away, only for the Man of Steel to shoulder-tackle him from behind.

Darkseid tumbled across the catwalk and rose to his feet again with surprise. Superman had never struck that hard before, and for the first time, the Lord of Apokolips felt pain from the blow. He tried to deal an uppercut to the face, but Superman landed a few punches to the stomach that had the villain doubling over. Superman dealt a right hook to the ribs, then a left hook to the jaw, and then he dealt a series of rapid punches to the face, chest, and upper back while dodging Darkseid's swings. In moments, the Apokoliptan tyrant was on his knees attempting to shield himself from the blows, which were now so strong that he could feel Superman's strength pounding into his bones. However, he lunged and sent Superman flying in the opposite direction with one blow.

As Superman rose up again, Darkseid slowly approached him and said in a hope-draining voice, "You are beaten, soon to be crushed under my foot, and still you fight back. Can you not see that your world is lost and its people belong to me?"

"You haven't won yet, Darkseid!" Superman replied fiercely. "Earth's people still have their free will and they have taken the chance to face you!"

"They have no free will," answered Darkseid. "They belong to the one who rules this planet, and the only rule they will follow is mine."

The words stung Superman's ears like venom and he felt his indignation at Darkseid's power-mongering claim rise like a roaring tide in his super-strong heart. With as much dignity as he could muster, Superman finally shouted, "You have no claim to this planet, nor any other you've taken!"

Superman held Darkseid back once more as he grappled with the Apokoliptan menace, and Darkseid growled in response to Superman's bold statement, "You dare, Kryptonian? You dare to deny me my right?! You are nothing except a weak-minded mortal, and I am a New God!"

"You are nothing but a threat to free, living beings throughout the galaxies," Superman replied more calmly. "You call yourself a god, yet you act no better than tyrants here on Earth."

With those words, he struck Darkseid in the chest and landed blows so strong that the whole chamber trembled harder by the second until the walls seemed ready to collapse on themselves. Better still, Superman had managed to achieve something that he had tried to do often when handling Lex Luthor: he managed to get under Darkseid's skin. This was evidenced by how Darkseid was now trying to beat Superman to death with a reckless lack of restraint, not caring whether he struck a blow or not.

Their fight went on without hesitation or quarter begged from either side until as he caught Darkseid's next punches, Superman had an idea: if the power generator in this chamber was for the internal working of Darkseid's ship, then he could give his fellow Justice Leaguers another advantage. This time, he stared at a round slab of metal on the ceiling and projected his heat vision, which had the effect of frying several vital circuits without disconnecting the power source. Four energy beam projectors arranged in an X-formation fired their red energy into a vast globe-like structure of metal and carbon-glass, which began generating its tremendous power to every corner of the mothership's interior. But as Superman and Darkseid observed, the internal core's power control was gone.

"What is this?!" boomed Darkseid. "What have you done?!"

"I blasted the transistors that control the core override," replied Superman. "In another thirty seconds, the main reactor will be the only thing powering the ship, while your defense weapons and security systems will be knocked out once this secondary core overloads."

As Superman continued to push back against the towering menace, Darkseid's rage became so great that if it were in a human, it would have required intensive care to mend.

"NO!" roared the Apokoliptan dictator. "I cannot be conquered by weak mortals! I am the Lord of Apokolips! I am UNSTOPPABLE! I AM DARKSEID!"

Superman had had just about enough of the villain's megalomaniacal ravings, and he only replied, "I don't care."

In a flash, Superman landed more blows to Darkseid's face and chest and he struck harder with every blow he dealt. He head-slammed Darkseid hard enough to disorient him, then seized him by the neck and pulled back his right arm to deal a final crushing blow.

"Don't ever threaten the people of Earth again!" Superman said firmly. "Or the next time you come here, you won't be going back!"*

Superman flung the hardest punch he ever dealt, one so fast and so forceful that his fist seemed to break the air as he let it loose. He punched Darkseid in the chest and the blow released a shockwave that was equivalent to a 20.0 magnitude earthquake. Darkseid was blown back by the sheer force of Superman's punch and he went soaring straight into the chamber's power core. The core was knocked out of its proper position and its external structure cracked under the force and broke, releasing its deadly energy in thin beams. Darkseid roared with pain as the awesome energy coursed over his body, through his rock-hard flesh and bone, and around his heart. The energy release only grew until it fried the circuitry in Darkseid's belt that allowed to transport himself to and from Apokolips using the Boom Tube. As Superman watched from the catwalk, the core exploded, releasing a burst of red energy in waves that rocked the chamber like a tidal wave. At the same time, the Boom Tube opened and Darkseid was caught between it and the core energy and pulled inside. With a last roar of rushing air, the core's energy was sucked into the Boom Tube as it sealed, and Darkseid vanished with a roar of fury.

Superman remained on the catwalk for a while, exhausted from his battle with Darkseid. He wasn't sure that he would make it this time, but he was glad to know that he had driven Darkseid from Earth once again. Now there were a few unfinished matters to handle before the invasion was stopped for good.


A/N: What did you all think of Superman ending his battle against Darkseid with a grand slam? Feel free to tell me in a review and don't worry. Just two more chapters of battle to run through and then our heroes can help the public rebuild.

By the way, Superman's ultimatum wasn't a death threat. It was a warning that he would basically kick Darkseid's can clean across the galaxy if he tried to conquer Earth again.