Superman has stopped Darkseid, folks, and now he and Batman will play an important role in bringing the invasion from Apokolips to an end. Enjoy some more super-action and a few more Star Wars callbacks. Have fun reading.
Chapter 25: Race to the Core
The battle to save Earth from Darkseid had gone on from 11:00 to well after seven o' clock in the evening. Superman had won his hand-to-hand battle against Darkseid, but the invasion was not over yet. However, while heading through the mothership to send Darkseid's army back to Apokolips, Batman had been relaying information about the war technology of Apokolips to military headquarters in Washington. With this new information, President Wilson gave a new order to the troops in Metropolis: while Batman reprogrammed the Boom Tube Spire to send the attackers back, the fastest and most efficient fighters would enter the superstructure of Darkseid's mothership and target the main reactor. If this plan succeeded, the armies of Apokolips would be transported back and Darkseid's main ship would be destroyed, and the invasion would collapse. Batman relayed the information of the plan to Superman, who then flew toward the bowels of the mothership toward the main reactor.
Meanwhile, General Steve Trevor and a few dozen Phantoms, Eagles, Lightnings and F-40 Phoenixes were approaching the enormous Apokoliptan mothership. Up close, the ship was revealed to be as tall as the Chrysler Building in New York City and its circumference made it twice the size of Long Island. With its internal generator knocked out thanks to Superman's battle of fisticuffs with Darkseid, the vessel's surface turrets had to be manually operated by the Hunger Dog guards while the Parademons went after the jet fighters. However, the Hunger Dog guards soon had their hands full when enhanced American bomber jets: B-1B Lancers, B-2A Spirits, and B-52H Stratofortresses, began releasing plasma bombs and phosphorus explosives on the hull of Darkseid's mothership. AC-130 airlifts that had been rebuilt with photon cannons began firing as well, and for the first time in an hour, the mothership was rocked with small but powerful explosions.
Meanwhile, General Trevor led his flight group to one of the thermal vents, which was large enough for a Navy submarine to pass through.
"We're going in now," Trevor reported to Griffiss Air Force Base.
He shifted his F-40 Phoenix back and let three of his best pilots enter the vent before he banked to the right and followed. It was after the next half of his squad entered the vent that Trevor and his squad realized that more Parademons were lurking in the contours of that vent. They crawled over the pipes like hideous, metal-clad spiders and flew after the American jets as they howled, "For Darkseid!"
"Yeah, yeah. We get it. You creeps work for Darkseid," Steve Trevor deadpanned to no one. He saw that the Parademons didn't care if their master had been taken down. They would fight until it was made clear that they had no chance of winning. Well, the Justice League would end this invasion either way, and if he went down, he would take any number of Darkseid's ghastly soldiers with him.
It soon appeared that General Trevor wouldn't have to take Darkseid's Parademons with him, for a squad of Green Lanterns entered the thermal vent and chased after the Parademons. They would have to be careful not to shoot down the jets, but the space in that vent was limited, so their firing range had to be surgically precise.
Meanwhile, General Trevor told his squad, "Close up formation, boys, and stay alert. We might need to change directions on instinct. Any mistakes, and there may be no escape for any of us."
It was when they were flying through some tight bends that one F-15 Eagle was caught by its tail fins, and at five Parademons dragged it down until it hit one of the vent pipes and exploded. Another Eagle was dragged down by the monstrous creatures, and even one F-35 Lightning was destroyed. However, Arkkis Chummuck was leading the squad of Green Lanterns to cover for the fighter jets. He formed a green-energy laser cannon and fired on one Parademon, which was enveloped in flame and quickly disintegrated into shards of metal and organic tissue.
General Trevor contacted the rest of the squad behind him and said, "Split up and head back to the surface of this ship. If we're lucky, those Parademons might follow you and buy us time to get to the ship's reactor core."
"Copy that, General," came the reply of Major Allen Custer.
With that, the rest of the squad went down the vent on the right while General Trevor and the three planes before him took the left. As General Trevor had hoped, most of Darkseid's Parademons chased the other jets back to the surface, only to set upon by the rest of the Air Force and the Green Lanterns.
…
On the ground in Metropolis, the Justice League's founders and their protégés had kept up the fight longer than they thought possible. With Superman and Batman aiding the Air Force in finishing off Darkseid's mothership, Wonder Woman took charge and had done a phenomenal job of routing the invaders. General Hardcastle was still alive and fighting, and his troops were unwavering in their hope that they would win. But they were also careful to keep their heads in the game as a lack of concentration in this extremely dangerous situation could be deadly.
The Navy had been drawing thousands of Darkseid's attackers away from Metropolis, but they were taking the heaviest losses thus far. A few hundred destroyers and submarines had been set upon and destroyed and the aircraft carriers that had been launched were not fast enough to evade potential attacks. About twenty battleships had been wrecked, but the USS Democracy was still active. Now Admiral Melville had to help the Justice League by increasing the odds of success. When one lieutenant suggested that they pull back, the admiral replied, "We've got to give the League more time. Concentrate all fire on that vessel's lower half."*
The Democracy opened fire on Darkseid's mothership once again, targeting the central hangar from which the Doom Hawks had come. In only a few seconds, the hangars burst into flame, which drew more Parademons away from the front in Metropolis and incited them to attack the remaining Navy vessels.
…
Inside the mothership, Batman had entered the power chamber that provided energy to the Boom Tube Spire undetected. The Hunger Dogs serving as guards had been hurrying about to get to the surface turret controls and all Parademons guarding the ship had gone to fight by now. As the Dark Knight entered the chamber, he saw a metallic ring-like structure where a Father Box was suspended in pulse beams which would rotate rapidly to channel the energy from the Father Box to the spire.
Batman knew that Mother Boxes had the ability to take control of Apokoliptan technology as well as jam it and even damage it beyond repair, and as he had taken the liberty to pack a Mother Box on his utility belt, now was the best time to try it.
With one swift lunge, Batman wrenched the Father Box from its position and let it fall on the floor. Then he set the Mother Box into the machine and said, "Mother Box, please send out the automatic command 'retreat' as soon as the main reactor of the ship is knocked out. The portals activated here and elsewhere have to be strong enough to send Darkseid's armies back to Apokolips."
The Mother Box only made a "bling" sound as its central eye-like node glowed a calming, bright gold. Then as the generator activated, the energy from the Mother Box began spreading through every system in Darkseid's ship, as indicated by every red-accented light instantly turning to a serene blue. Batman's part of the plan was dealt with, and now it was time to deal the last blow to send Darkseid's invasion force back.
