This was a difficult chapter to write and I'm not too sure about some parts of it, but I do hope you guys enjoy it. There were a lot of great suggestions or Zoners and thank you to everyone who gave a suggestion. Not every suggestion made it in of course but I did what I could.
I also apologize if any of you had trouble seeing last chapter, as the site had a week long glitch where new posts couldn't be seen. So I hope you enjoy this chapter as well as last chapter.
Ellie Bishop: Oh no kidding, the Assemble scene is one of the greatest moments in cinematic history.
Green Hal37: Glad it sounds interesting. The Hulk from Avengers did not have to worry about falling debris hitting his allies or holding up a few tons of water on top of a broken ceiling. If Hulk was by himself, he would have just smashed through the ceiling and swam out, but he had to worry about Harry and Rhodey's safety. I tried to get in some good interactions but the focus of the chapters is more on the interactions between the heroes and villains as well as the plot and action. Oh tell me about it on Kendra and Carter. Carter was just a bore, especially compared to his Smallville counterpart and if I had to hear Kendra say 'such and such time ago I was Barista' one more time, I was going to break something.
Guest 2.0: This is a battle for the fate of the world; even Constantine knows when to get serious. Not to mention that he survived the snap, so that would have an effect on him.
On the grounds where The Avengers Compound had once stood, chaos reigned as what had once been the front lawn had become a battlefield. Tony and Ray flew above it in their suits, firing yellow and blue beams at Zod's army. Hulk roared as he sent a powerful punch to the face of the grey behemoth, the being known only as Doomsday. However, to Hulk's surprise, Doomsday's head only whipped to the side before it turned back with a growl. Doomsday sent a powerful punch towards Hulk's jaw that sent Hulk flying.
Drax gave a loud bellow as he jumped on the back of a yellowed eyed human looking creature that looked suspiciously like him, stabbing him in the back with his knives. With a roar of rage, the creature grabbed Drax and threw him off. Drax stood up just as the creature was hit with an orange being, catching fire.
"Die you freak!" Mick cried as he walked up next to Drax.
As a black haired woman with glowing black eyes shot a black bolt of energy at him, Steve used his shield and it deflected right back at her. It struck her in the face before she was hit by a wave of fire, curtesy of Fire Storm. Steve nodded at Firestorm before moving back out.
Oliver was currently having some trouble with one of Zod's rogue Kryptonians. His opponent, a dark skinned man who appeared a little older than Thea, knocked his bow out of his hand and grabbed him by the neck. As Oliver gasped for breath, he saw his Kryptonite arrow he had shot Zod with a few feet away.
Suddenly, tree roots seemed to come out of nowhere and plug themselves up the Kryptonian's nose. He released Oliver, trying to yank the roots out. As he gasped for breath, Oliver crawled over to the arrow, seeing his bow not far away. Picking up both, he notched the arrow and fired. His arrow hit the Kryptonian in the back and he stopped fighting.
As the Kryptonian went down, the roots retracted and Oliver looked up to see they returned to form the arm of a humanoid creature that looked like it was made of tree bark.
"I am Groot!" it told him.
"I am Oliver Queen," Oliver introduced himself.
Roy felt the wind get knocked out of him as a red haired woman punched him in the abdomen. He went flying, landing near some debris. He groaned, feeling a couple bruised ribs that he would definitely be feeling tomorrow. He looked up, reaching for his bow as he saw the red haired woman approach.
"Bored now," she said in a tone that agreed.
"Then why don't you fight someone who can fight back?"
The red haired woman whirled around, coming to face to face with Mari McCabe.
"You think you can handle me?" she asked, sounding amused. "I am Maxima, former queen of Almerac. And I shall reclaim my planet and throne from those who betrayed me and sentenced me to that wretched prison. You will not stop me human."
"We'll see about that," Mari said, tapping her necklace and the glowing image of a gorilla surrounded her briefly. "Let's dance."
The two women rushed each other, Mari tackling Maxima as Maxima jumped, taking Mari into the air. As Roy pulled himself to his feet, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Clutching his bow tightly, Roy looked up, his heart stopping as he saw Thea standing a few feet from him.
"Roy," Thea said in a tone that perfectly conveyed how Roy felt.
"Thea," Roy said softly, walking over to her as if in a trance. "I thought I'd lost you forever."
"Never," Thea promised as he placed a hand on her cheek, reassuring himself that she was really here, that she was alive.
Roy nearly broke down before Thea grabbed him by the head and pulled him into a kiss, needing it as much as he did.
Natasha and Clint were running, the gauntlet in Natasha's hand as thy tried to evade blasts of some kind of energy being fired by a green haired woman. She fired again when, suddenly, Constantine appeared in front of Natasha and Clint, waving his hands as the energy was torn apart.
"Sorry love; can't let you get your hands on that," he said not sounding the least bit sorry.
"You will regret that sorcerer. By Asgard, I will make you regret it!" she cried before firing another blast of energy at him.
"Cap, what should we do with this damn thing?" Clint asked over the Comms as he and Natasha ran from the fight between sorcerer and enchantress.
"Get them as far away from here as you can!" Steve ordered as he struck a creature what looked like a white skinned monster across the face with his shield.
"Sounds like a job for a speedster. Barry, you up for that?" Tony asked.
However, Barry did not respond. After a moment, Steve taped the Comms piece in his cowl.
"Barry, do you copy? Barry?" Steve called but Barry did not respond.
"Does anyone have eyes on Barry?" Oliver demanded as the heroes began looking around but there was no sign of the scarlet speedster.
The Negative Speed Force
Thawne was running through the endless void of the Negative Speed Force when he suddenly stopped, laughing insanely.
"Impressive Barry, most impressive," Thawne said as he turned around, coming face to face with Barry. "You've mastered the power of the Speed Force enough that you can enter here without becoming corrupted. The part of me that helped train you feels proud."
"You know why I'm here," Barry said bluntly and Thawne laughed.
"Do you really think all that time in the Speed Force prepared you for this?" Thawne asked amused.
"I think every day of my life since you killed my mother has prepared me for this moment," Barry said and Thawne smirked.
"Only one way to find out for sure," Thawne said before the two rushed each other.
Remains of Avenger's Compound
Thor was thrown to the ground, making to hold onto Stormbreaker as Bizarro stalked over to him.
"You can't beat me Thor, you're too exhausted. I guess using the stones took more out of you than you thought," Bizarro mocked and Thor glared at him as he got to his feet.
"Tired or not, you will not best me," Thor said growled as his eyes flashed with lightning.
"We'll then let's find out!" Bizarro roared as he rushed Thor.
Rhodey flew overhead, dropping explosives on Doomsday. They detonated, creating a smoke screen as the heroes stood back. But the behemoth jumped out, roaring, completely unaffected.
"What the Hell is this thing?" Rhodey complained.
"Right now it's standing in the way. That's all we need to know," Harry said as he aimed with his Pulse Rifle.
He fired, hitting Doomsday with a beam. It was soon joined by a Vibe Beam, an icy blast and a stream of fire as Cisco, Frost and Firestorm joined his efforts. However, this only seemed to make Doomsday angry. With a roar, it walked over, seeming to ignore the beams. It was just about to reach the four heroes when, with a roar, Hulk rushed forward. Hulk sent a powerful punch to Doomsday's head, whipping his head to the side. With a roar, Doomsday delivered a punch to Hulk's jaw. Angrily, Hulk tackled Doomsday before taking off into the air with a jump, taking Doomsday with him.
Several feet away, Hulk slammed Doomsday into the ground, creating a crater as Hulk sent a barrage of punches to the grey behemoth's chest.
"Hulk is the strongest there is!" Hulk roared as he continued to beat Doomsday's chest.
With a growl, Doomsday caught Hulk's fist and sent a powerful punch to Hulk's jaw, sending him flying.
Strange was fighting a few Kryptonians before he made a move with his hands. Suddenly, some purple tendrils of energy rose up out of the ground, grabbed the Kryptonians and dragged them down, vanishing with them. Hearing a noise behind him, Strange turned around as Tony landed behind him, his visor opening.
"Hey, you said one out of fourteen million we win. Tell me this it," Tony almost pleaded.
"If I tell you what happens, it won't happen," Strange said simply, to Tony's annoyance.
"You better be right," Tony grumbled before putting on his helmet and flying off.
The Negative Speed Force
Thawne groaned as he was hit in the jaw, landing on what counted of the floor in the endless void.
"You're pathetic," Barry said as he walked over to him, eyes showing a mix of pity and disgust. "You've spent your entire life trying to cause me pain because you couldn't be me. Look where it brought you. You can't even fight back anymore. What I'm about to do is more mercy than you deserve."
"You think you can do it?" Thawne barked out a bitter laugh as he got to his feet. "You don't have it in you. You think you're above it. You won't-"
Thawne abruptly stopped talking. He looked down at his chest, where Barry's vibrating hand was.
"I guess I have it in me after all," Barry said coldly.
"Well, I guess this is how our story ends," Thawne said as his form rippled, like he was about to fade. "I hope you can handle it Barry."
Then, Thawne turned into a mist that floated towards Barry. Barry breathed in as the mist seemed to be absorbed by him. Then, he started as his eyes, now glowing red, snapped open and he screamed.
Remains of Avengers Compound
Four Wakandian Soldiers cried out in pain as Zod used his heat vision to burn them alive. Sneering, Zod looked to his side as a Kryptonian woman flew down next to him.
"They are more formidable than expected, but they tire. It is only a matter of time my love," she said.
"Find me the stones Faora," Zod ordered and his wife nodded.
"As you wish," she said before taking off into the air.
Natasha used her Widow's Bite on a group of white skinned monsters as Clint fired an arrow. Suddenly, a yellow cyclone struck the monsters, sending them flying. Clint and Natasha barely had time to process this before Wally sped over.
"I know I'm not the speedster you were expecting, but I'm here," Wally said, holding his hand out for the gauntlet.
"Get this as far away from Zod as you can kid," Natasha said as she handed it to Wally.
Before Wally could take a single step, the trio were forced to step back as heat vision grazed the ground, setting fire all around them. Faora landed a few feet from them, a wicked smirk on her face.
"You will give us the stones, they belong to Zod," Faora declared.
"Over my dead body," Clint said as he took out his sword and she smirked wider.
"That can be arranged," Faora promised.
Before anything else could happen, Wanda suddenly flew down, landing in front of the trio, her hands and eyes glowing with red energy.
"You won't touch them," Wanda hissed.
"Step aside witch or suffer the consequences," Faora demanded.
"Funny, I was about to say the same to you," Wanda said before looking over her shoulder. "Wally, go."
Wally didn't need to be told twice. As he sped off, Faora moved to follow him but found her legs wouldn't move. Looking down, she saw her legs were encased in red energy.
"Like I said, you won't touch them," Wanda said calmly. "Believe it or not, you and I are kindred spirits. I also follow a man I love and will do anything to protect him. The different is that Barry is a hero while Zod is a psychopath who doesn't care about you or anyone."
With a roar of rage, Faora shot heat vision from her eyes, which Wanda blocked with a wave of red energy.
Wally was running, trying to get the gauntlet away when heat vision hit the ground right in front of him. Wally swerved to avoid, falling on his feet and losing the Gauntlet. Wally looked up to see Zod land a few feet from him.
"You thought you could escape? You were a fool," Zod sneered.
Suddenly, two Vibe Beams hit Zod. He used his arms to block, grunting from the effort as Cisco rushed over.
"Go Wally!" Cisco shouted and Wally grabbed the gauntlet before speeding off.
"Stop the yellow speedster!" Zod commanded.
As various Zoners began pursuing Wally, Faora broke free of Wanda's magic. She attempted to punch the younger (biologically) woman but suddenly found herself on her knees, in chains. Roaring in rage, Faora unleashed her heat vision. Wanda managed to avoid the beams but, unfortunately, they impacted on a nearby river bank, causing a small explosion.
"Hey, we got trouble," Sam said, bringing attention to the water rushing onto the battlefield.
Strange quickly sprang into action, rushing forward and waving his hands. The flood stopped, rising up in a flood of water that resembled a hurricane.
Faora broke free of her chains and, before Wanda could react, delivered a strong (by human) blow to her side, sending the Avenger flying. She hit some debris, falling to the ground unconscious.
Wally was running, trying to leave, but he was having problems. The Kryptonians, who were somehow even faster than him, were in hot pursuit, occasionally shooting heat vision that he had to avoid. Then there was the group of white skinned monsters that kept trying to attack him until he sped out of way. Then there was the dark haired woman who kept shooting black bolts of energy out of her hands.
"I need help!" Wally shouted, sure he was going to die.
Suddenly, the black haired woman was hit in the head with webbing. She screeched as Peter swung in and kicked her, sending her flying into some debris.
"Sorry, can't let you get the stones!" Peter said apologetically.
Roy and Thea began firing arrows at the white monsters as Nate and Amaya rushed in, taking them on physically. While this was a great help, this still left the Kryptonians. As they began rushing in, however, Valkyrie and the remaining Asgardians flew in, taking them on.
"Get that thing out of here kid!" Valkyrie said as she sent a powerful kick to one of the Kryptonians.
Before Wally could even move, he was suddenly struck across the face. He went flying, losing the gauntlet as he hit some debris, out cold. The being known only as Titan smirked as he stalked forward. Before he could get far, however, Sif jumped in his path.
"You shall not get the stones," she said firmly as she whirled her sword.
"I don't care about any dang stones. I just wanna kill all of you," Titan sneered as he stalked towards her.
With a battle cry, Sif rushed forward, trying to stab him with her sword. However, to her shock, Titan grabbed her sword with one hand, stopping it. Titan then delivered a powerful punch to her face. The punch sent her flying, Sif feeling like she'd just been hit by a Frost Giant, or something stronger. She crashed through some debris, being dazed.
Nearby, Thor was knocked to the ground, breathing heavily as Bizarro stalked over to him with a smirk.
"Like I said, you can't beat me," Bizarro said, kicking him in the side. "I don't just have your powers, I have your memories, your thoughts, every last twisted one of them. I know exactly what you'll do before you even do it."
Bizarro then picked up Stormbreaker, examining it as Thor stared up at him weakly.
"Nice weapon. I'll be sure to use it better than you ever did," Bizarro said.
But Thor was no longer listening. It was at this point that he saw Titan heading over to the unconscious Sif, deploying a bone spike on his left arm. Thor let out a roar of anger, his eyes flashing with lightning. Bizarro was taken back before he heard the roar of thunder. Bizarro looked up just as the biggest bolt of lightning history had ever seen struck, hitting where he stood.
The resulting shockwave made the entire battlefield to tremble as Bizarro was thrown back. Everyone looked over as Thor, his entire body flashing with lightning, leaped towards Titan. He delivered a powerful punch to the jaw of the Zoner, which sent him flying. Titan managed to crawl to his knees just before Thor sent another power punch to his jaw, sending him flying across the battlefield until he crashed into some debris. Titan got up as Thor called Stormbreaker back to his hand.
"My turn," Thor growled.
Titan roared as he rushed Thor, trying to strike him with his bone spike. Thor ducked before striking him with Stormbreaker. Titan flew up into the air as Thor jumped, bringing Stormbreaker down on Titan's head this time. Titan crashed back down to the ground, a crater forming as the battlefield trembled. He did not get back up.
As Thor landed back on the ground, he turned around to face Bizarro, who was now limping, battle and bruised.
"What was that you were saying about putting my weapon to better use?!" Thor shouted.
Bizarro roared; rushing Thor as Thor brought Stormbreaker down on the ground, sending a stream of lightning towards his doppelganger. Bizarro winced but kept going as Thor brought Stormbreaker back up. Thor struck Bizarro with Stormbreaker but this time; Bizarro went flying, crashing into some debris.
While this was going on, Zod spotted the gauntlet, unguarded. He began flying towards it but was suddenly shot with energy as Cisco sot two Vibe Beams at him, joined shortly afterwards by Frost's ice and Mick's fire. However, Zod pushed through, using his super breath which sent them all flying as he continued on his way.
However, someone else had gotten their first. Slade picked up the gauntlet and threw it a little away, taking out his sword. Zod sneered as he caught Slade by the neck, lifting him up.
"Did you think you could beat me?" Zod growled, still enraged at Slade's betrayal.
"Wasn't trying to," Slade gasped. "Only…stalling."
It was then that Zod felt a presence behind him coming fast. He tossed Slade into some debris as he turned around, catching Stormbreaker and stopping it inches from his chest.
"You will not stop me Thor Odinson," Zod sneered as Thor growled.
"We shall see," Thor said as Stormbreaker inched closer to Zod's chest.
With a roar, Zod elbowed Thor in his stomach. This unexpected blow threw Thor off balance enough for Zod to punch him in the jaw, sending him flying. With Thor out of the picture, Zod turned back towards the gauntlet as Tony used a repulsor beam. Zod caught it with his hand, seething as he used heat vision. However, Steve jumped in the way, using his shield to deflect the beams back at Zod. With a roar, Zod cancelled his attack and dodged. Zod flew towards Steve and sent a punch that Steve only had time to raise his shield to protect himself. Steve went flying into some debris as Zod turned his attention towards Tony. Tony sent some missiles at him but they had no effect on the Kryptonian. Tony transformed his feet into a jet, which he then used to hit Zod but Zod only shrugged this off. Tony turned his hand into a blade and tried to strike Zod but Zod grabbed it, stopping him.
"You cannot win," Zod sneered. "Unlike you Avengers, I will rule from a throne, not from the shadows. Every last human, including the woman you love, will kneel before Zod."
Angry, Tony turned his blade into a clamp, which he used to pin Zod's hands to ground. Tony then sent a kick towards Zod's face but, using his strength; Zod freed his hand and grabbed Tony's foot. Swinging around, Zod tossed Tony into some debris.
Before Zod could do anything, a portal that resembled a Breach opened up, sparking energy from it. Everyone looked toward it as Barry sped out of it, blocking Zod's path to the gauntlet. Like the portal, Barry's body was sparking with electricity and his eyes glowed with pure energy.
"As I told your friends, you cannot win Flash. I am a God here," Zod sneered.
"We'll see about that," Barry said, his voice echoing like there were hundreds, thousands of other Barrys speaking with him.
Angrily, Zod shot out two beam of heat vision but, to his shock, Barry caught them with his hand, seeming to absorb the beams as the electricity sparking off his body seemed to grow more powerful. Barry walked forward, closer and closer to Zod. Angrily, Zod canceled the beams as he tried to punch Barry. However, Barry caught Zod's hand, not seeming to have any trouble doing so. Zod suddenly felt a searing pain in his hand, like something was burning him from the inside out. Zod only realizing what was happening as Barry's body seemed to glow pure white.
"You cannot do this! I am General Zod, rightful ruler of this planet!" Zod cried in denial.
"And I ...am…The Flash," Barry said in his distorted voice.
Barry then looked towards the sky and let out a yell as a wave of energy emitted from Barry's body. Zod cried out in agony as his skin seemed to burn off his body before his bones turned to dust.
A few feet away, as the wave hit him, Bizarro cried out in pain before his skin burned off and his bones turned to dust as well.
Doomsday and Hulk were exchanging blows, neither willing to give in before Doomsday was struck by the wave. Hulk watched in astonishment as Doomsday was burned from the inside out and all that was left was a pile of dust.
All around, the heroes looked in shock as every last Zoner cried out as the wave hit them, their skin burning off which was quickly followed by their bones turning to dust. It was just them then, they stood victorious. Zod and his army were gone.
And in the center of it all, Barry stumbled, using some nearby debris to steady himself before lowering himself onto the ground, using the debris as a makeshift chair. He breathed heavily, knowing what he had just done, knowing the price. But he would do it again, it had to be done.
Suddenly, Wanda flew down and was by his by side, her eyes shining with understanding. Barry smiled weakly as he took her hand; bring it to his lips in a kiss.
"Had to be done," Barry said weakly.
Wanda nodded, but she still seemed sadden.
"Barry!"
The two looked over as Cisco was rushing over, Caitlin hot on her heels.
"Hey guys," Barry said weakly as they reached the couple.
"Man that - that was awesome! What was that?" Cisco exclaimed in awe.
"A mix of Speed Force and Negative Speed Force energy. The two can't exist inside a signal body, it's a crime against nature. They'll destroy the body, unless it's unleashed. By using Zod's heat vision as a conduit, I was able to release it all in a wave that spread about twenty miles out, destroying everyone and everything without any good in them," Barry explained tiredly.
"Which is why no one on our side was affected," Caitlin realized and Barry nodded.
"Sorry about your suit Cisco," Barry said as he glanced down at his suit, which was torn in several places.
"It's okay man, I'll make you a new one," Cisco promised and Barry looked away.
"No, you won't," Wanda said quietly.
"Sure I will. He's fine, Barry'll be running the streets of Central City again in no time," Cisco said and Barry shook his head.
"That's not what she meant," Barry said and they looked confused. "Like I said, it's an abomination for the power of the Speed Force and Negative Speed Force to exist in a single body. When I used them to take out Zod and his army…I lost my connection to the Speed Force."
"Wait, are you saying…" Cisco trailed off as Barry nodded sadly.
"My powers are gone guys. I am the Flash no more."
Group fight scenes are difficult, especially with such a large cast of characters, so I hope I did okay there.
I know some characters like Nyssa and Jay got sidelined but not everyone was going to get a moment to shine here, especially against these types of villains.
Drax fighting a Zoner that looked suspiciously like him is a reference to Dave Bautista playing Aldar on Smallville.
There was never any doubt that someone would have to make a sacrifice of some kind to win and that someone would have to be Barry. I went back and forth of whether or not to have Barry sacrifice himself but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. The only way I have Barry be the one to save everyone and survive was to have Barry lose his powers stopping Zod.