Author's Note – I do not own any of the characters, Marvel and DC do.

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Chapter Thirty-Six

Principalitus

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"You sure this will work?" Logan growled, looking at the jury-rigged gauntlets that covered his hands and extended claws.

"Not a clue, but the theory is sound." Clark shrugged as he flew in a winding path through the chaos surrounding the Principalitus. "If he's part-Kryptonian now,this should take him down. If he isn't, claws through the body will ruin anyone's day. There he is!"

"Arrogant bastard." Logan snarled, glaring at the figure standing proudly on the prow of the flying ship. "Alright, flyboy. Fastball special."

Clark nodded and shifted his grip before spinning once and hurling Logan at the distant target like a javelin. Logan flexed his thumbs, causing the lead-lined gauntlets to split and fall away, revealing the green glow that covered his extended blades, then he grinned ferally as his unsuspecting target grew before him. Tensing, he concentrated on ensuring that his claws hit their target.

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Apocalypse roared in pain and fury as six claws penetrated his skin, plunging into his chest as the impact knocked him backwards a couple of steps before he could recover. Grabbing Logan by his wrists, he pushed the mutant away from him and glared at the traces of green on his claws.

"You think to use Kryptonite? Against ME? Who do you think you are? You are NOTHING compared to me!" He roared.

Logan's reply was a kick to Apocalypse's face. Snarling, Apocalypse hurled Logan off the side of the Helicarrier, watching with satisfaction as the mutant fell towards the distant ground, then a voice spoke from behind him.

"I do not know who you were…"

"Then let me tell you about Logan." A new voice said from behind him. "That man won't quit as long as he can still draw a breath. None of my friends will. Me? I've got a different problem. I feel like I live in a world made of cardboard, always taking constant care not to break something, to break someone. Never allowing myself to lose control even for a moment, or someone could die. But you can take it, can't you, big man?What we have here is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose and show you just how powerful I really am."

Apocalypse turned, a sneer on his face, then the world seemed to erupt in brightly-flashing pain as a descending fist slammed into his face, smashing him straight through the deck of his flagship, through the decks below, out through the hull and then into the unforgiving ground. Picking himself up, he shook his head to clear it, noting that whoever had hit him was indeed a true adversary.

And therefore one who needed to be killed.

A flash of light above him made him look up in time to see the engines of his flagship flicker and begin fading, then his old battle-reflexes caused him to fling up his arms as another punch hammered him and sent him flying, but he was prepared and came to a halt in mid-air, lowering his fists to glare at his new adversary as in the background, his bow-less Chariot crash-landed into the river, its engines shutting off and causing it to plummet the last three meters.

"You are the one they call… Superman." He stated, glaring at the blue-and-red clad figure. "I have only one thing to say to you."

"And what might that be?"

Apocalypse smirked as he reached inside himself, summoning the new abilities that he now possessed thanks to his servant. Behind his back, a corona of energy formed around his fist.

"Die."

Apocalyse's energy blast slammed into Superman and engulfed him. Not wasting any time, Apocalypse flew forwards his victim, his other energy-shrouded fist scything forwards to finish him off, only to be brushed aside as an uppercut lifted him high into the air.

"…how?"

"That was an X-gene power you used." Superman growled as he closed in on Apocalypse. "I'm immune."

Apocalypse snarled as he dispelled the energy blasts that he had been charging, then he found himself in a fight like he had never been in before. Superman's first punch shattered his jaw and lifted him further up, only for Superman to grab his ankle and pull him back down into a rising knee striking his solar plexus. As more blows landed, Apocalypse quickly realised that the reason his ability to heal was being taxed to its limit was because Superman was holding onto him and forcing him to absorb the damage from the strikes rather than letting him dissipate most of the energy by being pushed away.

As another barrage of strikes (briefly) broke his ribs, Apocalypse managed to wedge his arm between himself and Superman before punching outwards, buying some space.

"You are indeed powerful." He grudgingly admitted. "Join me and we can rule this world together as the gods that we are!"

Superman glared at him, then beams of pure heat lanced out. Only Apocalyse's speedster-enhanced reflexes let him dodge the rays and he shifted his arms into battering rams.

"So be it!"

Apocalypse channeled as much strength into his arms as possible and the first strike slammed down, sending Clark crashing into the ground. Descending rapidly, he met the rising, enraged Kryptonian with a series of punches and kicks that hammered through his defences, sending him back into the crater. Landing, he reached for his belt and opened a small container mounted on it, causing a green glow to spill out.

"My Horseman gave me this, he intended to use it against you and now I shall instead." Apocalypse stated as he paced towards the writhing Kryptonian. "You shall die, Superman, but before you do, you will kneel before me, as will the worl-glrrruuurk!"

Apocalypse pulled himself to his hands and knees, feeling his shoulder slowly heal, the fragments of bone returning to their rightful positions and fusing to how they should have been. Glancing down, he saw his Kryptonite was missing, then a shape in the air caught his attention.

"The world will kneel before you?" The newcomer sneered. "No, Apocalypse, it is you who shall kneel before Zod!"

Apocalypse pulled himself to his feet and slowly lifted himself from the crater that his impact had formed. "You insignificant WORM! I am stronger than you, as I have proven with your so-called Superman!"

"Kal-El is the son of my old friend and while he is many things, he is not a true fighter." Zod stated even as two more figures, one fully as large as Apocalypse himself, descended to by his sides. "I, however, am a soldier. Sworn to protect New Krypton and its allies. Sworn to protect my godson! And even if I am truly not a match for you in single combat… I am not alone."

"Then I shall summon my Horsemen." Apocalypse stated even as the breaks in his skeleton finished fusing, only for Zod to laugh.

"I have brought all of the other survivors of Krypton with me as well as the forces of New Olympus. Even as we speak, your Horsemen are falling and your army is already a tithe of what it was. En Sabah Nur, your reign ends today!"

Enraged, Apocalypse hurled himself forwards even as his new adversaries dived towards him.

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"Oh dear." Sinister muttered as he looked out of the bridge viewport and saw Apocalypse slammed through the deck. "Maybe it is time to retreat."

"We shall not retreat!" The Red Skull snapped from behind him. "Wir werden für den Ruhm des Apokalypse kämpfen!"

Sinister glared at him, then movement caught his eye and he spun round before diving to the ground even as a projectile sliced through the main viewport and struck the Red Skull at an angle, sending him flying. Pulling himself to his feet, Sinister stared at the round shield that had embedded itself into the wall.

"But… how? He can't fly."

"But I have several friends who can." Captain America retorted as Mon-El deposited him onto the deck. "This is your only chance. Surrender now."

"Kill them!" Red Skull shouted, pulling out an energy-pistol and Sinister dived behind the consoles, intent on escaping.

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"Clark! Clark! Speak to me!"

Clark groaned and tried to focus on the shape looming over him.

"Focus, flyboy! Come on, try to get up!"

"L… Logan?"

"Heh." Logan smirked as he finally came into focus. "Knew you wouldn't be taken down that easily. Got the Kryptonite secure so you don't need to worry. Cleaned my claws, too. That stuff was just nasty."

Clark tried to sit up, only for the ground to suddenly shake, knocking him back down.

"What was that?"

"Zod and his two top minions spanking the big blue bastard." Logan grinned, glancing to his left. Clark followed his gaze and his eyes widened as a cloud of dust marked the origin of another tremor.

"He… he's strong…"

"Zod's trained in that weird fighting style Lor-Zod uses, that girl he's with is even better while the mute seems able to go one-on-one with Apocalypse in terms of pure physical strength and more than hold his own." Logan commented as Apocalypse was sent rocketing out of the settling dust, only to be slammed back into the ground by Nam-Ek's double-fisted blow. As Apocalypse bounced, his armour cracking and spinning away, Faora appeared by his side, delivering a powerful kick that caved in his torso.

"Wow, I'm never gonna make her angry at me." Logan whistled as the maimed-but-healing form of Apocalypse slid past them. Clark nodded as Zod blurred past and landed by Apocalypse.

"Clark, he refuses to stay down and Az-Lan reports that the device that once held him has been destroyed. Any ideas? Somehow, I do not think even death will hold him."

"Get him to the Fortress, I have some stasis pods that should work, just like the one on New Krypton that is holding Thanos." Clark managed as he pulled himself to his feet, relying on Logan for support. Zod nodded, then looked down just in time to receive an uppercut to his jaw.

"You… cannot… defeat me… for I… am…" Apocalypse panted before Nam-Ek seemed to materialise behind him, striking down with a blow that shattered Apocalypse's left shoulder and sent him back to the ground.

"That actually hurt." Zod admitted as he staggered over. "Alright, Fortress, stasis pod. Provided that we can keep this would-be tyrant from breaking free."

"You… will… bow… to…" Apocalypse managed as he pushed himself back to his feet, only to be sent to his hands and knees by another strike from Nam-Ek. Zod smirked.

"I see you learned to kneel before Zod." Logan snarked, causing Clark to start laughing, then clutch at his ribs. "Flyboy, you alright?"

"As… long as… I don't… laugh." Clark managed.

Apocalypse tried to rise again, only for Faora to land on his back, breaking his spine.

"Rao, he just won't stay down." She growled. "That's twice I've done this to him."

Logan stared at her, then shook his head. "Not gonna get her mad at me."

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Steve Rogers bent over, trying to get his breath back as Mon-El finished tying up the Hydra agents who were lying around the bridge.

"You know…" He gasped as he looked at the unconscious form of the first Super-Soldier, "I thought that he was dead. I mean, almost everyone else was, except Logan."

"I can see why." Mon-El commented. "I mean, you were in stasis for, what? Seventy years?"

Steve nodded as he straightened up, carefully flexing his right shoulder. "Yeah… so how the heck did he survive? And why isn't he ancient?"

Mon-El shrugged as he carefully twisted a thick metal pole around the red-skinned Nazi. "I cannot answer that, my friend. But perhaps we will have answers once we have him secured in custody."

"I hope so." Captain America said as he hefted his shield experimentally. "Okay, bridge secure."

"I wonder what happened to Kal-El?" Mon-El mused.

"I wonder what happened to Sinister." Steve added. "Where the hell did he go?"

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Sinister glanced back over his shoulder at the distant columns of smoke, then turned his attention forwards once more, leaning as he took the gentle corner at a speed just shy of being unsafe. Gripping the handlebars of his stolen motorbike firmly, he frowned in thought.

It would undoubtably be wise to go underground for a while and…

His thoughts came to a halt as a quartet of figures landed ahead of him and he skidded to a stop. Two of the figures were Gargoyles, but that was impossible, given that it was still daylight and Gargoyles were purely nocturnal, while the other two were mechanicals shaped like gargoyles…

Sinister's tumbling thoughts came to another sudden halt as the helmet of the largest figure opened up, revealing a famous face underneath.

"Hello, Mr Sinister." David Xanatos said with almost vicious politeness. "My friends and I would like to… discuss your actions in regard to a friend of ours. I'm certain you remember him? Warren?"

Sinister gulped nervously.

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Authors Afternote – And that's the battle done!
But the aftermaths will reverberate for a long time…