Previously: The Heroes faced Darkseid and Steppenwolf. Darkseid overpowered both Martian Manhunter and Superman, capturing Superman for himself and taking him to Apokolips, while Martian Manhunter and Batman followed him to rescue the Man of Steel. The Flash ran forward in time to avoid the Omega Effect, however, in doing so, he ran too far, coming back to a seemingly defeated Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Aquaman by the hands of Steppenwolf.
Gotham City, Epicentre of the Invasion
No, I ran too far! thought The Flash, looking at the horrific scene that he ran into.
"Weak, all of you! Nothing but weaklings, nothing to me!" Steppenwolf shouted in victory. Wonder Woman struggled to stand, holding her sword loosely, and her shield. The Flash ran next to her, helping her stand.
"You shouldn't be standing," Flash said to the Amazon. "You've lost too much blood."
"I'm not going to lay down and watch you all die to him; we're going to this together," Wonder Woman replied.
"How… How long was I gone?" The Flash asked.
"Too long..." Wonder Woman said weakly, before doubling over and coughing out blood. Her gash was opening due to her struggle. "This will heal, Flash, do not worry."
"Damn it…" The Flash said sadly. Suddenly, Green Lantern, held at the neck by Steppenwolf, began to create a cannon construct with his Power Ring, pointing it straight at the New God.
"Beware my power… Asshole…" The Emerald Officer replied, the cannon sending a round straight into the New God's face. The New God was then knocked back, his foot coming off Aquaman's chest and his hand releasing Green Lantern, freeing them both. Wonder Woman stood up, holding her gash, while The Flash regrouped with Green Lantern. Aquaman, meanwhile, dislodged the trident from his shoulder, making him grunt in slight pain. They all stood together, while the New God roared in anger.
"Fools! You cannot stand against Steppenwolf, Conqueror of Worlds!" Steppenwolf roared, clutching hard on his axe.
"Anyone have a plan?" Green Lantern asked.
"We fight, and we stall," Wonder Woman replied. "Until Superman, Batman and Martian Manhunter come back."
"No offense, Wonder Woman, but we just got our asses handed to us by this guy," Green Lantern iterated. "We've tried that, and we failed."
"No," Aquaman countered. "We fought individually. We do this now, as a team."
"Agreed," Flash followed. "We also need to do something about that." He pointed at the merging mother boxes.
"I can probably separate it with my ring," Green Lantern suggested. "It may take a little bit of time though."
"We need you in the front lines, Green Lantern," Wonder Woman countered. "Besides, we don't know the energy that you could release if something goes wrong."
"I may be able to separate them," The Flash said. They all turned to him, confused. "My connection with the Speed Force may be enough for me to vibrate with the same frequency as the energy the Mother Boxes are emitting. I can counteract the waves using my speed. I'm going to need time.
"Time is what we can give you," Aquaman replied. "Just as long as you know what you're doing."
"Okay, on my mark," Wonder Woman said. Steppenwolf charged at the group, his axe glowing flaming red, symbolic of his released rage. Green Lantern's ring began to shine brighter than ever, while Aquaman held his trident with confidence. Wonder Woman was in fighting stance, shield in front of her, sword pointed at the enraged New God.
"Now!" Wonder Woman shouted. The Flash followed her order the split second the words came out of her mouth. He blasted past Steppenwolf, getting to the merging Mother Boxes. His hands began to vibrate with phenomenal speed, phasing his hands through the merging Mother Boxes and beginning to put his idea to use.
Green Lantern flew up into the sky, creating a construct of a sledgehammer and slamming it down onto Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf caught it with his axe, however Green Lantern kept it pinned down on the Apokoliptan commander as Aquaman and Wonder Woman made their move. Aquaman charged forward, throwing his trident at Steppenwolf's right knee, piercing through it.
"For Atlantis!" he shouted. Steppenwolf was forced to kneel as he growled in pain, the sledgehammer forcing him down even more. Wonder Woman flew towards Steppenwolf, slamming her shield into the New God's left kneecap with high strength, enough to knock Steppenwolf to the side, forcing the New God to become off balance, the sledgehammer on the top of him crushing him underneath. Green Lantern then raised his sledgehammer again, however as he did so, Steppenwolf immediately recovered, trident still stuck on his right kneecap, and barged into Green Lantern's abdomen, sending him flying into a building. The New God then blocked an overhead swing from a flying Wonder Woman, pushing her back with the handle of his axe and then punching her in the chest, cracking her armour slightly. She then slammed into the ground soon after. Steppenwolf jumped after her, grabbing his axe with both hands and prepared an overhead swing on top of the Amazon when he was suddenly knocked upward. Aquaman sent an uppercut into the New God's chin, which was immediately followed by Green Lantern slamming four missiles into Steppenwolf's stomach, exploding on impact and sending him flying back down.
The Flash had finally begun to enact the next stage of his plan. After phasing into the middle of the Mother Boxes, his hands started to vibrate at a different frequency, however as he began to vibrate, lightning began to strike out of the Scarlet Speedster, his Speed Force Energy clashing with the Mother Box energy emanating during their combination. Steppenwolf stood up and roared, noticing the yellow and red energy clashing.
"No! The terraforming must be complete!" Steppenwolf boomed. He charged at The Flash, slamming Aquaman and Wonder Woman out of the way as he made his way towards the Scarlet Speedster, jumping up with both hands grabbing the axe over his head, and then swinging it downwards. However, his axe instead hit a green shield. Green Lantern created a shield over The Flash and the separating Mother Boxes. The New God growled in annoyance, dislodging the axe from the shield and repeatedly swinging at the shield, the shield slowly cracking open as Green Lantern struggled to keep the shield intact.
"Wonder Woman, Aquaman, a little assistance would be nice!" Green Lantern told the two fighters. Wonder Woman flew in and blocked the axe with her sword, the two locked in a pushing match. Steppenwolf growled at Wonder Woman, stepping forward inch by inch as he began to overpower the Amazon.
"I will not let you hinder me from claiming this world for Darkseid!" Steppenwolf declared. Wonder Woman was pushed back as they stayed on top of the dome, while Aquaman, holding his trident, jumped over the two clashing powers, and, while roaring, he held the trident over his head and slamming the trident into Steppenwolf's back, the trident digging into the New God's back and making him howl in pain. Aquaman began to lodge his trident deeper into the Apokoliptan, with Steppenwolf grunting in even more pain and losing his strength. At the same time, Wonder Woman finally found an opening, shouting a war cry and lunging her sword into Steppenwolf's chest. The New God howled again in pain, letting go of his axe and grunting.
"No! I am a New God, I am Steppenwolf, Darkseid's lieutenant! I will not let you kill me!" Steppenwolf cried, coughing blood out of his mouth.
"Enough," Aquaman declared. "This is retribution for what you have done to our homes." Aquaman dislodged the trident out of Steppenwolf, jumping off him and landing on the ground.
"Themyscira, I have not failed you yet…" Wonder Woman commented, taking the sword out of Steppenwolf's chest. Steppenwolf's lifeless body fell off the shield they battled on, falling on the ground below. She hovered over the shield, as it finally disappeared. The Flash, having done most of the separation of the Mother Boxes, called out to the three victorious heroes.
"GL! Separate the Mother Boxes! Now!" The Flash shouted. Green Lantern created two hand constructs, separating the Mother Boxes, releasing a shockwave of red energy, sending all four of them flying and sending smoke flaring up.
The smoke finally cleared. The three Mother Boxes were separated, energy still emanating within them, on the ground. The Flash struggled to stand.
"Any of you okay?" The Flash asked.
"We are fine," Aquaman replied. The smoke finally cleared, and most of the terraformed battlefield has reverted to normal. Aquaman walked out of the smoke with Green Lantern and Wonder Woman hovering over him in tow. The Flash ran towards them, stopping in front of them.
"So, what do we do now?" The Flash asked.
"We take care of that," Wonder Woman declared, pointing at the opened Boom Tube. Darkseid walked out of the Boom Tube, his eyes glowing crimson red with anger. Green Lantern began to glow brighter, his aura turning a light green, shining through the red skies. The Flash's eyes began to channel lightning, the Speed Force coursing through his veins. Aquaman slammed his trident on the ground, while Wonder Woman twirled her sword, going into a fighting stance. Darkseid looked at his dead commander, then back at the four defiant heroes. His stoic expression became anger; however his voice was still calm.
"You have done enough, insects," Darkseid's voice boomed. "Now, you will all fall, by the hands of Darkseid!"
"How are we going to do this without Martian Manhunter or Superman?" Green Lantern asked.
"They'll be back," The Flash replied. "Right now, we just need to distract him until they do."
"Fight to the end, and fight until you can no longer fight!" Wonder Woman shouted. The Mother Boxes were summoned by Darkseid with a wave of his hand, the Boxes floating around him and forcibly combining into one. The landscape became terraformed again, however the process was even faster still. The four heroes remained defiant, now knowing how to fight together.
"Your efforts will be for naught, now die," Darkseid declared, facing the four heroes.
Next: Martian Manhunter and Batman make their move to save Superman! Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Aquaman face off against the Embodiment of Darkness himself, Darkseid!
