Disclaimer: UGH! It's about friggin' time I finished this chapter. I'm telling you that work lately has been absolute insanity.

Anyway, here's the latest (literally) chapter of the story. As usual, I own nothing.

Chapter XIX

"This Mother Box has some mad freaky components to it. Its no wonder Barry said it was alien." Cisco said as he was tinkering with insides of the small device.

Tony was doing the same amount of tinkering alongside Cisco and replied, "You'd be surprised at the crazy stuff we've got back home; intergalactic tyrants, interdimensional creatures, genocidal robots… things like that."

"Huh, all we've got in our world are rogue speedsters and telepathic gorillas," Cisco joked. "But at least there's further proof of the Multiverse sitting right next to me."

"The theory of alternate Earths; an infinite number of Earths that are similar to each other but still very different in certain ways. Yeah, a colleague of mine in my Earth postulated that theory." Tony stated.

"I've been to a couple of these alternate Earths. As far as I know, there's really only about 52 of them that we know about. Does your Earth have its own speedster?" Cisco asked.

"Pietro Maximoff. We call him Quicksilver." Tony confirmed.

"That is a cool nickname. Ah ha, I think I found the problem. It looks like the Mother Box has a small light generator that focuses and bend the light in specific areas." Cisco implied.

"I see it too. It doesn't look like we need to physically repair the Mother Box. We just need to get that generator working. Looks like it vibrates on a specific frequency." Tony stated.

"Yeah, like when I need to open a breach. Maybe I can use my powers to amplify the generator and give it a significant boost. It should be more than enough to get you guys to Apokolips." Cisco concluded enthusiastically.

"I like you more and more, kid." Tony said.

Within the next few minutes, Tony and Cisco found the rest of the heroes in the training area where Barry often perfected his speed. Cisco had his visor and gauntlets on his person and the damaged Mother Box in his hand. As soon as he and Tony arrived, Barry was the first to approach them. Tony left Cisco and Barry and reunited with Carol and the Hulk. He caught a glance of the Justice League apparently going through whatever final preparations they needed while Barry and Cisco conversed.

"Cisco, please tell me you've got good news." Barry said.

"Well I've got a miniscule bit of bad news mixed with the good…"

"Not the best way to start, Cisco." Caitlin said.

"Well, can I start dispensing with the bad/good news," Cisco slightly snapped before addressing Barry. "So, the bad news is that this Mother Box is too badly wrecked to be of any help in getting you guys to Apokolips."

"There is still the good news, right?" Barry asked.

"I'm getting to that, man. It turns out that this one component is more or less the actual power source that activates the Mother Box. It's on low power right now but it operates on a certain frequency." Cisco explained.

"Like the breaches." Barry concluded, to which Cisco nodded in the affirmative.

"Yeah, Cisco surmised that even at low power, a portal can be opened, but it would need a significant jolt to get us all through in one go." Tony stated.

"I think I see where you're going with this. Cisco can use his powers to amplify the component and open a portal where you need to go. The question is how would you all get back?" Caitlin said.

"We'll figure that out once we've rescued Capt. Rogers and his group. In the meantime, we have a plan of attack in place; Batman and Iron Man will lead the infiltration team while Diana and I will lead a frontal assault on the citadel." Superman said.

"Sounds like a plan, although I've never been great with sharing the spotlight… especially with guys that dress up as flying rodents." Tony quipped, drawing Batman's gaze.

"You're not going to have a choice, Stark. If you want to get your friends back, then this is how it's going to happen. Deal with it." Batman snarled.

Carol immediately stepped in between Tony and Batman and said to Tony, "As much as I hate to agree with Batman here, we need to get our egos checked at the door. It's the only chance we've got to rescue our friends. Besides; Superman promised Hulk he could smash something."

The Hulk slammed his fists together and grumbled, "What's the holdup?"

Tony darted his eyes between Carol and the Hulk and Batman, whose stoic gaze never changed. He casually said, "Okay. Let's do this."

Lois sat at her desk typing the most recent newsworthy article regarding Superman and Iron Man, and almost immediately, her phone rang. She picked it up and replied, "Lois Lane, Daily Planet."

"Lois?"

Instantly, Lois huddled down to take the call more covertly. "Clark, where are you? It's crazy down here. People are still buzzing about you and Iron Man."

"So I can hear. Listen to me Lois; I'm going to Apokolips on a rescue mission, so you won't be seeing me for a while." Clark said over the phone.

"Apokolips," Lois whispered as quietly as possible. "Clark, that's a death sentence. You remember the last time you went that place. Darkseid turned you into…"

"I know, Lois, but I won't be alone. Darkseid has several members of the Avengers and the rest of the League gave our word that we'd help get them back." Clark stated.

"Yes, but if Darkseid turns you again… I don't know if I can deal with that." Lois confessed.

"He won't turn me this time, Lois. I swear to you that I'm coming back." Clark said before looking briefly at the group of heroes nearby.

"I'll tell Perry that… you went on a special assignment or you had to see your mother or something. But you'd damn well better come back, Smallville." Lois replied.

Clark smiled and said, "You can count on it."

"Kent," Batman suddenly called out. "Time to go. Now!"

"Bruce?" Lois asked.

"Yeah. Bruce," Clark confirmed. "I love you, Lois."

"I love you too, Clark." Lois said before ending the call.

As soon as Clark ended the call, he fell into a train of thought that spoke louder than any words he could've spoken. He was aware that Lois had as valid a point as he expected, and his thoughts drifted to the moment when Darkseid used him as his pawn. Darkseid turned Clark into a puppet, a toy soldier to be turned loose against Earth. Now Darkseid had a handful of heroes from an alternate universe to whom do the same. Superman wasn't going to let that happen, and he finally rejoined the Justice League and three remaining Avengers of the alternate universe.

Batman gave Superman the usual scowl, but it was more out of mutual understanding than typical rival mentality. Neither man spoke a single word. At the Same time, Cisco readied his gauntlet and his visor. Barry activated the intact component of the otherwise damaged Mother Box. A Boom Tube appeared and as it was expected, the portal was unstable and fluctuated badly. Barry gave Cisco a nod and Cisco focused his attention full on the portal. He fired a wave directly into the portal. The effect wasn't instantaneous. It took an amount of time but the portal was stabilized.

"The portal's stabilized but I can't hold it open for long, Barry. Whatever you're going to do, you'd better do it pronto." Cisco said.

Barry pulled his mask on said to Cisco, "Thanks, bro!"

"Hey, just make sure you come back, or Iris will kill me." Cisco quipped.

Barry nodded to Superman, who said to the two groups, "My team will go through first to draw Darkseid's attention."

"See you on the other side, boy scout." Iron Man said.

Superman gave a wry smirk toward Iron Man before he became the first to jump into the portal and disappear. Wonder Woman went through next followed by Aquaman. Barry gave Cisco and Caitlin a semi-confident glance before he sped into the portal. Between the two Avengers that were assigned to Superman's group, Captain Marvel went through first and the Hulk followed.

"I hope your friends are ready for the armies of Apokolips." Batman said to Iron Man.

Iron Man replied, "Ha, those armies had better be ready for the Hulk."

The armies of Darkseid roamed the landscape around the parameter of the citadel. Assault tanks, both on the ground and hovering in the scorched air, ever vigilantly traversed the area. Parademons and slaves-turned-soldiers patrolled the small spaces between the tanks, brandishing the various weapons of the Apokolips. Every member of every contingent did their duty to their master, their GOD, Darkseid. They would be ready willing and able to tackle any challenge, even if it meant certain death. It would all be for the glory of Darkseid.

The contingent near the front entrance of the citadel suddenly stopped, startled by the opening of Boom Tube in the sky above them. The soldiers and Parademons readied themselves for anything, and the tanks trained the guns toward the portal. If it were the gods of New Genesis or perhaps even Brainiac or Mongul, they'd pay dearly for this insurrection. Then a huge, green humanoid creature flew out of the portal and crashed into the ground in front of the contingent, leaving a small crater where it landed. It looked up at the contingent as it received protestations from the Parademons, intense rage showing from his green eyes coupled with a frightening snarl. The tanks readied the guns, preparing to fire without hesitation. One of the soldiers fired a weapon that struck the beast in the shoulder. That was the first of many very big mistakes.

The creature raised it gigantic fists into the air and mightily bellowed, "HULK… SMASH!"

The Hulk drove his fists straight down into the ground and resulting tremor opened a series of fissures under the feet of the soldiers and Parademons. Several Parademons took flight, while some of the soldiers lost their footing and either dropped to the ground or fell into the fissures themselves. The giant ground tanks began listing one way or another. One of them fired a salvo of energy, obstinately aiming for the Hulk but inadvertently destroying a hover tank instead. The Hulk roared and leapt into the air, coming back down straight into the nearest ground tank.

The tank was immediately mangled and shredded into fragments as the Hulk ripped into the hull. He took a large piece of metal and tossed it toward a small group of the soldiers and Parademons. Some of them were crushed under the weight of the makeshift projectile while others managed to move out of the way. The airborne Parademons had spear-like weapons as they started taking shots at the Hulk, but they only succeeded in angering the green goliath. The Hulk roared and jumped up toward the squadron, snatching one unlucky Parademon out of the air and slamming it into the ground. Then the Hulk stormed through the ranks of hapless troops until more began to arrive.

As more troops converged on the Hulk, a red and blue streak bolted from the Boom Tube plowed through them. Superman stopped in mid flight and cut loose with his heat vision, blasting a hover tank that was approaching from afar. More soldiers approached before the Flash suddenly emerged from the Boom Tube a sped through them. He landed hard punches in rapid succession, while they appeared to be literally frozen in time. Captain Marvel followed after the Flash and quickly took the sky.

Captain Marvel unleashed an onslaught of energy blasts on the ground troops, sending them scattering in all direction. She then blasted a hover tank and sent it crashing down where the Hulk obliterated it. Superman dropped to the ground directly in front of a ground tank and stopped it dead in its tracks. The tanks trends pushed on but couldn't move beyond Superman's grip. Then it forcefully ripped in half, and the two pilots inside of it dropped to the ground. They recovered quickly and attempted to shoot their rifles, but the Flash instantly punched them both out.

More Parademons arrived from the sky and landed to face the duo, but one of them was suddenly and pulled by an unseen force. Superman and the Flash saw that Wonder Woman had arrived, using her Lasso of Truth to snag the hapless creature. A minute later, Aquaman appeared from the Boom Tube with his trident in hand. The Parademon was instantly skewered by the trident and pinned to the ground. The soldiers and Parademons regrouped and rushed them, and Aquaman removed his trident while Wonder Woman drew her sword and shield.

The two warriors charged forth against the soldiers, each one taking a small section. Wonder Woman quickly cut and slashed through her group of enemies while using her shield to block any retaliatory. At the same time, Aquaman used his trident to maintain a distance but still managed to shred through his attackers. At one a few troops managed to get close enough to land solid blows, which only Aquaman smile and beat them back. Wonder Woman bounded over a small trio of attackers and sliced through them. She also bashed her shield into the face of a Parademon as it tried to ambush her.

Another Parademon attempted the same thing against Wonder Woman only to be stabbed in the chest. Even then, two more Parademons tried to ambush the Amazon, but they were suddenly blasted away by rays of energized light. Wonder Woman saw Captain Marvel hovering up above and giving a saluting, before Wonder Woman suddenly tossed her sword directly at her. Captain Marvel moved out the way, letting the sword spin passed her and embed into the face of a Parademon that was coming up from the behind her.

Looking at Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel asked, "Okay, you want to make it a competition?"

Wonder Woman smirked and replied, "Sure, but I hope you're prepared to lose."

"Not likely." Captain Marvel replied and flew down straight at Wonder Woman, taking out another Parademon.

Meanwhile, Superman took out a group of Parademons before using his freeze breath on a ground tank. The Hulk bounded in and smashed the frozen tank into pieces. The Flash sped into the fray and used the shattered pieces of ice and metal as rapid-fire projectiles, while Aquaman charged into another group of soldiers and beat them back with his trident. He even stabbed a few of them for good measure. Superman blasted more troops with his heat vision while the Flash sped up to him, taking out another couple of troops along the way.

"So, the plan is we keep these guys busy while Batman and Iron Man rescue Captain America and the others, right?" the Flash asked.

"That is the plan, Flash." Superman said just moments before the Hulk landed right in front of them, grabbed and threw Parademon out of the way and then bounded away again.

Superman and the Flash looked on slightly dumbfounded before the Flash replied, "Huh, easy enough!" Then the Flash sped away while Superman took flight.

Darkseid looked through the windows of his throne room to see the battle taking place outside. Thor could hear it as well and he knew instantly that it had to be his friends. He labored to move despite Darkseid's influence over him, hoping inwardly that could at least try to land a glancing blow. Thor gripped the hilt of Mjolnir tightly; the hammer still surprisingly considered him worthy of it, as it knew that his recent actions were not of his own making. Then Doctor Doom returned to the throne room. Where he'd gone to for such a long stretch of time, Thor didn't know. Maybe it was better that he didn't know, given what he'd had to endure.

Then Kalibak returned to the throne room at a faster pace than Doom, even pushing passed the dictator and earning a glare for it. "Father, our forces are under attack."

"Hmph, your powers of observation are astonishing… for a brainless ape." Doom mocked.

Kalibak spun around to confront Doom. You would dare to mock me, Doom?" he snapped, second before Doom snatched his neck.

"You seem to forget to whom you speak, monkey." Doom said in an eerily calm tone before releasing Kalibak.

Darkseid didn't even show the slightest shred of concern for Kalibak saying to him, "Mobilize our forces, Kalibak. No doubt it is the Justice League and their apparent new allies coming to rescue the others. See to it that they do not leave Apokolips alive."

Kalibak rubbed his neck and replied, "As you command, Father."

As Kalibak slinked away, Darkseid addressed Doom. "Where were you, Doom?"

"That would be none of your concern, Darkseid. I was merely preparing for the inevitable arrival of our mutual enemies." Doom claimed.

Darkseid turned completely to face Doom and replied, "Perhaps. Or perhaps you've some ulterior motive in play that you do not wish to be known."

Doctor Doom tilted his head and chuckled. "You think you know me so well. Were it that I wished to betray you in some form or another, I would have done so."

"And you would have been utterly destroyed before you'd seen your supposed plans come to their fruition." Darkseid claimed.

"Again you speak of threats. What will you do now? Sic the Asgardian against me, or merely turn me into your puppet?"

Darkseid stared at Doctor Doom with fire literally jumping from his red eyes, but he merely stated, "This is hardly the time for inner conflict. We've common enemies on Apokolips, so it would be wise to set our continued differences aside at the moment."

Doom huffed, "Smart move, Darkseid. But when this is over, it will be just the two of us. Then, we shall see who truly rules everything."

Steve felt the trembling of the walls of his cell and he knew what it meant. "Something's going on out there."

"Yeah, I hear it too. Sounds like a rebellion is taking place." Natasha added.

Before Clint could reply, he and Steve and Natasha heard an all too familiar roar. "I know that bellow anywhere."

Suddenly, the door of Steve's cell opened. Steve pulled his mask on and readied himself for a fight to happen. There wasn't a guarantee that he'd survive the possible conflict to come, but they had no intentions of going down without a fight. Once the door was fully opened, Steve prepared to make a run for it. But he was surprised and relieved to instead see Vision on the other side.

"Hello, Captain." Vision greeted the Avenger.

"Vision! You are literally a sight for sore eyes." Steve said as he walked out of the cell."

"I believe I do understand the literal sense of your statement. It was a joking reference to my name." Vision reasoned.

"Save it, buddy." Steve said as he opened the door to Natasha cell.

Natasha walked out and was relieved to see Vision alive and well. "Good to see you alive, Vision."

"Likewise, Agent Romanoff." Vision replied.

Clint came out of his cell and greeted Vision. "I should've known that walking mound of rock couldn't put you down, V."

"You were the first one to think he was dead, Clint." Natasha claimed.

"Uh, no. That's not true." Clint claimed, which was a half-lie at best.

Vision looked to Steve and said, "Captain, before I came here, I was able to retrieve your weaponry." Vision then pointed out Steve's shield, Natasha's stingers and Clint bow and arrow.

"Good work, Vision. You gave us a chance." Steve said as he picked up his shield.

"Yes. Although, it was under dubious circumstances as the guards to the weapon's vault appeared to have killed by an unknown assailant." Vision said.

"An unknown assailant? Thor, maybe?" Clint asked as he retrieved his bow and arrow.

"It's possible, but we all saw the look in his eyes." Natasha replied.

"Possible but unlikely. Thor appeared to completely under Darkseid's influence." Vision said.

"You guys think it might've been... you know, Doom?" Clint asked.

"Why would Doom help when we're trying to capture him? It doesn't make sense." Natasha stated.

"We'll worry about that later. Right now, the priority is finding out what's going on out there." Steve said.

But just as soon as he spoke, a group of soldiers arrived with Kalibak at the head of the group. "The prisoners…"

"Or we can just fight for our lives right here!" Clint quipped as he, Steve, Natasha and Vision stood side by side ready for a fight.

The Boom Tube closed behind the infiltration team that consisted of Iron Man, Batman, Green Lantern, Cyborg and Raven. Iron Man immediately took the lead, and he did so while actively antagonizing Batman. Batman remained stoic. Raven and Lantern hovered over the group while Cyborg covered the rear. Soon enough, Batman took the lead with Iron Man. Iron Man barely gave the Dark Knight a glance but this was hardly the time to argue. Instead, Iron Man focused on the mission.

"Jocasta, you still online?" he asked his onboard A.I.

"I'm still fully functional, although I'm only slightly upset that we haven't spoke as of late." Jocasta replied.

"Sorry 'bout that. Initiate a full range scan of our group's current position relative to that of Captain America and his group." Iron Man requested.

"Scan initializing." Jocasta reported.

Cyborg looked over his shoulder and stated, "You know, I could've done that."

"I'm sure you could… if your systems were able to track the frequency of each individual Avenger's biometrics." Iron Man implied.

"You put too much faith in an A.I, Stark." Batman said.

"You put too much faith in your little gadgets, Wayne. And, in your butler." Iron Man replied.

"Really, guys? Green Lantern asked.

"Tony, I have a location on Captain America and his group. They're directly one floor above our current position." Jocasta claimed.

"I can teleport us up to that floor." Raven stated.

Before Batman could reply, a patrol of Parademons appeared with one of the beasts shrieking at the intruders. That Parademon was immediately blasted by Iron Man, which also earned him a glare from Batman. Then Batman pulled out a trio of Baterangs and flung them at the Parademons. The projectile blew up on impact, staggering the Parademons and allowing Green Lantern to forged a green wall to push them back. Cyborg spotted another patrol approaching from his directions and blasted them. Raven engulfed them in a black orb of darkness and made them vanish from sight… and possibly from existence.

Iron Man and Batman went back-to-back and Iron Man said, "Well, at least no one said it'd be easy."

Batman replied, "It's never easy."

Author's Note: DAMN YOU, WRITER'S BLOCK! (Sigh) Sorry. Like I said, work was insane. Anyway, that's it for this chapter. Hopefully, the next one won't take as long to finish and if it does, then I apologize well in advance.

FYI: this IS NOT the final battle. That comes much later. Be sure to review, peace out.