Disclaimer: I'm still running low on one-liners, so I'll just get right to the next chapter.
As always, I don't own the rights to Marvel or DC.
Chapter XXIX
All at once, the Avengers and the Justice League stormed onto the battlefield. Captain America led the ground assault with Batman, Thor, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Vibe and Killer Frost following close behind him. Captain Marvel led Vision, Green Lantern and Raven against the fliers against the Parademons. In the background, Iron Man and Cyborg appeared above and joined the fliers in the assault.
The groups eventually collided, and the Avengers and the Justice League instantly gained the upper hand. Captain America landed the first hit when he rammed his shield into the face of a random soldier and then dropped another with a hard right punch. He tossed his shield into two more soldiers, retrieved it on return and cracked another soldier before ducking down. Raising his shield up, he allowed for Batman to bounce off of it.
Batman came down on a pair of troops and distracted them with a flurry of small pellets that exploded in the faces of the soldiers. The soldiers were blinded briefly, and Batman dropped in between them and launched a brutal assault on them before they could react. He struck with an assortment of strikes with fists and feet, then sounds of breaking bones and shattered limbs being audible. More soldiers pushed forward on Batman, but they weren't ready for the timely arrival of Black Widow and Hawkeye.
The duo focused solely on one group of minions each; Black Widow took the fight to a group of soldiers with a combination of stingers and hand-to hand-strikes. She used her stingers to stun the soldier before they could react, and then she closed in and took them down one by one with an onslaught of strikes. At the same time, Hawkeye had the seemingly unenviable task of battling a trio of Parademons that descended on him. He managed to avoid getting shredded and fired a trio of trick arrows with varying effects. At least one Parademon got close to Hawkeye to have an effect, and Hawkeye responded by using his bow as a weapon. One more arrow to the face at close range finished it off.
Across from Hawkeye and Black Widow, Thor and Wonder Woman resumed their duel assault on the soldiers and Parademons. They worked together throughout the attack, with Wonder Woman tangling enemies with the Lasso of Truth and swinging them into Thor's hammer. In turn, Thor threw Mjolnir into a line of Parademons and the hammer entered into Wonder Woman's hands. She proved her worth once again as she cracked numerous soldiers in quick succession before returning Mjolnir to Thor.
The Flash sped through the scene and encircled another contingent of soldiers, moving in quickly to land a few strikes. At the same time, Vibe and Killer Frost worked in tandem to bring the Parademons in the sky down to Earth where Aquaman and Cyborg were waiting. Cyborg blasted some of the creatures with point-blank shots while Aquaman skewered others with his trident.
Other Parademons attempted to attack from the air, but Iron Man flew into their path and struck with an onslaught of repulsar blasts. Several Parademons fell from the sky but some recovered and returned to confront Iron Man. The armored Avenger dodged the incoming attacks and fired more repulsar blasts, taking out two more Parademons in quick succession. Iron Man didn't notice another Parademon approaching to ambush him, but he turned just in time for Green Lantern to attack the beast.
Green Lantern hit the Parademon with a battering ram before turning his focus on another duo of creatures. He quickly responded with a barrage of green projectiles and pelted the creatures as they came at him. The shots slowed them down but they still kept coming forward, and Lantern constructed a wall to slow them further. Captain Marvel swooped in and blasted two of the Parademons before punching out the third one, and then she flew passed Green Lantern and blasted a forth one.
Captain Marvel flew down toward the streets where the other heroes were engaged with the soldiers. She spotted Captain America fighting a considerably large group, and Captain America saw her coming straight toward him. Marvel fired a sustained blast at Captain America, who brought his shield up to take the blow. Cap's shield deflected the blast and he directed across the battlefield, taking down the soldiers as they came. Captain Marvel flew overhead and blasted more soldiers from above.
Green Lantern flew toward the street now and formed a roadster construct. He sent the construct racing full speed ahead and it took out more troops. Nearby, Vision and Raven battled other troops as the roadster drove passed them. Vision discharged a series of energy beams to bring down a few Parademons before they could react while also frequently altering his density to fight off the soldiers. Raven unleashed a barrage of dark energy projectiles against several troops while also warping reality around the Parademons that tried to attack her.
But Raven was so distracted by the Parademons in the sky that she hadn't noticed a soldier charging at her with a spear. Luckily for Raven, the soldier was swiftly knocked away by the Flash. More soldiers made an effort but Vision and Captain Marvel took them out while Thor struck a Parademon with a lightning bolt. Wonder Woman moved in on the fallen creature and caught it in the Lasso, swung it around and into the air. Green Lantern pounded the creature with a giant green fist.
As more Parademons continued they're increasingly ill-fated attack, Iron Man and Cyborg shot them down to ground level. Aquaman pushed into the fray and assault them with more trident blows while Batman tossed an assortment of explosive Baterangs at them. The Dark Knight returned to battling the soldiers and landing precision blows on them, while Black Widow stunned others with her stingers and Hawkeye shot out more trick arrows to further push back against the invaders. Captain America took out one more soldier before he paused to survey the scene. He could plainly see Superman and the Hulk still battling Darkseid, as well as the command ship just beyond.
But it wasn't too long before Kalibak suddenly appeared and cracked his club against Cap's shield. The forced pushed Cap off his base but he managed to roll back to his feet. His shield took the full force of the hit as Kalibak stood in front of him.
"You will traverse no further, human. This world belongs to the Lord Darkseid now." Kalibak proclaimed.
"I've heard that one before." Cap claimed before tossing his shield.
The shield sailed forward and smacked Kalibak in the face before he had a chance to react. Captain America quickly pushed forward, caught his shield on the rebound and jumped into the air. Kalibak staggered from the first kick to his face, and Cap pressed his attack on the brute with an onslaught of strikes to the gut. The gut shots doubled Kalibak over enough for Cap to land a few of punches and shield strikes to his face. Kalibak found an opening and took a wild swing at Captain America with his club. Cap arched all the way back to the ground and then nipped back up, landing another blow to Kalibak's face with the shield. Kalibak quickly answered back with another club strike, and he managed to drop Cap down to the ground.
Instead of taking any advantage, Kalibak gloated, "Did you really think your puny shield could stand up to the full might of Kalibak?"
"The thought never crossed my mind." Cap said with a sly smirk, just moments before Thor bounded forward and crack Mjolnir against Kalibak's face.
Kalibak went flying right into a brick wall and bricks and mortar dropped right on top of his lower body. His upper frame was left untouched but it undeniable that he was down for the count. As Kalibak tried to move from the rubble, a he could hear faint footsteps nearby by. The image of metallic boots appeared in his view, and Kalibak looked up to see the clocked figure of Doctor Doom standing over him.
"Useless." Doctor Doom snarled before walking away, and Kalibak finally fell unconscious.
Back on the battlefield, Captain America shouted out, "We've got an open window. Iron Man, you and Cyborg move on the command ship. Thor, you and Wonder Woman join Superman and Hulk and help them fight Darkseid. The rest of will stay back and pacify the remaining invaders."
"Race you, Cyborg." Iron Man said before taking off for the command ship, and Cyborg was quick to follow.
"Here we go, Thor? Are you ready for this?" Wonder Woman asked.
"You needn't ask twice." Thor said as he spun the hammer and then took off, and Wonder Woman followed him.
Doctor Doom looked on from the shadows, first at the remaining Avengers and Justice League as they battled the invaders and then at the four that had pushed ahead. Hearing a slight grumble, Doom looked down at the fallen Kalibak with distain and disgust. Giving the beaten brute no further thought, Doctor Doom started moving in the very direction that Iron Man, Cyborg, Thor and Wonder Woman had all gone.
The Hulk was thrown into a wall and the resultant debris dropped on top of him. As he dug his way out, growling in rage, the Hulk was blasted by a sustained blast of Darkseid's Omega Beam. Darkseid himself casually sauntered toward the Hulk with his arm behind his back while pinning him down with the Omega Beam. But the Hulk started to push forward against the Omega Beam, and at the same time, causing Darkseid to halt his own advance. Darkseid intensified the Omega Beam and the Hulk kept pushing on. The Hulk finally got close enough to land one strong right hook that rocked Darkseid and forced him to cease the Omega Beam.
But the attack took a lot out of the Hulk, and Darkseid saw an opening to exploit. As he moved in for the kill, Superman bull rushed right into the New God. The Man of Steel landed a brutal beating on Darkseid, striking with a number of heavy blows to the chest and face. Darkseid went to land a straight punch but Superman countered with a throw to the opposite side. Darkseid righted himself and fired another Omega Beam. Superman took flight and swooped in between the alternating path of the attack until he was close enough to land another strong right hook to Darkseid.
Darkseid was staggered again and Superman pressed his advantage with more hard strikes until Darkseid suddenly sidestepped him. Darkseid landed a brutal backhand to the back of Superman's head and sent the Man of Steel to the ground. Superman started to get up just as Darkseid rushed his way, and he fired a blast of heat vision to slow the New God down. Darkseid kept coming before the Hulk tackled him to the ground.
The Hulk pinned Darkseid down and he hammered him hard before Darkseid caught one of those punches and head butted the green behemoth. Darkseid stood up and grabbed the Hulk's head before lifting him up and over and dropping him down the ground. The impact created a huge crater. Superman made a straight rush for Darkseid, but Darkseid sensed him coming and sidestepped the Man of Steel. He quickly grabbed Superman's leg and spun him around before sending him into a wall.
Darkseid halted his assault to survey the carnage when he looked up toward the sky. He saw Iron Man and Cyborg flying overhead and heading in the direction of his command ship. Before he could react, he felt something tugging on his neck and felt the Lasso of Truth wrapped around his throat. Wonder Woman was across the field from him and she pulled hard on the Lasso, but Darkseid pulled back on it. His grip was stronger and Wonder Woman could feel her heels digging into the pavement, but she held on the Lasso for all she was worth.
Then Thor lunged straight at Darkseid with Mjolnir out front, and Thor loudly bellowed, "FOR MIDGARD!"
Darkseid never knew what hit him when the hammer cracked into his granite-like visage. With Darkseid staggered, Wonder Woman pulled hard on the Lasso and dropped Darkseid to the ground. Thor saw his opening and charged forward at Darkseid, landing a vicious hammer strike to the back of his head. Thor landed just a few feet away from Wonder Woman as she pulled her Lasso back, while Superman and the Hulk recovered. The four heroes circled around Darkseid as he was getting back up and he looked around to see that was surrounded. He merely chuckled.
"You're laughing, Darkseid. Do you find a perverse humor in being outnumbered?" Thor asked.
Darkseid ceased his chuckling and dressed Thor directly. "You can outnumber me as much as you see fit, Thor. You've still no chance of ending the invasion of this world."
While Superman, the Hulk, Wonder Woman and Thor battled Darkseid, Iron Man and Cyborg flew over the command ship, which still had the elongated scorch mark from Superman's heat vision and several still functional gun implements. The guns opened fire on the two heroes, and Iron Man and quickly retaliated with assorted blasts of their own. As he took out one implement, Iron Man flew closer to the hull and activated his armor's cutting laser. The laser impacted the hull and streamed across it, but other than leave a considerable mark, it did no damage. Iron Man ceased his attack just as Cyborg took out the last implement and rejoined.
"That armors a hell of a lot thicker than you think." Cyborg said.
"I kind of noticed. Any alternatives?" Iron Man asked.
Cyborg dropped to the hull, shifted his left hand into a series of mechanical wiring dug the components into the hull of the ship. "I got a key. My body is made up of Mother Box tech, remember?"
"Show off!" Iron Man quipped as a hatch suddenly shifted and opened directly in front of Cyborg.
"The hatch is open. After you, Mr. Stark." Cyborg said.
Iron Man wasted no time and flew down into the interior of the ship, where he immediately greeted by a number of soldiers at the ships helm. The troops reacted quickly and brandished a variety of weapons, both melee and ranged. Iron Man took the first few shots to his armor before firing back at them with a string of repulsar blasts. Cyborg dropped into the ship and blasted any soldiers that would've gotten behind Iron Man. Once the two technological heroes finished, Cyborg moved for the control console.
As he did with the hatch, his fingers separated into smaller components and connected with the console. It took less than a minute for Cyborg to announce, "Okay, I got control of the ship."
"See if you can send out an order to the other invasion forces." Iron Man said.
"Do not bother," a voice said before Doctor Doom suddenly appeared and blasted Cyborg and Iron Man to the floor. "I have my own plans for this vessel."
Iron Man started to stir from being hit as Doctor Doom walked passed him and to the console. "What the hell are you doing, Doom?"
Doom was already operating the console, and the ship could be felt moving. "This is my world to conquer and I shall do so by any means necessary. My short tenure on Apokolips as afforded me a considerable knowledge of the technology that powers vessel such as this one."
"And what do you plan to do with it, Doom? Kill Darkseid?" Cyborg asked as he favorite the damage to his chassis.
Doom looked back at Cyborg and coldly replied, "Yes!"
The command ship lurched forward toward the battlefield where Darkseid was battling Superman, Thor, Wonder Woman and the Hulk simultaneously. Even further away from that the fight, Captain America noticed the approach of the ship and he instantly knew something wasn't right. Without a second, he rushed forward. Batman, Captain Marvel and Green Lantern noticed Captain America's sudden rush and they followed him. Then the Flash, Aquaman, Black Widow and the rest of the heroes followed suit.
Darkseid battled Thor one on one, taking shots to the face from Mjolnir and responding in kind with his own brutal strikes. Wonder Woman leaped into the fray with a series of rapid punches and kicks to the New God's chest, and Darkseid slapped her away. Then Superman flew in and landed a monstrous punch to Darkseid's face to stagger him enough for the Hulk to tackle him to the ground. The Hulk pounded Darkseid into the ground and created a crater, even smashing a piece of asphalt into the New God's face.
Darkseid continued to fight and smash his own chuck of debris into the Hulk's face, which only served to anger the brute. He was then blasted from Darkseid by an Omega Beam and just as Darkseid started to get up, Thor came in and hammered again. The blow forced Darkseid to drop to a knee and Thor moved in for the next big strike. He landed the hit to Darkseid's jaw but Darkseid responded with a hard punch. This time, Superman and Wonder Woman moved on the New God and attacked hard and fast.
Each one of them alternated between hits, striking Darkseid with as much power behind their blows as they could manage. But Darkseid would not quit, backslapping Superman away and grabbing Wonder Woman by her waist. He tossed her into Thor's path as he was flying forward and caused them to collide, and then Superman returned and slammed into Darkseid. Superman punched Darkseid as hard as he could and further staggered him followed by a heat vision blast. Darkseid grabbed Superman and slammed him down into the asphalt.
Darkseid stood up and planted his foot down onto Superman's face. "The symbol upon your chest stands for 'hope'. Yet, how ironic is that you have no hope of defeating me this time, Kal-El." Something loud drew Darkseid's attention and he spun right around.
The command ship was bearing down on Darkseid, while Superman freed himself and swooped away. The ship slammed down into the street and skidded across the length of it, and Darkseid instantly vanished in the ensuing blaze that followed. Thor, Wonder Woman and the Hulk retreated from the chaotic scene while, unbeknownst to them, Iron Man jetted out of the ship carrying a wounded Cyborg with him. The command ship eventually skidded to a violently explosive halt as Superman, Thor, Wonder Woman and the Hulk reached a minimum safe distance.
Iron Man landed nearby and gently placed Cyborg on the ground. Cyborg was lucky to still be alive and he knew his repair system with eventually kick into gear. Soon after, Captain America, Batman and the rest of the Avengers and the Justice League converged on the scene. Cap walked up to Iron Man, who had his mask up so his own face was visible.
"Tony, when I said to bring that thing down, I didn't mean bring it down on top of us." Cap said.
"Uh, it wasn't me, Cap," Tony replied, earning him a wary glance from Cap. "No seriously. It wasn't me for once."
"It most certainly was not." Doctor Doom announced from high above the seen.
Captain America cautiously approached Doom as he descended from the air on jets within the soles of his boots. "You're a hard man to comprehend, Doom."
"Only to those who are unable to comprehend my motives, Captain." Doom replied.
"You wanted to get rid of the Avengers," Batman revealed, much to Doctor Doom's surprised. "You retrieved the Mother Box that ended up in this universe and used it as bait to lure the Avengers to you so you could send them to our universe or any other one. It was never about conquest with you, Doom. You only wanted fewer superheroes to deal with."
Doom leered at the Dark Knight and then huffed a reply. "Impressive! I see why your Justice League holds you, a normal human without super abilities, in such high regard."
"Heads up. I can see movement." Superman said as he used his x-ray vision to peer into the fire from the crashed command ship.
The two teams braced for whatever was coming their way, while Doctor Doom stood nonchalant. The fiery debris of the command ship shifted from one edge to another, metal scraping up against metal. Superman was right to alert the others, as there was something, or someone emerging from the fire. The blood drained from several of the heroes as Darkseid, disheveled and scorched by the fires but somehow still alive, staggered from the wreckage of his ship. He had to used bits of wreckage to steady his approach but once he was clear of the downed ship, Darkseid stood up straight and commanding as if he hadn't nearly been incinerated.
The Avengers and the Justice League readied themselves to bring the fight to Darkseid, but then they realized that wasn't going to go as planned. They were surrounded by countless hordes of Parademons and soldiers and more tanks. Several Boom Tubes were opened in the sky directly above them. It occurred that in the chaos of the battle, Darkseid had secretly commanding his ship to have all his forces invading the Avenger's Earth to converge on that very location. The Avengers and the Justice League formed a tight formation as the hordes of Darkseid's armies encircled them. There was no way out.
Darkseid addressed the two teams despite his injuries as Kalibak stumbled back to his master's side. "I must admit that you've all fought with a passion and vigor befitting great adversaries, but you all knew it would come to this."
"It's not over yet." Captain America replied.
"You're defiance is admirable but misplaced; you've all lost. However, I am not without mercy. So I offer all of you, Avengers and Justice League alike, this one and only one opportunity for your survival. You need only bend the knee and swear your undying allegiance to my will." Darkseid stated to the teams.
There was a hush among the Avengers and the Justice League, as if several among them were actually considering Darkseid's offer. Each hero exchanged glances to the other that stood beside him or her, but only Superman and Batman kept their collective gaze squarely on Darkseid. The Man of Steel and the Dark Knight clearly knew better that Darkseid's word counted for nothing. It wasn't long then that Captain America stood shoulder to shoulder in between them, and then Iron Man, Black Widow, Thor and Wonder Woman did the same. The Hulk stood behind all of them and even Doctor Doom joined them.
In utter defiance, Captain America declared, "The Avengers have dealt with tyrants before who've made similar offers of subjugation… and we've instead stood in defiance of them. We've decided a long time ago that it's better to die on our feet then to live or our knees."
"For once, Captain, I agree wholeheartedly." Doctor Doom said.
Captain America removed his mask so Darkseid clearly saw his face. "Know this above everything else, Darkseid; you might take our lives today, but others will fight you to their dying breath."
"Indeed they shall fight… and they shall die. You, Avengers and Justice League shall be seen not as martyrs but as examples to any who would dare to challenge the mighty armies of Apokolips." Darkseid said.
"It wouldn't be the first time." Captain America claimed.
"So you have chosen… so shall it be." Darkseid declared as he clenched his fist.
The armies of Apokolips began a slow and methodical convergence on the Avengers and the Justice League. Each superhero stood shoulder-to-shoulder, ready to fight… and ready to die fighting. If each and every one of them was going to go down, then they were all going to go down together. It wasn't long that before the first Parademon shrieked and made a move that there was a tremendous boom from high above the city. Everyone from the Avengers and the Justice League to Darkseid's armies to even Darkseid himself turned their collective gaze to the clouds as they began parting. But while the Justice League members were left in a state of unknowing, the Avengers, and especially Thor, knew exactly what was about to happen.
A tremendous ray of light made up of an array of ever-changing colors like a rainbow, descended the parting cloud. The light came down and slammed directly on top of a hapless group of Parademons while kicking up a small cloud of dust. Then before the invader knew what hit them, a new army emerged from the beam of light. They were apparently human in nature but adored in golden armor and brandish weapons that the Justice League had never seen before… but the Avengers and especially Thor had seen. Thor in particular had a wide grin from ear to ear, for these warriors emerging from the light… were Asgardians.
Author's Note: Remember that otherworldly thing I talked about earlier?
Well, that otherworldly thing is the arrival of the Asgardians. I think it's safe to say that Darkseid's forces are well and truly screwed.
Also for the big battle at the beginning of this chapter, I considered adding the lyrics of the opening theme from Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. But I've decided to hold off until the voice cast chapter.
That puts an end to Part V, so leave a few reviews and I'll be back soon.