"Asmodel for Heaven's sake you can't do this!" Zauriel protests as he is being forced down on his knees besides the others, while the other angels are preparing to execute the League, most too tired to fight properly and those who were normally too fast to keep down have been caught in golden nets, he only receives a backhanded blow from the King Angel.
"Silence deserter! If anything, it is your fault for letting them fall to this!" Asmodel rumbles. "You let them cavort and align themselves with demons, right under your nose! You should be thankful, for I do not draw pleasure from this, and you will all be saved in the end." He says to the League.
Just then there is a flash of light before a pillar of pure white light stabs the clouds from where Raven was buried. From the rubble rises a brilliant figure, as she floats out of the beam of light, they see her skin has turned porcelain white, her hair is jet black as is the four eyes that open while two pairs of feathery wings open on her back, with every feather tipped with black. She spreads her arms and her armor returns to her body, turning the black metal as white as her skin and finally Shadowfury returns to her, the dark flames turn to an intense white as Apollyon screams in pain before she gently floats towards them all.
"Raven?!" Nightwing shouts though he isn't sure she can hear him at this distance.
"I am here." Raven replies calmly in their heads, sounding more ethereal than ever, as she looks at the angels that appear to be even more surprised than the League. "Unhand them, it is me you are after is it not?"
"Indeed. Pax Dei advance!" Asmodel bellows and most of the angels take off towards Raven who takes to the skies. "Hmpf! She flees." He growls as he lifts off to pursue her.
The angels, emboldened by their previous success, fly headfirst into a mass of thin white tentacles that erupt from the glowing aura surrounding Raven. The tentacles cling and encumber before trapping the angels as they wrap themselves around their targets like sentient cobwebs, leaving only a few to attack Raven directly while the rest fall back. Fiery swords meet each other to the roars of holy fire and the screaming of Apollyon before the assailants receive one hard stare from Raven's black eyes before they pass out and fall to the ground. "I really have no reason to fight with you, Angels of the Bull Host." She says as the majority have withdrawn, leaving dozens of their comrades in Raven's web. "I am tired, I am hurt and I want to go home. Leave now and this won't have to go any further."
"Of course it does." Asmodel rumbles as the huge King Angel burns through Raven's webs and crashes into her, grabbing her by the throat and forces her back down towards the ground. "We have come too far for anything less."
"Little angel." Apollyon's voice hisses within Asmodels head, distracting him just enough for Raven to teleport out of his grasp.
"Then so be it, one more fight to get what I want makes no difference to me." Raven shrugs.
Asmodel snorts as as a long polearm materializes in his hand before it burst into flame. "No matter what form you take, you are no stronger than before demon."
"Strength comes in more forms than one Asmodel. Rest assured you will know of more when you are home." Raven says as the other angels float down to back their leader up. "For it will take more than you and this pitiful army to bring me down, for you have no idea what I am capable of." With that Raven emits a keening cry as she leaps at Asmodel.
Hippolyta hears the cry, but she is in the midst of counting down to her own attack. With most of the angels drawn away, the Amazons were left with sneaking up on the remaining twenty where Hippolyta has positioned her warriors where she believed they be of most use. Antiope was crouching on their former cover, training a pair of arrows at the angels holding swords ready to strike Zatanna and Dr. Fate down. Io was waiting, ready to strike the angel holding Stewart's ring with her hammer. Penelope was preparing to take down the ones holding onto Black Canary and Hawk Girl. Philipus was drawing power to strike down those holding Diana. Artemis is waiting to make short work of a clumped group of angels pining the Titans. And Hippolyta herself was preparing to liberate the Man of Steel and the Flash, for she feared only she would be fast enough.
She holds up a finger for the others to see, making sure they see it, before she raises another finger.
The commotion is as immediate as it is devastating, Wonder Woman and her captors are struck by a bolt of lightning at the same time the would-be executioners of Dr. Fate and Zatanna each gain an arrow in their eyes. Six angels are suddenly torn from the ground and is flying through the air and away from Superman and Flash, landing roughly the same time as Io tosses the power ring to John. The more gruesome spectacle happens as two angel skulls are crushed into one another as four others lose theirs entirely before they realized anything was wrong.
"Everyone up!" Nightwing bellows as he is not about to let the chance slip them by.
"On your feet daughter, this is no time to rest." Hippolyta says as she pulls Diana to her feet.
"Mother?" Diana asks I confusion before she realizes what it means. "Greater powers are at work here."
"Indeed. But best saved for another time."
"I am getting tired of this." Superman growls as Flash pulls him up.
"Yeah, feeling like we are just pawns in something bigger." He agrees.
"Then for once in your life, do not hold back." Etrigan hisses before he leaps past them both an sinks his teeth into the face of an angel coming towards them with a raised blade.
"You can't kill them, only send them back to where they came from." Zauriel shouts as the League and Amazons form a rough line against the remaining guards and a small group that was coming to their aid.
"Justice League! Attack!" Nightwing shouts and no one needs anymore to be let loose on their captors. The angels had the advantage of catching the League off guard and unprepared, now with the aid of the Amazons and the anger at the attack, that advantage is gone.
Somewhere in the Black Forest, Germany
"How much further?" Amanda Waller asks as she, Tala with bound hands and a dozen heavily armed men trudge through the dark forest Tala had brought them to.
"Not much." Tala replies calmly, though she was aware Amanda's patience was wearing thin, but as Tala had explained, the place they were going couldn't be teleported to through magic as a safety precaution due to Amanda and her men's presence.
"I am putting a hell of a lot of faith in you Tala, and you still haven't told me who these people are." Amanda continues, having changed into her own combat gear consisting of the same dark clothes and gray body armor her troops are wearing.
"For a good reason." Tala shrugs before she finds Amanda's side arm pointed at her temple and stops.
"Names, now." Amanda growls as she flips off the safety getting a sigh out of Tala before she just turns her head to have it on her forehead.
"Miss Waller, if you kill me now, I will simply return another day after I have had some time to recuperate." She says as she stares Waller down. "Now, put the toy away, you still want our aid? No?" She asks. "It is up here." She continues as she turns and walks on.
Amanda signals for the others to be on their guard before they follow the succubus, emerging into a clearing that's centered around a small hill. On the top of the hill stands a large tree that at the ground has sprouted off into three trunks, the opening between the three is big enough to fit a small living room into and Tala goes inside to stand in the center.
"Come in, Miss Waller, but leave your men outside." She says, Waller has another doubt regarding this whole thing before she nods at the men and enters. "I must alert them to my presence." She says before she begins muttering something in a language Waller had learned from other sources was the secret language of the witches that once lived in Thessaly before the Olympians and their followers forced them to move north.
"Tala?! What is the meaning of this?!" A commanding voice of a woman groans from one of the two trees in front of Tala and Waller before a set face seems to emerge on the trunk, but in the darkness it is hard to see an details.
"It's been too long." The other tree replies with a more teasing voice as a smiling face emerges. "What's this, have you gotten yourself captured again?"
"This is unseemly for once such as you." The other woman growls.
"Who are you two?" Amanda asks, not one to remain in the background, before the two trees look to her, making Amanda realize she hadn't even been noticed before now.
"I see." The stern one says.
"Allow me." The other one says before a sickly green light washes over them all. "Oh, clever." She notes at Amanda who just blinks while groans start coming from the men outside. The eyes of the other one shines green instead and the tree behind Waller seems to come apart in threads of bark that quickly reach for her, dragging her back before immobilizing and gagging her against the trunk.
"Now, assuming you aren't here because you've grown bored of this." The smiling tree says as a woman emerges out of it. "Why have you called us here?" Circe asks Tala.
"Speak quickly if you will." The other one says before she emerges as well, revealing her to be Morgan le Fay, before the green stone on her golden chestplate zap Tala's bonds, making them fall to the ground.
"While I had grown bored, the reason why I am here is valid enough. You've felt her better than I." Tala replies as she massages her wrists.
"Of course." Morgan replies as Circe looks outside for a moment before returning.
"And?" Tala asks.
"I am not getting involved in that." Circe replies. "It has the stink of Athena about it."
"Indeed, there are far too many parties involved at this stage for us to exploit." Morgan adds. "And she has a terrible habit of pulling through, which I believe is for the best."
"So we are not to involve ourselves on any level?" Tala asks. "And what do you mean? She could be a remarkable ally."
"In your current state it would be unwise, we would all need to be at our strongest and well prepared if we were to challenge her directly." Morgan replies.
"Not to mention if she completely flips, she will be far worse than the Titans in a bad mood." Circe adds.
"What do you mean, my current state?" Tala asks getting the two other witches to look at each other.
"If you will inform her? Mordred is feeling under the weather these days." Morgan asks Circe before she disappears back into the tree.
"What is she talking about?" Tala asks the other witch who just smiles at her in amusement.
"Only that Talazzaar has been turned into a crater." Circe replies.
"What?!" Tala shouts as she grabs Circe by the shoulders
"According to rumor, the little Pit Mistress brought an army to retrieve the dragon corpse you acquired, but your hidden friend denied her. After she had acquired what she wanted a star was to have fallen on the city." Circe replies calmly. "So, if I were you, I'd go see if there's any survivors to be found. Toodles." She smirks before turning into green mist and seeps back into the tree she emerged from.
Tala closes her eyes and puts her fingers on her temples, sending her mind to Hell where she sees the crater and the scorched ruins that were all that was left of her home. "No!" She growls angrily before she changes into her true shape and howls at the sky in anger. "NOOO!" Then she lays eyes on Amanda. Waller is powerless to act as Tala grabs her head. "Be thankful I have far too much to do now human! But I will know what you know of this!" She says as her eyes lock with Wallers and starts to glow.
Waller from her days as Cadmus had long known she needed protection against invasions of her mind, back then it was primarily the Martian Manhunter she worried about, but later on she had Tala herself ward her mind and body against magic as well. And it is these wards Tala slowly and under great pain pushes down.
As the final barrier shatters, both women scream as their minds clash, leaving both of them with a nosebleed before Tala falls over. "The Lightbringer… damnation." She groans from the ground having read what Waller had read from the League about the incident, thinking about it she was sure Circe and Morgan knew as well, but as so many times before they would try and goad each other into a fight with someone else. Groaning with effort she gets back on her feet and wipes the blood off her face and looks at Amanda. "I enjoyed your hospitality Miss Waller, but our partnership has run it's course, perhaps we will meet again and you can enjoy my hospitality. But I doubt you'll be that fortunate, fare well." She says before her hands glow orange and a portal opens before her on the ground and she dives through, returning her to Hell.
Amanda coughs and spits as the vines holding her looses their grip on her and she tumbles forwards. "Thomson! Gerard! Status report!" She barks and gets back up, only to hear a hissing sound to her left. Amanda doesn't think, she draws and shoots the huge cat leaping at her. It falls to the ground at her feet with a hole in it's head before it reverts to its own form, that of a man. "Hank?" Amanda asks in surprise before realizing what Circe had done as another growl is heard from outside. She readies her gun, remembering she had at least a mile's worth of walking before the aura of this place would let her contact the extraction team before she sets out to do what she needs to do.
The Himalayas:
"You cannot hope to stand against us all." Asmodel shouts as he and his angels continue to push Raven back despite the casualties she's inflicted on them and despite how difficult it was for them to do so.
"I don't pretend to get why you continue with this." Raven says as she cuts down two more angels before she has to block Asmodel again. The King Angel was unlike any opponent she'd faced before, his mind was like fire and she couldn't get hold of it and his body was immensely durable and nothing she's tried has so far dislodged him from his assault. And worse was that his army had already inflicted dozens of fresh cuts to her growing collection, it's not going well and Asmodel seems to have been correct, her change in shape hadn't given her the boost she thought she'd get.
"Pax Dei! As one!" Asmodel bellows and Raven screams as a dozen blades punch through her armor and her flesh as as many angels charged her at once from different directions. Meanwhile on the ridge, a green construct is taking shape, as Raven sinks to her knees. "With your passing, Hell will be the new front in the Eternal Conflict, the Eight Pit will be the staging area." Asmodel rumbles as Raven looks up at him as he raises his blade high before he senses something.
"Children of Heaven, come dance with Musubi!" Raven only sees the shadow before she looks up again to see what had passed over her, scattering the army of angels; it looked like a colossal scorpion with a woman's torso, covered in the armor of a samurai, mounted at the front. While the demon doesn't have pincers, she has at least twelve arms and each carries a katana. Her head vaguely resembles that of an ancient Japanese noblewoman, the skin white as snow with red lips and cheeks and carefully set black hair. The demon has dispatched a dozen angels in the span of a few seconds as her arms are a blur of motion and her stinger darts forwards at the speed of lightning.
"Hang in there Raven, we are working on something, heal yourself!" She hears Zauriels voice in her head.
"Nightwing, it's Robin, we are coming up." Tim announces in Nightwing's ears.
"Stay back Robin, this has gone too far south for you to be any good here."
"Let us decide that." Tim replies with a smirk as a helicopter passes over the League and heads towards the host of angels.
"Keep it steady." Deathstroke says as they come in low and open the side door, Bane mutters a prayer in Spanish as he jumps out. Robin swings the on-board weapons he has available around and opens fire, while Deathstroke takes careful aim with his rifle and plucks angels out of the sky.
"Tell me why we are not down there?" Artemis angrily asks Nightwing who is fighting to remain calm as he watches the battle unfold below them through a pair of binoculars.
"That big wheel behind you. When he gets the speed right, we can send them all back to where they come from according to Zauriel." He replies as Wally continues to build up speed within he wheel that's powering a sonic fork, the humming it had been generated just went beyond human hearing. This isn't stopping Antiope who is picking off angels that are heading towards them or towards Raven.
"She's not dying, is she?" Beastboy asks as he sits in the shape of an eagle on Zauriels shoulder, both being able to see the swords Raven is pulling out of herself.
"Weakened. The soldier-angels would need to decapitate her in order to do so, it's hurt here soul more than her body." The angel replies. "I can't phantom why Asmodel is so set on this?"
"I do." Superman replies as he hovers above the ground. "If he kills her, he will take control of the Pit and attack Hell itself." He says before he fires his heat vision, striking Asmodel's left knee, making him fall to the ground before he can attack Musubi. "Is that thing one of Raven's?"
"No. That is one of the Shiko-Me. But that doesn't make any sense, they bow to no one and the only one I have heard of that was enslaved would not be sent here." Zauriel replies.
"Why not?" Beastboy asks.
"Because she's supposed to be dead." Zauriel replies.
"Almost there?" John asks Wally.
"Just a little more." Wally replies as he pushes himself to hit the frequency exactly right.
"No!" Asmodel shouts as he looks up, hearing the noise. The angels all look up in surprise before they are all turned to ash, leaving only Asmodel behind.
"Should have extended that protection to the rest of them." Raven groans from the ground, having turned back into her human self to avoid any further damage from the vibration-mill.
"My prey!" Musubi hisses in irritation as she huffs and bleeds gray ichor from her own wounds before she lays eyes on the only thing immediately in front of her; Bane. "You'll do."
"Dio's mio!"Bane whispers as the much larger Musubi towers over him while Deathstroke's bullets bounce off her head while the stinger rises over her shoulder.
Bane has the vision of himself rotting away from within while hanging from the stinger before he sees it move. Then he suddenly feels both warmth and a blast of frigid air. Before the stinger could reach him, it was struck by Superman's heat vision before Diana, Hippolya and Starfire have crashed into Musubi's side and smashed her into the glacial wall a mile away. Starfire quickly turns her starbolts on the ice along with Superman's heat vision turning it to water. Superman finishes the job by taking a deep breath, and entombs Musubi in the ice.
"It's over Asmodel. Give up." Nightwing commands as the remains of the League fly down to him and Raven, with the help of Green Lantern, while the two get to their feet.
"Shield!" Fate and Zatanna's powers spring to life along with Johns on Zuriels command as Asmodel just turn to look at them with a red glow in his eyes before a beam of light erupts from his head to the sound of a high-pitched screech. The shields are enough for all of them to get clear before the beam punches through the shields.
In the sudden chaos they barely realize the Furies had returned and that Asmodels attack had saved some of them from being run through. Raven instantly returns to her demon form and blasts Asmodel aside before engaging the Furies. Behind them, the tail of the helicopter explodes, sending the machine spinning to the ground.
"He's ours." Hippolyta announces before she launches herself at Black Adam followed by the other Amazons.
"Haha! Once more into the fray!" Etrigan screams in delight as he bounds after Asmodel followed by Zauriel, Bane, Cyborg, Starfire, Hawkgirl and Black Canary. The rest remains at range while the Furies grapple with Raven.
"Hippolyta?!" Adam snarls in recognition at the Amazon Queen wrestling with him keeping them both moving to deny the other Amazons a chance to strike at him. "Weaker than I remember."
"Perhaps you stand a chance this time!" Hippolyta smirks though she was fairly certain she was physically beneath him this time, the last time she had been wearing the Armor of the Gods, now she was making do with Io's armor along with the Gauntlet of Heracles and the Sandals of Hermes that Artemis had once used. But she isn't worried, she has three thousand years more experience than she had the last time she faced him.
"Demon scum!" Asmodel howls as he peels Etrigan off his face, holding him at arm's length while charging up for another beam before Starfire strikes him right between the eyes with a charged starbolt that explodes on impact. The blow and the bolt don't do much against the King Angel, but Shayera's mace striking his knee, brings him to the ground.
"We cannot engage them all at once." Fate instructs before nodding at Wonder Woman who gets out her lasso. "Be prepared, there is good reason for gods to fear the Kindly Ones." He says as Diana throws her rope, catching the whip carrying Fury around the wrist before yanking her towards them. The creature barely has time to land before the League is on it, smashing it into the ground, throwing it into the air, shooting it with beams, shurikens along with bolts of carbonfibre and magic.
"Hold her!" J'onn shouts in alarm as both he and Diana are having a hard time just hanging onto the Fury, despite it's almost frail exterior, both it's strength and durability is as monstrous as its shifting features.
"Trying!" Diana shouts back before they are both thrown clear and the others have a chance to blast it away before it can attack them. It lands a bit away, only to be instantly caught in the storm of fists courtesy of the Flash.
"This time there is no holding me back!" Flash says from within the whirlwind that ends up clearing the snow away, having been trampled into water.
"Sisters! Aid me!" The creature screams as it can feel it is being sucked into the Speed Force with Wally.
The two hiss and break off from fighting Raven, one of them gets away, but the other is grabbed around the ankle by Raven and pulled back.
The loose fury batters J'onn and Zatanna aside before it flies into the whirlwind, forcing Wally to speed off into the distance before he crashed into creature. The two Furies take to the sky before heading back towards Raven.
"Insufferable whores!" Adam shouts in fury as he is being overwhelmed, Hippolyta is constantly bringing him to the ground with accurate blows his joins and pressure points, helped along by Penelope, the effect is him standing still long enough to be hit by Antiope's arrows. And he had already taken Io's hammer to the face twice. Because of her sisters proximity to Adam, Philipus is left with looking for an opening along with Artemis. Artemis sees it first as Penelope and Hippolyta manage to bring Adam to his knees and starts bending him backwards, instantly Artemis leaps into the sky with her sword ready. Adam sees her as a dark figure above him and he knows he has to do something. "SHAZAM!" He roars.
Everything happens very quickly, several far off booms are heard as the area lights up with the blast of lightning. Artemis doesn't even see it, only feels the tremendous heat above her before she drives her blade into Adam's chest and out his back as something lands before Philipus.
"Where on Earth did you come from?" She asks and pulls Billy Batson to his feet as Adam falls to the ground. Hippolyta is quick to grab hold of his jaw by putting most of her fingers in his mouth, preventing him from speaking.
"Should we cut out his tongue?" Artemis asks as she leaves her blade in the paling man.
"Whouff it's cold here." Billy stammers to himself as he looks around. "I don't think that will be needed." He says after a look at Adam before Artemis walks over to him.
"You saved my life, and the life of my sisters, how?" She asks though both she and Philipus could see the magic pouring from the boy.
"He's my usual headache. If you would stand back?" He asks the two and waits till they have done so. "Shazam!" He shouts and the lightning returns, transforming him back into Captain Marvel.
"I see the resemblance." Antiope notes at the similar attire of Marvel and Adam.
"Fortunately this one is an adult." Hippolyta says coldly as she looks on as Adam passes out before she lets go of his jaw. She then notices how most of the battlefield has stopped moving, in the distance she can see Flash returning in slow motion.
"It is done." She looks behind her seeing her sisters and Marvel are not frozen either and finds Isis and Bast standing there. "Allow me to congratulate you on your victory Amazons, be sure to remember it should you survive this day." Bast says.
"This was your part in this?" Hippolyta asks.
"We can do no more here." Isis replies as she removes Artemis blade from Adam before she picks him up.
"Ah excuse me, but is there nothing you can do about those?" Billy interrupts and points at the Furies as Isis and Bast are about to turn away.
"If we could, we would have long ago." Bast replies. "I will pray you endure long enough for whatever Athena has in mind, farewell brave mortals." She says and time resumes its normal flow as quickly as the two Goddess' disappear with their champion.
"Egyptians." Antiope huffs disdainfully.
"Well, that was one down. Shall we go find another?" Penelope asks, sounding surprisingly upbeat.
"Io, you are coming with me, the rest of you; bring that angel down." Hippolyta orders before they all run off.
"Sisters, together!" One of the three Furies hisses as they regroup, finding themselves between Raven and the League, a wave of invisible force washes off the three that stop after having pushed the League away and sealed Raven inside the barrier with them.
"Raven?!" Diana shouts as she strikes the barrier, but gets nothing for her efforts.
"No more meddling!" The Furies hiss at Raven.
"Raven, you can't fight all three at once like this." J'onn's voice sounds in Raven's head.
"I don't have much choice if you can't get in." Raven replies.
"Char'do'kun'raz." J'onn manages before the barrier shifts to also block sound and telepathy.
"Yes, come dance with the three of us." The whip carrying Fury hisses as they begin to fly around her. It was true, what J'onn had sent to her was called a Dance, but to a Martian such thing was a mental stance, an exercise or technique, this one however was risky, even under normal circumstances.
"I suppose I must." Raven says as she quickly does what needed to be done. J'onn was the only one who had seen her do this, as they always trained in private, but when they did this, a very unexpected result was given. Char'do'kun'raz roughly translates to the Trinity Dance and between Martians it is considered a game between minds. Participants would mentally project three unique characters into a shared frame of mind, the three would then fight or otherwise compete against the team from the opponent. However, when Raven did it, something else happened. Just as the three Furies charge her from the front, they are all met by a barrier each. "Now we can dance." Raven replies from three throats. The one on the left is Raven's demon form with a blade of red fire in its hand, on her left is her angelic vision with a shield of white light and in the middle is her human self, armed and armored as the others.
"Oh, a trick, a trick!" One of the Furies croaks.
"This will." The demon starts.
"Not end well." The angel continues.
"For you." Raven finishes before her three parts move as one and pushes the Furies back. "Burn!" As one the three's eyes blaze with power before it's discharged as beams. The Furies scream before they leap out of the attack. "Leave, now!"
"She threatens us." The whip carrying fury growls.
"She thinks she has the power." The knife wielder continues.
"Remember that old god who thought that?" The spear wielder asks. "What did we do with him when he split?"
"We tore him apart!" The three hiss in unison before they leap at Raven.
"Working on it." Fate says as Nightwing turns his head towards him about to ask if he could get them through the barrier that Diana is trying to punch her way through.
"All-Father?" Brunnhilde asks as they continue to observe from afar.
"You may speak." Odin replies knowing what the warrior was asking permission for.
"All-Father, I have heard and seen much during my service and I know the Furies are a concern of yours, as they are to the other God-Kings. We may have a chance now, to finally break them here." Brunnhilde replies, finally getting to voice what she had been thinking.
"We cannot do so unless we declare war on Olympus." Odin replies calmly. "If the Furies are to be hamstrung, we will need Olympus' permission."
"And the Sky-Father will not curb his guards for our sakes." Brunnhilde nods in disappointment.
"If bound by the oaths he has, none would." Odin replies before coughing into his fist.
"Do you expect to receive a permission here?" Brunnhilde continues after a moment.
"Perhaps." Odin replies after a few seconds before he looks to the sky as far off thunder reaches his ears. "Fool boy." He mutters.
On the ground the League is left watching Raven battle the Furies. Her demon shape is fighting with a formidable fury and savagery as she rips and tears at her changing opponent. In contrast, her angelic form does not attack, but only blocks the attacks thrown at her while she keeps an eye on her other two parts, interrupting any low blows the Furies would make against them. Raven's human guise however seems equal to her opponent, her skill is matched by their savagery. Raven herself thinks it's a good place to begin pushing back but to the League and those with more knowledge of her opponents, they know she only bought herself time.
"When I lift, get anyone under this free, but be quick." Hippolyta instructs as she and Io reaches the downed chopper. Hippolyta reaches down and grabs the craft as Io drops her hammer. As Hippolyta lifts, Io has to block the bullet being fired at them before they see Slade lying on his back with a drawn pistol.
"I you wouldn't mind getting rescued?" Io asks before she reaches for Slade.
"Sorry. Thought you were one of them." Slade replies as Io pulls him to his feet by his free hand and gets him clear, noticing his limp. "There's a boy in the cockpit."
Io quickly moves over to the front of the chopper, seeing Tim lying on the glass, unconscious by the looks of it. She tears out the window and pulls him free before Hippolyta drops the helicopter. "Where did he go?" Io asks as she finds Slade gone.
"No matter." Hippolyta replies before she looks at Tim's condition, finding no wounds other than the mark where his head was stuck.
"Fools! Heretics!" Asmodel howls as the assault continues against him, Captain Marvel having added the much needed muscle to the group fighting him.
"Ngh! That's just rude when you don't even know us." Marvel groans as he has to admit even the strength of Hercules was barely enough to match that of the King Angel. Fortunately the others were trying their best to help him, but Shaeyra was the only one Asmodel was actively trying to keep away from him with blasts of light.
"Cursed monstrosity!" Artemis growls as she notices how her blows barely pierce the skin and that the wounds close almost immediately afterwards. Even Antiope's arrows are either bouncing off the angels hide or are pushed out on their own.
"This is getting us nowhere." Philipus adds, again frustrated that she cannot add her magic to the fight.
"Philipus, is that you I sense?" The voice of Zatanna enters the Amazon mages head.
"Daughter of Zatara? It is I." Philipus sends back as Marvel manages to get around Asmodel before grabbing him around the waist and lifts him over his back to slam it into the ground.
"Great! Get up here, quick! The Furies have erected a barrier between us and them!" Zatanna sends.
"I have to get up there." Philpus yells to the warrior and points at the ridge before she runs off after getting a nod from Cyborg while Penelope buries her thumbs in Asmodels eyes before Bane yanks her away as Asmodels blast erupts again while Black Canary screams into the side of his head.
"We are having no effect on him." Starfire says to Antiope as she has pulled back to find an opening of some kind.
"One thing would, but he keeps her at bay." Antiope replies before she lets another arrow fly, only for it to lodge itself in the armor covering Asmodels throat.
Starfire raises her eyebrows because she hadn't noticed it, then she takes off towards the Thanagarian with an idea. "Shayera, your mace! It's the key!"
"Noticed, but I can't get close!" Shayera replies as they both have to dodge out of the way of another blast.
"Then get it to someone who is!" Starfire shouts as she returns fire.
Philipus easily scales the last of the ice cliffs with a series of leaps before she arrives on the ridge and sees barrier. "See what we mean?" Zatanna asks.
"I do." Philipus sends back. "I will need a moment." She sends, knowing she was going to need a little bit more than that, she didn't have all of her sisters to aid her this time, nor did she have Magala to guide her. "Hope I don't mess this up."
"You won't." Zatanna sends back letting Philipus know she had just transmitted all of her insecurities.
"Inza, any idea how we get through this?" Nightwing asks the woman, now surrounded by her own orange glow to keep her warm, having noticed that unlike her husband or Zatanna, she wasn't meditating.
"The Amazon has the means." Inza nods at Philipus, sitting down in the snow. "The barrier is vulnerable only to Olympian lightning."
"Why?" Nightwing asks, thinking it was a peculiar vulnerability to have.
"Everything has an Achilles Heel hidden somewhere Nightwing, even the Furies." Inza replies, getting Nightwing to ask what had been bothering him since he saw them.
"What are they?" Nightwing asks.
"The Furies are… older. A remnant of a harsher world, a world before gods, a world ruled by Titans, the last children of Uranus."
"And that makes them, more powerful?" Nightwing continues.
"No, it makes them older, more experienced in the use of the power at their disposal. In the world of gods however, age is a measurement of power. Only rarely do they break this trend." Inza replies. "Trigon how was one such being, even amongst the Titans, and those older than them, he was powerful. Another, was Athena." Inza says and sends an unseen look to the skies.
Philipus is gathering all the power she can, grasping further than she ever had in this remote region of the world, yet still she feels the presence of titanic energies, far greater than those she could gather on Themyscira.
On the peak, Odin All-Father, greatest of the Aesir, feels the tug on the essence of his being, and he permits it. His acceptance calms the Valkyries around him and at the same time readies them for action.
In the thunderclouds above, Thor feels the same pull and freely permits it as he sees a figure up ahead and smiles at her in recognition.
On Olympus, Zeus the Sky-Father, feels that something is amiss.
In the shifting Rock of Eternity, Shazam watches intently as the spell passes through his abode.
In dozens of forgotten halls, caves, huts and abodes, long forgotten deities of the mountains stir from their slumber as their energies are being asked for.
On the ground, Asmodel feels the pull like the ocean feels the moon, and he sees what is being pulled towards the Amazon mage.
Zatanna and Dr. Fate feel like they are young again, watching their mentors and teachers perform their art, amazing them with the craft. But they keep their awe to a minimum as they help stabilize Philipus, strengthening her spell with the will with that of the people around them, they temper it with the love they all feel and they empower it with the rage many of them feel.
Raven feels the pull as well, but her fractured state of mind and body doesn't permit her to take much notice of it. Her angelic form was letting more blows come through as she tries to block all of her relentless opponents attacks, failing to do so is breaking her spirit making it worse. The side-effect is that the demon form becomes more and more wild, dropping the blade and regressing into an animalistic fury white it rips and tears at its opponent with its bare hands. Between the two, Raven has to work all the harder to stay alive and try to keep the two beings under a minimum of control.
And then Philipus releases the energies she's gathered; those standing around the shield are thrown to the ground as a massive bolt of lightning smashes into the shield causing it to collapse. But how little control Phillipus had shows with several smaller bolts striking the ground around the area. Down below, Shayera sees the opening and hurls her weapon at the top of Asmodels head seeing him distracted.
Everyone is back on their feet in a hurry and storming towards the Furies that's momentarily suffered a backlash from the blow. Diana takes one of them off her feet, repeatedly punching her as they go before landing in the snow. As Diana is kicked away the monster is caught between two supersonic blows coming from either side delivered by Wally and J'onn.
Asmodel roars as he batters the mace out of the air, feeling that Bane was behind him, ready to catch it. It is then that he feels the burning sting in his chest and looks down, finding the hilt of Zauriels sword the only thing sticking out, before he looks at the wielder before she jumps off his chest and does a backwards somersault to land on her feet.
"Zauriel…. You let them…?" He stammers as he feels weak.
"Not really, I just didn't resist." Zauriel smirks as Asmodel sinks to his knees.
"You…" Asmodel huffs as he looks at Artemis, who delivered the blow. "You will never be her equal."
"Good, my intention is to surpass her." Artemis shrugs, knowing who he was talking about.
"And you… Judas of your race." Asmodel rumbles as he looks up at Shayera. "You will go to hell!" He continues before he falls over backwards and lies still.
"Please tell me he won't be getting up?" The sore-throated Black Canaray asks Zauriel who walks over to place a hand on Asmodels chest.
"He acted more like a demon than as an angel." Bane mumbles while wondering if he could avoid being taken captive as he notices Slade having vanished.
"That is sadly the fate of the Bull Host." Zauriel notes as he stands back up. "He is gone from the fleshsuit. If we are lucky he won't ever leave the Heavenly realms again."
"If we aren't?" Shayera asks.
"Then he will be back, in a thousand years or so." Zauriel smirks, since he had been born at the dawn of creation he didn't measure time the same way normal people did and he enjoyed poking fun at it from time to time when it was appropriate.
"Now!" Zatanna shouts and she, Dr. Fate, Inza and a reformed Raven all blast the same Fury at the same time with magical energies, causing the creature to scream in agony, another is helplessly caught in a storm of blows delivered by Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Flash and Superman and the last is being dogplied by the rest as Beastboy had turned into a worm and dived into it before turning into something larger to keep it occupied.
"They are still getting up." Manhunter shouts as Beastboy flies out of the Fury's nose as a fly, needing air.
"Keep…" Nightwing is caught off guard as the monster waves them all away and gets to it's feet.
"Down monster!" Hippolyta shouts as she sails over them, carrying Io's mace. The Fury takes the blow squarely in the head, sending it flying along with bits of the hammer's head that disintegrated with the force of the blow.
"Sisters!" The Fury engaged by the League shrieks before managing to squirm out of Diana's grasp to run towards it's fallen sister quickly joined by its other sister.
"Oh no… its when they are close they are stronger." Zatanna mutters she sees the third Fury get up to the sound of thunder.
"Finish her quickly!" The Furies hiss as they all look at Raven. "No more toying!"
"My thoughts exactly." The voice of Athena rings through the heads of everyone before the Furies are struck from above by the Goddess who decends with a bolt of lightning trailing her spear. The blow results in thunder and a blast of heat. When everyone's vision clears they see Athena on one knee in a puddle of water, with one of the Furies impaled beneath her, impaled through the chest on a blot of lightning. "Been waiting a long time to curb you monsters." She hisses to the still body beneath her before it slowly turns to ash. Only Athena hears the far off beats of galloping hoves.
The two remaining Furies scream in horror before they take to the skies that darken as Raven's soul-self appears above them as an ominous shadow. One Fury dives aside to avoid it, the other is struck from the side by a golden spear that passes straight through it before vanishing as the Fury disappears into the soul-self.
"Diana, Wally, if you would?" Raven asks before her soul-self reappears to disgorge the Fury. Raven and Superman quickly grab an ankle each before it can fly away and Wally and Diana have it wrapped in the Lasso of Truth within a split second.
"No! How could you?! My sister! Have we not served?!" The Fury screams as Athena walks over while it struggles to be free.
"You have. You have served Zeus well, while the rest of Olympus lived in fear of you." Athena replies. "Consider this a preemptive strike before you succeed in luring one of us to our doom."
"So was that all of them?" Huntress asks, wondering if there were any more out-of-her league beings that were coming for them.
"Goddess, what about the last of them?" Diana asks.
"It will return to their abode, for now, that is enough for us." Athena replies as the group that fought Asmodel appears. "Well fought, all of you, know you have my gratitude but I now have to go distract my father before he realizes what has happened." She says before she blasts off into the sky as a bolt of lightning.
"Do they always leave that suddenly?" Flash asks Diana.
"Not normally, but her words were true, Zeus' fury will be blinding." Diana replies as a sudden wave of lightning and thunder washes over the clouds above for several seconds.
"Soo… is that why she left it behind?" Green Lantern asks as he scoops up the Fury in a soundproof bubble, noting that his ring wasn't far from needed a recharge.
"Raven! She needs help!" Penelope shouts as she barges though the others, carrying a badly burnt Philipus in her arms.
"Let me have a look at her." Raven says quickly as she shrinks back into her human guise, revealing how battered she was herself.
"Her pulse is strong and steady." Superman notes as Raven puts her hands on Philipus.
"Her mind is calm." J'onn adds.
"And her spirit remains tethered to her body. It would be unwise to add more wounds to your own." Dr. Fate concludes what he, Zatanna and Inza can see; Raven was just one jolt from passing out on her own.
"I can… manage." Raven huffs as her form begins to glow blue but she looks up as a hand is placed on her shoulder, finding Hippolyta there.
"Stand down Champion. Philipus will recover on her own till you have recovered your strength." The Queen says calmly.
Raven huffs and the glow disappears before she sinks to her knees, feeling very, very tired.
"Well, that's good, the last thing we wanted to bring home was a corpse." Io says as she helps Tim over, having since regained consciousness. "So who has my hammer?" She asks noticing Hippolyta didn't have it.
"I must admit it had a noble end." Hippolyta admits as Lady Blackhawk picks up the remains of the handle, noticing the thing was far too heavy for her to use as a weapon.
Io just freezes with a weird expression on her face. "I'd hate to try and lift the rest of this thing." Blackhawk notes with a huff as she carries it over to Io who just looks sadly at the remains of her mace. Most of them are too tired to do so, but they are amused by the reaction.
At the back of the group stands Artemis looking satisfied, even if she felt her victory was great, beating the Furies off was something else and perhaps somewhere she felt a little cheated by not having a shot at them. Then she feels someone standing next to her, finding it to be Bane who to her keen senses seemed nervous. "Cheer up big guy, 'tis over, the day is won."
"Perhaps, this day, but what of the war?" Bane replies cryptically as Nightwing finally gets to hug Raven.
"I never stopped looking." He says as she also embraces him.
"I know." She sighs in relief just as a sudden flash engulfs them.
Down below the red gleam returns to the eyes of Asmodel as he reenters the fleshsuit he had left when he feared it the Amazon would have decapitated him after he fell over. He feels the world around him, his foes were climbing the ice cliffs further away. Then he feels the damage to the suit was more severe than he had anticipated and knows he will have to abandon it after doing what he needed to do. He lies still as he makes the final preparations, when he is ready he pushes himself up kneel on one knee in time to see the lightning in the skies and then he draws a deep breath and exhales it, right at the spot where he feels the Pit Mistress is.
Raven opens her eyes after feeling that it, whatever it was, was over, and immediately she wished she hadn't. She is sitting at the mouth of a tunnel made of ice where she can see Asmodel fade away in light but her most immediate concern is Nightwing. "Richard?!" She exclaims in sudden panic as her mind puts it together, Asmodel had taken a cheap shot at her, but her powers had reflectively blocked most of the strike, but it's hadn't reacted fast enough to block all of it. Her own arms sting and she can smell burning.
"Gkk…" Richard stammers as he looks at her, she can feel his fear and confusion, but also a strange sense of happiness before she feels his soul beginning to slip out of his body.
"No! NO!" Raven shouts before she summons her healing powers, pouring them into Richard's body, ignoring any and all protests from those around her. "Live! Come on, LIVE!" She cries as she feels him continue to fade away. "Please!" She shouts as she looks up while holding Richard close, only for her to see his spirit hang over her, looking confused before he begins to fade. "No!"
"Raven?" Starfire asks.
"No!" Raven croaks. "It's not fair!"
"Mistress, it's not too late… you can still reach him!" Raven's rage flares at Apollyon's intrusion in her mind. "You know it! The Angel's sword!"
"Raven?" Zauriel asks fearfully as Raven looks at him with darkened eyes, he is pushed to the ground as his sword is ripped from him.
"What are you… No!" Zatanna asks before she realizes it, but it is too late and Raven has driven the heavenly sword into her soul-self. The agony is nearly unbearable for her now, but she changes to her final form before she drives her fingers into the breach and screams as she rips it open and dives in, only to have her ankle caught by Superman who prevents the breach from closing as a hurricane wind kicks up and begins sucking everything towards it.
"Raven!" Superman shouts as he digs his feet into the ground before Diana arrives to help.
"Richard!" Raven shouts as she is left in the breach, just out of reach of Richard standing next to Death. "Don't go! Take my hand!"
"That's not something we see every day." Death notes with an amused smirk. "So Richard, which hand will it be?" She asks.
"Richard?!" Raven screams as he looks from her to Death and the tunnel that opens behind her, where the shadows of two people appear, a man and a woman.
"Mom? Dad?" Richard asks as if asleep.
"Please! Don't leave me!" Raven screams.
"It's not time son." John says.
"You have so much to live for." Mary adds. "This is not the choice for you, yet."
"It feels like it." Richard replies.
"No!" Raven shouts as she reaches for him. "Richard!" Death squints her eyes at Richard, who seems otherwise oblivious to her standing next to him, then looks up before nodding at something.
"Apparently it's not really his time yet." She says.
"Stay away from him!" Raven shouts in panic.
"Don't worry, it's not time yet. Enjoy it. And don't make a habit of this." Death replies before she puts her hand on Richards chest and pushes him back to Raven who grabs him as she is carried back out of the portal that closes the instant she is out.
"Raven?" Richard asks in confusion after they are out, finding Raven lies over him and he feels strange.
"Do me a favor; close your eyes and make your mind go blank." Raven whispers as she can feel Superman and Wonder Woman still holding onto her legs.
"Done, but why…!" He doesn't see it, but Raven yanks Richards body away from Starfire, making it slide over under her and into Richards spirit. The impact makes Richard cough, feeling as if he took a hammer to his chest and he heaves for breath.
"His heart… start it!" Raven gasps as she twists herself off of him and finally passes out.
"He's having a heart attack!" J'onn says urgently.
"Make way!" Shayera shouts as she pushes her way forwards with her mace, turning the power on she taps it on Richards chest, causing him to cry out as he sits up.
"Ohh…" He groans as he looks up at the Thanagarian while clutching his chest. "And this suit is insulated." He huffs, still feeling as if he had been kicked by a horse, getting sighs of relief from the others and hug from Starfire.
"Watchtower to Superman. Is everything all right at your end?" Mr. Terrific asks.
"It is over." Superman sighs as he continues to notice the throbbing in his arm. "Beam us up if you can."
"Will do." Holt replies before they are all engulfed in purple light.
Author's note: Is it over? Maybe? Maybe not? :) And for all those who has posted some, thank you very much for the kind reviews.