CXXVII
Two Brothers At War
"…And I will die before I let you hurt my husband again!"
This wasn't an empty threat.
Raven had the power to liberate both her and Bruce's souls from their physical bodies - to end it all here and now. They could be free in death to embrace Oblivion. Her father had taken his last act of revenge against them and she would never be his pawn or allow herself or Bruce to be tortured by her evil father...
A memory from six months ago suddenly flooded into her consciousness…
Bruce had convinced her to see a production of "Romeo and Juliet" while she was still attempting to get accustomed to the overwhelming emotional output of Gotham city - which was much more powerful than peaceful Azarath. Being an empath in Gotham was never easy. The theater was a controlled environment for her to learn.
In their private booth, she marvelled at the coordinated swell of emotions from the audience. To Raven, the actors were simply conductors and the audience had been their musicians of emotion. In the theatre of feelings, she had been an audience of one.
As Bruce had warned her, the ending had been tragic - but Raven had understood Juliet's final deed very well. The heroine had liberated her soul to stay with her true love. And now, she could do the same. They had vowed to keep hope alive between them, but their options were diminishing rapidly.
"Father… You will not break this Fate I have made with Bruce. We will live free or we will die free. Do you understand?"
The last bastion of the mad is reason… Her father was mad, but even he understood what his daughter was capable of.
"Open your eyes, Raven! Do you truly comprehend what this ring is that I hold, girl? This is the Black Ring of Power, daughter… The power to raise the dead! This is the gift which has been offered for your hand since birth. All that I have done, I have done for you!
A trillion lives I have taken… for you! I have pulled the light from a trillion souls to build a new Source that I now hold within me, which awaits… for you! Lord Nekron has imbued the power to command the dead into this ring… for you!
We can extinguish all life in the Universe, my dear… I have spread billions of corpses across the entire Galaxy who await your command... With nothing more than your will and this ring, you may rule all life that ever was! Worlds will fall before our army of the Undead… And these worlds will rise again to bow at your feet… the Queen of the Dead!"
"You're… mad. I never wanted any of this. I will not destroy all that I love, and all that I hold dear… for you."
"Then destroy it so that it may be spared, Raven… spare it from Darkseid's tyranny... I have seen the Tree turned to stone! He wins. I have seen the future and my brother will control Fate itself. Is this the ultimate destiny you wish upon all life? To live for Darkseid? All will be no better than the six Gods behind us… slaves."
"Hmph… You're a slave already, Drax…"
Raven knew that voice… Gods help her, she knew that evil voice…
Darkseid! But how?!
Sure enough, the King of Apokolips now stood behind her father in wisps of gray smoke… mocking them with his condescending presence. There had been no Boom Tube to alert them of his arrival though... Had he teleported? The Great Tyrant explained…
"A clever trick you devised, dear brother… I had never thought of using the Omega Effect upon my own atoms so that I could travel across worlds. A useful feat. The Guardian's barrier had proven to be a nuisance in the past…"
"Have you come to Maltus to admire your handiwork, brother? This place is your creation as much as it is theirs, foul Uxas."
"I came here to help you, brother… You have allowed yourself to become so consumed in a campaign of revenge that you don't even realize how pathetic you truly are. You're nothing more than the plaything of girls…. And even they wish to play with you no longer… You say you have seen the future. Then you know what awaits this mad Universe… I offer you the choice, brother. Join me."
Darkseid held out his hand to Trigon.
"Never!"
Raven stumbled backwards as she watched devastating Omega Beams abruptly emit from an enraged Trigon straight into an apathetic Darkseid. The same flash of crimson death that had vaporized her mother crackled across the atmosphere and then… nothing.
Darkseid remained… unfazed, unmoved. But how?!
Bruce managed to catch his wife before she toppled over from stumbling backwards. Raven almost cried when she gazed at his left eye. But again, her resilient husband whispered to her as the two greatest evils in the Universe faced off before them…
"Raven, you have to teleport to Abraxas while they're busy. I think Trigon is nothing more than an agent of revenge. If your sister can learn to forgive, his reason for existence will be removed."
"Bruce, are you sure?!"
"No... not really. I'm grasping at straws actually. But his brother called Trigon the 'plaything of girls'… meaning both of you. I truly believe your father needs someone's desires to drive his actions… and he's been using your sister's need for revenge the entire time. She has to be shown more than hate, Raven… And I was gathering your clothes when your father grabbed me."
Raven saw the pile of clothes her husband had retrieved and slipped them on quickly. Trigon had viewed her as nothing more than a prized cow, a female object to claim a dark dowry. Once clothed, she kissed her husband upon the forehead and teleported.
She knew Abraxas was the only chance they had. She had made a promise for hope with Bruce, and this seemed like the last hope that the Universe itself may have. Trigon had to be stopped. Two Gods of untold evil stood before them, brothers of unimaginable power; one who wanted to rule the Universe, and the other who wanted to destroy it. She had to take any chance afforded to her, however slim.
Bruce witnessed the heated exchange of the two brothers while his wife attempted their desperate gambit. The acting President said a silent prayer for her. He doubted even Clark could have survived the blast that Darkseid had just been hit with, but the stone-skinned God only grinned and continued.
"Brother… we were both reborn in the fires of the Infinity Pit. The Omega Effect courses through each of us. My beams would have as much of an effect upon you. We are immortal creatures born of hate and betrayal in the pit of power."
Bruce observed that calm Darkseid was the emotional antithesis of hateful Trigon… One brother of fire. The other of stone. He shuddered as Trigon screamed his reply.
"Betrayal, Uxas?! What would you know of betrayal?! My entire soul screamed out for revenge after you murdered me in that forsaken pit. I have been reborn the Revenant God, brother... Only living for the one day I shall avenge myself upon you. You know nothing of betrayal."
"Don't I?… So tell me, Drax…. Whose daughter is it that hangs upon the fifth cross? And whose daughter upon the fourth? And who is their mother?"
"Are you so vain that you would equate infidelity with murder, Uxas? Yes, I was seduced by your wife in a moment of weakness. Yes, Abraxas is my daughter as Zareah is your daughter. But it was you who placed them on those crosses!"
"Your infidelity was murder, brother. You killed Suli… I have only loved two things in my life, and you have taken them both from me. And still you scream of betrayal... Then dwell upon how you betrayed my wife, brother. Think upon who was it was that whispered to our mother that one of the daughters Suli bore may not have been mine."
"How is it that you could have ever sired a child of emotion, Uxas? Abraxas was something that you could never have conceived. Mother was never a fool…"
"No, she was not…unlike her first son. It was you who killed Suli at the very moment you confessed your affair into her hate-filled ears. You knew Heggra would never let Suli or her illegitimate child live. It was you who made Abraxas the bastard daughter of a whore, condemned to die. The Paix Arcana was her only salvation."
"Salvation? Only you would call this slavery a salvation, brother. And now you seek to save the Universe in this same manner?"
"Perhaps… Let us admit that each of us has betrayed the other, Drax. But we have also been reborn as true Gods; Darkseid and Trigon. This bickering is nothing more than a tale from another era, such tales are best left behind us. Take my hand, brother. Let us begin this final chapter together as the true children of Yuga Khan once more…
Join me now as Trigon. Why would you destroy what we can rule? I will give you a new purpose, brother... To take revenge upon our enemies and crush them beneath your heels. You will be the vengeful God of the Universe, every life form capable of thought will worship and fear you.
Rule in my name, brother… not in the name of a bastard child of emotion whose blind hatred lashes out against the farthest shores of all existence. Seek power in the name of mighty Darkseid and we shall rule this Universe together… This is the Fate we were born to, our divine inheritance. You only need to take my hand…"
Again, Darkseid offered his hand to Trigon.
"When you open your mouth brother, all I see is a den of vipers… and your tongue is the most venomous of them all. You were kind enough to bash the trust out of my skull while I lay dying in the Infinity Pit. It's something I never did thank you for… But what is the device you wear upon your offered hand, magnanimous Darkseid?"
"Simply a protective measure against the Lanterns, Trigon. The power they have gained under the Paix Arcana is significant. Apokolips has many wonders of technology I could share with you."
"I see... And the throne of Apokolips, faithful Darkseid… How many rulers may share its stately seat?"
"One, of course… But thrones are easily taken, Trigon. Take my hand and I will grant you the throne of New Genesis if you care for it."
"I do not… And who was the first-born child of our glorious father Yuga Khan the First, little brother?"
"… It was you, brother. But you were dead for such a long time."
"Dead?... Oh no, not dead. I was nothing more than a cast off, smouldering husk floating through space for thousands of years, kept alive by the cold flames of hatred and the crimson embers of the Infinity Pit…. But I was not dead.
I thought of you often, dear brother… In fact, it was the only thing that kept the Black Racer's icy grip from closing mine own eyes for eternity. The image of his dark hand hovering just above my eyes was the only thing I saw for centuries, Darkseid.
Can you imagine what that's like?
It was only when those fools from Azarath provided me with the dark life-blood of their own discarded souls that my heart beat again. And later I found this prison you had designed and learned how my brother had washed his hands clean of Suli's indiscretion."
"Trigon, my brother… What I did was for all Gods. The Guardians will not allow us the use of magic. In my naïve youth, I had hoped to protect Suli's true nature from them. This was the only way for our daughters to live…"
"Live?... This is not life, Darkseid! You may choose to grovel beneath the blue feet of the Guardians, but Trigon shall spread their ashes across dead Maltus while you remain upon your knees, kissing the dirt they trod upon. Go back to your lonely throne on Apokolips and observe while I show you what it is to truly be a God!
You may then witness the Universe you once dreamed of ruling perish before your eyes. All your blazing dreams of glory turned to ash. The lives you envisioned oppressed beneath your arrogant heels will instead claw at them for them from their graves… to drag you back to Hell, little brother.
I am the God of Vengeance, Darkseid. Look upon me and despair. I will be the last thing you shall ever see. I live only so that you may know death. All the fires upon Apokolips shall be extinguished until the planet itself becomes as dark as its master's heart… nothing more than lifeless stone."
"You're a hundred years too late and a thousand thoughts behind, brother. Do you truthfully believe that Darkseid would grovel before anyone's feet? You do not know me at all…"
"What I spoke of shall come to pass."
"No, it will not… I'm afraid the future of stone you have glimpsed is the true destiny, my blind Trigon. I do win. Darkseid will be triumphant. You see, I have already built my invincible army while you, brother… well, you haven't even really begun. It shall be I who show you how the Guardians are destroyed… And then, as you stole everything from me brother, my wife and my daughter, I will take everything from you…"
Darkseid smiled derisively at Trigon as he vanished into a grey cloud of smoke.
Author's Note:
Two things you never, ever want to hear in the same sentence:
"Darkseid" and "Invincible Army". Any guesses what he's been up to?...
Bonus Feature:
The New Gods vs. A New Hope
George Lucas has admitted that "Star Wars" was influenced by comics (and samurai movies). More than any other comic though, there are a number of remarkable similarities between Jack Kirby's 'New Gods' and Lucas's 'Star Wars'.
For example, the Universe is divided into two factions: The evil Empire (Apokolips) and the peace-loving Alliance (New Genesis). Darth Vader (Darkseid) rules a war-world (the Death Star or Apokolips) and the evil father must battle his own son, Luke Skywalker (Orion) who is being mentored by an old warrior, Obi Wan Kenobe (Izaya). There is an all-powerful Force (the Source) that Jedi (New Gods) may tap into, although technology is the weapon of choice.
Oh yes, both stories starts off with an uneasy truce between good and evil after a devastating galactic war.
Even Darkseid's name, pronounced "Dark Side" takes on a new significance when you think of the dark Lord of the Sith. "You do not know the power of the Dark Side…" But Darth Vader was also patterned after another famous comic book villain. Can you guess who?
Hint: He appears in the Fantastic Four. That's right, Victor Von Doom! Wears armor, horribly disfigured, megalomaniac ruler. Could Reed Richards be Han Solo? Johnny Storm would be Luke and his sister Sue would be Leia. Definitely some influences there. Another Kirby series (written by Stan Lee).
'The New Gods' was first printed in early 1971, the 'Fantastic Four' in the late 60's. Jack Kirby was the artist for both (and wrote New Gods). 'Star Wars' was released in 1977 with Lucas completing his first draft in 1974. No one would ever say that Lucas blatantly stole from Kirby, because he didn't. But it's always interesting to see where his influences came from.
So where did Jack Kirby's inspiration come from?...
That's a good question. Jack Kirby was an endless force of creativity with magnificent talent, there's no doubt about that. It seems he drew inspiration from everything in an explosion of ideas transforming into kinetic art that literally jumps off the page. I guess that's why they call him "The King"…