CXLV
Darkseid vs. The Justice League
Part Two: Pride of the Amazons
Polluting the atmosphere around them, Raven knew this sickening, overwhelming evil all too well… she had felt it upon Elysium.
Darkseid.
Even though the Manhunters numbered in the hundreds of thousands above her, these mechanical soldiers produced no emotions… giving her no early warning of their arrival or their intentions. They were simply machines. But she certainly felt their divine master. Even her father, mighty Trigon could never register this level of evil –his negative emotions were counteracted by the massive amount of positive Source energy he had stolen and held within him – a balance of evil and stolen power used to power his heart.
As for Darkseid, no force in all of existence could hide his omnipresent, inherent evil.
In a mysterious cloud of grey smoke, the God of Tyranny now appeared before them… the self-declared master of the Universe who had come to their world, a confrontation her Bruce had wanted to take anywhere else. But now it was too late… Darkseid had come for her to Earth.
He wasted no time in announcing his presence.
"Ah… Raven, we meet again… Still clinging to your pathetic humanity, I see. But how thoughtful you are, my dear! To have brought me such wonderful gifts! A Green Lantern, a Guardian and these three senseless Gods who dared to attack my Kingdom. Well done! This will indeed incur my favour…"
Raven stood straight as she replied.
"They are here to oppose you, Darkseid. I have nothing to offer you after the foul deeds you have done…"
"Foul deeds?! Do you speak of Oa? Nonsense, dear girl. Your father had wasted his time waging a war against the Green Lantern Corps for a thousand years… one which I simply decided to mitigate… It was my decision to put down both sides. Am I not a just Emperor, dear niece?"
Raven now stood stunned for a moment… absorbing this latest revelation.
"… Both sides?"
"Oh yes…" Darkseid suddenly smiled wickedly while gazing at his fingernails. "Both Oa and your father have now fallen by my hand. Don't think me such a villain, dear niece… I offered them both mercy, to show leniency… but they were too proud. And so, my dear, I will show that same mercy to you.
As the daughter of vile Trigon, I will not permit you to follow in the footsteps of such a destructive father, which was his hope for you. I recognize that your father and I both come from a long line of warriors, but I have made war a thing of the past.
As such, I shall turn you over to my first-born's care… So that you may learn of the futility and failings of war by one of its most apt pupils. I believe you could learn many of life's failings at his side. If you choose to decline, you may share your father's fate on Maltus, to live among the Gods. The choice is yours, Raven. But before you decide, I should warn you that Kalibak has shown… some interest in you."
By Raven's side, Princess Diana of Themyscira carefully watched the exchange between the slim, dark woman who stood proudly and the demon of stone. Diana recognized it as an old tale with many variations, told amongst the Amazons for many generations… the story of the children of Gods and women who chose love over immortality.
A God's pride would never allow them to understand why their children would abandon the life eternal – to choose life among the mortals. The irony was that the Gods themselves had abandoned their own immortal realm to seduce and live with a mortal, as though Hera would forgive infidelity if it were beneath her.
Some of these children went on to become great heroes… and some were punished tragically. From what Diana understood, this Raven was the daughter of Nemesis - who had manifested as the large red demon called Trigon. And now, this new demon called Darkseid who had appeared before them believed himself mightier than even Zeus!
Diana watched as Raven's man, the one-eyed leader named Bruce, also stepped confidently forward, unafraid of the stone Tyrant. She could never fault this mortal for his courage at least, but he should show deference before his powerful woman. The man hadn't even brought weapons with him…
"Raven has already chosen, Darkseid. We are united in love and Fate."
"Mortals do not speak for Gods, insect!"
Incensed by the repudiation from a mortal, a frightened Raven watched as Darkseid's eyes glowed crimson with Omega Energy – a terrible sight she had already witnessed on Elysium when the Great Tyrant had sought to burn away her own humanity - when her mother had saved her from Darkseid's deadly beams by sacrificing herself…
Without another thought, Raven jumped instinctively in front of a defiant Bruce as Darkseid's Omega Beams burst forth from his crimson eyes, slamming into her own back…
Darkseid did not understand that the couple's Fates were inextricably tied, that Bruce's death would also mean Raven's tragic demise as well. But if they were to die now, she would die attempting to save the life of the man she loved… Could she do any less after he had saved her immortal soul from her father?
She felt the Omega Beams strike her squarely in the back and then… nothing.
But she was alive...
She was still alive.
And Bruce was still alive. But how?!...
The dark voice of her assailant answered.
"The Omega Effect…" Darkseid stroked his chin for a second, staring at the two embracing lovers before he continued, "… can be inherited! Of course, you were born after your father left the Infinity Pit. He passed it on to you, didn't he Raven? Now this is very interesting, little niece… Perhaps you are wasted on my mongrel son after all... You have convinced me that it should be glorious Darkseid who takes you as his third wife to validate this theory. An immortal son with the Omega Effect…"
Princess Diana didn't hear the sonic boom until Darkseid had been instantly smashed several hundred yards backwards. Turning to her side, the muscular man in blue named Clark had simply disappeared… reappearing as a speck a quarter of a mile away with the grey demon, who went BOOM as Darkseid was slammed harshly into the desert creating an enormous cloud of dust. Great Hera! How fast was this man?! Diana had not seen Clark even move…
The man named Bruce barked an order…
"Raven, get us over there!"
The daughter of Nemesis obediently raised her arms transported the remaining group through mists of black smoke to only ten yards away from where the demon had landed on his broad back. Praise Hera! The battle had finally begun! Thousands of emerald beams began to rain down upon the desert near Darkseid as Clark disappeared once more. To Diana's eyes, there was no blur, just a sudden vanishing. The New God called Lightray also disappeared.
The Green Ring Sorceress immediately used her Ring of Magic to put a green shield above them while the small blue man added his own power to reinforce it. With great effort, they were protecting their group from the incredible amount of Manhunter crossfire that made it seem as though they had been immersed into a bright emerald kaleidoscope.
Without hesitation, Diana drew her sword – one of the Amazon's greatest treasures - and launched herself through the maelstrom of green at the demon himself. She was pleased to notice that the large Goddess named Barda had also launched herself at the evil God without hesitation. Two warrior Goddesses attacking without fear…
…against a God without compassion. Apathetic to Diana's incoming attack, Darkseid stood and swung with incredible force, his granite fist slamming into Barda's face before she could connect with her Mega Rod, sending the battered New Goddess flying semi-conscious backwards to Bruce and Raven.
It was the opening Diana needed. The demon had made the fatal error of underestimating an Amazon warrior – a mistake no one had ever made twice! With a powerful swing, she put her broadsword directly through Darkseid's midsection, cleaving the Demon-God beneath his ribs, almost severing his spine. Diana rolled on the ground after her strike and watched as not blood, but chaotic, red energy poured from the wound she had just inflicted, immersing her surroundings in crimson light...
Until the two sections of Darkseid's body magically rejoined! May Hades take him! Wincing from the now-healed wound, the God turned and faced her.
"That… hurt."
"Great Hera, you are indeed the sum-of-all-evils!" In true Amazon fashion though, Diana smiled with that realization. This was her chance for glory! How her sisters would speak of this battle for the centuries to come, rejoicing in every detail over a demon that could instantly heal from wounds. The thrill of epic battle filled her soul as she circled Darkseid, calculating her next strike when she announced her intention…
"Impressive, demon… but tell me, how well can you put yourself back together when I cleave your stone head from that ugly neck? This blade is the second greatest gift of the Amazons, forged by Hephaestus himself…"
Indeed, this was the very blade that Perseus had used to behead dread Medusa. It had been one of the Amazons greatest acquisitions. As the world of man had turned its back on the gifts of the Gods, hidden Themyscira had sought them out. Her mother had been loathe to allow Diana to remove the sword from the war treasury, but the signs of the Oracle and Diana's own insistence had been too frequent for even stoic Hippolyta to ignore.
Darkseid however did not share her reverence over the blade…
"Such a crude weapon. But I too have a gift from my ancestors, Amazon. Let me show you…"
Crimson Omega Beams of death suddenly shot forth from Darkseid's eyes to disintegrate her. The instant before they could strike, Diana was forced to instinctively drop her sword and raise her metal wrist-bracers, with the inhuman reflexes of an Amazon warrior. Twin rays of red destructive energy deflected from her bracers, atomizing the sands below wherever they struck.
The two combatants were locked in a continual battle of disintegration beams versus magical bracers with neither daring to flinch. Nonchalantly, the evil God continued…
"My, my… Full of tricks, aren't you woman? You're like one of my Furies, I would think... But careful you don't reflect those beams upon my clumsy son…"
Darkseid grinned as he watched one of his reflected Omega Beams slice perilously close to fallen Orion… who was pinned to the ground no more than ten feet away by a dozen separate Manhunter beams. As her attention turned to glance at the downed Orion, she adjusted the angle of the her bracer's reflection, to prevent the Omega Beams from striking him.
Suddenly, Diana herself felt emerald beams from above striking her, pushing her into the dark sands. Hera help her... The Omega Beams were only one of Darkseid's weapons…
Calling upon all the strength of the Gods, Diana continued to deflect the demon's deadly crimson Omega Beams as she was being forced to her knees by the emerald beams of the Manhunters. Painfully, she remembered a story her mother had told her, when Hippolyta had journeyed to the world of men and adopted the name of "Wonder Woman" to face the war-tyranny of a Nazi madman eighty years ago.
Her mother had told her that unbelieving men had built great rambling machines of war, but none were capable of defeating a trained Amazon single-handedly. Yet these war machines were like the wasps of the nest… they attacked by the thousands so that no Amazon could win a war single-handedly. Hippolyta had come to rely upon her allies to defeat the Nazis.
For Diana, the need to be aligned against a powerful foe was becoming a painful lesson as more and more of those blasted beams from above struck her, sapping her strength and the will to stand while the stone demon grinned – continuing to attack her with Omega Beams. Darkseid gloated, as Diana prayed to Hera and Zeus to give her the strength to rise and end this demon.
"The old Gods are dead, Amazon… Long live the New... Long live Darkseid."
But perhaps the old Gods had listened…
The demon's deadly Omega Beams finally abated at the exact moment when Diana's legs and knees could no longer support the weight of the dozens of emerald beams pushing her to the sand – the exact moment she was forced to plant her hands into the sand - when her wrist bracers (that had been recast from the Aegis of Zeus) would no longer save her.
And now, with all the remaining strength she could muster, she raised her head to watch the stone demon glance down at a small red dot lighting his chest. This little red dot was what had momentarily saved her… a simple light that had distracted the demon. Darkseid's gaze was now focused to where the Green Ring Sorceress, the demi-god Raven and the others were huddled.
Diana listened as the arrogant grey demon addressed that group with utter contempt…
"Your puny weapon is as ineffective as you are, mortal."
Diana heard the man Bruce calmly reply - with a phrase the Amazon did not comprehend…
"That's not what you said four seconds ago…"
The Princess had a memory of being pinned down by dark forces from the heavens above, but suddenly she was standing again – deflecting the demon's eye beams with her magical bracers forged from the Aegis…
When Zeus himself must have heard her prayers and struck the sum-of-all-evils with a massive lightning bolt, shaking the very Earth itself. For a split-second, her existence became completely white as the air crackled with electricity and smelled like nothing she had ever experienced. The Gods had heard her prayers!
Reclaiming her Adamant Sword from the sands, Diana reacted with the instincts of a Amazon warrior trained from birth. She would not squander this divine gift of Zeus who had struck down the demon from the heavens with a lightning bolt of glorious power… An arrogant demon who had dared to declare himself greater than all the Gods of Olympus!
As she leapt at Darkseid, she witnessed that the lightning bolt of Zeus had put a hole through the stone demon's chest, but still the foul creature lived! How kind of Zeus to allow Diana to deliver the killing blow! The crimson energy spilled and erupted from Darkseid's gaping wound, prompting Diana to use one bracer mid-flight to deflect any stray beams that spat towards her while she flew through the air… arcing the sword of Perseus across her back, preparing for the final strike that would sever head from body, just as the sword's original owner had done to Medusa so long ago…
As she swung the broadsword down, the demon raised his hands to his head, the instinctive defence of children. No matter, she could slice through arm as easily as neck. This blade - forged by Hephaestus himself - was able to slice the unbreakable chains that had held Prometheus as easy as frayed rope.
Diana felt her blade slice through stone as Darkseid's forearm shattered and stony hand separated from stony limb, falling to the ground below. The blade creased a granite neck that was denser than anything she had ever encountered. She had only scratched his neck. So demons were made from stern stuff! So be it.. She drew her sword back for the executioner's final strike, when the world became green…
Dozens of emerald beams from above suddenly became thousands and enveloped her until she froze... as if paralyzed. With whatever strength and will she could find, she raged against the immobilizing force that held her in its green grasp – to allow her arm to finish this strike and end the demon. But no command she could issue would force her arm to strike at the damned demon before her.
Who was growing larger.
And larger…
He doubled in size and then doubled again! Within seconds, Darkseid had become colossal, growing even to the size of the Red Demon from before! As her trophy - the stony severed hand and wrist – remained on the sand, the Amazon grimaced as she watched that accursed crimson energy form yet another giant appendage to replace the old she had claimed - and then repair the wound that Zeus had just dealt.
He was like no enemy she ever had faced… a Lernaean Hydra composed of monstrous energy who had now grown too large for her to separate head from body…
She registered Raven's man's voice calling out to her… to move… as a giant stone foot now rose threateningly above her. She was about to be squashed by the demon... Did Raven's man think she was so simple?! Of course she would move if she were able! But she was held by the power of the machines, held motionless.
As Diana stood there transfixed, she felt it surreal as strange, molten pieces of metal rained down around her, littering the ground like embers falling from a bonfire in the sky… Would it end like this for a Princess of Themyscira? Crushed beneath the foot of a stone giant? Themyscira's greatest warrior whispered a silent prayer to Hera…
Author's Note:
Of course in Diana's mind, the white beam that saved her and wounded Darkseid was obviously a mighty lightning bolt thrown from the hand of Zeus above. However, clever readers will realize that it was the beam of the LexCorp Tachyon Cannon Number One. The little red dot that appeared on Darkseid's chest was Bruce using the smart-watch provided by Tim Drake as a targeting device. Thus it was Bruce who used the Tachyon Cannon to save Diana's life.
Bruce's dry response to Darkseid I humbly believe is my best Batman-esque dialogue of the entire story…
"That's not what you said four seconds ago…"
Who else but Batman would do and say that?