CXLVI
Darkseid vs. The Justice League
Part Three: The Light of Krypton
A Quick Note:
As two of the fastest beings in existence, both Clark and Lightray can approach the speed of light. That means they are extremely fast. When they converse without the restraints of other individuals around having to understand their words, they talk much faster than you and I ever could. That's why there's so much dialogue between them…
Clark had heard enough from the stone God.
When they had peacefully lain on the desert sands earlier after the greatest pleasure he had ever known, Barbara had told him of how Raven had been the first to come to Clark's aid after his disastrous attack on Trigon. And then how the young Mrs. Wayne had not only brought Barbara Gordon back from the brink of insanity, but also allowed Barbara to channel her newfound soul into Clark's battered body - to rescue his own soul from misery and final Oblivion.
It had been Raven that had saved them and allowed them to save each other.
And now this Darkseid had the gall to show up on Clark's adopted world and try to claim this same woman as some pretty, little war prize?...
Not bloody likely.
Smashing his fist into Darkseid's smug face felt incredibly good.
The Kryptonian didn't hold back. He didn't have to. Clark was perfectly aware that this was a God - who wasn't going to disintegrate when he hit him at full strength… however much he had wished he could. Instead, Darkseid flew two hundred yards backwards in the blink of an eye until Clark hit him again, smashing the stone God far into the earth.
The first Manhunter beam glanced off Clark's arm. It hurt.
Flying through storm clouds in the past, he had been struck by lightning numerous times - millions of volts of electricity flowing through him that seemed no more than a light static shock. Energy had never hurt him, quite the opposite in fact. It made him. But this emerald blast was different. It had hurt him.
His inherent resistance to electricity and radiation had been measured by the government as off the charts. Except for the unique wavelength of Kryptonite, there was no energy that could injure him like the Manhunter beams. Was it possible that Darkseid was using a Kryptonite-based energy attack? Using a quick scan of his X-Ray vision - while he dodged the next six beams – revealed this wasn't the case. It wasn't Kryptonite radiation. But he still had no idea about what type of energy the Manhunters were firing at him…
The light-haired God named Lightray suddenly appeared beside him - sporting a large grin while he joined him, also shifting between the incoming emerald beams. Lightray began speaking faster than the air could carry his sound…
"Nice punch."
Clark had finally met someone who was fast enough to actually able to keep up with him. To an outsider, it would appear like two flickering images were holding a conversation of high-pitched blips as they disappeared from one spot to another.
"Thanks. Someone had to shut that obnoxious mouth. Do you know what this green energy is made of?"
"The power that flows through the Gods… Magic. He's got one million of those damned machines using that power above us. As strong and as handsome as you are, stranger - you realize that, unless your fists are made of Radium, pounding Darkseid won't really hurt him."
"Clark… Call me Clark. Why won't it hurt him, Lightray?"
"To my kind's eternal shame, Darkseid is a God… And having fisticuffs with Gods is a terrible waste of time. It only upsets or amuses them. Also, Darkseid is the inheritor of the Omega Effect…"
"Well, it made me feel better, if nothing else... So what is this Omega Effect exactly?"
"The ability to transmute or destroy matter with nothing more than his will. His body is a transference of Omega Energy and divine matter united by a singular will. You caught him by surprise, but Darkseid could will it so that even your strongest blows wouldn't affect him."
Clark turned his gaze below and used his X-Ray vision to scan for Darkseid - who was quickly climbing back to the surface from where Clark's second punch had unceremoniously deposited the Tyrant into the bowels of the Earth. Now scanning deeper into Darkseid's stone body, Clark saw something that truly disheartened him.
Lightray had spoken the truth... The same energy/matter regeneration that powered Clark also seemed to power Darkseid… but Darkseid held much, much more energy inside of him than Clark ever could. In fact, if Clark were a God, he would be similar to the stony thing he had just smashed deep into the ground.
"So how can we beat him, Lightray?"
"If I knew the answer to that question, friend Clark… the Highfather himself would preside over my nuptials with reluctant Orion. Alas, many have tried to topple the Great Tyrant… but all have failed. He must be stopped, but none know how to do so."
"You mentioned Radion."
"Aye, a weakness of the New Gods certainly, and perhaps effective against Darkseid. With the Omega Effect at his disposal however… I'm unsure of how effective. He could change Radion into wine if he so desired."
"He has to shoot it with those eye beams, right? That's how he emits the Omega Effect?"
"Usually, yes. But it courses through him as well. As a God of Light, I've seen how he uses it to power his own body. He can grow to the size of a mountain with nothing more than a thought and the air molecules around him. He simply recreates himself larger. Or become denser than a black hole."
"Yes… Trigon was also able to perform that trick using the Omega Effect. I found out the hard way how powerful that energy can be..."
"You've bounced back remarkably well since last we met, man-of-the-stars. One would have expected that you were a native spirit of Elysium at that time."
"I've found some unexpected and wonderful friends… Speaking of, I believe that's the first whiffs of black smoke from Raven's teleportation starting to appear over there. Looks like they'll be joining us."
"… So it does. And look, Orion's travelling with them! Would you like to smack Darkseid again before they fully appear? Perhaps drop a boulder on him? He's just climbing out of his hole…"
"I'd like to make sure they don't get caught in the crossfire from the Manhunters. … I'm hoping Barbara can shield them with her Ring while we figure out a plan of attack."
"Were you a God on the place where you came from originally, Clark?"
"Krypton?... No, I'm a mortal who underwent advanced genetic modification."
"Truly? You could be a God on this planet."
"We could all be Gods, Lightray. It's just that no one's figured that out yet."
"Speak for yourself."
Lightray gave the Kryptonian a sly wink and a smile as they watched Barbara put up a green shield -just as Clark had hoped. The two heroes continued to manoeuvre around the deadly emerald beams raining down upon them from the heavens as Darkseid finally re-emerged from the deep hole in the ground.
"Shall we take this fight to the Manhunters above, Clark? I so love to dance, but this emerald twinkling makes a better decoration than partner."
"Well said, Lightray. Let's go. So why does a God need a million robot army anyway?"
Lightray gave Clark a naughty wink.
"There's talk that perhaps he's compensating for something…"
The pair chuckled as they flew in a flash to the skies above. Now in the upper atmosphere, Lightray emitted beams of concentrated solar light from his hands while Clark shot his heat vision across the Manhunters. Each had the desired effect of slicing the robots into molten pieces of scrap metal – tumbling down to the Earth below.
Even as hundreds of Manhunters fell, there were still legions of the damned things! Weaving at incredible speeds, the pair were able to eventually dispatch of thousands of the war machines before Darkseid became acutely aware of the threat above him and had the Manhunters put up green shields against the heroes… which unfortunately worked.
But even worse was that the Manhunters protected behind these barriers were able to shoot through the green shields… while Lightray and Clark could not. The Manhunters had somehow configured the shields to be one-way and reformed them into a gigantic sphere. Lightray flew closer to Clark once again.
"Clark, I need you to draw their fire. I'm going to Boom Tube inside that cluster and light them up from the inside."
"…Will you be alright, Lightray?"
"Oh, you're worried about me!… I may need a little kiss when it's done."
Clark grinned. "Then I'll bring Orion up right away."
"Why? You'd only make him jealous! Cover me you naughty boy, I'm going in."
Clark flew at impossible speeds closer to the emerald impregnable force, bravely attempting to draw the thousands of beams towards him while he watched Lightray step through a Boom Tube now miles away…
…and reappear into the center of the robot phalanx. Before the Manhunters could turn and react to this trespasser, the Kryptonian witnessed a miniature sun begin to form at the center of their emerald barrier - as Lightray suddenly became a blinding supernova, burning every single Manhunter within. At this exact moment, Clark also witnessed the beam of concentrated energy from the direction of the sun streaking past them… a precise ray of energy travelling slowly back through time while the supernova began to contract and become Lightray before once again exploding into glorious radiance once more.
Barbara had told Clark the amazing story of who had rewritten time and saved him from Trigon's merciless grasp - a cracking, snapping sound Barbara Gordon could never forget - allowing her the chance to use the Ring. And how Bruce Wayne had altered Fate itself so that Clark need not die.
It was a Tachyon beam exactly like the one that just had passed by them. Clark turned his attention to witness what had unfolded and gathered enough to realize that Bruce Wayne had likely just saved another life… that of an Amazon Princess. But Clark had his own friend to save in the skies above…
With the emerald shield and its tens of thousands of metallic inhabitants now evaporated, Clark finally caught sight of a spent Lightray, the God now falling helplessly like a stone. Without a second though, the Man of Steel streaked towards the God of Light as new emerald beams from distant Manhunters sought an easy target.
Quickly snatching Lightray into his powerful arms, Clark weaved around emerald beams as he looked with admiration down into the light blue eyes of the New God that were so near to his own.
"… That was impressive."
"Do I get a kiss then?" Lightray smiled hopefully up at him, snuggling into his broad chest.
Clark kissed the God gently on the forehead and smiled - while a look of disappointment spread across Lightray's handsome features.
"Tease… And I could have sworn that you had a thing for red-heads."
"But you've already got Orion… How long until you recover, Lightray?"
"In your arms I'm recovered beyond my wildest dreams, lover. Oh, to be whisked away from the jaws of death and saved by such a powerful and strong man…"
Clark suddenly released Lightray - a stern look set into his eyes, gazing at the Earth below.
"Oh Clark, don't be angry with me, dear…" Lightray feigned a pout and clapped his hands together while side-stepping emerald beams. "These life-and-death battles are so dreary without a little romantic banter, don't you agree?"
The shocked New God was answered with one simple word from the departing Kryptonian – with Clark disappearing in a blinding flash of blue halfway towards the Earth below before the sound could even travel to Lightray's ears.
"…Diana!"
Lightray peered downwards and sighed. It seemed that events below were not going well after all…
In the tenth of a second it took Clark to fly to Earth, the Kryptonian had formulated his plan to rescue Diana. She was barely visible - even to him, hopelessly trapped within a massive amalgamation of Manhunter beams – which could affect Clark just as easily as they were affecting the Amazon. And Darkseid's giant boot was just about to crush Diana unless Clark intervened.
He had to gamble on that shield she had slung across her back… to risk that it would be capable of deflecting the rays of the Manhunters long enough for his momentum to carry them clear of danger. Clark prayed that Diana was tougher than the average woman… because he had to fly directly into her midsection very hard.
The impact had the desired effect.
With an audible OOF!, the Amazon doubled over, which re-positioned the shield across her back to intercept the thousands of beams that would have struck them. Even partially covered, Clark still felt the awesome power of the Manhunter beams striking his exposed waist and legs - draining even his considerable strength… attempting to paralyze both his motor functions and destroy his will to escape. Even the mighty Kryptonian wouldn't have lasted long under this fierce barrage of magical energy.
But he didn't have to. This was a momentum play.
And momentum carried the pair past the immobilizing beams of green magic as they tumbled like leaves in a hurricane. They hit the sand exactly where Clark had planned…
Which was far away from Darkseid's descending boot and below the shield that Barbara had created. As the pair skidded to a stop, Bruce Wayne looked down at the tumbling Amazon and rolling Kryptonian while a wide grin crossed his face.
"And…. SAFE at home plate! Nice save, Clark."
Clark smiled too, looking up at the one-eyed Gothamite.
"You too, Bruce… Looks like we both owe you one now…"
And then it all changed.
It didn't take Clark's super-heightened senses to realize that the mood of his friends had suddenly shifted to bleak silence… Bruce's casual demeanour instantly became hyper-focus, Barbara turned pale, and even Ganthet gasped with shock. All eyes were riveted to a spot behind Clark - riveted upon…
Darkseid.
The God of Tyranny was no longer a giant. He had shrunk back down to their size and was now standing behind Clark, his stony frame only mere feet away, uncaring whether the Manhunter beams struck him or not. Most frightening of all was that there was no hostility in Darkseid, only curiosity. Clark realized that he was facing something far more powerful than anything he had ever conceived.
Beneath the green dome of Barbara Gordon's sanctuary, all remaining hope froze and withered in the air as Darkseid spoke to Clark.
"…What is your name?"
"...Kal-El."
"Then I declare Kal-El the King of this world. Until the end of time… that is how long I would bequeath this world to you. All that it contains would be yours to do with as you please. You are deserving. I am not a monster, I am a monarch and a God of vision. I am Darkseid."
"This is a free world, Darkseid…"
"As its King, you may make it so, Kal-El. You may even take the fierce Amazon as your Queen…"
With his super-hearing, Clark could hear the muscles around Barbara's jaw tightening and her teeth unconsciously grinding with Darkseid's last offer. He didn't have to be psychic to know what she was currently thinking…
Over my dead body…
Barbara need not worry.
"We stand united against your tyranny, Darkseid. It is you who should surrender now."
Darkseid laughed unpleasantly while Manhunter beams struck him and the dark sands around him.
"Surely you are wise enough to know how this ends, mortal… I could vanquish this frail green barrier above you in an instant, letting the Manhunters destroy all of you. I could obliterate any of you with but a mere thought. I am the true God and the inheritor of the Omega Effect… there is nothing in the Universe that can stop me.
But I offer you the choice, Kal-El… Consider the possibility before you utter the trite propagandas of this ignorant world. These New Gods may throw away their pride and return unharmed to New Genesis… The Pact that Scott Free died for may stand.
But the Green Lantern, the Guardian, the one-eyed mortal and lovely Raven… they are mine. You could give this valiant Amazon her life and spare this entire world from my wrath. I extend my hand and offer you life, Kal-El. I offer you a truce… Simply bow down and declare me as your sovereign Lord..."
The Man of Steel locked gazes with the God of Stone while each stood motionless – indomitable wills battling for supremacy in the empty space between their omnipotent eyes. The desert wind of Kahndaq's night swirled ancient grains of sand among them, while time itself could only stop to observe its last moments. It was Clark who finally asked the question…
"What is it that you seek, Darkseid?"
"Perfect control. Flawless order. An absolute loss of freedom."
"That's impossible, Darkseid."
"For you… yes. But for me, it will happen, my young Kal-El. Fate itself has decreed that I shall be victorious. In the end, by my will alone…the Universe shall become as stone. All entropy will finally be destroyed by my hand. A perfect last moment of shining Perfection…"
"You would rule the Universe to destroy it?"
"To Perfect it… Nothing would be destroyed. Such an event will occur long after you have passed from this existence, Kal-El… You would not be deprived of your earthly pleasures. After all, these things do take considerable time, even for the God of Existence."
Clark pondered the ramifications of Darkseid's revelation for a second while Bruce ducked into the shadows behind him.
"Frozen… The Universe would become frozen as entropy approaches zero…"
"Semantics, Kal-El… And Mr. Wayne, if you have any intention of pointing that device at me again, I shall make you Kalibak's bride."
In the shadows, Bruce slowly lowered his left wrist. He had been contemplating targeting Darkseid once more with the smart-watch, in case this discussion between these two heavy-hitters went sideways. It was an act of desperation and he knew it. So far, brute force, magic weapons and energy beams didn't seem to be working well against Darkseid…
Which only left out-manoeuvring him. They had to out-think Darkseid…. But Bruce had a sinking feeling that Darkseid was no slouch in this area as well…
Diana's war cry almost jolted Bruce's heart to stop from sudden shock.
The Amazon had been feigning unconsciousness at their feet. She had been quietly waiting for her opening and now ceased the opportunity! The blade of Perseus had lain ready in her warrior's hand the entire time. With incredible power, narrowly swinging past Clark's shoulder by an inch, the Princess of the Amazons had attacked!… With her magic blade finding its mark this time, on the exposed neck below Darkseid's jaw.
Where its motion suddenly stopped.
The loud clang of sword striking rock pierced their ears, carried by the air pressure from her mighty strike rushing past them. The blade did not pierce the God's stone flesh. In Diana's instant of disbelief, Darkseid wrapped his large hand around Diana's skull, lifting Diana off her feet and before tossing her - like an unwanted doll - forty feet beyond the green shield… back into the unrelenting beams of the Manhunters.
"Play time is over, Amazon…" Darkseid now returned his attention back to Clark. "Now, if you still wish to keep her as your Queen Kal-El, I suggest that you decide quickly… before she is reduced to fleshy pulp by the Manhunters. She reminds me of my second wife, the same treacherous spirit…"
Suddenly pushed past the point of restraint, Clark reacted as only he could.
With blinding speed, the last son of Krypton snatched up Darkseid, holding the God above his head, using the deity as an unwilling shield. Streaking across the sand to the discarded Amazon - with Darkseid now absorbing the Manhunter beams from above - Clark scooped up Diana with one arm and turned.
In the span of a second, Clark had returned with Diana, and in the next blink of an eye spun, he flung Darkseid far into the night sky. Bruce had never witnessed such speed, such strength… as though perfect physical power could make desperate wishes come true. Clark had that sort of power. The possibilities were endless.
Bruce's childlike wonder of Clark's power was suddenly 'popped' like a bright balloon when the emerald shield above that had protected them ceased to be.
Without its shelter, the long-denied beams of the Manhunters now rained down upon them, driving the now-battered group forcefully to the sand below. Bruce had (at least) managed to land with his head tilted, so that he could still witness the emerald assault. Beyond that, he was completely incapable of movement and getting beaten severely. As a mortal man, he recognized the fact that he had seconds to live under such a barrage of power. He was no Kryptonian Superman or immortal Amazon Wonder-Woman…
Through one wet eye, Bruce witnessed Clark (bless his heart) place himself over Barbara as a human shield. As for Barbara Gordon, she could only kneel and stare at her Power Ring in stunned disbelief, horrified that it had failed them this way. Ganthet the Guardian seemed to have disappeared while Diana struggled vainly with all her might just to remain standing. Bruce knew that Barda still lay unconscious somewhere behind him and that poor Orion must have been beaten to jelly by now.
In the dream-like trance of a boxer before the knock-out blow, Bruce watched as Barbara frantically slapped her Ring with the palm of her hand, as though it were a ketchup bottle that only needed coaxing back to life. At least she had found Clark before the end…
Bruce knew what had happened though… Darkseid had simply followed through with his threat. Perhaps he was also the God of Green Lanterns… That would be a truly stupid last thought Bruce… Darkseid had simply turned her Ring off. They needed a miracle now… What they got was the return of the malevolent God.
"Did you ever consider that the flow of energy between a Ring and Lanterns works both ways, my dear?"
The God had returned only to gloat. Bruce used whatever hate and need that was left in him to stay conscious… to be aware of their last desperate moment.
He knew that Darkseid was also standing before them… also witnessing the final moment of the Justice League that Bruce Wayne had assembled to stop him. They had been too late. Darkseid had grown too strong. And now Bruce had only one regret… that Raven was outside of his view in his last moment of mortality.
"…Darkseid, enough."
It was Raven's voice! She spoke bravely - but Bruce knew that she was feeling the crushing weight of the Manhunter beams that was bearing down upon him, making it so very difficult for him to breath. They shared their pain now. And yet, from the direction of the voice, he knew that she still stood! His strong Raven who now stood alone against Darkseid while the rest had fallen. It only amused Darkseid.
"Ah, Raven. How inconsiderate of me… With such charming hosts, I am afraid I have become distracted. But you… you are the very reason for my visit, my dear. Shall we depart this dreary company and begin our lives anew?"
"No… I shall join… my husband… in death…. You will never possess me, Darkseid! Just… as you never had… Suli."
Raven was choosing not to flee. She would face the Tyrant until their impending death... As a free woman.
"Never have you, Raven?... Nonsense my dear, I shall possess you forever… just like your father!"
Just beyond Bruce's view, something very bad happened.
He felt a terrific pain burning through his gut - like a blowtorch that had been used to burn through his soul... What had Darkseid done?! What had that bastard done to Raven to hurt her like that?! God, this hurt! The pain pushed darkness around the periphery of Bruce's mind, forcing all reason from his thoughts, dragging along the welcome relief of forced unconsciousness as his eyes began to droop…
But the Bat wouldn't let him die.
Fiery eyes and leathery wings battered screamed against the darkness. His work was not done. He could not die yet. Bruce understood that while he was a man, he was more than just a man. He was a purpose, an ideal that must be preserved until justice was served…
But just beyond the Bat, there was a figure in white robes waiting for him…
And the figure was talking to him…
A man in white.
He knew this strange man in the white robes… Yes, he remembered him… But dreams and memories were now impossible to distinguish between, but he knew this man in white… From a rooftop… But was it only a dream?...
Author's Note:
(Imagine this in your best William Dozier narrator voice)
Has Bruce Wayne finally lost his mind?!... Who is this mysterious man in white?!... What has happened to Raven, the Girl Wonder?!...
Tune in next week — same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!