TW: Glad to hear it. Chase is not part of Kane's plans one bit. Spoilers.
Metropolis
Afternoon
Logan led Oliver, Sara, Bobbi, Barry and Matt into a hanger where the Black Bird was waiting.
"The Black Bird should get us to Starling City in an hour, tops. Good thing I convinced Chuck to make a few upgrades," Logan noted with a slight smirk.
"Dad, are you sure about this? The X-Men might need you," Bobbi pointed out and Logan chuckled.
"Me and Magneto usually don't mix. Besides, I have a score to settle with my brother," Logan said with a slight scowl as he thought of Victor.
"You're not the only one with a score to settle, old friend," the group turned around to see Carter and Courtney enter the hanger. "Icicle is there too."
"So we took out the old man, now we gotta take on Junior. Guess everything comes back to haunt you eventually," Logan said with a grimace.
"Time to bring this story to end," Carter said and Logan nodded.
"All aboard, everyone. Next stop, Starling City."
Watchtower
Not long after
"Okay, so Darkseid has a plan for Magneto. How do we stop it if we can't even figure it out?" Tony wondered as the X-Men, Avengers, and what was left of their allies sat around, brainstorming.
"Maybe we don't have too," Clint said and they all looked to him. "Darkseid is the one pulling everyone's strings. Maybe if we stop him, Darkseid's influence over them will end."
"Clint makes a good point. If Darkseid's influence over the earth ends, those he has marked would revert to as they were before," Charles mused.
"Still doesn't help us against whatever that is," Sam said as he gestured to the sky, where they could see Apokolips looming.
"Darkseid has been marking people for months now, we could never figure out why. What if this is the reason?" Clark suggested.
"You're saying that the marks are pulling that thing towards Earth?" Natasha asked and Clark nodded.
"Perhaps they have a gravitational pull that brings it closer to Earth," Vision mused.
"And that doesn't help us. There must be hundreds, maybe thousands of people marked by now, all across the world," Sam pointed out.
"That thing isn't an asteroid. It's a planet," Tess said and they all looked over, seeing she somehow had a picture of Apokolips from space on the screen.
"Where'd you get this?" Steve asked as he walked up beside her.
"I just hacked a Stark Industries satellite," Tess said bluntly.
"I will ask questions later. Right now, how are we supposed to get that away from the earth?" Tony wondered.
"Something that size will not be easy to move away from the earth," Cisco noted uneasily.
"That's what I need all of you to figure out. Tony, Tess, Cisco, Professor Stein, you four are the smartest people here. See if you can figure out a way to deal with that. The rest of us will try to find and stop Darkseid," Steve ordered.
"I called in some backup on that front," Clark spoke up.
As if in answer, they heard a crunch and everyone looked over to see Bart munching on an apple.
"Hey. So, hear we're going to try and take out the biggest bad guy there ever was," Bart said once he swallowed.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Tony asked blankly.
"Impulse. Guess we're gonna be working together," Bart said with a wave.
"Darkseid has Thawne's powers in addition to his own. Figured we could use another speedster with Barry in Starling City," Clark explained.
"A wise decision, Kal-El."
They all turned, seeing what seemed to be a middle aged black man walking into the room. Clark smiled at the sight of him.
"John, thanks for coming," Clark greeted as John Jones walked into the room.
"Kal-El. I came when you called, as I always have. I'm sorry for what's happened to you. We can look at ways to reverse it," John promised.
"That's not important right now. Stopping Darkseid is. I'm hoping you can tip the odds in our favor," Clark said and John nodded. "Everyone, this is John Jones. He's the Martian Manhunter."
"So you're really from Mars?" Rhodey asked in surprise and John looked over at him calmly.
"I am the sole survivor of the Martian race," John said simply in a tone that left no room for argument.
"After Kara, he's the most powerful of my allies. I'm hoping he and Kara together can change the tide of the fight," Clark explained.
"If we can work together," Kara said as she walked in, eying him warily as John turned to face her.
"I was acting under orders from Jor-El. Your father was a dangerous man. Something you now know," John pointed out and Kara nodded after a moment.
"I think I can help too," Rogue said and they all looked over at him. "Take a look."
Rogue walked over and grabbed a desk, stunning everyone when she lifted it easily.
"When you touched Clark, you absorbed his powers," Chloe remembered and Rogue nodded as she put it down.
"Yeah, but anyone's powers she absorbed usually fades by now," Storm noted.
"Maybe it has a different effect because Clark's an alien," Tess proposed.
"Regardless, it may be a welcome advantage," Charles mused.
"Still leaves us with nothing to go on for finding Darkseid," Gambit pointed out and Charles put a hand to his chin, thinking.
"Esme referred to the final phase of Darkseid's plan as a dark rapture and called those who had been marked 'saved," Charles noted and Clark remembered his first conversation with Darkseid.
"When he confronted me while possessing Godfrey, Darkseid said he was once known as Lucifer," Clark remembered.
"And the orphanage Granny Goodness was running was called 'Saint Louise's," Tess added.
"He uses many religious symbolisms. Perhaps he is hiding somewhere that has a connection to the Lord," Kurt mused in thought and Clark nodded.
"Chloe, see if you can find any religious sites in Metropolis. Then run facial recognition of Harrison Wells, Godfrey and Granny Goodness," Clark ordered and Chloe nodded, getting on it. "One of them has to lead to Darkseid."
New York
Same time
Gwen was packing up to go home, pulling out her phone. She hovered over Peter's name for a moment, trying to figure out what to say when she heard someone walk up behind her. She quickly pocketed her phone, going back to packing her things when she looked up, surprised to see Norman standing a few feet away.
"Mr. Osborn," Gwen greeted politely, trying not to let show how much his presence had unsettled her.
"Ms. Stacy. I was wondering if we might have a word in my office?" Norman inquired.
"I'm afraid I'm on my way out. Perhaps tomorrow," Gwen said, moving to walk passed him only for Norman to step in her path.
"I'm afraid this is rather important You might say…it's a matter of life and death."
Black Bird, en route to Starling City
Not long after
"Okay, thanks," Barry said before ending his call, looking over to address the rest of the team. "That was Chloe. They might have figured out a way to stop Darkseid, but it won't be easy."
"Still brings us no closer to stopping Kane," Oliver said darkly.
"Oliver, you're not alone in this," Matt told him wisely and Oliver smiled tightly.
"I know, but that doesn't give me any comfort, Matt. Kane has spent too long planning this, it's like he knows what I'm gonna do before I do it," Oliver said in frustration.
"Oliver, Prometheus has studied you for years. Of course he knows your tactics. But I know you, and I know him. Kane is arrogant; he thinks he has everything figured out. But he doesn't know you like I do. No one will fight harder for your family and friends than you. You just have to think a different way, do something he won't expect," Bobbi told Oliver softly.
Oliver was silent for a long moment, looking thoughtful. Then, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.
"Hey. It's me. I need your help."
Starling City
Not long after
Oliver's loved ones were in a dark room, still restrained when someone with a bag over her head was led in. She was shoved down to her knees before the bag was removed from her head to reveal the face of Samantha Clayton. Moira and Laurel were both shocked, although for very different reasons.
"Samantha?" Laurel questioned and Samantha turned her head towards her.
"Laurel Lance?" Samantha questioned before spotting Kane as he walked in. "You! Where have you taken my son?!"
"Relax, he's perfectly safe. He's about to meet his father, for the first time," Kane said with a sadistic grin.
"You brought a kid into this?" Quentin demanded, sounding disgusted. "You really are a sick son of a bitch."
"It apparently runs in the family," Diggle said and Kane chuckled.
"You know nothing about me, John Diggle. Did you ever wonder why I chose the name Prometheus?" Kane asked, continuing before any of them could answer. "The story of the Titan Prometheus was one of the last stories my father read to me as a child before he crashed on Lian Yu, starting this painful story. Do any of you know it?"
Kane waited in silence before someone finally spoke.
"Prometheus gave fire to mankind. This was in defiance of the king god, Zeus. When he learned this, Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock, condemning him to have an eagle eat his liver for the rest of eternity," Felicity said and Kane smiled.
"Right you are, Ms. Smoak. I chose Prometheus as my name because I thought that was my role in this story. That I was Prometheus, standing up to a tyrannical king who did as he wished. It's only here, at the end that I realize I was lying to myself. It's funny, isn't it? How we can be deceived by our true nature," Kane said as they all looked at him bewildered.
"What are you talking about?" Laurel demanded and Kane chuckled.
"It means I'm not Prometheus. It means that I'm Zeus. The god who struck down a man arrogant enough to believe he could do as he wished without consequences!"
Kane then gestured for the soldiers to come in and keep guard on the prisoners. As Kane walked back out the door, Thea shouted after him.
"Oliver's gonna come for us!"
"That's what I'm counting on, Thea!" Kane said with an insane laugh as he walked out of the room.
"Don't worry, Oliver'll get us out of this," Diggle said with certainly.
"Yeah? How?" Quentin asked blankly. "The odds aren't exactly in his favor."
"Oliver's faced worse odds before," Felicity argued.
"Yeah, with all of us, The Avengers, Barry, Logan," Roy listed off. "Who I doubt will be coming to the rescue this time."
"They're right. Oliver can't do this alone," Diggle said with a sigh.
New York
Same time
At his house, Peter looked up at the sky, wondering what was going on when a voice spoke up behind him.
"Whole world's going to Hell. And you got problems of your own."
Peter turned around to see Fury had entered his room, to his surprise.
"How did you-"
"I'm a spy, it's what I do," Fury said simply. "There's some cell phone interference because of that thing in the sky, so I couldn't try and contact you."
"Why would you need to contact me?" Peter asked warily, sensing something had happened.
"Norman. I've had a team watching him. And they uncovered something you should know," Fury said, holding out a flash drive to him.
Peter took it, confused but plugged it into his computer. After a moment, he saw the Green Goblin land his glider in a building, in what looked like a hanger. Peter was confused until he saw the Goblin step off and remove his mask, revealing the face of Norman Osborn.
"Mr. Osborn is the Green Goblin?!" Peter couldn't help but exclaim in shock.
"I had my team set up security feeds when you said you were going after him. Didn't expect to find that, though," Fury said as Peter took a moment to process this. "Osborn has clearly been experimenting with something, it's changed him. He wasn't a saint before, but supervillain is a bit much even for him."
"Peter! Peter, it's Gwen!"
At the sound of Aunt May's voice, Peter rushed from his room without a word to Fury. Upon entering the kitchen, he found May standing horror struck at the TV. Following her gaze, Peter paled as he saw Gwen , tied to a post on the side of Oscorp with the words 'Can the Spider-Man come out to play' written on the side in flaming letters.
"Neither Norman or Harry Osborn could be reached for comment, but the young woman has been identified as Gwen Stacy, daughter of the late George Stacy and an Oscorp Employee. But the question on everyone's mind is 'where is Spider-Man'?"
Peter was aware of May saying something but his only focus was on the TV. Gwen was being used as a bargaining chip, and he had no doubt about who that was.
It was time for him to face the Green Goblin, once and for all.
Washington DC
Same time
"Where are we on this thing?" Matthew Ellis asked as he held a private Cabinet Meeting to address Apokolips.
"We don't know sir, but it appears to be...a planet nearing Earth," Ross said after a moment of thought.
"Do we have any course of action, any defense?" Ellis asked with a frown.
Before any of them could respond, the room began to shake.
"What's happening?" Eilis demanded as they all looked around the room in bewilderment.
Then, there was the sound like metal was bending before metal poles were ripped out of the wall and Ellis watched in horror as Ross and his other Cabinet members were all impaled, killing them almost instantly. The wall before him was then crushed and, slowly and fearfully, Ellis turned as Magneto hovered in the air.
"Good afternoon, Mr. President," Magneto said with a dark smile.
"Lehnsherr. What have you done?" Eilis asked, trying not to tremble in fear.
"You should be asking yourself that," Magneto said as a pen floated into the air. "Everything I have done has been in response to what you have done. In history's sad song, there is a refrain: Believe differently, love differently, be of different sex or skin, and be punished. We sing this song to one another, and oppressed become oppressors. No more, no more. Today, I strike back, for all oppressed."
Magneto raised his hand and the pen flew at Ellis, entering the throat at one end and emerging the other. Ellis gasped, blood fling his throat as put hand to his wound before falling to the floor, gagging on his own blood.
Magneto smirked at the scene before turning, walking out of the office, where his army waited.
"And thus, the age of Magneto begins! No more hiding, no more oppression. Today, we rule our own futures!" Magneto declared and his army cheered.
Black Bird, Entering Starling City
Not long after
"We're about two minutes out from the factory where you fought Slade," Logan called out from the pilot's chair.
"We might have bigger problems," Barry said and they all looked at him bewildered, seeing him staring down at his phone, pale. "Whatever Darkseid has coming for Earth is interfering with cell phone communications, so I've been looking at any news that might point to Darkseid. Magneto just attacked the White House. It's not confirmed, but he might have just assassinated the President."
"Fuck," Logan swore as they all realized the implications of this.
"Then it's over. Even if Darkseid is defeated, he's already won," Carter said, looking like he'd aged a thousand years. "Even if the others do beat him back, Ross and his supporters now have everything they need to turn the public against us completely. No one will put faith in mutants or heroes now."
"This can't be how it ends," Courtney said softly, looking like a small child.
"It's not. We just….don't know how to come back from this," Matt said with a light sigh.
It was silent for a moment before Logan saw something. A stream of red light was headed straight for the Black Bird. Logan only realized what it was a few seconds before it hit. Logan swerved but the beam still hit the side of the Black Bird, taking out one of the thrusters. Everyone grabbed the side of their seats as they started falling.
"We're gonna have to brace for impact!" Logan shouted.
"NO! Time to abandon ship! Carter, Barry!" Oliver shouted, unbuckling.
The two got out of their seats, Barry quickly speeding around, searching for Parachutes as Carter sprouted his wings.
"We only have two," Barry said as he found them.
"Good enough for me," Oliver said, grabbing one and tossing the other to Sara. "Bobbi and I will take one, Logan, you and Sara take another."
"No can do, I'm gonna try to land this thing so it doesn't crash into a school or house. I'll be fine," Logan grunted, trying desperately to regain control.
"Fine. Sara, you take the other. Barry, get Courtney to the ground safely. Carter, take Matt. I'll see you all on the ground," Oliver said as he quickly helped Bobbi get on the parachute.
"Let's try not to die," Bobbi said with a weak smile and Oliver shot her a tight grin back.
"Logan," Oliver called out.
Logan flipped a switch and the ramp opened. Barry immediately grabbed Courtney and sped out the plane. Carter followed suit, grabbing Matt and flying out. Sara shot Logan a worried look before following the others out the ramp, activating her parachute as she began to descend.
Finally, Oliver and Bobbi faced each other, Bobbi wrapping arms around Oliver's neck. Then, they jumped, falling from the Black Bird. Oliver held Bobbi tightly with one arm while he grabbed the cord with another and pulled. Bobbi's parachute opened as they slowly descended to the ground. Sara was already waiting, ridding herself of her parachute when they landed.
The couple untangled themselves, Bobbi taking off her parachute as Barry sped over, Courtney in his arms.
"Let's not do that again," Courtney said as Barry placed her on her feet.
Carter then arrived, placing Matt down as he landed on the ground. Then, at least a mile away, the Black Bird crash landed, sliding around the road until it stopped, several feet away. It was silent until the glass shattered as Logan jumped through, landing near the group. And as he looked up, they saw a grim look on Logan's face.
"Logan, what happened?" Oliver asked as his friend joined the rest of the team.
"It looked like there was some kind of red light that shot at us," Sara explained.
"It wasn't a red light, it was a laser. It was Cyclopes," Logan said grimly, stunning them all.
"Why would a member of your own team attack you?" Courtney asked but the others had already caught on.
"Because he's been marked by Darkseid. He's probably working with Prometheus," Oliver said with a sigh.
"I'm more worried about the students back at the school. Cyk was left in charge. If he's been marked by Darkseid…" Logan trailed off but they all understood.
"Go, Logan. Find him, and figure out what happened to the students," Oliver ordered.
Logan nodded before rushing off, sniffing the air for Scott's scent.
"Barry," Oliver turned to his speedster friend. "I need you to do something for me."
"What's up?" Barry asked.
"Kane's bomb. He'll have one at the factory. But there's still one out there," Oliver explained and Barry understood.
"You want me to find it."
"You're the only one who can. It'll be some place of significance to me. My house, Queen Consolidated, Verdant, it has to be one of those," Oliver ordered and Barry nodded.
"I'll find it, Ollie. I promise," Barry said before speeding off.
"You sure that was a good idea? We just sent away two members of our team," Carter pointed out.
"We're not far from the factory. Besides, I have a man on the ground," Oliver said vaguely.
At the factory, Oliver's loved ones were still in the room when they heard cries from outside the room.
"What's that?" One of the soldiers guarding them asked.
"Unit six, this is Unit seven. Report," another radioed in only to get static. "Damn radio interference. Go check it out. I'll stand guard."
The other guard nodded before leaving the room. It was silent before someone spoke.
"Hey," Roy said and the guard looked over at him. "What's it like, holding innocent people at gunpoint?"
"I don't have a choice, this psychopath has my daughter," the man justified.
"Didn't seem to bother you when you were working for Eiling," Laurel shot back.
"Tell me, does your daughter know the kind of man her father is? I doubt it, otherwise she'd be ashamed of you," Roy egged the man on.
Enraged, the guard walked over and pointed the gun at Roy's head.
"Hey! Hey, leave him alone!" Thea pleaded as they all stopped, staring.
"Don't forget who's in charge here, douchebag. We have you where we want you," the man sneered as Roy stared at him calmly.
"Actually…I've got you."
Roy then jumped up, having managed to escape his handcuffs. Taking advantage of the man's surprise, he grabbed the man's hand, throwing him to the ground and disarming him in the process. Roy then punched the man hard enough to knock him out.
"Roy, how'd you get out of your handcuffs?" Diggle asked in surprise as Roy searched the guard quickly.
"Little trick Oliver taught me," Roy said as he found the keys to their handcuffs. "Come on, we don't have much time. Between me, Dig and Captain Lance, hopefully we can fight our way out of here."
At that moment, the door opened and they all froze. But it wasn't one of Kane's men. It was Ray Palmer, dressed in what seemed to be a blue and black colored armor.
"Hi. I'm Ray. Don't worry, Oliver sent me," Ray assured them.
"I assume you were the distraction that caused the other guard to leave?" Quentin noted as Roy went about unlocking the others.
"Yeah. But listen, I need your help. Oliver said there's a bomb here with enough fire power to take out over half the city. And it's set to go off soon," Ray said, to their alarm.
Metropolis
Same time
Steve, Natasha, Clint, Wanda, Kurt, Sam, Storm, Bobbi, Kitty, Rogue, Gambit, Jay, Kara, John, Bart and Andrea all stood outside a church, looking at it uncertainly.
"We sure this is the right place?" Kitty asked.
"Chloe caught Harrison Wells on a nearby Traffic Cam entering the building. At the very least, he was here. Kara, can you see anything?" Steve asked and Kara used her X-Ray vision to scan the building.
"There are four people in the building. One on the main floor, three others upstairs," Kara said after a moment.
"Darkseid and his lackeys, most likely," Clint muttered.
"Those lackeys are probably the ones responsible for the planet heading towards Earth," Storm pointed out.
"Then it's time we stop them. Nat, Clint, take Sam and Andrea upstairs, try and stop them. The rest of us will deal with Darkseid," Steve ordered.
"We shall face the devil tonight," Kurt said softly but his eyes filled with steely resolve.
"And if we don't stop him, it's the end of everything," Wanda said, a hint of nerves in her voice.
"We've been here before," Natasha reminded her.
"Not like this. What do you do when you have the weight of the world on your shoulders?" Wanda asked out loud.
"You plant your feet," Clint told wisely, placing a hand on her shoulder.
The two looked at each other for a moment before Wanda nodded. And, with that said, the group of heroes entered the church.
At Watchtower, Clark and Chloe watched this from a one of the screens as the others worked on figuring out a solution to Apokolips. Clark looked down at his bandaged hand, feeling the urge to punch it through a wall.
He should be out there, leading the charge against Darkseid. But because he was now powerless, he couldn't do anything but watch.
Unseen to Clark, the spirit of Jonathan Kent lingered near, looking at his son with compassion.
"Don't give up yet, son. It's not over yet."
The heroes entered the church, finding it seemingly abandoned. But, as they walked further into the building, they saw Darkseid standing at the podium.
Long gone was the Reverse Flash suit, replaced by a pair of jeans, a black duster and a black shirt. Upon spotting them, Darkseid smiled sinisterly.
"Earth's heroes have finally come to challenge me," Darkseid said with a mocking laugh, a sound that caused a chill to go down every spine in the room.
"It's over, Darkseid. Your reign of terror ends here," Steve said firmly.
"I do not think so, Steven Rogers," Darkseid smirked before jumping down from the podium. "You stand no chance against me."
"We'll see about that," Storm said, her eyes flashing with power as storm cloud loomed.
"Then come at me!" Darkseid roared.
Rogue was the first to move, launching herself at Darkseid. She attempted to punch him but, to her shock, he easily caught her first, stopping her in her tracks.
"You seem to have absorbed some of Kal-El's powers, permanently. But that will not save you!"
Darkseid then slammed her down in the center of the church hard enough to create a small crater. Gambit charged five cards with energy before sending them flying towards Darkseid. Darkseid used Thawne's speed to evade but Bart sped towards him, delivering a series of punches that was too fast for Darkseid to block. But, with a shout, Darkseid sent Bart flying back and crashing through the window.
"Is this all Earth's mightiest heroes can produce? I confess myself to be disappointed," Darkseid noted.
"Don't dismiss us so easily," John said, his eyes glowing red. "I am Mars' sole survivor. There's a reason for that."
John launched himself at Darkseid, tackling him through a wall. As they emerged onto the street, Darkseid laughed manically before, with Thawne's speed, freeing himself and shoving his vibrating hand through John's chest. John gasped before falling to the ground, dead.
"Martian or not, you move at the same speed as a human. And you die just as easily," Darkseid mocked.
Kara then flew out at him, sending a punch to the side of Darkseid's face. Darkseid was sent flying crashing into the side of a building. Kara landed on the ground as the others assembled behind her. For a moment, it was silent. Then, Darkseid stood up, emerging from the rubble.
"Impressive, Kara Zor-El. But you are no match for me. Even now, I can feel it from all of you. Your fear, your despair. You know that I have won. Without Kal-El, you are doomed!" Darkseid mocked.
"We'll see," Steve simply before the remaining heroes rushed him, determined to try and end this nightmare.
Starling City
Same time
On a motorcycle, Scott Summers was departing from the city when, with a roar, Logan jumped down on him, tackling him off the motorcycle. They wrestled on the ground as the motorcycle slid a few feet away. Scott attempted to activate his visor but Logan grabbed both his hands, pinning the other man to the ground.
"Where are the kids? What'd you do to them?!" Logan demanded.
"It doesn't matter, Logan. Nothing matters anymore. Lord Darkseid has won," Scott said with an insane laugh.
Oliver, Sara, Bobbi, Carter, Matt and Courtney all entered the factory, finding various men in military uniforms unconscious.
"Oliver!"
They all looked up as Ray led Oliver and Sara's families, along with Team Arrow and Samantha over to him.
"Ray, thank you," Oliver said in relief upon seeing them. "Have you found the bomb?"
"That's just it. I've searched. It's not here," Ray said, stunning them all.
"It has to be. Kane has two Plutonium cores, which means two bombs," Sara pointed out.
"I'm not disagreeing. All I'm saying is that the bomb isn't here. I looked as I searched for them," Ray said, gesturing behind him. "And we all looked once they were free. The bomb isn't here."
"It was another misdirect," Oliver realized with horror. "He knew I'd assume the bomb was here, and that I'd send Barry off to look for the other one. He outplayed me again."
"That I did, Oliver," they all jumped as they heard Kane's voice echo throughout the building. "Don't bother looking for me, I'm long gone Oliver. And I have someone here who'd like to say hello."
"Where is my son, Kane?" Oliver demanded and Kane laughed sadistically.
"With me, somewhere you'll never find. You're about to lose everything you ever cared about, just as I did when you killed my father. They say vengeance is a dish best served cold. I disagree. I think its best when it's all out in the open!" Kane said with a maniacal laugh.
Metropolis
Same time
Darkseid watched in amusement as Bart and Jay sped around him before he grew bored. At super speed, he launched forward, delivering a punch to Jay that sent the older man flying back, crashing into a building. He then raised a hand and Bart was pulled towards him, gasping for breath.
"Annoying pest," Darkseid sneered before sending the speedster crashing into a nearby building.
Gambit sent a few playing cards flying at him but Darkseid once more avoided them with super speed before speeding over to Gambit, plunging his vibrating hand into the thief's chest. Gambit gasped before Darkseid removed his hand and the mutant fell to the ground, dead.
With a roar of rage and grief, Rogue jumped at him from behind, attempting to strike him with her clenched first but, without turning around, Gambit caught her fist and tossing her into a nearby building.
Lightning flashed as Storm's eyes flashed pure white. A large lightning bolt struck Darkseid but he didn't even react to it, looking at the stunned Storm with a look that read 'is that the best you can do?'
Bobby shot two streams of ice at him but Darkseid avoided them with super speed until he was suddenly surrounded by red energy, unable to move.
"Bobby, now!" Wanda shouted, her face contorted with the effort it took to restrain Darkseid.
Bobby quick shot ice at Darkseid but, at the last moment, Darkseid managed to break free, speeding away from the ice. He stopped, glaring at Wanda when Kurt teleported on top of him, jumping and blocking Darkseid's vision.
"Now!" Kurt shouted and Bobby shot ice once more.
With a grunt of anger, Darkseid tore Kurt from his head, tossing him aside before punching the ground, sending a shock wave that caused all his enemies to fly back. Darkseid rose to his feet, looking down at his bloodied hand before looking at his enemies that were struggling to their feet.
"A valiant effort, but you must realize you cannot win. It's over," Darkseid declared.
"As long as even one of us draws breath, it's not over," Steve said firmly before gasping as, suddenly, Darkseid's vibrating hand was in his chest.
"What was that?" Darkseid asked smugly as the others watched, horrified, as he removed his hand from Steve's chest and the hero once known as Captain America fell to the ground, dead. "As I said, you cannot defeat me. You have lost."
Starling City
Same time
"Barry, Barry come in," Oliver tried to raise Barry on the Comms but only got static. "Damn it!"
"What's wrong?" Felicity asked.
"That thing in the sky is causing interference, making radio communication next to impossible," Bobbi explained, gesturing to image of Apokolips in the sky.
At that moment, Barry sped in, startling them all.
"Okay, I found the bomb. It's in the basement of Queen Consolidated. What's going on?" Barry asked as he saw the looks on their faces.
"The bomb isn't here, kid," Carter said, stunning Barry.
"You need to find the second bomb, get one of us there, and then we can defuse it," Oliver ordered.
"Ollie, I already looked at your house and Verdant. It's not there. And we're out of time, there's only about 30 seconds on the counter," Barry explained to, their dismay. "Even I can't do it that quickly."
"Then it's over. Prometheus has won," Matt said grimly, finally giving up.
"No! There has to be something we can do!" Barry argued, not wanting to surrender.
"There is something you can do, Barry," Oliver said ad Barry looked at him hopefully. "Get out of here. Help the others take down Darkseid."
"Oliver-"
"We're out of time. It's over. Even you aren't fast enough to evacuate an entire city with less than fifteen second. We lost. Run, Barry. Run," Oliver told him.
Barry hesitated only for a moment. Then, looking like tears were about to fall from his eyes, Barry turned and ran. Once Barry was gone, Oliver sighed, looking far older than he was as Bobbi took his hand. Oliver looked at her, smiling weakly, neither of them needing to exchange words.
If they were going to die, at least they were together.
At the basement of Queen Consolidated, the bomb Kane had planted was counting down, on its last few seconds.
3…2…1.
Barry was running when the bomb went off. The explosion was nearing him and he pushed himself to run faster, Oliver's last words running through his mind. He was running faster than he had ever run. Barry cried out in determination, anger and pain as he ran.
Then, the scene around him changed. The explosion was gone and he was running through a city. Barry looked over and froze, seeing a second Flash briefly, who looked as surprised to see him as Barry was. Then, the other Flash vanished and Barry stopped running, catching his breath.
"Barry, we're headed for the base in the Black Bird. How far out are you and Clark?" Barry almost jumped as he heard Oliver's voice come over the Comms. "Barry?"
Barry didn't respond, looking at the sky and seeing Apokolips wasn't there. Jay was right. He had time traveled back to the moment he had first seen the other Flash.
Well…that happened.
As Rogue absorbed some of Clark's powers, it allows for her to have her comic powers without even introducing Carol Danvers.
Cyclopes being marked by Darkseid is a plot twist I've been planning since this fic started, hope you all enjoyed that twist.
And now you know why Barry traveled back in time. That plot device essentially allowed me to do whatever I wanted for a few chapters, but I also had to give Barry access to certain bits of information for when he traveled back in time. Hope I pulled it off.
And with Barry having traveled back in time, we're now that much closer to the ending of the story.