A few minutes earlier:
Batman's eyes narrowed at the radar as he turned the steering of the Watchtower, the slow moving fortress barely avoiding a storm of blasts from the few Beetle Warriors that flew after them.
Their explosions impacted the outer layers of the Watchtower, but he knew that they would withstand the bombardment. Instead, his mind raced as he analysed several of the flight paths of the Beetle Warriors.
"Justice League! This is Batman! The Watchtower is under attack! I repeat, the Watchtower is under attack! All teleportation has been turned off so all heroes capable of flight are to converge on the Watchtower's signal!"
"We're at Jupiter! Be there in a second!" came Hal's voice right as a large spaceship opened fire onto a group of Warriors, several heavily detailed machine guns appearing behind the Watchtower and unleashing a storm of bullets onto their foe.
Hal clenched his fist as his fighter jet morphed into a sleek, streamlined NASA X-43, one equipped with a large orbital cannon on its bottom.
The cannon charged up as several sturdy shields formed around its body, fending off the attacks of the Scarab Warriors before unleashing hellfire in return.
"John! Barrricades!" Batman ordered and John nodded, flying to the front of the ship and clenching his ring. Within a flash of emerald, several walls of shifting gears and hinges formed around the Watchtower.
They were soon covered by a layer of green energy and more gears, John stopping at the third layer at Batman's nod.
Then, he flew up to the top of the new fortress, his ring shining with an emerald hue to form several M777 Howitzers and M142 Artillery Rocket Systems.
Batman angled the Watchtower to fly around the Moon as he watched two Lanterns make quick work of the Warriors attacking him, but he couldn't help but frown as he did not see the Unity Sphere anywhere close.
'Where did these come from? Do the Light have more weapons like these in the back for when we return to Earth?' His mind couldn't help but come up with the worst scenarios and he grimaced as the last of the Scarab Warriors were knocked out by Hal's cannon.
However, his eyes widened as he heard the rumbling sound of a Boom Tube opening behind him, spinning in his chair with a Batarang at the ready.
The foe was not one he recognized, towering over Batman with his hands behind his back and his eyes glowing with a crimson hue.
"You. You are the leader of your merry-group of heroes, yes?" the monstrous being asked with a gravelly voice, his tone commanding and filled with presence as Batman narrowed his eyes.
"There is no leader in our organization. I am merely the spokesperson, yes, but not the leader."
"All the same. An organization needs its leader to function," Batman leapt to the side as the glow of his red eyes brightened before twin beams of heat melted the console of the Watchtower.
Batman rushed past the large behemoth towards the door and slapped the control panel, sealing off the door before continuing through the hallway.
"Unknown assailant on the Watchtower! Hal, John, report to the Boom Tube room."
"Meet you there," Hal spoke over their communicator as Batman rushed into the entrance hall, leaping over the railing and rolling as he landed on the ground.
However, his eyes widened as the scorching beams of heat curved through the wall and down towards him, leaping out of the way as they exploded against the steel flooring.
"You believe you can run from Darkseid?" the large man asked as he floated out into the entrance hall, but his gaze was pulled from Batman to the viewing port as something heavy slammed right through it.
"Heya, big guy! Have this one for size!" Hal leapt from his jet creation and sent it slamming into Darkseid's form, John creating a bubble around Batman who pointed to the Boom Tube control panel.
The jet shattered as it made contact with Darkseid's body, firing twin lasers from his eyes that curved at right angles around his head towards their target.
Creating a thick wall of light in front of him, Hal was surprised when the beams curved around the shield. Forming a bubble saved him from the beams even as they exploded, sending his form crashing through a support pillar.
As he kept Batman near the control panel with a bubble, John turned while creating a large hydraulic press above Darkseid, who raised a hand and caught it with naught but a soft grunt.
The muscles on his arms bulged as the press tried to push down and Hal took advantage as an M134 minigun formed in his hands.
"Say hello to my little friend~", With a grin, he unleashed a storm of bullets at his opponent, who took the blasts with soft grunts from every impact.
Darkseid couldn't help but feel irritated as he fired his Omega Beams again, this time aiming a blast at each Lantern as they formed shields to protect themselves.
Yet, at the last moment before impact, he sent both curving down and into the flooring, both Lanterns' eyes widening as the pressure of outer space yanked them through.
Batman however, activated the Boom Tube he was next to and leapt through, giving one final stare at Darkseid as the tyrant let him leave.
"Intriguing," was all he said before his eyes glowed like two bright stars. The next moment, beam after beam left his eyes and tore the Watchtower to pieces, both Hal and John recovering just in time to see their former base be reduced to smithereens.
"Any plans?" Hal asked as he shattered his minigun, glancing at John to see the frown on his face as he shook his head.
"None. Ring, do you know who this is?"
"Answer: While his name is not known, genetic makeup indicates that he is a New God."
"Doesn't look like any New God we've met. Hey, buddy! You going to tell us why you're here?"
"I do not wish to be here any longer than I need to. You simply have something that would aid me in the near future," Darkseid replied with a glare, Hal and John following his eyes to the Unity Sphere that was currently flying towards Venus.
"Sorry, man, but that is under the command of one of us and I don't think he'd want to give it to you."
"I was not asking," Darkseid replied, both Lanterns surprised when the space around him was obscured by several Boom Tube portals.
The next moment, John stood in front of his fellow Lantern and created an intricate barricade, one that warded off the rush of parademons clawing at his barrier with a vengeance.
At the same time, Hal formed several skyscraper sized hands, each of which swatted and smacked away any parademon that tried to fly around.
"John, remember Armedius D-12?!" Hal shouted as miniguns formed from the fingers of the hands, unleashing a bombardment of bullets into the beasts as John smirked.
"Together?"
"Together," Hal nodded, both shattering their constructions before gathering the light into one solid form. "Hahahaha! Man, Guy is gonna be so mad at us for doing this without him again!"
"Only if you tell him," John replied as he sat next to Hal in the chest of their colossal mecha suit, forging the rest of its body while Hal formed the head and attached it to the body.
As Parademons rushed forward towards them, Hal just grinned as John made an ornate shield and sword, blocking off their advance with the shield.
Then, the massive hard-light blade swpet through the vacuum of space, vaporizing numerous Parademons instantly to the laughter of Hal.
"Oh, yeah! I forgot how much I missed this thing!" he exclaimed as he threw the shield, John making the mecha grip its sword with both hands to slash through the parademons trying to latch onto it.
With a thought, the shield vanished and reappeared back in their grasp, Hal switching to the back of the mecha when he saw the demons trying to fly around.
"Think we didn't plan for this?!" He shouted with a grin as the back of the suit opened, several missiles firing from its back and exploding with bright emerald pillars of flames that incinerated their target.
"Keep your head in the game, Hal! Our big target's still not down!" John barked out as he blocked off a barrage of plasma fire, making Hal turn in his seat.
Darkseid was still floating serenely in the back of his army, looking unbothered by their creation even as it spun with a surprising speed to slice through the last of the parademons.
"Amusing toys," his voice echoed directly into their minds, "but still futile. Merely return the Warworld to me and I shall let you free."
"How about no?!" Hal grunted as he spun in his command seat, John splitting off with the legs while he took the arms and head. The next moment, cartoonish large legs formed from Hal's mecha while John created the top, adding a bit of Transformers flair to it with a smirk.
Hal was the first to reach the warlord as he punched forward with the shield, John appearing moments later at his side with the sword thrusting to Darkseid's side.
Their eyes widened as the constructed weapons were shattered with heavy swats of his hands, sending tremors through their constructs and forcing them to grind their teeth as their rings violently shook to maintain their constructs.
"As I said, amusing," his eyes flared and the Omega Beams erupted from his sockets, dancing through the void towards their target.
They bounced and snapped at jagged ninety-degree angles, spiralling upwards and exploding against the viewing points of the control points.
Hal grunted as he was sent blasting from his mecha while John caught him, barely having formed a shield in time to block off the blast.
With a clench of his fist, the ring flared and the joint mecha reformed, this time holding a massive hammer that it brought down onto the New God.
Yet, Darkseid simply raised his hand and took the blow, stopping it dead in its tracks before shattering it with a clench of his hand.
Before they could recover, Darkseid shot forward and shattered its left arm with a punch, Omega Beams firing from his eyes and punching right through the chest cavity.
Hal formed a triple-layered bubble shield that John reinforced, both Lanterns gritting their teeth as their construct violently exploded from the inside out.
"T-Think Bat will return with the team soon?" Hal asked, but before John could reply, their eyes widened as Darkseid's beams shattered their bubble right as he slammed a double lariat into their forms.
The wind was knocked from their lungs and John was knocked unconscious by the follow-up beam to his head, snapping it back.
"John!" Hal exclaimed as he caught him, but a massive hand clamped around his throat. Darkseid held the choking Lantern in his grasp, looking no less calm than he did upon his arrival as he watched Hal struggle to breathe.
"Your persistence is admirable, Lantern, but ultimately meaningless. You are but dust raging against the stars."
"We're...not...dust!" With a growl, his ring formed a spiked gauntlet around his fist that he swung, but he felt his heart drop as it shattered against the monster's chin.
Darkseid on the other hand simply pulled him forward while swinging his own head forward, a silent boom racing through space as the ring's aura flickered to stay active despite their wielder being unconscious.
With a simple flick of his wrist, he sent Hal into John and let both unconscious Lanterns drift away, instead turning his gaze to the Warworld/ Unity Sphere as it slowly approached Earth.
Aiming his gaze directly at where he saw the control room of the Warworld, the Omega Beams erupted from his sockets and tore through space.
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'We're not going to make it in time,' the thought flashed through my mind as I rose from my throne, bursting through the viewing port of the Unity Sphere's control room.
As the glass slowly began to crack and bulged out, I instead twisted its atomic make-up, swallowing a deep breath as I turned it into a space rebreather.
At the same time, my gaze drifted down as I watched a hatch door be open, Match's eyes meeting mine while wearing a rebreather of his own.
Then, I looked back up as he flew up to my side, swinging a fist fuelled with TTK into one Omega Beam while he cancelled out the other with his own laser vision.
The impact of our combined collision made the space around us tremble, but I stayed steady as I watched Darkseid narrow his eyes at me.
More specifically, the circlet around my head, making me frown as I cracked my knuckles.
"We need to get him out of here," A thin layer of TTK slowly pooled around my form as I raised my fists, Match's eyes glowing as he nodded.
"Got it," Without saying a word, I shot forward and was met with the familiar jagged sight of Darkseid's Omega Beams. However, I just smiled as I dipped and rolled in between the two beams, allowing Match to nullify them with his own beams.
Shooting towards Darkseid, I pulled a fist back and swung, watching as the New God's eyes narrowed when the blow sent him flying back instead of being stopped.
Not wasting any time, Match flew right at my side as we tore through space, pushing even further and positioning himself directly above the tyrant.
With a roar, he brought both fists down onto Darkseid's form, sending the New God flying straight into the surface of the nearby planetary body.
Yet, as I flew towards the Moon, my eyes widened as Darkseid's eyes widened to fire two large Omega Beams.
These ones bounced and snapped at angles faster than the first, my eyes following them before they shot out and back in at my sides.
I just leapt up and allowed Match to grab the back of my shirt, pulling me out of the way with a spin to avoid the beams as they bounced up to try and hit us.
With a deafening roar only I could hear over our communicators, I was sent slicing across the landscape of the Moon, fists held forward as Darkseid lifted both arms to block the blow.
My eyes widened as he took the blow and grabbed onto my arms, spinning and slamming me back first into the ground. A large crater erupted outwards from the impact, the wind escaping my lungs before I fought through the pain.
Spinning around as he tried to grab the control circlet, my legs wrapped around his neck and I heaved, lifting him upside down just as Match flew through his open legs.
The Omega Beams following my brother slammed into the back of Darkseid, finally drawing a grunt from his lips and sending him ragdolling across the Moon's landscape.
As I flipped around to my feet, I shot forward as Match rushed at him from the other side, but my eyes widened as a Boom Tube portal formed under his form and swallowed him in.
At the same time, two women flew from the portal as it closed behind them, crossing my arms to block the kick.
The ground cracked beneath our feet as I watched Match be knocked away, but my eyes widened as the blonde haired woman I was fighting landed with a glare and her fist raised.
"...Supergirl?" the 'woman' in question looked to be around my age, blonde hair tied back in a high ponytail while wearing a black bodysuit with the House of El logo in dark crimson red on her chest and a cape with a similar shade of red hanging from her shoulders.
"I am not this Supergirl, Kryptonian!" I could hear her voice echo directly in my mind, but I frowned at the utter disdain and loathing in her voice.
"You know that you are a Kryptonian, right?"
"And what makes you think I'll believe a word you say?"
'Great, brainwashing,' I thought with a grimace, glancing at where Match fired off his laser beams to push away a tall Amazonian-looking woman dressed in bronze armour with a horned helmet.
"Do not insult me by taking your attention away!" I snapped back to 'Supergirl' as she shot forward, delivering a heavy punch that I caught by her wrist.
Spinning around and pulling her along, I swung her up before bringing her back down, but she spun and landed on her feet. At the same time, she grabbed onto my arm and pulled, forcing me to focus on staying in one place.
I let go as she did the same, both of us swinging a fist that cracked against the other with a soundless boom that sent dust flying. My eyes narrowed as I pulled my fist back, slipping around her follow-up punch.
Grabbing onto her arm, I let go as she readied herself for a throw, her eyes widening as my foot cracked against her jaw. A burst of TTK slipped through my foot and into her skull, her brain rattling from the blow.
Before she could recover, I rushed forward, throwing a heavy one-two combo before stepping away as she managed to recover and block my high kick.
She struggled to fully stop it and was sent floating back, to which I rushed forward as she shook her head and glared at me.
With a silent roar, her eyes flared and I stepped out of the path of her laser vision, slipping and dancing around it while flying towards her.
She ceased her attempts to melt me and instead shot her beam into the ground, swinging her head up and slicing the Moon in two. I grunted as I swatted the rubble away only to catch a punch to the chest.
Fighting through the pain, my eyes locked with 'Supergirl's just as she tried another laser beam. Instead of moving, her eyes widened as I reached forward and clamped my hands on her eyes.
A pained cry escaped her lips as I forced the beam to bounce back into her own head with TTK, dipping back and letting go as it fizzled out and she swung at my head with a sluggish punch.
"Shoryuken!" With a cry, I leapt up while driving a full force uppercut upwards, knocking her head backwards while a burst of TTK rang through her entire body.
Then, I swung my other fist back down, slamming it down into her chest for good measure and knocking her out cold. The force of my attack also shattered the remainder of the moon below my feet, making me sigh as I knew I was going to catch shit for that.
Grabbing onto her arm and pulling her up as I watched the other woman attempt to take her, I frowned as she just glared at me and vanished through a Boom Tube portal again.
"Match!"
"O-Okay," I turned as I felt him approach, the sight of him holding his bleeding stomach making me frown before I relaxed as he shook his head. "Kryptonite axe. She didn't follow through after you took out that one."
"Right, this one," I muttered, lifting the unconscious 'Supergirl' up by her arm. "Also, I think she might our family."
"...What?"
A/N: And we end it here!! We're finally back!!! Sorry for the whole delay and all with this. Just had to finish off a story and decided to not do so many like I thought I should.
Anyway, we're back with a bang and the final arc as Darkseid appears.
Next chapter: Apokolips War I
As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one...
Ba-Bye~!!