"I'm already on my way!"
In Cyborg's video feed, streaking white clouds rushed past at high speed, his voice mixed with sharp sonic booms.
"I'm already there!"
Bzz—bzz!
The Flash's screen flickered for a moment, and the background behind him completely changed.
"Oh my God, can you all see this? This place is absolutely swarming with Parademons."
"Superman! That's Superman! Let me tell you a secret—I've never been this close to Superman before. His cape is seriously cool!"
The Flash started chattering nonstop, looking extremely excited.
Batman: "..."
The rest of the Justice League: "..."
"Barry," Batman finally said, "if you're done being excited, could you please start helping evacuate the civilians in Metropolis?"
"That's what you're best at."
"Oh—right, yes! You're absolutely right! Everyone's still waiting for me!"
"Guys, I'll hold things down here in Metropolis!"
With that, the Flash stopped talking.
He stretched a bit, clearly gearing up to show off.
"Ah!"
A scream suddenly rang out, catching the Flash's attention.
He turned his head and saw a Parademon diving straight down, claws outstretched, lunging at an office woman below.
She screamed and instinctively covered her head as she realized she was about to be seized.
At the very instant the Parademon was about to grab her—
Crack!
A flash of lightning burst forth.
The woman's vision blurred, and she felt herself spinning.
When she came to, she realized she was somewhere else entirely—
Lying in the arms of a strange man.
After a quick glance around, she immediately understood what had happened.
"You… are you okay?"
The Flash looked at the woman in his arms and couldn't help muttering, "Wow… that's such a cliché line."
"Thank you! You're the Flash, right?"
"Thank you so much for saving me!"
Still shaken, the woman expressed her gratitude.
"Wait—you know who I am?"
The Flash instantly perked up.
This was Metropolis, not Central City!
"Of course. Central City's hero—I've heard the stories."
The Flash grew even more excited.
"Maybe you two can chat after this is over."
A voice interrupted them.
Superman, having just punched several Parademons out of the sky, flew past and reminded him.
"Oh! You're right, Mr. Superman—I should focus on rescuing people."
"By the way, I'm a big fan."
The Flash grinned at Superman.
"Thank you."
Superman nodded briefly. With no time for small talk, he turned and flew off again—
Back into the thick of the Parademon swarm.
Boom—boom—boom!
Before long, military helicopters and fighter jets entered the battlefield, launching relentless attacks on the Parademons.
Unfortunately, against the overwhelming numbers, their impact was limited.
Even though some Parademons were shot down, it did little to ease the crisis.
Worse still, military aircraft were being shot down one after another, exploding across the city.
The situation remained dire.
Rat-tat-tat!
At the critical moment, Cyborg finally arrived.
Hovering in midair, he unleashed powerful energy blasts at the Parademons without mercy.
Not long after that, Batman arrived in his Bat-jet, while Wonder Woman and Aquaman leapt down from it.
The Justice League had fully assembled.
Together with the military, they launched a fierce battle against the Parademon horde.
And it was brutally difficult.
Simply because—
There were too many Parademons.
"If only Alex were here,"
the Flash sighed after rescuing yet another civilian.
They all had extraordinary abilities and could deal effective damage—but their efficiency was still far too low.
Unlike Alex, who could wipe out entire swarms of Parademons with a casual wave of his hand.
That was on a whole different level of absurd.
"Unfortunately, Alex isn't here,"
Aquaman said as he hurled his trident, skewering three Parademons in a row.
"That's right—we can only rely on ourselves now,"
Wonder Woman added, slicing a Parademon down with her sword.
"So these are Earth's trump cards?"
A deep, oppressive voice suddenly echoed across the battlefield.
Whoosh!
Batman, the rest of the Justice League, and Superman in the sky all turned toward the source at once.
Their eyes locked onto a robed figure from Apokolips.
Desaad.
Darkseid's top lieutenant.
Behind him hovered several figures that resembled Parademons—but far larger, more powerful, and far more terrifying.
"Кryptonian."
Desaad glanced up at Superman, his voice calm and disdainful.
"No wonder Steppenwolf failed."
"Yes, Steppenwolf failed," Batman replied coldly, aiming his energy weapon straight at Desaad.
"And you think you'll be any different?"
"Don't compare me to that arrogant failure,"
Desaad snorted.
"His defeat was the result of his arrogance. I'm different."
"Though I am stronger than he was, I never fight without preparation."
The reason Desaad had allowed the Parademons to rampage through Metropolis for so long was simple—
He was probing Earth's defenses.
And now—
He had seen enough.
The Atlanteans.
The Amazons.
The one transformed by the Mother Box.
A mere human.
And a man who could run fast.
To Desaad, none of them were worth worrying about.
The "Destroyers" he had brought with him were more than sufficient.
The only one who gave him pause—
Was the Kryptonian in the sky.
But after observing for so long, Desaad had come prepared.
Kryptonite.
He had it ready.
"Destroy them."
With that, Desaad stopped wasting words and gestured toward the powerful Parademons beside him.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
The Destroyers shot forward—
Charging straight at the members of the Justice League.
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