New York
The heart of New York was fire and smoke. Sirens wailed as buildings crumbled, and terrified crowds poured through the streets. Amid the chaos, a lone figure moved with unshakable purpose—her dark jacket ripped away, revealing bronze armor gleaming under the streetlights. Diana of Themyscira—known to the world now as Diana Elric, or more quietly as Lara Croft—stood tall, her sword in one hand, shield in the other.
Her eyes were calm, but her actions merciless.
A Parademon screeched and dove, claws outstretched. With a flick of her wrist, Diana hurled her sword like a spear. The blade spun through the air, impaling the creature mid-scream before embedding itself in a taxi door. She caught it effortlessly on the rebound, never breaking stride.
"Come demons," she scoffed . "Send me more."
And more came. Waves of Parademons swarmed down Broadway, their shadows blotting out the neon lights.
Diana met them head-on, shield raised, sword flashing in arcs of steel. Every strike was precise, every movement honed from centuries of war. Wings were severed, bodies crashed into the pavement, ichor staining the streets.
But the ground shook.
A new roar split the city. From the smoke emerged Kalibak, son of Darkseid—towering, broad-shouldered, his massive weapon crackling with raw energy. His eyes locked on Diana with primal hunger.
"You!" he bellowed. "Amazon. I will break you, and your bones will honor my father."
Diana planted her shield, her chin rising in defiance. "You will find me harder to break than anything you know invader."
Kalibak charged, the street cracking beneath his weight. Diana met him with a roar of her own, shield slamming against his weapon as sparks flew. The collision sent shockwaves down the block, glass shattering in nearby buildings.
They fought like gods among men. Kalibak's swings were monstrous, each one heavy enough to crush a tank. Diana blocked, deflected, and countered with blinding speed—her blade slicing across his armor, drawing sparks and roars of pain. He swung wide, and she rolled under, driving her sword into his thigh.
Kalibak howled, staggering back, ichor spilling. He snarled, slamming his weapon into the ground. The shockwave cracked pavement, hurling cars into the air. Diana leapt, her lasso flashing out, wrapping around Kalibak's arm. With a furious pull, she yanked him off balance and slammed him face-first into the asphalt.
The battle raged block after block, their blows leaving craters and toppled buildings in their wake. Civilians fled in terror as two titans clashed in the heart of the city. Diana struck with unyielding grace, each movement both brutal and beautiful. Kalibak fought with raw power, his rage burning hotter as blood spilled from his wounds.
Finally, she slammed her fist covered in lightning, knocking him back through the façade of a skyscraper. The building groaned, glass and steel raining down. Kalibak staggered to his knees inside the wreckage, blood dripping from his mouth.
Snarling, he raised himself. "Father will… send reinforcements. This world shall perish." He jumped back into the boomtube to report and regroup.
***
Far beyond Earth, in the abyss of space where light itself seemed to falter, the burning glow of Apokolips churned like a dying sun.
Firestorms raged across its surface, ash clouds curled endlessly, and a fortress unlike anything in mortal imagination floated in eternal orbit.
Inside the throne hall of obsidian and flame, silence reigned.
Darkseid sat upon his throne, a monolith of stone carved as if by the cosmos itself. His form was as immovable as the world he ruled—colossal, cloaked in power, eyes simmering with a smoldering red that never faded. Every inch of him radiated inevitability, as though the universe itself bent around his presence.
Before him, the battered visage of Kalibak flickered on a war-screen, his voice carrying the growl of a wounded beast. "Father… I fought her—the Amazon. She is no ordinary warrior. She injured me. She has the power of the old god Zeus !"
His words trembled between shame and fury, the ichor still dripping from his wounds visible through the projection.
Darkseid's voice rumbled like tectonic plates grinding beneath the earth. "And still she lives. Which means you failed to finish your mission."
Kalibak bowed his head, beaten but unbroken. "They are not scattered, Father. They are gathering. Mortals they may be… and yet they resist us."
The throne hall darkened further, if such a thing was possible. The air itself seemed to shudder as Darkseid slowly leaned forward, the dim light carving shadows across his chiseled face. His glowing eyes did not blink, did not waver.
"They would dare resist?" Darkseid said softly, the words heavy enough to shake the chamber. "Then I shall break them myself."
From the side of the hall, footsteps echoed—deliberate, elegant, predatory. Grail emerged from the shadows, her pale-gray skin luminous in the firelight, long black hair flowing like a storm. Her crimson eyes shimmered with disdain and the faintest trace of hesitation.
"Father," she said, her voice smooth as silk yet edged with steel. "At last. I had hoped you would no longer let your dogs off the leash alone."
She cast a disdainful glance toward the war-screens, where the faces of Granny Goodness, Kanto, and Virman Vundabar had also appeared—each scarred, bruised, or humiliated by their own clashes with Earth's defenders.
"Enough," Darkseid commanded, and the generals fell silent instantly.
But Grail lingered by his side, tilting her head ever so slightly, lips curving in something that was not quite a smile. "Earth resists. Interesting. They call themselves heroes, don't they?"
Darkseid did not answer her question. He did not need to. His silence was more powerful than any affirmation.
Yet Grail's gaze shifted, just for a moment. Somewhere, buried beneath her lethal calm, her mind drifted.
Edward.
His absence burned like an unanswered question. She had felt his presence, long ago, as though he were a shard of destiny itself. Where had he gone? Would he appear in this war? Does he even remember her? She would find out.
Her crimson eyes narrowed, burning with secret resolve.
"Father," Grail murmured, "if you descend, the world itself will shake. Perhaps that is what it needs. A reminder that there is only one true god."
Darkseid rose.
The throne groaned under the shift of his colossal form, the weight of inevitability unseating itself. He did not move quickly, for he had no need. Every step was deliberate, echoing like thunder through the hall. His shadow fell long and infinite, reaching the feet of his generals, swallowing them whole.
"Prepare the armada," he commanded, his voice carrying across dimensions. "This Earth… dares to imagine itself defiant. I will teach them despair."
Kalibak bowed his head, shame turning to savage joy. Granny Goodness cackled softly, hiding her bruises behind the mask of devotion. Kanto inclined his head with assassin's grace. Virman Vundabar muttered strategies under his breath, already scheming.
And Grail followed at her father's side, her crimson eyes gleaming—not with fear, but with anticipation.
Far below, on the small blue planet whose cities still burned with the echoes of Parademon wings, the heroes gathered in scattered places—still separate, still bloodied, still unaware of the storm descending upon them.
But above them, in the cold of space, reality itself bent and cracked. The boom tubes began to stir.
And from the heart of Apokolips, the true war was about to begin.
Meanwhile, Edward was watching Cassie destroy the swarm of parademons near Avalon, then flying off to New York where her older sister Diana was without waiting. Alphone was operating a giant mecha which looked suspiciously like Optimus Prime and blasted the remaining ones left.
"Phew, that was fun. Hey Dad, aren't you gonna do something? This looks pretty bad." Alphonse spoke to Edward.
Edward smiled. "They don't need me... not yet." He then joked. " But are you going to let your sisters have all the fun?"
Alphonse shrugged. " I'm just a inventor who makes the toys. I don't need to test them myself when I have volunteers."
There was a shimmering portal beside Edward that appeared suddenly and a figure walked out. He didn't look and asked, "Hey Soph, where's your mom ?"
Sophrosyne sat beside Edward and swung his legs. " Mom's busy. So many are dying. She said their leader is coming soon."
Edward sighed. " Well, looks like it's about time. Let's see if they can stop him."
******
The sky over Earth was changing.
Boom Tubes ripped open across the globe like jagged scars in reality, and from each one poured Parademons by the thousands. Cities burned, skies darkened, and the smell of scorched asphalt and ozone clung to every gust of wind.
Humanity panicked — crowds running, cars overturning, military jets screaming overhead. But the soldiers quickly realized their bullets and missiles did little more than sting the invaders.
And high above the chaos, the real storm was coming.
Darkseid's personal armada hovered at the edge of Earth's orbit, colossal ships blotting out the stars.
At the forefront stood the Lord of Apokolips himself, his crimson eyes glowing faintly, his body towering with menace. Beside him, his daughter Grail watched silently, her black armor gleaming faintly under the fire of distant explosions. Her gaze wasn't on Earth, however. Her thoughts lingered elsewhere.
"Still no trace of him," she murmured, almost too softly to hear.
Darkseid's gravel-deep voice rumbled like a landslide. "The Godslayer hides. Let him. When I burn this world, he will come crawling out. They always do."
But Grail's lips tightened. Something in her gut told her Edward wasn't hiding at all. He was watching. Waiting.
****
On the ground, the scattered heroes began to converge.
Batman stood on the charred remains of a rooftop, cape flickering behind him in the hot wind. His cowl was cracked at the temple, dust and blood streaking his jaw.
He'd just finished dismantling Virman Vundabar's forces, leaving the tactician unconscious in the rubble of his own command post. He planted the bomb on him before the boomtube could take uim away.
And when he returned to his ship, the bomb exploded, destroying the ship.
Through the smoke-filled sky, Batman saw them—silhouettes moving across the horizon, converging on the same war-torn city's center. Metropolis. He thought inwardly, 'they are converging . Their leader must be arriving.
He tapped the comm-link in his ear directly to reach the heroes human counterparts. "All defenders of Earth, anyone still alive and fighting—converge on Metropolis. Now. That's where this ends."
No names. No identities. Just the voice of a leader despite not being the strongest.
Superman floated above the burning city, his cape snapping in the inferno winds. Beside him, Faora hovered — her eyes scanning the horizon, her jaw tight with unspoken conflict.
The battle with Granny Goodness and the Furies had left both of them battered a little but standing, blood streaking Faora's cheek, Superman's suit torn across the chest.
Clark's gaze hardened. He could see the shadow of Darkseid's flagship eclipsing the stars. "This is it."
Faora's voice was quiet, softer than it had ever been in her years of service under Zod. "Kal… this isn't just a war. This is destruction."
Superman turned to her, eyes burning with conviction. "Then we stop it together."
She looked at him for a long moment, something flickering in her chest she hadn't felt since Krypton. Then she nodded."Together."
Flash stood in the middle of a ruined street, still breathing hard from the fight with Mantis. His crimson suit was scorched in places, and his chest heaved like he'd just sprinted a marathon.
Green Lantern floated down beside him, the emerald glow from his ring lighting up the cracked pavement.
"Gotta say," Flash panted, pointing at the still-smoking crater where Mantis had been blasted back into the Boom Tube, "for a bug that big, you'd think he'd be harder to swat."
Greem Lantern smirked, though his jaw was set with determination. "Don't get cocky, rookie. That was just one general. The big boss hasn't even arrived yet."
Flash tilted his head. "Big boss? You mean those guys are not the ones in charge?"
Lantern's eyes narrowed. "Those were not the leader. Their leader was waiting. But something tells me he's out of patience."
They exchanged a look, unspoken understanding passing between them. The world was on the line, and they couldn't do this alone. Then they heard the message from Batman to head to Metropolis.
Flash asked curiously, " Whoa, who is this guy and how does he know who we are!"
Green Lantern smirked. "That's probably Batman. I can recognize his grumpy voice from the last time we met."
Flash widened his eyes. " Wait, Batman's real too! Are you gonna tell me next that Santa's real too ?"
Green Lantern raised a glowing fist and smirked . "Good guess. Anyway, we don't have time. Metropolis. Let's go."
Flash grinned, "Race you there", then blurred into lightning, running beside Lantern's emerald streak as they shot toward the city.
Diana, no longer Lara Croft, but Wonder Woman in her full Amazonian armor — stood among burning skyscrapers, sword still dripping ichor from where she had cut Kalibak across the chest.
He had retreated, roaring in rage, but his words echoed in her mind: Father will come. Father will destroy this world.
Her jaw clenched, and she sheathed her sword across her back. "Let him come," she whispered to herself. "The Amazons do not run from gods."
She then smirked. "My father is stronger than his. He will come, even if it's just to protect me. For now, let's head to Metropolis."
She spread her arms, the wings of her armor unfolding, and launched into the sky.
****
The city of Metropolis had become the focal point of the invasion. Parademons swarmed like hornets, streets cracked under tank fire and collapsing buildings, civilians screaming as they scrambled for cover.
And then, like a scene drawn from myth, the heroes arrived one by one.
Superman and Faora descended from the sky, their landing cracking the pavement.
Green Lantern and Flash followed, emerald energy streaking across the sky, lightning lighting up the ruined streets. Green Lantern stood firm, while Flash bounced on his heels, unable to stop moving even in this tense moment.
Superman spoke warmly. "Hey guys. You might know me as Superman. And this here is my partner Superwoman. "
Faora just nodded and didn't pay much attention.
Flash extended his hand. " Nice to meet you. I've read stories about your deeds. I'm Flash and that guys called Green Lantern."
Superman shook it with a smile. "Thank you Flash. Pleasure to meet you." Faora also gave him a little nod.
Green Lantern muttered softly . " Suck up."
From the other side, Diana dropped like a spear from the heavens, her golden armor gleaming through the firelight. She straightened, eyes blazing with determination.
She spoke calmly, " Greetings warriors. You may call me as Wonderwoman. I also go by Lara Croft among humans."
Flash whistled. "Is that freaking Lara Croft! Who would have thought the billionaire philanthropist is a warrior capable of smashing aliens!"
Green Lantern patted the dust away and said, "Dibs!" Before trying to approach her with swagger.
But much to his annoyance Batman landed next to Diana from the Batwing, his cape fluttering as he surveyed the battlefield. His eyes narrowed as he observed the giant boomtube on the sky.
Flash immediately stood in front of him , extending a hand. " It's an honor to meet you Mr. Batman ! I've read stories about you growing up."
Faora raised an eyebrow. "You must be the one who told us to gather here I believe. I don't sense any power from you other than that amulet."
Batman shook Flash's hand. " Thank you, Flash. I have known about you as well. You have done a good job in central city." Flash grinned sheepishly.
Batman looked at Faora. "I indeed called you all here. We can't win unless we fight together.
Diana watched him with interest. She remembered her father talking about training some emo kid in the Himalayas. Somehow, she felt this guy might be him.
And then, lightning split the sky as Shazame arrived, a boyish grin beneath a man's godly frame, electricity sparking around his fists. "Hope I'm not late to the party! The name's Shazame."
He looked around and whistled. " Damn! We got so many super folks! And two pretty ladies. Hola!"
Faora glared while Superman stood in front of her protectively. Diana scowled and spoke, " this is no time for jokes."
Green Lantern also shook his head. "Too desparate my dude."
Flash chuckled nervously. "It's okay, nothing serious. Just some harmless awkard flirting."
Shazame winced in shame.
The seven of them stood together for the first time, the air around them crackling with power and tension.
For a long moment, they just looked at each other, sizing up strangers who might have to become allies in the next few minutes.
Batman was the first to speak, his voice gravelly but calm. "We don't have much time for introductions. You've all seen what's coming."
Superman stepped forward, his presence radiating authority. "We need to know our plans if we are to work together."
Green Lantern spoke with a smirk. " No problem is too big for Green Lantern. Batsy knows how good I am."
Batman spoke without emotion. " If your definition of good is on the ground wiggling from fear toxin, it's concerning."
Green Lantern scowled. " That's uncalled for."
Faora interrupted. " The army belongs to Darkseid, ruler of Apokolips. He destroyed galaxies and civilizations for millenias. After I was banished from Krypton with my fellow soldiers, we met him. He killed 3 of us before we escaped with General Zod. Although we were weakened at that time. "
Flash muttered, trying to inject some levity, "So,we have a world-ending space tyrant with billions of army invading us . And we are 7 people. That's great. Totally not terrifying at all."
Diana's voice cut sharp through the noise. "This is no time for jokes. The enemy is not just Darkseid. His armies, his generals, his will — they will not stop until this world kneels."
Faora folded her arms, her gaze steady. "And he's stronger than any of you realize. Stronger than Zod."
That drew silence. Even Superman frowned at that, though he placed a hand on her shoulder gently, steadying her.
Shazame broke the pause, his voice youthful even through the thunder. "So what, we quit? Or do we actually fight back?"
There was a whistling sound, and Cyborg arrived and landed beside them. They got alert but Victor spoke disarmingly , " calm down guys. I got Batman's message. Name's Victor stone, but you can call me Cyborg. I've got information about the invaders."
Green Lantern raised a hand. " We already know. Darkseid, cosmic Conqueror, has billions of mindless army. We fought his generals."
Cyborg sighed. " That's not all. He is looking for this." His chest compartment opened and a motherbox came out. Diana widened her eyes. " How did you obtain the mother box?"
Cyborg replied. " It was at Star labs. My dad used it to bring me to life. This is related to Darkseid. There are 2 more . Once they are united, it will restructure the whole planet and changing it to Apokolips. We must stop him before that."
Batman's mind raced. "We need to locate the other 2 boxes and protect them."
Diana spoke. "We don't need to worry about them. They are hidden away safely. Even if Darkseid found them, he won't be able to take them away. We need to protect the one we have."
Flash pointed out, " Even if he has two, he needs this one. If we hold onto it, won't it make him come to us? We can set a trap."
Batman's eyes flicked across each of them, calculating, measuring. "We must fight. But not like this. Scattered, we'll fall. Together…" He let the sentence hang, his eyes narrowing behind the cowl.
"…together, we have a chance."
Diana nodded. "But we must think on how to close those damn portals. We are few in number."
Cyborg spoke. " If you guys can take me to a high altitude where I can find signal, along with a huge energy blast, I can close those portals. "
Shazame smirked, " I can help with the power supply. But we need to keep the bad guys distracted."
Batman nodded. " Leave that to the rest. You guys work on closing those portals. If things don't work, we still can improvise."
For the first time, Superman and Batman locked eyes. Neither blinked. Two leaders, two visions of what it meant to save the world.
Then, slowly, Superman nodded. "Then we stand together."
The air shifted, as though the world itself acknowledged it.
The Justice League had been born.
Above them, the clouds split with fire as a Boom Tube larger than any before ripped open. The sky screamed as Darkseid himself stepped through, his frame blotting out the sun. His generals marched beside him — Kalibak, bandaged but snarling, Granny Goodness limping yet unbroken, Mantis buzzing with rage, Kanto polishing his blades, the Furies hissing with anticipation, Virman's broken body dragged like a trophy.
And last, Grail, her piercing gaze sweeping the battlefield. For a brief moment, her eyes flickered away from the heroes, searching the horizon. Searching for Edward.
Darkseid's voice thundered across the city, shaking the glass from towers, rattling the bones of mortals and gods alike.
"Earth will be mine."
The war for the planet was about to begin.