The "World of Heroes" DC RPG Season VIII

[Watchman]

Desaad pushes himself up from the rubble. He coughs up blood and glass and smiles. The blow knock him through a window of building. People, survivors, refugees of anti-life surround him. He steadies himself on his heels and gives them a grin that is missing teeth.

"Bow before me, mortals! I am the emissary of your new lord and dark master. You will all join me..." A piece of wood shatters across Desaad's face. He lands on the ground. He feels the crowd kicking him.

"S-stay back!" He throws up both hands. One holds a purple colored remote covered in yellow circuits. He scuttles away and regains his balance.

"In my hands I hold doomsday! The ultimate adversary of the Line of El!" The crowd was silent for a moment.

"Get him!" The crowd chases after Desaad.

Darkseid had been standing proudly over the scene of the battle. His newest acquisition obediently fighting this planet's pesky heroes. And despite the delay they had created, everything proceeded acceptably.

Until the ground exploded.

A blinding light filled the area, distracting everyone not hit by it. Which was indeed everyone, but Darkseid himself.

The would be ruler of the universe finds himself taking a blast to his chest that surprisingly sends him flying. He skids along the ground, leaving a deep trench in his path.

I float in the air, looking down at monstrosity with a mix of anger, revulsion, and superiority. I just put this god on his ass. And the expression on his face when he looks for his attacker and sees me is absolutely priceless.

"You!..."

I launch myself at him.

Spoiler

"Yes. Me."

"Oh Captain my Captain! HA HA!"

The Joker hovers up to join Sinestro, ready to help him take on Darkseid.

"I was wondering when you'd show up."

"YOU DARE!"

Darkseid's fists shatter a yellow barrier. With uncanny speed he approaches the two Parallax Corpsmen.

"YOU DARE THREATEN THE NEW GOD!" Yellow Lanterns throw themselves at Darkseid. With barely any effort he shatters their defenses and snaps their necks.

"Insulting! A criminal with delusions of grandeur and a fool are this reality's line of defense? Embrace oblivion!" Black constructs rope around Sinestro's and Joker's limbs. Darkseid's eyes glow.

 

[Watchman]

For a moment I think about giving in, about letting Black Hand kill me and Darkseid's forces carry on their conquest over my dead body. My son is dead, my wife is gone, my city is in ruins - what is there to live for? But just for a moment.

"Your infinite willpower?"

Just as the scythe is about to connect, a green shield forms over my heart. I form a pair of green gauntlets around my hands, and grab onto the black scythe.

"You don't know what willpower is."

I shatter the construct, and lunge up at Black Hand, bombarding him with rights and lefts.

Something snaps in Black Hand's mind. He ignores the blows, anti-life, Darkseid is in control. A wave of energy knocks Jordan back. Black Hand, the Black Lanterns, and the crowd of Anti-Life infected stand still and silent.

"It is time, Hal Jordan of Earth," they begin to all speak.

"The end of the Fourth World and the Dawn of the Fifth World. Anti-Life has rooted itself into the veins of reality. Progenitor Box is ready and William Hand is the key to activation." Black Hand holds out his hand. Hovering over his palm is a black cube that is pinging.

"Oolong Island is where the battery stands. Oolong Island is where this will end and begin anew." The Black Lanterns fly into the air heading for Oolong.

 

[Andy C.]

​

"YOU DARE!"

Darkseid's fists shatter a yellow barrier. With uncanny speed he approaches the two Parallax Corpsmen.

"YOU DARE THREATEN THE NEW GOD!" Yellow Lanterns throw themselves at Darkseid. With barely any effort he shatters their defenses and snaps their necks.

"Insulting! A criminal with delusions of grandeur and a fool are this reality's line of defense? Embrace oblivion!" Black constructs rope around Sinestro's and Joker's limbs. Darkseid's eyes glow.

It takes approximately eight minutes for something traveling at the speed of light to cover the distance between the sun and the Earth.

According to Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, that is the the ultimate speed-limit of the universe. The closer an object gets to reaching lightspeed, the more energy is required to move it. If an object reaches lightspeed, it in effect becomes infinitely massive, requiring an infinite amount of energy to continue moving it. Apart from warp engines and wormholes and Star Drives and other devices that bend the physical universe around them, nothing can generate enough energy to move infinite mass.


With that in mind, fifty thousand years after being transported to the heart of the sun by a Multiverse's worth of Jimmy Olsens, less than half an hour after speaking to Bizarro about the solution to the Anti-Life Equation inside a hidden pocket universe, and seven minutes and fifty-nine seconds after leaving the sun.....my fist connects with Darkseid's jaw, with infinite mass behind it.

The shockwave should be enough to pulverize the entire planet into dust, to obliterate the solar system and crack the fabric of time and space itself. After so many millennia increasing and controlling my amplified power, I'm able to extend the gravitational field that allows me to fly and retain most of the expended kinetic energy, keeping a force equivalent to being hit with the entire universe localized just to my knuckles and the despot's face.

Even so, enough energy is released to crack and shatter the ground for nearly a mile in all directions, the cloud of dust it kicks up not too different from a meteor strike.

The God of All Evil goes tumbling back, and I call out to him.

"DARKSEID!!!!"

"This ends now."

 

[J'adore]

Avoiding every strike Catwoman fired at her, Harleen Quinzel charged at her with full force. She tackled the brainwashed fatale to the floor, punching her stomach. "Quick, Holly, my gun! Where is it!?"

Holly Robinson stands back, keeping eye on the darkened streets. She throws the large object over to Harley, who catches it with one swift movement. "Remember, that's still Selina in there..."

Her rage overwhelms her, growling viciously. Harley grabs the scruff of her neck, slamming her elbow down on Catwoman's thin neck, with full force. The other laughs, her tone sinister to say the least. Befor she can even one move one more muscle, Catwoman grabs Harley Quinn's fist, using her free hand to slam her fist across her jaw.

She hurls back in pain, flying back to Holly's feet, letting out a small groan. The two feline fatales instantly go toe-to-toe, their claws grazing against eachother at every oppurtunity. Punching Holly round the face twice and kicking her round the ankles, Catwoman ceases her oppurtunity to pierce her razor sharp claws in to her stomach. Holly gurgles, falling to her knees and collapsing back onto the cold, hard pavement. "Anti-Life is the answer."

She marches strong, looking up in to the sky. Appearing from the clouds, Darkseid's loyal parademons blast towards the streets, landing carefully next to Catwoman. As one steps forward, he takes out an Anti-Life helmet from behind him.
​

 

[Keyser Soze]

Something snaps in Black Hand's mind. He ignores the blows, anti-life, Darkseid is in control. A wave of energy knocks Jordan back. Black Hand, the Black Lanterns, and the crowd of Anti-Life infected stand still and silent.

"It is time, Hal Jordan of Earth," they begin to all speak.

"The end of the Fourth World and the Dawn of the Fifth World. Anti-Life has rooted itself into the veins of reality. Progenitor Box is ready and William Hand is the key to activation." Black Hand holds out his hand. Hovering over his palm is a black cube that is pinging.

"Oolong Island is where the battery stands. Oolong Island is where this will end and begin anew." The Black Lanterns fly into the air heading for Oolong.

A lot of big words there. I don't really understand what's going on. But whatever it is, it isn't good, and I have to stop it.

I take to the air, in pursuit of Black Hand and the Black Lanterns. All my attention is focused on them. I can't let them get away...

 

[wiegeabo]

"Oh Captain my Captain! HA HA!"

The Joker hovers up to join Sinestro, ready to help him take on Darkseid.

"I was wondering when you'd show up."

I shake my head as a group of my corps throw themselves at the tyrant before he gets a chance to recover.

"If I didn't need your natural ability to instill fear, I'd wipe your vile existence from this universe. But at the moment...I need your help to save it."

"YOU DARE!"

Darkseid's fists shatter a yellow barrier. With uncanny speed he approaches the two Parallax Corpsmen.

"YOU DARE THREATEN THE NEW GOD!" Yellow Lanterns throw themselves at Darkseid. With barely any effort he shatters their defenses and snaps their necks.

"Insulting! A criminal with delusions of grandeur and a fool are this reality's line of defense? Embrace oblivion!" Black constructs rope around Sinestro's and Joker's limbs. Darkseid's eyes glow.

Our forcefields do nothing. I can't get air into my lungs. My arms and legs feel like they're being pulled from their sockets. Death is literally facing us.

And the Joker keeps smiling.

Somehow...I find that even more frightening then eminent death.

The shockwave should be enough to pulverize the entire planet into dust, to obliterate the solar system and crack the fabric of time and space itself. After so many millennia increasing and controlling my amplified power, I'm able to extend the gravitational field that allows me to fly and retain most of the expended kinetic energy, keeping a force equivalent to being hit with the entire universe localized just to my knuckles and the despot's face.

Even so, enough energy is released to crack and shatter the ground for nearly a mile in all directions, the cloud of dust it kicks up not too different from a meteor strike.

The God of All Evil goes tumbling back, and I call out to him.

"DARKSEID!!!!"


"This ends now."

Released from the cold black tendrils, I fall to my knees, gratefully pulling in gulps of air. I stand up, rubbing my shoulders with golden hands.

"And where have you been?"

 

[wiegeabo]

As the light forces Jay to let his guard down temporarily, I rush at him with a superspeeding right hook, his body flying through the air from the knockback.

"If you're not going to listen to reason, Jay..." I say as I prepare for another rush.

"Then I'm just going to have to knock some sense into you!"

When I finally land, it takes me a second to get my bearings and realize what just happened. I wipe a stream of blood off my mouth and smile.

"Nice, kiddo. Got the anger flowing good now. So, let me show you a few tricks."

I pick up a pipe, and throw it at him, turning it into the most lethal javelin in the world. He dodges, of course, right into my fist as I run behind it.

But I know better than to let up when fighting a speedster. I keep the attack going, throwing punch after punch. My knuckles heal as quickly as they split on Wally's bones-

And then a second explosion sends both of us flying again. This is getting pretty redundant.

But this time I make sure I'm the first one on my feet. Before Wally can regain his senses and get up off his knees, I've grabbed him from behind, wrapping my arms around his head and neck.

"This has been fun, but I've got things to do and people to kill." I start to twist. "Remember when Barry stopped Thawne? I figure a quick neck snap is a good way to take out any speedster."

I lean my head closer to Wally as I put the pressure on, and whisper with a smile on my face. "I'll tell Linda and the kids 'hi' for you when I find them..."

 

[Blacklight]

When I finally land, it takes me a second to get my bearings and realize what just happened. I wipe a stream of blood off my mouth and smile.

"Nice, kiddo. Got the anger flowing good now. So, let me show you a few tricks."

I pick up a pipe, and throw it at him, turning it into the most lethal javelin in the world. He dodges, of course, right into my fist as I run behind it.

But I know better than to let up when fighting a speedster. I keep the attack going, throwing punch after punch. My knuckles heal as quickly as they split on Wally's bones-

And then a second explosion sends both of us flying again. This is getting pretty redundant.

But this time I make sure I'm the first one on my feet. Before Wally can regain his senses and get up off his knees, I've grabbed him from behind, wrapping my arms around his head and neck.

"This has been fun, but I've got things to do and people to kill." I start to twist. "Remember when Barry stopped Thawne? I figure a quick neck snap is a good way to take out any speedster."

I lean my head closer to Wally as I put the pressure on, and whisper with a smile on my face. "I'll tell Linda and the kids 'hi' for you when I find them..."

The Jay Garrick I knew is gone. As I struggle against his enhanced strength via his submission to Darkseid, I see the world around me shattering as the skies burn red. I come to a conclusion that I must be having delusions from the overwhelming sights... Superman and Sinestro I see fighting the God of All Evil. Last I knew one was dead... The other gone.

Not that it matters... All hope seems lost.

But that doesn't mean I won't latch on to what little hope is left. Uncle Barry taught me that...

Just then... out of the corner of my eye. I see another light. A blue light shining down from the sky, and bursts before mine and Jay's eyes, causing him to let me go as he stumbled back from the light. It was blinding, and I felt a warmth as I felt something slip around my finger...

And suddenly... I knew all will be well.

"I don't think so, Jay..."

​

"I'm gonna show you a thing or two about the power of HOPE!!"

 

[wiegeabo]

The Jay Garrick I knew is gone. As I struggle against his enhanced strength via his submission to Darkseid, I see the world around me shattering as the skies burn red. I come to a conclusion that I must be having delusions from the overwhelming sights... Superman and Sinestro I see fighting the God of All Evil. Last I knew one was dead... The other gone.

Not that it matters... All hope seems lost.

But that doesn't mean I won't latch on to what little hope is left. Uncle Barry taught me that...

Just then... out of the corner of my eye. I see another light. A blue light shining down from the sky, and bursts before mine and Jay's eyes, causing him to let me go as he stumbled back from the light. It was blinding, and I felt a warmth as I felt something slip around my finger...

And suddenly... I knew all will be well.

"I don't think so, Jay..."

​

"I'm gonna show you a thing or two about the power of HOPE!!"

I rub the spots form my eyes, and I can't help but smile at the sight that greets me.

"Blue, huh? What'll they think of next?"

I crack my neck side to side. "Ok, kid. You need a shiny blue ring to take on the old man? That's fine."

"Let's see what you've got."

 

[Bounce]

Overhead, the two black ringed bozos coming out the window after him proved inspiration enough for the wounded Damian to hop back to his feet. Clutching his back, the son of the bat focused on putting one foot in front of the other as the George Romero fans slammed down onto the trash cans where he'd been laying just a second earlier. Fighting them was proving futile. What Damian needed was transportation out of here.

Glancing around, the boy saw a '67 Mustang on blocks, a Harley that was missing its front axle, and a rusted Ford Pinto that appeared to be the only thing which might be remotely operable.

"This is so not cool," the boy complained bitterly, limping his way toward the Pinto.

No A/C.

And no FM.

Four-on-the-floor and what looked like some kind boxy, prototype tape player in the dash.

A batarang shattered the driver's side window just a second before the young al Ghul-Wayne leapt into the vehicle Dukes of Hazard style. Cracked and broken vinyl squealed and chaffed as his sore backside landed behind the wheel. Bits of foam padding jutting out from the seats, speckled with black mold and mildew. A few roaches crawled through holes in the floorboard around a McDonald's wrapper and some mummified french fries. Damian was mildly shocked there wasn't a tacky air freshener hanging from the rear view mirrow, until he realized the car didn't even have a rear view mirror.

The batmobile it was not.

Hell, this thing wasn't even a Chevette. Unfortunately, when one's general escape plan was to jack the first car on wheels then you didn't have a whole lot of options when the Mustang was on blocks. Ripping away the underside of the steering column, Damian grabbed the wires for the starter and just hoped this thing had a charged battery.

Cross-wiring the ignition, the Pinto roared to life in all its rusted, 86 horsepower glory. Wasting no time, Damian slammed his foot down on the accelerator and smiled as the hamster under the hood roared with bestial vigor. And... the car didn't move.

Manual transmission, genius. "****," the boy swore, a hand jumping from the steering wheel to the gear stick on the floor.

At the same time, a hand bearing a black ring came through the broken driver's window to grab Damian by the neck. Seizing hold of the steering wheel with his left hand, the boy fought to keep from getting yanked out of the car. Head pressed against the vinyl orange roof, the boy's feet were an inch shy of reaching the pedals and the fingers of his right hand kept glossing across the top of the shift knob.

Adrenaline kicked in about the time that the white spots began dancing in front of the boy's eyes, his right foot hitting the gas as the painful screech of gears forcing their way across an engine block squealed with mechanical protest while the car was thrown into gear. Loose rocks and gravel flew out from under the wheels as the Pinto lunged forward, the son of the Bat spinning the wheel as he took the zombie for a ride. Angling the car for the side of the building, he clipped off the side mirror and the hitchhiker as he barreled out from behind the apartment building and onto the street.

Dropping it into third, Damian found the lights and cruised suburbia. He wasn't sure what had happened to Jason, but he didn't much care either. As he turned the Pinto onto the main road, Damian flipped the dial on the AM radio.

This is All Things Considered. You're listening to NPR, National Public Radio.

"This is so not cool," the youth complained bitterly.

 

[Watchman]

​

It takes approximately eight minutes for something traveling at the speed of light to cover the distance between the sun and the Earth.

According to Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, that is the the ultimate speed-limit of the universe. The closer an object gets to reaching lightspeed, the more energy is required to move it. If an object reaches lightspeed, it in effect becomes infinitely massive, requiring an infinite amount of energy to continue moving it. Apart from warp engines and wormholes and Star Drives and other devices that bend the physical universe around them, nothing can generate enough energy to move infinite mass.


With that in mind, fifty thousand years after being transported to the heart of the sun by a Multiverse's worth of Jimmy Olsens, less than half an hour after speaking to Bizarro about the solution to the Anti-Life Equation inside a hidden pocket universe, and seven minutes and fifty-nine seconds after leaving the sun.....my fist connects with Darkseid's jaw, with infinite mass behind it.

The shockwave should be enough to pulverize the entire planet into dust, to obliterate the solar system and crack the fabric of time and space itself. After so many millennia increasing and controlling my amplified power, I'm able to extend the gravitational field that allows me to fly and retain most of the expended kinetic energy, keeping a force equivalent to being hit with the entire universe localized just to my knuckles and the despot's face.

Even so, enough energy is released to crack and shatter the ground for nearly a mile in all directions, the cloud of dust it kicks up not too different from a meteor strike.

The God of All Evil goes tumbling back, and I call out to him.

"DARKSEID!!!!"

"This ends now."

Darkseid flies through the air entering in one side of a building and coming out of the other. He quickly rises from the debris. He has come.

"Kryptonian." He says quietly. He knows he can hear him. He wants him to hear every moment of anger. He wants to hear every moment of hate.

"You shall fail today, son of twice damned worlds. You will face Darkseid's reckoning."
*****
Where a Wish Goes....

Reality falls apart. The world is broken and time is smashed. In the space of the Rock of Eternity not just the physical world is damaged but the world of magic has been rotting away. The world of gods dies. Darkseid's returns has eaten away at them. The Wizard lies near death and the Marvel family fights against all odds. The only problem is that Billy Batson can't remember his name.

Parademons and other technological terrors claw away. The only line of defense is a talking tiger with a jetpack. Billy rushes back to the wizard's chambers to find a raven haired woman stands over him. Billy stands dead in his tracks.

"You're here for him?"

"Well, I was but there was light in his eyes. Looks like something down there has changed his mind."

"Ma'am you should follow me. I know a safe way out."

"Oh, I'll be fine, dear but you on the other hand look like you can use all the help you can get."

"I can't remember the word...the magic word. Ever since Darkseid appeared I can't remember the word and no one else can either."

"Silly, it's simple. One word, two syllables. Now repeat after me."

Sometime later. Tawky reappeared in the halls. The parademons had broken through their protection. Standing before him was not Billy Baston anymore.

"Great Scott! Billy?"

"Tawky, I think we have some work to do."
******
Desaad pass through a hall. The crowd hot on his heels. He though he found a safe place from the Anti-Life survivors. He just needed a few minutes.

"Dessaad..glurg...desssddd..." It was an old man in a wheelchair beside him. He was speaking gibberish. Desaad raised a knife he didn't need him to alert anyone to his presence. Before the knife dropped a burly man grabbed his arm.

"Desaad." The giant growl.

"Unhand me, beast. Do you know what I am."

"All too well, Desaad." The old man in the wheelchair's eyes where glowing blue. In his hands was a cube that was changing every second. One a rubik cube the other a blue clear cube.

"The end is nigh. The world of man is placed against the world of gods. The fate of reality in their hands."

"My father has much to pay for."

"YOU! You can't stop us now!" The big man threw Desaad a window. The crowd gathers around him. In a panic and before the jump him. He pushes the button. The Doomsday Clock has been activated.

Somewhere at the end of time and space a behemoth stirs. A giant blue eye opens up. The beast roars.

"SUPERMAN!"
*****
The sound of thunder ripped through the heroes' ears.

"KRYPTONIAN! You left and I ruined your world. What shall you do when I have made you the enemy of all? You are the superman but you are still just man and I will destroy you. There is no stopping me." His eyes start to glow.

 

[Andy C.]

"No."

One word, one single syllable, two simple letters that, when facing down a creature of limitless power and infinite evil, make all the difference in the world.

Darkseid lives in a world that he has made in his own image. Every being on Apokolips obeys him, either out of devotion or out of fear. He is a being that has spent eons getting his way, incapable of dealing with being denied what he wants without some kind of reprisal or revenge.

There isn't a creature in the universe who can withstand his power, who can fight against him and win through, who can stand up to the Lord of Apokolips and face him without fear.

And that's exactly what I'm doing.

"I'm putting a stop to all of this, Darkseid," I say, the heat of centuries of sunlight building up in my eyes. "I've seen the very outer limits of reality, and the countless realities that exist beyond. I've charged every cell in my body with enough energy to bend the fabric of time and space. And I've learned the solution to Anti-Life itself."

The demigod glares at me with eyes that burn with hatred, the very embodiment of tyranny and injustice staring me in the eye. I don't even blink.

"Everything I've seen, everything I've done, everything I've gained and lost, all comes down to this one point, to this one simple fact. You're within mere steps of the final and total victory you've always wanted, but I'm in your way...."

"...and I say NO."

 

[Keyser Soze]

"Okay, who's going for the popcorn?"

 

[Byrd Man]

"Okay, who's going for the popcorn?"

"Here," I say as I step up next to Joker and pull a bag of popping popcorn out of my belt. "Bat-jiffy pop. Always be prepared. I think I have my bat-salt in another pouch....no, that's the bat-butter."

 

[Keyser Soze]

"....I've always loved you."

 

[Byrd Man]

"And I you...."

I slip off my mask, tossing the popcorn over my shoulder and wrapping my arms around Joker.

 

[Watchman]

A lot of big words there. I don't really understand what's going on. But whatever it is, it isn't good, and I have to stop it.

I take to the air, in pursuit of Black Hand and the Black Lanterns. All my attention is focused on them. I can't let them get away...

Surrounding Oolong Island are the Black Lanterns quietly hovering in the air, covering their faces. They almost look like they are praying. In the center of the island stands the giant Lantern. Hovering in the center, cross legged, mediating is the Black Hand. In front of his face is the black cube that begins the unravel.

"The old gods had died and in their place came New Gods. Now as the New Gods died there only remains Darkseid." A black stream of light flies from the lantern into space.

On Oa the column meets the lantern changing the color from green to black. On Qward the yellow changes into black.

"Anti-Life was merely a blueprint for creation. Black Hand the anchor and Darkseid is the creator."

Blue turns to black, red turns to black, violet turns to black, orange, and indigo.

"Let the Fifth World begin. When Darkseid slays their champion and banishes them to oblivion a new order will begin." He steps out of the Lantern, each step he takes leaves a black fire imprint on the ground. He holds his hands up to the Lantern.

"William Hand is dead. All that remains is his master dark guiding hand. All that remains is the Black Hand of Anti-Life. All that will ever be will be Darkseid."

 

[Bounce]

Twenty minutes in Gotham traffic listening to the AM radio and the young Wayne was ready to road rage al Ghul style. Throwing open the glove box, a gray gloved hand dove through the contents in the hopes of finding anything. He had no idea what he was looking for. This car had no bluetooth, no CD, and no MP3 compatibility. Damian's hand came back holding something the likes of which he had never seen before. At first glance, it almost looked like a hard drive but it clearly wasn't.

The body label read Lear Jet Stereo 8 and Creedance Clearwater Revival, neither of which made any connection for the boy. The shape of the disk looked right for the opening in the... whatever it was in the dashboard. And it had to be better than any more of this AM radio, so Damian jammed it into the slot and cranked up the volume as he waited to see what happened.

I see a bad moon rising
I see trouble on the way
I see earthquakes and lightning
Don't go round tonight
Well its bound to take your life
There's a bad moon on the rise...

"This is so not cool," the boy complained bitterly, downshifting as he came off the interchange and dropped back across Gotham downtown. He'd just been here a few hours ago, but the place looked like the atom bomb had been dropped. Safe bet was more of those black ringed wearing screwjobs. Damian couldn't see any of the zombies now, but their handywork was all over the place. Column of black light pulsating in the sky. Flying wierdos buzzing the horizon. All of which was going in the column labeled 'Not My Problem'.

In the windows of a burning highrise, Damian could make out what looked like a woman and a baby.

Of course, she had to have a baby.

Damian's hand moved back to the gearshift as his foot hovered between the accelerator and the brake. "No... no... no... no...." He was not going to get back into some Batman ****. He was not going... Oh the hell with it. Yes, he was.

The rusted red Pinto flew off the main road, the undercarriage grinding as the boy popped the car up onto the curb and sidewalk when he threw the car into a turn and plowed back for the highrise. At least he could ditch the Pinto just about anywhere and not worry about someone screwing with it. It was a rusted out Pinto. Even thugs had standards. While I'm at it, I leave the clunky gray skull mask in the glovebox. Not much of a fan of face shields. If an assassin does their job right, there's no need to hide their face. Its a concept that's still a little foreign to me.

Besides, let the ****ing world find out that I'm Damian Wayne, little lost lamb of the Wayne fortune. I bet the same father who doesn't have two seconds to say so much as two words to me would suddenly have plenty of time for his lawyers and gag orders on the media.

The sound of breaking glass and the choking stench of smoke comes on full force. Waves of heat slamming into me like the fullback for the San Francisco 49ers. I try to tell myself that this has nothing to do with the Batman. I'm really not trying to save anyone. Except maybe me. The only pretense is mine, that I wasn't made for a purpose other than to be a potential resurrection vehicle for grandfather. But I am not my grandfather. And I'm not my father. And I'm not my mother's son.

I am Damian.

Not Damian al Ghul.

Not Damian Wayne.

I am myself.

I have to repeat that, because I'm not sure I believe it either. Since I was born out of an artificial womb I've been expected to be the perfect little assassin. Someone worthy to be a future Ra's al Ghul. Then enter the donor of the Y chromosome and I become shackled by a morality that's as forced on me as it me forcing the idea that I believe in any of it. At least father was a different role model than the one I had before. So should I instead try to prove myself to be someone worthy to be... what? A future Robin? The mantle held by all those who claimed to be the foster and adopted children of Bruce Wayne?

I tried that all ready. Got my ass kicked by none other than one of father's precious former wards. Seriously, have you seen his Robin costume hanging in the Batcave? I had my ass handed to me by a guy who used to swing around Gotham wearing fairy booties.

And not just any ex-Robin either, the one who got his brain smashed in by the Joker. Being from the League of Assassins, I'm no stranger to people coming back from the dead. Hell, that's grandfather's single M.O. at this point I think. It usually doesn't work out quite as intended for the would-be Lazarus. Mental instability is a worry in the best of cases.

Guy who's skull was cracked by a crowbar? Probably not possessing all his cards on a good day no matter who was doing the lay on hands.

The woman's an undocumented immigrant. I get that inside of the first few seconds but that isn't my problem. She and the infant are okay on the fire escape before the guns start going off.

I mean seriously, I am not Bruce Wayne. Or Dick Grayson. Or even Stephanie ****ing bimbo Brown. I'm just a ten year old retired assassin trying to save a baby out on a fire escape and I've got mafioso wannabes trying to cap my ass. Which is fine by me. I can teach them a few things about popping caps in people. Like how to make sure the guy on the other end of the barrel or the knife actually goes down, a minor detail these hooligans have failed to achieve or realize.

Oh, god forbid the masked vigilante actually puts down a villain. That's the golden rule. Heroes don't kill people.

Right, were you paying attention? I'm not Bruce Wayne. I'm not fairy boot wearing Robin. And I'm not your ****ing hero.

What I am is the wrath of God, the Devil, Shiva, and who-the-****-ever all bottled up inside of a pre-teen with daddy issues the size of the Statue of Liberty, half a can of whoop ass, and a whole lot of pissed off. All of which is finding an opportunity for release right about the time that I come within arms reach of the first gangbanger. 6'4". 255 pounds. A very big man to have such a high alto scream.

This isn't saving people. This is therapy. Not for the alto, those broken ribs have punctured both of his lungs and he's going to slowly asphyxiate as they fill with blood and he can't get any oxygen. But me? I definitely feel better.

And who knows, if your friendly neighborhood Batman comes to the rescue then maybe he'll swoop in to get the man to a hospital and everything can have a happily ever after with rainbows and ponies.

This isn't Never, Neverland. This isn't Metropolis. Hell, it isn't even the Bronx. This is Gotham. There aren't any rainbows here. But we do have meth labs. Like the one operating out of this apartment building, sending the gangbangers into a panic as they try to tackle the rising flames, keep the residents from drawing too much attention from the cops, and save as much of the meth as they can before the authorities roll up on them.

Guy in a black suit and a cape swings in? They just start shooting. And they don't care at what. Even as I try to stop them, I'm stepping over the bodies of residents who got caught in the crossfire. Father's kidding himself if he believes there's any golden rule. There are no rules. There's no redemption for the men behind these triggers. There's no rehabilitation. No probation. These men are all damned.

How do I know? I'm the grandson of Ra's al Ghul. I was born with a first class ticket to Hell in my hands.

A guy gripping a Saturday Night Special stands at the top of a flight of stairs, hammer back on the pistol as he watches the shadows for any sign of movement. He sees it. Anyone stopping to actually look at the form veiled by the mist could tell you it was a twelve year old girl. Does he think? Does he hesitate? No, he just points the barrel and squeezes the trigger.

When he does, the bullet sails through his own skull. A quick snag and spin on my part with his arm. The nervous reaction causing him to tense the muscles and involuntarily pull the trigger. I'm sure my father would call it a crime. As I let the body fall over the railing and turn to help the girl through the smoke, I call it poetic.

I can hear the sirens clearly now. Firefighters beginning to blast water into the building. No one else moving that's worth my time. The bystanders either out or dead from the crossfire. Judging by the seemingly world-ending scale of this whole black-ringed-space-zombie-crap, it's a safe bet that Gotham's going to have more fires, more highrises, and more trash toting guns.

And where is the city's beloved Bat-Man? Good lucking finding the answer to that one people. I've been waiting ten years on the ****ing Batman. And I'm still waiting. And I'm tired of waiting.

As Damian started tracking back toward the upper levels of the building to make his exit, he came across the body. Not that of some strung out heroine ex-prostitute or the guy barely holding down a job as a dishwasher as the local grease kitchen or even one of the trash. A toddler. Twenty-four. Maybe Thirty months old. Three bullet wounds and a lot of blood. Left to burn. With eyes that stared vacantly right at Damian.

He made it all the way to the roof before he puked.

 

[Watchman]

"No."

One word, one single syllable, two simple letters that, when facing down a creature of limitless power and infinite evil, make all the difference in the world.

Darkseid lives in a world that he has made in his own image. Every being on Apokolips obeys him, either out of devotion or out of fear. He is a being that has spent eons getting his way, incapable of dealing with being denied what he wants without some kind of reprisal or revenge.

There isn't a creature in the universe who can withstand his power, who can fight against him and win through, who can stand up to the Lord of Apokolips and face him without fear.

And that's exactly what I'm doing.

"I'm putting a stop to all of this, Darkseid," I say, the heat of centuries of sunlight building up in my eyes. "I've seen the very outer limits of reality, and the countless realities that exist beyond. I've charged every cell in my body with enough energy to bend the fabric of time and space. And I've learned the solution to Anti-Life itself."

The demigod glares at me with eyes that burn with hatred, the very embodiment of tyranny and injustice staring me in the eye. I don't even blink.

"Everything I've seen, everything I've done, everything I've gained and lost, all comes down to this one point, to this one simple fact. You're within mere steps of the final and total victory you've always wanted, but I'm in your way...."

"...and I say NO."

The battle ranges before them. Heroes fight fallen friends, parademons. Beings the move between blinks throw thousands of blows before most swing once. The ultimate force of good against evil have come face to face, primal forces against each other for everything.

"You continue believe that hope still exist. I have eliminated the very notion of hope. Only the void awaits you, Superman. You will be remember as the Adversary, a devil to my people. You refuse to bow before me? So be it. Face the eternal life death."

Twin beams fire out of Darkseid's eyes. The beams bend and twist before the heroes and Lanterns alike. The Omega Beams shall not fail, they will find their target through any obstacle. They both head for Superman.

 

[trustyside-kick]

OOC: Previously...

"Today marks the day that Darkseid claims the underwater world! We the Deep Six claim it in his name. Darkseid IS!!"

"Darkseid IS seriously pissing me off!"

The Marine Marvel lands an uppercut on the unprepared Slig, with the son and daughter of his from a parallel Earth in team work working together to take the rest by surprise. Kym transforms her waterform into that of a Kraken, entangling the other three of the other Deep Six members while Artie Jr. finds himself going toe to toe with Gole and Troke who both wield their trademark weapons of choice.

"Aquaman! It has been a many years since our last encounter. This time we bring the entire armies of Apokolips, and our great and powerful Lord resides just above the waves, taking over the surface world. In due time he will rule the surface and this waterworld you have called your home all these years!"

"Problem with that, Slig. You see, I already handed over the crown to someone. That man earned my respect and the right to take my place as King; Darkseid hasn't and won't."

Trying his best to avoid direct contact with Slig's hands for the Aquatic Ace more than remembers his uncanny powers, he simply uses their 'fight' as a distraction. In all this mayhem as a war has broken out in Atlantis there is so much noise and lack of coordination that Slig doesn't see when Aquaman had telepathically summoned two orca whales to tackle Slig from behind, throwing the villain off. As Slig remains unbalanced and tries to recover from a blow that did no real damage but served its purpose, Aquaman comes at him with all he's got: a barrage of punches, knee presses, and kicks to the villains head, chest, and abdomen without mercy. Slig is never able to lay one of his dangerous fingers on the former Sea King Orin is so cunning and agile.

Taking out the strongest of the Deep Six, Orin looks as Artie Jr. keeps his own against the blade wielding Gole and axe wielding Troke. And as he looks at Kym who changes the structure of her water form, she seems to be more than capable of handling Jaffar, Kurin, and Shaligo. A truly marvelous sight as she makes advantage of her waterform being intangible to their attacks.

A smile comes upon the father's face until he shrugs it off, reminding himself this is a battle for the entire planet. And seeing that things are in check, with the strongest of the Apokoliptan forces finally being held at bay in Atlantis, he knows where he needs to go now. No doubt his colleagues in the Justice League are face-to-face with the Dark Lord of Apokolips right now.

Kicking it into high gear, traveling at well over 1,000 knots, the Marine Marvel heads for the surface of the waves.

 

[Andy C.]

The battle ranges before them. Heroes fight fallen friends, parademons. Beings the move between blinks throw thousands of blows before most swing once. The ultimate force of good against evil have come face to face, primal forces against each other for everything.

"You continue believe that hope still exist. I have eliminated the very notion of hope. Only the void awaits you, Superman. You will be remember as the Adversary, a devil to my people. You refuse to bow before me? So be it. Face the eternal life death."

Twin beams fire out of Darkseid's eyes. The beams bend and twist before the heroes and Lanterns alike. The Omega Beams shall not fail, they will find their target through any obstacle. They both head for Superman.

The Omega Beams. The single most destructive force in the entire universe. Darkseid wields the power to unmake anything he so chooses.

I let them strike me dead-on, not even making the slightest attempt to avoid or even block it.

"SUPERMAN!" I hear Lois's voice cry out. I turn and see her, wearing some kind of armored suit--a modified Kryptonian War-Suit from the Fortress, from the looks of it. She flings para-demons off of her as she tries to make her way towards me, but I gesture for her to stay back.

"It'll be all right, Lois," I say with a smile and a grin as the Omega Beams begin to turn my body into ash. "I can handle this."

Every cell in my body burns up and splits apart......and I become nothing.

 

[J'adore]

​

Harley quickly jumped to her feet, backing away slowly from the incoming Parademons. They fire their guns, but Harley is quick to dodge the lasers, spinning from left to right in an instant. She jumped in to the nearest alleyway, taking cover from the blasts. Her breath was fast paced and her feet were light on the ground. Come on Harley, think!

She hears the loud screams of Holly, accompanied by the roaring of the parademons. The Anti-Life has her!

Using the opportunity, Harley peaked her head round the side of the alleyway, covering her mouth slowly as her eyes widened to the horror of Holly Robinson. Trapped, within the Anti-Life. "She's next!" Catwoman roared, chuckling.

Letting out a quick gasp, Harley jolted off down the other end of the alleyway, running towards the darkness, her shadows merging with the dark walls. "Leave her! The lanterns will get her..." Her heart pounded, her love for her best friend ripped away from her, consumed by the hellraising Anti-Life. She had to find Ivy, she had to get help.

Through the heavy blood pumping through her ears, she manages to hear the faint voice of Selina Kyle, barking out her commands. Her feet barely touch the ground as she glides across the streets. It's not long until she's met with a black substance blocking her path. Her eyes shift and see sees the image of another Black Lantern, encasing Harley within their force field. "Hey mister! Move your keyster!"

"ThAtS mAdAmE tO yOu!" Tara Markov, the previously dead titan.

Lost, afraid, alone - Harley had fallen to her knees, her breath slipping away from her. As she felt her heart pumping violently and pounding hard against her chest, she bowed her head down.

 

[wiegeabo]

Superman and Darkseid face off against each other like two towering gods.

"How...dramatic."

The Joker is virtually hopping and giggling with glee at the sight. But I know that while Darkseid is distracted, we've still got work to do.

"Are you going to just stand there looking like an-" The Joker grins at me. "Never mind."

I launch myself towards some distant screams, right into a black mass of bodies. They go flying in all as I put up a protective bubble around a patch of innocents.

"I know you...you're that one Lantern or something," one of them says.

"Or something."

"What's going on?"

"We're trying to stop the end of the world, again."

"So...where can we hide?"

The sky darkens as black lanterns descend towards, blocking out the sun. "I'm...not sure."

And then I hear something...odd from my ring.

"YIPPIE-KAY-YAY!!!"

"The Calvary's here!!!"

There's a speck of light in the dark. Then another. And another. Soon dozens. Then hundreds. Then thousands. All of a variety of colors. And the mass of lanterns in the sky swarms and splits as they're torn apart from within.

I smile. "Just hide where ever you can. I think this is going to be over soon..."

 

[Catman_prb]

Nightwing herded a crowd of civilians away from the Parademon hordes and the confrontation between the two aliens. A few of them had grabbed the Apokalyptian weapons and were defending themselves and their families, but by and large the better trained of Darkseid's minions were slaughtering those in their way. Dick could see the other remaining heroes who weren't involved elsewhere were in the fray, fighting them the best that they could.

"I'm not sure how much longer we can hold them Oracle," he said into his earpiece.

There was the tapping of a keyboard.

"I'm just getting sattelite imagery now - oh my god, there are thousands of them,"

"I know," Dick said, gritting his teeth as he parried a blow from some kind of electrified halberd "I'm here,"

Nightwing knocked the parademon over the head, wrenching the halberd from his grip, before spinning it around him, knocking more of the soldiers away from the civilians. A young girl was crying into the skirt of her mother, who was gripping the shoulder of her even younger son.

"I'm not sure if we can do this," he gasped, throwing the weapon javelin style and drawing his billy clubs again.

"Nightwing, I-"

"Listen, Babs, I need to...look, for a long time now I...I-"

-BOOM-

The hero looked up as the combined Lantern corps arrived, accompanied by a collosal sonic boom that left his headset in crackling static. His battle-stained face grinned.

"About damned time,"

 

[Bounce]

The world is ending and crime is having the best day ever. With the police responding to panic from one end of the city to the next, ring-wearing bastards lighting up the sky as they fight each other, and even some dudes in this green and gold get-up. There's no telling just what father has gotten himself into, but Damian hardly had time to think about himself. Let alone Bruce Wayne. Or even Jason Todd, the ex-Robin long mourned as dead who had vanished amid a torrent of the space-zombies who seemed to be delivering the apocalypse of boogeymen.

As the Batman, it was fine if father was occupied with saving the world. Being that he was ten, Damian tried to keep his focus on what he could realistically achieve. Saving the woman and the baby back at the burning apartment-slash-meth lab had been a start, followed by stopping a van of wannabes trying to loot a Best Buy, and even some teens who'd tried to smash and grab the cash register from a local comics store.

While he was there, Damian did make a point to pick up the latest issue of Mad Magazine. If the rest of the night was going to be this boring, it only made sense to have something to read. Taking shelter on a rooftop, the black-suited youth slipped up the cowl of his cloak, popped the top on a can of Mountain Dew and flipped out the magazine. It was just as well that he'd left the face shield in the Pinto, his face was so covered in soot that it made for its own brand of mask. Gazing down over this corner of Gotham, Damian smirked at how easily it had been to get the locals back into order through that fear of Batman lurking in the shadows.

Then again, it was just that cocky attitude that had resulted in the toddler getting killed. Damian had gotten lax. He'd gotten overconfident. So long as his opponent wasn't Jason Todd, he toyed with them. If he'd stopped playing and just taken the bastards out then that little boy might not have died.

Damian wasn't out to save anyone, but he'd made an effort to. Maybe as a joke originally. Maybe to be like his father, or to spit in his grandfather's eye. He tried to play Robin and he'd failed. That fact left a bitter taste that lingered in the back of his throat as it burned the image of the toddler's dead gaze into his mind. Damian realized that as much as he'd studied the Batman, he had no idea why his father was the man that he was. Or even why Dick Grayson or Tim Drake or even Stephanie Brown were who they were.

He was still trying to figure out Damian Wayne. That was enough of a headache.

He'd barely taken his first sip of the Dew when a shrill scream split the air. The Bat-Signal it wasn't, but it had that 9-1-1 quality to it that told you upfront this was going to be another rape/robbery/space zombie. Tim Drake probably would have jumped right on it. Damian hesitated, only because he wanted to chug the Dew before he had to ditch it and swing off into the night, praying it was just a mugging.

Nope. Definitely not a mugging. As the grandson of Ra's al Ghul, Damian had seen a lot of things. Ripping a guy's heart out of his chest? Damian had seen his mother do the same trick when he was eight. Punching through the guy's chest with his heart in your hand? That was a new one. As space zombies went, this guy was a serious mother****er. Armor. Blades. Power ring.

This was a job for Batman. No, the hell with that. This was a job for Superman.

This was not a job for a ten year old, even when that kid was the son of the Bat and the heir apparent of the Demon's Head. He'd had his ass kicked enough times already. And this guy looked like he was good. Not like Jason Todd good, this guy was better. This guy was stronger. And he was amped up on the same black mojo as the one's at Jason's apartment who'd strung themselves back together after Damian had hacked them apart.

The guy in the suit didn't even bother to retract his arm. He just flexed the muscles in his forearm and the corpse exploded in a shower of bone, blood, and gore. If Damian hadn't already thrown up once tonight, he might have lost it then. Turning, the behemoth loomed over the shrieking woman behind him as he prepared for a repeat performance of the heart trick.

The woman's skirt was stained, her legs were wet, and there was a puddle underneath her. Safe to say therapists in Gotham were all going to be buying a new summer homes with all the new patients they were about to get.

The soles of Damian's boots slammed into the back of the man's skull just as he'd started to lunge for the lady, taking the brute face-first to the street as the pre-teen went somersaulting through the air. Without a word, Damian turned and shoved the woman out of the way, a waste of time but... this would all be without much meaning if he stood there and let her get steamrolled by Man-Tank here.

As expected, Goliath was already back to his knees and ready to charge, looking pissed off rather than hurt. Whipping a combat knife from his belt, Damian swiftly let the blade loose in a quick and lethal sweep that bit through the man's throat, then pushed forward as he shoved the blade upward through the underside of the man's chin and into his brain pan.

In any other case, this would be overkill. Space zombie? Damian was just getting the man's attention was all.

The boy barely side-stepped a sweep of the man's sickle-like blade on the top of his glove, the grazing blow carrying sufficient edge to cut straight through the suit and slice open Damian's shoulder. The child gritted his teeth at the sensation of pain racking his weary body. It was just a flesh wound.

What came next was the wake up call.

Damian hadn't even had a chance to re-adjust his balance when the haymaker struck. Hell, Damian hadn't even realized that the zombie had moved. As left hooks went, this one felt powerful enough to have caved in Damian's face. The kick was a nice follow through. In a daze, Damian hadn't even realized that he'd been hit. Let alone conscious of the fact that he was airborne.

The boy landed about twenty feet away, smashing through the windshield of a Dodge minivan as it went speeding through the intersection of Fifth and Broad. Of course, the driver screamed and slammed on their brakes, sending the boy flying a second time before hitting the road.

That decided it. Heroes suck. As he pushed himself up, a loud metal bang drew Damian's eyes over the headlights of the minivan. Where the armored zombie crouched on the roof of the car, like a lion ready to pounce, with the handle of Damian's knife still protruding from under its chin.