The Universe of Earth-7
The five Gentry materialized on the surface of a dead world in a distant galaxy far from earth, their forms coalescing from the shadows like nightmares, Dame Merciless stood at the forefront, her hollow eyes were fixed on the figure that stood before them.
It was Korin Zor-El.
Or rather, it was a shadow of him.
The shadow stood motionless, its form translucent, its features indistinct. It bore the symbol of the House of El, its eyes glowing violet, but they were also a bit hollow, devoid of the fire that had defined the real Korin Zor-El. It was a fragment.
Dame Merciless's voice was flat. "A shadow. Nothing more. A trick, a diversion, a meaningless echo.."
Lord Broken stepped forward, his fractured form crumbling and reforming with each movement. His voice was a low rumble, "The Shadow Monarch's work. He is using the Kryptonian's essence to create decoys, to confuse us, to buy himself time or to escape.."
Intellectron hovered above them, its single giant eye glowing, its mechanical tendrils writhing and shifting as it processed information at speeds that defied comprehension. Its voice was a chorus of synthesized tones, each one layered over the others. "Correction. This is not merely a decoy." he paused, the eye pulsing with cold light. "It carries fragments of the Kryptonian's soul. He is with him. That is certain. He is protecting him, hiding him, using him as the foundation of his strategy."
"They might be trying to escape. To flee this universe and leave us to search for them across the multiverse." Dame Merciless said.
Intellectron's eye pulsed. "Negative. Based on my calculations of over ten billion potential outcomes, the Shadow Monarch will choose to fight in ninety-eight percent of those scenarios. He is not retreating. He is waiting for us to make a mistake, or he is trying to seperate us, to fight us one by one."
Hellmachine's voice was a mechanical growl. "Then we must return in kind. We cannot let him interfere with our Master's plans. He must be destroyed.. It doesn't matter if he wants to seperate us, we have the means to overpower him and we have wasted enough time hunting a single Kryptonian, the last survivor, we must proceed to the next universe, our Master is watching."
Dame Merciless's smile was thin and disturbing. "We almost had him once. We can do it again. He is powerful, yes, but he is not invincible. He bleeds. He struggles. He despairs."
Intellectron's voice carried a note of warning, as it focused its attention on Dame Merciless. "He resisted the Anti-Death Equation. It is expected, he is an entity of death. Much like lady death herself." He paused, "Be vigilant. He is not like the others we have faced."
Dame Merciless raised her hand, bringing it down on the shadow clone. It carved through the illusion with a sound like tearing silk, and the shadow dissolved into nothing, its fragments scattering across the air.
Intellectron's spoke. "There are more. Spread across the universe, scattered like seeds in the wind. We must deal with them all, each and every one, until we find the real one, we can't move on without eradicating all life in this universe."
Lord Broken was amused. "It doesn't matter. We will find the real Kryptonian eventually."
Dame Merciless pointed a finger toward the horizon. "We have spent too much time in this universe. There is a multiverse to conquer, worlds to erase, realities to unmake. Let us finish this, we are the Gentry."
And then they moved.
In a single, synchronized motion, the five Gentry dispersed, each one disappearing in a different direction, their forms dissolving into the void.
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.
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Arthur floated in the darkness of the Abyss, his eyes closed, his body was still, his presence a quiet weight in the infinite emptiness. The Abyss was his realm, a dimension of pure shadow, a space between spaces where his power was absolute, where his will was law. The sky was a violet twilight, eternal and unchanging, its surface dotted with eyes that watched from the darkness, each one a fragment of his consciousness.
His eyes opened, glowing with violet light, their intensity cutting through the darkness. His voice was a whisper. "There it is..."
He smiled, then he vanished.
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Earth-7 -
Dame Merciless stood over the second Korin shadow, her hand raised, the shadow knelt before her, its form flickering.
"You are nothing," she said, "A fragment. Another fake echo, a .."
Arthur appeared beside her.
He moved with the speed of thought, his hand closing around her wrist, his grip like iron, his eyes blazed violet.
"You'll be coming with me."
Dame Merciless's eyes widened, and before she could do anything they were gone.
Demogorgunn appeared where they had been, its multiple heads snarling, its massive form shaking with rage. Its voice was a distorted chorus of fury.
"Bastaaaaard..."
Arthur's Abyss -
Dame Merciless stood at the center of the Abyss, her form silhouetted against the violet twilight, the eyes that dotted the sky watched her, countless and cold, their gazes pressing against her, their presence a constant reminder that she was no longer in control.
Her voice held a tone of cold fury, she was a being who was not accustomed to being outmaneuvered. "Where did you bring us?"
Arthur stood before her, his arms crossed, his expression calm. "The Abyss," he said, "One of my many realms."
He paused, his eyes meeting hers,
"And your grave."
Dame Merciless's smile was cold. Her eldritch presence growing more oppressive, more dangerous, more hungry.
"You clearly underestimate me..." She stepped forward, "I know that look... you think you are in control."
Arthur's smile didn't waver. "Our first encounter was your only chance to kill me.. and you blew it. I understand what you are now. What all of you are." He paused, his voice dropping to a whisper."You are no longer a threat."
Dame Merciless's laugh was a harsh, discordant sound. "Is that why you separated me from the others? I cannot seem to be able to get out of here." She paused, her eyes blazing. "So be it. I will corrupt you. I will make you serve him as well."
Arthur raised a hand, pointing a finger at her, his expression carrying the weight of absolute certainty.
"Him? I'll extract that information from you as well."
The Abyss attacked.
Shadows erupted from every direction, darkness made solid, darkness made hungry, darkness made will. They wrapped around Dame Merciless, their grip tightening, their power pressing against her, it seemed to crush her from all sides. She dodged, she weaved, she fought, but there were too many, and they were too strong.
Her voice was a distorted snarl."You will know despair!"
And then Arthur saw it.
Kara stood before him, her form bound by the Gentry, her eyes wide with terror, her face streaked with tears. One of them held her, their hand pressed against her heart, their power seeping into her, corrupting her, consuming her. She screamed his name, her voice a desperate plea, her eyes turned hollow.
"Arthur!"
Arthur's eyes closed, his voice was flat, he had seen through the illusion and refused to be swayed.
"That was a bad idea, what you just did."
He opened his eyes, his form blazing with power.
"Despair is nothing in the face of Death."
Power surged from him, a wave of pure shadow, of absolute annihilation, of the very essence of his being. It engulfed Dame Merciless, pressing against her, consuming her, erasing her from existence, slowly.
Her voice was a distorted scream, the sound of a being who had finally understood the weight of her mistake. "Is that... what you think you are?!"
Arthur's smile was cold, he was a being who had found the truth and was not afraid to wield it.
"Yes." He paused. "Have a taste, and then you tell me."
The power surged forward, wrapping around her, pulling her into the darkness. She tried to fight, but the shadows were too strong, too absolute. Her form flickered, her power sputtering, her presence fading like a candle in the wind.
"I already know fighting you with weapons and fists is not the way with your kind. You shall die and cease to exist. The others will soon follow." Arthur said.
Dame Merciless unleashed her power, the Anti-Death Equation, a wave of corruption that would have destroyed anything it touched, that would have twisted the very fabric of reality.
Arthur laughed.
"I understand your power very well." He stepped forward, his form unblemished by the corruption. "The Anti-Death Equation. It corrodes laws of physics and beings, turning them into undying, foul creatures." He paused, his eyes meeting hers. "Are you trying to corrode my power? Unwise. I already have undying, loyal shadows. Your power is meaningless in this realm."
He spread his arms, the shadows rising around him like a cloak, their forms shifting and writhing with his will.
"Everything here bends to my will. And my will alone."
Dame Merciless's eyes widened. She saw the darkness closing in, saw the eyes watching from the sky, saw Arthur's power pressing down on her. She saw the truth of her situation, the absolute certainty that she had been outmatched.
She uttered a single word, her voice barely a whisper, she understood the weight of her mistake.
"The Great... One... aid.. Me."
Arthur turned away.
"The others will be more talkative... about this Master of yours."
The shadows receded, and where Dame Merciless had stood, there was nothing.
Empty space. Violet dust. Arthur stood alone in his Abyss, his eyes glowing violet in the infinite emptiness.
"One down," he said to himself with a satisfied look. "Four to go."
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