Apokolips
October 4, 00:50
Every ounce of energy be it magic or Source, responded to my battle cry. Lightning, in amounts I'd never channeled before this day, bloomed into existence with me at the center, darkening the skies and changing the weather for miles.
Without instruction, the Jaegers paused their onslaught and parted, opening the way for me to reach Darkseid with the full might I'd gathered. Bleeding from his empty eye sockets, the transformed tyrant roared and launched his fist as a response to the challenge.
Lightning and Soulsword wreathed hammer connected with the freight train of a blow. Instead of the scene where a human would go splat when they crashed against a building, a bright blast of energy resulted from the collision.
A blue sun appeared and swallowed everything in a several hundred meter radius. The mushroom cloud that hastily took the place of the sun didn't help the already poor visibility. But that didn't matter.
In this exchange just now, someone recoiled, and it wasn't me.
Inhaling deeply, I applied magic to the air in my lungs and exhaled, dispersing the dust and smoke with the enchanted and magnified wind. Things cleared up pretty quickly, revealing the Jaegers still in their positions, unmoved and unharmed and Darkseid… running toward me with speed not reserved for one of his current stature.
Raising Stormbreaker up high, I filled to the brim with magic and the Soulsword's energy before shooting the mixture into the clouds above. Supercharged by my actions, the dark clouds became illuminated and more excited, their booms rolling all over the place.
Stormbreaker descended and the lightning followed suit like a nail from the heavens,—if a nail was the size of a skyscraper—piercing into the charging New God with pinpoint accuracy, drawing a deep, pained scream and locking him in place.
Like a hammer to a nail, I flew forward with Stormbreaker at the ready and closed the distance, leaving a sonic boom in my wake. The axehead led the charge and embedded itself firmly in his head, his impossibly durable skin giving me less than an inch and no more.
The back of my head throbbed like crazy and I teleported a single meter upward, wrenching the axe free in the process while dodging the unexpected swipe.
Angered beyond belief, Darkseid roared and continued his attempts to hurt and/or get a hold of me. None worked, worsening his rage and the ferocity of his attacks.
Eager to end things once and for all, I called the Jaegers and their giant forms moved with impossible speed, flashing to where Darkseid and I were skirmishing in less than an instant.
Their orders were clear and they executed them with precision that could only be described as beautiful. They literally dogpiled the angry tyrant and amplified their weights beyond reasonable levels, each of them entering the hundreds of thousands of tons range.
The ground beneath them sunk and fissured under the over a million ton forces acting upon their target, his struggles still going strong despite the weight of a literal world bearing down on him.
Dropping down into the mess of crumbling and shifting rocks, I hefted up Stormbreaker, the axehead wreathed with the concentrated Soulsword's energy.
Finding that inadequate, I channeled the disintegration spell modeled after the matter altering scans I obtained from Captain Atom into it as well before bringing the blade down on the small chip I created on his forehead with the first strike.
The sound was exactly as you'd expect; a chisel hitting an unusually hard piece of stone. It got lost in the apocalyptic descent into the planet's crust going on around us, but the effects were evident. So I didn't stop.
CHOP!
CHOP!
CHOP!
Little by little I got into the bastard's head. A few more hits and I was certain I'd be splitting brain matter.
Perhaps having sensed this, Darkseid intensified his already ongoing struggle. The question of why bother when he already knew the outcome died when his body lit up with energy before said energy expanded and engulfed everything.
CHOP!
Even without sight, I had more than enough senses to guide me. Spider Sense for example, didn't just alert me to danger, it also showed me the path away from it. And the path away from this danger was eradicating the source of it.
Let's not even mention the computer-like precision afforded by my Orphan Box nature. It didn't matter if Darkseid aged me to the end of my life, I'd still be able to swing the axe by virtue of the magic and my suit.
And if he somehow got past my defenses and aged me to dust(which was impossible since I'd made myself immortal), a Jaeger would pick up Stormbreaker and finish the job.
CHOP!
CHOP!
CHOP!
Finally, I saw something other than gray rock. I could also feel the heat of the lava below us. Our descent had continued steadily and brought us close to the first layer of the planet's bowels.
Ignoring it, the boulders dropping like rain, the lava swallowing me, and literally everything else, I raised Stormbreaker once more and called upon its lightning. Using all my strength like I'd been doing for the previous chops, I drove the axehead down into the chipped gap and injected the energy of the lightning and the Soulsword into the wound.
BOOM!
The lava was up to my waist now, but the force from the strike and resulting explosion blew it all back revealing not just my unharmed legs and pants but the parts of Darkseid and the Jaeger's that had sunk into the glowing sea.
Speaking of Darkseid, he'd finally stopped struggling. It was a stark contrast to how the entire battle had gone that I simply lifted Stormbreaker once more, eager to make sure he was really dead.
Action: Slay Darkseid (Uxas)
Reward: 1,200 CP.
Name: Omniversal Travel
Description: This is a rather simple ability, but one that has potential surpassing many of the other powers listed here. This power allows the user to freely travel throughout the Omniverse. During this jump you will be able to freely travel to any universe that you desire. After this jump you will be restricted to your local multiverse until you acquire your spark. At this point you will be able to travel to any reality that you dream of again.
Cost: 600 CP
Source: Celestial Grimoire
Name: Multiversal Lynchpin
Cost: 600 CP
Description: In this Omniverse each of the true cosmic beings represent the embodiment of their concept. They are the only representation of their concept appearing in each multiverse. You now share this power, you are the only version of yourself in the Omniverse. The second boon that you will be able to use your powers at their full capacity wherever you are. For example if you became the God of Life in Marvel then you would possess the same position in a different setting. This would also allow you to draw on the reserves from each setting you have been to.
Source: Celestial Grimoire Yggdrasil Personal
I had never received rewards so quickly before. Rather than focus on that however, I processed what the message and gifts represented. Darkseid was no more. Suddenly, I became very aware of my position and the axe above me.
Since I was already here, I might as well just do it.
CHOP!
With a meaty, chunky, scraping sound, I pulled Stormbreaker free after getting no reaction. Now I truly believed. Urging my body out of the lava, I whistled to the Jaegers and they responded like well oiled machines.
They canceled their weight changing effects and flew upward with Darkseid's corpse with me right behind them, my thoughts a whirl as to what had just happened.
I really did it. I actually did it.
.
.
.
.
Providence
October 7, 12:05
If you considered unkempt beards, longer hair, and resigned demeanors drastic changes, then you would describe the current scene in my hidden dimension prison as such.
Five years sat in that sweet spot where it was neither short nor long. Especially with regards to physical changes. If a fully grown adult didn't go through the wringer in this period or experience some significant life altering events, they'd look the same after it passed.
Of course, Lex growing a beard that seemed to be competing with Savage's always looked funny to me, probably due to his ever smooth scalp. What I found even more hilarious today was the faces the three made when I showed them the last days of Apokolips.
A projected screen into their common area during lunch time showed them everything: from the first punch that cracked Darkseid across the face, all the embarrassment he suffered, and the last axe chop that stamped the end of his tyranny.
Shiva didn't care much for the showings since they meant nothing to her. However, even this annoyingly unflappable woman visibly reacted when the scene switched to a view of the planet as it died.
It developed glowing cracks due to the thousands of explosions in its core, the overly magnified forces tearing their way through the crust like the birth of a particularly violent monster.
They watched the entire thing from start to finish. The utter destruction of an entire planet, despite being horrifying, was such a novel and impossibly rare thing that they couldn't look away.
And by utmost destruction, I meant exactly that.
Hellspores were the measures Apokolips used to "tame" civilizations that ardently resisted them. How?
They simply dropped one of these things on the surface and detonated it. The resulting force of the explosion would then be directed downward, drilling down to the planet's core and doing one of two things: creating a fire pit or setting the planet aflame.
Hundreds of planets had fallen to these Hellspores, so it was only fitting that Apokolips' end came by these horrid devices too. Thousands of them, to be precise.
I discovered where they were stored during my reconnaissance and got the idea to use them from there. Their collective detonations were so potent, nothing of Apokolips remained, all of it consumed by the endless, overwhelming flames.
While the reality of what I'd done sunk in properly, I chuckled and changed what the holo screen displayed to the highlights I'd compiled of the lives the three would have ruined or severely affected without my intervention.
With a slight alteration to the screen and the brains of people watching them, they each saw something different.
Shiva got exactly what I promised in the highlights from Cass' life. The better life where she lived like a normal girl, went to school, and had friends. I made sure to include audio so the sound of her daughter's words and laughter would pierce her very soul.
Lex got a front row seat to his company getting devoured by rival ones, the biggest of all these sharks being Wayne Industries, Queen Consodilated, and Rath International.
That got a rise out of the bald bastard, but not as much as the statues built in his honor being torn down. The increased acceptance of the genomorphs by the general populace also piled on the impotent rage.
Dubbilex's interview with Iris West-Allen on Galaxy Broadcasting System made his eyes narrow so closely I knew this was the equivalent of a violent crashout for him.
Last but most definitely not least, Savage got a slightly different showing. After downloading his memories and piecing together what motivated him, my opinion of him, which was already lower than absolute zero, plummeted even further.
His reason for creating The Light, undermining the Justice League at every turn, and committing atrocities left and right, stemmed from his belief in the concept of "survival of the fittest."
What an absolutely retarded thing for someone like him to base his entire life on.
Fifty thousand years ago when he was still a caveman, he spotted a meteorite landing and rushed toward it. On his way there, a bear made the mistake of getting in his way. He fought and killed it, earning himself the three claw marks across his face.
He resumed his journey, only to end up on the verge of death when neanderthals from a rival clan ambushed him. While he lay dying, the glowing meteorite had pity on him.
It showered him in its mutagenic lights and turned him into the first metahuman, saving his life in the process.
This situation, the result of which could be aptly described as the absolute luck of the draw, made Savage land on survival of the fittest as his motto when his only contribution to becoming the "fittest" was just being in the right place at the wrong time.
The luckiest son a bitch of alive, wanted to change the world by weeding out those who weren't as lucky as he was. The irony was astounding. That's why what Savage saw showed him the exact opposite of what he intended to achieve.
In addition to proving his worldview outdated, I showed him the might of Shield, emphasizing its superiority in every way compared to what he attempted to achieve with The Light. And this was in spite of the fact that we embraced all of humanity rather than alienate those we considered "useless."
Smiling at the enraptured yet displeased attention of the trio, I vanished, leaving the dimension and reappearing at a table where Felicity and Mike sat.
Loud cheers went off the moment my feet touched the ground. I picked up a drink and raised it, joining the scores of agents and heroes in the celebration.
It was a party. While the prisoners sat and stewed in their failures, and while the known galaxy dealt with a Darkseid and Apokolips free universe, here on Earth we had thrown a party to celebrate a successful campaign.
"Hey," I set the glass down and joined my wife and best friend at the table.
"How are they taking it?" Felicity, reclined in the floating chair, cradled her belly.
I chuckled, tossing a chicken nugget into my mouth. "As well as Darkseid took that beating."
"Mm! These are amazing," I said with much surprise, grabbing more of the tiny balls of squished goodness. "Your doing, I presume?" I looked toward Mike.
"Of course sir."
"Mm…" I swallowed and picked one up with telekinesis, feeding it to Felicity. "You should try this."
She happily accepted it but the way she did it painted another picture.
"She's already had thirty two of them sir."
"Turns out thirty three is mama's limit," Felicity said, following up with a muffled burp while she looked around. "Do I have to stay here?"
"Of course not. Come on, I'll help you," I swallowed the last nugget, grabbed a fried potato stick, and stood up.
She waved at me and shook her head. "It's okay. I don't want to be a party pooper."
I leaned down and we shared a kiss. I remained on my feet as she left and gave Mike a nod, resuming my consumption of the food.
"How's it going on… we gotta find a name of this planet."
"Things are in order and proceeding smoothly. The lanterns are policing the population and the volunteers have their hands full. I have to admit sir, using the telepresence goggles so the people can work with the androids has proven very effective."
"Mm…" I swallowed. "I've always said embracing both paths instead of hyperfocusing is always best."
After getting all the captives of the planet, the next obvious question arose. What do we do with the people? Do we just leave them to fend for themselves? Leave it to the self appointed sheriffs of the universe, or do I step in and field hundreds of thousands of robots to solve the hundreds of thousands of problems attached to the feat we just accomplished?
The answer came in the form of the disaster relief organisations and NGOs that had been helping me on Earth.
My decisions to support them and involve them directly in crises in addition to my increasingly favorable standing in the public eye had seen the population of people willing to join and help these organisations swell significantly.
They knew me and Shield closely now, so calling on them was no issue. I was certain they wouldn't hesitate to go to space to help the aliens I'd revealed to public long ago. However, that represented too huge a shift.
Sure, I could send the hundreds of thousands of willing volunteers to a foreign planet for humanitarian aid purposes, but there were so many laws and potential problems that I sought another solution.
Hence, the telepresence headsets. Putting them on transported the user straight to the evac world.
There, they manifested in the form of a tangible, customizable hologram, capable of interaction with the environment and getting tactile feedback. Sight, smell, touch, the works. Pain and damage were obviously intransmissible.
This workaround let them do the work they loved so much without the dangers associated and also broadcast the entire thing all over the world.
As high as their numbers were, the volunteers weren't enough. The army of androids came in here, serving as manpower and able hands for whatever was needed in the moment.
Combine this with the presence of the lanterns sent by the Guardians on my request, Mike's assessment of things being in order and proceeding smoothly were more than accurate.
Fully absorbed in gorging myself, I didn't sense Cassandra sneak up on me. The taller and bigger twelve year old wrapped her bare arms around my neck from behind, the bracelet around her left wrist showing the scenes on the evac planet.
"I want to go there."
"Hello my daughter. I'm doing well, how about you?"
Making a playfully petulant sound, Cass kissed my cheek and found herself a seat. At least she had the decency to look embarrassed.
"I'm sorry," she lowered her head and looked away bashfully. "I just got excited. 18 is just so far away," she slumped in her seat.
Not far enough.
"Want some?" I held a mushroom covered in sauce toward her. She swallowed the floating snack and her eyes grew wide.
"Right?" I said, dipping another mushroom in the tasty sauce. "If your mother says yes, you can have one of the headsets."
She beamed and rushed from her seat, peppering me with kisses before running off.
'Kids,' I shook my head. "Extra, around the clock protection for her. Felicity won't say no."
"As you wish, sir."
Nodding, I grabbed the plate covered with the mushrooms and the bowl with the sauce, whisking them away to the house. While they settled themselves on the dining table and waited for me, I teleported to another location.
The room, warded to hell and back to block all forms of teleportation or portaling, even Boom and Hush Tubes, held a single stasis pod and a table with a damaged device.
Within the pod, a man laid asleep, tall, well built and his long black hair frozen like an image. The ancient aristocratic attire he wore made it seem as though I'd plucked someone from a LARPing convention or from the past where his choice of clothing was considered normal.
This couldn't be farther from the truth.
Morlun's arrival on this Earth went unnoticed, for all of five minutes. The leech couldn't help himself when he sensed the life force and The Red flowing through the first animal he encountered.
He did exactly what a starving man plucked from a desert and dropped into an extremely fruitful oasis would do; eat his fill. Animal after animal and even people fell to his ravenous hunger, sucking what little of The Red he could through his victims before they inevitably died.
His actions eventually caught the attention of the mysterious force and they communicated to me through Beast Boy, leading to a confrontation between me and the bane of all Spidermen.
We fought, and I defeated him, soundly. His eating spree had buffed him up to near Superman levels, but it still failed him in the end. Our fight destroyed the means he used to arrive here.
A quick look told me it wasn't a teleportation device but a sort of whistle. My guess, there was a central node that made traversal of realities possible and the device let him signal the node or whomever pushed its buttons.
I had hoped to finish the development of omniversal travel capabilities in the coming years and then use it to return him to wherever he came from. But Darkseid's defeat reduced this timeline to zero.
From now till the time Felicity gave birth, I'd be taking a vacation. It would even extend past the birth since there was no way I'd be leaving her alone to take care of the newborn.
This translated into more than a year of just relaxation and spending time with my family. Meaning there was no problem taking a couple of sweet jumps across the omniverse. Morlun's home multiverse was simply the first stop.
Excited at the upcoming trips, I teleported back to the beach house and went to the living room. Relaxed like the queen she was, Felicity had sunk into the couch while she watched the broadcast from the evac planet.
I spotted Cassandra reclined on a single seat cushion, wearing her own headset. Without a word, I joined Felicity on the couch, magically dismissing my attire and switching them for indoor clothes.
Gently, I grabbed her feet and began to massage them. She exhaled, threw her head back with a moan and I smiled, setting my eyes on the screen to watch Cassandra as she helped the volunteers cater to the freed captives.
My life was perfect.
—The End—