"Now, Darkseid, tell me... Would you like these clones to use Susanoo or not?"
"Huh?"
A moment later, the clones manifest aspects of Susanoo's skeletal structure, such as a ribcage for basic defence and arms for interacting with the surroundings. Once a complete skeleton is formed, musculature and then skin are added, until a complete humanoid is shaped. Then, the legs are added, and the full body form is created, with the large statures of Hal's clones, who are the size of the Juggernaut standing in the head.
Darkseid looks at the scene in front of him, and his eyes shine deep red with Omega energy. He is angry at being pushed to such a degree. However, Hal isn't the only one who can change his shape and size. Darkseid also begins to grow larger until he reaches the size of the four incomplete Susanoo. The four start attacking Darkseid using swords and their fists. The fists impact the large form of Darkseid, while he shoots out massive beams of Omega Beams.
*BOOOM*
But the armour holds, and as a result, one of them stabs his sword into Darseid's right eye.
"RAAAAHHH", the giant roars.
The others jump Darkseid as if this were Jujutsu Kaisen and start combining their attacks and delivering mean combos. But this is the Lord of Apokolips, Darkseid, we are talking about. He is no slouch, and he is furious right now. He came here for the world and for the Kryptonian, but all he got was humiliation.
"YOU DARE?!!!"
He grabs the fist of one of the Susanoo and pulls him in, blocking a strike of the others and then pulls it apart. He rips the Susanoo apart, and in the moment that happens, hundreds upon hundreds of Juggernauts spill out, as if it were an infected cell and the bacteria are now set free. The Juggernauts jump on the large body of Darkseid and start smashing at his body all over. They punch and bite anything they get hold of.
"WHAT IS THIIIISSS?!!! INSECTS!"
Darkseid raises both of his arms and smashes them on the ground, unleashing a monstrous amount of Omega energy.
*BOOOOOOM*
Most of the Juggernauts are pushed back by the shockwave, since they weren't in a forward motion. But Darkseid is not just fighting these 'small' men; there are still two more Susanoo around, and he gets to feel it at that moment. Another blade pierces his stomach and cuts in very deeply. But before Darkseid can get a hold of that Susanoo, the second one also gets into the fight and punches him in the face.
*BOOM*
"Ugh..."
The two Susanoo attack again and slash at the New God, almost severing his left arm, but the titan is still ready for a fight.
"RRAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
He unleashes a massive flare of energy from the Omega Sanctum and disintegrates the clones and Susanoo.
*VRROOOOMMM*
Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Cyborg were far enough away that they weren't affected by this powerful blast, and Hal created a dome to stop the energy from reaching them and the rest of the city. His usual cyan cover had enveloped all of Metropolis at this point, and protects everything from the fight. Only Hal is left in the fight, and he looks at Darkseid, who has taken quite some punishment. The Flash has gone off to support the Ultramarines in evacuating the remaining civilians throughout Metropolis.
"That was an impressive show," Hal says.
"This world is mine. As is the Kryptonian," the deep sepulchre voice of Darkseid says.
"I thought a being of your experience would know when something is pointless. Very well, let us end this."
Around Hal's body, the same Susanoo skeletal structure appears. First the ribcage, then the muscles and then the skin. He is lifted into the sky, as the lower body appears and then the legs. But it doesn't stop there. Armour forms around the humanoid for further protection, causing it to resemble a yamabushi. Another two sets of arms appear, and four Katanas at his side. The Susanoo gains a tengu-like nose, wings for flight and is clad in robes and ornate armour. He is enormous right now, towering above Darkseid, but the tyrant adjusts that right away to be the same size.
"Complete Body - Susanoo." Wonder Woman mutters a distance away.
"What?" Aquaman asks.
"The energy reading off of this is insane. What is he made of?" Cyborg asks.
"It's made of pure will." Wonder Woman says.
"Huh? Will? What do you mean?"
But Wonder Woman doesn't answer and observes the fight. The two titans clash. Their fists collide, sending shockwaves through the entire city. The news helicopters and those from the military had to land, as they would have been destroyed otherwise. But the fight is visible from anywhere right now. Darkseid is using more of his Omega energy than he ever had to use in a fight like this. And then there's the strange energy of the emotional spectrum, which is intervening with his anger and the cruelty he has inside him. The darkness he is made of is being pushed back, and that... scares him more than the damage he received.
As their fists collide, his Omega Beams impact the powerful armour, and Hal's katanas slash through Darkseid's thick defences. He is assaulted by memories. Memories of a distant past. Memories he didn't want to remember.
"Suli..."
Behind the distracted Darkseid, a cyan portal appears, and Susanoo Hal tackles him through it.
"Puhh..."
They stand back up, and Darkseid looks around him, finding himself inside a laboratory. And he remembers this one very well. There he sees her... his one and only love... his wife, Suli. The tyrant's eyes widen as he sees her experimenting.
"Suli..."
"Shush, my love. I know you are concerned, but we must see to it that this energy is not used for anything but to rebuild a past grandeur of our world."
The voice of Suli is gentle and full of intelligence. She is concentrating and talks to Darkseid as if nothing were wrong. Darkseid suddenly unleashes a massive amount of the Omega Sanction's energy in one go, trying to destroy what he assumes to be an illusion. But Hal is faster. From all around him, throughout the air, several portals appear, and from them a cyan chain shoots out and starts to bind him. He feels his strength and power drain, and tries to flee. But the harder he pulls and tries to destroy the chain, the stronger it holds him in place.
"Calm, Lord of Apokolips," Hal says, back in his normal form.
"YOU DARE?! I AM ENTROPY! I AM DEATH! I AM DARKSEID!!!"
"And now you shall be silent. Observe." Hal says and points forward.
Darkseid is forced to watch his wife go about and smile as she is experimenting. The scene changes, and Darkseid's mother, Heggra, is seen. She is shouting and wailing as she walks through the halls of their palace.
"My son... so powerful and intelligent... corrupted by her... listening to her and not me!" Heggra wails.
Darkseid sees his mother make her way to DeSaad's room and talk to him silently.
"You must do it. DeSaad. You will free my son's brain from her shackles. He has been corrupted and made weak. His father was nothing like that. I would know. Free him, DeSaad. Free your master." Heggra says.
"It will be done, my queen. And Darkseid will someday thank us." DeSaad says.
The scene changes again, and the flabbergasted Darkseid sees his wife again. And not just his wife, he also sees his son, Kalibak.
"How would you have him raised, my love?" Darkseid asks.
"Far from the influence of those around your mother. He must be ours, not hers." Suli says.
Again, the scene changes, and Darkseid sees Suli walk along the halls and suddenly grab her throat. She was poisoned and fell to the ground, dying alone. When Darkseid found her later that day, he found the one he had loved cold and just that instant, the universe felt a chill as well. That was the moment he changed. The moment Darkseid was born, the current universe knew.
The scene stops.
"I thought you should know," Hal says, standing in front of Darkseid with his hands behind his back.
The entire time, his energy had been affecting the fight and Darkseid. The power of hope was truly the strongest emotion. And if Hal didn't exist, hope would be even more powerful than will. But since Hal is using his own will, there is nothing as powerful as that.
Darkseid doesn't answer Hal and just stands up, looking at the human... no, not a human. Something more.
Another portal appears, and Darkseid walks through it, arriving on Apokolips.
"WHAT IS THIS?!" Darkseid roars.
Apokolips is destroyed. The planet is almost entirely destroyed, with large chunks missing.
.
- A bit earlier -
- Apokolips -
The Salamanders and the Dark Angels, under the command of Lion El'Jonson, attack the Female Furies and the remaining Parademons. But this time, weapons from the Age of Technology are included and mow through the forces of Apokolips. The Adeptus Astartes ploughs through the Parademons, while they attack the Female Furies. Granny Goodness sees this and is both angry and aroused. The disgusting old woman lives for violence in the name of Darkseid, so this is doing it for her. Among the enemies, she spots the Lion who walks towards her, swinging his massive power sword and killing the Apokolipian forces in swathes.
"AAAAAHHHHH", the insane woman screams at the top of her lungs and attacks the Lion.
But she has never dealt with the savage beast in power armour, that is, El'Jonson. She attacks, and their weapons clash in the air, sending shockwaves through the area. But the Lion adapts with each exchange, pushing more and attacking differently.
"GRANNY! IN THE SKY!" one of the Furies shouts.
And indeed. From Hyperspace, dozens of Super Star Destroyers appear, starting their bombardment of the airborne fighting force, belonging to Apokolips. But that's not all. Not by a long shot.
Suddenly, Granny Goodness hits his shield with full force. She is surprised that nothing happens, but she is wrong. Her perception has slowed down momentarily, and she sees her life flash before her eyes, as her conscious mind didn't even realise that she is about to die.
*SWING*
The Lion's power sword cuts through the air, splitting her and her armour into two pieces. Her eyes widen in shock. Her gaze turns towards the man who just killed her, but she doesn't see anything. No joy, happiness, anger or anything else... he just is. Without uttering a single word, he slices through her neck, killing her. He wanted to make sure she would truly die before the last part of their plan commenced.
*BOOOM*
Vulkan, meanwhile, is dealing with Steppenwolf, who is growing increasingly unhinged. This can't be happening. He can't be stopped and evenly matched by whatever it is that he is facing. His growing anger begins to cloud his mind as Vulkan continues to grow mid-fight. He moves around, and his massive warhammer impacts Steppenwolf's head.
*BANG*
The general flies through the air, spitting blood. However, he is not out of the count. He can go on for as long as he needs, and his anger makes him more powerful. He roars and swings his Axe through the air, where he believes Vulkan to be. But as he turns around, he only sees the retreating armies, the dead Female Furies, Granny Goodness and even one prisoner being taken as they move through a portal. The last to leave is Lion El'Jonson as he speaks into his comms.
"Commence, Exterminatus extremis."
Steppenwolf's eyes move into the sky, where the battleships also make their exit and make way for something else. Something bigger. His eyes widen... like, really widen as he sees the approaching celestial object. A massive, truly and utterly massive, somewhat humanoid... planet appears and transforms into a monster.
{I am the collapse of natural order. A formless, infinite nothing that petty corporeal minds cannot imagine. Total annihilation. Peace in an endless emptiness, the heart and totality of which I alone encompass. I am Unicron. I live again.}
...
{Apokolips... I am your doom.}
The last thing Steppenwolf sees is a planet-sized hand descend on Apokolips and crush anything in its path.
.
- Back to the Present -
Darkseid looks at the destroyed remains of Apokolips. All of its life was consumed, leaving it even more dead than it already was. A few floating rocks in the vast nothingness of space.
"An attack demands retribution. You invaded Earth. This is what you got for it." Hal says.
"..."
"It was good meeting you, Darkseid. Let us not do this again, any time soon." Hal says and disappears, leaving Darkseid to deal with his failure and the truth.