Kaitou Kid stood with Batman on his left and Iron Man on his right. The two tech titans were suited up in their insanely expensive red-and-black power armors, fully prepped for battle. The moment Superman gave the order, they'd charge in.
The Black Lantern Corps had clearly identified the superheroes as their greatest threat and were ready to wipe them out first.
Ben and Kailan stood beside Spider-Man. By now, Spidey was a qualified member of the Avengers. The younger heroes were positioned on the outer edges—less exposure meant less pressure. That was the best protection they could offer them.
Vroom. A green motorcycle screeched to a stop in front of the heroes. Off stepped Green Arrow, the master archer with a color scheme suspiciously close to Green Lantern's. As he dismounted, he glanced at Hawkeye. They were the only two archers on the field—naturally, their eyes locked.
"This is my city. I can't just stand by and do nothing," said Green Arrow.
"Welcome to the team," Superman replied, shaking his hand. Every bit of strength counted now.
A red blur wrapped Green Arrow's hand in a handshake. "Glad you made it," said Flash.
"Flash, it's been a while." The two were old friends—after all, Central City and Star City were neighbors. They'd teamed up plenty of times before.
Gulp. Someone swallowed hard. The sound echoed. The enemy was terrifying—rotting bodies that chilled the soul. Worse, the black lantern energy seemed to devour all light. Though it was daytime, there was no sunlight. The sky itself had gone dark. The Black Lantern Corps had blotted out the sun, fulfilling the prophecy of "The Blackest Night shall shroud the day."
"Rip out hearts, steal souls!" The Black Lantern Corps made the first move, charging with unstoppable force.
"Fight!" Superman roared, jolting everyone to attention. It was time to unleash everything they had to break through the grip of death.
Superman led the charge. His heat vision fired at full power, vaporizing a wave of enemies. But more surged forward to fill the gap, wave after wave throwing themselves at the heroes.
Iron Man didn't hold back either. His chest-mounted laser cannon fired without pause. "Jarvis, begin calculating energy consumption."
"Understood."
Batman unleashed explosive Batarangs. But even his high-yield bombs barely made a dent in the endless tide.
The Black Lantern Corps feared no attack. They were death incarnate.
Hawkeye and Green Arrow exchanged a nod—then fired.
"Corrosive arrow!" shouted Green Arrow.
"Shock arrow!" answered Hawkeye.
"Explosive arrow."
"Splitter arrow."
Back and forth they went—clearly showing off.
Flash relied on sheer speed, ramming through the horde like a living missile. Wonder Woman charged in with her sword, cutting a bloody path straight into enemy lines. Each slash took a head or a limb.
"Raaaagh!" Wolverine followed right behind her, carving his own path of destruction.
Hero after hero joined the fray—too many to name—but each of them was up against 1 billion enemies. From the start, this battle was doomed to be hell.
The Black Lanterns broke and reformed, reformed and broke again. They never stayed dead. But the heroes didn't have that kind of regenerative power. Their strength drained with each attack. Their minds wore down. They weren't machines—they would fall, eventually.
"Ninety percent!" The Black Lantern Corps' power level kept rising.
"Stay in formation! Don't rush the front!" Superman shouted. Only through coordinated support could they last longer. "Wonder Woman, Wolverine—watch your tempo!"
Superman blew out a cold gust of air, freezing the Black Lantern in front of him, then smashed it into pieces.
"Captain America, where's your Hulk?" Kaitou Kid, fighting alongside the Cap, found a moment to ask. He raised a hand, letting out a steady stream of Ripple energy like a laser, slicing through the enemies. He noticed that Ripple actually worked pretty well against the Black Lanterns—it could melt them.
"Dr. Banner's on his way," said Cap, catching his shield mid-air. "He'll make it."
As they spoke, Storm finished charging up her ultimate move—CRACK, CRACK! Lightning tore down from the sky, finally stirring ripples through the sea of Black Lanterns, blasting open some space. It was definitely a big move. Kaitou Kid thought, 'If only Thor were here too, it might hit even harder.' Hopefully, he'd show up soon.
"Don't stop!" Green Lantern shouted. His ring transformed into hundreds of giant fists that pounded into the Black Lanterns, each blow blasting apart half a corpse.
"Pointless!" came the unified roar from the Black Lanterns. Their voices boomed like a typhoon. "Death is the end for all things. No matter how you resist, it will come. There's no escape."
"Damn it!" Kaitou Kid cursed as the pressure built up. He pulled back, steadied himself, and let his Microcosmos burn to full force. "Dimensional Space—!!!"
Whoosh—
Kaitou Kid went all out. A massive rift tore open inside the Black Lantern ranks and sucked in a swarm of them—at least 1 million gone in an instant.
From the X-Men's side, Elsa joined in. She stomped the ground, and frost instantly spread out. The frozen field expanded rapidly, stretching across the entire city and freezing tens of millions of Black Lanterns solid.
It finally looked like the tide might be turning. Iron Man noticed and ordered, "Jarvis, activate all Iron Legion suits. Let's show these colorless freaks some real power."
"Right away, sir."
Moments later, dozens of unmanned Iron suits roared into the battlefield, diving into the Black Lantern horde. Explosions echoed one after another.
"Hooray! Let's go!!" Civilians, watching from shelter, couldn't help cheering. "Send them back to hell—let's go!"
Hearing the cheers, the heroes' hearts grew firmer. Strength surged through them.
"Die already!" Diana slammed her bracers together, and a massive magical wave burst outward. It looked like the counterattack had begun. Every hero started unleashing their ultimate moves.
Flash began sprinting in tight circles, building up wind pressure for a Dragon Fist Cyclone to sweep away the enemy. Lightning from the Speed Force wrapped around him as he spun faster and faster, transforming into a red whirlwind. Soon, the storm grew into a full-blown tornado, pulling in countless Black Lanterns.
"Everyone, push harder!" Cap activated his secret weapon—his mouth. His words boosted morale like a buff spell, encouraging the whole team.
"Rip 'em apart!" Wolverine roared, grabbing a corpse and charging forward, carving a bloody path.
For the first time, the Black Lantern Corps fell back. They couldn't die, but wasting too much energy wasn't worth it. Their power level was already over 90%, and they were so close to success.
Now the entire universe was feeding energy into the Black Lanterns. Soon, Death's true emissary—Nekron—would arrive. He would lead the Black Lantern Corps and plunge the entire universe into eternal darkness.
The fate of all things is cruel. Only death sees all equally. Only death accepts everything. It demands nothing. Only death.
"…Ninety-eight percent, ninety-nine percent, one hundred percent!!" All shall perish. Only death endures. Nekron descends.