A few weeks passed like a breeze.
High above the clouds, in the deep darkness of space, space itself crackled and split into a gigantic fissure as a colossal boom tube opened. Something massive slowly emerged.
A planet.Almost as big as the moon,filled with fire pits and gigantic engines across its surface.
A planet that looked completely hostile and inhospitable.Apokolips.
Down below on Earth, in coastal cities like Metropolis, the effects of Apokolips's gravitational pull were immediate.
The sea shifted and rapidly pulled back. Small ships were dragged away, while larger ones were grounded on the ocean bed as a massive wall of water began to form.
Sirens blared across Metropolis as people fled in panic, some abandoning their cars.
Then the wave crashed back down,water surging toward the city.
Two sonic booms split the air as Superman and Kara arrived at the scene, immediately springing into action. Red and blue blurs streaked through the streets as they pulled civilians from vehicles and moved them to rooftops.
Just as the massive tsunami was about to reach the coastline,two figures emerged from within it.
They landed on the shore.
Aquaman and Mera.
Aquaman twirled his trident before slamming it into the ground. A silent pulse spread outward as the tsunami met an invisible barrier.
He gritted his teeth as the force pushed him back.
Beside him, Mera raised both her hands, her eyes glowing as she assisted him, trying to hold the wave back.
Superman and Kara joined in, unleashing their freeze breath to halt and solidify the advancing tsunami.
Meanwhile at the Watchtower
Cyborg stood frozen for a brief moment as he watched Apokolips fully emerge from the Boom Tube.
"This is bad…" he muttered.Very bad.
Warning signals flared across the Watchtower's defense systems as they detected a massive threat. Cyborg magnified the holographic feed in front of him, revealing a colossal cannon emerging from Apokolips' surface.
It turned and locked onto the Watchtower.
Red alarms blared instantly throughout the station, lights flashing across every corridor.
"To all Justice League members on board the Watchtower, this is Cyborg," he announced, his voice echoing through the system. "We've got target lock from a weapon of mass destruction. Evacuate immediately,use Boom Tubes and get off the station now!"
Even as he spoke, his hands moved rapidly across the holographic interface, activating the Watchtower's defenses.
Energy surged inside the watchtower as the shields came online,a massive barrier of interlocking hexagonal plates forming around the station.
Out in space, the cannon finished charging.
For a brief second… everything went silent.
Then it fired.
A colossal red beam tore through space, vaporizing several satellites in its path before slamming into the shields. Energy scattered violently across the barrier as the Watchtower trembled under the impact.
Alarms screamed even louder.
[Warning! Shields failing!]
Cracks spread across the barrier, visible fractures forming as the beam continued to push forward.
"Damn it…" Cyborg cursed.
He didn't hesitate. A Boom Tube opened behind him, and he stepped through just as the shields shattered.
The beam engulfed the Watchtower completely, tearing through it and continuing onward toward Earth.
It struck the planet's surface with devastating force.
Continents were carved apart. Cities erased and oceans split as the beam dragged across the surface before finally shooting off into deep space.
Where it had passed,a glowing red scar kilometers wide remained.
A Boom Tube snapped open in the center of the chamber as Cyborg stumbled out, catching himself as the portal closed behind him.
He reached up, tapping the side of his cybernetic ear, his expression grim.
"To all Justice League members…" he said.
A brief pause.
"The Watchtower has fallen."
"I repeat… the Watchtower has fallen."
Another pause followed by the words that confirmed everyone's worst fear:
"Darkseid… has returned."
----------
Nina stood in the clearing pn their usual training grounds , arms folded, watching closely.
In front of her sat three versions of Thena,the original and two shadow clones,each seated cross-legged on the ground, brows furrowed in deep concentration.
Faint black markings flickered across their faces… unstable.
"You're trying to force it again," Nina said calmly.
"No, I'm not," Thena snapped back, her voice strained.
Nina let out a small sigh.
"Let it flow like I told you. What you're doing right now is absorbing too much at once, then cutting it off. That's not balance."
The markings on Thena's face flickered more violently.
"Too much," Nina continued, "and you'll turn to stone. Too little, and it just gets passively burned by your body with no real boost. You need a steady flow."
A second later,thena collapsed onto her back, breathing heavily as her clones vanished in small puffs of smoke.
"Dang it… this is hard," she muttered in frustration.
"No kidding," Nina replied. "There's a reason Sage Mode takes time to master. Even I had to struggle to find that balance between too much and too little."
She paused slightly before adding,
"And even now… I can't enter it instantly."
Thena turned her head slightly, still catching her breath.
"No kidding. This is even harder than learning the Flying Thunder God."
"In a way, it is," Nina said. "With the Flying Thunder God, it's about understanding sealing mechanics and applying them correctly. This…"
She gestured lightly around them.
"…is raw trial and error."
Thena groaned, dragging an arm over her eyes.
"I can't teach you the exact way I learned it," Nina continued. "All I can do is give you the fundamentals. The rest… you have to figure out yourself. She said.
As Thena lay on the ground, staring up at the sky, something caught her attention.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Wait…"
She rubbed her eyes, blinking a few times as if to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
"Is it me… or is there a second moon in the sky now?" she asked, slowly sitting up.
That was enough to catch Terra's attention.
She had been sitting beneath a tree, quietly meditating, but now she rose to her feet and stepped out of the shade. Her gaze followed Thena's upward,and there it was.
On one side of the sky… the familiar pale moon.
On the other,a crimson one.
"…So it's finally here," Nina muttered grimly.
Terra's eyes stayed fixed on it. "What is that?"
"Bad news," Nina replied without hesitation.
Then she turned sharply to Thena.
"You have a mark placed on Paradise Island, right?"
Thena nodded. "Yeah. I put one there just in case I ever needed to go back without flying all the way. What's going on?"
Nina stepped closer, her tone firm,serious in a way Thena hadn't heard before.
"Listen to me carefully. I need you to go there, find the Queen, and tell her I said it's that time. If she agrees, you're bringing her back here,along with anyone she chooses."
Thena hesitated. "I don't think I can teleport that many peo-"
"You can," Nina cut in. "You have to believe in yourself. Now tell me,can you do it?"
Thena swallowed, then nodded. "…I'll try."
She reached into her pocket, pulling out a marked kunai and handing it to Nina before forming a hand seal,and in less than a second,she vanished in a black flash leaving Nina and Terra behind.
Without wasting time, Nina formed hand seals,three shadow clones appeared beside her.
Two of them disappeared instantly, teleporting away on separate tasks, while the third shot off toward Max's base nearby.
Terra turned to her, unease creeping into her voice.
"…What's going on?"
Nina didn't look at her. Her eyes were still fixed on the crimson "moon."
"I'll explain on the way."she said as she reached out and grabbed Terra's hand.
"Hold on."
And in the next moment they disappeared as well.
End of Chapter.
Ps:Hey everyone, hope you're doing well. I've got some good news.
I originally thought this fanfic would wrap up around Chapter 150, but looking at where things currently stand (Chapter 145), that's no longer the case.
The current arc still has quite a bit left in it and will likely conclude around Chapter 155–160. Even after that, there are still three subplots to go before the finale.
Because of that, the story will most likely end somewhere around Chapter 180+, though nothing is set in stone yet.
Thanks for sticking around and supporting the story so far. If you want to support me further, you can check out my Patreon,totally up to you.
Until next time.
You can read up to 10+ chapters at Patreon.com/Darkerknight.