"And the Anti-Monitor won't stop until every single Earth has fallen," Max continued. "Which will give rise to a new, stable universe. Most of you will exist in it,exact replicas of yourselves. But not quite the you that stands here now. A new version. Without any recollection of what has happened. A clean slate in simple terms."
He paused, letting his eyes move across the room.
"But for some of you, this may very well be where your journey ends."
There was absolute silence that sat heavy over the entire room as everyone digested what had just been said when Luthor spoke.
"Then please tell us you have a different plan than last time. Because we will not survive your disappearance again."
"The plan hasn't changed much," Max said. "It's just that he is specifically in the way this time. Which means I'll have to fight him again. Max said as the alarms in the satellite went off went off.
"Everyone to your stations!" Mr. Terrific shouted, already moving to the nearest console, his fingers flying across the interface as data streams flooded the screens.
"What's happening?" Superman asked.
"It's the Anti-Monitor," Saturn Girl replied as she pointed oustide the satellite.
Through the vast expanse of the Bleed, a fracture was tearing itself open in space,not gradually, not with warning, but all at once, the fabric of reality simply giving way as two enormous dark hands reached through and pulled it wider. A gigantic figure emerged from within, crimson eyes burning in the darkness of the void.
"Hera," Wonder Woman murmured.
The sheer scale of it was difficult to process. She couldn't help it,her eyes moved to Max. The worry was there before she could stop it. Because the Anti-Monitor that stood outside that glass was orders of magnitude beyond Darkseid, who had himself been the most serious threat any of them had ever faced. And Max was going to walk out there alone.
Thena moved toward him. Terra followed closely behind.Max's gaze was locked on the figure outside,this was the first time they had seen him this serious,but she reluctantly reached out and tapped his hand.
He turned. And when he saw their faces,the worry written plainly across both of them.
"How are you even supposed to fight that, dad?" Thena asked quietly.
"Don't worry about it," Max said. "I've fought him before. While I was away."
"But Nina said the same thing," Terra said, her voice tight. "And she didn't come back." She held his gaze. "We can't lose you too, dad."
Max exhaled slowly before replying.
"Me dying would mean we've lost," he said. "And I can't let that happen. You both know what that would mean." He paused. "And besides,I have things left to do before then." His eyes drifted briefly to Wonder Woman across the room before returning to them.
"So you're going to have to trust me. Stay ready here. While we fight, he may send his clones after you to thin the numbers. Be prepared for that."
The alarms surged louder.
"He's preparing to attack!" Blue Beetle shouted.
Outside, the Anti-Monitor turned toward one of the Earths visible in the Bleed and raised his hand, antimatter energy already gathering in his palm in a swirling, dense mass then suddenly stopped.
Every person in the monitor satellite felt it simultaneously,a suffocating pressure that pressed down on the air itself as they all turned towards the source which was Max.
The metal floor beneath his feet was groaning softly. A dark aura radiated from his body, filling the space around him. His gaze was locked onto the Anti-Monitor through the glass, completely still, completely focused.
Outside, the Anti-Monitor paused his attack,his attention turning towards the monitor satellite.He could feel it too.
The familiar presence. He aimed his hand toward the satellite instead, antimatter energy shifting and building in a new direction.
"Listen up."
Max's voice cut through the room,drawing every eye to him.
"There is only one way to fix this. And to do it, I have to go through him." He began walking toward the glass doors. They slid open ahead of him. "It will be tough. It will take time. And in my absence he may attempt to wipe you all out and complete the reset." He stopped at the threshold. "So you are going to hold out. As long as you can."
He stepped forward and stopped.
Then, without turning around, he spoke again.
"I know you want to say something, Diana.How long are you going to hold it in?"
Diana felt the internal storm she had been managing all day surge violently. Across the room, the other Wonder Woman turned toward Max with an expression of open confusion. Every eye in the satellite moved towards Wonder Woman who had came with him.
She felt her cheeks heat slightly from the attention as the was a moment of silence
"Be careful," she said quietly.
Max's expression shifted slightly. A small smirk formimg at the corner of his mouth.
Then he clenched his fists and roared.
"RAH!"
A dark aura erupted from his body, a powerful gust of wind blasting outward in every direction across the satellite. The pressure was immense,and then it was gone, drawn inward into his body.
Max relaxed his posture and launched forward in a blur of speed.
The Anti-Monitor finally launched the ball of energy from his palm directly toward the monitor satellite but didn't even make it remotely close to the monitor satellite.
A small figure tore out from the satellite at impossible speed, punching clean through the sphere before it could travel half the distance. The concentrated mass of antimatter energy dispersed harmlessly into the void, scattered by the impact like it had never existed.
The figure kept going which was Max who channeled everything,every drop of power he had,into his right fist as he closed the distance. The fist darkened, turning pitch black as Haki flooded through it, coating it completely. Lightning erupted around it simultaneously, wild and crackling, lashing outward in every direction as he accelerated.
The Anti-Monitor saw him coming and moved to swat him aside,a gesture that had leveled planets.
Max pulled his fist back.
"Galaxy Impact!" He roared then drove it forward.
Boom.
The Anti-Monitor's body shattered on contact. Not crumbled. Not fractured. Shattered,pieces of that colossal dark form sent drifting outward in every direction across the silent void, dispersing into the emptiness of the Bleed like debris from a dying star.
Silence followed as Max floated in the void where the Anti-Monitor had stood moments before, lightning still flickering across his fist, the darkness of the Haki slowly fading.
End of Chapter.
Chapter 47:Max vs Anti-Monitor
Chapter 48:All heroes unite!
Chapter 49:Super Saiyan Rosé
And just like that guys the fanfic has officially ended on patreon and chapter release will be consistent from now one with a chapter per day to the end and as always you can go to patreon.com/darker knight to read in advance,thank you guys for reading up to this point,I'll be writing a new famfic now see you there.