The battlefield was a wasteland. Smoke rose from shattered skyscrapers, fire consumed the streets, and the rift above pulsed like a living wound in reality. Villains dominated the skyline: Thanos flexed the Infinity Gauntlet, bending reality with brutal precision, while Darkseid unleashed Omega Beams that cut through both heroes and structures with terrifying accuracy. Hela's undead horde surged relentlessly, and Loki's illusions disoriented allies at every turn.
Yet the heroes began to turn the tide.
Batman, Captain America, and Iron Man coordinated a series of surgical strikes. Parademon generals fell, Outrider squads were scattered, and enemy ranks began to fracture. Thor and Superman teamed up, combining lightning and heat vision to annihilate key lieutenants, leaving Darkseid momentarily exposed.
Hulk and Doomsday, locked in their titanic duel, inadvertently drew much of the enemy's attention, giving Wonder Woman and Valkyrie openings to decimate Hela's undead legions. Storm's lightning arcs collided with divine energy, creating devastating shockwaves that cleared wide swaths of the battlefield.
Spider-Man and Nightwing darted through collapsing streets, evacuating civilians and sabotaging enemy reinforcements. Doctor Strange opened portals, pulling heroes into strategic positions and stabilizing portions of the rift to buy precious time. Even Loki, begrudgingly, assisted the heroes to prevent complete multiversal collapse, while Deadpool's chaotic rampage destroyed Parademons in unexpected ways.
By nightfall, the first major heroic advantage had been achieved. Enemy forces were fractured, key villains wounded or delayed, and civilians had been saved from immediate danger.
But victory was fragile. The rift continued to pulse ominously, and Thanos, Darkseid, and Hela remained at full strength, regrouping and preparing for the next wave.
The battle had reached its first turning point—but the war for the multiverse was far from over.