2014.03.09 - Grounded: Apokolips NOW: Frontal Assault

The breath is exhaled, the silence has ended, there is no more calm. Now is the storm.
Tony is up before dawn, despite his revelry the night before. Aside from anyone else might think of him, he is ice cold this morning. He's among the first to the Watchtower, and his armor is fresh. It's unknown if it's a new Mark or not, but he already has the Gemini spaceworthy configuration active. Those taking this route, arrive and make themselves ready as see fit. When the time reaches Zero Hour, Iron Man - working in conjunction with Channel for the missing Element X to access the energy unique to The Source to get them to where they need to go.
When Wonder Woman gives the order, and he activates /his/ method for accessing Apokolips. Knowing he would need to find an alternative to Boom Tube technology, Stark managed to invent and entirely new method of long distance space travel. Never let it be said that he is not a clever boy. Holding open a Tannhäuser gate suspending a Sagan-Tyson field, powered by Element X and drawing forth multiple conduits of The Source, Tony is able to open multiple, stable wormholes positioned at exact distances around the all-metal planet, allowing entry of many multiple inbound for a simultaneous operation against Darkseid and his Elite, Parademons, and other denizens of the antithesis of New Genesis.
The sight to greet the assembled heroes is truly one that fits it's name; A literally planet-sized structure of massive metal patchworked together, with great canyons within and dagger-like structures piercing the sky. Gargantuan furnaces bigger than any Earth mountain sends huge blasts of fire thousands of miles into the void, and the heat is suffocating even from this distance as smog and debris. There is no gravity, despite seeming to be so close, likely some mechanical marvel intended to not pull in unwanted items.
Yet it seems that there is a welcoming party of sort that stands before the heroes.
No sooner than the great portals break open, then a massive blue shield erupts in a hexagonal pattern, each perhaps a mile in size. The entire planet seems to be sealed by it, shimmering ominously. Such is impregnable to even the battleships of New Genesis, technology able to destroy planets and star systems. Brute force will not be a viable approach.
Within the sky are dozens and dozens of Parademons, twisted creatures of green and yellow with small wings and shrieking expressions. They wield plasma blasters and energy-sheathed blunt weapons. Countless men on Aero-Discs float as well, some holding high-tech weaponry, and others very heavily armored -- the Armored Infantry and Flight Corps. Much smaller in number is perhaps a dozen people wearing distinctly different outfits, some on Aero-Discs, others seeming to be flying of their own power; the Special Powers Force.
With a whirr, countless shutters shift away from the metal city. Cannons begin to appear of all sorts, as great waves of combat machines, battle probes, and larger ships begin to appear. Shrieking, insane-looking people on Aero-Discs have a distressingly large number of explosives on them as well, positioned far away from the main groups of people.
And directly in front is a massive opening, doubtlessly the primary entrance to Apokolips. No coincidence that Tony picked the one location able to be effectively breeched. Thick cables surround the round tunnel, hooking up to countless large orbs. These appear to be what powers each grid square for the shield. Deeper within the tunnels is a number of machinery upon the walls, humming and thrumming; doubtlessly the source of this front's shield hexagon.
Yet more ominously, two other figures are at the ready. Hovering before the huge tunnel, on the same side of the shield as the heroes, is a man none would wish to encounter; standing nearly nine feet tall, powerful form etched in granite, Darkseid casually hovers on an Aero-Disc. He has no reason for it, perhaps he's just feeling lazy, arms folded behind his back. Beside him is a floating figure in green, wearing a yellow cape and peculiar hood that has a very insectoid appearance. One might make the fatal mistake of thinking Mantis to be just another Parademon; but anyone who is capable of assessing combative power or energy would know he stands much closer to Darkseid's might than any might care.
"Heroes of Earth. My greetings. Before your lives are wasted, know this. You fight for a man who chose to forsake you. He selfishly picked the life of his father over the powers of Superman, and the ability to save and guide humanity. Now, you stand before me... because he changed his mind. Yet refused to give back what he traded. Is the word of the greatest Hero of so little merit? If Superman were to give me his father... I would return him his powers. And he DENIED."
"Know this, the reason you fools will crash like a tide of ants. I saw invading Earth the strength of a home ground advantage..." Arms widen. "And this is far beyond what you people have ever been graced with witnessing."
"Shut up, shut UP." Mantis hisses out, causing a dour glance from Darkseid. "I just want to feast on their energy..." He looks to be chomping at the bit, and for a moment the God of Evil strongly considers banishing him to another dimension. Instead...
"Wait. Let us see them struggle before we join the fray..."
Diana's day also started before dawn, though many of the preparations she made were contingency plans against the unhoped-for event that the heroes leaving to attack Apokolips may fail. If they do, she will not leave the Earth undefended. Thus, she has left her sister, Donna, behind with the rest of the Amazons to keep watch and stand vigil.
After that, it was up to the Watchtower to meet Iron Man and the others coming with them to the battle. Rebreathers and other equipment was handed out to ensure everyone would be able to handle the depths of space. Both squads were told the plan -- the frontal assault to be distraction for the rear assault. Now... as the wormholes appear around Apokolips, the same are spread in the staging area.
Wonder Woman stands in her golden eagle armor, shield on one arm, sword on one hip, lasso on the other. The wings of the armor are formidable on her back, clear markers of her position for those that will need to know it. They're like her own personal eagle standard accompanying her into the breech.
At her word, as the wormholes stabilize, she gives the word, "Forward!" and she launches herself through the tube to stand arrayed in space with her company beside and around her.
Darkseid's words reach her. Her voice rises. "You do not know Superman as well as you would like to think, darkling," she calls out. She draws her sword from its sheathe. "And we will not go quietly into the night, nor let you attack more innocents. The Earth is ours, and you shall not have it."
She glances now to Carol and Jocelyn, arrayed nearby. "Go," she says softly to them. "Take down that shield. We will cover you."
She then looks to the parademons waiting to attack and back to the rest of her company. The sword is raised high. "For Earth and for Superman," she cries. "Attack!" And her sword sweeps down.
Battle on.
Channel had spent a fair bit of time working with Iron Man on making the final modifications for the trip to Apokolips. She was mostly a human battery for this, but once they were ready, she did her part to fire off the portals. She'd already beefed up her physical attributes for this fight, and is dressed in her purple and teal uniform. It wasn't her usual battle uniform, but she wasn't here as an X-Man, and she wasn't really planning on giving that secret away to anybody today. She was also given a rebreather by the JLA for this mission. Before she stepped through, she also banked up a large amount of solar energy, because she knew that Kryptonians liked their solar energy, and they might not have a yellow sun where they were going.
A glance is given at Carol, the young woman's face serious. It has been some time since she'd actually seen combat with her mentor. Former mentor, perhaps, at this stage in their relationship. It was certainly the first time they'd fought together since her mutation had evolved into it's current Omega level. Checking her communications gear, the sheath that her Asgardian blade resided in, and other useful bits of gear in her pouches, the woman waits for the signal. Once given, she takes a quick breath, sets the rebreather, and steps through her portal.
Arriving with the others, Channel surveys the scene, her energy sight picking out a few things right away. First off, of course, are Darkseid and Mantis. Second is that huge shield. Mmmm. Energy. Yummy. Energy. Of course, that shield would be a problem, and Darkseid is probably thinking they won't get past it. Channel, of course, has other plans.
"On it," Channel says to Diana. Then she looks over at Carol. "Chain and Discharge". Channel knew Carol would know what that meant. Channel, with her more active energy absorption, could go all out and siphon it into Carol, who could absorb a bit more and safely discharge the energy that Channel sent into her. Of course, the woman would be converting anything dangerous into safe solar energy. Which gives Jocelyn an idea.
There is no great speech from the X-Woman and Young Ally. Instead, she reaches out with her energy conversion power to those generators and focuses. The generators themselves, individually, weren't as strong as the shield. But she wasn't looking to damage them. No.
Channel was going to use them.
With the Kryptonians around, and the others who bring trace amounts of solar energy with them, there was a little bit of solar energy present around her. Not much, but enough for Channel to create more. And there was a very good place to convert some energy into solar energy.
That would be the energy being used to power the generators.
Channel focuses, using her powers in two complementary ways. First she's absorbing and sending energy towards Carol, to weaken the shield. She's also converting the energy inside the generators to solar energy. Her plan is to make the generators turn the shield into a solar energy grid. If that works, she'd potentially light up the entire planet with Yellow Sun Solar Energy, which hopefully would both make it a breeze for them to bypass AND give their Kryptonian friends a big, giant boost in power, because solar energy was even tastier to them than it was to Channel.
And she knew this meant she was painting a giant target on herself, but Channel wasn't going to bake down now. The Omega simply knew this had to be done.
Last time they dealt with Darkseid he was trying to blow up the Earth. This time? This time J'onn is not invisible...sneaking in is not, on this occasion, the Martian's task. He flies through the portal, red eyes taking in the entire scene, telepathic senses aware of how many hostile minds there are. Sensibly, he does not yet attempt to peek at Darkseid's mind. The man is, after all, close to being a god, and the Martian? No fool. His acknowledgment towards Diana is invisible, a single tendril of thought sent her way, << Then let's begin >>.
Having no energy powers, he is not one of those detailed to deal with the shield. Instead, he simply, methodically, starts to beat up parademons, any of them within range...ideally by throwing them into each other as a more efficient use of energy, as it were. It's not the main event, but that won't happen until Channel and Carol get the shield down.
The Flash is on the watch tower, Wally knows this mission is big and dangerous. To this point Wally as brough a couple of things both given to him by Brynn Indescructable daggers, and a light armored chainmaile shirt under his uniform. Wally knows this is war, he isn't used to war he is a hero not a soldier not an avenger. But his friends charge into battle and Wally will be at their side.
Wally puts on his space walk equiptment. "OK guns up let's do this. LEEROY JENKINS!" Wally says trying to bring some levity to the moment as he jumps in behind wonder woman and the others. Wally looks around surveying the situation "Diana, Tony what's the the plan of attack where do you want me?"
It is truly amazing how many of history's greatest battles began with a whisper, not a bang. "Remember folks, we have almost zero intel on the numbers and precise capabilities of what we are up against. Channel..." Carol pauses just a moment to smile at her former protege, "..is going to be using her tricks to not only disperse the shield, but to put it to use for us. There is no negotiating. Remember the plan, that we are the diversion... so lets keep their focus on us." Carol cannot help it, she is a military officer. "One more thing, just in case. It has been a privilege and an honor." Soldiers.... warriors, they don't tend to always assume that everyone is coming home. With that, she drifts forward and spreads her arms to receive the gift of power from Channel. As she does.. she realizes there is far more in the shield than expected. "This is... a lot of power..." she mutters as flames appear to lick about her form.... energy seeking release.
Cassandra Sandsmark's night was a sleepless one. She escaped the Embassy to watch a nice sunset by the harbor and spent much of the morning walking around New York, skating and having some ice cream, her eyes drifting from couple to couple, child to child, her mind buzzing and her stomach full of butterflies. Controlling her nerves took the whole day, the prospect of going to Apokolips, a place she has only heard big things about, and maybe not returning something she doesn't like at all. Superman's powers are of no importance to her, but Diana's son's health and the possibility of this overlord invading Earth? Yes, that was worth risking her life for.
As such she is there when the time comes, and with her it's The Silent Armor, buzzing with energy today, not only shielding her wrists and chest, but forming a armor of the purest gold, gleaming with an energy of it's own. Greaves, thigh-high plated boots, chest armor and a helmet, she looks like the warrior Cassie knows she is not, but still, she smiles nervously and tries to pretend she's alright.
The arrival at Apokolips has the woman pause for a second, the huge pyres, demons floating about and the booming voice making Wonder Girl give her charge some pause. She just floats there for a moment, not realizing The Silent Armor has half her face enveloped in a golden plate, not unlike a ninja, and that a golden-orange aura now envelops her whole body.
For a moment there's only some buzzing in her ears. It's too much. She's overwhelmed, and she remains frozen until Diana hits the first enemy. That's when Cassie finally snaps out of her shock and swallows down some, frowning, molten gold dripping from her hand to form the strange, living lariat she uses in battle, as it snakes around her arm.
She rushes in as well.
Waiting till the last second above the Earth's surface, bathed in the radiation of the yellow sun, humbly named Sol. Karen slips back into the very special Stark tech radiation suit that protects her over charge as it seals around her. Normally sapphire eyes burn red as they open, the blue and white metal encapsulates her. Then far faster than a speeding bullet she plummets to the Earth's atmosphere, drawing a deep breath, compressing the air to tens of thousands of PSI before the transparent face component closes over her eyes.
Power Girl heads straight for the wormhole opened that will transit her like a slingshot to the dark realm of Apokolypse. Her face a mask of determination as she slips into low orbit over the wasteland. A first tasting release of a tiny breath as she can instantly feel the absence of the powering energies of Earth. No one will see the adjustment made to the faceplate HUD that graphs her power drain. Five minute thirty seconds to baseline power, twenty-nine, twenty-eight. She tugs her attention away. The buzzer will sound telling her soon that she is dropping before her normal Earth powers.
Karen seeks through the darkness stoically to find first her team, then the Amazonian. There is a brief wince as Karen realizes she didn't bother to consider how Wonder Woman and her group would survive in the vacuum, she wasn't in charge she reminds herself. Once she registers as much of her team as is possible, time to use the super powers while she has them.
Jonn's idea looks good, and no sense disappointing Mantis or replying to Darkseid. The first thing the Kryptonian reaches, space based defenses, parademons; anything is projectile, the target for now in every possible instance is Mantis, let thug number one expend all his energy on protecting himself from the orbital defenses, and let him expend the energy destroying it. With blurring speed she zooms about like a blue blur just launching things at the creature.
Iron Man, predictably, is the last one through. It's no coincidence. He's making sure the wormholes continue to hold and remain stable. Also? Because he's one devious son of a bitch.
"Yeah, talk your smack, Darkseid. We'll see who's still standing when this is over. Protip: It's not gonna be you."
From the Wathtower, Tony takes a step back from the wormhole's controls, now slaving them to his suit, and back through JARVIS as a contingency in case he loses control of them here. He has his protocols in place. Just in case."
"JARVIS - You ready go, buddy"
"Yes, sir. We're on standby and ready to go on your order."
"Well then. Designate me Iron Man Prime and let's roll the Legion."
"Yes, sir. Iron Legion Protocol activated. Good Luck sir, I look forward to seeing you back at the tower."
"So do I, JARVIS. Just in case, you have your orders."
"Yes, sir."
Forty suits march in. Forty Suits. That's as many as four tens. And that's wonderful.
"Alpha unit is with me. The rest, issue evenly among the remaining wormholes. Let's play Oprah."
Around the planet, Iron Men start issuing through the wormholes. All of them have Tony's voice. One of them speaks, "We don't go to parties unless we have party favors. So today? Everyone gets an Iron Man."
Meanwhile, Iron Man Prime stands with his Alpha unit, tracking.
Waiting.
The massive mile-broad shield suddenly warbles, causing Darkseid to blink in genuine surprise, glancing backwards. "What's this...?" Slowly, the blue begins to take on a bright yellow tint, the warm feel of the sun pressing upon the heroes. Inspiring, perhaps. "Tch. So they have high end energy manipulators. Mantis. Kill them."
"Heeheehee..." Mantis was quite content to simply sweep his hands at each wayward figure thrown in his direction. Shockingly, those he touches erupts into catastrophic explosions. To those who are aware of such things... Dark Matter. Apparently, he can do such through a touch. The greenish parasite suddenly zips into the air, swishing with a speed only the likes of Diana can easily follow. His scan quickly picks out Channel as the culprit. "Delicious...!!" In a burst of speed he begins hurtling towards her like a comet, claw-like hand stretched out...!
Parademons are good at a lot of things, but battling a super-fast immensely powerful alien is not one of them. They are struck and battered with ease, a number foolishly moving in to grapple despite being fleas to his power. Others shoot plasma blasts, but not truly being fire, such is likely also only an inconvenience.
"Attack." Darkseid intones, and in a great wave, the Armored Corps, Aero-Corps, and Parademons start to rush forward. Static defenses begin to fire ridiculously huge crimson beams, ones intended to take down ships; they are large and easy to dodge even to a mundane, but the impact force could vaporize even something durable. And there's a ridiculous amount of them! Plasma blasts as well start to strike down, as the Special Power corps linger behind, the obvious elites behind the whole attack. None of the front line can hope to do anything outside numbers, but Apokoliptian weaponry is able to damage all but the most superhuman of heroes.
And as for Flash, he's currently in zero gravity. Hopefully that doesn't hurt his ability to be super fast.
LOG NOTE: APPEND LOG THAT IMP IS STILL ON THE WATCHTOWER
SCENE: Diana has set the pose order.
"Shield is down. Kryptonians, enjoy the planetary solar energy shield". Channel's voice comes through comms as she sees the conversion take place. Yay, she wasn't out of place on this team after all.
Then there's a very angry Mantis coming at her. Well, she did just pain that target on her back. Still having some of that Unobtainium-Strength Energy left over in her reserves from absorbing it out of the shield. The woman knew she'd be a target, and was already mounting her defense when Mantis started coming at her. Granted, it's fifty-fifty if it'd work or not, because Mantis was moving fast.
While Channel and Captain Marvel being their important work and that blue screen of death starts glowing yellow with light, Diana sends herself flying towards the pair. The golden wings on her back are unnecessary for flight, but they do respond to how she moves, making the illusion remarkably good. Her face is shielded by a mask made from the lasinar crystal that provides her with the air she needs to fight.
She juxtaposes herself between the two heroines and the incoming Bugman. Not to mention the Parademons. If they can't breech the shield, this - as someone in a galaxy far, far away once said - is going to be the shortest offensive of all time.
As Mantis flies at the other women, Diana launches herself at him, shield first, fully intending to powerdrive him right into the energy of that shield and use it against him, if she can't do anything else.
"Shield is down. Kryptonians, enjoy the solar energy". Channel's voice comes through comms as she sees the conversion take place. Yay, she wasn't out of place on this team after all.
Then there's a very angry Mantis coming at her. Well, she did just pain that target on her back. Still having some of that Unobtainium-Strength Energy left over in her reserves from absorbing it out of the shield. The woman knew she'd be a target, and was already mounting her defense when Mantis started coming at her. Granted, it's fifty-fifty if it'd work or not, because Mantis was moving fast.
Channel was suddenly very glad for her spars with Lor-Zod in the terminal and having dealt with super-speed.
No longer needing to Chain and Discharge, Channel is going to mount her defense when Wonder Woman is there in front of them. The woman flies away from that general area and continues converting generators to solar energy, trying to get more of that shield passable. Granted, they didn't need to, but it'd be useful. Spotting a Parademon, the woman opens up with a blast of energy trying to knock it out and send it spiraling into a part of the shield that hasn't converted to solar energy yet.
Okay. The shield is down, but Darkseid himself is in the way. J'onn...is no fool. << Please excuse me, I have an idea >> he sends to his alleys, right before flying into the middle of a veritable flock of parademons, which scatter in all directions before his green fists. Yeah. Still beating on paradaemons...but he really *scattered* that crowd, suggesting either they're afraid of him, or that was his plan. Of course, he's not always known for fighting...fair.
Wally suddenly realizes in his haste he is left in zero gravity in a near vacuum. Wally struggles and manages to catch up to Diana and Grab a wing. "Hey sorry I probably should have waited for tony and crew but I'm here now. Oh btw the parademons something is off with their numbers I think there is one more now than their were."
"OK Diana Throw me at something! I gotta get some traction!" Wally says while he has a free hand vibrating gathering some speed force energy.
Well, there we go. The shield is down. Carol is poised and ready to go crazy. She is juiced up quite a bit, and surges forward... surrounded by a golden flaming corona. While Diana faces down the nasty Mantis, Carol wades into the parademons. For a moment, it looks like something out of a Zach snyder movie. Her stepping in and twisting... an elbow smashing the face of one, a fist crushing another's chest. Then she unleashes hell, with charged up photonic blasts consuming dozens at a time. Yup, the Kree soldier has been let off the chain.
As soon as Diana goes for the weirdo clown that seems to be BFFs with Darkseid the golden-maned not-amazon zips down as well, sending the orders to her lariat to grab whatever it seems to be the creature's main hand, the indestructible weapon probably finding it's mark relatively fast as Cassie tries to keep that hand away from the Princess of the Amazons, yelling like she is tearing a piece of the planet off as she does so: she's nervous, but full of energy.
If the Golden Lariat connects it will attempt to syphon Mantis' life energy right out of his stupid face, Cassandra's frown not only from the physical exertion of keeping him in place, but also from knowing that if she is not careful that she might kill the beast. On any other day she would have not given a damn about this fool's life, but Diana is right there, and she is not going to take life unless she KNOWS Diana is willing to aswell.
"Stupid rules...", she mutters under her breathe, the light around her shinning brighter, warmth not unlike Earth's Sun oozing from it, especially if any parademons get close. Looking at The Flash himself... grab onto Diana's wings does have Cassie question the whole false glamour that revolves around the notion of superheroing: That looks as down and dirty as you can get in space.
Karen makes absolutely certain Mantis has as much as he could possibly want to deal with, accelerating towards him at an increasing speed and continuing her barrage of anything available. Her intention is clear, to smash him into the defense shield, apparently a like theory with Diana.
Then word reaches her that there is yellow sun radiation present. The visor is released, flopping open as she feels the blasts of lucky or very fast planetary defenses pelting her. "Though the shield," she calls ahead to Wonder Woman as she continues the pursuit of Mantis. "Smash him to the surface." She has a re-charge coming from the power generated from the absorbers feeding on the shield, so she adds her heat beams to the things targeting bugman.
When Cassie tries to lasso Mantis, Karen makes no effort to slow her own attack, waiting to the very last second before pivoting her axis in the momentum built up and trying to slam her foot against, maybe even through Mantis at his chest. The goal of course is simply to powe slam him and make him destry his way out. Her hand does open though reaching out to catch the lasso or Wonder Girl so she is not pulled along with on the path.
The Iron Legion doesn't stand around and look pretty, though they could (they're SOOOOO pretty). This Legion was built to work, and work they do. Released from such constraints like gravity and atmosphere and constraints such as that, Tony has brought some really nasty weaponry to bear. High end radiation arrays, higher power repulsors, unibeams issuing from larger arc reactors.
Tony continues to monitor from the Watchtower. Coordinating the battle alongside JARVIS, two Air Bosses who work so well together they can seamless function as one being. Tony observes the battle and the swarm of parademons that are attacking he and his. He decides, simply, that there is really not enough damage happening.
Working as Maestro from a virtual environment within the JLA base of operations, means there's lots of Iron Men that he's not in. That's lots of Iron Men that have hidden surprises.
Tony calls out, "Beta and Delta units, Lion protocol."
The Iron Men of Beta ad Delta units break off from the main attack and start to do something...well, that would be much harder in a gravitational environment. One suit begins to retract its arms and legs, the torso begins to expand to five by five times it's size. Two other suits lengthen, shift, and become exponentially larger versions of the Armored Avenger's arms. The other two likewise convert and link up, become larger versions of the legs. The human sized Iron Man helm retracts and proportionately large version of his head shifts out of the torso.
The now fifty foot tall Iron Man powers up and glows blue, Tony's voice can be heard from it saying, "And I'll form the head."
The Mega Iron Man begins firing along side his human sized compatriots, repulsors the size of shuttle SRBs, taking out several parademons in a blast, unrepetent in its destruction, letting Tony Stark off the chain in a way he's never been able to justify on earth.
Meanwhile on the Watchtower, Tony's grinning like a twelve year old, "GOD I LOVE MY WORK!"
Mantis' eyes widen in surprise, when he's intercepted by Diana. When he moves to grasp her, a lasso catches his wrist, causing a hiss of annoyance. Yet to her chagrin, the attempted leeching seems to have no appreciable effect. In fact, Mantis is trying to draw the magic from the /lasso./ Not successfully, but it dulls it a large amount. There's a sense of an unnatural font of power coursing through him... something not present in his body, but perhaps linked to it...
Diana is forced to abandon her assault on the bug, giving him the attention to maneuver and grasp the lasso, intending to yank Cassie towards him. "I'm afraid those two are not the strongest energy manipulators present at the moment...!!" Gathering a massive blast of energy within one hand, intentful to hurl it towards her. Parademons and other hapless people fly past him, but aren't quite a distraction in this intimate a proximity with Wonder Girl.
And then Mantis is kicked. Very hard.
Testament to his strength, he doesn't get caved in; but he does hurtle uncontrollably like a meteor towards the yellow shield, passing through it in a light hiss before striking the heavy metal of the tunnel beyond, denting it before he clatters to a stop inside, reeling and starting to rise.
J'onn's rampage amongst the Parademons works as desired. Many go flying away in thorough states of pummeling, but others rush forward, firing and punching in a great brawl with the green form of the martian occasionally seen within.
"Hmm." Darkseid offers, arms still behind his back, sparing Mantis' initial failed assault without surprise. Eyes begin to glow crimson, as he narrows them in preparation for something most likely Bad.
Carol appears to have been assessed fully as a Threat. A wall of the Armored Corps suddenly hovers in front of her, before two of the Special Powers team lift up. One hefts a hand, and a massive weight of telekinetic force moves to grasp her. The other summons up a massive number of glowing white orbs, and in a gesture sends them all careening in her direction!! ...maybe not the best idea against her.
And is that a... gargantuan Iron Man? After a few moments of hesitation, Apokolips' defenses bear down on him. This is probably a boon to the majority of the heroes, as those planet-destroying blasts are no longer leveled at others. But with his greater size, he's much easier to engage. Large attack ships fire a spray of missiles, while probes and smaller craft move to orbit and zap at him with likely minimal effectiveness!!
Flash's sudden weight on one of her wings can't help but unbalance Diana as she streaks toward Mantis. Indeed, she doesn't really even make it within striking distance of the bug, given she's now spinning like a football in flight with the extra red body on her back. "Flash!" she yelps, spreading her arms wide and pulling up at the last possible moment to try to regain her equilibrium. She reaches around behind herself to flip him in front, when he asks for that fastball special. He is lucky, though, that she is not a woman given to swearing, else the air (if there were any) would be blue.
"Go!" she shouts, sending him flying towards that gap in the shield. He needs traction, and she can't risk him burning up on the blue parts of the shield. So, he's got to go to ground... which means he's headed straight for Mantis. She looks swiftly around to get her bearings. "Power Girl! Wonder Girl! Help Flash!" She can't leave him undefended.
But, as the parademons converge on Iron Man and the others start converging around the other heroes, Diana adjusts her sword and shield. This will hurt. She knows this. Nevertheless, she turns and heads straight for Darkseid himself. Her shield rises before her, bracelets crossed behind it, adding the strength of the Aegis to Haephestos' skill. Then, softly, "Athena, grant me strength..." She streaks on.
And, as the parademons gang up, J'onn gets tossed off into space...not to immediately return. Ow. That looked like it hurt, too. Oddly, though, one of the parademons, in all of the chaos, is drifting towards the hole in the shield, looking wounded...and perhaps beating a retreat. Or not quite in control of its flight any more.
And this was where Channel was glad she was not a full-fledged threat yet. Or at least her annoyance wasn't so high that she was the main target of these attacks anymore. That meant Channel was free to do what Channel did best.
Disrupt.
The woman reaches out and attempts to absorb that telekinetic energy that's attempting to grapple Carol. That wouldn't that difficult move for her, and the energy absorber would allow her friend to focus on the incoming attacks instead of being grappled, if it worked.
Meanwhile, as Channel sees Diana streaking towards Darkseid, she reaches out and uses her augmented reflexes to time her conversion powers to convert any energy counter that Darkseid might make against Diana, be it simple kinetic energy behind a physical strike or a more advanced energy blast or shield. It wouldn't be enough to full convert the energy expended by a being like Darkseid, but it might be enough to allow Diana to punch her way through and strike at the New God. Teamwork. There was value in that, something Darkseid, Channel suspected, underestimated greatly.
The energy would be converted into simple, harmless solar energy, like all the others.
It is not something that shows up all that often, but when Carol's seventh sense makes itself known to her, she listens. As the special elite demon targets her with telekinetics, she points a hand his way and lets go with a withering blast. That is when she is targeted by a group of others. Those glowing balls hit her and they do sting a bit, but a wave of her hand unleashes an arc of power that should clear her path. "On your wing Diana." Carol states calmly as she surges forward, covering her teammate's back and trying to get closer to the head that it might be removed to end this fast. Once a fighter pilot, always a fighter pilot. You always stick to a wing....person.
The flash is thrown and lands on mantis hit's him with the charged ball of speed force for good measure. Wally get's his footing draws his daggers he zips back and forth a few times to test that he has traction and can use his speed now. "Ok buggy you getting back up or can i go try to help my friends?"
There is something wrong with the lasso. There is something wrong with this creature! What is happening!? Everything goes through Cassandra's mind fast and still she doesn't let go until she is one-hundred percent sure nobody is in danger. Nobody but herself.
A yank later, from the strongest creature Wonder Girl has ever seen in her life, and she is speeding towards Mantis, wide-eyed. Her aura flares up and she shields her face like a pro fighter would, her armor buzzing loudly, warning her, everything about the whole scene looking grim. A second before she is hit, though, by what seems like an energy ball made out of pure Anti-Cassie Matter, Mantis is hit, and hit hard.
Opening up her eyes Wonder Girl acts out on reflex, willing her lasso to find her savior as Karen makes the gesture for support, the momentum generated by the kryptonian making the not-amazon move with Power Girl until she can yank the stronger woman back. When they inevitably crash against one another, it's Cassie that gets a bit dizzy from the impact and adrenaline, but a smile and an order from Diana later, she just glances at Karen before doing as she is told, releasing the kryptonian's wrist.
"Sure. A speedster in space. What a grand idea!", she mutters to herself, knowing nobody can hear her anyway, 'cause science. Cassandra takes after Karen, trying to work with the probably more experienced woman as the zoom into Mantis again.
Once she was sure Cassie was free Mantis, Power Girl once again seemed to have the same idea about Darkseid. Fortunately, Karen can go with a chain of command, and shifts her attention towards the now accelerated and ground bound Wally. A full three more seconds in the Channel granted bathing radiation later the visor is slipped closed and she hurtles to the surface in pursuit of Flash, or honestly more to the point, Mantis.
A snag of debris the falling energy absorber loosed is propelled after Mantis. Wouldn't it be so Warner Bros for him to pull out the tiny umbrella about now? With Wally landing on Apokolypse's surface, he is in his element. Once she checks to make certain Flash has the Mantis tied up though, Karen just tries to grabs a tower and rips it up hauls it at anything close by spitting out pain. A point to hole that Mantis and Darkseid had been obstructing, then she sets off towards the likely generator to cause mayhem, cause mayhem is always good when being a distraction.
Mega Iron Man is drawing fire, as it is intended. It's also made of sterner stuff than gold titanium alloy, as is designed. Firing gouts of repulsor fire from both palms, beams issuing from eyes like some crazy Channel 5 sci-fi nemesis, it moves with an ease that belies it's size and bulk, because no gravity anywhere. Tony took pains to design this configuration in just such a way to take advantage of what he DID know of Apokolips to do as much damage as he could. He's also trying to save as many from injury and worse as he can.
Meanwhile, there are still three score Iron Men in the fight. None of taken real significant damage yet due to the combined efforts of Tony and JARVIS. Even now, units are moving in place to assist Diana, helping her out if able when she goes wobbly, assist with getting Wally and Cassie when they get in trouble, and there's a half dozen covering Team Luthor elsewhere, providing cover fire for Leo and his party. They work in tandem, threes, and fours. There's serious tactics going on here, made easier when you're essentially talking about clones that can improvise on the fly without a preprogrammed routine. Likewise Vorpal, Miss Martian, Livewire and Booster Gold are getting assists from the Stark's forces.
Tony was taking NOTHING for granted, he's been planning in ways no one can anticipate.
Mantis is back on his feet, and truly doesn't seem that injured, given the force of Power Girl's hit. Debris is simply smacked away, obliterating against the force of his forearm. But when the Flash hurls a ball of Speed Force at the energy vampire though, he probably regrets it almost immediately. It's literally caught, and instantly absorbed. Mantis suddenly shimmers, and the Flash would feel the creature having slightly attuned with the Speed Force himself. "Oh! OH! I /like/ this...!" Twisting back towards the entrance, he opens his hands and the world turns into plasma. A huge, massive BLAST that fills the entire football-sized tunnel opening hurtles out, to blow into the void with a rumbling crack. If anyone doubted that he is the second mightiest on Apokolips, that is probably out the window now.	Almost casually, Darkseid shifts to the side in an eyeblink, watching the hurled Flash. "What's this... are we playing a game, now?" But then, the God of Evil suddenly fires his catastrophic Omega Beams, nearly at full force. Palm Blasters from the automated Iron Men do little, cracking against his form and leaving only sizzling marks that quickly fade. At first his attack seemed aimed at the heroes... only for them to veer at a ninety degree angle, heading straight towards the limping Parademon-in-Disguise. "Fool. Even were you not attempting such a trick, not a single resident of this planet would dare take a step backwards..." It is an energy intended to erase existence; becoming insubstantial or invisible is unlikely to defend, and it is no less unerring than any other...
Only for Diana to hurtle towards him with all of her speed. "...!!" Darkseid abandons the Omega beam, and it continues on in a straight line, shattering a hole through the blue shield that closes a few moments later and then disintegrating a huge portion of metal from the side of a skyscraper. And he feels... what is that? A tickle? Some of his essence leaking out...?! He brings up his forearms just as the Goddess strikes him, knocking him off his Aero-Disc and sending him flying backwards. He, too, passes through the golden shield, but lands in a crouch upon the metal, stopping dead with a great WHUMP and heavy indents beneath booted feet. Aggravating. He could have held firm if someone hadn't interfered.
"So. The heroes are truly able to bring war to me...?" And he grins. "Good. I would like it no other way." And towards Diana, he unleashes a massive, intense blast of Omega energy. It would hound towards her in sharp zigs and zags, and if she catches it with her bracelets, he would pour it on in a sustained torrent... attempting to begin pushing her backwards, disintegrating force battling with the immutable!!
The Iron Men are distracting a massive portion of the troops present, as their AI technology is above their own; pound for pound, they are more dangerous than the levied forces, plasma blasts able to damage but not destroy them even if they hit. A good distraction, exactly as Tony intended, although if Big Iron Man is hit by one of those gargantuan lasers, no earthly alloy is going to defend against it... And more and more are bearing down towards him, filling the sky with disintegrating death!
Right with Diana, Carol narrows her eyes as she sees the impact of her wingmate's fist, and Darkseid's form. That massive blast of power makes those eyes go wide. It takes just a split second to come to a decision, and the she is pushing herself forward, directly into the sustained beam.
This is where things get weird. Yes, now... Carol screams over the comms. Not a scream of rage or akiai, this...HURTS! Never has she felt this much power in a single blast. Not even when she went by the name Binary! Flames pour from her eyes, fingertips, and head/hair as she somehow retains some control. Her scream stops and she calls out. "Make this worth it!" before she turns and advances towards Darkseid.... one more scream torn from her throat as all of that dark power, all of that energy, is released at once. It is a blinding eruption of power thtat likely consumes any nearby parademons entirely... slams into Darkseid....
And it leaves Carol, falling towards the ground below, not moving, and gasping as if she suddenly needs air. She.....is....alive? Well, for now.
The suit splits for a moment, some extra mechanics and parts fly out. It then wraps itself around Carol and there's a hiss as the internals seal completely and pressurize, and autopilot her back to the Watchtower.'
Cassandra cannot hope to out-muscle the creature beneath them, and it's vampiric powers might be too much even for her Silent Armor. For a moment there the young woman feels over-matched, and for the very first time in her life completely out of her league. On the flipside, everyone does, even if it's not exactly the kind of thing the blonde enjoys thinking about during a last ditch effort to keep Apokolips out of Earth.
'THINK, damn it.', she hisses in her mind, trying to think of a way of attacking the weird monster bellow, but that is when Diana and Darkseid clash, and those wierd looking laser beams go straight at the amazon. Now, Cassandra might not be e nough to take those guys full on, but she is more than enough to tip scales if she is there, and just like that she takes after Diana, charging ferociously towards the God of Evil, the creature face from his blindspot if at all possible. Just to make sure she breaks something (even if it's just her hand) Wonder Girl wraps her lasso around her arm completely, knowing it to be made of materials beyond herself and most of people on Earth.
It's worth a try, right?
With Channel siphoning off some of the Omega Ray energy, and Captain Marvel at her flank, Diana allows a small, grim little smile to touch her lips. "Acknowledged, Captain," she replies to Carol, having picked up that manner of response from another air force pilot she happens to know.
And with the blessing of the Gods, it seems, Diana slams into Darkseid, knocking him off balance. Then, there are beams and she's got back-up. Between Carol and Channel, there's a chance she won't get smoked. And, indeed, as Carol takes the hard hit, and overloads.
"Captain!" Diana pulls herself up short as the energies lance out of the half-Kree woman and towards the dark god. Sword flashing, she dives forward to press her attack while he's potentially off-balance, striking even as the woman falls to earth. There is little she can do, but pray to the gods that Captain Marvel yet draws breath.
And, soon enough, she is joined by others intent as much as she is at taking out the dark god who stands before them. With all the strength she can muster, she hauls back to hit him, aiming for his eyes, even as the Omega Rays scatter against her shield send her tumbling backwards yet again.5r
Channel sees Carol take that hit. Channel simply wasn't going to be fast enough to catch Carol. She didn't have the crazy superspeed going on. Much as it pained her, she'd let someone else catch her friend. Probably Iron Man or someone else with superspeed. What she did have, however, was an idea. She reaches out with her energy conversion skills as she draws in some useful energy. Her eyes narrow and an aura of red energy briefly surrounds the woman. She was going to strike this New God with his own toy.
A blast is launched from both hands, not as strong as Darkseid's blasts, but it's Omega Energy that hurtles towards the New God from yet another direction that the other heroes aren't attack from, the woman again reaching out to try and convert some of whatever shields Darkseid had to harmless solar energy to weaken those defenses. There were several heroes coming at Darkseid now, and weakening his defenses was the best thing she could do here, but she was definitely going to take a pot shot at him while she could.
Yeah, Channel was probably giving herself away as the one disrupting him, but it was time to try and do some damage to the New God. They were a distraction, yes, and perhaps the best way to be a distraction was to take the fight directly to Darkseid himself.
"oh dammit" The Flash says as he is blasted back into the void.
Once Wally can get his baring after taking the hit he Starts looking around trying to figure out how to help. "Ok Flash, gotta figure something out. Well last time I fought this guy I rode Hawkgirl and super charged her... PG, I can speed boost her. My speed plus her strength...ok ok that's a plan. POWER GIRL! COME GET ME PLEASE!" Wally calls out to Karen.
Busted, but fortunately protected by Diana, the limping parademon seems to melt a little...and then J'onn is plunging towards DarkSeid's rear as he pays attention to the two women. Carol, he'll have to rescue later. Eyebeams and fists are both aimed towards the back of the ruler of Apokalips, although J'onn has no intention of *staying* within fist range. This is a passing attack.
Well, well, Karen was headed in that direction, and there comes Darkseid hurtling to land in front of her. Bonus. Power Girl keeps low, tracking the crash point of Darkseid and weaving through the industrial hell of Apokolypse with full intention of blind siding him while he is focused on Wonder Woman. Sucker punch, if she can. At very least it should stop that full powered attack on Diana.
Things don't always go as planned, as much as Karen would like to hit Darkseid hard, Carol Danvers drops from the sky and pounds into Darkseid, instead of continuing her attack though, Karen just aims for Carol to snag her up to safety. Wonder Woman is busy, enough, and Karen doesn't forget Wally, she calls out over the comms, "Just run from him, Flash. If he pursues he is still out of the main fight and he will never catch you. Run to us, we are extracting at the point where Darkseid hit."
Tony is back at the Watchtower watching and coordinating and ordering and fighting from afar. Not because he's a coward, but because his mission is a different one entirely. Distraction indeed. However, Carol's actions leave him entire agape. "Damn." he mutters, "Echo-Niner-Echo-Seven, Bring Captain Marvel back to base. Jettison the extra load out and take her on as a passenger and engage the Gemini."
The suit splits for a moment, some extra mechanics and parts fly out. It then wraps itself around Carol and there's a hiss as the internals seal completely and pressurize, and autopilot her back to the Watchtower.
Meanwhile, forces are aligning against the might of the Mega Iron Man. The planetary defenses have confirmed a firing solution on the titan-sized mech, which erupts from the surface - three cannon like beams converging on the mech. In a flash, seventy five percent has been vaporized. What's left, tumble off into the black void, stumps of legs from the shin down, heel repulsors dead.
Tony watches from his combat center and curses, and starts moving units around to compensate for the loss of the big unit.
Meanwhile, the Legion is still active. There are units that have been destroyed. Some that have been damaged and can't do much but be a pain in Darkseid's ass, and others that still gleam in the fight. Overall Tony is pleased like hell Darkseid has underestimated so badly.
It'll make his real mission go so much smoother.
That is certainly not expected. Darkseid ramped up the power even further when Carol began to absorb it. "Foolish girl... do you think any vessel but myself can contain this energy...?! Even Mantis cannot--" And then Channel hurls a blast of it herself, forcing him to bring up his forearms and distracting him. His stone body sizzles. "Tch..." And then -- Carol still stands. No mortal should be able to... But somehow she does, surging with the reality-breaking, entropic power of the Omega. But that power is his. HIS. She dares--And then, J'onn strikes. A blow to the back of the head causes him to shift his stance, and his guard is utterly open to the destruction Carol brings.
Calling him off-balance is really underestimating the sheer ferocity of Carol's parting strike. The beam of energy consumes the God of Evil, obliterating the metal nearly on par with Adamantium surrounding him, and the erupting that flows out staggers Mantis in the distance, who glances behind, almost hopeful.
Pushing up from the crater, Darkseid is wounded. Most definitely; moreso than Diana has bore witness to in the last fight. "...!!" He's in no position to defend himself, and a horrible strike impacts Darkseid in the face. He's sent /flying/ away, skidding on the steel again and again, before his body shatters through one of the generators. Immediately the yellow shield flickers, faltering until the second generator kicks up and keeps it active, weakened though it be.
Darkseid slowly pushes up to a kneel, reaching up to touch his eye. It comes back with blood and broken chips of stone. "...Enough of this... ENOUGH. Impudent invaders!!"
Mantis is not really interested in allowing Flash to get to the others. He literally vanishes; teleporting, rather than moving, appearing directly behind the speedster with arms parted. The last of his gifted Speed Force and his own incredible physiology are brought to bear, trying to catch Wally in a bear hug from behind. "Give me more! MORE!!"
"APOKOLIPS: ARMAGEDDON MODE." Darkseid roars, covering his damaged eye. Suddenly there's a great shudder from within the very heart of the planet. Huge gears are heard shifting, and entire skyscrapers displace. Obscenely massive cannons begin to protrude out in all directions. A huge siren is heard, and what was once hundreds of parademons become thousands. Massive airships begin to roar out of canyons, and the lights of the shields are blotted out by the steel of his full army. Darkseid may be in a poor situation now, but... can the heroes possibly hope to combat the forces of an entire planet to seal the deal?!
That is certainly not expected. Darkseid ramped up the power even further when Carol began to absorb it. "Foolish girl... do you think any vessel but myself can contain this energy...?! Even Mantis cannot--" And then Channel hurls a blast of it herself, forcing him to bring up his forearms and distracting him. His stone body sizzles. "Tch..." And then -- Carol still stands. No mortal should be able to... But somehow she does, surging with the reality-breaking, entropic power of the Omega. But that power is his. HIS. She dares--And then, J'onn strikes. A blow to the back of the head causes him to shift his stance, and his guard is utterly open to the destruction Carol brings.Calling him off-balance is really underestimating the sheer ferocity of Carol's parting strike. The beam of energy consumes the God of Evil, obliterating the metal nearly on par with Adamantium surrounding him, and the erupting that flows out staggers Mantis in the distance, who glances behind, almost hopeful.
Pushing up from the crater, Darkseid is wounded. Most definitely; moreso than Diana has bore witness to in the last fight. "...!!" He's in no position to defend himself, and a horrible strike impacts Darkseid in the face. He's sent /flying/ away, skidding on the steel again and again, before his body shatters through one of the generators. Immediately the yellow shield flickers, faltering until the second generator kicks up and keeps it active, weakened though it be.Darkseid slowly pushes up to a kneel, reaching up to touch his eye. It comes back with blood and broken chips of stone. "...Enough of this... ENOUGH. Impudent invaders!!"
Mantis is not really interested in allowing Flash to get to the others. He literally vanishes; teleporting, rather than moving, appearing directly behind the speedster with arms parted. The last of his gifted Speed Force and his own incredible physiology are brought to bear, trying to catch Wally in a bearhug from behind. "Give me more! MORE!!"
"APOKOLIPS: ARMAGEDDON MODE." Darkseid roars, covering his damaged eye. Suddenly there's a great shudder from within the very heart of the planet. Huge gears are heard shifting, and entire skyscrapers displace. Obscenely massive cannons begin to protrude out in all directions. A huge siren is heard, and what was once hundreds of parademons become thousands. Massive airships begin to roar out of canyons, and the lights of the shields are blotted out by the steel of his full army. Darkseid may be in a poor situation now, but... can the heroes possibly hope to combat the forces of an entire planet to seal the deal?!
 
There's a *throbbing* in the air. A resonance in the very fabric of reality. Those closest to the point of origin may even stumble slightly, the cosmic dissonance forcing reality to warp and stretch as the power that keeps Apokalips sealed from the universe is challenged by a force of near-equal strength.
That is all the warning that is received on Apokalips before a crevasse- a literal tear in the fabric of reality- rips open from a point fifty feet up in the air. No tiny thing, its as if a zipper is being pulled along the streams of reality, opening horizontally in a rapidly expanding fissure not a hundred yards from the position of the beleaguered Justice League team members.
Raw energy crackles and escapes the tear, angry green arcs lashing out at the ground, up into the sky. Parademons who fly carelessly are struck by the edge of what is clearly a dimensional rift of some kind, shredding their bodies into pieces carved as if by a melon baller. Sunlight- bright, beautiful, natural sunlight- floods the battlefield, piercing rays of brilliance that fall into the eyes of Darkseid's forces. For some, it may be horror itself; the stuff their mythology speaks of, a caress of sunlight from a clear blue sky onto ground that has not felt such stuff in millennia.
The tear, of a sudden, zips laterally, stretching for a hundred, a /thousand/ yards in both directions, and crashes down into the ground and soars into the sky, creating an opening wide enough for an army to pass through.
Indeed, there is an army standing at those gates. And what an army it is, unlike any such army assembled in the history of Earth. Mutants. Thousands, tens of thousands of mutants. Bright lines of energy arc behind them, the whole of Genosha herself lending power to this expedition, the tall, obsidian Spire visible through the gaping maw.
Front and center stand half a thousand Venerators, the order of holy warriors who worship Magneto as a holy messiah. Clad in their Dreadnought armor, standing nine feet tall, they wield weapons tailored to their individual strengths, from halberds the size of telephone poles to machine guns that fire anti-tank rounds. They move in squads of five, breaking into a hard, determined lope, roaring ahead of the rest of the army. Overhead, the Hooded Angels fly, sickly dust falling from their wings and their plasma swords wreathed in blue flame as they cut a swift path into the air, falling upon parademon and airship alike with no regard for personal safety. Their psychic chorus is a resonant hymn, dulling thought, restricting action for those defenders not being protected by Magneto's own psychics.
And what an army follows. All armed and armored, with weapons natural and artificial. Lances of plasma and fire lash out ahead of them, carving a path in front of the Justice Leage. Powers are loosed, some vast and horrible, ranging from stinking clouds of noxious gas to thundering concussive bursts. Massive, deformed mutants with suprehuman strength are dressed akin to battle tanks, bearing weapons only their mighty thews could bear. It's a seething tide of some of the best and most powerful and most dangerous mutants on Earth blasting into Apokalips, weapons at the ready, and cutting a swath through the parademon hordes.
Above them all, in front of them all, soars Magneto, in his full battle regalia. Gems and jewels decorate his forehead and his breast- he wears a device upon his left wrist with some mysterious purpose, and several rings decorate his right hand.
And he is radiant in his splendor. He glows as bright as the ambient sun, limned in power, crackling around him in a cool blue shield of raw energy. The power flows from behind him- from Genosha- as Magneto draws upon the full power of Genosha's vast, indescribable energy stores, powering him and his body to levels even the Imperator at the height of a moment would find difficult.
But this is Magneto, Master of Magnetism, at his full glory, empowered by such force that the universe bends to his will and even a God might take pause before challenging him. Great arcs of lightning rip across the sky, cascading to him as if Apokalips itself concedes his might.
Eyes burning with blue light, lightning crackling from him, Magneto bears his teeth in the deep shadows of his helmet. "FALL." he declares, flattening both hands towards the ground some seventy feet below, and exerting the full force of his mastery over gravity and magnetism to attempt to force everything within his grasp- thousands, maybe tens of thousands of yards- that is a threat to come crashing to the ground.
"And now, PERISH! AT THE HANDS OF GENOSHA!" And with that emphatic cry, he flings both hands out and sends radiating, crawling, /living/ crackles of electricity flying across the ground and through the sky, each bolt carrying the static discharge of a bolt of lightning, of ten bolts of lightning, empowered to levels thought impossible. Radiation blasts from his fingertips, gamma waves, x-rays... concussive blasts, everything, literally every weapon Magneto could possibly bring to bear is triggered, at once, at every enemy target converging on the Justice League. For a mile in every direction.
Magneto drops to the ground near Diana, still channeling that awesome power, and interposes his person between the oncoming parademons and the struggling League members. "Fall back," he orders in his harshest, most commanding tone. "I will not let them pass."
"DO YOU HEAR ME?" he roars, summoning that power to him again. "YOU. SHALL. NOT. PASS!" he bellows, sending curtains of energy rippling away from his hands to crash and blast into the ranks of demons, tanks, and flying war machines, creating some breathing room for the Justice League.
He turns, then, with eyes of ice and fire. "Well?! Your aid is here! I sword I would not see Earth threatened!" he demands, his retinue closing in to provide magical and psychic relief to the League. "On your feet! We press the attack!" He grins fearlessly, vaulting into the air after Flash. "After all, who wants to live forever?"
And...the full force of Genosha's army descends. Was J'onn expecting this? It's hard to tell as the Martian twists in space, lifting up from the surface of the world, firing a couple of force bolts of his own, mingling with the force brought to bear by the mutant army...and by one of the most dangerous men on Earth. The energies crackled, but the Martian isn't too bothered. He flickers intangible for a moment to avoid one of Magneto's blasts, but eventually he's going to end up close to the Master of Magnetism. << Ah. Now I understand. >> is all he says, silently, to Magneto alone.
 
Channel watches the place become a planetary weapon. Well. That wasn't good. Channel hovers there, trying to figure out the best plan of attack for what she can do here. Then the energy manipulator decides to continue on with her theory of being a thorn in Darkseid's side. She reaches out towards some of those giant cannons with her energy absorption powers and...
Oh. Hi Magneto. Been awhile. The giant burst of energy suddenly ripping through the area like that, with thousands of mutants all lending all types of energy to the cause...it's simply too much for Channel. The woman instantly starts glowing brightly, with sparks of energy lancing off her in every direction as the sheer quantity of energy flows through Channel. The Omega level energy manipulator violently shakes as she tries to keep herself together before she turns her eyes at her foes. Those who are observant, or know Channel's history, know exactly what's happening.
Her eyes focus on Darkseid. With a burst of speed she'd never known before, thanks to the giant surge of energy, the woman streaks downward in Darkseid's general direction, leaving a trail of energy behind her not unlike a shooting star. Her target?
That would be Darkseid.
When the woman strikes the ground, or the New God, there will be a huge explosion, rippling throughout the land as the woman expends all the absorbed energy that she saw and immediately pulled in, well beyond what she should normally be able to draw. It was like being supercharged, and it was going to leave a huge mark somewhere.
As for Channel herself?
That's a question best answered later.
 
Mantis was obviously cocky, if he truly thought a little it of the Speed Force and his own superhuman abilities were enough to surprise Wally. He probaly did for a couple nanoseconds, to be fair. Instead he finds a whirlwind of daggers, tearing through forearms and chest. By the time he backs up, he's been rather heavily shredded, reeling from the wounds. "You... insolent...!!" Raising a hand, the parasite then leverages a massive blast of plasma, intending to send Wally hurtling away from Apokolips, preferably while smoking for dramatic effect.
Huge airships the size of skyscrapers slowly emerge from the planet in the distance, more and more, dozens. But the immediate force brought to bear from Magneto is absolutely no match. Every one of them is adored with metal, nicely dense and magnetic enough for his purposes. Parademons, Aero-Corps, Armored Corps, all begin to fire towards the dimensional rift with little hesitation at the onset. An initial cloud of attacks to greet Magneto's grandiose entrance.
And then they fall. Like meteors, hundreds, thousands of forms slam down upon the metal of Apokolips, striking with intense force. A number are not outright killed, but it certainly stopped them dead. But then, the onslaught descends like the judgement of a God. Each cracking into one of the forms, some trying to flee, some trying to escape, all for naught as they are extinguished. One of the huge battleships is close enough that a number of blasts strike it, sending one side to gout blue plasma flame.
A number of bolts are launched towards Darkseid, but a sudden blast of energy strikes the ground at his feet from his good eye. In a heartbeat a whirling dome of heavy metal flows and surrounds him; the multiple assaults strike and blacken it, yet the reinforced structure is not penetrated.
Mantis looks towards a lightning bolt heading towards him, eager. He opens his eyes, and when it strikes him, the energy ripples through. "Ah... better." While some would look upon Magneto as an omnipotent danger, Mantis sees a feast. One of the strongest fonts for power he has ever laid his eyes upon, second only to Darkseid himself. With his link to his Pod intact and able to siphon excess power away, his normal limitations are presently removed. The heroes are not the only ones to plan for contingencies.
"You... I like you...!!" Mantis hisses, before suddenly bursting forward with superhuman speed. He's roaring towards Magneto now, both hands extending in his direction, streams of blood from Flash's harassa-slashes following behind.
After a moment, the metal dome around Darkseid shatters, sending wild fragments in all directions. He gazes upon the army spilling out, but although Magneto invoked a galactic flyswatter, countless more are approaching from the distance. "Interesting." He pulls out his Mother Box, a scan of the dimensional tear done on a thousand levels in a thousandth of a second. Fully understanding the method of entrance... one that is, unlike Tony's, not powered by the Source... he fires a crimson beam of pure force high into the sky. It then descends, to impact Magneto's portal... and attempt to immediately destabilize it and cause it to CRACK shut with a sudden, irrevocable burst of power like the gauntleted fist of a giant clenching closed.
 
As the mutant armada appears in the giant rip in space, Diana really has no choice but to break off her forward assault. The energy and the light are staggering. Even as Magneto is shouting at her to fall back, she watches Channel streak like a shooting star towards Darkseid. "Artemis, protect her..." she breathes, sword gripped tightly in her hand.
 
There is little, now, the JLA can do. Even as Magneto and his army take to the field, there are barely three of League's small number left standing. Diana pauses, watching the mutant titans proceed to even the odds for Earth, and lifts a hand to her head as a report from the Watchtower tells her the generators are down and resistance there is dwindling - which doesn't negate the threat Grayven poses the small rear assault team. But, she cannot fight through so many to join them. Certainly not with her armor's golden wings clearly marking her position in the sky.
"They're almost through," she tells her companions, those still conscious enough to hear her, over the wide-com. "Our work here is almost done." Win or lose. But she does not expect any of them to give up. "Press the attack. Take down Darkseid." And, glancing briefly to Magneto to acknowledge his fortuitous arrival and aid, she puts on her own burst of speed and soars toward Channel's impact crater, and the dark god within his shattered metal dome.
 
The Genoshans are not some rabble, attacking en masse with no thought to defense. Fliers go up, erecting shields of vast energy, some nearly a match for Magneto himself, to intercept the proverbial hail of arrows. Some of the rain of fury gets through, and strike with terrible force, smashing into the Genoshan army- but more are stopped than not, with exceptionally powerful mutants capturing and even redirecting the raw blasts of power that rain down on them. The Genoshans start carving out a defensive perimeter, clearly intending to hold the line, as task forces split up and set up larger, more mobile artillery and shield units, creating a temporary but unassailable position, from ground or sky. Artillery pieces start booming, moving up from the great rift in reality. One mutant- clearly Magneto's subordinate- runs alongside Diana. "M'lady! We have secondary fast movers who can assist with other objectives! Do you have orders for us?" he demands breathlessly, trying to keep up with the Amazon before she strikes at Darkseid.
Magneto reaches out with a thought and seizes Wally by the most minute traces of metal on his person- which happen to be Brynn's daggers. Flash goes flying back at the ground, and Magneto laughs merry warrior's excitement as Mantis flings himself at him. Magneto flies in swift retreat, swinging back down, landing on the ground, and speaks. "Retrieval units, extract mutant from target coordinates," he says, 'tagging' Channel's last position. Things that look like flickering, flying squid go hurtling through the air in a tight spiral, to retrieve Channel- or her remains.
To Magneto, it is all so transparent. An energy vampire? Granted, Mantis can consume energy on a level that Magneto had never seen before- even from Jocelyn- but to the Master of Magnetism, the flows and weft of energy is as visible as the trickle of water from a faucet. He flicks a corner of his cloak and divebombs the ground, landing hard enough to dent the metal that passes for Apokalips' surface. He grins up at Mantis, baring his teeth in a rictus snarl, and stamps each heel. Once, twice, the ground shaking with each superhumanly powerful blow. A shockwave- a measured, energetic, precisely controlled shockwave- that penetrates down, down, down, down to the Power Pod, converging there with ten times the force each individual shockwave possessed, resonating with gravimetric forces so intense that it rips the Power Pod from the array it is house in and undoes the safeties that hold that massive well of power in place.
With Mantis' support array gone, Magneto barks out once a sharp laugh, and holds aloft a gem in his right hand. "xArrbrywnd!" he shouts, the fel words sounding alien and roughly foreign. He watches as the magical gem flares to life, opening up a trapdoor, so to speak, one that visibly pulls at Mantis as the vampire descends, roaring lustily at Magneto. It's a gamble- Mantis is indeed enough of a threat that if the magic pocket dimension doesn't work to capture Mantis, Magneto will be in some serious trouble.
That is, unless the five hundred members of his Venerators, the Warrior Order of Monks who dwell on Genosha, can't deal with Mantis themselves. Because he lands right in the middle of them, letting Diana take point on Darkseid while Magneto deals with the energy-draining fiend. She is not alone- a hundred of the Hooded Angels, blazing swords in their hands, fly forward, converging on Darkseid and blasting him with bolts of plasma and a devastating, coordinated psychic attack designed to weaken the will and subdue the mind. Ash trails from their wings as a few land and engage with Diana to flank and attack Darkseid.
A dimension away, Apocalypse smiles to himself as Darkseid attacks the massive gate he and Magneto had concocted. Between Apocalypse's reconnaissance, Sinister's technology, Genosha's power and Magneto's brilliant reverse engineering, it is no difficult thing for Apocalypse to make some adjustments to the power flow, forcing more power to the gate to keep it open and stable.
 
The Flash is pulled to the ground by magneto's power once he get's his footing the flash streaks off as fast as he can muster dodging weapons and meteors heading for the second generator. No one has taken down yet and the Flash aims to disable it and cripple Darkseid's defenses.
Moments later the Flash slams into it daggers first at hyper sonic speed. The Flash continues to stab and ram into the generator the at super speed and try to destroy it. when parts seem to start to come loose He grabs them ans begins to vibrate them out of place and tear them off.
 
Genosha...and the other forces, might well be enough to turn the tide. J'onn narrows his eyes, then he nods to Magneto, once. Accepting him as an ally, but NOT under any order's but the League's, the Martian angles downwards, through the group of Hooded Angels. A hundred psychic...creatures, nothing human about them if there ever was. He's going to want a shower afterwards, but a mind that has more experience than most of the heroes have lived...even Magneto...reaching out to coordinate that song and boost it. Prior to now, the Martian has not risked touching the mind of the Dark God. With the Angels as a buffer? Now he can do it. But the feedback from those beings is hideous enough to make him wonder what the heroes are selling their souls to. Or perhaps he knows...some of Earth's most powerful villains stepping out of the shadows to protect the world they desire to conquer, because they fear Darkseid as much as any of the heroes...and that SONG echoing back through him...and he throws it all at DarkSeid, but it's *all he can do" to hold his integrity against that song. Something has to give...
And something does, the green form of the Manhunter *melting* once more, losing control of his form...and reverting to the true self none of those here have ever seen....a spindly, ugly creature with a face that resembles nothing quite so much as one of those THINGS from the Alien movies...not the compromise he's always provided, a face designed for humans to be able to deal with. The only thing still true is that he's green. And a telepathic scream, ENTIRELY focused, forced towards the mind of only one entity here.
Darkseid? Meet J'onn when he's NOT bothering with human sensibilities.
 
Back at the impact crater, the ground is scorched and burnt over, with the only sign of Channel being a charred pair of shoes. No body is visible, and with the sheer amount of damage done and scorched ground, any blood has been burned away. Those Magneto had sent won't find anything else.
Meanwhile, underground and through a tunnel she'd created on impact and instantly sealed shut with the sheer amount of energy melting stone in her wake, Channel is coming to as she sits up, holding her head. "Damn it, Magneto," the woman swears. Looking around, the woman can still see energy. She can still pick Darkseid out easily enough with that incredibly distinctive energy signature.
The biggest question was what she could do about it after taking such a beating. Her toughness has absorbed a lot of the impact, but that didn't mean she was free and clear, as the shooting pain in her left arm and the funny way it hung at her side would indicate. Looking around, she found herself in a tunnel that was all full of wires and fancy electronics and stuff.
Doug would have a field day here.
Channel sighs. "Well. Not like I need light to see," she mutters to herself and reaches out with her ability to convert energy around the wires and electronics, converting the energy into an extremely intense thermal energy meant to overheat all the sensitive electronics and cause the wiring to all short out.
Because when you can break the guts of the War Planet, you break the guts of the War Planet. No questions asked.
Siphoning off some of the Source energy that Channel can sense, the woman focuses her gaze on where Darkseid stood above here. Well above here.
"Here goes nothing". And the woman lets off an energy burst, using her Stargate Manuever, except launching it upwards from just below Darkseid, intent on smashing him with the powerful burst from below. Her last two attempts at hitting him hadn't worked, so now she was just trying to do a little damage before she passed out.
 
"An impressive army, to say the least." Darkseid offers, watching Magneto's onslaught with genuine respect. Although the failure to close the portal is somewhat surprising, it seems to be a matter of force and precision, something he was never good at. The amalgam technology is certainly new, but there are other methods to do such. "Converge anti-dimensional countermeasures at my position." the God of Evil demands. Explosions rock distant metal buildings, but they stand firm, blackened but not destroyed. The majority of Apokolips' makeup is a metal almost on par with adamantium, and in size and scope that material could never hope to possess.
Mantis is fast. Faster than Magneto likely gives him credit for. He is able to move on the same dimension as the likes of Diana and Superman, a feat usually only singular mutations of a high level possess. But he falters, upon realizing that Magneto has discovered deep within the tombs of the city his hidden-away Power Pod. It is damaged, but such only causes a sort of desperation for the being. "NO...!" A moment later, there's a trapdoor in front of him. "...!!" An attempt to pull back fails. He's too close, and his energy draining won't save him here... And then, he vanishes.
Magneto might have a moment to think that the cause of such was his trapdoor working. But he had no way of knowing that Mantis was capable of teleportation. Reappearing behind the Genoshian god, he thrusts out with speed beyond a human eyeblink, intending to strike Magneto in the back. Were it to hit, a massive flash of ice would attempt to entomb the ruler. "Almost...!!" That leaves him in the vulnerable position of hundreds of Venerators, but that appears to be a risk he was willing to take.
The second generator is made of sturdy material, but Flash manages to dismantle it in a hail of sparks and plasma. With a great CRACK and whine, the exterior shield collapses, while the other forces continue to battle outside...
The onslaught of individuals towards Darkseid suddenly assail his mind. A momentary grimace, but each of them that connects would find a terrifying backlash, facing an entropic power thrumming in his veins that likely only Xavier himself could endure with any ease. But these are no simple peons, and the sustained assault, like a number of insects working in tandem, starts to penetrate through. "Grrr...!!" A lone eye blast suddenly flashes out, aiming towards Diana. Only this time if she blocked, it would manifest in a whirl into a great ball of adamantium, attempting to seal the heroine and remove her from the fight, at least temporarily.
And then J'onn adds to the song. Suddenly Darkseid reels, staggering backwards in pain and grasping his head. Only for a titanic mental blast to impact him, with a force he wasn't aware anything in this universe could hope to levy upon him. For a few moments he just stands there, eyes dim and jaw open. Burning swords slash out, tearing across his granite form, but only inflicting scratches.
And then he roars. Both hands suddenly descend, striking the ground of Apokolips with all his might. A might on par with the Man of Steel himself. A great shockwave erupts, flying beyond the sound barrier for hundreds of meters around. The ground erupts and shatters into a spray of deadly shrapnel, let loose with raw abandon towards the forces present. The feel of it is probably echoed all the way to the second band of heroes, on the opposite side of the planet. "I will not be... brought to knee... on my own city!!"
This is made slightly less meaningful a statement when the ground beneath him suddenly vaporizes and strikes into the God of Evil, sending him flying head over heels into the sky a hundred meters in an instant. Twitching, he flips back upright to hover. "KALIBAK. GRAYVEN. COME, NOW."
Two Boom Tubes suddenly appear adjacent. From one comes the imposing form of his third son, granite form clad in black spandex and golden armor. Only he's rather heavily blackened and much of his attire damaged, grasping his head in obvious pain. Kalibak is not in much better condition, chest armor peeled away, and face blackened. But still holding his Beta Club, Kalibak descending to land with a great thump on the ground.
And then, hell breaks loose. Hundreds of cannons fire into the sky, each twice as broad as a football field. They converge overhead, coalescing into a great orb of energy. Which then descends, aiming to strike against Magneto's open portal a second time. This is no small show of force. The technology of a planet hundreds of thousands of years old, converging into a singularity with the intent of /slamming/ that tear shut, isolating the surroundings for a dozen miles from any and all dimension energy not stemming from the Source. And the great looming armies of the God of Evil are almost here again, after Magneto's opening dismissal... impossibly giant battleships humming their weaponry to life as the sky clouds with his armies...
 
In perfect communion with the gem, Mangeto senses Mantis' attempt to flee the entrapment of the maze- and then his sudden teleportation and the impending blow. Mantis is fast, beyond fast, but Magneto is moving at nearly the same speeds, empowered to levels beyond the superhuman. And his perception of reality allows him to react with reflexes on par with the speed of thought. He erects a highly energetic force field- fast and dirty, but just enough to spike Mantis' instinctive need to feed on energy, rather than vice-versa - and the Imperator pivots and leaps away, throwing multiple concussive blasts of energy at Mantis. Yes, they empower him, but the cold, furious eyes of the Imperator are calculating and shrewd, trying to keep Mantis just off balance enough to allow him some breathing room.
And with that vast, impending blast, Magneto flees from Mantis, flying high into the sky, pummeling the Immortal with his powers and bare fists and armor. Mantis clamps on to Magneto's arm and starts trying to frenziedly drain Magneto's powers...
...which is precisely the moment Magneto erects a giant, energy-catching shield over his people, and their sole means of retreat back to Earth. Rather than block it with main strength, he grits his teeth, twirls Mantis, and forces the energy vampire to absorb his share of the blast as well, Magneto screaming in pain as the powerful apocalyptic cannons shatter his shields and threaten to overwhelm even his nearly limitless potential for power, seeking to blast as much overflow into Mantis as he is physically capable of managing. The portal flickers and shivers, shrinking a few hundred yards and a dozen or so feet, as the dimension lock slowly starts to undo the tear in reality Magneto had summoned his people with.
 
And this is where Haephestos' sword comes in particularly handy. As the metal ball swirls around Diana, she pours on the super speed, spinning fast enough to keep up with Flash at cruising speed - though nowhere near speedforce fast. And the sword that can cut the electrons off atoms starts slicing through metal almost like it's butter. Or... Ok. Thick cheese. Regardless, the Amazing Amazon will not be kept in a cage. Not so long as there's a fight to to be made. So, she slashes and slams forward, finding the weakest point she can muster to careen out through it in a flash of gold metal and white light.
 
Down underground, still unseen for the time being, the injured Channel continues working on messing with the various electronics and wiring below, overheating them and sending surges of excess energy down through the lines, trying to short out, disrupt, and break just as much stuff as she can. She might not currently be in the thick of things (though seeing Darkseid's energy signature go flying as really, really satisfying), but that didn't mean the energy manipulator was out of the fight yet. Between her training as an X-Man, her prior thievery skills in a past life, and some of the training she's had with Natasha, Channel is reasonably certain she can do a fair bit of damage by overloading and shorting out various circuits and electronics down here.
Once she's finished with what she can in this area, the woman will continue down the tunnel as quickly as she can, wrecking as much electronic stuff while overloading and disrupting power in advantageous locations as she possibly can.
 
The generator destroyed Wally turns his attention to the battle. The Flash determines which direction darkseid is and sets himself to running as fastas he can muster. The Flash disappears into a streak of red trailed by arcing yellow bolts of energy he is running around the war planet dodging obstacles building up speed.
Till he's moving as speed incomprehensible to the normal person barrels towards "the god of evil". With a mighty leap full of purpose, the flash launches himself at full speed turning his body into a hypersonic nay subluminal missile aimed directly at Darkseid.
 
One on one, J'onn probably couldn't take DarkSeid...well, one on one he probably couldn't damage him. But this isn't one on one. And he has some protection, letting as best he can the all but mindless Angels take the brunt of any feedback...although those weapons are a problem. Stalking towards DarkSeid, he dodges one blast, takes another...but his flesh starts to heal once the shrapnel is out, the angels flanking him, and blasting again and again with his honed mind. Angels fall to the shrapnel, their spent bodies touching the ground without any apparent concern. He's not holding anything back at this point, and those who thought they knew him see only an alien warrior, determined to defeat his foe. Except for what he says...which everyone hears. "You mistake our greatest strength for our greatest weakness. YIELD." Not that the Martian expects Darkseid to do so. It's not in the Dark God's makeup, after all, but the attempt must be made. (Or Diana will be mad. And nobody wants an angry Diana on his case).
 
Magneto would find even his grandiose abilities stressed trying to stem the onslaught of dimensional energy from an entire planet. Mantis is indeed easily distracted by other sources, long enough for the prepared curtain to cover those present. Like some puppy, the balls of energy cause him to stop and devour them greedily, rather then houndingly follow in a more useful manner. But in the end, that hand finds the God of Magnetism, and the sheer volume of energy draining might be alarming. "Give it... give me all of it...!!" But then he's whirled upwards, surprised to find such resistance from Magneto. Dislodged, he impacts the great gargantuan beam, spasming heavily as it rushes inwards. "Gghh... gghghghhh...!!" Deep below Apokolips, the excess energy is channeled into the damaged Power Pod. But it overloads, erupting in a massive blast. Suddenly left to his own devices, Mantis has no hope of absorbing the rest of the dimensional energy. His form blackens, cracks, and a blast of ash falls down on the mutants as the attack stops. But Magneto would know... Darkseid could do it again. Perhaps in only a dozen seconds. In his condition, could he hope to deter it once more?
That is, until there's suddenly a heavy shift, crack, and number of sparks. Some of the huge skyscrapers grate against one another, as the static defenses go hayway. "Sector 908 disconnected from main hub." offers a disturbingly polite voice. "Power conduit broken. Rerouting. Planetary targetting temporarily disabled." Channel, deep below, managed to get her greedy mitts on something important. With the main guns outside temporarily disabled, that means retreat back to Tony's portals is a viable alternative, in the worst case.
Darkseid looks around, obviously surprised and enraged. He had genuinely expected the heroes to simply thump against the walls of Apokolips, helpless to even pierce through. To actually damage it...? Unbelievable. He gave the people of Earth far too little credit. And then the next thing he knows, he's struck from behind by a red ball. For a few terrible moments, he fears the Hulk arrived and suckerpunched him from behind. Rocketing towards one of the large buildings, striking into it and leaving a massive dent in material of godly density. He just lays there a number of moments. Give him time, he's not used to having his bell run in such a fashion.
But two others are here now. "DIE!" Grayven snarls, suddenly blasting out a beam of Omega Force himself. It zigs and zags, aiming to impact Wally while he tries to recover from the free-fall of thumping against Darkseid. It's power and capabilities are far below his father, but that doesn't mean being struck by it is any less of a buzzkill.
When J'onn settles himself before the broken-seeming Darkseid, one eye smoldering, he just smirks slightly. "Do think me defeated...?" A moment later, a huge hulking form eclipses behind J'onn. Kalibak leaping from the ground level, aiming to blast the alien point-blank with his Beta Club -- energies intending to send every atom within the Martian screaming in pain that is capable of such sensation!! Slowly Darkseid moves to push himself back to his feet. "Your invasion here is at best a mild inconvenience. All of your damage, all of your might... do you--"
Suddenly Darkseid goes stiff. His good eye widens, and jaw drops. "No." Whipping his hand behind him, a Boom Tube forms. "NO. /IMPOSSIBLE!!/" Nobody present would have any clue what is going on to cause such a reaction, but the last words hissed from the God of Evil is an ominous sounding phrase before it sucks him through.
 
"Apokolips: /Genocide./"
 
No one but Magneto. The Imperator can sense the planet moving and responding in a way that perhaps even Darkseid cannot- dead metal seeming like living, breathing skin to him. He takes a ragged moment to catch his breath- and that is all he needs. "Shift! Retreat!" Magneto roars down at the mutants below, making a gesture with one hand.
Magneto surges down to the ground behind Graven and Kalibak, flanking them himself, and cuts loose- with one hand, he rips a chunk of metal from the ground and accelerates it at the back of Kalibak's head, with nearly the same acceleration Wally had attained- approaching near relativistic speeds. His eyes flaring blue and electric in the confines of his visor, Magneto turns and produces that gem again, an awful, terrible gem that Zatanna herself had said should be destroyed. "Ul khrsyk, la dem e ut te bal," he says, invoking the gem once more. The interdimensional trap- a maze of arcane energy- lashes out, trying to envelope Darkseid's 'son' and trap him in a cosmic maze from which boom tubes and simple teleportation simply do not work.
As for Darkseid... Magneto narrows his eyes, and metal lashes out at Darkseid- bands for his hands, his wrists, his ankles, his eyes, attempting to lock him down with the hardest metal Magneto's ever encountered, and doing so with a speed and mastery that a jiu-jitsu master would approve. It's no longer a matter of raw strength- it's a matter of /leverage/, something Magneto has had cause to learn much about.
But this is no longer his fight. The Imperator, hearing the planet respond to Darkseid's command, simply /vanishes/ into the steel core of the planet, burrowing faster than an airplane could fly through the sky, seeking the command interface deep at the heart of the planet, near the core. It is there that Magneto takes a breath and flings his will- his might, obdurate will- into the computer, seeking to gain utter and total access to a computer the size of a living planet.
 
Kwabena, even as Shift, is all but unrecognizable. His body, having transformed into a gaseous state and further excited by the powers of Magneto, has become it's most powerful form of living plasma.
He'd come to an understanding, albeit rough, with the Master of Magnetism. Even though he'd betrayed Magneto in Genosha, he'd made his claim; that he would defend planet Earth and her people, human and Metahuman alike, at all costs. Now, under the powerful and Godlike control of the Omega-level mutant Magneto, Shift is launched forth like a solar flare, his body burning a brilliant and lethal white.
In this plasma state, Shift must consume to survive. His molecules, now living plasma, need fuel, else they will burn out and leave him atomized. And feed he does. Coursing forward with the heat of stars, he chews through tank and parademon alike, leaving little more than dust in his wake. The constant influx of flesh and metal powers him further, to the point where he exists as little more than a brilliant cloud of burning plasma, devouring everything in his wake. An unearthly roar of righteous rage follows him, trembling bone and earth as he destroys the enemy's defenses piece by everloving piece.
The unearthly roar is soon turned upon the armies of Genosha, with nothing more than a single command from Magneto. With the portals closing, there's one job left to do. The roar takes the form of words, cried out as plasma vibrates the air in a call to Magneto's masses. "FALL BACK. LINES FOUR TO TWELVE, FALL BACK NOW!" The call goes out while Shift arcs through enemy lines in destructive fury.
 
Diana might not be as mad as J'onn suspects. While she does not believe in the wonton destruction of life, slaying unnecessarily, there is no doubt that this is war. A war of survival as much as principle. Consequently, as she emerges from the ball of metal back into the battle, she her sword is ruthless in dispatching the parademons and other lesser minions of Darkseid that assault her.
She spins, she swoops, she slams sword and shield into enemies. Occasionally, she even uses her lasso to slam one into another. But, she has to take a moment to try to assess the ebb and flow of battle, to understand what the mutants are doing, what her teammates are doing... And that pause is her undoing.
Hovering above the planet's surface, she is struck from behind by a discharge of energy that sends her catapulting forward. It's bad luck, nothing more. But, the plasma washes over her, kept from leaving her smoking solely by the gifts the gods have given her - Hestia's fires and Haephestos' armor. Nevertheless, she falls, pierced by shrapnel from the explosion and staggered by the impact as she hits the ground.
 
Wally hitting the ground after nailing Darkseid with that infinite mass strike, sees the omegabeam coming right for him. The Flash being wo he is instantly starts running away from the beam. Wally is running around zigging zagging making seemingly random turns. In reality Wally is trying to find a way to lead the beam back towards Darkseid he has an idea. The Flash runs in a maze like pattern as fast as it takes to stay ahead fo the beam then when he fins his moment he runs at Darkseid once more flanking him by surprise. leading the beam towards him, then wally in stride starts to vibrate his atoms in hopes of phasing through darkseid.
 
And...it's hard to sneak up on a telepath, normally. It's not quite so hard to sneak up on a pissed off telepath who would be developing headaches from psychic feedback if Martians got headaches, per se. Ambushed! Kalibak's beam hits the Martian full in the back...and when it clears. Remember how Odo used to sleep in a bucket? He's already pulling himself back together, but the pain blast broke his concentration so thoroughly that J'onn is now Martian-goo. It won't take him long to get himself back to normal, though, and then Kalibak had better watch out. Well, if he wasn't already having to deal with Magneto.
 
Darkseid is bound by scraps of twisted metal, but his foot dents heavily into the ground. Another glance is spared at Magneto, curious, but his body roars in a font of Omega force as his eye glows. The metal instantly disintegrates as if it were nothing but dust, as he strides through the Boom Tube before it roars shut to a destination unknown.
Kalibak is a sturdy sort, but he's been worn down than he'd ever admit by the assaults of those on the other side of the planet. The blow of metal to the back of his head sends him faceplanting into the side of the solid building. He's in no condition to even look straight, as he is then wrapped about in cosmic energy and sucked to a pocket dimension with a snarl. That's probably going to be annoying to reverse in the future... but with a Mother Box with him, and Apokolips' technology, it can be dealt with. When Darkseid gets around to it.
Gee golly jillickers, Flash is fast. Grayven concentrates on his beam tracking after the blur, but his head is reeling and he's in poor shape. When Flash rushes towards him, he looks surprised. "Do you think... I can't divert the beam towards you in time?!" Oh, wait. Flash DIDN'T divert. Blinding him with his super-vibration, Grayven widens his eyes before he's struck dead on by his own Omega beam. His smoldering body hurtles backwards, falling down to the ground and crashing, immobile. Honestly, he was barely conscious when he got here. Kudos to the Backdoor team.
Sirens begin to wail louder on Darkseid. "Genocide in process. All organics please proceed to isolation rooms. You have 30 seconds. Genocide in process. All organics please proceed to isolation rooms. You have 25 seconds." Whatever that means, it's probably not good. Immediately, all of Darkseid's army stops dead and begins retreating, even the parademons. Apparently this order means 'don't fight any longer', from the looks of it. A great power can be felt shimmering beneath the hero's feets, faint vibration humming louder and louder...
Magneto finds the massive machine, but the moment he makes contact, it is clear this is something of Celestial level. Interfacing it is a feat that even Apocalypse would struggle with. On top of such, it is highly resistant to being tampered with; energies stabilizing reality around it, a crushing suppression taxing the already stressed Magneto. But even down here, he can hear that countdown... Can a full evacuation be done that quick? Is it possible to stop? What on earth does it even MEAN?
 
"All right, Erik," Magneto mutters in Polish. He places both palms on the computer core and lids his eyes. "Time to go to work."
Magneto sends his mind surging into the machine. Becoming one with it. Studying it. He trusts Shift to get the people out above, to evacuate as needed. So while he can't countermand the Genocide command, he /can/ alter a few bits of data, here and there, and convince the giant machine that the countdown needs longer to run.
And that last bit leaves Magneto all he can spare. He activates his transponder- a real, physical transponder- and pages Shift.
"This is Magneto," he declares, ignoring the opressive heat and pressure of unreality in the computer room. "Evacuate everyone. Use the squids to recover any of the Justice League Members who are incapacitated. I will find my own evacuation. Swiftly, Odame," he orders, making it sounds imperious even over a commlink.
With that, Magneto takes one last, lingering look at the computer hub, then activates their ad-hoc boom tube and steps into the portal, emerging on the sunny beaches of Genosha and staggering from the sudden shift in sensation. He takes deep breaths, galvanized by the energy fields of Genosha, and flies straight towards the site of the dimensional rift, throwing his power into the breech to hold it open as long as possible.
"Shift!" he yells through the rift. "Tell Diana to get the Justice League out of there! They have only a few minutes before the world will shut down and kill them all!"
 
Having cut a swath through the defenses, Shift suddenly absorbs the power manifested in him and lands in a three point stance somewhere amongst the retreating armies. Black smoke rises from his uniform, and his eyes are glowing white. They look from one way to the other, then glare with intent upon those armies still fighting. He draws in a deep breath before leaping into the air, his body dissolving into a plume of man-shaped back smoke.
For a few moments, he flies amongst the squiddles, speaking in a foreign language with basic instructions. Then, he goes soaring toward Diana, hovering above her before his upper half takes the shape of his flesh and bone again. The weight causes him to fall, but he only needs a moment.
"Diana!" he shouts to his friend and would-be comrade. "Get de league out! De portahls ah closing! Use de squids!"
As he falls, he's struck with a stray beam of energy. His body ignites once more, face contorted into a painful grimace as the mutants molecules once again ignite into his plasma shape. He curls about in the air, faces downward, then thrusts himself toward the retreating armies.
"RETREAT!" comes the electrified cry. "FORCES OF THE BROTHERHOOD. JUSTICE LEAGUE. THE TIME HAS COME. RETREAT!"
 
Diana is disoriented, and she's bleeding. Blunt attacks, she can take with great fortitude. Piercing attacks, however, are another story. Superficial ones heal quickly, mind, but the one from the oversized piece of metal in her back, lodged under her golden wings just because of angle of impact? That's gonna take some time. Grunting in pain, she struggles to her feet. She can hear the call for evacuation. And she knows that there are people here that require saving. "Fall back," she gasps into her com, beginning to move forward. She stumbles, hands touching down briefly as she begins to run. Then, however, she's pelting toward J'onn to give him something to hold onto, reaching out with her shield arm to try and scoop his reformed body into the curve of the its golden disk as extra support as she holds him against her front. She does not slow down, though the pain of the effort is something the telepath can clear sense. Instead, she leaps skyward, her face grey, beads of sweat on her brow, angling toward Flash as she goes. "My wings!" she calls to him, voice haggard. "Grab them!"
And when he does, the metal that impales her is close enough to him to be evident, as is the blood that flows from the wound.
Nevertheless, the Amazing Amazon catapults herself and her teammates through the nearest boomtube, back toward the Watchtower. On the other side, however, it will be they that will have to pick her up, rather than the other way around.
 
The Scarlet Speedster doesn't need to be told twice as he slows down to meet her pass and jumps to grab hold of Wonder woman's golden wings. "Thanks Di' let's go home."
 
J'onn J'onzz is almost back to humanoid when Diana grabs him...and back to his own form by the time they're through. Of course, he's still in his full blown "this is what Martians really look like" shape. Quite...ugly, to be honest, by human standards.
 
"Genocide... in... progress... All... organics... please..."
The timer is slowed heavily by Magneto's damage and tinkering, although the heart of Apokolips is definitely difficult to fell. The rest of the heroes have plenty of time to escape. Tony's countless portals crack closed shortly after the last of the heroes are through them, as Magneto's dimensional rift similarly crashes shut. The massive battleships continue to float overhead, spotlights scanning around as parademons and other aero-disc riders flood into them. The countless Lowlives in the pits pour into the designated areas; Magneto might not have intended it, but his actions have resulted in saving hundreds of thousands of innocent, repressed peasant lives.
It's almost quiet and peaceful as the frazzled timer continues. "You... have... 1... second..."
A heartbeat. And then the world becomes filled with white light. Every nook, every cranny, surging up from the heart of the planet. Great furnaces erupt out in sustained fire, as the very void surrounding the massive planet becomes overfull of disintegrational energy. Roaring on and on, lighting it up like a sun. The massive cruisers are the only things not annihilated, built to survive this sort of destruction and house the armies that might be mobile. But still, thousands and thousands of Apokolips forces and vital support were lost as a result.
"24 hour purge in progress. Please wait. 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 56 seconds left..."
One of the main reasons that Apokolips and New Genesis had a constant stalemate; that Darkseid was forced to use it... there's no greater dishonor that could have been rubbed in his stone visage than this!!
Category:Log