A single step through the portal—and on the other side lay Apokolips.
The planet radiated oppression itself. The sky burned with blood-red fire, as if the world were ending. Rivers of molten lava flowed endlessly across the cracked landscape, and the air was heavy with the stench of sulfur and death.
Once everyone had landed safely, they looked up just in time to see Malrick hovering high above the surface.
He took a deep breath, and the temperature dropped instantly. His freezing breath swept forward like a blizzard from another world, covering the entire city ahead in a layer of thick, crystalline ice.
Within seconds, every building, every stone, and even the particles in the air had frozen solid.
Then Malrick descended silently into the city below.
Unlike Superman, whose every movement tore the air apart, Malrick moved like a ghost—so fast and silent that no one could even track his shadow.
It was as if he existed halfway between the living and the spectral.
The moment his boots touched the ground of Apokolips, his ghostlike calm vanished.
A thunderous roar erupted, shaking the entire city to its foundation.
The frozen metropolis shattered instantly. Buildings cracked apart like brittle glass, and Parademons patrolling the skies exploded into clouds of glittering frost. The ground itself broke beneath the weight of his arrival, spreading shockwaves outward that ripped through the landscape like a living storm.
Where the icy blast passed, the crust of the planet split and magma erupted upward, consuming everything in its path.
Batman and the others barely had time to register what was happening before the shockwave hit them.
"Fall back!" Diana shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos. She spread her arms wide, crossing her wrists as divine power burst from her body.
A radiant golden aura expanded outward, forming a barrier that clashed against the wave of destruction.
The collision was apocalyptic.
Magma burst into the air, meteors of molten rock rained from the heavens, and the shattered ice fragments ignited as they struck the burning atmosphere—turning the entire sky into a swirling inferno.
In one moment, the world was frozen. In the next, it burned like a sun.
Malrick had come here for one purpose: to destroy this place completely.
The ground beneath everyone's feet disintegrated, leaving nothing but endless magma below.
Batman and Mera, unable to fly, were quickly lifted by Tony, Kara, and Doctor Fate.
"So… is it over?" Atom asked, dazed and pale as Doctor Fate carried him above the flames.
The air was filled with ash and smoke, a vision of hell itself.
Kara shook her head grimly. "No. It's just beginning."
Deathstroke's voice followed, cold and steady. "Then take us there. My blade's growing impatient."
The group advanced through the blazing chaos, weaving through fire and falling debris until the scene ahead came into focus.
There, on a stretch of cracked earth surrounded by molten rivers, Malrick stood face-to-face with Darkseid.
The dark god's city lay in ruins, his people and soldiers obliterated in an instant. Yet even now, he stood tall—hands clasped behind his back, his expression calm and unreadable.
"Kryptonian," Darkseid said, his voice echoing like thunder. "You don't understand what you're doing. Submit to me, and I might let you live."
Malrick met his gaze coldly. "Unfortunately for you, I don't intend to let you live."
Scarlet beams of Heat Vision erupted from his eyes, scorching through the fiery air. The killing intent in that glare could have incinerated gods.
But Darkseid didn't move. His stone-like face barely shifted—only his expression darkened, fury twisting through his granite features.
Then his eyes ignited.
Omega Beams burst forth, crimson and spiraling violently toward Malrick.
The two forces collided midair, clashing like titans. The explosion that followed turned the already-burning world a deeper shade of crimson.
The shockwaves spread in every direction, melting rock and shaking the very core of Apokolips.
Tony's sensors screamed as he stabilized his armor in the storm. "This is impossible! His Heat Vision's being pushed back!"
It was the first time Tony had ever seen Malrick falter.
"Nothing's impossible," a chilling voice came from below.
Two figures approached through the smoke—Granny Goodness and DeSaad.
Tony recognized them immediately from old files and comic archives. Granny Goodness, the monstrous matriarch who trained Darkseid's armies. DeSaad, his twisted scientific adviser and executioner.
DeSaad sneered, his voice slick with arrogance. "Darkseid's Omega Beams are born from the Omega Effect. They erase anything—matter, energy, even souls. Your Kryptonian friend cannot win."
Granny Goodness raised her arms, her cracked smile stretching wide. "Before you worry about him, worry about yourselves!"
Her shrill command echoed across the land. "Come, my children! Bring death to these unworthy creatures!"
The sky darkened.
A million wings flapped in answer as hordes of Parademons poured from the burning clouds—creatures twisted from the souls of conquered worlds.
Tony snorted. "Really, Darkseid? Scraping the bottom of the barrel now? Sending an old lady to do your dirty work?"
He carried Batman to the front lines, his thrusters roaring. "Granny Goodness, you're about to learn what happens when you underestimate the Avengers."
He smirked. "Oh, and by the way, the one fighting your ash-faced boss isn't a Kryptonian. He's from Earth—and he's not going to lose."
Tony's armor shifted, opening at the chest as he pulled out a spare Arc Reactor and locked it into place. Black tendrils of symbiote biomass surged over his body, covering him from head to toe.
The Fungus God Armor returned—alive, pulsing with chaotic energy.
He fired a blast toward Granny Goodness, but DeSaad blocked it with a glowing energy shield.
Tony changed tactics immediately, activating his boosters and diving straight into the densest cluster of Parademons.
"Jarvis, transfer the Anti-Superman Armor to Batman," Tony ordered. "Assist him against the old hag and her sulfur-faced friend. I'll handle the bugs."
"Understood, sir," Jarvis replied smoothly.
Tony plunged into the swarm, the symbiote tendrils expanding around him. Within seconds, thousands of Parademons were ensnared, torn apart, and consumed.
A towering figure rose from the destruction—a twenty-meter-tall mycelium giant roaring defiance at the sky.
Each time another Parademon fell, the creature grew larger.
Behind him, the Anti-Superman Armor clamped itself onto Batman with a chorus of mechanical clicks. The Mark armor reconfigured, reshaping into the familiar silhouette of a Batsuit.
"Mr. Wayne," Jarvis said through the comms, "it's an honor to serve you."
Batman flexed his hands, testing the suit's systems as the thrusters came online. "Good design," he muttered. "What's it called?"
"Anti-Superman Armor," Jarvis replied.
Batman's lips curved faintly. "Heh. I had one of those once."
He looked up, eyes burning with the same resolve that once struck fear across Gotham. "Jarvis, we're the Avengers from Hell now. Rename the suit—call it the Hellbat Armor."
"Of course, Mr. Wayne."
And as the skies of Apokolips burned, Earth's last alliance stood ready to fight the darkness head-on.
_______
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