A laser blast flew in the air, hitting its intended target right on the chest, but causing no harm. The only indication of a hit was a small burn mark and smoke coming out from where the blast hit.

"Nice try ugly, but that won't do it!" Iron Man, the Golden Avenger, said as he fired a blast of concentrated energy at the Parademon who had shot at him, blowing him up into a dozen pieces.

The three Leaguers assigned to Apokolips (J'onn J'onzz, the Manhunter from Mars; Jade, the Green Lantern of Sector 2814; and the aforementioned Iron Man) were fighting a horde of Parademons on the steps to the Tower of Rage, Darkseid's palace. They were on a mission of peace, having been sent here months before by Superman * in an attempt to open a dialogue between them and the dreaded lord of Apokolips.

"There's too many of them!" Jade exclaimed. Using her power ring, Jade encased half a dozen  Parademons in a force shield.

"We have to make it inside!" J'onn exclaimed while fighting three Parademons. J'onn had altered his body to function better in the battle, having grown three additional appendages to better aid him in this hand-to-hand combat. "Iron Man, have you found any other way in?"

"Negative... Uff." Iron Man was punched in the head by a Parademon. "Get off me!!" Iron Man fired a blast of white-sound from his chest right into the Parademon's face. Hurt, the Parademon flew away, his ears bleeding. "This is the only way in."

"Then.... we'll have to make... do!!" J'onn's head and mid torso transformed into a batting ram and he hit five Parademons. As they fell on the ground, J'onn's body reverted back to his human form. "How many left?"

"Um, about ten dozen?" Jade said as she hurled the bubble where the Parademons were trapped up into space. "Have a nice trip!"

"I have an idea." J'onn walked over to Jade, phasing through the Parademons who were in his path. J'onn placed his hand over Jade's shoulder and their two minds made contact.

"I understand." Jade nodded. She lifted her right hand and a burst of green light came out from her power ring, blinding everyone. "Close shutters." Iron Man's helmet eyelids closed. When the light cleared the battlefield was empty, except for the three Leaguers.

"What happened?!?" a perplexed Iron Man asked. "Where they go?"

"J'onn transferred the coordinates for a rogue asteroid into my mind..." Jade said with a grin. "I teleported all the Parademons to it."

"Oh..." Iron Man said. "That's indeed a very powerful weapon you have there."

"Most powerful in the universe... or so I'm told."

"We did well..." J'onn said. "... but now comes the hard part. Finding Darkseid and make him come to reason about his impending attack on Asgard and the massacre on New Genesis *."

The three heroes walked up the stairs to the giant wooden doors that lead inside the Tower of Rage.

"Once inside we may have to split up, so be ready." Iron Man said. "I can't seem to pinpoint Darkeid's location, so he could be anywhere."

"Understood." J'onn pushed the doors open. "Ready?"

Jade took a deep breath. "As ready as I'm gonna be."

"Let's go then."

The three heroes entered the Tower and the doors closed behind them...

Mjolnir came down hard on a Parademon's chest, smashing right through it, killing the Parademon instantly.

"Fall!!!" Thor exclaimed at the top of his lungs as the Parademon's corpse slid off Mjolnir and hit the ground. Behind him, Avengelyne swung her sword and decapitated her attacker, a 7-foot tall Parademon. The lifeless husk fell at her feet, its head flying through the air till it hit a nearby wall, which used to be part of Takion's chambers.

"Filthy maggot!!" she exclaimed, her sword reflecting the light from the sun. Avengelyne's body, just like Thor's, was covered in the green and yellow blood of many dead Parademons.

Avengelyne walked over to Thor, but before she could reach him and talk to him, the lifeless body of a dead Parademon fell between them. As the body hit the ground, it shattered into a dozen pieces, splattering the nearby area with its bloods and guts. Thor and Avengelyne looked up and saw Orion, in his Astro Glider, fighting with a squadron of Parademons.

Not saying a word, Orion simply fired the entire might of his Astro Force at the Parademon horde in his path, shredding and slicing them into ribbons.

"Ho!!!" Thor said from below, acknowledging Orion's victory. As Avengelyne and Thor walked over the corpse covered battle field, towards a clearing in the ground where some survivors were gathered, the remains from Orion's recent kills fell to the ground around them.

"Thor..." Avengelyne said in a soft, yet battle-hardened, feminine voice.

"What can I do for you, little sister?" Thor asked, turning his head to look at her. Thor's forehead showed evidence of having been opened many times in the last few days and not having healed right. His clothing was nothing more than ribbons covering his body.

"How much longer do you think we have to go, till we reach Mantis?" Avengelyne asked as she cleared her hair off her face. Like Thor, her entire body showed the clear markings of having been through many battles.

"Not long, child..." Thor replied, pointing towards Mantis' stronghold, which wasn't far from them. "... see for yourself."

"100 yards at the most..." Avengelyne placed her open hand above her eyes to get the sun off them. "We'll be there by mid afternoon, unless..."

"Unless we encounter any more demon hordes..." Thor wiped the sweat and blood off his face with a hand cloth made out from a piece of his uniform. "First Mantis will pay for this invasion... then Darkseid will die for it, this I swear!!!"

"Don't you think that's an oath that Orion should make?" Avengelyne asked, sheeting her sword.

"Aye..." Thor looked up at the sky and saw Orion flying above them. The horrors they had seen since first coming to New Genesis had affected him deeply. From having to rescue his friend Mark Moonrider from a pile of bodies made up of his best friends - as well as many strangers - , to seeing the graves from those he called friends, this visit to his adopted world had been anything but pleasant, nor heroic. "I feel a... kinship with Orion. As if our destines were somehow intertwined, connected by an unseen force. Whilst not a true God as my kinsmen or myself, there is something... Godly about the beings of New Genesis. This travesty is as much an invasion of New Genesis as of Asgard, and the fouled demon Darkseid won't get away with it."

"This war has affected you too, Lord Thor." Avengelyne said, placing her hand on Thor's back. "When it's over, there's something I'd like to show you."

"It be mine pleasure, sweet Angel..." Thor said. "Aye, me thinks one among us shalt not survive yon war"

"You have no idea how right you are, Asgardian dog!" a voice from behind them said. The two warriors turned around and readied their weapons in a blink.

"Mantis!!" Thor exclaimed, grinning his teeth as he saw Mantis and a group of Parademons standing before him.

"Kneel down, Asgardian..." Mantis fired an energy blast at Thor that knocked him off his feet. "There's a good boy!"

"Assassin!!" a voice from above said, followed by a burst of energy blasts. Many of them hit Parademons standing around Mantis, instantly evaporating them. Others hit Mantis, but had no effect.

"Ah, the master's pride!" Mantis said with a giant grin, waving his arms at Orion, who was coming down from above in his Astro Glider, firing his energy blasts at Mantis. "Come to me 'Dog of Apokolips', come to me!"

"Enough of this!" Avengelyne leaped into the air, intending to hit Mantis with her sword.

"Stupid woman, get out of the way!" Mantis shot a blast from his eyes that hit Avengelyne in the face, making her loose her balance and fall on the ground.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!!" Orion yelled as he came within range of Mantis. He jumped off the Glider and landed right on Mantis' chest.

"Die, die!!!" Orion hit Mantis with all his might.

"Yes...  yes!" Mantis said in a sarcastic tone. "Harder master, harder!! Kill me!!"

"Something's... wrong..." Avengelyne said, trying to get up.

"Verily..." Thor said, already on his feet. "He's enjoying this too much." Thor walked over to Orion, who had broken his fist hitting Mantis, yet kept going.

"Stop my brother..." Thor said, lifting Orion off Mantis with ease. "This monster was ready for you."

"Ooowww" Orion collapsed next to Thor, tired and broken.

"Oh yes!" Mantis said. "My master Lord Darkseid made sure Orion wouldn't be able to harm me. It cost him dearly, but his... ally... was more than happy to obligee."

"Silence!!!" Thor swung Mjolnir in a mighty arc, striking Mantis hard against the face, shattering his chin and knocking him back a few feet. "You may very well have been ready for my brother, but not for me!"

Mantis, blood gushing out from his face and the pieces that were left from his jaw falling on the floor, assumed a battle stance.

"Let's see how you deal with me!!" Thor swung Mjolnir in the air, the white clouds above him turning pitch black.

"Run, he's coming!" Wendy said to Marvin and Jamie, who were running behind her. The three of them were running through the battle-torn streets of Metropolis, pursued by an unseen attacker who kept to the shadows and leaped over the obstacles on his way.

"Why did you have to get out, Marvin?!?" Jamie asked, angry. "We were safe in the shelter!"

"I'm sorry!!" Marvin replied. "I had to look for him, I had to!"

"For the last time, Superman isn't dead!!" Wendy screamed, rolling her eyes. "He's off world, kicking Dorkseid's butt for doing this!!"

"I know, I know... I'm sor..." but before Marvin could finish talking, a flying shuriken hit him in the back and he fell to the ground, blood coming out from the wound.

"Marvin!!" Wendy stopped and went back to where he fell. Worried and cautious, she pulled the shuriken off his back. "Marvin, Marvin, can you hear me?!?!" she yelled, concerned and afraid.

"Ah, the first victim falls!" a voice from above said. Jamie and Wendy looked up and saw a man dressed in a purple and yellow outfit fall down from the roof of a small building and land next to them.

"Now, if you don't mind..." the man said, twirling a knife on his right hand. "Kanto has work to do."

"What... what do you want??" Jamie asked, scared.

"Why, to kill you of course." Kanto reply, throwing the knife at Jamie.

"Noooo!" Jamie screamed, closing her eyes.

Clank!!

"Huh?" Jamie opened her eyes and saw a woman covered in what seemed to be organic metal tendrils standing between her and Kanto. Under the tendrils the woman was dressed with what seemed to be a pair if blue jeans and a white t-shirt.

"Leave these children in peace..." the woman said. Unable to recognize her or make out her voice, Jamie walked up to her side, and saw her face.

"You!" Jamie exclaimed when she saw Sara Pezzini, current wielder of the Witchblade, standing in front of her.

"Get out of here the three of you..." Sara said. "Leave him to me!"

Jamie looked at Sara for a second, astonished. She quickly came to and with Wendy's help grabbed Marvin off the ground. The three of them headed inside the abandoned building next to them.

"A woman?!?" Kanto said in a snobbish tone. "What can a woman do against an Apokolipsian God?!?"

"This!!" Sara leaped into the air an shot a blast of fire at Kanto. Before it hit him, he was able to roll out of the way.

"Impressive..." he said. "Most impressive." in one movement Kanto got up from the ground, grabbed his gun and fired it at Sara.

As the bullets reached her immediate area they seemed to slow down. Various tendrils came out from the Witchblade and grabbed the bullets from the air and crushed them into powder.

"Well, well..." Kanto said. "Seems like you'll be more trouble than I thought... or maybe not!" Kanto threw a canister at Sara. Instinctually the 'blade's tendrils shattered the container before it hit her. As it broke, the contents of it fell on her. In seconds her entire body was covered in a yellow and blue substance which was quickly absorbed into her skin through her pores.

"Thank you my sweet." Kanto said as he opened the door to the building. "That little stunt just killed you..." he then went inside, leaving a perplexed Sara alone.

"Mom, mom!!" a small child screamed at the top of her lungs, looking for her mother. The child, a girl no older than six years old, was on the ground, people running passed her at all sides.

"Mommy, mommy!!" she screamed, pleading for her mother.

"Don't worry honey, we'll find your mom." a female voice said next to her. The crying girl looked up and saw a green-skinned woman dressed in a blue and orange outfit standing over her.

"Jade?!?" the girl asked, whipping her eyes.

"I'm not Jade honey, but I'm a hero just like her." the woman said. "My name's Lyja. Now, come on, I'll help you look for your mom." the woman reached out for the girl. The girl grabbed Lyja's arms and she lifted her up.

"Do you have a ring like Jade does?" the asked.

"No, but I can do things she can't, like turn into a..." as Lyja spoke her entire body changed from humanoid into a "...bird, so we can find your mom faster." placing the girl over her back, Lyja, now in the form of a giant falcon, flew above the crowd.

"There she is!" the girl said with a smile, pointing down at her mom.

"Ok, hold on." Lyja flew down and in a moment landed next to the girls mom and reverted to her humanoid shape.

"Amy?" the girls mother asked as Lyja handed Amy to her.

"Here you go ma'am..." Lyja said. "All in a day's work."

"Thank you, thank you!" the woman said, hugging her daughter and walking away.

All in a day's work, indeed. Lyja thought. Now to resume what I came here to do in the first place. Lyja changed her body into that of an eagle and took to the sky over the battle-damaged city.

I have to find Franklin, or Johnny will never forgive me *. Lyja thought while she scanned the city with her eagle eyes. I still can't believe I let Superman convince me to let him move in with that couple *. That boy should be with me, the closest thing he has to a family ever since the Fantastic Four disappeared over a year ago *.

Suddenly Lyja's concentration got interrupted by a bright flash of light coming from above. She turned around and noticed that the sun was beginning to glow brighter than it should at this time of day.

"What the--?" before she could finish her though, she noticed that the light from the sun began to shrink down in size as well as intensity and move towards her.

"An attack!" she exclaimed and changed her shape from an eagle to a Kryptonian Fire Beast.

"Please, be at peace." a voice coming from the light source in front of Lyja said.

"Who--?"

"I come with an offer..." the light said as, to Lyja's amazement, it took the shape of a bright floating ball. "... I represent someone who is willing to offer you power beyond imagining."

"And all it'll cost me is my soul?" Lyja asked sarcastically.

"No..." the ball reply. "You misunderstood. I'm not here to ask you to come with me... I'm here to take you with me!"

Before Lyja could react, the ball of energy grew in size, enveloping her entire body. In seconds Lyja was trapped inside a giant ball of energy.

"Let me go!!" she exclaimed, firing energy blasts from her wrist gauntlets.

"After failing last time, I don't dare to fail again." the ball said before it disappeared with Lyja inside it.

Jade, J'onn and Iron Man walked down a long, dark hallway. Torches on the walls served as the only light source, so the corners, as well as the ceiling above them, were covered in shadows.

"I have movement, 50 feet in front of us." Iron Man said as a computer generated display of the Tower appeared on his visual sensors inside his helmet. "Life forms match known Parademon parameters. Still no sign of Darkseid."

"We'll never find him if we stick together." Jade said, encased in a skin-tight green shield and floating over the two men's heads.

"She's right." J'onn said, wrapped in his blue cloak. "I suggest we split up."

Iron Man looked at J'onn and Jade. One an experienced fighter while the other still a rookie in the ways of her chosen path. "I... I'll keep going on this path, the heart of the Tower. I suggest that Jade takes the outside, use her ring to scan the Tower and then feed the information back to me, while you J'onn..."

"While I take the basement and the sewers beneath the Tower. Darkseid might be hiding there." J'onn nodded in Iron Man's direction. "Very well, we'll meet at the top if we haven't found him. If any of you does find him, contact the others." J'onn phased his body and fell through the floor.

"Ok, I'll meet you there!" the enthusiastic, yet worried, Jade, went out of the Tower through a nearby window.

She'll be safer outside than in here. Tony thought. Most powerful weapon in the universe or not, she's still too young to be in this hell hole.

"M.A.R.I.A. * , I want you to extend your search to include different levels of energy." Tony said to his armor's onboard artificial intelligence. "Maybe we can find Darkseid is we can pinpoint that Omega force his body expels."

"Rebooting sensors." M.A.R.I.A. replied. "Unknown energy source, Five meters west."

"Locate energy source and take us there." Iron Man rose up from the floor and headed into the indicated direction.

"Unknown energy source two meters west." as M.A.R.I.A. spoke, the armor moved west.

The flying armor crossed a corner and came upon a giant metal door. "Analyze and determine weak spot."

A blue light came out from Iron Man's chest and irradiated the door for a few seconds, then disappeared, only to be replaced by a narrow yellow beam aimed at the center of the door.

"A three second burst will shatter the door." M.A.R.I.A. said.

"Arm the pulse bolt generator and fire on my command." Iron Man floated away from the door and raised his arms.

"Pulse generator armed."

"Fire!!"

Three energy beams came out from Iron Man's armor (two from his arms and one from the chest). The three beams hit on the marked spot and three seconds later the door exploded, sending shards of metal all over the room. As the dust settled, Iron Man floated inside the room.

"What is this place?" he asked as he saw the machines inside. The room, made of rock and wooden support beams and lit by torches on the walls, was filled with machines of varying sizes. Machines designed for only one thing.

"This is a torture chamber..." M.A.R.I.A. said. "...as well as a laboratory. The unknown energy source is at the far end of it."

"Take me there." a determined Iron Man said. "And prepare for battle, I have a very bad feeling about this."

"Understood." All of the armor's defensive and offensive systems activated at once.

"Continue for another five feet, then land."

The armor landed a meter away from a white tarp.

"The energy source is under the tarp."

"Ok, ok."

Iron Man walked over to the tarp, but before he could lift it, an energy blast hit him on the back, knocking him on the floor.

"Stay away from that, human!!" a voice that sounded like a ravenous dog growling said from behind. Iron Man stood up and turned around. He saw Kalibak, son of Darkseid, standing in front of him holding a smoking billy club on his right hand.

"Shields!" Tony yelled and the armor was covered with a thin layered energy shield.

"That won't save you, human!" Kalibak charged against Iron Man, swinging the club in the air.

Iron Man lifted his right arm and let out a repulsor blast at Kalibak, but he kept coming.

"Increase... energy output... by 15%."

"Increasing."

The blast grew in size, but Kalibak still kept coming, till he was at arms length.

"Increase by 50%!!!"

"Increasing..." M.A.R.I.A.'s voice had a tone of concern for Tony's safety. "...Warning, exceeding safety levels."

The repulsor charge, which had grown 65% in size, finally affected Kalibak, propelling him up in the air and pushing him towards a giant machine that was behind him. He crashed into it and it shattered into pieces.

"Systems crashing. Losing energy. Going to reserves."

"Dammit." Iron Man got off the floor. The light emitted by his armor dwindled as the main energy reserve was depleted and the back ups systems came online.

"Back ups won't support energy shield or flight."

"Understood." Iron Man walked over to where Kalibak fell, grabbing a lead pipe on the way. "We'll do this old school then."

Kalibak stood up from the rubble, still holding his billy club.

"Human..." he said. "You will die for staining my honor!"

"Shut up!!" Iron Man leaped into the air, aided by a short burst from his feet jets, and hit Kalibak over the head with the pipe as he came down.

"Fool!" Kalibak said as the pipe bended as it hit his head. "You will die for that!!" Kalibak grabbed Iron Man from the torso in his giant hand and threw him away like if he were a rag doll.

Iron Man, propelled by the force from Kalibak's throw, crashed with the white tarp that moments ago had caught his attention, knocking what was under it down.

"Breach in sections five, eight and twelve. Nanorepairs underway."

"Don't, that will take energy away from the armor!" Tony said. As he stood up his hand brushed with the object that was covered with the tarp; the Entropy Aegis, Darkseid's secret weapon against Superman.

"Aagggh!! Kalibak charged against Iron Man, colliding with him and knocking him on the floor. He then proceeded to pound on him with his giant arms.

"Aahh!" Tony exclaimed in pain as he felt Kalibak's punches on his chest. "Shields... repulsors...!"

"System... going... o-o-offline in three... T-T-Two... oooooooneeeee..."

Using his fingers Kalibak opened Iron Man's armor. As the pieces from the armor came apart, they reverted back into their microscopic state and flew into Tony's watch. Kalibak reached down and pulled Tony off what was left of the armor, holding him by the face.

"Now you die!!" Kalibak grabbed Tony's feet with his left hand and then pulled him down towards his knee, breaking his back in two. Blood from Tony's injuries on his face, back and hands splattered the Aegis. The blood was absorbed by the armor through cracks on its surface. Suddenly, the Aegis' visor lit up.

"Har har har!" Kalibak laughed in glee. "Father will be proud of me! I, Kalibak, rightful and loyal son of Darkseid, have killed one of his enemies!!" Kalibak dropped Tony's lifeless body on the floor, next to the Aegis, then stomped on his head and shattered it. Kalibak then walked towards the door and left the chamber.

Tony, his entire body covered in blood and the pieces from his brain, laid next to the Aegis. His right arm rested over the Aegis' front. The blood gushing over from his wounds spilled into the armor, which, as before, absorbed it.

Seconds later, the Aegis' opened up, revealing a pilot compartment. Suddenly, Tony's wristwatch, where the pieces from his armor resident, lit up.

"Tony..." M.A.R.I.A. said. "My sensors can't detect any life signs from you."

Thousands of nanites flew out from the wristwatch and surrounded Tony, then went inside him. Quickly, they began to heal his wounds, including his broken back and cranium. In what seemed like seconds, Tony's entire body was completely healed, but he was still lifeless.

"There's nothing more I can do..." M.A.R.I.A. said. The nanites returned to the wristwatch, but some of them went inside the Aegis, to analyze it. Seconds later they returned to the watch.

"Fascinating." M.A.R.I.A. said. Millions of nanites came out from the watch and once again surrounded Tony, but this time they came together and formed two human-size arms. The arms lifted Tony up and carried him over to the Aegis, dropping him inside. The nanites returned to the watch and as they did the chest cavity closed up behind them. Suddenly the inside of the Aegis lit up and covered Tony's body, and then as suddenly as it appeared the light disappeared.

For a tense moment nothing happened, but then Tony's eyes began to move and M.A.R.I.A.'s sensors detected his life signs.

"Tony?" she asked.

"Ooowww... what... what happened?" Tony asked, confused.

"I'll... I'll tell you later..." M.A.R.I.A. said. "I had to get you inside this armor because my energy cells are still depleted."

"I... see." Tony said in a worried tone. "Can you go inside its systems?"

"On it." hundreds of nanites came out from Tony's watch and went inside the armor through the same cracks that moments before absorbed Tony's blood. Many of them went outside and started to work. They floated towards the center of the armor, where a crest like Superman's 'S' shield was. They came together and reshaped the crest into an emitter like the one in Iron Man's armor.

"I'm in full control of this armor now." M.A.R.I.A. said as the nanites returned to her.

"Good..." Tony said, angry. "Search for Kalibak... it's time for a little payback."

The Aegis rose from the floor and flew towards the door at an incredible speed. In moments in caught up to Kalibak, who was halfway through the hallway.

"Kalibak!" Tony called him out.

Kalibak turned around and his eyes grew in size, as his fangs dripped with drool.

"Impossible!" Kalibak growled, then charged again towards Tony.

"Not this time!" Tony said. "Now!!"

The emitter the nanites built on the Aegis' chest lit up and seconds later fired a concentrated energy blast. The blast hit Kalibak dead on and knocked him back towards a rock wall. As he hit the hall, it shattered into a hundred pieces, all of them falling on him and burying him.

"Readings?" Tony walked over to where Kalibak fell, ready for him to rise up.

"He's alive... barely." M.A.R.I.A. said. "The energy output was over 200 times what I'm able to generate."

"Incredible." Tony said, a tone of amazement in his voice. "What is this... thing?"

"I... don't know...."

A giant lightning bolt came screeching down from heaven and hit Mantis right on the chest. As his entire body crackled with energy, his body absorbed not just the blunt of the hit but the energy from the bolt.

Unable to express his pain through words since his jaw had been broken moments before by Thor, Mantis simply fired an intensified blast from his arms at him. Using Mjolnir, he was able to deflect the blast skyward, which in turn was absorbed by the darken clouds above them.

Behind them, Avengelyne -  the fallen warrior angel - tended to Orion  - the Dog of Apokolips - whom had been injured fighting a squadron of Parademons earlier.

"Thy will fall before the day is over, fowl creature!!" Thor swirled Mjolnir in his hand and threw it at Mantis. The hammer hit Mantis in the chin. The impact pushed him off balance and he fell on the floor. Mjolnir swung back and returned to its owners hand. Thor walked over to where Mantis felt, Mjolnir was surrounded in a sphere of pure white energy.

"Thou will suffer and perish for thy sins..." Thor said in reference to the suffering and death that Mantis had caused during his invasion of New Genesis. "... mine brothers and sisters from New Genesis will see thee die by mine hands as punishment for thine actions."

Mantis stood up, but Thor pushed him back down.

"No more energy for thee..." Thor said, clenching his teeth as he spoke. "... no more forgiveness... no more!!" Thor grabbed Mjolnir with both hands and aimed to hit Mantis in the chest, but before the tip of the hammer came to an inch from it, Mantis shot a blast of fire from his mouth at Thor. The fire covered Thor from head to toe. It wasn't a nature flame, so it didn't act like it .Mystical in nature, the flame was under Mantis' control.

"Mine face!!!" Thor screamed in pain. He dropped Mjolnir on the floor and grabbed his face with both hands.

Mantis smiled, as he ordered the flame over Thor's body with his eyes. The flame grew in intensity and the heat it generated could be felt all around. The grass on the ground under Thor turned to ash as he walked over it.

"Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh!!" Thor screamed at the top of his lungs. A pleased Mantis stood up just as Thor collapsed on the ground. Mantis walked over to where Mjolnir fell. He kicked some dirt over it and then walked over to where Thor fell.

"For what I'm about to do..." a woman's voice said from above Mantis. "...may the Lord forgive me!!" Mantis turned around and saw Avengelyne falling on him with her sword on her hand. Avengelyne slashed Mantis on the chest and blood came gushing out from the wound.

"Maggot... Filth!!" Avengelyne kept slashing Mantis with her sword, mighty Amana which was a gift from Eli the Mercurian Archangel of Creation. An indestructible weapon of war, Amana was Avengelyne's weapon of choice when in battle... and if she ever needed such a weapon it was now. Using her Angelic might, Avengelyne kept going after Mantis, opening wound after wound on his green skin. The ground between them was covered in the blood and guts coming out from his wounds.

"Stop the flame that surrounds Thor or die!" Avengelyne demanded of Mantis as the tip of her sword stopped an inch away from Mantis head. One more stroke of Amana and Avengelyne would behead him. Mantis turned his gaze at Thor and blinked. A second later the flame disappeared, but the injuries remained. Avengelyne looked at Thor. He tried to get up but quickly collapsed on the floor.

"Murderer!!" she said, ready to behead Mantis. She swung Amana away from his head and with all her strength prepared the killing blow. But before Amana hit its intended target a gloved hand stopped it. It was Orion, who thanks to his Mother Box, was fully recovered.

"No..." he said. "...he won't die."

"But... the people..." Avengelyne said.

"Mother Box, in her infinity wisdom, has showed me my mistake." Orion looked at Mantis with contempt, but a small hint of understanding. "Mantis is a tool of his master, nothing more. Go back to my father, tell him of your failure. That will be punishment enough."

Mantis stared at Orion and Avengelyne for what seemed to be an eternity. He then took to the skies and all the remaining Parademons followed him.

"But why?!?" Avengelyne asked in anger. "He deserves to be punished for what he did to your people!"

"He does, and he will..." Orion replied." ...but our attention is needed somewhere else. The attack on Apokolips has begun..."

"How... do you know this?"

"Mother Box told me." Orion walked over to Thor, holding his Mother Box on his hand. He kneeled down and placed the magical wonder on Thor's chest.

"It'll take time, but he'll be healed." Orion took his helmet off and put it on the ground next to Thor. His face was that of the Son of Darkseid. A scared visage that is usually hidden behind an illusion casts by Mother Box. "I just hope he's ready for the final assault."

Lady Sif, one of Asgard's fiercest warrior maidens, and the 'composite Wonder Woman' as Diana of Themyscira had become to been known since her accident weeks before *, walked on a hallway on the outer rim of Odin's Palace. The hallway overlooked at the majesty of Asgard, its fields and its wondrous towering structures. The composite Wonder Woman looked as a human jigsaw puzzle. Her legs, from the hip down to the heel, were covered in armor similar to Sif's. She wore a shirt that looked like the British flag, while her arms were completely nude, her bracelets gone. Her head was the only thing that remained of the Diana Sif knew.

"How you been?" Sif asked.

"It's been... difficult." Diana replied. "I've been able to get a better handle on things. I've been able to speak as one person instead of five thanks to the Cleric's help."

"I can see that." Sif said. "What about the memories?"

"I keep getting the dreams..." Diana replied. "I keep seeing myself as a redheaded woman leading the Authority against a group of aliens, or dressed in your armor fighting side-by-side with  a composite of Superman and Thor called Thor-El."

Sif and Diana came to a terrace and sat down on a bench.

"It's a beautiful day." Diana closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The light from the sun hit her entire body and she loved it.

"Do you know what happened to you?" Sif asked. "Or at least have a better idea?"

Diana opened her eyes and looked at Sif. "Yes..." she said. "I know exactly what happened to me."

"Oh." Sif said, surprised. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because as I've come to control this... shape better, I've had time to think and consider everything." Diana stood up and walked to the far end of the terrace.

"What I'm about to tell you is a secret..." she said. "Only a select group of people besides me know this. I'm going to have to ask you to keep an open mind and not question anything I say. Don't doubt my words, as what you're about to hear is the absolute truth and extended explanations would only confuse you more."

Sif stood up and walked over to Diana. She looked at her and her composite body for a few seconds. "As humans say... I'm all ears."

"Some time ago Batman and I were called to Kansas by Superman." Diana said as she walked around the terrace. "Kansas, s well as other parts of the United Stated, had recently been hit by a blast of incalculable power. That was all I knew before getting there. What I learned afterwards still... still hunts me to this day." Diana sat back on the bench while Sif stood over her, attentive.

"When we got there we met three people who ended up changing our entire perspective of the reality around us." Diana continued. "They claimed to be our future selves. Older duplicates of Batman, Superman and myself. If it hadn't been for Superman's vision powers and intellect, which he used to verify their claims, I would have never believed them."

"It sounds confusing." Sif said, her arms crossed over her chest.

"It was..." Diana replied. "But the explanations were... not as confusing as I once thought."

"Please continue."

"The elder Superman explained that they had come back in time from the future to stop a mad man called Gog. Gog had taken the Captain Atom from our time prisoner, as well as someone else."

"Who?"

"Superman's child... the elder Superman's son."

"By Odin, the nerve!" Sif said, astonished.

"That's pretty much how I reacted." Diana said with a smile. "The older Batman explained that Gog had created a time paradox by going back in time exactly one day and killing Superman over and over again. He'd kill him once, go back a day before and kill him again. He did this a total of a thousand times."

"But the damage to reality this would cause is catastrophic!" Sif exclaimed. "How come I never heard of this before?"

"The answer to that question is coming..." Diana said. "What happened next will surprise you too." Diana stood up and walked over to the rail at the edge of the terrace. "

"The six of us, upon discovering that Gog had trapped Superman's son inside a Kryptonite rock, attacked in unison. We were able to rescue the child and capture Gog but it didn't last. To our surprise the baby vanished in thin air from his mother's - my future self as I was surprised to discover - arms. And Gog's prison didn't hold. He quickly attacked all of us and he was more powerful than anyone involved could imagine."

"How did..."

"Did we defeat him?" Diana interrupted Sif. "The final battle didn't take place in Kansas. The battle field was unlike any other any one us of has ever been." Diana took a deep breath and turned around to look at Sif.

"To our surprise a doorway opened in the middle of the battle and a man whom we knew by the name of Hunter stepped out." Diana continued. "Hunter was known to us as being part of a group of men and women called the Linear Men, self appointed time police. They had made it their mandate to make sure that time wasn't altered in any way and that it continued on its normal path. Whether or not they are aware of beings like Destiny or Fate is still unknown, but they do seem to possess certain knowledge about the individual destiny of those of us who call ourselves super-heroes." 

"That's powerful knowledge."

"Indeed..." Diana nodded. "But it was this knowledge that proved invaluable at that time."

"Hunter took us to a place called Planet Krypton, a restaurant in Metropolis." Diana walked around a little as she spoke, a small breeze moving the hair on her head. "There we met four more individuals from the future. Three teens who Hunter told us were the children of some of our allies. One of them bared a very closed resemblance to Batman, but no one made any mention of it."

"Batman was the first of us to deduce were we were. When asked why he took us there, Hunter replied by transporting the entire building to a place he called Hypertime."

"Hypertime?"

"It was a place he called the greatest secret in creation." Diana came upon an apple tree and grabbed an apple from one of its branches. As she pulled the apple up to her mouth Sif stopped her.

"Trust me.." she said. "You don't want to eat that."

"Oh, ok." Diana placed the apple on a nearby table. "Anyway. Gog arrived moments later and that's when the battle begun. While the most powerful amongst us went head-to-head with Gog, Batman, our Batman, discovered the real reason we had been brought to that restaurant."

"It turned out that the objects in display there were real. There was a virtual arsenal made up of Power Rings, arrows, Infinity Gems and silver boards. Using these weapons we were able to harm Gog, but he turned out to be more powerful than all of us combined. In the end it was his own might that proved his undoing."

"How?"

"During the fight Gog fired a blast of energy at our Superman. The energy blast ricochet off Superman and hit Gog back, taking him out. The blunt from the blast, however, had breached the walls of the restaurant and opened the entrance to Hypertime, which was right outside. Superman was being pulled into it so we formed a human chain to try to pull him in. Instead, he decided to pull us out, and that's when the real nature of Hypertime was revealed to us."

"I can't wait for this part." Sif said with an uncharacteristic smirk.

Diana returned the smirk before continuing with her story. "Hypertime turned out to be a never ending gathering of alternate and multiple realities. It was what the Linear Men had come to call the place where all of these realities converge. The realities, or Kingdoms as some of us have taken to call them, are made up of each and every different option we come across in our linear life *." Diana tried to explain the nature of Hypertime to Sif, and based on Sif's facial response she could tell that she was understanding her. "While on this, the real world, I was born an Amazon on Themyscira, in another reality  my soul, or essence, was born into a British woman called Jenny Sparks." Diana pointed at the shirt she was wearing. "While yet on another I was taken as a child from Themyscira and raised on Asgard by Odin and became an Asgardian Warrior like yourself."

"I gotta tell you, sister..." Sif said. "You truly are a Wonder Woman. To have all that knowledge and intelligence on top of your physical attributes and warrior skills is enough to impress anyone."

"Thank you Lady Sif..." Diana nodded in Sif's direction. "I'm sure you're equally skilled, in both matters of war and intellect."

Sif simply smiled back at Diana. Suddenly the sky overhead darkened and a vortex appeared a few yards away from the terrace.

"That's strange..." Sif looked up and turned around. "By Odin's beard! Take cover!!" she exclaimed soon as she saw the vortex. But before either warrior could react the vortex opened up with a giant

Diana, her hair flying widely because of the breeze around her, stood up. "It's begun..."

I hope you enjoy this issue as much as I enjoyed working on it.

Next issue marks the end of the first story arc. It will also mark a tremendous change to the status quo of the Universe's Greatest Heroes, so don't miss it!

Michael Sacal
Thursday, September 12th 2002.

• Justice League Earth #1: Battleground: Apokolips Part I... Mike. (back)
• Justice League Earth #2: Battleground: New Genesis: The Wall ... Mike. (back)
• For those that may not know, Lyja used to be married to Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four. That marriage ended abruptly some time prior to Onslaught... Mike. (back)
• Franklin has been living with Lois and Clark for the last few months, ever since he showed up at the Hall of Justice in Superman: The Last Son of Krypton #5... Mike. (back)
• The Fantastic Four left his universe during 'The Merge' Event... Mike. (back)
• M.A.R.I.A. stands for Multiple Area Rendered Intelligence Analyzer. She's Tony's armor's artificial intelligence, and it made its first appearance in Justice League Earth #1: Tinker Toys... Mike. (back)
• Justice League Earth #2: Sleeping Beauty... Mike. (back)
• All of this happened in The Kingdom #2... Mike (back)