Chapitre 105: Fragmentation
Gotham Docks
New Jersey
December 2006
Quiet fills the air as the New Gods of Genesis and Apokolips inspect us. Simply from their postures and their body language, I can tell that they do not take us seriously, at least not seriously enough to even consider my order for them to leave Earth. This doesn't worry me since it can be used to my advantage. What does worry me however is Highfather. He is not the benevolent ruler of New Genesis as I expected. Rather this one is a ruler and warrior with a powerful conviction to see his plans through, whatever they may be.
According to what I can gather from my, now sparse, memories of my very first life, Highfather's goal is to bring peace throughout the Multiverse. Considering the fact that Earth is the center of the Multiverse, I do not see him leaving it alone.
"What is your interest in Earth?" I ask Highfather as I look between him, Orion, and Scot.
"I simply cannot stand by and watch as another innocent planet is ravaged by the likes of Darkseid." he answers with a benevolent expression on his face.
"Well that's certainly interesting." says Azula, bringing our attention to her. "Last I checked, you were willing to allow Earth's gods to be wiped out by Apokolips, and yet, somehow between then and now, you've grown a righteous conscience that makes you feel the need to protect Earth." she says with a fake smile plastered on her face.
"It is a tragedy, but we received their call for help far too late to be of any help." answers Highfather with a mournful shake of his head.
His answer is deemed unsatisfactory by Scáthach as the temperature in the atmosphere drops down even further and frost can be seen forming in the air. The previously tense atmosphere becomes even more palpable as Azula also makes her dissatisfaction known as dark clouds gather overhead with flashes of lightning.
"Do not insult our intelligence." says Scáthach. "You purposely left them to their fates for whatever reason you deem necessary."
Scáthach's answer seems to have been correct as Highfather's body slightly tenses before quickly returning to normal. The reaction was so fast that I almost missed it, and judging by the rapidly dropping temperature and the flash of lightning, Azula and Scáthach caught it too.
This is somewhat troubling. Highfather allowing Darkseid to carry out his rampage on Earth's pantheons must mean that he has his own plans for it that Earth's gods and goddesses would not allow.
"I see." I quietly say to myself. "Highfather, you aid is neither required nor is it wanted. Leave now." I order him as I feel the ocean surge in reaction to my foul mood.
"It seems that the benevolent Highfather is not so benevolent after all." observes Darkseid as he looks at his brother with a glint in his eyes. "Now, while I would love nothing more than to see this quarrel, my arrival here is not without purpose." he says as he fires his Omega Beam.
"Scatter." orders Scáthach as the attack zigzags between us and the New Gods of New Genesis while the parademons launch an attack against Gotham, only to be intercepted by Scáthach's Valkyries flying on pegasi that I created for them.
Without exchanging any more words, we take evasive measures as my body dissolves into sea water and allows the Omega Beam to pass through me. Reforming my body, I launch myself at Darkseid and pierce my trident towards him. Despite my superior speed, Darkseid reacts fast enough to block it with his vambraces. The resulting clash creates a shockwave that can be felt for miles and knocks countless parademons out of the sky.
As I withdraw my trident, Scáthach appears behind him with her spear poised for his neck. Unfortunately she is forced to retreat as an Omega Beam shoots from Darkseid's eyes and makes its way towards her while another comes towards me. Flying upwards, I dodge the initial strike from the Omega Beam before changing my direction to fly towards Darkseid. As I reach a few inches from him, I dissolve into water and flow around him, allowing his Omega Beams to strike him as opposed to me.
As Darkseid deals with his own Omega Beams, I survey the battle field to see a lightning encased Azula battling Orion while Scáthach faces Highfather and Scot. Before I can make my way to one of them, I am forced to block a punch from Darkseid before dodging another one. Gathering Excidium in my free hand, I blast Darkseid's face with it before summoning a bolt of lightning from the clouds to strike him. While the attacks did not hurt him, they staggered him long enough for me to gain the upper hand and attempt to slash his throat.
Before my trident can cut his throat open, Darkseid grabs my trident and uses his other hand to punch towards me. As his fist approaches me, I decide to lose the trident rather than be struck by him and fly backwards while letting go of my trident. As I relinquish my weapon, Darkseid grabs both ends of it, and with hands glowing with the power of his Omega Effect, snaps it in two.
"I have no need of your power, little godling. My purpose for coming here was to draw out Highfather from whatever hole he was cowering in." he tells me as he tosses both halves of my trident into the ocean. "Leave me be and perhaps I will not make you suffer much in my new Multiverse." he says as he crosses his arms behind his back.
With a raised eyebrow, I summon Poseidon's trident to me and twirl it around me to familiarise myself with the slightly different weapon.
"I see that you have chosen to suffer." he says as he uncrosses his arms from his back. "No matter what weapon you wield or what power you use, I will accomplish my goals." he tells me as he launches a set of Omega Beams at me. With a frown on my face I intercept his attack with my own Excidium Beam. The result of the clash is a stalemate as my Excidium Beam attempts to destroy his Omega Beam while his Omega Beam attempts to erase my attack. Just as it seems that there will be no winner, I increase the width of my beam and increase the power output.
The outcome is the Excidium Beam overpowering his Omega Beam and striking him from his upper chest to his face and launching him away from me for miles while also crashing into parademons in his path.
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Azula dodges a blast from Orion's harness and deflects another one before closing the distance between them to slash towards his chest with her lightning encased sword. As the sword reaches a certain distance from Orion however, an energy force field appears around him and stops the weapon in his tracks.
"Oh my. Is little Orion afraid of little ol' me?" she sarcastically asks as she dodges a punch from him. "This is the fourth time that your little forcefield saved you. I wonder how much more damage it can take?" she says as she strikes him with a particularly strong blow that sends him crashing down into the Gotham Docks.
"This force field can withstand even Darkseid's Omega Beams, there is nothing you can do to destroy it." answers Orion as he launches himself at Azula with the help of his harness.
"Then let's test that theory." answers Azula as she summons a powerful bolt of lightning and hurls it at Orion.
The war god from New Genesis once again blocks using his force field before sending blasts of energy towards Azula. Azula easily deflects them and smashes her sword into Orion's forcefield with far more force than before. The resulting clash causes a discharge of energy that blasts the two away from each other. Recovering first, Azula notices that Orion's force field is constantly flickering in and out. Taking advantage of the situation, she flies towards him and attempts to slash his harness.
Orion is able to dodge at the last minute and punch Azula. Blocking his strike, Azula purposely kicks him with a slow flame encased foot. Grabbing her foot, Orion pulls Azula towards him and smashes his helmeted head on her face. Despite the pain, Azula takes advantage of her close proximity to him and slashes one part of the harness before blasting Orion back with a fireball.
"Not bad." complements Azula with a smirk on her face as she watches part of Orion's harness fall apart. "But unfortunately for you it wasn't enough." she says as his force field flickers off and the harness's flight capabilities stop working, sending him crashing to the ground.
As Orion gets up from the crater his landing caused, Azula strikes him with a powerful bolt of lightning that knocks him out and leaves his singed and smocking body laying in the crater. Not a second after Azula finishes knocking out Orion, Scot's unconscious body crashes into the crater next to his adoptive brother.
Turning to face the direction from where Scot came, Azula sees Scáthach stop a few feet away from her as she inspects the two unconscious bodies of Scot and Orion before using her Motherbox to Boom Tube them to New Genesis.
"You held back." comments Scáthach.
"We have no reason to kill them." answers Azula with a shrug as an injured and bloodied Highfather emerges from the sea with an enraged expression on his face.
Before the two sides can resume their battle, Ambrosius comes flying from further up in the sky and crashes onto the Gotham Docks near the Amazons, creating another crater on the ground.
As Ambrosius rises from the crater, legions of parademons launch themselves at him in an attempt to shred him to pieces. With glowing red eyes, Ambrosius blasts them all to nothingness before flying next to Azula and Scáthach.
"You should leave now, Highfather." says Ambrosius as he blasts another group of parademons that were attempting to sneak up on them. "Darkseid's purpose in coming here was to draw you out." he informs the leader of New Genesis.
"Oh, he is very much aware." says Darkseids as he descends from where he and Ambrosius were fighting. "However he cannot leave, lest he allows me to conquer Earth, the very center of the Multiverse." explains Darkseid with a satisfied gleam in his eyes. To him this situation is a win regardless of whether or not Highfather retreats.
Should he retreat, Darkseid will conquer Earth and with it be able to assault the entire Multiverse. Should Highfather remain, Darkseid will drain him of his power before killing him. Then, with the stolen powers of every single Allfather from every pantheon, he will be able destroy the Source Wall and absorb its power before rebuilding the Multiverse in his image.
"I will not allow you to conquer Earth." claims Highfather as he stands his ground.
"What a fool." says Azula as she, Scáthach and Ambrosius prepare for battle.
"*Scáthach, can you force him through a Boom Tube?*" asks Ambrosius telepathically.
"*No. His Motherbox will cancel out whatever Boom Tube I create. According to my Motherbox, his is far more advanced and powerful.*" she explains.
"*Very well. I had hoped that we would not need to make enemies of New Genesis, but seeing how he does not leave us a choice, Highfather is from henceforth as much of a threat to Earth as Darkseid.*" says Ambrosius, earning a nod from the two.
With the clap of thunder Azula vanishes from her position and not even one second later Highfather is sent flying back with his chest caved in and blood spewing out of his mouth. The injury however does not last long and is quickly regenerated.
Not far behind Azula, Ambrosius appears in front of Darkseid with his trident poised to stab him in the eye. Having learned from his last encounter with Scáthach, Darkseid blasts the weapon with an Omega Beam, forcing Ambrosius to cease his attack in order to dodge just as a group of parademons attack him. Recovering quickly, Ambrosius conjures a sword in his free hand and proceeds to decapitate the parademons before turning and blasting Darkseid in the chest with an Excidium with a pair of beams of his eyes just as Scáthach appears behind Darkseid and proceeds to freeze him in place.
With a roar, Darkseid breaks free from the entrapment and backhands Scáthach away with a burst of speed that nothing his size should possess. Turning his attention to Ambrosius, Darkseid fires small bursts of Omega Beams that zone in on him. Despite the numerous attacks on his person, Darkseid finds that Ambrosius is able to dodge them and continue his assault on Darkseid.
What follows is a series of exchanges that happen far too fast for anyone other than Scáthach to see as Ambrosius proceeds to slash, stab, punch, kick and even blast Darkseid while he continues to dodge Darkseid's Omega Beams that are constantly targeting him. Despite Ambrosius' superior speed and skill, Darkseid's endurance allow him to tank most of the assault while his regeneration easily heals all wounds that Ambrosius is able to inflict on him, even his slashed throat is healed so quickly that one would think that the injury never occurred at all.
Joining the fray, Scáthach easily outpaces Darkseid despite herself being slower than Ambrosius. With the two's impeccable teamwork, Darkseid begins to receive more and more grievous injuries such as gouged eyes, a slashed throat, and numerous broken ribs and other bones. Like before however, Darkseid either tanks the attacks or simply regenerates in a matter of seconds.
With the three gods battling it out in the sky, shockwaves shake the planet every time a clash occurs or a strike is blocked. Down in Gotham City, the closest city to the battle, the people watch in fear and awe as the cosmic beings face each other. Skyscrapers shake, windows shatter, and the Gotham Docks are destroyed as tsunamis are formed just by their physical confrontations. Just as it seems that the shockwaves will begin to destroy the city itself, the tone of the battle shifts.
"Enough!" bellows out Darkseid as he releases a shockwave of power that blasts everything.
While the surrounding parademons are vaporised and the Valkyries are teleported to safety thanks to an emergency runic array, Ambrosius and Scáthach are sent flying into Gotham city and straight through a skyscraper, Wayne Enterprises Headquarters, and crashing through the streets and into the sewers below.
As Ambrosius rises from the rubble and wipes the blood from his mouth, Azula crashes into the sewer not far from him.
"Darkseid has Highfather." coughs out Azula as she and Scáthach quickly recover and the trio launch into the sky to stop Darkseid from adding Highfather's power to his own.
Unfortunately for them, by the time they arrive Darkseid is long gone leaving behind Highfather's broken and lifeless body. Just as Scáthach prepares to Boom Tube them to the Source Wall, she along with Azula, Ambrosius, and every remaining god alive feel the Multiverse shake as the Source Wall is shattered.
"No." whispers Scáthach in horror as they see different Earths appear far too close to each other in space. Some drift towards one another and collide, killing all of their inhabitants. Others appear too close to the sun and are drawn in, some collide with Mars, Mercury and Venus, and a few drift towards the Earth Ambrosius resides in.
Before the situation can become worse however, Morgan appears in a brilliant light along with Hippolyta, Athena, Wonder Woman and Aphrodite, and everything stops as she closes her eyes and power explodes from her being. The Earths that were drifting towards one another stop moving and the ones too close to the sun slowly retreat away from it. Soon after Morgan's appearance, Hecate follows suit and time seems to come to a stop.
"The Source Wall has been shattered. Morgan and I can keep things from getting worse but we cannot reverse this." informs Hecate.
"Is there any way to fix this?" asks Scáthach.
"We can, but it would require an immense amount of power from the Source." she answers. "However, with Darkseid being the main recipient of the Source it will be impossible unless you kill him."
"You've never properly explained what the Source is." says Azula.
"No one knows what the Source is other than that it is where everything in this omniverse comes from. It is pure infinite power and from what I know has some form of sentience to it." explains Hecate.
"What do we need to do?" asks Ambrosius.
"Somehow, Darkseid has managed to make it so that he can channel as much of the Source as he wants without any adverse effects, making him almost omnipotent. You need to sever his connection to the Source and take that power yourselves." she says, shocking everyone present. "Once you have done so, Morgan and I will be able to fix the Multiverse with your help. As of now we can do nothing more than hold the Multiverse in stasis to stop it from being destroyed. Even as we speak I can feel him attempting to reverse what we are doing." she explains.
"And how exactly do you expect us to defeat someone who is nigh-omnipotent?" asks Aphrodite as she speaks for the first time.
"Other than keeping the Multiverse in stasis, Hecate and I will limit what he can do. As long as he is within the Multiverse we will have power over him." answers a straining Morgan as the moon seems to come closer to Earth before stopping.
"Go! We cannot hold this indefinitely." exclaims Hecate as she closes her eyes and her eyebrows furrow in concentration.
Without delay, Scáthach opens a Boom Tube to where the Source Wall used to be and the gods walk through it.
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AN: This chapter was hard to write, and even after a bunch of revisions I'm not satisfied with it. Tell me what you guys think.
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