บท 6: Chapter 6 - Holding Back
The area around us darkened into pitch black, for just a moment, not even Darkseid could see through it. The sound of a small water droplet could be heard before the darkness dissipated, revealing that everything around us had changed.
The floor shifted, transforming into water that came up to a normal person's shin, the reflection within showing the destroyed surroundings of where they were standing beforehand. The sky was covered in a black and red miasma that allowed no light to shine through.
And at the center of it all was a shrine. It was a haunting, almost cursed structure, that held the mouths of something other than human inside its shell.
"Fukuma Mizushi."
I stood within one of the mouths that was in the shrine, looking down on Darkseid as he looked around at the domain in both confusion and curiosity.
"Teleportation?" He asked before looking towards the water, seeing the reflection on its surface. "No... reality manipulation..."
I raise an eyebrow at his words, his ability to remain calm whilst being in this situation surprising me for a moment before I had to remind myself that I was dealing with a "man" who was beyond the normal means of existence.
"In a way." I replied.
---
[Metropolis - General.]
"What the hell is this?" Cyborg asked as he stood before a large black bubble that had suddenly encased both Alex and Darkseid.
"I don't know, but stand back." Superman said before he winded his fist back.
"DON'T!"
The familiar voice caused Superman to stop in his tracks almost immediately. Looking up, he saw Ms. Martian's Bioship flying in the sky. The bottom hatch opened, revealing Batman and the other members of the league, along with the Young Justice League.
They all dropped down from the ship, with Batman walking towards the bubble that had formed around one of their protégés.
"We don't know what's on the other side." He said as he examined the bubble, looking at the way its surface moved.
Wonder Girl ran up beside Batman, her face looking at him with both shock and anger. "What?! We can't just leave him trapped in there with Darkseid!"
"If we break this open, we have no idea what is going to come out. And right now, Darkseid is contained inside." Batman replied before silently muttering, "For the meantime..."
"But--"
"Batman is right, Wonder Girl." Aqualad said as he stepped up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We can't go rushing in without knowing what will happen."
"I agree." Zattana said as she and Raven also stepped up beside her. "The results of what'll happen could be catastrophic..."
Cassie looked at her friends with widened eyes, surprised that they would agree with this. Before she could retort, they all heard a shout and they turned to see Green Arrow and Black Canary running towards them.
"Oh, Dinah..." Wonder Woman muttered softly before looking around at her teammates. "Did anyone..."
No one stepped forward, realizing only now that they had neglected to inform her on Alex's situation.
"I'll go." Batman said as he stepped up before being stopped by Superman.
"Let me take this one." Superman said with a knowing look.
Batman looked at him with an unreadable expression for a moment before nodding. Superman flew off towards the two to inform them of what's happening, meanwhile Batman turned back towards the bubble.
"I'm not so sure it's him who's trapped in there with Darkseid..."
---
[Malevolent Shrine - Alcatraz.]
"At first I thought that you humans were useless. A mere stepping stone in my quest." Darkseid said, looking at me with... something I couldn't quite place.
Intrigue?
"But I see that even mediocrity can breed a modicum of talent." He continued, his hand stretching out towards me.
My eyes narrowed, his little speech pissing me off more than I cared to admit.
"A modicum? What do you call the last five minutes?" I asked, staring down at him with a blank gaze.
His expression shifted, now showing something similar to dismissiveness. "Don't misunderstand. This form only holds a very small percentage of my true power." He replied.
This form? Ah, right, I forgot that most of Darkseid's appearances were only just avatars made by the real thing.
"So you're not fighting at full power then?" I asked, feigning interest.
"Not even close." He responds, his mouth forming into a twisted smile.
"Good." I said as I smiled back at him, my hands once again forming the sign.
From head to toe, his body was suddenly sliced into five equal pieces. His arms and legs however were severed, being cut multiple times until nothing remained.
"I haven't either."
His red, menacing eyes widened before his teeth started grinding together, something finally surprising the New God.
Not waiting for him to spout another monologue, I swiftly ripped his eyes out from his sockets before wiping the rest of him from this world's existence.
He's going to come back. Stronger next time. Possibly much stronger.
I looked down at the two orbs I hold in my hand. Their red ominous glow still persisting even though the conduit was dead.
I always hated doing this...
I formed a large mouth along my abdomen, the eyes too large for me to consume with my normal mouth. I hold the orbs over the mouth and watch as the tongue wraps around them both, pulling them inside before promptly consuming them.
---
[General.]
Outside, the bubble suddenly broke apart like glass, the fragments of which slowly floating towards the ground before disappearing into thin air.
The moment the bubble shattered, everyone surrounding it was put on guard, which was immediately lowered when they saw only one of the two figures who were standing within.
"Alex!" Dinah Lance yelled out in relief as she went to rush towards him, only to be stopped when Batman grabbed her arm.
Before she could object, she saw that "Alex" looked to be his arms wrapped around his midsection as he groaned. The tattoos that now littered his body started to pulse with a bright red glow, the speed of the glow pulsating faster and faster as the seconds passed by.
"Hrrngh... AAAAAGGGHH!!!"
"Alex's" arms spread out and the red glow suddenly flashed out from his body, temporarily blinding everyone around him. When the light dissipated, they saw him kneel down on the floor, his breathing labored as the tattoos and extra set of eyes disappeared from his body.
---
[Alcatraz.]
Fuck...
That was intense...
I haven't felt an influx of power that large since I consumed my first Apostle, and even that pales in comparison...
Before I could even get a grasp on what just happened within my body, I felt someone crash into me, their arms wrapping around my neck. I almost Cleaved them out of habit alone, but I held back for a moment when I saw that it was a woman.
"Alex... You're alive..." The woman said, her words muffled against my neck.
This feels... strange... warm...
I almost feel as though I want to reciprocate the embrace, but I don't, although I also don't know what else to do in this situation.
"Alex." I heard someone call out.
Maybe it was because of this body, or maybe it was something else, but I looked back almost instinctively at the sound of that name, which caused me some confusion.
Why am I responding?
Standing behind me was the Justice League, along with their sidekicks and a few others who I didn't recognize. What I did know however, is that there were over a dozen people standing there, looking at me with various degrees of shock, happiness, and suspicion.
All of which set me on edge.
"You mind explaining what just happened?" The man at the front of them all, Batman, asked, his eyes making it seem more like a demand than a request.
The warmth I felt quickly turned cold as l removed the woman from me, stood up, and looked back at him.
"I don't have to explain anything to you." I retort, causing some of the more recognizable league members to narrow their gazes at me, namely Superman and Wonder Woman.
I look around at all of them, weighing my decisions as my eyes set upon each individual standing around me. The only ones who stand out to me out of all of them are Flash and Raven.
Those two are the only ones here that can pose a threat. If it comes down to it, I'll target Flash first, take him by surprise. But Raven...
That's a can of worms best left unopened...
I'm outnumbered, but not outmatched. If it comes down to a fight, I can win...
Suddenly, I'm pulled into my own mind, the visage of the Malevolent Shrine coming back into view. I see one of the younger heroes, the green one, standing down in the water, her eyes wide with fear.
Did she just...
---
"Wh-What's--"
In the midst of everything that was happening, Miss Martian tried to connect with Alex through his mind, something that they've always done. But the moment she reached out to connect with him, she was suddenly dragged into his mind.
But what awaited her there was not something that she could have anticipated, as her surroundings were not the light filled dreams that Alex once had, but the darkness filled nightmare of something else.
"Wh-What's--"
Her body suddenly froze, my breath tight, her skin crawling. Her eyes, almost of their own accord, drifted toward the water, where she saw the reflection of something that broke her mind.
"Get out of my head."
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