2014.03.10 - Grounded: Apokolips NOW: The Climax

A funny thing happened. One minute there was nothing in the sky, not even a cloud. And then, over Metropolis, a wormhole opens. What people don't know is that this wormhole is connected to all the wormholes around Apokolips. Including the one that opened in the vault. It was called the Escape Hatch, and it allowed any heroes still stuck over there an express ticket back to Earth, if not their exact departure point.

It made sure everyone got home, no matter what, something that Tony Stark was adamant about. The news had just broke on GBN about the soft confirmation of the Billionaire's death, but really the news hadn't reached the massess yet.

Superman tumbles through the Metropolis sky, once more clad in the familiar blue and red suit that so epitomizes him. Thrown through the portal by Darkseid, even as he plummets towards the Earth his souls absorb the yellow solar energy all around him. He falls towards the ground below, eyes locked on the portal slowly shrinking above him.

Then, without warning, he regains what part of him that was lost and flies again. His cape flutters behind him as he slows his descent, stopping to hover a mere few feet above the street below. His fists clench at his sides, his jaw squared. He waits for the God of Evil.

A moment later, and Darkseid almost casually hovers out of the shimmering portal. His arms are behind his back, looking to be rather nonplussed. "Your adopted city...? A fitting grave." A few moments are spent looking around, before his eyes roar crimson. Grinning with raw sadism, an Omega beam fires down; zigging and zagging wildly, intent on striking the Man of Steel to slam him with brutish force into the sidewalk below.

There's no small amount of people present in the heart of Metropolis; in a second, news agencies across the world report the starting battle, alongside the news of Tony Stark's death. Those in the Watchtower can get here easily going back through the portal -- but everyone else will need to manage on their own power... or, perhaps, luck!

After landing on the Watchtower following the attack on Apokolips, Booster Gold is distinctly not as shiny as usual. His suit is torn, showing bare circuitry in places, and bare skin in others. Even his hair is not its typically perfect self, tousled from some of the roughest combat he has dealt with in a while. "Skeets! Comb. And fresh power cells."

The little golden robot flies up to Booster, claw-arms extended from his shiny carapace, with the requested items.

Booster takes the comb first with the intention of running it through his hair, but pauses, frozen in mid-groom, because the situation has taken a turn for the worse. The Apokoliptian Genocide protocol was bad enough, because who likes genocide? No one! Except for beings like Darkseid, apparently. He drops the comb and quickly ejects the power cells in his bracers, slapping in the fresh ones. Then, he dives through one of the portals leading to Metropolis, looking more horrified than determined.

Kilroy has been following the ebb and flow of his senses since the arrival of the strange bank robbers from the past. His ears, metaphorically speaking, have been pressed very close to the ground, but apparently at the moment the greatest threat to the economy at the moment is the person capable of destroying the entire planet. Kilroy is at the park, and looks up at the wormholes that open up. This is, he knows, out of his league, but there are likely to be innocents caught up in the chaos. Already, as one car stops, another slams into a car behind it. Kilroy creates a flood of invisible pennies to open the door of the trapped car and get the person out; still looking from time to time at the chaos not more than fifty yards away.

Finally recovered from his encounter with Darkseid's Omega-beam, Zenith has returned to Metropolis. He wasn't part of the attack on Apokolips, he hadn't even bothered asking, he knew the answer would be no. So, instead, he's flying back towards the Terminal to check in on his teammates in the Young Allies. However, that's when the wormholes open and Superman and Darkseid arrive. He doesn't hesitate, speeding up so much he breaks the sound barrier, he uses his heat-vision in a quick attack on Darkseid while he's busy targetting Superman.

Portals. in the sky. Superman! Darkseid! Yes, another normal day in Metropolis. Nico Minoru was on the ground, walking home, when the craziness happened. Slssh.

Slitting her wrist, Nico draws her staff from her chest, after reciting her words that I don't care to recite right here, holding the staff in her hand as she approaches the collision site recklessly..still quite a bit away however.

Seeing her brother falling, falling...from the portal, Megan's eyes well with tears as she explodes out of the portal, dragging Uncle Tick along behind her. She's GOT to help her big brother! When he finally absorbs enough of the sun's rays to regain himself, she relaxes a little, but she hovers nearby, not wanting to distract him as the horrifying man hovers out of the portal and sends a huge bolt of Omega beam zig-zagging haphazardly toward Superman. "NO!" she cries out, stretching and widening her free arm to begin scooping up the helpless bystanders as gently as she can, trying to get them out of harm's way, as her brother would want her to do.

Doctor Umoja has been monitoring all communications and unusual activities from Team: Genesis CIC, since coming back from Cadmus. When monitors detect wormholes appearing, he quickly puts on his costume and prepares to investigate the matter. He is flying from Harlem, so he will be there in moments.

The Tick is pulled in Superlass' wake, her hand wrapped around his thick ankle, looking behind him with bulging eyes, making fighty gestures and shadowboxing at the quickly disappearing Apokoliptian landscape, "That's right! And a right! And a left! That's right, run away, demon planet, run away from the wrath of justice!" he calls, not entirely clear on the fact that he and the heroes are actually the ones doing the leaving. When they come through the portal, he yelps, "OH, MY CONTENTS HAVE SHIFTED!" he yelps, suddenly feeling bobbed along in Megan's wake as she reaches out to try and scoop up bystanders, his massive chin scraping on the concrete behind her as she skims along, "Ouch! WHUMP! Oh, that's a filling! BAM!", his head delving a furrow into the asphalt of the street until Megan's hand finally slips free of his ankle, leaving him upside down, legs straight up in the air and his head buried entirely in the street, rubble surrounding his neck. He sticks out a hand with a thumbs up, his voice hollow and echoey from the sewers below as he calls out, "I'M OKAY! KEEP GOING, SUPER ORPHAN! UNCLE TICK IS PROUD OF YOU!"

Ermahgawsh, worm hole! Rain is curious about such phenomena. Rain will hop onto her flying broomstick, donning her gambler's hat, long coat, goggles and bandana (hey, you try flying without one - bugs EVERYWHERE). And her innate hatred of pigeons. Fortunately, Rain is a mobile critter and ends up in Metropolis in little to no time (Okay, so a portal helps, too...). Rain is there probably just in time to see Tick and his wonder orphan. Oh my. "OH wow. What was in that coffee?" Boggle. Either way, she's arriving and - probably going to - hey, it's Booster! She likes Booster. He was always pretty nice.

Kilroy creates several channels of large copper rolls, thick enough to channel folks in the most efficient method to escape.

Using the ring that his cousin gave him, Zack's flying through the air when the portals began opening up. Dressed in his black costume, rapier at his side, his hair ripping in the force of the winds around him. Zack grins at Rain as he flies up next to her,"Hello Rain. I think that we're probably going to be dealing some nasty injuries here." He says looking around and planning out the spells that he'll need to use.

Superman lifts his forearm across his face as the Omega beam closes in on him, not yet possessing the speed he needs to outrun them. But whatever form of invulnerability he possesses remains in some fraction, driving him backward across the asphalt but otherwise leaving him unharmed. At any other time he would be ushering civilians out of the way but right now it's all he can do to stay alive.

Leaping from the small crater he's made in the road, he moves to drive his fist with all the strength he can muster across Darkseid's jaw. Not enough just yet, but it's all coming back to him slowly. Too slowly.

Slowly, Darkseid begins to descend down towards the street level, without any trace of haste or concern. Helicopters begin to fly about, immediately mobilized to start videotaping the battle. Good. The God of Evil wishes for this display to be written into history. The appearance of new heroes from the waning portal do not cause him to even glance, focus entirely on the Man of Steel. "Come. Fight me. You recieved your powers, after the sacrifice of your friend. All of their hope is on you, now. Nobody else within this city can hope to stop me."

And then a rake of heat vision strikes across Darkseid; Zenith gets his attention for a moment, but that's when Superman rushes forward. Indeed, not fast enough. A long arm thrusts out to catch Kal-El by the throat, reach sufficient to keep that fist from finding home. "You can do better than that." Another blast of Omega force is aimed at Clark's chest, roaring outwards with intent to drive him into the side of a skyscraper, and all the way through it to the other side!!

Carefully, patiently, Darkseid begins to float forward once more.

Getting closer, Nico learns her mistake in getting this close, and instead diverts half way towards them towards the copper coils she spots, still running. A lot of running.

Well, this is all horrible. Booster Gold tries to get his mind into this fight, concentrating on keeping his forcefield strong as he increases his flight speed. His powersuit is intact enough for the moment; it is not degrading his powers. The targetting function built into his goggles are fine, and from his point of view a few circles zero in on Darkseid. A sonic boom rattles the unbroken windows in the area as he powerdives, fists up near his face like a boxer in a blocking position. He knows he cannot do much to hurt the craggy figure, but he is hoping to give Superman a moment to catch his breath.

Megan's fast. She's efficient. She scoops up people and moves them to safety. She tells them to remain calm and to stay in a safe place, such as doorways, as one might during earthquakes. She does this over and over, all at super speed. Yes, the civilians are confused. But, she doesn't have time to explain everything. She just warns them there is danger, and Superman and other heroes are taking care of it. But, to be safe. Always, be safe. In her new uniform, her red capelette, the blue pleated tiny skirt, the white, shortsleeved half-shirt with the S-shield, Superlass is now, she feels, finally earning her place in the family. She is being good. She is keeping people safe. She is helping!

When she's cleared the general area and warned people to call the police and block off wider areas, to put out radio warnings, to further protect the public populace, she exits a building...only to see her brother---clasped by the neck...and being driven toward a skyscraper. NO! She takes a deeeeeeeeeep breath and BLOWWwwwwwwwws as hard as she can in their direction, trying to veer Darkseid off-course, if only to distract him enough to give Superman a chance to regain the upperhand.

Kilroy racks his brain, trying to decide what will help. A rai stone? If it can hurt superman it will shatter the stone like playdough. And all the coins and currency in the world will not help. And it hits him, the back of his mind...time...time is the only thing that will help...and gosh if Mr. Darkseid doesn't talk...so with a wave of his hand he arranges a little present the next time that he opens up his mouth to talk. A distraction only...but a distraction might do.

Zenith doesn't slow down, still moving at past the speed of sound he circles around behind Darkseid, charging in to punch as hard as he can, with all his speed behind him, at the base of Darkseid's spine.

Tick pops his head out of the street, whipping his face back and forth like a bulldog and spitting out gravel everywhere, "PTEW! Ungh, the taste of progress is grainy and kind of like hair," he mutters, "But NO MATTER! No matter what flavor clings to my tongue, the only taste I crave is the taste of JUSTICE! And Justice is smooth and goes down easy! It's creamy and frothy and bubbly! Justice is the root beer of goodness, the double half-calf latte of righteousness, the hot cocoa with marshmallows of do gooding! And I gotta tell ya, I'm PARCHED!" he says.

Seeing Superman in full battle with Darkseid, Tick casually reaches over and grabs a taxicab, the driver leaping out of the door, "Pardon me, citizen, but I must requisition your vehicle for the greater good. The City thanks you! Now, you leave Superman alone! Take your smelly face back to your smelly planet, you smelly jerk!" he says, hurling the taxi at Darkseid with a huff and a puff. Houses blown in, not included.

Blink. Rain waves to Zack from her flying broomstick. "Hi! And -" There's a Darkseid and Booster and everything going on. "Whoa." She last saw this in some sort of video game mash up. Or was it a fan fic? She can never remember these things. "Oh geez." Well. She's not sure what sort of damage she could do to THE FREAKING DARKSEID. IT'S DARKSEID. Like THE Darkseid, not the Star Wars one with the now handicapable guy and - huh. Well, then. She'll look for anyone injured, otherwise it's time to ...

Start casting a spell from her broom! Yes. She can use magic blasts in lieu of bullets. It's handy. And kinda flashy looking compared to her usual style.

Superman raises a fist, swinging it at the side of Darkseid's head all too late. The blast strikes the S-shield on his chest squarely, sending him rocketing backward. He smashes through the building's foundations as though they were plywood, breaking through on the other side covered in dust with a plume of smoke rising from the place the Omega beams struck.

He takes a deep breath, looking up at the sun for a moment. It's nourishing, yes, but he's not getting what he needs from it fast enough to make a difference. He rockets skyward suddenly, passing swiftly above the steel and glass canyons of Metropolis to more readily find sunlight and survey the brewing disaster below.

Doctor Umoja is still a bit amazed at some of his new abilities as he now able to peer at the battle from a greater distance. He focuses on two of his teammates, one of them still running towards the area. He swoops down to pick Nico up and says, "Hold on, we should be there in a moment." Umoja arrives on the scene and places Nico in a safe spot behind a car. Umoja takes off again for a better view of the entire battle.

As she's picked up, Nico's not struggling. "Heh. Fast travel.". As she gets behind the safe spot, she's looking around for any civilians in need of help, staff extended and ready for action.

Right now, Darkseid is not attempting to involve any of the citizens. In fact, not even the rest of the heroes. He lands heavily upon the ground in front of the massive hole, where a few surprised citizens are looking out from shattered offices. "And now y-flbrbehjbejhrbjhbe..." Quarters tumble out of Darkseid's mouth, utterly flabbergasting him. He then turns and spits, pulling another out from between his teeth. What...?! A moment later he's struck by an intense gust of wind, causing him to skid backwards. Facing Miss Martian, Zenith's roaring punch strikes him square in the back. It likely hurts his fist, but staggers the God of Evil forward with a grunt. A number of blasts from Rain start pelting him from above, shielded with a forearm before a taxi slams into him, driving him into the wall adjacent and heavily denting the foundation.

A moment later the taxi explodes, senting fragments of metal in all directions. "ENOUGH. Do you all wish to die for your icon?! So be it!!"

Kilroy can sense...bad things coming and speeds folks up, feeling pushed, pulled and moved in a remarkably coordinated fashion, not a lot, not a huge amount but enough to make a bit more order out of chaos as their wallets move them ipso facto farther away from the scene. This is going to be bad. Very bad.

Right now, Darkseid is not attempting to involve any of the citizens. In fact, not even the rest of the heroes. He lands heavily upon the ground in front of the massive hole, where a few surprised citizens are looking out from shattered offices. "And now y-flbrbehjbejhrbjhbe..." Quarters tumble out of Darkseid's mouth, utterly flabbergasting him. He then turns and spits, pulling another out from between his teeth. What...?! A moment later he's struck by an intense gust of wind, causing him to skid backwards. Facing Miss Martian, Zenith's roaring punch strikes him square in the back. It likely hurts his fist, but staggers the God of Evil forward with a grunt. And then, a second intense strike from Booster causes him to almost take a knee, growl of annoyance leaving him more than pain. A number of blasts from Rain start pelting him from above, shielded with a forearm before a taxi slams into him, driving him into the wall adjacent and heavily denting the foundation.

A moment later the taxi explodes, senting fragments of metal in all directions. "ENOUGH. Do you all wish to die for your icon?! So be it!!"

Superlass zooms up high into the air, getting a look at all of the various heroes and their placement, and a look at where Darkseid is. She tries to spot her Uncle Tick, because she has an idea... A horribly painful one, but... Well, this is a desperate time. She speeds in his direction and lifts him up, flying him a decent way away from the area. She begins whispering in his ear, feverishly, trying to cover his mouth so he can't argue over her.

Tick listens to what M'gann suggests to him, the two of them landing in a small park away from the action. He makes a lot of faces, mingling disgust (including a few vomiting faces), fear, sadness, and strangely comforting her as well. At last, there's a muffled conversation and the two are huddled together for a moment, Tick rocking rhythmically to and fro, muttering to himself, his eyes bulging with effort until he finally falls away from her, rolling and somersaulting head over heels. He looks down at something in his hand and then clenches his eyes shut, driving it into the Earth, his final cry loud enough to be heard, "THE SEED IS PLANTED, MY LITTLE ORPHAN TREE! NOW, CARRY ME AWAY BEFORE UNCLE TICK GETS THE CHUNKIES!'

Attacking someone with his entire body is not a martial art that Booster has really practiced, but he knows his punches will be inadequate, and his blaster fire won't even catch Darkseid's attention. Sometimes you just have to use your defense as offense. After smashing into and then off of Darkseid, Booster ends up hitting the pavement and he goes right through it, tearing a fair sized hole. There is a slightly echoing sound of metallic screeching and thumping immediately afterwards.

Laying on the subway track under the front-most car of a subway train, Booster stares upwards for just a moment. There is anger starting to burn through the horror, and as the train operator flees the car, the Man of Gold grabs it from beneath and hoists it up overhead. He flies up through the hole he'd inadvertantly created, exclaiming, "He's not just an icon, you sanctimonious JERK. He's a friend!" Turning in the air, Booster tries to bring the subway car around and down at Darkseid, like a huge unwieldy club.

Kilroy coordinates a more orderly mob you never did see as civilians make room for each other and move, actually clearing out a rather large section of innocents in the area. Quarters will not cut it though, Kilroy Conneticut...think...think...think!

Pushing his abilities in ways he never has before, he creates the cheapest currency he can, greenstamps...thousands and thousands of them in a raining confetti around Darkseid...invisible to the heroes attacking him but quite visible to Darkseid...maybe it might slow him from targeting the Omega beams?

Superman hovers above for a moment, watching as the heroes of the world converge on Darkseid without hesitation. He reaches into a pocket on his belt at the small of his back, producing a palm-sized arc reactor - the same arc reactor that until minutes ago kept shrapnel from piercing Tony Stark's heart. He looks at it for a moment before his gaze turns to the looming Stark Tower nearby.

He won't get a better time.

He flies at speed, the air bursting around him as he barrels through the sound barrier. Soon, he has left the battlefield.

As Darkseid screams his rage, Nico's pointing her staff in his direction. "Bombardment.".

A burst of rockets is appearing from the staff, blasting in Darkseid's general direction. They're not homing missiles or anything, sadly, and Nico's hoping they hit.

Zenith shakes his hand as he flies back away from Darkseid again, "Ow." He then looks back to the so-called-god and opens his mouth, but Booster beats him to the sentiment. Lashing out with heat-vision again, he says, "You don't get it, do you? Even if he wasn't here..." and soon he isn't? Superman leaving throws him off just a tiny bit, but he goes on, "Isn't here, we'll still fight you. We'll always fight you."

Booster to the face! Rain would probably cheer for the golden themed hero dude, but she's a little busy making sure she doesn't get knocked off her broomstick. "He brings a lot of people hope," Rain offers quietly. And he always seemed like a decent dude. Nevertheless, she'll keep Booster in sight, just in case. The mob of fan girls if he got squished would be a riot the likes of which had never been seen. Aside from Loki pictures being banned from Tumblr. That would make an even bigger riot, but.

Rain has work to do. She can't turn Darkseid into a newt (He'd get better anyway). But she can attemp a blast of fire.

Doctor Umoja furrows his brow slightly as he remembers this battle was so much easier last time, when there was no civilians around, and they had a fully powered up Superman. Umoja superspeeds to the building that Superman was thrown into and rips up a huge section of the building. He straps his concussives bombs to the huge section of the building, and throws it with all his strength and speed at Darkseid.

"I've got an idea..." Zack says calmly, before going to the ground and beginning to trace a full circle with symbols into the ground. "I need to help the heroes." He mutters as he works on engraving the symbols into the ground. While he could probably help with taking on Darkseid, the amount of lifeforce there and sheer darkness of it is enough to overwhelm. THe rapier's tip does a good job at engraving in the ground. Breathing in and out slowly, he's trying to clear his head.

Right now, Darkseid's attention is certainly not on Clark. He's glaring down towards the hole that Booster went through, as the Superlass ferries away the Tick. "The Man of Steel has fled." he calls down to the time-traveler. "A wise move, to leave you lambs to slaughter." Is that a bunch of money? A glance is done towards Kilroy, and he would feel the horrific sensation of being noticed as the cause of this harassment. Heat beams impact his chest once more from Zenith, before a heavy crash of magic from Nico staggers him. A foot stamps to brace him, roar of fire similarly licking across him. It's certainly all distracting him from what he knows is coming.

Booster flies up into the air, and to his potential horror, Darkseid's grinning through a haze of magic flame and sizzling concrete. A hand extends, and he catches the side of the subway car with a hand. There's a great crack of metal, moving to grip it and then twist, intent to instead pancake Booster Gold on the adjacent building instead. ...Of course, something is coming from behind, now. Twisting, eye beams roar, striking the incoming building. Just prior to hitting him, it vaporizes in a wash of ash... before the concussion bombs fall around him. "?!?" There's a massive eruption, staggering him backwards. Vulnerable again!! The heroes had best take advantage of it!

Megan does as Uncle Tick tells her, lifting him in her arms in a great big hug and cries into his chest for a moment before she pulls herself together and begins zooming back to the battlefield. She flies so fast that she and Uncle Tick are a blur. She holds him to her body so he doesn't get whiplash or anything. They're nothing but a red-white-and-blue streak in the air that's there, then it's gone. And, very soon, they're back in the thick of things. She gently sets Uncle Tick down on top of a building from which he has a good vantage point to leap, as he's fond of doing. And, she flies higher to see the rockets zooming toward Darkseid, coming out of that cute little Asian girl's wand. When one goes astray, Superlass grabs it and HURLS it as hard and as fast as she can at Darkseid, screaming primally, when she doesn't immediately see her brother. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM, YOU FOUL VILLAIN?!" she howls, tears streaking her cheeks.

Kilroy almost squirms. More than anyone else here he doesn't feel he's a hero. And while his efforts are largely invisible to everyone else...he knows Darkside knows its him. And he knows Darkside knows that he knows it. He does not know if Darkside knows that he knows it though (Which would be silly to know anyway.) Collecting his thoughts...and seeing the heroes work together, and more importantly, realizing that he's about to be incinerated, Kilroy drops a large Rai stone on Darkseid anyway, invisible to all but Kilroy and the God, it nevertheless hits him with a literal ton of rock from a hundred foot height at precisely the same time the next attack hits. (Or tries to).

Superman doesn't immediately return. Wherever he's gone, it wasn't a simple 'duck in' and 'duck out' affair. There's no sign of him as the battle continues to rage. Fled? Surely not.

Booster has noticed the lack of Superman, but this does not bother him; he has a lot of faith in Kal. He just bares his teeth at Darkseid at the taunt, and then he is getting clobbered by his own improvised weapon. The train gets smashed against the building, knocking down rubble and shattering what little glass remained unshattered. Although his force field prevents this from being a killing blow, the intensity of it rattles Booster's bones. In the wreckage, he briefly loses consciousness. His suit is further tattered, his goggles are cracked, and he is completely covered in concrete and plaster dust.

With a groan, Booster stubbornly shakes the darkness out of his head and blasts away some debris to free himself. Trying to use a weapon was a mistake, he does not handle those well. Stick with what he knows. What does he know? Actually hard to think at the moment. Flying into the air, trailing crumbles of bricks and brushing away rebar, Booster's forcefield glows back into life. He then turns at the apex and flies down at Darkseid again, pushing himself to supersonic speed as he goes for another human missle attack; he knows how to tackle. He remembers -that-.

Rain's spell is a little slow, maybe since there's plenty of fire, she'll try lightning! And it beats Zack getting attention, since he seems to be doing his thing. Rain looks puzzled as Doctor Umoja is doing his thing. Still quietly rooting for Booster, she calls, "Hey! I'm here if you need um, stuff!" Help seems a bit condescending. He's Booster and Rain doesn't think she's terribly high on the list of Powerful People. Also, that money mage dude is pretty neat. But she's staying on her flying broomstick. And magically calling down a bit of lightning from the sky towards Darkseid in the instant BEFORE Booster tackles, because tasing Booster with lightning would be 7 flavors of awkward.

Also, Rain always practices safe hex. Always.

Zenith keeps up the attack. Once again, following Booster's lead, he goes in for a physical attack. He can't keep up his heat-vision anyway, even in this bright sunlight. Seeing Booster coming in from one angle, he swoops around to try to catch Darkseid on the rebound from Booster's attack.

After the missile fire, Nico's running to the side, pointing her staff at him again.

"Rockslide!"

A large rain of boulders are appearing in the sky above Darkseid, raining down. One shot left in the staff at this point, though.

The Tick takes a long, long moment absorbing what Superlass has told him. Tick's a goofy sucker, no doubt, but his heart is true, and, for those few that know him well, they know that, when you're loved by the Tick, you're truly loved. Finally, though, he clenches his fist and stands at the edge of the roof, "TYRANT OF APOKOLIPS! LET ALL THE UNIVERSE KNOW THAT YOU ARE A POOPHEAD! AND YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE CAUSE YOU'RE DUMB! SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!" he booms, his massive bass voice rolling through the valleys of Metropolis' city streets, as he reaches down and breaks the fire escape off the side of the building. Not just a level of it, the entire fire escape, at least ten stories of rickety wire and iron and stairs and landings hefted over his head, "EAT SAFETY!" he cries, hurling it at Darkseid.

There is slight bit of doubt that enters his mind when he sees how Darkseid is handling multiple opponents with ease. When he sees that familiar rai stone dropping from the sky, he decides to throw some super strong punches and elbows in a coordinated attack.

Log Note: Above pose is Doctor Umoji

Kneeling down into the center of the circle he finished crafting, Zack begins to chant softly. Spheres filled with the elements that he commands in golem form appear at various points around him. Fire opposite water, air opposite earth, and shadow opposite light. The young teen continues his chanting, utilizing every last drop of his mystical energy in this spell. This of course causes a big ole flare of mystical energy right now. Standing up and pointing to Zenith, Zack imbues the hero with his magic. Trying to make him faster, stronger more durable, and also just a bit more dangerous in general. Not to mention giving the young hero some regeneration abilities as well. "Well let's see if how this turns out."

Umoji. Darkseid had underestimated the people here. He's a threat; not alone, perhaps, but with a number of heroes here, he cannot be ignored in melee combat.

Still staggered, Darkseid has to make some concessions on where his attention is focused. A huge roar of electricity strikes down from the heavens, grunting as it coils amongst him, before a rocket blows upon the side of his face and forces him to close an eye. His back twists towards Booster, forced to endure the titanic blow that drives him forward with a grunt of pain. Yet it's like impacting the front of a mountain, unyielding!! Zenith rockets forward as well, a few blows striking him, felt through his granite form.

But it is Umoji that is defended against, huge arms shifting, intercepting blows, driving Darkseid backwards step by step, the crash of rocks making it all the more difficult. Umoji is an excellent fighter with speed above his own... the meddlesome heroes are making this difficult!! A huge ten-story piece of metal then flies down from the sky however, hitting him in the back with a grunt. In that moment, Umoji is able to /strike/ the God of Evil with full force, and send him flying backwards like a rocket. He strikes the skyscraper the Tick is on, shaking it like an earthquake as the windows shatter and rain down.

But he only pauses for a heartbeat. There's suddenly a great detonation of Omega force that blows out in all directions, gouging the building and sending twisted metal and shrapnel in all directions.

"ENOUGH!!!"

In his hand now is his Mother Box. It does a single, feeble Ping! before Darkseid crushes it. In a hiss of sparks and electricity, white energy roars out, the remaining Element X grasped by the titan. Eyes roar with energy, before he fires an immense, focused beam. Zigging and zagging, it moves to obliterate any obstacle and make to find Umoja, trying to blast him with every ounce of force he possesses... a force that can damage Superman himself at his prime.

Hands raise, and massive blasts are fired in all directions. Eruptions send cars and the street flying, a number sent towards Zach and the Economy, before a massive hunk of debris is then /FLUNG/ up towards Rain -- a veritable wall, half the size of a city block.

And then his eyes are alive. This time, a cutting laser; raking to and fro, striking through a multi-story building before whirling towards Nico and up into the heavens. A moment later, the damaged building creaks and groans, steel foundation cracking before it begins to topple over like a giant domino towards a number of screaming civilians...!!

Kilroy is able to put a rai stone between the debris and himself, his control of the currency far stronger than his own strength but it is not enough to stop the impact of the blast as it slides back toward him, sending him flying backwards into a building and knocking him quite thoroughly unconcious. The armor he creates at the last minute saves his life, but only just, sending pennies scattering in all directions like bowling pins. And Kilroy is out.

As the Omega blast bursts out, Nico's running. She's already a good distance away, but, still.

Once she thinks she's far away enough..she stops, turning around..to eye the laser, which blasts through her left arm, knocking her to the ground in a pool of blood. As she's lying there probably dying, she calls out.

"Help..."

And then there's a bright glow surrounding her immediate area, the light rather bright.

Unlike an actual missile, Booster Gold does not explode upon impact. He ricochets off of Darkseid and tumbles along the battered pavement. At least this time he doesn't go -through- it. Instead of flying, he just staggers to his feet, raising his fists as if he were a groggy boxer. However, he is not so punch drunk that he cannot see that building coming down. As much as he would like to sock Darkseid again, protecting citizens comes first. When he pushes his flight speed this time, it is not for an attack, but to get to the screaming people. As he lands admist them he flings his arms up and a golden translucent dome appears, covering himself and them as debris rains down and shatters against the force field.

He just needs a few more moments. He pulls the trigger.

The device immediately begins to hum, whirring to life as it sparks within itself a nuclear fusion reaction. The energy from it washes over him, as though filling his souls all at once with the precious yellow sun energy it takes weeks or even months to restore.

High above, Superman practically glows like a second sun as the device in his hand reaches a critical point and begins to bombard him with a condensed dose of solar radiation.

Zenith bounces back from the collision with Darkseid as well, and thrown back into a nearby building by the following explosion of force. When he reappears from the building, something distracts Zenith from the fight. Seeing the building begin to topple towards the civilians, he speeds down. He can't catch a building, but he can pour all his superspeed into getting civilians clear of the debris. At least, those that Booster isn't able to protect with his dome.

As the building begins to creak and groan, threatening to topple and hurt the people inside, and some that have run outside to try to save themselves. A damned if they do and damned if they don't situation. So, Megan is there. In an instant, she is there---along with Booster's assistance---pushing, righting the building, tilting it so it leans against the building beside it---so that it, at least, doesn't fall and hurt others. When she's stabilized the building, she whips her head up to look at Darkseid with blazing red eyes. "YOU MONSTERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR," she roars, punching herself through the air and in his direction.

"You are, LITERALLY, the worst person I have EVER MET. You're not even a person, you're a MONSTER. You're a MEAN MONSTER, who only cares about HURTING PEOPLE," she screams at him, her face glistening with tears, her freckles dotting her flushed, damp cheeks. Her capelette flutters in the wind as she points an accusing finger, "YOU GO AWAY. You go away...and you NEVER COME BACK! GO. AWAY!" When she screams, she drives toward him with her fists straight out. When she's close enough, she begins pummeling him as hard as she can, punching and kicking and screaming. "YOU HURT MY BROTHER, YOU MONSTER! YOU LEAVE THIS PLACE, YOU GO AWAY RIGHT NOW!" she screams as she punches, kicks, slaps, and anything else she can think to do, tears pouring out of her eyes with abandon, sobs breaking up her screaming demands.

Rain is worried about Booster. And the people. And now there's an unconscious man who is covered in money in - Umoja is awesoe! Rain would be impressed, if she weren't so busy being worried. And there's a strange box? No time to think about it, though. She's got half a freaking city block coming at her face. And Rain is soft and squishy. So squishy. She should probably work out more. She's going to turn and fullspeed away from the chunk flying at her. Not like she can /stop/ it. Or she could, for like .0001 seconds before being pasted and it continuing along its trajectory.

The witch does her best to avoid the thing. A few smaller chunks pelt her for her trouble and she curses as she wobbles in midair. Ow. She even got a black eye and curses violently, which are censored coincidentally and comic code-ially approved by other noises in the fight. But she lives. And moves to scoop up the unconscious Kilroy.

Tick has the building literally ripped out from under him, only managing to leap at the last second to keep from careening down on top of Darkseid along with all the rubble (that Booster and Superlass then conveniently move out of the way). He somersaults through the air, if somersaulting means spinning head over heels and flapping your hands like a baby bird while screaming in an undulating, doppler-effect warble until you land on your butt on the pavement, "MY SPINE IS FLAT!" Tick yells as he slowly moves to standing, "But I'm okay!" he says, blinking as he sees Superlass going full on medieval on Darkseid (if by medieval you mean weeping while punching and, given Tick's limited knowledge of history, that's exactly what it means). "HOLD ON, LITTLE DAISY CHAIN! UNCLE TICK'S ON THE WAY!" he cries, running full tilt at Darkseid, and then slamming his hands into the street on the way, lifting and hefting so that he's peeling a layer of street up in front of him, making a carpet roll of asphalt that's aimed straight for Darkseid's darkside.

Does a quick equation in his mind of his survival from being hit with whatever is coming from the box that goes, "Ping", and decides that a known death is way better than a known way of dying. He can always reclone from a known death. Umoja quickly takes hold of his head, snapping his neck and killing him before the beam hits him. Reclone to fight another day is his motto as he body is destroyed by the blast.

Umoja's body is vaporized into naught, so thoroughly the decision to suicide might have been prudent; even one's immortal soul is at risk against the full force of Darkseid's wrath. The last energy of his Mother Box was well used, removing the most dangerous threat to him in the surroundings. A glance is done to those wrestling with the building, before laughing. "Pathetic. The only one here who can threaten me has fallen. As will you all." Two Omega blasts are fired, shooting out; one is hurtling towards Booster Gold, the other at Zenith, both doggedly chasing. No longer with a killing intent, however. Almost playful.

And then Superlass and the Tick are upon him. One hand lifts bracingly, palm impacting the huge piece of debris. He skids backwards, multiple blows from Superlass striking into him, causing a grunt of pain. But things certainly look grim for Superman, as the power flows back within him...

Another concentrated Omega blast annihilates the makeshift shield of the Tick, intent to blast him in the chest and launch him into a nearby building. If he lives, it's because he vastly underestimates how unsquishable the creature is. And then his hand snaps out, catching Superlass by the face.

"So, Superman. Are you prepared to be broken? Allow me to give you some... motivation."

A flare of energy, and then he blasts Superlass in the chest at point blank. The energy would swirl out to enshroud her completely, and a moment later... she would be annihilated, not a single molecule left in the wake of the Omega's fury...!!

Well that wasn't something that Zack was planning on. He doesn't know what to do at this point. His magic is mostly spent but he does manage to get a small sphere of protective energy around himself. It'll keep him safe from some of the debris but it's not designed to withstand too much abuse. "This is crazy..." He says under his breath breathing heavily.

Things aren't over yet. Out of the bright light pertruding from Nico's body, comes a whoosh as it flashes once more before vanishing, revealing...

Nico Minoru. Her left arm just a bit above the elbow has been replaced with an ornate gauntlet, a jewel on the back of the hand. She's wielding her staff in her right hand, flying rather quickly towards Darkseid's position, a burst of energy surrounding her as she dashes forward.

"Revenge."

A massive burst of energy is emitting from the staff, firing straight at Darkseid, as she floats in the air.

Megan...is punching and kicking for all she's worth. She doesn't even notice as the asphalt explodes around her, pelting her as Darkseid is jolted by it. She's screaming and crying... And, then, she hears Darkseid address Superman... Her brother. She lifts her eyes, gasping a choked sob. "Brother!!! You're okay!!" she cries out in relief, more tears coming... Then, the Omega beam hits her square in the chest...and as the energy envelops her being, she can be heard to scream, loudly---loudly it echoes down the streets, and her brother, her uncle, and everyone is sure to hear... "I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!"

....And, then, Superlass...is no more. There is a distinct...absence. Not a piece of her...no dust, no...nothing. Just...gone.

Tick's asphalt is blasted away, the Omega beam hitting him full in the pectoral region, not even the rhythmic bounces of those manly mammaries enough to shrug off the impact of the despicable deviant's devilish deathray! "HOLY SH-!!!" Tick starts to yell as he's hit, raw pain like nothing he's felt before filling him up as he's thrown back into the building. The only pain worse is the pain in his heart on the way backwards, as he watches his beloved Superlass get distintegrated into sweet little orphan pellets...and then not even that, gone, like the whisper of a ghost on the dust in the wind. A single tear rolls down Tick's face, quickly wiped away by the 25 tons of brick that lands on him as he hits the building. And, just this once...Tick doesn't feel like getting up...

Booster Gold, unfortunately, has some experience with Omega beams at this point. He barely survived the one that was blasted his way by Darkseid's son; one from Darkseid himself is not going to be pretty. He also knows that it cannot be dodged, but he flies upwards to get away from the rescued citizens and away from the nearby buildings just in case he explodes. When the beam hits, the forcefield around him visibly ripples and looks like it is seething. He howls in pain as his eyes light up with vividly glowing blue light, energy coruscating over and through his body, and then--

As it turns out, Booster -does- explode, so getting away from everyone else was a good idea. There is a BOOM as the energy overloads his defensive systems and a shockwave of energy. All that is left behind is some fire hanging in midair, and this snuffs out quickly as well.

On seeing the omega beams flying at him, Zenith bolts again, flying into the air and doing his best to stay away from them. He zigs and zags, but of course that doesn't really help. He's just not fast enough to stay ahead of the beams, and he's caught. He, at least, is only knocked from the air, thrown into another building and vanishing inside. No being vapourized here, though that must have hurt.

The device in Superman's hand burns so hot that even the high-grade materials it is made of cannot withstand it. Soon it melts away, liquid metal running rivulets across his flesh. Unharmed by it, he throws the remnants aside when at last his cells are close to full. The Earth's sun will do the rest of the work. He's ready. Almost ready.

But then it happens against. Another life erased by Darkseid. Another close friend. A sibling. More lives. Too many lives.

He prides himself on approaching situations carefully. On holding back a measure of his strength. He can't recall the last time he put everything he had into a fight. He doesn't kill and giving everything he has can kill.

Giving it up can kill, too.

The fury within him is at a boiling point. The solar energy now fills his cells and one could almost think the Man of Steel is glowing. His eyes blaze a fiery red, the air before his face shimmering as he bares his teeth. This is Superman without restraint. In an instant he is gone, moving so fast that not even the telltale blur betrays him.

Then, he shimmers into view directly in front of Darkseid. Is he prepared to be broken? No.

"ARE YOU?!"

He clenches both hands together, fists white-knuckled with rage. He throws all his weight behind the blow aimed at Darkseid's skull. All the strength he can muster. His sheer, unmitigated hatred for the New God spurring him on to a place he's never before been.

Okay, then. This is bad. This is so, so bad. Rain is one of the last ones standing and in fighting shape. She's also a coward. A fact that's haunted her a few times. She's bruised to heck and back, and feeling the awkward lurch of being one of the last ones left. If she can find a body with any trace of life, she'll at least try to heal them back up. And Booster's gone. It hits pretty hard.

Darkseid isn't done; not just yet. A hand raises towards the trembling Zack, before another intense burst of Omega force is launched towards him. Eyes glow bright crimson, before a blast is sent through the air, zigging and zagging in Rain's direction. Unlike the building before, no amount of wild broomwork can avoid that dogged pursuit. "Fall... every one of--!!" Nico's intensive energy blast then flies right towards him. Forearms raise and his body steels, but the impact sends him flying backwards, striking the remnants of the building behind him so hard that it crashes down to rubble in a great wash of dust. Blackened forearms hiss with smoke, and then he glances up.

Superman is coming at him. Faster than he has ever seen. Has he always been so quick...?! A maneuver to dodge fails. Both fists hit him in the chin, deforming it, before a great sonic boom detonates around him. No witty combat is possible; he's launched like a missile into the sky, wind roaring past. He breaches the skyline of the city, going higher, blowing through a cloud and only starting to slow high, high above.

Twitching, Darkseid grunts and flips, managing to stop himself. Behind, the yellow sun glows like a halo, Darkseid panting down.

"COME!! LET US END THIS!!"

"You..god damn..TAKE THIS!" Nico points her staff at him again, several spheres of fire bursting outwards and travelling straight towards Darkseid, her floating in the air attempting to assist Superman in anyway possible.

Zenith picks himself carefully from the rubble of the building, shrugging off metal beams like they were made of paper. The boy is limping a bit, but as soon as the sun hits him he starts to regenerate. He doesn't give up, either, not a whimper of complaint, just lifting into the air and flying in once again. And, once again, he tries to loop around to attack Darkseid from behind while he's distracted by the older Kryptonian.

Aw, snaps. Kilroy is stashed safely at least. Rain really wishes she were just a bit more uber. A bit stronger. A bit faster. Less of a coward would probably help, too. There's an overwhelming feeling of helplessness and sadness. And Zack is about to get zapped. But she can't really think about that. She's landed near where she set Kilroy, only to get knocked away and bounce more than a close up in Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball. And that is a lot of bouncing.

It hurts, too. Pain wracks the witch but she's not down for the count yet. Reeling, she at least manages to crawl over and quietly, more meditatively, start to heal moneydude. It takes a bit though, so the Kryptonian juggling show will go unimpeded.

The efforts of his surviving compatriots seem almost unnoticed. He makes no effort to warn them away or telegraph what he is about to do.

Superman offers no words of defiance or praise for his fallen comrades. He doesn't speak to Darkseid to try and show him the error of his ways. He doesn't aim to reason. Such faculties may indeed be beyond the Last Son of Krypton. All he does is scream.

A scream full of hatred, fury and sorrow. He flies, the clouds breaking to part for him as he accelerates through the sound barrier. His eyes still glow, his knuckles still white. He extends one fist before him, hurling an uppercut at Darkseid's jaw at hypersonic speeds.

The efforts of his surviving compatriots seem almost unnoticed. He makes no effort to warn them away or telegraph what he is about to do.

Darkseid is being lightly hassled by the rest of those present. Nico's blasts are struck away with a fist, launching a blast of Omega beams her way. "Get out of my way...!!" Zenith gets in a couple shots, but then there's another apocolyptic strike into the God of Evil. Another great CRACK, and this time Darkseid is knocked head over heels all the way into lower orbit, leaving the Earth far behind. His head whirls, blackness teasing the edge of his vision while crimsom dims before he again recovers himself. Coughing heavily, he whirls, looking left and right for the blue and red bullet as eyes flare in preparation. "Come... show yourself...!!"

As the Omega beams come her way, Nico is trying to dodge, but one of the blasts hit her, knocking her to the ground, knocked out. The staff retracts into her chest..as does the gauntlet, but her arm is healed into a stub.

As Darkseid is knocked into orbit, Zenith doesn't follow. He knows his limits and there's no way he can keep up with a Superman that's going all-out. So, he floats to the ground, resting and letting the sun and Zack's magic regenerate his injuries while doing his best to follow the fight with his Kryptonian vision.

The speed at which Superman moves is astounding. The only hint of his presence is a brief tinge of blue and red here, then there and then at once immediately in front of Darkseid.

Still shouting. Still screaming. The Man of Steel strikes the God of Evil about the middle at speed, tackling him and driving him further and further from the World. The sun looms larger and larger in front of them, the atmospheric restrictions of Earth peeling away to let him reach truly unimaginable speeds.

Well. Rain is healing Kilroy. She can probably fix Nico's arm, but it's taking most of her energy and attention to get the priest in front of her back up. She can only watch as the fighting goes up and up... If only she could travel into space, too. Although, she's in considerable pain and thinks that not moving around too much is the best plan. Oh yes.

Kilroy says, "who what where when why?" He looks around and is totally disoriented for a moment,"Did we win?"

Sadly, it's not that simple. Nico's arm can't be healed, as it already /has/ been 'healed'. She's down and out for now, though, the energy she expended taking a toll on her body.

You go to: Global Anywhere Rooms.

Darkseid is helpless against the raw force rushing into him. Superman manages to accelerate more and more free from the gravity, and the heat of the sun is felt behind. Struggling against the forces, he grasps the Man of Steel by the shoulder and side, unaware of how much time has even passed. When the gravity of the yellow sun, source of Clark's power, fully grasps them -- somehow they grow even faster. At the last moment, Darkseid manages to twist and haul Superman away, but that does not stop the inevitable. He's hurtling like a comet, engulfed by the superheated atmosphere. Descending through yellow plasma, he impacts the surface /hard./ Huge chunks of molten liquid fly away. It's blinding. Far too blinding.

Eyes flare, and with a roar Darkseid zaps the ground beneath him. A wave of blackness roars out, sweeping for miles in all directions. A gargantuan black spot, seething with red cracks, offers solid ground as walls of scorching yellow flame and heat surge on the borders into the heavens.

"Ha... ha..." Shakily, he manages to get back to his feet. Without restraint... he did not fathom Kal-El was that physically strong!

Superman spins through space, already engulfed in the corona of the sun as Darkseid flings him away. But where it may be blinding and burning to others, to the Last Son of Krypton it is as though he has come to the very wellspring of life. The radiation seeps into his every cell and charges him, pushing him above and beyond anything he may have been.

He turns immediately and flies, meeting speeds impossible on Earth, towards Darkseid. His Kryptonian suit blistering and boiling in the heat, even the super-dense fabrics of Krypton cannot stand up to life on the surface of a star.

He flies towards Darkseid, dropping toward him with both feet first. Plotting to land directly upon the God of Evil's head.

Twisting around on the blackened ground, Darkseid's eyes widen before both feet find him in the face. He impacts the charred surface area, sending great charcoal-like blasts of debris flying for miles in all directions despite the massive gravity. Not being directly in the plasma makes little difference; here, it is impossible for Superman to have his cells be any less charged. Every ounce he exerts is immediately replaced... the infinite wellspring of the Omega Force finally matched.

But his eyes suddenly flash, a lance of energy attempting to strike the Man of Steel, and zig-zag him through the air to impact the earth with a great crimson explosion. "So... this is your true power... why would you hide it?! Why would you keep it sealed?!"

"AGH--!"

Superman lets out a shout of surprise as the Omega beam strikes him, driving him up through the air before slamming him down into the super-heated iron surface. But not even that is enough to pierce the skin-tight invulnerable field that envelops him. He rises to his feet at once, darting through the air with both hands outstretched.

He moves to tackle Darkseid again, raising a fist to strike at him whenever his guard is lowered for even a split second. His words punctuated by the throwing of punches at the New God's face.

"You wanted this, Darkseid! You hounded me! You killed my friends! My family! Now you're going to suffer and burn!"

Darkseid firmly embraces the Man of Steel upon the sun, rolling back and force across charcoal soil. A furious battle of passions, tempered by the heat of an adjacent star... second only to the wild fire between the two godly figures!!

Once more back upon his feet, Darkseid continues to pant heavily. But Superman is upon him in an instant, striking him within the chest with a great cry of pain. He skids backwards hundreds of yards, tearing a furrow into the broken patch of sun. Blows strike into him with force he's not felt in what feels an eternity. Blood spackles the air before vaporizing, stone cracking under those relentless strikes. But he snarls, managing to twist and throw down a punch of his own, aiming right towards the Man of Steel's spine. A great crack of force, simply from throwing it.

All restraint is let loose at once. The constant simmer of Omega Force within his body, normally only visible in his eyes. His body roars, crimson energy seething from every pore, as the God of Evil rushes to the height of his own power.

"Wanted this...?! We had a deal, Kal-El!! Your father for the life of Superman. And you went back on it! You LET them make you go back on it!! Do you not see... this retaliation, this BLOOD, is from the pride you have in that 'S'?!"

Superman only relents when Darkseid strikes back, letting out a shout of pain and tumbling back across the darkened surface. He does not stay down long, however, walking slowly back towards the God of Evil. His cape whips erratically in the solar winds, the rest of his suit now full of gaping holes that have been burnt away by the heat.

"Who were you to take him in the first place? You talk like it's a deal I dishonored but you only got your 'bargaining chip' by stealing it!"

He lunges forward, aiming to drive Darkseid into the ground with an overhead axe-handle strike.

"You're a thief and a murderer, Darkseid!"

"Is that how you rationalize this, Superman?" Darkseid states, grinning. "I did take him. And I took him to test your mettle. Whether you truly were someone who would do anything for the greater will of Earth. Or if you had the same weakness and sentimentality of any other creature, raised in such a pitiful environment..." Another lunge forward, but for the first time Darkside manages to interpose his forearms, catching the strike with a great eruption of energy. An immense dent is formed beneath the pair, struggling against power on par with his own. But he attempts to break the momentary stalemate by once more breaking his Omega beams to bear, flashing forward in a point-blank explosive blast intent on engulfing Earth's greatest hero!

"Tell me this, Kal-El. Are you truly a noble soul? Or are you simply a result of fate, giving you such soft parents to raise...? The rage within you. The lack of restraint. You want to HURT me. You want VENGEANCE. Is this what you stand for...?!"

Darkseid is in a poor position, and mostly fronting. But putting a seed of doubt within Superman... that will give him a chink in the armor he sorely needs. All of this, giving him an offer he couldn't refuse, the fallout from Earth's reaction, the attack on Apokolips... the true strike was not meant for Earth, but on the very will and mind of Superman himself all along!

Superman throws his head back, gritting his teeth and wincing in pain as he is caught in the middle of the explosion. When it clears only the lower half of his costume remains, a hand reaching out to catch his cape before it flutters away and tying it about his waist. Sentimentality indeed, he isn't about to let that be lost on the Sun.

"I stand for those you've killed and all those you won't ever be able to threaten again!"

The seed of doubt is planted but rather than recoil or second-guess himself, the Man of Steel throws himself at Darkseid once again. He delivers a flurry of strikes, punches delivered with such speed and ferocity that the force of them cracks and rends the ground should they land.

Darkseid shifts, maneuvering as best he can. Strength and speed are at a level below the Man of Still, but his dexterity is incredible, with a combative prowess far above Superman's own. Some blows slip through, sinking into his form and leaving deep fistprints, staggering him backwards with a grunt. But he does not stand idle, whipping out a backfist, thrusting up a knee, and aiming to return at least one blow for every two. Truly, if they had been leveraging this kind of assault on Earth, countless people would have died. The feedback from the strikes is damaging the area of blackened sun for acres, the pair at the height of strength and durability.

"I have killed more people then the entire population of Earth. Millions more kneel like vermin in the pits of Apokolips. But tell me this. How do you plan to STOP ME?!" In a burst of speed that may surprise Superman he aims a vicious right hook, attempting a quick but brutal onslaught of fierce hooks and jabs concluding with a flare of his eyes and another attempted strike of the Omega force!!

"Even now, I could erase you from existance... even now, I could banish you to infinite realities, each hell worse than the last...!!" These threats seem real, but there's no indication that he has any plans to attempt such, which might be peculiar itself...

Superman takes the punches but keeps swinging, his face and jaw swelling up with the punishment he's taking. Even with the healing power of the sun he cannot heal faster than the punishment is being laid upon him.

"Break you!" he shouts back, "Leave you bloodied and beaten and throw you to their people so they can see just how fallible their god is! Leave you a shadow of who you were!"

When the Omega beams come again, Superman is ready for them. His own eyes light up, beams of solar energy hissing out in a precision line to meet the beams halfway. On Earth they'd be no match for them but here, at the heart of their power? They are on another plateau entirely.

Darkseid is in little better condition. Although he can reconstitute himself, the process takes hours. He is a vessel of power, and when broken, such leaves him incredibly unstable and vulnerable... normally few could hope to inflict such wounds, but his only hope is to keep up his onslaught, and hope to put Clark down with a weakness he has that the God of Evil doesn't -- pain. The moment he falters, he can rip into him without stopping...!!

But his beams strike intense red, causing surprise. More power is boiled into them from Darkseid, but Kal-El can similarly draw from the heart of the Sun. In the end there's a warble before an incredible explosion erupts between the two of them, sending the New God hurtling backwards to bounce once, twice, and skid upon the blackened sun once more.

"Is that what you think...? Naive." Yet it appears the threat is not entirely empty, given that Darkseid's expression grows more serious.

"You are an intelligent man, Kal-El. Are you aware how this sun works? The CNO cycle is vital. Carbon is the catalyst for hydrogen to burn into helium. I wonder... what might happen if that carbon were to vanish? If the gas were to get too cool as a result, then the fusion process might be disrupted. Would you like to see?"

Superman is likewise flung back by the explosion, skipping across the surface until he comes to a stop and immediately readies himself for another attack. He's feeling the pain but this close to the sun it is dull and far away, like the very energy itself is shielding him from it as best it can. The threat sends his eyes wide and once again he is overtaken by rage, hate and grief.

"ENOUGH!"

He launches through the air, the barely-visible blur again as he does all he can to close the gap with Darkseid. His arms are already moving, a desperate flurry of blows seeking only to stop the New God before he can do anymore harm.

Ah. Superman has finally made a mistake. Striking at him with such raw desperation... with moves choreographed with simple brute power and speed, relying on natural abilities, the advantage swings more towards Darkseid's court. "Earth is only 1.7% powered by the CNO cycle... but who knows what damage it might cause to it's stability? I admit to being curious...!!" He manages to bring his forearms up, weaving and blocking the majority of blows, but the pain behind them build up to a dull thrum in his limbs. He can't keep this up for long, driven back farther and farther. "HAH!" he offers, striking out suddenly with an elbow towards the temple. Flowing into another overhead blow, trying to strike the Man of Steel into the ground. Unless he escapes, he'll find Darkseid's own flurry of super-powered fists thrown in rapid sequence, amidst intense blasts of Omega Force just to pepper the situation.

Superman doesn't get tired.

Sure, he sleeps sometimes but it's more out of habit from his younger, less invulnerable days than something he truly needs to do. He can exert himself for days or even weeks before he starts to feel the burn. But even here, at the source of his power, his muscles are beginning to tighten and weigh him down. There's nothing for it. He has to end this or lose.

He ducks aside, the elbow passing over his head and granting him just the second he needs to blur out of sight and behind the God of Evil. Reaching out he takes Darkseid's head in his hands, plants a foot in the middle of his back and begins to pull.

Silently he prays that they'll understand. Even here, far from the prying eyes of all those that look up to him, he can't help but feel he's failing them by resorting to this. By resorting to killing.

Ducking the elbow was surprising. Darkseid had thought Superman was rushing forward mindlessly, but it was clear he was not so simple. A backfist scarcely misses him as he rushes to the side, Omega beam whirling about in a zig and zag. But when his head is grasped and his back pulled back, a shock of discomfort causes the blast to detour and erupt behind Superman. Hands immediately rush up to grasp the Man of Steel's forearms. A poor position to say the least, struggling as his back bows further inch by inch. "Kch... you mean... to kill me...?" And then suddenly, "So be it." His body goes lax and his grip releases. In that instant, Superman has full reign. He can do it. He can shatter Darkseid's spine, break his neck, and put an end to this... just like Tony chose not to.

Superman continues to pull for a moment. He could do it. He could rip Darkseid's head from his body and end the threat once and for all. Here nobody would know. He could tell them whatever he liked and they wouldn't question him. It'd be less than he deserves for what he did to Tony, to Booster ... to M'gann.

With a disgusted cry he lets go, planting his boot firmly in Darkseid's back to kick him away. In the end he can't do it, his teeth gritting and his features swollen with pain and injury. He bends slightly at the waist, planting his hands on his thighs as he takes a moment to regain his composure.

"No."

"I knew it. You truly are weak."

A moment later, Darkseid surges forward. Every ounce of his Omega Force has been brought forward to this ambush. Like Kal-El, he does not get tired. But he gets wounded, and each crack on his body beginning to hiss out Omega Force stresses and damages him further. In a true battle of attrition, there is no telling who might win. Faster than Superman had ever seen the hulking figure move, faster than he might have thought it possible, a great fist sweeps down, intending to strike Superman in the face and drive him into the ground before him with strength sufficient to shatter a mountain. Again and again he would rain down blows, body seething and cracking under the strain of his focused powers being diverted in such a way, teeth grit as blood instantly vaporizes even on the dulled heat of his formed sunspot. The veritable onslaught of blows would not cease for a long time... until he is panting, deep and heavy, slouching as his ruined body splinters further upon thigh and bicep, a flare of red beneath. "Haa... haa..."

Superman cannot move in time to avoid the attack and is pummelled into the ground, lifting his arms to defend himself but unable to do more than fend off the most crippling of the blows. When Darkseid finally steps back he is bloodied and wounded, gasping for air and barely able to see through eyes that have swollen almost shut.

He props himself up on his elbows, glaring at Darkseid. He plants a hand on the ground, pushing himself slowly to his feet so he can stand. He does not stand tall, instead he favors one leg and his left arm is held painfully to his side. He opens his mouth, a rivulet of blood trickling down his chin.

"That ... all ... you have?"

In little better state, Darkseid thrusts out his huge hands, catching Superman by the throat. He hefts him up into the air, holding him close. Even though his body is near bursting, power roars within, strength little abated after the brutality that tolled his body to the limit. He is like a great balloon. He will fill more and more, but until the moment he bursts, the tyrant's strength will not diminish.

"Of course not. I, unlike you... do not have mercy..."

His eyes glow bright crimson, body stressing as he grits his teeth. New cracks form, flaring out, before he roars, focusing the last of his energy into a point-blank narrow blast, potentially capable of killing Superman outright were it to strike his head true!!

Superman hangs there by his neck for a moment, barely able to lift his hands to defend himself let alone struggle free. He closes his eyes a moment, those he lost flashing before his eyes in an instant.

Is this what Tony saw? Or something like it? Some sort of cosmic slideshow in the final moments before being completely unmade.

But then those visions drift to those not lost. His adopted parents. The Justice League. Diana. The Tick. Even Batman. They stood strong for him when he could not and here he is about to let himself be killed outright for the sake of ... what, exactly?

"No."

His voice is barely above a whisper but it imbues him with a newfound strength all the same. His arms begin to rise, his eyes stare into the glowing red pits of Omega energy that are Darkseid's. And he raises his hands, planting both his palms across the New God's eyes and digging his fingers into his granite flesh for purchase.

"NO!"

The moment before Darkseid's eyes fire, those hands clamp over them. A wild spray of Omega Force whirls in all directions between his fingers. Flesh burns, muscle blackens, fingers would turn to charcoal, but then there's a massive eruption of force unlike any bore withness to before. A great, rushing whirl that is no less powerful than being hit by the Omega Effect full force; something that can risk taking Superman down in a single hit, if struck true. A massive pockmark is on the sun now, black charcoal and smoke whirling up into the atmosphere and sucked into the nova of plasma. A crater has been formed, half a mile broad, and half a mile deep. Has Superman done it...? Inadvertantly caused the God of Evil to self-destruct, killing him in the end...?

The explosion sends Superman toppling through the air once again, crash landing over a hundred feet away. He's wounded badly. His hands are burnt and charred almost down to the bone but even now the solar energy prompts flesh that should have died to live again and knit itself together. He lays still for a long moment, thoroughly spent. He's given his all short of sacrificing his own life.

He finally rises to his feet after several long moments, hovering to the air. All that remains of his once-pristine costume are the leggings and the tattered cape bound about his waist like a sash. He ascends further, looking for any sign of Darkseid.

A shadow whirls in the dust. Huge, and imposing. Superman would feel a great force once more. Was that not enough? Can this man truly not be struck down? Yet when it swishes away, it is clear that Darkseid is no more. He looks like a granite casting, cracked in countless areas and about to break apart like some defeated hollow chocolate bunny. The red light within them is almost gone, scarcely seeping out. Both of his eyes are blackened, the granite blown away from it, only the slightest pinpricks of red within allowing some amount of sight.

Slowly, as slow as a kitten, he begins to hover. Faltering once, his intent is to take himself up to the Man of Steel... and reach out trembling hands to try and grasp him by the neck once more.

"You... will never... win...!!"

With a hiss, Darkseid goes limp, last light extinguishing from his eyes. Down he falls, yanked towards the sun's intense gravity with no more ability to resist. Crashing against it and leaving a Darkseid-shaped impact point a meter deep.

Unconscious. And finally... defeated. Without, Superman might be pleased to know, being forced to kill him...!

Superman would smile if it didn't hurt his face to do so. He'd smile if his heart weren't so full of grief. He'd smile if this victory hadn't come at such a high price. He descends back towards the surface, grabbing Darkseid up in one hand by the tattered remains of his tunic and hefting him higher and higher still.

Away from the Sun. Out into space. He moves swiftly but not as fast as before. He's severely wounded himself and is the victor only by virtue of the fact that he's going to lapse into unconsciousness a little later.

For now, he has to show the people of Earth that hope triumphs over evil.