Issue 10: CRISIS #3

“What is going on out there?” Batman turns and growls at Scott Free, looking from the computer screen in the cave, and then to the colourfully garbed man behind him. “What is Apokolips and who is… Darkseid?”

“Mr. Wayne… You have no idea how serious this is… Apokolips is the darkest, foulest most hopeless place in the multiverse… And Darkseid… he’s the devil. Evil incarnate.”

Alfred Pennyworth slowly walks down the steps to the cave, and Batman looks up, seeing the tray the man carries. “Thanks heavens you’re alright, sir. It looks like London during the Blitz out there…”

Batman nods, taking the cup of tea from his loyal manservant, and taking a sip, then continuing to type away at the computer console. “I just fought a God, Alfred… It was… surreal.”

“Television and radio communications are out, and the manor is on back-up generators, with most of the power diverted to the cave networks, but if we could possibly…”

Scott pulls of his mask and looks at both men, his eyes wide. “How can you be so calm? I tell you Darkseid is coming! We both saw the Parademons fall from the sky and begin to attack, and yet you’ve brought us back to this place, and we’re drinking tea? How can you be so calm?”

“Calm?” Batman stands, and shakes his head. “This isn’t my calm face, this is my worried face. They’re very similar. I’m calculating how long the GCPD, with all their firepower, can withstand this assault. I’m calculating how we can take down these Parademons, and I’m thinking…Of how to get you out of here.”

“Out of here? What do you mean? You can use all the help you can get! Devilance was only defeated by cunning, and a moment of enlightenment from Mother Box, but he will be back! And there will be others!”

“I have more than ‘cunning’ up my sleeve, Free.” He shakes his head. “I’ve made the call. Someone is coming to the manor as we speak, but I have to go to the streets. I need to help my city.”

“I’ll come with you--.”

Batman slams his fist on the computer console, and shakes his head. “No. You’ll stay here, and tell Alfred everything you know about what is coming, and we’ll see if we can use this to deal with it.”

“I—I can’t argue with you, can I?”

“You could try, but you wouldn’t win, Scott.”

Batman removes his cowl as he enters a small chamber in the cave, and then takes out a new costume, and then continues to remove his torn and ripped uniform and replace it with a new one. He attaches another belt across his back, fills up the pockets with grenades and batarangs, and then looks up at his reflection in the mirror in front of him. He might live to win this day. He knows that. But if he is to survive… Bruce Wayne has to go away. He slams his fist into the mirror, and watches as the shards of glass fall. He saw only Batman.

Before Alfred and Scott can speak he’s gone, vanished into the shadows without a word, and then they hear the rumbling from the caverns below, and then nothing, an eerie silence. “He’s pretty intense, isn’t he?”

“Yes. On his good days.”

“So. What are we going to be talking about, Mister Miracle?

Scott takes a sip of the tea and shrugs. “I don’t know. Everything I guess… But I’m thinking that the best place to start would be… With the beginning.”

Alfred smiles, and nods. “Always a wise decision, sir…”

“Um, Alfred… Could you call me Scott? I don’t want anyone siring me, you understand?”

“Of course… Scott. So, the beginning.”

“Apokolips and Genesis coexisted together for millennia, a planet divided so… Precisely, a perfect balance of good and evil. Genesis was a peace loving place, full of green grass and blue seas, mountain ranges and valleys, and the one shining glory on the planet was the Celestial City, a floating city where all Genesis New Gods resided. The land below was theirs, but the below was also property of the ‘Bugs’, a highly evolved race of humanoid insects that were originally released by Queen Heggra of Apokolips as micro life biological weapons… But that scheme ended when Izaya the Inheritor brokered peace with the evolving creatures, and the two races co-existed on Genesis without trouble.”

Alfred nods slowly, and sips his own tea, intrigued. “This Genesis sounds like a paradise.”

“Hmm. Apokolips on the other hand was hell. Born out of its ruler’s insane hatred for all free spirit and peace between brethren, it was a place that was perpetually burning, fire pits belching flame and ash outwards into space, and hundreds perish every day at Darkseid’s hand. But that’s not where Apokolips begins…”

“Apokolips was ruled by Queen Heggra, and she had two children, Drax and Uxa, who continually plotted and schemed, trying to gain the throne for themselves. Uxa was the more cunning of the brothers, and in one fell swoop he murdered Drax, and then married the dread sorceress Suli against Heggra’s wishes, and they bore a son, Kalibak. Heggra discovered this and slaughtered Suli, and then ordered Uxa to marry Tigra, with whom he had another son, this one called Orion. When Heggra was at her weakest, when she came to visit her new born grandchild, Uxa slit her throat, and as she died he evolved into a new being, Darkseid, and when this happened the war between Genesis and Apokolips came to a head, and Highfather and the newly evolved Darkseid forged a pact, and they traded their sons to create a peace between the two ways of life.”

“Who is Highfather?” Alfred shakes his head, confused.

“Highfather… Was…” Scott gathers himself, tears filling his eyes. “Highfather had evolved too. He was Izaya the Inheritor, and he too was married and bore a child. During the Uxa/Tigra debacle Heggra sent Steppenwolf, Darkseid’s uncle, to murder Izaya, but instead the Lord of Terror and general of the Parademon Hordes, killed Izaya’s wife, and this drove Izaya to evolve into Highfather, man at one with the Source. He saw that the war would get each world nowhere, and therefore accepted the pact that was offered between Genesis and Apokolips. He gave up… His own son… For his world.” Scott spits the words. “And then Darkseid destroyed Genesis, murdered its residents and took complete control of the planet, fire pits emerging over once fertile lands, and then Apokolips had become the dominant empire, and Genesis was all but gone from the universe.”

“Good god…”

“I was raised on Apokolips, tortured daily by Granny Goodness at her orphanage, just like every other child on the planet. I lived in constant pain and terror every day, trapped beneath the wretched thumb of the dread mother of every child on the planet. It was only a few months ago when my downfall began… I was in my prisoner torture class, and they gave me a living specimen, a young girl… and I allowed her to escape…”

Alfred looks up at Scott, who shakes his head, and pulls his mask back on. “That is truly horrific… Like a Hammer film.”

Scott looks at the man servant and then arches an eyebrow beneath his mask. “Hammer?”

Alfred smiles slightly, then scratches his lip. “It’s nothing, continue, please…”

He can hear the bombardment above, the sewers holding for now whilst the attacks take place above. He can’t fight on the streets, he’d be engulfed, torn limb from limb, but if he can reach Crime Alley, start the fight from there, then he’d be able to do something, and ensure that Leslie Thompkins is safe!

He sprints to the right spot, the layout of the twisting and winding tunnels stored in his head, and then pushes himself up the ladder, and pops up in a small dark area, walled off from the rest of the city. He smiles, and then opens the door to chaos, entering the Clinic and watching as medical personnel from all around the city tend to the wounded, and make sure that they’re helping those who need it.

“I need some A neg for a transfusion over here, come on people, we need to hurry it up!”

Batman searches everywhere for the familiar voice, drifting slowly past everyone, his cape wrapped around him, people turning as he passes. He smiles grimly at those who nod in recognition of him, and then stands behind the small, elderly lady who works incessantly to tend to peoples’ wounds. She shouts orders at the nurses and doctors around her, and only when the man she is working on looks up in a daze and slowly points behind her does she turn, and see Batman stand behind her.

“Br-.” She’s stops herself, the entire room going silent. “B-Batman!”

“Miss Thompkins. Leslie. The GCPD are attempting to get here… They have wounded, and we both know of the bomb shelters beneath this building…”

Leslie nods in surprise. “Y-Yes…” she turns from him, and then looks around. “We’re expecting company people! Floyd, start moving people into the shelter in the cellar, alright? We’ll need as much room as we can get.” A man in a set of bloody scrubs nods and tears them off, and begins ushering people into the cellar at the back of the building. Leslie turns to Batman, and then whispers quietly. “What’s going on out there?”

“We’ve been attacked by an overwhelming force from another dimension.”

“Good lord…”

“I know, Leslie. But my job isn’t done. I need to make sure Jim Gordon gets here with his men. He’ll help you, alright?”

Leslie nods, and then places her hand on Batman’s shoulder. “Batman. Bruce.” She smiles weakly. “Be careful.”

Batman places his hand on his chest, and smiles. “Moi?” He winks. “I’ll try.”

He runs out of the building, leaving Leslie and the moving masses heading for the bomb shelter, and then jumps out into the street, and presses a button on his gauntlet, and feels the lens over his eyes magnify. He sees the GCPD in the distance, using the buildings as cover, and then nods. He throws the line, and then shoots up onto the rooftops, and then sees the sheer scope of the invasion. Thousands of these creatures, all flying up into the sky, blotting out the sun, firing their lasers down at the men and women below, destroying the buildings.

He takes out a handful of batarangs, and takes aim, a new purpose overtaking him. Not a quest for vengeance, nor a search for justice, but the need to survive. He must survive to save the day, because the never ending battle… Was heading for a conclusion.

He throws the batarangs, one after the other, his aim always shifting, hitting the creatures and then detonating, causing scores of them at a time to fall to the streets below, causing a forced respite in the fighting. The Parademons see the new attacker, and screech in rage, and then tear down upon him, screaming for his blood.

They’re biting through his uniform, trying to tear the flesh from his bones! The promethium-nomex protection was holding, preventing them from ripping the meat from his bones, but by god did it hurt! He struggles to find his utility belt, blinded by the masses of creatures covering his body, but when he finds his belt he flicks a switch, and the black symbol on his chest flaps open, and shoots out a green gas that spreads like wild fire, clinging to the creatures and causing them to fall to the floor.

He springs up, those who escaped the chemical attack diving blindly at him, but are easy to take out with a quick chop to the neck or a punch to the solar plexus. Whatever these creatures, they are basically humanoid, albeit in the guise of horrible red creatures from hell…

Batman smiles, only for a massive fist to crash into his back, and cause him to go sprawling across the rooftop. Batman rolls up, two batarangs in his hands, ready for this new battle. It’s a massive creature, like a mutated version of those Parademons who have chased him over the rooftops and attacked him constantly.

‘What are you waiting for?”

The creature lunges forward, its fists raised, only to collapse on the floor, a black piece of metal in the back of its skull. Batman steps forward, and pulls it out, revealing a batarang.

“Couldn’t let you hog all the glory, could I boss?”

Bruce looks up and then his eyes widen. It’s him.

“You made it then.”

Nightwing smiles, and rubs his chin, Mister Miracle behind him, fiddling with the mechanisms on the back of one of the Parademons felled by the gas. “It took me longer to get here than expected…”

“Did the jet I left you help?”

Nightwing laughs, and then shakes his head. “You leave enough Batwings in warehouses around the country, Bruce, some are bound to come in handy.”

“Good. I need you to get Mister Miracle to safety, it’s too dangerous for him to remain in Gotham.”

Scott looks up, shaking his head. “What? No! I can help you!”

“No. You don’t belong here…” Batman takes out a small piece of paper from his utility belt. “I think this might intrigue you.”

Scott takes it, and his eyes widen. “What… What is this?”

“Scott… Your New Gods… They didn’t die. They’re here. On Earth.”



“Your father is alive, Scott.”

Scott looks up confused. “My father?”

“Mother Box told me, Scott. Highfather was… Is your father. He traded you with Darkseid so he could bring peace to the universe, but he was betrayed… He paid a high price…”

“I… I…”

“Go to Metropolis, that’s where you’ll find The Genesis Corp. Go with my… My protege…”

Nightwing smiles. “Partner.”

“Go with my partner and find them. That’s all that matters.”

“I…I don’t know what to say but…” Scott looks at his hands and then clenches them, and looks up to Batman. “I have something for you.” He takes out a device from his belt, and passes it to the caped crusader. “The command ship from Apokolips that contains Steppenwolf and his hordes will land in the city. That is how Apokolips approaches war. You must find something in the base and install this…”

“What something? What can I use to end this?”

“You’ll hear her.”

Batman arches an eyebrow, and takes the device. “I’m sure this all makes sense to you Scott… And after what we’ve faced…” He places the device in his belt, and then nods. “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Get going.”

Star City:
“We stand on the verge of extinction…”

Tokyo:
“But we are still standing!”

London:
“They can bomb our cities, they can destroy our homes and they can kill us…”

Metropolis:
“But as long as just one of us lives, as long as one of us defies their grinding desire to crush our spirit, there is hope.”

Bangkok:
“And where there is one of us willing to take a stand, a multitude shall rise up behind him…”

Las Vegas:
“I defy them! Apokolips and its cruel tyrant will never put me in chains or make me bow down! I will spill every last drop of my blood to throw them off our world and make them rue the day they set their sites on Planet Earth! I defy them! Who’s with me?”

On the bridge of the Annihilator, Steppenwolf stood amidst a pile of fresh corpses, looming over the fourth officer to sit at the communications panel, blood from the sword hanging over him dripping on his neck. The sobbing, frantic man gave a sudden cry of triumph, and Batman’s visage finally vanished from the viewscreen.

“FINALLY!” The General bellowed furious exasperation. But his troubles were not over.

Outside, there was a brilliant flash of light, as if a bomb had gone off--- but there was no sound of explosion. The viewscreen was flooded with light, as someone were shining a light on them.

“External view.” Steppenwolf barked. “Remote camera!”

The light disappeared as the viewscreen changed to show them an image of the Annihilator from the outside. What the General saw made him scream with unsurpressed rage.

Projected from a hidden device that must have been closeby, on the side of the Apokoliptian flagship shone the bat-signal!

And across the city, people saw it and hope blossomed in fearful hearts…

And they knew… This was all far from over…