[Caterpillar] Chapter 50 - Sacrifice (Patreon)

A wormhole was ripped into the sky above Metropolis and a horrible cry was heard over all the noise of the large city. Savage screams and bloodthirsty shrieks. The skies had turned grey as a swarm of winged demonic beings darkened the light of the day. Thousand upon thousands of Parademons were flying from the enormous boom tube in an ending stream.

A massive being radiating an aura of power walked slowly from behind them, stepping on air as if it was solid ground. Over 40 feet tall, extremely muscular, grey-skinned, red-eyed, and wearing purple-black armour - it was none other than the God of Apokolips, Darkseid. He floated above the large city with his hands behind his back, watching the world beneath his feet as if they were ants. They could not catch his interest. But when he saw a black-costumed blonde young woman with a red S on her chest, a smirk appeared on his terrible-looking face.

Even as dozens of new members of the Justice League of America (JLA) were being teleported behind Superwoman, the God of Evil was not in a hurry. He just stood in the air in the same arrogant posture, with his hands at his back. It was as if he was waiting for JLA to gather its entire forces before finally crushing them. His Parademons were also flying orderly behind him.

"You shouldn't have come here, Darkseid. We've killed you once before. We will do it again." Superwoman spat.

"I have underestimated you once and I paid for it. But now it's your turn to pay for your audacity," Darkseid's deep voice rang. "The skies will rain fire, the oceans will boil and the streets will run red with the blood of billions. Only then, after your last pitiful hope is extinguished, will I end your lives. For I am Entropy. I am Death. I am Darkseid."

As the God of Evil raised a hand from behind his back, his Parademons burst into bone-chilling roars and launched themselves crazily at the metahumans flying in the air.

The members of the JLA were not lacking in momentum either. As a deafening thunderclap rang, five Parademons fell to the ground lifelessly, their entire bodies charred black and smoking. With a battle cry, Shazam was the first to lead the vanguard of the Justice League against the invaders.

A blade-like laser beam cut over 10 Parademons in half, from the waist. Cyborg was on a rampage. His left arm transformed into a particle cannon and he prepared himself to shoot an even more powerful attack. However, before he could fire it, two crimson beams of light flooded his entire vision. Then, he knew no more.

It had happened in an instant. Darkseid's red eyes were still burning with his Omega Beams after firing them. However, there was nothing left of Cyborg in this world. He had been reduced to ashes.

"Cyborg!" Starfire cried out heartbroken.

However, there was no time for mourning on the battlefield. Distracted as she was by the death of a dear comrade, the Tamaranean princess never saw the two Parademons that lunged at her from her blind spot. It was only John Stewart's timely intervention that saved her from being impaled in the back. Instead, the Parademons' claws smashed against a green construct of light in the shape of a sphere.

Superwoman suddenly let out a powerful shout, one that reverberated through the entire city. Dozens of Parademons among the large group surrounding her fell from the air with blood flowing from their eyes and ears from the soundwave. Even her allies, the rest of the JLA members, despite wearing earplugs, felt their bodies shake and their heads hurt too from how powerful the sound had been.

Breaking free of her encirclement, the young Argonian left sonic booms in her wake as she flew at Darkseid like a speeding bullet.

The God of Apokalips greeted her attack with a mocking grin, meeting her punch head-on. A 5'6'' girl's fist smashing against the fist of a giant over 40 feet tall. The difference in size was ridiculous, it was like a house cat clashing against a bull. However, the result betrayed even Darkseid's expectations. The mocking smirk on his face vanished the moment he felt the insane power behind her punch. It was no weaker than that of his late enemy, Superman!

*boom*

Despite that the fight was taking place nearly 1 mile above Metropolis, the shockwave that their clash had generated shattered all windows on the upper floors of the taller skyscrapers of the city below.

Most of the members of the Justice League and even the Parademons quickly steered away from the two powerful beings' proximity, afraid of being caught in their clash.

Nevertheless, not everyone shied away from the devastating battle between Superwoman and Darkseid. A rocket of green light burst forth from Green Lantern's Power Ring towards Darkseid, forcing the god to meet its charge with a powerful punch of his own. The construct of light was smashed into pieces that faded into nothingness but Darkseid left himself open in the process. A muscular man flew below him and shouted:

"Shazam!"

Like magic, the sky suddenly turned black and lightning struck down.

"Raargh!" Darkseid screamed but then he stomped with his foot into Shazam's face.

The boy-turned-superhero was launched towards the ground like a cannonball. An entire skyscraper was demolished by Shazam's unconscious body. Several thousand people were killed in an instant.

"We have to take the fight out of Metropolis!" Green Lantern screamed, his face livid with fury.

So many innocents dying in the crossfire at the very beginning of the fight was like a bucket of ice-cold water that had been poured on the superheroes' heads. The Justice League had not ignored the warning of Green Arrow, that Darkseid would return. Ever since JLA had been established a year before, they had run multiple simulations, plans, and strategies on how to deal with Darkseid's next invasion. However, the reality was different from what they had expected.

"Do not panic!" Batman's cold voice came through the comms of the JLA members. "Stick to the plan. We have to gouge out his two eyes first."

A hero riding a winged white horse, wearing a knight's armour and wielding a sword courageously flew ahead and stabbed towards Darkseid's head but a Parademon cut his way and tackled him off his flying horse. Sir Justin had not even made it to the ground because three Parademons ripped his armour off him and then his body too, to shreds, amidst his terrible dying screams.

A blonde girl wearing a blue costume with a star motif on her chest and wielding a golden staff shouted in anger as a golden energy blast cleared the skies around her of the Parademons surrounding her. Then, she flew at Darkseid in a rage. At the same, Superwoman's eyes glowed red and the group of over 20 Parademons that were trying to surround her again were incinerated. Breaking the sound barrier once more, she lunged at the God of Evil again.

All of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, a green serpentine dragon appeared below Darkseid and coiled itself around him, briefly immobilizing him. Wielding her Cosmic Staff, Stargirl plunged its sharp end straight into the giant god's left red eye.

Screaming in rage and pain, a blue electricity-like energy attack suddenly burst out from Darkseid's body. It was the Matrix of Agony. The green serpentine dragon coiled around his body suddenly changed its shape and fell down as it transformed into Martian Manhunter. The Martian was screaming in untold pain, seemingly out of his mind as he fell down.

Darkseid's remaining eye glowed crimson, about to fire another round of Omega Beams but Superwoman's kick smashed powerfully into his face. The huge 40-foot tall giant was sent flying towards the ocean, rolling and tumbling through the air like a broken kite.

Even as Darkseid fell into the ocean, the Justice League gave him no rest. A red lightning-like human being flashed across the turbid ocean waters and started to run in circles around the spot where he had fallen. A hurricane took form and a wall of water rose from the ocean, kicking the God of Evil out of the water. Still in mid-air, before he could get a chance to regain his balance, Darkseid was blasted backwards once again as Starfire fired a giant green energy blast from her hands. John Stewart also followed up with an enormous hammer of green light which he smashed into Darkseid's head, sending his giant body tumbling across the ocean water like a skipping stone.

With a shout of pain and anger, Darkseid righted his body in the air.

"Parademons! Ignore the Justice League. Kill those pitiful humans in the city!"

Colour drained from the heroes' faces. They had never expected that Darkseid, despite getting beaten up and dominated by teamwork would all of a sudden switch his focus from them onto the bystanders.

The words of their god were law for them. The bloodthirsty Parademons stopped attacking the superheroes and flew towards the shore, towards the city. They threw themselves onto the helpless civilians in the city like a pack of wolves in a herd of sheep. Men, women, children, elderly, none were spared. Hundreds of innocent people had been brutally killed in less than a minute and the Parademons showed no signs of stopping. It was not in their nature to be merciful. Slaughter was the sole purpose of their existence.

Despite having been blinded by one eye and battered by the Justice League's attacks, Darkseid revealed an ugly grin as he heard the death throes screams coming from the city.

"Hearing people's death throes screams... it warms one's heart doesn't it?" Darkseid chuckled darkly. "My only regret is that Kal-L is no longer alive to hear this wonderful concert. I wish he was here. I wish I could see his face, twisted from rage and suffering as his heart bled for those insignificant ants below."

The God of Evil's mockery made the Justice League boil with rage.

"Fate!" Batman called out and a portal in the form of an ankh appeared in the air above Metropolis City. "I am sorry. We have no other choice."

Kent Nelson's face was serene under his golden helmet.

"You do not need to apologise. Compared to other people, I have lived a long life. What is my life compared to the lives of 10 million?" the sorcerer said.

"Have you contacted Wonder Woman and Caterpillar?" Batman asked after a moment of silence.

"Green Arrow is calling them now." Doctor Fate replied.

"Do you think they will answer your call? Will they listen to your request?" Batman asked another question.

"They will. Uzumaki had given me his word," Fate said calmly. Then, he changed the subject: "I need someone to protect me while I cast this spell."

"Roger," Batman replied and then he terminated the connection. "Flash, Green Lantern, head back to Metropolis. Protect Doctor Fate at all costs. Even with your life!" he called the two heroes and said.

⁂

It was not only in the United States that the army of Parademons was wreaking havoc. Every large city and urban agglomeration on the planet had been attacked simultaneously by hordes upon hordes of flying demons. It was not only Parademons either; new boom tubes were being constantly opened as other kinds of troops were being transported over to Earth - war machines of immense sizes, robots, and other types of monstrous creatures too. The military and the hero agencies from all over the Globe were fighting together against the invaders but the losses were terrible on both sides. Hundreds of metahumans and thousands of soldiers were losing their lives with every passing minute. It was a bitter battle, a battle for survival.

⁂

Naruto, Diana, and Kurama were together, eating some delicious fruits native to the planet Karna and catching up with each other. They were talking about what they had been up to over the past two years when a very annoying beeping sound disturbed them. Naruto's first intention was to ignore it but the golden fox had other thoughts.

"You better pick that up," Kurama said seriously.

Naruto looked at him inquisitively but chose to listen to his words and took out his lightwave device. Tapping on it to accept the call, it was the hologram of a masked blond man wearing a feathered green hat. It was none other than Green Arrow.

"Wonder Woman, Mr Uzumaki. Darkseid has invaded the Earth!" the bow-wielding hero said directly, without any pleasantries. The tone of his voice was filled with urgency.

"What's the situation?" Diana asked.

Though inwardly surprised at the Amazon's drastically different hair colour, Green Arrow did not comment on it. There was no time for chatting about such trivial matters.

"Darkseid and his army of Parademons invaded through hundreds of boom tubes. He sent his Parademons and war machines all over the planet, to the biggest urban agglomerations on each continent. As for Darkseid himself, he came to Metropolis. Shining Knight, Cyborg and probably Shazam too have already fallen. Martian Manhunter's fate is unknown. Superwoman is enraged."

Hearing that several members of the Justice League have already died made Diana descend into momentary silence. She asked after a while: "Who is Superwoman?"

"Supergirl. She grew up. She is one of the two leaders of the Justice League of America together with Batman. That's what she calls herself nowadays," Green Arrow replied.

"Where is Doctor Fate? How come you're the one who is using his lightwave device? Did he die too?" Naruto asked.

Another brief moment of silence was instilled. Eventually, Green Arrow said:

"Darkseid ordered his Parademons to ignore the Justice League and attack the people in the city. There are thousands of them, we cannot stop them all... Doctor Fate is going to cast a powerful area of effect spell to keep them away."

The situation truly seemed very urgent. Diana stood up and said:

"Hold on for one hour. Tell everyone to keep on fighting for one hour. That's how long it will take us to space warp there!"

"I can send you there directly." Kurama unexpectedly said.

Both Naruto and Diana turned to look at him in surprise. They remembered at that moment that, as one of the more powerful Olympian Gods, Athena had been able to open portals too. It looked like the power of Faith that Kurama had gathered was not any less than that of Athena seeing as he was capable of doing similar things.

"Are you coming with us?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"No." Kyuubi refused directly. "I don't care about that planet. Vega System is my home, not Earth. But if you end up in mortal peril, you can summon my avatar. Just like you used to summon your toads in the past. I will come and rescue you."

Naruto looked at the fox weirdly. In the past, between the two of them, it was he who used to be stronger. However, it looked like in the present, Kurama believed that he was in a completely different league altogether, to the point where just his avatar would be able to defeat an enemy that Naruto and Diana could not handle together... the blond did not what to think.

"The Summoning Jutsu? How would that work to summon your avatar?" he asked.

"I have infused you with my divinity. We are connected. Or, better said, you are my apostle now." Kurama said and laughed arrogantly, very pleased with himself.

"We don't have time for this!" Diana burst from the side impatiently. "More people are dying every second we waste!"

Kyuubi stopped joking around and waved his claw in front of him as if he was slashing at the air. Five white claw marks appeared in mid-air as if the membrane of reality had been ripped. The claw marks in the air widened until a rift larger than a human's body was torn open and a portal appeared. They could see the tall skyscrapers of Metropolis beyond it.

⁂

"Is Doctor Fate not done yet?" Flash complained as he blitzed past 15 Parademons and punched them to death with the aid of Speed Force.

Green Lantern also created a sharp whip of light that smashed any Parademon that came too close to the sorcerer who was levitating in the air in a cross-legged position. Doctor Fate had been casting that spell for over three minutes already.

"If you have enough time to chat, go and kill more Parademons!" John shouted at him, not in the mood to listen to the speedster's complaints. Not after witnessing the deaths of so many innocent people.

A golden light in the form of an ankh suddenly appeared between Doctor Fate's hands and he opened his eyes behind his helmet. A quiet, mourning voice came from his mouth.

"Nabu's Law of Order."

The golden ankh flew up from his hands in the air. As it gained altitude, the ankh of light increased in size exponentially. It grew enormous, to the point where it dwarfed the entire city, bathing it in a golden light. As the divine light expanded outwards, any Parademon it touched was turned into dust like a miracle. It did not kill only the Parademons. Even some humans or metahumans from Earth who thought about taking advantage of the state of chaos and despair to loot and rob stores or to commit other crimes were also turned into dust. However, the ankh of divine light did not harm innocents in the least. Quite the opposite, it began healing their injuries. In hospitals, even patients who were surviving only thanks to being wired to medical machines suddenly regained their consciousness as their terminal illnesses were healed.

Even the Justice League and Darkseid who had been battling above the ocean had become still at that spectacular scene. There was a trace of shock in Darkseid's remaining eye, never having expected a human from Earth to be able to use the true power of one of the Lords of Order. However, despite learning from the other members of the JLA who were in the city to help and protect the civilians that the Parademons were being erased from existence, Superwoman, Stargirl, Steel and the other heroes fighting against Darkseid were not showing any signs of joy. They knew the price that Doctor Fate had paid for casting that spell.

As the golden light had expanded to engulf the entire city, kill all hostiles, and heal all injuries, Doctor Fate's face visibly aged under his golden helmet. The price of casting Nabu's Law of Order was his lifespan. His skin became rough and ridden with age marks, his teeth fell from his mouth, his grizzled hair became snow white and then fell off from his head too. But he had no intention of stopping. The ankh of golden light continued to expand towards the ocean.

For the first time since showing up on Earth, Darkseid revealed a look of fear on his face. Completely ignoring the attacks of the other members of the JLA surrounding him, the God of Evil flew in the open ocean, trying to put as much distance, as fast as possible, between him and the shore, between him and that golden ankh of light.

Nevertheless, in spite of Doctor Fate's tenacity, he reached his limit eventually. The forbidden spell had devoured his entire lifespan. But even as he died, Doctor Fate did not show regret, sadness, or fear. He felt that his over 100 years of life spent fighting against evil did not amount to as much as he had done in the last few minutes of his life. He closed his eyes, a serene expression on his face. He had died fighting to protect the innocent. He had sacrificed his life for the sake of saving 10 million others. There was no nobler way to die than that.