Chapter 201: BACK TO MARVEL
Note: I've released the last 10 chs for DC arc. And if I don't get at least 200 Powerstones today, then, it would be a disappointment.
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"Unknown dimension energy?!" Darkseid's voice was a low growl, filled with both curiosity and irritation. He rose from his throne, his giant form towering over the smaller Parademons who cowered in fear beneath his gaze. A couple of cracks also appeared inside the ship.
The space cracks around them were warping in unnatural ways. Some of the parademons tried to approach the cracks, but as they got closer, their bodies began to contort, sucked into the dimensional rifts before being spat out in a grotesque, unrecognizable form.
"Stop!" Darkseid commanded. The Parademons froze, their fearful gazes locked on him. "Do not approach the rifts. Summon Desaad."
One of the Parademons nodded and scrambled out of the room, disappearing down the corridor. Darkseid's red eyes narrowed as he stared into the shifting rift. The energy was new to him, unlike anything he had encountered before. His eyes narrowed as he observed the cracks, analyzing them with a tactical mind honed by eons of conquest. These were no ordinary spatial anomalies; they were the result of a powerful force, something that had ripped through dimensions to manifest here.
In the depths of the ship, Desaad, Darkseid's loyal servant and master torturer, was busy conducting his own experiments. When the summons reached him, he rushed to Darkseid's throne room, his twisted mind already working through various possibilities of what could have caused such a disturbance.
"My lord," Desaad bowed as he entered the room. He frowned, stepping closer to one of the larger rifts to examine it more closely. "These tears... they appear to be breaches in the dimensional fabric. I can sense energies from multiple realities seeping through. Wait! This energy?!"
"Yes. Another Multiverse that we were unaware of all these eons. Whatever caused these rifts has connected our Multiverse with another," Darkseid muttered as he watched the rifts.
"Such power!" Desaad gasped, his eyes wide as he took in the magnitude of what he was witnessing. "To rip open the very fabric of reality itself... Master, other than your Omega Beam, I don't think there is anything capable of doing this!"
Darkseid remained silent, his expression pensive. His eyes narrowed as he continued to observe the rifts. The energy fluctuation was increasing, and the distortion was becoming more unstable. But before he could issue an order, the largest crack suddenly expanded, and from its swirling depths, three forms were expelled.
Bruce, Selina, and Harley emerged from the vortex, their bodies flickering with residual energy as they were hurled onto the cold, metallic floor of Darkseid's ship. They landed hard, tumbling across the ground before coming to a stop.
"Where... where are we?" Selina groaned, slowly pushing herself up. She was disoriented, her head spinning from the sudden rushed fall.
"Oof, that was a ride!" Harley flipped up before rubbing the back of her head. "Where's the roller coaster? I want another go!"
Bruce, however, was already on his feet, his mind was already at work as he took in their surroundings. He recognized the architecture, the oppressive atmosphere, and the unmistakable presence of Darkseid himself. "No," he muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing as he looked up at the towering figure of the New God. "Of all the places…"
The parademons quickly surrounded them, pointing their weapons at Bruce, Selina, and Harley. Their sharp teeth were bared in vicious snarls as they advanced on them, but before they could attack, Darkseid raised his hand, signaling for them to halt.
"Humans?!" Darkseid's deep voice boomed throughout the chamber. His red eyes glowed as he studied Bruce, Selina, and Harley.
Selina glanced at Bruce nervously, taking a step back as she stared up at Darkseid. "Bruce, that's him, right?" she whispered.
"Yes," Bruce replied quietly, his gaze never leaving Darkseid.
"That's a freakin' giant! You didn't tell me he was that big!" Harley squeaked, clutching Selina's arm. "Hey! Do you think if I asked nicely, he would shrink down so I can punch him in the face?!"
Before Selina could respond, Darkseid spoke again, his voice reverberating through the room. "Who are you and what are these rifts?" he demanded. His eyes narrowed as he examined them, sensing their unusual energy signature.
Bruce glanced toward Selina and Harley. This wasn't the plan, but since they are here now, might as well improvise. The dimensional energy in their bodies might act anytime and suck them back inside the rifts. So...
"Selina, Harley... Destroy everything. I'll take on the big guy," Bruce said to Selina and Harley while cracking his neck as he charged toward Darkseid with super speed.
Selina and Harley exchanged a glance before grinning at each other. With their new Extremis upgrade with Kryptonian DNA, they are strong enough to do some serious damage. Although they can't control their power, right now, destroying stuff sounds like a good idea.
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Bruce's body blurred with speed as the air around him crackled with the power of his lightning ring.
Darkseid had hardly a moment to react when Bruce struck, an energy-charged fist hit the New God in his solar plexus. The effect reverberated throughout the ship, causing the walls to shake from the impact. Darkseid staggered backward, his crimson eyes narrowing as he assessed this unexpected turn of events. Bruce landed a few feet away, his fists still crackling with residual energy, his eyes locked on Darkseid, anticipating the counterattack.
"Impressive," Darkseid rumbled, his voice low and dangerous. "But you are still a mere human, playing with powers far beyond your understanding. But, I'll give you praise for actually landing a blow on me." He grinned as he readied himself for a fight. "I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart, human. Then, I'll rip your brain out and find out what I need to know myself."
Bruce didn't respond. He knew Darkseid was right—any advantage he had was temporary. He needed to keep the pressure on, to prevent Darkseid from getting the upper hand, but a nice idea knocked on his head. What if he can push Darkseid into one of these space rifts?! That should get rid of Darkseid for now.
Bruce rushed toward Darkseid again, his body moving with superhuman speed and agility. He lashed out with a series of quick blows, his hands moving in a blur as he launched a flurry of punches. Darkseid blocked the first few, but Bruce managed to land a few hits, sending shockwaves rippling through the New God's body.
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Harley and Selina also join the party, destroying everything around them with extreme force.
Harley dashed forward before creating a giant hammer with her nanites then she smashed through the nearest console, sparks flying as the alien tech exploded under the force of her blows. Parademons swarmed her, but she moved with unnatural speed, dodging their attacks with ease and returning the favor with hammer smashes. squashing those parademons into bloody pulps. "One down, two down, three down... Hehehehehe!" Her laughter echoed through the chamber, wild and unrestrained, as she reveled in the chaos she was causing.
Selina, on the other hand, was more methodical in her approach. She targeted key points in the ship's infrastructure. Her punches and kicks were calculated to cause maximum disruption with minimal effort. When parademons tried to intervene, she blasted them with simple punches, turning them into meat pulp. "This new power is just freaking awesome!" She grinned.
"Let's make this place go boom!" Harley called out as she flung a stolen explosive device into a cluster of approaching parademons. The resulting explosion rocked the ship, sending debris and parademons flying in all directions.
Desaad watched in horror as his carefully constructed lab was reduced to rubble by the two women. His precious experiments were destroyed, and his plans for conquest were in jeopardy. With a scream of rage, he launched himself at Harley, his eyes blazing with fury as he lashed out with his whip.
"Eeii!" Harley barely had time to react before the whip wrapped around her wrist, its barbed tip digging into her suit. Desaad yanked hard on the whip, pulling her towards him with inhuman strength. "Let go of me!" She growled, struggling against Desaad's grip. She grabbed the whip with her other hand and tore it with ease. "You sneaky freaky fuckin' ugly! HARL IS FREAKIN' ANGRY!" Her eyes glow red as heat vision bursts from them, hitting Desaad squarely in the chest.
"That's what you get for messin' with Wonder Quinn, you piece of shit!"
However, Desaad's armor absorbed most of the blast, leaving him relatively unharmed. He snarled, his twisted features contorting with rage as he lunged at Harley once more, his whip slashing through the air. "You will pay for that, you pathetic mortal!"
Harley felt her eyes burn from the sudden usage of heat vision. She closed her eyes and rubbed them furiously, trying to alleviate the discomfort. "Freakin' heat vision is tingly," she muttered to herself.
Selina unwrapped her whip from her waist, throating it at Desaad's throat. The whip wrapped around his neck tightly. Selina pulled the whip back, dragging Desaad toward her. "Playing with a whip, are we?" She activated the electric current inside the whip, electrocuting Desaad.
Desaad's body convulsed violently as he writhed in pain. His armor fizzled and smoked under the intense electrical current, but he refused to yield.
"ENOUGH!" He yelled, releasing a massive wave of energy, and pushing everyone back.
"Fuck you!" Selina took off her suit. The nanites swirled around the arc reactor on her palm. "I'm gonna just blow up everything!" She put the reactor into unstable mode and threw it at Desaad.
Desaad's eyes widened in horror as he watched the reactor hurtle toward him. He tried to raise his arm to shield himself, but it was too late. The reactor detonated in a blinding flash, engulfing the entire area in an inferno of white-hot flames.
"Holy crap! That's super duper powerful!" Harley whistled as she flew into space. "Now, I can even fly without the suit. Kinda feels weird!" She noticed her suit's power flickering. "Well... I wanna do that too..." She also put her arc reactor to unstable mode and threw it at Desaad.
Selina and Harley grinned as they watched the explosions ripple through the ship, the flames, and shockwaves spreading further with each passing second. Darkseid's mighty flagship was being consumed by fire and destruction. It was supposed to be the strongest ship in the universe, capable of withstanding anything. Yet, it crumbled like a house of cards under the relentless assault of two humans.
"That's what you get for messing with us!" Harley and Selina flew up into space.
"Wow!" Both of them stumbled as they were flying for the first time without their suits. Harley grinned as she twirled around in space, enjoying the sensation of weightlessness. "This is so much fun!" She laughed, spinning in circles.
"Yeah, it is!" Selina was also enjoying the experience, but her thoughts soon turned to Bruce.
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Darkseid's punch hurled Bruce backward, sending him crashing through the hull of the ship and into the cold vacuum of space. The New God followed, his powerful body glowing with energy as he pursued Bruce. His eyes blazed with fury as he unleashed a barrage of punches, each one striking with the force of a meteorite. Bruce desperately blocked and evaded as best he could, but Darkseid's superior strength and speed were beginning to wear him down. He was already exhausted after the dimensional transfer, and now fighting a monster without any preparation in an exhausted body and mind, it was too much.
"Enough!" Darkseid roared as he unleashed a blast of Omega Beam.
Bruce met the beam with his heat vision, the two energies colliding in a furious explosion. "ARGGGGG!!" Bruce screamed as he struggled to maintain his stance. His eyes burned, his vision blurring as he fought to resist Darkseid's overwhelming power.
"ARGGGG!!!" Darkseid roared back as he increased the intensity of his beam, his crimson eyes blazing with fury. "What kind of technology was that? How can mere human technology destroy the strongest metal in this universe? I'll have your brain, human."
Bruce roared, unleashing the full power of his heat vision, his eyes burning with a white-hot intensity. The two energies clashed in a blinding flash, the air around them crackling with raw power.
Selina and Harley rushed in, punching Darkseid from both sides, but the shield around him blocked all of their attacks. Darkseid snarled as he swung his arm, hitting Selina and Harley with enough force to send them hurtling back into one of the remaining ships.
"Ugh!" Selina groaned as she hit the wall. Harley fell on top of her.
Darkseid began to fly toward Bruce as his beam continued to push him back.
'That's it. Come closer,' Bruce thought, focusing on Darkseid as he poured every ounce of his energy into the heat vision. The small rift behind him was expanding slowly.
Darkseid grinned as he saw Bruce was weakening, his eyes widening in surprise as the human defiantly held his own against the New God. It's been eons since anyone dared to stand up to him like this. He is Darkseid, the almighty conqueror of worlds, and this human has the audacity to challenge him?!
He stopped his Omega Beam as he wanted to finish Bruce himself, to split his skull with his bare hands, pluck out his brain, and see the light fade from his eyes. Darkseid moved forward, his crimson eyes blazing with fury as he raised his fist, ready to deliver the final blow. But to his surprise, Bruce disappeared with a spark of lightning.
Bruce used his limited teleportation and appeared behind Darkseid. Then he used the Pym Particles to shrink himself and punched Darkseid in the back with everything he had at that moment.
"What?!" Darkesid stumbled forward and to his surprise, a small rift expanded before him. One more push...
Bruce enlarged himself again, grabbed Darkseid's shoulders, and pushed with all his might.
Darkseid roared as he resisted, his body glowing with energy. Selina and Harley also joined in, pushing the giant with all their might.
Darkseid's eyes widened as he realized he was losing the struggle. No! This cannot be! He is Darkseid! The conqueror of worlds! The almighty ruler of Apokolips! He resisted, but the suction force of the rift was too strong, dragging him inexorably toward its swirling depths.
Bruce, Selina, and Harley used heat vision on Darkseid's back, pushing him into the swirl.
He bellowed in rage as he fought to free himself from Bruce's grip. Selina and Harley also dragged him down as he flew forward to get out of the rift. But the rift was already closing, sealing itself shut as it returned to normalcy. Darkseid roared as he was sucked inside, his body disappearing into nothingness as the rift sealed itself.
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Four of them got split up by the dimensional rifts as their bodies got flung around in different directions...
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[Location: Earth ???]
[Booom!] A burning meteor crashed into a forest, sending up a cloud of trees, dust, and debris.
Bruce stood up with a grunt. He quickly checked his wristband where Jarvis and his spare nanites were stored. Thankfully, he is still wearing the nanite gauntlet. Good, that's one less thing to worry about. He quickly put on his suit to hide his identity, since he had no idea what this world was.
Then he observed his surroundings. 'Human heartbeat!' His enhanced senses caught a human.
"Who the fuck are you?" A gruff voice came from behind. Three metal claws came out from both hands, shining under the moonlight. Bruce turned around and saw a man in a yellow costume standing there with a cigar between his lips. "Are you with Magneto?" The man asked again with narrowed eyes.
---[HERE YOU GO FINAL CHAPTER. BIGGEST CHAPTER YET.]---
AN: Did you like it so far? I won't mind a couple of reviews and powerstones. lol.
I've decided to make the Marvel part a separate book. It'll be a continuation but written in a way that the new readers won't have a problem understanding what's going on. They can just read the last chapter of this one and get a rough picture. Just like how this one was written without much info on Bruce's life as Tony.
I've already started writing the next part. Expect to see Marvel Part next month. Or, you can read early chs on: pat reon.com/XcaliburXc
Here are the arcs that I've planned: 1) Mutant Uprising, 2) Titan vs New Gods, and 3) Multiverse Merge. If this works, then I'll write the first part where MC was born as Tony Stark.
New harem... And answer to the question as to why MC died as Tony despite knowing the future.