NOVEL NEXT Chapter 127: 124
When the Bifrost cleared an army of pissed off Asgardians stood there and I suspect that this wasn't the only place that they appeared. Thor, Odin and Loki were in the front taking center stage. It was understood to most of the universe that earth was under the protection of Asgard even if Apokolips didn't know initially it wasn't hard to find out. This was considered nothing short of a slap in the face of Odin by Darkseid.
Which is why Odin now donning the destroyer armor he didn't even wait or announce himself. Instead he immediately charged at Darkseid who was completely unprepared as Odin sent him flying with a single punch. Thor and Loki weren't idle as they sprang into action targeting Steppenwolf. Was it fair? Absolutely not but at the moment none of the Asgardians seemed to care as they began to tear through Darkseid's forces.
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Zeus POV (Gotham)
Normally the gods wouldn't interfere with mortal matters as such things are beneath us including this conquest of earth. Humans are but insignificant ants created to serve their betters if they were to disappear not a single significant god would care. Yet now that dimensions were merged the world became more interesting as significant resources began to appear most significantly was Julian Black. In his short tenure in this reality he has caused several major changes his continued existence has led to many wonders which mystify even the gods. Now to earn his favor we must lower ourselves to the level of champions to defend the earth even though there are plenty of champions available.
I couldn't just leave everything to Asgard as this would imply that they had supremacy over the world. So various gods from Olympus were doing much of same as the Asgardians. It never occurred to me that as I went to confront Darkseid that I would be the last to arrive. Ra was already mid clash with Darkseid who was already struggling against Odin. I almost felt like I didn't want to join the fight as where was the glory in beating an opponent who is out numbered; still I couldn't lower myself to fight any of the lessers.
It was then that I noticed something that they forgot many mortals were caught up in the fight and Julian seemed fond of them according to Diana. Using my power I contained the clash as best I could it was extremely difficult as they were all god kings. I wasn't subtle as I wanted it to seen that while others clashed like brutes I defended the people making them priority.
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Fury POV (Shield helicarrier)
For once it seemed like Julian's actions were making life easier as instead of causing a crisis it was now preventing a major fucking disaster. The mutant community stepped up fighting against Apokolips's forces with their various abilities. Beings from myths gods showed up around the world to defend the earth even super villains answered the call. Wizards and Force users worked together pushing the invaders and forcibly closing portals. It even appeared that one of Julian's harem was trying to recruit female servants of Darkseid and had successfully done so for one of them.
If humanity survived this invasion I have no doubt that Julian will use this as an opportunity to force his agenda. Julian has never hidden his stance on the wider universe he believes that everything non human is a threat to be dealt with. According to Natasha's report Julian is a sociopath that will exploit everyone and everything to achieve his goals. His harem is carefully curated to expand his power each possessing unique qualities that strengthen his position. He's been a beacon of instability since he has arrived and apparently he even created his own goddess using a mutant woman just before Darkseid appeared.
This garnered the attention of various heroes gathering them in one place leading me to believe that he knew this was going to happen. That the major point of the invasion was going to be Gotham. It wasn't hard to put two and two together as one of his harem openly admitted to being from Apokolips. It would not be difficult for him to get information on an upcoming invasion on earth.