Chapter 1.3
Batman still remembered, as the sky lit up in a mushroom of a green explosion. It seemed to encompass half the world's exosphere. A red glow outlined the blast, half as just as powerful. Batman reasonably assumed the latter belonged to Clark, whilst the former came from the mysterious man.
That did not please him.
The kind of power he displayed was obscene. There were only a few handfuls he could count on one hand that could give someone like Superman a challenge, and now there's someone else to be added to the list.
Batman glared at the man across the table. The tense atmosphere in the Watchtower could be cut through a blunt knife.
"The body of Doomsday has been secured and processed in Superman's fortress," Batman's gravel voice echoed through the room. "But, we have a more pressing concern,"
"I've run facial recognition on every database I could find...," Cyborg looked uncomfortable, as he avoided looking anywhere but Clark. Now, that was news. "I've managed to safeguard his information before any government could find out his identity, Superman. They won't find him. Period."
Clark sighed in relief, his shoulders sagging.
Then, it clicked. Batman's eyes widened briefly, then it became a mask of carved stone. He remembered reading the Superman's background, so long ago. And he knew about the missing brother, but he assumed him to be the natural son of Martha and Jon Kent. Their faces matched, though this one was older, and taller.
Batman didn't like being left out of the loop.
"Wait, what? Hold up, why would you do that?" Flash asked, his brow furrowed behind his mask.
"Superman, would you tell them, or should I?" Clark glared at Batman, then avoided his gaze.
Batman unconcerned, only folded his arms.
Clark sighed. "When I was picked up by my parents as a baby, I wasn't the only one there," The red-caped crusader looked uncomfortable. "I wasn't the only one with powers. My brother... is also an alien... like me,"
"Whow! Wait up! Hold the phone, guys!" Hal crossed his hands into a T sign, "You telling me, you got a brother?! The hell! You mention your family all the time. So, why not your brother?"
Clark didn't answer.
"He's not Kryptonian, is he, Clark?" Diana stood, her palms pressing into the marble table. "The kryptonions we've all faced had similar powers as you. But this one was different, wasn't he?"
"Yes. No. He's not a Kryptonian, but his history was similar to mine, that it made no difference," Clark thanked Cyborg for the mug of coffee, though that wouldn't affect him. The comfort of a warm drink seemed to sooth the man into complacency. "My parents explained that, when they found him, they also found my brother's biological father. He was nearing death, but what little time he had, he handed a computer chip of his recordings from the ship.
"Broly is the last of his kind, like me," Clark sipped his drink. "His father, Paragus, came to Earth to save his son, despite the fatal wound he sustained. What... concerned my parents, was what the recordings held. His people, the Saiyans, was a warrior race,"
Clark looked straight at everyone right in the eyes. "They were a warrior race, yes, but they also conquer worlds for the highest bidder,"
"I've heard of them," Hal quietly cursed, then replied. "I've heard a lot of stories from the vets about these people. Oa had gone to war against these people for... I don't know, hundreds of years. They were a formidable people, and a martial one. And they never lost. But they never won, either, against Oa. We could only keep them from expanding, and curbing their businesses was an exercise in half.
"Then one day," Hal clicked his fingers. "Gone. Just like that. Oa sent in their investigators, but nothing was found. Not even the dust and debris should the world was destroyed by some outside forces. No evidence.
"To put into context, the Saiyans have been seen fighting against every worthy opponent they could find. Be they Oans, the Red Lanterns, Darkseid. Or even...," Here, Hal looked at Clark specifically. "The Kryptonians, themselves,"
Clark flinched, then took another gulp of the hot coffee.
"The implications that they have fought Darkseid is important," Cyborg turned to Hal, confused. "We were lucky we only pushed him back from invading. Why hadn't Darkseid conquered them?"
Hal was already shaking his head. "You have to understand. The Saiyans were a martial people, but they were also fanatics. They were obsessed with strength. They don't care about the material wealth or anything, but to grow stronger, to reach a higher state of existence. They fight, and fight, and fight. They conduct their mercenary business only as an excuse to fight longer,"
Batman could feel the bated breath of everyone in this room.
"So, when Darkseid and his planet invaded, it was only reasonable that the Saiyans would lose," Hal shrugged, rubbing his brow in exhaustion. "We studied this, in Oa. A lot. They were the lessons that we learned,"
Hal gazed around the room, then muttered something to his ring. "We've had recordings of the war from a few Lanterns hiding in the sector. They wanted to help, but they figured the Saiyans would have only attacked them,"
The screen glowed a green within the room. The scene flickered to a city. It was the dark side of the world, and the moon hid behind heavy, dark clouds above. And there, just below the clouds, the sky was overcast with millions of parademons, their eyes gleaming red like bloody rubies.
There, behind them, Batman could make out the planet Apocalypse.
The screen flickered to the people below, as they looked upon the skies with wonder. Batman leaned closer, and frowned. There was no fear. None that he could find. Only.. joy. Exaltation. Their furry tales wrapped around their bodies like belts.
Then, something miraculous happened.
A mother hugged her ten-year-old child, then pointed to the air in awe. The child, only smiled. A man holding groceries kept eating even as he looked into the clouds, seemingly devouring everything within his bag, unconcerned. A pregnant woman, fully bloated, she rubbed her stomach sadly. Then, she looked into the skies.
Every man, woman, and child rose into the air, their arms outstretched. Their smiles gleamed like fangs. They were welcoming the parademons as friends, rather than enemies, Batman realized.
The wings of parademons outstretched, and taut as they descended upon the city like locusts, millions strong.
Not to be outdone, one-by-one, the Saiyans howled. A battle cry that cut through the air. An entire race of people, as millions of people, ascended to the sky. Their speeds easily reached Mach speeds. Their roar of defiance met the cold silent fury of the parademons, and the sky seemed to have come alive with fireworks of every manner of colour.
Energy, Batman figured. The Saiyans could manipulate energies, similar to Clark, but on a bigger scale.
The energy attacks ripped into the parademons within the first wave, but more replaced them. And then, they closed the distance.
Bodies met, and flesh ripped asunder. The very air seemed to have been bathed in blood, and fire. And the fury of an entire people dove into the invaders.
Hundreds of thousands died within the first clash, and only more followed. The children were no exception. The youngest was a seven-year-old girl, and Batman could only watch in sick facination as she bit into the throat of an invader, and shoved her fist through its neck with a scream.
He spied on Diana, and her eyes were wide with admiration and respect, even awe. Diana was from a martial society, but even she appreciated the respect the women seemed to have gained within the Saiyans. The Earth lacked in that regard.
The Flash was shaking in his boots. Quite literally. He had a soft heart, and he hated to see these children have suffered. As for Cyborg, the young man could only harden his gaze and record everything into his computer. Aquaman was unmoved, though he knew the dark haired man was shaken to his core.
The screen switched to different places on the planet, showcasing every major battle they could find.
There were exceptional warriors even from the Darkseid's side, some the Justice League hadn't fought before. He immediately knew the reason why.
"There's a reason we were so lucky we were able to beat back Darkseid's invasion attempt," Then screen froze on a particular figure. "This is Kalibak, a sociopathic killer. Loves torturing puppies and getting into fights. He's also Darkseid's son,"
The battle resumed, and Kalibak was a force of a hurricane as he tore into the Saiyans with wanton bloodlust. He bloody exposition lasted only a minute, before someone blasted him into the earth, and tore his stomach open from groin to throat.
A dark-haired young man, with a red bloodied bandana around his forehead, and a crossed scar on his left cheek.
"Half of the Furies died before they retreated to lick their wounds," Hal continued, as he showed the bodies of said Furies, "The Deep Six was an elite fighting force that comprised of New Gods, loyal only to Darkseid,"
Here, Hal showed the bodies of the Deep Six. Their deaths were gruesome.
"You have to understand, Darkseid's reason for successes against other planets is simply the numbers involved," Hal gazed with hardened eyes. "Darkseid's armies were always numerically superior against his opponents, and the population was largely helpless against the parademons, and the armies were always overwhelmed.
"So, what would happen, if every child born was taught to fight, and never lose? The Saiyan homeworld was a population of billions. Darkseid's army only counted on the hundreds of millions, at best. So, what do you think happened, when the king of Saiyans wanted vengeance for this crime?"
"You're telling me... the Saiyans invaded Apokolips?" Batman flatly replied. "Darkseid miscalculated, it seems,"
"And I'm guessing Darkseid finally stepped in?" Superman said. It wasn't a question.
"When Darkseid finally came into the war front, well... we couldn't get any recordings of the fight. It was deemed too dangerous to get close to the planet, but there had been stories, of course. Suffice it to say, Darkseid killed a lot of Saiyans that day, but the problem was..."
"The invasion was costing Darkseid," Batman said.
Hal nodded. "The war lasted forty-eight hours, nonstop. Half the population of Saiyans was wiped out. But for Apokalips? Their war army was completely decimated. The infrastructure was all but gone, the slaves dead, some of Darkseid's very important people were being hunted down and killed. Their population was a fraction of what they once were. The Saiyans looted technology, valuable stones, people... you name it,"
"All the while the Saiyans were throwing enough bodies at Darkseid to... what? Distract him?" Batman asked.
"Yes, but more than that, the Saiyans had made Darkseid bleed," Hal crossed his arms. "And then, that's when things got really interesting,"
The Flash groaned. "How much more interesting can they get?"
Hal smirked, then the screen switched to the urban warfare being made on the streets of the city. "One of the Lanterns felt it was safe to go down to Apokalips and have a look, when he sensed a unique energy being created."
The screen switched to that same man that killed Kalibak. His bearing was bloody, his armor cracked and open. There were scars, and he bled freely. He held his hand in the air, and a mercurial energy was conjured. It almost resembled a moon...
"I'm sure you've all noticed by now, of their tails. Every Saiyan has one, and they have a unique physiology that belonged only to this race of people. This warrior you're seeing here is a scientist," Batman's brow raised in surprise, as did the rest of the Justice Leaguers. A warrior, and a scientist, was a surprising combination, especially one that belonged to a warrior race that solely focused on conquer and plunder. "What he did that day... well, you should see it yourself,"
The mysterious man whipped the silvery ball of energy into the air, all the way into the red clouds. And somehow, every Saiyan noticed it as they looked up. Even those fighting against Darkseid, noticed. As for Darkseid, he must have known something was wrong, when he looked into the ball of energy that sparked like the moon.
The moon.
The planet quaked.
Darkseid ripped into the bodies of his opponents with new vigor, but that didn't stop the Saiyan as they transformed. Their armour cracked and fell apart, as they grew seven hundred feet into the air. All muscles, fur, and jaws and sharp teeth.
The Justice League were still, as they watched a carnage take place unlike nothing before. The apes' gaping mouths hung open, and beams of energies detonated cities, and blasted apart the rock and the earth underneath. They stomped, ate, and killed. Earthquakes occurred, underneath the sheer weight of so many monstrous giants.
It was ironic, seeing someone like Darkseid being invaded.
The battle lasted all of an hour, before boom tubes opened to every giant ape on the planet, and sucked them in. Ten minutes later, the planet Apokolips left, and disappeared into its own portal.
Hal turned to face his fellow leaguers. "Any questions?"
