As Bruce's aircraft approached the abandoned nuclear site in Russia, a crimson beam shot up from the ground without warning.
It sliced cleanly through the center of the aircraft.
The Flying Fox split in two. A massive explosion erupted across the night sky, burning wreckage scattering in every direction.
Daniel burst out of the explosion carrying Diana in a princess carry. A short distance away, Victor stabilized himself with his flight systems while Barry clung onto him. Clark caught Bruce before he could fall and carried him safely through the air.
Daniel looked around quickly. "Everyone alright?"
No immediate response. He expanded his senses, trying to locate whoever had fired.
"I don't even know where that came from—"
"Hmph."
A cold, mocking female voice echoed across the sky.
"It seems you insects have enough ability to survive my attack."
Floating high above them was a woman in black Kryptonian-style armor trimmed with crimson, a flowing cape billowing behind her as red energy danced around her body. Across her chest was the unmistakable crest of the House of El.
Everyone's eyes shifted toward Clark.
Even he froze. He had never seen this woman before. Yet there was no mistaking the symbol.
Daniel stared at her.
That's Kara. Superman's cousin.
He frowned. How the hell did she end up serving Darkseid?
Before he could think further, Kara's eyes ignited crimson. A heat vision beam shot straight toward him. Daniel dropped immediately — the beam narrowly missed and burned into the sky above.
Kara chased without hesitation.
They reached the ground almost simultaneously. Daniel set Diana on her feet and stepped forward. "You guys deal with Steppenwolf. I'll handle her."
Diana nodded once and led the others toward Steppenwolf and the three Mother Boxes.
The moment they were gone —
Boom.
Kara crashed into Daniel shoulder-first. The impact launched him through the air and straight into one of the abandoned reactor chimneys, reducing the entire structure to rubble before he came to a stop beneath collapsing concrete.
Kara descended slowly. "I heard from Steppenwolf that one god still remained on this planet." She looked at the rubble. "But you seem rather weak for a god."
The concrete exploded outward.
Daniel stepped out, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. He rolled his shoulders. "If you want to see my power —" he smiled, "— come at me."
Black death energy erupted from his body, spreading across the battlefield like smoke.
Kara's lips curved. "Good."
She disappeared. Daniel vanished at the same instant.
A deafening shockwave tore across the battlefield as their fists collided head-on, the impact ripping apart the ground beneath their feet and sending a hurricane-force blast across the entire site.
The only thing visible afterward was the trail of destruction left behind as each collision sent shockwaves through the reactor complex.
Kara caught his next swing and answered with a kick that sent him skidding across cracked concrete.
Before he could recover she was already there, driving a punch into his chest that launched him through a reactor wall. Chunks of reinforced concrete rained down around him.
Daniel stepped out of the dust and stretched his hand. A black Death Scythe materialized in his grip.
Kara narrowed her eyes. "So you finally decided to use a weapon."
He vanished. The scythe swept toward her neck — not aimed at her body, but at her soul.
The instant the blade reached her, crimson energy erupted from the symbol on her chest. The red aura collided with the scythe.
Clang.
Instead of cutting through, the scythe was forced backward. Daniel slid several meters before driving the weapon into the ground to stop himself.
"Magic is useless against my armor." Kara glanced at the crimson aura surrounding her suit. "It was forged by Apokolips."
Daniel clicked his tongue. "Fucking Apokolips magic. I hate it."
She didn't give him another second. Her eyes ignited and twin beams tore across the battlefield.
Daniel swung the Death Scythe across his body, the black blade intercepting both beams and forcing them skyward. The collision between heat vision and death energy produced a violent explosion that lit up the night.
Kara shot through the smoke immediately, closing the distance before the flames had even begun to fade.
Daniel blocked her punch with the shaft of the scythe but the impact still sent him crashing through a concrete wall. He slid backward across broken ground before planting the weapon to stop himself.
He looked up at her. "Why are you fighting for Darkseid?"
Another clash shook the battlefield as Kara appeared directly in front of him. He barely raised the scythe in time to block her kick.
"You've forgotten who you are. You're a Kryptonian. A member of the House of El." He pushed her back. "And you're fighting for that tyrant?"
Kara's expression darkened immediately. "How dare you —" crimson energy erupted around her armor, "— call His Majesty's name like that!"
She grabbed the remains of an enormous reactor pipe, ripped it from the ground with one hand, and swung it like a club.
Daniel crossed the scythe in front of him.
Boom.
The impact shattered the pipe and launched him hundreds of meters away, crashing through another reactor building. He climbed out of the rubble coughing, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Yep." He looked back at her. "She's brainwashed."
*****
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