Constantine flicked away the ash from his cigarette, then gave Axel a polite bow.
Axel looked at him, shook his head lightly, then appeared beside him in a flash and slapped his shoulder hard.
"You just wanted to let Zatanna escape, so why the long explanation?" Axel said with a grin. "Even if you didn't let her go, I would've caught her before she hit the ground. She's hot as hell, and I haven't even had my fun yet."
He patted Constantine's shoulder again before turning toward Doctor Fate, who had collapsed on the rooftop.
Behind him, Constantine pursed his lips and glanced at Barry.
"Are you sure this guy is the same Lord you described? He seems way friendlier than the dark tyrant you kept talking about."
Barry clenched his fists excitedly.
"Yeah, this is exactly why we did all this. I like him much better like this!"
He was about to cheer.
But before Barry could react, Axel had already reached Doctor Fate and grabbed his ankle while the old sorcerer struggled to stand.
"Feels terrible without magic, doesn't it?"
Axel twisted his leg violently.
A horrifying scream echoed across Gotham City, loud enough that even Diana and Kara, fighting far from Wayne Manor near the ocean, paused for a moment.
Kara smiled faintly.
Diana's expression darkened with fury.
"You still don't understand," Kara said coldly. "We're actually saving you."
"If saving people means someone like Clark Kent has to suffer like this," Diana snapped, "then keep your damn salvation!"
She slammed Kara straight into the sea. Massive waves erupted as their battle continued underwater.
Seconds later, Kara burst back out of the ocean carrying a gigantic block of ice with Diana frozen inside it.
Even trapped, Diana rolled her eyes stubbornly.
Boom.
Flames ignited along the hilt of her sword, instantly melting the ice as she broke free and launched forward again.
Kara frowned.
Why was this Diana getting stronger the longer the fight continued? The Diana from her own universe had fallen within minutes.
Annoyed, Kara resumed the fight.
Meanwhile, at Wayne Tower.
Axel stepped onto Doctor Fate's chest after crippling his leg.
Then he pushed down harder.
With brutal force, he tore Doctor Fate's thigh completely off.
The scream ended abruptly as Doctor Fate fainted.
Axel casually tossed the severed leg off the building, grabbed Fate by the throat, and slapped him across the face.
Slap.
The impact knocked off the Helmet of Fate, revealing Kent Nelson's aged face.
Axel sneered.
Without hesitation, he pulled out one of Kent's teeth.
Kent woke instantly, screaming in agony.
Axel grabbed his mouth shut, pressed a hand against his neck, and ripped off his arm.
A tearing sound echoed across the rooftop.
Doctor Fate's armor was gone, leaving only shredded clothing and exposed bone. Blood poured across the ground while Kent struggled silently, unable to even form words.
Axel lightly patted his face.
"You probably have a lot you want to say right now. Something about justice, morality, convincing me to abandon some evil master plan."
He laughed quietly.
"But I don't give a damn."
His expression turned cold.
"I told you again and again, I'm not Nimrod or whoever the hell you think I am. Yet you still refused to respect my name."
He leaned closer.
"Remember this. My name is Axel. Only Axel."
Axel straightened slightly.
"People like you always think someone powerful must have some legendary background. Gods, kings, chosen heroes."
He shrugged.
"But sometimes a regular guy just decides to cross the line."
Axel slammed Kent into the ground and crushed his remaining leg underfoot. Bone shattered instantly.
Kent still tried crawling forward with his single remaining arm.
Axel watched him for a moment and nodded.
"Honestly, I respect you a little."
He sighed.
"I tried letting you people go more than once. Yeah, I kill a lot, but I prefer killing assholes. The world already has enough monsters."
His tone hardened.
"But now I get it. Being a good person doesn't always mean you're good for the future."
"You're stuck in your worldview. People like you live long enough and nothing ever changes."
Axel grabbed Kent's head.
"So fewer people like you might actually help the world move forward."
He forced both hands into Kent's mouth and pulled.
In one violent motion, Doctor Fate's body split apart.
Blood splashed across Axel's face.
He calmly wiped it upward through his hair, fixing his hairstyle before walking toward Barry and Constantine with a bloody grin.
"Well done, you two."
Barry swallowed hard.
"We... we didn't really..."
He hesitated before finally speaking.
"What you said earlier, maybe there was some truth, but killing him like that... the reasoning feels…"
Axel laughed and interrupted him.
"Barry, don't overthink it."
He slapped Barry's suit with a blood-covered hand.
"I didn't need a reason. I killed him because I wanted to."
He shrugged casually.
"All that speech? Total bullshit. Results are what matter. I'm alive, he's dead. That's the only logic that counts."
He smirked.
"If he'd been a hot woman, maybe I'd have tied him to a bed instead. Sadly, not the case."
Axel patted Barry's shoulder and walked to the edge of Wayne Tower.
He stared into the endless night while Diana and Kara continued fighting in the distant sea.
He rubbed his face and laughed softly.
"I'm ridiculous as hell."
Raising his middle finger toward the sky, Axel spoke again.
"So what are you trying to tell me, God? Sending Constantine here with a pile of divine leftovers?"
His voice grew sharper.
"You want me to think I needed your help to protect Wayne Tower? That without you I was doomed to fail?"
Axel suddenly leapt into the clouds above Gotham.
From the sky, he looked down at Wayne Tower and the stunned figures below.
Then he clenched his fist.
Boom.
His punch crashed downward.
Wayne Tower exploded apart instantly, collapsing into ruin as shockwaves tore through the city. Barry grabbed Constantine and escaped at super speed.
Far away, Kara froze mid-battle.
"No!"
She rushed toward Gotham in disbelief.
Axel landed calmly within the collapsing ruins.
Dust covered everything as he slowly raised his arms.
"Somewhere along the way, I picked up goal after goal," he said quietly. "I was supposed to be the freest man alive, yet I kept getting dragged forward by things I never truly wanted."
He laughed coldly.
"The Seven Days' Talk, destroying towers, grand meaning, divine symbolism. Sounds impressive, right?"
He raised his middle finger toward the heavens again.
"But that was never my ritual."
"That was yours."
"The more I chased freedom through those goals, the less free I actually became."
Axel spat onto the ground, the impact blasting debris outward.
"My nature is freedom. No destiny, no path, no god deciding where I walk."
He spread his arms wide.
"I only care about being happy yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Everything else is just background noise."
He laughed loudly toward the sky.
"So congratulations, God. Maybe nobody mocks you."
"But I do."
Axel ran his hand through his bloodstained hair.
"Turns out everything I said before was just me talking shit, and you actually believed it."
He laughed wildly.
"Today was supposed to be Arkham's destruction, and instead I realized something. I accidentally walked the road you prepared for me."
He raised his middle finger one last time.
"Every world under your control feels like a prison to me."
Suddenly, Axel plunged his hand into his own chest.
He tore out his heart.
Flames erupted instantly, consuming both Axel and the beating heart as they vanished together.
Silence followed.
Then Axel slowly opened his eyes.
Two Chitauri soldiers piloting a hovering craft rushed straight toward him down a city street.