Superman’s chest rose and fell sharply, each breath heavier than the last. His suit was shredded, shallow gashes marking his body, and he was drenched in green blood as he continued tearing through Paradooms.

Beside him, Kara fought with far more ease,almost unsettlingly so. There was a level of brutality in her movements that suggested experience far beyond his. For a moment, it gave him pause,but he pushed the thought aside. There were bigger concerns.

Nearby, Shazam roared as he formed a crackling sphere of lightning and hurled it into a cluster of Paradooms. It detonated on impact, electrifying and charring them midair. Some dropped lifeless, others paralyzed,but before any could hit the 8ground, a massive raven construct sliced through them, finishing the job.

Its caster,Raven,suddenly clutched her head in pain.

The Paradooms saw the opening and lunged.

But before they could reach her,Zatanna stepped forward, both hands raised. “Nruter!” she shouted.

The creatures froze instantly.

Constantine moved in without hesitation, muttering under his breath as he raised his hand. A glowing magic circle formed in the air, releasing a surge of hellfire that engulfed the Paradooms and incinerated them completely.

Not far away, Aquaman and Mera fought in perfect sync. Mera manipulated the battlefield, restraining and immobilizing the Paradooms with precise control, while Aquaman followed through, cutting them down with brutal efficiency.

Across the battlefield, Barry blurred from point to point, assisting wherever he could,evacuating, striking, and occasionally taking down Paradooms with a kryptonite dagger when needed.

Wonder Woman and Hippolyta fought side by side, embodying the very definition of warriors, their blades carving through wave after wave without hesitation.

The Teen Titans coordinated their attacks under Starfire’s leadership, moving as a unified force despite the chaos.

Nearby, Batman, Cyborg,who had lost his left arm,and Pain fought together, covering for Cyborg’s vulnerability. Pain sliced through another Paradoom with his kryptonite katana

Then he suddenly stopped.when he felt it.

His strength… returning.

“He’s back,” he muttered.

That meant there was no longer any need to hold back.

Without hesitation, he discarded the kryptonite katana. His legs shifted, morphing into jet thrusters as he launched into the sky, heading straight toward Superman and the other heavy hitters.

His back opened as dozens of missiles fired outward.

Explosions lit up the sky.

Terra fought like a one-woman army, ripping out massive chunks of earth and hurling them at the Paradooms. Jagged spikes of stone shot upward, impaling anything that got too close.

When they pressed her, she met them head-on with her kryptonite staff, striking them down with precision. And when the swarm became overwhelming, she would sink into the ground,vanishing completely,before resurfacing elsewhere. It was a technique she had developed herself, inspired by Zetsu’s Mayfly ability.

She had just resurfaced again when Thena appeared beside her.

Startled, Terra reacted instantly, swinging her staff at her.

Thena caught it effortlessly.

The sheer force behind her grip dented the staff slightly, and Terra froze for a split second. That’s when she noticed it,the difference. Black markings now traced across Thena’s face, and her eyes… they weren’t black anymore,they were emerald green.

“Sorry for the wait,” Thena said calmly as she released the staff.

Before Terra could respond, a Paradoom lunged toward them.

Thena vanished in a burst of speed as she appeared in front of it, driving her fist forward.

Bang!

The Paradoom was launched across the battlefield, straight toward Wonder Woman, who cut it clean in half midair.

Terra stared for a moment,there was no mistake about it,she’d done it,Thena had finally achieved Sage Mode,about damn time.

“Let’s try something new,” Thena muttered as she moved through a rapid sequence of hand seals before clapping her hands together.

“Sage Art: Wood Style,Deep Forest Emergence!”

The ground trembled violently.

All fighting instantly paused.

For a brief moment, both heroes and Paradooms alike looked on in shock as massive vines erupted from the earth, surging skyward like living pillars.

They tore through the battlefield, crushing Paradooms, skewering them, and dragging entire swarms beneath the ground. In mere seconds, hundreds were wiped out as the forest expanded, spreading across the desert.

Thena controlled every movement, ensuring the vines avoided the heroes while giving them space to recover.

For five full minutes, the battlefield was hers.

Then she cut of the jutsu.

The vines stilled, and Thena dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. Terra rushed forward immediately.

“You okay?”

“Yeah… I’m alright,” Thena replied, her voice slightly strained. The Sage markings on her face flickered for a moment before stabilizing again as she slowly pushed herself back to her feet.

She looked out over the battlefield.

What had once been a vast desert was now a massive forest. Towering trees and thick vines stretched tens of meters into the sky, Paradooms crushed and tangled within them.

But it wasn’t over,actually it was far from it,more continued pouring out from the Boom Tubes above.

The jutsu had bought them time to take a breather,but it had also scattered the heroes across the new terrain. Still, Thena hoped they would use it to their advantage.

Terra exhaled slightly. “We really need a way to close those Boom Tubes.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Thena replied. “There’s no end to these things.”

She pulled out several Flying Thunder God kunai and tossed them in different directions before drawing her sword. Lightning chakra surged through the blade, crackling along its edge.

“Guess it’s just you and me on this side,” Thena said.

“Yeah… all thanks to you,” Terra replied with a small grin, trying to lighten the mood.

Thena glanced at her. “Wanna sit this one out? You’ve been fighting longer than me.”

“Not a chance,” Terra shot back.

She sank into the ground,and a second later, the earth shook.

A massive rock golem,nearly twenty meters tall,rose from the ground with Terra standing at its head. Without hesitation, it charged forward, swatting Paradooms from the sky with massive swings.

At the same time, Thena vanished.

She began teleporting between the kunai she had scattered, appearing and disappearing in flashes as she cut through Paradooms with lightning-infused strikes.

The battlefield roared once again

the forest shaking with every step of Terra’s golem and every flash of Thena’s blade.

Nearby, Pain had come to the same conclusion as Terra,they needed to shut down the Boom Tubes. Without that, the fight would never end.

His arms shifted and merged into a cannon, energy building at its core before firing a devastating beam. It tore through the battlefield, erasing every Paradoom caught in its path.

Without wasting a second, his thrusters ignited, launching him forward as he weaved through the forest below,ducking, swerving, and maneuvering between the massive vines Thena had created.

Within moments, he reached Batman and Cyborg, who were still fighting side by side. Pain landed beside them, immediately turning to Cyborg.

“Cyborg, we need a way to shut down those Boom Tubes. Can you open one to Apokolips?” he asked.

Cyborg didn’t hesitate. “That’s suicidal. The moment I open a Boom Tube to Apokolips, those things will flood through it. You won’t make it to the power generation room.”

“I know,” Pain replied calmly, unleashing a volley of missiles at incoming Paradooms. “But someone has to do it.”

There was a brief pause.

Then Cyborg nodded.

“Alright… then listen carefully.”

He raised his remaining arm, projecting a holographic layout of Apokolips. The map zoomed in on a specific location.

“This is the power generation room,” Cyborg said. “You need to get there as fast as possible and destroy the generator. Without it, there won’t be enough energy to sustain the Boom Tubes. They’ll collapse,and DeSaad won’t be able to open more.”

He looked at Pain directly.

“That’s assuming you even make it there.”

“Send me in,” pain said.

Cyborg’s eye pulsed.

A Boom Tube opened before them.

“Go fast! Before they start pouring through!” Cyborg shouted.

Pain shot forward without hesitation, entering the Boom Tube just as it began to destabilize. It snapped shut behind him,and what awaited him on the other side made even him pause.

Paradooms,thousands of them.

They were organized in formations,lines and groups, each being directed into separate Boom Tubes leading to different battlefronts. Others patrolled the skies, while many had already turned their attention toward him.

And now,they were rushing him.

From the sheer number alone, it was clear that they hadn’t even made a serious dent in their forces.

Pain’s gaze hardened.

‘Yeah… I need to get to that power generation room’.

End of Chapter

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