Doomsday Pt 1

"Maybe you should say that again? Because it sounded like you just said that we should leave this to the land based heroes now that the problem has left the ocean. That would be crazy. Wouldn't it, brother? That a team of Atlanteans are killed and we leave it to the land heroes because we like it better down here where it's wetter. Ridiculous. Come men, we pursue the beast!"

Jon Grayson listened to his half-brother Adar scold their step-brother Orin - formerly Arthur - about the duties of a prince of the realm with a tinge of familiar envy curling in his heart. The Twin Princes, Adar and Ademar, were celebrated throughout the oceans, even more so as they aged and proved far more suitable for rule than their predecessors Orin and Orm. A strange phenomenon considering the twins were five years old, but Orin and Orm really rubbed people the wrong way, and with the track Orin is on it wouldn't surprise Jon to hear that he stepped down so his much more competent wife could lead.

But it would be crazy to allow dynastic instability like that to rise up. Still seems like an Orin move.

Unlike the Twin Princes, Jon's people - the Amazons - rejected him. Not that they needed a prince when they had Dianna and Donna as princesses. No, they did not need him. Or want him. His father picked him up at his birth and whisked him off beneath the waves to serve as companion to his other sons.

You know, the ones fathered onto a reasonable woman happy to have them, rather than a bitter hag who can only love her children if they are girls.

The Bitter Prince followed behind his half-brothers as they led their bodyguards up to the surface world, men to the last bonded to Symbiotes, though not the most powerful of their kind. The bond allowed them a moderate access to the Speed, Strength, and Sage Forces making them the most elite squads of soldiers in the world.

Jon had his own minders as well, though Orin operated without them for some reason even though he was by far the weakest of the four brothers present.

The teams moved fast overland, not much bothered by their submariner heritage, and caught up to the beast as it entered a suburb of Metropolis in the state of New York.

An enormous biped in a green multi-environment suit with olive disks connected by purple wiring running across its torso and limbs.

"The prey is unarmed." Adar declared as his Symbiote formed a sword for his use, "Good thing we aren't known for fair play."

The oldest of the three child princes burst into flight and caught the creature by surprise, cutting a deep gash across its belly.

"So it's tough?" he laughed, "All the better."

Ademar joined his brother while the soldiers led an evacuation of the area. Jon felt his blood pumping and formed a straight sword and round shield out of his golden symbiote, flying at the beast from below and slicing its Achilles tendons. The three brothers coordinated subconsciously through their Symbiotes and the Sage Force. Together they cut the creature a thousand times revealing its gray hide covered in rapidly growing bone spurs.

"He's getting stronger!" Jon warned the others as he pulled back from the creature.

"Why would it matter?" Adar laughed, "The beast is slow, and weak. Let it grow."

Jon understood Adar's reaction, this creature may be a nightmare for mortals, but for demigods empowered by their link to the infinite power of their father, it did not matter if this creature doubled or even tripled in strength.

The Amazon Prince rejoined the battle, but this time stabbed his Symbiote deep into the creatures belly and used his strength to wrestle it to the ground.

"Devour it, Scourge!" Jon shouted as the monster screamed in more than rage for the first time in the fight as the limitless power of his Symbiote ate it bit by bit from the inside out.

Jon felt his victory coming until the beast's red eyes glowed and a beam of hot power blasted him and his necro-sword away.

"Oh, so it has some power after all." Ademar declared with little concern for his younger brother.

"Oh what are you even here for?" Adar complained as Hawkman swooped down from the sky and hit the beast in the head with his mace.

The man's wife came in from the other side and gave the monster another smack that sent it flying into a gas station that exploded.

"Collateral damage much?" the middle brother shouted and even Orin looked uncomfortable by the sudden destruction in their otherwise clean monster fight. Fortunately the Hawk-People got wrecked fast before they could destroy more of the suburb, but then Green Lantern came to the rescue and got put through both a water tower and the street before Batman of all people saved him by sticking high explosives to the creatures face and setting them off.

"Did they even see the butt whooping we were putting on that guy?" Adar exclaimed, "Why are they interfering?"

"Hey kids, you all need to get to safety. So I'm going to run you all out of here." said the Flash as he appeared like a bolt of speed, "Nice Empress Calliope costumes by the way. She's my favorite hero too."

"Unhand me, Barry!" Adar shouted as he slapped the Flash's hands away, "This is not an Empress Calliope costume! It's Prince Adar everyday wear! Show some respect to your uncles in law."

Jon paid no further attention to Adar and the Flash as his sister appeared in her role as Wonder Woman. The boy zipped to her side and joined her in battle.

"You move well, Jon." Dianna smiled as they tag teamed the beast, the boy and his Symbiote flowing perfectly around her rhythm.

"Scourge and I have Level 5 access to Dad's Combat Encyclopedia." Jon bragged to his older sister, "This much is to be expected."

"Markus is a worthy god indeed." Diana grunted after parrying a kick from the monster, "I wish he was here now, but I would settle for Calliope or Cassiopeia."

"They're all off world brokering peace between the New Gods." Jon excused his family for their absence.

"I know." Dianna grimaced after she blocked a nasty hook with her shield, "The timing of this attack is very… fortuitous."

Wonder Woman returned the attack automatically with a roundhouse kick that sent the beast flying.

"The city." Jon groaned at the monster's flight path.

"Ahhhh…." Dianna sighed, "Not the best time for that reaction."

"Possibly the worst time for it." Jon muttered as they flew off in chase of it.

"Poor showing, girl." Adar laughed as he and Ademar flew alongside them.

"Might I suggest cutting the beast rather than bashing it through buildings and roads, and other things that humans are bad at repairing." Ademar added.

"Well, maybe now they will accept the KD Units as a necessity in these times." Jon mused, "After all these super fights tend to escalate as all the bad guys try to outdo each other."

"Is there a reason Aquaman isn't helping?" Diana asked as they closed in on the rampaging beast.

"Do you want to send him to go see what's happening in the oceans?" Jon asked with a level of fake sincerity that almost passed everyone's bullshit detectors.

It did get Dianna to laugh so hard she snorted.