Chapter 15
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***
Raindrops bounced off his clothes in sharp bursts, hitting his face and smearing across his cloak in sharp slaps. Two indistinct flashes split the space along the roads, white and yellow, flickering between the streets and zigzagging sharply in the tense street silence. It didn't take long before the black scattering in the sky shuddered and called out like a single nightmare swarm and swept in pursuit of Willard and Karen with a whole pack of bloodthirsty para-demons.
«We can't let them find out what we're after," Will said, glancing at Kara, who was flying next to him. - So we'll proceed at my pace. Don't ever get too far away from me.
Karen nodded glumly, meeting the para-demon that flew into them with a powerful punch and knocking it into the pavement.
"We're less than two kilometers away from entering the Tyranes' kill zone," Liberty Van's metallic voice echoed in my ears.
The tension in his chest was building.
***
A dark room on the ship. Steppenwolf sat silently on the throne, holding his head with his hands and thinking in silence. Suddenly the doors to the hall opened and a young woman in a black suit appeared on the threshold. She knelt down.
«My Lord, they've started moving. They have been spotted in the direction of Gotham City, heading north. Two targets, most likely their target Wayne Tower," Zatanna said.
The Steppenwolf slowly opened his eyes.
«Just the two of them?
«Yes, my Lord. The others are probably in hiding.
«Right. These rats have realized they don't have much time left before I find them. In that case, there's no point in them staying put. They're going where most of our troops are concentrated. This is clearly a ruse. Leave them behind and focus on finding the others, they must have split forces to join forces with the resistance army. And get my armor ready, I'm going to head to Atlantis, it's time to end this farce," Steppenwolf said.
In his mind, no madman would head to the concentration of their forces, for that was suicide. The obvious bait was like an eyesore to him that made him sick to his stomach.
The Steppenwolf rose from his throne and headed towards the compartment without any interest.
«But... my Lord, it is Willard Light who is approaching Wayne Tower.
The Steppenwolf froze for a moment, but the titan's gray, monstrous face did not reflect an ounce of emotion.
«Willard Light is headed for Wayne Taverner?
"Remember, Steppenwolf, Willard Light is not to go near Wayne-taver under any circumstances," the words flashed through Steppenwolf's mind like an incantation, and his impassive face was contorted by a frown of thoughtfulness.
The details of what was happening quickly began to take shape in his mind, understanding how and why his enemy should act based on the situation, as if a sudden insight had come to him over a game of chess.
«Order the troops on the eastern shore to abandon their posts. They are to proceed to the west coast. The Tyrants and the Lost Spirits will take control of the abandoned territory.
«But my Lord, if you abandon the east coast, then our position will be greatly weakened.
The Steppenwolf loomed over Zatanna the infinitely tall rock that engulfed her in its shadow, peered into her eyes with fishy eyes that blinked a second eyelid as red as blood, and snickered.
«My orders are not negotiable.
«Yeah...
Steppenwolf hurriedly walked out of the hall and threw one last throw:
«Give command of the siege of Atlantis to Diana, and I'll finish what I didn't finish on Nerose Island. I'll get Willard Light," he growled, clenching his fist in excitement, and disappeared into the shadows.
***
Vanessa sat underground in excited anticipation. Red dots flashed on her sensor.
«The enemy units came in motion.
John Constantine took a silent drag on his cigarette until his eyes opened in mild surprise. Cold drops occasionally clattered against his cloak, rolling down and falling onto the damp tiles. One... two... three-four-five-five-six-seven-seven-nine....
John jumped up from his seat and threw in a cigarette.
«Zatanna has activated the magic search! They're already here," John said.
«The Steppenwolf figured out our plan faster than I thought," Vanessa said, "Change the plan! The coast is already crawling with para-demons, so we'll have to push through and wait for Will's signal!
«What about Plan B?! - The Beast Boy was indignant, waving his hands, "Will and Karen are in there! They're risking their lives. If we've been burned, we need to warn them.
«No, we won't warn them," Vanessa said grimly.
«What...?
John put his hand on Beast Boy's shoulder and pressed him against the wall.
«You must be as dumb as you look, boy! Sure, they're in danger, but what did you think we were just here to play hide-and-seek?! Each of us knew the plan could go to one place at any moment.
«So you knew, too?!
«Everybody knew that, except you, I guess. Look at the daughter, she's just like her father, she's so full of herself and doesn't seem to be shy about using others for her own ends.
Vanessa let John's words pass over her ears. It might have sounded like a compliment to him, but her chest twisted and clenched with self-loathing.
«Don't bullshit me," she hissed, "I warned Will that there was a backup plan.
"I'm sorry, Will. I just can't do otherwise," she thought.
Vanessa watched the movement of the enemy troops intently and didn't say a word, but not until at some point the walls shook, and somewhere in the distance, sand sprinkled, wet dust hitting her nostrils, and the floor shuddered beneath her feet. Vanessa was thrown sideways, and she hit the wall, spitting out a curse.
«Whoa-whoa-whoa, are they going crazy in there?! - shouted Beast Boy, looking up at the wet shadow of the sewer ceiling. A cold drop fell on his nose, and he sneezed.
At a certain point, Vanessa looked up from the scanner and got to her feet.
«Time to go! Follow me.
And they ran down the sewers.
«So what's the real plan, can someone explain it to me already? - Beast Boy asked.
«I knew that Steppenwolf would immediately figure us out and send troops to the west coast because that's the only place where Apocalypse's control is weakened. But it wasn't by accident. Steppenwolf had weakened it on purpose, making it look like a vulnerable area - when in reality it was a trap for us to fall into. Except I found one small flaw in his plan.
«Which is what?
«His pride.
Beast Boy arched an eyebrow incomprehensibly.
«Steppenwolf still thinks that of the remaining humans, only Superman, Batman, and Willard Light can give him decent competition. Two are out of the war right now, and the third is headed straight for his clutches, so he hasn't hesitated to divide his forces across Gotham to stop us. What he doesn't know is that there's still me on Earth.
«You?! What does this have to do with you?!
«Even though I'm inferior to Luthor and my father in many ways, I still have a skill that I've developed throughout my life to one day rub everyone's nose in. Steppenwolf doesn't know this because I was really worthless before, but that's all changed now. I'm potentially the biggest threat to the Apocalypse Army right now," Vanessa said, hurriedly running her fingers across the screen on her arm, and smiled languidly at the end, "at least according to my father.
«So...
«I'll create a gap on the east coast so we can get to the water before Apocalypse takes us down.
«The breach, I believe, has to do with the Tyrants," John said thoughtfully.
Vanessa nodded.
«Although control on the east coast is now weakened, Steppenwolf has made up for it with the Tyranids working at full strength. When we show our faces, we'll likely be fired on with precision cannons and wiped out in seconds.
«Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! That sounds fucking dangerous! - shouted Beast Boy.
But at that moment, the sewer they were running through shuddered repeatedly, and the ceiling collapsed right behind them, creating a huge cloud of dust and impassable rubble. Tearing the air with screeching screams, the Para-demons burst out of the smoke.
«Either way, we can't step back now," Vanessa said, throwing out the batarangs.
The batarangs hit the wall, and before the para-demons could attack, there was an explosion. The corridor collapsed.
«This will hold them off for a little while, but be prepared, when we get outside there will be a mob of enemies waiting for us.
«Holy shit!!!!
They jumped out of the big drain right onto the sand near the beach, and ran on. The sky above their heads began to constrict, roaring, reddening and buzzing. The avenues of retreat were closing.
«Well, what a familiar situation, and is he sure he'll make it in time? - John Constantine sighed.
«Come on, Will," Vanessa whispered.
***
Some time earlier.
Willard Light was approaching the Wayne Taurus Center, a huge black building that stood in the center of Gotham City. It jabbed menacingly with its sharp tip straight into the black clouds of a dark sky, as if marred by countless deaths.
One after another, he glimpsed destroyed buildings and overturned cars that he had to deftly jump over in the speeding traffic.
"So that's what she is," he thought as he looked up at the tall, dark tower that seemed to have no end.
At that moment, a bright flash flew past from his side, flying at him at high speed, and it took him to bounce backwards, letting a huge laser light pass in front of his eyes. It slammed into the nearest house, and turned it into a molten mass.
«Damn...are you kidding me?
There were three more of them coming at him from different directions. Will snapped out of his seat, continuing his accelerated movement, but the gunfire was getting in the way of getting close time and time again. In a way, that was the only thing that was keeping him from getting close to Wayne-Taur at the moment-the Apocalypse High-Tech Towers, which were the biggest problem in the fight against Darkseid.
One such tower could suppress the advance of an entire army and hold back the movement of Willard Light and his kind. Perhaps only the Flash, with his mad speed, could easily get past them, but now he was on the enemy's side.
Will pushed himself away from the house and jumped up. This time the shots came from four different directions, and it was impossible to dodge them in flight.
«Shit.
Yellow lightning glittered in the air, and it disappeared without reaching its target.
***
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