Judgment of the Endless (MarvelxDC)

High above the mortal realm, beyond the veil of the physical and into the divine, Olympus stood eternal. A realm untouched by time, where the sky was a tapestry of golden clouds, and the great halls of the gods stretched beyond mortal comprehension.

Towers of marble and celestial fire gleamed in the sunlight of an everlasting dawn, while rivers of liquid starlight flowed through the mountain peaks.

At the heart of this divine kingdom lay the Council Chamber of the Gods, a colosseum of towering columns and floating thrones, each one carved from the very essence of the cosmos.

Lightning crackled along the pillars where Zeus, King of Olympus, sat upon his throne of purest storm, his expression grim.

Beside him, Hera, the Queen of the Gods, held her regal posture, though her eyes carried thinly veiled contempt for the discussion at hand.

And before them, the gods debated.

"Let them perish," said Apollo, his golden skin glowing as he reclined in his seat, plucking at his lyre absentmindedly.

"The Amazons were always doomed to war, were they not? Is it not the nature of their creation?"

"Creation?" Artemis scoffed from her place beside Athena, the goddess of the hunt narrowing her piercing silver eyes. "We did not create them to be butchered."

Across the chamber, Ares stood, and the very air trembled with his rage.

The God of War was furious.

His armor, blackened by the flames of uncountable battlefields, pulsed with raw, unfiltered power. His eyes burned with red embers, his fingers clenched into tight fists.

"Themyscira is mine!" Ares growled, his voice shaking the chamber itself. "My paradise of war, my perfect soldiers—and yet these mongrels from Apokolips dare desecrate what is mine?!"

His aura flared, and the floor beneath his feet cracked open, revealing a glimpse of the raging battlefields of the underworld.

"You would let them die?!" he roared, turning to the other gods, his gaze filled with murderous promise. "I will not stand for it!"

Hera rolled her eyes, resting her chin against her palm. "The Amazons have always been your obsession, Ares. If you had your way, they would have slaughtered the world by now."

Athena, wise and poised, merely raised a hand, silencing the quarrel before it escalated further. "Enough," she said, her gaze sharp. "This is not about your ambitions, Ares. This is about the fact that Olympus itself is at risk. Themyscira falls, and who is to say what comes next? Apokolips has never been content with just one conquest."

"And what would you have us do, Athena?" scoffed Dionysus, swirling a goblet of nectar.

"March to war for the mortals? We are not their guardians. The Amazons have lived apart from us for centuries. They should remain apart."

"They were made by us," Hermes interjected, his arms crossed as he leaned against one of the floating pillars. "The gods breathed life into them. To abandon them now would be… distasteful."

"Distasteful?" Poseidon growled, his ocean-blue eyes brimming with fury. "Atlantis was desecrated. My kingdom—my domain—has already suffered at the hands of this warlord!" He slammed his trident into the marble floor, sending ripples of divine power through the chamber.

"I say we take action now!"

A murmur spread among the gods. Some nodded in agreement, others merely sighed in exhaustion. It was not the first time war had come knocking, and it would not be the last.

But then—

A new voice cut through the chamber, a voice filled with undeniable authority.

"You shall act."

All turned toward the speaker.

It was Hestia.

The eldest of the Olympians. The one who bore no throne, yet held the greatest weight among them. The goddess of the hearth, of family, duty, and sacred oaths.

She stood, and her presence alone commanded silence.

"You all forget that Themyscira was a gift," Hestia said, her voice steady, unwavering. "A sanctuary given to the Amazons by our hands. To abandon them now is to abandon our own word, your own honour."

She turned her eyes to Zeus, who had remained silent until now. "And you, my brother? Will you stand by and watch?"

The King of the Gods exhaled, his fingers tapping against the armrest of his throne. His eyes, swirling with the storm of creation itself, met Hestia's steadily.

Then—

A crackle of lightning ran across his fingertips.

"We will not stand idle," Zeus declared, his voice booming like the heavens themselves. "This warlord has dared to challenge us. That alone is an insult worthy of his death."

A slow, wicked grin spread across Ares' face.

"Now you're speaking my language, Father."

Poseidon smirked, gripping his trident tighter. "Then let us waste no more time."

The God of War and the Lord of the Seas turned toward the council chamber's exit, stepping forward with the power of the divine burning in their wake.

"Wait!" Athena called. "You cannot just—"

"We are gods, Athena," Ares called back, not bothering to stop. "We do as we please."

With that, a storm began to brew in Olympus, and two gods descended toward Themyscira.

-

-

Themyscira, the island of warriors, stood bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun. Once a paradise of peace and prosperity, now it was a battlefield, its sacred grounds torn asunder by the forces of Apokolips.

Smoke rose from the scorched earth, pillars of blackened flame dancing against the wind.

The bodies of fallen Amazons littered the battlefield, their once-proud figures lying still among shattered weapons and the broken corpses of parademons.

At the heart of it all, standing before the ruined gates of the royal palace, was Steppenwolf.

The warlord of Apokolips stood tall, his hulking frame clad in his dark metallic armor, gleaming red eyes scanning the destruction he had wrought. In his right hand, he gripped his electro-axe, the weapon humming with violent energy, fresh with the blood of those who dared challenge him.

He had torn through the Amazons like a wildfire, their legendary skill proving no match for his sheer brutality. Queen Hippolyta and her warriors had done their best, but it was not enough.

He had slain dozens, crushed the Themysciran defenses, and now—

Now he had the other Mother Box in his grasp.

It pulsed within his other hand, the alien construct vibrating with untapped power. Steppenwolf smirked beneath his helmet. "Such a pathetic world," he muttered. "Such frail warriors."

Then—

A crack of thunder.

The skies above Themyscira split open, dark storm clouds gathering in an instant. The sea roared, waves crashing violently against the island's cliffs.

And from within the heavens, two figures descended like harbingers of divine fury.

Ares, the God of War.

Poseidon, the Lord of the Seas.

They landed with a thunderous impact, the very earth beneath them trembling as divine power flooded the battlefield.

Steppenwolf turned, his red eyes narrowing at the sight of the newcomers. "Hmph," he scoffed, rolling his shoulders. "The Gods of Earth finally decide to crawl from their holes."

Poseidon raised his trident, his presence exuding the weight of the oceans themselves. His sea-green cloak billowed, his long white beard barely moving despite the fierce winds.

"You have defiled my seas, warlord," the god growled, his voice a deep, resonating tremor.

"For that, you will suffer."

Ares, his dark crimson armor gleaming, stepped forward, his sword materializing in his grip. His expression was one of pure, uncontained bloodlust. "You dare touch my Amazons," he seethed, eyes blazing with fire. "You dare lay waste to MY domain?!"

Steppenwolf chuckled, tightening his grip on his axe. "Then come, gods," he invited. "Show me your might."

Poseidon struck first.

With a flick of his trident, the entire battlefield erupted with water, massive torrents rising from the ground as if the ocean itself had come to swallow Steppenwolf whole. The Apokoliptian warlord leapt backward, but the waves crashed down upon him, dragging him into a whirlpool of divine fury.

But Steppenwolf was no mere warrior.

With a mighty swing of his axe, he parted the sea, the weapon's energy slicing through the water and dispersing the force of Poseidon's attack.

He landed on his feet, unscathed.

Then—

Ares descended upon him like a meteor.

The God of War swung his sword, the force of his strike causing the very air to shatter around him. Steppenwolf blocked just in time, his axe clashing against Ares' blade in a resonating shockwave that sent cracks splintering through the ground.

The two titans clashed furiously, weapons striking with thunderous force. Every swing from Ares was destructive, every counter from Steppenwolf was relentless.

Sparks flew with each impact, their battle a spectacle of pure power.

Poseidon rejoined the fight, summoning a tidal wave from the sea, hurling it like a massive fist toward Steppenwolf. The warlord, still locked in combat with Ares, planted his feet, dug his axe into the ground, and with a growl—

He split the wave in two.

Ares took the opening, slamming his armored fist into Steppenwolf's jaw, sending the warlord skidding across the battlefield.

"You fight well," Ares sneered. "But not well enough."

Steppenwolf rose, blood dripping from his mouth. He chuckled. "Is that all?"

And then—

A portal opened.

From the blackness of space, a boom tube tore through the sky above Themyscira. And from it—

A hulking figure descended like a hammer of doom.

Kalibak.

Darkseid's son. The Beast of Apokolips.

He landed with an earth-shattering impact, his massive frame towering over even Steppenwolf. His brutish face twisted into a grin, his massive arms gripping the handle of his Beta Club, a weapon crackling with deadly energy pulses.

"Father grows impatient," Kalibak rumbled, his voice like grinding stone. "It seems you need assistance, Uncle."

Steppenwolf smirked. "Ah, Kalibak. Perfect timing."

Poseidon and Ares tensed, realizing the battle had just shifted against them.

Kalibak cracked his neck and raised his Beta Club, the weapon surging with unholy power. "Let's make this quick," he said, eyes gleaming with murderous joy.

And then—

He charged

The battle raged on.

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