Chapter 101: Chapter 97: Not enough
Far away from all the chaos, back on Earth parademons were still flying around and causing destruction while Toneri's puppet were trying to keep up as they were outnumbered.
After the heavens had been bathed in that ethereal emerald glow, all had fallen eerily silent. The night had returned, but the air felt heavier with residual chakra that got to earth.
The six-cornered crimson ray formation still shimmered faintly across the city's skyline, casting strange red glow over the quiet destroyed remnants of what was once a street. Inside its protective bounds, not a word was spoken. The League members were tense and stood in anticipation for the next part of the plan laid out by Toneri before he left to confront Darkseid.
Cyborg with one arm deeply connected to the Mother Box and a wire connected to the glowing red port on his forehead, wires and light weaving between flesh and machine as he strained to force the Boom Tube open which would be used against the foreign invaders.
His face was set with determination, but behind him, Flash and Shazam waited, eyes darting between him and the dark skies above.
Outside the barrier, Toneri's puppets moved with lethal accuracy. Most of them already out of sight chasing down parademons and guarding civilians, they chased down the last of the parademons, cutting them down in streaks of light, shielding those who fled.
Nearby, Batman crouched beside one of Toneri's clones, its form seated cross-legged, palms pressed together, maintaining the barrier. The Dark Knight's voice had come sharp earlier.
"Where is he? Was that light his doing?"
The clone had answered only in fragments calm as he tried to concentrate on holding the barrier, but offering no true clarity.
"He's handling what must be handled. The light… is of no consequence Batman."
Wonder Woman's approach had been gentler, but no more fruitful.
"Where is Darkseid now? What's happening?"
The clone's response was simple, almost casual.
"They are between Neptune and Uranus…I think."
Batman had immediately activated the Wayne's long-range scanners, only to be met with distortion images fragmented, data incomplete, no way to truly see what was happening out there in space.
Green Lantern, growing impatient, muttered, "This is taking too damn long…"
And then just like that, as if summoned by Green Lantern's complaint.
Every clone turned their head at once, their gaze drawn to a single point.
Without warning, the air shimmered and Toneri appeared.
Not from the Amenosakeme no, he was there, his clones had marked areas all around with the flying thunder god which made appear as if space itself had simply decided to place him before them. His arrival bathed the street in emerald light, his Tenseigan Chakra Mode 1 flickering like a dying flame, the horn, high collar and flowing robes of TCM2 long gone. His form trembled on the edge of collapse barely clinging to what little chakra remained.
But it wasn't just Toneri that seized their attention.
Beside him stood a colossal black cube. Ten feet high, blacker than the deepest night, its surface swallowed all light like a piece of the void, dragged into their world. It hummed faintly and oppressive, oh, it was definitely a coffin built for gods... a black coffin.
Toneri exhaled deeply, gulping down air as sweat beaded on his brow.
'Still disgusting,' he thought, forcing breath into his lungs, 'but I'll take it.'
The cube shuddered a violent tremor that rippled through the ground as something struck it from within, fighting to break free.
Toneri's left hand pressed hard against the void-coffin's surface, pouring chakra into it. His form flickered further, showing the sage robes torn and ragged, sleeves shredded, his feet bare, hair wild.
'Tch…' he cursed silently. 'Hisuirin Tensei Baku(Jade when reincarnation explosion) takes this much just to hold him? Damn thing's draining me dry… and those hits aren't helping…'
Another violent shudder. Cracks spidered across the black cube's surface.
The League rushed in. Batman's voice cut through the tension.
"That isn't going to hold him! Lantern, shields!"
Lantern conjured a massive green constructlike a reinforced vault around the cube, trying to contain whatever was breaking free.
But Toneri knew.
'Tch. That's not going to be enough.'
Shazam came close, concern in his voice.
"Hey buddy… you don't look so good…"
"Just hold…" Toneri tried to say, but the cube shuddered once more, harder this time. His chakra cloak finally gave out completely, leaving him in battered sage attire, hair disheveled, blood on his lip, breath ragged. His body looked like it had been dragged through the depths of battle and it had.
And with one last blow, the black cube shattered, shards of void scattering like dying stars. The green construct around it cracked and exploded outward, the shockwave knocking Lantern back.
A massive hand shot from the ruin, seizing Shazam and hurling him like a toy at Toneri. They crashed together, skidding across the broken earth.
And there stood Darkseid.
Armor torn from his body. Headgear gone. His side burned and raw, flesh bruised, slashed, and bloodied. He panted, icor dripping from his wounds, his massive frame shaking with exhaustion and rage.
Lantern gasped.
"Jesus… Lunaris, what the hell did you do to him?!"
Before Toneri could answer, Darkseid raised his head to the side to where Toneri stood, firing a desperate beam at him. Too slow to dodge, Toneri braced for impact but Wonder Woman leapt between them, deflecting the blast with her bracers. Shazam recovered, surging behind Darkseid, twin fists crackling with lightning, slamming down on the tyrant's shoulders. Darkseid howled in frustration and fatigue.
Batman narrowed his eyes, watching the chaos unfold and Darkseids pitiful form.
'Toneri… he's been busy.'
"Cyborg!" Batman barked, as Lantern moved to pin Darkseid with more constructs. "Now!"
But Cyborg's heart pounded with panic. His mind raced.
'Not enough power. I can't keep the quantum gate stable… I need more power than I've got…'
His eyes darted, desperate.
"I need more energy! Now! Or I can't hold the configuration!"
Meanwhile, Darkseid's fist connected, slamming Toneri into the ground. Pain exploded through him, but Toneri gritted his teeth, lashed out with a sage-enhanced kick that caught the dark god under the chin, snapping his head back.
Senpou: Futton — Jōki Bakuhatsu(sage art; boil release: Steam explosion)
A massive cloud of superheated steam erupted outward, scalding everything nearby, the heat burning even Darkseid's near-invincible flesh and pushing him back a step.
Toneri rolled free, staggered to his feet, and sprinted toward Cyborg. His body screamed in protest but this had to end.
And fast.
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