The Metropolis was once a symbol of hope.
This is because its guardian deity is the son of the Sun, Superman Clark Kent.
Now, only the echoes of despair and brutality remain in this city.
The sky was a sickly dark red. The Daily Planet building, which once symbolized hope for tomorrow, had its giant globe shattered and hung precariously from the rooftop.
There wasn't a single living person to be seen on the streets, only countless deformed, gray monsters covered in bone spurs wandering aimlessly.
They were once citizens; now, they are an army of the Devastator.
On the rooftop of the LexCorp building, an abnormally large figure stood, its gray, bony-spiky skin reflecting a cold, metallic sheen in the dim light.
He was the Devastator, Bruce Wayne, who was completely consumed by the Doomsday Virus.
Beside him stood a figure clad in black and green armor—it was the Dawnbreaker.
At the foot of the Dawnbreaker, a faint green light flickered, revealing a figure tightly bound by black energy chains— Hal Jordan.
"Where are the Murder Machine and the Batman Who Laughs?" Dawn the Dawnbreaker looked around and saw only him and the Devastator, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible wariness.
The Devastator's voice was like countless rocks rubbing together, low and hoarse. " The Murder Machine is guarding Challengers Mountain. As for the Batman Who Laughs... who knows where that madman has gone to spread his jokes this time."
"Just the two of us?" The Dawnbreaker's expression turned serious. " Barbatos has warned us that he can no longer resurrect those three useless fools. These 'heroes' possess some means that can completely erase us."
The Devastator let out a low, guttural laugh, a laugh filled with disdain and cruelty.
He stretched out his enormous, bone-spiky arm, pointing down at the desolate city below.
"I still have an entire city's worth of troops, don't I?" he said. "And our reinforcements are almost here. They're just making a futile struggle after all."
The Dawnbreaker glanced at the unconscious Hal Jordan at his feet, a twisted grin spreading across his face. " The Green Lantern of this universe taste pretty good. I'm starting to get interested in the prey from other universes."
"Don't touch Kryptonian." The Devastator glanced at him, the warning in his voice unmistakable.
The Dawnbreaker shrugged and didn't say anything more.
He knew perfectly well that there was no need to risk offending this monster for the sake of prey.
Within the Dark Knight Order, aside from the aloof Barbatos and the elusive the Batman Who Laughs, this behemoth before them possesses the greatest destructive power.
He wasn't stupid; he wouldn't make enemies for himself without finding a way to keep these "teammates" in check.
The multiverse is so vast, there are plenty of interesting prey to be found.
Just then, a large patch of black fog suddenly surged in from the western horizon. The fog was so thick that it resembled ink that could not be dissolved, and countless twisted and grotesque black shadows could be vaguely seen within it.
That was the nightmare army that Barbatos summoned from various fallen universes, the corrupted and dark forms of heroes and villains from those universes.
The black fog spread rapidly, shrouding the entire Metropolis in an even more somber atmosphere.
The Devastator's gaze swept past the Doomsday below and the newly arrived Nightmare monsters, precisely locking onto the intruders in the distant sky.
The black and gold mecha, tens of meters tall, Wonder Woman Diana flying beside it, and the fleeting golden lightning on the ground.
"Prey," The Devastator growled, "Has delivered itself to your doorstep."
His voice wasn't loud, but it seemed to be amplified Infinity by some force, reaching clearly into the ears of every intruder.
"Oh no!" Barry stopped abruptly, looked up at the top of Lex Tower, and the ease on his face vanished.
"He's found us! And... what's that? So many negative Speed Force users! And... oh my god, isn't that Robin? Why are there wings growing from his back?"
From the surging black mist below, familiar yet unfamiliar figures began to appear.
Nightmare Robin with bat wings, Nightmare Firestorm engulfed in Hellfire, Nightmare Blue Beetle whose body is composed of countless insects...
Diana's expression was more grave than ever before. She gripped the Lasso of Truth tightly. "They've gathered all the power they can muster. This is a trap."
"Even if it's a trap, we have to step into it." Thor's voice came from the mech, still calm and devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
" Barry, those infected civilians are yours. Get the serum to them as quickly as possible. Remember, don't linger in battle; your mission is rescue, not fighting."
"Understood!" Barry took a deep breath, and golden lightning enveloped his entire body once again.
Although the sheer number of enemies was overwhelming, Thor's clear instructions actually calmed him down.
" Diana," Thor continued, "You, Arthur, Mera are responsible for clearing out those nightmare monsters to buy Barry time. Don't let them interfere with him."
"And what about you?" Diana looked at the enormous mecha.
"Me?" Thor's voice finally crackled with a hint of amusement, the kind of excitement a hunter feels when spotting their prey. "I'll go meet those two big guys."
As soon as he finished speaking, the thrusters on the back of the Godkiller Armor burst into a dazzling light, and its massive body transformed into a black-gold meteor, rushing straight toward the top of Lex Tower!
"What an impatient fellow!" Arthur yelled from the mecha's shoulder. The next second, the mecha performed a nimble flip in mid-air, throwing him and Mera steadily onto the roof of a building below.
Arthur landed heavily on the ground, slamming his trident down, and gave the mech in the sky the middle finger. "Damn it! Next time I'll come myself!"
Diana ignored his complaints. She turned and, like a golden Warhawk, swooped down towards the surging, nightmarish black tide on the ground.
Barry then transformed into a bolt of lightning, weaving through the countless Doomsday monsters.
He smeared the serum Thor gave him on his gloves, and with each punch and each contact, the Speed Force would instantly activate the serum's energy, transmitting it into the monsters' bodies.
The Doomsday monster, struck by the attack, let out a painful roar. The hard bone spikes on its body began to soften and fall off, and its gray skin gradually regained its color.
It really works!
Barry was overjoyed and sped up even more.
Meanwhile, Thor's Godkiller Armor had already reached the front of Lex Tower.
"Another tin can?" The Dawnbreaker looked at the mecha in front of him, which was even larger than the Devastator, and a cruel smile appeared on his face.
He raised his hand, and a huge green fist made of pure dark energy appeared out of thin air, slamming down on the Godkiller Armor.
Thor sat in the cockpit, watching the data stream rapidly refresh on the virtual screen, a smile playing on his lips.
"A tin can?" he muttered to himself, "Let me show you what the violent aesthetics of technology are all about."
Faced with an energy Iron Fist powerful enough to shatter an asteroid, the Godkiller Armor neither dodged nor evaded, but simply raised its right arm.
Countless nanoparticles rapidly reconstructed on the arm, and in an instant, a giant energy cannon, thicker than the mecha itself, took shape. At the center of the cannon's muzzle, golden light compressed sharply, reaching its peak brightness.
"Boom--!"
A thick beam of golden energy shot out from the cannon's muzzle, arriving first and instantly engulfing the black-green energy fist. Its momentum undiminished, it slammed straight towards the Dawnbreaker on the rooftop.