Would Malrick have forgotten that two Oga Beams were still chasing him?
Not at all. From the very start, he had already calculated a thousand possible outcos to Darkseid's every move.
He even considered the unlikely scenario where the God of Apokolips might actually retreat.
As the deadly crimson beams twisted toward him, Malrick activated the power of his armor—the Dormammu Armor, an artifact he'd reforged after their first encounter in another dinsion.
The armor's defense surged to maximum output. As long as the incoming energy didn't exceed a star system's destructive scale, the damage would be reduced to one ten-thousandth. It was, after all, the very armor that had once forced Dormammu to bend the knee and sign an unequal truce.
Today, it would block Darkseid's infamous Oga Beams.
Even as waves of psychic pain continued to hamr his mind, Malrick steadied himself. The Anti-Life Equation gnawed at his consciousness, but he had no ti to yield.
He had adapted—his mind locking into battle rhythm.
Now, he would test the Oga Beams head-on.
If they truly had the power to erase both him and the armor from existence, then he'd simply reform his body from the ashes and drag Darkseid into oblivion with him.
The sharp agony in his soul persisted, but Malrick's expression remained firm.
With the unbreakable resolve of a warrior who'd long accepted death, he stood his ground as the scarlet beams streaked toward him.
But just as they reached him, a flash of lightning tore across the battlefield.
Diana appeared between them, thunder crackling in her wake. She crossed her wrists before her chest, her voice ringing out with divine defiance.
"Haah!"
Her golden Bracelets of Submission flared, intercepting the Oga Beams. The impact drove her backward, forcing her straight into Malrick's arms.
For a heartbeat, ti froze.
Diana gritted her teeth, refusing to yield even as the imnse energy rippled through her.
The indestructible bracelets—fabled to reflect divine power itself—held firm, pushing back against the energy of a god.
Malrick looked down at her in his arms. Her eyes were fierce, her brow furrowed, yet she didn't back down.
Sowhere in his mind, the world seed to fade, replaced by the sound of her heartbeat echoing through his chest.
He couldn't help but think—this ti, I was the one being saved.
And it wasn't just Diana.
A thunderclap sounded as Kara descended from above, her sapphire-blue suit gleaming with electric light.
With montum like a falling teor, she drove her heel into Darkseid's head.
The Oga Beams shattered and vanished.
Diana staggered, gasping for air, shaking out her scorched gauntlets before grabbing Malrick's face between her palms.
"Are you alright, Malrick? You look terrible!"
"I'm fine," he said through clenched teeth. "Just fighting the control of the Anti-Life Equation. Diana, take Kara and go. Don't get caught by it."
For the first ti, soone had stood in front of him during a battle—protecting him, worrying about him. It was strange… and almost comforting.
But this wasn't the ti.
He pushed Diana gently aside, his expression hardening.
Then he vanished.
In an instant, Malrick appeared before Darkseid, just as the tyrant's eyes ignited again to strike Kara.
With a thunderous uppercut, Malrick's fist connected with Darkseid's jaw, sending him and the crimson beams he'd been charging straight down into the lava below.
The molten rock erupted in violent bursts as the Oga energy vaporized it, painting the sky crimson.
Malrick caught Kara midair and hurled her back toward Diana before diving down after his enemy.
Darkseid was stronger than Superman—far stronger. But strength alone wasn't enough now.
After adapting to the psychic shock of the Anti-Life Equation, Malrick was suppressing him through sheer speed and physical dominance.
Every strike was a planetary detonation contained within the confines of a body.
If Darkseid tried to fire Oga Beams, Malrick would crush his head deeper into the lava until he couldn't even aim.
If he tried to fight back with brute force, he'd et a punch heavier than the Earth itself.
Bursts of Oga energy shot through the molten surface, illuminating the sky like volcanic flares. The planet's crust trembled violently with each collision beneath it.
The continental plates of Apokolips began to quake as if the entire world were breaking apart.
Elsewhere, Batman's battle had ended. His Hellbat Armor soared over the horizon, carrying DeSaad's severed head, which he casually tossed into the molten pit.
"How's it going?" Batman's gravelly voice ca through the comm. "Malrick's Heat Vision doesn't seem to cut it against Darkseid."
A deep rumble interrupted him.
From the lava rose a colossal black figure—a thousand ters tall. Tony Stark, encased in the Fungus God Armor, erged from its chest cavity, the massive construct devouring hordes of Parademons behind him through a web of tallic tendrils.
"I'm back and fully charged," Tony grinned. "Where's Malrick? I ca to give him a hand."
Diana pointed toward the lava. "Down there. He told us to stay clear—didn't want the Equation to affect us."
Batman's expression darkened. "So, he's resisting it alone?"
Diana nodded, a proud glimr in her eyes. "He's enduring it. The incomplete Equation can't control him."
Her tone carried sothing softer now—admiration, and perhaps sothing deeper.
Tony raised an eyebrow. "That's insane. The guy's willpower must be off the charts." He chuckled nervously. "Guess I'll stay out of his way before I get my brain rewritten."
He turned to leave—only for the lava below to start trembling violently.
Massive bubbles erupted from the molten sea, pressure building with each passing second. The surface bulged outward, glowing brighter and brighter.
Then—an explosion.
A figure burst through the lava, soaring backward into the air.
Darkseid.
His once-pristine armor was fractured and bloodied. Cracks covered his body like shattered stone, and molten light seeped through the wounds. His face twisted with rage and disbelief.
Following him, Malrick erged from the inferno, his right hand glowing with a sphere of brilliant white energy.
Tony's jaw dropped. "Wait—did he just snatch the Anti-Life Equation?"
Then his grin widened. "Oh, that's gonna make my day."
Darkseid staggered in the air, his body leaking molten blood. Before he could react, a shadow eclipsed the light above him.
He looked up—just in ti to see a massive fist descending.
Boom!
The Fungus God Armor's punch slamd into him like a teor.
At that mont, everyone saw the glowing energy in Malrick's palm—and they all understood what had happened.
Diana appeared where Darkseid was about to fall, crossing her arms as divine power erupted from her. The shockwave struck Darkseid squarely, launching him backward once more.
Kara was waiting.
Her kick landed cleanly against his back, sending him hurtling downward, breaking the sound barrier as he fell.
"Enough!" Darkseid roared, his voice trembling with fury and pain.
But Batman's voice ca through the comm again, calm and cold.
"It's ti to pay for your slaughter, Darkseid."
As he spoke, the Hellbat Armor streaked forward—its crimson light flashing like a judgnt.
The death knell had sounded.
---
The battlefield fell silent for a fleeting mont, the only sound the distant roar of molten lava and the crackling of residual energy in the air.
Every hero on the field felt the weight of what was about to happen. Even Darkseid, despite his godlike fury, seed montarily caught off guard by the coordinated force against him.
Malrick hovered, energy crackling around his form, eyes locked on the tyrant. Every muscle, every instinct, prid for the final confrontation.
The universe itself seed to pause, as if holding its breath for the next collision of cosmic might.
_______
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