Written by Tobias Christopher
Featuring: Darkseid
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New Genesis
A young child was playing in an open field, far away from his home. The boy loved playing in the open field, as he enjoyed the freedom of being able to glide through the air without any obstacles. In Earth years, the child would be considered to be no older than fourteen, but on New Genesis, like everyone else in this world, the youthful looking Bandit was ageless. No one knows where Bandit came from, only that the child was found on the doorstep of his adoptive father's cottage one day. His birth parents had never revealed themselves, and no one on New Genesis sported the white wings that the boy had been born with, growing larger as the child did over the years. Soon it was revealed that Bandit's wings, and the color of his hair, changed colors with the boy's emotions. If Bandit was angry, his hair and wings would turn red; blue meant that he was sad; green for jealousy; pink for love; and so on. But for the last few decades, the child's wings had remained blue, echoing the sadness within him. Bandit had one day started thinking of the parents who abandoned him, and why they wouldn't stay to love him. He wondered why was gifted with wings that could expand out to eight-feet wide when no one else did. Or why his hair and wings openly expressed his emotions, making it impossible to lie. Bandit, who was so named because he immediately stole the hearts of anyone who looked upon him, stared up at the distant planet Apokalips. He'd heard the tales of Darkseid, and the cruelty of the other world, but he'd never witnessed it for himself. Perhaps his parents were there, prisoners of Darkseid. But Bandit was too afraid to bring the subject up to anyone, so he just made himself content to make the most of his wings and fly whenever he was able. Today, however, Bandit finally seemed to get his wish. A boom tube opened in the field he was flying in, which was even large enough for his massive wings. He was scared to even approach the portal when he heard a voice calling out his name. "Bandit, come to us," a man's voice came from the tube. "Son, we need you. Only you can save us." "Father?" Bandit asked, his wings briefly changing to color to pink before returning to blue. "Father, I'm coming!" As Bandit flew toward the portal, his adoptive father appeared at the top of a hill, realizing what was about to happen. "Bandit, no!" the man shouted, but it was far too late. Bandit was already through the boom tube, which had immediately closed. "I must summon the Highfather at once." Apokalips Darkseid stood on the balcony of his immense palace, staring intensely at the Source Wall as his Parademons just watched the unmoving despot. Granny Goodness, Kalibak, and Desaad were not too far away, also wondering why Darkseid was unmoving. "I have been having dreams," Darkseid said. "It's as if the Source Wall has been trying to tell me something. I now know what must be done. Granny Goodness, bring me the greatest warrior you have from your Female Furies. I will require a mission of her." "Yes, oh great Darkseid, at once," the old woman said as she hurried from the throne room. "Desaad, our... special guest will be arriving soon. Make him feel comfortable." "And what shall I do, great and powerful Darkseid?" Kalibak asked. "You will deliver a package to New Genesis when I give the word," Darkseid told him. "Even you cannot fail at this." Bandit fell out of the boom tube, rolled up in his wings as he came to a stop at the feet of a pack of Parademons. "Not what I was expecting," Bandit told him as he stood up. "But I came to find my parents, I will not leave without them." Having no weapons, Bandit was about to fight with only his wings and fists when a laser blast struck him in the back, knocking the boy unconscious. "You have the boy?" a voice asked as Bandit started opening his eyes. His blurred vision started coming into focus as the boy found he was trapped in a cage suspended over a pit. "Yes, Darkseid, he hasn't awakened yet," "Good, this child is very pivotal to my plans, he must not escape," Darkseid said as he held out an orb. "This is the Orb of Urgrund, forged when Apokalips and New Genesis split apart. It must be destroyed at the same time as the child. For if the boy's blood were to ever to come into contact with it and tossed into the firepits of Apokalips, the two worlds would reform as one. This can never be, Desaad. The orb can only be destroyed when the child of destiny is. I trust you have something that can get the job done?" "Let me see what I have in my toybox, Sire," Desaad said gleefully as he took the orb. "I'll find the most painful method of execution I have." "Good," Darkseid told him. "See to it, while I meet with Granny Goodness." As Darkseid left, Bandit tried to open the door to his cage, but it was locked tight. "I can't die like this, not with my parents still alive somewhere." "Darkseid, I present to you Malice Vunderbar," Granny Goodness said. "One of my strongest Furies." "She does not look that impressive," Darkseid said. "I need one with a strong will and fighting abilities. One who can face Superman when the time is right." "That is me, Sire," Malice told him. "I have longed for the day when I could serve you personally. I will face a burning Hellfire for you and come back for more." "Words do impress me, only action," Darkseid told her. "You will go to Earth and bring me this." A scroll was handed to Malice as she laughed. "Is that all? I will bring this to you, my Lord." "Oh, but there is more to this mission," Darkseid told her. "Much, much more." Having found a piece of sharp metal in the cage that was randomly left there, Bandit forced open the lock, quickly flying over the pit and onto the hard surface across the way. Desaad was busy finding the perfect execution device, having left the Orb of Urgrund laying out in the open. Quickly grabbing it, Bandit started flying and escaping out of a high-placed window just as Desaad returned, smirking to himself when he saw the Orb was gone. "And the mouse takes the cheese right to the trap." "Must reunite the two worlds," Bandit said to himself over as he flew toward the firepit. "If I reunite the two worlds, I'll find my birth parents. Then they'll have to love me." The sound of parademons was heard in the distance as the winged child flew faster until finally arriving at one of the firepits. "This needs my blood to make it work, but how much?" "All of it, child," Darkseid said as he stepped into view. His army of Parademons landed on the other side of the boy. "The Orb requires a blood sacrifice. One that I'm quite positive that you're not willing to make." "Oh, no?" Bandit asked as he pulled out a knife. "My death could reunite two worlds." "You'll be dead before your blood touches the Orb," Darkseid said as his eyes started glowing red, signaling the start of an Omega Beam. "You will not be a hero today, boy. Put the Orb down and I promise you a quick death." "I came here to find my parents," Bandit told him as he looked around. "To make them see that I'm worthy of being loved. But now I can make two worlds whole again. I can do something good with a life that's just been going to waste." Bandit stabbed his stomach with the knife, holding the Orb close to the bleeding would, covering it in his blood before anyone could stop him. Clutching the Orb tightly, Bandit fell backward into the firepit. "Fool," Darkseid said. "Now we wait." Darkseid's Palace "The Source Wall has been giving me dreams, dreams of how to finally obtain the Anti-Life Equation that I sought after for several lifetimes. It starts with the death of an innocent who willingly gives his life for what he believes if a pure and selfless act." The Boom Tube opened as Kalibak stood at the edge, tossing a large wrapped package into the grass in front of the Highfather and Bandit's adoptive father. "An innocent and selfless act that in reality, masks a darker intent," "The fires are dying!" one of the Female Furies shouted as she watched the flames going from a bright orange and red to an icy shade of blue. "Apokalips is dying!" "An intent that will bring about a new universal order. As one innocent death killed the flames of Apokalips, the death of a second innocent will make the flames one hundred times stronger, and in the process, forging the Anti-Life Equation within it. I have seen the dreams, the Source Wall has told me this is so. I just need to make the dream a reality, Soon, there will be a new order." Malice stood on the platform of Desaad's machine, being zapped by a powerful ray. On Earth, Jimmy Olsen was walking down the street when he felt a pain in his stomach. He crawled into an alley, where his body started to morph into that of Malice Vunderbar, who would take the human name Alice as she went undercover on Earth. Jimmy woke up on the platform, naked and in pain. "Oh, don't worry, Earthling," Desaad said as the Parademons approached. "These trips will only last six hours at a time, and when you return home, it will be nothing more than a bad dream." On Earth, Malice looked at the scroll. "One sacrificial Superboy, coming up," "An order that I, and I alone, will control and master." Bandit's father unwrapped the package, finding a pair of blackened wings that had been burnt to the bone. "It has begun," the Highfather said. "The death of both of our worlds." "For I am Darkseid, and I there is nothing in this universe beyond my grasp." TO BE CONTINUED IN ACTION COMICS... |