They called him Steppenwolf. End of worlds. But what was he doing now? Backing away from the fight. His conquest. He stared at what remained from his source of power, frozen by the Kryptonian and shattered by the Amazon. Dusky light filtered through the air, glinting with malice off the remnants of that awful weapon. He looked around at the ones who had stopped him. He moved as if time had slowed down, just for him. Plum colored blood spilled from a shoulder wound the Atlantean had given him.

“No… This… cannot be.”

MeltingCORE presents

He was afraid. This was his second defeat on this world. Why wouldn’t this world fall? What was so special about this insignificant world? His grotesque, insectoid soldiers fed on fear. And they could smell it on him. At once, all their heads snapped towards him. They bared their jagged teeth, letting out unearthly screeches as they flew towards him.

“NO! Leave me… be!”

An original story inspired by DC Comics and New Gods

His soldiers swarmed him, biting into whatever they could reach whether that was flesh or armor. The gnashing of their teeth and fluttering of their translucent wings overwhelmed his perception. He stumbled backwards, desperately trying to pry the insects from his body. One bit into the side of his neck, blood springing from the resulting wound. His anguished screams permeated the air.

“GET OFF OF ME! I’LL KILL YOU ALL!”

He frantically summoned the last bit of power he had from the Mother Boxes. The same devices meant to make this world kneel before him. A deafening boom cracked the air as a wormhole back to his homeworld appeared. He rose into it with his traitorous army, leaving behind his mission.

In association with her imagination

Apokolips was an atrocious world, occupying a frequency somewhere between this physical reality and Hell. But it was also Steppenwolf’s birthplace and the world his master ruled over. His master was cruel, acrimonious, and he would not be pleased with Steppenwolf’s second failure. Steppenwolf had been exiled once before. He would probably face the same consequences again, if not something far worse.

Another deafening boom shook the air as the wormhole from Earth connected to the ecumenopolis. Steppenwolf fell through, ripping his now useless soldiers from his flesh. The ones who had not gotten a chance to attack him flew through the wormhole by the dozens, swarming the sweltering air.

“I AM THE END OF WORLDS!” Steppenwolf roared with pained rage into nothingness.

He fell onto one knee, gritting his teeth from the emotional and physical pain he was in. He also felt something else that he had been feeling for a long time. Exhaustion. It suddenly crushed his senses. His soldiers, the Parademons, had returned to normal for the most part now that there was no fear for them to feed on. There was just disappointment, fury, and sweeping fatigue. The fifty Parademons that made it through the wormhole hovered around Steppenwolf expectantly as if they hadn’t just tried to consume him. They were drones after all. Steppenwolf looked up to see where on Apokolips he had descended upon. A familiar amethyst palace loomed over him. Darkness crept across his face. His planet’s will would still grow in the absence of light. That he knew. Steppenwolf faced his soldiers to give them an order to follow him before uttering the name of chaos itself.

“Darkseid.”

And love for an underutilized character

“Steppenwolf…”

“What is it, Wunda?”

“Steppenwolf is back, sir.”

“Is he now… Bring him to me.”

“He’s already coming, sir.”

RED SHIFT

A hundred footsteps echoed throughout the halls of the complex. One pair of footsteps stood out from the rest, dragging slightly. The difference was perceptible enough to notice the owner of those feet was not doing well, but was trying to conceal their lethargy. The figure in the center of the room leaned forward on his throne. His expression remained placid as he rested his chin on a clenched fist. His guards, an elite core known as the Female Furies, remained stoic as they awaited the arrival of the twice defeated general.

Steppenwolf entered the throne room, clutching his injured shoulder. He immediately straightened himself when the figure on the throne came into his line of vision. The Parademons came to a halt behind him, awaiting further command. Steppenwolf stood there with unease creeping through his body, unsure of what was to become of him. The being before him was his master: Darkseid. A creature of pure darkness who mercilessly controlled the fiery world of Apokolips and all its citizens. However, Apokolips wasn’t enough for Darkseid. He wanted to seize every world within his reach and even those beyond with the sole intention of reshaping all of existence in his image. But he didn’t like getting his hands dirty if he could avoid it. And that’s where Steppenwolf came in.

Steppenwolf had served under Darkseid for thousands of years, conquering hundreds of worlds with ease. He lived for battle, fighting alongside his troops in countless sieges. Acquiring worlds for his master came easily to Steppenwolf. At least, it had been until he set his sights on inconspicuous, little Earth. The unassuming planet had infuriatingly refused to bow before Steppenwolf’s might. It had even garnered warriors from other worlds to fight in its name. The unity of Earth had driven Steppenwolf back. Since Darkseid sought to exert unwavering control over all the universe, he found Steppenwolf’s retreat to be an embarrassment to his domain. He had made sure to let Steppenwolf know this, sending him into exile with the purpose of teaching him what his place was. It obviously hadn’t worked considering he was now standing before Darkseid with a deplorable look smeared across his face.

He attempted to say something but Darkseid cut him off with a small wave.

“Steppenwolf. What are you doing here? I thought I got rid of you.”

Steppenwolf paused to consider his words carefully.

“Yes, you did. You did. I’m here… to warn you of that wretched planet.” He cautioned in a lilting manner.

Darkseid reclined on his throne before speaking once more. His glowing eyes almost sparked with ire.

“You mean Earth. That tiny, subordinate planet has defeated my best general twice now. Look at you. Absolutely pathetic, bleeding everywhere. It should have been easy to make those inferior creatures kneel before you, begging and pleading for mercy. It should have been easy to acquire yet another planet for your master, lord above all.” Darkseid tightened his fists before continuing. “Steppenwolf, I gave you the best soldiers I had, and this is the thanks I get? Look at me and tell me why I shouldn’t have you wiped off the face of Apokolips right now.”

Steppenwolf grimaced at those harsh words. They were true after all. Things weren’t going well for him, but he should have known this was the kind of welcome he’d get upon his return. Darkseid’s personality was unrelenting as ever, perfect for someone who wanted to strip all free will from the cosmos.

“The Kryptonian…” Steppenwolf trailed off after mentioning one of Darkseid’s many enemies.

“It might be time I pay a visit to that lowly planet. No world will escape my will. Especially not one harboring the last of the Kryptonian race.” Darkseid raised a fist before continuing. “If I must crush their resistance myself, then so be it. Darkness will fall upon their world and I will shatter every soul on that planet. They will bend before the fury of their New God! As for you…”

Darkseid leaned to the side, laying his cheek on a hand. It was almost as if he were bored. Steppenwolf knew that Darkseid presently thought nothing of him. He ground his teeth, debating what to do next. Steppenwolf’s failures were why Darkseid was considering trampling the people of Earth himself. Somehow that ignited more anger in Steppenwolf and he felt his temper bubbling up in his throat. His expression must have changed, because one of the Furies stepped forward and poised her weapon slightly. She looked into Steppenwolf’s eyes and mouthed one word: Don’t. Darkseid didn’t notice this small exchange or if he did, showed no reaction. He continued asserting himself.

“…Your failure is inexcusable. Get out of my sight.”

Steppenwolf hesitated for a moment before spinning around and marching out of Darkseid’s throne room. The Parademons automatically followed suit. The Fury who had stopped Steppenwolf from making a foolish decision turned her head towards Darkseid.

“Why didn’t you have him punished, sir? Hasn’t he caused enough embarrassment to your rule?” She inquired.

Darkseid didn’t move to look at the Fury.

“I will. Later. But he can still be useful. I’ll make him useful.”

∞

Steppenwolf wavered outside the gates of Darkseid’s palace. His head was lowered and he couldn’t feel his hands. He was suspicious that Darkseid hadn’t threatened him with exile again or worse, had him executed. But Steppenwolf had to let it go. He had no other choice. He looked over his shoulder, above the heads his army, the imposing structure that watched over all Apokolips. There were several Female Furies posted at the gates. They paid the general and his army no mind, staring straight ahead at the horizon. Steppenwolf turned his head back around to look out at the urban sprawl of the Armagetto sector. Considering Apokolips was a planetwide city, he could go to almost any sector and lay low in some shady corner. Streams of fire bloomed in the distance. Why had he come back to Apokolips like this? Why did Earth continue to stand in his way?

His thoughts began to race. A stream of infinitesimal details fluttered past his mind’s eye. The human who said she had a ‘family’, the minute twitch of the Amazon’s left eye when she looked at him, the derelict town he made his fortress in…

Steppenwolf turned to face his legion.

“Go back to Ignis. Stay there.” He commanded, sending the Parademons back to his original base.

He didn’t know if it was still there. It might have been razed to the ground or taken over by another Apokoliptian. Either way, he could at least send the Parademons back to their original sector for now. Without waiting for his soldier’s reactions, he swiveled back towards Armagetto.

“I was supposed to become… like the others. Power is the only thing that matters in this world. That’s what Mother taught me. Mother… Have I failed you? Did I misunderstand you in some way?”

With these thoughts flitting through his brain, Steppenwolf began heading to Armagetto. He made it a few feet before a voice halted him.

“You’re not going to see a medic?”

He looked behind him, meeting the steely gaze of one of the Furies who was now looking his way. Steppenwolf was so utterly drained of energy that his festering wounds stopped registering in his mind at some point. He regarded the Fury with a look of equal stoniness. Steppenwolf continued walking without another word.

Despite being one of the leading generals of his people, Steppenwolf lacked the near immeasurable power some of his fellow Apokoliptians had. His source of power came from his vicious army, brute strength, and now obliterated electro-axe. It was a marvel that Steppenwolf had procured the amount of worlds he had without being indebted to any sort of special power. But all those thousands of years where he marched on without end had taken a toll on him. He was burnt out and that miserable planet Earth made things worse. Steppenwolf refused to back down the first time he had tried to take Earth captive. He couldn’t disappoint Mother. He just couldn’t. Steppenwolf’s men had dragged him back to his ship, forcing him to retreat against his will. Failing to conquer Earth had directly caused his exile. Steppenwolf had come back to retrieve Earth after learning of the last Kryptonian’s death. He had believed that no one was left to protect the embryonic world. Taking the meager planet for Darkseid should have ended his exile and allowed him to rest.

He was wrong.

He had made many mistakes. The first being that he expected Earth to be an easy target. The second being that he didn’t start his mission by wiping out the league of superpowered beings that kept following him around once he got there. And the third mistake was that he didn’t make the world bow directly towards him. He had hidden on one of the sparsest continents on Earth, thinking he could just simply reshape the planet out of sight and out of mind. Pangs of distress rippled throughout Steppenwolf’s body when he remembered the fear that had pierced his psyche near the end of the final battle. It was uncomfortable. He hadn’t felt such an intensely frail emotion for hundreds of years. He hesitated before coming to a stop. He didn’t like that his emotions were fluctuating. Would he ever rest again?

“I fear something may be wrong with me.”

With this bitter thought, he looked into the scorched sky of his hellish homeworld. He had almost reached Armagetto, the labyrinthine complex scraping the edge of his vision.

“This is her fault. Heggra…”