“Hurry! GET IN…!”

Steppenwolf lurched forward, feeling as though all his nerves were trying to crawl out through his back. A distant voice ping-ponged around the room before cloaking itself in silent eternity. Steppenwolf’s right ear rang once. He was awake.

“They will learn to listen… Or else.” He murmured before getting out of bed.

Steppenwolf glanced towards the balcony overlooking Ignis, with its bouncing fire pits twirling like twin dancers. Then he walked towards the brightly lit hallway. He always left all the lights on.

Something small fluttered past his field of vision, but he paid it no mind.

∞

Crepuscular rays shone through the windows of Stellar’s rotunda. Without waking up, a shining tear dripped down her cheek and evaporated like a dying nebulae. Tilde, the girl who had come to her for refuge, looked on in agony.

∞

The Sphere of No-Form would be electrified. Steppenwolf felt confident of that putting on his splintery helmet. The dual horns were needles piercing an unsuspecting vein.

Steppenwolf smirked.

“Yes, they will learn to obey…”

∞

Glorious Godfrey squatted by the main stairs just inside the Sphere of No-Form. He was too early for the rally that would be led by Steppenwolf. But he didn’t care. His thoughts melted into each other, drifting away as silent impressions. It was a struggle for Godfrey to concentrate on anything for long and thus, he spaced out frequently. This was annoyance to many, including Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf would snap his fingers in Godfrey’s face until he got back on task.

“Aren’t you – uh… a little early for someone of your rank, Godfrey?”

Godfrey looked up at the speaker who was tightening a ponytail.

“Hi, Lashina! Hey, do you ever take that mask off?” Godfrey rudely inquired, referring to the metal strips criss-crossing Lashina’s face.

Lashina’s hands fell to her side. She stared at Godfrey with the blankness of an endless abyss.

“…I’m going to be first in line to lead the Female Furies. And we’re at the Sphere of No-Form. One of the most important rallies in Apokoliptian history will be held here soon … Led by the Queen’s younger brother. Here’s a question back: Do you ever take anything seriously?”

Lashina had obviously heard about Steppenwolf’s promotion. Godfrey jolted up.

“Of course, I do! When we have the graduation ceremony next year…”

“We’ll see if you even survive the invasion. See ya.”

Lashina chuckled, walking past Godfrey, not even bothering to sprinkle him with any rage the Female Furies were known for. She wasn’t angrily laying into Godfrey; she simply thought he was cute. Like everyone else, except Steppenwolf.

“You’ll see when graduation comes, metalhead…” Godfrey whispered.

∞

The Sphere of No-Form was designed with razor-sharp angles. Its unforgiving architecture concealed training grounds within. Seemingly lacking harmony and giving off the aurora of a fragmented surface: Would it consume those who mocked it’s manipulated structure? Possibly, because everything on Apokolips was carefully deconstructed to be endlessly reconstructed. A globe was raised high above the controlled chaos; a bubble of blood. A single royal crest was displayed out front. Seeing a monumental omega was a sign this area couldn’t be accessed without explicit permission. Above that omega, in the uppermost part of the Sphere of No-Form, elite Apokoliptians were gathered. Queen Heggra was poised at an open window, resting her chin on folded hands. Different members of the military were clustering in the appropriate spaces down below.

“You will do well… Won’t you, Steppenwolf?” Heggra asked, expecting only an affirmative answer.

Steppenwolf remembered what Heggra mentioned about his fate after the invasion. If he proved himself…

“Yes… My Queen.”

Heggra turned around.

“You are wearing the appropriate uniform I assigned. Excellent.”

Goodness nodded. Goodness and Steppenwolf were set to lead the invasion and thus, wore uniforms representing dissection of all Apokoliptian enemies. Like the fathomless division and multiplication of corrupted cells, there was only consternation ahead. Everything was proceeding to plan as stated from those running the gates. Members of the military were separating in accordance with their rank. The main arena’s roof had been split open; a feature used for the open-air battles of graduation. Unless you were a Queen wanting to kill your son’s lover. Then the roof would remain in place.

Heggra began walking back downstairs. She was heading to an overhang where she would begin the rally. Goodness and Steppenwolf exchanged silent, knowing glances before following. Previously they had conferred on what exactly Steppenwolf would be doing during the invasion. They argued in continuous circles before agreeing at a single reference point. The Legion and Female Furies would take siege of Celestial City. Together they would help overcome any resistance from the people of New Genesis. Then the Female Furies would storm Highfather’s palace. They would capture him at the behest of Yuga Khan. And then Steppenwolf would use the Mother Boxes to refract New Genesis into a replication of his roiling homeworld.

Heggra lifted her hands with the palms up before speaking.

“…Warriors of Apokolips. Soon we will make New Genesis our own. New Genesis has mocked us for millennia, depriving of us from the Source. They truly believe their world is better than ours with its green lands and blue skies… But we are Apokoliptian. We don’t need their rancid overgrowth and unpredictable terrain. We desire order. But what do we need? We do need fuel. To keep those fire pits burning forever, we need fuel. To expand outside the Fourth World, we need fuel. Making an entire enemy planet ours for such a reason sounds quite reasonable, doesn’t it?”

Now standing just behind the Queen, Goodness and Steppenwolf listened to her voice roll in waves. Projections were set up around the Sphere of No-Form, amplifying her incandescent image. And this message was being broadcast across the entire planet, interfering with every piece of electronic equipment. Each Apokoliptian was forced to listen and no one could escape the booming sound. An invasion signal was meant to be encoded everywhere it could breach. Shouts of agreement shook the air. Heggra continued.

“Bringing this gift to us is Granny Goodness. Our curator for the finest female military talent on Apokolips! And someone else those in training have likely encountered before perishing… My younger brother: Steppenwolf.”

At that moment, Goodness and Steppenwolf stepped forth in unison. Heggra moved to the side, her satin dress fluttering behind her. It was an afterthought Steppenwolf was meant to finish. Steppenwolf clasped his hands behind his back, surveying the eager crowd below. He leaned forward to project into the microphone.

“Yes… New Genesis is a pitiful world where they engage in primitive desires to please their egos. We know better… Absolute… power over New Genesis and every world like it will allow us to truly create an empire across the multiverse. We don’t care for flowery odes to flesh; our world needs to survive if we are to survive. Plucking the life out of New Genesis… is the first step towards that. For Queen Heggra. For Yuga Khan. For… Apokolips.”

Goodness forcefully placed a further addendum.

“And that is why all of you, even those who are trainees, will go with us to New Genesis. We will not fail.”

Cheers fractured the sky in a terrible noise.

∞

Stellar gripped a small radio against her chest. She and Tilde had been listening to the invasion broadcast together. Tilde looked up with a concerned expression.

“Stellar, maybe we should do something else. Remember what happened earlier?”

Stellar responded with a thin whisper.

“I… fear for him.”

To be continued…