Strictly speaking, Doctor Strange and the Punisher had never really interacted with Kara. The person they had actually dealt with was Pietro.
But that didn't stop them from knowing who Kara was. During the time they were sealed away, they had plenty of opportunities to review everything that had happened—and naturally, they'd learned exactly what Alex had instructed Kara to do in their world.
A girl who single-handedly wiped out nearly every supervillain in brutal combat—no one in their right mind would underestimate her power. Certainly not Strange or the Punisher.
"Good God…"
Punisher muttered in disbelief.
As they retreated from the battlefield, he got a clear view of the war's full scale. It was a conflict destined to go down in history. In his memory, no other battle even came close to the chaos unfolding before his eyes.
Behind them, at the very center of the battlefield, the Anti-Monitor and Darkseid now stood face-to-face. The two cosmic forces launched simultaneous punches at each other, their immense energies colliding in a devastating wave.
Like a cosmic tsunami, their power was so overwhelming that even their own armies couldn't interfere—none of their minions could even get close to their duel.
"They haven't even noticed us,"
Shazam said through gritted teeth, "Or even if they have—they just don't care. God knows why they chose Earth to be their battleground."
"Darkseid's not stupid, Shazam,"
Kara replied, jaw tight.
"He knows the Anti-Monitor came for him. Without anyone backing him up, he doesn't stand a chance."
"So you're saying... Darkseid chose to fight him on Earth on purpose? Hoping we'd jump in and help?"
Black Adam frowned.
"Why didn't he just agree to Alex's deal? That would've made a lot more sense."
"Because he's Darkseid,"
Kara sighed.
She finally landed in a relatively safe spot beneath the ruins and gently placed Doctor Strange and the Punisher on the ground.
"Right now, whether we like it or not, our goals align. First, we help Darkseid stop the Anti-Monitor. We'll deal with the rest later."
"But what about Alex…"
Shazam began, only to be cut off by Kara.
"Alex has something far more important to handle. This time, it's up to us."
"The Sentry—he's been corrupted by that thing's energy!"
Doctor Strange suddenly exclaimed, holding his chest as he struggled to his feet.
"He's still a powerful asset. I need to find him."
"Alright."
Kara nodded, then turned to Black Adam and Shazam.
"Before that—we stop the Anti-Monitor from killing Darkseid."
"Wait, what about me?"
Punisher interjected as the others began to split up.
"Frank, I need you to lock onto the battlefield's coordinates,"
Doctor Strange said.
"In a disaster like this, teleportation magic will be heavily disrupted."
Kara also took off an earpiece from her ear.
"This links to the Justice Society and other heroes— they're en route from all over. I need you to keep them updated on the situation."
Given the sheer scale of destruction involved in fighting something like the Anti-Monitor, Kara couldn't guarantee the earpiece would survive the aftershocks. Better to hand it to Punisher, who could still communicate the situation to others.
"Got it."
Punisher didn't hesitate—he took the earpiece and placed it in his ear.
---
Elsewhere—
High above the battlefield, Darkseid's expression grew increasingly grim. The longer he fought the Anti-Monitor, the heavier his heart became.
In contrast, the Anti-Monitor grew more aggressive by the second. Clenching its massive fist, a shockwave of purple energy rippled outward, blasting Darkseid backward. Then it leapt into the air and fired another devastating energy blast from its hand.
Darkseid responded instantly, his crimson Omega Beams flashing from his eyes to intercept the blast—but it was clear to anyone watching that Darkseid was being pushed back. Suddenly, a heat vision blast, every bit as powerful as Darkseid's Omega Beams, streaked in from the distance!
With a piercing howl, the surrounding temperature skyrocketed as the searing red light lit up the sky like a miniature sun. In the blink of an eye, it slammed directly into the Anti-Monitor.
Caught off guard, the Anti-Monitor was blasted back midair, tumbling downward as the very space around it trembled. A scorch mark was left on its armor where the heat vision struck. But Kara didn't look relieved—if anything, her expression turned even more serious.
That had been her strongest heat vision attack. And yet… it had only left a mark on the armor. Not actual damage.
Even Darkseid would never take her heat vision head-on. This result only confirmed how terrifying the Anti-Monitor truly was.
"All in!"
Darkseid roared, lunging toward the Anti-Monitor once more. Simultaneously, his voice echoed in the minds of Kara, Black Adam, and Shazam: "The Anti-Monitor's power is growing fast. If we don't end this now, not just me—all of you, the entire Multiverse, will be erased by the Anti-Matter Wave!"
Hearing this, the three heroes' faces changed at once. They didn't know exactly what this "Anti-Matter Wave" was, but from what Darkseid said, it was clearly not some trivial threat.
"The Anti-Monitor is directly linked to the Anti-Matter Universe. Every time a positive-matter universe is destroyed, its power increases. If this keeps up, we're all doomed!"
Face turning pale, Kara exploded into a sonic boom and charged straight at the Anti-Monitor.
She had thought things were already bad—but reality was far worse than she'd imagined.
If what Darkseid said was true, then every second the Anti-Monitor existed meant another universe might vanish. And judging by the roiling energy radiating from its body, several already had.
Fueled by that thought, Kara pushed herself harder. The four of them began their coordinated assault.
"Old Gods!"
Black Adam and Shazam simultaneously unleashed bolts of magical lightning, hammering the Anti-Monitor's back. But even this terrifying energy, capable of annihilating most beings, left no mark.
"New God!"
Darkseid landed a crushing punch into the Anti-Monitor's gut, blasting Omega Beams from his eyes to carve into the armor's defenses.
"Kryptonian!"
Kara roared, diving from above and smashing the Anti-Monitor into the ground, unleashing another wave of searing heat vision that scorched the battlefield.
"Heh... Hahaha..."
Staggering to its feet, the Anti-Monitor let out a low, cold laugh, staring at the four who now surrounded it.
"In the countless worlds I've erased, you are less than specks of dust. Why can't you accept death with dignity? This is the only mercy I offer."
If before the Anti-Monitor didn't see them as true threats, its voice now rang with unmistakable murderous intent.
"Enough!"
Darkseid bellowed, his expression filled with dread as he sensed the Anti-Monitor's power still rising. Even he, Lord of Apokolips, was shaken.
"Then accept death."
He knew time was up. He had once hoped Earth's heroes would help him overcome this terrifying being—but now he realized he couldn't place his hopes in a Kryptonian and two Old God champions.
"I am Darkseid."
Touching the scar on his face, Darkseid glanced to the sky. He didn't know where that unknown presence—Alex—was now, but he knew this: hope can't be left in someone else's hands.
"I am the Master of Death!!"
With Darkseid's cry, a chilling aura surged into existence from thin air.
Most of those present felt it instantly—a swift, razor-sharp presence, a harbinger from the realm of death itself.
"This feeling…"
At the center of the battlefield, Desaad froze. Staring blankly at the sky, he murmured under his breath:
"Darkseid is summoning it… That's the aura of Death."
As Darkseid's closest confidant, no one knew better than Desaad what Darkseid's trump card truly was.
He understood exactly what kind of entity that aura belonged to The true embodiment of Death.
A shadow, black as pitch, emerged from the void. Before anyone could even react, it pierced clean through the Anti-Monitor's body.
Yet it left behind no wound. In the blink of an eye, the inky shadow vanished, darting around the battlefield with eerie speed.
"Death?"
The Anti-Monitor sensed its presence, a flicker of surprise flashing across its face—only to be immediately drowned beneath a surge of murderous intent.
"You think that thing can harm me?"
But Darkseid didn't answer with words.
He responded with his fists—and his power.
His Omega Beams, combined with Kara's heat vision and twin lightning bolts from Shazam and Black Adam, crashed down on the Anti-Monitor in unison, pinning it in place under overwhelming force.
Meanwhile, that shadow of Death continued weaving through the chaos, streaking across the skies like a phantom until it locked onto another presence just as fast—
Pietro.
Because Death… needs a host.
And in the next instant, the black shadow flared like a thunderclap—rushing straight at Pietro, who had just arrived on the battlefield.
........
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