Master of the Rainbow Corps. Your Master.

Steppenwolf's weapon was called the Electro-Ax. The name sounded almost ordinary. The weapon itself was anything but: brutally sharp and immensely powerful.

What else would the military commander of Apokolips carry? Darkseid's uncle commanded armies of Parademons. His axe could hardly be mundane. Before the blade reached Damon, its cold edge seemed to slice through the air between them. The blow was devastatingly heavy and blindingly fast.

Boom!

The Speed Force surged. Time seemed to freeze. Steppenwolf's movements slowed to a crawl.

As the axe inched toward him, Damon calmly stepped aside, caught its haft, and punched Steppenwolf.

Thud!

Steppenwolf saw only a blur. The blow he was sure would land missed, then pain exploded across his face. His hand opened, releasing the axe as he flew sideways. He smashed through the water barrier, its tremendous pressure shredding his armor. His other hand remained locked around the Mother Box. His mind went blank.

Stunned.

Completely stunned.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

He tore through buildings and rocks on an upward trajectory, never seeming to lose speed. In moments he had shot all the way from the seabed to the surface.

Splash!

His enormous body burst out of the water, arced through the air, and fell.

The impact shook the shore.

Steppenwolf landed in a crater, crushing several unfortunate Atlanteans beneath him.

Both armies stopped fighting. Everyone stared, trying to make sense of the sudden arrival.

"Who is that?"

"One of ours? One of theirs?"

"Who hit him hard enough to send him up here?"

As they speculated, strange light appeared above him. Space distorted into something like a portal, accompanied by a deafening roar.

The light enveloped him. A moment later, he was gone.

Then the light vanished, leaving everything still.

Whoosh!

Another figure burst from the sea, axe in hand, and flew toward shore.

"Ran away?" Damon glanced at the empty crater, then looked around. "Carry on. Diana, I need a word."

She paused, then landed beside him. Holding the axe in one hand, he slipped the other arm around her shoulders and led her away.

Silence.

What the hell was this?

This was a war between land and sea. Could he take it seriously for five minutes? He couldn't just call "cut" as though they were making a movie. A little respect would have been nice.

"That was Steppenwolf," Damon said quietly.

"That was him?" Diana was startled.

Damon and Hippolyta had spoken of him many times. Her mother had originally wanted her to stay aboard the Disciple with Damon so that she could grow strong enough to face Steppenwolf when he eventually came.

Now...

He was here.

"You injured him? What was he doing here?" she asked urgently.

"The Mother Boxes. Technology from Apokolips, left behind during the last invasion. Short version: they can destroy the Earth. There are three. One here, one on Themyscira, and one with the humans."

"That box he was holding!" Diana understood at once. "I have to go home."

"You should. This wasn't his first stop."

Her expression darkened. Damon opened a breach.

She jumped through without another word.

"What's happened?" Barbara ran up to him.

"The real enemy's here. Themyscira and Atlantis have both been attacked. So let's wrap this up."

He hadn't raised his voice.

But on the silent battlefield, everyone could hear him.

Steppenwolf? Themyscira attacked? Atlantis, too?

Orm's face changed. He knew nothing about Themyscira, but he had seen both Steppenwolf and Damon emerge from the sea.

Had something really happened?

He looked from the battlefield to the ocean. After a moment's hesitation, he ordered a retreat.

The army had arrived in dense ranks. It returned in scattered groups, leaving countless bodies along the shore.

"You."

Mera was preparing to leave with them, furious and unwilling, when Damon raised a hand.

"Me?" She turned to face him as he flew closer.

"In your treasury, Steppenwolf told me to submit or die. I'm giving you a similar choice, but a less extreme one. Submit, or give back what's mine." He smiled.

"I have nothing of yours. And you're not worthy of my submission!"

As a Red Lantern, she could still barely control her anger, but it took very little to set her off. Damon's arrogance was more than enough. She turned and fired a beam of red energy.

He tilted his head, letting it pass, then curled one finger. Mera felt the ring loosen and slide away from her hand.

"No!" She reached for it and plummeted into the sea.

She surfaced immediately, staring in shock as the ring settled into Damon's hand.

"Why?" she roared.

"Where did you think the ring came from? Who do you think gave you that power?"

"I'm the master of the Rainbow Corps. Your master."

"If you won't submit, you don't get to be a member."

He turned away and slowly descended.

"This war should be over. Get ready for the next one."

A breach opened. He stepped toward it.

"Wait for me!" Barbara hurried after him.

The portal snapped shut.

They were gone. Everyone else could only look at one another.

Themyscira.

Damon glanced at Barbara as she caught up, then turned without speaking. Several Amazon warriors lay dead across the plain.