308 - DC: The Infinite Villain (Patreon)

Built Tough

The Female Furies all had impressive physiques, though some were better-looking than others.

Damon turned intangible, ignoring the Parademons swarming around him. They couldn't touch him. He reached out with his telepathy, probing the Furies' minds.

There were five of them.

Superman's opponent was Lashina. Bands wrapped around her body concealed an assortment of deadly weapons, while the steel whip in her hands crackled with enough electricity to keep him from breaking through. The Flash was fighting Stompa, whose immense strength and heavy metal boots could crush even the densest materials. Despite his speed, their corner of the battlefield was the most devastated.

The ground was pitted with craters and split by countless cracks.

Green Lantern faced Mad Harriet. Her weapons could slice through almost anything, including the constructs he created with his ring.

The other two, Bernadeth and Gilotina, were both fighting Wonder Woman. Bernadeth carried a bladed spear and a dagger that could burn its victims from the inside out. Gilotina's hands were sharp enough to cut through anything, and she carried two blades as well.

Diana held her flaming Sword of Hephaestus in one hand and the sword Damon had given her in the other. Even against two opponents, she seemed to be holding her own.

"She's not here?"

Damon looked disappointed. The most famous of the Female Furies was unquestionably their leader, Big Barda. She was also the strongest. What really made her famous, though, was defecting from Darkseid, escaping to Earth with another New God, and eventually joining the Birds of Prey. She wasn't with this group. He wondered whether she was still on Apokolips or had already escaped.

The man she'd brought with her was no ordinary New God, either.

Apokolips and New Genesis had fought for years before Darkseid and Highfather finally negotiated a peace treaty. To seal it, each sent a son to be raised by the other. Darkseid's second son, Orion, went to New Genesis. Violent by nature, he eventually learned to control his fury and became one of its greatest warriors, even befriending the Justice League. In the New 52 comics, he had helped Wonder Woman fight the First Born.

Highfather's son, Scott Free, was sent to Apokolips. His kindness survived even that world. Eventually, he escaped the planet that supposedly no one could escape, with Big Barda at his side. He later became known as Mister Miracle.

Darkseid had gotten the worst of that bargain.

Highfather's son had escaped and taken one of Darkseid's best fighters with him. Meanwhile, Darkseid's own son had been won over by the other side.

He'd lost on every count.

"Another one! That's the man who wounded Steppenwolf, isn't it? He's mine." Gilotina, one of Diana's opponents, noticed the commotion around Damon.

With so many Parademons throwing themselves at him, it was hard to miss.

She licked her lips, her expression vicious and eager. Abandoning Wonder Woman, she charged him. Within a few strides, she was close enough to strike, both blades flashing. Any Parademon in her path was cut to pieces before it could get away. Through the spray of blood and flesh, she drove one sword toward Damon's chest while sweeping the other at his neck from a different angle.

The two attacks worked together, each covering the opening he might have used to evade the other.

She knew how to fight. She'd earned her place through bloodshed.

There was nowhere to dodge, but Damon didn't even try. Instead, he became solid again. Blue lightning flashed in his eyes. Gilotina froze for an instant, then felt something close around her throat. Her body tipped backward before she could stop it.

Bam!

Damon had her by the throat. He slammed her into the ground.

The impact thundered across the battlefield, caving in the earth beneath her. The shock wave crushed the nearby Parademons.

Even a New God's body couldn't shrug off a blow like that. Gilotina coughed, but her blades were already swinging. Years of battle had taught her never to let her guard down, especially when she was hurt. A moment's hesitation could get her killed. An opening could also turn the fight around.

Szzzt!

Blazing heat vision struck her blades.

Bang!

Both weapons shattered in the blast. Gilotina seized the wrist at her throat, wrapped her legs around his arm, and twisted hard at the waist.

She tried to wrench his arm into a lock.

'Got him!' Her legs were locked around his arm and neck. Gilotina twisted with all her strength.

Crack!

She grunted, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Her foot... had she just broken the bones in her own foot?

Damon hadn't moved. Pain shot through her foot as she stared at him. She'd pitted her strength against his and lost; instead of wrenching him out of position, she'd injured herself. How was that possible? How could he be so strong, so physically durable? The questions raced through her mind in a second or two. When the twist failed, she immediately drove her other foot at his chin and tried to flip backward, still fighting to break his grip.

Thud!

Her boot struck his chin. It felt like kicking solid rock or steel. Agony tore through her foot, accompanied by another crack. She could feel her toes and the front of her boot being crushed flat, her toes driven back into her foot.

Before she could complete the backward flip, her body sagged. Both feet hung at unnatural angles.

"No. This... this is impossible." His fingers tightened around her throat. Her face flushed red as she stabbed at his arm with the broken remains of her weapons.

Metal clinked against his skin, again and again.

After a few strikes, the remaining fragments of her weapons had crumbled to powder.

"A real man's built tough," Damon said with a smirk.