Apokolips

'Darkseid wants me dead...', Drüin thought right as Barda tackled him to the floor, 'I'm not sure if I should he excited that DC's biggest baddest villains knows me or not. Actually thinking more about it doesn't that mean he sees me as a threat? Good God I've got alot of work to do if I survive this!'

Barda sent a hammer fist down and bashed at Drüin's face. He groaned, then moved his head to the side in order to dodge the next strike. Barda's fist made the floor behind him crack. The God of Might then released Aëgor and leaned upwards to get Barda in a chokehold. His legs wrapped around her waist as she tried to move back, but Drüin had already moved to where her neck was under his armpit. With gritted teeth, Drüin began squeezing down, trying to choke her out. However Barda moved herself to standing up, then with her hands gabbing a hold of Drüin, she brought him back down onto the floor. When the God of Might's back hit the floor, it cracked even more. With a groan, Drüin released Barda, then used his boot heels to kick the Apokoliptian warrior backwards.

Barda grunted and stumbled back as Drüin used that time to get to his feet. He called Aëgor to his grasp, then spun around while using his spear. Barda gritted her teeth out of annoyance before firing a energy blast with her power rod. Drüin simply stopped spinning and used Aëgor to swat the attack out of the way before returning fire with an attack on his own. Barda swatted Drüin's attack as well, and rolled to her left in order to dodge an incoming downward strike from a charging Drüin. The God of Might was on the offense now, using Aëgor with precise accuracy and keeping the Apokoliptian warrior at a distance. She ducked, rolled, and weaved as she tried to keep herself from being severely wounded. Barda's luck would end however, for Drüin had an idea of how she fought now and was about to use a hastily plan to defeat her.

"I am curious, what does your master gain from my death?" Drüin questioned as he halted his attacks on Barda. She wasn't aware of this, but he was beginning to build up power within him.

"He gains a tactical advantage over you, your death would leave Asgard disorganized!" Barda answered confidently while smirking to herself.

"He must not care about you if that is the case then..."

"To die for Darkseid is the greatest reward."

"And yet, it is a wonder how he ever could be a threat to me and my people."

"....What?"

"If your master truly wanted me dead, then he would have brought his own arrogant ass here to do it rather than send a woman."

Just as Drüin said that, he could see Barda beginning to grit her teeth seething with rage. The woman did not take kindly to what the God of Might was saying about Darkseid. She also didn't like about what he was insinuating about herself. However it didn't matter to Drüin about what she felt. He needed her unfocused, and this was the best way to do it.

"Face it, your master is a coward...and you are one of his greatest pawns."

A shout came out of Barda's lips as she charged forth at Drüin. The God of Might jumped back, watching as Barda's boot heels collided with the place that he was once standing in. She came at him again with rage and adrenaline fueling her senses. As she did, she raised her power rod and brought it down to smash against Drüin's head. He lifted Aëgor and blocked her blow, but felt his feet leave the ground as Barda's free hand collided with his chin in an undetected uppercut. Drüin's back impacted the floor, and with a groan he rolled to the side before Barda's boot heel could collided with his face. She was unrelenting now, giving chase to his retreating form. Though that ended when Drüin halted, and caught Barda's rocketing fist that was aiming at his face. With her power rod, Barda then aimed to swing it down on him. An energy blast from Aëgor right in her abdomen made her fall to one knee and stop her attack.

"H-how...you were never reported to be this strong!" Barda spouted almost like a hiss as her armor smoked from where Aëgor had hit her. She glared up at Drüin who gave her a slight smile as his eyes began to give off a golden glow. "That is because unlike the rest of my family, I know when to display my power and when not to."

Drüin then spun while still holding Barda's fist. Then once he made a full circle, he hurled her into a nearby pillar and watched her body fly through it. The God of Might gave chase with Aëgor in hand, and right as Barda was rising to her feet, Drüin lunged forward and embedded the tip of his spear into the woman's shoulder. Her armor protected her well unlike the Parademons. Though it failed to stop Aëgor from drawing blood from her. Barda cried out in pain, then growled as she pulled out the spear from her shoulder and took a swipe at Drüin with her power rod. The God of Might twirled Aëgor with practiced efficiency, using it to parry her attack before cut at her kneecap and making the Apokoliptian warrior fall to a knee.

With a twirl, the butt end of Aëgor cracked across Barda's temple and sent her skidding sideways. She quickly moved to her feet, and used her power rod to parry an incoming jab from Drüin. The God of Might however simply pulled Aëgor back and jabbed once more, stabbing into her hip. Then he lunged at her again and sunk the bladed tip of Aëgor into Barda's thigh.

Barda raised her power rod to fire Drüin, and watched as an energy bot hit the God of Might square in the chest. He skidded backwards, but still stood feet tanking the attack.

With a snarl, Barda forced herself to stand, and fired a sustained attack with her power rod. However Drüin returned fire this time, using Aëgor to unleash the power that he had accumulated inside of himself. The two beams collided into a beam struggle. It seemed as if the two were evenly matched, that ended when Drüin let out a battle cry, a cry of effort being put into his attack. His beam overcame Barda's and soared right into the Apokoliptian warrior. Barda's eyes widened then felt Drüin's attack collided with her chest and send her flying through several pillar. It burned through her armor, scorching into her skin, and causing her body to become a ragdoll as it skidded across the floor. Drüin panted a bit before halting his attack, he watched as Barda's body remained limp on the floor. Unfortunately, she began to groan and tried to rise to her feet once more.

The God of Might frowned at this, unsure if he should actually finish her. If she could be turned, or her brainwashing under Granny Goodness then she would be a great asset to both himself and Asgard. That said, an attack was an attack, this attack was meant to fail, it was meant to only assassinate one person which was himself. Drüin was bruised up a bit, his armor having scorch marks from Barda's power rod. His nose dripping blood from her punches and hits with her weapon. He could even tell that she broke a few bones inside of him. Slowly he stalked forward with Aëgor at the ready, his body giving off a faint golden white glow as he approached Barda. "It would be wise of you to surrender.." Drüin offered.

Barda chuckled dryly, slowly looking up at Drüin as her power rod laid to the side. "I...will never surrender.." She said with a hoarse tone.

Drüin frowned at her words, then slowly nodded to her and raised Aëgor upwards. Barda smirked, before closing her eyes and awaiting her end. "I-I will be...seeing you soon...Scott."

That was what stopped Drüin from striking Barda down. He knew who Scott was, and it nearly made his heart sink. Scott was Mr. Miracle, the New God who helped Big Barda escape Apokolips and eventually became her husband. By what she was saying, did that mean that he was dead and that the escape failed?

As Drüin thought this he gritted his teeth in frustration. On one hand he would be helping Barda reunite with her lover in the afterlife. On the other, he could allow her to live and hopefully have her serve Asgard.

'Why can't this life be any eaiser?', Drüin thought hatefully, 'It just seems like it keeps getting harder!'

Drüin closed his eyes and began to breathe deeply. He twirled Aëgor to where he could bring it down to stab into Barda's back. That was when everything seemed to go silent, with only Drüin's breathing breaking the silence. In that moment of silence Drüin thought about the consequences to his actions. When that moment ended, he opened his eyes and brought Aëgor down at Barda. She winced, expecting there to be a quick death by Drüin. Except she heard a clang, and a blade being embedded into the floor. The Apokoliptian warrior opened her eyes slowly and saw her own reflection from Aëgor's bladed tip. Slowly, Barda gazed up confused at Drüin who stared down at her coolly. "Why?" She slowly asked.

"Mercy may be a new concept to you, but to me it is a privilege that is given to a select few." Drüin replied then removed Aëgor from the floor. Barda however scowled before speaking with annoyance.

"What, am I to be your slave then?!"

"I have no need for slaves."

"Then what does my life mean to you?!

"Your life is mine!", Drüin responded with a raised tone that surprised Barda, "Do not think that me sparing you means that I would hesitate to slay you. I have deduced that your master finds no value to you. He sees nothing more than a pawn that is willing to die. You cannot return to him, after all from how you spoke of him...your return without my head would mean death for you. Your life belongs to me now, if you do not accept that, then by all means...kill yourself."

Barda glared up at Drüin but said nothing, even as Hela arrived atop Fenris who was chewing on a Parademon's corspe. "Brother, it seems that you have defeated the enemy commander", Hela commented with a mocking tone pointed to Barda, "The battle is won, it seems that the enemy underestimated us." Drüin shook his head and glanced over to his sister. "Nay, they sent an assassin for me." Drüin revealed, and watched as a gleam of hate came over Hela's face.

"Is that so..."

"Stay your hand sister, she is mine."

Hela looked to Drüin confused before pointing Mjölnir at the weakened Barda. "Brother she was sent to kill you, are you quite sure that letting her live is the right decision?"

"Do you have any fresh bodies that you have yet to kill yet, sister?" Drüin questioned with a raised brow and watched as Hela opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself. They had no one to interrogate nor question, leaving Barda as their only source of information. Well he knew about the New Gods, but he couldn't very well just spout all of that information to those who may or may not know of them. Drüin looked behind Hela to see Tyr arriving with a host of Asgardian warriors. His stub of a forearm having been bandaged up as he arrived. "Tyr, have this woman taken to the dungeons, and make sure that she is restrained", Drüin ordered, "She is strong, and only our strongest restraints will keep her from escaping."

Tyr nodded, and gestured for a few Asgardians to march towards Barda. Drüin kept Aëgor in his palm, ready to put Barda down if she truly wished for death. However when he turned his eyes onto her, she was just staring at him with a blank expression. Her irises remaining affixed to him as she was being cuffed by the guards, then eventually taken away. Drüin watched her and wondered if he made the right decision in letting her live. Then again he wasn't sure if what he was doing would be good or bad. For it all depended on what universe that he was in.

{Three Hours Later}

Drüin, Hela, Odin, Tyr, and Brunhilde were all standing within a chamber that showed a golden transparent and holographic image of Asgard. They watched as smaller holographic forms of people were repairing the damage had been done onto their home. "The enemy were disorganized, though from what Prince Drüin has told us.. the target was himself." Tyr stated, beginning the discussion. They all were in what was the War Room in this case, going over what they knew, as well as what they would do in the near future. "They dare attack Asgard with such a small force...arrogant bastards." Brunhilde commented.

"This enemy should not be underestimated, they have shone what they are willing to do to kill just one of us." Drüin said with arms folded over his chest.

"I beg to differ, their warriors fell before our night dear brother."

"That was because they were not invading." Odin said with a tone of authority, gaining everyone's attention. Hela stared at her father surprised and confused before he began to speak.

"This new devilry that we now face are known as Parademons. They are native to a world known as Apokolips. A realm filled with cold metal and scorching fires similar to Muspelheim. The one who rules is is very dangerous...he is known as the Dark God, Darkseid."

Odin's words made all occupants except Drüin and Hela to tense a bit. A silence befell them as they now know who their enemy was. Said silence was ended prematurely by Hela who nodded and spoke her piece. "Right then, when shall we attack?"

That drew a raised brow being sent her way by Drüin. Before he could speak, Odin had beat him to it.

"Apokolips cannot be simply invaded Hela."

"That is what they did to us."

"That was a distraction, as well as a failed attempt."

"Look how far they got!"

Hela's words echoed within the chamber as she sent a gestured at Drüin. "They specifically wanted Drüin dead father! Are you saying that you are going to allow such a thing to go without consequences!?"

Odin sent a stern glare to Hela's way as she returned his glare with one of her own. A tense silence befell the room once more. One made between a father and daughter disagreeing with one another. The one to break the silence this time was Drüin who let out an exasperated sigh. "Hela, calm yourself", He reassured, "It will take more than one assassin to do me in. The enemy clear knew that they could not defeat us. They attacked us when we were not prepared, our full might did not come to bare today. We must now focus on strengthening our borders, and preparing our own incursion into their lands."

Drüin paused, allowing his words to resonate with the others as Hela looked to him with a neutral expression. "What do you mean by incursion, Prince Drüin?" Brunhilde questioned to which he gave her a small smile. He turned to the hologram and swipped at it to show Midgard. "I had been wondering why the forces of Apokolips had attacked us. Why they chose to make us an enemy, then come to realize that we may be what stands in the way of them in Midgard."

This caused Odin to narrow his eyes on Drüin as he slowly nodded his head. Hela however didn't know what Drüin was getting at. "What use is Midgard brother?", she asked, "It is nothing more than a realm for mortals."

"Midgard is home to resources that we have yet to call upon Hela", Drüin corrected as he turned his attention to the others, "It is also home to secrets that we may or may not know of. I would suggest that we investigate, see what Darkseid requires from Midgard."

Brunhilde spoke once more though as she placed a hand to her chin. "Though that still does not answer the question Prince Drüin", She pointed out, "What did you mean by incursion?"

Drüin gave Brunhilde a smirk before looking to Odin now. "The forces of Apokolips has attacked us while our backs had been turned", Drüin reminded, "I say that we return the favor, but through more esoteric means..." This caused all within the room to gasp or stare wide eyed at Drüin including Odin. What Drüin was proposing was to use the power of the Bifröst as a weapon against Apokolips. Odin has never had to do this in such a way for a long time. He had assumed that Hela would propose this idea, that she would be the first to instigate such a thing. For Drüin to propose this was...unheard of.

"Drüin....are you quite sure that you know what you are asking of me to do?" Odin questioned, to which Drüin nodded.

"I am aware father." Drüin answered.

"Yet, you are fully prepared of the blood that will be on my hands-"

"I was not asking for you to do this father."

That caused a worried look to come onto Hela. She knew that her brother was the more noble one when it came to their family. For him to propose genocide on another species was something that she hadn't think that she would see him do. Now he was saying that he was going to be the one to do it? She hoped that this attack on Asgard would not change him too much. Odin stared at Drüin for a time, musing over his son's words before slowly letting out a deep breathe. "Very well...allow me time to prepare the Bifröst." Odin relented.

{Dungeons}

Drüin could be seen walking to the far back of the cells. His boot heels hitting the floor to sound off his approach. As he walked by, he passed several enemies whom he had spared in his conquest of the Nine Realms. Frost Giants, Trolls, Dark Elves, and even a few alien species. However his attention wasn't on any of them, it was on one prisoner in particular. He would soon arrive at a cell, one that was further away from any of the others. "Good evening." Drüin greeted as he reached Barda's cell. She was restrained by her hands and feet.

The chains that kept her from escaping being large and heavy and suspended from the corners of the cell. Of course she had a table and a chair to sit, with a bed on the other side of the room. That said it hardly changed the circumstances that she was now in. Her azure blue eyes landed on Drüin and just simply stared at him in silence. In Drüin's hand was a plate of food, it still steamed from being freshly made. "If you are here to interrogate me-" Barda began to say, though Drüin interrupted her.

"I am here to deliver your dinner for the night."

"Why?"

"Are you saying that you are not hungry?"

Barda gave him an indescribable look before averting her eyes from him. A smirk came to Drüin's face as he walked around and nodded to a nearby guard to allow him entry. The golden grid-like energy shielding that kept her inside gave way for him to enter. As Drüin entered her cell, Barda sat on her bed while turning her gaze to look upon him expectantly. Drüin walked over almost cautiously, then placed her plate down beside her. Taking a step back, he gestured for her to eat as he grabbed the chair near the table and took a seat in it. Drüin was dressed more casually, wearing a black and violet loose long-sleeved shirt with golden streaks. Black loose trousers, and black boots. Barda on the other hand was given a gray tight fitting long-sleeved gown that resembled that of a hospital patient's. She had no shoes, allowing her feet to be seen. The injuries that she sustained from him had healed up nicely, showing that she had a healing factor.

With a glance sent to the plate, Barda began to eat while still watching Drüin. The Apokoliptian was unsure of what to think of her captor. He had called her his, that her life belonged to him now. The last time that someone had spoken those words to her, it was within a torture chamber with Granny Goodness giving her a sinister smile. "What do you want?" Barda eventually asked as she finished eating.

"I want to talk." Drüin replied coolly

"What is there to speak of?"

"A myriad of things."

"What, of Darkseid you mean?"

"No, I want to talk about you."

"What?"

Drüin smirked while raising a brow at her. "I would like to know the woman who was so ready to die for a master who does not love her, willing surrenders to us when given the option."

Barda averted her gaze once more with a pensive look. "I was in no condition to fight..."

"We both know that is a lie, you show great pain tolerance to continue fighting to your last breathe."

Barda went silent, not wishing to speak. Her silence only caused Drüin to sigh before asking a question that stoked the fires inside of her. "Who is Scott?"

Barda sent a glare to Drüin's way, having not thought that he had heard her say that name. "He is...none of your concern."

Drüin however narrowed his eyes on Barda before giving her a soft look. "He was your lover..."

Barda gritted her teeth at Drüin but said nothing. She despised that look that he was giving her, as if he were pitying her. The only man who was allowed to give her that look was Scott. No one else but him.

"Why do you wish to know about me!?" Barda exclaimed as she rose to her feet now and stormed her way to Drüin. The chains that kept her restrained sounding off as she stood before the God of Might, seething with frustration and anger. Drüin simply gazed up at her unmoving while still giving her that soft smile.

"Because I want to know you." Drüin said, as if it were simple, causing Barda's mind to go for a ride. She was expecting him to torture her, to interrogate her, to make her try and change allegiances. Yet here he was, wishing to simply talk as if her trying to kill him meant nothing. Though as she thought more about it, it truly did mean nothing. Taking a breathe to calm herself, she turned and walked back to her bed and plopped herself down on the side of it. Her gaze was pointed to the floor as she closed her eyes. "What do you wish to know?"

Drüin leaned back in the seat that he was in, putting his hands together to interlock his fingers. "For starters...I had been hoping to speak to you about Apokolips."