### **Chapter 7: The Brink of Darkness**
---
The Hall of Justice was in chaos. Screens flickered with reports from around the world: cities were under attack, entire regions had gone dark, and people were disappearing. It wasn't just Parademons anymore—something much darker was unfolding.
The room was filled with the urgent chatter of heroes preparing for what would be their greatest battle yet. Superman stood at the center, coordinating with Green Lantern, Flash, and Wonder Woman. Batman stood off to the side, analyzing the data, while Gojo watched silently from the shadows.
"This is it," Superman said, his voice steady but full of underlying urgency. "Darkseid has made his move. And we need to be ready for the worst."
Gojo's eyes flicked to the screens. Cities were falling. Millions of lives were at stake. But his thoughts were elsewhere. The disturbance in his power was still there, lingering at the back of his mind. He couldn't shake the feeling that his own vulnerabilities were being exploited—and if he couldn't get control over them, the League would be fighting a war with one hand tied behind their back.
"Clark," Batman said, his voice sharp. "We need to divide our forces. We can't tackle this all at once."
Superman nodded. "I agree. But I want to know—how bad is it really?"
"Worse than we thought," Batman replied, turning to a screen that showed an image of Apokolips' warships descending from the sky. "Darkseid has already begun his invasion in full force. These ships—each one capable of wiping out entire cities—are just the beginning."
"I'll take the front lines," Wonder Woman volunteered, stepping forward with a fierce look in her eyes. "I've faced his Parademons before. This time, we need to hit them where it hurts."
"We're going to need more than brute force," Gojo muttered, his tone distant. "Darkseid won't be an easy target. And he's not just sending Parademons."
Superman shot him a glance. "Then what do you suggest?"
Gojo looked at the gathered heroes, his expression unreadable. "We hit them where it counts. Darkseid is more than a conqueror—he's a strategist. We need to disrupt his communication networks, take out his generals, and cripple his supply lines. If we wait too long, his forces will grow too powerful to stop."
"Gojo's right," Batman agreed, stepping up. "We're facing an invasion of unprecedented scale. Darkseid is a tactician. If we just throw ourselves at him blindly, we'll lose."
Superman nodded slowly, his jaw tightening as he turned to address the room. "We have our orders. Let's move out."
---
### **The First Wave**
The battle began almost immediately. As the Justice League split into groups to tackle different threats across the world, Gojo found himself heading toward the heart of Metropolis, where a massive Apokolips warship had landed, unleashing a storm of Parademons into the streets.
Gojo stood on the rooftop of a building, scanning the battlefield below. The Parademons were overwhelming, swarming the streets in waves. But Gojo wasn't just there to fight the grunts. He was looking for the real threat—the commanders of this invasion.
His fingers twitched, and a surge of cursed energy flooded the air around him. He raised his hand, and with a flick of his wrist, *Red* erupted from his fingers, creating an explosion of raw destructive power that obliterated the nearest cluster of Parademons.
From the shadows of the warship, a larger figure emerged—a hulking brute of a creature with armor and a massive weapon. Gojo's eyes narrowed as the creature charged forward, swinging its massive axe.
"Another one of Darkseid's generals," Gojo muttered under his breath, summoning more cursed energy. *Hollow Purple* would be overkill for this one, but the brute was no slouch. He needed something faster, something that would make a statement.
With a twist of his fingers, he unleashed *Blue*, creating a vortex of energy that tore through the air, ripping apart the battlefield as it hurtled toward the general. The vortex slammed into the general with explosive force, sending him crashing into a nearby building.
Gojo leaped down from the rooftop, landing with precision beside the wreckage. He walked slowly toward the fallen warrior, his gaze cold. "You're not even worth my time."
The general stirred, groaning. Gojo reached down, his fingers lightly grazing the back of the general's head. With a single flick of his wrist, he ripped open a portal to the Infinite Void—a technique so disorienting that it caused the general's mind to collapse under the weight of limitless information.
The general froze, his body twitching as his consciousness shattered.
"You'll make a good example," Gojo muttered, snapping his fingers. The general's body disintegrated into nothingness, leaving behind nothing but ash.
---
### **The Crisis Within**
While Gojo was wreaking havoc in Metropolis, back at the Hall of Justice, Superman and Wonder Woman were holding the line against the waves of Parademons in the skies above. Flash and Green Lantern were racing across the globe, dealing with smaller invasions and evacuating civilians.
But as the League pushed forward, Gojo's mind kept returning to the one thing he couldn't shake—the feeling of being watched, of being manipulated. His cursed energy flickered again, a sensation that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. The same strange interference was there, faint but present.
*Who's doing this to me?*
Gojo's mind raced. He had no time to waste. The war was here. But the sense of vulnerability gnawed at him, and with it, a growing fear that this war was not just against Darkseid's army—it was against someone who had already broken him.
---
### **Luthor's Betrayal**
Across the ocean, in Metropolis, Luthor watched the battle unfold with a cold, calculating gaze. His private lab was filled with monitors, each showing the chaos he had helped orchestrate. He had prepared for every contingency, every move the Justice League would make. And now, his ultimate plan was about to come to fruition.
"Darkseid's invasion is the perfect cover," Luthor mused, watching Gojo on one of his monitors. "The League will be so distracted by the oncoming war, they'll never see me coming."
He activated the final sequence of his plan. Deep in the heart of the Apokolips warship, a device powered up, pulsing with dark energy. It was connected directly to Gojo's cursed energy. The interference wasn't random—it was part of Luthor's strategy to break Gojo's spirit and his power.
"Soon, you'll all be mine," Luthor whispered, his eyes glinting with unbridled ambition. "The Justice League will fall, and I will be the one to lead this world into a new era."
---
### **A Fragile Alliance**
Back on the frontlines, Gojo's mind buzzed with a growing sense of unease. He had just finished dispatching another wave of Parademons when his Infinity flickered again, weaker this time. He stumbled, his body shaking from the exertion.
*What's happening to me?*
Before he could react, a new threat appeared—something larger, something darker. A towering figure descended from the warship's hatch. It was a creature of stone and fire, its eyes glowing with the cold, godlike malice of Darkseid's influence.
"Another one of his generals," Gojo muttered to himself. But this time, something was different. The creature exuded power, dark and ancient, like the very fabric of reality itself was warping around it.
This wasn't just a brute. This was a harbinger of Darkseid's wrath.
Gojo took a deep breath, steadying himself. He wasn't afraid. But he was beginning to understand something critical: this war was far from over. And the enemy was more dangerous than he had ever anticipated.
---
### **Cliffhanger: The Battle Begins**
As Gojo faced down the monstrous general, the world outside burned. Darkseid's forces were overwhelming, and even the combined might of the Justice League was beginning to feel the strain.
In the sky above, Superman and Wonder Woman were locked in battle with Parademons, while Batman worked to decipher the technology that could be used to turn the tide. But in the shadows, Luthor's plans moved forward.
And somewhere, deep within the chaos, Darkseid's gaze fell upon Earth. His invasion was just beginning, and he had one goal in mind: the complete and utter destruction of the Justice League.
---