Chapter 109 Going To Apokolips

The blazing embers of the planet Apokolips burned strong, no matter what time it was.

On this Ecumenopolis, the heavy, gloomy atmosphere was stronger than it was in Batman's cave.

Even when it was dark, the place could be likened to a desert planet with hot winds blowing sand everywhere and giant columns of fiery energy constantly billowing out of the planet's core.

Patrolling the skies were legions of parademons. Enslaved creatures whose purpose on this place was to preserve law and order in the most brutal fashion they could enforce.

Death!

And so with that thought in their minds, they observed the Lowlies as they patrolled. The lowest level citizens of Apokolips usually brought from other planets in the Godsphere or born here in this atrocity of a world yet were just as much Gods as the rest of its citizens.

Day and night they toiled and slaved away during menial, backbreaking jobs to supply the planet the energy it needed to carry out day-to-day operations.

With no concept of Human Rights.... Or God Rights and no explicit laws on labor made on this planet ruled by a multiversal tyrant, their fates were basically sealed from birth to their long-awaited death.

All that was New Genesis was reversed here.

This planet was basically an Armed Camp where those with weapons ruled over the wretches who build it.

Here..... Life was the true evil. Death... Now that was the great goal.

It was an endless cycle of torture and suffering from which there was no escape. Especially for this race with no self-esteem or self-worth.

True to its description.... A primordial hellscape.

Yet while the Parademons ruled the lowlifes, those higher in status were called the true citizens of Apokolips.

And inside a dark room with the lights turned off, the younger Aurelie who laid on her bed with her eyes open was one of them.

If possible, the gloomy atmosphere in this room was even thicker than the misery felt by the Lowlies on a regular basis.

Her bright eyes flickered every now and then for several minutes in silence, and her blood boiled with seething rage. Until eventually.... She couldn't be silent.

"Barda".

This room was the residence of the Furies. Elite warriors sworn to serve under Darkseid.

"....." There was a moment of silence, before a voice replied to her.

"Can't sleep?"

"After what happened?" Her eyes narrowed intensely.

"No".

Barda was silent. She wanted to say something to her leader, but could not.

"... How long Barda?"

The reply wasn't forthcoming. Barda wasn't the only one in the room. The other Furies were there as well.

But everyone else not referred to didn't move an inch. Their faces were stone-cold as they lay on their sides, most teeming with rage.

"..... How long will we be treated like... This".

Big Barda still didn't respond. Her mind couldn't help but drift back to a short sentence Granny Goodness said during training some time ago.

"You're all too weak.... To handle one minute of being women in Apokolips".

Before, she didn't realize why. Why their trainer and mentor who taught them everything they knew would say such a thing.

Even to this point, she still trained them vigorously, always trying her best to instill in them the knowledge that in Apokolips... To be imperfect was to be nothing at all.

She didn't understand before. Well.... Now she did.

Granny Goodness had recognized them. Recognized their capabilities and powers. Hence, she proposed for them to take on the Forever people of New Genesis.

To this proposal.... The Men, Darkseid's true elite... Laughed it off with waves of mockery and conceit rolling off them.

Then... They recommended a test. A test to verify Granny Goodness's claims on the capability of her Furies. Tests to which, the Furies readily agreed, while full of belief in their prowess to scale through anything thrown at them.

However.... What they received was something they had never prepared for in their life.

Imagine battle hardened warrior whose lives revolved around, training, fighting and killing suddenly had themselves faced with the following challenges.

A Bake off

Wearing beautiful evening Gowns

A 'Smile Contest'.

And worst of all, a physical examination in which their bodies would be inspected by the men themselves.

Truly tragic.

The leering men put them through these humiliating ordeals designed to test their patience. Not their Martial skill.

And so, they laughed and failed them spectacularly.

They had endured pain, torture, darkness... Never before had the Furies experienced such humiliation.

The hierarchy of Apokolips was particularly strict.

Although the Furies had fought several battles, destroyed countless enemies and were feared across the Godsphere under the name of Darkseid's Elite Guards, their status in this hellscape was only above the Parademons.

At best, slightly higher than the guards of the planet.

Even their mentor, Granny Goodness, wasn't a figure with major authority. All those truly Important had the privilege to be part of Darkseid's war council.

Granny, did not have this privilege. And if she didn't..... Neither did they.

Those men who had mocked them, laughed at them, humiliated them..... They all had this privilege. In terms of status, they were above them.

They was entitled to give them these..... Tests and fail them for it.

This..... This angered Aurelie to no end.

It was at this point that Aurelie's loyalty began to waver. She saw the situation clearly.

There was no more room for advancement under Darkseid's patriarchy. As long as he remained, the Furies would never truly receive the recognition they deserved.

How was she so sure?

The same thing happened to Granny Goodness.

Granny had fought off Darkseid's mother, Heggra and successfully killed her, allowing Darkseid to complete his conquest of Apokolips thousands of years ago.

Yet where was she now? The leader of the Orphanage.

Desaad had stolen her credit, taking all the glory, while Granny didn't even far to fight back. In the end, she received nothing for all of her sweat and efforts, given the task of cleanup after the battle while Desaad was promoted.

Her fate could be seen clearly. Why would theirs be any different?

Yet, this wasn't all. No..... If it had stopped there, then Aurelie's thoughts might not get to this point.

While her sisters were simply humiliated, Aurelie suffered a worse fate. As she had caught the unwanted attention of one of Darkseid's men.

Willik.

Who demanded, threatened (and paid Granny goodness in Apokoliptic gold) that Aurelie submit to special private training.

When she learned of the matter, Aurelie despaired. Goodness told her bluntly what was going to happen.

Wondering why Granny had sold her out, Granny's words stunned her.

"The same thing happened to me years ago. Under the threat of death from Darkseid, I didn't have a choice in the matter. And now.....". Her tone was, solemn, her words were ruthless, yet particularly heavy as she spoke. Almost to the point of trembling.

"... Neither do you". This wasn't an open secret. Darkseid's men knew of this. The fact that Darkseid had coerced Granny Goodness to have sex with him under threats and the guise of a promotion wasn't unknown to those with influence.

After all, who wouldn't notice their ruler going into Granny Goodness's quarters and only coming out at dawn the next day?

But the Furies didn't. She finally realized what Granny had been trying to sink into their skulls all along. As women, they should prepare themselves to be treated unfairly.

The empty eyes of the mature woman, that seemed to lose all light, struck at her soul.

And under Willik's abuse, leering and groping during the special training, the thoughts of escape only grew stronger.

The mood in the room grew even more depressing. Aurelie didn't utter a word.

Not to anyone who didn't already know. Not because she was ashamed to tell her sisters but because she knew they wouldn't believe her.

Their loyalty to Darkseid was strong, and the humiliation they received wasn't enough to crush that fact.

They could take advantage of them, but never force them to have sex.

No matter what, Apokolips still had rules.

If Darkseid knew of such, then those responsible would suffer a cruel death. At least, that's what they believed.

It was the truth, but if they couldn't find any evidence, the Tyrant would rather take the words of his men over hers.

Then she would be charged with falsely accusing an Elite and punished. Willik would probably ask for her to be handed over to him as the "victim" and Darkseid would most likely agree.

Then.... Her fate would be sealed.

Aurelie understood this now. So she didn't dare to say anything.

Now, she could only talk to the only person who had similar thoughts of escape. Barda.

"Barda, did you ever imagine that the world could be different? No fire pits, no endless war, no darkness. No constant threat of a boot to our neck.....".

Her words resonated in the room.

She was the only one speaking, but no one talked back at her for her potentially treasonous thoughts.

Perhaps inwardly, they had all wondered the same thing. Dreamed of such, but never thought more.

"But …. but how can we keep our heads up and eyes down at the same time…?"

Barda's voice could be heard.

This time, it was Aurelie's turn to be silent.

And so she stayed silent for close to a minute before answering.

"I... I don't know".

....

Present Day!

Amari's cosmic awareness receded after discovering what he wanted.

"Ugh!" Barda groaned and bowed her head with a pained expression.

"Oh…. Ok, this is surprising". Amari said with amusement.

"I should have Alice put this into the record. Apparently, even the Gods get horny".

At that moment, Aurelie's eyes snapped open with unprecedented rage and murderous intent.

Pushing all of her strength into her fit, she threw a lightning fast punch at the ma before her, her eyes blazing with Fury. There it was again.

Another man with the intent of humiliating her. That was it… She had enough.

Bang! The shockwave from the collision was enough to push Kara several steps back.

"Hehehehe... Looks like the feisty personality is back". Amari smiled as he blocked her full-powered fist lightly.

His expression portrayed that he out in minimal effort, but Aurelie didn't care.

"I will make you pay for this". The New God uttered through gritted teeth and eyes filled with hate.

No one likes having their mind read.

"Amari!" Supergirl called out. "What did you do?". The drastic change in Aurelie's mood caught the blonde surprised.

"Nothing much. Just invaded her mind, browsed through her memories. Discovered that the so-called Gods aren't as different from mortals as they portray themselves to be".

"At least, the situation of a beautiful female suffering from sexual harassment from her superior still happens".

"And this one right here..... Was on the receiving end of it a few days ago".

Amari almost laughed. One would think that this kind of thing wouldn't happen in a place like Apokolips.

Yet, who would have thought that the Dark Tyrant who was known as the personification of pure evil was also a horny bastard at times who couldn't control his own urges.

If such a character was a God, then you could imagine what his subordinates would do.

So..... Evil Gods then.

Kara glared at him angrily. As did Aurelie but for different reasons.

She wanted to attack. She wanted to rip this bastard to shreds.

But.... See couldn't. At that moment, she couldn't even move a muscle.

The force being exerted on her was rather great. Amari just grabbed her fist, but his telekinesis made sure she couldn't move an inch.

"What are you waiting for? Kill me. Because I swear I will kill you when I have the chance".

"I have no plans to kill you. But keep talking and I just might". He said casually.

Aurelie raised her eyebrows defiantly.

"You think I fear death?"

"No. You don't". He paused and pointed out. "But you do fear Darkseid".

Following which, Amari released the female's fist and removed his telekinesis.

"Alright, get up. We need to get going".

His words made Aurelie and Kara confused.

"Where?"

Amari turned to the blonde Kryptonian and shrugged.

"Weren't you paying attention? Since Darkseid sends his precious Furies to invite me over…". Aurelie's eyes widened.

He couldn't be serious.

"..... Then it'll be rude if I don't pay the old bastard a visit".

....

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