Chapter 4 - Echos

They say that a mind absent of thought, is as vast as the universe in its eternity. It is still and lifeless, frightening while deathly silent. Yet there is a strange piece in it that calms the mind, pulled away from thought that continuously collided like stars within our understanding.

"Father.. Father.." The vast darkness does not exist without light, even for beings that live forever, and that light was a voice that called out to the void.

"What is it, Proxima?" The void was open, as the being who sat on the throne opened its eyes, roaming the black metal of the ship that was familiar to him. His voice was deep as he looked down at a woman kneeling.

"The subjugation, along with the transfer of compatible subjects have been moved off-world. No deficiencies, or defects in their DNA, those with mutated, or abnormalities within their DNA have been left on the planet. As you ordered." The woman Proxima spoke, her head low as she relayed the information to her father, her eyes looking back as they became sharp at the Parademons who looked at the being on the throne.

Her expression firm as their eyes return to the floor, a thin frown on her lips for a moment only to hear the thuds of steps, they echoed within her ears as her muscles tightened. Her eyes closed as she didn't hear a reply from her father, yet she loosen as she felt a hand rest on the top of her head.

"You have done well, as always my daughter." Doomsday spoke, his body standing next to Proxima as he looked down at her kneeling figure, his hand slowly moving through her hair as he praised her for her work.

"Thank you, father." Proxima's breathing relaxed, her muscles no longer tight as she felt the warmth coming from his hand. Her eyes watching as he stepped passed her, the warmth on her head leaving as he moved to the lookout.

Doomsday looked down, the overview of the planet in his eyes as he thought on many things, the flashes from the past still fresh in his mind as he looked into the swirling vortex of clouds. The eye traveling across this world that was all most completely red. The abundant iron within the sea changed the world's water. While massive cities sat above the water along the planet's surface.

"Proxima, Release the world engine." Doomsday spoke, turning his head slightly to Proxima who had stood up, her eyes sharp as she looked at the Parademons who still knelt with their faces down.

"You heard my father, detach the gravitational links, and release the world engine opposite of this world's core." Proxima's Parademons had already moved, hers were changed by her and loyal to her. Yet her voice raised as she picked up a Parademon, throwing it into the air as it started to fly, giving her orders.

"This world, like all the others will be as you wish it to be. The other worlds have fallen within this system, this one will be no different." Proxima spoke, her hands pressing within the liquid geo as she looked at her father's back, her worries formed into words over his silence for the past few days.

"Proxima, you have always done well but I know your worries. I promise you will never be sent to that realm again." Doomsday turned his head, he spoke like this after they had been trapped, her mind only holding on to the thought of him as it helped her go through their sentence.

"It is not my place to question you father, but they will pay for what they did to you. Even her.." Proxima's hands shook ever so slightly, her eyes glowing red lightly as the horns beside her eyes moved with the change in her expression.

Doomsday again said nothing, he knew her anger and about who she spoke of but had no words for the matter. His eyes looked at the three claws attached to the ship open, the gravitational link flicked with light, as umbilical-like tubes that attached to the world engine disconnected.

The pressure from the tubes released into space, causing cold clouds of vapor to come to life. The frost on the world engine breaking off as it moved away from the ship, the ship shaking for a moment as it drifted into open space. The engines shape was like a drill, with three crab like legs attached to it's crustacean like body.

The blue of flames could be seen as the propulsion jets activated, its body moving at great speeds in contrast to how it seemed to the naked eye. It's speed continuing to climb as a streak of blue could be seen traveling across the sky. Doomsdays eyes losing it as it curved around the planet.

"The world engine will make it's way to the southern hemisphere, should we descend father." Proxima questioned as she looked at the construct of the world engine, the body of it moving across the atmosphere of the sky like fire.

"Descend." Doomsday said a single word, watching Proxima walked next to him as she reached another console of liquid geo, it's body flatter than the other as a city came into focus.

On the planet's surface, the sky seemed to crack as boats hovered above the water, the beings on the ship used claw-like harpoons to catch strange metallic fish. Their ears flicking as they heard the crack, watching a fiery object pull the clouds around it as it stayed its course. The ship was unaffected by the beings who looked shocked, or the city's panic as it made contact.

The world engine crashing down like a meteor, it's three legs opening before it landed, while the shockwave cracked and leveled some of the platform the city sat on. It's legs joints bending as it lessened the impact from its landing, as it sat at the center of a city. Beings of all kinds, men, women, and children screamed as the buildings crashed to the ground below crushing many.

The beings who held plasma-like spears pulled people out, trying to move them back as they looked on at the black metal object that sat unmoving now. The people of the city terrified at this turn of events, watching the peacekeepers move slightly towards the object. Their spears out as they looked into the dust cloud that was kicked up from the impact.

"Proxima that is enough.." Doomsday spoke watching as the ship descended above the city. His hand moving as there was no need to land, the effects would be the same either way. "Now bring the phantom drive online." He continued as he could hear the phantom drive arc with electricity.

The dark ship being shined on by a beam that came from the bottom of the ship, it's wavelength carrying rings around it as it shot into the planet. It's beam passing through the core as it shot into the world engine.

"We are now slave to the world engine. The linking of the core has contained it for any fluctuations." Proxima spoke as she looked at her father, her body moving toward him as she looked out to the people in panic within the city.

"No matter the planet or there advancements, they all are the same. On each planet we visit, they always feel they are the center of the universe." Proxima spoke up, the silence of her father was far greater than when she was younger, but as world's fell she came to realize many things that changed her.

"They have no idea.." Doomsday spoke, turning as he waved his hand for her to follow. "Each one grasping for something to make them so, technology, rebirth, war, space travel, each one closing their minds to the vast universe around them." Doomsday soon made it to his throne, turning as he sat back, watching as Proxima sat in front of him, in the ships command seat.

"My people were no different." Doomsday said in a low tone, his words a whisper as he leaned on his hand. "Initiate.." He left these words, as Proxima nodded, looking at the Parademons as the phantom drive turned, the light from the ship sending a wave into the ground.

On the other side of the planet, the beam caused the engine to raise a little, it's legs lifting as cracked building pieces, along with droplets of water floated. The materials sat still as if gravity no longer mattered. The people looking on as peacekeepers floated, their arms struggling as the object moved. It's joints slamming down as the materials and people were sent back to the surface. Water, stone, and masses of bodies mangled beyond all recognition, rolled out in a shockwave as it hit the city.

The beam traveled back through the planet as the process happened again, Proxima smiled lightly, the sound of the beam echoing like a tunneling shockwave as she watched the objects of this world float below the ship.

"The process of terraforming will take a moon's cycle, the atmosphere, and mass has already begun to change as the phantom drive covers the planet's surface." Proxima said, looking at an image of the world engine, fire came from the top as clouds of lightning cracked, changing the air around it.

"Zod.." While the silence filled the air, a liquid geo cocoon came from the floor in front of doomsdays throne, it moved back and forth as a construct was made, of a chair on a rocky background. The being spoke as the chair turned so that he was face to face with Doomsday.

"Thanos.." Doomsday said as he leaned in his chair.