Chapter 1

FAR INTO THE OUTMOST PARTS OF SPACE

100 YEARS BEFORE CURRENT EARTH DATE

New Genesis was a paradise planet. Grassy-green hills as far as the eyes could see. Flowers of every shade of color painted the ground. The planet had more marvelous wonders than any other. Hovering over the wild life of New Genesis was the floating city of Necropolis. From the heart of the city, a giant water fall emptied itself down onto a large river on the planet's surface. The mist created as the water crashed onto the flowing river rose like a refreshing, white, misty smoke. It was a majestic sight to all who beheld it.

The city, itself, was the pride and joy of the planet. Once home to the gods, every aspect of the massive city demanded royalty. The main castle was made purely of gold and bronze. The trees surrounding the castle... greener than any other trees on the planet. While not as grandiose as the main castle, the rest of the city on this floating island complimented it beautifully. The city now was nothing more than a testament of a long lost civilization. The gods had all died off by an evil very few were brave enough to talk about. The people of New Genesis left the city abandoned, hoping that the rumors of the god's demise were exaggerated, and that they would one day return to ward off the Evil One.

The people who dwelled on the surface were not nearly as technically advanced as those that once lived in the great city. Some tribes lived primitively in the jungles of New Genesis, while others were more advanced and lived in carved-stone temples and buildings. None of the tribes were sophisticated enough to protect themselves from forces of Apokolips; fortunately, New Genesis was currently under the protection of the great military might of Krypton.

Staring at the grand city with youthful, exuberant eyes, little Barda's imagination ran wild. She imagined what it must have been like to be a god, living in that glorious city. What it must have been like to live without fear of death on a daily basis. The gods were mighty, not even the Evil One could stand against them. If only she could be just like them.

"Daydreaming again?" a soft, masculine voice said behind her. The voice was gentle enough not to startle her abruptly from her daydreaming.

"Yeah!" The young girl turned to see the loving eyes of her father staring down at her. Her face blushed as a smile enveloped her small round face from ear to ear. She spun around to sit properly on the stone ledge. "Tell me more, father! Continue the story."

Her father smiled, amused by his daughters enthusiasm about the gods. As much as he was trying to protect her from her past; her instincts were relentless in trying to draw her to the truth. He didn't know how much longer he could hold the truth from her, at this rate. "I don't know if it's a good idea; I don't want to scare you."

"I won't get scared," Barda said, shaking her head and waving her long, wavy, black hair. "I'm a brave girl. Tell me where the Evil One came from?"

Her father sat down on the ledge beside her, looking at her as if to say he still wasn't sure if it was a good idea in telling her this part of the story of the gods. Whether she felt his hesitation or not, she didn't let on. She was so excited about hearing the next part of the story that she leaped off the ledge so she could leap onto her father's lap. "Oh very well, but don't say that I didn't warn you."

Long ago, before the gods dwelled in our reality, they lived in a realm of unparalleled peace and harmony. They lived alone, able to watch over all other realms and realities. There was no evil, no crime, and no injustice to speak off.

Their lives were perfection until one day... all of that changed. After a several lifetimes of serving the magnificent Highfather, the god, whose original name shall never be spoken, allowed his hunger for power to poison his soul. Jealous of Highfather's powers, this dark god sought to overthrow him, and to rule over all the other gods.

Orion, son of Highfather, discovered this evil plot against his father and confronted him. Angered by this opposition, he fought against the great Orion, in an attempt to destroy him. Evenly matched, their battle would have lasted for eternity until Hightfather, himself, confronted the dark lord. With an anger that no god had ever seen before, he showered the god of darkness with all of his wrath, until he was forced to bow before him.

Humbled and humiliated, the dark god could do nothing but accept his punishment. From that moment on, his name was lost, and he would forever be known as Darkseid. For his crimes, he was banished from their realm, and into ours, condemned to live life without his own body. However, even Highfather failed to realize the tenacity of Darkseid.

The dark lord roamed the galaxy in a gas form until he came across the planet of Urgrund. There he came across a man in prison for hideous crimes against mankind. This man was so twisted, that he had sought to commit genocide on global scale. He was sentenced to execution, but a day before his execution was to take place, Darkseid found him.

Through promises of greatness, unlimited power, and wealth, he deceived the criminal into allowing him to enter his body. Darkseid promised that his soul would still be his, but this would be the only deception. When the dark god possessed him, the criminal's soul was vanquished. His body became like black stone. When it was done, there was nothing left but the massive shell of a vengeful, evil god. Darkseid had consumed the host so that he could live in this realm. Having been banished from the realm of the gods, he decided to rule this realm instead.

In unspeakable and horrific acts, he enslaved every last person on Urgrund through his dark powers. He transfigured the planet until it was unrecognizable. The planet became an ecumenopolis with burning firepits all over the planet. Doomed to burn for all eternity, Urgrund ceased to exist, and from that day forth, it became known as Apokolips.

When the gods saw what Darkseid had done, they knew that they had no choice but to pay penance for their mistake of having brought upon this tragedy to the beings of this realm. They decided to banish themselves from their utopia, their realm of joyous jubilation and tranquility. They exiled themselves into this realm, so they may defend the galaxy from Darkseid and his growing legion of death and destruction.

They found this planet, the planet we call our home: New Genesis. This was where they made their new dwelling so they may forever fulfill their punishment as defenders of this galaxy.

"So what happened to the gods? How'd the Evil One beat them?" Barda asked, with puffy eyes and swollen cheeks. She was trying desperately not to cry and let her father think that she wasn't as brave.

There was no hiding her emotions from her father. He could see that he had probably gone overboard in telling the story. He feared that she was not ready to hear that part of the story, and his instincts had proven to be right. If this part of the story had been too much for this young child, the next part certainly was. "That, my daughter, is a story for another day."

She was not thrilled with that answer. She was a very impatient young girl, who hated cliffhangers, especially if the story was about gods. She may be too young to understand, but he knew exactly why the stories meant the world to her. He had to do something to quell her unease, before he started getting questions that he wasn't ready to answer. "You don't have to be afraid of Darkseid. I've taught you about the prophesy of Orion, right?"

"Yeah," she said, as if she really wasn't convinced by his soothing, comforting words.

"As long as we hold on to his words, we have nothing to fear." He said, lifting her little chin up so her eyes can look up into his. His eyes were soft and caring; somehow, they've always had a calming effect on her. "He promised that one day, a hero will wise and defeat the darkness. He will have sacrificed much to become the hero he was destined to be. He will be a visitor among his own people. He will have the powers of the gods, and he will protect those who can't protect themselves. He will be a light of hope, and will have nerves of steel."

He had recited that prophetic poem to her several times, but this time, it did seem to brighten her day a little. She had something new to imagine, and knowing her, she would be dreaming of being the prophesied hero who would vanquish Darkseid. Her head always seemed to be in the clouds. It only showed that hiding the truth from her was only going to get harder.

The moment of bonding was rudely interrupted by the violent nature of an explosion. Barda was off of his lap faster than he had ever seen her move. He too jumped to his feet as they were joined by his wife, who came running from their stone hut. "What was that?"

There was no need for anyone to answer her question out loud; it was obvious what was happening. After only getting a brief glimpse of the aftermath of the explosion off in a distant, another explosion erupted even closer to their home. Smoke and flames elevated from the two impact zones, only to have another two explosions add to the chaos. New Genesis was under attack.

"Quickly, inside!" Barda's father cried. Desperation, to protect his family, took control of all of his senses. If Darkseid had managed to launch this unprovoked attack on them, it meant that the Kryptonians were unaware of the dark lord's intentions. He prayed that word would get to them that their assistance was desperately needed. Until then, he had to take his daughter and his wife to safety. If Darkseid learned about Barda then...

A bright white tube of light pierced reality between them and their home. It was a boom tunnel, a technology of the gods that Darkseid was able to reproduce for his own purposes. This allowed them to transport from one location to another instantaneously. Before anyone had the opportunity to walk through the boom tunnel, he could feel his heart break. There was only one reason why Darkseid would take notice of a poor, wretched family like theirs.

The situation was more grim than he imagined as the dark lord of Apokolips, himself, walked out of the boom tunnel, followed closely by his second-in-command, Granny Goodness. He had never seen Darkseid in person until this very day. The outcaste god was more intimidating than he had feared. He was dark and taller than any person he had ever seen. His stone muscles were massive, and they only testified of his strength.

Granny Goodness was a god just like her master. She did not rebel against the gods until after they came to this reality, and lived here on New Genesis. To her, this planet was a dark reminder of everything she gave up to followed the dark lord. She was actually older than time, itself, just like her master. Gods were immortal; they did not taste death unless it was by the hand of another god. Other than that, Barda's father had no knowledge of her back-story, or why she even appeared to be an old woman on the outside. For all he knew, it could have been a result of Darkseid's torture.

The boom tunnel remained open as Darkseid peered at the three of them with his devilish red-glowing eyes. He was studying them for the briefest of moments until his gaze moved down towards little Barda. The young child, scared beyond words, hid behind her father's leg, her face already moistened from tears of fear. The lord of Apokolips studied her very intently until a grin appeared on his face, and his terrorizing silence broke. "That's her. Bring the child to me."

"No!" Barda's mother squealed in desperation. Willing to lay down his life for his daughter, the father took a step forward as means to challenge anyone who would take his daughter from him. It was as he had feared, Darkseid had learned about his daughter, and had come to collect her. He had no idea how he could have learned the truth, but the father was willing to do whatever it took to stop that from happening.

A hand pulled him aside, as one of Darkseid's armored soldiers appeared out of nowhere to prevent him from getting in the way. Another soldier took his wife by the arm, and before either of them knew it, they were being forced onto their knees as Granny Goodness grabbed Barda by the arm and dragged her, fighting and screaming, to her master. Holding the child in such a firm grip to keep the child immobile, Darkseid inspected her closely as to confirm his suspicions. "Indeed, she is a god, isn't that right?" he turned his devil-eyes towards her father. "Did you really think you could hide a child of a god from me?"

He couldn't formulate any words in reply. Yes, it was true... he and his wife were not her real parents. After the gods were slain by the dark lord, this little girl was left behind in the great city. Who knew how old the child actually was, she could have been thirty; gods did not age as quickly as any other species. There was no telling how long she was left alone in Necropolis. She was lucky to be found at all.

The great city was once explored by the Kryptonians, much to the dismay of the people of New Genesis. There, they found this young girl, living all alone, barely able to keep herself alive. The Kryptonians, not familiar with the gods that once lived in the city, decided that it was for the best interest of the child that she be given to a family here on New Genesis. A young kryptonian scientist, by the name of Jor-El, was the one who handed Barda over to him and his wife. They were just newly married; not more than twenty years of age at the time. Now twenty years later, they had grown older and more mature, but Barda only seemed to be one year older since that day.

"She will become the head of my honor guard, and lead my army to the conquest of the galaxy."

"Please, I beg you!" her father pleaded. "She's just a child!"

His plea fell on deaf ears; it was as if he didn't hear him at all. He looked at Granny who held the scared little girl in her arms. "You know what must be done here. I want this child to watch; it will be her initiation and it will be the first blood spill, of many, that her eyes will behold."

"It will be done, my master," Granny nodded. "What about this planet? Do you wish that to transfigure it for your glory?"

Darkseid squinted. "I have no need of this wretched planet. Destroy it, and do it quickly; the Kryptonian military will not be distracted, much longer, by our assault on their world."

The ruler of Apokolips turned and walked through the boom tunnel, back to wherever he had come from. The glowing passage way shut down immediately upon his passing, leaving them all alone to what was about to happen. Granny was in charge now, and all of the dark lord's authority emanated from her. "Soldiers, dispose of them!"

The two armored soldiers walked forward until they were about five paces in front of Barda's father and mother. Their armors made them look more insect-like with the shape of their eye pieces and the design of their chest and back pieces. Whether they were some kind of insect species or not, there was no telling; the armor covered every inch of them.

The two soldiers pointed their staffs at the kneeling parents. Barda was going frantic in Granny's arms; tears flowed down her face like a river as she wailed uncontrollably. "Daddy! Daddy!" She fought, desperately, to break free from Granny's arms, but she was much stronger than normal people. She was physically stronger than her parents, although she was too young to really understand why. Her parents were never able to wrestle with her because of her god-like strength, but Granny Goodness was not like your normal people; she too was a god, and had physical strength as such. Barda could not break free from her grasp.

Granny cupped her tiny chin between her thumb and fore finger, and held her face, preventing the child from looking away. "Now pay close attention, child. You too, will be doing the very same thing to others, some day."

One of the soldier's staffs unleashed a blue energy at Barda's mother. Screaming in unrivaled pain, the beam took no more than a few seconds to completely burn through all the flesh. Collapsing to the ground was nothing more than a charcoaled skeletal frame. Little Barda was screaming wildly now; she was crying so hard, she nearly choked. "No! No! No!"

The other soldier fired his staff, and through a blinding puddle of tears in her eyes, Barda watched as her beloved father perished in the same manner. Just like that, her parents were dead, and no one would ever be able to save her from this nightmare. Her crying picked up a tempo, as the sudden realization that her life was over. Granny, knowing that the child was in a state of shock and would not be able to walk, picked Barda up to carry her. "Okay child, we better depart so not to miss the spectacular view of the destruction of this planet."

Little Barda found herself being taken onboard a strange, and intimidating ship. The temperature inside of the ship was hot, and it made it immediately uncomfortable. With tears still streaming from her, she was forced to sit on the floor as they showed the planet of New Genesis on the view screen. She had no idea of her surroundings; she was too grief-stricken to care about any of that. Now, she was forced to watch as her planet, and all of her friends and family that lived on it, all perished. The planet exploded without mercy or compassion. A shockwave was unleashed, but the ship, they were on, was already too far away to feel the impact. There was nothing left but asteroids and large rocks floating in empty space.

It was another dream, for Big Barda; they were becoming unsettlingly more frequent. Her dreams of having a father and mother and living on a paradise planet was just that... a fictional dream invented by her twisted mind. As far as she could remember, she was raised here on Apokolips to become the warrior that she was. Even though she had the appearance of a forty year old woman, she was at least two hundred. Actually, she did not know her real age; being immortal, time was rather irrelevant. For the past two centuries, she had been here on Apokolips; she had no real memories of this world in her dreams.

Her reality was here on Apoklips, as head of Female Furies; that's all she had ever known. She wore her blue, scale-like jumpsuit with a gold plated breastplate, boots, and warrior's helmet. Having been summoned by lord Darkseid, she had her mega-rod at her side, ready to lead her ladies to war.

To her side, her warriors stood ready for their orders. She had trained each and every one of them in the deadly art of warfare. Each of the three women had their deadly skills that made the Female Furies the most deadly force in the galaxy. Lashina was the sexiest of the four women, but her hand-to-hand combat along with her ability with her electric steel-whip made her a force to be reckoned with. Dressed in tight, black spandex, men were often drawn by her sensual nature; an attribute she often used to distract her victims.

Stompa was as massive in her strength as she was massive in body shape. One stomp of her foot, and builds crumbled. She was physically the strongest of all of the Furies. Then, there was Mad Harriet. She was the insane one of the group. She got her thrills by killing her victims in unimaginable ways. She had a metal glove welded onto both of her hands, each with razor sharp claws on each. Barda had grave concerns about her as a member of the Female Furies. Her lust for blood made her loose all reason, making her a loose cannon at times.

Darkseid stood before them, holding his right wrist in the palm of his left behind his back. It was his typical stance meant to intimidate everyone in his presence. He was an overload who never lost his cool, or acted on emotions. He was calm and calculatin; logic was his master. That was what made him very deadly. "I am sending you girls to a planet known as Earth. That world is next to experience my wrath. Granny Goodness is already there. For now, your mission is merely to dispose of a handful of humans who call themselves the Intergang. They have served their purpose; there can be no loose ends. Kill them in any way that amuses you."

"Yes, lord Darkseid," Big Barda responded quickly and without hesitation. If he detected any vacillation among his servants, he would kill them with his Omega Beam. He demanded absolute obedience or absolute death; there was no middle ground with him.

A boom tunnel opened in front of them as the familiar voice of Granny Goodness could be heard from the other side. "Furies, kill them all!"

Mad Harriet was so excited, her body was shaking with anticipation. "Oh goody, goody, goody; fresh meat to play with! Barda, you gotta let me have some fun here! Let me rip off a limb or two!"

"Yeah," Stompa grinned. "I want to squash some heads until they explode like melons."

Big Barda's face remained cold like stone. Emotions were a sign of weakness; that much was instilled in her since she was young. She didn't want her fellow furies to know about the dreams she's been having. She was glad that the girls had volunteered; she was not in the mood to kill anyone right now. This was the free pass she needed to avoid drawing the wrath of Darkseid upon herself. "If you girls want the kills all to yourselves, then have at it. I will leave them all for you to do as you wish."

"Yes, yes, yes, yes!" Mad Harriet cheered, more than happy to have permission to go wild.

Lashina was quickly growing impatient with the chatter among her comrades. "Come on girls! Let have us some fun!"