The Boom Tube tore a hole into space, displacing the air around itself with a massive explosion of light and sound. Yellow sparks of ethereal energy rained across the metal floor of the street as Darkseid had activated the motherbox he had on himself.
The condition of the two sisters was too critical to leave in the hands of the locals that were clearly unable to take care of themselves. Silver linings of the purple box of the sentient computer glowed in the pink lighting of Warworld's dusk.
A swirling tunnel opened itself to them. On the other side shimmered green, a color most of the people present had ever seen before. The rebels were children of a metallic artificial planet with a manmade climate and light. While Furies were raised at the Orphanage on Apokolips, the desolate planet of fire and lava.
But there was no time to sightsee and be awestruck. Darkseid had run into the tunnel, youngest sister in his hands. His unit had followed behind him. Tina was carrying Thao-La, the eldest of the siblings. Darkseid wanted to save these two young girls, as they held information on their unnatural powers.
The Boom Tube closed immediately as the six of them had crossed it's entryway, leaving the rebels gasping and gawking at the sight.
They emerged into a wonderous place called the Garden of Hope. A single most beautiful place on Apokolips, the only location on it that had greenery on it. It was a miracle that such dry and desolate planet could produce something so… peaceful and serene.
The Garden of Hope was a sanctuary of verdant greenery, a crescent-shaped valley hidden by surrounding impassable obsidian cliffs, the highest mountain range on the whole planet. This was quite literally the paradise in the heart of the hellscape that was Apokolips.
Rivers of pure, sky-blue water ran through the grass fields, moss and lush forests. Their course was dictated by the natural ley lines of the planet converging here.
Flowers bloomed, an impossible wonder of this place, unseen by almost anyone on the planet. This place was held secret by the Royal Family, as there was no way to reach this place walking, the surrounding deserts and mountains void of life served as the guardians of this sacred place.
There was no life here aside from plants and trees, no animals, no fish. Scarlet vines climbed the surrounding cliffs, akin to blood vessels running through an organism.
Giant ebony trees grew here in abundance, the forest was made entirely of them, silvery-blue flowers were topping their dark green crowns of sharp triangle-shaped leaves. Their roots would seldomly rise from the ground forming marvelous forms and shaped, often resembling various animals.
At the very center of the valley stood the Temple of the Oracle. A wooden spire made inside of pale-bark tree of the size rivaling the mountains around.
At the bottom of the tree several chambers were located for the Oracle and her servants, tasked with preserving the ley lines of the planet. They were essentially the nurses of the planet, keeping an eye on its livelihood.
The oracle was a young Apokoliptian woman called Pythia. And although Darkseid had never visited this garden before and never met her in person, as he was not permitted by Heggra. But he read stories about this place and its wardens from his grandfather's journals.
Darkseid and his group had entered the halls of the Temple hurriedly, time was of the essence. And although Apokolips had all the necessary medical equipment to save the girls by the power of medicine and science, something had lured him here. Darkseid felt the planet itself summoning him here. As if coming here was the best solution to his situation.
Darkseid's armor was spattered with the girl's blood. Her breath heaved, she would gurgle periodically, coughing out blood. Tina that was walking right behind him, was holding the second sister. Her shield was slung across her back as she was carrying the mangled younger sister as carefully as if she were carrying a candle through a windy tunnel.
A figure of the Oracle had met them in the hall. Pythia raised her hand in greeting, her voice was quiet, yet cheerful.
"I have waited," she said. "I saw this right moment. The moment of our first meeting. It was shown to me, that you would come to me, bearing blood and new beginnings."
She bowed deeply. Pythia looked impossibly young, perhaps no more than twenty years, though her teal eyes told a different tale, a tale of experience. Her hair was white as the light of the Star, falling in gentle waves to her waist. Flowers of different colors were carefully threaded into her hair, each of them breathing with latent magic in rhythm with the ley lines. She wore a rose robe, soft and flowing. Her skin glowed faintly with the same pulse that the flowers had. Her ears, delicate and pointed like some doe forest spirit, twitched betraying her nervousness.
Darkseid's jaw tightened. Not only was he in a hurry, but he also hated fate. And this Oracle with an ability to look into the future was a direct confirmation of its existence.
Discarding his feelings he laid the elder sister at the foot of the altar in the middle of the hall, Tina had followed his example, placing the other sibling right beside her sister.
The elder sister's abdomen was split, her organs mangled and blackened from internal bleeding. Each breath she rattled and twitched, the light in her eyes fading.
The younger sister was worse, her arms were gone, her chest torn open, baring the bones of her ribcage, shattered and marred apart by the beastman. Otho-Ra's face was pale as marble. Only the faintest tremor in her chest proved she still lingered.
The Oracle's gaze softened with sorrow. She kneeled to the girls. She placed her hands upon each forehead.
"The threads of Fate had been pulled. Death awaits them." She whispered serenely.
"Then they just die?" He asked Oracle.
"Yes," Pythia said softly. "They die."
That could not be true. Something had summoned him here. Something that had promised him answers to his dilemma.
But before he could say anything else Pythia moved. Quick as a knife, she placed her hand against the elder sister's eyes. An unnatural stillness instantly overtook the girl that was previously twitching with pain.
Darkseid's rage flared, his arms rose prepared to strike down the Oracle. But Pythia only closed her eyes in resignation.
"This death was written in the book of Destiny," she said. "I saw it. She was never meant to live."
"You, how dare you to talk back!" Barda shouted from behind. He stopped her with a hand. His gaze burned, an understanding was forming inside of his mind.
"Am I meant to resurrect her?"
Pythia opened her eyes. "Her fate is to die for her to live."
He understood completely. And his meta knowledge provided him with a glimpse of what must be done.
He took out one of the two motherboxes from his bag. The same sentient machine that brought them here. An incredible instrument capable of many wonders… Including healing.
He tossed the computer on the body of the sister that still drew breath.
The device came to life. A strange mechanical shriek of machine agony pierced the stillness of the room, as its circuits bled into her flesh. Metal covered her body; plates of living metal were covering the body layer by layer. Inside the metallic cocoon wires crawled across the body of Otho-Ra, fusing into the ragged meat of her shoulders. The machine's soul was fusing with the girl.
This was the same miracle that had created Cyborg, a Terran superhero. When the young warrior fell victim to a freaky accident his father, at the time researching a motherbox, did the same experiment to save his son's life. In result Cyborg had gained multiple abilities of the motherbox, becoming an embodiment of its powers and capabilities.
Pythia's doe-like eyes closed in satisfaction. The Fate had taken its course.
The ruler of Apokolips turned to the elder sister's corpse, it was time for another miracle.
Darkseid took out the second motherbox that he had with himself, the one he created together with Suli and Dreamer, placing it beside the dead. He closed his eyes, accessing his magic.
"This place," he said, entering a meditative trance. "A nexus of lifeforce. A place where all souls gather before entering the Source."
"People call it by many names. The Garden of Hope," Pythia nodded along. "The heart of ley lines. The cradle of spirits."
Her voice was followed by momentary silence.
And then Darkseid struck the motherbox with one crushing motion, shattering it against the wood of the altar. The device screamed as it died, metal splintering, its metallic wires and circuits spilling out like veins and guts.
Darkseid lowered his head towards the core of the planet, one of his domains of power. Ever since he had bonded with Apokolips it had granted him access to itself. The ground trembled, responding to his call.
He was no mere warlord. He was this planet's master, its ruler, its bonded soul.
The soul of motherbox writhed in the air, visible only to him. He ordered it to heed his will. And it followed.
Darkseid shifted his focus to another spirit flying in the air. This one was dim, but restless. He caught the wandering spirit with his hand. This was Thao-La, the eldest sister.
The spirit of the motherbox came closer, enveloping that of the Phaelosian sister.
The trees cheered. Their leaves rustling on hot wind. The rivers glowed with dark red light, the very core of the planet was making its presence known.
The two souls entered a dance. The waves of motion following the rhythm of the ley lines. Eventually, the two spirits fused in one. The unison of souls, alien to each other, united with one fate, embracing the fate of living as one.
Thao-La's chest rose once again. Her body began healing, her blood and spilled guts had entered her body once again. A bright purple light enveloping it.
Her eyes snapped open. She was alive.
Darkseid had followed another example from his meta knowledge. Another warrior from Terra, Halo. The two experiments were very similar, resulting in a fusion of a living body and the power of the motherbox, yet their difference made each one unique. These two sisters were destined to be sisters even after becoming personifications of technology.
Darkseid smiled brightly, today Fate had granted him a gift.