The Anti-Matter Universe - A Dead Planet's Surface
The planet was a graveyard, the third planet that Lobo landed in since he entered his universe, its surface was cracked and barren, its sky a bruised purple that had long since forgotten the touch of sunlight. Lobo stood in the center of a crumbling plaza, his boots kicking up clouds of dust as he surveyed the desolation around him. His bike rested nearby, its engines still on, his red eyes swept across the ruins, searching for any sign of life. His hand rested on his gun.
His voice carried across the silence, "Fraggin' dead planet... Again." He shook his head slowly, his jaw tight with frustration. "Another one. Just like all the others in this godforsaken universe. Nothin' but dead worlds and dead leads." He kicked at a chunk of debris, sending it skittering across the cracked ground. "Nothin' but dust and ashes and the smell of a universe that's already been buried."
He paused, his eyes scanning the horizon, his instincts searching for any sign of his quarry, any trace of the trail that had gone cold.
"This whole universe is a fraggin' tomb. No life, no anything. Just emptiness... no wonder the Shadow Lanterns do not operate here.." He laughed, a sound echoed across the ruins. "And I'm supposed to find one woman in all of this? It's like lookin' for a needle in a pile of needles. Except the needles are all dead, and the pile is the size of a universe."
He reached into his jacket, pulling out a flask and taking a long drink. The liquid burned going down. He capped the flask, tucking it back into his jacket, his eyes still scanning the horizon.
"Ahh, this is why I hate this universe. Nothin' but bad weather and the lack of good company." He shook his head slowly.
He turned, his eyes sweeping across the ruins one last time.
"Maybe I should just.."
Suddenly a voice cut through the silence behind him, calm and cold.
"I hear you've been looking for me, Czarnian."
Lobo smiled wide, as he turned slowly, his hand moving to his guns, his eyes finding the figure that had appeared behind him.
Grail floated in the air, her body silhouetted against the bruised purple sky, a figure of terrible beauty in the desolation of the dead world. Her armor, Apokolips made, with a glowing Omega symbol. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders. In her hands, she held a scythe, massive and curved.
Lobo's grin widened. "Grail... It seems my.. plan worked! You showed up after all!" He drew his guns. "Daughter of Apokolips's cunt. Can't say it's a pleasure now, but..." He paused, savoring the moment. "It's been a while."
Grail descended slowly, her feet touching the cracked ground with a soft thud. Her voice was calm despite everything.
"Indeed. The last time we met was when I hired you."
Lobo laughed. "Yeah... when you hired me to hunt the Shadow." He paused, his grin sharpening. "He still thinks it was Darkseid who did it, you know? The fraggin' shadow bastard has no idea that it was you who put the bounty on his head."
Grail's expression didn't change, but something flickered in her eyes, a hint of amusement, perhaps, or satisfaction. "You haven't told him yet? How professional of you."
Lobo shrugged, his guns still trained on her, his stance relaxed but ready. "Well, I'm professional. That's why I'm here now as well... to hunt you because there is a bounty on your head now. It's quite funny, really." He paused, "You both hired me to hunt each other. I'm gettin' paid twice for the same job, basically. Not that I care about the money.. the Main Man hunts for the thrill, not the payday."
Grail's voice carried a note of cold amusement. "I don't care what you feel or why you do what you do... However, you didn't fulfill my task."
Lobo's grin widened, "I did. Turns out he can't die as well.. just like myself." He paused, his voice dropping. "And if I remember correctly, my task was 'defeat him, no capture.' It was a poor choice of words from you." He shrugged. "Besides, the Bat paid me extra to get the hell out of Earth. But I didn't care about the money as much as my fight with the Shadow.. And I had that fight and in my eyes I defeated him... because the so-called Shadow Monarch and the King of the Dead couldn't make me dead."
He raised his guns, his red eyes glowing.
"Now, consider it the same. Show me what you can do, Daughter of Darkseid."
Grail's smile was thin and cold. "So be it."
She attacked.
The scythe descended, its arc carving a path of destruction through the air. The weapon moved with the speed of thought, she was a being who had been trained to kill since birth.
Lobo moved, his body a blur of motion, his guns rising to meet the strike. The scythe clashed against the metal, sparks flying, the impact sending shockwaves across the ruined plaza. The ground beneath them cracked, the ruins around them trembling with the force of the blow.
Lobo's laugh echoed across the ruins, a sound of pure, unadulterated joy.
"NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!"
He spun, his guns blazing, the bullets tearing through the air toward Grail. She moved with the grace of a dancer, her scythe deflecting the rounds. The bullets ricocheted off the blade, carving trenches in the ground around them, sending clouds of ash and debris into the air.
Grail closed the distance between them, her scythe sweeping toward his neck in a strike that would have decapitated a lesser being. Lobo ducked, the blade passing inches above his head, the wind of its passage ruffling his hair. He came up swinging, his fist connecting with her jaw, the impact sending her stumbling backward.
She recovered quickly, her eyes blazing with fury. "You think you can match me, Czarnian?"
Lobo's grin was sharp, his eyes gleaming with the thrill of the hunt. "I don't think. I know."
She lunged, her scythe carving an arc of destruction, Lobo met her strike, with his chained hook. The ruins around them crumbled. Lobo's voice carried across the chaos. "What are you doing here anyway? This is the Anti-Monitor's turf and the home of the shadow lanterns is close... You got a death wish, or are you just that fraggin' stupid?"
Grail's voice was flat, "That's none of your business."
Lobo laughed in amusment, "Fair enough. But it's clear to me that you're up to something. You've got that look... the look of someone who's plottin'. Schemin'. Tryin' to play a game that's bigger than you."
He dodged her scythe, the blade carving a trench in the ground where he had been standing. He came up behind her, his fist connecting with her back, the impact sending her stumbling forward.
She spun, her scythe rising for another strike. "You know nothing, idiot."
"Maybe. But I know enough to know that you're in over your head." He raised his guns, his aim steady. "You're playin' a game with forces you don't understand, and it's gonna get you killed, little girl." Lobo said.
Grail's eyes turned red, almost on fire and then she used a blast of omega that had torn through Lobo's defenses, and it severed his hand, cleanly at the wrist.
Grail's voice was flat. "You talk too much, Czarnian."
Lobo laughed a wet, broken sound, his grin still fixed in place. "That's funny, comin' from someone who's clearly not used to bein' challenged."
Grail's eyes blazed with the Omega Effect, not the full power of her father, but enough to scorch the flesh from bone. "I am not used to being insulted."
Lobo's grin widened. "Then you must not get out much."
She raised her hand, energy gathering around her palm, potent, destructive. The air around her shimmered with heat, the ground beneath her feet cracking under the pressure of her power.
"You can't match me, Czarnian." Her voice was cold. "You think your bravado and your arrogance will save you?"
Lobo laughed again, "That's the difference between you and me, Grail. You think you're invincible, but you're not. You're just like everyone else, just another being who thinks she's above the fraggin' rules. Everyone can die, and I'm sure you know that as well, everyone except the MAIN MAN!"
Grail's energy pulsed, her control slipping just enough."I will not be compared to you.. or anyone else."
Lobo's grin widened. "Too late. I already compared you to every other enemy I've faced. And you're not special. You're just another.."
She released the blast.
The energy tore through the air, a wave of pure destruction that engulfed Lobo, severing his entire limb now cleanly from his body. The flesh vaporized instantly, the bone dissolving into ash, his back hit the ground, the pain registering on Lobo's face for just a moment before his grin returned.
He laughed, in a defiant sound, his voice filled with the particular madness that had kept him alive through violence. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about! I haven't felt that good in a long time!"
Grail's eyes blazed. "You are not worth the effort, Czarnian."
Lobo laughed again, clutching her leg with his remaining hand. "I'll be back... shortly. I'll find you again, be sure of it.. hahaha, now you really can't escape me, and I'll know everything!"
Grail looked down at him, her eyes glowing red with the Omega Effect, not as potent as her father's, but enough to make her point clear. "I know how your powers work." She paused. "You will take some time to return, and even if you show up again, I'll just kill you again. I can't let you get in the way of my plans."
She raised her foot, her boot hovering above his head, her eyes still blazing.
"You're just another obstacle. And I will not let you stand in my way."
She stepped on his head.
His skull exploded.
Lobo's body went limp, his form still and silent, his blood pooling beneath him. Grail stood over him, her breathing steady. She turned away, her scythe vanishing into the folds of her armor.
She rose into the air, her form silhouetted against the bruised purple sky, and she flew away and the dead planet fell silent once more.
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